THURSDAY 30TH APRIL 2020

Zenith Bank’s Gross Earnings Rise to N166.8bn in Q1 Nume Ekeghe Zenith Bank Plc has announced its unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, with gross earnings rising by six per cent to N166.8 billion, up from the N158.1 billion recorded in March 2019.

This was in spite of a challenging domestic operating macroeconomic environment and global headwinds.

According to the unaudited statement of account presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday, group’s topline growth was driven by

the 43 per cent expansion in non-interest income from N32.7 billion in the prior period to N46.6 billion in March 2020.

Its non-interest income growth was driven by a 98 per cent surge in trading income from N7.8 billion in March 2019, to N15.5 billion

in the quarter under review.

Profit before tax also improved by three per cent from N57.3 billion in Q1 2019 to N58.8 billion in Q1 2020.

The increased profits benefited from the twin effects of continuing top-line growth and focused cost-of-funds

optimisation.

Cost of funds declined significantly from three per cent in March 2019 to 2.6 per cent in the quarter, translating to a 10 per cent decrease in interest expense dropping from N36.3 billion in Q1 2019 to N32.8 billion in Q1 2020.

Despite this drop, the current low yield environment necessitated the repricing of interest-bearing assets which in turn resulted in a 13 per cent compression in net interest margin, decreasing from 8.9 Continued on page 8

Oil Price Climbs to $22 on Hopes of Demand Recovery... Page 5 Thursday 30 April, 2020 Vol 25. No 9152. Price: N250

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COVID-19: FG Unveils Six-week Gradual Plan to Reopen Economy Projects flattening of curve by June Restricts banking operations to six hours To enforce mandatory 14-day quarantine for all arrivals Orders 107,000 GeneXpert cartridges to fast track testing To convert hotels to isolation centres Infected persons increase by 196 to 1,728 with 307 discharged, 51 dead Vaccine, likely ready September, says Pfizer Olawale Ajimotokan, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, Emma Okonji, Martins Ifijeh and Nosa Alekhuogie in Lagos The federal government yesterday unveiled plans to restart the economy that has been paralysed for more than four weeks due to measures

to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also outlined operational guidelines in furtherance of President Muhammadu Buhari's broadcast on Monday to relax the lockdown imposed on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun States Continued on page 8

CBN Resumes Dollar Sales for SMEs, School Fees Earmarks $100m weekly to meet demands Obinna Chima The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has resumed the sale of foreign exchange to all commercial banks to enable parents wishing to pay schools fees and operators of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) wishing to make essential imports needed to

revamp economic activities buy the greenback from the banks.

The central bank, in a statement yesterday by its Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said the decision was arrived at, in view of the Continued on page 8

STILL ON THE PANDEMIC...

Secretary to Delta State Government, Mr. Chiedu Ebie (left), and Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, during the distribution of the first batch of one million free face masks at the Government House, Asaba...recently

el-Rufai: How Kano Almajiris Increased COVID-19 Infections in Kaduna...Page 6

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NEWS

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

Oil Price Climbs to $22 on Hopes of Demand Recovery

Ejiofor Alike with agency reports Following the low increase in United States’ stockpiles, coupled with expectations that oil demand will improve as European countries and US cities moved to ease lockdowns, oil price jumped yesterday by 11.88 per cent to $22.89 per barrel.

Reuters reported that the price of the global benchmark, Brent, for June was up by $2.43 to close at $22.89 a barrel.

The more active July contract added $1.83, or 8.05 per cent, to $24.57.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 24.31 per cent or $3, to $15.34, after a 27 per cent plunge over the first two days of the week.

US crude inventories rose by 10 million barrels to 510 million barrels in the week to April 24, data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed on Tuesday.

However, analysts had expected an increase of 10.6 million barrels.

Petrol stocks fell by 1.1 million barrels, the API said, compared with analyst forecasts for a rise of 2.5 million barrels.

However, US Energy Information Administration

would release weekly data later yesterday.

While storage is rapidly filling up, production cuts by US shale producers - estimated by consultants Rystad Energy at 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) for May and June - should help to slow flows into tanks.

The United States is now the world’s biggest oil producer.

Regulators in Texas, the US' biggest oil producer, will hold a vote on May 5 on whether to enact output cuts.

OPEC and other oil producing nations, a grouping known as OPEC+, agreed this month to cut output by a record amount, around 10 per cent of global supply, to support oil prices.

In addition to the OPEC+ deal, other producers are also pledging reductions.

Oklahoma’s energy regulator said companies could shut wells without losing their leases.

The state is the fourth-largest oil producer in the United States.

Officials in the states of North Dakota are also reportedly examining ways to legally allow output cuts.

That would add to production cuts of almost 10 million bpd agreed by

the OPEC and other large producers, including Russia.

The agreed cuts, equivalent to about 10 per cent of global production, are due to take effect from May 1.

Kuwait said it had begun reducing oil supply to the international market without

waiting for the deal agreed by major oil exporting countries to take effect on May 1.

With countries that have social distancing measures in place accounting for more than 90 per cent of last year’s oil demand, there are hopes of demand recovery as European

countries and US cities moved to ease lockdowns.

Collapsed demand due to travel restrictions to contain the pandemic and a shortage of space to store oil had led to a crash in the prices, with the price of WTI going negative.

However, analysts say they

do not expect a repeat of such price shock.

Global oil demand will, however, take until the last quarter of 2021 to recover to its 2019 levels as countries emerge slowly from the coronavirus crisis, Morgan Stanley said yesterday.

CHEERFUL GIVER...

FG to Engage 774,000 Unemployed Nigerians African Leaders Mull 2021 as AfCTA’s New Take-off Date in Public Works Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi (left), and Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, during the royal father’s presentation of motorised fumigators to the state government as part of efforts to flatten COVID-19 curve in Abeokuta…yesterday

James Emejo in Abuja

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government has said that it will engage 774,000 unemployed persons nationwide to rehabilitate and maintain public and social infrastructure.

The programme, which is part of federal government's job creation drive, is designed to "mitigate lack of job opportunity in the rural areas through short term engagement of 1,000 unemployed persons per Local Government Area (LGA) for three months with a payment of N20,000 monthly allowance to the beneficiaries.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Extended Special Public Works, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo, (SAN), said its mandate was to devise a strategy for the implementation of the programme.

Keyamo said President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2019 had approved a pilot special public works programme, for implementation by the National Directorate for Employment (NDE) in five local government areas in each of the eight pilot states.

The minister described the programme as "a dry/off season transient job programme targeting the rehabilitation/ maintenance of public and

social infrastructure with the participants largely drawn from the pool of unskilled rural persons."

He said the approval for the scheme came following the success of the pilot programme, which was carried out between February and April 2020.

He explained that the federal government would leverage on its gain by approving the extension of the programme to all the 774 LGAs in the federation from the initial five LGAs in eight states.

He also noted that the approval by the president for the extension of the programme and the subsequent rise in its magnitude, necessitated the setting up of an interministerial committee for effective planning and proper implementation.

The minister asked the committee to collate the respective rural programmes in each ministry; review the implementation of the pilot programme and make recommendations where necessary; recommend appropriate monitoring and evaluation mechanism and, develop an achievable implementation time line.

He expressed confidence of the federal government in the ability of the committee to carry out the task before it diligently.

African heads of state are billed to meet to consider January 1, 2021 as the new implementation date for the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) agreement earlier scheduled to commence on July 1, 2020.

The Secretary-General of AfCTA Secretariat, Mr. Wamkele Mene, spoke during a webinar on the "Political Economy of COVID-19: Implications for AfCFTA", which was organised by the Africa International Trade and Commerce Research and Nigeria Private Sector Alliance.

The new timeline followed an assessment of the damage already caused by the COVID-19 pandemic globally and Africa in particular.

Also, speaking during another webinar on "Multistakeholder and expert dialogue on the impact of COVID-19 on Trade", which was put together by the acting Chief Trade Negotiator/ Director General, Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, Mr. Victor Liman, Mene advised Nigeria to quickly tidy up its domestic processes towards the eventual ratification of the AfCTA. Mene warned that its implementation will be speeded up when the current battle with the pandemic is over.

He said though COVID-19 had delayed the implementation of the trade agreement, Africa will have to "fast track our implementation of the AfCTA when things get to normal.

"I really hope that when Nigeria is ready and has gone through the domestic processes that they need to go through, that Nigeria indeed will proceed to ratify the agreement when you are ready.

"Looking at the (COVID-19) destruction in Africa, we know that our supply chain had been significantly undermined and negatively affected by COVID-19."

He also told participants that the Assembly of Heads of States had established a COVID-19 solidarity fund currently valued at about $20 million to aid a coordinated approach for distribution to countries whose health systems are under severe strain.

He said despite the closure of borders, the heads of state had agreed that there should be a trade corridor for transiting essential goods that have been identified by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of the African Union (AU).

He listed the essential products to include germ killers namely soaps, ventilators and personal protection equipment which

"can still transit and can still reach populations across Africa and people who need it the most."

He added that the trade corridor represented one of the tools which the heads of state are employing to combat COVID-19.

The AfCTA SG added that the Bureau of African Ministers of Trade will be meeting next week to consider further proposals for minimising the negative impact of the pandemic across the continent.

According to him, one of the items on the ministers' agenda is to work out a possible moratorium on duties for essential products and goods "when they cross the border so that the items will become more affordable for consumers across the continent."

The SG, however, noted that the strains brought by the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic and public health systems had called the July implementation date for AfCTA to question.

He said:"When you look at all these things it becomes very clear that our objective for an integrated market and the objective of moving swiftly to the implementation of the AfCTA- that all of the works that we have been doing is now being put to question

by COVID-19."

The AfCTA, endorsed by 55 countries, is expected to create a $3.4 trillion economic

bloc with 1.3 billion people across Africa and constitute the largest new trading bloc since the World Trade Organization formed in 1994.

Earlier in March, Liman was asked how prepared Nigeria was towards the takeoff date of AfCTA. He said: "No country can be totally prepared. “However, we cannot stop engaging with the AfCTA process because it's important that Nigeria as a strategic country in Africa continues to lead and engage on this. We will not want others to negotiate on our behalf; we want to provide that leadership.

"But having said that, on competitiveness, there's still more to be done. On infrastructure, we still need to do more and on the economy, we still need to do more.

We still need to do more on security; but I think the current president is actually trying with respect to security.

"As you also know, we've moved 10 places forward in the areas of ease of doing business and so we are getting prepared somehow but you know a country can never be fully ready to go into a free trade arrangement but I hope that over time,we will be able to prepare ourselves and take advantage of the opportunities that the AfCTA represents for us. This is key to the prosperity not just of Nigeria but also of the continent."

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el-Rufai: How Kano Almajiris Increased COVID-19 Infections in Kaduna Labour rejects 25% pay deduction to fund palliatives Martins Ifijeh in Lagos and John Shiklam in Kaduna The Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai has stated that Almajiris deported from Kano State last week brought 21 cases of COVID-19 to the state.

Speaking on Arise Television, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers yesterday, he said when the state took delivery of 148 Almajiris from Kano, it kept them in a holding facility where tests were conducted on eight of them with symptoms, adding that five tested positive to the disease.

He said: “Sixteen more of the Almajiris tested positive to it and we have now kept them in an isolation centre where they are being managed.

“We made sure stringent measures were put in place to either slow down the spread of the virus. I was the first to be infected in Kaduna. I got infected in Abuja, and I, in turn, infected four other people.

Since then the numbers have increased slightly, but not as much as other states. Our slow growth is due to the extraordinary steps we are taking. Unfortunately, some of our neigbhours have not taken such steps, and now we are at great risk from what is happening in Kano, Katsina and some other states.”

The governor said Kaduna was the first state in the country to institute a lockdown which lasted 30 days, adding that it has commenced another 30 days lockdown to ensure community spread of the virus was halted, as well as ensure the disease was not transported into the state.

He said: “Enforcement has been quite difficult, but we feel 50 per cent success is better than zero distancing measures. We knew from day one that our public health system is incapable of dealing with a high number of cases. So this is not the time to relax the lockdown because

in a state of about 10 million people, we have only tested about 200 and our infection numbers are still in the 20s.

We have no justification yet to relax the lockdown.

“We know this lockdown will cost us, but we are ready to do whatever is necessary to protect the lives of our people.

Our civil servants and political appointees have supported us financially to ensure poor residents are provided with foods and other palliatives so they can stay at home.

“We also had N500 million we set aside, which has been used to buy food for poor residents because 60 per cent of our gross domestic products are from the informal sector and locking down the state would mean many may not have foods to eat. So we ensured we shared palliatives in some parts of the state. We have also ensured our SS3 students take lessons through the radio. Very soon we will extend the digital lessons to primary schools and other secondary school classes.”

cent of workers’ salaries as a contribution for COVID-19 palliatives, adding that the government rejected the offer and unilaterally imposed 25 per cent deductions on them.

JUTIKS statement, jointly signed by its Chairman, Mr. Noah Danlami, and the Secretary, Mr. Jibril Makama, noted that providing palliatives to cushion the effect of the lockdown on citizens was the sole responsibility of government and such responsibility should not be shifted to workers already burdened with other crises.

JUTIKS said while some states were considering an upward review of workers’ salaries as a palliative against the hardship caused by the lockdown, the Kaduna State government was imposing a levy on workers.

The statement stated that workers in Kaduna Stateowned tertiary institutions were still being paid 80 per

cent of the obsolete CONTISS salary structure, as against the CONPCASS/CONTEDISS structure introduced 11 years ago.

JUTIKS said Kaduna stateowned tertiary institutions' workers were the least paid in the country.

“The government said that no public servant will have less than N50,000 monthly to manage in this emergency period. But this is not true as the majority of workers are currently servicing different loans.

“The government is also aware that so many workers have acquired loans to purchase non-essential government houses.

“Such category of workers will be plunged into a deep financial crisis as a result of the multiple deductions which is further complicated by the forceful deductions,” the statement said.

The union appealed to

the state government to immediately stop further implementation of the illegal levy, stressing that financial burden on members is already unbearable to accommodate 25 per cent salary deduction.

JUTIKS advised the state government to explore other sources of funding instead of deducting from the meagre salaries of the civil servants.

Also, the Kaduna State chapter of the NLC rejected the 25 per cent salary cut.

The labour union asked the state government to return the deduction or “face the wrath” of the union.

The state NLC Chairman, Ayuba Suleiman, while addressing a press conference in Kaduna yesterday, urged the government to stop the 25 per cent deduction forthwith.

Suleiman said the deduction should be done with workers’ consent, adding that anything other than that is unacceptable.

The NLC chairman said:

“Sequel to the deduction of 25 per cent on the salary of all civil servants in Kaduna State, effective from April 2020, labour in Kaduna State unequivocally rejects this deduction.

“This is because the union was not consulted on the issue nor consented to the deduction.

“Article 8 of the International Labour Organisation Protection of Wages Convention, 1949, (No.95) provides that deduction from wages shall be permitted only under conditions and to the extent prescribed by the national laws or regulations or fixed by collective agreement or arbitration award.

“Labour in Kaduna State is not against the provision of palliatives to the poor to cushion the COVID-19 lockdown from the salaries of civil servants in Kaduna State but wish to state that, it ought to be carried along, and such deductions or contributions should be made voluntary not compulsory."

Labour Rejects 25% Pay Deduction to Fund Palliatives Meanwhile, the Joint Unions of Tertiary Institutions of Kaduna State (JUTIKS) and the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have rejected the 25 per cent deduction of workers’ salaries by the state government. el-Rufai, at the weekend, had announced the deduction of 25 per cent of salaries of civil servants, receiving above N67,000 per month to provide palliatives for vulnerable residents affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

However, the labour unions described the deduction as illegal, warning the state government to rescind the decision.

In its statement, JUTIKS said the unions had offered five per

ACADEMICS IN THE FRAY...

Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma (left), and Acting Vice-Chancellor, Gregory University, Uturu, Prof. Augustine Uwakwe, during the presentation of COVID-19 palliative materials to the state government in Owerri…yesterday

Again, Court Rejects Maina’s Ekiti Commissioner’s Kidnappers Slash Ransom to N15m Request for Bail Variation Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday rejected a fresh application by the Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, for the review of the bail conditions imposed on him in his ongoing trial for money laundering.

The judge, in his ruling, dismissed the application, which sought the second review of the bail conditions since November 26, 2019, when Maina was first granted the bail.

Maina has remained in prison custody since November due to his inability to meet the conditions imposed by the court.

Following an earlier application for the review of the bail conditions, Justice

Abang reduced, among others, the bail sum from N1 billion to N500million.

The judge, who earlier demanded two serving senators as sureties for the bail granted Maina, also reviewed it to one senator.

But Maina later filed a fresh application for a further review of the conditions that required him to produce a serving senator as surety.

Ruling on the application yesterday, Justice Abang dismissed it for lacking in merit.

“The first defendant failed to place materials before the court with, convincing reasons, to show that there exist exceptional circumstances to warrant the variation of the conditions of the bail earlier varied,” the judge ruled.

The judge, in the earlier review, had asked Maina

to provide only one serving senator with property worth N500 million in either Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse II, Central Business District or Katampe, Abuja.

The judge also directed that the senator, who must provide the Certificate of Occupancy for the property, must not have pending criminal charges against him or her in any court in Nigeria.

He added that such a senator must accompany the defendant to all the proceedings of his trial.

The senator will also have to sign a register to be countersigned by the registrar of the court before the commencement of proceedings.

According to the judge, only after the completion of the formality on every day of the proceedings can the senator leave the court.

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The kidnappers of the Ekiti State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Folorunso Olabode, have reduced the ransom demanded from the family of their victim from the initial N30 million to N15 million, THISDAY has learnt.

The kidnappers had contacted the family and demanded N30 million as ransom to free the commissioner.

Olabode was kidnapped alongside another person by gunmen along IludunIsan road on his way from Ado-Ekiti to ye-Ekiti around 7.30 p.m on Sunday.

Another occupant of his vehicle, who was a councillor and House Leader at the Ilejemeje Local Government

Area of the state was killed by the abductors.

A source close to the family told journalists yesterday in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, that the ransom was reduced during negotiations with the captors.

“The process of negotiation began on Monday and the initial request was a sum of N30 million.

“But as of today, Wednesday, the captors had reduced to N15 million. We are hoping that the commissioner will be released soon because we are all concerned about his safety,” he said.

Also speaking on efforts to secure Olabode’s release, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, Mr. Sunday Abutu, said the

police and other security networks were on the trail of the bandits.

Abutu added that the police and other security agents have begun stopand-search along the route to ascertain the identities of commuters.

He said the police were not aware of any negotiation on the demand made by the abductors, adding that every security measures would be put in place to secure Olabode’s release.

“We are not aware that the bandits were requesting for any ransom, we have not been told.

“The police have begun serious security checks in that axis. We have taken strict security measures and we are closing in on them,” he added.

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PAGE EIGHT COVID-19: FG UNVEILS SIX-WEEK GRADUAL PLAN TO REOPEN ECONOMY from next Monday.

The reopening of the economy will be done in phases, spanning a total of six weeks and broken into three tranches of two weeks each.

The virus, however, afflicted 196 more persons yesterday bringing to 1,728 the total number of confirmed cases in the country.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Lagos recorded 87 new cases, Kano 24, Gombe 18, Kaduna 17, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 16, Katsina 10, Sokoto eight, Edo seven, Borno six, while Yobe, Ebonyi, and Adamawa recorded one each.

It said so far 307 persons had been discharged, while 51 had died.

As part of its easement process, the federal government has limited the total operational hours for all commercial banks nationwide, starting from Monday, to only six hours per day from 8 a.m to 2 p.m.

All arrivals in Nigeria will now undergo mandatory supervised isolation for at least 14 days.

The federal government also announced its decision to purchase 107,000 cartridges to be used in the deployment of the GeneXpert machine already configured for the testing of people for the virus.

Also yesterday, the Lagos State Government announced the discharge of 49 more patients just as it has projected that the number of cases in the state will continue to rise until June when it is expected to slow down.

However, the state has placed four hotels on standby for conversion to isolation centres to absorb the expected surge.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja during the media briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the Chairman of the task force and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, said the phased reopening of the economy was designed to reduce the pains of socio-economic disruptions.

He explained that the overnight curfew imposed by Buhari during the broadcast is applicable nationwide from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, effective from Monday.

“In line with Mr. President’s directive in paragraphs 38-41 of his broadcast, the PTF has developed sector-specific guidelines. The gradual reopening of the economy will span a total of six weeks broken into three tranches of two weeks each,”

he said adding: “This phased strategy is designed to reduce the pains of socio-economic disruptions while strengthening our public health response, which would ultimately reduce the recovery of our economy and provide succour to the poor and vulnerable.”

He called for collaboration with the state governments. Asking them to coordinate market and transport associations to implement the directive of the president.

He directed the security agencies to strictly enforce the new measures that had been pronounced by the federal government.

The SGF stated that the technical team of public health experts sent by the PTF to Kano had commenced evaluation of the situation in the state.

He added that 50 trucks of assorted grains have been sent to Kano.

“I am pleased to also inform you that the operationalisation of the laboratories in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and Bayero University Kano will considerably improve our response to the pandemic in Kano State," he said.

FG to Enforce Supervised Isolation for all Arrivals Mustapha also said there would be mandatory supervised isolation of persons arriving from outside the country for at least 14 days.

He said all state governments in collaboration with security agencies and relevant trade associations had been advised to ensure the strict enforcement of the measures.

He tasked the management of various offices, premises and businesses that will be gradually re-opened to ensure fumigation and decontamination and arrangement for physical distancing as well as to supply of hand sanitisers and handwashing facilities and enforce the mandatory use of face masks.

FG Restricts Banks to Six-hour Daily Operation Unveiling the guidelines for the gradual easing of the lockdown, the National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr. Sani Aliyu, said the federal government had limited the total operational hours for all commercial banks nationwide, starting from Monday, to only six hours per day.

Aliyu said all banks would

be allowed to operate only from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., together with other preventive measures in place, such as not having more than 20 persons in the banking halls, provision of hand sanitisers and measuring customers’ temperature.

He explained that there would be a ban on interstate movements except for essential services and a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In addition, pharmacy shops will remain open overnight while construction of critical bridges will be allowed.

Aliyu said waivers would be given by governors to enable movement of construction workers.

Under the guidelines, restaurants will not open to the public but will be allowed to engage in home delivery service.

