WEDNESDAY 18TH DECEMBER 2019

Emefiele Seeks Govs’ Intervention to Save $500m from Palm Oil Imports CBN commits N69bn to Edo oil palm sector Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday called on state governors to

help the country stop the $500 million of scarce foreign exchange being expended on the importation of palm oil to meet identified demand gap of 1.25 million metric tonnes.

Emefiele, at the launch of

Edo Oil Palm Programme and the Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria Oil Palm Discourse-Focus in Benin City, urged the governors to ease access to land to boost oil palm cultivation and close

the demand gap.

He put the country’s total domestic palm oil demand and consumption at 2.5 million while local production capacity is only 1.25 million metric tonnes.

He said Edo State with Nigeria's largest oil palm plantation, is the best place to invest, if the country must revive its oil palm industry.

Emefiele, who commended the commitment of the state

Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, to developing the country's oil palm sector, said the CBN would provide N69 billion funding facility required Continued on page 9

Analysts Seek Support for Farmers as Inflation Inches up to 11.85%... Page 5 Wednesday 18 December, 2019 Vol 24. No 9018. Price: N250

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Business Leaders Upbeat about Better Economy as Buhari Signs 2020 Birthday Budget President preaches patience, patriotism at 77 Pledges free, fair, credible 2023 polls APC govs, Gbajabiamila, Tinubu greet celebrant Omololu Ogunmade, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Dike Onwuamaeze in Lagos Business leaders have hailed the return to the JanuaryDecember budget cycle, which was heralded yesterday with President Muhammadu Buhari assenting to the 2020 Appropriation Bill on his 77th birthday.

In separate interviews with THISDAY while reacting to

the president signing the 2020 budget, they said the new budget cycle would impact positively on the economy by ensuring delivery of the expected outcomes from the budget and facilitate planning by both the private and the public sectors.

Besides signing the budget into law yesterday, the president, on the occasion of his 77th birthday anniversary, Continued on page 9

House Shots down Six-year Single Term for President, Govs Atiku faults lawmakers' decision Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Moves to amend the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to review the tenure of the president and state governors from the extant two terms of four years each to a single six-year tenure, collapsed yesterday at the House of Representatives.

The House summarily killed the bill, sponsored by Hon. John Dyegh, an All Progressives Congress (APC) member from Benue State, which also sought to amend the tenure of lawmakers in the National Assembly and states legislatures from the initial four-year period to six years.

Continued on page 60

SIGNING THE BUDGET ON HIS BIRTHDAY...

President Muhammadu Buhari (third from right) with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha (second from right) as well as other presidential aides and officials of the presidency during his 77th birthday celebration in Abuja... yesterday godwin omoigui

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

Analysts Seek Support for Farmers as Inflation Inches up to 11.85%

James Emejo in Abuja As inflation increased to 11.85 per cent in November compared to 11.61 per cent in the preceding month, analysts have urged the federal government to double its support for local farmers to boost food production as an effective way to respond to the rising prices of commodities.

They tasked the government to concentrate efforts at developing critical infrastructure to boost output, noting that the present inflationary pressures are mainly demand-push in reaction to the closure of the country's land borders to tame smuggling and dumping activities by its neighbouring countries.

They also said there was little the monetary authorities could do presently to respond to the rising prices while urging the government to apply some fiscal measures, including temporarily reopening the borders, especially at the yuletide period.

The analysts spoke in separate interviews with THISDAY yesterday against the backdrop of the release on the same day of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation.

The CPI released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that inflation further increased to 11.85 per cent (year-on-year) in November compared to 11.61 per cent in October.

The NBS stated that increases were recorded in all the divisions that determine the headline index.

Food inflation rose to 14.48 per cent compared to 14.09 per cent in the preceding month.

The CPI report attributed the rise in the food index to increases in the prices of bread, cereals, oils and fats, meat, potatoes, yams and other tubers, and fish.

On month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 1.25 per cent in the period under review, down by 0.08 per cent points from 1.33 per cent recorded in October.

The average annual rate of change of the food sub-index for the 12-month period ending November over the previous 12-month average was 13.65 per cent, 0.11 percentage points from

the 13.54 per cent in October.

The report showed that core inflation also increased by 0.11 per cent to 8.99 per cent in November compared to 8.88 per cent in October.

The highest increases were recorded in prices of cleaning, repair and hire of clothing, hospital services, hairdressing salons and personal grooming establishment, glassware, tableware and household utensils.

Others are vehicle spare parts, repair and hire of footwear, shoes and other footwear, clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories, medical services and passenger transport by air.

The urban inflation rate increased to 12.47 per cent (year-on-year) in November compared to 12.20 per cent in October, while the rural index also increased to 11.30 per cent in the review period from 11.07 per cent.

According to the NBS, monthon-month, the urban index rose by 1.07 per cent down by 0.08 per cent from 1.15 per cent recorded in October, while the rural index also rose by 0.98 per cent in November, down by 0.01 from 0.99 per cent in the preceding month.

The headline index has continued to defy monetary policy measures to limit it to single digit.

The uptick is a setback for both monetary and fiscal authorities, which had only managed to curtail its rise for a few consecutive months before a rebound that had seen inflation rising again lately.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has the mandate to stabilise prices, had set an inflation target of about six per cent to nine per cent in its current five-year plan.

Inflation had assumed a downward direction in recent consecutive months when it dropped in January 2019 to 11.37 per cent from 11.44 per cent in December in 2018.

The headline index further reduced to 11.31 per cent in February and 11.25 per cent in March but resorted to the upward trajectory in April when it climbed

to 11.37 per cent - and further to 11.40 per cent in May - before falling to 11.22 per cent in June, 11.08 per cent in July, 11.02 per cent in August before returning to 11.24 per cent in September, 11.61 per cent in October and now 11.85 per cent in November.

The rise further dampens the prospects for lower interest rate regime as well as reduction in the cost of borrowing.

The MPR, which is the rate at which the apex bank lends to commercial banks is currently at 13.5 per cent.

However, reacting to the inflation outcome for the month, economist and former Director General, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, said the government should continue to support the farmers in their various programmes to force down prices.

He said the federal government should also prioritise competition and infrastructural facilities, including roads, rail and power, adding that insecurity must be frontally tackled head-on as a

way of surmounting some of the current macroeconomic challenges.

He added, however, that the forces of demand and supply would ultimately force the prices down in the long run.

According to him, "It is obvious that inflation is responding to price rise due to closure of the land borders, the Christmas season, effect of finance bill anticipation and insecurity in the land."

Also, in an interview with THISDAY, an economist, Dr. Muhammad Rislanudeen, noted that nothing had really changed from the previous months as inflation had been worsened by the same conditions which led to an uptick in the preceding month.

He said the government should continue to ramp up support for local agricultural production in order to subdue food inflation in particular, adding that the current pressures are demand-push as a result of the closure of land borders.

Rislanudeen said the banking

sector liquidity might also help to cut interest rate with positive impact on GDP. He said: "I think this is predictable as the recent monthon-month spike in inflation is largely driven by food inflation due in large part to border closure leading to excess demand even as the food importation via our neighbouring countries fell outside the ECOWAS treaty on “rules of origin.�

"I suspect inflation will be further elevated due to the demand of the festive season (Christmas and new year). If the government ramp up its support for local agricultural production across the value chain, inflation and specifically food inflation will be subdued over time with positive impact of supporting local job creation, reducing unemployment as well as poverty.

"Banking sector liquidity might also drive interest rate downwards with positive impact on businesses and growth."

West African Regional Representative of the African

Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE), Dr. Anthony Onoja, also told THISDAY that the monetary authorities might be helpless in responding to inflation pressure, adding that the yuletide and border closure have continued to sway the direction of prices.

He said the only available option to respond would have been to temporarily reopen the borders for this season to ease prices.

"The rise in inflation to 11.85 per cent in November is not surprising. The border closure has been stimulating inflation before November. Now that the yuletide is around the corner, the inflation is further exacerbated to meet with the seasonal demand for consumer goods.

"There is little the government or the CBN can do at this time.

The only salvo would have been to ease the rate by opening the borders closed indefinitely even if it's just to enable the consumers to afford consumer items they will require for the yuletide," he stated.

BOOSTING PALM OIL PRODUCTION...

L-R: Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin EmeďŹ ele and Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, at the launch of Edo Oil Palm Programme, in Benin City‌ yesterday

Hope Rises for Lagos Commuters as Sanwo-Olu Commits to Rail Project Promises completion by 2021 Segun James Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday set a 2021 date for the muchanticipated Lagos Blue Line, the state's rail project, to commence operations.

Sanwo-Olu, while leading members of the State Executive Council to inspect the fivekilometre long Continuous Beam Bridge constructed from Iganmu to Marina, said the completion of the sea-crossing track indicated his administration’s commitment towards completing the statefunded rail project started in 2009. “The completion of this project is a top priority for our administration, as it is critical to the achievement of our prioritised pillar of traffic management and transportation in our six-point development agenda, known

as project T.H.E.M.E.S. “The aim of this rail project is basically to reduce the travel time through an effective and efficient intermodal transport system. It is also key to the building of a 21st Century economy, which is central to the vision of a Greater Lagos aspiration. We are committed to delivering this project next year and ensuring its operation starts in 2021,� he stated.

The construction of the rail tracks, the governor noted, was being implemented in strict adherence to the state’s Strategic Transport Master Plan, which prescribes six rail lines and one monorail for the long-term strategic goals of the state.

Apart from the Blue Line, the governor said his administration would be starting the construction of the Red Line rail project from

Agbado to Marina, adding that advertisement had been published in the media to invite investors for the construction of four other rail lines under a Design, Build, Operate, Maintain and Transfer model of PublicPrivate-Partnership arrangement.

The governor also said the integrated mass transportation initiative of the government had recorded huge progress with the successful completion of an elevated sea-crossing track of the Lagos Blue Line Rail Mass Transit project.

According to him, the advertised rail projects include the 68-kilometre Green Line, 60-kilometre Purple Line, 34-kilometre Yellow Line and 48-kilometre Orange Line.

The Green Line would start from Marina through Victoria Island, Lekki Phases 1 and 2, Ajah, Ogombo, Lekki Airport

to Lekki Free Trade Zone, while the Purple Line is expected to start from the Redemption Camp going through Ogba, Iyana Ipaja, Igando and terminating at Ojo. The Yellow Line would stretch from Otta through Isheri Osun, Ejigbo, Mafoluku, Isolo to the National Theatre, and the Orange Line would span from Ikeja moving through Mile 12, Ikorodu, Alapadi, Eligana, Isiwu, Imota and terminating at Agbowa.

Sanwo-Olu said: “The government will also start the construction of eight quality bus corridors in strategic areas of Lagos. These bus corridors are our government’s initiative aimed at giving dedicated road space and traffic signal priority to mass transit buses to reduce journey times and improve service consistency. “The initiative aims to

encourage people to change from cars to buses and thus reducing traffic congestion. We are opening up new transport corridors to organised transport operators for seamless transport connectivity, reduce congestion and truly make our state competitive.�

He congratulated Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and the contractor, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), for the progress, urging them to complete the Blue Line rail project on record time.

CCECC Managing Director, Mr. Michael Chiang, in his remarks, said the Continuous Beam Bridge represented the most complex construction work on the Blue Line project, noting that the engineering firm encountered several geological challenges before completing the

sea-crossing section.

He said: “It is another great milestone for the project, which indicates that we have successfully overcome the major difficulties and solved the most complex construction section problems. We have overcome different challenges ranging from the impact of fluctuating tides, the frequent berthing of oil vessel, the very complex geological condition of the seabed and several incidents of barges colliding with the trestle near the busy sea navigation route.�

Also, the Managing Director of LAMATA, Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, described the feat as a “great milestone,� saying the ceremony marked the successful completion of 85 per cent of phases one to four of the Blue Line project, which spans from Mile 2 to Marina.

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EFCC Opposes Kalu’s Post-conviction Bail Application Ex-gov cites failing health in request for temporary freedom Davidson Iriekpen Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday opposed a postconviction bail application filed by a convicted former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, before Justice Muhammed Liman of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The EFCC had charged and prosecuted Kalu together with his former Commissioner for Finance, Jonnes Ude Udeogo and a company, Slok Nigeria Ltd, on an amended 39 counts charge of fraud.

In his judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris had found Kalu and his company, Slok Nigeria Limited, guilty on all the 39-count charge preferred against them while the

second defendant Udeogo, was convicted on 34 counts of the charge.

Kalu was sentenced to a term of 12 years imprisonment for the offence, while Udeogo was sentenced to 10-year imprisonment.

The court ordered that Slok Nigeria Limited be wound up and its assets forfeited to the federal government.

However, Kalu, in his application yesterday through his lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said he had health challenges that could not be managed by the medical facilities in the Correctional Centre in Lagos.

Fagbemi told the court that his application was premised on 23 grounds and supported by an affidavit of 38 paragraphs, adding that after receiving the counter

affidavit of prosecution, he had filed a 34-paragraph further affidavit with one exhibit attached.

He also drew the courts attention to a notice of appeal against the conviction of Kalu, and relied on the provisions of sections 241 of the Constitution in urging the court to grant the applicant bail pending appeal.

"If there is a right of appeal, then there is a corresponding right of bail pending appeal," he said.

Citing the case of Okitipupa as well as Section 6 of the Constitution, Fagbemi argued that being a court of record, it has the powers to entertain such applications since post-

judgment jurisdiction are anchored on Section 6 of the constitution.

Kalu, in the 34-paragraph further affidavit with one exhibit attached, also argued that the offences for which he was convicted and jailed were bailable.

He, therefore, prayed the court to free him, while he challenges his conviction at the Court of Appeal.

While arguing his counter affidavit in opposition to the bail application, Jacobs, said: "Although bail is generally a right of an accused as guaranteed by the constitution, it is not a right available to a convict because the presumption of innocence has crystallised

into guilt and conviction," he said Jacobs stated that such application for bail pending appeal is "sparingly" granted by the court for instance, in situations where the terms of imprisonment would have elapsed before the appeal is determined.

He said this was not the situation with the case of Kalu.

"He says he needs his traditional herbalist to treat him but he has not said that his herbalist came to the prison and was not allowed to see him.

"In one breath, applicant is saying that he wants to be released on health grounds while in another breath he

is saying that as senator, he needs to be released on bail so as to carry out his official functions," he said Citing the case of FRN vs Joshua Dariye, prosecution argued that the Nigerian criminal jurisprudence is robust enough to handle appeal and dispense with same within reasonable time.

Besides, he argued that the medical facilities at the correctional centre is capable of handling the medical condition of the convict.

He, therefore, urged the court to refuse the bail application of Kalu.

Justice Liman adjourned the case till December 23, 2019 for ruling on Kalu’s bail application.

Buhari Not Serious in Fighting Graft, Says Ango Abdullahi John Shiklam in Kaduna Acting Chairman, Northern Elders' Forum (NEF), Prof.

Ango Abdullahi, yesterday dismissed President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts at fighting the massive corruption bedevilling the country.

Speaking in an interview with journalists in Kaduna at the opening ceremony of a public lecture on education, Abdullahi, a former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, said if Buhari was committed to fighting corruption, the nation's courts and prisons would have been congested with corrupt politicians. “We have now seen corruption on a massive scale and nobody is doing anything about it," he said.

According to him, many corrupt politicians are going about freely because the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has forgiven their sins.

He cited the case of Senator Danjuma Goje, a former governor of Gombe State, whose 'sin' the APC allegedly forgave.

"The president said he is fighting corruption, but I don't believe him. If he is fighting corruption, our courts and prisons should be full by now. This is because corruption is everywhere.

"You don't just pick one case and make it a universal example of fighting corruption. We have just seen the conviction of Orji Uzor Kalu and it is becoming something that the world should know; when there are so many people with 70 something billion (naira) with them. “Those people should be in the same prison with Uzor Kalu. In any case, if you want to say that Uzor Kalu had committed an offence, but here is a national chairman of a party, the president's party, who

pronounces that don't worry how much you have stolen somewhere else, as long as you come and say you are a member of APC, you are forgiven. “A good example of that is former governor Danjuma Goje. It was the Attorney General of the Federation himself that went to court to say they were withdrawing the case from the court. “His (Goje’s) offences are not different from Orji Uzor Kalu's and many others that were reported,� he added.

Abdullahi also accused the media of poor reportage of the crises confronting the nation.

"The media is equally guilty in this direction. You journalists are part of the crises that we have because you are not addressing these issues as hard, objectively and fairly as you should," he said.

Also commenting on the agitations for restructuring, Abdullahi said the presidential system of government must be abandoned if the country was to be restructured. “If we are going to restructure Nigeria, we must abandon presidential system of government. If you want Nigeria to function as it used to function in 1960 at the point of independence, we should go and reconsider the retention of the presidential system of government because it is inefficient, it is corrupt and there is no accountability. “Under the parliamentary system of government, you cannot be a minister until you are elected from your village. So, you are already accountable to your electorate and then the leader of your party who happens to be president or prime minister would make a nomination, which means other members must approve. If you are not a good man, from there you have failed," he stated.

RARING TO FINISH BLUE LINE...

L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde; Consul General of China in Lagos, Mr. Chu Maoming; Managing Director, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) Nigeria, Mr. Michael Jiang; the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during a ceremony to mark the completion of the Continuous Beam Bridge for the Sea-Crossing of the Lagos Rail Blue Line project in Lagos... yesterday

Court Summons AGF, DSS DG over Sowore’s Re-arrest Alex Enumah in Abuja

Justice Inyang Ekwo of Abuja Division of the Federal High Court yesterday summoned the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to appear with the Convener of #Revolutionow, Omoyele Sowore.

Also ordered to appear alongside the AGF is the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi.

They are to appear before the court to show cause why Sowore should not be released on bail, pending when they would file a charge against him, if any.

The order was made sequel to an application by Sowore challenging his re-arrest and continued detention by the DSS. Sowore was re-arrested on December 6, within the premises of the Federal High Court Abuja, barely few hours of coming out of a four-month custody at the DSS. However, Sowore in an ex-parte application dated December 15 and filed by his lawyer, Falana, is challenging his continued detention by

the federal government.

When the matter was called yesterday, Justice Ekwo noted that he had seen all the processes filed by the applicant and adjourned the case till December 23, 2019 for hearing.

The judge in addition ordered service of both the court processes and order on the respondents.

Sowore and one Olawale Bakare are standing trial on a 16-count charge bordering on treasonable felony and money laundering, amongst others.

They pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of N100 million and N30 million, respectively.

The DSS had refused to release them on bail even after they met their bail application, forcing Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu to issue a 24-hour order for their release.

However, Sowore was re-arrested less than 24 hours after his release over a yet-to-be disclosed offence.

In a three-paragraph affidavit in support of the motion ex-parte, the applicant prayed the court for an order for the production of Sowore for an unconditional release in pursuant of the release

order made by the court on November 6.

The application was predicated on the grounds that the applicant was arrested on August 2 without a warrant of arrest and was further detained from August 2 to 7, without an order of court, thereby breaching his fundamental human rights.

The plaintiff further claimed that the respondents have failed or refused to obey the orders of Justices Taiwo Taiwo and Ijeoma Ojukwu both of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which ordered Sowore’s release on bail.

Sowore's re-arrest has continued to put the federal government in a bad light on the issue of respect for the rule of law.

On Monday, Malami had said the federal government would be guided by extant laws and tradition of the court in handling the Sowore matter.

He was reacting to the letter from Falana, seeking Sowore's release from detention.

Falana had in the letter dated December 13, urged Malami to use his good office to facilitate the release of Sowore from the custody

of the DSS. "We remain solicitors to the defendants in the abovementioned case pending at the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High court.

"Following the announcement of your decision to take over the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria v Omoyele Sowore and another, two members of the legal defence team visited the headquarters of the State Security Service on December 13, 2019 to demand for the immediate release of Sowore from illegal custody.

"Our colleagues were, however, advised to direct the request to your office in view of the fact that you have taken over the case from the State Security Service.

"In the light of the foregoing, we hereby request you to use your good offices to direct the State Security Service to release Sowore from custody in line with the order of the Federal High Court admitting him to bail pending trial. We are confident that you will not hesitate to grant our request as no court has issued any remand order for his detention," Falana told AGF.

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PAGE NINE BUSINESS LEADERS UPBEAT ABOUT BETTER ECONOMY AS BUHARI SIGNS 2020 BUDGET also promised to deliver free and fair elections in the next election cycle, just as he preached patience and patriotism.

While signing the 2020 budget into law, Buhari said he had instructed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to ensure its effective implementation.

The budget signing ceremony was witnessed in the State House by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; Ahmed and Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Babajide Omoworare.

Yesterday's ceremony marked the first time the president would sign an annual budget into law since 2016 without any controversy and sharp disagreement between the executive and the National Assembly.

Previous ceremonies were accompanied by the resolve of the presidency to send in amendment bills to the National Assembly to correct such disagreements.

But the president was yesterday satisfied with the entire legislation done by the federal legislature on the budget.

Buhari, who described the Appropriation Act as a deficit budget, promised to send the 2020 borrowing plan for the funding of the budget to the National Assembly with a plea to the heads of the federal legislature to ensure its speedy consideration.

The president, who also said the passage of the budget by the National Assembly on December 5, marked the fourth time that budget was passed before the new year, described this as the earliest.

He praised the National Assembly for what he described as its patriotic zeal, which resulted in the quick passage of the budget within two months and consequently guaranteed the return of the country to the January-December budget cycle.

Buhari said the expected

passage of the Finance Bill in the next few days would also serve as another landmark achievement because it would complement the implementation of the budget.

"I am very pleased that the National Assembly worked uncommonly long hours in the interest of our people and the national economy to ensure detailed legislative review and passage of the budget within two months.

"This patriotic zeal adopted by the Ninth National Assembly has restored our budget cycle to a predictable January to December fiscal year.

"Furthermore, in the 20 years since the return to civilian democracy, this will be just the fourth time that the federal budget was passed before the end of the previous year, and this is the earliest.

"The passage of the Finance Bill, which I am told will be done in the coming days, will also be a landmark achievement worthy of recognition, being the first time, this has been done in the last twenty years," he said.

According to him, with the quick passage and assent to the budget, the federal government is now well positioned to effectively implement it and simultaneously fulfill its promises to Nigerians.

He also pledged to sustain a working relationship with the National Assembly.

Buhari who said he had instructed relevant agencies and authorities to ensure the presentation of the 2021 budget in September next year, also promised to promote constitutional moves aimed at addressing challenges associated with budgeting.

The president gave brief highlights of the budget and directed the finance minister to make details of the budget public later.

He said he was optimistic that the government would be able to fund the budget with the revenue target already designed.

"Now, we are well positioned to effectively implement the budget and deliver our promises to Nigerians. Businesses will also benefit as they are now in a

position to plan more effectively.

"We have to sustain this harmonious working relationship.

I expect that, going forward, this will be the norm. I have directed that efforts be made to ensure the presentation of the 2021 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly in September 2020. I am confident that all federal ministries, departments and agencies will cooperate with the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to keep to this timeline.

"I will work with the Ninth National Assembly to give effect to the constitutional, legislative and other actions that may be necessary to address the various challenges currently associated with our federal budgeting process, including the enactment of an Organic Budget Bill "The 2020 Budget passed by the National Assembly provides for aggregate expenditures of Ten-point-Five-Nine-Four Trillion Naira (N10.594 trillion), an increase of Two Hundred and Sixty-Three-point-Nine-Five Billion Naira (N263.95 billion) over the executive’s proposal that was submitted in October 2019. We have examined the adjustments and may revert to the National Assembly with a request for a virement or other relevant amendments.

"The honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning will make a public presentation of the details of the approved budget. With today’s global oil market outlook and our strategic approach to revenue growth, we are optimistic that we will be able to finance the 2020 Budget.

"However, being a deficit budget, an appropriate 2020–2022 Borrowing Plan will be forwarded to the National Assembly, in due course," he added.

Answering questions from reporters after the signing ceremony, Lawan thanked his colleagues whom he said worked hard to make the passage a reality.

He, however, said what would be the tragedy of the budget would be the inability to realise revenues targeted to fund it.

But he expressed the hope

that funding the budget would be easier with the passage of the Finance Bill as well as the implementation of the Production Sharing Contract Act, which would give the country extra $2 billion in the 2020 fiscal year.

"I think the tragedy of the past was not the budget being passed in good time. The tragedy of the past, and could be the tragedy of tomorrow, is for us not to be able to get the revenues. That is very important. But this time around, we have passed the Finance Bill.

The Finance Bill will provide more revenues to government.

"We have also passed an amendment to the Production Sharing Contract. That will also provide more revenues. We all know that the production sharing contract was never available to fund our budget properly. In fact, in 2019, N350 billion was earmarked but we couldn’t get anything. Next year, by the grace of God, because of the amendment, we are going to get close to $2 billion and that is going to be a marked difference from what it used to be," Lawan stated.

On his part, Gbajabiamila said monitoring implementation of the budget would not be difficult because various committees of the National Assembly saddled with oversight functions would discharge their responsibilities accordingly.

The N10.59 trillion budget is made up of N4.84 trillion recurrent expenditure, N2.46 trillion capital expenditure, N2.72 trillion for debt servicing, fiscal deficit of N2.28 trillion and deficit to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of 1.52 per cent.

The Appropriation Act was predicated on a crude oil production volume of 2.18 million barrel per day, oil benchmark of $57 and N305/$ exchange rate.

Other components of the Act include the GDP growth rate projection of 2.93 per cent and inflation rate of 10.81 per cent and statutory transfer of N556.7 billion

Business Leaders Upbeat on Budget

Implementation Reacting to the signing of the budget, the Director General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, told THISDAY yesterday that the timely signing of the budget was laudable.

According to him, it would impact positively on budget implementation and the timely delivery of the expected outcomes. “Secondly, it will reduce uncertainty, which in the past has been experienced by the stakeholders impacted directly by the budget. Thirdly, it makes planning easier for relevant private sector and public sector stakeholders in the budget process. It is hoped that the return to the January-December budget cycle will be sustained.

However, revenue constraint remains a major factor in the implementation,� Yusuf explained.

In its reaction, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) commended the executive and legislative arms of the federal government on the swift passage of the 2020 budget, which it said was in line with the promises of the ninth National Assembly to revert the budget cycle to a January to December period.

The association told THISDAY that the GDP growth projection of 2.93 per cent highly “optimistic� but achievable.

NACCIMA, however, raised concerns over what it described as rising budget deficit and foreign debts.

Director General of NACCIMA, Ambassador Ayoola Olukannni, said: “We note that the budget deficit continues to rise (N1.9 trillion in 2019, N2.8 trillion proposed in 2020). Foreign Debt is estimated to increase by 64 per cent based on the 2019 Budget and 180 per cent based on the 2018 budget. Capital expenditure is two per cent higher than the 2019 budget and 34 per cent lower than the 2018 budget. Recurrent expenditure continues to rise (possibly due to the implementation of the proposed minimum wage).

“We appreciate that the federal government has recognised at various fora that the performance of Value Added Tax is dependent on the level of economic activity.

As such, we re-emphasise our position that government's policy focus should be on increasing the level of economic activity as a way to generate revenue from taxes. “NACCIMA notes that the government has adopted oil price benchmark of $57 per barrel, a daily oil production estimate of 2.18 million barrels per day (mbpd) and an exchange rate of N305 per US Dollar for 2020.

"However, this statement appears at odds with Nigeria's current crude oil output (1.69 million barrels per day) and statements credited to Minister of State for Petroleum, which assure the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) of Nigeria's commitment to comply with OPEC's new production quota of 1.774 million barrels per day. This raises some concern on the revenue projections expected to fund the budget.�

On the Finance Bill being considered by the National Assembly, NACCIMA said it acknowledged the federal government's need to fund the implementation of the budget, especially, in line with the new minimum wage structure. “Our association counsels that expanding the tax net, implementing tax reform and ensuring robust tax administration while promoting and facilitating productive economic activity will contribute greatly to increasing government revenues with less negative impact on the economy,�

NACCIMA added.

Buhari, at 77, Promises Free, Fair Elections in 2023 Also yesterday, the president while marking his 77th birthday promised to deliver free and fair polls in the next general election just as he called upon Nigerians to be patient and patriotic.

Continued on page 60

EMEFIELE SEEKS GOVS’ INTERVENTION TO SAVE $500M FROM PALM OIL IMPORTS for the ESOPP. He added that the intervention was CBN’s commitment to oil palm sector in the state.

He stated that the primary objective of the gathering was to exchange ideas and garner support to revive the oil palm industry and its entire value chain through financing major, micro small and medium entrepreneurs and smallholders in the country.

He said: "I am indeed excited that we have arrived at this juncture as in pursuance of the avowed objective of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to enhance economic diversification through agriculture. We will pave the way for greater and more endearing developments in respect of the development of the Nigerian oil-palm sector.

"This event today is germane in view of the realities and challenges of today’s economic environment, considering the need to diversify our monolithic economy from crude oil to productive sectors such as agriculture, which contributes over 20 per cent to GDP and 36 per cent to employment."

According to him, the strategic potential of the agricultural sector and its value chain in an economy, if well harnessed, could boost rural employment generation, ensuring food security and foreign exchange conservation through reduced imports.

The apex bank governor noted that of particular interest to all the stakeholders should be how to improve the country’s oil palm industry, adding that

oil palm is an important tree crop with immense economic importance as its products are important source of affordable edible and non-edible oils for domestic and industrial uses.

However, despite its potentials, Emefiele expressed concerns about the challenges facing the Nigerian palm oil industry.

He said the palm oil industry's further growth and contribution to the national economy were being threatened by inadequate local production and continued reliance on imports.

Giving some backgrounds on the recent developments in the oil palm sector in Nigeria, he explained that the journey to revive the oil palm sector began with the discovery that over $500 million of the country’s scarce foreign exchange was being expended on the importation of palm oil to meet identified the demand gap of 1.25 million metric tonnes.

"Faced with this stark reality, the CBN decided to intervene with a view to changing the narrative and in line with the ambitious attempt to reposition agriculture as the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. Furthermore, in our bid to restore the country’s pre-eminent status as the third global net exporter of palm oil, the Central Bank of Nigeria on 23rd June 2015 included palm oil and palm oil products alongside other commodities on the exclusion list of items not valid for foreign exchange at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange window.

"The dwindling fortune of the industry has been attributed to myriads of factors that

accumulated over the years, which were mainly attributed to the neglect of the agricultural sector in the wake of the oil boom, which has been exacerbated by the inherent structural deficiencies and potential risks associated with agribusiness in Nigeria. It is hard to believe that the country’s global market share in palm oil production fell from about 43 per cent in the 1960’s to just about two per cent currently," the CBN governor said.

Emefiele stated that the CBN has noted the efforts of state governments in the palm oil producing zones who pledged to make available 100,000 hectares of land in their renewed commitment to revive the production of the commodity, adding that of special note is the active participation of corporate entities, both local and multinationals who were matched to confirmed available lands from state governments and who, as part of their backward integration initiatives, are increasingly investing in palm oil and its value chain, especially at production levels.

Besides, he said the CBN, under its Oil Palm Development and Expansion Initiative, had so far disbursed over N30 billion to the oil palm sector and was monitoring the fund utilisation to ensure efficiency, effectiveness and maximum output.

"Oil majors and apex associations are being encouraged to adopt the Out-Grower Scheme to maximise inherent opportunities.

"However, to sustain rural employment and ensure

community participation and inclusiveness, the bank is determined to promote and support individual small holder farmers in the palm oil revival plan. It was in the light of the above, that the Central Bank of Nigeria is out to collaborate with the relevant stakeholders to find sustainable solution to the financing needs of these small holders farmers, among others," he added.

He told the gathering that the CBN, as a major stakeholder in the financial sector and indeed the economic development of the country, was set to render its unflinching support to the development of oil-palm by providing affordable long-term financing to out-growers.

"It is expected that other stakeholders will borrow a leaf from this commitment and play their respective roles to enable us to achieve our common goal and objective," Emefiele said.

On his part, Obaseki said the project was in line with his administration's agenda to harness the state's rich human and natural endowments to achieve economic growth and wellbeing of Edo people.

