MONDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2019

CBN’s Support to Power Sector to Hit N1.695tn Chineme Okafor in Abuja The financial support provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Nigeria’s power sector is set to hit a total of N1.695 trillion, making it the single largest creditor to the sector, an analysis of a report

obtained from the apex bank

by THISDAY has disclosed.

THISDAY gathered from the CBN annual’s report for 2018, that as at the end of 2018, it had granted total credit of N1.095 trillion to the power sector under the three different schemes it set up.

The schemes included the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF), which was made to settle outstanding payment obligations due to market participants during the interim rules of the market as well as legacy debts owed by the

Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to gas suppliers; the Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF); and the Payment Assurance Facility (PAF) extended to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) to settle invoices of

generation companies (Gencos) to a minimum level of 80 per cent.

However, with the bank also expected to provide additional N600 billion as proposed by the NBET in its report of the implementation of the N701 billion PAF, which THISDAY

exclusively reported, its total credit to the sector would hit N1.695 trillion.

According to the CBN document, the sum of N62.88 billion was disbursed to 37 projects in the power sector Continued on page 5

Aisha: I was in UK for Medical Attention but I'm Well Now... Page 8 Monday 14 October, 2019 Vol 24. No 8953. Price: N250

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Military Plots New Strategy to End Insurgency in Three Months Mulls massive deployment of attack helicopters Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The military is tinkering with a new war strategy to end terror attacks by insurgent groups in the North-east within three months, THISDAY’s

investigation has revealed.

The new strategy, it was learnt, followed the widespread criticism of the present strategy, super camp, which entails concentration of a large number of troops

in a particular area from where troops launch attacks on insurgents.

Super camp has drawn flaks from military tacticians and stakeholders in the Northeast, including Borno State

Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, who described it as defective since concentration of troops in one area means their absence in many areas and consequential attacks by terrorists on such areas.

THISDAY gathered that following advice by military strategists and countries with strong military background, especially in tackling insurgency, Defence ministry officials are focusing on

the massive procurement and deployment of attack helicopters and gunships.

Attack helicopters, armed helicopters or helicopter Continued on page 5

Governors to Demand States’ Share ofFayemi Federation Account in Dollars restates opposition to NFIU’s directive to banks on joint accounts Francis Ndubuisi in Abuja and Ojo Maduekwe in Lagos Worried by the intractable problem of fuel subsidy, which has affected the amount of money available for distribution among the three tiers of government, governors of the 36 states of the federation are mulling presenting to the federal government a demand for their shares and those of the local governments from the Federation Account to be given to them in dollars.

One of the governors confided in THISDAY at the weekend in Abuja that their efforts to resolve the issue so far has failed to yield any positive result due to pushback from some federal government officials, who believed a full deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry, which would lead to uncapping petrol price

would be injurious to the poor, whom President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to protect from the vulnerabilities of the nation’s economy.

The governors upcoming push came just as Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, criticised the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for writing to banks to restrict transactions from joint accounts between states and local governments.

Expressing concern on the deleterious effects of fuel subsidy on states’ finances, the source said given the negative reactions so far from the federal government on their advocacy for fuel subsidy removal, states have no choice but to think out a new strategy to deal with the knotty issue.

According to him, states Continued on page 8

ASUU Crisis Depeens as Splinter Group Insists on Registration ... Page 5

HOME, SWEET HOME...

First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, during her arrival from the United Kingdom in Abuja… yesterday

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ASUU Crisis Depeens as Splinter Group Insists on Registration Alleges corruption, lack of consultation against national body We hope reason will prevail at last, says ASUU Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan, Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo and Uche Nnaike in Lagos The crisis threatening the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has deepened as the splinter group of the university lecturers' union called Congress of University Academic (CONUA) at the weekend insisted that its immediate priority is a formal registration, accusing ASUU officials of corruption and lack of consultations in the handling of the affairs of the national body.

However, ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, has insisted that there is no split in the union, adding that his senior colleagues and comrades have continued to intervene in the matter in the last two years, with the hope that reason will prevail somewhere along the line.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with THISDAY at the weekend, the National Secretary of CONUA, Dr. Henry Oripeloye, identified corruption, lack of accountability, constitutional violation, lack of trust and highhandedness as the major cause of their grievances against ASUU. Oripeloye who also denied being sponsored as was alleged in some quarters, stressed that the new body was fully out to

correct all ills in the system and move the educational system forward for the development of the country’s education sector.

He expressed the hope that with their current move to obtain formal registration, nobody can stop the moving train.

He disclosed that one erudite scholar, Professor Biodu Jeifor, had approached the group to make peace but after the new union had explained its grievances, he promised to reach ASUU and get back to them.

"Things are not going well with the ASUU but right now we want things to be done properly within the union both locally and nationally. All the issues were tabled before Professor Jeifor and he promised to see ASUU and come back to us. He stressed that all the grievances would be addressed adequately especially the issue of N10million that was taken to the national body of the ASUU through fraudulent means from the OAU branch," he explained.

He insisted that as far as the new body is concerned, nobody can stop them from being registered.

We Hope Reason Will Prevail at Last, Says ASUU Meanwhile, the ASUU national

president told THISDAY that there is no break-up in the union, adding that reason will prevail at last.

“There is no break-up in ASUU. What happened was that some individuals who were sanctioned for violating the union's Constitution at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) decided to rebel against the union. Even some among those sanctioned have since served their terms and returned to the fold of ASUU-OAU. Any member sanctioned by NEC (National Executive Council) has room for appeal to NEC for reconsideration and, where that becomes impossible, to the National Delegates Conference (NDC). But these individuals turned their back against that window of appeal and started harvesting academics in three or four other campuses who have one problem or the other with the union. Of course, in the last two years, senior colleagues and comrades have continued to intervene in the matter. And we hope reason will prevail somewhere along the line,” Ogunyemi explained.

He disclosed that the issue of formal meeting with the splinter group was not up yet, adding that it can happen when the situation arises.

Ogunyemi said the group was in the best position to discuss their grievances.

“But what led to applying sanctions against some academics in OAU was the purported impeachment of the Branch Chairperson without following the procedure laid down by ASUU Constitution.

We are still investigating those behind the crisis in OAU beyond the academic staff.

However, from experience, we know that VCs and their agents are usually behind most of the attempts to cause confusion among ASUU membership across the university campuses.

In fact, apart from OAU, the four universities mentioned in the current crisis (AAU, Ekpoma, FUOYE, Oye-Ekiti, FULOKOJA, Lokoja and KWASU, Malete) are institutions where we have issues with their VCs. Many past leaders of ASUU have contacted us about the crisis. However, we don't think the time is ripe to mention their names. We shall release details on their efforts at the appropriate time,” he explained.

Some lecturers from five universities - Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State; Kwara State University, Malete; Ambrose Ali University Expoma, Edo State; Federal University, Oye-Ekiti; and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, had unveiled new academic union for universities' lecturers called CONUA.

Addressing journalists recently during the first stakeholders’ meeting of the new group held at OAU, CONUA National coordinator, Dr. Niyi Sumonu, had explained that the new group was formed because of the need for new approach in handling issues affecting universities across the country.

Sumonu had said the first mandate of the new union was to ensure stable academic calendar in order to improve quality of education in the country's ivory towers.

"For standard of education to be very high, we need a stable academic calendar, we need to be able to predict academic session, we need to have innovations, which are difficult without continuity.

"We also need to be at tune with modern realities, our union would approach the matter of engagement with all stakeholders in an engaging manner to have a common ground for moving forward.

"Our union is not antigovernment, if government and by extension, administrators of universities are doing well, we will let the world know and will quickly knock them, provide alternative constructive criticism and take them to task where they are not doing well.

"We will not wait for them to make mistakes before we

intervene. We have vision and will provide ahead what can be done to have better results.

If that is done we are sure we will have a better way to move forward.

"Members believe we should have alternative ways of solving problems, members have been contributing very well to the finance of the union, when we fulfill and do all that we need to do, financial constraints will be forgotten.

"We have been at this for over three years in Ife, we have been waxing stronger and members from other universities have been experiencing what we experienced here, hence, the decision to come together to form a national union," Sumonu explained.

Asked if the union was not out to rival ASUU, CONUA National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Nwoke Earnest, explained that another key objective of the group was to "redefine academic unionism in Nigeria and is not ready to join issues with any union."

He explained that CONUA would prefer to proffer solutions to issues before they become problematic, adding that the essence of forming the group was to enhance interaction with the educational system without being confrontational but through a synergy that would involve all stakeholders.

and Para Energy and Natural Resources Development Limited (N4.05 billion).

“By end-December 2018, the cumulative amount released to the Bank of Industry (BOI), under the intervention, stood at N301.37 billion, out of which N180.61 billion was disbursed for 45 power projects and N120.76 billion to 24 airline projects,” said the CBN. It equally explained that repayments within the year stood at N25.69 billion, comprising N10.19 billion from airline projects and N15.50 billion from power projects, with cumulative repayment from inception in 2010 standing at N145.52 billion, of N71.13 billion

for airline and N74.39 billion for power projects.

As for achievements recorded through the PAIF, it stated that: “A total of 1,398.8MW of power was financed under the scheme.

The Fund also financed the construction of 120 kilometre natural gas pipeline from Ikpe Anang in Akwa Ibom State to Mfamosing in Cross River State.”

For the NBET’s PAF, it stated that it was a bridging facility, adding that through it, the NBET provided a minimum level of payment to power Gencos to enable them to meet their obligations to gas suppliers.

“The aim of the facility is to

support increase in the level of power generation in the country. A total of N424.49 billion was paid for invoices in the review year. This comprised N183.17 billion paid to Gascos (gas companies); Gencos, N234.59 billion; equipment suppliers, N132.33 million; and withholding tax, N6.60 billion. Cumulatively, the sum of N534.18 billion had been paid, under the intervention, since its inception,” it explained in the report.

CBN’S SUPPORT TO POWER SECTOR TO HIT N1.695TN in 2018, under the NEMSF, and this brought the cumulative disbursement since inception of the facility in 2014 to N183.09 billion.

It further stated that the total of N14.89 billion was repaid by 11 Discos during the review year, bringing the cumulative repayment since inception to N30.46 billion.

Listing what had been achieved in the sector through the NEMSF, the CBN said that significant capital expenditure (capex) in the industry, leading to recovery of generating capacity of more than 1,200MW in both hydro and thermal plants through the overhaul of turbines was recorded.

“Execution of capacity recovery programme was carried out in three hydro power stations as follows: intake under water repair project, overhaul of Unit 4 and compliant metering/ supplementary protection at Shiroro Dam; overhaul of 2G6 at Jebba Hydro; and rehabilitation of three units at Kainji Dam. “Rehabilitation of 10 gas turbines at major thermal power plants, including Geregu, Transcorp Ughelli, and Ibom Power Plants,” it explained.

Also on the achievements recorded in the NEMSF implementation, the apex bank stated that the scheme enabled Discos to carry out projected capex through

issuance of letters of credit (LCs) for the purchase of over 704,928 meters; rehabilitation of over 332 kilometres (km) of 11 kilovolt (kV) lines and 130km of 0.45KV lines; 511 transformers purchased and installed and construction of 56 new distribution substations as well as acquisition of a mobile injection substation.

With regards to the PAIF, the bank noted that N21.99 billion was released to the Bank of Industry (BOI) for five power projects under the facility.

“These were the Kano Hydro Power Project (N3.01 billion); Ashaka Cement Limited (N6.75 billion and N3.25 billion); Azura Power Project (N4.93 billion);

MILITARY PLOTS NEW STRATEGY TO END INSURGENCY IN THREE MONTHS gunship, are designed to fire on enemy troops and vehicles.

THISDAY gathered from military sources that whether it is providing close air support for ground troops or destroying enemy armed vehicles and tanks, the attack helicopter is built for speed and comes heavily armed with an array of auto-cannons, machine guns, rockets and missiles.

This, it was gathered, is seen as a strategy best suited for the insurgents, who deploy gun trucks, anti-aircraft guns mounted on vehicles and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in addition to hit-and-run attacks.

"Massive deployment of attack helicopters equipped with guns, rockets and missiles

will do a quicker job, deployed from different angles in simultaneous operations," a military source told THISDAY. It was also learnt that the federal government is also moving in the same direction.

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to sign a military technical cooperation agreement with Russia for the supply of attack helicopters, military transport planes and battle tanks.

Buhari is to sign a military technical cooperation deal with Russia at talks with President Vladimir Putin this month that will help it fight Boko Haram militants.

The president is billed to meet the Russian president on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in the Black Sea city

of Sochi.

“We’re sure that with Russian help we’ll manage to crush Boko Haram, given Russia’s experience combating Islamic State in Syria,” Nigerian Ambassador to Russia, Mr. Steve Ugbah, had said on Friday in an interview with Russia’s RIA news agency.

Ugbah said a military technical cooperation deal between Russia and Nigeria had already been drafted and that it only needed to be finalised.

“We hope president Buhari can take the talks to their logical end ... The agreement will open new possibilities in such areas as the supply of military equipment and training for specialists,” he

had said.

Also speaking on the matter with emphasis on army aviation, the Theater Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Olusegun Adeniyi, had said with the planned Nigerian Army Aviation, Boko Haram would be contained in three months.

The commander, who spoke during a visit of members of the National Assembly to the war zone, said: “Boko Haram does not have a formidable force. When we start using Army Aviation in our operations in the trenches, we will end insurgency in three months.

"Nigerians should go to sleep; if we have army aviation in our operations, as the

Nigerian Air Force platform is for long range trajectory, but with the helicopters in our trenches, Boko Haram will be done with within three months.”

He assured the National Assembly committee that "no single town will fall into the hands of Boko Haram under my control. When I assumed office seven weeks ago, I promised Nigerians that I will take the fight to the Boko Haram. All the towns and villages in the theatre are in the control of our troops.

“I am not afraid of Boko Haram. Any time Boko Haram rear their ugly heads we will deal with them.

They attempted to infiltrate Maiduguri but we dealt with them."

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NGN NGN 0.04 0.44 0.03 0.35 0.04 0.51 0.05 0.69 0.04 0.99 NGN 0.02 0.20 0.17 2.33 0.02 0.40 NIGBREW 2.00 46.00 LASACO 0.01 0.28 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦1,215.00 Volume: 117.384 million shares Value: N1.502 billion Deals: 2,122 As at Friday 11/10/19 See details on Page 35

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Aisha: I was in UK for Medical Attention but I’m Well Now Praises Buhari for approving aides for her office Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, yesterday in Abuja explained that she was in the United Kingdom for about two months for medical attention on the advice of her doctor.

Aisha, who arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 5am yesterday aboard British Airways, explained that after an initial medical trip to the UK, she left London to perform hajj in Saudi Arabia but had to return to the UK on the advice of her doctor.

Her long absence at home resulted in false claims that her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari, wanted

to marry the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Disaster, Ms. Sadiya Farouk, last Friday.

She said even though she had recovered now, she still needed more time to rest as she thanked her husband whom she said had seconded six special and personal assistants to her office.

Aisha, who explained that she normally goes on holidays with her family for six weeks every year, added that it was after the expiration of this year's holiday that she realised that she needed a medical attention.

She told reporters: "Last year, I was in Spain for two months

with my daughter. I have never abandoned my children. I give them the motherly support they need. Usually, we go for holidays every year for six weeks. I have taken the holidays for this year.

"It happened that after the holidays, I needed to attend to my health before going to Saudi, and when I went to Saudi, based on the doctor's instructions, I went back to the UK. "I'm well now, but still I need more rest. I will thank my husband for approving six SA's for my office and also PAs to allow me attend to the home front and also some developmental projects

for Nigerians."

She thanked God for her safe arrival in the country.

She also thanked Nigerians for their support and prayers.

Asked to comment on the video circulating recently, featuring her voice, though her face was not shown, she admitted that she was the one talking in the video and that the event happened in the Presidential Villa but added that it was an old video.

"As you have seen that I have just arrived 5am with the British Airways. You are all here; the event happened. It was me. It was an old video.

Actually, it happened in the Villa," she explained.

Aisha

N’Assembly Yet to Receive Details of 2020 Appropriation Bill Senate to amend 2007 Public Procurement Act

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Almost one week after President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2020 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, the legislature is yet to receive the full details of the budget proposal from the executive as promised by the president, THISDAY has learnt.

The president while presenting the N10.33 trillion budget estimate at the chambers of the House of Representatives last Tuesday, had hinted that he would only present the budget highlights while the Minister of Finance and Budget Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, would subsequently provide the details.

THISDAY gathered at the weekend that the comprehensive details of the budget proposal were yet to be sent to both the Senate and the

House of Representatives for their attention and necessary consideration.

It was gathered that the budget details containing the breakdown of all the highlighted proposals by the president expected to be delivered to the National Assembly by Ahmed was yet to be received as at close of work last Friday.

Some of the legislators who spoke to THISDAY yesterday expressed concern at the nonavailability of the document to assist the legislature in doing a thorough scrutiny of the budget estimate.

Some senators and House members across party lines who spoke on condition of anonymity wondered when the minister would forward the details.

According to them, the House had last Thursday

concluded its debate on the general principle of the budget while the Senate will conclude its own tomorrow for the relevant committees to start to sit over the budget proposal from Wednesday.

A ranking senator from the South-east expressed the hope that details of the budget would be ready before Wednesday "because by then the committees will commence work proper on the estimate and there is no way to work on the Appropriation Bill without the breakdown of the sectoral allocations."

Also, a House member from the South-west, said the details of the budget would come in handy as the green chamber commences committee work on the proposals tomorrow.

When contacted on the issue, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and

Publicity, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, while confirming that the breakdown of the budget was yet to get to the National Assembly, however, assured his colleagues that the document will be available as soon as committee work commences.

The Senate spokesman told THISDAY on the phone that the committees would not be able to engage the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on the budget proposal without the budget breakdown.

He said: "I am sure that as the MDAs begin to appear before the relevant committees of the National Assembly to defend their allocations in the budget, we will have the details to work with.

"I know that as the ministries and agencies come before the committees, the ministers and heads of the departments will come with the details of the

budget estimate as it affects the MDAs." Meanwhile, the Senate has indicated its readiness to amend the 2007 Public Procurement Act to address the reported cumbersomeness in adhering strictly to its provisions.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, said this at the weekend while playing host to the executive of the Society of Public Health Professionals of Nigeria (SPHPN), in his office.

Utazi, therefore, assured the health workers of the readiness of his committee and that of the tertiary health, to find solutions to the problems associated with the Act. According to him, the required amendments on the Public Procurement Act ,

would be carried out to give the health sector exemption from some of its provisions delaying procurement and project execution in the country .

"Procurement cycle of eight to nine months is injurious to a sector as highly sensitive as the health sector,” he added.

According to him, since there is no room for pre- financing in the Act, it will have to be amended to pave the way for hospitals to procure drugs from the beginning of the year for usage by patients.

"This trend of returning almost half of the monies released back to the treasury on yearly basis with empty pharmaceutical units at the various hospitals is injurious to the populace and will be stopped by amending the Act in favour of the health sector,” Utazi added.

needed to give local governments autonomy, Fayemi said though attempts had been made to amend the constitution, none has ever got the consent of 24 out of 36 Houses of Assembly to make it legal, in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

Fayemi said: “Nigeria is a two-tier federation. It’s not a three-tier federation. I read in the media all the time of people talking about three-tier. It’s a distortion. It’s an aberration that we (states) even need to go to Abuja for approval to create local governments.

“If you want to have 200 local governments, it is your business; you and your people in your states should figure it out. It should not be the business of Abuja. That for me is a surreptitious unitarism.”

Also citing Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, Fayemi queried the business of the NFIU with states and local governments’ joint accounts.

He cautioned the agency to comply with those standards on combating money laundering and not dabble into matters that are both constitutional and beyond its purview.

The governor added that local governments are not reporting entities and are therefore not under the NFIU in the manner contemplated by the agency’s so-called guidelines.

“You cannot go behind to do what the constitution does not allow you to do and that was what informed our position at the NGF over the ridiculous instruction to banks. You know that you cannot confront us; you are now going to bankers. What is the business of the banks with the accounts maintained by local government as long as the accounts are funded and the proper persons run the accounts?”

“When you read the NFIU law, the NFIU monitors what is going on in the banking system, internationally and locally. If you have a specific case of money laundering, by all means bring it up; but you can’t have a general rule to address a unique problem.

Because you say you want to fight money laundering, you’ll now say that states cannot run joint accounts. Joint account is in the constitution; Section 162 is very clear,” the governor said.

GOVERNORS TO DEMAND STATES’ SHARE OF FEDERATION ACCOUNT IN DOLLARS would get better value for their shares from the Federation Account if federally-collected revenue, such as oil is distributed in the currency they are collected.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that in 2018, Nigeria netted a total of N5.54 trillion from oil revenue. That is about $18.1 billion when converted at the official exchange rate of N305 to $1.

A breakdown of the figure showed that the N5.54 trillion revenue was earned through three major oil revenue sources, which were crude oil/gas sales, petroleum profit tax/royalties and others.

Also, the immediate past Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde, while calling on the federal government to remove fuel subsidy during the joint annual spring meetings with the World Bank in Washington DC last April, had said that Nigeria had spent $5. 2 trillion from 2015 till then on fuel subsidies and the consequences thereof.

Between January and November 2018, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

(NNPC) in a document presented to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in December 2018, said it incurred N623.16 billion in 11 months under its under recovery programme, the new name it gave fuel subsidy to beat the lack of legislative approval for the expenditure as demanded by law.

On how feasible the idea of states and local governments being paid their shares of revenue from the Federation Account in dollars is, given the fact that not all in the money that come to the central basket is earned in the United States’ currency, the governor said the idea was at an infant stage but they would get around to working out the modalities to make it achievable.

He added that many states are in financial straits due to the fluctuation in earnings from the Federation Account, occasioned by oil price volatility and fuel subsidy as well as challenges of boosting internally-generated revenue.

The poor financial states of the second tier of government, he said, had impaired the ability of governors to deliver on their electoral promises and

to providing other services to improve the welfare of the people.

Fayemi Restates Opposition to NFIU’s Directive to Banks on Joint Accounts Meanwhile, Fayemi yesterday asked the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to steer clear from the State Joint Local Government Accounts (SJLGAs) operated by states and local governments.

Fayemi, while fielding questions from journalists in Lagos, faulted the directive

by NFIU barring banks from allowing transactions from the SJLGAs without monies first reaching the LGAs account.

The governor said the directive was not backed by the 1999 Constitution.

He described Nigeria’s federalism as a two-tier system and not the widely held and generally accepted view of a three-tier federation, comprising federal, state and local governments.

He said there was no law in Nigeria to give local governments autonomy from

the states.

The NFIU in a directive in May, had barred banks, governors, financial institutions, public officers and other stakeholders from tampering with local governments’ statutory allocations from the Federation Account.

It also threatened to deal with individuals and companies abetting the diversion of local government funds with local and international sanctions.

In a new guidelines it released, which became effective from June 1, NFIU said it would restore the financial autonomy for the third tier of government, adding that each local government is now free to spend its funds judiciously without taking directives from governors, “who have hijacked the monthly allocations of the third tier of government under the guise of State Joint Local Government Accounts.”

But Fayemi described the NFIU’s position as illegal, saying the NGF’s position on the directive to banks was informed by the understanding of the position of the constitution on the issue of local government autonomy.

Describing the process

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

Nigeria Has Lowest Tax Rate Globally, Minister Insists Chinedu Eze The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince

Clem Agba, has defended the recent increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent by the federal

How Security Personnel Averted Clash Between Supporters of Obaseki, Oshiomhole in Benin Deji Elumoye, Adedayo Akinwale inAbuja andAdibe Emenyonu inBenin The political crisis in the Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of 2020 governorship election assumed a frightening dimension weekend as youths suspected to be backing Governor Godwin Obaseki’s aspiration for a second term nearly clashed with suspected supporters of the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole in Benin City.

The venue was the residence of Oshiomhole at Okoroutun Street, GRA, Benin City.

The incident , as gathered by THISDAY, occurred shortly after Oshiomhole arrived in his house and left almost immediately to attend a ceremony.

It was alleged that the suspected supporters of Obaseki had gathered around the residence of Oshiomhole and were chanting “Oshiomhole ole,” apparently waiting for him to come out of the house not knowing he has left.

Upon getting the information, those loyal to Oshiomhole were said to have mobilised to the scene for a showdown before security operatives were said to have dispersed them.

Supporters of Oshiomhole alleged that the suspected thugs were sent by Governor Godwin Obaseki’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Taiwo Akerele who countered the allegation, claiming that he was attacked by a chieftain of the APC, Tony Adun, popularly known as ‘Kabaka,’ in Protrea Hotel, while meeting with some foreign investors.

Narrating his experience, Akerele said he just arrived from his home town where he also discovered that unknown persons burgled his house through the ceiling and their mission not known.

He said he went to the hotel at about 7p.m. Saturday, for a meeting with some foreign investors and that while the meeting was on Kabaka came and first attacked him verbally and was walking towards him when he was restrained by people around.

“And I just came from Igarra where I learnt that unknown persons entered my room through the ceiling. I have reported to the police in Igarra and when I came to Benin, I went straight to Protrea where I had a meeting with some foreign investors and I experienced the attack” When contacted however, Adun popularly called Kabaka denied the allegation. He said they went to Protrea to see how Oshiomhole was faring after the attack in his house because he was at home when they received a call that some persons were mobilising to the house of Oshiomhole .

“We saw them when they were

running away from the place before security agencies now came to barricade the street. Thank God Protrea is a world-class hotel and they cannot say that they don’t have CCTV. They should go and play it and see what transpired between us. If there is an attack and attempt of assassination as being alleged, Tony Kabaka will go in for it but there is no such attempt; I will sue them” Chief Press Secretary to Oshiomhole, Simon Ebegbulem while confirming the incident, alleged that the attackers were sent by Obaseki who he said was desperate to get a second term as governor of the state.

He added that the attack was neutralised by APC youths who were mobilised to the national chairman’s residence. On his part, the Special Adviser to Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie said the allegation against Obaseki was false.

Osagie said he was not aware of any such attack, adding that there was no information to them that Oshiomhole was even in town.

The ruling party has called on the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mohammad Adamu and other relevant security outfits to investigate the ugly incident and prosecute the sponsors and attackers.

However, Oshiomhiole while addressing some youths who followed him to his house from the hotel, said there was no cause to alarm as he only came to Benin to attend a ceremony and rest, urging them to ensure there is peace in the country and Edo State.

He said “Anything that happens anywhere, they say President; so, we have to help him; we have to help to secure the whole country and in our state, we must be seen to behave well, if other people are beating drums of war, we will share the powder of peace.

“In moments like this, it is not madness for madness because many of you I see here, in 2007, you were already strong. In 2012 during my second term, you were there, 2016, many of you deployed as agents; I used to call you guys our infantry Division who protected our votes even when we were in opposition when the federal government was PDP. So, now that the federal government is APC, we have to take it easy so that there is no breach of peace anywhere in Nigeria and particularly in our state. Those people who are looking for trouble, they are like a small mushroom; if you go and take a stick to destroy a mushroom, do you need a stick to do that?

How far can a snail travel? If a snail is running, what is the maximum speed of a snail?

Are you going to join running after snail?

government, saying despite the increase, Nigeria still has the lowest tax rate in the world.

Agba wondered why Nigerians are protesting against the increase, assuring them that accruals from the tax would be used to boost infrastructure and social amenities for ordinary Nigerians, and noted that the increase from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent is negligible considering that it was just additional 2.5 per cent.

The minister, who stated this at the 2019 Etsako Day celebration in Lagos at the weekend, reiterated that the increment would cater for the execution of strategic development plans and

provision of critical infrastructure in different parts of the country, adding that the government would also provide incentive for agriculture so that the country would attain self-sufficiency in food production.

He said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration would not willfully put in place policies that would emasculate the citizens economically, and explained that the proposed new tax system “does not affect the common man because all the staple food, medication, and education that have to do with the common man are exempted from VAT.” Agba, who graced the 2019

Etsako Day celebration in Lagos with the theme: ‘Showcasing the Cultural Heritage and Investment Opportunities of Etsako’, advised Nigerians to begin to identify natural resources located in their geographical areas and draw their attention to them in order to attract investment to those areas.

According to him, “Nigerians are complaining about the recent decision to increase VAT, but the government is merely increasing VAT by 2 .5 percent to make it 7.5 percen, and if you don’t know, Nigeria has the lowest VAT rate in the world; even in the West African coast, a lot of people talk about Ghana reducing its

VAT recently and why are we increasing ours? Ghana has only reduced it tax from 15 to 12 while we are going from 5 to 7.5 per cent.

“I am a farmer myself, but people still see agriculture as a local thing for local people, however, l will tell you it is not. If we are self-sufficient in agriculture, then we will be able to feed ourselves. That is where it all begins, and if we can’t feed ourselves, then we will have problem with our foreign exchange that we keep talking about. If we begin to use what we have earned from other sources to bring in food, that is not good.”

UNVEILING LEGISLATIVE AGENDA…

L-R: Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; former Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Ghali Umar Na A ’ bba; Minister of Environment, Abubakar Mahmood Mohammed; and President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, at the unveiling of the Ninth House Legislative Agenda at the National Assembly in Abuja... weekend

Finance Minister Leads Nigerian Delegation to IMF, World Bank Meetings Billed for high-level panel talks on global tax reform Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed is leading Nigeria’s delegation to the 2019 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank billed to commence today in Washington DC, United States of America.

The week-long events, which run between October 14 and 20, will attract global players from the public and private sectors where issues ranging from economy, finance, trade, environment, climate change

and other global socio-economic challenges are discussed.

The Nigerian delegation at the global event also features top government functionaries, including the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele; leading public and public sector players, particularly bank chief executives officers, among others.

Government sources told THISDAY that one of the minister’s top priorities at the meetings is to interface with various global stakeholders in the financial sector and advance actions being taken by the federal government in the sector as well

as economic growth potential.

Ahmed is also expected to be part of a high-level panel discussion on “Corporate Taxation in a Global Economy: Can a Consensus for Reforms Emerge?”

The panel discussion which is organised on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Meetings, is organised by the Financial Transparency Coalition, ICRIT, Oxfam, G-24 and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung The underlining issue behind the panel discussion is that despite challenges to multilateralism, a consensus for global tax reform is emerging,

and is much needed, as international corporate tax rules are under unprecedented stress.

This particularly because the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan adopted four years ago by the G20 has not stopped various countries from undercutting each other with unilateral measures to protect their tax base. Furthermore, BEPS did not address the challenges of the digital economy, failed to simplify rules for tax administrations, did not address the race to the bottom in tax rates and also ignored developing countries’ long-standing demand to revisit taxing rights.

Armed Robbers Kill Police Sergeant, Four Others at NNPC Mega Station in Ilorin Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Dare-devil armed robbers at the weekend beheaded a police sergeant and four security guards attached to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mega petrol station in Ilorin, capital

of Kwara State.

The incident, according to THISDAY checks, happened late in the night after workers at the petrol station had left for their respective homes.

During the bloody incident, the armed robbers allegedly beheaded a police sergeant

and some security personnel attached to the petrol station.

Sources close to the station told journalists yesterday that the NNPC mega station was under lock and key, throwing residents into panicky situation that another round of fuel scarcity was imminent.

When contacted yesterday on the incident, the State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident as true.

Okasanni said the command is investigating the issue.

MONDAY OCTOBER 14, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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MONDAY OCTOBER 14, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Afenifere, Arewa Chieftains Clash over Restructuring Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Two prominent leaders of Nigeria’s socio-cultural groups, Arewa Consultative Forum and Afenifere, Anthony Sani and Yinka Odumakim respectively, have again expressed divergent views on the desirability or otherwise of restructuring the country.

Speaking at the 10th edition

of the annual lecture organised by ‘The Change We Need Nigeria Initiative’ in Abuja at the weekend, the Secretary-General of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Mr. Anthony Sani, said the present leadership in the country seemed determined to “remove the sandbags on the path of socio-economic development by prosecuting the war against corruption and

Army Recovers Gun Lost in Umahi’s Convoy Ebonyi State Governor, M. David Umahi, has explained how the gun belonging to a soldier in his convoy got lost and was later recovered.

He also narrated the circumstances surrounding the loss of the gun, and denied ever threatening to kill anyone who took the gun.

A gun belonging to one of the soldiers attached to Umahi had gone missing when his convoy attempted to pass through the Onicha Local Government Area of the state last week.

Umahi disclosed this on Thursday at the Governor’s Lodge, Government House, Abakaliki, during a meeting with traders.

Umahi’s convoy was recently reported to have run into a roadblock at a wake at about 12p.m. and that one of the solders in his convoy had, in the course of inquiring what led to the roadblock, lost his gun.

Following this development, men of the Nigerian Army were

said to have been stationed in the area, with the aim of recovering the missing gun.

“The trending report quoting me as having threatened to order the killing of anyone who blocked my convoy was a huge misrepresentation and was blown out of proportion by the media,” Umahi said.

