WEDNESDAY 10TH FEBRUARY 2021

Sylva: With Rising Oil Price, High Petrol Cost Inevitable FG launches programme to reduce crude production cost Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, yesterday prepared the minds of Nigerians for a higher regime

of the pump price of petrol, given the new fortune of crude oil in the international market.

With the price of Brent crude oil still hovering around $60 per barrel yesterday, Sylva said a high cost of petrol will be

inevitable and urged Nigerians to be ready to bear the pains of the impending new price regime.

Besides, the federal government yesterday ramped up its plan to achieve

the $10 per barrel crude oil production target with the official inauguration of the Nigerian Upstream Cost Optimisation Programme (NUCOP).

Sylva, at the NUCOP

inauguration in Abuja, said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) cannot continue to bear the cost of under-recovery or subsidy, adding that while government revenue has improved

following the rise in crude oil price, the gains cannot be frittered on subsidy payment.

According to the pricing template of the Petroleum Continued on page 9

CACOVID Clarifies COVID-19 Vaccine Acquisition Procedure... Page 8 Wednesday 10 February, 2021 Vol 26. No 9439. Price: N250

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WTO May Crown Okonjo-Iweala DG Monday... Page 9

Crush the Insurgency Now, Buhari Orders Military Chiefs Lists gains of Nigeria-Niger Republic rail link Directs conclusion of financial plan for Lagos-Calabar rail project Deji Elumoye, Kingsley Nwezeh and Kasim Sumaina in Katsina President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the military service chiefs to be decisive in dealing with terrorists and ending the insurgency in the North-east without further delay.

Buhari has also justified the extension of the Kano-

Katsina-Jibiya rail line to Maradi in Niger Republic, saying the project, when completed, will boost trade between Nigeria and Niger Republic, foster trans-Sahara trade and contribute to the expected gains in the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).

Continued on page 9

Open Grazing No Longer Sustainable, Northern Govs Admit Seek FG's funding for states to pilot new livestock production

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The Northern Governors Forum has admitted that following Nigeria’s increasing urban population, the current system of open grazing of cows is no longer sustainable.

The governors, during an emergency meeting which they held virtually on Monday to discuss issues affecting the region and the country expressed concern Continued on page 9

REVALIDATED...

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (left) and Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, during the vice president’s revalidation of his membership of All Progressives Congress in Ikenne, Ogun State…yesterday

In Fresh Attacks, Bandits Kill 23 in Five Kaduna LGs...Page 5

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

In Fresh Attacks, Bandits Kill 23 in Five Kaduna LGs

John Shiklam in Kaduna

No fewer than 23 people have been confirmed dead following attacks by bandits on communities in five local government areas of Kaduna State.

The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the killings in a statement yesterday in Kaduna.

The attacks came barely three days after bandits, riding on motorcycles, invaded Kutemeshi village in Birnin Gwari LGA, killing 19 people.

Giving a breakdown of the death toll, Aruwan said 10 people were killed in Anguwan Gajere village, Birnin Gwari LGA; one in Dankyawai community, Igabi LGA; five in Kishisho village, Kauru LGA; one in Janbaba village, five in Gwagwada-Kasaya village, Chikun LGA, and one in Agwa village, also in Chikun LGA. Aruwan said: “Following the security situation across the state within the last 24 hours, the Kaduna State Government has received reports from security agencies of the killing of 23 citizens in different attacks on soft targets in Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Chikun, Igabi, and Kauru local government areas.

“The attacks on soft targets

in these local government areas occurred around Kaduna State’s boundaries with neighbouring states.”

He listed the 10 persons killed in Birnin Gwari LGA during the attack on Ungwan Gajere, Kutemeshi as Abdu Hasan, Sufyanu Musa Faisal Zubairu, Abdullahi Hasan, Ali Abdu, Rabiu Aliyu Zubairu Yau, Bukar Yusuf Mamman Ibrahim and Dankande Musa.”

Those injured included Baushi Alu, Rabe Sani, and Usama Sani.

He said: “In Igabi Local Government Area, bandits shot dead one Dayyabu Yahuza between Sarkin Baka and Dankyawai village, near Gidan Kurmi.

“In Giwa Local Government Area, armed bandits invaded Janbaba village, one Yakubu Sule was shot dead.

“In Kishisho village, Kauru Local Government Area, gunmen suspected to be from a neighbouring state killed five persons: Danlami Sunday, Abbas Abou Sati Yakubu, Shaba John John Francis “In Chikun Local Government Area, five citizens were killed by bandits in Gwagwada-Kasaya village in Kunai ward. They are, Habila Ibrahim Samaila Audu, John Musa Birnin Aboki, Ali Aboki.”

The commissioner added that in Agwa, Chikun LGA, one Bitrus Joseph was shot dead in an attack by bandits, while in Chikun LGA, one bandit was killed near Bugai,

when members of the community repelled an attack.

According to him, the state Governor, Mr. Nasir el-Rufai, has expressed sadness over the

attacks and sent his condolences to the bereaved families.

Aruwan said: “The air platforms of the Nigerian Air Force are trailing and engaging

bandits in some locations in Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Giwa and Igabi LGAs. Citizens will be briefed upon the receipt of operational feedback.”

HARD WORK PAYS...

L-R: President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, his Escort Commander, Mr. Olaniyan Abidemi; and Chief of Staff, Mr. Babagana Aji, during the decoration of the escort commander with his new rank of deputy superintendent of police in Abuja…yesterday

WTO May Crown Okonjo-Iweala DG Monday Obinna Chima The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has scheduled a special meeting of its General Council for Monday, where Nigeria’s former Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, is expected to be formally announced as the director-general.

According to a notification sighted by THISDAY yesterday, the only agenda for the meeting is to “consider the appointment of the next WTO DirectorGeneral.”

The United State had last

week given its formal approval to the emergence of OkonjoIweala as the next directorgeneral, thereby removing the final obstacle to her bid to be the first woman and the first African to run the Geneva-based trade body.

The US' endorsement of the candidacy of Nigeria’s two-term former minister was a sequel to the withdrawal of her main challenger, the South Korean Trade Minister, Yoo Myung-hee, from the race.

The United States Trade Representative office, in a statement, had said: “Dr. Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth

of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is pleased to express its strong support for the candidacy of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director-General of the WTO. “Dr. Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy from her 25 years with the World Bank and two terms as Nigerian finance minister. She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven experience managing a large international organisation with a diverse membership.”

The US had also congratulated Yoo on her campaign for the position, saying she is a trailblazer as the Republic of Korea’s first female trade minister and the first candidate from Korea to advance this far in the WTO leadership race.

The organisation has been without a leader since last year when Roberto Azevedo vacated the position a year before his term was set to expire. Since then, the WTO has been overseen by four unelected deputy directors-general.

The WTO’s leadershipselection process reached an impasse last year when the

Trump administration opposed Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy and said it preferred Yoo. That opposition was enough to halt the selection process because WTO decisions are made on the basis of a consensus of its 164 members.

Yoo ended her campaign yesterday following consultations with the Biden administration.

Okonjo-Iweala is a former Managing Director of the World Bank. She is a renowned global finance expert, an economist, and an international development professional with over 30 years of experience, having worked

in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

She is presently the Chair of the Board of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.

Since its creation in 2000, GAVI has immunised over 760 million children across the globe. She also sits on the boards of Standard Chartered Plc and Twitter Inc. As Managing Director (Operations) of the World Bank, her portfolios included oversight responsibility for the World Bank’s $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia.

Insecurity, Buhari’s Greatest Challenge, Says Osinbajo Seeks support for govt, revalidates APC membership Kayode Fasua in Abeokuta Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday urged Nigerians to support the federal government to help overcome what he termed "the most challenging times in history."

Osinbajo, at the revalidation of his membership of All Progressives Congress (APC) in his Ikenne, Ogun State hometown, said insecurity remains one of the greatest challenges facing the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He, however, added that notwithstanding the challenges, the APC remains the best party to solve Nigeria's problems.

He urged Nigerians to keep supporting the ruling party despite the various challenges facing the country.

Osinbajo revalidated his

membership of the party alongside Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, and former governor of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba, The membership registration and revalidation of the ruling APC in Ogun State was kickstarted by the vice president at his country home in Ward 1, Unit 3, Egunrege in Ikenne, Ikenne Local Government Area.

Abiodun was registered at Ward 3, polling unit 1, IperuRemo also in Ikenne LGA, while Osoba revalidated his membership at Sodubi Primary School, Ward 7, polling booth 3 in Obafemi/Owode LGA. Osinbajo, accompanied by the Niger State Governor and the National Chairman of the APC Registration and Revalidation Committee, Mr. Abubakar Bello, was received at the Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne by

Abiodun, Osoba, the South-west Team Leader of the committee, Senator Lawan Shuaib, and other top members of the party.

Osinbajo headed straight to Ward 1, Unit 3, Egunrege Polling Unit, Ikenne, where his membership was revalidated by the Ward Chairman, Mr. Segun Awomuti.

The vice president said he was happy to be at his ward to revalidate his membership.

He stated that the party registration and revalidation are important in order for the party to identify and reach out to members, adding that APC is a grassroots party with focus on the welfare of the people.

Osinbajo said the party is in power at the most challenging time in the world, adding that "despite security challenge that has stretched the security agencies to the limit and

COVID- 19 pandemic, APC remains the best party to solve Nigeria's problems."

He also urged Nigerians to resist attempts by some disgruntled elements to destabilise the country and truncate its unity.

He said: "Party registration and revalidation are important because they offer us an opportunity to have a credible roll of members such that we are able to reach our members from the polling booth level all the way to the wards, local government, and federal constituencies.

"The people are the party and the party is the people.

Ours is a grassroots party - a party of the people. Our focus is on the welfare, prosperity and wellbeing of all our people.

"Party members must understand their importance

in the scheme of things. They must fully understand party’s philosophy and programmes; they must be actively mobilised to participate in, propagate and support government programmes.

"But we are in government at one of the most challenging times in history. The pandemic has made matters worse, and we have also had security challenges that have stretched our law enforcement capacities all over the country.

"Yet we remain the best party to solve these problems. Because of our grassroots orientation, we have and continue to put in place the best programmes for the welfare of our people," Osinbajo stated.

He, however, called on Nigerians to collaborate with the Buhari administration in its efforts to surmount the

challenges confronting Nigeria.

In his remarks, Abiodun, commended Osinbajo and Buhari for going back to their respective wards to revalidate their memberships of the ruling party.

He said the registration and revalidation will be successful in Ogun, adding that new members will be mobilised for the party during the exercise.

"Ours is a grassroots party and nobody will be discriminated against. APC is not a social club and circumstances of birth, social status or class don't matter," he said.

Osoba noted that revalidation of Osinbajo's membership of APC at his ward in Ikenne is historic as the town is the home of progenitor of progressive politics, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

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CACOVID Clarifies COVID-19 Vaccine Acquisition Procedure Says no private entity can do procurement Obinna Chima The private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) yesterday shed more light on its squabble with the BUA Group, saying the company cannot lay claims to the acquisition of vaccines for Nigeria as presently no private organisation is authorised to do so globally.

CACOVID said although the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is yet to approve any of the brands of vaccines for the country, there are steps to be followed in procuring the vaccines.

The Administrator, CACOVID, and Managing Director of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Ms. Zouera Youssofou, spoke during an interview on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, against the backdrop of Monday dispute between the BUA Group and CACOVID over claims by the former that it had purchased one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for Nigeria.

BUA, in a statement, had said that it had paid for one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for Nigeria through the Afreximbank Vaccine programme in partnership with CACOVID. The company, which said the vaccines would be distributed at no cost to Nigerians, added that the one million doses would be delivered next week. It pledged to buy an additional five million.

However, CACOVID in a statement Monday night, disowned BUA’s claim, saying the Chairman/ Founder of the group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, must have been misquoted.

“CACOVID leadership agreed to contribute $100 million to procure vaccines for Nigeria, these one million doses from Afreximbank worth $3.45 million, being the very first tranche. CACOVID will purchase vaccines through other credible and subsidised mechanisms such as COVAX. “The vaccines will be delivered to Nigeria and distributed through the

National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA).

“CACOVID would like the Nigerian public to understand that vaccine purchase is only possible through the Federal Government of Nigeria, and that no individual or company can purchase vaccines directly from any legitimate and recognised manufacturer,” it had said.

In a riposte, BUA disputed CACOVID’s claim, saying that it offered to pay for the vaccine when no other member of the coalition was forthcoming with a donation.

It narrated: “After extensive deliberations, there was no agreement reached and despite members being offered the opportunity to donate funds towards procuring the doses, none offered. BUA then took it upon itself to offer to pay for the one million doses at the agreed rate of $3.45 per dose totalling $3,450,000,000.00 which translates to N1.31 billion.

“The Chairman of BUA also requested through the CBN governor that the naira equivalent be paid to the relevant account with CBN, and that CBN forward the dollar payment to Afrexim on CACOVID’s behalf.

“This payment was made immediately after the meeting and BUA transferred the money to the CBN (see payment confirmation attached) in order to meet the deadline.”

But, speaking on ARISE NEWS Channel, Youssofou explained that CACOVID as a group always agrees on what to purchase, how to purchase it and what modalities the purchases would be.

This, she said, was how the group had been working since its creation in March 2020.

“The purchasing of the vaccine is similar to the purchasing of testing supplies. That means we will do this through valid and subsidised means,” she added.

According to her, presently, there are three mechanisms that the federal government is participating in the purchase of the vaccines.

She listed them to include COVAX, the African Union Vaccine Acquisition Taskforce, which is funded by Afreximbank and the World Bank, which is also funding some of the vaccines.

She explained that Nigeria, being a member of all the aforementioned organisations, CACOVID’s role is to support the government in procuring what is needed to help the citizens.

She stated: “So, there are several steps to procuring vaccines. The government is the only one that can buy the vaccines, so, as a private sector group or individual companies, we can’t buy vaccines ourselves.

“You cannot call AstraZeneca, Pfizer, or Moderna and order vaccines from them. The second thing is that the distribution of the vaccine has to be done by the National Primary Development Healthcare Agency (NPDHA), which is the only agency in the country mandated to manage

the vaccine.

“So, this is not a matter of sending money to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). That is one step. But the real step is how do we get the vaccine into Nigeria and how do we distribute them to the people?

“Another thing which is being overlooked is that AstraZeneca or any vaccine hasn’t been approved by NAFDAC, which is the regulatory agency.”

According to her, without the approval of NAFDAC, no vaccine can be imported, be distributed or given to Nigerians.

Providing more insight into what transpired, she said she was on the conference call with the Afreximbank President, Prof. Benedict Oramah, on February 7, alongside Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Access Bank Managing Director, Mr. Herbert Wigwe and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

She said: “In that call, Oramah explained to us, their model and how the vaccine

task force was working with the AU and that allocation of 14 million dozes had been made for Nigeria.

“He also told us that there was an extra one million doses that we could get if we confirm that we wanted it by the next day, which was February 8th.

“So, CACOVID leaders agreed that it was a good thing and we agreed to take that to our larger meeting on Monday. What is really important to note is that after that call, Afreximbank already secured those doses for Nigeria because they had the confirmation from Emefiele, Wigwe and Dangote.

“So, nobody is disputing a transfer into the CBN’s account, nobody is saying that didn’t happen. The challenge is the claim that one company has brought the vaccine into Nigeria, which is not factual.”

According to her, the clarification became necessary, so that Nigerians

would not be expecting the vaccines by next week.

“We do not have an approval from NAFDAC yet; nobody is playing politics with anything, the vaccines are going to be free, just as everything that CACOVID had done had been free.

“But the idea that we would have the vaccines in Nigeria next week is not realistic. So, there are many questions beyond sending money to the CBN,” she added.

She stated that the private sector coalition has always had the idea of collegiality and has different members who contributed different amounts of money.

“The account at the CBN has everybody’s contribution and that is from where the CBN would transfer to whoever we are making purchases from. If you look at all the things we did before, you will never have had an individual company saying it bought this or that,” she said.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWED...

Member, Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Registration Committee, Mr. Wasiu Banjo; Chairman of the committee, Mr. Muhammad Bashir; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and the committee Secretary, Chief Anthony Ogah, during the revalidation of the governor’s membership in Lagos…yesterday

Appeal Court President, Dongban-Mensem, Urges Female Judges to Unite We are despised specie, she says Alex Enumah in Abuja Court of Appeal President, Justice Monica DongbanMensem, yesterday harped on the need for female judges in the country to unite.

She stressed that unity amongst female judges is crucial if they must succeed and excel in their career, adding that they are "despised specie."

She gave the charge when a delegate of the National

Association of Women Judges in Nigeria (NAWJN) paid a courtesy visit to her office in Abuja.

The delegation was led by secretary of the association, Justice Esther Lolo of the Federal High Court in Kaduna.

Welcoming her guest, the Appeal Court president who lamented that there was disunity among female judges, said there was a need for them to come together in order to

be able to help those in need.

Justice Dongban-Mensem, who was a former secretary of the association, reminded the body that they are "despised specie" and the need to be united was imperative.

"I find it a bit strange that a secretary of women judges found it difficult to see one of theirs since assumption of office. You have failed in this aspect.

"We women are our own

problem. We have to come together. We are despised specie. Therefore we must come together, help each other", she stressed.

She advised the association to go back to the drawing board, associate with each other in order to preserve the dreams and objectives of the founding members of the association.

She maintained that the association was formed in

1979 to solve issues and help female judges in problems.

She pleaded with the group not to veer off from that aim so as not to fail female judges before them, saying: "Women can do a lot of things.

"We have intuition, we can develop the world, we need to come together with one single mindedness and embrace each other. Let's be each other's keeper," she said.

Justice Dongban-Mensem

added that there was no limit to their achievement if only they will work as a team.

Earlier, leader of the delegation, Justice Lolo, said they came to intimate her with the national conference of the association coming up in Abuja on Thursday.

She said the conference which has the theme: A woman at her work place, will be a hybrid one, with some speakers attending virtually.

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PAGE NINE CRUSH THE INSURGENCY NOW, BUHARI ORDERS MILITARY CHIEFS The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Amao, who spoke on the presidential directive during a visit to Maiduguri, said the president routed the order through the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Lucky Irabor, for them to come up with new strategies to rout the insurgents.

He stated that he has had meetings with the other service chiefs leading to the continuing tour of military formations in the North-east, including Sector 3 Operation Lafiya Dole (OPLD) and the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

Amao, during his visit to the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri, said: "Mr. President had given the Chief of Defence Staff, along with the service chiefs, the onerous task of bringing the war against insurgency to a decisive end in order to restore normalcy to all troubled parts of the country."

He stated that they had already begun to "take action in this regard, holding several meetings to evolve strategies for better synergy in the joint operations."

According to him, in line with the president's mandate as well as the defence minister's strategic guidance, he has crafted his vision for the service, which is “to enhance and sustain critical airpower capabilities required for joint force deployment in pursuit of national security imperatives.”

He added that the vision is hinged on five key drivers which include "focus on doctrinal development and application of airpower in joint military operations, pursuit of purposeful training and human capacity development as well as sustenance of platforms and equipment serviceability through innovative maintenance methods and logistics support

systems.

He listed other key drivers as "fostering a disciplined workforce essential for combat readiness and bolstering morale by improving personnel welfare."

Amao, therefore, charged all personnel to do their own bit towards the attainment of the noble objective.

He said the focus on joint doctrinal development is premised on the need to evolve new ways of doing things in order to achieve better and longer-lasting results. He stated that in terms of pursuing purposeful training and human capacity development, the service will sustain and build on the capacity building initiatives of his predecessor while ensuring that training will be robust and balanced.

Amao also said in sustaining platforms’ serviceability, the service will continue to leverage on the acquisition of new platforms while ensuring effective maintenance of existing ones.

He said in addition to the 23 new aircraft the federal government acquired for the air force, 15 additional new manned aircraft - 12 A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft and three JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter jets - as well as eight new Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) were also being expected.

He noted that the additional new aircraft will add value to operations in the North-east and other operational theatres.

Amao also addressed personnel during his maiden operational visit to the ATF Headquarters in Maiduguri and the 171 Nigerian Air Force Detachment (171 NAF Det) in Monguno to assess the conduct of the counterinsurgency operation as well as inspect facilities and ongoing projects.

Amao, in company with

the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, commended the ATF for the recent successes recorded in the renewed offensive by the land and air components of OPLD. He stated that the NAF headquarters will continue to provide all necessary support to ensure “the sustenance of critical airpower capabilities required for joint force employment in pursuit of national security imperatives."

On welfare issues, Amao said in line with the president's mandate to ensure adequate welfare of all personnel, his administration will give priority to the provision of equipment, uniforms and kits, while ensuring the prompt payment of allowances and provision of residential accommodation for both serving and retired officers.

He commended the ATF commander as well as his officers, airmen and airwomen for their hard work and dedication to duty, as evident in the intensive rate of effort with missions being conducted day and night to attack terrorists’ targets as well as provide support to ground troops, whenever required.

He called for the strengthening of the synergy with the army and other security agencies to ensure total victory.

Buhari Lists Gains of Nigeria-Niger Republic Rail Link Meanwhile, Buhari yesterday justified the extension of the Kano-Katsina-Jibiya rail line to Maradi in Niger Republic, saying the project, when completed, will boost trade between Nigeria and Niger Republic, foster trans-Sahara trade and contribute to the expected gains in AfCFTA. Buhari, during the virtual ground breaking for the Kano-

Katsina-Jibiya-Maradi rail line, also directed the Ministry of Transportation as well as the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to conclude financial plans for the execution of the west-east coastal rail line from Lagos to Calabar.

The $1.959 billion KanoKatsina-Jibiya-Maradi rail project, covering 284 kilometres, was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by the president last September.

The president, in a statement by his media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina, noted that Jibiya and Maradi constitute a significant trading core between Nigeria and Niger Republic – a tradition dating back many centuries.

“This vital infrastructure line will establish an end-to-end logistic supply chain in railway transport services between northern and southern regions of the country, reaching Nigerian southern ports of Lagos and Warri.

“The entire route encompasses territory inhabited by close to 80 million people across 10 states of the country. This project has a branch line to Dutse, the capital of Jigawa State, to open up this corridor which is endowed with vast resources,’’ he stated.

He said the Kano-Maradi rail line has been identified as a viable line that will enhance the movement of passengers and freight to the hinterland, especially raw materials from both agricultural and mineral resources for industries.

“The rail line traverses the major commercial and administrative centre of Kano and passing through other economic hubs of the country, including Kazaure, Daura, Katsina and up to the border town of Jibiya and the Niger Republic city of Maradi, “ the president stated.

Buhari said the Kano-Maradi project, when completed, will serve import and export of goods for Niger Republic and other countries in the sub-region through Nigerian ports.

“The country would earn revenue through expansion of trade and commerce, while the people of Niger Republic will benefit from ease of transportation logistics at affordable cost in their import and export business," he added.

The president also gave directives for the conclusion of financial arrangements with appropriate co-financiers that will partner with the federal government for the construction of the west-east coastal rail line from Lagos to Calabar.

According to him, the coastal rail line will connect Onitsha, Benin, Warri, Yenagoa, Port Harcourt, Aba and Uyo. “Furthermore, the contract for the important central railway traversing ItakpeBaro-Abuja with connection to Lokoja and a new seaport in Warri has been signed and is expected to achieve an appreciable level of completion during the tenure of this administration,’’ the president said.

Buhari commended the construction company handling the project, Messrs Mota-Engil Nigeria Limited, for supporting knowledge and technology transfer by investing in the establishment of a learning Institution for Transportation and Railway Science.

“We have in the rail sector embarked on the completion of the 1,424 Kilometre LagosKano rail line to join the one being flagged-off today for the country’s western axis.

“On the eastern corridor of the country, the Port HarcourtEnugu-Makurdi-Maiduguri rail line with branches to Owerri,

Imo State and Damaturu, Yobe State, have been awarded for reconstruction to include a deep sea port in Bonny Island and a railway industrial park in Port Harcourt with the objectives of achieving a vibrant and functional railway," he said.

Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, appreciated Buhari for bringing the life-long dream of the state to reality with the inclusion of the Kano-Maradi rail line.

Masari urged the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, to work towards the completion and inauguration of the project by 2023.

Amaechi said the feasibility study for the Kano-Maradi railway started in 2012 and was concluded in 2015.

He thanked the president for his support and regular intervention.

Amaechi said the entire network of the project has 15 railway stations of different categories with major stations of approximately 3,000 peak passenger-capacity in Kano and Katsina and stations of standard category in Kazaure, Daura, Jibiya and Dutse.

He added that there will be minor stations in Dambatta, Shargelle and Mashi as well as halt stations in Kunya, Kano Airport, Muduru, Dadara and in Niger Republic at Annol Mata and Maradi.

He stated that the rail line is also provided with accessories and special installations, including power and water supply schemes, signalling system and communication in GSM-railway, freight yards, rolling stock depots and maintenance workshops.

Also, the Minister of Transportation, Niger Republic, Mr. Sadou Seydou, said the project will help Niger Republic in the development of transport infrastructure and facilitate movement of goods and services across the border.

will collaborate with the legislature to ensure the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) this year.

NNPC Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, in his remarks, said Nigeria must cut production cost if it is to optimise its crude oil resources.

He said: “There’s a global energy transition. Less costefficient companies cannot survive today. Fifty dollars per barrel production cost cannot survive. There are issues around synergy that we’ve not achieved.

“There are issues of security.

Many companies are hiring their own armies and we can’t continue like that. Issues of taxes and others have to be addressed. Our practices must change so that service providers can deliver.

‘So, we can achieve economic growth and our partners can derive benefits.

It’s not CSR but pure business.

We must have the best of fiscal

environment and policies so that cost of operation can come down and our target is at least $10/barrel.

‘If we do these, tax benefits will increase and the profit margin will increase. This is a task that must be done.

This partnership will help the country. Crude has hit the $60 and it comes with a product price increase.

“We are trying to keep the country wet. We are engaging with labour. No provision for subsidy in the budget."

Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr Simbi Wabote, said the discussion on cost reduction was long overdue and assured stakeholders of the board’s support. ‘‘Cost reduction comes with some pain and what’s important is how the business will survive to sustain jobs.

Local content is a panacea for cost reduction. There are massive cost savings when

Nigerians run the business unlike when expatriates flood the business," he said.

President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Mr Festus Usifo, called on the government to review its expatriates’ costs, saying that many of them are earning fat pay for jobs that can be done

by Nigerians.

SYLVA: WITH RISING OIL PRICE, HIGH PETROL COST INEVITABLE Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), the landing cost of petrol is over N179 per litre, while the expected Open Market Price (OMP) is about N202 per litre.

However, the product is still being sold for between the N162 and N165 per litre price band.

However, Sylva urged Nigerians to prepare for the pains of the increase, saying that it cannot all be pleasure always.

He said: “Since we are optimising everything, NNPC needs to also think about the optimisation of product cost because as we all know, oil prices are where they are today, $60.

“As desirable as this is, this has serious consequences as well on product prices. So, we want to take the pleasure and we should as a country be ready to take the pain. Today the NNPC is taking a big hit from this. We all know that there is no provision in the

budget for subsidy.

“So, somewhere down the line, I believe that the NNPC cannot continue to take this blow. There is no way because there is no provision for it.

