WEDNESDAY 12TH JANUARY 2022

At Last, Senate, House Pass Amended Electoral Bill Okay direct, indirect, consensus primaries for parties Stipulate conditions for consensus Proposed legislation to be transmitted to Buhari in seven days Udora Orizu and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Senate yesterday passed the

harmonised Clause 84 of the 2010 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2022, which allows political parties to adopt three modes of primaries.

The proposed legislation, earlier passed last year, was not assented to

by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari had cited the provisions

of Clause 84, which made direct primary compulsory for all political parties in electing candidates for elections, as his reason for

refusing assent to the bill. The two chambers of the National Assembly then recommitted the bill for fresh legislation and added

other options, as advised by the president.

Continued on page 10

Emefiele Forecloses Monetary Policy Tightening to Boost Recovery, Stimulate Growth… Page 5 Wednesday 26 January, 2022 Vol 27. No 9787. Price: N250

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Using Super Tucano Fighter Jets, Nigerian Airforce Kills Notorious ISWAP Commander, Ari, Others… Page 11 President Directs Security Agencies to Use 5G Tech to Tackle Insecurity Launches national policy on 5th generation tech for digital economy Allays safety concerns Deji Elumoye in Abuja

L-R: Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu; Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari; President Muhammadu Buhari, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami; Chairman Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Governing Board, Prof Adeola Akande, during the launch of the National Policy on Fifth Generation (5G) Technology held at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja ... yesterday PHOTO: SUNDAY AGHAEZE.

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday launched the national Continued on page 10

Buhari Defers Subsidy Removal to Incoming Govt Seeks 18 months suspension, to send PIA amendment to N'Assembly FG says decision has nothing to do with 2023 elections IMF insists on end, wants funds channeled to health, social devt NLC: Why we suspended nationwide protest LCCI calls for phased implementation, NACCIMA seeks wider consultation Deji Elumoye, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe and Dike Onwuamaeze in Lagos The federal government finally failed in its efforts to remove the highly contentious subsidy on petrol

yesterday when it disclosed plan to recommend an 18-month extension of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to the National Assembly.

This clearly means that the burden of the policy which has Continued on page10

Women Stage Solidarity Walk for Yahaya Bello's 2023 SEEKING SPECIAL AGRO FUNDING FROM AfDB...

State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun (left) and President, Africa Development Bank, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina at the meeting on the first phase funding and Presidential Bid in Abuja, Urge Him to Declare... Page 11 Ogun implementation on Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone Programme to be sited in the state held at AfDB’s secretariat, Abidjan, Ivory Coast... yesterday

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Group News Editor: Goddy Egene Email: Goddy.egene@thisdaylive.com, 0803 350 6821, 0809 7777 322, 0807 401 0580

NEWS

AT THE POST-MONETARY POLICY MEETING...

L-R: Deputy Governor, Operations, Adebisi Osinubi; Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Mrs. Aishah Ahmad; Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Edward Adamu and Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr. Kingsley Obiora, at the post-monetary policy committee media briefing held in Abuja … yesterday

Emefiele Forecloses Monetary Policy Tightening to Boost Recovery, Stimulate Growth Says Nigeria not exposed to effects of US policy normalisation, others Banking industry NPLs drop 4.85%, lowest in 10 years Warns against patronage of loan sharks James Emejo in Abuja The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday said the apex bank would not raise interest rate following the policy normalisation being undertaken by some advanced economies such as the United States and the European Union.

The CBN governor said Nigeria did not benefit from those funds which were released into advanced economies during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic in which some found their way into emerging markets.

Ordinarily, such policy normalisation should be of great concern to the Nigerian economy as it would have led to huge foreign exchange (forex) outflows with dire consequence on the economy.

But, Emefiele, while reacting to the development after the two-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the first in 2022, further allayed concerns that the monetary authority might possibly

react by raising interest rates as well.

This came as the apex bank after its meeting, resolved to leave all monetary policy parameters unchanged in a bid to support the recovery and growth of the economy.

The CBN left the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), otherwise known as the interest rate unchanged at 11.5 per cent with the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR. The MPR is the rate at which the CBN lends to commercial banks and often determines the cost of borrowing in the economy.

The MPC also voted to maintain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 27.5 per cent as well as the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.

Emefiele, who read the committee’s communiqué, further disclosed that the banking industry Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) had reduced to about 4.85 per cent in December, the lowest in about 10 years.

Also, the CBN governor said Nigerian have no business patronis-

NAHCON Urges Saudi Arabia to Lift Travel Ban on Nigeria Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Federal Government has called on Saudi Arabia to lift its travel ban on Nigeria.

Specifically, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) pressed Saudi Arabia to lift the restrictions preventing Nigerians from travelling to the country.

The Chairman of NAHCON, Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, discussed the direct flight ban regarding hajj and Umrah operations when he led a high-powered delegation to the Saudi Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Faisal Bin Ibraheem Al-Ghamidy.

Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and some agencies, the Nigerian government has held discussions with Saudi Arabia to relax the flight ban on Nigerian travellers amid the COVID-19

pandemic.

Addressing Al-Ghamidy, Hassan commended the constant mutual support and cooperation NAHCON has enjoyed with Saudi Arabia.

He urged the country to reconsider the direct entry ban in the interest of intending Nigerian pilgrims for hajj and umrah.

The NAHCON chairman also expressed gratitude for the efforts of the Saudi authorities to compensate families of the crane crash victims as promised.

In response, Al-Ghamidy stated that the flight suspension on Nigeria into Saudi Arabia would soon end.

On the issue of the compensation, the ambassador explained that Saudi Arabia would ensure the compensation was handed to the heirs or their representatives in no time.

ing money lenders otherwise known as loan sharks, adding that the CBN had put in place measures aimed at ensuring that people easily accessed loans from commercial banks without having to influence anybody.

He was reacting to the alleged excesses on the part of loan sharks in recent times.

In November 2021, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had announced that it was partnering the CBN, and other anti-graft agencies to address multiple potentially dubious conducts of certain money lenders who charge extremely high rates of interest, typically under illegal conditions.

Emefiele, however, vowed to deal ruthlessly with the money lenders if caught, stressing that most operated within rural communities.

Nonetheless, the MPC had noted with concern, the slight increase in headline inflation (year-on-year) to 15.63 per cent in December 2021, from 15.40 per cent in November, following seven consecutive months of decline.

He pointed out that the unexpected increase was attributed to both the food and core components, which rose to 17.37 and 13.87 per cent in December 2021 from 17.21 and 13.85 per cent in November, respectively.

The committee, however, expressed confidence in the CBN’s sustained intervention programmes, noting that inflation would continue to abate as food supply improves as the seasonal drive in price development associated with the December festive period was largely contributory to the marginal increase in price levels, and as such, believed that the episode of increase may be temporary.

The committee accessed the balance of risks confronting the domestic economy in the near term as they impact output growth and price stability and noted the unrelenting effort by the monetary and fiscal authorities in mitigating the impact of the virus on the economy.

It observed the continued moderate recovery of the domestic

economy but requires further concerted policy effort by both the monetary and fiscal authorities to improve the momentum and strengthen the recovery.

On the pandemic, the MPC reviewed its continued impact on the domestic economy as members collectively agreed that the downside risks were still hindering the recovery. In this light, it commended the efforts of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 for procuring vaccines and continuing the drive to ensure that most Nigerians are fully vaccinated.

On price development, the MPC continued to express concerns about the impact of insecurity in farming communities on food inflation, pointing out that whereas headline inflation had been moderating for several months, its recent uptick was associated with increased demand during the festive season.

It therefore believed that prices would return to the downward trajectory given the Bank’s ongoing interventions in the agriculture sector.

The committee applauded efforts of the CBN with the recent launch of the rice pyramids, noting that efforts to increase food supply and stem food inflation were in the right direction.

The MPC, however, reiterated the key role of the federal government in providing the necessary security around the country, and particularly in the farming communities, to ensure that farmers and their produce remain safe, and food supply is both boosted and uninterrupted.

Also, members noted the ongoing debate around the removal of fuel subsidy and suggested a robust engagement with relevant groups in the country, and afterward follow a stepwise and gradual approach, to ensure its moderate impact on cost of transportation and energy for individual, households and firms.

According to Emefiele, committee also noted the need to encourage the take-off of private refineries across the country to provide alternative competitive local supply source and reduce the need for government intervention

to manage fuel prices for domestic consumption.

It called for the speedy conclusion of the government gas-powered vehicle conversion scheme and other alternative sources of fuel.

Moreover, the committee noted the rising government debt profile and the concentration of the funding sources and its implications for fiscal sustainability and macroeconomic stability, including its impact on financial system performance and growth.

The MPC urged the government on the need to harness other sources of revenue to reduce its dependence on oil as a single revenue source.

In addition, it reiterated the need for government to seek alternative, more viable, and efficient infrastructure financing sources, in order to ease its expenditure burden.

On exchange rate, the committee applauded the CBN’s efforts at maintaining stability over the short term with increasing demand as the economy continues to reopen.

Members of the MPC noted the dwindling proceeds from oil sale, despite rising crude oil prices and stressed the need to address the persistent reduction in remittance of oil revenue to the Consolidated Revenue Fund and urging the NNPC to urgently address this anomaly.

They added that the improved forex supply would thus support the Bank’s demand management strategy in the foreign exchange market and consolidate macroeconomic performance, especially those that promote export, reduce dependence on import and reduce foreign exchange demand pressure.

The MPC welcomed the improvement in foreign capital inflow through diaspora remittances and urged the Bank to further extend the incentive scope to attract more remittances to official channels.

The CBN called on the fiscal authorities to take advantage of InfraCorp, the private sector driven infrastructural vehicle and transfer viable infrastructure projects for consideration by the corporation, saying it would ease pressure on

the government.

The committee further commended the CBN’s efforts in ensuring the continued downward trend of NPLs, signifying improving conditions in the banking system and emphasized the need for the bank to closely monitor developments in the sector and swiftly respond to any emerging challenges.

On the decision to hold all policy parameters constant, Emefiele said the committee decided to tow the path after a careful balancing of the benefits and downsides of each policy option.

He said the MPC decided to hold all policy parameters constant, believing that a hold stance would enable the continued permeation of current policy measures in supporting the recorded growth recovery and further boost production and productivity, which would ultimately rein-in inflation in the short to medium term.

However, commenting on the potential threats which policy normalisation posed to the country, the CBN governor said, “It is true normalisation will naturally lead to capital flow reversal particularly for the emerging market and developing economies. Some of those funds that were released into the advanced economies during the period of COVID-19, some of them actually flowed into the emerging markets to boost foreign exchange liquidity in the emerging market.

“But let me say whether you call it fortunately or unfortunately, but I will rather use the word fortunately for Nigeria, when those flows were moving to emerging markets at the time the advanced economies were offering stimulus into their economies, those flows didn’t come into Nigeria.”

He said, “And indeed, about two years ago, what we have been doing is to see to the gradual, systematic and orderly exit of foreign portfolio investors out of the country because they feel that yields are not as high as they expect and they also expect that there should be some more hedging instruments to protect them in case they want to go out.

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COURTESY CALL ON DIRI...

General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye (left) and Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, during Adeboye's courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa … yesterday

Presidency: Governor Ortom a Failed Politician, Always Good at Blaming Others Says Buhari as a leader repatriated stolen billions of dollars from overseas Stresses PDP can't rescue Nigeria Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Presidency yesterday evening described Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue as a failed politician who apportions blame for his inability to perform.

It, however, lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for being a leader who, in over six years, had succeeded in repatriating billions of dollars stolen by past administrations from overseas.

In a statement, 'The Incongruence

of Governor Samuel Ortom on ARISE TV', signed by presidential media aide Garba Shehu, the Presidency stated that Ortom was fond of blaming Buhari for failing to deliver democracy dividends to Benue people.

The Presidency said in comparison, Buhari as a leader, rather than blaming past administrations, swung into action recovering stolen funds stashed overseas and streamlining the several public accounts into one Treasury Single

Stop Petroleum Products Smuggling, Senate Tasks Customs, DSS, Others Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, yesterday met with heads of security and paramilitary agencies and tasked them to do more to checkmate smuggling of petroleum products out of Nigeria.

In attendance at the meeting were the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali(retd) and the Commandant General, Nigerian Civil Defence Corps, Ahmed Abubakar Audi.

Others were the representative of the Director General of the State Security Service, San Gesto and the representative of the Comptroller General of Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Ishaka Abdulmumini Lawan said the meeting was a follow up to the Monday meeting with the Finance and Petroleum Ministers which was to find a way forward on the administration and management of fuel subsidy in Nigeria The Senate President said, "We are all aware that some of the products particularly the PMS (petrol) is smuggled out and yet we paid subsidy on what is smuggled out.

"So this meeting is to look into the ways and means of controlling the smuggling of the petroleum products with a view to minimising the cost of fuel subsidy to our country.

"I know individually, these organisations have been carrying out their responsibilities on this but I think that we are coming into a special moment.

"Our situation is such that we cannot afford anymore to allow this smuggling business to continue because the cost is very huge and debilitating to our people.

"At a point I will hold a meeting with the National Security Adviser who is supposed to coordinate the entire security apparatus for protecting our borders.

"I will also hold some engagement with the military especially the Navy because a lot of our products are shipped out to other countries through the water ways.”

He added: "At the end of the day what we hope to achieve is to minimise or where possible eliminate the incidents of smuggling of petroleum products that we import into the country for our people.

"The figures of what we consume in the country continue to fluctuate.

At one point it was almost 100 million litres per day and surely this is difficult to believe that we consume almost 100 million litres per day within our borders.

Certainly, a good percentage of it goes out.

"This will be the first engagement but certainly this is not the last. We need to look at the strategy, maybe how we undertake our activities at the borders, the different agencies, the inter-agency cooperation that is so essential between the agencies.

"The application of technology in surveillance and who should host that technology.

"I believe there is a need for deployment of drones and other technologies that are available these days and probably the office of the National Security Adviser should be able to be in charge of that and make the information and data available to all the agencies that need them.

"I believe at one point, we will need the participation of the NCC being the major Institution in our country in charge of the

enhancement of technology, the ICT particularly.

"I want to assure you this is going to be a special partnership between the National Assembly and the executive arm of government because today's situation demands that we do things differently.

"Our Committees in the Senate that supervise the Customs, the security agencies, will be up to date with their oversight. We need to see in the next six months, what different strategies will bring to us.

"We want to see also our citizens participating in the surveillance.

We have to mobilise our citizens especially those at the borders.”

Speaking further, the Senate President said: “When our security personnel see trucks conveying petroleum products to our neigbouring

countries, they should not only say something, they should say it to those who need to know. That is to our security agencies.

"We need to mobilise our citizens as well because this is something that affect all of us. Not about government. And anyway, government is about the people.

"What we are trying to do is to reduce the level of snuggling of petroleum products out of Nigeria and that will translate into reducing the bill that we pay as petroleum subsidy."

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service said his agency had been doing a lot in trying to ensure that the smuggling of petroleum products out of Nigeria was minimised to the bearest level.

Account (TSA).

"There are two types of politicians in Nigeria today. The first are politicians who are leaders that offer solutions to the challenges facing the voters and the country. They bring forward policies, and implement them, to improve the lives of others," explained the statement.

"The second, politicians who offer excuses for the challenges voters face. They avoid ideas and instead blame others for problems they have either not solved or have themselves created."

The Presidency concluded that the Benue governor belonged to the second group of politicians.

Explaining why, it noted that Ortom "inherited unpaid salaries and pension arrears – and rather than find a way" to raise funds to pay them, he blamed Buhari.

"This is a president who has not failed to pay the salary of those working for the federal government and declared the failure of states to do so “a national disaster," the Presidency pointed out. "To avert this, he had, at various times, lent money to the states in excess of N1.682 trillion, and Benue, Mr Ortom’s state did not miss out on all occasions: Salary Bailout, Excess Crude Loan and Budget Support loan, each repayable in 20 years."

It accused Ortom, "who collected

on all occasions," as currently holding the "country’s longest record of unpaid salaries and pensions, has no reason, absolutely no reason, to blame President Buhari for the mess in which he put his state and its workers."

The Presidency also reasoned that "having first come claiming that his predecessors created the arrears," it was Ortom's "business to prove that he was better by paying."

"Instead of doing that," noted the statement, Ortom "joined them (politicians bad-mouthing the president)!" The Presidency stressed that "while he (Ortom) runs up even further salary and pension debts on top of those he was bequeathed, instead of respecting the voters who elected him to office, he publicly attacks them in unprintable words and has raised his own thuggish militia to harass and violate them."

In addition, the statement mentioned that the Benue governor "now claims the voters wish to be 'rescued by the PDP' and 'regret voting for Buhari'. The voters, of course, will not be asked to vote for the president again because – as a leader – – President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC respect term limits and the constitution, and will stand down next year at the end of his second democratically elected mandate."

Zulum Confirms Abduction of 24 Persons in Chibok Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

Borno State Governor, Prof.

Babagana Zulum has confirmed the abduction of 24 persons in Chibok, a town that became famous after the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram at a boarding secondary school in 2014.

The governor who paid a condolence visit to the town on Monday, was told by residents that four persons were killed in the latest attack by Boko Haram, with 110 buildings razed.

A statement yesterday by the spokesman of the governor, Mallam Isa Gusau said his principal, “was in Chibok town on Monday following a recent attack on three communities: Kawtakare, Korohuma and Pemi in the LGA. The governor met families of 22

women and two men abducted

by Boko Haram/ISWAP during the attack.”

He said during the visit, Zulum invited relatives from the three affected communities made up of men and women and hosted them at the government lodge in Chibok town.

Gusau said: “Insurgents attacked Kawtakare on January 21, 2022, Pemi on January 14 after previous one on Korohuma on December 30, 2021.”

The spokesman quoted the governor to have said: “We are here in Chibok to commiserate with you, immediate families of our sisters and brothers abducted as well as four of our brothers killed by the Boko Haram terrorists in these unfortunate incidents. We share your pains and we pray

this act will not happen again.”

He said the governor after meeting the families, interfaced with heads of security agencies and discussed gaps and ways to enhance security in the communities.

According to Gusau, Zulum observed that four local government areas: Biu, Askira, Chibok and Damboa - were faced with serial attacks from members of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in recent times, assuring that his administration will not relent in providing additional support to security operatives, to contain the challenges.

The Chairman of Chibok local government area, Umar Ibrahim while briefing the governor on the incident, said in addition to the 24 people abducted, three persons

were killed by the terrorists during separate attacks on three communities.

The Chairman disclosed that a combined number of 110 buildings made up of 73 houses, 33 shops and four churches were burnt alongside eight vehicles and three tricycles.

Zulum immediately directed that an assessment report containing all destructions perpetrated by the terrorists in the three communities be submitted to him.

He also commended the chairman of the council for his responsive leadership. He said: “Let me specifically commend the efforts of the Local Government Chairman, because despite the very limited resources, he has been doing his best to ensure that dividends of democracy are provided in Chibok.”

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NEWS

ENHANCED ACCOUNTABILITY AND INDEPENDENCE IN THE JUSTICE SECTOR...

L-R: Justice of the Supreme Court, Amina Adamu; Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata and Attorney General of the Federation/ Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, during the 2022 Justice Sector Summit with the theme "Devising Practice Solutions Towards Improved Performance, Enhanced Accountability and Independence in the Justice Sector" held in Abuja… yesterday

VP Osinbajo Seeks Benchmark in Judiciary, Legislators’ Salaries Urges era of take-a-bow-and-go in appointments be discarded Malami calls for openness, transparency in spending Alex Enumah in Abuja The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo yesterday canvassed for the creation of a benchmark in the salaries of judicial officers as well as that of the legislators to put a permanent rest to the perennial disputes among the two arms of government.

Osinbajo also remarked that the earnings of judicial officers should be such that they would be able to have “decent homes of their own” after service.

He spoke at the 2022 Justice Sector Summit tagged: Devising Practical Solutions Towards Improved Performance, Enhanced Accountability and Independence in the Justice Sector, organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and some stakeholders.

The vice president said the welfare conditions of the judicial officers must be strengthened to make them live above board and to also attract the best brains into the bench. He challenged the bar to use the summit to address the issue of long delay in the disposal of cases in the nation’s court, which he said goes a long way in determining how other nations see Nigerian and want to invest in the country.

The VP faulted the way and manner appointees were being scrutinised, adding that the takea-bow policy be discarded and that appointments should no longer be treated with kids’ gloves. According

to him, such screening should be robust and thorough for the best to emerged.

Meanwhile, responding to questions at the opening plenary, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, called for more transparency and openness in the administration of the budgets of both the Judiciary and Legislative arms of government.

Malami said the judiciary had consistently lamented poor funding and yet no one could tell how the monies allocated to them were being expended.

He, therefore, submitted that for the issue of inadequate funding to be addressed in the judiciary, there must be a system in place that will allow the financial books to be opened.

“The starting point is transparency and accountability … let the books be opened,” he said.

According to the AGF, even though the budgetary allocation of the judiciary was higher than that of the National Assembly, the lawmakers seemed to be better off than the judiciary. Therefore, he said there was need to know how much was provided and how it is applied.

“The same way that the executive opens its books for public scrutiny, the same way the legislators and the judiciary should open theirs,” he stated.

On the issue of appointment

of judges, Malami advocated the need for a legislation that would remove all bottlenecks that take away merit in the process of selecting and appointing judicial officers.

He maintained that the current guidelines used in selecting and appointing judges promote incompetence, adding that the consideration of federal character principle further robs the bench of merit when appointments were being made.

Speaking on the financial autonomy for the judiciary, Malami

which recently had a market capitalisation of nearly $2.8 billion.

(Forbes discounts the values of stakes when the public float is less than five per cent).

BUA Cement, in which he and his son had a 96 per cent stake, listed in January 2020.

Globacom owner Mike Adenuga ranked as the sixth richest African.

Dangote Group Chairman Aliko Dangote holds the top spot. He retained the spot as the richest man in Africa, with a net worth of $12.1 billion, according to the 2022 edition of the Forbes’ Top 10 Africa’s Billionaires List.

convocation of the summit.

“Today, I believe that our call to action must begin from our admission of the state of affairs of our administration of justice that we are thoroughly dissatisfied with. There is a convergence of opinion of both the Bar and the Bench that the Nigerian justice delivery system is not operating at its optimal best,” he said.

Among the issues the NBA President said would be looked into at the summit, was the process of appointment into the bench of various courts in the country which,

“must be manned by not just the best hands we can find but also by incorruptible minds.”

He urged stakeholders to commit to statutory and constitutional reforms, institutional and funding reforms, and manpower reforms for the desired change to take place.

“The lips service that we have paid to these reforms over the years must stop from today”, he said, while appealing to both the bar and bench to uproot every divisive tendency that is hampering the effectiveness of the justice sector in Nigeria.

Bodo Vs Shell: British Lawyer Says Firm Complied with Community's Instructions on Funds Disbursement Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja British Solicitor and Senior Partner, Leigh Day & Co., Mr. Martyn Day, has insisted that he fully acted according to the instructions given by Bodo community, Rivers state, in the disbursement of a £55 million compensation sum paid by Shell as out-of-court settlement in a 2012 oil spill case.

The London-based lawyer who was responding to allegations that he short-changed the community to the tune of about £30 million, maintained that the accusation

Forbes Ranks BUA Chairman, Rabiu 5th Richest African

Abdulsamad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, has emerged as the fifth richest man in Africa out of the 18 billionaires listed in Forbes latest richest Africans ranking.

This is contained in a post on Forbes' verified Twitter account @Forbes.

The Nigerian cement tycoon is $1.5 billion richer after taking another of his companies public.

In early January 2022, Rabiu listed his sugar and food firm BUA Foods on the Nigerian stock exchange.

He and his son retained a 96 per cent stake in the company,

recalled several efforts by the President Buhari’s administration to ensure that the judiciary was truly independent, citing Executive Order 10 among others, which he regretted was being challenged in court. He, however, called for consensus-building among the three arms of government to realise the independence of the judiciary.

In his welcome address, the President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olumide Akpata, noted that the declining state of the nation’s justice sector was the major reason for the

According to the report, for the 11th year in a row, Dangote is the continent’s richest person, worth an estimated $13.9 billion, up from $12.1 billion in 2021. It followed a 30 per cent increase in the stock price of Dangote Cement.

A surge in housing developments in Nigeria and growth in government infrastructure spending drove higher demand in the first nine months of 2021, analysts found.

The report added that Africa’s billionaires were richer than they had been in years, despite the global pandemic.

was false.

In a note yesterday, the firm claimed that having read the allegations, the accusations by the community representative contained factual inaccuracies.

The Leigh Day spokesperson, Caroline Ivinson, said: “We confirm that we distributed both the damages for the individual and community claims in accordance with instructions that were properly given to us. The allegations contained in the article that monies were improperly deducted from the settlement sums are entirely false.”

“We are in correspondence with a firm of Nigerian solicitors relating to the claims made by Mr. Sapira, which we refute. We are fully defending a case that has been brought against us by other persons who also allege that they act on behalf of the Bodo community,” the firm stated.

Although Sapira maintained that the matter had nothing to do with the Ogoni clean-up, but simply about transparency in the disbursement of the compensation sum, the London law firm noted that it continues to enjoy the backing of the community leadership on the matter.

“We continue to be, and always have been, properly instructed by the representatives of the Bodo

community with respect to the ongoing international clean-up process.

“We have been told that this is still the case and that all the current governmental bodies of the Bodo community have held that they do not support any of these criticisms against us and that we have their continued trust and confidence with regard to the ongoing clean-up case,” the solicitor stated.

Representatives of over 14,000 Bodo community residents in several communications with the law firm had alleged that their monies remained unaccounted for.

Furthermore, the oil-producing Ogoni community noted that all efforts to ensure that Leigh Day made available the documents, including the bank instruction as well as receipts used in making the payments had met a brick wall.

In 2012, Bodo filed a lawsuit against Shell in a London High Court, seeking compensation for two oil spills and losses suffered to their health, livelihoods, and land.

The plaintiffs maintained that the relevant pipelines caused spills because they were over 50 years old and poorly maintained, and that Shell reacted too slowly after being alerted to the situation.

But in January 2015, Shell accepted its responsibility and

agreed to a £55 million settlement after which the funds were routed through Bodo's British Lawyer, Day. Shell also agreed to the clean-up of the impacted area.

In one of the official communication from the Bodo Council of Chiefs and Elders, signed by the Chairman, Chief John Vilola and Vice President, Chief Bernard Kiate, among others, the community leaders had expressed frustration over the turn of events.

The Ogoni leaders had pointed out that as individual claimants and as Bodo Council of Chiefs, the group that was recognised as party to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), it was concerned about the incomplete and inaccurate payment of the settlement sums arising from the claim.

Bodo had threatened to take the matter further by lodging a complaint with the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) and other legal institutions in the UK if the lawyer will not submit the requested documents explaining how the monies were disbursed.

But in its initial reply, the London law firm had responded that the case was already in court and so it could not make any comments, although Mr. Timothy Sapira, a community representative and head, Vilola, told THISDAY that Bodo had no such case in court.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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TEN BUHARI DEFERS SUBSIDY REMOVAL TO INCOMING GOVERNMENT been described as a major drain and waste of resources would be shifted to the next administration from May 29, 2023, if the National Assembly approves an extension of the PIA’s implementation.

The government’s inability to take the tough decision on the subsidy issue is bound to have massive consequence on the overall implementation of the PIA. The implementation of the PIA which stipulates the removal of petrol subsidy ought to be in February 2022 and was later shifted to July 2022. However, due to pressure and threats of protests by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the decision was on Monday suspended.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who spoke after a closeddoor meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, said the president graciously okayed the suspension of the removal of fuel subsidy until further notice.

But the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday reiterated the need for Nigeria to remove subsidies on petrol and channel such funds to health, social development and other critical sectors of the economy.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) also announced the suspension of its nationwide protest.

This was just as the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has advised the federal government to adopt a phased removal approach to the dilemma it was facing over the subsidy issue and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) called for wider consultation on the matter.

According to Sylva, the executive would propose 18 months extension to National Assembly for the implementation of the PIA. On the possible legal implica-

tions after the assent to the PIA by President Buhari, Sylva said: “We also see the legal implications. There is six months provision in the PIA which will expire in February and that is why we are coming out to say that before the expiration of this time, as I said earlier, we will engage the legislature.

“We believe that this will go to the legislature, we are applying for some amendment of the law so that we would still be within the law.

“We are proposing an 18 months extension but what the National Assembly is going to approve is up to them. We would approve an 18 months extension and then it is up to the national Assembly to look at it and pass the amendment as they see it.

“We are going to see how to rejig the law, this is not going to be the only amendment to the PIA. A few months ago, the President already proposed an amendment to the law. Mr. President already proposed some amendment.

"Now we are going to propose this amendment. There might be other amendments that will be proposed because that is the way the law is; we will continue to adjust it as we see fit, as we operate it."

The minister explained that the suspension of the subsidy removal was to give all stakeholders time to ensure that the implementation was carried out in a manner that guarantees that all necessary modalities are in place to cushion the effect of the planned removal.

The modalities, he said, included getting the refineries to work, introducing an alternate fuel for cars in form of auto gas and possible palliatives for Nigerians.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has agreed to an extension of the statutory period for the implementation of the removal of subsidy on petrol in accordance with extant laws.

“However, following extensive

consultations with all key stakeholders within and outside the government, it has been agreed that the implementation period for the removal of the subsidy should be extended.

“This extension will give all the stakeholders time to ensure that the implementation is carried out in a manner that guarantees that all necessary modalities are in place to cushion the effect of the petrol subsidy removal in line with prevailing economic realities.’

"All those structures are not right now in place. One of those is to ensure that the refineries are working and you're all aware that steps are being taken for all the refineries to be functional very soon. The Dangote Refinery is expected to come on stream at the end of this year.

"All our refineries, the Port Harcourt Refinery is expected to be performing at a certain capacity, not full capacity, by end of this year.

There are some modular refineries that are also going to come on steam later this year.

"Of course, you're also aware that the rehabilitation of the refineries are ongoing, I already said that.

Dangote Refinery is already on, we are hoping that by the end of this year, the refineries will be functional, at least to a great extent, not necessarily the nameplate capacity, Port Harcourt Refineries especially, will be producing. We are also expecting that Dangote Refinery will also have come on stream,” he explained.

Speaking further he said: “Also, there is discussion of introducing an alternate fuel for cars in the form of auto gas and somebody asked, what has happened since launching. A lot has gone on there, in fact, even today, if you had noticed, I briefed Mr. President on the progress that has been made on auto gas. We are hoping that in March or April, the conversion processes will begin.

"We promised that one million

cars will be converted initially, and of course, the corresponding amount of gas filling stations will also be built. That is in progress and I want to assure you that it will happen very soon. That also has to be in place before we say okay, we want to take out subsidies.

"We're also looking at palliatives.

The Minister of Finance and her team are looking at possible palliatives for Nigerians as well. So, because all these have to converge before we announce the complete removal of subsidy, because Mr. President, especially wants us to ensure that this doesn't have too much impact on the people, we are now extending the time for subsidy removal.

"I will not want to specifically mention the time of extension because that will be a product of a discussion with the National Assembly, because it is likely to involve an amendment of the PIA to extend extended time and I always do not want to preempt what timeframe the National Assembly will allow. But definitely at this moment, fuel subsidy removal is not on the card."

Commenting on the likely effect of the subsidy removal on livelihoods of the poor, the Minister said: “The President assures that his administration will continue to put in place all necessary measures to protect the livelihoods of all Nigerians, especially the most vulnerable.’’

On queues at petrol stations that had resurfaced, he advised Nigerians to stop hoarding fuel nor engage in panic buying as government has no plans remove subsidy, Sylva said: “We don’t intend to remove subsidy now.

That is why we are making this announcement.”

Asked if the suspension has anything to do with 2023 general elections, he said: “Of course not.

It’s just the human face of the government, Mr. President especially wants certain structures to in place.

AT LAST, SENATE, HOUSE PASS AMENDED ELECTORAL BILL The harmonised version accommodated the direct, indirect, and consensus modes of primary election.

The Senate had earlier passed the three modes of primaries, but the version of the House of Representatives did not include the consensus arrangement.

The upper chamber considered the harmonised version of the bill at plenary and passed it.

Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, said the bill had given sufficient and clear definition to the modes of primary election now adopted by both chambers of the National Assembly.

The re-amendment was sequel to a motion on “rescission on clause 84 of the Electoral Act No. 26 2010 (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and Committal to the Committee of the Whole.” The motion was sponsored by Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North).

The amended bill provides in clause 84 (2), “The procedure for the nomination of candidates by political parties for the various elective positions shall be by direct, indirect primaries or consensus.”

It adds in 84(3), “A political party shall not impose nomination qualification or disqualification criteria, measures, or conditions on any aspirant or candidate for any election in its constitution, guidelines, or rules for nomination of candidates for elections, except as prescribed under sections 65, 66, 106, 107, 131, 137, 177 and 187 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

On direct primaries in 84 (4), the amended version provides, “A political party that adopts the direct primaries procedure shall ensure that all aspirants are given equal opportunity of being voted for by members of the party and shall adopt the procedure outlined below: “(a) In the case of presidential

primaries, all registered members of the party shall vote for aspirants of their choice at a designated centre at each ward of the federation. “(b) The procedure in paragraph (a) above of this subsection shall be adopted for direct primaries in respect of gubernatorial, senatorial, federal and state constituencies. “(c) Special Conventions or Congresses shall be held to ratify the candidate with the highest number of votes at designated centres at the national, state, senatorial, federal and state constituencies, as the case may be.”

In terms of indirect primaries, the bill provides under 84(5), “A political party that adopts the system of indirect primaries for the choice of its candidate shall adopt the procedure outlined below: (a) In the case of nominations to the position of presidential candidate, the political party shall - (i) hold a Special Presidential Convention at a designated centre in the Federal Capital Territory or any other place within the federation that is agreed to by the National Executive Committee of the party where delegates shall vote for aspirants of their choice. “(ii) the aspirant with the highest number of votes cast at the end of voting shall be declared the winner of the presidential primaries of the political party and that aspirant’s name shall be forwarded to the Commission as the candidate of the party.”

It further provides under 84(7), “Where there is only one aspirant or a consensus candidate in a political party for any of the elective positions mentioned in subsection (5)(a), (b), (c) and (d), the party shall convene a special convention or congress at a designated centre on a specified date for the confirmation of such aspirant and the name of the aspirant shall be forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission as the candidate of the party.”

The Electoral Bill provides in 84(8), “A political party that adopts

the system of indirect primaries for the choice of its candidate shall clearly outline in its constitution and rule the procedure for the democratic election of delegates to vote at the convention, congress meeting.”

On consensus candidate, the bill in 84(9)(a) provides, “A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate.”

It states further in paragraph (b), “Where a political party is unable to secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the purpose of a consensus candidate, it shall revert to the choice of direct or indirect primaries for the nomination of candidates for the aforesaid elective positions.”

The bill states in paragraph (c), “A Special Convention or nomination congress shall be held to ratify the choice of consensus candidates at designated centres at the national, state, senatorial, federal and state constituencies, as the case may be.”

House of Representatives Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, explained during plenary that the leadership of the House met on Monday and decided that to facilitate speedy passage of the bill and deepen democracy, both chambers of the National Assembly decided to add the consensus provision. Gbajabiamila, however, said the inclusion came with certain provisos so as to protect all aspirants for all positions, and give all an even playing field.

He explained, "You will recall that this House last week, as soon as we returned, looked into the complaints and added the provision of indirect primaries to our law.

Unfortunately, the Senate added both indirect and consensus, which necessitated the possible need for a conference committee of both chambers.

“The leadership of the House met yesterday and decided that in the interest of speedy passage and also to deepen our democracy, the House and Senate decided to add the consensus provision, so there will be no need for conference but with certain provisos."

Briefing journalists shortly after plenary, the House spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, said the bill would be transmitted to Buhari within seven days and hopefully he would look at it as quickly as possible.

The speaker said though the lawmakers included the consensus option, it did not mean political godfathers would seat in a room, prepare a list and call it consensus.

He added that anyone who went against the provisions, as stipulated in the bill, could be taken to court.

Kalu said, "It’s not the way it used to be before, that political godfathers will sit in a room and then prepare a list and call it consensus. That’s not in the script of this particular section.

“So, if you prepare a list and you’re not able to give an evidence of a written withdrawal by those who are aspiring, who have now agreed for one candidate to go, you have gone against the spirit of this particular provision. In that extent one can approach the court.”

The House spokesman said in preparing the new version of the electoral bill, "We are not doing anybody’s bidding, we are partners in nation-building. It needs partnership, synergy.”

He said good ideas for nation building could come from any of the arms of government.

“That’s what we are concerned about,” he stated, adding, “In it all what we have done are consultations, we have been consulting with Nigerians and Nigerians are saying give us the full option; we have to do that.

“Nigerians should be happy that the options have conditions and those conditions will tailor the options to the ethos of democracy."

And he insisted if we want to remove subsidy, we must make sure that we put every measure in place to protect the suffering masses of Nigeria. That is the President's insistence. So we are now taking steps to ensure that these processes are in place."

The minister also assured that government would continue to engage the labour unions on the fuel subsidy issue saying, "we are already talking with labour, and our discussion with labour is also around this palliatives and mitigations.”

He added: "Engagement with labour, of course, this will continue.

This is an ongoing process; we want to start. We've been engaging labour for a long time, if you are aware and that engagement will be ongoing.

“It’s a development process and maybe by July 2022, we'll be able to get back to you and give you additional developments from here.

"So all these will have to come together. That's why we decided at this time, especially since we are running against time, with the legal timeframe approaching very quickly, we thought we should come to you and let you know that we are taking steps to amend the law and to ensure that we are within the law.”

On the possibility of gradual increase in fuel price the, Sylva said: “Gradual or increment in whatever guise is not on the table."

A THISDAY’s analysis of documents from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Continued on page 54

PRESIDENT DIRECTS SECURITY AGENCIES TO USE 5G TECH TO TACKLE INSECURITY policy on 5G for Nigeria's digital economy, with a clear directive to all the security agencies to immediately leverage the technology to enhance security in the country when it has been deployed.

The president who spoke at the State House, Abuja, said the federal government would take full advantage of the opportunities that 5G provides for the economy, security and well-being of the nation. ''It will also support security institutions with real time communication. 5G technology is significantly faster than earlier digital technologies and it provides near real-time communication. This can play a key role in boosting our efforts towards enhancing security across the nation. ''It will enable our security institutions to effectively deploy robotics, autonomous vehicles, augmented and virtual reality to address any security challenges that we face,'' he said at the launch of the policy, which was presented and approved at the Federal Executive Council meeting on September 8, 2021, following a robust debate.

President Buhari also allayed fears over health safety of 5G, affirming that such issues had been, ''effectively addressed'' in developing a policy that suits the country.

Commenting on the benefits of 5G technologies, the president stressed that it would support virtually every sector of the economy, including enhanced connectivity, improved healthcare, support for education while fostering smart cities, and boosting agriculture, among other advantages.

The president explained that the National 5G Policy includes a deployment plan to ensure that major cities across the country benefit from the technologies.

According to him, the policy, which was in line with the commitment of this administration to support the digital economy, “as an enabler for the diversification of our national economy, also seeks to make 5G a major driver of the economy, a catalyst for smart cities in the country and a platform for the creation of jobs that support digital economy.”

He, therefore, assured investors that the federal government would continue to provide an enabling environment for their businesses to be very successful as Nigeria begins the roll-out of the technology.

