TUESDAY 5TH JANUARY 2021

l OPEC Fails to Agree on February Oil Production Output Meeting continues today as S'Arabia warns against laxity Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos with agency report

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Countries (OPEC) and their allies, including Russia, yesterday failed to reach an agreement on production levels for February, with talks expected to continue today.

The cartel had agreed after its last summit, held from November 30 to December 3, to raise production levels by half a million barrels per day in January and to thereafter

meet at the beginning of each month to decide on any adjustments to production volumes for the following month.

The meeting also paved the

way for a gradual return of two million barrels per day to the market over the coming months" according to OPEC's Secretary General, Dr. Sanusi Barkindo.

Speaking at the beginning of yesterday’s meeting, Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, told his counterparts that it was Continued on page 8

BUA Cement Succeeds with N115bn Bond Issuance... Page 6

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Atiku Cites Federal Govt’s Alleged Persecution for Intels’ Divestment Says government preoccupied with destroying legitimate business Minister seeks more time to study, consult on allegations Firm: No more ties with ex-VP Iyobosa Uwugiaren and Chuks Okocha in Abuja Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday accused the federal government of targeting his businesses, prompting his divestment from Integrated Logistic Services (INTELS) Nigeria Limited, the country's largest logistics company that provides comprehensive integrated services for the nation's oil and gas industry.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election, explained that he sold off his shares in the company, which in 2015 he described as his most lucrative business, because of the alleged pre-occupation of the federal government to destroy “a legitimate business.”

Atiku, in a statement by Continued on page 8

ICC, Human Rights Groups Aggravating Nigeria’s Security Challenges, Says Govt Insists country not a failing state Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Vanessa Obioha in Lagos The federal government yesterday squared up to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and some human rights groups, notably Amnesty International, accusing them of frustrating efforts to tackle the nation's security challenges.

It accused them of

constituting themselves into another 'fighting force' against Nigeria, harassing security forces and threatening them with investigation and possible prosecution over alleged war crimes and human rights abuses.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Continued on page 8

NEW YEAR HOMAGE TO JONATHAN...

L-R: Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri and former President Goodluck Jonathan, during a New Year visit to the former president in Yenagoa... yesterday

No S’East Gov Defecting Again, Says PDP...Page 5

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TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021 •T H I S D AY

TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS No S’East Gov Defecting Again, Says PDP Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike

Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

Orders members in Anambra to withdraw suits against party Warns of looming anarchy in Ebonyi Chuks Okocha in Abuja and David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday dismissed speculation that it is about to lose another governor from the South-east to another party.

The National Vice Chairman of the party in the zone, Chief Ali Odefa, during a stakeholders’ meeting of the party in Awka, said there was no cause for concern over the strength of the party in the South-east.

Odefa spoke against the backdrop of last year's defection of Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

This is as the Ebonyi State chapter of the party yesterday raised the alarm over threats to democracy in the state, describing as an invitation to anarchy and a possible breakdown of law and order in the state, a directive by the state government for parties to seek permission of local government chairmen before holding political meetings.

Giving a report on the state of the party in the zone, Odefa said: "Anambra is fully a PDP state. With two senators and six House of Representatives members from the state, you will know that Anambra is PDP. "Enugu is PDP, Abia is fully PDP too. You may have heard one rumour or the other, that a governor from the zone is planning to leave, but it is not true. No governor is leaving PDP. We all know what happened in Ebonyi and we are happy that the governor there left. We are not feeling any void at all; the state still remains a PDP state."

Odafe urged PDP members in the state who had filed suits against the party to immediately withdraw them.

He said the aim was to ensure that the party went into the forthcoming 2021 governorship election in Anambra State as a united house.

"We are calling on all of you here and the ones that are not here to go and withdraw all your cases in court and let's come home and resolve

whatever differences we have.

We may not all agree with ourselves, but because of the interest of the party, we must ensure that we work together.

"I am happy with the level of maturity among the contestants.

We will bring people to learn from what you are doing here.

Save for misunderstanding, no state is more PDP than Anambra. A pioneer founder is from here, and I know that PDP will get to the Government House again.

"If we work hard, we will be in the Government House next year. I am very confident about this. It is simple. We want to bring transparency in the primary election processes. The process must be free and fair.

We know that if the process is transparent, contestants will not work against the party during the election.

"The world knows that Anambra people are rich; but at this level, the money is not the attraction. The attraction is beating my chest and saying that PDP has a governor in Anambra. Please do not give us money to influence the primary election for yourselves.

"We are not delegates here, and our members don't have votes here, and so we can not help you. We rather urge you to spend your money wisely.

If you give money to anyone, in Abuja or Aso Rock to influence the primary election for yourself, it is a dash," he added.

He called on the aspirants to channel their resources to wooing delegates in the state as they are the ones that will elect a candidate for the party in the forthcoming election.

"Everyone of you is fit and capable of governing Anambra.

I know Anambra well. I have conducted elections here, and most of you are my friends, but for now, I renounce my friendship with you. I get a lot of messages from you (aspirants), but let me tell you that the delegates will help you more than I will.

"I am happy with the level of maturity among the contestants.

We will bring people to come and learn from what you are doing here," he stated.

Former vice presidential candidate of the party in the 2019 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, charged the aspirants to go into the field and convince the electorate, instead of fighting among themselves.

"None of you aspirants is contesting election against each other, the man you are contesting against is Willie Obiano. You must do all to go out and canvass for votes," he said.

Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State chapter of the party has again raised the alarm over threats to democratic practice in the state.

It condemned a directive by the state government that parties must seek permission of local government chairmen in their areas before joining

political meetings.

It, therefore, alerted security agencies and the international community over the repressive policies of the state government.

In a statement given to newsmen in Abuja, the state Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Mr. Silas Joseph Onus, said an order had been given to all local government chairmen in the state to seize the official vehicles of PDP chairmen in local governments where such party leaders have refused to defect with the governor.

"This is a call to anarchy as these buses are not the property of Ebonyi State Government and cannot be treated as such. To attempt to forcibly confiscate the property of a political party is the highest

show of political intolerance and a demonstration of lack of regard for democracy," it stated.

The party condemned what it described as "this call to anarchy and outright invitation for crisis. It is enough that our state secretariat has been unlawfully sealed."

Onu added that the government has also directed that political parties in Ebonyi State must seek permission from local government chairmen before holding their political meetings.

"This is unimaginable; it is unbelievable that it is happening in a democratic nation. Is this political censoring? Since when has part of Nigeria become under a military or dictatorial rule?

This is a clear sign of failure of democratic governance.

"We call on the governor to desist from planting the seed of destroying democracy in Nigeria or any part thereof.

No political party requires the permission of any other political party in order to hold their political meetings.

We know that this directive is targeted at the PDP meeting scheduled to hold in Edda and we are not deterred by this clear act of intimidation,", the party said.

The party condemned the use of official security details to intimidate perceived political opponents and urged the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, to call all policemen in the governor's security team to order.

NEW FISCAL YEAR IN BORNO...

L-R: Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Abdulkarim Lawan, at the signing of the state's 2021 budget into law in Maiduguri... yesterday

MAN President Calls for Policy, Regulations against Dumping Funmi Ogundare The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Mansur Ahmed, has called on African governments to muster the political will to implement policies and regulations that will curtail trade malpractices and prevent the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) from being sabotaged with the dumping of goods made outside Africa.

Ahmed, who was a guest on The Morning Show, a breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS Channel, the sister broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, yesterday spoke on the benefits and implications of the AfCFTA agreement that came into effect on January 1.

He described AfCFTA as

one of the most significant developments that has taken place on the continent since the dismantling of colonialism, saying that it has the capacity to redress the imbalance in global trade arrangements that has exploited African resources at the expense of the continent.

According to him, AfCFTA is intended to reverse this trend and build capacities that will enable African countries to trade among themselves and be equal partners in the international trading arrangements by boosting its industrial base.

He said: “AfCFTA will build Africans capacity to manufacture and change the narrative of African economy and give Africa a stronger voice and positioning in the global economy as we go on.

“I am confident that

there will be a tremendous opportunities for growth and development for each and every one if the countries that signed this agreement are willing to come together to make it a success. But this cannot come without challenges.

“Are we ready to do the things we have to do to address the possibilities of dumping?

First of all, we can't be 100 per cent ready. But I believe that the first thing, which is important is to recognise that we have to do certain things to create the capacity needed to engage in this kind of trade.

“The dumping issue frankly is a matter of political will. Do our governments and political leaders have the political will to agree on those things that we have to do? For instance, to ensure that we do not allow

dumping to take place. The regulations we put in place for imports are regulations that all the countries agreed on.

But the difference is that while some countries will ensure that these regulations are complied with, others unfortunately will not do so.

“Let me take the issue of dumping for instance. The key issue is that if you have imports coming into your country, you have to make sure that they meet the qualities required under the agreement and are not brought into your country without compliance of necessary regulations such as customs duties. If we do this, we will create the environment whereby goods that are able to come in do not necessarily displace our manufacturing capacities.”

Ahmed, therefore, appealed

to each country to support one another by complying with regulations so as not to unduly undermine the production capacities of the continent’s manufacturing sector.

"You will recall that the Nigeria’s government had to shut down borders to stop the dumping of rice and so on.

The reason for that is that if our neighbours had agreed to comply with regulations in place, the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) set up to prevent that kind of dumping, perhaps there will be no need to shut down our border.

“So, our political leaders must have the political will and determination to ensure that whatever regulations we put in place within our country and across the continent, are regulations that will work and

are regulation that support our economic growth processes," he added.

Ahmed noted that the challenges posed by poor infrastructural development in Africa will not be eliminated overnight but will be addressed gradually.

He said: “I believe that with consistent efforts, both within and outside our individual countries, we will in due time build the necessary infrastructures to support intra-African trade.

“For instance, our Nigerian ports are probably among the most uncompetitive maritime service providers in the world and I believe that we have the capacity to resolve those issues.

“But, we also must agree in all the regions to build these capacities in such a way that all of us can really benefit.”

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NEWS

BUA Cement Succeeds with N115bn Bond Issuance Issue oversubscribed by 37%

Goddy Egene BUA Cement Plc, one of Africa’s largest cement companies, has successfully concluded its N115 billion Series 1 Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Bond Issue under the company’s maiden N200 billion Bond Issuance Programme.

With this development, BUA Cement’s bond becomes the largest ever corporate bond issued in the Nigerian debt capital markets (DCM) and signposts growing investors' confidence in Nigeria’s second largest cement company.

The N100 billion Series 1, seven-years 7.5 per cent Fixed Rate Bond, due in 2027, was subscribed to the tune of N137.82 billion.

But in accordance with Rule 323(21) of the SEC Rules and Regulations, 2013, the board approved the absorption of excess funds, not exceeding 15 per cent of the offer of N100 billion, which translates to N15 billion and N115 billion in its entirety.

According to the company, an application will be made to dual-list the bonds on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and FMDQ Securities Exchange (FMDQ) upon receipt of approvals.

Speaking on the significance and success of the Series 1 issue, Chairman, BUA Cement Plc, Abdul Samad Rabiu, said:

“This is the largest corporate bond offering in the history of Nigeria’s DCM. Last year, we made a strategic decision as a proudly Nigerian company to list BUA Cement on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). This was in line with our core strategy to continue seeking out viable investment and growth opportunities within Nigeria. This bond issuance, a first by BUA Cement, demonstrates our confidence in Nigeria’s debt capital markets as well as continued investor confidence in the BUA Cement business model, our management team, and long-term strategy, all supported by strong credit ratings. We remain committed to unlocking opportunities within the industry for Nigeria.”

Also commenting, Chief Executive Officer, BUA Cement, Yusuf Binji, said the success of the first series in the BUA Cement Bond Issuance Programme underscored the strength of the BUA Cement brand.

“The transaction, being the largest corporate bond issuance in the history of Nigeria’s DCM, reiterates the strength and acceptance of the BUA Cement brand and the trust placed by stakeholders in the company’s strong cash generation capacity, credit profile and strategy driven by a well experienced management

team. Diversifying and extending the duration of our funding sources with the inclusion of this bond, at a competitive rate, will further enable us to achieve our strategic objectives and vision,” he stated.

The BUA Cement Series 1 Bond, which has a three-year moratorium period and to be amortised evenly from year

four, is embedded with a call option, exercisable only after 48 months from the issue date.

BUA recently announced its intention to increase its production capacity to 20 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2022. In addition, its newest three million mtpa plant in Sokoto currently undergoing

construction is expected to be ready in 2021.

BUA Cement Plc is Nigeria’s second largest cement company and the largest producer in its North-west, South-south and South-east regions; with a combined installed capacity of eight million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) and with plans underway to increase

existing capacity to 20 million mtpa by 2022. With its headquarters in Lagos, BUA Cement operates strategically from Okpella, Edo State and Kalambaina, Sokoto State.

The shares of BUA Cement closed 2020 as the sixth highest price gainer at the stock market, fetching investors capital gain of 121 per cent.

CATCHING WORKERS OFF GUARD...

L-R: Ekiti State Head of Service, Mrs Peju Babafemi; the Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Secretary to the State Government, Hon. Biodun Oyebanji, during the governor’s visit to the state secretariat and Governor’s Office complex, in Ado-Ekiti…yesterday

Revealed: Nigeria Misses 2020 Target to End Gas Flaring Chineme Okafor in Abuja Nigeria has once more missed the target it voluntary set to end gas flaring in 2020, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.

The development also coincides with data obtained from the country’s flare tracker currently managed by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), which showed that between 2012 and 2020, the country flared 1.7 billion cubic feet of gas.

In total, the NOSDRA data explained that the flared gas captured from eight locations – Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Lagos and Rivers– were valued at $6 billion. It added that if the country fined oil companies

who flared the gas, it would have earned $3.4 billion as well.

NOSDRA stated that at the end of 2020, a total of 318 million standard feet (mmscf) of gas was flared in Nigeria.

It explained from the data, 17 million tonnes of carbon monoxide (CO2) were emitted into the atmosphere contributing to global warming, gas valued at $1.12 billion burnt by the oil industry and an equivalent of $637 million worth of fine, most of which are not collected recorded.

Several laws had been enacted by the country in the past to curtail gas flaring.

It had created the Associated Gas Reinjection Act in 1979 to re-inject all gas produced in association with oil

production but utilised and further revoked licences of defaulters in fields where gas is flared.

The country also created the Nigeria Gas Masterplan in 2008 to end gas flaring in the same year through improved domestic consumption of gas.

In 2016, the country launched the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) to monetise flared gas and end routine flaring.

At the launch of the NGFCP, the federal government had noted that “our strategy is to provide a commercial approach to the elimination of routine gas flares by 2020.”

It had also stated that it would through the NGFCP, “drive positive social, environmental and economic

impacts in the Niger Delta, by mobilising private sector capital towards gas flare capture projects.”

Adopting a phased implementation strategy for the NGFCP, the government identified over 170 flare sites, which collectively flare approximately 330bscf of gas annually to monetise.

It stated that “if harnessed, this Associated Gas (AG) could provide approximately 450,000 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to over four million Nigerian households.

“With an investment of approximately $3.5 billion, the NGFCP could generate approximately 2.5 gigawatts (GW) (2500 megawatts) of power and create approximately 300,000

direct and indirect jobs, whilst also having a positive impact on the environment by eliminating approximately 20 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and providing clean energy to six million households.

“The NGFCP will reduce the risk of sabotage to facilities in the Niger Delta region, by improving the quality of life and standards of living in the area and involving the local communities with the gas utilisation projects.”

It also listed the NGFCP as part of its national intended programme in its obligation to the Paris Climate Change Pact but has so far largely delayed its implementation of the NGFCP. The Programme Manager for NGFCP, Justice Derefaka,

had told THISDAY that the government was committed to ending gas flare in 2020.

“I have said this severally and I will repeat again. The policy position of the federal government of Nigeria is that gas flaring is unacceptable, and the government has initiated a number of actions to reaffirm its commitment to ending the practice of gas flaring in our oil fields.

“Specifically, the government has ratified the Paris Climate Change Agreement and is a signatory to the Global Gas Flaring Partnership (GGFR) principles for global flare-out by 2030 whilst committing to a national flare-out target by the year 2020,” Derefaka had explained then while relying on the planned implementation of the NGFCP.

COVID-19: Immigration Boss Orders Travel Ban Enforcement on 100 Passengers Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, has directed NIS formations to enforce the travel ban imposed on 100 travellers who flouted the mandatory seven-day postarrival COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test.

He said the defaulting passengers had been restricted

for six months, from January 1 to June 30, 2021, in line with the federal government’s directive.

The CG in a statement yesterday, by the NIS spokesman, Sunday James, stated that the affected passengers had been notified and would be prevented from passport re-issuance and travelling outside the country during the period.

The statement was titled: ‘Temporary travel restrictions on 100 passengers violating COVID-19 quarantine protocols.’

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, had announced the sanction on the travellers in a memo titled: ‘Travel restriction,’ released

by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, on Friday.

According to him, the six months’ travel restriction was based on “presidential authority.”

The NIS in its statement warned the affected passengers to comply with the directive to avoid breaching public health protocols and refusal of departure.

It said: “In line with the federal government’s directives on temporary travel restrictions on 100 passengers due to non-compliance with the mandatory seven-day post-arrival COVID-19 PCR test by all in-bound travellers, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, has directed the relevant formations to ensure

immediate compliance with the travel restriction order.

“The 100 defaulting passengers have been restricted for a period of six months, from January 1st 2021 to June 30th 2021.

All the affected passengers have been notified and will be prevented from passport re-issuance and travelling outside the country during this period.”

TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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PAGE EIGHT ATIKU CITES FEDERAL GOVT’S ALLEGED PERSECUTION FOR INTELS’ DIVESTMENT his media aide, Paul Ibe, was reacting to yesterday's exclusive report by THISDAY that he had divested from Intels and his two children working with the organisation, Mr. Adamu Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Aminu Atiku Abubakar, had ended their working relationship with the organisation.

The former vice president was said to have sold his interests through a series of transactions executed by his family trust, Guernsey Trust International, in deals that began in December 2018 and concluded last year.

Atiku was said to have sold his shares in Intels to Orlean-Invest Group, Intels’ parent company, for various amounts totalling over $100 million in the deal that spanned two years.

It was learnt that Atiku was paid $60 million, $29 million, $24.1 million in three instalments.

Intels also yesterday confirmed the deal, saying it has severed ties with Atiku

and his family.

Atiku, in the statement, said he was redirecting his businesses through reinvestments.

He accused the federal government of destroying businesses that are out to create jobs for Nigerians.

He also warned that there should be a difference between politics and business.

Atiku confirmed that he had sold his shares in Intels and redirected his investment to other sectors of the economy for returns and creation of jobs.

"Co-founder of Integrated Logistics Services Nigeria Limited (Intels), Atiku Abubakar, has been selling his shares in Intels over the years.

"It assumed greater urgency in the last five years, because this government has been preoccupied with destroying a legitimate business that was employing thousands of Nigerians because of politics.

"There should be a marked difference between politics and business.

"Yes, he has sold his shares in Intels and redirected his investment to other sectors of the economy for returns and creation of jobs," the statement stated.

Responding to Atiku’s statement, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, asked for some time to make consultations and find out which policies of the federal government have impacted negatively on his businesses.

“I will not be able to make any comment for now. I need to make consultations so that I will know which area of the federal government’s policies have impacted on his businesses; give me some time,” the minister stated.

Also reacting to THISDAY's exclusive report on the divestment, Intels said it had severed ties with Atiku, a major shareholder,

and his family after the former vice president, through the family trust, Guernsey Trust International, sold his shares to OrleanInvest Group, Intels’ parent company, between December 2018 and January 2019.

In a statement entitled: ‘Intels severs ties with Atiku,’ yesterday by its spokesman, Mr. Tommaso Ruffinoni, the company, however, stated that Atiku, after his payoff, was owing the company $24.1 million before converting his shares.

“In the period between April and May 2020, Mr. Atiku Abubakar converted his remaining shares into a convertible bond that he subsequently monetised up to a residual sum of approximately $29m.

“When he requested to cash in the above-mentioned sum, our group contested to Mr. Atiku Abubakar a debt, towards our group, of $24.1m. Without having received any answer regarding the matter, on

30th of November 2020, Mr. Atiku Abubakar was informed about the set-off of such sum while we made available the remaining sum of $5.4m.

“With the completion of the above-mentioned transactions, the era of Mr. Atiku Abubakar family’s involvement with the Group Orlean-Intels is over.

“On 1st December 2020, our group terminated also the working relationship with Mr. Abubakar’s sons, Mr. Adamu Atiku-Abubakar and Mr. Aminu AtikuAbubakar, and since that date, our group does not have any contacts, neither direct nor indirect, with members of Mr. Atiku Abubakar’s family.”

Intels, in the last few years, has been having a running battle with the federal government, culminating in the cancellation of its 17-year-old contract with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for pilotage monitoring.

The federal government had in October 2017 directed the NPA to terminate the boats pilotage monitoring and supervision agreement that the agency has with Intels, saying that the contract was void ab initio.

The NPA had also accused Intels of refusing to remit to the federal government service boat pilotage revenue in the firm’s custody, which amounted to $207.646 million (N78.905 billion) as at September 30, 2019.

NPA said the money was aside from service boat pilotage revenue for January 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020 amounting to $97.029 million, which adds up to $307.675 million (N115.775 billion) in the custody of Intels.

However, Intels had denied owing NPA to the tune of $145.8 million, insisting that NPA owes it over $750 million, giving to a possible recourse to litigation to resolve the dispute.

ICC, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS AGGRAVATING NIGERIA’S SECURITY CHALLENGES, SAYS GOVT Mohammed, at a press conference in Lagos to review the achievements of the federal government in 2020, also faulted the position of those he described as “jaundiced analysts and their lapdogs,’’ who declared that Nigeria is a failing or failed state due to its security challenges.

He said: “Nigeria is fending off attacks on many fronts, not just from terrorists and bandits, but also from some human rights organisations and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which seem to have colluded to exacerbate the challenges facing the country in the area of security.

“While our security agencies continue to battle these bandits and terrorists, the ICC and some international human rights organisations, especially Amnesty International, have constituted themselves to another 'fighting force' against Nigeria, constantly harassing our security forces and threatening them with investigation and possible prosecution over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. Unfortunately, a section of the local media has been parroting these organisations without weighing the impact of their constant threats on the security of the nation.”

The minister condemned what it described as the “unbridled attempt to demoralise our security men and women as they confront the onslaught from bandits

and terrorists.”

He stated that Nigeria will not surrender its sovereignty to the ICC as it did not join "the ICC so it can become a pawn on the court's chessboard. It beggars belief to see that a nation that is fighting an existential war against bandits and terrorists is constantly being held down by an international body which it willingly joined.”

“ICC, Amnesty International and their cohorts should desist from threatening our troops and putting the security of our country in jeopardy. Enough is enough,” Mohammed said.

He expressed regrets that the ICC and Amnesty International based their allegations on fake news and disinformation, citing the CNN report that alleged that the army shot unarmed protesters at the Lekki Tollgate during the EndSARS protest.

"As you are aware, we called CNN out and also petitioned the network.

Though they acknowledged receipt of our petition, we have yet to hear from them on what actions they intend to take to prevent a recurrence of the fake news they peddled about Nigeria. I can assure you, that the matter is far from over," he added.

The minister also allayed fears of fresh lockdown as cases of COVID-19 continue to spike.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari had

no intention of imposing any lockdown, but lamented that Nigerians are not obeying the health guidelines such as wearing of face masks and social distancing to curtail further spread of the virus.

Mohammed also faulted the position of those describing Nigeria as a failed state, saying that the gloomy prediction would not come to pass.

He added that the country would rise to become a more respected member of the comity of nations.

“You would remember that for the past two decades or so, some pseudo-analysts have been predicting the country’s implosion.

“That has not happened, hence they have found a new watchword – failing or failed state!

“It’s all a ruse aimed at depicting Nigeria as being in a constant state of anarchy so they can achieve their nefarious objectives for the country,’’ he said.

According to him, notwithstanding the antics of the analysts who constituted themselves into another ‘fighting force,’ the country has made tremendous progress in tackling bandits and Boko Haram terrorists.

“If Nigeria was not a ‘failing’ state when a large slice of its territory equivalent to the size of Belgium was under the occupation of Boko Haram, which collected taxes, installed and deposed emirs,

is it now that no territory is under the terrorists that Nigeria will be a failing state?

He added: “If Nigeria was not a failed state when bombs were raining on towns and cities in Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Borno, Yobe, FCT and other states, is it now that such bombings have stopped that Nigeria will be described as a ‘failing’ state?

“If Nigeria was not a ‘failing’ state in those years that Christian and Muslim worshippers needed to be screened to even enter their places of worship, is it now that the siege on places of worship has ceased that Nigeria will be described as a ‘failing’ state?’’ Mohammed said it was sad that many people had forgotten where the country was in terms of the state of insecurity just a few years back.

The minister praised the military and other security agencies for their patriotism and commitment to the antiterror war.

“Thanks to our security agencies, we have just celebrated another Christmas and New Year without a rain of bombs. Few would remember that in 2010, 2011 and 2012, Christmas eve or Christmas Day attacks left hundreds dead or injured.

“What about the attack on the UN Complex in Abuja in August 2011; the bombing of media houses in Abuja and Kaduna in April 2012 and the killing of about 40 students

in Mubi, Adamawa State, in October 2012?

"Have we forgotten that over 80 towns and villages were attacked and razed, with casualties, by Boko Haram in Borno State alone? Have we forgotten the constant attacks on military and security formations?

“The federal government has sustained the fight against terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements across the country, especially in the North-east and the North-west. The President has continued to provide all the necessary platforms on land, air and sea to support the fight against criminals and terrorists in the country,” he added.

Mohammed also attacked the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) for what it described as its lack of imagination and depth.

He stated that PDP's role as an opposition is restricted to “bad mouthing.”

Mohammed said: "Let me also take this opportunity to condemn the constant infantile press releases by the unserious, unimaginative and drab opposition, which misconstrues opposition as constantly shooting down anything the government of the day does or bad mouthing whatever Mr. President does or says.

“There is more to opposition than predictable and bring-it-down-at-all-cost media interventions. They

producers in the cartel are at loggerheads with Russia, which has been part of an oil alliance with the group since 2016, while Moscow has been keen to increase production in an effort to protect its market share.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Novak, also told the conference that he hoped the rollout of vaccination programmes, that were only going to “accelerate”, would pave the way for a recovery in oil production.

According to the report, the United Arab Emirates, too, traditionally a Gulf ally of Saudi Arabia, has also pushed to raise output in recent months as it increases its domestic production capacity.

Oil prices retreated from

earlier highs as the ministerial meeting got under way, with Brent crude easing to as low as $50.75 a barrel, a pullback from the nine-month high of $53.33 struck earlier in the day while West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, dipped as low as $48.05.

Oil ministers from the OPEC+ group face a complex outlook for crude demand, with the reopening of economies in some parts of the world but renewed lockdowns in others.

The global rollout of vaccines has driven positive sentiment and pushed prices back above $50 a barrel, but case numbers in countries such as the United Kingdom have accelerated sharply, prompting new government curbs.

OPEC FAILS TO AGREE ON FEBRUARY OIL PRODUCTION OUTPUT not time to lose guard, noting that the battle to stabilise the crude oil market is far from being won.

"As we see light at the end of the tunnel, we must at all costs avoid the temptation to slacken off in our resolve. Do not put at risk all that we have achieved for the sake of an instant but illusionary benefit," he said.

However, Russia was the only member of the coalition that had publicly called for production increases in February, arguing that the recent price rally warranted additional supplies on the market.

“To restore our output, that we’ve reduced a lot, the price range of $45 to $55 a barrel is the most optimal. Otherwise

we’ll never restore production, others will restore it," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters in Moscow.

Yesterday, prices for both North Sea Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude hit a 10-month high at $53.33 and $49.83 respectively, but later pulled back in the afternoon.

There was no official statement on why an agreement could not be reached, but sources within the organisation told journalists that “since there is still no consensus, it was decided to continue the meeting tomorrow."

Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh said earlier in the day that OPEC+ was

discussing two options, to increase oil production in February by 500,000 barrels per day or to maintain the January parameters.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, has warned against unleashing more barrels on to a fragile market, adding that the new coronavirus variant was “worrying and unpredictable”.

Salman told officials from the 23-member OPEC+ group that joint efforts to restrict production and manage the oil market must be maintained.

“Do not put at risk all that we have achieved for the sake of an instant, but illusory, benefit. Our job is not yet done", Financial Times quoted Salman to have said ahead of the virtual meeting.

Saudi Arabia and other

messed up in government, and they are messing up even more in opposition.

No lessons learnt either way.”

However, the PDP fired back at the minister, saying it will continue to hold the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the President Muhammadu Buhari government accountable for misgovernance in the country.

According to the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, "the PDP is not playing bad belle politics. We are simply holding the APC and the Buhari administration accountable. Our criticisms will continue to hold the administration accountable.

We are not criticising for the fun of it. Things are just bad.

"We are offering constructive criticism. We are not playing the type of brigandage media attack that the APC played in 2013 to 2015. We are simply holding them accountable on what they have done and what they have failed to do."

He said the APC is afraid because the party has lost touch with Nigerians as the people are merely counting the days for the end of the Buhari administration.

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TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Airlines Get FG’s N4bn Bailout to Pay Workers Govt partners operators to revamp industry after COVID-19 disruption Chinedu Eze The federal government has started disbursing the N5 billion it had promised operators in the domestic arm of the country’s aviation sector whose operations were ravaged by COVID-19 pandemic, THISDAY learnt yesterday.

In addition, the federal government and airline operators are now working together to ensure that the domestic carriers survive post COVID-19.

The first step to rescue the airlines THISDAY gathered was the release of N5 billion bailout to the airlines and other operators in the industry last weekend by government, while the airlines have kick-started several levels of cooperation, including interlining and codeshare to ensure that they are able to sustain their operation.

Details of how the fund was disbursed revealed that the 31-member committee gave N4 billion to airlines.

Scheduled flight operators were given 70 per cent of the sum, while charter operators received 30 per cent.

The major objective of the bailout is for government to empower the airlines to be able pay salary to their personnel henceforth; so 70 per cent of the fund was for salary payment, while 30 per cent was for aircraft maintenance, THISDAY learnt.

In order to ensure that the funds are transparently distributed, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had to confirm the number of technical staff and number

of aircraft in each airline and it was concluded that charter operators had a total of 2000 staff, while scheduled operators have 6, 428 staff.

The payroll of beneficiary airlines were also checked to ensure that they paid their staff February and March, 2020 salaries before the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

THISDAY also learnt that the 70 per cent earmarked for salary payment from the N4 billion given to the airline came up to N2.1 billion and prorated as over N300, 000 per staff, which was determined according to the staff strength of each airline.

For example, Air Peace technical staff is over 532 with over 2000 administrative and other personnel.

The remaining N1 billion was given to other operators in the industry, which include catering companies, fuel marketers, which got substantial part of the fund, while travel agents, ground handling firms and car hire services got the rest.

An inside source who was part of the sharing committee, told THISDAY that, “The federal government has a sharing modalities for the palliative and the committee, made up of top officials of aviation agencies, including NCAA, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) ensured that the money was transparently distributed.”

“Priority was rightly given to scheduled airline operators

because they are the ones that really move higher number of people from place to place,” the official said.

The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema while expressing gratitude to the federal government for giving the airlines bailout, told THISDAY that in order to safeguard the domestic operators there are key policy decisions government must have to make.

One of these key policies is the passage of Customs tariff waiver bill, which awaits President’s assent, he said.

“This will help the airlines more than bailout because the airlines spend so much money paying waivers on aircraft

and spares. Another is the removal of VAT. This will go a long way in stabilizing the industry. Government should also reinforce and sustain the ease of doing business policy, which will make clearing of aircraft and aircraft spares less cumbersome. This will positively impact on our bottom line,” he added.

The Chairman of Air Peace also canvassed for the suspension of 25 per cent remittances by aviation agencies to the federal government coffers, saying that such payment seem to create the impression that agencies are profit making enterprises but they are actually cost recovery organisations, which according to the International Civil Aviation

Organisation (ICAO) are not supposed to be profit oriented so that they would not add so much financial burden on the airlines through charges and taxes.

The CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi who spoke in the same vein urged the federal government to stabilise the foreign exchange and adopt a standard for the airlines.

He said that government should adopt permanent waiver for Customs duty and should not be what is renewable on yearly basis and should also do the same with VAT. On what the airlines are doing to sustain their operations and ensure they survive after the coronavirus devastation,

Sanusi said the airlines are collaborating in different ways both in the technical area and in marketing and disclosed that Aero Contractors and Dana Air are about to sign passenger protection agreement, whereby any Dana Air passenger can fly Aero Contractors, if the former cancels its flight.

“There is a lot of collaboration going on among Nigerian carriers in the bid to revamp our operations.

The Aero maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility has brought the airlines together. Now they share spares in order to cut the cost of operation and they are cooperating in many other ways,” Sanusi said.

CULTURAL EXHIBITION...

L-R: Creator, FUJI A Opera , Mr. Bobo Omotayo; Executive Producer, FUJI A Opera, Mr. Tosin Ashafa; Special Guest, Mr. Idris Olorunmbe; and Guest ofHonour, Oba Shaheed Elegusi, during the maiden edition of FUJI A Opera 2020, held in Lagos... recently

Soyinka: Talking About Buhari Not Good for My Ali Baba Recounts Experience at Isolation Centre Says COVID-19 is real Sanity Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has said that for the sake of his sanity, he would not want to discuss any issue concerning the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Soyinka said this during a recent interview with Kaftan TV. Speaking onboard the new train, the Nobel Laureate said he would not like to talk about Buhari’s government because he imagined the regime doesn’t exist.

In the short interview currently

trending on the social media, Soyinka when asked whether the new train was a plus to Buhari’s regime, said: “I don’t want to talk about Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. I think it is best for my sanity just to avoid that overall question.

I can take bits and pieces of Nigeria’s present predicament but I think for one’s sense of balance, one must forget the existence of the Buhari administration.”

Ace comedian, Atunyota Akpobome, better known as Ali Baba, has said anyone who claims COVID-19 is scam is a “fool”.

The award-winning entertainer took to his Instagram page yesterday to share a video wherein he narrated his experience while at the Yaba COVID-19 isolation centre in Lagos after contracting the novel disease.

Ali Baba, who revealed that many people died during his time at the isolation centre, called on Nigerians to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines put in the

place by the federal and state governments.

He said the need to heed to the protocols became necessary amid a second wave of the pandemic, which he claimed is deadlier than the first.

The comedian, who stated that he spent his Christmas and New Year holidays at the isolation centre, also enjoined Nigerians to distance themselves from those who still think that coronavirus pandemic is a scam.

“The second wave of COVID-19 is deadlier than the one before.

