THURSDAY 23RD JANUARY 2020

Lagos, Rivers, A’Ibom, Delta, C’River Top States’ Indebtedness List

Yobe, Anambra, Jigawa least indebted states Domestic debt service gulps N606bn in Q3

Ndubuisi Francis and Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Cross River States are the leading debtor-states in the country, according to

the latest statistics obtained from the Debt Management Office (DMO).

Data from the DMO also showed that the federal government has spent N606.869 billion to service

domestic debts in the third quarter of 2019.

Collectively, the leading debtor-states accounted for more than N1.344 trillion of the over N4 trillion domestic debt standing against the 36

states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as at September 30, 2019, according to the statistics obtained from DMO website.

Lagos leads the top five with N441,668,732,162.26, Rivers is

next with N266,936,225,793.65, while Akwa Ibom, Delta, and Cross River states follow on the debt scale with N237,404,479,750.88; N230,574,799,366.01 and N167,967,705,888.45 respectively.

Apart from the five, Imo (N148,900,627,563.76); Osun (N141,792,935,913.24); Ogun (N140,993,426,875.02); FCT (N137,862,316,926.60), Bayelsa Continued on page 8

Adeduntan: CBN Policies Will Deepen Competition among Banks... Page 6 Thursday 23 January, 2020 Vol 24. No 9054. Price: N250

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FG Warns Nigerians as Novel Coronavirus Spreads Beyond China Urges calm, issues travel advisory

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, Chinedu Eze and Martins Ifijeh in Lagos The federal government, through the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has issued a red flag to Nigerians on the spread of Novel Coronavirus, a new virus, from China to other parts of the world.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)

also called on Nigerians and others travelling through the country to comply with measures issued by appropriate bodies to ensure that the virus does not spread to Nigeria.

The NCDC called on Nigerian travellers to Wuhan City in China to avoid contact with sick people, animals and animal markets, as travellers from the region to Nigeria Continued on page 8

Tinubu Breaks Silence on Amotekun, Calls for Dialogue

Says security outfit not threat to national unity Ejiofor Alike

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, has called for a private discussion between South-west governors and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, over the regional security initiative,

Amotekun.

The former Lagos State governor, in his first intervention since the rift over Amotekun broke, said contrary to allegations, the security outfit, launched by the governors of the zone to confront the insecurity in their states, had not threatened the foundation of the country.

Continued on page 8

PHILANTHROPIST OF THE DECADE...

L-R: Event hostess, Ms. Laila Johnson-Salami; Executive Chairman, Geregu Power Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola; and daughter, Ifeoluwa, during the presentation of THISDAY Philanthropist of the Decade award (people’s choice) to Otedola in Lagos...recently

US Plans to Expand Travel Restrictions to Nigeria, Six Others... Page 5

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THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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thursDAY, january 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

US Plans to Expand Travel Restrictions to Nigeria, Six Others

Ejiofor Alike and Omololu Ogunmade with agency reports The administration of President Donald Trump is planning to add Nigeria and six countries in Africa and Asia to a group of nations subject to travel restrictions, according to administration’s officials who have seen the list.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the new restrictions would apply to travelers and immigrants from Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania.

According to the report, these countries would not necessarily face blanket bans on travel to the US, but could have restrictions placed on specific types of visas, such as business or visitor visas, administration officials said.

Some countries could be banned from participating in the diversity visa lottery programme, which awards green cards to people in countries with low levels of immigration to the US. President Trump had called for an end to the programme, saying it had allowed undesirable people into the US. He had proposed reorienting the existing visa system toward skilled workers instead.

The officials said the list is final, adding that on Tuesday the White House was still debating whether to include one or two of the countries.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to WSJ’s request for comment.

The State Department declined to comment.

The administration plans to roll out its expanded travel restrictions on Monday, marking the three-year anniversary of the initial travel ban Trump signed on his seventh day in office, sparking controversy at the beginning of his term.

The administration has said its policy restricting travel is necessary to prevent potential acts of terrorism, as countries on the list don’t adequately vet their travelers to the US. The first order, which banned travel to the US by most residents of seven majorityMuslim countries, was struck down by a federal court and withdrawn. A second iteration of the ban, issued in March 2017, was also struck down by a federal judge who said it still amounted to religious discrimination against Muslims.

A third version of the policy, issued in September 2017, was upheld by a divided Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling in June 2018 on the grounds that federal law gives the president broad authority to suspend entry to the US. Those current restrictions blocked travel by individuals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria,Yemen and North Korea, and by political officials from Venezuela.

The administration briefly included Chad on the ban list, but removed the country in April 2018.

Unlike the initial list, most of the new countries do not have majority-Muslim populations.

Several of them, however, have had relatively higher rates of their citizens overstaying visas in the US, according to DHS data.

Again, PDP NEC to Meet on Ihedioha, Other Issues

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Barely one week after the 87th National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met to discuss the nullification of the governorship election in Imo State by the Supreme Court that removed Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as governor, it will meet again on Monday to discuss the matter and other issues affecting the party.

In a statement issued yesterday, the National Secretary of the party, Senator Umaru Tsauri, who summoned the NEC meeting, said: "All members of the Peoples Democratic Party National Executive Committee (NEC) are hereby invited to the 88th meeting of the NEC on Monday, January 27, 2020."

He enjoined all members to attend as the meeting would discuss critical issues affecting the country.

THISDAY gathered that the NEC meeting would review its stand on the nullification of the election of Ihedioha as governor and report to NEC the outcome of reconciliation of the factions in state chapters of the party Meanwhile, the newlyappointed Deputy National Chairman (North) of the PDP, Senator Suleiman Nazif, has said the party will bounce back to power in the region in 2023 following its improved

performance in the 2019 general election.

He also said he would pursue an aggressive reconciliation agenda in the party and ensure that defectors from the party are reconciled and brought back to the PDP. He said even though the party was robbed of its several victories in the last polls, it had the strength to recover some of the states it lost in 2015 such as Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Sokoto, Zamfara and the seat of power, having won the only senatorial seat in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja in addition to Taraba State.

According to Nazif, "Nigerians are disappointed with the grave failure of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the country, hence the resolve to shove the APC aside and return to its first love, the PDP." He spoke while congratulating the governors of Adamawa, Alhaji Ahmadu Fintiri; Taraba, Mr. Darius Ishaku; Bauchi, Senator Bala Mohammed; Benue, Dr. Samuel Ortom; and Sokoto, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, who were declared as dulyelected by the Supreme Court.

According to him, the PDP will recapture more states in the North under his leadership in 2023, urging Nigerians to have faith in the party and work for its unity and progress.

In the 2018 fiscal year, 24 per cent of Eritreans on business or visitor visas overstayed their permits, along with 15 per cent of Nigerians and 12 per cent of people from Sudan.

Those compared with a total overstay rate in the category of 1.9 per cent.

Immigrant-rights groups have criticized the planned expansion of the policy to new countries.

“Tens of thousands of American families are already hurting and separated because of this bigoted and cruel ban. Doubling down on it won’t make any of us safer,” said President of Muslim Advocates, a nonprofit civil-rights organisation, Farhana Khera,

WSJ further reported that the move to expand its travel restrictions signals the Trump administration’s intent to ramp up several hard-line immigration policies ahead of the 2020 election, which Trump’s advisers believe will play in his favour.

A federal judge this month blocked an executive order the president had signed giving state and local governments the ability to reject placement of refugees in their communities.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged all three versions of Trump’s travel ban, declined to comment on whether it would bring new litigation against the expansion.

We Won't React to Speculations, Says Presidency Meanwhile, the presidency yesterday said it would not hastily react to reports that President Trump has rolled out new plans to place travel restrictions on some countries including Nigeria.

Responding to inquiries from reporters on presidential reaction to the plan, presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said the presidency would not react to speculations.

According to him, those anxious about the plan should be patient until details of the new

arrangement are made public.

"We have read the news that the Trump administration is planning to add a host of African, Asian and Eastern European countries to its travel restrictions list as reported by the US media.

"We are not going to react to speculations. We urge you to wait for us to see what unfolds under the new policy, its scope, its reach, the implications and its consequences before we react," he said.

Efforts made to get the reaction of the United States Embassy in Nigeria proved abortive as the officials did not respond to messages sent to their email.

MARKETING LAGOS...

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (left), and Chief Executive Officer, London Stock Exchange Plc, Mr. Nikhil Rathi, during the governor’s meeting with the executive team of LSE Plc in London…yesterday

Allison-Madueke will be Extradited This Year, Says Magu Accuses international partners of protecting ex-minister

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, yesterday vowed that a former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, would be extradited back to the country this year to face corruption charges.

He also accused some international partners, especially in the United Kingdom, of giving what he described as undue protection to the former minister.

Magu, during a visit to the Ibadan Zonal Office of the commission, said the agency was already changing its tactics and strategy of engaging foreign partners to ensure the extradition of the former minister.

Magu, while fielding questions from journalists, expressed sadness at the slow pace of investigation by the foreign partners, especially those involved in the former minister’s case, stating that they should have released her to come and face charges at home having found enough evidence against her in Nigeria.

While harping on the commission's effort on the return of the former minister,

he said: "They will bring her back to the country this year.

We must get her. They have no reason to keep her there. Why should you keep her without taking her to court? And this is the fifth year and why should you be investigating a matter for five years and it is a matter that is straightforward - a financial crime investigation; it is not a murder case that should linger, but financial crimes.

"The case is straightforward. If you don't have any evidence or sufficient evidence to establish any offence, bring her back, we have more than enough evidence to take her to court, so we are working and we will continue to work."

Asked if he suspects sabotage from the international partners, Magu said: "Yes, definitely.

I don't know why they are protecting her. Let them release her and let her come back to Nigeria.

"They are giving her protection, for whatever reason and they are yet to disclose whatever offence she has committed, they are only relying on the evidence that we have recovered. So, they are not serious people but they are our partners and we work

together. They are helping us and we help them too, it's a two-way relationship, just like we are collaborating with you people (media). You abuse us sometimes and at other times you speak well of us.

"Yes, we are and we have already started another strategy because you would have never heard me talking like this against them openly before you (journalists), so, it’s a new strategy and I don't have to disclose the rest of the strategies.”

He noted that the whistleblower policy is still active and yielding results, urging Nigerians, both within and outside the country, to collaborate with the agency by providing information to aid the nabbing of corrupt individuals in the country.

He added that the agency is more than ready for the rerun elections in some parts of the country by fighting vote buying, urging the people not to go to the voting areas with huge amount of money so as not to fall victim of being arrested for vote buying.

"I want to thank all of you (media) for being partners and for helping us by collaborating

with us in doing what we are doing; we are a very essential partner. In fact, you people are the anti-corruption crusaders because your choice of profession is a desire for you to insist on doing the right thing for people; to fight against injustice to fellow human beings. That is an important aspect that has helped us to this level. We are here and we are doing very well.

"And we are doing everything possible. This year, we are going to upgrade everything we are doing.

Re-run elections and all outstanding elections are to be concluded; we are part of it and we are going to fight against vote-buying. Everybody is on our radar; so, I want you to join us on that day so that we can expose the vote buyers and collect their money.

"And if you are going there, make sure you don't carry more than, may be, N25,000, otherwise, they will arrest everybody that carries unusual amount of money on their body. So, we are going on with the fight against votebuying during next Saturdays elections in the affected states across the nation," he stated.

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ThursDAY, january 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

NEWs

Adeduntan: CBN Policies Will Deepen Competition among Banks Goddy Egene and Nume Ekeghe Commercial banks will have to develop niche markets to maintain their market share because of the growing level of competition, some bank chief executive officers have said.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with THISDAY, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank Nigeria Limited, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, anticipated increased competition between the financial institutions to woo more customers and remain profitable.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reviewed downward most charges and fees for banking services as contained in the new Guide to Charges

by Banks, Other Financial, and Non-bank Financial Institutions, which became effective from January 1, 2020.

In addition, the financial market has seen a significant reduction in treasury bills yields, one of the major sources of earnings for financial institutions.

Adeduntan, while commenting on his expectations for the industry, said: “We have all seen the new banking charges by the central bank, we are also fully aware of the central bank policy on the minimum-loan-to-deposit ratio.

“We are also fully aware of the policy of central bank that has resulted in significant drop in the interest yield on treasury bills. So, if you throw in all those different things, you would discover that the industry would be much more competitive in 2020.

“On the back of that, one would expect that pricing in the sector for loans and deposits would come under pressure. In order for banks to be profitable, we would expect that a number of them would embark on

initiatives that make them more efficient. So, I expect to see more digitalisation and automation and banks basically working at reducing cost profiles.”

On how the reduction in charges would affect profitability in the sector, he said: “Because the charges have dropped, what the banks need to do is to ensure that we compensate by actually growing our volumes and that is what we are actually doing around financial inclusion.

“First Bank is by far the biggest and largest bank in the area of financial inclusion. As I speak to you today, we have over 45,000 First Bank agents spread through the nooks and crannies of our country.

“But banks also need to be more innovative and that is what we are doing as a bank, by setting up a digital laboratory.”

However, the President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN), Mr. Uche Olowu, urged banks to further broaden their businesses so as to support more untapped sectors in the economy.

Olowu, noted that “it is going to be tough for banks in 2020, but not for those hardworking banks.

“Banks would be reviewing their portfolios to see where there are new opportunities.

Reducing the charges for banks would help create a balance to enhance economic inclusion.

“It is going to be challenging but those that identify the untapped opportunities would make more money.”

He, however, stated that despite the stringent conditions, the strength of the banking system is healthy and stable.

He said: “Our banks are stable; our banks would continue to remain and our banks are now being tasked too unleash their brainpower to unlock so many opportunities.”

The CBN Governor, Mr.

FGN’s Bond Nets N626.498bn, Oversubscribed by 300% Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The January 2020 FGN Bond auction by the Debt Management Office (DMO), which was conducted yesterday was oversubscribed by more than 300 per cent, further demonstrating the growing appetite by investors for the debt instrument.

According to a statement released by the, DMO, N155 billion of three instruments (five-Year, 10-year and 30year tenors) were offered to investors at the auction.

It disclosed that subscriptions received through competitive bids for the three instruments at the auction was N624.498 billion, while the sum of N1.83 billion was received through non-competitive bid, making the total subscription received N626.328 billion.

Investor appetite for the 30-year bond continued to be strong, with subscription of N341.77 billion or 621 per cent compared to the N55.00 billion

offered, while subscription for the 10-year bond was N201.98 billion or 404 per cent when compared with the N50 billion offered.

The DMO said successful bids were allotted at the rate of 9.8500 per cent for the fiveYear, 11.1250 per cent for the 10-Year and 12.5600 per cent for the 30-year bonds which indicate a significant decline from the rates of 11 per cent, 12 per cent and 13 per cent for the five-year, 10-year and 30-year bonds, respectively, at the December 2019 FGN Bond Auction.

The debt management and agency said the amount allotted for competitive bids was N409.992 across the three tenors, adding that the sum of N1.83 billion was allotted through Non-competitive bid for the 30-year bond-- same rate with the competitive bids.

Overall, the sum of N411.822 billion was allotted to investors at the auction through both competitive and non-competitive bids.

Godwin Emefiele, had explained that they reviewed downward bank charges to ameliorate the pains of customers.

The central bank had amongst others, announced the

downward review of charges in the industry.

Some of the major highlights of the new Guide to Bank Charges included the removal of Card Maintenance Fee (CAMF) on all cards linked

to current accounts, a maximum of N1 per mille for customer induced debit transactions to third parties and transfers or lodgments to the customers’ account in other bank on current accounts only; reduction

in the amount payable for cash withdrawals from other banks’ Automated Teller Machines (Remote-on-us), as well as from N65 to N35, after the third withdrawal within one month.

ON THE LONDON STAGE...

Chairman, London Stock Exchange (LSE) Advisory Group, Mr. Suneel Bash; CEO, LSE Plc, Mr. Nikhil Rahi; Head, African Investment Forum, African Development Bank, Ms. Chinelo Anohu; Chairman, LSE, Mr. Don Robert; and President, AfDB, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, when AfDB president opened the market at the LSE in London…yesterday

EFCC’s Failure to Serve Charges Stalls Adoke, Six Others’ Arraignment

Alex Enumah in Abuja

A mild drama ensued yesterday at an Abuja High Court as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) expressed ignorance of the arraignment of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), and six others.

Adoke and the other respondents were to be arraigned on a fresh 42-count charge over their alleged complicity in the $1.1billion Malabu oil deal.

The others are Mr. Aliu Abubakar, Mr. Rasky Gbinigie, Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited, Shell Ultra Deep Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Limited.

In the fresh charge with number CR/151/2020, filed at the Abuja High Court, the federal government accused Adoke and other respondents of receiving gratification to carry out a fraudulent oil deal.

However, when the case was called, lawyers announced representation for the respondents except the fourth, Malabu Oil. A representative of the oil firm, however, informed the court that their lawyer was not in court because he was not aware that the matter was coming up yesterday.

He said he only came to the court to make enquiries about the case when he learnt that the matter was coming up in the afternoon.

When asked if the fourth

respondent was served, he said he could not confirm that.

However, counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Bala Sanga, told the court that the fourth defendant was yet to be served.

He further stunned the court when he said he did not know why Adoke and others were in court.

"We only served fifth, sixth and seventh respondents" he said adding: "We don't know why we are here."

While giving the hint that the commission had planned the arraignment of the defendants for tomorrow, the EFCC lawyer said: "We are at a shock as to how they got here."

Adoke and Gbinigie were brought to court by the EFCC while the second defendant came to court on his own. The fourth to seventh defendants are corporate entities.

Sanga, however, did not explain why the first to fourth respondents were yet to be served, particularly Adoke, and the third respondents who are in the custody of the EFCC. In a response to the question of the trial judge, Justice Idris Kutigi, on why respondents were in court when they have not been served with the charge, counsel to the third respondent, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) said jokingly, "We saw him (Sanga) coming to court; so, we followed him."

However, lawyers to the respondents prayed the court to continue with the arraignment since the respondents were already in court.

Lead counsel to the former AGF, Mr. Paul Erokoro (SAN), told the court his client was ready to waive the right of service and is ready to take his plea, adding that the bail application in the said charge has been filed and served on the prosecution.

Similarly, Olanipekun, counsel to the second defendant, said he was ready to proceed with the trial, adding that a representative of his client has signed and picked up the charge against the second defendant from the prosecution.

"The third defendant was invited and detained, he has been in custody since then and the prosecution amazingly brought him to court only to say he has not been served," Mahmoud Mogaji (SAN), counsel to Gbinigie told the court.

Another senior lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who told the court that he had tried without success to get the charge against Adoke from the EFCC, said they got to know Adoke and others would be arraigned yesterday from the internet.

Justice Kutigi, however, declined to go on with the arraignment on the grounds that service of court process is first and primary before arraignment.

"All parties ought to be served before arraignment," he said and subsequently adjourned till today to enable service on all parties.

He also ordered service of bail applications for the

defendants on the prosecution.

According to the charge, the former AGF in August 2013 in Abuja while serving as a minister knowingly received United State dollars equivalent of N300 million, which is reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully obtained and thereby committed offence punishable under Section 319A of the Penal Code, Cap. 532 Laws of the federation of Nigeria 1990.

The federal government’s charge signed by Sanga on behalf of the EFCC Acting Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, said Gbinigie conspired with Munamuna Seidougha (at large), Amaran Joseph (at large) and Dauzia Etete (at large), in 2013 in Abuja, dishonestly used as genuine the forged form CAC 7 and board resolution of Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and the letter of resignation of one Mohammed Sani to open a bank account No. 2018288005 with First Bank of Nigeria Plc to receive $401,540,000.00.

According to the charge, the accused persons committed an offence contrary to section 366 of the Penal Code and punishable under the same section of the Penal Code.

In count seven, Adoke was said to have in September 2013 knowingly and unlawfully obtained the sum of US dollars equivalent to N367,318,800 and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 319A of the Penal Code, Cap.532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.

THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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ThursDAY, january 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

page eIgHT FG WArnS nIGerIAnS AS novel CoronAvIruS SpreADS BeYonD CHInA might be subjected to checks

by the Nigerian Port Health Service unit at airports and land borders.

In a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday and signed by the Chief Executive Officer, NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the federal government said it was currently coordinating a multi-sectoral technical group to assess and manage the risk of importation of the disease to Nigeria.

From Wuhan, the deadly disease which as at yesterday had already claimed the lives of 17 people, has spread to other cities in China and then to Thailand, Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States with five cases already confirmed, all in a space of 14 days since the index case was first confirmed on January 7, 2020.

Chikwe said: “NCDC is in close communication with the World Health Organisation (WHO), who is closely monitoring the situation globally. WHO is in direct communication with the Chinese government and other affected countries and has released technical and travel guidance.

“The Port Health Services unit of the Federal Ministry

of Health in Nigeria has been placed on alert and has heightened screening measures at the points of entry. In China, exit screening measures have been enhanced for travellers from Wuhan City at the Points of Entry (airports and ground transport stations) since January 14, 2020. This includes temperature checks, combined with provision of information and masks to passengers with fever, as well as directing symptomatic passengers to health facilities for follow up.

“Nigerians are advised to remain calm. Travellers from Nigeria to Wuhan, China, are advised to avoid contact with sick people, animals (alive or dead) and animal markets.

Travellers from Wuhan to Nigeria may be asked questions upon arrival by the Port Health Services unit at points of entry."

Chikwe expressed the commitment of NCDC and its partners to strengthening the preparedness and response to infectious disease outbreaks.

He said the agency would share information as quickly as it's available.

"There is no specific treatment for disease caused by the novel coronavirus yet. However, many of the symptoms can be treated.

Therefore, treatment is based on the patient’s clinical condition.

In addition, supportive care for infected persons can be highly effective,” he stated.

The first case of a Novel Coronavirus strain (2019-nCoV) was confirmed in Wuhan, China on January 7, 2020 with preliminary investigations showing most patients either visited or worked in the Huanan Seafood wholesale market, Wuhan City and as at January 20, 2020, there has been 278 laboratory-confirmed cases of the 2019-nCoV infection including six deaths reported to the WHO. “Many of the initial cases were thought to have contacted the virus through animal-tohuman transmission from the market, but human-to-human transmission has also been established. Global surveillance is being established and it is expected that more cases will be reported over the next weeks,” he added.

According to the WHO, Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are normally transmitted between animals and people. A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain of the virus that has not been previously identified in humans.

Some coronaviruses can be transmitted from person to person, usually after close contact with an infected patient,

for example, in a household or health care setting. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

The World Health Organisation said it would be convening its emergency committee to determine whether this outbreak should be declared a “Public Health Event of International Concern” (PHEIC).

Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing. Avoid self-medication, report to the nearest health facility when you experience any of the above-mentioned symptoms.

Healthcare workers are always advised to observe standard infection prevention and control measures when attending to patients and take a travel history.

Symptoms

Treatment

According to Chikwe, the new coronavirus 2019nCoV appears to cause mild to severe respiratory symptoms like cough and breathing difficulties and from current evidence, it appears that death is a rare outcome, mostly in patients with underlying illness.

He stated: “There is no specific treatment for disease caused by the novel coronavirus yet. However, many of the symptoms can be treated.

Therefore, treatment is based on the patient’s clinical condition.

In addition, supportive care for infected persons can be highly effective.”

Meanwhile, FAAN has urged Nigerians travelling to China to comply with measures issued by concerned bodies to ensure that the new virus is prevented from spreading into Nigeria.

FAAN in a statement in Lagos yesterday and signed by its

General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, said: "In an effort to protect passengers from the epidemic ravaging some countries and to prevent the spread of such communicable diseases into Nigeria, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria hereby advises passengers and other airport users to comply with all quarantine procedures at the nation's airports."

The agency said all the equipment and personnel used in combating the deadly Ebola virus in 2014 were still in place at the airports.

FAAN added that it has always had thermal scanners in airports to monitor temperature of passengers and capture their pictures, explaining that when passengers walk past the scanner, it registers their temperature and if too high, such passengers are pulled aside for observation.

FAAN stated that it was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health, which has confirmed the adequacy of the facilities at the nation's international airports, to prevent the importation of the virus through the facilities into Nigeria.

It advised passengers to submit themselves for routine quarantine checks.

A member of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, who spoke off the record, stated that since the inauguration of the Ninth Senate last June, the executive was yet to send any such request to the upper chamber for approval.

The ranking senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed that it may be true that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at one of its weekly meetings approved N3.4 trillion to service local debts through promissory note but that request was yet to be forwarded to the Senate.

According to him, it was one thing for FEC to give the nod but another ball game for the request to be forwarded to the Senate for approval, adding that there is no way the Senate would have such a request without recourse to its committee on local and foreign debts.

He said: "For all I know, only one request had been made in the last six months by the president for the financing of local debts through promissory note and that was the N10.06 billion promissory note as refund to Kogi State Government for federal roads executed on its behalf in the past.

"The executive request was read at plenary and forwarded to our committee for further legislative work at the end of which the committee on local and foreign debts recommended the approval of the N10.06 billion promissory note, which the Senate at plenary approved few days to the gubernatorial election in Kogi State last November."

THISDAY’s efforts to get the reaction of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the development proved abortive.

The Promissory Notes Programme is targeted at

easing the pressure on the federal government by local creditors, including contractors, exporters, settled judgment debts, state governments and oil marketers.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had in December said contractors working for his ministry were being owed about N306 billion.

Earlier in October, his counterpart in the Ministry of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, had said beneficiaries of N150 billion judgment debt owed by the federal government were mounting pressure on the ministry to pay.

Promissory notes are sovereign, negotiable instruments with liquid asset status but non-interest bearing.

They enable the federal government to formally recognise and account for its true liabilities in line with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

be a grave dereliction.

Tinubu explained that as the governor of Lagos State, he had set up Neighbourhood Watch to help complement the efforts of security agencies.

“Our aim was not to replace existing structures but to complement and augment them.

The mission of Neighbourhood Watch was to monitor the wards and neighbourhoods of the state. The group would gather information and intelligence to pass to the police and security authorities. The Neighbourhood Watch also provided an early warning system to keep citizens from harm’s way. The idea worked. Crime and violence reduced significantly. Even the overreaching Obasanjo government did not contend against Neighbourhood Watch,” he added.

According to him, the Attorney-General acted hastily in rendering a public statement that was more inaccurate than it should have been.

“Amotekun was never proposed as a “defence” agency; the Attorney-General erred in using this description. The use of uniforms and brightly coloured vehicles may not be the best ideas but they do not render Amotekun a defence agency or paramilitary

group any more than a designated school van carrying uniformed students constitutes a paramilitary deployment,” he stated.

Tinubu said having believed that the governors had crossed the line, the Attorney-General should have reached out to them instead of going public, adding that that way, the issues could have been discussed and all grey areas cleared.

Saying the matter cannot be resolved on the pages of newspapers or by attributing negative motives to either side, he recommended that the two sides should initiate private discussion.

“Either the governors should seek an official but private meeting with the AttorneyGeneral, or the Attorney-General can initiate the contact. Since Amotekun is their initiative, the governors bear the greater onus in seeking the meeting.

“The fabric of the republic has not been put at stake by Amotekun. However, that fabric could be torn by the dangerous rhetoric of those who should know better,” he said.

The former Lagos State governor said he had initiated communication with the Chairman of the South-west Governors’ Forum and

Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, with a view to meeting the governors to explore amicable solutions to the controversy.

How to Protect Yourself He said: “The spread of virus can be reduced by regular hand washing with soap under running water, covering of mouth and nose properly with handkerchief or tissue paper when sneezing and/ or coughing. You may also cough into your elbow if a handkerchief is not available.

FAAN Issues Travel Advisory over Coronavirus

lAGoS, rIverS, A’IBom, DelTA, C’rIver Top STATeS’ InDeBTeDneSS lIST (N127,243,132,172.38 and Kogi (N123,436,748,898.43) are other leading debtor-states.

On geopolitical basis, the six South-south states lead with the highest aggregate debt of N1,113,311,886,960.1 followed by the South-west with N957,158,703,679.04.

Next on geopolitical basis is the North-central (N510,790,349,558.25; Northwest, which has the highest number of states in the country (seven) is next with N484, 867,921,659.82 followed by North-east and the five South-east states with N480,890217,532.59 and N357,513,205,096.01 respectively.

Yobe and Anambra States have the least debt burden.

While Yobe's debt stands at N28,533,478,934.83, that of Anambra is N34,007,803,458.86.

Nigeria's total debt stock (local and foreign) as at September 30, 2019 was N26.2 trillion with the federal government accounting for

over N9 trillion of the almost N14 trillion domestic debt stock.

Domestic Debt Service Gulps N606bn in Q3 Meanwhile, the federal government spent a total of N606.869 billion to service domestic debt in the third quarter of 2019, the DMO data revealed.

A breakdown indicates that in July, August and September, N202,538,970,831.25; N172,663,065,962.98 and N231,667,076,449.72 respectively went into domestic service.

They included interest paid on Federal Government of Nigeria Savings Bonds (FGNSB), Nigeria Treasury Bills (NTBs), FGN Sukuk, Federal Government Bonds and Treasury Bonds.

But government's plan to ease pressure from domestic creditors through the use of Promissory Notes, which are

sovereign debt instruments, may not be getting the desired result.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in April last year approved a N3.4 trillion Promissory Note programme to settle local debts and contractual obligations of the federal government.

However, about nine months after FEC approval, THISDAY investigations revealed that the executive arm of government is yet to seek the endorsement of the Promissory Notes Programme from the National Assembly.

Promissory notes are only issued to creditors after approval by the National Assembly.

Some senators told THISDAY they were ignorant of any request from the executive to the legislature for the approval of N3.4 trillion to service local debts through the issuance of promissory notes.

TInuBu BreAkS SIlenCe on AmoTekun, CAllS For DIAloGue He, however, warned that national unity could be threatened by what he called the dangerous rhetoric of those who should know better.

Tinubu in a statement said: “Those claiming that this limited, inoffensive addition to security threatens the republic have taken themselves upon a madcap excursion.

“Those claiming that the federal government seeks to terribly suppress the South-west have also lost their compass.

Those who occupy these two extremes have sunken into the dark recesses of fear and political paranoia that can undo a nation if such sentiments are allowed to gestate. ” The statement titled: 'The Public Discourse over Amotekun,' noted that Amotekun had been turned into a political tug-of-war.

He said: “Fierce, often unthinking rhetoric, for and against, has crossed the lips of too many Nigerians. More subjective talking than objective thinking has been the fuel of this outburst.

“Question those in favour of Amotekun. Most have but the vaguest notion about it. They know few details yet vigorously attribute to its opponents the most negative intentions. Ask

those who oppose Amotekun.

They are equally ignorant of its provisions. They oppose the initiative not on its merits but merely because it was proposed by their political opponents or because they don’t see an avenue for personal gain from it.

“While colourful, the rhetoric has been disconcerting. How people have mishandled this matter demonstrates that we still have far to go in perfecting this democracy.

“Too much energy has been spent distorting this issue instead of seeking a resolution that supports local enhancement of security while keeping the constitution intact.

If this becomes the standard for how we handle disagreements then we will obscure Nigeria’s path forward with our own rubbish.

“In this matter, I do not see malign intent in the differences of opinion between the South-west governors as authors of Amotekun and the Attorney-General as the primary law enforcement officer of the Federal Government.

Shorn of the overly dramatic language, what lies before us is but a step in the evolution of our federalism. This is an opportunity to more clearly define that federalism; but one

cannot attain this better, more functional definition through overblown, emotional language.

Objectivity and calmness are required. To a significant degree, the enduring quality of our republic will be established by the sagacity with which we handle disagreements regarding the division of power between federal and state governments.

Such disagreements are inevitable. This is not the first. Nor will it be the last.

We must devote our energies more toward solving problems rather than amplifying them.”

According to him, by setting up Amotekun, the governors tried to fulfill their mandates by helping to protect their people.

Also, Malami tried to protect the constitution as best he could, by offering his opinion on what he believed the governors sought to do.

“No one can blame either party for seeking to fulfill what they genuinely see as their public duty,” he said.

He explained that as the highest elected official in his state and thus the individual embodiment of the will of the people, a governor must view safety and security as a foremost priority, integral to his mandate.

According to him, to disregard these concerns would

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THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

It is with gratitude to God for a long life well lived, that the family of MRS. DORCAS OLATORERA MALIKI, announce the passing on of their mother, grandmother and aunt.

February 26, 1930 – December 26, 2019 The funeral service will take place at St. Mary's United African Methodist Church Cathedral, Idofe Quarters, Ado-Odo in Ogun State, on Saturday the 25th of January 2020 at 11:00 am.

Interment will follow immediately afterwards at her home - Amity Villa - opposite Ipokia L.E.A Primary School, Alaga in Ipokia, Ogun State.

Details of other memorial activities to take place in Lagos will be announced by the family.

CHILDREN Lanre & Tinuola Maliki Modupe Nura Osin (deceased) Funmilayo (deceased) & Dr. Diran Ayodeji Faozat Bola Maliki (deceased) Professor Sadik & Adeola Maliki Musadik & Constance Maliki Hamda & O ong Ambah Nimi & Kola Animashaun BROTHER Chief Titus Adeyanju Okewusi COUSINS, NIECES & NEPHEWS

GRANDCHILDREN Dr. Muyiwa Ayodeji Seyi & Tobi Ayodeji Oyindamola Ayodeji Damilola Ayodeji Nabila Maliki Iquo Nadia Ambah Samir Maliki Eno Ambah Tobi Ambah Yasmin Maliki Temidire Animashaun Timilehin Animashaun

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THURSday JaNUaRy 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

IG Insists on Community Policing as Best Security Solution North-central govs to revive G-7 against insecurity

Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, has explained that community policing remains the best strategy in finding lasting solution to the security challenges across the country.

This is coming as the governors of the North-central states have resolved to revive the G-7 formed in 2007 to tackle insecurity in the region Mohammed stated this yesterday in Lafia, Nasarawa State capita, at the North Central Security Summit he organised for North Central region with the theme “Strategic partnership for effective community policing in the North Central zone/FCT.” He said , so far, the implementation of the outcome

of the various summits have resulted in unprecedented success and a significant decline in the rate of crime.

“The federal government is convinced that for internal security to be strengthened, the participation of the people at the community level is very important.

“Almost in all the cases, experience of anarchy , lawlessness , agitations , terrorism , banditry , kidnapping, among others occur at the community levels.

“Therefore, mobilising for the participation of the citizens in securing their communities especially at the local level is key strategy that the government is determined to employ in its efforts to provide total security for the citizens.

“It is in this context the federal

government has approved the adoption of community policing approach as the strategy for policing Nigeria and guarantee internal security,” he said Speaking in a welcome address , the Governor of Nasarawa State Abdullahi Sule said the coming on board of President Muhammadu Buhari has no doubt significantly degraded the activities of Boko

Haram and sundry insurgents’ onslaught.

He said the resurgent of attacks on soft targets and security formations by the dreaded Boko Haram in the North eastern part of the country as well as kidnapping and the activities of bandits in some part of the North-west, including farmers and herdsmen crisis in the North Central region

entails the necessity to re-stratagise towards combating these security challenges The governor said the states in the North Central will revive the G-7 against insecurity.

The states under the G-7 include: Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, and Kwara, as well as the FCT. The governor expressed

the optimism that the summit will provide the North Central states ample opportunity to share experiences , appraise and recommend appropriate measures on the security situation in the states of the region.

The summit was being attended by all the governors of the North Central region and the FCT minister.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Hails THISDAY at 25 A renowned Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has lauded THISDAY Editors for recognising her as one of the one of the honourees in the THISDAY decade awards.

In a statement she issued yesterday, the young writer also thanked everyone involved in the voting process for the honour of being named “Woman of the Decade” alongside the UN Deputy Secretary General, Ms Amina J Mohammed.

“The thing about being recognised is that it is not the reason one does what one does, but it is always wonderful to get

that validation. It means that somebody is saying to you “what you do matters”, and it is a wonderful feeling. As a Nigerian, it is an even more wonderful feeling to be recognised by my own people.

“Thanks to the editors at THISDAY and everyone involved in the voting process for the honour of being named “Woman of the Decade” alongside UN Deputy Secretary General, Ms Amina J Mohammed who I admire very much.

Congratulations to the entire THISDAY team on your silver jubilee,” she explained.

Adamawa Gov Raises the Alarm over Renewed Boko Haram Attacks Daji Sani in yola

Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State has pledged to revamp the security apparatus in the state in order to contain Boko Haram’s renewed barbaric onslaught on Adamawa communities.

Fintiri made this pledge yesterday at a rally that was organised by the state government at Mahmud Ribadu Square, Yola, to celebrate the governor’s electoral victory at the Supreme Court.

