THURSDAY 27TH FEBRUARY 2020

NNPC to Double Nigeria’s Domestic Gas Supply, Export Fuel by 2023 Report: Investors await clarity on fiscal terms in PIB Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is to expand its domestic gas footprint with

the delivery of the EscravosLagos Pipeline System (ELPS) II to double capacity from 1.1 billion standard cubic feet of gas to 2.2 BSCF. A statement by its Acting Group General Manager,

Group Public Affairs Division, Samson Makoji, in Abuja, said the Group Managing Director of the corporation, Mele Kyari, spoke on the expansion at the fourth sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum

Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) in Lagos.

A report by Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) has also noted that investors in the oil and gas industry are awaiting the outcome of

the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), especially the clarity of its fiscal terms.

Speaking on the theme: “Oil and Gas as an Enabler for Economic Transformation in Sub Saharan Africa,” Kyari

stated that the NNPC would commence the construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline in the second quarter of 2020 to serve as an enabler Continued on page 42

No Case of Coronavirus in Reddington Hospital, Says GMD... Page 8 Thursday 27 February, 2020 Vol 25. No 9089. Price: N250

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S’Court Penalises APC Lawyers, Dismisses Request to Review Bayelsa Judgment Orders Afe Babalola, Olanipekun to pay opposition party, governor, deputy N60m PDP, Diri, Dickson hail verdict Chuks Okocha and Alex Enumah in Abuja The Supreme Court yesterday excoriated two lawyers of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and Mr. Wole Olanipekun (SAN), for daring to file an application for a

review of its February 13, 2020 judgment that nullified the victory of the party's candidate in the governorship election in Bayelsa State.

It described the application as vexatious and frivolous and consequently dismissed it.

Continued on page 12

We’ve Stepped up Talks with Int’l Community to Subdue Boko Haram, Says Buhari Tells military to review strategies against ISWAP Adamawa gov recruits 100 vigilantes, donates 10 trucks to military Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed optimism about the imminent defeat of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country, saying his administration has intensified collaborations with the international community

to curb the spread of terrorism and crush insurgency.

He also charged the military to re-examine strategies towards defeating one of the terror groups in Nigeria, the Islamic States for West African Province (ISWAP), whose Continued on page 12

CLOSING RANKS FOR GREATER GOOD...

L-R: Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari; Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, and the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), at the Presidential Villa in Abuja… yesterday godwin omoigui

House Backs Bill for Establishment of South-west Development Commission...

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NEWS Army Hands over 25 Repentant Boko Haram to Borno Govt for Rehabilitation

Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike

Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

Corporal kills four soldiers, shoots self

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Nigerian Army yesterday handed over to the Borno State Government 25 members of the terrorist group, Boko Haram, who denounced the organisation and surrendered to the Nigerien government.

The army gave them to the state government in order for their rehabilitation and reintegration into the society.

Besides, the army also reported the killing of four soldiers by a Corporal who

opened fire on his colleagues and injured two others before killing himself.

The Coordinator, Operation Safe Corridor, Maj. Gen. Bamidele Shafa, who brought the repentant insurgents from the neighbouring Republic of Niger, handed them over at the Bulunkutu Rehabilitation Centre, Maiduguri.

Shafa said those handed over to the state government comprised men, women and children who laid down their arms and surrendered to the Nigerien authorities.

He, however, declined to

Nasarawa Gov Okays Death Penalty for Kidnappers The Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Abdullahi Sule, yesterday assented to the Bill, which prescribed death penalty for anyone found indulging in kidnapping in the state.

Sule signed into law the “Nasarawa State kidnapping Act Prohibition Law 2020,” and “Child-Protection Executive Order” Bill.

Signing the bill, the governor said: “I need to state that the Nasarawa State Kidnapping Act Prohibition Law was extensively deliberated and passed by the state House of Assembly.

“This law spelt out various offences relating to kidnapping and prescribed stringent punishment for perpetrators, such as life imprisonment and death penalty,” the governor said.

The governor added that the law stipulates forfeiture of any property used by kidnappers to the state while the owners of such property would be liable to 20 years jail term.

He listed the various penalties ranging from death to imprisonment for those involved in Kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, attempt to kidnap, fake

kidnap, false representation to release a kidnapped victim, and assisting in escape of kidnappers as various penalties.

The governor had also inaugurated a committee to reform the penal code in line with the modern realities.

Earlier, Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Abdulkarim Kana, expressed gratitude to the governor for signing the law and the inauguration of the committees.

The commissioner added that the action would go long way in tackling criminality in the state.

He said that the ministry would ensure that kidnappers face the full wrath of the law.

In an interview with journalists, Director General, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Mr Aliyu Abubakar, commended the state government for the bold steps to curtail kidnapping which has become a menace.

He also called on other governors to emulate the Nasarawa State Government toward ensuring that increasing insecurity in the country was tackle.

speak on the details of the arrangement with the Nigerien government but said all the 25 are Nigerians.

Speaking after receiving the repentant Boko Haram members, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Haija Zuwaira Gambo, said the government would reunite them with their families.

She added that the state government would give them required skills and basic education to make them useful to the society.

She said: “In Bulumkutu Rehabilitation Centre, we will provide them with physical and social supports; we will feed them, give them clothes and give them some basic of education.

"They were brought from Niger Republic and our is to reunite them with their loved

ones. I think it is right time we send a correct message out there that anyone can be a victim.

"There are different kind of people the military has brought; some are suspects arrested in the wrong place and at the wrong time; some also have been cleared by security agencies of any wrongdoing, so I will like to say that not everyone brought here by the military are ex-insurgents."

Corporal Kills four Soldiers, Shoots Self Meanwhile, the army yesterday said a Corporal had killed four soldiers , injured two others before killing himself.

A statement by the Nigerian Army said the corporal served at the Theatre Command of Operation Lafiya Dole.

The corporal, whose name was not disclosed, also served with the Army Super Camp 15 located at Mallam Fatori in Borno State.

The statement said the Nigerian Army Headquarters had ordered a probe into the incident.

"A Corporal of the Nigerian Army serving at the Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole, Army Super Camp 15, located at Malam Fatori, went berserk in the early hours of February 26, 2020, and opened fire killing four of his colleagues before shooting himself.

"Two of his colleagues were also injured during the incident and are currently in stable condition in our hospital in Maiduguri," the army spokesman, Col. Sagir Musa, said in the statement.

"Efforts are ongoing to

contact the families of our gallant colleagues who paid the supreme price in the line of duty.

"Meanwhile, investigation into the case has since been instituted to determine the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident," the statement added.

There have been complaints by some soldiers at the frontlines over long posting periods that often resulted in battle fatigue and psychological challenges.

In a welcome address presented at the Chief of Army Staff Conference held last year in Abuja, the Army Chief of Policy and Plans, Lt. General Lamidi Adeosun, had said the conference would address many operational issues, including cases of soldiers who had spent over three years in the battlefield.

THE TRIUMVIRATE...

L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari; President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, during the inauguration of the National Assembly Service Commission in Abuja… yesterday

Kukah, Other Bishops Restate Calls on FG to End Killings Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah and the leadership of the Catholic Church have again urged the federal government to end the incessant killings of innocent Nigerians by Boko Haram, kidnappers and bandits.

While the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Most Rev. Augustine Akubeze and Secretary, Most Rev. Camillus Umoh, made the call in their message to mark the Ash Wednesday, Kukah spoke during the procession of Catholic faithful in Sokoto to mark the occasion.

According to Kukah, the situation in the country where residents can’t sleep with two eyes closed is worrisome.

"The point we are in the country now no reasonable Nigerian can acquiesce himself,” he said.

He added that Nigeria has bled enough and it is high time those in authorities rose up to their responsibilities.

The cleric explained that many have become widows and orphans and expressed concern that Nigeria is going the way of Rwanda.

He, however, added that with prayers, the problems confronting the country can be surmounted.

"In Nigeria today, people die by religion; you will hear that five Muslims were killed, 10 Christians were killed but what we want is that we want to die as Nigerians," he stated.

According to him, the essence of the procession is to mourn those massacred by insurgents, kidnappers

and bandits, irrespective of their religion and also to pray for the release of Boko Haram captives, especially Leah Sharibu, the abducted Dapchi schoolgirl .

He said the lenten season is a period of soberness and prayer and the church would use the period to pray for peace in the country.

"As Christians, our God answers prayers because He is a living God," he added.

The procession started from Holy Family Cathedral in Ahmadu Way through Abdullahi Fodio Road, Aliyu Jodi Way and ended at the Cathedral.

On its part, the leadership of the Catholic Church asked the federal government to do something urgently to end the spate of killings, kidnapping and violence in the country.

It said attacks targeted at

Christians must be checked by government.

The church also appealed to the international community to immediately come to the aid of the church.

In a message issued on Ash Wednesday entitled: "Prayer and penance for peace and security in our country" as part of the Catholic Church response to the insecurity in country, the bishops said the heinous actions of the Boko Haram insurgents had left many citizens highly traumatised.

In the message issued by Akubeze and Umoh, the church asked the federal government to immediately stop the wave of violence and brutality aimed particularly at Christians.

"The level of insecurity in Nigeria today is such that whether at home or on the road, most Nigerians, in all the parts of the country, live

in fear. The repeated barbaric executions of Christians by the Boko Haram insurgents and the incessant cases of kidnapping for ransom linked to the same group and other terrorists have traumatised many citizens.

"That the perpetrators of these heinous crimes make public shows of them on social media and Nigerians do not hear of any arrests or prosecution of the criminals raises grave questions about the ability and willingness of the government to protect the lives of the ordinary Nigerians.

"We also call for the arrest and prosecution of all those behind these senseless killings that sow the dangerous seeds of hate and distrust among the various segments of the Nigerian society," it said.

The Catholic Church added that without security there can be no peace and without peace,

there can be no development or national growth.

"We, therefore, appeal to the government to immediately put a stop to this unprecedented wave of violence and brutality aimed particularly at Christians.

We also call for the arrest and prosecution of all those behind these senseless killings that sow the dangerous seeds of hate and distrust among the various segments of the Nigerian society," the Bishops said.

The Catholics also heeded the directive of the church leadership to wear all black attire at the commencement of this year's 40-days fasting and prayers to protest the level of insecurity in the land.

At most of the church parishes in Abuja where THISDAY visited yesterday, most of the congregants wore black to the Mass services.

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No Case of Coronavirus in Reddington Hospital, Says GMD Martins Ifijeh The Reddington Hospital Group has described as false, reports that a Chinese national has tested positive to Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19 in its hospital in Ikeja.

In a statement made

available to THISDAY last night, the Group Medical Director, Reddington Hospital, Dr. Olutunde Lalude, said the Chinese national who presented to the hospital for fever Wednesday has not been confirmed to have the virus or in contact with anyone

Ease of Doing Business: Osinbajo Charges ICPC to Enforce Compliance among MDAs Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja In furtherance of the federal government’s effort at providing an enabling business environment in Nigeria, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has charged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) with the responsibility of enforcing compliance with all resolutions and directives facilitating Ease of Doing Business by concerned stakeholders in the country.

Osinbajo stated this at the presentation of an interim report on Nigeria’s Ease of Doing Business intervention by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), comprising the vice president as the Chairman , the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, ministers and other heads of relevant government agencies, held recently at the State House, Abuja.

The Spokesperson for the ICPC, Mrs. Rasheedat Okoduwa in a press statement quoted Osinbajo as expressing his disapproval with reports of alleged corrupt practices by some government officials.

According to him, these corrupt practices have frustrated the Ease-of-Doing-Business efforts of government.

He urged the ICPC to deal with corrupt practices damaging the image of the country, especially at its entry and exit points such as airports, seaports and borders.

Speaking also on the merits of the collaboration, the vice president commended ICPC’s ethics compliance mechanism, describing it as a potent tool that should be extended in application to ensure all stakeholders’ compliance with

the PEBEC prescribed rules for implementation.

During the report presentation session, the PEBEC and ICPC collaboration was launched with a view to curbing corrupt practices and other related offences that have been reported through the REPORTGOV.NG platform set up specifically for that purpose.

In her remarks, the PEBEC Secretary, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said she expected that ICPC would take up cases of administrative inadequacies or acts of corruption from the REPORTGOV.NG platform where they exist.

Also speaking at the event, the ICPC Chairman, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, was also quoted as saying that the collaboration had reinforced the commitment of the commission to what it was doing to diminish corruption in the Public Service.

He added that the commission had so far reviewed operational systems and conducted ethics compliance evaluation of many MDAs in the country.

The statement added that ICPC is currently collaborating with a number of government agencies to diminish corruption in projects that have developmental impact on ordinary Nigerians.

“These collaborations include that with the National Orientation Agency on the constituency project tracking initiative, the National Social Investment Office on the Social Investment programmes comprising school feeding, conditional cash transfer, N-Power and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) of Trader Moni and Market Moni”, ICPC stated.

Ikpeazu Emerges as Vice Chairman of PDP Govs’ Forum

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum.

His appointment was made known last night after the forum’s meeting by the Chairman of the forum and Sokoto State Governor, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal.

He said that the forum appointed Ikpeazu, as the vice chairman of the forum in a unanimous acclaim.

He spoke to reporters in Abuja after the meeting of PDP-GF and the PDP National

Working Committee.

Tambuwal said the forum also discussed issues about democracy in Nigeria.

According to him, “It has been a very interesting meeting of the NWC of our great party with the PDPGF. We discussed about the development and strengthening of the party and democracy in Nigeria.

We also took advantage of this meeting to unanimously appoint the Governor of Abia State as the Vice-Chairman of the PDPGF.” The PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, said the members of the NWC briefed Tambuwal and his colleagues.

suspected to be infected.

He said: "We would like to assure the public that there has been no confirmed case of coronavirus at any of the branches of the Reddington Hospital.

"In the early hours of Wednesday, February 26, 2020, a Chinese national presented to Reddington Hospital, Ikeja complaining of fever. Following standard protocol it was ascertained that he had arrived

in Nigeria from China seven weeks ago and had not been in contact with anyone else who might have coronavirus.

"As a precautionary measure, staff immediately isolated him in accordance with the hospital’s standard operating procedure for potential coronavirus patients.

"The state public health authorities were promptly informed and involved. Despite the risk being assessed to

be relatively low according to the currently available science regarding incubation period, blood samples were taken using full prescribed precautions and sent to the Lagos State authorised virology laboratory for analysis and diagnosis.

"The results of the tests will be available tomorrow. The patient has been transferred to the Infectious Disease Hospital while the results of

the tests are awaited. It is to be emphasised that the risk is thought to be low and the patient has not been diagnosed with Coronavirus disease," he said.

He said the Reddington team acted in a highly professional manner and in absolute compliance with international standards, adding that staff have taken due diligence and professionalism in dealing with this case.

FOSTERING BILATERAL TIES...

L-R: Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa; Governor of Delaware in the United States, John Carney, and Chairman, House Committee on Diaspora, Hon. Tolu Akande Shadipe, after a meeting with the governor in Delaware....recently

Customs Uncovers New Methods of Smuggling Rice Says Criminals bring in commodity with caskets, gas cylinders Ejiofor Alike The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has alleged that despite the closure of the land borders, criminals still smuggle rice into the country with caskets and gas cylinders.

The agency stated that the ingenuity deployed by criminals or smugglers has made it possible for contraband items to come into the country.

NCS’ Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Attah, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday, explained that there were so many factors responsible for the entrance of smuggled items into the country in spite of efforts to stop them by the service.

He stated that most smugglers use unapproved routes to bring in contraband goods into the country while some deviously conceal the items to escape arrest by Customs operatives.

“People often ask where were Customs operatives when contraband goods entered the country without being stopped.

“We have seen a situation where rice is smuggled using

gas cylinders or a situation where a spare tyre is used.

The tyre is perforated and rice is loaded inside and when you open the booth you see what is supposed to be a tyre.

“If you do not have a tip-off, you are not likely to know that inside that spare tyre are 10 or 15 mudus (measures) of foreign rice.

“Another circumstance, smugglers use casket that is used to carry a corpse to either smuggle rice or petrol.

They sometimes load petrol in jerrycans and put it inside a casket, wrapped in such a way that you think is carrying a dead body.

“A situation like this, if you don’t have intelligence, you wouldn’t know. For instance, without a tip-off, it is unlikely as a human being to accost a vehicle carrying the casket with a supposed dead body and request for such to be opened.

“If people with all these tricks succeed and escape, their smuggled items are what you find in shops, markets, and houses,” he explained.

He added that smugglers’ actions are meant to sabotage the economy and the security of the country and assured

Nigerians that the Customs were determined and committed to checking that.

Attah stated that Customs had fortified its strategies and intelligence to check the smuggling.

Nigeria in August last year, closed its land borders to check smuggling, especially of rice and petroleum products.

But the closure did not go down well with Nigerian neighbours, Benin Republic, Chad and Niger.

The authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government had earlier this month constituted a committee, headed by President Roch Kabore of Burkina Faso, to study and make a full report on the impact of the Nigeria’s land border closure on its neighbours.

The decision to set up the committee was reached in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at an extraordinary session of ECOWAS leaders convened on the margins of the 33rd AU Summit to discuss the issue and other pressing regional matters.

The federal government closed Nigeria’s land borders in August 2019 mainly to check smuggling of agricultural and

petroleum products.

The government said the border closure had been positive for the economy as local production of food such as rice had increased while local consumption of petrol had reduced.

It has also vowed to continue the border closure until its neighbours, mainly Benin, Niger and Chad, ensure they properly regulate their sides of the borders.

However, the neighbouring countries affected by the closure said the border closure violated ECOWAS and African Union protocols.

The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had earlier this month held high-level meetings on the assessment of the situation of the closure of land borders of Nigeria to goods.

The two-day meeting held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso assessed the situation of the closure of the land borders of Nigeria to goods, pursued the overall objective to reach an acceptable solution by all parties and proposed actions for the rapid reopening of the land borders of Nigeria for the free movement of goods.

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FEC Approves N29.2bn for Road Construction from Nigeria to Niger Republic Border Gives licences to two gold companies Buhari appoints monitoring committee for NDDC Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday in Abuja approved N29.2 billion for the construction of two roads linking two Northern states to the border of Niger Republic.

The federal government has also licensed two gold refineries in Nigeria.

This is coming as President Muhammadu Buhari last night in Abuja approved the composition of a monitoring committee for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in line with the provisions of Part V1, Section 21 of the NDDC Establishment Act. Briefing journalists after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the State House, the Minister of Works, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said the approval was the fallout of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) he presented to the council for the construction of a 46-kilometre road from Balle in Sokoto State to Niger Republic border at the cost of N9.5 billion.

He said the contract would

be executed within a period of 24 months.

The minister also said the council approved another N19.7 billion for the construction of phase II of the project, which he described as a 50-kilometre road project from Kunia in Jigawa State to the Niger Republic border.

He said: “The Ministry of Works and Housing presented one memorandum for the award of roads. The first is Balle - Kurdulla -Niger Republic border road in Sokoto.

It’s in favour of Messrs North Sea Limited joint venture with Ceasar Engineering at N9. 576 million to be completed in 24 months. The road is 46 kilometres.

“The second one is for Kunya - Niger Republic border phase II which is in Jigawa State at N19. 763.567 billion. The length of the roads is 50 kilometres and council considered and approved this memorandum on the justification made that it is critical to execute our mandate under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and ministerial mandate to

improve infrastructure but also for the enablement of business across borders particularly now that we have taken an affirmative position of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and the markets in that area of the country do a lot of trade across borders.

So, this is a good boost for business as well.”

Also briefing, the Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu said the council approved a memorandum of understanding seeking to extend the consultancy services on Kontagora-Auna Dam and Irrigation Project in Niger State.

Adamu, who said the project took off in 1987 and was abandoned, explained that the federal government opted to revive the project in 2017/2018 and consequently approved N734.5 million for the extension of the services of the consultants by three years yesterday.

In his own briefing, the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said the council also approved a memorandum seeking the refurbishment of

the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) office in Abuja as well as the establishment of a training school for accident investigation in the federal capital at the cost of N591.8 million and N645.4 million respectively.

“The contract sum for the construction of the school is N645, 453,627.80. For the refurbishment of the office, it is N591,857,050.39. It was taken and approved. The sum is inclusive of the equipment in the laboratory, it has laboratory components and the equipment are from their manufacturers, through the representatives of those manufacturers.

“They will be certified by International Civil Aviation Organisation and the ICAO, which is the regulator of the industry in Nigeria,” he said.

In the same vein, the Minister of Mines and Steel, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, said he presented to the council the account of his 100 days in office in line with the demand of the administration.

According to him, in line with the presidential initiative on gold purchase scheme in

Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has agreed to keep part of the foreign reserves in gold. He also disclosed that in line with the initiative, two gold refineries have been licensed in Nigeria.

“There is a gold purchase scheme. There is a presidential initiative on that. The CBN has agreed to keep part of its foreign reserve in gold. The CBN will be the off-taker of the gold in Nigeria. We have licensed two refineries in Nigeria.

“One is in Abuja. One is in Mowe in Ogun State. They will refine gold and of course produce bellium that the CBN can buy at international prices.

This is also encouraging mining in Nigeria,” he said.

Meanwhile, Buhari last night in Abuja approved the composition of a monitoring committee for Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in line with the provisions of Part V1, Section 21 of the NDDC Establishment Act. A statement by the president’s media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina, listed members

of the committee to include: Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, (chairman); Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Omotayo Alasoadura; and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Niger Delta, Olusola Adesola.

Other members of the commission, according to Adesina, are: Shamsindeen Bello, representing the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation; Mr. Charles Ikeah, representing the Federal Ministry of Environment; Atanda Kolawole Musiliu, representing the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ms Aisha Umar, representing Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and Dr. M.K Mohammed, representing Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.

Others are: Dr. Dorothy Nwodo, representing the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development; and Mr. Alfred Abah, a director in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as member.

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PAGE TWELVE S’COURT PENALISES APC LAWYERS, DISMISSES REQUEST TO REVIEW BAYELSA JUDGMENT The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Duoye Diri and his predecessor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, lauded the judgment with the opposition party calling on the Supreme Court to reconsider its verdict on the Imo governorship election dispute.

An emotional, Justice Amina Augie, who delivered the lead judgment, described the action of Babalola and Olanipekun as regrettable and a deliberate desecration of the judiciary.

"I feel like shedding tears that senior counsel in this case would ever bring this kind of frivolous applications during my life time.

"This court is not authorised and indeed lacked jurisdiction to review any judgment delivered on merit, more so when the applicants have not pointed out any accidental error or slip in the judgment.

There must be an end to every litigation.

"It is settled that the decision of this court is final. This is final court and its decisions are final for all ages," Justice Augie said in an emotion-laden voice.

She ordered Babalola and Olanipekun to pay N10 million each to each of the three respondents as fine.

Justice Augie said the fine would be personally paid by the lawyers.

The beneficiary respondents are Diri, his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhujapkor and the PDP. In the ruling that lasted about 30 minutes, Justice Augie held that by Order 8, Rule 16 of the Supreme Court, the court has no powers or authority to review any judgment delivered on merit safe for clerical error.

According to Justice Augie, it is only a legislation that can alter the decision of the apex court once a matter has been fully heard and an order made.

"The two applications brought before us today lacked

merit and constituted abuse of this court and they are liable to dismissal and are hereby dismissed", the court held.

The apex court said the request by the APC to review its judgment voiding the participation of its candidate in the Bayelsa State governorship election was an abuse of court process.

The court held that the suit filed on behalf of the APC, its sacked governor-elect and deputy governor-elect, Mr. David Lyon and Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo respectively, lacked merit and summarily dismissed it.

Other members of the panel are Justices Mary Peter-Odili, Kayode Ariwoola, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, John Okoro and Ejembi Eko. The apex court had on February 13, barely 24 hours to the inauguration of Lyon and Degi-Eremienyo as governor and deputy governor of Bayelsa State, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued them as winner of the November 16 governorship election in Bayelsa State.

The action of the apex court was predicated on the grounds that the APC deputy governorelect was not qualified to have participated in the poll for supplying false information to INEC to aid his qualification for the election.

The apex court subsequently ordered that the candidate of the party that came second in the election be sworn in as duly elected governor.

However, not satisfied with the decision of the apex court, the APC, Lyon and Degi-Eremienyo applied to the apex court for a review and an order setting aside its judgment that disqualified them from the November 16, poll.

Lyon and APC in their applications argued by Babalola and Olanipekun,

respectively, prayed the court to review and set aside the judgment of February 13, which voided their participation in the November 16 governorship election on the grounds that the court made some mistakes in affirming the decision of the Federal High Court, which disqualified them from participating in the election.

Babalola, in his submission, said the Supreme Court has inherent power to set aside its own decision because the judgment which voided the election of his client was a nullity because his client was denied fair hearing.

According to him, the procedure adopted by the apex court on February 13 was wrong because there was no cause of action at the time the Supreme Court gave judgment against Lyon.

Olanipekun on his part, argued that the apex court erred in law when it invoked Section 36 of the Electoral Act to disqualify the APC's participation in the election when the Federal High Court judgment restored by the Supreme Court did not disqualify the party.

He argued that the Supreme Court cannot give consequential order on a relief not granted by a trial court except due to human error.

However, counsel to the PDP, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), informed the apex court that the application by APC and its governorship candidate were dangerous invitation to the Supreme Court to violate Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution, for the court to sit on appeal over its own matter.

Oyetibo argued that having delivered final judgment in the matter on merit on February 13, the court has no jurisdiction to sit on appeal in the judgment, adding that it is scandalous to ask the apex court to review the judgment.

He stated that the apex court

was right in disqualifying Lyon as the governor-elect because Section 187 of the 1999 constitution is clear and unambiguous to the effect that a governorship candidate who has no deputy candidate is not qualified to contest any governorship election.

"When Supreme Court gives judgment, it is deemed correct.

It has never happened in the history of Supreme Court to reverse itself; its judgment is final and finality. And whatever Supreme Court says in the interpretation of the law is the law," he said.

His submissions were adopted by other respondents in the matter.

PDP Hails Judgment, Insists on Reversal of Imo Verdict Reacting to the verdict, the PDP commended the Supreme Court for upholding the election of Diri as the governor of Bayelsa State.

But it urged the apex court to reverse itself on the Imo State governorship verdict which sacked Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as governor and replaced him with Senator Hope Uzodinma.

It also accused the APC of mounting pressure on the Supreme Court to restrain itself from reversing the Imo judgment.

In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the main opposition party said while it commended yesterday’s verdict of the Supreme Court, the elements and grounds for the demands by the PDP for the reversal of Imo State governorship election judgment are different from those of Bayelsa State.

The PDP explained that its demand on Imo is not in any way in contestation of the authority and finality of the Supreme Court but a patriotic effort to assist the apex court

to affirm its infallibility by correcting the inherent mistakes in the judgment, which came as a result of misleading presentation to it by the APC. "It is, therefore, instructive to note that the various election matters before the Supreme Court were brought on clearly distinctive grounds and each should be treated on its merit before the law," PDP added.

The party said the only reason APC was pushing for a review of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Bayelsa and Zamfara states governorship elections was to cause confusion and blackmail the Supreme Court from reconsidering the Imo case on merit.

The PDP described the grounds for the reversal of Imo judgment as "unambiguously constitutional and completely distinct" from APC’s request for the review of the Supreme Court judgments on the Bayelsa and Zamfara states' governorship elections.

The party urged the Supreme Court to look at the merit of the Imo State case; correct the mistakes and reverse the judgment.

No Victor, No Vanquished, Says Gov Also reacting to the verdict yesterday, Diri said there was no victor, no vanquished as the Supreme Court ruling was only an affirmation of God's judgment, which paved the way for his victory.

Diri also called on all Bayelsans, regardless of party affiliation, to join hands with him to grow the state.

A statement by his acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted the governor as commending the courage and sagacity of the apex court justices in affirming their earlier judgment.

He said: "Once again, I

describe myself as a miracle governor. So the Supreme Court just affirmed the judgment of the Almighty God, who made it possible for me to become the governor of Bayelsa State.

"For me, there is no victor no vanquished as the victory is for all Bayelsans. It is not a winner takes all.

"My message is that of reconciliation as I will run an all-inclusive government.

Let everyone that is aggrieved sheathe their swords. Let us think about Bayelsa first and ourselves last. By this judgment, it is clear the final hurdle has been cleared."

Verdict Averted Catastrophe in Bayelsa, Says Dickson Diri's predecessor, Dickson, said yesterday's judgment averted a catastrophe that was waiting to erupt in the state.

He also commended the justices of the apex court for the bold decision to wrest the judiciary from “needless opprobrium” and standing in defence of democracy, the rule of law and the constitution.

A statement by the Media Aide to the governor, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, quoted him as saying that without the verdict of the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, Bayelsa would have been ruled through proxies which would have reversed all the gains the state had made in the past eight years.

He described what happened in Bayelsa as one of the greatest political robberies in electoral history which he alleged was masterminded by a collusion of the APC and federal forces.

He called on all lovers of democracy to join hands in the defence òf democracy by giving the requisite support to the judiciary.

WE’VE STEPPED UP TALKS WITH INT’L COMMUNITY TO SUBDUE BOKO HARAM, SAYS BUHARI terrorists, along with their comrades in Boko Haram, have turned the North-east into a dangerous zone.

The president, at the opening of the 10th National Security Seminar organised by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College (AANDEC) in Abuja, said new threats in the areas of insurgency and terrorism had emerged due mainly to the defeat of ISIS. Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd), represented the president at the seminar with the theme: 'Combating Insecurity in Nigeria,' which was organised in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the NDC. Buhari said: “Looking back over the period since assumption of office, it is worthy of note that there have been positive and significant improvements in all sectors of our national life. However, new threats in the areas of insurgency and terrorism have emerged due mainly to the defeat of the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS) whose fighters have relocated to other countries and regions.

“This is a major concern to us, as their presence in the West Africa Sahel region poses great danger not only to Nigeria but the entire region.

Thus we are exploring higher level of collaboration among

all nations and international organisations to effectively curtail the spread of terrorism and defeat insurgency and terrorism.

“The criminal elements using kidnapping and other criminal activities as a way to get rich quick should either stop such acts forthwith or face the full weight of the law as security agencies have a renewed mandate to deal with such acts of criminality.’’

He added that his administration would continue to prioritise security and described the seminar as necessary, especially at a time when the government was making efforts to ensure attainment of sustainable peace in the country.

He explained that AANDEC’s collaboration with ONSA, NDC and other security agencies presented the type of desired collaborative efforts towards addressing major security issues and challenges facing the country.

According to him, it is expected that at the end of the seminar, participants will come up with some recommendations to assist the nation to defeat terrorism and other security challenges.

“As we all know, security should be the concern of everyone hence we must all cooperate and work collaboratively to address security issues from all

perspectives, be it physical or human.

“The nexus between physical and human security makes it necessary for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to be highly productive.

“State and local governments should also view workers’ welfare with utmost priority while all security agencies in particular must deal appropriately with extremist tendencies that are capable of affecting peace and development of the nation, according to the law.

“The National Security Strategy 2019 is very clear on these and we shall implement every aspect of it.’’

Buhari also said due to the economic recovery efforts of his administration within the last five years, Nigeria is on the path of steady growth while the economic recovery and growth plan 2020 which provided guidance for all the sectors will be replaced with another as it expires with vision 2020.

On border closure, the president stated that government had to temporarily close land borders with a view to taking a closer look at how to address the challenges of smuggling and illegal movement of weapons.

He added that the border issue would be properly examined in collaboration

with Nigeria's neighbours to put in place acceptable measures to prevent illegal economic activities and other related crimes.

The president commended AANDEC for its contribution over the years towards enhancing security, peace and development in Nigeria.

On his part, Magashi, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Nuratu Batagarawa, acknowledged the efforts of Buhari for creating an enabling environment to resolve the prevailing security challenges bedevilling the country.

Magashi said it was imperative to forge a common front among the security challenges to finding permanent solutions to the security challenges.

