MONDAY 20TH JANUARY 2020

Police Battle Ready as S’Court Decides Ganduje, Tambuwal’s Fate Today Apex court races against time in Benue, Plateau, Bauchi appeals Alex Enumah in Abuja, Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano, Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto and Daji Sani in Yola Police in Kano and Sokoto

States have been placed on red alert ahead of today’s judgment by the Supreme Court in the appeals against the election of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano

State and his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal.

THISDAY investigations showed that the police high command in the two states had evolved plans to prevent

any breakdown of law and order arising from possible protests by aggrieved parties not favoured by the judgments.

In the election disputes, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu of the All

Progressives Congress (APC) is challenging the victory of Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in March 9, 2019 governorship election in Sokoto State, which

was concluded with a re-run on March 23.

The election of Ganduje of the APC in Kano State is Continued on page 8

Analysts: Revised Tariffs May Not End Power Sector’s Woes... Page 9 Monday 20 January, 2020 Vol 24. No 9051. Price: N250

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THISDAY Celebrates Silver Jubilee in Grand Style +RQRXUV %XKDUL -RQDWKDQ (PHÀHOH 'DQJRWH RWKHUV Jim Ovia chairs event

3UHVLGHQW 0XKDPPDGX %XKDUL KLV SUHGHFHVVRU 'U *RRGOXFN -RQDWKDQ &HQWUDO %DQN RI 1LJHULD &%1 *RYHUQRU 0U *RGZLQ (PHÀHOH Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Ms. Amina Mohammed; President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are among 24 personalities and corporate organisations to be honoured today.

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CATEGORY

EDITOR’S CHOICE

PEOPLE’S CHOICE

Company of the Decade Aliko Dangote

GT Bank Plc

Philanthropist of the Decade Access Bank Plc

Femi Otedola

Banker of the Decade CBN

Segun Agbaje

Babatunde Fashola

Peter Obi

Minister of the Decade

Person of the Decade President Muhammadu Buhari

EFCC/Ibrahim Magu

Governor of the Decade

CEO of the Decade Aliko Dangote

TEF/Tony Elumelu

Institution of the Decade Herbert Wigwe

Godwin Emefiele

Chimamanda Adichie

Amina Mohammed

Bank of the Decade Zenith Bank Plc

Mike Adenuga

Woman of the Decade

Brand of the Decade Globacom

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Entrepreneur of the Decade NLNG

Dangote Group

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Dr. Goodluck Jonathan

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Rotimi Amaechi

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NEWS

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

PDP Mobilises Protest against S’ Court Judgment on Imo Ihedioha’s legal team opens up, faults verdict

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia All is now set for a mass protest being organised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for today against the judgment of the Supreme Court that nullified the election of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as governor of Imo State.

Ahead of today's main protest, members of the main opposition party in Abia and Imo States yesterday marched on the streets of the states over the removal of Ihedioha and his replacement by Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Also, the legal team of the removed governor has opened up on the controversial judgment, faulting the apex court’s verdict.

The National Organising Secretary of PDP, Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd), had said that “in line with the approval of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of our great party, the national chairman has directed that a peaceful, civil and non-violent protest be organised in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to register the displeasure of the party against the current state of affairs in the country, especially the miscarriages of justice by the Supreme Court against the lawfully elected governor of Imo State."

According to him, the date of the protest is today (January 20), while the takeoff point is the Legacy House, Maitama District.

The statement added that the protest match is a "clarion call to all lovers of democracy as we join hands to save our dear nation."

Details of the protest obtained by THISDAY showed that all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory will be involved.

It was gathered that the party had sent signals to all its state chapters and members to converge on Abuja for the protest.

A source within PDP said at least three buses filled with members were expected in Abuja from each of the 36 states of the federation.

The protesters are expected to assemble at the Legacy Office of PDP at 9 a.m. with members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and the procession would march peacefully from the Maitama office through the Hilton Hotel junction to the Federal Secretariat near the Three Arms Zone.

The source said the PDP’s peaceful march would end at the Supreme Court.

According to the source, "The party has informed the police of its intention to

conduct a peaceful protest,� but “it was not known whether the police have granted permission for the protest or not.�

The source explained that the protest would have taken place last Friday but for the Jumat Prayers for Muslims and the need to obtain permission from the police.

It was gathered that PDP was desirous of obtaining police protection to avoid hoodlums from hijacking the protest and causing troubles.

All members of the National Executive Committee of the party are expected to participate in the protest.

The National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, told THISDAY that the party had obtained intelligence reports before the verdict on the Imo State governorship appeal that the hierarchy of APC was allegedly lobbying the Supreme Court to overturn the victories of PDP in Imo, Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa and Benue.

According to Secondus, "Can the PDP rightly trust the impartiality and independence of the panel headed by Justice Tanko Muhammad, the CJN, to adjudicate on the remaining cases involving the PDP like Kano, Sokoto, Benue, Bauchi, Adamawa, Plateau and others?

"Is the same fate not awaiting the governors of these states that are controlled by the PDP and other states like Kano where the PDP clearly won and was robbed?�

Ihedioha’s Legal Team Opens up Meanwhile, the legal team of Ihedioha has opened up on the controversial judgment of the Supreme Court installing Uzodinma as governor.

The legal team said its response had "become imperative to put the records straight for the benefit of the reading public, even if it would not reverse the unfortunate decision of the Supreme Court and the obvious injustice it has occasioned."

Ihedioha’s lawyers said: "In allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court did not state the new scores, which the petitioners proved from the 388 polling units, especially having regard to the following facts: (a) that only 28 polling unit agents out of the 388 polling units testified and they admitted that the result sheets had all the vices itemised earlier; (b) that PW11 also admitted over voting apparent in some of the results in the chart in the petition; (c) that more than 90 per cent of result sheets were neither identified nor referred to by any witness; (d) that the respondent, particularly, INEC denied the existence of those

PLAQUE OF HONOUR...

The plaque for today’s THISDAY Awards for achievers of the decade in commemoration of the newspaper’s silver jubilee in Lagos result sheets and tendered documentary evidence to show that election did not hold in 388 polling units; (e) that PW54 tendered purported result sheets that were less than the number of polling units mentioned in the petition; (f) that PW54 did not open or read any of the purported result sheets and stated clearly that he did not know the figures or scores they contained or whether there were “mutations or tampering� in them, and that the documents were not submitted to him.

"The Supreme Court did not state that it has computed the new scores, local government by local government, and determined that the petitioners had satisfied the requirements of section 179(2) of the Constitution before it arrived at the decision that Senator Uzodinma should be swornin as the new Governor of Imo State.

"In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court ignored well-established principles of law that had guided its previous decisions in similar cases. Perhaps, it is better to state that the court turned those decisions upside down thereby creating the impression of double standards.

"Two recent decisions of the Supreme Court easily come to mind. The first decision, SC. 409.2019: PDP v. INEC & Others was delivered on

24.5.2019. It was in respect of the Ekiti State governorship election.

"The second decision, SC. 1211/2019: Atiku Abubakar v. INEC (unreported) was delivered on 15.11.2019. At pages 62-63 of the judgment, the Supreme Court reiterated, thus: Before I conclude on this issue, let me state that whenever documents are tendered from the bar in election matters, the purport is to speed up the trial in view of time limitation in election matters. Such tendering is not the end itself but a means to an end. The makers of such tendered documents must be called to speak to those documents and be crossexamined on the authenticity of the documents. The law is trite that a party who did not make a document is not competent to give evidence on it. It is also the tested position of the law that where the maker of the document is not called to testify, the document would not be accorded probative value by the Court. That indeed is the fate of Exhibit P80 and P24.

"If the decisions in the above cases were applied to the appeal of Senator Uzodinma and APC, the outcome would have been a dismissal of the appeal,� the legal team added.

Abia, Imo PDP Members Protest against Ihedioha’s Removal

Meanwhile, the members of the PDP in Abia and Imo states yesterday embarked on a protest against the removal of Ihedioha by the Supreme Court and the declaration of Uzodinma as the duly elected governor of the state.

Led by the Abia State, Chairman of PDP, Chief Johnson Onuigbo, the members of the main opposition party marched on some major streets of Umuahia, the capital city.

They bore placards with inscriptions such as ''Independent judiciary is sine qua non to justice;� “Can a government that doesn't obey the rule allow justice to thrive?� and “President Buhari, leave judiciary alone.�

Onuigbo told journalists after the protest that their main demand was for the Supreme Court to reverse its judgment and return Ihedioha as governor.

"What the Supreme Court had done is injurious to our democracy," he said, adding that "state governors are not appointed but elected by the people."

He called on the international community to intervene and save Nigeria from tyranny, which according to him, is strangulating the nation's nascent democracy.

"It's not about Imo; it is not about Emeka Ihedioha. It's about Nigeria's democracy," he said.

Also, the Imo State chapter

of PDP said that the Supreme Court was destroying the country’s democracy with its last Tuesday judgment, which removed Ihedioha.

Adorning black attires, PDP members in the state marched on Owerri, the state capital, calling on the jurists to revisit Ihedioha's removal.

They said the protest would persist if the apex court refused to revisit the Imo governorship judgment.

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Henry Nwawuba, who spoke to journalists, said that the Supreme Court justices had murdered democracy in the state.

Nwawuba, who represents Mbaitoli/Ikeduru Federal Constituency of Imo State, said the apex court had done grave injustice to the people of the state.

He said: “I am a lawmaker and I believe that the Supreme Court must redeem the judiciary. Since the judgment was delivered, the state is now a graveyard this is unlike what was happening when PDP was holding sway. “How the Supreme Court justices gave victory to a candidate who came fourth at the election remains a mystery to many of us. We call on them to revisit the Imo case and do justice.�

The PDP woman leader in Imo State, Mrs. Maria Mbakwe, said women in the state were crying.

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NEWS

Analysts: Revised Tariffs May Not End Power Sector’s Woes

Peter Uzoho

Following the review of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) of the power industry by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which will pave the way for a cost-reflective tariffs with effect from April 1, 2020, some analysts and advocacy groups have expressed reservations about the effectiveness of the new tariffs to resolve the challenges of the power sector.

Commenting on the new tariff proposition, CSL Global Limited; Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); PwC Africa, as well as some electricity consumers’ advocacy groups, said the increase in electricity tariffs would not ensure a lasting solution to the problems bedeviling the power sector.

The Director General of LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said increasing the tariff would not solve the nation’s power problem, adding that any approach towards solving the challenge of the power sector must be holistic.

According to him, “the power sector problem is a multi-faceted problem; it is not only about the tariffs. The approach should be holistic; otherwise the consumers would be vulnerable.

Only recently there was an increase, now, another is being proposed.�

While acknowledging that the tariffs question was one of the problems facing the sector, Yusuf, however, asked what NERC was doing about other issues including Discos’ capacity, estimated billing, the technical and commercial losses, metering problem, quality and adequacy of investment by the Discos, transmission issues, the proposal on the decentralisation of the sector, the promotion of off-grid solutions and incentives for

renewable energy solutions, among others.

He added: “All of these need to be addressed in order to inspire the confidence of consumers. NERC should protect the interests of consumers as well as that of the investors. There is also the social dimension of electricity provision to those at the bottom of the pyramid. “It is also critical to disaggregate and interrogate the components of cost being claimed by the Discos. Already many small businesses have complained about prohibitive tariffs by Discos following the last review. What is needed is a holistic reform rather than the simplistic solution of tariff review.�

Similarly, the National President of Energy Consumer Rights and Responsibilities Initiative, Mr. Sural Fadairo, said increasing the cost of electricity was not the panacea to Nigeria’s energy crisis.

According to Fadairo, “if they want to increase tariffs because the distribution companies are under-remitting due to debts by consumers, that will not solve the problem.

If people are refusing to pay now because they are disputing their bills, will they now pay if it is further increased? “What they need to do is to meter all electricity customers so that we can end the issue of estimated billing. So, from the consumer point of view, we are totally against any increment because power generation and supply have not improved significantly in the country.�

On his part, the National Coordinator, All Electricity Consumers Protection Forum, Mr. Adeola Samuel-Ilori, said the increase was needless as the basis for such increase at this time could not be justified.

He added that many consumers have not been metered and that they still purchase transformers and

other line materials by themselves with attendant extortion via estimated billings. “All these are not taken into consideration and extensively dealt with before contemplating tariff increase,� he said.

However, in its latest report on the Nigeria power sector, with the caption: “Liquidity Crisis-Same Old Story in 2020?�, CSL Global said: “We are uncertain if the proposed new tariffs have been implemented or are yet to be implemented but what is clear to us is that consumers may again revolt against the price increases. “We have always believed that low tariffs retard development of the power sector and as such, we see the

efforts to come up with a fair tariff system as a major step towards boosting electricity supply in the country.

However, we believe the revised tariffs scheduled to take effect this year still dwarfs cost-reflective tariffs. “This suggests that the year 2020 may not be entirely different from historical trends where the nation’s power sector rested on the shoulders of the federal government, which has been forced to intervene to keep it afloat and prevent a total collapse�.

Also reacting to the proposed cost-reflective tariff, Partner/West Africa Energy Leader, PwC, Mr. Pedro Omontuemhen, who said the move was a welcome development, however, noted

that it would not solve the problems of the sector given the many challenges facing it.

Omontuemhen, in a telephone interview with THISDAY, said: “The challenges of the power sector in Nigeria are many, but one of the challenges is financing. Technology is a challenge, recovery of debts is a challenge, infrastructure is a challenge, but sometimes you do need money to solve some of these challenges that we have. “If you don’t have enough money, you will not be able to invest in the required infrastructure. So the issue now is that, if you price this product appropriately and it is well managed, the management of the

distribution companies will now have money to invest in the right infrastructure. “So our view is that it is a step taken in the right direction. But the challenge now is for the distribution companies to ensure that power is now available�.

For the Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan, appropriate pricing through cost-reflective tariff will go a long way in solving the sector's problems.

He said: "When you are talking about efficiency, efficiency is also linked to pricing. You cannot be efficient in any business, even in bakery if there is no appropriate pricing."

WAILING FOR MANDATE LOST...

Mass protest of Supreme Court's last week judgement annulling Peoples Democratic Party's Hon. Emeka Ihedioha's governorship of Imo State in Owerri...yesterday

Telcoms Can Reassign Inactive SIM Cards without Reference to Old Users, Says NCC Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the telecoms operators (Telcos), have given reasons for reallocating dormant Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards not in use for a validity period of 180 days, to another subscriber even without the knowledge of the original subscriber.

According to them, SIM cards are a national resource, just like telecoms’ spectrum, which no subscriber can claim ownership of, even though the SIM card is registered in the subscriber’s name.

They therefore said telecoms operators had autonomous power to reassign any SIM card dormant for 180 days to another subscriber, without recourse to the initial subscriber.

Their explanations came against the backdrop of the furore generated by the

detention of a trader based in Delta State, Mr. Anthony Okolie, for 10 weeks by the Department of State Services (DSS) because a SIM card belonging to the daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, Hanan, was reassigned to him without the knowledge of the president’s daughter.

The trader has sued the DSS at the Federal High Court, in Asaba, demanding N500 million as compensation.

Speaking on the matter, the Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, said the issue of 180 days validity period, bordered on regulations, which NCC is empowered to make and publish after due consultations with industry stakeholders, which is consistent with Section 70 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA 2003).

He, however, said it would not be economically viable

for an operator to keep a dormant SIM card on its network, since it cost a lot of money to build and maintain telecoms infrastructure, including maintenance of every SIM card on the operators’ network. “If we must change and extend the validity period of SIM card from 180 days, it has to be deliberated upon by all stakeholders and captured in the regulatory policy of the NCC,� Nkemadu stated.

The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, however, said the operators were not under any obligation to inform the subscribers that their SIM cards had become dormant after 180 days of being inactive on the network, adding that subscribers do not have ownership right over the SIM card.

According to him, telecoms

operators pay procurement cost for each SIM card as well as recurrence cost for each SIM card that is registered to a subscriber, and as such it would not make economic sense to retain any SIM card that is inactive on a network that it cost so much to maintain.

Telecoms operators who spoke with THISDAY on the issue of 180 days validity period for SIM card, said they were only acting in accordance with the regulation of the NCC, which stipulates that any SIM card that is not in use for a period of 180 days, should be declared as dormant and could be reassigned to another subscriber.

Responding to the issue why telecoms operators do not notify subscribers after declaring their SIM cards dormant, Lead, Public Relations at 9Mobile, Mr. Chineze Amanfo, said his

company and other telecoms operators restricted SIM cards, few weeks before dormancy. “The restriction could be to prevent the subscriber from receiving text messages, calls or even making calls or sending out text messages.

If the subscriber notices one or two of these hitches, such subscriber will be compelled to lodge complaint at the customer service centre where the subscriber will be informed about the restrictions and the reason for placing such restrictions. But most times, subscribers do not experience such restrictions because they have either lost the SIM card or abandoned it,� Amanfo said.

A telecoms expert who was part of the experts that designed and developed the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) for Nigeria in 1998, Mr. Olusola Teniola, who is currently the President of

the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), told THISDAY that it was only in Nigeria that telecoms subscribers claimed ownership of SIM cards.

According to him, the government owns SIM cards, sells them to telecoms operators through their regulator, the NCC, and allows the operators to assign the SIM cards to subscribers, through biometric registration.

He said: “Government is the custodian of the GSM technology and government owns and controls every SIM card that operates on the GSM network, and the operators whom government has mandated to register the SIM card, do not need to seek subscribers’ permission before reassigning a SIM that has slipped into dormancy and remain inactive on a network that is maintained by the operators at a cost.�

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PAGE TEN

South-south Demands 2023 Presidency to Complete Jonathan’s Term Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The South-South Elders Forum has expressed the interest of the people of the geopolitical zone to run for the presidency in 2023.

The zone said they would seek the support of Nigerians for an opportunity to complete the second tenure, which the defeat of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 denied them.

The National Coordinator of South-South Elders Forum and National Publicity Secretary of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Annabs SaraIgbe, told some journalists in Abuja at the weekend that it would be erroneous for anyone to believe that the North could foist itself on the country beyond 2023 when President Muhammadu Buhari would have done his two terms of eight years, without any

backlash or resistance from other zones.

According to him, the forum believes that at the moment it is only the South-south and South-east that have good reasons to agitate for the presidency in 2023.

Sara-Igbe said: "We are saying that if the constitution, which is the force binding all of us says two terms, then we should be allowed to go for two terms.

And we will know that our brothers and sisters are with us. But if you don’t allow us to go two terms and you have gone two terms how will it work?"

He added that by 2023, the North would have completed two terms of eight years through Buhari after the South-west had also done eight years with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007.

He said in keeping with the existing unconventional

agreement that the presidency should revolve between the North and South, the position should return to the south in 2023.

In addition to being on the verge of finishing its two terms of presidency in 2023, Sara-Igbe said the North has ruled Nigeria cumulatively for 40 years out of its 60 years of independence.

He explained that from available records, the Southwest had done 12 years; the South-east had only been in power at the centre for only six months through the late military Head of State, Major Gen. Thomas Aguyi-Ironsi, while the South-south held the office for four years.

He said the body language of the northern political elite showed that they were not comfortable with the idea of ceding power to either the South-west or the South-east

in 2023.

According to Sara-Igbe, the South-south is a stabilising force in Nigeria and will not allow Nigeria to degenerate to that level where there will be conflict.

"If the north holds on to power because they don’t want the east or they don’t want the west, we are going to face chaos - serious chaos and I know that Nigeria will not be the same. So, if we can avoid it by sacrificing few years and we get peace and everything moves on, I think it is more important than out of greed, we allow this country to disintegrate or the country to boil from different angles," he added.

Sara-Igbe explained that the forum has been consulting with leaders from the zone and before the end of the first quarter, an expanded lobby group made up of top

leaders from the Niger Delta, including former governors, senators and traditional rulers, will formally come together to present the position of the area.

"Well, before the end of this quarter, you will see the south-south coming out fully.

We are going to come out, different persons will speak, former governors, former senators, traditional rulers from the region will come out to demand this. But thereafter, we are going to make contacts; we are going to lobby the various ethnic nationalities, political parties and the political class,� he stated.

Sara-Igbe said that anyone in the North insisting on the presidency again in 2023 did not mean well for the country.

When asked about the position of the forum to a similar demand by the Southeast and South-west to be given opportunity, Sara-Igbe

said both had at several fora indicated their interests in restructuring the country to make it more cohesive and economically viable.

"The Afenifere said they are not interested in the presidency and Ohanaeze Ndigbo also said they are not interested in the 2023 presidency but rather, they are interested in restructuring. We in the Southsouth support restructuring wholeheartedly and we believe that restructuring will help Nigeria but we believe strongly in the presidency.

"Because, we believe we have not completed our second tenure and it is our right constitutionally for us to go for two terms. And if other Nigerians were gracious to allow us one tenure, they should be able to give us the second tenure so that we will also rest our case and allow the presidency to rotate," he added.

the election and we will be given justice. We have always been very optimistic; we told the media before now that the tribunal denied us justice deliberately; the Court of Appeal did same.

We knew very well that they neglected very vital aspects of the case, but we thank God, the Supreme Court is there to review the whole matter,� he said.

Also, the PDP candidate, Yusuf, in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Sanusi Tofa, said: “We believe in all honesty that the Supreme Court will do justice to our petition; so, we don't want to pre-empt the outcome of the panel of judges.

"No amount of propaganda can change our fate. Power belongs to Allah and He gives it to who He wishes at the very time He so wishes."

The Kano State Police Command said it was on the alert to ensure security of lives and property.

Spokesman of the police in the state, Mr. Abdullahi Haruna, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), told THISDAY that the police had put measures in place to prevent a possible breakdown of law and order in the aftermath of the Supreme Court judgment.

According to him, particular attention was being focused on the Kano metropolis and its environs, as well as some strategic locations within their vicinities. “We are on a 24-hour red alert and we are on standby, round the clock, 24/7. We will not waiver in our sustained routine and surprise tactics to keep the peace."

THISDAY observed that plain-clothes security operatives had taken over some flashpoints in the state such as Mandawarai, Emir Palace Junction, some areas in Dala Local Government, Brigade and Sabon Gari.

Meanwhile, the state government has dismissed as deceptive and unjustified, what it described as an attempt by the PDP to insinuate that the case of the Imo State

governorship dispute is similar to that of Kano State.

The state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, told THISDAY that there was no correlation between the facts and circumstances of Ihedioha’s case and Ganduje’s case. “In the former (Ihedioha case), whilst there was glaring evidence of the cancellation of results by officials other than the presiding officers, in the latter case (Governor Ganduje), there was no evidence of such cancellation by officials other than the presiding officers. “There was proven evidence in Governor Ganduje’s case, that the cancellation of the 207 polling units were carried out according to the provisions of the Electoral Act, which gives mandate to unit presiding officers as was clearly depicted in the numerous Form ECG 40s tendered and admitted in evidence without any objections by the petitioners,� he said.

POLICE BATTLE READY AS S’COURT DECIDES GANDUJE, TAMBUWAL’S FATE TODAY being challenged by Alhaji Abba Kabiru Yusuf of the PDP The apex court had last Tuesday fixed judgment in the two appeals after listening to the submissions of counsel to all parties in their respective appeals.

The judgments will be delivered barely 24 hours to the legal deadline stipulated for the conclusion of the two governorship election disputes, which expires on January 21.

According to constitutional provisions, electoral cases are to be heard within 180 days at the tribunal and 60 days each by both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

The 60 days started counting from November 22, 2019, when the Court of Appeal gave its judgment in the two appeals and will elapse on January 21.

Any judgment entered for or against a party a day after the suit expired is said to become statute barred, null and void and a mere academic exercise.

Today’s judgments have triggered concerns in not just in Kano and Sokoto States, but the entire country, particularly with the shocking decision of the Supreme Court last week, which sacked PDP and Imo State Governor, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha.

The Supreme Court in the unanimous judgment had set aside the concurrent decisions of the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, when it held that candidate of the APC, Senator Hope Uzodinma, and not Ihedioha, won majority of the votes cast in the March 9 governorship election in Imo State.

Following this decision, there is heightened tension in Kano State that the election of Ganduje may be upturned as the appellants are challenging the powers of the state returning officer to cancel elections in some wards and conduct a bye-election thereafter.

In the case of Sokoto State, but for time constraints, the apex court would have delivered its verdict last week alongside that of Imo State.

Justice Ibrahim Muhammad

who presided over the sevenmember panel of the apex court justices had stood down the appeal filed by the APC candidate for judgment after counsel representing parties in the suit adopted and argued their brief of arguments in the appeal and fixed judgment for today.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear and probably take decision this week in three other governorship appeals.

The appeals, which include that of former Bauchi State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, against current Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed; Mr. Emmanuel Jime against Benue Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom, and Senator Jeremiah Useni challenging the return of Hon. Simon Lalong, were last week scheduled for hearing alongside the three heard by the Supreme Court.

However, following the congestion of cases at the court last week, Justice Muhammad announced that the court will only take cases whose lifespan expires earliest and adjourned that of Bauchi, Benue and Plateau to this week.

While the case involving Benue State is expected to become statute barred on January 27, that of Bauchi and Plateau States would lapse

by January 28, if judgment is not entered by then.

Police Battle Ready amid Concerns about Security Threats in Kano, Sokoto Investigations by THISDAY at the weekend revealed concerns and tensions in the two states ahead of the Supreme Court judgments.

The sacking of Ihedioha by the apex court last Tuesday has created apprehension in Kano and Sokoto states.

Also, the allegation by the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, that the presidency was pressurising the Supreme Court to rule in favour of the APC in its appeals challenging Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa and Benue

governorship elections has also heightened anxiety in the two states.

All four states were won by the opposition party in the March 9 gubernatorial election.

At the Juma'at prayer on Friday, the supporters of both parties in Sokoto State were seen praying for the success of their parties.

Also some clerics across the state led by Sheik Tukur Rijiyar Zaure converged on the Central Eid Ground on Friday to pray for Tambuwal’s victory at the apex court.

However, both the APC and the PDP in the state are optimistic of victory at the apex court.

The Publicity Secretary of APC in the state, Hon. Sambo Danchadi, told THISDAY that the chances of the party were bright, stressing that the party will reclaim its “stolen mandate.�

Danchadi alleged the APC won the governorship election in the state but was rigged out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Chairman of the PDP in the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Milgoma, dismissed Danchadi’s claim, saying that Tambuwal won the election.

Milgoma added that he was surprised to hear APC telling their supporters that they would reclaim their stolen mandate today.

"If I should ask: Is it not when you have mandate before you talk it was stolen?

The good people of Sokoto State gave their mandate freely to Aminu Tambuwal,� he stated.

He urged PDP supporters to remain calm as they await the outcome of the judgment.

On police preparations to contain possible breach of the peace, the Police Public Relations Officer, Sokoto State Command, Mr. Muhammad Abubakar Sadiq, a Deputy Superintendent of Police(DSP), told THISDAY that 1,000 officers and men had been deployed to man strategic points in the state.

He enjoined the people to go about their lawful businesses

as the police will doing everything in safeguarding them.

Sadiq said the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Kaoje, had directed that no officer should stand down ahead of today’s judgment. “Kaoje enjoined all parties involved in the Supreme Court judgment in Abuja to remain calm during and after the judgment. He added that the command has deployed 1,000 of their personnel in strategic points in the state,� he stated.

He urged the winner to be magnanimous in victory and warned any party that loses to be peaceful and not do anything to jeopardise peace.

THISDAY gathered that the areas witnessing heavy police presence include the Round About close to Government House, Bafarawa flyover close to Sokoto State Polytechnics; Old Airport , Dindima Bus Stop along Usman Dan Fodio University Road; Round About, close to Sultan Palace; Emir Yahaya area and Ahmadu Bello Way In Kano State, both camps of the APC and the PDP are also apprehensive over today’s verdict.

However, Ganduje and Yusuf have expressed optimism of winning.

The state chairman of APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Sanusi, told THISDAY that the judgment would affirm the party’s victory in the election. “You can see that from the tribunal to the appeal court, the journey of our victory has been so smooth and this goes to tell you that the Supreme Court will only confirm this victorious path of ours,� Abbas stated.

He added that Ganduje’s election for a second term, which was after a rerun, was nothing but a product of a lawful exercise.

Sanusi’s counterpart in the PDP, Mr. Rabiu Bichi, enjoined members of the party to remain steadfast and not be distracted by the activities of the APC. “We have been very optimistic that PDP won

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MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˞ ˜ Ͱ͎˜ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎

COMMENT

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

25 HEARTY CHEERS

Jide Ojo congratulates THISDAY on its Silver Jubilee

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oday, January 20, 2020 marks the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of THISDAY Group of newspapers. Hearty congratulations on this great feat. It is no mean achievement that in an economy that is very inclement to business, where there is a lot of mortality of enterprises, THISDAY has survived the odds and has grown to become Africa’s most authoritative media technology group.

My first encounter with the newspaper was on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 when my article entitled, “Accessing Health Through NHIS� was published in the medium. Since then, I have been a regular contributor to the commentary page of the newspaper. In December 2017, I was recruited to become in-house news analyst with THISDAY sister organization, Arise TV News. It’s been a worthwhile adventure.

In its 25 years of existence, THISDAY has become positively disruptive of Nigeria’s media landscape. Its publisher, Prince Nduka Obaigbena has brought a lot of innovations into Nigerian journalism. Among them are the following: THISDAY in 1995 started publishing without owning a printing press. That was unprecedented. Many other newspapers have been copying that business model. Nduka brought about a switch to colour printing after many other newspapers had experimented and retreated. That has since remained an industry standard. It was this charming Prince that also turned the back page of the newspaper to the prime location for columnists. It is now industry norm. He equally eliminated the practice of printing two different editions of the newspaper for the same day. Furthermore, he introduced the publication of the full table of daily transactions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

In 1997, Obaigbena introduced a weekly supplement known as THISDAY Style which has become the most sought-after supplement on style and fashion in any Nigerian newspaper today. He also rebranded rejoinders as “Right of Reply�. In

IN ITS 25 YEARS OF EXISTENCE, THISDAY HAS BECOME POSITIVELY DISRUPTIVE OF NIGERIA’S MEDIA LANDSCAPE

1998, he introduced “map painting to provide at-a-glance previews of how political parties would perform in states and geo-political zones at election times. He equally introduced electronic filing of news report unlike the usual practice of handwritten stories.

In a tribute to mark Nduka Obaigbena’s 60th birthday on July 16, 2019, Simon Kolawole, a former editor of the newspaper and publisher of The Cable online news medium from whom I got most of the aforementioned innovations, said: “It is only fitting to describe Obaigbena as the most positively disruptive and innovative entrepreneur in the history of Nigerian media — on the basis of evidence. Since 1859, the Nigerian newspaper industry has been impacted by great entrepreneurs and managers such as Henry Townsend, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Babatunde Jose, MKO Abiola, Alex Ibru, Sam Amuka-Pemu, Olu Aboderin, Segun Osoba, Stanley Macebuh and Kabir Yusuf, to name a few. In the annals of the Nigerian media, Obaigbena has by dint of creativity and foresight — as well as the force of resilience — written his name in bold.� Well said!

As part of the activities marking this silver jubilee, there will be THIISDAY Awards to 25 deserving Nigerians. Peoples Choice and Editors Choice have emerged in the following categories: Company of The Decade, Brand of The Decade, Bank of The Decade, Banker of The Decade, Person of The Decade, CEO of The Decade and Entrepreneur of The Decade. Others are Woman of the Decade, Philanthropist of The Decade, Institution of The Decade, Governor of The Decade and Minister of The Decade. Also, to be launched at a colourful event today is Arise Play App. I hereby wish the management and staff of THISDAY, not forgetting the publisher, many happy returns of this day. May this media conglomerate continue to set pace and soar for many centuries to come. 25 hearty cheers!!!

Ojo is a Development consultant, author and public affairs analyst

CONNECTIVITY AND THE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA Gbenga Adebayo argues that multiple taxation and tax regulations are obstacles to the telecommunications industry

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conomic growth is underpinned by information and the technological infrastructure that enables access to it. It is the foundation upon which economic decisions are made; income gains are realised and upon which all economies grow.

Economies serious about growing must actively prioritise access to affordable internet services and safeguard the infrastructure that makes it all possible. Recent projections suggest that if internet penetration continues to grow at the same rate as mobile phone penetration did on the African continent; it could contribute as much as $300 billion to the continent’s total GDP by the year 2025.

Sixty-nine per cent of Nigerians currently live below the poverty line. If that doesn’t trouble you, consider that the country is projected to have the third-highest population in the world by the year 2050: with young people accounting for over 60% of that population. As we begin to prepare for a Nigeria that will look very different within the next decade; we cannot underestimate how important it is to give our young people access to information, new technologies and a chance to build the products that can leapfrog our socio-economic challenges.

Beyond accelerated growth and fortified individual rights; affordable internet access has the potential to improve educational outcomes by making education cheaper and more available for Nigeria’s 13 million outof-school children. It will improve access to credit, support urban planning and a better quality of life. And so, it goes without saying that the effects of expensive mobile data are as endless as the possibilities that affordable data will create. The evidence is clear. For example, this report estimates that reducing mobile broadband taxes by one percentage point could increase penetration by almost two percentage points -- and vice versa.

We are already seeing the dividends of a connected Nigeria, with the emergence of innovative products and services within the

financial services sector. Fintech companies are tackling Nigeria’s financial inclusion challenges; actively working to reduce the rate of exclusion and bring Nigeria’s 60.1 million unbanked population into a formalised structure. They are contributing to, and in some cases creating the very financial infrastructure that other industries and businesses need to deliver products and services to the rest of us.

Is the government taxing away our Future? We should ask the important questions – “why do most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) exit Nigeria?� In the last five years, over 90% of the 103 ISPs licensed by the National Communication Commission went out of business. The answer is simple enough. The NCC itself notes that high costs, multiple taxation and tax regulations are the biggest obstacles to the telecommunications industry. There are currently over 59 taxes and levies collected by the federal, state and local governments in Nigeria. It has become obvious that many of these taxes are duplicated in some form. And yet, despite all of this, Nigeria’s tax to GDP ratio is only 6%; where, for example, South Africa is at 26%, Ghana at 17% and the African average at 18.2%. This indicates that increasing taxes does little to improve our growth prospects but does much harm to consumers and industry.

According to the NCC, telecoms operators have contributed over $68bn in foreign direct investments in the last 16 years.

Nigeria’s business and fiscal landscape has hardly been encouraging despite the extensive growth potential. This administration’s current aggressive revenue generation approach continues to strain operators - particularly those whose operations are primarily the provision of critical passive telecommunication infrastructure. Since Q2 of 2017, investment in the sector has declined by 80.8 per cent quarter on quarter; falling from $174.18m. This trend seems set to continue.

And yes, aggressive fiscal policy measures are often used as a strategy to boost government revenues and they sometimes do - in the very short run. But in the long run, all of these taxes have the opposite effect. In several other countries, the evidence shows that the imposition of additional taxes or an increase in taxes levied on the telecommunications sector has had immediate, significant negative impact on telecommunications usage, penetration levels - and eventually on government revenues. Perhaps unsurprisingly many of these countries are in Africa -- reflective of the continent’s development levels.

There is also a human cost. Invariably, the sort of aggressive fiscal measures we are currently witnessing, also lead to higher prices for consumers; further restricting access to internet and mobile services that are the bedrock for education, financial services, emergency response and trade.