The guidelines encouraged manufacturing and production industry to run shift work and limit their staff to only 20 - 30 workers to maintain social distancing.

Schools are to remain closed indefinitely and are encouraged to continue with e-learning and e-teaching while all social activities such as concert, movies, and theatres are suspended indefinitely.

All government offices and staff will be allowed to open but strictly based on a specific grade level in order to reduce the amount of congestion in offices.

Neigbourhood markets will continue to open with the same standards and restrictions applied in the past.

Aliyu stated that there will be further discussions with state governments so as to have a common approach to the implementation of the guidelines.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the creative industry had been badly hit by the lockdown.

FG Orders 107,000 GeneXpert Cartridges to Fast Track Testing Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, at the press briefing in Abuja, said the ministry had ordered for 107,000 cartridges to be used in the deployment of the GeneXpert machine already configured for the testing for COVID-19.

"The GeneXpert is very useful because it can fast-track testing. We are going to order over 107,000 cartridges using the

ZENITH BANK'S GROSS EARNINGS RISE TO N166.8BN IN Q1

per cent in March 2019, to 7.7 per cent in the period under review.

The bank has continued to gain customer acceptance, with customer deposits increasing by five per cent, from N4.26 trillion in December 2019, to N4.46 trillion in the current period.

Also, the bank’s customer deposit mix rebalancing remained on track as the group added N150 billion in savings account balances in Q1 2020, supported by its retail drive.

The bank’s customer acquisition strategy has been underpinned by the versatility of its electronic platforms and digital channels,

which continue to resonate with customers.

Similarly, the bank’s total assets increased by 12 per cent, growing from N6.35 trillion in December 2019, to close at N7.13 trillion in the current period.

In the quarter under review, gross loans also grew by 11 per cent, from N2.46 trillion in December 2019, to N2.74 trillion within the period.

While seeking opportunities in select sectors, risk management and prudence took precedence as cost of risk moved marginally from 0.4 per cent to 0.6 per cent.

Over the years, conservatism

has put the bank in a firm position from a balance sheet, capital adequacy and liquidity standpoint, allowing for prudential ratios to exceed the relevant regulatory thresholds as at end-March 2020.

As a result of the challenges presented by the novel COVID-19 pandemic, the bank has activated its business continuity plan, deploying its broad spectrum of enhanced digital channels and platform to handle increased volumes of customers’ transactions during this period.

While the duration and extent of the pandemic on the economy are yet unknown, the bank is

global fund facility that we have and if we are able to have the bio-safety cabinet for the 26 of them, we can boost the number of the GeneXpert machines we have in the country.

“With this, we can do quite a lot of testing. The good thing about them is they can give you results at a faster rate, within 45 minutes to one hour," he said.

Ehanire added that his ministry is training primary health care (PHC) workers to fight against the pandemic.

“I am optimistic that significant control of community transmission will be achieved if the capacity of more than 220,000 primary healthcare workers across the 36 states and the FCT, as well as in the communities they serve, are strengthened and supported,” he said.

The minister listed another pressing urgency as the need to provide and prepare Isolation centres and more bed spaces in all states of the federation to cope with the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Ehanire added that the ministry had completed plans to train intensive care workforce for various parts of the country.

According to him, the increasing figure of confirmed cases underscored the ongoing community transmission, which is a major challenge and again necessitates a call on all citizens not to take COVID-19 lightly.

He said the intervention team sent to Kano State would start work on the outlines of providing technical support to the state COVID-19 task force, as well as planning capacity building for frontline health workers.

He urged the public to practice physical distancing by strictly maintaining a distance of at least two metres (six feet) between people always.

He advised that the elderly and anyone with pre-existing medical conditions (hypertension, tuberculosis, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease) should not attend gatherings and should avoid receiving non-essential guests during the pandemic.

394 Trucks of Grains Distributed to FCT, Lagos, Ogun, Kano The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Ms. Sadiya Farouq, said 394 truckload of grains were distributed by the

federal government from the national grains storage as food palliatives to the FCT, Lagos, Ogun, and Kano States.

Kano State received 50 trucks from its share of 110 trucks.

Farouq, who spoke yesterday at the PTF briefing, said the distribution was from the 70,000 metric tonnes of grains from the national reserves.

The minister said 9, 320 metric tonnes of grains had been sent to the FCT and the three states with high coronavirus cases.

Lagos Discharges 49 More Patients The Lagos State Government has discharged 49 more patients from its isolation centres, bringing to 187 the total number of successfully treated cases in the state.

Announcing this yesterday, the state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said 28 of the patients were females and 21 males, including a Greek.

He said: "The patients; 18 from the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba and 31 from Onikan Isolation Centre have fully recovered and tested negative to COVID-19 in two consecutive readings. With this, the number of patients successfully managed and discharged in Lagos is now 187."

Lagos Projects More Rise in Cases until June However, the Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has said the number of cases in the state will continue to rise until June when it is expected to slow down.

He explained that four hotels had been placed on standby for conversion to isolation centres to absorb the expected surge, saying that one in every five residents of the state who presents with respiratory symptoms has COVID-19.

Abayomi, during an interview on ARISE News Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said yesterday that a study of the pattern of symptoms presented by Lagos residents showed that for every five persons with respiratory symptoms, one was likely to come down with the virus.

He said: “We know the numbers are rising, however, we have not reached our peak yet. We predict it will happen in the next two months. As the

adapting and evolving to take advantage of the opportunities a post-COVID world will present.

Zenith Bank has continued to maintain the leadership position in the Nigerian financial industry, achieving the feat as the first Nigerian bank to cross the N200 billion profitability mark with a profit after tax of N208.8 billion in its audited financial results for the 2019 financial year.

In recognition of its track record of excellent performance, Zenith Bank was voted as the 'Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria 2019' by the World Finance and the Best Digital Bank in Nigeria

2019 by Agusto and Co. The bank was also recognised as 'Bank of the Year' and 'Best in Retail Banking' at 2019 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) awards.

Recently, the bank emerged as the 'Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria,' for the third consecutive year, in the Banker Magazine “Top 500 Banking Brands 2020”, Best Bank in Nigeria 2020 in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards 2020, and Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the THISDAY Awards 2020.

citizens.

According to him, for a country of over 200 million people, projected to be almost 450 million in a few decades, “we can no longer ignore repeated warnings about the dangers that lie ahead if we do not begin to depend largely on what we produce locally because the security and well-being of our nation is contingent on building a well-diversified and inclusive economy.”

He stressed the need for Nigerians to support the federal government in its quest to deliver high-quality infrastructure,

support large-scale production of staple and cash crops in the country and develop the educational sector, among others.

He said the CBN would reinvigorate its financial support for the manufacturing sector by expanding intervention all through its value chain.

He added that with the support of the federal government, the CBN would embark on a project to get banks and private equity firms to finance home-grown and sustainable healthcare services that would help reverse medical tourism.

CBN RESUMES DOLLAR SALES FOR SMES, SCHOOL FEES gradual easing of the COVID-19 lockdown both globally and in Nigeria.

“In particular, the CBN is resuming the provision of over $100 million per week for both categories. The CBN has also made complete arrangements to resume foreign exchange sales to the Bureau De Change segment of the market for business travels, personal travels, and other designated retail uses, as soon as international flights resume.

“With these actions, the CBN wishes to reiterate that it is adequately meeting the

needs of all legitimate users, and our continued capacity to do so should not be in doubt.

There is therefore no need for panic by any end-user that could necessitate recourse to illegitimate sources and spike in foreign exchange rates.

“Given this, the bank has ramped up its surveillance of the foreign exchange markets for speculators, smugglers and other illegal users, and will take decisive actions against anyone/institutions involved in such nefarious activities,” the bank stated.

The CBN Governor, Mr.

Godwin Emefiele, recently stated that despite the damage the COVID-19 pandemic was causing nations around the world, it presents an opportunity to birth a new Nigeria.

Emefiele, in a 27-page speech, had described the disruptions caused by the pandemic as an opportunity to re-echo “a persistent message the CBN has been sending for a long time.”

The message, he said, was the need for Nigerians to start looking inwards as a nation to guarantee food security, high quality and affordable healthcare and cutting-edge education for

outbreak rises, we will review our strategies and then those with more moderate to mild symptoms will go to public health facilities.

We may not get there, but that is the projection. We may even get there faster depending on the dynamics of infection.

“On the expected relaxation, I believe the economy is an integral part of health. You don’t cause a new problem because you want to solve another. Malnutrition will make people more vulnerable to the disease. With low immunity, one is more susceptible to dying from the virus. So the decision on relaxation is a way to balance the economy and health of the people.

“We can’t take research from China or the US and adopt them here because our environment is different. So we are driving the research agenda along with our colleagues to find our own solutions.”

According to him, the state is reviewing circumstances that led to every COVID-19 death and is looking at the patterns and characteristics of the people.

Abayomi said: “One thing we have found out is that age, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and immune-compromised illnesses are major factors leading to the deaths.

"With this knowledge, what we do know is that for anyone with any of these factors, we categorise them as high risk even if they do not have symptoms. Those who fit into these categories must be very careful.

“Our death rate is very low because we have a young population. Our environment may also play a role because we live on the equator where we are exposed to different types of coronavirus. I do not mean COVID-19 because that is just one part of the coronavirus,” he added.

Also speaking on ARISE News Channel, the Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Chris Bode, called on the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to train medical personnel in the private health sector to assist government-owned public hospitals in treating COVID-19 patients.

The professor of surgery also called for deep private sector investment in the health sector in order to achieve a high-level healthcare delivery system in Nigeria.

Continued on page 30

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THURSDAY APRIL 30, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

9

NEWS

Govs Express Worries over Interstate Movements during Lockdown Chuks Okocha in Abuja At the end of its seventh teleconference, the governors of the 36 states of the Federation have expressed worries over movement of people despite the interstate lockdown across the country and promised to interface with the Nigeria Police High Command and road transport workers to address this challenge.

In a communiqué signed by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the governors stated that they “are concerned with the continued movement of people across states despite the enforcement of interstate lockdowns across states.

“The forum will collaborate with the Nigeria Police Force to provide increased security, as well as the National Union of Road Transport Workers and

LGA Chairmen in the states to strengthen security surveillance along State boarders”.

The communique said that the governors expressed strong appreciation to the private sector coalition for the provision of palliatives to households and testing facilities to help curb the spread of the virus.

The communique disclosed that the governors received update from the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who heads the Committee that liaises with development partners.

According to the communique, “ in response to the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on states, the NGF secretariat will provide technical assistance to State governments to establish common macroeconomic assumptions that will help states prepare revised budgets for 2020. The governors also had an interactive session with the

Atiku, PDP Condole with Fintiri on Mother’s Death Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Daji Sani in Yola Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples democratic Party (PDP) have expressed their condolences to the Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri over the loss of his mother, Hajiya Fatimah Umaru.

Fintiri’s mother passed on at the age of 68 years.

This was contained in a statement signed and made available to journalists yesterday by the Director General of Media and Communications to the governor, Mr. Solomon Kumangar.

The DG said Hajiya Fatimah Umar Badami died at the Federal Medical Centre in Yola while undergoing treatment from a

protracted illness.

According to the statement, “The late Hajiya Badmi is survived by her son, the governor of Adamawa State and four grandchildren, siblings and close relations “Her death at this critical moment creates a huge vacuum not only for the immediate family, but for the state. She was a strong pillar in her community, a disciplinarian and a devout Muslim.”

According to a statement by the Atiku Media Office, the former vice president who said that he had earlier spoken to Fintiri over the telephone, acknowledged that every death diminishes humanity, but that there can be no loss like that of a mother.

President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote who joined in the teleconference.

They also received a presentation from the President of

the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Francis Faduyile; President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Mr. Sam Ohuabunwa and President,

National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Comrade Abdulrafiu Adeniji.

The governors assured the

associations of their commitment to ensure that health workers who were in the frontlines of the epidemic are not left behind in the areas of welfare and safety.

MALTREATMENT OF NIGERIANS UNACCEPTABLE.…

Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Zhou Pingjian (left), and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, during the ambassador’s visit to the minister to discuss China’s discrimination against Nigerians in Abuja...yesterday

Keyamo: I”ll Quit if Politicians Hijack Jobs Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Minister State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN) has threatened to quit his job creation assignment if anyone, including politicians use their influence to corner the

774,000 jobs meant for poor unemployed Nigerians.

Keyamo made the assertion yesterday shortly after inuagurating the inter-ministerial committee on creation of jobs in Abuja.

He however clarified that he

will not resign as a minister.

When asked if politicians won’t hijack the process, the minister said, “this is not for PDP or APC, who will want slot from my local government because I am a politician, but I assure you it will not happen.

“I will leave this job, if they want to insist that it will happen. Mr. President is targeting ordinary Nigerians who are neither PDP or APC or just anything. They just want to get jobs; they just want to feed their family.

Three Togolese Arrested in Oyo for Illegal Migration Kemi OlaitaninIbadan Three Togolese were arrested yesterday by men of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Oyo State Command, at Odo-Omu area of Iseyin Local Government after they escaped the border patrols from the Republic of Benin through Saki to arrive Iseyin on Tuesday.

THISDAY learnt that the three Togolese, namely Mr. Commando Kwasi, Mr. Eberivie Isiaq and Ms.

Kemi Terivie, a mother of one, traveled to Cotonou, Republic of Benin in January and came back for the new farming season after the Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a total blockade of country’s borders following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to stem its spread.

The Chairman of Iseyin Local Government, Mr. Mufutau Abilawon, alongside the

representatives of Aseyin of Iseyin, Mr. Ismahil Odubiyi and medical members of the COVID-19 committee in the council, were at the residence of the foreigners to ascertain their travel history and medical condition.

Abilawon said: “As directed by Oyo State Governor, we are to fish out any case of illegal incursion of foreigners or COVID-19 case as the government is working day and night to stop the spread of

this deadly disease.

“Members of the COVID-19 committee are here with us and they have questioned the individuals to know their health status and travel history, but we are not stopping at this, we need to have an emergency meeting with all the community chiefs (Baales) tomorrow morning to warn them to desist from harbouring foreigners till this crisis is over.

in Nigeria has announced the retirement of its Vice Chairman and Management External Advisor, Upstream Nigeria, Mr. Udom Uko Inoyo, from the company after more than 30 years of service with effect from May 1, 2020.

Announcing the retirement in a statement issued yesterday by the Manager of Media and Communications, Mobil

ExxonMobil Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Paul McGrath, stated that “Inoyo’s career with Mobil Producing Nigeria began in 1989 in the HR Administration department, and progressed through a number of Human Resources positions, including successful assignments in Mobil Exploration and Production, United States;

he participated in a staffing study for Africa’s operations.

“Thereafter, he undertook supervisory responsibilities at the Compensation and Benefits Centre of Expertise in Brussels, Belgium, in 2000.”

The announcement further stated that upon his return to Nigeria in 2001, Udom was appointed the Manager, HR Policies and Programmes,

and member of MPN Leadership Council.

“In 2004, he was elected to the board of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited as an Executive Director and returned to HR in 2006 as the In-Country Head of HR/ Executive Director. Udom was appointed the Vice Chairman of ExxonMobil companies in Nigeria in 2018.

Osun Raises the Alarm as Inoyo Retires from ExxonMobil Zamfara Indigenes Sneak Udom Producing Nigeria Unlimited, ExxonMobil Inter-America, and in 2002, he assumed Peter Uzoho Oge Udeagha, the Chairman Coral Gables, Florida, and the the position of the General into State ExxonMobil affiliate companies and Managing Director of Houston, Texas office, where Manager, External Relations

Osun State Government yesterday raised the alarm over the influx of Zamfara State indigenes into the state.

This was disclosed by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the State Governor, Mr. Adeyanju Abdullah Binuyo, who said the state government was aware of the influx but urged the residents not to panic as adequate security measures had been put in place to arrest the situation.

Binuyo further disclosed that all northern youths who had escaped into the state by hiding in trucks carrying essential goods had been tracked down by the government and would be sent back to their home states.

He disclosed too that the state government had mandated the Amotekun Corps to effectively man all the entry points and ensure that all trucks bringing essential goods into the state are properly checked and monitored and escorted out of the state after offloading their goods.

“Government is aware of

a huge influx of non- Osun residents into the state, especially from Zamfara State. They were coming majorly through the Ondo axis, accompanying trucks that are carrying food materials purportedly to be sold around the South West generally.

“The intelligence that we’ve gathered in the last few days is that they usually have two or a maximum of three people attached to a truck to assist in discharging the goods. But now we have sometimes ten of them hidden among the goods.

“Sometimes the trucks would stop and drop some of them off along Ife express road where they are received by their fellow northerners already resident in the state.

“The government has been receiving a lot of such reports, most especially now that the Amotekun has been properly set up. This portends a great danger, especially at a time like this when Osun is doing everything to avoid community transmission of COVID-19.”

Former Borno Gov, Muhammadu Goni Passes on Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The death has occurred of the first civilian governor of old Borno State, comprising of the present Borno and Yobe states, Alhaji Muhammadu Goni.

He died yesterday after a brief illness in Maiduguri, at the age of 78 years.

According to Wikipedia, Muhammadu Goni was born in 1942 in Kareto, Mobbar Local Government Area,

Borno State.

He attended Maiduguri Middle School (1953–55), Borno Provincial Secondary School (1956–61), now Government College, Maiduguri; Provincial Secondary School, Kano (1962–63) and the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1964–67), where he gained a BA (Administration), specialising in international affairs.

In 1977, he transferred to the Nigerian National Supply

Company (NNSC).

In April 1979, Goni resigned from the National Supply Company and joined politics.

He was elected as the first civilian governor of the former Borno State, on the platform of the Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP), and was in office from October 1979 to September 1983.

He was also part of the Progressives Coalition led

by Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Goni founded the Borno

Radio Television (BRTV) to counter the propaganda, which was being pumped out of the Federal Government owned and sponsored Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

He was a member of the committee that drafted the 1995 Constitution. In the April 2003 general elections he ran on the United Nigeria People’s Party (UNPP) platform as vice-presidential candidate with Jim Nwobodo as the presidential candidate.

10

THURSDAY APRIL 30, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

COVID -19 UPDATE...

COVID -19 UPDATE...

Cross River Threatens to Quarantine NCDC Officials Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Cross River Government has threatened to quarantine any official of the National Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC) that sets his or her feet into the state for 14 days.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Betta Edu, while issuing the threat yesterday on behalf of the state government alleged that pressure was being mounted on some people in

the state to accept that they tested positive for COVID-19.

However, she did not mention who was mounting the pressure.

Giving an update on measures taken by the state to curb the spread of the virus, she said the decision to quarantine any NCDC official was borne out of the belief that everyone is a suspected case.

The commissioner said the state cannot be pressurised

into accepting that it has any positive case.

She said rather than being castigated for being among the three states with no case of the virus, the state should be commended for taking proactive steps that have made the state free of the pandemic.

“It is not compulsory or a must that Cross River State must record a COVID-19 case; the pressure for us to have a case is really getting out of hands.

“We only received 50 sample collection kits from the federal government to use for a

population of about 4.5million people yet we have been able to use the highest index in testing all suspected case.

“People have come forward with text messages they received asking them to claim that they are COVID-19 positive and they will be paid for that.

“Every state in Nigeria must not have it. Cross River is peculiar; we started campaign and regular sensitisation early even before any case was recorded in Africa and Nigeria .We sensitised our people about Lassa fever and COVID-19 as early as January,” Edu said.

Future of 370m Children Jeopardised, Say UN, WFP Peter Uzoho The closure of schools around the world to contain the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic will put the lives of 370 million children at risk of hunger and starvation among others as they now miss out on meals routinely served them at schools.

Two agencies of the United Nations--the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) gave the warning in a joint press statement issued yesterday in Rome, Italy and New York, United States.

Consequently, the WFP and UNICEF urged national governments to prevent devastating nutrition and health consequences for the 370 million children, as the COVID-19 crisis pushes up levels of hunger among the global poor.

“For millions of children around the world, the meal they get at school is the only meal they get in a day. Without it, they go hungry, they risk falling sick, dropping out of school and losing their best chance of escaping poverty. We must act now to prevent the health pandemic from becoming a hunger catastrophe,” Executive Director of WFP, David Beasley, said.

The agencies stressed that school meals were especially critical for girls, stating that in many poor countries, the promise of a meal could be enough to make struggling parents send their daughter to school, allowing her to escape heavy domestic duties or early marriage.

“School is so much more than a place of learning. For many children it is a lifeline to safety, health services and nutrition.

Abuja Estate Distributes Food Items to 300 Households Fred Ojeh

In a move to ease the economic impact on families heightened by the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Prince and Princess Estate Residents Association, Duboyi District in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) last Sunday distributed various food items and palliatives to meet the needs of 300 households.

The Chairman of the Palliatives Committee, Mr. Banji Ojo, who addressed the beneficiaries, said the committee identified the security personnel, cleaners/ support staff, and to a large extent, some members without a steady means of livelihood across the estate which add to over 300 households.

According to him, “What we are doing in Prince and Princess Estate is to support families in need as a result of

the lockdown caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

“The Chairman of the Residents Association, Victor Adoga, and his Exco constituted a six-member welfare committee to receive donations in cash, food items and kinds for onward distribution to identified classes of people in need across the estate. “Items that were donated and procured by members included 25 bags of rice, 25 cartons of tomato paste, 25 bags of 10kg Semovita, 63 cartons of noodles and 100 face masks among others for the security personnel.”

While underscoring the need for Nigerians to be one and another’s keep at crucial times, Ojo said: “We urge and hereby call on Nigerians to give helping hand to those whose sources of livelihood have been eroded as a result of the lockdown.”

Borno Loses Six Persons in Two Days Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The Borno State has lost six persons to COVID-19 in the past two days.

This was announced by the State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Salisu Kwaya-Bura, who said that the state has recorded a total number of nine casualties of the pandemic.

Kwaya-Bura also said the state has 53 confirmed positive cases and have screened 160 persons.

He lamented that the infection has spread beyond Maiduguri and Jere metropolises to Biu, Dikwa and Pulka and warned residents of the state to adhere

to the rules of social distancing and hygiene.

He disclosed that plan has been concluded to increase the capacity of the isolation centre even as the contact tracing teams have been increased from 15 to 20.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Information, Babakura Abba-Jato, announced during the daily briefing on COVID-19 yesterday that three Imams had been suspended by the Chief Imam of the State for holding public prayers and would not parade themselves as Imams anymore.