He said the ministry would come up with measures to implement the recommendations from the communiqué at the end of the seminar.

He expressed optimism that the seminar will help in providing recommendations that would help in tackling the national security challenges.

Earlier, the president of AANDEC, Major General Garba Audu (rtd), had said the seminar was organised with a view to proffering solutions to national security challenges.

Adamawa Gov

Recruits 100 Vigilantes, Donates 10 Trucks to Military Meanwhile, the Governor of Adamawa State, Alhaji Umar Fintiri, has stated that he has donated 10 trucks and recruited 100 vigilantes to support the military following the recent Boko Haram attack on Garkida town, Gombi Local of Government Area of the state, He added that the state government has embarked on dredging round the town to forestall easy movement of extremists and prevent further attacks on the town.

Fintiri spoke yesterday in Abuja when he visited the Chairman of North East Development Commission (NEDC), Major General Paul Tarfa (rtd), where he presented a compendium of casualties suffered by the people of Garkida during the attacks.

The governor said Boko Haram on February 21 had invaded Garkida and operated for six hours, adding that the level of destruction was one he had never seen in the history of attacks on the state.

Fintiri added that one of the first hostels built in the North then, which was cited in Garkida, was partially destroyed; two of the new ambulances supplied to the hospital burnt down; a

pharmaceutical department of the hospital was looted while the ultrasound equipment was also carted away.

Fintiri also lamented that Boko Haram burnt down the police station, the entire police barrack, military camp, three Continued on page 42

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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͰͮ

COMMENT

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

REWARDING DEVOTION TO THE WAR AGAINST GRAFT President Buhari should reward public officers who are doing exceedingly well, writes Bukar Zarma

S

enator Ahmad Lawan, President of the Senate, was at great pains last week to stress the principle of carrot and stick in getting public officers to do their job. “If you employ some one” , he said, “give him personal targets and if the target is not met without cogent reasons, he/she should go . . . when we hold people responsible, they are likely to do their job”.

The background to this homily is fairly well advertised by recent rancorous calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the heads of the security services for their failure to stem the current security emergency in the country. So far as I know, this question is still blowing in the air.

And yet, the barrage of criticisms of the president on account of his failure to punish alleged poor performance by heads of the military services misses one important ingredient of fairness and equity. The critics ought to have similarly criticized the president for failing to offer special rewards and incentives to some of his other appointees doing a hell of a good job. If they had done so, the president might well have been better prepared to see the merit of their interventions or the suggestions being made.

Applying the doctrine of carrot and stick in running the government as suggested by the Senate President may prove to be the magic wand for climbing up the desired ‘next - level’ of achievement for this government . Let’s illustrate how this might play out in real life. Each time critics seek to put pressure on Mr President to sack Lt.General Tukur Buratai, the chief of the army staff, for failing to totally decimate Boko Haram, they should remember to also urge him to identify and reward the likes of Colonel Hamid Ali, (retired), another military officer deployed as the Director-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, for his exceptional performance in that office.

Since taking office in 2015, Colonel Hamid Ali has waged the war against graft and fraud with uncommon devotion in an institution whose name is often confused with racket. Because of his personal exertions, every year since 2015, the Nigerian Customs Service was able to beat its own ambitious revenue targets. The trillion naira ceiling was broken in the second year of his taking office. Two out of the four years Colonel Hamid Ali exceeded his revenue targets, the economy was officially diagnosed as suffering from recession.

Under this template, it is considered inappropriate for critics to train their search lights on the vulnerable General Buratai while ignoring the valiant Colonel Ali. This example can be found across the government and the public service under the watch of the president. His attention should be invited to the extraordinary accomplishments of the achievers in the same way his

THE BARRAGE OF CRITICISMS OF THE PRESIDENT ON ACCOUNT OF HIS FAILURE TO PUNISH ALLEGED POOR PERFORMANCE BY HEADS OF THE MILITARY SERVICES MISSES ONE IMPORTANT INGREDIENT OF FAIRNESS AND EQUITY. THE CRITICS OUGHT TO HAVE SIMILARLY CRITICIZED THE PRESIDENT FOR FAILING TO OFFER SPECIAL REWARDS AND INCENTIVES TO SOME OF HIS OTHER APPOINTEES DOING A HELL OF A GOOD JOB

attention is constantly drawn to the ‘failures’ from the others.

Consider the case of another Buhari appointee doing an amazing work; Ahmed Lawan Kuru, the Managing Director of Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON. As a matter of fact, if in spite of what Ahmed Kuru has done, Nigeria’s tax payers still let the notorious 20-man squad run away with 70% of their N5 trillion money, it can only be their choice; it won’t be due to any lack of awareness of the robbery. Malam Ahmed has shouted ‘thief, thief’ long enough. He has even gone to the National Assembly with a re-drafted law to try to catch them. Sadly, with all his exertions, he could recover only a paltry one-and-a-half trillion naira so far.

The case of the youthful Hadiza Bala Usman, Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) also stands out in bold relief.

Although daughter of Dr Yusufu Bala Usman, the well-known rights activist and anti-corruption campaigner, she could not possibly been fighting the racketeers on the instructions of her father, having died over 15 years ago. The press has constantly reported on the epic clashes this fearless woman was having with the mafia who won’t have her restore the job description of the NPA as a revenue generating not a revenue racketeering agency.

Last week, the papers carried the report of another heavy brawl between the gadfly with some vested interests who had fed fat on the revenues that naturally and legally belong to the NPA and the people of Nigeria. As it turned out, Ms. Bala Usman’s public brouhaha with the behemoth, Intels, was but a rehearsal for a wholesale and audacious review, revocations, termination and outright cancellation of various concessions, leases or pseudo agreements all bearing the imprints of graft, jobbery, extortion, even old- fashioned theft.

Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman is a good example of many fine public officers doing a hell of a job; the type President Buhari should showcase and take a legitimate credit. But it does not seem either is getting it. Instead, the reports one hears in the social and the mainstream media sounds very much as though it’s oozing out of the mafia media.

Indeed, one can only imagine the level of threats and intimidation these public officers are putting up with. They alone would know the meaning of Nuhu Ribadu’s favorite catch phrase: ‘when you fight corruption, corruption will fight you back’. Still, it is the duty of all of us, Nigerians, to make sure the fight against corruption is won. Our lives depend on it. One way is to urge the president to give appropriate rewards to all public officers that have remained devoted to the war against corruption come rain or high waters.

Zarma, a former editor of the New Nigerian, is Secretary - General, Movement for Peace

NIGERIA’S URBAN SLUMS AND HEALTH PROBLEMS Akinyinka Omigbodun argues the need to invest more in the health sector

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n Nigeria, access and quality of health care services are challenging, particularly for disadvantaged populations. While health services are far better in the urban, compared to the rural areas, there remains a significant variation in health care services across the various strata of the urban settlements, with the urban slum in the lowest rung. Quality of health care in the urban slum is sometimes worse than what obtains in some rural areas.

According to UN-Habitat, over 880 million people live in urban slums globally. A sizeable proportion of this figure is in sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria having the largest number. Ibadan in Oyo State is a huge metropolis in one of the most urbanized parts of the nation. Several factors have aided the rapid and poorly planned urbanization of the city, right from the colonial period until now. One of the visible outcomes of the unplanned urbanization of the city is the emergence of slums.

Slums are neighbourhoods, either in the traditional city core or at the edge of the city, which are often highly populated, have poor access to basic amenities such as water and sanitation.

They are filled with poor quality of buildings due to the low quality of housing materials used for construction. There are currently not less than 12 clearly identifiable slums in Ibadan metropolis.

The health of the slum dwellers is a source of concern because they are often marginalised in terms of access to health facilities and the allocation of resources. In this article, we share the findings of a study funded by UK National Institute for Health Research on health status and access to care in two slum communities in Ibadan (Idi-Ikan and Sasha). The University of Ibadan Urban Health research team which comprised Prof Akinyinka Omigbodun, Prof Eme Owoaje, Dr Funke Fayehun, Dr Olalekan Taiwo, Dr Doyin Odubanjo and Dr Motunrayo Ajisola executed the project.

Idi-Ikan is a homogeneous indigenous Yoruba

community with an older population. It has 1617 households, with an average of nearly six children per household. There are only 36 health facilities in this slum, of which three are primary (public) health centres, 14 herbal and spiritual centres, 15 patent medicine stores and one maternity home. This implies that 12 health centres are to service 539 households. Sasha, on the other hand, is a migrant community inhabited by people mostly from the northern part of Nigeria. It has 1755 households, also with about six children per household. Sasha has 32 health facilities consisting of one public primary health centre, one maternity home, two private clinics, five herbal and spiritual centres, one optical centre and 23 are patent medicine stores.

The gross inadequacy of health facilities available to inhabitants in both of these slum communities is clearly evident. The residents of these slum communities reportedly utilised the available health facilities for their health care needs. The majority of the service providers were unskilled, and the quality of care obtained could not be ascertained. The danger of this scenario is the inability of the inhabitants to discern the quality of health care provided. Considering that only 62 per cent of those in Idi-Ikan and 52 per cent of those in Sasha had at least some secondary school education, their ability to discern what appropriate health care service might be suboptimal.

Why do the inhabitants of these settlements need quality health care services to be provided for them? The study findings demonstrate that communicable diseases are highly prevalent in both communities. This is understandable considering the poor status of environmental sanitation evidenced by lack of potable drinking water, lack of toilets (with the attendant open defecation), and poor waste disposal system in the communities. These poor sanitary conditions increase risk of infection disease epidemics such as cholera in the communities. Maternal health

problems and perinatal conditions were also commonly reported as conditions for which health care was sought in the communities.

However, the study sites lack sufficient health centres and the skilled personnel to handle these conditions. Hypertension, chronic pain and arthritis are other prevailing health challenges reported by the residents in these Ibadan urban slums. Since majority of the health services needed are not available in these communities, a substantial proportion (71% in Idi-Ikan and 73% in Sasha) moved out of their location on various occasions to access health services outside the communities where they lived. Only a few (29% in Idi-Ikan and 27% in Sasha) made use of the health facilities located within their slum environment. This demonstrates that what is needed to keep the residents healthy is not available within their environs, adding to the health and financial burdens they are compelled to bear.

Health service utilisation in the slum communities of Ibadan is affected not only by access, but also by the cost. The preventive and medical test facilities needed are very limited in these slum communities, creating an opportunity for quacks to make an inroad and send many to untimely graves. The findings show that while adult employment is high in both study sites, average monthly earnings are below N23,000 and N21,500 in Idi-Ikan and Sasha respectively. They could also spend more on healthcare because the residents use private facilities more often than the few public health facilities available. When access is limited by cost/affordability, it may lead to a recourse to dangerous alternative sources or self-medication, a recipe for increased likelihood of disability, or even death.

Provision of health services in urban slums is critical to the growth and development of cities and it is important to assess the health of urban dwellers in order to ensure that they gain access to needed healthcare services that would make their lives better. One of the main problems

causing early deaths among Nigerians is a dearth of functional health facilities. The NIHR data provide an insight into the precarious health care situation in Ibadan urban settlements and can help in the formulation of the right policies by the Oyo State government and the authorities in the local government areas where the slums are. Of the sum of N214bn budgeted for fiscal year 2020 by the Oyo State government, 23 per cent was allocated to infrastructure, 22 per cent to education and only a paltry 5.1 per cent to health. Only a fraction of this amount will go into developing facilities and programmes to benefit the health of people living in the state’s urban slums, since other segments of the population also require attention. The findings presented should provide some guidance on the most effective ways of distributing the health expenditure so that those in urban slums are not neglected.

Going forward, the government needs to increase the number of public primary health centres in these urban settlements and staff them with qualified health personnel. Maternal and child care services deserve special attention because of the vulnerability of this segment of the population. The problems of long waiting time and cordiality of staff will be reduced if more health facilities could be accessed within these communities. While these findings are eye openers to the current situation of the health of the inhabitants of these communities, they do not tell the whole story. One thing is clear: measures that can reduce the prevalence of communicable diseases such as waste disposal, provision of potable water, health education and periodical health awareness programmes should command the attention of the Oyo State Government, acting through its Ministry of Health. These should improve the health-seeking behaviour and the health status of slum dwellers in the state.

Dr Tade, the media expert on the project, sent in this piece via dotad2003@yahoo.com

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

EDITORIAL ROBBING THE DEAD OF DIGNITY The authorities should ensure that the dead are buried with deserved respect

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he outcry over the abandonment of 600 corpses dumped at the mortuary facility of the Central Hospital Agbor in Ika South Local Council of Delta State is yet to abate. With only a holding capacity of just 60 corpses per time, the hospital has had to embark on some archaic practices. “The mortuary is old and relies on embalmment of bodies. We are currently making plans to conduct a mass burial for the unknown corpses in the mortuary,” said Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Roy Maduka. He said that the health facility was battling to accommodate the corpses within the small space, while a mass burial would decongest the facility and create room for new bodies.

It is a measure of how much premium is placed on the human body in our country that even after they are dead, Nigerians are not treated with dignity. While many of these corpses have stayed for as long as eight years without members of the public coming forward to claim them, some new corpses are dumped at the THE LARGE NUMBER OF facility by relatives or UNCLAIMED CORPSES security operatives CONSTITUTES A MAJOR who bring in dead HEALTH HAZARD FOR accident victims or dead armed robbers, WORKERS, PATIENTS thereby increasing IN THE HOSPITAL the pile of bodies in AND RESIDENTS the mortuary facility.

LIVING AROUND THE But the large numENVIRONMENT ber of unclaimed corpses constitutes a major health hazard for workers, patients in the hospital and residents living around the hospital environment, especially at a time the country is battling bouts of disease outbreak. The congestion means no proper embalmment or freezing will be done on the bodies, and they are piled on top of each other because of the little space available.

Apart from the health hazards associated with this situation, congestion degrades the dignity of the corpses. Unfortunately, this unhygienic practice is not exclusive to Central Hospital, Agbor. It is a national challenge. From indigent families who cannot pick the accumulated bills demanded by hospitals, to accident victims and those killed by rogue elements in the police and other security outfits, thousands of unclaimed corpses are lying in different morgues across the country, some for years. That has encouraged a lot of unwholesome practices by mortuary attendants, most of whom are unprofessional.

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

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO HEAD, COMPUTER DEPARTMENT PATRICIA UBAKA-ADEKOYA

he World Health Organisation (WHO) said one of the ways to provide respect for the dead is for mortuaries to give each corpse the dignity it deserves through freezing, cabinet placement and proper labelling for easy identification. Unfortunately, these cannot be provided in facilities where bodies are piled upon each other. This clearly is the case with the Central Hospital, Agbor, though it is not an isolated case.

Indeed, several government-owned hospitals across the country have, within the last one year, raised the alarm over high number of unclaimed corpses in their mortuaries.

Meanwhile, we call on the Delta State government to treat every unclaimed body in the hospital with the respect it deserves. It should provide for the hospital, a state-of-the-art mortuary facility with large capacity for corpses. It should also give unclaimed bodies that have stayed for years at the mortuary proper burial, and put a policy in place that would enable relatives to claim their loved ones’ corpses for proper burial. While it may not be the fault of the hospital management or the state government for the large unclaimed bodies, they should make conscious efforts to ensure every corpse is buried with dignity irrespective of how long they may have been abandoned.

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THE LAGOS AIRPORT TOLL GATE PALAVER

O

n Monday, February 3, 2020, the usual ‘businessas-usual’ became ‘business-unusual’ at the popular Lagos Airport Toll Plaza. The chicken had come to roost. Interested stakeholders had come to question the status quo relating to the collections and remittances by the concessionaire at the toll plaza.

The issues at stake centered on the expired concession contract that formed the basis of authority of the Integrated Intelligent Imaging West Africa Ltd (erstwhile concessionaires/ sole administrators of the plaza). With the contract expiry (in February 2019) came questions such as: adequacy of the remittances vis-a-vis the actual collections as well as the determination of the appropriate basis for estimating the amount collectible. The issue can be viewed against the backdrop of the current government’s desire to increase revenue generation across board. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is among prominent revenue generating organs of government.

The issue of toll collection has assumed a ding-dong dimension as option for road maintenance and revenue generation in Nigeria.

You will recall that government, during the second coming of Olusegun Obasanjo, concluded that tolls were not achieving their desired objectives. During that time, the government considered that self-collection was fraught with misappropriation, while concession model was also tainted with revenue under-declaration. That government ended up demolishing virtually all toll plazas on federal roads.

Interestingly, the airport toll plaza escaped the hammer and has proven to be a major revenue earner for the FAAN and the supervisory Aviation Ministry. The airport link-road has enjoyed

relatively good maintenance, despite its relatively heavy traffic.

Furthermore, the ratio of toll-to-mileage has been unprecedented (compared to the nearest competitor-the Lekki Express toll plazas).

Other airport toll plazas also do not enjoy comparable toll-to-mileage or even traffic.

The latest issue with the concessionaire and the contract is traceable to the quest by government to optimize collections from all revenue sources and the concessionaire’s intention to maintain the status quo. With the coming of the new FAAN management, it is natural to beam the searchlight on all existing contracts and the revenues generated. Naturally, the toll plaza is a key area of focus.

Feelers from the grapevine reveal that while the concessionaire intended to retain the status quo, the new FAAN management, armed with empirical data, believes that the monthly revenue generation and remittances can safely be increased by up to 50% without negatively impacting the bottom line of the erstwhile concessionaire.

This position of management is being corroborated by the action of the aviation unions who have taken it upon themselves to prove the possibilities by directly involving their members in collections.

So, currently, we have the expired concessionaire and its “sponsors” on one hand, and FAAN and the unions on the other. In between the two groups, the revenue, the law and the traffic are at stake.

I am hoping that this latest issue does not degenerate into deeper crisis, considering that the service being rendered is perishable.

Bearing in mind the prevailing circumstances, the honorable thing the concessionaire should have done was to review its operations towards accommodating higher revenue remittances or stepped

aside to let others give it a try.

One thing l find so disagreeable is the sit-tight and entitlement attitude of IIIWA, the concessionaire, to the whole issue. Here is a concessionaire who is about fourth in line. Others had been appointed and discharged prior to IIIWA’s appointment. IIIWA has spent about eight years on this assignment. Their contract had expired, yet, they were still unprepared to discuss revenue growth and contract renewal terms. For a private enterprise, this is an emphatic no-no. Any experienced big accounts manager would have done better than sit-through a 12-month extension to an expired government contract.

I am particularly happy with the offer of the aviation unions to operate or witness collections for three months to enable independent verification of collectible revenue. Thereafter, a proper contract should be drawn with the next concessionaire based on percentages for allowances to cover pre-determined operational costs and an allowance for profit and growth to the concessionaire.

The concessionaire must realize that the airport toll plaza is not likely to be the last. In fact, going by feelers from government cycles, there is likely to be another era of toll concessioning across the country.

The new FAAN management has started on a good note but must establish a more efficient process of on-boarding and disengagement of concessionaires and tenants within the length and breadth of its operations for posterity sake. The performance of the new FAAN management must herald a new era of “positive business unusual” to make Nigeria get better within our life time.

Dan Aibangbe, Lagos

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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2020 •T H I S D AY

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2020

POLITICS

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

‘Oshiomhole Did Very Well, Obaseki is Still Far Below Average’

Adibe Emenyonu has a frank talk with Chris Ogiemwonyi, one of the aspirants who desires to fly the governorship flag of the All Progressives Congress in Edo State in the September 19 governorship election

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the classrooms. If such places are in Bénin, what will be the situation of schools and hospitals in the rural areas? I score Oshiomhole eight over ten in terms of performance in infrastructure. See the highway that was built. I believe in competence and not tribalism. After Ogbemudia, I see Oshiomhole as the Best Governor. Obaseki has the capacity to perform, but he is tackling too many things at the same time. There are too many MoUs- Industrial Park, Gelegele and others. He has become a master of none. That is why I score him low in performance. He should engage strong people who are project consultants not these ‘small, small boys.’ If he consults me and pays the price, I know what to tell him. Oshiomhole did very well, while Godwin is still far below average.

s one of the aspirant, what are your chances at the All Progressives Congress governorship primary in Edo State?

My chances are very bright. We are a total of six aspirants. Each one of us has his own profile. I pray you have time to go through my profile. I have served both in the private and public sectors. I have put in 35 years. Since I left, I have been into oil and gas consulting. Recently, I ventured into farming. I see myself as a very strong contender for the office of the Governor of Edo State come September 2020.

What are you going to do differently from the present administration?

If I become the governor, what I will first tackle is insecurity. No matter what resources are available for infrastructure when there is no peace and there is no internal security, nobody is going to do anything. I will put lots of resources into providing internal security. Another area I will like to address will be the issue of poverty eradication. That is providing employment for the high level boys and girls that have left the universities. That is what is really on ground. It is so pitiable. Employment rate in Edo is around 25 percent. The other 75 percent are unemployed.

I think that is one of the issue causing the high crime rate. If I become governor, the health sector will receive great attention because you need a living people to carry out jobs. I will put more infrastructure to create preventive measures.

With that, we can diagnose early. I like to address mechanized farming. We are blessed in Edo South and we are doing this routine farming. I intend to make farming attractive. The high level of rural-urban migration is something I will fixed.

I will move the youths back to the rural areas.

I will provide for them what is available in the cities, like electricity. Most of our villages don’t have electricity. I will make sure the various local government workers stay in their place of work.

I am proposing to build more model schools. My formative years was with friends from across the state. I will consult in different areas. Solid minerals is available in Edo. There is so much we are going to do. You will see more in my 10-point agenda. I have added the physically challenged to my agenda.

What is giving you strength to carry on after the events of 2016?

It is love for my people. If you are doing what you love, nothing stresses you. I see the pains of the people. If we don’t come to assist them, you will see a pregnant woman flirting. It is painful.

People will go out of their way to do what they never imagined just to feed. What is making me strong is that I have empathy, I have passion for the people. The level of poverty in Edo South will cause you to support them. I want to see how I can bring them out of their present level to a comfortable level and make them happy. I believe in sharing.

Edo APC crisis is getting out of hand, what solution do you proffer?

APC will be stronger tomorrow. We have internal mechanism to resolve these issues.

I must commend Adams Oshiomhole for his steadfastness and maturity. They have set up about three committees to resolve the crisis, but the state has not shown enthusiasm to welcome them. Recently, we the aspirants had to tell the committee to come and visit us for peace. We are prepared to receive them. We are welcoming the Senator Lawan Committee. We are desperately looking for peace in Edo. I know Governor Obaseki will heed our plea because in the absence of peace, not much can be achieved.

The National Chairman has made it clear that he has no problem with Obaseki. He cannot destroy what he put there. Adams brought in Godwin.

Peace is coming gradually. We are praying for the Governor to let peace reign.

If you become governor, will you probe

Ogiemwonyi your predecessor?

I am a different aspirant. I am coming here with 34 years of public life. I was Managing Director in NNPC in three of the most strategic components.

We see government as a continuum. We don’t call for probe. If I become governor, I will continue where Obaseki left. I don’t believe in probe. It is a waste of time and resources.

What will be your next step if you fail to secure the APC ticket?

Before now, we had an accord. Myself, Odubu and Airhiavbere met in Abuja and took a decision that the best option is to work together as a team and procure one ticket. We will all support that candidate. We were lucky Odubu got something and he grabbed it. Before that process came to a conclusion, Pastor Ize-Iyamu came to meet us and we told him about the process. I hear we have two other aspirants. Four of us have agreed to work together. There is nothing we cannot share. God has been good to each of us.

It is just the need to serve our people. Ize-Iyamu was a former Secretary to government, Odubu was a former Deputy Governor, Airhiavbere was a former Pay Master of the Nigerian Army. I was public servant. So, we are all okay. We will sustain that accord.

What kind of primary are you expecting for the governorship election in September?

The type of primary we expect is that which the party decides. The party has said it is direct primary and not the delegate system. It is clearly a party affair and they have made that decision.

We are going there urging our supporters to have their membership cards and go and chose the

aspirant they want as their candidate.

There are talks about anointed candidate from Abuja. How true is that?

APC is a democratic party. We believe the people will make the decision. You knew me in 2016, I didn’t believe there was an anointed candidate.

The beauty of public service is that we believe in orders. It is like the military. I have not heard of an anointed candidate. I have been working since November last year. We are canvassing for votes. We are a well organised party.

How will you assess Obaseki compared to Oshiomhole?

I have tried not to compare because the two of them are my friends. It is the performance of Oshiomhole that dragged me into the APC. I was a Minister under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I left the PDP when President Goodluck Jonathan was in power. I took the risk of leaving a ruling party that time to join a regional party in 2014. Four former ministers called me to ask what I was doing. I took that risk because of Oshiomhole.

I love that man because of his courage. I joined APC because of the things Oshiomhole was doing in this state vis-a-vis the one before him. When I went to Okpekpe, Iyamho University, I decided to join the APC. The Federal Government tried to probe me when I joined the APC. Oshiomhole really transformed Edo State. The Bénin Storm Water is not just a three-year programme. There should have been a continuation. Look at the Red Roof Revolution in the education sector. I cried the day I saw rain water leaking on patients in the Bénin Central Hospital. I also went to a primary school where it was raining through the roof in

We have internal mechanism to resolve these issues. I must commend Adams Oshiomhole for his steadfastness and maturity. They have set up about three committees to resolve the crisis, but the state has not shown enthusiasm to welcome them. Recently, we the aspirants had to tell the committee to come and visit us for peace. We are prepared to receive them. We are welcoming the Senator Lawan Committee. We are desperately looking for peace in Edo. I know Governor Obaseki will heed our plea because in the absence of peace, not much can be achieved. The National Chairman has made it clear that he has no problem with Obaseki. He cannot destroy what he put there. Adams brought in Godwin. Peace is coming gradually. We are praying for the Governor to let peace reign

What is your take on the agitation for regional police like Amotekun?

Before now I was an advocate of state police.

The practicality of it is, however, proving negative.

I used to support state police because they will be close to the people. But since ‘Wabaizigan’ attacked 14 members-elect at a hotel in Edo, I changed my mind. It is really unfortunate that people duly elected will be attacked accompanied by the CSO to the Governor. I am going to have a rethink on state police. They attacked Inegbeneki at home. They attacked Lawrence Okah’s home.

They attacked Idahagbon’s home. What I will do is to commence a probe to investigate what is going on that will make the people have confidence that the government is showing concerned, but nothing is happening. This is the first time in the politics of Edo that we are using bombs and it is a bad development and the consequence is going to scare away investors. It means if I build a five-star hotel here, you can drop a bomb there.

It is a new concept of terrorism. If others copied it, terrorism will start in Nigeria. We better nip it in the bud. The governor should wake up and institute a high powered probe into happenings in the state. If he does, it he would earn our respect. If he is quiet I hope people will not conclude he is part of it. Something sacrilegious happened in Benin. We in Benin do not destroy houses built by people. In broad day light, Tony Kabaka’s hotel was brought down. When the same Kabaka worked for him in 2016 to elect him as a governor he was a good man. But because Kabaka is taking a different view, he is now an opponent. Those boys were emperors that time.

We must nip these explosives in the bud because I am afraid. People now go out with policemen.

It is an index of insecurity. We should abolish ‘Wabaizigan’ in Edo. They are anti-people and unfriendly. They are used to oppress people and they are being paid by tax papers.

As one who worked in the oil industry for more than three decades, why is the Petroleum Industry Bill going through difficulties? In your opinion, what should be the best approach?

When it comes to things of consulting, I don’t dabble into it. The earlier we learn to appoint people that have the capacity and experience to man the oil industry the better. Time has come for us to use the best brains in the industry. The PIB under Dr. Lukman, was pushed it to a point for approval. You cannot give what you don’t have. Between 2001 and 2003, there was a project brought to me. The Escravos Gas delivery project.

It was worth $1.8 billion. As they were bringing it to me, my manager, Andy Yakubu, said the same job was done for UAE for $900 million. Why are they now asking for twice the amount here.

I agreed to approve for $1.3 billion to take care of dredging, sand filling and other things but Chevron said no. They made it personal against me. In 2007, I became the GED Upstream, the paper came to my table again and this time it was $8 billion. Go and ask at what price the project was approved. I fought for this country in the oil and gas industry. If they want to address the PIB, they should give it to experts like us and we know what to do.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2020

POLITICS DISSENTING VOICE...IN HIS OWN WORDS ‘Anambra Needs a Homegrown Governor’ How to Overcome Nigeria’s

David-Chyddy Eleke was part of a group of journalists who interrogated Damian Okolo, one of the governorship aspirants for Anambra State on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, during which he argued that Anambra needs a home grown governor who understands the people and is very familiar with the state

Obnoxious Population Enumeration Challenge

Moses Ekpo, Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, narrates Nigeria’s ugly national population enumeration history triggered by southern politicians seeking to end the north’s dominance of Nigerian politics through the census

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Okolo Introduction By training, I am an Estate Surveyor and a fellow of the Institute of Arbitrators. I am also a legal practitioner and by the grace of God, one of the few Nigerians trained at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos. The people who pass through Kuru are people trained for good governance.

Over time, I have served in various capacities in Anambra State and in other parts of the country. I was the chairman of the Anambra State Land use and Allocation Committee and Vice Chairman of Anambra State Volunteer Service Agency, which trained people for good governance. I have been Chairman of Oluchukwu Micro Finance Bank for 20 years and I am a director of Radio Sapientia based in Onitsha. I am also the Financial Secretary of Igwe Nnewi Royal Cabinet.

In fact, I am the first person to start Estate Surveying practice in Onitsha and today, there are many practicing in this state. Without the foundation I laid, that could not have been possible.

When I went to Law School in 1993 my colleagues wanted to force me to stay in Lagos because they believed I would make more money there, but I insisted on coming back home. I had to convince them to see the need for me to remain in the East. If making money was my main objective, I would have become a multi-billionaire now. But God has always directed me on what to do.

Now that this issue of home grown governor has arisen many people feel rightly or wrongly that we need someone who knows the terrain well. The added advantage is that though I come from Anambra South senatorial zone, I am very well known in the Northern senatorial zone where I practice and in Anambra Central senatorial zone where I have many friends. Of all those aspiring to govern Anambra, I possess more credentials in terms of rendering service to the people of this state.

Views on Zoning It is noteworthy that Anambra people have decided that Anambra South senatorial zone should produce the next governor of the state. In this zone, Anambra South, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife from Aguata had served as governor, Dr. Andy Uba, also from Aguata had gone and Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju from Uli (Ihiala) also served as governor from 1999 -2003. The only time my town, Nnewi, tasted it was when Mrs. Virgy Etiaba held forth when Peter Obi was impeached for three months. So for equity and fair play, Nnewi should produce the next governor of the state, considering the fact that Aguata, Ihiala and Nnewi are the major planks of the zone.

With all sense of responsibility, I have made modest contributions to the state more than most of the people aspiring to govern the state. If I am given the chance, Anambra people will benefit from my wealth of experience. At this point in time, Anambra State needs someone who is acceptable in the three senatorial zones of the state.

Are you comfortable with Church politics?

I am a Papal Knight and a former Metropolitan Grand Knight of the Knights of St Mulumba, KSM, for the entire Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states. We have friends in all denominations and they have already expressed their desire to support us. As I speak, people from all dominations have said that they will support me if I contest.

We are proud of our achievements in various spheres of life and as contributions towards the development of the state has no denominational limitations. The important thing is that there is a lot of work to be done in the state. Our past governors, including the incumbent, have done very well and we will improve on what they did and where the incumbent will stop.

Professional experience As a professional, I do not regret practicing my two professions in Anambra State since my qualification. I could have made more money practicing in Lagos, but I chose to establish my company here.

What kind of government will you run?

Very soon, we will establish various committees for the governorship aspiration and we intend to include credible people into those committees. There is indeed a lot of work for everybody to do.

am always excited to contribute to any discourse on national development – particularly, one that has to do with the search for a fool-proof census data-bank for our country as it happened recently in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, when the National Population Commission held its 2020 Executive Retreat.