People are dying — pastors, doctors, professors, billionaires, poor men, less privileged… people are dying everyday. Those numbers you see are not fake” he said.

“I have spoken with people who attended parties and died two days later. COVID-19 is real, don’t let anyone deceive you. Anyone who tells you COVID-19 is scam, don’t trust the person.”

Ali Baba also commended Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, and medical

professionals fighting against the spread of the disease in the state.

In a terse accompanying post, the comedianwrote:“Don’tletanyone tell you it’s a scam. I just came out of isolation. Several people died while I was there. Some of my close friends knew and they were very supportive.

“COVID is real. Observe all the protocols. People are dying. And it’s not a joke. In fact, anyone who says COVID is a scam is a compound idiot and a fool.”

Former ANAVice Chairman, Commissioner Resigns, Urges Gov Obiano to Take Charge of Govt appointed as Commissioner for sincerely thank the governor of darkness tried to bribe me. I David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Aderinokun Dies at 80 Industry, Trade and Commerce; for the opportunity to serve in arrested these criminals, an action Former Vice Chairman Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Eddie Aderinokun is dead.

He passed on January 3 at 80, following a brief illness.

A statement by his brother Chief Kayode Aderinokun reads: “With great sadness, but with submission to the will of God, we announce the passing on to glory of our beloved father, grandfather, husband, brother, Otunba Eddie, Olayiwola Aderinokun on the 3rd of January 2021, following a brief illness.

Funeral arrangements will be

announced by the family.”

Until his death, the late Aderinokun, a journalist and sports enthusiast was a major benefactor of ANA Lagos chapter.

He founded The Clusters, a pop group in Lagos in the late sixties and featured great talents such as Berkeley Jones (guitarist), Tony Amadi, Linus Okechi and Jibade Thomas. Aderinokun was an enigmatic and resourceful patron of the Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA) and its projects.

Anambra State Commissioner for Art, Culture and Tourism, Dr. Christian Madubuko, has resigned his appointment following alleged threat to his life and sabotage in government.

Madubuko, who has worked with the state Governor, Willie Obiano’s administration for years, submitted his resignation letter, saying the sabotage he has experienced as a commissioner in the state is the reason it would be difficult for Nigeria to develop.

The commissioner, a Canadiantrained Nigerian, was first

later, as Commissioner for Road, Rail and Water Transportation, and finally as Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, Indigenous Artworks, Culture and Tourism.

In his resignation letter which was obtained by THISDAY, Madubuko charged the state governor to wake up and take charge of his government, alleging that his government was run by a tiny cabal that insists on everything being done their way.

Part of Madubuko’s resignation letter read: “I must

his government. When l was appointed a commissioner in 2018, the governor directed me to block all revenue leakages.

“That l did without looking at faces. In the cause of fighting corrupt, individuals holding the state revenue in the jugular, all manners of frivolous petitions against me were written to the governor accusing me of several misdeeds, particularly destabilising our party, the APGA, and advising the governor to remove me before l could do more harm to the party.

“In several occasions, agents

which was also applauded by the governor at an Exco meeting.

Within three years, I have been redeployed to three key ministries in the state as a commissioner.

“I fought various parasitic interests and jailed many of them. I stepped on toes risking my own life for the survival of the state. Those toes l stepped on are now in the prowl for my life. I am no longer safe as l speak. In three different occasions, l was attacked by unknown gunmen.

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Ezekwesili: Buhari’s Economic Policies Affecting the Naira Uche Nnaike Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has accused the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari of killing the naira with poor economic policies since he assumed office in May 2015.

Ezekwesili spoke on ARISE NEWS Channel, the sister broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers.

The ex-minister said with the current economic policies of the federal government, it could be difficult for Nigeria to come out of recession in the first quarter of 2021.

She said: “The greatest tragedy of the last five years of the country

has been the fact that there has been poverty of ideas in terms of economic management. The economic management of this administration has impoverished many more Nigerians.

“The only thing that we associate with the administration that is saying that this year is going to be buoyant for the country is poor economic policies. When you think in terms of monetary policies, the Central Bank has become an extension of the Villa and that is problematic; you can’t have your monetary authority so badly politicised in the way it is currently is and have a sound monetary policy.

“This government has not shown evidence that it will work

its resolution because it has made these resolutions so many years now and we have seen it work in contrast to what it says it wants to achieve.”

Ezekwesili further lambasted the President for the over 15-month closure of the country’s land borders which she argued made no sense in the first instance, as the closure hugely impacted the activities of business owners in the country.

She said, “You close the border. Precisely for what? Has this government evaluated the effect of that border closure on

small businesses in this country?

Does this government realise the damage it did to many sectors in this economy as a result of that singular act that just didn’t make any sense.”

The ex-minister said the border closure was similar to Buhari’s foreign exchange policy “that made us get into a situation where he, in fact, ended murdering the naira”.

“When the president took over power in 2015, the situation that he had on hand could have been handled differently. The naira could have found good

positioning by sort of getting its new level and that signal would have been a clear signal to the private sector that politics was not going to drive pricing levels in our economy, the private sector would have adjusted and we wouldn’t have ended up in a situation where foreign direct investment or portfolio money all escaped from our country and found a safer place to land,” she noted.

Ezekwesili, however, urged the Buhari regime to “face the energy sector and fully implement the spirit and the content of the Power

Sector Reform Act and the Reform Plan that was available before he (Buhari) took over office.”

She added that the government must provide the enabling platforms for businesses to thrive in the country and realise that “market principles do work and that China that it takes pride in going to borrow money from was a very impoverished country for as long as it stuck its neck in the woods of communism and socialism but when China understood that market does work, it began to grow.”

Buhari, Gbajabiamila, Sanwo-Olu Mourn Ibidapo-Obe Michael Olugbode, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Funmi Ogundare in Lagos President Muhammadu Buhari, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, have said the former Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, Prof Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, who died on Sunday will be sorely missed.

Ibidapo-Obe died on Sunday at the age of 71.

The renowned Prof of Engineering who also later served as the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Ndufu Alike, Ikwo (FUNAI), Ebonyi State, was until his death the Chairman and Pro-Chancellor of First Technical University, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Buhari, in a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina while commiserating with the academia over the passing of former Vice Chancellor and condoling with family members and friends, said the scholar and administrator will be sorely missed by the academia, government and the country as his sudden transition left a gap that will be difficult to fill.

He said specially considering his contribution to the development of education, with a rich pedigree of being President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Chairman of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities and upwardly rising over the years with distinguished career.

The president also condoled with students and staff of the University of Lagos, First Technical University and the NUC over the loss, as well as the government and people of Osun State.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, the Speaker described Ibidapo-obe as patriotic Nigerian who gave his best toward the development of his country.

He death is a great loss not just to the academia but also the country.

Gbajabiamila said Ibidapo-Obe, a onetime chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors

of Nigerian Universities, made remarkable strides during his term as the VC of UNILAG. Gbajabiamila said his thoughts and prayers are with Prof.

Obidapo-Obe’s family at this difficult moment, praying God to grant his soul eternal rest.

Sanwo-Olu condoled with the family, friends and associates of Ibidapo-Obe, describing the death of the renowned scholar and administrator as a colossal loss to the academia and the country as a whole.

The governor in a condolence message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, said the rich experience and knowledge of the late IbidapoObe, especially his contributions to national issues in the education and engineering sectors will be sorely missed.

He said: “The death of Prof.

Oyewumi Ibidapo-Obe is a colossal loss to the academic community, government and the country. The late professor will be greatly missed. The late Ibidapo-Obe made lots of positive impact and contribution during his life time to the growth and development of education in Nigeria.”

Also, Okebukola, described the death of Ibidapo-Obe, as a great loss.

In a statement titled, ‘Oye Ibidapo-Obe- What a Loss’, made available to THISDAY, Okebukola described Ibidapo-Obe as a friend of 21 years, adding that “Nigeria has lost a university administrator of special ilk and a scholar of immense lustre.”

According to him, “The death of Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe is one of shock of epic proportion to me. Even now, I am unable to process the news that came filtering in from late afternoon of January 3. Can my friend of about 21 years go just like that? Our close interaction started while he was Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos and I was Executive Secretary, NUC. His impressive leadership qualities and eminence of scholarship attracted him to me and along with Professor Nimi Briggs who was Vice-chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, we formed a trio that has remained unbroken until the cold hands of death snatched Oye.”

CHART THE WAY FORWARD...

L-R: Member, Board of Trustees, Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Max Okudo; former Senator, Chief Ben Obi; former Vice Presidential candidate of PDP, Mr. Peter Obi; Deputy National Chairman, South-east, PDP, Chief Ali Odefa; and Chairman, PDP in Anambra State, Mr. Ndubuisi Nwobu, during a stakeholders’ meeting of the party in Awka, ...yesterday.

Lagos, Enugu Fix January 18 for Resumption of Public, Private Schools Uche Nnaike The Lagos and Enugu State Governments have announced January 18, 2021, as resumption date for all public and private schools in the states In Lagos, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, announced this in a statement by the Head, Public Affairs, Ministry of Education, Kayode Abayomi.

In the statement titled, ‘All public and private schools in Lagos State to resume 18th January 2021’, schools were also asked to make virtual learning available.

She said this was in line with the federal government’s

directive coupled with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“All public and private schools below the tertiary level in Lagos State should be reopened for the second term 2020/21 academic session from Monday, 18th of January, 2021.

“Schools should have flexible plans where students and teachers who feel sick can teach or learn from home via available online platforms.

Schools should also strive to avoid any COVID-19 infection among all students and staff,” the statement read in part.

She also asked “all schools to make efforts to comply with all the outlined COVID-19

requirements for resumption of schools.

“Not just for the improvement of overall school operations but for the safe reopening of academic activities to support the Lagos State Government’s quest for a full return.”

The commissioner enjoined teachers, students, and visitors to wear facemasks at all times, observe physical distancing, embrace regular handwashing with soap under running water and maintain a high standard of personal hygiene within the school premises.

In Enugu, a statement by the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Uche Eze,

said the decision to resume on January 18 was reached at a meeting between the ministry and major stakeholders in the sector.

Eze disclosed that all schools in the state were advised to ensure full compliance with the NCDC guidelines for the containment of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), stressing that “the Ministry of Education will engage in constant monitoring of compliance when schools resume”.

The Education commissioner added that “it was also decided that to help engage the students/ pupils, all tertiary institutions, Basic and Post Basic schools are advised to activate their e-learning programmes.”

774,000 Jobs will Kick off Today, Says Keyamo Onyebuichi Ezigbo in Abuja The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has said the Special Public Works Programme which will engage 774,000 unemployed Nigerians will kick off today.

Keyamo, who broke the news via Twitter, said President Muhammadu Buhari approved the date.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the take-off of the Special Public Works Programme (engaging 774,000 unemployed itinerant Nigerians) to begin nationwide on Tuesday, January 5th, 2021,” he said.

“All NDE state structures are

already in top gear for the take-off ceremonies.”

The programme was earlier slated to kick off on October 1, but Keyamo had said the president approved the postponement of the scheme owing to floods in some of the project sites.

It was later moved to November 1.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the request of the Minister of State, Labour and Employment, to reschedule the commencement date of the Special Public Works Programme from the 1st of October to the 1st of November, 2020,” he had said.

“The approval is based principally on the Minister’s

Memo to Mr. President informing him that most of the proposed project sites are still waterlogged and the rains have not abated, whereas the programme is designed for execution during the dry season.

“It is believed that by the 1st of November most of the project sites would be ready for work.”

The planned recruitment had also caused friction between members of the national assembly and Keyamo.

While federal lawmakers had accused Keyamo of hijacking the programme from the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the minister alleged the legislators were the ones trying to take over the project.

Consequently, the National Assembly suspended the programme in the heat of its faceoff with the minister, demanding further explanations.

But Buhari directed Keyamo to go ahead with the execution of the programme.

The programme is designed to employ 1,000 people from each of the 774 local government areas in the country and will be coordinated by constituted state committees.

The beneficiaries of the programme will also earn N20,000 monthly.

A total of N52 billion was voted for the programme in the revised 2020 bud

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Court Orders Remand of Sowore, Four Others in Kuje Prison

Ezekwesili asks Buhari to release activists or prepare more cells

Alex Enumah A Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja has ordered the remand of Omoyele Sowore and four others at Kuje Correctional Centre.

This is pending when their formal bail application will be heard today.

But a former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately order the release of the five activists or prepare additional cells to remand more protesters if he fails to release the five activists immediately.

Sowore is being arraigned alongside four others by the federal

government on three charges of criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, and attempting to incite others.

Although they all pleaded not guilty to the charges, the prosecution alleged that the defendants were arrested on New Year’s eve with placards calling for a violent revolution against President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sowore was arrested by the police for leading a protest against bad governance on New Year’s Eve in Abuja.

Sowore had earlier before the protest charged Nigerians on Twitter to hold a crossover protest by picking up a candle

and a placard showing their grievances against the President Buhari administration.

“How about a crossover protest/uprising tonight? Anyone willing to participate? Pick up a candle and a placard showing your grievances against the regime; let’s upload our short videos and photos across our social media platforms. Let’s welcome the regime to a resolute 2021! “#CrossoverWithProtest against tyrant @mbuhari’s regime, candlelight for #LekkiMassacre; a placard for #EndBadGovernment; procession to usher in #Revolutionary 2021,

a fist for victims of repressionfrozen bank accounts, malicious prosecution and detention of #EndSARS activists. “#Crossoverwithprotest starts at 11.30 till 12.30a.m. across Nigeria, a candle, a placard and fireworks to usher in a RESOLUTE 2021 in Nigeria! Join with your friends and neighbours #EndSARS. #ObigboMassacre #LekkiMassacre, #EndBadGoveranceInNigeria, # B u h a r i Tr a i n w r e c k , #RevolutionNow,” Sowore tweeted on Sunday, December 31, 2020.

The protest was eventually joined by others in states

including Ondo and Kaduna.

This is not the first time Sowore will be arrested. He was detained for over 100 days in 2019 for calling for a #RevolutionNowProtest.

However, speaking yesterday on ARISE NEWS Channel, a sister broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, Ezekwesili asked Buhari to release the five activists or prepare additional cells to remand more protesters if he fails to release them immediately.

Ezekwesili said the activists have the right to protest in a democracy.

Ex-minister said, “There is nowhere we have seen change

happen without the resilience of a segment of the population to act regardless of the oppression that may be against it. That is why we must all applaud the resilience of Yele Sowore. Some people are not fair to him in dismissing his advocacy. I don’t dismiss it at all. Every society needs a Yele Sowore and all other groups and movements that consistently advocate for a good society.

“The truth is that the only pillar that has the motivation and has the right incentive to push for change in this society is the citizen’s pillar. Our current political class are not going to overwhelm all of the citizens.

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Sexual Harassment: Family of Teenager Withdraws Allegation against Ogun Commissioner Case must be investigated, police insist Chiemelie Ezeobi The family of Melojuekun Barakat, the teenager allegedly sexually harassed by Ogun Commissioner for Environment, Abiodun AbuduBalogun, has withdrawn the allegation.

The 16-year-old girl is said to be a student of Victory Model College in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of the state.

In a viral video, the underage girl alleged that the commissioner lured her into his house and attempted to rape her.

She said her screaming forced the commissioner to stop after which he offered her N2,000 to bury the issue.

But in a video, Melojuekun Adesola Mansur, a man who identified himself as Barakat’s father, said the family would love to lay the matter to rest.

He expressed gratitude to the media, the international community and concerned Nigerians for their support since the incident was first reported.

Mansur said there are some “misconceptions and misunderstanding” between his daughter and the commissioner.

He said he no longer has interest in the case and that Nigerians should support him by laying the matter to rest.

“I want to thank the media for their doggedness and aggressive support to make sure that justice prevails. I am also using this opportunity to thank the international community, well meaning Nigerians and Ogun State indigenes that showed their love to this matter,” he said.

Police headquarters in Eleweran, directly involved in the case. the authenticity of the claims.

“However, I understand there allegation.

“The CP has directed that The victim is his daughter and Despite the withdrawal of the Abeokuta, the state capital. are some misconceptions and The PPRO said despite that even the daughter herself cannot the case should be transferred misunderstandings along the line case, the sate Police Command between my daughter and the yesterday said it would still the victim’s family had officially withdraw the case because she to the State CID for proper investigations, so their position honorable commissioner. Having proceed with the investigation withdrawn the case against the is underage.

“Secondly, the case is an is immaterial. discovered this, I deem it fit to into the allegations against commissioner, the command will “We cannot conclude that the offense committed against go ahead with the case. come to the public and inform Abudu-Balogun.

He said, “The father of the the state, so they are no case will be charged to court until The Police Public Relations Nigerians and the international community that this matter should Officer of the command, Abimbola victim has no loco standing for longer complainants, it is the when we confirm that the offense Oyeyemi, disclosed that the him to tell the police that he’s no Commissioner of Police versus was actually committed. If the be allowed to be laid to rest.

“As a father to Barakat, I am Commissioner of Police, Edward longer pressing charges against the suspect (Abudu-Balogun). offense was actually committed, “They are just witnesses in the we will not hesitate to charge using this opportunity as well Ajogun, had ordered that the case the commissioner because he is case. So the police are going on it court and see the case to a to appeal to Nigerians and be transferred to the Criminal not our complainant.

“He is not the person that was with investigations to confirm logical conclusion.” international community and Investigation Department at the the media that I don’t have interest in this matter again. I am withdrawing my case and I want them to support me the same way they did at the beginning of this matter.”

Barakat, in a similar video, also appealed to Nigerians to allow the matter be laid to rest.

She attributed the reason to “few misconceptions and misunderstanding” between her and the commissioner.

“My name is Melojuekun Barakat. You can recall that I was the lady in the viral video on sexual harassment by the commissioner for environment in Ogun state. I am using this opportunity to thank all meaningful Nigerians that showed their support and love towards this matter,” she said.

“I want you to know that L-R: Chairman, Isiala Ngwa South LGA, Chief Ike Anyatonwu; Senator representing Abia Central senatorial district, Senator Theodore Orji; there were few misconceptions Member representing Isiala Ngwa North/South Federal Constituency, Hon. Darlington Nwokocha; and Commissioner for Local Government and misunderstanding between I and Chieftaincy Affairs, Sir G. C. Onyendilefu, during the inauguration of 12-classroom block at the Migrant School, Ikem Mvosi..recently and the commissioner. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to meaningful Nigerians to please allow this matter to rest.”

Dapo Abiodun, governor of A total of 125,000 rural women She was quoted in a statement and most vulnerable women in Government councils under Ogun, had ordered the suspension across the 36 states of the issued in Abuja by her ministry’s rural and peri-urban areas across the Conditional Cash Transfer of the commissioner over the federation and the Federal Capital Deputy Director Information, the country,” she stated. scheme.

The governor, who was According to her, the grant Territory (FCT) are to receive Rhoda Iliya, as saying “A N20,000 each as cash grants cash grant of N20,000 will be was expected to increase income represented by the Deputy disbursed to about 125,000 poor and productive assets of target Governor, Usman Alhaji, from the Federal Government. urged the minister to approve The Minister of Humanitarian women across the 36 states of beneficiaries.

Kano State Governor, Abdullahi the enrolment of the remaining Affairs, Disaster Management the federation and the Federal Ganduje, commended the 35,000 beneficiaries from the local and Social Development, Umar Capital Territory.”

Farouq, who was represented at government for initiating government councils.

Farouq, disclosed this yesterday In a similar development, the in Kano during the flag off of the the event in Kano by the ministry’s programmes geared towards Permanent Secretary, Bashir Alkali, supporting the poor and humanitarian minister stated that programme in the state.

For the cash grants in Kano, she said the project was introduced in vulnerable in the society, over 4,000 beneficiaries across the regulations and we did our said about 8,000 women across 2020 to sustain the social inclusion especially women and children. 27 local government councils of He also appreciated the ministry Jigawa State would benefit from operation. the 44 local government councils agenda of government.

Because we are enforcement would benefit from the Federal “It is designed to provide a one- for the enrolment of additional the federal government’s grant for officers and not the judge, we Government’s initiative. off grant to some of the poorest 35,000 beneficiaries from 15 Local rural women in the state. arrested and took them to the judge through our prosecutor and the judge found them guilty.

Although the judge gave those arrested the option of fine, and issued seal off order for the four parks and gardens affected,” Attah said. defendants to open his defense, him for examination but stated Obaseki’s original UI certificate.

Alex Enumah in Abuja He also stated that his The liable individuals were shortly after the APC closed its that the documents are Certified found not be complying with Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin case after calling six witnesses True Copy (CTC) on Obaseki’s allegations were based on photocopies from INEC. COVID-19 protocol including Obaseki, will yesterday at the amongst whom are two Associate certificates.

Similarly, Asekomhe, who He said his findings showed physical distancing and were Federal High Court, Abuja, open Professors who graduated from not putting on face masks. his defense in the alleged forgery the University of Ibadan in 1978 that there is a difference in the claimed to be an Associate certificate of one of the witness, Professor of Banking and Finance “After that two weeks, we will of his University of Ibadan, degree and 1979. now come back to the court and certificate.

The court had at its last sitting Dr Emmanuel Balogun and that at the Benson Idahosa University, Benin, Edo State, while admitting continue the trial,” he said.

His former party, the All on Thursday December 31, 2020, of Obaseki.

He, however, said he does not he never saw Obaseki’s original Ikharo while advising other Progressives Congress (APC) adjourned to yesterday for the gardens and parks to do the and one of its chieftains, Mr. cross examination of the fourth know if INEC issue certificate said based on that fact he cannot needful, hinted that his men Williams Edobor had dragged plaintiffs’ witness, one Raphael belonging to the University of comment on Obaseki’s certificate.

He however tendered his would focus on night clubs, Obaseki to court for allegedly Onwuzuligbo, a retired police Ibadan.

The fifth and sixth witnesses, original Bachelor’s degree in vowing that they would have forging his university certificate officer and a forensic document Mr Gabriel Iduseri and Maikano Agricultural Economics he it tough unless they comply with he submitted to the Independent examiner. the health regulations given by National Electoral Commission At yesterday’s hearing, Asekomhe in their testimonies obtained from UI in 1978 to the Presidential Task Force on (INEC) as part of his educational Onwuzuligbo told the court also claimed that Obaseki forged support his forgery allegations COVID-19. how he was engaged by one his university of Ibadan certificate against the governor. qualification.

At the end of cross examination He also added that in spite of Other defendants in the suit Faithful Steward to examine going by alleged discrepancies in the outcry from kids and parents are the Peoples Democratic Party some documents relating to the the CTC documents they said of the 6th witness, lead counsel to the plaintiffs, Chief Akin for the FCTA to reopen Million (PDP) and INEC. certificate of Governor Obaseki they obtained from INEC. Iduseri who claimed to be the Olujimi, SAN, informed Park, Jabi Lake and other Presiding judge, Justice Ahmed being contested. parks that had been shut Mohammed yesterday adjourned During cross-examination current Caretaker Zonal Youth the court that his clients are down, such places would hearing in the suit till today he admitted not knowing the leader of the APC, however, through with their case and not be reopened yet. for Obaseki who is one of the origin of the documents sent to admitted that he has never seen will want to close it.

PROJECT INAUGURATION...

FG Disburses N20,000 Grants to 125,000 Women, Says Minister

FCTA Seals Four Parks, Prosecutes 12 over COVID-19 Infractions Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has sealed off four parks and arraigned 12 persons before the mobile court presided over by Magistrate Egbe Arafe for violating COVID-19 protocols.

The parks hit by the action are Eden Park and Garden, Utako and Byuan Resources Ltd Resort, Skychef Park and Garden, 7th Option Park and Leisure Service all in Garki 2.

The Chairman FCT COVID-19 Taskforce, Ikharo Attah, said that the order to seal off the four gardens for a period of two weeks was granted by the FCT Mobile Court.

The court found them liable of contravening PTF COVID-19 regulations on operation of bars, night clubs, gardens and the likes.

Ikharo said that the 12 persons earlier arrested at the four gardens very late in the night, would be made to appear before the court for the determination of their COVID-19 offences and judgments after expiration of the two week-seal off.

“We went out just before Christmas celebration and met some parks violating COVID-19

Obaseki Opens Defence in Alleged Certificate Forgery Suit Today

TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͳ˜ 2021

COMMENT

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

WHY TUGENDHAT SHOULD APOLOGISE TO GOWON

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The accusation against Yakubu Gowon is ludicrous, writes Matthew Hassan Kukah

t is difficult to understand how a Member of the revered British Parliament worth his salt, could have left himself open to ridicule. By leveling unfounded, irrational and bizarre allegations of corruption against, of all people, General Yakubu Gowon, that exactly was what Tugendhat did. In the wake of the Endsars protest by Nigerian Youth, the MP for Tonbridge and Malling decided rightly to stand on the side of Nigeria. However, perhaps owing to sheer ignorance, carelessness or prejudice, the respected MP accused Gowon of having moved half the Central Bank of Nigeria when he was overthrown in a military coup in 1975. The very idea that Tugendhat would believe such nonsense and proceed to broadcast it publicly beggar belief.

A few questions here. What does moving half of the Central Bank mean even in the most abstract language? How could such a feat be accomplished by a man who had just been overthrown from power and was obviously a wanted man in his own country? How do you move half of a Central Bank or any Bank for that matter? Which individuals, bureaucratic of financial institutions, facilitated the attainment of this feat and how? Assuming for the sake of an argument that Tugendhat is fractionally concerned about corruption in Nigeria, would he not start by gaining access to the existing trove of detailed information over financial flows from Nigeria to the United Kingdom? A good part of that information is accessible. The entire accusation is so ludicrous it raises questions about Tugendhat’s moral capacity to even pursue his case.

It is curious that Gowon, who arrived the United Kingdom when Tugendhat was only two years old in 1975, has seen the back of eight British Prime Ministers, yet has never been questioned by the British Police. Now he is being accused of having lived off half of Nigeria’s Central Bank. It is doubtful that Tugendhat has ever read a book about Nigeria not to talk of having travelled to the country. It is curious that he would have displayed such shameful ignorance and made such illconceived allegations with no scintilla of evidence, even when, at the click of a button, he could have had access to Gowon’s financial records and business dealings in his over 45 years of living in the UK. Anyone interested in Gowon’s records of public service would have to ask a few questions. First, unlike his predecessors, is it not curious that even the military government that overthrew him did not for one day raise an allegation of corruption against him? The facts show that the bar of integrity in public service only began to be lowered from the time the General was overthrown. Most of our ailing national infrastructure owe their origins to that period.

For the education of Tugendhat and his ilk, let me draw from verifiable evidence of Gowon’s integrity as attested to by a cross section of Nigerians. Towards the end of 2003, when I heard that Gowon was going to turn 70 the following year on October 19th, 2004, I was quite excited. I began to wonder how this great gem would be celebrated. I knew that I had no qualifications for making any serious suggestions. I decided to choose what I believed I could have control over. I opted to get a collection of tributes to honour the great man. I shared this idea with both his wife, the very much respected Victoria Gowon and Ambassador Maurice Ekpang who was then the Director of the Gowon Centre. Madam demurred for the obvious reason that she knew her husband’s deep sense of modesty. She herself loved the shadows and was very protective of the integrity of her husband and her family.

With the support of Ekpang, I got to work. I drafted a letter and we drew up a list of eminent people around the world, from Nelson Mandela, Eyadema to Jimmy Carter. At home, we reached out to technocrats, men and women who served under him or who had associated with him. In the letter, I merely introduced myself and said that as part of celebrating Gowon, I was, in my personal capacity, requesting them to write tributes for a publication I wanted to submit to him as part of the

THE FACTS SHOW THAT THE BAR OF INTEGRITY IN PUBLIC SERVICE ONLY BEGAN TO BE LOWERED FROM THE TIME THE GENERAL WAS OVERTHROWN

celebrations of his 70th birthday.

The enthusiasm with which people responded was quite amazing to me. From former Presidents and Heads of State to traditional rulers, bureaucrats and a wide range of Nigerians across the board, literally everyone we reached out to. In all, the final publication covered a total of 259 pages. For the purpose of this essay, I wish to refer to just three of these tributes to draw the attention of Tugendhat to the foolishness of his allegations against the General whom he himself perhaps never met or even associated with.

First, in his tribute, the late President Shehu Shagari (19791983) spoke eloquently about the General. Among many other things, he said: “I believe it is only an extraordinary person that can lead this nation through thick and thin, to win a civil war and then declare that there was no winner, no vanquished.

I believe that it is only an extraordinary person that can lead his country from the ravages of war to unity, prosperity and progress in record time. I believe that it is only an extra ordinary person that can unite a multiplicity of diverse people into a strong nation…Thank goodness, in all these struggles, he has turned out clean as the winner.”

In a lengthy tribute dated 25th September 2004, Chief Ernest Shonekan, former Head of the Interim Government (1993-1995) noted: “You have the honour of having the mantle of leadership of our great country at a relatively young age, yet you were imbued with wisdom and needed humility to lead at a most difficult time….You have continued to demonstrate that a man’s life consists not necessarily of silver and gold alone or how much wealth he is able to gather but most importantly on how many lives he is able to touch positively. I honestly believe that if the leaders of today have an appreciation of this point, there will be less emphasis on acquiring so much for themselves resulting in the pervasive corruption that we have in the land.”

Perhaps of all the tributes, the one that caught my attention even at that time the most was that of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), our current president. It is tempting to reproduce almost the entire three-page letter because it was so rich in personal narrative.

In his opening paragraph, Buhari stated that writing the tribute was a duty because Gowon’s place in Nigerian history is assured for all time. His tribute was the most intimate and also the most revealing. In his words: “I was among the candidates recommended to be his ADC. Why it never happened was a secret only he and I knew! ...One of his most astounding attributes is that General Gowon is man of conscience, a man of sincerity, a man of accountability and a man of integrity.” He continued: “Major projects were undertaken with the proceeds of the 1973 oil windfall. There was never a serious accusation linking the General personally with any scandal in that period.”

And then, the clincher: “A pointer to his personal integrity was when I was Head of State and the General, though my senior treated me with embarrassing deference in the course of informing me that he could not pay his children’s school fees. A man who presided over the federal government’s big spending spree yet did not plan for the rainy day is somebody special.”

Unfortunately, the ‘Book of Tributes’ has continued to gather dust in the archives of the Gowon Centre since 2004 for some inexplicable reasons.

I have gone to this length just to show that Tugendhat has committed such an egregious act and a faux pas that he owes his family and the British Parliament a first apology for the great embarrassing show of foolishness. He owes the members of the EndSARS protesters for damaging the credibility of their evidence of corruption in Nigeria. He owes Gowon and his family an apology for trying to impugn his reputation by reading a prepared text blindfolded by prejudice.

Kukah is Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto

PROFITABLE ASSETS DURING INFLATION writes that investment in real estate works well with inflation

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n Tuesday, December 29, 2020, The Nigerian Stock Exchange hit headlines as the world’s best-performing stock market

by Bloomberg’s ranking. The bourse’s Year-to-Date returns amounted to +45.70 percent while the market capitalization was N20.447 trillion. Investors on The Exchange have been enjoying sustained increase in transaction with spike in equity prices since last month and it may continue till early this month. In the stock market parlance, this is called Santa Claus Rally or Calendar Effect. The rally, whose annual consistency is arguable, is believed to occur in the last week of every December through the first few trading days in January. Proponents of the rally ascribe it to tendency by investors who are income-tax sensitive to claim capital loss and reinvest it at the beginning of the year.

Another reason is that some investors utilize payment of year-end bonuses in January to purchase stocks and both activities drive up prices.

Equity investment has become the nerve center of transactions on The Exchange in recent time as one of the most profitable asset classes when return on fixed income securities and money market instruments have crashed due to the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) among other factors.

But the elephant in the house for equity investors is the double-digit inflation which hit a three-year high of 4.9 percent in November with fears that it will rise further. Inflation measures the average price level of basket of goods and services in an economy. Some of the propellers of Nigeria’s double-digit inflation are insecurity in farming areas with attendant effects on food supply and shortages of dollar. It is settled in corporate finance that return on capital does not rise with inflation.

Also, return on equity (ROE) depends on whatever returns the company earns and it is not fixed. This may put equity investors in a helpless position.

However, an investor that has a long-term view can use stocks to hedge against inflation.

Stocks tend to grow in value in the long term while holding a diversified portfolio such as 60/40(Stock/Bond) has potential to protect an investor from declining purchasing power.

Value stocks, inflation-protected bonds, and real estate are silver bullets that attack inflation. A value stock refers to companies whose shares trade below intrinsic value otherwise called undervalued stocks. The security is identified by features such as high dividend yield and low price-to- book ratio (P/B ratio).

The companies are noted for superior return.

They are large and well-established. This is different from growth stocks which are shares

of the companies that are expected to outperform the market over time because of their future potential. But growth stocks may refrain from paying dividends as it will reinvest retained earnings for expansion. An investor’s choice of growth or value stock depends on his investment objective, time horizon and risk tolerance.

Bonds can be linked to Consumer Price Index (CPI) whereby the principal is reset according to changes in index. This is where investors should contact their investment advisers. Under the current challenges in the global financial market, inflation-linked bonds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), a basket of securities tradable on The Exchange can play vital part in protecting portfolio’s value.

Investment in real estate works well with inflation. As inflation rises, property values rise accordingly, and landlords charge higher rental income. In the United States, there are Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) issued by the government. They are indexed into inflation to protect investors from a decline in the purchasing power of their money. Other assets that hedge investors against the scourge of inflation are: Real Estate investment Trusts (REITs), commodities such as gold, oil, metal, and grain.

The stock market investment legend, Warren Buffett has always remained vocal on how

to invest during inflationary period. Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, had in the late 1970s and early 1980s devoted significant portions of its annual letter to investing in stocks during inflationary periods in the United States of America. Buffett had reportedly warned before the global financial crisis in 2007 and 2008 that “inflation would cause a shock, and after the crisis, central banking policy would ultimately force a reckoning in stocks.” As an ardent believer in stocks, his timeless statement is “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful”. From his practical experience, he believes that inflation swindles equity investors and therefore offered some tips for equity investors: When you are doing great, it is time to remember inflation: During high inflation, earnings are not the dominant variable for investors: Understand the math of Misery Index; Inflation is a tapeworm that makes bad businesses even worse for shareholders: Focus on companies that generate rather than consume cash: Corporations cannot outmanage government and there is no solution to inflation, but there’s reason for hope. Happy New Year.

Oni, award winning Financial Journalist and Chartered Stockbroker is the Chief Executive Officer, Sofunix Investment and Communications

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͳ˜ 2021

EDITORIAL

COVID-19 AND RISING SUICIDE CASES The authorities should pay attention to other constraints that could trigger suicide

T

here is a sharp rise in suicide attempts and cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic which the authorities may not be paying attention to. According to the Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative (SURPIN) project of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), the uncertainty and disruptions of previously normal ways of living due to COVID-19 have tasked the resilience of a lot of people, causing a spike in suicide cases that “were likely as a result of the lockdown and restrictions.”