As a country, let us take the benefits of the higher crude oil prices and I hope we will also be ready to take a little pain on the side of higher product prices."

The minister said of the nine priority areas given to the ministry as its operational mandate, reduction of crude oil extraction cost remains key.

He stated that the cost of oil production in Nigeria is exceptionally high compared to other oil-producing nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia, adding that the development is robbing the country of its desire to attract investments and remain globally competitive.

Sylva listed capital expenditure, operational cost, policy-related elements, weak collaboration, capacity

and capability issues, facility reliability, single sourcing syndrome, a high magnitude of crude loss, multiplicity of tariff as some issues that the federal government is battling.

“Average total cost is now below $30/barrel for JV contract and less than $20 for Production Sharing Contracts (PSC). We need to do more.

Engagement should reach a consensus on cost reduction. ‘’We are making a case for shared services. Our target is 3mpd daily production and 40 billion barrels reserves.

“We want to position Nigeria as the best designation for investment in the hydrocarbon sector.

The benefits of NUCOP are many. It includes reducing the contracting cycle to three months or less, prompting efficiency, profitability and competitiveness. Its success is dependent on the collaboration of stakeholders," he added.

The minister assured the gathering that the executive

OPEN GRAZING NO LONGER SUSTAINABLE, NORTHERN GOVS ADMIT over the tension generated by the eviction order issued to herdsmen in some parts of the country.

In a communiqué released in Jos, Plateau State capital, yesterday by the Chairman of the forum and Plateau State Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong, the governors said the tension has aggravated the security crisis with threats of reprisals

which the Northern governors are working assiduously to contain.

They also stressed the need for the Nigerian Governors' Forum to meet and discuss the issue holistically with a view to resolving the misunderstanding and conflicts arising from these threats and suspicion for the sake of national unity.

It stated: “Consequently, the forum resolved to aggressively sensitise herdsmen on the need to adopt new methods of herding by ranching or other acceptable modern methods.

“It appeals to the federal government to support states with grants to directly undertake pilot projects of modern livestock

production that will serve as springboard and evidence for breaking resistance to the full implementation of new methods of livestock production.

“Forum resolved to engage elders and youths in a robust discussion with a view to dousing the tensed security environment in the North.

Accordingly, a four-person

committee was put in place to be headed by the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum.”

It called for restraint from leaders, including those in the South “where passion is high” and urged “all the citizens of the North to continue to live in peace with all Nigerians irrespective of their origins and backgrounds.”

TOP GAINERS CHAMPBREW LINKASSURE MORISON RTBRISCOE WEMABANK TOP LOSERS NNFM NEMINSURE NIGERINSURE

NGN NGN 0.25 2.75 0.06 0.66 0.05 0.55 0.02 0.22 0.05 0.70 NGN 0.86 7.79 0.23 2.27 0.02 0.20 JAPAUL 0.07 0.72 MULTIVERSE 0.02 0.24 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦1,450.00 Volume: 305.927 million shares Value: N3.952 billion Deals: 4,969 As at yesterday 9/2/2021 See details on Page 41

% 10 10 10 10 7.6 % 9.9 9.2 9.0 8.8 7.6

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NEWS

Senate Rallies Leaders to Tackle Criminality, Divisive Forces Says herdsmen crisis needs political intervention Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate yesterday rallied Nigerian leaders to fight inter-ethnic and inter-tribal conflicts in some parts of the country, saying leaders must unite against criminality and divisive forces.

President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, while welcoming his colleagues from Christmas break, called on the leaders to join forces to combat banditry and kidnapping, as well as resist the antics of divisive elements bent on instigating inter-ethnic tensions.

He added that the herdsmen’s crisis needs political intervention.

“Insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and militancy remain serious threats to a secured and safe Nigeria,” he said, adding that they are challenges which require the collaborative efforts of the legislature and executive to tackle.

Lawan, while appealing to Nigerians for calm in view of the recent inter-tribal agitations and conflicts in some states, described the development as “worrisome” and one that requires the immediate intervention of political leaders.

“Distinguished colleagues, the very recent emergence of inter-ethnic and inter–tribal conflicts in some parts of our country is worrisome.

The Senate calls for calm.

The situation also calls for leadership at all levels of government.

“Leaders must unite to fight and defeat criminality

in the country. Leaders must also unite to fight any divisive and centrifugal sentiment and tendencies," he stated.

Lawan, while emphasising the need for legislative interventions to douse the heightening inter-ethnic tension, said the National Assembly would collaborate with all tiers of government towards finding a lasting solution to the problem.

He said: “Political leaders are problem solvers. As parliamentarians, we should search for possible legislation to address the issues that tend to create tensions amongst our people. We are going to consult and partner with all arms and tiers of governments, in our quest to find lasting solutions to these ugly developments.”

Lawan also appealed to Nigerians to ensure the responsible use of social media platforms in a way that fosters unity and dissuades strife and conflict.

“Let me take the opportunity to appeal to citizens to always use social media for enhancing unity and brotherhood amongst Nigerians. Surely, the social media platforms can play very positive roles of engendering understanding amongst our diverse people,” he stated.

Commenting on the crucial bills before the National Assembly, Lawan said the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) 2020, the Electoral Act 2016 Amendment and the 1999 Constitution Amendment Bills would boost revenue and enhance transparency

and accountability in the petroleum industry; improve the integrity, transparency and confidence of citizens in the country’s electoral processes as well as engender unity and efficiency in governance.

“We are all aware that the PIB is a critical legislation that our country needs to enhance transparency and accountability in the Nigerian petroleum industry. Equally important, the legislation will make the industry more competitive and therefore attract more investments.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that an increase in

investments will boost our revenues from oil and gas.

The PIB is going to create an all-winners' environment.

This will also bolster our economy for the benefit of all," he added.

He explained that the Senate joint committee working on the PIB will conclude its interventions before the end of March.

Lawan, therefore, expressed optimism that the report of the committee will be considered by the National Assembly before the end of April.

On the amendment of the Electoral Act and the review

of the 1999 Constitution, he said: “The amendment to the Electoral Act 2016 is crucial to improving the integrity, transparency and confidence of citizens in our electoral processes.

“Our Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been working assiduously with its counterpart in the House of Representatives to ensure that the bill is given the necessary scrutiny. We will endeavour to complete the legislative process before the end of the second quarter of this year.

“The review of the 1999

Constitution is another legislative intervention that the Senate is equally committed to. There are many issues that Nigerians have built consensus on and require constitutional amendments, in order to engender unity of our people, and efficiency in governance.

“Our judiciary also needs some legislative interventions to improve on its service to Nigerians. The Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution has been working to ensure that the necessary legislative processes are completed very soon."

NUMBER ONE...

L-R: Principal Consultant, Floating Liquified Natural Gas facility, Dr. Yahuza Kassim; MD/CEO of UTM Offshore Limited, Mr. Julius Rone; and Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Awwal Sarki, during the presentation of license to establish the first FLNG facility in the country to UTM in Abuja…yesterday

Okonkwo: I’m in Anambra Race to Win Says PDP has not changed its position on zoning

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja A leading aspirant in the 2021 Anambra State governorship election, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, has said that he is in the race to win the poll, urging his teaming supporters across the state to remain steadfast and not to be distracted by an orchestrated campaign to sway their support for him.

The political economist stated this in a press statement in Abuja, signed by Mr. Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu for the Dikeora Media Office of

his campaign organisation, yesterday dismissing as fake news reported outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) stakeholders’ meeting in Enugu recently. ‘’The attention of the Dikeora Media Office has been drawn to a misleading and fictitious news' item on the AIF Media alleging the leading aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Anambra governorship election, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, has been disqualified from the contest on the grounds

of zoning. ‘’The Dikeora Media Office would not have bothered to respond to such puerile fiction but for the inherent falsehood it bears’’, the statement said.

The statement added that the meeting of the Southeast Zonal leadership of the PDP with some stakeholders from Anambra State held at Government House Enugu, did not take any decisions on where the governorship candidate of the party in Anambra State would come from.

The statement added, ‘’The meeting also did not alter or cancel the earlier decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party which insisted that the focus of the party was to win the governorship election with the best candidate irrespective of his/her zone.’’

The National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP had in August 2020, at a world press conference held at Wadata House and addressed by the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Kola

Ologbondiyan, stated that it would not adopt an internal policy of another party for the Anambra governorship election.

The PDP NWC also insisted that it will run for the election with the candidate that has the capacity to win; while insisting that the Ndubisi Nwobu executive remains the only recognised PDP exco in Anambra State and urged all government agencies and bodies to deal with the Nwobu exco in any matter relating to PDP in Anambra State.

‘’At no time therefore, did the meeting of the Zonal leadership of PDP at Enugu on Monday discard the above decisions and adopt zoning.

That did not happen. ‘’The Dikeora Media Office calls on Dr. Obiora Okonkwo's teaming supporters across Anambra State to remain steadfast and not to be distracted by an orchestrated infantile campaign to sway their support. Dikeora is fully in the race and is now the candidate to beat,’’ the statement further stated.

Bank Charges: Court Dismisses Suit against CBN James Emejo in Abuja The Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, has dismissed a suit instituted by a legal practitioner, Mr. Olumide Babalola, challenging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy on Current Account maintenance fee contained in the January 2020 Guide to the Charges

by Banks and Other Financial Institutions.

Babalola had instituted the action in the name of his law firm, Babalola LP, in which he contended that the policy and guidelines of the apex bank violated his fundamental human rights.

However, the CBN, through its Counsel, Mr. Adeleke Agbola, of Cheakley Chambers, challenged the suit on the ground that the

plaintiff lacked the legal capacity to institute the suit on a policy that affects the public.

In his Notice of Preliminary Objection to the Suit, Agbola had contended that the plaintiff failed to show that the CBN acted in bad faith or breached any law by issuing the guidelines.

The trial judge, Justice M. Shittu Abubakar, after careful analysis of the case, had on

February 3, 2021, dismissed the suit in its entirety for lacking in merit and upheld the preliminary objection.

The court held that the guidelines issued by the CBN, authorising deduction of current account maintenance charges was lawful and within its statutory powers.

The court also concurred with the argument canvassed by the CBN counsel that the plaintiff had not shown

that the CBN breached any known law by issuing the guidelines.

Justice Abubakar also held that the plaintiff/applicant ought to have negotiated with his bank, Access Bank Plc for a reduction of his charges instead of dragging the CBN to court.

Meanwhile, the new guide to bank charges which was released in December 2019 and became effective from

January 2020, detailed a downward review of charges for electronic banking transactions.

It further reviewed other bank charges to align with market developments as well as inclusion of new sections on accountability, responsibility and a sanction regime to directly address instances of excess, unapproved and arbitrary charges.

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

REVIVING WORLD TRADE AMID COVID-19 Ikenna Emewu writes that Okonjo-Iweala has a tough task ahead as director-general of the WTO

A

fter USA announced the endorsement of Nigerian renowned economist and former finance minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) top job, it is as good as done that she is directorgeneral designate of the WTO. The coast cleared for her ascendance after her only contender and trade minister of South Korea, Yoo Myunghee backed out from the race early February. As a lone contender already endorsed by all 164 members of the WTO, it is a matter of when she would be announced the DG. But if there is an international job that would be strenuous now, Okonjo-Iweala’s coming mission is that. She would step in at a time the world economy is in a very terrible shape and yearns for quick fixes. In addition to the normal tide, Okonjo-Iweala would be the first female to lead the WTO as well as first African. Those two firsts would also be two additional burdens to prove a point.

I am sure she is not unaware of those extra tasks on her way, and I recall her boasting that she is used to tough tasks including fixing the Nigerian economy at the inception of democracy in 1999 and later the post global economic meltdown era during her second coming.

But her pending task is the world economy, far more complex and larger than Nigeria’s.

The WTO is one of the major agencies of the United Nations that drives the global trade economy in a world of fast-paced change and swift movement of goods and services.

On its importance, the body coached in an article on its website that: “Integration into the world economy has proven a powerful means for countries to promote economic growth, development, and poverty reduction. Over the past 20 years, the growth of world trade has averaged six percent per year, twice as fast as world output. But trade has been an engine of growth for much longer.”

Like Bill Gates book: Change at the Speed of Thought, she needs to work at the speed of the frenzied factors that drive the supersonic levers of the world economy today. She would come like someone on special mission to rebuild a collapsed house. The world economy and trade crumbled under the searing Covid-19 impacts in 2020, and yet to recover.

While the devastating coronavirus pandemic gale blew over all countries, another devastation to global trade was with prolific wrong zest making landfalls on several countries and regions.

LIKE BILL GATES BOOK: CHANGE AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT, SHE NEEDS TO WORK AT THE SPEED OF THE FRENZIED FACTORS THAT DRIVE THE SUPERSONIC LEVERS OF THE WORLD ECONOMY TODAY

That other devastation was Trump-made. Former President Donald Trump of the USA had in May 2018, with China and in 2019 with the European Union, India, Canada and others furthered his pet project of weaponizing tariffs to get at other economies in the implementation of his America-first agenda.

But away from these, Okonjo-Iweala is like a candidate flying the African flag for the first time at the WTO. The pressure would be on her to deliver to Africa a better trade deal. This task seems to be the toughest for her for the reason that the WTO is concerned with only the business of world trade and trade facilitation.

Only those that have goods engage in trade. Unfortunately, Africa scarcely has goods to trade with the world.

That is the reason the continent’s export quota was 2.4% of world volume in 2018, with the sub-Sahara Africa holding only 1.7% of that. Even within Africa, the bloc trades only 16 percent made-in-Africa goods while the EU has as much as 64% and Asia, about 67% of their own goods in their markets.

I recall a visit to the Nansha Port in Guangzhou, China in September 2016, just after leaving Hangzhou where I covered the G20 Summit. The information I got from the management of the port is that China imports mainly raw materials from Africa which they process and add value to. That is not the fault of China, but that of Africa that still hasn’t prioritized manufacturing in the 21st Century.

I was told that 30 percent of such imports from Africa come from the Lagos port. Although Okonjo-Iweala is Nigerian but her role in the WTO saddle would not include growing manufacturing in Africa. It is only trade terms.

In July last year, all the continental development banks, the IMF, WTO and the World Bank held a global parley to chart a course for the revival of international trade during and post-Covid-19 era. The Africa Development Bank was part of it with $1.06 billion it pledged for Africa international trade enhancement. The coronavirus pandemic, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), caused a slump of 6.5% in global trade.

The president of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina was a colleague of Okonjo-Iweala at the Nigeria federal cabinet, and the two would prove a good partnership to create ways of swinging Africa to growth in international trade as major or bigger exporter. But that can never work out amazing dividends unless Africa has something to sell to the world.

Emewu, a journalist, wrote from the Afri-China Media Centre, Lagos

POLICE BRUTALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES There is an urgent need to review our laws to ensure seamless judgement enforcement, writes

O

n the 1st of February, 2021, the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State awarded the sum of N5 million as aggravated and general damages against the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector General of Police for the flagrant abuse of the rights of one Mrs Adetola Halima Abdulazeez in a fundamental rights enforcement suit instituted by the Abuja based legal practitioner, Pelumi Olajengbesi Esq. The pronouncement of the court in the judgment came at a time the nation has just been confronted with protest across the country wherein Nigerian youth trooped out en masse to protest against police brutality and other human rights abuses.

The judgment is therefore a victory to the nation in the fight against police brutality and abuse of powers as resonated in the words of the court. However, what should be a thing of joy for the victim whose case appears to be a beacon of hope to many Nigerians has been targeted for frustration by the moribund process of enforcing this judgement as encapsulated in the extant laws on enforcement of monetary judgement against government agencies.

Notwithstanding the fact that pronouncements of this nature seek to compensate victims of human rights violations, the sad and avoidable reality is that successful litigants are overburdened with the onerous task of enforcing these pronouncements.

One would have thought that a system that provides the legal framework for enforcement of fundamental rights would guarantee that fundamental rights are not only protected and compensation awarded; but also ensure that the payment of the compensation so awarded without the need of imposing additional burden of seeking the consent of any administrative body. It is against this background that the provisions of section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Processes Act 1955, which made the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation or State as the case maybe a condition

precedent is condemnable to say the least.

The implication of this provision is that no monetary judgement can be enforced against any public institution without the consent of the Federal or State Attorney General. Given the fact that the larger percentage of victims of human right violations and abuse are poor, it is almost impossible for this class of people to obtain the requisite consent. This thus defeats the purpose for which courts award damages against erring parties, especially in relation to its punitive nature which serves as a deterrent to government agencies. Furthermore, it violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which under Article 2(3) calls on member states to ensure that victims of human rights abuse have an enforceable and effective remedy determined by a competent court.

In fact, article 19 of the United Nations Declaration on the Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power imposed a duty on states to incorporate into the national law norms proscribing abuses of power and providing remedies to victims of such abuses. In particular, such remedies include restitution and/or compensation, and necessary material, medical, psychological and social assistance and support. Rather abiding by these basic principles of justice, the Nigerian government is busy creating impediments for victims who are merely trying to reap the fruit of their labour.

The growing number of recorded cases of police brutality, human rights violations and abuse of power in astronomical terms has contributed largely to the growing incidence of citizens’ resort to self-help and other informal methods of airing grievances as displayed during the recent #EndSARS protest. The inauguration of panels of inquiry across the country as an offshoot of the #EndSARS protest have availed victims of police brutality an avenue to seek relief from their ordeals. While this is laudable, the possibility of enforcing judgement obtained in court or any recommendation made in related cases seeking enforcement

by the panel of inquiry, has been reduced to nought by the daunting realities facing the Nigerian legal system, hence the need for sound engagement and conversation about the enforcement of judgement in Nigeria against government agencies.

Contrary to the layman’s notion, ‘winning a case’ extends beyond obtaining positive judgement in court. It includes the enforcement of such judgements, which is the last stage of every judicial process. Thus, every judgement creditor, that is a party in whose favour judgement was entered, is entitled to the accruing benefits of the judgement obtained and same must be enforced in compliance with the provisions of the law.

This is a corollary to the duty of the court, as expressed in a plethora of authorities, to enforce its orders, decisions and judgements as well as ensuring the speedy resolution of disputes. In effect, the court officials saddled with the responsibility of discharging this obligation include chief registrars, who invariably are the deputy sheriffs, the bailiffs and other relevant court personnel. As a matter of law, every judgement is effective from the date of delivery or from such date as the judgment itself appoints and same must be obeyed without question. A default on the part of the judgement debtor – the party against whom judgement was entered – in complying with the judgement of the court entitles the judgment creditor to commence judgement enforcement proceedings.

The Sheriff and Civil Processes Act and Judgement Enforcement Rules make provisions for the modes of enforcing judgement to wit: writ of fi fa, writ of sequestration, writ of possession, garnishee proceedings, etc. The constitution also empowers the court to enforce and ensure compliance with its order or judgement as provided in section 6(6) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

While these provisions of the law give the impression that the court are ready to enforce its judgment with despatch, the reverse is the case in reality as section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Processes has

wrestled from the weak arm of the victims of fundamental right abuses and a host of other person who has obtained monetary judgment against the government or any of its agencies the right to enforce the said judgment through the callous introduction of the requirement of the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation or State as the case may be.

Nevertheless, as pleasant as the above provisions may appear, the process of enforcement of judgment in Nigeria is bedevilled by several impediments as evidenced in the rigorous processes and procedures; the effect of which has the capacity of jeopardizing the hope of justice for many and equally occasioning the abuse of human rights across the country. There is a hurdle of administrative technicalities ranging from the mandatory need to seek the leave of court to enforce judgment against the government or any of its agencies. Thus, victims on many occasions find themselves at the mercy of the judge who is not under any legal compulsion to grant such leave. Even when the leave is granted, issues of administrative lethargy results in victims suffering more at the hands of their oppressor. For instance, in an action for fundamental right enforcement against unlawful detention, the court may grant an order releasing the victim from custody but the authorities involved may be unyielding thereby prolonging the victim’s stay in custody against his fundamental right.

To add more to the victim’s herculean tasks, the additional obligation of bearing the cost of enforcement without which the process of enforcement will be abandoned.

He is responsible for mobilizing the sheriff of the court in the discharge of his official duty even though there is an allocation for same and also pays for the expense of the conveyance of the judgement debtor to prison in the case of the latter’s default in obeying the court’s order.

Awosanya is President/Founder, Social Intervention Advocacy Foundation

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EDITORIAL

CLARIFYING COMMUNITY POLICING Government should clarify the mode of operation of the community policing

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n a bid to secure the buy-in of Nigerians on community policing, a one-day sensitisation programme was recently organised in Abuja by the police authority in collaboration with some civil society stakeholders. With participants drawn from the churches, mosques, organised communities, labour, the academia and the traditional institution, there was a consensus that there must be a shift from the prevailing reactionary method of policing to a proactive approach that is based on the collaboration of the society in the process of crime fighting and restoration of THE CONSTITUTIONAL law and order.

Other conclusions FRAMEWORK FOR include the enlistSAFEGUARDING LIVES ment of traditional AND PROPERTY WITHOUT rulers, especially WHICH THERE CAN BE NO in police recruitment process, DEVELOPMENT RESTS a complete WITH THE POLICE re-orientation of the rank and file as well as better welfare for the officers and men of the force.

While the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu whose tenure has been controversially elongated by three months and another facilitator, Isa Aremu, highlighted what they consider the way forward, the challenge on the issue of community policing is that there is as yet no real direction on the format it should take. There is therefore an urgent need for clarity and for all the relevant stakeholders to agree on the modalities. Throwing money at every problem as the federal government did last year by releasing a N13 billion take-off grant is never the right way to go.

Security experts in the country have for long harped on the necessity to increase the intensity of police-community relations as a platform for solving problems at the local level. Such platforms are expected to be built through doorto-door visits by police personnel and residential meetings that will also serve as the avenue for them to gather information and know the con-

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cerns of the people. Meanwhile, the locals will also be granted free access to the police to report their concerns. Police personnel at this level are expected to be professional in the discharge of their responsibilities and simultaneously build and sustain a platform of interaction with the locals.

Ordinarily, community policing is not a new concept. It is a well acceptable form of policing at the grassroots across the globe and notable countries, including the United States. The initiative is predicated on the belief that both the police and citizens at the grassroots have a joint responsibility to fight crime. Under this concept, a synergy is built between the police and the locals they serve. This helps to guarantee the security of lives and property in the neighborhoods by freely exchanging ideas, and promptly sharing intelligence and acting on such. Community police personnel are expected to have frequent contacts with members of the host community all with a view to enforcing law and order, solving local problems and passionately taking up emerging challenges in the community, including caring for victims of insecurity and injustice.

As we argued last year when the idea was first mooted, the public deserves to be educated on how this mode of policing will operate - whether it will be supervised from Abuja or coordinated by various state commands of the Nigeria Police or whether community police commands will be established in every local government area of the country to oversee the activities of the grassroots’ police in each local council or whether a special body will be founded to run the operations.

These clarifications have become compelling in view of the interest this idea has generated and the yet-to-be resolved controversy between the Inspector-General of Police and the governors.

The constitutional framework for safeguarding lives and property without which there can be no development rests with the police. How to tinker with the structure to make it more effective, especially at the grassroots is the challenge at hand.

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.

GOV LALONG ON FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION

“Actions defined a man; words are a mere fart in the wind.” - Mario Puzo

W

hen the quintessential Charlie Chaplin famously declared, “ Words are cheap, the greatest thing you can say is ‘elephant’”, he may have envisioned present-day Plateau State under the leadership of Governor Simon Lalong and Buhari’s Nigeria in free fall.

Last Sunday, Governor Lalong once again re-enacted the third edition of the annual chore, the so-called Plateau State Day of forgiveness and reconciliation.

For the third time running, he entertained his audience with a mouthful of banalities about the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation in the march towards peace and unity in Plateau State and Nigeria generally.

But, of course, the governor was only embarking on his trademark mission of deploying empty words, platitudes and sophistry to obfuscate the true situation of affairs in Plateau State and, indeed, Nigeria (which is currently precariously

reeling towards disintegration under the very watch of his master.

For a start, can the Governor Lalong administration give what it obviously lacks? Does he truly want forgiveness and reconciliation in Plateau State when his government has deliberately and unconstitutionally refused to hold local government elections in four councils of the state as punishment for his lack of popularity and political relevance therein?

In addition, he has denied these grassroots citizens their due rights of democratic representation because he surely knows that his APC will lose whenever a free and fair vote is held in those four LGAs. In all honesty, are the citizens of these four local governments that have been so callously denied their constitutional rights and privileges by Lalong have any sense of compunction if they rightly reject his egregious Sunday posturing about the values of forgiveness, reconciliation and peace?

And, to boot, can there ever be real reconciliation, forgiveness and peace under the persisting atmosphere wrought by this same Lalong government?

But, of course, Plateau people and

indeed Nigerians are well aware that both the Lalong and Buhari governments have always been adept at speaking from both sides of their mouths. In fact, Governor Lalong’s inordinate relationship with the core north as the so-called chair of equally self-serving northern governors has opened him to their parochial double standards which has today pushed the entire country to the precipice.

Just like the northern elite and their governors who have used double-speak to shield their complicity in the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, record-breaking poverty and illiteracy in Nigeria, Governor Lalong, their latter-day conscript, is attempting to adopt the same noxious script to hoodwink Plateau citizens and indeed Nigerians that he truly cherishes the kind of reconciliation and forgiveness that will lead to sustainable peace.

But, just as the Buhari government and the northern governors have woefully failed to give Nigerians and the north any semblance of sustainable peace, Governor Lalong can’t succeed where his masters have failed because, mark this: words are cheap. True, effective and productive governance is the result of

practical and honest action.

Therefore, there can only be peace, reconciliation and forgiveness when there is true justice and equal rights to all citizens, irrespective of their political leanings, tribe or religion. This is a universal truth that Lalong and Buhari must imbibe.

It’s only when Governor Lalong understand this fact, which is also at the very heart of democracy, and procceed to give the people of those four local government areas their inalienable, just, deserts and walks the talk that there can be true forgiveness, reconciliation and, most importantly, peace - both in the minds of those extorted citizens and in their perception and interface with government.

Otherwise, Governor Lalong’s posturing will continue to be a leap in the dark - what has been sadly described as reversed motion. Which is, consequently, circumscribed within the vicious circle of Mario Puzo’s postulation: “Actions defined a man; words are a mere fart in the wind.”

Chris Gyang, chrisgyang01@gmail. com

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MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

APC’s Gradual Growth to Reckoning in Anambra As Anambra State looks forward to its governorship election on 6th November, the All Progressives Congress is gradually gaining acceptability in the state, writes David-Chyddy Eleke

Ngige

Nwoye

Uzodinma

Nwankwo

T

avenues of sustaining the party financially.

There is no steady source of revenue for the daily activities and sustenance of the party.

As chairman of the party, I personally pay the drivers, security aides, official aides, official travels and other official engagements of the party from my personal funds. This is also applicable to other officials of the party.”

Hon Tony Nwoye, a governorship aspirant of the party in his own address called on the leader of the party in the state to reach out to the party at the national level for support if the election must be fully prosecuted. He insisted that if the party continued to run the way it does, it would not be able to win the governorship election in the state.

“This is a special meeting where we need to tell ourselves the truth. Our leader, Dr Chris Ngige must play the role of a leader.