I was opportune a few years ago to make similar contributions more directly as the Commissioner representing Akwa Ibom in the National Population Commission, and I think that earlier involvement with the NPC informed my nomination for that presentation.

The retreat sought to remind and re-educate members of the National Population Commission of their roles and duties. It is timely now that the challenge to develop our country is strongest due to the increasing need to take our place in the comity of nations and be a model for the rest of Africa.

The National Population Act 23 of 1989 amongst other things, mandates the Commission to: (a) undertake the enumeration of the population of Nigeria periodically, through censuses, sample surveys; (b) establish and maintain a machinery for continuous and universal registration of births and deaths throughout the country; (c) prepare and maintain a national framework, including locality list and house-numbering, for delineation exercise for census and sample survey in each local government area; (d) collect, collate and publish data on migration statistics; (e) research and monitor the national population policy, and set up a national population data-bank; (f) arrange for the appointment and training of staff of the Commission; and (g) provide information and data on population for purposes of facilitating national planning and economic development.

The decision to establish the National Population Commission to execute the above brief, is a clear indication that the Federal Government strongly believes that the availability of an accurate and dependable census data-bank is a sine qua non to genuine national development.

There is in fact a global consensus about the need for a coordinated, systematic and responsible data-base on population if government must make informed decisions for policy and planning; if it is to assess the impact of these decisions and to operate its programmes effectively. Scholars in demographic studies are also united in the belief that data on population is a critical function of an emerging modern society.

But the constitutional requirement that every state of the federation, and the Federal Capital Territory should be represented on the Commission is a hint on our turbulent national census history, and the need for nation-wide popular vigilance on this very important area of our national life.

Our ugly national population enumeration history is captured in the “The Story of How Nigeria Census Figures Became Weaponized,”

by Feyi Fawehinmi, published online by Quartz Africa on the 6th of March, 2018: “The story of Nigeria’s 1962 census never gets old.

Southern politicians seeking to end the North’s dominance of Nigerian politics decided that the only way to do it was through the census.

Population figures at the time determined not only parliamentary representation, but also revenue and employee distribution in the civil service.”

This is still the position today. But it is only a small picture of the situation; and, of course, presents the matter rather simplistically. The real malady puts a critical edge on the roles

Ekpo and duties of the commissioners as they came on board in 1989. The commissioners are required to combine their brief as government census ombudsmen with that of being the eyes and ears of their respective states. This is obviously a tight rope to walk because it amounts to holding forte and holding one’s own at the same time.

But the National Population Commissioners can walk this tight rope with positive results if they are patriotic, if there is the political will across board to do the right thing abinitio.

As it is said in Akwa Ibom, when the passion is right, other things fall into place. The Federal Government which is the mandating authority in census matters must itself adopt an uncompromising stand on this very critical subject. A return to the basics in vision and attitude of implementation on the part of the Federal Government will influence its body language accordingly, and the appropriate signals would have been sent to those assigned with the duty of enumeration.

It should be stressed that even the states represented by the commissioners stand to gain from the availability of accurate and dependable census data. As rightly indicated by Abraham Okolo in The Nigerian Census: Problems and Prospects, published in the American Statistician Journal, “… the need for information available from a census extends beyond the Federal Government to states and local governments and private services providers.

Each one needs reliable, timely and comparable data and analysis which describe the ethnic composition, literacy levels, number of children ever born, number of children living, occupation, sex, age, disability, etc.

The lack of such statistics severely limits government’s capacity to plan, manage, and evaluate investments in its economic and social programmes”.

It is within the context of these critical imperative for a dependable census data base, that the role and duties of Commissioners of the National Population Commission can be wholistically evaluated – and of course, against the background of the Commission’s statutory mandate.

More efforts and resources should be expended in staff training and public enlightenment. When every staff of the Commission buys into the vision of a fool-proof head-count, he or she approaches his or her work with a sense of personal stake with minimum supervision. Also a sufficiently enlightened public is likely to on its own, mount the necessary vigilance against various forms of sabotage that had frustrated past enumeration exercises in our country.

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FEATURES Experts Promote Bio-safety, Condemn GMO Foods in Nigeria

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi

Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 08038901925

Rebecca Ejifoma and Sunday Ehigiator

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n its undying efforts to save more lives, a civil society organisation, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has taken holistic approaches to ending the spread of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) foods, adding that the country is not medically ready for the health consequences.

The experts made this known at a one-day media workshop held in Lagos on the theme, ‘Promoting Nigeria’s Bio-safety'.

According to a renowned Environmental Rights Activist and Director of HOMEF, Mr. Nnimmo Bassey, he said Nigeria was not ready for GMOs. “Our health system is poor and non-effective when compared to other country’s health system”. Nnimmo, however described GMOs as artificial crops that pollute and degrade.

“GMOs have socioeconomic, social-cultural and religious implications. This will cause a lot of implications on our farmers and food system”.

The expert continued that while small scale farmers leave the soil enriched, GMO products does the contrary. “It endangers the health of consumers and negatively has an impact on the ecosystem".

He said, “80 per cent of food in the world is produced by small scale farmers, using 26 per cent of the resources. We don’t need synthetic food in Nigeria, but protection and aids for our farmers.”

Accordingly, he added that GMOs produce for consumption causes harmful consequences to human health. Adding, he said, "Although GMO is meant to kill weevils, it is poisonous to the health. Nigeria and Europe do not have the same health system.”

As a veteran in the field of research, Nnimmo insisted that the National Bio-safety Management Agency Act 2015 needed to be reviewed.

“This will prioritise the precautionary principle, strengthen public participation and include

Non-genetically modified crops are the way to go

strict provision for liability and redress”.

To further drive his point home, he called on the government on food sovereignty, freedom from seed colonialism, noting that labeling doesn’t work in Nigeria’s socio-cultural context.

“GMO crop development is driven mainly by agrochemical firms, focuses on herbicide tolerant crops; patented seed outlaw seed-saving, reducing self-reliance.”

He, however, tasked the media to take up

action in creating awareness about GMOs and its health consequences to Nigerians. Media experts trained were correspondents and editors from prints, online and electronic media covering health issues in Lagos.

NSE Apapa Extends Love to Orphans Sunday Ehigiator

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n light of the just concluded Valentine's day, which always mark the begining of a season of love and live sharing, members of the Apapa chapter of the National Society of Engineers (NSE), paid a courtesy visit to Orphans at the Heart of Gold Hospice, Surulere Lagos, in a bid to extend love to them.

The recent visit according to the Chairman of the branch, Engr. Sunny Ajeje, was part of a continuous efforts by the branch to maintain contact with the less privileged in the society by showing them love, instead of wasting resources on frivolities.

"This is all about sharing love and showing concern on the welfare of the needy. We deemed fit that, in the spirit of Valentine, instead of coming on that Friday which was very busy, and a shirt day for us due to other events, it was best we make the trip today.

"It's all aimed at extending love as occasioned by the season. It's the season of sharing love and giving back to the less privilege in the society. This is a regular act of the branch which started about six years ago here at the same home, and we are glad to be extending this gesture of love to them again.

"My advise to all Nigerians is to embrace the act and spirit of giving. Instead of spending money on other type of frivolities outside, and wasting money on politics or other unnecessary things, let's show some love to these children. The little we do, can go a long way in their lives. Whatever we have brought today is definably a minus to some of their needs.

Members of the Apapa branch of the National Society of Engineers (NSE) during a courtesy visit to Heart of Gold Hospice, Surulere, Lagos

"Hence, we must always try and show live to the less privilege in any capacity or form we are capable of showing them love.

The basic thing is love and it doesn't really have to be money. Go chopping for cloths for

the children, volunteer to take care of them sometimes or even sponsor their schooling etc."

Speaking on behalf of the Founder of the Foundation of the Foundation, Mrs. Theresa Omolaja, a Staff of the Foundation, Mrs. Esther

Adeboye, appreciated the foundation for their kind gestures, why praying that, "God in his infinite mercy continue to enable you all to do more and show love to the needy. Thank you once again."

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#THISISNIGERIA - Adun Okupe

What Lagos Can Learn About Housing the Majority Population from Tokyo

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he ongoing debate about the rapid forced and illegal evictions of poor people from their places of habitation in Lagos should primarily also be about the housing shortage mostly affecting the majority population (the poor) in Lagos. Housing deficits are not unique to Lagos, most major cities around the world both in the Global North and South are faced with similar challenges. However, in developed countries, this challenge is handled in ways that do not create further vulnerabilities but rather is done in a more sustainable manner that are respectful of human rights; the basic right to shelter as well as prioritizing this population in planning housing projects.

In Lagos, the reverse is the case, the brutality in the recent eviction of the Takwa Bay and Okun Ayo slum communities in Lagos and the emergence of exclusive housing projects such as the Eko Atlantic and Ilubirin; both of which the intended beneficiaries are the upper-middle class and the city’s elites in a city where the most affected by housing deficit are the lower middle class and the poor.

The Heinrich Boll Stiftung (2017) report on the informal economy of Lagos suggests that 70% of the working population in the city of Lagos earn their livelihood in the informal sector and also that approximately 64.7% live in informal, unsafe, and illegal shelters.

Comparing these statistics to the real estate investment ratio as well as the state government’s choice of housing project shows that beyond the sheer violation of right, the Lagos state government is uninterested in planning the development of the city around is obvious realities. In essence, the Lagos state economy is driven by the key population whose rights are constantly violated without any consequences.

Often this debate around the demolition of slums and its implication for forced homelessness in Nigeria cities often fail to move the violation of rights to the housing solutions that specifically target the poor in cities. The truth is, many of these informal shelters are pitched on lands that belong to the government and private institutions and individuals, yes the government should provide shelter for all, but in reality across the world, city governments are struggling to do so even in developed nations. In Nigeria the situation is even worse, with urban hostile policies that are strategically positioned to create and sustain endemic inequalities, it is uncertain whether or not focusing on forced in the answer. And unfortunately, until this is the case, we will continue to have this social media raves, mislead and unsustained advocacies and making “noise” without any real impact on changing the situation.

If the majority of the city lives in informal shelters, what does (should) this mean about housing/real estate projects/intervention in practical terms? Previously, I reviewed what Lagos should do about slums. This policy brief goes beyond that and focuses on my ongoing case study which is looking at house Tokyo, Japan, a city of 37 million population that has faced similar challenges to Lagos (overpopulation and scarcity of land) yet has managed to overcome that and make homelessness illegal. It does so by highlight what Lagos can learn from Tokyo about housing its rapidly growing population.

Affordability is Intentional and is Government Driven Compared to the skyrocketing cost of housing in cities like London, Johannesburg, Nairobi or Lagos, the city of Tokyo has consistently provided affordable housing to accommodate its explosive population. In a comparative manner, my case study evaluates house prices

and population growth between the years 1995 and 2015. The findings show that, in Lagos, the annual population growth rate is stipulated at 3.2% = 64% within the 20 years period in review, house prices have increased 500% within the same period. While in Tokyo, with 33% annual population growth, house prices have consistently decreased and are presently at 13%. Evidently one city (Tokyo) is bridging the housing inequality gap by planning based on facts, targeting the right demography in order to reduce homelessness while the other city (Lagos) is fueling homelessness and increasing inequalities.

Housing affordability in Tokyo is not caused by free or social housing schemes, as statistics show that less than 5% of houses in Japan are socially provided. And it is also not because Tokyo’s population is shrinking as evidently, Tokyo is growing at a faster pace than Lagos dues to rapid rural to urban migration. Rather, the consistent progress in housing provision in Tokyo is because the supply of housing in the city of Tokyo is responsive to local realistic demands as opposed to the projection of a futuristic megacity. Nationwide, the housing deficit in Nigeria is estimated at 17 million units as of the year 2012, the PWC (2019) recommends that to bridge this gap, 700,000 new units are required annually as opposed to the currently 100,000 new units being constructed.

Contrastly, the Japanese government sets out to build a million new houses annually with a high percentage of it being built in populous cities such as Tokyo. In 2018 alone, Japan had 924,000 houses constructed and many of these include slum upgrading and regeneration of certain areas by demolishing and rebuilding houses in the city. This approach in a city like Tokyo where land is a scarce commodity are often smaller one-bed for singles and young working-class people as well as very moderate two and three rooms for families as a means of land rationing to accommodate everyone.

This means that even though the land is scarce and expensive in Tokyo, the government makes affordability works for everyone.

Tokyo’s Zoning System is Pro-Sustainable Development that is People-Centered A thorough analysis of Tokyo’s urban planning framework shows the underpinnings of housing supply in this city is based on a zoning system that functions on by-right based development, rather than the massive land rights and affordability systems for each individual practiced in Nigeria. There 12 main zones in this context ranging from not so viable informal shelter zones to polluting industrial zones. The guidelines are that shelter can be set-up in areas reserved for housing– meaning that areas if a hotel or restaurant was built on a residential area, it can be converted to housing but houses or shelters cannot be converted to hotels or bank buildings, but unsafe houses can be upgraded to fit into the city’s context of safe housing.

This approach allows for the housing market to housing needs; ensuring that construction and density are demand driven. In essence, if a former peri-urban area is rapidly developing, old and unfit houses can be demolished and in the cases of the apartment complex, 80% of unit owners must be in agreement with demolition and redevelopment. Although demolitions of slums and shack shelters are common in Japanese cities, it often paves the way for the regeneration of the city that accommodates all classes of people.

Tokyo Shows that Poor and Abusive Politics is the cause of Homelessness in Lagos The policy aspects are not the only varying factor impacting housing provision for the majority in Tokyo. One vital factor which is also very different in this comparison is the distinction between the politics of housing in Lagos and Tokyo. For example, previously between the years 1946 and 1956, Tokyo was exactly where Lagos

today; severe forced and illegal evictions of the poor causing homelessness, this era was highly unpopular with residents and local government as such approach was unsustainable.

What the current affordable housing situation that is highly harnessed by the use of an alternative policy approach primarily driven by government interventions in Tokyo and beyond that entire Japan shows, is that rapidly forced homelessness as induced by government agencies in Lagos is political and intentional. Evidentially, Tokyo has illustrated that housing does not have to be expensive in economically viable cities, but rather that our situation in Lagos is a choice that is based on the futuristic megacity where poor people will become extinct. Lagos’s approach fights the poor rather than poverty.

Because Lagos, like most Nigerian cities were not planned, the current approach will create a never-ending circle of the poor setting up an illegal and unsafe shelter in response to their shelter as accorded to them by their basic human rights to shelter and the government will keep displacing the poor. The core challenge here is the lack of foresight. For example, the Lekki free trade zone where the new international airport is being built will be the new attractive zone of the city in the next five years, but it will also be the area where rapid and illegal eviction of the poor will be happening. What are we doing about mitigating the risk of such vulnerabilities now?

Lagos does not have to copy and paste Tokyo’s affordable housing provision. It could, for instance, focus concurrently on social housing as well as luxurious projects. As for Lagos, reducing the vulnerabilities of the key populations to homelessness will require a thorough understanding of Toyko’s previous struggles with the same issue.

- Rebecca Enobong Roberts is a development expert, consultant and a researcher.

She has a decade of experience implementing and managing projects in 21 of 32 states in Nigeria.

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Quick Takes Huawei Unveils New Smartphone

Huaweitookthewrapsoffitslatestproductline,headlinedbytheMate Xsfoldablesmartphone,whichwillbeavailableacrossmostofitsmarkets fromMarchatapriceof€2,499.

In a virtual presentation, streamed to analysts and media at a venue in London, the company said it attempted to “push the boundaries” once againwithitsproducts,asitunveiledanewtabletandlaptops,alongside theupdatedfoldable.

CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, Richard Yu, who hosted the event, also provided a business update, stating it spent €15 billion on Research and Development in 2019, as it attempts to look to grow hardwaresalesathomeinChina,andacrossEurope.

Hesaidthecompanyhad“consolidated”itspositionastheworld’ssecondlargestsmartphonemanufacturer,shipping240millionsmartphonesin 2019,representinga16.8percentyear-on-yeargrowth.

Following the launch of the Mate X at MWC19 Barcelona, the company unveileditssecondfoldabledevice.

Like its predecessor, the Mate Xs features a full view display spanning 8-inches, reducing to a 6.6-inch main screen when the phone is folded anda6.38-inchsecondaryscreen.

Thecompanysaidthemaindifferencewiththenewdeviceliesinitsfoldablehinge,whichhasan“improvedFalconWing”featuringmorethan100 interlockingparts,andhasbeenmadetobemore“durable”.

Huaweiclearlyplacedmoreemphasisonthefoldablehingeafteritwas forcedtodelaytheoriginalMateX,statingitwantedtoimproveitsflexible capabilities.

AGRIC SUMMIT

L-R: Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan; Minister of State for Agriculture, Mustapha Baba Shehuri; Group CEO, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Ade Ayeyemi; Chairman, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Mr. John Aboh, and Managing Director of Notore Chemical Industries Plc, Onajite Okoloko, at the Ecobank Agribusiness Summit, held in Lagos… recently

Global ICT Companies Count Losses to Covid-19 Stories by Emma Okonji Apart from financial losses by global Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies that cannot be ascertained presently due to the cancellation of the Mobile World Congress 2020 as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID19),industry experts have said a lot of knowledge must have been lost as well.

The congress would have held this week in Barcelona, Spain and its cancellation has created huge knowledge gap for thousands of participants who learn new technologies from the global event, which holds annually.

Some industry experts who

TELECOM spoke to THISDAY about the economic losses, said it would be difficult to place figures on the financial losses presently, because they do not have idea of how much money GSMA makes from its yearly events, but they however said huge knowledge gap that cannot be quantified, must have also been lost due to the cancellation.

GSMA, penultimate week, announced the cancellation of this year’s Mobile World Congress hitherto slated to hold between February 24 and 27 in Barcelona, Spain, following the outbreak of Corona Virus, otherwise called

Covid-19, which has killed thousands of Chinese and left several others infected.

Attributing the reason for the cancellation to the outbreak of Corona Virus in China, which broke out on 31, December, 2019, the CEO of GSMA, Mr. John Hoffman, in a letter, said: “The GSMA has hosted individuals and organisations for 34 years at Mobile World Congress (MWC). Throughout our time organising this event, the health and safety of our exhibitors and attendees have always been of paramount importance. Since the first edition of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2006, the GSMA has convened the industry, governments, minis-

ters, policymakers, operators and industry leaders across the broader ecosystem.

“With due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country, the GSMA has cancelled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event.”

Although the deadly virus disease has killed thousands of Chinese, the cancellation has left many ICT companies in debts, having put a lot of preparations in place in terms of investments in new technologies that would have Continued on page 24

Experts See Technology as Financial Inclusion Enabler Experts who gathered at the ongoing Social Media Week Forum that is holding in Lagos, have highlighted the importance of technology in achieving Nigeria’s financial inclusion strategies, which among others, target a 20 per cent reduction of financially excluded adult Nigerians in year 2020.

The experts who spoke at one of the panel sessions sponsored by Stanbic IBTC Bank, shed light on insights and challenges on Nigeria’s financial inclusion journey, and highlighted new technology trends that would further help to achieve the country’s financial inclusion strategies.

TELECOM CEO, Future Software Resources, Mrs. Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho, one of the panelists, explained the role of FinTechs in offering new technology solutions that would drive banking operations in achieving the 20 per cent reduction target of financially excluded adult Nigerians. She called for more collaboration between FinTechs and the banks in accelerating technology innovations that would further drive financial inclusion in Nigeria.

Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Wole Adeniyi,

one of the panelists, said the role of technology in financial inclusion drive, was meant to democratise access to financial services, and that Stanbic IBTC Bank, would continue to help in democratising that access, through the offering of demystified banking solutions that would help customers carryout banking transactions with ease within couple of minutes, thereby reducing the time spent in most banking operations.

According to Adeniyi, “The massive investments in banking solutions by FinTech and the banks, are actually driving financial inclusion in a more faster and more convenient ways. Our role as banks is to

bring more Nigerians on board and offer them opportunities to be financially included, and we have solutions that give customers access to broader financial services at affordable rates. Our EasyCash for instance, enables customers to experience faster time in accessing loans and other financial services, especially with micro lending services.” He further explained that Stanbic IBTC also support small agro businesses through its Mobile Wallet and the Founders Factory channels, where the bank offers easy access to loans to small businesses in

NIPEA Celebrates Expatriates in Nigeria

InstinctWave,Africa’spremiumB2Beventandmediaspecialist,hasannouncedthemaideneditionoftheNigeriaProminentExpatriateAwards 2020(NIPEA).Theawardsceremonyscheduledtohold27thMarch,2020 attheOrientalHotelinLekki,Lagos,istocelebrateexpatriatesinNigeria.

Accordingtotheorganisers,NIPEA2020wouldhonoursuccessfuland outstandingexpatriateswhohavecontributedtothegrowthofNigeria in various sectors of the economy. It added that award is to appreciate the roles of expatriate in building a sustainable business and creating valueintheirhostcountry.

AccordingtoCEOofInstinctWave,Mr.AkinNaphtal,“Ultimately,expatriatesbringonboardauniquesetofskillsandanunderstandingofcultural differencesandhowitrelatestobusinessprocesses.

“ThissetofamazingindividualshavemadeNigeriatheirhome-theytruly deserve once in a lifetime recognition.That is why the 2020 NIPEA will honor expatriates who have set benchmarks of hard work, dedication, passionthathastransformedbusinessesinNigeria.”

“Rewarding these successful expatriates will be momentous to the winnerandtheirpeerswithintheexpatcommunity.Thenightpromises to be an evening of exceptional networking with the expat community and stakeholders that have supported them in achieving success in Nigeria,”hesaid.

MTN eSwatini Appoints CEO

MTN eSwatini, the local unit of telecoms group MTN, on Tuesday appointedWandileMtshaliChiefExecutiveOfficerafterhispredecessor wasappointedprimeministerofthesouthernAfricankingdom.

According to Reuters, Mtshali, who holds a Bachelor’s degree from the UniversityofBotswanainelectronicsandcomputerengineering,willtake thehelmonMonday,thecompanysaid.FormerCEOAmbroseDlamini wasappointedastheprimeministerin2018byeSwatini’sKingMswati.

MswatiisAfrica’slastabsolutemonarchandhastightpoliticalcontrolover theland-lockednationformerlyknownasSwaziland.Thekingchooses theprimeministerandgovernment.

Mtshali worked for MTN eSwatini for 17 years before being appointed technical officer in South Sudan and Guinea Bissau. He joined MTN’s competitor Swazi Mobile in 2017 as chief technical officer. Mtshali replacesSibusisoNhlekowhowasactingCEOsinceDlamini’sdeparture.

MTNisanemergingmarketmobileoperatorattheforefrontoftechnological anddigitalchanges.FromourheadquartersinJohannesburgandguided byourvalues,wearedeliveringabold,newdigitalworldtoourcustomers across Africa and the Middle East – one of the world’s fastest-growing regionsformobiletelecommunications.

“The Corona virus has impacted the MWC event in Barcelona in many ways as losses have been accumulated by the Original Equipment Manufactures (OEMs) and GSM operators.The biggest impact though is to the providers of trending technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 5G” President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON),

Mr. OlusolaTeniola Continued on page 24

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BUSINESSWORLD GLOBAL ICT COMPANIES COUNT LOSSES TO COVID-19 been showcased and sold at the venue this week.

President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola, said: “The Corona virus has impacted the MWC event in Barcelona in many ways as losses have been accumulated by the Original Equipment Manufactures (OEMs) and GSM operators who are members of GSMA and have already paid for hotels, flights and accommodation and staff who have booked for the period.

“The impact on the Catalan economy is unquantifiable.

5G has been impacted in a qualitative way in that the brand awareness is nil due to the cancellation of the event. The biggest impact though is to the providers of trending technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 5G, who use the event that attract 100,000 attendees to promote the wide number of use cases that will drive the industry forward.”

EXPERTS SEE TECHNOLOGY AS FINANCIAL INCLUSION ENABLER the agricultural sector.

Another panelist, and Head of Information at EFInA, Dayo Odulate Ademola, while citing the 2018 data on financial inclusion that was released

by EFInA, said although, the number of adult Nigerians that were financially included was on the rise, the growth rate is not proportional to the growth of the country’s population, as about 36.6 per cent of adult Nigerians are still financially excluded. She said the fastest way to match financial inclusion growth with population growth, was to apply technology solutions, which according to her, have helped Nigeria to leapfrog her infrastructure challenges as a nation. “Technology has enabled us to have access to financial services in recent times, using technology as a bedrock,” Ademola said, adding that between 2016 and 2018, about 9.4 million Nigerians relied solely on informal financial services, but that technology has helped in reducing such gap.

NEWS

Konga Targets $10 Million Daily Turnover by 2024 Stories by Emma Okonji E-commerce giant, Konga has revealed that it is targeting a $10 million daily turnover by 2024.

To realise the target, Konga disclosed that the growth trajectory and overall operational efficiency backed by the consistent reduced losses it has witnessed, were critical factors in the projections.

Making known the brand’s ambitious plans was Konga Co-CEO (Online), Nick Imudia, who made the disclosure in Lagos recently, said: “Konga has put necessary machinery in place to achieve the goal.

Konga will work assiduously to reach a target of $5 million daily turnover by 2022 as preparation towards realising the $10 million set target by the end of 2024.

Since its entry into the Nigerian e-commerce market as one of the foremost pioneers in the sector, Konga has stood out; with its several revolutionary strides ultimately catapulting it to pole position. Today, Konga unarguably occupies leadership of the Nigerian e-commerce sector being largely responsible for restoring investor and customer confidence after a testy 2019 marred by allegations of fraud that trailed the activities of another major player.

According to Imudia: “Konga has used the last decade to lay a solidfoundation for e-commerce business in Nigeria and to build trustworthy relationships with customers and potential investors across the Nigerian business spectrum. With the high level of trust the brand has gained among shoppers

in and out of Nigeria, it is safe to say Konga is ready to scale big in the early part of this third decade. Therefore, we are targeting a $10 million daily turnover by 2024. We shall attain half of this target at least by 2022.To meet this target, we would be relying on the efficiency we have brought to bear on the business and the renewed confidence the Konga brand enjoys among critical stakeholders.

“There is no iota of doubt that Konga remains in prime position to attain this target, especially when one looks at the consistent growth the brand

has recorded in the past years.

Konga has grown over eight times since the business was acquired by the Zinox Group.

Secondly, we have consistently reduced our losses by nearly 70 per cent. Added to this is the addition of new and thriving business units such as Konga Travel, among others, all of which have enjoyed huge growth and massive acceptance by our rapidly expanding customer base.”

Konga, which remains the only e-commerce brand in Nigeria operating an omni-channel structure, currently has more than 30 stores

across Nigeria. With the aid of KongaPay, a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed payment platform, which recently added Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card-less withdrawal and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) features, Konga has captured more Nigerians in the e-commerce space, while lending an unprecedented level of ease and refinement for online shoppers across the e-commerce landscape.

Imudia also disclosed that Konga, which has won several awards in the e-commerce industry, made significant

strides in resolving the challenge of logistics through K-Xpress, its in-house logistics company, which has proven its capacity to handle hassle-free, last-mile and same-day delivery to the company’s teeming customers, while also resolving logistics thorny issues for external customers.

Imudia further revealed that Konga state-of-the-art regional warehousing facilities, which enables it to retain huge inventory in diverse states and locations, while fulfilling costumers’ orders in the shortest possible time, remained a critical success factor in its revenue ambitions.

COURTESY VISIT

L–R: Head, Shared Services Division, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Bola Adeeko; Senior Commercial Advisor, Danish Consulate to Nigeria, Sephora Ese Akako; Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Oscar Onyema; Danish Consul General to Nigeria, Per Christensen, and Minister Counsellor, Food and Agriculture, Danish Consulate, Poul Erikstrup, during a courtesy visit to the NSE in Lagos…recently

Pantami Receives Broadband Committee Report Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has received the draft report of the National Broadband Plan Committee 2020-2025.

The report was presented to him in his office by the Chairman of the Committee, who doubles as the CEO MainOne Broadband Company, Ms Funke Opeke.

The Committee is co-chaired

by Dr. Bashir Gwandu, former Executive Commissioner

Technical Services at NCC, while Ubale Maska, NCC’s Executive Commissioner Technical Services is the Secretary of the Committee.

In attendance at the presentation ceremony recently, were members of the Committee.

The Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of NCC, Prof.

Danbatta was also present at the event.

Pantami inaugurated the Committee on 16 December 2019 to develop a new National

Broadband Plan 2020-2025. The new National Broadband Plan will be a guiding template for further development of the telecommunications sector.

This followed the expiration of the 2013-2018 National Broadband Plan which was designed to achieve at least 30 percent broadband penetration in Nigeria. At the expiration of the old Plan, Nigeria surpassed the target to achieve 37.8 per cent broadband coverage.

At the inauguration of the

new National Broadband Plan (NBP) Committee, Pantami also urged the members to review the old plan, examine its challenges and proffer solutions. He equally urged the committee to undertake the assignment in the context of growing and emerging technologies.

The new broadband plan, being developed with the support and collaboration of the Government of the United Kingdom (UK), is expected to

increase broadband penetration to 70 per cent by 2025 in order to give concrete expression to Federal Government’s commitment to making Nigeria a truly digital economy.

On January 3, 2020, while engaging the Nigerian press at a media briefing and chat, Pantami promised that the report of the new NBP Committee would be ready in the first quarter of the year 2020, a target that was achieved by the NBP Committee.

FG Inaugurates Presidential Artisanal Mining Development Initiative Kasim Sumaina in Abuja Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT)

The federal government has disclosed that it has inaugurated its Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI) in Yauri Local Government Area of Kebbi The initiative was done with the support of Government of Kebbi State as well as Central Bank of Nigeria and is part of an on-going process to formalise and integrate artisanal and small scale gold mining activities into the Nation’s legal, economic and institutional framework.

The commencement of PAGMI Biometric Exercise in Kebbi State was for the Registra-

tion and Enrollment of first batch of Artisanal Miners that would benefit in the Program. It is an artisanal support program for miners of gold in Nigeria with Kebbi and Osun States serving as pilot states.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, who doubles as PAGMI Vice Chairman, said President Muhammadu Buhari was intensifying efforts to build the capacity of the artisanal miners to enable them contribute positively, legally and safely to the economy of the country.

PAGMI according to him is, “part of government efforts to

support the artisanal miners across the nation and eliminate illegality so that the teeming youth who are interested in mining would be supported and do their business properly, legitimately and with maximum support from the federal government.”

He urged those that would be registered to be good ambassadors of the State and make proper use of whatever assistance would come their way.

In his keynote address, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr.Olamilekan Adegbite, who was represented at the event by the Director, Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM), Mr. Patrick Ojeka,

stressed that the initiative, apart from empowering the artisanal and small scale miners, would encourage and promote Nigerian processing and value addition industries.

According to him, “Through this initiative, we hope to solve the issue of disaggregation through establishment of cooperatives, improve productivity through capacity building and the use of advanced equipment to improve standard and quality of output.”

Adegbite, who was quoted to have said in a statement released by the ministry in Abuja, stated that the federal government would establish buying centres

with the CBN as off-taker and also integrate middlemen into the system, which he believed would lead to higher profitability for artisanal miners.

He noted that the federal government was in the process of building centralised processing centres with capabilities to produce minerals and enhance beneficiation within the country, leading to reduction in taxes as incentives.

He however emphasised that the success of the initiative would only be possible through continuous cooperation, cohesion, commitment and the will of the stakeholders and people involved.

T H I S D AY ˾ FEBRUARY 27, 2020

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Boosting Business with Hybrid Cloud Emma Okonji writes about a recent collaboration between MainOne, Microsoft and HewlettPackard Enterprises and how it will enhance productivity in businesses

Pantami

A

t the 5th edition of Nerds Unite Forum, an annual event organised for technology professionals, which held in Lagos recently, MainOne announced its collaboration with Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard Enterprises (HPE), through its MDX-i Data Centre, to provide the first commercially managed cloud services that will further enhance productivity and scalability in business across Nigeria.