Buhari directed the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to supervise the implementation of the Policy, being done by the Nigerian Communications Commission, with the support of other government institutions.

The president also gave a rundown of how his administration had created an enabling environment for investments to thrive in Nigeria’s digital economy.

He recalled that the journey to the launch of the 5G National policy started with the launch of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy in November 2019, as well as the launch of a number of policies to strengthen the digital

economy, including the Nigerian National Broadband Plan and the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector.

Buhari noted that under his watch the agreement of the National Economic Council to peg the cost of the Right of Way at N145 per linear metre which was made in 2013, was only implemented in late 2019, after the intervention of the federal government.

According to the President, the Information and Communications Technology sector played a prime role in enabling Nigeria’s economy to swiftly exit the recession that was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. ''The GDP Report of the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the ICT sector was the fastest growing sector in the fourth quarter of 2020 and entire year 2020, recording double-digit growth rates of 14.70 per cent and 12.90 per cent respectively. ''The sector also recorded a 17.92 per cent contribution to our GDP in the second quarter of last year- this was its highest ever contribution.

All these impressive and significant achievements have justified our efforts to support the growth of our digital economy,'' he added.

Describing the process of developing the National 5G Policy as painstaking, inclusive and focused, Buhari recalled that 5G trials commenced in some selected locations in November 2019. ''Multi-sectoral stakeholders then deliberated on the report of the trials to ensure that health, security and other concerns were effectively addressed in developing a policy that suits our country. ''The National 5G Policy will position Nigeria to harness the potentials of 5G technologies to further develop the economy and improve the indices of well-being in the nation,'' he said.

Earlier in his speech, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy affirmed that the sector recorded unprecedented achievements with increased remittances to the Federation Account, resolution of lingering issues in the industry and successful auctioning of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum for the deployment of 5G technology.

Pantami thanked the president for the consistent support to the sector, announcing that within two years, the federal government completed 1,667 ICT related projects.

According to him: ''As at August 2021, the sector remitted over N1 trillion to the Federation Account and this is unprecedented because the usual remittances is around 200 billion annually and this has been increased substantially."

On the spectrum auction for the 5G, he explained that from the reserve price of N75 billion per spectrum, each spectrum was assigned to the winners at the price of over N250 billion per spectrum.

The minister expressed confidence that given the experiences from other countries and available research, Nigeria would derive maximum benefits from the deployment of 5G technology.

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NEWS

FAREWELL/PULL-OUT PARADE FOR (AIG) HAKEEM ODUMOSU...

R-L: Immediate past Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Hakeem Odumosu; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Mrs. Odumosu, during a farewell/ pull-out parade to honour the AIG, held at the Police College, Ikeja... yesterday

Abiodun Vows to Bring Killers of Ogun Monarch to Book James Sowole in Abeokuta Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, condemned the violent killing of Oba Ayinde Odetola, the traditional ruler of Agodo in Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state and promised to bring his killers to book.

The governor vowed to visit the full wrath of law on the perpetrators of the assassination of the monarch and three of his aides.

Declaring that his administration would not tolerate breach of peace and harmony being currently enjoyed in the state, Abiodun, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, also directed the security agencies to immediately fish out the killers.

Adetola and three other persons, were assassinated on Monday by yet-to-be-identified hoodlums.

In the statement, Abiodun sent a stern warning to those threatening the peace of the state, stressing that the incumbent administration would stop at nothing to deal decisively with the perpetrators by prosecuting and meting out

the full wrath of the law on them.

The governor, who described the incident as unfortunate, noted that politics, land and chieftaincy matters should not attract descent to self-help and killings.

"Security of lives and property tops our responsibilities as

Super Tucano fighter jets deployed by the Nigeria Air Force under Operation Hadin Kai yesterday struck a meeting venue of commanders and fighters of the Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) killing scores of insurgents in Kurta Wulgo in Borno State.

It was gathered that a senior ISWAP Commander, Mallam Ari, believed to be in charge of Kirta Wulgo and foreign mercenaries fabricating Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) for the terrorists were killed during the airstrikes.

THISDAY learnt that the airstrikes were authorised after intelligence revealed over 40 terrorists converging at the fringes of Northeast Kirta Wulgo, close to a point where a suspected ISWAP flag was hoisted.

Abiodun said, "To those threatening the peace of our state, we will stop at nothing to fish them out, prosecute them and mete out the full wrath of the law on them.

"We have zero-tolerance for these ignoble conducts. Politics, land and chieftaincy disputes are no excuses

for people to take laws into their hands. All hirelings, parents and guardians should call their wards to order.

"OP-MESA, Joint Internal Security Task Force, Amotekun, vigilantes groups, DSS Police and NSCDC are not mere toothless

bulldogs. They are armed and deployed to strike agent provocateurs," Abiodun said in the statement. He, however, commiserated with the family of the late monarch and the residents of Agodo town, assuring them that killers would not go unpunished.

Wike Discovers Rivers Aircraft Abandoned By Amaechi in Germany Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has accused the immediate past government in the state led by Chibuike Amaechi of abandoning the state-owned Legacy 600 aircraft in Germany.

Wike alleged that based on intelligence he discovered that one of the state-owned aircraft was flown to Germany and abandoned there since 2012 by the then state government.

The governor said it was unconscionable for the immediate past administration to have taken a state-owned asset to Germany and abandoned same there, without any documentation.

Using Super Tucano Fighter Jets, Nigerian Airforce Kills Notorious ISWAP Commander, Ari, Others Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

a government and we will not allow people to take laws into their hands," the governor said.

Warning parents and guardians to call their wards to order and that no plea for clemency would be tolerated for acts of brigandage, murder and illegal conducts,

"Some were also seen with weapons around a nearby make-shift structure, which was a likely indication that the structure might have had a high calibre terrorist target.

"After the airstrikes, some of the surviving terrorists were observed making frantic efforts to put out the fire that ensued while others took to their heels", a security source said.

“Indeed, the make-shift structures were significantly burnt and destroyed at the fringes.

"Several ISWAP fighters were neutralised in the air strikes including one Mallam Ari, who was identified as the Fiya of Kirta Wulgo", he said.

When contacted, NAF Spokesman, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, confirmed the air interdiction.

Wike, revealed this when he led a delegation of Rivers leaders to General Atomics Aerotec in Munich, Germany, where the aircraft, according to him had been abandoned for 10 years.

He said efforts to repair and retrieve the aircraft cost the state government €3 million Euros.

Speaking during a meeting with the General Manager, Business Development, General Atomics Aerotec, Markus Froetschi, Wike explained that his administration in a bid to recover state’s assets, had through intelligence discovered that the Legacy 600 jet purchased by the Dr. Peter Odili’s administration was in Germany.

He said: “When we came into office in 2015, we never had an idea that our plane was in your facility.

It was a matter of asking questions

before we got the information that Legacy 600 belonging to our state is in RUAG, General Atomics.

"We tried to make contact with you and which you obliged. So, we want to sincerely thank you for not hiding anything from us, because it is the property of the State government.

“This plane was bought in 2003 by the government of Dr. Peter Odili, and by 2007, he had handed over to the next government which was my predecessor's, now, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

While he was in office, in 2012 this plane was brought here. Reasons we do not know.”

Wike said there does not exist any document indicating that the state-owned aircraft was flown to Germany and abandoned for inexplicable reasons.

“The issue is, why was there no documentation to let the incoming government know that we have this facility and that it was sent to Germany for whatever reason?

Again, I do know from experience that inspection of such facility does not take more than six months.

“So, if it was brought in 2012, expectantly at least, by early 2013, the plane ought to have come back for use.”

Wike, said he had to travel to Munich, Germany, with a state delegation to prove that the Legacy 600 aircraft has been discovered and about to be returned to the State government.

Those on the governor’s entourage included, the Speaker Rivers State House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani; Deputy Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly,

Ehie Ogerenye Edison; Rivers State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor; member of House of Representatives, Ken Chikere; Rivers State chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Ambassador Desmond Akawor; Chairman, Ikwerre LGA, Samuel Nwanosike among others.

The General Manager, Business Development, General Atomics Aerotec, Markus Froetschi, said the aircraft was brought to Germany by the immediate past administration and abandoned since 2012.

The Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, said he was elated that the aircraft had been recovered by the State government. According to him, State lawmakers will continue to support every effort to recover all government assets and property.

Women Stage Solidarity Walk for Yahaya Bello's 2023 Presidential Bid in Abuja, Urge Him to Declare It was a mammoth crowd in Abuja yesterday, as women from across Nigeria gathered in the Federal Capital Territory for a solidarity walk in support of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, who they said had all it takes to be President of Nigeria after President Muhammadu Buhari.

The women, who gathered under over 600 groups across the six geo-political zones of the country, and across key sectors, including Non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations, religious, professional bodies, women in media, politics, Nollywood, market women, as well as top women entrepreneurs, among others, stormed the Department of Arts and Culture Exhibition Pavilion, to stress their support for the Governor.

The women, under the umbrella

of Women United for Yahaya Bello (WUYABEL), after their solidarity walk, tagged, "One Million Women March for Yahaya Bello", maintained that they were ready now to put their weights behind the Governor and prove that the era of what they described as "bread and butter" politics was over in Nigeria.

Stamping their call for a Yahaya Bello Presidency, the women took turns to address the press, while calling on the Federal Government to introduce relief measures to alleviate the pains of the masses, who they said were suffering under harsh economic conditions.

President, National Association of Women Entrepreneurs, Vera Ndanusa, said the mammoth crowd that participated in the march, was an evidence that "whenever you empower a woman, you reap the

benefits many times over".

According to her, women empowerment should be top priority for the Nigeria government as a whole.

Ace Nollywood Actress, Binta Ayo-Mogaji, who led many other stars, including Ayo Adesanya, Dupe Jaiyesinmi, Rose Odika, Lanre Hassan (Mama Awero) and Madam Kofo, among many others, to the event, referred to the commendation by the Vice President of Liberia, Jewel Taylor.

She said the Liberian VP acknowledged Bello's strides, adding that Nigerian women must support that one Governor that had shown them massive support.

Commending the turnout, which she said was one of the most impressive she had seen in recent times, Mogaji urged the Federal Government to pay more attention

to the needs of women.

The Global President, WUYABEL, Dr. Hannatu Abubakar Adeeko, said she was fascinated by the giant strides of the Kogi Governor in his state, saying he had surpassed the prescribed quota for women, globally.

Adeeko, a consultant physician, who flew into Nigeria from the United States for the march, said the state was working based on the fact that women held strategic positions in Governor Bello's cabinet.

"Nigerian women have thrown their weights behind Governor Yahaya Bello to show their appreciation for his support and because of the capacity he has displayed in various areas such as security, education, unity of his people and other critical areas posing challenges to the entire country," she said.

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COMMENT

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

OYEBANJI: ANOTHER GOLD IN THE RUBBLES? Biodun Oyebanji is eminently qualified to govern Ekiti State, contends John Ekundayo

I

n the run up to the 2007 gubernatorial election in the Centre of Excellence, Lagos State, the ruling party threw up a relatively unknown administrator and lawyer as the party’s candidate. He was solidly and solely endorsed by the incumbent Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the angst and awful disposition of party chieftains and stalwarts who perceived Babatunde Raji Fashola, the preferred consensus candidate, as a political neophyte. It was greeted with a quiet disapproval, dissatisfaction and disaffection. Many saw Fashola as a novice in the political chess game of Lagos that is well versed and versatile in content and colour; and wondered how he would meander and manoeuvre through the murky and muddy water of the State of Aquatic Splendour advanced politics and politicking. However, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the mentor and master strategist saw tomorrow in Fashola and stood his ground without wavering to the chagrin of his teeming adherents and admirers, who are committed party faithful.

In the dedication to the book authored by this writer titled: “Out of Africa: Fashola: Reinventing Servant Leadership To Engender Nigeria’s Transformation” (published in 2013 by AuthorHouse UK), it was succinctly and saliently stated inter alia: ‘This book is specially and specifically dedicated to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the erstwhile Governor of Lagos State, political mentor of Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, who with intellectual and prophetic insight saw Fashola as “a gold in the rubbles” if picked and properly polished. He did that against all odds and the outcome is the subject of this book’.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Biodun Oyebanji than any other candidate within his party, APC, is Ekiti born and bred. It is to his credit as a homeboy that he attended primary, secondary and tertiary schools in Ekiti. Ekiti celebrated 25 years of existence last year and Oyebanji was the Secretary of the Committee that worked assiduously for the carving, crafting and creating of Ekiti out of the old Ondo State. He was the youngest among the eminent members of that resilient committee with Baba Deji Fasuan as the indefatigable and indomitable leader. What a unique selling proposition as a contender and contestant for the Ikogosi Ekiti born technocrat and politician. In his own words, when recently interviewed in THISDAY newspaper, he simply posited along this line: “. . .I have been a lecturer, I have been a player in the banking sector, I have served the state government for 11 years and I have served on the board of a federal government agency as Chairman, Governing Board, Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (June 2009 – Dec. 2010). Besides, I read a lot and I have a passion for books on development, the global economy, African socio-economic movements and books that deal with strategies for growth . . .”

Oyebanji has proved his mettle as a mentee.

In the leadership scholastic inquiry, there is the mentor – protégé relationship (referred to as MPR). It is one of the dyads in leadership – followership study. In it, a mentee or protégé could start from the process of initiation and reach saturation; at which point, the protégé could stand on his own with all garnered credibility, capability, capacity, credentials, competence and connections from his mentor; and

OYEBANJI IS A STRATEGIST KEEN IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EKITI AND APPARENTLY NOT FOR PECUNIARY GAIN OR PAROCHIAL INTEREST. HE IS A PEOPLEORIENTED PERSONALITY, A TEAM PLAYER, WITH A KNACK FOR EVIDENCE-BASED PERFORMANCE AS HE WAS WONT AND WIRED TO

network of other mentors and mentees connected with his mentor; and consequently, stand head and shoulder above another colleague who has no mentor. One great benefit of the MPR dyad in organizations and polities globally. To surmise and summarize it, a wise man once aptly amplified it thus: “if you have a father, you will go far!” In paraphrasing it, I would rather say having a father makes you see farther as you can sit upon his shoulder. It is not a mean feat in governance, in Nigeria’s context, to have been mentored by two governors while one served in diverse core and crucial agencies of government and not ONE record of disloyalty! This writer having served in government can attest to this allusion with a sense of modesty. In this regard, Oyebanji of the arrays of eminent and well qualified candidates of his party, stand head and shoulder above them, in content and context, as one that is apparently most experienced in Ekiti governance. He is versatile, capable, credible, competent and well acquainted with places and people within Ekiti context. Without mincing words, he has proved his mettle as a matured mentee!

The primary election in the ruling APC comes up in a few days’ time. In essence, party members should be wise to vouch and vote for Oyebanji as he is a strategist keen in the development of Ekiti and apparently not for pecuniary gain or parochial interest. He is a peopleoriented personality, a team player, with a knack for evidence-based performance as he was wont and wired to. A case in point will suffice.

It was sometime in 2013 This writer was preparing for the wedding of his first son. I did not know Oyebanji and no one introduced me to him other than we both belong to the same online platform, Ekitipanupo (eminent intellectuals of Ekiti origin are members from varied and diverse pedigrees). I notified all members of the wedding in advance to which I was greeted with a show of camaraderie and comradeship the forum connotes. Few days later, I got an email in my inbox that I thought was seemingly a scam in content. However, upon painstaking reflection, I discovered it was genuine. There was a request in it asking for my assistance in developing the capacity of Monitoring and Evaluation (M and E) in Ekiti as I was involved in the Lagos experience. In M and E practice, Lagos leads other federating units in Nigeria. I was amazed when we spoke on the telephone and Oyebanji stated that he had been following my posts in the forum and could repose such confidence in me. I took up the gauntlet and with my team we were able to deliver as proposed with Oyebanji not uncharacteristically attaching any string to our consultancy service. He was then serving in the first term of Dr. John Kayode Fayemi as the Commissioner, Economic Planning, Budget and Service Delivery. The time we are in Ekiti and nationally calls for square pegs in square holes so as to mutually achieve set goals within the nick of time. Oyebanji can smell such competent, capable, credible and cerebral talents from far and near to make Ekiti reach the zenith, socio – economically and politically. Ultimately, this writer wants to infer that, like Babatunde Raji Fashola (BRF), Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO) could be another discovery of “gold in the rubbles!”

Dr. Ekundayo, Harvard-Certified Organizational Strategist, and also a Leadership Development Consultant, can be reached via 08155262360 and drjmoekundayo@hotmail.com

TACKLING KIDNAPPINGS ON THE HIGHWAYS Chukwudi Enekwechi urges FERMA to sit up

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nce again, it is pertinent to bring to the attention of the relevant authorities the wanton destruction, and loss of lives, robberies and kidnappings for ransom of innocent Nigerians, especially among commuters in luxury buses and transporters at failed portions of our federal highways. These incidents have assumed a dangerous dimension due to the failure of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to stick to their primary mandate of rehabilitating dilapidated roads infrastructure according to the directives of the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari. Their inability to live up to their responsibility has continued to worsen the condition of the highways with the nightmares associated with plying the roads.

It is common knowledge that apart from causing damage to vehicles which lead to high cost in transport fares, a lot of commercial transport companies are folding up as they can no longer cope with the exorbitant cost of maintaining their vehicles damaged on the bad portions of the federal highways. The immediate effect of this sad development is that transport companies’ workers are being sacked with the possibility of increase in criminal activities by some of the disengaged workers.

Indeed, if this trend is allowed to continue, it will worsen the security situation in the country. This scenario brings to the fore the fact that the causative factors of insecurity are multi-faceted, indicating that an organisation like FERMA has an important role to play to

stem the scourge of insecurity bedeviling the length and breadth of the country.

Their failure to help the President Buhari administration in tackling our security challenges by identifying and fixing the bad portions of our highways can be described as a great disservice to the country. It is unfortunate that while the president and his security chiefs are having sleepless nights, and on daily basis making efforts to tackle insecurity, FERMA, an organ of government, is not lending a helping hand by realising the important role they can play in curtailing insecurity, bearing in mind that much of the violent attacks on our highways happen at the dilapidated portions of the roads.

With the heightened tension in the country resulting from activities of kidnappers on the failed portions of our federal highways, the least that is expected of FERMA is to act proactively along the laudable security plans of the Buhari administration to ensure that those dangerous black spots where citizens always fall prey to kidnappers and other criminal elements are quickly maintained. Usually it is when the bad portions of the highways compel vehicles to slow down that the hoodlums pounce on commuters.

Though it is common knowledge that the rehabilitation of the bad portions of the federal highways will not completely wipe out kidnappings and other forms of criminality on our highways, yet it will go a long way to reduce them, make our highways safe and interstate travels more convenient. It will also stimulate economic activities around the country, as

money will circulate among the people.

Let us give a thought to the thousands of families across the country who depend on road travellers to fend for their families.

Definitely, with the insecurity on our highways, many of them will be thrown out of jobs and this is a major social dislocation for families.

What about the unusual pressure the incessant kidnappings have brought on our airports with many people struggling to travel by air in order to avoid the nightmare of being kidnapped on the highways?

Therefore, it behoves the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency to stop hiding their head in the sand like the Ostrich while precious lives are being lost, businesses are crippled and economic activities along the highways corridors are being destroyed simply because they have failed in their responsibilities.

It is indeed disappointing that a federal roads maintenance agency will be waiting to be reminded of their primary responsibility, especially their deliberate neglect of dilapidated portions of federal highways in the South East, South West and North Central zones of the country.

FERMA must make haste to key into the vision of President Buhari to secure the country by repairing the damaged portions of the country’s highways thereby reducing the carnage on them.

I have a feeling that if a study is carried out on the impact of kidnappings on our federal highways resulting from the effects of the dilapidated portions, it will reveal a significant reduction in road travels by the

citizens. This trend must be halted by restoring the confidence of the citizens to travel on the federal roads safely. In addition, the high rate of accidents on the highways will be significantly reduced if FERMA is seriously committed to the task of repairing the damaged portions of the roads. The case of Enugu-Onitsha road as well as federal roads in the South East come readily to mind. It is a case of total neglect and abandonment despite the good intentions of President Buhari to develop all parts of the country evenly.

FERMA must be reminded that they were established to act as a buffer in the area of maintenance of federal roads especially when the process of total rehabilitation is cumbersome and will make road users susceptible to unnecessary delays, inconvenience and sufferings. There is no justifiable reason why FERMA cannot accomplish its objectives along its mandate, and moreso when funds are appropriated and approved for them yearly. In the event that they encounter some hiccups in the process of sourcing for the funds needed for their projects, they ought to think out of the box, as no amount of excuses will be acceptable to the suffering road users.

With the kidnappings occurring on the bad portions of our federal highways, it is obvious that FERMA has become the weakest link in the efforts by the Buhari administration to rid the country of insecurity as encapsulated in the three planks of his administration: securing the country, fighting corruption and improving the economy.

Kwechis19@yahoo.com

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EDITORIAL DEARTH OF MANPOWER IN UNIVERSITIES Government must invest more in the universities

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n an apparent admission of the acute shortage of lecturers on the campuses, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has asked the government to isolate universities from the current embargo on employment. The commission said that 100,000 academic staff members were attending to 2.1 million students in over 200 universities, both public and private. The universities, according to the NUC Deputy Executive Secretary, Administration, Chris Maiyaki, needed more teaching staff in order “to keep up the pace in attaining comparable standards with their counterparts globally.”

The NUC statement speaks to the concerns of critical stakeholders regarding tertiary education in the country.

Despite its important role in the society, it is obvious that there is dearth of qualified academic staff to drive the universities. But this is a general malaise. Most of the institutions of higher learning are not only suffering from inadequate WITH THE PROLIFERATION infrastructure, OF THESE INSTITUTIONS, ill-equipped laboraTEACHERS WHO CAN’T tories, overcrowded HOLD THEIR OWN AS classrooms, but SENIOR LECTURERS they are ill-staffed.

The Committee on IN RESPECTABLE Needs Assessment UNIVERSITIES ARE BEING HIRED AS PROFESSORS AND of Nigerian Public Universities, had EVEN VICE CHANCELLORS long identified these IN SOME OF THESE NEW challenges.

UNIVERSITIES Not long ago, Professor Nenfort Gomwalk, a former Vice Chancellor at Plateau State University, lamented that 70 per cent of the lecturers in the nation’s universities were assistant lecturers without doctorate degrees. Many spend more than a decade pursuing their doctoral degrees that should ordinarily take no more than three years without success. This was confirmed by former President Goodluck Jonathan as far back as 2012 when he described the situation as “embarrassing and unacceptable.’’ The situation had since deteriorated further with the continued registration of new universities by both government and private individuals without the backing of adequate resources.

With the proliferation of these institutions, teachers

Letters to the Editor

who can’t hold their own as senior lecturers in respectable universities are being hired as professors and even vice chancellors in some of these new universities. The implications are clear: limited skilled human resources have contributed to the declining quality that has continued to elicit concern from stakeholders.

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T H I S D AY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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

APC’S CLASHING CYMBALS

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nlike the party it succeeded in power in 2015, the APC may not have boasted in a fit of power drunken pride that it will rule Nigeria for 60 years, but there is little doubt that the party holds Nigeria and Nigerians in just about as much contempt as the PDP did, if not more. It was in 2015 that the ballot box, that golden box which always opens to change the course of history opened to indict the PDP. After 16 years of misrule marked by corruption and impunity, historic elections saw Africa`s biggest party land the wooden spoon. In a typhoon of people power, structures built and reinforced over the course of 16 years were dismantled with relative ease. A shell-shocked party which had been spoilt silly by the absence of a virile opposition was forced to hurriedly pack its belongings from the seat of power and assume the role of the opposition.

It has proved a task beyond it as internal party wrangling and a glaring lack of political fortitude left it ill-equipped to challenge the APC. Even as the 2023 elections approach, the APC must be licking its lips at the disgraceful disarray in the camp of its opponent even as it prepares itself for its national convention now scheduled for February 26, 2022. Already, Nigerians are relieving the sheer confusion served them since the APC assumed power in 2015.

he situation is exacerbated by brain drain. Many senior academic staff, due to poor remuneration, continue to take their services to countries where they are more appreciated. The depletion of scholarship inside faculties is also aided by inability to attract visiting scholars from other academic environments, issues which the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has never emphasized in many of their industrial actions. Besides, self-review and quality criticism have taken the back seat.

The birth of TETFUND opened a window of opportunities as it initiated the funding of many postgraduate students to some prestigious universities in Europe and North America. But this window itself was abused by many recipients who reportedly collected scholarship funds but avoided travelling abroad for training, a practice aided ironically by some TETFUND officials. It is therefore little surprise that many graduates of Nigerian universities are unemployable, as they lack sufficient knowledge, skills and possibly other attributes that will enable them to serve themselves, their employers and the society.

As we have argued repeatedly, government should pay more attention to tertiary education and provide a conducive environment that will make our youths globally competitive in the 21st century. Decayed infrastructure in the institutions should be enhanced while quality journals and books should be made easily available. If Nigeria wants to compete in the prevailing knowledge economy, policymakers must ensure that the research departments of the universities are adequately funded. TETFUND has started something remarkable by promoting national research culture which will flow into encouraging academic staff to stay in Nigeria instead of migrating offshore. Government, in the absence of any other agreed means, must ensure the hiring of qualified staff.

The best universities are those with resources to attract the best and the brightest.

Even back then, many Nigerians suspected that the APC was just a collection of expired politicians who had become disgruntled in the PDP. But because there was a desperation to have a change of guard in Aso Rock in the hope that the inertia which had crept into governance in the country would be arrested. As a result of this, whatever the APC peddled was bought hook, line and sinker. It has proven to be a real disaster.

Under the APC, Nigerians have known hardship like never before. If much of that can be put down more to global austerity than incompetence on the part of the leadership of the country, the insecurity which pounds Nigerians every hour of the day tells a different, toxic tale.

Nigerians have watched in horror as entire villages in some states have been taken over by terrorists who sack entire communities and take over or simply impose taxes and threaten unimaginable consequences if outrageous sums imposed are not paid within time. In the early days of the presidency of Mr. Buhari, his and the APC`s megaphones had a preferred target each time the struggles of the administration was shoved into their faces. Their favourite riposte was to blame the deposed PDP. After years of unconsciously repeating it at each opportunity, it began to sound hollow even in the hearing of those saying it. Thus, these days, it is heard only occasionally.

Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com

COUPS ARE COMMON IN AFRICA

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etween 1956 and1990, Africa had over 100 coups. What this means is that in over 50 African countries an average of two coups happened.

Coups are retrogressive and counter- productive. The 1966 coup in Nigeria only brought more hardship to Nigeria as it disrupted the regional system of governance and Nigeria continues to struggle. A lot of political watchers thought in the early 2000s we had seen the back of coups but the new trajectory is shocking. In the space of one year we have had three coups in Africa - Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. A lot of people have fingered France in these coups and have complained bitterly about external factors but it is shocking Africa has regained its path of militarism.

Conversely, another argument cited is the greed of the leadership and how some elected African leaders destroy the political process to favour themselves.

That was the case in Mali and Guinea,

but is that reason strong enough for opting for a coup that destroys the fabric of society? It begs the questions.

Why can’t Africa find solutions to its problem? Do we hear of coups in Europe in modern times? All hands must be on deck to stop the coup currently bedeviling Burkina Faso. It is a grey patch in Africa’s history.

Furthermore, ECOWAS must be more assertive in bringing solutions to these coup challenges. Some have argued that slap on the wrist approach by ECOWAS in settling the Mali and Guinea situation must have given verve to the military officers in Burkina Faso to take over.

ECOWAS must be hard in its stance to stamp out coups. The people must also be reminded that the military has no business in governance and we must work round democratic conventions no matter the conditions. Africa is fast becoming a perilous continent with these endless coups. This must stop.

Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

For This Governorship, the Cap Fits Bamidele When the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress holds its governorship primary tomorrow, January 27, party loyalists will have a choice in either a personality that can win the general election and deliver on promises or a hard-sell that will reduce the stature of the party, writes Shola Oyeyipo

Fayemi

Bamidele

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lthough it is often rightly said that ‘politics is a game of numbers,” very importantly, also, it is a game of personality. There are some personalities that attract the numbers needed for electoral success as the June 2022 Ekiti State governorship election approaches, and Senator Opeyemi Bamidele stands tall among the lot.

A certain newspaper article with headline: ‘Ekiti 2022: Will Fayemi take the bullets for Bamidele,?’ where the author pondered whether or not the outgoing governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, would reciprocate the kind of support he got from Bamidele, obviously caught the attention of everyone, who truly follows the politics of the South-west state, because such an article is already suggesting that the governor might throw Bamidele under the bus for a different choice.

Democratically, just like every other person, Fayemi is entitled to his choice of successor and may have reasons to elect to support anyone, but in evaluating the electoral values of those, who have so far indicated interest, it is obvious that Bamidele stands a better chance to retain the

Adeyeye APC fortunes in the state. So, the question will be, which comes first: is it choice of person or party’s success?

For fear of sounding patronising, Bamidele is, perhaps, the most popular, marketable and well-connected with the people at every level, politically today, in Ekiti State and he is certainly not oblivious of his acceptance among party loyalists and the people of the state.

This explains why he was passionately supportive of the direct primary as a mode of electing candidates by the party, which according to him, “promotes full participation of all party members in the decision-making process,” and “allows the most popular aspirant to emerge as the party’s standard bearer.”

The events that led to the June 21, 2014, governorship election, which Governor Fayemi lost to former governor Ayodele Fayose, should not be lost on APC supporters in the state. Many hold the view that the party’s chances at the election was lost due to Bamidele’s decision to dump the APC for Labour Party (LP), on which

Oyebanji

platform he contested against Fayemi.

Though Bamidele only polled 18, 135 votes with Fayemi polling 120, 433 while Fayose cruised to victory with 203, 090 votes, analysts are convinced that the trend could have been reversed if Fayemi and Bamidele did not work at cross-purposes.

Fast forwarded to 2018, the unity of purpose which helped the party reclaim its mandate. So, for the love of the party, it is best that all the forces in the Ekiti APC are aligned to put their best foot forward to sustain the party’s legacies in the state.

Judging from the political antecedents of all the notable APC aspirants, no one is in doubt that Bamidele displays sterling requisite experience needed to lead Ekiti State. He started out as a student activist and campus politician from his days in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. He first won an election as Public Relations Officer (PRO) to the Student Union Government (SUG) and later emerged as the Student Union Chairman at the University of Benin, where he bagged

his bachelor’s degree in Law. He was called to the Nigerian bar in 1992.

That same year, the Iyin Ekiti-born lawmaker contested but lost the Lagos Oshodi/Isolo federal constituency House of Representatives primary elections on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform and later in March 1993, was a National Accreditation Officer at the SDP popular Jos convention, where late Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola secured the party’s ticket.

Out of proclivity for democratic advocacy and his firm belief in equity and justice, MOB, as he is fondly called, joined the defence counsel led by a legal luminary, Chief Godwin Olusegun Kolawole Ajayi (GOK), to MKO Abiola, who was acclaimed winner of the famous June 12, 1993, presidential election, when the latter was charged with a treasonable felony in the aftermath of the annulment of June 12, 1993, presidential election.

He served as Special Assistant on Legal Matters to a former Lagos State governor and NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

Enugu and Politics of Micro-zoning As fuss over who will succeed Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state in 2023 continues to reverberate, old political guards mulling for micro-zoning may create crisis, reports Udora Orizu

Ugwuanyi

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arely a year to the conduct of the 2023 general elections, political actors across the divide, are already warming up to slug it out. At the centre, controversy over the zoning of the presidency is still raging. Across the states where elections will be held, the issue is also reverberating.

However, leaders of Enugu, appear to have agreed that the governorship position will be zoned to Enugu East Senatorial District. This development is in line with the existing zoning arrangement that was introduced in 1999, when Senator Chimaroke Nnamani stepped in as Governor.

In line with the agreement, Nnamani ceded power to Enugu West Senatorial District. Sullivan Chime emerged in 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). After his eight

Ekweremadu years in power and in line with the existing zoning arrangement, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi from Enugu North Senatorial District (Nsukka Province), succeeded Chime.

For political pundits and critical observers, this rotational arrangement has created a stable environment and every part of the State has a sense of belonging. The arrangement has further ensured that development across State is even and that no section is marginalised.

However, political pundits have observed that there appears to be a subtle move by old political guards to create a crisis and undermine Governor Ugwuanyi in choosing his successor, in line with the existing arrangement, established by Senator Chimaroke in 2007.

Nnaji Chimaroke as governor, singlehandedly picked Chime to succeed him in 2007.

Every political stakeholder supported him and Chime emerged without any serious opposition. The same feat was repeated in 2015, when Chime unilaterally picked Ugwuanyi to succeed him as governor. Based on the existing arrangement, the political class didn’t fume or challenge Chime.

Questionably, those who supported similar gestures in 2007 and 2015, are up in arms and promoting micro-zoning in Enugu East, thereby setting up the stage to challenge Governor Ugwuanyi in picking his successor. Already, there are six key contenders, below are those who may likely succeed Ugwuanyi in 2023.

Chinyeaka Ohaa He hails from Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State. He is a prudent and financial administrator who rose through the ranks to become the Enugu State Accountant General, serving from 1999 until 2006. He later served as Commissioner for Agriculture under the administration of Governor Sullivan Chime. In 2016, Ohaa was appointed as Permanent Secretary of the FCT by President Muhammadu Buhari. He was redeployed to the Federal Ministry of Power where he retired. He is from Enugu East Senatorial District.

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

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POLITICS

Buni On The Move

GOVERNANCE IN PHOTOS

Having achieved stability in the ruling All Progressives Party, Chairman of the party’s National Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Mai Mala Buni, is working very hard to ensure a rancour-free National Convention next month, writes Charles Ajunwa

Buni

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he latest of the many failed gang ups against Governor Mai Mala Buniled Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is that the Federal High Court sitting in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State struck out Suit No: FHC/ABJ/857/2021 brought before Odjebobo Desire Onayefeme and others, challenging the competence of the committee.

This is a pointer that the Yobe State-born politician, Buni, is on the move to February 26, walking in a martial manner with a regular measured tread, for the APC National Convention. Buni has the winning card because he has calmed the party that was once fraying nerves down and never proved something to any member of the party who has hurt him that he was angry. No. All he is doing isn’t with the thought of the traducers at heart but for the rejuvenation of the APC. To be heroic is to courageously die for something that some persons never believed was possible to die for. No one ever believed that the APC would attain the height it is boasting of today with the millions of registered voters. Buni and members of his committee made that possible and over 40 million voters were registered. And by early February, the incoming chairmen of the party in the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would be inaugurated.

With that, Buni has shown that what the APC would be tomorrow has started with his ingenuity today, in stabilising the party that would flex muscle come 2023 with the opposition. His flagship is to build a party not on impunity but on integrity by holding democratic establishment that will never allow odiferous show of shame among members that is against the set constitutional and procedural steps.

The results that Buni’s committee has achieved so far for the party has put him on the map that he is not an option, but a choice the APC chose to land on after a long internal battle. Buni is something extraordinary who never excused himself from duty that would have raped the soul of the APC. He remained guided, putting every step astonishingly and has made it open to Nigerians that the convention has all the prerequisite political processes to observe.

The party structure is one area that political analysts have set their periscope on to see how Buni handles that. Given the many political calculations therein, Buni will never toy with the rules and regulations governing the party and also the electoral law in conducting the National Convention of the party.

It is evidence that Buni is ever ready for the convention and all the processes to follow have been gazetted. Someone, who would not like the name in paper, told this writer, saying, “It must be recalled that political processes that lead to a political party’s national convention are virtually fixed and conventional – over a fairly long consensual period of time – and the same for all political parties in the country.

“The party, under the CECPC administration has done a commendable job of meeting up with the prerequisites of party convention preparation, having conducted relatively very successful Ward, LGAs congresses, and States congresses, across the wards, LGAs, the 36 states and FCT.” New developments have presented themselves in Buni because he has never lost hope in getting the APC to work again and, the APC has everything in Buni, who believes there is hope and as such he will never lose in getting the party on the right tread with the national convention.

“It is appropriate and in the interest of the party that we build on the successes of the CECPC handling of the party over the last months and the achievements that have ably redefined the operational pedestal of the party,” the source said.

Checks revealed that Buni has endeared the Nigerian electorates, more than ever before, to the APC, by making it formidable, with the efforts of the CECPC leadership. Today, the CECPC has said that the party can boast of peace with less internal skirmishes and court cases.

They said that Buni has fought hard in making the APC a-no-longer the mockery of the opposition, who now, are said to be the beehive of internal troubles and litigations. No man wins a prize that is not sure of himself.

Buni was sure of himself and his capability in taking the APC to the next level.

He never wanted to win everything for the party, but he wanted to win stability in the party and this is where he is today. With stability in the APC, the party has gotten everything.

Buni was born a winner, a warrior, one who confronted the odds by surviving the most grisly battle in the APC as Nigerians could see today. He is a giant. No one can doubt his victory over smaller numbers over a wider population that he has shown light in the APC. There is no longer any German Wall in the APC temporarily led by Buni, except the wall a minute number planted in the APC have built in their minds to cause disaffection in the party, which has been shredded with the positives that have become the achievements of the party under Buni.

All the differences in the APC have become a thing of the past with the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Reconciliation Committee constituted by Buni with the sole aim and objective to calm all the fraying nerves down in the ward, Local Government Council, State and National levels. This, Buni has done just for the purpose of peace, given the fact that he was born a natural leader, whose stronghold of leadership is to effect cohesion, tranquility and unity in any human setting.

From political calculations, it was gathered that while Buni is doing the acceptable in taking the APC to the next level with the convention set to go and guaranteeing a successful, rancour-free outing An insider at the party’s headquarters in Abuja advised the party to consider what he described as the “necessary things” to consolidate on its laudable achievements so far.

“APC as the in-charge political organisation has in the past proven that it is only guided by its rule book and should do the same again in the coming national convention.

“Ensuring a speedy and successful conclusion of all ongoing reconciliation actions, and to a large extent, as much as it is possible, bring the party into the convention on a truly united front.

“The unity of the party is paramount, and the fact that there are pockets of disagreements means there are aggrieved members, groups and concerns; and to this end, the party cannot afford to downplay the reconciliation process and its outcome for a reason of a limited time or any other.”

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

From left; Wife of Osun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funke Alabi; Deputy Governor, Mr. Benedict Alabi; Osun State Governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola; his wife, Kafayat and Hon. Ayo Omidiran, during the Strategic Engagement Tour of Governor Oyetola to Irewolede Federal Constituency (Ayedade, Irewole and Isokan LLocal Government), at Ayedaade Grammar School Ikire)

L-R, First lady of Ogun State, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun; Panel moderator/founder Emerge Women,Mrs. Mary Ikoku; First lady of Osun State, Mrs. .Kafayat Oyetola; Member, Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) APC and convener APC Progressive Women Conference,Mrs. Stella Okotete; First Lady of Ekiti State,,Mrs. Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi; and First Lady of Imo State, Mrs.Chioma Uzodima, at the APC Progressive Women Conference, theme “One Voice: Women Uniting for Progress” in Abuja recently

L-R: Katsina State Governor, Rt. Hon. Bello Masari, business mogul, Alhaji Dahiru Manga and Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila during a condolence visit by the Speaker to the Manga family over the demise of their matriarch in Katsina

L-R: Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Tunde Mobayo and Ekiti State Governor Dr, Kayode Fayemi; decorating one of the Governor’s Security aides, Superintendent of Police Ilesanmi Obasanjo; with his new rank at the Governor’s Office, Ado-Ekiti

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JANUARY 19, 2022

22

FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 07010510430

Scorecard for the Nigerian Air Force in the Last 12 Months

The Spokesperson of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, profiles the scorecard of the 21st Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao's one year in office

Some of the newly acquired A-29 Super Tucano Aircraft currently changing the tide of war in the North-east

One of the A-29 Super Tucano Aircraft on display at the Embraer Defence Security Incorporated United States of America

O

maintenance methods and logistics support systems.