He has to reach out to the party at the national for us to get the resources to discharge the election creditably. Let us tell ourselves the truth, we had the least votes in Nigeria for the presidential election and we had no Senate, House of Representatives or House of Assembly candidate who won in 2019 election. If we must grow, we must eschew all the past acrimonies and tell ourselves the truth and chart a course as to how we can win the forthcoming election.”

Also, Paul Chukwuma the immediate past national auditor of the party and Emma Anosike, a former senator representing Anambra North zone reiterated calls on Dr Ngige to speak to the national leadership of the party for them to “water the ground well for the party to be able to function in the

forthcoming election”.

Anosike said, “I have never seen a party that is in power at the national level, but when there is election here (Anambra), we are given money from back pocket to prosecute it, but when there is election in other states in other regions of the country, they give money from front pocket. If they do not want us to be a part of the election, they should tell us early enough so we go and rest.”

Having frankly analyzed the problem of the party and jointly agreeing to tackle it, the party may be set to overcome them and also win over the state. Already, unlike before, there is a growing number of members flocking into the party, just as its aspirants are already growing by the day. In what can be said to be an all-time unprecedented high, the party already has at least 10 governorship aspirants, all of who are quality candidates, with the capacity to prosecute and win their elections, and also to govern the state.

Among the aspirants are; Barr Ben Etiaba, Dr Amobi Nwokafor, Hon Azuka Okwuosa, Dr George Moghalu, Paul Orajiaka, Dr Chidozie Nwankwo, Engr Johnbosco Onunkwo, Senator Andy Uba, Arc Geoff Onyejekwe and Hon Tony Nwoye.

The aspirants all exude confidence not just that the party has the capacity to win the election, but that each of the aspirants has a large support base that has been brought into the party to boost its numerical strength, just as they are also known to have the financial muscle to individually prosecute and win their elections. One of the aspirants for example, Dr Chidozie Nwankwo, an industrialist and

businessman who recently declared to run for governor on the platform of the party has swelled the strength of the party, both in number, acceptability and resources.

The very popular businessman who is the CEO of Wichtech Industries, makers of roofing tiles is also a philanthropist whose wealth has touched a number of people in the state, transforming into his popularity.

In a recent event, Nwankwo said as the party prepares to start membership registration, he would bring all his supporters to register for the party.

He told THISDAY recently that he was in the race to win, and that no stone would be left unturned to achieve it. “Just watch, you will see that the APC will form the next government in Awka. Then, you will know that I am a man of God. I don’t say things that don’t happen. Going forward, there will be change in the ruling party. APGA will not form the next government of Anambra State.

That will let you know that I am not just an ordinary aspirant. Yes! And that has been my life. I don’t go into things that I am not convinced about. If you ask people who know about me, they will tell you,” he stated.

The businessman turned politician described himself as a very innovative person who thinks ahead of time, and that such attribute has helped him to pioneer his chains of businesses.

“Go and check, everything that I have ever done, I add lots of innovation to it. When I started selling these roof tiles, nobody knew about it in Nigeria. But today, it is the in-thing everywhere. I have always thought ahead.

The paint I am selling today, this paint is the first in human history that silicon base is used to make paints. There are some technological innovations that have never been used in any paint before. So, I always like to drive things.

I study situations ahead of time.”

The industrialist who sits atop chains of industries across seven countries of the world promised to bring his full financial worth to bear in ensuring that his ambition to be Anambra governor was prosecuted to a logical conclusion. “I am a very busy person.

If people had come to beg me to contest for this election, I would not have accepted, but I received a divine call to come and liberate Anambra people. I have decided to leave my business to come and grow Anambra. I know that my businesses will suffer while I govern Anambra, but it is the price I must pay for this state,” he said.

Already, the national leadership of the APC has started showing interest in adding Anambra State to the number of APC states in the South east. At a South east stakeholders meeting held last week, the duo of Imo State governor, Sen. Hope Uzodinma and the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu said there is no possibility that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would lose the Anambra State government house.

heAll Progressives Congress (APC) is one party that could be said to have been totally rejected in Anambra State before now. Though it had very determined members, who were mostly supporters of the Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige. This cult-like following for Ngige was transferred to the party, but even at that, they were not in substantial number to make any impact in the state.

In the 2017 governorship election in Anambra State, not even the fielding of a young, determined and relatively popular and acceptable candidate like Dr Tony Nwoye could give them victory. The two dominant political parties in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), had first poisoned the minds of the citizens with the information that APC was a northern party. They didn’t stop there, during the very heat of the onslaught against the country by the dreaded Boko Haram sect, the real campaign was that APC was not only a northern party, but a Boko Haram party.

This accounts for why, even in 2019 when President Muhamdadu Buhari won re-election, the only state in the South-east that totally rejected Buhari and his APC was Anambra State.

The party did not only score a ridiculously low number of votes, it could not even produce a member in the state house of assembly, let alone a House of Representatives member or a member in the Senate.

The party is not unmindful of this bad image among the people of Anambra. To reverse this ill fortune, it has been steadily pushing for a positive change Gradually, it seems there is going to be light at the end of the tunnel, as it has started gaining recognition among the people of the state.

As the date for the governorship election draws near, the party has gained enough followership that it is already basking in the hope that it will constitute the next government in the state, after the tenure of Governor Willie Obiano expires in March 2022. The party has drawn members from all parts of the state, and also marshaled out strategies for winning more members and strengthening the party for the battle ahead.

In a recent special stakeholders meeting held in Awka, leaders of the party brainstormed on how they can win Anambra State. To them, it was a time to tell themselves some home truth on why they have long remained unpopular in the state, and what could be done to help them win the forthcoming election. The chairman of the party in the state, Chief Basil Ejidike first set the tone for the meeting by stating clearly in his welcome address some of the challenges of the party, calling for the support of its stakeholders and national leaders.

He stated that the party lacked funding, insisting that the party in the state has been run on the pockets of some of its executive members who are already feeling the weight.

He said, “This has adversely affected the running of the party. A high powered committee of committed elders has been set up to explore

Having frankly analyzed the problem of the party and jointly agreeing to tackle it, the party may be set to overcome them and also win over the state.

Already, unlike before, there is a growing number of members flocking into the party, just as its aspirants are already growing by the day. In what can be said to be an all-time unprecedented high, the party already has at least 10 governorship aspirants, all of who are quality candidates, with the capacity to prosecute and win their elections, and also to govern the state.

Among the aspirants are; Barr Ben Etiaba, Dr Amobi Nwokafor, Hon Azuka Okwuosa, Dr George Moghalu, Paul Orajiaka, Dr Chidozie Nwankwo, Engr Johnbosco Onunkwo, Senator Andy Uba, Arc Geoff Onyejekwe and Hon Tony Nwoye. The aspirants all exude confidence not just that the party has the capacity to win the election, but that each of the aspirants has a large support base that has been brought into the party to boost its numerical strength

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

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POLITICS

National Assembly’s Notable Pursuit to Break PIB Jinx

GOVERNANCE IN PHOTOS

Udora Orizu writes that despite recent hurdles at the public hearing on the Petroleum Industry Bill, members of the 9th National Assembly are committed to ensuring the passage of the long awaited legislation

The new Comptroller of the Abia State Command of the Nigeria Correctional Services, Mr. Julius Ezugwu (left) on a courtesy visit to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia at Government House, Umuahia

Lawan and Gbajabiamila

F

ollowing altercation between members of the oil producing communities, organised labour and various interests groups, and eventual rejection of some provisions in the new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), at a recent public hearing, it seemed the legislation was faced with another jinx, with no hope of it being passed into law just like in the previous assemblies.

However, despite failed attempts by the previous assemblies and the recent hurdles from vested interests, the parliament’s will to see to the passage of the bill is not dampened, rather the federal legislators are working harder to ensure all concerns by the host communities are met and the long awaited legislation which is expected to bring about reforms in the oil sector, is passed into law by April this year.

The Inception The bill was first sent to the National Assembly in December 2008 by the then President Umaru Yar’Adua. A presidential committee set up in 2007 to look into the oil and gas sector came up with the idea of this bill, which aims to increase transparency at the NNPC and to increase Nigeria’s share of oil revenue.

The Bill then was never passed into law due to objections from the International oil companies (IOCs) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over the content in its drafts. In 2015, the then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu said the PIB was to be amended to speed up its passage. Consequently, the Bill was broken into different parts, to address various aspects of the oil industry.

In 2016, the Senate showed signs of readiness to begin deliberations on the Bill, set to be moved for a second reading by the Chairman of Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senator Omotayo Alasoadura.

Ahead of the debate on the Bill, Senators from the Niger Delta area, who had moved for the suspension of the bill some months back, because they believed that the non-inclusion of the community demands in the first phase might aggravate the tension in the oil producing areas, concluded plans to meet to brainstorm on the resuscitation of the bill and ensure that the work on its passage moves fast. The plan to ensure that it was passed before the end of the legislative sitting, for 2016, never became a reality.

Again in 2018, a version of the bill, the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), was passed by the 8th National Assembly, however President Muhammadu Buhari refused to assent to it.

The Renewed Zeal Both chambers of the 9th Assembly since their inauguration, made the PIB an item of priority in their legislative agenda.

President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila had at different fora assured that the 9th National Assembly would ensure that the Bill was passed into law.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Septem-

ber 29, 2020 transmitted the new PIB to the legislators.

After receiving the Bill from the executive arm, both the Senate and the House got to work. The Bill was passed through first and second reading without varying views from the lawmakers, and consequently in December an ad-hoc committee was set up by the House, chaired by Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno and deputised by Hon. Victor Nwokolo.

Dangers of Delaying Passage of PIB The new PIB titled: “A Bill for an Act to Provide Legal, Governance, Regulatory and Fiscal Framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, the Development of Host Community and for Related Matters,’’ amongst others seeks to scrap the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and replace them with a new agency to be known as Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) which shall be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of midstream and upstream petroleum operations in the industry.

The Bill proposes the establishment of Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission to be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of upstream petroleum operations.

It further seeks the commercialisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to become Nigerian National Petroleum Company to be incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act by the Minister of petroleum.

The passage of PIB is very important as it is believed will give room for meaningful progress to be made in the oil and gas industry in particular, and Nigeria in general.

Also the absence of the PIB is responsible for series of economic and environmental sabotage in Nigeria as a whole, and the Niger Delta region where the oil fields are located in particular.

Inspecting one of the fully equipped ICT centres at the Ajigbeda Girls High School, Surulere, under the ICT initiative attracted to 10 secondary schools in Surulere 1 Federal Constituency by Speaker of the House, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila

L-R: Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olatoye Olaniyan; Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and Elerin of Erin-Osun, His Royal Majesty. Oba Yusuff Omoloye Oyagbodun during a peace meeting between Ilobu and Erin Osun at the Government House, Osogbo

Addressing Pressure fromVested Interests Soon after they called for memoranda from stakeholders, the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, revealed that the National Assembly has come under pressure from vested interests pushing for the usual to happen.

Lawan, however, reassured Nigerians that the bill will be passed in record time with utmost focus on safeguarding the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.

Corroborating, Lawan statement, the House Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, did not hide the fact that vested interests have again activated their crafts saying, the National Assembly is not oblivious to the fact of many contending interests in the sector.

Speaking to participants at the public hearing, he noted that these contentions do not need to result in conflict, especially when we know the objective of national prosperity benefits us all.

He also reiterated the determination of the 9th Assembly to pass the PIB by April.

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

L-R: Secretary to the State Government of Ekiti State, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji; Ekiti State Commander, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Solomon Iyamu; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; and NSCDC Assistant Commandant General, in charge of (Zone J), Fasiu Adeyinka; during Adeyinka’s courtesy visit to the Governor’s office in Ado-Ekiti

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͯͮ˜ 2021

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

A S

REPO 18 17.50

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

14 14 14.50

A T

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

F E B R U A R Y

S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

601.30% 0.05% 0.85%

S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

5 , - 10.29% - 10.29%

2 0 2 1 EXCHANGE RATE N379/1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes Dealers Drum Support for Globacom

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: Executive Chairman Vhelbherg E&P, Bank Anthony Okoroafor; Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe; Managing Director Vhelbherg E & P, Adebayo Ayorinde, and Director, Michael Makinde, when executives of Vhelbherg E & P visited the bank in Lagos...recently

Analysts Foresee Marginal Uptick in Capital Importation in 2021 Goddy Egene Investment and financial analysts at Cordros Securities Research has projected marginal uptick in capital importation (CI) in 2021 after a decline of 56.7 per cent in 2020.

The CI for 2020, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), stood at $9.68 billion, down from $23.99 billion.

Cordros Securities said they had envisaged the low CI, saying it would improve until foreign investors saw policy action that increases their confidence in the stability and liquidity of the naira and more attractive fixed-income yields

CAPITAL MARKET versus peers.

However, looking ahead, Cordros Securities said they expect a marginal pickup in CI given the recent uptick in yields as well as their expectation of further devaluation of the currency which they said they believe would support improvement in foreign portfolio inflows(FPI).

According to the analysts, the major downside risk stems from the conflicting policy actions that continue to deter confidence in the Nigerian economy, stressing that over the medium to long term, attracting foreign direct

investment (FDI) should remain the key focus for the government. They explained that this will be a major factor in bringing stability to the FX reserves (which is currently dominated by export earnings and volatile “hot money”).

“In our view, this will make the FX reserves less susceptible to external shocks, providing more flexibility to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) flexibility in achieving its mandate of a stable currency. In 2021, we expect a marginal pickup in capital importation on account of (1) a low base effect, (2) higher yields in the OMO market, and (3) devaluation of the currency,” they said.

They added that given the recent rally in the price of crude oil, “we expect the FX liquidity conditions to improve albeit slowly when compared to 2020. Thus, we see scope for improvement in portfolio inflows as the CBN tries to attract them through the measures identified above.

On FDI, we do not expect any major divergence from historical trends, due to the continued presence of structural rigidities and in recent times, socio-economic problems which will continue to deter long-term investments in our view. With local yields lower than dollarContinued on page 24

Report: Falling Income Will Make Consumers Worse Off Peter Uzoho The expansion of the tax net as against the dwindling real income in the country will make consumers worse off in 2021, a report by Proshare, has stated.

The report also predicted that a rise in taxes would trigger increased demand for accountability from the government by the highly-taxed citizens, as the opaqueness of fiscal operations would be interrogated.

Proshare stated this in its latest report, tagged: “Leveraging A Crisis: The Nigerian Capital Market in 2020,” saying, Nigeria will witness stringent fiscal and monetary posture in 2021.

The federal government in its aggressive drive for revenue generation to fund the 2021 budget has proposed a lot of increase in taxes as contained in the Finance Act 2020 as amended.

ECONOMY “Rising taxes and falling real incomes will deliver a double whammy on consumers in 2021, leaving them much worse of in the year than they were in 2020”, the report said.

It explained that the, “policy options for the federal authorities are limited as they have maxed out on monetary policy options and are in a bind over the extent to which taxes can be increased in a recessionary or modestly growing economy.”

Proshare, however, estimated that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow at about 1.3 per cent in 2021, pointing out however, that the predicted growth would be well behind the population growth rate of 2.6 per cent.

According to the report, the implications of mild

GDP growth and a speedier population growth rate was a fall in income per person and a decline in individual spending and private consumption.

The fall in international oil prices and a sustained rise in fiscal spending have forced the central fiscal authorities to contemplate a widening of the tax band and the raising of local taxes.

This, according to the report meant that domestic tax revenues will increase but citizen’s oversight over fiscal spending will also be more aggressive.

It cited a recent legal action taken by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to compel the federal government to explain how it spent N729 billion on 24.3 million people.

However, the report stated that the, “opaqueness of fiscal operations will increasingly

come into question in 2021 as citizens who will have to pay more taxes will insist on knowing how those tax naira are used.

“As the fiscal authorities increase taxes, the monetary authority will be caught in a quandary, to raise interest rates to curb inflation or to allow interest rates fall to stimulate growth?”

However, the report stated that 2021 would be a crucial year for global economy for a variety of reasons including the hopes of shaking off a COVID-19-induced recession that has left global supply chains in tatters and workers in different stages of despair as factories and companies closed and consumer demand fell off.

The third factor that would shape the course of events in Continued on page 24

Telecommunicationsdealersandpartnershavesaidtheirbusinesses have recorded sustained growth with Globacom, while pledging support for the telecoms brand.

TheManagingDirectorandChiefExecutiveOfficerofZephVentures Limited, Mr.Tochukwu Nwosu, a telecoms services dealer in NorthCentralNigeria,hascommendedthestrategicsupportthatGlobacom provides its trade partners and dealers.

In a feedback engagement session organised for trade partners in Abuja recently, Nwosu outlined his journey as a dealer of Globacom.

“Our relationship with Globacom was from inception of my company, right from 2005.Today, we cannot define ourselves in ZephVentures without adding Globacom.The brand has become part of our family as a business because we can directly link our success to the success of the Glo brand.”

He further noted, “The graph has only been trending upwards ever since we came on board. For instance, last month was our best month so far.We have recorded sustained growth over the years.We equally alsoseeourselvesasbeneficialpartnerstoGlobacom,soit’sawin-win relationship. Overall, the advantages of being a Globacom dealer are enormous”.

Other dealers at the engagement session, Alenssar Infinity, Dio Associates,Hamzadex,Jamdat,Joelink,Salmana,andPersecEnterprise, equally reiterated the support they receive from Globacom and how it has enabled them to record sustained growth in their businesses.

Nwosu’s ZephVentures Limited is projecting to increase its revenue andprofitabilityperformancesignificantlyin2021withthecontinued support of Globacom through its robust trade incentives and a consistent roll-out of innovative telecom products and services.

Linkage Assurance Hosts NCRIB Meeting

Linkage Assurance Plc will tomorrow host the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) Lagos Area Committee (LAC) general meeting.

Themeeting,slatedtotakeplaceatYaba,Lagos,wouldsimultaneously be held via a virtual platform. the Insurance Brokers’ House, 58 Moleye Street According to a statement, the event promises to be another exciting, refreshing andinteractivesessionasLinkageAssurancePlc,themajorsponsors would be updating members with their product offerings tailored specifically to meet dynamic clients’ need.

The February 2021 edition will equally feature Obafemi Oshinowo, a learning and development expert as guest speaker and he will be speaking on ‘ Digital Solutions for Sustainability’.

Linkage Assurance, said its service proposition is to give customers peaceofmindthroughneed-basedinsurancesolutionsandexceeding their expectations.

“We are committed to this by seeking to understand their risks and business objectives and providing insurance services to them, according to the company’s promise,” the insurer added.

Asian Chipmakers Boost Production

Asian chipmakers are rushing to expand their production capacity to meet a global shortage that has been acutely felt by carmakers, but the firms have warned that the supply gap may take many months to plug as they struggle to keep up with strong demand.

Automakers from General Motors to Stellantis and Honda Motor are shutting assembly lines due to the shortages, which in some cases have been exacerbated by the former US administration’s sanctions against Chinese chip factories, Reuters disclosed.

Some firms have also furloughed staff. Eight-inch chip manufacturing plants owned mostly by Asian firms, which tend to make older, less sophisticated chips, are particularly under strain primarily due to under-investment in recent years.

The majority of such factories are used to make auto chips.

Consumer demand in China, especially for cars, has snapped back unexpectedly quickly from the coronavirus crisis, and orders for products such as laptops and mobile phones in regions still struggling with pandemic restrictions, such as Europe and the United States, have also picked up.

“Given the impact of the pandemic on the domestic economy, there was a clear need for proactive implementation of macroeconomic strategies that would support domestic revenue mobilisation” Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning,

Zainab Ahmed

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BUSINESSWORLD ANALYSTS FORESEE MARGINAL UPTICK IN CAPITAL IMPORTATION denominated yields, we expect local companies to continue to favour local denominated debt.”

On liquidity, they noted that the CBN has started the process of clearing the backlog of FX demand with the daily sale of $50 million to Foreign Portfolio Investors. Although this is positive for exiting investors, the CBN would have to issue instruments at yields higher than the prevailing secondary market rates to make the market interesting for new foreign inflows. Peers with similar ratings and less currency risk have yields on one-year government securities at between 4.9 per cent and 13.7 per cent, compared to Nigeria at 3.6 per cent. Given the level of liquidity in the system, coupled with the funding needs of the government (N588.90 billion planned domestic borrowing over the next four months), we do not see yields rising significantly over the rest of the year.”

REPORT: FALLING INCOME WILL MAKE CONSUMERS WORSE OFF

2021, according to the report, would be the COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of its new strains.

The report maintained that in 2021, most oil-producing countries would be hoping for a rise in revenues as the COVID-19 pandemic disappears, predicting a mixed outlook for countries like Nigeria that export crude oil but import refined products the outlook is mixed.

“Even if COVID-19 winds blow past, and global production activities look up, Nigeria may not see much relief from its stronger oil income as a rise in dollar revenues would be accompanied by a rise in the dollar costs of refined oil imports.

“The rise in revenue may, nevertheless, improve the countries debt servicing ability and support higher capital expenditure. The two events would revitalize the economy and bring about stronger GDP growth in 2021,” it explained.

NEWS

FG Pledges to Implement ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme Ebere Nwoji The federal government has said it will ensure the full implementation of the ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme to guarantee prompt compensation to victims of road accident within the sub-region.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, stated this while speaking at the inauguration of Mr. Ganiyu Musa, as the Chairman of Council of Bureaux, ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme, in Abuja recently.

She noted that the existence of the scheme and its effective implementation would stimulate integration of the West African regional block preparatory to the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Ahmed, who was represented by the Commissioner for Insurance/CEO of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Sunday Thomas, applauded the initiative, saying it welcomes the free movement of goods and services within the sub-region and promotes intra - regional investments and cooperation.

He said it was a huge step in the right direction for economic integration.

The NAICOM boss, while examining the appropriate governance for the National bureaux, said, there are chal-

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

inadequate commitment to reconciliation and cross settlement; low level of technology application in the distribution and general implementation of the scheme, among others.

While congratulating the new chairman of the bureaux who doubles as the chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association(NIA), the NAICOM boss, wished him success in his tenure, hoping that he would turn the tide around for the better.

In his acceptance speech,

Musa, promised to address all the challenges bedeviling the success of the scheme, promising to leverage on the successes already recorded to reshape and promote the scheme among West African countries.

He expressed belief in the brown card insurance scheme, saying the initiative could transform insurance, especially, motor insurance scheme across the borders of West African countries.

“It is an initiative that can raise insurance awareness and

penetration across the region.

The main objective of the scheme is to ensure prompt and fair compensation to the victims of road accidents for the damages caused them by non-residing motorists travelling from other ECOWAS member States to their country.

According to him, the ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme operates through a 14 National Bureaux network spread throughout the member-states. Each National Bureaux plays two major roles.

GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY

L-R: Special Guest, Mr. Shola Olapade; Project Manager, Montego Garden, Mr. George Asaff; and Chief Executive Officer, Henry Montego Homes, Mr. Henry Ebuluafor during the groundbreaking ceremony of Montego Garden four and Bay five at Ajah, Lagos…recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

Stakeholders Call for Increased Intra-regional Trade James Emejo and Folalumi Alaran in Abuja The Network of Practicing Non-oil Exporters of Nigeria (NPNEN) have urged the federal government to embark on an aggressive drive to strengthen intra-regional trade in Africa to effectively diversify the economy.

The exporters further maintained that to enhance trade and boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP), investment in non- oil

export activities must be taken seriously.

Speaking during a virtual engagement of the group, with the theme: “Exporting form Nigeria: The Goo, the Bad and the Ugly,” the stakeholders pointed out that the government could only create employment and boost the country’s foreign reserve as well as increase wealth creation by intensifying efforts to promote non-oil exports by removing all existing limitations.

They argued that this was

particularly crucial for poverty alleviation and economic recovery.

In his presentation at the meeting, Lead Consultant at 3T Impex Trade Academ, Mr. Bamidele Ayemibo, identified some of the products with export potentias for Nigeria under the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) to include rice, palm oil, raw sugar, petrol, cement, soy beans, furniture and corn, plastic pipes, seat, tea, toilet paper, processed fish, dried legumes, beauty products

and raw tobacco.

Others are soap, hard liquour, baked goods, leather footwear, wheat flours and batteries, glass bottle, beer, onions, salt, egg, coconut oil, fermented milk, water and meat among others.

He said these products have the potentials to generate huge foreign exchange for the country amidst the current fiscal constraints and pressure on external reserves.

Ayemibo, however, noted that internal barriers in the areas of

product, price, distribution, logistics and promotion must be addressed going forward.

Also, he pointed out that external constraints in terms of procedural, governmental, economic, political-legal bottlenecks as well as socio-cultural concerns remained huge limitations that the government must tackle.

He said the government should as a matter of great concern address the existing infrastructural challenges to pave the way for the development of the sector.

NALDA Partners Adamawa to Boost Rice Production James Emejo in Abuja

Group Business Editor

lenges that must be addressed if the objectives of the ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme was to be fully achieved.

He listed some of the challenges to include: lack of respect for the agreement signed by member countries; delay in settlement of claims due to victims; inadequate funding of the National Bureaux; lack of public awareness and education.

Others according to him are fraud in the acquisition of the certificate at the borders;

The Executive Secretary, National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), Mr. Paul Ikonne, said the agency has concluded plans to set up three rice processing mills in Adamawa State.

He said, the deal, which is in partnership with the state government would also assist farmers in value addition as well as boost food sufficiency.

In an interactive session with

farmers in the state, Ikonne, said the government would assist the farmers to make money from their produce through value addition which had been lacking in agriculture.

He said the era of middlemen buying off farm produce from farmers at a ridiculous rate and engaging in price arbitrage was over, adding that the farmers will henceforth add value to their produce and sell.

He explained: “I am here in Adamawa State with a message

from the president, the message says go to all the communities, develop their land and make the people rich. “The only way to achieve that in all the communities is through agriculture, and if it is through agriculture and we are all farmers, that means this message is for us.

“NALDA is back to make millionaires in all the communities in the country.

We have to discover that the people that make money from farm produces are not

the farmers.”

According to him: “NALDA coming back as a business platform is to help you understand that what you are doing is business, and when you understand it is business, you will be able to know how much you will place on what you are producing.”

However, the NALDA boss said the agency had identified its 4000 hectares of farmer estates in the state as well as received additional donations of 5000 hectares for farming in the state.

Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, commended the partnership, saying it would empower farmers in the state. He said he was committed to supporting NALDA in all areas of its endeavours.

Represented by the State Commissioner of Agriculture, Dr. Dishi Khabe, he added: “Where NALDA thinks we can come in, on behalf of the state government, we will come in and always do that.”

Senior Correspondent

ËÒÏÏ× ÕÓØÑÌÙÖß (Advertising) Correspondents

ÒÓØÏÎß äÏ (Aviation) ÜÙ×ÙÝÏÖÏ ÌÓÙÎßØ (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters

ß×Ï ÕÏÑÒÏ (Money Market) ÙÝË ÖÏÕÒßÙÑÓÏ (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

Leadway Assurance Partners Kwara on MSMEs’Empowerment Ebere Nwoji Leadway Assurance is partnering with the Kwara State Government and the Ajike Foundation in grooming and empowering operators of micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) on financial inclusion and risk management.