At the forum, MainOne unveiled the local offering of Microsoft’s Azure Stack to its customers as part of its ‘Managed Cloud Services’.

With the introduction of the local offering of Microsoft’s Azure Stack services, MDXi will be the first data centre in Nigeria to offer the Cloud service commercially to customers in Nigeria. This latest Cloud offering by MDXi into the Nigerian market, will reinforce its leadership positioning in the cloud market, enabling the company to offer its customer a broader suite of cloud solutions. The offerings range from managed cloud deployment on public and private cloud services in the MDXi data centre, to management of offshore deployment on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure, in addition to Express Route services that enable secure, reliable communications to cloud services offshore.

The new cloud services platform is expected to offer enterprises and businesses the choice of a scalable, flexible computing platform to enable them to migrate critical applications from legacy technology to modernized and more efficient technology without having to go offshore.

FG’s position on cloud services Pleased with the collaboration among MainOne, HPE and Microsoft to offer managed cloud services in Nigeria, the Director, General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Inuwa, who represented the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, commended MainOne and its partners for the feat achieved.

He said the vision of the federal government is to transform Nigeria into digital economy through the adoption of emerging technologies like hybrid cloud. According to him, to achieve the vision, NITDA identified four strategic pillars, in line with the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari that are designed to help diversify Nigeria’s economy from a resourcebased economy to a knowledge-based economy.

Inuwa said: “Information and communications technology (ICT) has taken over oil and gas in terms of its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), and has become the third largest contributor to Nigeria’s GDP. In order to support ICT growth in the country, the federal government went on to establish the Industrial Policy and Competitive Advisory Council to work with the private sector to come up with policy and strategy on how to industrialise Nigeria. This was followed by the issuance of Executive Orders 001 and

Opeke

003 to promote ease of doing business and to drive local content respectively.

“At NITDA, we have several initiatives that will support digital transformation in Nigeria. NITDA has developed the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) to enable Nigerian digital economy. To achieve digital economy, we need to generate more data because technology is evolving and autonomous cars will be powered by data.

Our daily business operations are driven by digital technology, and we need to embrace digital economy.”

“In order to position Nigeria for the digital economy drive, the federal government, in October 17, 2019, changed the nomenclature of the Ministry of Communications to Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, which is in line with the recent global trends on digital transformation, “Inuwa added.

Infrastructure According to NITDA’s DG, Nigeria would needs more technology infrastructure like broadband connectivity and cloud computing and data centre infrastructure that will enable digital transformation. MainOne must be commended for building data and broadband infrastructure for Nigeria and it has even gone beyond that to provide cloud computing service to Nigerians in partnership with Microsoft and HPE. “Cloud technology is driving global economies and global businesses like Google, Uber, Taxify, are using cloud infrastructure and data analytics to cut down on their physical infrastructure to the extent that Uber and Taxify are the biggest transportation company in the world without owning or investing in the purchase of fleets of cars.

In order to support ICT growth in the country, the federal government went on to establish the Industrial Policy and Competitive Advisory Council to work with the private sector to come up with policy and strategy on how to industrialise Nigeria

“At NITDA, we will continue to support our startups and encourage them to develop solutions that will drive digital transformation.

We need ecosystem of technology startups that will provide the necessary support for tech startups,” Inuwa said.

Industry views Business Group Director at Microsoft, Mr. Wale Olokodana, who spoke at the panel session of Nerds Unite 2020, said 17 per cent of CEOs today believed that their transformation would come through digital technology, driven by technology evolution like cloud computing, which Microsoft is introducing.

According to Olokodana, “Apart from CEOs, governments across boards are also thinking of how to harness the power of digital technology.

The recent change in the nomenclature of the Ministry of Communications to Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, is a pointer to the fact that the federal government, including state governments, are looking for new ways to harness the power of technology.

Last year, NITDA released a cloud policy to ensure that public sector institutions can responsibly leverage the cloud, with support from local providers.

“In Nigeria, we have a lot of data sitting idle and we need cloud technology to maximize the potential of data and data analytics.

Recent research has showed that every company is using various levels of cloud computing services offered by the private sector. The new trend is the major tilt by organisations towards using the cloud services to drive innovations in their organisations.

They are not only looking at when to use the cloud technology, but they are also looking at the benefits of cloud computing, which is becoming very obvious.”

“So government is supporting cloud technology, hence it is coming up with policies to support cloud adoption, the CEOs are beginning to see the importance of adopting cloud technology and Africa is rising to harness the benefits of cloud computing. In order to offer customers the best of technologies, Microsoft is investing in cloud computing services by building data centres in Africa,” Olokodana added.

He, however, said there were challenges and huddles to cross in achieving digital transformation, but stressed with the right technology as cloud computing, organisations could quickly overcome the huddles and turn challenges opportunities.

“One of the challenges is about data sovereignty where organisations are skeptical about where their data seats and who takes charge of such data.

“The strategy to achieve digital transformation is hybrid cloud which MainOne is introducing in collaboration with Microsoft and HPE. Hybrid cloud is a solution that puts the customers first and allow them to make better decision to digitally transform their organisations. Our hybrid computing solution will provide the first managed cloud services

in the country. We are providing Azure Stack Hub and Azure Express Route in a system that is engineered by HPE and we are providing customers with the same cloud computing system environment where the Microsoft Azure is seated in the MainOne MDX-i Data Centre and commercially available to everyone. It is a public cloud service that allows customers to be future ready, which is trusted and hybrid by design,” Olokodana added.

Speaking about cloud management, the CEO, HPE Operated by Selectium, Mr. Ernest Sales, said the technology of cloud management would remain on the rise and that more people would be connected to Infrastructure as a Service.

He said cloud adoption was equally growing globally and commended MainOne for investing in cloud computing and for collaborating with Microsoft and HPE to provide cloud services that are hybrid designed. Cloud according to him, remained the future technology that global economies are currently embracing.

Speaking on Nigeria’s readiness to embrace digital transformation during a panel session at the Nerds Unite 2020 event, the CEO, Verve International, Mr. Mike Ogbalu, said: “Nigerian cannot talk about digital transformation with adequate cloud service offerings because cloud computing is not only an alternative, but a sure way to achieving digital transformation.”

Effective collaboration Stressing the need for effective collaboration in business, while addressing the key factor in the collaboration between Microsoft, HPE and MainOne, Olokodana said: “MainOne is known for its reputable MDX-i Data Centre in Nigeria and HPE has remained a global hardware provider of high repute. MainOne has invested huge sum of money to build a world-class data centre, providing connectivity services to customers. Such collaboration will increase the benefits of using Azure Stack Hub, which is is a portfolio of products that extend Azure services and capabilities to business environment of choice—from the datacentre to edge locations and remote offices. The portfolio enables hybrid and edge computing applications to be built, deployed, and run consistently across location boundaries, providing choice and flexibility to address business diverse workloads. The Azure Stack Hub can provide connectivity without the use of internet.

Regulation Allaying fears that regulation may stifle emerging technologies like cloud computing, the Director General of NITDA said: “Our regulation is built around governmental regulation that is not designed to stifle technology growth and innovation, but rather to globally unlock opportunities and to achieve our mission of building a country of digital innovation and entrepreneurship that will be used to create economic prosperity.Our regulation is an enabler to help industry players to scale up their businesses.”

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Nwosu: Digitalisation Will Enhance Transformation The Chief Executive Officer, Secured Records Management Solutions, Dr. Sam Nwosu, in this interview spoke about the importance of digitalisation to organisations. Emma Okonji brings the excerpts:

E

can produce greater results.

lectronic Records Management (ERM) solution is making in-roads at a time when the federal government is in search of technology solutions that will drive its digital transformation agenda. How will the ERM solution assist government in achieving its digital transformation goals?

ERM serves as the first step in achieving a successful digital transformation agenda.

ERM is a viable solution that enhances efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery which is the sole aim of digital agenda of the government. This solution manages records electronically by automatically capturing document metadata, identifying records, categorising document, facilitating the retrieval of such document, and creating effective workflow thereby reducing turnaround time.

Is only when data has been digitised that such records can be retrieved at anytime and anywhere; this is what ERM solution facilitates. We can conclusively say that ERM is the pillar for digital transformation and to digitally transform, we digitize, organize content, automate processes, streamline processes, and transform processes.

There is a recent directive from the federal government that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government must be digitally compliant.

How will ERM solution help government in achieving its digital goals?

Information and communication technologies have revolutionized our world by introducing distinct technology-enabled services in every sphere of our life, one of such technology-enabled services is ERM. which enhances business flow in an efficient environment. The first stage to digitalisation is the conversion of paper records into digital imagery. This process involves scanning, indexing, classification, and the use of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) as a search engine. This is followed by the deployment of electronic document management system (EDMS) or electronic content management (ECN) to enable retrieval of electronic records and conversion of manual activities into workflows automation. With ERM platform solution, physical records, manual processes, and work flows are converted to digital form.

We can indeed say ERM platform is the bedrock of achieving digital transformation goal of the Federal government.

Effective digitisation that will enable people work from anywhere outside their ofďŹ ce space, is a key feature of the ERM solution. What are some of the beneďŹ ts of digitisation to organisations and the Nigerian economy?

At Secured Records, we provide end-to-end records management solution. With digitisation, paper documents are converted to digital form to ensure easy access to information, keeps, stores, and secures information in its natural context. Also by digitising records, the risk of loss of records is lower and this allows for business continuity in the case of a disaster. The cost of keeping physical records is drastically reduced with the use of ERM solution. In addition to enhancing operational efficiency and achieving effectiveness in services delivery, ERM platform promotes collaboration and synergy among inter-agencies, which invariably helps to fight corruption.

The Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, few months ago, launched Electronic Records Management (ERM) platform, which is a product of Secured Records Management Solutions Ltd (SRMS). How will the solution help the ministry in electronic tracking of mails and letters?

The Ministry of Finance had the issue of inability to track incoming and outgoing mails, which resulted in long turnaround time for processing mails. The primary purpose of ERM is to manage electronic information

E-governance is key to national development and government is keen at enforcing e-governance. What role can the ERM solution play in helping government to achieve its e-governance initiative?

E- Governance is the application of information and communication technology for delivery government services. E- governance cannot be actualized where the data and records exchange between government and individual, government and businesses, government and government has not been fully digitized. ERM is needed for the full integration of this data from it raw physical form to digital form and the creation of workflow for easy access, quick service delivery, and accountability.

Nwosu

within an organisation’s workflow, this solution therefore automates incoming and outgoing mails, provides real time tracking, report of the current location of documents in the service of the clients via email, and the solution goes further by filing such documents in a central document repository/library. Mail tracking triggers a process flow of mails within the Ministry in a secured access control system. The mail tracking solution shows mail activities on the dashboard such as notification, first open alert, and daily statistics reports.

The ERM platform was borne out of the digital transformation initiative by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning. On assumption of office, it was obvious that most processes in the ministry were paper-based, making it difficult to work from anywhere, track mails without physical presence, not to talk of the inefficiency and long turnaround time in searching for mails. Hence, the need to digitize documents (for long term preservation), automate mails processing (for easy mail/ document tracking), automate most approval processes and ensure that these resources are accessible from anywhere through a secured tunnel. With the implementation of this system, it is now easy to track mails the same way you would track a parcel that was sent through DHL and other automated courier companies. The system was built as an improvement to the manual process, ensuring that they don’t miss any mail by providing full-text and metadata search capabilities using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology on documents, providing Email/SMS alerts and notifications for tasks that are on the queue, setting priorities on each task ensuring that due dates are adhered to, providing a mail tracking system through which correspondences can be tracked.

The benefits to the ministry are increased responsiveness, tracking and accountability, unlimited document storage, data security, ease of access and use, and easiest document retrieval method What other service do you render with your ERM aside mails tracking and what is the economic value of the solution to organisations?

Aside mail tracking, ERM manages documents electronically using a secured access mechanism and control while maintaining the document context. Also the solution preserves records using metadata to prevent loss of records as a usual occurrence most

organizations, by tagging records with custom attributes for easy identification as provided by each organization – this would further aid the easy retrieval of such record. Furthermore ERM, aids efficient workflow activities within organisations. Every organisation aim to be efficient in service delivery and to reduce or totally eradicate the tendencies of losing records or data. Our solution is a safety net that secures data of organisations, enabling organizations to work from anywhere and at any time, which reduces turnaround time, create efficiency, enhances productivity, and aid business continuity.

As information technology consultant, how will you advise government on the adoption of new technology solutions, given the fact that people are not quick to adopt emerging technologies for the fear of job loss?

Knowledge is a powerful tool and continuous technological education is needed.

The government should as a first move, educate the people on the new solutions and on how they can integrate this new technology to their work for efficiency and greater productivity. The government should make investment in acquiring necessary tools such as laptops, desktops, and internet access. In addition to continuous education in new technology, government should promulgate a policy that all inter and intra agency communications in the civil service be via a platform like ERM. The federal government changed the name of the former Ministry of Communications to Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. What is your view about this change in nomenclature and how will it help in driving Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda?

The name change is important as it aligns with the objectives of e-government master plan to digitalize all government functionalities to achieve transparency, drive cost effectiveness, and join the World’s best practices as we enter the digital economy.

The change of name is in tandem with the government’s resolve to achieving digital transformation across MDAs and parastatals and underscores the importance of the Ministry in helping to drive transparency in its operations. The name change is germane because it is a reflection of an entity identity, the name of anything, gives specification to such a thing. We can say the change of nomenclature is a step in the right direction, which when aligned with the ultimate aim

Data gathering and utilization are key to national development. How will ERM help in data storage, security, and retrieving of stored data?

Records used for regulatory oversights, public policy formulation, and accountability tracking need to be retained and managed for ease of accessibility. ERM platform is secured with two-factor authentication process, rugged; and scalable. It ensures that these captured data are stored in a safe and accessible manner. The data can be stored on premise, cloud, or hybrid, depending on customer need and preference.

As part of record management for electronic records, each organization determines where and how they want the data to be stored.

This decision is based on the likelihood of accessing those records regularly and the overall cost in maintaining the data.

Data hackers are becoming more sophisticated in data and website hacking for personal gains. How secured are your solutions in achieving zero downtime in organizational operations?

We are not ignorant of the activities of hackers, our solutions are built to be fault tolerant and distributed across servers which are located in multiple regions to foster load balancing. In occurrence of any hack there is an automatic diversion of data and the compromised system is cut off from the network until rectified. Also, our solution uses multiple clustered database on the backend thereby preventing data loss, this help to achieve zero downtime of the nearest possible form.

For the public sector, we have in partnership with Galaxy Backbone architected a robust infrastructure which only permits access by authenticating through a VPN for network security. We have also implemented a 2-factor authentication which authenticates using OTP (on-time password). All communication between server and web client are encrypted using an RSA encryption technology, this is to avoid attacks from middleware.

Why did you choose to work with Galaxy Backbone, a government parastatal that is driving connectivity in public service?

Galaxy Backbone Limited is the National Service Centre of the government and the only institute certified Tier 3 data center within Nigeria Public Sector. It is a company saddled with the responsibility of providing Wide Area Network (WAN) and Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) connecting all government entities so it seems right to collaborate with them in the implementation of this project for easy integration to the existing network and since we intend to implement ERM solutions across ministries when given the opportunity.Galaxy Backbone also has a high-speed fiber connectivity to all Ministries Departments and Agencies in the public sector, creating a high-speed connection to the ERM platform.

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Ě“

Minister Urges Unity Researchers Develop App to Address Schools to Participate in Communal Clashes Robotics Competition Stories by Emma Okonji

The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has directed all the 104 Unity Schools in the country to participate in the First Lego League (FLL) national robotics championship competition.

This, he said, would get them prepared for the digital future that is driving global economies.

The minister who spoke through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Sonny Echono, gave the directive, following the release of the result of the 2020 robotics competition.

FLL was brought to Nigeria

by Coderina Education and Technology Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation and supported by SAP. Now in its sixth edition in the country, the 2020 competition themed: “City Shaper� was organised by Coderina in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) with support from SAP, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Irish Aid and the Baze University in Abuja.

The minister said the decision to allow all Unity Schools participate in the robotics competition, was to strengthen critical and computational thinking among students.

Children aged 9 to 18 years numbering about 1000 and 50 teachers drawn from 60 schools, participated at this year’s national championship, where

Metra 101 Team, an all girls team from Federal Government Girls College (FGGC) in Ikot Obio Itong, Akwa Ibom State, emerged overall champion.

Other winners include: Robot Design that came second place; Tech Gears X; FGGC, Bauchi; FGGC, Kabba; Airol Unilag; Bred Hub; Glisten School and Vivian Fowler School.

Metra 101 Team scooped the top position by embodying the program’s Core Values of teamwork and mutual respect while achieving excellence and innovation in both robot game and innovative project.

Pleased with the students’ performances, the Permanent Secretary said: “This marks a significant first step in our work in ensuring the infusion of Coding in our school curricula to strengthen critical and computational thinking as a key skillset that students in Secondary Education must have.

This will ensure that we broaden the base by making sure that the opportunities of this preparation are made possible today even though the manifestations of the series of efforts we are making now will come tomorrow. “Our efforts are in line with Ministerial Strategic Plans, the SDGs 4; which is provision of quality education for all. The world of today and that of the foreseeable future is one where individuals move between digital domains and offline reality with the use of technology to enable and manage life.�

Firm Launches USSD Service to Enhance Access to Finance Carbon, the Pan-African digital financial services company, has introduced a USSD service to its platform, making it even easier for individuals that have little or no access to smartphones or the internet, to access the financial services they need such as instant loans and easy-to-use payments.

This new service will allow existing Carbon customers to access instant loans and other payment solutions via USSD without requiring internet data. Prior to the launch of the USSD channel, Carbon’s financial services were only available to smartphone users via its Android and iOS apps.

Carbon is also launching simplified transaction processes for the new USSD functionality, that are faster and easier to use. Using the USSD code *1303#, customers on MTN and 9mobile will now be able to quickly transact, encouraging more financial inclusion and making access to financial services possible in the absence of internet connectivity.

Despite being practically forgotten in many parts of the world, USSD continues to provide an effective and efficient channel for delivering much-needed financial services across Africa. Mobile phone penetration continues to rise on the continent, providing a platform for much-needed

fintech innovation, but the high cost of internet data and the prevalence of feature phones means many are still excluded from the benefits of mainstream financial services, the company said in a statement.

The new USSD channel will deepen Carbon’s market reach, allowing it to deliver innovative financial services to a wider range of consumers and giving them easier, quicker access to the funds and services they require to fulfil their needs.

CEO and co-founder of Carbon, Chijioke Dozie, said: “One of the biggest selling points of USSD is that it works with or without the internet, which is reassuring in the African context where internet data is expensive and inconsistent. As fintech continues to develop across Africa, and ingrains itself into people’s everyday lives, it is important to invest and innovate across the ecosystem, ensuring that individuals are not excluded from the benefits of financial inclusion.�

Carbon’s new USSD channel will also enable airtime recharge and funds transfer for existing customers. Bill payments, loans and onboarding of new customers via USSD will be added to the platform very soon, Dozie said.

Nigerian researchers have developed software application solution for cattle rustling, designed to address the frequent deadly clashes between herders and host communities in the country.

According to them, the app was developed in such a way that if embraced and deployed, it might signal the dead end of repeated herders/farmers crises.

Code-named NimTrack, the app, developed by a group of researchers, when put to use, is capable of tracking animal movement.

The app was the product of a research group, The SmartAgro Research Cluster made up of

scientists from the Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB),Abeokuta, Ogun State, in collaboration with researchers from other Nigerian universities.

The app was presented at a one day sensitisation workshop, which held at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, with the theme: “Intelligent animal tracking and pastural management�, and was declared open by the Vice-Chancellor of FUNAAB, Prof Felix Salako, who was represented by Prof Biodun Badmus of the Department of Physics, FUNAAB. In a statement, the association, the SmartAgro Research

Cluster (SRC), disclosed the mobile app was developed to aid pastural management or animal husbandry. “Nimtrack was borne out of passsion to aid agriculture with ICT. The journey began six years ago when Prof Isah of the College of Animal Science was engaged in discussion on how the two can collaborate. “NimTrack is an intelligent animal tracking and management device. It tracks and also enable farmers to set geofence for the animals as they seek for pasture and if anyone of them go out of the range that was set, the farmer receive alert in this respect,� the statement said.

The Principal Investigator of the NimTrack, Dr Oluwasefunmi

Arogundade of the Department of Computer Science, FUNAAB, titled her lecture “Development of an Internet of Things based solution for animal tracking: Pastural management made easy.

She took participants who were mainly farmers numbering about 170 through the journey that led to the animal tracking device named NimTrack and how it serves as an improvement to some of the previous approaches in pastural management.

She said she wanted the farmers to experience what they have heard and read about tracking of animals and that is possible through the solution her team is presenting.

APP DEVELOPERS

L-R: Researchers on the NimTrack Project: Prof. Olubukola Isah, Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, Ogun State; Dr. Chika Yinka-Banjo, University of Lagos, Akoka; Prof. Ayodeji Oluwatope, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State; Dr. Adebayo Abayomi-Alli, FUNAAB, and Principal Investigator of the Project and FUNAAB Lecturer, Dr. Oluwasefunmi Arogundade, during a workshop at FUNAAB, in Abeokuta...recently

Pantami Denies Trending Fake News The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami has distanced himself from the trending fake news that has been erroneously credited to him.

In a statement signed by the Minister’s Spokesperson, Mrs. Uwa Suleiman, the Minister distanced himself from the news, describing it as fake.

According to the statement: The attention of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr

Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has been drawn to a misleading message purportedly authored by him, currently trending on social media. The fake news is circulating a message which implies that all devices are now connected to the Ministry’s systems and that effective tomorrow, it will commence the recording of phone calls and the monitoring of all social media platforms and fora.

The malicious message also further discourages citizens

from sharing any messages or videos with political or religious content as it is now officially a crime and could even lead to arrest.

The office of the Minister, initially ignored the message which has been in the public domain for some time, so as not to give undue attention to the originators but its spread, the efforts of well-meaning Nigerians to get clarity and the need to ensure that all Nigerians are properly informed, has necessitated

this disclaimer/public awareness. We are at a point in our Nation’s history where the focus is on digitalizing the Nigerian Economy for the greater good of all, and divisive messages such as these are mere distractions. It is on record that Pantami, as the then Director General of NITDA, initiated and passed the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR January 25th 2019) which solely exists to protect the privacy rights of every individual.

‘How MTN is Empowering Startups to Reduce Unemployment’ MTN, the largest telecoms operator in Nigeria is empowering startups and providing employment for them, in order to address the challenges of Nigerian entrepreneurs.

According to Trading Economics, the employment rate in Nigeria decreased to 77.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2018 from 76.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2018.

Correspondingly, the country’s unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 23.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2018 from 22.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2018. For Nigerian youths, the situation appears

to be tinged with bleakness as the unemployment rate in that demography skyrocketed to nearly 20 per cent in 2019, as opposed to 9.84 per cent six years ago. This calls for concern when compared to other African countries such as Tanzania (3.4 per cent in 2019), Togo (2.5 per cent), Malawi (7.1 per cent), Gambia (12.3 per cent) and Sierra Leone’s ( 8.5 per cent).

Experts recommend entrepreneurship as the foundation of any developed nation. The Registrar, Institute of Credit Administration of Nigeria (ICA), Professor Chris Onalo, has stated that the government must

increasingly work to improve the ease of doing business by developing and implementing more pro-market policies, and making the business environment more attractive to investors. This also includes startups.

With all its trappings and the psychological preparation required, entrepreneurship may still be one of the most feasible options for the country’s rapidly growing unemployed population. Alejandro Cremades, Author of The Art of Startup Fundraising and Serial Entrepreneur, shared in Forbes that generally, fundraising is

one of the biggest challenges of an entrepreneur. Recognising these variables, MTN created the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme, (YEDP), to aid young Nigerian entrepreneurs. It began in 2019, with a selection process that streamlined hundreds of applicants to 75 candidates.

These candidates were selected from a pool of recipients of the Foundation’s scholarship schemes - MTN Foundation Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme (MTNF STSS) Scheme and MTN Foundation Scholarship Scheme for Blind Students (MTNF SBS).

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Docemo: Lagos Outdoor Sector to Attract Investments The Managing Director, Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency, Adedamola Docemo, in this interview speaks about contending issues in the outdoor sector, especially as it relates to vacant board discount policy and proper engagement of stakeholders.

Raheem Akingbolu presents the excerpts:

Y

ou came in as LASAA MD at a time the state government is deepening the mega city project, what are you bringing to the table as the manager of the state’s out-of-home sub-sector to build on the city’s aesthetics?

It is important to understand that Lagos State occupies an important position in outdoor advertising practice in Nigeria, having been in the lead by accounting for about 70 per cent of advertising spend and revenue in 2017 alone. You will also agree with me that the state is playing a critical role by pioneering technological advancement in many fronts; from the establishment of an autonomous agency for the control and regulation of advertising to the introduction of several innovative platforms for the growing community of advertisers in Nigeria. Lagos State is the commercial nerve centre and economic capital of Nigeria. Therefore, the quality of our visual communication and signage systems is critical to defining the emerging status as a mega city. In order to properly align with the vision of the State viz; the project T.H.E.M.E.S (an acronym for the administration’s six strategic development agenda namely; Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology,, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism as well as Security and Governance), and specifically the Environment regeneration Agenda of His Excellency, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, we are fully prepared to bring considerable improvements to the quality of advertising practice and display structures in our environment in line with global best practice and smart city initiative of the government. My agenda is to find a critical balance between helping the state government to attract investment to the outdoor adverting subsector and improving aesthetics and city architecture of Lagos State.

In terms of the look and feel of the city, outdoor advertisement compliments the environment so much so that, it becomes a tourist attraction with the presence of iconic structures as you would find in other climes. So, to bring you back to the question, my plan is to align our agency’s policies and programmes with the administration’s agenda on one hand by ensuring that the environment is clean and devoid of visual blight by working with other relevant ministries and departments so as to create an enabling environment which is clean, safe and conducive for consistent growth and investment in the outdoor advertisement industry in Lagos State. As you may be aware, there are many outstanding projects which are currently being executed by the State. These include the recently commissioned LAGFERRY boats, Lagos Bus Services Limited, Lagos Rail Project and ongoing transformation in the transportation sector, urban renewal and other infrastructural development projects. As an agency of government saddled with the responsibility of controlling and regulating the operation of signages and advertsing billboards, we have identified the need to participate in the process of deepening the conversation around the SMART city concept where outdoor advertising plays a critical role.

Yes, since we assumed office in the last quarter of 2019 we have made giant strides to reposition LASAA. We are making deliberate efforts to forge a new level of collaboration with all stakeholders by creating a win-win situation where investment will grow, business will thrive and the economy will experience a quantum leap within the shortest time possible. Under my leadership in LASAA, we are introducing corporate governance to ensure transparency and accountability. In order to increase our contribution to the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR in the State, we must devise smarter ways of doing business, adopt a seamless operation through the use of ICT which will improve efficiency in the entire business process. In

experienced and capable professionals that we have at LASAA, and the support that we enjoy from His Excellency, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu, the agency will soon become one of the preferred places to work in Nigeria, as a whole.

Docemo

this dispensation, I expect practitioners and partners to conduct their businesses with a mindset of a smarter future. What do I mean by a smarter future? This is the future where we see billboards doing much more than just expressing a brand. I want to see super structures and iconic platforms that will be controlled from the remote location of our offices; and a smarter future where billboards will form part of the architecture of a smart city.

With considerable experience and my background in outdoor advertising technologies, I want to encourage investment in outdoor advertising where billboards will not only display brands but also carry out diverse

functionalities like collecting data, supporting intelligence for the industry on traffic count, audience measurement, as well as the security architecture. Internally, we are already implementing a process review and general upgrade of our information management system. The LASAA you will see under my watch will exhibit considerable improvement in operational efficiency, ease of doing business, automation and optimization of our revenue collection process while employing smarter ways to monitor advertising structures remotely for enforcing compliance. We have embarked on a transformational journey and I have the confidence that with a robust team of

Part of the handover notes I got was clear and explicit on the recent rate reduction the agency gave to members of outdoor advertising industry in Lagos State, that is, owners of billboard both OAAN and non-OAAN members. My stand is that, we will look at the vacant board discount policy and possibly fine-tune it for better clarity

During electioneering campaign, LASAA was always in the news for bad reasons, as agency that operates double standard in favour of the ruling party, how do you think this can be avoided as we move towards another election era?

I would like to state clearly that LASAA is a non-partisan institution. We do not take sides when it comes to political matters; we are neutral. It is unfortunate that some politicians, and of course, the general public have misconceived our operations as we do not operate double standards. What we are saying is that, we do not want our public walls defaced because LASAA spends a lot of resources to clean them up. We must play by the rules, otherwise our city will be defaced and suffer greatly after every election. Well, I am quite aware that during the last elections, LASAA tried in so many ways to create a level playing field for all political parties, but, unfortunately our political players often display flagrant disobedience to established norms. Going forward, we would ensure there is adequate engagement to ensure that political parties adhere to the guidelines released by the agency. I am quite aware that before the last elections, Mr. Governor demonstrated his willingness to participate in a fair process when his campaign organisation wrote formally to our agency to request for approval to deploy election campaign materials across the state.

This has always been our stance. I must also say to you that, I saw records of Mr. Bankole Wellington (Banky W) requesting for same approval from LASAA to deploy campaign materials for his legislative office campaign, and this was not denied likewise other political parties. The truth is that we all need to work together to change the narrative by aligning with the process so as to ensure that when laws and guidelines are established, we agree together that the guidelines are workable and we will go through the process together. When we do that, we will have a safer and orderly election process. So, we will guide against the pitfalls we had in the last election periods by also working closely with INEC and LASIEC to ensure that we have an itch-free election campaigns in Lagos State. Before we have the next election campaigns in 2023, the agency will organise a Town Hall meeting in conjunction with INEC/ LASIEC and with all registered political parties so that we can sign a memorandum of understanding on the need to register all political advertisement displays because the agency operates on enabling Laws.

We are also going to increase our designated locations across the state where only posters will be allowed, the truth is that even when we remove posters for the ruling party, we are called names by the opposition. As citizens and stakeholders of this state, we must have conversations on how to do it better. Furthermore, we will ensure that the public and political associations are well informed to comply with the law through the media via radio jingles, television and the newspapers. This way, no one will be seen pasting posters anyhow in Lagos and there will be enforcement of this Law. We will ensure that all political are made to pay a certain amount to be used for removing all their posters at those designated points at the end of the election. You will recall that the Governor’s campaign organisation through the volunteers joined LASAA in cleaning up the city immediately after the last election. This is quite commendable.

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Docemo: Lagos Outdoor Sector to Attract Investments LASAA and OAAN are major stakeholders in the industry, but in Lagos, they are always at loggerheads, what should we expect from you?

Rather than say loggerheads I will choose to say poor engagement. During my tenure, I will ensure that there are quarterly meetings between LASAA and OAAN to strengthen and deepen relationship between both bodies. Few weeks ago, we met with the OAAN Executives who came on a courtesy visit and we had very constructive discussions and moving forward from that, we have set up the OAAN/ LASAA committee to ensure that we have regular parleys so that we can constantly discuss issues that affect the growth of the sector. Although both organisations have obligations that must be carried out mutually; we are ever willing to listen to their agitations or concerns. Sometimes it is not unusual to look at issues from our individual perspective but three things have now been fully established; and they are standards, innovation and debt management. These issues will be our focus in subsequent meetings.

The issue of vacant boards and rates has remained in the front burner for many years, with OAAN calling for rate reduction in view of vacant boards that litter the city, what is your stand?

Part of the handover notes I got was clear and explicit on the recent rate reduction the agency gave to members of outdoor advertising industry in Lagos State, that is, owners of billboard both OAAN and non-OAAN members.