DISTRIBUTING PALLIATIVES…

Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Senator Basheer Garba, presenting food items to concerned persons in Makurdi, Benue State... yesterday

BUA Releases Funds to Various Interventions The BUA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of BUA Group, yesterday announced that it has released N300million to the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to aid the operations of the taskforce.

The donation was in line with the earlier pledge made by the Founder/Chairman of BUA, Mr. Abdul Samad Rabiu.

The foundation also announced that it has released the sum of N100million each

to Kwara, Kaduna, Ekiti and Rivers States while the sum of N200million was given to Lagos State.

These donations were distinct from its N1billion health infrastructure intervention grant being provided to equip a permanent health facility in Lagos. The new donations were not part of N1 billion the BUA Foundation had earlier disbursed to the CACOVID Private Sector Coalition and the distribution

of N100million each to Sokoto, Ogun and Edo States in the fight against the spread of the virus in Nigeria.

Rabiu said that it is important for the private sector to step in and support the country’s efforts in combating the virus and its attendant effects.

He said: “BUA Foundation is already working closely with the Presidential Task Force, NCDC and other stakeholders on how best to deploy these funds to

immediately equip the selected facilities in Kano and Lagos within the next few weeks. These grants will be disbursed and monitored in line with globally accepted best practice.”

He also assured that the BUA Group would continue to monitor the situation and would even do more to provide support to areas that are in need.

“We need each other to come together in fighting this virus,” he said.

Kogi CJ Releases 41 Inmates from Six Correctional Centres Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja In line with federal government directives to decongest correctional centres in the country to curtail the spread of COVID-19, a total of 41 awaiting trial inmates of the six correctional centres in Kogi State have regained their freedom.

The inmates were released by the state Chief Judge, Justice Nasiru Ajanah, who ordered their unconditional release when he embarked on the exercise to

decongest correctional centres in the state.

He said during the exercise that it was in line with the President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to decongest correctional centres nationwide in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the inmates released were those charged for minor offences like theft, trespassing, mischief among others. While some were also set free on health basis, others who have spent beyond the prescribed period of

jail terms for offences allegedly committed also benefitted from the Chief Judge’s visit to the prison facilities in the state by also regaining their freedoms.

The Chief Judge, during his visit, did not consider inmates charged with serious offences bothering on the security of the state, noting that the security of citizens during the period of the coronavirus-inspired lockdown also entails that potential security risks should not be allowed to further torment the citizens

already contending with the virus.

Hence, those facing serious offences like armed robbery, culpable homicide, rape among other were not considered in the exercise.

In addition, all those set free were advised to go on self-isolation as well as change their ways of life, as the CJ emphasised that the full wrath of the law would catch up with them should they indulge in such activities again.

NLC, TUC, Others Unite for the Poor Peter Uzoho A coalition of labour movements including, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and over 70 civil society groups have launched a new group to campaign for the protection of the interests of workers and the vulnerable poor against the far-reaching economic and socio-cultural impact of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

The new coalition referred to as ‘Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB)’, launched yesterday ahead of the historic Friday, May 1 Workers Day, has elected human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, (SAN) as its interim chairman.

Other interim officers include, Deputy Chairman, Ms. Hauwa Mustapha; Secretary, Mr. Ade Atambi; and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Adewale Adeoye.

The group in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Adeoye, said the coalition has an extensive network of participating organisations drawn from across Nigeria’s six-geo political zones.

Some of the affiliate members, according to the statement, are the NLC, TUC, United Action for Democracy, (UAD) Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, (WARD-C), Journalists

for Democratic Rights, (JODER), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association Of Nigeria, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Services Technical And Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Bayelsa, COPEAIDS Foundation, and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, (CDHR), among many others.

UNICEF, Others Launch Radio, TV Learning Programme in Bauchi Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Nigeria, Bauchi Field Office in collaboration with Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Northern Education Initiative(NEI)Plus has launched a radio and television learning programme for primary school pupils, junior secondary school students and integrated Quranic

school learners affected by COVID-19 lockdown.

Speaking during the launching ceremony held at the Hazibal Event Centre in Bauchi yesterday, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Nigeria, Bauchi Field Office, Mr. Bhanu Pathak, said the aim of the programme was to provide technical support for the development of education sector COVID-19 contingency plan as an integral part of the state response

plan to ensure the continuation of teaching and learning while children are at home as a result of COVID-19 outbreak.

He explained that the programme is a joint initiative

by USAID, NEI, master trainers from the state Colleges of Education, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) and Bauchi State Polytechnic.

The UNICEF boss added that since schools were shut down in

the state as a result of COVID-19, millions of school children and their staff at all levels are currently staying at home, adding that with indefinite closure of schools, not only are children missing out on education, which is a fundamental right, they are also exposed to more risks of educational setback such as examination failure and missing from school where they could have been taught and sensitised on COVID 19.

11

THURSDAY APRIL 30, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

COVID -19 UPDATE...

COVID -19 UPDATE...

We Can’t Declare Infection where None Exists, Kogi Tells NCDC Kogi State Government has faulted claims by the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, that states which are yet to record cases of COVID-19 are either negligent in testing and tracing or actively

INEC Provides Additional Vehicles to Presidential Task Force Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said it has provided additional 30 utility vehicles to the Presidential Task Force for COVID-19 to combat the pandemic in the country.

According to a statement issued by the National Commissioner in charge of Voters’ Education and Public Information, Festus Okoye, the commission delivered additional 30 vehicles to the Presidential Task Force.

Okoye said the delivery of the additional vehicles was in response to request by the Presidential Task Force to combat COVID-19.

While supporting the national emergency against the coronavirus pandemic, the commission had also deployed

about 40 additional vehicles.

He said the additional 30 vans have been deployed to Kano State to facilitate the movement of medical personnel for massive contact tracing and testing in the state while nine vehicles have been assigned to Plateau State.

INEC, he said reassured Nigerians that it would continue to join hands with all agencies and stakeholders to combat COVID-19 in the country, while reiterating the commission’s appeal to all citizens to stay safe by complying with the advice of the medical authorities.

The commission had in the first week of April deployed 100 pick-up vans for COVID-19 contact tracing, surveillance/ laboratory and infection prevention/control in six states of the federation, including Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Kano, Rivers and FCT in the first instance.

Report Exposes N’Assembly’s Laxity Peter Uzoho The National Assembly did not live to expectations by the citizens in responding to matters related to the COVID-19 policies and actions especially regarding playing its watchdog roles on the federal government, a report

by Yiaga Africa’s Centre for Legislative Engagement has allged.

The report entitled: “Assessing the National Assembly’s Response to COVID-19”, evaluated the actions and inactions of the National Assembly in the ongoing pandemic on four key principles of responsiveness, accountability, transparency and inclusiveness.

The report stated that the decision of the national lawmakers to shut down the legislature for over a month undermined its statutory role

during the period.

The Yiaga Africa report said: “There is still a lack of transparency in the management of COVID-19 donations and distribution of palliatives by the federal government.

“The decision to shut down the legislature for over a month undermines checks and balances and weakens the oversight required in the fight against the pandemic.

“Legislators across the globe, and indeed, countries’ worst hit than Nigeria, have continued with the regular legislative business, albeit, with precautionary measures and practices in compliance with WHO protocols.

“There is still a lack of transparency in the management of COVID-19 donations and distribution of palliatives by the Federal government.”

hiding the disease within their territories.

The state government noted that since the state was one of the only three states in the country yet to record any case of COVID-19, coupled with fillers that the NCDC may have mentioned the state by name, NCDC DG’s comments to shame and defame the state were distressing.

“What we expect from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control is a commendation of our efforts to contain the outbreak of the pandemic,”

a statement by the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, said.

The Cable quoted the commissioner as saying that the state had religiously followed all the NCDC and World Health Organisation COVID-19 advisories, both for identifying cases and preventing spread.

He said, “The governor of Kogi State does not believe that increasing the burden on the overwhelmed NCDC and the other agencies cum resources labouring in the

frontlines of our response to this deadly pandemic, when neither case nor cause for such has genuinely risen in the state, is helping the country in any way.

“We have also adhered strictly to the various guidelines from, and directives of, the federal government, customised to improve both efficiency and efficacy within the peculiarities of our own circumstances.

“While we are not surprised that they have worked for us so far in keeping our state COVID-19-free, we do find

it disconcerting that the lead agency in the fight is possibly expressing doubt in their efficacy while simultaneously denouncing us for following her own guidelines.

“As of today, we insist that Kogi state has no confirmed case of COVID-19 or any case to the knowledge of our vigilant medical structures across the state which matches the suspected or high-risk factors for it. If the situation changes at this very moment we shall not hesitate for a second before alerting the NCDC.”

GIVING UPDATE ON INTERVENTIONS…

Director-General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Mustapha Maihaja (left), and Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, during the briefing of the minister on the activities, interventions and responses of NEMA with respect to COVID-9 pandemic, in Abuja...yesterday

My Phones Were Seized while I was in Isolation, Says el-Rufai The Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, has said his phones were seized during the time he was receiving treatment for COVID-19.

El-Rufai recovered from COVID-19 nearly four weeks after he tested positive for the disease.

In an interview in a Hausa Radio programme yesterday, the governor recounted his experience, saying he could have died from complications.

“I could have died, if not for my doctors. I followed their instructions strictly and

took my medications,” el-Rufai said in Hausa.

“My wives collaborated with the deputy governor and seized my phones while in isolation. I was only left with an iPad, the device I used to read and go online.

“I survived it, someone else may not, that is why we are very serious about the disease. I went through trauma, even when I spoke online from isolation, I was battling with a debilitating headache. I won’t like even my enemy to suffer from coronavirus.

“I can’t exactly say how I contracted the coronavirus.

But I was in Abuja and had interacted with many people, some from overseas.

“I was assigned to chair committees by the government. I believe it was from these interactions that I got the virus.”

Noting that the disease does not distinguish between the rich or poor, he advised people to comply with health guidelines to prevent COVID-19.

“Despite the security around me, I got the virus.

This goes to show that the virus does not recognise any personality,” he said.

Speaking on why he returned to his clean shave looks, El-Rufai said: “I’m truly aging. I am a few steps above 60 and this disease is not kind to the old. I am old. That is the danger.

“If one is above 50, one should be very careful not to contract the virus.

To an aged person with other health complications like diabetes, hypertension, coronavirus will be very deadly.“

Directs Civil Servants to Resume Duties Gombe to Produce, Distribute Umahi Governor David Umahi of by the state Head of Service, state government’s precautionary and stipulated guidelines by Ebonyi has directed civil servants Dr. Chamberlain Nwele, and measures against the COVID-19 the National Centre for Disease One Million Masks on salary grade levels 1-10 in made available to journalists pandemic.

Control (NCDC),” Umahi said.

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

Gombe State Government is ready to produce over one million units of face masks for distribution to the people across the state, especially the less privileged as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

This was disclosed by the Chairman of the state Task Force on COVID-19, Professor Idris Mohammed, yesterday while receiving a donation of locally made supporting items from the state office of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

He said plans were underway to make it mandatory for everyone to put on the face mask but that his committee would ensure that the items are made available before the policy takes effect.

The task force chairman said already the face masks were being produced and would be made available as soon as they are ready in a couple of weeks.

He appreciated the NYSC for identifying with the state government at this trying time, adding that the gesture will significantly help the state government in attaining its plan of reaching every household with face masks and hand wash items.

The NYSC state Coordinator, Florence Yaakugh, while presenting the items, said the corps members in the state have benefitted much from the state government as such, the state deserves much from the NYSC, especially at this trying time when the world is engaged in the fight against the deadly virus.

the state to resume work on May 4.

The resumption notice was contained in a statement signed

in Abakaliki yesterday.

The affected category of workers had been on a compulsory break as part of the

“The civil servants are reminded to apply all COVID-19 precautionary measures as directed by the government

Umahi on April 28, lifted the ban on motorcycle operation and the dusk-to-dawn curfew across the state.

Alternative Medicine Manufacturer Develops Drug for Pandemic Idowu Sowunmi The Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories (PHCRL), an alternative medicine product manufacturing company in Ewu-Esan in Edo State, has developed a novel drug, called PaxHerbal CVD Plus for the treatment of COVID-19 pandemic.

These breakthroughs were disclosed yesterday by the founder of PHCRL, popularly

known as PaxHerbal, Dr. Anselm Adodo, who explained that the PaxHerbal CVD Plus contained herbs and active phytoconstituents with documented scientific evidence based on clinical reports of their efficacy and safety.

Adodo said that plantbased drugs, whether crude or refined, seemed to be the best alternative approach to treat COVID-19.

He said: “At the moment, plant-based drugs, whether

crude or refined, are seemingly the best alternative approach to the treatment of COVID-19 menace. The new generation of vaccine development for combating emergent diseases needed time because of safety profiling.

“On the other hand, plantbased formulations are easily manufactured, stored and distributed and are readily acceptable by the local population. Moreover, they can easily be handled by both

professional and non-medical research personnel with no risk of contamination.

“The PHCRL has developed a novel drug, called PaxHerbal CVD Plus specifically for the treatment of COVID-19.

“These herbs have been used in several therapeutic formulations of Paxherbals over the past 25 years for the treatment of hepatitis C, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, bronchitis, pneumonia and malaria.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY APRIL 30, 2020

POLITICS

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

‘Ogiemwonyi Deserves Edo APC Governorship Ticket’ Adibe Emenyonu dialogues with Elder Emman Gold-Idehen, a one-time Special Adviser to the late Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, Governor of the old Bendel State on Project Implementation. Idehen is currently Adviser on Politics to Dr. Chris Ogiemwonyi, one of the governorship aspirants in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State

Ogiemwonyi

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do governorship primary may hold in less than 60 days all things being equal. What attributes do you think should determine who gets the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket?

In my opinion, the attributes which I think an ideal politician should have are integrity, performance and compassion. People usually refer to politicians as untrustworthy, but we believe that any decent politician must have credibility and integrity. You may ask what I mean by integrity. If I come to you and say am so impressed about what you are doing and I make a promise for you see me tomorrow morning to deliver ‘xyz’ to you based on what I see you do and if you come the next day and I stand by what I told you, that is a man of integrity. So, if people refer to Engineer Chris Ogiemwonyi as a man of integrity, it’s a big plus, a man they can trust, if he gives you his word you can take it to the bank. Another aspect is performance in public office. How prepared is the man looking for the job? Take a look at his antecedence and profile of all the four aspirants he is contesting with. Find out what they have done in the past, how have they performed in those positions. If you look at Ogiemwonyi’s CV you will be overwhelmed. As close as I am to him, I can’t remember all the boards he has served. His profile and manifestoe tell you how prepared he is. He did 34 years in NNPC. As a young man from Orhionmwon local government area of Edo state, he went to Western Boys High School, Benin City,

by God’s providence he found himself in NNPC, no godfather; he is not Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba nor Ibo. He is from the minority ethnic group. While in NNPC, during the 34 years he spent in upstream production, he was able to distinguish himself. He is the first man in the history of NNPC that has been the Chief Executive of three prominent companies within the conglomerate of NNPC. He was Chief Executive in NAPIMS, Chief Executive in NPDC and Chief Executive in Nigeria Gas Company, NGC. He was sent to NAPIMS to do a clean-up. Before that time, the joint venture companies, Shell, Chevron and Mobil were dictating to NAPIMS which was supposed to be the other way round.

But when he got there, he took charge to the extent that it was the body that was wagging the tail and not the other way round. He also told them that over the years they favoured foreigners to the detriment of the people of the South-south geopolitical zone and he told them he was going to give preference to the

Gold-Idehen people of South-south where the resources are sourced from and he was able to invite the indigenes of the catchment areas to benefit from the resources and that earned him the name ‘Mr Local Content’ because of what he was able to do to the advantage of the people. At NPDC, he was the game changer; he increased the production from miserable level within a short period of time to substantial level. It is on record that before the estimated time Mr. President gave to them while at NGC Warri to ensure delivery of gas to the various gas powered electricity stations, they met the deadline. In the history of NNPC, nobody heading these three components at management level has done what Ogiemwonyi has done. He retired as Group Executive Director, Upstream. And within one year of his retirement he was made a Minster of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, where he sat at the highest policy making body at the Federal Executive Council. He was seen as somebody that could bring value to the development of this country, which is performance.

Another key factor in determining who gets the ticket again is compassion; you can have integrity but no compassion. You can be the most productive person on earth but when you seek public elective position you need to have compassion and the ability to

empathize, see, hear, smell and touch. If you cannot do that, you don’t have business being in public office because at the end of it all if you cannot combine these values and put smile on faces of people then you have failed.

His mission is to uplift the living standard of the people because this is something he has done in the past.

He said people call him ‘Mr. Integrity’, ’Mr. Local Content’ but he is more interested in how to impact on the lives of the people and this is in consonance with what he has done in the past. That is why he is seeking to serve as governor of Edo State. As somebody in the middle management level at NNPC, he saw the level of poverty in his community where he grew up, he was then propelled to sink boreholes in all the surrounding communities having encountered a village girl that was blind owing to river blindness. He also built skills acquisition centre, established huge oil palm plantation, church, and made available electricity generating set all from his personal pocket.

Looking at Ogiemwonyi’s background, one would have expected that he will stay away from the murky waters of politics.

Why politics for him?

When he retired from the NNPC, there was a grand reception held in his honour in Benin

In the history of NNPC, nobody heading these three components at management level has done what Ogiemwonyi has done. He retired as Group Executive Director, Upstream. And within one year of his retirement he was made a Minster of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, where he sat at the highest policy making body at the Federal Executive Council. He was seen as somebody that could bring value to the development of this country, which is performance. Another key factor in determining who gets the ticket again is compassion; you can have integrity but no compassion. You can be the most productive person on earth but when you seek public elective position you need to have compassion

City. The place was filled with dignitaries across the political divide. As a young man that grew up in Benin City, I have never seen that kind of reception in my life aside from the celebrations of Igue Festival where the populace would join the chiefs celebrating and dancing to the Palace of the Oba of Benin.

In the Palace, there was another reception for him. The Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief D.U Edebiri, spoke glowingly and endlessly about the man Ogiemwonyi. And when he was asked by the monarch why he spoke so passionately he said he was filled with passion for Ogiemwonyi because this is a man we refer to as ‘Mr. Possible when he was in service because his response to requests was, ‘it is possible’. On the other hand, we had sons and daughters in the service that would respond to our request with ‘it is not possible.’ In fact, you must be a super man for the royalty to have a grand reception and a party for you. With all these, somebody asked him since he is loved in Edo why don’t you translate it into politics. So, it is because of the passion and love he has for the people that he joined politics. He said to himself he was not building more houses, or making babies, but he was out to leave a legacy like late General Samuel Ogbemudia, late Professor Ambrose Alli, and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

What do you think are his chances because there are other aspirants in the race for the ticket who are eminently qualified?

His chances are bright. All you have to do like I stated earlier is to look at his profile. I am not condemning anybody, Ogiemwonyi stands out. People say I have not been able to do this or that but when you make me governor I will do this and that. In Ogiemwonyi’s case, he will say, ‘I have done ABC’ even without being a governor and will only add to what I have done when given the opportunity to serve as governor. It is not just being futuristic. The difference is clear. Many people that he couldn’t even remember have walked up to him to thank him on account of how he assisted them in the past. We need someone who can put smiles on the faces of the people. The economy of the country is going through some difficult period. We need an experience somebody who can combine both human and non-human to achieve the optimum.

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

THURSDAY APRIL 30, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͱͮ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

COMMENT

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

PANDEMICS OF‘SATANIC’IMAGINATIONS

A medical industrial innovation should be funded by African countries to roll back the current dependence on imports, writes Okello Oculi

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OVIP-19 Pandemic has created ‘’strange times’’, including the dictatorship of ‘’social distancing’’; and for reflection over pandemics of evil responses to moments of human freedom.

In 1917, the Bolsheviks Party deposed a repressive, greedy, selfish and economically backward Russian aristocracy mocked by writers for their traveling to a more industrializing France to consume music, art, costumes and drinks.

Theorists of socialist revolutions ignored Russia because its populations predominantly lived as serfs tilling the land. To them the ‘’proletariat’’, as redeemers, were created by industrial production, not the sweat and hunger of peasants and serfs.

That historic moment of winning political, social and economic freedom for Russia was met, by Euro-America, with military invasion to crush the communists. It failed. In the 1938-1945 War, Bolshevik-ruled Russia defeated a German invasion – contributing to ending its colonial occupation of Europe and barbaric extermination of six million Jews.

This contribution to defending freedom and re-humanization of European hearts, minds was rewarded with isolation and a hate-filled ‘’Cold War’’ imagination. Mikhail Gorbachev popped it open by withdrawing Russian troops from Eastern Europe.

President Woodrow Wilson’s anti-Russian call for ‘’self -determination’’ and ‘’freedom for all people’’ as discriminatory rhetoric when African Diaspora thinkers W.E.B. Dubois and George Padmore, demanded the same for colonized societies in Africa and Asia; and African slaves and indigenous natives in the Americas.

From 1900 to 1945, African Diaspora intellectuals from the Caribbean and North America and educated Africans imagined freedom and self-rule in Africa.

Euro-American officials refused to share wealth with Africans and democratic politics. Leopold Senghor, Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure and Julius Kambarage Nyerere imagined ‘’African Socialism’’; while rejecting racism by Prime Ministers Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Kwame Nkrumah were received with alarm by racist European immigrants in Southern Rhodesia, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia and Angola. NATO’s military strategists feared Communist Russia getting access to mineral resources and to southern sections of the Indian and Atlantic.

Brutal wars by Africa’s ‘’liberation movements returned the quest for freedom and democratic politics into the Twentieth Century.

Regis Bebray once stated that these revolutions ‘’revolutionized the counter-revolution’’. Writings by Mao Zedong, Vietnam’s General Giap, Che Guevara, and Amilcar Cabral are also studied by Euro-American leaders and intelligence operatives. In 1974, Henry Kissinger’s counter-imagination was to propose reducing populations of Africans.

MONEY HAS CONTINUED TO SEIZE THE AMERICAN MEDICAL IMAGINATION. COVID-19 HAS SHAMED IT. COVID-19 KILLS DOCTORS AND NURSES WHO CROSS ‘’SOCIAL DISTANCING’’ BUT SPARES MILLIONAIRES ACCUSED OF INVENTING IT TO DECIMATE AFRICA

NATO’s response to African brain, sweat and blood democratizing global political culture was to expend assassinations of visionary African political leaders; supporting military coups; encouraging departing colonial officials to take loans which would grow at galloping interest rates into crippling debts, and paying very low prices for Africa’s raw resources. The vision of building co-prosperity with Africa has remained rejected by ‘’satanic’’ imagination.