The partnership championed

by the underwriting firm through the First Lady of Kwara State, Mrs. Olufolake Abdulrazaq, will enable micro and small scale business owners in the state to build their capacity. This category of business owners includes artisans, farmers, market women and other small business groups.

Speaking during the partnership signing, Abdulrazaq, commended

Leadway Assurance for upskilling the state’s MSMEs on financial inclusion, security, and risk management.

Abdulrazaq, who spoke virtually at the event, said: “As the world is struggling to fight off the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are witnessing unprecedented slowdowns and shutdowns.

“This, no doubt, is affecting the

stability of small and medium scale enterprises. Businesses are struggling to survive due to the decline in the production volumes and harsh market conditions.

“The partnership with Leadway Assurance is an outstanding and unequivocal demonstration of our commitment to acquiring world-class knowledge for the MSMEs by learning from proven

market leaders in financial security, risk management and business sustenance.”

Also speaking, the Executive Director Leadway Assurance General business Adebola Adegbayi, said considering the risks involved in operating a business, every business owner should make insurance a critical part of his financial planning.

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Rabiu: With AfCFTA, Nigeria Must Avoid Becoming Dumping Ground The Chairman and Founder of the BUAGroup,AlhajiAbdulsamad Rabiu in this interview spoke about a wide range of issues which included opportunities in theAfrican Continental Free Trade Area agreement as well as the need to liberalise the cement industry so as to boost production and subsequently crash the price of the commodity. Obinna Chima and Goddy Egene provide the excerpts:

T

he BUA Group recently sealed a deal for a refinery project, can you take us through the expectations from that project and when is it expected to be commence production?

Nigeria is consuming a lot of petroleum products and we spend a lot of revenue in importing refined products. We spend a lot of money to transport crude oil and bring back the finished products. Most people ask why we are setting up a refinery when a big project that people believe would be producing a substantial amount is coming up. I believe Nigerians consume about 50 million litres per day. Then again, if you look at the region, there is a huge potential. If you also look at it, the timing and the location that we have is better than any location.

Secondly, because of the pandemic and the price of crude oil, even though it is picking up a bit, the opportunity arose for us to do it now, compared with what it would have been few years ago when crude price was in the region of $100 per barrel or more.

So, because crude oil prices are down to about half of what it was few years ago, the entire project cost, which I am not going to divulge right now, is lower. We would not only satisfy the local market, but also other markets. That is because Nigeria’s crude is one of the lightest and sweetest, which makes it very easy to process. So, once you are able process that, you would be able to produce a lot of products that are of the highest quality and at a cost that is lower than what it would have been if it were in other countries. So, these are the things we looked at. So, if you see a situation where you are able to go into any project at a very comparative price, you just have to jump into it. We saw the opportunity because I can’t remember the last time we saw crude prices around its current price for a long period of time. In terms of location, I think we have the best. It is an area that is at the seafront, so we have a complete marine infrastructure at same time. We took all those things into consideration before going ahead with the project. Even though there is another project that is coming, which is big, we believe this is an opportunity we should take advantage of, especially with the fact that we have a good contract with some of the best technology companies in the world. Chinese technology is good, Indian technology is good, but then when you are talking about complex type of projects of this nature, to be honest, the western world has the best. That was why we decided to go for the best. KBR is the number one consultancy firm in the world when it comes to this kind of project. So, we are using the best names and that is what we try to do in all our projects. Quality is key and by doing that, we are able to save valuable time. If a project is costing you for example, $100 million, using a lower technology and then it takes you five years to get the project completed, and you have the opportunity to pay $200 million to get the project done in two or three years, then the money you saved in finishing it on time will more than take care of the higher cost.

So, at the end of the day, if you use good technology and good company, you pay a lot more, but you save a lot time. Hence the reason why we said we didn’t want to go to China or Indian and we decided to go to Europe. It is on course and we expect to break ground latest May this year and ones that is done, not more than three years the project would be completed. So, far we have everything on course.

Rabiu What do we need to do to bring down the price of cement in Nigeria and are you in a position to effectively compete with the dominant player in the industry in terms of pricing?

The price of cement is high in Nigeria today simply because we don’t have enough supply.

That is a simple economics of supply and demand. In Nigeria, every day people come up to say we are self-sufficient in cement and that Nigeria can now start exporting

The price of cement is high in Nigeria today simply because we don’t have enough supply. That is a simple economics of supply and demand. In Nigeria, every day people come up to say we are selfsufficient in cement and that Nigeria can now start exporting cement; it not true

cement; it not true. Look at the numbers: Nigeria is over 200 million people today in terms of its population. If you look at the production of cement, last year, we were under 30 million metric tonnes. In fact, last year was higher than the year before.

Which means that in 2019, we were doing between 26 and 27 million metric tonnes. I am talking about production capacity, and not installed capacity, which is another thing entirely. I am talking about actual cement production. Nigeria is 200 million people and that makes it about 130 kilograms per head. If you check, you will see that most countries in Africa are doing between 170 kilograms to 200 kilograms per head. So, Nigeria is actually producing less than any other country in Africa, apart from, maybe, Niger Republic. So, that means that we do not have enough capacity. Nigeria can actually take 200 kilograms per head, but we are not able to do that, hence the reason why the price of cement is high. The moment you have any problem in any of the plants in Nigeria and there is a shut-down or any challenge, immediately, you will see the impact in terms of price going up. That is because we do not have any buffer whatsoever. So, it is like hand to mouth daily. The reason why the price of cement went up recently was simply because there was an issue at one of Lafarge’s plants and they had to stop production to few months to rectify that. So, as that had happened, the supply from Lafarge reduced by about 25 per cent in Ogun State. Also, one of the plants of Dangote Cement had technical issue and they couldn’t load. But

it has been resolved. But because that took about one month, the price of cement went up to about N4,000, from N2,800. This is what I have been saying over the years. I had during the former President Olusegun Obasanjo regime insisted that even though this cement policy is a good one, it must be done in such a way that a lot of players must come in and participate. There is no point in making a policy that only one, two or three people are able to benefit from that policy. That does not make sense. I am benefiting from this policy, but I know it is a bad policy. I know the struggle I went through to be able to be doing what I am doing in the cement industry. Ordinarily, I would not even be here doing cement today.

So, whilst the policy is good, the way it is being administered is not good. You can’t have a policy that restricts so many people from participating. At the end of the day, you are just creating a monopoly. That is exactly what is happening in the industry. No doubt, the policy has helped. It has helped us to put up so many plants in the country, but government needs to take a second look at the policy, to see how it can bring in more companies to participate. God forbid, imagine if today, I have a serious issue with Obu Plant or the Sokoto Plant and it is shut down for months, people would be buying cement at N5,000 and there is nothing anybody can do about it. That is because there won’t be enough capacity to take care of the shortfall.

The cement sector is a very important sector CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

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RABIU: WITH AFCFTA, NIGERIA MUST AVOID BECOMING DUMPING GROUND in the economy and Nigeria has no business selling cement at N4,000. Our ex-factory price is still about N2,700 per bag, but cement is selling between N3,500 and N3,800. I had to stop my people from collecting money last week, simply because we are collecting money much more than what we can produce. And it is same thing with other companies and that is simply because there isn’t enough.

So, the policy is a good one, but it has to be rejigged, so that more people that are interested can come in and participate. We have companies that have the capacity, the access to funding to be able to compete in this industry and in Nigeria, the entire country, is sitting on limestone. Anywhere you go, there is limestone in Nigeria. And the cost of production is probably the lowest in Africa.

I have been thinking about this and even though I know it could be to my disadvantage, I was going to propose to the government, to even allow temporary imports, so that the price would come down. Let’s compete with imports and at the end of the day, if we see that the imported products are probably within same level, then we can come down to a price that is lower. We are making so much money in the industry, which is good for shareholders, but Nigerians are the ones paying for this. I am part of it, but I know it is wrong. Now, to the other part of the question, we do not. I can tell you that few weeks, one of the competitors, I am not going to mention the name, decided they wanted to increase price and I said they cannot. But they went ahead with it. I didn’t increase my price and I was waiting to see. Then after a few days, I say that the market has accepted the price. Why? Because we do not have enough capacity to influence the direction of price in the market. The issue is that we have one player that is controlling over 50 per cent of the market and anytime you have that kind of situation, things become very difficult. And same thing is happening in the sugar industry, with the Backward Integration Programme (BIP). You have a situation where you have only three players and there is the BIP policy which states that unless you are seen to be doing a plantation you would not be allowed to do sugar refinery. Again, it is same kind of policy where few people are benefiting and 200 million people are suffering. The business is doing well, we are making money, but how much money do you really need? We have 200 million people and they are paying more than what other countries are paying for something that ought to be cheaper. Today, I am ready to reduce my cement and sugar prices, if other companies are ready and I challenge them.

If you are posting 50 per cent as profit, and Nigerians are paying for that, why can’t you make 25 per cent profit, so that instead of N4,000, they would be paying N2,000 per bag of cement, and it can happen. Even the sugar, I know what I went through before I was able to set up my sugar refinery. But whenever anybody tries to go into any of these businesses, they would be frustrated, simply because we don’t want competition. To me, competition is healthy because it brings about efficiency and if you don’t have competition, you will just be lazy and inefficient and at the end of the day, the consumers would suffer.

Yes, it will be very difficult, but I can assure that by the time we finish our Sokoto line that is coming on stream this year, it will have an impact and then, maybe, we would be able to be in a position where we can say we are not increasing price and the market would go with us. On sugar, we can decide, but I am just waiting for the appropriate time. I believe the sugar price of N18,500 per bag is too high. But we have just started out Port Harcourt refinery and with that we hope to reduce the price of sugar very soon; simply because we have a greater percentage in terms of production. With that, we would be able to determine the price of sugar and we are going to do that. Hopefully, before Ramadan, we would definitely bring down the price of sugar, because it is just too high as well.

At a time when some have slowed down investment because of the pandemic, the BUA Group continues to push, what is the driving force?

I tell you, whenever there is a crisis, that is when you see opportunities. That was why

Rabiu our refinery project, we were able to get a good bargain and price that if it was today, we couldn’t have gotten. The steel aspect of the project for instance was consummated at very good price and terms. Of course, nobody wants to have diseases such as COVID-19 and what have you, but the issue is that when there is crisis, that is when there are opportunities. Even the three lines of cement factory expansion, we got fantastic bargains because the companies were looking for opportunities. So, we sat down and got a good deal which ordinarily we would not have gotten if there were busy. But, because they were not busy and wanted business, that was why we were able to get such a good deal and I am glad we did.

and nobody expected that. We were looking for N100 billion, but people dropped N140 billion. The whole world is awash with cash, so there is money and if you have a good project, investors will stake their money. But I can assure you that despite the COVID-19 challenges, we shall deliver on schedule. If there is one thing that BUA Group prides itself with, it is delivery projects on target.

When we say, we will do something, we do it within the timeline that we have given. Look at our Obu Cement factory line 1 and Sokoto line one and line two. Even our projects in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Any time we set a timeline to deliver a particular project, we also keep to it and the Refinery project will not be different.

Regarding the refinery, you talked about a three- year timeline, which starts from 2021, are you certain about the target considering that investors are no longer willing to bring out funds for investment?

See, there is more money in the global market now than ever before. If you want to take $1 billion now, you can get it from the international market. Look at when we did our bond issuance, it was highly oversubscribed

I will like you to speak about AfCFTA and what are the opportunities you see for your business?

The AfCFTA is a very good and important development for Nigeria, but then again, it depends. It is good because there are so many opportunities for us a BUA Group and so many other companies, if we get it right.

What it means is that we are going to move goods, services and people freely within the entire continent, 54 countries, duty free. So if you are able to produce in Nigeria, you can go to any country in Africa and sell your products duty free. However, the fact that Nigeria is heavily dependent on importation presents a challenge. Secondly we are very large in terms of population, consumption is very high in Nigeria. So, if we unable to produce, we may be the dumping ground.

Everyone will be dumping their goods here in Nigeria because we have the market and the population. We are the biggest economy in Africa. But if we are able to produce, whatever we produce we will consume and sell here before exporting to anywhere in Africa.

Why I said it is good for some us is that, for instance, when you look at our cement factory in Sokoto, that plant is only about 120 kilometers to Niger Republic and 400 kilometers to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.

The market in Burkina Faso is four million

The AfCFTA is a very good and important development for Nigeria, but then again, it depends. It is good because there are so many opportunities for us a BUA Group and so many other companies, if we get it right

metric tonnes and Niger Republic is about 1.5 million metric tonnes. And none of these countries produce clinker, which is cement, apart from Niger that has a very small 100,000 tonnes clinker production. Therefore, nobody around there can compete with us; that is why I said it is good for me. Burkina Faso is landlocked, which means they cannot import anything into their country and they do not have limestone, which means they cannot produce clinker; they import the clinker and then process it. And they have to import it from either Turkey, China, or maybe from North Africa, to Lome, Togo. And from Lome to Burkina Faso is same distance from Sokoto to Burkina Faso. That means they have to transport the product by sea and the nearest seaport is Abidjan, Ivory Coast or Lome and most of these areas are very far for them. So, nobody can compete with me because their cost of production will be much higher. So, it is a fantastic opportunity for BUA Cement in Sokoto, because it is next door. In fact, that is the reason why we are running another line because one line will be dedicated just to exports, because nobody can compete with us there. I have limestone and I can produce clinker and then move in. So it is good for companies like us. But for other industries in Nigeria for example, that are struggling, if we allow the importation when they are not competitive, it will be an issue for them. And I don’t want a situation where we would be importing almost everything. So, we need to step up, produce more so that we can not only satisfy our local market, but also take advantage of this AfCFTA because it is key and it is here to stay. Nigeria has signed and 54 other African countries have signed and about 40 have ratified. Therefore, it has already taken effect and you can see there are a lot of opportunities. There are many companies that will benefit from this arrangement. But if you do not step and allow a situation whereby everyone will be importing everything into Nigeria, with our meagre foreign exchange, you will see that in no distant time, we would become a dumping ground and it will be another big challenge for us. Really, I am looking forward to a situation when people will start putting up things that would enable them take advantage of AfCFTA because the market is huge. A market of about 1.3 billion people and Nigeria is about 200 million and the people will be looking for market, so we must raise our game. What we are doing in the sugar industry, if we are able to complete, within the next two years, we would be producing enough sugar for export. So, we really need to push so that people from other countries would not turn Nigeria into a dumping ground and you cannot stop it so that you won’t be seen not to be in compliant with the agreement that you have signed. So, to me, it provides a good opportunity because you cannot continue protecting your economy.

You have to be open because that is what others all over the world are doing. But we just need to take advantage of this initiative.

I love the AfCFTA, it is a good thing for the continent; you can move around visa free, but of course the issue of country of origin has to be looked into very well.

We would not want a situation whereby some countries will import products from companies outside Africa, let’s say tyres from China, take it to Ghana and label them made in Ghana and then bring it to Nigeria. So, we have really to make sure that issues like these are taken care of. But, if you are able to produce a substantial part of anything within Africa, you can move it around countries in the continent freely.

So, we must make sure that no country is allowing dumping. Even when it comes to movement of people, in Africa today, you will see that only about 30 per cent of Africans can actually travel to other African countries without visa. Today, if I want to go to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Morocco, and some others, I will need a visa. But, if a German wants to go to South Africa, he doesn’t require visa, if he want to go to Egypt and Morocco, he doesn’t require visa as well. So, foreign countries have more access to Africa than Africans, which doesn’t make sense. Really, we have to look at all these issues because it doesn’t make sense.

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Battle for Soul of Nigeria’s Automotive Industry Dike Onwuamaeze writes that the reduction of the import tariffs on automobiles as contained in the Finance Act 2020 has triggered a war of attrition between automotive manufacturers and the federal government over the future and viability of the industry

Adebayo

W

hen the PwC surveyed over 800 online respondents made up of business owners, chief executive officers, executive directors, tax managers and government officials on their perspectives on the Finance Act 2020, 92 per cent gave the legislation their approval.

These respondents also indicated that the top three changes in the Finance Act that excited them are the reduction of the minimum tax rate from 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent, the use of emails and other electronic means of communications with FIRS and the potential exemption of Small and Medium Enterprises from preparing audited financial statements.

They also showed that the top three changes they most disagreed with are the proposed establishment of unclaimed funds trust fund for unclaimed dividends and dormant bank balances, the plan to introduce excise duty on telecommunication services and the deployment of technology by FIRS for tax compliance monitoring.

None of these responses indicated wide-scale disapproval of the Finance Act or suggested that a raging storm is gathering around the act, especially on a section of the law that reduced import tariffs for automobiles from 70 per cent to 40 per cent.

The new import tariffs, as stated in the Finance Act, provides for a reduction in the import levy on cars from 30 per cent to five per cent, import duty on tractors from 35 per cent to five per cent as well as a reduction of imported duty on mass transit vehicles for the transportation of more than 10 persons and trucks from 35 per cent to 10 per cent.

The levy component of the tariff was set aside for the growth of the automotive industry in Nigeria while the import goes to the government.

However, the first sign that all is not calm about the policy manifested when the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the Executive Director of Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association (NAMA), Mr. Remi Olaofe, aired their views on the reduction of tariffs on the importation of vehicles into the country as provided in Section 38 of the Finance Act 2020.

They said the reduction would destroy the market for sale of locally assembled automobiles.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

Olaofe, described the reduction of the tariffs as deceit that would not enhance the welfare of Nigerians, which is being perpetrated by an administration that did not have full understanding of what the Nigerian Automobile Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) is all about.

He told THISDAY that it was sad that this is coming up at a time Nigeria should be working hard to remove its name from the lists of importdependent nations and migrate to export-driven countries.

He said: “The sad part of it is that I am not even sure this administration has a good understanding of what we are doing. Because if it has had the understanding of this plan their approach to this issue would have been completely different from what they are doing.

“How can someone be saying that he is reducing tariffs because he wants to reduce transport costs?

He is simply destroying the industry. They are not even giving a damn. Do you know how much people have pumped to this business and the government doesn’t even care? People that

How can someone be saying that he is reducing tariffs because he wants to reduce transport costs? He is simply destroying the industry. They are not even giving a damn. Do you know how much people have pumped to this business and the government doesn’t even care?

have been sent abroad to be trained are going to be laid off.

“The offshoot industries that are attached to assembly plants will be off the ground again.

And all we will be doing is to be going to Apapa to collect vehicles that have been produced in Japan and Korea and very soon from Rwanda and Ghana.

“This is a shame that Rwanda will be shipping vehicles to Nigeria,” adding that the government is treating an ailment with a wrong medication because, “we have over the time confirmed that the correlation between duty paid on vehicles and the transportation fares is totally infinitesimal and almost not seen.”

The executive director of the NAMA in a tone that was laden with a feeling of betrayal said with the policy, the government was turning its back on those it has lured to invest in the country’s automotive sector to assemble cars within the concept of NAIDP. “We invested hundreds of billions of naira based on the government’s policy and now all these are going to go down the drain. The fundamental mistake behind this policy is that government is thinking that this only affects us as auto assemblers, which is an error.

“Nigeria is going to be viewed in the eyes of investors as a country that cannot abide by its investment policy.”

Olaofe, stated that the NAIDP envisioned that operators of assembly plants would grow in phases from the importation of Semi-Knocked Down one (SKD1) components to the importation of SKD 2 and later to the Completely-Knocked Down (CKD) components at which point the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) would begin to operate in Nigeria to produce components for automotive manufacturing in Nigeria.

Although many assemblers are still at the SKD level, there are some assemblers of trucks that have moved to the CKD stage.

He claimed that a lot of progress would have been made if the government had signed that automotive development policy into law, which would have given it a legal backing and encouraged investors to put more money into this sector.

“You cannot bring the OEMs into the country when they are unsure of the depth of your market.

We want to grow volume first and foremost. It is volume that will drive every line of the business.

“So, the government came up with an executive order that said that government must patronise locally assembled vehicles. You can go around and check to see how many parastatals have locally assembled cars parked in front of their premises? People are expecting magic.”

This suggests that the implementation of the executive order has been observed in the breach.

Another factor that is hindering effective implementation of the NAIDP apart from the absence of legislation to back it up, is the lack of standardised components for automotive manufacturing in the country.

The NAMA told THISDAY that the designs for the standardised components like windscreen should be done by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and distributed to licensed assemblers for them to produce to specification.

“This is what we have been looking for to kick start by having standardised basic items for everyone. So, it will be easier for the equipment manufacturers to produce to that specification because they have the volume to support them,” he said.

It was expected that the volume attained with the standardised components would drive the addition of local content in the industry. According to the NAMA, the people that would mold seats, manufacture the windscreen, do the brake pads, and other components are already in this country.

But they would not start operation without a sizable market to support them.

“So, we say that government should come up with a standardised vehicle template for Nigeria. This will be backed by the auto finance scheme that will enable people to buy the vehicles and the volume will pick up. Then the original manufacturers will come in,” Olaofe said, adding that “we should create a road map and have milestones that must be achieved at a specified period. If it could not be attained, then let us do a variation analysis to ask why are we not where we should have been? Do we have such CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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BATTLE FOR SOUL OF NIGERIA’S AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo. a guideline? The answer is no. So, what they are measuring us with does not even exist.”

Olaofe, therefore, described the provision in the current Finance Act that lowered the import tariffs for automobiles as an opportunity for some people to make money instead of the government putting the right infrastructures in place and allow businesses to sort themselves out. “So, there is no argument the government can put up that will stand the test of time. It is just total rubbish,” he said.

Similarly, the Director General of the MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, described the reduction in tariff as an avoidable erosion of the traction we have gained in the implementation of the NAIDP. “As you are aware, government in its wisdom has encouraged investors in the industry, as part of the anticipatory approval of National Automotive Industry Development Policy (NAIDP), to key into importing the Complete Knock Down (CKD) and Semi-Knock Down (SKD) for assembling of cars, buses and trucks in Nigeria.

“So, this section of the Finance Act is an affront on the NAIDP. It is not consistent with the earlier stated objectives of government in this sector that holds so much promise for Nigeria, especially in the West African region.

“As you would have seen, this has created confusion in the automotive sector and brought to question investor confidence in Nigeria,” Ajayi-Kadir said, adding that the government’s departure from the NAIDP is a negative signal to the investing community that Nigeria is a country with an unstable investment climate.

In the same manner, the Director General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, pointed out that the policy on reduction of import levies on cars, and passenger transport vehicles would not augur well for Nigeria’s local automotive industry which is struggling to cope in a harsh economic environment. “We must protect these producers and encourage them,’ Olukanni said.

Yet, THISDAY’s investigation also showed that there are strong arguments in support of the downward review of tariffs on imported vehicle from 70 per cent to 40 per cent.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, told THISDAY that the Finance Act 2020 is a significant milestone for Nigeria, as it marked a return to an era of active fiscal supervision geared towards making incremental adjustments to fiscal policy in order to stimulate the economy.

Adebayo, said the Finance Act 2020 was aimed at exploring various avenues to boost government revenue by addressing immediate and short-term issues affecting certain sectors across the economy.

“Accordingly, the Act seeks to relieve the pressure of high transportation and food cost brought about by fuel price and exchange rate changes that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Section 38 of the Finance Act 2020 proposes significant reduction to the tariffs on importation of vehicles.

Ahmed “On a general note, we have received various comments and even criticisms regarding what some are calling a policy somersault. It is important to distinguish between a policy somersault and what is essentially an absolutely critical review of an existing policy that requires adjustment,” Adebayo said.

He also argued that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) has been the foremost champion and advocate for a robust automotive sector by robustly defending the tariff regime, pushing for access to credit for both producers and consumers and planning to build infrastructure such as automotive clusters.

He averred that the automotive industry could have a catalytic effect on the industrialisation of a country as it drives mass production, local content, localisation of production techniques and job creation.

“It also stimulated growth of other sectors such as glass, rubber, asphalt, wood, gasoline, insurance and road construction. These are the kinds of benefits that we sought from the inclusion of the Automotive Sector in the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP),” he said.

Some of the achievements of the NAIDP, according to the minister, include renewed investors’ confidence in the automotive industry in Nigeria; the attraction over $1 billion in foreign direct investment with installed capacity to assemble over 400,000 vehicles per annum. He added that over 30 companies are currently engaged in vehicle assembly operations in Nigeria and have created over 5,000 direct jobs and over 20,000 indirect jobs.

Other proponents of this argument believed that the previous rate had adverse impact on the cost of doing business, welfare of the people, government revenue and the capacity of the economy to create jobs as it has caused massive trade diversion to neighboring countries.

These proponents said that NAIDP, which was launched by former President Goodluck Jonathan, in 2013, is an import substitution

What we had before was the importation of SKD components from abroad to be coupled in Nigeria. That generates less employment and less income. What government is trying to do now is to reduce levies to discourage the imports of SKD and encourage the manufacture of CKD components in Nigeria

industrialisation strategy aimed at reducing importation of vehicles and incentivise domestic vehicle assembly.

However, import substitution strategy would only thrive in the context of high domestic value addition in order for the economy to benefit from the inherent values of import substitution, which includes backward integration, economic inclusion, multiplier effects, conservation of foreign exchange, job creation and reduction of import bills.

They also contended that the cost of vehicles had risen beyond the reach of most citizens and corporate bodies and the impact has been negative with far-reaching consequences.

They further argued that the automotive policy, in its original form, is not in consonance with the NIRP, which is the main industrial policy document of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration that espoused the strategy of resource-based industrialisation.

The economy, according to them, has witnessed an increase in the price of vehicles by between 200 per cent and 400 per cent or more over the past seven years and the implication of the scenario for operational costs of organisations is worrisome. The auto policy in its present form is most inappropriate for an economy that is heavily dependent on road transportation.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Assembly (NECA) have said that the new policy that reduced the import tariffs would redirect the Nigerian automobile industry on the path of manufacturing CKD automobile components in the country and pave the way for the emergence of truly made-in-Nigeria vehicles.

According to the Director-General of NECA, Mr. Timothy Olawale, critics of the new tariff policy should first understand the policy direction of the government and what it intends to achieve with it, which is to embrace a long term policy for the automotive sector.

Olawale said: “What we had before was the importation of SKD components from abroad to be coupled in Nigeria. That generates less employment and less income. What government is trying to do now is to reduce levies to discourage the imports of SKD and encourage the manufacture of CKD components in Nigeria. This is to stimulate the interest of those who have signified willingness in setting up auto industries in Nigeria to manufacture those components here. This will create the opportunity for value addition, jobs creation and more revenue.”

Similarly, the Director-General of the LCCI, Dr. Muda Yusuf, supported the new policy.

“What the government has done is to reduce the levy component of the tariffs to five per cent from 35 per cent. But the import duty of 35 per cent still subsists. The implication is that there is still a protective tariff of 40 per cent. If an industry cannot be competitive with a 40 per cent tariff protection, then we should interrogate our industrialisation strategy,” Yusuf said.

The Fiscal Policy Partner and West Africa Tax

Leader of the PwC Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, said there was a need to review the NAIDP after seven years, especially when the local operators in the automotive industry have not been able to develop significant production capacity.

Oyedele said information the government had shared which has not been countered was that the operators are producing about 14,000 units per year while demand for cars is over 700,000 annually.