My stand is that, we will look at the vacant board discount policy and possibly fine-tune it for better clarity. I am aware my predecessor gave discounts of varying degrees to outdoor advertising practitioners in the last two years, we are currently reviewing documents so as to give succor to all. In essence, LASAA is not out to kill any business; rather we want to support our investors by providing enabling environment.

Outdoor advertising business is not insulated from what is happening around the world; the business has experienced a bit of downturn.

Of course, Nigeria experienced some level of recession recently and this cascaded to every sector in the country. But, more importantly, the issue of debt and prompt payment for services rendered must be encouraged. Our agency will take the conversation further by engaging other sectoral bodies like AAAN, MIPAN and ADVAN and agree on a workable roadmap for moving the industry forward. On the issue of vacant boards, there are conversations going on at the moment. If a board is vacant, LASAA will play its role by ensuring that value is given back to the industry; value in the sense that, we will create a demand and supply system that will work for the industry. We are not denying the fact that we have our revenue objective, but we will ensure that our interest does not jeopardise

Docemo

the value derivable from the industry. So, we will have engagements with OAAN. By this, I mean, practitioners must also be ready to let go of some billboard structures that are not yielding dividends, rather than to continue to incur debts. They must be ready to embrace the future decisively, cut their losses by doing away with selfish business ideas. To achieve this, we must continue to engage and encourage outdoor advertising practitioners to look at their business model, look at their indebtedness to our agency and take strategic business decisions to move my business forward. I can assure you that even though we gave some discount on our rates in the last one or two years, we will look at vacant board discount issue again and we will establish a standard process for claiming discounts on such boards in future.

company, but in answering the question properly, it is important that we find more information about the foreign company and what role they are here to play. The truth is that the last administration entered into an agreement with JCDecaux so as to attract foreign direct investment. There is no doubt that such foreign investment will drive growth by stimulating the economy, and local companies must be open to it and be ready to compete. While I agree that foreign investors must play within the ambit of the law, the state government must also be seen to have respect for contractual agreement. As local players, we need to step-up our game and be ready to compete with global operators. This can be achieved through mergers and acquisitions so as to produce a stronger, bigger and more formidable business operation.

There was an allegation against your predecessor that the agency allocated sites in juicy areas to a foreign agency under his watch, will you revisit the issue?

I am sure there was an ongoing discussion about it before I assumed office which must have been settled. I think there is a bit of misinformation out there about allocation of sites to a foreign

To many people out there, LASAA thinks more of revenue generation than growth of outdoor industry, what measure are you putting in place to change this perception?

The primary function of LASAA is to regulate and control outdoor advertising structures in the State so that signs are not haphazardly displayed, and when erected, they do not constitute dangers

to lives and properties. We also want to ensure that Light Emitting Diodes (LED) do not cause visual blights to members of the public. As we carry out our regulatory functions, we are expected on the other hand to generate revenue for the Government. The amount payable to Government is to cover lease of land and right of way, approval process as well as both capital and recurrent expenditure of the agency. This is the practice all over the world, and Lagos is not an exception. As part of our CSR initiative, LASAA engages in corporate philanthropy by means of sponsoring events we believe promote social causes like breast cancer, walk against domestic violence, sporting events etc. by giving discounts or sometimes wave applicable fees completely for the display of advertising materials. We have some of these campaigns displaying at different locations in the state. This is part of how we give back to the community. It may interest you to know that for every approval, the agency gives a moratorium of between one and three months to develop the structure without making any payment. As regulators, we must always find a balance between regulation and revenue and I think it is important for practitioners to make our job easier by paying amount due based on approvals. The problems of debt are associated with permanent structures and as a responsible organ of government, we would like to resolve this permanently. That is why we are engaging all practitioners either directly or indirectly through OAAN to fulfil their obligations so as to avoid possible enforcement. Unlike permanent structures, approval for tactical or temporary advertising is given on PAY AS YOU GO basis. These days, outdoor advertising is highly dynamic; there is activation, experiential marketing, mobile advert etc. and we need to be both creative and innovative in order to survive the onslaught from both social and digital media. I feel that my coming will be a wake-up call to many practitioners who have refused to think about the future, think smarter and think better about their businesses. For us at LASAA, we are focused and determined to give the needed support for the growth of the sector, and I have no doubt in my mind that this is achievable with the cooperation of the members of the outdoor advertising industry and the public. Very soon, we will initiate an annual award night for practitioners wherein the best advertising practitioner in Lagos will be honoured based on certain criteria like the best innovative advertising structure, full payment of outstanding bills and compliance with rules and regulations. As I have mentioned earlier, there will be a quarterly parley and annual stakeholders’ meeting between the agency, OAAN and other relevant sectoral bodies in the industry. This, no doubt enhances cordial relationship, boost confidence, attract further investment, reposition the sector and grow the advertisement industry in Lagos State.

Nwosu: Digitalisation Will Enhance Transformation the first and second industrial revolution.

Technology in not intended to replace humans, but to upgrade human capacity on the use of technology to increase turnaround time, achieve cost effectiveness, and enhance productivity.

In reality, some jobs will be lost, but more jobs will certainly be created. As previously answered, there is urgent need to train and keep training the workforce and students on the emerging technologies. For technological solutions to run perfectly, humans need to control it and give it command to function.

For instance, automation helps take people off the field and into the control rooms, thereby allowing them to work from anywhere in a safe and secured environment.

Training and empowerment of public service workers with the right technology skill are key factors for economic growth of any nation. What is your take on this?

Technology is the key driver of economic growth in many countries, the government wants to leverage technology to foster economic growth but as we know technology cannot grow in isolation for it to impact the economy, the people as the end operators of this technological solutions need to be trained. The training should not be one-off, rather continuous. Government workers as well as workers in private sectors should be trained and retrained to leverage technology to work from anywhere and anytime.

Government is beginning to realize the need for digital operations versus analogue operations. What exactly is government loosing if it continues in manual operations that are analogue in nature?

Good question. Continued use of manual process would result to lots of data loss, and continued increase in cost of governance resulting from cost of paper, ink, courier services. We are in the world where data is everything, developed countries use these data to analyse, predict, and respond to ever changing demand of its citizens. There is an urgent need to move with technological

Nwosu

trend to prevent massive data setback in the future, and to join the digital economy revolution to drastically enhance productivity, achieve operational efficiency, and reduce the cost of governance There is a general belief that emerging technologies will bring about huge job loss despite the ability to create digital jobs. How will you advise government on the best way forward?

This same argument was common during

You have worked as the MD/Country Director for Nokia Nigeria before resigning your job to set up Secured Records Management Solutions Ltd. What must have informed your decision and how has the transformation journey been so far?

After over 25 years in telecom, I was seeking to offer a solution that could be ‘industry agnostic’ – meaning, a solution that can be embraced by any industry. At Nokia, we never subscribed for cheque books because there was no need for it as most processes, including payments, are fully automated.

I was intrigued by such discipline and I wanted to integrate workflow automation

into the traditional document management system to achieve a one-stop shop solution.

In addition to helping private sector achieve their digital transformation strategy, I wanted to make a contribution towards a near-paperless public sector, where mails can be tracked electronically; paper documents are converted to electronic imagery; and can be retrieved from anywhere and anytime in a secured environment without any compromise. Overall, the journey has been fulfilling and timely. While we push the adoption of technology in the public sector, we provide end-to-end document management solution, which includes the provision of physical document storage to achieve compliance with document retention policy of the federal government. We offer confidential, secure fire-proof and flood-proof, climate-controlled storage facility, where physical documents are systematically and methodically stored in archival boxes and placed on storage racks or cabinets with external labels, bar-codes for easy identification and retrieval. Using modern computer inventory system, we keep meticulous records of all boxes or files in storage, as well as items retrieved, delivered or returned while keeping track of where everything is for you. Our complete pickup and delivery service ensure that we can pick-up or deliver your archival documents to you anywhere in the country.

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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2020 •T H I S D AY

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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IMAGES

President Muhammadu Buhari and Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) acknoledging cheers from the crowd during a tour of the Ondo Linyl lndustrial Hub, Ore, Ondo State...recently

L-R: Jumia Nigeria Chairwoman and Head of Institutional Affairs, Jumia Group, Mrs Juliet Anammah; Professor Salahu Junaid of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Executive Vice Chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta; Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami); DG, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi; and MD/CEO Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSAT), Dr. Abimbola Alale at the inauguration of the committee for the expert review of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy in Abuja...recently

L-R; Eburu of Ibadan, Professor (Oba) Adekunle Okunoye; the Olobaagun of Obagun, Oba Adebisi Okunade and State Governor, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, during an interactive session with the Governor, tagged:Apero, for Ifelodun; Boripe; Odo Otin and Ila Federal Constituencies, at Akinorun Government High School, Ikirun, Osun State...recently

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͰͮ

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L-R: Registrar/Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr Adedeji Ajadi, 2nd Vice President, CIS, Mr Oluwole Adeosun, former Secretary General, Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, President/Chairman of Council, CIS, Mr Adedapo Adekoje, and 1st Vice President, CIS, Mr Olatunde Amolegbe, during courtesy visit of CIS‘ Principal Officers to Anyaoku in Lagos...recently

L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso; former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; Deputy Governor of Lagos State/ Representative of the Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and Convener/ Managing Director, Freedom Online, Mr. Gabriel Akinadewo, during the Freedom Online 3rd Annual Lecture, entitled, Nigeria: Foundation, Fundamentals, Future, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos..recently

.L-R: Programme Coordinator, African Centre for Leadership,Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Mr. Ochenna Arisukwu; Acting Executive Director, Centre LSD, Mr. Monday Osasha and Progamme Coordinator, Centre LSD, Mrs. Victoria Oseyande, during the press conference on the success performance of Centre LSD in Nigeria for the past ten years in Abuja...recently….

ENOCK REUBEN

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (fifth from right); Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Deaconess Grace Isu-Gekpe (fourth right); DG, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Mr. Folorunsho Coker (fifth from left); Special Assistant I to the President attached to the Minister, Mr. Segun Adeyemi (third from right); Special Assistant II to the President attached to the Minister, Mr. Williams Adeleye (fourth left) and other management staff of the NTDC, when the Minister paid a working visit to the Corporation in Abuja...recently

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L-R: Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos, Prof. (Mrs.) Glory Ajayi; Prof. (Mrs.) Cecilia Igwilo of the University of Lagos; Vice President, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi; Chairman, Education Summit Committee of the Academy, Dr. Lolu Ojo; Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluyemisi Bamiro and Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Moses Akanmu,at the formal inauguration of the Organizing Committee for the forthcoming Education Summit of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, held in Lagos....recently

L-R: Head, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered Nigeria, Ibiyemi Okuneye; Group Treasurer, Olam International Singapore, Amit Kansal; Treasurer, IHS Towers Nigeria, Adenike Emiloju and Acting Head, Global Banking Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Sola Bakare at the annual Global Trade Review (GTR) West Africa Conference 2020 in Lagos...recently

L-R; Executive Director, African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology (AFRIGIST), Dr Adewale Akingbade; Minister of State for the Ministry og Works & Housing , Engr. Abubakar Aliyu; and Hon. Minister of Works & Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola,SAN; during a visit to the Hon. Minister’s Office by AFRIGIST team in Abuja...recently

L-R: Senior Economist, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Wilson Erumebor; Head, Think Tank Operations NESG, Titilope Oni; Founder, Flying Dotors Nigeria, Dr. Ola Brown; Special Adviser to the Lagos State Government on SDGS and Investments, Mrs. Solape Hammond; and Head, Corporate Communications, NESG, Mr. Yinka Iyinolakan, at the NESG 2020 Social Media Week tagged ‘’Nigeria 2050: Shifting gears in Lagos...recently ETOP UKUTT Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun (left) and the State commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Funmi Efuwape (right), consoling Mrs Selimot Tiamiyu (centre), the mother of Kazeem Tiamiyu, the slain Remo Stars footballer, in Sagamu...recently

R-L; Former Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko; Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, and Dr Abass Mimiko. at the funeral ceremony of Mama Muinat Mosekonla Mimiko in Ondo...recently

L-R: Pastor In-Charge Region 11, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (Blessed Family), Pastor Charles Kpandei; Main Speaker, Dr. Biodun Adedipe; Pastor In-Charge Lagos Province 20, RCCG, Lekki, Pastor Tunde Netufo; SME Specialist, Panelist Dr Chidi Okpaluba, at the RCCG Christ The Lord Parish’s Economic Summit held in Lagos...recently ETOP UKUTT

T H I S D AY ˾ ,FEBRUARY 27, 2020

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

ÜÙßÚ ÏËÞßÜÏÝ ÎÓÞÙÜ˝ ÒÓÏ×ÏÖÓÏ äÏÙÌÓ ×ËÓÖ chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 08038901925

Revamping Borno’s Health Sector after Boko Haram Devastation With about 230 primary healthcare facilities destroyed, as well as 80 secondary health facilities vandalised by the Boko Haram sect, Michael Olugbode writes that like the Phoenix, the state has begun to rise from the ashes by revamping its health sector

T

he health sector is perhaps one of the most affected institutions by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east. At least, 230 primary healthcare facilities were destroyed and not less than 80 secondary health facilities either totally destroyed or vandalised at the peak of the decade old crisis.

Some health workers were killed and many more displaced. It was a sad story and Borno health sector was left at the precipice in need of major surgery.

The last administration of Kashim Shettima did see the decadence, then started with the needed treatment, but he was just like the Moses preparing the Israelites for the promised land.

There was however the need for Joshua to take the people into the promised land.

The present Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara was given the task of ‘the Joshua’ and he appears to have started well from what has been seen in the last six months.

He immediately settled down to drive that process and so far a lot has been done to consolidating the gains of previous administration. He has focused largely on primary healthcare, building about 20 PHC facilities from the scratch, some of them are ready for commissioning, while others are near completion.

All these are meant to boost the healthcare of the state generally and more important, work in tandem with the federal government’s policy on PHCs per political ward.

The present administration said it has invested over N150 million into procurement of drugs and consumables, and keep its Drug Revolving Scheme running. This is in spite of the millions spent to buy drugs for the numerous IDPs camps in the state.

Over N150 million has been spent in the last six months on buying equipment for the hospitals in other to ensure seamless healthcare services.

A lot of hospitals and agencies in charge of health care been financed and never deprived of their monthly overhead which ensured the facilities are running.

The present administration has hugely invested in human resources, many health workers trained in various fields of health, particularly in those areas the state is facing challenges. There has also been training in the areas of psycho-social support because of the peculiarity of the problem confronting the state, with a lot of health workers have been trained on how to identify those in need of psychosocial help, and how to initiate line of management and to be able to refer where necessary.

Training has also been provided to health workers in the areas of sexual/gender violence, with the sexual and reproductive health center stationed at the Umaru Shehu Hospital functional for training of staff, particularly those in the primary health facilities.

The administration said it has employed a number of staff and has been able to increase the total number of doctors including medical officers and consultants.

The state governor said the administration has earlier sent a number of indigenes to Sudan to train as doctors, with over 50 already returned as certified doctors. “The government paid their bench fees to go for revision and sit for the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council Examination which is the prerequisite for them to get licensed and practice in Nigeria after qualifying from abroad.

A lot of them have written their exams and over half have passed.

“In term of drugs, the government has placed orders for essential drugs and equipment to

Umara

promote maternal and new child health, particularly ante-natal care attendance and increase hospital delivery.

“We have spent about N150 million on the procurement of drugs so far to boost the drug revolving fund. This is aside what has been spent in providing drugs for IDPs camps. In term of equipment, the state said it has spent over N200 million,” he said.

Insurgency has had a lot of devastating effects on healthcare in Borno. Just before the insurgency, the government said it has realised the importance of healthcare delivery and that it had deliberately put up a policy which is being pursued vigorously to see that health services are repositioned. They are upgraded, equipped and has been provided with staff and drugs to ensure their functionalities.

While these were being done, insurgency came up; destroyed 230 PHCs and over 80 secondary health facilities either completely destroyed or vandalised. And what has become very prominent is the fact that Borno State at a point was completely cut off the country, which means that access to healthcare facilities outside the state became a big challenge and awaken the consciousness of government to say that we need to provide for our people better than we are doing.

As at today, a lot of developments have been witnessed, particularly in the health sector and that has been driven by the fact that the state government adopted a slogan saying we are

going to rebuild better and not just rebuilding.

So whenever the facilities are being destroyed, we have looked at it and government has rebuilt better in the sense that it expanded and suitable with modern equipment provides the best of services.

Borno State has one of the best renal diagnostic center in Nigeria, where patients come from all over for services and some of the equipment are one of the best you can find within the shores of Nigeria.

Renal diseases have come out to be one of the major challenges to the people of Borno State and with the coming on board of the kidney dialysis center, government has invested a lot, on consumables and drugs, government has made it free of charge for patients, as government will pay for their post dialysis drugs and investigation.

Looking at the whole era of insurgency, you will realize that in term of infrastructure and equipment, the government has started looking inward in rebuilding the health sector through development of resources, training, recruitment of health workers and more.

That was part of the reason a number of the people have been sent abroad for training, while those in schools across Nigeria are provided with scholarships. Government has also ensured increased intake of students in its faculty of medicine and nursing at the State University with a new state of the art Borno State University Teaching Hospital to be able to mop up and

provide more opportunities for our indigenes.

These primary healthcare facilities are in political wards previously without PHCs. Some only had health posts which were destroyed due to insurgency, and instead of rebuilding back the health post, government decided to rebuild health facilities, each of which has at least 30 beds for admission for patients, a full course of maternal and ante-natal services spread widely across the state and just last month, the governor went to Dalori village where one of the prototype was commissioned, some of them you find in Pulka, Southern Born and Northern Borno.

The people of Borno should be optimistic about healthcare delivery services because the government is passionate about it. The government is interested in bringing these services closer to the grassroots. One of the main focus of government in 2020 is to decentralise specialised care from the state capital by establishing or upgrading the general hospitals in Biu and Monguno to the status of specialist hospitals so that most of the specialist services can be accessed in those regional areas.

The state said before the end of this administration, it wants to become the medical hub of Nigeria.

Having survived the intrusion of insurgency, Borno State health service is on the match to greatness, but the question is, can it really be the medical hub of Nigeria considering the devastation it has gone through?

T H I S D AY ˾ ,FEBRUARY 27, 2020

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NEWS

Amidst Disease Outbreak, Group Launches Travel Medicine Ayodeji Ake As Nigeria continues to battle Lassa fever outbreak, with Covid-19 lurking around the corner, healthcare stakeholders have launched the Nigerian Society of Travel Medicine (NSTM), designed to seek information, consultation, medication and sometimes vaccinations for intended travellers.

Speaking recently at the Official Launch of NSTM in Lagos recently, NSTM President, Dr. Yetunde Fadipe, noted that the initiation was projected at promoting travel medicine across countries, including Nigeria.

She said: “One of the main objectives of this launch is to increase awareness about travel medicine generally and more specifically, the awareness about the society as well as her activities.

“We are here today to celebrate the birth of NSTM, and to introduce the society to the Nigerian as well as the

international community.

“NSTM was actually conceptualised about two years ago at the South African Travel Medicine Course in May, 2018 out of the need to promote and develop travel medicine in other countries across Africa.

“However, the discussions towards this idea continued until November, 2018 when five Nigerians with passion, great interest and varied experiences in travel medicine came together to formally start the society with a lot of support from some other groups.

“This initial group rapidly expanded to the nine individuals who represent the pioneer members and the trustees of NSTM. The society was thus born and now, a year and three months on from that very first Skype meeting and here we are.

“Today, the society has grown to over 70 members and this number is increasing daily. We focused on developing travel medicine in Nigeria. With plans

in place to achieve this, we are already working hard towards our goals”.

In her remarks, the First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, represented by Dr. Victoria Odusipe, lauded the initiative, saying it came at the right time when countries were strategising on measures against disease outbreaks.

“This launch is particularly auspicious coming at a time when countries of the world are strategising and putting measures in place to protect their people against outbreak of contagious diseases.

“The NSTM was founded in November 2018 and it is a

society populated by Doctors, Pharmacists, Nurses and other professionals who are involved in promotion, development and implementation of Travel Medicine in Nigeria.

“The society, I have been reliably informed, is committed to promotion and sensitisation of Travel Medicine across the country, and it fosters research as well as collaboration between practitioners and educational programming to serve as a guide and advocate for the practice of Travel Medicine in Nigeria with the health, safety and well-being of travelers before travel, during travel and post-travel being a key

priority” she said.

Also speaking in the same vein of timeliness, the Commissioner of Health, Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi, commended stakeholders on the launch of NSTM, which he said will aid in the course of fighting disease outbreak.

“I think this meeting came at the appropriate time. In the last few weeks, we have been spending a lot of energy to secure the borders against coronavirus.

“Travel medicine is quite a broad discipline. It governs the movement and the risks of moving people from one point to another to ensure

they are safe.

“Because we have a large number of people, I feel it’s important we have an initiative to make us understand where and how people have been able to move from one point to another and also to ensure Lagos is safe from diseases.

“We know that diseases like Covid 19, Ebola and others can shut down the economy of a country which we can’t afford to see. So we have to be at alert.

The international regulators should also work retarding the movement of pathogens without interfering in the movement of people,” he said.

Coca-Cola Champions Safe Birth in Lagos, Donates N267M to Hospital Martins Ifijeh As part of efforts to reduce maternal mortality and reduce deaths of newborns and children under five years of age by 2030, the Coca-Cola company has donated $742,000 (N267 million) to Alimosho General Hospital.

Through its programme, the Coca Cola Safe Birth Initiative, the company says it hopes to contribute its efforts towards reducing the poor maternal and child health indices in the country.

Speaking during the company’s visit to the hospital, the Minister of Health, represented by the Head of Department, Clinical Services, Yaba Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye said: “The Coca-Cola Safe Birth Initiative has been the front runner in the achievement of the third sustainable development goal (of wellbeing and health for all).

“This partnership has successfully built capacity across the country’s public health Institutions and today’s event marks the handover of another batch of medical deliverables to the General Hospital, Lagos.”

The Business Unit Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Director, Coca-Cola West Africa, Clem Ugorji, said, “The Safe Birth Initiative is a part of the company’s wellbeing program to support the efforts of the government in reducing the alarming numbers of women and newborns who die from birth-related complications every day.

“The initiative was born out of the company’s desire to ensure mums and babies come home alive as part of the company’s effort towards building sustainable communities where we live and work.”

The current figures for maternal, neonatal and under age five mortality are 576 per 100,000 live births, 37 per 1000 live births and 128 per 1000 live births respectively.

It is estimated that Nigeria accounts for 25 per percent of Africa’s neonatal mortalities and also estimated that about 80 per cent of these deaths are preventable.

Ugorji said: “In this regard, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) made plans in partnering with interested private sector firms and stakeholders in building capacity to tackle lack of healthcare services related deaths, and Coca-Cola whose belief is that “business is only as sustainable as the communities in which they operate” has keyed into partnership with the sustainable development goals office.

“This strategic partnership birthed the Coca-Cola Safe Birth Initiative which has received recommendations from the SDGs office and continues to contribute to the attainment of sustainable development goals.

“The Safe Birth Initiative is a multifaceted project aimed at addressing the fundamental issues leading to the high maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the county through its key intervention scheme.

“Rather than treating the symptoms, it had adopted a cure-the-disease approach.

The approach is focused on strengthening the capacity of public hospitals through the Equip, Train and Repair intervention scheme as well as creating awareness of safe pregnancy practices and effective care for newborn.”

L-R: National Assistant Secretary, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Prince Adedire; National Publicity Secretary, AMLSN, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi; and 2nd Vice National President, Felix Emenike, during the Induction and Investiture of Fellows of the West Africa Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science held in Lagos recently

NSIA-LUTH Cancer Centre Will Curb Medical Tourism, Says FG Martins Ifijeh The federal government has stated that the newly established Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (NSIA-LUTH) Cancer Centre is ready to address medical tourism on cancer treatment in Nigeria.

Speaking during the commissioning of the Oncology Training School and Administrative Building of the NSIA-LUTH Cancer Centre in Lagos recently, the Minister of state for Health, Senator Adeleke Mamora said the centre boasts of world class equipment and personnel; hence Nigerians living with cancer do

not need to travel abroad for treatment.

He said: “Any form of cancer can be managed here. It is relatively cheaper compared to facilities abroad. Nigerians who went abroad for treatment have started coming back home to us because you cannot get it any better than what we have here.”

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed said since the commissioning of the oncology centre in May last year by President Muhammadu Buhari, at least 80 patients get treatment daily, and that patients come not only from Nigeria, but other parts of Africa. She said with the establishment of the

centre’s oncology school, more health workers will be trained on management of cancer, as well as the usage of the state-of-the- art facility. She said: “The average cost of treatment of cancer in this centre is N900, 000. In Ghana, which is a next door neigbhour, it is $10, 000. In the US, it is around $15, 000 to $18,000. So this is very affordable.

“However, N900, 000 is till lot of money for many Nigerians, so what we are trying to do now is to have differential charges with foreigners coming for treatment, so that we can use the differential rates to subsidise for Nigerians seeking treatment in the centre.

“When the investment put into this establishment is recuperated,

NSIA will hand it over to the hospital management who will then manage it afterwards.”

The Managing Director, NSIA, Mr. Uchechi Orji said the agency had initially spent $10 million to establish the facility, and that it will spend another $2 million on the centre.

“We are investing in this because we want Nigerians living with cancer to be able to get accessible, affordable and quality healthcare,” he said.

The Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi said the oncology school will help in the training of oncology doctors so they can better provide services to Nigerians who require cancer treatment.

Non-InvasiveTreatmentWillAddressFibroidsinNigerianWomen,SaysAjayi Martins Ifijeh The Managing Director, Nordica Fertility Centre, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi has stated that the latest technology in the treatment of fibroids, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) will better address fibroids in women.

He said the world was moving from outright surgical removal of fibroids, to minimally invasive surgeries (also known as laparoscopic surgeries), and that the newest technology, which is a non-invasive method, does not require surgical procedure.

Speaking at a press briefing recently, he said unlike other

methods of treatment which require patients to stay in the hospital for weeks or several days after surgery, non-invassive treatment allows patients to leave the hospital within hours.

He said: “We know fibroid is very common in 80 per cent of our women. Although for quite a number of people, it does not have symptoms, but for those with symptoms, including irregular bleeding, swollen abdomen, infertility, among others, it is expected they take steps in treating the fibroids.

“Several countries have moved past minimally invasive method of treatment, including South Africa.

Although the machines for it are

expensive, that is the way to go for Nigeria.”

He said if one’s fibroid does not disturb the person, there was no need disturbing the fibroid.

He however made an exemption, saying, “There is exemption to this rule. If fibroid is big in size, it is expected to be treated.

“Many busy women find it difficult to address their fibroids because of the long time spent in hospitals and recovery periods, but with HIFU, they can go about their normal business few hours after the treatment,” he added.

A renowned Gyanecologist from South Africa, Dr. Raymond Setzen, who has performed over

400 HIFU, said the procedure was of low risk with high success rate.

He said: “In using the technology, ultrasound wave is focused on the point of concern and the fibroid is then heated to 66 degrees where the proteins die off. “ Once the proteins in the fibroids are killed, the fibroid shrinks overtime and disappears.

We do not do any form of cutting, and this procedure is very safe,” he added.

He advised Nigerian women not to operate on their fibroids during pregnancy due to its high vascular nature, adding that this may cause a couple of issues for the woman.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ,FEBRUARY 27, 2020

HEALTH

Educating Young Girls on Reproductive Health While Nigeria continues to struggle with issues affecting adolescent girls, including rape, unwanted pregnancies and poverty, the Society for Family Health hopes to change the narrative through its A360 initiative, Ayodeji Ake writes

A

s part of efforts to improve health outcomes by ensuring communities have access to affordable quality health services and commodities, the Society for Family Health (SFH) through its Adolescent 360 (A360), a four-and-a-half- year long project tagged ‘9ja girls’ hopes to sensitise 16,000 girls on healthy life style, sex education, and skill acquisition.

SFH said its plan is to cover 300 girls monthly, 3600 annually, and at the end of the stipulated target, reach out to over 16,000 adolescent girls in Lagos State.

Speaking recently during a two-day field trip to the Youth Friendly Centre, Ikotun-Igando, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, the Project Director, Adolescent 360, Mrs. Fatima Muhammad said the project was targeted at adolescent girls between the age bracket of 15 and 19 years and already being implemented in eight states.

She said: “One of the interventions SFH currently implements is the four-and-a-half-year long adolescents 360(A360) Project Services International (PSI).

“It commenced in January 2016 to break down barriers to some critical social and health services for adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years.

“The project is funded by Children Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BGF).

“A360 project works through public and private health facilities to create safe spaces for girls, both married and unmarried.

“Girls acquire life, love, family and health skills, and makes informed choices to create the future they envision.

“The project is currently implemented in eight states; Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Edo, Delta, Nasarawa and Kaduna state.

“We call on the federal and state governments to adopt and upscale integrated safe spaces for adolescent girls to more primary healthcare facilities.

They need to promote social inclusion and reduce adolescent girls’ vulnerabilities. “ A good starting point is by reviewing age access to essential healthcare services of adolescents and young persons, from 18 to 14 years, review and implement the national guidelines on integration of adolescent and youth-friendly services into primary healthcare in Nigeria and national guideline for promoting access of young people to adolescent and youth friendly services in PHCs. “Adopting affordable, replicable and sustainable programmes, to build a network of trained youth friendly providers and ensuring girls continue to have access to quality adolescent sexual and reproductive health services even after project end.”

One of the health providers at the facility, Paulina Adeyemi, noted that the team has been able to convince girls on the street to come to the facility for counseling on their reproductive life and general healthy living.

She said they provide counseling for adolescent girls, adding that the facility counsels them on relationships and courtship, calculates their menstrual calendar and how to negotiate their way out of unwanted sex, relationships, how to b avoid unwanted pregnancy.

Paulina spoke on the relationship between parents and children, adding that most parents

Beneficiaries of A360 initiative

do not spend time with their children to know their thoughts and plans.

“Some parents do not look into the affair of their children at all. So we create the platform for them to talk freely with us here, and this has saved a lot of them from getting pregnant at early ages.

“The parents have a lot of work to do because at adolescent ages, they should know more about reproductive health which the parents need to talk to them about.

“When ladies come to tell us they are pregnant, we try to calm them. Sometimes they feel frightened their parents will find out. On a daily basis, sometimes we get a minimum of 15 girls.

Other times we get up to 30. On a monthly basis we get close to 300 girls.

“I will like the project to be known because there are so many adolescent girls out there that their parents are tired of because they got pregnant.

“There are adolescent girls that get unwanted sexual attention which is not their fault, but their parents do not also have idea of what went down due to lack of cordial relationships between them.

“When we started, I discovered that many of these adolescent girls feel hopeless in life once they get pregnant. Some also feel once they get pregnant for a man, they will no longer be poor.

So we talk to them and counsel them.

“The charges here are free. We don’t collect money because the girls are still young and charging them fee will inconvenience them. They easily come

here whenever they discover the services are free.

“For those that have made up their minds and feels they are mature enough for marriage, we try as much as we can to discourage them.

“And for those that are pregnant we refer them to hospitals where that can get registered, but unfortunately many do not go because they feel scared,” she said.

Skills Facilitator, Youth Friendly Centre, IkotunIgando, Mrs. Oyetunji Abosede commended Adolescent 360 initiative She said the girls have been positively reacting to skills taught and some of them have gained financial independence through their mastery.

“I teach them how to make Ankara crafts, beads, and others. Teaching them to know these skills is not a day job. Skills like ankara and slippers making takes months or weeks to learn. With that, the girls will be able to do the slippers near perfection if not perfect.

“Some of them are very creative. Once they grab the knowledge, they begin to give it a try and you will be surprised in the outcome. Already, some of them are selling their crafts,” she said.