“If they could do this to a governor, what could have happened if an ordinary man had been involved?”

He cautioned journalists in the state to approach their job with professionalism, saying, “SA on Media, talk to our Press. Anybody that wants to write rubbish should go out of this state and do that.

“How can somebody quote me that I said, ‘Block my convoy and get shot?’ It is this nonsense that set up war.

“Our system should be a system with law and order, and you don’t have the right to come and destroy people or a person because you have freedom of speech.

insecurity.

On the issue of restructuring, Sani said the solution to the challenges facing the country may not be in the structure and form of government or on economic model but “in our attitudes and the way we do things due to distorted value system.”

Sani, who was among the delegates that represented the northern Nigeria at the 2014 National Conference held in Abuja, said those who think that restructuring the country would enable each section to develop at its own pace are actually canvassing that Nigeria should break into “different units.”

“Some people have advocated

for the restructuring of the country to enable each section develop at its own pace as a panacea to the challenges, as if Nigerians should live on different continents where some sections are on the cutting edge while others are on the knife edge of survival. And they hanker for this kind of restructuring without considering the fact that reduction of inequality is not only good economics but good politics as well,” he said.

According to Sani, the country has restructured several times on the political, geographic, or economic models.

The Arewa chieftain said if the country must restructure, the process should be done democratically where political

parties would be allowed canvass positions through their manifestos and use it to seek the people’s mandate in an election.

“But it is important to note that in spite of the variegated challenges that transcend state, zonal and regional boundaries, majority of Nigerians still believe the certain benefits of one big, united Nigeria through properly managed social contracts by purposeful leadership more than the uncertain gains of disintegration,” he said.

On the way forward, Sani suggested that governance should be inclusive and driven in a way to promote national unity and solidarity, ensuring fairness and discouraging ethnic

or religious biases.

On his part, the spokesman of the Afenifere, Odumakin, said he believed that Nigeria should be restructured, and the present constitution should be tinkered with to make it a genuine and authentic law voluntarily adopted by the Nigerian people.

He said the present constitution was imposed on Nigerians, and as such, needed to be rejigged and revalidated.

Odumakin also condemned a statement credited to Junaid Mohammed that the North would revolt against any government that implements the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, describing it as irresponsible.

LAGOS SAFE… EFCC, Interpol to Partner on KEEPING L-R: Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyo Onigbanjo; Commander, 651 Base Services Group, Ikeja, Air Commodore Sunday Makinde; Commander, Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft, Apapa, Commodore Ibrahim Aliyu; Lagos State Maritime Security Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zubair Mauzu; Commander, 9 Brigade, Ikeja Army Cantonment, Brigadier General Etsu Ndagi and Director, The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is to collaborate with the Interpol to promote maritime security through a special project, tagged “Project AGWE.” The project which will involve Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Togo, Ghana and Benin Republic is aimed at ridding Nigeria and the other countries involved of economic sabotage in the maritime environment.

The disclosure was made weekend, at the EFCC headquarters by the acting Chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Magu, alongside Anastasia Kirillas, Interpol’s Analyst and leader of Interpol’s delegation, which came on a working visit to the commission.

According to Kirillas, the essence of “Project AGWE” is for the designated countries to work together and encourage cooperation and broader intelligence sharing between law enforcement agencies across national borders.

Apart from assisting the EFCC in investigation and capacity building, Kirillas said the initiative will focus on maritime security in the designated countries and the strengthening of the capacities of law enforcement agencies in the West African sub-region.

She praised the EFCC for its effective collaboration with the Nigerian Navy through joint operations.

The project, which Kirillas

disclosed is sponsored by the United States Department of State will further strengthen West African regional capabilities in maritime security, through the exploitation of evidence and intelligence in the region, and building stronger relationship in the light of the expanding criminal networks within the region’s maritime environment.

Kirillas further assured that the collaboration will lead to improved capacity building, mentoring and the equipping of law enforcement agencies in the designated countries with tools to preserve crime scenes, and collection and exploitation of evidences.

Magu in his response observed the need for improved regional and international cooperation between Nigeria and other countries in terms of Intel sharing and gathering, noting that information was key in carrying out criminal investigations.

The EFCC boss added that a seamless flow of information among regional and international law enforcement agencies was needed to confront the expanding frontiers of economic crimes.

While expressing his deep appreciation of Interpol’s assistance to the commission, he noted that cooperation between the commission and Interpol has been beneficial to both parties.

Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Abdulfatai Sanusi during a media update after the State Security Council meeting presided by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja…weekend

Ex-Gov Yari Holds Closed-door Meeting with LG Chairmen Former Governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara State at the weekend held a closed-door meeting with 14 serving local government council Chairmen in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the meeting, which held at the Yari’s residence in Talata-Mafara town, TalataMafara Local Government Area, started at about 1p.m.

Also in attendance were the 14 LG chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC),

former commissioners and state executive members of the party.

Speaking after the meeting, the Chairman of the state chapter of the All Local Government of Nigeria, Alhaji Muhammad Umar, said discussions centred around the development of the party in the state.

Umar said: “You know, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari is the leader of our great party in the state; therefore, we have to be meeting with him from time to time for fatherly

advice and consultations.

“Yari told us to continue to be law-abiding and support government and security agencies to succeed in the fight against banditry activities in the state. “The ex-governor also gave us message to our people at grassroots that they should continue with prayers and seek for Allah’s intervention on the security challenges facing the state.”

NAN further reported that APC lost control of the state following

the Supreme Court’s judgment over its leadership crisis prior to the 2019 general election.It however, still controls 14 LGCs of the state.

Another group comprising of members of the immediate past state House of Assembly and Director-Generals’ Forum also met with the governor.

Yari was on Friday received by a large crowd of APC supporters at the Sultan Abubakar lll International Airport, Sokoto.

Retired Military Personnel Urge FG to Create Ministry for Veterans’ Affairs Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Retired military generals and senior members of the armed forces at the weekend called on the federal government to consider the establishment of a Ministry of Veteran Affairs in the country.

In a communique issued at the end of a three-day retreat at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja, at the weekend aimed at unifying the various associations of retired veterans in the country, the group called on the government to consider upgrading the Veterans

Affairs Division to a ministry or parastatal. “We demand that the federal government considers and upgrades the Veterans Affairs Division to a full-fledged ministry or parastatal.

“The veteran agreed to come together under one umbrella to be henceforth known as the Veteran Federation of Nigeria under a steering committee to be chaired by Major General Abdulmalik Jibrin (rtd),” it said.

The military veterans also called on “the Minister of Defence to facilitate the expeditious passage

of the Veteran Federation of Nigeria Bill as amended by the ninth National Assembly when represented,” and called on the Ministry of Defence and Defence Headquarters to develop a data base for all veterans in Nigeria, detailing their strengths and areas of specialisation and experiences for cases of re-engagement.

While appreciating the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs for organising the retreat, the group restated their loyalty and support to the federal government, and

expressed readiness to continue to contribute to the national security and development.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, who was represented by the Director of Plans, Defence Headquarters, Major General Atolagbe, expressed concern that many retired personnel were unable to contribute optimally to contemporary national issues despite a huge reservoir of knowledge, training and experience gained while in active service.

MONDAY OCTOBER 14, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍ˛Ëœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

COMMENT

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

THE 2020 BUDGET PROPOSALS Boniface Chizea writes that the assumptions in the budget appear realistic

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n Tuesday, October 8, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari presented to a joint session of the National Assembly the details of the budget which is named, ‘Budget of Sustaining Growth and Job Creation.’ The first thing that struck someone is to ask what level of growth we are sustaining. At a projected growth of 2.9 per cent which is still below our purported population growth of about 3 per cent, we are still a long way from the desired level of growth which ideally should be in the range of six to nine per cent if commensurate impact is to be made on the prevalent levels of unemployment with the need for rapid poverty alleviation. The aggregate expenditure for the 2020 Budget is now N10.33 trillion; at some point in time this total expenditure was almost a moving target. There are immediately two remarkable take away from the budget presentation. One was the good spirit, the banter and camaraderie atmosphere that hallmarked the budget presentation contrary to the rancour, recrimination and bad spirit that was the case last year. The other remarkable development surrounding the presentation of the budget was the timing of the presentation. For the first time in a long while we witnessed budget presentation not in December or early January but actually in October! The president had repeatedly assured all that cared to listen that he would harmonize the budget year with the calendar year.

What happened in the past was very shameful and rather unbecoming on a country the caliber of Nigeria; the reputed largest economy in Africa. In reality there was no ascertainable budget year as budget implementation commenced whenever the budget was approved which in reality was often in the second half of the year, a situation which not only projected us as unserious but made capital budget implementation a nightmare and largely accounted for the commensurate growth of the economy.

Little wonder unemployment became a veritable growth sector with the consequent rise in social crimes.

We are now poised to realize the January to December budget year as all stakeholders have demonstrated their resolve for this to happen, leveraging on the existing cordial relationship between the executive and the legislature. The National Assembly has closed plenary sessions to now work in relevant committees to interact with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for speedy presentation and approval of their respective budgets. But we have been on record with the recommendation that we could dispense with this unnecessary aspect of the budget approval process. It is a duplication and an abuse of due process for accepted best practice in reporting. Those agencies do not report to the National Assembly and had prior made their submissions to the executive which approved them after due defense before inclusion in the national budget.

And the experience has been that this is the window which is seized to arm twist the agencies to make provisions for third parties in their budget.

So we invite the president to use his good offices and leverage on the existing cordial relationship to expunge this stage in the budget approval process. A growth rate of 2.9 per cent has been assumed. Whether this is attainable is in the womb of the future. A growth rate of 2.02% has been reported as recorded in the first half of 2019. With early passage of the budget, implementation could commence early and with the aggressive revenue drive now mounted, there is good expectation that an improvement in growth rate is well on the cards. What remains certain is that we must devise a means to record far higher growth rates close to a range of six to nine per cent if the economy is going to get out of the woods, jobs created and poverty alleviated in no distant future. And this goal is not farfetched with consistent disciplined and focused implementation of the policies and programmes in the budgets. There will also be the need to

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG WHILE, WE WITNESSED BUDGET PRESENTATION NOT IN DECEMBER OR EARLY JANUARY BUT ACTUALLY IN OCTOBER!

plug all leakages to minimize misappropriations. The instruction in the budget that all workers must be registered on integrated payroll and personal information is therefore a move in the desired direction.

The assumptions in the budget appear mostly realistic. An oil benchmark of 57 dollars per barrel has been used with a daily production level of 2.18 million barrels per day (mbpd). Oil price we have been informed averaged 67 dollars last year with a daily production level of 1.86 as at end June, 2019. Therefore for this benchmark it is certain that we have erred on the side of caution. It must be recalled that the executive submission was at 55 bpd and it was the legislature that hiked the price up to the existing 57 dollars with comments being now made to the effect that this price should be further increased during the review; the legislature should take over the budget from the executive as the allocation to capital expenditure is not adequate to facilitate the level of growth required to jumpstart the economy for the much awaited growth in job opportunities. We caution against such sentiments as it could contaminate the good relationship we have so far celebrated. The responsibility for budget preparation remains exclusively that of the executive. The foreign exchange rate of N305 to the dollar assumed in the budget is cautionary as this is the base exchange rate and therefore exchange rate above this rate would be a bonus as it generates greater dollar inflows. But with the newly inaugurated Economic Council, this rate might not survive for too long. The challenge on the expenditure side of the budget is real. With recurrent expenditure of about 70 per cent of total expenditure, there is not much scope to rapidly grow the economy. It is unfortunate that the relative balance between capital and revenue expenditure with all the gains made to redress these relative rates in favour of capital expenditure in the recent past would now seem to have been lost. The creation of five new ministries; power, aviation, special duties and International affair, Police affairs and Humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development definitely has compounded the situation. Also the provisions for the new minimum wage and enhancement of the salaries and wages of the Police and armed forces have also added to the problem.

The capital budget at N2.14 trillion against a debt service provision of N2.45 trillion illustrates the extent of fiscal sustainability dilemma confronting the country. It has also been estimated that above 60% of revenue inflow is now used to service debts and therefore the challenge of growing revenue could not have been more pressing and urgent. It is in this context that the proposed increase in VAT rate must be accommodated by all even if we must note that VAT rates in Nigeria are the lowest when compared with rates elsewhere in the world.

Sectorial capital allocations have presented some challenges. An allocation to education of N48 billion even if there is the consideration of an additional allocation of N112 billion to Universal Basic Education would seem to be inadequate considering the importance of education for the future prosperity of the country. The economy of the future is the one that leverages on automation, robotics and artificial intelligence and no longer on the extractive sector. Also an allocation to the health sector of N46 billion offends all protocols which the country has subscribed to in this respect as it represents a far lower percentage allocation. But we must observe that in these matters there are no quick fixes. We must for now be content with achieving a measure of progress with the implementation of the budget to build on that as we make gradual progress while we offer supplications for the possibility of the realization of the harmonization of the budget and calendar year now staring us on the face.

Dr. Chizea wrote from Lagos

IMOTA R ICE MILL AND FOOD SECURITY The Lagos State government is committed to food security, writes Tayo Ogunbiyi

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ccording to a United Nations statistics, over 1.02 billion people do not have enough to eat ( more than the populations of USA, Canada and the European Union), while the number of undernourished people in the world increased by 75 million in 2007 and 40 million in 2008 (largely due to high cost of food).

In the developing countries, the statistic is more worrisome, as over one billion people are hungry.

Aside hunger and malnutrition, food insecurity equally results in a wide range of other problems such as health hazards, environmental degradation and high rate of crime. Conversely, to the extent that food security improves, most facets of life improve as well. To improve agriculture and food security (being able to produce enough food to sustain families and communities year after year), is a herculean task for most African nations. Hence, their people easily become victims of food-related problems.

Former Minister of Agriculture and current President of the African Development Bank, (ADB) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, once disclosed that in 2010 alone, the nation spent a staggering N635b on wheat importation, N35b on rice importation, N217b on sugar importation and another N97b spent on fish importation! Just imagine how much impact such amount of money could have had on our nation if it had been invested in improving critical infrastructure across the country.

As it is the case with many parts of the country, in Lagos State, a lot must be done to enhance food security for the ever growing population. With

most of its people engaged in activities outside of the agricultural sector, Lagos might be in danger of being over-dependent on other parts of the country for steady food supply.

It is, therefore, in order to stem the tide of food insecurity in the state, that the current administration under the leadership of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has made a solemn pledge to complete the all-important state government-owned Integrated Rice Mill at Imota in the Ikorodu division of the state, in record time. The integrated rice mill at Imota is a 22-hectare facility with the rice mill taking about 8.5 hectares and consists of a complete set of new mills, two warehouses, 16 silos with a storage capacity of 40 metric tonnes each, water treatment plant, effluent processing plant, staff quarters, administrative block, car park and firefighting facility, amongst others.

Rice, a staple food in most Nigerian homes, has always enjoyed increasing demand across the country. As a staple that is easy to cook, there is hardly nowhere around the country that this grain is not consumed. However, festivities and other social functions, often place huge demand on the availability of this popular food item in the country.

The wide acceptance of rice as a regular item on most families’ menu list is responsible for the huge amount of money that has over the years been expended on its importation. For instance, the country imported about 17 million tonnes of rice in the five years preceding the current Buhari administration. As it is often said, necessity is the mother of invention; smugglers adopt various devices to illegally bring rice into the country.

The intervention of players such as Olam into local rice farm in 2012 as a response to government support for local farmers did not yield any noticeable dividend. This is a farm of 4,500 hectares with mill, very close to Benue River and it is equipped with silos with a capacity to store 228,000 tonnes of rice.

Yet, the 50,000 tonnes of rice grown by the company each year was of small fraction of Nigeria’s rice consumption demand.

Our reliance on importation of rice has been to the disadvantage of our local economy. Resources that could have been spent to boost capacity of agroeconomy were channelled to the importation of rice which has lost its nutritional value due to years of preservation. In 2016, Nigeria rice importation stood at 2.3 million tonnes, with $5million averagely spent on each shipment.

Thus, the Sanwo-Olu administration’s plan to accord the Imota Rice Mill a priority attention is, indeed, a laudable one. Recall that one of the earliest tasks of Governor Sanwo-Olu was a working visit to the mill where he promised to speed up the completion of the project. The governor who visited the mills in the company of his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, the Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola and other top government functionaries, reiterated his administration’s commitment to enhancing food security in the state.

Currently, work has reached an appreciable level on the project, which upon completion would provide a boost for food security in the state, while also generating jobs and prosperity for the people as well as enhance the supply value chain.

When it becomes fully operational, the 32 metric-tonnes mill should be able to provide for the rice needs of a considerable proportion of Lagos residents. In order to further ensure that the rice need of Lagosians is adequately catered for, the state government is already collaborating with the South West and Northern states, as well as the Rice Farmers Association (REFAN) for the acquisition of rice paddy.

Without a doubt, the state government is unreservedly committed to the federal government new policy on rice importation. Towards this end, it is already in discussion with other states, especially those with the capacity to provide land for rice cultivation. Consequently, some of them have offered to make available about 72,000 hectares of land in their respective states. This is certainly a boost for Lagos’ renewed drive for rice cultivation.

According to the 2017/2018 report from the Rice Farmers Association (REFAN), the apex rice farmers’ body has the ability to produce 10 million tonnes of rice. Sadly, however, only a tiny fraction of that capacity is being optimally put to use. It is this shortfall that the Lagos State government is working hard to fill, particularly with its sustained assurance on the Imota Rice Mill. Fortunately, the World Bank is coming to the aid of the state government in this fresh impetus to promote food security. This is being done with focus on the value chain with a view to enhancing the capacity of the rice farmers and the entire value chain.

Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

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EDITORIAL KICKING OUT POLIO FROM NIGERIA There is need to intensify efforts to route the crippling disease

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n a continent of 54 countries, Nigeria has the unflattering distinction of being the only one yet to be completely certified polio-free. But it is gratifying that the country recently celebrated three years free of wild polio cases. What this means is that if no case is detected in about six months, the country and indeed Africa will be certified free of the crippling disease. But we hasten to add that Nigeria got this far some three years ago before two cases were detected in Borno State, thereby reversing the gains already made.

Polio is an infectious disease caused by a virus which invades the nervous system and often causes irreversible paralysis. It can strike at any age but mainly affects children under five. In 2008 there were 803 confirmed polio cases which represented a whopping 85 per cent in Africa.

By the following year the number came down to 388. As at March 2010, the country reported only one. While there THE KEY TO RIDDING is no known cure THE COUNTRY OF THE for polio, it can be DEVASTATING DISEASE prevented through IS A RETURN TO ROUTINE vaccination.

Yet as long as a IMMUNISATION REGIME single child remains infected with polio, unvaccinated children all over the world are at risk.

Strings of factors undermine confidence in the country’s ability to emulate other parts of the world, except Afghanistan and Pakistan, in interrupting the wild polio virus. One, the violence in the north and consequent insecurity had for years curtailed the activities of the vaccinators who moved from house to house to deliver the life-saving vaccinations. As a result of this, many people, particularly children, under the age of five, were not immunised. Two, cultural and religious factors have become sources of serious challenges in reaching millions of the children. Some religious leaders had reportedly opposed the immunisation campaigns on the ground that it was a western

Letters to the Editor

ploy to make people infertile.

Polio is a disease that should be taken seriously.

In 1996, polio virus paralysed more than 75,000 children across the African continent. That year, the late South African President, Nelson Mandela, launched a campaign, ‘Kick Polio out of Africa’, marking the beginning of a unique, cross-sectoral and cross-continental movement to protect all children from paralysis. So successful was the campaign that as of March 2018, there was no cases of wild poliovirus type 1 reported in any country in African for over one and half years.

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

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

SOWORE: THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

T

he AAC presidential candidate, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, August 3, by the Department of State Services (DSS). According to the DSS he was apprehended for “threatening public safety, peaceful co-existence and social harmony in the country.

This occurred two days before the #RevolutionNow protest that was scheduled for Monday, August 5, convened by Sowore. The arrest was a ploy to halt the protest which demanded, “economy for all, end killings, system change, free education, living wage and end impunity”.

Nigerians are made to believe that the activist is a villain who wants the country divided, as part of his political tactics to have a grip of power. History has made it clear for all to know that his aspirations draw inspiration from selfless concern for the wellbeing of others, especially the defenceless.

In 1981, he partook in student demonstration against one of the conditions of the IMF loan for pipelines; and reducing number of universities from 28 to five. At the age of 22 he was involved in the demand for democratic government taking over from military rule in June 12, 1993, resulting in several arrests, detention and life threatening treatment by government officials.

hat there are setbacks despite the efforts of recent years is why the relevant authorities must now be alive to their responsibilities.

To rout the disease in the country once and for all, it is crucial for all stakeholders to continue to take steps to reach all children with vaccines, strengthen surveillance, and stay fully committed at all levels to ending polio. It is also essential to maintain financial commitments. If achieved, the certification of Nigeria as polio-free will be a soothing testimony to the efforts of donors and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners.

While we must commend the current administration for building on the efforts of the previous government by re-energising the process, there is a need to do more. All officials must roll up their sleeves to tackle the polio challenge. State governors across the country, especially in the high-risk states, should take the lead with their local government officials in every community, particularly in Borno and adjourning states in northern Nigeria.

Since a threat of polio in any state is a threat to all Nigerian children, routine immunisation must be intensified.

That Nigeria remains “one of only three countries in the world endemic to wild poliovirus, alongside Afghanistan and Pakistan” is an emblem of shame. The key to ridding the country of the devastating disease is a return to routine immunisation regime.

As the Student Union Government (SUG) president in UNILAG from 1992 to 1994, he was involved in anti-cultism and anti-corruption advocacy. It is an incontrovertible fact that Sowore’s life is marked by an endless struggle for social justice and a fight for the voiceless and defenceless and has often been faced with inhumane treatment to whittle down his passion. Today, Omoyele Sowore is an inspiration to many who were previously afraid to challenge the current government that cannot condone the slightest dissent. He is charged with treasonable felony and detained through a perambulating justice system, executing a subtle gamesmanship of the federal government.

“I think the charges are about silencing a critical voice that’s shining light on corruption”, proclaimed his wife. Indeed, he is a strong voice that cannot be silenced by detention and derogatory allegations, which he has overtime grown accustomed to.

Sowore sacrificed his privileged position and comfort in favour and full identification with the oppressed. He’s a stalwart activist — unbroken, unsullied and unrepentant about fighting for the betterment of Nigeria. The veracity of his acts is unquestionable and his deeds would never be forgotten as a “criminal of class suicide”.

Lance Momodu Jnr, Reallancespeaks@gmail.com

UNRAVELLING THE INTRICACY BEHIND BBNAIJA SHOW

B

ig Brother Naija is a famous TV reality show that features contenders for cash prize and other handful material gifts.

According to the show’s parlance, the contenders are known as “housemates” who reside together in an isolated house under close monitoring with live television cameras.

The home viewers and fans determine the housemate who wins the competition through online voting.

Customarily, eviction is carried out through voting on weekly basis until a housemate remains and wins the prize.

The first edition of the BBNaija show was aired on AFANG TV where Katung Aduwak emerged the winner among other 14 housemates who contended for $100,000 cash prize and other valuable gifts. In 2017, the series had Micheal Efe Ejeba as the winner.

Miracle Ikechukwu emerged victorious in the 2018 edition, while Mercy Eke won the prize for the recently concluded fourth edition.

Numerous calls for the cancellation of BB Naija series had trailed the concluded fourth edition. The arguments for the calls ranged from religious, cultural and moral. Many religious leaders and adherents had regarded the TV show’s daily routines as satanic.

The moralists and culturists argued that BBNaija promoted indecency and pornography as against societal values.

Nigeria is a secular state guided by constitutional provisions and other enacted laws. BBNaija could only be banned on legal grounds and frameworks.

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) controls and regulates the broadcasting industry in Nigeria. This regulation can’t be exercised except in a manner stipulated by law. The NBC ban doesn’t suffice on individuals’ sensation and outcry. Succinctly, the BBNaija TV show is liable for abrogation if its contents contravene any extant laws.

The aforementioned complaints levied against BBNaija would be unsolved if the show is eventually banned subject to due process. Nigerians are accessible to hundreds of unregistered local channels that streamline sexual-related movies and songs.

Moreover, there are foreign pornographic airwaves easily accessible to all and sundry. The moralists and religious leaders could properly restrict their subjects and congregants respectively from streaming sexual contents through teachings and admonitions.

Binzak Azeez, Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife

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T H I S D AY Ëž MONDAY Ëž OCTOBER 14, 2019

POLITICS

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

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

Federal Lawmakers Sing Discordant Tunes

Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale write that members of the National Assembly hold divergent views on the 2020 Appropriation Bill recently presented to the legislative arm by President Muhammadu Buhari

President Buhari presenting the 2020 budget to federal lawmakers

S

enators and Honourable members of the House of Representatives took time to dissect the N10.33 trillion budget estimate for the 2020 fiscal year after the recent presentation of the Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari. While some applauded the provisions of the budget, others held contrary views and faulted the budget estimate which they termed anti-people.

The debate on the appropriation bill, which continued has since then had senators making their contributions on different aspects contained in the budget proposals.

Some of the lawmakers during the debate on the proposals drew the attention of the executive arm of government to certain areas that needed some tweaking to enhance the economy Leading the lawmakers who punctured the provisions of the budget is the Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi who noted that capital budget of N2.14 trillion to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is rather too small adding that the injection of this amount is a mere drop in the ocean and Is incapable of stimulating the economy to higher growth, wealth creation and employment generation.

He emphasised that the nation’s problem has to do with the fact that for over 40 years, “we have been operating an economy based on an expected revenue from oil. This has Ied to underperformance and most recently, recession.

When we realized that we must diversify, we refused to also accept the fact that we have to change our approach to planning, revenue generation, and budgeting.�

Commenting on other economic parameters of the budget proposal, Senator Abdullahi

QUICK FACTS: r1SFTJEFOU .VIBNNBEV #VIBSJ recently presented N10.33 trillion budget estimate for the 2020 fiscal year before the National Assembly r5IJT JT UIF FBSMJFTU UJNF BO annual budget has been brought before the federal legislature since

stated that an economic Growth Rate of 2.93% for a population of nearly 200 million, is only marginally above population growth rate at 2.6%, annually. He expressed concern that the country’s dependence on crude oil exports does not present a bright scenario for Nigeria’s healthy growth. He averred, “The projections of increased oil production averaging 2.18 million barreIs/day, in the medium term, are subject to very high risks that have had devastating

The lawmaker while drawing the attention of the upper chamber to legal concerns expressed by some Nigerians over the conict likely to arise as a result of a clash in the budget cycle for 2019 and 2020, said the yet-to-be implemented aspects for the 2019 ďŹ scal year will be collapsed into the 2020 budget

consequences in recent times. Volatility, both at the international spot market and in the Niger Delta are factors that could make these expectations only tentative. “The Borrowing Programme, projected at N1.7 trillion, on 60:40 ratio,(domestic:external), could be a good starting point. But there are lots of foreign loan sources with reasonable concessionary terms that government should explore to further whittle down the ratio, say to 30:70, in favour of external sources. “Relating directly to the above is the case of debt servicing burden. The logic is self-evident that seeking cheap funds abroad will reduce the burden of borrowing to repay huge domestic debts. This could undermine growth by denying the real sector access to cheap domestic loans.

As it stands, the cost of domestic borrowing is becoming too high.�

According to him, the continued pursuit of CBN’s restrictive monetary policy in the face of a clear economic necessity to reflate the economy, particularly by ensuring cheap money to power the real sector of the economy, is still baffling. He further said, “I have, on the floor of this chamber, repeatedly called for the realignment of the country’s monetary and fiscal policies to ensure the right structural momentum in the economy.

On the projected N2.46 trillion Capital Expenditure which he described as paltry adding that the pace of funds released to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the 2019 budget is contrary to efforts to strengthen the country’s full recovery from the recent recession.

According to him, “The projected high deficit of N2.18 trillion for 2020 is a direct function of the economy-wide revenue shortfalls, as well as the choice and cost of borrowing. Govern-

the return to democracy I’m 1999 r5IF CVEHFU TFFLT UP SFUVSO UP old cycle of budgeting between January and December, each year.

Already, this has created a legal problem since the 2019 budget followed a budget year that begins in April r4JODF CVEHFU JNQMFNFOUB-

tion has not reached 70 per cent r5IF DBQJUBM QSPKFDUJPO JT / trillion, out of N1.7 trillion will be borrowed r1SPQPTFE UBSHFU SFWFOVF GPS UIF 2020 budget is N8.155 trillion r5IF CVEHFU QSPQPTFT B N2.18tn deficit *The 2020 budget is predicated on

ment, particularly the collecting agencies, must improve on their collection capacity. But to do this, there must be robust investments in the real sector so that it could grow to earn taxable revenues. “Debt service as a percentage of Capital Expenditure is still high, while debt service as a percentage of revenue should be diminishing, only if we dedicate ourselves to raising more revenue by investing in the real sector to grow the economy and boost employment and productivity; broadening the tax base in order to capture more revenue sources; improving our transparency and reduce pilferage by intensifying the drive against corruption; and ensuring that there is security for economic operators, both local and foreign. He, however, submitted that the economy rests on three pillars namely the oil sector 10% of GDP, import dependent and consumption driven non oil sector (oil revenue dependent) and investment and policy driven non-oil sector .

The Senate Leader emphasised that the oil sector is most dominant because despite contributing only about 10% of GDP, it drives over 61% of the economy because it accounts for 80% of government revenue and 95% of foreign exchange.

According to him, the import dependent and consumption driven non-oil sector accounts for 52% of GDP, relies on the oil sector for foreign exchange and capital inflows to finance import of intermediate/finished goods, imported raw materials and semifinished products and services for manufacturers, real estate, public administration, trade, construction and financial services. He further said, “investment driven non-oil sector accounts for 39% of GDP, does not rely on the oil sector or foreign exchange remittances, for instance, Agriculture, arts,

revenue from sale of 2.3 millions barrels of crude oil per day, which will be sold at USD57 per barrel and a 7.5% increase in VAT r&JHIUZ GJWF QFS DFOU PG 7"5 proceeds will go to states to fund critical infrastructure r/ USJMMJPO PG UIF CVEHFU is reserved for debt servicing

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY ˾ OCTOBER 14, 2019

MONDAY DISCOURSE

Lawan

Gbajabiamila

Ekweremadu

Abaribe

entertainment, administration. support services and some local manufacturing relying almost exclusively on locally sourced talents, labour and raw materials.

“The first and second pillars rely an unpredictable and volatile international oil prices and peace in the Niger Delta. The third pillar (39%) depends on security, ease of doing business, good weather and appropriate policy decisions (anti-corruption, transparency initiatives, infrastructural development initiatives, good investment decisions, etc.)

“Thus the object of our development policy should be to harness resources from the 1st and 2nd pillars for the development of the 3rd pillar by increasing its share of the GDP, and expanding its capacity to employ people by enhancing and expanding the use of local resources (raw materials), talents and labour.

Senator Abdullahi therefore submitted that “due to the volatility of the international oil market, the time to do this is now” and enumerated the procedure to include “restructuring and funding of National security institutions and modernizing and upgrading their human and material assets, massive investment in agriculture and local processing and vertical integration of agriculture and industry, (direct assistance to farmers and integrating them with local manufacturers), value addition investments in oil processing and petrochemical industries, particularly in the Niger Delta and development of infrastructure, railways, highways, ports, inland waterways, power, airports, etc”.

Others, according to him, include social investment in education, health and poverty eradication; recapitalization of the domestic productive sector through lower interest rates, (deposit banks); access to development finance (MSME, development banks, etc.) repayment of domestic debts; targeted and sustained support for the arts and local entertainment industry; high-tech/ICT soft and hardware start-ups support and investing more in peace-making and peace-building in the Niger Delta region.

On his part, Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, wondered why proper monitoring of the budget implementation had not been in place for several years.

According to him, “the President presents budget every year but we do not take disciplinary measures expected to make the budget effective simply because we like to speak from both sides of our mouths. It has become an annual ritual and we still do it.

The President by tradition, would lay the budget and whatever comes out of it is nobody’s business. I’m saying this because since 1999, budget implementation has not reached 70 per cent. This is very worrisome.

“We are discussing the 2020 budget estimates, is it fair to say we have a 2019 budget which has not been implemented? As we speak now, nothing has been done. We have the 2019 Appropriation Act and we are discussing the 2020 budget proposal. We refused to address this aspect of our shortcomings.

According to him, no nation moves forward without discussing what happened in the past as some of the projects being implemented now are not even in the 2019 budget while also chastising the National Assembly for not carrying out the required oversight on the budget implementation.

Bwacha posited that, “As parliament, we do not care to follow up by asking questions for obvious reasons. Oversight functions has also become a ritual. We have to take it seriously as a parliament. We need to diversify our economy because we are operating a mono economy.

However, the budget estimates before us did not reflect this posture.