Fidel Castro claimed, with much credibility, that the arrival of Cuban troops in 1976 to join troops of the African National Congress (ANC), South West African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) and the Movement for the Popular Liberation of Angola (MPLA) to defeat invading troops of racist South Africa, ended ‘’Apartheid’’, an imagination condemned as a ‘’crime against humanity’’ America’s Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger reacted by rushing to Brazil to assure its military regime of support to defeat Cuba’s arming Afro-Brazilian to fight for their economic, social and political welfare. With its own oppressed Black population, the United States fears Cuba’s ‘liberation virus’ coming home. Cuba’s provision of free high quality medical services to her citizens continues to create panic among insurance companies, hospital administrators, doctors and drug companies earning billions of dollars annually in the American system. Money has continued to seize the American medical imagination. COVID-19 has shamed it.

COVID-19 kills doctors and nurses who cross ‘’social distancing’’ but spares millionaires accused of inventing it to decimate Africa.

It drives members of parliament away from their own shouts, sneezes and ideas. Legislators at local, state and federal levels outnumber and consume money denied to doctors and nurses.

New imagination should enact a ratio of one legislator for every 500,000 medical personnel.

A medical industrial innovation and equipment manufacturing sector to roll back the current massive dependence on imports should be funded jointly by African countries in each of the five regions of the African Union. Health as part of national security should translate into sharing budget allocations for security weapons.

On April 16, 2020, G7 countries swore ‘’to do what they can’’ to revive global economies. That must include ‘non-satanic imagination’ instructing the IMF/ World Bank to cancel Africa’s debts; demand refunds of past payments for distribution, at 00.1 per cent interest rate, to the 92.4 per cent of Africa’s ‘’informal’’ economy.

Foreign factory ships looting fisheries from the coast of Morocco to Somalia, should pay 50 per cent rent to Africa for loans to small scale fishing communities for food and higher fishing technology.

THE VERBAL AUTOPSIES FROM KANO Olusegun Adeniyi writes that Covid-19 holds lessons for our health system t $POUJOVFE GSPN CBDLQBHF

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s much as I believe Ganduje has mismanaged the crisis, I worry that politicising the tragedy will not serve the interests of Kano people.

President Buhari must get the governor to work with political, traditional and religious authorities in the state.

Ganduje must also be made to understand that when you have a complex problem, raw measures don’t help. He must follow the advice of experts and invest in soft skills such as surveillance and laboratory systems. Ganduje should also quickly put together a media team that will embark on risk communication in Kano State. And he must work with all federal agencies, private individuals and development partners that may want to help in dealing with this challenge.

But beyond the Kano debacle, there are more challenges ahead as the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the entire country. From Monday, restrictions placed on residents of Lagos and Ogun states as well as those in Abuja will be lifted. With that, we are embarking on the Swedish option of taking personal preventive measures, and ultimately hoping for a measure of ‘Herd immunity’. This happens after infections have resulted in the deaths of many (hopefully not too many) and the recovery of others. Lifting the lockdown was predicated on the reality that daily survival has become too difficult for our citizens. However, this also comes with a cost, especially in our kind of environment. That will become clear in the days, weeks, and possibly months

ahead.

If we are to win the war against COVID-19, there are several things that should happen. One, we have to destigmatise both the reportage and the manner in which infected people are being viewed by society.

When people begin to hide what ails them as a result of stigma or run away from isolation centres as has happened in some states, they endanger themselves, their families and the rest of us, especially as we enter a new phase in the battle against the virus. Two, there is an urgent need for the president to host a meeting (even if virtual) with the governors so they can all be on the same page in this fight. Right now, they are pulling in different directions.

Three, it is important to streamline activities of the presidential task force. As to be expected of such a body with nine ministers, I understand the task force has become dysfunctional. What we need is a command and control system that will place the federal ministry of health and the NCDC at the centre of efforts to tackle the pandemic.

The present arrangement is not working.

However, this pandemic also comes with opportunities to reinvent our country. For instance, contact tracing has been difficult because there are no credible records to work with. If we are to build an economy based on the productive capacity of our people as opposed to sharing abundant oil money, there are salient questions we must address. How many Nigerians are we?

Where do we live? How many are unemployed? How many tax payers do we have?

What are the age demographics of our citizens? These and several other questions are hanging in the air. If we are serious, one

of the first things we should do after this COVID-19 scourge is to begin the process of a biometric-driven population census. We must stop running our country on the basis of assumptions.

The next issue, of course, has to do with the health care delivery system in the country. COVID-19 has exposed our nakedness. Even the affluent have no place to run to. In posing the question, ‘Can Africa really afford lockdowns, and can they be effective?’ and whether people on the continent can successfully and sustainably defeat COVID-19 by copying the template of Western nations in his well circulated paper, former CBN Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo advocated the trial of local herbs.

“While the U.K. and others are experimenting with vaccines, you never know if an Africa herb might be the cure. Necessity is the mother of invention, and only those who dare, succeed!” he wrote.

Aside his brilliant economic prognosis, I like Soludo’s proposition on local herbs which has been tried by other countries.

According to China’s National Health Commission, about 90 percent of their nationals infected with COVID-19 took some form of traditional Chinese medicine to treat their symptoms. These traditional remedies, according to the commission, helped to alleviate symptoms, reduced the severity of the virus, improved recovery and reduced mortality rate. Growing up in the village where you took these concoctions every morning, some of us are well aware of the efficacy of herbs, even though we have not developed them as other societies have.

Perhaps this is the time to commence efforts in that direction.

It is regrettable that the federal government has not challenged our universities and research institutions to find a workable testing regime and vaccine. For a country that boasts some of the best experts in most fields, based both at home and abroad, government funding should be channeled towards enabling our national scientific efforts to be part of a lasting solution. Rather than asking the president to allow them to “import a plane load” of herbs from Madagascar for a trial on COVID-19 as the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha is suggesting, we should look inwards. This is not a time for frivolity. Now that we are easing up from Monday, what can we do individually and collectively, given our realities, to prevent an explosion? What is the responsibility of thought leaders, employers, and governments? What is the place of individual responsibility? Have we engaged our clerics enough, give the influence they hold over their members? Those are the issues that should concern Boss Mustapha and his presidential task force.

While the health system in our country is weak, a product of decisions taken over decades, even the best health systems in the world have not come out smelling of roses in their encounter with COVID-19.

The number one lesson when dealing with a pandemic is the quality of response. All factors considered, we have not done too badly in that area even when there is room for improvement. The greater challenge is how not to waste this crisis. We must learn appropriate lessons to improve our health system and build a more resilient economy for the post-coronavirus world.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020

EDITORIAL NORTH WEST AND REIGN OF BANDITS The authorities could do more to rein in the criminals

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andits invaded six communities in Safana, Dutsinma and Danmusa local government areas of Katsina State recently and killed scores of residents, including women and children.

Although the police put the number of fatalities at 47, figures from independent sources are far higher. Aside the killings, the bandits reportedly carted away food items and other relief materials delivered to the villagers as part of efforts to help them during the coronavirus lockdown. A few weeks before the Katsina attacks, no fewer than 50 villagers, including infants, were similarly hacked down by bandits in three local government areas of Kaduna State.

Armed with sophisticated weapons, bandits are now freely attacking several communities in the North West.

Farmers are afraid to go to the farms why many others are fleeing the suburbs. In Katsina particularly, various communities in 13 local councils are reportedly under intense attacks with Dutsin-Ma alone witnessing dozens of attacks in recent times. In Jibia town, soldiers have had to engage the bandits on the stretch of the Rugu forest on several occasions.

WHAT IS HAPPENING Desperate to find IN THE NORTHWEST IS a solution to the A REPLICATION OF THE large scale banditry, GENERAL INSECURITY kidnapping, armed robberies and cattle ACROSS THE COUNTRY rustling, Governor FOR WHICH THE Aminu Bello Masari AUTHORITIES MUST had last September FIND A MORE ENDURING held sessions with repSOLUTION resentatives of these bandits and signed agreement with them to drop their weapons. The bandits were in turn granted “amnesty,” and their pockets reportedly stuffed with wads of naira.

The Masari initiative was adopted by some other governors of North-west states, a region earlier insulated from the havoc and ghastly atrocities of the decade-long Boko Haram insurgency. A peace summit was subsequently convened by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, in Katsina and facilitated discussions

with representatives of the bandits from Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Kaduna and Zamfara. An apparently excited federal permanent secretary, Dr Amina Shamaki commended the effort, arguing that the “dialogue” initiated by the governors in the zone should be adopted by states with similar security challenges. “The application of the carrot-and-stick approach is an effective strategy that enables criminals willing to embrace peace to do so while repentant ones are identified and isolated for appropriate actions by security agencies,” she said.

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

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

hile the agreement lasted, the bandits released about100 captives in their custody while government in turn freed more than 50 bandits detained by security operatives in Katsina, Kano and Kaduna States. “The peace accord had come and gone and many of us who were against it have now been vindicated,” said Abdusamad Jibia, a university don. But the Special Adviser to the government on security, Ibrahim Katsina said the resurgence of banditry was a temporary setback, arguing that security issues are often a gradual process. “We are presently trying to network members of the community to be alive to their responsibilities and partner with security agencies, so that it will be reduced”, he said.

We are not surprised at what is happening to the so-called peace accord with the bandits which boldly advertised government’s helplessness. Indeed, we warned in this space that it would be impossible to hold a group of outlaws to any form of agreement. With many sophisticated guns in their possession, what will they do if they run out of cash? But what is happening in the northwest is a replication of the general insecurity across the country for which the authorities must find a more enduring solution.

From the unfolding happenings in these states, it appears the security agencies are yet to fully understand the nature of the challenge they confront, hence the inability to proffer the right solutions. We therefore call on the federal government to take appropriate measures to deal with the bandits who have made life difficult for people in a huge section of the country.

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AFRICA MAGIC: What Happened To KING OF BOYS?

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sequel to 2018 blockbuster movie King of Boys was recently announced and the teaser released.

Going by the snippets, it’s most likely that the sequel becomes another blockbuster. While the dust raised by the movie weeks back at the film industry award ceremony has been covered by the Covid-19 spread, two issues agitate the mind of this writer.

One is that there’s widespread condemnation that the movie was deliberately ignored during the last television and film awards organised by Multichoice in partnership with Africa Magic. And the second is that the organisers have not deemed it fit to issue a statement regarding the hosting of the event which eventually exposed the guests to the Corona virus disease.

This article focuses on the first issue as it is still likely that the second issue will be addressed. You need to have followed or seen the live trend during that 7th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, hash tagged (#AMVCA7), to realise how Nollywood observers and social media users in Nigeria and the diaspora felt when filmmaker Kemi Adetiba and her impressive ‘King of Boys’ movie lost in all seven categories in which it was nominated. The movie followed the story of a businesswoman and philanthropist who gets caught up in power tussle and a game of trust that eventually threatens everything around her on account of her growing political ambitions.

While many felt the movie was “robbed”, there were equally those who, on the other hand felt the movie was “snubbed” as they described the outcome of the ceremony on that night. The

award ceremony, which was held on Saturday, March 14, had many stars recognised for their hard work but Nigerians were unhappy that one of the favourite movies was not honoured despite being one of the best. Twitter went agog. The blogosphere buzzed. King of Boys trended. The remarks poured. Some even used the opportunity to praise veteran actress Sola Sobowale, who was the main character, for her outstanding performance in the movie. “With that unreal performance by Sola Sobowale, Reminisce and all the actors in King of Boys, the movie didn’t win #AMVCA7 #AMVCA?, looking like there’s a low key beef somewhere. King of Boys not winning? I laugh in politics.”

They didn’t stop there as their comments overflowed: “King of Boys deserve an award tho #AMVCA7. RT if you think Reminisce, Sola Sobowale, Kemi Adetiba and King of Boys all deserved to be awarded tonight. This is daylight robbery on King of Boys. #AMVCA7 Reminisce, Sola Shobowale, Kemi Adetiba were all robbed tonight. Very PAINFUL. So king of boys was denied an award tonight politics everywhere SMH. She is the only king of boys. It’s about time Kemi Adetiba get to know these people don’t really like her. This beef is so glaring; King of Boys deserves at least an award.”

Even days after the event, it was still discussed. It came as a rude shock to many that the movie which starred other talented cast like Toni Tones, singer IIIbliss, Akin Lewis, Paul Sambo, Jide Kosoko, Adesuwa Etomi-Wellington, and many others, did not receive a single award at the 2020 AMVCA. The movie ‘King of Boys’ was one of the most talked about movies of 2018 and

the movie still got a lot of buzz in 2019. Due to the spectacular performance given by the stars in the movie and other stuff (the storyline, the cinematography and the costume) that made it viewers’ favourite, Nigerians expected ‘King of Boys’ to take home at least an award.

In fact, one of the lead cast Remilekun ‘Reminisce’ Safaru whom King of Boys reviews fingered to be another rapper to win an AMVCA, apart from Folarin ‘Falz’ Falana, lost to Kenyan Pascal Torkodi (film Disconnect) in the Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or TV Series category. Truly, there seems to be a disconnect somewhere among the judges. The critics were disappointed that the 2018 movie got multiple nominations, yet won no award for its outstanding cast and crew. In all their submissions pre awards, King of Boys was a laudable project deserving of recognition.

In the face of the uproar, there were those who stated that the award was politicized. There were those who questioned Kemi Adetiba’s relationship with the organization and its organisers of the event. This writer in particular did. Technicality aside, which the judges consider in rating movies, awards ceremonies are what they are and for the purpose which they chose to serve. One cannot take away politics from it; the jury’s interest and preference count. At least, the organisers could have just “dashed” her one award! Maybe in the non-public voting category, assuming her cast and crew were too busy to canvass viewers online for votes.

Ferdinand Ekechukwu, Nollywood scholar, THISDAY, Lagos

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FEATURES The Dawn of a New Dimension: Including Women by Design

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi

Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 07010510430

Beatrice Cornacchia

A

s a marketer, I appreciate when creativity meets great insights and data to deliver an approach that achieves its objectives. As a woman, I also especially love seeing these kind of successful activities share commentary on the way our world interacts with women, or shed essential light on how much of our world was designed without women in mind.

From Ariel’s powerful #ShareTheLoad engagement to Dove showing us how to represent women more inclusively, there are some fantastic examples of brands actively shifting the conversation to include women and expand on their contributions to the world we live in. But it’s not just about recognising changing times or joining a social impact drive, it’s about much more than that.

There is a clear business rationale for brands that adapt their business strategies to include women by design.

By incorporating the diverse perspectives that women bring, championing female role models as ambassadors, designing fit-for-purpose products that meet women’s needs, and creating content that encourages women to pursue their passions, brands can effectively tap into the spending power and influence of women. Take sportswear apparel for example.

We took note when Nike put the spotlight on tennis star Serena Williams through its ‘Dream Crazier’ ad encouraging women to dream big and aired a TV spot calling for acceptance and respect, featuring the tenacious South African Olympic 800 metre champion Caster Semenya. These are just some of the prominent and provocative content from multiple brands that put women at the centre of the conversation.

The sports industry clearly understands the business growth opportunity that exists when we incorporate the true – not imagined – perspectives of women.

By drawing attention to the strength, unique shapes, and differentiated athleticism of women, through showcasing real role models in better designed active-wear clothing, the women’s sports apparel industry has done just that – tapped into a significant consumer base: women. How significant? According to the ‘African Women’ Ipsos Study, women represent the most significant consumer base — 89 percent of African women are the decision-makers or co-decisionmakers for household purchases.

Now, when we design products, services, experiences and solutions for women, we need to envision them through the viewpoints of women. When it comes to products and services, are we meeting the actual needs of women? Do we have insights that can help us incorporate women’s experiences into the design and innovation process?We must consider the functionality and practicalities of women’s interaction. In short, we have to help design and develop a world with both women and men in mind.

To do this, we need women to be part of the design and innovation process, especially in this age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And to do that, we need to inspire young girls to consider and pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) through initiatives like Girls4Tech.

As part of this programme, Mastercard has committed to reaching one million girls globally by 2025, including thousands in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

So, what exactly is the value of a world that includes women by design?

In addition to the humanitarian benefits,

Cornacchia

it’s a considerable amount. In Sub-Saharan Africa, theWorld Bank estimates the loss in global wealth from gender inequality at $2.5 trillion. And while five Sub-Saharan countries feature in the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs’ global top 10 countries with the highest number of women entrepreneurs, the IFC says that more than half of SMEs in Sub Saharan Africa with one or more women owners lack access to finance and puts the financing gap at $42 billion. Clearly, there are huge opportunities for finance. Global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman agrees. It estimates a global revenue opportunity of $700 billion is currently being left on the table by the financial services industry not fully meeting the needs of women consumers.

Think of the increased speed in which we can close the gender gap in terms of financial inclusion if we design better, more

helpful digital financial products for women.

As a payment technology leader with global insights, Mastercard has invested significantly in understanding women’s financial priorities, and mapping out those priorities across different life stages. After all, a specific position in time often influences our need for specialised support and ingenious innovations – in sportswear as much as financial solutions.

Just think of the more than 10 000 female unbanked informal traders, street-side vendors, and township salon owners who can safely accept payments through QR code as a result of Mastercard’s partnership with uKheshe, a financial inclusion platform in South Africa.

Indeed, for the large population of excluded women, financial inclusion is about more than getting access to a bank account. It also means helping level the playing field

for the women farmers who are growing Africa’s food, by providing access to buyers, pricing and speedier payments. It’s about hope for the future through financial payment solutions such as Kupaa – which facilitates school fee payments in budgeted amounts – increasing the ability of remote families to keep girls in school.

By making a conscious decision to integrate women’s perspectives into our business, marketing and innovation strategies, more women will benefit from solutions specifically designed for their needs. More companies will see revenues climb. More societies will experience elevated productivity. More economies will grow and thrive.

After all, a world that works better for women, creates limitless possibilities for us all. t$PSOBDDIJB JT UIF 471 .BSLFUJOH BOE $PNNVOJDBUJPOT .&" .BTUFSDBSE

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T H I S D AY ˾ APRIL 30, 2020

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S

A S

MONEY MARKET OBB OVERNIGHT

A T

REPO 20.33 % 21.08 %

CALL 1-MONTH

20 % 20 %

A P R I L S & P INDEX INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

2 4 , 2 0 2 0 S&P 488.04 % 0.04 %

1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

EXCHANGE RATE 4.80 % 1.343 %

N361/1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes NB Donates N600m to FG, States

STOCK-TAKING

L-R: Chairman, FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Oladipupo Jadesimi; Chairman, Audit Committee, Akinola Soares; National Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Boniface Okezie, and Group Chief Executive, FCMB Group, Mr. Ladi Balogun, during the seventh Annual General Meeting of the FCMB Group Plc held in Lagos...recently

Experts Offer Marketing Insights for Business Survival Raheem Akingbolu Despite the difficult and unfamiliar circumstances, the current global pandemic has thrown businesses, perception management experts and advertising practitioners have called on brand owners in Nigeria to quickly adapt so that their businesses would not sink with the pandemic after the crisis.

A former chairman of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Lolu Akinwumi, in an interview with THISDAY admitted that COVID-19 has disrupted businesses and could plunge Nigeria into a fresh round of recession which may lead to the collapse of some businesses, if handlers of such businesses fail to think out of the box.

ADVERTISING “The current crisis goes beyond the ad industry. Sadly, this is coming when oil is earning little for the country and we don’t have choice than to borrow massively. As you know government spending largely drives the economy.

“Nigeria May be getting into a very tough season. Many businesses are likely to collapse.

Unfortunately, many cli bits are not likely to be able to fund any type of marketing campaign or activities,” he said.

But despite the circumstance, the President of African Public Relations Association (APRA), Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, has urged business owners to be both compassionate and professional while the crisis

lasted to survive the surge.

According to the marketing communication expert, the time to apply some strategic public relations solutions, driven by technology is now.

“This is a global crisis that has redefined our day-today operations. As things are, both business owners and their customers are concerned majorly about coming out of this alive. But despite this, the business owner must still passionately pass across his message to connect with the target audience.

“To communicate effectively now, businesses must re-evaluate the market and be sensitive in content. In talking to consumer, the content must be uplifting and the platform must be accessed easily,” he added.

In line with the position of the

APRA boss, a former President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, (AAAN), Bunmi Oke, also pointed out that it was important for brands to be, “sensitive and sensible” about marketing campaigns, “as they have to be in touch with consumer realities.”

“At the moment, brand campaigns must be tweaked to demonstrate some form of empathy in line with natural human relations during a “crisis” of some sort. Life for consumers in Nigeria and worldwide has been disrupted, and consumers want to deal with brands that relate with them as people, at the moment and not just with “their pockets,” she said.

According to him, a caring brand would outlive the Continued on page 20

‘Artificial Intelligence, Automation Will Enhance Connectivity’ Emma Okonji The Head of Managed Services at Ericsson West and South East Africa, Sunaina Davet, has advised organisations to invest more in Artificial Intelligence and automation processes to achieve the new level of connectivity required for today’s digital transformation.

According to Davet, “As organisations across the world are impacted by an unprecedented crisis, it doesn’t need to spell disaster. In fact, leaders who comprehend how to successfully navigate a crisis can emerge stronger and improve strategy implementation. A company’s core values and leadership

TELECOM framework is essential to this.

“The time to leverage the full benefits of ICT is now, and investing in technologies that provide the strategic flexibility and dynamic capabilities to drive growth is business critical.

Ericsson manages and optimizes telecom networks and IT operations with highly industrialized processes and a truly global delivery model. We create value and business differentiation by taking a holistic approach that covers all aspects of our customers’ businesses.”

He said during these challenging times, the Managed Services Operations of Erics-

son quickly implemented the necessary business continuity plans and actions to ensure its customers network operations are uninterrupted and that it is able able to continue to serve its customers.

“Stakeholders may forget the crisis, but how you handle the situation will be etched into their memory, and shape their perception of you long into the future. This ideology inspires powerful behaviors which ripple through an organisation motivating leaders and beyond to execute against them. Ericsson’s leadership framework highlights the importance of timely, fact-based strategies, cooperation and collaboration

while executing strategies in an efficient manner,” Davet said.