One of the mobilisers, Taiwo Christiana, who explained field challenges, said: “We were given tools like referral cards, and so on. We have been trained on how to persuasively talk to the girls on the street. “ One of the field challenges is the weather.

When it is sunny, they won’t want to stay under the sun to talk to you but we manage to get their

attention. And the good thing is that once they hear that one of the things we intend to educate them about is relationship, they tend to give us more attention.”

The parents on their part appreciated Adolescent 360 initiative for enlightening them on how to keep cordial relationships with their daughters.

Mrs. Modinat Abisoye said: “I have three daughters ages 15, 18, and ten years old. I like this facility because anything I don’t understand as regard my children’s attitude and health, they put me through. For example, when a child starts her menstruation we try to educate them on how to abstain from sex to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

“We were also thought on how to educate our children best way to interact with them, most especially when they are sent an errand in the neighbourhood. I have not seen a raped girl but I hear stories. When I hear such stories I call my daughters to also educate them.”

One of the participants, Ms. Oyedele Oluwaseun, aged 15, confirmed the programme has been of great impact on her lifestyle.

She said: “I joined them when I was in junior secondary school one and now I am in class two.

I have learnt a lot of things in this facility. We have been taught how to relate with men in the society, how to respect ourselves and how to learn skills of our choice.

“I have also been taught financial independence through skill acquisition and a lot about sexual life, most especially abstinence.”

Nigerian Invents Device that Detects Diseases from Breath Sunday Ehijiator A Nigerian Neuroscientist and Chief Executive Officer, Silicon Valley-based start-up, Koniku, Oshiorenoya Agabi has developed a device capable of detecting various kinds of common diseases confronting the human body.

Agabi unlocked the digitisation of smell through the creation of the ‘KoniKore’, a device that detects Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) present

in the air.

He has been scheduled to be in Lagos from the United States where he is based, over the week, for the Africa Rising Series, to showcase the technology and discuss real-life applications to practitioners in the healthcare, agro and technology communities. With Nigeria’s physician-to-patient ratio placed at four doctors per 10,000 patients, far below the global average of 15 doctors per 10,000 patients, the country’s

healthcare and diagnostics space is particularly ripe for disruption.

At a press briefing organised

by Platform Capital, a leading investment and advisory firm based in Lagos recently, and also a leading investor in KoniKore, the Head of Investor Relations, Platform Capital, Dr. Ponmile Osibo, revealed that the device was made up of a chips that can smell; detect chemicals at very minute concentrations and has found applications across multiple industries, such as

the healthcare and diagnostics, aviation and airport security, agriculture, military and FMCG manufacturing, with the potential to revolutionise many more.

“By breathing on the Konikore, it will be able to detect diseases in the human body; revolutionising healthcare and bringing hope to many low-income communities around the world that lack access to a doctor; a number that currently stands at 2 billion.”

Dialing in from San Francisco, USA, Agabi, also a Unilag

alumnus, said the device was born out of the need to make good healthcare more accessible to the people.

“Over 20 per cent of people around the world have never seen a doctor, because of the poor doctor to patient ratio.

“Just in the same way mobile phones disrupted the telecoms space, we are hoping to do the same in healthcare by democratising access to doctors.

“The KoniKore will work as a first-stage screening device

which will give a high degree of certainty in diagnosis.

“We will work hand-in-hand with the healthcare professionals and existing systems, to make them more efficient at carrying out their tasks. The goal is not to replace the current diagnostics systems, but to complement them.”

During his trip, Agabi will meet with potential investors and financial experts, members of the academic community and government stakeholders.

T H I S D AY ˾ ,FEBRUARY 27, 2020

37

HEALTH

Foundation Empowers Community, Provides Healthcare Emmanuel Ugwu

L

ively Hope Foundation has a way of spreading Sweet Fragrance, a vision spearheaded by a couple, Rev Arc Benson and Pastor Mrs. Patricia Ezem, for people to breathe and feel happy. And for the past 15 years, whenever the fragrance fills the air during the yuletide, the people of Ubakala in Umuahia South Local Government of Abia State experience spiritual and material satisfaction This is because it comes with songs of praises, medical outreach and empowerment. This year, it came with all the aforementioned and also the donation of four bedroom bungalow and compassionate assistance to the families of some police officers that paid the supreme prize in the war against Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east.

The deceased police officers were serving in Abia State Command from where they were sent to the theatre of insurgency and they did not return to their families.

Though it has become amalgam of humanitarian activities, Sweet Fragrance actually started as a programme of praise and worship borne out of divine directive. It takes place on December 26 of every year and it has earned for itself, the reputation of an event that people always wait for with high expectations. The last edition lived up to the billing.

According to Pastor Mrs. Patricia Ezem, Sweet Fragrance started in 2004 when God instructed her and her husband, Rev Arc Benson Ezem to raise an altar of praise for the Almighty. “It was a clear instruction when God told us to raise an altar of praise in Ubakala,” she said.

The vision, she explained was simultaneously but independently given to both husband and wife, “because my husband and I work with one mind and any vision we get comes simultaneously”.

The couple effectively commenced implementation of the vision on December 26, 2004 and since then there has not been turning back. It has become an annual event and its date was purposely fixed on December 26, which happens to be the wedding anniversary of the couple with heart of gold. From praise and worship events, Sweet Fragrance has continued to expand and accommodate material needs of the people.

Mrs. Ezem said that God, the giver of the vision had asked them to add scholarship to the programme and six persons were selected as pioneer beneficiaries. The pioneer scholars of the Lively Hope Foundation included two engineers, two medical doctors, one accountant and one microbiologist. “Since then we have been running with the vision and today, over 40 beneficiaries have graduated”, Mrs. Ezem said.

The medical outreach programme was added in 2013 and in 2019 trading empowerment came on board to the delight of petty traders, who were given money to enhance their trading.

The medical outreach which preceded the 2019 event was a big success as over 450 persons received treatment from the medical team.

Led by the Deputy Chief Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Dr Ugochukwu Onyeonoro, the medical team, comprising 15 medical doctors, four nurses, 20 pharmacists and other health officials, worked hard to attend to the health needs of the people with different health challenges.

Abia Deputy Governor, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu and Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who were on hand to witness the philanthropic gesture, were impressed and they commended the founders of Lively Hope Foundation for showing concern to the less privileged. Oko Chukwu particularly noted the magnitude of the medical outreach given the large number of medical personnel involved in the programme; hence those that came to access medical services would go home satisfied. He enjoined well-to-do Nigerians to emulate Rev Ezem and his wife by giving a helping hand to the have-nots and improve their lives. The deputy governor stated that the state government was desirous of seeing more Abians that are rich complementing its efforts to cater to the health needs of the people, adding that government appreciates citizens that care for others. He assured that the present administration would always initiate and implement policies geared towards improving the lots of the citizenry, citing the upgrading of health infrastructure across the state.

Senator Abaribe, who represents Abia South in the Senate, equally commended the Ezems for their

Medical personnel attending to patients during the medical outreach of Sweet Fragrance at Umuahia South LG headquarters

Rev Benson Ezem(sixth from right) and wife, Rev Patricia (fifth from left) with beneficiaries of Sweet Fragrance empowerment

passion in doing good and making people happy through philanthropic works. While calling on those at the upper rungs of the society to emulate the compassionate disposition of Ezem and his wife, the federal lawmaker pointed out that the couple decided to help the less privileged not because they have excess money but due to their commitment to demonstrate practical Christianity by spreading the love of God. “You have done so well by this act of benevolence at a time people so need them,” the senate minority leader said.

According to him, by using Lively Hope Foundation to offer empowerment items including cash, food stuffs, scholarships, medical care, a bungalow, among others, the Ezems have stood out as shining example of benevolent and compassionate couple, who believes in spreading happiness to others.

Abaribe further stated that Ezem has shown that one doesn’t have to be in government to help those in needs and to provide social services.

Ezem, who is an architect by profession, also used the 2019 event to reward his driver by building and handing over to him a four bedroom bungalow en suite in appreciation of faithful meritorious service.

The 2019 edition of Sweet Fragrance with the theme, “Fear God” did not disappoint in any way as the audience that filled the Ochendo hall in the headquarters of Umuahia South Local Government got their spiritual and material satisfaction. There was no dull moment. The audience excitedly savoured uplifting Christian songs rendered by competitors involving various church choirs and solo performers. Some gospel established gospel artistes were also on hand to lead the audience in praise and worship songs. It was a soul uplifting

moment for the audience.

The Secretary to Abia State Government (SSG), Mr. Chris Ezem, who chaired the event, lauded the couple for not only initiating Sweet Fragrance but also sustaining it over the years.

“We’ve witnessed praises and thanksgiving, let it not cease in your lives,” he said, adding that those that give to others do it as a sacrifice not inspired by abundance. “It is not as if you have much but because it is in your blood to help others”.

He noted that the medical outreach of Sweet Fragrance, which was introduced in 2013, has added a very critical component that would significantly save the lives of the beneficiaries, who otherwise would not be able to access medical services.

Leveraging the scholarship and empowerment opportunities offered by the foundation, the SSG charged youths to maximise any opportunity to improve their lives.

He said: “The future is in the hands of youths, so we need them to begin to take their proper place in the society,” he said, adding, “this is the time to maximise your youth.”

Turning to parents, he advised them to take their responsibilities of proper raising of their children very seriously, noting that making children to grow into skillful, responsible and good citizen is not a wishful thinking.

For elder statesman, Chief Tony Ukasanya, Sweet Fragrance represents a holistic event that offers spiritual and physical benefits to people.

“This programme is a great one,” he declared while pouring encomiums on the organisers.

He pointed out that the sermons preached at the event should serve as life- changing tonic for

those that heard the words. “It is not enough to listen to the sermon and then go back to the old ways,” he warned.

Sweet Fragrance also comes with talent hunt. The song competition embedded in the programme was a veritable opportunity for groups and individuals to showcase their music talents. As in previous editions the 2019 package attracted many budding talents in gospel songs.

Those whose performances were outstanding and elicited spontaneous appreciation from the audience include Uche Samuel’s who sang “victory belongs to Jesus’ and Ugochinyere Allen’s in Akam di n’elu got as well as Chinyere Ibeleme’s rendition of ‘My help comes from God’.

They captivated the audience with vocal prowess and stage artistry. The choirs on their part sang like angels and did their best to invoke the mood of the season with classical songs, such as ‘And the glory of the Lord’ by Handel, which was beautifully rendered by St. Luke’s choir. Ezem said he has every reason to be grateful to God for giving him and his wife the enablement to sustain Sweet Fragrance with all its benefits.

According to him, the Almighty God that instructed them to raise the altar of praise in Ubakala and environs and to engage in philanthropic activities has kept faith with them hence the annual event has continued to expand and touch more lives.

“It’s a thing of joy,” he enthused, adding, “When you obey God He surprises you in many ways.

When I look back, I say God what can’t you do”. Looking ahead, Ezem envisages a situation where the Sweet Fragrance would be felt beyond Umuahia South Local Government Area. “But that would definitely depend on divine direction,” he said.

38

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍľËœ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Expert Advocates Initiative to Boost Agric Oluchi Chibuzor The raw materials-based clusters if effectively harness in line with the various Agricultural Development Programmes will generate multiple employments in the country.

The President, Association of Agricultural and Industrial Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AIEN), Chuku Wachuku, disclosed this recently while speaking to journalists in Lagos.

Wachuku, said the cluster initiative highlighted shared industrial facilities and would encourage value chain operators to manage limited resources, share expertise as well as operate and address common challenges

including market, innovations, product improvement, among others at a least cost.

According to him, it is a strategy intended to foster development of value-added products from the abundant local resources, as well as encourage the establishment of viable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are adaptable to local contents’ development in Nigeria.

Wachuku, also said the clusters initiative in the pilot stage was expected to create about two hundred and fifty entrepreneurs per cluster per local government and the primary target is to create sixty thousand primary entrepreneurs.

He said the primary targeted

pilot local government would involve 60,000 members of the clusters, noting that each cluster would have 250 people in 250 hectares adding that they would be producing crops of advantage in their area.

Meanwhile, the organisation is working with some banks and has reached an agreement, he disclosed adding that an ecosystem that would guarantee recovery was already in place.

He said: “Within the economy itself, we are going to energise the industrial base, many industries are shut down because first the dollar went up and they could not compete and as a resultant material became cheaper.

Firm Introduces Solution to Boost Tax Compliance Nume Ekeghe Taxaide, a tax management and technology firm, has unveiled technological tools aimed at enhancing tax compliance in the country. The firm also introduced Data Protection Audit Platform (iDAP) which is expected to help the country comply with international standards on data protection. Speaking with journalists at a media parley, the Chief Executive Officer Taxaide, Mr. Bidemi Olumide, said the firm, through its technology development subsidiary, Taxtech, produced PITApp to serve as an aggregator of all PIT obligations and urged all taxable Nigerians to ensure that they meet their PIT obligations before the deadline.

He said: “The 2020 PIT filing season is upon Nigerians and

the law requires every taxable person to file their tax returns with the designated revenue agency of the state where they are resident in Nigeria. “The deadline for doing this in the leap year 2020 is March 30 and, as part of our work in building a more effective tax management system, we have built the PITApp to simplify the PIT returns filing and remittance process for Nigeria tax residents.�

According to Olumide, there are an estimated 900 revenue collecting agencies at the federal, state and local government levels in the country, jostling for the attention of Nigerian taxpayers. “This is a huge distraction from the core economic activities that should generate the tax in the first place,� he said. “Every taxable person or organisation

should focus on its core commercial mandate while leaving the operational aspects of their tax compliance to accredited tax managers. “This is the essence of Taxaide; to take care of those distractions. From tax audits management, to payroll management, to PIT management, to corporate income taxes management, to the management of transaction taxes as Value Added Tax, Withholding Tax, etc,� he added.

Taxtech, one of the 27 Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCO) appointed by NITDA to assist with ensuring that Personal Data Controllers or Administrators are compliant with the NDPR, in September 2019 started the conversation on a process for the automation of the filing of Data Protection Audit Reports.

Tax Avoidance: Tribunal Orders Ecobank to Pay N1.6 billion to FIRS The Tax Appeal Tribunal has declared as illegal, null and void the decision of Ecobank Nigeria Limited to pay N5,545,000,000 as dividends to its shareholders in 2016.

That year, Ecobank had claimed it made no taxable profit and rather declared losses from its banking operation.

A statement from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said the tribunal reached this decision in its judgment dated February 20, 2020 which it delivered in Appeal No. TAT/ LZ/CIT/024/2018.

Consequently, Ecobank must now pay at least N1,663,500,000 to the FIRS as Company Income Tax for the year in dispute – 2016.

Ecobank had dragged the FIRS to court over the insistence of the Service that the bank must pay in full its excess dividend tax liability of N2,079,375,000, inclusive of interest and penalty for the Year of Assessment (YOA) 2016. But Ecobank argued that the dividend it paid out was tax exempt as N4,372,244,556 out of the total sum was “profit from bonds and treasury bills�, which was not taxable based on the provisions of the Company Income Tax (Exemption of Bonds and Short-Term Government Securities) Order, 2011.

Admitting to only making N1,172755,444 “trading profits� from other business sources, Ecobank decided that it would

only pay N351,826,663 tax to the FIRS, which it paid the Service after some months of delay.

However, the FIRS “demanded for the immediate payment of the outstanding excess dividend tax liability of N,31,673,367� from the bank, which impasse led to the suit before the tax tribunal.

In its argument before the court, Ecobank presented three issues for determination, namely whether the FIRS “was correct to assess the Appellant to tax under Section 19 of CITA� when the income earned was “from Bonds, Treasury Bills and other Government Securities�; whether the FIRS “misdirected itself by failing to take account the CIT paid by the Appellant�.

IMFMD Taps Liberia’s Sayeh for DMD Ndubuisi Francis Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, has proposed the appointment of Liberia’s Antoinette Sayeh as a deputy managing director, effective March 16, 2020.

The appointment is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board. In announcing her selection of Sayeh, Georgieva said: “We are welcoming back a dear friend and member of the IMF family. Antoinette is very well known and highly respected, having served as Director of the African Department between 2008 and 2016 where she led

a major transformation of the Fund’s relationship with our African member countries. “Antoinette demonstrates a rare combination of institutional leadership, deep analytical capacity, and an unwavering commitment to fairness. I have always been impressed by her genuine care for the well-being of the people we serve and her ability to place them front and center in our efforts. “I personally have known and worked with her for many years in a wide range of positions that she has held. I look forward to working closely with her again as she joins the management team.�

Since 2016, Sayeh, a Liberian national, has been a Distinguished

Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and was also the external Co-Chair for the recently concluded 19th Replenishment of the World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA19).

As minister of finance in postconflict Liberia from January 2006 through June 2008, Sayeh led the country through the clearance of its long-standing multilateral debt arrears. Before joining President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s cabinet, she worked for the World Bank Group for 17 years, holding various senior positions. Prior to that, Ms. Sayeh worked in Liberia’s Ministries of Finance and Planning.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

SEPTEMBER 2019 Money Supply (M3)

35,029,779.72

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

7,374,356.91

Money Supply (M2)

27,655,422.82

-- Quasi Money

116,533,891.21

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,121,531.60

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,625,047.69

---- Demand Deposits

9,496,483.91

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

13,911,335.83

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

21,118,443.89

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

35,918,179.45

---- Credit to Government (Net)

10,452,199.38

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

11,007,422.79

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

25,465,980.07

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-14,799,735.56

--Other Assets Net

7,000,253.07

Reserve Money (Base Money

2,005,600.83

--Currency in Circulation

4,677,530.81

--Banks Reserves

317,121.43

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ Í°Íł Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $55.88 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $56.11 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

39

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͰͮ

MARKET NEWS

Dangote Cement Posts N250bn Profit, to Pay N16 Dividend Per Share Goddy Egene Shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc are to receive a dividend of N16 per share for the year ended December 31, 2019 as the company. The leading cement firms disclosed this yesterday while announcing its 2019 audited results. The dividend is the same amount paid for 2018 financial year.

Details of the results showed that Dangote Cement Plc recorded a revenue of N891.671

billion in 2019, compared with N901.213 billion in 2018. Financing cost rose from N49.778 billion to N57.673 billion, while profit before tax fell from N300.8 billion to N250.47 billion. Profit after tax stood at N200.5 billion, done from N390 billion in 2018.

In a bid to improve return on equity and create better investor value, shareholders of Dangote Cement Plc last month approved the proposal of the company to buy back

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

10 per cent of its shares.

At the extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) held in Lagos, the shareholders endorsed the proposal and commended the board and management, saying it would enhance their value in the company.

One of such shareholders was the founding National Coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association, Sir. Sunny Nwosu, who said Nigerian shareholders would forever appreciate the share

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

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

buy-back plan of the company especially at this time of the year.

“I think Alhaji Aliko Dangote is learning from Microsoft, where Bill Gates also buy back shares of Microsoft. I want to sincerely congratulate Aliko on this noble idea. In 2008, ISAN sponsored a seminar on share buy-back because of its value and importance.

As shareholders, we have been clamouring for share-back for so many years and today

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

Aliko Dangote has given us hope. This is very good as against the practice of share reconstruction that is being practiced by some Nigerian companies which never gave back anything positive to the shareholders. The share buyback was practiced in Ghana with just few companies listed on its exchange . We are indeed very happy with this and we are also quite sure that with this that you have done today, you have proved yourself to

O F

be the best chairman of all the corporate companies in Nigeria.

We will not disappoint you.We are very delighted because we know that this arrangement will lead to share price increase and more dividend for the shareholders,” he said.

Another shareholder, Alhaji Mohammed Audu described Dangote as a God-send and expressed hope that the money realised from the share buyback by the shareholders will be used for investment purposes.

2 4 / 0 2 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

40

˾ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

Thursday, February 27, 2020

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index Down 90bps Yesterday, the Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index lost 0.9% to close at 1,141.81points following price declines in MTNN (-3.4%),

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

FBNH (-0.9%), and ETI (-ϯ͘ϴйͿ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ account for 33.2% of the index.

Ticker

Current Price

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

Price Previous Current Change Price Weightin YTD Change g

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

1,141.81

-0.90%

-22.2%

14.2%

16.8%

5.2%

4.5x

0.7x

6.9%

18.4%

1 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC

112.00

-3.4%

29.8%

6.7%

2.8%

137.7%

13.8%

13.3x

22.5x

2.6%

7.5%

Local Bourse Sustains Losses... ASI dips 0.2%

2 Airtel Africa PLC

298.90

0.0%

14.7%

0.0%

0.0%

3 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

27.00

0.7%

10.4%

-9.1%

-7.5%

32.9%

5.4%

4.1x

1.3x

10.2%

24.5%

Sell-ŽīƐ ŝŶ MTNN (-3.5%), ETI (-3.9%) and STERLNBA (-6.0%)

4 Zenith Bank PLC

19.05

0.0%

6.9%

2.4%

1.9%

23.8%

3.4%

2.9x

0.6x

14.7%

34.9%

dragged the All-Share Index 22bps down to 26,974.38 points. This resulted to a slowdown in YTD return to 0.5% while ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ĨĞůů േϯϬ͘ϲďŶ ƚŽ േϭϰ͘ϭƚŶ͘ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ level was depressed as volume and value traded plunged 5.5% and 23.0% to 228.4m units and േϮ͘ϳďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ĂĐƟǀĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ UBA (81.1m units), ZENITH (31.0m units) and ACCESS (22.3m units) while ZENITH ;േϱϵϬ͘ϯŵͿ͕ DANGCEM ;േϱϱϭ͘ϵŵͿ ĂŶĚ UBA ;േϱϰϴ͘ϵŵͿ led by value.

5 Nestle Nigeria PLC 6 Dangote Cement PLC

indices gained and 2 indices lost across sectors under our coverage. Sustained price declines in AIICO (-5.8%), CHIPLC (-9.4%) and WAPIC (-3.1%) pulled the Insurance index down 1.1%. Also, the AFR-ICT index lost 1.9% following loss in MTNN (-3.5%). Conversely, the Industrial Goods index led gainers, up 2.0% due to buying interest in BUACEMENT (+3.5%). Similarly, the Banking and Consumer Goods indices ƌŽƐĞ Ϭ͘ϰй ĂŶĚ ϭďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͕ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ gains

in

GUARANTY

(+0.8%),

UBA

(+4.4%)

and

HONYFLOUR (+9.4%).

0.0%

4.0%

-23.1%

-23.1%

82.9%

26.3%

19.2x

15.9x

5.8%

5.2%

170.00

0.0%

5.6%

19.7%

19.7%

47.8%

23.1%

7.5x

3.4x

9.5%

13.3%

7 Access Bank PLC

9.00

0.0%

4.0%

-10.0%

-10.9%

22.7%

2.2%

2.3x

0.5x

5.6%

44.2%

7.15

4.4%

3.0%

0.0%

-0.7%

18.7%

2.0%

2.6x

0.5x

12.8%

39.1%

9 FBN Holdings Plc

5.40

-0.9%

2.5%

-12.2%

-16.9%

10.3%

1.0%

3.7x

0.3x

4.8%

26.7%

10 Nigerian Brew eries PLC

46.00

0.0%

2.2%

-22.0%

-22.0%

9.6%

4.2%

22.9x

2.2x

4.4%

4.4%

11 Lafarge Africa PLC

15.50

0.0%

2.9%

1.3%

12.3%

50.3%

23.4%

15.6x

0.7x

605.00

0.0%

2.4%

-8.0%

2.2%

14.4%

9.5%

3.9x

0.5x

6.6%

25.7% 18.2%

12 SEPLAT Petroleum Development C 13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

38.50

0.0%

2.0%

-6.1%

-3.8%

27.3%

4.1%

5.5x

1.4x

5.3%

23.00

0.0%

1.2%

16.8%

16.8%

3.6%

1.3%

17.9x

0.7x

5.5%

15 International Brew eries PLC

7.05

0.0%

0.8%

-25.8%

-25.8%

-114.4%

-7.5%

16 Ecobank Transnational Inc

6.25

-3.8%

0.9%

-3.8%

-4.6%

13.8%

1.0%

2.0x

0.3x

17 Fidelity Bank PLC

2.07

1.0%

0.8%

1.0%

2.5%

13.4%

1.5%

2.1x

0.3x

5.3%

47.9% 18.4%

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ to 0.7x from the 0.4x recorded in the previous trading session as 11 stocks advanced ƌĞůĂƟǀĞ ƚŽ ϭϲ decliners. The top gainers were HONYFLOUR (+9.4%), FCMB (+6.3%) and EKOCORP (+5.8%) while VITAFOAM (-10.0%), REDSTAREX (-10.0%) and UPL (ϵ͘ϲйͿ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐ͘ tĞ ĂŶƟĐŝƉĂƚĞ Ă ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ŽƵƟŶŐ ƚŽͲ

ŽƌƉŽƌĂƚĞ ĐƟŽŶ ĂŶŐŽƚĞ ĞŵĞŶƚ WůĐ ĚĞĐůĂƌĞĚ ĮŶĂů ĚŝǀŝĚĞŶĚ ŽĨ േϭϲ͘ϬϬ per

is 25th May, 2020 and payment would be made on 16th June, 2020.

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

50.0%

0.0%

0.6%

-9.9%

-9.9%

24.1%

10.9%

5.4x

1.2x

6.2%

68.00

0.0%

0.8%

22.3%

22.3%

19.1%

13.5%

11.8x

2.2x

4.6%

8.5%

20 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

12.10

0.0%

0.5%

-11.0%

-13.6%

19.6%

11.6%

7.2x

1.4x

9.1%

13.9%

1.2x

10.5%

0.91

1.1%

0.5%

-8.1%

-15.0%

22 Unilever Nigeria PLC

15.00

0.0%

0.4%

-31.8%

-27.5%

-5.6%

-3.5%

23 Guinness Nigeria PLC

25.20

0.0%

0.4%

-16.1%

-16.1%

4.9%

2.6%

13.1x

0.6x

6.0%

7.6%

1.86

6.3%

0.4%

0.5%

2.2%

9.2%

1.1%

2.1x

0.2x

7.5%

47.8%

24 FCMB Group Plc

3.3% -4.9%

25 Sterling Bank PLC

1.40

-6.0%

0.3%

-29.6%

-26.3%

10.0%

0.9%

3.7x

0.3x

26 UAC of Nigeria PLC

8.50

0.0%

0.3%

-1.2%

-4.5%

-9.6%

-4.1%

2.4x

0.6x

7.6%

41.9%

27 Custodian and Allied Insurance

5.45

0.0%

0.3%

-9.2%

-9.2%

17.5%

7.0%

4.5x

0.7x

8.3%

22.4%

49.85

0.0%

0.3%

4.9%

4.9%

15.9%

6.4%

12.5x

1.9x

4.4%

6.90

0.0%

0.2%

15.0%

14.0%

7.0%

1.1%

11.0x

0.9x

28 Presco PLC 29 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 30 Total Nigeria PLC 31 Oando PLC

107.00

0.0%

0.2%

-3.5%

-3.5%

8.8%

2.0%

13.9x

1.3x

3.18

0.0%

0.1%

-20.3%

-20.3%

14.5%

2.6%

1.4x

0.2x

27.1%

8.0% 9.1%

13.1%

7.2% 73.0%

32 NASCON Allied Industries PLC

13.00

0.0%

0.2%

0.4%

0.4%

16.5%

5.8%

18.1x

3.1x

8.2%

5.5%

33 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

22.40

0.0%

0.2%

12.6%

12.6%

26.7%

3.4%

2.8x

0.7x

9.0%

36.0%

0.56

-5.1%

0.1%

-24.3%

-17.6%

9.0%

0.9%

4.5x

0.4x

5.4%

22.1%

16.70

0.0%

0.1%

-7.7%

-7.2%

7.6%

1.3%

34 Wema Bank PLC 35 Ardova PLC 36 Continental Reinsurance PLC

#N/A N/A

37 Beta Glass PLC

70.00

0.0%

0.1%

30.1%

30.1%

17.1%

11.2%

62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-12.1%

-3.8%

39 AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

1.80

0.0%

0.1%

-9.1%

-9.1%

10.3%

2.8%

40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

4.05

0.0%

0.0%

-17.3%

-17.3%

T ic k er

1.3x

-1.6%

0.0%

38 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd

6.4x

7.8x

1.2x

2.1%

-7.0%

0.8x

12.8%

38.2x

3.8%

H ON YF LOUR

1.05

9.4%

UB A

81.1

FCM B

1.86

6.3%

Z EN IT H B A N K

31.0

0.0%

EKOC OR P

5.50

5.8%

A C C ESS

22.3

0.0%

UB A

7.15

4.4%

T R A N SC OR P

12.5

1.1%

LA SA C O

0.25

4.2%

UC A P

11.5

-2.4%

B UA C EM EN T

37.15

3.5%

ST ER LN B A N K

7.4

-6.0%

N EIM ET H

0.46

2.2%

GUA R A N T Y

6.8

0.7%

UA C -P R OP

0.90

1.1%

F ID ELIT YB K

5.2

1.0%

T R A N SC OR P

0.91

1.1%

WEM A B A N K

4.5

-5.1%

F ID ELIT YB K

2.07

1.0%

FCM B

4.3

6.3%

T ic k er

T o p 10 L o s e r s

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg % 4.4%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

VIT A F OA M

4.06

-10.0%

Z EN IT H B A N K

590.3

0.0%

R ED ST A R EX

3.61

-10.0%

D A N GC EM

551.9

0.0%

UP L C H IP LC

2.6%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

15.7%

1.5x

P ric e

ƐŚĂƌĞ ƌĞƉƌĞƐĞŶƟŶŐ Ă ϵ͘ϰй ĚŝǀŝĚĞŶĚ LJŝĞůĚ Ăƚ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ͘ J A IZ B A N K dŚĞ ĐůŽƐƵƌĞ ĚĂƚĞ ŝƐ ϮϲƚŚ DĂLJ͕ ϮϬϮϬ ǁŚŝůĞ ƋƵĂůŝĮĐĂƟŽŶ ĚĂƚĞ

5.6% -39.9%

133.20

morrow, despite ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƟĞƐ ĨŽƌ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ĂŶĚ ĚŝǀŝͲ dend gain.

6.3x

19 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

T o p 10 G a i n e r s

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ

6.4%

14 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

21 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

Performance was mixed as the Oil & Gas index ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͕ ϯ

1,130.00

8 United Bank for Africa PLC

18 11 PLC

Mixed Sector Performance

3.6%

P ric e C hg %

1.13

-9.6%

UB A

548.9

4.4%

0.29

-9.4%

M TNN

239.3

-3.4%

0.53

-8.6%

A C C ESS

201.1

0.0%

A B CTRA NS

0.32

-8.6%

GUA R A N T Y

183.2

0.7%

ST ER LN B A N K

1.40

-6.0%

N EST LE

146.7

0.0%

A IIC O

0.82

-5.7%

B UA C EM EN T

38.9

3.5%

WEM A B A N K

0.56

-5.1%

UC A P

37.9

-2.4%

ET I

6.25

-3.8%

UA C N

24.6

0.0%

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Ola Belgore | obelgore@afrinvest.com

Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Oluwarotimi Ashimi | oashimi@afrinvest.com

Adedayo Bakare | abakare@afrinvest.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

41

MARKET NEWS

Abbey, VFD Group Partner to Create Value for Stakeholders Goddy Egene Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc assured stakeholders that it would leverage VFD Group Plc’s innovative and aggressive drive to enhance shareholders’ value and boost profitability in the years to come.

VFD Group Plc recently acquired 35 per cent stake in Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc. Speaking to stockbrokers at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos, the Managing Director of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, Mrs. Rose Okwechime said both firms had

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

entered into a strategic partnership that would make them play major roles in the financial service industry and ultimately boost shareholders’ returns on investment. “ I am pleased to inform you that the strategic partnership which Abbey Mortgage Bank Pls have

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 25Feb-2020, unless otherwise stated.

nurtured has resulted to VFD Group Plc, acquiring 35 per cent stake in Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc. The new investments will enable the two groups form a strategy that would propel us to play major roles in the financial services industry.