Other areas of emphasis include ensuring a disciplined workforce essential for combat readiness and bolstering troop morale by improving personnel welfare.

n 26 January 2021, the nation woke up to the news of a change in military leadership by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. By sheer providence, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao became one of the deserving beneficiaries of the change as he assumed office as the 21st Chief of the Air Staff (CAS).

Mission Statement On his first day in office and after a brief but colourful handing and taking over ceremony, Air Marshal Amao assured Nigerians that under his watch, the NAF alongside the sister services is poised to redouble its effort at providing the support and security necessary for the Nation’s development, whilst discharging its constitutional responsibilities to the government and law-abiding citizens.

He also stated that the NAF under his leadership would leverage credible partnership, while focusing on enhancing professionalism so as to promote performance and motivate initiatives that would create an enabling environment for successful operations.

Collaborations It was immediately evident that Air Marshal Amao’s main strategic thrust hinged on synergising and partnering the sister services and other security agencies as well as the generality of stakeholders, towards achieving the NAF goal of maintaining peace, law, and order.

Though the nature of war continues to evolve, regular doctrines embedded in the fundamentals and principles of war have basically remained the same. Thus, the NAF has continued to collaborate with other security agencies in re-examining and re-evaluating the best approaches of tackling current national security challenges.

It must be stated that past approaches whereby the NAF focused predominantly on attaining air superiority without adequate commitment to ground troops has not translated strategic advantages to operational consequences. Therefore, in critically applying the principles of war, personnel motivation and inter-service cooperation now stands out as a time-tested doctrine capable of bringing the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) closer to achieving the core mandate of securing the nation.

Air Marshal Amao is a firm believer in the AFN functioning as an interdependent team of land, sea and air forces, requiring application of closely integrated efforts to accomplish assigned military objectives. He is also of the view that cross domain synergy is ultimately about evolving the understanding

The 21st Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Oladayo Amao of jointness which enables more effective combination and utilisation of capabilities of the various services in joint operating environment.

These lines of thought ultimately informed Air Marshal Amao’s raison d'etre to emphasis on ‘jointness’ in his vision for the NAF. Thus, his vision for the NAF seeks, ‘To enhance and sustain critical airpower capabilities required for joint force employment in pursuit of national security imperatives.’

Key Drivers To give bite to the vision, the CAS fashioned out 5 main key drivers which laid emphasis on doctrinal development and application of airpower in joint military operations, purposeful training and human capacity development as well as platforms and equipment serviceability through innovative

Significant Achievements Keeping faith with this vision, the NAF has, in the last 12 months, recorded modest but very significant achievements in the fight against insurgency, terrorism and other forms of criminality in the country. This has been largely facilitated by the acquisition of new platforms, reactivation of existing ones as well as effective, synergistic and collaborative efforts with sister security agencies.

The period under review has seen an improvement in cooperation and synergy among the Services which has yielded some tangible but remarkable results. For instance, air strikes at Marte, the Tumbuns on the Lake Tchad and Malam Fatori in the Northeast where several ISWAP terrorists and their followers were eliminated, is a testimony to the renewed vigour and synergy that the NAF and the Nigerian Army (NA) have brought to bear.

Recently too, coordinated efforts by the NAF, NA and Department of State Security have led to the elimination of key terrorists and bandits in the Northwest including the notorious Alhaji Auta and Kachalla Ruga, among others.

In addition, the NAF Special Forces elements have, in the last 12 months, been reinvigorated and further given advanced training both at home and abroad to confront the current security challenges in the country as they fight side by side with other services and security agencies in the various Theatres of Operation.

Besides supporting joint operations, the NAF has also conducted independent operations to destroy insurgents’ capabilities before they can be brought to bear on own forces. These efforts were geared towards ensuring that

"NAF has witnessed a tremendous boost to its aircraft holdings across various fleets. In addition to the previously acquired platforms, the NAF has, in 2021 alone, taken delivery of 15 brand new aircraft and Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) and have sustained reactivation of hitherto unserviceable platforms to upscale its capabilities in tackling all forms of criminality"

remnants of unrepentant terrorist elements are neutralised to ensure peace and stability and enable law abiding citizens to carry out their legitimate aspirations without fear or intimidation.

Developmental Doctrines To ensure a common frame of reference on the most effective approach to airpower employment, the NAF at the instance of the CAS, recently developed 11 new doctrines.

The development of the doctrines is in tandem with one of the key drivers of the CAS vision which is, “Focus on doctrinal development and application of airpower in joint military operations.” The doctrines are essentially based on analysis of the contemporary security environment as well as the operational experiences of the service.

Accordingly, all relevant competencies in the NAF are now guided by updated doctrines especially the planning, allocation and sustainment of NAF air efforts.

Boost to Fleet Acquisition Under Air Marshal Amao, the NAF has witnessed a tremendous boost to its aircraft holdings across various fleets. In addition to the previously acquired platforms, the NAF has, in 2021 alone, taken delivery of 15 brand new aircraft and Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) and have sustained reactivation of hitherto unserviceable platforms to upscale its capabilities in tackling all forms of criminality.

The latest additions of 3 JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter aircraft and 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft recently inducted into the NAF Order of Battle are presently deployed in various theatres of operation across the country to add impetus to the ongoing war against insurgency, armed banditry and other forms of criminality in the country.

The acquisitions and reactivation as well as the emplacement of robust logistics support structure have enabled the NAF to raise the serviceability status of operable aircraft from about 35 per cent (35 per cent) in 2015 to about 72 per cent (72 per cent) as at 27 December 2021. The deployment of these platforms for combat has brought some level of sanity and normalcy to previously terrorist/bandits ravaged areas in the North-east and North-west.

For the NAF to function efficiently, both as a highly technical service and a fighting force for the effective defence of Nigeria’s territorial integrity, it must have the right numerical strength and, more importantly, the right quality of manpower in all relevant competencies.

Fresh Wings Accordingly, the NAF has in the last 12

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JANUARY 19, 2022

PERSPECTIVE

Newly winged pilots of the Nigerian Air Force contributing to the fight against insurgency and terrorism in the country months, winged 56 pilots and operators who graduated from various pilot courses both at home and abroad. In the same vein, several officers, airmen and airwomen of the NAF are currently undergoing different types of training in various countries including the United States of America, South Africa, India, Belgium, Egypt and Pakistan, amongst others.

Trainings The NAF has also boosted the capacity of its Regiment and Special Forces with additional training and equipment to improve operations in the fight against insurgency and other forms of criminality.

In the last one year, the service has also enhanced its recruitment drive by graduating additional 1,031 recruits at the Military Training Centre in Kaduna, just as it sent 10 Senior Non-Commissioned Officers of the ranks of Air Warrant Officer and Master Warrant Officer to the United Kingdom for a unique 4-part international pre-retirement training.

The achievements of the CAS as it concerns aircraft engineering are purely aimed at enhancing operational effectiveness. To this end, the Aircraft Engineering Branch made concerted efforts to secure some foreign training slots for NAF engineers.

Some of trainings undertaken by the branch include conduct of in-house aircraft battery maintenance and training at 107 Air Maritime Group, training of 7 aircraft engineers on PT-6A engine rigging for King Air 350 aircraft in the United States of America, training of 5 NAF aircraft engineers on DO-228 aircraft engine rigging in Germany and the conduct of ‘Train the Trainer Course’ for 13 engineers at Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.

Other achievements include the conduct of Master Technician Course at Flight Safety International Wichita, USA, Advance Maintenance training on Mi-35P helicopter

by Ukrainian Technical Team at 115 Special Operations Group, Port Harcourt, Conduct of Avionics Components Repair Course at Central Avionics Overhaul and Calibration Centre and NAFTRAC training of 453 aircraft engineering personnel on 13 aircraft types in the NAF. The completion of the courses enhanced the capacity of aircraft maintenance personnel which in turn improved aircraft serviceability status of NAF platforms. These efforts surely enhanced the serviceability of NAF platforms in support and sustenance of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations in Operations HADARIN DAJI, THUNDER STRIKE, HADIN KAI and GAMA AIKI among others.

Welfare as Sine Qua Non for Morale As an outstanding man manager, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao firmly believes that the status of the morale and welfare of NAF personnel now and in the future is critical to operational success.

According to him, “You can have all the operational arsenals in the world but without a high morale and enhanced welfare of the end user, it is largely going to be ineffective.”

Therefore, as part of his efforts to bolster morale through improved personnel welfare, Air Marshal Amao has in the last one year renovated/remodelled and constructed new blocks of classrooms and hostel accommodation in existing NAF schools across the country, while engaging in massive construction and

renovation of residential accommodation to reduce the accommodation shortages in NAF Bases nationwide.

Holistic Attention to NAF Schools In his determination to improve the poor welfare package of temporary teaching staff in NAF Schools nationwide, which has been left unattended to by successive administrations, Air Marshal Amao recently approved a 50 per cent upward review of salaries of all temporary teachers in NAF primary and secondary schools nationwide.

This increment, which is across board for both BSc and NCE certificate holders, has no doubt enhanced the morale of the teachers and improved their standards of living with positive consequences on their teaching outputs.

The pupils of AFMS and AFGMS Jos also benefited from Air Marshal Amao’s magnanimity as he approved a 66.67 per cent (66.67 per cent) increase of their feeding ration allowance from N600 to N1,000, a measure which has gone a long way in enhancing their nutrition while enhancing learning.

The key interest of the current administration in providing qualitative education paid off in the course of the year as students of NAF schools such as Air Force Military School, Jos, Air Force Girls Comprehensive School, Abuja, Air Force Secondary Schools, Ikeja and Shasha, Air Force Comprehensive Schools, Yola and Enugu respectively obtained five credits including English and Mathematics in the WASC/NECO exams 2020/2021 academic session.

Also, Master Edeani Izuchukwu, a student of Air Force Comprehensive School, Agbani, Enugu State emerged winner of the National Science Competitive Examination where he was awarded “774 Young Nigerian Scientists Presidential Award” by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. In the same vein, Miss Feyisola Bolarinwa, a student of Air Force Girls Military School, Jos won the Bronze Award at the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition conducted by the Royal Commonwealth Society.

Office of the Ombudsman and the Directorate of Veterans Affairs Establishment To enable NAF personnel and those outside the service the opportunity to channel their complaints and grievances against the service or its personnel, the CAS during the year established the Office of the Ombudsman and the Directorate of Veterans Affairs (DVA).

While the office of the Ombudsman

NAF telemedicine portal making quality medical available to NAF personnel

will serve as an independent instrument that will provide an objective and compassionate channel for seeking redress, the DVA will interface with similar structures in sister services towards harnessing necessary benefits for NAF retirees under existing federal government programmes for veterans.

NAF Telemedicine Portal In its quest to reduce the huge foreign exchange expended on medical tourism and the challenge of COVID-19 pandemic which has drastically reduced physical contact between patient and doctors, the NAF leadership approved the setting up a NAF Telemedicine portal.

The portal bridges the geographical barriers between patient and healthcare provider to access efficient and affordable healthcare services without being physically involved.

The West African College of Physicians also granted approval to the NAF to conduct Residency Training Programme for doctors in Family Medicine at the 661 NAF Hospital, Ikeja. The remarkable achievement came 18 years after the hospital was granted approval to train house officers by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

With this, the hospital becomes the first and only hospital in the NAF accredited to train postgraduate medical doctors. It is gratifying to also state that the laboratory of the same hospital equally won an award of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 15189:2012 accreditation certificate for quality management systems and excellent service delivery.

Research and Development The NAF, in the last one year, has invested substantially in R&D to develop unprecedented capacity to surmount current and emerging security challenges while also enhancing its operational viability.

These breakthroughs were realised through the Air Force Research and Development Centre. Some of the breakthroughs included the refurbishment of unserviceable rocket launchers and BMGs back loaded from operations, test firing of locally produced 18-tube rocket launchers for A-jet aircraft and the production and deployment of 30.1mm rocket to 271 NAF Detachment Birnin-Gwari for operational usage. Others are the adaptation of 6-tube 68mm SNEB Rocket launcher on Agusta 109 Power Helicopter for improved fire power, reconfiguration of non-compatible DEFA Gun electrical flanges, installation of Geisha 23mm pintle mount with electrical firing system and the conversion of PUS

"Air Marshal Amao is committed to transforming the NAF into a model fighting force that will operate seamlessly with the sister services and other security agencies to ensure security, stability, and prosperity of the nation"

38DM to intervalometer.

Infrastructural Development Realising that the availability of key infrastructures such as accommodation, roads and water in NAF Bases nationwide enhances morale of troops which have positive implications on NAF operational output, Air Marshal Amao have ensured that he pays special attention to the provision of basic needs in all NAF bases.

In the last 12 months for instance, over 15.41 kilometres of roads have been rehabilitated in NAF bases across the country. Some of these include the rehabilitation of selected road networks and asphalt resurfacing of 1600m road network at NAF Bases in Makurdi and Lagos, the rehabilitation of 781m link road from Officer’s Quarters to NAFOM at NAF Base Kaduna.

The period also witnessed the construction of new road networks such as the flexible road from Bauchi Road to flight line at NAF Base Gombe, construction of link road from Headquarters Air Component to old runway and taxiway at 105 Composite Group Maiduguri and construction of 1 km flexible road at AFRDC Osogbo.

Others are the construction of additional link road to Military Apron at NAF Base Gombe and construction of link road to Hangar at NAF Base Bauchi. In total about 7.5Km of new roads were constructed. These efforts are aside the over 100 blocks of different types of living accommodation at various levels of completion in NAF Bases nationwide.

Care for the Environment Air Marshal Amao also approved the implementation of the NAF paperless process automation solution. This initiative which is currently at an advanced stage and the first of its kind in the entire AFN, became necessary having observed NAF’s overdependence on paper in its daily correspondences, which has negative environmental impact and makes it tedious to retrieve or track down specific documents.

With the implementation of the paperless solution, less time will be spent on clerical work while reducing paper consumption, helping the environment, and speeding up document processing.

Duty and Commitment In view of the aforementioned milestones, one is not left in doubt of Air Marshal Oladayo’s unbounded sense of duty and commitment to the growth and development of the NAF. Indeed, his passion for the NAF resonates with the words of Larry Smith who averred that, “When you feel passionate about your work, you do not set rigid boundaries between work time and personal time, because the work itself is personal.”

It should also be stated that Air Marshal Amao is committed to transforming the NAF into a model fighting force that will operate seamlessly with the sister services and other security agencies to ensure security, stability, and prosperity of the nation.

Nigerians can therefore be rest assured that the NAF will continue to aim at higher standards of operational excellence and combat readiness in carrying out its statutory roles as assigned by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari.

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WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022 •T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Email oriarehu.eromosele@thisdaylive.com

08056356325

J A N U A R Y

S & P INDEX

2 5 , 2 0 2 2

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OBB

14.00%

CALL

4%

INDEX LEVEL

565.29%

1/4 TO DATE

6.06%

N412.08/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

14.50%

1-MONTH

6%

1-DAY

–0.11%

YEAR TO DATE

– 15.66%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.41%

T-Bills Turnover on FMDQ Drops by 55.6% on Low Yield Environment, Inflation

Kayode Tokede Due to low yield environment heightened by illiquidity, the total turnover trade recorded by FMDQ Exchange on Nigeria Treasury Bills (NTBs) dropped by 55.6 per cent in 2021 as investors divert to more lucrative money market instruments and stock market.

Analysis of FMDQ numbers revealed that the total turnover trade on the NTBs dropped to N19.2 trillion in 2021 from N43.22 trillion reported in 2020.

Also, the Fixed Income and Currencies (FIC) Markets dropped

by nearly 8 per cent Year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to N198.93 trillion in 2021 from N215.74 trillion in 2020.

The FIC Markets of the FMDQ Exchange comprises of Foreign Exchange, Foreign Exchange Derivatives, Treasury Bills, Open Market Operation (OMO) Bills, Eurobonds, FGN Bonds, among others.

In the year under review, the total turnover at the foreign exchange market dropped by 2.3 per cent to N29.45 trillion in 2021 from N30.14 trillion reported by the FMDQ Exchange in 2020.

Experts believe the decline in

turnover trade on NTBs was due to poor yield environment which discouraged investors in trading on FMDQ. Commenting, the Managing Director, Afrinvest Research & Consulting, Mr. Abiodun Keripe said double digit inflation rate was also a major setback to investors trading NTBs on the FMDQ. He added that the scarcity of foreign exchange also played critical role in the downward turnover trade recorded by FMDQ Exchange on NTB in 2021.

“The yield in 2021 as against 2020 was not attractive to investors to trade

in the NTBs on FMDQ market,” he added.

According to analysts at United Capital Research, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the primary market conducted a total of 27 NTBs auctions in 2021, rolling over N3.5 trillion worth of maturing bills as against N3.1trillion in 2020.

According to the firm: “In comparison to the 2020 auctions, we saw rates trend higher in 2021. The stop rate on the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day bills climbed by 128basis points, 295basis points and 496basis points to 2.49 per cent, 3.45 per cent and 5.00 per cent, respectively (2020:

0.04 per cent, 0.50 per cent and 1.21 per cent).

“Essentially, the uptick in stop rates was driven by reduced system liquidity in 2021 (which strengthened investors’ negotiating power), aggressive government borrowing and investors’ push for higher rates.

On the FIC side, aanalysts stated that the decline was due to low foreign exchange supply to the specialized investors and exports window, weak intervention by the CBN. They stressed that the inflow in foreign exchange was another major contributing factor.

The Vice President, Highcap Securities Limited, Mr. David Adnori, said the decline in foreign exchange market turnover in 2021 was as a result of scarcity caused by the existing challenges of COVID-19 virus.

According to him: “A lot of the transactions in the foreign exchange market went to the parallel market that comes with higher price and the major reason for this is availability.”

He said the global trade has not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, leading to weak supply of foreign currencies into the Continued on page 28

Point of Sale Transaction Hits N6.4tn, Cheques Usage Up 3.9% in 2021 Nume Ekeghe Point of sale (PoS) transactions increased usage as the value of transactions on the platform for 2021 rose to N6.43 trillion, a 36 per cent improvement compared to N4.72 trillion recorded in 2020.

Nigerians adoption of the several electronic channels

continued to rise as N271.95 trillion had changed hands in 2021 on the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System Instant Payment (NIP) platform while transactions via mobile channels rose by 164 per cent last year.

Put together, the Point of Sale terminals, NIP and mobile channels had seen transactions worth N286.45 trillion

Data released by Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) on its website showed that transaction volume on its instant payment platform had risen by 71.9 per cent last year to N271.95 trillion compared to N158.21 trillion that was recorded on the platform in 2020.

The highest value had

been recorded in December, indicating Nigerian’s preference for electronic channels in paying during the festive season. The data showed that as against 319.93 million transaction volume with a value of N25.93 trillion recorded in November, the use of the channel had risen to 391.82 million transactions with a value of N30.26 trillion.

The platform had seen a 24.9 per cent increase in usage in December last year as the volume of transactions on the channel rose to 99.54 million compared to 84.91 million in November while the value of transactions rose to N699.75 billion as against N560.26 billion.

Adoption of the several mobile channels increased significantly

with the value of transactions consummated via the channel rose by 164.4 per cent in 2021 to N8.06 trillion as against N3.05 trillion that was recorded in 2020.

In December last year, the use of the mobile channel had seen a volume of 35.49 million transactions with a value of Continued on page 26

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT T U E S D AY, J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 FGN BONDS DESCRIPTION 12.75 27-APR2023 14.20 14-MAR2024 13.53 23-MAR2025 12.50 22-JAN2026 16.2884 17MAR-2027

Price

Yield

BILLS Change (%)

MATURITY

OTC FX F U T U R E S

Discount Yield Change (%)

Contract

Current Rate ($/₦)

C Ps MATURITY

Discount Yield

Change (%)

7.40

7.43

0.00

10.06

10.33 0.02

17.39

18.44 0.02

10.04

10.39 0.02

.

.

2

NGUS MAR 30 2022 424.04

3

NGUS APR 27 2022 425.46

4.05 0.00

4

NGUS MAY 25 2022 426.89

MREP CP XXXVI 11-FEB-22 UNCP CP VI 2-MAY-22 NEVE CP I 24MAY-22 DANC CP II 25MAY-22

3.72 0.00

5

NGUS JUN 29 2022 428.32

.

106.87

6.91

-0.44

NTB 10-Feb-22

4.00

4.01 0.00

109.84

9.01

-0.01

NTB 10-Mar-22

2.98

2.99 0.00

107.93

10.50 0.00

NTB 28-Apr-22

4.50

4.55 0.00

104.65

11.03 -0.18

NTB 12-May-22 4.00

116.95

11.79 -0.23

NTB 9-Jun-22

3.67

CONTRACT TENOR (MONTH) 1

NGUS FEB 23 2022 422.61

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY…

L-R: Executive Director, Finance & Business Support Services, Ardova Plc, Mr. Moshood Olajide; Head, Corporate Banking, Union Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Sola Olubi; Assistant Director Services, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Mrs. Bassey Efemona Judith; Chief Executive Officer, Ardova Plc, Mr. Olumide Adeosun; Chairman, Ardova Plc, Mr. AbdulWasiu O. Sowami and Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited (SIAML), Mr. Oludele Sotubo during the Ardova Plc’s 20,000 PHOTO: ABIODUN AJALA Metric Tonnes LPG Storage Facility Groundbreaking ceremony in Lagos… recently

ICRC Bemoans Slow Pace of Work at Inland Container Depots James Emejo in Abuja The acting Director General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr. Michael Ohiani has lamented that 16 years after the concession contracts for the six Inland Container Depots (ICDs) located in each of the geo-political zones in the country were signed, some of the assets are still at 5 per cent completion.

He revealed that only two had achieved 55 per cent and 68 per cent completion.

Speaking during a meeting convened with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC)owners of the project and the concessionaires to address the worrisome development, the ICRC boss pointed out that the engagement became inevitable in order to proffer solutions to the factors hindering the completion of the dry ports whose contracts were signed since 2006.

He said, “We want to rub minds and come up with how we can make progress.

What are the challenges taking into consideration that these projects have already gotten Mr. President’s attention and more so, we need to decongest our seaports. Also when completed, these ICDs will bring the required benefit to

our citizens and our country Nigeria.”

He explained that at the time that the contracts were signed, ICRC had not been set up adding that, “no proper Outline Business Cases (OBCs) were done for the projects like we now do, but I want us to have a frank discussion so that we can chart a way forward.”

In a statement by the acting Head, Media and Publicity,

ICRC, Manji Yarling, Ohiani, he added that by its Act, the ICRC was to take custody of all PPP contracts in the country including the ICDs. Based on the last assessment presented to the ICRC by the NSC, the percentage progress made by the concessionaires included Oyo State 10 per cent, Abia 5 per cent, Plateau 29.7 per cent, Kano 55 per cent, Katsina 68 per cent and Borno 5 per cent.

According to the concessionaires the 16-year journey had been fraught with various challenges, which had hampered progress that could have been recorded, adding that poor cooperation from state governments who mostly delay in meeting their own part of the agreement, especially in the area of land provision.

Among other things, they also complained of lack of narrow gauge rail lines in

and out the dry ports which they noted was important to make the operation of the ports efficient, pointing out that access to funds also remained a major issue even as banks and foreign investors make unreasonable demands for assets and bank bonds before the release of funds.

The concessionaires however commended the commission for its intervention noting that they were confident that under

the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the contracts will be sorted out.

They also pledged to see the concession to conclusion and the ports operational even as two of the concessionaires, Equatorial Marine Oil and Gas Ltd for the Katsina ports and Dala Inland Dry Port for the Kano Ports declared that their ports will commence operation before the third quarter of 2022.

Analysts Predict Downturn in Equities Market over Unrelenting FX Debacle Nume Ekeghe Analysts at United Capital have predicted that the recent upbeat in market sentiment will take a downturn as investors grapple with a volatile foreign exchange, macroeconomic environment.

The firm noted this in its Nigeria outlook 2022, titled: Navigating Stormy Seas where it also noted that Nigeria growth through 2022 is expected to be a sluggish and maintained that naira assets should expect a higher yield environment.

According to the analysts, “For the equities market, from our analysis of the current investment and economic climate, we struggle to see significant improvement in investor appetite towards equity instruments in 2022. We expect Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) in equities will remain downbeat

given the unrelenting FX debacle, upcoming elections, and volatile macroeconomic environment.”

It added: “In the equities market, bullish momentum from 2020 was initially carried over into early 2021, as seen in Jan-2021, /m return.

However, this was halted by a slowdown in fixed income and treasury maturities, which tightened when the index printed a strong 5.3% m liquidity in the financial system.

“The story changed in H2-2021 as the downward reversal in the yield environment, caused by the actions of sovereign debt managers to keep borrowing costs manageable, emerged as a tailwind for equities. Higher oil prices and robust corporate earnings growth aided by the 2020 low base effect fueled the rebound, with the NGX-ASI closing the year at

42,716.4 index points with a return of 6.1 per cent, beating our base case expectation of 4.3 per cent.”

Furthermore, it added, “heading into 2022, our prognosis for the yield environment is that we expect a higher yield curve in 2021, premised on aggressive government borrowing and a hawkish monetary policy.

“The government plans to borrow N5.2 trillion from the domestic and international debt market to finance its 2022 budget deficit. Also, policy normalisation in developed markets, depressed FPI flows, and stubborn inflationary pressures are factors that we expect to support a preference for tighter monetary policy.

“The yield environment was an intriguing phenomenon in 2021 as the fixed income market rebounded after record lows in

2020. Our expectation of a rate reversal on the back of tighter system liquidity increased domestic debt financing, and demand for higher rates from private sector money managers materialised.”

“True to our expectations, average yield across the yield curve reversed higher, albeit faster than initially projected in H1- 2021. However, yields began to moderate in Q3-2021. The major drivers of the higher yield environment were tighter system liquidity and the government’s reliance on the domestic debt market. In the international debt market, the government issued $4.0bn worth of Nigeria Outlook FY-2022: Navigating Stormy Seas Eurobond to finance its 2021 budget deficit.”

“We project economic growth of 1.6 per cent y/y, buoyed by a

decent recovery in the oil sector from a two-year-long recession, as an increase in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s production quota and the low base effect will drive growth.

“In addition, we expect sustained growth in the agricultural and services sectors, supported by strong demand for food and improved Internet adoption amid the roll-out of the 5G network.

On price movement, we anticipate inflationary pressures to weigh on the market as the high base effect wears off and the true impact of imported inflation reflects on the headline inflation numbers.

As a result of price pressures and policy normalisation in the global economy, we anticipate a hawkish policy tone from the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), ”they said.

PayPassage Sets to Launch Financial Services Marketplace in Nigeria Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Comms/e-Business Editor Emma Okonji Aviation Editor Chinedu Eze Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Senior Correspondent Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafo (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy) Ugo Aliogo (Development)

PayPassage, a digital transaction solutions provider that makes financial products and services more affordable and accessible is set to officially launch her Financial Services Platform in Nigeria.

The Financial Services Platform, in a statement said it will offer digital financial solutions to help drive financial inclusion of the unbanked and underbanked in Nigeria.

“Nigeria is one of the top three unbanked countries in the world, with 40 per cent of her population without a bank account1. Out of the 59 million unbanked adults,

73 per cent do not have the requisite documents to open a bank account. It is this financial landscape that necessitated the birth of PayPassage to provide her customers a seamless, affordable, secure and fast payment experience across multiple channels with the launch of her financial Services offerings.

BlocPal is a Canada-based fintech leader with operations in India, Mexico, North America and parts of Europe. Our partnership with BlocPal International will enable PayPassage leverage on BlocPal’s Blockchain technology to uplift

and integrate financial services in Nigeria, riding on her experience.

“This will enable PayPassage drive financial inclusion to the unbanked and underserved population in Nigeria. The partnership will further position PayPassage as one of the leading financial solutions providers in Africa. This marketplace will offer digital financial services with physical on-the-ground retailers to help drive financial inclusion in Nigeria’s communities. Our financial ecosystem supports a range of solutions for digital engagement with customers

including Point-Of-Sales, e-commerce, white label enterprise solutions, loyalty rewards, financial network integration and a robust consumer digital wallet. There has been a strong need for offering affordable and accessible financial solutions in Nigeria through a retailer-enabled digital platform, ”said Folarin Tomori, CEO of PayPassage.

“Partnering with BlocPal International to bring these financial solutions to Nigeria is not only driving financial inclusion but providing the opportunity for the Nigerian population to participate

in the global digital economy.

“What makes us unique is the ability to scale our platform to different geographies while adhering to customer needs and regulatory requirement. We are excited to leverage our insights and experience from our India operations and bring our advanced technology to Nigeria. We are committed to partnering with retailers and financial entities in Nigeria and providing a wide variety of affordable financial solutions to communities all across the country, ”said Nick Mellios, CEO of BlocPal International.

POINT OF SALE TRANSACTION HITS N6.4TN, CHEQUES USAGE UP 3.9% IN 2021 N1.19 trillion as against 31.28 million transactions with a value of N957.4 billion in November,

a 25 per cent improvement.

The usage of cheques which has been on the decline however

saw an uptick in December last year with 390,677 cheques valued at N300.91 billion processed by

NIBSS compared to 377,540 cheques valued at N281.82 billion that was processed in

November. In December 2020, a total of 504,728 cheques valued at N325.3 billion were processed.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022

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ECONOMY

The Long Wait for Cheaper Food Prices James Emejo writes on the yearnings of Nigerians for lower food prices amidst inflationary concerns

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t the unveiling of the mega rice pyramids in Abuja last week, President Muhammadu Buhari assured Nigerians that food prices, especially rice will soon crash.

The president’s assurance should come as momentary relief for Nigerians who have endured harrowing increases in commodity and food prices over the past two years.

The president’s assurances was predicated on expectations that the successes so far recorded in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), especially the local rice revolution which had become the hallmark of the intervention would further boost production and availability in the country.

Inflationary pressures, often fueled by the food component had been major source of worry to both the fiscal and monetary authorities over time. The difficulty in meeting the increasing food demand by the growing population due partly to the worsening insecurity and unfriendly operating environment in the country had fuelled higher prices. The situation had been compounded by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which further necessitated lockdowns and restriction of movement.

Analysts have however expressed reservations over the feasibility of lower food prices in the short term given that other factors could also influence cost of food.

RISING PRICES

Inflationary pressures continue to pose a threat to macroeconomic stability. The CBN, which had hoped to contain the headline index to between six to nine per cent, had variously lamented the that fact that food inflation remained a key issue and had severally prevailed on the government to address structural challenges in the system particularly making the farms safer for agriculture.

Farmers had been constrained by the activities of bandits and other armed terrorists making the bushes and farmlands unsafe. After eight months of consecutive decline, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the level of inflation rose to 15.63 per cent year on year in December compared to 15.40 per cent in the preceding month. The headline index had maintained steady decline from April 2021 to November 2021, before returning to the upward trajectory in December, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Although, year-on-year, the composite food sub-index stood at 17.37 per cent compared to 19.56 per cent in December, 2020, on monthon-month basis, the food index increased to 2.19 per cent from 1.07 per cent in November.

The rise in the food sub-index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, food product not elsewhere classified (n.e.c), meat, fish, potatoes, yam and other tuber, soft drinks and fruit, the statistical agency pointed out.

Also, the Selected Food Price Watch for December 2021 revealed that higher prices were recorded on a month-on-month and year-on-year for all selected food reported except for broken rice (ofada) and garri white, whose price declined month-on-month by -0.09 percent and -0.92per cent respectively.

The average price of 1kg of beans (white black eye, sold loose) rose on month-on-month basis by 0.85 per cent from N476.76 in November to N480.79 in December 2021 while there was an increase on year-on-year basis by 55.56 per cent from N309.07 in December 2020 to N480.79 in December 2021.

HARVESTS AND PRICES

It has become a general belief that achieving bumper harvests following a promising farming season could make lead to better agricultural produce yields, boost availability and going by the economies of scale as well as forces of demand and supply, naturally cause a reduction on prices of food items.

But these assumptions, which should ordinarily hold water, all things being equal, has failed the test of time in the country where it is taken that whatever prices go up never come back.

It is not the first time that the government had promised lower food prices without results.

In September 2018, the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the federal government was discussing modalities aimed at ensuring that local rice “sells much cheaper and that the prices can fall to the levels of foreign rice and eventually, below the levels of foreign rice”.

But the rest is history today as the prices of the commodities can better be imagined. Government has continued to rely on bumper harvest to reduce the prices of food items.

THEORY OF FOOD SUBSIDY

Several agricultural commodity associations

have variously highlighted increasing challenges to food production including costs associated with their operations, risks and lack of conducive environment to practice agriculture. These concerns have only weakened expectations for lower food prices occasioned by bumper harvest.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, said the country loses 50 per cent of its annual farm gate value to the damages of pests which cause yield and quality losses, reduce food availability, and increase food prices.

Also, Chairperson of the Association for Small Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN), Amina Bala Jubrin, had told THISDAY that it was not possible to achieve lower food prices even during harvest because of the operational costs which farmers incur during farming.

She said the costs of farm inputs and poor infrastructure had often reduced their profitability even at farm gate.

The National Present, Agricultural Produce Sellers (Dealers) Association of Nigeria (APSAN), Mr. Aloys Akortsah, said multiple taxation and extortion by government officials also added to the high costs of food items.

And as Ogbeh once pointed out, farmers themselves had expressed their resentment with government over plans to cut food prices, accusing the latter of sabotaging their business by jeopardizing profits.

However, some analysts have also called on the government to explore the option of subsidizing food in order to address food inflation.

The former minister of agriculture had added that, “Every country in the world supports agriculture whether they call it subsidy or support, it is exactly the same thing.”

The World Bank recently warned that with the COVID-19 crisis ushering in associated shocks – especially to food prices – and social protection remaining rare, households’ food security and their welfare at large is under serious threat.

ANALYSTS VIEW

Meanwhile, analysts in separate interviews with THISDAY said Buhari’s expectation for lower food inflation could be achieved by using his fiat to ensure prices are slashed by creating a subsidy in that market.

They also agreed that boosting local food production could in the long run pay-off by ensuring competitive market prices.

The analysts further observed that success of the CBN ABP alone was not enough to guarantee food price crash at the moment, adding that with expected increase in electricity tariffs, rice processors and marketers are most likely to reflect the costs into their commodity prices.

Managing Director/Chief Executive, Credent Investment Managers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Shelleng, said given the heavy investment in rice production by the government, production had increased dramatically but this has not necessarily impacted on domestic prices.

According to him, with the high cost of production in the country, it is still cheaper to import “although this is gradually changing especially since the quality of locally made rice is almost at par with the foreign varieties”.

Shelleng said, “This may eventually push prices down in the short term but the macroeconomic variables that add to the cost of

rice and other food items will undoubtedly ensure prices remain high.

“The solution to the high food prices is simply to hike up production... but this is difficult given the insecurity and lack of infrastructure to support the value chain.”

On his part, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Dignity Finance and Investment Limited, Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, said the president could use his fiat to ensure prices are slashed, thereby creating a subsidy in that market.

But he added that the sustainability of such price reduction would depend on what policies

are targeted at reducing prices in the long run, pointing out that “It depends on which of them he chooses to embark on to achieve that”.

Also, Managing Director/Chief Executive, SD&D Capital Management Limited, Mr. Idakolo Gbolade, observed that the worsening insecurity occasioned by the farmer- herder crisis has not been resolved while logistics problems remaining major challenges for the farmer- factors that could impact on prospects for cheaper food prices.

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

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

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MONEY

Finance Act 2021, Tax Burden and FG’s Aggressive Revenue Drive Though already operational for over one year, the Nigerian Finance Act 2021 has remained a topic of debate, particularly among operators in the economy, who feel being burdened by the aggressive revenue drive of the Federal Government. Nume Ekeghe writes

N

igeria’s fast-rising debt profile, which has triggered concerns across board, understandably put the Federal Government under pressure to diversify its revenue sources in such a way that would not roll a burden down the road for future generations.

With a N16 trillion budget for 2022, which has over N6 trillion deficit, the Federal Government hopes to slow down its borrowing spree by looking inwards to raise the needed revenue. Taxation became an easy resort.

The Finance Act, 2020, which was signed into law

by President Muhammadu Buhari on 31st December, 2020, alongside the 2021 budget, introduced sweeping changes to a number of tax and major legislations governing taxation in the country.

With the 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT), which was originally pegged at 5 percent, becoming effective since last year, other aspects of the Act that come into effect this year have become contentious issues pitching the government and operators in the Nigerian economy.

CHANGES IN THE FINANCE ACT

Among the critical changes made in the Finance Act legislations include the Capital Gains Tax Act, Companies Income Tax Act, Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief Act), Personal Income Tax Act, Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act, Customs & Excise Tariff (Consolidation) Act, Value Added Tax Act and Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act. Introduced is the 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax chargeable on the disposal of shares worth N100 million or above in any 12 consecutive months, except to the extent that such proceeds are reinvested in the shares of any Nigerian company.

There is also the Education Tax payable by Nigerian companies, which was increased from two per cent to

2.5 per cent of assessable profits, while companies engaged in educational activities are now subject to Corporate Income Tax, regardless of whether such activities are of a public character. This means that private institutions are now to pay Corporate Income Tax. Aside this, a science and engineering levy of 0.25 per cent of profit before tax is being levied on companies engaged in banking, telecommunications, ICT, aviation, maritime, and oil and gas with turnover of N100 million and above.

The Act also stipulates that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is mandated to assess, collect and enforce the payment of Nigerian Police Trust Fund levy. The tax was introduced in 2019 at the rate of 0.005 per cent on the net profit of companies operating in Nigeria.

Also, the FIRS is allowed to assess tax on the turnover of a foreign digital company involved in transmitting, emitting, or receiving signals, sounds, messages, images or data of any kind, including e-commerce, app stores, and online adverts. Such companies are also obliged to charge, collect and remit VAT to FIRS. Even more controversial is the imposition of Excise Duty at N10 per litre on non-alcoholic, carbonated and sweetened beverages, which analysts say could translate to an increase in the retail price of products by up to five per cent with lower end products bearing higher burden.

EXPERTS’ CONCERNS

Commenting on the amendments, Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PwC Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, warned that some of the taxes being implemented would have adverse effect on the Nigerian economy.

For example, he said the tax being levied on

educational institutions will not only negatively impact tuition fees but further degenerate human capital in Nigeria in the long run. He noted that with human capital being a major deficit in Nigeria, tax increase towards education shouldn’t have occurred in the first place.

“I struggle to understand why we are trying to tax educational institutions, I don’t understand why when every plan that we have speaks to the fact that we need more education not just in terms of the quantity, but the quality and depth of education for us to lead in this new age.