We cannot afford to employ measures which will exacerbate the digital divide between Nigeria and other countries; or which hinder Nigeria’s ability to compete on a global stage. Some of our African counterparts are working actively to reduce the costs consumers pay for these services.

The foundation of good governance is the establishment of an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. A lack of clarity, coupled with excessive fiscal measures; affect investment inflow, deter market entrants and significantly disincentivise operators; limiting the potential for the type of revenue generation in the long term that Nigeria needs to fortify its economy.

Thought leaders like Pascal Dozie have often emphasized one major problem doing business in Nigeria: the instability of policies. Businessmen can manage risks but not uncertainties. Businesses need to plan, and an environment that makes planning impossible is often one in which growth is stifled.

On the issue of multiple taxation,

Omobola Johnson, the former Communications Minister, once highlighted the smart state project which aims to enrol all 36 states -- to reduce the taxes on ICT infrastructure, ensure base stations are protected, reduce the cost of right of way to lay fibre and ensure that the fibres are also protected.

Nigerians should be a lot more concerned about its implementation - given the direct effect it has on them.

That said, all of this also amplifies the need to revisit the existing Taxes and Levies Act whose 2015 amendment raised the number of taxes applicable from 39 to a staggering 55. Nigeria’s federal and state governments have since used this law as backing to concurrently demand taxes from operators contrary to the intent of Nigeria’s constitution, and best practice. The resolution of the National Economic Council on multiple taxation, levies and charges on ICT infrastructure in 2013 was a laudable step by the government, and reflected the government’s recognition of the need to protect and encourage the ICT Industry by harmonising and clarifying applicable taxes.

However, the decisions reached in 2013 have not been implemented. There is a need to revisit this resolution in light of our existing realities and as a matter of national urgency.

A balance can be struck: between the legitimate expectations of the government to generate revenue, and the certainty and fairness that businesses in the telecommunication sector expect for them to pursue and achieve accelerated internet development. Intentional and sustained collaboration between industry and government, must occur, to pave the way for a policy environment which allows Nigeria to benefit from the next phase of its digital transformation. Our progress on connectivity is ultimately one of the determining factors of our progress on development. The speed of that progress turns on asking the hard questions and doing the right things now.

Adebayo is Chairman of ALTON

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2020

EDITORIAL THE PREVALENCE OF FOOD POISONING The authorities should worry more about food contamination

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lthough the authorities hardly pay attention, the number of death arising from suspected food poisoning in Nigeria is becoming rather alarming. Last September, a family of six—man, pregnant wife, his three children and a female relative—were found dead of suspected food poisoning in their apartment at Mafoloku area of Lagos State. That this has become a recurring tragedy in Nigeria explains why the recent claim by a Professor of Food Science and Technology, Alfred Ihenkuronye, that no fewer than 200,000 persons die annually of food poison in Nigeria, should compel attention. Indeed, hardly any day comes without reports of some families dying after eating food that may have been contaminated through improper processing, preservation and service.

“There are many avenues through which foods can be contaminated. And when people eat these foods, they will have problems which may result in deaths,” IhenkuIT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED ronye said.

However, since THAT SOME FOOD ITEMS the causes of these LIKE BANANA, PLANTAIN, deaths were never CORN, SORGHUM, APPLES accurately determined, AND VEGETABLES ARE it is becoming increasIMPROPERLY PRESERVED ingly clear that some OR HURRIEDLY RIPENED of them could have WITH DANGEROUS been caused by wilful contamination. For CHEMICALS instance, many of the products smuggled across the borders are harmful because of the manner in which they are preserved.

Some of the meat and poultry sold in the open market are reportedly preserved with dangerous chemicals. Addressing the challenge, according to Ihenkuronye, requires continuous sensitisation and training of food handlers on how to operate in hygienic environment. “The way out is sensitisation and training. We sensitise people about the enormity of the problem and we train them on how to do things properly,’’ Ihenkuronye said.

Two years ago, there was widespread panic over beans, a popular staple food. The worry came as result of the public health implications of misapplied chemicals on food consumers. A video had gone viral on how some retailers were using Sniper, a powerful insecticide, to preserve beans before bagging it for sale. The practice is reportedly commonplace, often used to eliminate or protect beans from weevils’ infection. It has also been established that other food items like banana, plantain, corn, sorghum, apples and vegetables are improperly preserved or hurriedly ripened with dangerous chemicals.

S T H I S DAY EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI DEPUTY EDITOR YEMI AJAYI, 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

niper, a dichlorovinyl, available across the counter, is a dangerous chemical used for killing bugs and insects. Indeed, the Coordinating Director of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, (NAQS) Dr Vincent Isegbe said sniper is injurious to health, if applied as a pesticide. “Sniper in beans is a material equivalent of death in pot,” he said. “So, it may not be an exaggeration to say that sniper in beans is a weapon of mass destruction.” Calcium Carbide, another dangerous substance used by welders, is also often used by many retailers in the ripening of banana and plantain and other produce for quick money.

There is therefore the crying need to find an enduring solution to ensure that the food we put on the table meet some minimum standards. The National Orientation Agency (NOA) and other regulatory agencies must ensure proper public awareness on the right use of chemicals. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) must be well positioned to live up to its responsibilities. The Agriculture Ministry itself could do a lot better by ensuring that useful and relevant information - from planting to harvesting and preservation- is passed on to farmers and retailers many of whom are unaware of the risks.

As we have reiterated several times on this page, given the alarming rate at which people, including sometimes a whole family, die after meals, there is an urgent need for public enlightenment on the danger associated with some of the food items we consume.

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

Letters to the Editor

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

WAS FATHER MBAKA’S PROPHECY DIVINE?

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respect religious leaders and I would not get into the gamut of spirituality which I don’t understand because its opacity is rife and I respect that. I wouldn’t call myself a doyen of spiritual matters, but when my logical faculties are fanged by spiritual outplay, I ask questions.

These questions might not be palatable to all. Some might see my questions as heretic, some might see them as sarcastic but I dare say I have a right to ask.

On the 31st of December, a lot of Nigerians went to a crossover service as they normally do and Father Mbaka was at his own crossover service. These services are centered around prophecy for the year and insights on how to run the year. To my shock, Father Mbaka started making spiritual proclamation on Imo State, it looked as though the people had complained to him.

He said he saw hope and he empowered Hope and emboldened him to lead.Some16 days after Hope was governor by a controversial Supreme Court ruling.

Immediately my inquisitive mind kicked in. What did Father Mbaka see? I ask this because if the father was a betting man (God Forgive me) he would be odds on favorite for every stake. I would also like to ask that did Father Mbaka see that Operation Amotekun was going to be declared illegal? Did he see all the fights and killings in the North? Did he see the economic hardship Nigerians are facing? Did he see that Trump was going to order the killing of General Suleimani and almost start a Third World War?

My questions will be endless to Father Mbaka, but recently I saw videos of Hope Uzodinma donating to father Mbaka’s church and my mind started to ask questions. Was the donation connected to the prophecy because if you look strongly, Father Mbaka once rebuked Peter Obi, Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP because he did not make donations to the church, but others would argue that Father Mbaka’s prophecies are always spot-on! I ask you, do you believe them?

And if yes what are the parameters for belief? Do you think God was so concerned about Hope Uzodinma’s case that it made a prophecy list?

I would have thought that there are more pressing matters that should have been revealed to Father Mbaka than Hope Uzodinma’s victory at the Supreme Court. I would also like to ask: when did the Church start the business of fortune telling? Hence the reaction from some clergymen condemning the actions of Father Mbaka and calling for stern rebuke.

Isn’t it time to draw a line between partisanship and spirituality? Isn’t it time to stop this assault on our mental faculties? The prophecy by Father Mbaka is enough to heat up the polity of any nation and truncate our nascent democracy; hence caution should be the watchword in our public sphere. What religious leaders should do is to give guidance as regards nation building and national development in every facet of Nigerian life.

Rufai Oseni,rufai@rufai.com.ng

THE UNDER-CELEBRATED MEN OFVALOUR

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he past few years have not been entirely benign. It is no news that the country is at war – a war against terrorism. The Jihadist terrorist organisation, popularly known as Boko Haram, began its rebellion against the government in 2009 on the premise of creating an Islamic state. Since then, the country has been subjected to numerous attacks, ranging from killings, vandalism, bombing, kidnapping and other forms of assault.

Regardless of the uprising, our armed forces have been a cushion to the effect of unrest on the nation. They have been fighting valiantly and ceaselessly to ensure that the menace bedevilling the country does not overcome it. Peace is never free; it often comes with a price of monumental sacrifice which could only be paid by bravery and profound selflessness. While we sleep, there are those who keep wake and fight to ensure that we see the light of dawn. Their contribution in combating insecurity is immeasurable; that which could never be repaid.

The troubled parts of the country especially have a better story to tell about the armed forces altruism. These soldiers are our friends, parents, siblings and children, yet they pledged to serve the country with all their strength, to defend its unity and uphold its honour and glory at the expense of their lives.

January 15, yearly, is the armed forces remembrance day, to celebrate the fallen heroes and those who still stand valiantly, ever ready to serve the country and its people whom they cherish than themselves. It is wonderful that a day is set aside to show gratitude and commemorate the armed forces.

Nonetheless, it is not enough to have these valiant men celebrated once a year. In other parts of the world, soldiers are treated like kings, not out of fear but deep regard and show of gratitude for their priceless works. Every now and then, a soldier is breathing his last for you and me to keep on living.

No greater love than for a man to lay down his life for another. This love is expressed intentionally, daily in deeds of our gallant soldiers rather than in words. The genuineness of their acts is subliminal. These men of valour should always be honoured and respected. They should be in our daily thoughts and prayers.

Samuel Lance Momodu Jnr, Reallancespeaks@gmail.com

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MONDAY, ÍşÍ¸Ëœ ͺ͸ͺ͸ Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWS

THISDAY Celebrates Silver Jubilee in Grand Style Honours Buhari, Jonathan, Emefiele, Dangote, 20 Others Jim Ovia chairs event Yemi Ajayi and Obinna Chima President Muhammadu Buhari; his predecessor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan; Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele; Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Ms. Amina Mohammed; President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are among 24 personalities and corporate organisations to be honoured today as Nigeria's newspapers of record, THISDAY, marks its 25th anniversary of robust journalism.

The recipients will be conferred with the newspaper’s awards for the decade at an impressive ceremony holding today at Eko Hotels Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, which opens at 20:20 hours. It will be chaired by Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia.

Winners of the awards were picked both by the public and THISDAY editors from a pool of personalities and corporate organisations in a voting process that lasted one week.

There are 24 winners in all, two per each of the 12 categories. The board noted that whereas the editor’s choices were based on the strength of industry knowledge and professional advice, the readers’ votes were mostly based on their perception.

Below are the details about today’s honourees.

Dangote Group Dangote, a proudly Nigerian brand is the most diversified and largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest in the continent.

Dangote Cement, a member of the group is the most capitalised company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Dangote is expected to deliver its 650,000 barrels per day capacity crude oil refinery with the world’s tallest atmospheric tower next year. The activities of the group impacted on the economy in several ways in the last decade. It is the people’s choice for the company of the decade.

NLNG The Nigeria LNG Limited is the most significant arrow-head of the federal government’s quest to eliminate gas flaring and derive value from the country’s 187 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves. Its recent Final Investment Decision on the Train 7 project, is expected to be a game-changer for the country as it would deliver a significant local content in construction, production of cables, welding, valves, scaffolding, furniture, painting and medical, is expected to generate about 12,000 jobs. The Train 7 project, which has been delayed for over 10 years, aims to increase the company’s production capacity from 22 metric tonnes per annum to about 30 MTPA, and will form part of the investment of over $10 billion, including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, according to the company. It emerged the editors’ choice for company of the decade.

experiences. This has enabled it to record year on year growth in clientele base and key financial indices since inception. The editors chose it as their brand of the decade.

Zenith Bank Zenith Bank Plc has continued to blaze the trail in digital banking in Nigeria; scoring several firsts in the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to create innovative products that meet the needs of its teeming customers. The bank is verifiably a leader in the deployment of various channels of banking technology, and the Zenith brand has become synonymous with the deployment of state-of-the-art technologies in banking. The financial institution is driven by a culture of excellence and strict adherence to global best practices. Zenith was voted by the people as the bank of the decade.

Access Bank Since its business combination deal with the defunct Diamond Bank, Access Bank has emerged as a leading financial power house in the country. The bank is now looking beyond Nigeria and seeks to expand its footprint in Africa with its latest acquisition of the Transnational Bank Limited of Kenya and announcement of plan to set up a subsidiary in Cameroun, in the coming days. Presently Access Bank boasts of being among the five largest banks in Nigeria in terms of assets size, deposits, loans and branch network. It got the editors’ nod as the bank of the decade.

Godwin EmeďŹ ele The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, made history last year when he was reappointed to serve for another term of five years. He has continued to work closely with the fiscal authorities to design policies to support economic growth.

The CBN under Emefiele has continued to foster financial stability, the development of a robust payments system infrastructure that will increase access to finance for all Nigerians, thereby raising financial inclusion rate in the country. The people overwhelmingly voted for him as the banker of the decade.

Herbert Wigwe – Editors’ Choice for

Banker of the Decade

Herbert Wigwe oversaw one of the biggest business combination deals in Nigeria’s banking sector. Since then, the bank has emerged as a leading financial power house in the country and currently looking beyond Nigeria as it seeks to expand its footprint in Africa. Under his leadership the bank, has roared into the limelight, with the many brilliant strides and policies executed since he took over at the helm.

He is easily one of the best banking brains and business leaders on the continent - evident in his immense contribution to the African banking industry. The editors voted him the banker of the decade.

Globacom

Segun Agbaje

Globacom, which is the second largest telecoms operator in the country by subscriber number, has made data connectivity a lot easier and cheaper, which earned it the name, The Grand Master of Data. With 27.90 per cent market share and with a subscriber base of over 50 million, Globacom has remained the second largest telecoms operator in the country.

Globacom, which is the only indigenous telecoms company operating in Nigeria, launched its services in 2003 with per second billing system, which eventually cut down the high cost of telecoms services offering, at a time when other operators were offering services on per minute basis. Globacom is the people’s choice of brand of the decade.

Segun Agbaje is the people’s choice for chief executive officer of the decade. He is an accomplished and respected professional in the banking industry. Under his watch, GTBank has continued to grow in leaps and bounds. He was instrumental in refocusing the institution from its corporate banking stronghold to becoming a market leader in the retail space. Today, GTBank is one of the highest employers of labour in the country.

The tech-savvy banker pioneered mobile banking through the bank’s *737# channel.

GTBank Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) is one of the leading financial institutions. The GTBank is one of the leading brands in the country because of its consistent delivery of innovative financial solutions and exceptional customer

to revive road and rail infrastructure in the country. He has also pledged to take the country to the ‘Next Level.’

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was overwhelmingly endorsed by the editors as the person of the decade for handing over to Buhari 2015 after he lost the presidential election.

The editors also praised him for deepening democracy in the country. He was among those that shaped the last decade in Nigeria.

After losing his reelection bid to Muhammadu Buhari, Jonathan made a vital phone call to concede defeat. That call signaled the country's first peaceful democratic transition of power, ensuring that the tensions of the campaign didn’t spill over into post-election unrest.

Mike Adenuga Michael Adenuga, Chairman, Globacom, shot into public conscience with his company’s groundbreaking introduction of per second billing, a billing system, which the two earlier major players in the industry then had termed not technically feasible at the inception of the GSM revolution in Nigeria. He is a key player in the oil sector and is also involved in banking. All these earned him the people’s votes as the entrepreneur of the decade.

Aliko Dangote From a mere commodity trader some decades ago, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Group, has made a leap transition to being a wealth creator that earned him the rating as the richest African in the world. His conglomerate, with interests in cement, sugar, flour, pasta etc, is a key player in the FCMG sector of the economy. He is currently building a refinery in Lagos State, described as the largest single-train refinery in the world that will gulp about $15 billion. He is also a philanthropist. His credentials earned him THISDAY editors’ pick as entrepreneur of the decade

Amina Mohammed Amina Mohammed, currently Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, made her impact in the social sector of Nigeria where she has been an advocate for improved environment, poverty reduction and other developmental issues. Her roles in seeking better welfare for the people recently earned the former Nigeria’s Minister of Environment the Global Citizen Prize World Leader Award 2019. She is the people’s choice for woman of the decade.

Chimamanda Adichie Chimamanda Adichie is a Nigerian-born author whose works have helped to focus on Nigeria and its culture and stirred a global conversation around the place of women in a modern world. Her books, especially “Purple Hibiscus,� “Half of a Yellow Sun,� and “Americanah,� have won her many awards. She is also a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Editors picked her as their choice for the woman of the decade.

Femi Otedola

President Muhammadu Buhari

Given his recent hefty donations to public cause and lifting up the needy, it is not surprising that that former Chairman of FORTE Oil Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola, is the people’s choice for philanthropist of the decade. His singular donation of N5 billion to assist children of terror-ravaged North-east remains unexampled.

Some prominent Nigerians such as Sadiq Dabba, Victor Olaotan, both actors; and former Green Eagles captain, Christian Chukwu, were rescued from the jaws of death by his philanthropic intervention in their medical issues.

President Muhammadu Buhari emerged the people’s choice for person of the decade largely because he won the presidential elections in 2015 and 2019 after three failed attempts. They also gave him their nod for his anti-corruption stance. Since his re-election in 2019, the president has assured Nigerians of his commitment to lift 100 million persons out of poverty.

In addition, he has been working gradually

Founded in 2010 by former Managing Director, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Tony Elumelu, The Tony Elumelu Foundation, is African largest philanthropic organisation that supports entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship.

The foundation has empowered 7,520 entrepreneurs in 54 African countries by providing them training and seed capital to

The Tony Elumelu Foundation

actualise their entrepreneurial dreams. This initiative has also taken a large number of young entrepreneurs off the streets and created thousands of direct and indirect jobs for African youths. The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the editors’ choice as philanthropist of the decade.

CBN The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has kept the Nigerian economy on an even keel despite the challenges arising from global oil price volatility and other fundamental crisis. Under the watch of Godwin Emefiele as governor, the CBN has deftly managed the nation’s forex crisis and rescued the naira from going the way of its Zimbabwean national currency. It has sustained public confidence in the banking industry, which it regulates, through policies that liberalise access to funds by the real sector of the economy in a bid to spur growth and create jobs. Its many initiatives such as in agriculture and job creation, among others, have inspired public confidence to earn it the people’s choice as the institution of the decade.

EFCC Since its establishment in 2003 by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) remains Nigeria’s foremost anti-graft agency. Its zeal to achieve its mission statement of ridding Nigeria of economic and financial crimes and coordinate the domestic effort of the global fight against money laundering and terrorists financing, has birthed a new public order, especially in spending public funds.

This new conscience has now earned it the editors’ pick as the institution of the decade.

Babatunde Fashola Former Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (2007-2015), redefined governance in the state with his performance. From his swearing-in in 2007, he was raring to go and he maintained the tempo of service delivery eight years after. His success included reclaiming Oshodi, from criminal and human-induced chaos, rebuilding infrastructure, keeping the environment clean and keeping Lagos safe for the people. He is the people’s choice as governor of the decade.

Peter Obi Two-term Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, is well regarded in the annals of the state for his prudent management of public funds and redefining the essence of governance in the state. His focus was on provision of infrastructure, human capital development and guaranteeing the security of lives and property. He is THISDAY editors’ choice as governor of the decade.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, who served two presidents, was an advocate of transparency in public finance and spearheaded many initiatives that saved the nations billions of naira. During her stewardship, she facilitated negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors that led to debt forgiveness of $30 billion; introduced the Excess Crude Account, Treasury Single Account (TSA) and IPPIS. She is the people’s nominee as minister of the decade.

Rotimi Amaechi President Muhammadu Buhari’s retention of Rotimi Amaechi as his Minister of Transportation after his re-election is a testament to his drive and commitment to give Nigerians a better travelling experience. He is superintending over the administration’s efforts to revive the railway system in the country. This has led to some projects such as the ongoing Lagos-Kano standard rail line and linking Nigeria’s eastern and northern corridors through the railway.

Under his watch, the water transportation system is also receiving attention. Amaechi is THISDAY editor’s choice of minister of the decade.

MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020 • T H I S D AY

17

18

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG

POLITICS

Email: nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E

In Imo, Supreme Court Births Hope Anew Chuks Okocha writes that the debate following the decision of the Supreme Court in the 2019 Imo governorship election will continue for a long time to come

Uzodinma

Ihedioha

Secondus

Issa-Onilu

4

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19

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020

MONDAY DISCOURSE

Muhammad

Yakubu

Ganduje

Galadima

polling units scored by Hope Uzodinma/ APC? Question Number Six, is the Supreme Court saying that all the votes from the alleged 388 polling units were for the APC alone in an election that was contested by over 70 candidates?

Reviewing the Supreme Court decision in the Imo governorship election, a former close associate of President Mohammadu Buhari, Buba Galadima said that the Supreme Court verdict has put the election of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, which the apex court is expected to deliver a judgment on today in serious problem.

He contended that since the apex court concluded that once a result has been announced it cannot be cancelled by any presiding officer, how did the court go against Ihedioha, while refusing Abba Yusuf, the PDP governorship candidate a similar plea?

According to Galadima, “What has happened is that the Supreme Court has now tied itself because how can they do

that to Emeka Ihedioha and refuse Abba Kabiru Yusuf in Kano? It was exactly what had happened in Kano.

“If an election had to be cancelled, it has to be at the polling unit level according to the Supreme Court. But in Kano, the votes were not cancelled at the polling unit; they were not cancelled at the ward level but they were cancelled at the local level. So, it goes without saying that Ganduje is gone, and anything to the contrary, Nigeria will see the fire.”

Taking a dim view of Galadima’s suggestions, Mallam Muhammad Garba, Commissioner for Information, Kano State, indicated that the Ihedioha case was totally different from that of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

He said, “The disruption of the collation of the said results was caused by the PDP agent who testified as principal witness and who also admitted that while the said results were being collated, a commotion erupted and he carted away the original results of INEC and hid himself in a room for over one hour.’’

Garba expressed confidence that the conclusion of the apex court will favour Ganduje.

It was for this reasons that the PDP said that the fact is clear that, the Supreme Court, as presently constituted under Justice Tanko, has lost its credibility and no longer commands the respect and confidence of Nigerians. However, the APC through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu has described the PDP as a sore loser. According to Issa-Onilu, the PDP cannot bear to lose in any contest. The party has conditioned itself to win all the time.

“This is the same PDP that congratulated the Supreme Court and described it as the last hope of the common man and a staunch defender of democracy when the apex court’s ruling was in their favour in Akwa Ibom, Abia, Rivers, Delta and other states. But once a verdict goes against the PDP, then the court and the judges are compromised. The PDP feeds on the sentiments of Nigerians and publishes propaganda that completely distorts that facts.”

Issa-Onilu said, “Even as we are still wondering why we lost elections we clearly won in Zamfara at the Supreme Court and how the same court ruled our party out of the electoral race in Rivers, we have never, as a political party, lost faith in the judiciary.

“We salute Sen. Hope Uzodinma, our supporters and members for their temperance displayed in the aftermath of the blatant rigging of the Imo governorship election.

“We chose to focus on the judicial route to reclaim the party’s mandate.

We are confident that our other stolen electoral mandates will be restored by the courts.”

In an unproven allegation the PDP insists that it had intelligence before the verdict on the Imo governorship verdict that the hierarchy of APC had decided to use the Supreme Court to take back states controlled by the PDP such as Imo, Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa and Benue.

The party therefore questioned the independence of the panel headed by Justice Tanko Muhammad, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, to adjudicate on the remaining cases involving the PDP like Kano, Sokoto, Benue, Bauchi, Adamawa, Plateau and others?

“Is the same fate not awaiting the governors of these states that are controlled by the PDP? Should Justice Tanko Mohammed and his colleagues on the Imo Governorship Panel not recuse themselves from the remaining cases involving PDP?” He said that the PDP firmly holds that if the judgment of the Supreme Court on Imo governorship election is allowed to stand, it would be a recipe for anarchy, chaos and constitutional crisis not only in Imo state but in the entire country.

Accordingly, Secondus said, “The PDP therefore advises Justice Tanko not to allow himself to be used to push our nation to the path of anarchy and constitutional crisis as any further attempt to subvert justice in the pending petitions on Sokoto, Bauchi, Benue, Adamawa as well as Kano and Plateau states will be

firmly and vehemently resisted.

“In other to avoid an imminent breakdown of law and order, the PDP demands that Justice Tanko Mohammed immediately steps down as CJN and chairman of the National Judicial Council as Nigerians have lost confidence in him and a Supreme Court under his leadership.

However, a new narratives to the Supreme Court verdict came up explaining how the apex court came to its decision.

One of Hope Uzodinma’s lawyers, Barrister Remi Olatubora, who was a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ondo State has this insight to the verdict.

According to him, “The petition was fought on the basis of exclusion of election results from 388 polling units in Imo State. These 388 polling units happened to be those in areas where Hope Uzodinma won massively. Many of them are around his father’s village. INEC in its pleading offered no explanation as to the whereabouts of election results of the 388 polling units. INEC only pleaded that no polling units’ results were excluded.

In our Law of Evidence there is what we call presumption.

“Applied to election litigation, there is the presumption that the March 9, 2019 governorship election held in all the polling units in Imo. The implication of this is that the legal burden was on INEC to account for what happened in the 388 polling units. We put in evidence results of the 388 contested polling units through the collation agents of Hope Uzodinma who witnessed the unlawful exclusion.

“Neither INEC nor Emeka Ihedioha put in a different set of election results.

Interestingly, neither INEC nor Ihedioha denied that those polling units in respect of which 388 Forms EC.8A were tendered and admitted, existed.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police in Charge of Operations during the election was subpoenaed. He responded and tendered copies of the Forms EC.8A given to Police officers in the 388 polling units in evidence. These documents were admitted as Exhibits PPP1_PPP366.

“Hope’s petition was not taken seriously. Ihedioha focused more on the 1st runner-up’s petition. The 1st runner-up only asked for nullification on ground that Ihedioha did not get required geographical spread. Hope Uzodinma asked to be returned as the winner of majority of the votes cast (declared result + excluded) and alternatively for nullification and re-run. In the fullness of time and sensing the futility of 1st runner-up’s prayer, we abandoned Uzodinma’s alternative prayer.

“The life of the law is not logic but experience. (O. W. Holmes). We had spilt decision at the Court of Appeal.

The minority judgment was in favour of Hope Uzodinma. What the Supreme Court did was to examine the fact of the case, cross-check on the health of the jurisprudence behind the majority and minority decisions of the Court of Appeal.

“If anything was wrong failure of INEC to give account is to be blame not the Supreme Court,” he explained.

BREAKING DOWN THE BIG DATA PENDING 2019 RERUN ELECTIONS DETAILS OF AFFECTED AREAS STATE S/N

STATE

ABIA

1 2 3

4

NAME OF CONSTITUENCY

NATURE TYPE (PARTIAL/SUPP)

LGA AFFECTED NO DETAILS

RA AFFECTED NO

CODE

Arochukwu

SC

Supplementary

1

Arochukwu

3

Aba South Akwa Ibom N/W

SC SD

Supplementary Supplementary

1 1

Aba South Essien Udim

1 11

02 09 05 06 01-11

Ikot Ekpene /Obot Akara/Essien Udim

FC

Supplementary

1

Essien Udim

11

01-11

PUs AFFECTED NO

10

159

All PUs

137

001-011 001-014 001-015 001,002,003,004,005,007,010, 011 001-017 002,003,004,006,007,008,009 001-010 004,009,010,011,013,014,016, 018 001,002,003,004,006-024 001-007 001,002,003,004,005,007-018

256

All PUs

04

A/ Ibom Essien Udim

SC

Supplementary

1

Essien Udim

11

05 06 07 08 09 10 11

6

Gamawa

FC

Whole

1

Gamawa

11

Zarki

FC

Supplementary

1

Zarki

3

1

Ohinimi

2

Bauchi 7 8

Benue

9

Ohimini

SC

Supplementary

Abi Yakurr

FC

Supplementary

Abi

SC

Supplementary

Orlu/Orsu/Oru

FC

Supplementary

1

Orlu

8

Isiala Mbano/Okigwe/Onui

FC

Whole

3

Isiala Mbano, Okigwe,Onui

33

Njaba

SC

Supplementary

1

Njaba

7

Sanga

SC

Supplementary

1

Kargako

SC

Supplementary

1

Bebeji / Kiru

FC

Whole

2

Doguwu / Tudun Wad FC

Whole

2

Cross River

2 1

Abi 5

10

11

Imo

12

13

Sanga

7

Kaduna 14

15 16 17 18 19

Kano

Kargako

3

Bebeji Kiru Doguwu Tudun Wada

14 15 10 11

Kumbotso

FC

Supplementary

1

Bunkure

SC

Supplementary

1

Bunkure

1

Rogo

SC

Supplementary

1

Rogo

3

Madobi

SC

Supplementary

1

Madobi

3

Minjibri

SC

Supplementary

1

Minjibri

1

kumbotso

2

20

21 22

01-11 05 07 11 01 10 05 06 02 05 07 08 09 11 13 10 07 05 02 01 08 whole 01 03 06 07 08 09 10 01 02 03 04 05 08 10 03 07 09 01-014 01-015 01-10 01-11 07 08 08 09 01 10 02 05 08 07

002 017,021,022 003, 004, 005,012,013,016 001-015 All PUs

15 159

01 02 03

3 2 18

15

18

346

12

14

5 13 4

009 002 019 007 001 001-011 001-007 001-008 004,008,009,011 001 007 002 010,011,012,007 001,004,012,015 006,007 001,006 002,003 001,006 014 011 whole 006 006 002,011 014 002,004,005 006,010 010,011 003 001,003,004,007,013 009 002, 008 003, 004 008,012 014 003,004,005,007,009 001,003,004,007,008,010,011, 012,013,014,015,017,018 006,008,010,011

326

All PUs

357

All PUs

2 1 5

4 2

REMARKS

DETAILS

001 013 013 011,013 003,007 005 004 009 & 019 007 007 &011

Candidate of APC disqualified

20

T H I S D AY ˞ Ͱ͎˜ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎

FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 08038901925

Apapa and the Failed Presidential Order Stakeholders who gathered last week to find solution to the intractable gridlock in Apapa not only identified deep-rooted corruption and operational deficiencies on the part of terminal operators, but also said allegations of extortion by policemen and members of the presidential task force have helped to fuel the chaos and confusion in the area, write Davidson Iriekpen and Eromosele Abiodun

N

o doubt the Executive Vice Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Apapa Traffic, Mr. Kayode Opeifa did not bargain for what he got. It is very likely that if he knew he would be so embarrassed, he would not have attended a stakeholders meeting on the Apapa traffic crisis. Or better still, he would have pleaded with those present to bear with his team and explain their effort to resolve the crisis.

But this was not the case at the stakeholders’ meeting called by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to find solution to the intractable Apapa gridlock. The hall full to capacity became rowdy when Opeifa in his opening remarks, stated that there was no longer gridlock in Apapa, adding that gridlock was in the imagination of the media.

He said his team had on several occasions cleared the port access roads of trucks, and accused the media of inventing gridlock because they are not on ground to see what has been achieved.

But the stakeholders, including the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Apapa residents and the Publisher of Business Day Newspaper, Mr. Frank Aigbogun took their turn to denounce his claim, stressing that entrenched interest has turned the unfortunate crisis into a corrupt enterprise.

They described the Apapa situation as a shame to Nigeria, adding that the ongoing port access roads repairs not withstanding, deep-rooted corruption and operational deficiencies on the part of terminal operators, has to be addressed by the federal government as a long terms solution to the crisis.

Specifically, the stakeholders also accused APM Terminals and other container terminals of deliberately instigating the crisis for their economic gain.

In her speech, Apapa Port Manager, NPA, Mrs. Funmi Olotu said the claim that there was no longer gridlock in Apapa cannot be correct as she has personally found it difficult to drive to her office via the port access road. “We are talking about why the trucks should not be staying on the road, why are they there? Because there are armed security men on bridges passing, controlling, saying you can go; you cannot go. Can we have the armed men off the bridges so that the trucks can be moving? We know points where we can stop the trucks.

What we have said is that transit Truck Park are no garages, we are not inviting trucks to stay at the transit parks. “One of the things we have noticed is that some of the illegal trucks approaching the port either have uniformed men driving them or escorting. What we have also discovered is that during the day when all eyes are open everybody want to comply with the call up system, then we now say 12 am to 5 am manufacturers trucks can move but their drivers have also turned the opportunity into a business by allowing other trucks and collecting N20, 000 per container, “she said.

Also speaking, Publisher of BusinessDay, Aigbogun who chided Opeifa for his comment, said every Nigerian should be desperate for the shame at Apapa. “I appeal to the NPA, presidential task force, terminal operators; there should be unity of purpose; there has to be an alignment in terms of what we should

Typical Apapa gridlock on the Mile 2 Expressway

Osinbajo

Opeifa

do to solve the problem. I don’t think it serves anyone well if there is no unity among all these key people. There should also be unity among all the armed forces.

The truth of the matter is there is still gridlock in Apapa. Kayode said it is the media’s imagination; that is not correct.

There is gridlock in Apapa and we all know it. “The NPA just acknowledged it. We have seen pictures of what happened in September last year in Apapa., what happened between then and now? Why is it that it is now taking people one and half hours, two hours, sometimes then call me from office in Apapa, “Oga don’t come today at all,� and you say there is no gridlock in Apapa. My church is in Apapa, on Sunday I was trying to come to church from Ikoyi I couldn’t come. I signed a cheque last week to take three

containers of newsprint from Apapa; each of them was N690,000. When we started in Apapa we were paying N25,000 and N40,000 to bring a container; it rose to N100,000 and now it is N690,000. Who is sharing the money here?�

On his part, President of MAN Apapa Branch, Mr. Frank Onyeagwu said he was in support of what other speakers have said and called for urgent action to end the crisis.

He said, “When Opeifa was showing videos of what has happened in the past I kept asking myself, “why can’t they do it now? Why is it not been done now to ensure that this problem gets eradicated once and for all? Please let all stakeholders work together and see what we can do so that there is sanity along this axis because it is actually costing business quite a lot.�

Having seen how embarrassed he was, the representative of the President of NACCIMA, Mrs Magret Orakwusi, came to Opeifa’s rescue. She commended the task force for their effort at resolving the crisis.

However, she insisted, “we know that a lot of people are responsible for the gridlock, we know that our roads are bad, we know that corruption has a major role to play. We also do know that the task force is willing and able to review all these and we encourage all of us, if you know where you are part of the problem, have a rethink and think more of the economy of this country.�

Following public outcry over the intractable gridlock in Apapa, President Muhammadu Buhari last May gave an ultimatum to the trailer drivers to vacate Apapa roads and bridges within 72 hours.

Before then, Governor Babajide SanwoOlu had reportedly vowed to end the Apapa gridlock within 60 days of his administration, though he later denied the claim.

The presidential directive followed an emergency meeting convened by Buhari and chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on April 25, 2019. A task force headed

by Osinbajo, which was set up following the meeting immediately swung into action. The terms of reference of the task force, which was to report directly to the president, include the development of an efficient and effective management plan for the entire port area traffic, including fuel distribution and business district traffic; enforcing the permanent removal of all stationary trucks on the highway and the development of an effective manual call-up system, pending the introduction of the electronic truck call-up system. It also includes the implementation of a workable Empty Container Truck handling policy, among others.