For several THERE IS ENORMOUS years, the nation’s present socioEMOTIONAL AND economic environFINANCIAL STRESS AS ment has been WELL AS PERVADING a predisposing POVERTY AND factor to depression and perhaps HOPELESSNESS suicide. There is enormous emotional and financial stress as well as pervading poverty and hopelessness. From the North to the South of the country, reported cases of suicide, not to mention the variety of those who use themselves as human bombs, are varied and now on the increase. But COVID-19 has added to the woes of several Nigerians who have lost their sources of income aside the health burden imposed on their families.

In Nigeria today, the plight of the underprivileged is steadily worsening and many go to bed with less than a survival diet. The unemployment crisis has created a lost generation of graduates who cannot find jobs. Many of them are exasperated. Yet it is an established fact that impoverished individuals are a major risk group for depression. And depression, according to experts, is the most common reason why people commit suicide. But there are also other reasons why people take their own lives and devastate members of their family and friends. Underlying mental disorders such as schizophrenia, excessive alcoholism and drug abusive also play significant role in triggering suicidal thoughts.

Letters to the Editor

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nyone who has followed Joe Biden’s odyssey through the US presidential election will agree that he has faced hurdles.

Biden has been up against an incumbent in President Donald Trump who won’t leave the White House without a fight. So far though, all Trump’s efforts at discrediting the election with unsubstantiated claims of voting irregularities, including using the courts have failed.

Biden’s first hurdle was the election proper.

The second hurdle was the Electoral College votes. If it were a “normal” time, the latter was all that stood between Biden and the White House. But like I said, this is not a “normal” time. And it doesn’t help that some claim to “prophesy” a second term for Trump, leaving many waiting with bated breath who will be sworn in as president on inauguration day.

Now, the Electoral College votes will be brought to Congress to be counted on January 6. It’s usually a formality. Just to rubber stamp what has already been.

But already, about 140 House Republicans said they’ll vote against the counting of the electoral votes on that date. That’s only part of it.

Who is the president of the Senate? It’s Donald Trump’s second in command, Vice

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Schizophrenia is a disease with a wide range of weird symptoms like hallucinations, inner voices, disordered thinking and irrational fears and “emotions that seem out of tune with reality”.

Today, the use of hard drugs--particularly Indian hemp, cocaine and even methamphetamine are commonplace in the society--drugs whose adverse effects range from depression to suicide. Indeed, manic depression, an emotional seesaw, oscillating between exhilarating highs and devastating lows, is cited as one the reasons why there are so many mad men and insanity out there in the streets. But it would appear that neither the society nor the critical agencies of government are paying attention to this malaise.

According to some recent statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), no fewer than a million people die annually from suicide, which represents a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds.

Even more ominous is the fact that there are an estimated 10 to 20 million attempted suicides every year. The rate at which Nigerians now also take their own lives has indeed become worrying.

From jumping into the lagoon to hanging self with rope or electric cable, Nigeria is becoming a country where so many things that were in the past considered taboo now happen virtually every day—and these include the extreme act of deliberately taking one’s life. Even without statistics, reports on suicide involving Nigerians have grimly moved from an occasional blip to a very disturbing trend.

However, breakthroughs in science and medicine have brought hope that many mental patients can lead normal and productive lives. So are suicide victims if help can reach them early enough. Depression, one of the main culprits of suicides, is treatable. This is why we call on all authorities to take out for rehabilitation the mentally challenged who roam the streets. Public officials at all levels should also by way of good governance pay serious attention to the constraints that could trigger in the people suicidal thoughts, especially in these days of COVID-19 pandemic.

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

JOE BIDEN’S LAST ‘HURDLE’ President Mike Pence!

Some fear that the Devil might enter Pence, and make him do the unimaginable.

Trump hasn’t stopped twitting. He recently wrote, “the ‘Justice’ Department and FBI have done nothing about the 2020 Presidential Election Voter Fraud,” and added: “Never give up. See everyone in D.C. on January 6th.”

Trump is counting on Pence’s loyalty, as well as support from his party members in Congress to invalidate the election, by throwing out duly certified votes meant for Biden.

Pence is not expected to act unconstitutionally. But he himself has not acknowledged openly that Biden won, fueling the suspicion that he might have an ace up his sleeve.

Just recently, he said, “We’re going to keep fighting until every legal vote is counted.

We’re going to win Georgia, we’re going to save America.”

But constitutionally speaking, Joe Biden as president is a done deal. There is nothing Mike Pence, or anyone can do about it. The best they can do is to delay proceedings.

According to Article II of the US Constitution and the 12th Amendment, what is to be done on the 6th of January is for Electoral College votes to be opened by the “president of the Senate,” who is the Vice President,

and who happens to be Mike Pence. To be sure, in the 1876 election there was confusion.

But that was settled with the coming of the Electoral Count Act in 1887. It provides how long it should take to collate electoral votes, with the final part being the counting of the Electoral College votes, with clear roles for the Vice President.

It says he will be the “presiding officer”.

In other words he oversees what will go on that day. He will open the ballot envelopes, he will then show the results to a group of tellers. After that he will call for any objections to the votes by members of Congress.

He will then announce the votes that have been objected to, and finally, the results.

Pence might be tempted to act in a way to favour his boss, which ultimately favours he himself. But democracy in God’s own country should have gone above that—we hope!

Those who wrote the Electoral Count Act knew that for it to stand unquestioned, there should be no interference in any form by the vice president. He has no right to throw out votes from any state. And in the event that there is disagreement, both chambers of Congress must find fault with that state’s electoral votes before they can be rejected.

Just as well, they also made it extremely hard for Congress not to agree, with things like the

“safe harbor”, and by the Congress agreeing with the results the states have put forward.

To be fair, it’s a difficult thing to do when you have to announce a result where you lost.

But in 1960, Richard Nixon, then as vice president, was the one that counted the votes for John Kennedy who was his opponent.

Also, Al Gore did the same, with George Bush whom he contested against.

Already, a federal judge has dealt a fatal blow to what might have been Trump’s last chance, when he threw out a lawsuit being pushed by a House Republican that was geared towards giving Vice President Mike Pence the power to overturn the results of the Electoral College votes.

Perhaps, as some feel, Pence might look for a cop-out for not presiding over the electoral vote count on January 6. He might instead ask Senator Charles Grassley, president pro tempore, a Republican, a person who accepts Joe Biden’s victory, to be the presiding officer. By doing that, Pence would not have offended his boss. The process of Biden’s inauguration will stay on course, while the fantasy that Biden’s victory was illegitimate will be maintained.

Dr Cosmas Odoemena, medical practitioner, Lagos

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IMAGES

T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

Photo Editor ÌÓÙÎßØ ÔËÖË Email ËÌÓÙÎßØ˛ËÔËÖË̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙ×

R-L: FCT Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party( PDP), Hon. Sunday Saka; Senior Legislative Aid to Sen. Aduda, Hon. Dan Kawu; FCT, PDP Organizing Secretary, Hon. Abduralman Mohammed; Special Assistant to Senator Aduda on Special Duties, Comrade Samuel Shwokolo and Speaker, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Abubakar Isah Baushe, during the flag of the distribution of Christmas package to FCT resident in Abuja... recently PHOTO: ENOCK REUBEN

Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (left), Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya (middle); and Speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abubakar Mohammed Luggerewo during a condolence visit to the family of late lawmaker, Saidu Kumo in Gombe...recently

L-R: Senator Ibrahim Yahya Oloriegbe (Kwara Central); Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq; and Emir of Ilorin Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari; during the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU)’s 55th Annual National Conference, in Ilorin...recently

L-R: Osun State Public Relation Officer, Association of market men, Alhaji Razak Olasunkanmi Yusuf and the Chip Whip, collecting the Association’s portion, as the State Government begin distribution of 40,332 10Kg Bags of CACOVID Rice to the residents across the State, at civil service commission, Abere, Osogbo...recently

L-R: Director, Technology and Business Development, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Mr Ozigi Bernard; Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna; Director, Planning and Policy Analysis, NASENI, Mrs Nony Onyechi; Chief Executive Director, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM), Chief Innocent Chukwuma; and Director of Abuja Operations, IVM, Mr Jonas Ojukwu, during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NASENI and IVM, at NASENI headquarters in Abuja...recently

L-R: Airtel Rep, Fredrick Anigbo; Camp Official & State Secretary, Everest Gideon; Senior Business Manager (SBM) Airtel Nigeria, Emmanuel Maji, and Airtel Rep, Samuel David, during Airtel 5 Days of Love yuletide program at Sabin Tasha IDP camp Kaduna State, recently

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs , Disaster Management and Social Development ,Umar Farouk (left ) and the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the virtual meeting of Presidential Economic Advisory Council meeting held at the Presidential Villa , Abuja ...recently PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

L-R: Chairman of Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Mr. Segun Mcmedal and a member of the chapter, Yeye Agnes Shobajo, presenting the Best Regulatory Information Management Award to The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) represented by Head of the NSE Corporate Communications Department, Mr Olumide Orojimi during the Lagos Public Relations Industry Gala and Awards (LaPRIGA Awards) in Lagos...recently

17

TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

UPDC Appoints Nicol-Omeruah as Acting Chief Executive Officer Goddy Egene UACN

Property

Development

Company Plc has appointed Mrs. Deborah Nicol-Omeruah as acting chief executive officer(CEO),

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

effective January 5, 2021. The company said the appointment followed the resignation of Mr.

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 31Dec-2020, unless otherwise stated.

Folasope Aiyesimoju as CEO with effect from January, 4, 2021.

In a notification to the NSE, UPDC

explained that Nicol-Omeruah has 20 years’ experience in real estate and banking with specialisation

in property development, finance & acquisitions; mortgages; private banking and investment planning.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 1.05 1.07 17.05% ACAP Income Funds 0.86 0.86 11.56% 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 1.81% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.56 3.70 45.99% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 0.86% Anchoria Equity Fund 133.75 134.24 23.79% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.33 1.33 14.29% 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 N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Eurobond Fund ($) N/A N/A N/A ARM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 126.18 127.07 31.33% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.36% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.15 2.15 14.57% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.22 2.26 42.59% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 0.03 0.01 2.52% Paramount Equity Fund 15.98 16.27 27.67% Women's Investment Fund 133.01 134.47 20.60% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.96% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 130.47 131.27 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 108.96 108.96 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 N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,399.40 1,401.12 18.37% FBN Balanced Fund 187.68 189.12 27.83% FBN Halal Fund 111.53 111.57 11.53% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.13% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 121.59 122.01 7.67% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 121.74 122.17 7.27% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 151.18 153.47 16.18% 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 N/A N/A N/A Legacy Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy USD Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 3,791.13 3,834.57 24.43% Coral Income Fund 3,310.54 3,310.54 7.83% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 1.81% 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 1.06% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 127.39 127.92 18.37%

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 1.08% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.90 2.96 32.49% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 7.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 157.02 157.98 9.61% 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 1.44 1.46 27.48% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,153.40 1,153.40 10.82% 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 1.64 1.67 32.55% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.18 12.30 8.17% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 1.80% PACAM Equity Fund 1.57 1.59 PACAM EuroBond Fund 108.32 110.75 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 131.18 133.55 8.39% 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 1.01 1.01 8.70% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,521.35 2,532.80 24.69% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 6.60% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 30.00% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 7.61% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 37.81% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.29% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 32.80% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.23 1.23 5.71% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 111.12 111.12 6.63% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Wealth for Women Fund N/A N/A N/A QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.29 12.42 0.54% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.59 13.71 2.70% Zenith Income Fund 25.02 25.02 0.80% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.89%

REITS NAV Per Share

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

120.00

6.88%

52.10

0.10%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.22 121.74 98.22

13.32 121.74 100.07

56.10% 27.50% 30.76%

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.05

4.09

17.93%

Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund

5.69

5.77

-3.64%

Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund

17.60 1.00 20.42

17.70 1.00 20.62

45.79% 0.96% 95.65%

203.83

205.83

9.29%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.71

13.11%

Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund

Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

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.

18

T H I S D AY ˾ UESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021

POLITICS

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

Akinyemi As Diplomats’ Diplomat and Best National Security Adviser Nigeria Hasn’t Had Dike Onwuamaeze writes that friends and associates of Nigeria’s former External Affairs Minister, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, used his 79th birthday to look back at his heydays in Nigeria’s foreign policy initiation and implementation

Akinyemi

Akinterinwa

Ekpu

Obiozor

F

tactician and diplomatic strategist. These attributes of him manifested with his propagation of the Concert of Medium Power and the idea of the Black Bomb, which simply pushed for Nigeria’s acquisition of nuclear capabilities so that other countries should stop “looking down on us.

That of course is because he is a strategist. It is also simply because he is a tactician.”

He also saw the manifestation of a tactical politician in Akinyemi’s involvement in the NADECO, a group that fought against military dictatorship and is currently advocating for the emergence of true federalism and a better Nigeria that is completely freed from political and institutional corruptions.

He said: “The NIIA under his watch was an internationally recognised institution in International Relations. In this case he focused the international community’s attention on the institute. He came up with international programmes for research fellows to attend international seminars regularly.

“If you read his ‘Farewell to Diplomacy,’ you will see all these achievements there. He also came up with the idea of consultation doctrine when he was the minister of External Affairs.

According to this doctrine, any country that desired the support of Nigeria must consult with Nigeria beforehand.”

Akinterinwa also shared the view that Akinyemi had all the qualities and attributes to be the National Security Adviser (NSA) of Nigeria if not for the country’s myopic view that only serving or retired generals and police chiefs are fit for the post.

“Myopic because the concept of national security had been redefined by scholars to mean human security. The emphasis is no longer on state security but human security. And Akinyemi would have been a better, if not the best, Nigeria’s NSA

because I have told you that he is a strategist. He is a tactician. You need a superb intellectual to be able to analyse and identify threats to national security. There is no big deal in reserving the position for military generals. But as I have said our security approach is very myopic. We don’t adopt a collective approach to it, which should be the normal thing,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, a former Director General of the NIIA and Nigeria’s Ex-Ambassador to the United States of America, Professor George Obiozor, stated that Akinyemi is an icon in the field of international relations in Nigeria and probably among the first five Nigerians to get their Ph.D. in International Affairs.

Obiozor argued that under the watch of Akinyemi the NIIA gained the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidency, which enabled the institute to become the think tank of the Foreign Affairs’ ministry and dictate the country’s diplomacy and foreign policy postures.

“Bolaji is outstanding. I must confess that under Akinyemi, the NIIA attained its highest publicity and place of relivance in determining Nigeria’s foreign policy. He is clearly a personal compendium of Nigeria’s foreign policy both in its conception and implementation in a serious partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of course the Presidency during the military administrations of General Murtala Mohammed and General Olusegun Obasanjo. It was very, very wonderful,” Obiozor said.

He credited to Akinyemi the prominence the institute attained with the hosting of the Annual Patron’s Dinner (APD) event where the Nigeria’s Head of State, who is also the patron of the institute, would give an annual lecture on the foreign policy direction of the country.

The APD, according to Obiozor, helped a lot because all prominent Nigerian political actors,

foreign diplomats and institutions in Nigeria, members of the Nigerian cabinets, including prominent businessmen, foreign and domestic investors were invited and attended.

He also agreed that Akinyemi had all it takes to emerge as the country’s NSA in the same way Professor Henry Kissinger and Ms. Condoleezza Rice served in the USA without having a military background simply because they were distinguished scholars.

“The whole truth is that in this country security is defined around the military and para-military officials and officers. But in countries that are advanced like the USA, the NSA can come from scholars on subjects of international affairs. Kissinger and Rice were all academicians like Akinyemi and some of us. But everything about government’s appointment depends on the personality of who is the country’s President or the Head of State.

“Definitely he would have served anywhere competently as he had served exceptionally well at the NIIA,” Obiozor said, adding that “it seemed recently that there is what I may call an incremental decline of the importance and influence of the institute. The institute was one of the most respected custodians of research materials and issues on foreign relation in Nigeria.”

Similarly, a Professor of Political Science and Distinguished Fellow at the Centre of Democracy and Development, Professor Ebere Onwudiwe, saw Akinyemi as a great Nigerian optimist who believed in the country’s greatness, adding that Akinyemi was a true diplomat who used his time in office to promote and elevate Nigeria in the world of powers.

Ebere said: “His record as foreign minister shows some good features of a great diplomat including a temperament that is analytical. Before embarking on the Concert of Medium Powers project for example, he got 50 Nigerian scholars to deliberate on the idea.

“This shows that the Professor was not disposed to take things at face value. He was guided by facts and reason not mere opinion to back his decisions. This is very important in international relations.

“His fluency in Nigeria’s language of diplomacy is legendary. This is in part due to his stellar education and exposure, two important ingredients for good diplomacy; but it also seems to come naturally to Prof. Akinyemi. To this day, he listens to your opinion intensely before reaching his own conclusion in a very concise and effective language.

“And to this day, the man is a consummate diplomat and always smooth and neat. All you got to do is watch his occasional appearances on Arise TV. “He has a mind as sharp as a razor. He was a thinking minister, and now a national institution; and I wish him many more years.”

riends and associates of Nigeria’s Former Minister of External Affairs and ex-Director General of the Nigeria Institute of Internal Affairs (NIIA) from 1975 to 1983, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, have used the occasion his 79th birthday on January 4, 2021, to reminisce about his heydays as a bright and shining star that set and dictated the pace of Nigeria’s diplomacy and international relations in the 1970s and mid-80s.

For them, his appointment to head the NIIA marked a rebirth and significant turning point in the activities of the institute that glued world’s attention to it.

They also remembered his propagation of the concept of the Concert of Medium Powers, the Black Bomb that envisioned nuclear capabilities for Nigeria and the launching of the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) among the highlights of his achievements in the pursuit of Nigeria’s foreign policy and diplomacy.

They also added that his appointment as the country’s Minister of External Affairs in 1985 by the former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, brought new impetus and innovative ideas into the conduct of Nigeria’s foreign relation, especially in the struggle to liberate South Africa from the shackles of apartheid policy that held black South Africans under the bondage of the White supremacists.

The passion Akinyemi brought to the fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa earned Nigeria the honourary status of a ‘frontline state.’

The Founder of the Value in Leadership, Professor Pat Utomi, held the view that Akinyemi had made significant impact on Nigeria’s foreign policy by drawing out the best from foreign affairs officers and injecting intellect and competence into the process of foreign policy making. “In bringing thinkers together to synthesise ideas and drawing serving officers into the loop of policy thinking, Akinyemi set a tone that had profound impact,” Utomi said.

Also, a former Director General of the NIIA, Professor Bola Akinterinwa, pointed that a look at Akinyemi’s personality, his creativity, his character and what he stands for is important in understanding the contributions he made to the growth and development of the Nigerian foreign policy. Adding that without them one might not be able to know, appreciate or understand whatever that might be called his achievements.

He noted that Akinyemi is a man of many parts who should be seen as an academic, a core academic who is both a Professor of Political Science and a Professor of International Relations, which defined “my perception of him as an academic.”

He also pointed out that Akinyemi should be categorised as an academic diplomat for having served Nigeria as its Minister of External Affairs, which meant that “he was able to reconcile the art of theory and practice of international relations.”

Akinterinwa also stated Akinyemi should also be viewed from the angle of a diplomatic

He is clearly a personal compendium of Nigeria’s foreign policy both in its conception and implementation in a serious partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of course the Presidency during the military administrations of General Murtala Mohammed and General Olusegun Obasanjo. It was very, very wonderful,” Obiozor said. He credited to Akinyemi the prominence the institute attained with the hosting of the Annual Patron’s Dinner (APD) event where the Nigeria’s Head of State, who is also the patron of the institute, would give an annual lecture on the foreign policy direction of the country

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

19

T H I S D AY ˾ UESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021

POLITICS

FG’s 2020 Report Card Dismisses Doomsday Predictions Vanessa Obioha writes that Information Minister, Lai Mohammed has condemned the antics of critics of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration by presenting a plethora of achievements to Buhari’s credit

ßÒËÜÓ

W

ith a tumultuous 2020 behind, the future of Nigeria in the new year is still precarious.

But the Federal Government in its usual tradition of taking stock of the previous year as it prepares for another year dismissed such thoughts. Rather, it basked in the achievements of 2020, a year riddled by the coronavirus outbreak and the #EndSARS protest. Conveyed by the Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed, the 2020 report card is filled with numerous accomplishments of President Muhammadu Buhari administration. From the arguably prompt tackling of COVID-19, economic recession to insecurity, the minister in his gentle tenor reeled out glowingly the different feats attained by the administration.

For instance, the minister revealed that the President has extended the mandate of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 until the end of March 2021, “bearing in mind the new surge in the number of cases and the bid for vaccines. This is further evidence of the administration’s untiring efforts to tame the pandemic and protect Nigerians.”

He further allayed fears that a fresh lockdown will be imposed even though the President has expressed dissatisfaction in the way Nigerians are ignoring the health guidelines to curb the spread of the capricious virus.

No doubt, COVID-19 affected the economy like most countries in the world. Mohammed highlighted this when he spoke about the economy. According to him, the positive economic developments the nation recorded in 2020, was overshadowed by economic recession.

“Nigeria officially entered recession at the end of the third quarter (Q3), after the country’s Gross Domestic Product declined for the second consecutive quarter in 2020 (Q2 and Q3). That’s in line with the traditional definition of recession. The main reason for this is the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said, adding that Nigeria is not alone in this recession as countries with better economies such as the United States and the United Kingdom have suffered a similar fate in a pandemic-driven era.

But critics of this administration will not easily buy into this thought as it is not the first time the country was subjected to an economic decline under this administration. In 2016, the economy went into recession without a COVID-19 presence. Nevertheless, the minister maintained that indeed Nigeria enjoyed some economic developments in 2020, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) “The decline of -3.62% in Q3 is much smaller than the -6.10% recorded in Q2. The economic conditions are actually improving, with 17 activities recording positive real growth in the third quarter, compared to 13 in Q2. Also, 36 of 46 economic activities did better in the third quarter of 2020 than in the second quarter of the same year. The -3.62% contraction recorded in the third quarter of 2020 was better than the -6.01% earlier forecast by the NBS, and outperformed several domestic and international

ÙÒË××ÏÎ

forecasts.”

He pointed out that the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was named the best-performing stock market among the 93 equity indexes being tracked by Bloomberg across the world.

“The all-share index, which opened at 38,800.01, moved up by 310.16 points to close at 39,110.17 - crossing the 39,000 mark, while the market capitalization rose by N167 billion to close at N20.446 trillion. Returns are currently at 45.7 per cent; the best annual return since 2013.”

Despite the triumphs recorded, the Minister offered no timeline on when the nation will survive the current wave of recession. Rather, his only words of elixir were that the recession will be short-lived.

“Thanks to the several complementary fiscal, real sector and monetary interventions proactively introduced by the government to forestall a far worse decline of the economy and alleviate the negative consequences of the pandemic, the current recession will not last long, and Nigeria will soon return to positive growth.”

In 2020, Nigeria witnessed a spate of insecurity cases. From banditry in the North-west to insurgency in North-east and kidnappings in South-south. But in all of this, the Minister insisted that the administration tackled insecurity headlong.

“Despite the antics of those who have constituted themselves to another ‘fighting force’ against our country, we have indeed made tremendous progress in tackling bandits and the terrorists of Boko Haram,” he said, pointing accusing fingers at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Amnesty International which he said are frustrating the administration’s efforts to tackle insecurity.

“Nigeria is fending off attacks on many fronts, not just from terrorists and bandits,

but also from some human rights organizations and the International Criminal Court (ICC) which seem to have colluded to exacerbate the challenges facing the country in the area of security. While our security agencies continue to battle these bandits and terrorists, the ICC and some international human rights organizations, especially Amnesty International, have constituted themselves to another ‘fighting force’ against Nigeria, constantly harassing our security forces and threatening them with investigation and possible prosecution over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.”

He continued: “The Federal Government frowns at this unbridled attempt to demoralize our security men and women as they confront the onslaught from bandits and terrorists. Nigeria did not join the ICC so it can become a pawn on the court’s chessboard. It beggars belief to see that a nation that is fighting an existential war against bandits and terrorists is constantly being held down by an international body which it willingly joined,” he said, emphasising that “Nigeria is a sovereign state and will not surrender its sovereignty to any organization.

ICC, Amnesty International and their cohorts should desist from threatening our troops and putting the security of our country in jeopardy.

Enough-is-Enough.”

These malicious allegations according to the minister stems from fake news and disinformation perpetrated by the media, notably international media, CNN which reported that the Nigerian army shot at unarmed protesters at the Lekki tollgate during the EndSARS protest last October. Expressing regret that such a reputable platform will stoop so low to rubbish the image of the security personnel, Mohammed warned that the government will not take the report by CNN lightly. “I can assure you that the matter is far from over.”

ÒÏ ÓØÓÝÞÏÜ ×ËÓØÞËÓØÏÎ ÞÒËÞ ÓØÎÏÏÎ ÓÑÏÜÓË ÏØÔÙãÏÎ ÝÙ×Ï ÏÍÙØÙ×ÓÍ ÎÏàÏÖÙÚ×ÏØÞÝ ÓØ ͺ͸ͺ͸˜ ÍÓÞÓØÑ ÎËÞË ÐÜÙ× ÞÒÏ ËÞÓÙØËÖ ßÜÏËß ÙÐ ÞËÞÓÝÞÓÍÝ ̙ ̚˛ ÒÏ ÎÏÍÖÓØÏ ÙÐ ̋ͻ˛;ͺϱ ÓØ ͻ ÓÝ ×ßÍÒ Ý×ËÖÖÏÜ ÞÒËØ ÞÒÏ ̋;˛͹͸ϱ ÜÏÍÙÜÎÏÎ ÓØ ͺ˛ ÒÏ ÏÍÙØÙ×ÓÍ ÍÙØÎÓÞÓÙØÝ ËÜÏ ËÍÞßËÖÖã Ó×ÚÜÙàÓØј áÓÞÒ ͹Ϳ ËÍÞÓàÓÞÓÏÝ ÜÏÍÙÜÎÓØÑ ÚÙÝÓÞÓàÏ ÜÏËÖ ÑÜÙáÞÒ ÓØ ÞÒÏ ÞÒÓÜÎ ÛßËÜÞÏܘ ÍÙ×ÚËÜÏÎ ÞÙ ͹ͻ ÓØ ͺ˛ ÖÝÙ˜ ͻ; ÙÐ ͼ; ÏÍÙØÙ×ÓÍ ËÍÞÓàÓÞÓÏÝ ÎÓÎ ÌÏÞÞÏÜ ÓØ ÞÒÏ ÞÒÓÜÎ ÛßËÜÞÏÜ ÙÐ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ÞÒËØ ÓØ ÞÒÏ ÝÏÍÙØÎ ÛßËÜÞÏÜ ÙÐ ÞÒÏ ÝË×Ï ãÏËܲ ÒÏ ̋ͻ˛;ͺϱ ÍÙØÞÜËÍÞÓÙØ ÜÏÍÙÜÎÏÎ ÓØ ÞÒÏ ÞÒÓÜÎ ÛßËÜÞÏÜ ÙÐ ͺ͸ͺ͸ áËÝ ÌÏÞÞÏÜ ÞÒËØ ÞÒÏ ̋;˛͸͹ϱ ÏËÜÖÓÏÜ ÐÙÜÏÍËÝÞ Ìã ÞÒÏ ˜ ËØÎ ÙßÞÚÏÜÐÙÜ×ÏÎ ÝÏàÏÜËÖ ÎÙ×ÏÝÞÓÍ ËØÎ ÓØÞÏÜØËÞÓÙØËÖ ÐÙÜÏÍËÝÞÝ

A resounding statement from the Minister’s speech was his insistence that Nigeria is not a failed state. He considered the term propaganda by “some jaundiced analysts and their lapdogs’.

“Nigeria is not and cannot be a failing or failed state. Of course, you would remember that for the past two decades or so, some pseudoanalysts have been predicting the country’s implosion. That has not happened, hence they have found a new tag line: failing or failed state! It’s all a ruse aimed at depicting Nigeria as being in a constant state of anarchy, just so they can achieve their nefarious objectives for the country.”

“If Nigeria was not a ‘failing’ state when a large slice of its territory equivalent to the size of Belgium was under the occupation of Boko Haram, which collected taxes, installed and deposed emirs, is it now that no territory is under the terrorists that Nigeria will be a failing state? If Nigeria was not a failed state when bombs were raining on towns and cities in Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Borno, Yobe, FCT and other states, is it now that such bombings have stopped that Nigeria will be described as a ‘failing’ state? If Nigeria was not a ‘failing’ state in those years that Christian and Muslim worshippers had to be screened to even enter their places of worship, is it now that the siege on places of worship has ceased that Nigeria will be described as a ‘failing’ state?” he queried.

For Mohammed, this present administration has done far better than previous administrations. He cited the Christmas bombings which are no longer ubiquitous, the swift rescue of the abducted schoolboys in Katsina and other killings and kidnappings which have somewhat trickled since the president assumed office.

Interestingly, the Minister did not mention efforts by the government to rescue Leah Sharibu, a young girl who has been held hostage since 2018 when Boko Haram stormed the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC) Dapchi, Yobe state and kidnapped over a 100 female students. While others later reunited with their families, Sharibu is still a long way from home.

“The stoppage of the attacks didn’t happen by accident,” remarked Mohammed “It is therefore mischievous for anyone to discountenance the progress we have made in tackling insecurity, in building and upgrading infrastructure and in diversifying the economy, among others.

The federal government rejects this characterization of Nigeria as a ‘failing’ state, which is a combination of the wishful thinking of naysayers and the evil machinations of those who don’t wish Nigeria well.”

In 2021, Mohammed assured that security will greatly improve as the President is keen on providing the armed forces and other security agencies “with whatever they require to function better, both in terms of platforms, logistics and capacity development. The good news is that a number of the platforms we have been expecting to pep up the battle against terrorists and bandits are due to arrive in the new year.”

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

FEATURES

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

Reinforcing Capacity, Synergy for First Responders To simulate tactics, doctrine and synergy amongst first responders for effective rescue of downed aircrew or other NAF personnel who have had to eject or abandon their aircraft in emergency situations, the Nigerian Air Force recently held a joint operation between its Combat Search and Rescue, Special Forces and the Air Police K-9 unit in an exercise codenamed ‘ TAIMAKO YAZO’, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports

Some of the simulations at Exercise TAIMAKO YAZO, aimed at simulating tactics, doctrine and synergy amongst first responders for effective CSAR operations

A

s part of measures to enhance internal security, especially along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) recently conducted a joint Combat Search, Rescue (CSAR) exercise with the Special Forces (SF) and Air Police K-9 Simulation Exercise (JCSAEX). Held at Rijana Village along Kaduna-Abuja Highway, the exercise, code named “TAIMAKO YAZO”, was aimed at simulating tactics, doctrine and synergy amongst first responders for effective CSAR operations of downed aircrew or other NAF personnel who have had to eject or abandon their aircraft in emergency situations.

According to NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal Ibikunle Daramola, the exercise was in furtherance of its sustained efforts to enhance the capacity, professionalism and combat readiness of its personnel to tackle various internal security challenges and secure the lives and properties of Nigerians.

On the objective of the exercise, he said the ability to rescue crew from hostile environments is particularly important as it can be adapted for anti-kidnapping operations as was recently done by the NAF in concert with other security agencies in the rescue of the kidnapped boys of Government Science Secondary School Kankara.

Among other dignitaries that graced the occasion were the Branch Chiefs from Headquarters NAF, General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Air Officers Commanding, Commandant Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Deputy Commandant Nigerian Defence Academy, Directors from Headquarters NAF, Commanders of NAF units as well as the Community Leader of Rijana, Dagacin Rijana, Fadan Achi, Mr Ayuba Dodo Dakolo, among many other serving military officers.

Combat Readiness Speaking during the exercise, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, stated that the overall desire of the NAF is to ensure that personnel are trained and equipped to maintain very high levels of combat readiness and operational effectiveness. According to him, in a bid to better reposition the NAF SF through robust capacity building for more effective response to the various security challenges bedeviling the country in the areas of counter-terrorism, airport security and anti-banditry operations, the NAF in 2019 conducted several counter-terrorism exercises in Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Osun States.

The CAS noted that the importance of training to a fighting force like the NAF cannot be over emphasised as regular purposeful training remains the cornerstone of military combat readiness. “It is in realisation of this

Operational briefing by Commander 013 Quick Response Force, Squadron Leader Victor Uba

Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar

AOC Special Operations Command (SOC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Charles Ohwo

that the NAF ensures that its personnel are mentally alert and physically fit at all times, through regular training and exercises so that we remain continually willing, able and ready to defend the nation”, the CAS said.

Air Marshal Abubakar stated that, even with today’s modern weapons systems, it is the personnel with competence that would make the difference in any current or future conflict situations. This philosophy, he said, had been incorporated into the NAF policies and regulations so that every personnel maintains a high level of combat readiness to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the conduct of a wide spectrum of military operations.

The CAS highlighted that, in the quest to achieve professionalism, service members are subjected to excruciatingly difficult training procedures and exposed to various terrain conditions to enable them develop and sustain a high level of combat effectiveness. “This,

no doubt, will help our personnel perform at the highest standards throughout their career”, he said.

The CAS further remarked that the timing for the conduct of the exercise was apt as it readily tests the combat and physical readiness of NAF personnel to face the very difficult security challenges currently confronting the nation. Conducting the exercise along Kaduna-Abuja Highway, the CAS said, would impact positively and deter criminals from coming out to attack innocent citizens.

Air Marshal Abubakar, who expressed satisfaction and excitement over the exercise, noted that the resources being expended on a daily basis to ensure that NAF personnel are given the skills required and training needed to conduct operations successfully were yielding tangible results.

Speaking further, the CAS said he was highly impressed with the exercise in terms of coordination between the air and ground

elements. According to him, “security is not only about bullets, bombs and rockets, it is about everybody putting hands on deck to ensure that the country is secured. This exercise will be a continuous one, we have done one here.

“From now to June 2021, we will have six of these exercises. Most of these exercises will now move to the North-west, particularly in Zamfara and Katsina States. We are also about to activate the NAF Unit in Funtua to further reduce our response time as well as bring security even closer to the people”.

Expressing his profound gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for his unflinching support to the growth and development of the NAF, he also thanked members of the National Assembly and the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff and other service chiefs for their continued support to the NAF. He also reassured Nigerians that the NAF remains fully committed to the successful execution of its constitutional roles and would continue to meet its statutory responsibility of defending the territorial integrity and national sovereignty, whether acting singly or in unison with surface forces and other security agencies.