Bwacha further lamented that “the allocation to the agriculture sector does not really portray a nation that is prepared to diversify.

“We need to walk the talk if we really want to achieve a significant growth in our economy.

This is a worrisome development in our budget system. We do not take budgeting as a serious business. It may be difficult to achieve 100 per cent implementation but we could achieve a significant improvement in our budget implementation.

Chairman of the Senate committee on Diaspora, Senator Ajibola Basiru, on his part, faulted the projected revenue saying, “the revenue projections and infrastructure show a 70 per cent deficit in the 2019 budget and in 2020, it has already been highlighted that N2.18tn will be the proposed deficit.”

Ajibola further said, “people are looking at allocation to key sectors and the revenue to fund the projects like for instance, when you talk of the N256 billion being allocated to Works Ministry, I have it on good authority that what is even required to take care of the outstanding in the Ministry of Works and Housing is in the excess of N500 billion.

Yet many people are hailing the N256 billion allocated for Works, describing it as huge.”

Chairman of the Senate committee on Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, in his reaction, canvassed for tax exemption for all pharmaceutical items while also calling for work to resume on all abandoned federal roads citing the Enugu- 9th Mile-Nsukka and Benue roads one of the federal roads requiring urgent attention.

Senator Isyifanus Gyang, however submitted that what Nigerians want is how the budget will transform their lives and improve security across the country.

He also criticised the N100 billion voted for

defence, describing it as inadequate saying with the security challenges facing the nation the vote won’t be sufficient to address the problem.

Commenting on infrastructure deficits and abandoned projects, Gyang expressed hope that the budget would address the poor road network along the Akwanga -Jos roads.

While calling for reduction in the cost of governance and blocking of all leakages in government revenue, he also queried the 2.3 millions barrel estimate of crude oil, saying it is over ambitious.

Nigeria, he said, may not meet the projected revenue target, adding that, “we are spending what we plan to earn as all earnings are going to current expenditure and this imbalance should be addressed.”

Chairman of the Senate committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senatot Albert Bassey Akpan, on his part, canvassed for the amendment of the deep and offshore bills to reflect the welfare of the oil communities, while calling for a balancing of the allocation to the various sectors.

Former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Senator Chris Ekpenyong, in his reaction, submitted that the budget estimate shows wisdom and dexterity of plans by the President.

He advised that the budget should actually create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths adding that “there are many poor people, let the budget work for the people let’s find a definitive role that will aid ease of transportation and create wealth.”

Chairman of the Senate committee on Public Accounts, Senator Mathew Urhoghide, on his part, advised that poor revenue generation which has been the bane of effective implementation of yearly budgetary proposals, must be tackled by blocking all the loopholes if 2020 budget is to succeed.

His position was not different from Bwacha, “We must put our mouth where our money is meaning that, as parliamentarians, more thorough oversight functions must be carried out on all revenue generating agencies.”

Berating the executive arm of government, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP Abia), described the 2020 budget as a ‘Budget of Taxation’, full of sounds, signifying nothing.”

Abaribe was visibly irked that the budget was based on many assumptions, including a projection Assumptions of oil selling at USD57 per barrel. He reasoned that, “Our projection would be off the mark if the crisis in the Middle East does not continue The assumptions of 2.3 million barrel a day is off the mark. Why increase to 2.3, why not maintain the 2019 position of 1.8 million barrel a day? “This is not a sustainable budget,” he concluded. He queried the rationale behind a budget that has N2.8trillion for deficit and N2.4 for debt servicing. This, he said is already N5.2 trillion put together out of a budget of N10.3 trillion. According to him, “what will the budget achieve when half of the budget is already gone to debt related issues.”

In the estimation of Senator Abdullahi Sabi (APC Niger), the budget plans to address infrastructural deficits in the country. “This budget has addressed how to sustain the micro and small businesses as well as ease of doing business If properly managed, it will help address issues of deficits and infrastructural issues. This budget will address the change and welfare of Nigerians.”

The contentious issue of proposed increase in VAT from 5% to 7.5% was uppermost in the submission of Gabriel Suswam. (PDP Benue).

He contended, “ This budget is very ambitious.

The economy has contracted. I am worried about revenues. I am worried that VAT moved to 7.5 percent. The small business and micro business may not survive. It cannot achieve the target of 3.9 projected growth. To raise funds and revenue from VAT will contract the economy. N2.4 trillion to service debt.

Borrowing on 1.7 trillion and by next year, this will not be sustainable. The revenue is not realistic.”

Commending the return to old budget cycle of January to December, Barau Jubrin (APC Kano), Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation held that based on VAT, the revenue projection was achievable and that government has done well. He said, “This is an attempt to move away from dependency on oil. This will help diversify the economy.

MDAs should be on their toes to actualise the revenue projections of the budget. The benchmark of the oil at 1.8 million barrel is possible. The budget is conservative pegging the price of oil at $57.” He commended the President for being realistic on the budget. According to him tthe budget called for prudence in government spending.

Expressing happiness on budget for roads and other infrastructure, Ike Ekweremadu (PDP. Enugu), noted that there must be adjustment of the proposal where necessary.. Ekweremadu, however, advanced strategies for achieving the goals of the budget. He wants the Senate to ensure implementation of the budget. He abhorred a situation where the masses have to bear the unpleasant impact of revenue generation, while advising the government to close leakage in the revenue collection system. He insisted that all MDAs must be held accountable for their actions. Calling for a better attention on solid minerals, he tasked all stakeholders to counter the work of saboteurs on the PIGB bill.

Countering the mounting dissent against increase in VAT, Adamu Aliero (APC Kebbi), argued that Nigeria has the lowest VAT rate in West Africa. He said this will contribute to the revenue profile of the budget Aliero said it was a thing of joy that 85 percent of VAT proceeds will go to states. This will help fund critical infrastructures. The budget, he said, will not affect the masses negatively. He commended the President for increasing the foreign exchange more than what he met on assumption of office. On the social investments project, he called for proper management and prudence because the poverty level was high.

Aliero seemed to be alone when he asked that the benchmark be moved to $60 per barrel, without giving reasons for his suggestion.

Lawrence Orujiafor ( APC.Bayelsa) argued that if any meaningful impact is to be achieved attention must be paid to power generation as the small and micro business rely heavily on power generation.

Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti) commended both the executive and legislative arms of government for ensuring that the 2020 Appropriation Bill was laid before the National Assembly in such a manner that shows it will not be business as usual.

The lawmaker while drawing the attention of the upper chamber to legal concerns expressed by some Nigerians over the conflict likely to arise as a result of a clash in the budget cycle for 2019 and 2020, said the yet-to-be implemented aspects for the 2019 fiscal year will be collapsed into the 2020 budget.

The projected high deficit of N2.18 trillion for 2020 is a direct function of the economy-wide revenue shortfalls, as well as the choice and cost of borrowing.

Government, particularly the collecting agencies, must improve on their collection capacity. But to do this, there must be robust investments in the real sector so that it could grow to earn taxable revenues

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

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FEATURES

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

A Rising Force for the Girl-child Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that the recently marked 2019 International Day of the Girl themed “GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable� was quite instructive in the face of the burgeoning challenges facing the girl-child, ranging from sexual violence to gender academic disparity, early marriage and even female genital mutilation

"W

e need to uphold the equal rights, voices and influence of girls in our families, communities and nations. Girls can be powerful agents of change, and nothing should keep them from participating fully in all areas of life." That was the apt and timely clarion made by the UN SecretaryGeneral, AntĂłnio Guterres.

Since 2012, October 11 has been marked as the International Day of the Girl. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges the girl-child faces, while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.

This year, the theme “GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable�, looked at the progress made since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. According to the United Nations (UN), the theme was targeted at celebrating girls everywhere as they inspire, break boundaries and take charge of their own future.

Noting that in 1995, before the girls of today were even born, the fourth World Conference on Women made history for the women’s rights agenda with the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted, the most visionary blueprint for the empowerment of women and girls, the UN added that it was to celebrate all of the achievements by, with and for girls since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the passage of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, that the theme was coined.

However, they noted that despite these achievements, that was not to say that many of the commitments made to girls were fulfilled. “Each year, 12 million girlsunder 18 are married; 130 million girlsworldwide are still out of school; And approximately 15 million adolescent girlsaged 15-19 have experience forced sex. “The more than 1.1 billion girls in the world have had enough. This year on International Day of the Girl, we’re sharing the stories of girls around the world are calling to uphold the commitments made nearly 25 years ago, and create a better future for all�.

Their clarion call harped on the fact that as they approach the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform and Declaration for action, on this International Day of the Girl-child, “let us renew our commitment to invest in girls’ health, education and safety and put an end to harmful practices that hold girls back from reaching their full potential�.

Beijing Declaration According to the UN body, nearly 25 years ago, some 30,000 women and men from nearly 200 countries arrived in Beijing, China for the Fourth World Conference on Women, determined to recognise the rights of women and girls as human rights. The conference culminated in the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: the most comprehensive policy agenda for the empowerment of women.

In the years following, women pressed this agenda forward, leading global movements on issues ranging from sexual and reproductive health rights to equal pay.

More girls today are attending and completing school, fewer are getting married or becoming mothers while still children, and more are gaining the skills they need to excel in the future world of work.

Today, these movements have expanded.

They are being organised by and for adolescent girls, and tackling issues like child marriage, education inequality, gender-based violence, climate change, self-esteem, and girls’ rights to enter places of worship or public spaces during menstruation. Girls are proving they are unscripted and unstoppable.

UN Declaration of Child Rights Also tilted at protection the rights of the child, of which girls are included, The Declaration of the Rights of the Child, sometimes known as the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child was borne.

The Declaration of the Rights of the Child, is an international document promoting child rights, drafted by Eglantyne Jebband adopted by the League of Nations in 1924, and adopted in an extended form by the

Underage street hawker

President Muhammadu Buhari United Nations in 1959.

Thus, the UN adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989 which harped on the fact that the child must be given the means requisite for its normal development, both materially and spiritually.

Despite these existing documents to protect the rights of the child, including the female child, so many challenges have hampered its 100 per cent fulfillment.

Early Marriage One of such challenges faced by the girl-child in Nigeria is early marriage.

Nigeria has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world. In Nigeria, 39 per cent of girls are married off before age 18 and 16 per cent are married before they turn 15 years old.

However, according to the NDHS 2013, the number of Nigerian girls that are married before their 18th birthday is as high as 58.2 per cent. The prevalence of child marriage varies widely across the country, but figures are as high as 76 per cent in the North-west region, compared with 10 per cent in the South-east.

Ending child marriage requires strategies for girls’ empowerment, social and cultural norms change, legal reform, and policy action. The Child Rights Act of 2003 set the national legal minimum age of marriage at 18 years but it is yet to be ef- fectively

Photo credit: Chiamaka Ozulumba

Minister of Women Aairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen implemented. There are 12 Northern states that have yet to pass the bill and agree on the minimum age of marriage. To be effective, state assemblies must take the necessary meas- ures to implement the Child Rights Act, including concrete steps to execute the minimum age of mar-riage.

Along with the Child Rights Act, Ni- geria at national and sub-national levels needs to fast track the im-plementation of the Universal Basic Education act with special emphasis on girl education.

Also, according to UNICEF Nigeria has the largest number of child brides in Africa with more than 23 million girls and women who were married as children, most of them from poor and rural communities. While data suggests a decline of nine per cent in the prevalence of child marriage since 2003, and a projected further decrease of six per cent by 2030, Nigeria’s rapid population growth means that the number of child brides will in fact increase by more than one million by 2030 and double by 2050.

Female Genital Mutilation According to reports, just over one in four girls and women (27 per cent) aged 15-49 years have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), a rate that is still lower in Nigeria than in many countries.

However, due to its large population, Nigeria has the third highest absolute number of women and girls (19.9 million) who have undergone FGM/C worldwide.

While prevalence continues to drop, with a projected further five-point decline by 2030, the population explosion is expected to result in the numbers of those affected to remain unchanged by 2030.

FGM otherwise known as circumcision is an invasive and painful surgical procedure that is often performed without anesthetic on the girl-child before puberty. It is an old traditional practice still being practiced in parts of Nigeria, making it one of the 27 countries in Africa where FGM is still being celebrated.

In this circumcision, the prepuce of the girl child is removed and their clitoris may be partially or completely removed and in some cultures, they go as far as removing the labia minora while the labia majora are sewn together, covering the urethra and vagina. At the same time, a small opening is retained for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid.

But despite a law criminalising FGM, zero enforcement has been its bane. As far back as 2002, there were talks by the Nigerian legislature to outlaw FGM and impose a two year jail term for offenders, although it allows for an option of a fine of 100 dollars or the imposition of both a fine and incarceration of six months.

Finally, when the bill which is called 'Violence against Persons (Prohibition)' was passed, it seeks to prohibit female circumcision or genital mutilation, forceful ejection from home and harmful widowhood

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FEATURES reduction, better health outcomes, economic growth, reduced rates of child mortality and malnutrition, adding that would also help girls to achieve their potential.

She therefore encouraged parents, stakeholders to value the girl child to enable them to access quality education, protect them from all forms of abuse and molestation.

FCT Minister of State, Ramatu Tijanni, on her part stressed the need to educate the girl-child toward identifying her potential dangers, sexual predators and seek help during distress. According to her, the ability of the girl-child to identify the dangers and potential sexual predators will aid in reducing their vulnerability and expose the culprits.

She further urged religious and community leaders to play vital roles in educating children, especially girls to enable them to perform well in society like their counterparts in other nations.

Also, the Director-General, National Centre for Women Development, Mrs. Mary Ekpere-Eta, encouraged stakeholders to play vital roles in protecting girls to ensure they received a quality education and proper hygiene, adding that access to quality education for girls would further raise their consciousness, expose them to knowledge and skills empowerment.

The National President, National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) Mrs. Gloria Shoda, on the other hand, urging stakeholders to promote the rights of the girl-child in Nigeria, noted that any support to the girl-child would go a long way to change her destiny, especially orphaned girl-child by providing for comprehensive care, including food, clothing, education and health care.

While stressing the need to empower the girl-child through training and skill acquisition to help them become selfreliant and live better lives, she advised the girl-child to pursue education with vigor to enable them to achieve success in the future.

Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili said: “The pressure that girls face is so much more today than what we faced in our time.

I feel for our girls and ask that we collectively do right by them. Families, government and businesses all need to pay more attention to our girls - all the time and not just on a #DayOfTheGirl. “A lot remains, but one good thing is that our Girls -especially in Nigeria- now have many more female role models showing them how to be #UnscriptedAndUnstoppable. That way, our Girls will no longer just “survive�. They will thrive as we collectively empower them.�

practices. However, despite a law clearly stating the government's position against the practice, lack of enforcement has been the bane of it. The apathy of those that should enforce this ban has been declared one of the main issues why the practice is still popular. Also, the lack of awareness of the dangers posed by FGM is another problem.

So, with the law criminalising FGM, it definitely behooves the executive to enforce the laws passed by the legislature, even as community leaders should be engaged to help raise awareness on the dangers of the age-old cultural practice.

Gender Disparity in Schools In terms of equality in academic pursuit, the girl-child often comes in lacking.

Although education is a basic human rightand has been recognised as such since the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, there is still an existing gender disparity that faces the girl-child. In most communities, the male child is often bestowed on the privilege to education as against the girl-child. Some factors might be responsible for this- cultural and socio-economic reasons- that prevent the girl-child from having adequate access to education.

Culturally, the girl-child is made to stay at home and learn to tend to her family instead of attending school. Another reason is that the Nigerian tradition attaches higher value to a man than a woman, whose place is believed to be the kitchen.

The socio-economic factors that have prevented the girl-child from education on the other hand boils down to poverty, early marriage, child labour, as well as some structural and institutional factors.

Child Labour One of the traditional means of socialisation of children is through trading. However, the introduction of young girls into street trading increases the vulnerabilities of the girls to sexual harassment. Sexual abuse of young girls in Nigeria is linked to child labour.

Underage street hawking is a universal phenomenon that is not only common to Nigeria, as it is practiced in both industrialised and developing countries of the world. However, child labour, of which underaged street hawking features prominently, constitutes a serious problem.

From Kano to Anambra, Lagos, Rivers and other states of the federation, the social anomaly seems to be on the increase despite measures put on ground to ameliorate it.

Without a doubt, the consequences of underaged street hawking are far-reaching.

It has a devastating effect on the education of children who practice it as it distorts government policies on education due to high rate of out of school children.

Sometimes, the underage street hawkers are drawn into delinquent actions that may even dovetail to petty robbery and then graduate into robbery.

Also, majority of such underage girls who hawk are at the mercy of rapists and traffickers. Sometimes, these child hawkers are exposed to health challenges, accidents, stress, kidnapping, sexual abuse, and even death.

Sexual Violence Although child sexual abuse in Nigeriais an offence under several sections of chapter 21 of the country's criminal code, a survey

by Positive Action for Treatment Access, revealed that over 31.4 percent of girls said that their first sexual encounter had been rape or forced sex of some kind.

Violence against children occurs in homes, families, schools, communities and other places where children should feel safe.

Again, according to UNICEF, abuse in all its forms are a daily reality for many Nigerian children and only a fraction ever receive help.

They posited that six out of every 10 children experience some form of violence – one in four girls and 10 per cent of boys have been victims of sexual violence.

Of the children who reported violence, fewer than five out of a 100 received any form of support. The drivers of violence against children (VAC) are rooted in social norms, including around the use of violent discipline, violence against women and community beliefs about witchcraft, all of which increase children’s vulnerability.

AfďŹ rmation for the Girl-child in Nigeria Across Nigeria, the day was celebrated by different states, groups and women bodies, all making affirmations and pledges towards the protection of the girl-child.

Speaking on the day and what it portends, President Muhammadu Buhari said: “Nigeria needs stricter laws to protect girls and women from abuse. I very much welcome the National Assembly’s proposed amendments to our laws, following the recent

high-profile revelations of sexual abuse in our institutions of higher learning. “I acknowledge that we need to do more as a country to address incidents of sexual violence and sexual abuse in our schools; and all forms of discrimination, human trafficking and cultural practices that violate women’s rights. “I urge our law enforcement agencies and school administrators to take up such cases with every seriousness, and ensure that perpetrators face the consequences of their actions. The practice of shaming and silencing victims must also be discouraged by all.�

Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari said: “Today, I join millions of girls around the world to celebrate this year’s international day of the girl-child, the theme for this year’s celebration is ‘GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable. “I am happy to note the progress that has been made in the area of activism by girls to protect their gender. I want to state that more needs to be done especially to address gender-based violence which seems to be more pronounced recently and all hands must be on deck to achieve this.�

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar said: "The girl child is a prized asset that should be nurtured to fruition. On this #DayofTheGirl, I call for concerted effort

to eliminate all obstacles, including the right to education that infringes on the rights of the #GirlChild to achieve their full potentials."

On her part, the MinisterofWomen Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen said educating the girl-child is the key to unlocking access to economic and social development of Nigeria.

Expressing concern about the high population of out of school children across the country, she said: “The ministry has inaugurated a technical Working Group aimed at reducing 50 per cent of child marriage by the year 2025, and a National Strategy Document has also been developed to ensure zero child marriage in Nigeria by 2035.�

The minister who listed challenges faced by the girl child in the society to include being victims of physical and sexual abuse, human trafficking, child labour and denial to rights of inheritance, therefore called for total reorientation on the values of the girl-child, especially in education and skills acquisition, which she said would aid in empowering them and enable them to succeed in their endeavours.

Also, stating that 24 states had signed the Child Rights Act(2003) and urged the remaining 12 states to do the same for the benefit of the girls and the nation at large she said the benefits would lead to poverty

What Needs to be Done According to Save the Children.org, in its publication tagged ‘Changing the story of the Nigerian Girl-child’ what needs to be done is a tripartite process that should involve the government, civil society organisations (CSOs) and development partners.

For the government at national and sub-national levels, the organisation said they must take the lead, adding that the states that have not passed the Child Rights Act need to do so immediately and start implementation.

They further posited that since the Universal Basic Education Act 2004 14 mandates free and compulsory education for all children up to junior secondary level in Nigeria, government at national and sub-national level must ensure the effective implementation of this law as a key first step towards reducing early marriage.

They noted that government also needs to ensure that quality teaching and learning are taking place in all primary and junior secondary schools, as well as remove all barriers that make it difficult for young girls to go to school, including the costs associated with school attendance such as uniforms, extra school-imposed levies and transportation costs as schools must also be sensitive to cultural norms.

For the CSOs, they charged them to organise themselves by putting continuous pressure on government at national and sub-national level regarding the implementation of free and compulsory education, as well as monitor progress and tracking of resources to ensure accountability.

Also, community leaders needs to ensure that community structures continue to respond positively to all efforts encouraging girls to stay in school until at least the completion of junior secondary education.

To the development partners and donors, they charged them to put the girl-child development at the center of their development efforts, knowing that doing so will lead to rapid and lasting change.

They are also to collaborate with government at national and sub-national levels to take on these important issues, just as continual production of evidence and learning will also need to be supported by development partners.

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Quick Takes Adeduntan Harps on Sustainability Financing

The Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, recently participated at the interactive panel session of the 2019 Ethical Finance Conference held in Edinburgh. The event had in attendance over 500 leading ďŹ nance practitioners from all over the world.

According to a statement, Adeduntan, with other thought leaders, policy inuencers and leading ďŹ nance practitioners across the world deliberated on various topical issues that would help deďŹ ne and shape the transition of the global ďŹ nancial climate to a sustainable ďŹ nancial system where ďŹ nance delivers positive change. The bank chief executive along with Sarah Breeden, Bank of England; Dame Susan Rice, Banking Standards Board; Gary Gillespie, Chief Economist, Scottish Government spoke on the topic “Financing Sustainability: Designing for A Future on Earth,â€? in the ďŹ rst panel session.

Speaking on his participation at the event, Adeduntan was quoted to have said: “FirstBank is committed to exploring innovative opportunities that drive ďŹ nancial inclusion in Nigeria whilst harnessing widespread mobile-phone coverage to create low-price banking oerings across ground-breaking distribution channels, especially for the unbanked. “Our participation in the 2019 Ethical Finance Conference is a platform we are honoured to be in as shared knowledge with other global thought leaders and policy inuencers is pivotal to promote inclusive growth in the global ďŹ nancial ecosystem, whilst contributing to economic growth, development and importantly, reducing poverty.â€?

MEDIA BRIEFING

L-R: Africa Head of Tax Reimagined, KPMG, South Africa, Mr. Dermot Gaffney; Partner, Tax, KPMG, Nigeria, Nike James; Partner/ Head, Tax, Mr. Wole Onayomi, andTax Reimagined Solution Architec, KPMG, EMA Region, Mr. Ralf Baner, at the media briefing on the unveiling of KPMGTax reimagined in Lagos‌recently ETOP UKUTT

MFBs Float Development Company to Boost Operations, Deepen Financial Inclusion Goddy Egene The microfinance banking sector of the economy is set to witness a major boost as operators in the industry have floated a company known as the Microfinance Development Company Limited (MDCL), to address the problem of lack of wholesale funds for the sector.

The MDCL is an initiative of the National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), aimed at creating an institutional platform that can access borrowed and special intervention funds for the sector.

Speaking on the development, the President of NAMB, who is the Chairman of MDCL, Mr. Rogers Nwoke, said the microfinance sub-sector was built to survive on wholesale funding to be provided by the Central

FINANCE Bank of Nigeria (CBN). But he pointed out that for nine years, the sector operated without the needed whole funding to support lending and refinancing activities. “Nine years later, the N220 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) was launched and disbursed. Five years after, the microfinance sub-sector is yet to feel the impact of the fund as less than 10 per cent of the banks had access to this fund. “The MSMEDF obviously was not the planned fund for the development of the microfinance sub-sector. As a private sector, industry led initiative, the company MDCL is focused at addressing the funding gaps of the subsector.

“With an authorised share capital of million and ownership structure that spans the entire strata of microfinance banks in Nigeria, the company is ready to commence operations,� he said.

Nwoke, who is also the Managing Director of Hasal Microfinance Bank, explained that there was difficulty in convincing prospective investors and lenders to inject fund into financial services institutions in Nigeria, adding that even some deposit money banks (DMBs), including those listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, were experiencing difficulty, “and there is the general market perception that MfBs are more risky than the DMBs, putting MfBs in a more difficult position to attract funds from sources other than their shareholders.� “A properly structured, well

capitalised and operationally strong MDCL will mitigate this risk and be able to commercially funnel funds to MfBs that show sustainability prospects,� he added.

Speaking in the same vein, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of MDCL, Mr. Obinna Onunkwo, said the company would easily connect global and local financiers with microfinance banks (MfBs), strategically, strategically position MfBs to reach a wider market, provide financial and technical supports to MfBs, drive competitive and affordable interest rates by MfBs, have a risk management system that will sustain the sub-sector infrastructure as well as control risks at all times and work in collaboration with regulatory Continued on page 24

FG Proposes N536.7bn for Pension, Gratuity, Others in 2020 Ebere Nwoji The federal government has proposed a total of N536,717,450,121 for settlement of pensions, gratuities and retirement benefits of retired and serving workforce in the 2020 Appropriation Bill the President Muhammadu Buhari presented to the National Assembly last week.

It also allocated N16.567billion for ex- workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways and the sum of N2.3billion for entitlements of former presidents/heads of

PENSION states and Vice Presidents/chief of general staff.

The breakdown of the Appropriation Bill showed that the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation with respect to arrears of pension would gulp N48,897,287,441.

Under this, the unit allocation showed that gratuities amounted to N2,300,000,000.

Payment of pension was allocated N467,287,441 while pension running cost estimated

at N130,000,000.

Similarly, the sum of N217,593,565,984 proposed for military pensions and gratuities.

A breakdown of the allocation to the military showed that pensions was estimated at N126,492,195,623; the sum of N17,917,600,447 was allocated to expected retirees; the sum of N23,191,554,357 to death benefits; administrative charges/running costs got N150,000,000; medical retirees took N1,258,074,576; arrears of 2017 to 2018 pensions has N43,800,692,518 and arrears of 2017to 2018 gratuity was allocated

N4,782,448,463.

Another allocation with respect to military retirees involved National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS) which got a total of N10,478,000,762.

For Police pensions and gratuities, the sum of N7,408,000,000 was proposed in the 2020 Appropriation Bill. Under this, pensions took N7,308,000, 000 while pension running cost was projected to cost N100,000, 000.

Continued on page 24

Nigeria Hosts Global Quarantine Community

The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service has announced that the countryistohosttheglobalplantquarantinecommunityinAbuja.Theforum is to discuss critical issues and challenges of plant health, food quality and food security.This was disclosed in a press statement made available to THISDAYrecently and signed by the Head of Media, Communication and Strategies, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Dr. Chigozie Nwodo,inLagos.TheSecretarytotheGovernmentoftheFederation(SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, is expected to declare the Technical Consultation open. Delegates at the Technical Consultation would comprise heads of plant protection bodies across the globe as well as sta members of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat domiciled in the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Rome.

Nwodo,said,theAfricanDelegationtotheCommissiononPhytosanitary Measures (CPM) deferentially conceded the right to host the 31st TC to Nigeria at the 12th session of the CPM in Incheon City, South Korea, in 2017, following eorts by the DG NAQS, Dr. Vincent Isegbe According to the statement, “this Technical Consultation is the very ďŹ rst to be held in Africa. “As the National Plant Protection Organisation for Nigeria, the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has the honour to host the historic assembly on behalf of the country and the continent.

Soulcomms Partners Slum Art Foundation

Astrategicandengagementconsultancy,SoulcommunicationsPRLimited, has gone into partnership with the Slum Art Foundation to celebrate a themed ‘jollof rice party’ with children in Ijora Badia, a suburb in Lagos.The initiatve was to promoting the sustainable development goal of ďŹ ghting hunger.The Slum Art Foundation which is internationally recognised has over the years, taken kids of various slums o the roads of Lagos through engaging and empowering them with required skills and trainings in Art. InalettersignedbytheCo-founderoftheFoundation,AdetuasheAdenle, the foundation expressed delight on the partnership with Soulcomms for the Jollof Rice party, saying it would help in bringing to the attention of relevant stakeholders and policymakers within the government the urgent need to taking decisive actions towards geared at achieving the ambitious vision of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda. ConďŹ rming the partnership, Chief Operating OďŹƒcer, Soulcomms, MojisolaSaka,statedthatthecollaborationwithSlumArtFoundation,was one that tied into Soulcomms CSR engagements over the years which is aimed at supporting local communities through impact initiatives.

Soulcommunication PR is a multi-specialist company with expert resources delivering key solutions across Perception & Reputation Management, Brand Engagements and Marketing

“At the macro level, the fundamental challenge currently is that the economy is stuck at a very low speed lane in the context of a debt cliff with little fiscal space, while monetary policy is at near its limits, and low savingsinvestment trap, with rising unemployment and poverty�

Former CBN Governor

Prof. Chukwuma Soludo

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BUSINESSWORLD MFBS FLOAT DEVELOPMENT COMPANY TO BOOST OPERATIONS, DEEPEN FINANCIAL INCLUSION bodies to develop the sub-sector.

Onunkwo, who is also the MD/CEO of Purplemoney Microfinance Bank Limited, explained that large number of the microfinance banks in operation in Nigeria lacked the capacity on their own to either access existing non-equity funds or even attract donors, considering their operational antecedents and performance, quality of their financials, other non-financial attributes and critical metrics that investors, lenders and development partners consider before injecting funds into MfBs. “As such, only the big, well-structured players have succeeded in attracting funds other than equity to boost their operations. MDCL will bridge this capacity gap,� he said.

The MD/CEO, noted that the company has put in place a strong board and management team that will ensure it achieves its objectives.

FG PROPOSES N536.7BN FOR PENSION, GRATUITY, OTHERS IN 2020

With respect to Customs, Immigrations and Prison Pension Office, N8,311,000,000 was proposed, while it was expected that out of the sum, pensions would receive N8,211,000,000 and pension running cost was assigned N100,000,000.

The universities pensions including arrears was projected to cost N13,629,524,126.

The parastatals pensions and railway pensions was assigned N26,756,754,031.

The Department of State Security, was allocated N13,160,158718 and under it, pensions including arrears was estimated to take N9,007,377,311, while gratuity was allocated N3,886,521,784, just as death benefits was expected to gulp N266,259,623.

The Nigerian Intelligence Agency got N4,365,518,550, while the unit allocations showed that pensions/ defendants’ benefits got N4,265,518,550, while the pension running cost was projected to cost N100,000,000.

NEWS

Sadiku: Nigeria Recorded $9.29bn Investment Interests in Q3 James Emejo in Abuja

infrastructure also signified interest to invest $100 million in the economy.

According to the NIPC boss, announcements from Nigerian companies accounted for 98 per cent of projects by value, and were mainly in the development of oil fields.“This shows the growing capacity of Nigerian companies in the oil and gas sector of the economy,� she noted.

She said mining and quarrying

sector accounted for 98 per cent of investments announcements, while information and communications, finance and insurance, transportation and storage, real estate, human health and social services, manufacturing and agriculture collectively accounted for the balance of two per cent.

She explained that the major investment destinations were the Niger-Delta region which accounted for 87 per cent, while

Lagos, Kaduna, Anambra and Ogun states accounted for less than one per cent. “The other destinations were not made public by the investors,� she added. However, she added that NIPC’s Intelligence Newsletter which publishes Nigerian investment-related news culled from various sources, was based only on investment announcements cited in NIPC’s Newsletters from July to September 2019

She said the report may not contain exhaustive information on all investment announcements in the country during the period.

She said: “Nevertheless, the report gives a sense of investors’ interest in the Nigerian economy� adding that “NIPC did not independently verify the authenticity of the investment announcements but is working on tracking the announcements as they progress to actual investments.�

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Ms Yewande Sadiku, has disclosed that total investment announcements for the third quarter of the year (Q3 2019) stood at about $9.29 billion, compared to $15.15 billion in the first quarter.

She said the proposed investments from four countries included 13 projects across four states and offshore Nigeria.

Speaking at an interactive session with journalists over the weekend, Sadiku identified the projects as the Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company which plans to invest $5 billion in crude exploration.

Others were the Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited (SEEPCO) which was in joint venture project of $3.15 billion with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the development of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13.

Also tracked was the CMESOMS Petroleum Development Company (CPDC) which was also in joint venture project with NNPC to the tune of $875.75 million for the funding, provision of technical services and alternative financing for the development of OML 65.

Datasonic Group Berhard, a R-L: Minister for State, Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo; MD/CEO, KAS Prints, Mr. Ademola Kasumu, and President/CEO, Canon Europe, Malaysian Group investing in the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Mr. Yuichi lshiz, at the launch of Canon 10000VP Digital Print Equipment by KAS Prints, in collaboration with Federal information and communication Ministry of Labour and Employment, held in Lagos‌recently ABIODUN AJALA

PRODUCTLAUNCH

IGR: Reps Want 25% Aviation Agencies Remittance Stopped Chinedu Eze The House of Representatives has called for an end to the 25 per cent compulsory remittances by aviation agencies to the federal government.