Consequently, the Nigerian Navy and all other military formations were directed to withdraw from traffic management duties

21

T H I S D AY ˞ Ͱ͎˜ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎

in the Apapa area, while military and paramilitary checkpoints in front of the ports and environs were to be dismantled.

In their place, the police and Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), was authorised to move into Apapa as the lead traffic management agency, while the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), was to commence the immediate use of the Lilipond Terminal and Trailer Park A as truck Transit Park. The taskforce had two weeks to complete its assignment. In June, 2019, the taskforce ended its operation and declared that 95 per cent of the job had been done, with the expectation that sanity had been restored.

But many observers feel that this has turned out to be a mirage. From then till now, the chaos and confusion have to Apapa have never ceased. Instead of leaving at least one lane for cars, truck and tanker drivers with the aid of policemen and others have virtually taken over the link roads, thereby, making life hellish for residents, workers and commuters.

Ongoing road works on Commercial Avenue, Liverpool and parts of Mile 2, coupled with bad portions of the roads and floods have compounded the problem, thereby, forcing motorists to make detours to alternative routes around Ajegunle and Ijora Badia, but those roads, which are also in bad shape, have also been besieged by same tanker drivers.

The heavy presence of trucks in the areas has reportedly impacted negatively on human and vehicular movements in the entire vicinity. While road repairs are ongoing, port activities have become chaotic such that those who reside in Apapa now live in danger. The truck drivers recklessly park on the middle of the roads without respecting the rights of other road users. Amidst the chaos, uniformed personnel on duty reportedly fleece the truck drivers. All that is needed to jump the queue is to bribe the uniformed personnel. From Eko Bridge to Creek Road in Apapa, there are over 18 checkpoints where truck and trailer drivers are cleared after parting with bribes not less than N1,000 in the full glare of people day and night. If they want the policemen to escort them, the bribe increases to as much as between N5,000 to N10,000.

Even members of the presidential task force are not exempted from the corruption going on on Apapa roads following rumours that truck and trailer drivers’ unions constantly give them millions of naira to look the other way while they congest the roads.

Many believe that the chaos on Apapa roads is certainly a national embarrassment.

The endemic gridlock has clearly gone out of control. No solution is readily available on hand to address the problem.

Without doubt, the Lagos State government has been helpless even as the federal government abdicated its responsibility on Apapa by leaving the port infrastructure to disintegrate over the years. The badly dilapidated roads and lack of parking bay for the trailers constitute the main problems.

A bonded terminal official in Apapa, Ugochukwu Idibia, said the hardship being experienced in Apapa is fuelled by massive corruption.

He expressed his frustration thus: “a simple task was given to them – make movement into Apapa less cumbersome and they cannot. Even if they want to collect bribe, why not ensure that one lane is free for cars and other commuters? “Every time you continue to see the two or three lanes totally locked down with trucks and trailers and you begin to imagine what kind of policemen are these. “Any time you go on that road, you see policemen armed but those guns and rifle you see them carrying are to intimidate in order to collect bribe. It is very unfortunate the kind of law enforcers we have in Nigeria. “Even the presidential taskforce, they don’t know what they are doing. We hear that they themselves have capitalised on their assignment to make brisk business.

Truck and trailers drivers’ unions give them millions of naira to look the other

TraďŹƒc menace along Mobil Road, Ijora

Perennial traďŹƒc, the bane of Apapa

Trucks and tankers parked on Ijora bridge, a disaster in the waiting way while they cause other motorists pains. They lodge in expensive hotels and guest houses in Apapa, just enjoying themselves.�

Idibia also chided the government for allowing trucks and tankers to park on Apapa-Ijora and sometimes bridge for

24 hours everyday without considering the dangers and implications. “Parking trucks and tankers on the bridge 24 hours everyday is very dangerous.

What manner of a country will allow trucks and tankers to park on the bridge 24 hours everyday for over six year now

and not do something urgently? It is only in Nigeria we can see this. Nobody is asking how long will they continue to park on those bridges. What if the bridge comes down one day? Nobody is thinking along that line until it happens. This is very typical of us,� he said.

21

T H I S D AY ˞ Ͱ͎˜ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎

FEATURES in the Apapa area, while military and paramilitary checkpoints in front of the ports and environs were to be dismantled.

In their place, the police and Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), was authorised to move into Apapa as the lead traffic management agency, while the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), was to commence the immediate use of the Lilipond Terminal and Trailer Park A as truck Transit Park. The taskforce had two weeks to complete its assignment. In June, 2019, the taskforce ended its operation and declared that 95 per cent of the job had been done, with the expectation that sanity had been restored.

But many observers feel that this has turned out to be a mirage. From then till now, the chaos and confusion have to Apapa have never ceased. Instead of leaving at least one lane for cars, truck and tanker drivers with the aid of policemen and others have virtually taken over the link roads, thereby, making life hellish for residents, workers and commuters.

Ongoing road works on Commercial Avenue, Liverpool and parts of Mile 2, coupled with bad portions of the roads and floods have compounded the problem, thereby, forcing motorists to make detours to alternative routes around Ajegunle and Ijora Badia, but those roads, which are also in bad shape, have also been besieged by same tanker drivers.

The heavy presence of trucks in the areas has reportedly impacted negatively on human and vehicular movements in the entire vicinity. While road repairs are ongoing, port activities have become chaotic such that those who reside in Apapa now live in danger. The truck drivers recklessly park on the middle of the roads without respecting the rights of other road users. Amidst the chaos, uniformed personnel on duty reportedly fleece the truck drivers. All that is needed to jump the queue is to bribe the uniformed personnel. From Eko Bridge to Creek Road in Apapa, there are over 18 checkpoints where truck and trailer drivers are cleared after parting with bribes not less than N1,000 in the full glare of people day and night. If they want the policemen to escort them, the bribe increases to as much as between N5,000 to N10,000.

Even members of the presidential task force are not exempted from the corruption going on on Apapa roads following rumours that truck and trailer drivers’ unions constantly give them millions of naira to look the other way while they congest the roads.

Many believe that the chaos on Apapa roads is certainly a national embarrassment.

The endemic gridlock has clearly gone out of control. No solution is readily available on hand to address the problem.

Without doubt, the Lagos State government has been helpless even as the federal government abdicated its responsibility on Apapa by leaving the port infrastructure to disintegrate over the years. The badly dilapidated roads and lack of parking bay for the trailers constitute the main problems.

A bonded terminal official in Apapa, Ugochukwu Idibia, said the hardship being experienced in Apapa is fuelled by massive corruption.

He expressed his frustration thus: “a simple task was given to them – make movement into Apapa less cumbersome and they cannot. Even if they want to collect bribe, why not ensure that one lane is free for cars and other commuters? “Every time you continue to see the two or three lanes totally locked down with trucks and trailers and you begin to imagine what kind of policemen are these. “Any time you go on that road, you see policemen armed but those guns and rifle you see them carrying are to intimidate in order to collect bribe. It is very unfortunate the kind of law enforcers we have in Nigeria. “Even the presidential taskforce, they don’t know what they are doing. We hear that they themselves have capitalised on their assignment to make brisk business.

Truck and trailers drivers’ unions give them millions of naira to look the other

TraďŹƒc menace along Mobil Road, Ijora

Perennial traďŹƒc, the bane of Apapa

Trucks and tankers parked on Ijora bridge, a disaster in the waiting way while they cause other motorists pains. They lodge in expensive hotels and guest houses in Apapa, just enjoying themselves.�

Idibia also chided the government for allowing trucks and tankers to park on Apapa-Ijora and sometimes bridge for

24 hours everyday without considering the dangers and implications. “Parking trucks and tankers on the bridge 24 hours everyday is very dangerous.

What manner of a country will allow trucks and tankers to park on the bridge 24 hours everyday for over six year now

and not do something urgently? It is only in Nigeria we can see this. Nobody is asking how long will they continue to park on those bridges. What if the bridge comes down one day? Nobody is thinking along that line until it happens. This is very typical of us,� he said.

22

MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020 •T H I S D AY

23

T H I S D AY ˞ Ͱ͎˜ 2020

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

A S

A T J A N U A R Y

REPO 3.86 3

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

2 5.50 7.25

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

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima

Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

1 7 ,

490.15% 0.62% 1.87%

2 0 1 9

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

1.87% 1.87%

EXCHANGE RATE N307/1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes VerifyMe Secures Financing

FOR PORTEFFICIENCY

Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman (left), and Snr.Transport Specialist,Transport and Digital Development,World Bank, Olatunji Ahmed, during the official presentation of Port Assessment Framework Report (PCAF) at the NPA headquarters in Lagos...recently

AfCTA: Expert Urges FG to Sign Cybersecurity Framework James Emejo in Abuja The country’s continued delay to sign the African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection framework currently puts it at the risk of economic isolation and may affect its chance of harnessing and maximising the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement which it recently endorsed.

Also known as the Malabo Convention, the regulation, which had been established at the continental level, embodies the existing commitments of African Union (AU) that was formed in 2002 to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

The Executive Director, Africa International Trade and Commerce Research (AITCR), Mr. Sand Mba Kalu, told THISDAY, in an exclusive chat that the delay by

ECONOMY Nigeria to endorse the convention puts it at, “greater risk of economic isolation and stagnation, because Nigeria will be outside the umbrella coverage of the African Union-wide cyber ethics and cross border data protection fundamental principles.�

He told THISDAY that it has become critical for the country to, “block all loopholes and avoid creating room for unnecessary bottlenecks that may affect us as a country when trading under AfCFTA, which will become effective from 1st July, 2020.� “The Nigerian government should realise that we cannot achieve much by our current carefree attitude towards issues that brings Africa together, both at the regional and continental level. “We in the private sector are suffering and losing resources

because of this passive attitude of our government towards Africa. “That has to change, we must realise that Nigeria is Africa and Africa is Nigeria- is for our national strategic interest to play an active role in the collective progress of Africa.�

According to him: “If we don’t sign, it would also create unnecessary technical and nontechnical barriers for Nigerian businesses to trade across Africa under AfCFTA regime. Thereby negating the benefits of the free trade area agreement the president has recently signed. “The good thing is that Nigeria already has a national policy on cybersecurity and personal data protection in place, which is one of the obligations required by member states. “Nigeria is required to harmonise the national cybersecurity policy with the AU convention.

I appeal to the government of

President Muhammadu Buhari to sign, ratify and deposit the AU convention on cybersecurity and personal data protection before trading starts on AfCFTA platform on the 1st of July 2020, this will boost and consolidate Nigerian position as the economic powerhouse of Africa.�

Essentially, the Convention was drafted in 2011 to establish a credible pan-African framework for cybersecurity through organisation of cross border electronic transactions, protection of personal data, and promotion of cyber security, e-governance and combating cybercrime.

The framework addresses three main areas including electronic transactions, personal data protection, cyber security and cybercrime- and had its adoption postponed by the AU on several occasions before finally adopting Continued on page 24

Afreximbank Offers $500m to Support Africa Creative Industry Emma Okonji The President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, at the weekend, announced a $500 million support for the production and trade of African cultural and creative products over the next two years.

Known as the Creative Africa Exchange Weekend (CAX WKND), which is Africa’s first continental event dedicated to promoting exchange within the creative and cultural industry, the initiative is expected to attract support for the African cultural

ECONOMY and creative industry.

Oramah, told guests in Kigali, that the funds, which would build on what the Bank was already doing, would be accessible as lines of credit to banks, direct financing to operators and as guarantees.

He said the creative economy was increasingly recognised as a significant sector and meaningful contributor to Africa’s gross domestic product and that the cultural and creative industries catalysed economic growth by

fostering more inclusive, connected and collaborative societies. “Creative industries can be potent vehicles for more equitable, sustainable and inclusive growth strategies for African economies,�

Oramah said.

He, however, noted that while Africa had a deep pool of talent, it lacked the infrastructure and capacity to commercialise its creative talent and reap the vast fortunes lying in wait. “Because of underinvestment in the creative and cultural industries, Africa is largely absent in the global market of ideas, values and aesthetics as conveyed through

music, theatre, literature, film and television. “African countries import overwhelmingly more creative goods than they export or trade amongst themselves,� he added.

He commended Egypt’s, “astronomical growth in creative exports over the last decade� and the Nollywood industry’s increasing importance which had prompted the Nigerian government, in its Economic Recovery and Growth plan, to forecast export revenues of $1 billion from the industry by 2020.

VerifyMe Nigeria, an ID veriďŹ cation and Know Your Customer (KYC) technologycompany,hasannouncedthatithassecuredaSeriesAďŹ nancing that runs in into millions of naira from Consonance Investment Managers.

The funds would be used to expand strategic partnerships and bring new digital ID veriďŹ cation products to market.

Pleased with the funding, VerifyMe Co-founder/CEO, Esigie Aguele, said: “We are delighted to partner with Consonance Investment Managers in our mission to build Africa’s KYC infrastructure. “Digital services are a key catalyst for Africa’s economic growth and ďŹ nancial inclusion but they can only be unlocked if there’s a mechanism to verify identity at scale. “We strive to transform the digital landscape by providing businesses with KYC-as-a-service tools to verify their client identities.â€?

The Managing Partner at Consonance Investment Managers, Mobolaji Adeoye, said: “Authenticated identity is a critical foundation of digital commerce and ďŹ nancial services; it’s the cornerstone of trust which is essential for collaboration in economies. “We believe that Tunji, Esigie and theVerifyMe team are doing work that is pivotal to meeting Nigeria’s ďŹ nancial inclusion goals.We are proud to support their vision and journey.â€?

VerifyMe said it wouldn’t expand adoption across Nigeria and grow revenue twenty-fold over the next three years. As company with a social mission, VerifyMe will help unlock ďŹ nancial inclusion and intervention services in rural communities, the company said in a statement.

VerifyMe Nigeria is a technology company oering trusted KYC data via API and portal to industries, and the Nigerian retail market.

Afreximbank Seals $190m Deal

TheAfricanExport-ImportBank(Afreximbank)hassignedatermsheet with Made In Africa Inc. (MIA), to provide the company with a $190-million facilitytoďŹ nancetheacquisitionofAfricanFabricHoldingsBV,Netherlands, also known as Vlisco Group.

The facility, broken into two tranches, would also be used to provide working capital to Vlisco group following the acquisition.

ManagingDirectorofAfreximbank’sIntra-AfricanTradeInitiative,Kanayo Awani, signed on behalf of the Bank while Chairman and Founder of MIA, KojoAnnan,signedforthecompany,duringaceremonyheldonthesidelines of the Creative Africa Exchange Weekend (CAX WKND) held in Kigali.

VliscoGroupdesigns,producesanddistributesfashionfabrics,especially of the African wax print style, for theWest and Central African market and African consumers in global metropolitan cities. Its fabrics have grown into an essential part of African culture, receiving widespread attention from the art, design and fashion worlds.

CAX WKND, which is featuring more than 2,000 participants and 250 exhibitors from 68 countries, is organised by Times Multimedia and sponsored by Afreximbank and other partners, as the opening act of activities planned under the CAX Programme to bring together African creative talents from the music, arts, design, fashion, literature, publishing, ďŹ lm and television sectors.

Siemens Partners Ghana

Siemens has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Ghana to address the country’s energy and infrastructure challenges, while contributing to the government’s growth and development agenda of creating high quality jobs and enhancing the vocational skills of Ghana’s youth. The MoU was signed by Siemens and the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) in the presence of President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo and the President and Global Chief Executive OďŹƒcer of Siemens AG, Joe Kaeser. Under the agreement, the two companies will work collaboratively to upgrade and extend Ghana’s transmission infrastructure, improve the country’s grid capacity and stability, enable and expand a stable power export to neighbouring countries in the West African Power Pool. “Access to electricity is an imperative need for the people and business and, thus, for economic success of any economy. “As Ghana has signiďŹ cantly invested into generation capacity, there is nowanurgentneedtobuildareliable,aordableandsustainableelectrical network for the country and its people.

“As a demutualised entity that is profit-seeking, the NSE will be in a better stead to capitalise on new income opportunities, free from any limitations arising from conflicting member interests and existing laws and more importantly be able to better support the economic growth of Nigeria�

CEO, NSE,

Continued on page 24

Oscar Onyema

T H I S D AY ˞ Ͱ͎˜ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎

24

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

AFCTA: EXPERT URGES FG TO SIGN CYBERSECURITY FRAMEWORK it in June 2014.

Kalu, added that the country would further be exposed to cross border cyber security threat, personal data theft, cyber terrorism, reduced foreign direct investment (FDI) in ICT infrastructure in key areas of cyber security, electronic commerce and, “the mechanism for combating intrusions into private life which is likely to generate cross border data rascality, processing, transmission, storage and use of personal data for cybercrime.�

According to him, the African Heads of States, had in January 2012, adopted the decision to establish a single continental market, which promises a collective economic development of Africa, an initiative which eventually crystalised to the signing of the AfCTA by 44 out of 55 member states of the AU on March 21, 2018. He noted that the agreement was projected to bring together all African countries – comprising 1.2 billion people and a combined GDP of over $3.4 trillion – under a single continental market for goods and services, including free movement of people and investments, and boost intra-African trade, according to agenda 2063 of the AU. AFREXIMBANK OFFERS $500M TO SUPPORT AFRICA CREATIVE INDUSTRY

Oramah, described the African market as the lowest hanging fruit for African creative products but noted that, until recently, “that market was fragmented and balkanised, such that a Senegalese knew more about creative products in France than in Ghana.� “But today, change has come!� he said, adding that with the African continental free trade agreement in force and trading starting in July, Africa would begin to break down the borders and a single market for creative products would emerge.

The Managing Director of AITEO, Dr. Ramson Owan, stressed the need to focus on the commercial side of Africa’s creative talents and to begin to monetise them.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Eromosele Abiodun (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor ((Energy) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT)

Access Secures Regulatory Approval to Acquire Kenyan Bank Obinna Chima Access Bank has secured full regulatory approval for its proposed acquisition of majority equity stake in the Kenya-based Transnational Bank Limited (TNB).

The bank disclosed this in a notification to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), at the weekend.

Access Bank had last October, announced that it had secured a ‘no objection’ of the Central Bank of Nigeria to its proposed acquisition of TNB. The acquisition was in line with the bank’s strategic objective of becoming Africa’s gateway to the world.

The statement explained that the entry into the Kenyan market was in line with the bank’s strategy to establish footprints in key African markets, adding that it would complement its existing franchise in Rwanda, Congo DRC and Zambia in the Eastern and Southern African frontiers.

TNB is a medium-sized commercial bank with great focus on the agricultural sector and a significant retail footprint.

Speaking on the acquisition, the Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe said: “This acquisition aligns with our strategy to become Africa’s Gateway to the World and we are excited about the potential that resides in the East African market. “We will leverage our presence in key payment corridors; strong

partnerships in non-presence countries; robust technology platform as well as world-class risk management to provide cutting edge financial solutions to our clients. “We will build on TNB’s existing expertise in agricultural financing and deploy our resources to optimise other business segments. We are committed to supporting the growth and development of our

host community in line with our sustainability ethos and certain that this acquisition will deliver great value to our stakeholders.�

He added: “Following the receipt of regulatory approval, we are very confident that the transaction will be completed shortly.�

Access Bank is one of the leading full-service commercial banks operating through a network

of more than 600 branches and service outlets, spanning three continents, 12 countries and 32 million customers. The bank employs 28,000 thousand people in its operations in Nigeria, Sub Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom, with representative offices in China, Lebanon, India and the UAE. Listed on the NSE since 1998, the bank is a diversified financial

institution which combines a strong retail customer franchise and digital platform with deep corporate banking expertise and proven risk management and capital management capabilities.

The bank serves its various markets through five business segments: personal, business, operations and IT, commercial and corporate and investment banking.

FACTORYTOUR

L-R: Indomie Major Distributors, Hassan Abdulkadir; Abubakar Bashir Sidi; Deputy Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Zailani; Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai; Chief Operating Officer Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr Adesh Jain; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mohammed Dattijo, and Executive Secretary, Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), Mrs. Umma Aboki, during the Governor’s courtesy visit to Dufil Prima Foods factory in Kaduna‌recently

‘Why Food Prices May Not Fall Despite Harvest’ James Emejo in Abuja There are indications that expectations that the good harvest season recently experienced by farmers may not lead to a fall in food prices.

There had been repeated assurances by some stakeholders and government officials that the impact of the continued closure of the country’s land borders to curtail dumping and smuggling, which had resulted in increases in the prices of food items, would be ameliorated with the arrival of the harvest season.

The border closure had created a demand-supply gap which needed to be met by local production, effectively shooting up the prices of basic commodities, particularly rice.

But THISDAY findings revealed that some grain farmers, even after bumper harvest, have decided not to sell their produce, hoping

that food prices would further appreciate so they can make more money from their investments.

Notably, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation increased to 11.98 percent (year-on-year) in December compared to 11.85 per cent in the preceding month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Food inflation rose to 14.67 per cent in December compared to 14.48 per cent in November.

According to the CPI figures for December which was released yesterday by the statistical agency, core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce also increased to 9.33 per cent compared to 8.99 per cent in the preceding month.

In July last year, the President of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, had expressed optimism that the bumper harvest expected

by farmers across the country will help weigh down on prices of rice in particular, amidst the rising commodity prices occasioned by the closure of the borders.

The situation had continued to further exert pressure on the headline index as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation rose to 11.85 per cent (year-on-year) in November, largely fuelled by food inflation which rose to 14.48 per cent from 14.09 per cent in the preceding month. However, speaking in a telephone chat with THISDAY, Chairperson of the Association for Small Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN), Bauchi State Chapter, Hajiya Amina Bala Jubril, said the assurances on a possible reduction in food prices may be political as the forces of demand and supply were paramount.

Responding to an enquiry on why prices have remained high despite a bumper harvest, she said:

“You want the prices to crash?

But we don’t want the prices to crash because we laboured for it. “Let me tell you something, even with the bumper harvest, we invested; so because there’s a bumper harvest, you don’t expect the farmer to throw away his produce, no. “The farmer should make profit and somehow, it is not the issue of closure of the border of what? “The issue is how much did the farmer invest and that’s what is the determinant of price. So, saying the price would crash is maybe saying it to console the citizens because of the high prices of food items. “The government cannot come and make me bring out my produce and start selling it at a cheaper rate,’’ adding that “the price of local rice is still cheaper than the imported rice�, nevertheless.

Also, the National President, All

Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Mr. Kabiru Ibrahim told THISDAY that the increases in commodity prices despite a good harvest season was largely due to the impact of the continued border closure which had caused a supply gap.

He said: “We are now facing a serious threat from our neighbours who are not cooperating and our borders are closed. And since these things (commodities) are not here as they used to be, definitely there will be pressure on what we have internally and that could cause price turbulence. “It is a phase that we have to pass through but I believe that it will be alright and it is a question of time: just a little patience in our part, we will get to the promised land because more people are getting into agriculture, and we are scaling up our production and things will get better I believe in due course.�

FG Plans to Convert Idu Industrial Centre to Wood Cluster James Emejo in Abuja The Director General, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda, has disclosed the federal government’s plans to convert the Idu Industrial Centre located in Abuja, to a furniture and wood enterprise cluster.

The initiative is expected to help reduce foreign exchange leakages from furniture imports.

He noted that a study was

conducted to ascertain the viability of industrial centers in the country, adding that the Idu industrial layout had been selected for the pilot project for 2020 on development of industrial clusters across the country.

Radda, said the proposed furniture and wood cluster would stem import of furniture from Dubai, Turkey and other parts of the world as all the machineries would be in place to equip entrepreneurs with the

best tools to manufacture what Nigerians need.

He said SMEDAN would however ensure that the cluster meet all the standards required to have a world class cluster for furniture and wood production.

He said after the pilot stage, SMEDAN would go into Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements with interested parties from the private sector to develop other industrial centres in Nigeria.

He said: “The study recom-

mended that the one in Idu should be converted into furniture and wood cluster, which will meet the global requirement.

That is what we intend to achieve in 2020.�

The SMEDAN boss said money has been budgeted for project in 2020 budget and as soon as the funds are released, the project would be implemented, stressing that President Muhammadu Buhari would be invited to launch it.

He said the project would give

people working in furniture and woodwork sector of the economy a place to work, meet regulatory agencies and have modern working equipment.

He said: “The cluster will be where they will have their shops, and workshops will exist, and have independent power plant in the place so that whoever wants to do any work can go into our workshop, pay some money, do the work and go back to their shops.�

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NSE Index Rises 0.7% as Profit Taking Moderates Market’s Appreciation Goddy Egene Profit taking by some investors moderated the growth of the Nigerian stock market last week as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.69 per cent to close at 29,618.52.

The gain was lower than the record 9.1 per cent posted the previous week, which was the highest weekly growth in two years.

Market capitalisation added N81.8 billion to close at N15.256 trillion.

Sustained investor confidence had two weeks ago lifted the market as appetite for risk assets increased significantly following low valuations of equities. Against the backdrop of the increased demand the year-to-date growth hit to 9.6 per cent penultimate week.

However, the market witnessed a moderation last week as investors booked in part of gains already recorded on the back of an eightday rally.

However, gains posted by bellwether stocks such as Dangote Cement Plc, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc boosted the YTD appreciation to hit 10.3 per cent.

In terms of sectoral performance, the NSE Banking Index gained most, chalking up 2.3 per cent, trailed by the NSE Oil & Gas Index which posted a growth of 0.6 per cent.

However, the NSE Industrial Goods Index shed 6.3 per cent, while the NSE Insurance Index and NSE Consumer Goods Index fell 2.6 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively.

Although some level of profit taking is expected this week, even as analysts anticipate market rally as well. “Looking ahead, while we expect profit-taking to continue in the coming(this) week, we still see significant legroom for a further rally as the elevated maturities from fixed income instruments hunt for investment vehicles. “Nonetheless, we advise investors to cherry-pick fundamentally sound stocks,� analysts at Cordros Capital said.

The Head, Research & Strategy, Cordros Securities, Mr. Jolomi Odonghanro, last week rated the equities market as a good investment option for 2020, explaining that significant liquidity would be coming into the market because of favourable monetary policies.

According to Odonghanro, the equities market would continue to witness a bullish performance for most part of the first quarter of 2020, noting that it is the best channel investors should focus on for now.

He explained that the estimated N2.73 trillion of non-bank corporate and individual open market operations (OMO) assets maturing over 2020 will be in search of positive inflation-adjusted returns. “This presents a positive case for equities as market selloffs in recent years have provided an opportunity for dividend yield investment strategy. Despite increased risk in the banking sector, there remains immense value and the fundamentals of the banking sector remain compelling even as market sentiments have kept prices low,� he said.

Already, the Chief Executive Officer of NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, has expressed optimism that the stock market would record a positive performance this year.

He said the market has bright prospects, stressing that market

customers. As African Champions, we will maintain momentum in executing the NSE’s 2018 - 2021 Corporate Strategy in our efforts to elevate the prominence of Africa’s global financial markets,� he said.

Speaking on some of factors that will drive investors’ sentiments in 2020, Onyema said a stable polity and business environment would be key to Nigeria’s success.

Onyema said: “Enhanced focus on infrastructure renaissance and promotion of laws that will support the business environment will be key to Nigeria’s success in 2020. Nigeria moved 15 places from 146th to 131st in the latest World Bank ease of doing business report as such the country has been tagged as one of the most improved economies in the world in terms of doing business reforms.

These are positive indicators that will drive investors’ sentiment in 2020.�

sentiments may be buoyed by a steady and stable recovery in the domestic economy, alongside continued sustainability in monetary policy. “The signing into law of Nigeria’s Finance Bill 2019 and implementation of the 2020 budget may have a positive impact on companies’ earnings as well as consumer spending. Accordingly, the exchange will continue to advocate for business-friendly

economic environment, working in conjunction with both the public and private sectors,� he said.

The NSE boss noted that in their aspiration to become a more agile and demutualised exchange, and pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s ‘No Objection’, they will proceed to next steps which include seeking formal approval from their members on their demutualisation scheme.

“We are committed to continually provide clarity on the demutualisation process to our various stakeholders through regular engagements. While keeping an eye on the strategic intent of the exchange post demutualisation, we will continue to leverage our vast network of stakeholders, in addition to developing new strategic partnerships with the goal of delivering better products and services to our

Market turnover Investors traded 2.087 billion shares worth N26.470 billion in 24,262 deals last week compared with 2.683 billion shares valued at N32.646 billion that were traded in 30,956 deals two weeks ago.

The Financial Services industry remained the most traded, recording 1.117 billion shares valued at N13.693 billion traded in 13,739 deals, thus contributing 53.5 per cent and 51.73 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Healthcare industry followed with 521.893 million shares worth N182.965 million in 420 deals, while the third place was occupied by the Conglomerates industry, with a turnover of 123.606 million shares worth N573.907 million in 1,164 deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely: Union Diagnostic & Clinical Services Plc, Access Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, accounted for 877.992 million shares worth N8.399 billion in 5,251 deals, contributing 42.1 per cent and 31.7 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Top price gainers and losers Meanwhile, 21 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 51 equities in the previous week while 42 equities depreciated in price, higher than 20 equities in the previous week.

Forte Oil Plc led the price gainers with 21.8 percent, trailed by Beta Glass Plc with 18.7 per cent. Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc chalked up 13.2 per cent, while MTN Nigeria Communications Plc garnered 9.1 per cent.

C & I Leasing Plc and Ekocorp Plc appreciated by 8.8 per cent and 7.2 per cent in that order, just as GTBank Plc and UBA added 4.8 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively.

Trans-nationwide Express Plc gained 4.6 per cent just as UAC of Nigeria Plc appreciated 4.3 per cent.

Conversely, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc led the price losers with 14.2 per cent trailed by NEM Insurance Plc 13.6 per cent, while BAU Cement Plc shed 12.2 per cent.

Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc and BOC Gases Plc went down by 10 per cent apiece, while Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc declined by 9.9 per cent.

Other top price losers included: Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc (9.0 per cent); Golden Guinea Breweries Plc (8.9 per cent); Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc (8.9 per cent).

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Rewane: Nigeria Should Focus on Its Economic Interest A member of the Economic Advisory Council and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, in this interview on ‘The Morning Show’onAriseTelevision,aTHISDAYbroadcaststation,shedsmorelightonthecontroversy surrounding the Eco Currency. Hamid Ayodeji provides the excerpts: What is your take on Nigeria’s position on the Eco currency?

First of all, the way i see it is that the things outside our control are more than the things within our control. The global economic momentum, oil market, non-oil markets are driving economic decisions within economic domestic decisions. Therefore, you have to be strategic and tactical in your response. The Eco is taking over from the CFA Franc. The CFA started in 1945 and remains between the French treasury and the French- speaking African countries.

So what happened? The arrangement was that French-speaking countries leave 50 per cent of their reserve in the French treasury and the French government guarantees a certain parity between the French franc at that time and the CFA franc. When the French joined the European Union (Custom Union) and the single currency, the French guaranteed parity between the CFA franc, in other words, guaranteed convertibility based on the French economy. Now, don’t forget that there were two types of colonial masters. There was a British colonial master which practiced indirect rule and the French system which practice assimilation. Nkrumah wrote a book called, ‘Neo-colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism.’ The time between the Custom Union and a single currency even in Europe took about 15 years. Between the Maastricht treaty Customs Union and then the Euro as a single currency, there were regional convergence criteria and it comes with many risks. Now, look, if you are in turbulence in an aircraft and they say if the oxygen mask drops, you first put it on your nose before you put on your child’s nose. But if you put it on the child’s nose and the child cannot help you, then both you and the child may go down if there is a crisis. Now, Nigeria is 66 per cent of the ECOWAS region, Nigeria is the biggest and largest economy in terms of population, size and all in Africa, Nigeria in my own judgement is not yet ready for currency convertibility at this stage. Currency convertibility has two stages - current account convertibility and capital account convertibility. So, you find that advance emerging countries like India are going towards current account convertibility. But if you are going into this arrangement, you will have both current account and capital account convertibility. The terms trade of Nigeria has deteriorated over the years. In other words, our exports have not been rising as fast as our imports. So, there are external sectors vulnerabilities. If we throw into this, the fact that we have to carry the baggage of all of these countries, then there is a problem. But, what has happened presently is that there is a change of name from the CFA to Eco. But the French said, you will no longer have to deposit 50 per cent of your reserve with us, which to me is a trap. That means that at any point in time, the French can say you are on your own.

I will like you to duel more on the politics of this arrangement. Don’t you think Nigeria’s decision to close its borders is also a factor?

I am not too sure. I think we are over estimating the impact of the border closure. It is a tactical response to with a strategic motive. In other words, Nigeria has to decide what role it wants to play in Africa. Nigeria stands to benefit more in regional integration. There is regional integration and there is a currency and Custom union issue. Regional integration means that you are an efficient manager of your own economy and you are going to carry that across to your neighbours.

For example, if Aliko Dangote’s refinery is completed today, it will not be serving Nigeria only, it will be serving the whole of West Africa. We need a lot of infrastructure,

Rewane pipelines to carry these things across to those places. So, Nigeria is the one that stands to benefit more from the economies of scale and regional integration. What the French has actually done is to say okay, if you still want to benefit from the regional integration then come and put your money where your mouth is, start taking responsibility for it.

But if you don’t have that capacity to take responsibility, then come down.

Since the CFA has been changed to Eco, what does that mean to the naira, the CBN? The value of the currency is either aligned or misaligned with its true value.

Now, Nigeria is 66 per cent of the ECOWAS region, Nigeria is the biggest and largest economy in terms of population, size and all in Africa, Nigeria in my own judgement is not yet ready for currency convertibility at this stage

There are two things about a currency you must understand. Firstly, it is a medium of exchange. It doesn’t matter when they say the naira will exchange for whatever value the market thinks it is. There is also what is called the store of value. The store of value has to do with where do I keep my money in January, so that by December, it would not have lost much value. In the French-speaking countries, the average inflation rate is between one and two per cent, because it is guaranteed. Our rate of inflation is about 12 per cent, Ghana’s rate of inflation is about eight per cent. Now, where will you store your money? Where the rate of inflation is maximum one per cent or where the rate of inflation 12 per cent?

The store of value will decide. So they will do transactions with Nigeria, but they will not store their money in Nigeria because of the rate of inflation or with Ghana. So, we are disadvantaged. However, from a long-term of micro-economic perspective, political independence is not the same thing as economic impendence. At one point in time these French countries will have to bite the bullet. Not now, maybe in the near term, but in biting the bullet these people are trying to put us at a strategic disadvantage.

Another thing is on the border closure. You cannot have that border closed indefinitely.

In any case, even if you put Customs officers in every kilometer, you will have to have

the entire customs, because there are about 1800 kilometers of borders. So, this is a short term measure for it and the president alluded to it in a statement, that once the safe guards are there and the assurances are there, we would reopen the borders.

There has been so much talk around what is called the convergence criteria and we are told that only Togo has been able to meet that convergence criteria, what is your take on that?

You have to be careful before you jump into these things. The size of the Togolese economy is $63 million. Togolese economy is not bigger than the Festac economy.