According to him, his government is committed to diversify the state's economy, achieving economic prosperity, creating jobs and improving the lives of the people.

"The focus on the oil palm sector alone can stimulate and drive the economy of any state as it has done to Malaysia and Indonesia. This programme will enable us to move from complaining and talking about

what we have lost to concrete action towards regaining what has been lost," he said.

He added the ESOPP would leverage on what the CBN has initiated, saying: "Ours is to remove the critical risk in the oil palm sector by solving the biggest hindrances to plantation farm in Nigeria and making land available to farmers."

He said his administration had provided about 120,000 hectares of land for oil palm development in the state.

"Successful implementation of the programme will create over 600,000 more jobs as well as 25,000 hectares of forest cover.

This programme will cost us about $600 million, which is approximately N200 billion.

The money is there globally as money is not out of reach with investors on ground," he stated.

The governor said he was setting up the Edo State Oil Palm Programme implementation office, noting that consultants, surveyors, community relations experts will be trained to review and ensure guidelines are strictly followed.

"I thank the CBN governor for stimulating the agricultural sector, creating the platform for our dream to come true. As a state, our goal is to be that trigger state for oil palm in Nigeria as the nation needs millions of lands for oil palm. We will stand as a stimulant for other states," Obaseki added.

He described oil palm as synonymous with APC logo, which is derived from the palm, adding that the whole gamut about Plantation Owners Forum

of Nigeria Oil Palm DiscourseFocus on CBN Smallholder Oil Palm Intervention was to develop the economy of the state like that of Malaysia.

Obaseki stated that the principal goal of the forum was to leverage what the CBN had initiated by removing all the risks involved in the cultivation and production of palm oil.

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN % CHAMS PLC 0.03 0.33 10 GUINNESS 3.20 35.60 9.8 AGLEVENTIS 0.04 0.46 9.5 PRESCO 4.00 47.50 9.2 WEMABANK 0.06 0.74 8.8 TOP LOSERS NGN % UPDCCREDIT 0.40 4.05 8.9 UNITYBANK 0.05 0.65 7.1 CORNERSTONE 0.04 0.56 6.6 INTERBREW 0.60 9.50 5.9 NASCON 0.75 13.25 5.3 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â‚Ś1,300.00 Volume: 331.92 million shares Value: N4.78 billion Deals: 3,358 As at yesterday 17/12/19 See details on Page 41

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COMMENT

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

RETURNEES AND NIGERIA’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The young migrants who are returning home should be welcomed and accepted, writes Frank Celestin

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This morning they sang their song and I cried‌ I was really touched because I can’t imagine the kind of suffering, they went through so, I believe everyone here today has learnt something.�

These are the words of Cynthia, a university student who participated in a theatre drama written by returnees about the harrowing tales of migrants, in Benin City, earlier this year.

These words touched me. As the Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Nigeria, I’ve seen thousands of young migrants returning home who open up about the reasons why they left, the unspeakable abuses they suffered abroad and the icy reception they sometimes get back home.

Migration is the megatrend of our time; it is part of everyday public debate. Yet the plight of migrants often seems to evade our attention. In some cases, these migrants are even labelled as criminals and illegals, perhaps due to ignorance or malice, or both.

Cynthia’s disbelief is understandable. Oftentimes, migrants’ voices in Nigeria remain unheard by their very neighbors, and many migrants are met with closed doors when they return empty-handed.

In Benin City, the challenges - and potential - of returnees are laid bare. According to our figures, most Nigerians returning home come from Edo (40 per cent) and Delta (13 per cent) states. They are young women and men between the ages of 18 and 35, who carry skills and knowledge, which they have acquired before their departure or along their migration journey.

So, on this International Migrants Day, we must ask ourselves how we can help pave the way for these migrants to participate in the development of this great country, how we can harness their talents and courage, and how we can ensure that they are embraced by their communities.

Achieving economic self-sufficiency is essential. But there can never be sustainable reintegration for these young returnees if they are not welcomed and accepted. Knowledge, empathy and support are therefore key components of our joint efforts. Initiatives such as the community theatre in Benin cut across all three of them. The open-air performances brought together thousands of individuals during a seven-month period who gathered to raise awareness about the deception, abuse and exploitation suffered by migrants along their journeys.

Community-centred sports and cultural activities help to dispel some of the negative stereotypes branded on the returnees, while serving as a platform for them to articulate the unfiltered accounts of their journeys in an engaging way. People come to the theatre for entertainment, but they leave with knowledge to spread among their peers.

We hope that this will, in turn, bolster empathy within those migrantprone communities which will further strengthen the social bonds that have been severed. Returnees need the trust of their communities to kickstart businesses, resume their education or reestablish their social lives back home.

We are starting to see the gains of empowering and employing

NIGERIA HAS COMMITTED TO ENSURING THAT ITS NATIONALS ARE DULY RECEIVED AND READMITTED, AS WELL AS CREATING CONDUCIVE CONDITIONS FOR PERSONAL SAFETY, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, INCLUSION AND SOCIAL COHESION IN COMMUNITIES

returnees. Not long ago, a returnee named Matthew started a fish-farming business in Benin, but it wasn’t enough for him to pay his bills. So, he searched for help within the community. At church, Matthew met Adama, an event planner. Adama needed an extra hand, so he hired Matthew to work in her ice block business. Their business is thriving and Matthew has now taken an apprentice under his wing.

We also need to explore innovative ways to help returnees put their skills to use – and acquire new ones. Recently we partnered with Google to train them on how to build their online presence and improve their search campaigns and job-seeking skills online. The digital skills training also targets the ones who didn’t leave, namely young Nigerians who might be lured by unscrupulous smugglers due to lack of opportunities at home. The training is thus another opportunity for returnees and non-migrants to get to know each other.

The initiative complements the traditional business skills training we provide to returnees in partnership with local NGOs in Edo and Lagos States. All training sessions are an opportunity for returnees to meet one another and allow them to share their experiences and pool together their in-kind assistance, skills, and resources to establish more sustainable businesses.

Managing migration for the benefit of all can be a weighty endeavor, so we must carry it together. It requires partnerships between government, intergovernmental organizations like IOM, NGOs and local leaders.

This year, the Nigerian federal government is taking a decisive step towards realizing the commitments of the Global Compact for Migration. The compact is the first-ever global agreement on a common approach to international migration in all its dimensions, and in Nigeria it will depend on the joint efforts of all relevant sectors including labour, immigration, security health, and social development, to name a few. One of the objectives of the Global Compact is to achieve migrants’ full inclusion and social cohesion. This will only be realized by promoting the empowerment of migrants to become full members of our societies and highlight their positive contributions.

As a signatory of the compact, Nigeria has committed to ensuring that its nationals are duly received and readmitted, as well as creating conducive conditions for personal safety, economic empowerment, inclusion and social cohesion in communities, in order to ensure that reintegration of Nigerian migrants is sustainable.

On 17 December, I proudly joined the National Migration Dialogue (NMD) organized by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs (NCFRMI), and I was heartened to see that the focus of this year’s event was on ‘Localizing the Global Compact For Safe, Orderly And Regular Migration: Developing A National Implementation Action Plan’.

The dialogue gathered many active voices in Abuja. Throughout Nigeria, one can begin to see the positive impact of giving voice to returnees and to the people who welcome them back.

I trust we’ll be ready to listen.

Celestin is the Chief of Mission of the IOM in Nigeria

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Sonnie Ekwowusi writes that despite the hard times, many are preparing for Christmas with excitement

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t’s Christmas! Peeping through the window of my office I could see some gaily-dressed neigbourhood kids who obviously are on Christmas holiday, prancing around, dancing and rejoicing in the expectancy of Christmas. Already the country’s expressways are jammed with thousands of Christmas travellers who are anxious to arrive home before Christmas. Houses, streets, offices and shops are already decorated with special festoons and rosettes. Overflowing with joy in the expectancy of the birth of the Saviour, Prophet Isaiah writes in this poetic strain, “Let the wasteland rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice and sing for joy. Let the earth open and bring forth the saviour�. Despite the fact that Nigeria is completely broken down from head to toe by economic hardship, totalitarian democracy and incestuous narcissism yet many Nigerians are still basking in the ego of electrifying joy of Christmas. For instance, yesterday one of the mothers in my neighbourhood reminded me about the children’s Christmas party. Last year we had a successful one. This is why all in the neighbourhoods are longing for the party this year. Why does Christmas hold the world in enthralling suspense? Why is it that at the dawn of Christmas the feeling of happiness is so palpably thick that you could cut it with a knife? Why is Christmas the most celebrated feast in the world today?

Obviously the answers to these questions are not far-fetched. Prior to the first Christmas which occurred more than 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, the hope was widespread in Jewish times that a conquering Messiah-King would come to save the Jewish race and entire human race. Thereafter Kings after kings, emperors

after emperors, prophets after prophets, rulers after rulers came, wielded great powers and authority, accomplished marvels, conquered their enemies, built great temples and philosophised about nature and earthly existence and even penetrated the mysteries. But none of those kings, emperors, prophets and rulers satisfied the deep longing of the human heart. That was why when the appointed time came what poet William Butler Yeats dubbed the “uncontrollable mystery on the bestial floor� took place at a relatively obscure town of Bethlehem: Jesus Christ assumed human flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and came to be born among us. As St. Josemaria Escriva aptly puts it: “when the fullness of time came, no philosophical genius, no Plato or Socrates appears to fulfill the mission of redemption. Nor does a powerful conqueror, another Alexander, take over the earth. Instead a child is born in Bethlehem�.

This is the greatest feast that fills us with so much joy today. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, is born among us. This is the good tiding that aflame our hearts with the fire of joy today. It is the good news that raises our heads high. And bubbling with joy and optimism we can challenge the sad world to look at us and be hopeful. We live in a sad world. If you reflect on the current history of mankind or the precarious situation of the world today and you will invariably come to the conclusion that many people in the world today are living in fear: fear of existence; fear of terrorist attack; fear of wars and rumours of wars; fear of the very technology wherein many have staked their happiness. In Nigeria the naked are still looking for clothing; the hungry are looking for food; the sick in desperate need

of medicine; the homeless looking for housing; the broken hearts seeking consolation and the dreams of men are still empty. To worsen matters, the meaning of Christmas, like in the West, has been lost to capricious expenditure and militant consumerism and free-wheeling hedonism in Nigeria.

This is understandable. Every epoch in human history has grappled with its challenges.

We are wayfarers on earth. Our pathway on earth is strewn with sadness and joy. For example, the joy of the first Christmas more than 2,000 years ago was marred by difficulties and sadness. To begin with, Jesus chose to be born in a pen where animals are kept. Jesus is King. He could have chosen to be born in the most equipped and luxurious royal hospital where Kings are born. But instead he embraced humility, poverty and detachment. He humbly chose to be born among animals where he was exposed to cold and all sorts of dangers. Who were his guests shortly after he was born?

Animals, shepherds who were keeping their flocks, wise men from the East, the stars and of course the angels. Having been tricked by the wise men Herod ordered for the massacre of the innocent male children in Bethlehem.

And after God directed Joseph in a dream, he took the child Jesus and Mary his mother and fled to Egypt where the Holy Family sojourned until God told Joseph in another dream to return back with Mary and the child Jesus. It is instructive that throughout those difficult moments neither Many nor Joseph uttered a word of complaint. If we were to follow our warped human logic, we would think that God would have exempted his only son Jesus Christ and his parents, Mary and Joseph, from the

aforesaid sufferings. But God did not do that.

Instead he allowed his son, Mary and Joseph to embrace poverty, self-abnegation, self-sacrifice and detachment from material things. Jesus had nowhere to lay his head. He felt hungry. He experienced anguish and tiredness. He wept. He shared people’s anxieties, hopes and aspirations.

Finally, he wrought salvation for mankind by dying on the Cross. He could have redeemed mankind through easier means other than through suffering and crucifixion. But he chose death on the Cross.

Therefore as we celebrate Christmas let us focus on Jesus Christ. After all he is the reason for Christmas. Let us not treat Jesus as though he is far away. He is in our midst. So, weep no more. Be patient in your sufferings. Rejoice.

Listen to St. Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice...� (Phil 4: 4-5). The Light has come to illuminate all darkness. We are no longer people groping in darkness in search of light. The Light is with us. Jesus is born among us. Therefore let the hopeless take heart. Let the wearied find strength. Let the oppressed find justice. Let men of goodwill find peace. Integrity shall return to the wasteland. With the audacity of David you can challenge the Goliath of our time. Blow the trumpet seven times and the walls of Jericho will crumble once again. Let me tell you one thing which you may find interesting: we shall not weary in standing up for what is right. We shall not flee from our little space on earth. Those who have fled are cowards. But we are not cowards. We cannot flee.

This column intones the nunc dimitis today as it signs off for the Christmas vacation.

Wishing you and members of your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2020

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18 , 2019

EDITORIAL GOVERNORS AND THE PENSION LAW Drawing hefty pension after office is bad for the states and their economies

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gainst the background of a recent court ruling in Lagos directing the federal government to recover life pensions collected by some former governors, criticism has been strident about a group of public officers who are encouraged by a law they enacted themselves to draw sumptuous benefits from the system. As things stand today, many hard-pressed states across the country are spending billions of naira in pension payments to their former governors and deputies. This cannot be allowed to continue.

While Zamfara has repealed the controversial law, many other states have refused to heed the call. Some have even amended the law either to add more beneficiaries or increase the entitlements.

Two weeks ago, the Delta State House of Assembly passed the Governor and Deputy Governor Pension Rights and Other Benefits Amendment Bill, which grants pension rights WHY SHOULD FORMER to former Acting GOVERNORS CONTINUE TO Governor, adding to LIVE IN LUXURY AT PUBLIC the long list of those EXPENSE AFTER LEAVING to continue feeding fat on the resources OFFICE? of the state after leaving office.

It is particularly noteworthy that since the return to civil rule in 1999, virtually all the states across the nation have been passing scandalous pension laws aimed at giving the governors and their deputies a life of opulence outside government house.

The governors, with the aid of pliable Houses of Assembly, have been initiating and getting passed these dubious laws that confer on them the rights to appropriate public money outside office. In most cases, the governors and their deputies are entitled, in retirement, to 100 per cent of what the incumbent is earning, while in other states, the benefits could be as high as 300 per cent.

Letters to the Editor

Although this law differs from one state to another, the essentials are the same: They provide for a former governor a befitting palace in both the state and nation’s capital, Abuja while they are also entitled to furniture allowances and brand new cars every four years at the tax payers’ expense. Their cooks, chauffeurs and security men are also well provided for. There are many questions arising from this state of affair: What should Nigeria do about the financial implications of former governors squeezing their vulnerable states? Can the nation continue to bear this costly and self-inflicted burden?

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

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JUSTICE MOHAMMED’S FAUX PAS

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igeria since inception has always been a secular state though there were futile attempts to Islamize her.

We recall the attempt in 1986 by the then regime of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida to take her to the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) which led to the abrupt resignation of Air Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe.

The Sharia law gained force in the year 2000 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in the saddle. It gained a strong grip in the north with threats to come down to the South west where there is a sizeable Muslim population. It was rather political with pundits opining that it was an attempt to destabilize the government of Obasanjo since the north couldn’t get power through the ballot box – it was an attempt to do so through the back door. Only the poor were affected with their limbs being cut off while the wealthy were hailed as the ‘Pillars’ of Islam.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Mohammed made a statement in Ahmadu Bello University recently that the 1999 Constitution should be amended to accommodate a more expanded implementation of the Sharia law in the country. He also picked holes in the fact that the English language was used to teach the Sharia law in the tertiary institutions arguing that the language of instruction should be Arabic and the change should be effected forthwith. This is rather tragic given the fact that Nigeria is a secular state which the constitution guarantees; so why is the Chief Justice desecrating his sacred office to promote religious bigotry? Why has he decided to act like a Grand Khadi rather than the Chief Justice who should be secular and not promote in any way the evil called religious fanaticism?

This statement is sad given that the northern part of the country is prone to violence. Public office holders should greatly weigh their statements as they are capable of igniting gargantuan flames of fire given that

e feel strongly that a nation with so many challenges–from getting enough to eat to providing shelter and jobs for many of its citizens and to stalling in payment of salaries–cannot sanction the indiscriminate awards of its scarce resources to already wellheeled and comfortable citizens. But this waste goes beyond the former governors to the current ones. The current perception of the populace is that many of our governors have failed to plug leakages and waste, which over the years have become institutionalised.

Top officials in some of these poor states are still ferried around in private jets and helicopters mostly to attend unnecessary social events, including marriage ceremonies and birthdays. The ostentatious lifestyles of most governors do not offer logical persuasion to the citizens they govern that their states are broke.

But the immediate challenge is the public resources they now award to themselves after office, using the instrumentality of the law. We do not understand the rationale why former governors should continue to live in luxury at public expense after office. Although states like Lagos and others that implement this self-serving law are using the federal nature of our constitution as an excuse, we must register our strong disapproval of this trend in governance as it simply defies logic and commonsense. It is against the interest of the people.

the parlous economic situation is making the nation sit on a keg of gun powder which can explode at anytime. It is sad that Justice Mohammed who is supposed to be the number five man in the country wants to relegate other non Islamic faiths to the background in his bid to attempt to Islamize the hitherto secular nation. How would he feel if a Christian jurist at the Supreme Court made a similar call for the constitution to be amended to better accommodate the Christian faith or if such a call was made by the Vice-President who is not only a Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, the nation’s largest Pentecostal church but also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria to boot. What about if a highly placed traditional worshipper made such a call for his own faith? The nation would slide into chaos if everyone were to act according to his or her whims and caprices. That is why there is the law which was made to regulate the behaviour of man. It is shocking that the public face of the judiciary which is the organ that interprets the law can descend so low as to be calling for the propagation of the ideals of his faith over others in a country where the issue of religion is so sensitive and touchy.

I suggest that there should be a code of conduct to guide the public utterances of the holders of sensitive and high offices in the country.

This will go a long way to curb their excesses especially when they are backed by stringent sanctions. Public office tends to make many Nigerians lose their sense of decorum and so there is the need to whip them back to line in order to avert the dangers of such inciting statements or actions. The CJN has crossed the line and should either retract his statement which was made in bad faith or should tender an unreserved apology to Nigerians for offending their sensibilities especially in endangering the lives of his fellow countrymen of the Christian faith resident in the northern part of the nation.

Tony Ademiluyi, Lagos

HAVE WE FORGOTTEN LEAH SHARIBU?

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igerians are living in a cocoon of self-deceptive and falsely-assured security all at our own peril. When we should do reality check we just wish painful realities away and pretend all is well, especially if it is just “a few people” who are so deprived of their humanity as to put our collective humanity into question. In this respect, the Christians of Nigeria, me too, are guilty, very guilty. All these while the Boko Haram interlocutor known as Ahmed Sakilda has been trying to get the Nigerian government and well, Christian pressure groups I presume, to hearken to some conditions put forth by Boko Haram but no one listened to him. Boko Haram responds to this snub of its middle man by abducting aid workers (and continually decimating the ranks of our infantry fighting forces in the Northeast predominantly made up of young Christian soldiers): Boko Haram then proceeds to do unimaginable things to these abducted aid workers whilst openly decreeing that the Christian female captives amongst them have been turned into perpetual slaves; what we understand is that the fate of Alice mirrors the fate of other captive Christian girls (Leah Sharibu, especially) in Boko Haram custody. Yet the Christian community in Nigeria ignore this reality and join the ranks of taqiyya-influenced Muslim PR elements to dismiss Boko Haram as “non-Muslims;” this designation is as far from the truth as one can imagine. Every index of its modus operandi indicates that Boko Haram is a revivalist movement devoted to the practice of Islam in its true or “raw” format un-influenced by Westernisation in any shade.

Thus, abducting Christian maidens and keeping them in servitude as sex slaves is one of those stipulated “true” practices; others like banishing Christians from predominantly Muslim climes can be cited here. Given these facts, does it not hurt the heart of the sincere Christian each time Yemi Osinbajo blurts out that “it is well with Nigeria?” How well has Nigerian Christians fared? Muhammadu Buhari and his ilk should begin to talk to this Ahmed Sakilda pronto.

Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State

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WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

A N A LY S I S

Why Babatunde Gbadamosi Refuses to Take a Bow Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that businessman, Babatunde Gbadamosi who consistently seeks an opportunity to govern Lagos State since 2011 never disappoints with a superlative presentation at public debates, which leaves his opponents trailing and the public cheering. But the rousing welcome from Lagosians have not translated to enough votes to give him the top job

Sanwo-Olu

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t is close to two decades since Babatunde Gbadamosi took the hint from the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to Nigerians living abroad to return home and help build the country. His previous visit in 1995 was traumatising. He spent much of the time on queues at night to make telephone calls to his base in the United Kingdom and more precious time waiting to buy fuel. But in the early 2000s, GSM telephony was in operation in Nigeria and that opened a new world of business possibilities. Gbadamosi had made loads of money from investment in the boom in Information Technology. That era of prosperity gave economic wings to many Diasporan Nigerian millionaires who built successful careers in other occupation than the traditional profession of Medicine and Law. Aware that the years of affluence would not last forever, Gbadamosi turned his attention to real estate. Initial consideration of locations in America and Spain were rejected following bad signals.

An auspicious visit to Nigeria for a wedding revealed afresh the potentials for a good yield in the real estate sector.

He returned to the UK and talked his wife into the strategic decision to close down their business and move to Nigeria, 17 years ago. Nigerian banks and a few architects that he contacted in those early days could not see the changing economic and political climate which was shifting public perception of investment in Nigeria.

Because the vision of what he wanted to do was very clear in his mind, he refused to be frustrated and held on to his dream, choosing instead to dispose of his personal assets and pool the income into his new venture. It was a daring move. But with the birth of Amen Estate in Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos, Babatunde who is from the illustrious Gbadamosi family of Ikorodu has proven that he can walk the talk. He has built from the scratch a gated community where everything works-the buildings have world-class facilities and there is 24-hour electricity and round-the-clock security.

Having made a success of Amen Estate, Gbadamosi thought it was time to project that idea into the larger society. He entered the political market of Lagos State boldly, circulating with only one aim-to become Governor of Lagos State. In the estimation of some, he has moved fast enough, in election years, remaining with which ever political party gives him the gubernatorial

Gbadamosi flag. Another school of thought posits that he keeps making the fatal mistake of not aligning with the ‘right’ or winning party in Lagos. Gbadamosi has literally driven competitors to a corner with their back against a wall with superior ideas and a well laid-out plan of how to execute them.

Since 2011 when he started contesting the office of governor of Lagos, every election year, Gbadamosi never disappoints. He gives a superlative presentation at public debate, which leaves his opponents trailing and the public cheering. So far, the rousing welcome from Lagosians have not translated to enough votes to give him the top job. In the 2019 governorship election, which he contested on the platform of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), he placed a very distant third, garnering a pittance of 4780 votes, representing 0.49 per cent of the total ballot. It was a very small return, given the high hope raised during the campaigns.

Instead of taking a dive, Gbadamosi has chosen to stay afloat of the politics in Lagos, playing the role of the good guy.

He told a gathering of journalists at the beginning of the week. “I will go to my

Tinubu house and relax and applaud the governor if he starts some of the things we want to do, build a 10-lane coastal road, improve the transport infrastructure, instigate a 24hour economy, start a state-owned airline like our friends in Akwa Iboms State and so forth.” He also threw a challenge at the journalists. “Ask yourselves what kind of state you want to bequeath your children and grand-children. Let that thought guide you every time you write. If I say I am comfortable, what about those around me?

The truth is that Lagos can do by far better than it is. If we can get Lagos working, the rest of the country will play catch up.

“It is not just about criticising and pointing out the flaws, it is about pointing out how well to achieve what we all want, which is good governance. So, we have to do whatever we can do to help the incumbent government to achieve good governance,” Gbadamosi said.

On the surface, it looks like Gbadamosi wants to be on the forefront of a revolution that seeks to snatch power from the ruling clique in Lagos, which he blames for all the wrongs in the society. “I will never join them. I will never bow to one

Another school of thought posits that he keeps making the fatal mistake of not aligning with the ‘right’ or winning party in Lagos. Gbadamosi has literally driven competitors to a corner with their back against a wall with superior ideas and a well laid-out plan of how to execute them. Since he started contesting the office of governor of Lagos, every election year, Gbadamosi never disappoints. He gives a superlative presentation at public debate, which leaves his opponents trailing and the public cheering. So far, the rousing welcome from Lagosians have not translated to enough votes

man controlling everybody and thinking for everybody. I am in business. I do not depend on them for my upkeep.” It was a thinly veiled reference to the ironclad hold of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its National Leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the governance of Lagos State since 1999.

Gbadamosi said he is willing to pay the price for what it takes to diligently seek a change of government in Lagos through every legitimate means. In anticipation of any attempt to wield the big stick against him or his businesses, he has chosen to stay on the right side of the law by not cutting corners when it comes to his civic obligation in payment of taxes. “I was detained by the DSS sometime ago. They told me I was the most investigated governorship candidate in Lagos.”

The ADP governorship candidate in the 2019 reminded Governor Babajide SanwoOlu that it his name that is at stake and not that of Tinubu. “Sanwo-Olu needs to find his spine, he needs to find his backbone.

He needs to find his will.”

Knocking successive APC administrations in Lagos for impoverishing the people. He said, “I pray that they do not take the loan they want to build the Fourth Mainland Bridge. It means many generations of Lagosians will continue to pay the debt. Yet, one man keeps over N4 trillion in cash in his house. The Lagos -Badagry Expressway is a shame to 20 years of civilian governance in Lagos State despite the support received from the Federal Government and partners to redevelop the road. It is a shame to all of us Lagosians that we allow that road to get to such a deplorable state,” he said.

He said that the Lagos State Government could afford and should actually be paying N100,000 as minimum wage, considering the high cost of living in the state. Unlike many who flaunt multiple university degrees, Gbadamosi does not hide the fact that he acquired the experience and knowledge necessary to deal with the potential difficulties of life in an urban environment through practical engagement. Having dropped out of the Lagos State University, he never bothered to go back to school for another season of formal education. His very impressive testimonial is his growing successful business empire.

And he thinks he can make Lagos more prosperous, given the chance.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019

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POLITICS

In Imo, Litigants in the Governorship Race Head to Supreme Court Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that opponents of Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State have resolved to take their grievance to Supreme Court, having lost at the trial and appellate courts

Ihedioha

Uzodinma

Nwosu

Araraume

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and Industry Engr. Charles Ugwu, former Attorney-General Prof. Francis Dike (SAN), Secretary, Imo State Council of Elders Chief Peter Mgbenwelu, former military governor of Delta State Commodore Luke Ochulor and an elder statesman Chief J. C. Odunna.

To them, the statement by the Imo Professional Group “is a direct assault on the integrity of the nation’s judiciary.”

“What the authors of the publication attempted to achieve, throughout the 10-paragraph advertorial, was to discredit the learned judges involved in the matter at both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

“We are, however, of the view that this growing penchant to turn the Nigerian judiciary into a whipping boy is something every well-meaning and patriotic Nigerian must rise against.

“Much as we agree that the laws of the land allow citizens the liberty to seek remedies where they are not satisfied with judicial pronouncements, the growing tendency by political litigants to brand every court ruling that is not in their favour as a ‘travesty’, makes a mockery of our collective integrity as a people,” the Imo Leaders of Thought said.

ILT noted that the INEC, in declaring Ihedioha winner, said he satisfied all the requirements of the Electoral Act and the Constitution.

“This means that in the eyes of the law, the result declared by the electoral body was correct, valid and authentic. Therefore, the burden of proof to the contrary lies on the petitioners.

“The electoral laws require that to establish that a person did not satisfy the constitutional requirements as winner of an election, the results will have to be recalculated, beginning from the polling units; the reason being that votes are cast at the polling units.

“But throughout the trial, none of the petitioners was able to provide any new configuration of results from the polling units that could prove what INEC declared wrong.

“We agree that these three brothers of ours have the right to pursue their cases to the highest level, but the desperation they are manifesting in the matter is a let down to the rest of the people of the state.

“Imolites are amused that these three

hitherto mortal enemies, after losing woefully at the Tribunal and Court of Appeal, have proceeded to the Supreme Court as one unit, through a covert blackmail of the entire judiciary, as could be seen from their joint advertorial.

“But the people of the state, who voted overwhelmingly for Governor Ihedioha, are undeterred by the fact that the matter at hand is about the requirements of the law and are confident that the judiciary will not be swayed by the paranoia of recalcitrant clansmen.”

The Election Petition Tribunal, chaired by Justice Malami Dogondaji, in a September 21 verdict, held that the petitioners were unable to prove the allegations.

Dismissing Uzodinma’s petition, the Tribunal held that the results he presented were not recognised by law as they neither emanated from, nor were authenticated by, INEC. Justice Dogondaji said Nwosu’s application for judgment on admitted facts could not be sustained on the basis that declaratory reliefs are not granted on admitted facts.

The Tribunal held that Ararume’s expert witness could not be sustained having not participated in the election.

It dismissed Araraume’s and Nwosu’s petitions for lacking in merit and for being incompetent.

“Failure to discharge the heavy burden of proof makes the petition liable for dismissal and it is accordingly dismissed,” the tribunal held.

Not satisfied, Ihedioha’s opponents headed for the Court of Appeal.

But, on November 19, the appellate court dismissed their appeals.

A five-man panel, led by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, dismissed the appeals on grounds that they lacked merit.

The court awarded N500,000 cost against all the appellants in Ihedioha’s favour.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Tribunal’s findings and conclusions.

The appellate court found that Uzodinma, who came fourth, called no witness from the polling units, ward or local government level to prove that Ihedioha did not score 25 per cent of the votes cast in 18 out of the 27 LGAs.

The Court of Appeal discountenanced a set of documents in which he claimed to have scored substantial votes from 386 polling units, but which he alleged were excluded

by INEC. The appellate court allowed a cross-appeal to the effect that with respect to Section 179 (3) (4) and (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), only the person who came second in an election can make a case regarding Section 179 (2).

Ihedioha’s lawyers had contended that no other contestant in the March 9 election, except Nwosu, was competent to canvass the issue of whether Section 179 was complied with.

On Ararume, the appellate court agreed with the Tribunal’s position on his expert witness.

The Tribunal had found that the witness had degrees in Education rather than in Statistics.

He relied on Form EC8D, being the overall collation of results by INEC, and not polling units, ward or LGA results, and could not successfully demonstrate how he arrived at his figures from Form EC8D. Ararume’s other witness, his state collation officer, testified as to events that took place at the polling units in different parts of the state.

The Tribunal held that his evidence was hearsay, not based on what he witnessed.

Both the Tribunal and Court of Appeal disagreed with Nwosu, dismissing his claims that Ihedioha did not satisfy the requirements of geographical spread as stipulated in Section 179 (2).

The AA candidate’s witness, a Teacher at the College of Agriculture, Ishiagu in Ebonyi State, admitted under cross-examination that the only document he analysed was Form EC8D – the overall INEC-collated result.

The Tribunal and the Court of Appeal concluded that Nwosu’s “expert” was a mere sympathiser, who was out to support the petitioner’s case rather than help the court arrive at the truth.

The Court of Appeal held that none of the petitioners was able to establish, by credible evidence, that Governor Ihedioha did not meet the requirements of geographical spread as stipulated in Section 179 (2).

The Court of Appeal noted that Araraume did not predicate his original petition on the geographical spread, but called for cancellation of the election on allegation of fraud.

It cautioned Ararume on the point that he cannot present one case at the trial court and an entirely different one on appeal.

AA withdrew from the petition, and a high court struck out Nwosu’s candidature, which was upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution provides: “No association, other than a political party, shall canvass for votes for any candidate at any election…”

With the Constitution having no provision for independent candidature, observers will be keen to see how the Supreme Court resolves his prayers.

he Supreme Court is expected to fix a date for hearing of appeals on the Imo State governorship election any moment from now.

Governor Emeke Ihedioha’s opponents are praying the Supreme Court to overturn the judgments of the Imo State Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal judgment that upheld his victory in the March 9 election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the keenly contested election.