He lamented that the insurgents beheaded the Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Michika Local Government Council, Rev. Lawal Andimi, despite every effort made to save the clergy’s life.

The governor, who was received by a tumultuous crowd at the Yola International Airport, said he would do all within his power to guarantee security of all residents of Adamawa State irrespective of religion or tribal differences.

He also enjoined Adamawa residents not to allow the cowardly act of the insurgents to shake their faith and resolve, adding that the citizens should remain “undaunted and never succumb to fear.”

He stated that his administration has worked strenuously in the past seven months to deliver his 11 point agenda in the areas of health, security, education, housing and roads infrastructure.

He called on all politicians to join hands to take the state to the Promised Land irrespective of their party affiliations.

Fintiri also vowed to probe the administration of his predecessor in office, Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla Bindow, as well as those who siphoned the state resources in the past.

He said: “I will soon start to recover the resources of the state that has been embezzled by the last administration. I’m assuring you that no matter how big you are, if you have served the government and you embezzled public fund either at the state or local government level that I will soon start to recover the resources of the state.”

Fintiri also pledged to fulfill all his campaign promises and leave Adamawa better than he met it.

“I’m grateful to God for this victory. Allah gives leadership.

I want to assure you that I will fulfill all my campaign promises,” he said.

ALL EYES ON HIGHER RETURNS…

L-R: Deputy Company Secretary, Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Edward Imoedemhe; Africa’s richest man and Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Group Managing Director/CEO, Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Joseph Makoju; and Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Olakunle Alake at the Dangote Cement Plc Extra-Ordinary General Meeting held in Lagos…yesterday

Bandits Kill Postgraduate Student in Niger Laleye Dipo in Minna A postgraduate student of the Othman Dan Fodio University Sokoto, Mathias Livinus, was yesterday reportedly killed by bandits in Kashinu village in the Adunu district of Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State A report from the area has it that the student, who visited his parents in Kashinu village,

was riding on a motorcycle from Goto village to Dakalo when he ran into the bandits.

He was said to have been sprayed with bullets leading to his death.

According to the reports, the bandits began their raid on several communities in the district around 9p.m. last Tuesday and continued till about 3a.m.

During the operation, it was

gathered that two villagers were abducted while several others were injured.

An eyewitness said: “The bandits were seven in number shooting indiscriminately to put fear in our people, as they ran helter-skelter.”

He said the bandits, who must have invaded the community from Munya Local Government Area, however, released two out of the 32 victims they kidnapped

NLNG Signs Sales Deal with Total Peter Uzoho

Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited and Total Gas and Power (TGP) have signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) for some of the remarketed volumes from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)’s Trains one, two and three.

The agreement was meant for the supply of 1.5 million tonnes per annum for a 10-year term on

a Delivered Ex-ship and Free on Board (FOB) basis.

NLNG Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tony Attah, signed on behalf of the company, while the Senior Vice President of Total Gas and Power, Mr. Thomas Maurisse, signed for his organisation.

NLNG, in a statement yesterday by its General Manager, External Relations, Eyono Fatayi-Williams, said

the agreement was in line with its drive to continue to deliver LNG globally in consolidation of its position as one of the top ranking LNG suppliers in the world.

The SPA with TGP advances the plans by NLNG to remarket volumes from three trains and is expected to boost the company’s global presence and market reach in line with its corporate vision of being a “global LNG company,

at Beni village last week, adding: “I believe the bandits are still in the forests as I speak with you.”

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Muhammad Abubakar, said he was at a Summit and “will get back to you.”

At the time of filing this report, the police spokesman has neither confirmed nor denied the story.

helping to build a better Nigeria.”

NLNG is an incorporated Joint Venture (JV) owned by four shareholders, namely, the Federal Government of Nigeria,l represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with (49) per cent; Shell Gas B.V. (25.6) per cent; Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France (15) per cent; and Eni International N.A. N. V. S.àr.l (10.4) per cent.

APC Candidate for Sokoto Assembly Re-run Defects to PDP The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday’s House of Assembly re-run election in Sokoto State, Alhaji Bature Lili, and his supporters have dumped the party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This is coming barely two days to the scheduled House of Assembly election for Binji

constituency in the state, in which Lili was seeking to retain his seat under the auspices of the APC. “What informed my decision are the strings of victories the state Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, has recorded over time. When we were in the APC, we challenged his election and a re-run was held, he won.

After that, we took him to the elections petition tribunal. He was adjudged the winner,” Lili explained “We dragged him to the Appeal Court, he won.

Unsatisfied, we took him to the Supreme Court, he was again handed the victory.

“Why should anyone continue to contest with

somebody whom God has clearly shown that he is in support of?”

He told a crowd of PDP supporters at the party’s secretariat in Sokoto that he has withdrawn his aspiration to run again for the seat he once occupied as representative of Binji in the state House of Assembly.

THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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THURSday JaNUaRy 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

Military Clears Boko Haram Insurgents from Maiduguri-Damaturu Highways Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri Soldiers and policemen have cleared the Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway off remnants of Boko Haram insurgents, who have terrorised motorists in the last few days.

It was a battle at a high cost as six soldiers lost their lives, but the insurgents were said to have suffered heavy casualties with a large number killed in the confrontation which left several injured.

With the victory on Tuesday, Maiduguri, the Borno State capital has been reconnected to the rest of the country by road,

as the Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway has perhaps remained the only safest road linking the town to the rest of Nigeria.

A security source revealed that the insurgents were engaged by the troops between Mainok and Benesheikh on the Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway between 11.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. on Tuesday.

The source added that the soldiers had engaged the insurgents in a shootout between 1100 a.m. and 11.35 a.m. without either parties given way but recorded heavy casualties on both sides.

According to the source, the tide was however changed

when mobile policemen led by the Commander of Borno Rapid Response Squad, CSP Abioye Babalola, and Operation Commander, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Borno State Command, CSP Mohammed Ibrahim, came on the scene.

The source said the two commanders were on patrol of the highway and were able to use their Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) to engage the insurgents and dispel them.

The source, who said the

battle dragged on till about 1.00 p.m, said the military and policemen were able to recover two gun truck which the insurgents took from the soldiers.

The source said: “Two gun trucks were recovered, but six soldiers were lost in the gun duel, two corpses of Boko Haram were seen when the crossfire was over, but many corpses were taken away by the insurgents.

“Boko Haram insurgents equally suffered a high degree of injuries; many of

them were seen leaping off in flight.”

The source, while claiming that no mobile policeman was lost in the attack, said: “Both the police team of SARS and RRS team were protected and faced the battle as a result of the new APC procured by Inspector General of Police and recently commissioned

by President Muhammadu Buhari and manpower that were available as a result of newly launched RRS by Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum.”

However, the source said the policemen came under fire from the soldiers after dislodging the terrorists but the officer who led the operation ordered his men not to fire back at the soldiers.

He said things got under control after a reinforcement team of soldiers from Benisheikh, a neighbouring town, got to the location.

TheCable obtained a video showing bot h sides disc u ssing a bou t t he fight against insurgents a nd t he a t t a c k from soldier s.

Court Gives EFCC Nod to Freeze N136m Linked to Army General, Otiki The Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday gave the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the go-ahead to temporarily freeze the sum of $376, 120 (N136, 155, 440) linked to Maj. Gen. Hakeem Oladapo Otiki.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu gave the order in an ex-parte motion with suit number: FHC/ABJ/ CS/1380/20 brought by counsel to the anti-graft agency, Mr. Ekele Iheanacho, in Abuja.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Otiki, who is currently standing trial at the Army Court Marshall, was said to have detailed some soldiers, sometimes in 2019, to provide VIP escort from Sokoto to Kaduna states for one Alhaji Ado Aliyu, alongside the sum of N400 million, but the soldiers fled and escaped with the money.

In an affidavit in support of the ex-parte motion, deposed to by Alvan Gurumnaan, an Investigating Officer with the Counter Terrorism Financing and General Investigation (CTGI) Unit of the EFCC, the personnel said by virtue of his position as officer assigned to investigate the intelligence received, he was familiar with the facts of the matter.

“That upon receipt of the intelligence mentioned in

paragraph 1, my team carried out several investigation activities which include: making inquiries from the office of the Chief of Army Staff, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), commercial banks, Corporate Affairs Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, Salaries and Wages Commission. “ We also interview witnesses and suspects with a view to unravel the fraud, tracing the movements of funds suspected to be proceeds of illegal activities, source of the funds, the beneficiaries, among others.

The investigation so far reveals the following: “That Maj.Gen. Otiki was a serving military officer and the immediate-past General Officer Commanding (GOC) Division of the Nigerian Army, Sokoto. He was the chief accounting officer of the division.

“That one Alhaji Ado, together with his son, Adamu Aliyu, is into the business of Bureau De Change (BDC). They are business associates of Otiki as they assisted him (Otiki) in operating his BDC business known as Karama BDC. “That Otiki while still in public service acquired Karama BDC Nigeria Limited in 2014. Out of the company’s 35, 000, 000 share capital, he had 22, 000, 000 shares.

Tambuwal Swears in Four Permanent Secretaries Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto The Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, yesterday swore in four permanent secretaries in the state civil service.

The inauguration, which took place at the chamber of the Government House in Sokoto, was witnessed by various dignitaries, including the state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Dan’Iya Manir; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Sa’aidu Umar; state Head of Service, Dr. Bello Buhari Kware, and commissioners.

Tambuwal stated that their appointments were necessitated to fill a vacuum, adding that their appointments were based on merit.

He congratulated them for attaining the peak of their career, stressing that it is the desire and

dream of every civil servant to reach the peak of his or her career, as he cautioned that they should accept anywhere they are posted.

According to the governor, “I will not tolerate lobbying, as doing so will make me to revoke your appointment.”

Tambuwal urged them to contribute their quota to the development of the state, adding that civil servants are the engine room of every government.

Those sworn in were Abdullahi S Danko former Senior Adviser on Media and Publicity to former state Governor, Attahiru Bafarawa; Shehu Bandi, Usaini S Gobir and Aminu Muhammad Tekada.

In another development, the State Executive Council has approved the payment of N30,000 as minimum wage starting from January 2020.

YOU ARE WELCOME…

Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari (right), welcoming the Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Ambassador Abdullahi H. Shinkafi, to his office during the visit of a delegation from FCC in Abuja…yesterday

US Earmarks N2.8bn to Provide Water for 54,000 Herders, Farmers The US Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday said it had allocated about N2.8 billion ($8million) for the provision of water for about 50,000 herders and 4,000 smallholder farmers in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States in order to address the conflicts between the herdsmen and farmers.

The project, “Water for Agriculture,” which runs from 2019 to 2022, is being carried out in collaboration with an international humanitarian organisation, Catholic Relief Services.

Speaking during the

inauguration of the project in Abuja yesterday, the USAID Mission Director, Mr. Stephen Haykin, said the water-foragriculture project would contribute to the promotion of agriculture-led economic growth to improve resilience and nutrition and stronger governance of the water and sanitation sector.

He stated, “Water for agriculture will play a critical role in USAID’s strategy to develop new sustainable water sources in communities where displaced populations are returning. Through this activity, USAID will help

the North-east region develop its production capacity based on best agricultural practices.”

According to Haykin, the project would lead to the construction of new earth dams and systems for crop production and livestock watering, strengthening water governance and management, improving productivity and helping to mitigate conflict between farmers and herders.

The director disclosed that CRS would partner with the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria, Search for Common Ground, Diamond Development

Initiatives, the Pastoral Resolve and other partners and relevant government agencies.

The CRS Deputy Country Representative, Mr. Dane Fredenburg, in his welcome remarks explained that the USAID Water for Agriculture Activity was awarded to the organisation on July 15, 2019, as a cooperative agreement, adding that the project would construct or rehabilitate at least 21 water structures, including dams, irrigation systems and boreholes in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.

Nigeria’s Economy StillVulnerable to Shocks, LCCI Insists Dike Onwuamaeze The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said the nation’s economy is still vulnerable to external shocks due to fluctuations in global oil prices.

President LCCI, Mrs Toki Mobogunje, said this yesterday at a press conference on “State of the Nigerian Economy” held in Lagos.

She said that the mono-product nature of the economy would continue to expose the nation to volatility in the global oil market with its attendant consequences on the economy.

Mabogunje called on the federal government to intensify diversification efforts and embrace

structural reforms to attract private investment and stimulate economic growth.

According to her, businesses still struggle to survive owing to multiplicity of levies, infrastructure challenges, sluggish growth, excessive regulation, high cost of credit and unfavourable government policies.

She said the challenges confronting growth of businesses had remained in spite of the country’s upward movement by 15 places in the ease of doing business ranking.

The LCCI president advised government to vigorously implement friendly policies to support expansion of businesses.

Speaking on inflation, Mabogunje advised the

government to stem rising consumer prices through increased investment in infrastructure, especially power and transportation.

This, she said, would help bridge the supply gaps and reduce transportation costs.

“The rate at 11.98 per cent in December makes that the fourth consecutive month of rising inflation.

“Rising inflation has a profound welfare effect on citizens as it weakens purchasing power, as heightened food inflation naturally escalates poverty conditions.

“Policy makers need to worry about the increasingly intense inflationary conditions, especially the food component of inflation,” she said.

Addressing foreign exchange and external reserves, Mabogunje said that the approach of supporting the reserves with foreign portfolio investment was unsustainable.

She said there would be problems if portfolio investors developed apathy for Nigerian assets.

The LCCI president also noted that the current security situation in the country had devastating implications for business activities, economic growth, food production and investment.

She urged government to ensure a concrete and sustainable means of reducing youth employment by stimulating investment across all sectors of the economy.

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THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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Admiralty University of Nigeria: A Nigerian Navy driven University in partnership with international educators

UNIVERSITY ADDRESS: Ibusa Ogwashi-Uku Express Way, Asaba, Delta State.

14

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020

COMMENT

Editor, Editorial Page Peter Ishaka Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

Dearth Of Dissent anD treasOn tO COnstitutiOn oseloka h. obaze writes that dissent is vital in all arms of government

L

egal, political and social dissents are part of the grounding principles of functional democracies.

Hence, the dearth of dissent anywhere, marks the birthing of subliminal and irreverent revolution.

And so it is with Nigeria. By definition “dissent refers to having a different opinion from the commonly held or prevalent opinion or ideology.” Thus, dissent is vital in the executive, legislature and judiciary arms of government. Lamentably, Nigerians are witnesses to the suppression of dissent in all three arms; most egregiously within the judiciary.

In his keynote speech titled “Dissident in a Democratic Polity: Options in a Presidential System,” delivered at the 1991 Conference of AttorneysGeneral of Nigeria in Abuja, General Joe Garba said, “When alternative opinions are not allowed to manifest themselves or flourish, they become insidious, and in almost every instance, transform into aggressive subterranean opposition.” Long before then, Abraham Lincoln, a founding father of modern democracy, said of America; “This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.”

Nigeria is well past the era of military-anti politics, in which self-righteous soldiers overthrew democratically elected governments in 1966 and 1983; or overthrew their fellow soldiers in cyclical naked power grab. Still, our democracy is struggling badly.

In democratic Nigeria, dissent remains integral in ongoing efforts at restructuring, amending the constitution, and in making judicial decisions germane to the rule of law. Unfortunately, some elected and appointed officials in relative positions, have failed to pass the required litmus test.

Judicial prerogative is by rule sacrosanct. But the Nigerian judiciary has been stultified into passing some opprobrious judgments, making criticisms of the courts inevitable. Whereas, courts reaching unanimity in any judgement ought to be salutary and convey, cohesion, and the unsullied veracity of the judgement, that general perception has changed drastically. What is most troubling is that dissenting opinions in critical cases are becoming rare, even in circumstances where they should validate and strengthen the law.

The recent Supreme Court judgement on Imo state governorship election (Senator Hope Uzodinma et.al vs. Ihedioha Emeka et. al.), is a case in point. On two counts, the apex court flunked a simple back of the envelope calculation. How did Hope Uzodinma an electoral supernumerary (Ugwumba Uche Nwosu was the nominated and voided APC candidate), who was ranked fourth in an electoral outcome, be catapulted to a winning position? Secondly, how on earth could the voting figures assigned by the Supreme Court as the basis for awarding Hope Uzodinma victory, outstrip the number of voters accredited by INEC, the statutorily and administering authority. On both counts, the Supreme Court engaged in “fuzzy maths” for inexplicable reasons. The substantive concern of this piece, however, is the fact that not one member of the Supreme Court panel deemed it fit; had the courage, or considered it imperative to dissent and write a minority opinion. The Brethrens of the court failed the nation in this regard. But such disposition has been imminent. The rogue precedents were set quite early in recent electoral matters. Whilst it’s easier to accord infallibility to the Justices of the Supreme Court in this instance of malign conduct, the reality, quite

JudIcIal prerogatIve IS by rule SacroSanct. but the nIgerIan JudIcIary haS been StultIfIed Into paSSIng Some opprobrIouS JudgmentS, makIng crItIcISmS of the courtS InevItable

beyond any supposition, is that in resignation, the panel played a cameo role in perfecting a political and non-judicial script.

Yet it is heart-warming, that Justice Chukwudifu Oputa JSC of blessed memory left a fitting legal legacy, and an informed basis by which the Supreme Court could redeem itself, when he delivered the lead judgment in Adegoke Motors Ltd. v. Adesanya [1989], wherein he adduced reasons and powers of the Supreme Court to review an earlier decision, if a compelling basis exist. As Oputa averred, “The Court can do incalculable harm through its mistakes. When therefore it appears to learned counsel that any decision of this court has been given per incuriam, such counsel should have the boldness and courage to ask that such a decision be over-ruled. This court has the power to over-rule itself (and has done so in the past) for it gladly accepts that it is far better to admit an error than to persevere in error.”

Of late, Nigerian courts have engaged in judicial activism and judicial supremacy in electoral matters. This should not be. The role of the judiciary is to “interpret the law; the constitution included, but not to make the law.”

Apropos the substantive matter, Nigerian Supreme Court Justices might also wish to draw lessons from views posited by U.S. Chief Judge John Marshall as far back as 1821, in Cohen vs. Virginia; that “The Judiciary cannot as the legislature may, avoid a measure because it is doubtful. With whatever doubts, with whatever difficulties, a case maybe attended, we must decide it if it be brought before us. We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction which is given, than to usurp that which is not given. The one or the order would be treason to the constitution.”

When in 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari charged the Nigerian Judiciary to “go the extra mile to sanitise itself and improve its capacity to act independently, courageously, and tirelessly,” I wrote in my 2017 public policy book, Prime Witness, that “that policy pronouncement while propitious can’t be fustian; as Nigeria’s Judiciary remains susceptible to manipulation.” In the case of Imo State, the Supreme Court overreached, by making the law in ways that vitiated extant provisions of the Electoral Act, which empowers INEC alone to accredit voters. The court cannot usurp INEC powers. In not standing up for the rule of law, the Supreme Court came across as malleable, if not timid. Then again, as the lawyers would say, leges sine moribus vanae ~ laws without morals are useless.

Suggestions that an intimidated Nigerian Judiciary has become an outlier, now has validity. Courts arbitrating electoral outcomes should be on exceptional basis and not as a matter of routine. I recall warning recently that the “greatest danger to our nation, Constitution, law enforcement and anti-corruption war, is to allow the entrenchment of rogue precedents and worse still, to allow such precedents to gain currency and assume validity.” Nigeria has arrived at that sorry juncture. The seeds we are reaping in ersatz judgements that fly in the face of conventional wisdom, were planted with the arbitrary rustication of some judicial officers and the eventual removal of an incumbent Chief Justice of the Federation.

Those Judges who remain on the bench, understand this fully, and in their enlightened self-interest, understand the dearth of dissent. Yet, the esteemed Justices, I guess, understand fully, what Justice Marshall said about doing “treason to the Constitution.”

Obaze is Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Selonnes Consult – a policy, governance and management consulting firm in Awka

Amotekun: Why It Cannot Stand

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o doubt the security situation in the country is going from bad to worse. From North to South and from East to West, Nigeria has been enmeshed in a state of perpetual insecurity that shows no sign of abating. Like the proverbial silk gown, each time you’re able to pull together one side, the other side is set loose.

In other words, each time some level of calm is recorded at any of the major flashpoints, there’s breakdown at another. If “herdsmen” did not attack, kidnappers are bound to strike.

If bandits are not on the rampage in the Northwest, Boko Haram is attempting to stage some resurgence in the Northeast. So ugly and dire is our situation; and Nigerians can’t help but learn to live with it.

From all indications, the security agencies appear to be overstretched. Though, over time, the federal government has succeeded in launching various operations aimed at tackling insecurity in different parts of the country - be it terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling, militancy and so on. As a result, herdsmen attacks in Benue, Nasarawa and other parts of the Middle Belt have drastically reduced. The dreaded Abuja-Kaduna road has been without major incidence in recent past. Many bandits have repented in Zamfara, thanks to the amnesty programme initiated by Governor Bello Matawalle. The unrepentant ones are currently at the receiving end of a fierce and ruthless military onslaught that also

Operation Amotekun lacks the force of law, writes Ibrahim Siraj

covers parts of Katsina State. There has also been a noticeable drop in the level of insecurity in Southeast, South south and South west. Alas, all this is now being threatened by a renewed wave of attacks such as witnessed recently in Zamfara, Plateau, Niger and Kaduna, including the bloody attack on Emir of Potiskum at Maraban Jos. On the 7th of January, six Southwestern states launched what they called Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) codenamed Operation Amotekun ostensibly to complement the efforts of federal government in the fight against insecurity in that particular region.

Speaking at the event held in Ibadan, Governor Kayode Fayemi dispelled the insinuation that Amotekun is a regional police and gave the assurance that the outfit would only complement the nation’s mainstream security outfits. He stressed that the operation was meant to give “people the confidence that they are being looked after by the people they elected into office” and not to undermine the integrity or sovereignty of Nigeria. Speaker after speaker, these points were affirmed. But the federal government disagreed! In its reaction through the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the FG made it quite clear that Amotekun is an illegal outfit because going by constitutional provisions, “no state government either singly or in a group has the legal right and competence to establish any form of organization or agency for the defence of Nigeria or any of its constituent parts”. The

country’s defence, according to the statement by Dr. Umar Gwandu, the Minister’s spokesman, remains the exclusive preserve of the federal government vested on it through the Exclusive List.

Expectedly, this has set the ground for a long-drawn legal battle between the FG and Southwest governors. Expectedly too, this will unite the entire Southwest irrespective of political or religious differences as has always been the case when ethnic or regional interest is at stake. It follows that the region will deploy all legal arsenals and media assets at its disposal (which it also firmly controls) in defence of the controversial security outfit. But while leaving the legal debate to experts, it is pertinent to interrogate the wider socio-political implications of Amotekun with a view to finding answers to some vital questions surrounding its operations.

Perhaps the most ridiculous argument advanced by Amotekun’s proponent so far is the parallel being drawn between it and that of other complementary outfits operating in the country such as Hisbah in some Sharia-implementing states and the so-called Civilian JTF in the Northeast. Indeed, nothing could be more preposterous. While Hisbah was established through duly passed laws by the Houses of Assembly of the affected states, Amotekun has no legal backing whatsoever. As at the time of its launch, no bill establishing it or backing its operation was passed in the House of Assembly of any of the six states of the Southwest. Why then is the haste? By the way,

what are Amotekun’s rules of engagement?

And how could an outfit established to fight crime be compared to Hisbah, a non-combatant apparatus whose major duty is to detect acts of immorality and bring same to the attention of Police or other law enforcement agencies?

And how could we be sure Amotekun will not be hijacked by OPC to unleash violence against its perceived “enemies”? And why is birth registration certificate from Church one of the criteria for recruitment in a region with a substantial Muslim population? Why not Mosque? And what if Amotekun triggers the race to establish regional militias throughout the country? How could we be sure this will not lead to a full blown state of instability and lawlessness?

Apparently, there is still so much we don’t know. Until the Southwest governors are able to come with satisfactory answers to these and other questions, a specter of skepticism will continue to haunt the new security operation.

While not disputing the need for collaborative effort in tackling the nation’s security challenges, the resort to self-help in a manner that negates due process, poses threat to Nigeria’s stability or seeks to achieve some hidden agenda cannot be welcome. Agreed, security of life and property is always paramount. Hence, let all stakeholders cooperate with the FG towards finding solution to our current security challenges.

Dr. Siraj is of the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020

editorial The NaTioNal ideNTiTy CoNuNdrum

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The National Identity Management Commission should sit up

he Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has called off the use of National Identity Number (NIN) for the 2020 university admission. This decision was made after the exercise received knocks for inflicting untold ordeal on the prospective Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates and their parents. All over the country, there were tales of excruciating agony by candidates before the exercise was suspended.

The Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr Aliyu Aziz confessed the exercise was shelved because the commission was overwhelmed by the upsurge in enrolment. He said the commission had only 1,000 centres nationwide against the over 4,000 enrolment centres required for the exercise.

This confession is a serious indictment on the NIMC. We take the admission to imply that the commission neither has the capacity, expertise nor personnel to handle the strategic task of national identity management in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, this has only brought to fore the concerns of many NigeriThe UTMe episode has ans over the prospects once again broUghT To of NIMC completing The fore The necessiTy the harmonisation and of harMonising The integration of all existcollecTion and Usage ing identity database of bioMeTric daTa in The in the ministries, departments and coUnTry agencies (MDAs).

Such harmonisation will ensure uniformity of data and easy integration into a centralised and functional national identity database. If such had been in existence, JAMB candidates would not have been subjected to such grief and pains that those who seek to obtain Nigerian passport or driver’s licence go through every day.

We fail to understand why securing a NIN could be riddled with chaos, difficulties and pandemonium on the scale of the charade being witnessed. Aside failing to come to terms with the reality that a huge segment of Nigeria’s

letters to the editor

200 million population are below 18 years and prospective JAMB candidates, majority of NIMC staff deployed to the centres to coordinate the registration exercise were also compromised as they covertly engaged in bribery, extortion and racketeering. It is therefore little surprise that the national identity management scheme has degenerated into one big racket and an ineffectual structure that has failed to fulfil the purpose for which it was established.

The UTME episode, which exposed NIMC inefficiency, has once again brought to the fore the necessity of harmonising the collection and usage of biometric data in the country.

I T H I S DAY

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T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D

ediTor-in-chief/chairMan NDUKA oBAIGBENA groUp execUTive direcTors ENIoLA BELLo, KAYoDE KoMoLAfE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEoMA NWoGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EfENI divisional direcTors BoLAJI ADEBIYI, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHoNY oGEDENGBE depUTy divisional direcTor oJoGUN VICToR DANBoYI snr. associaTe direcTor ERIC oJEH associaTe direcTors PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMo conTrollers ABIMBoLA TAIWo, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MoSERI direcTor, prinTing prodUcTion CHUKS oNWUDINJo To send eMail: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

t would certainly cost less, save time and energy if every government agency could collaborate and agree to share data instead of each gathering its own biometrics. We recall that former President Goodluck Jonathan, in 2014 issued a directive asking all the MDAs to work with the NIMC to fast-track a biometric database in the country. The reasoning behind that directive against multiple identity capturing exercises was that besides being unwieldy, the cost of operating multiple discordant database and infrastructure is unsustainable. But sadly, nothing has been done in respect of this directive as several agencies, notably the National Population Commission (NPC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the banks still continue to demand biometric data from Nigerians.

Ordinarily, biometrics is based on individual characteristics of the subject and is not necessary to be replicated or duplicated for authenticity. There are no two persons with the same set of finger prints, palm prints, or retina in the world. Since biometrics is therefore as individual as the DNA of a person, any pretensions about needing to capture same in a multiplicity of places for security, efficiency and effectiveness falls flat on its face.

Unfortunately, this has not been the case in Nigeria with biometrics data collection becoming one big machinery for racket and extortion.

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.

amoTekun and The PolITIcs of securITY Continued from backpage

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hat worries is that if, by an act of omission or commission, we frame our national security challenge around identity politics (as some politicians in the South-West imagine) or a “We” versus “Them” paradigm (as some politicians in the North now also reason), we are not likely to get an enduring solution.

In fact, we are only going to exacerbate the situation. The connecting thread for the variants of violence that we witness across the country today, as I have argued several times on this page, is that the Nigerian state has lost what Max Weber described as the monopoly of “the legitimate use of physical force” to sundry criminal cartels. And that is why the South-West governors should be constructively engaged over Amotekun before the process is hijacked by the mob. But to hand down order from Abuja as Malami did is counter-productive, especially when he also appears to be speaking not for Nigeria but rather for some special interest groups, in a manner that fatally threatens the unity of the country as an inclusive polity founded on diversity.

Interestingly, I had just completed this piece when my attention was drawn to the statement by the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has in recent days been goaded to make his position on Amotekun public. His view, to a large extent, tallies with mine. Where I disagree is the attempt to exonerate Malami from the “dangerous rhetoric of those who should know better.” But Tinubu has expressed a greater clarity on what the real issues are. “Those claiming that this limited, inoffensive addition to security threatens the Republic have taken themselves upon a madcap excursion. Those claiming that the Federal Government seeks to terribly suppress the Southwest have also lost their compass. Those who

occupy these two extremes have sunken into the dark recesses of fear and political paranoia that can undo a nation if such sentiments are allowed to gestate,” he said.

Most of the commentators on Amotekun, according to Tinubu, “have but the vaguest notion about it. They know few details yet vigorously attribute to its opponents the most negative intentions. Ask those who oppose Amotekun. They are equally ignorant of its provisions. They oppose the initiative not on its merits but merely because it was proposed by their political opponents...Too much energy has been spent distorting this issue instead of seeking a resolution that supports local enhancement of security while keeping the constitution intact.”

On the whole, the political unease about Amotekun, especially in the North is an unspoken one, and I understand why. One, its location: South-West. The history of resistance in this part of the country indicates that threats from the centre never work whenever the people are united on a common cause as they seem to do now. Two, ‘Operation Amotekun’ in Yoruba is ‘Operation Damisa’ in Hausa (since both connotes leopard), and students of Nigeria’s tragic history have something to remember on that, even when it is just coincidental. At the end, what we should not overlook is that this crisis also comes with a huge opportunity for institutionalising the idea of community policing and perfecting our federal structure so it can work for the greater majority of our people. But on Amotekun, we must also take the heat out of the needless tension being generated by mischief makers on all sides. President Buhari and the South-West Governors need to play a crucial leadership role and the only way to do that is not to surrender the initiative to extremists, while working for a political solution that is anchored on securing lives and livelihoods, not only within one zone but across the entire country.

Olusegun Adeniyi , Abuja

There IsYellow In everY raInbow

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he original Yellow Wiggle, Greg Page, had a heart attack, was basically dead, had treatment using a defibrillator, and is still in hospital. This has been a very good event for himself and many others.

Obviously, a heart attack isn’t what anyone really wants but this time it occurred where there was medical support, a defibrillator fortunately and transport to a hospital where a stent was inserted, and he is well on the way to recovery. His medical condition was treatable, and he was ‘lucky’ to find out when it could be treated.

For others the benefit will be the call for more defibrillators at public and private venues which will probably save a number of lives. It has surprised people how few venues actually have this equipment available.

The availability of emergency medical equipment should be a universal constant, but it isn’t. The provision of basic medical care should also fit into this category, available as needed but there is still a long way to go.

The next time you see a rainbow let the yellow band remind you of what still needs to be done in the world.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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THURSday JaNUaRy 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

UK Investors Pledge N28.6bn Investment on Clean Energy Projects in Africa Dike Onwuamaeze Investors in the United Kingdom (UK) have pledged to commit £50 million (N28.6billion) of new UK investments to clean energy projects across Africa. The pledge was made at the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit

that commenced in London on January 20, which was meant to forge new links between UK and African companies, investors and policy makers to promote clean energy usage.

This was disclosed at the summit by British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs.

Buhari Directs Trade Minister to Set up Agro-allied Industry in 36 States The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Mariam Katagum, has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the ministry to establish agro-allied industry in each state of the federation.

Katagum gave the confirmation during a meeting with a delegation from the Amana Farmers and Grains Suppliers Association of Nigeria.

The association was led to the minister’s office by its Chairman, Mr. Haruna Pambeguwa.

Katagum said the plan to establish agro-allied industry in each senatorial district in the country is part of government’s effort to achieve food security and stimulate economic activities.

The minister said the federal government would give necessary support towards the development of the cotton, textile, and garment sectors of the economy.

The textile industries in the last few years have been facing various challenges which had resulted in the closure of over 150 textile firms in Nigeria with a loss of over two million jobs.

Farmers and processors in the sector have had to deal with low quality seeds, rising operating cost and weak sales due to high energy cost of running factories, smuggling of textile goods, and poor access to finance.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, smuggling of textile goods alone is estimated to have cost the nation an import bill of over $4billion.

The trade minister said, “Government is very much interested in growing the economy, looking at other areas like cotton, textile, garment, grains, tomatoes, we need to add value.

“Mr. President has directed that in every senatorial district, we should establish an agro-allied industry and we know some industries exist but you can assist us in identifying the agro-allied industries that will be suited for you.”

On the border closure, she said the government has learnt a lot of lessons from the exercise one of which is that Nigeria can produce what it needs.

A’Ibom CP Orders Arrest of Inspector for Alleged Murdered of Widow Okon Bassey in Uyo The, Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, has ordered the immediate arrest of a Police Inspector, Mr. Bassey Peter Ikpe, for allegedly killing a widow.

This is coming seven days after the alleged brutal murder of Mrs. Deborah Nkereuwem Nkpenie, a hypertensive widow by the police inspector.

Reason for the killing of the woman is yet to be established, but it was gathered that it might not be unconnected with the landed property of the widow’s husband.

The killing was alleged to have occurred within the vicinity of the state police headquarters in Ikot Akpan Abia.

The state police command had earlier kept silent over the murder.

The brother and sister of the late husband of the widow were said to have dragged the deceased widow to the Police Command over the property of the widow’s husband.

In a statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Odiko Macdon, and made available to journalists in Uyo yesterday, the police said its decision to

finally look into the alleged murder was informed by some media reports.

“The attention of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command has been drawn to a publication in some dailies and online media that a police officer attached to the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, Inspector Bassey Ikpe, reportedly beat one Mrs. Deborah Nkereuwem Nkpenie to death on January 16, 2020.

“To authenticate this serious allegation, the state Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, has ordered the immediate arrest of the said iInspector.

“The commissioner has instructed the deputy commissioner of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter, while reiterating the Command’s commitment to policing with great respect for human rights,” the statement noted.

An eyewitness said the incident took place in the morning of January 16, 2020, following the invitation of the deceased by the policeman who was an IPO in the ongoing case.

Catriona Laing, who stated that the UK announced a range of partnerships with African countries that she hoped would support Nigerian leadership in setting an ambitious National Determined Contribution (NDC) to global emissions reduction targets.

Laing said: “In particular, I hope that the £10 million (over N4.7 billion) UK Climate Finance Accelerator will help Nigeria secure greater investments in green energy, increasing the availability of sustainable power and creating new jobs.

“I am proud that the UK government is showing leadership, including through our legally-binding commitment

to reach net zero emissions by 2050. And I am delighted that Nigeria too is playing a leadership role, demonstrated through the strong participation at the UK-Africa Investment Summit by the Minister of State for the Environment, Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor and a Nigerian, Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi, who moderated the panel discussion on clean energy transition.

Many African countries met in London for the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit, which included African leaders, UK and African businesses, international institutions and young entrepreneurs.

President Buhari, who

represented Nigeria, was supported by a strong Nigerian delegation.

Ahead of the UK-hosted UN Climate Summit (COP26) later this year, a central theme of the UK-Africa Investment Summit was support for African leaders’ call to accelerate investment in secure, low-cost and low carbon energy.

British Prime Minister, Mr. Boris Johnson’s opening speech highlighted the benefits of clean energy, including jobs and sustainable growth, and announced that the UK would end support for thermal coal mining and coal power plants overseas.

During the summit, the UK Government committed to use its expertise and experience to partner with African countries to help them transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable, sustainable forms of clean energy.

Laing, who attended the Summit, commented: “In the year the UK is set to host the UN climate summit, COP26, we put clean energy at the heart of the UK-Africa Investment Summit.

“Over the past 12 months, campaigners, including the inspirational Greta Thunberg, have shone a spotlight on the urgency for immediate and ambitious action to reduce the potentially devastating impact of climate change.”

GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY…

L-R: Camp Head, Kutara Tatara Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp in Nasarawa State, Mr. Usman Adamu; First Lady of Nasarawa State, Hajia Salifat Sule; Project Manager, Giving.Ng, Mrs. Peju Ibekwe; and member of the House of Representatives representing Karu/ Keffi/Kokona Federal Constituency, Nassarawa State, Hon. Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi, during the presentation of relief materials by Giving.Ng to IDPs in the camp...yesterday

Kano Confirms Outbreak of Lassa Fever, Places 292 on Watch List Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano Kano State Government has confirmed the outbreak of Lassa fever in the state which has so far claimed the lives of three persons comprising two doctors and the patient believed to be the first victim.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, told journalists yesterday during a press conference that the ministry currently has a total of 292 persons who had contact with the said victims on its watch list which would help to quickly quarantine anyone who shows any symptoms

of the disease to avoid further spread.

He said the first case was a 28-year-old pregnant woman from Gwale LGA who fell ill two weeks after the death of her mother, and was referred to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital from a private hospital, but also passed away on January 1, 2020.

The commissioner said: “Following the report of the outbreak and confirmation of samples, the state government swung into action so as to expeditiously curtail the spread of the viral disease, and consequently, the state isolation centre at Gaya has been activated.”

He added: “Other measure taken included the activation of rapid response team, prepositioning of drugs and other consumables, contact tracing as well as daily coordination meeting at the state emergency operation centre among other.”

Tsanyawa urged the public to disregard any allegation or rumors on the issue and ensure proper hand hygiene, as well as strengthen their environmental sanitation and avoid contact with wild animals and rodents.

Other safety measures, according to him, are that the people should avoid poorly

cooked meat, avoid contact with suspected or confirmed cases or items soiled by them, as he urged the public to report any suspected case to the nearest health facility.

The commissioner further reiterated the state government readiness to partner all persons and organisations in its determination to provide quality healthcare service for the people of the state.

However, the National President of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Professor Francis Faduyi, has also confirmed that two of their members have died and another one has been hospitalised in Kano.

Norwegian Ambassador Laments Contractors’ Failure on Ogoniland Clean-up Udora Orizu in abuja The Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Jens-Peter Kjemprud, has lamented that the slow pace of work at the sites of Ogoni cleanup is generally worrisome and that the cleanup might not be completed as planned.

He stated this when he received members of the Environmental Media Correspondents Association

(EMCAN) in Abuja yesterday, saying even with the amount of money awarded, activities at sites are very slow.

The ambassador also said the UNEP report is now seven years old, and since 21 contractors were mobilised to sites, work has not started.

According to him, “Climate change is so enormous that a nation may not know where to begin or

end. Coastal erosion in the South and desertification in the North are great challenges for Nigeria.

“Norwegian Government supports the cleanup exercise because of the devastating effects on human lives and animals.”

Speaking further, he said they have discovered that lifespan in the area is below average because the environment has been destroyed and polluted by oil.

“The people currently have health challenge, and they are running out of patience, as work on the sites needs to commence in full speed because it’s putting lives in the community at great risk,” he added.

Also speaking, the Deputy Head of Mission, Ingrid Skjolaas, called on journaliststovisitthe sites of the cleanup to have first-hand assessment and to give comprehensive report of what is happening to the project.

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THURSday JaNUaRy 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

NEWSExtra

Police Kill Two Bandits, Rescue 20 Kidnap Victims in Kaduna John Shiklam in Kaduna

The Kaduna State Police Command has rescued 20 people abducted by gunmen along the Kaduna Zaria road.

The victims were abducted on different occasions.

In a statement issued last night in Kaduna, the state police spokesman, Mr. Yakubu Sabo, said eight people were rescued in a kidnapping incident that occurred along the Kaduna - Zaria road yesterday, while two of the bandits were killed.

Sabo also disclosed that three staff of Airtel Communication were abducted on Tuesday in Maidaro village, Giwa LGA of Kaduna State, adding that in the course of freeing the Airtel staff, nine people who were abducted during last week during an attack on the Emir of Postikum, were also rescued unhurt.

He said those abducted yesterday were passengers travelling from Kano to Abuja in a Sharon bus, which was blocked by the bandits along the Zaria - Kaduna road.

The statement reads: “On 22/1/2020 at about 0030hrs, the Command received a distress call through DPO Mararraban Jos that, some

unknown armed bandits blocked the Kaduna-Zaria express highway and abducted eight persons from a Sharon bus on their way from Kano to Abuja namely: Aisha Umar, Samira Ibrahim Dakata, Safiya Idris, Hauwa Aliyu, Aisha Yakubu, Ma’aru Adam, Safiya Audu and Yahaya Bello respectively all of Kano State.

“On receipt of the information, the Command mobilised teams of operatives with some Armored Personnel Carrier (APCs) vehicles to the area, engaged the attackers, successfully gunned down two of the bandits and rescued all the eight victims unhurt while many other bandits escaped with bullet wounds.

“The Command is still on the trail of the hoodlums with a view to apprehending and bringing them to face justice. “ In another separate incidence, on 21/1/2020 at about 0600hrs, the Command received a distress call from good Samaritans through DPO Kidandan in Giwa LGA that, some bandits invaded Maidaro village and kidnapped three workers of Airtel Communication Company.

“The command quickly mobilised operatives to the scene, engaged the hoodlums in a fierce gun duel and

successfully rescued all the three workers unhurt namely: Henry Agim, Kamal Raman and Shegun Adejimoh.

“While, on manhunt of the fleeing bandits, our operatives also intercepted nine other captives who were passengers of the Morcopolo luxurious bus that was attacked along Kaduna- Zaria Road on 14/01/2020 alongside the convoy of the Emir of Potiskum at foundation village.

“The victims are identified as; Abdulhafiz Wakil, Abdul Wasiu Jimmoh, Mujittaba, Hajara Usman, Emmanuela Dimka, Dahiru Isa and three others who were debriefed by the CP and supported to be reunited with their respective families.

“The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar M. Muri sincerely appreciates the cooperation of the local communities recently by helping the command to overcome the current security challenges in the State and enjoins the general public to continue to support the Police to enable the command sustain the win in the battle.

“The CP assures the good people of the State that the Command is resolute in its collective resolve to reduce crime to the barest minimum”.

NSCIA Condemns Killing of Adamawa CAN Chairman

Olawale Ajimotokan in abuja

Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has expressed outrage at the barbaric killing of the Branch Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Pastor Lawan Andimi, by Boko Haram insurgents.

NSCIA, in a statement on Monday by its spokesman, Aselemi Ibrahim, said it received the news of the killing of Andimi with great shock.

It condemned the action as provocative and an act of man’s inhumanity to fellow human being.

The nation’s highest Islamic

council said Boko Haram terror group, which is behind the almost two-decade old act of insurgency in the North-east that has killed thousands of people and displaced 2.3 million from their homes, wanted to make the country ungovernable as well as incite Christians against Muslims.

“We condemn it in the strongest terms. It is barbaric, provocative and a flagship example of man inhumanity to man. The council believes that Boko Haram is trying to make the country ungovernable and to incite Christians against Muslims in Nigeria.

“The council hereby expresses her heart-felt condolences to the immediate family of Pastor Lawan Andimi in particular and the

leadership and members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in general,” NSCIA said.

It, however, appealed to CAN to be wary of the comments and statements it puts to the public in the wake of Andimi’s killing in order not to heat up the polity and not play into the antics of the enemy.

While restating its commitment to a united Nigeria, where everyone is protected and free to practice his/her religion without any encumbrances, NSCIA said religious leaders should think carefully and be sure that their comments are in the interest of national peace, security and cohesion.

LG Vice Chairmen Back Malami on Letter to Makinde Olawale Ajimotokan in abuja Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGOVC) has expressed its support for the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, over his letter to Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, requesting the latter to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court on the dissolution of local government administration in his state.

Reacting to the development yesterday, ALGOVC National President, Hon. Lawrence

Onuchukwu, said the decision of the minister to write Oyo State governor on behalf of the fereral government was a welcome development.

He noted that this latest action of the federal government has confirmed what his association had always stood for as it frequently decried the illegality of sacking democratically elected local government chairmen.

“Practically, we had demonstrated our commitment to the struggle last year as we openly refused at our award ceremony to confirm the association’s merit award to the immediate past

governor of Imo State, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, who had earlier been nominated for the award by our assesment committee.

“We publicly declared him as not worthy to receive our award, because he disregarded the Supreme Court judgement to dissolve constitutionally elected local government administration in his state immediately he resumed office.

“We are delighted to hear this action from the government and we hereby throw our support behind the minister to ensure strict compliance in all the affected states of the federation,” he said.

18

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020

politics

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

‘Ihedioha Can Accept the Judgement, Turn Around and Come Back Like a Cobra’

Pro-democracy activist and legal researcher, Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo, tells Nseobong Okon-Ekong that the best option before the Peoples Democratic Party in the contentious matter of Imo governorship election is to go back to the Supreme Court rather than embark on street protests

W

hat options do you think PDP and Ihedioha have over the recent Supreme Court ruling on Imo governorship tussle?

I challenge the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Judgment of the Supreme Court in Appeal SC. 1462/2019 delivered on Tuesday 14th January 2020 must be challenged on grounds of want of jurisdiction.

Therefore, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP should quickly assemble a legal team to bring application by the party for the following reasons: * For setting aside of the judgment in SC. 142/2019 dated Tuesday, 14th January, 2020, under the inherent jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. *For an Order of Court nullifying all acts done on the basis of the aforesaid judgment dated 14/01/2020 inclusive of those performed by the delegates and agents of Senator Hope Uzodinma, the financial benefits earned while occupying the seat of Governor Imo State, as a result of the voidable judgment of this Court in SC. 1462/2019 dated 14/01/2020 for want of jurisdiction ab initio.

In this instance, on what grounds do you think the judgement could be waived?

I do not give free advice, but because of the tragedy of the injustice on Imo people and Emeka Ihedioha and the relationship of one of our leaders, who is now the leader of the party, I will give you a provisor, free and I challenge any Nigerian lawyer to look at it and fault it.

PDP also said Justice Tanko was not qualified to hold the office of CJN, do you think there is any basis for such statement?

You can understand when you take a decision out of anger. So I believe they should not go that far. The man is the Chief Justice of Nigeria already so if you are talking about him not being qualified that is another issue and it is libellous.

So PDP should also be careful.

You were in court in Ohakim’s case, what really transpired?

I went to court because I saw another injustice in Imo State, this is the second time and this is why I sat in my own library and prepared the processes. In Imo State, sometime in 2007, there was an election between Ikedi Ohakim,Araraume and Agbaso and after that they said the election was inconclusive. Then INEC, the typical inefficient INEC tried to do an interpretation of the law by saying that there should a supplementary election and that supplementary election they conducted was an infraction of the constitution because they did it outside the statutes and nobody saw it. So I went to the Federal High Court to challenge it, I brought an action at the Federal High Court, the governor of Imo State, then Ohakim, not in his person hired one Chris Uche (SAN) to bring an application in that my matter for judgement, they all know me and I opposed the application because I used the case of Bamaiyi against the Federal Republic of Nigeria that whatever interpretation the court gives to the constitutional matter does not affect the governor, he can make use of it. Trial court at the Federal High Court, agreed with me but somersaulted and said that I do not have locus, I went to a Court of Appeal, the matter is still pending, it has not been done. All I want to show them is that law is so serious a subject to be left for lawyers only.

Now PDP is saying that Ihedioha should go to court to reconsider the decision taken and remembering that you have once gone to court in Peter Obi’s matter, how do you

the intellectual capacity of understanding law and its processes would have predicted what will be the outcome of an election. And that now brings us to the leadership of a political party calling upon the Chief Justice of Nigeria to resign, because a judgement was given in a matter, I think it is misplaced.

Okonkwo think this will pan out?

If you say that you are a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, you show me your process. I am one person that has gone to Supreme Court. The present Chief Justice is one of the panellists, he called me all kinds of names but at the end of the day I defeated all of them. To set aside a judgement they gave in Obi against INEC, it was recorded in Nigerian Weekly Law Report.

It was an unconstitutional judgement. I was not attacking Obi’s tenure, I was talking about a judgement you gave on the day you sacked the then governor, Andy Ubah; we were eight parties and the day you gave your reasons it was seven parties and Peter Obi’s notice of appeal filed by Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) did not contain my name, how come that these things happened, it is a recorded at case Per term 46, Nigerian Weekly Law Report.

I brought an application on the grounds of ex lobito justicia, that I was not heard, that the court lacked jurisdiction and that the judgement was a nullity and asked the court to set aside all the acts on Peter Obi. And they asked how a layman could be so bold with this kind of knowledge, they said I took money and rest of them but at the end of the day, I fought them with intellectual sagacity, they were able to bend and wrote a letter to me to bring my application; only for them to organise and say that they will hear it after Obi’s tenure.

I told Justice Kekere Ekun that wrote the judgment that my application is not on Obi’s tenure, but on the issue of the illegal judgement, that issue is a life issue. In constitutional matters,

there is no issue of academics, so that I know.

We all went to the University with a good knowledge of philosophy and we read; I have a very good library and I can research, so using my science background, I am deeper than some of the people that feel why should a layman venture into such? Well, that is your limitation.

Law is a science and not an art.

In Nigeria, those that practice law wrongly are empty, they know me, my record is there. The justices know who appeared before them. But this is not a matter for me, it is about decadence in our jurisprudence that is what we need to clean up. I dare PDP to leave Governor Emeka Ihedioha out of this; it is PDP’s fight versus Nigeria’s Supreme Court.

Does PDP have the locus?

PDP is the second respondent in the appeal which was brought byAPC Hope Uzodinma after PDP had made a copious finding that APC as a political party had another candidate and this is a course of action estoppel, it is an illegality.

When you go through with the presentation I will make available to you, put it in the public domain, let Nigerians read and know whether law should be left for the lawyers alone.

Was PDP right to ask the CJN, Tanko Mohammed to resign?

First of all, I feel it is a tragedy that the judgement of the 14th day of January 2020 became as prophesied by a lay-pastor. The pastor is like the man who saw tomorrow, that is what it is today, but the normal parlance is that a man with

PDP is the second respondent in the appeal which was brought by APC Hope Uzodinma after PDP had made a copious finding that APC as a political party had another candidate and this is a course of action estoppel, it is an illegality. When you go through with the presentation I will make available to you, put it in the public domain, let Nigerians read and know whether law should be left for the lawyers alone

Why? I believe that what they would be looking for is a solution that will put a bandage on the tragedy that befell them in Imo State which was an accident; I could describe it as an accident not calling for the resignation of the Chief Justice of Nigeria because it does not cure the damage that was done. I thought the first thing that would be done is to look for the chemistry to change whatever position that put them in this terrible situation today that, if you now call it a quagmire, it becomes something that cannot be resolved. So, what I am looking at is if PDP became interested in removing Justice Tanko, it is not by media advocacy, they will ask those who have documents or judgements that can indict Justice Tanko, I would have been very willing to present myself to aid them in a matter that is still a disgrace in this country. So that is not the issue.

The issue is for them to look at where they slipped, not where they fell. I believe that that call was not necessary. What PDP should do now is to come into the ring and take it all over from Governor Ihedioha and go to battle with the Nigerian judiciary; that judgement is perverse, it is unconstitutional. At the date that judgement was given, the Supreme Court did not have jurisdiction and I say it and I dare any lawyer in Nigeria with certain documents and issues and statements of law I will provide to you that the judgment should not have been allowed to stand. It must be a defining issue in the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Nigeria been a final court.

What is the solution?

The solution is for them to look for those who have the capacity to look at that judgement with an eagle eye and show them the best way to approach the issue and not necessarily to go to the market place and start name calling or calling for review.

That judgement could be set aside but you know that most of our lawyers, because the legal profession is a very close conservative club, they hate progressives so our lawyers are intimidated, maybe some because of the limited knowledge of the law and appreciation of procedure, practice and evidence they have; that they cannot come to challenge a court of law within the jurisprudential parish in Nigeria to set aside a judgement.

I am one person that has done that. The Supreme Court tried to intimidate me in Obi’s case but at the end of the day, I fought them squarely and they called me back after calling me all kind of names. So it is on record that they turned around and said that the application I brought had become academic when I was challenging the legality of their judgement and not Obi’s tenure; that matter is a matter for another day so the PDP as a political party, this is your defining moments.

The just administration of law is a public matter of the utmost importance. Every citizen is not required to obtain a degree in law. Unless sound laws are openly and fairly administered, it is hardly likely that the courts of law will be held in high respect by those for whom the laws exist.

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

19

T H I S D AY • tHURsDAY JANUARY 23, 2020

politics DISSENTING VOICE...IN HIS OWN WORDS ‘For Delta, It’s Managing Director of NDDC or Nothing’ Emeka Ihedioha and

the Travesty of Justice

Mr. igbini Emmanuel, a social commentator, Analyst and National president, Vanguard for transparent leadership and Democracy based in the Niger Delta Demola Olarewaju argues fiercely that only the justices regionexplainstoChuks Okocha thepoliticssurrounding of the supreme court can explain how they reached a the composition of the NDDc management and board. final tally of votes in the 2019 imo governorship election

T

S

ome respected traditional rulers and leaders from Delta State recently declared that Delta State is entitled to produce Chairman and Managing Director of NDDC? Do you agree with them?

It is not a question of whether I agree with them or not, it is the undisputed fact which I have also stated months ago.

They also used this point to argue that Edo State is therefore not entitled to produce the Chairman of the Board of NDDC now which tends to justify the plan by President Buhari to re-compose the Board. What is your reaction to this?

First, our respected Traditional Rulers and Leaders of TROMPCON are not asking that President Buhari to recompose the Board of NDDC in order to remove the already confirmed position of Managing Director of NDDC rightly zoned to Delta State. I need to make this point very clear in order to correct the wrong impression being created now that our Traditional Rulers and Elders of our Oil Producing Areas of Delta State are pushing for chairmanship of NDDC in place of Managing Director. They are not!

What they are asking for is for Edo State to relinguish the Chairmanship of NDDC to Delta State and to wait till the next four years when it shall be their turn by virtue of the alphabetical rotation principle as provided for in section 4 of the NDDC Act, as amended.

If you carefully read the recent interview by His Royal Majesty, King Charles Ayemi-Botu, who is a first class Traditional Ruler in our Ijaw Oil Producing Community of Delta State and the former National Chairman of Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON), he said it very clearly that it is the turn of Delta State to produce the Managing Director of NDDC based on the fact that this position is rotated among the four core Oil-producing States of Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom. He went further to state unequivocally that the position of the Managing Director of NDDC “is not open to all the nine oil producing states of NDDC because some are just nominal producers.

This is the key point that must guide and continue to guide President Buhari from being misled to alter the Managing Director position he appointed and the Senate has rightly confirmed to be that of Delta State.

Will it be morally right for Delta State to also produce the Chairman of the Board?

Delta State is known to be a Big Heart for Love particularly in our oil producing areas with commercial headquarter in the oil city of Warri.

As you know, it is for this Big Heart for Love for all Nigerians irrespective of one’s state of origin, tribe, religion that Warri is known and celebrated as equal home for everyone.

A city for all.

Is Delta State willing to allow Edo State take its slot of Chairman of NDDC? When I wrote Common Entrance Examination in the 70s as a pupil of Army Children School, Kakuri, Kaduna State, I was told that having scored very high in the exam, beating the cut-off mark for Federal Government College, I was also automatically qualified to gain admission into Government College.

That meant I had two choices and the decision was entirely mine to make on which to place as First Choice and Second Choice.

I made my First Choice which was Federal Government College which was higher in status than Government College then. That was what happened and my decision was respected by the Examination Board even though at the end, I had to abandon the Federal Government College to return back to my home state of

Emmanuel then, Bendel.

It is the same principle when students apply for JAMB and choose their first, second and third choices.

All patriotic Indigenes of Delta State have unequivocally chosen the position of Managing Director of NDDC as our First Choice for the simple reason that the position of Managing Director of NDDC which is also the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the Commission is the most critical and most relevant position of the Commission.

Are you saying the position of Managing Director is higher than Chairman of NDDC? It is the more critical and important. There is no debate about it. Everyone who has been president, governor, etc knows this fact.

When you carefully read the NDDC Act which defines the functions and powers of the Chairman and Managing Director of the Commission you will see that the position of Managing Director is the most critical, most important and most relevant office in the Commission.

The Managing Director by virtue of section 10 of the NDDC Act, is the Chairman of the Management Committee of the Commission which has two Executive Directors and the other Directors responsible for over 11 directorates of NDDC. This Management Committee is lawfully and solely responsible for the general and day-to-day administration of the Commission.

Section 12 of the NDDC Act further defines the Managing Director of NDDC as the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the Commission. Don’t we know what it means to be a C.E.O/A.O of any establishment?

Whereas the Chairman leads other members of the Governing Board who operate on part-time basis except the Managing Director and the two Executive Directors who are also members of the Governing Board.

The Governing Board only meet once in a while to formulate policies for the Commission that are executed only by the Management Committee under the leadership of the Managing Director and the two Executive Directors.

The Board also has powers to manage and supervise the affairs of the Commission and make regulations for the Management Committee to implement and few other functions.

But what is very important to note is that, in this Governing Board too, the Managing Director and the two Executive Directors of the Management Committee remains very prominent and critical in all meetings of the Board and the decisions to be taken by the Board.

Does this not settle beyond any doubt, the fact that the position of Managing Director is the most important and critical in the Commission and therefore the natural First Choice position? Who then will abandon or be expected to abandon any First Choice?

he judgement removing Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha from office as Imo State Governor and installing Senator Hope Uzodinma in his stead is a travesty of justice that defies all judicial logic.

The Supreme Court is final but not because it is always right; it is only right because it is final.

In other words, the Supreme Court as peopled by humans can be wrong, but being the final arbiter in judicial matters, appeal of their decisions can only be made to God, or in a democracy, to the people as the ultimate power-bloc in any democracy – we have seen this before.

Two major points have been dwelt on publicly - the number of votes cast for each candidate in the Imo gubernatorial election, as well as the total number of duly accredited voters.

That alone is enough to shock anyone as to the spurious outcome from the Supreme Court, but...even more shocking is the shoddy manner in which votes were invented, resurrected and then allocated - neither from the Tribunal nor the Court of Appeal, but from the Supreme Court.

Below are the results as initially announced

by INEC: Emeka Ihedioha/PDP - 273,404, Uche Nwosu/AA - 190,364, Ifeanyi Araraume/ APGA - 114,676, Hope Uzodinma/APC - 96,458 Total Accredited Voters - 823,743 Total Actual Voted - 739,485 Cancelled Votes - 25,130 Total Valid Votes - 714,355 This was as announced by INEC after the election.

The three candidates filed petitions against Ihedioha and PDP’s victory alleging different electoral infractions and asking that they be sworn in (individually) or the elections should be cancelled and re-run. Uzodinma’s main argument though was that his votes were not complete.

At the Elections Tribunal, Hope Uzodinma of APC mysteriously presented bags of INEC electoral ballot papers, claiming that they were from 388 Polling Units (PUs) where he had won but the results were wrongly excluded from the final tally by INEC. PDP/Ihedioha as respondents debunked those bags allegedly containing result sheets or ballot papers as fake and asked Uzodinma/ APC to prove their veracity to the utmost, the existence of the PUs they came from and proof that the materials emanated from INEC as should have. INEC itself at the Tribunal denied the result sheets allegedly inside the bag. INEC said: “INEC did not omit to record and reckon with votes due to APC/Uzodinma as alleged...and any such sheets showing results are fictitious and suborned.” It was now up to APC to prove it. APC/Uzodinma had to prove three things basically: That elections held in those PUs; that the results coming from there which were still in the bags were valid and not tampered with and that the results from there if added, would give APC/Uzodinma victory - these were never done. Matter of fact: at no point in the course of the petition hearing at the Tribunal were all the result sheets from 388 PUs brought out of the bags, only 28 were examined.

How the final tally was reached at the Supreme Court, only their Lordships can explain but we’ll get there. Uzodinma and APC called 54 witnesses in total, including Uzodinma himself. Only 28 had served as PU agents of APC during the elections. No ward collation agents were called as witnesses; a few LGA collation agents were called, the APC state collation officer and one Policeman.

Recall from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that the Supreme Court wrongly (based on its own precedent) pronounced that PDP and Atiku should have called witnesses from all PUs to prove electoral infractions. Curious that in this instance, APC didn’t need to call witness from the 388 PUs but Supreme Court

Ihedioha accepted it.

Remember from this thread also that not only did APC not show the result sheets from each of the so-called 388 PUs, INEC had denied them and APC only presented a chart which it had tallied by itself to show that Uzodinma won.

But let’s look at the Policeman. In August of last year during the Tribunal proceedings, DCP Hussein Rabiu showed up as APC witness 54 (PW54) and claimed that the result sheets from the 388 PUs were authentic. He was not authorised to be there by the Inspector General of Police or the Commissioner of Police of Imo - this man was from the Benue command. Ordinarily, Rabiu Hussein should have been deposed before the commencement of the Tribunal and his deposition front-loaded alongside the petition and shared with the respondents - this wasn’t done. But Rabiu was APC’s star witness and here’s what he said basically: From cross-examination, Rabiu said that the subpoena was served on him by Uzodinma’s lawyer - not from the IGP’s office as should be done. Rabiu gave a long story about how he came into possession of the bags of results. When asked further under cross-examination, Rabiu admitted that he did not know the figures in the result sheets or which PUs they came from, but he swore they were authentic and valid for APC. 28 APC PU agents and Uzodinma himself under cross-examination with 28 result sheets brought out of the bags of 388 results sheets admitted that the sheets they held (in all 28 presented out of 388) were mutilated, distorted or wrongly and incompletely filled. No result sheet for instance showed the number of ballot papers issued to the respective PU, the number of used and unused ballot papers as it ordinarily should. Most of the 28 examined didn’t even have the name or signature of the presiding officers or the date of issuance. In some of the 28 out of 388 result sheets APC presented, the dates written on them were before the March 9th 2019 date of the gubernatorial elections, and some after. For emphasis: only 28 out of the alleged 388 result sheets were brought out by APC, the rest were kept in bags. But Uzodinma had a chart where he had inputted the votes he got from the 388 PUs as contained in his result sheets which INEC had debunked. Under cross-examination of his chart, instances of over-voting were found - and results of many other parties were even totally absent.

The Tribunal rightly (at least even by the pronouncement of Supreme Court on the Atiku petition at the PEPT) dismissed Uzodinma’s case built on quicksand, insisting that Rabiu Hussein had no locus to present results he didn’t create as INEC and not enough witnesses were presented.

-Olarewaju is a legal practitioner NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

20

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020

FEaturEs Imparting Knowledge to Okija Youths

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi

Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 08038901925

In Okija, a border community in Anambra State, David-Chyddy Eleke reports that the elites in the community utilised the Yuletide to impart knowledge to its youths

F

or two weeks, within the period preceding the Christmas and New Year celebrations, an elite club made up of scholars, top business moguls, accomplished professionals in various fields and other successful personalities under the aegis of Okija In-Home Club pooled resources together to train youths of the community in advanced Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills.

The youths consisting of graduates, undergraduates and school leavers in Okija community, Ihiala Local Government Area took the training on the behest of Okija In-Home Club, while diverse packages like Google doc, WordPress, frontend, backend and digital marketing were taught the youths by professionals from mainly Accra Ghana; Lagos and Abuja.

Though a little over 40 youths had enrolled for the programme, only 23 were able to remain consistent to the end of the two weeks programme. President of the club, Mr Romanus Igboekwe during a symposium and certificate presentation ceremony said the aim of the training was to give youths in the area the chance to key into the opportunities presented by ICT to better their lives. He lamented that such a life-changing opportunity was only embraced by a few people. This is apparently because a bulk of the youths see the Christmas and New Year period as a time to enjoy themselves and not time to learn.

True to this, as THISDAY drove past the streets of Okija towards the venue of the event; Legacy University, it was obvious that celebration was in the air. The streets were overflowing with humans, while beer parlours along the roads were all equally over crowded. Masquerades were seen in every corner and once in a while, the crowd of gaily dressed children, youths and women broke into a race. This was usually when the masquerades chased them. They ran furiously away from the masquerades, but with laughter - which was a sign that they enjoyed the chase.

But at Legacy University, Okija, a programme that was billed for 12noon snowballed into 2pm when it eventually kicked off, because of poor attendance. Not minding the delay, the event was eventually attended by youths, most of whom were among those trained during programme, while dignitaries, consisting of members of elite of the community were on hand to spur the newly trained youths with their own stories of rag-to-riches.

Igboekwe, the president of Okija In-Home Club said the club has been consistently training youths of the community as part of its contribution to the growth of its indigenes, just as it has for over five years sponsored the payment of Senior School Certificate Examination for bright indigent students.

Chairman occasion, Dr Akachukwu Nwankpo, a former aide to former president of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Johnathan described ICT knowledge as very fundamental in every youth, hence the need for the training. He said, "Last year I mentioned that it is something that is worthy.

I have been here (in the community) and have gone from village to village and there is a serious drift of the kind of discourse we should have here. But I believe that with trainings like this, the orientation among youths of the community will change."

One of the sponsors of the programme, Dr John Erinne when reacting to the lackluster attitude of youths to learning, which was a reason the streets were clustered with masquerading youths than in the programme, said, "We do not need a crowd. What we are doing here is serious business, and you can not bring people here by force to participate.

The youths we have here are very dedicated and willing to learn, and within two weeks, we have taught them. This programme has been on for years now. So, we use this period

Mrs Vivian Onwuatuelo, a trainer speaking to youths during the programme

Dr Akachukwu Nwankpo, former aide of President Goodluck Jonathan, motivating youths at the programme

Chairman of Okija In-Home Club, Mr Romanus Igboekwe presenting his opening speech

to bring youths who are interested in learning, teach them and get them to become better people in the society."

He said the club does this as its own way of giving back to the society that made them.

"We are all from this society, and we have professionals in various fields here. We can not do anything than to sponsor trainings like this for our people. We believe that they will take advantage of the ICT as a leading sector in the world to better their lives."

One of the trainers of the youths, Mrs Vivian Onwuatuelo, an ICT expert from MEST AFRICA, Accra Ghana, a leading ICT company in Africa praised the club for its initiative. She stated that the Yuletide was a time when youths indulged over-celebration, but bringing back their minds to a noble venture like skills in ICT was commendable.

Beneficiaries of the programme were also full of praise for the organisers. Chinyere Ohachosim, a WordPress and frontend trainee

of the programme praised the club and the humaneness of their lecturers.

She said, "God used our sister, Vivian to help youths in the community, such that it can help us to run away from carrying files around looking for jobs. We are not experts now, but we can leverage this to go places.

I have a flair for ICT and I teach computer in school, so I used the Okija In-Home club training to update myself.�

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020

#ThisisNigeria

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- Adun Okupestyle

What Does Your Driving Say About Your Leadership Style?

I

was trying to hold a conversation with my new driver just the other day, trying to move a little bit beyond the usual instructions of we need to go here, we need to go there, drive carefully, drive slowly, make sure you indicate with the trafficator where you want to, make sure you give way at roundabouts. I wanted to understand a bit more of the person behind the wheel, who he is, what motivates him, what inspires him, why he does what he does, where does he see himself going, you know, the usual getting to really know you question.

It was not easy trying to hold this conversation, whilst also trying to ensure that he gets me to the destination safely. For some reason, I felt like instructing him countless times was draining, it was better and easier to hold a conversation than to be relegated to the position of commander, where the driver’s only responsibility was to steer the wheel, accelerate, brake and make other manoeuvres as required. Directing can be tiring.

Then it struck me, that in my daily life, meaning outside of the car - to mean at work, it is easy to wear the cloak of leadership, working on research projects, trying to meet deadlines, delegating tasks, the usual. However, and I am sure I am not the only guilty one here, when we get outside of our ‘role’ we give in to the mentality of the commons. It is much easier, so much easier to let your driver drive you as he - or in the case of the female uber drivers I have had the chance to meet, - or she wishes. Many times, I look in awe at the owner of the car comfortably seated in the owner’s corner wondering how they are able to completely abandon the responsibility for their movement to their driver. And then I concede that life is already hard enough. The days are already long enough. The driver is paid to do his/her work, so long as one gets from A to B, then surely it is all ok?

The same scenario repeated itself when I took a Keke Napep – he could not understand why I did not require for him to climb on drain covers trying to navigate Adeola Odeku to get me to Idowu Martins as quickly as possible, so he could pick up the next passenger. But then what was amusing to me was that the journey took considerably longer because of his attempts to overtake at any opportunity – and if he had stayed on one lane, then perhaps he could have gotten me to my destination quicker and less haltingly.

And this is the key - it is not merely a case of getting from A to B, but rather of getting from A to B, safely; and also, trying to ensure that other road users have a pleasant experience of co-sharing the road, co-owning the road, co-sharing the road, understanding that the road is a shared avenue, regardless of the mode of conveyance, okada, keke napep, Prado, Range Rover, Camry, Corolla or Beetle.

It is this observation, that presents to us a good example of the state of self-leadership in Nigeria. If we replicate the scenario above enough times, drivers driving hurriedly, without regard for the traffic rules and regulations (and who can blame them, they do not know these rules and regulations – you should have seen the look on my driver’s face when I told him to give way at the roundabout), then we have what we have – chaos, traffic that has no cause, accidents, and in very fatal cases deaths. The sad thing is that all of these are preventable.

We speak about leadership a lot. Everyone has something to say on the state of leadership in Nigeria. However, most of what we say absolves us of any responsibility, placing the blame on the ‘government’, forgetting that, we make up the government, we are the government and it is our responsibility to ensure that we tackle the issues we see around us one after the other, one by one. We are also responsible for our inaction. It is not enough to say that one does not do bad. If one does not do good

or correct errors when one can, then one is responsible for the ‘state of Nigeria’.

That said, it is understandable that attempting to address the many issues and challenges can be complex, too complicated, too overwhelming.

Where does one start from? How can we progress?

What if one does not succeed?

These are valid questions. But one needs to start from somewhere. So, I would like to set a challenge for you this week, if you are driving or being driven, whether in a keke napep, okada, personal car, uber or bolt, shared car or shared bus, try to see if you can be a bit more aware of how your driver is navigating the road, and then another time, try to provide some explanations as to how s/he can be a bit more considerate on the road. Sounds easy enough right?

Imagine if we all did this, just with road transportation, then we see some change, and we have a consciousness and an awareness, and then so on and so on, we move to tackle other challenges as we see them – the ones within our power, the manageable ones – the ones on our streets, the ones about clearing our gutters, desilting our drains, the ones about ensuring our neighbourhoods are clean and rodent-free, this is self-leadership, community leadership.

If we can simply start here, it is a long way from merely complaining, to actually doing something, achieving some small wins, that collectively make seriously big wins.

So, I will leave you with a short quiz, to see what your driving says about you. Good luck!

to a destination a) do you like to plan your route and stick to it, sometimes checking google maps to avoid areas of congestion? b) loosely plan your route but you are open to changing it as the road experience changes? c) get into my car and go, you have mental maps and can use them? d) feel that traffic is unpredictable – why plan?

3. When you/your driver gets to the roundabout a) I slow down, checking left and right and ensuring no car is coming b) I slow down and then get into the roundabout c) I continue driving, concentrating on where I leave the roundabout d) I speed up, the first to get there owns the road 4. When you are driving, and your phone rings a) do you Answer it using your car’s Bluetooth/Bluetooth device or speaker phone? b) Check the caller ID briefly and drop the phone – you can attend to it later?

Short Quiz: What your driving says about you?

c) Look around for a LASTMA official and quickly pick up the phone and answer it?

1. Do you have a valid driver’s license/does your driver have a valid license?

d) Answer the phone – every call is important.

a)

Yes of course

b)

I think so, somewhere

c)

Who uses the driver’s license anymore?

d) I don’t have one, I can talk my way through any police checkpoint 2.

Before you (or your driver) head

5. How aware are you of your car servicing schedule? a) It is known to me, my driver, my mechanic – I don’t miss it b) Is usually quarterly or is it twice a year? c) Is based on when my mechanic says

d) Is very flexible, based on when I remember and my bank account End of quiz! Please tally your scores.

Mostly As You are trying your best, even in a tough environment, to adhere to the rules because it is important to do so regardless of what everyone else is doing. The challenge is to get you to try to get others to join you, moving towards inspiring them by your actions but also by your words.

Mostly Bs You are pragmatic. You know what is right, but sometimes, the reality of the environment gets to you. The challenge is to try see how you can move beyond the challenges, to adhering to right, as best as you can. You can do it.

Mostly Cs You are aware to some extent of what is right and what is wrong, but it is easier to just live your life, no one really gets punished so why hassle yourself? Well. This is true but then imagine if we all did a little bit more to get to a better road network? Try to be a bit more conscious this week.

