MONDAY 20TH MARCH 2023

Atiku: Amaechi’s Revelation Confirms INEC in Ruling Party Candidates’ Pockets Alleges APC, electoral body have mortgaged Nigeria's democracy Chuks Okocha in Abuja The presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),

Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the revelation by the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, that the Chair-

man of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu, was allegedly recommended for his reappointment

by an associate of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu in 2020.

Speaking in Rivers State on Saturday, Amaechi had alleged that

not only did the re-appointment of the INEC chairman come from Tinubu’s camp, the INEC boss also worked under Governor Nyesom

Wike when the Rivers State governor was Minister of State for Education Continued on page 10

US Federal Reserve, Other Central Banks Move to Head Off Crisis by Keeping Dollars Flowing... Page 10 Monday 20 March, 2023 Vol 28. No 10204. Price: N250

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APC Wins Big as Guber Poll Results Come in Across Nigeria Sanwo-Olu, Makinde, Yahaya, Abiodun, Abdulrasaq, others secure re-election Ruling party retains Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, reclaims Sokoto, comfortable in Ebonyi, others Opposition party clears A’Ibom, leads in Delta, Taraba, Bauchi, Abia Tension in Adamawa as Fintiri, Binani in tough, tight race; Kebbi too Soludo maintains dominance in Anambra despite LP’s intimidation Adedayo Akinwale, Emameh Gabriel inAbuja,Segun Awofadeji inGombe, James Sowole inAbeokuta,Okon Bassey inUyo,Wole Ayodele inJalingo,Blessing IbungeinPortHarcourt, David-ChyddyElekeinAwka,BenjaminNworieinAbakaliki,SylvesterIdowuinWarri,Segun AwofadejiinBauchi,LaleyeDipoinMinna,HammedShittuinIlorin,IbrahimShuaibuinDutse, IbrahimOyawaleinLokoja;GbengaSodeindeinAdoEkiti,YinkaKolawoleinOsogbo,Michael Olugbode in Damaturu, Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto and Francis Sardauna in Katsina Results so far announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from Saturday’s governorship and Houses of Assembly elections have seen the

Re-Elected Sanwo-Olu - Lagos APC

Re-Elected Abiodun - Ogun APC

Re-Elected Makinde - Oyo PDP

Eno - Akwa Ibom PDP

Re-Elected Yahaya - Gombe APC

Re-Elected Buni - Yobe APC

Namadi - Jigawa, APC

Re-Elected Abdulrazaq, Kwara APC

Aliyu, Sokoto APC

Radda, Katsina APC

ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) celebrating big wins across the country and reasserting itself Continued on page 10

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

SEND-OFF AND CELEBRATION FOR THE OUTGOING CMD OF LUTH...

L-R: Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, LUTH, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo; Provost, College of Medicine, Dr. Wale Oke; Outgoing Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode; his wife, Josephine Bode; Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola and Head of Finance, LUTH, Alhaji Ibrahim Tajudeen, during the send-off and celebration for the outgoing CMD of LUTH, Prof. Bode held in PHOTO: ABIODUN AJALA Lagos...recently

Hope of Improved Power Supply Dashed as NERC, NBET's 5000mw Deal with Gencos, Discos, TCN, Gas Suppliers Fails Gencos blame failure on lack of contractual details Describe current power industry solutions as knee jerked, shortsighted Peter Uzoho The hope of an improved power supply in Nigeria may have dwindled following the failure of the anticipated minimum 5000 megawatts (mw) Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) activated by market participants in the second quarter of 2022 under the coordination of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET).

NERC had on June 15, 2022, announced in Lagos, that market participants including Gencos, distribution companies (Discos), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), gas suppliers and NBET had signed a contract that would ensure that at least 5000mw of power was generated, paid for 100 per cent and successfully delivered to consumers on a daily basis with effect from July 1, 2022.

But Gencos have now finally broken their silence on the failure of the deal, attributing the collapse of the PPA activation to the imposition of the contract and its terms on them, as well as the lack of key contractual details in the agreement document handed to them by the regulator.

The Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), an umbrella body of the Gencos, Dr. Joy Ogaji, made the disclosure and claims during an exclusive chat with THISDAY. Ogaji in a response to THISDAY's

inquiry on the matter, which she titled, "Why the PPA Activation Did Not Work: Gencos' Perspective," also described current power industry solutions as knee jerked, shortsighted and not sustainable.

Nigeria's power sector has continued to underperform and has defied a lot of policy measures aimed to move the needle in power supply to homes and businesses through the national grid, despite the privatisation of the generation and distribution chains of the power industry in 2013.

With approximately 13,000mw installed generation capacity, actual power supply to Nigerians continue to hobble below 5000mw post-privatisation.

The nation's power sector has been enmeshed with horrible stories of endless crashing of the national grid, otherwise known as system collapse, perennial stranded power, load rejection by Discos and their rascality in the issuance of outrageous bills that are not commensurate with energy consumed.

With the collapse of the PPA activation, which NERC had assured Nigerians would lead to a marked improvement in power supply starting from July 1, 2022, by consolidating a minimum 5000mw daily supply with potential to ramp up to 7000mw, it does appear that Nigerians will have to wait longer before experiencing a leap in power supply.

According to Ogaji, "The Gencos

have been inundated with negative comments on the subject matter and it is imperative that we put the records straight. Contrary to malicious gossips making the round that the Gencos' inability to make available their inflated capacity is the reason why the subject matter failed, the following are some of the reasons why the PPA activation plan failed."

She explained that Nigeria being Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, with a population estimated at over 216 million people and the world’s 27th largest economy

by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was endowed with both natural and human resources, and has continued to attract strategic Foreign Direct

Investment (FDI).

As a result of Nigeria’s unique nature, Ogaji maintained that there was a need for prospective investors to completely understand the business environment, particularly the legal, regulatory, and contractual framework for operating within the country.

Noting that contract facilitates forward planning of a transaction as well as makes provision for future contingencies, she argued that the PPA partial activation arrangement did not take this into cognisance as the designers ignored all Gencos interrelated agreements which were midwifed in the PPA with standing obligations.

According to her, Gencos have

Udora Orizu in Abuja The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for the arbitrary use of the NBC Act and broadcasting code to sanction and threaten to revoke the licences of broadcast stations in the country and shut them down over their legitimate coverage of

the 2023 general elections.

Joined in the suit as Defendant was the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

The NBC had last week reportedly sanctioned 25 broadcast stations and issued ‘final warnings’ to 16 others for allegedly violating provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code during the February 25, 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

But in the suit number

Blasts Labour Party, Edeoga over do-or-die politics Director of Communications/ Spokesperson, PDP Enugu, Nana Ogbodo, recalled that at the state election collation centre yesterday, the returning officer for Nkanu East LGA, had announced that the PDP gubernatorial candidate polled 30,350 votes in his native LGA, Nkanu East, while his LP counterpart polled 1,855 votes to place second.

However, the LP, while not contesting the total of 30, 294 it recorded in Nsukka LGA, had called on the state returning officer to cancel that of Nkanu East, it stated.

Ogbodo, in the statement by the PDP Campaign Council demanded the immediate declaration of its

to end plan in place: Because these contracts are complex and capital intensive, the greater the need for planning and more detailed, the provisions that are likely to be made in the said contract."

The APGC Executive Secretary further claimed that the PPA activation was a mere four-page document forced on Gencos with careless abandon on how they meet their obligations in the interrelated agreements such as the Gas Supply Agreement (GSA), Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) among others, adding that, "since Gencos are not magicians, it failed."

In addition to the lack of visibility Continued on page 44

Elections: SERAP Wants Court to Stop Buhari, Others from Shutting Down Broadcast Stations

Enugu Guber: Declare Mbah Winner, PDP Tells INEC The Enugu State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to go ahead and formerly declare its gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Peter Mbah, as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state.

This was just as the party warned the Labour Party (LP) and its governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga against what it termed a do-or-die politics, noting that while the PDP had taken its losses with democratic equanimity, the LP wants INEC to cancel results of places where the LP lost elections.

In a statement yesterday, the

existing binding bilateral contracts which cannot be amended unilaterally.