The returning officer, Francis Otunta, said Ihedioha polled 273,404 to beat his closest rival, Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance (AA), who polled 190,364.

Ihedioha won in 11 of the 27 local government areas, defeating about 69 other candidates.

The other major candidates included former Senator Ifeanyi Araraume of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who polled 114,676 votes; Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) 96,458 votes, and former governor Ikedi Ohakim of the Accord Party (6,846 votes).

The Returning Officer declared Ihedioha the winner “having satisfied all the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes”.

Ihedioha’s opponents urged the Election Petition Tribunal to cancel the election on the grounds that he did not meet the mandatory 25 per cent in two-thirds of the local government areas.

They also alleged substantial non-compliance with the electoral laws.

But both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal dismissed the case.

However, an association, the Imo Professional Group, faulted both judgments, saying the courts did not do justice.

In an advertorial signed by Dr. Ifeanyi Emeka, the group said, “It is a cardinal principle of law that justice must not only be done, but seen to be done.

“The ‘justice’ of the judgement of the Imo State Election Tribunal, chaired by Justice Malami Dongondaji, and the Court of Appeal by five man panel led by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, can definitely not be seen from the judgment of the courts.”

The group said Ihedioha failed to meet the constitutional minimum requirement of scoring 25 per cent of the votes cast in each of at least the two-third of all the local government areas (LGAs) in the state.

“It, therefore, baffles one’s imagination why and how the ‘learned judges’ can find legal reasons to ignore such a brazen wrong against the constitution,” the group said.

But, another group, the Imo Leaders of Thought (ILT), disagreed with the Imo Professional Group, and warned against denigrating the judiciary.

ILT comprises former Deputy Governor Ebere Udeagu, former Minister of Commerce

The electoral laws require that to establish that a person did not satisfy the constitutional requirements as winner of an election, the results will have to be recalculated, beginning from the polling units; the reason being that votes are cast at the polling units. But throughout the trial, none of the petitioners was able to provide any new configuration of results from the polling units that could prove what INEC declared wrong

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FEATURES

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

Re-issued Nigeria’s Border Closure: The Pains, Gains and Challenges Julius Enehikhuere

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igeria shares international boundaries with the Republic of Benin to the west, Cameroon and Chad to the east and Niger, to the north.

Apart from these official borders, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) says more than 1,400 illegal border routes exist in the country as smugglers routes, creating security challenges.

The former comptroller-general of the service, Mr David Parradang, says that although the country has only 84 approved land border control posts, there are also more than 1,400 illegal borders in the country.

But Nigerian authorities note that the porous borders have resulted in crisis in economy sector that has been affecting the development of the country.

So, in August, Nigeria authority announced and enforced the closure of its border with the Republic of Benin.

The operation under the codename “Ex-Swift Response’’ was a collaborative security operation involving the Nigeria Immigration Service and Nigeria Customs Service together with Nigeria Police and the Armed Forces.

President Muhammadu Buhari attributes the partial closure of Nigeria’s border with Benin Republic to the massive smuggling activities, especially of rice, taking place on that corridor.

He expresses great concern over the smuggling of rice, noting that it threatens the self-sufficiency already attained due to his administration’s agricultural policies.

Similarly, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, retired Col. Hameed Ali, says that the closure of Nigeria’s borders was undertaken to strengthen the nation’s security and protect its economic interests.

Ali also observes that closure would stem the influx of smuggled goods, especially rice and tomatoes into the country, insisting that the closure has significantly increased revenue from import duties.

However, while the government claims to have acted in the best interests of the economy and Nigerians, some Nigerians and citizens of neighbouring countries most affected by the closure, continue to express worry about it, calling for an immediate reopening of the borders.

Some economists believe that the decision to close the nation’s land borders could be painful to the concerned neighbouring countries, considering the relationship with them.

According to them, one of the immediate gains of the closure could be a stop to the dumping of goods from European markets in Nigeria.

They are of the opinion that the action would go a long way in protecting our local manufacturers and producers.

They describe it as policy that would address and redefine relations with our neighbours in a win-win situation.

But critics insist that border closure is an economic aberration as most countries don’t usually close their borders for trade-related reasons.

According to them, the closure has the potential to disrupt the economic lifelines of many traders who depend on legitimate cross-border trade.

Irrespective of this, Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, says that the decision to close border is part of the measures to preserve foreign policy in the national interest. “Last time, I was critical of Nigeria’s refusal to sign the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and recently I have been in support of the decision to close the border. “Nigeria is 70 per cent of the population of West Africa and if we have an industrial policy that is aimed at protecting the produc-

Photo credit: Thisdaylive.com tive sector of Nigeria, it is a fair competition. “We cannot allow our neighbours to open their doors to this unfair competition and through the back door undermine our industry. “It is not about smuggling petroleum or rice; but in 2017, the Republic of Benin was the world’s second largest importer of tramadol — an opioid pain medication that is being abused — to U.S. “So closing the borders, I hope is not a permanent solution but what I hope is that is an opportunity to sit down and agree on rules and then opens up the borders. “It is extremely important to have a Foreign Policy that is ready to take very firm decision to protect the national interest against dangerous trade activities,� Sanusi observes.

Sharing similar sentiments, Ghana’s former President John Mahama has lauded the creation of a joint-security taskforce on the borders of Nigeria but warns that the continued delay is harming the economies of the West African region.

Mahama believes that the greatest volume of trade in West Africa takes place in the Lagos – Abidjan corridor. “I believe that an ECOWAS meeting of the Heads of States should discuss the issues and it could lead to the resolution of the problem. “So, closing your border is the simplest thing to do; any country can say I’m closing my border to imports from my neighbours, but it doesn’t help to build the kind of integration we are trying to build in West Africa,’’ he said.

He also expresses the fear that by the time the borders are re-opened, some businesses that rely on each other’s export may have collapsed.

Economists note that one of the immediate consequences of Nigeria’s action is the backlash it will have on Nigerian traders in Ghana.

They allege that more than 400 shops owned by Nigerians have been closed for flimsy excuses that were, hitherto, overlooked.

Nigeria Union in Diaspora also alleges that Nigerian traders in Accra are being harassed

and victimised.

In spite of this, authorities in Nigeria, having observed the encouraging changes in the economy, recently foreclosed re-opening of the nation’s borders.

For instance, the Federal Government says 95 per cent of arms and ammunition inflow to Boko Haram insurgent group, kidnappers, killer herdsmen and bandits has gone down considerably.

Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed says border closure against importation of foreign goods and illegal immigrants will remain, observing that 296 illegal immigrants have been arrested.

According to him, the decision to close the borders is taken to secure the country which has been confronted by numerous transborders economic and security challenges. “These challenges range from banditry, kidnapping, smuggling, illegal migrants and proliferation of light weapons, among others. “The preference for foreign goods, especially food items such as rice, has continuously impoverished our farmers and adversely affected domestic government policies supporting the agricultural sector to enhance food security. “It is, however, disturbing that some neighbouring countries circumvent the ECOWAS protocol on transit. “ECOWAS protocol on transit demands that when a transit container berths at a seaport, the receiving country is mandated to escort same without tampering with the seal to the border of the destination country. “Experience has shown that our neighbours do not comply with this protocol.

Rather, they break the seals of containers at their ports and trans-load goods destined for Nigeria,’’ he said.

The minister, who expresses satisfaction with success so far recorded by the joint task force, observing that the singular decision has reduced importation of foreign goods, increased revenue generation and enhances security. “On the economy, the partial closure of the borders has curbed the smuggling of foreign rice into the country, in addition to other prohibited items. “Our series of interactions and engage-

ments with Rice Miller Association of Nigeria since the commencement of this exercise has shown that the border closure has enhanced more production and milling of Nigerian rice. “Patronage of local rice has increased and farmers are expanding their farms as well as engaging more hands. “Border closure has also impacted positively on revenue generation which in turn will be used to build more infrastructures and develop critical sectors of the nation’s economy. “The border closure has also curbed diversion of petroleum products from Nigeria to neighbouring countries,’’ he said.

Mohammed says further that 95 per cent of illicit drugs and weapons that are being used for acts of terrorism and kidnapping in Nigeria is through porous borders. “Our conclusion is that the arms and ammunition these terrorists and criminal elements are using no longer gain access into the country. “The drugs which affect the health and wellbeing of Nigerians have equally been reduced,’’ the minister said.

He assures the public that government, through diplomatic channels, would continue to engage the nation’s neighbours to agree to comply with the ECOWAS Protocol on Transit.

According to the minister, goods that are on the prohibition list to Nigeria, such as rice, used clothing, poultry products and vegetable oil, should not be exported to the country.

He also notes that the closure has provided a unique platform for the various participating agencies to jointly operate together, thereby strengthening inter-agency collaboration and reducing animosity.

He insists that the purpose of border close is to promote a secure, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria.

Mohammed, therefore, calls on all Nigerians to be patriotic by patronising local rice to help the country to attain self-sufficiency in local rice production and boost the economy.

-Enehikhuere writes from News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

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FEATURES

Addressing Kano’s Environmental Challenge

Sharada and Challawa Industrial Estates, Kano

Kano State Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Kabir Ibrahim Getso Tajudeen Kareem

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t is a blend of old and new; traditional and modern. In Northern Nigeria, Kano city is indeed a phenomenon in trade and commerce. But it is also blighted by the seeming neglect of many opportunities.

To be sure, this sprawling city, home to large number of migrants from within and from outside Nigeria, has suffered from avoidable environmental degradation, most especially from uncontrolled discharge of effluents from tanneries. For many years, thick, coloured and smelly water is continously piped intoopen drains, seeping into bodies of water and contaminating underground water and air. These are indeed concerns for the health of the environment and citizens.

Kano has the highest number of tanneries and considerable number of textile industries in the country and these are the major polluters of the environment. The effluents discharged from these industries do not meet the standard set by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, the national watch dog for the environment.

The people have suffered silently the effects of increasing pollution from industrial activities with discharges into the Challawa river from Challawa Industrial Area; the Salanta river from Sharada Industrial Area as well as Jakara dam from Bompai Industrial Area. But the problem has its roots in inadequate planning dating back to four decades.

Tanneries and textile industries in most Nigerian cities do not have the capacity and technology to manage their wastes in an environmentally responsible manner. The indiscriminate discharge of untreated industrial effluents into rivers have caused great damage to river beds, adjoining farm lands and contamination of both underground water and water reservoirs. The continuous discharge of contaminated effluents does not only affect the quality of water but also air and soil; hence the major environmental and ecological pollution now witnessed in Kano city.

Indeed, concerns for environmental pollution around Bompai Industrial

Ambassador Mohammed Usman Tayyib, an industrialist at Sharada

Area were raised as early as 1978 by the public. Records indicate that the Kano State Government actually commissioned a study on the problem same year. The outcome recommended treatment of the industrial wastes through natural drainage channels with a discharge into the Jakara dam. Then, this system of effluents management was seemingly adequate as an effective method of waste treatment and disposal. As new industries sprang up inChallawa and Sharada Industrial Areas, effluents generated were discharged into Challawa River and Salanta River respectively.

In the three industrial areas in Kano, the environment is under increasing pressure from solid and liquid wastes emanating from the tannery industries.

The metalspresent in tannery effluents such as chromium, aluminium and zirconium are all classified as having a high and chronic toxic effect on organic life.

These are inevitable by-products of the leather manufacturing process and cause significant pollution unless properly treated prior to discharge.

Moreover, the tannery industry can cause high influx of chromium into the biosphere which contributes 40 per cent of the total industrial use.

Untreated wastewater discharged from tanning industries contains high level of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, electrical conductivity, and heavy metals especially chromium above permissible levels, making it potentially toxic.

Cognizant of the dangers to the environment and the people, the Kano State Government, the Federal Ministry of Environment and other interested parties have carried out several preliminary studies and made sundry recommendations on the treatment of the industrial waste in Kano.

The options are varied with rising cost over time, but Kano State Government could not respond to the pollution problems due to paucity of funds. Last year, the Ecological Fund Office (EFO), an arm of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, stepped in to address the problem in a sustainable manner.

A technical committee which reviewed all options was mandated to

Laying of high density pipes to channel euents to central treatment plants

produce a cost-effective and sustainable management plan for the industrial waste in the Challawa, Sharada and Bompai Industrial Areas of Kano.

Information gleaned from the EFO indicated that the technical committee embarked on data collection,including reconnaissance survey of the project site, inventory of existing physical features, drainage evaluations, soil materials assessments, the volume of effluent discharged by the companies during peak and ordinary periods, quantity of skin processed during peak and ordinary periods per day and evaluation of research works previously undertaken on the matter.

The committee, in considering international best practice, studied effluent treatment in similar industrial clusters in other climes like Austria, Kenya and Ethiopia.

The committee, according to the Permanent Secretary, EFO, Dr. Habiba Lawal, recommended that a Central Effluent Treatment Plant, CETP, for both primary and secondary treatment of 4,000m^3/day capacity be built in Sharada; a similar CETP capable of handling15,000m^3/day volume for Challawa; and a primary treatment plant of 1,000m^3/day capacity for Bompai. It also recommended the construction of closed effluent conveyance pipes and covered culverts in all the industrial sites as well as road improvement especially at Challawa and Sharada Industrial Areas.

Messrs Alps Global Link, which last year won a competitive bidding, moved to site last April. Construction work is proceeding steadily. A team of journalists which toured the project sites at Sharada, Challawa and Bompai last week found workmen at all the locations laying pipes through deep tunnels. Nurain Akewusola, a civil engineer, spoke on the scope of the project which entails digging tunnels and laying pipes across over 10 kilometres.

Every 30 metres apart is a reinforced concrete chamber, between 2.5 and 4.5 metres deep. The disparity is to facilitate easy flow across varying gradients, said Akewusola, who disclosed that the chambers are linked by 300 mm high density polyethylene pipes.

Hundreds of pipes are linked to three separate effluent treatment

plants. Every industrial hub will get a treatment plant. While civil work has reached about 90 per cent level and the construction of the treatment plants would soon commence for the three locations. “We have the full co-operation of the Nigerian Railway Corporation on the site earmarked at Bompai, where construction of the effluent plant has commenced,� said Dr. Lawal.

At Sharada and Challawa, the state government is reaching out to host communities in the bid to ensure that workmen have unfettered access to the sites to build the treatment plants.

Kano State Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim Getso, at a press briefing, reiterated the resolve of the state government to ensure the prompt completion of the project. He said the Bureau of Land Management has submitted its assessment report which is awaiting the consideration of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

Dr. Getso also expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for taking a bold step in containing the persistent environmental challenge faced by the people of Kano even as he expressed optimism that the gesture by the EFO will restore the industrial glory of Kano State, help old and existing industries to operate more profitably in line with global best practice.

More stakeholders have hailed the timely intervention of the Federal Government in reversing the age-long environmental devastation of Kano industrial areas.

Mohammed Usman Tayyib built a tannery factory at Sharada in 2003 to process hides and skin. The company produces finished leather goods and employshundreds as factory hands. “We handle primary processing and collect the sludge, but wastewater is discharged to the open gutter,� said Ambassador Tayyib who hailed the federal government for responding to address an age long problem. “Now waste water can be recycled and reused. In the long term, this makes our business competitive in the international market, preserving the environment because we all know that untreated industrial water with various chemicals is harmful,� said Tayyib.

-Kareem wrote in from Abuja.

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WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 •T H I S D AY

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Quick Takes Stanbic Named Among Top 10 Brands

STRATEGYSESSION

L-R: Head, Corporate Services Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mrs. Nkechi Onyenso; Chairman, Mr. Asue Ignodalo; Ag Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi -Esan; and Co- Chair, Private Sector, GIPC, NESG, Mr. Aigboje Aig - Imoukhuede, at the NESG steering committee meeting in Lagos... recently ETOP UKUTT

Report: Nigeria Loses N233 Billion to Gas Flaring Peter Uzoho The Nigerian economy lost a whopping N233 billion to gas flaring in 2018.

This, represented 3.8 per cent of the total global flare same year, a report by PwC Nigeria, one of the leading professional services companies has revealed.

The report launched in Lagos recently, with the titled, “Assessing the Impact of Gas Flaring on the Nigerian Economy: Part 1,� showed that the amount was also equivalent to $761.6 million.

According to the World Bank, gas flaring cost the global economy $20 billion in 2018.

The report indicated that 240 million standard cubic feet (mscf)

CAPITAL MARKET of gas valued at $839.9 million was flared onshore in the year under review.

It added that the amount of natural gas flared onshore in 2018 would have attracted payable penalty of $479 million, adding that the flared gas had 24,000 gigawatts per hour of power generation potential.

The PwC report equally showed an offshore flaring of 232.4 million scf, valued at $813.6 million; with payable penalty of $464.9 million as well as 24,200 gigawatts per hour of power generation potential in the same period.

It, however, stated that while the total economic cost of the flaring in 2018 stood at N233 billion, and total cost of the environmental effect was N28.76 billion.

The report further revealed that the N233 billion lost could have been used to finance some priority developmental projects in the country, such as healthcare capital expenditure, housing, electricity, roads, rehabilitation of airports and aerodrome, among others.

Nigeria has the largest proven gas reserves in Africa and ninth largest in the world with 200.41 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas as at 2018.

In 2018, Nigeria produced 1.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

However, daily gas production remains low, despite the large proven and unproven gas reserves the country holds.

Also, the PwC report noted that the percentage of gas flared in Nigeria has been reducing since 2002, standing at 10 per cent in 2018.

According to the report, “the country still ranks in the top 10 gas flaring countries in the world, with 7.4 billion cubic feet in 2018. Total gas flared in Nigeria accounted for 6.9 per cent of the top 10 gas flaring countries in 2018.�

Although, Nigeria has set 2020 as a deadline to achieve zero Continued on page 24

Executive Order Has Not Improved Patronage of Local Products, Says MAN Dike Onwuamaeze The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has declared that the Executive Order 003, which mandated all government establishments to make Nigerian manufactured goods their first choice in public procurement process has not boosted the patronage of Nigerian manufactured products due to poor implementation.

MAN, in its Manufacturers’ CEOs Confidence Index (MCCI) report on the manufacturing sector for the third Quarter of 2019, stated that 62 per cent of those it interviewed disagreed that patronage of Nigerian

ECONOMY manufactured products has improved as a result of the Executive Order 003.

The report stated that only 28 per cent of its respondents agreed that patronage has improved while the remaining 10 per cent were not sure of the status of its implementation. “Unsurprisingly, formulation of laudable policies has never been an issue for Nigeria but evidence has shown that poor policy implementation has been the challenge in the country. “Therefore, there is need to properly review the implementa-

tion processes of the Executive Order 003 to ensure that Government patronage of goods manufactured in Nigeria improves to boost the performance of the Nigerian manufacturing companies for increased contribution to national output and increased employment opportunities,� the MCCI stated.

The report also noted that the government’s manner of implementing the capital projects does not encourage productivity in the manufacturing sector.

MAN attributed the ineffective implementation of capital projects to delay in budget approvals; the small size of budgetary allocation for capital expenditure and the poor implementation of capital

projects.

It enumerated the fallout of poor implementation of capital projects to include poor basic infrastructure such as inefficient port infrastructure, inadequate electricity supply, deplorable road networks and low patronage of domestic products by the government.

The report stated that, “Ideally, government expenditures and procurements are veritable catalysts for improved productivity, growth and employment. “For instance, capital project that is well funded and properly implemented will translate to Continued on page 24

Stanbic IBTC Bank, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has beennamedamongthe‘Top10BrandsMakingaDierenceinNigeria.’ The ďŹ rst-ever Nigeria corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability ranking 2019 recently released byTRUCSR revealed that Stanbic IBTC Bank emerged number 10 on the list of Top 50 Brands.TheTop50listismadeupofcompaniesfromdiversesectors such as banking, oil and gas, FMCG, telecomms, power, PayTV, tech, non-governmentalorganisationandhealth,whoareinvestinginhighly impactful CSR and sustainability programmes.

The criteria used to adjudicate the ranking included participation and recognition in national and international awards and ratings as well as investment in CSR and Sustainability during the period under review.The ranking was based on the result of impact assessments of 910 organisations that have been operating in Nigeria for over 13 years. It also focused on the number of stakeholders impacted, replicability and sustainability quotient, which is essentially impact per naira. “TRUCSR, for over a decade, has created platforms for intelligent access, awareness and documented actions which many have come to describe as the trailblazing spadework that has led to the rapid growth of what has now become a vibrant and viable corporate social responsibility and sustainability industry in Nigeria and Africa. “Earlier in the year,TRUCSR announced its partnership with the international business magazine, Forbes and The Global 100, to release Nigeria’s ďŹ rst CSR and sustainability ranking before the end of the year.

Marriott to Open ‘W’ Hotel in Cairo

Marriott International has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Landmark Sabbour to bring the ‘W’ Brand’s bold design, signature Whatever/Whenever service and innovative programming to Cairo. This, it stated, underscored the growing demand for luxury in Egypt. It is expected to open in 2024. To be located just 25 kilometres from Cairo International Airport, the new hotel would add its own vibrant W experience to the ultra-modern urban landscape of New Cairo. Known for seeking out new/next destinations in buzzworthy markets around the globe, Wis poised to welcome guests and locals to the new-build locale as the city’s reputation for ground-breaking design grows as fast as its skyline. “NewCairoisaburgeoning,dynamiclifestyledestinationinCairo,and we are excited to collaborate with Landmark Sabbour to redeďŹ ne modern luxury in one of the most awe-inspiring travel destinations in the world,â€? President & Managing Director, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International, Alex Kyriakidis said. “This signing not only illustrates our commitment to Egypt but also reinforces the increasing demand for the W Hotels brand in this region and around the globe.â€?

Also, Managing Director of Landmark Sabbour, , Eng. Amr Sultan, said: “We choose to work with those who share our development standards, innovative perception of luxury community building, and whose objectives align with our own.

AIO Tours Regional Markets

The Secretary General of the Africa Insurance Organisation (AIO), Mr Jean Baptist Ntukamazina, has embarked on a tour of some regional organisation and markets as a way of preparing for the implementation of the new strategic plan of the organisation.

Ntukamazina, stated this during his tour of Dakar, Senegal, where he held talks with oďŹƒcials of FANAF as well as the local insurance market. According to him, his outing was in line with enhancing the advocacy, market building and networking roles of the AIO as prescribed by the new strategic plan.

Hesaidthevisitwouldenablehimcarryout on-the-spotassessment of the needs and expectations of the various stakeholders vis-Ă -vis theorganisation,aswellasgetproposalsonthebestwaystheAfrican Insurance Organisation can better serve their interest.

He said the Executive Committee of the AIO, recently adopted a new strategic plan whose aim is to make the AIO contribute to increase Africa’s insurance penetration, advocate for its members, become a centre of competence for the African insurance industry and double its share of members among African insurers.

“Yes, the Ninth Senate will approve the loan request. It is true that the Eighth Senate did not approve the loan request because there was no sufficient information. But this time around, we have been provided better information and details about the loan�

Senate President

Dr. Ahmad Lawan

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REPORT: NIGERIA LOSES N233 BILLION TO GAS FLARING gas flaring, the report, however, highlighted some challenges in meeting deadline.

It listed delay in passing other components of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB); Absence of infrastructural support; and below optimal punitive measures, as some of those challenges.

To this end, PwC suggested that to reduce gas flaring, Nigeria needs to plant 7.5 million hectares of trees; which will absorb 638 million cubic tons of carbon from flaring and other sources of carbon emission.

It also warned that this would cost the country $94 million annually, which is equivalent to N28,764,000,000 times two.

EXECUTIVE ORDER HAS NOT IMPROVED PATRONAGE OF LOCAL PRODUCTS, SAYS MAN improved patronage of manufacturers producing products like cement, iron rods, billets, tiles, nails, iron mesh, pipes, angle irons, doors, window frames and employ local engineers to mention but a few.�

The quarterly report also stated that the country’s operating environment was not conducive to the manufacturing sector.

According to the report, 88 per cent of the CEOs interviewed in the report agreed that multiple/over-regulation by agencies of government depressed productivity in the manufacturing sector. “Quite often, agencies of the federal, state and local authorities regulate the same manufacturing process resulting to man-hour loses, supervisory duplication and multiple regulatory charges. “It is expedient that government harmonise the operations, regulatory checklists and mandates agencies of government at all levels to promote friendlier operating environment,� the report said.

Similarly, the report said that 89 percent of its respondents also agreed that multiple taxes and levies depressed production in the manufacturing sector.

The MCCI showed that manufacturers pay over 30 different taxes, levies and fees to agencies of the federal, state and local governments on account of increased revenue target.

Analysts Forecast Bright Prospects for Cement Stocks Next Year Goddy Egene Investment analysts have predicted positive performance for listed companies in the building materials sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

In special report on the industrial goods sector obtained

by THISDAY, analysts at Cordros Capital Limited, stated that Nigeria’s present administration remains committed to bridging the infrastructure deficit in Nigeria. “On that premise, we believe capital expenditure (CAPEX) outlay will be even stronger 2020 as the government prepares to reflate economic growth with an ambitious N10.6 trillion budget. The Buhari-led government earmarked N2.14 trillion for CAPEX spend in 2020 (excluding CAPEX components of statutory transfer). While we acknowledge the significant shortfall from the N2.93 trillion budgeted in the prior year, our optimistic view hangs solely on a higher implementation rate, given better revenue prospects,� they said.

According to the analysts in the proposed 2020 budget would involve heavy cement consuming projects. This include: Works and Housing N262 billion; Transportation N123 billion and Power N127 billion. “Beyond the preceding, we

also believe that Nigeria’s growing preference for concrete roads, given its better lease of life, also looks set to bolster cement demand. We believe the recently completed 28km ItoriIbese road in Ogun State and the 43km long Obajana-Kabba road in Kogi State must have induced both the government and private sector to embrace

cement-paved roads,� they said.

Looking at the performance of the share prices of cement producers in the stock market, the analysts said it was not unconnected to the widespread naira asset sell-offs by foreign and domestic investors. “The troika impact of unclear government policies, weak earnings growth, and still

tepid economic recovery was that investors remained risk-off Nigerian equities. While Dangote Cement Plc had lost 26.2 per cent year-to-date, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria gained 18.6 per cent and Lafarge Africa Plc appreciated 9.3 per cent outperformed. For the latter, we believe investors welcomed the news of its

divestment from the margin dilutive South African business.

The action helped the company deleverage its balance sheet and also allowed management to focus on the more profitable Nigerian market, where they believe opportunities abound.

We think the prospect of gains from the divestment resonated deeply with investors.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

L- R: CEO Richardson Oil & Gas Ltd/Chairman Programmes Committee of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Akin Osuntoki; Principal Manager Sales LASACO Assurance Plc/Committee member, Jumoke Koleoso; CEO Thistle Praxis Consulting Ltd and Committee member, Ini Abimbola, and General Manager/Group Head Business Development BUA Group and committee member,Tajudeen Ahmed, at the First Edition of NBCC’s Sharing Experiences Series with Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, held in Lagos...recently

Adebayo Advocates State Investment Agencies to Address Constraints James Emejo in Abuja The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo, has tasked state governments including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to set up investment promotion agencies to tackle investment related constraints and aid their quest for industrialisation of their respective economies.

He said the establishment of such agencies that could be likened to the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) at state level could help address investment and

investor-related issues as well as fast-track economic growth.

Speaking when he met with members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) led by Dr. Doyin Salami at the Presidential Villa, during a ministerial briefing with the council, the minister, further called on the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to pass a resolution to address specific anti-investment activities.

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Julius Toba-Jegede, Adebayo also canvassed for effective collaboration with stakeholders to combat

security issues and challenges facing investment drive in the country.

He said: “States should set up investment promotion agencies to address investment and investment-related issues and develop their investment profiles.�

He also called for the enforcement of all relevant agencies in the One Stop Investment Center which is housed in the NIPC. He told the council that this was part of the deliberations held with state governments at the recently concluded 11th National Council of Industry, Trade and Investment held in Uyo Akwa

Ibom State.

He disclosed that he had also set up a delivery team in the ministry to fast track the attainment of its 2019-2023 roadmap under seven strategic work streams.

He listed the work streams to include, Implementation of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), Support the Growth of MSMEs, Improve MSMEs Market Access and Accelerate Investment in the Nigerian Economy.

Others according to him are to facilitate trade and establish 21st century trade/free trade

agreements, process digitisation and e-government solutions and anti-Smuggling measures.

Adebayo, who was accompanied to the meeting by his Minister of State, Ambassador Mariam Yalwaji Katagum and top management staff of the ministry was commended by members of the presidential council, which described his presentation as one of the most concise and brilliant so far received by his council.

Salami, said the essence of the meeting was to interact with ministries, departments and agencies, and ensure a synergy on government’s economic policies.

Group Sets 2020 Agenda for FG, States Peter Uzoho

Group Business Editor

ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ă‹ Capital Market Editor

ÙÎÎã Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?

Comms/e-Business Editor

Ă—Ă—Ă‹ Ă•Ă™Ă˜Ă”Ă“ Senior Correspondent

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

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Maritime) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Finance) ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? åÙÔÓ (Insurance) Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ě™(Energy) Reporters

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

Reduction in cost of living, improving compliance to regulations and entrenching transparency in the management of public affairs, are part of major issues Nigerians expect government at all levels to address in 2020.

At the Fifth Regulatory Conversation organised by the Convention on Businesses Integrity (CBi) with the theme: “National Integrity Barometer: A Roadmap for 2020,� participants from both public and private sector, said those issues were critical to the development and stability of the country.

The programme was in partial fulfilment of the CBi’s initiatives under the Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC) Project.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of CBi, Mr

Soji Apampa, stated that the aim of the event was to discuss the National Integrity Barometer, projecting into the year 2020.

He added that time had come for Nigeria, a nation stereotyped as global leader in corruption, to create a new narrative for itself by being a global leader in building Integrity.

In her goodwill message, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mrs Toki Mabogunje, who alluded to lack of integrity at the grassroot level, stressed the need to build high level integrity.

According to her, “when you build integrity you improve the quality of citizens you have in a country, and all transactions, relationships, and participation in that community becomes much more improved.� Mabogunje, further asserted that lack of

integrity affects profitability, trust in the market, financial institutions, relationships and partnership situations. However, during group discussions at the event, the participants identified cost of living as very high, which encourages individual’s involvement in corrupt practises to meet up with the pressure.

They also stressed the need for compliance to regulations and harped the need for automation in service delivery, urging government to deploy technology in Land purchase to ease access.

The participants also spoke on the need for improved welfare and salary increase for the Police Force, in addition to periodic trainings eveb as they identified the need for speed in service delivery and efficiency in the Nigerian Immigration Service in relation to Passport

processing.

Bello, while appreciating the visit, promised to look into the matter and bring the dispute to a quick end.

According to him, “Based on your presentation and the letter you presented that I have glanced, I understand what the issues are.

And as an organisation, we will try our best to support you to see how this matter is brought to a conclusion. I will suggest that if you have a liaison officer here in Abuja, we will direct him to link up with the Chief of Staff who will coordinate the matter before the President if you have anybody here in Abuja. It does not matter, you can directly link up the Chief of Staff and the matter will be rested. “And having said that, l have personally followed the activities of your Council. And I think the reason for establishing

your Council is very important particularly at the stage we are now as a developing country.

He noted that as a minister, he has had course to see a lot of conflict in respect to corporate governance. Especially in corporative associations of government workers in various ministries. This he said, was something that the council may want to beam their searchlight on because, “you find out that the corporative movements especially for public sector workers is meant to serve as mean of cushion in for their day to day activities and welfare and some of them, have a potential huge amount of resources and from what I have been reading, due to lack of corporate governance and proper financial documentation and reporting, a lot of members lose thousands of their money and a few people go scotch free.�

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LASWA Partners NGO on Youth Empowerment Akinwale Akintunde The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) in collaboration with a nongovernmental organisation (NGO), Mitimeth Recyclers, have trained over 400 riverine dwellers on how to use water hyacinth to make handicraft.