Addressing the issues with data services, Davet said shifts in data traffic have changed drastically over the past few weeks as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

“For instance, we’ve seen major shifts in data and voice traffic moving from downtown to suburban and residential areas, as a result of lockdowns and less mobility and movement in cities. We’ve also seen a significant rise in mobile voice calls, as well as bi-directional services, such as video calls and tools for smart working.

Continued on page 20

NigerianBreweriesPlchasannouncedadonationofN600milliontothe federal and some state governments, as part of efforts to support the fightagainstCOVID-19.

ThiswasstatedinalettertoMr.BossMustapha,SecretarytotheFederal GovernmentandChairmanofthePresidentialTaskForceonCOVID-19.

The Company’s Managing Director, Mr. Jordi Borrut Bel confirmed that the donation comprised a N250 million cash donation to the federal government, through the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CA-COVID), the privatesectorledspecialinterventionfundmanagedbytheCentralBank ofNigeria(CBN).Thecompany’sbossalsoaddedthatanotherN250million cashdonationwasgiventosevenstategovernments’TaskForceAgainst COVID-19.However,whileLagosandOgunStateswouldreceiveN100million andN50millionrespectively,beingCOVID-19frontlinestates,fiveother statesofKaduna,Oyo,Enugu,AbiaandImowouldgetN20millioneach.

Meanwhile, the company has also announced that N100 million worth of relief materials comprising, provision of 5 double-cabin vehicles for use by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Abuja, Lagos, OgunandKadunaStates.Thiswastohelpmeettheircriticaloperational needs,especiallycontacttracingandmovementofmaterials/personnelto isolationandtreatmentcentres.Thecostoffuel,maintenanceanddriver’s salarieswillalsobecoveredbyNigerianBreweries.

TherewouldalsobepersonalProtectiveEquipmentsuchasfacemasks, 500gownsand141,000unitsofhandsanitizersfornationwidedistribution toourkeystates.Inaddition,thecompanyhasalsoannouncedthatitwill supplymalt,energyandsoftdrinkstothevariousCovid-19NCDCcentres nationwide.

NIMC Gets ISO Re-certification

TheNationalIdentityManagementCommission(NIMC)hasannounced thatitsuccessfullypassedtheISO/IEC27001:2013re-certificationaudit.

Thesuccessofthere-certificationexerciseimpliedthattheNIMCoperates anInformationSecurityManagementSystem(ISMS)thatprotectsthe dataofthecitizensinlinewiththerequirementsoftheISO27001:2013.

Theexercisewhichinvolvedextensiveevaluationofpeople,technologyand processeswithintheCommission,wasconductedbytheBritishStandard Institute(BSI),inlinewithbestglobalpractices.

WhilereceivingthecertificateonbehalfoftheCommission,theDirectorGeneral/CEO,AliyuAzizsaid:“NIMChasmaintainedthiscertificatesince 2014,withanannualsurveillanceauditbeingcarriedouteversincebyan independentthirdpartytoensurecompliancewiththerequirementsof thestandard.”

Hefurthernotedthatre-certificationalsounderscoredtheCommission’s commitment to applying global information security best practices in protecting citizens’ information while also building a culture of security andprivacyinlinewithourorganisationalmandate.

According to the Head, Corporate Communications at NIMC, Kayode Adegoke,“There-certificationisvalidforthreeyears,startingfrom22nd April2020till21stApril2023.”

ITU Digital World 2020 Rescheduled

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Ministry of Information and Communications, Viet Nam have postponed the ITU DigitalWorld2020,theglobaltecheventforgovernment,industryandSMEs. TheeventwouldnowtakeplaceinSeptember2021inthesamevenuein HaNoi,VietNam.Theorganiserssaidtheybelievedthenewdatewouldbe thebestandsafestcourseofactiontoensurethewell-beingandsafety ofalleventparticipantsandguaranteeasuccessfulevent.

TheworldisfacinganunprecedentedthreatfromCOVID-19andICThas becomeakeyallyincombattingthisthreatandhelpingtoprevent,detect anddiagnosedisease.Ithastakenonanewimportanceinconnectingusfor health,work,education,entertainment,news,publicannouncementsandto ourfriendsandfamilies.Forthefirsttime,digitalsolutionsandplatformsare beingusedonamassivescaletohelpcopewithandrespondtoapandemic.

The COVID-19 crisis has also, however, highlighted its own digital divide, where many families, workers, businesses and populations are not able to access or afford the benefits of digital technology. Action is urgently needed to ensure a fair access to ICTs, for the benefit of all. Now, more than ever, governments, industry, international organisations, NGOs, academia and other stakeholders must work together to find mutually beneficialsolutions.

“We must set ambitious, measurable goals for ensuring an equitable transition to the digital age.The SDGs offer an ideal framework for this, and ICTs themselves are essential tools for the achievement of these goals,”theorganiserssaidinastatement.

“Curbing the spread of coronavirus outbreak is a responsibility for all. As cases rapidly increase in Nigeria, government, nongovernment institutions, and individuals need to work together to bring an end to this pandemic” Managing Director/CEO of Inlaks,

Mr. Femi Adeoti

T H I S D AY ˾ APRIL 30, 2020

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BUSINESSWORLD EXPERTS OFFER MARKETING INSIGHTS FOR BUSINESS SURVIVAL pandemic with consumers reciprocating, “fair play or otherwise after the storm passes and the true test of caring brands are during a crisis.”

“Responsible global or local brand, (even people and country brands) will rise to the occasion and relate with the spirit of the season. At the moment there is a global pandemic and the leadership responsibilities and people expectations become even tougher as leadership is needed even more to weather the storm,” she added.

On the need for business owners to adapt to what the current crisis has thrown their way, the current Vice President of AAAN, Steve Babaeko, said the crisis has changed the media landscape and consumer media consumption habit, a situation which call for adjustment.

He said: “Out of home investment has gotten a big knockdown, same thing with activation, music or event sponsorships. Television has suddenly become important again for the first time since the last decade. Besides, daytime viewership has also spiked as opposed to drive time. Finally, I think the time for brand owners to leverage on influencer program and digital is now because the two platforms have also become must have tools,” Babaeko stated.

‘ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AUTOMATION WILL ENHANCE CONNECTIVITY’ “In addition to this, we see uptake in utilisation of real customer experience services such as internet entertainment services, live streaming and social media interactions. This for sure will bring a new set of challenges that ICT sector needs to address.

“High-performance operations are fundamental to the successful transition to the “new normal” whilst service providers optimise and adapt their existing network infrastructure.

Now more than ever, we need to do everything possible to support customers to maximise their network capacity and performance.

NEWS

‘Ubiquitous Broadband Key Survival Strategy Post COVID-19’ Stories by Emma Okonji The Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, Mr. Gbenga Sesan, has said ubiquitous broadband access for all Nigerians, irrespective of their status in the society, will be a sure survival strategy in the post COVID-19 era, that is expected to usher in a new normal.

Sesan who spoke recently with other top management staff of the organisation during a Webinar, said Nigerians, including market men and women, needed unrestricted access to broadband in the post COVID-19 era, to enable them work from home, do businesses from home and communicate from remote locations without physical movement.

He insisted that government must provide broadband access at very low rate, such that low income earners, including petty traders could have unlimited access to broadband that would make them function well in post COVID-19 era.

Nigeria currently has 38.5 per cent broadband penetration across the country, but the federal government has come up with a 70 per cent broadband penetration target in its 2020-2025 National Broadband Plan.

Addressing the need for government to protect citizens’ right in the use of data during post COVID-19 era, Sesan said Paradigm Initiative took it upon itself to provide a platform that would allow people to report cases of digital rights violations.

According to him, “The platform will serve to collate

cases of violations across the continent and it will allow us and our partners to coordinate best responses. Our goal is to ensure that no violation goes under the radar and also to create a safe space for citizens to report violations without fear and intimidation. We will continue to provide

more information on this as the platform development continues.”

On the issue of national and state COVID-19 regulation.”

Sesan added: “We have been working with partners in Nigeria and Kenya to work on draft regulation that countries and states can adopt

in response to the COVID19 pandemic. Our role in these partnerships is to ensure these drafts conform to international human rights standards and that interventions by authorities in respective states or countries leverage digital opportunities to ease communication, learning and other interventions.”

SUPPORTING INNOVATION

L-R: Chairman, Creativexone Limited, Dapo Oluwaseyi Adelegan; Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Information, Aruya Temilade; Managing Director, Creativexone Limited, Doyin Adewumi; Executive Director, iFEST, Owolabi Mustapha; and Managing Director, Mind Innovations, Jahswill Osondu, at the launch of iFEST in Lagos… recently PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN

e-Commerce Operators Decry Restrictions on Deliverables E-commerce operators in Nigeria have expressed their dissatisfaction over what they described as heavy restrictions by state governments and law enforcement officials.

According to them, at a time when global players in the e-Commerce sector have seen the peculiarities of their operations come to the fore in helping governments and people in other climes observe

social distancing and stay in supply of essential items without leaving their homes, the Nigerian e-Commerce sector was instead buckling under the weight of heavy of government restrictions on deliverables.

The Nigerian e-Commerce operators who compared their local operations with that of global operators, said e-Commerce giants in other climes such as Amazon and

Alibaba, for instance, have played important roles in the fight against COVID-19 in other parts of the world, working in concert with the government in helping people ensure social distancing through wholesome adoption of online and contact-less shopping.

They, however, said investigations revealed a sorry tale of huge pains and frustrations among e-Commerce players

in Nigeria, in stark contrast to what obtains elsewhere.

According to them, research showed that in a number of countries and even in Africa, e-Commerce players have been supported and encouraged by the government in the fight against COVID-19.

They said the Nigerian government and some state governors have not only failed in openly backing the opera-

tions of e-Commerce players as an essential ally in the COVID-19 crisis, but a situation where security operatives are frustrating the operations of e-Commerce companies due to the ongoing lockdown and border closures has further worsened matters.

A source at Konga, who spoke on condition of anonymity provided some insights into the situation.

IIM Africa Partners University on Data Management The Institute of Information Management (IIM) has partnered Data Management University of USA to enhance data governance and management in Africa.

President/Chairman of the Governing Council of IIM-Africa, Dr. Oyedokun Ayodeji Oyewole, who disclosed the partnership deal, said the partnership became important, as effective data governance strategy becomes more essential for the survival and sustenance of government

and businesses, owing to the increasing importance of data, imposition of various data regulations coupled with sudden COVID-19 Pandemic.

He said there was need to ensure that the right policies, processes, technology and people were in place to effectively manage organisation’s data while complying with legal and regulatory requirements.

According to Oyewole; “As part of the Institute of Information Management (IIM) Africa’s

commitments towards ensuring global best practices, lessons learned, compliance, competence, research, standards and certification in the field of data and information management/ governance, has entered into a long-term partnership to bring the finest data management training to our industry across Africa, as we officially announce our professional alliance with the DataManagementU.com.

“The alliance is expected to provide members of the

Institute and other professionals across Africa, high standards, internationally-recognised learning, education, and certification.”

Speaking on the partnership, the President, EWSolutions, David Marco, stated: “We have truly enjoyed getting to know IIM Africa. I believe that working with wonderful people is the key to a great partnership. We are very excited to work with you and your team as well”.

IIM Africa is the premiere

International Information Management Professional Institute, offering accredited membership to professionals from different disciplines, for an opportunity to boost their profile, access lessons learned, business and career prospects, giving them an edge over their peers. The IIM Platform also offers networking opportunities for employment, projects, business development, access to top players in the Information Technology (IT), business world, and government.

In a letter to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Managing Director of NBC, Matthieu Seguin, explained that it was standard practice for it to support communities during emergencies.

He praised both the Federal and Lagos State Governments for their efforts at curtailing the spread of the virus and providing quality medical care

for confirmed cases.

“We appreciate the measures deployed so far to curtail the spread of the virus and the medical care currently provided for confirmed cases in the State. We fully support these commendable measures and will continue to work hard to meet the hydration needs of Nigerians, which is critical at this stage of the crisis,” Seguin said.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

NBC, Coca-Cola Support FG, States

Comms/e-Business Editor

Raheem Akingbolu

Senior Correspondent

The Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) and Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd, have restated their commitment to support the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria with material donations to the federal and state governments.

The NBC and Coca-Cola Nigeria in fulfilment of the commitment have already

Goddy Egene Emma Okonji

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)

donated over 13 million centilitres of its beverages, including Eva premium table water and other soft drinks to provide hydration and nourishment for patients and healthcare workers at Isolation and Treatment Centres across different states in the country.

Both companies also promised to continue to donate these products through the duration of this crisis.

In Lagos, the Isolation and Treatment Centres and frontline institutions that have received the donated materials include the Onikan Centre, the Gbagada Centre, Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) whose street sweepers and medical waste workers are still actively working during the pandemic.

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Cryan: Connectivity, Critical Enabler of Social, Economic Change The Country Manager, Ericsson Nigeria, Mr. Sean Cryan, spoke on the importance of technology application in addressing the spread of COVID-19, and how technology will be an enabler in contributing to innovative solutions in the post-COVID-19 era. Emma Okonji brings the excerpts:

T

he outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China in 2019 has posed some challenges to science and technology, since there has been no known cure to it. How can technology be used to contain its spread?

As the world faces an unprecedented crisis in the form of Coronavirus (COVID-19), information and communication technologies (ICT) is playing a critical role in bringing people together while social distancing is being practiced across the world. ICT at this time is an open ecosystem that empowers and accelerates the ambitions of all those who meaningfully engage with it. The potential for ICT in connecting people and sharing knowledge instantly during crisis is game-changing and universal. It is also transforming many social and economic aspects of our lives, such as education, healthcare, business and professional development. Many business organisations have taken a precautionary approach to limit the spread of COVID-19 by advising their employees to work from home. As educational institutions quickly pivot toward online learning, both students and teachers have found great value in the use of digital tools and connectivity. In a time of crisis, information and communication are critical. Mobile networks are an essential part of the communications backbone that enables health workers, public safety officials and critical businesses to stay connected during this global crisis. Without technology, people wouldn’t be able to stay connected to perform their activities remotely and that is how technology is becoming extremely essential to contain the spread of the virus.

The right information dissemination is critical at this period of fast spread of the Coronavirus. How can technology be of help in proper information dissemination?

With many of us in isolation, the spotlight is on the national telecommunications infrastructure. We’re all relying on our devices for everything from getting essentials to checking on family, to communicating and sending information between emergency and utility services. More than ever, information, unified collaboration, and telecommunication including mobile networks form a critical backbone that enables families, health workers, public safety officials, education institutions and critical businesses to stay connected during this global crisis.

IT departments are busy scaling their gateway networks and cloud computing systems to make sure home workers can receive and send emails, access company data, participate in audio and video conferences, and collaborate effectively, during this period of lockdown. How can technology help in managing such situation?

All networks, mobile as well as fixed, are dimensioned to handle the peak load during the busiest hour of the week. The fact that people are staying home during the entire day has not changed this although the load has increased during daytime. Ericsson is committed to stay close to its customers during these challenging times and help them provide the best possible connectivity and network quality.

Ericsson engineers and field staff are working to keep the networks up and running. The deployment of Ericsson Radio Systems increases the speed and capacity of mobile broadband services for subscribers and enterprises, while at the same time expands coverage for better service in remote and urban areas. Through our partnerships, we have demonstrated the powerful role ICT can play in transforming societies as well as humanitarian response by creating long-term solutions that support both efficiency and efficacy.

What is the latest technology that will change the world and how can countries and organisations leverage the technology?

for good, the introduction of 5G and expansion of LTE networks across Africa can accelerate this process exponentially. Some of the ways we are connecting Africa for the better include: Mixed reality for urban design together with UN-Habitat (SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities); Innovative approach to mitigate and adapt to climate change through Ericsson Weather Data (SDG 13: Climate action); Use of mobile financial services to reduce inequalities through Ericsson Mobile Wallet (SDG 10: Reduced inequalities); ICT in Education and our Connect to Learn initiative (SDG 4: Quality education); Role of technology in peacebuilding with youth through the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) (SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions); and Public Private Partnerships to Connect the Unconnected through the Millennium Villages Project (MVP).

Cryan

When looking at the development in this industry over the last few years it is truly astonishing to see the progress. 5G is the next generation of wireless technology and is key to empowering new services and use cases for people, businesses, and society at large.

Previous generations were centred around consumer and personal communications. 5G will serve consumers, enterprises and take the internet of things to a next level, where superior connectivity is a prerequisite. The 5G specifications were accelerated in 3GPP, leading to device and infrastructure vendors taking on the challenge to deliver 5G earlier than expected. It is encouraging to see that 5G now has broad support from almost all device makers, and a very strong ecosystem.

So far, a majority of the launch markets are charging a premium averaging almost 20 per cent for 5G subscriptions. Today most of the investments, traffic and subscriptions are in 2G, 3G or 4G networks. Modernizing existing networks, improving network performance and increasing user experience, continue to be at the core of every service provider’s day-to-day business. By 2025, we expect 5G to have 2.6 billion subscriptions covering up to 65 per cent of the world’s population and generating 45 per cent of the world’s total mobile data traffic.

What is your view on the efficacy of emerging technologies like IoT, AI, and ML in transforming the globe and how can economies leverage on these emerging technologies?

As we move toward intelligent society and industry, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be integrated into almost everything – learning, adapting and intelligently automating. The real value of AI, however, is not limited to applications which connect to the network, but will ultimately be realised in the networks themselves, being instrumental for the evolution of the network and an enabler of future network management. This leads us into an era of intelligent, autonomous networks – serving up the speed, scale and capacity of intelligent society and industry – with close to zero touch.

One major challenge of tech startups is lack of funding. How can African startups get access to funding to promote their business?

The development of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology and 5G digital infrastructure is an integral part of Africa’s growing economy and has proved to be an essential driver of an inclusive information society that integrates digitization in all critical aspects of life, such as education, transport, health, energy and even homeland security. All of this, of course, carries significant potential to contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa. From an Ericsson perspective, we support startups through Ericsson Ventures; an entity that invests in companies with focus on emerging growth areas for Ericsson, Ericsson customers, as well Ericsson core businesses.

Ericsson Ventures invests across all stages with focus on sectors aligned to the core business of Ericsson. Areas of focus range from radio technology to IoT, AI, software defined networking, analytics, connected cars, security, wireless, mobile advertising and Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). Having a stage agnostic approach, Ericsson Ventures invests in every early stage company the closer the company is to Ericsson’s core business, whilst opting for a mature company, with proven track record, existing products and a solid track of high revenue generation, the further the company is from Ericsson’s core business.

What is the importance of big data and data analytics in organisational growth and how best can African countries generate data for national development?

Various technologies already exist to collect, analyse, and report on pandemic-related data. It is important to use different sources of data in order to create an accurate view of a crisis situation. The simultaneous collection of some available data, with due permission, can provide analytics platforms with enough information to produce accurate reports that help governments and organizations to take the right decisions.

Technology has been used to support distant learning and remote healthcare.

How effective has this been with developing countries that that are still battling to grow their broadband penetration?

Connectivity is a critical enabler of social and economic change. Its dynamism constantly offers us new ways to overcome both global and regional development challenges. If leveraged

What is your general assessment of technology development and growth in Africa, and what can be done to improve on it?

As we look ahead, it is clear that Africa shows significant development in economic, technological and infrastructural growth over the coming years. Yet, there are still many challenges we must overcome if we are to deliver real sustainable change for all. While there are parts of the continent on the cusp of 5G rollout, there remains other parts where 3G and 4G are still in infancy. More than just a business opportunity, digitalisation is fundamental to achieving all 17 of the SDGs and a powerful way to make a positive impact on society. To truly leverage the full potential which this offers, it’s important we reach out to all stakeholders across government, and public and private enterprise. This is how we make positive, sustainable impact in areas such as climate change, education, human rights and humanitarian response.

What is Ericsson doing to boost connectivity and network quality in organisations?

The demand on both voice and data has grown, so it is critical we are out there. With our team of field engineers, working day and night to manage radio and mobile network sites across the world, we’re ensuring network operators can continue to offer world-class connectivity and coverage.

As a global company, we have a process and organisational set-up to deal with potential issues that our company may face, both to ensure the health and safety our employees and to minimise impact on our operations.

Ericsson’s Group Crisis Management Council is responsible for the handling of major incidents or crisis.

How is Ericsson leveraging the power of technology to transform societies, especially developing societies?

In light of the revolutionary technological advances that are changing the African continent, a comprehensive technology framework needs to be in place to put Africa at the forefront of digital transformation. At this turning point, Ericsson is proud to contribute to this journey and use next generation technology to enable rapid improvements in industrial production, societal services and people’s way of living and interacting with their environment. Industries everywhere are under constant pressure to improve product quality, boost factory efficiency, stay competitive, enhance safety, security and sustainability, and remain profitable. By creating a digital foundation, automation will increase productivity and performance. This will deliver inclusive socio-economic development and accelerate rapid service improvements and digital readiness across societies and industries.

We, at Ericsson, are committed to using our technology to contribute to new innovative solutions for a better tomorrow, and our aim is to develop solutions that support growth in Africa.

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Self-Service Platform Lekki Gardens Estate and as Timely Innovation Care for Neighbours Raheem Akingbolu reviews the self-service platform introduced by the promoters of GOtv

A

study of the global market in the last few weeks reveal many innovations. In Nigeria, the period under review has changed a lot of things about marketing, customer service and consumption. Therefore, consumers, service providers and manufacturers of goods are now in a new regime, driven by innovation and technology.

For instance, the culture of interacting online has been around for years but only few people explored it until the current lockdown propelled people to work from home. Of course, it has also changed consumption pattern and market place.

To meet consumers demand, manufacturer of essential things and service providers have no choice but to raise the stake in connecting with their target audience. This is where the promoters of one of Africa’s leading entertainment platforms, GOtv had an edge the moment the lockdown was pronounced.

Before pandemics, Multichoice, the parent body of the pay TV brand, had consistently invested in technology that would make subscribers manage their account without hassles.

Last year, the company had raised the stake across Africa by launching MyGOtv apps, which officially gave customers the power of managing their accounts, with over a million downloads across the continent already. With the apps, the company had stated that customers would be able to manage, pay for their GOtv accounts and view their payment history without physical presence at the company’s outlets. It was also stated that the subscribers would be able to manage notifications settings, change their subscription package, update contact details and fix decoder errors using their mobile devices.