Enhancing Efficiency Earlier in his welcome address, the Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Special Operations Command (SOC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Charles Ohwo, stated that the exercise was in line with the CAS’ deliberate efforts to boost human capacity development through robust and result oriented training for enhanced professional performance. The event, he said, would enhance NAF’s combat efficiency, which is borne from the right combinations of man and machine integration as well as effective methods, tactics and doctrine.

Highlights Highlights of the exercise included the operational briefing and giving of orders by the Commander 013 Quick Response Force, Squadron Leader Victor Uba along with his sub-unit and component commanders, which was held behind closed doors.

This was immediately followed by seamless execution of the operational plan, which featured live firing of canons and rockets from NAF fixed and rotary wing attack aircraft, followed by insertion of CSAR operatives as well as fast-roping and rappelling of NAF SF (the PANTHERS) and K-9 elements and movement of teams to the objective area.

There was also logistics re-supply of ammunition to the assaulting forces by tactical air-drop from a helicopter and subsequent rescue of the downed pilots in hostile environment, extraction of the assault team by air while being provided with close air support by an attack helicopter overhead the objective area.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

FEATURES

An Encounter with Danladi Bako Zik Zulu Okafor

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here was no question he had some of those traits of a creative genius. At a teenage age, he had demonstrated palpably, in literal and conceptual terms, that his life would be about the motion picture, the broadcast industry.

But it was at Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, Lagos, that his exemplary skill became crystal. Here in 1988, he would create Nigeria’s first authentic, world class television breakfast programme called Morning Ride. But he didn’t only create the programme, he produced and presented it. Morning Ride became an aesthetic symbol and totem of professionally produced tv shows by a creative new generation in Nigeria .

This inventive character with an unbridled appetite to be different is Mallam Nasir Danladi Bako, better known in the broadcast environment as Danladi Bako. With Morning Ride, he changed the story of NTA. His posh persona, his stately presentation, refined language and nuances, plus a true-to-life mood brought, arguably for the first time, many Nigerian elites to sit in their homes to watch a local TV magazine programme .

Danladi’s mind is incisive, he is celebral ; if anyone therefore thought that Morning Ride was a fluke, he created and directed SPACS, an ambitious action drama series that added a new directorial dimension to Nigeria’s concept of drama and story-telling.

NTA illuminated Danladi’s intellective pathway and placed him in the reverred pantheon of exemplars.

For many of his bosses, he was a young man in the eye of time. NTA then would only be one of the transit technocracies for the English Language graduate whose mind, body language and spirit seemed cast for a higher calling.

In 1994 , he would be transferred to the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, as an Assistant Director.

Here, within a space of five years Danladi established his distinctive character not only as an innovative working man but an administrative maestro. He seemed cloned for the post of the Director-General of this regulatory agency which he indeed attained in 1999. And quickly he established his style as one without space for theatrics that tended towards the banal . He had an unquenchable thirst for raising the bar. And so, the NBC's bienial Conference of Africa Broadcasters, AFRICAST, which at best, had been shadowy, was reinvented and became a confluence of African highbrow broadcasters and movie practitioners with scholarly, forwardlooking themes and conversations.

Within three yearsDanladi transformed NBC from a quaint lame regulatory voice to a vibrant picturesque agency with rolling ideas for a strong, stable and biggish future equipped to meet the exigencies of a nascent digital era.

It was not therefore surprising that Africa’s broadcast world and Nigeria's motion picture industry, Nollywood, froze when on that sunny evening in December 2002, the news snuck in like a bad rumour. Danladi Bako, the swank, upmarket DG, had voluntarily resigned from NBC. It was hard to believe but it was indeed a startling reality.

His next port of call would be the unchartered waters of Nigerian politics, a place where pursuit of excellence has no value and where the prize for brilliance is, at best, isolation.

And the ace broadcaster would meet both the beautiful and the flip side of politics Nigeriana.

On Thursday, May 14, 2020, 18 years after his audacious resignation from NBC, we had an encounter with this

Bako

portrait of innovative broadcasting.

His odyssey had taken him from politics to the academia. Danladi Bako had bagged a PhD in Development Communication from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in early 2020, having completed his dissertation in November 2019.

This academic distinction seems a befitting climax for a journey that began on Sunday, September 1, 1957 when he was born to an upper middle class family in northern Nigeria.

Growing up in Sokoto, Kano and Kaduna, Danladi attended primary and secondary schools between 1963 and 1973 before proceeding to Ahmadu Bello University where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts, BA(Hons) in English Language in 1978 at only 20 years of age.

Before setting out for his university programme at 16, he had a stint in broadcasting, working as Reporter/ Announcer at Radio Nigeria, Sokoto.

It was within this brief period at the broadcast station that he exhibited great peculiarities and flickers of ingenuity that would proclaim his path at dawn. This explains why he was head hunted by NTA Sokoto immediately after his National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, in 1979.

Even though, he was only 22, he arrived the station with an atypical but exceptional agenda to push the boundaries of creativity and accentuate the quest for excellence. Within two years, 1980 and 1981, he had won the Best Newscaster and Best Producer of the Year awards respectively. By this time, both at the national Headquaters of NTA and the states' TV stations, there were delightful acoustics about a new kid on the arena, a young man that seemed to inspire the awaited

momentous changes in the science of sound and picture.

Danladi would be sent to England

by NTA for an Advance TV course having acquired his MSc in Mass Communication at the University of Lagos in 1981. On his return from the United Kingdom he was posted to NTA Headquarters in December 1983 as a Grade Level 12 officer . He proceeded to Lagos perceived as a rare breed with an inspiring assignment to pursue his avante-garde creative dream and to be the poster boy showcasing the distinctive badge of a new generation of content producers.

His creation and production of Morning Ride was therefore both heraldic and symbolic. Still it was a banner that announced his impeccable originality and arrival on the big broadcast stage. Having produced several programmes including the very popular comedy series, Second Chance and supervised the production of many others, the name Mallam Danladi Bakobecame synomous with upscale productions on NTA. He had made his creative point. He had run an incredible career race. It was time to move on.

His progression to NBC, the impact on the annual conclave of Nigerian and African broadcasters and his futuristic handover notes that point to the vistas of a racy digital development within the motion picture horizon attracted not only ovations but garbed him with the toga of a Nigerian to watch.

The advent of the consummate broadcaster into politics was seen by many as the next level. His bold and popular quest to represent Sokoto Central Senatorial District in the 2003 general elections could however not

materialize despite endorsements by youths and intellectuals who saw his pedigree as an inspiration.

For the dreams he nursed from childhood , to be a Doctorate degree holder, a Diplomat, a political figure, perhaps one or two of them, Danladi would perhaps feel accomplished thus far despite his leaving the NBC considered untimely by many of the broadcast industry watchers. He has been a Commissioner in Sokoto state.

He was Chairman, Media/Publicity, for the Yardua/Jonathan Presidential Campaign. He was a member of the Board of Cross River Basin Development Authority in 2004 and remains a member of the NBC Board. And to crown it all, he has acquired a doctorate degree. “I would not have had the time to do all these if I remained in NBC. I guess for everything, there is time and season”, he said.

Indeed Dr Nasir Danladi Bako is enjoying the magistracy of his office as an academic and a communication expert. He is actualizing his dream of adding value to the development of his country. In recognition of his contributions, the NTA poster- child, headliner and master of iconic, flagship programmes was awarded the national honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger, OON. It wouldn’t be anecdotal then to say that Dr Nasir Danladi Bakois indeed a fulfilled professional. There is no question however that the future still holds so much promises and possibilities for this accomplished and distinguished Director, Producer, Administrator and scholar who epitomizes the creative genii of a broadcast generation. ... Okafor, a multiple award winning journalist wrote from Lagos.

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TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021 •T H I S D AY

LAWYER

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WEEKLY PULLOUT

05.01.2021

CHIEF JOSEPH BODUNRIN DAUDU, SAN

‘THERE IS FAILURE OF GOVERNANCE AT ALL LEVELS’

2/DASHBOARD

05.01.2021

LAWYER

A

WEEKLY PULLOUT

05.01.2021

Aiding and Abetting: Whether a Lesser Offence to Conspiracy PAGE 4

CHIEF JOSEPH BODUNRIN DAUDU, SAN

‘THERE IS FAILURE OF GOVERNANCE AT ALL LEVELS’

Legality of Government’s Regulations Restricting Fundamental Rights: A Disruptive Argument PAGE 5

QUOTABLE ‘..... I can tell you that from January, it will no longer be the same thing..... Covid is not real, because it has not happened to you. No one close to you has died. We have to be more strict now, because the way the second wave is going, it is more deadly than the first wave.’- Ezenwo Nyesom Wike CON, Lawyer, Life Bencher, Governor, Rivers State, Nigeria

Conducting Elections During a Pandemic PAGE 6

/3

05.01.2021

Buhari: Between Rhetorics and Concrete Action Happy New Year my dear Readers. We thank God for letting us see the year 2021, after a somewhat difficult 2020. May 2021 be a better year for us all. Amen. Dare we bother to have any positive expectations for our dear country Nigeria in 2021? Yes - because its always better to be hopeful than pessimistic.

It gives one the strength to continue. President Muhammadu Buhari’s New Year Address was positive enough, and if it is supported by the requisite action, then, indeed, 2021 and beyond will be better for Nigerians. Even though the buck stops on the President’s table, it cannot be his sole responsibility to move the country forward; it must be a collective effort - the Governors (who hitherto have mostly been able to escape liability) and all the other arms of Government, must make a combined and concerted effort to make Nigeria better for us all, going forward.

I will not waste any time dwelling on the past failures of Government, whether past or present administrations, because they are all culpable. There is no point in rehashing the obvious - insecurity, corruption, poverty etc. I'm sure the authorities are very much aware of all this, unless they prefer to indulge in self-delusion. Rather, I prefer to look forward to the actualisation of as many of the contents of President Buhari’s Address as possible, and to a brighter future for our country.

My advice is that, just as an elderly person in their twilight years prepares for death by repenting and making reparations to secure a place in Heaven instead of Hell, so also should President Buhari and his administration who have about two and a half years left of their eight year tenure, pay attention to building a lasting positive legacy on which they will be judged and remembered. The President strikes me as one who would want to be remembered for good. However, it is simply not enough to have good intentions - the intentions must be accompanied by 'actus reus’, a term which in the context of this piece, I use to signify the physical acts and concrete action that constitute the actualisation of President Buhari’s intentions.

Mens Rea and Actus Reus I’m making an analogy between President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration on the one hand, and mens rea and actus reus on the other hand (not because many others have not died extra-judicially or due to insecurity under previous administrations, but because President Buhari’s administration is presently at the helm of affairs); and the defences which may be open to President Buhari’s administration as the Defendant in this scenario. The scenario for the purpose of this discourse, is that I draw a parallel between the undesirable situation in the country and the offence of murder, make

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Buhari and his administration the Defendants (Accused Persons), and look at the defences open to a Defendant facing a murder charge.

In criminal law, apart from strict liability offences (offences in which the mens rea or malice aforethought does not have to be proven), mens rea and actus reus, that is, the guilty mind and the guilty act go hand in hand, in order to prove that a Defendant is guilty of a particular crime. The offence of Murder in Section 316 of the Criminal Code (applicable in Southern Nigeria) and Culpable Homicide in Section 221 of the Penal Code (applicable in Northern Nigeria) both emphasise on the ‘intention’ to kill (and inflict grievous harm) - that is, the mens rea/ malice aforethought required to constitute a case of Murder and Culpable Homicide. This mens rea is obviously combined with the actual act of unlawful killing, to constitute Murder/Culpable Homicide.

Would it be Murder or Culpable Homicide, if a person wished another dead, even went as far as planning how to kill the person, announced to people that he wants to kill the person, but never actually lifted a finger or did anything to harm, kill the person or execute any plan in furtherance of his black thoughts and utterances? I think not. My point? President Buhari’s intention must be accompanied with requisite physical actions, to accomplish anything. Intention does not suffice. Whichever way, if it means rejigging his team or policies to achieve better results, a new strategy is desperately required to move the country forward, at least as far as actus reus is concerned.

Defences Some of the defences opened to a Defendant charged with the offence of Murder are Provocation, Necessity, Duress, Mental Illness, Self-defence and Alibi, the latter two otherwise known as ‘exculpatory defences’, because where such defences can be established, they exonerate the Defendant - in the case of alibi because the Defendant lacked the mens rea and actus reus for the commission of the offence. See the cases of Iliyasu v State 2015 11 N.W.L.R. Part 1469 Page 26 at 59 per Nweze JSC; Aliyu v State 2013 12 N.W.L.R. Part 1368 Page 403 at 425 per Onnoghen JSC. Alibi Alibi literally means ‘elsewhere’ - it is physically impossible for a person to be in two places at the same time. In simple terms, it means that the Defendant alleges that at the time the offence he/she is being charged for was committed, he/she was elsewhere, and not at the scene of the crime. See the cases of Agu v State 2017 10 N. W. L. R. Part 1573 Page 171 at 199-200 per Rhodes-Vivour JSC; Sale v State 2016

3 N.W. L. R. Part 1499 Page 392 at 417 per Ogunbiyi JSC. The onus of establishing an alibi is on the Defendant who pleads it, since it is within his/her personal knowledge. For the defence of alibi to succeed, it must be pleaded at the earliest possible opportunity with sufficient particulars, so that the Police can investigate same, as the onus then shifts to the Prosecution to disprove the defence, by an eyewitness account or other means. Aliyu v State (Supra); Odu & Anor v The State 2001 10 N.W.L.R.Part 722 Page 668. “It is trite law that once an alibi has been raised, the burden is on the Prosecution to investigate it and rebut such evidence, in order to prove the case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt”: See Adedeji v State 1971 1 A.N,L.R.75 per Muhammad JCA (as he then was) in Kwagshir v State 1994 2 N.W.L.R. Part 328 Page 592 at 614.

Would the defence of alibi be applicable to this administration, in the scenario of the undesirable condition that Nigeria finds herself presently in under its watch? Would it avail them, especially as their stock in trade is to blame the PDP for everything that has gone wrong in Nigeria, without accepting culpability for anything? Would the evidential burden (balance of probability) be discharged in this scenario, as it would be if this administration’s matter was as straightforward as one in which a person who was charged with a murder that took place in Jos, Plateau State was actually in Awka, Anambra State at the relevant time, thereby making it physically impossible to be in both places at the same time?

Government’s scenario, is obviously not as clear cut or straightforward. Yes, indeed, President Buhari assumed leadership in 2015, 16 years after PDP had held sway, so we know his administration was certainly not at the helm of affairs till they assumed office on May 29, 2015 - to that extent, they were ‘elsewhere’; and in terms of insurgency, Boko Haram was already running riot in the North East before 2015, corruption had already become the order of the day, while oil prices had already crashed. In short, the situation was already dire, before President Buhari assumed office. However, this bad state of affairs was very much known to this administration, and it was on the basis of this that in their campaign, they promised Nigerians a ‘change’, ostensibly for the better.

The question which then arises is, if a person was shot by armed robbers and lay there bleeding, but alive and in urgent need of medical attention, and instead of taking the victim to the hospital, Paramedics who appear on the scene decide to shoot the victim dead instead of conveying him to the hospital to save his life - are they not also culpable like the armed robbers who shot and left the victim for dead in the first place? Neither of the two groups, that is, the armed robbers and the Paramedics would be adjudged to be blameless, in a court of law. The degree of their culpability, would depend on the cause of death of the victim.

Conclusion The moral of the story is that, it is time to move beyond rhetorics, criticism, trading blame and recycling the narratives of what we all know by heart has gone wrong with our dear country. Successive administrations, the military very much included, are all guilty for the sorry state that Nigeria finds herself today, as a result of predominantly bad governance. The President himself was once a military leader, and so was former President Obasanjo. Half of the members of APC today, were once part of PDP, some of them holding key positions in governance in different capacities. Can they then truly claim that they were ‘elsewhere’ and not part of Nigeria’s problem, and thereby establish the defence of alibi to exonerate themselves from

“PRESIDENT BUHARI’S INTENTION MUST BE ACCOMPANIED WITH REQUISITE PHYSICAL ACTIONS, TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING. INTENTION DOES NOT SUFFICE. WHICHEVER WAY, IF IT MEANS REJIGGING HIS TEAM OR POLICIES TO ACHIEVE BETTER RESULTS, A NEW STRATEGY IS DESPERATELY REQUIRED TO MOVE THE COUNTRY FORWARD, AT LEAST AS FAR AS ACTUS REUS IS CONCERNED”

the blame for the crisis that we are facing on many different levels? As it is said in company law, if the ‘veil was lifted’, many of these characters would be the first to be identified!

The answer therefore, to that question is a resounding NO. Consequently, it is time for proffering useful and workable solutions, in order to actualise many of the contents of President Muhammadu Buhari's 2021 New Year's Address. Let’s make progress.

4/LAW REPORT

Aiding and Abetting: Whether a Lesser Offence to Conspiracy Facts The Appellant and a certain Friday Uwadiea, were arraigned before the Federal High Court, Abuja on a three-count Charge of Conspiracy to transport 499.4 kilograms of Hemp, otherwise known as cannabis sativa, without lawful authority; thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 14(b) of the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004. The first and second counts were against the said Friday Uwadiea as the 1st accused person alone, while the third count as above, which relates to conspiracy to transport cannabis sativa unlawfully, was proffered against the Appellant and the other accused person. They both pleaded Not Guilty to the third count.

At the trial, the Prosecution called six witnesses and tendered exhibits. Upon the close of the Prosecution’s case, the Appellant made a No Case Submission on count three.

This No Case Submission was however, overruled by the court, further to which the Appellant testified in his defence.

Upon the conclusion of trial, parties were directed to file their Final Written Addresses. The Respondent failed to file its address, while the Appellant duly filed and adopted same.

In its judgement, the trial court found that the Prosecution failed to prove the offence of conspiracy (with which the Appellant and the other accused person were charged), beyond reasonable doubt. The court, nonetheless, convicted the Appellant for the offence of aiding the transportation of cannabis sativa, and accordingly, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Dissatisfied with the decision above, the Appellant unsuccessfully appealed to the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the decision of the trial court. Hence, the further appeal to the Supreme Court.

Honourable Olukayode Ariwoola, JSC

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday, the 5th day of June, 2020

Issues for Determination Of the two issues formulated by parties for determination, the Apex Court utilised the sole issue below, in its determination of the appeal – Whether in the circumstances of the appeal, the lower court was right to affirm the conviction and sentence of the Appellant for the offence of aiding, which the Appellant was not charged with, and not being a lesser offence.

Arguments In his submission on the first issue, counsel for the Appellant posited that the evidence of Prosecution witnesses, particularly PW2, PW3 and PW4, cast doubts on the criminal involvement of the Appellant, in the alleged aiding. He referred to the record of appeal and submitted that the evidence of these witnesses did not link the Appellant with the 1st accused person on the charge of aiding in the transportation of cannabis sativa, an offence which the two courts below adjudged the Appellant as guilty of. He submitted further that the witnesses could not fix the Appellant to the commission of the crime of aiding, and that all the evidence adduced by the Prosecution were hearsay, suspicious and contradictory. He relied on the case of BOLANDE v STATE (2009) 15 NWLR (Pt. 1172) 1 at 9-10, in support of his position. Counsel referred to the evidence of the 1st accused person, which did not disclose how the Appellant conspired or aided him criminally in the transportation of Indian hemp; the basis upon which the trial court discharged the Appellant and the 1st accused person of the offence of conspiracy. He questioned the propriety of the 1st accused person being discharged of conspiracy, while the Appellant was found guilty of aiding the 1st accused person in transporting cannabis sativa. Counsel argued that the Appellant was not charged with the offence of aiding and abetting, and that the finding of the Court of Appeal that the Appellant was convicted of a lesser offence is perverse, misplaced and against printed record, as it is not mentioned anywhere in the judgement of the trial court that the Appellant was convicted for a lesser offence.

Counsel for the Appellant submitted further that, by Section 36(6)(a), (b), (c) and (d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Act, a valid arraignment of the Appellant for the offence of aiding the transportation of cannabis sativa, is very fundamental. Failure to take his plea on this offence, which is not a lesser offence to conspiracy in view of the unambiguous provisions of Section 14(b) of the NDLEA Act, should have entitled the Appellant to a discharge and acquittal, as the trial was a nullity – OKOLIE v STATE (2012) All FWLR (Pt. 607) 770. Counsel contended that the common ingredients of the offence of conspiracy, aiding, abetting and attempting to commit an offence under Section 14(b) of the NDLEA Act is – mens rea – the intent which leads to knowledge and actual participation in the commission of the purported crime. He argued that the

Before Their Lordships

Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta Olukayode Ariwoola John Inyang Okoro Chima Centus Nweze Amina Adamu Augie SC.781/2016 Between OSAYEH IMIEKA

And

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

APPELLANT RESPONDENT

(Lead Judgement delivered by Honourable Olukayode Ariwoola, JSC)

“BY VIRTUE OF SECTION 14(B) UNDER WHICH THE APPELLANT WAS CHARGED, BOTH OFFENCES (CONSPIRACY; AIDING AND ABETTING) ARE OF EQUAL WEIGHT, AND ATTRACT THE SAME SENTENCE OR TERMS OF IMPRISONMENT UPON CONVICTION. IT FOLLOWS THAT THE OFFENCE OF AIDING AND ABETTING, CANNOT BE A LESSER OFFENCE TO CONSPIRACY"

lower court having found that the Prosecution failed to prove the offence of conspiracy against the Appellant, he ought to have been equally discharged of aiding, which offence is also anchored on intent.

Responding to the submissions above, counsel for the Respondent referred to Exhibit PW4B, the statement said to have been made earlier to the Police by the Appellant.

Counsel argued that it is a confessional statement, which is direct, positive and unequivocal, as to the participation of the Appellant in the transportation of the cannabis sativa. He reiterated the position of law, that an accused person can be convicted solely on his confessional statement – IKEMSON v STATE (1989) 1 CLRN 1 at 22. Counsel submitted that the statement made by the Appellant was amply supported by other pieces of evidence of the Prosecution witnesses. Regarding the submission on discharge of the Appellant for conspiracy to transport cannabis sativa, and convicting him for aiding the same offence, counsel posited that a trial court and an appellate court have the power under Section 179(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, to substitute a conviction for a lesser offence on a charge for an offence containing several particulars, where only such particulars which make up the lesser offence is proved.

Further, where an accused person is charged with an offence and it appears in evidence that he committed a different offence from which he might have been charged, he may be convicted of the offence which he is shown to have committed by the evidence, regardless of the fact that he was not charged with that particular offence – ADAVA v STATE (2006) All FWLR (Pt. 311) 1777. He argued that findings and conclusions of the trial court could not be faulted in law, as it was derivable from the case put forward by the Prosecution; hence, it was safe to convict the Appellant for the offence of aiding and abetting the transportation of cannabis sativa.

Court’s Judgement and Rationale The Supreme Court prefaced the determination of the appeal with the definition of conspiracy as an agreement between two or more persons to do an unlawful act, coupled with an intent to achieve the agreement, objective and action, or conduct which furthers the agreement. It is a separate offence in itself from the crime, which is the subject of conspiracy – ADESINA KAYODE v THE STATE (2016) 7 NWLR (Pt. 1511) 119. The offence of Aiding and Abetting came about, as a means of deterring people from helping criminals get away with crimes committed by them.

A person may be charged with the crime of aiding and abetting, even though he was not present or physically assist during commission of the crime.

The Apex Court held that the Appellant in this case, was not charged separately with aiding and abetment; he was only charged with conspiracy with the 1st accused person, which the trial court found that the Prosecution failed to establish. Offences of aiding, abetting, counselling or acting as an accessory to the commission of any act or offence referred to in the Act, are separate offences which must be preferred against any person suspected to have committed any of the offences. The offences are separately mentioned in the law, and are therefore, not mere lesser offences to the offence of conspiracy.

A lesser offence is a combination of some of the several particulars making up the offence charged; the particulars constituting the lesser offence are carved out of the particulars of the offence charged – TORHAMBA v POLICE (1956) NRNLR 94. Ordinarily, by the provisions of Section 179 of the Criminal Procedure Law, the court is empowered to convict for a lesser offence either on the trial of the offence charged, or by the accused person pleading guilty to the lesser offence with which he was not charged. By the record of court, the Appellant was not charged with aiding and abetting the transportation of cannabis sativa, and he did not plead to same. By virtue of Section 14(b) under which the Appellant was charged, both offences (conspiracy; aiding and abetting) are of equal weight, and attract the same sentence or terms of imprisonment upon conviction. It follows that the offence of aiding and abetting, cannot be a lesser offence to conspiracy.

Appeal Allowed.

Representation U.O. Sule, SAN with P.U. Adejoh, Esq.; C.O. Egbodo, Esq.; Hafsat I. Usman, Esq. and G.E. Oti, Esq. for the Appellant.

Etukwu Onah, Esq. for the Respondent.

Reported by Optimum Publishers Limited, Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Report (NMLR)(An Affiliate of Babalakin & Co.)

05.01.2021

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Legality of Government’s Regulations Restricting Fundamental Rights: A Disruptive Argument In this article, Richard Abdulahi examines provisions of the Constitution and Quarantine Act vis-a-vis the legal regime to curtail the spread of an infectious disease like Covid-19. He concludes that, on the strength of the Supreme Court decision in Mbanefo v Molokwu, the Regulations made by Government for the purpose of containing the deadly virus, are validated under Section 45(1) of the Constitution Introduction

on guaranteed freedoms. Also in exercise of the powers vested under Section 8 of the Act, the Lagos State Government issued the Infectious Diseases (Emergency Prevention) Regulations 2020.

Very potent arguments on the validity of the Regulations have been canvassed, to the effect that the President cannot by Regulation restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed under Chapter 4 of the Constitution. The proponents of this argument have contended that a Regulation cannot be construed as “law” within the meaning of Section 45(1) of the Constitution. Of all of the arguments so far on the constitutionality of the restrictions which were imposed by the President, this is perhaps the most potent.

The outbreak of the Coronavirus has exposed variegated legal problems, and the dreadful deficiencies plaguing the existing legal regime governing public health crisis in Nigeria. Two things are clear from the legal problems arising from such legislative deficiencies, it is either a public health crisis and its implication on our economy and security has never come within the legislative prognosis of our Legislators, or our Legislators have been more concerned with other legislative pursuits of political and pecuniary interest than public health and safety.

It is my considered view that, the latter is the case. This view is reinforced by the fact that the Public Health Bill 2013 which was meant to amend the Quarantine Act of 1926 was introduced in the National Assembly, but the bill never saw the light of legislative day. A proactive legislative arm that is more concerned about the interests of the people than political and pecuniary interests, would have swung into action in the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak and enact into law a comprehensive legislation to deal with future incidences of public health crises. Perhaps, the loudest denunciation in this entire crisis should be against our lawmakers.

The Legal Debate on the Legality of the Restrictions Imposed by Government The legal problems arising from the obvious lacuna inherent in the laws governing public health in Nigeria has generated serious debate as to the constitutionality of some of the extraordinary measures adopted by Government to contain the further spread of the Corona virus. On both ends of the spectrum of this debate are two senior Lawyers, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN who has argued that the President rightly exercised the powers conferred on him under the Quarantine Act, and Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN who has argued, on the other hand, that the President lacks the power to abridge Constitutional rights

by Regulations made under the Quarantine Act. This comment is not meant to join in the cross fire of the prevailing arguments on the legality of Government’s action, but to advance a disruptive alternative argument which will drive a nail of finality into the planks of the legal debate, then touch on the inadequacy of the existing legal regime governing public health crises and the urgent need for reforms.

A Disruptive Alternative Argument There are two principal laws that vest Government with powers to adopt extraordinary measures in times of public health crisis; the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (the Constitution) and the 1926 Quarantine Act, Cap. Q2, LFN 2004. There are other strands of legislation, that contain threads of provisions governing Government powers during health crises.

Section 305 of the Constitution Section 305 of the Constitution provides for the general extraordinary powers of the President to unilaterally or at the request of a Governor, declare a state of emergency in certain instances, such as when there is an imminent or actual breakdown of public order, public health and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures, to avert or arrest such crisis. Details of the provision will not be delved into since the President has not declared a state of emergency.

However, the focal provisions under the Constitution which fuelled the debate are the fundamental rights provisions under Chapter 4 of the Constitution, and the provisions under Section 45 of the Constitution which provide for certain instances under which there can be a curtailment of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Chapter 4 of the Constitution.

Section 45 of the Constitution

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Emmanuel Ehanire

Section 45 clearly provides for two situations under which fundamental rights can be curtailed under the section: Firstly, Section 45(1) validates any law which limits or restricts the fundamental rights covered under Section 37 (right to privacy), Section 38 (right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion), Section 39 (right to freedom of expression and the press), Section 40 (right to peaceful assembly and association) and Section 41 (right to freedom of movement) if the law is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society, and such restriction is in the interest of public order, public safety or public health.

Secondly, Section 45(2) and (3) validates an act of the National Assembly which provides for “reasonably justifiable” curtailment or derogation from the Constitutional rights under Section 33 (right to life) or Section 35 (right to personal liberty) during a period wherein there is in force a proclamation of a state of emergency under Section 305 of the Constitution.

Thus, it is clear from the above provisions that there are two situations under which the said rights under Chapter 4 of the Constitution can be derogated from: when an existing law empowers such derogation for the purpose, in this case, of public safety and public health without a declaration of a state of emergency, and when an act of the National Assembly empowers such derogation during a ‘period of emergency’ for the purpose of dealing with an imminent or

“THE QUARANTINE ACT REMAINS THE PRINCIPAL STATUTORY ENACTMENT, REGULATING PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES IN NIGERIA”

actual threat to public order, safety or health.

Some have argued that the powers of the President to impose restrictions which derogate from the referenced rights under Chapter 4 of the Constitution, can only be validated by a declaration of a state of emergency under Section 305 of the Constitution. I respectfully disagree, as it is clear from Section 42(1) of the Constitution that an existing law can impose such restrictions if done in the interest of public health and safety. The Quarantine Act of 1926, falls under that category.

Quarantine Act 1926 The Quarantine Act remains the principal statutory enactment, regulating public health emergencies in Nigeria. The outmodedness of the Act is immediately evidenced by the nature of the diseases classified as dangerous infectious diseases under the Act, and the provisions that impose a fine of N200 on Defaulters.

The Preamble of the Act provides as its intendment, “the imposition of quarantine and to make other provisions for preventing the introduction into and spread in Nigeria… of dangerous infectious diseases”. Section 2 of the Act designates certain diseases as dangerous infectious diseases, and defines a local area.

In addition, the Act authorises the President or the Governor of a State to declare any infectious or contagious disease, as a dangerous infectious disease; declare any place in or outside of Nigeria to be an infected local area, and make regulations prescribing the steps to be taken for the purpose of preventing the introduction of a dangerous infectious disease into Nigeria or any part thereof, or the spread or transmission of a dangerous infectious disease to any place within or outside Nigeria, whether a local infected area or not.

Some have also argued that the Act which was meant for the isolation of infected persons, cannot be transformed into a law restricting the rights of uninfected persons. I also beg to disagree, having regard to the provision of Section 4 of the Act which confers wide regulatory powers on the President as stated above. In exercise of the said regulatory powers conferred under the Act, the Federal Government issued a Regulation to contain the spread of the dangerous infectious Covid-19 virus.

The Regulation was issued in the aftermath of the uproar that visited the President’s announcement restricting movement in Lagos and Ogun States, and Abuja. I had argued elsewhere that without the requisite Regulations under the Quarantine Act, the President lacks the power to impose such sweeping restrictions

The Defining Decision of the Supreme Court in Mbanefo v Molokwu However, the argument that the Government cannot by Regulation restrict fundamental rights is most fallible as the provision of Section 45(1) of the Constitution and the word “any law” under the section has been subjected to judicial interpretation by the Supreme Court. If the proponents of the argument that Government cannot by regulation restrict fundamental rights had adverted their minds to the decision of the Supreme Court in MBANEFO v MOLOKWU (2014) 6 NWLR (PT. 1403) 377, they would have immediately seen the sudden fallibility of their argument.

In the case, the Appellant contended that certain disciplinary actions taken against him by the Onitsha Indigenous Community and adopted

by Agbalanze Onitsha, whereby he was ostracised from partaking in activities in the community constituted a breach of his fundamental rights.

The trial Court and Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal and upon a further appeal to the Supreme Court, it was held: “This may be an appropriate stage to state loud and clear, that the interpretation of “law” as prescribed under Section 45 of the Constitution cannot be restricted only to statutes of parliament. It would include the rules and regulations guiding communities which assist them in the maintenance of peace and tranquility.”

Of course, this decision clearly construed the word “law” to include regulations made by an indigenous community. If the regulation of an indigenous community was countenanced under Section 45(1) of the Constitution by the Supreme Court as constituting a valid derogation from fundamental rights, how much more the Regulations made by the Government pursuant to the powers conferred under an existing law in this unprecedented period of public health crisis?

It is submitted that, on the strength of the above decision of Mbanefo v Molokwu (Supra), the Regulations made by Government for the purpose of containing the deadly virus posing both a present and imminent danger to public health and safety, are validated under Section 45(1) of the Constitution.

Some very senior Lawyers have surprisingly surmised that the debate as to the legality of the Government’s action is unnecessary, having regard to the imminent public health disaster posed by the Covid-19 virus. I also respectfully disagree, as such blatant dismissal is tantamount to stating that Government can resort to impunity during a period of national crisis such as this.

Urgent Need for Reforms The threat of devastating, dangerous infectious disease outbreak is on the rise, with several outbreaks recorded across the globe in the past six years. The present outbreak of the intractable Covid-19 coming just after the Ebola outbreak, is a reawakening call of the fierce urgency for reform. There is a pungent need for the review and reform of the legal framework governing disease surveillance, and public health crisis in Nigeria.

Richard Abdulahi, Legal Practitioner, Lagos

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05.01.2021

Conducting Elections During a Pandemic This interesting article by Festus Okoye recounts how the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020 created challenges for INEC, vis-a-vis the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections which could not be postponed because of the mandatory provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, even in the face of the preventive protocols like social distancing implemented by Government. INEC however, was able to successfully wade through uncharted waters on its own, without any precedents to follow Introduction

C

onducting elections during a pandemic or under the shadow of a pandemic, is not a tea party. It becomes difficult in a void and speculative environment, with little or no precedent to draw from. It becomes even more difficult when the virus known as Covid-19 cannot be seen, and seems far removed from the understanding of the people. Even those with medical knowledge have also struggled to explain its characteristics, complexity, transmission pattern, symptoms and treatment regimen. Most startling was the fact that advanced countries were shutting down, and governments in different parts of the world imposed strict restrictions on movement, transportation, social and economic life. People in advanced countries fell ill, the hospitals struggled to cope with the influx of patients, isolation centres sprang up and people were dying.