“So, the implications would be that you have increased funds and my estimation is that educational tax will go up by about N60 billion in a year, so that we agree is significant, but it means that higher burden for companies that have to pay this. Tuitions are likely to go up because if I have a school and I have to pay tax now I have to do my calculations. I need to still pay salaries of staff, I need to do so many other things like infrastructure that you need to maintain. So, I’ll just adjust my tuition. “ On the implication it would have for Nigeria in the long-term, he said: “We may have long-term impacts on human development if we don’t find other safeguards to ensure that these does not create a bigger problem than the solution we are hoping to address.”

Oyedele stated that gains on disposal of shares in any Nigerian company worth N100 million or in any 12 consecutive months are liable to CGT at 10 per cent, with the returns to be rendered annually even for disposal proceed less than the threshold.

He also added that notable exemptions would include cases where the amount is “reinvested in the same or other company and the shares are transferred between an approved borrower and

lender in a regulated securities lending transaction.”

On implications of the tax levied on share purchase in the country, Oyedele stressed that there would be a likely shift of focus from equity investments to government securities, as revenue generation is likely to be minimal. “It may discourage investment in the capital market given the expiration of tax exemption also on corporate bonds.”

GOING FORWARD

However some analysts are of the view that stakeholders in the economy need to collaborate with the Federal Government in finding solutions to Nigeria’s perennial low public revenue challenge.

Their arguments were premised on the fact that the time had come to evolve strategies that would hold public officials accountable and checkmate wasteful and unjustifiable public expenditure in the country.

President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mrs. Comfort Olajumoke Eyitayo, said the current revenue challenge facing the country has made it an imperative that all stakeholders should work with the government to address the recurring issue.

Eyitayo said: “The Finance Act introduced with the budget process in the country over two years ago is aimed at developing strategies to shore up capital (public revenue) for the economy. This is a step that had to be taken by the government to enhance the income-generating potentials of the country.”

She, however, added that as, “we focus on modalities for revenue generation, the country must not lose sight of the expenditure side, develop strategies to guide against wasteful and unjustifiable spending.

“In essence, all stakeholders must continue to advocate for a public sector where value for money needs to be entrenched and office holders will be held accountable, and transparency in public financial management promoted.”

T-BILLS TURNOVER ON FMDQ DROPS BY 55.6% ON LOW YIELD ENVIRONMENT, INFLATION Nigeria’s market.

He added, “A lot of Nigerians in the Diaspora who used to send remits are also faced with the impact of the pandemic. Although, we have seen steady increase in crude oil price but the backlog of hard currency demand from CBN has also affected supply.

“Foreign investors are also showing interest due to challenges in their market. In addition, the federal government is also committed to foreign currency spending and it also contributed to supply.”

Analyst at PAC Holdings, Mr. Wole Adeyeye also attributed the decline in foreign exchange turnover

trade at the FMDQ to scarcity.

THISDAY had recently reported that FGN Bonds, Eurobond, among other bonds on the FMDQ Exchange market also dropped by 26.24 per cent in 2021.

According to THISDAY findings, a total turnover of N20.31trillion worth of FGN Bonds, Eurobonds, Agency, Sub-national, Corporate, Supranational Bonds & Promissory Notes were traded in 2021 as against N27.53trillion traded in 2020.

In a chat with THISDAY, the Managing Director, Morgan Capital, Mr. Rotimi Olubi explained that: “The decline in fixed income market

activity may be attributed to the CBN implementation of the cash reserve ratio (CRR) impacting system liquidity and volatility in fixed income market yields.

“The volatile fixed income market evidenced in the uptick in FGN Bond yields in 2021 (average increase of 2.11ppts), led market participants to maintain a ‘wait and see approach’ to avoid realising losses on fixed income securities which were bought at a higher price (lower yield) in 2020 and are currently trading at a lower price (higher yield).

“The Eurobond market was driven by several factors in 2021 which led

to a mixed performance in 2021.

The price of Bonny Light (Nigeria’s crude oil) surged, gaining c.40per cent in 2021.

“In addition, crude oil production continued to recover as the increase in oil demand led to an upward revision in the production cap by OPEC.” He noted that these factors contributed to the positive sentiments around a rebound in economic activities, which supported Eurobond performance in 2021.

“However, surging inflation in the US raised fears of policy

normalisation by systemically important central banks across the globe which dampened the performance of the Nigerian Eurobond market.

“In summary, the Eurobond market closed the year on a bearish note as average Eurobond yields rose by 200bps in 2021,” he added.

Commenting on the fixed income outlook, a group of analysts at United Capital Research in a report explained that: “Following the upward reversal in the yield environment in most part of 2021, the yield landscape closed the year in an uncertain position as the long

end of the yield curve stalled with investors maintaining a standoff approach towards the debt market.”

The firm in a report titled: “Nigeria Economic Outlook 2022: Navigating Stormy Seas,” said in 2022, investors seek to get clarity on the direction of interest rates in order to properly manage their fixed income exposures.

Explaining the key factors expected to shape the interest rate environment in 2022, they stated that monetary policy stance would be hawkish adding that government may be reliant on the domestic debt market.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

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CAPAR as Engine for Africa’s Realisation of SDGs Kunle Aderinokun

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frica is a continent very rich in natural and financial resources, which has attracted the interests of domestic and foreign investors.

However, these resources are not being converted to wealth for Africans as one would expect.

The lack of equitable access and limited control have made the resources to be looted and intentionally or unintentionally taken out of the continent to places where they are not available for the good of the people of Africa. For many years, African countries have witnessed and continue to witness the consignment of huge proportions of their resources to foreign jurisdictions without appropriate compensation and returns.

According to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland, the need for African countries to tackle corruption has become compelling as corruption leads to illicit financial flows making the continent to lose $1.26trillion to IFFs. Worried by this development and in a bid to ensure that Africa gets better deals from looted funds and leverage its resources for inclusive and sustainable growth, a forum was held at the sidelines of the 9th Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

The forum, a hybrid event (Physical and Virtual) attended by representatives of African Governments, was organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in collaboration with African Union Advisory Board on Corruption (AUBC) and Collation for Dialogue.

The event titled “Understanding and Implementation of the Common African Position on Assets Recovery (CAPAR),” was targeted at kick-starting new alliances, partnerships and collaborations towards successful implementation of the CAPAR. It was presided over by the Chairman of ICPC, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye; while Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace & Security, AU Commission delivered the opening statement. Statements were also made by Mr. Issaka Garba Abdou of the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security AUC; Madame Seynabou Ndiaye Diakhate, Vice Chairperson, AUBC Advisory; and Ms. Souad Aden- Osman, ED, Coalition for Dialogue on Africa.

Speaking at the event, Adeoye said that for many years, African countries have witnessed and continue to witness the consignment of huge proportions of their resources to foreign jurisdictions without appropriate compensation and returns. As a continent with valuable resources, the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace & Security said Africa deserves better deals and should be better able

to leverage its resources for inclusive and sustainable growth.

However, he lamented that this will never be possible if the continent continues to allow its resources to be taken out without due compensation. He said, “Sometimes these assets are recovered and seized by foreign governments but are not repatriated to their countries of origin. Such practice is counter-productive, as these assets are used to fund foreign economies to the detriment of the real owners. “It is for this reason that the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government in their 33rd Session in February 2020, endorsed the CAPAR to guide African countries in the recovery and management of stolen assets.”

He described CAPAR as a critical platform that will help in stemming illicit financial flows from Africa and help in the recovery and return of assets within a contextualised historical, political, economic, and social narrative. CAPAR sets out recommended measures and actions required to effectively address the continuous loss of African assets and to effectively identify, recover and manage African assets that are in, or recovered from, foreign jurisdictions, in a manner that respects the development priorities and sovereignty of African Union Member States. The CAPAR has four pillars, which highlight priorities for asset recovery in Africa. The four pillars are detection and identification of assets, recovery and return of assets, management of recovered assets, and cooperation and partnerships.

Adeoye told participants at the forum that already, the four pillars have been endorsed and is now an official instrument that must be implemented. However, he noted that unless stakeholders raise awareness about it, many people will not know that it exists and may not know how to interpret and use it. He added, “We have therefore organized this event to raise awareness, discuss and increase understanding of the CAPAR. We also, through this event, would like to seek your opinions on how best to support countries in implementing this very important instrument.

“Through consultations and dialogues like this one, concerned authorities and individuals will know what to do with the CAPAR and we will be able to get the needed support and commitment for its implementation.”

Also speaking during the panel session, Abdou said CAPAR will address the issue of loss of African resources and assets over the centuries, adding that estimates of Africa’s losses to IFFs makes Africa a net creditor to the rest of the world. He explained that

IFFs and illicit consignment of African assets to foreign jurisdictions would continue to inhibit Africa’s development goals and aspirations, post-2015 Agenda and Agenda 2063 unless action is taken by the global community and AU Member States. He called for sensitization at national, regional and global levels on the CAPAR, engagement of stakeholders relevant to the success of CAPAR as well as implementation of the policy recommendations of the CAPAR. In his presentation, Stephen Karangizi who is a Former Director and Chief Executive Officer, African Legal Support Facility, said African States are unable to consistently pursue the recovery of their assets due to several factors. He said often times, the transferee States make an effort to dictate how the assets should be used, adding that lengthy recovery efforts could also lead to erosion of the value of the assets. To address these challenges, Karangizi called for institutional collaboration at national level to identify assets – tax, accounting, customs, banking, and beneficial ownership. He also advocated more legal and institutional collaboration between the Governments of transferor and transferee countries, stating that there is need to fast track commercial/criminal cases to enforce recovery of the assets while harmonizing laws and penalties across participating countries. He also called for the creation of an African Fund where the assets are deposited while negotiations are taking place on their ownership and use. He said, “There is need for Africa to formulate clear policy and legal framework for asset recovery. This could start with guidelines that African countries could follow in the process. “The policy should cover particularly the management of the assets while they are still being held by third states. Certain initiatives – such as ATAF – Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters should be encouraged. “High Level AU Committee should lobby for removal of identified secrecy impediments. High Level Committee should lobby for establishment of neutral body such as Fad to hold liquid Assets and to value non-liquid assets. Increased capacity building such as purchase of necessary tracing tools, and increase knowledge and advocacy.”

In her presentation at the event, Ms. Lilan Ekeanyanwu, Head, Technical Unit on Governance and Anti- Corruption Reforms, TUGAR, Nigeria, spoke about the efforts Nigerian made to recover assets from different jurisdictions including Abacha’s loot as well as artefacts. Some of these efforts, according to her, included putting in place legal framework, utilisation of resources by hiring lawyers and other professionals, seeking international cooperation and also engaging international institutions such as StAR initiative and ICAR and sponsoring resolutions on Asset recovery. She said that recovery of stolen asset is not easy but a result of series of negotiations both formal and informal, resilience and endurance.

Ekeanyanwu stated Nigeria spent lot of money to recover assets because the country had to hire lawyers and other professionals to navigate the legal process which is sometime complex to achieve.

She disclosed that under the convention, the requested country has the right to deduct administrative cost, adding that this diminished the asset value when it is eventually recovered. She also mentioned that the requested states also used settlement or no trial resolutions to deny the victims states from recovering asset. She concluded that due to the conditionality’s placed on the recovered asset despite the fact that the convention provides for sovereignty of state parties, Nigeria has used the asset recovered for projects to build trust and confidence that the assets are not re-looted.

At the end of the discussions, it was recommended that there should be a robust clear legal framework and guidelines/templates on asset recovery and creation of register of recovered asset. It was also agreed that there is need for engagement of all stakeholders because asset recovery involves political, economic, and legal diplomacy. Participants also agreed on the need to build the capacity of small African countries, create awareness and advocacy on CAPAR in Africa as well as seek international cooperation of international institutions and conventions. The prevention of assets from leaving the shores of Africa was reinforced while further sensitization of CAPAR in Africa should be carried out to boost awareness.

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

Expert Harps on Increased Capacity to Prevent Capital Flight, Increase Local Risk Retention Ebere Nwoji Insurance expert and Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer, Boff & Co Insurance Brokers Limited, Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja, has stressed the need for indigenous insurance sector operators to prevent capital flight through off shore insurance by increasing their capacity as well as engendering and sustaining collaboration between insurance sector regulator and operators.

Olatunde-Agbeja, who spoke at a media parley jointly sponsored by Boff & Co Insurance Brokers Limited and Adedipe Associates Limited for insurance and pension journalists in Lagos called for increased capacity among local insurance operators so as to be able to retain more risks locally thereby, increasing the profitability of insurance industry in the country.

The insurance experts agreed that the industry had improved its capacity over time, but that many insurance businesses in the country were still insured offshore.

They equally identified operators and regulators cooperation, sustained and constant stakeholders’ engagement, among others, as critical to the growth and development of the Nigerian insurance industry.

He called for increased capacity, regular staff training, investment in information technology and regular engagement with stakeholders to grow the sector.

According to him, “there is the

need for increased capacity in the Nigerian insurance industry. When Boff and Co started special risk 25 years ago, we were doing about 70 per cent of our portfolio abroad, overtime, it reduced from 70 per cent to about 20 per cent and in the last six months, we had problems of finding excess capacity to insure abroad. I am proud to tell you that, as of today, the businesses we did in the last three months were 100% placed in Nigeria.”

“The capacity is growing but we need to back it up with technical know-how, training and retraining of staff. Insurance industry should keep pace with the trend of events globally because insurance business is an international business,” he stated.

On the need for recapitalisation of the industry, he said, those who went to court to stop the earlier insurance recapitalisation exercise were doing a lot of disservice to insurance industry.

“Although the industry is doing well, we only need to be better. We need to be sincere, be professional, and ensure that capacity increases continuously. The economy is opened, investors are coming in to investing in life and general businesses and special risks, because they have seen things we are not seeing and we need to work more on our technical know-how because that’s still lacking, “Olatunde-Agbeja added.

Earlier in his presentation titled,

“2021 Review and 2022 Economic Outlook,” the chief consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Limited, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, applauded insurance industry but felt there are areas of improvement.

“Nigeria still experience insurance low penetration and why? So, what next can the government do? Government also needs also to be responsible to its insurance obligations. It needs to promptly pay premium; there is also a need for flexibility and enforcement of necessary laws.

“If the government and its agencies are responsible, put more firmness into enforcement, then, what we have today will change and the industry will create more value. And of course when insurance sector is vibrant, it enables businesses and entrepreneurs to take risks which is part of the economic growth,” he pointed out.

On low insurance penetration in Nigeria, the economist said, there is need for operators to provide adequate information to policyholders and prospective insurance customers and clients “If someone says because of religion, can we point them to the direction of takaful. People need to see that insurance is fundamental and important for growth. Globally insurance is becoming more important and Nigeria cannot be left out from this trend,” Adedipe stated.

In of I Nig Udo Med Lim Rev H mem mee the info T toda out H con

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

‘We Must Leverage Technology to Enhance Economic Growth, Devt’ The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has harped on the need to efficiently deploy technology to grow the nation’s economy, leveraging the digital space to place the country on the path of sustainable growth and

development.

Speaking at the seventh edition of the Mike Omotosho Annual Lecture, with the theme, “Digital Economy: A panacea for National Growth,” Obaseki identified technology as pivotal in the country’s quest for

economic advancement.

The governor, at the virtual technology forum aimed at making Nigerians optimise their potential and maximise the opportunity provided by digital technology, said Nigeria must leverage the digital

VDT Appoints Elusope Group Chief Finance, Strategy Officer Emma Okonji The Board of VDT Communications has appointed Mr. Steve Elusope as the Group Chief Finance and Strategy Officer to help steer the organisation into her next growth phase.

By the appointment, the Board of VDT is entrusting Steve Elusope with the dual strategic roles of Group Chief Finance Officer and Group Chief Strategy Officer. Consequently, he is responsible for supervising Finance and Accounts, Business Intelligence, Business Solutions and Project Monitoring. He works closely with all key stakeholders in the group to ensure consistent achievement of both financial and non-financial business objectives.

Elusope has garnered about 30 years of cognate work experience in banking and finance, pension administration, technology and communication services.

Before joining VDT, he has held management level positions in various organisations for over 20 years, including Executive Director at Spectranet Communications Ltd, GM/Chief Executive at Global Trust Savings & Loans Ltd, Financial Controller at Stanbic IBTC Bank for over five years, Executive Director, Operations at Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers for over eight years, and Executive Director, Operations (Nigeria) at Cimple Networks Inc, USA. He also possess strategic skills and competencies in financial control, consultancy, management accounting, taxation, operational risk, IT operations, customer care, back-office operations, administration, and facility management; with proven abilities in defining organisational direction, instituting corporate governance, system optimization, human capacity building and

Indomie Rewards Consumers with Campaign Leading instant noodles brand, Indomie Noodles, produced by Dufil Prima, has kicked off the year with a consumer-centric campaign aimed at rewarding its teeming consumers who are resident in Southwest Nigeria.

The campaign, which commenced, the company said in a statement, will enable consumers to enjoy their delicious Chicken Flavoured noodles and win big while at it.

“The campaign is available for Indomie Chicken Flavour consumers on the following SKUs - 70grams, 100grams, and 120grams of packs.

Tagged “I Love My Indomie”, the campaign starts with the consumers buying and consuming their delicious meal of Indomie Chicken but rather than disposing of the wrapper after the delicious meal, the consumer is advised to look inside for letters to form the sentence, I Love My Indomie, “it stated.

Speaking about the campaign, Group Corporate Communications and Event Manager, Tope Ashiwaju, said, “We know how much our consumers love their Indomie noodles.

achieving set targets.

Elusope is a 1986 graduate of Accountancy from The Polytechnic Ibadan, Master of Business Administration from Delta State University (DELSU), Fellow (FCA) of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Fellow (FCIB) of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

According to a statement from the company, which was signed by its Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Mr. David Ese, “With the appointment, Elusope will bring his wealth of experience and versatility to bear on accelerating all facets of growth in VDT and the affiliate brands towards attaining their corporate objectives.

space to foster economic growth and increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Obaseki noted that with the kind of disadvantage the country faces, the digital economy has to be a key leveler to aid the economic development process.

According to him, “Since 2020, the world has centrally changed; this new economy has become a lot more remarkable and significant. The majority of Nigerians deliberately participate in the digital economy through the use of the telephone.

“With the smartphone penetration and other electronic devices, the digital economy and its activities create millions of dollars for countries and the economy globally and this

is what we now refer to as the new economy.”

“The very medium of our interaction today is digital and it is based on technology that has been accelerated as a result of the restrictions we found ourselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has affected businesses globally and locally and created jobs. In fact, one of the few areas of significant growth witnessed since 2020 is the area of technology,” he added.

The governor restated that to get people out of poverty, the country must focus on technology to create wealth, reduce unemployment, and grow the nation’s GDP. “It might not just be one magic wand, but clearly technology has a role to play in helping us rethink our economy and

foster growth. First and foremost, we have to think about data and think about new technology. Interestingly, digital technology is applicable to almost every aspect of our life. We must think very carefully as we lay out a digital strategy for our country,” Obaseki said.

On his part, the convener, Dr. Mike Omotosho noted, “The sky is the limit as long as we do it right.

I said this because digital solutions can have a transformation effect on the economy. To do it right, we need to be intentional, we need to work closely with stakeholders, compile the detailed list of what is available, put it down so that it will not be too overwhelming and ensure the content is easily available to all and sundry.”

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

B & Q Attributes Achievements to FG’s Local Content Policy Gilbert Ekugbe An indigenous dredging company, B & Q Dredging Limited has extolled the federal government’s local content policy for the landmark achievements it has recorded in the country, noting that the policy had made B & Q the preferred dredging company in Nigeria despite stiff competition in dredging operations from foreign competitors.

The Operations Manager, B & Q Dredging Limited, James Okeati, at the first edition of the Nestoil Group Media roundtable in 2022, disclosed that with the success recorded by the company from its operations in the Second Niger Bridge project in Anambra/Delta state, Elegushi and

Eletu axis in creating a new city in Nigeria’s commercial center Lagos, it is ready for expansion into newer markets.

According to him, its expertise and capacity built over the years and encouraged by local content laws has made some of the national economic projects it undertakes come from referrals made by satisfied clients.

Okeati based this on the dredging firm’s contribution towards creating a new viable city that will expand the country’s revenue base with the land reclamation projects in Elegushi it completed six months ahead of schedule, noting that Eletu, an ongoing three-year project which it intends to complete ahead of

schedule with its massive investments.

He added that upon completion of the land reclamation, Eletu will be similar to the Eko Atlantic project.

The Elegushi land reclamation project, he said, came from the referral gotten from the excellent execution of their lot, six months ahead of schedule in the 2nd Niger Bridge construction, one of the most important infrastructure projects that will connect the most economically active regions of Nigeria.

Okeati said the company beat other top firms in getting the projects with its capacity, expertise, and investments in dredging machinery, especially Pirat-X, presently one of the largest dredgers in the country.

Speaking further on the advantage of Pirat-X, he said it can dredge and transport up to 2,500 cubic meters of soil-water mixture per hour, over a distance of 6km without any external booster and is equipped with a Christmas Tree arrangement, which enables it to work in offshore facilities and platforms.

He argued that Pirat-X has a great advantage for large land reclamations, long-range sand delivery, and offshore trenching and dredging. In the field, it is continuously monitored and evaluated with underwater viewing equipment in combination with a DGPS system, mixture density, and speed measuring system. Its Rainbow system ensures that unwanted elements and dirt that could impact the project are removed.

With the acquisition of MV Rebecca Lynn tugboat to move Pirat-X, the company is in conversation with Royal protecting the interest of operators IHC to bring in an Upper Dredger, and stressed the need for NIPOST asserting that the investment is made to encourage merger and training due to its new market expansion of smaller operators for business plans. continuity and safety. ‘’People marvel at our success, but

NIPOST Assures Courier Operators of Safety, Business Support Emma Okonji The Courier and Logistics Regulatory Department (CLRD) of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), has assured all licensed Courier and Logistics operators in Nigeria, numbering 256, of maximum safety and protection, including support for their businesses.

The General Manager of CLRD, Mr. Shonde Gideon Oludotun, who gave the assurance during a round table meeting at the weekend in Lagos, said the courier and logistics business, remained an essential business that drives the Nigerian economy, which needed protection and support from government.

The meeting, which was between the courier/logistics regulator and the operators, was organised by CLRD to further sensitive the courier and logistics industry.

According to Oludotun, CLRD had carried out several raids on unlicensed courier operators in Lagos, Abuja and Benin City in order to sanitise the courier industry, but felt there was a great need to further educate courier operators about the operations of the regulated courier industry in Nigeria, hence the need for the meeting, which lasted for over three hours.

“The purpose of the round table meeting as a rule making process is to discuss with willing investors, ways to tap into the various opportunities in the sector and also brainstorm on the pressing issues affecting the industry,” Oludotun said While appreciating the operators for attending the meeting in their large numbers, Oludotun emphasised that NIPOST was not set out to kill small businesses but to nurture them in view of the extant laws and regulations. He therefore advised them on the need to get a copy of Courier and Logistics Operations (REGULATION) Guidelines, in order to get more acquainted with industry operations.

The Courier and Logistics Regulatory Guideline is paramount and intrinsic asset to Courier and Logistics business in Nigeria, Oludotun further said.

Some of the issues discussed include: NIPOST (CLRD) plan for the year 2022 for the industry; How to implement safety and security measures; Benefits of securing the NIPOST Operating License; Flexible payment plan for an operating license; Managing and collaborating to secure the license. Other issues include Multiple taxation, Extortion and Touting in the industry; How to avoid being clamped down; and the forthcoming industrial training among others.

During the meeting, operators had opportunity to raise issues that affect their businesses. One of them, the Director, Olive Fast Track Services, Mrs, Sade Akintoye, raised the issue of multiple taxes from Lagos State government, which she said, were adversely affecting courier business in the state. According to her, Lagos government has over six categories of licences, which the state compels courier operators to pay, irrespective of federal government licence issued

by NIPOST for courier operations in Nigeria. She also complained about local government taxes within the

states and called on NIPOST to discuss with the states and local governments on how to harmonise multiple taxes. Another operator called on NIPOST to do more in

the three pillars behind all we do are; the quality standard of jobs that we deliver to our clients; the safety of our people which is paramount, as since starting operation in 2005, no fatality has been recorded; and making the environment better after any project without negative impact,” he affirmed.

Speaking on environmental protection, he said an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is done before any project is undertaken and on any suggestion of a negative impact on the environment, the job is not undertaken. ‘ ’The ability to preserve the environment is a part of our success story as all activities are undertaken to ensure the sustenance of the environment,”he enthused.

Okeati further stated: ’Safety is also a priority for us as we subject ourselves to various local and international standards. We became ISO 45001 certified since 2017/2018, therefore making B&Q one of the first companies to be certified, and during our operations, regulators are always

welcome to observe the process as we ensure our processes are HSE compliant.”

On the company’s projection in the next five years, he said they intend to be ranked amongst the top dredging companies in Sub-Sahara African, saying that the belief is based on them competing favourably with the international companies in the country, which has shown that the investments and capacity upgrade of their workforce and equiptment is worth it.

The growth of the local dredging sector is also a priority for the company, as he pointed out that B&Q contributes to local capacity development through providing solutions to some of the challenges other indigenous dredgers face. This is because the company does not want to be the standalone Nigerian success story, and with the knowledge employed in carrying out previous projects, they understand the various industry challenges and are open to assisting others to develop their capacity and expertise.

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

INSURANCE

Need to Boost Pension Scheme Enrollment Ebere Nwoji writes that the significant shortfall in the number of eligible subscribers into the Contributory Pension Scheme and Micro Pension Plan has called for the need for operators to embark on mass education and awareness creation to reverse the trend

U

nder subscription of Nigerian workers to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has been blamed on lack of awareness, which has culminated in low penetration of the CPS regime in Nigeria.

The CPS, which would be 18 years in few months in Nigeria (June 2004-2022) is yet to be adopted by many employers and their employees.

For instance, many state governments and their workers till date still don’t believe in the scheme.

ENROLMENT STATISTICS

Available statistics from the National Pension Commission (PenCom) estimated Nigeria’s working population at 70 million out of which, about 45 million work in the formal sector that are eligible contributors to the CPS. However, only 9.4 million have keyed into the CPS scheme, meaning that over 40 million formal sector workers are outside pension coverage.

Among the informal sector workers, most of who are eligible contributors to the micro pension scheme, recent statistics released by PenCom, said only 73 million have registered in the micro pension scheme.

Pension sector analysts said this goes to show the long gap between eligible contributors who are already captured in both the CPS and micro pension scheme and those outside the scheme.

According to them, it also shows the quantum of investible funds that supposed to be in the custody of pension fund operators, which is either lying idle out there, or is being unnecessarily squandered by the owners without considering the danger of old age poverty as a result of lack of savings culture.

The implication of this is that aside the recapitalisation of the sector from the current N1 billion to the stated N5 billion which is a major challenge facing the operators, another major challenge staring on the faces of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) is education and awareness creation among Nigerians on the need to key into the Contributory Pension and Micro pension schemes.

Pension experts said this was a big challenge on the part of the operators because the present economic situation in the country has drastically eroded savings culture among Nigerians despite that old age and retirement is inevitable.

Obviously, getting more contributors into the scheme would shoot up pension assets from the current N13 trillion mark to higher figure and would provide the economy with more long term investible funds.

PENCOM’S MANDATE

The urgent nature of the need for the pension operators to face this education and awareness challenge prompted the sector regulator the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to state openly that the pension operators have education and awareness creation on the pension scheme as their major assignment this year.

PenCom Director General, Aisha Dahir Umar, charging the operators in this regard mandated them to have a yearly budget for media campaign plans to increase participation in the micro pension plan (MPP).

The PenCom DG stated this in a Framework for Enlightenment and Public Awareness’ for the Micro Pension Plan sent to all PFAs. Dahir Umar, was particularly concerned about the slow growth of the micro pension scheme, regretting

that two years after the launch of the plan in the country, only 73,000 contributors have been recorded out of over 200 million population Section 2(3) of the PRA 2014 stipulates that, “employees of organisations with less than three employees as well as self-employed persons shall be entitled to participate in the scheme following guidelines issued by the Commission, adding that Section 23 (f) of the PRA 2014 mandates the Commission to “carry out public awareness, enlightenment and education on the establishment, operations and management of the scheme.”

Also, sections 5.3.1(c) and 5.4.1(i) of the Guidelines for MPP 2018 stipulate that, “The Commission shall create awareness by carrying out public enlightenment and education on the establishment, operations, and management of MPP” and that PFAs shall conduct regular public awareness, enlightenment, and education on MPP.”

EXPERTS VIEW

Meanwhile, experts believe the under subscription into CPS scheme is as a result of lack of adequate public awareness.

“A vast majority of Nigerians including the supposedly enlightened community lack information on the workings of the contributory Pension Scheme, ” said former Managing Director, Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Wilson Ideva.

This, he said, explain why there was less than 10 per cent penetration of the market after 18 years of commencement of the scheme in Nigeria.

According to him, less than 10 million workers in Nigeria have subscribed to the pension scheme out of the estimated 70 million working population while a total of N13 trillion have been amassed as pension assets under management in the industry.

He lamented that the lukewarm attitude of many Nigerians to the pension scheme was inexplicable considering the ugly past of the defined benefit scheme, which according to him, we have all been striving to break away from.

He said, “Workers looked up to retirement with so much fear and trepidation because of the inherent uncertainties. The old scheme was fraught with corruption and bureaucratic bottlenecks that occasioned the ugly sight of long queues of aged citizens waiting to be paid pension that oftentimes never came.”

Ideva said there was need to applaud the initiators of the scheme in the country adding, “initially, when the idea was presented, a lot of people did not believe in it, but that it is understandable considering where we were coming from. He noted that such skepticism has been dissipated with the successes recorded by the Contributory pension scheme since its existence.”

He recalled the pathetic situation of pensioners before the scheme was introduced comparing it with the current situation where workers were partners in the management of their pension funds shows a big difference as he urged people to note the difference between the Contributory Pension Scheme and the old defined benefit system under which some pensioners are still depending on.

Speaking on the issue especially as it concerns micro pension scheme, Head, Micro Pension Depart-

ment, PenCom, Mr Dowda Ahmed said current number of contributors into the micro pension scheme which was approximately 73,000 contributors fall short of the commission’s expectation.

According to him, the commission had expected more than what it has recorded adding that the commission had engaged some stakeholders to ensure that the Micro Pension Plan had an enabling environment to thrive.

He described the Micro Pension Plan as a longterm voluntary financial plan for the provision of pension coverage to the self-employed and persons working under organisations with less than three employees who are mainly in the informal sector.

According to him, the commission had expected more than what it has recorded.

“Yes we are not making so much as expected, a lot of work has been going on to that effect. Our targeted media campaign is coming up, our major challenge is lack of awareness about the products itself and there is need for operators and commission to do more to create awareness, “he said.

SUBSCRIBERS VIEW

When THISDAY contacted some self employed and Micro business operators who fall within the target market of the micro pension scheme on their status and those of their workers, their responses show that they have little or no interest in the scheme mainly due to ignorance and lack of awareness.

Speaking, Uche Chukwujekwu, a lawyer with his chamber in Igboelerin, ojo area of Lagos, said he hardly believes in Nigerian system anymore.

This, he stated, is because any good system that works elsewhere hardly work in NIgeria.

He said for instance, he bought a new Toyota Highlander jeep, which he took comprehensive insurance on revealing that the car was damaged by a commercial bus driver who had no Third Party Insurance cover last week.

He said he had contacted his insurer, one of the biggest insurance companies in Nigeria, who obtained all the required papers including police report but has not reply him in terms of claims payment.

He reasoned that if he as a practicing lawyer could not easily receive claims payment on a comprehensive insurance he took on his car, he wondered what the ordinary man in the street who took similar policy would pass through before receiving his claims.

The same thing, he said, goes to the micro pension scheme, noting that if contributors who worked for government would retire and stay three to four years before receiving their initial lump sum payment because of non release of their accrued rights by government , a self employed person who registered into the micro pension scheme might at old age discover that there was no record of any contributions in his name in the micro pension company he has been paying money into.

He said for him, given the way things were going in Nigeria, he had decided to go into self-retirement planning through investments in foreign exchange and other forms of savings.

Asked what he thinks will happen if the foreign exchange market crashes, he said at least his capital

would be intact.

But Executive Director, Centre for Human Rights Advocacy, Ivor Takor, said though he and his staff were fully into Contributory Pension Scheme, the micro pension scheme was a good opportunity for self employed persons in Nigeria to save for the future and escape old age poverty.

He encouraged Nigerians to seek information on the workings of the current pension scheme in the country and key into it just as he advised the scheme operators to go into mass education.

“It is just because we don’t have saving culture. People see it as paying tax, people look at the immediate not future. PenCom needs enlightenment it is extremely important. PenOp and PenCom should not toil with enlightenment, “he advised.

He said the Micro Pension target people have relations who were victims of delayed retirement benefits payment.

He said having heard stories of these delayed payments; they would definitely be skeptical about registering into the scheme.

“So they will be afraid to key into the micro pension scheme. Then pandemic affected the way people make income, but with serious enlightenment, with payment of accrued right, it will give a new phase to the Contributory Pension Scheme and to Micro Pension as well.

PLAN BY OPERATORS

But the scheme operators are not giving up hope.

Managing Director/CEO, Access Pension Fund Custodian, Idu Okwuosa, said a committee had been set up by the Commission to commence massive campaign this year.

Okwuosa, said the Pension Operators Association were working on how to introduce incentives into the micro pension plan in particular as value addition to contributors.

She said the operators had reached out to some financial service providers, especially insurers to work out measures for adoption of products such as health insurance, term life assurance, loss of job policy amongst others as incentives for their micro pension contributors to improve on the lives and fortune of subscribers.

According to her, PenOp and PenCom desire a better lifestyle for pension contributors and are working to see that aside the benefits of retirement and contingency savings, contributors maximise other robust incentives.

ANALYSTS REACTIONS

Commenting, analysts said the operators could do better in the task of mass education and awareness creation starring on their faces by borrowing a leaf from what insurance operators did.

The analysts urged operators to embrace the idea of catching potential contributors young right from their school days.

They advised the operators to start writing books on benefits of early savings into the scheme and distributing to students in universities and other tertiary institutions most of who will be self employed after their NYSC programme and those who will be lucky to secure employment after service so that they start on time to save into the scheme having been aware of the workings.

The operators were also advised to engage agents who will carry about the good message of pension savings to boost registration and contribution into the scheme.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022

EDUCATION Governor Oyetola’s Administration and Osun’s ‘Abandoned’ Mega School Project Following the abdication of one of the mega schools in Iwo by Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s administration, stakeholders have described it as a ploy to whittle down the giant strides recorded by former Governor Rauf Aregbesola era. The stakeholders expect the incumbent governor to ensure speedy completion rather than playing politics with the school project. Funmi Ogundare reports

Iwo Government High School, Iwo still under construction

W

hen the policy to build mega schools across three senatorial districts in Osun under Governor Rauf Aregbesola was conceived in 2011, a few months after assumption of office, it was informed by crucial need to cater for the collective interest of the masses and give hope of a better future to the children.

By 2012, the administration commenced the development of 11 mega high schools, which were part of the comprehensive education infrastructure reforms of the Aregbesola administration, agreed upon after an education summit chaired by Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka.

Based on the planning data and forecasts provided by the Ministry of Education and validated by external professionals, the intervention was to impact elementary, middle, high schools, teaching aids, teachers-to-students ratio and facilities. At the end of Aregbesola’s eight years in office, 11 high schools with 876 brand new classrooms for senior secondary students were up and running.

Out of the 11 mega high schools, three of them were fabricated models located in each of the three senatorial zones; Iwo (Osun West senatorial zone), Ilesa (Osun East zone) and Osogbo ( Osun Central zone). Other interventions under Aregbesola included construction of 28 new storey buildings of middle schools consisting of 764 classrooms, 21 quadrangle buildings of elementary schools consisting of 531 classrooms, construction of 143 blocks of between two and 10 classroom buildings consisting of 1,550 classrooms, mainly for rural settlements, as well as rehabilitation of 215 old school buildings to produce 1,213 classrooms across the state.

To complement the construction and renovation of classrooms, the Aregbesola administration, aside from putting in place furniture and teaching aids, employed about 3,230 teachers on merit in 2013 into public elementary and middle schools by pulling together the financial resources from Osun’s treasury, bond issuance, capital receipts from federal government and the National Assembly representatives (in the first term), worth about N11 billion.

The whole idea of having such infrastructure is also to maximise resources as the government provides other facilities such as laboratories, standard football pitches, volleyball and basketball courts, and examination halls.

The education project was also predicated on a succession plan that would take care of the administration/maintenance of the

Side view of the school

new schools, the proper staffing and possible involvement of private sector participants in the area of accommodation and transportation of students with improvement in the quality of education. The seed capital was provided to acquire Omoluabi buses to test run the transport system for future expansion and modification required.

Sadly, one of the mega schools, Iwo Government High School (a two-storey building project sitting on 10,000sqm with 72 classrooms) meant to accommodate at least 3,000 students scheduled for completion in May 2017, is a cause for concern. It is alleged that Oyetola’s government has abandoned it, despite getting to about 85 per cent completion.

Some other mega schools, fully furnished and equipped laboratories, school hall capable of sitting 1,000 students for external exams, sickbay, bookshop, and car park are reported to be in disrepair and may be undergoing integrity test.

However, stakeholders have expressed fear that the huge educational infrastructure that gulped about N11 billion borrowed from the state’ Sukuk bond is being left to deteriorate and that taxpayers’ money is going down.

They accused Oyetola of playing politics with the school project since Aregbesola left in 2018. According to THISDAY checks, the infrastructure in Iwo, originally sited at Baptist High School Iwo, was moved to Iwo Grammar School after the hijab crisis involving the Baptists Convention.

It took about six months to choose another location agreed upon by community leaders. According to reports, the present administration also passed a vote of no confidence on the structures at four

mega schools to justify the depopulation of high schools while abandoning its maintenance.

In his submission, an All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain in Iwo, Prince Yemi Abolusodun, told THISDAY that Oyetola chose politics above education infrastructure.

“I don’t know what excuse the government under Governor Oyetola would give for not touching that project. That was the biggest project cited in Iwo during his tenure, and we all know the crisis at Baptist High School that prevented him from completing the project,” he stated.

Abolusodun noted that a project that has reached about 85 per cent should not have taken Oyetola more than three years to complete. Asked why he thinks the present administration is playing politics with the project, he said, “If not politics, what other excuse does he have? I see this as part of the whole grand design to whittle down the great strides that were recorded that have made the Aregbesola era unforgettable in Osun. You cannot obliterate that fact.”

A former member of Egbedore Local Government Caretaker Committee, Mr. Qamarudeen Idowu Adabanija, also accused Governor Oyetola of playing politics with the school project, explained: “I am not surprised that the school in Iwo which remained very little to complete before Aregbesola left, has been in the same position. No one should be surprised because the governor has even prevented those hired to maintain the other schools to stop, and the result is clear to all of us.”

In a telephone interview with THISDAY on the issue, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi, simply stated, “I am a traditional ruler, and Governor

“We cannot say that those who are unhappy with a particular school cannot complain, but for every one school that needs attention, we have done a hundred. We will get everywhere as the governor is not interested in you praising him, but in doing more and getting the schools to the standard where it should be”

Oyetola is doing a great job in the state.”

The Asiwaju of Iwoland and former Attorney General, Gbadegesin Adedeji, declined to comment but referred THISDAY to the Commissioner of Education, Folorunsho Bamishayemi. Mrs. Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, ex-Deputy governor, did not respond to calls and text messages.