The beneficiaries of the initiative tagged, ‘Water Hyacinth Recycling Training’ used the harvested hyacinth to make bags, plate mats, foot mats, jewellery, storage baskets, key holders, bottles, flower vase, among others.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony for beneficiaries of the training held at the Ikorodu Ferry Jetty, recently, the General Manager of LASWA, Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said the agency initiated the programme to create waste-to-wealth for youth in coastal communities.

Emmanuel, said turning waste-to-wealth is an agenda of the state government which LASWA has keyed into this to increase prosperity, while making the waterways safe for boat operators.

According to the LASWA boss, water hyacinth cannot be totally eradicated but

could be controlled through harvesting into new materials and valuable products.

He described water hyacinth as one of the fastest growing weeds across the globe infesting water bodies in over 50 countries. “This is actually amazing, I just got my key holders made of water hyacinth. “What we saw as waste has now been turned to wealth.

For me, it is mind blowing and telling us that from every problem and challenge we see, there is always an opportunity. “It is very impressive to see how products are being made from the water hyacinth which we see as major menace from the waterways�, Emmanuel said.

Also speaking at the training graduation, which is the third edition having conducted similar training both at Epe and Badagry, Mrs. Achenyo IdachabaObaro, the Founder of the Mitimeth, said the goal was to transform this environmental menace into an economic livelihood. Idachaba-Obaro, said the NGO was poised to achieving the Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs).

According to her, the participants need market access, support and funds to grow the handicraft and contribute their quota to national development. “So, we are taking a problem and coming out with a creative solution. We are empowering members of the community to take advantage of this resource which we have in abundance here and create ultimate livelihood for women and men.� “By the end of the 10-day training workshop, we are able to demonstrate that these green plants that we have on waterways preventing access can actually be created into products of value. “All these products were actually made by the trainees.

We want to appreciate the Lagos State government and LASWA for believing in our commitment to this community development initiative. We are looking forward to actually taking this higher. “There is no reason why Ikorodu cannot become a producing community that manufactures eco-friendly work�, she said.

AbiaTakes Step to Shore Up Dwindling IGR Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia The Abia State Internal Revenue Service(ABiRS) is up in arms with persons and groups that have continued to cause revenue leakages in the state.

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu had set a monthly target of N1.5 billion for the revenue agency, but it appears the target was still far from being achieved due to massive leakages.

Last week the secretary to the state government (SSG), Mr. Chris Ezem lamented during a radio programme that Abia’s IGR still hovers between N700 million and N800 million every month.

The crackdown on fake revenue collectors spearheaded by the enforcement/ compliance team of ABiRS was launched in desper-

ate bid to checkmate the fraudsters and shore up the IGR) profile.

Already the crackdown was yielding results as the revenue court last week convicted two suspects and sentence d t h e m t o t h r e e years imprisonment each, or a fine of N100,000.

The presiding magistrate, Chinyereugo Ibeh found George Ohankwu of Umunakara in Nwangele local government and Miss P a t r i c i a O n u e g b u f ro m Ugiri, Isiala Mbano local government guilty of illegally collecting re v e n u e a c c ru i n g t o t h e government of Abia state.

W h e n t h e y w e re a rrested by the enforcement team the suspects were found in possession of re v e n u e re c e i p t s , n o t i c e of arrests for landlords/

occupants, demand notices, among other instruments of revenue leakages.

The illegal revenue collectors confessed that they were working for one Mrs. Esther Maduka, who was said to be working for one Dennis Nwamkpa both of whom were at large.

Prior to the crackdown on the illegal revenue collectors the new chairman of ABiRS, Mr. Celestine Boyle Agbara, had mounted enlightenment campaigns in the commercial city of Aba. In meetings with leaders of professional groups, market unions and traditional rulers the revenue boss emphasized that government had outlawed payment of revenue by cash.

He urged people to strictly adhere to government directive on payment of revenue in order to put fraudsters out of business.

New Solar System Unveiled Rebecca Ejifoma The Azuri Solar system has introduced the pay-as-you-go home solar system in Nigeria to provide independent electricity.

This was disclosed at a two-day Solar Technology conference held in Lagos, with the theme: ‘Solar Future Nigeria.’ The CEO, Azuri Technologies, Mr. Simon Bransfield-Garth, said the firm was providing solar home systems for households across Sub-Saharan Africa using solar power.

He described solar as a reliable power with positive advantages. “Every night you are go-

ing to have light, watching your TV. Also, you get rid of a generator for a large part of the day. You get rid of the noise, fumes and the cost of having one. The third one is Azuri you are able to get free energy,� he added.

Giving more maximum benefits, Bransfield-Garth added, “so, we estimate that already 10 million consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa have free energy from pay as you go solar home system and the first half of this year a million new systems were sold�.

He added: “You can waste energy, it sounds weird, but you can afford

to waste energy because it has no impact on the environment. “For Azuri solar system, it is designed to run for 12 years without issues.�

Baransfield-Garth said his firm expects to, overtime, progressively increase the capability of the system. “When we started Azuri 12 years ago, we provided just a little light which essentially was a replacement for a candle or a kerosene lamp. “Today, we got a 32-inch television. In five years’ time, I guarantee you we will have bigger television, fridges, and a variety of other devices,� he emphasised.

ELEVATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL Marie-Therese Phido

Never Give Up! I recently joined a club that I had been trying to join for over three years recently.

For some reason, though qualified, someone within the organisation felt I should not be made a member. Each time I applied, I was not accepted. I was determined and continued to press on, until I received the mail asking me to attend. The same thing happened when I applied for a programme and was told to attend a particular one – less than my choice. I persisted, and re-applied the next year and was admitted into the higher grade that I had applied for previously.

Many of us give up too easily when we want something. I never give up if I truly want something. “Never giving up sounds so clichĂŠ, but the repetition is justified because it’s the only choice you have if you want to get ahead. To master this art, you have to form habits which will become a lifestyleâ€?, says Alicia Honeycutt.

We saw this again this past weekend, where Anthony Joshua, regained his boxing world title after previously losing it to Ruiz. He worked hard tenaciously to get it back, even though it must have been hard work, he would have been psychologically traumatized from losing previously and discouraged at his form/ progress from time to time, but he did not give up.

Tiger Woods is another testament of someone who refused to give up despite several defeats. In fact it is on record that many said he would never regain his title. He proved everybody wrong by winning his fifth Masters 14 years after his last Green Jacket. You can imagine how hard that must have been for him.

Below are some strategies I adopt and suggestions from Alicia Honeycutt: More than intelligence or wealth, what separates the truly successful individuals from the rest is the fact that they never give up. They never give up no matter how they started or how many times they have failed in the past. We would not be enjoying Aliko Dangote, Jim Ovia – Zenith or even Bill Gates Windows today if the founders decided to quit early on.

Never giving up sounds so clichÊ, but the repetition is justified because it’s the only choice you have if you want to get ahead. To master this art, you have to form habits which will become a lifestyle.

Start pausing but not quitting Taking a step back gives you a whole new perspective on things. It allows you to gather strength and wisdom for the next steps. Resting is a weapon many fail to use.

Most of the time, things don’t go our way. Some days everything seems to go wrong. During these moments, it’s ok to pause. It’s ok to shout or cry.

It’s ok to rest for a while and think.

But it doesn’t mean you have to stop.

Regain your composure and proceed; try again.

Be honest with yourself and everyone around you People quit more often than they have to because they fail to be honest with themselves and everyone around them.

Dishonesty builds walls around individuals and opportunities. Be honest

with who you are, what you want and how you feel.

Be honest with yourself if you fail.

Admit and understand your mistakes and try your best to make amends. It is hard to move forward if you keep concealing and denying your faults.

Choose to be Positive In this cynical world, it pays to be positive. Optimism is a wealth magnet.

It doesn’t mean you have to be blindly happy all the time. It just means you choose to focus on the good things even if you are surrounded by chaos. The moment you let negativity in, quitting will seem to be the best option. Do not allow that.

Surround yourself with resilient people According to Jim Rohn, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with�. Do not expect to master not giving up if you hang out with quitters all the time. Are your friends resilient? If not, it’s time to look for new friends.

If you spend your time with people who are masters of the not giving up attitude, you are most likely to learn the art from them. Look for mentors who have already succeeded in their fields. Get to know their stories. You might be surprised on how many times they have failed. Spending time with resilient people makes you adopt their habits.

Stay motivated Motivate yourself every day. It is important to read, listen and watch motivational material. Feed your brain with stuff that inspires you. Surround yourself with anything that reminds you of why you have to keep trying.

There are plenty of free motivational materials. Take advantage of these resources. However, no matter how good these motivators are, it won’t work unless you allow it. You have to be your greatest motivator.

Have a cause bigger than yourself Why do you want to be successful?

Wealth is just the instrument you need to do what you really want. Have an advocacy with effects that will last for eternity.

Maybe you want to find a cure for cancer, maybe you want to help end poverty, or you want to be a promoter of peace. Whatever it is, go beyond money. Go for something that will improve humanity. Figure out what really moves you and resonates deep inside your soul.

Just don’t give up Just don’t give up. It’s as simple and complicated as that. Remove quitting from your vocabulary. Don’t make quitting an option.

Every time you fail in doing something, remember that only your actions failed but you are not a failure. Be objective, examine why it didn’t work and find a way to make it better. As long as your heart is beating, there is always a chance to try one more time. .

Marie-Therese Phido is a Sales & Mareting Strategist and Business Coach Email:mphido@elevato.com.ng Tweeter handle@osat2012

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Uduk: Investor Confidence Will Enhance Participation in Stock Market The acting Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Mary Uduk, in this interview after a recent Capital Market Committee meeting for 2019, spoke about measures to stimulate growth of the capital market. Goddy Egene presents the excerpts: What are some of the activities the SEC embarked upon to attract more investors and deepen the market?

Between the second Capital Market Committee (CMC) held in August and now, the commission has organised and participated in a number of events of which we informed the market at the meeting. Such events include our collaboration with the University of Lagos in organising a two-day conference on “Leveraging the capital market for economic growth and development� in September 2019. The event served as a convergence for industry experts, the SEC and the academia to forge a partnership that would aid the conduct of relevant research towards innovative solutions in our market. This was followed by the Commodities Round-table held in October, 2019, with over 170 key stakeholders in attendance.

This roundtable served as a platform to secure the buy-in of these stakeholders, as well as the perspective of policy makers towards improving the commodities ecosystem. As you are aware, Nigeria has a lot of potentials in the commodity space and the capital market can be used as a platform to achieve these. Another key highlight of our activities within the period was the convening of the Inaugural West African Capital Market Conference with the theme: “Positioning West Africa capital market to achieve sustainable and real economic growth through integration and sound regulation. The event which held from October 27-29, 2019 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, featured resource persons on infrastructure and sustainable financing, capital market integration, fintech, investor protection, amongst others. In addition, we launched the FinTech Roadmap for the Nigerian capital market during the Nigeria FinTech Week in October 2019. The event buttressed the commission’s resilience to adopt and guide the industry towards innovation. Following an amendment to Rule 61 (2) of the SEC Rules, the commission has issued directives to facilitate effective compliance with the amendments on operations of nominee accounts by capital market operators. We enjoin all capital market operators (CMOs) to familiarise themselves and comply with this new rule. To improve capital formation and investment from savings, we also informed the market that the Honorable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning has approved the composition of a National working group on Saving Scheme. The inauguration of the group will be undertaken by the Honorable Minister in the near future. In terms of our investor education efforts, you are aware of the initiative towards including Capital Market Studies in the curricula of Basic and Senior Secondary Schools.

Having infused the capital market content into this curriculum, the next phase of our work is to develop the Teachers’ Guides. We have equally constituted a steering committee for the Universities’ curriculum.

What are the highlights at the last CMC for 2019 and resolutions reached at the meeting?

At the meeting, the various Technical Committees provided updates on their activities and I would like to provide you with some of the highlights. In the presentation made by the Commodities Trading Ecosystem Committee, we were informed about the ongoing collaboration with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to review applicable standards as well as the schedule of a capacity building session for personnel of the Federal Ministries of Finance, Budget & Planning, Trade & Investment and Agriculture.

The Committee is also having engagements with relevant corporates and state governments to secure their buy-in on current initiatives in the ecosystem. Going forward, the committee is proposing to meet with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) on the status of the Nigerian Commodities Exchange (NCX) and work with the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) to develop some agricultural-based financial instruments. The Multiple Subscription Committee presented the status of its ongoing engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and committee of Heads of Banking Operation to display multiple accounts regu-

houses, the CSCS and NSE working on that in addition to the e-dividend management. The committee has come up with a resolution which was adopted at the last CMC meeting. Part of the resolutions is that stockbrokers will update information in respect of their clients. They are legacy issues, remember that before 2008, we had a lot of Nigerians who bought shares in the capital market and at that time we did not have BVN numbers. Even some of them did not provide their account numbers. What was agreed was that we would update information of such shareholders. That information will be transmitted to the CSCS who will update their own information and send them to the registrars.

This means we will not address the legacy issues by the time brokers update that information.

What was also agreed was that there will be no transaction in respect of any account that information is not updated. We also talked on the issue of compliance and enforcement which has to do with conduct of capital market operators.

It was agreed that there will be zero tolerance and the brokers will be given a time frame.

We hope that by the time that information is updated, the issue of unclaimed dividends will be resolved. Also going forward, the commission has approved the rule in respect of electronic offering and we believe that by the time we commence that, it will address that. Before you can complete the application, the system will validate your account number, the system will not accept incomplete application. We believe that in addition to the e-dividend mandate, these other initiatives that the commission is doing with other stakeholders will address the issue of unclaimed dividends.

Uduk larisation banners in the banking halls all over the country. The committee also reported that CMOs have commenced the filing of report on regularised accounts with the commission, on a quarterly basis. Given the relevance of this exercise and the need to create more awareness, the committee requested for an extension of the deadline of multiple accounts regularisation.

Also, the presentation by the e-Dividend Committee showed that the number of shareholders enrolled on the e-DMMS platform has increased to 2,820,065 at the end of the third quarter of 2019. Further updates were given concerning the ongoing efforts at integrating the Direct Cash Settlement (DCS) and the e-DMMS mandate forms as well as the engagement with the CBN on the inclusion of e-DMMS charges among allowable bank charges. Also, the Non-interest Finance Committee presented the importance of granting the PFAs the permission to invest a given percentage of a willing contributor’s Retirement Savings Accounts in non-interest capital market products. Updates were equally given on the progress made in the collaboration with the Debt Management Office (DMO) to develop a short term non-interest instrument.

The meeting received further updates from the presentation of the report of the Market Liquidity Technical Committee, as well as the final report of the Block Chain and Virtual Assets Committee.

We had extensive discussions on these technical committees’ presentations and comments were also received on the presentations of Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) and the Observer Groups.

With regards to the resolutions, Registrars are to discontinue the practice of requesting for confirmation of bank signature during the E-DMMS process. CMOs are to display awareness campaign banners of e-DMMS at their offices and venue of annual general meetings (AGM). Capital market

to share awareness information on their social media platforms. SEC to review the request from the Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) for extension of time for compliance on the transfer of complete investor data among operators such as Brokers, Registrars and CSCS. Upon completion, the position of the commission will be communicated to the relevant parties. The commission to engage the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) on modalities which would permit PFAs to participate in securities lending. The commission to develop rules and regulations on warehouse receipts within the current legal framework.

What new strategies is the commission looking for new ways of tackling unclaimed dividends?

Issue of unclaimed dividends are legacy issues.

They happened way back in the past. Right now you will not get unclaimed dividends from new issues. Part of the problem of unclaimed dividend has to do with identity management which we are doing all we can to educate the public on and engaging the various stakeholders to be able to get a lot of the information that we require. Since then, items like BVN has been added to help in identity management.

The capital market is also taking advantage of it.

The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and the Registrars are working together to ensure that more information from the legacy shareholders are being collected to be able to update their information and get them to be able to claim their dividends. Of recent, there has been a lot of engagements with shareholders on this issue. The registrars don’t have direct interface with shareholders, they deal directly with stockbrokers. But there is a committee comprising SEC, the registrars, the stockbrokers, the issuing

What is the SEC doing to attract retail investors?

We have various initiatives in place all geared towards attracting retail investors to the market.

We are interacting with them in a lot of ways like the social media, educational materials, and excursions to the commission, enlightenment campaigns among others. We are also interacting with them through the new curriculum that we are coming up with for capital market studies in secondary schools. Of recent, we interacted with the army, even for us it was an eye opener. They came out in their numbers and we intend to do more. We have a department in the Commission where students from all over the country come to the commission for interactions. We try to engage all sectors of the country and we believe that we need to develop this market. That is why we have both short term and long term plans. What we are doing with the universities are research based conferences, issues that will be very key to the market are brought to the fore. We just completed one with the University of Lagos and other universities have indicated their interest in such programmes too. People are aware that there are safety nets in the capital market when you invest in funds because your risks are diversified. For all the northern states, we look at ethical funds and we are doing to do roundtable discussions there in collaboration with the state governors. In the coming months, we will see a high growth in the capital market with all these sensitisations. The shareholders’ associations can be a force for good, and we recognise their importance. But we want to see them play positive roles in good corporate governance of the companies that they invest in. We want to see more positive contributions from them.

There have been increased in the number of companies delisting from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), is the Commission doing anything to discourage this?

Issue around delisting we look at it from two perspectives, voluntary delisting and regulatory delisting. What are we doing as regulators to influence and encourage more listings in the market? We had a committee and that committee has made recommendations and we are at implementation stage now. What we are doing CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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Olomola: Finance Bill Positions Nigeria to Attract Investments What’s is the Finance Bill all about and how is it differ from the current tax legislation?

The Finance Bill 2019 is epochal. It is significant that Nigeria is beginning to join the league of nations that moderate their economy by use of fiscal instruments such as the Bill of this nature which makes changes to try to align the micro-economy with the macro-economic direction of the federal government in terms of their monetary policies and all other elements of fiscal planning. In terms of the directionality of the Bill, what is does is to begin to show signals of the direction towards which Nigeria would go in seeking to raise fiscal revenues with which it intends to finance the budget. And the very first significant thing that this Bill does is to lessen and almost mitigate the tax burden on a very vital sector of the Nigerian economy - the small and the medium enterprise sector of the economy. It intends to mitigate the challenges they currently face in complying with the tax legislation, reduce the tax burden on that very important sector of the economy and by so doing attract many of them for the first time into the tax net. So, what this Bill does in a nutshell is to begin to reposition the fiscal environment in Nigeria towards attracting investment, encouraging Nigerians to invest in Nigeria, grow the capital, grow the labour market, grow our economy and in a sense, begin to change the narrative of the economy.

If you look at the bill what are the speciďŹ cs in terms of the features, especially when you compare the changes?

The most important change that most Nigerians have picked upon is the increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate from five per cent to 7.5 per cent, which has been approved by both the Senate and also the House of Representatives, after public hearing. That is the most material change that most people have picked up. However, in recognition of the fact that very large section of the economy is vulnerable and sensitive to tax rate change, what the Finance Bill has then done is an attempt by the government to moderate the effect of the rate increase, shift it to the higher producing elements of the economy and exempt small and medium scale enterprises who are businesses with a turnover of N25 million and below from paying VAT. In addition, the government has proposed to expand the list of items that are exempted from VAT to include items that most Nigerians will utilise in terms of basic food items and the like.

And a very extensive list of tax exempt items has been provided by the Bill in a sense to ensure that the most vulnerable sectors of the country will not be negatively impacted by virtue of the VAT rate increase.

Many agree that the problem that we have is a compliance problem, how does this Bill address that?

The way the Bill has attempted to help to motivate and increase our tax to GDP ratio and also the compliance issue that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has commented upon in the past is to lower the tax burden for companies and therefore incentivise them to come into the tax net. I will give you and illustration: If a business or a small business is currently staged as a partnership, the tax they will pay is not affected, it is still an effective 20 per cent of their profit that they will pay tax on, under the Personal Income Tax Act. But the Bill is proposing a change to the Company Income Tax Act, such that if that same business was registered as a company, they would face zero taxation up to revenue of N25 million and below. And above N25 million, up to N100 million, there will be reduced tax rate below 30 per cent. That then is the clear motivation for businesses that are currently not registered as companies to come into the formal net and register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in order to seek the protection that the Finance Bill provides. This means that more businesses will come in from the old; it means more companies will come into the tax net and once they are in, then the ability of the tax authority to monitor compliance becomes a little bit more enhanced.

Small businesses currently produce 74 per cent of labour in Nigeria and with this new Bill they can employ more people, they can grow their business, expand and invariably eventually grow their business above the minimum tax exempt rate of N25 million or even N100 million for the 20 per cent tax reduction. And then, what you find is that they become corporate tax citizens. It is the

Olomola government believe that if Nigerian companies were incentivised they would come willingly into the tax net and use self-assessment to discharge their tax burden. So, what this Bill represents is an investment by government in the idea that Nigerians are willing to do the right thing if they are properly incentivised.

We understand that bank customers would not be able to operate their account without tax identiďŹ cation number, how is that going to work?

Already, the bank opening forms for businesses that seek to open account in Nigeria, require them to provide information as to their corporate status, the identity of their directors, the bank account numbers, BVN, number of their directors, the tax identification numbers. What the Bill has done is merely to formalise what is already included by banks under the auspices of the Central Bank of Nigeria Know-Your-Customer directive to make it formal and codified in the tax law that banks should not open accounts for businesses that do not have tax identification number. It is hoped that by closing this loophole, it must be better possible for regulatory authorities to match the operationalisation of bank accounts with contributions to the economy by way of tax retribution.

What are the incentives and challenges you foresee with this Bill?

I will start with the incentives and then I will move on to discuss some of the challenges that we have noticed. In terms of the incentives, there are very many provisions of the current tax regime that operate in a manner that incentivises investment by companies. I will give you an illustration: There is a provision in the tax code that punishes companies that retain profit. So if you make profit in a year of operation and you did not distribute those profits as dividend and retain that profit in your business for the purpose of reinvestment, in the year where you eventually distribute those profits you will likely pay a tax on those profits.

Even though you have previously paid tax on profit in the year when the profit was initially realised. That is effectively a double taxation on profits, which then disincentives companies and put pressure on companies not to re-invest their profit in themselves, and grow their manufacturing capacity, but in a sense always to declare dividends in order to avoid double tax. Section 19 is now being modified to exempt from its application, businesses that are at risk of suffering a double tax. With these changes, Section 19 will do what it was originally intended to do, which is to capture businesses that are aggressively failing to report tax revenue, whiles still distributing profit to their shareholders. That is a significant incentive and so many companies in telecommunication are now able to choose to retain profit that have been made

in any year in the good years of their business to expand their capital base, increase their labour and productivity and in the hope of generating larger profit in the future. This is a very good incentive that has been introduced by the Finance Bill. A few other incentives abound, but I will like to move on to a few of the challenges that we have also noticed. Of course the loudest noise has come from the changes that have been made to the tax regime for petroleum companies in Nigeria. And in fact, for petroleum companies it’s been one change after the other. Only a few weeks ago the President also signed modifications to the Deep Offshore Act which regulates Production Sharing Contract in Nigeria by amending the royalty rate and requiring some of those companies to pay royalty, where previously they would have zero royalties to pay.

Well, a few weeks later, we now have a change in the Finance Bill that proposes to remove the ring fencing that previously was available to profits that have been taxed under the Petroleum Profit Tax Act and require that those profits when distributed to shareholders, should suffer an additional tax of 10 per cent withholding or 7.5 per cent depending on the country or where the recipient of the dividend is incorporated or resident. So, that is an additional tax that previously did not exist for businesses in the oil industry. And that is a matter that will be a challenge when such businesses begin to consider where to invest their capital and to compare the return they will obtain if they were to invest in Nigeria with return obtainable when they invest elsewhere. And so ultimately, it falls into what will be considered by such companies in their investment analysis to determine whether investing in Nigeria will continue to make sense in the long term. And it is an area I believe the government itself would also focus on probably when passing the Petroleum Industry Bill to see what other changes can be made to ensure that Nigeria remains a competitive environment for all companies to come and do business.

Let’s talk about best practices. Is this Bill supposed to take Nigeria closer to best practices as far as tax legislation is concerned, what is your own view on that?

For several years now the OECD as well as the United Nations have undertaken research into multinationals practice in the area of erosion of profit base through base erosion and profit shifting framework enunciated by both institutions. And so recommendations have been made to countries to try to align their physical framework with the reality of doing business in a modern world where the world is now a global village. You don’t have to be physically in a country to do business in that country. Hitherto, our tax laws were framed on the assumption that companies or businesses that are physically located in Nigeria should contribute tax in Nigeria. And so the question has been how

we move the physical framework in Nigeria and other countries towards the directionality of which international trade is going. What the Finance Bill has now proposed is that provisions have been included by the Minister in the Bill to capture the effects of digital trade and also the effect of international trade, where Nigeria is the recipient or staging area for such trade without necessarily the physical presence of the company that is undertaking the trade. And so, the Finance Bill has made a proposal for digital trade where a significant economic presence is determined to have been triggered for such operators to fall into the Nigerian tax net. What the Bill has also done is to reserve to the Minister of Finance, the ability to make a declaration of what will constitute significant economic presence by virtue of which international trade participants would fall into the tax net in Nigeria. What the OECD recommends to be a significant economic presence would be revenue in excess of $750 million. It very well might be that Nigeria will stage its own definition to be below that threshold because that threshold may be considered rather excessive from a Nigerian perspective. For those of us who follow international affairs, we saw what happened when France tried to align with this best practice in the last few months by imposing a tax on digital trade and they defined significant economic presence to be 500 million euros. And of course, that then led to negotiations with the United States of America on behalf of companies like Amazon, Google and so on. And then an agreement was reached. So, it is hoped that by vesting the minister with the ability to determine what constitute significant economic presence in Nigeria, she can go into the consideration of relevant factors in making that determination which will then be available as a guide to companies that undertake international trade.

The government is targeting tax to GDP ratio of 15 per cent by 2023. That means additional tax revenue of over $5 billion in just four years, is that realistic?

It’s an interesting question really as to whether we can achieve it. But, there is no gainsaying that at the current levels of the budget and fiscal planning in Nigeria, should we even be talking about the budget of N8 trillion or N10 trillion? Is that what we need to move Nigeria forward? I think to answer your question; a lot will depend on how rapidly we can achieve an increasing level of industrialisation of the country. How quickly can we get the productive factors of Nigeria to walk in the right direction? How quickly can we grow our economy? How quickly can we grow our GDP? If we can grow our GDP by means of investments, that this government is seeking to make, for example, the government is also trying to borrow money to finance public expenditure with a view to improving infrastructure and other aspect of the economy. The hope is that by doing so, they can facilitate the ease of doing business in Nigeria, attract investment into Nigeria, provide employment for the teaming majority of our people in Nigeria and by so doing, grow the economy. If we are able to do that then, we can improve on our tax to GDP ratio.

PwC did a recent survey and found out that 57.3 per cent are not happy with the planned VAT hike as they surveyed saw it as an additional cost burden. What is your thought about this?

For most business, we want to see stability in terms of our cost and our cost of operation and so of course businesses do not like to see tax increase and of course we will like to stay where we are.

But, ultimately you have to then say to yourself what will be the impact of a VAT rate increase on the economy? And of course without the mitigation that the Finance Bill has tried to provide, perhaps the impact might have been potentially negative.

But when you then frame the proposal to the Finance Bill, with the mitigation that the finance bill provides, firstly to small businesses, secondly to everyone in terms of the class of items that are completely exempted from VAT, it is arguable, and I think you will find that the impact will be lower.

There will be some impact, but I think ultimately the impact will be positive. This is because if more items are now exempted from VAT, what you will probably find will be reduction in your cost if you were a small business as opposed to an increase in your cost. Furthermore, if you as a whole were exempted from paying VAT, again another significant reduction in your cost of operation as opposed to an increase in your cost of operation.

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UDUK: INVESTOR CONFIDENCE WILL ENHANCE PARTICIPATION IN STOCK MARKET is to look at how to encourage listing based on sector approach. What one sector needs, may be different from what another sector needs.

We are engaging with them and have itemised issues and now implementing. We are trying to see that we encourage listing via incentives.

We are also trying to address the issue of timeto-market so that they are not discouraged as they are converging to come to the market, so that they are able to raise the funding within the shortest time possible. We are still having engagements with them, we are getting more companies listing, you are aware of all the listings we have had this year.

Can you throw more light on modalities on securities lending?

We have a committee which has been engaging all institutional investors that have substantial holding of equities. The essence of having this securities lending is to actually deepen our market.

All of us are contributing to our pensions accounts and these are being investing in equities.

What they do is to buy and hold, they don’t sell. So the essence of securities lending is to give room for them to make money so that the profit can then be added to what contributors would get. We have a framework which has been approved and we are encouraging them to go into securities lending. They are being encouraged to lend out these securities, they make money out of it. We are encouraging the market players to go into securities lending by meeting these institutional investors, National Pension Commission (PenCom) is the largest local institutional player in our market. They will lend out these securities and make money out of it, at the end of the contract, they get their securities back. Instead of holding on to their securities, they are making money out of it. We are engaging PenCom and discussing to see how they can come up with their guidelines for it to happen. Another institutional investor we are engaging is AMCON, all these are being done to deepen our market.

Where are we on dematerialisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange ?

We have the framework properly put out for demutualisation of any exchange at the moment.

What we are doing presently is to review the application by the NSE and after review we will get back to them. This is a milestone in the annals of the Nigerian capital market and the process has to be thorough. We just received a feedback from them upon our letter to them.

It is on course and the SEC will do what it needs to do to ensure that the process is very transparent.

Considering the efforts you are making in the area of investor education and need to discourage investors from unauthorised investments in the market, what is the update on enforcement on Ponzi schemes?

We are working on the cases that we have at hand and they will be charged to court soon.

They are everywhere and we are taking good actions to ensure that innocent Nigerians are not defrauded of their hard earned money. The cases are being prepared right now, and also establishing a process and structure. once we are done with that, they will be charged to court When is the current deadline for multiple accounts regularisation?

There is no definite timeline for now, we have left it open. In due course we will have a meeting to review the success. In those days of plenty in the capital market, there were a lot of abuse where people used multiple names to buy shares. Many of them do not even remember the names they used at that time and therefore asking them to come forward to regularise their shares is difficult. Some of them probably do not know where the documents are. Some of them, maybe the very big ones are probably afraid of prosecution and that is why we said we have given amnesty. The issue of timeline for this kind of thing, we believe should be stepped down for now just to be able to give people enough time to look for their documents and then come and regularise their shares in order to reduce unclaimed dividends in the market.

If Bankers’ conďŹ rmation will no longer be required, what will investors now be expected to bring?

We feel that once you complete the e-dividend mandate form which will be taken to the bank to verify that you are the account holder, you

University Pensioners Demand Clarification on 33 % Pension Arrears Stories by Ebere Nwoji

Uduk don’t need another banker’s confirmation. That is just a duplication of duties. You can even go to the banks, fill the e-dividend registration form, the bank will verify the account number and signature and they will send it to the registrar.

So we don’t think any other confirmation is needed since the information is coming from the bank.

SEC’s efforts this year have been laudable, how well have your initiatives impacted on the economy?

Everything the commission is doing is geared towards positive impact on the whole economy as well as the people on the streets. If people have confidence in the capital market, the increased activities in the market through the participation of local investors will be to the benefit of the economy. If people make wealth in the capital market it will impact the economy positively. If you have more companies doing well in the capital market, the unemployment situation we have will reduce. With the kind of awareness, we are doing with the mutual funds where we expect that a lot of investors will come into the capital market through that space is impactful. There, you will not wait until you have a lot of money to invest in the capital market and then you will also not invest where you don’t understand the products and then you get your hands burnt. If you invest through this channel, at the same time you are investing in those companies in which you want to invest. This e-dividend initiative we are embarking on is also a way of improving the economy. If through this initiative unclaimed dividends are reduced, people will have more money in their pockets through their dividends, this is impactful on the economy. A lot of the awareness we are carrying out right now like capital market studies, as well as the collaboration we are now having with the academia will impact the economy. Also we are coming up with other products that will enable the PFAs to invest, especially towards infrastructure.Even in a down market people still make profit.