Fear, anxiety and trepidation took over, and citizens of different countries who were in Nigeria left in droves and in confusion. But, still, in the midst of this hullabaloo, it appeared that the virus was alien to Nigeria, and the average Nigerian thought that this challenge was reserved for the high and the mighty. In other words, at inception, Nigerians felt far removed from the virus.

As an election management body, the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) conducted the 2019 general elections on the 23rd day of February and 9th day of March, 2019, respectively. As at January 2020, the Commission was still grappling with litigation arising from the conduct of the said elections, and the issue of a pandemic was far removed from the electoral lexicon of Nigeria. Between the end of the elections and February 2020, a few legislative vacancies had occurred, but they did not pose a fundamental urgency and the Commission had enough time to fix dates for their conduct and or postpone them to a later date.

However, two end-of-tenure elections were due in 2020, and on the 6th day of February, 2020, the Commission released the Time Table and Schedule of Activities for the conduct of the Edo and Ondo State end of tenure Governorship elections. By constitutional and statutory stipulations, the tenure of the Governor of Edo State was to expire on the 11th day of November, 2020. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 178(1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the earliest date for election into the office of Governor, Edo State was 15th day of June, 2020 and the latest date for the election, 13th day of October, 2020.

In the same vein, the tenure of the Governor of Ondo State was to expire on 23rd day of February, 2021, and pursuant to Section 178(1) & (2) of the Constitution and Section 25(7) and (8) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), the earliest date for the election into the office of the Governor, Ondo State, was the 27th day of September, 2020 and the latest date, 25th day of January, 2021.

It is worthy of note that, by virtue of the provisions of Section 178(2) of the Constitution and Section 25(8) of the Electoral Act, Election into the office of a State Governor shall hold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days, before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of the office.

Navigating the electoral landscape in a pandemic would have been easy, if some members of the electoral management body had experience in doing so or had lived under a pandemic, or had experiences or precedent to draw from. Unfortunately, only the history books give a clue about what happened during the 1918 global pandemic, that is, the Spanish Flu. Sadly, the pandemic drew closer and closer and the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) issued guidelines and protocols on pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical interventions, to contain the pandemic.

On the 23rd day of March 2020, the Commission issued a statement and contended that in view of the Coronavirus Pandemic and the preventive and containment measures put in place by the Federal and State Governments and in line with the advisory on social distancing from the

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu

World Health Organisation (WHO) and the NCDC, effective from Tuesday 24th March 2020, all regular and non-essential activities were to be suspended in its headquarters and offices nation-wide for 14 days in the first instance. Based on these, the Commission suspended the regular quarterly meetings with Stakeholders, namely: Political Parties, Civil Society Organisations, the Media, Security Agencies and all other meetings including the monitoring of the conventions, congresses, conferences or meetings of political parties. The Commission made it clear that, the new measures taken would not affect the activities for Edo and Ondo Governorship elections scheduled for 19th September and 10th October 2020 respectively.

The virus continued to spread, spreading fear, panic and anxiety everywhere. In Nigeria, various State Governments

“..... IN THE MIDST OF THIS HULLABALOO, IT APPEARED THAT THE VIRUS WAS ALIEN TO NIGERIA, AND THE AVERAGE NIGERIAN THOUGHT THAT THIS CHALLENGE WAS RESERVED FOR THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY. IN OTHER WORDS, AT INCEPTION, NIGERIANS FELT FAR REMOVED FROM THE VIRUS”

announced measures to contain the virus including but not limited to lockdowns, curfews and the establishment of isolation centres and the distribution of palliatives. Clearly, the world was embroiled in an existential war, and survival became the paramount issue. The poorest of the poor that make a daily living through menial jobs, stayed at home virtually hungry. Traders could not market their wares.

Persons who travelled for a variety of reasons were stranded wherever they were, on account of the travel restrictions.

Challenge faced by INEC Amidst all this, the Commission faced a different kind of challenge. Elections and the conduct of elections were far removed from the immediate concerns of the people, and even the Government did not see electoral staff as persons providing essential service. Different countries including the advanced ones were postponing and or had postponed their elections, and the Commission was expected to follow suit. It was therefore, unthinkable and absurd for the Commission to proceed with two Governorship elections when more advanced countries with robust and advanced health care and electoral systems postponed and or cancelled their elections. It became clear that the Commission had a herculean task convincing Nigerians, that the two end of tenure elections must proceed in the unchartered terrain of a global pandemic.

These were fundamental and legitimate concerns, and the Commission duly reflected on them and decided to be upfront with information relating to the two end of tenure Governorship elections. The Commission also decided to proactively study the pattern of the virus, and how it affected the conduct of elections in other countries. Unfortunately, there was little or no precedent to draw from. The Commission decided to look inwards and design its own roadmap on conducting elections in a pandemic, bearing in mind our peculiar challenges and circumstances. Part of the challenge is embedded in the Constitution which is the fundamental law of the land, and the second challenge revolved around the scepticism and perception relating to the existence or otherwise of cont'd on page 7

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CONDUCTING ELECTIONS DURING

Options The first option available to the Commission was to proceed with the election and provide a clear framework for so doing, and convince the Nigerian people of its capacity to do so. Unfortunately, the pandemic engendered fear in the people, and some Nigerians could hardly put food on the table considering the measures in place to contain it. In the existential struggle, elections and the electoral process does not really and fundamentally count.

The second option was to postpone the election and wait for the pandemic to abate anwd or be contained, before proceeding with the conduct of the election. In this, there was no timeline on when the virus would be contained and a vaccine developed. More fundamentally, in postponing the election the Commission would have to act within the ambit of its powers in the Constitution, else the country could slip into a constitutional crisis.

The third option was to utilise Section 191 of the Constitution that allows the Speaker of the State Assembly to assume the office of the Governor, when the office of the Governor and Deputy are vacant. The challenge here is that in such circumstances, the Speaker of the State Assembly shall hold office for the unexpired term of the last holder of the office. This in the main created its own constitutional crisis, and would leave a dangerous vacuum in the electoral and democratic process.

The fourth option was recourse to Section 180(3) of the Constitution that provides that, if the Federation is at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may by resolution extend the period of four years mentioned from time to time, but no such extension shall exceed a period of six months at any one time. The challenge here is whether the Federation can be said to be at war, and whether the pandemic could be be classified as one.

The fifth option was for the Commission to wait and have the tenure of the Governors lapse, and then allow the President to activate Section 305 of the Constitution and declare a State of Emergency in Nigeria, and the Proclamation would give details of the Emergency.

On the basis of these challenges, the Commission under the leadership of Professor Mahmood Yakubu rallied National Commissioners and the management staff to design Electoral Continuity Plan (ECP) to surmount Covid-19 challenges and avoid constitutional crisis that may likely erupt with the postponement of constitutionally circumscribed end of tenure governorship election. The Commission activated its zoom platforms and continued nonphysical meetings with National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, Directors and Heads of Departments.

INEC’s Policy on Conducting Elections in a Pandemic On the 21 day of May 2020 the Commission released its Policy on Conducting Elections in the Context of a Pandemic and stated that the “Covid-19 pandemic has had an extensive impact on the electoral process in Nigeria. Not only has it led to far-reaching disruptions in the electoral system, it has also specifically led to the postponement of elections and created uncertainties about scheduled ones.

The Commission, cognisant of the profound impact of the pandemic on the electoral process, extensively deliberated on how best to respond to the impact of the pandemic on

PANDEMIC

“..... THE COMMISSION DECIDED TO USE THE NASARAWA CENTRAL STATE CONSTITUENCY ELECTION ON THE 8TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2020 TO TEST RUN ITS PREPARATIONS AND LOGISTICS FOR THE EDO AND ONDO GOVERNORSHIP ELECTIONS. THE COMMISSION LEARNT VALUABLE LESSONS FROM THAT ELECTION, AND APPLIED THOSE LESSONS FOR THE EDO AND ONDO GOVERNORSHIP ELECTIONS”

cont'd from page 6

the virus and the mass gatherings that will be occasioned by rallies, campaigns and the elections itself.

Section 178(2) of the Constitution and Section 25(8) of the Electoral Act provide that election into the office of a State Governor shall hold not earlier than 150 days and not later days than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of the office. What does this translate to in practical terms? Governors in Nigeria are elected for a four-year period, and thereafter new elections are held and they must vacate office at the expiration of their tenure. To prevent discretionary manipulation of the timeline for the conduct of the elections, the lawmakers circumscribed the timeframe for the conduct of the elections.

In the case of Shettima & Anor v Goni & Ors (2011) LPELR-417(SC), the Supreme Court of Nigeria made it clear that the timelines in the provision are mandatory and not permissive, as they admit of no discretion.

Furthermore, in the case of Abubakar & Ors v Nasamu & Ors (2012) LPELR-7826 (SC) the Hon. Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, J.S.C made it clear that: "It is settled law that the time fixed by the Constitution, which is the fundamental or supreme law of the land, cannot be altered, extended, expanded, elongated etc by any court in the purported exercise of a discretion to that effect". Since the dates in Section 178 of the Constitution and Section 25 of the Electoral Act are cast in stone, could the electoral management body proceed to reschedule, postpone or cancel the elections without doing fundamental damage to the spirit and letter of the Constitution?

A

Festus Okoye

election administration. The situation was made worse by the global economic impact of the pandemic and its knock-on effect on the Nigerian economy, which had seen a decline in funding for government activities. Expectedly, this trend was also going to affect the work of the Commission.

Conducting elections in a pandemic such as Covid-19, was yet uncharted waters. Only very few jurisdictions had any experience with this. That notwithstanding, the Commission was committed to conducting all elections that were due within the extant legal framework. However, in so doing, it would put a premium on public safety and mitigation of health risks from Covid-19. Citizens must be assured that they will be safe while participating as voters, candidates and officials. The Commission remained committed to raising public confidence in the electoral process in spite of the challenges posed by the pandemic, and to regularly communicate its actions and challenges to the public” .

As part of its overall response, the Commission put in place a two-tier queuing system in the polling units, made provision for pharmaceutical interventions at the polling units and collation centres, the observance of physical distancing and compulsory wearing of face masks or face covering. It electronically recruited its ad-hoc staff and other categories of election staff, and used physical and nonphysical means in training them. It designed a framework of reduction of the number of passengers to be carried by buses and boats, that will ensure physical distancing in transportation among other measures.

On the 9th day of June, 2020, the Commission released the First Supplementary to Regulations and Guidelines for Conduct of Elections. It amended the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections issued by the Commission on 12th January, 2019. The Commission also released Supplementary Regulations and Guidelines for Activities of Political Parties, as well as Supplementary Guidelines for Election Observation. The Commission also developed, designed and distributed “Voting in Safety” Voters Code of Conduct (VCC) for Elections during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The processes and mechanics of implementing these polices, appeared problematic and challenging. The Political Parties found it difficult and sometimes deliberately subverted the health protocols in their rallies and campaigns, and this heightened the anxiety of infection. The flouting of the guidelines and protocols also gave the impression that the pandemic was not real and/or that in political matters, a pandemic takes a back stage and power equation becomes the central object.

The Commission faced the challenge of another uncharted territory. In the midst of dwindling resources available to the Commission, it added the burden and responsibility of providing pharmaceutical interventions to its ad-hoc staff, the voters and other categories of electoral workers, and this increased the cost of conducting elections. It procured these items, and the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 assisted with some quantity of infrared thermometers.

In some States, those wearing face masks and observing the NCDC protocols were seen as the suspects or carriers who must be avoided. In some of the States and communities, the people continued as if the pandemic did not exist and or did not believe that a pandemic was in Nigeria, and the fear of community transmission grew and became a reality. The Commission decided to

approach the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and NCDC, and they assigned an incident officer to join the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security to advice the Commission on Covid-19 related matters.

The Chairman of the Commission also briefed the nation on the preparation being made by the Commission, in relation to the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections. The Commission also raved up its technological intervention and solutions to electoral matters.

Prelude to Edo and Ondo Elections As a prelude to the conduct of the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections, the Commission decided to use the Nasarawa Central State Constituency Election on the 8th day of August, 2020 to test run its preparations and logistics for the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections. The Commission learnt valuable lessons from that election, and applied those lessons for the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections. In the State Assembly election most of the voters complied with the Commission’s directive that all voters must wear face masks or face coverings. The Commission provided face masks to its ad-hoc staff, as well as hand sanitisers and disinfectants for cleaning the Smart Card Readers, and deployed infrared thermometers for the polling units and collation centres.

Unfortunately, most of the voters had difficulty observing physical distancing, or deliberately flouted physical distancing at the polling units.

The Real Thing!

In the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections, the Commission in collaboration with the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 deployed infrared thermometers to all the polling units and collation centres. The Commission learning from the Nasarawa Central State Constituency bye-elections deployed on time and took control of the polling units before the arrival of voters, and used ropes and other creative strategies in taking control of the polling units and enforcing social distancing.

Most of the voters wore face masks and face coverings, and the Commission made appreciable progress in social distancing.

Conclusion Going forward, it is imperative to make the polling units accessible to voters, and decongest congested polling units through a threshold of 500 voters per polling unit and a maximum of 750 voters per polling unit. This can be achieved through the conversion of Voting Points and Voting Point Settlements to Polling Units, and taking them close to the voters. The Commission must also accelerate the deepening of and deployment of technology in the electoral process, and reduce to the barest minimum human contact and interface.

Early voting by those on essential duty must be explored, and internet based voting options must be accelerated to prevent large gatherings at polling units. The pandemic may not be the only emergency that may face us in future, and based on our experiences, we must make proposals to the National Assembly on responding to future emergencies occasioned by a pandemic and other challenges. More fundamentally, the Commission must remain focused, courageous, firm, forward looking, inclusive and consultative in its approach to elections and emergencies.

Festus Okoye, Lawyer, National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education, INEC

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‘There is Failure of

Has Nigeria’s foremost professional body lost its voice and capacity to speak truth to power, which it has been known for over the decades? Has the Nigerian Bar Association been able to retain its cohesion and focus in the past few years? In search of answers to these questions, Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi sought out Chief Joseph Bodunrin Daudu, SAN, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and Chairman of various Committees of the Association, as he turned 61 recently. In a forthright and fearless approach to issues, he spoke his mind on a myriad of concerns, including what he described as the failure of governance at all levels, corruption, the challenges of conducting credible NBA elections, ethical issues, and why there appears to be a rise in professional misconduct cases against Lawyers

H

appy New Year Learned Silk. You will agree that 2020 was a rather traumatic year globally, and of course, Nigeria was not left out of the trauma. Apart from being the poverty capital of the world, insecurity has deeply enveloped the country. Kaduna and Katsina States, even more than Benue that had been plagued with more than its fair share of Herdsmen attacks, seem to be joining Borno State as no-go areas. Going forward, what would be your advice to Government on how to make life better and more secure for Nigerians?

Is Restructuring the answer? Or changing the Service Chiefs? Or redrawing the Constitution? What are your thoughts on the state of the nation and how to improve it?

The state of the nation is characterised Chief Joseph Bodunrin Daudu, SAN by unrestrained insecurity. You have identified the hotspots in this country, but the truth is that insecurity rears its ugly head in almost every nook and cranny of this nation. The effect of having terrorists (as in the case of Boko Haram), Herdsmen (as in the case of Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Taraba,) Kidnapping (almost every State of the Federation has a kidnap cell operating in it) and Robbery, to mention a few of the crimes now “..... COLLECTIVELY, WE plaguing our country, amounts to a terrible statement that the nation is HAVE ALLOWED OUR security challenged.

NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS Firstly, these are violent crimes that are now being daily unleashed on the AND SECURITY populace; secondly, the economic losses arising from these acts are massive; APPARATUS SUCH AS thirdly, terrorism and banditry on the GOVERNMENT, POLICE, scale we have them in Nigeria have evolved with it massive socio-political CIVIL DEFENCE, MILITARY consequences such as large scale ETC TO SLIDE INTO DECAY population displacement, unplanned migration, robbing children and youth AND INEFFECTIVENESS of their right and opportunity to life, basic education and most importantly, THROUGH YEARS OF THE loss of earning among the populace, EFFECT OF NEGATIVE which has led or contributed heavily to the present economic depression BEHAVIOUR SUCH AS and hunger that is rife in the land.

In clear terms, these cataclysmic or NEPOTISM, CORRUPTION.....”

seismic events, have robbed us of any claims to political progress among the community of nations. In all sincerity, we have no business being where we are today. After all, we are not the only multi-ethnic or culturally diverse country in West Africa, or even Africa as a whole.

How, and when did we slide into this degenerative situation? The answer is simple, and it is that collectively, we have allowed our national institutions and security apparatus such as Government, Police, civil defence, military etc to slide into decay and ineffectiveness through years of the effect of negative behaviour such as nepotism, corruption, deprivation of progress in service due to ethnic and religious considerations in upliftment and promotion. Personalisation of governance structures, and the payment of lip service to the basic law of the land. Unknown to us, rigging elections, which we toy with and regard as the norm, has contributed to this state of affairs as thugs, bandits and other miscreants, after messing up with our elections on behalf of paymasters, suddenly become idle

and disorderly after their erstwhile employers have assumed political office where most of them engage in looting the treasury silly and dry.

These thugs and bandits see these things and also long to wield power in any form or manner, and therefore, metamorphose into the terrorists, kidnappers and bandits that you have described in your question.

Everything in life, especially nature abhors a vacuum. Consequently, the vacuum of good governance is slowly but surely, being filled by the terror of bandits and highway robbers. Now, because the factors that have led to this state of affairs are contemporaneous with our style of self-governance, be it military or civilian, but essentially manifest when civilians are in power, the nation is searching for solutions to these crises outside the often touted remedy of sacking a few people here and there, and pretending that something is being done.

The question is really, what are the factors and circumstances that have given rise to the rampant insecurity that is now prevalent in Nigeria? The

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Governance at all Levels’ answers can be summarised thus: (a) failure of governance at all levels, especially at State and Local Government levels, (b) Corruption in virtually all facets of the society, (c) The use of divisive factors other than merit in the allocation of scarce resources among the populace, factors such as nepotism, religious discrimination, and other forms of discrimination.

A combination of these factors, have given rise to the insecurity that we now experience as a national calamity.

How do we make life more secure and productive, for Nigerian businesses to thrive in? It has been suggested that we restructure our political arrangement from Presidential Federalism to a Westminster export model (Parliamentary) system tied to fewer federating units to be known as Regions, not exceeding eight and not less than six. The necessity for a new political arrangement, is as a result of the cost of sustaining and servicing the existing wasteful superstructure of 36 States and one behemoth of a Federal Government, all of which depend on essentially one source of income and revenue to wit: Crude Oil. The over-bureaucratisation of the Nigerian political structure has led to the situation where, there is not enough resources to service existing State apparatus such as security, education and health. The political arrangement further exhibits its inadequacy by virtue of the insistence of the powers that be to retain a central Police force of just about 700,000 personnel made up of rank and file, to cater for a nation of over 200 million people. On both scores, that is, over-centralisation and low quantum of qualified personnel have been responsible in the main, for the parlous state of the security apparatus and response capacity and capability of the nation’s security agencies.

If we (Nigeria and Nigerians) do not wake up from our slumber and grab the bull by the horns and amend our Constitution to make provision for not only a multi-level Police structure, but for specifically State and Local Government Police Forces, then I fear that in the very near future, large tracts of this nation will be taken over by warlords and other violent persons, not for any altruistic purpose but for their own personal economic fortunes and gain.

In conclusion, the solution to the current insecurity blanketing this nation, is as complex and multiple as the problems that have led to its emergence in the first place. In the short term, existing security institutions must be overhauled and redesigned to function efficiently, in an atmosphere devoid of corruption and incompetence. The mechanism and standard for recruitment must be based on merit, and on basic entry qualification of a University Degree or its equivalent. Furthermore, the security outfits must be subjected to

“WE ARE ALSO CALLING ON THE SERVICE CHIEFS TO LIVE UP TO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES, OR RESIGN THEIR APPOINTMENTS. IF THE GOVERNMENT IS REALLY DETERMINED TO FIGHT THIS INSECURITY, THE PRESIDENT SHOULD ALSO FIRE THE TOP BRASS OF OUR CURRENT SECURITY ARCHITECTURE, AND BRING IN THOSE WHO WILL BE WILLING TO DELIVER RESULTS EXPEDITIOUSLY”

Chief Joseph Bodunrin Daudu, SAN

rigorous training. Those bad habits that plagued the existing Police force, must be stamped out. Should the nation opt for a multiple Police force based on the State and Local Government Police forces, such outfits must be modelled along or in line with International Best Practices; the essence being to avoid the personalisation and politicisation of such a critical or sensitive institution. Change therefore, in these institutions is imperative, if we desire to remain one indivisible and indissoluble nation known as Nigeria.

In the past few cycles of elections, the NBA has come under sharp criticisms of widespread corruption. Every NBA national election since 2016 has been trailed with litigation, despite the introduction of universal suffrage and electronic voting. Presently, some members of the NBA Secretariat staff are facing criminal prosecution concerning the 2018 elections. As a past President of the Association, how do you feel about this and what panacea can you offer to ensure that the NBA gets its act right, going forward?

The present National Officers of the Nigerian Bar Association led by our able President Olumide Akpata, are aware of the problem. Indeed, a High Powered Committee has been constituted to inquire inter alia, into the root causes of election disaffection within the NBA over the years in issue, and to proffer solutions to stem a reoccurrence of the problem that you have succinctly highlighted above. It will therefore, be wise to await their findings.

However, in answer to your question, the problem in NBA is not one of systemic corruption. It is not that elected leaders want to tamper with the Association’s resources, or that the Association has such magnitude of resources as to make that the attraction for leadership. No. the desire and competition to lead the Bar stems from only one factor, and that is to lead the world’s most enlightened and learned group. That the President is primus inter pares among or within the community of learned people, is, in my view, the motivating factor to aspire to that office. Consequently, any candidate for the office of NBA President must deliver concrete manifesto and proposals for his 2 year tenure, should he eventually win.

It is still one of those offices that you must establish a wide knowledge of the state of affairs, in both the legal profession and Nigeria as an entity.

The Bar must always be seen as the bastion and protector of the Rule of law, and its leadership must not be shy of speaking truth to the powers that be. The President of the NBA must be proactive in such matters as (a) criminal justice reforms, (b) fundamental human rights, (c) Gender and vulnerable people’s rights, (d) intergovernmental relationships and (e) the organogram and governance mechanism of the Bar’s secretariat and all its branches. Why then should these altruistic duties pose any problem, in selecting suitable candidates to discharge such onerous and thankless duties? The answer is that, there is usually a welter of qualified candidates from which to draw.

The problem in the past 10 years surprisingly, is clearly generational.

In the NBA, the primary or basic unit of entry into Bar political activities is the Branch. Consequently, in the past, anyone who is able to persuade his colleagues through the Branches would surely emerge successful or victorious as NBA President. Now, it is not in doubt that majority of legal practitioners called to the Bar from the period 2010-2020, do not belong to or identify with the NBA branches. They are lone rangers. This is discernible from the membership population of the branches vis-a-vis the total number of practitioners called during this period. Consequently, up till the year 2016, these branchless Lawyers were not able to participate in the delegate system which was reserved for Bar insiders. However, upon the amendment of the NBA Constitution during the tenure of President Austin Alegeh (2014-2016), election of National Officers was thrown open through universal suffrage – meaning every Lawyer called to the Nigerian Bar now possessed, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, the unqualified right to vote at the Associations biennial elections. Consequently, the population of the universal suffrage Lawyers now outstripped those of their conservative colleagues, who had to bide their time going through the branch hierarchy. The said NBA Constitutional amendments created a lopsided voting base in favour of Lawyers between 1 and 10 years at the Bar, who naturally preferred cont'd on page 10

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‘There is Failure of Governance at all Levels’ cont'd from page 9

younger candidates to lead the Bar. It is the dynamics of getting as many of this latter category to vote that brings about campaign and electoral strategies which have created the friction that you have referred to, as marring all those elections held post the afore-described constitutional amendments. As I said above, a high-powered Panel is looking into the matter, and I am confident it will come out with workable proposals to resolve the conundrum.

Some have stated that the NBA has lost focus in the past few years.

This new Executive seems to be on the right track. Do you agree?

What advice can you give to ensure that the Akpata led NBA stays on track?

I respectfully disagree that the NBA leadership lost focus, at any point in time. Leadership styles differ.

With every administration comes a different perspective and issues that are dominant or prevalent, at the time of its operations. More so, a President of the Bar comes into office grappling with the issues he campaigned to resolve for the good of the Bar and the nation. Most of these issues are Justice sector and Rule of law related. I know that no President of the NBA, has ever been fingered as having sold out to Government. The Chief Joseph Bodunrin Daudu, SAN current President of the Bar, Olumide Akpata, campaigned on a specific trapped at home here with a large set of issues, principal of which are unemployed work force, yet, as a (a) welfare of all legal practitioners matter of policy we import even the with emphasis on young Lawyers, (b) most basic needs. Policy makers both Secretariat reforms and (c) ensuring in the public and private sector need to that the voice of the Bar is heard on come up with a list of items that must issues of critical national interest. So be manufactured in Nigeria, else we far, I am satisfied that the President stop using them. The earlier we treat has lived up to his Billing, and can this critical issue as one of a national only wish him God’s guidance and economic emergency the better for the wisdom in piloting the affairs of the employment status of our teeming NBA during his tenure. youthful workforce. Once there is a New and diversified areas of concentration in local production, then legal practice are fast emerging globally, but in Nigeria, Lawyers don’t quite appear to be ready to embrace the emerging trend. Are Nigerian Lawyers really prepared for the future of the profession?

There is no way that blame of not being multi-dimensional, can be placed at the feet of Nigerian Lawyers. The Nigerian Lawyer, is only as diversified as the economy of the nation.

A country such as Nigeria that is dependent on only one commodity, that is, Crude Oil, is severely limited in its economic output. A country where manufacturing and production is on the decline, cannot boast of having specialised Lawyers. That will be a pipe dream. In the interim, Nigerian Lawyers are equipping themselves with knowledge from workshops, “IN NIGERIA, MODERN seminars, webinars, conferences on INVESTIGATIVE specialised areas of the law. When the economy improves, Nigerian Lawyers TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN will diversify and specialise.

In a nutshell, the result is that we THROWN OVERBOARD, AND must collectively salvage the economy THE CRIMINAL TODAY IS of this nation from the doldrums of mediocrity and decline that it is passing SEVERAL STEPS AHEAD OF through. Today, we are a nation that exports 90% of all our needs. We are LAW ENFORCEMENT.....”

as a matter of course, Lawyers will diversify and specialise in the areas of law relevant to those emerging economic streams.

The global pandemic occasioned

by Covid-19 made virtual court hearings a child of necessity. How can this long overdue process be made more attractive and user-friendly around the 36 States of the Federation, though many Nigerian Lawyers are not quite IT savvy, and of course, our many problems of lack of adequate electricity supply cum network problems? Does the Constitution require amendment to accommodate these hearings?

All a court hearing requires is that it should be before a Court or Tribunal constituted in a manner as to secure its independence and impartiality, and that such proceedings must be conducted in public.

It is whether virtual proceedings conducted in the private cum public spaces, qualify as proceedings that are held in public. The attempt by Lagos State Government at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic to question the constitutional validity of virtual court hearings, without a live issue coming up for court determination rightly fell by the wayside as decided by the Supreme Court, on the grounds of the issues being academic. But, to confront your observations and question head-on, there is great benefit in having the court arm itself with the tool of virtual proceedings as one of its justice delivery vehicles. This means that the Court must lay down elaborate and clearly well defined

Rules as to how virtual proceedings can be conducted, to the benefit and satisfaction of all stakeholders. There also must exist a concerted improvement in our electricity supply, and in the availability of internet data for the powering of these virtual sessions.

There also must be a well conducted research into the cost-benefit analysis of the entire exercise, vis-a-vis or when contrasted with the existing ‘show up physically in court’ system presently in vogue. It is only when there is information on these grey areas, that we can move comprehensively to adopt or reject the virtual mode of court hearing as the principal medium of justice delivery in this country.

You just turned 61; looking back at your life professionally, including over 25 years at the Inner Bar and being past President of the NBA, what would you say have been the high or low points in your career thus far? What legacies would you say your leadership at the Bar has impacted on the profession?

For every day I have spent in the practice of law, it has only been possible because the Lord my God willed it so and made it possible. I am therefore, eternally and perpetually grateful to the LORD. Again, there have been no low points in my career, and whatever modest achievements that may have come my way are documented, and for which I give glory to God Almighty.

Justice sector reforms has remained a great concern and attraction for you. The 3rd Rule of Law Development Foundation 3rd Annual Criminal Law Review Seminar which held recently was well cont'd on page 11

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‘There is Failure of Governance at all Levels’ cont'd from page 10

received. How will it be sustained?

The fact that we have done three separate editions of the project from 2018-2020, is an indication that we have got the template right. Covid-19 permitting, we shall return to our location/venue based conference format, in addition to virtual conferencing which has come to stay. But, one must not pass on the opportunity to comment on the nation’s criminal justice system as it stands today. We must recognise the basic fact that, a country is only as advanced as its criminal justice system. As we speak, droves of foreign investors have avoided investing in our economy because of the unreliable state of the Justice delivery system. The principle is that, there is no point putting money in a system where criminals don’t get punished because the Police is overworked, underpaid, corrupt, always demanding bribe from everybody, incompetent in many regards, as the entry level into the Police of the equivalent of SS2. In Nigeria, modern investigative techniques have been thrown overboard, and the criminal today is several steps ahead of law enforcement, which in any event, is reluctant to carry out its core function, which is the apprehension and prosecution of criminals.

Other stakeholders are the court personnel, that is, Judges and Magistrates and even Appeal Justices. The next set of stakeholders are the EFCC, ICPC, Civil Defence, and the Correctional Service formerly known as Prisons.

Except for the Prison Service, the NBA, members of the private Bar, Governments of Rivers, Delta and Kogi States that sponsor delegates to the review conference, other critical stakeholders are not interested and don’t show up. The biggest culprits are the High Courts, Federal High Courts and the Magistracy of States that altogether handle about 70% of the docket of criminal cases in this country, who all prefer to avoid the conference rather than attend it.

What a review conference does is to place all the legislative, judicial and executive developments in the past 5 years in criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence including electronic evidence, prosecution or money laundering, bribery and other white-collar crimes, cybercrimes, violence against women and other vulnerable groups before the stake holders, with a view to having them better equipped to discharge their respective roles in the criminal justice system. The sessions and resource materials are prepared and delivered by the best experts in their respective fields of criminal justice in this country.

The failure or refusal of stakeholders to tap into this extensive reservoir of knowledge and materials in this strategic area of law and life in Nigeria, is symptomatic of our approach to the very serious issues that ought to progress us in this country.

You headed the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee which

“I KNOW THAT NO PRESIDENT OF THE NBA HAS EVER BEEN FINGERED, AS HAVING SOLD OUT TO GOVERNMENT”

Chief Joseph Bodunrin Daudu, SAN

received a lot of petitions. Why, in your opinion, is there a rising trend in professional malpractices

by Lawyers? How can the stables be further cleansed?

I was Chairman, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee from 2013-2018, and during that period it became clear to me that Lawyers in their majority had ethical challenges.

The Rules of Professional ethics is meant to ensure that Lawyers deliver professional services in the best manner possible, without breaching the trust reposed in them by their clients. The majority of cases we tried, involved the mishandling by Lawyers of clients funds. Other forms of misconduct include misbehaviour before the judex, forgery of court or legal processes, etc. We tried hundreds of cases and meted out appropriate punishment to those found guilty, while we discharged those who were not found wanting for any offence. It is true that, there is an increase in the population of Lawyers who are usually brought before the LPDC. That is to be expected, because Lawyers are a microcosm of the Nigerian society, which has over the years, become very money conscious and prone to avarice and materialism at the expense of morals and ethics.

Secondly, the foundation or base upon which the educational superstructure of the Lawyer is erected, is devoid of ethical materials. The Nigerian Lawyer is first exposed to the lessons in ethics at the Law School, at which point, sadly, it is too late to have any impact.

Thirdly, it appears that the role model of young Lawyers are people with considerable affluence, whose wealth may be of doubtful or even

dubious provenance, for example, rough neck politicians, yahoo boys of the hush-puppy ilk etc. Unlike during our time when we liked to model our career along the lines of the great law lords, like ‘Lord Denning’ Ademola CJN’ ‘Bello CJN’ ‘Uwais CJN’ ‘Udo Udoma JSC’ ‘C Idigbe JSC’ Eso JSC and a host of other eminent Judges and eminent legal practitioners like Chief Williams SAN, Chief GOK Ajayi SAN, Kehinde Sofola SAN, Gally Brown Peterside SAN, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim SAN, to mention a few. Today the emphasis is on ‘making it at all costs’ and at a young age, which leads a lot of young Lawyers astray.

You also headed the NBA Committee which reviews the list of applicants for SAN. What has been the role of that Committee?

This year saw the emergence of 72 SANs. Some think the number is unwieldy, while others think it is fine. What is your view?

I also chaired the NBA General Purposes Committee from 2014-2019, this committee is a vehicle to advice the NBA President on a variety of matters, which require experienced hands to make prior assessment. In relation to the appointment of Senior Advocates, what the Committee does is to interview on behalf of the NBA President, all applicants to the said exalted rank, with a view to determining their leadership qualities and endorse those qualified to be conferred with the rank of SAN. However, I since stepped down in line with my policy of not staying too long in any position I find myself, and so the current Chairman of the GPC of the NBA is Kpajie Nnamdi Ibegbu SAN, and in fairness, it is not his Committee that appointed 72

Applicants to the rank, it is the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee that appoints qualified candidates to the exalted rank of SAN. I am sure the parameters used to shortlist and appoint 72 candidates, are impeccable and above board. The truth is that, there has been a backlog of eminently qualified candidates, who, over the years, had been repeatedly bypassed due to no fault of theirs, and it is this group that the present LPPC conferred the rank on so as to avoid the growing frustration that was building up against the appointment process of the rank.

Five and a half years into the Buhari Administration, how would your rate it, vis-a-vis its three pronged campaign promises of fighting corruption, insecurity and revamping the economy? What of its record in upholding the rule of law?

My answer to the first question gives a clear indication as to what my views are, as to the current political dispensation that we are operating in this country. That we need to restructure, captures the structural deficiency in the system. It appears that no matter how good intentioned this administration may be, its policies and antecedents, coupled with the inherently deficient system it is operating, cannot make it succeed. Until steps are taken to do the right thing with public office holders keeping to their oaths of office, nothing can be achieved by way of the Rule of Law and due process of the law. The society will continue to remain stagnant until the right steps are taken to instil security, eliminate corruption and in consequence revamp the economy.

Thank you Learned Silk.