He advised the local auto assemblers to be content with the 40 per cent tariff because there are sectors that survive under five, 10 and 15 per cent import tariffs.

“So it does not make sense for citizens to be asked to pay 70 per cent import tariffs when the local producers cannot meet even 10 percent of the market demand.

“Secondly, government was not getting enough revenue even at the 70 per cent as a lot of smuggling was believed to be going on as only very few people, and well established companies, can pay that import tariffs.

“The point for me is that 40 per cent is high enough to discourage someone from importing a car from abroad. I still don’t think that the local assemblers have a demand problem. What they lack is the ability to supply the market.

“So it makes sense to reduce the tariff to avoid punishing your citizens for the inefficiency of the system. If imported cars are still cheaper at 40 per cent than those produced in Nigeria then we have a problem to address,” Oyedele said.

He advised the federal government to ensure that all agencies of government are compelled to patronize locally assemble vehicles as has been promised by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo Oyedele said: “I will tell the assemblers to first understand the policy properly. I have listened to some of them and in my view they have misinterpreted the policy. The second one is that they should sit down with the government with the spirit of partners in progress and provide data to proof that see what will be a better outcome for a win-win situation and prove that this 40 per cent is not going to solve problems.

It must be a win-win for the investors, industry players, government and Nigerians because the citizens will not be penalised for the inefficiencies of the system.”

He, however, stated that the future is not promising for automotive assembling in the country not just because of this import tariff amendment.

“The reality is that producing vehicles require a lot of infrastructure, logistics, an ecosystem of supply and research support, which we do not have in Nigeria. It will not work effectively no matter the level of import duties that will be imposed.

“So, I am not very optimistic about the sector.

Nigeria has to make choice between producing a whole car or just a part of it like engines, tyres etc. We must specialise on the area of our comparative advantage. We do not have to do everything,” Oyedele said.

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IMAGES

L-R: Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (left) and a staff of Airtel during the on-the-spot assessment visit to Airtel Showroom for the NIN-SIM Linkage exercise: in Abuja... recently

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Photo Editor ÌÓÙÎßØ ÔËÖË Email ËÌÓÙÎßØ˛ËÔËÖË̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙ×

L-R: Commandant of Naval War College Nigeria, Rear Adm. Adeseye Ayobanjo presenting a souvenir to the Fleet Commander, Eastern Fleet of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Perry Onwuzulike, during the graduation ceremony of Command Level Officers’ Course 4 at the Naval War College in Calabar... recently

A Cross section of members of Lord’s Chosen Charistmatic Revival Ministries worshipping at the 2021 crusade programme tagged ‘’From Sorrow to Joy’’ in Lagos recently

PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

L-R ; President -Elect Rotary Club of Benin GRA, Felicia Omoruyi; Assistant Governor Zone 3, Nosa EDOOSAGIE; President of Rotary Club of Benin Kings Square, Eloghosa Obazee and Past Assistant Governor , Ejinwa Uzu during Books donation to Idia College by Rotary clubs of Ogba Benin GRA and Benin Kings Square in Benin...recently

One of the successful applicants for the Oyo State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Seun Ogundiya (left) collecting her appointment letter from Chairman of TESCOM, Mr Akinade Alamu, during the lpresentation of appointment letters to successful applicants in Ibadan ...recently

L-R: Executive Secretary, Ogun State Primary Health, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola; Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu; Head of Human Resources, Nestle Plc, Mr. Shakiru Lawal and Permanent member 3, Ogun State Universal Basic Education, Olufemi Ilorin-Oduntan, at the commissioning of Nestle Community Project at Oke-Ona United School, Abeokuta...recently

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN virtually chairs the Economic Sustainability Committee Meeting. in Abuja..recently

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EDUCATION ‘Okowa’s Administration is Addressing the Rot in Public Schools’ The Delta State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Chief Patrick Ukah, in this encounter with Raheem Akingbolu, speaks about various measures being embarked on by the Okowa’s administration in the state to address the rot and bring back the glory of the public schools, among other issues. Excerpts:

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sector, law-making and administration, how have all these impacted on his approach to governance?

Yes, all Deltans can testify that we have a robust state administrator and master strategist in person of His Excellency, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.

Every sector of the state, every senatorial district is feeling the positive impacts of the SMART agenda and stronger Delta mantra as prosperity for all Deltans and upgrade to the human capital development. The feeling around the state and beyond is that ‘we have never had it so good in Delta State’.

eyond lip service as common to some political office holders, Okowa’s administration appears keen about addressing the rot in the education sector especially in the primary and secondary school levels, what has been the feedback in the last one year?

Without denying any rot in the primary and secondary schools, you must appreciate that what happens in the education sector is a reflection of the society. The education sector is affected by the rot in the society. The feedback in the last one year has been eventful. The administration of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa prioritised education. There has been massive transformation of the primary schools and secondary schools in the state through expansion in the number of schools infrastructural development, renovation, building of science laboratories, library services and development of technical colleges. The State government ensured through the Delta Teleclass TV and radio programme that teaching and learning process continued in order to minimise the disruption of the school system caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Public schools have become dumping grounds in many states and assumed to be for the poor, what is the situation in Delta?

Quality of teaching and learning in Delta public schools is quite high. In fact, in the next two years, people will be competing to enter public schools in the state. The scramble for admission into model schools is already a burden to the ministry. We are beginning to see the influx of pupils and students to public schools in Delta. Public confidence is returning to public schools due to the massive transformation of schools, improvement in teaching and learning due to recruitment of qualified teachers especially in the Sciences, Mathematics and English language, strict and consistent inspection and monitoring of teaching-learning in the schools. At the level of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education; we are carrying out internal transformation programmes and projects to improve on the education service delivery and quality assurance. For instance, in order to drive efficiency and optimise resource allocation in the location of infrastructural facilities in schools, the ministry commissioned AC Nielsen, a reputable, international research company, to carry out needs assessment audit of all public primary and secondary schools in the state. Also, we have commissioned the Educational Management Information System (EMIS) to digitalise our education database and improve schools record storage and retrieval system. The examinations department of the ministry is not left out of this drive to improve our service delivery. We have installed a full integrated Optical Marking Recognition (OMR) system in the department to improve on time and complexities of marking, compilation and release of our examinations results especially Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) and Cognitive Placement Examination (primary six). The continuous assessment of students in public schools is also digitalised and integrated with the EMIS. On December 29, 2020, we trained all our vice principals (academics) and examinations officers in our ministry on the new digital continuous assessment system. In all, we are improving our internal operating system to drive efficiency while at the same time upgrading and transforming the infrastructural facilities in our schools to improve teaching-learning outcomes. These are restoring confidence back to the public schools and making the schools attractive to learners and parents.

What infrastructural interventions have the state government embarked on in recent time?

For the records, there are 1,126 public primary, 1,839 private primary, 467 public secondary and 1,036 private secondary schools across the state. 15 public primary schools and 38 public

Ukah secondary schools were established from 2015 to date. A total of 2,417 primary and secondary schools were renovated (2015 till date), while 1,389 primary and secondary schools had various constructions and renovations from 2015 till date. These are in addition to the interventions from the State Universal Basic Education Board ( SUBEB) at the primary school level. Also, we must acknowledge the interventions and support from the multinational oil companies, indigenous companies and philanthropists operating in the state. These are our partners in the transformation of education in Delta.

The recent workshop on curriculum revision, which your ministry championed, excited stakeholders because of the general belief that our school curriculum is outdated, what informed the move from the ministry?

The last curriculum review exercise in Delta State was held in 2012. Since then, there was the new national education curriculum and there have been trends in education especially in ICT. There is therefore the need to be in tune with modern reality in education. We took the initiative to organise the curriculum revision and development of schemes of work to update our teaching and learning process to be in line with the 21st century realities. The world is changing and education must change to serve the needs of this new world. I must say that the need for the workshop was earlier identified by the educational summit organised by this administration in January 2016, just few months into the life of this administration.

The curriculum workshop attracted the best of international and local experts in education, retired and serving educationists, policy makers, entrepreneurs, teachers and other relevant stakeholders in education. The output of this workshop will be launched into the school system before the end of first quarter of 2021.

Examination malpractices has been identified as one of the challenges facing secondary schools in the last few years, what effort are you making to stop it in Delta?

It is important to state that the menace of examination malpractice is rampant in the country and at all levels of education. The report of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) over the years highlighted this menace. Candidates cheat in cognitive/placement examinations and the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) conducted by the ministry and even on

external examinations such as WAEC, JAMB and NECO. Even the university system is not exempted from examination malpractices. We hear of sex-for-marks in our universities. Even parents aid their children in examination malpractices.

It reflects the moral decadence in our society.

All stakeholders in the educational system must rise to fight examination malpractice. However, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has adequate structures and policies in place to curtail the cankerworms of poor attitude to work by teachers and to tackle examination malpractice. The ministry has the offices of Chief Inspectors of Education (CIEs) in the 25 local government areas of the state who engage in regular instructional monitoring of teaching and learning in the schools to enhance the quality of teaching? Teachers who are found wanting in the discharge of their duties are disciplined.

The Post Primary Education Board (PPEB), State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the 25 Local Education Authorities (LEAs) are responsible for disciplinary control of the teachers.

With regard to examination malpractice; an Examination Ethics and Disciplinary Committee (EEDC), chaired by the permanent secretary of the ministry, investigates and tries teachers accused of engaging in examination malpractices.

Those found guilty are severely sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to other would-’be offenders.

Recently, some teachers were demoted and some had their promotions deferred for involvement in examination malpractices.

For teachers who get involved in other businesses, what measures have been put in place to encourage such people to show commitment to their primary assignment?

Regular promotions and payment of entitlements. No teacher in Delta State is being owed salaries or allowances. We have also taken the issue of capacity development of teachers to a higher level to improve their performances through training and re-training programmes.

The Teachers Professional Development Centre in Owa-Oyibo in Ika North East Local Government, will soon open its doors to continuous capacity development of the teachers. Some of the programmes are already being piloted.

The Okowa-led administration has revived the annual award for teachers to ensure positive mutual rivalry among teachers towards achieving better performance.

Governor Okowa came into office with robust profile that cut across health services

Delta State was in the news for the wrong reason last year when a primary school pupil was disciplined for non-payment of school fees. A visit to the school revealed a dilapidated structure. What step has state government taken to beam its searchlight on the primary schools too?

Am sure you are referring to Miss Success Adegor’s case in Sapele. It is a very unfortunate incident given that primary and secondary education is tuition free in Delta State and no teacher who understands the state’s education policy should drive a pupil or student out of school for not paying PTA levy such PTA which was agreed by the parents to support the school as joint partners with government in the development of the schools. The state government investigated the case in question and appropriate disciplinary punishments meted to the erring teachers and all concerned. The school involved like most schools in the state has received massive infrastructural facilities development and renovations.

Security is still a serious issue in Delta, what is the government doing to protect the citizenry?

Security issue is a general problem in Nigeria.

Suffice it to say that Delta state has enjoyed relative peace because of the robust security measures put in place by the governor. In addition to the existence of the Advisory and Peace Building committee established by this government, recently, the state has launched the ‘Delta Hawk’ security outfit to further reinforce the existing security architecture in the state. At the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education level, we have set up an Advocacy and Mentoring Committee in each of the LGAs/wards in the State. These Committees are headed by the highest-ranking traditional rulers in the LGAs/wards. Members includes the community leaders/associations, police and other law enforcement agencies, retired senior civil servants and educationists. They are tasked to curb the rising menace of vandalisation of school properties and for quick response to emergency situations.

As one of the closest aides to Governor Okowa, what is your take about his governance style in the last five and half years?

I will say that it is fantastic, balanced and masses oriented. Every sector and section of the state has been touched in one way or the another. The march towards a stronger Delta is being realised.

What are the major challenges in your school system?

There are a number of challenges facing us in our schools such as overwhelming number of schools requiring one form of intervention or the other, insecurity, kidnap of teachers, theft and vandalism of schools facilities, uneven distribution of teachers particularly the refusal to serve in rural or riverine areas, and recently migration of SSS three students outside the state to sit for senior school certificates organised by WAEC and NECO and other externally organised examinations due to strict measures we have put in place to curb examination malpractices in Delta State. These challenges are there but are not insurmountable, we are tackling them one after the other given the resources available to us.

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EDUCATION

Celebrating a Woman of Many Firsts The Department of Mathematics, University of Ibadan, recently honoured Professor Olabisi Ugbebor, the first Nigerian woman to obtain a PhD in Mathematics, as she clocked 70 years and retired from service at the premier university. Kemi Olaitan reports

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he is an achiever of many firsts with no mean feat. Professor Olabisi Ugbebor of the Department of Mathematics, University of Ibadan is the first Nigerian woman to obtain a Ph.D in Mathematics, the first female Nigerian Professor of Mathematics in the University of Ibadan as well as the first woman ever to be elected Fellow of the Nigerian Mathematics Society (NMS). She has also contributed immensely to the academic world in Nigeria and internationally .

Celebration rented the air recently, as colleagues, former students and students of her department, family and friends as well as church members, joined her to mark her 70 years birthday. It was also a day set aside for her to bow out of service from the premier university after 44 years.

The Acting Head of Department (HOD) of Mathematics, Dr. Michael Enioluwafe, whio welcomed everyone on behalf of the department, Faculty of Science and the university, said putting the programme together which was part of a two-day International Mathematics Conference themed, ‘Mathematics : Frontiers, Perspectives and Applications’, was to celebrate a woman who had impacted lives of many.

According to him, “ the Department of Mathematics offer our most sincere and heartfelt congratulations to Professor Olabisi Ugbebor for all the fine work and the many contributions you have bestowed upon the department and university community. You have been an inspiration to the students and to all who have had the pleasure of knowing and working with you. Her powerful personal story has motivated our students, she has given the students a tremendous example by which our own students can form a personal vision.”

In her remarks, the Secretary, Nigerian Women in Mathematics (NWM), Dr. Deborah Makinde, described Ugbebor as one who has blazed the trail and a woman of substance set in Mathematics, adding that this is what other women are following.

She disclosed that the NWM became a reality in 2014 through her efforts when she occupied the Pastor Enoch Adeboye Professorial Chair in Mathematics in the University of Ibadan, and served as the founding President.

“On behalf of the Nigerian Women in Mathematics, I am pleased to celebrate the legacy of Professor Olabisi Ugbebor, the President of the NWM. She has undoubtedly been a transformational leader all through her years of service. Unique among leaders in the field, your career has been marked by continuing fundamental contributions across the field of Mathematical Science. You have been a powerful champion of every mathematical program you partook in and have contributed immensely to professional organisations promoting the girl-child education. You have been famous in helping students find their own mathematical voices and

for producing many students.”

Her first Ph.D student and the Director/Chief Executive, National Mathematical Centre, Abuja, Professor Stephen Onah, , who joined the ceremony through zoom, eulogised her contributions to humanity, noting that she has continued to be a role model to the numerous students who passed through her. According to him, her qualities have made her a mother to all with everyone who had contact with her could not, but take something positive from her life.

According to him, “When I cast my mind to our first meeting at the Department of Mathematics, University of Ibadan, almost 30 years ago, it has been a pleasant memory all through. You accepted me for who I was, and till date, for who I am. I cherished this immensely and have never taken it for granted. Without much words, your lifestyle led me to the true knowledge of Christianity. To me, you are in an adorable class of your own. The humanity in you is incomparable, the charm is captivating and iresistible. In fact, I have not been able to find one scene when the smiles on your face was absent. This can only be God. He described her as a definitive mathematician with a pleasant touch who has endeared herself to all with a pride of place on the sands of time.

“Your ability to accommodate, tolerate, inspire and build all kinds of persons associated with you, make you a mentor of uncommon virtues. You are amiable and a great source of inspiration. By these qualities you have created an ocean of human capital with unbounded domain of operations within which you will continue to dwell.”

Sharing her testimony on Professor Ugbebor on behalf of the Department of Mathematics, Dr. Deborah Ajayi, said she had been an inspiration and encouragement to many, especially the women in Mathematics, adding that she made a real difference in the lives of both students and colleagues through her smiles, motivation, wisdom and positivity.

“I was blessed to meet Mama Ugbebor when I came in to register in Mathematics department in 1981 as a prelim student and she was assigned the task of registering prelim students.

With encouraging words and smiles, she did the work. We admired her as the only female lecturer in the department. Later she taught me a few courses at the undergraduate level. She taught one of the courses with pregnancy. Later, when I was employed, we were the only two female lecturers for several years. To me, Mama Ugbebor was and is still a model of a strong, hardworking, active mother, lecturer, senior colleague and Christian mathematician.”

From her church where she is a Deaconess, the Senior Pastor, Oritamefa Baptist Church, Ibadan, Reverend Remi Awopegba, described Ugbebor as a role model to

her generation for countless reasons such as passion for everything and anything she believes in; absolute devotion to her faith; fear for God and fearlessly before men; integrity as a lecturer; meticulous nature and attention to details; creative and mathematical mind and discernment and spiritual insight.

Other qualities he noted, are her strength, tenacity and resilience in tough situations; warmth, kindness and hospitality to all and sundry; humility despite success and uncommon achievements; discipline, firmness yet humane in all matters; sense of duty and hard work as well as being a deep and very passionate person.

Awopegba said, “she is one woman that speaks with passion, and you will always see this displayed anytime she is ministering. She ministers the word powerfully, with all the grace and ability in her. She has passion for impacting lives.

Mama Olabisi Ugbebor keeps impacting lives of both young and old, male and female, students and workers. Numerous testimonies abound concerning her exploits in this regard. She is a counselor, advisor and rehabilitator. She has been very useful and productive in the counseling and deliverance ministry of the church.”

Paying tribute to his wife, her husband, Mr. Curtis Ugbebor, said her life spans many areas of human life but would rather eulogised her on what he called trilateral acronym of ACR with A standing for achievements, C for Christianity and R for relationships. According to him, her academic achievements are numerous such that her contributions in the field of Mathematics are globally acknowledged and can be sourced by reference to her many scholarly publications in various journals from different parts of the world.

He added that as a workaholic, her daily schedule is so demanding such that he always hope she does not suffer from physical exhaustion.

Professor Ugbebor (middle) with members of her extended family “She is extremely thorough when proof reading her students’ work; this is because she always aims to bring her students to such a standard of excellence that they can favourably compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world.”

“She does not relate to people on the basis of their educational, economic or social standing but purely on humanitarian considerations. She is friends with the poor, illiterates and the low-income earners. Such lowly placed citizens feel at home in her company. People generally find her as someone who is come-at-able and never reneged on promises. Even when under the cosh, she does not display maladdress towards anyone, nor does she disesteem people on the basis of their pecking order.

She is loved by students from various ethnic nationalities in Nigeria because of her absolutely detribalised nature.

“She is known to care so much about other people’s welfare, never solipsistic. If any help is within her power to render, she does it immediately, never procrastinating or being a dictator, forever living in the

land of manna. In a world where people do not care a hoot for the needy and the poor, she is ever willing to offer them a helping hand. People generally are never at ease in her company because she never displays arrogance in her interaction with anyone. Notwithstanding her prodigious intellect, Professor Olabisi Ugbebor attitudinises and exemplifies unassuming humility.”

In a tribute titled, ‘Leave It All on the Field - A Tribute to Selfless Service’, her son, Ifeloju Ugbebor, described his mother as the embodiment of achiever who manages to get more done in a day than is required in a week and always getting things done by putting in her best every time.

He disclosed that it was quite difficult to fail in her class as she engages every student by asking many questions during a lecture period with a correct answer earning one mark towards the continuous assessment.

According to him, “Mama has the uncanny ability of knowing all her students by name, and if you are quiet in class she will call on you to answer questions.

There are no stupid answers in Mama’s class, in fact through this intellectual engagement everyone participates and learns better.

By the end of the semester most students have a half of their continuous assessment scores ready, and because everyone participated and answered questions, it is difficult to find someone who knows absolutely nothing of the subject matter.

“Mama works late into the night modifying syllabi, correcting theses and making sure that knowledge transfer is effective and efficient. When she has a MSc or PhD student, mama does not break step, she is there with them all the way.

This kind of selfless service is crucial for effective transfer of knowledge. It is literally all or nothing. When it comes to matters of knowledge transfer, academic or otherwise, it is simply all or nothing. You must give 100 per cent of yourself, this is the only way to ensure that the ball does not drop down the line.”

In her response, Ugbebor gave glory to God for all her achievements, noting that without Him she is nothing.

Meadow Hall Partners Trinity Western Varsity on Canadian Undergraduate, Postgraduate Degrees Meadow Hall has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Trinity Western University (TWU), Canada and a member of the Royal Society of Canada, in an effort aimed at providing quality education to Nigerian students and raising the standard of educators.

Through the partnership, Meadow Hall now offers TWU’s undergraduate programme, which commences with the U1 programme. The school will also be running TWU’s master’s programme, giving all undergraduate and postgraduate students the opportunity to learn from TWU’s intellectual and innovative faculty, whilst gaining access to its fully equipped library virtually.

TWU’s U1 and master’s programmes are facilitated under the umbrella of Meadow Hall Virtual Learning (MHVL), an online

learning platform that provides varying educational and personal development programmes for children and adults.

MHVL is an initiative of the Meadow Hall Group, an education group founded by the Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kehinde Nwani with the vision of developing people to become change agents through the enriching opportunities provided by it’s subsidiaries.

Nwani described TWU’s blend of education and leadership as an opportunity for professionals to broaden the scope of their learning and experience in these fields.

“The U1 year is the first year of undergraduate studies at Trinity Western University. Prospective students have the opportunity to start their undergraduate degree with the U1 at Meadow Hall’s Facilitated Academic Resource

(FAR) Centre in Lagos, with a learning facilitator to help guide their learning, “ she said.

TWU’s Director of International Engagement for Africa, Dr. George Imbenzi said on completion of the U1, students have three unique options; to proceed to TWU’s campus in Langley, Canada, complete their undergraduate studies in Nigeria or transfer to other Canadian universities with the U1 credits acquired.”

With the 18 months MA in leadership programme, Meadow Hall aims at providing the opportunity to help professional and business executives improve their leadership competence through enhanced commitment, capability and effectiveness in their specialty areas.

The programme has two streams; Education and Business stream. Students in the Education

stream can take advantage of courses in the business stream to enable them become Teacherpreneurs (teachers who are business minded), while also giving them the skills needed to manage or own their schools in the future.

This partnership delivers a quality Canadian university education at a huge saving of more than 50 per cent of the overall cost of attendance if students were studying physically in Canada and affords them learning experiences that ensure a provincially, nationally and internationally recognised undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. In addition, students who are admitted into the U1 or MA Leadership full time programmes are eligible for the Post-graduation Work Permit Programme (PGWPP) in Canada.

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EDUCATION

Varsities: COPCSUN Chairman Ekiti SUBEB, ULS Decries Reward of Strike with Train 2,625 Teachers on Phonics Literacy Payment of Salary Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The newly elected Chairman, Council of Pro-Chancellor of State Universities in Nigeria(COPCSUN), Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali(SAN) has said that, as long as Nigeria continues to reward strike with the payment of salaries and arrears, the nation’s university education will not move forward.

He wondered how workers that had abandoned their duty posts for over one year, will still be paid their dues in the country.

Speaking in Ilorin, Kwara State, on the state of the nation, Ali noted that, “In all parts of the world, the principle of no pay, no work is duely observed. Even, countries that we think they are rich like USA, UK and Europe, the principle of no work, no pay remain their main principle.

“In the Europe, USA

and UK, if you go on strike for two or three days, money will be deducted from your salary as simple as that, but here in Nigeria, people get compensated for abandoning their work.”

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who likened the ugly situation in the country where the members of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) and other unions would embark on strike for over one year and are being paid with full salaries by the government said such situation would continue to affect the academic excellence of the students .

According to him, “I want to say that there is nothing like make up for students that have been abandoned for over one year by the lecturers because time is something you can’t regain and that is the truth.

“When you loose time, it may be very difficult

to regain it. Many universities in the country are now cancelling their academic calendar for 2019/2020 due to the strike embarked on by the ASUU and that is a great loss to the students and parents. Also, the brain is an interested machine for academic pursuits of the students and these students had been away for over one year now, their brain will not function the same again as before their teachers went on strike and this is not good for the nation’s university education.”

Ali who is also the Chairman, Board of Governing Council, Osun State University, Osogbo, said his administration has been able to achieve a lot due to the honesty of purpose being displayed by the members of the governing council of the institution.

“Our contributions to the growth of the university since our ap-

pointment has improved the academic and infrastructural facilities of the institution and that had made the incumbent governor of the state, Alhaji Isiaka Oyetola to reappoint our members for another term of five years in office. “ We didn’t see our appointment as a place for repayment for what have been doing for the university, we dont steak our economic fortune to our appointment in the university and we are committed to the mandate we are given on honest and transparency in all our doings at the university”.

He therefore called on the stakeholders in the university system to have a change of mind on the premise to go on strike every time before they can achieve their demands, saying that such move would not improve the education of students in the nation’s universities.

The Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), and a non-profit organisation, Universal Learning Solutions (ULS),in collaboration with Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC) has trained a total of 2,625 primary school teachers on specialist phonics literacy teaching practices in the state.

Code named ‘Jolly Phonics’, the training is evolved under the Teacher Professional Development initiative programme which lasted for two weeks in Ado Ekiti.

Mr Gary Foxcroft, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ULS, said the literacy project, was designed to be transfered to pupils in elementary classes (ECCD, primary one, two and three), adding that aside the 2,625 primary school teachers trained, 50 other officials also benefitted. “The training was spread across all the three senatorial districts of the state and held in 9 centres across the state. It involved teachers from all the 16 Local Governments Areas of the state, and it was aimed at equipping them with the expertise and tools required to enable them to transform primary one, two and three pupils in government schools across the state”, he said.

He described jolly phonics as a fun and interactive teaching tool that uses the synthetic phonics literacy teaching methodology recommended by many governments around the world as it equips children with the skills needed to read and write. “ The Ekiti State Jolly Phonics is a fantastic opportunity for all children in Ekiti State to benefit from the opportunity to learn to read and write. The project will therefore help increase equity and equal opportunities for all children in Ekiti State”, he stated.

He commended UBEC for its continued support for the adoption of the initiative in government schools across Nigeria.

According to him, “UBEC have really recognised the tremendous impact that jolly phonics has been having on literacy levels in government schools and have taken it on as one of their flagship programmes. This has helped us to initiate new projects across the country. Jolly phonics is now being taught in all 36 states, and FCT. This is truly amazing and will help to improve the reading and writing abilities of millions of children in the years ahead.”

Nigeria Country Director at Universal Learning Solutions Initiative, Mr. Patrick Uzu, highlighted the exceptional support and partnership offered

by Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (EKSUBEB) as being instrumental in the success of the project.

“We are delighted to be partnering with SUBEB in Ekiti to train, resource and mentor its teachers in Jolly Phonics. This project gives the children of Ekiti State a brighter future. Our sincere appreciation go to the Executive Chairman of SUBEB, Professor Femi Akinwumi and his team who have helped in overseeing the training very professionally.”

Project Manager of ULS in Ekiti State, Adeoye Augustine Adeyemi, urged participants to ensure they bring to bear all the knowledge gained during the training in their various schools and that the training should have the desired impact on the pupils through systematic and demonstrable teaching methods so as to make a difference between the old and new methods of teaching.