There are investors that have made money, that means the market has contributed to the pockets of those investors. The common man that invests, some of them have made gains, some of them that had low stocks and have not sold, that does not mean they are making losses. True the value has reduced, but since they did not also buy very high they have equally gained. Also the market one way or the other has assisted the economy even those that are not investors have benefited. There are foreign investors that brought money into this market and that money most of the time is used to shore up our reserve and that affects our forex and the stability of our currency. There are companies whether they are making profit or loss on the stock market, they are still paying taxes and these monies are used by government to construct roads and other infrastructure, so the common man is also benefiting. So it is not only on the equity side, but also on the fixed income side. Government is making money from the capital market to finance infrastructure development. We have collective investment schemes, we have savings bonds and common people are investing in them and all of these are impacting positively on the economy.

The Federal University Pensioners Association (FUPA) is demanding for a clarification on the balance of 33 per cent pension arrears for its members.

FUPA is also demanding to ascertain the state of plans for a National Health insurance for pensioners as well as the outcome of the nationwide parastatals pensioners’ verification, among others.

FUPA National President, Dr. Ayuba Kura, said this during a meeting with the national executives of FUPA and the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Dr. Chioma.N. Ejikeme, held in Abuja recently.

According to Kura, the meeting was, to among other things, to also get clarification on pension percentage increase in line with the approved new minimum wage.

In her response, the PTAD Executive Secretary, reiterated the directorate’s readiness to continue to engage the association with a view to enhancing the welfare of the senior citizens.

She reassured them that PTAD is a 100 percent TSA compliant

agency which means the manual processing of pension payments has been removed such that staff of PTAD do not have access to their funds. “Pension payments are made from PTAD TSA accounts at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directly to the pensioners’ accounts through their banks.

The PTAD boss, further assured that on the issues they raised, including the balance of the 33percent pension arrears and the pension percentage increase in line with the approved new minimum wage, PTAD was in talks with relevant agencies to make sure they are addressed as soon as possible.

With regards to the outcome of the Parastatals pensioners verification, she said the agency was fine-tuning its model and strategy for the smooth implementation of the exercise which will be in phases.

According to her, the data collated during the exercise would also ensure that only qualified, biometrically verified pensioners are on the federal government/ PTAD database and payroll system when plans are concluded to commence the National Health

Insurance for pensioners.

She informed the association that pensioners who missed the general verification exercise could be verified at PTAD Headquarters in Abuja or the Lagos Zonal Office, adding that mobile verification is also available for pensioners who are too old or sick to come out for the general verification.

She informed further that there is a register to collate details of pensioners in diaspora pending when they return to Nigeria for their verification.

The PTAD boss, also spoke about the recent BVN revalidation exercise conducted in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), saying the exercise was to remove pensioners from the payroll if their account is not NUBAN or the bank does not exist, continuous failed payment from August 2019 to October 2019, duplicate BVN or no BVN, adding that this culminated in the removal of some pensioners from the Parastatals Pension Department payroll effective November 2019.

She encouraged FUPA to notify affected senior citizens so that they can contact PTAD for their BVN update.

African Alliance Insurance Assures on Customer Satisfaction Ebere Nwogu life insurance underwriter, African Alliance Insurance, said it has stabilised its business to earn positive reviews from the insuring public.

The company’s Managing Director, Mrs. Funmi Omo, while addressing journalists at a parley organised by the company in Lagos, said African Alliance, has made giant strides in less than two years she took over the management of the company.

She restated the management’s commitment to sustaining the upward growth trajectory across all metrics. “Ours is a business that has seen it all and survived it all. Our position in just two years compared to now is testament to the unstinting leadership and guidance of our board, the relentless drive of the executive management and a most committed and flexible staff who never shies away from challenges in any form,’ According to her, the firm’s premium income grew by

68 percent from N3.00billion at the end of Q3, 2018 to N5.12 billion at the end of Q3, 2019; while by the end of the third quarter, the firm has also paid claims of about N6billion naira to keep up with its promises of maintaining customer amazement. Also speaking, the Executive Director, Finance, of the company, Olabisi Adekola, said that the firm’s all-round growth earned it a ‘stable outlook’ and Bb+ by Agusto, foremost financial ratings agency in Nigeria. “That Agusto rated us Bbb+ is a win for us, considering where we were. But we are not relenting, all hands are on deck to sustain this growth and earn a most elite rating consistent with the elite investments we have made in the business. On the company’s recapitalisation plans, Omo said: “NAICOM gave a ‘No Objection’ to our plans which means we are on course. Come June 2020, you will see how far we have come.

We do not say we are with you for life for fun; we mean every

word.� Meanwhile, the company, in line with its commitment to build a formidable workforce has announced key appointments into its management Announcing these appointments, Omo, said Akinola Akinwole is now Head, Human Capital, while Bankole Banjo stands as Brand, Media and Communications Manager.

Commenting on the appointments, she said: “Between Akinola and Bankole, we have two of the brightest minds in their fields. We all know a company is as good as the quality of its staff, we have brought in Akinola to help us reshape our workforce and put in place virile learning and development plans for the company. Bankole, on the other hand, has been hired to help aggregate and drive our brand to greater heights following the recent rebranding. I am delighted to have them on board, they are confirmations that we are doing many things right in African Alliance at this point,� she said.

Expert Urge Insurers to Create Positive Customer Experience An insurance, health management and planning expert, Dr Sarafadeen Raji, has urged stakeholders in Nigerian insurance sector to work towards entrenching an enviable system capable of creating and sustaining positive customer experience.

Raji, who is also the Director, Academic planning of Federal Polytechnic Offa, Kwara State, gave the advice while delivering a lecture on ‘Creating and Sustaining Positive Customers Experience, Key to Insurance Growth in Nigeria,’ at the 2019 Insurance Consumers’ forum organised by the Almond Productions Ltd in Lagos.

He described the customer as a person or individual that buys something from a shop (insured) and defined experience as knowledge and skill that one has gained or the things that have happened to a person or an event or activity that affects him in some ways that influence the way he thinks and behaves.

Similarly, Raji said customer experience was the product of an interaction between an organisation (insurance company) and a customer (policyholder) over the duration of their business relationship, adding that the interaction is made up of three parts; customer journey, brand

touch points the customer interacts with and the environments the Customer experiences during his experience.

He noted that customer experience is about, “adding value for customers buying products and services through customer participation and connection, by managing all aspects of the encounter.� He added that the overall customer experience must be considered at all times. “Therefore, development of a positive customer experience is important as it increases the chances of a customer to make continued purchases and develops brand loyalty.

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

IP Rights as Catalyst for Economic Development James Emejo writes that developing appropriate regulatory framework for the protection of intellectual property could spur innovation, incentivise foreign investors and stimulate economic prosperity

The overall concept and practice of Intellectual Property (IP) rights has continued to raise concerns among stakeholders in virtually all spheres of human endeavours in the country particularly business innovators and the increasing numbers of start-ups.

To an extent, stakeholders argue that Nigeria could be described as a country without a clear cut framework for IP- and their summation could go unchallenged given the present chaos in copyright and patent infringement in the country.

In a country where individual ideas and innovations in academics, literature and business are left unprotected and vulnerable to copyright and patent violations- and with no punitive instrument for deterrence, the consequences of such negligence could better be imagined.

Essentially, copyright and industrial property remain the two major classes of IP: while the former covers literary, musical and artistic creations, the latter takes care of rights in patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, plants and animal varieties among others.

IP rights are particularly important in order to safeguard original works and ideas of people from theft, which could deny them the proper recognition and economic reward for their efforts.

It is further defined as “exclusive proprietary rights granted by law to the owners thereof, over intangible assets which are innovative products of the brain or the mind, as opposed to personal or real properties.�

In simple terms, the absence of a law to protect intellectual property rights could hurt the economy at large and scare foreign investors who wouldn’t want to jeopardise their business interests.

In the academic space, plagiarism is widespread and has become a norm in the country as some lecturers and students often copied literary works of others without proper attribution. And the laws have been weak to prevent a recurrence.

In the business landscape, especially technology, software are pirated or cracked at will in open violation of copyright. There are still a whole lot of storage devices with pirated contents being sold across the country with the attendant economic consequences to individuals, businesses and the country as a whole.

Worried by the development, and the need to create awareness about the dangers of absence of a framework for IP, a group of professionals and stakeholders including legal advocates launched a conversation for an appropriate framework to

shield artistes, businesses among others from copyright and industrial rights infringement.

Speaking at the African Policy Conversation on Intellectual Property, a partner at the Firma Advisory, Chinenye Uwanaka, who is one of the dialogue conveners, echoed further concerns that the federal government appeared not to place a worth on creativity and innovation by young Nigerian entrepreneurs.

This is particularly worrisome in view of government’s policy direction to diversify the economy from oil to agriculture and digital economy- yet neglecting a crucial ingredient for success- IP protection.

Highlighting the negative implications of the development, Uwanaka, who leads a group of young intellectual professionals from various fields of endeavour, further expressed worry that the country as a whole does not regard intellectual property rights even though it remains critical for economic diversification.

According to her:�We now we have our fashion, our music, we have our movies being celebrated all over the world and that is what is actually bringing money into the economy.

That is our biggest export right now but we don’t have the relevant policy to back that up and harness those sectors. “We are going to work hand in hand with government to develop this policy and we are going to try and do things differently because people had tried and failed in the past but this time around, we are committed as a group.�

Uwanaka, who said most of the IP rights

So, the weak legal infrastructure that we have is limiting innovation that could come out of IP. Secondly, people don’t understand if IP even in the economy. So there’s an economics of ensuring that we do protect IP

laws in the country were outdated hinted on plans by the group to produce a draft document at the end of the dialogue, which will also be presented to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Richard Adebayo on expectations from the business environment and creative industry in particular for adequate protection.

According to her, the creative industry, like the technology sector remains a multi-billion dollar industry which should not be ignored by government but should come up with appropriate legislation to support its growth. “Even the FIRS had to come up with a framework for taxing intellectual property, that’s the way we can get revenue but obviously we are not saying go and tax them until the businesses fail. “We are saying how do we incentivise these businesses to grow to employ more people, bring in foreign direct investment, to expand our economy- these are the ways we can diversify the economy by tapping into all these sectors and investing in them, she noted.

She also described the intervention by the group was a conscious effort to brainstorm on a legal framework for the IP policy in the country.

Also, Director, Programmes, Ventures Platform, Ms. Adaeze Sokan who was one of the panelists on the IP dialogue, decried the weak legal framework which currently exists adding that nobody would be encouraged to come up with new ideas if there are no laws to provide safeguards. “I am not encouraged to come up with new ideas and I am not sure it won’t be stolen and I don’t have anybody to have my back or protect me.

So, the weak legal infrastructure that we have is limiting innovation that could come out of IP. Secondly, people don’t understand if IP even in the economy. So there’s an economics of ensuring that we do protect IP. It’s very important that we do that,� she told the audience.

Among other things, she also identified So, funding constraints which affects the individuals who want to protect their ideas.

She said:�We spend a lot of time talking about creating business plans or coming up with marketing plans but we don’t talk about coming up with IP strategy and it’s because again, for the lack of awareness; nobody understands its importance unless something crazy really happens and you don’t have backing.�

She said: “The key factor is that we are in a hurry to go and launch our products in the

market and we don’t take the time to actually document the ideas that we’ve come up with. “And where there’s non-disclosure agreements or patent or trademarks, we do need legal counsel burner also need funding structure so others don’t take advantage of that because there’s no standardised pricing for acquiring IP.�

Also, speaking on the discussion panel, a representative from Oracle, Mr. Adepegba Oduntan, argued that the country must respect IP rights of other people as a way forward.

According to him: “I think you celebrate what you value and in Nigeria we don’t seem to value intellectual property so long as you continue to use it and to cheat on other people’s IP the less likely you are going to invest in your own after all, you stole the other person’s own so there’s no reason you will imagine somebody else is not going to steal your own.�

He said: “So, if we want to do intellectual property, we are first to respect the IP rights of other people in the same way we protect land rights. “Secondly, the government needs to be very specific about two things: we need to start to invest aggressively invest in Nigerian companies that are building IP and we need to protect the market in which they operate which is our domestic market because you can only grow big locally before you can grow big externally.�

Furthermore, the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Infographics Limited, Mr. Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu told the participants that, “It’s true we have a problem with the enforcement in IP here.�

He said: “One thing technology companies can do is proper sensitisation to the end users: let them understand the implications of using technology from the black market. It exposes you and you have a lot of danger. It’s a whole lot of cyber security threat for the user.

So I will say proper sensitisation is one of the things that can be done here.�

Meanwhile, in their article titled, “Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights and Protection In Nigeria�, Femi Olubanwo and Oluwatoba Oguntuase had also concluded among other things, recommended a holistic reform of the country’s IP sector to align with the diversification objective of the federal government.

They noted that concrete efforts at developing the Nigeria’s indigenous IP regime began to materialise shortly after the country attained independence in the early 1960s but had remained a work-in- progress till date.

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

L-R: Chief Creative Director, Livespot360, Dare Art Alade, Group Deputy Managing Director of Access Bank Plc., Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc., Herbert Wigwe and Group Head, Communications and External Aairs, Access Bank Plc., Amaechi Okobi at the Born in Africa Festival (BAFEST) in Lagos...recently

L-R: President, Information Security Society of Nigeria (ISSAN), Dr. David Isiavwe; President and Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Dr. Uche Olowu; Chairman, 21st Century Technologies, Mr. Wale Ajisebutu; Deputy Managing Director, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, Mr. Niyi Ajao; Vice President, Sales at Nexusguard, Mr. Jeremy Lee, and Co-founder/COO, Digital Encode, Wale Obadare, at the ISSAN Cybersecurity workshop on DDoS attacks and protection held in Lagos...recently

L-R: CBN Deputy Governor, Ade Shonubi; Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Asue Ighodalo; Head of EU delegation to Nigeria & ECOWAS, His Excellency, Ambassador Ketil Karlsen and the President, European Business Organisation (EBO) Nigeria & Director, Communications, Public Aairs & Sustainable Development, Lafarge Africa Plc, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, at the EBO’s 1st Anniversary celebration in Lagos...recently

L-R: Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; Chairman, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; and Minister of Trade and Investment, Otunba Adebayo during a press brieďŹ ng to mark the 2nd Annual Nigeria Food Processing and Nutrition Leadership Forum held in Lagos...recently

L-R: Secretary to the Kwara State Government, Prof. Mamman Jibril; 2 Military Intelligent Brigade, Brig.-Gen. A.A. Adamogu; Acting Brigade Commander, 22 Armoured Brigade Rear, Colonel E.B Bakins; Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; General OďŹƒcer Commanding 2 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Anthony Omozoje; and Kwara State Head of Service, Mrs Moduple Oluwole; during a courtesy visit by the Nigerian Army to Government House, Ilorin...recently

Wife of the Osun State Governor, Alhaja Kafayat Oyetola; a Santa Claus, and Commissioner for women Aairs, Hon. Bukola Olaboopo during the 2019 end of the year children party, organised by the oďŹƒce of Governor’s wife in collaboration with Women and Children Aairs Ministry, at the Government House, Osogbo...recently

L-R: Chief Customer Service OďŹƒcer, MTN Nigeria, Ugonwa Nwonye; Founder/CEO, BAP Productions, Bolanle Austen-Peters; Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Wife of the honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Kudirat Lai Mohammed; General Manager, Planning and Customer Management, MTN Nigeria, Odunayo Sanya and Senior Manager, Programme Implementation, MTN Nigeria, Abasi-Ekong Udobang at the Command Performance of Fela’s Republic and the Kalakuta Queens by BAP Productions and sponsored by MTN Foundation in Lagos...recently

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L-R: Oche Abu; National President, Air Force Secondary School, Makurdi, Justina Abdulateef and National Public Relations OďŹƒcer, Air Force Secondary School, Makurdi, Johnson Ivase during the Air Force Secondary School Makurdi Alumni, Lagos Chapter family picnic held at Elegusi Beach, Lagos...recently

Outgoing President, Heritage Advancement Forum (HAF), Barr. Ted Ojukwu (left), presenting Meritorious service award to the newly elected President, Mr. Aaron Irabor, during HAF Annual General meeting/Induction and Award Night in Lagos...recently

L-R: General Counsel, XLR8, Mrs Alero Okoruwa; Chairman, Education Advisory Board and Member of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Council. Prof Emmanuel Dandaura; and CEO, XLR8, Mr Calixthus Okoruwa, during the presentation of NIPR’s Corporate Practitioner of Excellence Presidential Award for 2019 to XLR8, at the 2019 Presidential Dinner and Awards ceremony, held in Lagos, recently

L-R: Chief Technical OďŹƒcer, MTN Nigeria,Mohammed Rufai; Zonal Controller, Nigerian Communications Commission, Henry Ojiokpota; Member Lagos State House of Assembly, Honorable Tunde Braimoh, and Country Manager, Ericsson Nigeria, Sean Cryan, at the MTN 5G live Demo in Lagos...recently

L-R: Social Police OďŹƒcer, UNICEF, Mrs. Foluke Ojelabi (left), during a courtesy visit by Dr. Rane; Chief Field OďŹƒcer, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Dr Tushar Rane; Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Momoh Oise Omorogbe; Commissioner for Social Development, Hon. Marie Edeko and Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability, Dame Omua Oni-Okpaku during a courtesy visit by Dr. Rane, at the Government House in Benin City...recently

L-R: National Retail Manager, Mrs. Itune Brown John-Eze; Winners of Tricycles, Chief Samuel Ekpe Onya, Mr. Oyekanmi Olasunkanmi, Mr. Iloh Valentine Emenike and Head of Sales, Lagos & West, Mr. Tunde Odufote at the prize presentation to winners in the ongoing Lafarge Africa Buy & Win Reward Promo in Lagos...recently

L-R; Project Assistant of Power Forward, Benjamin Igber; Project OďŹƒcer, Tokuma Gbaa; Head Coach Power Forward, Fatimah Ibrahim; Project manager power Forward, Mr. Terfa Akpoyibo and Senior Head Coach, Okechukwu Uwakwe; During the Inaugural Alumni Meeting in Abuja....recently

L-R: Nollywood Actress/Producer, Kate Henshaw; Nollywood Screenwriter and Film producer, Uche Jumbo; Chairman, Kohinoor Hospitalities Group; Dr. Collins Chike Chikeluba; Nollywood Actress/Producer, Rita Dominic and Nollywood Actress/Producer, Ini Edo; at the white Christmas party hosted for friends by Henshaw at Kohinoor lifestyle 18 lounge in Lagos....recently

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EDUCATION ‘A National Campaign Will Boost Image of Teaching Profession’ Henry Anumudu is a strong advocate of quality education and has worked as a Teach for Nigeria fellow improving the quality of education in Ogun State public school system. In this interview with Funmi Ogundare, he explained why teachers must embark on a national campaign to restore the image of the teaching profession and get more passionate young people into the fold, among other issues. Excerpts:

W

that we can say we have lived.

hat is Teach for Nigeria Fellowship and what inuenced your decision to be part of it?

The Teach for Nigeria fellowship is a movement of young Nigerians causing transformational change in the country’s education system. We believe deeply in the vision that one day every Nigerian child will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education, regardless of his/her socio-economic background. To realise this vision, Teach for Nigeria recruits promising leaders from varied disciplines to teach in Nigeria’s underserved schools, in low-income communities. In 2017, I was a communication and media officer for a media firm in Abuja when a friend told me about the Teach for Nigeria Fellowship. At that time, I was volunteering an hour weekly at a public secondary school in Abuja for LEAP Africa.

But Teach for Nigeria challenged me to go all out. I applied for the fellowship, quit my job, and became a teacher. It was an easy decision for me. Teach for Nigeria showed me the crisis of the education sector and the coming cataclysm if nothing is done about it. It was an easy decision for me because it intersected with my personal values: life is worth living if it is lived beyond the self.

What state did you teach in and what were the challenges you faced during your two-year fellowship?

I taught in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The teacher in the Nigerian public school system is faced with very unique set of problems.

These problems arise from the school, the parent, the environment and even the teachers themselves. The school is designed to perpetuate tradition. So, it resists change and will fight any individual that seeks to bring in a different practice. A constant phrase I heard at the beginning of my fellowship in the classroom was: “that is not how we used to do it�. Also, our public schools are designed structurally for learning to take place. The goal is simply for schooling. That’s all. This is visible in the lack of conducive classrooms.

It is also visible in the composition of the classrooms. How will 82 children packed in a single classroom learn effectively? Also, most parents/guardians of children in our public schools do not fully understand the power of quality education on the future of their children, and in changing the narratives of their families. So, working from a place of ignorance, they would prefer the children to hawk throughout the evening without time for them to read and do their homework. In addition, the children come from environments marked by truancy, bad examples, and low achievement. This makes the education in public schools and the job of the teacher critical and difficult at the same time. Seeing all these, it becomes evident that the teachers in our public schools are neither trained nor paid enough for the tasks the public classrooms present. They come to school every morning to children who are probably hungry and have not done their homework nor read their books. They do not know how to teach this kind of children from this kind of background. They teach anyway and the children fail term after term.

What do you ďŹ nd most interesting about your experience at Teach for Nigeria?

The Teach for Nigeria Fellowship gave me a first-person insight into the problems affecting our education system at the grassroots level.

Every day I interacted with the children, the parents, the teachers, government representa-

What is your view about the education system in Nigeria?

I think we can make it work, and the revolution will begin from the teachers.

Teachers play a central role in determining the academic success and self-esteem of the child. The teacher is, in fact, the single most important factor in learning. We must then begin first by showing the teacher how important she is, how powerful she is in the life of every single child. Because the teacher must believe in herself and her ability to create change before she can believe in the child and be able to cause a change in the child’s knowledge and belief system. Too many of us believe that the role of the teacher is to package and transmit specific knowledge.

This is inadequate, especially in underserved schools in disadvantaged communities. So many things have been said about training and remuneration and policy. I have chosen to focus on leadership because I have seen its place in the transformation of our education system. Teachers must become leaders in their classrooms and even beyond it. Because it is the relationship we build outside the classroom that will create the currency through which we demand hard work, rigour and a high level of academic achievement from the children, as well as communal cooperation from the parents.

Anumudu tives; this gave me invaluable insights into the dynamics of our education system itself.

So, in designing solutions that affect us as a nation, I do not do this as a spectator, but as an actor who has lived in experience of this reality.

How would you describe your most impactful service to the community during your fellowship period?

I built projects that were predicated on

Teachers must become leaders in their classrooms and even beyond it. Because it is the relationship we build outside the classroom that will create the currency through which we demand hard work, rigour and a high level of academic achievement from the children, as well as communal cooperation from the parents

community involvement in the education of the children. One of such projects was a vocational education project that had some women around the community, with specific skills, coming into the classroom twice a week to teach the children their skills. While equipping the children with invaluable skills that will be useful to them now and in the future. The project also exposed the community to the classroom, the importance of education and the role of every member of the community in creating a successful future for every child.

I also started a mentoring programme that connected the children in my classroom with young Nigerians who have shown excellence in their fields. The relationship built from this programme showed the children what is possible if they believe in themselves and work hard. It taught them to look beyond their environment. By this, the children transcend the limitations of ‘low income communities’ and hold on to values such as hard work, integrity and excellence. My most impactful service to the community during my fellowship is therefore the creation of an ecosystem of collective leadership around the education of the child. A system that unites everyone; teachers, head-teachers, parents, market women, school cleaners around a shared vision for every child.

What are the most rewarding beneďŹ ts of the programme?

The Teach for Nigeria Fellowship gives you an opportunity to redefine yourself. Being a fellow of the programme marked for me a transition from passivity into a young Nigerian who was making change happen, transforming lives and making a difference in his country. The most rewarding benefit of the programme is the opportunity to truly solve a problem, or more appropriately, become part of a movement of people solving an important problem so crucial to the progress and development of Nigeria; and it is only in solving, or in trying to solve such problems

Do you think there is a dearth of qualiďŹ ed teachers, and what can be done to improve the situation?

It is unarguable that there is a learning crisis in our education system. We must also accept what this means: we have a teaching crisis. Given the essential role teachers play in learning, we must be provided with consistent and relevant training in professional development opportunities. The training of preservice teachers must also be updated to meet 21st century requirements and tailored to meet the needs of the children whom the teachers will serve. Finally, we must embark on a national campaign to repair the image of the teaching profession, and therefore get more passionate young people into the fold.

The profession is crippled by years and years of bad publicity. This image problem is a barrier that keeps out so many vibrant Nigerian youths. But now, more than ever, we need a sweeping campaign to reform the education space. It can be achieved. For the past two years, I have taken it upon myself to tell my stories of impact in the classroom. One of the many letters I received as a result read: ‘Good morning, I love your work. Right from secondary school I wanted to be a research scientist or a teacher. I am in my second year in university, I came across your page last month and I love what you are doing. The excitement I get from your page makes me want to pursue my dream of being a teacher and inspire the generations to come.�

Now that you are an alumnus of Teach for Nigeria, what are the next steps?

As an alumnus, I will remain in the education system as a social entrepreneur working to build a Nigeria where every child will have access to quality education regardless of socio-economic background. To achieve this, I founded ‘Sharing Life’, a mentoring programme that connects children from disadvantaged communities with young professionals and local artisans who will mentor, fund their education and empower them with vocational skills with which they will build a successful future for themselves.

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EDUCATION

Succour for IAUE Students as Salvation Ministries Donates N320m Hostel, Others Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt

It was jubilation all the way at the Rivers State Government-owned Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt last week as the founder and Presiding Pastor of Salvation Ministries, Port Harcourt, Pastor David Ibiyeomie, formally presented a N320 million female hostel built by the church to the university management.

Ibiyeomie also presented to the public and dedicated a building in the Old Port Harcourt Township for free primary education.

The students in their hundreds, lined the streets of the university campus at Rumuolumeni to welcome the pastor whom they described as a messiah who came to salvage the institution from it numerous challenges.

As the pastor and his entourage drove to the project sites, the shouts of ‘Our Own Pastor’, ‘Our Messiah’, etc rented the air as the students jostled for vantage position to get a glance of the man who has revotionalised hostel accommodation in the university.

While the students poured encomiums on the pastor and his ministry, the ViceChancellor, Prof. Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele, confessed to “stealing� part of the N320 million provided by the church to build and provide other projects and facilities for the university.

Established in 1971 as Rivers State College of Education to address the problem of acute shortage of trained teachers for the state’s rapidly rising post-primary education, the institution had passed through several structures.

It became a university and christened Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in 2009 following the passage by the State House of As-

sembly on October 15, 2009 and the signing into law the University of Education Law No. 8 of 2009 by the state government.

While the institution had changed in structure, it has faced a perennial problem of facilities especially accommodation and office spaces.

Thus it was a relief when during the convocation ceremony of the university in 2018, Ibiyeomie promised to assist the institution in the provision of accommodation.

It did not make much meaning to the university authorities then as, perhaps, such promise had been made by others in time past.

The vice-chancellor admitted that much when he said during the presentation that he was surprised when he was called by Ibiyeomie to come to his office.

Ndimele said: “You will recall that you were here on September 1, 2018 and made a promise to us that you will help build us a hostel. Soon after that you called me to bring to you the drawing. That we did.

Soon after that you called me to your office and asked me how much it will cost to build the hostel. I told you I am not a builder and that I will take that drawing to the Estate Department to get the cost. That we did and came back to you with a bill of N320 million. You so approved for us.

Only God knew how I got home after that approval because I was shivering.

And you said: “I want you to deliver the job for me. Poor teacher like me.

I was frightened. I have never seen N320 million before all my life. So, we came back and you called us back after a few days and raised a cheque of N100 million. I informed our dear Governor Nyesom Wike. I informed my council chairman that you said I should help build this for you: not on contract.�

He said he quickly put

The Founder/Presiding Pastor, Salvation Ministries, David Ibiyeomie (third left); the Vice-Chancellor, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Prof. Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele; and others at the inauguration of the new female hostel ‘Salvation Hostel’ built and donated by Salvation Ministries, Port Harcourt

a committee together, with him as chairman and moved his office to the site of the hostel to ensure that the project did not fail.

The vice-chancellor gave an account of how the university officials “stole� from the pastor in the interest of the institution.

He said: “As we began to build, by the first N100 million, we had gotten to second decking of the building. We did not come to you to give a report but surprisingly you called me again and said we should come and take another N100 million, making N200 million. “I told my colleagues that we would steal this money to help the university. So, by the time we completed the second decking we still had some change. I know pastor will forgive me if I confess my sins to him. Because the budget was made by Works (Department’s Head) based on what he knows

Pastor David Ibiyeomie being conducted round the new hostel by Prof. Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele

as a builder. So I became a “bargainer.� Everybody who came to supply sand, we bargained with them and even frightened them sometimes to beat down the cost. “By the time we had N200 million, I told my colleagues: We have a PG Hostel abandoned here on campus, what do we do?

I told them: Let us steal some money from here and complete it. “We had to complete it, put chairs, beds, wardrobes, foams and everything in it, and a common room, camera and solar power. Complete hostel. “We still had money left.

So we had to settle the Chief Security Officer (CSO) on campus. He had a small office. We built for him a three-bedroom security office with a conference room furnished with your money.�

Other projects he said the university applied the pas-

tor’s money include power line, solar energy and access road to the hostel. “If you look at the right hand side as you are going to the building, you will see a vast land, over 40 plots of land cleared with your money. “We did these projects and many more things for the school with your money, that is why I said we stole. Now that we have confessed our sins, I hope we are forgiven,� he said, amidst laughter.

The President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Mmah Dominic Dumbari, on behalf of the students, also thanked Ibiyeomie and the church for the gesture.

He said: “We are particularly and specially thankful to God Almighty for bestowing on us the grace to be alive and to meet you once again in sincere gratitude and appreciation for your numerous contributions to the school. “We are indeed grateful to you for your support to the advancement of the university in the provision of a world class female hostel and other numerous contributions the school has benefited from your benevolence.�

But like Oliver Twist, Dumbari, asked that the pastor should do more for the institution. “We still solicit your good assistance and support to the school in whatever measure particularly the provision of comfortable hostel accommodation for our male students who have only one hostel, among other challenges the university still faces,� he said.

A lecturer who would not wish to be named, said: “He is indeed a sponsor of education. We lack words to say how we feel. We were once rejected but now the toast of the state.�

Presenting the hostel to the management and students

of the university, Ibiyeomie said he was motivated by the urge to be a blessing to the society. “Life is not about duration but about contributions. No one should leave this world without contributing,� he said.

He added that people do not need to wait for other people to make demands on them before reaching out to society.

He expressed delight at what the institution had used the donation to achieve for the students and promised to do more.

While presenting the free primary school building at Old Township, Ibiyeomie said it was the church’s contribution to the growth of education in the society.

He told journalists: “This is actually a building we gave for free primary school.

It is our own contribution to education in the society. The church will be in charge of the teachers and everything.

We run the school for free.�

He stated that the primary school which would take off next academic session as a tuition-free institution, would be open to the lessprivileged, irrespective of their religion or denomination. “You cannot preach the gospel without the society.

You must also affect the people you are preaching to, and education is something you cannot ignore. We are preaching the gospel and also affecting the society.

The motivation is to be a blessing to the society. It is open to all,� he said.

With the response of onlookers who gathered around the building, the donation will change the perception that religious organisations are doing enough in affecting the society in other ways except in wooing people to their fold.

Like Mr Johnson Adele, a taxi driver, said, “God go bless this man for thinking about the common man.�

36

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 •T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 • T H I S D AY

37

38

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 •T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 • T H I S D AY

39

40

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍś Ëœ 2019

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

SEC Mulls Securities Lending to Boost Trading Hamid Ayodeji åÓÞÒ Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂž The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is in talks with institutional investors and other regulators to allow securities lending in an effort to reignite flagging trading volumes. The SEC wants to start, “trading activities such as short-selling, hedging and arbitrage,â€? its acting Director-General, Mary Uduk, told Bloomberg, in an email.