The Commissioner of Information, Mrs. Funke Egbemode, told THISDAY regarding Oyetola: “For someone who has little or no resources to do anything and he keeps doing something new all the time, such as paying registration fee all the time, and even paid for 751 indigents students, he is going to continue to do more. When you talk about safe schools, you cannot say a school is safe if certain facilities are not there.”

She added, “He is doing perimeter fencing in different schools and buying furniture that will be useful for the teachers and students, as well as boreholes in schools. Billions of naira have been spent on infrastructure.”

She also mentioned that the administration renovated 68 blocks of 392 classrooms in less than three years despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We cannot say that those who are unhappy with a particular school cannot complain. But for every school that needs attention, we have done a hundred. We will get everywhere as the governor is not interested in you praising him,” the information commissioner stressed.

“But in doing more and getting the schools to the standard, they should be. If there is a school in the Iwo area that has not got enough attention, it is because we are working somewhere else. It is not because that school is particularly singled out to be left like that.”

Asked about the mega school that seemed to have been abandoned in Iwo, Egbemode said, “There is no school project in Osun that is actually abandoned. Our resources are available on the ministry of finance website for all to see. Abandoned is an unfair word to use.”

The commissioner further disclosed that the state’s resources “have to be stretched across to ensure that the workforce is happy, that the primary health care clinics that we are renovating are equipped, that the health insurance is in shape, so nothing is abandoned.”

She reiterated that Oyetola does not ignore assets and liabilities inherited from the previous government.

Asked to give a timeline when the Oyetola government will start to complete the mega school projects, she said an exco meeting would be held to decide that.

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022

EDUCATION

With New NUC Rating, PAMO Varsity Leading in Medical Education The recent listing of PAMO University of Medical Science, Port Harcourt as one of the 25 universities with fully accredited courses by the National Universities Commission in its 2021 universities ranking is exciting news to the management, staff, parents and students of the institution, writes Raphael Ehigiator

PAMO gate

T

he management, staff, parents and students of PAMO University of Medical Science, Port Harcourt have a good reason to celebrate: the National Universities Commission (NUC) has listed the school as one of the universities in the country whose courses are fully accredited.

In its ‘2021 Nigeria University system rankings’ released last month, the NUC revealed that only 25 universities out of the 170 have fully accredited courses. The commission added that less than 70 per cent of courses offered by the other ivory towers are accredited.

The NUC news was well received in PAMO University of Medical Science, having attained the feat in less than four years of its establishment.

PAMO, Nigeria’s first private medical university, is committed to pursuing only courses and programmes in the medical and allied fields. The institution has courses such as anatomy, biochemistry, human nutrition and dietetics, pharmacology and physiology in the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) and nursing in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences.

Well-equipped and furnished to a world-class standard, it is situated in a serene environment in Port Harcourt.

The founders conceptualised the university

as a world-class institution dedicated to building healthcare workers, including medical doctors and nurses.

The university has maintained its standards and policies in its four years of existence. Admission into the school is strictly based on merit with all the students residing on campus. It also has zero-tolerance for cultism and other related vices among staff and students.

For students to fully concentrate on their studies, not showing off affluence, use of private cars are not allowed on campus. Loitering is forbidden. Even visitors, parents and guardians are not allowed to have unscheduled visits.

Furthermore, the institution frowns at indecent dressing. To ensure due compliance, the school has a dress code for lectures and official functions for both students and officials.

PAMO boasts of the best classrooms, halls, laboratories and library facilities in the country with unbeatable hostel facilities.

Each room has two students. All the rooms are en suite with constant water supply and water heater. The

school is also reputed to have a 24-hour power supply, allowing students to study in a conducive environment.

One of the university’s greatest strengths is an existing teaching hospital established by its founder, a renowned medical doctor, in the 1980s called PAMO Clinics and Hospitals Group.

The hospital has been at the forefront of providing high-class medical care and services for residents and visitors to Rivers for nearly 40 years. Over the years, it has provided high-quality medical treatment and health promotion services spanning internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics to individuals, families and corporate organisations.

From takeoff, the hospital has been aiding students from an early stage to have full medical knowledge and experience. The school’s management is building a four-storey building on Aba Road to house a teaching hospital.

Besides, the school signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rivers government and Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, letting its students use the public teaching hospital for clinical training before completing the PAMO teaching hospital.

The full accreditation of the school’s courses and programmes by various bodies, including the NUC, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), the Nursing

and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Medical Laboratory Council, etc., has made it the first choice for parents who want their children to have sound medical education and graduate in record time.

The uniqueness of PAMO university was emphasised recently by the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, who noted the university’s numerous achievements and commended the university’s ranking as 35th out of 200 in Nigeria. It is ranked 19th best private university. He stressed that the young university is ranked first in programmes with full accreditation. The NUC boss also stated that the university ranks first in the female students’ enrollment index amongst Nigerian universities.

“Exactly four years since the university received its licence, and today, we are graduating the first set of highly trained students who have been found worthy in character and learning and who will certainly play active roles in shaping the future of our country,” he stated.

He added, “We are happy that this young university is ranked first in programmes with full accreditation. We are happy that it also ranks first in the female students’ enrollment index amongst the entire universities in the country. The future is indeed very bright for this young but well-managed institution of higher learning.”

FUOYE Faults Sacked Lecturers’ Claim Tambuwal Appoints VC for Sokoto Varsity of over Reinstatement The Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), has accused two of its sacked lecturers, Dr. Akinyemi Omonijo and Prof. Adeyemi Oluwagbemiga, of misleading the public over the true nature of issues they had with the university on their employment status.

They were sacked for alleged gross misconduct and a breach of the university regulations.

While Omonijo had an out-of-court settlement, leading to a notice of his reinstatement as ordered by the National Industrial Court, Akure division, the

university had appealed a ruling delivered in favour of Oluwagbemiga at the appellate court.

But rather than setting the record straight, the two sacked lecturers had falsely accused FUOYE of disobeying a court order which mandated their reinstatement.

In a statement signed by the university’s spokesperson, Foluso Ogunmodede, the management faulted the false claims by Omonijo and Oluwagbemiga, insisting that they had been recalcitrant and untruthful in the matter.

The management said while Omonijo had failed to honour terms of the settlement provided by the university council as a pre-condition for his full reinstatement, the court’s ruling in favour of Oluwagbemiga was already being challenged at the appellate court of which he was fully aware until the final determination of the appeal.

The university also noted that Oluwagbemiga was not a party to the consent judgment regarding Omonijo.

FUOYE stated that the latest action of Omonijo

and Oluwagbemiga, which had again spread falsehood to the public through the media, amounted to a deliberate act of bringing the school into disrepute.

“What is expected of Omonijo in accordance to the rules of engagement of the university, FUOYE Governing Council directed Omonijo to append his signature to the terms of reference, which would ensure that he would put up good behaviour and remain law-abiding before he would be fully reinstated,” explained the university.

Education

Onuminya Innocent ÓØ ÙÕÙÞÙ

Governor Aminu Tambuwal has approved the appointment of Prof. Malami Umar Tambuwal as the first vice-chancellor of the newly established Shehu Shagari University of Education, Sokoto.

Tambuwal, an educationist of repute, was a registrar of the state’s defunct college of education now upgraded to a varsity. Prior to his appointment, he was a dean in the Faculty of Education at the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto (UDUS).

The governor also appointed Prof. Muhammad Aminu Mode

and Prof. Nasiru Mukhtar Gatawa as vice-chancellors in charge of academics and administration, respectively.

Both were also former staff of Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto (UDUS).

While Prof. Mode once headed UDUS Department of the Modern and European Languages, Prof. Gatawa worked at the university’s Economics Department, where he rose through the ranks from graduate assistant to a professor.

Other management and principal officers appointed

by Tambuwal are Mrs Amina Yusuf Garba as registrar and Sulaiman Dikko as the librarian.

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022

EDUCATION

International Day of Nigeria’s World Brightest Student Receives IMOC Mathematics Elitist Title Education: Gombe Gov Uchechukwu Nnaike

Barely a year after she was honoured by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth as one of the world brightest students in 2021, Fareedah Oyolola of Greensprings School has again put Nigeria on the map by receiving the Elitist title of the International Maths Olympiad Challenge (IMOC).

She received the title along

with other students following her 97.23 percentile score in the global mathematics championship, which concluded last December.

Reacting to the news of Oyolola’s new accomplishment, the Deputy Director of Education at the school, Dr. Barney Wilson, described her as a blessing to the school.

“This is amazing news, Fareedah is blessed, and she represents us very well.

Her parents, teachers and all of Greensprings School are very proud of her accomplishments,” said Wilson.

Congratulating other students honoured with the mathematics title in 2021, he stated, “The rising tide lifts all boats, and these are great times for Greensprings School.

Congratulations to Temidayo William, Oluwatobi Somorin, Elvis Chimauchem, Akinfolarin Ojo, Mojolaoluwa Abatan,

and all our students who participated in the intense mathematics challenge and received the Elitist title.”

The International Maths Olympiad Challenge is a global mathematics championship for students who are mathematics fanatics and always seeking challenges that will deepen their understanding of mathematics. The timeline for the 2022 edition of the challenge is yet to be announced.

L-R: The Managing Director, Expand Press Ltd, Mr. Femi Oluwalana; Managing Director, DigitalJewels Nigeria Ltd, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa; GP at British NHS, Mrs. Yewande Ogunyoye; Human Resources Director, Trithel International Consulting, Mrs. Bawo Ikomi; General Manager, E-Purse Systems Ltd, Mr. Soji Oluwole; Managing Partner, Adigun Ogunseitan and Company, Mrs. Morenike Obi-Farinde; Managing Director, Juris Consult, Mrs. Funke Oluwole; EFDC, Epping. Essex Revenues Officer, Yetunde Banjoko; and Managing Director, Makarios Realtors, Mr. Abayomi Nash, at the 50th alunmi reunion and awards ceremony of Fountain Heights Primary School, Surulere, Lagos... recently

Construction of 37 Model ‘Smart Schools’ Fallout of COVID-19, Says UBEC Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The emergence of Universal Basic Education Commission Smart School Programme is driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the lockdown of the country and closure of schools for nearly one year.

The Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Boboyi disclosed this at the ground breaking ceremony of the UBEC Modern Smart School Programme in Hadeja, Jigawa State.

The “Smart Schools” were designed in categories to boost the use of ICT for teaching and learning with an estimated cost

of N350,000 per school for the state model, while the zonal model with more capacity and ICT infrastructure would cost N600 million to serve each of the six geopolitical zones in the country.

Bobboyi explained that during the COVID-19 lockdown, there was no learning all over the country because the face to face approach was the primary mode of delivering content to learners.

He said it is necessary to prepare for any situation that could arise to disrupt the teaching and learning process.

The ES stressed that digital and e-learning platforms

provide opportunities for teachers and learners without the constraint of time and space.

“It is expected that deployment of technology for instructional delivery would significantly increase the quality of basic education indeed the nation’s learning outcomes.

“UBEC Smart Schools are currently at the completion stages, the plan is that before the end of this year most, if not all would commence academic activities.

“It is my expectation that the standard we are jointly setting up would be sustained

and improved upon so as to meet the schools objectives,” he said.

He specifically thanked the Governor, Mohammed Badaru for the prompt response for land allocation and for granting UBEC permission to organise the ground breaking ceremony.

The ES also thanked the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for his effort in transforming Nigeria’s digital landscape and his support in providing the strategic partnership with UBEC for the development of e-learning and establishment of smart school programmes.

Firm Provides Foreign Education Opportunity for Brilliant, Athletic Students A UK and Nigerian-based education consultancy firm, Cogent Education Consults, is offering students who are intelligent and talented in sports, an opportunity to achieve both dreams in a conducive environment abroad.

Speaking at its Lagos Office, the Managing Director, Mofe Boyo, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to offering quality education to Nigerian students anywhere in the world.

According to Boyo, “Cogent Education Consultancy provides counselling and application services for international students wishing to study at colleges and universities around the world.

We understand that some of these intelligent students are also gifted in athleticism which means asking them to abandon their talent for education sometimes affects the total experience of schooling abroad.”

“So, we came up with the

idea of helping them get admission into schools that are pro-sports in activities.

This strategy has seen the surge of applicants who play basketball, football, lawn tennis, and other sports applying. Some of these schools would even offer admissions because a student is into one sport or the other.”

“Cogent Education Consultants has a team of highly experienced professionals in education counselling,

student placements into various institutions abroad, visa counselling, and international student support services. We assist students to find a place at a university that is right for them.” Boyo added.

Cogent Education Consultants started assisting Nigerian students to access quality education on May 8, 2019. Many students have graduated from various schools in different parts of the world after going through the company.

Restates Commitment to Education Transformation

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

As Gombe State joins the rest of the world to mark this year ’s International Day of Education, Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has restated his desire to see the state at the forefront of proving quality education in Nigeria.

The governor, in a message to commemorate the day on Monday, said his administration will not relent until the goal of repositioning the sector for effective and efficient service delivery is achieved.

While highlighting the theme of this year ’s celebration, ‘Changing Course, Transforming Education’, the governor noted that with measures put in place, his administration has succeeded in changing the negative narrative hitherto associated with, especially basic education in the state.

He particularly expressed delight with the gradual upscale in students’ performance in external examinations.

He said with the state of emergency declared by his administration, a lot has been achieved, especially in basic education nthrough putting up classrooms, laboratories, libraries and provision of the necessary infrastructure for quality education.

“The declaration of a state of emergency in education in Gombe State

by our administration saw a sudden departure from the prism of a narrow window dressing to a broad and holistic approach towards addressing the numerous challenges confronting the sector, especially at the basic level, which is the most critical stage in human development”.

“Today, the situation in the education sector, particularly at the basic level, is gradually and steadily changing for the better and to the benefit of the younger generation. Aside from the massive construction, renovation and remodeling of schools and staff quarters, we have also established a state-of-the-art Teachers Resource Centre (TRC) in Kwami, the first of its kind in the NorthEast sub-region, for the training and retraining of teachers”.

Describing education as the cradle upon which development indices are measured, the Governor assured that his administration will continue to take measures that will address all gaps and challenges bedevilling the sector.

This year ’s International Day of Education, which marks the fourth since it was proclaimed in 2018 by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), highlights the need for a new way forward in transforming the education sector.

VC Urges UNILAG Staff to Loyalty, Honours 59 Retirees Uchechukwu NnaIke

Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, has charged staff of the institution to show interest in the future of the system and contribute towards its development at all times.

He also advised them to take care of their health.

Ogundipe said this at a ceremony organised by the university to honour 59 members who served the university for 35 years and more and are about to retire.

He said they needed to be recognised and appreciated for their support, contributions, and sacrifices made to the system, explaining the event was meant to motivate the retirees and let those still in service know that they too would be recognised, celebrated and rewarded accordingly.

The event was the climax of a series of activities marking the 52nd convocation of the university.

In his remarks, the

chairman of the occasion and immediate-past vicechancellor of the institution, Prof. Rahamon Bello, assured the retirees that life after retirement is not as difficult as they imagined.

Bello said the event would motivate staff in the system to put in their best, knowing that they would also be honoured one day.

One of the awardees, Prof. Winifred Makanjuola, retiring after 40 years from the Department of Zoology, stressed the importance of hard work and determination.

She said she feels fulfilled, having garnered a lot of experience in service and graduated many students, some of whom are professors.

Prof. Duro Oni, who will retire from the Department of Creative Arts after 45 years, commended the university for organising the long service award.

The high point of the event was the presentation of gifts to the outgoing staff members.

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022

EDUCATION

Vento Furniture Builds Toilets for Abuja School The over 2,000 students of Junior Secondary School, Idu-Koro, Abuja, would not need to go to the bush to answer nature’s call anymore. The same goes for teachers and other non-academic staff, who before now pay N50 to have access to a public toilet a few meters from the school.

Thanks to the community outreach initiative of Vento Furniture, which constructed toilets for the school and a 3,000 litres capacity borehole to ensure adequate water supply within the school premises.

It was indeed an event that brought smiles to the students’ faces in Idu-Koro, a rural settlement in Abuja Municipal Area Council, in the Federal Capital Territory. The story of JSS IduKoro was indeed a touching one before the intervention of Vento Furniture. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Vento Furniture, Hassan Yigit, during one of his numerous trips around rural communities in search of areas of CSR interventions, he came across a near pitiable situation at the JSS Idu-Koro.

“I was in the company of one of my colleagues, Sadiq Mahmood, when we stumbled on the situation at the school.

Upon inquiry, we realized that the school that accommodates close to 2000 students has just one lavatory that wasn’t in a good state and meant to cater for both male and female students,” said Yigit.

“I wasn’t comfortable with such because as a father to young children, I know the importance of personal hygiene, especially for the female students of the school. I immediately moved for the construction of a lavatory each for the boys and girls section, and we also agreed to construct a borehole with 3000 litres capacity storage to supply water to the school.”

Consequently, the company collaborated with the Abuja Enterprise Agency to get all the required clearance to commence the project. At the commissioning of the project, which attracted several government officials from the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), the FCT Universal Basic Board (UBEB), and the Abuja Enterprise agency, it was all praise for the efforts of Vento Furniture in the execution of the project.

James Madaki, also a student of JSS Idu-Koro, said, “Today is like Christmas for us. We can’t believe that we can have a good toilet that uses water in our school. Our school toilet is the best in Idu-Koro. I want to thank Vento Furniture and also plead that they build toilets for other JSS schools in Abuja.”

Alhaji Abdulrazaq Laramo, acting Secretary for Education in the FCTA, who represented the Permanent Secretary, FCT, stated that the gesture by Vento Furniture would indeed have a positive impact on the lives

and well-being of students, management and teachers of JSS Idu-Koro.

He added that the CSR initiative is in alignment with the commitment and policy direction of the FCT Administration in ensuring that all public schools within the FCT and residents have access to potable water and toilets to enhance personal hygiene, improve environmental sanitation and overall health status.

Also present at the occasion was the brand ambassador of Vento Furniture and veteran journalist Olusegun Adeniyi.

He stated that ever since he became a brand ambassador of Vento Furniture earlier in the year.

“People engage in CSR for various reasons. The construction of modern toilet facilities and a borehole by Vento Furniture is borne out of genuine concern for the general well-being of the staff and students of this school. I am delighted to witness this important milestone. For Vento Furniture, this is just the beginning of an exciting policy of enhancing the quality of life, especially for the less privileged of our society,” noted Adeniyi.

“In the weeks, months, and years to come, by its projection, Vento Furniture intends to intervene in other areas of public life like hospitals and orphanages.”

He added, “I understand,

from the interactions I have had with the management of Vento Furniture in recent weeks, that the company has an overarching objective to provide social amenities in public schools and other areas of concern for rural dwellers within the Federal Capital Territory and environs.”

Adeniyi explained that the amenities inaugurated “today are significant.”

So, Vento Furniture is showing the way for other public-spirited individuals and corporate bodies in the efforts to rebuild social sectors like education and health,” he stressed.

Adeniyi further appealed to the FCT authorities to continue to leave their doors open to Vento Furniture in its quest to be worthy partners not only for the progress of Abuja and environ but also that of the country.

In a show of appreciation, the Madaki of Idu-Koro, Mallam Muhammed Danteni, on behalf of the Idu-Koro community, presented a ram to the chief executive officer of Vento Furniture, Hassan Yigit.

“We thank Vento Furniture for bringing joy to our community. We thank Mr Hassan for what he has done for this community. On behalf of the people of this community, please accept this gift of a ram from us.” He stated.

The students put up a cultural display to appreciate Vento Furniture.

Queensland Academy Celebrates Inaugural Hackfest Contest Funmi Ogundare

It was excitement all the way, recently, as Queensland Academy, Lagos, marked the first edition of its Hackfest day celebration, aimed at ensuring that students can explore and deploy technology to solve the basic problems confronting the economy.

The programme had top professionals and major players in the ICT industry across the world in attendance.

The participating schools included; Mater Dei College, Grace Schools, Riverside College, teams from the host school, and others like Canterbury Schools and ST &T Schools, which participated online.

They were presented with problem statements to work on within a specified timeframe.

For two days, contestants battled it out for the ultimate prize.

The Supervising Director of Queensland Academy, Mrs. Folakemi Okunoren, who welcomed participants, commended the bravery of every team and challenged them to bring their creativity to bear.

The visionary, Mr. Jacob Ajala, noted that such an initiative becomes necessary in schools, particularly considering the challenges confronting the various sectors in the country.

The keynote speakers from India, Mr. Viqaruddin Surki of IBM, India, and Professor

Sudeshna Chakraborty of Sharda University, respectively, provided the much-required impetus to ignite invaluable insights in the contestants.

With much at stake in the battle for the ultimate promise, the teams immediately went to their breakout sections for the task at hand.

To ensure proper monitoring and objectivity, each team (both physical and virtual) was assigned a mentor in case of any challenges. For several hours, the teams were busy brainstorming and generating ideas on the problem areas under the watchful eyes of their mentors.

The programme also featured prototyping and storyboarding.

After two days of intense brainstorming, the team from Grace Schools emerged the overall best with a grand prize of N100,000, followed by the team from ST&T Schools with N50,000 and a team from the host school, Queensland Academy, came third with a cash prize of N25,000.

In his remarks, Mr. Ashutosh Srivastava from Amazon told his story of how a similar event was the beginning of his IT journey. The keynote speaker and Chief Executive Officer of Simplex Solution Limited, Mr. Femi Adeniyi, expressed his satisfaction with the participants and encouraged them to see themselves as winners irrespective of the event’s outcome.

AUN Centre to Hold Hybrid Conference on Insecurity, Climate Change

One of the newly constructed toilet blocks

Apollo ‘89 Holds Reunion Party, Plans Scholarship for Students Ake Ayodeji

The 1989 set of Apostolic Church Grammar School, Ketu Lagos, has planned an inclusive scholarship programme and funding for students of the school as its little way of giving back.

Speaking at the recent 2021 reunion held in Lagos, the set Coordinator, Mrs Temitope Adelela, said the general sets are preparing for the 58th reunion founder’s day in January 2022, where scholarship awards and fundraising

are held will be done.

She added that the importance of the reunion is networking, reuniting, and helping one another, and cooperating on how to give back to the school.

“This is our annual end of the year party for us to come together as a set because we call ourselves the unique set of 89. We have also planned the party in preparation for the 58th annual founder’s day coming up in January.

We are trying to raise funds for the school and scholarship

programs.

“The Apostolic Church Grammar school is unique and we have a lot of people doing very well and they graduated from that school and the school is still doing well,” she said.

Similarly, the set Assistant Coordinator, Mr. Jude Okotete, noted the scholarship had been designed for selected students who have done well in their academics.

“It’s a get-together and because of the COVID-19, we couldn’t meet although

we have had several virtual meetings. But we feel there is a need to come together as one family.

“We are planning a meeting in January where some selected students will be honoured. We will honour the distinguished old student. We are working on scholarships and each set will contribute a million naira each for the program...

We will consider the selected best students in the school.

Apart from the school, we also empower ourselves because fingers are not equal,” he said

The Centre for Conflict Analysis, Early Warning and Peacebuilding, at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), will hold an international conference on ‘Environmental Change and Insecurity in the Sahel: The Roles of Civil Society and Local Non-governmental Organisations in Building Resilient Communities’.

It will hold in February 2022.

Given the current constraints of the global pandemic, the conference will be “hybrid” allowing in-person and virtual participation.

The centre is a researchdriven think-tank committed to monitoring, investigating, analysing, and reporting conflict trends, manifestations and mitigation, with the belief that there is a strong body of research across various cases that shows a link between

environmental scarcity (caused by climate change and environmental degradation, dwindling resources, uncontrolled population growth, and social strain) and violent conflicts.

The conference will bring together local and international scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to share their work and expertise on the nexus of environmental change and violent conflicts, particularly in the Sahel.

The centre invited papers that explore the roles of civil society and NGOs in building resilient communities to help mitigate the social impacts of environmental scarcity.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is January 21, 2022. Accepted conference papers will be published in an edited journal.

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022

CITYSTRINGS

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 07010510430

Ugwu Kachi: Bridging the Supply Gap in Domestic Gas Supply Ugwu Samuel Kachi is the founder and CEO of GasPAL Technologies Ltd, a service that connects customers to gas plants in record time. While reminiscing on the initial teething challenges faced, he harped on his goal of being a reliable domestic gas supply company in Nigeria, as well as plans for expansion. Chiamaka Ozulumba brings excerpts:

W

hy did you choose to find a solution for refilling gas- that is why gas and not other fuel products?

Refilling gas was a problem I faced personally and because I pay attention to my personal experience, I work on finding solutions to solving problems I face. I remember one time on a rainy day, my sister was cooking and the gas was finished. She asked me to go refill the cylinder because if she had to wait, the gas plant would come the next day- at most they’ll come several hours later. So I went to refill it, under the rain, carrying a heavy cylinder. It was stressful and I was hungry. I came back and thought about my experience. How can I refill my cylinder without going through stress next time? In my bid to solve my own problem, I saw that I would be solving the problem of millions of people in Nigeria and other African countries.

So, we saw a problem that needed a solution, hence we proceeded to create a solution which we now call “GasPAL”. Now you don’t have to go through stress when you need to refill your cylinder. Simply order the nearest gas supplier to you on the GasPAL app. Our delivery agent will come pick up your cylinder, refill it and deliver it back to your doorstep.

How has the acceptance been so far especially with customers?

People who are tired and do not want to go through the stress of refilling their cylinders have accepted our services. We have repeat customers. In three months of launching into the market, we are currently serving over 3,000 users of the GasPAL app within the Lagos metropolis. Orders have increased from 1 to over 200 monthly.

What would you say has been the major challenge with this innovation?

One challenge in the past was that we formerly relied on gas plants to supply to customers on our app but it didn’t work as planned because most of these plants didn’t have a delivery system in place. Some were too occupied attending to people who were at the plant.

So, we remodeled our business by investing in structuring our own delivery system and since we made this investment, we have experienced growth and now we see a clear road map

L-R: Kachi Samuel, founder; Adeyinka Oluwapelumi, operations manager and Adekunle Abimbola, marketing manager, all of GasPAL on how we can scale and expand our operation to all major states in Nigeria and other African countries like Kenya and Ghana.

Of course, one challenge that comes with scaling and expansion is funding.

With the right amount of funding, we will be able to scale and expand.

Currently, how many gas plants / stations do you partner?

We refill from various gas plants nearest to our customers' locations. We have partnerships with over 30 gas plants on the mainland and the island.

Was it difficult convincing plants to come on board?

It wasn’t difficult getting gas plants onboard. They are in business and they see the value GasPAL brings to them.

Our delivery service increases their sales.

So how does the app work?

The app was designed and developed in a savvy manner, making it easy for anyone to use. For a first time user, you have to download the app from the Google store or App Store, then you register.

Right now, customers get 15 per cent discount on their first order. To order for our delivery agent, all you need to do is input your address and select your cylinder size, then tap on the request supplier button.

At this point, you will be paired with the nearest delivery agent to you and then you can contact him by calling his number. Once your order is confirmed, GasPAL’s delivery agent will come pick up and go refill your cylinder for you.

Customers pay only after the delivery has been completed. The app also shows you what to pay beforehand. So, with the

GasPAL app and our delivery system, people will no longer have to go through the stress of refilling their gas cylinders.

How long did it take to develop the app?

The app was developed during the COVID-19 era. The process of thinking, designing, and developing the apps took a year and it was completed in 2020. In 2021, we remodeled the business and began to deliver to customers ourselves. In 2022, we plan to scale and expand our service nationwide.

What's your long-term vision?

Our long-term vision is to be a more reliable domestic gas supply service company in Nigeria and Africa at large. We envision developing new products to help consumers feel more at ease with relying on cooking gas.

Scaling and expanding to other major states in Nigeria and other African countries is our long-term goal.

Developing Professionals to Deliver Complex Projects The Project Management Institute has said the delivery of focused, practical education is vital in developing professionals if Africa is to excel in The Project Economy, Precious Ugwuzor reports As Africa gets increasingly swept into the tsunami of global digital transformation, it is facing a reality in which technology is accelerating faster than organisations and people. Traditional work patterns are falling away, and an economy driven by projects is ascending, shocking many people with the accelerated pace of change.

As these changes are taking place, Africa is facing a future in which it is expected that the continent will produce some 30 million graduates a year by 2050. Therefore, education, its delivery, and effectiveness will become focal points, says George Asamani, Business Development Leader for Africa at Project Management Institute (PMI).

It is appropriate, he says, that this year the theme for UN’s International Day of Education is ‘Changing Course, Transforming Education.’

One of the areas that Covid-19 heavily impacted and one that is likely to carry longterm consequences is access to education and

the enhancement of skills where the focus is on developing professionals who can deliver complex projects in an increasingly distributed environment. Furthermore, it has also been the dominant force in creating a new work ecosystem in which project management and power skills have become vital.

This has compelled business and society to respond by adopting digital transformation and embracing a projectbased approach to their deliverables.

At the forefront of those that must adapt are institutes of higher learning. With African universities facing challenges on the content and delivery of education in a digital world, transforming education will require partnerships with the likes of PMI, a global non-profit membership association, to help meet a future tide of demand for skills and leadership.

“The emphasis, as identified by

McKinsey and other global authorities, is that 4 out of 5 companies surveyed are looking for people who are leaders, critical thinkers and decision-makers, and value continuous learning. These are the skills espoused by PMI and valuable for those preparing themselves for the competitive workplace,” says Asamani The PMI response has included offering free curricula and resources to universities designed on a ‘faculty by faculty’ basis geared to meeting global accreditation (GAC) standards. The second leg of their academic resources is a research funding project that offers USD50 000 to selected recipients.

Giving a practical slant to their involvement is the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification offered to students to enable them in the project management industry and connect with professionals already active in the sphere.

Projects are already underway with Mount Kenya University in Kenya and the University of Pretoria in South Africa, where PMI global professional volunteers from the US, Mexico, India, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa are mentoring first-year BCom students.

“One of our prime focuses through the PMI Education Foundation and chapter volunteers is providing skills training and mentoring to colleges and universities. It is at these institutions where there has been sustained demand for courses and degree programmes in project management to be offered,” adds Asamani.

“Education, as pointed out by the UN, is a key element required for achieving sustainable development goals. We are proud that our efforts at PMI accord with at least three of these goals and that we are part of the vanguard of organisations taking tangible steps to help Africa achieve the greatness and place in global affairs that it truly deserves.”

39

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022

CRIME&SECURITY

Corruption and Its Damning Consequence for Nigeria Corruption and its consequence for Nigeria was the focus of the recently released 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. In analysing the damning report, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre touched on six weaknesses that made Nigeria to rank 154 out of 180 countries - five places down compared to the 2020 CPI results. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that the recommendations made were targeted at collectively improving Nigeria’s fight against corruption

President Buhari

T

ransparency International (TI) on Tuesday released the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Released exclusively in Nigeria by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the National Chapter of TI, the index reveals that Nigeria scored 24 out of 100 points in the 2021 CPI, falling back one point compared to the 2020 CPI. In the country comparison for this year, Nigeria ranks 154 out of 180 countries - five places down compared to the 2020 CPI results.

Indices To come up with the indices, CPI aggregated data from eight different sources that provide perceptions by country experts and business people on the level of corruption in the public sector.

While the index did not show specific incidences of corruption in the country, it indicated the perception of corruption in Nigeria. According to TI, the index was "completely impartial, objective and globally acknowledged as the most widely used cross-country parameter for measuring corruption.

"This CPI result comes at a point when the Nigeria as a country is battling with rising nation-wide insecurity, high unemployment rate and damning revelations around public finance management by the auditor general and investigative journalists, amongst others."

According to Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), Executive Director CISLAC, while the data used for the CPI is not collected by CISLAC/TI-Nigeria or any of their partners, the data collection was done by independent and reputable organisations with sound methodologies.

"It is important to stress that this is not an assessment of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies who are making commendable efforts in reducing (in the fight against) corruption in Nigeria despite the political interference they face. Rather, the CPI goes beyond the anti-graft agencies.

"In October last year, we received the report of the committee set up by the government in March 2021 to review Nigeria’s rating on the 2020 CPI shortly after CISLAC/TI- Nigeria released the 2020 CPI. "CISLAC/TI-Nigeria sees this move as a good step and would like to call on the government to further examine the weaknesses listed below and consider actions which will tackle systemic corruption and salvage Nigeria’s deteriorating image when it comes to corruption."

Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses Issues in MDAs Accordingly, CISLAC/TI-Nigeria have listed key weaknesses to explain " why Nigeria may not have improved in the fight against corruption. We feel that these areas require immediate improvement for the sake of the well-being of ordinary Nigerians and the economy".

CISLAC ED Citing the first weakness, he said: "The Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses Issues in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)” report for 2019 published by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation in November 2021, have left Nigerians in awe.

"The level of financial recklessness, abuse of budgetary processes, and failure of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in following the due process of appropriation is disturbing. For example, The Auditor General revealed that the sum of N49bn was spent by nine MDAs without appropriation by the National Assembly. This is in gross violation of section 80 (4) of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended).

"Recent revelations made on the 17th of January 2022 by BudgIT on the duplication of projects in the 2022 budget do less to palliate the pandemic corruption currently experienced despite a rising unemployment rate of 33 per cent."

Security Sector Corruption For Musa, the systemic corruption in the Nigeria Police Force has sadly continued unabated and with the police at the frontline of Nigeria’s criminal justice system with enormous powers to investigate and prosecute crimes.

"This weakness" he said, "puts the country in bad light", adding that "as a matter of fact, the police was indicted by the Auditor General’s report on the “Non- Compliance/ Internal Control Weaknesses Issues in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) published in November 2021” and Nigerians are still struggling to understand how 178,459 arms and ammunition were missing from the armoury of the Nigeria Police without trace.

Of this figure, 88, 078 were AK 47 assault rifles and 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols. For context, these arms are enough to arm a force equivalent to about 25 per cent of the current strength of the Nigeria Police at 370,000 which gives an explanation on the level of

insecurity in the country.

Findings from TheCable Index and the Council of Foreign Relations show that 5,067 Nigerians were killed owing to insecurity in 2021, and an average of 14 Nigerians were killed daily.

According to these findings, this shows a 52.3 per cent rise in reported killings when compared to 2020.

In addition to the above, the Auditor General’s report showed that over 17,000 police officers had future dates of employment with hundreds employed before their date of birth.

Failure to Investigate High Profile Corruption Cases, Prevent Illicit Financial Flows Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies have made commendable progress in their efforts to combat corruption in 2021 with an increase in convictions. However, high profile convictions of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) across political, regional and any other form of divide has fallen short of public expectations. While we commend the arrest of cyber criminals and call on the anti-graft agencies to do more, there is a need to investigate high profile political cases including those of individuals who have switched political affiliations. A case in point is the Pandora Papers revelations which is one of the biggest ever corruption leaks led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and over 600 journalists from 117 countries, including Journalists from Nigeria's Premium Times. A close look at the Pandora Papers published in 2021 reveals that Nigeria tops the African continent when looking at the number of those exposed. Following the pattern of two previous leaks (i.e., the Paradise Papers and Panama Papers, which were released in 2016 and 2017, respectively), the Pandora Papers exposes systems and secrecy jurisdictions that enable and abate crime, corruption, and illicit dealings by politicians, billionaires, influential individuals, and their enablers globally.

Since its release on October 3, 2021, Nigerians are yet to see any action or get answers from anti-graft agencies whose work has been made easier by the diligent reporters from Premium Times which highlighted stolen or suspiciously acquired assets to be investigated. With the elections fast approaching, and the response so far, political corruption is expected to be on the rise and anti-graft agencies need to live up to the expectations of Nigerians.

"It would be of immense benefit to public institutions, the government, and Nigerian citizens if these recommendations are implemented accordingly"

Absence of Asset Recovery, Protection of Whistle-blowers, and Other Key Anticorruption Legal Frameworks On this weakness, Musa said: "When it comes to asset recovery, Nigerian anti-graft agencies have made progress in recoveries, specifically those that have been finally forfeited. Sadly, the repeated failure to enact the Proceeds of Crime Act as a legal framework for the management and utilisation of recovered assets in Nigeria which is one of the key pillars of this administration’s anti-corruption strategy is inexplicable!

"While Nigerians read about these recoveries by the numerous agencies with mandates to recover assets, Nigerians are in the dark as to the status of these recoveries. Yet, Nigeria is expected to incur a deficit of about N6 trillion on its 2022 budget. Quick wins like the establishment of a central data base for asset recovery accessible to all citizens is yet to materialise.

"While the government claims to have an asset recovery database, citizens and representatives from the media do not have access to this data base to confirm its content. This data is thus impossible to verify.

"The continuous absence of a Whistle Blower Protection Legislation leaves Nigerian anticorruption agencies deprived of key insider intelligence.

"Formerly known as the Audit Ordinance, the 1956 Audit Act which was enacted before Nigeria’s Independence limits the powers of the Auditor General’s office. Revelations from the Auditor General underscores that Nigeria urgently needs a new audit law more than ever. This law must have the best interest of Nigerians."

Judicial Challenges Harping on the weakness of the judiciary he said there is a need for the Nigerian judiciary to speed up its delivery of judgement.

"The delay in treating high profile cases of corruption dampens the morale of anti-graft agencies. It is also important for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to ensure that judicial officers appointed are competent and qualified.

The NJC should shun nepotism in its appointment of judges and also when it undertakes disciplinary actions against judges."

Corruption in the COVID-19 Response Another weakness he tackled was the COVID-19 Response. Rafsanjani said: "There have been reports of diversion of funds earmarked for Nigeria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet, Nigerians are yet to see any high-profile convictions. Individuals have been alleged to use the pandemic response as a conduit to divert funds. This needs to be addressed."

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

40

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ JANUARY 26, 2022

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Parallex Bank Commences Operation, Promises Innovative Products Oluchi Chibuzor As the latest entrant into the commercial banking sector in Nigeria, Parallex Bank, has promised to redefine the sector with innovative digital products.

This, according to them, would help to redefine the banking landscape in Nigeria and Africa at large, having obtained a license to operate as a regional bank.

Speaking at the unveiling of the bank in Lagos, its chairman, Dr. Adeola Phillips said Parallex Bank was here to make a unique statement about what innovation can do in an industry that is constantly reinventing.

She also said that the bank would operate broadly with a competitive mindset, to disrupt the market and delight customers

with very attractive offers. The goal is to empower the banking public and to drive convenient and efficient commerce through the bank digital platforms.

She added that the Parallex mobile app offers customers the freedom to do much more, noting the app will eliminate inconveniencies and hardships often faced by customers while carrying out transactions.

Speaking, the Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Olufemi Bakre, said the bank’s promise to its customers is to be an enabler of limitless banking.

While also unveiling the bank’s logo, Bakre established that Parallex Bank is the first bank in Nigeria to migrate from a microfinance bank to a commercial bank.

He expressed conviction that Parallex Bank limited would achieve more as the bank partners with customers to explore more business opportunities.

Olufemi stated that the vision of Parallex Bank is to be the preferred financial solution provider redefining customer experience through innovation, while aiming to migrate from regional.

He assured customers of excellent banking products and services stating that the bank offerings are designed to address the yearnings of Nigerians.

With a strong ecosystem anchored around the customer, Bakre informed the guests that the bank has a robust product portfolio that is customer focused, innovative and simple.

Adebise: How Accountants Can Be Relevant in Digital Era The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank Plc, Mr Ademola Adebise, has identified the skills and qualities required by practising accountants to be relevant in the digital age.