With the lockdown quickly changing lifestyle and consumption pattern for Nigerians, the experience of this reporter with the GOtv self-service platform pointed to how business owners are demystifying customer services. Though when the self-service platforms were unveiled, it was stated that they were designed to enhance customer experience and allow customers had quick and easy avenues of resolving complaints and enjoy uninterrupted quality entertainment with their families, only few subscribers took it serious until recently when it became almost the only option to solve issues related to customer services.

For easy access, the management of Multichoice Nigeria, stated at the unveiling of the mobile app for customers on its digital terrestrial platform, GOtv that it would be available for free download through the iOS and Android app stores.

Speaking on the new initiative, Chief Executive Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe said the platform will put the power of self-service in customers’ hands and allow them to manage viewing preferences, clear error codes, check account balances, make payments, change packages and update their details anytime, anywhere. “The new app will form part of the numerous digital platforms that are innovative and functional to meet the ever-changing needs and demands of our valued customers,� he said.

Once the app is downloaded, GOtv customers, regardless of the package subscribed to, can log on using their customer details (Last Name OR Mobile Number PLUS their IUC Number) from their data enabled device. Once logged in, the MyGOtv mobile app allows customers to manage their GOtv account from the

Nyong

Richard Nyong

Ugbe

comfort of their homes.

Ugbe said: “By enabling customers to independently manage their accounts, we expect to see a reduction in queries and queues at the call-centres, thereby freeing up our customer-facing staff to provide improved one-on-one support to those customers who require it. Our goal is to provide an accessible, affordable and efficient platform for self-service to improve overall customer experience when engaging with GOtv�.

Perhaps with the new global development, the company must have kept its promise that the app would continually be assessed and updated to adapt to digital technology advancements that would improve customer experience.

Speaking on the self-service options, Chief Customer Service Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho, explained that in view of the current situation and its requirement for reduced physical interaction, the self-service options were the most efficient ways for people to manage their GOtv accounts. “The self-service platforms are designed to enhance customer experience and allow our customers quick and easy avenues of resolving complaints and enjoy uninterrupted quality entertainment with their families,� he said.

While subscribers on the platform see this as another plus for consumers, market analysts see it as another punch for competition. Since the emergence of GOtv and Startimes in the Nigerian entertainment sector, competition in the Pay tv market has assumed a new trend. The two, which try to democratise the Pay tv market have always competed with ideas and innovative marketing strategies to woo patrons.

The market, hitherto dominated by DSTV, prior to the lunch of the two, has witnessed tremendous growth in consumer promotion deployment, brand activation, thematic and tactical creative campaigns and actual share of voice in the media.

To this end, pundits believe that the marketing antics of the two brands in the market would take a while to abate. But the exciting part of the whole episode is that consumers are at the centre of this epic battle.

In response to GOtv various initiatives in the last six months, StarTimes, had recently enriched its content with an upgrade of 14 new channel offerings that can be enjoyed in three languages for viewers across Africa at no extra cost.

This was believed to be in response to the new packages introduced on GOtv platform during the last year’s yuletide period for the season and beyond.

T

he COVID-19 outbreak is predicted to have significant impacts on various segments of our society.

The populations most at risk are those that depend heavily on the informal economy; have inadequate access to social services; and have limited opportunities to cope.

By understanding these issues, the business community and persons of means can better support vulnerable populations in an emergency period like this.

In the face of the well-advised government lockdown which has necessitated businesses to close to help prevent transmission of COVID-19, there are also financial concerns and job losses with its attendant human impacts Not knowing how this pandemic will play out also affects our economic, physical and mental well-being.

Despite the fear of not knowing how this pandemic will play out, businesses and communities across the country have shown remarkable compassionate responses in the face of this crisis.

We may not immediately estimate the significant economic impact of the coronavirus on segments of the society across the country but the closure of businesses across all sectors heavily impact SMEs which in turn, affects many people, especially the least earning segments and those working in informal sectors.

The Federal various state Governments have announced, and are implementing palliative measures to support the vulnerable segments of the populace.

It is therefore important for businesses to continue to show solidarity and work together to protect staff, local communities and customers.

Actions and messages about what businesses are doing for their employees and in their communities are equally important.

There is a World Health Organisation (WHO) advisory for the business community to move from general support to specific actions.

Given that we are all in this together our organization is also standing together with the Government to ensure that we will leave no-one behind.

As a diversified Property Development Company, with foot-prints across the country we have built a reputation for quality homes and have a unique corporate culture which reinforces our continued passion to offering superior service to our customers.

Our foundational principle is premised on the essentials for living a fulfilled life – better living; more wealth; and a secure future.

But we also recognise that true wealth lies not in the pocket but in the heart, which explains why we have consistently been part of our communities, being our neighbours’ keeper, since we began business eight years ago.

Consistent with our DNA we activated

our robust contribution and response to provide the much needed support to over 1000 families in communities where some of our estates are located in parts of Lagos State, by supplying them essential food materials.

At an average of four persons per household we are actually supporting and touching the lives of over 4000 persons across the communities in this our modest intervention. So whatever it will take for us, within our means, to touch lives at this period, we shall do.

No gain saying that many Nigerians are hungry, and hopeless. There is a strong feeling of abandonment, and frustration, driving some into anti-social and criminal activities.

The unusual times therefore provide an opportunity to give succour to the masses in our communities and create connect as a neighbour.

By coming together as a people to play our parts, especially as we continue to see increasing number of reported corona virus cases across the land, our positive actions will in no small measure help to stem the spread of this pandemic.

But our collective responsibility to ourselves and to one another does not end with the support to the needy. We have come to accept that the pandemic has also affected the way we live our lives. We therefore encourage all of us to continuously adhere to the safety precautions and restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the virus.

As we re-commit to our vision of being continually connected with our host communities, while striving to bridge the housing deficit gap in the country, we also urge all to take responsibility: stay at home, regularly wash your hands with soap, observe social distancing, use a sanitizer, and a face mask. Assist your neighbours in every way possible. If we all play our parts, we can assist Government and socially responsible companies such as ours to stop the spread of COVID – 19.

Lekki Gardens was incorporated in January 2012 as a wholly indigenous real estate firm with a clear vision to bridge the 17 million housing deficit gap in Nigeria, moving swiftly from humble beginnings to become the market leader in the provision of super affordable homes while providing exceptional facility management services for same.

Over the years, we have built a strong reputation for providing some of the best real estate in Nigeria. We have till date embarked on numerous luxury projects and have an impressive property portfolio all of which are located in Lagos, Ogun, Rivers and The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja Nigeria. Our serviced properties are positioned as quality affordable home units with strong value increase potential to the average income earners.

As that great Negro sage said “We shall overcome.� Together, we shall overcome this pandemic and return to normal times.

-Nyong is the Managing Director/CEO of Lekki Gardens Estate

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Aig-Imoukhuede: Leaving Transformational Imprint on Wapic Insurance After eight years of diligent and committed service, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, on Monday retired as the Chairman of Wapic Insurance and its subsidiary, Wapic Life Assurance Limited, where he drove a transformation agenda which saw both organisations emerge as industry leaders, writes Oluchi Chibuzor

T

he ability to inspire people and an organisation with shared vision is one of the most important tasks and critical tests of leadership.

According to Michael Bunting, a leadership and mindfulness author, leaders who envision the future by imagining exciting and even ennobling possibilities inspire their team in achieving the organisational goals.

Bunting, also pointed out in one of his works that inspiring a shared vision engages people and increases their effectiveness, just as he stressed that organisational transformation is often a tough and usually brutal process. “Organisational transformation is a daunting and painful process. In effect, it is the death of one thing and in its place the birth of something else.

This is classically represented by the caterpillar becoming a butterfly. “The problem for the caterpillar is that it literally has to die, to go through the messy process in the cocoon, and what comes out – a butterfly – does not eat the same things as a caterpillar, does not see the world from the same viewpoint, and does not even have remotely the same body. That is true transformation,�

Bunting explained.

This, clearly, was the case with Wapic Insurance Plc and its subsidiary, Wapic Life Assurance Limited, under the leadership of their immediate past Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, who retired on Monday.

Indeed, great leaders always strive to inspire change through vision.

Before he retired, Aig-Imoukhuede held the enviable record of being the Chairman of both Wapic Insurance Plc and Wapic Life Assurance.

To keep faith with company’s Board succession plan, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu was announced to succeed him as Chairman of Board of Directors of Wapic Insurance, while Mr. Bababode Osunkoya will take over from him as Chairman of Wapic Life Assurance. Mr. Frank Beecham, the current Chairman of Wapic Insurance (Ghana) Ltd will retain his position until the end of his tenure.

Following its divestment from non-banking subsidiaries in 2013, Access Bank Plc then distributed all its shareholding in Wapic Insurance to its 800,000 plus shareholders by way of a special dividend.

These shareholders then challenged the new Board with the responsibility of repositioning the company and turning around its fortunes. The Board, under the leadership of Aig-Imoukhuede, articulated a transformation agenda which would see Wapic emerge as a regional leader in the insurance sector.

Some of the key highlights of the agenda were: recapitalising the organisation for competitiveness; brand revitalisation; entrenching a culture of excellence; recruiting and developing talented employees; transforming customer experience; and digitisation and automation.

The company last week became the first Nigerian motor insurer to offer customers refunds on their insurance premiums. This act of empathy was made in line with Wapic’s understanding that most drivers are stuck at home and unable to drive their motor vehicles in line with the COVID-19 pandemic stay at home policy.

Beyond financial and other contributions the company has made to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, both as an entity as well as in collaboration with its peers in the industry, Wapic has continued to show that it is serious about supporting its customers, particularly the most vulnerable, during this difficult time.

Recapitalisation for Competitiveness According to a report, to ensure that Wapic was properly positioned to underwrite serious business and to be amongst the top players in the industry, the Board was confronted with the task of recapitalising for competitiveness.

At the time Aig-Imoukhuede took over the leadership of the Board, Wapic Insurance’s total capital was N4.7 billion.

Known for his track record as a turnaround expert, Aig-Imoukhuede and the team successfully recapitalised the business to the tune of N23.1billion, between 2011 and 2019, a significant 400 per cent growth.

It is noteworthy that the General business which has already met the 2018 NAICOM recapitalisation requirement is now also well positioned to recapitalise its Life subsidiary business in 2020.

Therefore, as Aig-Imoukhuede retires from the Board of Wapic Insurance and its subsidiary, Wapic Life Assurance, the good news for Wapic is that the new Board would inherit a very strong and robust company that ticks all the right boxes. “The expectation from the industry is that the Board that is taking over at a time when the

Aig-Imoukhuede

business is among the top five most recapitalised insurance companies in Nigeria can, within 10 years, takes the company to over a N100 billion capitalisation base on the track record and the percentage increase of its current capital, thereby building upon the legacy of the Aig-Imoukhuede leadership,� an industry analyst who preferred to remain anonymous said.

Brand Revitalisation Indeed, at the centre of any business transformation is what the brand stands for and the promise it makes to its ecosystem of customers and potential customers, shareholders, employees and regulators.

Brand revitalisation is essential in improving a brand to meet changing demands and requirements of consumers in an evolving market. Brand revitalisation is also important to recover and reposition a brand in the mind of consumers because brands are key to a company’s longterm survival and market leadership. Formerly known as Intercontinental Wapic Insurance, the Aig-Imoukhuede -led Board, worked with the management team on a rebranding exercise that not only changed the company’s name to Wapic Insurance, but also established a relevant and compelling promise to all customers and stakeholders.

The rebranded Wapic Insurance was supported by a new brand identity, which included a new logo, as well as focused internal and external communication which aligned all stakeholders and signaled the company’s new business trajectory and repositioning in the industry. “This deliberate and strategic action announced that Wapic Insurance was heading in a new direction, a major milestone in the company’s repositioning. “This was supported by the completion of a modern head office built in line with stateof-the-art sustainability principles. “The brand has become a source of pride to all stakeholders and Wapic has become a credible partner to customers and counterparties, large and small, both locally and internationally,� the report added.

Entrenching Culture of Excellence Also, to elicit trust in the company’s values, the Board championed an organisation-wide cultural re-orientation and change management programme with excellence, professionalism and integrity at the heart of its DNA. With the support of management consultancy, Accenture Nigeria, Wapic embraced a highperformance mindset through important shifts in organisational practices, employee attitudes and behaviour. With that, principles of excellence, integrity and professionalism became entrenched in the organisation across all levels of operation and the company established the Wapic Insurance Academy to deliver a 4-month postgraduate ‘boot camp’ to the best-of-the-best university graduates, as a precondition to employment in the company.

To date, the Academy has produced five classes of Entry Level Trainees totaling 120 Trainees

from Nigeria and Ghana.

As a reinforcement of its resolve, Wapic Insurance also entered into an arrangement with the Lagos Business School (LBS) to support the development of mid-level to senior management employees as well as partnerships with global re-insurance companies such as Munich Re who deliver bespoke training for key talent. “Today, Wapic Insurance does not only pride itself as one of the best places to work in Nigeria - the company has become a convergence point for highly motivated and talented employees, pushing the boundaries of innovation in the Nigerian insurance sector,� it added.

Furthermore, to strengthen Wapic Insurance’s operations, the Board approved and instituted a number of leading practices in corporate governance and risk management policies.

Similarly, the company assembled a team of highly qualified and reputable non-executive directors to strengthen the corporate governance of both the parent company and its subsidiaries.

Through stringent adherence to high standards of governance, Wapic Insurance has over time become a reference point for leading market practice. “As a company, Wapic Insurance has taken pride in being the first NSE listed company to establish a Board Technology Committee. “The firm’s passion for sustainability has seen the company play a leading role at industry events, such as the 2014 National Insurance Summit, which was the first of its kind in Nigeria, further supported by the move to establish a sector-wide, shared-claims bureau to radically improve claims payment by all operators. “Wapic is serious about best practice and has implemented a stringent Business Continuity Programme aimed at safe-guarding the organisation and its people and ensuring prevention and recovery measures are in place,� it added.

Transforming Customer Experience Similarly, Wapic has invested time in understanding customers’ needs and developing processes to create a unique and excellent customer experience, enabling it to reengineer its service delivery in order to ensure a seamless customer journey across all touch points.

The company also deepened engagement with its customers through convenient electronic channels as well as personal client visits, using its Financial Service Advisors (FSA) and Contact Centre agents.

As the company continues on its transformational journey to restore confidence in the insurance industry through prompt claims payment processes and a pleasant customer experience, Wapic has committed to pushing beyond all boundaries in its levels of service delivery.

Digitisation and Automation For the size of its business, Wapic Insurance has a robust IT infrastructure, supporting its automation and digitisation. The company invested in several state-of-the-art technology solutions and applications to boost its operational efficiency upon realising the scale of transformation

that would be required to take its operations to industry-leadership.

As service excellence was at the core of its operations, Wapic Insurance strengthened service delivery and quality with the adoption of WapX, an excellent world-class core insurance application developed by Asseco Europe.

With WapX, Wapic Insurance now seamlessly rolls out digital insurance products and services.

This first mover strategically heralded a new dawn in operational delivery and service excellence for the insurance industry in Nigeria.

Wapic Insurance was the first in West Africa to deploy a Core Insurance Application of this level supporting current and future capability.

Aside from the internal efficiencies that the application brings (which includes giving the customer an end-to-end view of their transactions) the application has an in-built Internet Insurance Portal that empowers individuals, brokers and agents to be in control of initialising, managing and terminating most transactions from the convenience of their offices and homes.

In addition, the application provides Wapic Insurance the capability to connect their agents, channels and various partner platforms through well-secured application programming interfaces (API). The core insurance application supported by a robust array of other applications including the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform using Microsoft Nav, the refreshed and reinvigorated wapic.com website with the online functionalities and the Historical Data Portal (HDP).

The new solutions have brought faster processing time, speedy resolutions, improved document management and an altogether slick and convenient customer experience.

Conclusion In a bold move to push the business to next phase of growth, shareholders and other stakeholders expect the two new Board leaders to build upon the robust legacy of Aig-Imoukhuede’s Board.

In his farewell speech, the former Chairman spoke highly of his two successors, their suitability for the job and the unimpeachable credentials they both exhibit.

He explained: “My dear colleagues, Mr. Sunmonu is a respected business leader, with extensive board experience in various organisations across multiple sectors of the economy. “He is well prepared to lead the next phase of the Wapic Insurance growth plan. He is the former Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and Country Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, with an Oil & Gas career spanning over 36 years in Nigeria, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. “Similarly, Mr. Osunkoya, who until his appointment as Chairman of the Board of Wapic Life Assurance, was the Chairman of the company’s Board Audit and Compliance Committee, having being appointed to the company’s Board in January 2013. “Mr. Osunkoya is a Senior Partner at the Chartered Accounting firm of Abax-OOSA Professionals, boasting over two-decade cognate experience in banking, business and financial advisory. He is one of Nigeria’s foremost certified Forensic Auditors, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN); he will champion Wapic Life Assurance’s growth objectives in this phase of the transformation agenda.� “As I retire from the Boards of Wapic Insurance and Wapic Life Assurance today, I am confident that Messrs. Mutiu Sunmonu and Bababode Osunkoya will enjoy the necessary support towards the actualisation of our outlined institutional goals in this second phase of our Transformation Agenda.�

It is noteworthy that even on the eve of Aig-Imoukhuede’s retirement from the Board of Wapic, the company continues to lead the industry as the first Nigerian underwriter to refund 100 per cent premium on motor insurance to its customers.

The company understands that its customers are experiencing unprecedented circumstances and many are struggling to cope during this period, leading to the generous decision to refund customers in recognising that they are making a sacrifice by staying at home and supporting the country in flattening the curve of the pandemic. “With a sense of fulfilment, Wapic Insurance has successfully transformed into an insurance company of choice. The series of implemented corporate actions have established the company as a leader championing customer-centric initiatives and programmes aimed at industry transformation,� he added.

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IMAGES

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͱͮ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

Photo Editor ÌÓÙÎßØ ÔËÖË Email ËÌÓÙÎßØ˛ËÔËÖË̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙ×

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki briefing President Muhammadu Buhari, via a zoom meeting, on strategies being adopted by the state to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, political situation in Edo State, among others...recently.

Stranded travellers from Kebbi and Kwara States on the border of Osun State due to the lockdown order by the State Government to curb the spread of COVID 19 in Osun State...recently

People gathered to receive cooked food beside Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila constituency office on Akerelere road Surulere, Lagos... recently kunle ogunfuyi

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila on the floor, moving a bill on the Repeal of Quarantine Act, 2004 during the plenary session at the National Assembly, Abuja...recently

L-R: Executive Director, PropertyWorld Africa Networ (PWAN) Lekki, Nnadi Daniel; Managing Director, PWAN Lekki, Odusanya Mukaila Odutola; Managing Director PWAN Advantage, Chinedu Ezenwa; Group Executive Director PWAN Group/ Managing Director PWAN Legend, Afam Okonkwo; Managing Director PWAN Plus, Julius Oyedemi; Managing Director PWAN Heaven, Dr. Fred Okpaje; and General Manager PWAN Homes, Olusegun Joseph at the PWAN COVID-19 palliative/food distribution in Lagos...recently ETOP UKUTT

L-R: Edo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia; Chairman, Oredo Local Government Area, Hon. Evbareke Jenkins Osunde; Edo State Deputy Governor and Chairman, state Response Committee on COVID-19, Hon. Philip Shaibu, during a press briefing at the Government House in Benin City...recently

President of Just Friends Club of Nigeria, Mr. Fred Ohwahwa(3rd left) presenting food items to Mrs. Anna Emeh of Shinning Star Orphanage, Angwan-Dutse, Lugbe, Abuja...recently

L-R: Vice Chairman, Yoruba Tennis Club, Chief Jide Damazio; Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde; Chairman, YorubaTennis Club, Mr Olawunmi Agbaje; and General Secretary, Chief Adeniji Abiodun, during the presentation of medical supplies and equipment by Yoruba Tennis Club to Lagos State Government to support the fight COVID- 19 pandemic in Lagos...recently ETOP UKUTT

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T H I S D AY ˾ , APRIL 30, 2020

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

ÜÙßÚ ÏËÞßÜÏÝ ÎÓÞÙÜ˝ ÒÓÏ×ÏÖÓÏ äÏÙÌÓ ×ËÓÖ chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 07010510430

Lockdown Relaxation and Lessons from Spanish Flu The Nigerian government ordered a lockdown when COVID-19 cases in the country rose to only 97. One month after, it has relaxed it even when the numbers have risen above 1600, and despite a clear sign that the virus is now spreading within communities. Will the decision fuel a spike in statistics as seen during the Spanish flu of 1918 or help in halting the virus? Martins Ifijeh queries

W

hen the Spanish flu first appeared in March 1918, it had all the trappings of a seasonal flu. It was believed that despite its highly contagious nature and extremely harmful strain, it was going to disappear within weeks or months.

But health experts were wrong. Within weeks it spread quickly through the United States Army installation, home to 54,000 troops. By the end of the month, 1,100 troops had been hospitalised and 38 had died after developing pneumonia.

Throughout April and May of 1918, the virus spread like wildfire through England, France, Spain and Italy such that an estimated three-quarter of the French military was infected in the spring of 1918 and as many as half of British troops.

Only a small percentage of people infected died at the time as it was believed the virus was not much as deadly as initially thought, according to history books.

In no time, community transmission of the Spanish flu was evident across Europe and other continents, leading to the total lockdown of schools, markets, churches, mosques, casinos and other public places. There were more stringent measures to contain the virus than in the World War 1 which simultaneously was been fought along with the outbreak.

Historians said there was apprehension by the people as they were tired of the new way of life.

They complained of hunger, boredom and static lives. There was pressure on leaders to reverse the order. And in no time, the world war ended, a development the people also assumed signaled

the end of the highly contagious Spanish flu.

History dot com, one of the platforms that documented the events of the 1918 pandemic said people began to disobey lockdown orders, as millions took to the streets to celebrate the end of World War 1. In places were lockdown was still effective, there were protests, and then governments started to relax the rules. It was summer of 1918 and the only time people could truly enjoy the weather in cold regions. Coincidentally, reported cases of the virus dropped at the time.

But like the calm before the storm, the second wave of Spanish flu started because people had started to mix up. This time, it was more aggressive than the first, with the strain extremely virulent.