Lagos State is about 10 times the size of the Togolese economy. So, when you talk about economies, currencies and inflation, what does it take to manage Togo? It is not that much especially when you have the backing of the French. Togo is made up of two things to me - Ecobank headquarters and Asky airline that has its headquarters there. Apart from that, nothing else happens in Lome. I want to go back to the fact about what happens to the naira. The naira remains a stable currency, the naira serves the purpose of trading domestically and internationally for Nigeria. The naira is CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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REWANE: NIGERIA SHOULD FOCUS ON ITS ECONOMIC INTEREST

In the past, we took a position in Liberia and Sierra Leone when they had military issues and we put ECOMOG. But that time we had the resources, we had enough oxygen so we could give the oxygen to the other people. Now, we can’t afford that, we ďŹ rst of all have to take care of our own interest ďŹ rst, like Donald Trump said, we have to make Nigeria great again subject to so many vulnerabilities because of OPEC, gas, oil, and all that. But for now, the strategic objective is to manage it, for it to be predictable and stable. A point will come when we will have to look at it. Just like India, South Africa and all that, how do we intend to position our currency as a tool for competitiveness? I don’t think we should be stampeded into making precipitated decisions about the economy, the currency, regional integration and our role as a giant of Africa.

Another issue that has been raised is the foreign reserves that will anchor the currency. There is a lot of conversation that has been going on around that, what do you have to say about that?

Again, I keep on saying that when the oxygen mask drops in turbulence, you cover your nose before you assist the next person.

So of what use it is to us at this point in time to protect Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso and all that? We have strategic relationship, for example the River Niger starts from the Futa Jalon and run through two other countries. If we don’t provide power to those countries and they dam the River Niger, then that is the end Kanji Dam. So, there are loads of things. But then, it brings up the question about how do you want to manage your economy efficiently first, then how do you want to benefit from economies of scale and regional integration?

So, for now Nigeria is the biggest economy, Nigeria is the main beneficiary of a regional integration when the time is right, Nigeria has the strongest currency as it were in West Africa, but now, Nigeria has to concentrate more on how to manage its own economy much more efficiently. This is because you are only as good as your economy and as your economic strength is.

So, Nigeria should focus on its own economic interest. You can only be a champion of people if you can do things for them. In the past, we took a position in Liberia and Sierra Leone when they had military issues and we put ECOMOG. But that time we had the resources, we had enough oxygen so we could give the oxygen to the other people. Now, we can’t afford that, we first of all have to take care of our own interest first, like Donald Trump said, we have to make Nigeria great again. We have to make Nigeria reliable, we have to make it strong, we have to make as efficient as we can. But don’t forget that we are the beneficiaries of regional integration. We have Arik Air, Air Peace and others and you can, you can see what Africa World Airline is doing. It has dominated the Lagos-Accra route. Now, so many of those things are happening. Nigerian banks are all over.

When you look at the banks with African footprints and Africa strategic intent, there is Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, which is essentially a Nigerian bank, headquartered in Lome, there is Standard Bank of South Africa, which is Stanbic and then there is United Bank of Africa and now Access Bank Plc is expanding. So, when you talk about African footprint and those who will benefit, look at Dangote, he is in about 12 African countries. The reality is that we have to now become extremely strategic.

Rewane There is what is called economic diplomacy and engagement where we now say this is what we want. For instance, how we handled the South Africa xenophobia issue was good. They have corporates here such as MTN, Shoprite and other companies. We needed some entry into their own market, so that we can get things done under African continental free trade. So, South Africa has South Africa Airways flies in here, we don’t have an airline flying into that country. So, we have to start making ourselves competitive.

We have to incentivise investors to come into our country. We have to help our own African and Nigerian companies to invest in these other African countries and get the benefit of it.

They tell us all the time that Africa is the centre piece of Nigeria’s foreign policy process and we got to a point in our diplomacy in the continent that our domestic policy was almost subordinated to foreign policy. Nigeria was busy doing across West Africa what it was not doing for Africa and Africa what it was not doing for its people at home. Do you see a shift? And if you see a shift is it a good thing and is it sustainable in the long run?

I see a shift in that charity begins at home, you don’t dress from outside to come in, you dress from home to go outside. So let’s get that clear. If your house is in disarray then you can do all you want to do outside, nobody is going to respect you, so you start from home. If your rate of inflation is 12 per cent and your rate of interest and your treasury bills is as low as four per cent, people will now look at the store of value.

There would be foreign portfolio investor who will come in for short-term gains, but the long-term strategic direction of the economy - savings mobilisation, output expansion, growth, employment - those things would be driven by how efficient you are in managing your economy. If you don’t do that, becoming diplomatic is of no use. So, we have to show evidence that we can manage our affairs efficiently.

I strongly believe that a lot of people still don’t have a very clear understanding of what this currency is going to do for Nigeria especially for millennials. What will this do, in terms of, for example, minimum wage, ease of doing business, pension, how would this shift affect it

and where will the headquarters of the central bank likely be?

First of all, it is a French-speaking thing to start with, so probably they will have it in Abidjan. The African Development Bank is already headquartered in Abidjan, so they will have it there. Abidjan wants to become the financial hub of West Africa. And for your information, Abidjan is not the capital of Ivory Coast, the capital is Yamoussoukro.

Abidjan is the financial capital of Ivory Coast, the headquarters of the African Development Bank. Because the Ivoirians at the beginning said we will not vie for the presidency of the AfDB, we will want the AfDB located in our country. So the point you are making about millennials and everybody in this country, it comes back to the same thing that, the store of value argument is driven by how efficient your economy is managed and your level of optimism of investors.

Investors are the people that drive these whole thing. We are making emotional decisions about currency values. But economics is about rational decisions, you have rational mind and you have the emotional mind.

Emotional mind is for Romeo and Juliet love stories and the rational mind is about N3 is more than N2, it is about the economic agent. But there is a point where both can interact. The millennials are more rational than emotional, that is why they don’t stay on one job for more than 2 year or 3 years before they move, they are restless, so it is a different world.

How optimistic are you that the state government’s will end up paying the new minimum wage early enough because that is major problem?

The states will and I will tell you why.

The new VAT law is now 7.5 per cent and 85 per cent of that revenue will go to the states and 15 per cent to the federal government.

Two, there is the rate of exchange between the state government, the federal government and central bank and there are some internal adjustments that will take place in that respect, which will give the states and the federal government additional revenue from that. Generally speaking, the impact, when you take the total amount of salary increase both at the federal and the state level, as a percentage of total money supplied the impact is not going to be that much. What is more important is that we are increasing salaries and productivity is not increasing, so output is an issue. So what are the output

constraints? The output constraints are things like the infrastructure bottlenecks, things like rail, road, power and all that. Those investments are now being commissioned and some have commenced, but there is a time lag between when those projects will take off and the impact. The most important thing is how do we incentivise everybody to invest? To incentivise Nigerians to invest as well as international investors to take a positive look at this economy, you need to start acting differently. We can’t be seen to harass our guests, that is Nigerian investors and international investors. There is nothing wrong in companies making profit, and we can’t look at profit as a crime. The thing is that, attitude about regulation, policy making and all that, is very important.

What about the business owners in terms of the minimum wage implementation, how do they overcome those factors beyond their control?

Minimum wage is a law that affects people that employ more than 25 people. If you are employing less than 25 people, you are not bound by it. The market will determine what you have and there is a conversation about should minimum wage be a federal issue? Shouldn’t states be able to determine?

But right now it is a federal issue. I think that once you start seeing growth, then the ability to pay could not be so much, it will not be such a contentious issue. There are some critical decisions that have to be made.

You are going to see that in power supply.

If something happens significantly in power supply because the president has instructed and has said that by July, we will have some kind of change in the tariff, there is engagement in terms of transmission capacity to take idle power to the discos. If those things are done, you will find that the number of people that are sitting down idle waiting for power to come to produce, if those people are in production, we will definitely see some output. Right now, we are celebrating 2.3 to 2.5 per cent GDP growth, forgetting that 10 years ago we grew at eight and nine per cent. So, when the new normal is that you are celebrating 2.3 per cent growth when your population growth is three per cent, you are actually celebrating failure. If you are growing at rate slower than your population, therefore your per capita income is actually declining. That is why a lot your people are migrating to Canada because they are running to greener pastures.

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FG, IBM Sign MoU for Digital Skill Development Emma Okonji The federal government through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tech giant, International Business Machines (IBM) West Africa.

The deal is for partnership and collaboration in the area of digital skills development in Nigeria.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, who signed on behalf of the federal government, said the partnership would give impetus to the digital, innovation and

entrepreneurship skills of the economic development plan of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He described the partnership as a quantum leap in the digital economy strategy of the ministry.

The MoU, which was signed in Abuja recently, is scheduled to take off in February 2020.

The MoU provides a platform to empower Nigerian youths with digital literacy skills, enable innovation, design and development of indigenous solutions, self -sufficiency and make Nigeria a hub for critical skills for Africa and the world at large.

Under the partnership,

and in line with the Digital Literacy initiative and drive of the Minister, IBM would through its Digital Nation Africa Initiative, provide free training to Nigerians for a period of 12 to 16 weeks, in diverse areas of Information Technology (IT).

The MoU seeks to create awareness and support in the development and use of digital tools and applications to improve the delivery of government services; create a pool of Nigerians with digital skills validated by globally recognised certifications; bridge the gap between the academia and the industry through sensitisation on digital tools and skills; and

lower the access barrier to digital tools for the citizens.

Addressing IBM representatives led by the Country General Manager, Pantami expressed satisfaction at the organisation’s response to the digital economy policy by, sufficiently keying in, to bridge the divide between the academia and the industry, education and entrepreneurship.

Pantami noted that, “to achieve a digital economy, digital skills are central, and this has been adequately captured in the second pillar of the Digital Economy Strategy Policy Document as approved and launched by the President on the 28th of November 2019.�

The minister further disclosed that the importance of broadband in the implementation of a digital economy is the life line to its success and this again has been reflected in the seventh pillar of the strategy document. “The importance of broadband penetration in achieving a digital economy has given rise to the National Broadband Committee to ensure that we thoroughly address the impediments to broadband penetration and achieving a Digital Economy,� Pantami said.

The minister urged institutions of learning to give priority to skills, especially digital skills over paper qualifications.

According to him, “Digital skills are more relevant in today’s world of emerging technologies, therefore we must encourage innovation and drive digital literacy and skills among the populace.�

In his remarks, the Country General Manager at IBM, Mr. Dipo Faulkner, said: “IBM works with governments and key Ministries to address the societal impact of digital technology, leveraging our investment in education with platforms such as IBM Digital Nation Africa. This new collaboration furthers our aims of scaling digital job skills across Africa.�

Stanbic IBTC Wins Award Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc said it emerged as the ‘Best Foreign Exchange Provider in Nigeria,’ at the Global Finance World’s Best Foreign Exchange Provider awards. The event held in London recently.

Stanbic IBTC, in a statement, said it won the award having performed excellently in the following areas: customer service, scope of global coverage, transaction volume, innovative technologies, competitive pricing and market share.

The panel of judges at the Global Finance award also considered various inputs from industry analysts as well as corporate executives and technology specialists.

Headquartered in New York, with offices around the world, Global Finance awards

identifies and awards top performers among banks and other providers of financial services.

The best performing financial institutions were recognised at three levels: global, regional (continent) and country. Standard Bank, the parent company of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, was awarded as the Best Foreign Exchange Provider for Africa at this year ’s awards.

The Nigerian Capital Importation reports of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics identified Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC as attracting the highest volume of capital investments into Nigeria in the second and third quarters of 2019.

Group Embarks on CSR Initiative Over 1,000 food hampers will be delivered to families at internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camp in Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria this week, by crowdfunding platform - Giving.ng.

The platform which uses crowdfunding to address pressing social problems in sustainable ways working with various partners is powered

by Sterling One Foundation.

On the 28th of December 2019, the Foundation launched a fund raising campaign for its inaugural feeding programme in Lagos during the Eat Drink Festival.

The campaign objective was to put a smile on the faces of 1000 less privileged families struggling below the breadline.

Statistics show that an average Nigerian lives on less than a dollar per day and this makes it difficult for a lot of families to feed properly. As such, Sterling “One Foundation intends to make January memorable for one thousand disadvantaged families. “The well-received initiative which is currently enjoying amazing support got a life of its own after participants at the two-day food and drinks festival held at Sterling Arena in Lagos donated unused funds on their cashless payment wristbands to the cause. “Using the power of technology, Giving.ng got festival

attendees to contribute various amounts of money to create social impact. “Working with various partners and donors, Sterling One Foundation also plans to provide scholarships for 500 out-of-school primary school children at N50,000 per child; fund 10 open heart surgeries, provide scholarships to 1,000 teachers and empower 1,000 street kids, among others,� a statement from the organisers explained.

Some of the foundation’s partners are Sterling Bank Plc, Rite Foods, Seven Up Bottling company, Leah Foundation, MACMME, Slum2School, OISA Foundation and Kanu Heart Foundation, among others.

The Giving.ng digital crowdfunding platform provides donors with the opportunity to become part of a movement focused on improving nutrition, promoting sustainable agriculture, educating children, helping people lead healthy and productive lives thereby diminishing poverty. “Everyone can be part of this positive initiative by donating in one or more of five priority areas which include health, education, agriculture, renewable energy and gender development, while not-for-profit organisations with projects that align can also raise funds for their projects through the platform,� the statement added.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

L-R: Chairman, Lagos State Chapter, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Olusegun McMedal; President / Chairman of Council, Malam Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo; Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso; Publisher of Brand Communicator, Joshua Ajayi; Editor, Tunji Faleye; and Assistant Manager, Business Development, Micheal Efengbe, during the presentation of the 2019 PR Magazine of the Year award to Brand Communicator, at the Lagos PR Industry Gala and Awards, held in Lagos...recently.

USADF,All On Open 2020 Edition of $100,000 Energy Challenge Peter Uzoho The US African Development Foundation (USADF) and All On have officially opened the application window for the 2020 Nigeria Off-Grid Energy Challenge, which will provide up to $100,000 in blended finance per enterprise for the successful applicants.

The 2020 application window opened on January 15th and is expected to close on February 29th, 2020.

A statement explained that the Rockefeller Foundation is also providing funding support for the 2020 edition of the program.

USADF, a founding member of Power Africa and an independent United States of America Government agency established by Congress to support and invest in African owned and led enterprises and All On, an off grid energy

impact investing company seeded

by Shell in Nigeria, established the challenge as a multi-year partnership to identify and help scale innovative off-grid solutions to, “power up� unserved and underserved areas in Nigeria.

Now in the third year of the partnership, the parties would jointly provide funding to 100 per cent African owned and operated small and medium enterprises that improve energy access through off-grid energy solutions spanning solar, wind, hydro, biomass and gas technologies. “The enterprises may be developers of their own technology and/or acquiring and implementing technologies developed elsewhere. “To benefit, applicants need to be legally registered in Nigeria, demonstrate the capacity to track and manage project resources and operate in good standing with

the local governments in their areas of operation. “Up to $50,000 per selected company will be provided in the form of convertible debt along with up to $50,000 of grant capital. “Sixteen Nigerian companies have been selected through the 2018 and 2019 editions,� the statement explained.

The winners of the 2019 Nigeria Off-Grid Energy Challenge were ICE Commercial Power, Sosai Renewables, Greenage Tech, Pirano Energy, Sholep Energy, Entric Power Systems, ACOB Lighting, NexGenEnergy and Protergia Nigeria.

In the first edition of the Challenge in 2018, the recipients were PradoPower Ltd, Darway Coast, Auxano, Eastwind, Alyx, Creeds Energy and iKabin.

According to 2018 Challenge winner Ola Abraham, CEO of EastWind Labs, “The USADF-All

On blended finance has enabled my company EastWind Labs to profitably provide solar-powered Refrigeration as a Service (RAAS) to Ile-Ife, touching hundreds of families and businesses daily. “The USADF and All On due diligence process is brutally thorough. You’d think they want to deny you the funding.

On the contrary, that’s just the secret sauce for your business success. APPLY, COMPETE, WIN.�

Also, the CEO of Enugubased 2019 Challenge recipient Greenage Energy, Aaron Esumeh, said, “The selection process for the USADF - All On Off Grid Challenge was very detailed and transparent and winning the challenge has inspired us greatly. This opportunity will make us more impactful to the society, providing electricity to the underserved.�

Group Collaborates to Train Cassava Farmers Oluchi Chibuzor In a bid to boost cassava production in the country, SmartFarm Nigeria, an Agri-tech company has collaborated with Psaltry International Limited, to train cassava farmers.

The aim of the partnership was for the cultivation of about 5, 000 acres of cassava for Psaltry International newly installed cassava processing plant.

Also, the partnership is targeted

at training over 1,000 smallholder farmers and connecting them with the market for their produce, thereby impacting their livelihood positively. Speaking recently in Lagos, at the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), between both firms, the Chief Executive officer, Psaltry International Limited, Yemisi Iranloye, said the partnership would boost productivity of local farmers.

According to her, “We are

excited to partner with SmartFarm Nigeria to provide technologydriven farm-practices that will help farmers increase productivity and this partnership will improve the livelihood of farmers and increase commercialization of Cassava in Africa.�

She stated Psaltry International was exploring innovative approaches to improve the country’s cassava value chain.

Iranloye, who said Psaltry was into the processing and sales of

the finest quality cassava derivatives such as starch, flour, and sorbitol among others, added that SmartFarm Nigeria would provide the business 150,000metric tons of cassava tubers for its new factory yearly.

On her part, the founder, SmartFarm Nigeria, Modupe Oyetoso, said there was a disconnect between smallholder farmers and large agro-processing factories needing their produce owing to issues around quality.

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IMAGES

L-R; Founder Slum2School Africa, Otto Orondaam; Chief Operations OďŹƒcer, Eat’N’Go Limited, Ashwine Dhanuka; Head of Operations, Slum2School Africa, Ruth Ebe, and Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Eat’N’Go Limited, Patrick McMichael at the N50million cheque presentation ceremony, in fulďŹ llment of Eat’N’Go’s commitment to send 1000 kids to school in Nigeria. held in Lagos...recently

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Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

L R: Veteran journalist and former Editor-In-Chief of Nigerian Tribune, Pa Felix Adenaike; Oyo State Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ademola Babalola; former Governor of Western Nigeria, General Oluwole Rotimi (rtd); and former President of NUJ, Prince Lanre Ogundipe when Adenaike led the General on tour of facilities of the press centre in Iyaganku, Ibadan...recently PHOTO: FELIX ADEMOLA

L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Mutual BeneďŹ ts Life Assurance Ltd, Rantimi Ogunleye; Ambassador Tunde Ajisomo; Chairman emeritus, Mutual BeneďŹ ts Assurance Plc, Chamberlain Oyibo; Chairman, Mutual BeneďŹ ts Group, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi; His wife, Dotun and Managing Director/CEO, Mutual BeneďŹ ts Assurance Plc, Mr Femi Asenuga during Mutual BeneďŹ ts’ 24th annual thanksgiving service at the Haven Hall, Ikeja, Lagos...recently PHOTO: ABIODUN AJALA

L-R: Executive Engagement and Group Head, SW Interswitch, Mr Tunji Ashiru; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; and Ogun State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Dapo Okubadejo, when Ashiru paid a courtesy visit on the Governor and to facilitate improvement on digital payments and trasnsformation of the State in Abeokuta...recently

MUTUAL Choir entertainig guests at the 24th annual thanksgiving service of the Company in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ABIODUN AJALA

L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Ekiti State Council, Comrade Rotimi Ojomoyela; and Commissioner for Information and Values Orientation, Aare Muyiwa Olumilua; during the Governor’s new-year dinner/ interactive session with journalists in Ado-Ekiti...recently

L-R: Head of Corporate Aairs and Communication Africa, UpďŹ eld, Omotola Oyebanjo; General Manager West Africa, UpďŹ eld, Bamidele Amao; Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives, Dr. (Mrs) Lola Akande and Head of Operations Africa, Asia & Australia UpďŹ eld, Gianluca Mormile during a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives in Lagos...recently

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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (r) welcoming the Pupils of Universal Basic Education schools who represented the state at National Competitions and won awards to the Government House Port Harcourt... recently

L-R: Senior Adviser and Counsellor to Kwara State Governor, Architect Kale Belgore; Regional Director, National Agency for the Prohibition of TraďŹƒcking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mrs Akomolafe Kehinde; Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; the Nigerian lady repatriated from Lebanon, Gloria Taiwo Ogundele; Commander, NAPTIP, Osogbo Zonal Command, Saadu Mustapha; and Head of Operations, NAPTIP, Oshogbo Zonal Command, Yusuf Olatunji Issa, during a courtesy visit by NAPTIP and Miss Ogundele at Government House, Ilorin,..recently

L-R: Attorney General/Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN; Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso and his counterpart for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, during a press brieďŹ ng on Advocacy and Enforcement of TraďŹƒc Law in the State, at the Lagos Hosue, Alausa, Ikeja,..recently

L–R: Head, Client Network Coverage, CSCS Plc, Mr. Theodore Anyanwu; The British Deputy High Commissioner Lagos, Ms. Harriet Thompson; DH, Business Development, CSCS Plc, Mr. Adeyinka Shonekan; Head, Corporate Strategy, CSCS Plc, Mr. Abiola Rasaq; Head, Corporate Communications, CSCS Plc, Ms. Yemisi Ipaye; Head, Stakeholders’ Engagement, CSCS Plc and Mrs. Ihuaru Akachukwu at the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce’s January Breakfast Meeting themed “2020 Economic Outlook� in Lagos...recently

L-R: Chief Sales and Distribution OďŹƒcer, MTN Nigeria, Kunle Adebiyi; CEO, Bodlink Communications, Olufunke Oyelami; Chief Operating OďŹƒcer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue; CEO, Apple Tree Communications, Beatrice Makinde; and LMD, Ringo Telecommunications Ltd., Boni Obieze at the Y’ello Partners Appreciation Day event that was held in Lagos...recently

L-R: Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; former Governor of Ogun State, Senator lbikunle Amosun and The Groom’s Father, Mr. Henry Egbiki during the Solemnization of Holy Matrimony between Faith ltohan and lsrael ltoya at the SS Philip & James Catholic Church, ldado, Lekki...recently

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

‘How Emotional Intelligence Skills Can Boost Productivity’ Stories by Dike Onwuamaeze Corporate organisations have been advised to apply the tools of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in order to maximise productivity and efficiency. This advice was provided by one of Nigeria’s leading practitioner of EI and the Chief Executive Officer of Pause Factory, Enahoro Okhae.

He described EI as a person’s ability to manage his emotion and the emotions of those around him to achieve a positive result. “Our mantra is that emotion drive people and people drive performance. We plug in EI’s tools to get into the hearts of people that work in the organisation to address the real challenges the organisation is having. “Some of them are called the vital science, the brain discovery science and the sales emotional quotient (EQ),� he said, adding that institutions should, “begin to entrench EI into the fabrics of their organisation’s policies and train leaders on how to lead with EI so that they will not crush people with words that do not communicate optimism.� “A team must have psychological safety net where its members are free to air their views without fear. When there is psychological safety there is collaboration and innovations to grow the organisation and vices are reduced,� he added. Okhae, who is the promoter of Africa Emotional Intelligence Conference, said the role of EI in improving an organisation’s performance was appreciated in 2019, by the World Economic Forum, which declared EI as one of the skills businesses needed to survive in

the age of artificial intelligence.

He said that Pause Factory was collaborating with the Charted Institute of Personnel Management on how to use EI to bring the best out of human capital resources to increase an organisations productivity and performance. “We can solve a company’s sales problem with emotional intelligence. We can solve culture problems as well as team and leadership problems with EI. “An organisation that fails to tap into EI will experience negative emotions and reactions like frustration, anger, sadness, hopelessness. There is also a high level of employee disengagement where EI is overlooked. “But people are happy and love their jobs and manage stress better where EI is practiced,�

Okhae said, adding that EI enables individuals to develop resilience, which is the ability to bounce back when something negative has happened to them, to beat depression and avoid suicide, which starts with sadness and a sense of hopelessness. “A fundamental question is, what that will make a staff of an organisation change for real? EI provides people with the right message that touch their hearts and enables them to make the needed adjustments in their lives. “Those who practice emotional intelligence will be able to get into sad situation and get out of it in a positive manner because they know how to manage emotion. “It is not the regular consulting or training stuff that will provide the solution. What will make them change is the ability to get into their hearts, their neurological

pathways,� he added.

He said leaders who are not able to manage their emotion would make decisions they would regret later on. “Researchers have proved that your intelligent quotient (IQ) is not as important as your EQ. Those that are leading in terms of productivity, according to research, have emotional intelligence. IQ is knowledge, the ability to analyse and come to conclusion. But it does not help people to make good decisions. “It is the EQ that will enable you to use your IQ successfully in your work place. While IQ enables one to understand his product, the EQ empowers him with the right kind of words to speak to the client to enable a sale to take place. “IQ is managing the head without the heart. EQ is working with the brain and the heart. A leader that works with the head will always play logic with the subordinates. He will crush them.

But when he is able to work with the brain and the heart he will be able to combine logic with love, empathy patience and resilience to be a better leader.

He also stated that EI could be used to restore stability in family relationship and reduce social vices like suicide, rape and sexual abuse of the girl child by her father. “The truth is that one can choose his or her emotions, thoughts and actions if he will learn from EI coaching. The more parents learn to practice patience with their children, the more they will be able to hear what their children are saying to advice him properly.

LCCI President Appointed WCF Member The World Chamber Federation (WCF) has appointed the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, to its governing council.

The WCF is a global network of 12,000 chambers of commerce drawn from over 100 countries with headquarters in Paris, France. It enhances the capacity of chamber of commerce to foster private sector development. It also has strong ties with a range of multilateral organisations, including the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and regional development banks.

According to the Director

General of LCCI, Dr. Muda Yusuf, “Mabogunje’s appointment is in recognition of her immense contributions to the development of the Chamber of Commerce movement in Nigeria and the African continent. “It is also in appreciation of her pedigree and immense contributions in business development services, value chain development, project financing, strategic organisation and management and the provision of legal and business advisory services to small and medium enterprises.�

Mabogunje has served the LCCI in various capacities over the past two decades as Sectoral

Group Chairman, Vice President and Deputy President and was inaugurated as the 23rd President of LCCI last month Yusuf added that her appointment to WCF was well deserved. “Indeed, we are very excited as Mabogunje, takes on this responsibility as a member of council of such a prestigious global body. Her election will enhance the LCCI’s role and profile in the global business arena and deepen our global networks. This is valuable for the global perception of Nigerian private sector and our dear country Nigeria,� Yusuf said.

Standard Bank Sponsors UKAfrica Investment Summit Standard Bank has disclosed that it is partnering with the UK Government to sponsor the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit, which will be held in London today.

The summit would create new partnership between UK and African businesses, governments and institutions, to deliver more investment, jobs and growth.

The partnership would benefit people and businesses across Africa and the UK. Hosted by the Prime Minister, the summit would bring together UK and African businesses, African leaders and delegations, international institutions and young entrepreneurs.

It would cover topics includ-

ing: Trade and investment, infrastructure development, sustainable finance, the role of the City of London in attracting African businesses to raise capital, clean energy, women’s economic empowerment and creating jobs for young people across the continent.

Commenting on the sponsorship, the Chief Executive, Africa Regions, Standard Bank, Sola David-Borha, was quoted in a statement to have said: “We are proud to be a sponsor of this prestigious and important summit. Africa is home to many fast-growing economies and businesses, and it is very positive to see the recognition of the huge

potential for UK companies and investors. Furthermore, improving socio-economic ties between the UK and Africa can only be mutually beneficial. “There are an increasing number of African businesses and governments looking to the UK, and the City of London in particular, to access capital, as well as investment and commercial expertise across different sectors. “British investors and businesses are increasingly recognising Africa’s potential and the role they can play in boosting the continent’s long-term growth – particularly through investments that have positive social, economic and environmental impacts.�

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

SEPTEMBER 2019 Money Supply (M3)

35,029,779.72

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

7,374,356.91

Money Supply (M2)

27,655,422.82

-- Quasi Money

116,533,891.21

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,121,531.60

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,625,047.69

---- Demand Deposits

9,496,483.91

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

13,911,335.83

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

21,118,443.89

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

35,918,179.45

---- Credit to Government (Net)

10,452,199.38

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

11,007,422.79

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

25,465,980.07

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-14,799,735.56

--Other Assets Net

7,000,253.07

Reserve Money (Base Money

2,005,600.83

--Currency in Circulation

4,677,530.81

--Banks Reserves

317,121.43

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Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

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OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ ÍŻÍ´ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $65.62 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $65.32 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

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MARKET NEWS

Union Bank Raises N20 Billion to Boost Working Capital Goddy Egene Union Bank of Nigeria Plc is raising N20 billion in Series 3 and 4 under its N100 billion Commercial Paper (CP) programme to finance its working capital.

The financial institution said the N20 billion CP follows the debut issuance of the Series 1 and

2 offering the domestic capital markets, which successfully raised N24.3 billion in January 2019.

According to Union Bank of Nigeria, the 180-day and 268-day offer for the Series 3 and 4respectively, opened on January16,2020 and is scheduled to close on January 21, 2020, with a target issuance size of

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

N20 billion across both tenors. “The CP offer is targeted at institutional investors including pension and non-pension asset managers, as well as eligible high net worth investors. The new funding is expected to provide the bank with further working capital as it delivers on its

S E C U R I T I E S

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QUANTITY TRADED

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promise to be Nigeria’s most trusted and reliable banking partner,� it said.

The bank posted profit before tax (PBT) of N15.6 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, up from N14.9 billion in the corresponding period of 2018. Profit after tax (PAT) rose by four per cent from N14.7 billion

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to N15.2 billion.

Commenting on the performance, Chief Executive Officer, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, its CEO, Emeka Emuwa, had said: “Profit Before Tax (PBT) for the group is up to N15.6 billion, a five per cent increase over the same period in 2018.

Our continued focus on

O F

consumer centric service and product propositions is yielding solid results, contributing to a 28 per cent growth in our electronic channels fee income which is at N5.6 billion for the period. Our debt recovery drive continues to record successes with N8.4 billion of recoveries year to date.�

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MARKET NEWS

Continent Reinsurance Delists from Nigerian Stock Exchange Goddy Egene The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last Friday delisted the entire 10,372,744,312 ordinary shares of Continental Reinsurance Plc from the exchange.

The NSE explained that the delisting followed the application of by the company to delist after conclusion of

scheme of arrangement that allowed Continental Reinsurance (CRe) African Investments Limited) to acquire all the shares of CRe Nigeria.

The board of CRe Nigeria had in November 2018, said it received an offer from CRe African Investments Limited to acquire all the outstanding and issued shares through a scheme

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

of arrangement.

According to company, CRe Investments made that offer in order to initiate a much needed restructuring exercise for CRe Nigeria, with a view to consolidating the CRe Nigeria’s operations and repositioning it for enhanced competitiveness in the global insurance market.

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 16Jan-2020, unless otherwise stated.

CRe Investments offered N2.04 per share for the 10,372,744,314 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each or one ordinary shares of $1 each in the capital of CRe Investments for every 176 ordinary share of 50 kobo each held in CRe Nigeria.

The Managing Director of reinsurance firm, Dr. Olufemi Oyetunji,

had a year ago denied plans to delist from the exchange.

According to him, the company only planned to change its business structure to attract capital.

“We need all the capital we can get for this restructuring. So, it is not even a wise decision to delist. People saying that we plan to delist are spreading

rumours. We have no plans to delist or to do a change of name for the company,” he said. Oyetunji had explained that plans were to transfer the various subsidiaries of the group to CRe Investments to enable CRe Nigeria to shore up its balance sheets and capital required for maintaining and expanding the business.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 159.86 163.14 6.30% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 8.03% Nigeria International Debt Fund 320.90 320.90 3.76% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.91 0.92 8.38% ACAP Income Funds 0.76 0.76 33.73% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.94% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.48 2.53 0.77% info@anchoriaam.com ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 5.64% Anchoria Equity Fund 109.18 109.59 6.64% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.16 1.16 1.72% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 16.68 17.18 8.88% ARM Discovery Fund 367.80 378.89 6.47% ARM Ethical Fund 30.67 31.59 5.44% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.97% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 103.30 104.03 7.51% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.50% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 1.94 1.94 16.63% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.61% Paramount Equity Fund 13.15 13.28 4.63% Women's Investment Fund 115.61 116.60 4.69% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A N/A CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.14% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.96 0.97 3.34% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.35 1.35 1.46% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 6.27% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 9.25% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,166.68 1,167.66 0.35% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Balanced Fund 151.97 153.13 3.51% FBN Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 133.81 135.49 2.83% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.05% Legacy Debt Fund 3.67 3.67 0.36% Legacy Equity Fund 1.20 1.22 6.21% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.08 1.08 0.19% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH Treasury Bills Fund N/A N/A N/A GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.87% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 120.76 121.51 11.76%

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.03% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.29 2.32 6.16% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 11.64% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 144.69 145.17 15.92% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.23 1.25 5.37% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,103.39 1,103.39 0.48% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 10.44 10.54 14.13% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.74% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.37 1.40 12.39% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.33 12.42 9.25% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 10.00% PACAM Equity Fund 1.19 1.20 PACAM EuroBond Fund 107.81 109.66 SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 139.96 141.34 10.43% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 0.07% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,521.35 2,532.80 3.74% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 0.30% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 7.30% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 0.58% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 5.53% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.73% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 6.87% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.16 1.16 0.22% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 118.18 118.18 0.00% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Wealth for Women Fund N/A N/A N/A QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 10.96 11.13 6.84% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.14 12.30 4.70% Zenith Income Fund 22.96 22.96 3.33% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.78%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

3.50 119.19 52.14

-63.85% 0.22% 0.17%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.15 103.52 79.90

10.25 105.74 81.37

16.45% 11.95% 8.37%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.94 5.75 13.72 11.96 173.91

3.98 5.83 13.82 12.16 175.91

10.98% -2.65% 12.80% 14.97% -7.21%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.40

17.40%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

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NEWSEXTRA

17 Soldiers Feared Killed in Boko Haram’s Attack on Borno Never again will insurgents hold territories, says General Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri No fewer than 17 soldiers were killed in confrontations between the military and Boko Haram insurgents along Bama-Gwoza road in Borno State on Friday night.

Many soldiers were also said to have been abducted by the insurgents in the confrontations, even as the large number of casualties on the Boko Haram’s side, could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.

The insurgents were said to have attacked Firgi, 20 kilometres north of Pulka along the road from Gwoza to Bama.

They were also said to have killed 13 soldiers in the crossfire that lasted for over two hours.

The insurgents, whose number of casualties could not be ascertained, were said

to have forced the military to retreat.

They were equally said to have carted away some arms, ammunition and vehicles belonging to the Nigerian Army.

An impeccable source told THISDAY that during the crossfire around 10 p.m on January 17, 2020 on Firgi, “13 government forces members were killed with four of their vehicles taken away. The insurgents were back on the same axis the second day, Saturday to continue from where they stopped.”

The terrorists were said to have attacked a military company at Banki junction on Bama-Gwoza road at 10 p.m.

THISDAY gathered that the battle lasted for about three hours (10p.m. to 1a.m.), with both sides pushing for victory.

The casualties on the side of the military were four, while the number of casualities on the side of the insurgents was not known.

The insurgents also abducted a yet-to-be ascertained number of soldiers and carted away prized arms and ammunition.

Confirmation from the military was not successful as at the time of filing this report as text messages to the

Army spokesman, Col. Sagir Musa, and the spokesman of the military joint task force on counter insurgency in the North-east - Operation Lafiya Dole, Col. Isa Ado, were not responded to.

Meanwhile, the Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi, has said Boko Haram had failed in the ongoing war against the country.

He equally promised that the military would not allow them an inch of land in Nigeria.