Ogaji said, "Designers focused on just activating part of the PPA without a plan on how to bring parties in the interrelated agreements to the table or design a framework to partially activate those agreements instead of exposing Gencos to those huge risks.

"There was no handshake between the contracts therefore inhibiting the process. The process can only work when fuel supply, generation, transmission, system operation and distribution are strategically, technically, commercially and financially in alignment.

"No adequate and robust end

candidate as the governor-elect for the state.

It said: “We call on INEC to immediately declare Dr. Ndubuisi Mbah as the governor-elect for Enugu State, having fulfilled all the requirements of the constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.

“We insist that the LP cannot be allowed to derail Enugu’s democratic progress with its do-or-die politics as avowed by its senator-elect, Chief Okey Ezea in a widely circulated video ahead of the governorship election.

“It is noted that the LP candidate won the gubernatorial election in Udenu, the local government of

the incumbent governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who is of the PDP extraction and we did not complain.

“The LP also won the Enugu North senatorial seat in the 25th February election against a sitting governor of the PDP extraction, we did not reject their victory.

“Edeoga equally claimed to have garnered 12,518 votes in Isi-Uzo LGA where about half of the registered voters hail from Eha-Amufu and where thousands of people were recently displaced as a result of herdsmen attacks and related security crisis are just beginning to return home in trickles.

FHC/L/CS/469/2023 filed last Friday, at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP asked the court to determine whether the broadcasting code used by the NBC to sanction some broadcast stations and threaten to shut down others was not in inconsistent and incompatible with freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.

SERAP also sought an order of interim injunction restraining Buhari, the NBC and Mohammed from threatening and sanctioning broadcast stations in the country simply for carrying out their constitutional duties, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed contemporaneously in this suit.

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Ms. Adelanke Aremo and Ms. Valentina Adegoke, read in part: “The media plays an essential role as a vehicle or instrument for the exercise of freedom of expression and information in a democratic society. The NBC legislation and codes do not confer unfettered discretion for the restriction of freedom of expression and media freedom on those charged with their implementation.

“The sanctioning of some broadcast stations and threat by the NBC to revoke the licences

of others and shut them down is neither necessary nor proportionate, as it would unduly intrude upon Nigerians’ right to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom.

“The use of vague and undefined phrases such as ‘unpatriotic individuals’ ‘subversive, hateful, and inciting utterances, particularly post-election’, as grounds to sanction and threaten to broadcast stations is inconsistent and incompatible with human rights requirements.

“The Nigerian constitution and human rights treaties impose legal obligations on the Nigerian government to refrain from imposing restrictions which are not consistent with human rights requirements, including on discussion of political and election-related issues.

“It is also inconsistent with constitutional and international human rights requirements to sanction and threaten broadcast stations solely for their coverage of the issues around the general elections on the basis of vague phrases such as ‘unguarded statements’, and ‘negative conversations’ used by the NBC. “The sanction and threat also represent a serious hindrance to the exercise of journalism, media diversity and independence, media freedom, and participation.”

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OLU OF WARRI VISITS OXFORD...

His Majesty Olu of Warri Kingdom, Ogiame Atuwatse III; with Deputy Managing Director, Oxford Seed Funds (OSF), Tochi Ginigeme; in an interactive session with Olu Atuwatse III at Keble college Oxford, England... recently.

Interswitch Boss, Elegbe, Attributes Current Poor Online Banking Services in Nigeria to Brain Drain Peter Uzoho The founder and Group Managing Director of Interswitch Limited, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe has blamed the poor online banking services being experienced by customers before and during the current naira redesign project on the mass exit of tech talents from the banks.

Elegbe said the exit of experienced tech staff in the banks, which often comes with short notice, left the financial institutions with inexperienced ones, who have little capacity to deal with the problems within a short period of time.

The Interswitch GMD stated this during an interview with journalists in Lagos, after his emergence as the EY West Africa Master Entrepreneur of the Year for 2023.

This was just as the Founder and Chief Analyst of Nairametrics Financial Advocate Limited, Mr. Ugo Obi-Chukwu won the EY West Africa Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, while the Managing Director of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, Dr. Rose Okwechime, emerged the winner of EY West Africa Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023.