Adebise noted that an innovative and creative mindset, knowledge of business models, business process review skills, and data reading skills is imperative for the accountants that will operate in a digital economy that is knowledgebased. Speaking at a virtual forum of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria’s (ICAN) with the theme, “The Role of Accountants in the Digital Age,” in Lagos, he said understanding business models would help the accountant

understand the customer’s business and journey and how to advise him.

Adebise acknowledged that the digital era needs different approaches to doing things differently from the traditional era where accountants did their job manually.

As the business environment rapidly changes with the business requiring adaptation, “the accountant must be able to review business processes and produce effective processes suitable for the new era,” he said. With the emergence of financial technology firms and the evolution of e-commerce, Adebise said, “some of the accounting standards in use today need to be tweaked to accommodate the new

advances in the marketplace,” noting that the technological advancement is faster than what the current accounting standards could cope with.”

He also dismissed the fears that digital transformation would render accountants jobless. Instead, the technology would enhance the job of accountants.

“In the banking industry, for instance, we use robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality to do our job. Robots power most of the customer messaging systems on ATMs. There are software applications in the computer that make the work of the auditor easy, same for accounting solutions which help the accountant do his job, “he explained.

‘Inclusion, SustainabilityVital for Economic Growth in a Post-COVID Era’ Ugo Aliogo

By April this year, more than 3,000 manufacturing professionals and more than 100 exhibiting brands from across the world will gather in Lagos to showcase manufacturing and industrial solutions at the third edition of the Equipment and Manufacturing West Africa Expo (EMWA) 2022.

A statement by the group said the theme of EMWA 2022 which is ‘Rethinking Manufacturing and Value Chains for Inclusion and Sustainability,’ would drive stakeholders’ conversations, especially in a time the Omicron variant is worsening the global supply chain crisis, the organisers noted.

The statement stated that the expo, scheduled to take place

at the Landmark Event Centre, between April, 26-28 also presents the opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their products and gain patronage at a discounted booth rate.

The statement also noted that EMWA is one of the most comprehensive manufacturing, engineering, machinery, equipment, raw materials and service exhibitions in Nigeria, “where international and indigenous market leading manufacturing solution providers with operations in Nigeria converge to network, and share best practices.”

It also serves as a critical platform for participants to upskill their teams, access financing solutions as well as evaluate and procure international

technology, machinery, tools, and spare parts in order to improve manufacturing output and quality.

The Zenith Exhibitions’ Managing Director, Joseph Oru, said the show has built up its reputation as one of the must-attend exhibitions in Nigeria, recording exponential growth in visitors and exhibitors’ year-on-year.

“The third edition of EMWA will continue to create and enhance new and current partnership opportunities that will help companies to improve business excellence and productivity. EMWA remains a highly recommended platform for businesses to establish new partnerships, networking and contracting opportunities,” Oru stated.

GNI Expresses Commitment to Profitable Initiatives Ebere Nwoji Great Nigeria Insurance Plc, (GNI) has expressed its commitment to sustainable initiatives that will enable it perform optimally and maintain profitability track in 2022.

Managing Director of the company, Mrs Cecilia Osipitan, stated this at the annual thanksgiving and praise offering organised by the company at its first working day meeting of the year held at the its head office located in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The Management emphasised on commitment to improved performance for profitability as thrust of discussion at the

meeting.

Also the company’s performance and challenges faced in 2021 formed part of the highlights of the session.

Osipitan, in her New Year address appreciated all members of staff for their staunchness and performance in the past year.

She also urged her colleagues in management cadre to bring to fore an unrelenting commitment and dedication in ensuring that the targets set for 2022 were met and surpassed..

She appealed to them not to relent in their quest of making the GNI Plc brand the most preferred and patronised brand in the insurance industry in

Nigeria. She urged everyone to prioritise accomplishment as the watchword for the organisation’s operations in 2022.

She also announced the result of the half year appraisal exercise which according to her was in tune with the organisation’s resolve to always recognise and reward outstanding performance.

The details of the appraisal exercise showed that sixteen employees were elevated from different cadres of the organisation to higher positions of responsibility while thirteen members of staff received their employment confirmation owing to a satisfactory performance during their probationary period.

L-R: Founder/Chairman, TROM Foundation, C.Y C. Malize; Best Teacher, Chemistry,Chinonso Ebubedike; Retired Permanent Secretary, Enugu State Government, Mrs Bridget Onwude; Ascension Health Morton Grove, Illinois USA, Ms Leticia Warren and Senior Associate, PwC Atlanta USA and Member, STAR Award Advisory Board, Natasha Malize, at the official launch of The Royal Obi Malize (TROM) Foundation and the maiden edition of the Science Teacher Award & Recognition (STAR Awards) event held in Ukpor, Anambra State...recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7

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).

41

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͱʹ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

Stock Market Rebounds as CBN Maintains Status Quo on Rates Kayode Tokede

The stock market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) gained N6 billion, even as Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) maintained status quo on its rates.

Members of the MPC voted unanimously to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 11.5 per cent at its concluded meeting. Similarly, the Committee also voted to retain the Cash

Reserve Requirement (CRR) at 27.5 per cent, liquidity ratio at 30.0 per cent and asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +100bps/-700bps.

Analysts at InvestmentOne Research said: “In our view, we posit that the committee’s decision to leave all key parameters unchanged is reasonable as hiking rates would impede the recovery we have seen in the economy while loosening rates might worsen inflationary pressures

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

and exacerbate capital flows.

“Nonetheless, we posit that we might see an increase in benchmark interest rate when developed economies raise rates.

Furthermore, potential inflationary pressures during the second half of the year may set the stage for a rise in interest rate.”

However, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 11.24 basis points or 0.02 per cent to close at 45,939.51 basis points from 45,928.27 basis points. Similarly, the overall

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

market capitalisation size gained N6 billion to close at N24.755 trillion from N24.749trillion the market opened for trading.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in large and medium capitalised stocks, amongst which are; SEPLAT Energy, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Champion Breweries, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and Red Star Express.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

as 20 stocks gained relative to 15 losers. Courteville Business Solutions recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at 55 kobo, per share. ETI followed with a gain 9.94 per cent to close at N9.95, while Academy Press rose by 9.72 per cent to close at 79 kobo, per share.

Champion Breweries went up by 8.05 per cent to close at N2.55, while Regency Alliance Insurance appreciated by 5.26 per cent to close at 40 kobo, per share. On

O F

2 5

the other hand, C & I Leasing led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N3.78, per share.

Prestige Assurance followed with a decline of 9.80 per cent to close at 46 kobo, while Cornerstone Insurance shed 3.77 per cent to close at 51 kobo, per share.

Mutual Benefits Assurance lost 3.70 per cent to close at 26 kobo, while UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust (UPDC) shed 3.45 per cent to close at N1.12, per share.

/ 1 / 2 0 2 2 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

42

WEDNESDAY, ͺ;˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

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THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

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Ticker

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

1,915.26

0.00%

3.3%

91.5%

15.0%

3.5%

1,155.50

0.0%

36.9%

21.0%

21.0%

14.7%

5.2%

190.00

0.0%

7.9%

-3.6%

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179.2%

14.1%

71.40

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7.2%

6.5%

6.5%

19.1%

11.2%

25.50

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6.4%

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24.8%

3.9%

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^ W> d ;нϭ͘ϯйͿ͘ dƌĂŝůŝŶŐ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƌŽƐĞ

േϮϯ͘ϰďŶ ƚŽ േϮϬ͘ϲƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ

Ϭ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϭй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ŐĂŝŶƐ ŝŶ d/ ;нϵ͘ϵйͿ͕ h

ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ďLJ Ϯϭ͘ϲй ƚŽ ϭϭϬ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ ǀĂůƵĞ ;нϬ͘ϲйͿ͕ , DW/KE ;нϴ͘ϭйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ,KEz&>KhZ ;нϭ͘ϱйͿ͘ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ϴϴ͘ϱй ƚŽ േϯ͘ϭďŶ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĚŝƉƉĞĚ Ϭ͘ϵй ĂŶĚ ϯďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐͲ ƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ǁĞƌĞ dZ E^ KZW ƐĞůů ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞ ŽŶ KZE ^d ;Ͳϰ͘ϬйͿ͕ ,/W> ;Ͳϯ͘ϭйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ;ϭϭ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ & E, ;ϭϭ͘ϭŵ

ĞĂƌŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ Ϭ͘ϭdž ĨƌŽŵ ͲϬ͘Ϯdž ĂƐ ϮϬ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ͕ ϭϱ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ϳϳ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ tĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ƚŽ ďĞ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŽĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ

ĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ

ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ͘

ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ĂƐ ϰ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ůŽƐƚ͕ ϭ ŝŶĚĞdž ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ &ZͲ/ d

ŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŽƉƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ ĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵͲ

ŽƌƉŽƌĂƚĞ ŝƐĐůŽƐƵƌĞ

Ğƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϰ͘ϲй ĂŶĚ

zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕ ZĂLJƐƵŶ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ >ŝŵŝƚĞĚ ŶŽƟĮĞĚ ƐŚĂƌĞŚŽůĚĞƌƐ ŽĨ ŚĂŵƉŝŽŶ

ϭ͘Ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŽĮƚͲƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E ^d> ;Ͳ

ƌĞǁĞƌŝĞƐ W> ǁŚŽ ǁŝƐŚ ƚŽ ƚĞŶĚĞƌ ƐŽŵĞ Žƌ Ăůů ŽĨ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƐŚĂƌĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ

ϵ͘ϭйͿ͕ hE/> s Z ;Ͳϯ͘ϱйͿ͕ >/E< ^^hZ ;Ͳϲ͘ϰйͿ͕ dĂŬĞŽǀĞƌ ŽīĞƌ ƚŽ ĞdžĞĐƵƚĞ ƚŚĞ ĐĐĞƉƚĂŶĐĞ ĨŽƌŵ ŶŽƚ ůĂƚĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ ϯϭ :ĂŶƵͲ

ŽīƐ ŝŶ K E K ;ͲϬ͘ϴйͿ͕ E/d, ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ͘

0.8x

5.4%

ot Applicable

1.6%

16.5%

13.7x

20.8x

5.5%

7.3%

34.3x

6.5x

3.9x

1.0x

11.8%

25.9%

2.9%

-0.8%

6.0%

1.0%

1.0%

20.9%

2.8%

3.4x

0.7x

11.8%

29.0%

0.0%

4.9%

10.9%

10.9%

40.4%

16.7%

14.2x

5.5x

5.9%

7.1%

1,435.00

0.0%

3.2%

-7.8%

-7.8%

106.8%

15.6%

27.8x

32.8x

4.3%

3.6%

11.70

-0.8%

3.5%

2.6%

2.6%

8.4%

0.8%

6.9x

0.6x

3.8%

14.5%

-0.4%

3.5%

5.6%

5.6%

11.6%

8.4%

9.5x

1.1x

4.0%

10.6%

-1.0%

2.8%

3.8%

3.8%

17.0%

1.4%

2.7x

0.4x

8.8%

36.9%

8.15

0.6%

2.2%

1.2%

1.2%

19.5%

1.8%

2.0x

0.4x

6.7%

48.8%

12 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC 13 Nigerian Brew eries PLC

35.90

0.0%

1.6%

-0.3%

-0.3%

15.4%

2.0%

8.3x

1.3x

11.4%

12.1%

47.30

0.0%

1.5%

-5.4%

-5.4%

5.3%

1.9%

43.6x

2.3x

2.3%

2.3%

14 SEPLAT Energy PLC 15 Ecobank Transnational Inc

790.00

1.3%

1.9%

21.5%

21.5%

3.4%

1.9%

18.1x

0.7x

5.2%

5.5%

9.95

9.9%

1.5%

14.4%

14.4%

14.8%

0.9%

2.7x

0.4x

36.7%

5.00

0.0%

1.1%

1.0%

1.0%

-10.3%

-3.9%

0.9x

-11.4%

142.00

0.0%

1.1%

0.0%

0.0%

38.8%

25.2%

9.7x

3.4x

5.3%

10.3%

28.60

0.0%

1.0%

0.9%

0.9%

16.4%

5.1%

4.4x

0.7x

5.8%

22.7%

2.70

0.4%

0.7%

5.9%

5.9%

12.0%

1.1%

2.4x

0.3x

8.1%

41.9%

2.36

0.0%

0.6%

1.7%

1.7%

9.7%

3.0%

6.3x

0.7x

9.3%

15.8%

17.75

0.0%

0.5%

2.0%

2.0%

15.3%

6.3%

11.6x

1.7x

8.6%

8.6%

3.00

0.0%

0.4%

0.3%

0.3%

10.0%

1.0%

0.3x

5.0%

16 International Brew eries PLC 17 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

22 FCMB Group Plc 23 United Capital PLC 24 Guinness Nigeria PLC 25 Transnational Corp of Nigeria 26 NEM Insurance PLC 27 Presco PLC

10.75

-1.4%

0.4%

8.6%

8.6%

2.4x

6.4%

42.50

0.0%

0.4%

9.0%

9.0%

8.1%

3.8%

15.1x

1.2x

1.1%

6.6%

1.07

-0.9%

0.4%

11.5%

11.5%

11.1%

2.3%

5.7x

0.6x

0.9%

17.6%

35.6%

18.5%

3.5x

0.9x

5.1%

28.7%

2.1x

1.1% 3.1%

3.50

0.0%

0.2%

-22.2%

-22.2%

87.80

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

0.0%

28 NASCON Allied Industries PLC 29 AIICO Insurance PLC

13.10

0.0%

0.3%

-0.8%

-0.8%

21.3%

6.9%

12.3x

2.5x

0.80

0.0%

0.3%

14.3%

14.3%

7.2%

1.1%

444.4x

0.8x

30 TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeri 31 Custodian and Allied Insurance

221.90

0.0%

0.2%

0.0%

0.0%

46.2%

9.3%

5.0x

2.0x

1.8%

19.8%

7.10

0.7%

0.2%

-10.1%

-10.1%

24.7%

7.5%

3.5x

0.8x

7.7%

28.6%

32 Vitafoam Nigeria PLC 33 Unilever Nigeria PLC

22.20

0.0%

0.2%

-1.3%

-1.3%

36.8%

14.7%

6.4x

2.2x

6.8%

15.6%

13.05

0.0%

0.2%

-10.0%

-10.0%

-1.3%

-0.8%

34 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC 35 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

22.80

0.0%

0.2%

2.0%

2.0%

20.7%

2.5%

4.0x

0.7x

1.7%

25.2%

5.90

0.9%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

7.1%

0.8%

6.7x

0.7x

4.2%

15.0%

4.75

0.0%

0.0%

7.5%

7.5%

14.5%

2.6%

2.0x

0.3x

0.85

1.2%

0.1%

18.1%

18.1%

13.7%

0.8%

4.0x

0.5x

4.8%

1.60

-0.6%

0.1%

6.0%

6.0%

10.1%

0.9%

3.5x

0.3x

3.1%

62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-41.3%

-9.2%

5.38

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

38 Sterling Bank PLC 39 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd 40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

ŶĂƌLJ ƐŚĂƌĞƐ ŽĨ ŚĂŵƉŝŽŶ ƌĞǁĞƌŝĞƐ W> ;ϭϱ͘ϯйͿ Ăƚ േϮ͘ϲϬ ƉĞƌ ƐŚĂƌĞ͘ ŝŶŐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĨĞůů ďLJ Ϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ ϮďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůůͲ

5.2x

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

25.40

36 Oando PLC 37 Wema Bank PLC

ĂƌLJ ϮϬϮϮ ŝŶ ŽƌĚĞƌ ƚŽ ƉĂƌƟĐŝƉĂƚĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŽīĞƌ ŽĨ ƵƉ ƚŽ ϭ͕ϭϵϲ͕ϭϵϵ͕ϭϲϰ ŽƌĚŝͲ ĂŶĚ D E^ Z ;ͲϮ͘ϮйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬͲ

P/BV

9.65

E' D ;േϭϰϱ͘ϬŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;േϭϯϰ͘ϴŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ

P/E

25.30

20 AXA Mansard Insurance PLC 21 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

ROA

10 Access Bank PLC 11 United Bank for Africa PLC

ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ K E K ;ϳ͘ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ E ^d> ;േϮ͘ϮďŶͿ͕

KƵƚůŽŽŬ

ROE

284.90

8 FBN Holdings Plc 9 Lafarge Africa PLC

18 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC 19 Fidelity Bank PLC

t W K ;ͲϬ͘ϰйͿ͘

1 Airtel Africa PLC 2 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC 3 BUA Cement Plc 4 Guaranty Trust Holding Co PLC 5 Zenith Bank PLC

ƐƚĞƌĞĚ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůůͲ DŝdžĞĚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ

Price Change Index to Date

Current Price

DĂĐƌŽĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĐ hƉĚĂƚĞ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶͲ

8.1% 0.2%

1.2x

-1.2%

48.9%

2.3x

24.9% 28.8% -20.3%

0.9x T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

T o p 10 G a in e r s

dŚĞ E ŵŽŶĞƚĂƌLJ ƉŽůŝĐLJ ĐŽŵŵŝƩĞĞ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĞŶĚ ŽĨ ŝƚƐ ϮϴϯƌĚ ŵĞĞƟŶŐ

Ğƌ͕

ƵƉ

ϭ͘ϴй

ĚƌŝǀĞŶ

ďLJ

ƉƌŝĐĞ

ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂͲ

ƟŽŶ ŝŶ E' D ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ͘

>Z͗ ϯϬ͘Ϭй͖ ĂƐLJŵŵĞƚƌŝĐ ĐŽƌƌŝĚŽƌ͗ нϭϬϬͬͲϳϬϬďƉƐ͘

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ͕ ƐĞƩůŝŶŐ Ăƚ ϭ͘ϲdž ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϯdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ Ϯϰ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Vo lum e

C OUR T VILLE

0.55

10.0%

GT C O

24.5

-0.6%

ET I

9.95

9.9%

C OUR T VILLE

21.4

10.0%

A C A D EM Y

0.79

9.7%

T R A N SC OR P

20.4

-0.9%

C H A M P ION

2.55

8.1%

Z EN IT H B A N K

17.3

-0.8%

R EGA LIN S

0.40

5.3%

CHA M S

16.6

5.0%

J A P A ULGOLD

0.41

5.1%

A C C ESS

14.9

-1.0%

T ic k er

LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ ƌĞƚĂŝŶĞĚ Ăůů ƉŽůŝĐLJ ƉĂƌĂŵĞƚĞƌƐ Ͳ DWZ͗ ϭϭ͘ϱй͖ ZZ͗ Ϯϳ͘ϱй͖ ĂŶĚ

P ric e C hg %

CHA M S

0.21

5.0%

J A IZ B A N K

12.0

0.0%

SOVR EN IN S

0.24

4.3%

F ID ELIT YB K

11.1

0.4%

R ED ST A R EX

3.50

2.9%

WEM A B A N K

9.3

1.2%

F T N C OC OA

0.37

2.8%

R EGA LIN S

7.3

5.3%

ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ϭϱ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ DZ^ ;нϵ͘ϵйͿ͕ D zͲ T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

T o p 10 L o s e r s

< Z ;нϵ͘ϴйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ,KEz&>KhZ ;нϵ͘ϴйͿ ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ T ic k er

ǁŚŝůĞ dZ E^ ;Ͳϴ͘ϯйͿ͕ > ^ K ;Ͳϲ͘ϳйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ >/s Ͳ ^dK < ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ ůĞĚ ůŽƐĞƌƐ͘ WƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ĚĂLJ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƌĞŵĂŝŶ ŵŝdžĞĚ͕ ĂƐ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƐĞĂƐŽŶ ŐƌĂĚƵĂůůLJ ǁŝŶĚƐ ƵƉ͘

Value

SEP LA T

963.4

1.3%

-9.8%

GT C O

625.3

-0.6%

-3.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

440.5

-0.8%

-3.7%

M TNN

439.7

0.0%

1.12

-3.4%

NB

293.0

0.0%

0.62

-3.1%

A C C ESS

145.5

-1.0%

10.75

-1.4%

WA P C O

56.7

-0.4%

1.90

-1.0%

ET I

43.5

9.9%

42.2

-0.8%

37.6

0.6%

P ric e C hg %

3.78

-10.0%

P R EST IGE

0.46

C OR N ER ST

0.51

M B EN EF IT UP D C C H IP LC UC A P N EIM ET H

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

T ic k er

P ric e

C ILEA SIN G

0.26

A C C ESS

9.65

-1.0%

FB NH

T R A N SC OR P

1.07

-0.9%

UB A

Brokerage

Asset Management

P ric e C hg %

Investment Research

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com Taiwo Ogundipe | togundipe@afrinvest.com

Christopher Omoh | comoh@afrinvest.com

Damilare Asimiyu| dasimiyu@afrinvest.com

43

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 • T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS 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

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 24Jan-2022, unless otherwise stated.

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 169.21 172.01 1.61% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 3.40% Nigeria International Debt Fund 322.39 322.39 3.40% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 100.40 101.55 -0.59% 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 9.73% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.42 3.48 -3.32% 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 7.34% Anchoria Equity Fund 140.93 142.70 0.95% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.16 1.16 2.03% info@anchoriaam.com 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 20.67 21.29 1.88% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 463.82 477.81 2.81% ARM Ethical Fund 39.55 40.74 1.52% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.07 1.08 -0.72% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.01 1.02 0.22% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.40% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com; Tel: 08069294653 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 108.4 108.4 0.43% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,075.10 1,075.10 0.70% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.06 2.06 7.11% Capital Express Balanced Fund (Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.24 2.28 37.41% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.05 1.05 0.66% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 10.02% Paramount Equity Fund 17.93 18.28 6.63% Women's Investment Fund 142.41 144.11 2.44% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.07% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.28 1.29 2.33% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.42 1.42 -0.55% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 7.46% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 7.97% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,151.32 1,153.69 -1.59% assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-asset-management-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.70% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.01 1.01 -0.77% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.02 1.02 -8.79% Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 104.86 104.86 0.24% 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 1,404.54 FBN Bond Fund 1,404.54 11.10% 176.91 FBN Balanced Fund 178.14 0.94% 116.40 FBN Halal Fund 116.40 9.16% 100.00 FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 8.91% FBN Dollar Fund (Retail) FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Money Market Fund Legacy Debt Fund Legacy Equity Fund Legacy USD Bond Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Balanced Fund Coral Income Fund Coral Money Market Fund

122.54 150.70

122.54 3.80% 152.50 0.34% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price 1.00 3.99 1.78 1.21

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.00 7.68% 3.99 -0.36% 1.81 2.13% 1.21 0.29% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price N/A N/A N/A

Offer Price N/A N/A N/A

Yield / T-Rtn 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 8.41% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.89 2.96 1.36% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 142.03 142.08 -8.73% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.27 1.32 1.23% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.07 1.07 4.05% 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 1.55 1.57 2.63% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,144.39 1,144.39 0.68% 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 12.08 12.20 2.59% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 10.05% NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 100.48 100.49 8.11% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 8.55% 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 1.59 1.61 PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.70 11.68 4.45% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 7.51% PACAM Equity Fund 1.46 1.48 1.38% PACAM EuroBond Fund 114.46 116.76 -0.72% 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 129.33 131.76 6.73% 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 1.08 1.08 10.03% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Equity Fund 0.9407 0.9653 1.30% United Capital Balanced Fund 1.37 1.3923 0.64% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.12 1.1347 2.74% United Capital Sukuk Fund 1.08 1.08 0.50% United Capital Fixed Income Fund 1.97 1.9655 0.44% United Capital Eurobond Fund 122.75 122.75 0.34% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.88% 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 Balanced Strategy Fund 13.28 14.40 4.49% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 14.91 15.07 2.06% Zenith Income Fund 24.93 24.93 0.21% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.18%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.98 54.65

10.62% 8.10%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

14.03 130.70 103.60 18.91 21.85

14.13 133.97 105.87 19.01 21.95

0.44% -0.69% -0.02% 0.00% 0.00%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund MERGROWTH ETF MERVALUE ETF

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.12 5.58 18.18 1.00 21.68 159.78

4.22 5.68 18.38 1.00 21.88 161.78

9.51% 9.57% 5.76% 7.92% 11.75% 1.27%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.28

10.80%

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.

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FOREIGN DESK

COMPILED BY BAYO AKINLOYE

US: Economic Sanctions against Russia Will Be Worse Than in 2014 The United States warned Russia Tuesday that it would face faster and far more severe economic consequences if it invades Ukraine than it did when Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

“We are prepared to implement sanctions with massive consequences that were not considered in 2014,” a national security official told reporters in Washington. “That means the gradualism of the past is out.

And this time, we’ll start at the top of the escalation ladder and stay there.”

The official, speaking anonymously, said the US is “also prepared to impose novel export controls” to hobble the Russian economy.

“You can think of these export controls as trade restrictions in the service of broader US national security interests,” the official said.

“We use them to prohibit the export of products from Russia,” the official said.

UK Police Investigating Lockdown Parties at Boris Johnson’s Office London police said Tuesday they were investigating Downing Street lockdown parties in 2020 to determine if UK government officials violated coronavirus restrictions, putting further pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Metropolitan Police Service has launched an inquiry into “a number of events” at Downing Street because they met the force’s criteria for investigating the “most serious and flagrant” breaches of COVID-19 rules, Commissioner Cressida Dick told the London Assembly, the capital’s local government council.

Johnson is facing calls to resign amid revelations that he and his staff attended a series of parties during the spring and winter of 2020 when most social gatherings were banned throughout England. The gatherings are already being investigated by a senior civil servant Sue Gray whose report, expected this week, will be crucial in determining whether Johnson can remain in power.

The Cabinet Office said Gray’s investigation would continue. But it wasn’t immediately clear whether Gray would have to delay the announcement of her findings because of the police investigation.

Slovenian Trade Group Reports Chinese Backlash After PM Praises Taiwan A Slovenian business group has said its members are facing a Chinese backlash days after Prime Minister Janez Jansa publicly discussed his hopes for closer ties with Taiwan during an interview. It marks the latest case of China refusing to tolerate dissent on the issue of Taiwan’s autonomy.

On January 17, Jansa told Indian media that he hoped Taiwan and Slovenia could open mutual representative offices. He also praised Taiwan’s COVID-19 response and said Taiwan should independently determine its relationship with China.

Opening offices in Taiwan would bring Slovenia in line with the rest of the European Union.

Swift criticism against Jansa came from the Chinese government describing his remarks as “dangerous.” China considers Taiwan a province and treats any discussion of its disputed political status as taboo.

Moreover, within days of the interview, the Slovenian-Chinese Business Council said Chinese partners were already “terminating contracts and exiting the agreed investments,” according to the Slovenian Press Agency.

The statement has also drawn fire from Slovenia’s opposition and businesses with links to China.

Business groups in Slovenia fear they

could suffer the same fate as Lithuania, which is now under a Chinese trade embargo in retaliation for pursuing closer ties with Taiwan, Istenic said.

Report: Anti-corruption Fight Stalled, COVID-19 Not Helping Most countries have made little to no progress in bringing down corruption levels over the past decade, and authorities’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic in many places has weighed on accountability, a closely watched study by an anti-graft organization found Tuesday.

Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures the perception of public sector corruption according to experts and business people, found that “increasingly, rights and checks and balances are being undermined not only in countries with systemic corruption and weak institutions but also among established democracies.”

Among other issues over the past year, it cited the use of Pegasus software, which has been linked to snooping on human rights activists, journalists and politicians across the globe.

The report ranks countries on a scale from a “highly corrupt” 0 to a “very clean” 100. Denmark, New Zealand and Finland tied for first place with 88 points each; the first two were unchanged, while Finland gained three points. Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany completed the top 10. The UK was 11th with 78.

Iran Jails French Citizen 8 Years for Spying On Tuesday, an Iranian court sentenced French national Benjamin Briere to eight years in prison over spying charges, his Paris-based lawyer said, describing the trial as a politically motivated sham and his client as a “bargaining chip”.

Briere, 36, has been held in Iran since May 2020, when he was arrested after flying a helicam - a remote-controlled mini helicopter used to obtain aerial or motion images - in the desert near the Turkmenistan-Iran border.

The ruling comes at a sensitive time as the United States and European parties to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal try to restore the pact abandoned in 2018 by then-US President Donald Trump.

“It is unacceptable that Benjamin Briere remains a hostage to negotiations

on the part of a regime that persists in its desire to arbitrarily detain a French citizen and use him as a bargaining chip,” lawyer Philippe Valent said in a statement.

France has been seen as tougher in nuclear negotiations with Iran than some of the other parties to the deal.

Briere, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, was given an additional eight-month sentence for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” Valent said.

Briere would appeal the ruling, said Saeid Dehghan, one of his Iranian lawyers. His client had been shocked by the sentence.

Husband Says Iran Sentenced Activist Wife to Prison, Lashes Iran has sentenced a prominent human rights activist to more than eight years in prison, according to her husband.

Paris-based Taghi Rahmani tweeted on Sunday that his wife, Narges Mohammadi, was tried in five minutes and sentenced to prison and 70 lashes. He has said she is prohibited from communicating and has no access to lawyers. Last week, she was sent to Gharchak prison near Tehran.

Authorities arrested Mohammadi in November after she attended a memorial for a victim of violent 2019 protests. Rahmani said, in December, his wife stood accused of “spying for Saudi Arabia.”

Mohammadi has a long history of imprisonment, harsh sentences and international calls for reviews of her case.

In May, the European Union called on Iran to reconsider her sentence of 30 months in prison and 80 lashes on charges of protesting the killing of protesters during the country’s 2019 unrest.

A spokesperson for the bloc urged Iran to look into Mohammadi’s case under “applicable international human rights law and taking into account her deteriorating health condition.” Mohammadi confirmed her sentence at the time in an Instagram post, saying she does not “accept any of these sentences.”

Korea Fires Two More Missiles North Korea launched a pair of cruise missiles early Tuesday, according to South Korea’s military,

Pyongyang’s fifth missile test of the new year.

The missiles were fired from an inland area and landed in the sea off Korea’s east coast, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korea’s military confirmed the launch in a message to VOA, saying authorities are still conducting a detailed analysis.

So far this year, North Korea has fired eight missiles during five separate launch events. Last week, North Korea also threatened to resume long-range missile and nuclear tests.

North Korea is prohibited from any ballistic missile activity, including launches of any range, by a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The resolutions, however, do not prohibit cruise missile tests.

North Korea has recently expressed displeasure with what it calls the “hostile policy” of the United States. Particularly, it has taken issue with U.S.-South Korea military cooperation.

The United States has about 28,000 troops in South Korea — a remnant of the 1950s Korean War, which ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

Football Matches at Cameroon Stadium Suspended After Deadly Crush The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has suspended matches of the Africa Football Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament at Yaounde’s Olembe Stadium after eight people were killed and scores injured in a stampede.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe announced the suspension of matches at the stadium at a press conference Tuesday in Cameroon’s capital.

Before the deadly stampede at the Olembe Stadium Monday night, Motsepe said many irregularities were observed with the organization of the match between Cameroon and Comoros.

He noted the stadium received thousands more fans than the CAF had authorised.

The CAF had authorised the stadium to receive a maximum of 40,000 fans in the 60,000 seat stadium for matches of Africa’s top soccer tournament, the Africa Football Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Severe Snowstorm in Greece Grows into Political Crisis A severe snowstorm battering Greece is growing into a political crisis, with the main opposition leader calling on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to resign and hold snap elections.

The call came after thousands of people were left trapped along a main highway near Athens. The Greek government’s response to the storm is being called a “fiasco.”

Heart-wrenching appeals, like one by Christos, a 74-year-old motorist trapped in his car for 22 hours, have triggered public and political fury.

Rescue crews working through the night have so far managed to evacuate some 3,500 drivers on a key motorway that homeland security forces promised ahead of the storm to keep open but did not.

Fifteen passengers were injured when a rail transport vehicle tried to pull a train carrying more than 200 passengers in heavy snow on Monday. Much of the capital has also been left without heat and electricity, sending hundreds of families streaming to their cars to keep warm as temperatures dip below freezing.

On Tuesday, Christos Stylianides, Greece’s climate crisis and civil protection minister, apologised, but he said it was not the time to enter into a blame game.

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NEWS

SPECIAL AGRO-INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING ZONES...

L-R: Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; African Development Bank President, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina; Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, during the governors' meeting with Adesina on the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme in Cote d'Ivoire...yesterday

Afenifere: Restructuring Nigeria Before 2023 Polls Achievable James Sowole in Abeokuta

A Pan-Yoruba Socio-Political Organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, reiterated its call for restructuring of Nigeria, saying it was convinced that restructuring the country was possible before the 2023 general election.

According to the group, one of the things that had been a cog in the wheel of Nigeria's progress was the rubbishing of true federalism.

Afenifere maintained this position in a communique issued at the end of its first Annual General Meeting

in 2022, held at the country home of its Acting Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, in Isanya Ogbo, Ogun State and signed by its Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi.

The communique stated that, true federalism must be allowed to be effectively operational, saying, "In other words, states and local government councils must be allowed to enjoy self-governance as provided for them in the Constitution.

"Afenifere is convinced that restructuring of the Nigerian state before the 2023 general election is achievable. It is achievable through

the adoption of the reports of the 2014 National Conference and the 2018 Mallam El-Rufai Committee of the APC on True Federalism with desirable modifications where necessary.

"Before and after independence, various efforts have been made to have a country, Nigeria, that everyone would be proud of. A country in which every one lives a happy life and there is life more abundant for all.

"Afenifere, however, has no doubt whatsoever that the country can never get out of its present logjam,

let alone, develop, unless there is restructuring."

Deliberating on the security situation in the country, Afenifere said the performance of Amotekun Security Network in the South West in conjunction with the Nigerian Police, has shown clearly that all the criticisms against state police were unfounded and self-serving.

It stated further: "In recent times, we have consistently expressed concern on the situation of insecurity in Nigeria today. We have also always recommended what we consider as the ways out of the

unprecedented security challenges facing us.

"In this respect, we strongly call on the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the introduction of state police equipped with requisite means to enhance security in the states and that of the federation, ultimately."

Describing Sunday Adeyemo Igboho as a Prisoner of Conscience, Afenifere called on all men and women of conscience, particularly, the international community to which human rights and freedom

were abiding faith, to prevail on the governments of Nigeria and Benin Republic to release Sunday Igboho forthwith.

It stated that, not only should Adeyemo be released, the federal government should also pay Sunday Igboho the damages awarded him by the court following the savage attack on his person and property.

In the same breath, Afenifere called on the federal government to release Nnamdi Kanu even if on political consideration as happened in the case of Asari Dokubo under then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

morning virtually to consider the new position of the government."

Wabba said going forward, labour would continue to engage with the government on the very critical issues of ensuring local refining of petroleum, creation of sustainable jobs and affordable price of petrol for Nigerian workers and people.

When asked about the steps labour would take to ensure that federal government does not renege on its pledge to shelve the policy on removal of fuel subsidy, Wabba said organised labour has a traditional of holding authorities accountable to their words, adding that NLC and its allies would use all instruments available to them to ensure that no policy measure that is injurious to workers and their families is allowed to go unchallenged.

consider doing all that is possible not to truncate the implementation of the PIA 2021, which has already brought so much hope for industry watchers as a big game-changer for the oil and gas sector.

“There is a need for stakeholders' consultations on addressing the implications of lapsed provisions of the Act and forging the way ahead towards the full implementation of the PIA.” Almona pointed out that the major implication of the suspension was that it would increase the 2022 national budget’s deficit by N1.5 trillion and constrain the federal government to borrow more than it has projected within the fiscal year.

She said: “With a monthly payment of about N250 billion to subsidise fuel consumption, the implication is that an additional N1.5 trillion expenditure has to be provided for in the 2022 federal budget.

“With additional expenditure against the projected revenue, deficit financing will be needed to support the budget expenditure. We are likely to see government borrow more than projected to finance the bloated expenditure in the face of revenue mobilization challenge.”

The LCCI stated that while it supported the full implementation of the PIA and the total deregulation of the oil and gas sector, “we are not insensitive to the plight of the masses that may feel the pains of some of the provisions like the removal of fuel subsidies.”

not surprised by the development.

It said: “We acknowledge government's dilemma and difficulties for an enduring solution to the issue of removal of petroleum subsidy especially the prices of PMS. This decision to move the date and suspend subsidy removal beyond June is therefore not surprising. It appears as kicking the can down the road again. It is a welcome development.

“On one hand is the issue of problem of relieving itself of the onerous burden of a burgeoning petrol subsidy. On the other hand, is how to come up with commensurate benefits to cushion the effect of removal of subsidy on the people or economy at large.”

The Director General of NACCIMA, Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, said yesterday that, “it is absolutely necessary to consider a practical and acceptable implementation plan in the quest to gradually weaning the public off petrol subsidy and cushion the impact with appropriate palliatives.

“This can only be done in consultation with organised labour and other stakeholders including the private sector. Such an implementation plan must take into account appropriate timing aligned with the MTEF of government, as well as other concerns related to security.

“It is equally important that all efforts must be made not to overheat the polity either by commission or omission especially as we move ahead to an election year. We need a peaceful Nigeria for businesses to thrive, and attract foreign investment. The decision to temporise on subsidy removal, such as contemplated by government, deserves support and we hope this step will give the required time for extensive and wide consultation.”

BUHARI DEFERS SUBSIDY REMOVAL TO INCOMING GOVERNMENT (NNPC) showed that between January and December 2021, the federal government spent over N1.43 trillion on what it terms under-recovery on petrol.

A breakdown of the various payments last year, indicated that the subsidy burden has increased progressively, growing from N24.3 billion in February 2021, to N60.3 billion in March and N61.9 billion in April this year.

Furthermore, in May, the NNPC removed N126 billion as subsidy, while June came next with N164.3 billion. In July, the analysis showed that N103.2 billion was spent on under-recovery.

Hitherto, August had last year’s lion’s share of N173.1 billion, but was overtaken by the deduction in November of N200 billion, while September’s deduction stood at N149.28 billion and the October figure was N163.709 billion, before the highest deductible amount yet of N270 billion in December.

Nigeria has not been able to reap the full benefits of rising international oil prices, which is now about $88 per barrel because it doesn’t refine a drop of the fuel it consumes locally.

“Our refineries, the Port Harcourt refinery, is expected to be performing at a certain capacity, not full capacity by the end of this year.

There are some modular refineries that are also going to come on stream later this year,” Sylva stated.

IMF Urges Nigeria to Remove Subsidy, Channel Funds to Health, Social Devt

The IMF has stressed the need for Nigeria to remove petrol subsidy and channel such funds to the health and social development sectors.

The Washington-based institu-

tion gave the advice in response to a THISDAY question during a media briefing on its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO).

The IMF however left its 2022 economic growth projection for Nigeria at 2.7 per cent, but raised the country’s 2023 growth projection from 2.6 per cent to 2.7 per cent, which represented a 0.1 percentage points increase.

The Division Chief, Research Department, IMF, Mr. Malhar Nabar, said: “In terms of subsidy, we have for long not just for Nigeria, but for many low-income countries that have these programme of subsidy schemes in place, called for scaling back of poorly targeted subsidies to create fiscal space that can then be repurposed for meeting vital health and social spending needs.

That recommendation applies in the case of Nigeria.”

Speaking on Nigeria’s growth projection, he said: “We have an unchanged growth projection for Nigeria for 2022 and this reflects offsetting effects that we had a slightly stronger outcome in the second half of last year, especially in the non-oil sector and this this momentum is expected to continue into 2022.