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05.01.2021

Bishop Kukah’s Truth v Government’s Fiction (Part 1) However, God does not sleep. We can see from the inexplicable dilemma of his North.”

Introducing Year 2020

T

hat the year 2020 was a monstrosity and abnormality of a nightmare with a hideous visage, is no news.

It was the year of the Covid-19 pandemic,t and #EndSARS. It was the year the world was literally on a spin, in a macabre spectacle of suspended animation. The year that the world was actually locked down, forcing humanity into a state of limbo.

Yes, a year God manifested His awesomeness, omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, trashing man’s claim to giant strides in science, technology, medicine and communication.

2020 was the year Priests, Pastors and Imams were forced to abandon the Churches and Mosques. The year opened up cans of worms and exposed Governors, Ministers and Senators who hid the people’s palliatives. The year of total abdication of the classrooms by ASUU. 2020 was the year corruption graduated to a national mantra, virtually adopted by the Government as a fundamental objective and directive principle of State policy. Nigeria ranked 148 out of 180 countries in the world, as indexed by Transparency International. She carried the odious diadem, as the third most corrupt country in West Africa. 2020 showcased Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world, overtaking dear old India.

It was the year Trump was trumped by Biden, who bound him with ballot. An ugly year of retrenchments, and closure of businesses. It was the year of hunger, starvation, squalor.

How Bishop Kukah Spoke Truth to Authority But, I never believed the Buhari’s Government could cap it all and end the year by traducing, bullying and attempting to lynch and squeeze the spiritual balls of cassocked Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah.

What was Kukah’s offence? That he wrote his 2020 Christmas message titled “The Middle Grounds of Optimism have continued to Shift and Many Genuinely Ask, What have We Done to the gods? Does Nigeria have a Future?”

In this message, the Cleric x-rayed the ills of the Nigerian State, from Chibok, through Dapchi, to Kankara. He saw the year as one of the “Annus Horribilis” (the Year of Horror); rather than one of “Annus Mirabilis” (the Year of Joy). What was Kukah’s offence here? I cannot see it. Or, can you?

Combing through the odious breath and depth of a decaying nation, the flaming pulpit terror of bad governments believes our common wealth has been stolen; with enough hate and bitterness to generously go around. Kukah insists our dreams have been aborted; our “cancer of corruption metastasised”; and all of us, guilty of patricide, fraticide, even attempted suicide [I disagree; there were actually tens of suicide cases]. He says we are hungry, angry, thirsty, and starving. He believes we appear sedated and inured to pain; tragedy standing as a gate keeper; with each Christmas bringing its dark ball of horror, sorrow and death, in the last 10 years. Where did Kukah go wrong here? I cannot see it. Or, can you?

Kukah believes our country is drifting rudderlessly, with Nigerians traveling without maps; without destination; and with neither Captain nor crew. The Bishop looks back to the pre-Buhari era with nostalgia, because, at least, there was food to eat, and people could go to toilet. He laments that at present, “a journey to the toilet is considered by the poor an extra luxury”; and that “our country’s inability to feed itself is one of the most dangerous signs of state failure and a trigger to violence”. What did Kukah say here that was not correct? I cannot see it.

Or, can you?

Bishop Kukah notes, very brilliantly, that the experience of Northern Nigeria is evidence that nepotism (Buhari’s greatest “achievement”) is a counterfeit currency. Bemoaning Pastor Femi Adesina’s tag on Nigerians who are complaining about his boss (Buhari)’s bad government as “wailers”, Kukah agrees, derisively and mockingly, that Adesina was right, because, “on the sad situation in Nigeria, the United Nations has wailed. The Pope has wailed. Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Pastors have wailed.

Emirs have wailed. Politicians have wailed. The Sultan has wailed. Surely, it is time for the Lord to hear the wailers, as they have sung their redemption song”.

Where did Kukah go wrong here? I cannot see it. Or, can you?

For these take-away truthful nugget words on marble, Aso Villa became restless. They asked for the head of this man of God; this poor, wifeless, childless and houseless labourer in the Lord’s vineyard, whose pen is mightier than the sword; whose pulpit words seamlessly break chains of terror, despotism, absolutism and fascism, into smithereens.

But, wait for it. It was perhaps, the following paragraph of Kukah’s Christmas message that got the Aso Villa hawks and their media hirelings hopping, shouting, screaming and

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah

baying for Kukah’s spiritual blood, accusing him falsely of calling for a coup d’état. Bishop Kukah wrote in paragraph 6 of his intellectual treatise, titled “A Nation in Search of Vindication”: “This government owes the nation an explanation as to where it is headed as we seem to journey into darkness. The spilling of this blood must be related to a more sinister plot that is beyond our comprehension.

Are we going to remain hogtied by these evil men, or are they gradually becoming part of a larger plot to seal the fate of our country?

“President Buhari deliberately sacrificed the dreams of those who voted for him to what seemed like a programme to stratify and institutionalise northern hegemony, by reducing others in public life to second class status. He has pursued this self-defeating and alienating policy at the expense of greater national cohesion. Every honest Nigerian knows that there is no way any non-Northern Muslim President could have done a fraction of what President Buhari has done by his nepotism, and gotten away with it. There would have been a military coup a long time ago, or we would have been at war. The President may have concluded that Christians will do nothing, and will live with these actions. He may be right, and we Christians cannot feel sorry that we have no pool of violence to draw from, or threaten our country.

“DID THE NATION NOT QUAKE UNDER THE THREAT OF THE “BABOONS BEING SOAKED IN THEIR OWN BLOOD”? WAS PRESIDENT JONATHAN NOT WARNED AT A TIME TO STOP KILLING BOKO HARAM INSURGENTS, BECAUSE IT AMOUNTED TO KILLING NORTHERN MUSLIMS? GOOGLE IT!”

Was Bishop Kukah Right Or Wrong?

Where did Bishop Kukah go wrong here? I cannot see it.

Or, can you? The Government is simply going after the messenger, rather than the message. Kukah has not said anything new. He is simply bold and courageous, to reiterate the obvious truth. Was it not Uthman Dan Fodio that once said, “Conscience is an open wound, only truth can heal it”? It is simply Bishop Kukah’s exalted status, and the across-the-board respect and acceptance commanded

by Kukah that frightens the schizophrenic, delusionary and paranoid anti-people Government. Did the nation not quake under the threat of the “baboons being soaked in their own blood”? Was President Jonathan not warned at a time to stop killing Boko Haram insurgents, because it amounted to killing Northern Muslims? Google it!

There is nothing said about this Buhari Government by Kukah, that is not founded on truth, data, figures and a firma terra. Is it the cluelessness, compasslessness, compassionlessness, and insensitivity of the Government to the plight of the Nigerian people? Is it the ascending corruption that now struts about like a proud peacock, where recovered loots are being incrementally relooted? Is it the ravaging poverty that has reduced many Nigerians to vassals and slaves feeding from dustbins? Is it the glaring insecurity that has since geometrically graduated and multiplied from only Boko Haram to armed bandits, blood-letting herdsmen, vicious kidnappings, gruesome murders and “otokotoism”, rendering our homes, highways, footpaths, markets, Churches, Mosques and farms, very unsafe and endangered?

Is it the near psychopathic inebriation with northern hegemony, cronyism, prebendalism, sectionalism, tribalism and favouritism we see daily in this Government’s appointments into the commanding heights of our national life?

Is it the clear orchestration of divisiveness, ethno-religious crisis, gender decimation, and intolerance of opposition, plurality of voices and dissenting opinions? Is it the submerging of Nigeria into a second recession, and gradual killing of the Naira, humbling it to about N480 to just $1?

Is it the large-scale hunger, penury, melancholy, tears, fear, sorrow, pains, pangs, blood, hopelessness and haplessness that have since engulfed Nigeria? Is it the decimation of the middle class; the enthronement of northern supremacy and Government’s lack of accountability and transparency in governance? Where has Bishop Kukah gone off track? I cannot see it. Or, can you?

Bishop Kukah Didn’t Just Start Today Bishop Kukah has so far, served as one of the very few surviving consciences of the nation. He has been a compass with which the nation’s direction or lack of it is read.

He serves as a thermometer to measure the ever-rising temperature of beleaguered Nigeria. Kukah represents the sphygmomanometer with which Nigeria’s high or low blood pressure is constantly measured, to avoid a national heart attack and artery bursting. The following are few of his earlier interventions: In my article in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper of 2nd August, 2020, titled “NOW, WHO WILL COMFORT BISHOP KUKAH?”, on the passage of Bishop Kukah’s mother, I had written, inter alia, as follows: “Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, that fiery cleric, social critic, rights Activist and intellectual prodigy on the pulpit, lost his mother in July. I had condoled with him by SMS and whatsapp message, when his number was not going through. But, I kept on asking myself one question: “who will comfort Bishop Kukah?” This question is relevant, considering the fact that this charismatic, fecund and former Secretary-General of the Catholic Secretariat and current Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese (born 31st August, 1952), has over the years, comforted thousands (perhaps, millions) of people, who lost their loved ones. Bishop Kukah has preached at many grave sides, delivered hundreds of funeral homilies, delivered oceans of comfort to bereaved families, and recited the holy rosary times without number.

All to comfort people. Kukah was Secretary to the Oputa Panel that investigated human rights violation during the Military era (1999-2001). He also served as Secretary to the 2005 National Political Reform Conference. Now, who will comfort Kukah? Only God… THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK “Government, in the last analysis, is organised opinion.

Where there is little or no public opinion, there is likely to be bad government.”

William Lyon Mackenzie King

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT Green Pandemic Recovery Essential to Close Climate Action Gap, Says UN Report Bennett Oghifo

A

new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) finds that green pandemic recovery could cut up to 25 per cent off predicted 2030 greenhouse gas emissions and bring the world closer to meeting the 2°C goal of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change,.

UNEP’s annual Emissions Gap Report 2020, released late December, finds that, despite a dip in 2020 carbon dioxide emissions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is still heading for a temperature rise in excess of 3°C this century.

However, if governments invest in climate action as part of pandemic recovery and solidify emerging net-zero commitments with strengthened pledges at the next climate meeting – taking place in Glasgow in November 2021 – they can bring emissions to levels broadly consistent with the 2°C goal.

By combining a green

pandemic recovery with swift moves to include new net-zero commitments in updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, and following up with rapid, stronger action, governments could still attain the more-ambitious 1.5°C goal.

“The year 2020 is on course to be one of the warmest on record, while wildfires, storms and droughts continue to wreak havoc,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director.

“However, UNEP’s Emissions Gap report shows that a green pandemic recovery can take a huge slice out of greenhouse gas emissions and help slow climate change. I urge governments to back a green recovery in the next stage of COVID-19 fiscal interventions and raise significantly their climate ambitions in 2021.”

Each year, the Emissions Gap Report assesses the gap between anticipated emissions and levels consistent with the Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming this century to well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C. The report finds that in 2019 total greenhouse gas

emissions, including land-use change, reached a new high of 59.1 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent (GtCO2e). Global greenhouse gas emissions have grown 1.4 per cent per year since 2010 on average, with a more rapid increase of 2.6 per cent in 2019 due to a large increase in forest fires.

As a result of reduced travel, lower industrial activity and lower electricity generation this year due to the pandemic, carbon dioxide emissions are predicted to fall up to 7 per cent in 2020. However, this dip only translates to a 0.01°C reduction of global warming by 2050. Meanwhile, NDCs remain inadequate.

Green recovery critical A green pandemic recovery, however, can cut up to 25 per cent off the emissions we would expect to see in 2030 based on policies in place before COVID-19. A green recovery would put emissions in 2030 at 44 GtCO2e, instead of the predicted 59 GtCO2e – far outstripping emission reductions foreseen in unconditional NDCs, which leave the world on track

for a 3.2°C temperature rise.

Such a green recovery would put emissions within the range that gives a 66 per cent chance of holding temperatures to below 2°C, but would still be insufficient to achieve the 1.5°C goal.

Measures to prioritise in green fiscal recovery include direct support for zero-emissions technologies and infrastructure, reducing fossil fuel subsidies, no new coal plants, and promoting nature-based solutions – including large-scale landscape

restoration and reforestation.

So far, the report finds, action on a green fiscal recovery has been limited. Around one-quarter of G20 members have dedicated shares of their spending, up to 3 per cent of GDP, to low-carbon measures.

L-R: Brand Ambassador, ADRON Homes, Saheed Balogun, Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Kemi Osude-Olaniyan; Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Group Managing Director, ADRON Homes, Aare Adetola Emmanuel-King and Director, Administrative and Human Resource, Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority, LASRERA, Mrs. Titilayo Omorodion, during a courtesy visit on the Special Adviser by the management Team of ADRON Homes, at Alausa…recently

TAAS Recommends Entrepreneurship as Essential for Economic Growth Fadekemi Ajakaiye The Association of African Startups, TAAS, recommends

entrepreneurship as essential for economic growth in Nigeria.

This was stated at the inaugural launch of TAAS

learning hub in Lagos, recently.

The President, TAAS, Ms. Just Ibe stated that the goal of the organisation is to build

Julius Berger Pledges Modern Standards in Constructing Second Niger Bridge Bennett Oghifo Modern construction standards would be used in rendering the second Niger Bridge, the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc., Engr. Lars Richter has said.

The managing director, who stated this at the inspection/ town hall meeting at Asaba, Delta State, recently, recalled the rich history of the first Niger Bridge and its significance to commerce and industry in the country.

Richter said the need for a complementing bridge arose due to a combination of factors like population growth in the area, high rate of urbanisation and the geometric increase in traffic volumes over the years.

“The second Niger Bridge is part of a new motorway ring which aims to minimise traffic congestion on the old bridge and to strengthen the entire region – it therefore strengthens Nigeria generally and its domestic and international trade routes as well,” Richter said.

He said the project was split into three phases, and that the Phase 1 comprised a 1.6km bridge and 10.3km roads, Phase 2A is a 17.5km Asaba link road and Phase 2B a 17.5km Onitsha link road.

On the progress made so far, the Managing Director said the entire substructure of the Second Niger Bridge is completed, while the super structure and finishing

works are in progress. He added that secondary bridges on the main project are also completed.

The remaining works which include soil improvement works, culverts and drainage, Owerri interchange, as well as the toll gate are in progress.

“There is no doubt that upon completion, the Second Niger Bridge will ease traffic flow, improve road safety and create greater opportunities for local residents. It will advance the commercial viability of the immediate area and have a regenerative effect on economic life,” Richter further said that “the bridge adds a robust artery to Nigeria’s transportation grid, ensuring a solution fit not only for today, but for Nigeria’s tomorrow, because it is being built to cater for the expected growth in traffic over the next 50 years resulting from increased economic activities, population growth and new urban developments.”

According to him, “As a key infrastructure linking the East and the West of the country and a main artery within the Trans-African highway between Lagos and Mombassa, this bridge is a key national infrastructure that will invigorate the SouthEast of the nation, promoting greater economic growth and boosting of trade and commerce locally for residents, nationally and internationally.”

He said the Second Niger Bridge will spur an increase in investments, agriculture and trade, particularly with the Onitsha Main Market in the region, which is a major trading hub and key commercial capital. The bridge, he emphasised, will allow for improved, more efficient and quicker connection to Lagos, another key commercial hub.

It will surely reduce hardships of commuters, improve traffic flow and road safety, Richter said.

Speaking on the technical challenges involved in the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, Richter said, “The chosen right of way for the project’s adjoining roads was carefully chosen to ensure minimal impact on citizenry and urban development,” adding that, “the construction works have to be achieved on an extremely soft and swampy terrain.”

The Managing Director said Julius Berger has met the identified challenges with strong solutions, taking proper consideration of “the varying water level of the River Niger of up to 12 metre between the dry and rainy seasons.” This consideration, he added, has further been supported by soil improvement measures “including vertical drainage and horizontal dam base reinforcement, which are implemented to guarantee the load-bearing capacity and to accelerate the settlement of the sand dams.”

a strong network of entrepreneurs within the African space who are focused on building sustainable businesses and are in for the long haul.

TAAS is an African-centred organisation focused on people, performance and the creation of sustainable businesses in the economic space, she said.

“Our mission is to equip African Startups with tools, strategies and requisite knowledge to attract local and global opportunities while building a platform to facilitate strategic partnership and collaboration with Government, investors and the private sector,” she said.

Ibe stated that TAAS has access to global opportunities through strategic partnerships which would enable a diverse and vibrant African economy.

“We have set up a tailored framework to aid the learning curriculum, in our boot camp.

Also, we have instructors from the 55 countries in Africa,” she said.

The CEO, TAAS, Ms. Omayemi Sage stated that the African continent has been a victim of exploitation for so long, coupled with our increasing population, which calls for attention and the need to create sustainable businesses.

She said, “Through our

unique approach of providing strategic insight that is tailored to the needs of each individual, we fully prepare African entrepreneurs with the tools needed to compete locally but on a global scale.”

TAAS Learning Hub is designed to uplift start-ups on the continent with the 21st century business technique and approach which activates results and guarantees their path to success, she stated.

“We intend to nurture and grow the entrepreneurial DNA of startups in Africa who will advance the growth of a vibrant and sustainable African economy,” she said.

NCF Promotes Birds Conservation, Ecotourism Fadekemi Ajakaiye The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) promotes birds conservation through the commemoration of World Migratory Birds Day (WMBD) with the theme “Birds connect our worlds” held via a webinar on Saturday, 10th October, 2020.

WMBD is an awarenessraising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. The day aimed at drawing attention to the threats faced by migratory birds, their ecological importance, and the need for national cooperation to conserve them.

The Director of Technical Programmes, NCF, Dr. Joseph Onoja said WMBD offers ample opportunity on the need to raise awareness about migratory birds and the importance of having them around.

He said “Bird watching is a great way to connect with

nature. It is even therapeutic.

Unlike in humans, the males of birds are more attractive than the females.”

He believes that bird watching impacts hugely on the ecotourism of Kenya, Uganda, South Africa among others, therefore, if Nigeria would embrace and explore this revenue generating aspect of the environment, it will boost the ecotourism industry for the nation.

“Maintenance of natural habitats is a major criterion for attracting more migratory birds into the country” He added.

While espousing the theme of the event, he highlighted some of the importance of bird watching and urged individuals to imbibe the culture.

“Why you should be involved in bird watching is because it is a great way to connect with nature; It helps to keep in touch with the awe

and mystery of the natural world; It is a good way to exercise and feel good about yourself; all around the world, birdwatchers form the largest group of ecotourists; and through bird watching, we can keep track of changing seasons.”

He emphasised that migratory birds are beneficial to us and the planet’s ecosystems because they provide critical services such as seed dispersal, pollination, pest control, cultural value, nature’s clean-up crew, helps research and more.

A session of quiz also featured in the event and emerged winners to be rewarded handsomely.

Participants were drawn majorly from the education, media, environment and religion sectors.

The Day is celebrated bi-annually on the second Saturday in May and in October to portray the importance of birds in nature conservation.

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT

Lagos to Commission 377 Projects in Various Sectors Fadekemi Ajakaiye Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said the government would commission 377 projects in various sectors over the next few months of this year.

The governor assured residents of a quantum leap in provision of groundbreaking infrastructure in 2021, saying major projects designed to uplift the welfare and living standards of the people would be unveiled this year, according to a statement by the government.

The Governor, who spoke at a special hybrid New Year thanksgiving service of the state held at Football Pitch of Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, said some of the projects would be commissioned this month.

The statement said 350 participants were physically present at the venue which has the capacity to accommodate 5,000 people, while about 1,000 participants joined virtually.

According to Sanwo-Olu, “Starting this month, Lagosians are going to see renewed efforts that have been put into uplifting their welfare and living standards.

“Over the next few months, we have 377 projects slated for commissioning in various sectors, across the State, all embarked upon to positively impact the lives of every resident of Lagos State.”

He listed some of the projects to include the 52 Tonne Per Hour Imota Rice Mill in Ikorodu, Pen Cinema Junction Flyover and Ramp in Agege, Glover Memorial Hall in Marina, Ariyo (Mile 10) – Ira – Muwo Bridge Phase 1 road in Ojo, and the remodeled Youth Center in Abesan, Ipaja.

Others are the Lagos State Affordable Public Housing Scheme in Idale, Badagry, comprising 252 units of 2-bedroom bungalows; the LagosHOMS Housing Project in Iponri, comprising 132 housing units; the LagosHOMS Housing Project in Lekki Phase 2, comprising 84 housing units; and the LagosHOMS Housing Project Phase 2B in Igbogbo, comprising 84 housing units, among others.

The Governor, who recently signed the 2021 Lagos State Appropriation Bill into law, said it was gratifying to note that the budget was now ready for implementation.

On the Thanksgiving service, the Governor said it was important to return all glory to God for seeing the state through despite the turbulent challenges witnessed in 2020.

He said: “There is no doubt that when we cast our minds back and reflect deeply on all that transpired in the just concluded year 2020, we would see very clearly that our God is indeed faithful and worthy of all our praise and our thanksgiving. Indeed, if it had not been for the Lord who was on our side, the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul.

Our help is indeed in the name of the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth.

“As a State, we cannot but give unending praise to God, especially considering all the blows dealt to us last year.

First, there was the Coronavirus pandemic, of which our dear State has been the national epicenter, and then there was the incalculable violence and destruction we suffered during the course of hijacked protests in October 2020.

“Either one of these two tragedies could have completely

disrupted and crippled our economy and existence, but we survived both of them. And we did not only survive, we triumphed, and we can look back and say that we emerged from 2020 stronger and more confident about the inherent greatness and resilience of our State.”

The Governor said it was for this reason that his year’s

Thanksgiving service was rightly themed – “In Everything Give Thanks.”

He expressed profound appreciation to members of the State Executive Council, the Legislature and the Judiciary for their cooperation and support for the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda, which is the driving force behind the vision of his administration for a Greater

Lagos, hinged on six strategic pillars of development.

Besides, Sanwo-Olu urged residents to continue to adhere strictly to Covid-19 protocols, expressing optimism that the virus would be put behind soon, just as he commended religious leaders for their prayers and support for the peace, progress and prosperity of the state.

Executive Director, West Africa Region, Chartered Institute of Public Resources Management and Politics, Ghana, Dr. Richards Kpoku-Aquarte (left); presenting a Distinguished Fellow Award Certificate to the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, in her office… recently

Experts: Protect Natural Habitats to Prevent Future Pandemics Pandemics such as COVID-19 can be averted in future by restoring and protecting natural habitats, experts have said.

This was an outcome of the Fourth African Conference of Science Journalists, a virtual event with the Theme: Bolstering the Role of Science Journalism during a Pandemic and an ‘Infodemic’ The Head of Conservation Programmes at WWF-Kenya, Nancy Githaiga, said there

is a need to address loss and degradation of habitat to minimise vulnerability to pandemics. The loss of nature is estimated at 68 per cent.

“As habitats reduce, animal species are coming into more contact with humans. This is leading to zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19. We may continue looking for vaccines against the pandemic, but if we continue living the way we are,

more risks will come. We have to solve these issues upstream to reduce vulnerability by striking a balance with nature,” Githaiga told the ongoing Fourth African Conference of Science Journalists.

Coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has been linked to bats.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the limited close contact between humans and bats means transmission of the virus to humans likely happened

through another animal species, handled more closely. Though not yet identified, the WHO suspects the intermediate host could be a domestic animal, wild animal or a domesticated wild animal.

Githaiga explained, “Nature is declining, together with its benefits. We have taken it for granted and it is treating us the same way. That is why diseases are being brought from animals to humans; and we have to live

with the consequences of our actions. Therefore, we have to start healing our relationship with nature and striking a balance to prevent this.”

Infrastructural development, illegal wildlife trade and unsustainable food production have been singled out for enhancing humans’ vulnerability to pandemics.

“Whereas we need to continue developing the continent, we also

have to consider right development planning to maximise its benefit and minimise its impact.

Development pathways need to strengthen resilience of ecological infrastructure,” said Drew McVey from WWF-Kenya.

Mr McVey said naturally functioning ecosystems should be maintained while building physical infrastructure, without necessarily putting them into competition.

Forests are Vital Resources for Poverty Eradication, Says Don African governments must protect forests as they are key in poverty eradication, according to Dr. Gillian Kabwe, a senior lecturer at Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia.

Dr. Kabwe urged authorities to fight overexploitation of these natural resources to stop deforestation often fuelled by the vicious cycle of poverty.

“Deforestation plays two roles: on the one hand, it helps in eradication of poverty among dependent communities in food and income generation activi-

ties such as charcoal burning, firewood among others, but, on the other hand, forests are being destroyed to clear land for agriculture, ranching and development, unsustainable logging for timber. All these human activities, among others, in the long run contribute to nature decline,” she said.

The Don was speaking during the Fourth African Conference of Science Journalists organized by Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA).

She said a recent global assessment report by International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) titled Forests, Trees and the Eradication of Poverty: Potential and Limitations, revealed that today forests contribute to about 25 per cent of household income for the poor.

Dr Kabwe told the conference that poverty is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity globally, with one in every 10 people living in extreme poverty.

Consequently, poverty eradication has found a place at the top of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“Most people living in the rural areas are disadvantaged on issues of value addition on forest products even though key forest resources are known by local communities.

Among other challenges, acquiring a licence is almost impossible and, therefore, they cannot properly trade on products such as timber

and charcoal,” she said.

She regretted that women are often the most impacted by poverty and forest loss, saying it would, therefore, be important that they are integrated in programmes of engagement on issues of community-based forest management.

“In the rural setups women are endowed with knowledge about beneficial forest resources as they are the ones who provide for everyday family needs; they fetch firewood and

water, and do cultivation, and therefore understand forest issues well enough,” said Dr. Kabwe, adding that it is important to create a platform for them to express themselves.

She urged journalists to be objective in reporting forestry and poverty issues by highlighting regularly policies and regulations on the use of forest products, promote contribution of forests in poverty reduction and amplify existing information on the value of forest resources and their potential.

Stakeholders Profer Solution to Sustainable Property Market in Nigeria Bennett Oghifo Financial transparency has been proferred by stakehlders as one of the critical elements required for the sustainable development of Nigeria’s property market.

These stakeholders, who participated in a webinar hosted by the Nigerian chapter of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI-Nigeria) with the theme, ‘Effective Governance and Rational Dispute Resolution’, canvassed property rights and effective governance in the industry.

According to Bill Endsley, Principal Consultant, World Citizen Consulting, besides

property rights and effective governance, Nigeria also needs such core elements as access to credit, rational dispute resolution, appropriate regulations and financial transparency in order to develop a sustainable property market in the country.

The Chairman, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC), Hakeem Ogunniran moderated and enriched the discussion, while Mr. Adeniji Adele, President FIABCI-Nigeria set the tone for the day’s business with his opening remarks. There were inputs from Olukayode Enitan, Principal, Enitan Associate, and Nechi Ezeako, CEO, El-Values Advisory.

The Programme Officer at Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). Lola Adekanye said, “There are huge economic growth opportunities in Africa. Global businesses are well positioned to tap into the countries and sectors with the highest potential for growth.”

But she faulted attitude to integrity in Nigeria, citing a report by transparency International, which says one in every three Nigerians paid bribes for basic services from 2016 to 2019. She noted that such development erodes investor confidence and prevents foreign direct investment in real estate.

She said, “Weak law enforce-

ment, sanctions and regulatory regime, poor corruption mitigation and compliance capacity, limited access to credible information and compliance resources as well as limited automation in public administration and company management operations are impacting the real estate sector negatively.”

She also called for institutional structures that would make the industry attractive for investors, encouraging players to show responsibility by promoting transparency in the market.

According to a real estate lawyer and managing partner, Mark Odu and Company, Francis Okpaleke, though the real estate sector plays

an important role in the development of any economy, resolving disputes in the sector through the traditional court has been very challenging over the years.

Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and Partner, Akinwunmi and Busari advised stakeholders to get involved in matters relating to real estate and protection of property rights of the citizens.

Olumide-Fusika said, “High cost of transaction, high informality and issues of security of tenure reduces property investment in the sector as well as deter foreign investments,” stating that if people in the real estate sector are involved in policy making,

there would be focus on policies that ameliorate issues affecting growth of the industry.

He said if any investor commits funds to real estate in Nigeria, he or she should be interested in what the law says, especially in the equality before the law, right to acquire, and own immovable property and the justice delivery system.

“Properties are not supposed to be revoked from the owners, without compensations, but properties are revoked by those in power and allocated to politicians,” he said and called on the government to improve on these basic fundamentals to boost interest in the industry.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

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Group Business Editor Obinna Chima

Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

D E C E M B E R

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

667.91% -0.04% - 11.24%

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

3 1 , 6.58% 38.81%

2 0 2 0 EXCHANGE RATE N379/1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes China New Home Prices Slow

CAPITAL RAISING ON THEIR MINDS

L-R: Group Managing Director/CEO VFD Group Plc, Nonso Okpala; Chairman, Board of Directors, Olatunde Busari, and Company Secretary/ Legal Adviser, Gbeminiyi Shoda, at the VFD Group Extraordinary General Meeting which took place in Lagos...recently

Kyari: Why NNPC Shutdown All Refineries Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has reiterated that carrying out Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) on the country’s petroleum refineries was no longer feasible, maintaining that the facilities had to be shut down completely for total rehabilitation.

Kyari stated that the decision to enforce a total shutdown was deliberate, with many of the pipelines to the refineries already compromised while TAM had never really yielded the required result.

Speaking in an interview with the Voice of Nigeria (VON) in Abuja, the NNPC boss, stressed that the facilities have now been handed over to Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors who will carry out the revamping of the petrol

ENERGY refining facilities before they will be handed over to the private sector, but with the federal government still owning about 49 per cent equity.

He said: “As a matter of deliberate management decision, we decided to shut down the refineries. Our reasons are very simple. First, crude oil supply to these facilities were constrained.

As you may be aware, between excravos into Warri all the way to Kaduna, those lines are completely compromised.

“We did everything possible, Warri to Kaduna, Warri to excravos was holding until we shut down, but we were still not able to deliver even the capacity that Warri refinery required because once you put pressure on it, the line gives up.

“For the number of vandalised points, hundreds of them on this line, we have done several patches

on these lines, but it just gave up.

So, we were not able to deliver even enough volume to sustain the operation of Warri refinery, not to talk of adding Kaduna refinery.

“Refineries are not cars that you can switch on and off. They have to run continuously and consistently. Once you are not able to guarantee crude oil supply or feedstock, it’s needless to continue to operate it.”

Kyari, further admitted that a number of mistakes had been made in the last 25 years managing the country’s refineries, including on having to get the rehab work properly done due to interventions from outside the corporation’s control.

“Now those interventions are completely absent. Today, we have one of the best working business environments that you can ever think of. We have all the assurances that these processes will continue. So, we decided to shut them down and conduct

a full rehab.

“We started the process through some form of original refinery builder framework. It took us time, about a year and eventually we ended up with a very bad situation, which is that the original refinery builder, especially for Port Harcourt claimed that they cannot come down here and they have to nominate an agent.

“We also realised that as a matter of fact, we should not have started that in the first instance, simply because you don’t call the maker of a car to do servicing of the car for you. In a very simple sense that’s what we were trying to do.

“We aborted that process and when we came on board, we decided to do what is right, that is the right EPC contractors to help us work it out and we have passed that stage and we are very optimistic that that Continued on page 24

NERC: Estimated Bill Threat to Power Sector Survival Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said that the practice of estimated billing by electricity distribution companies (Discos) is a threat to the country’s power sector, just as it stressed the need to end the exercise.

NERC’s commissioner responsible for legal, licencing and compliance, Mr. Dafe Akpeneya stated this in a recent roundtable conversation on Nigeria’s power sector which was organised by the PwC Nigeria.

The roundtable had other stakeholders such as the Director

ENERGY General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh, former power minister, Prof.

Barth Nnadi, Managing Director of Mojec Group of Companies, Chantelle Abdul and Eyo Ekpo who was a commissioner at NERC and now Executive Director of New Frontiers Development Limited in attendance.

The NERC had issued an order in February 2020, to cap estimated bills that can be issued to unmetered customers per month.

It noted in the order that all

unmetered residential customers who consume more than 50 kilowatt per hour of electricity in a month and small businesses customers should not be invoiced for the consumption of energy beyond the cap it stipulated.

But the Discos in response complained that the cap on estimated bills do not reflect the amount of energy consumed by these unmetered customers, and that NERC’s assumptions were inaccurate.

The Discos had then said the cap could result to about 20 to 35 per cent of energy losses while discouraging customers from procuring meters through the

Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme.

In response, Akpeneye, however stated that the regulations on estimated billing were originally designed for customers without meters. He said overtime the method became the primary complaint of customers, including those with post-paid meters and as such threatened the value chain.

With the method in practice, Akpeneye explained that a lot of customers were unwilling to pay the estimated bills sent to them by Discos.

Continued on page 24

Prices of new homes in China rose at a slower pace in December, with tightening policies continuing to cool the market, a private survey showed on Friday, but price growth in 2020 still topped the previous year’s pace despite the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Reuters, new home prices in 100 cities rose 0.25 per cent in December from a month earlier versus a 0.32 per cent gain in November, moderating for the second straight month, according to data from China Index Academy (CIA), one of the country’s largest independent real estate research firms.

More cities reported monthly gains, however, with the number climbing to 79 from 71 in November, and 19 cities saw lower home prices compared with 28 in the preceding month, the CIA data showed.

Dongguan and Guangzhou, two cities in the southern Greater Bay Area, led the price rises.While central and northern cities like Luoyang and Zhangjiakou saw the biggest monthly price drops.

“Withthegovernment’smarket-coolingstepstakinghold,theoverall price gains remained on a mild level,” said Cao Jingjing, Research Director with CIA. “The cooling growth is also weighed by deepening price drops in some smaller cities which saw a withered local economy and continued population outflow.”

On an annual basis, new home prices rose 3.46 per cent in December, versus November’s 3.63 per cent gain.

For the whole year of 2020, new home prices rose 3.46 per cent, slightly more than 3.34 per cent seen in 2019, the CIA data showed.

China’s property market has recovered quickly from the COVID-19 pandemic early last year, thanks to cheaper credit and looser purchase restrictions.

Nissan to Reduce Presence in Europe

Nissan Motor is planning to further reduce its presence in Europe and outsource the sales and manufacturing of its cars to alliance partner Renault, Reuters quoted the daily Yomiuri newspaper to have reported on Friday.

As part of its global turnaround plan, which is reversing a rapid expansion led by the ousted former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, Nissan will cut its distribution channels in 30 countries, mainly in East Europe.

It is also planning to close its Avila plant in Spain and convert it into a warehouse, the report said.

The report didn’t provide details of the scale of the outsourcing.

According to Reuters, calls to Nissan’s public relations office went unanswered on Friday, a public holiday in Japan.