Dwelling on the brain drain syndrome in banks, which had

exacerbated customers' online banking experience, Elegbe explained that such gap was also obtained in other sectors of the economy.

He explained, "I think to be very honest with you, it's talents. You are experiencing it in PMS because it's easy to see it, but it's something that we find across all sectors, whether it's medicine, education, a lot of very talented Nigerians have left the country and sometimes, when they leave, they don't give you enough notice to prepare, and some of the issues you are experiencing is partly from that.

"That can't be the only thing,

but that is the major reason. So, you have a problem in the past, you can solve it in five minutes.

This time, you may be doing it for five hours or 50 minutes. So, that's part of what you are experiencing."

"But it's a temporary issue. It will be resolved, and we are aware of this. Across the industry, a lot of efforts are going on. You must have noticed in the last few weeks that there has been a lot of improvement.

So, these things do happen from time to time.

"Sometimes, somebody who is going to school or going abroad is handing over to someone else,

NAFDAC Moves to Develop Chemical, Biological Weapon Testing Capability Onyebuchi Ezigbo The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said Nigeria was being considered for the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) laboratory designation status, a move that would enable it use laboratories to test substances associated with biological and chemical weapons.

The agency said the implication was that all chemicals associated with weapons of destruction, both biological and chemical, could be tested in the NAFDAC laboratory.

A statement by the Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, at the weekend, stated that Nigeria and Kenya were the only two countries in Africa chosen for consideration by the global body.

The statement stated that the move was revealed when experts from the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, (OPCW) visited the NAFDAC’s central laboratory in Oshodi, Lagos, recently, for inspection and assessment of facilities to be deployed for the global assignment.

According to Akintola, officials of OPCW based in The Hague came with some experts on laboratory assessment from the Finnish Institute of Verification of Chemical Weapons Convention, (FERIVIN) based in the University of Helsinki.

He quoted the leader of the team, Dr. Roman Warchol, as having expressed satisfaction with the facilities provided by NAFDAC, saying they were comparable to whatever could be found anywhere in the advanced economy of the world.

Warchol, said they came to

Nigeria to assess the NAFDAC’s laboratory and see the level of competency and equipment available for possible designation of the laboratory.

“I am very happy and satisfied with what Ive seen here,” the OPCW top official was quoted to have said.

While welcoming the team, the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof.

Mojisola Adeyeye, explained that NAFDAC had been on the project for about four years.

"Except for the COVID-19 period which really affected activities,” she added.

We are going on proficiency testing and we have gone from ‘Participation’ to ‘Very Good’ which is the highest level in the OPCW’s assessment," she said.

The NAFDAC boss said she was excited because the experts from Hague and Helsinki were overwhelmed with the Agency’s facilities, adding that they were highly impressed by the competency of NAFDAC staff and the level of understanding.

“We did all our presentations.

There was little or no questions. All we are now discussing is level of improvement, areas that we should improve to make it a bigger say.

They were overwhelmed by the commitment of the Agency and the National Authority for Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention (NAC&BWC) in Nigeria and the federal government to the project,” she enthused.

Adeyeye further explained: “We are not at war, yes, but we are not only to be testing for Nigeria. We are not only going to be testing the samples that will be used in Nigeria.

“In Africa, we have only two

sites - Nigeria and Kenya - that are being considered for this. We will cover the West Africa and some parts of Africa.

"Wherever there are skirmishes or the use of weapons, it might not only be war situation, but the tendency also that there could be an explosive somewhere, we could be invited to sample those things and then test for the possibility of using harmful chemicals that could be lethal to people.

"If for example, in Niger State or anywhere for that matter, there was an explosive, we sample it and see what is the byproduct to ascertain if it would be lethal to people when they come in contact to them.’’

Adeyeye said in October 2018,

NAFDAC participated in the CCACT-097.

She said the agency has now improved to the score of very good in our last participation CCACT-15 in October 2022.

She further disclosed that the federal government through NAC&BWC provided an intervention fund in February 2020 valued at about N735 million to provide various equipment for the laboratory, stressing that through internally generated revenue, more equipment pieces were added. Since then, the agency had used her IGR to add more equipment pieces.