Mostly Ds You are driving. You don’t mean to break the rules but to be honest, you don’t always remember what the rules are. And it is easier to act now and apologise later. The challenge for you this week is to see how you can try to be more conscious in your driving, and more in control of your responses to the stimuli around you. Go on – try it!

– Dr Adun Okupe is a researcher passionate about advancing sociocultural development in Nigeria. She is a proponent of leadership as a tool for development and was the Africapitalism Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, interrogating the role of business in the sustainable development of Africa. She is the country investigator for the GLOBE Leadership project which seeks to understand the cultural dimensions of leadership behaviour in Nigeria

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THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S

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REPO 3% 3.86 %

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2% 5.50 %

J A N U A R Y S & P INDEX INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY

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Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

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EXCHANGE RATE 1.87 % 1.87 %

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Quick Takes Eutelsat Satellite launched

TheEutelsatKonnectsatellitehasbeensuccessfullylaunchedintothe GeostationaryTransferOrbitbyArianespaceusinganArianefiverocket that lifted off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, at9.05pmUniversalTimeonJanuary16.

The separation of the all-electric satellite occurred after a 27-minute flightandthespacecraftsystemscheckoutwassuccessfullycompleted overaperiodofthreehours.

Built by Thales Alenia Space, the Eutelsat Konnect communications satellite features all-electric propulsion and operates in Ka-band. It is thefirstsatellitetouseThalesAleniaSpace’sall-electricSpacebusNEO platform, developed under the Neosat Partnership Project conducted bytheEuropeanandFrenchspaceagencies(ESAandCNES).

It assures full or partial coverage for up to 40 countries across Africa and15overEurope.Offeringtotalcapacityof75Gbps,bynextautumn thishighthroughputsatellitewillallowtheoperatortoprovideInternet accessservicesforbothcompaniesandindividualsatupto100Mbps.

CEOofEutelsat,RodolpheBelmer,said:“OurcongratulationstoArianespace andtheGuianaSpaceCenterteamsforsuccessfullylaunchingourEutelsat Konnectsatellitetowardsgeostationaryorbit.

“ThecollaborationbetweenEutelsat,ThalesAleniaSpaceandArianespace onthisambitioussatelliteprogrammehasresultedinaworld-firstbroadband satellitefortheAfricanandEuropeancontinentsthatdemonstratesthe suitability of satellite infrastructure as a means to deliver high quality broadband services, contributing to bridging the digital divide within ruralareas.”

mEDIA BRIEFING

L-R: Director of Human Resources and Administration, Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Kudirat Bello; Member, Board of Trustees, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Mr. Dele Martins; Acting Executive Secretary, Mrs Teju Abisoye and Member, Board of Trustees, Popoola Ajayi, a media briefing to announce the LSETF Employment Summit 2020, held in Lagos ... recently

SIM Registration Inadequate for National Identity, Stakeholders Insist Stories by Emma Okonji Stakeholders in the information and communications technology sector have said it is out of place for government and the general public to consider the registration of subscriber identification module (SIM) cards as part of national identity system for the country.

According to them, SIM cards cannot serve as permanent identities because they are not owned by the subscribers and could be reassigned to other subscribers at the discretion of the service provider, and should therefore not be counted as a means of building database of subscribers for the purpose of national identity system.

The stakeholders made the

TElEcOm assertion while reacting to public outcry that the telecoms industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), ought to have harmonised SIM card registration it embarked upon in 2011, in order to give clearer picture of the database of SIM registration across all telecoms networks, that will support the country’s identity management system.

Statistics released by NCC in April 2019, had put the total number of SIM cards registered and processed across the country at 151.5 million, out of which only 55.7 million were valid, accounting for 63.2 per cent of the total records of invalid

registration as a result of invalid face and fingerprints capturing.

Owing to this, the President of the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola, told THISDAY that it was not proper for the general public to think that SIM card registration could suffice for identity management system.

“It is absolutely wrong to think that SIM card registration could be used to build up database for identity management. The SIM card that is registered with a subscriber, does not have a permanent identity of the subscriber because the same SIM card could be withdrawn from the registered subscriber and reassigned for registration to another telecoms subscriber.

“Again the issue of multiple SIM

registered with a single subscriber, makes it absolutely difficult to use such data for identity management, since it will be difficult to trace and track down people with ulterior motives who may want to hide their identities,” Teniola said.

According to him, Nigeria needs other forms of identity management system outside subscriber SIM card registration.

He advised the federal government to empower the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to seek other new channels of identity management system for the country.

“Nigeria needs other forms of identity management system that will identify each Nigerian Continued on page 24

Govt, Private Sector Urged to Create Demand for Waste Mgt The idea where waste products from homes and offices are dumped indiscriminately at different dump sites without recourse to health hazards has been condemned by waste management experts.

They, therefore, advised that government and the private sector to device means to encourage proper disposal of waste in such a manner that would attract demand for waste management.

West Africa ENRG, a UK waste management company that is managing waste disposal in some parts of Nigeria, gave the advice in Lagos during the recent press conference organised by the British High Commission in Lagos, recently.

TElEcOm

The firm stressed the need for proper waste management in the country, in order to address issues of health hazards and unemployment.

Director, West Africa ENRG, Lolade Oresanwo, told THISDAY, that most countries in Europe and America have done consistently well in waste management because the countries, including their government and private sector players, have created the demand for waste, and they have set up waste recycling companies that produce items out of waste like tissue papers, among other items.

According to her, “When

people know that there is value for every waste, they will know the right channel to take their waste to. So there is need for government and the private sector to create demand for waste management and it will help to build the right culture and orientation on waste handling by people.”

Speaking about the efforts made by the UK waste management company to address waste management in Nigeria, Oresanwo said: “When our company came to Nigeria in 2013, we looked at only waste processing, but when we entered deeper into the market, we changed the narrative and expanded the focus to include

waste collection, transportation and disposal. “Having realised this, we did our backward and forward integration processes to ensure that we capture all the lines of waste management along the value chain.”

She, however, said Nigeria needed more data on waste management to enable more foreign waste management companies to come into Nigeria with their expertise in waste management, and boost competition.

“The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), has recognised that the country does not have enough informa-

mTN launches New 2020 campaign

MTN Nigeria has launched an exciting thematic campaign for 2020, tagged‘Turn-It-Up.’ The initiative is inspired by the company’s commitment to facilitating transformation,progress,andsuccessinthenewdecade.

The campaign seeks to encourage Nigerians to look within to live their brightestlivesbytakingadvantageofthevariedopportunitiesaround.

Speaking at the event in Lagos, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Rahul De said: “We want Nigerians to excel and attain their dreams and aspirations.Thiscampaignisaboutchangingandimprovingthequality oflives,encouragingNigerianstorethinkandembraceanewapproach thatreflectsthechangingdynamicsoftheworldaroundus.Thisiswhat drivesustocontinueinvestingandexploringopportunitiesforNigerians.

“ForusatMTN,ourpromiseistobethatbrandthatwillstandwithevery Nigerianintheirquesttoturnthingsupandlivetheirbest.Thisphilosophy willguideeverythingwedoasabrandthisNewYear.”

Alsospeaking,theGeneralManager,Brands,andCommunication,Richard Iweanoge said: “Every Nigerian deserves a positive turnaround in their lives and we believe opportunities abound in and around the individual, buttheopportunitiesareonlypotentwhenwechoosetobringthemto life.Wearesimplysaying,‘Don’tlooktoofar;theopportunitiesyouseek arecloserthanyouthink’.Thecombinationoftheseiswhatwespeakto whenweturnitup.

FcT minister lauds DSO, NBc DG

TheMinisteroftheFCT,MalamMuhammadMusaBello,hascommended theDigitalSwitchOver(DSO)programoftheNationalBroadcastingCommission(NBC),sayingitwasanindicationofthegoodjobbeingdoneby theCommission,despitethechallengesthebroadcastingindustryfaces.

The minister commended the NBC for rolling out in a number of states already, and wished NBC success, as it continues the roll out across the country.

AccordingtotheMinister,NBCfacestheherculeanchallengeofregulating knownandunknownentities,runningintomillions,andthataccordingto him,underlinestheenormityofworkoftheCommission.

The minister then noted that the, “Nigeria Broadcasting Code is key in order to protect us as individuals, as organisations and as a nation, and if the regulators are able to do this, there will be deterrent, especially in regardstoHateSpeech.”

HethankedtheNBCDGandhisteamforthevisit,whichhesaidwasthe firstofficialcourtesyvisittotheFCTAin2020.Inconclusion,theMinister thanked the NBC DG, Mal. Modibbo Kawu, for the support given to the AbujaBroadcastingCorporation,formerlyknownasAsoRadio,adding thathewouldalsomakeouttimetovisittheCommission’sheadquarters togetfirst-handinformationonitsoperations.

“National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) needs to acquire and deploy the technology of digital addressing system and develop its capacity building strategies, in order to meet up with enrolment demands” President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON),

mr. OlusolaTeniola Continued on page 24

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD SIM REGIStRatIon InadEqUatE FoR natIonaL IdEntIty, StakEhoLdERS InSISt with a National Identity Number (NIN). The country needs Digital Addressing System that will be able to capture identities of people, and their locations such that permanent numbers could be assigned to them,” Teniola said.

According to him, he was part of the team of engineers that designed the GSM Phase 1 technology for Nigeria when he worked with Bell Northern Research (BNR) from 1990 to 1993, where they used the MSISDNs, IMSIs and TIMSIs, as unique codes to define data sets for certain specific purposes that were used to build the foundation for 2G and 3G technologies.

Govt, PRIvatE SECtoR URGEd to CREatE dEMand FoR WaStE MGt tion and data about businesses in Nigeria, which makes it difficult for investors to focus on doing business in Nigeria,” Oresanwo added.

She further said recycling of waste, for instance, remained a serious business and, “for recycling to be commercially viable, it has to be sorted out properly and that is why we insist that it needs to be sorted out properly from the home front.

“So waste management ought to start from those that generates wastes. The culture and orientation of the people needs to change first in order to make giant and meaningful strides in the sector.”

Addressing the issue of infrastructure in waste management, Oresanwo said: “Infrastructure is key to waste management, which has to do with waste processing. Nigerian government for instance, has identified the infrastructure gap in waste management.

“Some years back, the practice about waste management was to collect waste and dump them in designated areas approved by government, and in most cases, people dump waste indiscriminately and even in drainages, which leads to blocking of several drainages in the country. But government has addressed all of that by setting up recycling initiatives on how best to manage waste.”

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 Okafo (Energy) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT)

NEWS

‘UK’s £320m Aid Will Boost Africa’s Economic Growth’ Stories by Emma Okonji

The EFInA has welcomed the additional funding commitment from UK Aid, part of a £320 million package that will initiate an ambitious new phase of financial sector development across the African continent.

Announced at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, the package includes additional funding for nine existing Financial Sector Deepening Programmes (FSDs) and to set up and scale new FSDs in high-priority markets, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Sierra Leone and the West African Monetary Union.

The new commitment, announced by UK International Development Secretary, Alok Sharma, represented the start of an important new approach to financial sector development in sub-Saharan Africa.

The package from UK Aid recognises that a comprehensive, integrated approach to financial market development in Africa is required to realise the continent’s potential and help meet the United Nation’s global goals.

The £320 million commitment provides funding for ambitious programmes that create financing solutions for the opportunities and challenges faced across Africa’s economies, from individual households and micro-enterprises to business and infrastructure investment.

It is expected to help address the entire system of finance from savings groups to capital market development and operating more closely to the interface between finance and the real world.

According to Sharma, “Africa’s substantial investment potential is clear, with many African countries outstripping

global economic growth in recent decades. The UK is already the top financial exchange for Africa’s businesses and we want investors to seize the exciting opportunities that Africa offers.

“These new initiatives, announced ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit, will make it easier, greener and more secure to invest in Africa, mobilising billions of pounds of sustainable investment to help end poverty.”

The Chairman of EFInA’s Board, Segun Akerele, said: “EFInA’s catalytic and strategic collaboration with financial service regulators, operators and providers has contributed to 28

million additional Nigerians accessing formal financial services since EFInA was established in late 2007, thereby reducing financial exclusion from 52.5 per cent in 2008 to 36.8 per cent as of 2018.

“Through research, advocacy, capacity building, and promoting innovation, EFInA has provided the critical support required to expand access to affordable, relevant financial services to all Nigerians, including under-served groups such as women and Northern Nigerians.”

In the wake of this new commitment, Head of Programmes at EFInA, Ashley Immanuel, said EFInA would build on its

foundational work promoting financial inclusion and identify linkages with other sectors, such as agriculture, health, and education, that can drive progress toward meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria.

The £320 million package also marked an important step forward for the FSD Network.

Chair of the FSD Network Council, Betty Wilkinson, commented on the commitment, saying, “On behalf of the nine existing members of the FSD Network and those new FSDs in formation, our sincere gratitude to the UK Government for this generous, constructive, and thoughtful

five-year commitment.

“We pledge to broaden and deepen our innovative work across Africa to make money work for low-income families, women, youth, the excluded, and those who need financial services the most.

“This new package will enable us to apply finance, in all its forms, to the challenge of the Sustainable Development Goals. The FSD Network will enhance livelihoods for poor people; improve access to basic human services where finance is a barrier; and enable a sustainable future, particularly addressing the financial aspects of climate change and illicit capital flows.”

DIPLOMATIC LUNCHEON

L-R: Vice President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Gabriel Idahosa; Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mrs Folashade Jaji; President, LCCI, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje; Acting Deputy High Commissioner, Canadian High Comission, Ms. Alexia Jablonski; Deputy President, LCCI, Mr. Knut Ulvmoen, and Switzerland Consul General, Thomas Schneider, during a Diplomatic Luncheon organised by the LCCI in Lagos…recently

FG Urged to Sign Existing Bills on Cybersecurity into Law The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has called on the federal government to sign into law existing bills such as the Electronic Transaction Bill and the National Critical Infrastructure Bill.

This was part of the communique issued at a recently concluded stakeholders’ conference on the nation’s cybersecurity challenges, organised by the NCS in Lagos, in collaboration with the Edinburgh Napier University, UK. The stakeholders resolved that the NCS should create

further collaboration with other stakeholders on the need to generate grassroots awareness on cybersecurity, while calling on government to consider a functional framework to engage the international communities such as the United Nations on the challenges of cybersecurity solutions.

According to the communique which was jointly signed by NCS President, Pro. Adesina Sodiya and the Executive Secretary of NCS, Mr. Iyola Ayola, the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR)

Policy should be considered for implementation by a newlycreated cyber security agency.

Other resolution reached at the stakeholders conference as captured by the communique, included the enforcement of the Cybercrime Act 2015 in all sectors of the economy, including health and education sectors; Inauguration of Cybercrime Advisory Council; Government to invest on incidence response capabilities at Local, National and International levels; Establishment of National Cyber Security

Agency by government; NCS to collaborate with other stakeholders in the establishment of Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement to finance awareness programmes for the citizenry.

The communique also stressed that government should commence the process of flexible identification of citizens through data harmonisation, and that NCS must act further on its advocacy business through training and various seminars arrangement as a means of

educating the public on the identified threats in the cyber space.

The NCS was also urged to advise government to introduce a general course tagged “cyber security,” “at the entry level of our schools not only in the tertiary institutions but also at all levels of education, and at the same time, NCS must advise government on the need to outsource the activities of Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to facilitate early completion of the project.”

‘konga has Grown tremendously Since Its acquisition’ The Co-chief executive officer of Konga, Nnamdi Ekeh, has said the e-commerce firm has made significant strides and has been positioned as an industry leader.

Ekeh, said this during an interview with CNN’s Marketplace Africa on the sidelines of the first Creative Africa Exchange, held in Kigali, Rwanda, recently, The Konga CEO was one of the speakers at the event.

He disclosed that Konga’s omni-channel structure, which sees it taking a percentage of the retail outlay in the online (formal) and offline (informal sector), which enables it retain inventory in diverse states and locations in Nigeria, were factors that placed the company at the forefront.

According to him, ‘‘Konga is best positioned as the leader in the Nigerian e-commerce market. We are not just an

e-commerce company but we run an omni-channel model with over 30 physical stores spread across Nigeria. So, we are closest to the people.

“Also, we are seeing huge growth in the business and in our customer base. Between last year and this year, the business grew by almost eight times.’’

Speaking about transparency and integrity in business, Ekeh said: ‘‘The key is growing your revenue while being able to

manage your costs. That is the only way for sustainable growth. In the last year, we have been able to grow revenue by eight times but we have also been able to reduce our costs by 65 per cent.”

Sharing his thoughts on how Konga is creatively resolving the challenge of logistics, which has hobbled other players in the market, Ekeh, noted that the company had relied on its deep understanding of the Nigerian

terrain – a factor which he emphasised has distinguished Konga in the marketplace.

According to him, ‘‘The starting point for us was identifying the problem. There is a huge problem in Nigeria where the informal market is so huge, so massive; in fact, almost 98 per cent of the market. This means that people don’t have access to quality products; they don’t have access to quality after-sales services.”

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T H I S D AY •THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD

aNaLySIS

Strengthening Identity Number Registration Process

The recent suspension of the enrolment of National Identity Number for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and direct entry registrations, calls for the development of a strategy to forestall future occurrence, writes Emma Okonji

Oloyede

P

enultimate week, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), in collaboration with National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the government agency responsible for identify management and enrollment, suspended the National Identity Number (NIN) enrolment for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and direct entry registrations.

Although both bodies gave reasons for the suspension, which bothered on the difficulties encountered by applicants, including their parents and guardians in trying to enroll and obtain the NIN from NIMC, which elicited public outcry, the suspension, however, exposed the weakness of NIMC in the areas of capacity building and infrastructure, occasioned by the inability of the federal government to adequately fund NIMC to enable it carry out its statutory obligations.

While NIMC explained that the decision to suspend the exercise was as a result of the inadequacy of NIMC’s enrolment centres across the country to match the huge population of applicants registering for this year’s UMTE, the public, however blamed government for underfunding NIMC in performing its national duties.

Collaboration Speaking about the need for collaboration between JAMB and NIMC on NIN enrolment, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, had said the collaboration had enhanced the capacity of JAMB in identity management. He stressed that many persons were prosecuted last year and that JAMB was even more prepared now to expose identity fraud and multiple registrations by examination fraudsters. According to him, “You will recall that in compliance with statutory provisions, we commenced making NIN prerequisite for registration for 2020 UTME. This decision was based on law, on directive, but more importantly, is the fact that this is the right way to go.

All nations of the world go that way and we have no option because we cannot be an island on our own. It has been very productive but we got stalked at a point.”

The suspension Speaking in Abuja while announcing the suspension of NIN enrolment for the 2020 UMTE registration, at a joint conference between NIMC and JAMB, with the Director-General of NIMC, Mr. Aliyu Aziz, had regretted the inadequacy of enrolment centres and irregularities observed in the

Aziz

process. The limited NIMC centres had been thronged by an unprecedented number of applicants, including non-applicants who wanted to get enrolled for NIN, a situation that caused chaotic situations at the enrolment centres.

Oloyede, had blamed the situation on observable lapses and logistics challenges on the part of NIMC, which he said, made it difficult for the commission to cope with the upsurge in the number of those wanting to enroll for NIN. “We are therefore suspending this till the subsequent year 2021, when all candidates would have been given what appears like a one-year notice that they would have the opportunity to enrol for the NIN. This does not affect our staff. All our staff, permanent and ad hoc, who are going to participate in this year’s exercise would be required to submit their NIN for verification,” Oloyede said.

He commended NIMC for the enrolment exercise, noting, however, that after going around the country in the last few weeks, it became obvious that the desire to use NIN for registration by candidates was not attainable. The director-general of NIMC, in his remarks, admitted that the commission lacked the capacity to cope with the upsurge in enrolment in the last few weeks, saying NIMC has only 1,000 centres nationwide while over 4,000 enrolment centres are required for the exercise.

He corroborated Oloyede’s position that the purpose of the collaboration was to eliminate fraud and examination malpractices related to identity. Aziz, emphasised that it was the role of the government to provide proof of legal identity in the form of unique digital identity for citizens to give them access to services, rights and protection.

“The upsurge and demand for NIN within the limited centres and facilities have caused us to review and rethink, for us to consider a shift in the commencement date for the use of NIN as a prerequisite for JAMB examination registration. This is to give more time to intending applicants to obtain NIN, roll out more registration centres and equipment nationwide under the digital identity ecosystem and provide identity authentication and verification services anytime anywhere,” Aziz said.

He added, “Though, we have about two million JAMB registers when they come to our centres, they come with their parents and siblings to enroll them for NIN at the same time, thus increasing the targeted number of UMTE applicants. We have only 1,000 centres and based on the standard, we are supposed to have at least 4,000 centres. In

the coming year, with the ecosystem in place, we believe that we will have more than 10,000 centres across the country to address all the issues of rush,” he said.

Funding Funding NIMC to effectively perform its duties of NIN enrolment and identity card issuance has been an issue with the federal government that set up NIMC. Between 2012 and 2015 when NIMC commenced national identity enrolment and issuance of card, federal government made it clear that enrolment and issuance of permanent identity cards were free and those that enrolled within that period, got their permanent identity cards free of charge.

Few years later, government could not sustain the free issuance of cards and people were enrolled with NIN numbers without issuance of permanent identity cards. This continued until NIMC devised a means of making Nigerians pay for their permanent identity cards, even though NIN enrolment was still free.

Those whose cards expired after five years, had to pay close to N3,000 to renew their permanent identity cards. To ease payment, NIMC had to collaborate with SystemSpecs to use its Remita payment software for the collection of money and issuance of receipt for the purpose of getting permanent identity cards and in few days.

The processes were completed via online registration and permanent identity cards were issued within one week.

In order to address the issue of funding, NIMC had made several moves to let the federal government understand the need for adequate funding of NIMC, but such moves never yielded results. Last month, while speaking at the 6th General Assembly of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC), which held at the Arewa House, Kaduna, Aziz expressed concern that the national identity programme may not succeed unless there is strong political commitment on the part of government backed by adequate funding.

According to Aziz, “Like any government reform, political will and strong leadership are required to implement the national identity project. Without strong political leadership and commitment, financial resources and stakeholder collaboration, the national identity programme will not be successful and sustained, despite the success recorded in the past four years.”

He said a robust digital identity for Nigeria would lead to access to finance, gender equality and empowerment, access to basic health and educational services

as well as child protection. He listed other benefits include migration and labour market opportunities, reduction in the cost of governance, better government service delivery and improvement in the enforcement of law and order thereby leading to improved security.

While bemoaning challenges the NIMC was facing in executing the national identity project, which includes poor funding, inadequate mobilisation and limited awareness, among others, Aziz appealed to the royal fathers to help with awareness and mobilisation as well as assisting their subjects with source documents to enable them enrol for the NIN. The solution In order to address some of the challenges of NIMC, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has said that NIMC needs to acquire and deploy the technology of digital addressing system and develop its capacity building strategies, in order to meet up with enrolment demands.

President of ATCON, Mr. Olusola Teniola said in order to address identity issues in JAMB registration and curb exam malpractices, NIMC must first address its infrastructure issues, including that of logistics.

Disturbed by the situation that led to the suspension of NIN enrolment for the 2020 UMTE and direct entry registration, Teniola said both JAMB and NIMC underestimated the huge volume of JAMB candidates. Citing Nigeria’s population of over 200 million people, Teniola said 85 million of the entire population, is below 18 years, and that JAMB candidates are between the ages of 16 and 18, where the large number of Nigeria’s population resides. He therefore said it was a miscalculation for both JAMB and NIMC to match the limited infrastructure of NIMC to such huge population, within a short period of time given for JAMB registration.

Teniola strongly advised that going forward, NIMC, which is saddled with the responsibility of identity management, must acquire sufficient infrastructure and technology in digital addressing system and ensure it builds its capacity to the fullest, to handle the registration of such large volume of JAMB candidates.

“NIMC must work with the National Population Commission (NPC) to have a good idea of the population of different demographics of Nigerians, as well as with the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), to understand the digital addressing system of the country,” Teniola said.

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BUSINESSWORLD

E-BUSINESS

Firm to Deepen Financial Inclusion Stories by Emma Okonji BaxiBox, one of Nigeria’s agent banking platforms, which is the financial platform arm of Capricorn Digital Limited, is set to further deepen financial inclusion in the country and help attain the country’s set target of hitting the 500,000 agency network by the end of 2020.The company will be doing this through a new campaign that will create national awareness for its

multiple financial services across the country.

Speaking during the formal launch of the campaign in Lagos on Tuesday, the Managing Director of Capricorn Digital Limited, Degbola Abudu, said the launch of the campaign became necessary in order to avail Nigerians on the unique and innovative services available on the Baxi Platform.

Abudu said: “We have created a one-stop-shop payment ecosystem aimed at providing

Cybercloud Platform Repositions, Attains VMware Verified Status Cybercloud Platform, an indigenous VMware cloud service provider, was recently recognised with VMware Cloud Verified status.

VMware Cloud Provider Programme Manager, subSaharan Africa, Dave Funnell, who announced the new feat, explained that, “it means when you see the VMware Cloud Verified logo, you know you can easily access the full set of capabilities of VMware’s Cloud Infrastructure. Get the ultimate in cloud choice through flexible and interoperable infrastructure, from the data center to the cloud. Support all your apps – from existing to cloud-native to SaaS – across private, public and hybrid clouds using services displaying the VMware Cloud Verified logo.”

The Head, Cybercloud Business, Miss. Laurel Onumonu, who spoke at the just concluded Zenith Tech Fair, in Lagos, said featuring the VMware Cloud Verified logo in any marketing campaigns and content signals

to customers and prospects that foundational cloud technologies and services are based on VMware Cloud Infrastructure.

VMware is the global leader in cloud infrastructure and digital workspace technology.

According to Onumonu, “We have domesticated VMware services locally and organizations can be rest assured of their data security, integrity and availability. We are aware of the Data Sovereignty Policy of the Federal Government hence we built a VMware Verified Cloud Platform situated in a Tier 3 Certified Data Centre. We are proud to say that CyberCLOUD offers true first Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) services in Nigeria.

“Recently, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) expressed readiness to comply with full implementation of this provision in the Nigerian setting. This means that sensitive financial and commercial data will no longer be hosted abroad.

everyday financial access and solutions to our agents and customers while creating core services that directly impact their daily lives. At the heart of the company is innovation and technical excellence, which drives the business to strive to find new ways to create economic value for our agents and customers.”

He stated that the adoption of a multi-channel distribution approach that includes devices such as BaxiBox, BaxiPos, and BaxiMpos, web (BaxiPay), Mobile App and API (Businessto-Business) services, were all tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of stakeholders including agents, customers and corporate clients.

He said Capricorn Digital Limited, which has been in

existence for over four years, created a unique and stress free digital payments and distribution platform targeted at the mass market through the Baxi.

“As a business, we are dedicated to consistently delivering value to our clients through the use of our technology which is a safe, secure and easy way to complete transactions.

“We aim at simplifying the buying experience for the end consumer, providing speed, convenience, and confidence for the users,” Abudu said.

He noted that an important part of the company’s value proposition is the technology platform, which he said could aggregate and integrate into a wide range of digital products and services, and also serves

as a means to empower the immediate community to access financial services to boost financial inclusion.

According to him, “Our mission is to bring a wide bouquet of digital products and services to grass root and mass market consumers through innovation, technology and a world class retail distribution network that is driven primarily by agents and merchants.

“We have created a onestop-shop payment ecosystem aimed at providing everyday financial access and solutions to our agents and customers while creating core services that directly impact their daily lives.

“At the heart of the company is innovation and technical excellence, which drives the

business to strive to find new ways to create economic value for our agents and customers.”

Another innovative product the Baxi Platform includes BaxiPay, an online payment that is accessible through the website or mobile app.

“BaxiPay is your onestop-shop payment portal that enables you to pay for a multitude of digital products and services including electronic airtime, data bundles, utility bills, pay-TV bills, money transfers and more.

BaxiPay brings the convenience of a quick and easy to use payment platform to the fingertips of our endusers, who can now pay for a wide range of products and services anywhere and anytime,” Abudu said.

ADDRESSING CYBERSECURITY ISSUES

L-R: Executive Secretary, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Mr. Iyiola Ayoola; President of NCS, Prof. Adesina Sodiya and President of Nigerian Women in Information Technology (NIWIIT), Dr. Florence Babalola, during a press conference on the nation’s cybersecurity challenges, organised by NCS in Lagos...recently

MTN Assures Trade Partners 9mobile Launches AI Personal Digital Customer Assistant of Support 9mobile has reaffirmed its purchase, subscription to data as it provides 24-hour quality affirmed the telco’scommitment MTN Nigeria has appreciated its trade partners for their alliance at an event tagged: Y’ello Partners Appreciation Day (YPAD).

The series of events, which began on January 15, 2020 in Abuja, followed by another in Lagos on January 17, is an offshoot of the 2019 xenophobia reprisal attacks that swept across major states in Nigeria, during which properties of businesses belonging to MTN partner Connect Stores were affected.

MTN’s General Manager, Regional Operations, Amina Usman, thanked the trade partners in attendance for honoring the invitation.

Meanwhile, the MTN Foundation has embarked on a 20-orphanage-visit around the country. It visited the Love Home Orphanage, Magodo, Lagos, to share a double dose of happiness.

Chairman, MTN Foundation, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi and Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue, led the team to the Love Orphanage home The Manager of the orphanage, Hephzibah Itimi, gave the MTN team a very warm welcome and a tour of the home.

To the amazement of the team, all the children in the orphanage were in different private schools in Lagos.

After last year’s attacks, MTN called the affected trade partners, then followed it with a damage assessment of their businesses. In total, 18 outlets were attacked, and items stolen.

Some outlets were set on fire. At the assessment exercise, MTN had promised to assist those businesses that were severely impacted.

Representing MTN Nigeria CEO at the YPAD event in Abuja, the Chief Sales and Distribution Officer, Mr. Kunle Adebiyi, reeled out some of the actions taken so far to compensate the partners for their loss, and measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

Emphasising MTN’s “We’re Good Together” philosophy, which was the theme for the event, Adebiyi said: “MTN helped to facilitate insurance payment for those partners whose business were insured; while those that weren’t and couldn’t pay staff salaries after the attack, were assisted to do so. We hear that the insurance companies have begun making payments,” Adebiyi said.

commitment to a superior experience for its customers with the launch of ‘Enin’, a personal digital customer assistant on the 9mobile network.

‘Enin’, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled chatbot solution, is the first-of-its-kind by any Nigerian telco which provides virtual assistance to customers and interacts with them as a human would.

According to Acting Director, Customer Care, 9mobile, Ehimare Omoike, ‘Enin’performs several roles such as airtime

plans, presents customers with offers, bonuses, sales, reminders, notifications, recommendations, subscriptions and customer service information. It can also help to activate or deactivate services, as well as hand a customer over to a live agent, among other services.

“The solution is currently available on the 9mobile website, and plans are already underway to extend the service to our social media platforms. This service is asignificant New Year incentive for our customers

service to them. With ‘Enin’, customers not only get their queries resolved promptly, but the icing on the cake is also that the service is not limited by time or physical location.

On how to access ‘Enin’, Omoike disclosed that it is a first contact resolution and can be “accessed directly by clicking the chat bubble on the 9mobile , Commenting further on the chatbot solution, Omoike stated that superior customer experience is a cornerstone of 9mobile’s operations even as he

to doing more for Nigerians in line with its established reputation as the caring network.

He said: “At 9mobile, superior customer experience is a core value that we are deeply committed to at all times.

This is why we are continuously innovating to satisfy our customers because they are the reason we are in business. We are delighted to state that we have proceeded from rendering services to providing solutions for Nigerians, and this is a key value for us.”

Netflix Forecasts Tough Start in 2020 Netflix Incorporated has entered a new year that will be far tougher than the one it left behind.

International growth helped the streaming video service trounce expectations in the last quarter of 2019, according to Reuters.

But the company acknowledged competition had an impact in the United States, where growth missed Wall Street targets - and that competition will become more global as the Disney+ service launches across Europe in March.

Rivals including Walt Disney Co and Apple Inc. are now fighting for streaming customers, and Netflix said it expects to add seven million subscribers globally in the first quarter, below analysts’ average of 8.82 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

For a company that has historically taken great pains to avoid mentioning competitive forces - it once called the video game Fortnite a bigger rival than other streaming services - it spent a considerable amount of time explaining why Disney’s power will not have

as damaging an effect on its engine of growth outside of America.

“Despite the big debut of Disney+ and the launch of Apple TV+, our viewing per membership grew both globally and in the U.S. on a year over year basis, consistent with recent quarters,” the company wrote in a letter to investors.

Netflix Chief Executive Officer, Reed Hastings, described the fourth quarter’s 8.76 million net subscriber growth - boosted by a new season of royal drama “The Crown” and two films

nominated for Best Picture Oscars - as “just amazing.”

That number beat Wall Street estimates for the fourth quarter, helping to send shares up 2.2 per cent in volatile after-hours trading on Tuesday.

The Disney+ and Apple TV+ streaming services both launched in the United States in November. Disney+, which is also live in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, will launch in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Austria and Switzerland on March 24.

Apple TV+ is available in over 100 countries and regions.

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERvIEW

Alofe: HR Profession in Nigeria is Evolving The Chief Executive Officer, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, Busola Alofe, in this interview, speaks about the commitment of the institute to improve workers’ welfare as well as other professional issues. Ugo Aliogo brings the excerpts:

A

s the new Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), what values you are bringing to the table?

Nigeria has a number of challenges and there are things we are not quite happy about.

But at the same time, we are a country of tremendous opportunity and talent, and that is something you will see in the way the CIPM is positioned going forward. I want to continue being part of our change journey as a country. As a country, we have rich and diverse culture. We have abundant resources and we can truly be a world leader.

Fundamentally, the challenges we have as a country, boils down to the people and the leadership qualities, that will make our economy and the country work or not.

Therefore, as the CEO of the CIPM, I have 28 years of experience in the area of human resource management tied very strongly to the achievements of business objectives. As the CIPM forges ahead with our mission of being the foremost organisation of development and people management institute in Africa and the world; the expertise and knowledge of global best practices, and having worked in a number of Nigeria organisations, and being able to localise the practices that will help in achieving competitive advantage as a country in respective organisations in public and private sectors, and different industries across the country. We will see impact in those areas.

Can you give us highlights of CIPM strategic objectives for 2020?

I believe that the strategic objectives of CIPM for 2020 will be continually reiterated by the current leadership team led by the President/Chairman of Council, Mr. Olawale Adediran. Our long-term goal is to build the CIPM of our dream. We will achieve this by driving a number of priority areas, and I am certain that implementing the initiative in our current strategic plans will move us in leaps and bounds towards achieving those objectives. So our strategic objectives are derived from our current three-year plan which we updated in 2019 and it will take us to 2021. I was part of a team that developed it as a member of council. Key area of focus is stakeholders’ satisfaction.

Our stakeholders cut across different areas of our economy, even into Africa as I have mentioned previously, they need to be satisfied with our value proposition and how we contribute to meeting their needs and objectives. We want to understand what is important to them and through that create and tailor our services offering, so that they get what they need, when they need it and translate that into impacts in their organisations. Secondly, operational excellence is very important. We will not be able to achieve stakeholders’ satisfaction or deliver prime experience if our own ways of working are not excellent. We need efficient and effective processes. We need top quality people that will do the work of the institute. So we will be focusing on the work, the worker and the workplace and to ensure that everything we do in delivering our operational activities creates and deliver prime experience. In addition, we have to focus on our brand presence; what is the CIPM? What do we do? What is the value preposition to our different stakeholder groups? That has to be properly articulated, but importantly communicated so that they understand what is in it for them, by either becoming members of the CIPM or collaborating with us. We are present in several states of Nigeria, not just in Lagos. Everywhere, we go the stamp of professional quality and excellence should be what is associated with the CIPM brand.

So, we are working on brand presence. We are the apex regulatory institute for people management practices in Nigeria and Africa.

So the effectiveness of our regulatory oversight

Alofe

duties are important, we hear stories from time to time of unsavoury practices in certain companies where workers are not treated well.

We need to help organisations understand their responsibilities towards their workers, what the laws allows and make sure that erring organisations and people are made to face the consequences of those actions.

Where it is due to ignorance, we have a mandate to ensure that people understand, so we will not just communicate these things, but also monitor to ensure that the overall people’s experience is positive. We will also look at growth; Africa is the world we look at and from there to the international space.

So we will also be looking at opportunities to partner with organisations outside Nigeria to strengthen the Africa story, when it comes to people management and make sure that Nigeria and Africa is on the map of best practices in human resources management with time.