The measures are required for Nigeria’s capital markets to better attract inflows “and be more liquid.�

Daily volume on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s benchmark index is down by 27 per cent in 2019, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as the gauge heads for its second annual decline. The exchange said last month it plans to introduce trading in financial derivatives to boost liquidity.

The SEC is engaging with the National Pension Commission to enact standards that would enable funds to lend their equities, Uduk said. “There are many institutional and even some individual investors that sit on large pools of stocks which they do not trade actively,� she said. “A vibrant securities-lending market will provide liquidity to such stocks and earn some returns for both the lender and the borrower.�

Minister Backs FRC on Corporate Governance Kasim Sumaina Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Bello has expressed support for the role the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) is playing promoting corporate governance.

Bello, said this when the FRC Council, led by its Executive Secretary, Daniel Asapokhai visited the minister in Abuja.

During the meeting, the FRC boss called on the federal government to assist it in recovering its landed property located at Guzape, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Asapokhai, stated that the

agency had not been able to carry out any meaningful development on the disputed property due to the activities of squatters.

He said that unlike many of the Federal Government agencies, FRC operates from Lagos.

According to him, since 2015, the agency has been working to have its headquarters in Abuja. “We have been following our petition with the federal government that in 2015, there was an approval for us to get a landed property in Abuja to able to build our headquarters. “It was same time that government approved the adoption of International Financial Reporting

Standards (IFRS) and also for the public sector to use the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). “We also did a launching of a fund that was meant to establish an IFRS academy meant for the training of people in the public and private on financial standard,� he said. “So, through your ministry we were granted a landed property in Guzape and is 10,000 square meters. Unfortunately, since that 2015 that we were granted certificate of occupancy, we have not been able to embark on any development work as a result of the squatters that have been on the property,� he explained.

Unity Bank,Veritas Kapital Launch Bancassurance Product Peter Uzoho Unity Bank Plc has executed a Bancassurance partnership with Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc in creating a financial solution that provides customers access to insurance services while carrying out their banking transactions.

Under the partnership, Veritas Kapital will leverage on the customer base of the bank and its distribution channels to sell its products.

Also, Veritas Kapital representatives would be present in designated flagship branches under the initiative, to rollout Bancassurance products which offer financial protection, covering wide ranging policy and risks in areas such as Motor, House Owner, Personal Accident and House Holder insurance.

Commenting on the partnership, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Unity Bank Plc, Mrs. Tomi Somefun, said the bank’s longstanding

relationship with Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc resulted in the agreement by the two parties for the benefit of the bank’s customers.

She added that the new synergy would bolster the bank’s agribusiness and its value chain as customers in livestock and crop production can be effectively offered an insurance cover.

Somefun said: “It’s a landmark event for Unity Bank. It’s the result of many months’ of engagement with Veritas Kapital.

Bancassurance is something that has come to stay with us and it’s something that has been largely developed in other climes. But it’s just gaining traction in Nigeria, and, which better partner can we have than Veritas Kapital, who used to be a part of the Unity Bank family. “When Veritas Kapital started looking at Bancassurance, we were the natural partners to have, and it’s a pleasure

today that long hardworking has finally resulted in the collaboration we are launching today. We are glad that this is happening today. “I believe that this is the beginning of a very profitable and mutually beneficial relationship between our two organisations, not just to us but to our teeming customers. The implementation of this is that Veritas Kapital can leverage on the asset base and the knowledge of the existing customers base of Unity Bank, and to provide insurance services easily to those customers through our various channels.

On his part, the Managing Director of Veritas Kapital Assurance, Mr. Kenneth Edore Egbaran, expressed his confidence that the partnership will open new vistas of opportunities to offer even more innovative financial solutions to customers to enable them access numerous benefits that are available through insurance products.

CIMA Harps on Digitalisation Funmi Ogundare The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Nigeria, recently celebrated its 100 years anniversary with the launch of a new initiative known as, ‘Future of Finance.’ The initiative is expected to help reshape the accounting profession by digitalizing its activities so as to remain relevant in the future.

The initiative was expected to help transform the role of finance and the finance function.

Speaking at a dinner held in Lagos, to mark the milestone, some members who had contributed to the growth of the body in Nigeria, were recognised.

CIMA President, Mr. Amal

Ratnayake, said, “It is a privilege to be CIMAs president during this special year; a year when we respect our great heritage and embrace our future. “We can reflect at how we have led change over the past 100 years, retained our core values and been purpose driven. We can also feel proud that we have established a global management accounting profession that is fit for the future of finance.�

In his welcome address, the Chairman of CIMA, Nigeria Branch, Mr. Seyi Olanrewaju, said he was elated to be a part of the milestone celebration.

According to him, “The elation stems from a century of unmatched and noticeable contributions to businesses and

economies. My utmost point of elation this evening is that we are not here to count empty years of irrelevance, but rather an impactful century of living up to purpose, mission, and engendering remarkable changes in the world of accounting as we have it today.�

He disclosed that the accounting body had released its white paper on re-inventing finance for a digital world to lead the profession forward, saying, “The research findings informed the updated CGMA Competency Framework, the new 2019 CIMA Professional Qualification Syllabus and a digital mindset pack that will give finance professionals the resources they need to thrive in the digital age. “

L- R: Principal, Alpha Rehoboth College, Obasi Eziaku Rita; Head, Quality Assurance, Chi Limited, Moturayo Olusanya, and Category Head, Juice, Nectar and Still Drinks, Amit Aneja, during the presentation of Brand of the Year Award to Chivita 100% at the Global Quality Excellence Award, held in Lagos‌recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

SEPTEMBER 2019 Money Supply (M3)

35,029,779.72

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

7,374,356.91

Money Supply (M2)

27,655,422.82

-- Quasi Money

116,533,891.21

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,121,531.60

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,625,047.69

---- Demand Deposits

9,496,483.91

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

13,911,335.83

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

21,118,443.89

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

35,918,179.45

---- Credit to Government (Net)

10,452,199.38

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

11,007,422.79

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

25,465,980.07

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-14,799,735.56

--Other Assets Net

7,000,253.07

Reserve Money (Base Money

2,005,600.83

--Currency in Circulation

4,677,530.81

--Banks Reserves

317,121.43

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 AS AT MONDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2019

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $67.22 a barrel on Monday, compared with $66.76 the previous Friday, 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

41

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻÍś Ëœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

MARKET NEWS

Seplat Concludes Acquisition of Eland, All-Share Index Sheds 0.13% Goddy Egene Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc yesterday announced the conclusion of the acquisition of Eland Oil & Gas Plc. The boards of Seplat and Eland had last October announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition by Seplat.

The acquisition is to be implemented by means of a scheme of arrangement under Part 26

of the Companies Act 2006 which requires the approval of the scheme shareholders and the sanction of the Court.

While other resolutions needing the approval of the shareholders had been passed, the scheme was sanctioned by the Court last week and would become effective upon the Court Order being delivered to the Registrar of Companies.

However, in a notification to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday, Seplat said

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R

DEALS

the Court Order sanctioning the Scheme had been delivered.

Accordingly, the scheme has now become effective and the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Eland is wholly owned by Seplat.

Commenting on the acquisition, Chief Executive Officer, Seplat, Austin Avuru said:“We are delighted to successfully complete the acquisition of Eland, which further enhances Seplat’s footprint in Nigeria and provides opportunities for enhanced scale,

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

diversification and growth. We welcome our new colleagues and Nigerian partners as we look forward to working together in this exciting phase of our development.�

Seplat paid about ÂŁ382 million for the acquisition Eland.

Avuru had said Eland was an excellent fit with Seplat and the combination should achieve for them growth and increased profitability, creating value for their shareholders, employees and other stakeholders while

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

offering an attractive upfront premium to Eland Shareholders. “The acquisition, made possible by our robust operational platform and headroom in our capital structure, is in line with a key part of our established strategy which is to pursue opportunities in the onshore and offshore areas of Nigeria that offer near term production with cash flow and reserves potential,� he said.

Meanwhile, trading at the stock market was bearish as

O F

the NSE All-Share Index fell by 0.13 per cent to close at 26,660.44 after opening on positive note on Monday. Although there were more price gainers than losers, losses posted by Dangote Cement Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, International Breweries Plc and Lafarge Africa Plc led to negative close.

However, activity level advanced as volume and value traded surged 94.6 per cent and 133.1 per cent to 331.9 million shares and N4.8 billion respectively.

1 2 / 1 2 / 2 0 1 9 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

42

˾ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2019

Wednesday, December 18, 2019 Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index Gains 0.2% Yesterday, the Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index climbed 17bps to print

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

Ăƚ ϭ͕Ϯϰϲ͘ϯϱ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͕ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ GUARANTY (+0.2%), FBN (+0.8%) and UBA (+2.9%). These stocks cumulaƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ Ϯϵ͘ϯй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

ŽŵĞƐƟĐ ŽƵƌƐĞ ^ŚĞĚƐ 'ĂŝŶ͙ ^/ ĚŽǁŶ Ϭ͘ϭй dŚĞ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĞŶĚĞĚ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJΖƐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĚ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ

Ticker

Current Price

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

-14.8%

25.0%

16.8%

6.0%

5.7x

0.7x

6.7%

-14.2%

-14.3%

32.9%

5.4%

4.5x

1.4x

9.3%

22.4%

2 Zenith Bank PLC

18.70

-0.3%

12.0%

-18.9%

-18.9%

24.3%

3.4%

2.9x

0.7x

15.0%

34.1% 16.2%

6 FBN Holdings Plc

140.00

-1.4%

7.9%

-26.2%

-24.7%

47.8%

23.1%

6.2x

2.8x

11.4%

0.0%

8.5%

-12.5%

-11.9%

82.9%

26.3%

22.1x

18.2x

5.0%

4.5%

52.70

0.0%

4.4%

-38.4%

-32.7%

10.2%

4.6%

24.6x

2.6x

4.4%

4.1%

8 United Bank for Africa PLC 9 International Brew eries PLC 10 SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

6.30

0.8%

5.0%

-20.8%

-21.3%

10.2%

1.2%

3.9x

0.4x

4.1%

25.4%

18.80

0.0%

5.2%

-3.1%

-3.1%

5.9%

5.4%

12.5x

0.7x

2.2%

8.0%

7.20

2.9%

4.8%

-6.5%

-7.7%

0.5x

11.8%

9.50

-5.9%

1.4%

-66.0%

-67.1%

-48.8%

-4.0%

549.70

0.0%

3.6%

-14.1%

-14.1%

14.4%

9.5%

3.6x

0.5x

7.0%

28.1%

10.00

2.0%

5.9%

47.1%

53.8%

22.7%

2.2%

2.5x

0.6x

5.0%

39.8%

18.1%

11 Access Bank PLC

4.8x

-14.8%

12 Ecobank Transnational Inc

6.95

-0.7%

1.7%

-50.4%

-51.4%

13.8%

1.0%

2.2x

0.3x

13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

36.10

0.0%

2.4%

-24.7%

-24.7%

27.0%

4.0%

5.5x

1.3x

5.5% 8.1%

44.7%

14 Unilever Nigeria PLC

18.45

0.0%

1.4%

-50.1%

-50.1%

3.4%

2.2%

40.1x

1.4x

15 Lafarge Africa PLC

13.90

-2.1%

2.2%

11.6%

15.8%

50.3%

23.4%

14.0x

0.6x

16 Guinness Nigeria PLC

35.60

9.9%

0.8%

-50.6%

-50.6%

4.8%

2.6%

18.2x

0.9x

4.3%

5.5%

17 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

54.50

0.0%

1.1%

-28.5%

-28.5%

18.3%

13.2%

9.7x

1.7x

3.7%

10.3%

2.5% 7.2%

18 Total Nigeria PLC

110.90

0.0%

0.8%

-45.4%

-45.4%

1.0%

0.2%

138.7x

1.5x

16.0%

0.7%

19 11 PLC

147.90

0.0%

1.2%

-20.3%

-20.3%

22.5%

10.6%

6.8x

1.4x

5.7%

14.6%

6.2%

20 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

Performance across sectors was bullish as 4 of 6 sectors gained.

16.2%

1,300.00

5 Nigerian Brew eries PLC

7 Cement Co Northern Nigeria PLC

ƵůůŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

19.5%

ƟŽŶ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ƚŽ EϭϮ͘ϵƚŶ ĂŶĚ zd ůŽƐƐ ƐĞƩůĞĚ Ăƚ -ϭϱ͘Ϯй͘ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ

ZENITH (N873.6m) led the value chart.

P/BV

0.2%

WAPCO (-2.1%). Investors lost N16.8bn as market capitalisa-

volume chart while GUARANTY (N1.5bn), ^^ (N1.1bn) and

P/E

0.17%

following sell-ŽīƐ ŝŶ DANGCEM (-1.4%), INTBREW (-5.9%) and

GUARANTY (50.1m units) and ZENITH (46.6m units) led the

ROA

29.55

3 Dangote Cement PLC

ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ͗ ^^ (106.9m units),

ROE

1,250.06

4 Nestle Nigeria PLC

ϭϯϯ͘ϭй ƚŽ ϯϯϭ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϰ͘ϴďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ /Ŷ ƚĞƌŵƐ ŽĨ

Price Change Index to Date

1 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

ďĞŶĐŚŵĂƌŬ ŝŶĚĞdž ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭϯďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ Ϯϲ͕ϲϲϬ͘ϰϰ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ

level advanced as volume and value traded surged 94.6% and

Price Previous Current Change Price Weightin YTD Change g

21 Oando PLC

19.30

0.0%

1.2%

-16.5%

-13.1%

3.6%

1.3%

15.0x

0.5x

3.70

1.4%

1.0%

-26.0%

-22.9%

14.5%

2.6%

1.6x

0.2x

6.7% 62.8%

22 Fidelity Bank PLC

2.10

0.5%

The Banking index led the pack, up 54bps due to gains in AC-

1.4%

3.4%

3.4%

12.5%

1.4%

2.4x

0.3x

5.2%

23 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

0.98

-1.0%

0.9%

-25.8%

-24.0%

11.7%

2.6%

5.0x

0.6x

3.1%

19.9%

^^ (+2.0%) UBA (+2.9%) and WEMABANK (+8.8%) while the

24 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

16.55

0.0%

1.2%

8.5%

11.8%

19.6%

11.6%

9.8x

2.0x

6.7%

10.2%

Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ƚƌĂŝůĞĚ͕ ƵƉ ϭϱďƉƐ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ

26 FCMB Group Plc

1.85

4.5%

0.7%

-2.1%

2.8%

7.8%

1.0%

2.6x

0.2x

7.6%

39.1%

OANDO (+1.4%). The Insurance and Consumer Goods indices

27 UAC of Nigeria PLC

8.75

0.0%

0.6%

-10.3%

-8.4%

-24.5%

-11.3%

9.7x

0.5x

7.3%

10.3%

28 Sterling Bank PLC

2.00

0.0%

0.6%

5.3%

5.3%

8.0%

0.8%

6.6x

0.5x

42.3%

25 Diamond Bank PLC

15.1%

ĂůƐŽ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ϴďƉƐ ĂŶĚ ϭďƉ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŝĐĞ ƵƉƟĐŬ ŝŶ > ^ K

29 Presco PLC

47.50

9.2%

0.3%

-25.8%

-25.8%

5.2%

3.0%

17.6x

1.8x

4.5%

5.7%

(+4.0%), 'h/EE ^^ (+9.9%) and HONEYFLOUR (+5.1%). On the

30 NASCON Allied Industries PLC

13.25

-5.4%

0.3%

-26.4%

-26.4%

23.4%

8.6%

13.2x

3.1x

7.5%

7.6%

31 Forte Oil PLC

other hand, the Industrial Goods index was the lone decliner

18.10

0.0%

0.3%

-34.1%

-35.4%

7.6%

1.3%

32 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

6.50

0.0%

0.4%

16.1%

16.1%

7.0%

1.1%

10.4x

0.8x

LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘Ϭй ŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƉƌŽĮƚ-ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ ŝŶ

33 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

19.00

0.0%

0.3%

-5.5%

-14.0%

25.0%

3.0%

2.8x

0.6x

100.6%

37.1%

DANGCEM (-1.4%) and WAPCO (-2.1%). Finally, the AFR-ICT ŝŶĚĞdž ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘

34 PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC 35 Chemical and Allied Products P

5.75

0.0%

0.1%

-52.5%

-53.3%

24.00

0.0%

0.2%

-31.1%

-31.1%

1.4x

-1.5% 9.6% 10.6%

35.5%

100.3x

0.5x

2.6%

1.0%

8.3x

8.4x

12.6%

12.1%

36 Wema Bank PLC

0.74

8.8%

0.3%

17.5%

17.5%

9.0%

0.9%

6.0x

0.5x

4.1%

16.7%

37 Beta Glass PLC

53.80

0.0%

0.2%

-21.2%

-21.2%

17.8%

12.5%

5.0x

0.8x

2.4%

20.2%

2.9%

5.0%

38 Dangote Flour Mills Plc

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ tĞĂŬĞŶƐ

39 Transcorp Hotels Plc

5.40

0.0%

0.1%

-11.5%

-11.5%

3.6%

1.8%

20.0x

0.7x

40 AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

1.80

0.0%

0.1%

-1.6%

-1.6%

7.7%

2.2%

11.0x

0.8x

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϭ͘ϰdž ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ Ϯ͘ϭdž recorded yesterday

as

17

stocks

advanced

against

12

that

declined.

, D^ (+10.0%), 'h/EE ^^ (+9.9%) and AGLEVENT (+9.5%) were the best performing stocks while UPDCREIT (-9.0%), UNI-

T o p 10 G a i n e r s T ic k er

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

CHA M S

9.1%

T ic k er

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

106.9

2.0%

0.33

10.0%

A C C ESS

GUIN N ESS

35.60

9.9%

GUA R A N T Y

50.1

0.2%

A GLEVEN T

0.46

9.5%

Z EN IT H B A N K

46.6

-0.3% -1.0%

47.50

9.2%

T R A N SC OR P

24.1

TY (-7.1%) and KZE Z^dKE (-6.7%) led laggards. We do not

WEM A B A N K

0.74

8.8%

FCM B

20.6

4.5%

ĞdžƉĞĐƚ Ă ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĂďůĞ ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŶĞĂƌ

R OYA LEX

0.27

8.0%

FB NH

11.5

0.8%

term.

P R ESC O

H ON YF LOUR

1.04

5.1%

UB A

9.5

2.9%

UC A P

2.30

4.5%

M A N SA R D

7.1

0.0%

FCM B

1.85

4.5%

UA C N

5.7

0.0%

C OUR T VILLE

0.25

4.2%

F ID ELIT YB K

5.1

0.5%

T o p 10 L o s e r s T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

UP D C R EIT

4.05

-9.0%

GUA R A N T Y

1479.5

0.2%

UN IT YB N K

0.65

-7.1%

A C C ESS

1068.8

2.0%

C OR N ER ST

0.56

-6.7%

Z EN IT H B A N K

873.6

-0.3%

IN T B R EW

9.50

-5.9%

N EST LE

381.2

0.0%

N A SC ON

13.25

-5.4%

D A N GC EM

351.2

-1.4%

N EIM ET H

0.57

-5.0%

M TNN

109.0

0.0%

WA P C O

13.90

-2.1%

FB NH

72.6

0.8%

UP L D A N GC EM

P ric e C hg %

1.19

-1.7%

UB A

68.0

2.9%

140.00

-1.4%

UA C N

49.3

0.0%

0.98

-1.0%

P R ESC O

45.1

9.2%

T R A N SC OR P

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Ola Belgore | obelgore@afrinvest.com

Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com

Oluwarotimi Ashimi | oashimi@afrinvest.com

Adedayo Bakare | abakare@afrinvest.com

43

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

CRC Credit Bureau Launches Mobile App for Access to Credit Information Goddy Egene CRC Credit Bureau Limited has launched a mobile app,CRC Mobile, to enable individuals access their credit information and credit scores via their mobile telephones and iPad. Speaking during the unveiling of the app at the 10th anniversary

of the company in Lagos, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of CRC Credit Bureau Limited, Mr. Tunde Popoola said the launch of the app is part of efforts to ease access to information and empower Nigerians.

Through CRC Mobile, individuals can enjoy services

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

such as CRC Score, CRC Credit Information report, CRC Prospecta, CRC Portfolio Monitoring among others.

According to Popoola, CRC Bureau has improved access to credit for consumers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the last 10 years.

“In June 2009 when CRC

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 16Dec-2019, unless otherwise stated.

went live, six commercial banks submitted 1,525,228 credit records but only 154,030, representing about 10 per cent passed validation process due to the bad quality of the data. Today, CRC has over 1,300 institutions with about 30 million credit records successfully processed. We have entered strategic partnerships

with the likes of the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) to power our credit scoring solution,” he said.

He said the company looks forward to the next decade with confidence and optimism.

“Our immediate focus will be to empower individuals to have access to their credit reports and credit scores through various

channels anytime, anywhere on phones, iPad, computers among others. Popularise and migrate our users to the use of credit scores so that they can improve accuracy of their customer profiling. Credit scores will assume national interest and everybody will be interested in their credit score,” he said.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 146.22 149.12 -6.77% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 9.87% Nigeria International Debt Fund 316.38 316.38 17.74% 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 0.90 0.90 6.69% ACAP Income Funds 0.77 0.77 35.06% 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 11.36% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.43 2.48 9.88% 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 15.20 15.66 -8.38% ARM Discovery Fund 345.01 355.41 -3.26% ARM Ethical Fund 29.21 30.09 3.43% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.34% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 1.92 1.92 15.36% 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 0.12 0.10 11.73% Paramount Equity Fund 12.52 11.64 1.85% Women's Investment Fund 109.95 110.84 6.27% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A N/A CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.25% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.94 0.95 10.41% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.39 1.39 23.71% 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 10.46% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 9.53% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,203.94 1,210.06 20.61% 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 1,280.80 1,281.91 19.74% FBN Balanced Fund 144.14 145.19 0.95% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 10.59% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 118.98 119.33 9.33% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 119.55 119.89 10.10% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 127.44 129.88 -15.04% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.71% Legacy Debt Fund 3.64 3.64 12.15% Legacy Equity Fund 1.08 1.11 -11.02% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.08 1.08 4.91% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 3,069.49 3,103.09 2.89% Coral Income Fund 3,086.65 3,086.65 12.61% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 11.79% 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 7.44% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 116.26 116.88 8.09% GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A

INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 10.21% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.19 2.22 1.50% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 11.12% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 142.70 142.84 14.20% 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 1.17 1.19 6.53% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,121.29 1,121.29 12.46% 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 N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 12.26 12.33 816.71% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.26 12.33 9.55% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.87% PACAM Equity Fund 1.02 1.02 PACAM EuroBond Fund 104.29 106.10 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 132.45 133.75 10.00% 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 1.03 1.03 13.29% 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 N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 1.14 1.15 -1.69% United Capital Bond Fund 1.65 1.65 10.15% United Capital Equity Fund 0.65 0.66 -8.90% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.24% United Capital Eurobond Fund 108.75 108.75 5.05% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.03 1.04 2.74% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 10.36 10.52 -8.14% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.76 11.91 -6.15% Zenith Income Fund 22.84 22.84 12.94% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.52%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

5.40 118.66 52.21

-44.85% 6.74% 4.29%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.42 85.53 70.33

8.52 87.32 71.61

-15.35% -27.10% -20.70%

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

3.56 5.47 12.04 10.57 168.61

3.60 5.55 12.14 10.77 170.61

-10.84% -28.11% -17.60% -14.38% 26.34%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.40

17.40%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

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

44

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55

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

Johnson: Let’s Resist Calls to Break up UK Parliament convenes, re-elects Lindsay Hoyle as Speaker British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that a majority in parliament wanted to resist calls to break up the United Kingdom.

Johnson was making a reference to Scottish nationalist lawmakers, who are demanding a new independence referendum.

“Most honorable members in this House believe we should resist the calls of those, who would break up the UK. “And as the parliament of the UK, we should politely and respectfully defend that partnership and that

union,” Johnson told parliament following his election win last week.

Britain set a hard deadline of December 2020 on Tuesday to reach a new trade deal with the EU, betting that the prospect of another Brexit cliff-edge would force Brussels to move more quickly than usual to seal an accord.

Johnson will use his control of parliament to outlaw any extension of the Brexit transition period beyond 2020 – his boldest move since winning a large majority in

Pakistani Court Sentences Former Military Ruler, Musharraf to Death A court in Pakistan on Tuesday handed a death sentence to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on treason charges bordering on his suspension of the country’s constitution in 2007.

The three-judge special court announced the decision in the capital Islamabad after several years of trial against Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan between 1999 and 2008.

Musharraf, now living in exile on Dubai, overthrew the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless military coup in 1999 and became prominent on the world stage after joining the US-led war

on terrorism in Afghanistan.

The ex-strongman suspended the constitution in 2007 to purge the higher judiciary to avoid a legal challenge to his rule.

“It is a landmark judgment and will go long way to redefine Pakistan’s coup-prone political history,” local television commentator Hamid Mir said on his show.

Generals have ruled Pakistan for almost half of the country’s existence since it gained independence from Britain in 1947.

This is the first time Pakistani courts have intervened with powerful military leadership.

last Thursday’s election, and one that spooked financial markets.

“Our manifesto made clear that we will not extend the implementation (transition) period and the new Withdrawal Agreement Bill will legally prohibit government agreeing to any extension,” a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Asked if the government would legislate to rule out any extension of the transition beyond 2020, one of Johnson’s most senior ministers, Michael Gove, said: “Exactly, absolutely”.

After the United Kingdom formally leaves the EU on Jan. 31, it enters a transition period in which it remains an EU member in all but name while both sides

try to hammer out a deal on their post-Brexit relationship.

“With absolute clarity on the timetable we are working to, the UK and the EU will be able to get on with it,” Johnson’s spokesman said.

A comprehensive free trade deal would encompass everything from financial services and rules of origin to tariffs, state aid rules and fishing, though the scope and sequencing of any future deal are still up for discussion.

By enshrining in law his campaign promise not to extend the transition period beyond next December, Johnson cuts the amount of time he has to negotiate a trade deal to 10-11 months – and possibly quite a lot less, given the time needed for

UK and EU parliamentary approval of any deal.

Johnson and European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen agreed in a phone call on Tuesday to work with “great energy” to get a deal done by the deadline, the prime minister’s spokesman said.

The EU hopes to start the trade talks with Britain by March, while Britain said it wants to start as soon as possible.

Trade deals usually take many years. The 2,000-page EU-Canada trade deal known as CETA, or the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, took seven years to negotiate.

Meanwhile, the British parliament unanimously re-elected Lindsay

Hoyle as the Commons speaker after convening for the first time since last week’s election.

After congratulating Hoyle, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the parliament – where his Conservative Party has a 80-seat majority – is “one of the best parliaments this country has ever produced,” citing record numbers of women and ethnic minorities.

Hoyle was elected in November to succeed John Bercow but served only a few days as speaker in the Commons, the British parliament’s main house, before it was dissolved for the election campaign.

Johnson adds that his government plans on Friday to present its bill on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.

US Lawmakers to Decide Rules for Impeachment Vote on Trump US lawmakers gathered on Tuesday to set the rules of the debate and vote on the impeachment of President Donald Trump, on the floor of the House of Representatives.

The House rules committee will layout the framework for the vote, including the length of time for arguments.

Depending on the outcome, a full vote by all members of the House could take place on Wednesday or Thursday.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, rejected a Democratic proposal to call four witnesses in the trial in the upper chamber.

Among the people the Democrats want to hear from is John Bolton, the former national security adviser, and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

McConnell, who said he is coordinating his moves with

the White House, denounced the Democrats’ strange request to have witnesses, calling it a fishing expedition.

“The House is poised to send the Senate the thinnest, least thorough impeachment in our nation’s history,’’ McConnell argued on the Senate floor.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat, said that in a fair trial, lawmakers should hear from the witnesses who he argued have

direct knowledge of Trump’s handling of relations with Ukraine.

Schumer said the desire to block witnesses shows they are trying to cover something up, accusing the Republicans of fearing the witnesses’ testimony.

“What is President Trump afraid of? The truth? But the American people want the truth, and that is why we have asked for witnesses and documents, to get at the whole truth and nothing else,’’ he added.

OPEN LETTER TO ASUU PRESIDENT, PROF. BIODUN OGUNYEMI Sir,

WHEN THE CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE KING AND HIS SUBJECTS IS CLOGGED, THE KING IN HIS WISDOM KNOWS HOW TO GET TO THE TRUTH - THE CASE OF FUOYE ASUU Preamble 1. I am moved to write you this personal letter because I have followed the case of FEDERAL UNIVERSITY, OYE - EKITI (FUOYE) ASUU from beginning till date.

2. First, I hereby pay homage to you, Sir, as my ASUU President. I happened to be deeply impressed by the characters that established ASUU, namely, Late Prof.

Festus Iyayi, Dr. Dipo Fashina, Prof. C.C. Asobie, Prof Jega Mohammadu, etc. If not for ASUU, Nigerian academics and Universities would have been worse than what we have today. In addition, I have personally benefited from ASUU. I enjoyed massive ASUU support in 2008 when I was suspended by my then VC. My offence was that I challenged some fundamental infractions bordering on students’ graduation-related matters.

ASUU supported and sustained me throughout. In addition, Late Prof. Festus Iyayi placed me on monthly stipend at his expense throughout. In the end, Governing Council waded into this matter, exonerated me of all the false accusations leveled against me by the VC during the quarrel, apologized and reinstated me. They paid all my seized salaries.

3. My name is Okolo Patrick Okechukwu, a Professor of Analytical Chemistry and member, American Chemical Society. I was a member of ASUU EXCO in 2008, Best Lecturer in my Department and Best Admissions Officer (see attached).

4. As a dispassionate witness to the truth in FUOYE ASUU, I hereby present to you, Sir, the truth and nothing but the truth, because I believe you are being shielded from the truth.

Genesis of the crisis in FUOYE ASUU 5. Since the current Chairperson (Dr. Omonijo Adeyemi) took over the helm of affairs, disquiet disquiet in Fuoye ASUU. First, it was the ASUU secretary (Dr. Mbachaga Jonathan, 08039238188) who complained bitterly to anyone who cared to listen about what he termed Omonijo’s manipulations, intimidations, arrogance and imperious character. I was one of those who tried to stabilize the system by advising and pleading with him (the secretary) to carry on. Eventually, he resigned in frustration.

Sir, you may get the details yourself from Mbachaga (08039238188). Then followed the complaints from almost all other EXCO members against Omonijo.

6. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when Omonijo shocked more than 90% of the entire branch members by getting the Zonal ASUU to sponsor a press conference on 4th October 2018 without the knowledge and approval of Congress. That press conference was mainly falsehood, intended to destroy everything about FUOYE. More than 90% of members did not know the content of the press conference before it was published on the news media.

7. Angered by Omonijo’s action, the Congress on 6th November 2018 voted overwhelmingly for the commencement of his impeachment and ordered that he should stop collecting check-off dues. The result of this vote and instruction to stop check-off dues are available, Sir. 8. Still, without carrying Congress along, Omonijo conducted a second press conference on FUOYE. Again in bad faith. Faced with the unbridled embarrassment, the FUOYE Governing Council, tried him, found him guilty and suspended him.

9. In less than one year, and moving like a trailer without break, Omonijo had conducted three press conferences, frontally attacking and destroying FUOYE and based on unfounded allegations and outright falsehood, only because he has the backing of Zonal and National ASUU. Omonijo has no followership in FUOYE ASUU 10. The fact that Omonijo has no followership in FUOYE ASUU was clearly demonstrated before the full glare of Zonal ASUU between 25th February to 14th March 2019. That day, Zonal ASUU came for reconciliation in FUOYE. At the appointed time, Zonal ASUU stood watching as Omonijo COULD NOT CALL CONGRESS TO ORDER; there was open rebellion against him by the Congress. He (Omonijo) was alone! The only friends Omonijo has among the academics seem to be those few who have cases to answer about plagiarism, embezzlement of research funds, etc. But as soon as a Zonal Official started addressing the Congress, there was calm and Congress listened to him. Omonijo, taking advantage of the calm situation, mounted the podium once again to address the Congress. What did we get? The congress again erupted into a more serious chaos. The message was very clear: CONGRESS LOVES ASUU BUT NOT UNDER OMONIJO’S LEADERSHIP. As an eye witness, I felt deeply ashamed for Omonijo and thought he would voluntarily resign, because he has no followership: not even a single EXCO was with him that day. Sir, I expected that Zonal ASUU who came from FUTA, OAU and EKSU should brief you on this, stating the facts as they unfolded that day: 11. Omonijo has no followership but continues trudging along only and only because he knows that ASUU National has a tradition of supporting their own to the end. That is why it appears every effort is made to blank out the ASUU National so that the truth about the matter is never known.