According to the lawmakers, the agencies need the revenues for infrastructure development, training and modernisation of airport facilities.

The House Committee Chairman on Aviation, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji, who made the call demanded that the agencies should have 100 percent retention of the internally generated revenues (IGRs) in order to ensure continued development and maintenance of the critical infrastructures in the sector.

Nnaji, who is a member

representing Nkanu East/West Federal Constituency, made the submission on the floor of the House in Abuja, recently, during a debate on the 2020 Budget Appropriation Bill transmitted to the National Assembly by President Mohammadu Buhari.

He stressed that the aviation industry was pivotal to the overall development of the national economy because of its speed in the movement of top players in the industrial sector. “Aviation can stimulate foreign direct investments, (FDIs) if well-developed so we must do whatever is possible to ensure that our infrastructure is up to date and in line with the global standards at all times�.

He argued that the aviation agencies needed internally gener-

ated revenues to provide safety critical personnel and manpower development; so they do not need to be included in the Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDA), noting that most of the revenues generated by the agencies are debt recovery and not profits per se. He suggested that the 25 per cent of the IGR should be kept in a consolidated fund for a period of ten-year-rolling plan for development and maintenance of aviation infrastructures, adding that such would trigger robust commercial activities in and around airports which the government would in turn reap through value added tax (VAT) and other tariffs. “If our aviation infrastructures are well funded and they are up to standards, investors will

feel comfortable to come into the country and invest. Our international airports create the first impression of Nigeria to the visitors. “The feelings they get from the airports will affect their confidence level in our economy and that is why we must strive to give them maximum attention when it comes to funding,� he said.

He added that rather than take from the sector, the federal government should invest more in aviation because the industry is still at a developmental stage stressing that, “if we sufficiently invest in the sector, we will adequately harness the potentials that are abound in the industry�. “The aviation industry has the capability of generating millions

of employments because of the multiplier effects on other ancillary companies that will spring up if well developed. “There is no reason why our airports should not have hotels like several other international airports across the globe so that someone who wishes to transact his business at the airport can relax and do so comfortably and fly back. With such you stimulate activities and make the airports more viable,� the House Committee Chairman on Aviation said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has said that the reconstruction of Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu, runway would include cargo terminal as part of its components.

AMCON Charged on Recovery of N5Trillion Debt Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT)

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed has charged the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to do everything with the powers of its newly amended Act to recover the huge debt owed the corporation by a few individuals and organisations in the country.

Similarly, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr Mamman Ahmadu, has declared BPP’s willingness to collaborate with AMCON in the quest to recover the debt, which he said would help liberate the economy as well as improve the commonwealth of the nation.

To this end, the BPP boss said,

the bureau has intensified its due diligence process and will ensure that those seeking contract from the government are scrutinised to establish the fact that they are not on the list of AMCON debtors before contracts are awarded.

The finance minister, who made the call in Abuja at the weekend during the quarterly briefing of the Ministry of Finance, attended by agencies under the supervision of the ministry, while commending AMCON on the national assignment, however, said she expects a lot more from the corporation especially now that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the amended 2019 AMCON Act into law,

which gives additional powers to AMCON to deal with the obligors. “AMCON must ensure that the debts are recovered before the sunset, which is around the corner. If AMCON at sunset AMCON fails to recover the huge bad loans, the debt will become government problem, which the government is not willing to carry. Therefore, everything must be done to ensure that AMCON recovers the debt from the obligors because it will have a huge positive impact on the economy,� the minister said.

While urging all the agencies under the ministry’s supervision to always remember the 11 prior-

ity areas of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in the discharge of their duties, the minister added that the quarterly meeting had become critical because it creates the enabling platform for sister agencies of government to cross-fertilise ideas for improved collaboration and delivery.

In a related development, the Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, who also chairs the Inter-Agency Presidential Committee set up by the Vice President to recover AMCON debt, joined his voice in rallying

sister agencies of government to ensure that they tighten the noose on AMCON obligors, which he said will pressure them to repay the debt before sunset.

According to him, the InterAgency Presidential Committee, which includes the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU); Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC); Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Ministry of Justice; ICPC and AMCON has concluded plans to expand the dragnet of the debtors by looking at those who facilitated the loans on the side of the banks and those who benefited from the proceeds.

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Equities Investors Stake N32bn on Shares Despite 1.8% Decline in Index Goddy Egene Investors staked N31.959 billion on 1.409 billion shares in 13,616 deals last week at the stock market, as low valuations attracted some bargain hunters. The performance, in value terms showed a jump of 244 per cent compared with N9.189 billion invested in 660.645 million shares in 12,032 deals.

However, the Nigerian Stock Nigeria (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) extended its decline, going down by 1.68 per cent to close at 26,533.78, while market capitalisation shed N220.8 billion to be at N12.917 trillion. The year-to-date decline has, thus, worsened to 15.6 per cent, offering investors entry opportunity to buy most of the stocks at discounted rates.

The market was bearish for the five days, dipping by 0.5 per cent and 0.2 per cent on Monday and Tuesday respectively. It went down by 0.8 per cent, 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in that order.

In terms of sectoral performance, the NSE Consumer Goods Index recorded the highest decline of four per cent due to losses suffered by Guinness Nigeria Plc, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc among others.

The NSE Oil & Gas Index depreciated by 3.2 per cent, while the NSE Industrial Goods Index fell by 1.8 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index shed 1.6 per cent. But on the positive side, the NSE Banking Index appreciated by 0.1 per cent.

Just as the Nigerian market, Morocco’s market closed in the red. Specifically, Morocco’s Casablanca MASI lost 0.9 per cent, followed by Egypt’s EGX 30 index that dipped by 0.5 per cent.

However, the Mauritius’ SEMDEX and Ghana’s GSE Composite rose by 0.70 per cent apiece. Kenya’s NSE 20 Index gained 0.40 per cent.

In the Asia and Middle East region, the Turkey’s BIST 100 Index gained the most, advancing 4.3 per cent, while Qatar’s DSM 20 and Saudi-Arabia’s Tadawul ASI indices garnered 0.8 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively. On the negative side, Thailand’s SET billion shares valued at N8.739 billion traded in 7,720 deals, Index declined 1.2 per cent, just as UAE’s ADX General Index shed 0.9 per cent.

In the BRICS markets, South Africa’s FTSE/JSE All Share Index led the pack with a gain of 2.9 per cent, trailed by China’s Shangai Composite Index, which added 2.4 per cen. Russia’s RTS Index and India’s BSE Sens Index appreciated by 1.9 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively, just as Brazil’s Ibovespa Index gained 0.8 per cent.

Performance in the developed market was bullish. In the United States (US) for instance, the US’ S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices rose 0.7 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively upon resumption of trade talks with China. In Europe, Germany’s XETRA DAX Index led the gainers with 3.4 per cent, France’s CAC 40 Index and UK’s FTSE All Share Index appreciated by 2.7 per cent and 1.0 per cent respectively. Similarly, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index appreciated 1.9 per cent in spite of resumption of political protests while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.8 per cent.

Market turnover Meanwhile, the Financial Services industry remained the most active, leading with 1.081

and 27.3 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Industrial Goods industry followed with 163.852 million shares worth N19.264 billion in 982 deals. The third place was Conglomerates industry with a turnover of 74.229 million shares worth N120.488 million in 734 deals. Trading in the top three equities namely, Custodian Investment Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Access Bank Plc accounted for 683.802 million shares worth N4.001 billion in 1,247 deals, contributing 48.5 per cent and 12.5 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

In the Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) space, investors traded a total of 9,219 units valued at N1.079 million were traded last week in 24 deals compared with a total of 3,015 units valued at N701,234.17 transacted the previous week in 16 deals.

In the bonds market, a total of 2,519 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N2.670 million were traded in 12 deals as against a total of 4,250 units valued at N4.305 million transacted the preceding week in six deals

thus contributing 76.7 per cent

Top price gainers and losers A total of 20 equities appreciated last week, higher than 15 equities in the previous week, while 33 equities depreciated in price, lower than 39 equities in the previous week.

Associated Bus Company Plc led the price gainers with 29.4 per cent, trailed by African Prudential Plc with 13.6 per cent. NASCON Allied Industries Plc gained 12.5 per cent, while Learn Africa Plc appreciated by 9.8 per cent.

Livestock Feeds Plc gained 9.3 per cent, just as UAC of Nigeria Plc appreciated by 9.1 per cent.

Jaiz Bank Plc and Chams Plc went up 8.7 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively.

The Managing Director of Chams Plc, Mr. Gavin Young recently assured the NSE of regular provision of corporate information for enhanced investment decision in line with post listing requirements .

According to him, the company would place premium on investment in innovative solutions and software across the commercial, consumer and government sectors of the economy to sustain its competitive edge.

Young, assured the exchange that Chams Plc would always take the issue of compliance with all the post listing requirements seriously, saying he was looking forward to a strong relationship with exchange and would be happy to make input on the best ways of achieving a strong relationship.

NPF Microfinance Bank Plc and Forte Oil Plc were also among the top price gainers , appreciating by 8.1 per cent apiece.

Conversely, Guinness Nigeria Plc led the price losers with 10.7 per cent, trailed by PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc with 10 per cent.

Champion Breweries Plc shed 9.5 per cent, while NCR(Nigeria) Plc, Niger Insurance Plc and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc lost 9.0 per cent in order.

Nigerian Breweries Plc declined by 8.6 per cent, while Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc depreciated by 6.8 per cent.

AXA Mansard Insurance Plc and Custodian Investment Plc went down by 5.8 per cent each.

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Maduka: Subsidy Should Be for Farmers, Not Fuel Importers Coscharis Farms Limited recently unveiled its ultra-modern rice processing mill in Igbariam, Anambra State. The President of Coscharis Group, Mr. Cosmas Maduka, in this interview, says the vision to establish the farm was conceived over three decades ago. He, however, notes that it was five years ago that he decided to key into the federal government’s agenda of de-emphasising importation. Maduka believes that no nation can grow without being able to feed its citizens. Obinna Chima provides the excerpts: We have always known Coscharis to be a major player in the automobile industry, why the interest in the agricultural sector?

Well, unfortunately, a lot of people do think Coscharis derived its success from the auto industry. We have been around for 46 years and our experience in the auto industry is just about 20 years. Our core business can be regarded as the pharmaceutical of automobile.

Anybody that drives a car in Nigeria is our customer and that is what is keeping us going. The automobile industry is good, but it is subjected to a lot of variables, such as government policies, etc. It would be a shock if I tell anybody that from January till now, I have not sold up to 30 Jaguar Land rover and I have not sold 30 units of BMW. But our principals can only testify because they ship the cars and they can tell you how many cars that they have shipped to Nigeria. That was why when we recently saw reports of Customs impounding smuggled vehicles, I said to myself that they were talking about another company, because I don’t see the benefit in me smuggling less than 30 cars and jeopardise the overall interest of our organisation. So, that was the joke of the century. But having said that, our investment in agriculture was not an accident. Coscharis as an organisation has been playing a major role in every sector of the economy. We are in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, information technology, mobility services – we lease cars to corporate institutions such as the banks, oil companies and multinationals. There are so many things we do, including producing sachet water. We are involved in anything that is legitimate to earn money and what we would not do is anything that is illegal. So, the rice farm was not an accident. Coscharis as an organisation has never imported one grain of rice. So, we didn’t get into rice production by accident.

We planned this for the long-term. The piece of property where we are farming on now is about 32 years old. Late Commodore Emeka Omeruah was the Governor of Anambra State then, as a military administrator, when we purchased that property and when we got the Certificate of Occupancy. So, we have always known that this is what we are going to do.

We always wait for opportunity to present itself and when it is ripe, we move into it. You don’t go into farming with borrowed capital all through, it would ground you. You may not be able to pay the interest and you may never come out of it. So, we had to make sure we built enough equity within our company and then we leveraged on borrowed funds.

So, that was how we went into interestedagro industry; from mechanised farming to processing and packaging. We would grow seeds here and sell to other out-grower. We are going to be a fully integrated farm. To the glory of God, once you do something good and that is of international standard, it attracts the attention of the international community.

We now have an international investor in the name of Sahel, who has brought in a lot of things into the board. In this company today, working with Sahel, we understand the need for compliance with how to run the plant, we have learnt about how to manage wastages and they brought in a lot of new ideas and how to ultimately make this business a success.

Our ultimate desire is that in another five years, Coscharis Farms will be quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and people would see the performance and what is going to come out from the farm. Our idea is to get Nigerians to share from the wealth we are creating.

But Anambra also has comparative advantage in the production of vegetable, why are you not looking at investing in

what we need to do is for the government to support indigenous farmers to grow capacity.

As capacity grows, the price of rice drops and as it drops, it becomes uncompetitive for smugglers to continue with their business.

So, like I said earlier, the government has a better reason why it took the decision to close the borders.

Speaking about pricing, that has been a major problem with local production.

How are you addressing it?

We are selling our rice to our distributors today at N14,500; the foreign smuggled rice is selling at N25,000.

Maduka that area as well?

I think we have more comparative advantage in producing rice. If you look at Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Delta States, are its surrounding states. If you understand that rice is a wheat that grows on the mud, all you need to do is to get a muddy area, which Anambra has generally – the state has a lot of riverine areas. The only thing is that we have tried to professionalise it by preparing the ground the way it should be. Rice grow well and better in Anambra State than anywhere else. You cut off the cost of transportation because you are milling the rice in Anambra and there is already a market for distribution.

If you produce rice in Kano, to bring it to Anambra State, the cost of transporting it to Anambra State would be included. Rice is as heavy as cement and the cost of transportation play an important role in terms of its

Once we perfect what we are doing in Anambra, then we can start talking about expansion. We have been given 20,000 hectares of land in Kogi State, but we would take it one step at a time. We would take the business to where value would be added

market price. So, in the future, we would do something around the South-west area to target that market. Once we perfect what we are doing in Anambra, then we can start talking about expansion. We have been given 20,000 hectares of land in Kogi State, but we would take it one step at a time. We would take the business to where value would be added. If you transport paddy from Sokoto or Kebbi to Anambra, the price of the paddy would affect the final price of the rice. So, our primary goal is to solve the food problem in Anambra State and its surrounding states.

Once we do that, with our experience, we would replicate same thing in other parts of the country.

As a domestic rice producer, what is your opinion about the recent closure of the borders by the federal government?

Well, the government has reasons for whatever they do and it would be wrong for me to say it was a wrong decision if I wasn’t part of those that took the decision to close the borders. Until you hear their reasons behind it, then you will know whether there are merits to it or not.

But I think what we should do as Nigerians, is to work hard to foster the cooperation of West Africa Economic Cooperation, because Nigeria would benefit more from it, than any other country in the region. Germany and France were the forces behind the European Union and these were the strongest economies in Europe then and they galvanised other countries and encouraged free trade among each other. But like everything in life, there are advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of it today is that rice smuggling has reduced.

But that has not stopped people to smuggle rice using motorcycles. Of course the government has made it difficult for the smugglers. So,

Cuts in ‌.but its because of the border closure?

Well, it could be part of it. The truth is that for Nigeria to record sustainable economic development, we need to look inwards. All other countries did that. For instance, in the automobile industry, South Africa closed its borders and banned out rightly, all forms of used cars. I hope our government one day would wake up and decide to start manufacturing cars.

So, we must encourage local rice producers.

I have made a demand of additional land in Anambra State, and the governor has committed to doing that. There are many things that we have done on our farm, which ordinary are infrastructure that ought to be provided by the government. For instance, we spent about N3 billion on irrigation here in our farm. Irrigation should be government project, to support the farm. We shouldn’t use our money that we borrowed from the Central Bank of Nigeria, to do things like irrigation. So, if the government will always provide the basic infrastructure, then as investors, we would be happy because with irrigation we can grow dry season crops.

So, with the right infrastructure, we would improve our production capacity and as the capacity increases, the price would come down.

We are planning to install as second rice mill on our farm that would be about 80,000 metric tonnes. We are doing that because we are smart. We could have install only one mill of 120,000 metric tonnes, but when it shuts down, there might be a problem and it might affect our production. But if we have two mills, if one shuts down, we would be working with the other one until we get it working again.

Also, everything needs maintenance. There could be a time we might need to shut this mill down to maintain it. It is like automobile; it cannot run forever. But with two different mills, we would produce rice every day in the year and we would never be out of stock.

But there are reports that you don’t easily ďŹ nd local rice available in the market.

What is responsible for that?

We stopped two of our dealers from carrying out any transaction with us. They would carry our rice and re-bag them into a foreign bag and sell. So, you may not be seeing our brand in the market because of things like this. The other thing we heard is that there is something they use in piercing bags of rice to remove some bowls from each bag and still sell the rice that is not up to 50kg to a customer as 50kg. So, for our bags, if you pierce it, it would tear. So, because they can’t do such with our rice, they make sure they re-bag. But I am advising our customers to insist on buying only Coscharis rice. When you insist on that, then you can be confident that when you are buying 50kg, what you get would exactly be 50kg. About 90 per cent of what people are buying as 50kg rice are less Continued on page 27

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MADUKA: SUBSIDY SHOULD BE FOR FARMERS, NOT FUEL IMPORTERS

Wilson: How to Stimulate Morale, Value Creation for Stakeholders ProfessorGrahamWilsonisaSeniorTutoroftheUniversity of Oxford and is a world-renowned behavioural scientist, authorandcommentatoronmanyaspectsofmanagement, leadership, organisation and personal development. He delivers pioneering, and exceptional outcomes.

He will be in Nigeria on the 16th and 17th of October to deliver the TEXEM executive development programme.

Hamid Ayodeji brings the excerpts: In this turbulent, ambiguous and complex socio-economic landscape that currently characterises the operating context of Nigeria. How apt is this forthcoming programme for Chairs of Boards, CEOs, MDs and Executive Directors, among others?

This programme offers a unique opportunity for leaders to reflect on how to get the best out of others. This programme would help executives challenge assumptions and learn how to do more with less. I teach in a facilitative manner, and so participants start from wherever they currently are and, move forward from there.

Maduka than what they paid for.

What type of reforms would you want to see the federal government come up with to achieve self-sufďŹ ciency in rice production?

There are policies that have been put in place by the government today that are working. The government has supported out-growers and has provided funds for serious investors like us. We have accessed about N6 billion loan from the Central Bank at single-digit of nine per cent. It is far better than borrowing today at 19 or 20 per cent to invest in agriculture. I think the government should not ask for more than five per cent interest. That would be a way to support agriculture and farmers to breakthrough. That would be like a subsidy.

If we can spend the amount of money we spend today in subsidising petroleum, we should even give loans without interest to genuine farmers. That would be a way to counter competition from foreigners. When you know you are borrowing money to import rice and the local manufacturers are producing at zero interest rate, you won’t want to continue smuggling rice. That should be a subsidy to encourage food production. No nation grows without being able to feed its own people.

Look at the trillions of naira we are spending on petroleum subsidy; does it make any sense?

People who want to drive cars should pay for fuelling their cars and nobody would complain that you didn’t give them petrol, but people would complain that you didn’t give them food. The government should do more in the area of education, agriculture and realign its priorities.

The federal government has been driving rice production through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP). In your assessment, how will you say the ABP has performed since it was introduced by the CBN in 2015?

I was made to understand that in some areas it is not working perfectly as it ought to be, but in Anambra State, it is working perfectly.

It is all about the individuals involved. There are people you will give loan and they would go and marry a second wife; there are those that would get it and decide to go on vacation.

But there are people with entrepreneurial skills that would want to invest the money into the business. So, the ABP in Anambra State, should be a model that other states would emulate.

It is working. But, what we are trying to do now is to further partner with the people to sign contract before farming; whereby we

give them high yield seeds. But we would off-take whatever they produce to support our rice mill. They would be our feeder. But we wouldn’t want to give them our seeds that would increase their yields and later they go and sell it to someone else. So, that is why they would need to sign the agreement with us. So, that is something we are working on.

Our team here is on top of it and hopefully it would be a successful partnership.

What are the other challenges you are facing in the sector?

We have suffered a great problem on this farm which I took up with the Governor and Minister of Agriculture. Last year, very unprecedented, we left work on Friday and came back on Monday and our farm was overtaken by flood. The Vice President came to assess the situation and flew in with helicopter, but he couldn’t land. He toured and saw the situation of things. Our crops were damaged; some of our equipment were damaged and suffered loss of over N2 billion.

The Vice President made some promise and even said the federal government was going to intervene and support those affected. We later learnt and read in the newspaper that N7 billion was budgeted and approved by the Federal Executive Council, but Coscharis did not get anything out of that amount. So, we are still asking who got out of that money?

When we were the major player in the sector, who in responding to the clarion call of the federal government decided to invest massively in rice production. Agricultural insurance only insures the inputs, that is the seeds, it doesn’t the fertiliser with which you plant; it doesn’t insure your yield and we burn 33,000 litres of diesel every seven days. All those went into the drain and we didn’t get anything from the federal government. That didn’t show partnership.

And who got the money that was approved?

Another challenge has to do with some few community issues. But in Anambra State, we are enjoying security more than any other state.

Weather is also another challenge, but that is something beyond our control. That is why we are so excited that we are about starting dry season farming. That is because it is only the crops that you have during dry season that you have control over. You give the seed the amount of water it requires. So, it is within your control and the sun is always available to give it the energy needed to grow. But when you are farming during rainy season, a lot of things are under the control of nature. The area where our farm is situated is a flood-prone area and it is a very difficult terrain.

Do you agree with John C. Maxwell when he said that “Leadership is Inuencenothing more, nothing lessâ€??

No. There are myriad of ways in which “influence� is applied that has nothing to do with Leadership. While leaders often influence, there are lots of different ways in which they do so. The idea that this is all they need to consider, which is what the Maxwell quote implies is far too simplistic.

How can this programme help leaders succeed during a period of low growth and depressed morale?

In addition to networking, this programme would provide participants with the opportunity to reflect. Also, by exploring what we know about motivation and how to build a modern understanding of it into their activities would stimulate enhanced morale, performance and value creation for stakeholders.

What will leaders who attend this programme take to their organisations afterwards?

Leaders who attend would: Develop their interpersonal influencing skill; learn to build enduring organisations that meet the needs of stakeholders; learn to promote a trusting relationship in their organisation; leverage social capital for enduring success What methods or how do you intend to achieve the themes of the programme?

Using videos, case studies and presentations, we will bring contemporary ideas to the group for them to discuss, interpret, and apply to their particular circumstances. Thus, providing a range of activities for them to draw on in this process.

How do you intend to bring all your achievements at the

Wilson leadership strand to bear at the programme?

For the last 35 years, I have been studying, applying, writing about, and teaching organisational and individual development. Over that time, I have learnt a lot on leadership, coaching, and how to maximise performance. This body of knowledge has been of interest to other people. More importantly, I have found ways of engaging with groups who are keen to explore and expand their impact. I plan to bring my pedigree, expertise and track record at Oxford University and beyond towards delivering this programme to make a positive impact on the organisations in Nigeria.

Through this programme, we would share fresh and actionable insights that executives require to succeed during these dire socio-economic times and beyond.

Why should executives attend your programme?

Let me quote from the statement at some previous delegates of TEXEM, and

you can be the judge. Dayo Babatunde, Senior Partner, Ernst and Young, said and I quote: “ I regard the These Executive Minds Executive Education programme as the best I have attended in recent times. Not one of them, but the very best as it was humanly perfect�.

Peter Atolo Irene, CEO, International Energy Insurance Company, said: “The content of the programme has been rich and educative, refreshing, enlightening and thought-provoking. I enjoyed this programme, and I am looking forward to another program�. Andy Uwejeyan, Managing Director A&J Construction Company Ltd., said: “I found this programme very, very rewarding. In the past, I always had a way of thinking that the matter of sustainabilityrelated only to policy matters but during this programme it has been broken down into the company level and for me, there are many takeaways that I hope to begin implementing once I get back home�.

Frank Algbogun, CEO and Publisher, Businessday, said: “My experience in this programme has been quite enormous‌ The organisers, we saw that they prepared for us and they were quite good, quite sociable, and quite academic, and we had discussion platforms that were divided into groups. On a general note, TEXEM is laying a foundation that will grow like an iroko tree. On this note, I want to thank the CEO of TEXEM, AlimAbubakre, and his colleagues for making it possible for us to attendâ€?.

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28

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Coronation Merchant Bank Appoints Adegbohungbe DMD The Board of Directors of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited has announced the appointment of Banjo Adegbohungbe as the Deputy Managing Director of the bank.

Prior to his elevation, he was the Executive Director responsible for Compliance; Operations; Information Technology; Digital Channels and Administrative Divisions of the bank.

Adegbohungbe, began his career at Citibank Nigeria (formerly Nigeria International Bank Ltd) and rose to become an Assistant General Manager in charge of the bank’s Trade Operations – a position he occupied before joining Access Bank in March 2007 as a Deputy General Manager.

During his time at Access Bank, he served in various leadership capacities as Group Head, Global Trade; Group Head, Global Payments and Group Head, Corporate Operations. In 2011, he was promoted to General Manager before eventually joining Coronation Merchant Bank in 2018 as Executive Director.

He has over 26 years of banking experience, covering various aspects of banking including Technology, Payments, International Trade, Fixed Income, Loans, Process Improvement and Product Management. He holds an MBA from the International Institute for Management (IMD), Switzerland and is an alumnus of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife where he earned a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering.

Africa Airlines Lead Global Rise in Passenger Traffic Chinedu Eze

Adegbohungbe He is an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and has also attended several executive management and banking specific developmental programs in leading educational institutions around the world.

Announcing the new appointment, the Chairman of Coronation Merchant Bank, Mr. Babatunde Folawiyo, was quoted in a statement at the weekend to have said: “During his time with us, Banjo has distinguished himself in service to the organization and contributed immensely to the overall growth of the Bank. I am confident his appointment will further strengthen and position the Bank for improved performance.�

Coronation Merchant Bank was established to fill the gap in a long-underserved market segment, seeking to address the need for long term capital across key sectors of the economy.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that African airlines’ traffic climbed 4.1 per cent in August, up from 3.2 per cent in July.

The global body noted that the performance came after South Africa – the region’s second largest economy – returned to positive economic growth in the second quarter (Q2) 2019, as capacity rose 6.1 per cent.

However, and load factor dipped 1.4 percentage points

to 75.6 per cent.

Globally, IATA noted that the global passenger traffic data for August 2019 showing that demand (measured in total revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) climbed 3.8 per cent compared to the year-ago period.

This was above the 3.5 per cent annual increase for July, remarking that August capacity (available seat kilometres or ASKs) increased by 3.5 per cent.

IATA disclosed that load factor climbed 0.3 percentage point to 85.7 per cent, which was a new monthly record, as airlines

continue to maximise asset use. “While we saw a pick-up in passenger demand in August compared to July, growth remains below the long-term trend and well-down on the roughly 8.5 per cent annual growth seen over the 2016 to Q1 2018 period. “This reflects the impact of economic slowdowns in some key markets, uncertainty over Brexit and the trade war between the US and China. Nonetheless, airlines are doing a great job of matching capacity to demand.

With passenger load factors reaching a new high of 85.7 per cent;

this is good for overall efficiency and passengers’ individual carbon footprint,� said IATA Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac.

In August, international passenger demand rose 3.3 per cent compared to August 2018, which was an improvement from a 2.8 per cent year-over-year growth achieved in July. With the exception of Latin America, all regions recorded increases, led by airlines in Africa. Capacity climbed 2.9 per cent, and load factor edged up 0.3 percentage point to 85.6 per cent.

AWARD CEREMONY

L-R: Finance Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Oluseyi Olanrewaju; Senior Manager, Human Resources, Jumoke Mustapha; Executive Head of Department, Business Development Group, Zakari Usman; Commercial Director, Solomon Ogufere; Executive Head of Department, Legal, Kolawole Fayemi; and Executive Head of Department (Acting) Operations, Olumide Idowu, at the Nigeria Tech Innovation and Telecom Award held in Lagos... recently AKINYELE ABAYOMI

Canon Reiterates Commitment to Investing in Nigeria

Environmentalists, Communities Demand New MoU from Wilmar PZ

Emma Okonji

Bassey Inyang in Calabar

Canon, a global leader in imaging solutions like professional cameras and printers, has reiterated its commitment to more investments in the Nigerian and African markets, especially in the area of local content production.

The company restated its commitment at a press conference in Lagos, to launch the commencement of the Canon Discovery Week 2019, designed as a one-week long programne that will enable Nigerians meet, learn and engage with Canon experts on all its products.

During the road-show that will be carried out within the Canon Discovery Week, Canon experts will meet with Nigerians to educate them on the use and handling of the latest Canon Cameras and Printers, while helping them to clean and fix their Canon cameras.

Speaking at the press conference, the Sales and Marketing Director, B2C Business, Canon Central and North Africa, Mr. Amine Djouahra, said having launched Canon products in Nigeria in 2016, the company had since then, come up with innovative cameras and printers with two years warranty that meet the needs, passion and life style of Nigerians and Africans. “The latest of our camera product that is manufactured for Africans with local content from Nigeria and other African

countries, called the perfect travel kit, is a testament to our commitment to invest in local content in Nigeria and Africa. Canon Discovery Week is dedicated to professional photographers, amateur or occasional, with the intention to get to know Canon users better by giving them the opportunity to interact with our team, which is more than happy to share best practices and give advice on Canon products. Customers will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in various experiences that will give them the opportunity to develop their creative skills, with the support of the Canon team,� he said.

The events and interactions during the Canon Discovery Week include a nature photo walk led by local Nigerian Canon photographer, Hakeem Salam, Canon Academy educational workshops hosted by Canon trainers and opportunities for various meetings and interactions with Canon experts. “These workshops will be an opportunity for participants to interact with professional Canon users as they learn from them.

The first workshop, dedicated to fashion photography, will take place on October 11th.

The second series will be a Pro-video Workshop on October 17th, and the last one will be an EOS R Workshop, which will take place on October 18th,�

Djouahra said.

The Environmental Right Action/ Community Forest Watch and some communities have dragged one of the foremost oil palm industries in Nigeria, Wilmar PZ, before the Cross River State House of Assembly, demanding that the company should sign a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its host communities.

Wilmar PZ, a multinational company is generally perceived to be the largest investors in oil palm plantations in the state, where it is currently cultivating thousands of hectares of the cash crop in Akampka, Biase, and Odukpani Local Government Areas of the state.

The petition from the Environmental Right Action/ Community Forest Watch sent to the lawmakers through their representatives, William Ojobe, and Mary Ekwe, requested that, “the previous MoU entered into by the State Government with Wilmar PZ should be revoked, and a new MoU Drafting Committee be set up to reflect community demands.�

The petitioners also requested, “That such MoU Committee should comprise of membership drawn from community Chiefs, Women, youth leaders, CSOs and other stakeholders; and time frame for the drafting of the new MoU should be stipulated.�

At the hearing of the petition which came up before the State

House of Assembly joint Committee on Lands, Housing, New City Development, and Agriculture, recently, members of the committee were in unison that the petition against the company bothered on alleged inhuman treatment, staff welfare, and environmental degradation.

The joint committee sitting was also attended by representatives of the company’s host communities, groups, individuals and some staff of the company who alleged maltreatment by their employer.

Representatives of the various host communities such as Mbarakom, Ibogbo, Ebieyie, Ayukaba and others, complained that the company had out rightly refused to enter into an MOU with the host communities nor

share with them the one they (Wilmar PZ) entered into with the state government.

An acclaimed staff of the company, Philip Okon, said he had an accident sometime ago during working hours, but was neglected by the company.

Also, Etim Michael, who claimed to be a worker with the company related similar experience, saying since April 12th, 2014, he had an accident, and had been abandoned, and neglected by Wilmar PZ. Patience Edet Etim, a female, who said she was speaking on behalf of over 20 women, said they were denied maternity leave by the company during the process of childbirth.

First Bank Empowers 71,253 Women Chineme Okafor in Abuja First Bank Nigeria Limited has empowered 71,253 Nigerian women under its First Gem initiative, the chairman of the bank, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, has disclosed.

Speaking during a breakout session tagged ‘empowering Nigerian women’ at the recent 25th edition of the annual Nigerian Economic Summit (NES), Awosika, stated that through the First Gem, the bank has identified and was gradually clearing out challenges that stop women in Nigeria from becoming

economically productive.

Awosika’s disclosure of the impacts of the First Gem, coincided with the recognition accorded the bank by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) for fostering nation building through its support for the summit.

The NESG gave the bank its ‘Long Service Corporate Award’ for distinguished financial and technical support over 20 consecutive unbroken years, thus demonstrating loyalty, steadfastness, passion and partnership towards nation building and economic development.