Abbey’s stable, longstanding business

ethics and customer centric culture will blend and grow with VFD’s innovative and aggressive drive to create superior value,” she said.

She said the synergy would transform the firm into becoming a major player in the market, contribute to economic growth and deliver good

returns to shareholders.

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of VFD Group Plc. Nonso Okpala, had last month said the investment in Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc presents opportunity for quick wins across board.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.89 0.90 6.28% ACAP Income Funds 0.76 0.76 34.10% 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 6.65% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.46 2.51 0.02% info@anchoriaam.com ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 15.17 15.62 -0.99% ARM Discovery Fund 345.67 356.09 0.06% ARM Ethical Fund 30.05 30.96 3.32% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.68% 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 98.90 99.60 2.94% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.90% 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 2.00 2.00 32.41% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 0.08 0.06 7.86% Paramount Equity Fund 12.04 12.25 -3.84% Women's Investment Fund 110.52 111.33 0.02% 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 7.00% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 103.02 103.59 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 112.22 112.88 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 6.15% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 5.24% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,200.91 1,202.38 3.32% 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 N/A N/A N/A FBN Balanced Fund 147.52 148.63 0.48% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.48% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 120.34 120.63 0.92% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 121.05 121.34 1.02% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 124.44 126.00 -4.37% 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 8.49% Legacy Debt Fund 3.70 3.70 1.12% Legacy Equity Fund 1.11 1.13 -1.78% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.09 1.09 0.66% 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 3,064.67 3,098.57 2.74% Coral Income Fund 3,129.32 3,129.32 14.16% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 7.18% 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 5.65% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 117.75 118.34 9.32%

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 5.38% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.22 2.25 2.97% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 10.74% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 140.46 140.97 12.55% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.19 1.21 2.14% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,117.77 1,117.77 1.77% 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 9.42 9.51 -3.92% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 4.15% 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 1.16 1.19 -3.11% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.35 11.45 1.39% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 7.44% PACAM Equity Fund 1.12 1.13 PACAM EuroBond Fund 103.74 105.61 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 135.07 137.87 8.26% 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 1.02 1.02 1.75% 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 4.54% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 1.02% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 3.37% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 1.46% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 4.15% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.74% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 2.04% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.16 1.16 0.93% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 118.18 118.18 0.00% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.19 1.21 -1.33% United Capital Bond Fund 1.76 1.76 1.69% United Capital Equity Fund 0.68 0.70 -2.83% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.04% United Capital Eurobond Fund 113.14 113.14 1.15% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.09 1.09 -0.47% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 10.24 10.39 -0.24% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.61 11.76 0.09% Zenith Income Fund 23.07 23.07 3.78% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.02%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

3.15 118.66 52.21

-67.35% 6.74% 4.29%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

9.02 92.92 72.40

9.12 94.91 73.77

3.56% 0.49% -1.78%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund Union Homes REIT

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

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.69

17.60%

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.

42

THURSDAY, ͺͿ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Discos: We Have Received No Subsidies Since 2013 Privatisation

Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The electricity distribution companies (Discos) in Nigeria’s power sector have denied receiving financial subsidies from the federal government since 2013 when the sector was reformed, and privatisation exercise concluded.

The Discos through their trade association – the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), condemned a recent claim by the federal government that it has given the sector N1.7 trillion subsidies over the last seven years.

They explained that contrary to the government’s claims, they are being owed billions of naira by the government for unpaid electricity supply to its ministries, departments and

agencies (MDAs).

The Director of Research and Advocacy for ANED, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, explained yesterday that the statement was a direct response to the claims by the Minister of Power, Mr. Saleh Mamman.

Oduntan noted that the Discos recognised their existing operational challenges and power consumers’ dissatisfaction with their services but disagreed with the government’s claims of huge financial supports to them.

“To date, the Discos have not received any subsidy from the federal government.

References to the N1.7 trillion in subsidies paid by the government are associated with payments that have been made to the generating and gas supply companies, under the Payment Assurance Guarantees (PAG) initiative

and the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Fund (NEMSF),” he said.

According to him: “PAG is, principally, a result of government regulatory and policy interventionist initiatives that have resulted in the inability of the NESI value chain to recover the cost of doing business based, primarily, on tariffs that are non-cost reflective – an unmet critical commitment of the privatisation of the electricity distribution companies.”

He explained that: “As a matter of fact, NERC’s December 2019 Minor Review Order specifies federal government debt to the Discos (correspondingly, the rest of the NESI value chain), due to tariff shortfalls, of N1.728 trillion. Disco’s liability to NESI, due to market shortfalls, is N81 billion.

“Significantly, government

ministries, departments and agencies (MDA) owe the Discos in excess of N100 billion, for energy consumed but not paid for – a federal government commitment, yet again, unmet under the privatisation agreement and MYTO-2015.”

Oduntan equally stated that under the N210 billion NEMSF initiative, N189.1 billion has been disbursed by the CBN with the Discos getting N49.89 billion or 26.3 per cent of the disbursed portion of the fund.

“Importantly, this is money owed to the Discos by the consumers, due to the noncost reflective tariff of MYTO 2.0 and the government’s failure to inject the associated N100 billion in subsidies, a commitment under the privatisation agreements.

“Interestingly, the rest of the NEMSF disbursement

of N139.21 or 73.7 per cent is comprised of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)’s legacy gas and energy supply liabilities that should have resided with the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO),” he claimed.

He also stated that the liabilities have become an encumbrance on the Discos’ financial books, limiting or precluding their ability to access the finance for capital investment in their networks.

Oduntan, indicated that the Discos were equally unhappy with news of government’s alleged negotiation with German firm – Siemens – to handover the distribution networks to Siemens.

He said the proposal would be dishonest and not a solution to the problems of the country’s power sector.

“The Disco investors

have executed agreements with the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), the federal government’s representative agency under the privatisation.

“These agreements specify the terms and conditions under which both parties shall accomplish the objectives of the privatisation, as well as a framework of commitments necessary for the Discos to achieve their performance targets.

Unfortunately, the commitments of the government remain unmet.

“The solutions to the problems of NESI are found in a collaborative and partnering framework and environment. Pronouncements that are misleading or misrepresentative of the complicated challenges of the power sector will not lead to increased power supply,” he explained.

WE’VE STEPPED UP TALKS WITH INT’L COMMUNITY TO SUBDUE BOKO HARAM, SAYS BUHARI churches, vocational training school of EYN church and about seven vehicles of the church, among others.

"I'm here officially to present to the board and management of NEDC the compendium of the casualties that the people of Garkida have suffered so that together we can move to this town and start rebuilding so

that our people can start having home so that they don't become IDPs in their own community.

This, I felt, is necessary for me to come and share with you.

"The key demands they have made is for them to rebuild the security facility that were destroyed by the insurgents so that we can quickly have hope for the people, particularly

the police station, army facility, hospital, support for individuals that were affected as a result of the Boko Haram activities and trauma centre for the people.

"We have made efforts immediately to provide palliative; we have further reinforced the town by recruiting 100 vigilantes to support the army who are

carrying out their operations in Garkida town. The military themselves have increased the number of their men in Garkida.

Before I came here, I donated 10 trucks to the military to further enhance their activities in Garkida town," he stated.

The governor also explained that the size of the military cannot cover the entire country,

hence, the decision of the state to engage the services of vigilantes.

"We are making efforts immediately to start dredging round the town so that they can forestall their easy movement," he added.

Responding, Tarfa commended the governor for visiting all the places that

were damaged in the town.

Tarfa, who is an indigene of Garkida, described the town as one of the most peaceful places to go, saying it has a long history of peace.

He noted that the damage done by the extremist is not only for Garkida and Adamawa people, but to a large extent, the country as a whole.

Coronavirus.

The report showed that Nigeria’s oil production declined by 1.12 per cent to 1.77 million barrels per day (bpd) in December 2019, from 1.79mbpd in November 2019.

OPEC’s total crude oil production averaged 29.44mb/d in December, which was 161,000 bpd lower than the previous month.

"At the December meeting, OPEC and its allies agreed to cut oil output by an additional 500,000 barrels per day but are yet to determine output cut among member countries.

"With the recent decline in oil prices, the cartel will have to speed up its allocation process and could even resort to a deeper cut. If this happens, Nigeria may have to further reduce its oil production," the report stated.

On the impact, FDC explained that Nigeria was highly susceptible to a fall in oil production as crude oil accounts for approximately 90 per cent of Nigeria’s total export.

The company also forecast that further decline in oil production levels coupled with lower oil prices would result in depleting oil proceeds, fiscal revenue and balance of trade.

This, according to the report, means that the pace of depletion of the reserves could intensify and trigger a currency pressure.

Also looking at the trends in natural gas, it stated that the prices of the commodity averaged $2.03/mmbtu in the review period, 11.35 per cent lower than the average of $2.29/mmbtu in December.

"Prices increased to $2.19/ mmbtu on January 14 before nose diving to close the period at $1.84/mmbtu.

The bearish price trend was

primarily influenced by the Coronavirus outbreak, surge in Qatar’s LNG production and lower demand in the United States," the report added.

The FDC report projected a rise in demand, especially as the peak of the winter season approaches.

Also on the impact side, the report forecast that a higher LNG prices was positive for the country’s export revenue.

The firm also forecast a further decline in the nation's power supply in the coming weeks.

It stated that average power output from the national grid for January was 3,816MWh/h, which was 1.41 per cent higher than the average of 3,763MWh/h in December 2019.

It added that during the month, power output was volatile, peaking at 4,120Wh/h on January 15 and nose diving to 2,373Wh/h on January 16.

The FDC report added: "Average power output is expected to decline in the coming weeks due to the persistence of water constraints emanating from the dry weather and zero rainfall. This will be compounded by rising gas constraints.

"The presence of water constraint limits hydropower generation in the country.

A decline in power supply would result in an increase in demand for alternative power sources. This would increase the operating expenses of firms and households".

It, however, stated that the implementation of the cost reflective tariff in April would increase investments in the power value chain and improve power supply in the medium to long term.

NNPC TO DOUBLE NIGERIA’S DOMESTIC GAS SUPPLY, EXPORT FUEL BY 2023 to further boost economic activities of the country.

Represented by the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Gas and Power, Mr Yusuf Usman, Kyari explained that the recent passage of the Deep Offshore Act into law has set the industry on the path of irreversible growth.

According to him, Nigeria as Africa’s leading exporter of LNG and the fourth in the world after Qatar, Australia and Malaysia, is ready to capture more LNG market with the Final Investment Decision of the NLNG Train 7.

He said most resource dependent nations rely on their dominant natural resource to drive other key economic initiatives and activities, noting that it is true of Nigeria and many other countries represented at the conference.

He explained that the connection between the oil and gas industry and the Nigeria economy was intricate, adding that the state of every aspect of the nation’s economic and social life revolves around hydrocarbon resource.

Kyari called for more hard work to diversify the economy away from over dependence on oil revenues in order to avoid the risk of market fluctuations that may impact the nation’s fiscal equation.

He said: “Oil and gas resources have remained the major source of revenue that has kept the wheels of Nigeria moving for over five decades. Oil, as we all know, has served as key enabler to the economic transformation of many nations like Norway, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and many other oil resources dependent nations.

“The current government

under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has made it a priority to ensure revenues from oil and gas resources are utilised to support the emergence and growth of other non-oil sectors of the economy.

“In order to achieve this objective, it means more money will be required from the oil and gas to fund new economic projects outside the oil and gas industry,” the GMD stated.

He said the NNPC, as a national oil company, had been repositioned to support the vision of the president for economic diversification, adding that in the upstream, the corporation targeted increasing oil production from 2.3 million barrels per day to 3 million bbl/day.

He noted that the corporation was working with partners to significantly reduce production cost per barrel in order to improve the flow of the needed revenue to support economic diversification.

He said the NNPC was encouraging private investors to boost investment in oil and gas value chain as a way of creating more value and job opportunities for the nation’s teaming youths.

Kyari explained that Nigeria was still a net importer of petroleum products due to the current state of NNPC refineries and the long absence of private investment in the refining sector.

According to him, the NNPC is inviting investors to key into the revamp and expansion of domestic refining capacity in order to support the growth of the downstream sector and guarantee energy security for the nation.

“We are progressing with the establishment of

condensate refineries to fast-track domestic supply of petroleum products. In the same vein, the corporation would support the actualisation of the 650Kbbl/ day Dangote Refinery, as well as other private initiatives along this line. Our plan is for Nigeria to become a net exporter of petroleum products by 2023,” Kyari noted.

He said that NNPC was leveraging technology and innovation to achieve the goal of building an energy company of global excellence.

The GMD implored all stakeholders to collaborate with the corporation in an atmosphere that is beneficial to all and emplaces Nigeria on the path of growth and development.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mr. BankAnthony Okoroafor, called for deeper regional integration among African countries to boost the continent’s economic activities.

Report: Delay in Passage of PIB Costly for Oil, Gas Sector Meanwhile, investors in the oil and gas industry is awaiting the outcome of the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), especially the clarity of its fiscal terms, analysts at the Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) have stated in a report.

The analysts, in the February edition of the economic bulletin of the firm released yesterday, noted that the inability of the federal government to agree on oil reform is costing the country

loss of investment or deferred investment in crucial oil projects as investors await how the regulations to be contained in the proposed law would affect the oil and gas sector.

It noted that the prevailing global economic uncertainty has also affected the value of the state's oil assets and what prices the government could command.

Analysing the global trend in oil prices, the report explained that oil prices touched a peak of $68.91 per barrel due to the US-Iran tensions, US-China trade deal agreement and shutdown of two Libyan oil fields, before falling sharply to $59.45 per barrel following the outbreak of Coronavirus, which is impacting oil demand from China.

Following the outbreak of Coronavirus, which has affected the global demand for crude oil, the price of the commodity has since slumped to $54 per barrel.

Crude oil prices gave up early gains and slid for a fourth day yesterday as fears of a Coronavirus pandemic deepened as the outbreak spread in countries outside China.

Brent crude fell 31 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $54.64 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 16 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $49.74.

Fears of a pandemic have escalated as authorities around the world battle to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, which has now been found in about 30 countries.

On the outlook for oil price, FDC projected that the bearish trend in prices would be sustained in the near term due to low demand from China as a result of the

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House Backs Bill for Establishment of South-west Development Commission Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives at the plenary yesterday passed for second reading, a Bill for an Act to establish the South West Development Commission.

The Bill, which spelt out the functions of the commission, provides that the commission shall, “formulate policies and guidelines for the development of the South-west states, conceive, plan and implement, in accordance with the set rules and regulations, projects and programmes for the sustainable development of the Southwest states in the fields of transportation, health, education, employment, agriculture, industrialisation, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity, solid mineral exploitation and telecommunications and cause the South-west states to

be surveyed in order to ascertain measures which are necessary to promote its physical and socio-economic development.”

The commission is also saddled with the responsibility of execution of such other works and functions, which are required for the sustainable development of the South-west states and its people as well as receive donations and gifts from any legitimate, documented source aimed at the advancement of its set goals, provided such donations shall be reported to the relevant federal authorities.

The Bill, which was sponsored

by Hon. Femi Fakeye and 80 other lawmakers, was quickly passed after it received majority support from the lawmakers.

Leading the debate on the Bill, Fakeye said the Bill seeks to legislatively explore how to cure some of the ailments in

the South-west, just as has been done and would still probably be done for other political zones.

“The Bill seeks to redirect federal budgetary attention to some areas of growth that could have multiplier effect of geometric proportions, such as agriculture, transportation,

Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Environment, etc., on the overall economy.

Therefore, this aspiration is the rationale for all the honourable members from the six States of the Southwest, along with some of their colleagues who are not even native to any of

the South-west states, proposing this historic Bill.”

“By passing this Bill, we would be demonstrating the courage as national leaders to lift a linger towards turning the current sordid socioeconomic fortunes of the zone (and therefore of the country)

around, so that our youths could confidently channel their collective energy into productive endeavors that would yield for us a better future, rather than them, out of frustration and misguided desperation, engaging in antisocial practices that tend towards criminality.”

Minimum Wage: NLC Moves against Erring States Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has directed its state chapters to go on strike if any state government fails to implement the N30,000 new national minimum wage.

NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, said the organised labour had given each state council the template on the new wage and the consequential adjustment.

He stressed that no state should be excused for not implementing the new minimum wage.

“The Minimum Wage Act is already a law and every political office holder must respect the sanctity of our Constitution and the oaths of office they have sworn to uphold.

“If a worker is entitled to be paid his wages, the wages must

be commensurate with what has been negotiated. In 90 per cent of the countries around the world, the minimum wage law is implemented and observed.

So, we cannot be an exception.

“While appreciating those states and, even the federal government, that have paid all the workers under its employment, including arrears which have set the base and standard for states to follow, there is no excuse for any state not to pay workers a minimum wage that has been negotiated because 85 per cent of the Value Added Tax (VAT) increase goes to the states.

“We have empowered our state councils. Once they reach a situation where they think there is no commitment, we have given them the power to declare an action and withdraw their services.”

STRATEGISING AGAINST INSECURITY...

L-R: Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi; and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, during a courtesy call on Buratai by the governor at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja…recently

Actions to Address Insecurity in North-west Inadequate, Says French Envoy Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Head of Cooperation, Embassy of France in Nigeria, Mr. Ellien Helios, said that efforts to find sustainable solutions to the spate of insecurity in Nigeria particularly in the North-west is inadequate, and urged all concerned authorities and stakeholders to step up actions to effectively define and tackle the menace .

This is just as stakeholders on the matter have warned that insecurity may escalate deeper

to other regions in Nigeria, adding that the country is at risk of underdevelopment, and food shortage, among others if not addressed.

Helios who represented the Ambassador of France in Nigeria, Mr. Jerome Pasquier, made this call in Abuja yesterday at a workshop on “Addressing Rural Insecurity and Violence in North-western Nigeria” convened by Pastoral Reserve (PARE) in collaboration with Search for Common Ground (SFCG), Nextier SPD and the French Embassy.

The envoy said the workshop presented a unique opportunity for stakeholders to develop a better understanding of the issues and strategise appropriate response.

He said: “There are many factors affecting the northwest region for years now, there are also many actors, but I don’t think there is enough being done by the actors to have a better understanding of the situation and try to find some appropriate solutions to the insecurity and the subsequent sufferings.

“We have a unique

opportunity to work and listen to people that are gathering the best expertise on these issues, so let’s seize this opportunity as a starting point to get humble, but to also develop a better understanding of the issues , strategize response, develop a coordinative approach and increase action.”

Speaking, the Senior Research and Policy Lead, Nextier SPD, Dr. Ndubuisi Nwokolo, pointed out that the insecurity bedevilling the north should not be seen as a northern problem.

Kano State Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested the former speaker and now minority leader of Kano State House of Assembly, Isiyaku Ali Danja, over alleged abuse of office and misappropriation of N1.5 billion meant for payment of tax liabilities to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

Danja got into trouble following a petition that funds meant for payment of tax liabilities to FIRS by Kano State

diverted and misappropriated to the tune of over N1.5 billion from the sub-treasury account of the state government.

Several suspicious payments were allegedly traced to some beneficiaries, including some made to Allad Drilling Limited, a company in which the suspect is the sole signatory.

Investigation by EFCC revealed that the funds were on several occasions, personally withdrawn in cash by the suspect, while he was the only one who could officially state

any payments could be made.

It would be recalled that EFCC had earlier arrested Kano State Commissioner for Special Duties, Mukhtar Ishaq, for allegedly diverting funds meant for Kano Municipal Local Government while he was chairman of the said local government.

Mukhtar was arrested by EFCC following a petition that alleged that while he was chairman of Kano Municipal, he diverted funds meant for projects, development and

The petitioner alleged that Mukhtar ordered the deduction of N30,000 from the account of each council member without justification.

Mukhtar was also alleged to have converted property of Kofar Nasarawa Primary School, Kano, into shops and sold same at the rate of N10 million per shop and diverted the money to personal use.

Both suspects would be charged to court on completion of investigations, a statement

by EFCC said.

Benue Residents Raise the Alarm over Influx of 5,000 EFCC Arrests Ex-Kano Assembly Speaker over N1.5bn Fraud Herds of Cattle Government were allegedly whether jobs were done before empowerment of the people.

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja George Okoh in Makurdi

Residents of some communities in Benue State have raised alarm following the influx of over 5, 000 cows and some herdsmen in some parts of the state despite the banned on open grazing in the state.

Some of the residents in Ado, Guma, Kwande, Agatu and Logo local government areas of the state have been leaving their abode in drove to forstall any impending conflict with the herders.

Residents in these areas who pleaded anonymity told journalists that the increasing presence of the herds of cattle was frightening, adding that some people have already started relocating to other safer areas.

“With the movement of large herds of cattle in our community, we are afraid because it portends danger. We recall the incident of the past years especially how hundreds

of people were murdered and many others have taken refuge in camps but yet to return home till now. Something should be done soon. The security operatives should be alive to their responsibilities,” a resident of Guma cried out.

Commenting on the development, Governor Samuel Ortom’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Terver Akase, alleged that the sudden influx of armed herdsmen in some parts of the state was “politically motivated.”

Akase, who stated this in a telephone conversation with journalists yesterday, alleged that some enemies of the state (though he failed to mention names) were behind the massive movement of herdsmen to destabilise the state government.

“We suspect that the influx of armed herdsmen with their cattle into Benue State is a move by some persons who are enemy of peace of the state.

FCT Police Arrest Suspect over Murder of Abuja Disco Official

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

Federal Capital Territory Police Command yesterday arrested a suspect, Oputa Vitus, in connection with the murder of a staff of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

The official was attacked and stabbed with a knife by

the suspect at Pasali, Kabusa on Tuesday.

The command said the arrest was consequent upon a distress call received on February 25 at about 1444hrs at Kabusa Division that the suspect armed with a knife inflicted serious injury on two AEDC staff who were deployed to the community on

official assignment.

Public Relations Officer, FCT Police Command, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, said following the attack, “one Ibrahim Garba Haji ‘m’ 50 years old staff of AEDC, who was stabbed on the chest, was certified dead at the hospital where he was rushed to for medical attention.

Meanwhile, the second victim

is still on hospital admission.”

He said the knife used during the attack was recovered and would be tendered as exhibit.

Manzah said the command has commenced a discreet investigation into the unfortunate incident and the suspect would be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of the investigation.

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WHO Charges Nigeria, Others to Ramp up Preparation for Coronavirus Death toll rises to 2,715 globally Martins Ifijeh The World Health Organisation (WHO), African region, has called on Nigeria and other African countries to ramp up their preparation activities for the deadly coronavirus, as the window of opportunity available to African countries for preparation was closing.

In a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, the Regional Director of WHO Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said Algeria’s Ministry of Health had alerted the global health body of a 61-year-old Italian

who arrived in the country on February 17 from Italy tested positive to the virus.

Moeti said: “The window of opportunity the continent has to prepare for the coronavirus disease is closing.

All countries must ramp up their preparedness.

“WHO is preparing to deploy a team of experts to Algeria to support its health authorities.”

Algeria is one of 13 countries which WHO has identified as a top priority for preparedness measures due to their direct links or high volume of travel to China. Nigeria was named

on the same list.

Countries so far affected are Bahrain, Israel, Italy, Egypt, Canada, United States, Iran, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, France, Afghanistan, Israel, Kuwait, UAE, Vietnam, United Kingdom, India, Russia, Nepal, Belgium, Sweden, Australia, Croatia, Finland,

Iraq, Nepal, Oman, Philippine, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Algeria, China among others.

Meanwhile, the WHO has said governments and pharmaceutical giants must urgently begin expensive and risky work to develop vaccines against COVID-19.

The Emergency Director of WHO, Michael Ryan, said: “Big decisions need to be taken as vaccines will require huge investment, and the state sector will have to take some of the risk with the private sector.

“It requires hundreds of millions of dollars, and it may be necessary to develop several

potential vaccines “without any certainty that one of them will work,” he said.

Ryan also said it had “become very important to conclusively identify the source of the outbreak in order to prevent another. A single transmission chain has been identified but there could be others.”

Police Arrest Three Teachers for Alleged Rape in Ekiti Victor Ogunje in Ado-Ekiti Ekiti State Police Command has arrested three secondary school teachers for allegedly had carnal knowledge of female students who were deemed to be minors.

The three suspects, who are currently being detained at the command’s headquarters in Ado-Ekiti, were from Osi Grammar School, Osi Ekiti in Ido/Osi local Government Area and All Saints Grammar School in Ado-Ekiti metropolis.

Ekiti State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, had last week raised the alarm over incessant cases of alleged rape in many of the secondary schools across the state.

Fapahunda pledged that all the cases already reported to the government and security agencies would be investigated and the culprits prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.

Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Police Command, Mr. Sunday Abutu, yesterday

confirmed the teachers’ arrest.

The police spokesman said the suspects were alleged to have had sexual intercourse with the victims.

Abutu said the teachers were reported to the police through a petition received from an activist (name withheld) that the suspects allegedly molested the victims sexually.

“The suspects, one from Osi Grammar School and two from All Soul’s Grammar School are in our custody and they are giving us useful information.

“We have invited the victims and they are giving useful information to us as well.

“But as of now, the victim from Osi Grammar School declined the allegation while being interrogated. “But we are not resting, we will get to the root of the matter,” he said.

Abutu said the victims from All Soul’s have been invited by the police for interrogation, saying they are yet to give information concerning the incident.

House Pledges to Pass PIGB in June Adedayo Akinwale inAbuja House of Representatives yesterday said it would pass the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) before the end of June.

The Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, said though PIGB has been in the National Assembly for years, the current 9th Assembly was committed to putting it to rest.

Gbajabiamila stated this yesterday when a delegation of the Experts Advisory Panel of the Nigeria Natural Resource Charter paid him a courtesy call in Abuja.

He explained that the PIGB is on the front burner of the House, assuring that the lawmakers would commence the process of its passage soon.

Gbajabiamila said: “The legislature needs to work with you. We need to work together.

Oil and gas is an integral part of our economy. It remains the mainstay of our economy, and so we have to work together to protect it.

“It requires us to work with those who understand the nuances of that sector. For the oil and gas industry to develop, there has to be a symbiotic relationship. You have the knowledge and we have the capacity to make it happen.

“PIGB is on the front burner. We intend to start the process soon.

We’re hoping that by June, we’ll be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Gbajabiamila assured that the House would use the zeal and patriotism with which it passed the Deep Offshore Sharing Agreement Law to pass the PIGB. He added that the lawmakers would put Nigeria first, just like they did with the passage of the Deep Offshore bill into law, saying that’s what they would do with the PIGB. Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, noted that the panel’s main concern was the implementation of the natural resource charter for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector to benefit the citizens.

MINISTERIAL JOKES...

L-R: Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola; Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan; and Minister of State for Works and Housing, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, during the FEC meeting at the Council Chambers, State House, Abuja... yesterday

Court Restrains FG from Deducting Rivers Funds on Mbede, Akiri Oil Wells Davidson Iriekpen A Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the federal government and its agencies from deducting funds meant for Rivers State in respect of the Mbede and Akiri Oil Wells.

Justice Tawo Tawo gave the ruling yesterday in an originating summons filed by the Attorney General of Rivers State against the Attorney General of the Federation, the Attorney General of Imo State, the Accountant General of the Federation, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the Minister of Finance .

The Attorney General of Rivers State moved the originating summons: “Pursuant to order 3 Rule 6, 7, and 9 of the Federal High (Civil Procedures) Rules 2019 Section 7 of the National

Boundary Commission (Establishment) Act Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the inherent jurisdiction of the Federal High Court as preserved by Section 6 (6) of the 1999 Constitution.”

The immediate past Imo State Governor, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, had written to President Muhamadu Buhari demanding revenue from the Federation Account in respect of the Mbede and Akiri Oil Wells.

The Rivers State Government went to court over the matter.

The court declared that Rivers State Government is entitled to continue to receive and retain revenue from the Federation Account and other accounts maintained for the purpose in respect of revenue derived from oil wells within the territory of Rivers State

based on the 13 per cent derivation formula currently applied by the 4th defendant.

The court further declared that the Rivers State Government (represented by the plaintiff on record) is entitled to receive and retain revenue from the Federation Account as provided for under the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in respect of revenue drive from the oil wells generally referred to as Akiri and Mbede Oil Wells located within the Rivers State territory.

Justice Tawo declared that the President and Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, represented by the 1st defendant on record), are not entitled to give directives to the 4th defendant with regard to distribution of public revenue from the distributable pool account,

including the Federation Account and that they are not entitled to interfere in any manner whatsoever with the distribution of public revenue from the distributable pool account, including the Federation Account.

The court held that the Imo State Government (represented by the 2nd defendant) is not entitled to alter or cause to be altered, to deny or cause to be denied, whether through the instrumentality of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (represented by the 1st defendant) or any manner howsoever the revenue due to the Rivers State Government in accordance with the principle and formula for distributing public revenue for the time being under the 1999 Constitution.

Kidnappers to Face Death Penalty in Gombe Segun Awofadeji in Gombe Anybody found guilty of kidnapping in Gombe State now stand the risk of capital punishment, when Governor Inuwa Yahaya signs into law, Gombe State Kidnapping and Abduction Prohibition Law, 2020.

Gombe State House of Assembly yesterday passed the bill into law.

Speaking at yesterday’s plenary, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Abubakar Ibrahim, said the governor has

been eagerly waiting to assent the bill into law.

In an interview shortly after the Assembly passed the bill, the speaker explained that what prompted the bill was the prevalence of kidnappings in the state.

He said: “We, the legislators, felt we should do something to protect the lives of our people.”

“The bill seeks to prohibit any act, move or attempt that has to do with kidnapping by way of calling somebody on phone, taking someone or persons to

hide somewhere by way of sending text messages or writing letters. Any one that attempts to kidnap somebody or to send fear into somebody relating to kidnapping or abduction is punishable under this law.

“We hope and pray that Governor Yahaya will assent to this bill immediately just like he has been promising.

One of his major concerns is the security of Gombe State,” he said.

The speaker added that “Adamwa and Taraba states

have all passed such a bill into law, making most of these kidnappers to move their base into Gombe State, since we didn’t have that law yet.”

According to him, “The laws we had were those that had to do with abduction of teenagers, child molestation and so forth.

But we didn’t have specific laws dealing with kidnapping in Gombe State, for such act comes in various ways. That is why the law captured all the ways and manners kidnappings are being done.

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Kwara APC Crisis Deepens as Hoodlums Attack Chairman, Other Officials Gov condemns alleged attack Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in Kwara State deepened on Tuesday as the state chairman of the party, Hon. Bashr Bolarinwa and other members of the state working committee of the party were attacked by some suspected thugs at Shao town in Moro Local Government Area of the state.

But in a swift reaction, the state government has condemned the attack on the state chairman of the party, describing the incident as disturbing.

During the attack, the party bus that convened the party state working committee were smashed by the suspected party thugs, forcing the people at the venue to run for their dear lives.

The incident according to THISDAY checks happened during the “thank-you tour” by the state party executives committee to thank the members of the party for their support during the last general election and to seek more support for the administration and to sustain the support.

This new development in the party, according to THISDAY checks, might not be unconnected with the internal crisis that had rocked the party shortly after the electoral victory during the last year’s general election.

The crisis it was gathered, has caused factions within the

party in the state to the extent that, it has snowballed into the festering squabbles between the governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq and other top APC leaders in the state.

However, on Tuesday, some groups invaded the venue of the meeting of the “thank-you tour” of the state executive council committee at Shao town and prevented the party chairman and members of his team from holding the planned meeting and attacked the bus that conveyed them to the venue.

Confirming the development, the state vice chairman of the party, Mr. Sunday Oyebiyi, described the attack as unfortunate, saying it could lead to disintegration of the party in the state.

He called on the members of the party to remain calm and embrace peace and love in their dealings.

Meanwhile, Governor Abdulrasaq has condemned attack on party chairman and his entourage to Shao, and called on the police command to fish out all the perpetrators and prosecute them.