12. Some congress members got disheartened and opted to form another Union.

Their leader is Dr. E. O. Ige (08033347603); they christened themselves Congress of University Academics (CONUA), affiliated to OAU (Ife). The remaining members decided to remain in ASUU but not under Omonijo. The latter called themselves Concerned Group of ASUU Members and went ahead to conduct counter press conferences to present the home truth to the world (see attached).

13. The FUOYE VC deserves commendation not vilification. As a witness to the truth in this matter, I hereby submit that those three press conferences by Omonijo were based mainly false. For example: a. Omonijo claimed that Heads of Departments conducting practicals were charging practical fees from the students. As I am an HOD and I conducted and still conduct Chemistry practicals with reagents and instruments supplied by the University, without asking students to pay any fees. Same goes for other HODs. b. Omonijo in his press conference, portrays FUOYE VC (Prof. Kayode Soremekun) as a hater of ASUU. This is not true. As a matter of fact, the FUOYE VC loves and is proud of ASUU. He was always fond of ASUU and boasts publicly about ASUU. At all given opportunities, the VC voluntarily pays ASUU members hazard allowances. He is amiable and approachable by the academics. ASUU check-off dues was expressly stopped by Congress on 6th November, 2018, in protest against Omonijo. The VC did not stop the check-off dues.

c. The only truth in Omonijo’s press conference was the infrastructural deficiency like inadequate classrooms. This problem faces almost all Nigerian Federal and State Universities and therefore should not be a subject for press conferences.

This is caused by over population and that is why we have the excess work load enshrined in ASUU. Even at that, the FUOYE VC has demonstrated tremendous capacity to manage and develop the Institution. A comparison of FUOYE with her contemporaries shows that FUOYE is way ahead of those Federal Universities established the same time. This is because the VC, within a short period of time commits available resources to build more classrooms, laboratories, roads; he supplies electricity and water to those students in the hostels. The VC records all these achievements even when he has to sustain two campuses of the University simultaneously, which clearly implies duplication of expenditure. d. The VC has expanded the number of Faculties and Programs to include Law, Pharmacy, Basic Medical Sciences, Medicine, etc to take off soon. He regularly and graciously sponsors Academic Staff to International Conferences, searches for and invites/employs high profile Academics into the University and readily approves study leaves for young Academics. These endear Academic Staff to him. e. It was only this present VC that promoted and still promotes academic staff and other staff. f. The VC is equally compassionate towards the students, for example, by easing their transportation and other problems. The students, in turn, love him.

Sir, you need to visit FUOYE to appreciate the rapid progress being recorded by the VC within a short period.

My suggestions 14. Sir, I believe in ASUU and know that ASUU is a truth-loving, responsible and an enlightened organization. I am sure that if you understand the truth about this current FUOYE story, things will take a turn for the better. I therefore humbly suggest, Sir, that you: a. First study all of Omonijo-induced press conferences and compare it with the counter press conferences. b. Undertake unscheduled and independent investigations to get at the truth in FUOYE. c. Based on the truth, kindly use your exalted position to stop the fragmentation of ASUU in FUOYE, and lay this matter to rest, so that academic excellence continues to thrive in FUOYE, to the benefit of our dear country and to the glory of God. Conclusion Sir, I humbly implore you to resolve this ASUU FUOYE imbroglio, because the VC, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, is not the cause but only a victim.

Thanks and God bless.

Signed Prof. Okolo Patrick Okechukwu.

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WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Osoba Urges Nigerian Media to Rise against Hate Speech Bill Sunday Ehigiator

A veteran journalist and former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, has expressed fear over the controversial Hate Speech Bill, which has passed the second reading at the Senate.

Osoba spoke yesterday at the launch of two books -’The Gatekeepers,’a biographical work featuring 20 Nigerian editors, columnists and media leaders, and ‘Nigerian Journalism: 160 Years of Advancing Accountability, Promoting the Public Interest and Speaking Truth to Power’,

published by Posterity Media, in Lagos.

He charged the media as the fourth estate of the realm to do all in its power to sensitise the public and educate the legislators on the pending dangers of such bill should it be passed into law.

While ‘The Gatekeepers’, celebrates the inspiring contributions of editors to democracy and public accountability, ‘Nigerian Journalism’, a series of essays and articles by renowned Nigerian journalists and stakeholders, proffers ideas and insights on how

Nigerian-UK Pharmacist Wins Election in UK Chiamaka Ozulumba with agency report Labour Party’s newcomer, Ms. Taiwo Owatemi contested in the nail-biting Coventry North-west election alongside Des Arthur, a CWU rep and former postal worker also from Coventry, and won.

The keenly contested elections saw Owatemi pull 65 votes from the Coventry North-west members with just 60 votes cast in her opponent’s favour.

The elections saw Labour members in Coventry North-west defy expectations by delivering a ‘surprise’ result last Saturday when they selected a Londoner as their parliamentary candidate.

The local party was presented with a shortlist of two members, Taiwo Owatemi and Des Arthur with investigations revealing that the shortlist was supposed to have been drawn up by a mixed panel of national, regional and local executive representatives.

But the local party chair withdrew from the shortlisting

meeting, describing it as an “unclean process”.

It was revealed that the plan of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), “hilariously backfired”.

It is thought locally that the ruling body had shortlisted Owatemi expecting the party not to consider a non-local, but tables turned when she won the tightly fought for election, which saw two recounts.

She pulled 20,918 votes considered a safe seat for Labour, just 208 votes more than her nearest rival, Clare Golby, for the Conservatives with 20,710 votes with support for the Labour Party disappearing in an election heavily dominated by Brexit as their majority margin dropped from 8,580 to just 208.

The 27-year-old London pharmacist said, “I believe we won because of our activists and those conversations about everyday life, we had on the doorstep finding the Labour Party is committed to supporting people in their everyday needs.

Emulate Mandela, Buhari Advises African Leaders Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja advised African leaders to continue to draw inspirations from the legacies of former South African President, Nelson Mandela, on the need to make sacrifices for the good of their countries.

He also admonished them to emulate Mandela by leaving the stage at the end of their constitutionally stipulated tenure.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president made the remarks while receiving letters of credence from the new High Commissioner of South Africa to Nigeria, TD Mseleku, at the Presidential Villa.

According to him, the president described the 27 years’ imprisonment of the former South African President, the humility and broad-mindedness with which he served his nation as both a citizen and president as well as his decision to step down after one term in office as exemplary.

“Late Nelson Mandela was an exceptional leader. He spent 27 years in prison and served one term in office. His legacy is

unprecedented. We are taking a cue from him on the lessons of leadership,’’ he said.

Adesina disclosed that Buhari was impressed by the maturity and passionate manner the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, handled diplomatic matters during his visit to the country in October, this year, noting that the brotherly meeting and exchange doused all the fears and doubts around relations between both countries.

“I was really impressed with the President’s maturity and diplomatic style of handling issues. I admired his initiative and concern.

“At the end of our visit, all those that were expressing doubts and fears had nothing to say. The visit was spectacular in many ways. Please give my deep appreciation to President Ramaphosa,’’ he said.

According to the statement, Buhari said South African companies in Nigeria were doing very well, assuring that the economy would always welcome investments.

The statement added that the South African High Commissioner, in his remarks,

to improve journalism practice in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the former Ogun State governor, “the challenge I want to place before all of you is the bill before the Senate. I read in the papers that the Senate President said the bill will not scale through, but it has now passed second reading.

“Passing second reading means it would go to the committee, while the committee would call for public hearing. Now the challenge before all of you is that, now that the bill is with committee, we should not just sit down and write columns or editorials, each one of us must

sit down and write a paper on why the hate bill must not pass.

“We must make the presentation to the committee. Not only that, as many of you that would be able to go to Abuja on the day set for the public hearing, make your presence felt, and explain to the committee the dangers of allowing such a bill to pass.

“I must admit to you that we are being embarrassed by bloggers and social media practitioners.

Nobody grounded in journalism would say that what they are doing is right. And I would not want to defend the impunity and blackmail these people do on social media, I will not be part

of it. And the very sad part is that, they are not journalists nor trained in this profession. And they do not operate under the code of conducts of journalism practice all over the world.

“But our challenge as journalists and even myself is to appear before the Senate committee when they call for public hearing, and express the dangers in passing the social media bill and hate speech bills into law.

“Secondly, I want to appeal to you, that we should all invade social media. All of us as trained journalists must use all our online platforms and invade the social media to give credible news and

investigative journalism, which is the kind of news we should be more focused on. That way, we would begin to change the negative impression of social media overtime, and also create good alternative for readers and overtime, they would lose interest in fake news.”

Speaking on the books, the author, Femi Kolawole, said the books were as a result of his belief that “journalists and especially editors, who act as media gatekeepers, deserve to be recognized and applauded for their tireless jobs in ensuring that Nigeria becomes a country that offers hope and limitless opportunities to its people.

DEEPENING KNOWLEDGE…

L-R: Publisher, O YES lnternational Magazine, Azuh Arinze; Publisher/CEO, Posterity Media, O’Femi Kolawole; Chairman of the occasion, Chief Olusegun Osoba; MD/Editor-in-Chief, The Sun, Onuoha Ukeh; and Former Editor, Saturday Punch, Olabisi Deji-Folutile at the official presentations and launch of ‘The Gatekeepers (Volume 2) and Nigerian Journalism: 160 years of Advancing Accountability, Promoting the Public lnterest,’ and ‘Speaking Truth to Power,’ in Lagos… yesterday ABIODUN AJALA

House Summons ICPC Chairman over Allegation on Constituency Projects Adedayo Akinwale ín Abuja The House of Representatives has summoned the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye over the statement credited to him accusing the lawmakers of duplicating constituency projects using the “same description, narrative, amount, location and awarded by the same agency”.

The green chamber frowned at the report, stressing that it was a deliberate attempt to rubbish and

ridicule the National Assembly and portray it as not having credible persons.

While moving the motion of urgent public importance at the plenary yesterday, Hon. John Dyegh, expressed concern over a front page story on a national newspaper (not THISDAY), where the lCPC chairman called Senators and House of Representatives members as stealing billions.

Dyegh alleged that the report was capable of pitting the National Assembly members against their constituents and portray us as

thieves.

According to him, “properly informed this is a deliberate attempt to rubbish and ridicule this institution and portray it as not having credible persons.”

The lawmaker also noted that the report was capable of destroying the image of the Nigerian legislature before the international community and making them loose respect, which most of them earned even before coming to the National Assembly.

Dyegh said that no court in

Nigeria has passed any judgment on the legislature or its members as thieves, adding that the ICPC chairman has no such right, saying “if you say someone stole, you are saying he/she is a thief.”

The House therefore resolved, “to invite the Chairman of ICPC to interact with the Committee on ICPC of the House for proper discussion.”

It also mandated the committees on Ethics and Privileges and Public Petition to investigate this matter and report back within four weeks.

NDLEA Arrests Suspected Killer of Four Officers James Sowole in Akure National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested the suspected killers of four officers of Ondo State Command, who were killed at a checkpoint in Ifon area of Ose Local Government Area of the state in February 2019.

The suspect, Ohimai Ayodele, according to the NDLEA Commander for Ondo State, Mr. Haruna Gagara, was arrested during intelligence-driven Operation Thunder Strike IV carried out by a combination of officers drawn from different units across all commands of the agency in the country.

Gagara, however, disclosed

yesterday at the command’s headquarters, Alagbaka in Akure that six officers of the agency sustained injuries during the operation that led to the arrest of the suspect.

The commander disclosed that a 51-year-old suspect was arrested at Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, after his men were able to overpower a gang of suspected drug baron which engaged the agency’s personnel in a gun duel.

After raiding Uzebba and Ihkin villages in the same local government, the team moved further into Ivbiodeohen forest where no fewer than five warehouses filled with cannabis

sativa were discovered.

He said: “Uzebba and Ihkin, two communities in Owan West Local Government, Edo State, bordering Ondo State which are notorious for the cultivation of cannabis sativa were the first place to be visited by the team.

“One Ohimai Ayodele, ‘M’ 51-year-old title holder in Uzebba, a notable cannabis merchant suspected to be the mastermind of the killing of NDLEA personnel earlier in the year was apprehended during the operation. In an attempt to resist arrest, his gang opened fire, injuring some of our operatives.

“After reinforcement, we carried the campaign further to Ivbiodeohen forest in Uzebba where five different

warehouses were raided with at least two tons of cannabis destroyed.

“One Ojeagbese Asabiya ‘M’ 66 years was arrested in a deserted locality where several cannabis nursery and transplant farms were discovered and destroyed.”

The commandant added that eight locally made gun, several live cartridges, six locally fabricated cannabis compressing machines were recovered from the two communities in Edo State.

The commandant said in another 20-hour operation, the team invaded Ajobieye forest at Uteh, near Ifon in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State and discovered 1, 225 bags of cannabis sativa, weighing 12,250kg and set it ablaze.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Senate Probes Alleged Harassment of Nigerians in Ghana Deji Elumoye and Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Senate yesterday ordered a comprehensive probe into the alleged harassment and ill treatment of Nigerian businessmen

based in Ghana.

It also demanded investigation into the reported closure of over 600 shops and business belonging to Nigerians by Ghana Union of Traders Association on December 2.

FIRS Gives Seven-day Notice to Tax Defaulters The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), yesterday, served a seven-day notice to tax defaulters, with a warning that it would soon begin a nationwide tax enforcement to bring defaulters to book.

The notice was contained in a statement signed by FIRS’ Head of Communication and Servicom, Wahab Gbadamosi.

The statement quoted the Acting Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr. Abiodun Aina, as saying that the service has concluded plans to begin tax enforcement against defaulters should they continue to fail in fulfilling their tax obligations.

He advised tax defaulters to settle their tax liabilities within seven days of the publication of a notification to avoid any inconveniences or interruptions in their operations.

“The FIRS hereby informs all taxpayers (individuals, partnerships, Enterprises, corporate organisations, Ministries, Departments and Agencies) who

are in default of payment of taxes arising from self-assessment, tax audit, tax investigation, transfer pricing audit, demand notices and any other liabilities, that the service will commence a nationwide tax enforcement exercise from 18 December, with a view to prosecuting defaulters and recovering all outstanding tax liabilities,” the statement read.

Aina said the enforcement is pursuant to the provisions of Section 8, 26 (2), 33 and 35 of the FIRS’s establishment Act in 2007.

The taxes covered by the enforcement are referred Petroleum Profits Tax, Companies Income Tax, Value Added Tax, Withholding Tax, Tertiary Education Tax, NITDA Levy, Stamp Duty and Capital Gains Tax. “All taxpayers are therefore strongly advised to settle their tax liabilities within seven days of the notice to avoid any inconveniences or interruptions in your operations,” Aina said.

Fashola Gives Contractors Marching Order on LokojaBenin Road Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja As contractors intensify palliative work on failed sections of the Lokoja-Benin highway to ease the challenges faced by travellers during the Christmas and New Year festivities, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has given a marching order to the contractors and the federal controllers of works in Edo and Kogi states to ensure the completion of one of the two alignments of the road latest by June 2020.

The road is broken into four sections with two alignments.

The Director, Highways Roads Design, South-South, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr. Oluropo Olajide Oyetade disclosed this while on an inspection tour of sections of the road on the Edo State axis.

Speaking during a courtesy call on the Onogie of Ekpoma, the traditional ruler of Ekpoma, Chief Anthony Ehizogie Abumere 11, he said about a month ago, the minister had given all the four contractors and the federal controllers of works in Edo and Kogi States a marching order to ensure that rehabilitation work is done on the alignments as well as the four sections of the road.

He said: “Our focus is on the two alignments in the four sections of the road. The sections include Lokoja-Okene; Okene-Auchi; Auchi-Ehor and Ehor-Benin. All the four sections of the roads are receiving very aggressive work

by the four contractors and the federal controllers.”

He said the minister gave the directives to the four departments on federal highways to deliver at least one alignment from Lokoja to Benin latest by June 2020.

Noting that the four sections of the road were being addressed with particular reference to Ekpoma in Esan-West of Edo State where erosion menace is pronounced, Oyetade urged the royal father to sensitise his people to cooperate with the federal government and the contractors when work commences to address the erosion challenge.

He stated that the design to tackle the erosion problem would affect some houses, adding that the government was ready to pay compensation to the owners of such property.

Responding, Chief Benson Idobiowa, who stood in for the Onogie of Ekpoma assured that his people were ready to cooperate with the government and contractors on the project.

The erosion menace, he stated, had been a source of nightmare to the people until a few weeks ago when the rains ended.

During another courtesy call, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki assured that his government was committed to ensuring improved road infrastructure in the state, adding that his administration was in discussions with the federal government to ameliorate the suffering of commuters on the Benin-Lokoja road during the festive season.

The senate therefore asked its two committees on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Investment to liaise with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate the status of Nigerian businesses in Ghana.

The upper chamber averred that it was the responsibility of government to protect its citizens where ever they reside and that it was high time Nigeria engaged Ghanaian authority to find out what the actual situation was and proffer solution.

These resolutions were sequel to the adoption of a motion titled, “The need to investigate alleged ill treatment and injustices suffered

by Nigerian Traders and Business owners in Ghana,” moved at plenary by Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.

Presenting the motion, Ubah flayed the alleged injustice and ill treatment of Nigerian traders and Nigerian business owners in Ghana .

According to him, the attack became worrisome because Ghana and Nigeria as members of ECOWAS have reciprocal obligations under the ECOWAS Protocol to their respective citizens to reside and do business within their territories without molestation.

Ubah said as at the end of 2010,

Nigerian businesses accounted for 60 per cent of foreign investments in Ghana from African continent.

He stated that the once flourishing economic relations between Nigeria and Ghana had come under repeated threats as a result of recent hostile posture of Ghanaian authorities and indigenous Ghanaians Traders Union against Nigerian traders.

Ubah added the Ghanaians had adopted discriminatory legislations aimed at frustrating Nigerian traders such as the passage of the Ghana Investment Promotion Commission Act 865.

According to him, the

measures and the protection offered Nigerian traders under the ECOWAS framework had failed to address the incessant threats to Nigerian businesses in Ghana.

He emphasised that unless the Senate intervenes, the situation may deteriorate into a serious diplomatic and economic crisis, saying the complaints of affected Nigerian traders and business owners are yet to receive the deserved attention by appropriate authorities from the Federal Government of Nigeria despite repeated written complaints.

COURTESY VISIT...

Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman (left), and Governor of Katsina State, Hon, Aminu Bello Masari, when the governor paid a courtesy visit to headquarters of NPA in Lagos... yesterday

PDP Dismisses Buhari’s Birthday Promises,Tasks Him on Electoral Reforms Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday dismissed President Muhammadu Buhari’s birthday declaration to bequeath a legacy of free and fair elections as diversionary posturing, stating that such cannot sway Nigerians to place any trust in the present administration as far as elections are concerned.

Rather, the party called on the president to back his words with action, as nothing other than this would be a better birthday message to Nigerians.

PDP in a statement signed by

its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said President Buhari cannot claim to be committed to free and fair election after he refused to sign the amendment to the Electoral Act and had continued to endorse the outcome of bloody and manipulated governorship elections that occurred in Bayelsa, Kogi, Kano, Ekiti, Osun States as well as the 2019 general election, in which he and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), were huge beneficiaries.

According to the main opposition party, “The president cannot rightly assert a commitment to electoral reform when he

congratulated all beneficiaries of past flawed elections, while his administration failed to take any decisive step to bring known riggers and perpetrators of violence in these elections to book.”

PDP further said: “Our party notes that penance is a process from which a president is not forbidden. However, we invite the president to note that the true electoral reform, which our country requires today, goes beyond mere verbal posturing.

He needs to openly support the strengthening of our electoral laws and the decisive application of the provisions

thereof.”

The PDP, therefore, tasked president Buhari to demonstrate that commitment for free, fair and credible electoral process by immediately returning the Electoral Act amendment bill to the National Assembly for accelerated consideration with a commitment from him to sign it into law upon passage.

PDP said the demonstration of the birthday declaration should also include a presidential order for the immediate prosecution of the killers of Mrs. Salome Abu and all those killed in the last Kogi and Bayelsa States governorship elections.

Police Intercept 4,000 Packs of Tramadol Drugs Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Police authorities said yesterday that it intercepted 4,000 packs of tramadol worth N54 million in Bauchi State.

It also paraded 71 crime suspects, nine AK 47 rifles and other assorted weapons.

The controlled pain killer drugs were being couried to Potiskum in Yobe State by suspects, who were arrested by operatives during mop-up operations.

Parading the suspects in Abuja, Force Public Relations Officer and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Frank Mba, said

the nationwide operation that led to the arrests of the suspects were aimed at ensuring a crimefree Christmas and New Year celebrations.

He said the drug was estimated at N54 million.

Operatives also arrested “one chance syndicate, two-man gang of burglars, as well as suspected automated teller machine (ATM) cards’ thieves, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

“In order to ensure that citizens are able to travel on highways freely, and to have a violence-free yuletide, our operatives have been working round the clock”.

He said Police nabbed 71 suspects, recovered nine Ak 47 rifles, three other assorted weapons, vehicles, over 18 handsets of assorted make, were recovered.

“Over four thousand packs of tramadol tablets and other incriminating items were also recovered during mop-up operations”, he said.

Mba said “a one-chance syndicate that specialises in attacking women is one of the syndicates taken out. Another gang that has been carrying out burglary activities in Abuja, especially Gwarimpa, has been

taken out.

“Another two-man gang that specialises in troubling people at ATM points, is also among the criminals taken out. We believe with the clearance of these criminal gangs, Abuja residents will have a crime-free yuletide”.

The Force PRO said a total of 184 ATM cards of different banks bearing different names were recovered.

“We are also going after dealers on illicit drugs. This is based on our understanding of the nexus between violent crime and illicit drugs.

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WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

BFIG: BPE Moves to Halt Execution of Committal Order Peter Uzoho The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) yesterday disclosed that it had filed a motion for stay of execution and a Notice of Appeal against the judgment delivered yesterday by Justice Justice Anwuri Chikere of the Federal High Court Abuja in a committal proceeding instituted against it

and its Director General, Mr. Alex A. Okoh in a case between BFIG and the privatisation agency.

Chikere yesterday ordered that Okoh be remanded in prison for a minimum of 30 days.

Chikere accused Okoh of serial disobedience of the Supreme Court order over the ownership the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON).

But BPE said in a statement last night that the committal proceeding followed an allegation that it failed to fully execute the orders of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in the suits filed by BFIG in respect of the ALSCON located in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State.

The Supreme Court had ruled that BFIG, an Nigerian-American consortium, was the valid winner

of the bid for ALSCON, which was conducted in 2004 by the BPE. The BPE said the committal order was made against it following a filing by BFIG that it failed to comply with the orders of the Supreme Court and the appellate court in respect of the bid.

“The Bureau had at all times complied with all judgments in respect of ALSCON. However,

BFIG has serially defaulted in meeting its financial commitments as directed by the courts to pay the bid price of $410 million as submitted by BFIG in 2004.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria is committed to economic development through privatisation and putting its assets to optimal use through the course of fairness and due process”, the BPE said.

ALSCON, located at Ikot Abasi

in Akwa Ibom State, has been the subject of an ownership struggle since the federal government privatised the firm in 2004. Russia’s Rusal claims ownership of the company while BFIG won a Supreme Court ruling backing its ownership claim.

However, the federal government has allegedly refused to transfer ownership of the firm to BFIG.

Navy to Acquire 41 Platforms from France, Malaysia, Others in 2020 Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja In a bid to boost its fleet and capacity to police Nigeria’s maritime domain, the Nigerian Navy said yesterday it would take delivery of 41 platforms from France, Malaysia, Vietnam and local manufacturers in 2020.

It said the platforms at various stages of completion are expected to be added to the 42 riverine and other patrol boats procured in 2019.

The Navy said as part of its Operation Rivers Sweep designed to contain the proliferation of illegal refineries, a total of 378 illegal refineries were destroyed resulting in the destruction of 62 speed boats and arrest of 275 suspects for involvement in illegal bunkering and smuggling.

Speaking while presenting the Nigerian Navy Scorecard 2019 in Abuja, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, said the platforms include hydrographic survey ship from Ocea France, two Fast Patrol Boats (FBS) from Damen Shipyard in Vietnam, four Manta Class Boat from Suncraft in Malaysia, one helicopter from Italy and 15 riverine patrol boats from Epenal Group Nigeria Limited in Port Harcourt, among others.

The Naval Chief, who was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral Beegroy Ibe-Enwo, said the Nigerian Navy “in 2019 acquired some platforms to boost her maritime security

operations amongst which are 20 Riverine Patrol Boats, 20 Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) and two-man House Boats.

“Also, the Nigerian Navy is expecting some platforms from various manufacturers both within and outside the country to join her fleet to further boost her maritime security operations”.

Making the presentation, the Chief of Training and Operations, Rear Admiral Tariworio Dick, said with the launch of Operation Tsare Teku and Calm Water launched to combat attacks on shipping and other illegal activities in the area of coverage, 16 pirate attacks were reported from January to December 2019.

He said while six were successful, 10 were unsuccessful.

“This is an improvement in comparison to the records for 2018 where a total of 34 pirate attacks were reported with nine successful and 25 unsuccessful attacks,” he said.

With the launch of Operation Swift Response in 2016 designed to curtail the increasing threat posed by smuggling in Nigeria, he said the Nigerian Navy inducted patrol boats and vessels in support of federal government’s anti-smuggling and border security operations.

He said the operation resulted in the confiscation of 10 trucks of 33,000 litres of petroleum products valued at N80 million and the seizure of 14,056 bags of rice worth over N210 million from August till date.

Residents of Lagos Community Decry Unhealthy Environment Onyeka Henry The residents of Kirikiri in Lagos State have complained about the poor state of their environment and alleged that the state government and the local council were not helping the situation.

The people complained that the bad state of roads, bad drainage system, stationery trailers and open defecation had contributed to degrading the environment.

They also disclosed that the blocking of roads by trailers had affected their businesses and caused a lot of accidents.

One of the residents, a civil servant, who spoke to THISDAY off record yesterday, said: “The roads in the area are very bad and those responsible are not doing anything about it. The people who are supposed to provide leadership and protect the environment, the Police and the Navy are instead contributing

to the bad state of the road, and it is not supposed to be so.”

THISDAY learnt from another resident in the area, a business man, that: “The roads are in bad state because of the trucks that are packed indiscriminately on the road. Trucks are not supposed to pack in residential areas, and this situation has resulted in several accidents and eventually death.

“As you can see, under the trucks are very dirty, and if anybody wants to pass feces, he or she does it under the truck.

Nobody will throw dirt on the road normally when the road is free and clean. So, we are not living in a healthy environment.”

The residents urged the Lagos State Government to send health officers to their area in order to observe and seek solution to the state of the environment in the community “by fixing the roads, drainage system and the unhealthy environment which the people are suffering from.”

PERFORMING THE YEARLY RITUAL…

Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi presenting the 2020 budget proposal of N169.56 billion at the State House of Assembly in Enugu…yesterday

Minister Inaugurates Committee on New Five-year National Broadband Plan Emma Okonji The federal government, through the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, has inaugurated a committee on the new National Broadband Plan (2020-2025).

According to the minister, “The need to boost broadband penetration from its present coverage of 37.8 per cent to over 70 per cent in the next five years is the pedestal for the new National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020-2025).”

While inaugurating the 25 member Broadband Plan Committee in Abuja yesterday, Pantami said pervasive broadband penetration would certainly make Nigeria a truly digital economy.

The new NBP 2020-2025 is sequel to the first NBP 2013–2018.

The new NBP Committee has the Managing Director/CEO of Main One Cable Company Limited, Ms. Funke Opeke, as its Chairperson, with Dr. Bashir Gwandu as co-Chairman. The Executive Commissioner, Technical Services of the Nigerian Communications Commissions, Ubale Maska, will serve as the Secretary to the Committee, and he will be supported by four staff members of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in the secretariat.

The Committee is to develop a new National Broadband Plan that will be the guiding template for the development of ‘this important area of telecommunications’.

Pantami said: “The Committee is to take a critical look at the painstaking review of the 2013 to 2018 phase and the status of

penetration now. The members are enjoined to also examine the challenges with a view to proffering solutions thereto.

They should also look at the position of growing and emerging technologies among others.”

The new NBP has the collaboration and support of the United Kingdom Government.

The inauguration of this new Committee is a follow up to the launch of the National Policy for Digital Economy and Strategy by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2019.

“The Policy has eight pillars among which are Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy and Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Service Infrastructure, Digital Services Development and Production, Digital Society Emerging Technologies and Indigenous

Content Development,” he added.

The minister told the Committee members to lay emphasis on the third pillar of the national policy which accommodates broadband and data centre; key components for economic growth, and promotion of digital economy.

The Committee’s work, he explained, would address significantly one of the eight pillars, while the remaining seven will also run as one of this all important pillar.

“The work of the Committee will go a very long way in supporting the national digital economic policy and strategy of the federal government because digital economy is strategically dominating the world economy today. Members of the Committee were selected based on their competence, integrity and professionalism,” Pantami said.

FG Approves Court of Appeal for Asaba Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba The federal government has approved the creation of a Court of Appeal for Asaba, the Delta State capital.

The state Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the resolutions at the meeting of the state executive council yesterday in Asaba.

According to Aniagwu, “I am pleased to announce to you that executive council has approved the construction of residential quarters for judges of the Court of Appeal to be located in Asaba.

So, between now and February next year, the Court of Appeal, Asaba Division, will commence operation in Asaba. ‘’We do know that before now, whenever you had to appeal a High Court judgment, you needed to go to Court of Appeal in Benin-city. So, for this one to take off, we have to provide residential accommodation for the judges in Asaba. And, for that purpose, we are restructuring the Maryam Babangida House just off the Maryam Babangida Way in Asaba. The good thing is that we are going to have a Court of Appeal Judicial Division

in Asaba.’’

The commissioner, meanwhile, said the executive council also approved the coronation (installation) of the Diokpa, Fidelis Chukwujindu Ifeyenem, for the people of Umute in Aniocha South Local Government Area subject to the custom and tradition of the people.

Moreover, the council also approved the construction of a technical college in Uvwie, saying: “It brings to nine out of the 19 technical schools we are establishing in the local government areas. You’ll recall

the last time I addressed you; we were trying to resolve the issue of location of the Technical College in Uvwie.

However, the Asaba Division of the Court of Appeal is set for inauguration in the state as the structures for the offices as well as residential accommodation for judges are now fully in place in the city.

THISDAY, however, learnt that a team of inspectors was in Asaba in October this year to inspect office structures and residential accommodation for Justices of the court.

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Court Convicts Passenger for Smoking in Air Peace Flight Chinedu Eze A passenger who was caught smoking on board Air Peace flight P4 7558 from Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) to Lagos on December 11, 2019, has been found guilty by an Ogba Magistrate Court, which sentenced him to two weeks imprisonment with the option of paying N200,000 as a fine.

The passenger was seen smoking a cigarette before he was accosted by one of the airline’s flight attendants, Adewale Oyebade.

A statement released by the Corporate Communications Executive of Air Peace, Stanley Olisa, insisted that smoking contravened a long standing international aviation regulation of non-smoking in-flight.

Olisa stated that Oyebade should be commended for his safety consciousness, which made him to expose the passenger who was smoking inside the aircraft.

He added that the flight attendant noticed the passenger’s prohibited act while doing his routine safety checks.