She said that the agency would also expand the laboratory space for OPCW in the new building to be constructed soon.

the person whom he is handing over to suddenly leaves too. But we have built a system, it's spread in Nigeria. So we can solve the problems, we just need some time."

Expressing confidence and hope in Nigeria despite the growing urge for people to leave the country in search of greener pastures, Elegbe said Nigeria remained a good place to do business and thrive because of the huge opportunities in the country.

With 200 million people, he said Nigeria has a big market for any product, saying no country with 200 million has ever failed as he was told him by a certain Brazilian professor, who also projected that Nigeria would be among the top 10 countries in the world by 2050.

"As long as there is somebody to buy - the market is there, it's just a matter of time we begin to improve. There are international competitors but local companies are thriving because the market is there. Once you commit yourself to excellence with continuous improvement, you will make it.

"And luckily for us, in our time, there is more money going around today. So you hear about all these fintechs and so on. So people should not give up. There are lots of problems, so look for one problem, tackle it and the market will reward you if you tackle it properly", he said.

Commenting on the award he won, Elegbe described it as very inspiring as it was not easy doing business in Nigeria.

"When you have been able to survive for 20 years and a reputable firm like EY with that of judges

we have say that they recognise you as the winner, it's something I find very inspiring. I was here 11 years ago for the Emerging Category, and to come back 11 years after for the Masters Category shows that perhaps, there are some things we are doing right.

"And I would like to thank Nigerians with joy. I live in Nigeria and I have stepped across one form of our customer or the other. So, this victory is not just for Interswitch, it's for all Nigerians," he noted.

Elegbe who will be going for the EY Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Monaco in June to compete for the highest award, said he would have to go and prepare as the challenge was not an easy one.

Also speaking, Senior Partner and EY Head of Markets for West Africa, Mr. Ashish Bakhshi, said the Entrepreneur of the Year Award was a global award which the multinational group has been doing in 60 countries and in 120 cities across the world.

He said the award helps entrepreneurs to grow while EY also grows with them, saying, "what we have seen today is the 2023 award which Interswitch has won and we are happy to do that.

We only facilitated, we have a jury which actually decides and agrees on who will be the winner.

"Interswitch's Mr. Mitchell will now go to Monaco to represent Nigeria and West Africa in the global award. It will happen on the 6th of June in Monaco and he will compete with close to around 60 other competitors and he will be judged there, and with God's grace, he may win, you don't know".

Adamawa Collation Centre Under Attack as PDP Supporters Insist Result of Fufore LGA Must Be Announced Daji Sani in Yola There was heightened tension at the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) collection centre in Adamawa State at midnight as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties resisted move by the commission to manipulate the governorship election results in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Owing to the tension, the Returning Officer in charge of the state governorship elections, Prof.

Mohammed Alaminu Mele, who is the Deputy Vice-Chancelor Administration, University of Maiduguri, announced the suspension of collation of results.

It was alleged that the returning

officer was acting allegedly on orders from persons in Abuja, who were bent on having Senator Aishatu Ahmed of the APC declared winner.

In all, results in 20 local governments have been announced out of 21 local governments, with the governor of the state and candidate of the PDP, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintri, presently leading with 35,615 votes.

The outstanding local government is Fufore, whose voting population is far below the margin of lead the PDP has against the APC presently.

“It has been uncovered that INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Barrister Hudu Yunusa is mounting pressure on the returning officer for Fufure to tamper with the results,” a reliable source told THISDAY.

An audio clip also making the rounds, which was obtained by THISDAY, revealed a conversation between Yunusa allegedly pressuring the INEC returning officer for Fufore to, “do all within his means to deliver Aishatu Dahiru popularly known as Binani.

"I have received phone calls from the highest authority for you to do everything possible to return Adamawa in favour of the woman (Binani)," Yunusa was heard telling the Returning Officer.

According to what was revealed in the audio clip, the Returning Officer, however, insisted on announcing the results untampered because that was the right thing to do and also for his own safety.

"They're (agents of the opposition

parties) are insisting that we should not go to Yola. That we must do everything here in Fufore. That was why I sent Zakari to come and meet you so that you will give us form so that we can do it here (in Fufore)...We are now in thr police station," the Returning Officer told the Adamawa REC. “The fear of many, however, is that the suspension of collation till tomorrow, when only one local government is outstanding, may be deliberate in order to buy time for manipulation of the results,” the source added.