Awosika, at the session

however highlighted the need for Nigeria to bring its women folk into its economic growth plan. She said this was necessary to guarantee comprehensive development. She equally noted that there were certain barriers to the economic development of women that need to be removed. “The statistics of Nigeria’s population says that women about 48.5 per cent and men are 49.5. to save any argument, let us say it is 50-50 statistically. And if you are a businessperson, imagine that you have 50 per cent of your assets locked up and not utilised at all, and you expect to compete with

your neighbors and excel. You are already disadvantaged. “When we are talking about women, it is business and national development issue. It is not gender issue. We will have a balanced life when women get to deliver their share of what is required to build a nation,� said Awosika. According to her, for Nigeria to grow its economy, it must maximise the value of all her human resources, including its female population, as well as finding out ways to take out the limitations that hold women back from actively participating in economic development.

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‘Nigeria Can Achieve 500,000 Agents Network Target By 2020’ Emma Okonji ITEX Integrated Services Limited, a financial technology (fintech) company, has expressed optimism that Nigeria can meet the target of 500,000 agent networks by 2020.

The Executive Chairman of ITEX, Dr. Frederick Igbinedion, said this at a media briefing in Lagos to announce the ITEX Agent Banking Innovation Summit scheduled to hold Thursday in Lagos.

He disclosed that 30 per cent of the target had been achieved.

Last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Deposit Money Banks, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS), licensed mobile money operators and other stakeholders in giving cognisance to the role of agent banking in the achieving financial inclusion and after a review of progress made in the financial inclusion journey, the financial institutions initiated the creation of Shared Agent

Network Expansion Facility (SANEF) with the primary objective of accelerating financial inclusion in Nigeria. The core objective of SANEF was the creation of 250,000 agent points by the end of 2019 and another 250,000 by the end of 2020 making a total of 500,000 agents in two years.

Over the years, there have been concerted efforts by financial institutions and other stakeholders in the industry to bring about a drastic reduction

in the number of Nigerian adults who cannot access formal financial services.

The Managing Director, ITEX, Mr. Ernest Uduje, said the ITEX Agent Banking Innovation Summit was designed for the purpose of developing innovative means to ensure the sustainable growth and spread of agent banking in Nigeria as part of the strategy for achieving the financial inclusion goals. “In recognition of the fact

that agents are becoming relevant touch points in the financial inclusion space and Point of Sales (PoS) terminals has also become a veritable channel of service delivery by the agents in their various locations, the summit will feature a PoS Innovation Hackathon, which is designed to recognise and reward innovation in the area of providing agency services on PoS channels. The Hackathon exercise ran for 3 weeks and

participants were required to submit their innovative ideas on POS solutions. “A total of 12 qualified and verified entries were submitted, and these are being assessed by a panel of judges who will pick the best three ideas. The three ideas will be unveiled at the summit and rewarded with cash prizes. The best idea will be nurtured and adopted by ITEX in collaboration with the idea owner to advance its POS solutions portfolio,� Uduje said.

IPMANVows to Fight Petroleum Crimes in Akwa Ibom Okon Bassey in Uyo The newly appointed Head of Operation, Akwa Ibom State chapter of the SouthSouth Petroleum Monitoring Committee, Mr Sunday Okoh Ekwai, has vowed to eradicate all petroleum crimes within the coastal waterways of the state.

Ekwai, who spoke with newsmen in his office in Oron LGA, recently, said the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), petroleum monitoring committee, in the state would leave no stone unturned in curbing illegal bunkering, smuggling of petroleum products, adulteration and other petroleum crimes.

He averred that Nigeria was losing billions of naira in revenue annually as a result of activities of vandals and smugglers within the South-South Coastal waterways hence the determination of the committee

to sanitize sector. “I have been directed to work in synergy with all relevant security agencies to scrub all forms of illegal bunkering, smuggling of petroleum products, adulteration and other petroleum crimes within the South-South Coastal waterways in the State�, he said.

He maintained that most fire disasters in the country were caused by unpatriotic Nigerians who take delight in adulterating petroleum products for pecuniary reasons, adding that IPMAN was worried and concerned about the trend, which must be checked.

Ekwai, called on Nigerians, mostly fishermen in Akwa Ibom, to report to security agencies any suspicious act of economic sabotage by petroleum smugglers, stressing that adulteration of petroleum products was a very serious crime against the nation.

BEDC to Roll Out 572,392 Meters Peter Uzoho The BEDC Electricity Plc (BEDC) has announced a total roll out plan of 572,392 meters within the next two years across its franchise areas covering Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti state under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme.

The breakdown according to a statement from BEDC would be as follows: Edo, 190,000 meters, Delta; 200,200 meters, Ekiti; 67,452 meters and Ondo; 114740 meters respectively.

The Executive Director, Commercial, Mr. Abu Ejoor, was quoted to have said this in a statement.

He stressed that in taking off, the MAP would initially have up to three months of build-up roll out, which would eventually pick up with expected increase in monthly rate, across its franchise areas.

Ejoor, disclosed that in Edo state, BEDC would take off in two major locations - GRA to Ihama in Benin City and Okpela in Auchi North, adding that customers should cooperate with enumerators going round various locations in Edo and respond promptly to request for completion of enumeration forms.

Speaking on current

power reality in Edo state, the Executive Director affirmed that 44 per cent of BEDC’s power allocation of nine per cent from the national grid comes to Edo state, hinting that average of 86,061MW of electricity is delivered to the state monthly.

He added that about 14 per cent power generated is lost due to poor network infrastructure, saying work was ongoing to improve the network, adding, “about 36 per cent of power generated is lost through commercial theft or illegal consumption and non-payment of bills.� “About 30 per cent of power supplied to households are wasted due to inefficient management of use.�

Ejoor, equally informed journalists that the 132KV breaker of the 15MVA transformer at Okpella Transmission Station has been replaced with the transformer back to service. “The 1 No 40MVA TCN transformer substation in Auchi is close to completion as the work on the control room has progressed. BEDC has already completed the construction of the associated 33KV lines in readiness to pick load once the project is realized�, he added.

ATTRACTIVENESS SURVEY REPORT

R-L: Head of Markets (EY Africa), Roderick Wolfenden; Tokunbo Uko of Ecobank; Regional Managing Partner for West Africa (EY), Henry Egbiki, and Head of Markets (EYWest Africa), Ashish Bakhshi, at the official launch of EY Africa Attractiveness Survey Report 2019, held in Lagos‌recently

LASACO Assurance Secures Shareholders’ Approval to Raise N11bn Ebere Nwoji LASACO Assurance Plc has secured the approval of its shareholders to shop for N11.1 billion through special or private placement.

The firm is planning to raise additional capital through the issuance of up to 9,250,000,000 ordinary shares of N0.50k each at N1.20k per share by way of special/private placement.

The company’s Chairman, Mr Aderinola Disu, said this at the 39th Annual General Meeting of the Company held in Lagos recently.

He also disclosed that the shareholders have given the board approval to reconstruct its existing ordinary shares of 7,334,344 on the basis of one new share for every four shares previously held.

She said the board also secured other approvals from the shareholder during the meeting in the area of approval of the sum of N2, 749,279,000, representing the surplus nominal value of the reconstructed shares be transferred into the share reserve account and form part of the shareholders’ funds of the company and that the reconstructed 1,833,586,000

ordinary shares of 50k each, be revalued in accordance with the ratio of reconstruction, subject to appropriate regulatory consent and be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Disu, further said the move was part of the board’s strategy to ensure that the company meets the new minimum capital requirement set by the regulator for insurance companies in the industry. She told the shareholders that their interest would be well protected. According to her, it would be better to have a strong company that would create value for all stakeholders at the end

of the day.

Meanwhile, for the financial year ended December 31, 2018, Disu, said the company paid out five kobo dividend which was appreciated by shareholders, particularly at this time when many companies were not able to make profit due to the tough economic environment.

LASACO, during the period under review, recorded a gross premium written of N9.014 billion, a growth of 35 percent from N6.673 billion in 2017, while net underwriting income also appreciated by 31 percent to close at N5.221 billion.

KPMG UnveilsTax Reimagined Hamid Ayodeji KPMG Nigeria has launched the Tax Reimagined, a new way for corporates to design and implement strategies to manage their tax transactions in the ever changing landscape of taxation.

Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos, the Africa Head of Tax Reimagined, KPMG South Africa, Dermot Gaffney, said the new technology driven solutions would create a new way of thinking and executing tax affairs for large firms, thereby helping the tax function in any corporate enterprise.

According to him, Tax Reimagined would tell the proper tax story which includes the

value of proper management of tax. “If you get your taxes processed incorrectly, the authorities can close down the business as a result of mistakes or the lack of attention to your tax. “This solution is a holistic offering that helps synchronise an overall umbrella solution to our clients’ tax function to enable them identify what the risks are as well as solutions to tackle those risks and better articulate the value that tax brings to their business and economy,� Gaffney said.

In his remarks, Ralf Bauer, said there were many global trends and disruptions that

are placing increasing pressure on large organisations and the number of new technologies available to the tax function can be confusing. “This means it is critical that the head of tax in any large group understands the range of solutions and sourcing options in the market and is also able to identify which may be best suited to the organisation’s needs. “The tax departments need to supply data and comply with the law. It is also about the workforce available, how it can be sourced and what can be changed. “This initiative is about the holistic view looking at the

processes and risks of the companies, and then we look at sourcing opportunities or maybe including other technology.�

Also speaking during the media briefing, Head Tax Regulatory and People Services, KPMG, Wole Obayomi, said corporates were facing many common issues in today’s fast-developing world, saying solutions needed to help them comply with their obligations in the different markets they operate in are unique to each client. “KPMG’s Tax Reimagined is a technology driven solution that is customized to each client’s particular circumstances and needs,� he added.

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IT Firm Assures Business Owners of Fuel Fraud Elimination Nume Ekeghe The Managing Director of Concept Nova, a technology company, Chukwuma Ochonogor, has said the company’s innovative fuel management system has eliminated the challenge of fuel theft suffered by many businesses, especially fleet operators in Nigeria.

Ochonogor, made this known during a knowledge sharing session held in Lagos, recently.

The solution named Fuel Control System (FCS), has a telematics device, a cloudbased software, fuel level sensor designed to monitor fuel in tanks and its location, thereby assisting business owners to optimise their diesel consumption, thus offering an abundant return on investment.

It comes in two variants - a stationary FCS for tanks and a mobile FCS for trucks.

Ochonogor said: “The Fuel Control System enables corporate heads, business/asset owners and operation managers in different industries such as transportation, haulage and Logistics, FMCGs, shipping and delivery Services, etc have ultimate control over their diesel usage. “It is a unique and flexible fuel management solution designed to get real-time information on diesel consumption and fuelling activities. “It also allows you to get various alerts of any unusual

and suspicious activities such as diesel tampering, theft or tampered refuelling process that occurs within your organisation,� he added.

He pointed out that according to the World Bank, 70 per cent of firms in Nigeria use generators.

This, he said made diesel the second or third highest expense for organisations. “Being one of the highest operational expenses does not deter employees and vendors from stealing diesel. Their acts increase organisations’ budget which eats into their ROI. “However, with stationary FCS, organisations can get prompt alerts that would eliminate theft and reduce fuelling cost greatly,� he said.

He further explained that the Mobile FCS has a vehicle tracking feature alongside the many benefits integrated to the solution. The vehicle tracking feature gives precise information about the location and time of criminal activity to the authorised individual assigned in an organisation. “This would aid in taking disciplinary actions and facilitate effective decision making. “Fuel theft is one of the many problems that most businesses operating in Nigeria must grapple with on a daily basis. “In a report by Fleet Management Weekly by Shell, two out of every five drivers have witnessed their fellow drivers commit fuel-related frauds with fuel syphoning as its highest,� he said.

Firm Unveils Woman-centric App,Targets Capital Raising Nume Ekeghe MyFlair, an indigenous startup has launched an app for women healthcare tips and an all-round women care.

The firm also announced that since its pilot launch, MyFlair has completed a successful first round of capital raising which has been used to fund commencement and take-off.

Commenting on the app, the Founder MyFlair, Mr. Seun Fadiora said: “MyFlair provides an easily accessible blog that gives information on different topics. Women tend to have nagging health questions that can sometimes be embarrassing or not easy to talk about freely especially when you are talking face to face with a doctor, sometimes you just wish you had a veil over your face when discussing with the doctor. “MyFlair also connects users with doctors so they can chat freely for free to get initial conversations and queries out of the way and partners with professional counsellors who listen to you via live chat and help you vent and seek practical solutions to those issues you have been holding on to for years.�

He also added that the firm partners with lawyers to help victims of abuse.

Speaking on plan to raise fresh capital, he said: “This first tranche of capital raising has been deployed for the start-up of the company.

We are watching scale closely to determine the levels of funding for the next phase of capital raising. “For now, early investors have all been local. But the next phase may involve more institutional investors both local and foreign. “We will be looking for investors who not only bring funds to the table but also institutions who bring the requisite expertise and have that social enterprise in their DNA like we do.�

MyFlair provides a service to have nicely packaged sanitary kits delivered to you in the convenience of your own home or any other location of choice.

Fadiora, an ex-investment banker said the inspiration for MyFlair was borne out of the need to provide solutions to female hygiene issues. “This resulted in the creation of an app that could ensure availability and accessibility at the click of a button for female hygiene products,� he added.

Q3: Customs Port Harcourt Command Generates N81.2bn Revenue Eromosele Abiodun The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Area II Command, Onne Port, has announced that it generated a total revenue sum of N81.196 billion in the third quarter ending September 30, 2019.

The amount generated surpassed the sum of N69,535,174,318.38 that was collected within the same period in 2018 with over N11,661,523,540.19.

It stated that the feat in revenue collection was first of its kind in the history of the command.

The Customs Area Controller, Aliyu Galadima Saidu said he has increasingly deployed tact, intelligence enforcement and technology in ensuring maximum compliance by users of the port.

The command, he added, also

recorded a total of 66 seizures with Duty Paid Value (DPV) N865,926,821.00 for the period under review.

Galadima, added that he was also vigorously pursuing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali’s zero tolerance for duty evasion, smuggling and other infractions like under declaration and so on. “We have been reviving proficiency in the area with regards to identifying and blocking all possible avenues of revenue leakages; enhancing capacity building in areas of modern Customs Operations; reinforcing the commitment of Officers and men in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities and assuring to bring to book any erring officer found compromising. “We also ensure that seizures

are successfully accomplished as a result of the renewed determination of Hameed Ali to rid the country of all forms of illegal importation, “he said.

He stated that there would be continuous sensitisation for stakeholders on the need to be compliant with extant laws governing Customs activities. “Seizures made within the period are: 12 20ft containers comprising 13,180 jerry cans of 25 litres of vegetable oil with DPV of N82,517,024.00; five 20ft containers 8,706 cartons of foreign soap worth N79,497,617.00; two containers, one 20ft, the other 40ft respectively loaded with 57,300 pieces of matches, 59 cartons of matches, 1,300 sacks of shovel, 100 cartons of hook knives, 172 sacks of diggers all amounted to N52,463,002.00.

“Others are: One 40ft container loaded with scrap metal of various sizes and types worth N5,386,979.00; forty-one 20ft containers comprising of one hundred and eighty-one bundles and ten thousand, eight hundred 181,108 packs of corrugated aluminium roofing tiles/sheets and its accessories with DPV of N561,753,188.00; one 20ft container comprising of 315 bales of textiles (wax material) worth N18,495,395.00; 69 bags of imported rice and 329 bales of clothing amounting to N10,725,658.00; four 20ft containers of 160 logs of hardwood with DPV of N10,342,838.00 and one 20ft container comprising of 588) cartons of battery, 18 cartons of rolls PVC, 80 bundles of plain cartons 10 keys of gum worth N20,654,664.00.�

STRATEGY SESSION

R-L: Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr Ahmed Kuru, and Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Mr Modibbo Hamman Tukur, during a meeting of the Inter-Agency Committee set up by the Vice President to recover AMCON debt, held in Abuja‌recently

‘N45bn RequiAred for Digital Switchover’ Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Chief Executive Officer/ Group Managing Director, Gospell Digital Technology, Godfrey Ohuabunwa, has estimated that about N45 billion is required for the commencement of digital broadcasting in Nigeria.

Ohuabunwa, whose company situated at the Calabar Free Trade Zone, CFTZ, manufactures Set Top Boxes, (STB), used for digital television broadcast; android phones, television sets and other components, said despite the huge resources needed, information at the disposal of operators in the broadcast industry indicates that the federal government has

not released the N15 billion that was approved to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), which is midwifing the switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting.

Ohuabunwa, made the disclosure recently, while answering questions from journalists shortly after inspection of facilities at the Digital Gospel Technology factory by board members of the NBC. Ohuabunwa, said the delay in the release of funds to the NBC to expedite the take-off of digital broadcasting was taking its toll on STB manufacturers in the country.

Citing example with his company, he said the delay in the switchover from analogue

to digital broadcasting could cost Gospel Digital Technology $50 million it has already invested in human and material resources.

He said currently, the management of Digital Gospel Technology has so far invested at least $22 million in the production of mother boards for android phones, television sets, and others components. “If this digital switch over fails to take place, more than $50million will be lost on our own side, not to talk of other people. “On the job alone, we are going to lose about 5,000 to 6,000 direct jobs. This is why its a huge problem,� Ohuabunwa said.

He lamented that the inability of the NBC to announced its time table was beginning to negatively impact on the factory’s production activities. “We are worried that the delay of NBC in announcing its time table is beginning to negatively impact on our production. “We know how much resources in terms of capital and human resources we have put for our dream to be actualised,�

Ohuabunwa said.

He, therefore, appealed to the NBC, to as a matter of public interest, and urgency, release a comprehensive time table that will guide activities for digital switch over.

New Drink Introduced into Lagos Market Ugo Aliogo Spivi, a Scandinavian beverage company, has launched a new product known as SMA SHOTS into the Nigerian market.

Speaking during the launch of the product in Lagos recently, the CEO of SMA SHOTS, Mr. Sebastian Gronskov, said every bottle of the product is a promise kept, adding that Spivi intends to export the product across the world.

According to Sebastian, “We have been exporting in

several countries; Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Japan, Iceland and now Nigeria. “We chose Nigeria as the first African country because it is such a dynamic market and the biggest in Africa. We wanted to make sure our brand works well in Africa-and Nigeria is an ideal testing ground. “Our first distributor is–First Bottling Limited- and our marketing push will be focusing on Lagos to get a good footprint. Then we roll it out

from there. “We have engaged experts with proven record in this business and this product has all the essential ingredients for success. Consumers can be rest assured of buying a product worth the value of the money spent.�

In his remarks, the company’s Head of Distribution in Nigeria, Tosin Obafemi, described the product as a premium brand that is creating a unique category in the alcohol sector.

He added that Spivi was the first to introduce such a brand in Nigeria, “and we are looking at getting across all the major states in the next six months.� “It was that the bottle containing SMA SHOTS is longer than a normal bottle with a unique colour for easy identification, and the red bottle is the strawberry flavour and the black bottle is the strong menthol flavour. SMA SHOTS is lower in alcohol than ordinary spirits and is colourful and tasty,� he added.

MONDAY OCTOBER 14, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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IMAGES

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

L-R; Chief Operating OďŹƒcer, lkeja Eletric, Mrs Folake Soetan; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer,(lE), Dr. Anthony Youdeowei; Chairman, General Residential Area, Ikeja, Dr Muiz Banire, and Chairman, Electricity Committee, GRA Ikeja, Mr Kennedy Anyiam-Osigwe during the signing of Bi-Lateral Power Agreement between Ikeja Electric and the GRA committee on electricity in Lagos...recently

Akwa Ibom Cultural Troupe entertaining during a carnival organised to commemorate Nigeria’s 59th Independence Anniversary in New York...recently

L-R: Chief Executive, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, Josiah Ajiboye; Head of Government, Nigeria Breweris Plc, Vivian Ikm; Director, Basic and Secondary Education, Lami Amodu; 2018 Maltina Teacher of the Year, Olasunkanmi Opeifa, and Principal, Government Day Secondary School, Karu ,Abuja, Funmi Kayode, during the commissioning of a block of six class rooms in Abuja...recently PHOTO: KINGALEY ADEBOYE

L-R: Professor Joe Irukwu; Dr Philip Asiodu; Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe; Mrs Ibukun Awosika and Dr Nike Akande, during the presentation of HLF award for outstanding contributions to Entrwpreneurship Corporate Governance to Awosika at the Hallmarks of Labour 23rd Anniversary/Role Model Awards in Lagos...recently PHOTO: DAN UKANA

A scene of accident invoving a container at Ojota due to deplorable condition of the road...recently PHOTO: KOLAWOLE ALLI

This is ljede Road, Elepe area of lkorodu in deplorable condition. Lagos State government attention is urgently needed to ďŹ x this road and others like it

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President Muhammadu Buhari (right) receiving a repot on corruption from PACAC Chairman , Prof. Itse Sagay, during the Visit of the Members of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) to the Presidential Villa , Abuja...recently PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

L-R: Chairman, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, Rev Tunde Lemo; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Coscharis Limited, Dr Cosmos Maduka; Moderator, Mrs Bunmi Oke; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Systemspecs Limited, Deacon John Obaro; General Overseer, Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, Rev Felix Meduoye and Keynote Speaker, Drbiodun Adedipe , during the churchs 6th public lecture titled; Eradicating poverty in Nigeria: The role of the church, entrepreneur and government in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

L-R: Co- Director MacArthur Foundation, Mr. Kola Shettima; Deputy Corps Marshal on Special Duties and External Board, Mr. Julius Asom;Board Member Akin Fadeyi Foundation, Mr. Simon Kolawole; Representative of Vice President, Mrs. Fatima Waziri; and Country representative, United Nations OďŹƒce on Drugs and Crime, Mr. Oliver Stolpe. during the launch of FiagIT App by Akin Fadeyi Foundation in Abuja...recently

L-R: Director, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) Foundation, Mr Freddy Messanvi; Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Wasiu Gbolahan Lawal; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Olayiwola Onasanya; and a guest, during the World Food Day 2019 Awareness Walk, themed Walk For A Healthy Diet, held in Lagos...recently

L-R: Founder, Health Volunteers, Sijuade Akinyemi-Eshilokun; Medical Practitioner, Medical Science LIaison for Cardiovascular Disease Portfolio at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Nigeria and Ghana, Dr Linda Chikelu; Cofounders of Cardiac community, Ayotunde Omitogun and Jide Owolabi at the Heart Dialogue in celebration of World Heart Day in Lagos...recently

R-L: Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola and Production Manager, Iju Water Works, Engr. Ewumi Olufemi, during the Governor’s inspection tour of the Iju Water Works, Lagos...recently

L-R: Manager, Go To Market, MTN Nigeria, Joseph Ogbuka; Senior Manager, Mobile Financial Services, MTN Nigeria, Tajudeen Omokhide; Chairman, Bodija Market, Ibadan, Alhaji Lamidi Musedeeq Adebukola; Manager, Mobile Financial Services, MTN Nigeria, Temitope Akarah; Manager, Segment, Mobile Financial Services, MTN Nigeria, Abiodun Odelola and Field Manager, Mobile Financial Services, MTN Nigeria, Daniel Orobiyi at the regional launch and sensitisation of the MoMo Agent service in Ibadan, Oyo State...recently

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Suleiman Lists Conditions for Cheaper Borrowing for Manufacturing James Emejo Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, has highlighted some critical areas which the government must address in order to reduce the cost of lending for the growth of the manufacturing sector.

He said the government would need to urgently address constraints in the business environment, particularly availability of infrastructure, policy, competitiveness of the environment as well as taxes and incentives.

Speaking to THISDAY at the recently held 25th Nigerian Economic Summit (#NES25), he also noted that access to finance remained key to business enterprises more than interest rate. The meeting, which focused on, “Driving Future Growth through Innovative and Pragmatic Solutions,� had Suleiman as chairman of

a session on financing.

The overall objective of the session was to articulate a vision for the country’s manufacturing industry by 2050 and clear steps to address current issues as first steps to achieving a more competitive manufacturing industry. Addressing journalists shortly after the discussions, the Sterling Bank MD said: “We agreed that if you don’t ask the right questions, you will end up with answers that are not useful. So the focus on the cost of financing or the interest rate to manufacturing might be misplaced.�

He said: “The reason is that when you look at the cost breakdown of manufacturing, the cost of logistics for instance is estimated at over 30 per cent of their total cost. When the look at the cost of labour, these are the important elements of costs. “The cost of financing is less than five per cent and so even if you fix that, it doesn’t solve the

problem. The big issue is about access to finance rather than the interest rate for financing. “We need to start by solving access first. And the challenges with access is that if you have not prepared your business to be able to access bank funding then you won’t get it.�

Suleiman, further noted that the current cost of borrowing in the system would be reduced if the government starts to fix all critical aspects of the investment space, as, “more manufacturing companies would prosper and the risk of failure will be low.�

He said: “The other point is that if government desires to give incentives to manufacturers, they should look at the incentives that is given after the manufacturing has been done, similar to the export expansion grant where you have to actually export the goods before you receive the incentive.

L - R: Dana Air Media Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa showing President Muhammadu Buhari a model of one of the airline’s aircraft, at the 25th Nigeria Economic Summit held in Abuja‌recently

MARKET INDICATORS

Baobab MFB Disburses N55bn Loans in 10Years Eromosele Abiodun The Chief Executive Officer of Baobab Micro Finance Bank Limited, Dr. Kazeem Olanrewaju, has said that the bank made significant contribution to the Nigerians economy since it commenced business 10 years ago.

Precisely, he said the financial institution has disbursed over N55 billion loans in the past 10 years.

Olanrewaju, who stated this while addressing journalists at the bank’s 10th anniversary dinner held in Lagos, said over 100,000 customers have enjoyed one form of loan or the other from Baobad.

According to him, “Our disbursement is in excess of N55 billion. Today, we have outstanding loan customers, people who still have our money with them, about 23,000 plus and our outstanding loans about N9 billion. “On the average every month, we disburse N1.7 to N2 billion.

So, this year, we have disbursed over N15 billion and we target to disburse about N30 billion,

we still have about four months to go, So, this is the story, from a humble background of one branch to now 20, less than 1000 customers to well over 300,000 customers. “I can also tell you that customer confidence in the bank has grown. I remember about five years ago, total deposit in the bank was about N200 million.

Today, we are talking about N4 billion and we are still counting.

I can tell you that in the last two years, our deposit has been on the increase. There is no month we will have a deposit less than the previous month.�

He added, “For me, this is an acceptance from the public, anybody can come to you to borrow money, but not everyone can trust you to the extent that they will give you that kind of deposit. “I will expect that before the end of the year, our deposit should grow by N5 billion to N6 billion and maybe our loan should be about N12 billion.

That will mean at 50 percent coverage; the ultimate thing is to have 100 per cent coverage.

“We have deposit and we have the loans. This is what the story is like and today, we have over 500 staff working in Baoboab. In a country where unemployment is a challenge, that is a big contribution and I expect that this will rise to about 700 by the end of this year. It is also important to say that the number of staff has continued to increase in the last four years and this we expect to continue.�

Also speaking, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Baobab Group, Phillip Sigwart, said the group intends to build a very strong bank in Nigeria to serve small businesses because it is that sector that great more jobs and drive the economy.

Nigeria, he added cannot always depend on oil to drive the economy because the sector does not create jobs.

He disclosed that the Baobab group would also explore opportunities in other African countries like Ghana and east Africa.

Fidelity Bank Advocates Data Sharing for Retail Growth The Executive Director, Operations and Information, Fidelity Bank Plc, Gbolahan Joshua has advised data validation agencies and organisations to adopt appropriate policies that provide financial institutions with the required flexibility to utilise available customer data.

Joshua, who gave the counsel during a panel session at the 10th anniversary celebration of Verve in Lagos recently, explained that this would assist banks in the country to drive new levels of customer engagements across digital channels and systems. He harped on the need for data generating institutions in Nigeria to explore fresh ways to collaborate with one another.

Alluding to the importance of data validation as a major driver in enhancing the Know Your Customer (KYC) policy, Joshua noted that harmonisation of disparate database would

accelerate lending processes by banks. “Digital identity is very critical in digital banking operations.

Industry collaboration must be embraced by both financial institutions and database generating institutions to simplify digital banking operations,� a statement quoted him to have said.

Whilst stating that the bank was not averse to data sharing, Joshua said Fidelity Bank had signed a memorandum of understanding with Open Technology Foundation (OTF), for the adoption of a standard Application Programming Interface (API) for its operations as a financial institution.

Open Banking is a system that provides a user with a network of financial institutions’ data through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs). The Open Banking Nigeria Standard

defines how financial data and services should be created, shared and accessed.

By relying on networks instead of centralisation, open banking helps customers to securely share their financial data with other financial institutions.

The panel discussion was moderated by Chief Executive Officer, Verve International, Mike Ogbalu III. The Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Payment Processing, Interswitch, Akeem Lawal, Head, Consumer Distribution, Ecobank Nigeria, Stanley Jacob and Executive Director, Retail Bank, FCMB, Olu Akanmu also featured as panelist at the event.

Ogbalu expresse d g r a t i tude to Fidelity Bank and all partners of verve that were present at the event whilst assuring them that endless possibilities awaits the digital space in banking.

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

NOVEMBER 2018 Money Supply (M3)

31,794,803.44

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

6,333,064.28

Money Supply (M2)

25,461,739.17

-- Quasi Money

14,773,076.98

-- Narrow Money (M1)

10,688,662.18

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,711,763.59

---- Demand Deposits

8,976,898.59

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

18,990,400.78

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,804,402.66

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,062,986.22

---- Credit to Government (Net)

2,980,229.66

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

7,093,619.43

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

-4,144,571.43

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

23,082,756.56

--Other Assets Net

13,258,583.57

Reserve Money (Base Money

6,811,192.37

--Currency in Circulation

2,100,129.91

--Banks Reserves

4,366,259.05

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ ÍŻÍŽ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $58.71 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $58.65 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

35

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍ˛Ëœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

MARKET NEWS

NSE Reviews Pricing Rules for Market Efficiency, Stability Goddy Egene The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced the amendment to its rules on price movements of equity securities traded on the exchange effective last Friday.

Specifically, the amendments related to the minimum trade quantity required to change prices for equity securities traded on the exchange.

According to the exchange, the new minimum trade

quantity required to change prices for equity securities traded would henceforth be 100,000 units for all securities groups. This implies that trades of fewer than 100,000 shares in any of the groups are small trades. Small trades in an equity security will not result in a change in the publicly reported price of such security.

Speaking on the amendment, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Oscar Onyema, said: “The exchange remains

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

committed to maintaining a platform that engenders a fair and efficient market.

This change is born out of the need to ensure that all price improving (up/down) transactions are material, making the market more efficient and attractive. “We will continue to review our rules and rule-making processes to boost investor confidence in our market, while ensuring that NSE rules comply with international best

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

practice.�

The NSE had January 29, 2018, implemented amendments to its pricing methodology and par value rules that saw the categorisation of quoted companies under three groups with different pricing rules. Group A consisted of large-cap equities that were priced at N100 per share or above for at least four of the last six trading months, or new security listings that are priced at N100 or above

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

at the time of listing on the exchange.

The second category, Group B, consisted of medium-priced equities that were priced at N5 per share or above but less than N100 per share for at least four of the last six months, or new security listings that are priced at N5 per share or above but less than N100 per share at the time of listing on the exchange.

The third category, Group C, consisted of equities that

O F

were priced at one kobo per share or above but below N5 per share for at least four of the last six months, or new security listings that are priced at one kobo per share or above but below N5 per share at the time of listing on the exchange.

Hitherto, the prices of securities would only change if the volume of a trade was at a threshold of 10,000 for securities in Group A, 50,000 for securities in Group B and 100,00 for securities in Group C.

0 9 / 1 0 / 2 0 1 9 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

42

˾ MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2019

7 R S 7 U D G H V E \ 9 R O X P H T ic k er

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

FCM B

24.0

0.0%

A C C ESS

21.3

0.0%

T R A N SC OR P

16.2

GUA R A N T Y

7 R S * D L Q H U V T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

A B CTRA NS

0.44

10.0%

WA P IC

0.35

9.4%

2.0%

LIN KA SSUR E

0.51

8.5%

12.7

0.2%

A IIC O

0.69

7.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

7.6

0.0%

H ON YF LOUR

0.99

4.2%

F ID ELIT YB K

5.0

1.2%

J A IZ B A N K

0.50

2.0%

FB NH

3.7

1.9%

T R A N SC OR P

1.01

2.0%

LA SA C O

3.2

-3.4%

FB NH

5.40

1.9%

UB A

3.1

0.0%

F ID ELIT YB K

1.65

1.2%

C ON T IN SUR E

2.5

-0.9%

GUA R A N T Y

26.80

0.2%

7 R S 7 U D G H V E \ 9 D O X H

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

7 R S / R V H U V

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

N EST LE

579.8

0.0%

N IGER IN S

0.20

-9.1%

GUA R A N T Y

341.6

0.2%

NA HCO

2.33

-6.8%

A C C ESS

156.4

0.0%

N EIM ET H

Z EN IT H B A N K

136.1

0.0%

NB

T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

0.40

-4.8%

46.00

-4.2%

FCM B

38.4

0.0%

LA SA C O

0.28

-3.4%

D A N GC EM

28.0

-0.6%

GUIN N ESS

29.35

-2.2%

NB

26.0

-4.2%

M A N SA R D

1.60

-1.2%

M TNN

24.7

0.0%

UC A P

2.13

-0.9%

GUIN N ESS

21.8

-2.2%

C ON T IN SUR E

2.26

-0.9%

FB NH

19.9

1.9%

OA N D O

3.57

-0.8%

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Ola Belgore | obelgore@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Oluwarotimi Ashimi | oashimi@afrinvest.com

Adedayo Bakare | abakare@afrinvest.com

37

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

C & I Leasing Launches Recruitment Portal to Reduce Unemployment Goddy Egene C&I Leasing Plc (C&I Leasing), a leasing and ancillary services conglomerate, is set to launch an online recruitment platform designed to match talented candidates on the job market with innovative companies looking to grow their staff.