“Let us use this opportunity to reiterate Air Peace’s commitment to global safety standards. We are fully committed to the safety of our passengers and will not compromise that stance for anything,” Olisa asserted.

He charged the flying public to make it an obligation to comply with all established flight safety standards that were meant for their well-being.

Olisa also commended the court for a speedy trial of the case and thanked the airline’s passengers for their continued patronage.

Finance Ministry Launches Electronic Records Management Platform Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning has launched an Electronic Records Management (ERM) platform to track incoming and outgoing mails and letters from and to the ministry.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, who was represented at the launch by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mohanmmed Isa Dutse, noted that the launch was in furtherance of the current administration commitment to digitalise all government platforms and the ministry’s commitment towards

improving service delivery to the citizenry.

According to a statement issued by the Director (Information), Mr. Hassan Dodo, the minister stated that this commitment was underpinned by the current administration desire to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery, the promotion of inter-agency synergy as well as the fight against corruption.

She stated that following the launch of e-government master plan by the government, key operations in public service such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the newly launched Financial Transparency Web Portal, the Integrated Payroll and Personnel

Information System (IPPIS) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) were now being implemented and would help the government to save cost and fight corruption.

On the derivable benefits from the project, the minister stated that the project would enhance tracking of incoming and outgoing letters, enhance productivity, quality, and reduce turnaround time as well as enhance efficiency in service delivery, while ensuring the preservation and safety of the ministry’s documents.

The minister, therefore, solicited the cooperation and commitment of staff of the ministry towards the realisation of the goals of the project.

Wike Proposes Budget of N530.8bn for 2020 Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has presented a budget proposal of N530,813,357,619.00 for the 2020 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly for consideration and passage.

He christened the 2020 Budget of Rivers State: “Budget of Reassurance, Profound Impact for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity.”

The proposed budget is N50.8 billion higher than the N480 billion budgeted for 2019.

Presenting the 2020 Budget Proposal to the Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday, Wike said the budget was made up of N156,659,436569.00 recurrent expenditure and N374,153,920,743.00 capital expenditure.

“The capital expenditure for 2020 is estimated to be

N374,153,920,743.00, which constitutes nearly 70 per cent of the total budget. The summary of sectorial allocations of the capital expenditure are as follows: Administrative sector N15,061,008,000.00; Economic sector - N136,444,523,766.60; Law and Justice - N2,400,000,000.00; Social sector - N138,558,553,322.35; Special Head - N57,367,124,462.05 and Loan repayments N24,322,731,192.00.

“The substantial increase in capital over recurrent expenditure once again reflects and underscores our commitment to direct more resources to the growth and productive sectors of our economy.

“This administration is poised to fulfill every promise it made to our people. Consequently, various expenditure portfolios have been allocated to all the relevant MDAs to fund capital expenditures and deliver physical and socio-

economic infrastructure and development for our people,” he said.

The highpoint of the recurrent expenditure was the allocation of funds for the new minimum wage and the recruitment of new employees.

“The sum of N70,227,748,472.32 is earmarked for salaries and wages; N8,000,000,000.00 for the new minimum wage, while N18,429,375,634.45 is for overheads.

“Also, N5,000,000,000.00 is set aside for new recruitments, N3,000,000,000.00 as counterpart fund for pensions, N900,000,000.00 for death benefits and N33,176,728,931.33 as monthly pensions and gratuities.

Government has also provided over N400,000,000.00 as counterpart contributions for donor programmes,” he said.

Ogun APC Lauds Abiodun over Commissioner-nominees’ List Idowu Sowunmi Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has commended the state Governor, Dapo Abiodun, for bowing to party supremacy in the selection of commissioner-nominees recently screened and confirmed by the state House of Assembly.

The Publicity Secretary of the state APC Caretaker Committee, Mr. Tunde Oladunjoye, yesterday made the commendation in a statement in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The party’s spokesperson noted that the governor deserved to be

praised when compared to what was obtained in the past, saying the eventual selection of the commissioner-designates was based on the list signed and submitted by party leaders from all the nine federal constituencies in the state.

According to him, “It would be recalled that at a state caucus meeting of the party on October 11, 2019, attended by the governor and our leader, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, it was directed that leaders of the party in each federal constituency should meet and forward the list of commissioner-nominees to the party for onward transfer to the governor.

The instruction was followed to the letter.

“The governor’s eventual selection of the commissioner-designates was based on the lists signed and submitted by party leaders from all the nine federal constituencies in the state.

“In fact, the governor actually deserves to be commended for submitting himself to party supremacy unlike what was obtained in recent past. The approach of Abiodun was the same as that of our leader, Osoba, during his tenure, as they both believe in the supremacy of the party.

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Atiku Condemns FG’s $29.96bn Loan Request Chuks Okocha in Abuja Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said Nigeria

had taken almost as much foreign debt in the last three years as it had taken in 30 years before 2015 combined.

Atiku, who described the current debt situation as frightening, stated that it is not

BUSINESS LEADERS UPBEAT ABOUT BETTER ECONOMY AS BUHARI SIGNS 2020 BIRTHDAY BUDGET Buhari described Nigeria as ‘a terrific country,’ where nobody can unilaterally have his way.

According to him, he has resolved to live with the reality of the country’s characteristics as no matter what is done, some individuals will always find fault with it.

The president spoke at the State House, Abuja, while answering questions from reporters on the occasion of his 77th birthday.

The president’s aides, including the SGF, had visited him in his residence to wish him a happy birthday and present him with a congratulatory card. The president also cut his birthday cake before the aides.

He told reporters after the event that he could only make some efforts, noting that Nigeria, being a ‘terrific country,’ is a place where people always go to the press to find fault with his actions.

“I think I come to accept the realities of leadership in Nigeria.

You can only try. It is a terrific country. No matter what you do, there are people on a daily basis that look for your faults and go to the press. So, you have to learn to live by that,” he said.

Asked what would be his birthday gifts to Nigerians, Buhari said the gifts would be patience and patriotism, adding that the truth has to be accepted about Nigeria that nobody could have his way in the country because “we are one Nigeria.”

He stated that patience needed to be exhibited in the drive to explore the resources that Nigeria is endowed with, with a view to bestowing meaningful legacies to future generations.

He said: “Patience and patriotism, that is what we see as a rule. Nobody can have his own way. We better accept the truth that we are one Nigeria.

We ‘ll keep on building. God has blessed us with land and people and resources. We must have the patience to exploit them and leave something for our future generations.”

Buhari also repeated the promise he made before the 2019 general election that he would work hard to deliver free and fair polls in 2023, asking those seeking to be elected into the presidency and the National Assembly to work hard because he would not condone malpractices.

“What I want to promise Nigerians that I will work very hard on free and fair election. All those that are going to succeed in the National Assembly and the presidency, they better work very hard because I will make sure, using the law enforcement agencies, that elections are free and fair; nobody uses his office or his resources to force himself on his constituency,” he added.

The president lamented that unlike his first coming as a military leader when he acted without restraint, the current civil

administration that he leads is too slow and antithetical to his desire.

“So, under this system which is supposed to be more accountable, but it is too slow for my liking, but I have to follow it,” he said.

Asked how he felt at 77, Buhari said he felt well, adding that whereas there are many people on crutches at the same age of 77, his case is different because he could walk unaided.

APC Govs, Gbajabiamila, Tinubu Felicitate with Buhari Meanwhile, the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Gbajabiamila and a leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, have congratulated the president on his 77th birthday.

The APC governors, the speaker and Tinubu, in their statements, described the president as a role model and an example of incorrigible leadership to this generation.

The Chairman of the forum and Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, who issued the statement on behalf of the APC governors, commended Buhari for his selfless service to Nigeria.

He said: “The Progressive Governors Forum wishes President Muhammadu Buhari, a happy birthday and also say a big thank you for your selfless service to our dear country.

“We are very proud of you and your brave and fearless leadership.

You have been a role model and an example of incorrigible leadership to this generation. We proudly hold you as someone worthy of emulation.”

Also, the speaker, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, wished the President continued good health, wisdom and God’s protection.

“Mr. President Sir, your journey on earth has been full of blessings not only to the members of your immediate family but to Nigeria and Nigerians as a whole,” he said.

On his part, Tinubu said Buhari had done much to place Nigeria on the pathway to better future.

In a statement by his Media Adviser, Tunde Rahman, the former Lagos State governor said: “You have exhibited that rare combination of a simple and modest lifestyle coupled with an ambitious and grand vision for our nation.

“Your administration has been one of momentous achievements and the realisation of hope and progress for our country and our party, the All Progressives Congress.”

“A man of political courage, you have taken bold decisions that those before you knew were needed but avoided taking. You have made Nigeria safer by making the violent terrorists and wrongdoers so much weaker that they will ultimately fall due to your efforts protecting our national security.”

just because of the amount, but because of such unprecedented borrowing.

The former vice president in his verified tweeter handle said: “We have emerged as the world headquarters for extreme poverty and the global capital for out-of-school children. It begs the question: ‘what were the funds used for?’

Quoting the former United States President, John Quincy Adams, who once said: ‘There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt,” Atiku

said: “He may have very well been referring to Nigeria of the last three years.”

The PDP presidential candidate in the last general election said the business of government is too serious to be left in the hands of politicians, explaining that: “We must all ask questions because if they throw away the future, it is not going to be their future they are throwing away, it will be all our futures.”

According to the former vice president, the fact that Nigeria currently budgets more money for debt servicing (N2.7 trillion) than it

does on capital expenditure (N2.4 trillion) is already an indicator that Nigeria has borrowed more money than it can afford to borrow. “And the thing is that debt servicing is not debt repayment. Debt servicing just means that Nigeria is paying the barest minimum allowable by its creditors,” he said.

He said while spending 50 percent of the current revenue on debt servicing, “this administration wants to take further loans of $29.6 billion! To say that this is irresponsible is itself an understatement.”

Atiku said: “As a businessman,

one of the very first things I learnt is that you do not take loans except you are expanding your business. Even as an individual, when your income cannot fund your lifestyle, you are challenged to grow your income, not your borrowings.

“Even if this administration borrows $1 trillion, it will never be enough because their challenge is one of capacity.

They are not using the funds they already have wisely.

They do not need more debt.

They need more intellectual capacity.”

ANTI-CORRUPTION WAR…

L-R: Official of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Umma Suliaman; Assistant Director, Legal, EFCC, Mr. Kabiru Latona; Acting Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu; Head, External Cooperation, Hadiza Gamawa; and EFCC official, Biodun Adebanjo, at the ongoing 8th Conference of State Parties of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in Abu Dahbi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) ...yesterday

HOUSE SHOTS DOWN SIX-YEAR SINGLE TERM FOR PRESIDENT, GOVS Dyegh’s colleagues stiffly resisted the bill during its consideration yesterday for second reading at the resumption of plenary.

However, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar faulted the decision of the lawmakers, describing the rejection of the bill as a missed opportunity.

At the second reading of the bill, almost all the members that contributed to the debate on the bill rejected it.

The consideration of the bill came against the backdrop of the speculation that President Muhammadu Buhari was nursing a third-term ambition, an allegation, which the president has severally disclaimed.

In his lead debate, Dyegh said democracies the world over face problems of representation, adding that fledgling, nascent and emerging democracies in particular tend to face high level of challenges.

He identified one of the challenges of democracy in Nigeria as the desperation by politicians to remain in power, sometimes at all costs, resulting in electoral violence that claims lives.

“Limiting terms of office of a president or governor to a single, elongated tenure, therefore, offers a promising, long time solution to the avoidable loss of limbs, lives and sources of living attributable to conflicts arising out of re-election processes.

“You will agree with me that the present four years plus four years tenure of eight years is not helping matters; it is taking us backwards. Practically speaking, the occupier of the seat spends only two years in the first and the remaining two years fighting

re-election, which in Nigeria is many times more expensive than the first election and mostly dependent on lean resources of the state allegedly.

“In the second tenure, he spends two-and-a-half years working on the remaining oneand-a-half years preparing his exit/soft landing and installation of a successor. So, the total times spent for actual work for the state is not more than four-anda-half years of the eight years,” he stated.

Dyegh added that the proposed six-year single term would afford the president or governor to be more focused, more dedicated and the usual do-or-die battles for re-elections would be eliminated; no lives would be lost, money would be saved, while the country would experience better development.

The lawmaker noted that the high turnover of legislators in the country has led to loss of experience and institutional knowledge and failure of entrenching loyalty to the electorate.

He explained that in the judiciary, a law graduate rises from a magistrate through the ranks to be a judge or Supreme Court justice and as such, the judiciary is rich in terms of experience and institutional knowledge.

He said this was why judges could easily make references to cases dating over 30 years; whereas such institutional knowledge is lacking in the legislature.

In his contribution, Hon. Sagius Ogui said he was in support of the bill because it would save the country’s

democracy, considering the huge amount the executive always spend while seeking a second term in office.

But Hon. Yusuf Gagdi countered that the country’s democracy does not require six-year single term for the executive and called for the strengthening of the Electoral Act to address the lapses politicians exploit to game the system.

Also, Hon. Olumide Osoba noted that what the country needs is electoral reform and not tenure extension.

On his part, the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, said the immunity clause for governors and president should be removed.

According to him, “Why we are having all these issue is because of immunity. We should remove immunity clause for the governors and the president to allow accountability.”

However, faced with the stiff opposition to the bill from his colleagues, Dyegh (APC-Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency of Benue State), said they misunderstood the intent of the bill.

After the debate, the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase, who presided over the plenary, put to it to voice vote for the bill to move to second reading, but lawmakers overwhelmingly voted against it.

The deputy speaker, therefore, ruled that the bill be stepped down.

Atiku Faults House’s Rejection of Six-year Single Tenure However, reacting to the rejection of the bill, Atiku

expressed displeasure at the speed with which the House rejected the six-year single term proposal.

Atiku in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Paul Ibe, said the lawmakers threw away the baby with the bath water at the expense of the larger interest of the country.

According to Atiku, “in view of the challenges facing our current democratic order, especially the culture of rigging that subverts the will of the people, six-year single term would have ended such untoward practices in our electoral process.

“The desperation for second term by the incumbents is the main reason why they go for broke and set the rule book on fire, thereby making free and fair elections impossible by legitimising rigging at the expense of their challengers that have no access to public funds.

“A situation where the incumbents deploy more public resources to their second term projects than using the funds for people’s welfare encourages massive rigging that undermines electoral integrity.”

Atiku expressed optimism that a six-year single term would address the desperation by incumbents to remain in office and enable them to concentrate on the job.

He expressed regrets that “eight-year term of office rewards incompetence because even incumbents that have failed would use their access to public funds to return to power by fair or foul means.”

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WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Sports Minister Lampoons NFF over State of Football The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare yesterday hit hard at the members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as they held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Benin City, Edo State, saying football in Nigeria has become comatose under their watch.

Mr. Dare, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Olusade Adesola, warned that the world has taken note of the decline of the sport in Nigeria and that tough questions that require urgent answers are being asked.

He noted that the problems that the board should have solved keep festering with previous AGMs have been too ordinary because of the false sense that the federation has achieved.

The minister, who hinted at a lack of excitement about the meeting, complained that “My excitement is subdued today not because we have not had a few successes in our football development, but

because these successes have been diminished by recent losses and happenings in the world of football. “We have gone from a football loving nation to a nation that needlessly squabbles over football.

We now showcase more of our disagreements and discordant tunes in football than the talents and skills that should be displayed in this game. Nigerians and the world have taken note and tough questions that require urgent answers are being asked. There is no better place to provider these answers here in this assembly, this morning. “My dear stakeholders of the once beautiful game in Nigeria, I will be shying away from the truth if I say everything is right with our football. Previous Annual General Meetings (AGM) have been too ordinary by simply accepting what the federation thinks it has achieved.

But like a cancerous wound, the problems that the Board should have solved keep festering so much so that our football is in a

coma. Some have even taken the less optimistic stance of declaring that Nigeria’s football is dead. So, let us forget some of the pyrrhic feats we have achieved especially when they have not translated into growth. “Do not forget that firms have to account for the investors’ money they use for business. Such firms will only do business with organizations that are accountable not the ones that are bogged down in controversies. If we must tell ourselves the truth, accountability is the soul of any business concern. “The bad image at all levels of our football, including the organizers of the domestic league cannot

attract sponsorship, which is the biggest hub of business. In the eyes of the Nigerian public, the perception that NFF and Nigerian football is corrupt is rife. I have had cause in the past to speak on how perception is everything and the perception around the NFF is not one that will court new partners and sponsors for the federation. “Even though many of the allegations have not been proven, the atmosphere around football is polluted on account of the negative perception of corruption and we must move quickly to sanitize this.

Agreed, the stigma of corruption in NFF predates this board, hence the need for proper accountability

and transparency going forward because we must move quickly to change this toxic perception. “The first step towards reducing corruption is for all transactions in football to be transparent and it starts now. transparency should be new watchword if the NFF and its affiliates want to do the business of soccer to rake in millions as is the case in other climes. Transparency can only be attained when the activities of the federation are subjected to routine checks, while those found culpable are made to face the wrath of the law, no matter whose ox is gored. “If corruption is reduced, bluechip firms will return to support

the federation to actualize some of its noble objectives,� he noted.

The Minister assured that “A brighter future is possible for our football development in Nigeria.

Nigeria has the abundant raw materials (talents) to dominate the world in football. “But we need to organize the business of football as it’s done in order climes to achieve the same success. The journey starts now.

Hard work, bumpy stretches, twist and turns lie ahead.

Nigerians expect us to put in the hard work today. Not tomorrow. I am ready. I ask you all, stakeholders to join me,� he urged.

Dangote, Adebutu Kessington to Renovate MKO Abiola, National Stadium in Lagos Femi Solaja

The Adoption Campaign by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports may have started yielding dividend following the confirmation by the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, that business moguls, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Adebutu Kessington (also known as Baba Ijebu), have pledged to renovate the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja and the National Stadium in Lagos respectively.

The duo, according to the Sports Minister, have accepted the challenge as part of their respective companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The Adopt Campaign for sports in Nigeria held Monday at the Civic Centre in Lagos, at the instance of the FMY&SD. Dangote is a well-known figure in sports circle after his numerous philanthropic gestures especially to the Super Eagles but Chief Kessington who as been sponsoring football at the grassroots level is on the national limelight for the first time.

While Dangote will take charge of the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja, Kessington who is into sports betting business is expected to renovate the dilapidated National Stadium in Lagos, according to the hints

given by the Sports Minister during the Adoption Campaign event on Monday night.

The playing turf of the mainbowl of the Abuja stadium which was completed in 2003 in readiness for Nigeria to host the African Games that year needs a complete overhaul in addition to minor renovation of other facilities in the Package ‘B’ of the complex largely under utilized since inception.

The same cannot be said of the stadium in Lagos that was built in 1972 for the country to host the 2nd edition of the African Games.

The stadium tagged ‘Sports City’ is now a shadow of itself even after a complete renovation in 1999 for the Under-20 FIFA World Cup finals hosted by Nigeria.

The main bowl is completely out of fashion.

The last time it staged an official match was in 2001 when the Super Eagles defeated Zambia in AFCON qualifying match.

There have been several attempts to renovate the multi-purpose edifice that currently serves as home to urchins and reptiles while the once hallowed main bowl serves as a venue for parties and religious activities.

Sports Minister Sunday Dare

NFF President Amaju Pinnick

179th El Classico Takes Centre Stage Tonight on DSTv, Gotv The much anticipated El Clasico between the two biggest teams in La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid, at the Camp Nou will be broadcast live on both DStv and GOtv tonight.

The derby, which will be the 179th encounter between the teams, will be broadcast exclusively on SuperSport at 8:00pm.

The encounter was initially scheduled to take place in October, but was postponed after the political crisis in the Catalan region of Spain escalated.

The two giants face off for the

first time in the 2019/2020 season after Barcelona won narrowly won the last encounter 1-0 at their rival’s home at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in March.

Barcelona, the defending LaLiga champions, are currently joint league leaders, having garnered 35 points and are just above their eternal rivals with a +2 goal difference. Although they head into the derby on the back of a 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad on Saturday, Los Blaugrana have been in good form, winning four and drawing one of their last league games. Ernesto

was the last before the team depart for FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals tomorrow and manager Jurgen Klopp set to be with his first-teamers in Qatar for that competition even while this Carabao Cup clash takes place.

SuperSport viewers can then enjoy a trio of matches on the evening of Wednesday 18 December, starting with defending champions Manchester City heading to the Kassam Stadium to take on League One (third tier) side Oxford United. The Citizens have endured some difficult results of late, but they remain the kings

back from a disappointing last season, securing four wins and one draw in their last five matches.

Manager Zinedine Zidane and his team have the chance to go three points ahead and state their title intent at the home of their rivals, and will bank on the league’s top goal scorer, Karim Benzema, to rake in the needed goals. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are expected to dominate proceedings in the middle of the park, while Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane will be tasked to stop all opposing attacks.

ITTF Hails Nigeria over Vaulejet Para Table Tennis Open For muting the initiative to stage the maiden maiden Valuejet Para Table Tennis Open, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has hailed Nigeria while hoping that other African countries would take a cue from this.

According to ITTF Classifier, El-

Sayed Mehrem, the idea of hosting the international tournament is commendable as few countries in Africa has been able to stage a successful tournament. “I am impressed with what I have seen so far in Nigeria particularly the hospitality of the people. I believe Nigeria has

Teams Set for Carabao Cup Tonight Viewers on DStv and GOtv will be treated to some prime footballing action from the 2019/20 EFL League Cup – also known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons – which will hold its quarterfinals on the midweek of 17-18 December 2019.

This phase of the competition sees six of the Premier League’s heavyweights joined in the final eight by lower league clubs Oxford United and Colchester United.

The quarterfinals of the League Cup opened last night,Tuesday 17 December when Liverpool played Aston Villa. The match

Valverde’s team will be seeking their 12th win of the season in front of their home fans and will be led into battle by their captain and mesmeric star, Lionel Messi; who will be complemented by forwards Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann. Gerad Pique will continue to marshal the defence, while Marc ten Stegen is expected to replicate his exploits in goal.

Real Madrid lost the chance two establish a two-point lead over their rivals after they struggled to get a 1-1 draw against Valencia on Sunday. Los Blancos have bounced

of the Carabao Cup and manager Pep Guardiola will expect nothing less than a convincing victory from their trio to Oxfordshire.

Their cross-town rivals Manchester United will also be confident of victory when they welcome League Two (fourth tier) club Colchester United. The U’s have ousted two Premier League teams – Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur – thus far in the competition, but surely overcoming the Red Devils at Old Trafford will be a step too far for John McGreal’s team, especially with Man United

targeting the League Cup as one of their realistic trophy hopes for this season.

Wednesday night also sees a second all top-flight clash between Everton and Leicester City at Goodison Park.

Leicester’s superb form in the Premier League makes them the favourites for this clash, but the fact that the Toffees – inspired by caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson – claimed a win over Chelsea in their last home match suggests that this could be a real cracker for SuperSport viewers to enjoy.

the potential to rule the world in para table tennis considering its rising profile in Africa. I must congratulate Nigeria and the organisers for making this a reality because I have been impressed with the organisation so far and i hope this tournament has come to stay. we hope and believe it can make it to the calendar of ITTF in years to come,� the Egyptian expert said.

For the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), the tournament is another efforts by the board to make the federation an all encompass for all athletes.

The President of NTTF, Ishaku Tikon who was represented by the Head of Para Section of the federation, Elderson Bankole, the idea of the tournament was to ensure that the para players tune up before the Tokyo 2020 as four of them had already qualified for the games in Japan. “We want to ensure that our athletes shape up for Tokyo 2020 and particularly the classification of the athletes which would

help to throw up new players. we also thank our sponsors for identifying with the federation and supporting the tournament. we hope they will remain with us and others will join them in future,� the NTTF boss said.

In his remarks, the Secretary General of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Olabanji Oladapo, the para table tennis players have been pride to Nigeria in several tournaments and with the tournament, more players hope to come through in near future. he however, pledged the NOC support to para table tennis while hoping that the tournament would put the Tokyo-bound players in good shape.

For the Head of Business and Programme, Valuejet, Temitope Ajibola, the company would continue to support sports, while pledging their unalloyed support to para table tennis.

The tournament serves off on Thursday December 19 to 21 at Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

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MISSILE

EFCC to Yari “The commission is carrying out a clinical investigation into the activities of the last administration and we are assuring you and Zamafara State government that we will not relent on our oars in prosecuting anyone found culpable” – EFCC revealing that more than 60 cases involving over N200bn under former Zamafara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari are being investigated.

OKEYIKECHUKWU

EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS

okey.ikechukwu@thisdaylive.com

Not All Major Generals I

n February 2017, the United States news industry reported the demotion of Major General, Ronald Lewis, to the rank of Brigadier General, for “… conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman on multiple occasions.” The man was found to have used government credit card to pay at a strip club in Paris and Rome. We also know of a Major General who was demoted for plagiarising the work of another in order to be promoted to his new rank. Once the discovery was made, and the relevant authorities realised that he was parading false claims to the new rank, he was promptly stripped of it. The question now is this: should anyone, reacting to this development, decides to use the tile of “Major General” derisively, as if it was synonymous with improper behaviour?

Should we endorse, or encourage, such practice, on the grounds that there was once a Major General who brought both himself and the rank into disrepute?

Does it follow from the reprehensible behavior of a particular US army officer that all Major Generals in the US army are disreputable characters, or officers of questionable moral and professional standing? Does it also follow that Americans should, following from this unfortunate, and clearly embarrassing incident, use the term “Major General” as a derogatory generic designation? Will doing so not imply, unfairly, that being a Major General signifies being an examination cheat, or a pervert of sorts? Would it not imply that other, properly decorated, Major Generals should be stigmatised because a particular officer conducted himself with less than commendable ambience?

I make the foregoing observations against the background of the raging controversy over a recent editorial by The Punch newspapers. The editorial in question rightly raised issues about the human rights record of the Buhari government. This is within the ambit of the Fourth Estate of the Realm, wherein the newspaper has the undeniable watchdog. Thus drawing attention to the plethora of court orders the government has ignored, as well as its perceived high handedness in other matters of state, is nothing out of the ordinary for any respectable newspaper house. There is also nothing unusual, or reprehensible, in The Punch calling for government rethink on several issues, especially its trajectory on matters of human rights, as it pertains to court orders. Even the fact that the newspaper went further to vent some spleen on the president himself, as intolerant, dictatorial and beholden to impunity and almost a terrorist’s approach to leadership, stands within what a leader should expect in a democracy. The important thing is for all such comments, submissions and opinions not to verge on, or actually amount to, character assassination, disturbance of

Buhari

public peace or defamation.

Then came the disturbing clincher in The Punch editorial: President Muhammadu Buhari will henceforth be addressed as “Major General Muhammadu Buhari” by all the titles and publications of The Punch stable, because of his current record; and also in line with his previous record as military Head of State. Now, that presents a peculiar problem. The use of a purely professional title, itself a mark of honour duly attained, in such a manner as to make it seem intrinsically derogatory is a problem. Surely “Major General” is no negative appellation on its own. Its denotative meaning does not lend it to such usage. Its connotative meaning also does not make it amenable to such unwholesome association. Thus its use by The Punch in the way it did presents subtle problems of propriety and proper form.

The danger, and objection, here is that it is not right to create the impression that whosoever bears such a title is necessarily of a particular presumed disposition; and even possibly not worthy of respect, or trust, as leader and protector of the commonwealth.

That will not be true, right, or fair to all concerned. Thus we cannot, in all good conscience, presume to suggest that the real and imagined character defects of one person should be a necessary, and/ or sufficient, reason for the summary stigmatisation of a species of beings.

It will not occur to us, for instance, to use the term “reverend father” derogatorily, simply because a certain reverend father was found to be a lecher of great repute.

We would not address people accused, or found guilty of, sexual harassment as “Professor” simply because a certain professor was once found to have been paying less that decent attention to the sexuality of his female students, rather the grades on their examination papers?

Thus the use of “Major General” to imply

a dictatorial disposition because of Buhari’s first tenure as military Head of State seems ill advised and questionable. This is particularly so when we consider that we are in a nation with many serving and retired Major Generals who are intellectually sound, professionally well groomed as soldiers, possessed of proper etiquette and well-rounded in every way.

Should they all, collectively, be constrained to squirm at the mention of their duly attained military ranks, just because a former colleague of theirs was deemed to have conducted, or is conducting, himself in less than commendable ways?

If the impressions is that all Major Generals are necessarily dictatorial, or at least that the military rank of Major General is synonymous with tyranny and dictatorship, what do we make of General Abdulsalami Abubakar? He was once a military Head of State. So were Obasanjo and Gowon. If some of us choose to address Obasanjo as “General” because of his track record of having handed over to a civilian government in 1979, what shall we say about Abacha who was on a desperate bid for transmutation into a civilian president before his vehicle ran out of gas? There lies the dilemma. Unless we add a qualifier like, “dictatorial,” or some other adjective, the chosen, presumably deprecatory title for Mr. President is open to question.

As for calling the Buhari government “a regime” instead of a government, that is neither here nor there. Check the meaning of “regimen.” What does it imply, beyond a set of rules, guiding principles, methods, devices or approaches to doing something?

It could involve policies, procedures, laws, strategies, tactics, etc. deployed by a government or a war commander. It could also refer to a cocktail of drugs and procedures adopted by a doctor in the line of duty. It is in the same way that it could boil down to what an authority does to ensure the continued success of its orientation. That is why the “Margaret Thatcher regime” in the UK was totally at variance with those of many former Prime Ministers before her.

I suspect that The Punch may have overshot the mark a bit, even if it made very good points about the Buhari government’s need to pay some attention to its evolving profile in the area of obedience to court orders, at least. The finer points of whether a regime is necessarily designative of tyranny is a matter of analytical, and etymological, perspective. In the case under reference, the debate is not won by pointing to the fact that the connotative global usage predominantly refers to military governments as dictatorships, or dictatorial regimes.

All said, let us spare our many respected, and self-respecting, Major Generals the inconvenience and indignity of undeserved opprobrium. This is without prejudice to

the justified feeling of outrage evinced by The Punch establishment over the Buhari government’s perceived high handedness in certain matters. The editorial should also not be an excuse for an assault on the news medium by the Federal Government.

Ibrahim Magu’s Predicament The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and his predecessors became the subject of a somewhat hilarious exchange at a recent gathering. They were said to be men who had the unviable task of “thief catching” in a polity where public service has been turned into a platform for “stealing in turns;” and where the leadership and followership culture deems whoever does not “give a good account of himself/herself” by stealing copiously while in public office is a failed son, or daughter. The speaker said that the appointment of Lamorde as EFCC chairman was a mistake because of the man’s size, general ambience and what she called an enjoyment-of-life aspect to his general self-presentation. No one saw that coming. “The man looked too comfortable and happy,” compared to Ribadu, who was lean, and at least looked a little hungry.

From there she went on to argue that it would be easier to believe Ribadu, or Magu, than Lamorde, whose physical presence and aspect may direct public sympathy towards the thieves he is presenting for prosecution. The predicament of people like Ibrahim Magu, his predecessors and others in the sister corruption fighting agency, she said, is that they take their job seriously, amidst institutional challenges, insinuations of one-sidedness and the antics of a political environment that could even make people to look at an angel with misgivings. She observed that the target and potential victims of the anti-corruption crusade do not seem to be on his side.

Many of the people who should be the primary beneficiaries of his efforts, too are suspected not to be on his side.

She concluded by saying that people like Ibrahim Magu must have their unpleasant moments. But that since every duty has its challenges, the man must follow his rather lonely road, fraught with anguish and solitude. Sounding reflective and cautionary, she pointed out that life was a frolicsome picnic and that Nigerians in public office should be careful in the choices they make when they are given public funds to manage. But, all said, she got a standing ovation. The audience couldn’t stop clapping after the lady’s totally off-themainstream contribution on an otherwise perfectly serious matter.

Choose wisely, especially with recent wake-up calls to those who are coming face to face with the fact that temporary triumphs cannot last forever – and, perhaps, even a few days longer.

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