The virus infected 500 million people worldwide and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million

victims; that is more than all of the soldiers and civilians killed during the five year old world war.

While the global pandemic lasted for two years, the vast majority of deaths were packed into three especially cruel months during summer of 1918.

Fast forward 102 years after, the globe is in almost same scenario, with the world experiencing a highly infectious spread of COVID-19 that has now infected over three million people with almost 300,000 deaths globally.

Just like in Spanish flu, leaders have started receiving pressures from their citizens to either relax lockdowns or provide palliatives so they can stay at home and prevent community spread of the virus.

Unfortunately, one of the countries without the ideal structure to provide palliative is Nigeria with

millions of its citizens already living in starvation since the one-month-old lockdown commenced; hence forcing the federal government to take an alternate but tough decision to relaxe the order.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on March 29, ordered for a total lockdown of Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) just when the country had only 97 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Shockingly, with confirmed cases now beyond 1600, the president has relaxed the lockdown effective May 4; a move that reminds of the days of the Spanish flu.

Although the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire told Arise Television, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, Tuesday that it was a tough decision the president had to make as part of measures to open the economy and halt starvation and malnutrition, several healthcare stakeholders have described the move as a big mistake, as this may imply that the country’s numbers will begin to jump exponentially until millions of citizens are affected with several hundreds death.

The Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association, Lagos State Chapter, Dr. Saliu Oseni told THISDAY that the relaxation of lockdown will fuel community transmission of the virus, adding that it was obvious the government has failed in providing palliatives to poor citizens.

The former President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Olumide Akintayo told THISDAY Tuesday that what the government really needed to do was extend the lockdown nationwide for the next 14 days rather than the relaxation.

Although the president’s men believe his decision will help stabilise the country in the face of the pandemic, only time will tell if a second wave of the virus will not be seen due to this decision.

JIK Donates Products to Lagos for Disinfection of Public Places As part of efforts towards halting community spread of COVID-19 in Lagos State, Reckitt Benckiser, makers of JIK, has donated 100 cartons of disinfectants to the state government for decontamination of public places.

In a statement made avail-

able to THISDAY recently, the Country Manager, RB Hygiene West Africa, Mr Asif Hashimi said the firm was collaborating with the state to curb the spread of infectious diseases caused by germs and viruses, as well as promotes good hygiene.

He said: “Over the years,

Nigerians have come to trust JIK to keep their homes in good sanitary state and help curb the spread of infectious diseases in their families. It is safe for the environment as it kills 99.9 per cent of illness-causing germs on surfaces, laundry and in the environment, and

COVID 19: Total Upstream, Partners Support PLWHA in Lagos The Nigeria National Petroleum Commission/ National Petroleum Investment Management Service (NNPC/NAPIMS) and Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (CNOOC, SAPETRO and PRIME) have joined forces to support People Living with HIV (PLWHA) in Lagos with palliatives within the period of the lockdown caused

by COVID-19.

Disclosing this during the presentation of 750 bags of items to PLWHA in Lagos recently, the General Manager,

Corporate Social Responsibility, Total Upstream Ltd, Mr.Wokoma Ajukura, who represented the Managing Director, Mr. Mike Sangster said they saw the need to provide the support due to the challenges confronting PLWHA in terms of feeding and assessing treatment. He said: “Our decision to support the PLWHA is based on their vulnerability and the fact that Lagos is on lockdown.”

The GMD, NAPIMS, Bala Wunti said the gesture was in line with the company’s goal of

touching lives He was represented by the Supervisor Community Relations, NAPIMS, Mrs. Bunmi Lawson.

“NNPC and its partners are committed to supporting any initiative that can alleviate the discomfort of Nigerian.”

The CEO, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, Dr. Monsurat Adeleke, commended Total Upstream and partners for providing leadership and strategic direction at this critical time in the life of people living with HIV.

this has been corroborated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as part of precautions that should be adopted to help with prevention, amongst other measures.

“JIK can be used on numerous surfaces including door knobs, stair railing, floors, kitchen

slabs, table tops, bathrooms and toilets surfaces, washing of clothes as well as fumigation in open places to maintain a healthy and hygienic environment. We are optimistic that this humble contribution will support the overall effort to stem the tide of coronavirus,”

he added. The Director, Sanitation Services Department, Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Dr. Hassan Sanuth commended the efforts of RB Nigeria through JIK for the continued support towards the fight to effectively curtail the spread of COVID-19 in Lagos State.

Coca-Cola Partners Red Cross in Fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria The Coca-Cola Foundation has provided a grant to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

The intervention is to scale up community sensitisation and procure essential protective kits such as medical masks, face shields, hand gloves and hand sanitisers which are increasingly needed for healthcare workers and others who are courageously battling the pandemic on the frontlines in the most affected

states in the country.

The President, Coca-Cola Foundation, Helen Smith Price said: “We are concerned about the coronavirus outbreak across the globe. Through our foundation, we are supporting IFRC and their efforts to distribute medical supplies to frontline workers in Africa. As a longtime partner of the IFRC, we are proud to support critical relief efforts in impacted communities.”

Separately, the Nigeria Bottling Company and Chi Limited have donated bottles

of Eva premium table water and Evap milk to provide hydration and nourishment for healthcare workers and their patients at the treatment centres across states in the country.

IFRC’s Regional Director for Africa and Special Advisor to the Secretary-General, Dr. Simon Missiri said: “The potential humanitarian impact of this partnership with The Coca-Cola Foundation is significant - aiming to directly impact 1.3 million people in Nigeria and other countries in the region.

Mother of Three Urgently Needs 1.3M to Treat Heart Disease A 34 year old mother of three and a widow, Blessing Samuel, urgently needs N1.3 million to treat a heart disease and stay alive for her young children.

Mrs. Samuel who lost her husband last year is currently battling with severe coronary heart disease she has been managing for two years.

“My health is fast deteriorating, and my doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has adviced I access treatment on time as I can no longer do the things

I used to do.

“My husband was at the forefront of supporting me. I have sold all we have for the management. I will need a surgical procedure as soon

as possible to regain my health back.” The mother of three said she hope to take the window of opportunity available to her, as it is believed if she delays further,

she may be unable to reverse the damages done to her hearts.

Support can be sent to her GTB account, 0250435622; Account name, Blessing Samuel.

26

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍąÍŽËœ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

COVID-19: FRC Unveils Guidelines for Preparers of Financial Statements Hamid Ayodeji The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) has released fresh guidelines on the impact of COVID-19 on financial reporting. The guidelines released recently, was the second of such to be released by the FRC in two weeks. The latest guidance targets preparers of financial statements during COVID-19 period.

In a statement published on its website, FRC said the purpose of the guidance was for directors of reporting entities and those charged with governance to assess the risk of COVID-19 at an early stage of the financial reporting and audit process. The guidance therefore serves to draw preparers’ attention to the possible impact of COVID-19 on their businesses with the consequent

financial reporting implications which they are expected to give particular attention to, all within the framework of existing body of standards i.e. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

It explained that, “events after the reporting period, going concern, effects on interim financial reporting, changes in expected credit losses for loans and other financial assets, net realisable of inventories, group reporting, effects of government and regulatory relief programmes on entities and their customers and transparency and disclosures�.

The guidance added that, “the importance of providing all relevant disclosures related to actual and potential impacts of COVID-19 by preparers of financial statements in order to comply with the requirements of IFRS.�

The Council also reminded preparers that they were expected to disclose the principal risks and uncertainties that they face because of COVID-19 outbreak in their interim reports.

Regulated entities such as banks and insurance companies were encouraged to consider any guidance that may have been issued by their industry regulators as long as they do not contradict the provisions of IFRS. The regulator added that the, “guidance does not in any way alter, remove or add to the requirements of financial reporting standards and that professionals are therefore still expected to exercise necessary judgements in the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of information in their general-purpose financial statements in the context of the current pandemic.�

MARKET INDICATORS

Wapic Insurance Premium Refund Excites Customers Customers of Wapic Insurance Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading underwriters, have hailed the decision by the company to refund their insurance premiums due to the lockdown occasioned by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The policy announced recently, was in line with the understanding that most drivers are stuck at home and unable to drive their motor vehicles in line with the COVID-19 pandemic stay at home policy. Customers said the move which was the first Nigerian motor insurer to announce such refund showed that company cares about the plight of their customers. “Only a caring brand stands by its customers during difficult period and Wapic has demonstrated that with the decision to refund part of our premium due

to the lockdown,� a customer of the company, Mr. Samuel Olowokere said.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Adeyinka Adekoya, assured customers that the insurer would continue to put the needs and requirements of its customers ahead of anything else.

He added: “Wapic is a corporate citizen and we continue to pursue several Sustainability initiatives. We pride ourselves in giving back to the communities in which we serve and continue to look for ways to contribute. “Up to this point our contributions have taken the form of cash donation to NAICOM which was applied as a pool to fund the free life insurance cover for health workers,� Adekoya added.

Beyond financial and other contributions the company had made to fight the COVID-19

pandemic, Wapic has also been serious about supporting its customers, particularly the most vulnerable, during this difficult time.

The insurer takes pride in always putting customers first and continually improving its services to deliver a unique and excellent customer experience.

The immediate past Chairman, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, had said: �We know that our customers are experiencing unprecedented circumstances and many are struggling to cope. We want to recognise the sacrifice you are making by driving significantly less as you support our country’s objectives in flattening the curve of the pandemic. We want our customers to know they can Rest Assured and we will defeat this pandemic together.�

Firm Rolls Out Initiative for Essential Workers Raheem Akingbolu Eat’N’Go Limited, the franchisee for Domino’s Pizza, Cold Stone Creamery and Pinkberry Gourmet Yoghurt, has rolled out its charity initiative to support the federal government in the COVID-19 fight.

The initiative, which commenced in March, has allowed the firm to provide food to essential workers who are at the frontline in combating the spread of the virus.Since the commencement of the initiative, the firm said it had provided boxes of large Domino’s pizza, cups of Cold

Stone ice cream and Pinkberry Yoghurt to different institutions including the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Yaba Centre, Oyo state ministry of health, and various Police stations across the country.In addition, it said it was committed to its support with food supplies until Covid-19 had been contained.

Speaking about the initiative, Patrick McMichael, Chief Executive Officer, Eat’N’Go Limited acknowledged the sacrifice and diligence of all medical practitioners, the government as well as other essential workers who have put their selves forward to

manage the pandemic. “We are thankful to everyone at the forefront of this battle, doing all it takes to end the pandemic.

As a firm that holds the wellbeing of others in high esteem, we are committed to contributing our quota to ensure you remain healthy throughout this period, which is why we have decided to drive this initiative,“ he said.

Also commenting on the initiative, Oyo state Commissioner for Health, through Dr. T.O Ladipo, Incident manager, Oyo state COVID-19 Emergency response team, extended his appreciation to the firm.

WAPCo Donates N15m Medical Equipment to Lagos State Peter Uzoho The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) has donated personal protective equipment (PPEs) and medical supplies worth N15 million to the Lagos State Government to help in the fight against COVID-19 in the state.

Speaking in Lagos, recently, while handing over the items to the General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, the Managing Director of WAPCo

Limited, Mr. Gregory Germani, explained that the donation would help health workers in the state the opportunity to offer their services in a much safer way.

Germani, who was represented at the occasion by the General Manager, Operations, WAPCo, Mr. Saminu Justin, commended the Lagos State government for its leadership role in containing the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

He said: “I commend you for the leadership you have provided since the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. “Your steadfast

commitment to doing it right in Lagos state has given direction and even hope to other locations even outside Nigeria. “As nations and states make efforts to stop the spread of these deadly virus, WAPCO sees Lagos state has being pivotal in providing the needed solutions for the Nigerian people, and we are readily aligned with efforts in this regards. “We as a responsible organisation consider ourselves as partners with the state government especially in times of such monumental crisis.

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

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

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OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ Í°Íś Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $12.41 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $13.30 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), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

27

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͱͮ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

MARKET NEWS

UBA Benefits from Tech Investment, Assures Shareholders of Better Returns Goddy Egene The Group Managing Director/ CEO of United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, yesterday said all the investments made by bank over the years in the area of technology are now yielding positive results.

He also assured shareholders of the bank that its management and board would continue to meet the needs of customers in terms of digital patronage in the period of COVID-19

pandemic.

Speaking at annual general meeting of UBA in Lagos, which was held virtually, Uzoka said the pan-African bank operating in 20 African countries and also in the United Kingdom, the United States and France, was prepared for all situation.

“When we learnt about this pandemic, we immediately activated our business continuity plan. We will continually do business in a way to ensure

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

that customers do not have to physically be in the bank. We are set to take our business to the customers wherever they are and however they want it. Our commitment to our loyal shareholders is amply demonstrated in our progressive dividend policy,” he said.

In his address, the Group Chairman, UBA, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said their commitment to improve lives in Africa remains a long-term one, hence they are assisting governments

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

in Africa to curb this pandemic and help sustain employment across the continent.

“I want to also thank the UBA Board of Directors, who have been responsive in this time of crisis, as the group donates $14 million to assist governments to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria and Africa,” he said.

Elumelu, thanked executive management and members of staff and assured shareholders, that despite the pandemic, UBA

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

had delivered an impressive performance in its just released first quarter results.

Shareholders at the meeting commended the board of directors and management for the proactive role that the Group has been playing in helping to lessen the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic across the African continent and its robust financial performance, despite a difficult macroeconomic outlook.

For instance, President of

O F

Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigeria Shareholders, Dr Faruk Umar said: “I am also happy that you fulfilled the promise you made at the AGM last year to pay dividends in Naira and not kobo, by paying N1.00 per 50 kobo shares to shareholders, in this difficult time. We have seen the first quarter results, and we are particularly happy about the performance of our subsidiaries across Africa.”

2 8 / 0 4 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020

28

ଂ

ଂ ଂ

ଂ

ଂ ଂ

7 R S 7 U D G H V E \ 9 R O X P H

7 R S * D L Q H U V T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

P ric e C hg %

51.4

2.1%

C A VER T ON

2.47

9.8%

UP D C R EIT

3.40

9.7%

FB NH

25.7

-2.2%

UP L

1.05

9.4%

A C C ESS

22.5

-2.4%

C A D B UR Y

7.45

8.0%

F T N C OC OA

17.0

0.0%

A F R IP R UD

3.70

6.9%

UB A

12.0

-0.8%

UB N

6.80

4.6%

UA C N

11.9

-8.1%

4.6%

Z EN IT H B A N K

11.0

1.1%

104.00

4.0%

FCM B

8.7

4.6%

0.62

3.3%

F ID ELIT YB K

5.6

1.1%

2.8%

UC A P

4.8

0.0%

FCM B M TNN

1.60

WEM A B A N K T R A N SC OR P

0.74

7 R S 7 U D G H V E \ 9 D O X H

7 R S / R V H U V T ic k er CA P

P ric e 20.90

UA C -P R OP C ILEA SIN G

0.74 5.10

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

-9.9%

GUA R A N T Y

977.6

2.1%

-9.8%

D A N GC EM

298.9

-1.1%

-8.9%

Z EN IT H B A N K

154.5

1.1%

P ric e C hg %

UA C N

6.20

-8.1%

A C C ESS

140.6

-2.4%

LA SA C O

0.24

-4.0%

FB NH

112.0

-2.2%

IN T B R EW

4.80

-4.0%

M TNN

88.0

4.0%

WA P IC

0.27

-3.6%

UA C N

73.5

-8.1%

A C C ESS

6.20

-2.4%

UB A

71.6

-0.8%

-2.2%

WA P C O

45.9

-1.7%

-1.7%

GUIN N ESS

40.9

0.0%

FB NH WA P C O

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

Vo lum e

GUA R A N T Y

4.35 11.50

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

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Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Oluwarotimi Ashimi | oashimi@afrinvest.com

Adedayo Bakare | abakare@afrinvest.com

29

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

FMDQ Admits Commercial Papers of United Capital, Sterling Bank Goddy Egene FMDQ Exchange Limited has admitted the United Capital Plc N1.35 billion Series 1 and N3.97 billion Series 2 commercial paper(CP) under its N20 billion CP Issuance Programme and the

Sterling Bank Plc N6.85 billion Series 1 Tranche A and N8.15 billion Series 2 Tranche A CP under its N100 billion CP Issuance Programme onto the exchange’s platform.

The exchange said in a statement that despite the

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

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

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

economic headwinds experienced by businesses around the world owing to the COVID19 pandemic, FMDQ Holdings Plc has through its subsidiary, FMDQ Exchange continued to avail necessary support to governments, corporates and individuals through the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 28Apr-2020, unless otherwise stated.

provision of capital market solutions.

“The Nigerian capital market and indeed, the CP has in recent times provided the much-needed succor for corporate entities looking to raise funds to meet shortfalls in their working capital needs as

well as capital expenditures. These commercial papers like all other securities listed, quoted and traded on the FMDQ Exchange platform shall be availed global visibility through the FMDQ Exchange’s website and systems, transparency through its inclusion in the FMDQ

daily Quotations List, governance and continuous information disclosure to protect investor interest, credible price formation amongst other benefits derived from the preferred admission to the FMDQ Exchange platform,” it said.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 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 N/A N/A N/A ACAP Income Funds N/A N/A N/A 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 6.82% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.56 2.62 4.15% 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 6.58% Anchoria Equity Fund 90.13 90.42 -13.09% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.20 1.20 5.00% 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 13.30 13.70 -13.16% ARM Discovery Fund 319.67 329.31 -7.46% ARM Ethical Fund 26.90 27.71 -7.52% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.89% 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 N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 5.76% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 95.77 96.11 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 103.42 103.81 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 4.50% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.86 0.87 -6.89% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.42 1.42 6.56% 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 N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,342.08 1,345.02 3.95% FBN Balanced Fund 137.42 138.38 -6.40% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.53% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 107.90 108.92 -9.51% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 108.43 109.45 -9.51% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 108.47 109.75 -16.64% 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 6.48% Legacy Debt Fund 3.74 3.74 2.32% Legacy Equity Fund 0.99 1.01 -12.52% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.10 1.10 1.52% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,899.58 2,932.50 -2.76% Coral Income Fund 3,153.06 3,153.06 15.02% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 6.18% 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 5.13% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 116.72 117.17 8.30%

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 5.31% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.08 2.12 -5.05% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 11.00% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 140.73 141.24 -1.88% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.16 1.18 -0.57% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,118.01 1,118.01 3.74% 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 7.33 7.38 -25.32% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 4.71% 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 1.32 1.34 8.67% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.95 11.99 5.95% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.60% PACAM Equity Fund 0.96 0.97 PACAM EuroBond Fund 86.64 88.74 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 101.07 102.97 -7.83% 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 3.11% 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 -1.47% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 2.41% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 -9.55% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 2.63% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 -6.91% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.43% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 -9.85% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.16 1.16 1.87% 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 1.07 1.09 -10.79% United Capital Bond Fund 1.79 1.79 3.31% United Capital Equity Fund 0.59 0.60 -17.40% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.28% United Capital Eurobond Fund 114.30 114.30 2.19% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.04 1.04 -4.83% 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 9.67 9.79 -5.89% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.31 11.42 -2.64% Zenith Income Fund 23.37 23.37 5.09% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.39%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

3.40 113.96 52.75

-64.85% 1.81% 1.34%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

7.59 79.86 60.98

7.69 81.52 62.08

-12.76% -13.66% -17.31%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

2.70 3.66 10.43 10.05 178.84

2.74 3.74 10.53 10.25 180.84

-23.82% -37.73% -13.62% -3.27% -4.77%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.29

16.90%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

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

30

THURSDAY APRIL 30, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

24 HOURS...

APC Clears the Air on Buhari’s Appointment of Dead Lawmaker The Ebonyi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has cleared the air on the alleged appointment of the late Chief Tobias Okwuru Chukwuemeka as a member of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Addressing journalists yesterday in Abakaliki, the state capital, the Ebonyi State Chairman of the party, Mr. Eze Nwachukwu explained that the deceased, who hails from the state, was hale and hearty at the time he was nominated for the position by the President.

He blamed the family for not making the death of Okwuru official.

Mwachukwu said the nominee, unfortunately, passed away in February between the period he was waiting to be screened and confirmed by the Senate.

Okwuru was nominated ‘a living man’ in January, healthy, hearty for the position and he updated and submitted all his necessary curriculum vitae by himself.

“What happened is that in-between his nomination and letter conveying his

nomination to the Senate, Okwuru painfully and sadly answered the ultimate call.

“We accept responsibility and take the blame because as a party we are supposed to have written the national leadership of our party and the Presidency informing them on

the demise of Chief Okwuru as a ranking party member.

“But unfortunately, the family has not made the death official and has not commenced burial arrangements before the coronavirus pandemic that led to lockdown, ban on burial and other social gatherings.

“So, it is the responsibility of the party to put the record straight and that is why we are using this medium to correct the erroneous impression.

“It is not the fault of Mr President and the Presidency that Okwuru’s name later appeared in the nominees’ list.

“It is the fault of the party in Ebonyi for not informing relevant authorities on the death and we accept full responsibility whole-heartedly though it is not intentional or deliberate, but rather caused by what I have enumerated above.

Chairman of Lee Engineering Mourns Abba Kyari Chairman and Managing Director of Lee Engineering Group and Allied Companies Limited, Chief Leemon Ikpea, has consoled President Muhammadu Buhari over the death of his Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari.

In a condolence letter signed

by Ikpea and addressed to the President, he prayed God to grant the dead paradise and asked God to grant the President and the Kyari’s family the fortitude to bear the loss.

“While we share your grief in this difficult time with deep sympathy and condolences, your excellency should be

consoled that Alhaji Abba Kyari lived an exemplary life of integrity, hard work, and was an accomplished Nigerian, who gave his best in the service to our country till his very end on Mother Earth. There is no doubt, his death has created a big vacuum which will be difficult to fill especially now in the governance of our country,” Ikpea wrote He continued “We know that he was a devout Muslim, and Allah will give his immediate family members and your Excellency the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, as we pray for the repose of his soul”.

Sanwo-Olu Moves against Companies that Flout Lockdown Orders Segun James The Lagos State Government has employed whistleblowers that would report companies that flout its directives on business operations in the state during the period of easing the lockdown of the state.

This was announced by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu , who lamented that some medical personnel in the state have succumbed to the pandemic.

Sanwo-Olu said: “There will be an overnight curfew from 8p.m. to 6a.m., except for essential services. This means that from the hours of 8p.m. to 6a.m., we expect all Lagosians to stay in their homes.