Speaking at a party organised for the troops in Maiduguri on Saturday evening, Adeniyi, who led a victory dance, said: “Boko Haram has failed; we are not going to let them get an inch of land in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.”

Adeniyi, who called out officers and soldiers and guests

at the get together to be part of the victory dance, said: “We are happy to dance and shame Boko Haram who does not want us to be happy.”

The Army chief, who was joined in the dance by the Borno Deputy Governor, Alhaji Usman Kadafur, the guest of honour at the occasion, said: “I have made a covenant to go after Boko Haram, fight Boko Haram and end their menace.”

My Second Term is Done Deal, Says Obaseki Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Segun James Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has alluded to his insistence on fighting inherent corruption in the system as the major cause of challenges experienced by his governmemt.

Speaking to a teeming audience of Edo indigenes at a Town Hall meeting in Lagos on Sunday, Obaseki said, “This is why I am having problems. A situation where I refuse to build one kilometre of road for over $3 million is not acceptable, when I can build three roads for that amount. Then they accuse me of bringing contractors from Lagos. That is not true. The truth is that in Edo, under my administration my road contracts are priced such that the profit is very good, but not outrageous.

My profit margins are tight. I do not have contracts that you collect and then sell to another person. If you are not the one

building the road yourself, you can’t collect contract from me.

That is why they are fighting me. The boys who are executing the contracts have always been in the system, but they did not have political access. I have not hired any new contractor since I came to office. All the contracts are executed by Edo indigenes.

They are the same ones I met on the ground, but we have reviewed the way we relate with them because there is no money to throw around. We have interrogated the system That is the difference.”

He said the problem of Edo State was not with resources, but leadership. According to him, “Successive governments have been shortsighted. The military governors did not know when the next coup will be and the politicians only think of the next election, but by the grace of God, I am not thinking of the next election because that is already a done deal. That is why I am

Scores Feared Dead as Vandalised NNPC Pipeline Explodes in Lagos Sunday Ehigiator Several people were feared dead yesterday when a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) exploded in the Ekoro area of Abule-Egba, Lagos State.

Following the incident, the residents of Ekoro in AbuleEgba/Ile-Epo area of the state were thrown into pandemonium as multiple fire-explosions from the vandalised petrol pipeline rocked the area.

THISDAY gathered that the explosion, which started at about 9p.m. yesterday, was alleged to have been caused by activities of pipeline vandals in the area.

According to an eyewitness, the residents had perceived strong smell of fuel 15 minutes before the explosion, but could not detect exactly where it was coming from until the explosion occurred.

As at the time of filling in this report, a team comprising of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and other first responders were already at the scene battling the fire.

The Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Oluwafemi Okeosanyintolu, who confirmed the incident, said, “A raging fire from the explosion of a vandalised NNPC pipeline has caused panic among residents within Awori, U-turn and Pipeline communities in Abule Egba. LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire Service are responding and on top of the situation.”

Also, the Director-General, Lagos State Fire Service, Margaret Adeseye, said three fire service stations had been deployed in the area to curtail the fire, adding that no casualty had been recorded.

CELEBRATING BILATERAL TIES...

L-R: Nigerian High Commissioner to UK, Ambassador George Adesola Oguntade; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama; The Prince of Wales; His Royal Highness, Prince Charles; President Muhammadu Buhari; Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Mr. Abba Kyari; and British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Catriona Laing CB at the high tea in Dumfries House, a stately home in Scotland that is part of The Prince’s Foundation…yesterday

Agabi Petitions Malami over Peace Corps Alex Enumah in Abuja A former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), has petitioned the current occupant of the office, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), over police’s continued disobedience to lawful orders of court.

In a seven-page petition dated January 16, 2020, the former AGF expressed disgust over the attitude of the Nigeria Police Force towards court judgments and asked Malami to compel the police to obey them.

The petition came on the heels of fresh clampdown on

members of the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) and the refusal of police to unseal the corporate headquarters of the corps in Abuja in spite of court orders against the action of the police.

The ex-AGF lamented that the police had unjustly and unlawfully been having running battles with the corps over the years leading to 15 litigations and all won by the youth organisation with over N50 million damages awarded by courts against the police.

He said despite subsisting judgments and orders of courts, the police, through the Ondo State Commissioner, Mr. Undie Adie, on January 13,

2020, arrested the Ondo State Commandant of the Corps, Mr. Alawoki Oluwatobi, while at the CP’s office on a scheduled courtesy visit alongside other affiliate bodies of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), the apex youth body in the country.

Agabi said Oluwatobi had visited the commissioner of police to explore ways of how youth leaders could complement the efforts of the police in curtailing crime in the state.

He said: “Immediately the NYCN leader introduced our client’s commandant in Ondo State, Alawoki Oluwatobi, as

a member of the delegation, the Commissioner of Police instantly reacted by declaring that his organisation is illegal and that there is an existing circular to that effect from the Force Headquarters.

“He subsequently ordered the immediate detention of the commandant.”

Agabi disclosed that the police also invaded the PCN office in Akure “and in the process brutalised, molested and arrested some members” of the corps, adding that valued items, including the PCN’s flag were carted away and the office sealed off.

MNJTF, G5 Sahel Commanders Meet over Boko Haram, ISWAP Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Commanders of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and the Group of five Sahel countries (G5 Sahel) met weekend in Chad to adopt a common approach against terrorist groups, Boko Haram and the Islamic State for West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Commander of Group of 5 Sahel countries, Brigadier General Oumarou Namata Gazama, met with his MNJTF counterpart in N’Djamena, Chad.

The meeting was held to adopt strategies against the terrorist groups in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.

In his remarks, Brigadier General Gazama stated that the G5 Sahel and the MNJTF both have coordinate responsibilities of eliminating the threats of terrorism and insurgency in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, respectively.

He noted that visiting the MNJTF would give him and members of his team the opportunity to understand the modus operandi of the MNJTF. He noted that the experience garnered would come in handy in overcoming some of the challenges that G5 Sahel is currently dealing with. He thanked the Force Commander

MNJTF for receiving him despite the short notice.

Speaking earlier, Force Commander (MNJTF), Major General Ibrahim Yusuf, thanked Brigadier General Gazama for creating time to visit the MNJTF, noting that the visit was auspicious and significant, considering that it was his second month in office.

He added that the visit would create opportunity for both commanders to share experiences which will facilitate better appreciation of the operational environment.

The Force Commander acknowledged the similarities

in the responsibilities of the two forces and stated that there was an urgent need for synergy and collaboration, a statement issued last night by the Spokesman of MNJTF, Col Timothy Antigha, said.

Present during the visit were the MNJTF Deputy Force Commander, Brigadier General Nouma Mellingui, the Chief of Staff, Colonel Tom Djery and Chiefs of Cells, among others.

The G5 Sahel is a sub-regional peace and security framework created in 2017 by Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Mali and Mauritania to deal with insurgency in the Sahel region.

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Akeredolu Unperturbed by Consequences of Role in Amotekun, Says Commissioner Atiku backs Amotekun, community, state, zonal policing KChuks Okocha in Abuja and James Sowole in Akure Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwaroyimi Akeredolu yesterday declared that he is not perturbed by the possible consequences of leading the governors of the South-west in the formation of regional security outfit, Amotekun.

This is coming as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has thrown his weight behind community policing and Amotekun, insisting that when the federal government fails to meet up with challenges of securing lives and property, the states have a right to compliment the federal efforts.

The declaration was made in a statement signed by the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Donald Ojogo against the insinuation

that Aketedolu’s forefront position in the formation of the security outfit may threaten his second term ambition as the people of the state go to poll later this year.

Ojogo said: “In particular, fears and apprehensions have been expressed in many quarters that his role in the formation of Amotekun could mar his second term chances.

“This is far from the truth because Governor Akeredolu is on the path of national cohesion through collaborative internal security.

“The decision taken in respect of Amotekun was in the interest of the entire Nation but not the South-west alone. The political insinuations and blackmail are the required ingredients needed to make it credible. But such will not discourage the governor in any manner.”

The commissioner said it was expected that there are possibly, political vultures waiting to reap from an imaginary scenario, especially as the state approaches the 2020 Ondo State governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“In words and in deeds, Governor Akeredolu will not sacrifice the compelling need to make lives safer in the South-west on the altar of political convenience, comfort and partisanship. The welfare of the people must come first.

“It, therefore, suffices that Governor Akeredolu considers more compelling, the need to institutionalise an acceptably complimentary and more

enduring security framework in the South-west.

“For those who have chosen to impose deceitful contentment on themselves for sake of political ambitions, especially towards Ondo 2020, the choice is free for them to make.

“The people are conscious and enlightened enough to discern the undercurrents; and more importantly, the consequences of those choices are lurking in the corners of our collective psyche, waiting to unleash on all of us.

“Of all vices, deception is dangerous. It becomes most lethal when it graduates to hypocritical humility and pretentious cooperation. It must be stated that Governor

Akeredolu, not oblivious of human imperfections that are not peculiar to him, prefers to live life accepting who he is and loving it rather than pretending to be what he is not,” Ojogo said.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has thrown his weight behind community policing and Amotekun, insisting that when the federal government fails to meet up with challenges of securing lives and property, the states have a right to compliment the federal efforts.

Atiku in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Paul Ibe said that as enshrined in

the Nigerian constitution that the primary responsibility of government, at any level, is the protection of lives and property of the citizens.

Accordingly, Atiku said that in carrying out this function, the state employs different layers of measures to ensure effective and efficient policing.

He said that “it is without doubt that in the past decade particularly, the current policing administration in our dear country had been stretched to its limits and it is obvious that the reality of our domestic security upheaval will demand of us to recalibrate our police systems”.

You’re Products of Manipulation, PDP Replies APC Govs over Imo Chuks Okocha in Abuja Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said the reason governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are standing alone in defence of the widely condemned judgment of the Supreme Court on Imo State governorship election was because many of them are products of huge electoral manipulations.

The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the APC governors’ attempt at cheap blackmail would never stop the PDP and millions of Nigerians from demanding for a review and reversal of the judgment in which the Supreme Court allegedly manufactured and donated fictitious votes to name a fourth position candidate and declared him as the winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Imo State.

PDP added that it’s rather not surprising to many that the APC governors could allow themselves to be enlisted to haul insults at the PDP with a view to blur and distort the grave miscarriage of justice because many of them are products and beneficiaries of electoral manipulations.

“The APC governors’ part in this script appears very glaring.

Of course, who else will the flies support except a person with

open smelly sore?

“This is also why APC governors are encouraging their party to engage in underhand measures and supporting injustice instead of following democratic processes.

“In comparing the Imo State judgment to that of governorship elections in Zamfara and Rivers states, the APC governors forgot that Nigerians are abreast of the facts,” PDP said.

The opposition noted that governors of the ruling party deliberately veiled the fact that they lost Zamfara and Rivers states as a result of their internal wrangling over their failure to conduct a credible primary, which voided their votes and left the party with the second highest number of votes as the winner.

PDP described this as the difference from the judgement of Imo State where fictitious votes were allegedly manufactured by the Supreme Court and donated to the APC to lift it from the fourth position to become winner.

PDP said in making their plea for the rejected judgement, the APC governors should explain to Nigerians how the Supreme Court, in its bid to award votes to APC, ended up declaring a total valid votes of 950,952 votes above the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s official 823,743 total number of accredited voters for the election.

Buhari Meets Prince of Wales His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales yesterday invited President Muhammadu Buhari for high tea at Dumfries House, a stately home in Scotland that is part of The Prince’s Foundation.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Catriona Laing CB, also joined the meeting.

President Buhari is visiting the United Kingdom at the invitation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the UK-Africa Investment Summit holding today.

This is an important opportunity to celebrate the

long standing people-to-people ties between our two countries.

The Prince of Wales previously met President Buhari during a visit to Nigeria with The Duchess of Cornwall in 2018. It is expected that His Royal Highness and President Buhari will meet again later this year at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda.

The Royal Family’s bond with Nigeria will be further strengthened this year through the forthcoming visit of His Royal Highness, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex.

COURTESY VISIT TO LAGOS MONARCH...

L-R: Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu; and wife of Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, during the governor’s courtesy visit to the Oba’s Palace, as part of activities for a Townhall meeting with Edo indigenes resident in Lagos State… yesterday

Boko Haram Cuts off Maiduguri from Power Grid Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday disclosed that Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State has been cut off from electricity supply from the national grid.

TCN in a statement from its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah explained that supply to Maiduguri and its environs were cut off because

the insurgent group, Boko Haram damaged a number of its transmission facilities thereby preventing it from supplying electricity to the area.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby informs the public that Maiduguri and its environs have been cut off from the national grid since January 17, 2020, due to damages to TCN’s equipment by insurgents.

“The incident affected the

330kV transmission line between Maiduguri and Damaturu. Also, the Damboa - Maiduguri 132kV transmission line has equally been disconnected from the grid for sometime, for the same reason,” said Mbah in the statement.

The TCN stated that ithad located the fault on the Maiduguri - Damaturu line and had arranged to repair the line, adding that bulk electricity supply would be restored to Maiduguri on

or before today.

“TCN pledges to continue to work to ensure bulk electricity transmission and grid expansion nationwide. The company wishes to use this opportunity to commend the Nigeria Armed Forces for their continued support especially in areas prone to insecurity. TCN regrets inconveniences caused by this problem to electricity consumers in the affected areas,” she added.

Nigeria Can’t Survive Another Civil War, Soyinka, Ooni Warn Segun James Given the numerous challenges facing Nigeria in her quest for national cohesion and survival, Nobel Laureate, Prof.

Wole Soyinka, and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, have warned that Nigeria could not survive another civil war.

They lamented that religious fanaticism and intolerance have been on the rise as some people who considered themselves privileged fanned the embers of war, adding that they confessed that they have been increasingly distressed

and appalled that the hitherto harmonious co-habitation between all peoples of the nation was being eroded.

The warning was contained in a communiqué issued after a meeting at Soyinka’s residence at Abeokuta, Ogun State in which the two leaders expressed their deep concern “with the alarming drift of the Nigerian nation into a dysfunctional state on multiple levels of citizenship, community belonging, security and productive opportunities.”

They said: “The colonial contraption known as Nigeria

cannot survive another upheaval in the nature of the civil war of Biafran secession.

“All efforts must therefore be made to anticipate and douse socio-political flare-ups that advance the chances of a recurrence of such a conflict, no matter how reduced in scale, its devastating effects on Nigerian humanity, and erosion of the prospects of continuance as a cohesive entity.”

They lamented that “among such issues of urgent import are the ongoing insurrectional movements that derive from religious fanaticism and

intolerance, exemplified

by Boko Haram and allied tendencies, as well as aspects of commercial enterprise, in which some groups consider themselves especially privileged, singular, and above laws and entitlements that are binding on other vectors of commercial and industrial undertaking.”

According to them, “We have in mind destructive forms of social transactions that characterise groups such as nomadic cattle herdsmen, and their umbrella groupings in the nature of Myetti Allah.

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FG Excludes Food Items, Others from VAT Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The new Finance Act 2019 set to take effect from February excludes basic food items, sanitary towels, pads, and tuition fees from elementary schools to tertiary institutions from the payment of value added tax (VAT), federal government disclosed at the weekend.

It listed such food items on which no VAT is required as: additives (honey), bread, cereals, cooking oils, culinary herbs, fish, flour and starch.

Others are: fruits (fresh or dried), live or raw meat and poultry, milk, nuts, pulses, roots, salt, vegetables and water (natural water and table water).

A statement by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo’s spokesman, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the Act would among others, consolidate on “efforts already made in creating the enabling environment for improved private sector participation and contribution to the economy as well as boost states’ revenues.”

According to Akande, contrary to fears that low-income earners and companies would be marginalised by the Act, it rather reduced the burden of taxation on vulnerable groups, promote equitable taxation and extended the list of goods and services hitherto exempted from the amended Act. He highlighted such services exempted from VAT to include

those rendered by microfinance banks, with claims that the new VAT rate increase of 7.5 per cent from the former five percent remains the lowest in Africa, and one of the lowest anywhere in the world.

He also listed VAT rates in some African countries such as South Africa (15 pe rcent), Ghana (12.5 per cent), Kenya (16 per cent, Egypt (14 per cent), Rwanda (18 per cent) and Senegal (18 per cent).

Akande also said the new Finance Act exempts businesses with the turnover below N25

million from the payment of VAT and Companies’ Income Tax (CIT), emphasising that companies with less than N25 million annual turnover won’t pay CIT. The statement, however, said CIT for companies with revenues between N25 million and N100 million, classified as “medium-sized” companies has been reduced from the hitherto 30 per cent to 20 per cent adding that large companies with annual turnover that is greater than N100 million will continue to pay the standard

30 per cent CIT. It added: “The new Act includes a provision that grants to all companies ‘engaged in agricultural production’ in Nigeria ‘an initial tax-free period of five years,’ renewable for an additional three years.

“The new Act also provides incentives to promote tax compliance through bonus reductions in CIT for early remittance: two per cent bonus for medium-size companies one percent bonus for other companies.”

On Personal Income Tax,

Akande said the “new Act now includes ‘electronic mail’ as an acceptable form of correspondence for persons disputing assessments by the tax authorities, adding: “Contributions to pension and retirement funds, societies and schemes are now unconditionally tax-deductible.”

He also disclosed that the Finance Act provides that the N50 stamp duty charge which hitherto applied to transactions from N1,000 and above would now only apply to transactions from N10,000 and above.

Boko Haram Attacks Humanitarian Hub in Borno Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The humanitarian hub in Ngala, a border town with Cameroon in Borno State, was last Saturday attacked by Boko Haram sect.

A worker with one of the United Nations agencies in Maiduguri said the hub was attacked at about 6:30p.m., adding that no casualty was recorded in the attack.

Meanwhile, most parts of Maiduguri have been declared high risk areas by UN agencies working in the North-east region.

A source said most of the agencies have recalled their staff members from towns in the troubled state outside the state capital, Maiduguri, saying humanitarian activities have not been canceled though in the towns.

He said: “Even in places where staff members are withdrawn, they (UN agencies) are providing assistance through third party and communitybased agencies.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator to Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, had last Thursday complained that the security situations in Borno and Yobe State have degenerated and had become worrisome to the UN agencies and other actors in humanitarian activities

in North-east region.

According to Kallon, “I am deeply relieved that some civilians, including three aid workers who were abducted by non-state armed groups on the Monguno-Maiduguri road on December 22, 2019, had been released on Wednesday and are now safe.

“The entire humanitarian community in Nigeria shares the joy of the families, friends and colleagues of these aid workers, who can now put to rest the unimaginable anxiety of missing their loved ones.”

“These dedicated humanitarians were working to provide life-saving support to millions of Nigeria’s most vulnerable in Borno State. They should never have been a target or have to endure the trauma of being held captive.”

He added that: “Despite this encouraging news, I am concerned about the fate of the other civilians abducted in this incident. I also remain gravely concerned for the lives of our ACF colleague, Grace Taku, who was abducted near Damasak in July 2019, and Alice Loksha, a nurse and a mother, abducted in an attack in Rann in March 2018. Both are still held captive by non-state armed groups.

The UN and its humanitarian partners therefore call for their

Royal Battle over in Ibadan, Says Olubadan Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan An end may have come to the chieftancy crisis in Ibadanland as Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, said the threeyear-old crisis that rocked the chieftaincy system in the ancient city has gone with the wind, calling on the people to rejoice in the Lord.

Oba Adetunji, in a statement yesterday by his Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Adeola Oloko, stated this at the sideline of the installation of the new Araba of Ibadanland, Chief Ifalere Odegbemi Odegbola, at his Popoyemoja palace, and witnessed by dignitaries from the six South-western states of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti.

According to him, “One of the definitions of tradition is that whatsoever was good for our forefathers should also be good for us. Every aspect of Yoruba tradition and customs that we champion

is preserved and protected.

One, chiefs are no longer addressed as monarchs as this has become unlawful.

“Two, we have stopped indiscriminate wearing of beaded crowns and coronets. Three, high chiefs, senior chiefs, other chiefs and Mogaji who could not go forward because of the previous government interference in the chieftaincy system have been elevated to appropriate titles.”

“Four, the titled chiefs have also been posted to different Local Government Traditional Councils by Olubadan. Five, no life was lost in the crisis.

Six, some people insulted me but I did not revenge.”

The monarch noted that the peace and harmony prevailing in the Ibadan Chieftaincy would not have been possible were it not for God, lovers of Ibadan and its good people who insisted on non-interference by government in our chieftaincy system.

HAPPY REUNION...

L- R: Chairman of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Senior Executive Course (SEC) 11, Maj. Gen. Chris Garuba (rtd); Special Guest of Honour, Senator Olabiyi Durojaye; former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, Guest Speaker, Ambassador Ignatius Olisemeka; Group Managing Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Joseph Makoju, at the 30 years’ reunion dinner convened by Makoju in Abuja…weekend

Stakeholders Move to Reconcile APC Factions in Rivers Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State have commenced moves to bring peace to the party.

APC in Rivers has been in crisis following disagreements between the two major factions

led by Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, and the former lawmaker representing Rivers South-east Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe. The division in the party and litigations arising therefrom caused the Supreme Court to declare that the party could not field any candidate for

any position in the 2019 general elections.

In a meeting yesterday in Port Harcourt, stakeholders made up of former elected and appointed members of the party from the state expressed sadness that despite losing the right to field any candidate in the last general election, the party was

still on the track of making more mistakes.

Convener of the meeting and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emmanuel Deeya, in his opening remarks, dismissed insinuations that they were being sponsored by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

Enugu Denies Alleged Demand of N500m from Airport Contractors by Host Community Gideon Arinze in Enugu The Enugu State Government has denied the news making the rounds that the host community of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, which is undergoing major upgrade, demanded the sum of N500 million from the contractors handling the project.

In a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chidi Aroh, the state government described the news as “false, malicious and

baseless”.

Aroh who stressed the commitment of the Enugu State Government to the timely and successful completion of the upgrade of the airport, stated “categorically that no such situation or incident ever occurred”.

He added that “the state government has not received any complaint from the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) or the contractors handling the all-important project”.

The information commissioner stated that “it is a well-known fact, which indeed has been publicly acknowledged severally by both the Hon. Minister of Aviation and the Management of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) that the Enugu State Government has provided all the required support in respect of the upgrading of the Akanu Ibiam International Aiport, Enugu”.

Aroh disclosed that the state government in furtherance of its

commitment to the upgrading and timely re-opening of the Enugu airport, during the first meeting of the State Executive Council (EXCO) in 2020, held on January 8, “approved the request of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) made on its behalf by the Managing Director, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, for the issuance of a composite Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) for the entire land area of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu”.

Oba of Lagos Seeks Peaceful Resolution of Edo APC Crisis The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, has called for a peaceful resolution of the political impasse in Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), noting that such was necessary for the development and advancement of the state.

Oba Akiolu said this yesterday when the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki led members of the Edo State Executive Council

and other notable sons and daughters from the state on a courtesy visit to his Palace, as part of activities for a Townhall meeting with Edo indigenes resident in Lagos State.

Notable dignitaries in the governor’s entourage include his wife, Betsy; Deputy Governor, Hon. Philip Shaibu; Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie Esq; the Chief

of Staff to the governor, Chief Taiwo Akerele; Chairman, Edo State Chapter of the APC, Mr. Anselm Ojezua, commissioners, special advisers and heads of agencies, among others.

Oba Akiolu said Edo and Lagos share a lot in common, noting that his forefathers traced their ancestry to Benin Kingdom, adding that it would only be proper for the two states to work together

for mutual development and growth.

On the political impasse in the state, he said there was need for a truce that would be beneficial for all, noting, “Politicians don’t quarrel, they only agree to disagree later.”

“The friction must end on a peaceful note. No victor, no vanquish. I have told my son, here. What is paramount is this country is development and advancement,” he said.

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Afe Babalola Condemns Malami’s Opposition to Amotekun Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Afe Babalola, has counseled the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to go beyond pronouncement and take the six South-west governors to court over the consummation of the joint security network called operation Amotekun.

Babalola said it would be tantamount to illegality for Malami to constitute himself as a lawful court dishing out judgement on issues of this nature, and would also constitute gross abuse of court process for the federal government to expect the South-west governors to file an action against the Federal Government on operation Amotekun conundrum.

Also a socio-pressure group under the auspices of ‘Ajoro Ekiti’, has asked Malami to immediately resign as the Minister for Justice and the AGF, accusing him of acting the script of an undeclared interest which constitutes a serious threat to national security and the peace of the country.

Babalola, while speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti yesterday on the highly controversial issue, said: the federal government should be the one to approach the court to seek redress, since it waited until after the formation of Amotekun before making its position known.

According to him, “In my opinion, the act has been done; Amotekun had been launched, so let them go on. Anybody who feels what they have done is wrong can go to court. They

will meet the governors there.

What all the governors have to do is to show them the law- sections 24, 40, 45 of the constitution-and that is it.

“What the state governors have done is legal, so why should they bother? Let the federal government go to court. It is a case that must fail if they go to court. They have not set up a parallel police outfit. No, the constitution says it is your duty to protect the interest of yourself and others and join together in doing so.

So simple! The case will be so easy to win.

“The Amotekun outfit is a protective and supportive outfit established by the governors of the Southwest zone. It has its roots in the 1999 Constitution and the previous constitutions before it-1960, 1963.

Police Arrest Girl, Accomplice for Faking Own Kidnap Chiemelie Ezeobi The Lagos State Police Command has arrested one Miss Ataghar Namdoo for faking her own kidnap in a bid to extort money from her employer.

The 26-year-old, who cooked up the plan with her boyfriend and another mutual friend, was arrested after operatives from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Lagos State Police Command were directed to ensure her rescue.

According to the state Police Spokesman, DSP Bala Elkana, the suspect had connived with her boyfriend, one Emmanuel Idu, who is presently at large and another accomplice, Mr. David Okpe.

He said: “The suspect conspired with her boyfriend Emmanuel Idu and one Okpe David to produce a short video of herself blindfolded and driven to a bush in a truck.

“In the second video, the girl a mother of one, was seen in a bush at Sangotedo area of Ajah being threatened by a man wearing a mask and holding a Jack knife.

“Police later identified the masked man as Emmanuel Idu, who is the boyfriend of the girl.

The abductors were demanding for N10million as ransom in the video.

“The two videos were sent to the employer of the lady with a threat to kill her and to also go after the family of the employer if the ransom is not paid.

“Frightened by the threat contained in the video and the follow-up calls, the said employer who is into fleet business, reported the case to the police.

“On the receipt of the case, the Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, ordered the anti- kidnapping unit to carry

out an in-depth investigation into the case.

“Thus, the videos were thoroughly analysed alongside other vital leads. A wellcoordinated operation was put in place, which led to the successful rescue of the self-arranged victim of the abduction and the arrest of one of the two suspects, Okpe David.

“The command has taken steps to verify the claim made by Okpe David that he is a military personnel. Police have equally launched a manhunt of the second male suspect, Emmanuel Idu, who is on the run.

“Okpe David confessed to have provided the truck used in driving the girl to the bush.

The truck was actually driven by him. He also did the video recordings sent to the employer of the girl.

High Court Dismisses Former Employee’s Libel Suit against Eunisell An Abuja High Court has dismissed a defamation case filed against Eunisell Limited and two others.The suit, filed

by Kenneth Amadi, a former employee, and two others, was thrown out in its entirety with costs awarded in favour of the defendants.

The first claimant, Amadi, a former employee of Eunisell, had approached the court for alleged defamation against him and sought special damages from the defendants.

Amadi was alleged to have

obtained a sum of N2.9 billion belonging to Eunisell, under false pretences with intent to defraud the company.

Eunisell petitioned the police, seeking their intervention and investigation, against the background of Amadi’s suspected criminal misconduct, whilst he was in their employ.

Amadi complained that the action of his former employer affected his credibility and sought redress.

Ruling on the matter, Justice

Jude Okeke of the High Court of Justice held that “upon a calm consideration of the contents of the circumstances of the defendants’ claims against the conducts of Amadi, the 1st claimant, the respectful view that the defendants, as the then employers of the 1st claimant when the alleged diversion of funds occurred, are persons who have interest in writing the petition to enable the police to investigate the allegation against the claimants.”

CAGE to Organise Maiden Awards The stage is getting set for the maiden edition of the CAGE Awards, a comprehensive celebration of individuals and brands that did astonishingly well by leveraging on the power of the internet to make life simpler and better.

The maiden edition is slated for February 22, 2020 at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria

Island, Lagos.

Announcing in a statement the commencement of voting in the CAGE Awards, which comes in five key areas -Innovation, Information, Inspiration, Entertainment and Commerce - the Chief Administrator of the awards, Johnson Anorh, disclosed that the organizers had opened

its website for voting to take off on Thursday, January 16 and close on the February 9, 2020.

According to him, GAGE Awards seeks to celebrate and spotlight the best individuals, brands or groups who have enriched lives in 2019 by leveraging on the power of digital.

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Araraume: I went to Tribunal to Seek Justice, Not Vendetta Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2019 elections, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, has said he pursued his case to the Supreme Court to ensure that justice was served and not to seek vendetta.

Araraume, who had since declared his support for Governor Hope Uzodinma-led administration, explained that he has come to right the wrongs foisted on the state.

Araraume, while briefing critical stakeholders at his campaign headquarters in Owerri, Imo State capital at the weekend, said going by all the

provisions of the constitution, the declaration of Emeka Ihedioha could not have stood and that it would have been wrong. He added that he would never have forgiven himself if nothing was done to correct the anomaly.

He equally debunked the rumour making round that he planned to defect from APGA, but called on his teeming followers to support Uzodinma, noting that the governor had come to make the difference.

“Imo State has suffered enough. But I assure Imolites that Governor Uzodinma has come to ensure that the dividends of democracy is distributed to all parts of the state. There is so much work for him to do and

I know he will not fail Imo. “Ihedioha did not win the governorship election. He did not meet the constitutional requirements to be declared winner and again the figures

churned out from three local government areas of Mbaise and the tampering of figures from other areas made his claim to the seat a nullity.

“I went to the tribunal to

seek justice, but at the lower and Appeal tribunals, what I got was not judgement. Justice was not served, but the Supreme Court has done the needful,” he said.

Araraume insisted that what happened was a misnomer, but added that they had been vindicated by the Supreme Court that Ihedioha did not win the election.

Six Killed in Oyo Auto Crash Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan Tragedy struck yesterday in a community in Ogbomoso area of Oyo State as no fewer than six people lost their lives in an accident involving a truck and a commercial bus at Abuduka area along Ogbomoso-Ilorin road.

THISDAY learnt also that seven people that sustained injuries in the accident have been rushed to Ladoke Akintoka University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso for treatment.

It was gathered that the accident occurred in the morning when the driver of the truck lost control after the vehicle (truck) suddenly developed break fault while about to negotiate a bend.

According to an eye witness, it was at this juncture that the truck rammed into a fully loaded 18-seater commercial bus resulting in the death of

the six people.

The eyewitness added that there are some passengers in the commercial bus that are presently in coma, saying “I am not sure if any of the passenger in the bus can survive though, not all are dead but the ones alive are in coma.”

It was gathered that attempt by the people of Abuduka at apprehending the driver of the truck over the ghastly accident failed as he reportedly forced his way out into a nearby bush and escaped from the area.

The eyewitness said: “When people tried to apprehend the truck driver, he brought out a knife threatened to stab anybody who dared move closer before he took to his heel.”

Oyo State Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mrs. Chukwura Uche Chidima, who confirmed the incident, said five male adults and one female adult lost their lives in the accident.

PDP Youths Seek Secondus’ Intervention in Edo Congress Youths of the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have urged the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, to urgently intervene in the crisis rocking the party in the state to avoid implosion ahead of congresses.

They alleged that the plot by state Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, to impose Senator Odion Ugbesia as his successor at the congress would cause the party to fail in the forthcoming governorship election.

Four persons have indicated interest to succeed Orbih whose tenure ends in March this year.

The four persons are Senator Odion Ugbesia, Mr. Fred Okah, Tony Azegbemin and Chief Omi Imoisili Coordinator of the PDP youths under the auspices of PDP Youths for Justice, Alhaji Musa Kadiri, in a press statement issued in Benin City, tasked Secondus to tackle Edo PDP crisis at the party’s National

Working Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 21.

Kadiri said Ugbesia is not fit to pilot the affairs of the Edo PDP. Kadiri stated that the best option for the PDP to be united and strong after the congresses was for the party to revert back to its zoning principles.

According to him, “Chief Orbih is attempting to kill Edo PDP after his tenure which is why he is pushing for Senator Ugbesia.

“Ugbesia achieved nothing as a Senator and cannot lead Edo PDP to the seat of power in Edo. “The party can zoned the Chairmanship to Owan axis or Edo South senatorial district which has not produced the chairman since 1999.

“We are putting Secondus on notice to save Edo PDP. Any attempt to allow Chief Orbih have his way would put the in jeopardy.

CONGRATULATIONS...

L-R: Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside; Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; winner, NIMASA Employee of the Year, Mrs. Omagbemi Constance Evi; and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, during the NIMASA Corporate Dinner and Merit Awards held in Lagos...weekend

Olisemeka Faults Buhari’s Proposed Meeting with Charles in UK Deji Elumoye in Abuja Elder statesman and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ignatius Olisemeka, has faulted the planned meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and Prince Charles in London, United Kingdom, this week.

President Buhari, who is on a week-long official visit to the UK, is expected to meet with the heir to the British throne

before returning to Nigeria next Thursday.

Olisemeka, who spoke at the weekend in Abuja at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Course 11 30th anniversary re-union programme, wondered why Buhari should meet with Prince Charles at all in the first place.

He described as shameful the planned meeting which, according to him, ought to

be with the Queen and not her son.

The former ambassador said: “According to news report, our president will be going, not to meet the Queen but her son.

Don’t we have any shame as a black people, as a black race, for a president going to see Prince Charles?”

Olisemeke stressed that it was high time the president of the biggest country in Africa stop

attending every summit he is invited to.

“We learnt that our president was on his way to United Kingdom to attend an African-UK summit where African leaders, including our president, were invited to. For what? For all I know, the time has passed when a president would be invited to a summit and he would respond by attending,” he said.

Buhari,APCLackSolutiontoInsecurity,SaysPDP The National Vice Chairman, South-south, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Emmenuel Ogidi has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government does not have any solution to the spate of insecurity in Nigeria.

Ogidi argued that the position of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), on ‘Amotekun,’ a security outfit jointly set up by states in the South-West, declaring it illegal, suggested that the federal government had lost its grip on internal security.

He added that the people were now trying to protect

themselves through legal means and not taking laws into their hands.

The PDP leader, who spoke to journalists in Abuja yesterday, said, “Only few days ago, the South-West states came up with ‘Amotekun,’ a security outfit, only for the Attorney-General to come up and say it is illegal.

People are being killed and we should not defend ourselves?

President Buhari took oath to protect Nigerians but that is not what we are seeing.

“We now have a National Assembly that is ready to sign and pass just anything the Executive brings to the floor (of the chambers). Look

at the United States today, President Donald Trump has been impeached by the House of Representatives; as it stands, they are waiting for the Senate.

If this were to be in Nigeria, you will see some level of demonstrations and even hired foreigners come and cause confusion.

“Now we hear the Miyeti Allah group saying the Fulani across the continent (Africa) do not need visas to come to Nigeria. What is going on?

Is it that we do not have a territory again? People can just come without identity?

As a country, we have not been able to put in place effective

national identity system and now, we want to open the borders for people without identity to come in.”