The portal, GetAJobNG, will be launched on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 in Lagos. The company said in a statement last Friday that the launch, which has “Talent is Not Enough,” as its theme, is the first in a two-phased event and will witness a gathering of thought leaders, subject matter experts

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

and leading recruitment and human resource operations professionals from across the country.

Commenting on the unique advantage GetAJobNG brings to the market, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of C&I Leasing Plc, Mr. Andrew OtikeOdibi, said the company has vast

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 10Oct-2019, unless otherwise stated.

experience as a service provider in the Nigerian labour market for almost three decades and will leverage on technology to meet the needs of both recruiters and job seekers.

“Our big Idea is to become Africa’s leading specialised talent marketplace, connecting companies to the best talent

available. We cater to both large and small organizations,” he said.

“More than ever before, recruiters want to fill positions easily, quickly and cost effectively, shortlist great talents and test out their compatibility with the job. They don’t want to spend time sorting heaps of applications for candidates who are not the

right fit for their vacancies.

“Candidates on the other hand, need a platform that provides them with current, direct and authentic job vacancies. They are looking for an online platform that delivers quick response on applications, easy, short application processes and alert notifications on relevant jobs.”

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 138.64 140.74 -11.81% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 12.78% Nigeria International Debt Fund 273.91 273.91 1.65% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.88 0.88 4.35% ACAP Income Funds 0.76 0.76 32.97% 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 12.48% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.37 2.40 6.77% 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 14.21 14.64 -14.35% ARM Discovery Fund 329.14 339.07 -7.71% ARM Ethical Fund 28.04 28.89 -0.69% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.86% 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 92.39 93.04 -8.69% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.94% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 1.87 1.87 11.24% 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 0.13 0.11 13.00% Paramount Equity Fund 12.09 12.19 2.36% Women's Investment Fund 107.75 108.46 4.07% 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 11.45% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 94.46 95.11 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 95.00 95.85 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 11.99% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.85 0.85 -0.90% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.23 1.23 10.13% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 12.18% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 12.07% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,110.44 1,117.53 11.77% 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 1,250.20 1,250.98 11.67% FBN BALANCED FUND 138.37 139.26 -3.09% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.23% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 119.68 119.97 8.26% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 120.23 120.52 9.01% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 120.66 122.21 -19.56% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.70% Legacy Debt Fund 3.56 3.56 9.68% Legacy Equity Fund 1.03 1.05 -15.29% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.07 1.07 3.98% 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 2,984.32 3,014.66 0.01% Coral Income Fund 3,022.54 3,022.54 10.29% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 12.57% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.28% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 111.32 111.70 3.49% 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 10.00 10.00 11.83%

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 11.38% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.15 2.17 -0.35% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.98% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 138.12 138.25 10.53% 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 1.15 1.17 4.92% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,098.33 1,098.33 10.37% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 10.15 10.23 -5.31% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.00% 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 1.29 1.31 4.59% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.06 12.10 7.79% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.26% PACAM Equity Fund 1.01 1.01 PACAM EuroBond Fund 100.76 102.66 SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 122.40 123.07 1.43% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.04 1.04 11.02% 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 2,331.04 2,342.04 0.68% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 206.19 206.19 10.81% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.82 0.83 -13.16% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 268.08 268.19 10.50% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 143.44 144.97 -12.10% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.06% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,368.99 7,448.65 -13.24% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.15 1.15 5.82% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 100.85 100.85 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 1.15 1.16 -1.16% United Capital Bond Fund 1.68 1.68 15.52% United Capital Equity Fund 0.67 0.68 -7.13% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.78% United Capital Eurobond Fund 110.24 110.24 8.62% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.05 1.05 5.22% 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 9.83 9.97 -12.90% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.18 11.35 -10.68% Zenith Income Fund 22.40 22.40 10.86% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.57%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

5.40 117.54 53.38

-44.85% 5.78% 3.17%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

7.97 84.71 67.37

8.07 86.54 68.66

-19.67% -25.01% -21.36%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.23 5.12 11.51 10.48 149.13

3.27 5.20 11.61 10.68 151.13

-19.03% -32.62% -21.17% -15.05% 12.86%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.34

17.40%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

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

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍ˛Ëœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

38

CITYSTRINGS

ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ăš Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ™ĂœË? Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă? äĂ?Ă™ĂŒĂ“ Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ë›Ă?äĂ?Ă™ĂŒĂ“ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—Ëœ ͙͖͓͓͖͓͔͓͖͑͒

A Traditional Ruler’s Quest for National Unity Mary Nnah writes that the paramount ruler of Okori, Egbere Emere Okori I of Eleme Kingdom, His Royal Highness, Appolus Chu’s quest for national unity recently got the backing of the federal government

Cross section of Eleme chiefs along with the federal government delegation with HRH Appolus Chu during the visit

Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase during the visit of the federal oďŹƒcials to the paramount ruler of Okori, HRH, Appolus Chu while Minister of Women Aairs, Helen Tallen and others look on

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or the Egbere Emere Okori, Eleme, Rivers State, HRH, (Dr) Appolus Chu, as Nigeria clocked 59 years of age, securing the peace, unity and safety of Nigeria is a task that must be carried out by everyone rather than the citizens just folding their hands and watch as the nation degenerates more and more.

For a while now, the campaign for unity and harmony in Nigeria has been a crusade carried out with passion by the Egbere Okori in various ways and in respective parts of the country.

For some time now, Chu has been traversing the length and breadth of the country with the message of Nigeria’s indivisibility, the need for cultural integration, tolerance, peace and unity.

He sees this as grounds that breed progress and national development This crusade according to Chu, is part of the moves to strengthen cultural ties and peaceful coexistence amongst the different regions and ethnic groups in Nigeria.

Apart from organising various events in his community to achieve this, like hosting high class traditional rulers and other dignitaries across the country in his palace regularly, he has made it a tradition to travel from one part of Nigeria to another every now and then, trying to establish a crusade of oneness, a gesture he wants other traditional rulers to emulate.

These moves earned him the acknowledgment and admiration of the federation government when recently, the Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase along with the Minister of Women Affairs & Social Development, Hellen Tallen, came calling at his palace leading a delegation of some federal government officials to pay homage to the monarch at his palace in Ogale Eleme of Rivers State. Their aim was to convey this message to the man they regard as a detribalised Nigerian, a patriot and nationalist.

The chiefs, men, women, elder and youths of Eleme were in attendance in their number to give a rousing welcome to the visitors.

The constant message that Chu has come to be known with is unity, peaceful coexistence and tolerance among traditional rulers and people of different ethnic groups in Nigeria for development to thrive.

As the entourage came visiting at his palace, his role as a bridge builder was extolled. They see his unity campaign, which he has being carrying round the country as a move that supports the three cardinal points of the present administration, which is security, fighting corruption and growing the economy.

While extending the appreciation of President Muhammadu Buhari to the royal father, the Minister of Women Affairs, Tallen, thanked His Royal Highness for his resilience and patriotic approach to issues of national interest.

"I am here to tell you that Mr President is pleased with your national advocacy for peace

HRH Appolus Chu in a chitchat with Tallen at his palace

HRH Appolus Chu across the length and breadth of Nigeria and you have been identified as one of the few detribalised traditional rulers in this country. “All your activities are carefully being followed and Mr President is quite impressed with your strides. You are one king that has moved from kingdom to kingdom, promoting peace amidst national unrest. Such men are rare and we have identified one in Eleme, which is why we have come to identity with you, extend Mr President's warm regards and also appreciate your efforts so far", Tallen noted.

Calling on traditional rulers across Nigeria to take a cue from the nature and attitude of the paramount ruler who has joined hands with the federal government in promoting peace and unity in the country, Tallen added, “we have come to show sincere appreciation for what you have been doing to ensure peace across the country. I call on all other royal fathers to do

same so that we can support President Buhari to ensure that there is peace.�

The Honourable Minister also assured the women of Eleme of her support to ensure they are carried along in the scheme of activities at the federal level.

In his response, Chu thanked the federal government officials for the visit, describing their coming as timely. “We are building bridges and strengthening national and international relationships that will benefit us. Your visit, more than anything, shows appreciation from the villa and that will make me do more for peace and unity of the country�, Chu said.

According to him, “this visit is a very timely one I must say; you came at a time when Eleme needed you most. We are a minority ethnic group with very little or no voice.�

Pointing that no Eleme indigene is in the

National Assembly, he urged the deputy speaker and the Women Affairs Minister to remember Eleme in the scheme of things at the federal level as adopted son and daughter of Okori Eleme. “We don't have a minister; we don't have a chief of army staff or defence. We don't have a federal lawmaker or anybody in the Federal Executive Council to stand and speak for us. You all know how strategic we are to the development of this country and we can't afford to live like this. We give out a lot but get nothing. “Look at the roads; do they look like the roads leading to a local government housing the first refinery, fertiliser plant, petrochemical companies, sea ports and so? No! You coming to Eleme today has made you one of us and as you return, please always remember this historic visit, always remember my place, always remember my people and be that voice we don't have. Our agitation is not a violent one.�

The bridge builder and peace ambassador further expressed his dismay over the lack of development in his kingdom despite its major contributions to national development. For the royal father, he wants nothing more than for his kingdom to be remembered by the present administration’s development plans.

Chu who always carries the needs of his people on his shoulders appealed to them to remember his community and factor them in, in the current administration's development plan, especially as his community contributes immensely to the country's Gross domestic product (GDP).

Responding to Chu’s appeal, the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Idris Wase promised to pay attention to the plight of his people, adding that whatever was for the interest of the Eleme community will be taken up at the federal level.

Wase described Chu as a detribalised Nigerian and nationalist whose advocacy for peace and unity, cultural integration and religious tolerance across the nation has been acknowledged and admired by the federal government.

Further describing Chu as a man who has won the heart of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, following his advocacy for peace, ethnic unity and religious tolerance across the nation, the deputy speaker along with the delegation of top federal officials pledged to be a voice for Eleme people and ensure their plight is presented and duly addressed on the floor of House.

He assured the people of Eleme of his commitment to ensuring that Eleme land gets the desired attention from the federal government and what is due them, be allocated accordingly. “I know you don't have a lawmaker, I mean an Eleme man at the Senate and Reps but I want to assure you that from today henceforth, I am an adopted son of Eleme and I will ensure your voice is heard on the floor of the National Assembly" he said.

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CRIME&SECURITY

SBS: Trained to Tackle Asymmetric Threats Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that no fewer than 23 members of the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Services were recently trained on asymmetric warfare, all tailored toward confronting emerging threats and protecting the nation’s territorial integrity

N

avy Seals are trained to be able to operate in all environments, sea, and air and land, even though they are part of the naval force.

The Navy Seals in the United States are the navy’s principal special operations force. Its equivalent in the United Kingdom is the Special Boat Service (SBS), a special forces unit of the UK’s Navy, which is drawn from the Royal Marine Commandos.

In Australia, the closest equivalent to the U.S Navy Seals is the Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment. In Canada, the closest equivalent to the U.S Navy Seals is the Joint Task Force (JTF).

For the Nigerian Navy (NN), its special forces are also known as the Special Boat Services (SBS), and they are trained to carry out the most delicate of operations. The SBS although predominantly focused on littoral and riverine operations, are not restricted to carrying out other covert operations.

Simply put, a navy seal is as a member of the special forces unit who is trained for unconventional warfare and combat situations on air, land and sea. These operatives perform secret missions that are carried out behind enemy lines, conduct counter terrorism operations, participate in direct warfare, and capture or eliminate enemy targets.

Modeled after its US, Israeli, UK counterparts, the NN SBS is no different as they are trained to operate on land, sea and air. Established in 2006 to deal with new unconventional threats like counter insurgency, hostage taking, piracy, oil and gas platforms seizure.

“To effectively cover the total maritime spectrum would require the NN to develop extra capacity and capabilities as well as the use of special operating forces hence the need for the intensified training of the SBS,� he stressed.

Charging the graduands, he said they need to sustain the same drive in the field in order to justify the investment made in the training. “Also, take advantage of all that you have learnt here and bring it to best in your navies whenever the need arises, especially at this time when the national aspirations of many nations including Nigeria are being threatened by numerous security, economic and social challenges.

He also commended the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas for the investment in infrastructure, teaching aids and the continuous financial support to NAVTRAC and indeed the NNSBS in the achievement of its mandate.

Operatives of the Special Boat Services Basic Operating Capability Course 15

Basic Operating Capability Course To groom operatives that are capable of handling such threats was the reason why the Basic Operating Capability (BOC) Course was borne. Now in its 15th course, the BOC Course which runs for about 24 weeks is not for the faint hearted as it ensures the graduands have proven their mettle and demonstrated that they have the mental tenacity and physical toughness to carryout the duties that would be assigned to them.

In the course of their training, they are expected to expend thousands of ammunition, swim for kilometres, performed countless hours of high intensity work outs and in the midst of it all, lost hours of sleep to get their bodies and brains to be physically fit and mentally alert, respectively.

Curriculum The BOC Course is the first basic course which moulds NN sailors into special warfare operators and has three phases- physical conditioning, maritime warfare and land warfare.

While the physical conditioning as the name suggests deals with getting the body fit by pushing it through extreme tasking physical trainings, this is where most operatives drop out.

The maritime warfare phase on the other hand deals with operations like the navigation and survival swimming, insertion and extraction for boat operations, counter insurgency and contact drills for riverine warfare, combat diving and Visit Board Search and Sieze (VBSS) Operations at sea.

The last but not the least phase is the land warfare which entails explosives and demolition, weapon handling and range qualification, map reading, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), ambush and raids, map reading, Close Quarter Battle (CQB) and Hostage Rescue and Fighting in Built Up Areas ( FIBUA).

This year, the BOC Course 15 saw 53 operatives sign up from both the NN and the Ghana Navy (GN) but only 23 made it to the final stage. The operatives signed up for a 24-week intensive training on watermanship, air assault, counter terrorism, tactical combats, among others. At the end of the training, they were adjudged ready and equipped with the ability to infiltrate hostile terrains from the sea, land and air whenever the need arises in different theaters of operation.

At the SBS camp in Navy Town, Ojo, Lagos, the new graduands displayed all they were taught in various simulations to the applause

L-R: Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Navy, Honourable Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, and FOC Naval Training Command, Rear Admiral Standford Enoch of all seated. From the VIP protection to the hostage rescue, to counter terrorism, sabotage and infiltration of enemy KPs. The FOC’s Address Addressing the remaining 23 personnel of the force during their graduation in Lagos, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC), Rear Admiral Stanford Enoch said the personnel that stayed and completed the training had proven their mettle and have demonstrated they have mental tenacity, physical toughness and the will consistent with special operation forces around the world.

Enoch said that the objective of the SBS training is to build capacity to deal decisively with asymmetric threats and to confront emerging threats towards providing the required security in the nation’s maritime environment and other parts of the country.

He applauded their training, saying that, “every component of your training module was carefully drawn to build you into an efficient and coherent fighting force as well as to prepare you to face serious duties ahead in your various navies and your nation at large.

Adding that the NN understands the complexities and fluid nature of the current security posture of Nigeria and the need to develop special capabilities to address the emerging challenges, he said the navy will continue to wide range of operations in the foreseeable future, including military aid to civil authority, and civil aid to civil power.

He also said that these wide range of operational engagement are in furtherance of the forces total spectrum of maritime strategy for maritime Defence which covers five layers- the backwaters, territorial waters, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), out of area operations and land operations.

Legislative Commendation Earlier the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Navy, Honourable Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, also commended the SBS for their demonstration of what the unit can do when confronted with serious threats.

He said with what he had seen, he was convinced that the budgetary requirement of the force needs to jacked up to ensure that personnel are properly trained and be made ready to defend the country against external threats.

He further pledged to work to ensure that all the budgets of the navy are approved and that he will also ensure that funds released gets to the people who needs it.

The Commander’s Perspective Also speaking, SBS Commander, Commodore Noel Madugu, said the BOC Course 15 has further strengthened the existing military cooperation between the NN and the GN, adding that this in itself is an addition to the numerous achievements the SBS has achieved over the years.

He said: “The overall objective of the BOC is to train officers and ratings of the NN to be able to operate in small organised units and also are equipped with specialised skills required to operate in multidimensional threat environment. The course therefore centered on riverine operations, land warfare, special tactics, guerrilla warfare as well as other contemporary operations.�

While congratulating them for lasting 24 weeks he added, “no doubt, it has been a challenging period but I am sure you have been well equipped with skills required to succeed in today’s dynamic battle space where the adversary equally well prepared.

However, I am confident that you would rise to the occasion when the need arises. “To the SBS training team, I say well done for your contribution to the success of this course and making BOC the warriors that they are today, through your commitment, dedication and hardwork�.

Also commending their respective families for their encouragement and support for graduands during the course he added, “I congratulate the graduands as you are going to be inducted into the warriors club and your career as special force operatives begins. So go with confidence and conquer your foes. “They underwent special trainings which are not for just any officer. The training they got is of higher standard and equates those of other elite forces anywhere in the world.

Those previously trained by the SBS have proven themselves.

"The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas has been very gracious to the SBS. He has special liking for the special force and has within available resources, ensured that most of their needs are met."

The ceremony was wrapped up with some of the operatives who had distinguished themselves during the training being awarded with honours, just as all the participants received their certificate of participation.

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INTERNATIONAL

Split China and Get Your Bones Shattered, Warns Xi Jinping China’s President, Xi Jinping, has issued a stern warning against dissent as protests continue in Hong Kong, saying

any attempt to divide China will end in “crushed bodies and shattered bones”.

His comments came during

Johnson: Significant Work Still to Be Done on Brexit Deal British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has said he can see “a way forward” to reaching a deal with the EU in “all our interests” before Brexit is due to happen on 31 October.

But the prime minister warned the cabinet there was still a “significant amount of work” to do, as EU and UK officials continue to hold talks.

Parliament will meet on Saturday and vote on any deal achieved by Johnson at a Brussels summit this week.

Labour said it would “wait and see” but would oppose anything “damaging”.

The European Commission echoed the prime minister, saying: “A lot of work remains to be done.”

Shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “We don’t think the Tories have moved too far on their deal.”

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon told the same programme: “We will not vote for the kind of deal specified by Boris Johnson.”

Talks in Brussels between UK and EU officials - described as “intense technical discussions” - continued on Sunday and will re-start on Monday.

House of Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading Brexiteer, told Sky News that “compromise” would be inevitable during negotiations.

He added: “I trust Boris Johnson to ensure the relationship the United Kingdom has with the European Union is one where we are not a vassal state.”

Mr Rees-Mogg also said he might have to “eat my words” and support a plan close to the one put forward by former Prime Minister Theresa May, which MPs rejected three times.

Ambassadors to the EU from 27 member countries were scheduled to meet last night and Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, was expected to brief them on the talks.

The summit in Brussels on

Thursday and Friday is seen as the final chance to get a Brexit deal agreed ahead of the deadline of 23:00 GMT on October 31.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister updated cabinet on the current progress being made in ongoing Brexit negotiations, reiterating that a pathway to a deal could be seen but that there is still a significant amount of work to get there and we must remain prepared to leave on October 31.”

The spokesman said Mr Johnson believed a deal could “respect the Good Friday Agreement”, signed in 1998 in an effort to end the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

It could also “get rid of” the backstop - the plan to prevent the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic - which the government says threatens the future of the UK. Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson told Sky News that any agreement reached by Mr Johnson should “be put to the public so they can have the final say”.

But asked whether more MPs would be likely to support a deal, if the Commons first voted in favour of putting it to a referendum, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “I think many in Parliament, not necessarily Labour MPs - others - might be inclined to support it because they don’t really agree with the deal.

“I would caution them on this.”

Asked about Labour’s stance, Home Secretary Priti Patel replied: “They are clearly playing politics. The British public want to ensure that we get Brexit done.”

Mr. Johnson’s revised proposals - designed to avoid concerns about the backstop were criticised by EU leaders at the start of last week.

Egyptian President to Meet Ethiopian Premier for Talks about Dam Egyptian President, AbdelFattah al-Sissi, on Sunday said he would meet Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy AhmedAli, in Russia in a bid to restart stalled talks over a disputed dam being built

by Ethiopia on the Nile.

Al-sisi, however, did not mention the date of the planned meeting.

Meanwhile, talks about Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam had been deadlocked as it had so far rejected Cairo’s

proposals for how to fill and operate the dam.

Egypt, which relied almost exclusively on the Nile for farming, industry and domestic water use, feared that the dam would reduce its share of the river. Al-Sissi noted that the Egyptians were exaggerating in their reactions on social media over the past days.

“Issues are not solved in this way, they are solved with dialogue and calm.

a state visit to Nepal on Sunday, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said. Several peaceful Hong Kong rallies descended into clashes between riot police and protesters on Sunday.

Public transport stations and shops deemed to be pro-Beijing were damaged.

Several neighbourhoods saw rallies, and by Sunday afternoon at least 27 stations on the MTR - Hong Kong’s metro - were closed.

Police said they had used “minimum force” to disperse protesters, but television footage showed weekend shoppers caught in the chaos.

Some were filmed screaming and apparently injured as

officers rushed into a shopping centre.

According to Reuters news agency, riot police with shields were forced out of one mall by chanting shoppers who took the side of the protesters.

Petrol bombs were thrown at Mong Kok police station, and one officer was slashed in the neck, authorities say. He is in a stable condition in hospital, the South China Morning Post reports.

A second man was allegedly beaten by protesters who found a baton in his bag and believed he was an undercover police officer.

Embedding police among the protesters has paid tactical

dividends for the Hong Kong force, and spread paranoia among the mostly young activists.

Overnight on Sunday, one group of protesters hauled a three-metre-high (9-ft) statue of a protester on to Lion Rock, a famous outcrop overlooking Hong Kong.

The statue, Lady Liberty, has become a symbol of the rallies, and sports a gas mask, goggles and a helmet. She represents an injured protester who demonstrators believe was shot in the eye by a police projectile.

The group of several dozen, some wearing head lamps, climbed the 500m peak during a thunderstorm. The statue

held a black banner that read: “Revolution of our time, Liberate Hong Kong.”

Hong Kong’s protests started in June against proposals to allow extradition to mainland China, a move many feared would undermine the city’s judicial independence and endanger dissidents.

The bill has long been withdrawn, but protests have widened to include demands for full democracy and an inquiry into claims of police brutality.

Earlier this month, the city’s government used a colonialera emergency law to ban the wearing of face masks at public rallies - but demonstrators vowed to defy it.

PARTNERSHIP THAT WORKS…

L-R: Minister of State for Budget and National Planning/Nigeria’s Open Government Partnership (OGP) Co-chair, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba; Director and OGP Focal Person, Dr. Anne Nzegwu; and OGP Global Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sanjay Pradhan, during a courtesy visit to the minister in Abuja...recently

Second Ebola Vaccine to Be Used in DR Congo Next Month Doctors will use a second Ebola vaccine from November in three eastern provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight the deadly virus, medical officials said Sunday.

“It’s time to use the new Ad26ZEBOV-GP vaccine, manufactured

by Johnson & Johnson’s Belgian subsidiary,” said Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, who leads the national anti-Ebola operation in the DRC. It will arrive in the eastern city of Goma, in North Kivu province, on October 18 and be used from the beginning of next month, he added.

DRC’s latest Ebola epidemic,

which began in August 2018, has killed 2,144 people, making it the second deadliest outbreak of the virus, after the West Africa pandemic of 2014-2016.

Muyembe said the communes of Majingo and Kahembe had been selected to receive the vaccine as they were considered the epicentres of the epidemic.

“We will extend this vaccination to our small traders who often go to Rwanda to protect our neighbours,” he added.

“If it works well, we will expand vaccination in South Kivu and Ituri.”

DR Congo’s eastern provinces

of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu sit on the borders with Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

The Belgian laboratory will send a batch of 200,000 doses to neighbouring Rwanda and 500,000 doses in the DRC, Muyembe said.

More than 237,000 people living in active Ebola transmission zones have received a vaccination produced by the pharma giant Merck since August 8, 2018.

The J&J vaccine had been rejected by DRC’s former health minister Oly Ilunga, who cited the risks of introducing a new product in communities where

mistrust of Ebola responders is already high.

But Ilunga’s resignation in July appears to have paved the way for approval of the second vaccine.

He currently faces charges that he embezzled funds intended for the fight against Ebola.

In his letter of resignation Ilunga said “actors who have demonstrated a lack of ethics” want to introduce a second vaccine, but did not elaborate.

Muyembe, who took over the Ebola fight in the DRC in July, said “The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has the most science-based data.”

Cardinal Newman to Become First Catholic English Saint in Centuries Cardinal John Henry Newman, a renowned 19th-century Anglican convert and leading Victorian intellectual, is set to become the first English Catholic saint of the post-Reformation period on Sunday.

Pope Francis will be leading a so-called canonisation Mass for Newman and four other sainthood candidates in St Peter’s Square, starting at 10.15 am (0815 GMT).

Prince Charles will be leading the British delegation attending the ceremony, his office said last

month.

In an editorial in the newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Charles said the canonization “will be a cause of celebration not merely in the UK, and not merely for Catholics, but for all who cherish the values by which he was inspired.”

“In the age when he lived, Newman stood for the life of the spirit against the forces that would debase human dignity and human destiny. In the age in which he attains sainthood, his example is needed more

than ever,” the Prince of Wales asserted.

Newman, who lived from 1801 to 1890, joined the Catholic Church in 1845, a decision that caused him to be ostracized by friends and family but paved the way for greater acceptance of Catholicism in Anglican Protestant Britain.

Relations between the Anglican and Catholic Church are now very good.

Newman also established the Birmingham Oratory, a religious community that is part of the

Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri, and was the founder and first rector of University College Dublin in Ireland.

One year before his death, he was made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII. The last people from England to have been canonized were the so-called Forty Martyrs, elevated to sainthood in 1970

by Pope Paul VI. They were Roman Catholics executed during the Reformation period of the 16th and 17th centuries.

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NEWSEXTRA

APC: PDP’s Lack of Robust Engagement Turning Nigeria into One-party State Opposition party rejects FG’s attempt to gag media Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale ín Abuja All Progressives Congress (APC) has decried the inability of the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to engage in rigorous and intelligent interrogation of its policies and

programmes, which it said, were turning the country into a one-party state.

This was coming as the main opposition party has rejected what it described as the moves by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to further gag the media, and

House Vows to Initiate Comprehensive Review of all Legislation Relating to Power Sector Adedayo Akinwale ín Abuja House of Representatives has vowed to initiate a comprehensive review of all legislation relating to the power sector in Nigeria as part of plans to find solution to issues crippling electricity development in the country.

This legislative review, it said, would engage all stakeholders in the industry and take all necessary steps to guarantee that the views of business are considered in the process.

The green chamber made this known in its Legislative Agenda unveiled last week in Abuja, where it explained that a constant, cost-effective power supply is integral to the economic development of any nation.

It said Nigeria has not yet begun to generate or distribute sufficient power to meet present needs or provide for future demand.

The House noted that this paucity of power generation negatively affects productivity

sectors from large industry to small and medium scale enterprises resulting in measurable adverse effects on economic productivity, industrial sustainability and general prices of goods and services.

The legislature stressed that getting things right with electricity generation, transmission and distribution would drastically improve the country’s economic outlook and it’s essential to put the country on the path of sustained economic development.

“Our concern as a House is to address the sub-structural issues, militating against improved performance in the sector despite the huge sums of money expended by the government.

“The House will revisit in holistic manner laws, policies and investments including the roles of the Power Distribution Companies (DisCos) and Power Generating Companies (GenCos).”

subjugate Nigerians and curtail their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.

The ruling party said the country’s democracy has a lot to gain in an atmosphere of robust engagement by responsible and patriotic opposition, adding that the system envisaged that such parties would provide alternative viewpoints and put the governing party on its toes.

APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre IssaOnilu, in a statement yesterday, said Nigeria deserves a strong, vibrant opposition to play its conventional role in the polity to deepen democracy.

He added: “Sadly, Nigeria is becoming a one-party state. As a party that believes in democracy and progressive politics, we cannot pretend any longer.

“Democracy cannot be said to be fully operational in a situation where the supposed ‘main’ opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party has become a joke, irresponsible and rudderless.” The ruling party said, instead, the PDP and their minions have in the name of opposition continued to distract the government and Nigerians with their post-election delusions, salacious fictions, conjured rifts in government circle and of course

the lowest of it all, “the pathetic and senseless Jubril of Sudan malicious tale,” among others.

Issa-Onilu said: “It is sad that PDP has finally proved incapable of filling this important democratic space.

The other mushroom parties are even worse. Some of the smaller parties are filled with incurable charlatans issuing infantile weekly press statements on behalf of the PDP. Our democracy deserves better.”

APC noted that the socalled Congress of United Political Parties (CUPP), which could have filled the vacuum and engaged the APC administration in useful debates over governance, has become a comedy theatre group and frontline PDP minion.

The party stressed that CUPP has the unenviable mandate to try to intimidate and blackmail important state institutions such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the judiciary, and security agencies, on behalf of PDP with the hope of gaining political advantage having been rejected by the majority of the voters.

The ruling party added that as the current administration tackles national challenges and at a period that all should focus

on issues of nation-building, the best PDP and its acolytes are offering is a distraction.

APC spokesman noted that while the PDP wallows in its obscene conducts, Nigeria under the Buhari-led administration would continue to consolidate on its status as Africa’s largest economy, despite inheriting a battered economy.

Meanwhile, PDP has rejected what it described as the moves by the Buhari-led federal government to further gag the media, and subjugate Nigerians and curtail their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression The opposition party noted that the decision by the President to impose stringent regulations on online media and broadcast organisations as recently announced by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was completely obnoxious, anti-democratic and a direct violation of statutory rules governing media practice and freedom of expression in Nigeria.

PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said that it rejected the presidential declaration of political comments as “Class A” offence, insisting that such was designed to undermine the nation’s constitutional democracy,

exterminate the rights of citizens to dissenting public opinion, emasculate the opposition and foist a dictatorship and one-party system on the nation.

“Our party alerts that such moves amount to an attempt to amend our constitution to take away the rights of citizens and undermine our democratic institutions - a development that has the capacity to destabilise our dear nation.

“The PDP invites Nigerians to note that this dictatorial pathway which the Buhari Presidency seeks to impose, if allowed, will herald the gradual emasculation of freedom of expression, repression of free press, infringements on the rights of citizens and foisting of siege mentality on the people.

“Nigerians are already apprehensive that the directive is geared towards clearing the ground for the introduction of certain harsh policies in our country,” PDP said.

The party insisted that the constitution has made enough provisions to guide media practice as well as the exercise of freedom of expression, adding that the foisting of unconstitutional and suppressive regulations would not be acceptable under any guise.

Crisis Hits Ekiti PDP Ahead of LG Polls Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Crisis is now brewing in the Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as party members have been expressing discordant tunes whether to participate or not in the December 7 local government elections in the state.

While the State Working Committee headed by its State Chairman, Barr. Gboyega Oguntuase, insisted that the party would participate, a section of the party led by a chieftain of the party in Ado-Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, Hon. Yinka Olomofe, said the party would boycott the elections.

Olomofe, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti, announced the resolve of the party to boycott the polls in Ado-Ekiti council, saying the party members are only preparing for the 2022 governorship elections.

Countering the position after a meeting of the members of the State Executive Committee comprising the State Working Committee and the Local Government Party Chairmen on Friday, PDP said the 16 local government areas shall participate in the December 7

local government elections.

PDP, in a statement by its chairmen in 14 local government areas of the state, said: “The purported announcements of non-participation by the acting party Chairmen of Ado-Ekiti Local Government Area, Mr. Yinka Olomofe was unauthorised and of no consequence to the participation of PDP in the elections.

“Furthermore, only the State Working Committee in collaboration with the Local Government Party Chairmen can make such announcement.

“That the State Executive Committee and the Local Government Party Chairmen of PDP in Ekiti State consequently and hereby declare that all announcement by individuals and group purporting nonparticipation of PDP in Ekiti State Local Government Elections is declared illegal and of no effect.

“Therefore, all candidates of the PDP in all the 16 local government areas of Ekiti State are by this announcement mandated to continue their campaigns and all other due process as outlined by Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC).