The source also alleged that the APC was also using same tactics in Kebbi State, where the results had been declared inconclusive, Kaduna and Zamfara States.

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WELCOME DINNER FOR STUDENTS OF HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL...

L-R: Mid- Career, Master in Public Administration (MPA) Student, Harvard Kennedy School, Mr. Roman Gaus; President, Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of Nigeria (HKSAAN), Mrs. Adaora Ndukwe-Ugwu; Member, Harvard Kennedy School Alumni and Chair, PZCussons, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui- Okauru; Ford Foundation Professor of History, Race and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Prof. Khalil Gibran Muhammad; and Mid- Career, MPA Student, Harvard Kennedy School, Mrs. Adefemi Bucknor- Arigbede, at the Welcome Dinner for the Students and Faculty of the Harvard Kennedy PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT School who are on Africa Policy Trek to Lagos, held in Victoria Island Lagos...recently

Inflation: IMF Urges Central Banks to Learn Lessons from Past Crises Urges regulators to be more vigilant Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing Ukraine-Russia war had triggered new challenges for central banks across the world, including soaring inflation.

IMF's First Deputy Managing Director, Gita Gopinath, who urged them to learn lessons from past crises, noted that the pandemic and war had triggered a global inflation surge which abruptly ended decades of moderating price gains.

In an article, Gopinath said: "Now, economists must ask, what lessons does this era offer for monetary policy? We might begin with the lessons from the pandemic and war that are relevant for monetary policy, even if the world eventually moves back to an environment of low interest rates and low inflation.

"Most economists missed the inflation surge, and we need to understand why, and how monetary policy may have to change, going forward.

"But some crisis effects—high inflation, supply chain disruptions,

greater trade barriers—may persist much longer, or intensify. That could challenge macroeconomic stability around the world, especially in emerging markets. How can we avoid this?"

She noted that the challenge for central banks would also be compounded if supply shocks become more entrenched, adding that this may occur if countries decide to reduce the risk of supply chain disruptions by raising trade barriers.

"That would expose countries to greater supply shock volatility, in turn posing more difficult trade-offs for monetary policy and making

economic stabilisation harder.

"Central banks in emerging markets would be particularly hurt if trade becomes more fragmented and inflation expectations de-anchor.

"These economies are already more vulnerable to external shocks, and could face harder policy tradeoffs," Gopinath said.

According to the IMF chief, central banks must lead the inflation fight, adding that other policies can help.

She admonished that fiscal policy should play a role, with targeted help for the most vulnerable that does not stimulate the economy.

"Policymakers must advance the

climate agenda to preserve economic and financial stability. Finally, policies that reduce fragmentation risks in global trade will lower the risk of supply shocks and help boost the world’s potential output," she noted.

The IMF chief observed that bigger interest rate hikes to contain inflation would cause larger output contractions.

She stated that significant and front-loaded tightening by several central banks over the past year have helped attenuate de-anchoring risks.

Nevertheless, central bankers should remain vigilant, she advised.

"The challenge for central banks

would also be compounded if supply shocks become more entrenched.

This may occur if countries decide to reduce the risk of supply chain disruptions by raising trade barriers.

"That would expose countries to greater supply shock volatility, in turn posing more difficult trade-offs for monetary policy and making economic stabilization harder.

Central banks in emerging markets would be particularly hurt if trade becomes more fragmented and inflation expectations de-anchor.

"These economies are already more vulnerable to external shocks, and could face harder policy tradeoffs," she stated.

UN Condemns Killing of Women, Children in Zangon Kataf Ex-FIRS Boss, Omoigui- Okauru, Urges Incoming

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The United Nations (UN) yesterday said it was deeply disturbed with the killing of several innocent women and children in Zangon Kataf, Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

A statement from the global body read: “The United Nations is deeply disturbed by the recent spate of violence in some parts of the country. Earlier this week, several innocent women and children were killed in Zangon Kataf, Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

“What is alarming is the barbaric and senseless killings of young children including a young boy who was abducted and murdered in the most brutal manner in the LGA. This spate of violence comes soon after another series of violent incidents where numerous people including children were killed in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue state.