“But now with the external headwinds with the impacts of Omicron, we do expect some drag going forward which will counterbalance a strong momentum going into this year.”

Furthermore, he noted that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio was low which if properly harnessed could put the country on a path to sustainable recovery.

Nabar added: “In terms of the debt situation, among low-income countries, Nigeria in terms of its public debt to GDP ratio, is actually relatively on the low side compared to other low-income countries.

“So, going forward, that is certainly providing a little bit more space to provide the needed support for combating the health emergency and also putting Nigeria on the path to a sustainable recovery."

NLC: Why We Suspended Protest

The labour movement said it's decision to suspend the protest was based on the policy reversal by the government which was formally communicated to it on Monday.

Addressing journalists shortly after a virtual National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the NLC yesterday, its President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba said: "NEC after vigorous debates took a decision to suspend the planned nationwide protest scheduled for 27" January 2022 and the national protest scheduled for 2" February 2022."

He said NEC met Tuesday morning virtually to consider the new position of the government and that at the end of the meeting, it resolved to suspend the protest and to direct the state chapters and all affiliates to discontinue mobilisation for the protest.

He said: "At the peak of very rigorous mobilisation of Nigerians by the NLC and a host of her civil society allies, the government through the Minister of Finance yesterday, 24" January 2022 made a public announcement reversing the plans to increase petrol pump price.

“The position of the government was also officially communicated to the Congress with calls for further engagement. Following the reversal and reapproach by government, the National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress met this

LCCI Calls for Phased Removal of Fuel Subsidy

The LCCI urged the government to do all it could to avoid truncating the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which it said has suffered a flip-flop as some of its provisions are being suspended.

The Director General of the LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona, who expressed the chamber’s reaction yesterday in a statement titled: “LCCI Statement on the Suspension of Fuel Subsidy Removal,” said: “In the face of this dilemma, we recommend that the removal is phased and with a complement of heavy investment in critical infrastructure that supports production in the economy.

More production means more job creation, poverty reduction, and improved economic growth.

“The federal government must

NACCIMA Calls for Wider Consultation

NACCIMA has described the federal government’s suspension of the implementation of fuel subsidy removal as a welcomed development, adding that it was

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NEWS

AYOKUNLE'S 65TH BIRTHDAY AND RETIREMENT THANKSGIVING...

L-R: Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde; President Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Supo Ayokunle and his wife, Deborah, during Ayokunle's 65th birthday and retirement thanksgiving as Baptist Pastor held at Oritamefa Baptist Church, Ibadan, Oyo State ...recently

ECOWAS, UN, US, France Condemn Military Takeover in Burkina Faso Michael Olugbode in Abuja The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United Nations, the United States of America and France have all condemned the coup d’etat in Burkina Faso, describing it as a step backward.

ECOWAS in two separate statements on the military takeover of government in the sub-region condemned the action in its entirety.

In an earlier statement, the regional body stated that it was following with great concern the political and security developments in Burkina Faso since January 23, 2022, characterised by an attempted coup d'état.

It condemned what it described as an extremely serious act which should not be tolerated under the relevant regulations.

It added in a separate statement:

“ECOWAS notes that, despite calls by the regional and international community for calm and respect for constitutional legality, the situation in Burkina Faso is characterised by a military coup d'état on Monday 24 January 2022, following the resignation of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, obtained under the threat, intimidation and pressure of the military after two days of mutiny.

“ECOWAS strongly condemns this military takeover which marks a major step backwards for Burkina Faso. An extraordinary ECOWAS summit will be held in the coming days to examine this situation.”

Sanctions are expected to be issued after the extraordinary meeting by ECOWAS, to compel the military to retrace their steps.

In a similar development, the United States equally condemned

TI Ranks Nigeria 154 in Corruption Perception Index Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos and Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released by Transparency International (TI) yesterday ranked Nigeria 154 out of 180 countries.

The latest ranking was five places below the 2020 CPI ranking for the country.

Nigeria also scored 24 out of 100 points falling back one point compared to the 2020 CPI. Although the index, released in Nigeria by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the National Chapter of TI, did not show specific incidents of corruption in the country, it indicated the perception of corruption in Nigeria.

Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), said independent and reputable organisations collected the data used for the CPI with sound methodologies.

He explained that the CPI result came when Nigeria, "is battling rising nation-wide insecurity, high unemployment rate and damning revelations around public finance management by the auditor general and investigative journalists," amongst others.

He pointed out that the assessment did not include Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies, "making commendable efforts"

to fight corruption despite, "the political interference they face."

Nonetheless, CISLAC/TI-Nigeria listed key weaknesses to explain why Nigeria may not have improved in the fight against corruption, noting that, "we feel that these areas require immediate improvement for the sake of the well-being of ordinary Nigerians and the economy."

He cited the non-compliance and internal control weaknesses in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) report for 2019 published by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation in November 2021.

“For example, the auditor general revealed that nine MDAs spent N49 billion without appropriation by the National Assembly.

"This is in gross violation of section 80 (4) of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended)," stated the CISLAC boss.

He added: "Recent revelations made on the 17th of January 2022

by BudgIT on the duplication of projects in the 2022 budget do less to palliate the pandemic corruption currently experienced despite a rising unemployment rate of 33 per cent."

On security sector corruption, he lamented that the "systemic corruption in the Nigeria Police Force has sadly continued unabated."

the military putsch.

A statement by the spokesman of Unites States Department of State, Ned Price, read: “The United States is deeply concerned by events in Burkina Faso. We note that military officers have asserted that they have dissolved the government and national assembly and suspended the constitution.

“We are also deeply concerned by reports of the January 23 detention of Burkina Faso’s President, Roch Marc Kaboré, by members of Burkina Faso’s military. We condemn these acts and call on those responsible to deescalate the situation, prevent harm to President Kaboré and any other members of his government in detention, and return to civilian-led government and constitutional order.

“We acknowledge the tremendous stress on Burkinabé society and security forces posed by ISIS and JNIM but urge military officers to step back, return to their barracks, and address their concerns through

dialogue.

“The United States is closely monitoring this fluid situation, and we call for restraint by all actors as we carefully review the events on the ground for any potential impact on our assistance.”

In the same vein, the United Nations Secretary-General,Antonio Guterres, condemned the coup d’etat in Burkina Faso, insisting that the celebration on the streets in the country could have been orchestrated to show that it was the wishes of the people.

Gutteres, in his reaction to the military take-over, said: “I am deeply concerned with the recent coup d'état in Burkina Faso. The role of the military must be to defend their countries and their peoples, not to attack their governments and to fight for power.

“We have, unfortunately in the region, terrorist groups, we have threats to international peace and security. My appeal is for the armies of these countries to assume their

professional role of armies, to protect their countries and re-establish democratic institutions.”

On the support given to the coup by citizens who trooped to the streets to celebrate the take-over, the UN Secretary General said: “There are always celebrations for these kinds of situations. It's easy to orchestrate them, but the values of democracy do not depend on the public opinion at one moment or another. Democratic societies are a value that must be preserved.

Military coups are unacceptable in the 21st century.”

On his part, French President, Emmanuel Macron, also condemned the military takeover.

In his reaction to the coup d’etat during an interview by Radio France Internationale (RFI), Macron said: “As you know, France is present in the region to fight terrorism.

And I am constantly committed to working alongside regional bodies.

ECOWAS condemned yesterday this new coup d'état, which was

led by the military.

“And since President Kaboré has been democratically elected by his people twice, France supports the position of ECOWAS. Our priority is obviously that his physical integrity is preserved and that calm is maintained.

“Today it is too early to go into more detail, if I may say so, in the characterisation of the situation in Burkina Faso. And it is clear that this situation remains worrying in view of what has happened since the summer of 2020 in Mali and what has happened in recent months in Guinea. And I think that the region must be supported in its desire to maintain civil transitions and democratic elections.

“In addition to this, I would like to remind you that our priority in the region is obviously to continue to fight against Islamist terrorism, which continues to wreak havoc in Mali, but also in Burkina Faso, which has been the target of numerous terrorist attacks in recent times.”

Interpol Busts BEC Scam Syndicate, Arrests 12 Suspects Chiemelie Ezeobi The INTERPOL Cybercrime Unit, National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, has arrested 12 alleged members of a cybercrime syndicate, who specialise in Business E-mail Compromise (BEC) scam.

The bust was part of a Nigeria Police Operation coordinated with the INTERPOL based on intelligence report.

The suspects were said to be members of ‘Silver Terrier’, a network known for BEC scams, which had harmed thousands of companies globally.

During the 10-day operation, which took INTERPOL Cybercrime Officers NCB, Abuja, carried out simultaneously in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos Island, Lagos State and Asaba in Delta State, targeted suspects said to have been identified ahead of time by intelligence provided by the INTERPOL Cybercrime Directorate in Singapore.

THISDAY gathered that field operations were preceded by an intelligence exchange and analysis phase, where the Cybercrime Unit of the NCB Abuja used INTERPOL’s secure global communication network – i24/7 to work with the police forces across the globe and also help in the investigation of BEC scams linked to Nigeria.

Preliminary analysis were said to have confirmed that the suspect’s collective involvement in BEC criminal schemes associated with more than 50,000 victims.

One of the suspects arrested had in his possession more than 800,000 potential victims’ domains credentials on his laptop.

Another suspect was said to have been monitoring conversation

between 16 companies and their clients and diverting funds to Silver Terrier whenever the companies’ monetary transaction was about to be made.

During the bust codenamed Operation Falcon 11, the unit said it sent a clear message that cybercrime would have serious repercussions for those involved in BEC Fraud, "particularly as we continue our

onslaught against the threat actors, identifying and analysing every cyber trace they leave.”

The vice president of INTERPOL and Head of National central Bureau Abuja, AIG Umar, emphasised that at this time of increased threats, “members of the public, businesses and organisation are reminded to protect themselves from online scams."

House Leader, Doguwa, Welcomes 28th Child, Target's 30 Before 2023 Election

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, has announced that one of his wives, has given birth to a child.

With the new addition, Doguwa, who's 56 years, now has 28 children.

At the plenary yesterday, the minority leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, congratulated the lawmaker on the delivery of his new born.

Responding, Doguwa said the child (a baby girl) was born in the last 24 hours, adding that plans were in top gear to make them 30 before the 2023 election.

He said: “This is no longer news.

It is no longer news because this

thing happened in the last 24 hours. It is true that my beloved family has gotten an additional one person. It is a baby girl. Bouncing!

The mother and the baby are hale and hearty.

“The husband is still active. I am here. And I thank God that I kept my word with the House that while I had 27, I promised you that I would continue counting.

I want by the grace of God and your prayers that the count would continue."

Speaking further, the lawmaker jokingly made case for households with 30 members to have a polling unit.

“Now that we are considering the Electoral Act amendment, I

would also add when we get to the floor, perhaps, in the Committee of the Whole, I would appeal to my members so that we suspend relevant rules and we have a clause in the Electoral Act, where it permits families that do have up to 30 kids in their homes to have an electoral polling unit in that family,” he added Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajbiamila, while reacting, asked if he was working towards a polling unit in his house with two to go Ado-Doguwa, however, replied, saying: “At least, between now and 2023 – before the elections come – if you allow that, then I would have a polling unit within my home.”

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INTERVIEW

Olalere Odusote: Lagos Govt Committed to Providing Residents, Corporate Entities Universal, Reliable Electricity Recently, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu unveiled the 'Lagos State Electricity Policy', a policy developed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, to provide reliable, affordable, and uninterrupted power supply to Lagos residents. In this interview with Ugo Aliogo, Olalere Odusote, Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources in Lagos, speaks on the new electricity policy and its progress. Excerpts: The state's aim of the policy is universal access to electricity state-wide by December 31, 2036. We looked at the infrastructure gaps and investment requirements, and we recognised a timeline for construction. For the first time, an integrated resource commissioned in partnership with the US Agency for International Development’s Nigeria Power Sector Program. (USAID – NPSP), has defined the infrastructure gaps and will guide the investments that will close these gaps.

When people hear 2036, it doesn’t fill them with a lot of excitement because it sounds far, but we all know that we cannot magically conjure the infrastructure needed. Our expectation is that, given the importance of the electricity sector to the future prosperity of Lagos, we will put this law in place in the first half of next year. This timeline is subject to a public consultation process that the Lagos State House of Assembly must have as part of their responsibilities.

What's the rationale behind the creation of the new Lagos electricity policy?

Lagos state could immediately have passed a law, but then, we wanted everyone to be duly carried along such that they understand what we aim to achieve, when we want to achieve it, and how we are going to achieve it. With that clarity of intention, a law can then be drafted to focus on achieving the policy objectives.

What the policy has done is to communicate to the investing and consuming public the desires of Lagos to achieve a universal electricity supply. Our definition of universal access to electricity is that anybody who wants power can get it when they want it and in the quantity and quality they want.

What is your overall assessment of electricity supply in Nigeria, particularly Lagos?

There has been an overall marginal improvement in electricity supply since the electricity sector was privatised eight years ago. However, many people in Nigeria do not have access to power at the moment.

This is because 40 per cent of Nigerians remain unconnected to the (national) grid. Over the years, the electricity supply into the system hasn’t kept pace with population growth, so we are really not better off than we were at the time the privatisation was initiated.

The privatisation was supposed to offer incremental improvement in power supply, but that hasn’t been achieved. What has happened instead is a phenomenal growth in off-grid supplies. At the beginning of the privatisation, we had next to zero solar infrastructure.

However, that off-grid area has been very vibrant and has seen a lot more investment activities than the grid sector.

There is still a disconnect between the commercial realities of the power sector and its current commercial representation. There is a price to be paid for power.

If that price is not paid, it is impossible to attract investments. So, we have seen a dearth of investments because the organized grid sector is not paying for the power that is supplied.

It is one thing to create policies and another to implement. What measures are put in place to ensure adequate implementation of the Lagos electricity policy?

In terms of implementation, we are putting together the first draft of a law that will give teeth to this policy. We will still go through a process of public consultations to explain exactly how the law supports the policy objectives. We will also take feedback from stakeholders and the public to understand what we need to do to make that law effective. By effective, I mean the law must improve the power supply.

Today in Lagos, the grid supplies 900-megawatt of electricity to the two Lagos DisCos. Compare this to the records that show that we have imported 8,000 megawatts of diesel generators into Lagos over the past three years. It is estimated that along with the grid supplies, over 4,500 megawatts of electricity are being concurrently consumed in Lagos. There remains room for significant growth in both the on-grid and the off-grid spaces, given that we do not yet have universal electricity access.

We can also have links between the off grids, under

Odusote grids and the main grid itself. However, we will need a robust regulatory framework to manage the interface between the people handling the different grids to enable them to stay together and trade amongst themselves.

grow to immediately meet needs in the off-grid space. But we will see an improvement in the off-grid space and make Lagos more attractive to investors by ensuring that the off-grid space is more efficient.

In what ways does the policy provide a significant improvement on the already existing power structure in the state?

The policy does not mandate anyone to do anything, but anybody interested in the direction of the government can begin to take steps to prepare themselves for the opportunities coming up in the sector. For example, we have spoken about the aggregation of off-grid demands to meet electricity needs more efficiently than it is currently being met.

Typically, you will buy a solar home system that provides the electricity supply your home needs. The same thing applies to industries.

They get generators that feed the supply they require, then get backup generators for those.

The fact is that the installation and maintenance of generators are highly expensive. If we can aggregate the demand even in the off-grid, then we can supply the off-grid cheaper than the cost today. For example, the backup generators of seven big companies in Ikeja can power the whole of Ikeja, but that capacity is dedicated to just seven companies when it could be feeding the entire Ikeja.

With this policy, we have provided a framework that will enable investors to aggregate supply and demand and meet those needs in a cost-effective way. We understand that the grid will not suddenly

In terms of electricity consumption, how does Lagos compare to other states?

The Lagos economy is the fifth-largest economy in Africa and is supposedly bigger than 24 African countries combined. Lagos accounts for 60 per cent of the industrial and commercial activities in Nigeria and, as such, is the largest energy consumer in Nigeria. It is estimated that over 40 per cent of the Nigerian electricity demand is from Lagos. However, Lagos is allocated between 24 per cent to 26 per cent of the power produced on the grid.

What should private and corporate entities expect in terms of value with the unveiling of the Lagos electricity policy?

They can look forward to further investments in the state. Today, when you go into meetings at the federal level where you have the transmission, generation, and distribution companies, we still hear recriminations amongst them, making it challenging to find a holistic solution. In Lagos, we have looked at the market as well as the infrastructure gaps and what we are recommending are specific, phased investments to close those identified gaps.

What's your overall vision for the power sector in Lagos and your success metrics?

What roles do public and private sectors play in actualising the policy's objectives?

It is the responsibility of consumers to pay a fair price for the electricity that they consume. It is the provider's responsibility to ensure that they supply the electricity needed by the consumers and charge a fair price for this supply. The role of the government and its agencies is to ensure that an enabling environment is created for everybody to interact successfully. This environment will include support for enforcing contracts providing clarity and consistency of regulation to encourage investors to confidently invest in the space.

So, it’s really everybody coming together to play their part and fulfil their obligations.

How will this policy enhance the economic viability of Lagos?

It has been demonstrated across several countries and cities that electricity use and access are strongly correlated with economic development. In our case, reliable electricity is associated with expensive selfgeneration, which only makes Lagos, and indeed Nigeria, less competitive than its neighbours. The policy will birth a conversation on the law that will lead to a scaling up of the capacities of the off-grid players, which will, in turn, lead to lower cost of electricity and the attendant improvement in the competitiveness of commercial entities in Lagos.

The policy has given clarity to the direction the state intends to go. Interested investors in the sector are already beginning to engage with the government to craft the regulatory support that will promote and attract investments. The IRP already has provided clear infrastructure gaps and a demand forecast.

Interested participants can simply then begin their own due diligence leading to financial commitments to supply improvement initiatives.

There is no lack of understanding that Lagos state is going to create a sustainable market. Sustainable simply means that people will be charged the right price for the right products. Prices that are not too high such that customers are discouraged and not too low such that investors don’t feel that they can benefit financially from the space. We will ensure that the objectives of the state government are met by encouraging people to confidently come into the sector and participate.

Marginal Fields: NUPRC Plans Stakeholders’ Meeting with Bid Awardees Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is set to host all eligible awardees who have fully or partly complied with signature bonus payment in the 2020 marginal field programme (MFBR).

A statement by the Commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, yesterday noted that the forum has been slated for tomorrow in Abuja.

The objective of the engagement forum, Komolafe stated, was to state the policy position of the commission for the marginal field bid round.

According to him, this will enhance the progress of the exercise in line with the programme guidelines and in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

“The forum will also appraise, distil and clarify issues associated with the MFBR and provide

relevant updates on status to all stakeholders in line with the transparency policy of government.

“All eligible awardees and relevant International Oil Companies (IOCs) who are associated with the MFBR as farmors are expected to attend the meeting,” Komolafe stated.

On Monday, the commission had invited reserve bidders for the marginal fields programme completed in 2021,after some initial bid winners failed to pay up their signature bonuses within the stipulated time.

A public notice signed by Komolafe, indicated that a number of the winners of the assets could not pay the fee, prompting the organisation to rework the process.

The commission stated that all offers made to the initial bid winners had lapsed, explaining that by allowing interested reserve bidders to take part in the rest of the process, it will expand the participation of Nigerians.

“Notice is hereby given to the general public, and in particular, all recipients of the letter of notification of potential awardee status in the 2020 marginal field bid round that the 45 calendar days allowed for payment of the requisite signature bonus has since lapsed,” the notice showed.

Last week, the NURPC disclosed that the bid round concluded in 2021 had so far yielded about N174.944 billion, with owners of 30 fields having partially paid and two fields stalled by court cases.

The new commission further stated that 20 companies which won the bids had partially paid

up, from among those who won the 57 oilfields.

In May 2021, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) which has now transmuted into the NURPC with the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), concluded the oilfield bid round, the first successful exercise since 2003

when 24 assets were put on offer.

The process which culminated in the presentation of letters to the bid winners in Abuja by the industry regulator, started in June 2020, with 57 marginal fields spanning land, swamp and offshore put up for lease by the federal government.

Troops Move into Kainji National Park to Dislodge Terrorists Laleye Dipo in Minna Nigerian troops have started going after terrorists that were trying to make the Kainji National Park in Borgu Local Government of Niger State their new settlement.

Terrorists fleeing from some northern states, where military operations against them have been very intense, were reported to have been neutralised while a number of them were apprehended and taken into police custody.

Niger State Commissioner for Local Government and Internal Security, Mr Emmanuel Umar, told newsmen in Minna yesterday that, "In the last one week or so, there have been intensive military operations in the area, from Mashegu to Borgu up to Mokwa. They (Terrorists) are already being dislodged."

He, therefore, vowed that government would not allow the terrorists to settle in the Kainji park, a vast forest spreading up

to Benin Republic.

Umar blamed the activities of bandits on the large expanse of the state with a local government being bigger in size than the whole of the South eastern part of the country, coupled with the inaccessibility of the towns and villages, because of their difficult terrains and lack of communication.

He also said bandits were being attracted to parts of the state especially, areas with viable cattle and agricultural produce

markets for economic gains but said government had stepped up assaults against the terrorists.

"We have stepped up our game to make sure that the bandits don't return to these areas," he said Following the restoration of peace in some communities especially, Chibane and Galadimakogo in the Shiroro Local Government, the villagers have been returning to their ancestral homes to begin living normal lives.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Gunmen Kill Policeman, Abduct Expatriate in Edo

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Gunmen yesterday reportedly killed a police officer and kidnapped an expatriate of a construction company while supervising Agbede/Anwain Road in Idegun, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.

The dead police man was said to have been detailed to guard the expatriate.

An eye witness explained that the incident happened on Monday during an inspection of the road by the expatriate when the armed men numbering about five suddenly appeared from the bush with guns, shot the policeman killing him on the spot and took the foreigner away.

The witness who would not want his name mentioned, said that the suspected kidnappers came on foot, shooting sporadically to scare those around before picking their target and headed towards Uromi in Esan North East Local Government Area of the state.

The eye witness, who said he could not immediately ascertain if the suspected

kidnappers were herdsmen, added that the villagers in company with local vigilante

groups set out shortly after the incident, combing the bush in an effort to rescue

the kidnapped expertriate.

When contacted, the Edo State Police Command

Public Relations Officer, Mr. Kontongs Bello, said he was yet to be briefed on

the issue, assuring that he will speak on the incident once he gets the full details.

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L-R: Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; Chairman, All Progressive Congress (APC) Caretaker Committee/ Governor of Yobe, Mai Mala Buni, and Danladi Bako during the Lawan’s condolence visit to Sokoto State Governor, AminuTambuwal in Sokoto…recently

Makinde Charges Nigerians Immigration Intercepts Human Trafficking Syndicate with 189 Persons to Elect Energetic Leaders for Better Nation Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, yesterday charged Nigerians to choose wisely by electing people that have the energy to serve the Country.

The governor, who made the charge at the 65th birthday anniversary, retirement thanksgiving service, and launching of Ministry of Rev. Samson Ayokunle, held at Oritamefa Baptist Church, Yemetu, Ibadan, said that aged people who plan to run for elective positions should re-think.

The governor congratulated Rev Ayokunle for retiring from Baptist Convention saying he has done enough for the Baptist convention and Christians at large in the country.

He said that Oyo State is most blessed with the crops of spiritual leaders that surround the state, adding that Rev. Samson Ayokunle is a pride of the state.

He said: “I want to greet

every one of you, eminent personalities, religious leaders, prominent Christian leaders, and heads of churches here. I duly recognise every one of you. And I want to especially appreciate you for coming to celebrate one of your own and one of our own, the National President of CAN, Rev. Supo Ayokunle.

“We have seen a lot of elders statesmen who want to run this country at age 75 or 78. I want them to think twice and I am saying to the people of Oyo State and Nigeria that this world is not easy. It is possible for you to delegate, ask people to go all over the place but when they are reporting to you, if something has not been added, a few things may have been removed.

“We are in election season basically and what I will say to us as a people is that we need to choose wisely and the people who have the energy to truly serve the country.

PDP Chieftain Calls for Resuscitation of Moribund Refineries Sylvester Idowu in Warri

Chairman of DAS Energy Services Limited,Warri and former governorship aspirant on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has commended the federal government for heeding the lamentations of Nigerians to suspend the removal of fuel subsidy.

The PDP chieftain, who has always been a critic of anti people’s federal government policies, said the decision to suspend the planned fuel subsidy removal has saved the country from another round of protests that would have crippled the nation and throw Nigerians into unnecessary hardship.

But while commending the move by the federal government, Onuesoke, in a statement yesterday, advised the government to use the window of the suspension of the subsidy removal to fix the nation’s four refineries to work optimally.

“The only way out over this subsidy issue is for government to get the four refineries working at optimal level to bring the petroleum products prices to the barest minimum”, he admonished.

The PDP chieftain pointed out that if the Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries are in good working condition the issue of paying fuel subsidy will be minimize or totally eradicated hence the oil is drilled and produce within Nigeria.

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has intercepted a syndicate of human traffickers at Seme Border while trying to traffic 189 young persons under the guise of offering them university admission in Benin Republic.

The acting Comptroller General of Immigration, Isah Idris, yesterday, revealed that his men at the Lagos Border Patrol Command at Seme, were vigilant

enough to prevent the ignorant 189 boys and girls deceived to have been offered admission at Emerald University in Benin Republic.

Idris, who spoke at the Zone ‘A’ Headquarters of the Service in Lagos, said the youths made up of 115 girls and 74 boys aged between 15 to 20 years were intercepted in batches on their way out of the country through the Seme border area.

He said 92 of them were

intercepted on January 22, 2022, while another 97 were picked up by vigilant operatives of the NIS on January 24, 2022.

He said the victims while speaking with him, disclosed that they were on their way to Emerald University in Benin Republic to commence degree programmes, which was procured for them by a faith-based organisation operating in Imo and Abia States.

He decried that the victims

mostly from Abia, Kogi, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Lagos and Imo states, among others, could neither present any admission letters nor evidence of payment of school fees for their studies, and moreover only three of them hold valid travel documents.

He said investigation revealed that two persons namely Sunday Emmanuel Chinasa and Ms. Rose Onum Uduma, who were also arrested along with the victims coordinated the trip.

Ohabunwa: I’m Vying for Presidency to Change Leadership Narrative Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant and former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Chief Sam Ohabunwa has said that he is contesting the presidency to help refocus leadership agenda of the country and to enable the country to realize the goal of a peaceful and prosperous nation.

Speaking on the ARISE News Channel Programme, Morning Show yesterday, Ohabunwa said that did not join the presidential race just because of the clamour to have the South-east produce Nigeria’s next president but that he believed he is competent and capable to lift the country from it’s current challenges.

“I believe that our country has been in a corodrum, moving round in a circle

and not attaining the kind of economic growth that is expected. Therefore, I believe I will make a difference. I think the country needs a leader that understands how we can propel our country to unleash all the potentials for creative a accomplishment to make the country to become a productive nation where we can deal with lingering issues of poverty, joblessness and sometimes getting to

hopelessness,” he said..

Ohabunwa said that as blessed as Nigeria is, the country is expected to be a true leader in global affairs in terms of economy but has failed to realize that.

According to him, the country has not made much progress in direction of economic growth, rather it has become a nation where insecurity and poverty are ravaging the land.

Anti-corruption War: Witness Protection Bill Scales Second Reading Sunday Aborisade in Abuja A bill seeking to establish the Witness Protection and Management Framework scaled second reading during Senate plenary yesterday.

The sponsor of the bill, Senator Suleiman Abdu Kwari, said the bill passed first reading on February 23, 2021.

He said it was also listed

among the bills of interest and international significance, contained in the recent Executive Communication from President Muhammadu Buhari, which was read on the floor of the Senate on the 19th of January 2022.

He said: “Empirical evidence show that one of the major causes of the inability to successfully prosecute criminal cases in our courts

is the lack of witnesses.

“Many of them face intimidation and threats just as prosecutors most times do not have the funds and management framework to safely bring witnesses to testify in court.

“The passage of this bill into law will fill this gap as well as fulfill some of our Country’s international commitments to various conventions and

protocols, like the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) amongst others,” Senator Kwari said.

According to him, the Witness Protection and Management Bill and Whistle Blower Bill were initially considered as co-joined in a single bill by the 8th National Assembly and passed in 2017.

I’m Not Under Investigation By EFCC, Says Ikpea Peter Uzoho

Chairman of Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited, Chief Leemon Ikpea, yesterday denied being under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over any fraudulent business transaction with the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke

In a statement issued in Lagos, Ikpea, debunked any allegation of fraudulent dealings with the former minister.

He described such allegation as false and self-serving, adding: “As a businessman, I am known for integrity and transparency in my dealings. As such I have never been found wanting or linked to any fraudulent business operations anywhere in the world.

“I detest in the strongest terms, this spurious and unfounded allegation directed against my reputation which I have built over the years.

“If any person is in doubt, such a person can seek clarification from the EFCC management on this issue. “I need to add that through hard work and sacrifices, my company has been adding value to the Nigerian economy

by creating jobs for millions of Nigerians directly and indirectly since 1991, as well as meeting our tax liabilities to the government” He said the statement became necessary to allay the concern of the company’s stakeholders, host communities, business associates and the many thousands of persons directly or indirectly deriving their livelihood from his businesses as well as the public at large.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWSXTRA

We’ll Not Allow Herdsmen to Overrun Us, Akeredolu Vows Fidelis David in Akure Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has said his government will not allow criminals masquerading as herdsmen to overrun the state under any guise.

Akeredolu, who vowed to bring to justice the killer herdsmen terrorising some communities, assured of more security presence in some areas of the state.

The Governor spoke yesterday in his office while receiving on courtesy visit representatives of Auga Community led by the Alauga of Auga-Akoko, Oba Samuel Agunloye.

Akeredolu, who frowned at the incessant attacks on farmers and their farmlands, especially in the bordering towns, said increased security presence will be deployed.

He charged the people to also be prepared and report suspected criminals to security agencies on time, saying his administration will not allow killer herdsmen to overrun the state.

The governor also called on

traditional rulers in the state to work with the Amotekun Corps and other security agencies for proper security of their domain.

Akeredolu emphasised that the Iboropa-Auga/Ase/Ikaram road is one of the roads slated to be constructed under the

Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP).

On renovation of Auga Community Grammar School,

Auga Akoko, Akeredolu said the time has come for communities to come up with various strategies towards developing their schools,

saying old students associations and the communities must also join hands in developing the schools in their localities.

HAPPY MARRIED LIFE TO THE EZES…

L-R: Brother to the bride, Chuks Okeleke; Father of the groom, Mr. Anthony Eze, newly wedded couple, Mr. Ugochukwu Valentine Eze and Mrs. Awelechukwu Eze, and father of the bride, Mr. Andrew Okeleke after the wedding of the couple recently in Lagos…recently

ALSCON: BFI Group Hails Orisa Bridge Construction will Start Soon, Appeal Court’s Ruling on BPE DG GovAbdulRazaq Assures Kwarans

Sunday Okobi

The BFI Group, a NigerianAmerican consortium and the winner of the bid for Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), has lauded the reaffirmation of the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja by the Appeal Court on DirectorGeneral of the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), Alex Okoh.

Following the order of the Federal High Court in Abuja on December 17, 2019, for the arrest and imprisonment of the Director-General of the Bureau of

Public Enterprise (BPE), Dr. Alex Okoh, over the ALSCON, and the subsequent stay of execution order by the Court of Appeal on his request, the Federal Court of Appeal has reaffirmed the order of the High Court two years after.

A statement that was signed by the Media Adviser to the President of BFI Group in Texas, United States, Yemie Adeoye, said that the BFI Group has continuously and repeatedly shown its belief in the rule of law and the Nigerian judicial system by taking all its grievances before the court as stipulated by law.

Coalition of Northern Supporters Says Anyim’s Presidency will Lift Nigeria Chuks Okocha in Abuja The presidential aspiration of Senator Anyim Pius Anyim yesterday received a boost as coalition of Northern Nigerians described him as a respecter of all religions and a detribalised Nigerian . Anyim, who has signified his intention to contest on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was also described as an honest, peace-loving and kind politician.

The praises showered on the one time President of the Senate and Secretary to the

Government of the Federation by the Coalition of Northern Supporters of Ndigbo for President 2023 in Abuja when they visited Senator Anyim to pledge their support for his aspiration.

Chairman of the Group, Alhaji Usman Sulaiman Shehu, popularly known as SK who stated these said the group, after analysing all the presidential aspirants as well as prospective ones was convinced that Senator Anyim would give Nigeria the right leadership that will take the country out of her present deplorable situation.

Climate Campaigner Tasks African Youths on Cleaner Environment

Dike Onwuamaeze

The Convener of the Our Tomorrow, an NGO that is dedicated to the promotion of a safer, cleaner, and healthier environment in Africa, Mr. Emeka Obasi (Jnr), has charged the youth of Africa to galvinise action toward averting the climate crisis that is now staring Africa in the face.

The 21 years old Obasi, who

is the son of the Publisher of Hallmark Newspaper, Mr. Emeka Obasi, gave the charge yesterday during the media presentation of the “Our Tomorrow- A Pollution and Climate Change Initiative” before a gathering of undergraduate students of the University of Lagos, because he “wants to make every African youth an effective voice for a safer environment.”

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara says construction of the Orisa bridge along Oro-Ago in Ifelodun local government area.

He added that the contractors would mobilise to the site once they concluded necessary groundworks.

“In terms of infrastructure, all hands are on deck. We visited

Orisa bridge, and the contractor should be on site shortly. The contract was awarded in December 2021. We also visited General Hospital Oro-Ago,” explained AbdulRazaq.

During the hours-long working visit that crisscrossed Isin, Irepodun and Ifelodun local government areas, AbdulRazaq stopped at Oke Onigbin (Isin) for feedback on his last visit regarding its waterworks, then headed to Oko

(Irepodun). He also visited Oro Ago, discussing security concerns with the traditional rulers and their chiefs.

“It is a tour to see first-hand what the challenges we face, to appraise the development we have brought to the hinterlands, and also to see the traditional rulers,” the Kwara governor told journalists in Oko. “I had useful discussions with them on the direction of the government and security issues as

well. We’re really happy with the traditional rulers for cooperating with us and the local authorities.”

The governor stated that he was “impressed with what I saw at the ECWA LGEA Primary School Oro Ago, which I’m told is over 100 years old.” According to him, the “work done there (by our administration) justifies” the award the SUBEB chairman got as the best SUBEB chairman in the North-Central.

Ugwuanyi Swears in Ozoemena as Chief Judge of Enugu Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, yesterday swore in Justice Afojulu Raymond Ozoemena as the substantive Chief Judge of the state after he served as the acting Chief Judge for three months on two consecutive occasions.

Ozoemena’s appointments on acting capacity by Ugwuanyi was sequel

to the retirement of the former Chief Judge, Justice Priscilla Ngozi Emehelu, who attained the constitutionally prescribed retirement age of 65 years on September 7, 2021.

The governor explained that the decision to swear in Ozoemena as the acting Chief Judge of Enugu State on September 7, 2021, and the

renewal of the appointment on December 8, 2021, upon the expiration of the first three months, was based on the order of seniority of the Judges of the state High Court as confirmed by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

Swearing in Justice Ozoemena as the Chief Judge of the state at the Exco Chamber

of the Government House in Enugu yesterday, Ugwuanyi disclosed that the function was sequel to the recommendation by the NJC and subsequent confirmation of his appointment by the state House of Assembly in fulfillment of the provisions of Section 271 Sub-section 1 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Dogara Condemns Suspension of His Traditional Title by Bauchi Emir Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Former Speaker, House of Representatives Hon. Yakubu Dogara has reacted to the suspension of his traditional title of “Jakadan Bauchi” by the Bauchi Emirate Council, saying that he has no hand in the attack on the Emirs of Bauchi and Dass by irate youths during the recent violence in Bogoro and Tafawa

Balewa local government areas of the state.

Dogara’s position was contained in his statement in Bauchi yesterday.

He said that the emirate council acted based on hearsay without inviting him to state his own side of the story on his alleged link to the recent crisis in Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro during the 21st memorial anniversary of late

Baba Peter Gonto.

His words: “I wish to write and extend my sympathies to you over the unfortunate incident involving your entourage while making your way from Bauchi to Bogoro earlier today. It is a huge embarrassment to all of us in my Constituency and the entire State which I totally condemn and disavow, It is worth noting that I would

have loved to personally visit to extend my apologies on behalf of my constituents but I know that such a visit would be misconstrued as was the case in the past when the gates of some palaces were shut anytime I visited as Speaker.”

According to him, “Yesterday, January 24, 2022, the Bauchi Emirate Council purportedly announced my suspension as Jakadan Bauchi.”

Adamawa Jail Delivery Committee Releases 119 Inmates Daji Sani in Yola

Adamawa State Jail Delivery Committee yesterday discharged 119 inmates awaiting trial at the Jimeta Correctional Centre.

The committee also summarily convicted 49 inmates, who after confessing committing the offence they were accused of and the also granted bail to 31

but referred one to the Deputy Chief Registrar(DCR) for review The committee led by the Chief Judge of the state , Justice Nathan Musa said out of the total number of 410 inmates awaiting trials only 19 persons were convicted for various offences at the centre.

“This necessitated the exercise because there was a serious gap

between those awaiting trials and those convicted” “ The exercise was also meant fast track court proceeding and reformed the judiciary system in the state” said committee While addressing the inmates shortly after a two- day exercise, Musa told them that the committee has discharged some of them completely, convicted

and granted bail to others.

“In the course of our exercise, we were able to discharge 119 and granted bail to 31.

The committee convicted 49 summarily. These people that were convicted summarily, admitted committing the offence, and we felt there is no need to keep them waiting for further trial,” Musa stated.

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WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

FG: Over 14 Million Nigerians Have Received First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines Says daily vaccination now 200,000 Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The federal government has put the total number of eligible persons that have so far received COVID-19 vaccines in the country at 14,093,873.

It also said 5,252,406 eligible Nigerians have so far been fully vaccinated, while 416,980 Nigerians have received their booster dose, in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Speaking to journalists in Abuja, at the first media briefing on the progress being made in terms of COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the Executive Director of the National Primary HealthCare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib said the rate of vaccination has increased from 100,000 per day as of December 2021, to 200,000 this month.

He said the sensitisation campaign on the COVID-19 vaccination exercise was yielding results in various centres across the country.

“Our record as of today, Tuesday January 25th 2022 shows that 14,093,873 eligible persons

have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria while 5,252,406 eligible Nigerians have been fully vaccinated.

“However, as one would

expect, these results are not evenly distributed across the states of the Federation. Our deep dive into state performances reveals that Nasarawa, Jigawa,

FCT, Ogun and Kwara have remained the top 5 performing states on COVID-19 vaccine uptake,” he said.

Shuaib said Jigawa and Lagos

have each vaccinated about 1.5million eligible Nigerians with the first dose, while the FCT, Nasarawa, Lagos and Delta are presently leading on

second dose administration with more than 10 per cent of eligible populations in each of the states already vaccinated.