The Japanese motor company is currently moving its operations away from Europe and shifting its focus to China, the United States, andJapan.Nissan,whichexpectstopostarecordoperatinglossof340 billion yen ($3.25 billion) in the year to March 31, is cutting production capacity and model numbers by a fifth and aims to slash operating expenses by 300 billion yen over three years.

Thecompany’sthree-wayalliancewithRenaultandMitsubishiMotor was plunged into uncertainty in 2018, when Ghosn was arrested on financialmisconductcharges,whichhedenies.HelaterfledJapanwhile beingmonitoredbylawenforcementandawaitingtrialathisresidence.

Ford, Mahindra Call Off Joint Venture

FordMotorCo.hascalledoffitsautomotivejointventurewithIndia’s Mahindra and Mahindra Limited due to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.The companies said in separate statements that the decision was driven by changes in the global economy over the last 15 months, causing both to reassess their capital allocation priorities.

The global economy and business environment are not the same as October last year, Ford spokesman T.R. Reid said. The deadline to finalize a joint venture between the companies was Dec. 31, and both made the decision to end the agreement rather than close a deal or extend the timetable to do so, Reid said.

In October 2019, Ford and Mahindra said they would form a joint venture in India in a move to cut costs for developing and producing vehicles for emerging markets. The companies said at the time they expected to launch three new utility vehicles, starting with a midsize SUV, and also jointly develop electric vehicles for emerging markets.

“We have to do more to curtail wasteful expenditure, which will involve what I may call ‘expenditure switching’ by moving funds from areas we do not need to spend them to social investment programmes“

Prof. Akpan Ekpo

24

T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

BUSINESSWORLD KYARI: WHY NNPC SHUTDOWN ALL REFINERIES process has been tested by the EPC contractors and they will do that.

“And once we fix them, eventually we are looking at a maximum of a two-year window, and that’s not a political date because people will confuse it with the exit of the president, but we will be happy to give him that exit gift as a corporation, but surely it’s a technical date and we will be able to deliver the plans before the president leaves government,” he added.

According to him, once that process is completed, the NNPC will invite the private sector to manage the refineries in conjunction with the corporation to the benefit of Nigerians.

“This is best practice anywhere in the world. Owners of refineries don’t typically operate them.

They will always get someone else or contractors to do it and we will copy that.

“And eventually, our advice to government has always been that we move to the Nigeria LNG kind of structure where the NNPC equity is at the minimal level and it can be 49 per cent like we have in the NLNG. NERC: ESTIMATED BILL THREAT TO POWER SECTOR SURVIVAL “The new capping order was introduced to create parity between metered and unmetered customers. Ultimately, the endgame is still to meter all customers, in the shortest possible time,” an excerpt from the roundtable quoted Akpeneye to have said.

Furthermore, the PwC noted that experts suggested at the roundtable the need for more innovation in power distribution such as micro power distribution to improve the efficiency levels of the Discos.

They also stated that the cost of grid supply would always be cheaper than that of selfgeneration, with consumers still willing to pay for quality service.

“Bridging the metering gap is critical to building trust in the sector and has the potential for job creation,” they noted while adding that there is also the need to rethink Nigeria’s power transmission model to allow for private sector financed super grid and regional grids.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

NEWS

WTO Explores Role of Trade Policy in Rapid Vaccine Roll-out Oluchi Chibuzor

Health Organisation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses are to be distributed by the end of 2021, with an allocation for every country equal to 20 per cent of the population so as to cover prioritised target groups.

Furthermore, the report provided an overview of the development and delivery of vaccines in the form of an infographic listing seven steps in this process: vaccine development, domestic approval (manufacture), vaccine manufacture, domestic

approval (importer), international distribution, border clearance, and domestic distribution and surveillance.

Finally, it identified where key decisions with trade impact may need to be made along the vaccine value chain and provides a non-

exhaustive list of useful resources to help inform decision-making.

This included a checklist of trade issues to consider along with the COVID-19 vaccine value chain, as well as a world map of clinical trials and partnerships on COVID-19 treatments.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Secretariat has published a new information note on trade-related issues for COVID-19 vaccine production, manufacturing and deployment.

The note, entitled, “Developing and delivering COVID-19 vaccines around the world,” explores how trade policy can play its part in ensuring the rapid roll-out of vaccines against COVID-19.

The paper focused on key topics which included two documents previously published on the WTO website: “Infographic: Developing & delivering COVID-19 vaccines around the world” and “Developing & delivering COVID-19 vaccines around the world: A checklist of issues with trade impact”.

The new information note comprised three sections.

The report provided background information on immunisation and the urgent search for vaccines against COVID-19.

It pointed to immunisation as a key component of primary health care and highlighted the ambitious national and global targets that have been set for L-R: Retail Cluster Head, Ikeja, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr. Henry Oke; Head, Channels Management, Mr. Muyideen Apena; Zonal COVID-19 vaccines.

Service Manager, Ikeja, Mrs. Chinyelu Samuel-Johnson; Regional Service Head, Lagos, Mr. Patrick Akpareva, and Manager, Ikorodu Branch, Mr. According to the World Kayode Adetola, during the opening ceremony of an ultra-modern cash centre of the bank at Owutu-Ikorodu, Lagos…recently

FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Firm Launches New Outdoor Advertising Product Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan An advertisement company, Fizzie Republic, has invented a new product, Portrait Pole Post (P3), which is an outdoor out of home (OOH) advertising product.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr. David Fasogbon, while speaking at the launch, said it was a graduation from the former A frame which was placed on the floor on the road.

He said the idea behind

the new product came when the former governor of Oyo State, late Senator Abiola Ajimobi, proscribed the placing of advertisement boards on the middle of the road, an act that always constituted threat to both the environmental outlook of Ibadan, the state capital, and vehicles on the roads.

According to him, “We started with the A frame and there was a directive from the former governor in Oyo State

that we’re littering the street, which was a candid decision because it was actually littering the street, because our A frames were put on the ground without really anything to fasten it to the ground, and anytime there is breeze, it blows them away and sometimes it hit a car, or litters the ground, so they were banned and proscribed.

“So in the course of six years, the Lord has told me that this is where I’m going to make

my money, and because of our initial ban, I didn’t let my creativity prowess stop at that so I didn’t relent.

“We pieced the A frame into two and we got a fastener and we started fastening them to the pole, and we did some other inventions along the way and they became beautiful. Before we know what’s happening we started attracting brands.”

The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State

Council, Mr. Ademola Babalola, speaking on the invention, lauded Fasogbon for his ingenuity and sense of corporate responsibility, describing the accomplishment as another indication of the first mantra from Ibadan.

He said the story of Fasogbon should serve as an inspiration to youths in the country that the business space in Nigeria was still very favourable to entrepreneurs with genuine viable visions.

Stanbic IBTC Undertakes CSI Initiative Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has continued to make remarkable contributions to children’s lives in communities where it operates.

According to a statement, as part of its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiative, the financial institution’s Marketing and Corporate Communications department renovated the SOS Children’s Villages, Social Centre, located at Isolo in Lagos State.

Members of the department gave the Social centre a facelift with new wall paintings, sophisticated furniture, and donated an All-In-One computer to comfort the children in accessing the digital hub at their

Ejigbo campus. The facility is home to over 300 youths and over 2000 youths around Ejigbo will benefit from the upgraded space which includes a lounge, hub furniture and the all-in-one computer donated.

SOS Children’s Villages is a non-governmental and nondenominational organisation that supports and provides for vulnerable children and young people who lack the required family care, protection and guidance. Reiterating Stanbic IBTC’s commitment to continue making a positive impact in the society, the Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Stanbic IBTC

Holdings Plc, Bridget OyefesoOdusami, said the organisation was keen on collaborating with reputable bodies such as the SOS Children’s Villages to foster the development of the nation’s younger generation.

“We believe the future is digital, and we are happy to have donated useful items to enable the youths to stay up to date with digital learning, so they remain relevant in these times,” the statement.

According to her, “At Stanbic IBTC, we are passionate about the wellbeing of our future leaders.

As a socially responsible organisation, one of our major duties is

to improve the quality of life of the needy in our society. This is what we aim to achieve through our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives.”

Oyefeso-Odusami praised the management of the SOS Children’s Villages for their selfless service to humanity and encouraged the children to take advantage of the provisions made available within the facility.

Expressing his gratitude to Stanbic IBTC for their thoughtfulness, Programme Director, SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria, Ayodeji Adelopo, said the donations would enhance the impact that the organisation’s impact in the

lives of the children.

“These children need a conducive environment to learn as well as access to emerging technology and the digital space.

Stanbic IBTC has given these young ones the kind of luxury that is not available to them, and for this, we are very grateful,” he added. Also, Face-to-Face Fundraising Coordinator, SOS Children’s Villages, Maryam Daramola, urged other corporate organisations, institutions, communities and governments to emulate the kind gesture of Stanbic IBTC in donating and partnering with them to make life better for the needy.

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

ËÒÏÏ× ÕÓØÑÌÙÖß (Advertising) Correspondents

ÒÓØÏÎß äÏ (Aviation) ÜÙ×ÙÝÏÖÏ ÌÓÙÎßØ (Maritime) Ë×ÏÝ ×ÏÔÙ (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters

ß×Ï ÕÏÑÒÏ (Money Market) ÙÝË ÖÏÕÒßÙÑÓÏ (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

Gold Hits Two-month High as Dollar Face Pressure Gold powered above $1,900 an ounce to hit the highest level in almost two months, aided by a weaker dollar, after posting the biggest annual advance in a decade.

According to Bloomberg, silver also surged on the first full trading day of the new year, while platinum advanced to its priciest since 2016.

Bullion is rallying as a gauge of the United States currency languishes at the lowest level since 2018 after sliding for three quarters.

The gains in the haven come even as US and global stocks were at all-time highs amid expectations that widespread vaccine distribution in 2021, further central bank support,

and government aid will reignite growth and underpin better corporate profits.

Gold hits two-month high as dollar near 2018 low Gold’s recent climb has also been aided by renewed declines in US real yields, which boost the precious metal’s allure. Real yields - the difference between nominal benchmark bond yields

and the rate of inflation -- were at -1.092 per cent on Friday, near last year’s nadir. The figure ticked up on Monday.

“I see gold being pushed higher by lower real interest rates and higher inflation expectations,” said Nicholas Frappell, global general manager at Sydney-based ABC Bullion.

“The market is not looking

for any signs of tightening should inflation pick up in the near term. Gold traditionally outperforms when real interest rates are low.”

Spot gold climbed as much as 1.4 per cent to $1,925.37 an ounce, the highest since November 9, and traded at $1,922.48 in Singapore as the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3 per cent.

25

T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

Expectation from Power Sector in 2021 Through interactions with experts in the power market, Chineme Okafor sums up expectations from the sector in 2021

Saleh

N

igeria’s electricity market is failing and has largely disappointed a good number, if not all the people who rely on it. In theory, it has a mix bag of good solutions which could save it from total collapse.

The solutions before it, experts whom THISDAY got their expectations from the sector in 2021, could be described as excellent and capable of repositioning the sector if well implemented from 2021.

Leaning on their experience, the experts who cut across the sector’s value chain explained that they however have very little faith in the federal government’s ability to follow through on these choices of actions required to move the sector forward.

Indeed, mindful of the time left for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to make notable impacts on the sector before the curtain draws on his eight-year tenure, the experts inferred that 2021 could be the only year realistically left for Buhari to improve the sector before his exit in 2023.

At the turn of the New Year, Buhari made a national broadcast in which he promised that, “the reforms we have put in place in the power sector would guarantee increased efficiency in our drive to significantly expand the generation and distribution of electricity for use in homes and factories.”

His broadcast was preceded by the country’s poor power supply record in 2020, averaging a daily supply of 4,051 megawatts (MW) to millions of its population in all of 2020.

This sector also failed to get an average of 3,672MW across to homes and factories every day in the past year due to gas shortages, transmission and distribution challenges. Additionally, it ended the year without earning N645.157 billion which it should have earned but couldn’t because of these challenges. It recorded a peak generation of 5,520MW as its best in the past year.

So, what could happen in 2021?

From experts’ viewpoints, the dominant challenge of the sector remains the financial mess it is submerged in. The World Bank had explained that between 2017 and 2019, the sector incurred N1.2 trillion deficits in tariff, just as the government paid Gencos and gas producers circa N1.3 trillion as subsidy.

This they explained would have to be sorted out in 2021 through a number of intervention programs started in 2020 and which are crucial to the evolution and improvement of the power sector in 2021 and beyond.

Taken together, they noted that the programs could lead to solving the main problem of illiquidity in the sector; a situation where power

Buhari Discos are unable to fully pay for all the power that they purchase wholesale from the Gencos because the Discos do not collect enough money from electricity consumers.

“If the programs proceed as expected and are generally successful, then a lot of investment will be unlocked in the sector which will allow the main challenge of availability of power to be solved in the coming years,” said an expert who preferred to stay unnamed.

Power Sector Recovery Program (PSRP) Funded by the World Bank, the PSRP is a program which would see the Bank lend to the federal government money to pay for wholesale electricity supplies the hugely broke power Discos purchase from Gencos.

Being that the Discos are still unable to pay for the wholesale power supplied to them because they do not collect enough money from their own customers for a variety of reasons, experts explained that the PSRP could step in to stabilise the sector’s financials.

The money from the World Bank, according to the experts will allow the Discos fill the gap which in turn encourages the Gencos to continue to produce electricity for the country. However, it is expected that the Discos will eventually be able to fill the gap themselves by collecting enough money from their customers when the situation improves.

Although experts consider the program as being quite intricate and has several components, they believe the main reason why the government secured the funding from the World Bank was because it promised to allow the sector run on market reflective tariffs; the NERC has so far set off this and the PSRP is thus expected to run fully in 2021 after receiving approval from the World Bank and government in 2020.

National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) Another project expected to run and define Nigeria’s power sector in 2021 is the NMMP, a program funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Even though the metering gap in Nigeria’s power sector is between four and six million meters, the NMMP is expected to help reduce this and improve the confidence of electricity consumers in the bills they receive from their various Discos.

Through the roll out of at least one million prepaid meters in the country, the NMMP is thought by experts to also help Discos increase the amount of money they collect from electricity consumers as there will be less frequent incidents of contesting estimated bills.

Officially, the program took off in October 2020 like the PSRP but likely to gain momentum in 2021. According to experts, the CBN chose to fund

the program mainly because organised labour insisted that the government provide prepaid meters for consumers when the NERC approved tariff increase in September 2020.

However, they noted that one million meters which the program seeks to provide will not be enough to cover the entire country or end the metering gap.

Distribution Sector Recovery Program (DISREP) The DISREP is funded by the World Bank, solely on the basis that it is clear that the CBN funded metering program will not provide enough meters for Nigerians, thus the World Bank stepped in to provide an additional three to four million meters for customers as well under the proposed DISREP. Experts explained to THISDAY that in addition, the World Bank will provide funding to power Discos to enable them to refurbish and replace old transformers and cables; this will help improve the efficiency levels of the Discos’ networks.

“The main reason the World Bank is providing the funding to the Discos to install meters and improve their networks is because it believes this would allow them to increase the amount, they collect from their customers which in turn will allow them fill the gap in payments to the Gencos for wholesale supplies,” another expert stated, preferring to stay unnamed.

Although the DISREP is still under proposal stage and yet to be approved by the World Bank and federal government, it is however expected that its approvals will be secured in 2021 and implementation also started.

A combination of these, the experts noted will if implemented in 2021 allow power Discos the opportunity to improve service deliveries to customers as well as increase their abilities to pay for wholesale power supplied by Gencos.

“So, in all, we should be expecting improved customer service from the Discos in 2021 – particularly a significant increase in the number of customers that are metered,” noted one of the unnamed experts.

Will Siemens, Mambilla, others happen?

Beyond the PSRP and other World Bank and CBN supported programs which are expected to define the sector in 2021, there is also the Nigeria Electrification Roadmap which the government and German firm, Siemens signed to resolve the sector’s existing challenges and expand its capacity.

Described as a major milestone by Joe Kaeser, the president of Siemens AG when it signed with the government, the program he noted “will significantly enhance Nigeria’s energy system, create thousands of new qualified jobs and enable the country and its people for the next level of industrial and societal development,” when implemented. The program is thus structured in three phases of phase one, focusing on essential

and quick-win measures to increase the system’s end-to-end operational capacity to 7,000MW; phase two, targeting outstanding network bottlenecks to enable full use of existing generation and distribution capacities to raise capacity to 11,000MW and phase three, developing the system up to 25,000MW in the long-term through expansive upgrade and expansion of generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.

This, Farouk Yabo who is the Acting Director of Renewable Energy and Rural Power Access at the ministry of power explained will including other projects like the 3050MW Mambilla hydro project begin to be implemented in 2021.

Yabo, noted in a recent Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) program observed by THISDAY that the government intends to in 2021 focus on addressing the sector’s liquidity problem, align its value chain for efficiency, expand the transmission network and complete or advance works on existing legacy hydro power projects.

The country’s solar power and off grid segment will equally get profound attention through programs such as a five million solar home system the CBN has opted to back for the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) to implement.

According to him, it was important for the government to exit the power subsidy regime through the PSRP which described as an exit route for this, align the value chain – Gencos, TCN and Discos to work efficiently through Siemens programme and leverage the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Plan (TREP) which he noted has up to $1.6 billion to spend.

“Clearly, we are not in any way close to where we are supposed to be and need to work harder.

Despite the COVID-19, 2020 has not been too bad for the power sector. The issue of tariffs is largely legal, the EPSRA 2005 established the NERC and require of it to ensure balance between customer and investors; it is usually something beyond the realm of policy,” Yabo said while indicating the government’s intent to allow the sector run on existing market principles in 2021.

According to him: “Current tariff is designed as a service-based tariff which means that investors will increase tariff from improved service delivery.

Generation has improved greatly. The Discos have started taking responsibility to ensure improved supply.

“It will be very difficult for a country like ours to continue to pay trillions of naira in subsidy.

Sources of power from solar have continually become cheap and I foresee that as we expand, the tariff will get more competitive.

“It is a very important for everyone to understand that the sector has been privatised but there is a willingness from government to ensure that there is a balance in supply and cost.”

26

T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

Tracking Progress at AKK Gas Project Emmanuel Addeh, who was part of an entourage that toured the AKK pipelines gas project recently, provides an update on the undertaking, said to be one of the potential game changers for the gas sector in the country

O

n June 30th, this year, President Muhammadu Buhari officially flagged off the Ajaokuta-KadunaKano (AKK) gas pipeline project, a joint venture project between Oilserv limited, a fully indigenous company and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Succinctly put, the AKK project is expected to boost the country’s gas distribution system by establishing a connecting pipeline network between the eastern, western and northern regions of Nigeria.

A 614 km-long natural gas pipeline between Ajaokuta and Kano, the project forms part of the first Phase of the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline (TNGP) project, an integral part of the proposed 4,401km-long Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) to export natural gas to countries in Europe.

While in the past, a foreign firm would perhaps have been awarded the contract, the choice of Oilserv Limited, did not come to many Nigerians as a surprise, having proven to be deserving of it, with the near perfect execution of a handful of other pipelines and engineering project management and construction jobs in the last couple of years.

Aside boasting of being the first and only Nigerian indigenous company to fabricate, install and commission the largest oil manifold station for Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd. (SPDC), it also successfully designed and constructed the largest Gas Transmission Pipeline System in Nigeria and Africa - the Obiafu/Obrikom to Oben Node Gas Transmission Pipeline System, which forms a part of the Nigerian Gas Master Plan (NGMP).

Many strategic reasons have been adduced for the commencement of AKK gas pipeline project, but suffix to say that it is expected to reduce the large volume of gas flared annually in Nigeria.

In addition, the AKK natural gas pipeline project is also expected to promote and increase the local usage of domestic gas, while increasing the country’s revenue generation through the export of natural gas, boost employment opportunities, aid in revamping local gas-based industries along its axis as well as have a multiplier effect on small scale industries and jobs done by artisans.

Under the leadership of its Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Emeka Okwuosa, a seasoned engineer, administrator, entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in maintenance and operations, teaching, wireline logging and interpretation, seismic acquisition, the Oilserv quietly got down to work and in just six months has achieved a major landmark in the project which is expected to be completed by 2023.

Okwuosa, whose expertise also spans processing and interpretation, pipeline engineering, procurement and construction (EPCIC), project management, drilling and drilling services, having worked in Europe, North Africa, West Africa, Gulf of Guinea/ Central Africa and Indonesia, during the tour vowed to complete the project on schedule.

The company did not just get accolades from the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mallam Mele Kyari and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Hadiza Ahmed, it also got praises for not missing a single timeline in the last six months that the project commenced.

An elated Okwuosa, stated that the company deployed high level equipment, the first in the industry, to fast-track the work being done, noting that the project will be finished on schedule without hassles.

He also highlighted the local content policy of the company on the AKK natural gas pipelines, explaining that all the professionals handling the job were Nigerians, with most of the procurements also locally sourced.

“Oilserv as a company is 100 per cent local content, from engineering to procurement to construction. The things we have to buy

overseas, we do, but those we produce in Nigeria, we get here. So, we are abiding by local content plan. As seen clearly, the materials, the vehicles are Nigerian made.

“Apart from things like the line pipes, because the loan was obtained from China, the line pipes have to be obtained from there, but aside that, every other thing comes from Nigeria,” he explained.

He said because the project was denominated in dollars, there was no foreign exchange issues or any need for contract re-evaluation, even after the fall in value of the local currency.

“We started pre-construction work ahead of time. So, it’s a process, but we are speeding things up. We will continue to build capacity and remain a leader in the deployment of technology. Inasmuch as we are a local company, we deploy the highest and latest technology.

“As you can see, this is automatic and semi-automatic welding system. Most of the pipelines companies use manual welding. So, we want to continue to improve such that we become a company of choice for major projects like this.

“We want to also diversify and get into other aspects of work in the oil and gas industry. We have a security procedure based on strategy and plan and this is dictated by the area we operate in after doing a security scan.

“We do the necessary. This is because if you are in tandem with the community, you are not likely to have problems with them,” he noted.

Going forward, the company stressed that with the arrival of the major line pipes from China, haulage will commence within the holiday while major construction work will continue undisturbed despite the Christmas season.

“We are using seven stations. It is important to know that everybody here, we are all Nigerians.

There’s an automatic system that fixes all the task. There are several fillings until we get to the stage of the seven layer. The welding joint is stronger than the content of the pipe itself.

“One thing I will say clearly is that this project, we all know how important it is. It is a national project of utmost importance and Oilserve has demonstrated capacity over the past 25 years.

“We have built several pipelines designed and built that I will say here clearly that the NNPC has always supported us and given us the opportunity.

“In this particular project, we have the utmost support of the NNPC and that’s why we were able to take it to this level. The GMD has taken this project as his pet project and he has always been on top of it.

“Sometimes, we feel pressured, but we understand what it means to do this kind of job. We want to assure you very clearly that this project will be delivered in line within

the scheduled time and will be top quality.

“One thing that the general manager has stated here is that we are not just an indigenous company, we employ local materials and local resources. If you look at the construction vehicles, they are Innoson vehicles, they are not Toyota,” he added.

Okwuosa, who also spoke on how the company has been able to maintain cordiality with its host communities, explained that once the right thing is done, many communities will not likely carry out activities that will lead to breach of peace.

“As we move, we employ people from the communities and where they exist, they are used as sub-contractors and it is a testimony to our adherence to local content. And we once more want to assure you that we will deliver on time,” he stressed.

Representatives of the federal government, during the event, noted that China Exim Bank, which is financing 85 per cent of the $2.5 Ajaokuta, Kaduna, Kano (AKK) gas pipelines project, had concluded arrangements to begin disbursement of the funds.

While the government gave a sovereign guarantee during the loan negotiation, part of which is being executed by a leading indigenous Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Company, Oilserv Limited, the national oil company is handling a 15 per cent equity investment.

The 614 km x 40-inch gas pipeline which spans Ajaokuta in Kogi state to Kano through the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has also witnessed considerable progress since its inauguration, with oilserve’s deployment of large scale hi-tech automatic welding equipment.

Speaking during the tour of the project, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Ahmed, who was taken round the massive undertaking, told journalists that all the processes for the deployment of the funds had been completed.

While lauding the contractor, for doing what she described as “high quality job”, Ahmed noted that it is now clear that the decision of the federal government to act as a sovereign guarantor was not misplaced.

“This is a very important national project and we have seen it is being delivered on schedule despite the slowdown in economic activities. This programme has not slowed down a bit. Work has not stopped for one day.

“I am glad that gas will be piped through this line from Ajaokuta to Kaduna to Kano.

This will help to revive industries in those parts of the country, create jobs and even as the construction is going on, a lot of other activities are also going on.

“The locals are being employed and the contractors on site are working on a day to day basis. The contractor doing this job is doing a very high quality job and we commend NNPC

for their foresight in pushing for this project.

“I am happy that the guarantee we gave for this project is justified. We had to give a sovereign guarantee to the lender so that the loan is concluded. I am glad to say that the process has been concluded and very soon, the disbursement will start to the contractors.

For now, the cost is $2.5 billion,” she said.

In his remarks, the NNPC GMD, Kyari, stated that apart from cutting massive emission into the environment, the project will aid the creation of wealth as well as help in revamping moribund industries along the AKK axis.

“It will cut down gas emission into the environment, create massive wealth along the line because gas will be available to industries and for power and ultimately, you will see the revamping of moribund industries and also create new business opportunities,” he stated.

On security of the project, he said: “Typically, gas pipelines are never subject of vandals’ attacks, although it happens, but it’s very rare.

Aside that, we are doing some security along these lines which is to have optic fibre that will run parallel with the pipelines so that if there’s any infractions, we will know about it and take action.

“But more importantly, we are using the best of technology so that where they are vulnerable, we bury them deeper than normal places, so we don’t think there’s any high level risk to these pipelines.”

He stressed that there’s a moratorium on the loan and as soon as gas starts flowing through the lines, the revenue from there and existing revenue streams will be used to pay for it, saying that the parties do not have issues around the repayment plan.

“We borrowed 85 per cent of the total project scope as loan and we provided 15 per cent as NNPC equity from its own resources and that means that the 85 per cent that will come from our Chinese partners will be available for drawdown,” he added.

The NNPC boss stated that as it is, it’s almost impossible to halt the project or even slow it down except for an act of God, which he said is beyond human control.

“All our logistics are perfect, our deliveries are on time. Everything is on schedule and we have not suffered any major loss of time.

Our pipes are arriving on schedule. They have arrived ports in Warri and we are moving them to site either by road or by rail to Itakpe.

We have no fear whatsoever.

“As it is, the board of the bank of China has approved this this loan and nothing else will stop this project unless it is a force majeure which we cannot see,” he assured.

With the project now in top gear, and work going on as speedily as possible, the AKK project is on course to deliver one of the grandest gas projects in Sub-saharan Africa in the coming months.

T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

27

Kolawole: How Technology Can Help Discos Manage Power Outages Managing Director of Aquivis Technologies Limited, a firm that offers Internet of Things solutions to challenges in the energy sector, Mr Jimi Kolawole, in this interview discusses critical issues in Nigeria’s electricity market. He also talks about the recently introduced National Mass Metering Programme, persistent outages in the face of the new cost-reflective tariff and the roles that technology can play in improving service delivery to end users. Emmanuel Addeh brings the excerpts:

I

t has been seven years since the privatisation of the power sector.

How will you rate the sector thus far?

The power sector was privatised in 2013. Coming from where the sector used to be when it was a public enterprise, I will say we have performed better as there has been new investments in the sector post privatisation.

Things have improved and it can be better. The investments coming into the sector are making a change but much more needs to be done and there is need for additional investments in the sector. Thankfully, a new service reflective tariff is in place. It is expected that this should attract more investors.

Reduction in Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses was a key performance indicator for the Discos when the power sector was privatised but the AT&C losses are still at about 40 per cent.

Why is this so?

We all know the issues the sector is facing and the solutions to them. The AT&C losses are lower compared to what was recorded during the period that government wholly managed the sector. With strategic investment, I believe that the losses will reduce further. One of the issues that has limited further investment has always been the tariff regime. We hope that with the new tariff, the sector will generate more revenue to fund projects that can reduce these losses and improve efficiencies.

Your company, Aquivis recently partnered with some Discos to provide solutions that could address some of the issues relating to the reduction of losses in the sector.

How exactly can your solutions improve the power sector?

Utilities and industries worldwide are tapping into the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to transform businesses and deliver machine-to-machine connectivity. Aquivis a technology-enabled services company focused on IoT solutions. We are pioneers and leading IoT firm in Nigeria with the objective of providing machine network to utilities and multinational companies. We play a major role in the oil and gas as well as the power sector. We are currently helping to address some of the challenges in the power sector through these solutions. Just recently, we deployed smart high-tension overhead line fault circuit locator that will address the long time it takes to repair faulty high tension circuits, and prolonged outages on the 11KV and 33KV overhead feeders. Our smart grid management solution addresses the technical and commercial challenges currently plaguing distribution value chain of the Nigerian power sector by creating ubiquitous, dedicated and highly reliable machine-to-machine communication network where all our solutions can leverage upon. We are looking at a real-time monitoring solution with two-way communication that will not only improve the Discos’ ability to monitor remotely, but also the ability to perform remote interventions. Together with our partner, Trilliant UK, we are able to offer our award-winning communication platform, the wireless secured Mesh AMI platform to achieve the two-way machine-to-machine communication objective.

With our outage management system, the utility companies can reduce downtime and operational costs. It also addresses safety concerns and improve the working condition and safety conditions of the network.

Looking at your expertise in Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI), what is your take on the ongoing mass metering project of the federal government as well as the new service reflective tariff?

When utilities deploy smart grid and Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI), they give visibility to their distribution system in order to monitor, manage, improve and expand. The

implementation of smart meter rollout has to be holistic if the objectives and benefits of deploying smart meters are to be achieved. To roll out smart meter without the right AMI, that is, the communication platform that allows for frictionless exchange of data will be a futile exercise.

I believe that the communication platform should be the primary focus of any smart deployment, be it smart grid or AMI. As the Discos plan to deploy smart meters in the coming months, they have to take cognisance of the importance of putting in place a universal communication platform – the reliable network for two-way communication with the smart meters and Head End System (HES) to operate and control the smart meter infrastructure. With many Meter Asset Providers (MAP) rolling out smart meters and offering different proprietary AMI to the Discos, the Discos are faced with the daunting complexities to unify the disparate information from the many systems resulting from the evolving landscape of systems, energy devices and applications. To avoid these complexities the Discos must make the right decision in selecting and implementing the most reliable, scalable and secured communication platform. It is almost impossible for the Discos to manage multiple AMI from the different vendors deploying smart meters. From the inception, the Discos have to make the early decision on the communication network and Head End System (HES) to deploy for the multiple meter asset providers. From our experiences, we will recommend that the Discos put in place a Head End System that is capable of supporting millions of endpoints across multiple device vendors, types, models, firmware versions, protocols and communication methods. Something like an agnostic HES that delivers a secure management platform that acts as a control and data plane for all device interactions.

How does this affect the operations of the Discos?

Our experience with clients that have hosted our agnostic device communication platform (HES) have significantly reduced the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in AMI, as the meters and other endpoints simply become commodity devices. Utilities that make investment first in providing communication platform – network and agnostic HES, have seen a significant reduction in the price of the smart meters because the smart meters are now commodity devices. We have integrated over 10 major meter models into our HES with additional integrations planned. Going forward, I think the Discos should invest in a private communication network for future smart

grid and AMI deployments because owning the end to end infrastructure guarantees the integrity and security of data. Also, considerable savings can be made through the total cost of ownership compared to sharing or outsourcing the infrastructure. It allows you to build the infrastructure where you need and when you need using dedicated frequency.

Having a private communication network for smart deployments, there are performance commitments over the deployment lifecycle and controlled investment.

Ultimately, the federal government intervention and other metering programmes by the Discos to close the metering gap and address the issue of estimated bill is a win-win for both the Discos and customers.

Since this sounds like a game changer for the distribution companies, what do they need to put in place to achieve this?

For the Discos to fully implement the new service reflective tariff, they need to have more grid visibility to have the capability to reduce ATC&C and improve reliability.

Discos should have systems that allow them to improve outage management and revenue protection. We have seen in many of our smart grid deployments that improving outage management significantly improves the reliability of distribution systems. Feeder management is another area the utilities have to improve upon, they should be able to account in real time for energy delivered and consumed and also identify Technical and Commercial (as well as theft) losses on their distribution system. Discos have to start looking at how smart grid applications can help them implement service reflective tariff. While few Discos have taken proactive steps in deploying smart grid solutions such as smart fault detection to improve system reliability and feeder metering for revenue protection, there is more to be done in ensuring safe and reliable service delivery to customers.

The service reflective tariff will definitely help grow the electricity market and improve national productivity subsequently leading to improved economic output for the country.

How critical is the issue of network reliability in the power, especially in the face of the new tariff?

Right now, the Discos have no other choice if they really want to implement the service reflective tariff. They must improve on service reliability. For you to improve service reliability to customers, network reliability has to improve.

There has to be proper outage management

system. Feeders have to be up all the time.

There are so many solutions the Discos can leverage on. With these solutions, you can engage in real time communication when you have a system fault. This improves reliability and reduces operational cost.

The Discos also need to have visibility on their feeders. This accounts for the energy received from the transmission company. This will help them to do an energy audit. With these you can know what your losses are and the revenue.

Unlike developed countries, there are usually power outages anytime natural events like rain, wind etc occur. How can technology change this?

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company may be able to give you more insight into this with the recent technology we helped them install. They recently compared their downtime during the raining season last year to this year after we installed smart technology for them.

We can easily point at areas where there are problems on the line and address. We can deploy technology to manage our lines and address some of the problems that cause outages during events like rain. Meanwhile, we understand the industry in Nigeria. There is still limited funding for most projects. I think the new tariff should make Discos deploy smart solutions to monitor faults on transformers, feeders and others. Preventive maintenance solutions should go a very long way in ensuring reliability of equipment and make life easier. There is no reason for customers to start calling the Discos or wait for days to have light because Discos are trying to locate where faults are.

With technology, in a matter of minute, they should find fault and restore power. Technology is one of the solutions for outage management during bad weather.

There are indications that some industrial customers are opting out of supply from the Nigeria electricity grid due to unreliable service. Can technology address this issue?

This problem is not all about the Discos.

They can only supply what has been wheeled to them. Outages cost the nation billions of naira. When you have outages that last for more than one hour, hospitals could be down, small businesses as well as industrial will be halted. The country is losing a lot of money because people have to generate their power before they power their operations.

This is forcing businesses to look for their own power sources. Technology can play a vital role. This is basically in managing the down time. Managing outages should be a priority for all the Discos.

28

T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Analysts Anticipate V-Shaped Economic Recovery for Nigeria Nume Ekeghe A recent report by Sigma Pensions titled, ‘Nigeria 2021 Outlook: A return to normalcy, but tough policy choices lie ahead,’ has predicted that the Nigerian economy would experience a V-shaped economic recovery.