We will not be able to achieve stakeholders’ satisfaction or deliver prime experience if our own ways of working are not excellent. We need efficient and effective processes.

We need top quality people that will do the work of the institute

What will you describe as your ideal work environment?

My ideal work environment is one where people appreciates that we are not just in business to drive HR practices, it starts and ends with the business. So, we need to understand the business objectives of each organisation. Then translate those objectives into the right people management strategies that will help achieve the objectives of the organisation.

I will like to work in an organisation where the workers have clarity and understanding of the business objectives and how that translates into the work they themselves to do every day. This will bring out their passion and motivation because they know what is expected of them, they know what they organisation is trying to achieve and they can contribute their own quota to the achievement of those goals.

We are all motivated by achievements. So, having well-educated and knowledgeable workers are important. In addition, where people don’t have the right knowledge and skills, I will like to work in an organisation that develops its people because people are the greatest assets. Whatever it is we are doing, if the people are motivated, developed, they are skilled and they have the opportunity to contribute then they can find meaning in the work they are doing. Beyond that contributing to what is important, to the organisation and the country and themselves. I will like to work in an organisation where that is important and it is the culture. The workplace in which people work is very important. There are certain work environments that actually kill productivity. The resources needed are not available, and the culture is toxic. I like to work in highly competitive cultures where the work environment is aligned with the strategy and enabling of high level of productivity and performance, and that is the type of organisation which my colleagues and other professionals in the CIPM, my team of leaders and the general workforce, will be building in the coming years.

What are some of the challenges members of CIPM face?

In terms of the challenges that members of the institute face, let’s go back to the response on our strategic objective. Our members want

to see impact from their association with the institute and a big question they often ask is, so what if I’m a member of the CIPM? So what if I possess the CIPM HR professional license, which is actually the CIPM badge of excellence for HR professionals. How does this help me in my own development in career?

They want to see the connection between what they get out of CIPM and their development and growth in their respective organisations.

This is why the CIPM is currently partnering with the Heads of Service of the federation and states, to strengthen the quality of people management practices in the civil service, with the aim of also seeing that our certificates and diplomas are accepted in the scheme of service. Similarly, to what accountants get with their ICAN certificates and accreditations.

Our HR professionals will start to see similar possibilities of progress through associating with the CIPM and through possessing the HR practitioners’ license. There are a number of them and we are well aware of these concerns and needs. If they have the CIPM diploma and the HR practitioners’ license, and if they are going to move outside Nigeria, of what value is it to them because they want to be able to transition seamlessly to other countries.

It might surprise you to know that Canada has actually accepted our HR certificates and diploma, and so practitioners that might migrate to Canada can expect a very seamless move and to get jobs relatively easily and career progression in Canadian organisations. We are already accepted in Canada and we will do further work to see similar acceptance in other countries where our professions seek to migrate to. Those are some of the needs of members of the institute. Moreover, our members want to be more involved in the progress of improving the HR experience across Nigeria. So, all the activities of the institute, we actually don’t do them alone by ourselves in the secretariat, we involve different members of the institute through their voluntary participation in committees. We call upon them to help us with visit to various stakeholders as we execute the action plans of the institute. We will call on our members for their ideas, experiences and support as we take the agenda forward.

Continued on page 28

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD

INtERvIEW

Alofe: HR Profession in Nigeria is Evolving Experts say Nigeria unemployment rate is projected to climb to about 32 per cent in 2020. What are your thoughts and how is CIPM contributing to the reduction of unemployment in Nigeria?

In my last role, before I left Shell I partnered with industrial training fund. I was a member of the committee that was set up there. The committee worked with UNIDO on some research into the skills gap in Nigeria, looking at both the demand and supply sides respectively. The CIPM also conducted a similar study. So, there is opportunity to collaborate, so there is research and it is ongoing. Different institutes and organisations are doing some similar works. We will partner as much as it is visible when it comes to research. We have research and we have studies, and this needs to dovetail into action, so the execution of recommendations from these studies. There is another opportunity for partnership with other organisations such as the industrial training fund and others, when it comes to the execution to close the gaps and address the so called unemployability issue.

In 2018, for the CIPM particularly, we launched an internship programme known as ready to market. This is a six intensive industrial scheme that was designed following the observations of a huge gap in the skills and readiness of graduates of tertiary institutions and freshly certified CIPM members who may not have prior work experience.

Participants in this ready to market programme are deployed to various organisations for six months of internship after ongoing three weeks of intensive experiential learning sessions with HR thought leaders. What we found in the various badges we have done since is that after these participants have gone through the programme, completed their internship time, many of them are getting jobs in these different organisations.

One of the answers to this unemployment challenge is the CIPM understanding where the root causes of the issues lay, which lead to gaps, in skills, knowledge, experience and expertise and whether we do it for ourselves through our ready to market programme or we choose to collaborate with other institutions to create programme and deploy programme that help to close the gap in the knowledge and skills of these graduates. Those are some actions we can engage in. Another area that often comes up when it comes to employability is the ability to connect what you have learnt from University or polytechnic to entrepreneurship and make sure that businesses actually work and deliver value. I know that the industrial training fund have programmes that drives entrepreneurship. I know that several organisations have their internal programmes that strengthen the skills sets of post school participants. These are all different areas that the CIPM can partner and collaborate to help to address the concern with unemployability. In addition, in bridging the gap between what we call the town and the gown, CIPM recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Ibadan. The main aim of that MoU is to instill a high standard of practice and output by ensuring that the relevant department curriculum aligns with best practice and that way we are certain of the quality of individuals who are the future people managers, HR practitioners and we have similar activities going on with similar education institutions. This shows how passionate we are about changing the unemployability narrative, as regards the HR profession. As I mentioned a number of other professional bodies are taking up responsibility, for their respective areas and we look forward to partnering with them where appropriately and with immense support from the government, I am sure we will move in leaps and bounds.

Regarding the MoU you signed with University of Ibadan, how are you ensuring its implementation?

The answer to this question lies in relationship. First, what we have done and what we are doing with these institutions is building an ongoing relationship through partnership channels and processes that ensures that both parties maintain focus on the objectives.

Alofe

When you look at a curriculum, it spells out skills areas that the learning interventions must support. Once that is embedded in the content of what is being taught in the University, then it can be expected that the products of that process, will align with what was specified in the curriculum. Through that ongoing partnership, there would be constant conversation, about the content of what is being taught in those educational institutions, and also by looking at what happens with the graduate from at which these MoUs were put in place, we can also have a perspective on the quality of the output from the processes. Essentially, it is all about relationships and continued collaboration and paying attention to the key performance matrix that must have been defined as part of the MoU arrangements.

How would you rate HR profession in Nigeria?

I will say that the HR profession in Nigeria is evolving from what the CIPM is doing to partnership and support from the civil service, what the private sector organisations are doing, there is a very strong focus on professionalising, professional excellence, on being mentioned when you talk about global best practice. But there is that top focus on top quality and it is not going to be achieved overnight, so that is why I said it is a journey.

The other thing I said is that people are our greatest assets indeed and I fully believe in that, but for people to perform, a number of other things must also be in place, so there is the question around the quality of leadership, there are questions around the availability of resources that people need to

We are in a knowledge economy where it is all about digital solutions.

Technology is driving speed and change across the world. So organisations must be able to develop their people to handle and cope with change

be able to deliver work. There are questions around what is happening in terms of a future focused world. We are in a knowledge economy where it is all about digital solutions.

Technology is driving speed and change across the world. So organisations must be able to develop their people to handle and cope with change. My view is that there is that desire in different sector of the economy and we are all partnering on this journey to excellence. It is a journey we have started and we will continue.

How does the CIPM contribute to addressing unfair treatment of workers in some organisations in the country?

My response to this question will come from our mandate as the apex regulatory body for the practice of people management in Nigeria. So, we do have a responsibility to state abreast of how things are actually done, when it comes to labour practices.

First, there is a perception that it is HR fault actually; however, HR practitioners we end up having to clean the mess, after certain things have gone wrong. I actually believe that there is a big responsibility as well on the business managers, who oversees the workers directly. There is a saying that people actually join their managers/leaders, they don’t join the company. My experience of an organisation whether positive or negative is going to be largely my experience with my boss and because of the culture of the organisation. If there are unfair practices, we have to go back and find out the people leading in these organisations. There is a huge responsibility for us to look into the area of leadership and development. Secondly, our regulatory accountability also means that labour laws, that we have view into labour laws and how they are being complied with and through our members who are leaders of HR in all these organisations, and members of HR departments in all these organisations.

We also have that accountability to pay attention to how people are being treated, whether it is in accordance with the laws or not. Whether the practices, and processes are in compliance or not and where they are not, there is need to step up and do something to change it. We are tending towards an area, where increasingly we step in to regulate and enforce, for instance, we have a mediation and resolution committee in the CIPM and we sit on cases that are brought to our attention particularly with the mindset of arbitration. But there are very serious cases we have had to bring to the attention of the National Industrial Court with a view to say that these things are happening, maybe in a particular sector, prevalently with certain type of organisations and the things are not in line with labour laws and something needs to be done. So that space is increasingly where we are going to step in.

What is the focus of the new administra-

tion on the issue of contract labour?

In today’s world, the conversation is around the extended workforce. By extended force, we are talking about not just the direct employees of an organisation, but also the contractors that work with the organisation.

Contractors are employed indirectly by third party organisations that deliver a service to the organisation in question. The fact is that we have to look at the entire space, because we cannot say that it is only the perfect staff of an organisation that deliver the value or that problems that affects business performance are only associated with the permanent staff.

It is the entire worker ecosystem. I believe that in our respective organisations, in line with global best practices thinking today to really think about the extended workforce in everything we do. I also have a view that an organisation that employs or contracts service providers may not necessarily have the totality of the responsibility. The third party services provider itself should have human resource management practitioners that understand the labour laws, and establishes the right processes for managing people. As part of its services, the contracting organisation might help educate and develop the HR team and even the business leaders of the contractor company because many contractor companies are actually small, some are very large. But different companies have various maturity levels in terms of their HR practices, so that is where I see the connection between the organisation that owes the permanent staff and how it treats the contractor workforce that supports its business objective. The fact is that it is both groupings of staff that will achieve the objectives and if objectives are not achieved, we will be able to trace it to both. So totality of workforce is what is important here.

What does organisations need to do to improve the landscape of work in line with your strategic objective of 2020?

There are a number of things. First is the role of leadership. Leadership is a thread that holds everybody together in an organisation.

Leadership has the power to mandate things to happen. So if leadership that focuses on connecting the strategic objectives of the organisation to the people strategic and make sure that the people have everything that they need. Then I am certain that such organisations will better achieve their business objectives. So, focus on leadership, appointing the right leaders and developing them and making sure that they in turn are nurturing the workforce. Secondly, it is digital world so digitalisation has taken over everything that we do. We cannot run away from the power and impact of technology to radically enable the achievement of business objectives. So, if organisations are going to succeed both in terms of the work that is being done, the work that needs to do the work and the environment in which work is done, we must leverage digital solutions to achieve that, so employees will need to be trained, retrained, skilled, up skilled and multi-skilled. Certain skills are disappearing and more skills will disappear. In this world artificial intelligence is the order of the day, where robotics is taken over previously administrative and intensive task and free up time and space for workers to step up in terms of higher value in activities to deliver impacts. So, we need to develop our people to understand, deliver and take advantage and deploy digital solutions in achieving the objectives of the organisation. Technology is very important. The third thing I will mention is the importance of having high performance culture. A lot of the impact of the digital technology is the way skills and behaviours needs to change, so it necessitates a cultural transformation in organisations, if they are actually to remain alive to strive and survive. So companies that wish to exceed expectations going forward, will have to really look at the different elements of their culture and make sure culture is aligned with strategy. Culture is what leadership allows. So leveraging technology and developing people to take advantage of digital solutions, and addressing cultural transformation to ensure all of these things align with the strategic objectives of the organisation are very critical.

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERvIEW

Imafidon: Technology Driving Innovation in Financial Market

The Founder, ReQuid Technologies, Felix Imafidon, in this interview speaks on the impact of technology on the financial market.

Ugo Aliogo brings the excerpts:

R

eQuid Technologies emerged runner up at the Zenith Tech Hackathon event. What does this award mean to your organisation?

For us, this is a great validation of our product, and the value that it has for our customers. When we launched our flagship product - reQuid.com - in private beta, about three months ago, the goal was to pilot our offering with 40 investors, get feedback from our customers, review and optimise the product, and scale for our target market. In less than two weeks, we were oversubscribed by 200 per cent. Barely, a month after, we participated in and won the Nigerian Stock Exchange X-Kathon, a hackathon designed by the stock exchange to identify start-ups like ours targeted at driving millennial participation in the capital market. Recognised by the stock exchange as a technology trail-blazer with significant contribution to the capital market, in a contest heavily contested by over 100 startups including the likes Trove, Investors Masterclass and Naya Finance, was a sign that we were getting something right. Crowning our milestone less than three months into our beta launch with this win at the Zenith Tech Hackathon is more than enough validation for us.

Undoubtedly, the Zenith Tech Hackathon has provided access to knowledge sharing, skill development, better investment opportunities for a lot of start-ups. How do you consolidate on these gains that the event offered you?

Yes, the gains of the Zenith Tech Hackathon were more than the prize money for us.

There are key industry partnerships that we are already leveraging to scale what we are doing at reQuid, so we can reach more of our target market with our value proposition.

What is the market focus of your company in the fintech start-up space?

Our goal is to support our customers to live the quality of life they dream, by providing them with access to grow their wealth. We spent almost a year trying to better design a product that would benefit the average Nigeria who yearns to afford a certain kind of lifestyle, without leaving behind the low income earners.

Cyber security is one of the contending issues in the fintech industry. What have been the efforts of your organisation in tackling cyber-crime?

The safety of user data is critical to the success of our business. As a compliant company, we have relevant partnerships that ensure this. We neither collect nor store card information. Card payments are processed by our PCI-DSS compliant partners. Funds are safely managed by our Trustee, United Capital Trustees, a Securities and Exchange Commission regulated fiduciary institution.

Sensitive data is securely stored in the cloud.

Can you give more insight into the ‘amazon for safe investments’ platform which you recently launched?

In the last couple of years, there has been growing attention and concern in the investment domain, especially with respect to alternative investments. With the rate of treasury bill dropping below four per cent recently, investors are seeking investment vehicles that would give them at least, rates at par with the current inflation rate at more than 11 per cent. Investment in agri-tech platforms like Thrive Agric, Farmcrowdy and Agropartnerships with effective yields of between 30 per cent and 60 per cent

Imafidon

per annum are seemingly juicy to some investors, while to some others are simply high risk investments. At reQuid, what we know is that some of these companies are highly credible and their business models are sound and sustainable, and such yields are very much the benchmark globally for the model of similar agribusinesses. What have successfully done is design a risk assessment framework with which we assess these businesses - from profiling the founders and key drivers of the business, to assessing their business model and process, comparing their yield against standard benchmarks, carrying out farm visits to physically verify their teams, structure and processes, and validating their insurance and other risk mitigants. Agribusinesses who meet our benchmark are on-boarded on our platform for investors to take advantage of such opportunities.

What are the key technological innovations which your company is investing on and how are you using these innovations to improve service delivery in the financial services industry?

We are investing in risk technology, a decently new technology focus. Investment is all about risk, and we want to be able to use technology to support our investors in understanding, managing and likely leveraging that risk.

What is the goal of your company in area of investments and financing?

We just want to help our customers live that quality of life they have always dreamed of, by providing them with access to relevant solutions that can get them there.

What is your assessment of technology penetration in the capital and money market? Is there a need for improvement?

The capital and money market has seen a lot of technology-driven innovation in the last decade - from savings platforms to payment enablers. The penetration of technology in the capital market primarily regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may not be growing as fast as you have in the financial markets as regulated by the central bank. However, in the last few years, the commitment and support of the SEC to growth in the sector has spurred some of the penetration of technology in the sector. As a member of the SEC’s FinTech Roadmap, I am privy to a number of the upcoming initiatives designed to spur more innovation in the financial and capital markets, and I can say that this decade will see even more innovation and room for technology startups to disrupt the sector.

Sanwo-Olu’s Strides and Education Sector Transformation Olusegun Fafore

W

hen Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in company of, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, his Deputy, walked the length and breadth of Lagos State, canvassing for votes and making promises, little did electorate know that fulfilling those promises will be this early.

But in quick succession, Governor SanwoOlu is hitting the mark and uprooting the seed of doubt forced on many minds by the brief moment of torpor that followed his assumption of office.

Like ecstatic spectators at a relay race, those who tended to have forgotten the pace of the finishing athlete, but focused on the batonreceiving runner to lead the race because of their trust in his vim, are now convinced of the glory in Governor Sanwo-Olu’s strides.

Reassuringly, Mr. Sanwo-Olu has stepped-up his pace and caught-up with the perennial false starters like bad roads, traffic gridlocks, social insecurity, environmental challenges and waste management. With a wave of hand, roads across the state are becoming increasingly motorable and traffic gridlocks departing our roads considerably.

The fun of the year-end festivity was not marred by any stupid traffic logjam and security challenge. While the contractors mobilised to major roads worked day and night, Governor Sanwo-Olu stood firm to ensure potholes were mended for smooth ride for everyone.

Now, with government’s manifestation in infrastructural development and rehabilitation of Itamaga-Ijede, Bola-Tinubu, Igbogbo-Imota and Owutu-Agric-Isawo roads, Governor Sanwo-Olu has returned to his pervasive visibility that connected him to the electorate during the electioneering campaign.

Similar to the popular experience of SanwoOlu appearing at every nook and cranny of the State, canvassing for votes; projects execution like completion of abandoned roads, Maternal and Child Care Centre(MCC), urban renewal developments, commissioning of low-cost housing estates and litany of completed roads across the State, especially the thirty-one forsaken ones in the Ojokoro area of Ifako-Ijaiye Local Council Development, are new symbolism for the Governor’s state-wide presence.

From Governor Sanwo-Olu’s execution template, it is not unlikely to imply that his government only determined to address the infrastructural deficits holding down the State from absolute greatness. Arriving at such a conclusion would qualify as a reasoned observation given the frequency of the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat at project sites across the State.

Soon, the Maternal and Child Care Centres (MCC) in Epe and Badagry will be opened, in addition to the earlier two commissioned in Igando and Sangotedo, to raise the tally to four, completed and delivered by the Sanwo-Olu’s administration.

Likewise, work has begun on the Lot B of Lagos-Badagry Expressway, stretching from Trade Fair to Lagos State University (LASU) gate following the completion and commissioning of the Lot A, the 4-kilometer stretch from Agboju to Trade Fair, kicked-off by the Sanwo-Olu administration after years of abandonment.

The Lot C, which is the concluding phase of Lagos-Badagry Expressway construction, about 2 kilometers from LASU gate to Okokomaiko has been slated for construction immediately the Lot B is completed. The Governor also enlisted the outstanding work on the completed Lot A - pedestrian walkways and streetlights as priority undertakings.

Responsiveness seems to be the central attribute of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration. This is validated by his methodical handling of the State security matters. Aside from excellent coordination with the heads of the various security agencies, he boosted the capacity of the institutions with gadgets, vehicles, motorbikes and apparatuses that made Lagos State Security Trust Fund the envy of every State in Nigeria.

Lagos does not sleep, but its residents are free and safe moving around round-the-clock.

Sanwo-Olu The entrepreneurial energy of the State, which is its allure to local and foreign investors, continues to surge under Sanwo-Olu. Last year, the State disbursed N10bn under the W-Initiative for women empowerment and strengthened the Lagos State Employment Trust Scheme (LSETF) to tackle youth unemployment. These happened just when the Governor had given commitment to getting the 32-metric tons per hour capacity Imota Integrated Rice Mill running on time to provide employment for 250,000 people.

This far, even though the tempo of events has shown that Governor Sanwo-Olu will continuously surpass his own record with every stride, has proven that Lagos State has entered an era of greatness.

However, his detour into the education sector with a loud bang qualifies as the most remarkable of his deft moves at addressing social challenges. With a vision to drive learning excellence in more 500,000 pupils across 1016 primary schools using technology, Governor Sanwo-Olu’s dexterity at long-range planning has come to serve Lagosians.

For development experts, the predictable outcomes of this revolutionary initiative christened EKO EXCEL (Excellence in Child Education and Learning), which has several links to the SDGs, are invigorating and reassuring. If EKO EXCEL is a fertile seed that will bring forth good fruit, building capacity in over 2,400 teachers from all the fifty-seven local councils is a deserved meal for an important audience.

This is a powerful step towards actualizing your vision that “… that Lagos State Schools should be number one nationally and that our public schools must compete favourably with private schools”. This signals that the journey to this distinct positioning of our educational system has begun, and primary schools’ teachers are integral to the reforms designed to advance the quality of education at the foundation level.

Lagos is ready to take-on the world with the digitization of basic schools’ curriculum and deployment of modern techniques in teaching to maximise learning in all state-owned primary schools. Before this much attention on education, Lagos enjoys an impressive reputation as the land of digital nomads, who make defining contributions to several ‘Silicon Valley’ innovations that mesmerize the world.

I need not say that this impressive reputation has endeared our State to global technology and innovation leaders - an awe that has attracted Mark Zuckerberg to our jollof rice table, brought Bill Gates to our parties and made Jack Dorsey dance to our music.

The substantial resourcefulness dwelling in technology innovation centers across Lagos supports the expectation that Africa will be home to future technology and innovation leaders. However, life demands that we guide our expectations through determination and hardwork otherwise they will remain in the realms of dreams.

Determined to own the expectation about Africa’s digital future for Lagos, Governor Sanwo-Olu is championing EKO EXCEL. So, coding will be taught to primary schools’ pupils, who will also enjoy daily free meals, for development of necessary skills for survival in tomorrow’s world. These arrangements in Sanwo-Olu’s Lagos are secured by generous commitment to teachers’ welfare, signposted by vehicle-ownership scheme for head teachers.

Fafore, is an Executive Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on New Media and Public Relations

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BUSINESSWORLD

AgRIBUSINESS

Farmers Adopt Measures against Irish Potato Late Blight Stories by Oluchi Chibuzor With the first rains signaling the beginning of another planting season, potato farmers in Plateau State, have adopted measures to mitigate losses associated with the period.

The action was as a result of the peculiar outbreak of a common disease like late blight that attacks crops, especially Irish Potato during rainy season.

They stated this recently in Plateau State, during the implementation of Green Innovation Centre project in Nigeria, held in partnership with Agriculture and Finance Consultants (AFC) and funded by the Deutsche Gesellscaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GjbH (GIZ).

Mrs. Mary Bwakat, Irish farmer in Maikato, Bokkos Local Government Area of the state, who has been cultivating potato for 15 years, said she was worried that the advent of the rainy season could lead to outbreak of late blight disease.

According to her, “Late blight can decimate yields of Irish potatoes.

To manage the disease, farmers are advised to use good quality, disease-free, certified seeds and a variety of good practices. But disease-free seeds are both expensive and scarce.

“I’ve been cultivating Irish potatoes for 15 years now but I have never seen and use clean, certified seeds.”

Plateau State as one of the hub of Irish potato production in the country, the crop is one of the most

important sources of income for local farmers. Although the climate in Plateau State is favourable for growing potatoes, there has been a decrease in production, mainly due to late blight.

Adding his voice, the coordinator of the programme at the National Root Crop and Research Institute, Plateau State, Danbaba Anthony, said his organisation engages in research to improve production, processing, and storage of root and tuber crops.

He noted that farmers were advised to use proper spraying practices and positive selection, a process where farmers harvest and cultivate only healthy plants.

On his part, the chairman, Solanum Potatoes and Vegetable Marketers Association, Shippi

Emmanuel acknowledged that farmers who were adopting good agricultural practices are no longer scared of late blight and are increasing production.

He, however, listed variety of practices that could help farmers get healthy crops that yield well to include; crop rotation, sole cropping, applying pesticides, and selecting healthy plants for the next season six to eight weeks after planting.

Another farmer, Dawam Jonathan, who also grows Irish potatoes, stated that, “I have adopted crop rotation, positive selection, and proper use of fungicides and pesticides to control potato blight disease.” he said.

Meanwhile, some were of the opinion that the clean certified seeds are not easily accessible for small-scale farmers in the area.

REWARDING CUSTOMER LOYALTY

L-R: Divisional Head, Retail Bank, Fidelity Bank Plc, Richard Madiebo; Regional Bank Head, Victoria Island, Chinwe Iloghalu; Cash prize winner of N 1 million, Isabella Chekwube Uche; Executive Director, Shared Services and Products, Fidelity Bank, Chijioke Ugochukwu, and Head, Savings Group, Janet Nnabuko during the third monthly prize presentation of the ‘Get Alert in Millions Season 4 (GAIM Season 4), held in Lagos… recently

Nigeria Approves First Cowpea Resistant Pod Borer The federal government has approved registration and commercial release of a new transgenic cowpea variety resistant to pod borers.

The newly released variety does not differ in any way from already existing cowpeas (beans) other than the improvements made.

This was disclosed by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, chaired by Oladosu Awoyemi, at its 28th meeting held in Ibadan.

The new cowpea variety, SAMPEA 20-T, was developed by scientists at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in collaboration with various partners under coordination of the

African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF).

Speaking about the breakthrough, the Principal Investigator for the project and Executive Director, IAR, Zaria, Prof. Mohammed Ishiyaku, said both the on-station and on-farm trials demonstrated the superiority of SAMPEA 20-T relative to local, recently released cowpea varieties and improved breeding lines tested.

He said; “SAMPEA 20-T is high yielding, early maturing and resistant to Striga and Alect insects causing up to 90 percent yield loss in severe infestation.

“The protein and nutrients content of variety ‘SAMPEA 20-T is the same as that of other conventional

varieties meaning that the Bt gene that was introduced into the variety has no negative influence on the nutritional composition of both grain and folder.”

With the recent environmental approval by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), confirmed the product was safe for human, livestock and the environment and paved the way for submission to the National Variety Release Committee for consideration and registration as a commercial crop in Nigeria.

This new variety has early 70 to 75 maturing days with semi erect growth habit and photoperiod insensitive and has medium large

white seeds that would significantly reduce the number of sprays currently apply to the crop from 6 to 7 times to only 2 per cropping season and as a result realise better yield in quantity and quality.

It would also contribute to addressing the national cowpea demand deficit of about 500,000 tonnes and also improve the national productivity average of 350kg/hectare.

The Executive Director, AATF, Dr Denis Kyetere, commended the federal government for releasing the new cowpea variety, noting that it showed commitment towards improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmer.

Food Security: FAO Seeks Trade Balance The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has urged countries to use trade to their local advantage, in order to close the food security gaps.

The United Nation’s agency through its Director-General, Qu Dongyu, also emphasised the need for efficiency gains and balance between agriculture and environmental factors.

He said, “Every country has a different situation, adding that the FAO has to deal with all these differences. Trade is a powerful channel through which the gap

can be closed between countries.”

The DG disclosed this at a FAOWorld Trade Organisation ( WTO) joint high-level panel at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture, with the theme; “harnessing trade for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2”.

According to him, the goal that FAO pursues is to, “improve efficiency” with an eye to sustainability, natural resources and the environment, he added.

“Balancing agriculture and environmental factors is something

every country, independent of their economic development stage, will have to do to improve production and efficiency,” the Director-General said.

At the event, a point of consensus was that trade policies should form part of a larger integrated strategy that, among other objectives, enable smallholder farmers in developing countries - who produce a huge share of the world’s food but paradoxically are among the most vulnerable to hunger - to benefit from integration into the world’s agri-food value

chains.

“We have to rethink agriculture, including crop production and animal husbandry and our ways of life. The first two Sustainable Development Goals, calling for an eradication of extreme poverty and of hunger, are priorities.

“Digitalisation can help ensure more efficiency, and e-commerce has great potential to help bridge gaps and promote rural development.

New approaches to digitalization are needed, because we are already a digital world,” he noted.

FG Woos Development Partners on Lake Chad Basin The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo, has called for more collaborative efforts from development partners on Recovery and Livelihood programme project within the Lake Chad basin.

This, he said would help improve food value chain within the region and help lift Nigerians out of poverty.

Nanono, stated this when he received a delegation led by the Vice Chairman of the Kare Hi-Tech Group ,Alhaji Abba Gana, recently in Abuja.

He said such projects would provide part of the answers of what the ministry could do to make impact in the Lake Chad Basin region, especially in the cultivation of the food value chain.

Nanono, also added that the North East region bordering the Lake Chad Basin was a strategic and important agricultural producing area which formed the hub of trading activities that spans to Chad, Sudan, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Libya and also connecting other African Countries.

According to him, “other development partners could buy into the project in order to make it a model for job and wealth creation,” he said.

On his part, the Minister of State in the Ministry, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, commended the group for the North-East region that have been in dare need of development following the deviating effect of insurgency.

“Coming from that part of region of the country, am very conversant with the problems on ground and believed that part of solution was to provide the people with source of livelihood,” he explained.

Meanwhile, in their presentation of a project proposal to the minister on recovery and livelihood initiative, the delegation seeks government’s partnership at addressing some of the challenges facing the North –East particularly the Lake Chad Basin and Borno State.

Some of the major activities proposed in the programme to include: the irrigation for the cultivation of Rice, Sorghum and Vegetables, Ruminant animal breeding, fish farming, cotton, groundnut and soybeans.

Others include: value addition and processing as well as training and Extension services.

Lagos Empowers Fish Farmers The Lagos State Government said it has empowered 40 youths in Afuwo community in Badagry with 40 cages of 1000 juvenile catfish per cage under its cage culture project.

This, it stated, was part of efforts to increase economic use of its open water to develop cage farming aspect of aquaculture and improve nutrition in the state.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Gbolahan Lawal, revealed this during an inspection tour of the facility, held recently in Lagos.

Lawal, explained that the Cage Culture System of Fish Farming is one of the ways being championed by the state government to maximize benefits of the abundance of water resources in the State which accounts for about 22 percent of the State’s landmass.

He described the system as an environmental friendly way of increasing fish supply in the state as well as increasing foreign exchange spent on fish importation, noting that the cage culture would create employment opportunities both directly and indirectly.

According to him, cage culture system was a cheaper method of fish rearing which allows for fish to be reared in their natural habitat stressing that no fewer than 40,000 fishes would be harvested at the Afowo fish farm, Badagry, at the end of the four month rearing period.

“I am particularly happy and satisfied that the local community has shown her unflinching support for this initiative right from the installation stage. I am even more delighted that the cages were constructed with native material and the fish would be fed just like in concrete fish ponds,” he added.

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD

DEvELOpmENt

Collaborating against Human Trafficking

Ugo Aliogo examines the activities of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons

A

ccording to a report, Nigeria remains a source, transit and destination country in the illicit trade of human trafficking.

The Global Slavery Index (2018) report, Nigeria ranks 32 out of167 of the countries with the highest number of slaves – 1,386,000.

Also, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) reports that the average age of trafficked children in Nigeria, now upgraded to a tier 2 country on the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report (2019), is 15.

NAPTIP in the report contends that 75 per cent of those who are trafficked within Nigeria are trafficked across states, while 23 per cent are trafficked within states, adding that only two per cent of those who are trafficked are trafficked outside the country, “it is the third most common crime in Nigeria after drug trafficking and economic fraud.”

Tackling Human Trafficking In Nigeria, the federal government has made several efforts in reducing the incidence of human trafficking in the country, especially with the creation of NAPTIP which is a counter trafficking agency that is specialised and unique in its operation.

Other efforts include the various legislative frameworks which included the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition (Administrative) Act which was re-enacted in 2015. There are also various policies which included the Protection and Assistance to Trafficked Victims in Nigeria.

Aside all these, government through NAPTIP has intensified collaborations with several stakeholders and partners including development partners, line ministries and agencies, members of the Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) and opinion leaders across the country.

NAPTIP has carried out sensitisation in all parts of the country in with deliberate plans to eradicate incidence of human trafficking in Nigeria.

The agency has even gone a step further by sensitising communities within the borders of Togo and Benin Republic. Also, the agency has mapped out several strategic steps which included massive awareness creation and a component of the strategy was the inauguration of task force against human trafficking in the 36 States of the federation.

So far, various the task forces have been inaugurated in five states such as Edo, Delta, Ondo, Ekiti, Borno States, while efforts are being made to cover other regions before the end of 2020.

Similar task force was also inaugurated in Agege Local Government Council, Lagos. It was also an attempt to address the issues of human trafficking from the grassroots with the active supports of state and non-state actors, specifically in the State and Local Grassroots.

The setting up of the task force enhances robust collaboration from grassroots stakeholders, makes stakeholders especially the state government to take issues of human trafficking as their own projects bearing in mind that victims of human trafficking are their citizens.

Furthermore, it brings effective coordination in the areas of rescue, rehabilitation and empowerment.

On the regional level, NAPTIP has also engaged regional policy makers through the ECOWAS Parliament so as to jointly tackle the menace.

Human Trafficking in 2019 As part of the federal government’s commitment to tackle human trafficking in the country, NAPTIP in 2019 made some progress, specifically in improving prosecution, protection and rehabilitation.

The agency took the issue of awareness creation and advocacy to regional and global levels by engaging policy makers and other stakeholders with a view to enhancing all-round cooperation and synergy.

The agency strengthened its advocacy efforts and the working tour of Mali with a view to assessing the exploitative conditions of Nigerian victims of human trafficking trapped in the mining areas of the country, profiling them and working out the modalities for evacuating them back to Nigeria.

The Director-General, NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah, said in 2019, there was advocacy and enlightenment visits to the plenary of the Economic Committee of Western African (ECOWAS) Parliament where she members on the situation of trafficked victims

in Mali and other migrating routes within the ECOWAS sub region and the need for regional cooperation and policy to arrest the situation.

She further noted that the agency, with the support of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and ECOWAS also embarked on a large scale advocacy and sensitisation within the corridors of the regional neighbouring countries of Benin and Togo.

She explained that the team also sensitised border communities, transporters in some of the notorious motor parks reputed for human trafficking and dialogues with law enforcement agents in Cotonou and Togo borders.

According to her, “I am pained in my heart as a mother each time I recall the plight of our youths on the scotching unfriendly Sahara desert and on the dangerous Mediterranean Sea in their bid to get to Europe in search of greener pasture.

Of more serious concern are those that have been sold off like slaves and are trapped in some of the African Countries.

“Due to series of Save-Our-Soul (SOS) messages from these victims, I personally visited Mali.

What I saw there ruptured my emotion. These promising youths most of whom their parents had thought that they were in Europe, are been mindlessly exploited sexually by some heartless traffickers who held them against their will.

“While thousands of them are held by traffickers in the mining regions of the country, other who fell into the hands of gun totting group in the rebel controlled region stand the risk of being radicalized to the detriment of Nigeria.

Also, the agency has mapped out several strategic steps which included massive awareness creation and a component of the strategy was the inauguration of task force against human trafficking in the 36 States of the federation

“Most of them got there due to pressure mounted on them by their parents who wanted them to travel out and fetch money for the upkeep of their family. This is bad. Henceforth, NAPTIP will no longer spare any parent caught to have aided trafficking of their children.”

She added: “The present economic situation is a global phenomenon and as such, Nigeria is even greener than some of the European countries now. Let us advice our youths to look inward and make the best of some of the potentials around them. They should key into the various social intervention programmes of the present administration and better their lives.

“We cannot afford to continue to loose greater number of our youths in tragedies associated with irregular migration, this just has to stop.

The agency, with the support of US Government and the UNODC, erected and launched counter trafficking sensitisation materials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and this will be extended to other international airports in the Nigeria.

“The agency also interfaced with the military and other law enforcement agencies to ensure effective and efficient collaboration among agencies. There is also establishment of human trafficking desks in all the Internally Displaced Persons Camps (IDP) in the North-East to avoid further exploitation of victims. Country report on human trafficking was published for the first time this year.”

She further said: “Permit me to inform you that the agency in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) mainstreamed Trafficking in Persons issues into the minimum standards (Curriculum) of Colleges of Education in Nigeria.

“As a follow up, no fewer than 400 teachers of Colleges of Education have been trained by personnel of this agency and the NCCE on those issues and methodology to adopt in teaching them.

“It is important to note that these will be taught as a General Studies Course (GST) in Colleges of Education from January 2020. This activity is part of deepening awareness creating programme to ensure that children from cradle understand issues of human trafficking.”

Kwara State Command As part of measures to assist the indigenes of Kwara State who are victims of human trafficking in Lebanon and other destination countries in the Middle East, the State government has concluded plans with NAPTIP to profile the victims and work out modality to return them back to Nigeria.