Ogidi decried that despite the high spate of insecurity in the country, Buhari has retained the Service Chiefs who are due for retirement.

He said, “They have told us in clear terms that they do not have solution to the security problem of this country. We are all hopeless and have resorted to God to help us. Insecurity is so bad because the economy is so bad. A good economy can also help reduce insecurity.

Majority of Nigerians have turned into beggars.

Ebonyi Gov Empowers 145 Repentant Cultists Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki Following the denouncement of 145 cultists from the group, Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi, has approved their documentation for empowerment in the state.

The governor, who stated this in Abakaliki, the state capital, yesterday, said the ex-cultists would be absolved into the New

Life Empowerment programme of the state.

However, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation and acting Commissioner for Human Capital Development, Uchenna Orji, said the beneficiaries have been invited for accreditations.

Orji said the documentation would start on January 21 to 22, 2020.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Afikpo North Council Area, Chief Okoh Enyim, has commended the state governor for the empowerment of 145 ex-cultists in the state.

Speaking with journalists in Abakaliki, Enyim noted that the importance of the empowerment cannot be over-emphasised as it would help stamp out cultism and other criminal activities in

the state.

He noted that before now, the state had witnessed bloody clashes between different cult groups which led to the death of many promising youths in the state and destruction of properties, adding that on assumption of office, the state governor promised to stamp out such ugly activities in the state.

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Anambra, Taraba PDP Members Embark on Protest against Removal of Ihedioha David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka and Wole Ayodele in Jalingo The Anambra and Taraba states’ chapters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday protested against

the removal of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as governor of Imo State by the Supreme Court and subsequent declaration of Senator Hope Uzodinma as governor of the state.

Members of the main

opposition party in their thousands who thronged the Anambra State judiciary complex, led by the state Chairman, Mr. Ndubuisi Nwobu, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly

South-west Youths Hold Rally on Tuesday over Amotekun Youth groups under the umbrella of Yoruba World Congress (YWC) are to hold a support rally for the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun on Tuesday.

The rally will hold in the capital cities of the six Southwest states and Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, according to YWC convener, Prof. Banji Akintoye.

Akintoye, a renowned historian, disclosed this during his visit to the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, in Ibadan at the weekend.

He said the rally would boost support for the governors of the six states promoting Amotekun.

He said Ilorin was added because Kwara is largely, a Yoruba state.

Akintoye called on Yorubaspeaking people to rally round the six governors, stressing that the setting up of Amotekun is a good job.

He said the Yoruba people owe them the duty of standing up to speak with one voice.

He urged the DAWN commission, being the body in charge of championing the development of the region, to coordinate the implementation of the security network.

His words: “You are the coordinating agency for Amotekun; don’t leave the governors for those people that have personal agendas to tear at them.

“Our governors are doing a good job now, we owe them the duty of standing up for them.

“Playing politics and making sniffling little comments at them is unpatriotic at this point.

“You are a powerful organisation, so you will find your own way to do it but we need to do it.

“Our governors have come together, let us help to build the unity stronger rather than leaving

the governors to be defending themselves. “We should not leave the governors to have to speak up for themselves, the Yoruba nation should speak up for them now because they have done a good thing for us.”

He added: “The governors are the solid pillars behind Amotekun and we must make sure they aren’t disoriented and broken up by all these people who have political agenda.”

The historian further said the people in the Southwest region do not have the luxury of time fighting or criticizing anybody over Amotekun.

“I am totally convinced that our governors have led us to something that is capable of turning around that history of Yoruba nation.

“We are on that beginning to do something huge now and our governors may not know it but they have led us unto a big and beautiful part.

Condemnation Trails Alleged Military Invasion of Bayelsa Town Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Reactions continued to pour in yesterday over Friday’s alleged invasion of Bilabiri, Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State by military personnel who razed down several buildings over the killing of four naval personnel by suspected Niger Delta militants.

The four naval ratings were killed recently while on a rescue mission around the area to free some abducted foreigners, specifically around Agge coastal area.

Though military authorities in the region have kept mute over the incident, despite enquiries, it was learnt that the killing of the military personnel a few weeks ago, followed the interception of a dredger, Sterling Global, and an attempt by the military to recover the vessel.

The suspected pirates also

abducted two Russian nationals and one Indian, ensuing in a confrontation leading to the killings and several injuries.

However, community sources said the incident caused fear among residents who have either fled into the bush or found their way into neighbouring Delta State, including the Paramount Ruler of Bilabiri Kingdom, King Paul Brakere-Seide, whose palace was said to have been completely torched.

“We were all in my palace when some of my subjects ran to me to inform me about military presence and asked us to run. I told them that I could not leave my palace, but they pressurised me to run that there were over 16 military gunboats at the waterside.

“As soon as I left my palace, they came and burnt down my palace and the house of my younger brother. They did not arrest anybody or leave any

message. I have returned to my community to meet my palace burnt to ashes,” Brakere-Seide told journalists.

Reacting yesterday, the leadership of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Central Zone, condemned and frowned on the attack by the military, stressing that it was fast becoming a pattern.

IYC Chairman of the Central Zone, Kennedy Olorogun, lamented “the continuous display of uncivilised and unprofessional act of the Nigerian military towards the Ijaw people.”

“This is becoming unbearable. This attitude of hatred by the federal government to us cannot be seen in the north where insurgency is recorded daily,” he alleged in a statement signed on his behalf by the zone’s Information Officer, Kockman Kurobo.

Sanwo-Olu Consoles Are’s Family Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has commiserated with the family of the late Dr. Lekan Are on the demise of their patriarch, describing the foremost agronomist, businessman and newspaper Director as a Pan-Yoruba Advocate.

A statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso said the Punch Newspapers will miss the contributions of the late Are, its

longest serving Board member, to the continuous growth of the newspaper and the media profession.

Sanwo-Olu said that as a leading businessman and industrialist, the late Are, through resilience and hard work, created jobs for many Nigerians by setting up various businesses and investments for over 30 years.

The governor noted his great business instinct, doggedness, perseverance and intuitiveness

as an outstanding entrepreneur.

He also acknowledged the late Are’s immense contributions to the cause of the Yoruba race through his conscientious efforts at promoting and sustaining Yoruba Nationalism.

While maintaining that Are’s life epitomised the virtues of integrity, hard work, humility, sincerity, honesty and love for his family, Governor Sanwo-Olu prayed that God should grant his family the strength to bear the great loss.

wade into the matter, while also urging the judges of the Supreme Court to reverse themselves, describing the judgment as a travesty of justice.

Nwobu, who addressed journalists at the complex, said: “We request that the judiciary should act as an independent arm of government.

“PDP in Anambra State wish to state clearly its unreserved rejection of the Supreme Court judgment delivered on January 14, 2020, with respect to the governorship election of Imo State.

“They want to foist Hope Uzodinma on the people of Imo State. There is no way a panel of seven judges, no matter how erudite, can sit

and decide the fate of the Imo people, after the people have made their choice.

“There have been instances where the Supreme Court reversed itself; so, we are calling to question that judgment and asking the judges to accept their mistakes and remedy it urgently. That is what we urge the apex court to do and not to ever make such mistake again.”

Also, the former governorship candidate of the party in Anambra State in 2017, Mr. Oseloka Obaze, said the judges are not infallible, and should be able to accept their mistakes.

“The only thing that is impossible is to live forever.

The judges who passed this judgment are not infallible, and

the thing (judgment) they did is not right so they must find the courage to reverse themselves.”

Members of the party, who dressed in black attires and numbering over 3,000, carried placards with different inscriptions while protesting against the Supreme Court recent judgment.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s secretariat in Jalingo yesterday, the chairman of the party in the state, Victor Bala-Kona, who was accompanied by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Joseph Albasu Kunini, alleged that the Supreme Court manufactured votes for Uzodinma, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

AfDB to Invest $250m on Water, Sanitation in FCT Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The African Development Bank (AfDB) has revealed plans to invest $250 million in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) water and sanitation integrated project to improve water supply and sanitation in the satellite towns.

The Senior Director of AfDB, Mr. Ebrima Faal, made the revelation in Abuja when he led a six-man delegation on a courtesy visit to the FCT

Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu.

Also, Faal disclosed that AfDB also intends to invest in the development of Abuja Technology Village. He said a number of studies are ongoing in various components of the integrated project, including ICT, fashion and infrastructural development.

He expressed satisfaction that over 20,000 hectare of land has been made available for the

development of the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) for job creation and poverty reduction in the federal capital, stressing that the bank will work with co-financiers to achieve the objectives.

“Giving the nature of the budget in both the water and sanitation projects, we are thinking of working together with the Climate Funds, the Great Climate Funds, to come in as co-financiers,” he said.

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MONDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

NPFL: Plateau Utd Crush Adamawa 5-0 to Climb Back to the Top Duro Ikhazuagbe

Plateau United crushed visiting Adamawa United 5-0 in Jos yesterday to regain the top spot of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) .

The Jos team leapfrogged Lobi Stars and Rivers United to climb back to the summit.

Plateau who began the day third place, knew a win for them could send them to the top spot so long as Lobi did not win at home against Dakkada.

MATCH-DAY 16 Plateau Utd Rangers Wikki Pillars Ifeanyiubah Heartland Lobi Kwara Utd

5-0 3-1 2-1 2-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Adamawa Abia Warriors MFM Akwa Utd Enyimba Katsina Utd Dakkada Sunshine

TODAY Nasarawa v Warrior Wolves Jigawa GS v Rivers Utd

Ibrahim Mustpaha got the 2017 champions in front on 18 minutes, before Oche Ochowechi added the second seven minutes later.

Mustapha, a former Enyimba forward grabbed his brace five minutes before the break, when he was beautifully sent clear

by Sunday Anthony.

Maikaba’s men resumed with more hunger, in a bid to put behind disappointing results of the four previous match-days.

Uche Onwuasoanya and substitute Abba Umar completed the rout with goals in the 65th and 90th minute to cap what was an amazing afternoon for the Jos side.

In yesterday’s other Matchday 16 clashes, Lobi Stars were held goalless at home in Makurdi by new comers Dakkada. Rivers United on the other hand are playing away to Jigawa Golden Stars this afternoon.

Lobi Stars are now second on the log while Rivers United

Continental League Will Boost Basketball in Africa, Says Fall Femi Solaja

The President of Basketball African League (BAL), Amadou Gallo Fall, has urged all stakeholders in the continent to rally round the maiden edition of the league as a step towards the giant leap of the game in Africa.

The league, expected to feature 12 teams from the continent, is scheduled to take off in March. It will mark NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.

At a round table with the media over the weekend, Gallo Fall said the commitment to the league will create awareness and ignite passion among the youths for the development game at grassroots level not only in the Nigeria but other African countries through the Basketball African League. “Africa’s time is now and basketball is the channel through which the continent can achieve greatness. We are open to taking every step to ensure that we create a benchmark that will meet up with global standard,� he remarked.

He said that BAL in global partnership with the International Basketball Association (FIBA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) who have promised to help with a lot of resources in developing and promoting local talents and support teams to become real professional clubs that will conform with international standard.

The BAL chief stated further that “developing the game will also focus on building the entire ecosystem, structure and foundation including training the coaches, referees and increasing participation among countries to grow a fan base, while creating a

compelling product that will be marketable,� he noted.

In his reaction to the development, former NBA star and captain of Team Nigeria to London 2012 Olympics, Olumide Oyedeji, expressed his delight to the continental league especially the flavour NBA will add to it and hoped that the game has come to stay in the country. “Hopefully, this will be a wake up call for all of us locally to grow our game of basketball, to know what we need to do because we have to understand that this BAL is a professional basketball initiative and not just another dream with no concrete foundation,� he remarked.

The continental President explained that six cities, namely Cairo (Egypt), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos, (Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Rabat (Morocco), and Monastir (Tunisia) while Kigali (Rwanda) will host the first-ever BAL final later in the year.

The competition will start in March and the cities will host a regular season that will feature 12 teams divided into two conferences, with each conference playing in three cities.

The regular season will ensure that the 12 teams play five games each with the top three in each conference qualifying for the playoff.

According to the guidelines, each team will have 16 registered players including 12 active and four inactive with at least eight of whom must be citizens in their respective team’s home country while up to four can be from other nations with no more than two players per team from outside of Africa.

Rivers Hooper of Port Harcourt will represent Nigeria in the maiden event.

are third till the outcome of their game against Jigawa.

Sunshine Stars who also pulled a goalless draw with Kwara United in Ilorin complete the Top Four.

After going to Warri to claim a valuable away win consolidated with another

win yesterday in Enugu.

The Flying Antelopes defeated Abia Warriors in another Oriental Derby at the Cathedral.

The win has now lifted Rangers out of the relegation zone and are replaced there by defending champions

Enyimba, who lost the second match in a row to FC Ifeanyiubah in Nnewi.

Elsewhere, FC Ifeanyi Ubah compounded the woes of eight time champions Enyimba International, with a 2-0 win over Fatai Osho’s men. Uche Sabestian

latched onto a loose ball in the Enyimba defence to draw first blood for the home side, eight minutes before the break, before Ikenna Cooper cemented the win with a header off Eric Oguocha’s cross in the 66th minute.

Kelechi Iheanacho was a second half substitute as Leicester City lost 2-1 away at Burnley...yesterday

Yusuf Alli Expects New National Records at Edo 2020 The Competition Director for the Edo 2020 National Sports Festival (NSF) Yusuf Alli on Sunday declared that National and Festival records, especially in athletics, could be broken at the multi-sports fiesta.

Speaking to sports correspondents in Benin City after inspection of facilities at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Alli said the base for the track is one of the best, if not the best he has seen anywhere in Nigeria. “The base is very solid; I am impressed with the job the contractor has done. A good base is to track what good

foundation is to a house. Once your foundation is solid; which is the base in this case, then you have solid track and a good track enhances athlete performance especially in the sprint events. “I look forward to our athletes taking advantage of the solid base and good track to set new national and festival records in Benin come March 2020,’’stressed the former captain of Team Nigeria.

Alli revealed that apart from minor adjustments to be done in the long jump, discus, shotput, and pole vault areas, the stadium is good to go, “These

adjustments will be done in less than one week, the stadium is good to go. Since the stadium is set, every other thing will fall into place.� Alli revealed that beyond hosting to win, the aim of the host state, Edo, is to restore the glory of the festival, “We want to host a festival where youths in this country are given opportunities to showcase their talents on the national stage.

We want to eliminate the idea of one athlete representing a state in an event and revert to the traditional of three athletes per event which is the international standard.

“Any state that has the resources to send three athletes per event should not be denied the opportunity. The idea of reducing events and athletes per events is not good for sports development. We have made our recommendation to the Sports Ministry, owners of the festival. “We are awaiting their response.

Let me again assure Nigerians, especially the participating athletes, officials and the media that Edo is ready to host the best NSF ever,’’ concludes the national long jump record holder.

Lagos Set to Host South-west Zonal Qualifiers for NSF Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) has accepted the offer to host the South-west team sports qualifiers for the National Sports Festival, Edo 2020. Announcing the decision, Chairman, LSSC, Sola Aiyepeku said the decision to host other South-west states in eight different team sports was in line with the vision of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to make Lagos and Africa’s leading sports destination.“We are excited to host the South West Zonal qualifiers for the National Sports Festival. We have put in place plans to ensure that all the teams and officials will have an enjoyable time in Lagos. “Lagos has not hosted the South-west Zonal Qualifiers since 1973 and we are proud and excited to break that long drought,� stressed the Lagos Sports Commission chief.

Aiyepeku said when the offer was made to Lagos, “we saw it as an opportunity to express our vision of positioning Lagos

as Nigeria’s leading sports hub.

It is a small event but we will treat it as a showcase.�

He also listed many other sports events, local and international lined up for the year. “We have the support of the Governor to project

the positive values of Lagos through sports to a national and global audience,� he further disclosed.

Teams representing Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Ogun states will join their Lagos counterparts for the three-day event starting from

January 21st to 25th.

Male and female teams from the six South-west states will compete for places at the Edo 2020 National Sports Festival in handball, volleyball, beach volleyball, Rugby, cricket, Abula, basketball, and hockey.

L-R: Director General, LSSC, Alh. Oluwatoyin Gafar; Deputy Director Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports (FMYS), Alhaji Bode Durotoye; Chairman, LSSC, Sola Aiyepeku and Coordinator, FMYS, South West Zone 1, Femi Ajao at a sports programme in the zone‌recently

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MONDAYSPORTS PREMIER LEAGUE

Van Dijk, Salah Fire Liverpool 16 Points Clear Reds beat Man Utd as Burnley stun Leicester in comeback win Liverpool’s procession towards their first title in 30 years continued with a hardfought win over Manchester United at Anfield. The win extended their lead at the top of the table to 16 points with a game in hand.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were the superior side but faced late United pressure as they defended Virgil van Dijk’s 14th-minute header before wrapping up the win in style in injury time - goalkeeper Alisson’s long clearance setting Mohamed Salah clear to spark wild celebrations among supporters now convinced that long wait is coming to an end.

Liverpool could have emphasised their superiority

AUSSIE OPEN

Konta, Evans, Edmund Lead British Challenge in Melbourne British number one Johanna Konta has said that she is not concerned by a lack of court time before launching her Australian Open campaign today.

Konta, seeded 12th, faces tricky Tunisian Ons Jabeur, while compatriots Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund also play on the opening day in Melbourne.

Konta, 28, has only played one match since September’s US Open because of a knee injury. “I am in a position to compete - that’s why I am here,� she said.

Concerns over poor air quality, caused by the bushfires which have devastated Australia, are not likely to be an issue on Day-one at Melbourne Park, although play on the outside courts - where the three British matches are scheduled - is predicted to be disrupted by regular thundery showers.

Balotelli Sent Off Again Mario Balotelli was sent off seven minutes after coming on as a substitute in Brescia’s draw with Cagliari in Italian Serie A. The striker was shown a second yellow card for dissent nine minutes from time, moments after being booked for a high challenge on Fabio Pisacane. Balotelli will now miss Friday’s game against former club AC Milan through suspension. The 29-year-old has scored five goals since joining Brescia in August.

Balotelli has now received 13 red cards in his career, and is only the second player in Europe’s top five leagues to have been dismissed in each of the past four seasons, alongside Monaco defender Jemerson.

Brescia President Massimo Cellino recently said the former Manchester City and Liverpool front man is free to leave his hometown club this January.

as Roberto Firmino had a goal contentiously ruled out

by VAR for Van Dijk’s foul on David de Gea, while the United keeper touched Jordan Henderson’s shot on to the post and Salah missed an open goal from six yards.

Elsewhere, Ashley Westwood’s stunning strike saw Burnley come from behind to beat Leicester City and earn their first points in five games.

The midfielder’s emphatic finish in the 79th minute and goalkeeper Nick Pope’s penalty save from Jamie Vardy marked a brilliant recovery by the home side who went behind to Harvey Barnes’ 33rd-minute goal.

The Burnley-born player gave the Foxes the lead with a superb individual effort after Jack Cork had been dispossessed just insid e his own half.

Burnley improved after the break and equalised when Chris Wood poked in his ninth league goal of the season after Ben Mee nodded into his path from a corner.

However, Mee then fouled Barnes in the box to give away a penalty, which was verified by VAR. Vardy, without a goal in his previous three games, saw his firm strike palmed away

by Pope.

With their tails up, Burnley surged forward and

Mohamed Salah celebrating his second goal in the 2-0 defeat of Manchester United ...yesterday

were rewarded 11 minutes from time when Westwood thundered home a low drive.

The win lifts Burnley to 14th - five points above the relegation zone. Leicester

have now lost four times in their last six league games.

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25TH ANNIVERSARY

TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

25

YEARS

OF REASON OF TELLING TRUTH TO POWER OF PROMOTING JUSTICE OF SUPPORTING FREE ENTERPRISE OF STYLE, CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT

THE VISION,

THE VISIONER AND THE EXECUTION

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THE VISION,

THE VISIONER

AND THE EXECUTION Synthesising the impressions of a few former staff of THISDAY, Ayo Arowolo suggests that only one conclusion can be reached: it is difficult to separate the personae of Prince Nduka Obaigbena, Publisher of THISDAY and Arise Media Group from that of the media organisations he has created.

W

ho among Obaigbena’s associates, friends, partners, old school boys, and staff- whatever description-can say he or she truly understands who Prince Nduka Obaigbena is? The plain answer: None!

Prince Obaigbena, as complex as his empire is, has always been at the forefront of most of the bold innovations that shaped Nigeria’s media landscape over the past 35 years making THISDAY the number one newspaper of choice amongst the political, business, diplomatic and culture establishment within the last two decades and a half.

Obaigbena started his journalism career at the Nigerian Observer in 1978 as a satirist, writer and cartoonist.

He worked briefly with Newsweek Magazine in 1984 as a Special Section Representative before moving over same year to TIME Magazine, New York and London where he helped develop Special Surveys and Country Sections and later founded the notable weekly, THISWEEK Magazine in 1986 in Lagos.

In pursuit of his determination to give Africa a global voice, Obaigbena launched ARISE TV, a 24-hour news and entertainment channel with broadcast hubs in London, New York, Johannesburg and Lagos and distributed in Africa, Europe, Middle East and the USA. He was elected to the Nigerian Constitutional Conference in 1995 – a body that wrote the current Nigerian Constitution and was appointed to the Nigeria Political Reform Conference in 2005 and the Nigerian National Conference in 2014. He has also served on several boards, state and presidential committees for privatization and governance. Obaigbena is President of The Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria and The Nigerian Press Organisation - the media umbrella comprising The Nigerian Union Journalist, Nigerian Guild of Editors and NPAN and was a member of the Selection Committee of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum, Davos and founding Chairman of The

African Media Leaders Forum as well as a founding member of the board of the African Media Initiative.

Those who are close to him say Obaigbena does not take “No” for an answer. Once he makes up his mind to pursue an idea; he gives it everything it takes and is ready to demolish anything standing on his way.

Some say that Obaigbena is not deterred by negative circumstances once he has made up his mind to pursue an idea. At one point, the Headquarters of THISDAY in Abuja was set on fire by the Boko haram group destroying printing equipment worth several millions of dollar, and completely obliterating the center.

At a very close interval to the Abuja incident, the Lagos office of THISDAY was also raced by a mysterious inferno.

Yet Obaigbena was not deterred. He simply soldered on.

Some also say that Obaigbena could be daring when it comes to actualizing an inspired idea. Riding on the success of the THISDAY brand in Nigeria, Obaigbena embarked on a bold and aggressive brand extension by storming South Africa with the introduction of the THISDAY brand, totally disrupting the media landscape in the space of time the brand was there.

More than anything else, Obaigbena can be described as a man of style and panache. He does not attempt small things. Some good examples were his various awards such as the Style Awards, The Arise Fashion Week; THISDAY Banking Awards, now being replicated by almost all the media houses in the country Would you also complete the description of Obaigbena without mentioning his high networking skills?

He seems to know virtually everybodyfrom presidents to senators to governors and a great number of the diplomatic community. The interesting thing is that Obaigbena constantly invents ways of maintaining relationships with his contacts.

Some also say he is pan Nigeria in outlook. His activist nature, silent to

many but stirred from childhood with fund raisers for apartheid activists; his belief in Africa and Nigeria with instances of his opening THISWEEK with income from Time magazine project when he could have continued working in the comfort of New York.

Of late, Obaigbena has been putting his brand behind the giving back project creating awareness to issues in the key critical areas of the economy. The latest of such initiatives were the highly successful Healthcare Policy Dialogue series where Nduka using the THISDAY and Arise brand to push for deeper and

more creative funding of the health sector.

The third edition had the vice president, Professor Yemi Osibajo and members of the diplomatic community in attendance.

Obaigbena’s background benefit of working in a top rated research outfit in London has also helped in no small measure in leading the pile as an industry definer, right from This Week to THISDAY and now Arise News.

In the accompanying articles, five former staff of the company, the tribe we have described as ‘THISDAY AMBASSADORS’, share their impressions about the ‘Duke’ and THISDAY

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MONUMENT TO INVENTIVE SPIRIT

T

he easy business plan will assume that having plenty of cash performs all the magic. But not in all cases.

As anyone familiar with the difficult beginnings of THISDAY will attest, guts and sheer improvisation sometimes prove far more invaluable resource.

If the earth indeed shook a quarter

room-and-parlor on the last floor of a three-storey building. Furniture was, for instance, scarcely enough to sit everyone at peak hours. But for this youthful army, a passion for the written word and faith in its power to engage the then fledgling military despotism were comforting enough. .THISDAY was aspiring to fill a vacuum. Raw talent was seizing a

century ago when THISDAY emerged, it was largely because it started by shattering a few ancient media myths: the indispensability of sub-desk, running daily newspaper without owning a printing press, big office and deep pocket.

Yours sincerely was among the founding staff assembled in the heat of June 12 struggle when the national space was choking under the stranglehold of Sani Abacha - arguably the most brutal military dictator in the nation’s history.

Where we started in Lagos was indeed only a little more than a

historic opportunity. Existing media giants like Concord, The Guardian, Punch and Sketch had been proscribed by the military over their critical reportage. So, that meant a glut of seasoned but “jobless” journalists available to drive THISDAY from the outset.

Soon afterwards, folks like us found we had to adapt to a newsroom culture starkly different from where we migrated. The existing orthodoxy would designate the sub-desk as the filter, the ultimate gatekeeper in the newspaper process. Now, the

By Louis Odion

THISDAY template more or less abridged the sub-desk, thus making the production chain compact and more swift to deliver, but imposing greater responsibility on the reporter in terms of the margin of error.

The weight of that burden is better appreciated considering that it was not yet the age of internet or google when information could be sourced seamlessly to background a story while writing.

Even more energizing was the direct involvement of The Duke himself in news-gathering and production.

The physical toll that later exacted was enough to knock him down one day such that he had to be evacuated to the hospital and put on drip. But against doctor’s advice, a tenacious Obaigbena would drag himself up soon after regaining consciousness, conceal the half-empty drip under a flowing Agbada and sneak back to the office, obviously to be sure his absence would not hamper the production of the next day’s edition!

Overall, The Duke’s vast network of powerful sources meant THISDAY reports were mostly in-depth and authoritative. The credit for stampeding Nigeria’s print media at the start of this millennium into the notion of “one edition nationwide” undoubtedly belongs to THISDAY. More, as against the old tradition of reserving the back page for sports exclusively, the daily newspaper opted from the outset in 1995 to devote that space to critical analysis of political issues and trend, handled by the politics desk anchored by Eziuche Ubani (ex-Guardian) and yours sincerely. Our boundless energy to sustain that grueling routine daily, spiced with the biting “missile” section, led us into being nick-named “The Unbreakable” in-house. And from there evolved the concept of back-page column that THISDAY patented and inspired others to follow in Nigeria’s media sector. Years later, those considered “popular” writers were shortlisted by the publisher to write back-page columns.

Expectedly, the heat radiated by the 24-hour operations of THISDAY now left the hitherto quiet neighborhood, where the office was located with the sleeplessness and unceasing human and vehicular traffic. Night and day, the lights never really went off inside THISDAY as folks chattered and bantered away in the

heat of production, foisting a family spirit, with bubbly Ide Eguabor (General Manager) doubling as the inexhaustible bag of humour. Waziri Adio was unmistakable in the crowd with his contemplative taciturnity.

Ditto sardonic Niran Malaolu who seemed in an undeclared competition with the publisher over the wearing of bow-tie.

But for all the relative big impact THISDAY made across the nation within a record short time, the big irony is that The Duke never started with a deep pocket. Insiders would squeal that, almost regularly, the limit of financial wizardry was stretched in trying to meet ever mounting invoices of suppliers of newsprint and consumables with the poor returns from dodgy newspaper distributors and buccaneering advert executives.

Indeed, what The Duke actually had more was personal charm which he constantly summoned to access high places, open seemingly impossible doors and bewitch the tribe of creditors not to refuse him one more time.

At personal level, no less remarkable is Obaigbena’s instinctive inability to keep malice. Much later after our fierce legal battle over copyright following my exit to Sun in 2002, he would playfully pull me by the ear at the residence of our durable icon, “Uncle Sam” (Pa. Sam Amuka, Vanguard’s Publisher), querying: “Why were you absent at my 50th birthday?”

“I was not invited,” I defended.

“Really?,” he frowned, turning to Eni-B (THISDAY Managing Director).

“That’s your fault.”

In retrospect, I believe The Duke was content with winning the landmark case argued personally by legendary Gani Fawehinmi in court against Dr. Amanze Obi continuing with “Broken Tongues” and yours sincerely “The Bottomline” in Sun. Somehow, a “political solution” worked out: there was no fresh suit against me writing “The Bottomline” thereafter.

Like every mortal, The Duke has his own frailties. But all those put together cannot in anyway diminish the monumentality of his contribution to media practice Nigeria in the last four decades.

* Odion is Senior Technical Assistant on Media to the President, Federal Republic Of Nigeria.

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A PHENOMENON IN NIGERIAN MEDIA INDUSTRY ByYusuph Olaniyonu

W

hen THISDAY Newspapers hit the street in 1995, I was an Assistant Editor with THE WEEK, a news magazine based in Lagos. Even then, the newspaper continued to get my critical attention because I saw in it not just a major challenge to existing newspapers but also a threat to news magazines like the one I worked for. The newspaper’s style of reporting major events was what I could only describe with the legal term: ‘Covering the Field’.

THISDAY’s reporters would cover a major politics or economic event or development and in one edition, produce the following day after the event or development, give readers several news stories covering various aspects of the issue. There would be news analysis, news tit- bits that cannot be presented in regular news stories but captioned ‘Political or Business Notes’, list of participants, throwback or flash back in history on that development, where there was need for info-graphs and maps, you will get them and the international dimensions will be presented. Even, some light- hearted social aspects of the issue would be presented. The newspaper gave total coverage such that news magazines that had to wait for almost a week or at least till the next Monday would be struggling to find the new perspectives or fresh angle that could convince readers to part with their hard earned money.

It was such a brilliant approach to journalism that made me admire the newspaper from inception. From June 1997 when I joined the THISDAY stable, the place became my natural professional home, even though I left two years later and only returned in January 2002. THISDAY newspaper is the best training ground for an ambitious professional who wants to grow or move on to be an entrepreneur or those who aspire to join public service or seeking to be in the corporate world later in life.

Why am I making this general claim?

The young professional in THISDAY has an inspiration or motivation in the founder, Chairman/ Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena. He is a role model to learn from. A thinking machine, always coming out with ideas that, to some people, look strange, unconventional and out of the ordinary but they end up being pace setting that others struggle to emulate. He encourages his top managers to be creative and supports good ideas. The “Duke”, as some close friends call him, also has

this knack for throwing staff members into terrains where ordinary persons would never think such persons could function. And in over 80 percent of the times, he was not wrong. That is how you see graduates who came into the company as advertising executives or administrative staff end up being damn good news reporters.

In the same way, you see young professionals who are simply challenged with big responsibilities that you would think the upstarts would collapse in a matter of days. They ended up as stars in those fields.

The same way THISDAY also groomed young stars like Bolaji Abdullahi who later became a Minister, Oma Djebah who later served as Commissioner in Delta, Waziri Adio now the Executive Director of National Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Simon Kolawole who was editor of the newspaper for many years before leaving to found TheCable, a leading online newspaper in the country, Sina Badaru who is into IT consulting and this writer, who left the organisation on sabbatical to serve in Ogun State as Commissioner and later as Special Adviser in the National Assembly.

The thinking machine in Obaigbena made him start the colour printing for the newspaper as far back as 1998 when people thought it was impossible in Nigeria. Many of us in THISDAY then who had to ensure the front page layout for the Monday paper was ready on Friday thought the man was crazy and was just punishing us. He remained focused, unperturbed by the grumbling and today,the entire Nigerian newspaper industry had to join him.

Let me be clear about this. While Obaigbena is a damn good team leader, many outside the establishment erroneously believe every exclusive story or good initiative is from him.

The fact is that you cannot be an editor or manager in THISDAY if you do not have your thinking caps on always.

Also, reporters and editors have the sole responsibility to source their exclusive stories. The platform has been created for you to stand on it and see beyond your contemporaries. No spoon-feeding in THISDAY. THISDAY challenged the inner strength of young men and women. The members of staff were taught to work for long hours without complaining, make a lot happen with little resources and beat others to the big stories. These are lessons of survival. They teach perseverance. The lesson here is that

nothing good comes easy and the THISDAY of yore taught those who are lucky to pass through it this success trick.

The situation was that of organized or systemic chaos.

The reward system in THISDAY is also something worth mentioning.

When the economy became better for the company after the initial difficulties, the chairman was superb in rewarding people. Perhaps, THISDAY is the only organisation in the media industry where new official cars are given not only to top editorial and administrative staff, mid-level production staff, computer operators, office assistants and others also benefit. Many of such lower cadre staff were also encouraged to go to school and do well for themselves in and outside the newsroom. Foreign travels for the sake of creating experience and exposure were sponsored or facilitated for many.

Looking into the Future However, it is not all glitz, glamour

and gold in Apapa and Utako, Abuja, where THISDAY offices operate from.

The old tradition of excellence is being assailed by the country- wide economic situation. The Chairman, despite the fact that he constantly thinks out of the box, has made some decisions that have not worked, like the THISDAY South African edition which failed and a few other ventures In all, I cannot but thank THISDAY for giving me the opportunity to spend 11 solid years of my professional life in the organisation. It remains the stepping stone to other offices I have held since 2011. It also remains my fortress and my second address, even while I hold political office.

May THISDAY continue to wax stronger in the next 25 years and beyond.

Olaniyonu, former Editor of THISDAY on Sunday and chairman, Editorial Board, is currently an aide to former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki

73

MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020 • T H I S D AY

25TH ANNIVERSARY

UNFORGETTABLE 10 YEARS AT THISDAY

By Tunde Rahman the first of its kind in the country and another innovation from the THISDAY stable, which had earlier birthed colour-printing. Apart from assisting the Sunday Editor in news editing and production, I was solely in charge of the political section of the newspaper, the CICERO, which I pioneered. And in no time at all, I was nicknamed CICERO by friends, colleagues and a few readers.

J

oining THISDAY when I did in November of 2004 was Godordained, rather than accidental, even though the circumstance might make it appear so. The reason is this: for most of the time I was in Abuja working as Political Correspondent of the Daily Times and later as Bureau Chief of The Punch, each time my path crossed that of THISDAY Chairman, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, our pleasantries always ended with-”Tunde Rahman, when are you coming to join us at THISDAY. So when I eventually left Punch Newspapers, my natural port was Apapa, the headquarters of THISDAY newspaper. One fateful evening while on a visit to my family, then in Warri, I put a call through to the Chairman, Obaigbena informing him I was now ready to enlist, as I was then out of job. Over the telephone, the Chairman instantly employed me without bordering to know why I was leaving Punch.

Precisely on November 16, 2004, I resumed at Apapa, as Deputy to the then Sunday Editor, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, now Chairman, Editorial Board of the paper, who incidentally is a good friend. I had done three months in Apapa and received my fat pay, fixed by the Chairman himself, for those three months before I set my eyes on Mr. Obaigbena. That experience will forever remain indelible in my memory.

That gesture of rendering timely succour to people needing them, often unstated or understated about Mr. Obaigbena, is one of his fine attributes.

It is a testament to his good nature, compassion and kind-heartedness.