Primary School Should Commence at 5/6 Years, Says NCCE A cross-section of the management of Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, with officials of Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), during a courtesy visit to the Acting Vice of the university, Professor Damola Oke, recently

Minister of Education, Bogoro’s Appointment Has Transformed Education, Says Northeast APC Youths Segun Awofadeji A Coalition under the auspices of North-east APC Youth Support Group have commended President Buhari for appointing Minister Education, Adamu Adamu and the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) Professor Suleiman Bogoro, saying that their stewardship has impacted the educational sector positively.

Addressing Journalists in Bauchi, the National Coordinator of the group Comrade Aliyu Mohammed Bauchi and the Secretary, Comrade Usman Musa Biu said the administration

has performed well in the sector in the past years.

The APC commended the president for the allocation of funds to the educational sector in the annual budgets even as they lauded the TETfund executive secretary for the proper utilisation of the funds.

“Mr Bogoro has addressed infrastructural deficits in tertiary institutions across the country.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and polytechnics only embark on strike to demand for allowances and not on infrastructures. In the past, students in some

universities use to sit on windows for lectures due to lack of chairs, but now, the story has now changed as lecture halls are now adequately equipped with seats provided by TETfund.

“Mr Bogoro who hails from the northeast part of the country, has never been found guilty of misappropriating funds.

So we are appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider him for another appointment after the completion of his tenure, as well as all other public officers that are doing well to enable the administration deliver good governance.

“There is no doubt that one of the areas President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration recorded tremendous achievements is education. This was made possible with the collective efforts of his lieutenants manning the sector, that is, the minister of education and TETfund executive secretary, both of whom hail from the north.

“APC got massive votes from youth and students because of the giants efforts from TETfund and it is our hope that the government will continue to work with technocrats for sustainable national development,” the group said.

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Professor BappaAliyu Muhammadu, has said children must start their primary one at the age of five or six.

Mohammadu gave the recommendation based on the fact that there were some faculties that had to be developed for the children to reason, appreciate and get orientation about themselves and their surroundings.

He made this known, recently, in Abuja after the conferment of an award on him by a non-governmental organisation on early childhood education supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Mohammadu said in child development or psychology, it is expected that the reasoning ability of a child should relate to his physical and mental development.

According to him, “this is an opportunity for children who are starters to have a year or two before being enrolled into primary one.

Personally, I will like children to start their primary one when they are five or six years old because there are some faculties that have to be developed for them to reason, appreciate and get orientation about themselves and their surroundings. That is the reason why a six-yearold child knows his or her environment.

“In child development or psychology, it is expected that the reasoning ability of a child should relate to his physical and mental development.

Some people enrol their child at less than even five years and they make it, but we are saying that for a balanced child development as a strategy, six years is a very good period for that child to enrol in primary one, so that he or she will spend 9 years in basic education.”

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CITYSTRINGS

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Exploring Climate Change-enhanced Alternatives to Road Transportation In exploring alternatives to road transportation in Lagos, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that the United Kingdom in conjunction with the Lagos State government recently witnessed the sea trial of a Hovercraft, an amphibious boat-like vehicle that travels over water, sand and grass, which can improve the climate resilience of the state, as well as contribute to sustainable and inclusive economic development of the city

General Manager, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel; the British Deputy High Commissioner, Ben Llewellyn-Jones and Marketing & Sales Director, Griffon Hoverwork, Nicolas MacLeod-Ash, at Badore, Ajah Jetty, during the sea trial in Lagos

The Hovercraft

U

ndoubtedly, the perennial Lagos traffic snarl has opened a window of opportunity for operators in the water transport sector in the state. This is because as commuters now seek alternative routes to avoid delay on the roads.

As it is common with human beings when faced with difficult situations, the survival instinct springs up naturally and the search for an alternative to ease the difficulty begins.

The perennial gridlock in Lagos is one of such difficult situations and this has no doubt increased the number of people that have veered into exploring water transportation.

To many, water transportation is vital especially when there are no road networks in their areas. Sadly, among other means of transportation, this same water transportation has been somewhat neglected until recently, despite the huge potentials it portends in mass movement of commuters especially in a mega city like Lagos.

Without a doubt, an enhanced and reliable water transport system will reduce congestion on the roads, promote economic growth, and improve competition in the business environment as well as the overall operations in the state. It will reduce travel time, improving connectivity between communities and hence provide access to critical services such as healthcare, education and employment. Those were the ideals behind the recent proposition of a Hovercraft for a city like Lagos.

Recognising the urgency to tackle climate change by quickly reducing Carbon Dioxide emissions, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Ben Llewellyn-Jones and the General

Manager, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, recently witnessed the sea trial of a Hovercraft, Griffon Hoverwork, a UK hovercraft design and manufacturing company.

The company carried out the demonstration in Lagos as part of the UK Government’s effort to enhance the waterways transportation system of the Lagos State government. The UK Government through its Future Cities Nigeria Programme, has been providing technical assistance to the Lagos State government to enhance its water transport system, which will in turn improve the climate resilience of the state, by offering a viable alternative to road transport, and provide an improved transport option for Lagos residents and visitors.

Thus, the sea trial was in continuation of the state government’s exploration of an alternative to its transport system, which will in turn reduce road congestion and promote economic growth.

Hovercraft Potentials According to the state government, the potential of the hovercraft cannot be underestimated as it can improve the climate resilience of the state, as well as contribute to sustainable and inclusive economic development in the city.

The Hovercraft, an amphibious boat-like vehicle that travels over water, sand and grass, designed by Griffon Hoverwork, a UK hovercraft design and manufacturing Company, carried out the demonstration in Lagos. During the sea trial, they reiterated that an enhanced and reliable water transport

system will also reduce congestion on the roads, promote economic growth, and improve competition in the business environment as well as the overall operations in the state.

UK Future Cities Nigeria Programme The UK Government through its Future Cities Nigeria Programme, have been providing technical assistance to the Lagos State government to enhance its water transport system, which will in turn improve the climate resilience of Lagos state, by offering a viable alternative to road transport, and provide an improved transport option for Lagos residents and visitors.

Speaking after the sea trial, British Deputy High Commissioner, Ben Llewellyn-Jones said: “The UK Government is keen to assist the Lagos State government in the area of water transportation, and urban development.

Griffon Hoverwork, a leading manufacturer of hovercrafts has displayed the capabilities of a hovercraft as a means of reducing carbon emissions & road congestion and supporting growth in the water transport sector.

“Lagos is Africa’s largest city with lots of capacity, but relies excessively on road vehicles for transport, leading to long and expensive commutes and traffic delays. Through our Future Cities Nigeria programme, we are working with LASWA to develop water transport routes that reduce road traffic congestion, provide safer, cleaner, reduced cost transport and reduce CO2 emissions. @It’s great to see these plans start to become reality through this trial of a hovercraft on the Lagos waterways. This demonstrates the range of opportunities and potential for UK

and other international businesses in this sector to benefit from the new transport routes.”

On his part, the General Manager, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said: “The UK's Global Future Cities Programme with the Lagos State government is helping to expand the state’s waterways transport and improve the environment.

“Lagos waterways is a key resource to the state and we will continue to work with the UK Government to make water transportation a viable, reliable and alternative means of transport for the people of Lagos.”

According to the Press and Public Affairs Officer, British Deputy High Commission, Lagos, Ndidiamaka Eze, in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Nigerian Navy, the UK has used medical hovercrafts to reach the remote areas of Delta in South-South Nigeria and the North-east, providing healthcare to underserved communities.

Shedding further light on the Future Cities Nigeria Programme through the UK’s Prosperity Funds, she said they support a range of strategic interventions in Nigeria, including Lagos and Abeokuta.

“The programme is addressing key barriers to prosperity, urban planning (to provide technical assistance for spatial restructuring); transportation (to provide technical assistance to develop integrated multi-modal public transport systems), and resilience (to provide technical assistance to develop strategies to address the impact of climate change and ensure development is sustainable).”

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

FG Urged to Tackle Insecurity, Improve Infrastructure to Attract FDIs Nume Ekeghe The federal government has been advised to confront issues regarding insecurity in Nigeria as well as the infrastructure deficit in the country in a bid to make the country more attractive to Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).

The Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, made the call yesterday, during an interview on ‘The Morning Show,’ on Arise Television.

He said the country ought to be attracting far higher FDIs save for the challenges posed by insecurity and the poor state of its infrastructure. Chukwu said: “Total foreign investment in Q4 was only $251 million. And for the entire year, total capital importation for the country was only $9.6 billion of which foreign

portfolio investment accounted for more than 50 percent of that.

“So, if you look at a $414 million FDI, it is a drop in the ocean given the size of this economy.

“Our economy is the largest in Africa and as it stands today, we are among the top economies in the world, but we are not getting the kind of capital we should be attracting principally because we need to look at ourselves and ask ourselves why is this economy not a preferred destination to FDIs.” He added: “Why would they rather go to Ghana and Rwanda which are smaller economies? The Ghanaian economy is marginally bigger than Lagos’ economy but FDIs are going to Ghana and we are seeing companies set up vehicle assembly and manufacturing plants in Ghana and are not

coming to the country. So, there must be something wrong with our policy environment.”

Speaking further on what to do for the country to become attractive, he said: “There are millions of things we should do to become attractive but we should start from the lowest hanging fruits which is on the issue of security.

“Basic infrastructure such as power and transport are critical to reduce the cost of doing business and improve ease of doing business and we need to address these things. “Also, if you look at our laws, regulations and education system and also look at our trade policies.

“We need to take a holistic look at our strategy to attracting investors and if we don’t address those and some of them are minor issues.”

Buhari

Ehingbeti Will Attract Investments to Lagos, Says Cardoso Oluchi Chibuzor The Co-chair of the Ehingbeti, the Lagos Economic Summit, holding from February 16 to 18, 2021, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, has said the summit will bring about a good policy environment and attract investment to the state.

He noted that excellent coordination of private-public relationship could signal stability to investors.

Speaking during an interactive session with journalist on Monday, held via a virtual platform, to discuss the significance and contributions of the private sectorled participatory forum, Cardoso said Ehingbeti is an ingenuous socio-economic apparatus that has contributed significantly to the development of Lagos State

in the last 20 years.

“Ehingbeti is not a talk-shop where people gather to say nice things to themselves and depart.

It is a platform for discussion of very serious issues about the socio-economic and infrastructural development of Lagos State.

“In fact, call it the planning board for gradual evolution of Lagos State into the desired shape and standard because deliberations at Ehingbeti feed into the Lagos Master Plan and implementations are monitored by multiple stakeholders”, he explained. “As a participatory forum, Ehingbeti brings multiple stakeholders together to dialogue and listen to another. The dialogue results in understanding and consensus building. This an agreement to work together

because of the shared vision established through the dialogue at Ehingbeti.

“At the end of these dialogues, communiqués would be issued and the parties begin to execute agreed programmes and monitor progress”, he added.

Speaking further, he said, with the monitored implementation, the public sector acquired a new sense of operations while the private sector felt secure with the accountability signaled by the process.

Acknowledged as the first institutionalised economic forum by any state in Nigeria, Ehingbeti is a public-private sector roundtable that started as a collaborative effort between Lagos State Government and Business Club Ikeja.

Nigeria, China Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations Nigeria and China will today host an online gala performance to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries.

Tagged, “Share the Moment Together”, the event is organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and the Ministry of Information and Culture of Nigeria.

According to a statement, the online gala consists of three parts: Chinese Culture, Nigerian Culture, and Friendship between China and Nigeria.

They will be jointly performed by artists from Chinese and Nigerian eminent performing art troupes. The gala performance

will not only showcase the beauty of traditional Chinese dance and music, but also displays the passion and vigour of Nigerian songs, dance and beats.

“The two culture add radiance and beauty to each other, and together voice a poem of friendship for diplomatic ties and for a better future.

“The gala performance will be broadcast on the Voice of China, CCTV.com, China Culture.org, the Nigerian Television Authority, Africa Independent Television, StarTimes Guide at 7 pm and StarTimes Sino Drama at 8:30 pm on February 10,” the statement added. In his goodwill message, the Minister of Culture and Tour-

ism of China, Mr. Hu Heping said, “this year marks the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Nigeria, ever since which we have achieved a progress featuring wholesomeness, stability and geniality.

“Especially since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed building a closer China-Africa community with a shared future at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September 2018, there has been a fast development of the bilateral cooperation in the regards of economy, culture, and public security, etc. and this development has come to its full fruition.

9mobile Commences NIN Registration at Selected Centers Nume Ekeghe 9mobile, has commenced the National Identification Number (NIN) registration exercise in select Experience Centres in Lagos and Abuja.

The development followed the federal government’s granting of license for NIN enrollment to ease the pressure of large crowd turnout at the various enrollment centers of the Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

Speaking on the development, the Chief Commercial Officer,

9mobile, Stjepan Udovicic, was quoted in a statement to have said: “As Nigeria’s customer champion in this industry, 9mobile always seeks opportunities to collaborate with regulators and other stakeholders on initiatives that will enable Nigerians to achieve their full potential. “We pride ourselves as a responsible corporate citizen, and we are always ready to go the extra mile for our esteemed customers and all Nigerians in general. “That is why we are pleased to announce the commencement of NIN enrollment at

select 9mobile Experience Centers duly approved by NIMC to help expand registration access to Nigerians ahead of the new deadline set by the Government for the exercise.”

He urged customers and intending enrollees to observe all recommended guidelines for limiting the spread of Covid-19, including wearing of face masks and maintaining social/physical distancing, stressing that strict observance will be fully enforced at the experience centers.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JULY 2020 Money Supply (M3)

36,822,751.47

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

3,476,121.25

Money Supply (M2)

33,346,630.22

-- Quasi Money

120,764,479.02

-- Narrow Money (M1)

12,582,151.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,002,026.89

---- Demand Deposits

10,580,124.31

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,637,137.23

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

29,185,614.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

39,711,115.95

---- Credit to Government (Net)

19,521,851.08

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-130,189,264.87

--Other Assets Net

3,472,017.70

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,421,827.07

--Currency in Circulation

2,395,917.03

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,025,910.04 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

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 MONDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2021

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $59.58 a barrel on Monday, compared with $58.92 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

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Merger: CAP Plc MD Assures Stakeholders of Better Value Creation Goddy Egene The Managing Director of Chemical and Allied Products (CAP), David Wright, has said the company’s merger with Portland Paints and Products Nigeria (PPPN) Plc will create better value for all stakeholders as well as the economy at large.

The Boards of Directors of CAP Plc and PPPN had last year announced the decision to merge their respective businesses in ac-

cordance with applicable laws.

Speaking at the virtual, ‘Facts behind the merger’ presentation at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Wright said stakeholders should expect the emergence of a better company that would benefit all.

According to him, he was excited by the prospect of an enlarged company with a broader decorative paint portfolio covering the premium, mid-market and affordable

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

segments and the inclusion of marine and protective coatings, all of which will benefit their customers and shareholders.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of PPPN , Bolarin Okunowo, said the company had evaluated various strategic options with a view to positioning to capture emerging growth opportunities.

“CAP Plc’ business is complementary to ours and both companies will be better able to

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

serve our respective customers by coming together. I believe the combination of PPPN and CAP Plc will yield significant benefits for all of our stakeholders,” she said.

Wright explained that the merger, which provides a unique opportunity to change the Nigerian paints and coatings landscape, will be attractive and value accretive to shareholders of both companies.

“CAP Plc and PPPN play

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

in distinct segments, and the enlarged CAP Plc will have a broader portfolio covering the top-end/premium decorative segment, the mid-market decorative segments as well as the industrial segment (in particular marine and protective coatings),” he said.

The merger will involve the transfer of all PPPN’s assets, liabilities and business undertakings including real property and intellectual property rights

O F

to CAP Plc. In consideration for the transfer, CAP Plc is offering shareholders of Portland Paints a choice to receive N2.90 cash for every Portland Paints share held or one new ordinary share of CAP Plc, credited as fully-paid up for every eight PPPN. CAP Plc will be the surviving entity and PPPN will be dissolved without being wound up and will be delisted from the NSE.

0 9 / 0 2 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

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MARKET NEWS

Union Bank’s Board Meets to Approve 2020 Financial Results concluded its private placement ordinary shares of 50 kobo a notification to the Nigerian Sunu Assurances said two Goddy Egene 3,010,800,000 each at N1.00 per share. In Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday, applications were received in SUNU Assurances Plc has exercise of A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an ETF are bought by investors.

Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. investment vehicle that allows both small and Bid Price: The price at which Investors Investors with similar objectives buy units of the large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total that willl generate their desired return. investments. The assets are divided into shares that return an investor would have earned on An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. his investment. Money Market Funds report of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, Yield while others report Year- to-date Total bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, GUIDE TO DATA: Return. etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 08- NAV: Is value per share of the real estate shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Feb-2021, unless otherwise stated. assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

connection with the private placement.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 1.06 1.08 18.63% ACAP Income Funds 0.70 0.70 -4.38% 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 0.30% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.54 3.69 -0.48% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 0.54% Anchoria Equity Fund 137.08 138.59 2.65% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.20 1.20 -10.83% 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 18.85 19.41 3.91% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 398.88 410.91 -0.37% ARM Ethical Fund 35.54 36.62 5.44% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.23 1.23 0.65% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.07 1.07 -4.67% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 0.41% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 132.17 133.09 4.75% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.43% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.10 2.10 -34.40% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.27 2.31 -2.02% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.92% Paramount Equity Fund 16.61 16.93 3.90% Women's Investment Fund 135.98 137.56 2.18% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.27% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 132.78 133.79 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 108.81 108.81 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.44% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.19 1.20 -0.53% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.53 1.53 -3.25% 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 1.04% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 1.07% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,188.19 1,190.05 -1.03% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,348.73 1,348.74 -3.62% FBN Balanced Fund 188.37 189.78 0.37% FBN Halal Fund 110.24 110.24 -1.16% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.14% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 123.62 123.62 1.67% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 123.75 123.75 1.65% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 155.44 157.53 2.82% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.03% Legacy Debt Fund 3.88 3.88 0.39% Legacy Equity Fund 1.66 1.70 9.23% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.14 1.14 0.48% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 3,890.05 3,937.92 3.53% Coral Income Fund 3,324.07 3,324.07 1.78% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 3.02% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.62% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 128.87 129.40 19.42%

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.19% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.83 2.90 21.87% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 155.78 156.30 0.26% 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 N/A N/A N/A Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.65 1.68 7.15% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.20 12.32 8.71% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 1.50% PACAM Equity Fund 1.66 1.68 PACAM EuroBond Fund 108.97 111.54 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 133.56 136.51 12.29% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.01 1.01 0.72% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,521.35 2,532.80 0.31% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 0.40% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 1.69% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 0.48% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 1.00% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.31% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 -0.92% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.23 1.23 0.56% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 111.50 111.50 0.38% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.41 1.44 3.54% United Capital Bond Fund 1.90 1.90 0.63% United Capital Equity Fund 0.90 0.93 4.07% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.68% United Capital Eurobond Fund 117.74 117.74 0.61% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.09 1.11 0.69% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.02 1.02 1.86% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +2349031100041 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.39 12.68 5.19% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.78 13.90 12.80% Zenith Income Fund 24.14 24.14 0.69% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.99%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

121.29 52.51

0.46% 0.21%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.36 125.82 100.34

13.46 125.82 102.22

1.05% 3.35% 0.98%

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

4.15

4.19

9.46%

Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund

5.88

5.96

3.38%

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

18.03 1.00 20.29

18.13 1.00 20.49

10.07% 1.02% -1.10%

182.98

184.98

-17.38%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.05

13.11%

Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund

Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

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.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10,2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

49

NEWS

Membership Revalidation Contrary to APC Constitution, Says Oshiomhole Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has faulted the ongoing membership revalidation

exercise of the party.

The exercise, he said, is contrary to constitution of the party.

Oshiomhole spoke with journalists shortly after revalidating his membership of the party at Unit 1, Ward 10, Iyamho, Etsako

N’Assembly Adjourns Plenary in Honour of House Member, Ossy Prestige Deji Elumoye and Udora Orizu in Abuja The Senate and the House of Representatives yesterday suspended sittings in respect to the death of a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ossy Chinedu Prestige.

The Senate, which resumed plenary after a long Christmas break, had to suspend all legislative activities shortly after the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, formally welcomed his colleagues from vacation.

The Senate Leader, Yahaya Abubakar, had at plenary moved a motion for the upper chamber to observe a minute silence as well as adjourn the sitting in honour of late Prestige who died recently

after a brief illness.

After observing the minute silence, Lawan expressed shock and sadness over the death of Prestige, who represented Aba North/Aba South federal constituency in the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2021.

According to him, the departed lawmaker will be sorely missed by all his colleagues in the National Assembly.

The Senate president stated that the late House member was a good representative of his constituency in the National Assembly, and that he touched many lives through his business engagements and charity outreach such as the Prestige Ossy Foundation and The Favoured Initiatives.

Police Arrest 58 Suspected Hoodlums on Lagos Island The Lagos State Police Command, yesterday said it arrested 58 suspected hoodlums terrorising the Agarawu, Ita Faaji, Igbosere areas of Lagos Island.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this known in a statement, stressing that the command will continue to intensify efforts to sanitise and restore normalcy in the affected areas.

“The miscreants and gangsters in the areas have severally attacked and damaged people’s properties, while some allegedly lost their lives to their various criminal activities,” Adejobi stated.

Adejobi said the 53 male suspects and five female suspects were arrested.

He also said the Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has directed that the suspects be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba for proper investigation and

prosecution.

The PPRO gave the names of the male suspects as: Sikiru Kareem, Kamal Olatoyinbo, Sulaimon Alaga, Musa Alidu, Amadu Chidi, Abass Saliu, Gafar Ambali, Oriyomi Adeyemi, Suleiman Saleh, Ojo Junior, Abayomi Ogunleye, Alhassan Abdulahi, Kazeem Olagbajumo, Rilwan Salau, Wajud Taiwo, and Suleiman Adewale.

Other male suspects include Wahab Azeez, Adam Oluwole, Solomon Segun, Wahab Korede, Micheal Oladeji, Gafar Mustapha Adeniyi, Oluwatobu Senu, Afeez Sulaimon, Surajudeen Jimoh, Adamu Ahmed, Nojeem Ajayi, Yusuf Lawal, Akanbi Quadri, Afeez Shodimu, Monday Joseph, Adigun Yahaya, Yusuf Salisu, Nuhu Umar, Abbey Sholola, Benjamin Charlie, Amen Daniel, Samuel Igogboye, Tony Nwokeji, and Ibrahim Usman.

IG: 141, 391 Police Personnel Promoted Since 2019 Decorates new AIGs, CPs Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, said yesterday that 141, 391 officers and men of the force have been promoted across all ranks since 2019.

He spoke during a decoration ceremony for newly promoted senior police officers in Abuja.

About 18 CPs and AIGs were decorated by the IG including AIG Habu Sani and Dasuki Galdanci, touted as contenders for the position of IG. Speaking at the ceremony, Adamu said the figure comprises

41,480 officers and 91, 911 rank and file.

He urged the promoted officers to be more committed and dedicated to their assigned duties.

“I am convinced that all of you - the newly promoted officers, who are seated here today fit perfectly into my human capacity development vision.

“I am confident that you will deploy your wealth of experience towards the attainment of our mandate especially at this crucial time in our internal security evolution,” he said.

West Local Government of Edo State.

“APC is governed by a constitution and not by man.

The constitution only provides for registration and I registered as a member of the APC in 2014 under the Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande.

“There is nothing in the APC Constitution that says a member shall revalidate or renew his membership. Once you registered when you joined the party and you have not decamped, you are a member.

So, revalidation is strange to our Constitution.

“I have only done this because I want peace to reign but in doing this, we have to be careful not to create constitutional breach.”

Oshiomhole, however, noted that between 2015 and now, people have exited from the party and others have joined while some have died, adding that it makes sense to review the register so that those who have decamped to APC will be registered while those who have left will be deleted.

“If you ask me as a foundation member, who has never decamped, to revalidate my membership, it is double registration because there is nothing like revalidation in our constitution.

“By asking me to revalidate my membership means I was not a member. So, I think the correct language should be either reviewing or updating because it makes sense to review voters register due to the new members that have joined or those that

have exited,” Oshiomhole said.

He said the party has been updating its register from time to time, noting most of the Governors under the party today became members following voters register update hence they were able to contest the governorship election under the party.

“So what this means now is that I have come here to do another registration but I insist that my registration never expired within the provision of the APC Constitution.

WITH DEVELOPMENT PARTNER…

Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (left), and French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Jerome Pasquier, when the envoy paid a courtesy visit to the governor at the Government House, Enugu … yesterday

Amotekun Operatives Arrest Two Armed Herdsmen,

Impound 200 Cows in Ondo James Sowole in Akure The Ondo State Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps, yesterday, impounded about 200 cows and arrested two underaged herders.

The cows and the herders were arrested along Ijare/Irese Road in Ifedore Local Government Area of the state.

The seized cows and the

herders were later taken to the headquarters of the security outfit in Akure, the state capital.

The movement of the cows along Orita Obele-Road BlockIlesha Garage through Oyemekun Road, caused gridlock while people were hailing the bravery of the Amotekun Corps.

Confirming the incident, the Commander of Amotekun Corps in the state, Chief Adetunji

Adeleye, said the cows and the herders were arrested for contravening the directive of the state government.

Adetunji, who spoke on phone, said what would happen in the current situation, would depend on the government.

“The current incident was a different one. The people cried to us that the cows were destroying their crops. When we moved our

people to the place, the herders attacked our men.

“However, we were able to overpower them. We arrested two of the herders. They contravened the government directive in three ways.

“The herders we arrested are underaged. They grazed in the night and carry firearms and destroyed people’s crops.

Suspected Herdsmen Kidnap Seven Osun Transport Workers No fewer than seven transport union workers have been kidnapped at Iwaraja junction along Ilesha/Akure expressway in Atakunmosa West Local Government Area, Osun.

The seven transport workers were said to be travelling from Osun to Akure, the Ondo State capital but were all kidnapped by suspected herdsmen.

However, the kidnappers later

freed three of the abductees to go find ransom to free the remaining four victims.

They freed two female and one male.

Security operatives, including Odua People Congress (OPC), Amotekun corps and other security agencies, are combing the forest around the Iwaraja junction where the abduction took place to rescue the four remaining victims.

Osun Coordinator of OPC, Prince Deji Aladeshawe, confirmed the kidnap to journalists He said: “The kidnappers released three of the victim to go look for money while they held the remaining four. The freed victims said those that kidnapped them informed them that they are not armed robbers but herdsmen looking for money.

“The kidnapper told them that

they are looking for money, so they should go and bring money so that they can free the remaining victims.”

Aladeshawe assured that his men and other security agencies were on ground to ensure that they rescue the four other victims.

Corps Commander of Osun Amotekun,GeneralBashirAdewinmbi (rtd), also confirmed the kidnap of the transport workers.

FCT Police Probe Location of Human Milk Factory with 115 Young Mothers Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has launched an investigation into the alleged existence of a human milk factory that also harbours 115 young mothers in the nation’s capital.

It denied any rescue operation or arrest in connection

with 115 young mothers involved in the human milk factory.