On the part of the agency, it has also concluded plans to establish a command in Ilorin to enhance its operation especially in the areas of massive enlightenment, surveillance and rehabilitation of victims.

Okah, disclosed this while speaking with journalists, after a meeting with the State Governor, Abdularazaq Abdulrahmah.

The meeting was sequel to the hosting of the first trafficked victim that was returned to Ilorin few days ago and the need to take urgent step to reduce incidence of human trafficking in the State.

The Governor who was not happy with the recent development as it concerns indigenes of the state, expressed readiness to partner with NAPTIP for comprehensive rehabilitation of the already rescued victims as well as carrying out preventive measures such as massive enlightenment and advocacy in all parts of the state in order nip the situation in the bud.

Abdulrahmah, tasked the agency on the need to come out with confirmed numbers of trafficked victims from the State who were trapped or facing exploitation in any of the Middle East destination countries with a view to putting in place effective mechanism for evacuating them.

Earlier in her speech, the Director General who was represented by the Regional Director of the Agency, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe, informed the governor of the plan of the agency to establish a command in Ilorin, while calling for his support.

The Director General of NAPTIP, had few weeks ago expressed the desire of the agency to establish task force on human trafficking in the state as a deliberate step to curb the rising incidence of human trafficking in the State especially trafficking to Middle East for sexual and labour exploitation.

Projection for 2020 As part of the projection for 2020, Okah said the agency would scale up its advocacy and sensitisation programme by engaging all stakeholders and partners across the country.

She explained that the agency would continue the setting up of the State task forces on human trafficking in the remaining States, adding that the agency shall engage leadership of the various levels of government in its bid to eradicate human trafficking in the country.

She added: “As part of our engagement policies, we shall improve our working relationship with the media by embarking on specialized trainings and capacity development programme aimed at sharpening the reportorial skills of our TIP Media Corps. Similarly, as part of our reward for exemplary partnership, some members of the NAPTIP Press Corps have been penciled down for an award which comes up next year.”

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images

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020

Photo editor Abiodun Ajala email abiodun.ajala@thisdaylive.com

L-R: Head, Market Development, Debt Management Office (DMO), Mr. Monday Usiade; Director Portfolio Management, Mr. Oladele Afolabi; Co-Founder/Chief Marketing Officer, TAJBank, Mr. Sherif Idi; Director General, DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha; Managing Director, TAJBank, Mr. Norfadelizan Abdul Rahman; Founder/Chief Operating Officer of the Bank, Mr. Hamid Joda and Head of Treasury, Mr. Olanrewaju Oyeniyi, during a courtesy visit by the Management of TAJBank to the DMO, in Abuja…… recently

L-R; Category Manager, Dairy Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Aboubakar Coulibaly; Representative of Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Mrs Karima Babangida; MD/CEO, Neatle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Mauricio Alarcon and Alagbara of Agbara, Oba Lukman Jaiyeola Agunbiade during the launch of new fortified Golden Morn with Grainsmart at the Company;s factory in Agbara, Ogun State...recently abiodun ajala

L-R; EVP Marketplace/Chief Executive Officer, Jumia Nigeria, Massimilliano Spalazzi; Chairwoman, Jumia Nigeria/Head of Institutional Affairs, Jumia Group, Juliet Anammah; Group Co-CEO, Jumia Group, Jeremy Hodara and Global Head, Public Relations & Communication, Jumia Group, Abdelsslam Benzihonni during the Jumia 2020 Vision Sharering Breakfast in Lagos..recently abiodun ajala

L-R: Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed; CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele; President Muhammadu Buhari; and President of World Bank David Malpass, during a bilateral meeting with the Management of World Bank at the sidelines of the Uk-Africa Summit ..recently

L-R: Commissioner, Consumer Affairs, NERC, Dr Moses Arigu; Permanent Secretary Ministry of Power, Ahmed Abdullahi, and Sanshudeen Mahmood representing the Chairman NERC at a meeting between the House Committee on Power and stakeholders in power sector on the updating of the minor review of the MYTO 2015 Tariff order for 2020 in Abuja....recently julius atoi/THisDaY images

L-R; Vice President & Senior Investment Officer ARM Agribusiness Fund Managers Ltd, Theo Adewale Onadeko; Lead Pastor, The Elevation Church, Godman Akinlabi; Cheif Operating Officer, The Elevation Church, Tunji Iyiola and Head, Communications The Elevation Church, Chinny Ugoji, at the Vantage Forum 2020 press conference in Lagos on Wednesday.

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020

imAgeS During the Solemnization of Holy Matrimony between Faith ltohan Ebhohimen and lsrael ltoya Egbiki at the SS Philip & James Catholic Church, ldado, Lekki...recently abiodun ajala

L-R; Bride’s Mother, Lady Winifred Ebhohimen; Groom’s Father, Mr Henry Egbiki; Couple, lsrael Egbiki, his wife, Faith; Founder, Emzor Paracetamol Plc, Chief Stella Okoli; Bride’s Father, Sir Pascal Ebhohimen and Groom;s Mother, Mrs Juliet Egbiki

Sponsors of the marriage, Mr & Mrs Patrick Akinwuntan

Mr. John Darlington and wife, Eje

Mr. Emmanuel ljewere and wife Jayne

Chief Lawson Omokhodion and wife, Funmi

Mr. Alfred Okoigun and wife, Julie

Dr. and Mrs Gabriel Soyoye

T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, JANUARY 23 , 2020

34

HealtH & lifestyle

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

Addressing High Rate of Kidney Disease

The number of Nigerians suffering from kidney disease remains on the rise and has been worsened by inadequate facilities and the high cost of treatment, writes Martins Ifijeh

W

Kidney disease can be addressed

ith recent details from the Global Report on Care Delivery and Kidney Disease, at least 700 million persons around the world have one form of kidney problem or the other, representing about one in every 10 people globally.

Although the prevalence is said to be higher in high-income countries like the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, many of such countries have considered chronic kidney disease as one of their healthcare priorities, as compared to most low income countries, who despite having an increased prevalence on the issue, do not consider it one of the diseases they must prioritise solving.

One of such low and middle income countries not taking the issue of kidney disease seriously is Nigeria despite having over 36.8 million of its citizens suffering from one form of kidney disease or the other, representing about 23 per cent of the country’s population, according to available statistics.

This figure, which shows one in every seven Nigerians suffers from some form of kidney disorder, has therefore prompted experts to raise alarm that Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder waiting to explode if nothing is done to quell the rising prevalence of the menace in the country.

They believe stakeholders, as well as the government, have not zeroed into tackling the issue head on, as the country has failed to put facilities in place to match the rising problems occasioned by the disease in the country.

They are also of the opinion that Nigerians must be educated on what to do to prevent the disease as well as how to manage it.

A Nephrologist, Dr. Benson Ariye, explained that over 50,000 Nigerians should be on dialysis in Nigeria, but that only about 1,000 persons are presently undergoing dialysis in the country, which is one of the reasons a lot of Nigerians are dying from the disease daily.

He explained that it is rare surviving kidney failure without undergoing dialysis or kidney transplant, adding that if government must protect its citizens from dying from preventable illnesses like Kidney failures or other forms of diseases, then it must put facilities in place to combat the issue.

According to him, the bulk of those suffering from the disease in the country are poor or low income earners who may be unable to afford treatment in India, Canada or the United States.

“The only institution they can rely on for support is our government. There should be availability of facilities to treat the various forms of kidney disorder in the country.

“Only a handful of hospitals in the country presently have these dialysis machines, which ideally should be spread across the country to tackle issues of kidney failure.”

He said one of the reasons why proactive measures must be taken was because the peak prevalence period for chronic kidney disease was between 30 and 50 years, representing the man power shortage and economic waste, adding that “Nigeria cannot afford to lose its active citizens because of inability to provide facilities to combat the health issue.

While lamenting the burden of the disease, he said estimated 15,000 new patients were being diagnosed every year in the country, making the number of persons needing treatments to increase markedly annually.

Ariye also called for the subsidisation of kidney treatments in the country as most sufferers were unable to afford the treatments. “An average Nigerian would most likely not be able to undergo adequate treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) which is on the rise”.

Despite the thousands of Nigerians who present their cases to the hospital, Ariye believed this represents just a tip of the iceberg of the entire burden of CKD, because majority of those suffering from end stage renal failure or other forms of kidney disorder often do not present their health issue to the hospital on time due to lack of awareness, prohibitive cost of healthcare services or use alternative treatment like spiritual healing and traditional methods.

He said awareness on early presentation was also key to reducing the disease in the country.

The World Health report in 2002 and Global Burden of Disease Project reports show that kidney disease represents the 12th cause of death and 17th cause of disability in the world.

The report also believed this may be an underrepresentation of the contribution of Chronic Kidney Disease to global burden of disease.

Some experts however believe this figure may best suit that of developed countries as kidney disease is reportedly becoming a very high cause of death among people living in under-developed and developing countries, including Nigeria.

“In Nigeria, the situation is such that chronic kidney disease represents about eight to 10 per cent of hospital admission even though we know more than 50 per cent of people with the disease do not present their case to the hospital,” says a

Medical Officer, Brooks Memorial Clinic, Benin, Dr. Kenneth Ifidon.

He said this goes to show that the prevalence of the disease was increasing in the country even though kidney care facilities do not match the numbers of people presenting their cases to the hospital.

Causes He said it is important people understood the causes of kidney diseases so they can prevent it. “Some identified causes of kidney diseases include hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, among others”, he added.

According to him, hypertension is the leading cause of kidney failure in Nigeria, adding that it often presents no symptoms until it is at the advanced stage. “This is another reason why people should not just assume that since they are walking and not feeling any health issue, then there is no need for checkups.

“If you want to prevent many forms of health issues, it is imperative that you constantly go for checkups. When one does checkups for hypertension at early stage, the truth is, as you are taking measures to preventing it, you are also indirectly taking measures to preventing kidney disease. So the role of medical checkups cannot be over-emphasised if we must stay healthy always.”

He said diabetes has been established to be the leading cause of kidney failure in the country, hence the need for people to prevent things that predisposes them to diabetes. Adding that, “diabetes occurs when the blood glucose levels are excessively high.

“Tiny amounts of proteins in urine are an early sign of kidney damage in patients with diabetes.”

On HIV/AIDS, he said it increases the loads on the kidneys and may lead eventually to its failure, hence the need for people to be cautious about habits that predisposes them to risks of contracting HIV/AIDS. Prevention He said people must understand that the kidney is one of the most important organs of the body because of its enormous responsibilities and that attention should be paid to the kidney, while living a healthy lifestyle.

According to him, “while taking measures to preventing hypertension, diabetes and HIV/AIDS, direct healthy lifestyle will also go a long way in keeping the kidney healthy.”

He said avoiding caffeine addiction was one of the best ways of keeping the kidneys in check.

“People who drink multiple cups of caffeine

beverages each day are often at risk of forcing the kidney to work harder in pumping out the toxins in the caffeine, which overtime makes the kidney weak.

“If you find that you are urinating several times a day more than you used to, try cutting back on caffeine products to see if that helps. Too much caffeine is not good for your body in many ways, and kidney stress is one of them.”

He also explained that drinking of water was very vital to the health of the kidney. “People who drink plenty of water daily are less likely to have kidney disease because even though the kidney acts more as a filter than a reservoir, toxins can build up if there is not enough water pressure to push them through to the urinary tract for excretion.

“We know there are people who do not like drinking water except extremely necessary, but it shouldn’t be so. If you want to keep your body healthy, drink enough water,” adding that eating of fruits like water melon also goes a long way in keeping the kidney healthy.

Treatment He said it is worrisome that treatment of kidney failure in the country has not been subsidised by the government, as poor patients continue to find it difficult accessing treatment.

According to him, a patient with kidney failure has a three to five hour dialysis treatment; three times per week while this treatment would only replace about 10 to 15 per cent of the function of healthy kidneys.

“Undergoing a session of dialysis in the country costs about N40,000.00, which means in a week the patient would have spent N120,000.00. This perhaps will continue for a long time. How do we expect the poor Nigerians to pay for this treatment?” He queried.

He said an outright kidney transplant cost an average of N4.5m outside the provision of a donor.

“Though most donations are free because they come from relations and family members, but the determination of whether their organ is suitable for surgery or not are often investigated most times abroad thereby compounding the cost. After surgeries, patients must live on drugs to keep the foreign organ in check and these drugs are taken throughout a lifetime and they are expensive,” he added.

He stressed that a government that puts its citizens first must design ways of making this treatment available and affordable for the ordinary citizens and people who also live in rural areas where there are hardly healthcare facilities.

T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, JAnUARY 23 , 2020

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news

ProgressonMalariaEradication StillLow,SaysACOMIN Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN), a coordinating network of civil societies groups involved in monitoring and ensuring accountability in the fight against malaria in Nigeria, has said that very limited progress has been made despite efforts and investments put in by the federal government and donor agencies.

It said that according to the report of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria still has the highest rate of malaria cases in the world, adding that the world malaria report 2019 puts Nigeria’s malaria prevalence at 25 per cent of global cases.

While presenting its report of the group to the media recently, the National Coordinator of ACOMIN, Mr. Ayo Ipinmoye said that in spite of the massive financial, material and human outlays, there was still much to be done to keep malaria at bay.

“The fight against the problems and challenges that malaria poses is yet to be won”, he said.

Ipinmoye said that National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) were the main recipients of the funding assistance from the Global Fund (GF) playing coordinating roles,

while Malaria Consortium (MC), Management Services for Health (MSH) Society for Family Health (SFH) are sub-recepients engaged in direct implementation of the anti-malaria programmes in 13 states presently supported by the Global Fund.

On its part, Ipinmoye explained that ACOMIN was implementing the aspect of the GF grant that has to do with the community accountability project along with state governments and local government councils.

So far, Ipinmoye said the project has been able to demonstrate that with sustained engagement, distinct possibilities of improved service provision can be achieved.

He said that ACOMIN activities have succeeded in awakening the consciousness of the communities to the need for involvement in shaping their own health outcomes.

Speaking on the performance of the country in the fight against malaria scourge, Ipinmpye said: “We have seen more and more participation by communities and government at the local level.

“Unlike in the past when local people feel divested from the various health programmes, what is happening now is that there is now a sense of ownership and people are continually identifying with the interventions as one their own.”

Study Shows Injectables are Nigeria’s Most Used Contraceptives

Martins Ifijeh

A United Nations backed report, the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) has shown that injectables have overtaken shortterm contraceptives to become the most used method for family planning in Nigeria.

The report shows that 314 million women and girls are now using modern contraception, with 53 million new users in the last seven years, and nine million in the past year alone.

The report also revealed that Nigeria makes up roughly half of all women of reproductive age in all of the 15 countries in West Africa.

According to the report published in partnership with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Department for International Development (DFID), UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and USAID, 45 countries have

established goals of increasing contraceptive prevalence through voluntary family planning programs.

“Progress on reaching a greater percentage of women varies greatly by region and country.

In FP2020 focus countries in Asia, approximately 38 per cent of women of reproductive age were using a modern method as of July 2019, and the average growth across all of the regions of Asia has been 0.2 percentage points per year since 2012,” the report reads in part.

In West Africa, there has been 0.7 percentage point growth per year, with four countries falling below the average and 11 countries either equal to or above the average.

“Because this average is weighted by the size of each country’s population of women of reproductive age, large countries that are growing slowly will have

a greater effect.

“In the case of West Africa, the population of women of reproductive age in Nigeria makes up roughly half of all women of reproductive age in the region.”

Although Nigeria’s MCPR is growing at approximately the average rate of FP2020 focus countries as a whole (0.3 percentage points per year), it is the second slowest growing country in its region.

“Without Nigeria included, the average annual MCPR growth rate for the other West African countries is 1 percentage point per year, almost the same as Eastern and Southern Africa,” the report says.

The report revealed that Nigeria and Sierra Leone now prefer injectables over short term contraceptives like condoms.

“Analysis of 39 FP2020 focus countries with new surveys since

201435 reveals some meaningful shifts in method mix. In 32 of the 39 countries, implants have assumed a substantially greater proportion of modern use,” the report added.

“Injectables have also grown as a proportion of the method mix, but in fewer countries (13). More than 20 countries saw declines in the contribution of pills to the method mix, generally displaced by implants, injectables, or both, indicating shifts toward more effective methods.

“Only a few countries 36 have seen a change in the most common method in use, and these shifts generally represent a move toward more effective methods. In Benin, implants displaced injectables as the most common method in use, as women shifted away from private pharmacies and toward the public sector for family planning services.”

Homosexuality:‘GayGene’ RuledOutasStudyShows EnvironmentisMajorFactor Martins Ifijeh with Agency Report Genes play just a small role in whether a person is gay, scientists have found, after discovering that environment has a far bigger impact on homosexuality.

In the biggest ever study into the genetic basis of sexuality, researchers from more than 30 institutions including Cambridge University and Harvard, looked at the DNA of nearly 500,000 people in Britain and the US. They found that genes are responsible for between eight to 25 per cent of the probability of a person being gay, meaning at least three quarters is down to environment. Scientists said it worked in a similar way to height, in which genes are partly responsible, but other factors such as nutrition - also play a major role, adding or knocking off inches. In this case, environment could mean anything from being exposed to certain conditions in the womb, to differences in upbringing or education.

Although the research may seem controversial, suggesting that homosexuality is not primarily ‘written in the genes’, the scientists say it does not mean that sexuality is a choice or can be altered.

“Some people will misunderstand or even deliberately twist our findings,” said senior author Dr Ben Neale, a statistical geneticist at Harvard Medical School.

“There is a long history of people using genetics in harmful ways to advance their own misguided agendas. As a gay man I’ve experienced homophobia and I’ve felt both hurt and isolated by it. This study disproves the

notion there is a so-called ‘gay gene’ and disproves sexual behaviour is a choice.

“Genetics absolutely plays an important role, many genes are involved, and altogether they capture perhaps a quarter of same-sex sexual behaviour, which means genetics isn’t even half the story. The rest is likely environmental. It’s both biology and environment working together in incredibly complicated ways.”

Previous research had suggested there could be multiple genetic variations in the x chromosome of men driving homosexuality, but the new study ruled that out.

Instead it found a large number of genes were having a tiny effect.

Even the five gene areas which had the most impact only had a cumulative impact of just one per cent. The new study, which involved 100 times more people than previous research, used DNA data from the genetic testing service ‘23andMe’ and the UK Biobank in an attempt to tease apart the most important genes.

They found one important area of DNA was linked to genes related to sense of smell, which is known to be important for sexual attraction.

However the genetic picture is so complex, the researchers concluded, that it will never be possible to determine whether someone is gay simply be looking at their DNA. Fah Sathirapongsasuti, Senior Scientist of Computational Biology at ‘23andMe’ said: “There is an unexplained environmental effect that one can never put a finger on exactly it’s such a complex interplay between environment, upbringing, and genetics.”

L-R: Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Abdullah Mashi, during a sensitisation workshop on Nigeria StandardTreatment Guideline held in Abuja recently

Assaulting Health Workers is Criminal, NMA Tells Nigerians •As NARD proposes one year jail term for offenders Martins Ifijeh Following the recent cases where health workers are attacked by patients or their relatives, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has stated that such assault or molestation of health workers while performing their duties are criminal offences according to the laws of Nigeria.

In a statement made available to THISDAY recently, the President, Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Francis Faduyile said the provisions of the National Health Act 2014 on assault, whether verbal or physical, were unambiguous.

He accused security agencies of complicity in the trend of violence against health workers across the

country.

With several cases of violence already reported, the NMA says it is worried by the apparent silence of security agencies on the plight of its members.

He said: “More worrisome is the fact that the security agents who have the responsibility to protect Nigerians including medical and dental practitioners in this cruelty are primary assaulters, and co-offenders. ”The FCT and healthcare institutions are where this barbaric act has assumed alarming proportions, we also note with displeasure the disposition of relevant authorities including the management of healthcare institutions in cases where victims (healthcare workers) summon

courage to seek justice”.

He emphasised that perpetrators should desist from violently attacking health workers as provisions of the National Health Act of 2014 on assault, whether verbal or physical, are not ambiguous to pursue. ”Relevant laws of Nigeria prohibit assault and molestation of any form. It is a criminal offence to assault any Nigerian including healthcare workers, more so, in the line of duty as is the case of medical and dental practitioners.”

The NMA further appealed to the federal government and the inspector general of police to immediately put in place genuine security measures to end the unacceptable rise in cases of assault on the entire

health workforce.

The association has also directed its members and affiliates to ensure perpetrators of violence against them were duly reported and prosecuted.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has called for a law that would protect health workers against assaults while on duty.

The association made the call in a statement jointly signed by its President, Dr Aliyu Sokomba; the Secretary General, Dr Bilkis Muhammed and Publicity & Social Secretary, Dr Egbogu Stanley. The association, in the statement, decried the rising incidences of assault of health workers while carrying out their legitimate duties.

Assaulting Health Workers is Criminal, NMA Tells Nigerians As part of efforts to address mental health challenges in the state and Nigeria, the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine and the Imo State University Teaching Hospital have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), known as HAPPINESS Project.

The project, which stands for Health Action for Psychiatric Problems in Nigeria Including Epilepsy and Substance, has initially taught more than three dozen healthcare workers how to integrate mental health services into routine primary care.

It was revealed that over 50

patients were seen after the training session, and many more people who otherwise would have gone without treatment are now being evaluated and treated by clinicians.

The partnership is supported by the Yale Global Mental Health programme,

CBM International, the Imo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, and the Row Foundation (USA).

The goal of the partnership is to expand the programme to all primary care facilities in Imo State and eventually to other Nigerian states.

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T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, JANUARY 23 , 2020

INTERVIEW

Adeleke: To Curb Medical Tourism, Govt Should Strengthen Healthcare, Bring Professionals Home Prof Kamar Adeleke is the President/CEO, Tristate Cardiovascular Institute. In this exclusive interview with Martins Ifijeh, he posited that if government gives healthcare the priority it deserves, no Nigerian will travel abroad for medical tourism. He also spoke on how world class cardiac programmes by Tristate are changing healthcare narratives in Nigeria There is no free lunch anywhere. We borrowed 2.4 billion to start Tristate in Babcock. It started at 16 per cent interest rate, went to 21 percent interest rate, and at a time, we almost went bankrupt. If not Babcock University that bailed Tristate out, that would have been the end. The first 75 cases we did were done for free because we had to convince Nigerians that it was doable. So because of that, the only people we could do it on were people who didn’t have the money for it.

There no countries in the world that does UHC for free. Someone has to pay, and the only safest way is insurance where everyone is pooled together. Majority of Nigerians will only have money spent on them for prevention and minor treatment. Only about one per cent will actually require heart surgeries. If 100 people pays, and only one per cent needed the surgeries, you will see the problem will being solved without we sweating. That is the reason why insurance makes sense. Without insurance we can’t get to where we want to be.

Why do many Nigerians go abroad for cardiac surgery when it can be done in here?

Nigerians lack information on the capacity of cardiac programmes that can be done in Nigeria. Unfortunately, doctors in Nigeria cannot advertise themselves because it is against the law, unlike in the US where for instance, I can say, Prof. Adeleke is the best in cardiac surgeries, he has done a number of so, so, and so successful surgeries. But here, we are not allowed to talk about our capabilities.

Information is very powerful, if we don’t talk about what we do, nobody will know us. Nigerians must solve Nigeria’s problems.

No foreigner will solve our problems for us.

Now we have Babcock University, Reddington Hospital, Tristate Cardiac Centre, Aminu Kanu Teaching Hopsital, Afe Babalola University that are doing tremendous work in heart surgeries. Afe Bablola University for instance, has done over 14 open heart surgeries, but few people know. Tristate has done hundreds of these surgeries within the last three years.

You had a successful career in the US. Why did you come back to Nigeria?

I trained and lived in the US for over 40 years, and in 2012, I did a medical mission to Nigeria where we saw over 5000 patients in two weeks. And during that time, I realised Nigeria was in trouble with the average life expectancy put at 46 years at the time. So that was not good. Cuba was about 80, while the US was 79, at the time. So that is part of what brought me back to Nigeria to come help, because we found out that the number one cause of death in Nigeria is no longer communicable disease but non communicable, with heart diseases taking a bunch of this.

At that time also, there were only two cardiologists that could really do the job in the whole of Nigeria; Yemi Johnson and one other person, with a population at the time of about 175 million people. What can the two of them do? In US where I practiced, I have helped in saving many lives from heart diseases, so why can’t I do same in my own country? That is why I came back home.

So, I decided to replicate our Tristate Cardiac Centre in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey here in Nigeria.

What has Tristate done in Nigeria?

We started at University College Hospital, Ibadan where we did over 40 open heart surgeries. We moved to Babcock University where we started a cardiac programme which cost us about 2.4 billion naira. That was three years ago. Today, Babcock is practically doing open heart surgeries every day.

We have now done over 400 cases at Babcock. We have done very close to that in the Cardiac CatLab. Then we opened another hospital in Ibadan. Now we are partnering Reddington Hospital.

Our success rate on diagnosis is 100 per cent; on procedures, there is the noninvasive, which is 100 per cent, as well as the invasive procedure, which is also 100 per cent. We have not lost anybody during our procedures.

On open heart surgeries, for paediatrics, we have 100 per cent; for the high risk or for the elderly, we have about 60 per cent. In Nigeria, Tristate is like a dumping ground for the high risk because people believe such conditions can only be tackled

How can we make health insurance work in Nigeria?

All over the world, if you buy a car you have to insure it, because it is mandatory.

That is what we should in the health sector; make health insurance mandatory. So, those who are able to pay must pay. If you work, the employer has to contribute to it, government has to, private persons also have to. Then the poor becomes the responsibility of the government. This is how it is done all over the world. We can’t lie to ourselves, Nigeria don’t have the money. The only way this can be done is if we make it mandatory.

Adeleke

in our clinics.

Would you be taking your professionals and equipment to Reddington?

Reddington has the equipment, Tristate is coming in with the professionals, so we are collaborating. Their new cardiac hospital is in GRA, very close to the airport, and it is a 100 bed space, where open heart surgeries are done. Although some of the equipment will be brought in by Tristate. So these two big brands will be coming together to address issues around heart surgeries in the country.

Tristate is the number one in terms of volume, complexity of cases, 247 trainings, and we are expanding very rapidly so that at the end of the day, Nigerians can access facilities anywhere in the country.

supporting. There are times we contribute N1 million, N200, 000, and so on. We have done about five like that in the past one month. Our goal is to make sure people do not have to lose their lives because they are unable to pay for surgeries.

That is why we are partnering with government at all levels and private sectors so that people who can’t afford treatment will have the treatments they require for a healthy heart.

The mentality that people must travel out for treatment has to change. Whites are not better than us. If you go anywhere in the world, you would see Nigerians are very brilliant people.

How will cardiac programmes benefit Nigeria?

This will cut down on cost and medical tourism. Nigerians do not need to travel abroad for heart surgeries when it can be done right here successfully. It will improve the country’s financial strength. Healthcare in the US contributes 16 to 20 per cent of the total GDP, that’s about 19 trillion dollars. It may have changed a little bit now, but we are less than one per cent in healthcare contribution to the economy. Yet, healthcare is a big business; employments will be made, there will be pharmacies, we will be manufacturing, there will be equipment company, among others.

All these will improve the economy of the country. To achieve this, we are getting a lot of support, and Aliko Dangote Foundation is one of those supporting us.

Would this also curb medical tourism?

If we give our healthcare priority and ensure every Nigerian has access to quality and affordable healthcare, no one will need to travel for treatment. Does it even make sense that our leaders are going abroad for treatment. All we need to do is strengthen our healthcare and bring Nigerian healthcare professionals in diaspora back home. They will complement what Nigerians here are doing. Nigerians are some of the most brilliant people in the world. I have never seen any more brilliant doctors than Nigerians.

Government has no business doing business.

They should create enough business environments so that even those abroad can come home. A lot of countries envy our brilliancy, resilient, population and resources. There is no reason any Nigerian should be poor or not have access to quality healthcare.

Will indigent Nigerians be able to undertake open heart surgeries?

That is our goal. We are on our own way

Can’t Universal Health Coverage address issues about indigent Nigerians not able to afford treatment?

Shouldn’t passing the NHIS Mandatory Bill be priority at this time?

This is a high priority. I have seen several people die because they are unable to pay for treatments and surgeries. The National Assembly should dl the needful while the executive should assent to it. This should speedily be one of our priorities for now if we really want to tackle our healthcare challenges. We are playing with fire because people are increasingly coming down with non-communicable diseases. After food, next on the priority list should be health, and then education. We can’t push this aside.

What are the risk factors and how do we prevent heart problems?

Prevention and healthcare generally starts from preconception. Before the woman gets pregnant, she should be healthy, including avoiding environmental hazards. Pregnant women should have a very good routine care because the site of the placenta is directly correlated to the growth of the baby, and studies show women with poor nutrition passes poor health down to their babies, as these babies may have diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and death.

Once the baby is born, make sure the child doesn’t have heart murmur, those with anaemia should be treated, and those with defects should be corrected. People go to hospitals only when they are sick.

Preventive checks are very necessary. From ages 0 to 12 years should do necessary immunisation. As an adult, certain risk factors have to be modified, including alcohol intake, and smoking.

Nigerians should take exercise seriously.

We should ensure we do not have high cholesterol. If you don’t take care of all these, when the issue starts it will be too expensive to treat.

37

T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, JANUARY 23 , 2020

News

With Signing of Health Insurance Bill, Gombe Set to Access BHCPF

Martins Ifijeh

With the setting up of the Gombe State health insurance scheme, and the putting in place of the Contributory Healthcare Management Board Law, the state is now set to access the Basic Health Care Provisions Fund (BHCPF).

Stating this during the signing of the Contributory Health Care Management Bill recently, the Governor, Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya said the bills would help to improve efficiency and effectiveness in health care service delivery, as well as ensure transparency, accountability and good governance in the state.

He said, “It was disheartening that Gombe was the only state in the country without a hospital management board. But with the signing of the Hospitals Services Management Board Bill into law, our hospitals will now operate more effectively

and ordinary people will now have some reprieve in terms of basic health care service.

“Equally, with the Contributory Health Care Management Board Law in place, the state will now align with the National Health Policy and we shall access the BHCPF, which can be accessed only with this law in place.

“Many state governors have since replicated the National Health Insurance Scheme and they have been accessing the funds to improve the basic health care services in their respective states.

With this development, Gombe has now joined the league and there will be some succour for the people, especially the less privileged ones, who find it difficult to get support when needed.”

The governor commended the House of Assembly for the speedy consideration and passage of the three bills and

YaleSchoolofMedicinePartners ImoTeachingHospitaltoTackle MentalDisorders Ugo Aliogo As part of efforts to address mental health challenges in the state and Nigeria, the Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine and the Imo State University Teaching Hospital have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), known as HAPPINESS Project.

The project, which stands for Health Action for Psychiatric Problems in Nigeria Including Epilepsy and Substance, has initially taught more than three dozen healthcare workers how to integrate mental health services into routine primary care.

It was revealed that over 50 patients were seen after the training session, and many more people who otherwise would have gone without treatment are now being evaluated and treated by clinicians.

The partnership is supported by the Yale Global Mental Health programme, CBM International, the Imo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, and the Row Foundation (USA).

The goal of the partnership is to expand the programme to all primary care facilities in Imo State and eventually to other Nigerian states.

Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos recently, the President of Yale University, Peter Salovey, said the challenges in mental health in Nigeria often remain unaddressed because there are few mental health professionals and stigma issues.

He noted that it wax difficult to talk about mental health either with family or professionals and many people who need the treatment are not getting it.

In his remarks, the Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale Medical School, Theddeus Iheanacho, said as part of measure to address the health disorder, they have come with a policy which

involves integrating mental health treatment into primary care using standardised World Health Organisation (WHO) tool.

“What we have done is to identify the WHO tool and adapt it to our Nigerian culture and train the primary care technicians to implement mental health and primary care and we call it the HAPPINESS Project.”

He stated that the initiative which is a four component intervention has allowed the medical school to train technicians in five local government areas, 14 primary care clinics and “they have been doing this training for the last 18 months and we have seen wonderful results”.

Iheanacho explained that with what the school has done in last 18 months, they have seen a lot of awareness, adding that the challenge is the provision of the treatment, “on our path, we are providing the training and support”.

According to him, “the MoU is to collaborate with the Imo state Teaching Hospital so that the training, support and the facilitation of the implementation can be a partnership with the university to foster the Yale Africa initiative so that it is a partnership.

“So it is something that is sustainable so that when we retire, there is continuity of the project. Also, the future focus of the project is to extend it beyond Imo State to other states of the federation and to Africa.

So today, we are kickstarting the process of the formal launch of the initiative with Imo State University.

“We want them to be the launchpad for the initiative.

So it has been a combination of Imo state government providing us with the personnel, infrastructure and environment. So it has been a partnership around not just funding, but personnel and human resources support.”

promised to enforce compliance with the provisions of the laws.

The others bills signed by the Gombe State are Hospitals Services Management Board Bill, the Gombe State Council on Public Procurement Bill and the Public Procurement Bureau Bill.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has commended the state for the bold move and its role in the implementation of the Nigeria States Health Investment Programme (NSHIP).

The World Bank Task Team Leader, Dr Gyuri Fristche, who paid a courtesy visit to the governor, in company with the co-team leader for NSHIP in Nigeria, Fatima Mustapha, said the scheme would provide the necessary support to the state to enable it achieve its goal of improving the health care system.

The Project Coordinator of the NSHIP in Gombe, Mallam Aminu Abubakar, expressed joy on the team’s visit, its

assessment and overall rating of the state, among other participating states.

“We want to appreciate the Inuwa Yahaya’s administration for prioritising the health sector and the Executive Secretary Dr. Abdulrahman Shuaibu, for the support and initiatives on community-based health services,” Abubakar said.

In his reaction, Yahaya, said, “We seek technical support and collaboration to scale up the programme in order to cover

the remaining local government areas. We are committed to the revitalization of at least one primary health care per ward in every Local Government.

“The NSHIP is an initiative of the Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank and its primary objective is to increase the delivery and the use of maternal and child health interventions, as well as to improve the quality of health facilities in selected states.”

Cross section of participants during a one-day capacity building for Hospital Transfusion Committee members by the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service, held in Lagos recently

BattlingforRecoveryfromLowerLimbDeformities’Surgery • Seeks N1.5m support, grateful to Nigerians for their assistance so far Miss Ijachi Blessing Maria, the 18-year old girl with severe bowing of both limbs, who recently underwent a surgery at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, in the bid to correct it, has again appealed to Nigerians to urgently come to her aid to ensure that she fully recovers and becomes fit for a normal life again.

Blessing, who is in bed for the third month running, recuperating from the surgery and is scheduled to be in that state for eight months or more, before she becomes fully okay, is almost now unable to fund her treatment expenses, having exhausted the over N2million raised for her for the surgery. She thanked Nigerians for their support so far, pleading for another N1.5million support to fully meet up with the treatment.

“I am billed to remain in bed for eight months or more, undergoing treatment, I am just three month here now after the operation on my second leg in September 2019, they had the first operation on the first leg in August. I have exhausted over N2.1million the media raised for me for the surgery, I see the doctor every fortnight and undergo series of tests- x-rays and all sorts, the main cost of the operation itself was about N1.3million and I am still here, continuing with all of these processes, Nigerians have deeply supported me but I appeal for more support, I need another N1.5million to see me through my bills, my treatment, my medications, tests, x-rays and so forth, I appeal to Nigerians to again come to my aid, my account details remain: John Blessing

Blessing Maria before surgery

Blessing Maria after surgery

Maria, GT Bank Account No. 0468466784. Nigerians should please donate and make this money available to me to be able to complete my treatment, I can’t afford not to continue and get fully through with it to get off the ground, halting the treatment at this stage because there is no money for me to continue would be most terrible, only God know if I will survive it,” Blessing told THISDAY, laying on her back on a foam on the floor in her house in Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos, irons stacked deep into the knee regions of her limbs.

THISDAY first published her ordeal on July 3, 2019, reporting her as seeking N2.5 million for the correction of her lower limb deformities at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos.

Blessing had experienced a 12-year unabating harsh pains from severe bowing of both limbs and dropped out of school in the Senior Secondary School (SSS) Form 1 in 2016 from the excruciating pains, which made it impossible for her to walk to and fro anymore from school.

She started having problems

with her legs from age two and half and was taken to the General Hospital, Ikeja, from where she was referred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos.

“Igbobi prescribed a surgery for me at that age, my dad was required to donate blood for me for the operation but he became sick at the time and died. We couldn’t raise the money for the surgery after my dad’s death, so, it became impossible for us to go back to Igbobi for the operation,” Blessing said the mother told her of the beginning of what had threatened to completely deform and made her life useless.