The period I joined THISDAY was when we repackaged the Sunday newspaper to become a complete Sunday companion with core news, economic, politics, sports, travel, arts, lifestyle and fashion segments. At least, eight key segments in all. It was

We were doing mostly 124 pages every Sunday at the time. The paper was unputdownable. But producing it was at a very heavy cost. I’m not referring to the financial cost here, but the physical cost. The Chairman, the MD at the time Victor Ifijeh, Adeniyi and a few other editors and I were working round the clock to produce the bumper edition. The mental and physical exertion were heavy. However, the positive psychological effect was sweet, because we all loved the copy we produced weekly. We were happy to be associated with the paper and to be seen as the brains behind it. The feedback was good. The paper was also selling like hot cakes. The 16-page or so all-colour Style Magazine, usually tucked inside the Sunday paper, was the icing on the cake.

That period also brought me in a position to realise the work ethics of our chairman. To say he is diligent and hard-working is an under-statement.

Mr. Obaigbena is a workaholic. He gave the newspaper his all. He would drive you hard but drive himself even harder. He is also very daring. The word ‘impossible’ is not in his lexicon.

And he wants every staff member to be like that. In news ideas generation, news sourcing, headline casting, page planning and layout, Chairman’s dexterity, creativity and general expertise are second to none.

Even though I had been engaged in journalism practice for about a decade and a half before THISDAY, with stints at Tehran Times International, Daily Times and Punch, I owe a lot to THISDAY. It was at Apapa that I found my real essence in journalism.

Chairman gave me the opportunity to be the very best I could be.

THISDAY opened up and enriched my world of journalism. It gave me the platform to express myself freely and unencumbered.

I spent 10 years at THISDAY at senior editorial level. Within the first year, I was exposed to international travels, attending international

conferences and workshops. Those 10 years were so remarkable and impactful in my career development that I once confided in Chairman that I regretted not coming on board much earlier. I quickly moved up the ladder.

From the Sunday paper, I moved to the daily as Deputy Editor, where I worked with a great guy we all call SK Live.

Simon Kolawole and I had a perfect working relationship, something I would always treasure. I was later to edit two of the three titles in the THISDAY stable within a span of three years and would probably have edited the daily paper if I had stayed longer.

After I had taken my decision to quit THISDAY in pursuit of what was then a burning personal commitment to run a regional newspaper to assist in powering integration in the Southwest, I went to Chairman’s house to inform him. He said to me: “You have taken your decision. We do not owe you and you do not owe us.” I informed him of my mission and he offered me invaluable advice. He called me a couple of times to check how I was doing. Our relationship remains extremely cordial till this day.

Now, the continued success story of THISDAY, I must say, draws essentially from the ingenuity, resourcefulness, boldness, resilience, can-do-spirit of our Chairman, interspersed, of course, with the individual and collective initiatives and contributions of the editors, reporters and other staff members.

Indeed, 25 years of the pursuit of journalism of reason, THISDAY is not showing any sign of distress or showing any sign of imminent disintegration. No, far from it. The newspaper is simply not slowing down. Where do I see the THISDAY brand in the next 25 years? What impact will it make in another 25 years?

I dare say THISDAY will continue to be relevant for a long time to come. I think Chairman Obaigbena seems to have sealed the future of the brand with his wise investment in ARISE News Channel. This brilliant media convergence and synergy between THISDAY and ARISE News will continue to keep the brand alive and guarantee its place in this new age of journalism driven by innovation and technology. *Rahman, former Editor THISDAY on Sunday Newspaper, is Media Adviser/Chief of Staff to APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

74

MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020 •T H I S D AY

25TH ANNIVERSARY

WHY THISDAY WILL ALWAYS BE A PART OF ME

F

or so many reasons, ThisDay newspaper will always be home to me. I joined ThisDay at inception in 1995 as Port Harcourt Bureau Chief where I covered the Ken Saro Wiwa trials, and I left in June, 1999 as Diplomatic Editor. In between those two positions, I was the Corporate Affairs Manager and Special Assistant to the Publisher, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena. I was the first occupant of all of these positions. But what I learnt in ThisDay has continued to positively impact on my operations as the Publisher and Editor In Chief of The Abuja Inquirer Newspaper.

I had been a senior Editorial Staff in the ThisDay newsroom for about a year before I was named SA to the Publisher. In that role, I joined the Chairman for meetings in and outside the office. It gave me a ringside seat from where I observed at very close quarters how his mind worked. I was a sounding board for nearly everything: from the ordinary to very complex of matters.

I saw the Chairman dealt with several complex Management and Editorial issues with so much ease.

Obaigbena always encouraged you to be yourself and be the best that you can be. There were no shackles.

My biggest takeaway was that no task was too daunting or impossible to accomplish. His confidence was infectious. His presence gave you strength and belief in your own abilities. And because you worked closely with him, you instinctively began to think like him and even reason like him.

One day as Diplomatic Editor, I needed a British Visa to travel to London and I asked the Publisher to write a letter introducing me to the British High Commission. “Why should I do that?” he asked me. I explained to him that as the Boss introducing me would make it easier for me to get the visa. His exact response was: “You don’t need a letter from me. Just go there, tell them who you are and they will give you the British visa”. I said “who am I?” He laughed and said “You mean you don’t know who you are?”

Later that day, I wrote a threeparagraph letter addressed to the British High Commissioner to Nigeria for the attention of the Head of the UK Visa section. In a nutshell, I introduced myself as the Diplomatic Editor of ThisDay Newspaper and that I wished to travel to the United Kingdom for

personal and professional reasons. I asked them to give me the necessary visa to enable me make the trip. I had gone there with Okagbue Aduba, the Editor, who had his letter of introduction written for him by Ide Eguabor, the Managing Editor. I wrote and signed my letter myself and attached it to my form. Behold, the visa officer looked through it and told me my visa had been approved and that I could pick it up in two days. No questions asked. Unbelievable!

When I got back to the office, Mr. Obaigbena asked me how it went at the British Visa office. I told him it went well. “What did you do?” He asked me. “I told them who I was and they gave me the visa”. Very good, he said.

I first met Prince Nduka Obaigbena 34 years ago in October of 1986. He was the dashing Publisher of Thisweek magazine at the time and had his office on Ogunlana Drive in Surulere, Lagos.

I followed his rise in the media and we were to meet many times afterwards. But it was in 1993, during a chance encounter in Abuja that he told me Leaders & Company was planning a National newspaper that would be called ThisDay and that he already had a team in place in Lagos working on the blueprint. Eventually I joined the team.

Obaigbena was passionate, committed and very driven to make the publication the best.

Many months after, I stepped aside in pursuit of other personal businesses, only to return when ThisDay was about to hit the newsstand.

The staff at the very beginning were made up of rookies. There were not many experienced hands. But Mr. Obaigbena knew how to motivate the staff and get the best out of them. He led by example. He slept in the office sometimes for days to get the project going. He brought his experience at Thisweek to bear and it worked well.

He was personally involved in story writing, headline casting and even production, page planning and design.

Mr. Obaigbena was compassionate, he listened and was a pillar of support to many. He never showed any signs of weakness. He showed strength and always oozed confidence.

In April of 1997, when I got a letter stating that I had been made the Diplomatic Editor I was clueless on what to do. I was in the thick of my wedding preparations and promised to figure out what was needed of me

ByDan Akpovwa A TOAST TO THE DUKE @SIXTY

nduka obaigbena

44

after I returned from my honeymoon.

“You can do it” Mr. Obaigbena told me. And because he had faith in me I knew I could not let him down. I pushed myself very hard and made the best of that position. I even became an “expert” on Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs. More than twenty years after, some people still talk to me about my time as Diplomatic Editor at ThisDay. Today, whenever I have a problem that needed to be resolved at The Abuja Inquirer, I simply ask myself:

A TOAST TO THE DUKE @SIXTY

nduka obaigbena

45

How did we deal with a similar scenario when I was at ThisDay? Once I reflect on it, the solutions would appear.

ThisDay has come to stay. It is bigger than all of us and will be even stronger in the next 25 years. I am glad to have played my part in the growth of this institution.

Akpovwa, Publisher of The ABUJA INQUIRER newspaper, was the first Diplomatic Editor of ThisDay

75

MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020 • T H I S D AY

25TH ANNIVERSARY

A HOUSE FULL OF FREEDOM

I

left ThisDay in 2003 to work in government. I doubt that there was any time in those seventeen years that I stopped seeing myself as a ThisDay man. I had held several positions, including that of a Federal Minister. Yet, none of those titles excites me as when I am addressed as a former ThisDay Editor.

This intuitive connection is quite easy to explain – ThisDay is where my story truly began.

I arrived ThisDay in April 1997. I got the letter engaging me on a six-month probation the same week. That same week, my story made the centrespread of the Sunday newspaper and on Monday morning, I got a letter offering me full employment as a reporter. This taught me an important lesson that I believe everyone who has worked with ThisDay would have learnt: here, you can rise like a meteor, if you can make yourself a star. Not many people realise that I rose from a reporter, with an uncertain employment prospect, to the position of the Deputy Editor of the newspaper within a combined period of less than 30 months. This kind of story is perhaps, only possible in ThisDay. It is even more astonishing to find over the years that mine is no longer such an exceptional story anymore. I have seen young people walk into the newsroom fresh from school and rise to become superstars in no time, propelled only by sheer talent and hardwork. That is the ThisDay way.

So much has been written about how ThisDay revolutionised the newspaper industry and journalism in Nigeria since it came on board 25 years ago, but, perhaps, not enough has been written about the incredible dedication of the people who work in ThisDay; their instinctive freedom to be whatever they want to be; their strong sense of pride in the ThisDay brand, which makes them feel like elite journalists; their deep sense of brotherhood which is forged in the furnace of both adversity and glory.

The circumstances that led to my leaving ThisDay in 1997, less than a year after joining, and my return about two years later are quite illustrative of the ThisDay personality that the publisher himself embodies.

It started with the death of Shehu Musa Yar’adua in Abakaliki prison December of 1997. For some reasons, I decided to go to the office on that

Monday morning. Standing right in front of me as I arrived the office in Ikeja was the publisher himself.

“Have you heard that Yar’adua is dead,” he fired, ignoring my hurried greeting.

“No sir,” I stammered, embarrassed that I didn’t know that such an important event had occurred.

“Now, you are going to Katsina,” he said as he opened the boot of his car.

“You know how to get to Katsina?”

I didn’t know how to get to Katsina, even though I had done my NYSC in Sokoto. But to tell this man that you didn’t know how to do anything was to declare yourself useless. Or “hopeless,” as he liked to call such people. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to answer.

“Take the next flight to Kano and take a car to Katsina,” he added and handed me some money.

I lived alone. I lived with Waziri Adio in Agege. But he had already relocated to the United States as the New York correspondent of ThisDay. So, no one was going to miss me if I didn’t return home. I headed for the airport and did as the publisher had advised. I arrived Katsina just before the burial process commenced and even joined the prayers. I hired a local photographer and conducted several interviews, including with family members of the late Yar’adua.

Back in those days, there was no Internet and no digital photography.

Therefore, I could not send the pictures. But I think besides these logistical hurdles, my orientation as a Sunday newspaperman also affected my news judgment and conditioned me to see every story as features article rather than news. This also affected my sense of urgency. The net consequence of all this was that the following day, The Guardian newspaper had the story of the burial on page one complete with the photographs. ThisDay had none.

Guardian had a circulation van. It was therefore, relatively easier for their reporter. The bottom line however, was that we had lost the competition.

And it was all my fault.

I covered the Yar’adua death story more than any journalist in the country. I wrote from every conceivable angle and for weeks my story continued to run. Some of my colleagues even began to call me Tafida, Yar’adua’s traditional title.

Many years later, I was delighted to see one of those stories on the wall of the Yar’adua Centre in Abuja. But at

By Bolaji Abdullahi the time, the only thing that mattered was that I had failed in my mission by losing to a direct competitor.

When I arrived from the airport, Mr Obaigbena didn’t waste any time descending on me with all the fury he must have bottled up for days.

I had nothing to say in mitigation.

No excuse could be good enough.

I deserved to be reminded how “hopeless” I was. But he didn’t stop there. He went on to accuse me of sabotage. “Why didn’t you take your own photographer from Lagos?” he queried. I did not answer. “Because you want to keep the money for the photographer?”

I was willing to suffer any punishment for my omission. But if this was what this man thought of me, then I could no longer continue to work with him. I offered to resign. Although I did not have an idea if I would get another job or return to Ilorin, I felt wounded by the accusation and felt the only way I could defend my integrity was to resign. He was in London when I turned in my resignation letter. He spoke to me on the phone and tried to dissuade me from the course of action, which he was convinced was going to ruin my life as, according to him, he already had a plan to make me the South Africa correspondent of ThisDay. But my mind was made up. My friends thought I was suffering from selfdestructive arrogance. I also knew I would suffer, but I couldn’t be bothered at that moment.

Out of THISDAY, I tried my hands on a few things including joining others to set up a newpaper-Hallmark. The truth however was that something in me still got connected with THISDAY and I wasn’t surprised that the publisher eventually persuaded me to come back and was appointed as a deputy editor to Mr. Eniola Bello for the Saturday edition of THISDAY Few months later, Eni B and myself were promoted Editor and Deputy Editor of the daily newspapers. I also began to write on the back-page on Friday!

I still don’t know why he invited me back and promoted me so rapidly from a reporter to Deputy Editor, especially given the circumstances under which I left in the first place. However, if I thought he invited me back because he found me indispensable, I would soon be proven wrong. Only about five months after I returned to ThisDay, I won the British Chevening Scholarship to study for a Master’s

Degree in the United Kingdom. When I informed him, he did not, even for a fleeting, moment betray any sign of disappointment or reluctance to let me go. Instead, he celebrated my achievement on the front page of the paper and organised a reception for me and Waziri Adio who was going to resume as a Nieman fellow at Harvard University at the same time.

Looking back.

When I came to Lagos in 1997, no one knew my name. By the time I finally left to work in government in 2003, every reader of ThisDay knew my name. I might not have been a superstar, but I was certainly a twinkling star. Up till this day, I continue to meet important people who have read something I had written back in those days, and even claimed to have kept a file of my writings. If I didn’t write for ThisDay, I doubt that Dr. Bukola Saraki would have sought me out to work with him when he became the Governor of Kwara State in 2003. I also believe that my ThisDay experience was the best preparation I could have got for the work I have gone on to do in government at various level.

I learnt self-belief from ThisDay. To tell the publisher that something cannot be done when you have not tried to do it; is to declare yourself “hopeless.”

I also learnt from Mr. Obaigbena that you don’t need to have all the answers before you start something. Sometimes, you just need to close your eyes and jump. Wherever you land, you can begin to claw your way out from there. I am still learning his incredible generosity of spirit.

In the pursuit of truth and reason and the defence of free enterprise, ThisDay has led the way in the past quarter of a century. However, I believe the next twenty-five years would even be more crucial. The media landscape itself and the very definition of journalism have changed in a manner that no one could have envisaged when ThisDay first started 25 years ago. This dizzying transformation will continue way into the future; constantly changing how journalism is practiced and mass media is operated and consumed.

Therefore, that innate restlessness and incredible ability to adapt and innovate that formed the core of the ThisDay DNA would even be required in the following years than ever before.

Bolaji Abdullahi was former Minister of Sports

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MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2020 •T H I S D AY

25TH ANNIVERSARY

25 YEARS OF REASON SALUTING OVER 1000 VISIONARIES BEHIND AFRICA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER

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ABAM, ARCHIBONG ABATI, REUBEN*** ABAYOMI, OLUWAFISIBI ABDULLAHI, BOLAJI ABDULLAHI, FUNSO ABDULLAH, M. AMINU ABDULWAHAB, KAYODE ABE, OLORUNFEMI ABEBIYI, ADEBOLA F. ABIBU, LEKE ABIDDE, CLIGAAR ABIODUN, A.ISRAEL ABIOLA, OLUREBI Y. ABONYI, IGWEBUIKE ABORODE, BODE ABOROWA, OLUFEMI ABOYADE, FUNKE (SAN) ABU, EUGENIA * ABU, STEPHEN ABUBAKAR, ALY ABUGU, FELIX ABULU, ANTHONY ACHEME, GODWIN ACHI, LOUIS ADADE, FUNKE ADAH, FRANCIS ADAMS, EBUTE ADEBAMOWO, JOSEPH ADEBAYO, FOLORUNSHO ADEBAYO, KAYODE ADEBAYO, OLUSEYE ADEBISI, SAMUEL ADEBIYI, MOBOLAJI A. ADEBOLA, OJUOLA ADEBOWALE, FATAI ADEBOWALE, OLANIYAN ADEBOWALE, YEMI ADEBOYE-ATTAH, ANGELA* ADEBUMITI, OLUWOLE ADEDAMOLA, BILLY ADEDAYO, ADEMOLA ADEBAYO, OLUMAYOWA ADEDEJI, ADENIYI ADEDOJA, TOKUNBO ADEFEMI, AYODEJI ADEFOPE, IBILOLA ADEFUYE, MOMOH ADEGBE, SAMUEL ADEGBITE, OLUWAYEMISI ADEGBOYE, DAVID ADEGBOYEGA, OLUWASEYI ADEGOKE, AHMED ADEJOH-AUDU, FARUK ADEKOYA, OLUWABUSAYO ADEKUNLE, AINA ADEKUNLE, OLUFEMI ADELAKUN, JOSEPH ADELEKE, AKEEM ADELEKE, KAZEEM ADENIJI, STEPHEN ADENIRAN, PAUL A. ADENIYI, BOLUWAJI M. ADENIYI, OKIRI ADENIYI, OLUSEGUN ADENIYI, RAMONI ADENIYI, YUSUF ADENLE, ADEWALE ADENLE, SOLOMON ADENUGA, EMMANUEL ADEOSUN, GBENGA ADEOYA, AKIN ADEPOJU, YINKA

73. ADERINOKUN, OLAKUNLE 74. ADESHINA, BABATUNDE 75. ADETOKUNBO, OLUMIDE 76. ADETOLA, SULEIMAN 77. ADETONA, SIJIJAN. 78. ADETORO, RASAK 79. ADETOYINBO, IBUKUN 80. ADEUYI, AYODEJI 81. ADEWALE, BADMUS 82. ADEWALE, O. OLASENI 83. ADEWOJU,FUNMI 84. ADEWOLE, A. AJAO 85. ADEWOYIN, BASHIR A. 86. ADEWOYIN, FOLAKEMI 87. ADEWOYIN, OMOLOLA 88. ADEWUYI, SEYI 89. ADEYEMI, ADEWALE I. 90. ADEYEMO, DEMOLA(LATE) 91. ADEYEMO, SAHEED A. 92. ADEYEYE , JOSEPH 93. ADEYINKA, BABA TAYO 94. ADEYINKA, OLAJIDE 95. ADIGOR, GABRIEL 96. ADIGUN, ABIODUN 97. ADIGUN, AKEEM 98. ADIGUN, SUNDAY 99. ADINOYI, SAMUEL 100. ADIO, SANDRA 101. ADIO, WAZIRI 102. ADOBA, IYEFU MARGRET 103. ADUBA, OKAGBUE 104. AFAMBU, CHARLES 105. AFAMEFUNA, MATHEW 106. AFFIA, OKON 107. AFIKU, ANZAKU 108. AGAGA, SILVER (LATE) 109. AGBAMOLAYUN, PATRICK 110. AGBAMUCHE-MBU, MAY 111. AGBO, MALACHI 112. AGBODO, OREZINA(LATE) 113. AGBORMA, NWACHUKWU 114. AGBROKO, GODWIN ( LATE) 115. AGHAEZE, O. SUNDAY 116. AGHOLOR, EMMANUEL 117. AGIDA, DENNIS 118. AGIDIGBI, FELIX 119. AGUWA, EZEIBE JOHNSON 120. AGWU, PHILIP 121. AHENJIR, AVERSHIMA 122. AHIANTE, ANDREW 123. AHMED, FATIMA 124. AHMED, YUSUF 125. AIGBOKHAN, S EHIS 126. AIGHALUA, SALAWO SYLVIA 127. AINA, PHILLIP 128. AISHETU, WAKASO 129. AIYEGBUSI, TOLULOPE 130. AIYEOLA, DOYIN 131. AJAKAYE, OLUTAYO 132. AJALA, ABIODUN 133. AJALA, ABISOLA 134. AJALA, AUGUSTINE 135. AJANAKU, IDOWU E. 136. AJAYI, ADEYEMI 137. AJAYI, BABAJIDE K. 138. AJAYI, BOYE 139. AJAYI, JOHN 140. AJAYI, SAMSON 141. AJAYI, SAMUEL 142. AJIDALUM, BOLA 143. AJIKANBI, OMOBOLA. O 144. AJIMOTOKAN, RAFIU

145. AJUEBOR, NGOZI 146. AJUNWA, CHARLES 147. AKAGHA, FABIAN 148. AKAN, UDEME 149. AKANBI, FESTUS 150. AKANDE, IBRAHIM 151. AKANDE, LANRE 152. AKANNI, ADEMOLA 153. AKEWUSOLA, HAMMED 154. AKIEMUGHU, E. ONOTEAGHO 155. AKIBE, EMMANUEL 156. AKINBOLA, ADEMOLA 157. AKINDURO, ERIC 158. AKINGBOLU, RAHEEM 159. AKINLOYE, A. OLAYIWOLA 160. AKINOLA, ABIDEMI OHIRO 161. AKINOLA, OLUGBAYIRO 162. AKINPELU, OLUWABUKOLA 163. AKINREMI, ADEOLA 164. AKINROGBE, FEMI 165. AKINROWOLU, OSETOYE 166. AKINSANMI, BABALOLA 167. AKINSEYE, IDOWU 168. AKINTERINWA, BOLA 169. AKINTOYE, KEJI 170. AKINTUNDE, AKINTIBUBO 171. AKINTUNDE, AKINWALE 172. AKINTUNDE, ISAAC 173. AKINTUNDE, WAHAB 174. AKINYELE, ABAYOMI 175. AKINYELE, OLAPEJU 176. AKINYOOLA, BULLI 177. AKOGUN, KUNLE 178. AKOKO, MARTINS 179. AKOR, AMBROSE 180. AKOREDE, FEMI 181. AKOSILE, ABIMBOLA 182. AKOSILE GBENGA 183. AKPOVWA, DAN 184. AKUNNA, CHUKS 185. AKWA, EMMANUEL 186. AKWAYA, CLETUS 187. ALAILEDOYE, BUNMI 188. ALAKU, SAMUEL 189. ALARAN, ABDULLAHI 190. ALARAN, ADEWALE F. 191. ALE, EBENEZER 192. ALEKHUOGIE, NOSAKHARE 193. ALETOR, ANDREW 194. ALEX, EKEOCHA 195. ALFRED, OLAREWAJU 196. ALHASAN, NAFISAT 197. ALI, BOLUWATIFE 198. ALI, M. ALI 199. ALI, MOROOPH(LATE) 200. ALI, SUNDAY 201. ALI ,ZAKARI. 202. ALIAMAKA, KINGSLEY 203. ALIKE, AMBROSE EJIOFOR 204. ALLEN, MOJI 205. ALLI, KOLA 206. ALOH, ISRAEL 207. ALUKO, ABIODUN 208. ALUKUZIEWE, DAVID 209. ALUNIA, EHYIS 210. AMAHAGWU, CHIEDU 211. AMAM, FRANK S. 212. AMANZE-NWACHUKWU, CHIKA 213. AMAYI, RICHARD 214. AMBROSE, EMMANUEL 215. AMINU, ABIODUN 216. AMINU, AYODELE

KEY – * EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER ** EDITORIAL CONSULTANT ***COLUMNIST ****DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

217. AMINU, FELIX 218. AMINU, MUHAMMED 219. AMOBI, F.FATUGA (LATE) 220. AMODU, KASHIM 221. AMOS, DANIEL 222. AMUCHIE, MAX 223. AMUTA, CHIDI * 224. ANAHOUN, GILBERT 225. ANAKALI, PIUS 226. ANARO, BLESSING 227. ANDOOR, DONALD 228. ANDREW, EBU SAMSON 229. ANDREW, NEZIANYA 230. ANDULSALAMI, ISA 231. ANGA, FUBARA * 232. ANI, LAURENCE UCHE 233. ANIEMEKE, GODWIN 234. ANOCHIRIONYE, ANGELINA 235. ANUBI, JOHN 236. ANUBI, MICHEAL 237. ANUEYIAGU, ABUCHI 238. ANUKAM, SAM 239. ANYANWU, EMMANUEL 240. ANYIM, PIUS ANYIM * 241. AONDOAAKA, MBAYILAN 242. APATA, RICHARD 243. ARANSIOLA JERRY 244. ARANSOLA, JERRY

245. ARCHIBONG, MATHIAS 246. AREGBESOLA, ABIODUN 247. AREH, SUNDAY 248. ARIFAJOGUN, FASANMI 249. ARIGBE, THOMAS 250. ARIORI, KAMILU 251. ARIYIBI, AJANI 252. AROLE, OLAWALE 253. AROWOLO, AYO 254. ASHAKA, KEHINDE 255. ASHAOLU, OLADIPUPO 256. ASHIATU, IYABODE 257. ASIWE, EMMANUEL .E 258. ATAI, BAGSHAW 259. ATEBOH, OYINKURO 260. ATITEBI, TIMOTHY 261. ATOH, DAVID 262. ATOI, JULIUS 263. ATOYEBI, OLUFEMI 264. ATUMA, UCHE 265. AUDU, S. MAIYEKI 266. AWEH, GODWIN 267. AWO, JAMES 268. AWODIRAN, SUNDAY 269. AWOFADEJI,SEGUN 270. AWOFISIBE, ABAYOMI 271. AWONAYA, BUNMI 272. AWONIYI, KOLAWALE

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25TH ANNIVERSARY 25 YEARS OF REASON 309. BELLO, EMMANUEL 310. BELLO, ENIOLA 311. BELLO, MUHAMMED 312. BELLO, OLANSHILE 313. BELLO, ONO 314. BELLO, SANYA OJO 315. BELLO, SOLOMON 316. BELLO, SURAJO 317. BELLO, TUNJI 318. BELLO-BARKINDO, ABDULRAZAQ 319. BIQUWU, LAZARUS 320. BORISHADE, OLAJIDE 321. BRIGHT-OSIGWE, AMAKA 322. BROWNRIDGE, ANGELA 323. BUHARI, REUBEN 324. BUSARI, RASAQ 325. BUZUGBE, OGOCHUKWU 326. BUZUGBE, SIMON (LATE) 327. CAMPBELL, MOSES 328. CHIAHEMEN, TOM 329. CHINWO, ERNEST 330. CHIZOBA, IKE CHARLES 331. CHUKWU, NNAMDI ALEX 332. CHUKWUJEKWU, ANDY 333. CHUKWUMA, LOUIS 334. CHUKWUMA, OKWUCHI 335. CIROMA, MOHAMMED 336. COLE, SUNMI SMART**** 337. COSMAS, GRACE 338. DADA, FOLAKEMI 339. DADA, STEVE JIDE 340. DAKORU, IBISO 341. DAMISA, ANNE 342. DAMISA, JOSEPHINE O. 343. DANBOYI, OJOGUN VICTOR 344. DANLADI, ANTHONY

273. AWOSHAKIN, TOKUNBO 274. AYEGBA, BEAUTY 275. AYENI, SAMUEL 276. AYEWAH, AUGUSTINE 277. AYINOR, IKECHUKWU 278. AYODELE, ALFRED 279. AYODELE, CHRISTIANA 280. AYODELE, OLADAPO 281. AYODELE, OLAWALE .E 282. AZIEGBEMHIN, WILLIAMS 283. AZURU, OBI 284. AZUYERE, DELE 285. BABATUNDE, MICHEAL 286. BABATUNDE, SULAIMON 287. BABS-KUFEJI, OLUFUNKE 288. BADA, OLUGBENGA 289. BADAMOSI SHILE 290. BADARU, SHINA 291. BADMUS, OLALEKAN 292. BADMUS, SEMIU 293. BAKARE, PETER 294. BALOGUN, ABIMBOLA 295. BALOGUN, AUGUSTINE 296. BALOGUN, AYODEJI 297. BALOGUN, FOLUKE 298. BALOGUN, IDRIS 299. BALOGUN, ISMAILA 300. BAMIGBAYE, ADEYEMI 301. BASSEY, BASSEY 302. BASSEY, MARY DUMEBI 303. BASSEY, OKON 304. BASSEY, UBONG 305. BATURE, UMAR 306. BAYEWU, LANREWAJU 307. BAYEWU, SAMUEL 308. BELLO, ADEKUNLE

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345. DANDADI, DANJUMA 346. DANMADAMI, LEVI W 347. DAN-PRINCEWILL, FAFAA * 348. DANTATA, AMINA 349. DAUDU, JIBRIN 350. DAWODU, CHRISTAINAH (LATE) 351. DEMBO, JOSEPH 352. DIAI, JEAN (LATE) 353. DIBIAGWU, IKPEAMANIM 354. DIBIAGWU, UCHENNA 355. DIPE, SEGUN 356. DIRISU, ANDREW 357. DISI, JANE IYANG 358. DJEBAH, OMA 359. DOUGLAS, ORONTO(LATE) * 360. EBEILUBHUHI, GODWIN 361. EBELE, PETER. S 362. EBIE, CHIEDU 363. EBIE, VERONICA 364. EBIKA, SABITY 365. EBOH, CHIDI 366. EBOMA, LUCKY 367. EBORKA, SABITY 368. EDEN-OKORO, WILBERT 369. EDET, JOSHUA 370. EDIGBO, UZOR 371. EDIKE, JOSEPH 372. EDOMARUSE, COLLINS 373. EDOWORDION, SUNDAY 374. EFEIZOMOR, VICTOR 375. EFENI, EMMANUEL 376. EGAJI, IDRIS 377. EGBAI, GALING 378. EGBAMUNO, MARGARET 379. EGBEMODE, FUNKE 380. EGBERUGHE, ALEX 381. EGBO, HANNAM 382. EGBOH, MARTINS (LATE) 383. EGBON, TONY 384. EGBU, RALPH 385. EGBUNA, JOSEPH 386. EGENE, GODDY 387. EGGAH, SUNDAY .E. 388. EGUABOR, IDE 389. EGUNJOBI, JOHNSON 390. EGWU, MATINS 391. EHIMA, EMU 392. EHIMIUHI, PATRICK 393. EHIREME, JUDITH 394. EHOBAKHARE, SUNDAY 395. EIMUHI, EMMANUEL 396. EIREMIOKHERE, ANTHONY 397. EJEMBI, DOUGLAS 398. EKAH, ITORO MARY 399. EKAHINU, JOHN A. 400. EKANEM, ETIM OFFIONG 401. EKANEM, IMA 402. EKEANYANWU, JUDE 403. EKECHUKWU, FERDINAND 404. EKEKE, MARTIN 405. EKHEGE NUME 406. EKIYE, DANIEL 407. EKPE, MONDAY 408. EKPENYOUNG, ERNEST 409. EKPEYONG, LUCKY 410. EKUGO, ANDY 411. EKWEM, JULIE 412. EKWOWUSI, SONNIE* 413. ELEMA, FIDELIS 414. ELEMA, SUNDAY 415. EL-RUFAI, NASIR* 416. ELUMOYE, OYEDEJI 417. EMMANUEL, APPOLONIA 418. EMAOKPAE, RAYMOND 419. EME, SANDRA 420. EMEAWUA, APPOLONIA 421. EMEFIELE, JOSEPH 422. EMEJEVWE, STEPHEN 423. EMEJO, JAMES AGASI 424. EMENYIONU, ADIBE AUSTIN

425. EMEWU, IKENNA 426. EMILOJU, OLUFEMI 427. EMIOMA, FRED 428. EMMANUEL, IFEWUMI 429. EMODI, CHUKWUDI A. 430. EMOH, AKPOTU (LATE) 431. EMOKPAE, ERHABOR 432. ENABULELE, ANTHONY 433. ENECHI, EMEKA (LATE) 434. ENECHUKWU, DAVE (LATE) 435. ENEMUO, CHINWE 436. ENIOLAWUN, AFOLABI 437. ENOGHALESE, GABRIEL 438. EPIA, OKE EDWARD 439. ERIBA, OLA JOB 440. ERIKWUME, FESTUS 441. ERIYE, FESTUS 442. EROKE-OKAFOR, LINDA 443. ESSANG, LOVEY ASUQUO 444. ESECHIE, BENJAMIN 445. ESEKA, OGOCHUKWU 446. ESELE, IGHATIUS 447. ESONWANNE, IFESINACHI 448. ESSIEN, UFOT 449. ETIM, SUNDAY ETIM 450. ETO, JULIUS 451. ETUOMU, SUNDAY 452. EUGENE, JENNIFER 453. EWETUGA, LEKE 454. EZE, BASIL 455. EZE, CHINEDU 456. EZE, IKECHUKWU 457. EZE, JAMES 458. EZE, JONAS .O. 459. EZEA, KENNETH 460. EZEDI, ISAAC IWEATU 461. EZEKIEL, SAMUEL O. 462. EZENE, SUNDAY 463. EZEOBI, CHIEMELIE O. 464. EZEUGWU, EMEKA 465. EZIGBO, ONYEBUCHI .F 466. EZIKEOHA, UCHE 467. EZURIKE, GODSON 468. FAFUNMI, O. JOSEPH 469. FAGUNJADE, BIODUN 470. FAHM, FAUZI 471. FAJIMOLU, EMMANUEL 472. FAKEYE, DAVID 473. FALANA, FEMI * 474. FALOYE, BENJAMIN 475. FAMAKINWA, SAM (LATE) 476. FASHANU, OLAJUMOKE 477. FASHIKUN, OLAJIDE 478. FASHOLA, OLADELE 479. FATUASE, SEGUN 480. FATUROTI, AYOWOLE 481. FAWOLE, OLUSOJI 482. FIAKPA, LUCKY 483. FRANCIS, ADAH 484. FROESCH, N.RUTH 485. GABRIEL, SUNDAY 486. GAMBARI, AFOLABI 487. GAMBO, BISSALLA 488. GANIYU, A.AMUSA 489. GBADEBO, DAYO 490. GBADEBO, GBENGA 491. GBEFA, J. NNAMDI 492. GEIDAM, ALI 493. GEORGE, ISAAC O. 494. GEORGE-UFOT, ENO 495. GOLDE, BAWO 496. GOYANG, AARON 497. GYAS, CHRISTOPHER 498. GYAUBE, GYUNGON 499. HALEEL, ZAKARI 500. HARRISON, JUMBO 501. HARUNA, GODWIN 502. HASSAN, AFEEZ 503. HASSAN, M.ADEBISI 504. HASSAN, SAHEED