There has been an online report that breast milk of young, pregnant mothers in an undisclosed location in Abuja is used to produce cheese for online sale.

But the police command, in a statement, said it was soliciting

information from the public on the existence of such a place.

“The FCT Police Command wishes to dissociate itself from the viral article trending in some sections of the social media suggesting that the command arrested or rescued 115 young mothers from a human milk factory.

“The command wishes to categorically state that there is no

record of such incident or operation in the command.”

The statement signed by the Spokesperson of the FCT Command and Deputy Supretentent of Police (DSP), Mr. Yusuf Mariam, said the command was “soliciting useful information from members of the public on the occurrence of the incident.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10,2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

50

NEWSXTRA

Anyone Caught with Illegal Arms Should Be Arrested, Says Presidency Ejiofor Alike TPresidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina has reiterated that President Muhammadu

Buhari’s position on the issue of killer herdsmen is that anyone caught with illegal arms should be arrested and tried.

Adesina, who made an

Subscribers to Enjoy Bonus Data Bundles in Glo Smartphone Festival Globacom promises to make this year’s Valentine Season exciting for its subscribers with a special edition of Smartphone Festival which will give them up to 36GB of free data to share with their loved ones.

The company said in a statement issued in Lagos on Monday that the offer, which begins on February 8 and ends on February 22 , 2021, is available to subscribers who purchase two smartphones from any of the GloWorld outlets spread across the country.

The company further explained that the data slabs on offer will be determined by the price of the particular smartphones purchased by the subscriber.

The offer ranges from 3GB to 36GB of free data which will be spread over the next six months

for the benefit of the subscriber.

Models of handsets that are available for purchase include iPhones, Samsung, Nokia, Infinix, Tecno, Vivo, Imose and Itel. “The subscriber is rest assured of the genuineness of the phones which come with warranties and after sales support from the manufacturers. The prices at the Gloworld outlets are also the most competitive in the market”, the telecom operator noted.

“This offer is our way of adding flavour to our customers’ Valentine Season enjoyment. We expect that our customers will be engaged in a lot of online activities before and around February 14, so we decided to make it easier for them to buy genuine devices at affordable prices for themselves and their loved ones”, Globacom stated.

Army AppointsYerima New Spokesman The Nigerian Army has appointed Brig. Gen. Mohammed Yerima as its Director of Public Relations.

Yerima replaces Brig. Gen. Saghir Musa, who has been redeployed to the Nigerian Army Training Centre, Kontagora in Niger State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Yerima, a one-time Acting Director Defence of Information, was until his appointment, the deputy director, reserve, at the Defence Headquarters.

According to the profile released by the Army Headquarters, Yerima is a graduate of Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University.

He enrolled in the Nigerian Army in October 1989 and was commissioned into the Corps of Army Public Relations.

He served in various military

formations and units such as Aide De Camp to the Commander Training and Doctrine Command between 1990 and 1993.

Yerima was Public Relations Officer for the Nigerian Army Officers wives Association, Office of Chief of Army Staff 1994; spokesperson, 81 Division from 1995 to1996 and PRO Nigerian Defence Academy 1996 to 2000.

He was also Military Spokesperson for the United Nations Mission in Siera Leone, 2000 to 2002; PRO to Chief of Army Staff, 2003 and PRO to Chief of Defence Staff, 2005.

The new army spokesperson was also Deputy DPR 1 Division Nigerian Army, 2008 as well as Chief of Staff and Coordinator at Directorate of Army Public Relations, 2007 to 2009.

Borno Loses Monarch,Two Others in Zulum’s Convoy Accident Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The King of Kanuri in Lagos (Mai Kanuribe of Lagos), Alhaji Mustapha Muhammadu, and two others have been killed in a road accident during a trip with the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, to Mafa.

The governor, who was accompanied by a large crowd of political associates and government officials, had yesterday taken a short trip to Mafa Local Government Area where he hails from, to register in the ongoing All Progressives Congress (APC) Registration and Revalidation Exercise.

In the convoy with the governor were Deputy Governor, Alhaji Umar Kadafur; Senator

Kashim Shettima (Borno Central), APC state Caretaker Chairman, Alhaji Ali Dalori; Chief of Staff, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, members of National and State Assemblies, members of the state Executive Council, some council chairmen, governor’s aides and other prominent politicians and members of the public.

A source said the private vehicle of the Mai Kanuribe, who was at the rear of the large convoy, had a busted tyre and capsized, causing the immediate death of the monarch and one other occupier of the vehicle.

The driver was said to have died later at the hospital as he could not survive the injuries from the accident.

appearance on a live television programme yesterday was reacting to recent comments made by Benue State Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom.

Ortom had said the President was silent over the issue of armed herdsmen causing havoc across the country.

“If the governor would say he hasn’t heard the president speak on that matter, that’s what he should make clear; it’s not that the President hasn’t spoken,” Adesina said.

“Because the number of times

the President has spoken on that issue . . . and his position has always been the same: Anybody, whoever he is, that carries arms unlawfully should be arrested and prosecuted. The President has said it countless times.”

Adesina argued that Buhari must not speak on every issue.

“He does not have to; it was just an idea being proffered. It should be looked into and then if it is a consensus, it should be adopted. But it is not as one idea comes the President speaks on it, another idea comes, the

President speaks on it, such must be a talkative President.”

However, when asked how many herdsmen have been arrested in recent times, Adesina said “I don’t have that figure at my fingertips . . . but I know that a lot of people are awaiting trial.”

Kano State Governor, Dr. Umar Ganduje, recently suggested that ranching was the solution to the phenomenon of herdsmen moving across the country with cattle.

Reacting to the governor’s

suggestion, Adesina said all suggestions should be discussed.

He also pointed to the federal government’s Ruga programme, which was rejected by some states.

“Nigeria is a peculiar country where the federal government has no land. And if states say they have no land for ranches, then another solution has to be found.

“So we need to discuss these things and appraise them critically until we can get to what we can call ‘the’ solution.”

TACKLING APAPA GRIDLOCK…

L-R: Managing Director, Truck Transit Park, Mr. Jama Onwubuariri; Chief Operating Officer, Truck Transit Park, Mr. Temidayo Adeboye; and Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, during the inspection of facilities at the Transit Truck Park, Lillypond Apapa, in preparation for the take-off of the Eto Truck electronic-call up system in Apapa …yesterday

Obaseki Vows to Clamp down on Criminals Masquerading as Herdsmen The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has assured that bandits who disguise as herders to perpetuate violence, kidnapping and robbery will be treated as criminals, as the state firms up its security architecture to flush out criminals from its domain.

The governor disclosed this during a town hall meeting at Odighi community in Uhiere Ward of Ovia-North East Local Government Area of Edo State, as part of a fact-finding mission

to address the clashes between herders and farmers.

He commended inhabitants of the community for their peaceful disposition and organising themselves to secure the community and ensure a peaceful atmosphere for all.

Obaseki said, “We must separate the issues of security and politics and never accept the issue of criminality. We have always lived with herders and those we know act responsibly. The

ones we see today are different and act otherwise. These ones that cause violence, kidnapping, robbery are criminals and must be treated as such.

“I am glad you said you have always lived with the Fulani people for long in this community.

This means that co-existence is not the problem but the criminal elements that cause us sleepless nights are the real problem.”

He assured the people of the community that his

administration will collaborate with relevant security agencies and vigilante groups in the area to clear the criminal elements from the community, adding, “Your security is my priority and concern. I will ensure that this community is secured.

I am here to appeal to you to continue to maintain peace as we would not leave you alone but work together to secure the community.”

Nigeria to Receive 16m Free Doses of COVID-19Vaccines Michael Olugbode in Abuja Nigeria is to receive 16 million free doses of COVID-19 vaccines within the first half of 2021.

The vaccines, which is expected to cover about 20 per cent of the nation’s population, is part of donations through the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility.

A statement issued yesterday by the British High Commission in

Abuja, disclosed that on February 3, Gavi, the Global Vaccine Alliance, announced the first set of countries, which will be allocated COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility, noting that Nigeria was one of the countries to benefit.

Nigeria, according to the statement, is expected to receive 16 million free doses in the first half of 2021.

The statement said: “As one of the 92 ODA-eligible countries participating to the COVAX AMC initiative, Nigeria will benefit from this arrangement and access free vaccines to cover at least 20 per cent of its population, and the UK is playing a supportive role in ensuring an effective and equitable introduction of COVID-19 vaccines.”

According to the statement,

Gavi, the Global Vaccine Alliance, has shared the first forecasts of countries who will receive COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX’s Advance Market Commitment (AMC).

COVAX has allocated over 330 million doses for low and lower middle-income countries, including Nigeria. COVAX will aim to deliver many of these in the first half 2021.

Fake CBT Centres Have Taken over the North, JAMB Laments To spend N100m in prosecution of impersonators Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) has raised the alarm over the influx of fake Computer-based Test (CBT) centres, especially in the northern part of the country.

JAMB has also said it would spend not less than N100 million to prosecute 200 out of the over 400 persons involved in alleged impersonation in the 2020 Unified

Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, who disclosed this yesterday at a press conference in Abuja, lamented the increase of fraudulent CBT centres in the North, which he said marked a departure from what has been mostly a problem from the South.

Oloyede disclosed that over 400 candidates currently seeking admissions into higher institutions

across the country were involved in admission fraud, alleging that some tertiary institutions were accomplices in the widespread irregularities.

According to him, the first 64 cases of CBT infractions currently treated by the board were from the North, with some having multiple cases of up to 96 irregularities.

The JAMB boss further noted that compromised tertiary institutions were engaging in

change of photographs and biometrics of candidates contrary to an earlier directive by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, which has allowed for impersonation.

Recall that Adamu had directed institutions not to take any new photograph or biometrics of candidates after the registration as a measure to curb the problem of impersonation.

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Fayemi, Bagudu, Sule, Malami Revalidate Membership of APC Alex Enumah inAbuja,Victor Ogunje inAdoEkiti, Igbawase Ukumba inLafiaand Onuminya Innocent inSokoto Governors Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, as well as the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, have revalidated their membership of the All Progressives Congress

(APC).

Speaking during the exercise, Fayemi disclosed that the party’s membership registration and revalidation exercise won’t end by getting the data base of the members alone, adding the party would work hard to register itself in the minds of Nigerians.

Fayemi said the party at the national level has placed a big task on the shoulders of the party political office holders to ensure that they worm themselves into

the hearts of Nigerians through superlative performances at all levels.

The governor stated these in his Isan Ekiti country home yesterday when he commenced the registration and revalidation exercise at Ogilolo Ward 11 Unit 09.

Fayemi registered alongside his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, at an event attended by the party leaders led by the APC state Chairman, Hon. Paul Omotoso;

Stay away from Fani-Kayode, PGF DG Warns APC Leaders Former minister clarifies meeting with Buni, Bello Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Director General of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman, has described the new found love between leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a former Minister of Information and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Femi Fani-Kayode as scandalous, and warned the APC leaders to stay away from the former minister.

He added that the elementary rule of decency would require some good distance between the leaders of the party and Fani-Kayode.

This is coming as Fani-Kayode yesterday explained that his meeting with some leaders of APC was to discuss the “state of the nation, national issues, party politics and the way forward.”

Lukman in a statement issued yesterday recalled that the Nigerian media, especially social media had on Monday became alive with photos of the National Chairman of the party and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni and Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, in the company of Fani-Kayode.

He noted that the speculation was that Fani-Kayode is on his way to joining the APC, adding that the verdict in most media platforms was quite disturbing, but justifiably so, if the news about him joining the APC is true.

“For our leaders to associate themselves with Mr. Fani-Kayode, is simply rewarding scandalous behaviour. Mr. Fani-Kayode has fabricated stories, distorted, insulted and damaged information about our party and our leaders.

“Elementary rule of decency would require some good distance between our leaders and such a person. Not even the ward leaders where he is located should be associated with him except for reasons of family ties. By the way, the Caretaker Committee of our party should avoid a situation whereby it takes decisions on issues that are very weighty without consultations.

On no account should anyone with the kind of baggage of Mr. Fani-Kayode be invited to join the party without clearance from a statutory structure of the party.

In this particular instance, the National Caucus should be the clearing house.”

He added: “What kind of people are we aspiring to attract into our party? Do we want to reduce our party into one in which everybody is welcome?”

Meanwhile, Fani-Kayode, an avowed critic of the APC and the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement posted on his Twitter handle yesterday, said that his meeting with some leaders of APC was to discuss the “state of the nation, national issues, party politics and the way forward.”

The former minister in his

statement, said the meeting with the APC leadership was to build bridges, join hands across political divides and regional lines to save Nigeria from drifting into civil war.

According to him, he is also in talks with the leaders of other political parties asides the ruling APC.

commissioners, Special Advisers, House of Assembly members, among others.

He clarified that the divergent views espoused by the former Osun State Governor and exCaretaker Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, and the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, doesn’t portray the exercise as unconstitutional and illegal.

Sule also yesterday flagged off the registration and revalidation

of the APC membership exercise in the state at his polling unit in Gudi Station of Akwanga Local Government Area.

The governor, while flagging off the exercise, expressed optimism that the APC would, after the registration and revalidation exercise, have no opposition in the state.

Bagudu also yesterday revalidated his membership of the ruling party at the Nasarawa 2 Ward, Polling Unit, Rumfar Garkar Mai Alelu, Unit 006 in Birnin Kebbi.

NDLEA Seizes 40 Parcels of Cocaine Worth over N32bn at Lagos Port The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has continued its offensive action against drug barons and cartels in Nigeria with the latest seizure of 40 parcels of cocaine weighing 43.11kilogrammes (100.05pds), with an estimated street value of over N32 billion.

The consignment containing the illicit drug was put under surveillance by operatives of the

Tincan Command of the NDLEA for some days until two clearing agents showed up on February 8, 2021, to clear it.

According to the Commander of Tincan Port Command of the agency, Sumaila Ethan, the two clearing agents were promptly arrested and the consignment, which was brought into Nigeria from Brazil on board a vessel marked MV SPAR SCORPIO,

Senate Probes FCC Chairman over Alleged Abuse of Office Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate has ordered a probe into the petition written against the Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Mrs. Muheeba Dankaka, over allegations of abuse of office.

To this end, its Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs yesterday began investigative hearing into the allegation against the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCC who was appointed in April,

2020 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Some Commissioners of the Federal Character Commission had in the petition to the Senate accused the Chairman of the Commission of abuse of office.

At the resumption of the investigative hearing on Tuesday, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Danjuma La’ah asked the FCC Chairman to defend the allegations raised against her by the Commissioners.

Responding, the Commission

He said Nigerians like the party sequel to the ‘exemplary and credible leadership being provided by its national leader, President Muhammadu Buhari’.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yahaya Sarki, he said Bagudu urged party stalwarts to emulate President Buhari, who patiently travelled to his hometown, Daura, in Katsina State penultimate week to revalidate his APC membership.

Chairman told the lawmakers that she was not prepared for investigative hearing as the letter of invitation was delivered to her yesterday morning.

Her words: “I got the invitation letter this morning and I am not supposed to be the only one in this place .

She further said,” As far I am concerned, we have 37 Commissioners in the Commission, I have over 30 of the Commissioners with me, but about five of them because of

their selfish interest decided to go from one place to another”.

As the tension began to rise during the Committee meeting, the Chairman of the Committee called for a closed door session which lasted for one hour.

Addressing journalists at the end of closed door session, the Chairman of the Committee said investigation into the matter was ongoing assuring that the Committee will get to the root of the matter.

was properly searched.

He said: “After a thorough search, we discovered 40 compressed parcels, which after laboratory investigations, tested positive to cocaine. The two clearing agents have been taken into custody while we continue with the investigation. The seizure is no doubt an attestation to the renewed vigour in the operations of the agency. We appreciate our Chairman/Chief Executive, Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), who provided guidance all through the operations,” Ethan stated while briefing journalists yesterday at the Ikoyi office of the agency.

The Tincan port seizure is coming on the heels of similar ones at the Lagos and Abuja airports as well as from the FCT, Edo, Katsina, Nasarawa and Benue State Commands in the last three weeks.

While commending the commander, officers and men of the Tincan Port Command for the operation, Marwa charged them and other Commands across the country to remain vigilant and on red alert.

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Grail Movement Rolls out Tony Momoh’s Funeral Guidelines The Grail Movement has rolled out the guidelines for the burial of the former Minister of Information, the late Prince Tony Momoh.

According to the programme of event released by the Grail

Movement of Nigeria, the remains of the former minister, who passed on in Abuja last week, will be interred on Grailland, Iju Hills, Lagos on Thursday (tomorrow), February 11, 2021.

FG Steps Up Deployment of 19,000 Solar Homes Systems Emmanuel Addeh inAbuja The federal government yesterday continued its ongoing deployment of 19,000 Solar Homes Systems (SHS), with the inauguration of an 85KWP Solar Hybrid Mini-grid in Dakiti, Akko Local Government of Gombe State.

The power plant also consists of 100 solar panels, 96 batteries and over 4.5-kilometre distribution network cables and is expected to serve over 1500 people in the area with constant electricity.

Speaking during the event, Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the implementing agency, Mr. Ahmad Salihijo, noted that the project has been successfully deployed under the First REF Call of the federal government’s Rural Electrification Fund (REF), an initiative designed to promote off-grid electrification and ensure that electricity is equitably distributed across Nigeria.

He stated that having been saddled with the responsibility of powering unserved and

underserved communities across Nigeria using off-grid solutions, the federal government had taken the initiative to several states, including Kogi, Kebbi, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom.

“It might interest you to know that through this first Rural Electrification Fund (REF) Call, we are ensuring electricity access across 12 communities and deploying over 19,000 Solar Home Systems (SHS) across the nation.

“We have commissioned this kind of project in Kogi, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom and much more across the country. I can confidently tell you it is working and we will continue to do more.

“These interventions are testaments of the federal government’s resolve to improve energy infrastructure across Nigeria, especially in unserved and underserved communities,” he said.

He added that with the deliberate plan to power Nigeria, more communities will be energised across the country under the 2nd Call of the REF as well as other REA programmes.

FG Hands over 310 Saudi Returnees to Kano Govt The federal government has handed over about 310 Kano State indigenes out of the 1,319 stranded Nigerians evacuated from Saudi Arabia to the Kano State Government.

The Director, Consular and Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bolaji Akinremi, who received the returnees, noted that their quarantine period has elapsed.

The evacuees were quarantined at the FCT hajj camp on arrival from Saudi Arabia

where they were remanded at a deportation facility before their evacuation to Nigeria.

According to a statement issued yesterday by Mr. Gabriel Odu, an official of the Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Akinremi said, “The returnees who were well catered for by the Federal Government have tested negative to coronavirus before being discharged.”

Madam Ogunmodede for Burial Members of the Ogunmodede family of Igede - Ekiti and the Bolawole family of Orun -Ekiti have announced the exit of their mother and daughter, Mrs. Ogunmodede Alice Ayoola.

Mrs. Ogunmodede, a trader, passed on in her sleep on Monday, November 23, last year. She was 91.

In the burial programme

Madam Ogunmodede

released by The Nation News Editor, Mr. Bunmi Ogunmodede, the families announced February 11 and 12 for the funeral.

According to the statement, a Christian Wake at her Ile-Ileri Quarters’ residence on MFM Road, Adebayo Area, Ado-Ekiti, will on Thursday kick-off the two-day programme.

It will be followed by a Commendation Service at Methodist Church Nigeria, Aaye Street, Igede-Ekiti by 11am on February 12 before interment.

According to Mr. Ogunmodede, guests are to be hosted immediately after the Church Service, at the Baptist College of Theology Playing Ground on Aramoko Road, Igede-Ekiti.

He urged guests at the events to s t r i c t l y abide with COVID-19 protocols of use of nose masks, social/physical distancing, among other regulations.

The burial will be preceded by a Grail Funeral Hour of Worship in the Temple of God on Graill and at 4p.m on the same day Momoh is being accorded a Grail Funeral in accordance with his wish as an adherent of the Grail Message, a unique work of spiritual enlightenment that explains the true purpose of existence, creation, life mysteries and guides man on how to attain a happy and fulfilled life.

The movement, in the statement issued by Mr. Akin Orebiyii, explained that a funeral in the sense of the Grail Message, is

essentially to help and support, in love, the departed fulfill his wishes for “continued joyful activity after earthly death and ultimately for the attainment of his longing for Paradise.”

Given the seriousness and importance, Grail Movement noted that the event calls for absolute decorum and silence by participants throughout the ceremonies, as these imply active participation in the worship, veneration and honour of God, the Almighty Father of All, in all humility and honour.

Consequently, intending

participants are enjoined to arrive Grailland not later than 2.30 p.m. for admission into the Temple fixed for between 3p.m. and 3.40p.m.

The statement warned that “No person will be granted entry once the Temple doors are closed.”

It further stipulates formal dressing either in native attire or Western clothes (suit with a tie for men; and for women, dresses which when seated must go below the knees with the sleeves covering the elbows), but indicates that both genders must leave their heads uncovered as a mark of

humility to the Creator.

Also, use of telephone, camera or tape for audio or video recording or any other activity which may distract even for a moment the course of the funeral proceedings in the hall of worship or at the cemetery is prohibited.

Arrangements have been made to secure the gadgets which can be collected by the owners afterwards.

The statement said there shall be no lying-in-state as with the social convention, as, out of respect for it, the human body is not to be displayed for exhibition and spectacle.

COLLABORATION AGAINST FINANCIAL CRIMES…

L-R: Head Online and Special publications, Nigerian Communications Commission ,NCC, Mrs. Grace Ojougboh ; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit , NIFU, Mr. Modibbo HammaTukur; Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, and Head, Information Technology Department, NCC, Mr. Abraham Oshadami, during the presentation of 50 set of computers to NIFU in Abuja… yesterday

Senate Receives Buhari’s Request to Confirm Service Chiefs Buhari submits names of Olonisakin, four others for approval as ambassadors Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate yesterday read a request from President Muhammadu Buhari for the confirmation of the newly appointed service chiefs.

Buhari had written formally to the Senate for the confirmation of the appointment of the newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and service chiefs.

He had also sought the consent of the upper legislative chamber for the appointment of the former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS),

General Gabriel Olonisakin (rtd) and erstwhile service chiefs as non-career Ambassadors.

The two separate confirmation request letters were read yesterday at the resumption of Senate plenary after the Christmas break by the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan.

The first letter dated January 27, 2021 read in part: “In compliance with the provisions of Section 18(1) of the Armed Forces Act. Cap A20 Laws the Federation of Nigeria 2004, I hereby forward for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of

the under listed officers as the Chief of Defence Staff and Services Chiefs of the Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

The appointees for confirmation are: Maj. Gen. Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea lrabor – Chief of Defence Staff; Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru – Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo – Chief of Naval Staff; and Air Vice Marshal Isiaka O. Amao – Chief of Air staff.

In the second letter, the President requested for the confirmation of ex-service chiefs

as non- career ambassadors to Nigerian foreign missions.

Buhari’s request for the confirmation of ambassadordesignates is contained in a letter addressed to President of Senate, Lawan The President in the letter said: “In accordance to Section 171, sub-section 1, 2 C and Section 4 of 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

“I have the honour to forward for confirmation by the Senate, the underlisted as non-career ambassadors designate.

Abductors of Lorry Owner in Ilorin Demands N30m Ransom Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Abductors of 46-year-old lorry owner in Ilorin, Kwara State, Alhaji Musa Garba Atere, who was reportedly kidnapped yesterday morning, have demanded N30 million ransom from the family of the victim for his freedom.

THISDAY investigations revealed that Atere was kidnapped around 6:00am yesterday along

Ogundele/Madi road in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State, whisked away to an unknown destination.

When contacted, one of the victim’s family members said the abductors called his wife demanding for ransom, saying that, “They insisted that N30 million must be paid before her husband could regain freedom from captivity”.

It was gathered that the victim

was on his way to General Hospital, Ilorin along with his wife and his eight-year-old daughter who is critically sick and in need of medical treatment.

Unconfirmed reports said the abductors ambushed the victim around Kambi in Moro LGA of the state.

While narrating her ordeal, the wife of the victim, who would not want her name in print, said the

kidnappers numbering about six, blocked their way and demanded for money.

“We gave them all in our possession in order to avoid maltreatment but they later took my husband through nearby bush.

“I stand helplessly watching my husband being dragged into bush and crying for help as no one was around to assist,” she explained.

INEC Seeks Collaboration of CSOs on Polling Units Expansion Chuks Okocha inAbuja In continuation of its consultative talks on the need to expand and increase the number of polling units in the country, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday met with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and informed them that the need

to improve voter participation necessitated the exercise.

In his speech, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said: “Over the last two electoral cycles, including off-season elections, voter turnout across the country hovers around 30 to 35 percent.

“While a few elections had higher percentages, some recent

bye-elections recorded as low as 8.3 percent voter turnout in an urban constituency of over 1.2 million registered voters located in the country’s most densely populated city. This unfavourably compares to the average voter turnout of 65 to 70 percent in other countries, even in the West Africa region.”

He said the CSOs are justified

to have urged the commission to find a solution to this problem.

Yakubu explained that as accredited election observers and “CSOs have submitted reports to the commission. Having studied these reports in detail, it is clear that you are concerned about the declining voter turnout in elections in Nigeria.”

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NEWS

Sanwo-Olu Welcomes FG’s Concept of Community Policing Ejiofor Alike Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has welcomed the idea by the federal government and the Police Force to integrate the concept of community policing into the formal security architecture of the state.

The development, Sanwo-Olu said, will allow security agencies to efficiently nip crimes in the bud and swiftly respond to security breaches before blowing out of proportion.

The governor spoke at the event organised by the Police Force and hosted by the state government to sensitise members of the public on

community policing.

The event, with the theme: “Understanding Community Policing: A Framework for Action”, was held at the Banquet Hall of the Governor’s Office and attended by Commissioners of Police in all the Southwest states, religious groups, traditional institution, labour unions, civil society groups, and chairmen of the 57 local councils in Lagos.

The mass sensitisation followed the approval of community policing strategy by the federal government to further localise the operations of the police.

Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Commissioner for Economic

Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube, said the implementation of the community policing strategy was long overdue, given the nature of crimes and the need to enhance public safety.

The governor urged residents of the State to embrace the initiative and volunteer information that would prepare security agencies to respond and isolate troublemakers in their communities.

He said: “The integration of community policing into the formal security architecture is a welcome development and this should be further encouraged with the keen participation of all members of the public, because they are the ones

that can identify and provide timely information on security challenges.

“Our administration believes in ensuring and enhancing public safety and security as a critical requirement for economic growth and development.

We shall continue to provide support for strategies that will ensure and enhance quality and effective security for the lives and properties of all residents.”

Sanwo-Olu admonished members of the public to be committed to the campaign in securing their communities in line with extant laws and regulations. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Muhammed Adamu, represented by Assistant

Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Zone II, Mr. Ahmed Ilyasu, said implementation of the strategy was to bridge the gap between the police and communities, stressing that the Police Force was ready to collaborate with critical stakeholders in the communities to achieve the objectives.

He said: “The concept of community policing in the 21st century has gone beyond the mundane approach of policing, rather than policing of the community. It is policing within the community that connotes security is every citizen’s business.