She managed to go through elementary school and then Junior Secondary School (JSS) at the Ikeja Junior Secondary School, Oshodi, Lagos. But with the pains and level of deformity worsening as she grew older, it became impossible for her to walk to school daily, sit all through in the class and walk back home.

Described by her teachers as exceptionally brilliant, Blessing painfully dropped out of school in Form 1 at the Ikeja Senior Secondary

School in 2016.

“It was a very painful end to the education of a most academically promising child,” one of her teachers then, remarked of Blessing, who remains committed to returning to school once she fully recovers and certified okay.

The hope-raising medical report for Blessing signed by Dr. Izuagba Emeka B., Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Padiatric Orthopaedics and Limb Reconstruction Unit, NOHIL, dated March 26, 2019 and entitled: Re: Medical Report on Ijachi Blessing Maria/ Female/17years, Hospital No. 639273, reads: “The Above named patient of our hospital was first seen on 17/09/2018 with complaints of severe bowing of both limbs of 12years duration.

There is associated knee pains, difficulty in walking or running.

“She initially presented to the hospital 7 years ago for treatment but defaulted as she could not afford the cost of the required surgery.

The deformities have since progressively worsened up to the present state.

“On presentation, she was thoroughly re-examined and a diagnosis of severe Bilateral Infantile Blounts disease to rule out skeletal dysplasia was made following clinical assessment and X-ray imaging studies.

“She requires a surgical treatment of gradual correction of lower limb deformities, using Ring Fixator/Taylor Spatial Frame due to the grotesque nature of the deformities.

“A surgical assessment has already been given to her detailing the cost estimates required for the surgery.”

38

T H I S D AY •THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020

business/MOneYGuiDe

Elumelu: Africa Needs Massive Investment in Power, Human Capita Obinna Chima The Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu has advocated massive private capital investment as well as increased support to youth development as catalysts for driving the much needed economic growth on the continent.

Elumelu, said this while speaking on a panel at the just concluded UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020, in London.

A statement quoted the Heirs Holdings to have stressed the need to invest in critical sectors of the economy such as electricity and human resources, noting that this would galvanise the continent, taking into consideration the huge population which Africa currently boasts of.

According to Elumelu, “Africa needs massive private capital investment to enable us drive the sectors that will develop the economy, especially sectors like

power. Access to electricity is very critical if we are to develop our continent. We have a huge youth population in Africa and I think that is our biggest resource as a continent. So, in order to talk about the development of our continent, we must prioritise this segment and focus on how to empower them. “Empowering the youths will help us create jobs and alleviate poverty and I think that this empowerment must start from creating an enabling environment, from making sure we have roads, mass transportation systems and most importantly, fixing the problem of shortage of electricity on the continent. If we do all of this, we will unleash the enormous potential that resides in Africa and in these young people.”

Through his foundation, the TEF, in the past five years, over 9,600 youths have been empowered across the continent with seed capital, mentoring and networking to grow their busi-

nesses and enable them contribute to economic development.

Throwing more light on what TEF has been able to achieve, he said, “During lunch, I interacted with some alumni of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship programme who said they were beneficiaries of $5,000 support in 2015 from the TEF, and today, they have just completed raising U$3million becoming one of the biggest food chain providers in Rwanda. “These are some examples of what such interventions can do. We support, give them an enabling environment, provide a platform and think of our prosperity in a sustainable fashion,” Elumelu explained.

Other speakers on the panel included the President of the World Bank Group, Mr. David Malpass; the Chief Executive Officer, Development Partners International, Ms Runa Alam; and the Group Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Group, Mr Nick Read.

Jumia Unfolds 2020 Strategic Plan, Elevates Anammah Emma Okonji and Peter Uzoho Jumia has reeled out its business plan for 2020, in which it promised to focus more on customers and vendors in order to drive business sustainability and profitability.

Jumia said its plans for 2020 were designed in such a way that they would further strengthen the Nigerian e-commerce business.

This is just as the e-Commerce company, in line with the repositioning of its business, announced new management appointments, which saw the elevation of the former CEO of Jumia Nigeria, Juliet Anammah, to the position of Chairwoman, Jumia Nigeria.

This new role for Anammah comes with expanded portfolio, where she is to oversee Jumia operations across its African markets, while Massimiliano Spalazzi becomes the new CEO for Jumia Nigeria.

However, Jumia co-Founder and co-CEO, Mr. Jeremy Hodara, while briefing newsmen on the 2020 agenda for the Nigerian market, in Lagos yesterday, said: “There are huge opportunities for e-commerce business in Nigeria. We see faster expansion of e-commerce in Nigeria than other parts of the world.

“E-commerce is solving everyday life challenges for people such as the inconvenience of going out for shopping. Jumia is in business and we will do everything to make the business sustainable and profitable for Jumia and its customers.”

“In all of these, I see competition driving the e-commerce business in Nigeria and we welcome competition, which will spur us into improving the market the more, Hodara said.

The CEO, Jumia Nigeria, Massimiliano Spalazzi, while speaking on 2020 plans, said: “We will focus on our over 10,000 vendor partners in Nigeria to strengthen their relationship

with consumers and offer them value added survives that will make them further grow their business. We will be offering them different packages that will enable them understand their business better and to gain more visibility on the platform.

“We pride ourselves as the custodian of happiness for our customers and we will in 2020, empower our vendors to make more customers happy on our e-commerce platform.”

Spalazzi said another area of focus for vision 2020, would be to give consumers access purchase online, through the JumiaPay, thereby increasing the purchasing power of customers and saving their precious time while shopping.

“We will keep offering the widest choice of products and digital services to our customers and serve all our customers across the country in a most unique and interesting way that will delight our customers,” Spalazzi said.

Entrepreneurship Key to Empowering Africa, Says Oluwatobi Hamid Ayodeji The Curator, Hebron Startup Lab and Convener of the Edustart Conference, Covenant University, Dr. Stephen Oluwatobi, has stressed that entrepreneurship is vital in achieving a sustainable economy, especially for a country like Nigeria that has a large youth population.

Oluwatobi, said this while delivering his welcome address at the conference.

The theme of the 2020 conference which held recently at Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, was: “Empowering Africa Through Entrepreneurship.” The forum featured stakeholders from various sectors of the economy and was focused on tackling issues that had to do with developing the entrepreneurial among young Nigerians.

Speaking further, Oluwatobi said, “the high rate of unemployment is an indicator that there is an urgent need for a thriving entrepreneurial society thereby, the government puts in place necessary infrastructures so as to leap frog economic activities of the continent.”

He maintained that, “Nigeria’s high population can be harnessed towards boosting economic growth as long as the various stakeholders effectively utilise the ocean of man power within its regions.” On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, SLOT Systems Limited, Nnamdi Ezeigbo said, “Everyone has a role to play towards national economic development as well as sustaining it. “There has to be an effective collaboration between the higher institutions, government and the industrial sector. “The government needs to formulate

policies that would enhance the operations of all the economic sectors of the country.

“In addition, higher institutions should teach courses that arerelevant towards grooming and empowering a generation of producers, rather than merely consumers. “Entrepreneurship should be embedded in the curricula of the higher institutions so as to prepare the students ahead of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.”

In his opening remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Covenant University, Prof. A. Atayero, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Akan Williams, said it was imperative that African governments and multilateral development partners evolve sustainable innovative strategies to exploit the huge manpower and market opportunities available in the continent.

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu; President Muhammadu Buhari; Chairman, United Bank For Africa (UBA) Plc and Founder,TEF, Mr.Tony Elumelu, and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020, held in London…recently

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

• Source - CBN

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

• Monetary Policy Rate - 13%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUeSDAY, 21 JANUARY2020

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $65.26 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $66.11 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), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

39

T H I S D AY •THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020

mARKET NEWS

Dangote Cement Shareholders Approve Share Buy-Back Plans, Commends Board Goddy Egene Shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc yesterday unanimously approved the proposal of the company to buy back 10 per cent of its shares. In line with its corporate strategy to improve its return on equity and shareholder value, the board of Dangote Cement Plc proposed the share buy-back programme that would allow for the purchase of 1.70 billion shares out of the 17.04 billion

fully paid up ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

At the extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) held in Lagos, the shareholders endorsed the proposal and commended the board and management, saying it would enhance their value in the company.

For instance, the founding National Coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association, Sir. Sunny Nwosu said Nigerian shareholders would forever appreciate

P r i c E s MaiN Board

f o r dEaLs

the share buy-back plan of the company especially at this time of the year.

“I think Alhaji Aliko Dangote is learning from Microsoft, where Bill Gates also buy back shares of Microsoft. I want to sincerely congratulate Aliko on this noble idea. In 2008, ISAN sponsored a seminar on share buy-back because of its value and importance.

As shareholders, we have been clamouring for share-back for so many years and today Aliko

s E c u r i t i E s

MarkEt PricE

quaNtity tradEd

vaLuE tradEd ( N )

Dangote has given us hope.

“This is very good as against the practice of share reconstruction that is being practiced by some Nigerian companies which never gave back anything positive to the shareholders. The share buyback was practiced in Ghana with just few companies listed on its exchange .

“We are indeed very happy with this and we are also quite sure that with this that you have done today, you have

t r a d E d MaiN Board

a s

proved yourself to be the best chairman of all the corporate companies in Nigeria. We will not disappoint you.We are very delighted because we know that this arrangement will lead to share price increase and more dividend for the shareholders,” he said.

Another shareholder, Alhaji Mohammed Audu described Dangote as a God-send and expressed hope that the money realised from the share buy-back by the shareholders will be used

o f

for investment purposes.

He said: “Aliko Dangote does not need this money. He is taking this decision because of the shareholders. The share buy-back will ensure that the value of our share will go up and we are also sure of getting better dividend. So, as you can see, all the shareholders here today voted unanimously in support of the motion. We voted for it and also thank Aliko Dangote for making us richer.”

2 1 / 0 1 / 2 0 2 0 dEaLs

MarkEt PricE

quaNtity tradEd

vaLuE tradEd ( N)

40

tHURSDAY, jAnUARY 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

mARKET NEWS

SEC Boss Urges Retail Investors to Patronise Capital Market Goddy Egene

invest in the capital market in market for future investments as order to create wealth, deepen various products abound that The acting Director General the market and grow the nation’s would suit their needs.

“You don’t need to have so of Securities and Exchange economy.

Uduk stated this on the much money to be able to tap Commission (SEC), Ms. Mary Uduk, has said the commission sidelines of the recently held into the opportunities available in has stepped up efforts to Thisday Awards 2020, urging the capital market. For instance, encourage retail investors to investors to look into the capital with the government bond, the A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. investment vehicle that allows both small and Investors with similar objectives buy units of the large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their that willl generate their desired return. investments. The assets are divided into shares that An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, GUIdE To dATA: etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 21shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Jan-2020, unless otherwise stated.

minimum investable amount little as N5,000. So you don’t is N10,000 and you can buy in necessarily have to have a lot subsequent amounts of N1,000. of money to invest, all you need “We have Collective is to approach the stockbrokers.

Investments Schemes (CIS), we They can open an account for have the stocks that you can buy you and whatever you have through the stockbrokers and you can pay into the account those you can invest in with as and give instructions in what 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.

kind of investments you want to make.”

According to her, it is important for people to understand the workings of the capital market and not have the misconception that they must have a lot of money before they can invest.

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 N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.93 0.93 10.00% ACAP Income Funds 0.76 0.76 33.75% 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 8.43% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.49 2.53 0.87% 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 6.42% Anchoria Equity Fund 109.92 110.34 7.84% 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 16.71 17.21 9.07% ARM Discovery Fund 368.59 379.70 6.70% ARM Ethical Fund 30.70 31.62 5.54% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.72% 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 103.26 103.98 7.47% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.42% 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 16.40% 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 9.71% Paramount Equity Fund 13.17 13.32 4.87% Women's Investment Fund 116.42 117.50 5.46% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.86% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 107.59 108.22 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 112.12 112.92 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 8.03% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.97 0.98 4.59% 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 6.08% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 8.98% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,167.45 1,168.80 0.44% 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 N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A 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 9.82% Legacy Debt Fund 3.67 3.67 0.46% Legacy Equity Fund 1.20 1.22 5.97% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.08 1.08 0.25% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 3,194.73 3,234.01 7.15% Coral Income Fund 3,097.03 3,097.03 12.99% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 8.33% 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 5.94% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 120.59 120.98 12.28%

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 7.20% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.30 2.33 6.79% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 11.76% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 145.48 145.99 16.57% 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 5.62% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,105.72 1,105.72 0.69% 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 10.37 10.47 13.43% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.65% 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 1.42 1.45 16.28% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.33 12.42 9.25% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 10.50% 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 136.76 138.86 15.31% 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 3.89% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 0.39% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 7.30% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 0.78% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 5.26% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.71% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 7.17% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.16 1.16 0.41% 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 11.00 11.18 7.25% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.21 12.37 5.27% Zenith Income Fund 22.97 22.97 3.37% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.81%

REITS

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

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

Bid Price

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

Bid Price

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.50 118.78 52.13

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

NAV Per Share

9.91 104.01 80.17

3.93 5.58 13.78 12.13 171.98

10.01 106.25 81.64

-63.85% -0.13% 0.15% 13.73% 12.49% 8.73%

funds@vetiva.com

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

3.97 5.66 13.88 12.33 173.98

108.69

10.52% -5.47% 13.29% 16.56% -8.16%

17.60%

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.

41

THURSday JaNUaRy 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

Death Toll from Coronavirus Rises to 17 as China Struggles to Halt Spread Seventeen people have now died from the mysterious Sars-like coronavirus, Chinese authorities have said, as the government unveiled measures to rein in the spread of the disease and advised residents of Wuhan not to leave the city.

The figure, announced by the provincial government of the central province of Hubei, where the virus is believed to have originated, almost doubles the previous fly estimated death toll.

Earlier on Wednesday, China’s national health commission said nine people had died from the virus, which is mainly passed through the respiratory tract. More than 470 people have contracted the virus.

China is in the midst of a public

health crisis as a new strain of coronavirus, from the family of viruses that gave rise to Sars, has swept the country. Officials said the nation was now at the most critical stage of prevention and control, especially as China prepares to celebrate the lunar new year on 25 January and hundreds of millions will criss-cross the country.

“Spring festival is just around the corner … which objectively increases the risk of the disease spreading and the difficulty of prevention and control. We must not be careless, and we must be highly vigilant,” said Li Bin, deputy director of the commission.

“The virus may mutate, and there is a risk of further spread of the virus,” he said. The public have been advised to avoid densely

populated areas.

The World Health Organisation is convening an emergency meeting on Wednesday to decide whether the virus should be deemed a global public health emergency.

In the last week, the number of confirmed infections has more than tripled and cases have been found in 13 provinces, as well as the municipalities Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin.

The deaths have all taken place in Hubei province. The commission said more than 2,000 close contacts have been identified and more than 1,000 were under current medical watch.

Li said the increase in cases was the result of deeper understanding

of the disease and improvements in screening for it. Wuhan, the central Chinese city in Hubei province where the outbreak is believed to have originated in a market, has been put under tighter supervision, Li said, with the sale of live poultry banned.

Wild animals and poultry are no longer allowed in the city, he said.

The local government has cancelled public activities during the holiday, including the annual prayer-giving at the city’s Guiyan Temple, which attracted 700,000 tourists last year.

Wuhan’s mayor Zhou Xianwang urged residents to not leave the city and visitors to avoid it so that the possibility of transmission can be reduced.

“If it’s not necessary we suggest that people don’t come to Wuhan,” Zhou told state broadcaster CCTV. Fever scanners have been set up at the city’s train station and airport and officials check the temperatures of drivers at highway checkpoints, while outbound tour groups have been banned from leaving the city of 11 million people.

The commission noted the virus is being treated as a class A disease, which means authorities can quarantine patients and put affected areas on lockdown.

Li said the government had implemented measures to prevent further spread, including adding temperature checks, minimising large crowds, more screening

of potentially infected patients and more protections for health workers.

The virus has also been confirmed outside of China, in the US, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. On Wednesday, Thailand confirmed four new cases of the virus while Macau reported its first cases, and officials have introduced health screenings at all airports that have daily flights from Wuhan, including Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueng, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

As many as 1,400 tourists from Wuhan visit Thailand every day, according to local media, with many more expected to travel to celebrate the lunar new year.

UK Parliament Holds Final Votes on Brexit Divorce Law British lawmakers on Wednesday began their final round of voting on a landmark piece of legislation that enables Britain to leave the European Union on January 31.

MPs in the lower House of Commons have already approved the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which ratifies the terms of Brexit, but the unelected upper House of Lords made some changes.

When the bill returned to the Commons on Wednesday, MPs rejected amendments relating to the rights of EU citizens and child refugees among others, and sent it back to the Lords.

If, as expected, peers agree to drop their concerns, Queen Elizabeth II could give her formal assent to the legislation as early as Thursday.

Ratification of the deal will be seen as a huge achievement for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who took office last year promising to end years of wrangling over Britain’s EU membership.

His predecessor, Theresa May, negotiated a Brexit deal with Brussels in 2018 but MPs rejected it three times, and she then resigned.

Johnson agreed on changes to

the text with Brussels, only to be defeated again by a parliament still unable to agree on how, when and even if they should implement the landmark 2016 referendum vote for Brexit.

Last month’s general election changed all that, returning Johnson to office with a large majority of MPs who readily backed the deal.

He has no majority in the Lords, however, and they sought to make several changes.

One was to amend the government’s scheme to register around 3.6 million EU citizens living in Britain, to give them physical documents proving their right to stay.

Another would have required the government to negotiate the right of unaccompanied child refugees in the EU to join relatives in Britain.

Downing Street said it was time to finish the long-running process, which has divided the nation.

“The British people have waited for more than three years to get Brexit done. Passing the WAB allows us to do this in an orderly way on January 31,” Johnson’s spokesman said.

Macron in Heated Argument with Israeli Security When French President Emmanuel Macron visited Jerusalem’s Old City Wednesday, he also trod in the footsteps of one of his predecessors, Jacques Chirac, by engaging in a heated argument with Israeli security.

The altercation broke out when Israeli security forces pushed past the French detail and were first to enter the Church of Saint Anne, which is French state property.

“Everybody knows the rules. I don’t like what you did in front of me,” an animated Macron loudly told the Israeli personnel, speaking in English, in the crush to enter the building, which remains French territory under international treaties.

“Go out — outside please!” he added in a raised voice in scenes captured in video footage that quickly spread on social media.

The Roman Catholic church, located at the start of Via Dolorosa

in the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, has been part of France’s territories in the Holy Land since the 1850s.

The rules that have been in place “for centuries”, Macron told the Israeli officers, “will not change with me, I can tell you, OK? So everybody, respect the rules.”

Macron will on Thursday attend a ceremony to commemorate the liberation 75 years ago of Nazi Germany’s Auschwitz death camp in what was then occupied Poland.

Wednesday’s tense scenes recalled a 1996 Jerusalem visit by late former president Chirac during which he also lost his cool with Israeli security agents who were pressing him to move on.

Chirac heatedly told them their actions were a “provocation” and angrily asked: “What do you want?

Me to go back to my plane and go back to France, is that what you want?”

INVESTMENT SUMMIT...

L-R: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and other delegates, during a plenary panel discussion at the UK-Africa Investment Summit/Sustainable Infrastructure Forum in London....Tuesday

Libya Suspends Flights for Hours after Rocket Blast Rocket fire targeted the Libyan capital’s sole functioning airport on Wednesday, dealing another setback to peace efforts a day before regional foreign ministers meet in Algeria to discuss the crisis.

Tripoli’s Mitiga airport was forced to suspend all flights for several hours after it was targeted by six Grad rockets, just nine days after it reopened following a truce.

The airport has been hit multiple times since the start of an offensive by forces led by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar to seize the capital from the Government of National Accord (GNA).

World powers have stepped up efforts in recent weeks to find a political solution to the grinding

conflict, with neighbouring Algeria to become the latest country to host a meeting Thursday to discuss ways forward.

The Algerian foreign ministry said chief diplomats from Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger and Mali would meet in Algiers to advance “a political settlement to the crisis through an inclusive dialogue between all parties”.

Algeria, which has stayed neutral in the Libyan conflict, shares a border of almost 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) with its neighbour, rocked by violence since the 2011 toppling of dictator Moamer Kadhafi by NATO-backed insurgents.

The meeting comes after a summit last Sunday in Berlin, which saw world leaders commit

to ending all foreign meddling in Libya and to upholding a weapons embargo as part of a broader plan to end the conflict.

The two sides also agreed to form a military commission charged with finding ways to reach a long-term truce.

It should include five members each from the United Nationsrecognised government in Tripoli and from Haftar’s forces, which back a rival administration in Benghazi.

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council urged the parties to reach a ceasefire deal paving the way for a political process aimed at ending the conflict in the North African country.

Despite repeated appeals from the UN’s envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, Tripoli’s GNA-held

airport has been the target of several air raids and rocket strikes since Haftar’s forces launched their offensive.

Located east of the capital, Mitiga is a former military airbase used by civilian traffic since Tripoli international airport was heavily damaged in fighting in 2014.

GNA forces spokesman Mohammed Gnunu branded the strikes as a “flagrant threat” to the safety of air traffic and a “new violation” of the most recent ceasefire.

Haftar’s forces, which accuse the GNA of using Mitiga for military purposes, say they target “Turkish drones” being launched from the airport to attack their troops in southern Tripoli.

Guinea-Bissau ElectoralCommission Confirms Embalo as President Guinea-Bissau’s national electoral commission confirmed former Prime Minister Umaro Embalo as winner of the presidential ballot on Wednesday, after the Supreme Court threw the result into doubt last week.

On Friday, the court had called for a clarification of the

tally hours after the electoral commission released the final results that showed Embalo’s victory with 54 per cent of votes cast versus Domingos Pereira’s 46 per cent.

“The Supreme Court ruling has been scrupulously followed,” the commission

said in a statement released on Wednesday.

“All that remains to do is follow the swearing-in procedure.”

Former Prime Minister and former army General Embalo had been hailed as the winner of last month’s runoff vote.

But runner-up and ruling party candidate Pereira had contested the results, saying the election was marred by fraud.

There was no immediate reaction on Wednesday from both politicians to the commission’s announcement.

42

THURSday JaNUaRy 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

NEWSExtra

Amotekun is Vote of No Confidence on

Presidency, Says PDP Chuks Okocha in abuja National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday described the setting up of Amotekun in the South-west Nigeria as a direct vote of no confidence on the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s handling of security in the country.

The committee said after

analysing the security situations in the country, the Amotekun controversy and such other security apparatus in various parts of the country, the Presidency should be held liable for the security challenges in the country.

The party added that the failure to take a decisive step to stem the escalating wave of killings by insurgents; the refusal to rejig the security high command; and a

NAF to Commence Flights into Bayelsa Airport Emmanuel addeh in yenagoa The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has said that its personnel would soon begin initial flights into the newly-built Bayelsa International Airport to enhance its operations in the Niger Delta region.

The Air Officer Commanding Mobility Command, Yenagoa, Air Vice Marshal Ibukun Ojeyemi, described the airport as an “amazing facility with state-ofthe-art-equipment” and noted that the air force does not need a civil license to use the airport.

Ojeyemi said that a ‘standard and evaluation” assessment had already been carried out, adding that he visited the airport on the second day of his resumption of duty in the state and expressed the readiness of the NAF to use the facility pending the issuance of the civil aviation license for the commencement of the facility’s operations.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, said Ojeyemi made the assertion attributed to him when he led

a delegation of senior officers of NAF on a visit to Governor Seriake Dickson.

The statement quoted Ojeyemi: “I want to thank you for the wonderful projects you have done here, in terms of the international and cargo airport.

“It was my second day here that I was at the airport. I saw the terminal building.

I saw the safety equipment there, wonderful and fine equipment, brand new, operational and I saw that you equally put a tanker to support the fire services.

“We do not need civil license for us to use the airport because we have what we call, ‘standard and evaluation of an airport.’

Once any airport meets the standard of the Air force, which is common with all the air forces worldwide, it equates our own license.

“I want to congratulate you.

It is the grace of God that has kept you on this seat and even as you are rounding off, I wish you fulfillment where you are going.”

lack of commitment to track down and prosecute even confessed perpetrators of mindless killings wee all pointers that the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration could not guarantee the security of lives and property in the nation.

PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the failure of the federal government to prosecute the war against acts of terrorism beyond lip service and condolence statements was emboldening killings, which have now degenerated to execution

of compatriots, the latest being the gruesome beheading of the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Michika, Adamawa State, Rev. Lawan Andimi.

“The execution of Rev. Andimi is heartrending. Like other killings, it remains a sad commentary of the inability of a government to stand for its citizens at very crucial moments.”

The party recalled that the Buhari-led federal government had failed to prosecute the masterminds of the mass killings in Benue, Nasarawa, Bauchi,

Taraba, Kogi, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Ekiti and other parts of the country under the current administration.

PDP noted that the body language, brazen acts of nepotism as well as divisive and incendiary comments by officials in the Buhari administration have continued to fuel disunity, acts of violence and insecurity in various parts of our nation.

“Given the failure of the Buhari administration to guarantee the essential of government which is the security of lives and property,

Nigerians across board, as homes, communities, groups, towns, even states and regions are now organising their respective security apparatuses such as Amotekun in the South-west and several others in various parts of the country to guarantee their safety.

“The situation would not have degenerated to this level if the Buhari Presidency is living up to its billing on security, including listening to wise counsel by wellmeaning Nigerians to rejig his security high command,” the opposition observed.

all fOr thisday at 25…

Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe (left), and Managing Partner, Kunle Ogunba & Associates, Mr. Kunle Ogunba (SAN), after Wigwe was honoured with ‘Banker of the Decade’ award by THISDAY in Lagos...recently

Two Armed Robbery Suspects Security: Aregbesola Tasks ICRC on Alternative Financing signed by the Director of Media government’s desire to move further boost the economic drive Kuni tyessi in abuja and Publicity in the Ministry of the nation to the Next Level of of the Federal Government.

Burnt to Death in A’Ibom Izumah, in his remarks, said The Minister of Interior, Rauf Interior, Mohammed Manga, that socio-economic development.

Okon Bassey in Uyo

Two middle-age men suspected to be armed robbers have been burnt to death Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The attack by the mob on the suspected robbers reportedly took place last Tuesday night when they were allegedly trying to rob a pregnant woman at the flyover on Olu Obasanjo Way in Uyo, the state capital.

An eyewitness said the incident occurred at about 09:00p.m. when the pregnant woman was surrounded by the robbers as she alighted from a motorbike.

Though the rider had, according to an eye witness account, taken off after dropping his passenger, he was immediately compelled to turn back because of the screaming from his pregnant passenger.

The eyewitness, who refused to disclose his name, said two out of the four robbers, on sighting the motorcyclist, fled after they had successfully dispossessed the lady of her valuable items, while the other two were not fortunate to escape.

Another eyewitness and resident of the area, who also pleaded anonymity, said the aggrieved motorcyclist, who immediately alerted others, engaged in a battle with the hoodlums and rescued the

woman who had sustained a severe hand injury in the process.

“Luck ran out of two of them when they were overpowered by men who beat, stoned them and locked them up in a tunnel, and consequently set them ablaze,” the eye witness recounted Another resident of the area, Mrs. Arit Archibong, regretted that the flyover area has been a den of criminals for some years now, adding that about four rape cases have been reported that took place in the tunnel in December 2019.

Other residents who spoke with journalists blame the crime on the power blackout and lack of security in the area.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Odiko Macdon, frowned at the jungle justice, stressing that such act has no place in the law.

According to him, “It is unfortunate that they were already set ablaze before we got there. Jungle justice has no place in the law. Every accused is innocent until proven guilty by the law.”

The PPRO, who cautioned that the state Police Command would no longer tolerate such acts, declared that it was better for nine thieves to go unpunished than for one innocent person to be killed in error.

Aregbesola, has called on the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), to seek alternative means of raising funds to enable government to meet the developmental needs of the people.

Aregbesola said that history would hold ICRC accountable if it failed to look for alternative financing for the country’s infrastructure need.

He noted in a statement

the provision of internal security is capital intensive and urged public agencies to explore alternative means of financing internal security services, governmental projects and infrastructural development.

The statement said that the minister received a delegation from ICRC, which was led by its Director General, Chidi Izuma and acknowledged that the commission is central to the

Aregbesola added that the practice of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the country is cost intensive to give hope to Nigerians and encouraged a private sector-driven economy where government plays a supervisory role.

He expressed optimism that the plan of his ministry to transform the custodial facilities of the Nigerian Correctional Service Centres to enterprise centers would

the visit was to rejig ICRC’s collaboration with the ministry and its agencies in order to move the country to the next level of socio-economic development.

Izumah assured that the agency is committed to the growth and development of Nigeria and would continue to encourage and seek alternative funding for government’s projects.

Eroton, NNPC Embark on Devt Projects in Rivers Communities sunday Okobi In its efforts to bring succour to the people of Okrika Local Government Area in River State, Eroton E&P in joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently unveiled numerous community development projects for the people of the area.

Some of the projects inaugurated last weekend included a 1,500-seater town hall centre; constructed and equipped science laboratories at the Comprehensive Secondary School in Ibaka; renovated six classroom block at Okrika National Secondary School; a solar-powered water project at Community Secondary School, Okochiri, and the construction of

ICT centre as well as a library in school hall at Ibaka town, which the company said were to alleviate the suffering of the people.

Also, the company was commended for the renovation and completion of Ofiomina Ama Public Health Centre; construction of four concrete fish ponds at Okochiri; construction of Ofiomina Ama Concrete Walkway Bridge; purchase and installation of 38 desktop computers, computer workstations as well as swivel chairs at Ibaka, which the community said would go a long way in improving its development.

In his address during the inauguration of the projects, the Wakrike Cluster Development Board Chairman, Chief Dean Sandy Tonyesika, said: “The citing

of the town hall and other projects here was divinely ordained, and we thank God for bringing this projects to a successful completion.

When the project (Town Hall) was conceived in 2011 as a legacy project by SPDC, Okochiri was chosen as the best place for its location. Today, it stands as a symbol of beauty and authority in this kingdom.

“The town hall started as a pre-GMOU legacy project by SPDC and was subsequently handed over to a formal GMOU arrangement between NNPC/SPDC JV financing and carefully managed by the Wakrike Cluster Development Board (WCDB). However, when SPDC divested and some of its assets in 2014/15, Eroton

(E&P) Company Limited took over operations in OML 18 which covers Alakiri and Orubiri fields in Okrika. By this arrangement, the new JV and Cluster Board worked hard to deliver these projects. We thank both NNPC and Eroton E&P for their commitment at ensuring that this project is completed.”

Meanwhile, the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Koko Kyari, represented by Mrs. Tolulope Derin-Adefuwa of the Public Affairs Department, at the event, explained why the NNPC is the main owner of CSR projects, saying the corporation bears 55 per cent of the project costs which the joint venture (JV) operations partners execute.

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Shareholders Applaud Dangote Cement Board on Buyback Plans The proposal by the Dangote Cement to ‘buy back’ 10 per cent of its entire issued shares from shareholders was unanimously granted yesterday as the company’s shareholders’ voted in support of the ‘share buyback’ plans.

Dangote Cement, which currently has 17.04 billion fully paid up ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, would be buying back 1.70 billion shares.

All the shareholders who spoke at the event lauded the Alhaji Aliko Dangote-led management for coming up with another scheme that will both enhance the share value of the company and also ensure more returns on their investment.

The National Coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association (ISA), Mr. Sunny

Nwosu said Nigerian shareholders would forever appreciate the “share buyback” plan of the company especially at this time of the year.

According to him: “I think Alhaji Aliko Dangote is learning from Microsoft, where Bill Gates also buy back shares of Microsoft.

I want to sincerely congratulate Aliko on this noble idea. In 2008, Independent Shareholders Association sponsored a seminar on share buy- back because of its value and importance…As shareholders, we have been clamoring for share back for so many years, and today Aliko Dangote has given us hope… this is very good as against the practice of share deconstruction that is being practiced by some Nigerian companies which never gave back anything positive to

the shareholders. The ‘share buy-back’ was practiced in Ghana with just few companies listed on its Exchange …we are indeed very happy with this and we are also quite sure that with this that you have done today, you have proved yourself to be the best chairman of all the corporate companies in Nigeria. We will not disappoint you...We are very delighted because we know that, this arrangement will lead to share price increase and more

dividend for the shareholders,” Nwosu explained.

In the same vein, President of Authentic Nigerian Shareholders Association, Alhaji Mohammed Audu described Dangote as a God-sent and expressed hope that the money realised from the “share buyback” by the shareholders will be used for investment purposes. He said: “Aliko Dangote does not need this money. He is taking this decision because of the shareholders. The

share buy-back will ensure that the value of our share will go up and we are also sure of getting better dividend. So, as you can see, all the shareholders here today voted unanimously in support of the motion. We voted for it and also thank Aliko Dangote for making us richer.”

The shares will be repurchased out of the profits of the company and such number of shares bought under the programme is required to be cancelled in

accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission rules and the Nigerian Stock Exchange Rulebook 2015, which will consequently lead to a reduction in issued share capital.

It said the share buy-back was going to be on terms and conditions determined by the board of directors.

The buy-back programme will be completed within 12 months from the today.

Edo Govt Donates 200 Protective Equipment against Lassa Fever Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Following the recent resurgence of Lassa fever outbreak across the states in the country, the Edo State Government yesterday, donated 200 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, as part of efforts to curb the spread of the viral disease in the state.

Presenting the items, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, who reassured the commitment of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration in combating the scourge, said the donation was to arrest the spread of Lassa fever for the benefit of Edo people, and to protect caregivers from being affected.

Commending the institute for its cooperation, the medical expert described the Irrua Specialist Hospital as a center of excellence in managing the outbreak of Lassa fever in the country.

He further disclosed the state government has put measures

in place to control the spread of the viral disease into the state.

Okundia advised the public to stick to hygienic practices and report all cases of febrile illness that are not responding to common treatment to the nearest standard health facility.

Earlier, the Chief Medical Director of Irrua Specialist Hospital, Prof. Sylvanus Okogbeni who received the donated equipment on behalf of the hospital management, expressed appreciation to Obaseki for his immediate response and keen interest in fighting the scourge.

Recall that the state government had on Tuesday disclosed plans to intensify efforts geared towards curbing the spread of Lassa fever into the state.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said the state government’s efforts are being led by the Deputy Governor, Hon. Philip Shaibu.

NFVCB Destroys N800m Illicit Films,Videos in Kaduna John shiklam in Kaduna National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has destroyed illicit and unapproved films and video worth over N800 million in Kaduna.

Speaking before the public burning of the illegal films yesterday at the Federal Secretariat in Kaduna, NFVCB Executive Director, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, said players in the film industry in Nigeria have lost billions of naira to adulterated, smuggled and unclassified works through unlicensed agents and distributors.

He lamented that the activities of unscrupulous people in the creative industry has not only denied government statutory revenues, but has also impacted negatively on the society, demoralised

stakeholders and discouraged investors in the sector.

Thomas said in order to check these illegalities, President Muhammadu Buhari, upon assumption, unfolded the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which aimed at restoring economic growth and leveraging the ingenuity and resilience of the Nigerian people.

According to him, one of “the objectives of the ERGP is the continuous improvement on, respect for, and enforcement of intellectual property and ownership rights in the film industry, by discouraging the distribution of unapproved, unclassified and unwholesome films, and tackling other illicit activities in the film market.”

rEWArDING EXCELLENCE…

L-R: Old student of Maryland Comprehensive School, Lagos, Mrs. Elizabeth Seriki; recipient’s mother, Mrs Ibeh; the recipient, Miss Esther Ibeh; and other old students, Mr. Soji Adekogbe; and Mr. Placid Ibeh, during the presentation of N250,000 cheque to Ibeh as 2018 Best Science Student in Lagos...recently

Mob Lynches Armed Robbery Suspect in FCT Injures policemen, smashes patrol vehicles

Kingsley Nwezeh in abuja Angry mob yesterday lynched a “one-chance” robbery suspect along Jahi-Katampe Expressway in Abuja. The mob also injured policemen, who arrived the scene following a distress call and smashed the windscreen of police vehicles.

The FCT Police Command said it met stiff resistance from the mob while responding to a

distress call.

It said the police team was attacked with dangerous weapons, which injured some of the officers.

The robbery suspect, who was beaten to a pulp was later rushed to the hospital where he died while some of the injured police officers were also hospitalised.