A V-shaped recovery is characterised by a quick and sustained recovery in measures of economic performance after a sharp economic decline.

However, it stressed that regardless of the positive sentiments towards the economy, the country would experience a slow recovery unless difficult fiscal and monetary policies are put in place to soften inflation and exchange rate volatilities.

It states: “Following on from a year with so much uncertainty about life, politics and markets, 2021 holds the promise of a return to a semblance of certainty and a vaccine aided V-shaped global economic recovery.

“In 2021, focus will shift to how quickly countries roll-out vaccination programs to immunize populations from COVID-19.

Politically, the world also appears

to look to the hope that a new American president (Joe Biden) would work to normalise what had become unpredictable trade policies and geo-politics.

“On the home front, amid an improved outlook for oil prices, Nigeria continues to grapple with the aftershocks of the coronavirus recession as external and fiscal imbalances propagate negative shocks across the exchange rate and inflation channel. The resulting macroeconomic turmoil will require a return to credible policy settings, implying that more than ever before, the direction of policy responses will be crucial.”

Furthermore, it stated that returning to the path of growth would be dependent on external and fiscal imbalances pose downside risks.

“As with the global environment, we expect Nigeria’s economy to experience a V-shaped bounce back from a recession in 2020 as the removal of most COVID-19 restrictions should benefit the non-oil sector where the restrictions hurt activities badly.

“That said, oil output is likely to remain in recession as compli-

ance with OPEC+ curbs restrain oil production to 1.7-1.8mbpd, a development likely to remain in place until second half of 2021.

The recovery in growth is where the good news ends. We view the combination of still weak oil exports and a resurgence in import demand pointing to large external imbalances over 2021.

“Given current policy settings around the exchange rate, we see limited options for financing the looming current account deficit and expect naira weakness over the year. Alongside these FX pressures, we see soaring food prices, occasioned by an underwhelming 2020 crop harvest, higher electricity tariffs and petrol prices as fueling a surge in inflation towards 16 per cent levels in 2021.”

It added: “We view the prospect of increased vaccination across the world as helping to draw a line on the disruptive influence of COVID-19 on global economic activities. The return to mobility amid continuing unity among the OPEC+ alliance that helped rebalance global crude oil markets is positive for crude oil prices.

Fintech Firm Launches Online Payment, e-Commerce Platform Sunday Okobi A Nigerian Fintech startup, Shago Payments Limited has finally launched its bill payment and e-commerce platform, Shago, into the Nigerian financial sector to serve the banked, unbanked as well as the underserved in the country and internationally.

The Chief Executive Officer of the tech firm, Sabastine Enechi, during the launch which took place in Lagos recently, noted that Shago promotes e-commerce and online bill payment in an all-in-one solution, adding that that’s what the launching is all about. He said in the future, the firm shall collaborate with more fintech companies and banks to help in driving financial inclusion services in the Nigerian economy.

According to him, “Today event is to launch out into the market fully our app Shago and prove our concept in the market too, which has been in operation for one year now, and once it is proven and the end users give their feedbacks, we will look at them and improve on the areas noted.

“Everything is in place. We have a seamless application,

as well as seamless integration with different banks and service providers. We are also in collaboration with other e-commerce merchants.”

On how Shago would roll out its unique online bill payment and electronic commerce programme, Enechi said the road map is in three segments-the bill payment, e-commerce and financial inclusion.

“So today, we have rolled out the bill payment, which is up and running to carry out the payment of different bills, including electricity, pay TV subscription, airtime vending among others.

“Subsequently, we be launching the e-commerce fully, and on this platform, our vendors, merchants and our customers can expose their product to our consumers.

So anyone that has our app (Shago) would have access to these products on the platform. In 2021, with our collaboration with the banks, we will try to work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to get financial inclusion services to the underserved and the unbanked in Nigeria. Today, the app is an all-inclusive project.

We are taking it as a milestone,

and once we prove our concept, we build on it.

“Shago payment system is a platform built to support the underserved, unbanked, and merchants in order to create a valued hub for the exposure of their goods and services as well as allowing them to earn commission on bill payment transactions,” he told journalists.

While adding that the Fintech firm now provides the channel for various business transactions for its clients, mostly for those in the rural areas, he said Shago has a great future, with focus on other areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), e-health, agric-tech, robotics, e-commerce among others.

The CEO of Shago said presently, Shago has over 3,000 clients on its platform in one year, and is also focused on having 10,000 clients more, and 200 e-businesses in the nearest future.

Enechi said: “Shago in Hausa language means kiosk or shop front where people go to buy, sell, and make payments for services. So we are launching this easy-to-use app to create a better awareness for the brand and also to educate the populace about our values and solutions.

MTN Unveils Hackathon Champion Joshua Agboola, a 12-year-old JSS 2 student of Bellina College, Akoka, Lagos, has emerged winner of the MTN mPulse Hackathon with the theme, ‘Beyond Covid.’

According to a statement yesterday, he won the competition by creating ‘Kagukar Study Buddie,’ a home-schooling, remote education and learning solution.

It pointed out that using Artificial Intelligence, it works as an interactive voice-activated robot that assists students to study, practice tests, learn from stories while providing entertainment with games, riddles and jokes.

Owing to this, Agboola received N1 million in funding support, N100,000 cash voucher, portable electronic devices worth

over N120,000 and mPulse backto-school items.

“I feel excited. Thanks to MTN, I have been able to show my potential towards changing the world and impact lives positively with my solution,” the winner was quoted to have said.

The first runner up, Abeedah Alabi of Jakande Estate Comprehensive Senior College, also in Lagos and second runner up, Amarahi Ogbu of Government Day Secondary School, Abuja also received N500,000 in funding support, N100,000 cash vouchers, portable electronic devices worth over N120,000, and mPulse back-to-school items.

“The top ten finalists will participate at a six-week virtual MTN GAP Boot camp, an incubation

program to further refine and accelerate their winning solutions to market in collaboration with TechQuest STEM Academy,” the statement added.

Speaking during the mPulse Hackathon finale, Chief Transformation Officer, MTN Nigeria, Bayo Adekanmbi, said, “Technology has bridged the gap between our children and the future, positioning them to lead the charge to a bold new world.

At MTN, we believe in that future and are taking deliberate steps to guide young people in developing solutions for all.

“The MTN mPulse Hackathon is part of our wider contribution towards this aspiration, consistent with our commitment to champion innovation.”

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JULY 2020 Money Supply (M3)

36,822,751.47

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

3,476,121.25

Money Supply (M2)

33,346,630.22

-- Quasi Money

120,764,479.02

-- Narrow Money (M1)

12,582,151.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,002,026.89

---- Demand Deposits

10,580,124.31

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,637,137.23

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

29,185,614.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

39,711,115.95

---- Credit to Government (Net)

19,521,851.08

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-130,189,264.87

--Other Assets Net

3,472,017.70

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,421,827.07

--Currency in Circulation

2,395,917.03

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,025,910.04 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month Inter-Bank Call Rate

March 2018 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

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ ͯ͵ ͰͮͰͮ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $50.78 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $50.12 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

29

T H I S D AY ˾ ͳ˜ 2021

All-Share Index Rises 2.2% as Market Begins 2021 on Positive Note Goddy Egene The equities market began 2021 on positive note yesterday as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) rose 2.18 per cent to close at 41,147.39, while market capitalisation added N458.4 billion to be at N21.5 trillion.

The NSE ASI had appreciated by 50.03 per cent last year following sustained bull run propelled by investors flocking to the market

in search of high yields.

The positive performance continued on the first trading of 2021 with 32 stocks gaining while only two stocks depreciated.

There was a strong buying interest in cement and banking stocks. BUA Cement Plc, which announced its successful completion of the N115 billion Series 1 Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Bond Issue under the company’s maiden N200 billion Bond Issuance Programme, chalked up

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

9.9 per cent.

According to the Chairman of BUA Cement, Abdul Samad Rabiu, the bond issuance, demonstrates their confidence in Nigeria’s debt capital markets as well as continued investor confidence in the BUA Cement business model,, noting that the company remain committed to unlocking opportunities within the industry for Nigeria.

Also, Lafarge Africa Plc appreciated by 9.0 per cent. However,

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

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the overall price gainers’ table was led by Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc and Transcorp Plc with 10 per cent apiece.

International Breweries Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc garnered 9.9 per cent each, just as FBN Holdings Plc and Japaul Gold Ventures Plc went up by 9.7 per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively.

Conversely, FCMB Group Plc led the price losers as investors reacted negatively to the news

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

that the board of the group was investigating allegations of paternity scandal against the Managing Director, First City Monument Bank Plc, Mr. Adam Nuru. The stock fell 6.1 per cent from N3.33 to close at N3.13. The second price loser was Caverton Offshore Services Group that declined by 3.4 per cent.

FCMB Group had said explained in a statement that it was aware of several stories circulating across several media

O F

platforms about our bank’s Managing Director Adam Nuru, a former employee Ms. Moyo Thomas and her deceased ex husband, Mr. Tunde Thomas.”

“While this is a personal matter the tragedy of the death of Mr. Tunde Thomas and the allegations of unethical conduct, require the bank’s board to conduct a review of what transpired, any violations of our code of ethics and the adequacy of these code of conduct ethics.

0 4 / 0 1 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

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30

TUESDAY JANUARY 5, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

24 HOURS...

NBA Expresses Shock over Suspects’ Escape from Custody in Edo Wants culprits fished out, punished Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Benin Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) yesterday expressed shock and disappointment over reports of the escape of kidnap and armed robbery suspects from the custody of the police in Benin City.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr Pius Oiwoh and Secretary, Andrew Lawani, respectively, the body of lawyers asked the authorities to immediately work towards apprehending the escapees and punish anyone found culpable in aiding their escape.

The organisation noted that the development was not only capable of soiling the public image of the state, but it was also unacceptable, coming less than three months after the last jailbreak.

“The NBA, Benin branch notes with mind boggling astonishment and an unwanted but a deep sense of foreboding the most unwelcome new year 2021 news of the escape of kidnapping and armed robbery suspects from the custody of the Edo State Police Command Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Benin City.

“This is the second time in the space of three months that Edo State will be in the news for jailbreaks. This does not do any good for our dear state.

“While it is the wish of all of us who love our beloved Edo State that we should be in the headlines, we do not wish that our dear state should be in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

“These negative headlines have the Siamese effect of

damaging our reputation as a peaceful, loving, hardworking and welcoming people and also scaring would-be investors from tapping into the potential of our dear state,” the lawyers maintained.

They noted that as members of a profession committed to upholding the rule of law, all those found to have abetted the suspected criminals in their escape must be punished.

“Let us state without equivocation that while totally condemning the circumstances which led

to this recent cell break, we demand that all the escapees be urgently traced and brought back to lawful custody and that their accomplices who have aided and abetted this most heinous of offences be brought to book forthwith.

“In the branch’s new year message, the bar had committed itself to joining efforts with other well meaning individuals to address the rampant insecurity situation in the state.

“The bar wishes to use this

opportunity to restate that commitment and to state that the challenge we face in our state is one which requires that all hands be on deck to solve the situation.

“This is not the time for the agencies in charge of our security to suppress information but to adopt a combative approach in dealing with would-be collaborators who have by their actions made our state unsafe.

“We enjoin the agencies responsible for keeping us

safe to collaborate with all men and women of goodwill to prevent our state from descending into the Hobbesian state of nature where life is short, nasty and brutish,” the association noted.

Meanwhile, the state police command has confirmed the rearrest of the two of the suspect who escaped.

The confirmation is contained in a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Chidi N w a b u z o r,

Nigeria at War with COVID-19, Say ASCAB, Health Workers Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja With close to 100,000 infections from COVID-19, Nigeria seems to be in a state of war with the pandemic, the Alliance for Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), and leading health workers’ unions have said.

The groups stated this after a one-day national meeting organised by ASCAB, which drew participants from leading health unions across Nigeria.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the groups warned that the second wave of the pandemic may record higher tolls unless immediate and drastic efforts are taken.

The communique condemned the Nigerian authorities for not including scientists in its various committees, saying such would undermine efforts to develop indigenous vaccine as a long term strategy of fighting the virus.

“Experts, including scientists, should take the lead in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

To this end, scientists should be included in the existing committees, and their given critical roles, a comprehensive response plan should be put in place to ensure that we can win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic,” it stated.

The groups called for e-payment of a decent and befitting hazard allowance to all officials in the health sector, provision of adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and consequent training on the use of the equipment, comprehensive insurance for all workers in the health sector; payment of all outstanding salary arrears and better funding

and investment in the health sector among others.

They warned of dire consequences if the federal and state governments privatise institutions and services in the health sector, adding: “What is required is substantial investment in the health sector and the urgent training of all workers, including ancillary health workers,” the group said in a statement signed by renown lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on behalf of the groups.

The meeting held via Zoom on December 30, 2020, was organised by ASCAB and other health-related unions, including the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU); the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), the Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), the National Association of Community Health Practitioners (NACHP) and the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), which converged for a public meeting on the ‘Citizens Response to the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the state of the Health Sector in Nigeria’.

The communiqué stated that COVID-19 is real and has inflicted horrors across the world.

It said: “Even so, the majority of Nigerians suffer far more from other diseases which could easily be prevented or treated. However, those in the informal sector, especially, would suffer far more from any possible return to lockdowns.”

HARD WORK PAYS...

L-R: Son, Mr. Taiwo Babaita; New Commissioner of Police, Mr. Babatunde Babaita; and Inspector General of Police, Mr. Muhammad Adamu, at the decoration ceremony of newly promoted senior police officers in Abuja... recently KINGSLEY ADEBOYE.

Community Policing, Panacea to Nigeria’s Security Challenge, Says Ex-DIG Christopher Isiguzo and Gideon Arinze in Enugu A former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Celestine Okoye, has the only solution to Nigeria’s myriads of security challenges remains community policing.

The former DIG spoke yesterday in Enugu during the public presentation of his book titled ‘Effective Policing and Security in South-east Nigeria’.

According to Okoye, community policing remains

the only panacea to insecurity because it will allow individuals who understand the language and cultural diversity of their people to handle the security of lives and property.

Okoye said his decision to write the 14- chapter book was informed by his experience in the Police Force and would not have come at a better time than now when the country is experiencing a precarious security situation, with different zones trying to come up with their security networks.

He recalled how he was

stripped of his position as Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State, having spent only four months because he could not communicate in the language of the people.

He, however, regretted that the situation is not the same in other regions, particularly, the South-east where top positions are handled by northerners.

“I wondered why I was not sent to people whose language I understand. That is where the problem is in our police system. Sometimes, postings

are made on punishment basis” he said.

On his part, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Nnia Nwodo, said that the time has come for different zones of the country to police themselves.

Nwodo, who was represented by the Enugu State chairman of Ohanaeze, Alex Ogbonnoa, dispelled the notion that the Igbos in the South-east do not love themselves, hence decentralising the police system might not succeed.

Abe Condemns Alleged Attack on APC Supporters in Rivers Warns security agencies against partisanship Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Former federal lawmaker, Senator Magnus Abe, yesterday condemned the alleged attack on members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Abe, who pointed accusing fingers at some top APC party leaders in the state for masterminding the assault, alleged that certain persons invaded the venue of a peaceful gathering of APC members in Buguma city with dangerous weapons, inflicting

serious injuries on several persons, including women.

The statement signed by his Spokesman, Mr Parry Benson, stated that the reason Hon. Ben Horsfall and other party members almost lost their lives on Sunday in Buguma was because they dared to oppose a minister from the state.

“The Rivers state version of federal might was yesterday visited on Hon. Ben Horsfall and some members of the APC in Buguma city. This is an ominous beginning to the new year in Rivers state and a clear sign of what is ahead for Rivers people.

“Nigerians will do well to

remember that it was the same Horsfall who risked life and limb and physically served the court papers of the now-famous case of Amaechi Vs. INEC on the then sitting Governor of Rivers State, Sir Celestine Omehia.

“It was Horsfall’s courage and his conviction to disagree with the powers that be at that time, that made the case possible.

Horsfall was never assaulted, attacked, or brutalised for his open confrontation with then Governor Omehia.

“Today, for daring to hold a different view, but for the grace of God, Hon. Horsfall, himself

and several others could have died,” the statement noted.

He recalled that the violence that engulfed Rivers State and claimed so many lives before the 2015 elections actually started with attacks on supporters of the Grassroots Democratic Initiative (GDI), then led by the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike.

Abe stated that at the time, the GDI was able to hold rallies in his hometown because he flatly refused, despite orders from above, to allow violence on Rivers people of any political persuasion.

31

˜ ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

TUESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Onyekuru Admits Everton Move was a Risk Nigeria’s Henry Onyekuru has admitted signing for Everton was something of a risk but insists he has no regrets about the move as he looks for a move away from his current club AS Monaco in France.

The 23-year-old joined the English Premier League side in 2017 but failed to make a competitive appearance for the club.

He arrived at Everton from Belgian club KAS Eupen on the back of a 22-goal season, but was immediately sent on loan to Anderlecht.

That was followed by another loan this time to

Henry Onyekuru...Everton move was a risk

Turkish side Galatasaray before sealing a permanent move to French club AS Monacoin 2019.

“The first dream is to play in the Premier League, it may not have worked out at Everton but I have no regrets about it,” Onyekuru told BBC Africa Sport yesterday.

“When I received offers from top clubs in England I knew back then that I needed a work permit to play.

“That it didn’t happen then has nothing to do with my talent but red tape that’s beyond my control.”

Onyekuru revealed he was keen on a move to his boyhood club Arsenal, but aware he faced a familiar huddle - work permit issues- he opted to fulfil his Champions League ambition instead at Anderlecht through Everton.

“I really wanted to go to Arsenal because I spoke to some people there as I was very young then,” he explained.

“It was obvious that I was not going to play without a UK work permit. So I went to Everton and played in the Champions League through a loan move to Anderlecht.

“It was important for me to get more playing time and

experience that I had hoped would help boost my chances of earning the permit.

“I can’t say I regretted this because I got to play against Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, this doesn’t happen to everyone.”

The winger’s form at Anderlecht led to a call up to the Nigeria team in 2017 by coach Gernot Rohr and he looked set to be part of the Super Eagles team at the 2018 World Cup. Playing in Russia would have boosted his chances of securing his permit to work

in the United Kingdom and play for Everton.

However the knee injury he suffered while on loan at Anderlecht meant he was unable to prove his fitness in time for the World Cupand ultimately meant he did not make the required appearances for a UK work permit.

“You can’t question certain things in life, playing at the World Cup was not meant to be,” he insisted.

“If that had happened, maybe I could’ve ended up playing in the Premier League but we will never know.”

Instead after the World

Cup he was loaned out again this time to Turkish giants Galatasaray where his 16 goals and six assists helped the club to domestic double.

His success and performance in Turkey earned him a spot in Nigeria’s final squad for a major tournament at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Onyekuru’s solitary appearance came as a late substitute in the semi-final defeat to Algeria, an experience which left him somewhat disappointed.

“The tournament left a bitter-sweet taste in my mouth because we finished third in

my first competition with Nigeria,” he admitted.

“I was a little bit disappointed because I was in good form, I had just won the league and cup double in Turkey but the coach (Gernot Rohr) had a choice to make.

“Nigeria has several talented players and I understand I will have to continue to fight for a place.

“I just decided to go back to proving myself all over again at my club.”

If the plan was to win over legions of doubting Thomases, via the French Ligue 1, it clearly has not worked out.

No Nigerian Selected as FIFA Lists Referees for Club World Cup Femi Solaja with agency report As expected, no Nigerian was selected among the referees that will officiate at the new format FIFA World Club Cup scheduled to hold next month in Qatar.

According to information on FIFA website yesterday, the world football body listed seven referees and 12 assistants together with another seven video match officials (VMOs) to operate the VAR during the tournament.

However, while Nigeria referees have continued to be snubbed, three Senegalese referees, Ndiaye Maguette, Samba El Hadji Malick and Kamara Gabriel alongside Moroccan Redouane Jiyed were African torch bearers at the mini-world club tournament.

The appointment of the female trio led by Edina Alves Batista continue the path started

at the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, where Swiss referee Esther Staubli officiated one game, followed by Uruguayan referee Claudia Umpierrez who officiated two games at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019.

All of the selected match officials will complete their final preparations in Qatar the week before the first kick off.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, FIFA and the host country have promised to provide the required safeguards to protect the health and safety of all involved in the competition.

The draw to finalise the detailed pairings will take place in Zurich on 19 January at 16:00 CET. The FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 will take place in Doha between 1 and 11 February 2021. The final will be played at the Education City Stadium on 11 February.

Victor Osimhen (left) in jubilant mode with Napoli Manager, Gennaro Gattuso earlier this season. Gattuso has promised to help Osimhen regain his place in the team

Gattuso Forgives Osimhen after Picking Covid-19 at Lagos Party Like the true father figure he is, NapoliHead Coach, Gennaro Gattuso, has said that he will meet with Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen, after the Nigerian apologised for breaching coronavirus protocols at a party organised in Lagos during the festive period in December.

The AFCON 2019 bronze medal winner with Nigeria is yet to return to action since Super Eagles’ 4-4 home draw against Sierra Leone in an AFCON 2022 qualifier at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium

in Benin.

Osimhen dislocated his shoulder to stay away from football in the last two months.

Recuperating Osimhen picked the coronavirus at a party to celebrate his 22nd birthday on December 29.

But after Napoli’s 4-1 win over Cagliari on Sunday, Gattuso gave his opinion on the situation.

“He’s a young lad who gives his all in training,” the Italian manager told the club website. “He knows he’s made a mistake and he’s apologised.

“I’ll speak to him. I know how much he wants to get back onto the right track and get back playing.”

Osimhen, on his part, issued an apology to the club and his teammates for his ‘wrong’ decision which has delayed his return to training because of the compulsory two weeks he will spend in isolation.

“I am so sorry for what happened, I was wrong to go to Nigeria at this moment, even if I have many loved ones over there, including my brothers,” Osimhen wrote on

his Instagram story.

“I was wrong to take part in the party. I didn’t understand the severity of what I was doing. I apologise to the club, the coach, the team and the fans.”

The Nigeria forward completed a big-money move to Napoli in August after an outstanding 2019-20 campaign in the French Ligue 1 with Lille.

He has scored two goals so far in six Serie A matches for Napoli who sit fourth in the league table with 28 points from 14 matches.

Insurance Ready for New NNL Season, Says Head Coach Adibe Emenyonuin Benin Cityt

WINNERS AT 59TH LAGOS OPEN....

L-R: The Chief Risk Officer of FirstBank Nigeria Limited, Olusegun Alebiosu; First runners up, Gabriel Ejembi; Tournament winner, Ajayi Tajudeen and Second runners-up, Tochukwu Emuwa, at the prize presentation ceremony of the 59th Lagos Open Golf tournament ...recently

Ahead of the January 16, 2021 kick off date of the Nigeria National League (NNL), HeadCoach of Insurance Football Club of Benin, Benard Ogbe, yesterday expressed the readiness of the team to participate in the league.

Ogbe, who is also the Technical Manager of Insurance, made the disclosure at the resumption of the team’s training on Monday morning in Benin City.

The Coach was delighted over the players’ response after their two weeks

Christmas break.

“We have returned to the field to intensify preparation for the on coming Nigeria’s second tier football season scheduled to kick off on January 16.

“I am happy to be back to work and I appreciate my players’ response. We want to seriously prepare for the oncoming football season after long absence of League games.

“We hope to kickoff league action on January 16 as scheduled by NNL and the Federal Ministry of Sports,” Ogbe stressed.

Meanwhile, management of the Insurance FC, has

announced the promotion of an outstanding player from the club’s feeders team to the main team for the oncoming football season.

Ogbe said the player, Efe Aghama, scored the winning goal for Insurance Feeders to win the National Under 17 football championship tagged, “Stephen Keshi Football Championship” that took place on December 5, 2020.

Ogbe said the player has been consistent in performance since 2019 LaLiga Under 15 and then graduated to U-17 where he scored the winning goal against a highly tactical Flight FC of Benue State.

Tuesday January 5, 2021

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MISSILE Soyinka to Buhari “I don’t want to talk about Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. I think it is best for my sanity just to avoid that overall question. I can take bits and pieces of Nigeria’s present predicament but I think for one’s sense of balance, one must forget the existence of the Buhari administration” – Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, berating President Buhari regime for the untold hardship it has brought upon Nigerians.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

Playing With COVID-19 N

igerians are playing with COVID-19, and in so doing, they are playing with fire and death. Why are we so blest and yet so suicidal? When the index case of the virus was announced on February 27, 2020, and the government proceeded to adopt lockdown measures at both national and sub-national levels, the people were gripped by fear and anxiety. COVID-19 was something strange that they could not deal with. The fact that it turned out to be a global pandemic, spreading like wildfire, burning down lives and hopes, made the situation more frightening. When government following the pattern observed elsewhere decided to ease the lockdown, and businesses were allowed to re-open in order to save the economy from total collapse, Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief and began to run their lives in spite of the virus. They respected the non-pharmaceutical interventions that government prescribed for a while, but in due course all the masks disappeared. Even the isolation centres that were set up in different parts of the country became inactive. Many of those isolation centres were shut down and the healthcare workers were re-assigned.

We began to hear less and less of those phrases that defined the pandemic at its peak: contact tracing, physical distancing, social distancing, use of sanitizer. When the lockdown was eased, the Presidential Task Force and the state governments rolled out a number of prescriptions. Religious bodies were required to reduce their gatherings to half the capacity of the hall in which their events took place. The register of those who attended such gatherings was expected to be kept so that in the event of an outbreak of infections, it would be possible to trace contacts and contain any form of community spread. I love going to the market to buy vegetables, sea food and other items. Over the years, this has provided me the opportunity to mix and mingle with the real people of Nigeria.

A typical Nigerian market has a life of its own.

As the pandemic raged, there were local government officials manning the entry points to the markets. I recall being sent back to the car more than twice, with a very polite reminder that without a mask, I could not be allowed entry. I dutifully obeyed with apologies, or I promptly fished out my mask and wore it, following which I would stretch out my hand for a shower of sanitizer.

Supermarkets insisted on the same protocol, but that didn’t impress me, because once you got into the store, you could see all manner of reckless persons yanking off their masks. Because there were no sanctions and Nigerian leaders who made the rules did not show the example, the people themselves gradually began to conclude that COVID-19 is a scam, some form of “play-play” (that is a Nigerian term) with which Nigerian politicians siphon money from the state treasury.

They could see politicians organizing rallies at which they disregarded COVID-19 protocols.

They could see government officials walking about as if they had a form of divine immunity.

The religious leaders did not help matters. Some of them pointedly told the people that there is nothing called Corona virus, and that a Christian is covered by the blood of Jesus. For some reason, the prevalence rates in Africa was quite low, except perhaps in the colder parts of the continent (the Cape Province and Gauteng in South Africa and in the countries of North Africa). Every one relaxed.

Corona Virus became classified as a rich man’s affliction, from which the poor were allegedly protected.

I recall attending a small family get-together at the time when everyone was almost forgetting about the virus. I arrived at the event wearing a mask. Really modest gathering, to honour a friend

Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire who had recorded yet another significant milestone in his life. The moment my friend welcomed me into his compound, he kept telling me to remove my mask. I refused. I wasn’t prepared to take any risks. He then asked me to look around if I could see anyone wearing a mask. Indeed, nobody else wore a mask. The jollification was in full swing.

I looked around. There was this woman gyrating like a cone on the dancing floor, thrusting her chest and derriere in a tantalizing, mermaid-like, manner, enough to distract a man of gentlemanly manners. I got carried away for a moment as I fixed my gaze on her wondrous assets.

“Dr, I say remove this mask. You can’t be the only one wearing a mask at this gathering. People will laugh at you.”

“No. I will keep it on. Corona Virus is real. It has not gone yet. Have you not been following what is going in the United States and Europe?

We even hear that the situation could get worse before the end of the year.”

“That is in those places. They are the ones who know what sin they have committed that God is punishing them for. In this our own town, there is no Corona here. Evil is not our portion in the name of Jesus!”

“There is Corona in this your town my brother.

Every day on Arise TV, we track the Corona virus trend, and offer analysis. I know what I am talking about.”

“That is television. You people must have something to say every morning. Even if nothing exists, you will create it and use sweet mouth to convince people. I beg, come and sit down and eat and drink. Let me see whether you will drink through the face mask. Mr. Co-ro-na!”

When it was time to take pictures with my friend and his family, and I showed up in front of the camera, still with a face mask, he was the one who personally removed my mask with his hands. “My friend, respect yourself, you want to take pictures with me, you are wearing a mask.

How would I convince anybody that you travelled all the way from Lagos to honour me?” It was the last community, family-oriented event that I attended in the year 2020. As if I knew…!

As the year drew to a close, we began to hear reports of a second variant of the virus, that is deadlier, more dangerous and 70% more transmissible than the original virus named COVID-19. The mutant variant was reportedly sighted in the United Kingdom where a Third Wave had already forced the authorities to impose a tiered system of lockdown on the entire country.

The same variant was also sighted in South Africa and in due course in other countries of the world: 33 as at the last count. Many countries began to shut their borders again as the virus remained capricious. Meanwhile, the emergence of a new

variant of it, abbreviated the joy that the world had experienced with the emergence of vaccine candidates with impressive safety, efficacy and immunogeneticity profiles which had already been granted emergency authorization and deployed across the world. Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Astra-Zeneca-Oxford and the vaccines they came up with raised hopes that humanity would at last beat the virus. In the US, UK, Canada, UAE, Russia, China and across Europe, clinical trials ad vaccinations were in progress. Scientists worked round the clock to reduce and checkmate the terror of the virus. There were hiccups and concerns, but it was instructive to see the amount of devotion that the war against corona virus generated across boundaries.

Nigerian authorities would eventually wake up. They began to warn afresh about the need to #take-responsibility. The Presidential Task Force and the National Centre for Disease Control announced that the infection rate in Nigeria was going up.

They further disclosed that the new variant that was reported in the UK in September had actually been identified at a Genomics Laboratory at Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria, in a research led by Professor Christian Happi and his team. If the UK had probably not raised the alarm, Nigeria would not have drawn attention to this fact. By the last week of the year 2020, the country was already recording over 1, 031 infections per day, and that grew steadily to 1, 074 cases per day. Still, the people couldn’t be bothered. They defied government counsel and continued to hold all kinds of parties: weddings, funerals, house-warmings, naming ceremonies.

The counsel that people should stay away from large gatherings during the Yuletide and New Year season was ignored. Lagos and other state governments re-imposed curfews and threatened that there would be sanctions. Lagos declared what it called “Operation No Tolerance”. Government could well have been talking to the deaf.

The people rang in the New Year on their own terms. They trooped to the beaches in large numbers.

One video showed a sea of heads at a beach in Lagos! Entertainment spots were filled up. End of the year parties were held. On cross-over night, the churches welcomed end-of-year revelers who brazenly advertised their violation of the law. We stepped into the year 2021, against the background of fears that the numbers will rise and there may be chaos lurking around the corner. When reminded of their own folly, the average Nigerian would tell you that COVID-19 had disappeared with the year 2020! When told that in one week alone, 20 doctors died and that more celebrity deaths were recorded, the people ignored the message. To have a community where the people do not care whether they die or not is a classic representation of Nigeria’s descent into anomie.

In one word, Nigerians refused to take responsibility. The government failed to enforce its own rules. I used to urge the Nigerian government to pay more attention to public communication and adjust its strategies. At this point, I am beginning to doubt my own prescription. It may now be difficult to convince anyone that strategic communication is the problem. One year after the virus, I do not think that there is anyone in the world who has not heard of COVID-19. People in the rural areas have relatives and friends living in the cities.

Both rural and urban residents know at least one person living in Europe or North America and Asia. The No. 1 topic in the media has remained the scourge of COVID-19. We are paying the price for the lack of trust between government and the people. Why should Nigerians trust the same political leaders who kept COVID-19 palliatives for themselves and used them as birthday gifts?

One of the most enduring images of 2020 was that of poor Nigerians forcing warehouses and the homes of politicians open to liberate COVID-19 palliative materials. Thus, when government officials talk about saving the people, nobody takes them seriously. The people would rather resort to self-help.

In Nigeria, this has proven to be costly. The vacuum created by the government has been filled by merchants of faith, spell-binders and mercenaries engaged in a “Plandemic war” – a war of misinformation by anti-vaxxers. Their main arena is the social media and the pulpit where they spew conspiracy theories about how COVID-19 is an artificial creation by Big Pharma and a greedy, cross-border capitalist elite, or as they argue, unconscionably, a ploy to create a World Government under the control of the Illuminati. There are now about 31 million people following anti-Vaccine groups on Face Book and You Tube. The church is part of this anti-Corona movement. Pentecostal Pastors are particularly notorious. They hide under divine immunity to mislead their congregation and impose their own alternative facts. There is a video in circulation for example of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome where he tells his captive audience: “Let me show you something. A calendar.” And then he goes on to indoctrinate the people relying on a calendar nobody else has seen.

It must be possible for the Congregation to interrogate pastors and ask cogent questions.

No Pastor should be allowed the affectation of Solomonic imperialism that we now see in Nigerian churches. It is even more disturbing that some politicians have joined the trend. There is this other video showing Senator Dino Melaye speaking evangelically about COVID-19 and the vaccine. He asked people pointedly not to take any vaccine. I thought the man in the video was a body double. But he looked like Melaye quite alright. I was alarmed. Melaye was not dancing, singing, or making comedy, for which he is well known. He was dead serious. That is the reality of our situation. I won’t be shocked if my carpenter suddenly shows up tomorrow as the Anthony Fauci of Nigeria and he gets a sizeable followership!

It is the failure of government and the crisis of leadership that is at play. Towards the end of 2020, we had the untidy situation whereby the Presidential Task Force openly blamed state governments for failing to sustain the interventionist pathways funded by the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector under the auspices of CA-COVID and the Central Bank of Nigeria. The states were asked to reopen the isolation centres. But how many of those isolation centres and laboratories are still functioning or in good shape? They have probably been looted. The Federal Government also asked the states to suspend the re-opening of schools till January 18, 2021. Some of the states are insisting they would re-open schools anyway. One state government’s spokesperson reportedly said they would listen only to the Governor of their State. So is this about ego then? What does this tell us? Lack of synergy. The Federal Government says we should expect vaccines by end of January.

How? Which vaccines? Are we on any waiting list? Have we made orders? Is there an operational plan in place? We are in January already. Nigeria needs to learn how other countries like Greece, for example, manage these things. And then the other day, the Federal Government published a list of 100 passport numbers, travellers who failed to observe the 7-day post arrival, mandatory PCR test. Of what use are those passport numbers? Is it not better to name the owners of the passports?

Nigeria needs to get its acts together. We are far behind. We need new thinking.

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