505. HASSAN,UJU-BABA* 506. HOUNNOU, JEREMIAH 507. HUGHES, SUNDAY 508. IBE, OSHIEN (LATE) 509. IBE, PAUL 510. IBEKIE, ADA 511. IBIAM, UKEM AGUA 512. IBIANG, BASSEY .J 513. IBIDAPO, IBIROGBA 514. IBRAHIM, ABDULLAHI 515. IBRAHIM, AKOGUN 516. IBRAHIM, B. YUSUF * 517. IBRAHIM, EFFIONG 518. IBRAHIM, SHUAIBU 519. IBUKUN, OYELAMI 520. ICHEKU,TONY 521. IDOKO, GEORGE 522. IDOKO, ISA 523. IDRIS, MOJISOLA 524. IDU, MATHEW 525. IDUWE, NICHOLAS 526. IFEBOR, SCOTT 527. IFIJEH, GODWIN 528. IFIJEH, MARTINS 529. IFIJEH, OSAHON 530. IFIJEH, VICTOR 531. IGBANOI, JUDE 532. IGBINEDON, VINCENT 533. IGBINOBA, MABEL 534. IGBOKWE CHINEDU 535. IGHABON, GODFREY 536. IGHAGBON, OSASOGIE 537. IGHARO, STELLA 538. IGHIWIYISI, FRIDAY 539. IGHODARO, ODEH 540. IGWEKAILE, EKENE 541. IHEDINULO, IKEMDI 542. IHENYEN, BENJIE 543. IKAGU, INNOCENT 544. IKECHUKWU, COSMOS 545. IKECHUKWU, OKE * 546. IKEJE, OGOCHUKWU 547. IKHAZUAGBE, DUROJAIYE 548. IKOKU, CONSTANCE 549. IKOKU, MARY-ANNE 550. IKON, G. OYEBUCHI 551. IKORO, GODSON 552. IKPA, ROMANUS 553. IKPASAJA, TONY 554. IKWUEGBU, C. UCHE 555. ILESANMI AKANDE 556. ILESANMI KOLA 557. ILESANMI, SANDRA 558. IMAM, IMAM(LATE) 559. IMIE, JOY MARY 560. IMISIM, ETIM 561. IMORAME, ALEXANDER 562. IMOROA, O. PHILOMINA 563. IMOSEMI, HELEN 564. INALEGWU, ADAH 565. INAOLAJI, OLATUNJI 566. IORBO, DANIEL 567. IRABOR, EBELLE * 568. IRABOR, NDUKA * 569. IRABOR, SUNDAY 570. IREKHEI, SAMSON 571. IREMIREN, SAMSON 572. IRIEKPEN, DAVIDSON 573. IRMIYA, YAKUBU 574. IROEGBU, SENATOR 575. IROH, EDDIE * 576. ISAAC, MARGARET 577. ISAIAH, UKPAI AFIA 578. ISELE, PETER 579. ISHAKA, O. PETER 580. ISHAKU, IBRAHIM 581. ISHIADA, JOHN 582. ISIAKA, SALAWU 583. ISIBOR, OSEDEBAMEN .E 584. ISIEKWENAGBU, IFY

KEY – * EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER ** EDITORIAL CONSULTANT ***COLUMNIST ****DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

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25TH ANNIVERSARY 25 YEARS OF REASON 585. ISIGUZO, CHRISTOPHER 586. ISSA-ONILU, LANRE 587. ITA, CHRISTAIN 588. ITAYEMI, OMOLOLA 589. ITAYEMI, OMORODION 590. ITOBORE, OGENERUONA 591. ITODO , JAMES 592. IVEREN, MADUBUIKE 593. IWEGBU, ISRAEL 594. IWEGBU, PETER 595. IWEZUE, COLLINS 596. IWORI, JOHN 597. IWU, ETHEL 598. IWUALA, CAJETAN 599. IWUOHA, MAGNUS 600. IYAJUJEM, I OLUFEMI 601. IYAMA, SYLVESTER 602. IYANDU, OLAMIDE 603. IYANNAM, ETIP F 604. IYERE, A. ANDREW 605. IYIOLA, WASIU 606. IYOBEBE, SAMUEL 607. IYOZUA, ISAAC T 608. IZEGBU, CHINWE 609. IZEVBIGIE, OMORUYI 610. JACKSON, SUNDAY 611. JAMES, O. SEGUN 612. JEGEDE, ABAYOMI 613. JIMOH, FRANCIS 614. JIMOH, JESSICA 615. JIMOH, RAHMAN 616. JOHN, JOSHUA 617. JOHNSON, SUNDAY 618. JOLAYEMI, M. OLUWASOJI 619. JOSEPH, GRACE UCHE 620. JOSHUA, ADAH 621. JOSHUA, OLA 622. JUDUM, MARKUS 623. JULCIET, SANDRA 624. KALU, PATRICK 625. KAMMA, CHARLES 626. KANO, JIBRIL IBRAHIM 627. KASSIM, ABIODUN ABBEY 628. KAYODE, ADEKUNLE .K 629. KAYODE, ELIJAH 630. KAYODE, GABRIEL 631. KAYODE, IDOWU 632. KAYODE, KASALI GANIYU 633. KEANA, SIMON CEPHAS 634. KEHINDE, OLUYEMI 635. KIDZU, DOMINIC 636. KIKA, FREDRICK 637. KILANSE, AKEEM 638. KIMEBE, CHINEDU 639. KINTUM, FRANK 640. KUFORIJI, DAYO 641. KOLAWOLE, SEUN 642. KOLAWOLE, SIMON 643. KOLAWOLE, YINKA 644. KOMOLAFE, KAYODE 645. KONYEBAGU, NGOZI 646. KUEGBA, DOROTHY 647. KUKOYI, SYLVESTER 648. KUPOLOKUN, BANKOLE 649. KUPOLOKUN, BUKOLA 650. KUTI, SAHEED 651. KYARI, ABBA * 652. LAMIDI, OLATUNJI 653. LASISI, OLUWAFUNKE 654. LAWAL, AFOLABI 655. LAWAL, HASSAN AJAYI 656. LAWAL, KAYODE 657. LAWAL, LUKMAN 658. LAWSON, CHIBUZOR 659. LIYAS, PATRICK 660. LOHOR, JOSEPHINE (LATE) 661. MACEBUH, STANLEY (LATE)** 662. MACULAY, RONKE 663. MADAKI, MOHAMMED 664. MADUEKE, OJO 665. MADUGBA, AGAJU

666. MAGAFU, SOPHIA 667. MAGDALENE, MEMEH 668. MAKANJUOLA, SEMIU 669. MALAOLU, NIRAN 670. MALLO, EZRA 671. MAMAH, EMEKA 672. MARK, RANDOLPH 673. MARTINS, TUNDE 674. MAYAKI, TAIWO 675. MEGBOLU, INNOCENT 676. MEGBOLU, JOSEPH 677. MEMAYI, ITUNU 678. MESEKO, DUROSINMI 679. MESEKO,TUNRAYO 680. MGBAKOR, GOZIEM 681. MGBAKOR, COLLINS 682. MGBO, DESMOND 683. MOHAMMED, MADAKI 684. MOHAMMED, NAFISAH 685. MOHAMMED, SAFINA 686. MOMODU, DELE 687. MOMODU, SHAKA 688. MOMOH ,TONY * 689. MOMOH, ABDULMUMUNI 690. MONDAY, BASSEY 691. MONYEI, ISIOMA 692. MOORE, NELSON .U. 693. MOORKWAP, PATRICK 694. MORMAH, PIUS 695. MOSERI-ERNEST, NDUKA 696. MUHAMMED, HABIB 697. MUHAMMED, SAFINA 698. MUIBI, YAHAYA 699. MUKAILA LAWAL 700. MURAINA, FUNSO(LATE) 701. MUSA, JOSEPH 702. MUSA, NUHU 703. MUSA, WASIU 704. MUSA, YAKUBU 705. MUSILIYU, GAFARU 706. MUSTAPHA, DEJI 707. NAKPODIA, OGO 708. NAMO IAN, ISAAC 709. NDIANEFO, OLUCHI 710. NDIULO, HENRY 711. NDUBUISI, FRANCIS 712. NDUKA, ALLOY 713. NDUONYI, ETIM EDETT 714. NELSON, UTIP 715. NEME, SONY 716. NJOGWUNI, NGOZI 717. NJOKU, ETHEL 718. NJOKU, JERRY 719. NJOKU, JUDE W. 720. NKEM, HARRIET WHITE 721. NKEMEHULE, REUBEN 722. NKOR, PHILO OGUZIE 723. NKWAZEMA, JOHNNY 724. NKWAZEMA, STANLEY 725. NKWOR, JUDE 726. NNABUIFE, STELLA 727. NNADOZIE, AZUBUIKE 728. NNAIKE, UCHECHUKWU 729. NNAJI, DAVID 730. NNAKWE, UGO 731. NNAMANI, UCHE 732. NNAMDI DURU 733. NNOCHIRI, PETER 734. NSIDIBIE, AKPAN 735. NSIKAK, IBANGA 736. NUBI, M.O 737. NWABOGOR, KONYE 738. NWABUEZE, OKONKWO 739. NWABUIKWU, PAUL * 740. NWABUIKWU, IKECHUKWU 741. NWABUKO, CHUKWUDI 742. NWACHUKWU, CHRIS 743. NWACHUKWU, EUGENE 744. NWACHOKOR, HENRY 745. NWAGWU, MICHAEL 746. NWAMEFOR, KEN ARINZE

747. NWAOKORO, DENNIS 748. NWARGWE, GODWIN 749. NWAUGBALA, ONYEKA 750. NWAUZOR, JUDE 751. NWAYEN, IMA UDUAK 752. NWEZEH, KINGSLEY 753. NWOGWUGWU, IJEOMA 754. NWOKO, CHIKA C. 755. NWORIE, BENJAMIN 756. NWOSU, CHIEBOH 757. NWOSU, NDUKA 758. NWOSU, JOANNE 759. NWOSU, STEVE 760. NYA, THERESA 761. NZETEH, CLEVER 762. OAMEN SUNNY 763. OBADAN, AINA 764. OBAIGBENA, CHIKA 765. OBAIGBENA, JONATHAN 766. OBAIGBENA, NDUKA 767. OBAIGBENA, ONYEMAKONOR 768. OBAJEMU, OLAJUWON 769. OBAJEMU, FELIX 770. OBAJI, HENRY 771. OBAJI, MUSTAPHER 772. OBALANLEGE, YEMI 773. OBASOGIE, ESOHE 774. OBAZE JUDITH 775. OBI, AMANZE 776. OBI, JOE 777. OBI, PAUL AKAN 778. OBI, SIMON 779. OBIA, VINCENT 780. OBIAGWE, NDUKA 781. OBIAJURU, SUCCESS 782. OBIANWUNA, PETER (LATE) 783. OBIETOH, UGOCHUKWU 784. OBIKE, UCHE 785. OBINNA, CHIMA 786. OBIOHA, VANESSA 787. OBISESAN, SHOLA 788. OBIWU, JUDE 789. OBOH, JULIUS 790. OBONODI, MONDAY 791. OBONYANO, MATHIAS 792. OBUIY, JOSEPH 793. OBUN, RICHARD JUDE 794. OBUSEH, HENRY 795. OCHU, C CHINASA 796. OCULI, OKELLO 797. ODEBODE, BODE 798. ODEH, ANDREW 799. ODEH, GODWIN 800. ODEH, WILLIAMS 801. ODEKA, VERONICA 802. ODETOLA , HORATIO 803. ODIGIE,PATIENCE(LATE) 804. ODIMOKWU, OKECHUKWU 805. ODITTAN, BERNARD 806. ODION, LOUIS 807. ODIVWRI, EDDY 808. ODJEGBA, FRED 809. ODOGWU, WILSON 810. ODONZI, NGBEKEN 811. ODUNIYI, MICHAEL 812. ODUNLADE, RAIMI 813. ODUNUGA, ABAYOMI .O 814. ODUNUGA, SAMUEL 815. ODUSILE, ABDULWAHEED 816. ODUWOLE, YINKA 817. OGANNAH, AUSTIN 818. OGBANG, EKANGHE ALEX 819. OGBOBAGHASE, NOGOSA 820. OGBODO, DELE 821. OGBONNAYA, ROLAND 822. OGBU, AHAMEFULA O. 823. OGBUAKU, OCHI 824. OGBUENYI, NOSIKE 825. OGBULIE, NIK 826. OGECHUKWU, PEACE 827. OGEDENGBE, ANTHONY

KEY – * EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER ** EDITORIAL CONSULTANT ***COLUMNIST ****DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

867. OHUE, EMMANUEL 868. OHUEGBE, CHUKS 869. OHWOVORIOLE, JAMIN 870. OJEABU, LAWRETTA 871. OJEAGBASE, CLEMETINAN 872. OJEDIRAN, BISI 873. OJEDIRAN, TAIRU 874. OJEH, BLESSING 875. OJEH, ERIC 876. OJEH, FRED 877. OJEIFO, SUFIJAN ISA 878. OJEIKERE, ADE 879. OJENAGBON, PAUL 880. OJERAHI, SAMUEL 881. OJI, GEORGE 882. OJILE,KELVIN 883. OJO, ADEMOLA ANTHONY 884. OJO FOLAKE 885. OJO, MARY ODUNAYO 886. OJUKWU, IFEOMA 887. OKAFOR, CHINEME 888. OKAFOR, IJEOMA MAGARET 889. OKAFOR, INNOCENT (LATE) 890. OKAFOR, JOHN 891. OKAFOR, JOHNSON 892. OKAFOR, LOVETH 893. OKAFOR, VIVIAN 894. OKAGBUE, ISABELLA * 895. OKEDH, GABRIEL 896. OKEHIE, ANGUS CHIDI 897. OKEKE, EDITH 898. OKEKE, IFEANYICHUKWU 899. OKEKE, ULOMA 900. OKENWA, LILLIAN NGOZI 901. OKEOWO, OLUSEYE 902. OKERE, OKENWA 903. OKEREKE, M. MICHAEL 904. OKEREKE, NDUBUISI 905. OKESOLA, M. IDOWU

828. OGENE, FRANKLIN 829. OGENYI GEORGE 830. OGHENCHI, IMONIV .E. 831. OGHIFO, BENNETT 832. OGOH, JOSEPH CHIEDU 833. OGOH, ONYEMA .E 834. OGU, JERRY 835. OGUACHUBA, IJEOMA 836. OGUAMA, MOSES 837. OGUJIUBA, AZUKA 838. OGHUMA, AUSTIN 839. OGUNBADEJO, BISI 840. OGUNBOR, JONATHAN (LATE) 841. OGUNBOR, MARK 842. OGUNDARE, FUNMILAYO 843. OGUNDARE, IYIOLA (LATE) 844. OGUNDEJI, ABAYOMI (LATE) 845. OGUNDELE, JOSHUA AFOLABI 846. OGUNFUYI, OLAKUNLE 847. OGUNLANA, B. SUNDAY 848. OGUNLEYE, G FLOURISH 849. OGUNLOWO, CAROLINE 850. OGUNMADE, OMOLOLU 851. OGUNMEFUN, EMMANUEL 852. OGUNSAKIN, GBENGA 853. OGUNSANWO, OGUNBIYI 854. OGUNSANYA, JOHN N. 855. OGUNTEBI, OLUWAFEMI 856. OGUNYE, OLUSEGUN 857. OGUNYOMI, O. SUNDAY 858. OGUZIE, CHARITY 859. OHADOMA, CHIKAS 860. OHAEGBULAM, IFEANYI 861. OHAGBLEM, UZOMA 862. OHAJU, KELECHI 863. OHDAM, JOHN ARUJWU 864. OHIA, PAUL (LATE) 865. OHIRI, FELIX 866. OHIWEREI, JOSEPH

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25TH ANNIVERSARY 25 YEARS OF REASON 945. OLADIPO, SUNDAY 946. OLADUNJOYE, KEHINDE 947. OLADUNJOYE, MANSUN 948. OLAIDE, JIMOH 949. OLAJIDE, ROTIMI FADIPE 950. OLAKUNRI, OGHOGHO 951. OLAKUNRI, OLANIKE 952. OLALEYE, WALE 953. OLALEYE, YAKUBU IDOWU 954. OLANIYI, TUNDE 955. OLANIYONU, YUSUPH 956. OLANREWAJU, GBADEBO 957. OLANREWAJU, YEKINI 958. OLAODE, OLUFUNKE 959. OLAOLUWA, OLANIYO 960. OLAREWAJU, MAYOWA 961. OLARINDE, IDOWU SUSAN 962. OLASUPO, KOLAWOLE 963. OLATUNBOSUN, IDRIS 964. OLATUNBOSUN, YINKA 965. OLATUNJI, BUKOLA 966. OLATUNJI, KAZEEM 967. OLAWALE, SUNLOLA 968. OLAWALE, TAIWO 969. OLAWUNMI, O. ODUNAYO 970. OLAWUNMI, OLAITAN 971. OLAWUYI, O. RUFUS 972. OLIVER, MATHEW 973. OLOGBODIYAN, KOLA 974. OLOJO, ADEDAPO .A 975. OLOMU, CLEMENTINA 976. OLORUNLOGBON, AKEEM 977. OLORUNTOBA, A. AKINTOLA 978. OLORUNTOBA, SULAIMAN 979. OLOTU, OLUSEGUN 980. OLUARE, OLUWATOSIN 981. OLUBUNMI OLADIMEJI 982. OLUGBODE, MICHAEL 983. OLUSINA, EBENEZER

906. OKHAHUME, ANGELA 907. OKIGBO, ONYINYE 908. OKOBI, C. SUNDAY 909. OKOCHA, CHUKS 910. OKOH, CHUKS C. 911. OKOH, G. ALEICHENU 912. OKOH, JOSHUA .M 913. OKOH, KINGSLEY C. 914. OKOH, NORBERT 915. OKOISOR, HILDA NGOZI 916. OKOLI, ANAYO 917. OKOLI TUNDE 918. OKOLO, JACOB 919. OKON-EKONG, NSEOGBONG 920. OKONJI, EMMANUEL 921. OKONKWO, CHINYERE 922. OKONKWO, CHUKS 923. OKONOFUA, SYLVANUS 924. OKORO, FRED 925. OKORO, SUNDAY (LATE) 926. OKOROUGO, PRINCEWILL 927. OKOWORI, DAVID 928. OKOYE, CHINYERE 929. OKPALA, JOY A. 930. OKPANACHI, FRANCIS 931. OKPANKU,JUSTINA 932. OKU KARO, EJIRO 933. OKUDO, HENRY T 934. OKUISE, NGOZI .O 935. OKUNBOR, DAVIDSON 936. OKWARA, JONAS 937. OKWE, JUDE (LATE) 938. OKWE, VICTOR 939. OKWU, PETER EDOR 940. OKWUE, VICTOR 941. OKWUONU, OLUCHI FIDELIA 942. OLABANJI, SUNDAY 943. OLABODE, TAIWO 944. OLADEPO, WALE (LATE)

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984. OLUSOLA, POPOOLA (LATE) 985. OLUWADARE, KEHINDE 986. OLUWALE, OSHINAMUO 987. OLUWASEUN, SAMUEL (LATE) 988. OLUWATOMI, MARYAM 989. OMABONU, SUNDAY 990. OMALE, PETER (LATE) 991. OMANUFEME, STEVE 992. OMATSEYE, SAMUEL 993. OMENGE, FEDERICK 994. OMENYE, EMMANUELLA 995. OMODON, NDUKA 996. OMOIGUI CURRENCY 997. OMOIGUI, GODWIN 998. OMOIGURI, GORDON 999. OMOKHUNU, KELLY 1000. OMOLOLU, KOLA DARE 1001. OMOMA, RICHARD 1002. OMORODION, O. FAITH 1003. OMOTOLANI , NUREEN 1004. OMOTOSIN, JIDE O. 1005. OMOTOSO, ABIOLA 1006. OMOWONYOLA, MARTIN 1007. ONABU, OMON-JULIUS 1008. ONADEKO, FUNNAYA 1009. ONAH, MATHEW 1010. ONAH, NWACHUKWU 1011. ONANA, JAMES 1012. ONI, ABAYOMI PETER 1013. ONI, BUNMI EMMANUEL 1014. ONI-OLUSOLA, OLUGBEMIGA 1015. ONIKEPO, BRAITHWAITE 1016. ONOKO, OJI 1017. ONONO, UCHE 1018. ONU, EMELE ODEH 1019. ONUOMA PIUS(LATE) 1020. ONWUANAROKE, KINGSLEY 1021. ONWUDINJO, CHUKS 1022. ONWUEGBUSI, ADAEZE 1023. ONWUGBOLU, BIBIAN 1024. ONWUGHALU, MOSES 1025. ONWUKA, AZUKA 1026. ONWUZULIKE, TEJAN ANOM 1027. ONYEJENA, EMMANUEL* 1028. ONYEKA, CHRISTAIN 1029. ONYEKAMUO, CHARLES 1030. ONYENOBI, ERNEST 1031. ONYIBE, CHARLES 1032. ONYIBE-IMUDIA, STELLA 1033. ONYIMA, TONY 1034. OPARA, CYRIL 1035. OPARA, GODWIN 1036. OPARAH, KINGSLEY 1037. OPEODU, CHRISTAIN 1038. ORESEGUN, AYO 1039. ORIAREHU, BONNY. F. 1040. ORIAREHU, EROMOSELE 1041. ORIH, ABEL (LATE) 1042. ORIOHU, IKECHUKWU 1043. ORJI, NKECHI 1044. ORLU, EMMANUEL 1045. OROGUN, BAHOMA 1046. OROGUN, WENESO 1047. OROKOH, I FEDELIS 1048. OSAGHELU, PATRICK 1049. OSAGIE, CRUSOE 1050. OSAGIE, ERNEST 1051. OSAGIE, ERIC 1052. OSAIGHALE, EPHRAIM 1053. OSAKWE, HENRY 1054. OSAKWUNI, CHRISTOPHER P 1055. OSAMGBI, ISICHEI 1056. OSAMOR, GABRIELLA 1057. OSANEBI, ISRAEL 1058. OSEYANDE, FRIDAY 1059. OSHIEN, PATRICK 1060. OSHO, MIKE 1061. OSHOWO, FOLAJIMI 1062. OSIEBO, GODWIN 1063. OSIEKE, INNOCENT. 1064. OSIME, RUTH IDA

1065. OSONDU, EMEKA 1066. OSUJI, STEVE 1067. OSUNTOKUN, AKIN * 1068. OSUYAH, MACAULAY 1069. OTARU, EMMANUEL .O 1070. OTI, GAIUS 1071. OTIONO, NDUKA 1072. OTO-OBONG, MERCY ISANG 1073. OTTI, ALEX * 1074. OVIA, FRANCES KEZI 1075. OVIAWE, ALEXZANDER, 1076. OWENKPA, SEGUN JAMES 1077. OWOJOBI, Y 1078. OWOLABI, AKINMUYIWA 1079. OWOLABI, OWOLOLA 1080. OWOLABI, SAMUEL 1081. OWOLABI, SARAFA 1082. OYARIN, JUSTIN 1083. OYEBADE, SAMUEL 1084. OYEDE, OLUWATOSIN 1085. OYEDEJI, WASIU 1086. OYEDELE, DAMILOLA 1087. OYEFIOLA, ROBERTS 1088. OYEFUSI, ISHAQ IDOWU 1089. OYEKANMI, OLUWAFUMIKE 1090. OYEMAKA, DESTINY 1091. OYENIBI, OLUSEGUN 1092. OYERINDE, AHMED 1093. OYESILE, KAYODE 1094. OYEWUNMI, ABAYOMI 1095. OYEYIPO, OBANISHOLA 1096. OYIBOKA, OSEMEKE 1097. OYILOKWU, SAMUEL 1098. OYIWE LORINE 1099. OYOLOLA, JANET 1100. OZEGBE, AUGUSTINE 1101. PETER-OMALE, FUNMI 1102. PETERS, MUBO 1103. PREST, DAVID 1104. RAHMAN, TUNDE 1105. RAIMI, IFEOLUWA G. 1106. RAJI, AFEEZ 1107. ROBERT, UKOUTIBE 1108. ROTIBA OLA 1109. ROTINWA, AYODEJI 1110. SAIDU, MUHAMMED 1111. SAIDU, MUSA 1112. SAKA, OLALEKAN 1113. SALIU, SAMSON 1114. SALMON, ISMAILA 1115. SAM, AUGUSTINE 1116. SAMALLA, DANIEL 1117. SAMDA, J. NUHU 1118. SANNI, DAJI N 1119. SANNI, M. ADENIKE 1120. SANNI, TUNDE(LATE) 1121. SANYA, LINDA .A 1122. SARIOR, JOHN 1123. SASORE, RISIKAT 1124. SAVIOUR, JOHN 1125. SESEBO,JOSEPH 1126. SEUN, KUNLE 1127. SHAGARI, HASSAN 1128. SHAIBU, MATHEW 1129. SHEHU, MUSTAPHA 1130. SHIKLAM, JOHN MUSA 1131. SHITTU, BABATUNDE 1132. SHITTU, BAKARE WAHAB 1133. SHITTU, SURAJUDEEN 1134. SHOLA, OYEDEPO 1135. SHOPE, SHADE 1136. SOBOWALE, O. ADEDAYO 1137. SOBOYEDE, AKEEM 1138. SOFOWORA, TUNDE 1139. SOKOH, DAVID OKON 1140. SOLAJA, OLUFEMI 1141. SOLUDO, CHARLES *** 1142. SOMORIN, KUNLE 1143. SOMORIN, ZACHEAUS 1144. SOMUYIWA, GBAYODE 1145. SONIYI, TOBI

1146. SOROYE, RILWAN 1147. SOWOLE JAMES 1148. SOWUNMI, IDOWU 1149. SOYINKA ILEMAKIN 1150. SOYOMBO, FUNMILAYO F. 1151. SULEIMAN, TOBA 1152. SULEIMAN, TUNDE 1153. SULYMAN, TAIYE 1154. TADAFERUA, KEN (LATE) 1155. TAIWO, ABIMBOLA .S 1156. TAIWO, JULIANA 1157. TERIBA, AYO 1158. THOMAS, EDWARD DAYO 1159. TIJANI, KAMORUDEEN .O. 1160. TINUBU, YEWANDE 1161. TOLUFASHE, FEMI (LATE) 1162. UBAKA-ADEKOYA, PATRICIA 1163. UBANI, EZIUCHE 1164. UCHE, FRANK 1165. UDEGBUNAM, AMAKA 1166. UDO, SILAS 1167. UDOMA, UDO UDOMA * 1168. UDUAKU, ALBERT 1169. UFUO, PEDRO 1170. UGAH, NDUBUISI 1171. UGBAH, DAVID 1172. UGEH, PATRICK 1173. UGHAKPOTENI, PIUS 1174. UGORJI, PRINCESS 1175. UGWU, ANTHONY 1176. UGWU, EMMA 1177. UGWU, ENITAR 1178. UGWUKA, GODFREY 1179. UKANA, DAN 1180. UKEJE-ELOAGU, NNEOMA 1181. UKOH, TIMOTHY 1182. UKPAKA, ABIGAIL 1183. UKPONG, NKESE 1184. UKUTT, ETOPUBONG 1185. UKWA, IKENNA 1186. UKWATA, KARI 1187. UMAR, DANJUMA 1188. UMARU, ISSA 1189. UMARU, T. SULEIMAN 1190. UMOREN, PAULINUS 1191. UMOREN, VICTOR 1192. UNACHUKWU, JOHN E. 1193. UNEZE, AMBY 1194. UNIMNA, DANIEL (LATE) 1195. UNWANA, SUNDAY 1196. URANTA, TONY * 1197. USHIGIALE, JOSEPH 1198. USIADE, KINGSLEY 1199. USIFO, NDUKA 1200. USIFOH, CHRISTAIN 1201. USIFOH, N. IJEOMA 1202. USMAN, IDRIS 1203. USMAN, UADIZA RABI 1204. USMAN, YUSUF OZI 1205. UWADE, I. POWELL 1206. UWAEZUOKE, OKECHUKWU 1207. UWAIS, MARYAM * 1208. UWUGIAREN, IYOBOSA 1209. UYA, DAVID (LATE) 1210. UZOR, CHIDI 1211. VICTOR, FRIDAY 1212. WEWEH, VIVIAN 1213. WILLIAMS, UCHE 1214. WILLIAMS, ISSAC 1215. YAHAYA, ABDULKAREEM 1216. YAKUBU, TIMOTHY 1217. YEMBRA, LABAKE (LATE) 1218. YOHANA, SIMON 1219. YUSUF, AYO ILIAS 1220. YUSUF, RASAK 1221. YUSUF, SAKA 1222. ZEKERI, ABDUL 1223. ZUBARU, KABIRU 1224. ZURU, ABDULLA

...to be continued

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MISSILE

Babalola to FG “Section 24 of the constitution provides that ‘it shall be the duty of every citizen to make positive and useful contribution to the advancement, progress and well-being of the community where he resides’. Well-being means security of life and property, etc” – A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Afe Babalola, justifying the establishment of South-west governors’ security outfits code-named Operation Amotekun.

OKEYIKECHUKWU

EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS

okey.ikechukwu@thisdaylive.com

Before the War: A Personal Story T he expression “before the war” was a central marker for some of us in the 70s. It depicted the transition between eras. “That was before the war” could then be heard with a wry smile and mocking reference to people who dared talk about what they possessed in the past, but who became near-paupers after the war. Father lost many things, including his status as the overall representative of the printers and publishers of Practical Psychology in the country. He was required to contact some people, I think in Ibadan, if he wished to have anything to do with the publication “after the war.” As anyone who can still get archival copies of that renowned international publication today will admit, it still puts the academic drivel that passes for psychology in most institutions today to shame. But we are digressing.

Father was also not able to immediately reclaim his before-the-war status with many of his foreign partners. Though a printer of repute who serviced the entire old Bende and much of the old Owerri Province and much of the South-east before the war, most of his big printing machines went with the war. It took him years to buy new ones all over again, even though he knew where his machines were; and who had confiscated and was using them. Let us backtrack to 1967 and 1968.

There was a big reception for some very important people at our home in Umuahia.

Most of the people came from out of town and their vehicles took over much of the street. Then, midway through the engagement, mother called father aside and into one of the rooms, where I was fiddling with the paper boat I was trying to make. Although they took no special notice of me, I made to step out in deference; as was proper. But mother, very uncharacteristically, gave me a look that meant I should continue what I was doing. Strange, but she did. And I remain deeply grateful for it to this day, because it took years for me to realize the value of this first hand encounter with a woman’s little acknowledged, but flawless, intuitive perception.

Standing there with father, she told him that she had an uneasy feeling about the reception and about some of these people being entertained. The man of the house became a bit pensive. Then he asked whether there was anything in particular she could pinpoint as grounds for her uneasiness. She answered in the negative, saying that she wished she could be more concrete. Then father asked whether any of the people present could be the possible cause of her discomfort. Again she spoke in general terms, adding that she feared that what had brought them together, and for which there was so much cheerful exchanges at the moment, may not bring father much joy in the end. “You are a good man,” she said, “but (in my own words) there is one particular man in the parlour from whom I get the impression that whatever you do with him will not end well for you.” Then she asked father whether he knew the man in question well enough. Father explained that

Former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon

the man was the leader of the group from Port Harcourt. He added that he honestly had not seen reason to doubt him.

It was now mother’s turn to look pensive.

After what seemed to me a very long pause, she asked whether what they were planning to do together had been concluded. Father answered in the affirmative. Her brows deepened further.

She said she felt that it would have been better if it had not been started at all, as the man was “not a good person.” Looking really sad, mother said (again) that the man was “a bad person.” Father, apparently knowing the woman he married, was in no hurry to end the conversation at all. He said that it would have been best to call off the deal, if he had not already signed all the papers. He explained the awkwardness of pulling back on everything they agreed upon almost within the hour. Mother agreed with him, but they both looked very unhappy and disturbed, as father said he wished he had not gotten carried away by the war effort. They both hoped he had not taken a step that might lead to something unpleasant in future.

The guests in question were part of a team that came to relocate some of the most sophisticated of father’s printing machines to

Port Harcourt. The war-born Eastern Echo newspaper he was part of faced imminent danger of death, as the vulnerability of Umuahia grew by the day due to the shrinking living space in the South East occasioned by the loss of territory to federal forces. The wisdom of relocating the massive machines, as well as the concert of forces and persons involved in the “brilliant idea’ of letting go of machines he personally brought in from Germany apparently before I was born, seemed unimpeachable.

The sad news is that father did not recover the machines after the war. That was how the sweat of his youth fell under “abandoned property.” The very man mother complained about, whose intervention would have ended the debate over whether or not father should carry his machines, was the person who insisted that the only way father’s “claim” to the machines could be taken seriously was if he produced the original receipts with which he bought them. Interestingly, I was also around when father returned from that trip and I recall how calm he looked, as he narrated everything to mother and announced that he would not make any further contact with the people. He kept his word.

It was shortly after the machine business narrated above that father relocated us to a bungalow he procured in Ihiala. Umuahia was now experiencing more regular air raids and distant, but nevertheless disconcerting, booming sounds. We saw the planes and experienced the bombings alright, but the dreadful booming sounds were a mystery of unimaginable proportions to me in particular.

But the immediate precipitating factor for our relocation from Umuahia was an incident in Amuzukwu, a suburb of Umuahia.

The regular airplane bombing of Umuahia town created a peculiar migration pattern, whereby town dwellers moved into the forest-covered surrounding villages every morning to escape the daylight air raids; and returned to their homes in the evenings.

We participated in this migration, until one morning when the villagers surrounded the home of the head master where we normally took refuge. They wanted him to bring out the “saboteurs” he was habouring. Their reaction

The sad news is that father did not recover the machines after the war. That was how the sweat of his youth fell under “abandoned property.”The very man mother complained about, whose intervention would have ended the debate over whether or not father should carry his machines, was the person who insisted that the only way father’s “claim”to the machines could be taken seriously was if he produced the original receipts with which he bought them.

arose from the fact that the bombings were now extended to the villages, fuelling the suspicion that some of the “migrants” were conniving with enemy forces and telling them where to bomb. It was pathetic!

For such behaviour to come from people who all knew father, a man who even paid the school fees of some of their children, was something the head master could not understand. Everywhere was charged. Cudgels and odd implements clanged in front of the house. Unperturbed, and against the entreaties of the teacher who wanted to speak to the people, father stepped out. He just stood there until the noise died down. Then, calling some of the people by name, he said that he would take his family and leave, the way he had come. He explained that no one would blame them for now suspecting even their own shadows and that it was better for him to depart and remain their friend, than stay and risk being blamed for any misfortune in the place.

By the time he was done, the teacher was standing beside him, very angry and totally beside himself with indignation at the behavior of the people. But father calmed him down, as he asked us to enter the car. Some of the people then pleaded that we should stay, that it was the work of the devil, etc. But father was not a man of idle words. Less than two weeks after this incident, we were hurriedly relocated to Ihiala, because the bombings were now more frequent. The terrifying booming sounds were also sounding like they were coming from down the streets. The logic of our relocation was simple: it is easier for a man to secure his head while alone, than when he has his wife and children in tow.

Ihiala saw us temporarily in a refugee camp, where most of our relations (from the now-Anambra part of the east) had settled after their various towns and villages were overrun by federal troops. Families “owned” separate corners in different halls of the primary school. They already had little gardens and farms, as they had apparently been there for many months. There was incredible order and structure to everything, complete with adjudication without the involvement of the Biafran government. But people still fought occasionally over all sorts of things. Water was fetched from the stream, so I experienced that for the first time. It was in the process that I had one spectacular fall, spilt the water I had fetched and broke the “massive” bottle of Lucozade (the real thing of those days, with a wine-like cap) with which I fetched the water.

We left the camp just when I was beginning to enjoy it. Father joined us later with only his Mercedes Benz car and without bringing the fridge. My elder sister and I had asked him to bring it when he came to move us from the camp. When we returned to Umuahia after the war, father had to use my elder sister’s semi-adult bicycle for a while. This was a bicycle he would ordinarily not have looked upon at all “before the war.” As things stand today, 50 years after the civil war, we still nostalgically remember South-east before the War. Very sad indeed!

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