“The FCT Police Command on Wednesday, 22 January, 2020 while responding to a distress call rescued a one-chance robbery

suspect from an angry mob who were about to lynch him to death.

“It is unfortunate to state that Police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives while responding to the distress call met stiff resistance from the mob, who attacked the team with dangerous weapons, leaving one of the officers with serious injuries. The operational car of the team was also badly damaged by the mob”, the police said in

a statement.

The statement by the command said the injured police operative was rushed to hospital for medical care.

“The command while assuring residents of its commitment to protect lives and property, enjoins the public to collaborate with the police in its continuous effort to combat crime and secure lives and property in FCT”.

Lalong, Lawmaker Condemn Execution of CAN Chairman, Plateau Student seriki Adinoyi in Jos The Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Mr. Simon Lalon, has condemned the gruesome murder of the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and pastor with the Church of the Brethren (EYN) at the District Church Council of Michika, Adamawa State, Reverend Lawan Andimi, by Boko Haram, describing it as yet another sad tale of the inhuman activities of the terrorist group.

This is even as the lawmaker representing, Mangu/Bokkos Federal constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Solomon Maren has also condemned the brutal murder of Mr. Ropvil Daciya Dalep, a student of Biology

Education, of the University of Maiduguri.

The late student from Plateau State, was abducted by the terrorists on his way back to school on January 9, 2020.

Lalong, in a statement by his Director of Press, Dr. Simon Macham, commiserated with the family of the cleric, the Church and people of Adamawa State, urging them “not to allow the ugly incident affect their faith in God and love for humanity as the death of the late clergyman cannot be a catalyst for hatred among Nigerians who are disgusted by the cruelty of the terrorist organisation.”

He also said that the Northern Governors Forum remains united in its support for security agencies to continue to rise up to not only

terrorist groups, but all forms of criminality that seek to divide the country along ethnic, religious or political lines.

He reassured that “the Northern Governors Forum stands shoulder to shoulder with President Muhammadu Buhari as he rallies the world towards defeating terror groups and their sponsors as well as the purveyors of their bizarre ideology which propagates sorrow, hatred and pain on innocent persons in the name of religion and others claims.”

Meanwhile, Maren who lamented the murder of the young student, recalled that “last year October 2019 we watched the execution video of our beloved brothers; Mr. Lawrence Duna Dacighir and Godfrey Ali

Shikagham, both carpenters from Mangu LGA.” He said, “This video of the killings of Dalep is condemnable, barbaric, inhumane and high level of wickedness against humanity.

My heart bleeds, and tears ran down my cheeks when I saw the video clip of a teenage boy killing his fellow Nigerian brother.

“I call on the federal government and security agencies to brace up to their obligation to prevent further loss of lives, which cannot be tolerated.

“This heinous group called Boko Haram is yet to be decimated as claimed by the federal government but active in carrying out their evil agenda against the Nigerian people.

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Imo to Prosper Under Me, Says Uzodinma Amby uneze in Owerri Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has assured the state that it will prosper under his watch as the era of executive lawlessness and neo-feudalism is a thing of the past.

In his maiden broadcast yesterday to the people of the state, Uzodinma outlined policy measures which his administration intended to apply to achieve the dream of a ‘New Imo’.

Such policies include restoration of due process, financial discipline, re-invigoration of the heath sector and security of lives and property.

The governor stated that his vision of the state is predicated on freedom, security and shared

prosperity welded into good governance, stressing that the evidence on ground indicates that Imo State requires fundamental reform to forge a new trajectory.

To achieve his vision of ‘Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Recovery’, the governor directed the overhaul of the bureaucratic structures to entrench strict adherence to extant laws, procedures and statutes to achieve efficient service delivery.

He assured workers of prompt payment of salaries, pensions and other statutory obligations.

On education, Uzodinma announced that a highly functional, qualitative and science-driven education system, focused on skills

acquisition, innovation, manpower development and entrepreneurship code-named Imo State Education Opportunity Programme (ISEOP) shall be established with a view to producing a new generation of graduates equipped for immediate employment and self-reliance.

For the health sector, the governor promised to pursue a policy of comprehensive medical care with primary and preventive components which shall achieve 75 percent coverage of the populace across the 27 local government areas within the first two years.

He noted that the state would recruit 850 community health workers, renovate and equip

community health centres in the 305 wards, procure modern diagnostic equipment, including CT scan and mobile X-ray as well as provide Rapid Response Ambulance Services (RAMS) at the zonal hospitals and rural health centres.

The governor explained further that the Imo State University College of Medicine and the Teaching Hospital in Orlu and the Public Health Laboratory and the Specialist Hospital in Owerri shall be equipped for lesser surgeries, as well as serve as Regional Medical Informatics Centres for the South-east region.

“The abandoned MRI and other sensitive scanning machines

transferred from IMSUTH Orlu to ‘OCHIEDIKE’ shall be rehabilitated and restored for service,” he said.

To channel the economy to massive growth and job creation, Uzodinma pledged to focus on mainstream macroeconomic programmes based on his ‘3R Algorism’ recovery of damaged economic structures, reconstruction of core infrastructure and rehabilitation of component micro-economic institutions with the overall aim of achieving rapid economic diversification through ‘backward integration’ involving a synergy of rural-urban paradigm shift from a core public sectordriven economy to Public-Private

Partnership (PPP).

He also announced the establishment of a State Economic and Rehabilitation Council (SEDARC) to redress the fiscal and infrastructural deficits militating against economic development in the state.

Additionally, Uzodinma said: “The Council has the mandate to recover missing public assets as well as co-ordinate a forensic investigation into the finances of the state in order to establish its true financial status as at January 13, 2020, together with the recovery of all illegally acquired private lands to enable their return to their rightful owners.”

Kwara Loses 500 Pensioners to Non-payment of Gratuities hammed shittu in Ilorin Kwara State Government has said a total sum of N11billion is currently being owed as gratuities to the state pensioners from previous years, just as the concerned pensioners in the state have said about 500 people have lost their lives due to non-payment of gratuity in the state.

The Executive Secretary of the State Pension Board, Alhaji Boni Shuaib, disclosed this in Ilorin yesterday while receiving in audience the state Governor, Alhaji Abdulrasaq, in his office in Ilorin, the state capital.

He stated that the board was getting N150million monthly which abruptly stopped long ago until the governor came in last May to restore the gratuities by paying N100 million monthly which has been regular.

While commending the governor for bringing support and joy to senior citizens in the state following his timely payments of their entitlements since he assumed office in May last year, Shuaib said: “Pensioners

in the state are praying for you because you have brought great joy to them and their families.

“Your timely release of their money has led to up-to-date payment of state pension. We have also started clearing gratuities from March 2014 where the former government stopped. This is a great thing and we are very grateful to you.”

He, however, urged the governor to consider enrolling Kwara State in the contributory pension scheme (CPS) to lessen the burden of debt.

Meanwhile, the concerned pensioners in the state have raised an alarm over the death of over 500 pensioners due to nonpayment of their benefits in the past seven years in the state.

The pensioners, however, appealed to the state governor to come to their aid in order to bring new lease of life to them and their entire families.

The state Chairman of pensioners, Mr. Abayomi Ajibola, stated this in Ilorin while speaking with journalists shortly after staging a peaceful protest at the

NUC: Nigeria Needs 300,000 Additional Medical Doctors Emmanuel Addeh in yenagoa National Universities Commission (NUC) yesterday decried the shortage of medical practitioners in the country, disclosing that Nigeria needs at least 300,000 additional qualified doctors to meet the standard set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The regulatory agency made the disclosure, even as Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, affirmed in Yenagoa that the vision of his government had always been to produce the highest number of qualified personnel in the country’s medical sector.

NUC Executive Secretary, Prof.

Abubakar Rasheed, who spoke during the maiden matriculation ceremony of Bayelsa Medical University (BMU) in Yenagoa, noted that the phenomenon of shortage of medical personnel in the country had also led to what he described as ‘patient drain’ from Nigeria to other countries.

Rasheed said given the yearly convocation of just 3,000

medical students from Nigerian universities, the country currently has just 40,000 medical doctors, a far cry from what is required to cater for the huge population in the country.

“The existing medical schools in Nigeria produce about 3,000 medical doctors every year with less than 40,000 registered medical doctors practicing in Nigeria. The doctor to patient ratio in Nigeria is about one to 3,500.

“What this means is that we need about 300,000 doctors to meet the World Health Organisation’s recommended doctor/patient ratio of 1 to 600.

“It is also common knowledge that the Nigerian health sector continues to face myriads of challenges, chief among which is the brain drain syndrome occasioned by an absence of the enabling environment for medical practitioners to thrive.

“In the more recent past, the system has also witnessed a significant patient drain due to medical tourism to countries with more robust healthcare system.

ECoNoMY oN ThEIr MINDs…

L-R: Assistant Director, Research and Advocacy, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Mathew Ojo; Director General, LCCI, Dr. Muda Yusuf; President, LCCI, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje; Deputy President, LCCI, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole; and Vice President, LCCI, Mr. Leye Kupoluyi during a press conference on the state of the economy in Lagos …yesterday

VerifyYour Contracts or Forfeit Payment, NDDC Boss Warns Contractors Ernest Chinwo inPortHarcourt The Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Joi Nunieh, has warned that contractors and consultants of the commission that fail to present themselves for verification and documentation would forfeit their payments.

Nunieh gave the warning yesterday when she visited the NDDC Rivers State Office, where the Contracts’ Verification Committee for the state was carrying out the exercise, scheduled to end on January 31.

The NDDC Chief Executive Officer noted that the committee’s

assignment, which kicked off on Monday, was the first stage in the redirection exercise at the commission, stating that the second stage would entail site inspections and validations.

Nunieh said: “Anyone that is not on the NDDC list is not our contractor and such people should be handed over to the security agencies for prosecution.

Similarly, anyone that presents a fake Interim Payment Certificate, IPC, will be arrested.”

She said the NDDC had records of all the contracts that had been awarded by the Commission and as such, anyone coming with a fake IPC would be arrested by the

security agencies.

She said: “Contractors always say they are not paid; now we have asked them to come with all their documents and they are finding it difficult. Some contractors are scared of the verification exercise.

“Any contractor who is not on the NDDC list is not our contractor and any contractor who fails to come for verification will be held liable. We are hoping that NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs) will come for the exercise as well. We only have limited time and up till now, only five NGOs have turned up for verification.

“If you don’t have documents, you are not a contractor; most of the

NGOs are not registered and are running to register now. This is an embarrassment to the commission.”

Nunieh expressed satisfaction with the ongoing verification exercise, stating that the committee planned to verify up to 250 contracts every day. “I am surprised that the turnout has been poor so far,” she observed.

She declared: “For those who use agents to run their contracts, they only remind me of our people who are abroad and would send moneys to their loved ones to develop projects, only for them to discover when they return that there is nothing on ground to show for all the moneys they sent.

Alleged Perjury: Groups Challenge Omo-Agege to Show Documents Absolving Him

Adedayo Akinwaleinabuja

Guardians of Democracy and Development; Partners for Legislative Agenda for Nigeria; Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative; and a coalition of civil society and youth groups in Nigeria have challenged the Senate Deputy President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, to present court papers absolving him of the allegations of perjury.

The coalition, in a statement yesterday by its Convener, Solomon Adodo, said it has also submitted a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the

National Security Adviser; and the Chief of Staff to the President, insisting that it would only rest when the right thing is done.

The groups had earlier called on law enforcement agencies to initiate fresh prosecution against Omo-Agege for the alleged offence of perjury and denigration of the Nigerian Constitution for allegedly concealing his conviction by the State Bar Court of California, Los Angeles in the United States ofAmerica (USA).

The groups also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to distance himself from Omo-Agege as the allegations levelled against him

were capable of denting his image.

They alleged that Omo-Agege was convicted by the State Bar Court of the State of California, Los Angeles, USA in case No. 94-C-14401, adding that he willfully concealed the fact of the said conviction from the INEC and the Nigerian Senate, thereby contravening the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and the Rules of the Senate.

“As true guardians of democracy and firm advocates of transparency in governance, we are deeply perturbed at the fact that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege concealed all these information from the

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), thus he was allowed to participate in the general elections (contrary to constitutional provisions) that produced him as Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District.

“In violation of the Senate Rules, he also concealed the said information from the Nigerian Senate thereby paving the way for his emergence as Deputy President of the Senate.

All these have resulted in the denigration of the image and esteem of the Nigerian Senate before the international body of legislators,” the groups alleged.

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Group sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

2022 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

Rohr, Ndidi, Odegbami Disagree on ‘Soft’ Group C Draw for Eagles Duro Ikhazuagbe

Despite what appears as a ‘soft’ Group C that Nigeria’s Super Eagles have found themselves in the second round qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Head Coach of the country’s senior national team, Gernot Rohr, has refused to join those celebrating the pairings.

Super Eagles were on Tuesday evening in Cairo, Egypt paired with Cape Verde, Central Africa Republic (CAR) and Liberia in Group C. Fanatical football fans and players, including a former Captain of the Green Eagles, Segun Odegbami, described the group as an easy one for Nigeria. “Easy…Pepper Soup for Nigeria,” was how Odegbami, fondly called Mathematical, described the group.

Gernot Rohr

However, Nigeria’s FrancoGerman gaffer, Rohr, insisted yesterday that there is nothing to celebrate as minnows no longer exists in African football.

Super Eagles’ manager, Gernot Rohr will not describe Group C of the African qualifying series for the 2022 World Cup as an easy one for his team.

Rohr chose to underplay the excitement in a tweet from the verified Super Eagles twitter handle.

He remarked: “We’ve 3 (three) ticket opponents in Group C. A few years ago, Cape Verde were Africa’s best FIFA ranked team, CAR have some good players in Europe and we played a friendly in Liberia recently that wasn’t easy…we’ve to be at our best against them.”

Super Eagles enforcer, Wilfred Ndidi also posted on his twitter handle Wilfred @Ndidi25 that there will be no room for complacency as Nigeria guns for her seventh appearance at the Mundial to hold in two years time in Qatar.

“This is the World Cup, no room for complacency. Every game must be taken seriously.

Our first game is going to be the most important as well as all our home games, and even away games. We must make it to the 3rd round,” tweeted the Leicester City midfielder

Dare Begins Payment of Athletes’ Allowances Minister for Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has fulfilled his promise to pay Nigeria’s youth and junior athletes to the CAA U-18/U-20 championships in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire last April allowances owed them by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) under the leadership of the now suspended President of federation, Shehu Ibrahim Gusau.

The athletes competed in the competition under the harshest of conditions, travelling by road for three days and were denied their allowances even after the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development released N13m for the competition.

The athletes, through their acting representative on the board of the AFN, Charles Himah and the Acting President of the federation, Honourable Olamide George appealed to the sports minister to look into the athletes’ predicament.

Dare, who revealed at the start of the new year pledge that athletes’ welfare will be one of his focus in his sports development policy made good his promise and ordered that the athletes should be paid part of their allowances.

“We are very grateful to the Honourable Minister for coming to the rescue of the athletes who were subjected to indecent treatments just because

they wanted to represent their country, Nigeria,” said the AFN acting president who confirmed that the athletes started receiving bank alerts last weekend.

“With Mr. Dare as Sports Minister, our sports, especially track and field is surely in good hands,” he stressed and revealed further that the board of the federation will be meeting on Thursday (today) in Abuja at its Secretariat.

“We are meeting on Thursday and part of what we shall discuss will be welfare of athletes. We are not happy that we begged the Sports Minister to bail us out after approval was received for Nigeria’s participation in the Abidjan championships and money duly released.

“That was one of the reasons we asked our suspended president to come give account of that and many other financial infractions as well as breaches of the federation’s constitution,” George said.

Meanwhile, a sports philanthropist, Alhaji Ahmed Ahedjo Kaita has replaced Chief Solomon Ogba on the board of the federation.

Kaita who is the chairman of Katsina State Athletics Association and has sponsored many athletes to many local competitions has taken the slot of Philanthropist/ Ex-Officio hitherto occupied by Ogba since July 2017 until his resignation from the board last month.

who has been sidelined by an injury he picked up playing for the Foxes.

Each of the 40 teams in the 10 groups will play two matches each towards the end of this year, with the remaining four matches coming up next year.

The third and final round of

the qualifiers will see the 10 winners of the pools drawn into five explosive home-andaway fixtures that will produce Africa’s flag-bearers in Qatar.

Those knockout games come up in November 2021.

Interestingly, some of the heavyweights in African

football are going to miss the global stage in Qatar. In Group D for instance, only one team between Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire will pick the tick with Mozambique and Malawi the other runners in the group.

Similarly scenario is also going to play out in Group

G where Ghana who were quarter finalist at South Africa 2010 will battle the Banyana Banyana for the group’s sole ticket to the final stage of the qualifiers.

Both Zimbabwe and Ethiopia are considered outsider in the race.

Nigeria’s Junior Yellow Green cricketers training ahead of today’s game against the West Indies at the U-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa

U-19 CRICKET WORLD CUP

Nigeria’s Junior Yellow Green Regroup for West Indies Nigeria’s Under-19 Cricket team, Junior Yellow Green, presently taking part in the Cricket World Cup in South Africa trained at the Country Club Oval Kimberley ahead of their second group game against the West Indies today.

They lost their first World Cup appearance game by 10 wickets to former champion Australia on Monday.

Team Captain, Sylvester Okpe, maintained that Junior Yellow Green loss in their opening game is

now behind them and they have to approach their next game with all the vigour it requires.

“This is the World Cup; we have moved on and set our sight on the next assignment.

We appreciate the huge level of support we are getting from Nigerian here in South Africa and the feelers we are getting back from home.

“We had a two-hour strategy session today (yesterday), addressing all takeaways from the opening

match and I believe we rose from the session stronger as a team and focused on the task ahead,” he said.

The Junior Yellow Green suffered their first defeat in two years in a competitive event with their huge loss to Australia and are hoping to make a recovery with their second match with the West Indies who are presently group leaders having won two other games at the event.

They defeated Australia

by 5 wickets and shoved aside England and are hoping to pick a win against Nigeria to seal their place in the Super League at the tournament.

Technical Director of the Nigerian team, Enesi Dahiru, said that irrespective of what the outcome is at the World Cup, “the players have already stepped Nigeria into the big league of cricket by qualifying her for the World Cup for the first time in 105 years that the game has been played in the country.”

Oduduru Joins Team Visa for Tokyo Olympics Visa has announced that Nigerian athlete, Divine Oduduru, has been signed on to join their global Team Visa programme for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Speaking at his unveiling yesterday in Lagos, Oduduru, said: “Joining other athletes from across the world as part of Team Visa has been a dream come true for me.

“As a track and field athlete, having a strong support system is important and so it means so much to me to have a partner in my corner that provides me with the same opportunities as other athletes competing in Tokyo 2020.

“I am very proud and honoured to be representing Nigeria and Team Visa at the Olympics this year.”

Vice President, Visa West Africa, Kemi Okusanya, said of the partnership: “We are excited to welcome Divine Oduduru into Team

Visa for the highly anticipated Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 competition.

“His dedication, record of accomplishment and consistency in the track and field category over the years, has set him apart.

At Visa, we embrace the culture of extending support to sports men and women to assist them in ways that can motivate them and enable them achieve their goals,” said Okusanya.

She further noted that Divine’s journey has been truly remarkable and inspiring. “His tenacity, dedication and passion to the sport are a perfect fit for Team Visa,” she added. “We hope to provide him with a global stage at The Olympics to tell his story and inspire other athletes in Nigeria to follow their dreams and never give up.”

Visa has been a global Olympic partner for more than 30 years and the first and longest-standing global Paralympic partner (since 2003). Since 2000, Team Visa

has given aspiring athletes the support they need to pursue their goals, both on and off the field of competition, regardless of origin or background.

Divine Oduduru, is the

second fastest athlete in Africa after finishing 100 metres race in 9.86 seconds and 200 meters in 19.73 seconds at the NCAA championships this year.

L-R: Director, Corporate Communications, Visa West Africa, Niyi Adebiyi; Country Manager and Vice President, Visa West Africa, Kemi Okusanya; Nigerian Sprinter, Divine Oduduru and Director, Marketing, Visa West Africa, Seun Adaramola at the signing of Oduduru on to the Team Visa programme for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan

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thursDAYsPOrts AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Teen Gauf Sets up 3rd Round Clash with Defending Champion Osaka Serena, Nadal, Djokovic cruise into 3rd Round

American teenager Coco Gauff recovered from a set down to set up a meeting with defending champion Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open last 32.

World number one Ashleigh Barty also reached the third round on Wednesday.

Japanese third seed Osaka put a “childish” outburst behind her to beat Saisai Zheng 6-2 6-4 before 15-year-old Gauff saw off Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.

The world number 67 was 3-0 down in the deciding set but fought back to win 4-6 6-3 7-5 in two hours and six minutes.

“It’s amazing,” said Gauff.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I would get so much support in Australia. I was down 3-0 and you really made me believe.”

Osaka, 22, went through in straight sets but threw her racquet on the floor and kicked it after China’s Zheng broke her serve in the second.

“My racquet just magically flew out of my hand,” joked Osaka, who won in one hour and 20 minutes.

“I couldn’t control it, I think that’s how I dealt with my frustration.

“It was a bit childish. I just

My 2019 Sportsman of the Year

Coco Gauff is making her first appearance at the Australian Open

want to play one match without throwing my racquet or kicking it. That’s all I want.”

Still on the women’s singles, Serena Williams said she was frustrated by her own form as she overcame Slovenian Tamara Zidansek with a patchy performance to reach the third round.

The 38-year-old American,

bidding for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, won 6-2 6-3 in 78 minutes.

However, Williams squandered 0-40 leads in successive Zidansek second-set service games before pulling clear.

“I made so many errors in a row and had to battle through my own internal problems,”

said Williams.

In the men’s category, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic both enjoyed comfortable wins to reach the third round of the Australian Open.

Federer beat world number 41 Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 6-1 6-4 6-1 to maintain his bid to match Djokovic’s seven Australian Open titles.

TRANSFER NEWS...

‘Strong Chance’ Cavani Will Join Atletico, Says His Dad Edinson Cavani wants to join Atletico Madrid and is being treated “unfairly” by Paris SaintGermain, the Uruguay striker’s father said on Wednesday.

Cavani

Cavani, 32, has fallen out of favour at PSG, where he is competing with Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Mauro Icardi and Angel di Maria for starting spots in attack.

A number of clubs are reportedly keen on signing Cavani, who has scored a club-record 198 goals for PSG and whose contract expires in the summer. Atletico appear to be the 32-year-old’s preferred choice but the La Liga outfit and PSG are yet to agree a fee.

“I would like him to play there, (Atletico coach Diego) Simeone wants him now but the head coach of Paris Saint-Germain (Thomas Tuchel) says he needs

him to help them compete in the Champions League,” Cavani’s father Luis told Spanish television programme El Chiringuito.

“I think there is a strong chance he will go to Atletico. There is also the option to join the club in June. There are lots of other clubs interested but when you give your word to a team, you respect it.

“If he is allowed to leave tomorrow and Atletico still want him, I think he will sign. He is a player who needs time to play and at the moment he only plays four or six minutes per game.

PSG are treating him unfairly.”

Atletico have struggled for goals this season and currently

sit third in La Liga, eight points behind Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Cavani would give the club a welcome mid-season boost, with a crunch last-16 tie against Liverpool to come in the Champions League next month.

“Paris Saint-Germain have rejected three bids from Atletico Madrid,” Cavani’s mother Berta Gomez told Madrid newspaper AS on Wednesday.

“My son has asked to leave and we are waiting for an agreement from both clubs.

“He is angry because he does not understand why are blocking him leaving if they do not count on him to play.”

Klopp Rules out Liverpool Sales this Winter Transfer Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has no intention of allowing any of his players to leave the club in the January transfer window as he closes in on the Premier League title.

Klopp’s side are 13 points clear of defending champions Manchester City with two matches in hand and look certain to be crowned English champions for the first time since 1990.

Unbeaten Liverpool face Wolves away today, seeking their 22nd win out of 23 Premier League matches this season.

Sevilla and Roma have made

tentative approaches regarding a loan deal for Xherdan Shaqiri, who is currently unfit, but Klopp said there was no plan for any departures.

“We had the majority of December and January with a bench full of kids,” Klopp said at his pre-match press conference.

“Wonderful kids, but kids, so how could we think about giving a player to anybody? I don’t understand that.

“It’s not about Shaq, it’s about pretty much everybody. We just have to keep them for sorting our situation and not the situation for different clubs.”

Klopp said despite his team’s rampant form, they could still

get better, highlighting the need for better concentration.

Klopp (right) and his prized Mohamed Salah

FIFA Reveals Clubs Spent $7.35bn on Transfers Last Year A record $7.35bn (£5.6bn) was spent on transfers in men’s football during 2019, according to a report by world governing body FIFA yesterday.

The figure is an increase of more than 5.8% on 2018 when it comes to transfers across the globe.

English clubs spent £1.5bn, which was a 22.1% decrease from 2018 but still the most overall.

There was a 16.3% rise in spending in the women’s games, to $652,032 (£497,000).

The United States had the most players - at almost 20% - of

the 833 transfers made in the women’s game.

The were 18,042 such moves - also a record - in the men’s game, involving 15,463 players of 178 different nationalities.

“It is remarkable to see a new record number of transfers in the men’s market,” said FIFA

Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Dr Emilio Garcia Silvero.

“We observe, as well, increasing all-round figures in the women’s market, which is a sign of the positive overall development of women’s football over the last year which we trust will continue in 2020.”

In a country where almost everything is at sixes and sevens it is usually difficult to see excellence. Or even the absence of it. In a situation where a strive to win is replaced by cheating to win you hardly would find anything worth celebrating. It is saying the obvious if one contends that our country is regressing in almost every aspect of our lives. Like the legendary Fela Kuti would say our countrymen have become ‘ sufferheads’ in a land that has all it takes to live well and prosperously.

In our country now it’s like watching madness in slow motion. Otherwise sane men appear to have been stung by a dementing bug that makes you wave bye to all that is rational in you. Gradually it is becoming difficult to distinguish between what is right and that which is wrong. Last year our countrymen appear like Luigi Pirandelo’s actors in ‘ Six Characters in Search of an Authour.’ It’s like those acting like Nigerians in the Theatre of Life are really not representatives of who we are in reality. Somehow it appears we really don’t know what we want but do not like what we have. Our values keep getting debased and assaulted.

In Sports for instance we would like to be Number One in Africa where we can not be World Champions. But our officials would rather have more money in their pockets than expend same on training John Momoh athletes. And when we fail we pretend not to know the cause of the failure. We then go on to waste money on finding out what has been found out several times .

Last week one Segun Adediwura who claims to be a regular reader of this column wanted to know who should be named ‘Sportsman of the Year for 2019’ According to him his club is planning to name and reward anyone they identified as having contributed to our sport the most this past year. I asked who he considered worthy of the award. He wasn’t hesitant in choosing Anthony Joshua. Reluctantly we both concluded that AJ does not qualify as he has won all his laurels fighting as a British boxer even if he has never failed to proclaim his ties to our country. We considered many other options until we both concluded that we should not restrict our choices to active sportsmen but to consider organizations and individuals who have contributed to the development of sport.

My choice was Channels TV or John Momoh used interchangeably. But before I go on let me do what Dr Frank Ugboaja taught me at the University of Lagos Mass Communication Graduate School. Always declare your bias before stating a point of view. I have some relationship with John Momoh and Channels TV. I know that for the past year no organization has done as much as Channels to promote and develop sport in our country. Last year it spent a princely amount to organize both the annual highly successful Channels International Kids Cup and Channels U17 Athletics Championship. Both competitions are structured to redefine our sports and in the process recreate what used to be our niche - being amongst the best in the world. Already the two tournaments are yeilding expected fruits. Some graduates of the Kids Cup are finding their ways to our National Teams. And the novel U17 Classics have produced athletes who have represented Nigeria at World Youth levels. In the near future what Channels TV is doing would serve as a launchpad for our renaissance in sports. As Toni Urhobo a one Chairman of the AFN puts it after watching last year’s Classic, ‘... Channels must be encouraged to continue this laudable programme if we must find our way back to the glorious days. What they are doing is what we never should have stopped.’

I therefore have no doubt in saying that last year Channels TV is the Sports Organization of the Year by laying a solid foundation for the growth and development of our sports particularly in football and athletics.They have dared where others wouldn’t.

May the LORD bless our country Nigeria.

THURSDAY JANUARY 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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Thursday, January 23, 2020

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MISSILE Akeredelu to Alhassan Saleh “Rather than throwing the same stones the arrogant miscreant threw at the governors, we will rather put the blame on those internal collaborators whose parochial political pursuits have beclouded their sense of tomorrow” – Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, responding to the campaign of calumny against South-west governors by the National Secretary of Miyetti Allah, Alhaji Alhassan Saleh.

olusegunADeNIYI ThE vERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Amotekun and the Politics of Security Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out…Jeremiah 5:6

T

he introduction of the ‘Amotekun’ security outfit by South-West Governors has added a new dimension to how Nigerians make humour out of every situation. Aside Biblical inferences, I will not be surprised if we begin to see in the market creative leopard skin fashion collections, complete with make-believe talismans! But beyond the social media memes, there is a knotty problem that speaks both to the politics of the moment and our delicate fault lines; though before I go into the kernel of the controversy, it is important to provide both context and background for how we arrived at ‘Amotekun’.

The idea of a collaborative security outfit among the six states in the South-West (Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti) came out of the summit held in Ibadan on 25th June last year, following a spate of kidnappings, banditry and armed robbery in the region. With the security situation almost out of hand, and fingers being pointed at roving herdsmen, the murder of Mrs Funke Olakunrin, daughter of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, put considerable pressure on the South-West governors at a time many farmers were being forced to abandon their only means of livelihood and villagers were deserting their homes due to incessant attacks.

Held in Ibadan under the auspices of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, the Director General, Mr. Seye Oyeleye, had assured before the meeting that the outcome would provide concrete ideas on how to secure the region.

Invited to present papers were Mr Leye Oyebade, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Oyo, Osun and Ondo states as well as Prof. Femi Odekunle and Prof. Olutayo Adesina, who chaired the technical committee that eventually distilled the outcome of the meeting and came up with both ‘Amotekun’ and ‘Western Nigeria Security Network’.

Working under the umbrella of a ‘Network’ is because the governors had made it clear that whatever security arrangement the committee came up with would be state-based but feature a network that would share intelligence in relation to cross boundary crimes. They would jointly procure electronic gadgets, including phone trackers and drones and the outfit would also be under the same command for coordination and effectiveness. But in the operational guidelines, ‘Amotekun’ was envisioned to function complementarily to, and not separately from, the existing conventional national security agencies. In fact, the Ibadan meeting was also attended by representatives of all security institutions in the country.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Adamu was represented by DIG Taiwo Lakanu who retired a few months later.

The Governors then met twice after receiving the report of the Adesina committee and eventually ratified the idea of ‘Amotekun’ as a security outfit for the South-West. It was also agreed that each of the states would enact laws to back it up as state-based security

iGP Adamu initiatives. This would precede the operational takeoff which, notwithstanding all the current hullaballoo, has not commenced. Pending the time this process would be concluded, the governors decided to purchase vehicles and motorcycles while fine-tuning grey areas like mode of recruitment, command and control, code of conduct, etc. However, with Abuja following developments, a sense of unease began to creep in the moment an operational template that banded together all states in the South-West was adopted.

To allay fears of the federal government, Ekiti Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who also doubles as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (ACP), met with IGP Adamu on behalf of his colleagues prior to the launch. Adamu, I learnt, expressed his concerns that the option of ‘Amotekun’ could create a domino effect in the South-East and South-South with dire implication for national unity. Fayemi, I gathered, dispelled any such notion while also reaffirming that their responsibility as governors was not what others would do but rather to find a solution to a problem that had become rather worrisome to the people of South-West. This, I learnt, was also the position of his colleagues when the IGP met them separately.

With a weak and largely ineffectual police force—whose men prefer to stay on street corners, scrolling through the mobile phones of passers-by for extortion or arrest young men on the basis of their hairstyle—sundry cartels of criminals seem to have overpowered the capacity of the state to restore law and order. More worrisome was that rural areas were practically being taken over by these criminals while those tasked with providing security looked helpless. The governors felt they had a responsibility to find a solution to this growing menace. Since five of these six governors belong to the ruling APC, they were in constant dialogue with the police leadership on the options being considered to tackle the security challenge within their zone.

Intent on finding an amicable solution to what had become a perplexing problem, IGP Adamu led his team to Ibadan on 1st September 2019 to meet with the governors

and other stakeholders, including the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) led by the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Ganiyu Adams.

Tagged ‘South-West Geopolitical Zone Security Summit’, Adamu appealed that the police be allowed to handle the security challenge while pledging that a special operation was underway across South-West to specifically address the threat of kidnapping and armed robbery on the highways and other locations. Adamu told the gathering that the meeting was convened within the context of community policing vision which emphasises citizen engagement in the process of identifying “and prioritising threats to communal values. The strength of this partnership and the commitment of all actors within the process will undoubtedly, influence the extent of success we can record against the criminals.”

Host Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, who read the communique at the end of the session said the IGP approved the deployment of special forces to be commanded by a Commissioner of Police who would lead a Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) team on their crime-fighting efforts. “It’s agreed that a committee, consisting of policemen, other security agencies, the OPC led by Chief Gani Adams, Miyetti Allah and the citizenry should be set up in each state,” Makinde said as part of the decisions arrived at. Unfortunately, while IGP Adamu was exploring quiet diplomacy to see how he could defuse the problem without creating a bigger one, the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami added fuel to the fire by issuing a statement on behalf of the federal government, banning ‘Amotekun’. That statement, more than anything, rallied all the critical stakeholders in the South-West behind the idea!

For me, the controversy has highlighted several issues. I do not know of any federal structure that has a single police because it is simply not practical. In the same token, there is no way the South-West governors can secure their states individually without the kind of collaborative efforts envisioned by ‘Amotekun’ given how interlinked the forests are. The same reason informs the endorsement by Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State and chairman of Northwest Governors’ Forum who said they had “a lot to learn from them (the Southwest). I will call a meeting of the states affected by insecurity to see what they are doing and how we can borrow from them.” Masari is well aware that there is no way Katsina or any other state within the region can on its own successfully fight banditry when the expansive Dajin Rugu forest straddles four states and criminals can move from one location to another, as they have been doing for years. So, what is the way forward in the South-West?

The Governors have decided to meet President Buhari, not to back down on ‘Amotekun’ but to explain that this is not a political but a practical security idea regardless of attempts by religious and ethnic bigots to hijack it on both sides of the divide. A draft law on ‘Amotekun’ is also quietly going through the Houses of Assembly in the six states.

Whatever may therefore be the misgivings about ‘Amotekun’, the genie is already out of

the bottle and we will be making a grievous error to think it can be forced back in.

Section 214 (1) of the 1999 Constitution states that “There shall be a Police Force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section, no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof.” But we all know that in Nigeria today, there are quasi police forces such as Hisbah, which in several northern states enforces Sharia rules and the Civilian Joint Task Force that has been helping to combat insurgency in the North-east. Besides, many governors (whether in the north or south) endorse the idea of state police because they spend considerable money on the federal police over which they have no control and without much result.

Meanwhile, the idea that we can run a command and control system from Abuja is already unravelling before us and it is not only in the security sector. Just two days ago, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Chairman, Professor James Momoh, said the current centralised national grid system is hampering the delivery of electricity to Nigerians. You can say the same of several aspects of our national life.

But on the immediate challenge of ‘Amotekun’ in the South-West, the problem is with the supporters who can be categorized into three.

One, those who genuinely believe that the federal police have failed to provide security for the people and are now awakened to a collective sense of self-preservation. Two, those who see in the ‘Amotekun’ controversy a golden opportunity to further push the idea of restructuring the country for our collective good. Three, those for whom ‘Amotekun’ is another ‘anti-Fulani agenda’ against President Buhari and his government, especially with Miyetti Allah and other groups also making noise in the North. The moment Malami issued his reckless statement, he antagonized the first group, provoked the second and emboldened the third. Now, all three are united on Amotekun!

NOTE: Concluded on page 15

Obiora’s CBN Nomination

Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari sent the name of Dr Kingsley Obiora to the Senate for confirmation as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It’s a pick that has been widely applauded. Humble and self-effacing, Obioha, currently an Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington DC., brings to the job (when confirmed) not only his expertise, experience and exposure but also a passion for the development of the country.

In the present dire straits that our economy is in, we need people with the intellect and temperament of Obiora at the apex bank and it helps that it is a terrain to which he is already very much familiar. I wish Obiora success in his new assignment.

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