POLITICS WITHOUT BITTERNESS …

R-L: Osun State Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Rasak Salensile; Governor of Osun State, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola; former Secretary to the State Government and gubernatorial candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in the Osun 2018 governorship election, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti; state Chairman of APC, Prince Adegboyega Famodun; and Director General, Ileri Oluwa Movement, Hon. Ajibola Famurewa, at Adeoti’s country home, Iwoland…weekend

FG Denies Attack on Nigerian Embassy in Benin Adedayo Akinwale ín Abuja The federal government has said the Embassy of Nigeria in Cotonou, Benin Republic, was not attacked.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ferdinand Nwonye, in a statement yesterday, said the

video circulating on the social media purportedly showing an attack on a Nigerian embassy was an old video.

The ministry therefore called on the general public to disregard the fake news being spread by mischief makers to whip up sentiments and cause unnecessary tension between

Nigeria and Benin Republic.

Nwonye said: “The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to a video circulating on the social media purportedly showing an attack on the Embassy of Nigeria in Cotonou, Benin Republic.

“The Ministry wishes to inform that the video is an

old video of an attack on Nigerian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal and the incident under reference occurred on the 4th of March, 2013.”

Nwonye added that the ring leaders of the unwarranted attack in Dakar were arrested

by Senegalese authorities and jailed for six months.

Comfort Obaigbena is Dead The family of Deaconess Comfort Obaigbena has announced her passing on to glory on September 27, 2019, at the age of 83 years.

Deaconess Obaigbena was married to the late Prince Joel Obaigbena of Owa Royal family.

She retired in 1992 as a Chief Nursing Officer of the then Ika local Government Area .

She was a devout christian, a heroic and renowned midwife to Ika community who will be remembered for her philanthropic gestures.

She is survived by many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren among whom is Prince Emmanuel Obaigbena, who recently retired from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Her funeral arrangement will be announced later.

Comfort Obaigbena

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Governors Stealing Public Funds Need Deliverance, Says Nasarawa Gov Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has declared that any elected governor in the country who steals public funds

needs deliverance from God. The need for deliverance of such a governor, as according to him, was because governors are well provided for such that only a diabolical person would

PDP will Win Bayelsa Guber Polls with or without Defectors, Party Boasts Bayelsa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the party would win the forthcoming gubernatorial election with or without those defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP State Chairman, Chief Moses Cleopas, in a statement yesterday, said the Bayelsa people and followers were not with the defectors who according to him, lack the requisite character, principle and integrity.

Cleopas alleged that the defected politicians were motivated by greed and the inordinate quest for political positions being dangled to them by the APC, saying PDP won the election convincingly in 2015 in spite of the spate of defections and would repeat the feat in the next election without such unstable characters.

The PDP chairman was reacting to the claim by a former deputy governor, Chief Peremobowei Ebebi, who defected from the party because of high handedness and alleged fraudulent primaries conducted by the leadership of PDP. He said the difference between the party leadership and the defected politicians was the lack of capacity to resist the temptation of suspicious political offers and even threats.

He recalled that the government regularised Ebebi’s position as a former deputy governor and approved a monthly pension of N2.5 million for him which he has been collecting since 2012 till date in addition to other forms of material and financial support.

He added that it was rather shocking that Ebebi whose nominee is still a serving commissioner could come out to launch a scathing attack on the government and the party in the search for non-existent reasons to justify his defection to the APC because of alleged greed and inordinate quest for

political offices.

According to him, Ebebi was among the first leaders of the party to make a strong case for Senator Douye Diri, who he later discovered to be his cousin, as the best of PDP aspirants to support in the primaries, noting that it was even more shocking that Ebebi who had received and endorsed Diri and his team when they visited him in his Yenagoa residence opted to accept the position of the Director General of the Chief Timi Alaibe campaign organisation two days after.

He explained that same Ebebi attended the flag-off campaign rally of the PDP at the Oxbow Lake on October 7, where he spoke in support of the PDP and its candidate.

Cleopas said information at his disposal showed that Ebebi submitted several names for appointment and employment after the rally, which were carried out as agreed.

The PDP chairman allegedly described Ebebi’s defection to APC as the peak of absurdity, using the PDP primaries as his reasons when the makeshift primaries conducted by the APC and the anger triggered by the alleged electoral fraud in the party has resulted in several court cases challenging the emergence of the party’s candidate, Chief David Lyon.

Cleopas challenged Ebebi to tell Bayelsans and indeed Nigerians whether his impeachment from office by Chief Timipre Sylva was high handed or considerate and whether the alleged foisting of Lyon on the APC in a most bizarre and brazen manner by Sylva was high handed or not.

He said to the best of his knowledge, the only request from Ebebi, which the state government has not fully acceded to, was the request to pay a grossly inflated debt of about N400 million purportedly owed his hotel by the state under Sylva who he served as deputy governor.

Passenger Slumps, Dies at Lagos International Airport Chinedu Eze A Nigerian passenger, Jude Oladapo, at the weekend slumped and died while undergoing boarding procedures at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.

The spokesperson for the MMIA Police Command, Lagos, DSP Joseph Alabi, confirmed the development to journalists yesterday.

Alabi said the 44-year-

old passenger was about boarding an Air France flight when he suddenly slumped after receiving news that his wife had passed on.

According to him, the incident happened about 5.30p.m. and the deceased was confirmed dead by Dr. Ajayi Olamide of the MMIA Medical Clinic.

Alabi added that his corpse has been deposited at the Air Force Hospital mortuary.

resort to stealing.

He stated this at weekend during the closing ceremony of the 23rd National Quranic Recitation Competition organised by the Jamaatul Izalatul Bid’ah Wa Ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) in Lafia, the state capital.

According to him, “Any person elected as governor of a state has no justification to steal public funds. So anyone elected as governor and is found stealing public funds requires deliverance from God.

“When I assumed office as governor, I realised that only those who have no true knowledge about God or those whose major preoccupation is to steal public funds, could steal.

Any person who is a governor and still steals public funds, such a person is in need of deliverance from God.” Sule used the occasion to call on scholars and educated elites to join politics as a way of bringing sanity to the system.

He, therefore, dismissed insinuations that one must be

wealthy before joining politics, stressing that as long as religious scholars avoid politics, then they should be prepared to elect leaders who will betray their trust.

The governor equally called on Islamic scholars not to relent in telling the people the truth, even at the risk of rejection, urging them to aspire for leadership positions.

Speaking also, the National Chairman of the council of Ulamau of JIBWIS, Sheik Sani Yahaya Jingir, charged

Muslim faithful on the need to be law-abiding, stressing the importance of seeking both Islamic and Western education.

The Muslim cleric also decried the level of moral decadence in the country’s educational system, especially with recent reports of sexual harassment of female students in some universities.

Jingir, therefore, called on university lecturers to put the fear of God in their work, and henceforth desist from molesting their students.

REWARDING EXCELLENCE…

L-R: Vice-President, Government College Ibadan Old Boys Association (GCIOBA), Mr. Tola Obembe; Prof. J.P. Clark; Mr. Segun Aluko; GCIOBA National President, Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN); Prof. Bode Sowande; Prof. Wole Soyinka; Prof. Femi Osofisan; GCIOBA National Financial Secretary, Mr Seye Arowolo; and National Social Secretary Mr. Yinka Adepoju, at the presentation of awards to GCI old boys that have excelled in literature and arts in Lagos...weekend

Fayemi Grants State Pardon to 19 Convicts Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has granted state pardon and prerogative of mercy to 19 convicts and ex-prisoner, who have been convicted for various offences in the state.

One Abologbonrin Ojo, who had served out his sentence, was granted state pardon, having applied for the same privilege.

The clemency was sequel to the approval of the recommendations of the state’s Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy to grant clemency to 18 prisoners serving various prison sentences in the Nigerian Correctional Services Facilities in Ado-Ekiti, and Kirikiri Maximum Prison in

Lagos State, respectively.

Fayemi, in a statement yesterday by his AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice, Olawale Fapohunda, said the clemency included state pardon, release from prison and committal of death sentence to life imprisonment.

“I am pleased to announce today that the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, has accepted the recommendation of the Ekiti State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy to grant clemency to 18 prisoners serving various prison sentences in the Nigerian Correctional Services Facilities in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State and Kirikiri Maximum, Lagos State respectively.

”In addition, Mr. Governor has also granted State Pardon to one applicant,” the statement said.

The statement added that Ojo, who had already served out of his jail term, was granted state pardon, while Olowo Ajayi, Ojo Sunday, Sunday Fanimara, Olusuyi Dare Olaifa, Williams Sunday, Sylvanus Oferufega, Lucky Suberu, Babatunde Ogunjobi, Tope Ajayi, Lawrence Idowu Bamidele, Ogunboyo Richard, Ayodele Ayinde, Adebayo Ojo, Akeem Adebayo, Abirifon Julius, and Abirifon Olabode are released from prison.

It clarified that the last two convicts, Tunde Abe and Adeniyi Owolabi, received

committal of death sentences to life imprisonment.

“The Ekiti State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy considered 50 applications for clemency at its third sitting. The applications of these beneficiaries were granted because they have individually demonstrated the potential to turn their lives around.

“On behalf of the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, I congratulate all the beneficiaries specifically those who have been released from the Correctional Facilities. It is our expectation that these beneficiaries will make the best use of this second chance by being law abiding and good citizens,” the statement added.

NLNG Spends $30bn on Gas Plants, Infrastructure in Bonny Island, Says MD The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) has stated that it invested over $30 billion (N10.8 trillion) to build gas facilities and other infrastructures in Bonny Island, Rivers State.

The Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah, disclosed this yesterday at the end of week-long activities marking the company’s 20/30 Anniversary Celebration.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that NLNG used the occasion to celebrate its 20

years of operation in Bonny and 30 years of incorporation as a company.

The NLNG, Attah said, invested parts of the huge sum to build gas plants, known as Train 1, 2, 3,4, 5 and 6 as well as the ongoing construction of another Train 7 project.

“NLNG’s combined scale of investment in Bonny Kingdom is more than $30 billion in assets, making it the most developed community in the Niger Delta.

“Our several accomplishments in the kingdom, ranged from

our provision of modern road network, potable water and Finima Nature Park to residents of Bonny.

“Also, we invested in electricity that perhaps has made Bonny the only community in Nigeria with 99 per cent electricity and a preferred investors and tourist destination,” he said.

Attah further said the company has completed construction of Airstrip that could receive more than 60-passenger capacity aircrafts,

making it one of the largest airstrip in Africa.

He said the company has provided N60.3 billion counterpart funding for the construction of N120.6 billion 34 kilometre Bonny-Bodo road project connecting Bonny Island to rest of the country.

“The ongoing road project, which we are co-sponsoring with the federal government, is expected to be completed within 48 months, thus triggering development and tourism in the area.

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Abiodun Warns Customs against Incessant Killings in Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has warned the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), against causing unnecessary death in the discharge of its duties in the state.

The governor said the service must find a better way of managing relationships with

the people in the border area.

Abiodun made this known at the inauguration of the Forward Operations Base (FOB), of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), at Oja- Odan, in Yewa North Local Government Area of the state.

The governor said that the

N7.6bn Loan: APC Not Qualified to Criticise Makinde, Says Oyo PDP The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has discountenanced a statement credited to the state’s chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) that criticised the State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for seeking the approval of the State House of Assembly to access N7.6 billion loan earlier secured by the administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi.

The PDP, in a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Akeem Olatunji, declared that “a set of morally-bankrupt and profligate politicians cannot group themselves under whatever guise to criticise the prudent, open and peoplefriendly administration being run by Governor Makinde.”

The statement claimed that APC, in the eight years of Governor Ajimobi, practically ran the state aground with “excessive and unjustified borrowings,” insisting that a party that produced such leadership was not qualified to criticise Governor Makinde that has demonstrated financial prudence and transparency in the handling of the state’s resources.

The statement read: “The

statement by the Oyo State chapter of the APC on the N7.6 billion loan facility was not just mischievous and jaundiced; it was not-well-thought-out, since it was written only with the sole aim of misinforming people.

“We are all witnesses to the suit filed in May this year by the then Governor-elect, Makinde, that sought the injunction of the State High Court to stop the Ajimobi’s administration from accessing the loan less than a month to its terminal date.

“How can the same APC, which produced Ajimobi, whose government had concluded arrangements to spend the money on frivolous projects just five months ago, turn around to claim that the loan was freshly obtained by Governor Makinde?

“We in the PDP are happy with, and are confident in the ability of Governor Makinde to revolutionise the state’s economy through agriculture and agriculture value chain.

“That is why we commend the proposed upgrading of the farm settlements in Eruwa and Akufo to Farm Estates in a pilot scheme that will be used as model for similar projects across the State.”

state cannot continue to accept a situation where deaths are recorded whenever the NCS engages the people in the discharge of its duties.

He noted that it was important for the agency and the people to find a way to relate with each other, adding that the last incident, which recorded the death of some people was a very difficult situation to manage.

“We must have a way of managing our relationship.

We cannot continue to have incidences where the customs are engaging our people and there are loss of lives. This has happened a few times too frequently.

“I want to seize this opportunity to plead with the Nigeria Customs to find a better way of managing this relationship. We cannot afford to be losing our people, particularly kids, who are most times innocent,” he said.

Abiodun called on the people living at the border area to be responsible citizens, saying that the people of the area cannot afford to be lawless as the state government has zero tolerance for lawlessness, cultism and smuggling.

“I also want to plead with our people; there is what is called

‘Responsibility Consciousness.

“We must learn to be responsible citizens. We must live within the ambit of the law.

We cannot afford to be lawless. I have said it over and over again, we will not tolerate lawlessness, criminality, cultism, smuggling in Ogun State. We must learn to be law abiding,” he said.

Abiodun further disclosed that the commissioning of the Forward Operations Base is a challenge to the men and officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service to show more commitment to duty, adding that the state government would support the service within available resources.

“With this Forward Operations Base, FOB, that is being commissioned today, I challenge the men and officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service that our disposition of friendliness with our neighbors should not be abused by criminal elements to come into the country.

“The responsibility is yours and you owe all of us that.

Whatever support requires, we as an administration will provide within available resources,” he added.

Also speaking at the event, Minister of Interior, Rauf

Aregbesola said that the federal government does not support the indiscriminate use of fire arms by any of its arms wielding agencies, adding that he will take it up with the agencies involved.

He said that government regrets the unfortunate loss of life of its people, even as he noted that the border drill was in the best interest of the nation, commending President Muhammadu Buhari for supporting the drill.

He said: “We are not encouraging the reckless use of arms. We regret the unfortunate loss of life. I want to believe we will soon take that into check.

The drill is in the interest of the country.

“We must commend President Buhari for supporting the drill. We urge our people to support us in putting an end to the sabotage of our economy by those who are bent on destroying it.”

The Comptroller General of NIS, Controller Mohammed Babandede commended the state command for bringing a new vigour, saying that the state has 2 Forward Operations Base out of the twelve expected to be commissioned in the country.

He disclosed that the

immigration service will continue to respect human rights in the discharge of its duty, adding that the current activity going on at the border was not a border closure, but a border drill that will ensure that anyone leaving the shores of the country does that not through illegal but legal routes.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Comptroller of Immigration, Ogun State command, Controller Doris Braimah said that the command had being able to create a synergy with other security agencies, sensitize migrants on the E- registration program, as well as the establishment of the personnel resource center.

She added that the commissioned Forward Operations Base is one out of the two in the state.

The Olu of Ilaro and paramount ruler of Yewa land, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, called on the interior minister to look into the indiscriminate shooting of people of the area.

Oba Olugbenle noted that officers of the Customs Service in the discharge of their duties should put in mind that the life of the people should also be protected.

APC Lauds EFCC for Recovering N111m from Treasury Looters Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the weekend lauded the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on its recent recovery and handing-over of N111million allegedly recovered from treasury looters in the state to the state Governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq.

The Zonal Head of the EFCC, Mr. Isyaku Shari, at a news conference in Ilorin last Friday said the Commission which started its work in February this year at the zonal office has achieved a lot in terms of recovery and conviction of corrupt individuals.

He added that the Commission also saved the state from financial recklessness in May this year at the eve of handing and taking over of government.

“We have 29 convictions and over N500million recovery of both in assets and cash, part of this is the N111, 428, 891.00 cash recovered for the Kwara State Government.

“This recovery is from suspected Kwara State treasury

looters. The suspects alleged to have criminally misappropriated landed properties of Harmony holdings while others diverted funds meant for micro small and medium credit scheme. The suspects area cut across political office holders, traditional rulers and top civil servants,” he said.

However, the APC in the state, in a statement issued in Ilorin to commend the anti-graft agency on the breakthrough, which was signed by its state Chairman, Hon. Bashir Bolarinwa, observed that “the monies recovered so far is a far cry from the alleged wanton financial abuse of some officials of the immediate-past administration.”

Bolarinwa, therefore, advised the EFCC to redouble its efforts in holding more officials accountable and recovering all ill0-gotten funds in their custody.

In the same vein, he lauded the state Governor, Abdukrazaq’s resolve to channel the recovered funds to his administrations social investment programme, adding that such move would return the wealth of Kwara State back to Kwarans.

CONGRATULATIONS…

Chief Executive Officer, Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman (right), presenting the Audience Choice Prize to Founder of Gricd Services Limited, and one of the NES #25 Startups Pitching Event finalists, Oghenetega Iortim, in Abuja...weekend

Four Anambra Communities Currently under Water, Says SEMA David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Four communities in Anambra East Local Government Area (AELGA) of Anambra State have been submerged by flood.

The affected communities were Enugu Otu, Eziagulu Otu, Mkpunando and Umundeze.

This was disclosed by the Executive Director of Anambra State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Mr. Cyril Agupugo, when he briefed the State Governor, Willie Obiano, on the incidents of flood in the state.

Agupugo told Obiano that the current situation in these communities were scary as most of the houses were completely submerged.

“These areas are underwater

with victims’ farmlands and household items worth millions of naira also submerged and they are calling for government’s immediate intervention,” he said.

Transition Committee Chairman, AELGA, Mr. Obi Nweke, corroborated the claims and assured the displaced persons that help is on the way.

“I believe things will be better in no distant time. Life is most important now as you can still re-acquire your lost property.

“When the flood became too much, we had no other option than to evacuate the victims to safer places until water recedes so that they can move back to their houses,” Nweke said.

Meanwhile, Anambra State Government has pledged immediate attention to the

displaced persons.

Obiano declared that his administration would do everything within its capacity to ensure that health and food needs of the displaced persons were attended to.

He made this declaration during a meeting with SEMA, Navy, Red Cross, Civil Defence and Local Government Transition Chairmen in his home, Aguleri, AELGA. The governor gave directive to all relevant agencies to ensure that transportation facilities were in place for immediate evacuation of those trapped in the flooded communities.

“All medical personnel will also be on ground to assist in avoiding diarrhea outbreak. Food and clean water will be available

for all too,” the governor said.

One of the displaced persons, Mr, Izuchukwu Nnoli, pleaded with the state government to come to their aid as the flood had taken over their homes and farmlands.

“This 2019 flood is a terrible experience. I call on the state government to do something about the flooding because farming is our only source of livelihood,’’ Nnoli said.

Anambra East is the second local government area in Anambra State whose residents have been sacked by the 2019 flood. THISDAY recently reported that Ogbaru Local Government Area was also under water, with residents taking refuge in Internally Displaced Peoples Camp.

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Lagos Declares State of Emergency on Roads Lagos State Government has declared a state of emergency on various dilapidated highways and carriages within the State.

Governor Babajide SanwoOlu yesterday ordered massive construction work on critical roads and highways across the State, beginning from Monday (today).

The governor’s directive followed the conclusion of his series of meetings with eight multi-national engineering firms, which began a few weeks back.

After his final meeting with the contractors yesterday, which lasted for about three hours, Sanwo-Olu declared the commencement of major construction work on the identified highways considered critical to the reduction of traffic congestion in the State.

The governor said all the eight engineering firms had been given the mandate to immediately mobilise their equipment on the sites and commence major construction works on the identified roads.

He said: “This afternoon, we have just concluded meeting with various reputable construction companies and all of them have been given the brief to immediately commence major construction work in various parts of the State. The exercise will begin tomorrow with palliative work on the selected roads, which are both on the Island and mainland divisions of the State.

“The contractors have been given the mandate to start mobilising their equipment to their respective sites without further delay. Their activities must first give our people an immediate relief on the affected roads so that there can be free flow of traffic even during the rehabilitation work.”

To complement the major

construction work on the highway, Sanwo-Olu said Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) would be carrying out repairs of 116 inner roads across the State. This, he said, would be in addition to over 200 roads already rehabilitated by the corporation in the last three months.

The governor said he was not unaware of the pain experienced by road users in the past few days, which was compound by persistent downpour.

He appealed to residents to bear with the government while efforts were being made to assuage their pains and bring permanent relief to them.

He said: “We expect the rains will begin to subside in this month of October and this is why we are mobilising our contractors to immediately start the major construction work on the identified highways and bring permanent relief to residents. I am giving all Lagosians the assurance that the contractors will start the construction in earnest and will deliver on the terms of agreements reached with them.”

Sanwo-Olu said officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) will be working round the clock to control traffic on the areas where the construction would take place.

Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Aramide Adeyoye, listed some of the critical highways and roads to be constructed to include Ojota stretch of the Ikorodu Road, Motorways-Kudirat Abiola Way, Apogbon Highway, Babs Animashaun Road, Agric/ Ishawo Road and Ijede Road in Ikorodu, and Lekki-Epe Expressway from Abraham Adesanya to Eleko Junction.

She added that there would be massive re-construction work

SERAP Issues 14-day Ultimatum for Withdrawal of Life Pensions for AMAC Ex-officials A civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to withdraw and revoke the bill for the unconstitutional payment of life pensions to ex-officials.

In a letter to AMAC Chairman, Mr. Abdullahi Candido, signed by its Deputy Director, Mr. Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said the bill for payment of life pensions to chairmen, vicechairmen, speakers and other officials of AMAC was illegal.

“If the bill/edict is not withdrawn within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, we will take all appropriate legal actions to challenge the illegality and to compel you to comply with our request.’’

SERAP alleged that under the bill/edict, AMAC’s past council chairmen would receive an annual pension of N500,000; former vice chairmen were to receive N300,000 while former speakers would be paid N200,000.

“The payment of life pensions to the council’s ex-chairmen, vicechairmen and speakers would cause massive financial crisis.

“It will also cripple the council’s ability to discharge its mandate of providing public

goods and services to the people of Abuja.

“In addition, it will put jeopardy in citizens’ access to those services.’’

According to SERAP, the payment of life pensions to AMAC’s officials undermines the very concept of representative government.

It said that paying life pensions was a flagrant violation of the 1999 Constitution and the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission Act. “It amounts to an abuse of official power, position and resources for personal gains, and reverses the notion of government as public’s servant and not its master.’’

The letter reads in part: “The payment of life pensions to AMAC’s former officials is a copycat of the unconstitutional and illegal life pension laws that have been passed by several of the 36 state governments in Nigeria.

“Your council is setting a bad precedent as the first local council in Nigeria to introduce life pensions for its officials.

“This will send a dangerous message to other councils and risks opening the floodgates of life pension bills/edicts in several of the 774 local governments across the country.’’

on a network of roads in Ikoyi, Ikeja GRA and Victoria Island.

The contractor deployed

by the Government included Julius Berger, Hitech, Arab Contractors, Metropolitan

Construction, Slavabogu Construction, China Civil Engineering Construction

Corporation (CCECC), Rajaf Foundation Construction, and RCF Nigeria Limited.

36 HEARTY CHEERS… …

L-R: Vice President-General, Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA), Michael Magaji; keynote speaker, Dr. Habiba Lawal; President General, USOSA, Lawrence Wilbert; Secretary-General, USOSA, Nasir Wasugu, at the 36th Plenary/Annual General Meeting of Unity Schools Old Students Association in Kaduna...weekend

LAUTECH: Osun Indigenes Exonerate State of Complicity in Crisis Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Indigenes of Osun State working in the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, at the weekend raised the alarm over alleged plans by their counterparts from Oyo State to attack the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Professor Michael Olufisayo Ologunde, and some other individuals from Osun State next week.

A statement signed by the Chairman of a group known as Osun Forum, Mr. Oladele R. Osunmakinde, also described as uncalled for the alleged harassment at university main campus last week of workers and sympathisers of Osun State origin during

the commendation service in honour of the departed former Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Professor Taiwo Adewole.

The group called for a stop to preemptive blames by some individuals directed at the government of Osun State, since the two governors are yet to meet to determine who owes what and who doesn’t.

It alluded to records indicating that the two ownerstates have not been adequately alive to their responsibilities on salary payments.

The Oyo State Government in the first three months of salary payments from January to March 2019 released N73 million each which amounted to N219million even though

it later released N295million for each other three months of April to June 2019.

“When it came to the turn of Osun State, it also released N300 million since it commenced payment from July 2019 till date which is well marginally above what Oyo State paid during its first three months of salary payments. With this record, fingers should not be directed at only one state, but the two states should be encouraged to do more for the institution in rebuilding the legacy of the best state university status achieved by the past administrations of Oyo and Osun States for several years,” the group said.

Regretting that the people who were traditionally of

the same blood are now at daggers drawn over reconcilable disagreement on purported non-payment of staff salary by Osun State Government, the group appealed to Governors Seyi Makinde and Gboyega Oyetola to expedite actions on their planned meeting before xenophobic attack becomes legalised in LAUTECH. The forum emphasised the need for the two owner states to be more committed in their responsibility towards staff welfare both in LAUTECH, Ogbomoso and the Teaching Hospital in Osogbo, stating that in doing that, the issue of funding and ownership crisis would become a thing of the past.

Benin Disco to Roll out 572,392 Meters under MAP Scheme Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has announced a total rollout plan of 572,392 meters within the next two years across its franchise areas of Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti States under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme.

The breakdown, according to a statement from BEDC, is as follows:-Edo, 190,000 meters; Delta, 200,200 meters; Ekiti, 67,452 meters, and Ondo, 114740 meters respectively.

Executive Director of Commercial, Mr. Abu Ejoor, who made this known during

the media launch of the MAP scheme held across the coverage areas in Benin, Asaba, Ado-Ekiti and Akure, stressed that in taking off, MAP would initially have up to three months of build-up roll out, which will eventually pick up with expected increase in monthly rate across its franchise areas.

Ejoor disclosed that in Edo State, BEDC was taking off in two major locations, GRA to Ihama in Benin-city and Okpela in Auchi North, adding that customers should cooperate with enumerators going around

various locations in the state and respond promptly to request for completion of enumeration forms.

Speaking on the current power reality in Edo State, the executive director affirmed that 44 per cent of BEDC’s power allocation of 9 per cent from the national grid comes to Edo State, hinting that average of 86,061MW of electricity is delivered to the state monthly.

He added that about 14 per cent power generated is lost due to poor network infrastructure, saying work was ongoing to

improve the network, and added that “about 36 percent of power generated is lost through commercial theft or illegal consumption and nonpayment of bills.

“About 30 percent of power supplied to households is wasted due to inefficient management of usage.”

Ejoor equally informed journalists that the 132KV breaker of the 15MVA transformer at Okpella Transmission Station has been replaced with the transformer back to service.

Eight Kidnapped Persons Regain Freedom in Abuja Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Kidnappers have released eight out of the 10 persons abducted last week at Pegi, in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.

It was learnt that they gained their freedom after

payment of over N5 million as ransom to their abductors.

Sources said the eight victims was released yesterday, while the remaining two abducted persons were still in the custody of the gunmen.

One of the released persons is identified as Abdulmajeed

Dayo. He was visiting a friend in Pegi, before he was abducted alongside the commercial motorcyclist taking him to the community.

The Chairman of Pegi Community Development Association, Mr. Taiwo Aderibigbe, confirmed this development.

Aderibigbe said last night that he saw some of the freed victims, including a 12-year-old boy.

He added that security had been beefed up in the community by a joint patrol team of policemen, civil defence officers and vigilante group.

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Minimum Wage: Labour Insists on Industrial Action Wednesday Meets with FG team today

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The organised labour has vowed to go ahead with the planned industrial action next tomorrow if the federal government fails to accede to its demand to adjust salaries of federal public service workers on grade levels 7 to 14 by 29 per cent and those on 15 to 17 by 24 per cent.

This is coming as the federal government at the weekend engaged in series of informal lobby to get the unions to accept its offer on the consequential adjustment for the new minimum wage and to call off its Wednesday’s deadline to embark on industrial action.

THISDAY gathered that the meeting earlier fixed for Tuesday

may have been brought forward today so as to enable both sides trash out their differences before the strike deadline.

There were also indications that both government and labour may shift their positions to make way for a compromise deal at the end of resumed negotiations.

However, the President of the Trade Union Congress

Police Rescue Nine Kidnapped Children in Anambra The police in Kano State have rescued nine children kidnapped from the state and trafficked to Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra State about five years ago.

This was confirmed by the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu yesterday in Kano.

The police commissioner said eight persons suspected to be involved in the illicit business have been arrested in connection to the crime.

According to him, the victims had been trafficked

from Kano to Onitsha at the aforementioned period.

Reacting to the rescue, the Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, commended the police and all other security agencies for their efforts in rescuing the children.

“This singular action shows the real and patriotic synergy and commitment of the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services, military and all other security agencies in making sure that criminal activities are faced head on,” he said in a

statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar.

The governor also assured the security agencies of his administration’s continued support and dedication in the area of security and urged that all hands must be on the deck for the state and the nation at large, to enjoy lasting peace.

Ganduje also called on parents “to be very vigilant with what is happening around them” adding that they should “keep vigil at all times and nothing should be taken for granted.”

(TUC), Quadri Olaleye said at the weekend that labour will not call off its planned industrial action scheduled to begin on Wednesday except federal government reaches agreement with the workers on the full implementation of the minimum wage before close of work on that day.

Reacting to reports that labour was under pressure to drop the strike threat or extend its deadline, Olaleye said: “ there is no government pressure that will make us succumb, our

mandate remain the same and our ultimatum remains the same.

We have not changed our position. Government has called us for a meeting on Monday. “’Our energy remains high and we have started mobilising towards total strike action. We will continue mobilisation and our people are ready. We not relented because we have not seen any positive change. Our target is still Wednesday “.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, had solicited

the assistance of the leadership of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Council (NECA) to help persuade the labour movement to accept what government has to offer in view of the prevailing economic situation in the country.

Ngige urged the Director General of NECA, Mr. Timothy Olawale who paid him courtesy visit last week that NECA should help convince the labour side to drop further agitation and accept the government’s proposal.

Abducted Auchi Poly Staff Found Dead in His Farm Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City A staff of Auchi Polytechnic, Samuel Okolie who was allegedly abducted by suspected gunmen last Wednesday, was at the weekend, found dead in his farm at Aviele, near Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.

Okolie was said to have been abducted on his way to his farm on Wednesday evening where he was going to pick his

workers after close office when the incident happened.

He was however found dead yesterday morning, with his mutilated body dumped close to his farm truck, which he was driving as at the time he was abducted. Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Danmallam Mohammed, who confirmed the incident, ruled out a case of abduction.

He said it might probably be a case of suicide as the parts of

the deceased body was bathed with acid.

According to him, “it is probably a case of suicide and nothing was taken away from him and also from his vehicle.

You know the rate of suicide is very high and his cannot be an exception.”

Mohammed, however, said investigation will be carried out by the command to ascertain what led to the polytechnic staff death.

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Benue PDP Dismisses APC’s Allegations over Election Tribunal Judgment George Okoh in Makurdi The last has not been heard since the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal delivered its judgement in favour of Governor Samuel Ortom and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State, as the candidate

of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the petitioner at the tribunal. Barrister Emmanuel Jime, has been accused by the PDP of using the case against Ortom to manipulate his supporters and enrich himself.

PDP, in a statement by its Benue State Publicity Secretary,

Dangote Cement Consumers Win N350m Cars in Extended Promo Not less than 35 saloon cars, worth N350 million, out of the 43 on offer in the extended ongoing Dangote cement National Consumer Promotion tagged “Bag of Goodies have been won across the federation.

Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Joseph Makoju who made this disclosure in Makurdi, Benue State capital, while presenting the star prize to a mason, Clement James just as the state capital went agog as other prizes such refrigerators, five television sets and hundreds of Goodies Pack of Dangote Products among other gifts were given out to the winners who besieged the company office in Makurdi to redeem their winnings.

Expressing satisfaction that star prize winner emerged in Benue State, Makoju explained that the hand-over of prizes was all the more remarkable because the first Dangote Cement plant began in nearby Gboko, before the cement manufacturing giant expanded to presently cover three major plants in Nigeria and to 10 other African nations.

While collecting the keys to his brand-new car, 32-year-old

star prize winner, Mr. Clement James, a mason by profession, could barely contain his joy, amidst his profound gratitude to Dangote, for dispelling his initial skepticism about a promo which is geared towards empowering 21 million Nigerians.