“Our community policing is a strategy of combating crimes and

we are so passionate about it, as it is the only almighty formula in solving crimes, criminality and veritable measure in crises management situation in the nation.”

Vice President of Industrial Global Union, Comrade Issa Aremu, praised the police for the mass sensitisation, which he described as “timely”.

The trade union activist said it was time for the repositioning of the police for efficient service delivery as the agency at the centre of internal security. He called for more investment in equipment of the men in uniform and a reward system for those who distinguish themselves in the line of duty.

BETWEEN THE PRICE OF CONSCIENCE AND GRATITUDE years made me an Aminu Kano cheerleader in Kano with the Jibo Ibrahims of the world in the same class, to the further North where His Eminence, the Sultan is host to my visits with nearly four decades of friendship. And I can choose to drive up from there stopping to spend the night in the Kebbi home of Bello Gwandu and up through Minna with a call on the Generals.

With an Ibadan secondary school education I probably would have classmates and school mates from most Villages in the South West.

Ditto for the South East and South-South which nurtured me from School in Onitsha and the University of Nigeria, to participate in struggles for the emancipation of the Niger Delta and the renewal of the Igbo nation. Above all, my Pan Nigerian and global upbringing thought me the basics of our shared humanity.

A basic truth of the privilege of understanding our shared humanity and the central place of the dignity of the human person is a duty to help those not so lucky to see these truths of our common humanity, find the lamp conveniently hidden under the bed.

The Nigeria people are kind and generous people in spite of what they have endured. The

duty I feel in seeking the Common Good of Nigerians being advanced cannot even begin to show gratitude for how the people have treated me consistently. And it does even begin to flow from self righteousness. Just a longer time horizon in dimensioning the self interest and therefore an understanding that the best self interest opportunities flow out of a general advance of the common good.

Back in the 1990s, I returned from a trip abroad to messages from Coca Cola Nigeria about a trip to Egypt to run with the Olympic torch towards the pyramids to usher in the centennial Olympics. To what did I owe this, I asked. Then I was educated about a television phone-in contest for the most admired Nigerians.

My friend and schoolmate Dora Akunyili who was making waves as reformist DG of NAFDAC was selected by callers, so was a very popular musician of that time. But how does a former manufacturing executive, now a common business school teacher, get into the vote. Well, I was told the people voted so. So I went to Cairo.

A few years later, Vanguard Newspaper and Silverbird Television got together to run a poll on who were Nigeria’s Living Legends.

Nominees included President of the country,

leaders of churches with large followings, Nobel Laureates and men of wealth and power, and the celebrated for contributions to Music and Arts. I could not figure out how I got in the pack, with hardly any money, and very often broke, no church I preside over, no position of power.

I actually ignored the whole matter until my then 7 years old daughter came to say she had voted for me. She was upset when I told her I had not voted but was grateful for the generosity of those who thought me fit to be nominated.

I had to pacify her, by voting, at her instance.

To my shock, enough people voted for me to make the top ten.

The big lesson for me from all these is that the Nigerian people are generous and loving people. You love them a little they love you back a lot. Seven years after a simple teacher is voted so by people with no emotional connection like church, position of authority, etc, I turned 60.

I will never stop being grateful for lessons learnt. It was seven activity-filled days in which there was more than one event of celebration every day from Symposia, to Theater, to Contemporary Music to Highlife etc. And all were offered free of any charge by people who

wanted to love back from a little love of caring for the Common Good.

Many of those who gave so generously their equipment, talent and time had actually never met before in person.

In my experience, Nigerians and their willingness to love back shows the classic possibility of erecting here what the great saint of the twentieth century, Pope John Paul II calls a civilization of love and erect justice fairness and progress for all.

So why do we have instead, so much hatred now essentially manifested in mindless violence and the insecurity that threatens us all around Nigeria. To understand that is to understand a greedy selfish few whose capture of the Nigerian state through systematic corruption of the political and governance apparatus for purpose s of advancing their material and power interest disrupt public choice that would have advanced the Common Good. The light to understand this phenomenon, this obtuse paradox, is one of the things I am most grateful for as a benefit of this 65 years run. I thank you all for it.

Patrick Okedinachi Utomi, Political Economist and Professor of Entrepreneurship and founder CVL

a tragic crisis. As Comrade Adams Oshiomhole used to say in those days as a labour leader, in the event of a civil war the big man crosses the border to seek political asylum while the poor people mass at the same border as refugees.

So it is in the interest of the poor people that the multi-dimensional crisis should be resolved using the weapons of policies instead of AK-47 rifles.

Rather than indulge in the rhetoric of war, the elite on both sides of the national divide should in unison concentrate pressures on governments at all levels to accept their constitutional responsibilities.

The possibilities embodied in the 1999 Constitution should be exhausted pending the proposed restructuring of the federation.

These latent constitutional powers should give a legal backing for creative policies to govern effectively at all tiers of government especially in this period of festering insecurity.

Take a sample! A governor said last week that he considered himself to be the “chief logistics officer” and not “ the chief security officer” of his state. Again, the frustration of this chief executive officer of a subnational government should be put in its proper context.

The population of his oil-rich state is more than those of some individual West African countries.

Yes, the armed forces are exclusively subject to the powers of the Commander-in-Chief.

But most of the security issues bedevilling the states are in the realm of the functions of the police. For years now, people’s lawyer, Femi Falana, has been drawing the attention of the governors to the provision for the Nigeria Police Council in the Part I of Schedule III of the 1999 Constitution as one of “Federal Executive Bodies.” The 36 state governors are members of this important council. The other members are the President, the Inspector-General of Police and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission. So the governors are in a clear majority in the council that could work towards better policing. You may then ask: when last did this council meet despite the killings and kidnappings reported daily across the country as evidence of failed policing?

Yet, according to the constitution, among the functions of the council are “the organisation and administration of the Nigeria Police Force,” “the general supervision of the Nigeria Police

Force,” and “advising the President on the appointment of the Inspector-General of Police.”

Instead of the governors wringing their hands in utter helplessness, saying that they have no control over the police, the avenue of this council should be explored to improve the state of policing. At least, the council should meet regularly at this period of emergency so that governors can collectively mount pressure on the President to act more decisively. During council meetings, the President could be told directly the heart-rending stories of the atrocities committed by criminals on the prowl everywhere in the country. Pending the creation of state police as it has been widely canvassed, the governors should exercise the little powers given them in the constitution because they have a security duty to perform to resolve the crisis. They have, of course, security votes for this purpose. In any case, each governor presides over a state security council that includes the state commissioner of police, the state director of the State Security Services (SSS) and senior officers from the military formations located in the state. State governments give immense material and logistic support to the police and military formations in the respective states.

Another area in which the governors cannot plead helplessness is the administration of justice in the prosecution of criminal suspects. Falana has also repeatedly challenged his colleagues appointed as state attorneys-general on this score.

The prosecution of the criminal suspects over killings and kidnappings is within the purview of state governments. The state attorneys-general should perform their duties. At least, the suspects that the police are able to apprehend should be prosecuted. And that is not Buhari’s business.

For instance, in the Ibarapa area of Oyo state, the story is not only that Sunday Igboho has chased away those accused of being responsible for killings and destruction of farms. There is also the story that the state police command under the able leadership of Commissioner of Police Ngozi Onadeko has been carrying out investigations. In the process, some criminal suspects have been arrested. It is the duty of the public to be alert and ensure that justice is eventually done through the prosecution of the suspects. That is the job of the Oyo state attorney-general.

The same approach should be employed by

other states where tragedies have been reported.

In the same vein, a related synergy of purpose should be developed between Abuja and the states to give effect to the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) put together two years ago.

Unfortunately, when it was introduced to the public, the kernel of the plan was missed in the heat of an avoidable controversy. The presidency mismanaged the semiotics of the policy. In a charged atmosphere of inter-ethnic and interregional suspicions, the official communicators were carelessly talking of “cattle colony” and “RUGA.” They employed politically offensive phrases when they should have simply suggested ranching for the states that wished to adopt it as a policy instrument to boost agriculture.

Nonetheless, the implementation of that plan could be a definitive solution to the clashes between genuine herders and farmers. Such a solution would help isolate bandits, kidnappers, terrorists and other criminals (many of whom are said to be foreign invaders in Nigerian forests) for the security agencies to act decisively. There seems to be a consensus that open grazing is anachronistic in the 21st Century. The northern governors reaffirmed this position only yesterday at the end of a meeting. Ranching should be developed as part of the agricultural policies by states that have the comparative advantage to do so economically. Kano and Bauchi states are already working towards achieving this goal.

To say that governments have no business with cattle ranching is to miss the point. The same governments are often asked to provide “enabling environment” for corporate giants and small scale industrialists to flourish. The Central Bank is supporting rice production while the government is promoting the production of fertilizer. The interested state governments should embrace the national plan and provide “enabling environment” also for herders to operate in modern ranches.

All the 36 states do not have to develop ranches for Nigeria to meet her needs of protein and other nutrients from beef and dairy products.

Neither do the ethnic groups in the nation have to fight a civil war to meet this food need.

Again, it is worth reminding the President that his tenure will be defined by the way he tackles this rising wave of insecurity that is threatening national stability.

ALL EYES ON THE LEADERSHIP turned into a national spectacle. Worse still, this is happening at time of a perilous combination of insecurity and public health emergency.

Besides, as the party of the President that also controls the National Assembly, the APC ought to be leading debates and mobilisation of patriotic efforts to find solutions to the problems.

The party’s voice ought to be loud and clear in policy ideas and vigorous articulation. It is a political scandal that all that APC can think of at this dangerous time is its internal politics of registration. The APC should be reminded that the purpose of a political is more than fielding candidates for elections and revelling in the delusion of retaining power till eternity.

Pray, when is APC, “the largest party in Africa,” convening a party meeting to debate policies on insecurity, COVID-19 and the scourge of poverty in the land?

The context of the brewing anger and the resort to desperate approaches in the land is clear to the government and the people alike.

In desperation, the disaffected constituencies are reaching out for drums of war. However, taking a long view of things, the definitive solution does not lie in the emergence of non-state actors flouting the laws in their interventions.

Voices of moderation amidst anger should, therefore, be more strident in the land. To imagine a war that could lead to a neat disintegration is optical illusion. The territory called Nigeria today under the Buhari leadership is not exactly the way it was under the lordship of Lugard in 1914 in terms what has happened to its political economy, society and even history. It is upon this reality of some level of integration that separatists should reflect more in their wellunderstood anger about inequities.

Anarchy is indeed a possibility. The leadership at all levels should act fast and honestly to avert a collapse of the present order. Anarchy will only create the atmosphere for a reign of warlords endlessly fighting for turfs. Other contradictions could be unveiled along the line.

To be sure, this is far from making a pacifist call.

The call becomes more urgent because the class dimension of the crisis is often concealed by the factions of the elite in power and out of power. If anarchy descends on the country, it is the same poor people currently bearing the brunt of bad governance that would make up the overwhelming majority of the victims of such

54

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10, ͺ͸ͺ͹˾ T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor ßÜÙ ÕÒËäßËÑÌÏ Email ÎßÜÙ˛ÓÕÒËäßËÑÌÏ̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙ× ͸΀͹͹ ͹΀͹ ͻ͸΀ͻ

Yisa Sofoluwe Dies of Cerebral Atrophy at LUTH Duro Ikhazuagbe Former Super Eagles defender, Yisa Sofoluwe, died on Tuesday night at the

Yisa Sofoluwe...help came too late

Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). He was aged 53 years.

Sofoluwe nicknamed ‘Dean of Defence’ by the late Radio Nigeria Commentator, Ernest Okonkwo, died from the cerebral atrophy ailment that took him to the ICU of LUTH. He was waiting for surgery before he joined his ancestor last night.

A former colleague of Sofoluwe in the senior national team, Waidi Akanni who has been

Rohr Back in Nigeria Ahead AFCON Qualifiers against Benin, Lesotho Super Eagles Head Coach, Gernot Rohr, has returned to Nigeria ahead of his side’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double header against Benin Republic and Lesotho.

Rohr’s men will take on the Squirrels on March 23 in Cotonou and then host Lesotho at home five days later.

The Super Eagles defeated Benin 2-1 in their first meeting and also edged out Lesotho 4-2 in Maseru on Match-day two.

The German tactician is expected to release the list of players that will prosecute the two games in the coming weeks.

The Super Eagles were held 4-4 by Sierra Leone in Benin City and went on for goalless draw in the reverse fixture in Freetown four days later in the qualifiers played last November.

A point in the remaining two fixtures will be enough for the three-time African champions to book a place in the competition that will be hosted by Cameroon

early next year. Nigeria finished third at the 2019 AFCON held in Egypt.

Meanwhile, Captain of the Super Eagles, Ahmed Musa who has been without a club since his disengagement from Saudi club Al Nasr last October, is set to sign “in the next days” in England.

“We’re in touch with our captain (Ahmed Musa).

Hopefully, he will sign in England in the next days,” Rohr said in an interview yesterday.

“He wanted to return to Europe and play in England,” Rohr revealed the intentions of his captain.

Similarly, the German gaffer hinted that Villarreal of Spain winger, Samuel Chukwueze, who did a groin surgery in Germany earlier this month is due to return to action.

Rohr further said he expects the winger back in action by end of next month.

52 Varsities to Feature in HiFL 2021 Tournament Duro Ikhazuagbe A total of 52 universities are expected to be part of this year’s Higher Institution Football League (HiFL) with over 50 games to be played across 20 cities in 18 weeks of the third edition in the fourth year of the competition.

Speaking at an interactive session to unfold some of the Plans for the 2021 edition of the collegiate football tournament in Nigerian universities, organisers of the event, Pace Sports and Entertainment Marketing Limited admitted plans were in final stage to host this very special edition.

The 2020 edition did not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the year witnessed the introduction of e-invitational as university students, alumni and fans took part in the virtual football competition.

Interestingly, the e-invitational is still part of the package for the 2021 edition expected to kick off in April.

Director, Pace Sports and Entertainment Marketing Limited, Sola Fijabi, told

newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos that the 2021 edition will be staged with due Covid-19 protocols in a special way.

“We are proud of how far we have gone and we are also inspired by the enthusiasm shown by the students and officials of higher institutions which are enough as huge encouragement for us to do more.

“It is so interesting that this project started only four years ago, and we have made so much progress. Some of the products of the competition are already abroad while some others play in the elite class of the domestic league, the Nigeria Football Professional League.”

Already, StanbicIBTC Bank is a major sponsor of HiFL while Nivea Men has also joined as a new sponsor.

“We are really happy that StanbicIBTC Bank and Nivea Men are urging us to go on.

We cannot wait for the kickoff to happen,” Fijabi added.

The organisers’ Head Content and Comms, Ikechukwu Nwaguru, assured stakeholders that the 2021 season would be hitch-free following the efforts put in so far in planning.

in the forefront rallying support for the ailing footballer, confirmed the death of the former Abiola Babes FC defender last night.

“We lost him. Yisa Sofoluwe could not wait for help to come for his surgery before he died on Tuesday evening,” observed the distraught Akanni on telephone last night.

Sofoluwe had been diagnosed for mild cerebral atrophy at the Prince and Life Medical Hospital, Ikorodu, Lagos, but was moved to LUTH on Friday, last week after his medical condition became worse.

Just on Tuesday afternoon, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, initiated moves to rescue Sofoluwe by getting in touch with a sitting state Governor to pick the bill for his surgery.

The Minister was similarly reported to have sent money through another ex international to support the medical bill of the ace defender.

The news of Sofoluwe’s ailment was first broken on FUBS WhatsApp platform.

One of the administrators of the platform had rallied the initial support that made it possible to move the former footballer to LUTH.

Sofoluwe won 40 caps for the Super Eagles and scored one goal.

He held sway in the right back position between 1983

and 1988, playing at the 1984 and 1988 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire and Morocco respectively.

Sofoluwe also played for defunct Abiola Babes of Abeokuta , IICC of Ibadan and Gateway Football Club of Abeokuta.

Gernot Rohr...back in the country to prepare Eagles for AFCON 2021 qualifiers

Ighalo Eyes Saudi Topflight Title with Al-Shabab Former Super Eagles forward and highest goal scorer at the last AFCON 2019 in Egypt, Odion Ighalo, has set his sights on winning the Saudi Professional League title with Al-Shabab.

The experienced striker recently made his debut for the White Lion in their 4-1 win over Al Raed in a league match on Saturday.

It was two days after the former Manchester United striker completed his move

to the Saudi Arabian side from Chinese club Shanghai Greenland Shenhua.

Al Shabab are currently placed at the top of the Saudi Professional League standings and Ighalo is keen to score goals which will help the team win its maiden league trophy since 2012.

“I am happy to be at AlShabab. Before my arrival, the team was having good results, and I participated

in a few minutes, but I look forward to participating more.” Ighalo said on All Nigeria Soccer.

“I promise the Al-Shabab fans to score many goals, and also to win matches and make the difference.

I hope the team wins all the matches, which is the important thing.

“I hope that Al-Shabab will continue with the same good performance to win the league championship

by the end of the season,” he added.

“My aim is to score goals, and I hope to score, but the most important thing is the victory of the team, which is what we aspire to.”

Ighalo, who retired from international football after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, helped Shenhua clinch the 2019 Chinese FA Cup. He scored 16 goals from 35 international matches.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Konta in Shock After Abdominal Injury Forced Her to Retire Nadal, Medvedev,Tsitsipas into second round British number one Johanna Konta said yesterday that she was in “shock” after an abdominal injury forced her to retire from her Australian Open first-round match.

The 13th seed had won the first set 6-4 and left the court

Johanna Konta...out injured

for treatment before falling 2-0 behind in the second and conceding to Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan.

“I pulled my ab and that made it difficult for me to serve,” Konta said.

Meanwhile, men’s World

number two, Rafael Nadal, began his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title with a straight-set victory over Laslo Djere at the Australian Open.

The Spaniard did not play in the ATP Cup last week after struggling with a back injury, but he moved well in a 6-3 6-4 6-1 victory over the Serb.

He will play American world number 177 Michael Mmoh in the second round.

Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev and compatriot Andrey Rublev also advanced on the second day at Melbourne Park.

Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised through against Gilles Simon, seeing off the 36-year-old Frenchman 6-1 6-2 6-1 in one hour 32 minutes.

However, 13th seed David Goffin squandered four match points as he was stunned in five sets by Australian wildcard Alexei Popyrin.

Popyrin, who was one of the 72 players to undergo ‘hard’

quarantine before the Grand Slam began, fought back to beat the Belgian 3-6 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-3.

Spanish 12th seed Roberto Bautista Agut also suffered a surprise defeat, losing 6-7 (1-7) 6-0 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to Moldovan world number 85 Radu Albot.

Cameron Norrie produced an impressive performance to win an all-British encounter against Dan Evans.

Evans, the 30th seed, struggled physically in a 6-4 4-6 6-4 7-5 defeat as Norrie reached the second round at Melbourne Park for the first time.

Only Heather Watson is left in the women’s singles after 20-year-old Francesca Jones lost on her Grand Slam main-draw debut.

After making a promising start against American opponent Shelby Rogers, Jones lost 6-4 6-1 to a player ranked almost 200 places higher.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2021 • T H I S D AY

55

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MISSILE

Oshiomhole to APC “If you ask me as a foundation member, who has never decamped, to revalidate my membership, it is double registration because there is nothing like revalidation in our constitution.”

– Former National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, faulting the ongoing membership revalidation exercise of the party.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE THE HORIZON

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

0805 500 1974

All Eyes on the Leadership T

he worsening crisis of insecurity and its derivatives plaguing Nigeria could be resolved by honest application of policies.

All eyes should be on governments at all levels, for the blame for the scary state of affairs should be squarely put on the incompetence of the state and virtual collapse of governance in this land.

Groups and individuals across the country relying on the state to put a stop to the killings and other violent crimes are evidently frustrated.

The people should, however, not be tired of asking an elected government to perform its constitutional duty, no matter the frustration.

Although President Muhammadu Buhari has not formally declared a state of national emergency, the combined effect of the atrocities unleashed by terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and armed robbers is that the state of insecurity is akin to that of an emergency.

The government should, in response to the state of things, give moral and political leadership by appropriately deploying the instruments of effective policies.

Buhari should be sufficiently sensitive to the groundswell of anger and anguish manifesting in the socio-political landscape.

Unfortunately, it is extremely becoming difficult to convince citizens on the efficacy of policies because of the serial disappointments in the last few years.

Buhari It is because of the apparent vacuum at the intangible level of moral and political leadership that people get increasingly unimpressed by the tangible efforts at bricks and mortar.

The other day, Buhari appeared to have got impatient with his critics of different hues when he rebuked the elite, accusing them of

“harassing” his administration. He said that enough credit was not being given the administration for its achievements despite lean resources.

The President is probably mistaking the civic duty of the citizens to put pressures on the government to serve the common good for “harassment.” To ask the President to give leadership as he promised to do during election is not only a right of citizens, it is also a duty.

By the way, the “harassment” is not likely going to stop until the best the President thinks his administration is giving is found to be good enough by the people.

The indications are that this rhetorical tension between the government and the people will continue until the government performs its constitutional duty of keeping the country secure so that there would be life more abundant for the people.

For instance, hardly will the criticisms relent given the optics from Aso Rock in the last few days. A presidential aide once said that it was not the “style” of Buhari to speak to the nation frequently as the President was allegedly preoccupied with the “substance” of governance. So it could be assumed that this should explain the silence of the president on the killings and general state of insecurity in parts of the country that have triggered inter-ethnic and inter-regional tensions in recent times. Not a few voices of reason have warned

that the situation could degenerate into a war if an end is not put to the prevalent criminality in many parts of the country. This is despite the fact that the President has been directly accused of being indifferent to the unfolding tragedy because some of the criminals turning parts of the country to ungoverned spaces belong to his ethnic group, the Fulani. Well, those who make the allegation should also think about the fact the people are also killed and kidnapped with impunity even in Katsina, the home-state of Buhari. And the government seems helpless in the face of this burgeoning criminality.

Instead of speaking to the nation on insecurity, the President has been mobilising the public, in a recorded message, on the ill-timed registration exercise being carried out by his party. He is using the appurtenances of his high office to pursue partisan agenda with impunity. To start with, the same President that signed an anti-COVID executive order against undue congregations is daily asking people to troop out to register as members of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). What insensitivity!

Imagine a grieving widow whose husband has just been killed by bandits watching her President speak this evening and all she hears is APC’s membership drive. You wonder what is so urgent on the APC’s agenda that an exercise that is otherwise an administrative routine is Continued on page 53

Between the Price of Conscience and Gratitude

Pat Utomi

It seems real. I lived to be 65. Who would have believed it? Escaping assassination attempts under military rule, terrorist bombings on a London train, near Air crashes, and automobile mishaps, one of which left me with little evident pulse or breathing, and so presumed to have crossed over. That got me the rare privilege of reading my obituary.

But these are not the things that matter. Whether your run is 21 years, or 30, like Stephen Biko in the Struggle against Apartheid in South Africa, or 33, like Jesus, or as long as Methuselah, what matters is impact. What impact from the time of being?

That always triggers huge dilemmas for me.

Has my life had impact? That is a question of always for me.

One generation has been certified wasted in Nigeria. Ask Professor Wole Soyinka. Another has been branded locust field. But some of my friends who know I worry about the impact of my run worry that I have allowed a sensitive conscience to incline me towards truth in a manner that those who fear truth work assiduously to get in the way of my being in a position to do greater good and make more impact. They then urge more economy with truth so I can have more opportunity to work for that greater good. To this I often plead that I generally approach even those I disagree with as politely as possible even if I choose to condemn the path to perdition. But they tend to suggest a benefit from temporarily looking away from wrong doing or exhibiting amnesia about that which is the truth for the purpose

of later good.

As I reflect during this birthday it seemed proper to ask myself if these 65 years have been optimally utilized for greater plausible impact because of the desire to seek the truth and to promote integrity as some of these seem to suggest.

I never pretend to know all the answers so when I escape to my place of solitude,that nirvana which the Indian Guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar calls the place of silence, I ask question of myself, would coating the truth with sugar and honey to allow for being incorporated, in the hope that I can now do good “from inside” a more beneficial track?

With the benefit of the long look back I am not sure that even in arguing factual counterpoints, being economical with the truth would have enriched my impact.

Sure, the price of a sensitive conscience can be high. The song says count your blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. While I agree with the sentiments of the song I was sure I could name , one by one, opportunities denied me , and other cost imposed on me by the use of impunity, in regulatory capture that is deployed against those not considered cheerleaders of those in power. In those cases where public authority is used to despoil property rights and actually steal other peoples businesses, I have a compendium, from my stakes in banking to Retail marketing and Agriculture, where states action has reduced to zero, billions of Naira of my entrepreneurial effort, valuable for a book I hope to write some day soon.

But the losses can be compounded with my

having lost fortunes in business patronage even for public good initiatives like Patito’s Gang, and my right to participate in elections by a party I helped found.

Still I see little to suggest greater gain beyond a limited material excess that burnish the ego. Few can show that in plunder of the commonwealth, from being in power, they have had a better quality of life than me.

As I look at a potentially great country of promise experience its possibilities vaporize from the doings of poor leadership which has stoked a collapse of culture, with impunity, plunder, and limited consideration of others as a way of life, I am more pleased that I chose the path that I have and I am increasingly confident that history will vindicate that choice.

More and more I am confident of history’s verdict and judgment, in the words of Shakespeare, that the evil that men do lives after them. I am also convinced that infamy is a poor choice of a dwelling placte, as current events already suggest that location for many in whose watch we regressed so badly as a people.. Unfortunately, out of ignorance or greed, many who have cost the children of this land their tomorrow in the scramble for positions they are neither fit for or worthy of have made that choice to live in infamy.

Those who swagger in prowling over the wastelands of dry bones that is today’s Nigeria do not think well about the judgment of their conscience in later times, the torture of the judgment of history, and the judgment of God. They are yet to understand infamy as a place of abode.

Thankfully my sense for the future is that

these purveyors of ruination have a limited run.

I remain persuaded that Nigeria will rise up again and that we have a duty to the future that Nigeria can be salvaged.

What is therefore more important is not the opportunity lost to speaking truth to power but the gratitude to a country that has been kinder to me than I deserve.

So I am full of gratitude for the privilege to have been part of long hours of labour behind the klieg lights, away from public notice, chipping away at the sculpting of a new nation. I have thick drops of sweat as evidence that nationbuilding is not easy work. But it is a privilege that one must be thankful for. So gratitude defines my sense of these 65years.

To understand that it is a privilege deserving of gratitude to the creator and those whose generosity light up my paths is to think of how ordinarily difficult, without Grace, it would be to make a typical remark that I make such as that there is hardly any state of Nigeria in which I do not have bosom friends. Whether it be the Middle Belt where recently a much-celebrated Idoma intellectual, thanks to his daughter’s culinary skills had enough food in front of me to feed an army just to welcome me back to Jos a fortnight ago after two Lantang friends had visited with me the day before threatening to send luggage of Sweet Potato and acha.

Had I gone NorthEast from there I would have been welcomed to Maiduguri by the Hayatudeens or to Biu by the Ahmed Kuru’s Ibrahim Usman’s, and Danmasani Biu himself.; To the NorthWest where my primary school Continued on page 53

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