In the statement issued by the govenor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye, the governor described the attack as disturbing.

“We condemn in strongest terms possible the alleged attack on the state chairman of the APC Hon. Bashiru Omolaja Bolarinwa

PDP Summons Emergency Meeting Today Chuks Okocha in Abuja The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has summoned an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.

In a brief statement by the

National Secretary of the PDP, Senator Umaru Tsuari, he said members of the PDP NEC are hereby invited to an emergency meeting of the NEC on February 27, 2020.

However, no reason was given for the NEC meeting.

Coronavirus, Lassa Fever: House Seeks Procurement Power for Ministry of Health Udora Orizu in Abuja Worried about the shortage of protective equipment at the Ministry of Health to contain threats of coronavirus and Lassa fever, the House of Representatives has urged the federal government to restore the procurement powers of the ministry with immediate effect.

This resolution follows the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance titled: ‘Serious Impediments in the Concerted and Rapid Response Efforts by the Federal Government to Contain and Deal with the Grievous Threats of Lassa Fever and Coronavirus and Other Related Matters’, which was jointly sponsored

by Shehu Balarabe Kakale, Tanko Sonunu and Babatunde Adejare.

Presenting the motion, Kakale noted that the inability of the ministry to procure equipment such as protective personnel gadgets, laboratory and logistical equipment/

services, reagents and drugs is seriously hampering the efforts of the federal government to tight and contain the coronavirus and Lassa fever epidemics.

He expressed concerns that even basic protective equipment like face masks, thermal scanners and gloves are rapidly depleted and going out of stock in the ministry.

The lawmaker lamented that the federal government decision to transfer procurement powers from health ministry to the Ministry of Agriculture has seriously caused inefficiency, delays and corrupt practices in the system putting millions of Nigerian lives and the economy in grievous danger.

According to him, “We are concerned that all procurement issues of one mandated ministry are going to another ministry, and in this case, agriculture, which means an outright violation of the Procurement Act, and therefore illegal.”

allegedly by some hoodlums in Moro Local Government Area.

This is very disturbing. The Governor is very proud of the

peaceful atmosphere in the state and seriously frowns at any action

that might heat up the polity under whatever guise”.

EYEING INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE…

L-R: French Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Didier Guillaume; and Kwara State Governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, when the governor was receiving a souvenir after a meeting with the minister in Paris…recently

Boko Haram Abducts Civilian JTF Head in Borno Village Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

The head of the Civilian Joint Task Force in a community in Borno was yesterday abducted alongside others by suspected Boko Haram fighters.

One of the chieftains of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Borno State, Mr. Abba Aji Kalli said the head of the CJTF in Bambula in Chibok Local Government Area of the state was abducted alongside others in an attack on the village.

Bambula, which is few

kilometres from Chibok, was invaded at about 4a.m yesterday, when many were still asleep.

The source said the assailants kidnapped the head of the CJTF in the community, Mr. Mohammed Abba, whom they have targeted for so long because he had always resisted their advances on the small community.

A resident of Chibok who also spoke anonymously to THISDAY in Maiduguri, said Abba had been the insurgents’ target since he

refused to get compromised.

She said Abba was abducted alongside many others mostly youths who are yet to be identified.

She said some of their people who called the people living in Maiduguri, said the sporadic gunshots of the insurgents rudely woke them up.

She said: “We were told the insurgents came in through Ajigum Talala, a part of the forest where Boko Haram has stronghold.

“They headed straight for Abba’s house and took him

with them; he had always received warning that he should stop his antagonistic action and join up with them, which he has always turned down.”

She said: “The people also told us that many others who were not quick enough to flee were abducted and taken away. They also razed some properties, including a vehicle belonging to the community head.”

The Army spokesman, Col. Sagir Musa, could not be reached for comments as at time of filing this report.

Lagos Warns Truck Drivers against Recklessness on Roads Dike Onwuamaeze The Lagos State Government has warned that it would no longer tolerate the recklessness exhibited by truck drivers who are causing havoc on the Lagos roads.

The state government also said that it would commission an inquiry to ascertain whether the accidents involving tankers and articulated vehicles, which seem to have developed a consistent pattern, were not deliberate acts of carnage.

It noted that it has observed in the past three months that the

state has experienced an upsurge in the number of trailers/tankers involved in major accidents on the expressways and major arteries.

A press release issued yesterday by the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Lagos State, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, said that the state government would not allow the lives of Lagosians and visitors to be put at risk even though it would encourage people to do business in Lagos.

“The Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS) is to step up its activities in the government’s

bid to stop such accidents involving trucks and others.

“The government is also curious about the persistence of tanker accidents at the Berger end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the resultant gridlock that trails the incidents, spiraling through the entire Ikeja axis of the State and traumatising motorists and commuters.

“On Tuesday, two incidents, one involving a tanker that fell and exploded in flames on Kara Bridge on the outskirts of Lagos and the other involving a heavy-duty truck carrying farm

products around Magboro, left motorists and commuters stranded on the Expressway till the early hours of yesterday,” Omotoso said.

He said that the government sympathised with Lagosians on the discomfort resulting from the attitude of careless and reckless drivers travelling from the outskirts into Lagos.

“We will continue to engage the Ogun State Government as well as federal government agencies to identify the cause of the recurring Lagos-Ibadan Expressway accidents and fashion out solutions.

GOtv Offer to End in Three Days GOtv customers can still enjoy the “Step Up” offer to higher packages until February 29, when the campaign ends.

The Step Up offer commenced on January 15 and affords all active and disconnected GOtv customers, especially those on GOtv Jolli, Jinja, Plus, Value and Lite packages, the chance to watch varied programming available across higher packages at the price of a lower package at the start of 2020.

The offer ensures all GOtv

customers on the Jolli, Jinja, Plus, Value and Lite packages who pay for their current packages are upgraded to the next higher package to get access to the best of sports, latest news, local movies, series, reality shows and general entertainment content for 30 days.

The Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. Martin Mabutho, said the offer demonstrates the company’s dedication to reward and provide more value to its

customers “Our customers deserve only the best and we decided to provide them with more value with this special offer. By rolling out this Step Up offer our GOtv customers, particularly at the beginning of the year which is always loaded with financial commitment and constraints, we are telling our customers that we are a customer-centric company and are ready to make more content accessible to them in 2020,” he said.

Customers will enjoy

contents such as the ongoing Ultimate Love reality TV show with single men and women undergoing a series of activities in the hope of finding their ‘ultimate love’.

The show airs 24/7 on the dedicated channel 29 and is available on GOtv Max and Jolli and for a limited period from Monday, 24 February, till Monday, March 2 on GOtv Plus. The weekly highlights air on Africa Magic Family (channel 2) every Saturday at 10.30p.m

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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

24 HOURS...

Adamu Rallies Support for FG to Tackle Security Challenges The Senator representing Nasarawa West senatorial district, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, yesterday urged Nigerians to support the federal government in tackling the lingering security challenges in the country.

Adamu made this appeal in a statement in Abuja against the backdrop of security problems in some parts of the country.

The senator said the call became necessary given the heightening agitations on the security situation in the county.

Adamu who served as a two-term governor of Nasarawa State, is also the Turakin Keffi.

He said: “The current security challenges are such that all patriots must rally round the federal government and our men in

uniform whose lives are placed on harm’s way in the course of performing their duties to the nation. We are duty-bound to appreciate them.

“I appreciate the fact that the fundamental duty of every government is to protect lives and

property of its citizenry.

“But in moments like this, every citizen has an inherent duty and responsibility to stand up with government to overcome the type of security challenges our country faces today.

“Our security should be every

citizen’s concern. The need for all hands to be on deck does not have to be overemphasised.”

He warned against the politicisation of security challenges in the country.

He added: “In fact, Nigeria and Nigerians had in the past

overcome greater challenges. We can, together, do it again.

“We must desist from politicising our security challenges.

“It is important to highlight the fact that this is about saving our country. We all have a duty to put Nigeria first.”

Agabi Explains Defence of Alleged Criminals by Lawyers Alex Enumah in Abuja A former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), yesterday explained why lawyers in the country defend suspects charged with corruption and other crimes.

Agabi gave the explanation at the inauguration of Mahmud and Co Law Office in Abuja.

The former AGF explained that lawyers, by their professional duties, are bound to defend suspects even those they believe are guilty of the crimes they are charged with.

According to him, “People cannot understand why we defend crime or criminals.

People wonder whether we serve the true ends of justice when we successfully defend those accused of criminal offences.

“What are we to do when called upon to defend those who are stigmatised as corrupt or who have come under suspicion and charged to court?

“Because the constitution presumes all accused persons to be innocent until proven guilty, we are not allowed to condemn them until a court of competent

jurisdiction has done so.

“We are not Judges. We are lawyers; and what a dreadful day for the country if we were to take upon ourselves to condemn people and to refuse to defend them on the ground of our conviction that they are guilty even before they are tried.

Agabi, however, said it was disheartening that lawyers had come under justifiable suspicion of aiding and facilitating the corruption that now threatened the very foundation of the country. “The question that every lawyer must ask himself now ‘is whether he or she is using the knowledge for the L-R: Alaafin of Oyo Kingdom, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; wife of Ondo State Governor and founder, Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria benefit of the country and his (BRECAN), Mrs. Betty Anyanwu- Akeredolu; and wife of Alaafin of Oyo, Olori Dami Adeyemi, during a ‘thank you’ visit to the Alaafin of Oyo fellow citizens’.

Kingdom, for being a strong supporter of BRECAN, Oyo State Chapter in marking 2020 #WorldCancerDay...yesterday “If we are not able to use our knowledge and learning for the benefit of the country and fellow citizens, then we should give up our books and take Kaduna State University has new students in Kafanchan. adding that it was a sad alone, about 80 students were to other professions,” he said. expelled about 80 students for The News Agency of development, considering the expelled from the university President of the National various forms of examination Nigeria (NAN) reported stiff competition for admission for various examination Industrial Court (NIC), malpractices during the that the matriculation of into the institution. misconducts. Of this number, Justice Benedict Kanyip, who 2018/2019 academic session. the new students was done “With the increase in 10 came from the Kafanchan represented the CJN, Justice The Coordinator of the simultaneously in the Kaduna students’ population over campus.

Tanko Muhammad, commended Kafanchan campus of the and Kafanchan campuses of the years, comes serious “This development is sad, Mahmud Magaji (SAN) for his institution, Prof. Ahmed the institution. challenges, the most disturbing given the stiff competition effort, describing the law office Ahmed, stated this yesterday Ahmed noted that of the being the issue of examination students have had to face in as “fantastic.” during the 2019/2020 80 students expelled, 10 were malpractices. gaining admission into the matriculation ceremony for from the Kafanchan campus, “In the 2018/2019 session institution,” he added.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST CANCER…

Kaduna University Expels 80 Students for Exam Malpractices

Ogun PDP Factions Unite, Gombe Begins Implementation of N30, 000 Minimum Wage Agree to Work Together Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau, According tp the agreement, considered during the review Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Chuks Okocha in Abuja

With the exit of Alhaji Buruji Kashimu from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), two factions of the Ogun State chapter of the party have agreed to put their differences behind and work together in the interest of the party.

Former gubernatorial candidate, Ladi Adebutu, and Semiu Sodipo led a delegation that met with the national leadership of the party in Abuja yesterday to apprise it of their decision to reunite.

The National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, who received united members of PDP from Ogun State, expressed delight that they had resolved to reconcile their differences, assuring them of the national leadership’s support.

Secondus reminded Ogun PDP delegates that it was only the National Working Committee (NWC) that could call congresses and forward names of candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as any other thing would be contrary to electoral laws.

He further affirmed that PDP was the political party with the

best structure in the country, and appealed to all Nigerians to support it in order to rescue the country.

According to Secondus, “This shows clearly that PDP has an internal conflict resolution mechanism to settle issues that have lingered for long time.

By your statement and your submission today, it means that all the troubles in Ogun State have been put to rest, including the legal issues.”

The party boss said the PDP would continue to insist that other political party members join it to build the country, which he said, was in turmoil.

Speaking earlier, Adebutu recalled that the state chapter of the PDP had been embroiled in crisis for 12 years with two parallel executive committees, while its fortunes had continued to dwindle.

He said: “The chapter of the party in the state had been embroiled in conflicts for 12 years.

So, a chapter that had 100 percent of all the elective positions in the state has now moved to a party that only has just one out of the 40 elective positions.

Gombe State Government and the organised labour in the state have agreed on the payment of N30,000 as the new minimum wage, as its implementation took effect from January 1, 2020.

This was after series of negotiations between the government team, led by the state Deputy Governor,

and the organised labour as well as the Joint Negotiation Council.

According to the agreement signed by all the parties at a meeting in the office of the deputy governor yesterday, the new minimum wage of N30, 000 will be paid to civil servants, including those in local government areas and Local Education Authorities (LEA).

“The effective date of the implementation of the new national minimum wage shall be April 18, 2019, nationally while financially, it will take effect from January 1, 2020.”

In the meantime, 65 per cent on the increase of CONHESS and CONMESS will be implemented in the state civil service and the remaining 35 per cent will be

between the period of six and 12 months from the effective date of implementation.

The state Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, had in December 2019, constituted a 15- man committee headed by the state deputy governor to negotiate the N30,000 minimum wage and the consequential adjustments.

NIWA to License Boats to Operate in Nigeria’s Waterways Onungwe Obe in Yenagoa The Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Chief George Moghalu, has said soon boats and water vessels that do not have permits issued by the Authority will not be allowed in the Nigeria’s inland waterways.

Moghalu, who stated this during his visit to NIWA’s operational base in Yenagoa, the Bayesla State capital, yesterday, said all boats using the waterways would have to meet safety standards.

“We are going to play clearly and strictly our regulatory roles.

We are going to enforce the use of permits before boats can enter the waterways because we cannot allow rickety vessels to waste the lives of Nigerians,” he said.

NIWA boss disclosed that the Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a firm to provide lifejackets across all water formations in Nigeria.

“We have started clearing water debris and water hyacinth on some of our channels. We have also started training

processes in some of our locations,” Moghalu added.

All these, he said, were part of measures NIWA was puting in place to make inland waterway transportation the transport means of choice in the shortest possible time in the country.

He lamented that the country was losing a lot because people knew very little about NIWA and inland water transportation, adding: “So we are out to get NIWA to the public eye.”

The NIWA managing director has earlier inspected facilities at the Yenagoa base of the

Authority where he noted with dismay the dilapidated state of the facilities, which he said was inimical to the security of the base.

Many serviceable boats, including passenger and gunboats, had been left to rot away while most of the perimeter fence had collapsed.

The ceiling in the main office had collapsed and the roof was leaking, it was learnt.

The MD, however, promised that the Authority would do everything possible to support the Bayelsa State base to recover and meet its targets.

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˜ ͺͿ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

World Players’ Union, FIFPro, Bans Players from Signing Contracts with FC IfeayiUbah

Duro Ikhazuagbe The global umbrella body for players, Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels, (FIFPro), has advised professional footballers not to sign contracts to play for NPFL side, FC IfeanyiUbah due to what it calls repeated

non-payment of salaries and other contractual obligations.

The Nnewi-based club that is one of the only two privately owned teams in the Nigerian top flight, was recently added to the updated list of clubs that players shouldn’t sign for In Africa.

The body announced it updated decision on debtor

Aruna Quadri, Offiong Edem Beaten in ITTF Africa Cup Finals Nigeria’s duo of Aruna Quadri and Offiong Edem lost in the finals of the 2020 ITTF Africa Cup to Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh and Dina Meshref as this year’s edition ended in Tunis on Wednesday afternoon.

After Aruna came back from two games down to beat former Africa’s Number one player, Omar Assar 4-3 to reach the final, the Nigerian champion was expected to have an easy ride to the title.

But Saleh proved a tough customer to the two-time champion. Saleh whose last major title was in 2012 defeated Aruna Quadri 4-3 (11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3) to emerge as the new champion.

Unlike Saleh, Meshref continues her dominance in Africa when she edged out Nigeria’s Offiong Edem 4-1 (11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6) to retain the title being her fourth trophies in the competition.

In the third place matches, Egypt’s Omar Assar beat

Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw 3-0 (116, 11-8, 12-10) while Cameroun’s Sarah Hanffou defeated Egypt’s Yousra Helmy 3-1 (11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 12-10) to settle for bronze medals.

An elated Saleh said: “I am very happy because I could not imagine that I will go past Aruna in this tournament. All I did was to focus from the first point to the end,” he said.

The Egyptian veteran added: “I really don’t want to quit at 40 as I want to play until my body cannot do it anymore. I love table tennis and I will continue.”

For Meshref, winning the title this year was a bit tasking.

“When I started the competition, I just stay focus, play my game and not think about how many times I had won it in the past. I must commend Edem because she is an experienced player who played extremely well.

She changed tactic every time which sometimes make it difficult to play against her,” admitted Meshref

clubs via its twitter handle yesterday.

FIFPRO is the worldwide representative organisation for 65,000 professional footballers across the world and usually helps fight claims belonging to players especially as regards wages.

Last July, FIFPRO advised professional footballers not to sign for some African clubs because of repeated non-payment of salaries The clubs listed back then were Club Africain of Tunisia,

Chabab Rif Al Hoceima of Morocco, Lusaka Dynamos and Lusaka City Council Club both of Zambia and Black Forest FC of Botswana.

Seven months later, the body released an update via its official twitter handle and went on to include FC IfeanyiUbah and a Zambian side FC Nkana because of repeated nonpayment of salaries.

FC IfeanyiUbah is owned by oil and gas businessman, Ifeanyi Ubah. At inception, it was one of the best managed

teams in the Nigerian pro rank, contracting players from several countries including Brazil.

It also entered into partnership with West Ham of England and went into an ambitious project of building its own stadium.

All attempts to get a top club official to speak on the ban from FIFPro failed while Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Shehu Dikko could not be reached as he was away in London attending the football stakeholders summit.

Meanwhile, Nasarawa yesterday fought back from a goal down as early as the fourth minute and earned maximum points that lift them out of the drop zone of the NPFL Israel Abia fired Rangers ahead through a direct free kick in the fourth minute but the home side won a penalty almost immediately, which Abubakar Lawal converted in the seventh minute, while Abdullah Abubakar got the winning goal in the 52nd minute.

Egyptian duo of Meshref (left) and Saleh taking selfie with the 2020 ITTF Africa Cup trophies after conquering Nigeria’s Offiong Edem and Aruna Quadri respectively in the finals yesterday in Tunisia

Athletes Set Impressive Eto Arrives Nigeria to Launch Castle Africa Records at Maltina 5s Hosted by Trophy Lager School Games Football fans in Nigeria are in from several African countries performance earned Nigeria Building up to the launch, The duo of Ojo John and Ajayi Kayinsola emerged as the fastest athletes in the Lagos State finals of the Maltina School Games concluded yesterday at the Sports Complex of the Yaba College of Technology.

In what could be best described as a befitting climax, Ojo, a student of Ijaiye Housing Secondary School won the Senior Girls 100m with an impressive time of 12.69 sec while Ajayi was simply uncatchable as he raced to the first position in the Senior Boys category; breasting the tape in a remarkable time of 11.30sec.

The Maltina School Games is one of the latest innovation from the stable of Nigeria Breweries Plc, targeted at reviving sports in schools; especially athletics which used to be one of the strongholds of the country.

The National Trade Marketing Manager Nigerian Breweries Plc, Funsho Ayeni, expressed delight at the massive turnout of schools and more importantly with splendid performances recorded by the youngsters.

“Of course we are very impressed with these huge turnouts as we had over 180

schools from the six Educational Districts here competing” “For us at Maltina aside from our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), our goal is to help with active kids and create happy moments like this and we are glad about the massive success we have recorded in Lagos.”

Ayeni further disclosed that Maltina’s excitement is not just restricted to Lagos as even more electrifying atmosphere is playing out in Kano, Onitsha and Abuja where other state finals are also been conducted ahead of next month’s National Finals in Lagos.

In Awka, Anambra State, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education represented by the Chinwe Ezenwanne, who is a Director in the ministry of Basic Education at the State final yesterday said that sports should be given priority especially in schools.

She said that sports is important urging the youths to take advantage of the platform introduce by the Maltina brand of drink as they hoped to reach the peak of their respective careers through sport.

for a big thrill as Samuel Eto’o Fils, one of Africa’s greatest football legends, has arrived in Lagos for the launch of the 2020 edition of Castle Africa 5s, the continental leg of the Trophy 5-A-Side Developmental Football tournament.

Eto arrived in Lagos yesterday 26th and was received by the Trophy Lager team in company with International Breweries management and members of the sports media.

Castle Africa 5s is the continent’s biggest amateur 5-a-side football competition involving grassroots teams

in which the world’s largest brewer, ABInBev operates.

The competition, which started in 2016 in South Africa with only six countries has grown bigger in scope and had Nigeria participate for the first time in the 2019 tournament which held in Tanzania.

Performing at their best, the Nigerian 5-a-Side team, after emerging winners of the local 5-a-Side tournament, organised

by Trophy Lager, a foremost brand of International Breweries Plc, went ahead to clinch the continental trophy.

According to organizers of the launch, this superlative

a pride of place, hence the decision to launch the 2020 edition of the continental competition on Nigerian soil.

Football loving countries like Ghana, Uganda, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia,and Zimbabwe are expected to grace the launch event, and later in the year, compete together with Nigeria for the 2020 Castle Africa 5s trophy.

The legendary Eto, as Castle Africa 5s Brand Ambassador, alongside other football dignitaries will officially launch the continental tournament on Friday, 28th of February 2020 in Lagos.

Eto will engage with the public, football lovers, key football stakeholders and the media through various brands and corporate activities.

The Castle Africa 5s is the African leg of the national Trophy 5-a-Side developmental football initiative, where amateur 5-a-Side teams from across Nigeria compete for a chance to emerge as the champions of the tournament.

Winners of the Trophy 5-a-Side competition will have the unique opportunity to be mentored by accomplished football internationals and participate in the Castle Africa 5s tournament.

Oyo Targets Male Trophy of MASVI Invitationnal Cycling Race Oyo State Cycling coach, Joy Omeboh, is targeting the male trophy in the MASVI invitational Cycling race billed to hold in Owan West Local Government area on Saturday.

While affirming that Oyo has quality cyclists to win the male trophy in Sobe on Saturday, Coach Omeboh said, “Ajibade Quadri won the male race in Ilorin last December. He is one

of the best in the road race in the country”.

The Delta-born coach gave the names of Oyo riders for the race as Ajibode Quadri, Azzez Abbas, Johnson Timilehin and Michael Segun for the male race while the female riders for the state at the race on Saturday include, Durogbade Adejoke and Yekeen Tawakalitu .

Their coaches to lead the team include Olalere Alao and Joy Omeboh.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Owan West Local Government Area, Hon. Frank Ilaboya, has assured cycling enthusiasts of a hitch-free race, adding that “everything needed to make the race an eventful one have been put in place’”.

The former Edo State

Football Association Chairman said the state’s Deputy Governor, Hon. Philip Shaibu is expected to flag off the race by 8am on Saturday.

Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Delta, Rivers, Cross River and Edo states are expected to participate in the race that will see the male cyclists ride 100 kilometres and the female ride 80 kilometres.

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MISSILE Ndudi Elumelu to Olusegun Odebunmi “Our people are being killed and butchered and you are coming up with a bill on the issue of immunity. I think it is wrong and should not be allowed” – House of Representatives Minority Leader, Hon Ndudi Elumelu dismissing Hon Odebunmi’s motion seeking to amend section 308 of the 1999 constitution to confer immunity on National Assembly leadership.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

When Judges Become Our Electoral College

W

hile blaming the ruling APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for “the problems associated with candidates’ selection process” in the party, the Director General of the Progressives Congress Forum, Mr. Salihu Lukeman added that democracy in Nigeria is now anchored not on the choice of the electorate, but on “what can be regarded as an electoral college”.

As he put it, “Citizens can vote but our Supreme Court will eventually determine the winner.” His reaction was to the internal contradictions within APC but he could not have been more apt about what democracy has become in Nigeria today.

Democracy, according to Ross Feingold, is considered the most legitimate form of government because the power of choice rests with the people. “But when this power dynamic is altered and citizens lose their influence, the legitimacy of the system is threatened”. That is where we are in Nigeria today because the choices made by citizens with their ballots are being increasingly rendered useless. And this threat to ‘the legitimacy on the system’ is coming from our courts, including the highest court in the country whose decisions are not only final but affect those of lower courts.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court put a final seal on the Bayelsa State gubernatorial election by dismissing the review application of Mr David Lyon. The APC candidate had won the election in the state before the recent Supreme Court judgement that due to multiple certificates (with different names) presented by his deputy, the votes accorded him be voided and his defeated opponent in the PDP be declared winner.

That, of course, is pleasing to the PDP leaders who have been carrying their pot bellies from one embassy to another in an ill-advised campaign against the Supreme Court. Sadly, it has also led to a more sinister decision by a number of APC hoodlums to lay siege to the home of a supreme court Justice. But whichever way we look at the ugly developments, it is very disturbing that the integrity of judgements coming from our courts is being openly questioned. More worrying is that in Nigeria today, neither those who cast the ballots nor those who count them is important in the democratic process. The decision as to who represents the people is now with Judges.

Since the conclusion of the 2019 general election, INEC has been compelled by the courts to withdraw 121 certificates of return from winners and award them to someone else, including those who were not even on the ballot during the election.

91 of these cases were pre-election matters which arose principally from the conduct of party primaries, even though on balance, the PDP benefitted significantly from the crisis in APC. Meanwhile, it is only in 28 cases that INEC was asked to withdraw certificates from the winners on account of issues arising from the elections. Since that speaks to the management of the political parties, there is need to look at the electoral act in a bid to solve the problem. But the greater problem is the confusion being

CJN, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad created by Judges and the inconsistencies that put our democracy in peril.

For instance, one provision of our law that is being abused by politicians with the active connivance of some Judges is Section 87, subsection 10 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) which grants dissatisfied contenders within political parties the power to seek redress at the Federal High Court or the High Court of a State. Even when the Supreme Court has settled this issue, the courts in Abuja are making a mockery of the rule of law as exemplified in the tussle for the Anambra South Senatorial seat by the trio of Chris Uba, Ifeanyi Uba and Obinna Uzor. In the election of February last year, Ifeanyi Uba of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) was declared winner while the defeated Chris Uba of the PDP petitioned the tribunal where he lost. The appeal tribunal also dismissed his petition. But Chris Uba and Obinna Uzor (who claims to have won the PDP ticket) have secured separate judgements in Abuja to throw Ifeanyi Uba out of the Senate, on account of the allegation that he forged his NECO certificate. The question is, should the courts in Abuja be entertaining an election case already settled in Anambra State?

That question is important against the background of the Supreme Court decision in the case of Audu v. APC, where the court held: “A court in one state does not have jurisdiction to hear and determine a matter which is exclusively within the jurisdiction of another state. By the Nigerian Constitution, each state of the federation is independent of the other and the jurisdiction of each state is limited to matters arising in its territory. Jurisdiction is not limited to be assumed, but must be based on the constitutional provisions that established the court.”

Apparently for the sake of emphasis, Justice Kekere-Ekun made the position very clear in the judgement: “The provision of section 87(9) of the electoral act 2010 (as amended) which provided that an aspirant may approach the federal high court or the high court of a state or the FCT for redress is to enable him approach the court nearest

to him. It is not an ‘open sesame’ for the aspirant to institute his action before any of the named court outside the geographical area where his complaint arose.”

Despite this judgement, the two Ubas and Uzor are shopping from one Abuja area council to another to obtain judgements in courts of coordinate jurisdictions that are nullifying one another!

That election matters have done incalculable damage to our judiciary can also be glimpsed from the inconsistencies that arise from our courts. Following his defeat

by Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed at the 2011 general election, former Kaduna State Governor and then Senator representing Kaduna North Senatorial District, Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, approached the Tribunal. Alleging ballot stuffing, use of fake, unsigned and unstamped ballot papers among other malpractices, Makarfi asked the tribunal for a recount of the ballot papers and his wish was granted. In the end, Makarfi was declared winner with majority of lawful votes of 364,801 against Baba-Ahmed’s 356,579 votes. Despite the fact that the Tribunal played the role of INEC in that case, when the defeated gubernatorial candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Mr Haruna Saeed Kajuru asked for a recount of the votes in the keenly contested election, the same tribunal dismissed his petition.

But perhaps the most controversial election case is that of how the ‘Ajekun Iya’ exponent, Dino Melaye was bundled out of the Senate based on a clerical error that had nothing to do with the result. Instead of 23rd February when the election was conducted, the returning officer wrote 25th February, the day the result was declared.

When Melaye’s lawyer asked the appeal tribunal to tally the figures as proof that the result was genuine, the Judges said it was not their responsibility to be doing INEC job. The election was nullified on that basis. This position would further reveal the inconsistency in the judiciary given what transpired in Zamfara, Imo and Bayelsa gubernatorial election cases finally decided by the Supreme Court.

In Zamfara, after disqualifying the APC candidates as not duly nominated and voiding the votes secured by the party for all elections in the state, the Supreme Court asked INEC to do the needful by tallying the numbers and declaring results on the basis of constitutional requirements of majority votes and spread. That was how the defeated PDP gubernatorial candidate became governor. The same decision was taken after the gubernatorial election in Bayelsa was voided due to the infractions of the gubernatorial running mate. The Supreme Court directed INEC to compute the figures and declare results, following the same constitutional provisions. But with regard to Imo State, without even presenting any figure, the Supreme Court declared as winner the man who came fourth in the election. This is despite the fact that in paragraph 39 of his original petition, Hope Uzodinma actually stated that INEC ought to have conducted supplementary elections in the 388 polling units before declaring a winner. Besides, even if persuaded that

Uzodinma secured all the votes he claimed from his 388 polling units, should INEC not have been directed to accept the results, and then conclude the exercise (including determining the issue of spread) as the Supreme Court decided in Zamfara and Bayelsa gubernatorial cases?

It is indeed telling that despite giving Uzodinma the certificate of return that made him Imo State Governor as directed by Supreme Court, INEC website still retains the election result that returned Emeka Ihedioha as winner. To tamper with the result would mean that the total votes cast in the election were more than the accredited number by 131,340. Which is why the judgement would forever remain controversial.

This then brings me to the question of the involvement of the supreme court in gubernatorial matters. Until 2011, gubernatorial elections ended at the Court of Appeal. But by assuming the jurisdiction it did not have in the Sokoto State gubernatorial election matter (which led to a serious scandal between Justice Katsina Alu and Justice Ayo Salami and brought the judiciary in Nigeria to disrepute), the Supreme Court entered the fray. That is how we have the current situation in which there are three litigations for gubernatorial election: Tribunal, Appeal Tribunal and the Supreme Court. For all other positions, including the presidency, there are only two litigations.

In his response to written questions by Hon John Thune during a congressional inquiry into Federal Circuit review and veteran laws in the United States, Justice William P Greene, posed a question: “Does an additional layer of appellate review add benefits that outweigh the associated costs?” Greene then went on to quote the observation by Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson which many now use to justify why the supreme court should review the Imo case: “Whenever decisions of one court are reviewed by another, a percentage of them are reversed. That reflects a difference in outlook normally found between personnel comprising different courts. However, reversal by a higher court is not proof that justice is thereby better done. There is no doubt that if there were a superSupreme Court, a substantial proportion of our reversals of state courts would also be reversed. We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final.”

At the end, it is very clear that while the political parties must wean themselves of bad behaviour in the conduct of their primaries to nominate candidates for elections, both the Constitution and the Electoral Act would have to be amended.

We cannot continue with a situation in which Judges will veto the choices of the electorate on the basis of technicalities. If this democracy is to survive, it is imperative that the judiciary as an institution and judges as individuals not only to be impartial to those who appear before them but also that the wider public have the confidence that cases affecting their well-being will be decided fairly and in accordance with the law.

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