Handing over the keys, the Group Managing Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Makoju, congratulated James and expressed his happiness to be in Benue Cement, the cradle of the Dangote Cement success story that it is today.

According to the GMD, “I am happy to be here today to meet our customers and distributors.

You are the ones that made this country grow. This is the capital of Benue State, a state that hosts one of our cement plants. Dangote first cement plant started from Gboko.

“Today, we have cement plants in 10 countries.

What started in Gboko has gone across Africa. Today’s programme is to say ‘thank you’. This promo is the largest ever, first in history.

We appreciate your support.

There is more. This is the first in Benue, but it won’t be the last in Benue,” Makoju added.

FRC Decries Failure of NNPC, CBN, FIRS, Others to Respond to Enquiries Chuks Okocha in Abuja As preparations for the 2020 budget defence get underway, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) has called on the Senate to prevail on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other revenue generating agencies to comply with the statutory requirements vis-avis the examination of their remittances to the Treasury Single Account (TSA), revenues and expenditures.

By the enabling law-the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA, 2007)-the Fiscal Responsibility Commission is mandated among others: ‘To compel any person or government institution to disclose information relating to public revenues and expenditure, and cause an investigation into whether any person has violated any provisions of this Act. ‘If the Commission is satisfied that such a person has committed any punishable offence under this Act or

violated any provisions of this Act, the Commission shall forward a report of the investigation to the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation for possible prosecution’.

The acting Chairman of the Commission, Victor Muruako, who cried out for support and compliance when the Senate Committee on Finance invited all revenue generating agencies in the country for a briefing on the state of affairs of the agencies under the parliamentary oversight of the Committee, called out the agencies for ignoring FRC’s enquiries.

Murako, who was responding to questions from the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Adeola (Lagos), said by the provisions of the Act, the commission is expected to monitor all expenditure and revenue generated by the 123 revenue agencies in the country, regretting that its requests to scrutinise the books of the agencies were always ignored.

Mr. Bemgba Iyortyum, said it read with amusement the reaction credited to Jime regarding the recent verdict of the tribunal which validated the electoral victory of Ortom.

According to the PDP, Jime had claimed in his reaction that the tribunal in its judgement on his petition denied him justice and also failed to give justice to “the suffering Benue masses.

The PDP said it found such utterances laughable and a mockery of the judiciary which the APC gubernatorial candidate, as a lawyer, is a part of, even as

the party wondered which Benue people he was referring to?

“Majority of Benue people re-elected Ortom to a second term of office on the platform of the PDP with 434,473 votes against Jime’s 345,155 votes representing a defeat margin of 89,318 votes on the first ballot.

“Despite such a huge defeat margin, the election was declared inconclusive by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 9, 2019.

“This triggered widespread jubilation by APC in the state as they boasted raucously that

they were going to enjoy the advantage of ‘federal might’ from Abuja with which to crush Ortom at the supplementary election ordered by INEC. But when the supplementary took place, the governor again won comprehensively extending the defeat margin over Jime close to 100,000 votes,” PDP said.

The party added that the tribunal’s judgement has furthered confirmed the popular electoral mandate which the Benue electorate overwhelmingly bestowed to

Ortom during two rounds of elections, dismissing Jime’s allegations that the tribunal denied him and “suffering Benue people” justice.

“For emphasis, it is on record that when Jime and APC approached the Tribunal, they boasted that they would prove their claim that the 2019 governorship election in Benue State did not comply substantially with the electoral law,” PDP said.

All attempts by THISDAY to get the view of APC spokesman failed.

IT’S NICE MEETING YOU...

Chairman, Board of Trustees, Olashore International School, Prince Abimbola Olashore (right), welcoming a forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Folashade Olajubu, who was the keynote speaker at the wellness seminar organised by the school with the Lagos Business School in Lagos...recently

Demand for Good Governance, Provision of Infrastructures, Makarfi Urges Labour Leaders John Shiklam in Kaduna A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has urged labour unions to demand for good governance and provision of basic infrastructure rather than asking for the monetisation of everything.

Makarfi, who is also a former governor of Kaduna State, also disclosed that when the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) was working out packages for political office holders, he advised them against the financial and economic consequences of the

packages, but the commission ignored his advised.

The former PDP national chairman was contributing to discussions on a paper presented during the 36 Plenary and Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA) held at the Federal Government College in Kaduna, on Saturday.

In her paper entitled: “the Role of USOSA in Enthroning Good Governance for National Development,” the Permanent Secretary, Ecologically Fund Office, Dr. Habiba Lawal, stressed the need for members of the association to build

synergy and support the government with creative and innovative ideas that could significantly contribute to national development.

She called on members of the association to engage governments at all levels and the private sector in constructive, positive advocacy, actions and initiatives geared towards revamping educational standards across our public schools.

Makarfi, however, while making his comments noted that Nigeria operates in such a manner that government has been freed from so many responsibilities because Nigerians prefer to take care

of such responsibilities.

He said: “I had challenged, even before I became a governor, the labour leaders I knew that time that you people begin to talk of money, money, money, you will end up with money that is not going to be useful.

Rather, I challenged them then to hold government accountable; demand for good governance; demand for infrastructure; demand for security; demand for a lot of things that are expected from government, and a living wage which will be minimal.

“But if you are always asking for money, somebody gives you N10 and takes away N30 for example, how do you benefit?

Ekiti to Groom 2,000 Young Entrepreneurs Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Ekiti State Government has promised to provide the needed support for young entrepreneurs who are willing to expand their scope of business in line with the government vision of igniting entrepreneurship spirit among its citizens.

The First Lady of Ekiti State, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, disclosed this at the closing session of the Ekiti Entrepreneurship Week 2019 in Ado-Ekiti at the weekend.

The support, according to her, included providing them more opportunities to showcase their

talents; assisting them with funds for expansion, and linking them with mentors.

No fewer than 5,000 participants drawn from the 16 local government areas of the state participated in the three-day programme tagged: ‘Enterprise and creativity meet opportunity’.

Fayemi, who presented awards to some participants with very outstanding and innovative business ideas and projects, said she was delighted at the enthusiasm of the participants, adding that the state government’s plan to

enhance the capacity of young entrepreneurs and make them providers of employment is being realised.

She expressed her satisfaction at the dexterity of many of the designers who showcased their designs made from locally sourced materials during the runway.

The first lady noted that the initiative would boost the state economic development if well explored strategically and help the fashion artists to develop themselves.

According to her, “We are doing this entrepreneurship week

to showcase Ekiti locally-made fabrics and tailoring.

“We have seen that Ekiti people are amazing; we have all these materials produced here in the state. The Aso-oke was made by the local Association of Aso-Oke Weavers and the ‘Adire’ material was made by students of the Ekiti State University (EKSU).

“We want to thank the state Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, for investing in the state and supporting the women folk. We are showcasing to the world what we can do it. Ekiti people are not lazy; they are hard-working and industrious.”

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MONDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

I N T E R N A T I O N A L F R I E N D LY

Uzoho Injured as Brazil Force 1-1 Draw with Nigeria in Singapore Eagles’ goalkeeper to go for scan today to determine extent of injury Femi Solaja Super Eagles’ first choice goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, will undergo comprehensive scan today to determine the extent of the fracture he sustained on his left leg during yesterday’s high profile international friendly with five-time world champions Brazil.

Uzoho, gave a five-star performance in the match in which he just won back the number one shirt since his AFCON 2019 cameo appearance in Egypt. He twisted

his left leg in an attempt to save a rebound in the goal area but in the process injured himself and had to the substituted immediately.

Moments after the the 1-1 draw in Singapore, the Media Officer of the team, Toyin Ibitoye, confirmed to THISDAY that the extend of the damage cannot be ascertained for now until after the scan which will take place at his club. “The extent of the damage cannot be ascertained at the moment but he has be given immediate medication but

Super Eagles midďŹ elder, Wilfred Ndidi (left) in a one-on-one battle for ball control with PSG’s superstar, Neymar, during yesterday’s international friendly between Brazil and Nigeria in Singapore...yesterday

Playing Turf Expert, Egbe, Admitted into UK Institute The Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle, Ebi Egbe, has added another feather to his cap as he became a member of the prestigious institute of Groundsmanship in the United Kingdom.

Egbe’s membership of the institute which was founded way back in 1934 was officially conveyed to him last week in London.

Confirming the development, Egbe whose outfit, Monimichelle is Africa’s leading stadium construction outfit said becoming a member of the institute would propel him to do more for Nigeria and Africa in the quest to eradicate bad football pitches from the country. “You know in Monimichelle, our vision is to eradicate bad pitches in Africa. The jobs we

are doing in Nigeria clearly shows that we are on course.

Becoming a member of the prestigious UK institute of Groundsmanship would encourage me to do more and I m happy clubs coming to Nigeria to play are giving us kudos. Al Hilal of Sudan after playing in Aba has extended invitation to us to do their pitches. Our geotech pitches are some of the best in the world and we don’t compromise on quality,� Egbe said.

The UK Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) promotes, support and celebrate surfaces and services – and are the leading not-for-profit member organisation, that represents professional and volunteer groundsmen and women.

tomorrow (Monday) he will go to hospital for proper scan to know the extent of the damage on his leg.

He praise the Super Eagles for putting up the brave fight against the Brazilians. “The result was a good one for the team everyone is happy but we are not in the mood to celebrate because one of the players is down with a major injury and what we can offer now is the to give him moral support and hoping that the medical result would be okay,�

Ibitoye said last night.

However most sports medicine experts feared that the Cyprusbased goalkeeper should expert a long period of stay in the sideline considering his height and the fact

that injuries in the knee joint are mostly career threatening types..

Before he was pulled out in the 60th minute, he had made several saves that could have given the Brazilian victory and his substitute, Maduka Okoye, was in good shape too as he was to the rescue of the Super Eagles with close range efforts.

The departed the Asian island city-state few hours after the game with the players flying back to their respective clubs. Only home based Ikechukwu Ezenwa, backroom staff and few NFF officials led

by Amaju Pinnick flew back to Nigeria.

In the match, it was a strong and competent performance by the Super Eagles who earned the 1-1

draw against the five-time world champions. Brazil in a prestige international friendly in Singapore yesterday night.

Both teams had started with good pace, passion and intensity at the Singapore National Stadium in Kallang and after only two minutes, Roberto Firmino’s turn and shot flew away from the Nigerian goal. Three minutes later, the three-time African champions waltzed their way into the Brazilian vital area but Victor Osimhen’s shot was palmed away by goalkeeper Ederson.

Brazil’s France –based forward Neymar was forced to quit the game after only 12 minutes, due to injury, but seven minutes later Marquinhos could have put

Nigeria in front with a bizarre own goal after his attempt to clear Chukwueze’s pull-out went wrong.

Villarreal FC of Spain’s Chukwueze, a former Nigeria U17 World Cup winner, was a thorn in the flesh of the Selecao throughout, and created chances for Nigeria in the 20th and 24th minute but Osimhen was cut out by an alert Brazilian rear.

In the 28th minute, Nigeria goalkeeper Francis Uzoho showed excellent agility in cutting out a powerful header by the ubiquitous Gabriel Jesus. Two minutes later, Uzoho was again alert to foil a shot by Firmino, and then reacted faster than Philip Coutinho as the ball danced in the box.

Super Eagles ďŹ rst choice goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, was injured in yesterday’s international friendly with Brazil in Singapore.

He’s to go for a scan today in Cyprus to determine the extent of his leg injury

Teenage Burundian in Lagos Open Final Today Newcomer Sada Nahimana from Burundi has had a smooth sail into the final of the women’s singles of the first leg of 2019 Lagos Open Tennis Championship, which is ongoing at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.

Eighteen-year old Nahimana defeated Fanny Oslund, a Swedish star, in straight set of 6-3,6-1 in the semi final decided yesterday.

Nahimana, the right-handed player, will now face Brazilian

Laura Pigozzi in today’s final match. Pigozzi beat Indian Riya Bhatia in another straight set of 6-2,6-2.

Interestingly, the Burundian star, Nahimana is coming to Lagos for the first time and she has shown since her first match of the main draws of the ITF World Tour that she meant business traveling down to Lagos.

Nahimana is well travelled having played at the junior tournaments of major grand

slams. She played to the first round stage of the Australian Open Juinor 2019, so also was French Open 2019Junior where she played in the second round.

In 2018, she played in the second round of the Wimbledon Open Juinor and first round of US Open Juinor of that year.

Meanwhile, Frenchman Calvin Hemery defeated Zimbabwean Takanyi Garanganga 6-4 6-0 to reach

the men’s singles final. Hemery will play Setkic Aldin from BIH who defeated Pichler David from Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-2,5-7,6-3 in another semi final.

The finals of both the singles and doubles events were supposed to hold on Sunday, but were rescheduled to today because of heavy downpour in Lagos on Saturday which forced matches scheduled for that day to be shifted to yesterday.

Korean Ambassador’s Championships Returns to Lagos Over 150 athletes from 20 teams will arrive Lagos this week to compete at the 10th Korean Ambassador’s Cup, scheduled to hold on 17th and 18th October 2019 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere Lagos.

Competitors at the prestigious tournament, which is being organised by the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation and supported by the Embassy of Korea in

Nigeria, will do battle in a total of 21 events including 16 Kyeorugi events and five Poomsae events.

Technology to be deployed at the event would include the Daedo Gen 2 electronic scoring system, Taekoplan Overall Venue Management System and Instant Video Replay, which would ensure that the event matches Registration for the event was done online through the

World Taekwondo Global Membership System, and plans have been concluded to stream the event live to ensure it reaches a global audience.

Winners will walk away with Taekwondo Equipment and huge National Ranking Points, and the best male and female athlete who would walk away with brand new Flat TV sets as the grand prizes. Free tournament

T-shirts will also be given to all participants and spectators who grace the event.

To add special glamour to the event, spectators and participants will be treated to a special performance from the international award-winning Kukkiwon Demo team, who are flying in from South Korea to exhibit their well-known acrobatic displays during the closing ceremony on 18th October 2019.

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Sergio Ramos Becomes Spain’s Most-capped Player with 168 Appearances Targets Tokyo Olympics 2020 with Spain Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos has written his name into the history books to become Spain’s most-capped player ever.

Ramos started Spain’s Euro 2020 qualifier on Saturday night away at Norway, making a staggering 168th appearance for his country - one more than goalkeeping legend Iker Casillas.

The 33-year-old centre-back has also become the most-capped European outfield player in the history of the game, surpassing Latvian legend Vitalijs Astafjevs.

Ramos has enjoyed a stellar international career, winning the World Cup in 2010, as well as the Euros back-to-back in 2008 and 2012 with Spain.

The defender made his first appearance for the senior side all the way back on March 26, 2005 against China.

RESULTS EURO 2020 QUALIFIERS Kazakhstan 0-2 Belgium Belarus 1-2 Holland Hungary 1-0 Azerbaijan Cyprus 0-5 Russia Scotland 6-0 San Marino

FRIENDLIES Brazil I’Coast S’Africa Kenya

1-1 Nigeria 3-1 DR Congo 2-1 Mali 0-1 Mozambique

AFCON 2021 QUALIFIERS Seychelles 0-1 S’Sudan Chad 1-0 Liberia (5-4 agg.)

Gambia 1-1 Djibouti (3-2 agg) Sao Tome 2-1 Mauritius (5-2 agg.)

At only 18 years and 361 days of age, Ramos became the youngest player to feature for Spain’s national team in the last 55 years prior to that date.

Ramos will undoubtedly be looking to win many more caps before he eventually hangs up his boots and he is showing no signs of slowing down.

Ramos was set to enjoy the perfect night on Saturday with Spain on the verge of sealing a clean sheet and a 1-0 victory against Norway.

However, Josh King scored a last-minute penalty to equalise in injury-time after Omar Elabdellaoui was clumsily fouled by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Meanwhile, the Real Madrid defender has revealed he’s keen to represent Spain at the 2020 Olympics after playing in next summer’s European Championships.

International sides are able to select three overage players in their squads, which are otherwise comprised of players under the age of 23. As Spain’s captain, Ramos would appear to be one of the most likely of La Roja’s experienced players to be given a call-up - and he says he’s open to the idea. ‘Any player that is offered the opportunity to play in the Olympic Games would say yes,’ he said. ‘It is too early to discuss this as I will not be rushed.

Ramos is now Spain’s most capped player of all-time after starting the fixture and looks set to add many more to his record if he features in both tournaments next summer.

Ramos... now Spain’s most capped player

Sports Ministry, NOC Parley on Tokyo 2020 Blueprint Dare says Nigeria may participate in only seven sports Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, will parley with the officials of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) in Abuja on Tuesday on Nigeria’s preparation for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Dare made this disclosure over the weekend while speaking to reports in Abuja.

The meeting will also be attended by the presidents and secretaries of all the National Sports federations.

The minister said the meeting is crucial as issues of preparation, camping and training of the Nigerian contingent will be discussed. “The meeting with NOC and all the federations on October 15 will signal the official preparation for Tokyo 2016 in terms of camping and training.

We will give our athletes the best they can have,� Dare said.

The minister also hinted that the era of jamboree is over as Nigeria will only leverage on the sports that it has the talent

and is sure of winning medals. “We will decide to go with a number of sports—not 20, not 50- but areas in which we are sure of winning medals. They may be, seven or nine of those sports. We will put our resources and technical excellence into those specialties. I think with the support of Nigerians with the plans we intend to execute, coupled with the support of the federal we will receive maximum support when it comes to this,� Dare said.

Dare also stressed that

President Muhamadu Buhari will in the first week of November receive D’Tigers, the Nigerian contingent to the All Africa Games in Morocco and Ese Brume, who won Nigeria’s solitary medal at the World Athletics Championships in Doha.

The men basketball team finished 17th at the World Cup in China and secured Africa’s ticket for the Olympics, while Nigeria bagged 43 gold medals to finish second at the All Africa Games.

Why Govt Needs to Invest in the Domestic Football League for its Own Good Kenneth Ezaga President Muhammadu Buhari wants to create 10m jobs in his second term. That is a lofty ambition. However, sports can be a quick win for him. With the right support, it can deliver over 500,000 direct and ancillary jobs to the government by 2023. Of this, the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) alone can probably account for up to half of that number. Our league could become the largest sporting enterprise in the entire Africa.

Today the NPFL is in shambles because of poor financial support.

We all pay a huge price for this.

Government misses its best chance to impact society: to positively engage tens of millions of its citizens, to create jobs, to improve IGR from the increased business that the league would bring, and to engender peace among an increasingly polarised populace.

Business is also a major loser.

When football, by far the most popular sport in Nigeria, creates jobs and wealth as it does in more progressive societies, it significantly drives the economic activity and boosts the quality of life.

Jobs, we all know, translate to increased disposable income and consequently improved consumer spending.

When the Arab Spring devastated Egypt from early 2011, the government prioritised

the revival of the Egyptian Football League because of its socio-economic benefits. Egypt is a similar country to Nigeria and this says everything about the necessity of making the NPFL a success.

If there is ever a time Nigeria needs a compelling sports phenomenon, it is now. The citizenry is divided, unemployment figures are double-digit, poverty is rife, infrastructure is either decaying or nonexistent, our youth are increasingly wayward, crime is high and life is hard.

The football league cannot be the one-size-fits-all solution to all our problems, but it can be a big help. To illustrate this let us look at this Indian example.

Football is to Nigeria what cricket is to India. The Indians did not even have a sports league until 2007! Once they got their cricket league going however, there was no stopping them. By 2017, just ten years later, the Indian Cricket League had signed a five-year TV rights deal with Rupert Murdoch’s Star TV network worth $2.55b!

That roughly translates to $510m or N183b to run their league every year. And that’s just one source of income.

Nigeria may not have India’s wealth or 1.2b population, but we can at least be worth one-sixth of that, especially when you consider the popularity of our entertainment

Enyimba FC of Aba is Nigeria’s most successful team in the continent having won the CAF Ro Champions League twice. No other team has achieved that feat till date

industry across Africa. Even a tenth of N183b can give us a massive football league every year. And make no mistakes, the money is here! Supersport collects more than that from Nigerians yearly to pay for the broadcast rights of the English Premier League for Nigeria. It is a shameful situation, one that deepens our poverty every year, while we build value in the UK. Government and the private sector must unite to reverse this debilitating culture and ensure we keep our money at home to invest in our domestic sports to grow value in society for our children. There are a few ways government can help.

First we need to understand the ecosystem around football and how this can grow GDP

and inspire unity and progress.

To cater to organisers, officials, players and millions of fans, almost every sector of the economy is involved: airlines, hotels, healthcare, banking, legal, media networks, marketing and advertising, intercity and local transportation, construction and maintenance, security, food and beverages, farming, entertainment, and so many others, including education, tourism and government.

Government, who earns taxes from clubs, players, organisers and the multiple businesses involved in the league - income that helps to build, improve and maintain public infrastructure, must, as a matter of priority, come up with investment friendly policies that would grow our league.

Examples will be tax rebates

for sponsors, cheaper funds for investors, and even direct funding where necessary. South Africa, a similar country to ours, offers an interesting example.

In SA, the public broadcaster SABC buys the TV rights to the country’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) and beams the games to the citizens at a significant financial loss. This is like our government funding the NTA to buy the TV rights to the NPFL so Nigerians can watch the games, while there is some money to run the league.

The rationale is simple. Just like Egypt, South Africa understands the cultural and business impact a successful football league has on a country.

Government must also stop local brands from promoting the European - especially the

English - leagues to Nigerians, and instead encourage them to spend on the NPFL. The new NBC Code is a landmark development in this regard and requires maximum support.

The code compels brands that sponsor foreign sports to spend the equivalent of 30% of their sponsorship value on a local variant.

Brands like Chivita, PZ Cussons, Airtel, MTN, Glo, and most of our banks, who collectively spend billions of naira to promote the EPL, Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A to Nigerians, must be considered inimical to society.

It is actually to their interest if this is done. Today Nigerians spend more on foreign sports and consequently less on Chivita or Joy Soap, or airtime and data.

In effect our businesses are killing themselves by supporting foreign sports.

Finally, government needs to enforce the new NBC Code.

True, the NPFL is light years away from providing the type of quality entertainment obtainable in Europe, but the solution can never be for us to impoverish ourselves by abandoning our league, while enriching others, by adopting theirs.

Enforcing the NBC code can transform sports in Nigeria and help President Buhari achieve his objective of creating a prosperous society. The time to act is now.

MONDAY OCTOBER 14, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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Monday October 14, 2019

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Price: N250

MISSILE

ASP to Police Authorities

“I have been buying my uniform since I left the Police College. We are aware that there is always a budget for uniform but we do not know what becomes of the money earmarked for it. In fact, if you ask any police, they will tell you they are aware, but people don’t get the uniform. So, where does the money go?” – An Assistant Superintendent of Police expressing anger at the refusal of the police authorities to provide them with uniform despite the budgetary allocation for them in the annual budget.

ALEXOTTI OUTSIDE THE BOX

alex.otti@thisdaylive.com

Your Revenue is Not Too Low, Your Costs are Too High “No man is rich, whose expenditure exceeds his means; and no one is poor whose Incomings exceed his outgoings” Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1796-1865) “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.” Charles Dickens

F

or several years now, our annual budgets have consistently not been fully implemented. The main reason for this is that our revenue projections have continued to exceed our actual revenue generation.

Even when the budgets are prepared based on realistic estimates, there would always be some unexpected events that throw the projections completely off. For instance, given our dependence on crude oil, the volatility in oil prices is such that projections based on the price ranges at the time of preparing the budgets, quickly become unrealistic. We witnessed this phenomenon in 2014 and 2015 and this was what got the economy spiraling into the crisis that eventually plunged it into a recession.

The exceptions where even though revenue projections fail and the budget is fully implemented would be when the government decides to borrow or resort to ways and means to finance the budget.

Suffice it to say that each of those courses of action has its undesirable repercussions. Where the government chooses to borrow, it would be left with the burden of paying back the loan some day with its attendant costs.

At the inception of the 3rd Republic in 1999, Nigeria had a huge debt overhang. With deft diplomacy and creative financial engineering, we got out of the debt chokehold. It was such a big achievement as it gave the economy the leeway to attract foreign direct investment and funding that were badly needed for infrastructure development. Those good days seem like a century away, and sadly we seem to have arrived at the debt crossroad once again. In fact, the reality is that we seem to be in a bigger debacle this time around! According to latest figures released by the DMO, our national debt profile was put at about $81billion or close to N25trillion, as at the end of the first quarter of this year. As at 2018, we used 66% of our revenue to service debt, making it the worst year for the country in terms of debt service to revenue ratio since the advent of this regime. Our debt service obligation was 33% in 2015, increasing to 45% and 62% in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

If the government decides to use ways and means, a euphemism for printing money, the consequences are even graver. The economy may be subject to distortion and stress as inflation is sure to worsen.

Again, the value of the local currency, relative to other currencies may weaken and/or come under ferocious attack. For those who doubt this scenario, please check with Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.

It is yet another budget presentation time. Last week, President Buhari submitted a budget of N10.33 trillion to the National Assembly. The revenue projection of N8.15 trillion has been questioned by many serious minded analysts.

The prevailing argument is that, going by the performances of the last three budgets, where revenue targets were never met, it made no sense setting unattainable budget figures. The reality is that in each of the immediate past two years, we had been able to barely meet 50% of the revenue projections. This should mean that, in essence, only 50% of the budget provisions were implemented.

Even at that, there is yet another more troubling reality: about 70% of those budget items were for recurrent expenditure. Since such activities are

Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed usually categorised as ‘uncontrollable’ in budgeting parlance, they somehow had to be funded. It therefore means that the expenditure head that is always at risk is the Capital Expenditure. For instance, looking at the 2018 budget, only about 50% of the Capital budget, meaning only half of the 30% allotted to capital expenditure, was implemented. This has serious implications for the infrastructural development of the economy.

This, in my view, is the main reason why things don’t seem to be moving in the right direction in the economy. Until we realise that no country will develop on the foundation of decayed and inadequate infrastructure, until we agree that businesses would perform sub-optimally without the enabling environment, until we come to terms with the fact that investments can only flow to those locations in the world, that are most prepared to receive them, given the competition amongst geographies, we may continue to remain a weak and underperforming economy, with the inevitable consequences.

Conventional wisdom says that given that there are two sides to a budget, namely, revenue and expenditure; the latter should naturally be dependent on the former. It should logically follow that a lot of attention should be paid to the revenue side of the budget, which should determine the expenditure level. The reality, however, is that when one pays more attention to expenses without adequate arrangements for funding, one is very likely to run into problems like, a debt crisis, inflation, unemployment and the resultant social ills. This is why we have centered our discourse around how to shore up national revenue. Our main traditional revenue source for about half a century now has been crude oil. Given the declining price and volume of oil, and more importantly, the replacement of oil with renewable energy sources, our attention has moved to non-oil sources and taxation. It must however be borne in mind that non-oil sources, particularly natural resources and agriculture, also face slightly similar problems experienced with oil. Besides, their prices are hardly within the control of producers. There is always the prospect of overproduction and a glut inevitably brings down prices significantly. Replacement products or substitutes are also easy to come by given science and technology improvements. These realities will ultimately adversely affect demand and therefore price. The conspiracy theory by importers and consumers has gained currency in the recent times and could affect the revenue of exporting countries.

The foregoing realities leave us with taxes as the major revenue source. In most countries of the world, taxes, form the foundation of state revenues. Again in Nigeria, there are the usual peculiarities and challenges. It can therefore be said that taxes have their limitations. Taxes are

only collectible from a thriving economy. Having defined taxes, in a previous column, as government’s share of the prosperity it had created within the economy, it stands to reason that if the economy is not doing well, the moral right to collect taxes would be lost by government. Most poignantly, government cannot expect to collect taxes from ailing or dying businesses and people for as the saying goes, one cannot give what one does not have. From a macroeconomic perspective, when an economy is in a distress, like we are currently experiencing in Nigeria, the right policy to implement is to reduce taxes and put more money in the hands of the people to help jump start the economy. This is because with more money at the disposal of the consumers, it will encourage consumption and therefore production, which would in turn create jobs. Of course, this also holds true for other collections like tariffs, duties and levies.

Given the above scenario and in the light of the challenges facing the country, what should we then be doing? The first thing is to get real and tell ourselves some home truths. Ours is a very small and fragile economy. Look at it this way, Nigeria has arguably 200m people. Our GDP is, circa, $445b, keeping us as the largest country in Africa by absolute GDP size. But then absolute numbers are useless for purposes of analysis.

Relating our GDP to our population, we have a GDP per Capita of about $2,300. Compare us with South Africa who with a smaller GDP size of about $370b and population of 58m people has a GDP per Capita of over $6,300. In this same Africa, we have very tiny countries like Mauritius with a GDP size of $15b and a population of 1.3m and GDP per Capita of $11,700. Also, Botswana, with a population of 2.3m people with GDP of $20b, ends up with a GDP per capita of $8,300.

The point being made here is that our size does not lie in the absolute GDP figures but in how much each of us gets, were we to share the GDP equally.

This factor above also applies to the national budget. The proposed budget size of N10.33 trillion which translates to about $34b, means that the share that accrues to an average Nigerian, is just about $170 or N52,000 for next year. Compare this with South Africa’s 2019 budget of $125b with per Capita budget of $2155. This is a humbling realisation! So next time you are comparing yourself with other countries, you should be comparing apples with apples and not with things that look like apples. It is clear that we are a small economy and should stop deceiving ourselves into thinking that we can grow revenue overnight. On the other hand, we have the population, but the population is not as productive and therefore ends up sharing from a very small pot, leaving everyone with a tiny portion. It’s no use pretending to be a big man, when you are in fact, a pauper.

Since growing revenue is obviously not feasible in the short run and since we seem to have hit unsustainable and persistently high levels in terms of debt, the only viable short term option would be to move our attention from the revenue to the cost side. If one cannot grow revenue, one must look at how to plug the leakages. This time around we shall be addressing cost containment and management. A major problem we had earlier identified is that we spend about 70% of our budget on recurrent expenditure, namely, salaries and allowances and other consumables.

We can decide that we shall work that number down to no more than 30% in the next couple of years. To achieve that, the quickest and lowest hanging fruit is that we must deliberately reduce the cost of governance.

The budget is normally full of excess fat, which we can trim to make it leaner and fitter. The first area that contains unwanted fat is Personnel cost.

In the proposed 2020 budget, the estimate for Personnel expenditure is N3.6 trillion. This is about 35% of the entire budget. By the time we drill down, we may find out that we can reduce that significantly without even firing people. Then we go into the budget of the executive arm of government and honestly question everything listed there. The same goes with the legislature and the judiciary.

The next item should be lumped under the heading of ‘avoidable expenses’. The 2019 budget provided for N305b for subsidy on petroleum.

We are aware that the figure is more like double this amount. According to the NNPC, we spent over N650b in the one year from April 2018 to March 2019 under what the corporation refers to as “under recovery” which means unappropriated subsidy payments. Some analysts have argued that the number is closer to N1trillion. Whatever the correct figure is, it is instructive that we can save the entire funds spent yearly on fuel subsidy.

Nigeria is spending an unsustainable proportion of her revenues on unwarranted and unnecessary subsidies. The next area where we can cut cost in the area of subsidy is foreign currency. Anytime we sell dollars at rates below the market rates, we are subsidising the Naira, or more factually, some undeserving agents and entities in the society.

Restructuring the entire polity will help us save cost in the medium to long term. We may voluntarily do this or wait to be forced by economic forces to do it. The latter is the Malthusian way, which has very adverse consequences for everyone. We had consistently argued in this column that our democracy, as presently packaged and practised, is unsustainable. We had said it before and we shall continue to say so: that we do not need the size of the government we are struggling with presently. We should have a weak centre and even the strengthened component parts should also reduce in size. For instance, we had suggested a much smaller executive with a President and Vice President, and with few ministers. These could be of critical functions, say those of Defence, Finance, and Information. Then we need to reduce the number of States to about six, in tandem with the current six geo political zones of the country, that everyone is already used to.

On the legislature, we should also reduce the number drastically. We had argued in this column in 2017 that we do not need more than 60 people from the six regions in a unicameral National Assembly who would earn sitting allowances only.

Our economy cannot afford full time legislators in the number and cost that we are currently carrying. These same functions can be efficiently handled by accomplished and experienced people who wish to serve the country rather than the present practice where people see the National Assembly as a place where they will retire into and live a lazy life with undeserved privileges.

The members should serve on a part time basis.

I believe that a lot of savings would come from this action. The same would apply to the State Houses of Assembly.

Presently, we have close to 1,000 members of the legislature in the different houses across the states along with their thousands of aides and assistants.

We would reduce the houses to just six with the attendant savings. The states and the regions would be made to compete with each other just like it was in the 1963 constitution which worked very well. The states would therefore be required to pay taxes or royalties to the centre, given that powers would have been effectively devolved to them.

By the time we have done this, we would have created the enabling environment for productivity for our people and we would begin to see more people engaged and more businesses spring up to now increase the revenue generating potential of the economy.

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