PREVENTING SPREAD OF AIDS…

L-R: Iyaloja General, Ojokoro Market Association, Alhaja Bunmi Eniola; Babaoja General of Lagos State, Alhaji Wasiu Balogun;Iyaloja General of Nigeria, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu- Ojo, and Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Aids Control Agency, Dr.Monsurat Adeleke, at the flag-off of the Lagos State HIV Testing services for market men and women in Alausa, Lagos… yesterday ETOP UKUTT

Army Screens 3,800 Group Urges APC Leadership to Resolve Party Crisis in Delta Recruits to Meet Manpower Requirements Sylvester Idowu in Warri

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya, said yesterday the army embarked on the screening of 3,800 recruits in order to meet the manpower requirements of the army.

He said only the best candidates who are medically and physically fit would be recruited into the Nigerian Army.

The COAS gave the assurance when he visited the Nigerian Army Battle Fitness Centre (NABFC) in Falgore, Kano State, where the ongoing screening exercise for 82 Regular Recruit intakes is being conducted.

Yahaya charged the recruitment officers to leverage on the experience garnered from the previous recruitment exercises to improve upon the conduct of the ongoing recruitment and ensure that the goals of the exercise are not compromised.

A statement by the army said Gen Yahaya also assured them of equipping the centre with more training aids and facilities

to further enhance training at the centre.

Director Manpower Planning, Maj Gen Umar Musa, while briefing the COAS, pointed out that over 3,800 candidates were undergoing screening at the centre, adding that the main goal of the exercise was to recruit young and physically fit Nigerians to fill the manpower needs of the army.

The army chief also took a tour of the centre during which he inspected completed as well as ongoing projects at the centre.

Gen Yahaya also interacted with the candidates and left them with some words of encouragement.

Accompanying the COAS during the visit ate the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Maj Gen Kabiru Muhktar, Chief of Administration (Army) Maj Gen Usman Mohammed, Chief of Operations Maj Gen Olumide Akinjobi, Provost Marshal (Army) Maj Gen Robert Aiyenigba and the Chief of Military Intelligence (Army) Maj Gen Ibrahim Salihu.

A pressure group within the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Delta State, Restoration Agenda, has urged the national leadership to urgently resolve the crisis bedeviling the State chapter of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The group maintained that the chances of the party

would be greatly affected in the forthcoming elections if the national leadership of the party fail to reconcile aggrieved members.

A Chieftain of Delta State APC and spokesman of Restoration Agenda, Professor David Ejenobo, however, maintained at a press conference in Warri yesterday, that in spite of the internal wrangling within

the party, it still stands a better chance of defeating the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the next governorship election in the state He noted that failure of leaders to reconcile and work together in the interest of the party was responsible for the recent defection of some leaders including a former deputy state chairman of party, Chief Cyril

Ogodo, to the ruling PDP in Delta.

“It’s the opinion of members of Restoration Agenda that the APC in Delta State is still very much alive and kicking in spite of the recent ugly developments. We affirm our commitment to the ideals of APC our neutrality in trying to fashion solutions to the prevailing circumstances.

Enugu Youths Demand Restoration of Alleged Stolen Councillorship Mandate Gideon Arinze in Enugu Youths from Eha-Ulo Ward in Eha-Alumona, one of the communities in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, yesterday held a protest to demand the restoration of the mandate they gave to one of their sons, Mr. Iloabuchi Agbowo, during the People’s

Democratic Party (PDP) councillorship primaries.

The youths marched through the community yesterday, carrying placards that had such inscriptions as “PDP allow votes to count,” “Ilo is the people’s choice,” “justice for one is justice for all;” “21 votes vs. 8 votes, justice for Ilo;” “Eha-Ulo ward spoke and it was loud and clear.”

Addressing newsmen during the protest, one of the youth leaders in the community, Mr. Ozoemena Felix, said that Agbowo won the election that was held on January 7 with a total of 21 votes against Nelson Duhu, his closest rival who got 8 votes.

Felix, however, said that some members of the community went

and reported that Agbowo was still an executive of the party and that he should be substituted with Duhu who came second in the election.

He explained that contrary to the report, Agbowo had resigned on July 15 to be able to contest for the election, adding that he even presented his resignation letter.

Kwara Warns Principals of Schools against Forcing Students to Wear Hijab Hammed ShittuinIlorin The Kwara State Government yesterday retreated that the directive on schoolgirl to wear the Hijab in all public schools, including grantaided Christian missionary schools, is still in force and warned that any principals that failed to carry out the directive would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

The state government said that “this directive conforms to the judicial pronouncements of the

courts of law and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The government, therefore, reaffirmed the use of the hijab by willing Muslim schoolgirls in all categories of public schools in the state. The issue of wearing of hijab in schools in the state came to the front burner over the weekend as the Principals of St. Clares Girls High School, Offa in Offa Local Government Area and Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo in Oyun Local Government Area

of the state disallowed students who were wearing hijabs from entering schools. The development, however, generated tensions in the affected schools but the quick intervention of the stakeholders prevented the situation from turning into another chaos.

The Chairman of the State Teaching Service Commission, Mr. Abubakar Bello, has summoned a meeting over the development and warned principals to desist from discriminating against the

hijab dress code on the students.

A statement issued by the State Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Ms. Saadatu Modibbo Kawu, after a peaceful meeting between Muslim and Christian stakeholders in Ijagbo, Oyun Local Government Area in Ilorin said: “The policy statement of the Kwara State Government allowing willing Muslim schoolgirl to wear the hijab in all public schools, including grant-aided ones, is binding.

Organisation Harps on Need to Focus on Children’s Mental Health Mary Nnah

Following the impact of Covid-19 on the educational system, a social change initiative, A Mother’s Love Initiative has reiterated the significance of giving attention to the physical and mental health of children and educators within the educational system.

The group made this known during an occasion to mark

the 2022 edition of the United Nations’ The International Day of Education on Monday, January 24th, with the theme, ““Beyond Academic Achievement: Social and Emotional Learning in Enhancing the Quality of School Life”.

The organisation is also of the opinion that there are stress related events associated with the pandemic that have impacted the learning trajectory

and need not be catalysed by the practices of hurrying at the school level.

Based on the foregoing, A Mother’s Love Initiative celebrated the International Day of Education by focusing on the above theme, which speaks to the growing concerns about reduced physical and social interactions permeating the new generation school system in Nigeria.

Having in mind the role of education for peace and development across nations, The A Mother’s Love Initiative’s current mission and activities concern the hurried child syndrome and practices in Africa that emphasises the need to focus on the social and emotional components of learning in strengthening and reviving education in the formal and informal sectors.

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BACK PAGE CONTINUATION

Osinbajo: How Nigerians Can Access Govt Programmes Says FG working with cooperatives to extend social housing units to more beneficiaries Deji Elumoye in Abuja The vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, said cooperative societies were playing a strategic role in the implementation of the government’s social investment and intervention programmes. Osinbajo said the cooperatives had helped to ensure that a large number of people accessed the programmes.

He spoke Tuesday, when he received a delegation from the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (CFN), led by the president, High Chief Tajudeen Oriyomi Ayeola, at the State House, Abuja.

The vice president stressed that cooperatives were an important part of the federal government’s strategy of ensuring that majority of citizens had access to government programmes.

He stated, “The partnership of cooperatives with government is possibly the only way of doing so in an efficient manner that ensures that government services and programmes get to the right people.

“Cooperatives give their memberships the leverage to be able to take facilities and make sure those facilities are returned.

They also have more knowledge

of their individual members.”

The vice president added, “The rationale for cooperatives, even in the 50s, remains relevant today.

When we talk about cooperatives in the Western Region and how these were very helpful and even cooperatives across the country became important pillars in the economic development of the country.”

Osinbajo noted that government believed cooperatives would be useful in all the programmes around the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP).

One of the programmes is the Family Homes Funds, under which the government plans to build 300,000 social housing units.

Osinbajo said, “The case for cooperatives is very well made, and what we must do as a government is look for ways of cooperating with the cooperative associations in ensuring that we are able to get this moving.”

Earlier in his remarks, Managing Director of Family Homes Fund (FHF), which is implementing the social housing element of the ESP, Femi Adewole, gave an update on the work done so far concerning the National Social Housing Programme.

Adewole said, “As at year-end 2021, 17,281 homes are at various stages of construction, either completed or in progress across 15 States.”

While awaiting disbursements from the Central Bank of Nigeria (cbn), Adewole disclosed that the agency was able to mobilise other resources, such as N10 billion from the Ministry of Finance, $60million from the African Development Bank, 20 million Euros from Agence Française De Développement, and about N20 billion recycled capital from sales of completed property, to execute the Social Housing programme for last year.

For 2022, FHF expects to do 20,640 units using its own resources, but CBN disbursements would avail the opportunity to do even much more than that.

The managing director said in order for the social housing scheme to reach a wider target audience outside those in formal employment, particularly the large population of citizens in the informal sector, FHF entered into a partnership with CFN in May last year and the objective was to leverage their reach to mobilise demands in groups from people in the informal sector.

Family Seeks IG’s Intervention over Killing of Inspector by Fellow Policemen as Colleagues Protest Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Family of a slain police officer, Inspector Michael Adama, yesterday, called on the InspectorGeneral of Police, Mr Usman Alkali Baba, to investigate the murder of their son, who was allegedly killed by fellow policemen while on duty in Enugu.

Speaking in Abuja on behalf of the family and youth of Ette Community, where late Adama hailed, a youth leader, Comrade Dennis Ewaoche, said the situation surrounding the murder of Inspector Adama and the alleged act of cover-up by his team and fellow policemen called for further investigation.

He said the late Adama, who until his death was a serving police officer under the Anti-kidnapping Unit of the Nigerian Police in Enugu State Police Command, was allegedly shot and killed at the New Market axis in Enugu by his colleague, Inspector Chidi, on January 21, 2022.

“Immediately Adama was killed, his team deposited the corpse in the mortuary without contacting any member of his family or give out information about the unfortunate incident. His elder brother, Uka Adama, who also happens to be a police officer in Enugu, on receiving the news from other colleagues, secretly went to the mortuary to see the corpse.

“He took pictures of the corpse, which showed a bullet wound below the neck of his late brother. Uka, in company of other concerned police officers, approached the officer in charge of anti-kidnapping section for information on what resulted to the death of late Adama, who told him that Adama was killed by a mob, who used a stick to hit his head, when they came for a raid at the new market.

“He encouraged them to take heart and let it go. However, some police officers from the same community of late Adama began to protest at the station,

a pandemonium ensued and later, the OC anti-kidnapping called Uka aside and told him that late Adama was shot by one of his colleagues by name Inspector Chidi, mistakenly,” the family stated.

Ewaoche, who brandished the picture of the slain officer, further stated that the reason behind the cover-up was still unknown even as no member of the family was taken to the mortuary to see the corpse.

“We are sending our legal team to meet the CP Enugu to seek justice for Adama and we hope it gets all the anticipated result.

An incident that happened since January 21, 2022 and up until now, his wife and children are still waiting for their bread winner to return from work,” he said.

He enjoined the IG and other well-meaning Nigerians to push and ensure that thorough investigation was carried out to fish out the culprit responsible for Adama’s death.

Zulum: Sustainable Masterplan’ll Address N’East Crisis

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Bornu State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has proposed a political, pragmatic and sustainable Masterplan towards solving the North- east crisis.

He offered the position yesterday in his remarks at the consultative meeting with MDAs and security agencies on the North East Stabilization and Development Masterplan (NESDMP) Project in Abuja, summoned by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq.

He said a strong and sustainable masterplan would address the challenge of increasing poverty, infrastructural deficit and climate vulnerabilities in the zone.

“The most important phenomenon in reducing insurgency is for somebody to

be resilient enough. Beyond resilience, you also need to provide infrastructure in addressing the root causes of insurgency, which are not limited to endemic poverty. When you address the root causes, you can defeat insurgency,” he said.

Zulum said the masterplan must be ambitious, broad and comprehensive to cover whole scope of issue in the zone, adding it would be the testament of the people’s rise from the doggedness of destruction into welcoming peace and development.

He, therefore, charged everyone that would be involved in the implementation of the masterplan to help in the recovery of the lost glory of the North-east while also calling on the respective states in the zone to make available all plans for the purpose of alignment that would deliver better quality faster.

In his remarks, Chairman, North East Development Commission

(NEDC), Major General Paul Tarfa (Rtd), said the loss of means of livelihoods and the psychological trauma on the residents of the North-east could not be quantified.

Noting that the burden of implementing the Master Plan would be huge due to present economic realities, Tarfa assured the people that the Regional Master Plan would come up with a proposed financing strategy.

He asked the federal government to consider further legislation to improve funding for the region and convene a donor/funding conference for the North East as some of the initiatives to address the funding challenges.

He said the NEDC has established an ambitious Education Endowment Fund with an initial seed capital of N6 billion, which could be replenished annually with 10 per cent of budgetary allocation of the Commission.

POLITICS SANS IDEAS? underdevelopment define the political economy and society.

Mass poverty is not an academic thing; it is a conspicuous reality on the street with all the ominous consequences for the polity.

The trend of downplaying politics of ideas is palpable again in the public sphere as political forces gear up their activities towards 2023. Instead of identifying ideas associated with aspirants, pundits would rather demonise the politicians they oppose while canonising those they are rooting for in the 2023 elections. Some public intellectuals don’t attack the ideas of politicians they disagree with on principle. Instead, some public intellectuals elect to insult and libel politicians by making unsubstantiated allegations.

Hardly is any rigorous debate of policy options and strategies of development taking place. But falsehood and hate permeate through the public sphere in which the quality of discussions could hardly compare with what was witnessed four decades ago in the same country in the months preceding elections.

Take just a sample to illustrate this increasing contempt for politics of ideas. The Nigerian National Development Plan 20212025 was recently put together.

It is instructive that the tenure of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would end before the 2025, the last year of the plan. The proposed solutions to the major issues of the economy are embodied in the plan. Among other projections, there is the target of increasing the labour force to about 74 million by 2025. Given the enormity of the scourge of youth joblessness plaguing the economy , this aspect of the plan is crucial. The focus of plan is appropriately on the empowerment and engagement of the youth. In the plan government’s revenue is to be increased to 15% of the GDP. Infrastructural projects to be cited in the six geo-political zones are also part of the plan, which is produced in three volumes.

The development plan was launched about a year to general elections. Yet it was never a matter vigorous debates among the political parties, big or small.

The socio-economic logic of the plan ought to be debated by political parties and other interest groups. But that was not case despite the government’s approach of setting up committees of “stakeholders” to produce the drafts. The truth, of course, is that certain ideas informed the philosophical underpinning of the plan. The tendency of government to abdicate the responsibility for economic management to the private sector was obvious in the process. The duty of economic

management (policy-making and designing of strategies and programmes) is squarely the business of government. A private sector - dominated economy is not synonymous with a private sector- managed economy. So it is strategically wrong to select some businessmen (who are in competition with others in a “free -market” economy) to draw up policies including regulatory ones. From America to China it is the government that manages the economy using instruments of policy informed by ideas associated with the parties in power. From Germany to Japan, the private sector elements are major players in the economy not as economic managers or policymakers, but as competitors in their respective industries.

The foregoing are the various issues that politicians ought to make the focus of their politics in the bid to generate solutions to the problems.

Political parties should not hold conventions only to nominate candidates or elect national officers. Parties are yet to develop the culture of holding policy conventions where the ideas driving governments elected on the platform of the parties could be debated by members across the ranks. A national development plan in a country faced with the socio-economic problems of the Nigeria’s magnitude should attract the interests of political parties. It is significant that a senior member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, recently called for a policy convention of its party. Neither the APC nor the major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is currently planning a policy convention on the multi-dimensional crisis facing Nigeria. The changes of party leaderships are not based on policy disagreements. They are often triggered by calculations towards the next election. It is assumed that you need to “control the party structure” as an insurance against the contest for the party ticket.

It has been proved in other lands that ideas matter a lot in politics and governance.

As quoted above, this point is made in the famous 1936 book of John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Keynes ‘s focus is about how the ideas of economists of different ideological hues shape the policies of politicians in power.

It doesn’t matter if the politician proclaims these ideas or not.

Hence, Margaret Thatcher’s neo-liberal policies in the 1980s in Britain were influenced by the ideas of Austrian economist Friedrich Von Hayek while the

regime of Augusto Pinochet in Chile was philosophically backed by the economic ideas of Milton Friedman of the Chicago School.

Keynes, whose ideas shaped the policies of many governments for decades in the last century wrote about the power of ideas, “right” or “wrong.” According to the liberal economist, the power of ideas is actually such that “ the world is ruled by little else.”

Political parties and politicians seeking power on their platforms should spell out the ideas that would shape policies if they get into power. This is important for public scrutiny. It is the duty of political parties to sell the ideas.

It is a symptom of political underdevelopment that all that Nigerian political parties do is to provide the electoral vehicles for politicians to ride to power.

Political parties should be defined by certain ideas. Does a party believe in government funding public schools so that the children of the poor could have access to basic quality education? Or does the party believe that quality education should be an expensive commodity as it is the case today in Nigeria?

Should basic healthcare be an institution in the social sector?

Or should it be a big industry to be patronised by those can afford it like it is done in the automobile industry as some brilliant experts are advocating at present? These are the ideas that should be debated at party meetings.

It is far from being utopian to suggest that the polity would certainly be enriched if men of ideas from various ideological backgrounds could partake in politics.

Consciously or otherwise the words and action of politicians in power are influenced by some ideas. It is an ideological reality.

Confronted with the tragedy of dilapidated primary schools, a governor responded with the cliché that “ government cannot do everything.” He contemplated privatisation as the solution!

Hence basic education has become a huge business for mushroom private investors in a sector that should be decidedly social. You wonder what exactly a government can do if it cannot provide quality basic education for the children of the poor in the Nigerian setting?

Tendencies for politics of ideas should sprout in the political parties. The smaller parties should distinguish themselves by becoming parties known for politics of ideas.

When that happens, voting would not only be determined by personality, ethnicity or faith; the ideas for development would also be an important factor in making electoral choices.

IGBOS ARE PREPARED FOR THE 2023 PRESIDENCY in the South East. Overwhelming majority of Ndigbo do not believe in secession or separatism from Nigeria. An Igbo President will “Focus on what can be done, instead of arguing over what is impossible”.

Indeed, there is no doubt that in the history of Nigeria from Nnamdi Azikiwe to the present, Ndigbo have demonstrated the highest virtues of patriotism and genuine nationalistic propensities.

By history and character, what defines Ndigbo is friendliness and peaceful coexistence with others regardless of tribe, religion or race, Ndigbo are market people, travelers, entrepreneurs or business men. We know that the Devil in Nigerian politics is Power Sharing and an Igbo President will demonstrate to all Nigerians that power sharing can be done peacefully, justifiably with equity and fairness to all and his willingness to take last. The fear of Ndigbo by other ethnic groups is equally unjustified and a fiction of the imagination of those who

create distorted image of Ndigbo.

We seek solution and not a blame game.

As for those Igbos like, Fredrick Nwabufo who prefer to play the Manchurian complex as in his article in January 23, 2022 page 15, THISDAY, SUNDAY NEWSPAPER, implying that Ndigbo are not prepared, or drifting into one or another political parties should leave such criticisms to the enemies or rivals of Ndigbo. Patriotic Nigerians at home and abroad who understand the fundamental issues in 2023 Presidency understand also the historic imperative of zoning the Presidency to the South East ,the last zone and only the zone left out in Southern Nigeria in the First Round of the Presidency across the country.

Consequently, indeed, it is politically wise and reasonable, morally justifiable and defensible and patriotically persuasive for all the parties to zone the Presidency to the South East. For any zone in the South to aspire to hold the

Presidency TWICE while South East has NOT had it even for ONCE, will be politically and morally unjustifiable and a national political blunder as well as a clear and open case of discrimination.

Above all it smacks of reckless political adventurism to despise or ignore other peoples feelings or their fundamental rights as fellow citizens. No politician in Nigeria this time should have the illusion that Nigerians don’t know what is wrong or right, Nigerians are awake.

In Igbo land today, we have many competent personalities that can confront and solve Nigeria’s perennial and endemic sociopolitical problems and guarantee peaceful coexistence for all the citizens regardless of ethnicity, religion or race. We are ready and with an Igbo President, Nigeria and Nigerians will experience the true meaning of a Federation with justice, equity and fairness.

Amb. Prof George Obiozor President General Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide

WEDNESDAY, ͺ;˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

62

WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Iwobi Vows Eagles Will Return Stronger Alex Iwobi has vowed the Super Eagles will fight their way back to the top after the disappointment of exiting the AFCON by the Round of 16.

The Eagles were stunned 1-0 by a depleted Tunisia Sunday night in Garoua.

And to add to the misery Everton star Iwobi was sent off midway through the second half for dangerous play.

Iwobi has remained undaunted and promised the Eagles will come back even stronger.

“Moments of joy can quickly turn into pain and anguish. As much as it’s part of football, we came for more,” ScoreNigeriaquoted Iwobi as revealing in an emotional message on social media yesterday.

“Our fans who shared these moments with us both in Cameroon and across the world deserved more!

“The beauty of the game is the next moment of jubilation is never too far round the corner.

“We will be back to fight for our nation, stronger.

“We owe it to you.

“And I owe to myself.

“Thank you for all the words of support and encouragement – it doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Iwobi will on account of his red card miss Nigeria’s final 2022 World Cup playoffs against rivals Ghana in March.

Dare Hosts Breakfast Session with Super Eagles on Arrival from Cameroon

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, yesterday morning in Abuja hosted the Super Eagles at a breakfast session on their arrival from Cameroon where the team crashed out of the Last 16 stage of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.

Speaking at the occasion, Dare commended the Super Eagles despite the team’s early exit from the 2021 edition of the tournament.

He expressed confidence of Nigerians in the squad managed at the African football showpiece

by Augustine Eguavoen.

“From all indications, Nigerians believe in the team. President Muhammadu Buhari believes in Eagles and I, as Minister, also have full belief in this team.

Nigerians have every reason to be proud of this fine group of young men. I am immensely proud of how they performed as players and how they comported themselves as ambassadors of our nation,” began the minister who is convinced of the capacity of the squad to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

“They will in fact be encouraged and supported to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup finals later this year and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Tournament in Cote d’Ivoire next year.

By the quality of their games, Dare stressed that Super Eagles have put Africa and the rest of the world on notice. Nigerian football will be characterized by greater team work, effort and

Buhari Charges Nigerian Athletes to Excel in Beijing Lauds China for hosting the games 2 0 2 2 W I N T E R O LY M P I C S Deji Elumoyein Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has charged Nigerian athletes scheduled to participate in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to excel at the competition. The games are scheduled to begin on February 4 and run through February 20, 2022.

The President, in a statement on Tuesday by his Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, said he was sure Nigerian athletes participating in different events will excel at the competition, surpassing the previous record in PyeongChang, South Korea, in 2018, when the nation competed for the first time.

Recognising that the Olympic Games is a platform for closer friendship and cooperation between countries, President Buhari sincerely y hoped p that all athletes, their athl at hlet etes es, in the the pursuit pur p ursu suit it of of th thei eirr

Olympic dream, would promote the core values of the Games which are excellence, friendship and respect.

The President also congratulated China on hosting the Winter Olympics, lauding Beijing for making history as the first “dual Olympic city” in the world’s Olympic history, having hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008.

As a friendly and brotherly country to Nigeria, President Buhari affirmed the support of the Nigerian government and its people to China.

He believed that with China’s rich experience in organising international events, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, with the slogan “Together for a Shared Future”, will be delivered as a splendid, exceptional and extraordinary y Olympic event forr th fo thee world.

cohesion.

“This team will improve and become a solid and fierce contender in any competition we enter. Super Eagles team will show the world the great heights to which truly they can soar”, the minister restated his faith in the squad.

Dare commended Eguavoen and the coaching staff and concluded that they gave a strong performance despite the early exit.

“They faced the challenge bravely and gave a good account of themselves. They did their very best and that is all we can ask of them.”

Continuing, the sports minister remarked: “We will lift the spirit of our boys and as professionals they will look beyond AFCON and continue to work with their technical team to ensure continuous improvement.”

“The overall performance of the team during this tournament shows we have regained our better footing and are heading in the proper direction.

“Our football, once again was fluid, purposeful and beautiful to watch. We have a good team and Nigeria will help them to get better.”

The event was attended by the Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, Ist Vice-President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Shehu Dikko, Chairperson of the Nigeria Women Football League, Aisha Falode and amongst other dignitaries.

Alex Iwobi walking off the pitch after he was sent off during the Nigeria versus Tunisia Round of 16 clash at the ongoing AFCON AFCO AF CON N in Cameroon...last Cam mer eroo oon n.....la last s Sunday

Hakimi’s Stunner Pushes Morocco into Q’final sensational from Achraf A se sens nsat a io at iona nall free-kick free fr ee-kic kick k fr fro om A omA chra ch hraff Hakimi lifted Morocco to a 2-1 win over Malawi and Ml d into the h Africa Af Cup of Nations quarter-finals.

Malawi’s Gabadinho Mhango gave his nation a shock lead in the first half with arguably the goal of the tournament from 35-yards out, but a thumping header from Youssef El Nesyri and Hakimi’s set-piece booked Morocco’s place in the last eight.

Vahid Halilhodzic’s side,

considered co cons nsid ider ered ed o one ne of of th thee favo ffavourites avour urit ites es to win the tournament, will play p y Coast or E Egypt in the IIvory C h next round.

Morocco began the game firmly on the front foot and were piling numbers forward from the first whistle, but Mhango stunned the Atlas Lions with a goal of the year contender in the seventh minute.

The 29-year-old Orlando Pirates striker picked the ball up near the halfway line before he fired a

vicious curling strike beyond vi vici ciou ouss cu url rliing ing st tri rik ike ke b bey eyon yond d th thee helpless p Yassine Bounou in g goal for his third h h d goall off the h tournament.

Mhango came close to scoring again in the 22nd minute as he broke behind the Morocco defence, but he dragged his low strike just wide.

After Watford midfielder Imran Louza hit the bar 10 minutes later, Malawi goalkeeper Charles Thomu was extremely busy. He made great diving saves to deny

Achraf Hakimi Sofiane Boufal Ach A chr hraff H aki ak kimi imi an and d So ofi fian anee Bouf B oufal al from close range. g But on the half-time B h stroke k off h lf Morocco got a deserved equaliser through En Nesyri, powerfully heading in a fine Selim Amallah cross at the far post.

Morocco continued to push for a winner in the second half and they got it in stunning fashion in the 69th minute as Hakimi curled his sublime free-kick into the top corner.

Achraf Hakimi scored the winner for Morocco in the 2-1 defeat of Malawi...last night

63

WEDNESDAY, ͺ;˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

SPORTS

The Olembe Stadium in Yaounde will not host games again after eight fans died in a stampede at the facility on Monday.

PHOTO: Getty Images

Matches Moved from Olembe Stadium after Death of Eight Fans The Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal due to be held at the Olembe Stadium on Sunday will be moved after a fatal crush outside the ground on Monday.

At least eight people were killed and 38 injuredas fans struggled to get access to a match between hosts Cameroon and Comoros in

Yaounde.

All Nations Cup matches will remember victims with a minute's silence.

The Confederation of African Football and world governing body FIFA have sent condolences to the affected families.

Two children, aged eight and 14,

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS were among the dead, and seven people were seriously injured in the crush.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe visited injured supporters in hospital and the scene outside the Olembe

Stadium on Tuesday, and later said he was "sad and hurt" by the incident.

Motsepe added that CAF must take responsibility for the crush along with the local organising

Sadio Mane (left) was on target yesterday as Senegal defeated nine-man Cape Verde 2-0 to reach the quarter finals of the PHOTO: CAF Images Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Sadio Mane on Target as Senegal Beat Nine-man Cape Verde Sadio Mane scored as Senegal beat nine-man Cape Verde 2-0 in the last 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations, but then was forced off with concussion.

Mane curled in off the underside of the crossbar soon after keeper Vozinha had been dismissed over a nasty clash of heads with the Liverpool forward.

Mane continued despite appearing to be briefly knocked out in the incident.

After celebrating his goal he lay down on halfway, and before the game restarted he was led off the field.

Cape Verde midfielder Patrick Andrade had been shown a straight red card midway through the first half, while Bamba Dieng added Senegal's second in second-half injury time.

The match in Bafoussam was preceded by a minute's silence for the victims of the crush at the Olembe Stadium on Monday.

Senegal will face either Mali or Equatorial Guinea in the last

eight on Sunday.

Tournament organisers the Confederation of African Football may have questions to answer about their concussion protocols after Vozinha and Liverpool striker Mane were both floored in the 53rd minute.

The Cape Verde keeper rushed out of his box in an attempt to intercept a long kick

downfield by Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy, and collided head-first at pace with Mane, who had got to the ball first and headed forward.

After a lengthy stoppage a clearly groggy Vozinha was about to be substituted but, following a video assistant referee review, deserved to receive Cape Verde's second red

card for his reckless challenge.

Somehow Mane was deemed fit to continue and, after having a shot saved by substitute keeper Marcio Rosa, the forward then broke the deadlock from the resulting corner.

With further medical assessments to follow, Mane will surely be a doubt for Senegal's quarter-final tie.

AFN Postpones All-Comers Competition to Honour Late Ebewele The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has postponed this weekend's All-Comers competition as a mark of honour for late Brown Ebewele.

The competition, scheduled for Asaba clashes with the funeral rite for its former technical director, Ebewele who will be committed to mother earth on Friday in Uromi, Esan North East Local Government, Edo State.

In a statement signed by AFN Secretary

General, Prince Adeniyi Adisa Beyioku, the postponement became necessary because of the former Nigeria decathlon king's burial programme which begins with a vigil mass on Thursday at his Benin city residence.

“The postponement of the AFN All-Comers competition is in honour of our departed hero, Hon Brown Ebewele whose burial ceremony is scheduled to hold from 27th to

30th January, 2022,” read the statement.

Ebewele died on December 31, 2021 after a brief illness and his funeral rites will start with the vigil mass on Thursday while there will be a lying-in-state at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City on Friday morning.

The body of the late sports icon fondly called the 'Juju man', will be moved to Uromi for a funeral mass before he would be committed to mother earth later that day.

committee and the Cameroonian government.

"We have a duty to find out exactly what happened and more importantly to put in preventative measures to ensure that what happened never happens again," he said.

"There were deficiencies, weaknesses, failures, things that should have been foreseen.

"When people lose their lives you must be angry and demand explanations and guarantees that it will never happen again."

The Olembe Stadium, newly constructed to host the tournament, has a capacity of 60,000 but was not meant to be more than 80% full because of Covid-19 restrictions.

However, match officials were quoted as saying that as many as 50,000 people were trying to attend Monday's match.

The ground held the opening ceremony and is due to host a semi-final and the Nations Cup final on Sunday, 6 February.

Sunday's quarter-final is now set to be played at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde instead.

Cameroon captain Vincent Aboubakar issued a statement on behalf of the squad, saying the Indomitable Lions "deeply wail" after hearing about fatalities and injuries.

"To the families of the victims, (we) extend their heart-felt condolences and wish a speedy recovery to the injured," Aboubakar said.

"The Indomitable Lions urge the football fans in Cameroon and Africa to be highly disciplined and responsible within and outside the

stadiums so that football matches in general and the 2021 Nations Cup remain festive moments. "[We] also call for the preservation of security, brotherhood and shared happiness in the stadiums."

Football's world governing body FIFA has sent its "deepest condolences" to families and friends of the victims of a crush outside a stadium at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

"Fifa sends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims who lost their lives following the tragic incident that took place at Olembe Stadium," the statement from FIFA said.

"The thoughts and prayers of the global football community are with the victims, the ones who have been injured in this incident, and all the staff of both CAF and the Cameroonian Football Association (FECAFOOT) at this difficult moment."

Cameroonian President Paul Biya ordered an investigation into the "tragic incident", while CAF is in in "constant communication" with the Cameroonian government and the local organizing committee and has also launched its own investigation.

RESULTS Senegal 2-0 Cape Verde Morocco 2-1 Malawi

(Wed Jan 26) Ivory Coast v Egypt (5pm) Mali v E’Guinea (8pm)

MTN Applauds Efforts of Super Eagles at AFCON 2021 The official communications partner of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), MTN Nigeria, has applauded the Super Eagles for their efforts at AFCON 2021.

The Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Olutokun Toriola, commended the players and coaching crew for putting up a great performance at the tournament and reiterated the brand’s support. “We applaud the Super Eagles for putting up inspiring performances at the Nations Cup. The team did their absolute best and we are proud of them. We have a World Cup to prepare for, and we will support them all the way.”

On September 2, 2021, MTN Nigeria signed a three-year multi-million-Naira partnership deal with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and was announced as the official

communications partner for the Super Eagles and other National Teams.

According to Toriola, “Through this partnership, MTN is building a sustainable legacy of support, collaboration and exciting soccer experiences for Nigerians.

“In the spirit of providing exciting football experience for Nigerians, MTN Nigeria, will continue its partnership with 140 viewing centres across the country allowing Nigerians to experience the passion of the sport with fans. MTN Nigeria will also carry on with its promise to reward six grand prize winners of the MTN Football promo with an all-expense paid trip to watch the final match of the ongoing 2021 AFCON tournament in Cameroon and will also continue to reward cash prizes to winners of the MTN Football promo.

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

TR

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& RE A SO

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Price: N250

MISSILE Edwin Clark to the North

“Without rotation or zoning there will be no Nigeria… Some people are oppressing others because they believe they own Nigeria. Now, zoning has been in existence conventionally, even before independence.

There must be zoning, if you want Nigeria to survive and be a united country”--Elder Statesman and Leader of PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark, warning antagonists of power shift to the South in 2023.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE THE HORIZON

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

0805 500 1974

Politics Sans Ideas?

“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.

Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.” - John Maynard Keynes in his General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.

“It is far from being utopian to suggest that the polity would certainly be enriched if men of ideas from various ideological backgrounds could partake in politics”

T

his year’s political conjuncture is similar to those of some years in the last two decades of Nigeria’s experiment in liberal democracy.

To be sure, one undeniable success of this experiment is that it has been the longest period of civil rule in which regular elections have been held at the end of the constitutional tenures of elected officers.

One feature of this experience is that about a year to the elections, the personalities of political aspirants would be the topics of discussions. As it is today, so it was in the political ferment of 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018. The symmetry among these years was that they were years before the years of the general elections: 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. The one preceding the year of election was invariably that of anxiety, permutation, wild speculations and realignment of forces.

During each of these years, which had its own unique events, politics meant just a little more than the discussions of the personalities of those seeking power. Big and small names come up for political analysis; but you don’t find many big

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu ideas in the passionate discussions. You look for the ideas about which the political personalities are passionate in vain. All you would find is the geo-poltical calculus for or against the candidate; but that is very important in the current politics.

It has been politics of personalities and not politics of ideas.

So, as the political stability of the last 23 years is celebrated, the factor of ideas in political development should also be considered. Politicians and the general public alike ought to worry about the content of this politics that is hardly driven by ideas.

The other day, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had to remind politicians and their supporters that by its calendar, open campaigns were yet to begin. Yet some political activists have carried on as if campaigns were already in full swing. As a matter of fact, the emerging political culture is that as soon as the results of an election are announced by INEC, speculations begin to fill the air about the names of aspirants for the next election, which is expected to take

place four years from the time. Democracy in the Nigerian context has been reduced to elections.

Election has become an end in itself. Politicians invest more energy and time in thinking about how to “capture” power and less on what to do with the power.

This is certainly not the way of politics of development.

And the fact that this has been the dominant political trend is ample proof of why underdevelopment remains a great challenge facing the country.

Now, it is within the remit of INEC to caution political gladiators against non-compliance with the statutory time-table. Beyond premature open campaigns, however, due attention should also be drawn to the huge deficit of ideas in the content of the contemporary politics. This is a job well beyond INEC. It is actually a task for all those interested in the politics of development. Ironically, the existence of the task is not even acknowledged yet.

By the way, some “practical politicians” and their strategists and handlers reading this column are wont to chuckle and dismiss this proposition as “academic,” if not naïve. They would claim to be adept in understanding the political reality of how elections are won without placing much premium on ideas. Yet, it is the lack of potent ideas informing programmes and policies that is responsible for the fact that poverty and Continued on page 61

GEORGEOBIOZOR GUEST COLUMNIST

Igbos Are Prepared For The 2023 Presidency L (Response to Igbos, PDP, and the Presidency by Fredrick Nwabufo on THISDAY, the Sunday Newspaper, January 23, 2022).

et it been known and clearly understood that Ndigbo are more prepared than the North when President Buhari was elected in 2015. By then Boko Haram had threatened to over run the North and the country, and the nation’s priority then was security and the issue of who will guarantee security to the country favoured Buhari, a former Head of state, a General e.t.c. The only preparation in the north was having available a man like Buhari presumed to have the capacity to confront the security challenges in the North and the rest of the country.

In the South West, how prepared were they in 1999 when President Obasanjo was elected? Infact, many people from the South West did not vote for him in that election. The people of the South West zone were deep in the crises of NADECO and displeasure over the June 12, 1993 election annulment. Here, notwithstanding, the Nigerian nation and the people through the two main national political parties zoned the Presidency to the South West in order to heal and reconcile the nation over the post 1993 election crisis.

Today, if the truth must be told, the imperative of zoning the Presidency to the South East is an idea whose time has come. Certainly, Ndigbo are

Buhari prepared and look forward to it as a national priority.

It is also indeed reasonable and logical that before any other zone in the country goes for a Second Turn of occupying the office of the Presidency that Ndigbo should at least have their First Turn.

As Ayo Adebanjo, the leader of Afenifere, the Apex Yoruba socio cultural group said “you talk about

unity, that is where you will know where sincerity lies. If you are keen about unity, will there be a unit of the country that you will deprive Presidency?

What does that mean for unity? ” “We are talking about people who want Nigeria to stay together. How can anybody who loves this country talk of the Presidency coming to the South West in 2023? Why should you exclude the South East? Is South East not part of Nigeria? “South West has had, South South has had, the North has had, why exclude the South East if you want them to be there? That is the point”.

The General opinion of patriotic Nigerians or as Ahmadu Bello would put it those with ‘Conscience Nurtured by Truth’ the “Yoruba have had a fair share of power since 1999, with eight years of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Professor Yemi Osibanjo who would be completing eight years as Vice President in 2023 under Buhari’s presidency.

It will be unfair, unjust and unpatriotic as well as against the national spirit and interest to deny Ndigbo their own opportunity and pretend as if they do not exist as part of Nigerian nation.

As one commentator on Nigerian political affairs stated “The rest of the Country may not like the feistiness of the Igbo or any of their other idiosyncratic worldviews, but there is no excuse for denying them justice, fairness and equity”. And

likewise, General Alabi Isama also said’ Let power shift end but Igbo must be President first. There is an Igbo proverb that says, ‘You don’t take the tortoise wife because he has a small thing’ such injustice cry to heaven and to God who created him. Ndigbo waited patiently and cooperatively for the Southern zones-South West and South South to have their opportunities to produce the country’s Presidents. Who really wants to push Ndigbo out of Nigeria by denying them a place in history, to produce the President of Nigeria.

Also no leader in history was ever indifferent about who would succeed him and President Buhari will not be an exception. Consequently, it is expected that Mr. President must have a critical role in the emergence of his own successor. To this effect, it is important for the President not to lose sight of political developments that may be injurious to national unity and corporate existence of the country. It is the national expectation that Mr. President continues his policy of national healing and reconciliation to a logical conclusion.

We should be mindful of those who want to pursue a politically motivated strategy that treats the South East as a hostile territory which is grossly wrong and unacceptable definition of the situation Continued on page 61

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