“Furthermore, there is a ban

on interstate travel at this time.

This means that no persons will be allowed in or out of Lagos until further notice, except for those delivering essential goods and services. And by this, we mean food items, petroleum products, newspapers, and essential manufactured goods.”

He noted that the state has continued to be the epicentre of #COVID19 in Nigeria as the total number of confirmed cases in our state as at midnight, April 28, 2020, was 844.

The governor disclosed that 143 persons have been treated and discharged in the state and that “we are discharging 49 people, of whom there are 48 Nigerians and one Foreigner – a Greek national. Of these there are 28 females and 21 males.

EKEDC Improves Electricity Supply in Three Isolation Centres in Lagos Peter Uzoho The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has stated that it is investing over N100 million on distribution infrastructure and also improving electricity supply in three COVID--19 isolation centres under its network in Lagos State.

The firm also restated its commitment to ensuring that all electricity customers being served by it were adequately metered and provided with improved power supply throughout the period of the pandemic.

The Managing Director of EKEDC, Mr. Adeoye Fadeyibi, stated this yesterday when a delegation from the Lagos State House of Assembly Committees on Energy and Mineral Resources, and the Information/Strategy paid the company a courtesy visit at its headquarters in Marina, Lagos.

Fadeyibi who was responding to questions raised by the visiting lawmakers over complaints of poor power supply, lack of meters, and palliative to constituents, assured that the Disco had already started addressing the issues.

SUCCOUR TO THE LESS-PRIVILEGED…

Wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Monica Ugochi Ugwuanyi (right), presenting relief materials to the First Lady of Udenu Local Government Area, Mrs. Ugochi Onah, during the distribution of palliatives by Mrs. Ugwuanyi’s organisation, Ugo’s Touch of Life Foundation (U-TOLF) to the 17 local government areas of the state at the Government House, Enugu....yesterday.

PDP Asks PTF to Account for N5bn Presidential Grant to NCDC Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called on the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to account for the N5 billion released by President Muhammadu Buhari, as special intervention fund to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC).

The PDP’s demand was predicated on the allegations

that the PTF has impeded the smooth running of activities of the NCDC by shrouding the funds with unnecessary administrative bottlenecks and unwarranted political control.

The party, in a statement that was issued by the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, was worried over the recent frightening complains by the NCDC that it was in desperate

need of essential COVID-19 extraction kits required to tackle the pandemic and safeguard Nigerians at this critical time.

Ologbondiyan also said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has failed to urgently mobilise home grown researches into COVID-19 therapeutics, including drugs, equipment and essential kits to combat the spread of the virus in the communities.

The party, therefore, demanded that the PTF should immediately come clean on the whereabouts of the fund and also explain why it had failed to heed the calls by Nigerians to engage indigenous researchers, virologist and manufacturers for home grown solutions, particularly in the production of drugs, text kits as well as ventilators, despite the huge resources at its disposal.

Fayemi Suspends Aide for Trivialising COVID-19 Handling Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has suspended indefinitely one of his aides, Mr. Sola Durodola, for trivialising COVID-19.

It was alleged that the voice of Durodola, one of the aides in charge of COVID-19, was heard trivialising the issue of COVID-19 in a video that went viral.

The video was about a man who denied his son who had just returned from Lagos to Ekiti State, access to his house unless

the young man was isolated for 14 days.

In the video, the action of the person, who conducted the interview for the man and his son could be interpreted as trivialising COVID-19 and in disagreement with the father’s insistence that his son must undergo the 14 days isolation.

A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Muyiwa Olumilua, in Ado Ekiti, confirmed that an unnamed security man attached to the Fajuyi Pavilion where the matters

of lockdown violators were being handled had been suspended.

Olumilua stated, “The actions or statements of the security man that recorded the video which had gone viral did reflect the capacity or preparedness of the state task force to combat the COVID-19 virus. He had since been suspended pending further investigations for acting outside the jurisdiction of his scope of authority.

“The security man who recorded the encounter is neither a health worker nor qualified

or authorized to determine the health status of the young man. So, none of his actions or misstatements reflect the capacity or preparedness of the State Taskforce to combat the COVID-19 virus.

“We also consider it necessary to inform members of the public that the video was recorded about four days ago by one of the security men attached to the Fajuyi Pavilion, where the Enforcement Taskforce uses as its base for coordination of daily operations.”

COVID-19: FG UNVEILS SIX-WEEK GRADUAL PLAN TO REOPEN ECONOMY – Cont’d from page 8 He added that government alone cannot achieve the right level of investment needed in the health sector.

According to him, medical personnel in both the public and private hospitals could treat COVID-19 patients, provided they are well trained to handle COVID-19 related cases.

He gave instances where COVID-19 patients are treated in the isolation ward of LUTH, with 58 of them currently receiving treatment with over 200 persons tested so far since the isolation ward was established three weeks ago.

Bode explained that Nigeria would achieve more in the healthcare delivery system if

private investors invest more in the country’s healthcare system.

Vaccine May Be Ready by September, Says Pfizer An American biopharmaceutical company, Pfizer, has said its COVID-19 vaccine could be ready for emergency use by September.

The Cable quoted the pharmaceutical giant as saying that it will begin testing the experimental vaccine in the US next week.

The announcement came a week after Germany approved the human trial of a possible COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine, named BNT162, was developed

by Biontech, a Mainz-based company.

The company had said the vaccine would be tested in the US after the human trials in Germany.

The United Kingdom has also announced that there would be clinical trials of a potential vaccine.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said there are about 20 different potential COVID-19 vaccines currently in development.

US Company Successfully Treats 150 Patients Meanwhile, Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company in

the US, yesterday announced “positive data” in the clinical trial of Remdesivir, an experimental antiviral drug, for the treatment of COVID-19.

TheCable reported that Remdesivir was originally developed by the company as a potential treatment for Ebola, but it failed.

According to the company, the drug was found to be effective on COVID-19 patients during the trial which began in February.

Gilead Sciences said it administered the drug on 397 severely ill COVID-19 patients and more than half of them were discharged within two weeks.

˜ ͻ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

31

THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Uzoho Blasts Critics of His Age as He’s Almost Fit to Return from Injury

Femi Solaja Super Eagles first choice goalkeeper to the last World Cup

in Russia, Francis Uzoho, 20, yesterday slammed critics who have been sceptical of his age.

The lanky goalkeeper and

Obasanjo is the Driving Force Behind Squash in Nigeria, Says NSF President Duro Ikhazuagbe

Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has been described as one of the pillars behind the growth of the game of squash in the country.

President of the Nigeria Squash Federation, Boye Oyerinde, said during the week that apart from Obasanjo playing the game regularly, he remains the driving force behind squash.

“First of all, His Excellency, former President Obasanjo is our Grand Patron (NSF) and everyone knows his love for the game.

He has indeed been very, very supportive of our efforts to revive the game in the country,” Oyerinde said on FUBS WhatsApp, a platform for leading past and present sports administrators and retired athletes.

The NSF Boss stressed that Obasanjo has also converted the squash open named after him into a national open that players look forward to every year.

“He has indeed been very supportive of our efforts including converting the Olusegun Obasanjo Squash Open to an annual event.”

It is because of Obasanjo’s romance with the sport that the federation is even planning exhibition matches across the South West to whip up the interests of youths in the region for the sport.

“As a matter of fact, he (Obasanjo) was ready to play exhibition matches across South West to revive the game in the zone before the current lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With Nigeria currently ranked 3rd in Africa and 21st globally from the last men’s World Team Championship, the NSF president hinted that Obasanjo is currently helping the federation to source for an expert trainer to help the country trainer her coaches.

“He is currently sourcing a Coach for us (Nigeria) to

handle our Train the Trainer coaching session for our coaches, so yes, he is one of our sponsors,” concludes Oyerinde.

Obasanjo’s love for squash didn’t come as a surprise to the NSF President because military men brought the game to Nigeria.

“The game of squash was and still very popular with the military. The game was brought into Nigeria by the military and due to their profession, they need a sport that can be played in a small space and still get full workout.

“During the military regime, it squash was very popular and courts were built in all military barracks years back.

“Unfortunately, for several reasons, the interest has reduced but a lot of the courts are still available.

Those officers that played then, a lot are still playing today even in retirement because of their love of the game,” Oyerinde recalled.

He listed states actively involved in squash to include; Lagos, Kwara, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna and Bayelsa.

“The biggest challenge that the squash federation is facing is the availability of playing courts. Most courts are run down now. We are working with the states through their chairmen to seek support in renovating existing courts.

“Last year, we gave 17 states free training and squash kits to kick start their grassroots development programmes. With Edo State that has built new courts to host the National Sports Festival, that is additional boost for our sports,” concludes Oyerinde.

Squash has been kept active by clubs such as the O’Trafford, Ikoyi Club, Lagos Country Club in Ikeja, LLTC, and private individuals who built courts in their homes and the military, (Army barracks’ and Police officer’s mess inclusive).

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo ...pillar behind squash in Nigeria

favorite of Super Eagles gaffer, Gernot Rohr, was on Instagram live page yesterday to clear air about his age controversy.

Uzoho who is almost back to full fitness following a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a knee ligament injury he sustained during Nigeria’s 1-1 friendly draw with Brazilin Singapore last October, attributed his rapid growth to why a section of the media is confusing his present physical weight and height to his age.

Uzoho passed the mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) age test conducted by FIFA at the Under-17 World Cup which is the only rational proof of true age of all participant

at international tournaments.

“As at 2013 when I was reserve goalkeeper to Dele Alampasu, my physical growth was actually very slow and as a matter of fact, Dele was taller than me but few years later my physical growth became rapid which is now a huge advantage for me,” Uzoho explained.

Uzoho was even then third choice goalkeeper at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in UAE won by Nigeria.

His football career however took an upward swing when the Franco/German tactician, Rohr, preferred him as the best replacement for Carl Ikeme to the World Cup finals where Nigeria finished third in the group behind

Croatia and Argentina.

“It’s very embarrassing when your fellow countrymen make insinuating remarks about the age of the young man defending the honour of the nation.

“I did my best for the team and very proud of all the players to the tournament in Russia. For most critics who think my best wasn’t good enough may have started this talk about my age.

There is nothing I can do about that.

Uzoho however insists he has no grudge against anyone and will continue to do his best for Nigeria.

“No grudge anyway because football is life to us in this part of the world and I can understand

the frustration and emotions of teeming Nigerian football fans as well when our national team is not doing well,” remarked Uzoho on that Super Eagles’ Instagram live interview page yesterday.

Uzoho is looking forward to returning to Deportivo La Coruna at the end of his loan spell with Omonia Nicosia in the Cyprus League.

Capped 16 times by Nigeria, Uzoho played all three matches as the Super Eagles were knocked out of the 2018 World Cup in the group stage.

He made a solitary appearance at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Cup in the win over Tunisia as the West Africannation sealed a third place finish in Egypt.

Francis Uzoho is almost back to full fitness after his ligament injury last October

La Liga Plans Rapid Return to Training La Liga is working towards its clubs returning to training as soon as possible after being given the green light by the Spanish government.

Football in Spain was suspended indefinitely in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The country’s top division has created a detailed protocol for the return to training so proper health safeguards are observed.

The aim is a potential restart

to the league in mid-June behind closed doors.

There are 11 rounds of matches remaining, with Barcelona two points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.

Spain has announced a four-phase plan to lift the country’s stringent lockdown and, during ‘phase zero’ from 4-11 May, professional sports leagues can go back to training.

Part of La Liga’s strict protocols involve training

sessions progressing from individual to small group and then team training.

Players, coaches and staff will have to be tested before individual training begins and then have daily testing.

The Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 seasons were deemed over on Tuesday after France banned all sporting events,including without spectators, until September.

After the French announcement, La Liga

president Javier Tebas said: “I do not understand why there would more danger in playing football behind closed doors, with all precautionary measures, than working on an assembly line, being on a fishing boat on the high seas, etc, etc.”

European leagues have until 25 May to tell European football’s governing body Uefawhether they want to complete or cancel their seasons.

Serie A Set to Follow Ligue 1 with Cancelation of Season Italy football’s chances of resuming the season are becoming increasingly slim, according to the country’s sports minister.

Serie A clubs are at loggerheads with Italy’s politicians over the refusal to re-open training grounds when the lockdown is partially eased on May 4, meaning stars will be forced to use local parks for outdoor fitness work.

Even though Italian FA chief executive Gabriele Gravina is determined to resume the season next month, the

government appear more and more sceptical at the chances of doing so – especially with the 2019-20 campaign already curtailed in Belgium, Holland and France.

“Reading certain things, there may be a majority of club chairman ready to ask for the suspension [of the current season] to prepare for the new one in the best way.

“The people who run the game – I’m talking about the Italian FA and the Football League – need to come up with a Plan B. Following

scientific advice, we will decide in the next few days about the resumption of the season.”

Meanwhile, players and coaches are frustrated that they are unable to use their training grounds due to the regulations, with many protesting against the regulations.

Lazio and Italy defender Francesco Acerbi, whose team were fighting at the top of the table with Juventus before the campaign was halted last month, has been

left confused by the current position.

He said: ‘It’s difficult to accept. At our training ground there are six pitches and many dressing rooms, which is the same for other clubs.‘It would be possible to train one at a time, without even seeing team-mates, in absolute solitude. We’ll have to go and run in parks, along with many other people, with lower safety levels compared to what we’d have at training grounds. We are amazed and we would like answers.’

Thursday, April 30, 2020

TR

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MISSILE Emmanuel Babayaro to African Footballers “Did you see Drogba score zero in votes cast by ex-internationals in his country?

That is the lot of African players. Envy, jealousy, hate etc. Synergy is near impossible for now. There is so much envy and bad blood amongst us former footballers” – Former Nigerian international, Emmanuel Babayaro, on the result of Sunday’s Cote d’Ivoire FA election where football legend, Didier Drogba, scored zero from the 14 votes cast by his former colleagues.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

The Verbal Autopsies from Kano I

f there is any lesson we have learnt from the past five weeks, it is how difficult it is to enforce a meaningful lockdown or social distancing in Nigeria. All over the country, wherever restrictions are imposed, the pushing and shoving that occurs during market hours have themselves become serious risk factors. Last Friday, two children were crushed to death in Taraba State following a stampede at Jalingo main market during the four hours (10am to 2pm) allotted for residents to stock household essentials. Many churches and mosques continue to remain open. And last week Monday, thousands of young boys in Kano took part in a football tournament described as ‘Corona Cup’. Despite Abia being “the only state that is mentioned in the Bible” which resulted in Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s promise that “none of these diseases will touch God’s people” and that COVID-19 “will also pass us by,” two index cases have been recorded in the state. And by last night, the virus had been confirmed in no fewer than 33 of the 36 states and Abuja. I believe we can now safely conclude it is in every state of the country.

In one of my earlier interventions on the COVID-19 pandemic, I warned that a nation of our demographic magnitude must remain on perennial alert for potentially devastating public health emergencies. I also spoke to the hunger and deprivation that many would face in the event of a lockdown they neither anticipated nor prepared for in advance. When life is a struggle, according to The Economist article I referenced, “it is hard to worry about a threat you cannot see.” In a subsequent column titled, ‘Mallam Has Said There’s No Corona’, I admonished Nigerians to brace ourselves for the immediate, short, medium and long term implications of this global pandemic and its ensuing health, social, political and economic ramifications. Almost all my ‘prophecies’ have come to pass.

In managing COVID-19, my biggest concern has been that if governors were left to take uncoordinated actions that do not fit into a national strategy, the virus would enter their communities with all the dire implications for the health of our society. By not taking direct responsibility from the outset, the president allowed governors too much latitude in dealing with a global pandemic. One governor in the South-South is drawing huge crowds, propounding silly theories to his largely illiterate (and clearly endangered) audience. Others are closing ‘borders’ to their states and personally arresting citizens. While one governor in the South-East is legislating ‘Koboko treatment’ for any journalist in his state who would not report the pandemic the way he wants, some of his northern colleagues have been exchanging Almajiri deportees almost as if these neglected citizens were diplomats of their ‘states of origin’.

Amid all these, majority of Nigerians are still waiting to ‘eyemark’ the palliatives on which billions of Naira are being earmarked by the federal government and the authorities in the states. But the biggest challenge has now come from Kano where people are dying in droves, with strong suspicions that the deceased may have succumbed to complications arising from COVID-19.

When on 30th March President Muhammadu Buhari declared a 14-day lockdown of Lagos and Ogun States as well as the Federal Capital

Ganduje Territory, I wondered whether he was well advised to leave out Kano. When, in renewing the 14-day lockout on 13th April, he again ignored the state where a monumental tragedy was developing, I was beyond shocked. By then, the first index case had been confirmed in a manner that should have sent alarm bells ringing. The patient, a retired diplomat, had attended the popular Da’awah Juma’at Mosque as well as two private hospitals and had mingled with several people within the city.

The only major action taken in the aftermath was that “all commercial tricycle riders will carry only one passenger” and that the task force would “also meet with Chief Imams of Juma’at mosques and Reverend Fathers to decide on how to operate places of worships in order to curb the spread of the virus.” It therefore came as no surprise when within a period of 24 hours last Thursday, no fewer than 23 prominent citizens died in the city!

The signs of an implosion in Kano had been there since 21 March when Governor Abdullahi Ganduje inaugurated the COVID-19 Task Force with his deputy, Nasiru Yusuf and Professor Abdularazaq Garba Habib as co-chairmen.

Habib, an expert in infectious diseases at the Bayero University, Kano, was expected to lead efforts. But a few days after inauguration, Habib tested positive for COVID-19 along with two other members of the task force. So, the structure established to fight the pandemic in the state collapsed before the assignment even started!

That provided a perfect opportunity for Dr Amina Ganduje, daughter of the governor

who had been appointed into the task force, to practically take charge. And from that period, efforts to tackle COVID-19 in an urban centre like Kano became a family affair.

Although he was initially in denial about the Kano deaths, Ganduje admitted for the first time on Sunday that there was a challenge: “I will like to inform you that the situation is getting tougher and tougher; the situation is getting serious, and serious and very serious.

But equally the same, we are determined. They say when the journey is tough only the tough can keep on moving. We assure you we will keep on moving until we see to the end of this deadly disease with the help of Allah.”

Ganduje can keep on ‘moving’ in whichever direction he likes but harassing the federal government for N15 billion will not address the monumental health crisis that has now been foisted on his state.

Having finally admitted that the number of deaths points to something unusual, the state has now resorted to ‘verbal autopsy’ to unravel what happened. “Kano State government has begun house-to-house engagement with families of those that have died to carefully administer questions on the symptoms exhibited by the victims before they died. This is what is termed clinically as verbal autopsy and it will allow the health professionals to predict the possible causes of the recorded deaths,” said COVID-19 task force deputy coordinator, Dr Sabitu Shu’aibu. That exactly is what I have also been doing in the past few days by speaking with many of my friends in Kano as well as prominent citizens within the city to unravel this ‘mystery’. Their feedback scares me.

Hours before the president declared a lockdown on the city on Monday, I received the report of three Kano-based female medical practitioners who conducted an investigation into the deaths. The trio of Maryam Nasir, Zainab Mahmoud and Khadija Rufai said that over the span of 48 hours, they received reports of 183 deaths in Kano metropolis that occurred between 18th to 25th April, 2020.

Following a verbal autopsy they conducted, using the World Health Organization (WHO) template, they gathered two sets of data from the deaths. “The first data set was obtained through direct family members (first degree relatives) of the deceased and the second data set was from indirect sources (friends, neighbors or relatives of the deceased). We obtained demographics, symptoms, exposure history and medical history of the deceased.

Some family members volunteered further information around the deaths. We compiled and analyzed the data,” they wrote in their

If we are to win the war against COVID-19, we have to destigmatise both the reportage and the manner in which infected people are being viewed by society. When people begin to hide what ails them as a result of stigma or run away from isolation centres as has happened in some states, they endanger themselves, their families and the rest of us

report.

The conclusion of their investigation was that of “a trend of febrile and respiratory illness that progresses to death within one to two weeks.

These deaths occurred in various localities in Kano and are predominantly amongst elderly people with underlying medical conditions.

This presentation mirrors severe COVID-19 cases reported around the world.” And they explained: “One of the contacts, who had lost a father, stated that he became ill about one week after (attending) a wedding ceremony.

He had fever, shortness of breath and diarrhea.

Attempts to contact the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were unsuccessful and he passed away a week later. Another contact stated that the deceased had fever and shortness of breath for a week. He was initially treated for pneumonia at a private hospital and subsequently required a ventilator. There were several reports of multiple people in a household or in a neighborhood dying from similar illness. Of note, 40 out of 51 deaths had no recent travel history.”

While we await the outcome of the official verbal autopsy, the report of the medical doctors corroborates that of others, including the one

by Yusuf Yau Gambo of Yusuf Maitama Bello University, Kano. Dated 28th April, 2020 (Tuesday), the ‘community-based survey’ report (reviewed by Auwal Abubakar, a medical and health professional with the University of California Berkeley and Audu Liman, Chief of Party, USAID SENSE Project, American University of Nigeria) indicates that given the symptoms exhibited by the deceased, the incubation period of their illnesses as well as the age group involved, “the possibility of relating the situation to the current COVID-19 pandemic could not be ruled out”. Meanwhile, Maryam Nasir, Zainab Mahmoud and Khadija Rufai made far–reaching recommendations.

These include enhancing testing capacity and community-based testing; establishing mobile testing centers within the city; providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to all staff with potential exposures especially at points of initial patient contact; recognising the consequences of neglected non-COVID-19 medical care and imposing strict guidelines for burials.

From respected clerics to eminent scholars and medical practitioners, I have read many interventions by Kano stakeholders on the mismanagement of COVID-19 by Ganduje and the urgent need for President Buhari to take personal responsibility for the state. Many politicians, including former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso have also weighed in. Calling on the president to declare a state of emergency in Kano, Dr Mukhtar Datti Ahmed said he cannot imagine a graver situation than what is happening in the state today. “21 years of personalised government and denudation of the civil service and civil structures have joined forces with Covid-19 in wreaking disaster among our people”, he wrote. He added that although Lagos was given 10 billion to aid its fight against COVID-19, “I fear the mind-set of the current government (in Kano) would render any grants as good as water down the drain. There simply isn’t a credible plan or a coalition of experts to make the best use of any funds provided.”

NOTE: This piece is concluded on page 14

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