“The UN strongly condemns these attacks, which have resulted in the deaths of dozens of people, including children, some of whom were toddlers, women, and men.

We are also deeply concerned that people continued to be killed and injured in subsequent attacks.”

The UN added: “We urge groups involved in the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and refrain from attacking innocent civilians, especially women and children who have nothing to do with the conflict. We also call for a lasting solution to be found that will provide a sustainable and

peaceful resolution to the conflict.”

The UN Resident Coordinator for Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, added, "these atrocities must not continue unchecked. The UN stands with the government and people of Nigeria in their efforts to bring an end to this senseless violence, bring to justice perpetrators and ensure that all citizens are protected and able to live in peace and security.

“We call on all parties to work towards a peaceful resolution to this violence and to respect the sanctity of human life. The UN remains committed to supporting the government and people of Nigeria in their quest for a peaceful and prosperous nation.”

Administration to Focus on Policies to Growth Nigeria hosts Harvard students’ trek

Nume Ekeghe The Former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS) Ms. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru has urged the incoming administration to focus on policies that would stimulate economic growth in the country.

Furthermore, she urged the incoming administration to create an enabling environment that would foster the private sector to thrive which would also help reduce

unemployment.

She said this on the sidelines of the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of Nigeria (HKSAAN), dinner where the association hosted 64 students from 24 countries on the Africa Policy trek.

Also, Nigeria for the first time hosted the ‘Harvard trek’ which provides an opportunity for students whose backgrounds are in public policy and government administration to interact, learn and

Akwa Ibom Party Agents Call for Results Cancellation, Write INEC Some party agents in Unit 17, Ward 2, Oruku Anam in Akwa Ibom State, have called for the cancellation of results in the area.

In a letter signed by the aggrieved party agents tagged, 'Electoral Fraud and Request for Cancellation of Election in unit 017,” the agents alleged that the exercise was marred by massive fraud, including rigging for the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, by the police and other security agents.

The agents gave five reasons why the election in the area must be cancelled, stating that there were no results sheets as it was removed

allegedly by the PDP. They also alleged that the electoral officials were compromised, having accredited over 50 voters without ballot papers.

In the letter, the agents alleged that, “the PDP brought out a huge number of voters’ cards and handed them over to some persons who got same accredited for the exercise.”

These, among other reasons stated in the letter, were the reasons the agents said the exercise should be cancelled.

The letter was signed by the agents of the APC, ZLP, YPP, LP, and APGA.

Corroborating the allegation, Honourable Bassey Etienem, who shared a video from his polling unit, accused the men dressed as police and wearing state security tags of working for the ruling party in the state.

Etienem said: "My anger is the security agents assigned to us that I called, and he asked me to send pics and videos, which I did but did not respond. I had to resort to self-help. What if I had died in the process? There was no military intervention from anywhere when we were being brutalised and harassed by the fake police officers.

understand policies in countries they visit.

On the advice to the incoming administration, Okauru said: “The economy is at the heart of propelling a better quality of life for every Nigerian. Whatever we do must translate to a higher level of disposable income for everyone to live at the very minimum a decent life.

“So, if we do not focus on growing the economy, providing jobs, and ensuring that whatever we do truly translates, we're not just discussing at a higher growth level, but truly translates to testimonials of the common man.

“Government can be such a huge enabler; government should build an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive. I say these things and I hesitate to say them because every time a government comes in, that is what we want.

But it's still what we want, and therefore, the appeal is to actually do it and give hope.”

Speaking further, she said: “Unfortunately, the elections have further divided us and it's important that we really calibrate because a divided country cannot achieve as much as it could do when it comes together.”

Also speaking on the trek initiative, she said: “The Harvard Kennedy School is a public policy, government intervention part of

the Harvard University. So, all it does is really help build those people that will go back to their various countries and influence public policy and drive government in a manner that will position countries at a much higher level.

“So, in this room, you have people who are likely to influence and sit on organisations that do business with Nigeria, sit in government offices and parastatals that will work at a government-to-government level.”

Also speaking on the sidelines of the event, the President Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of Nigeria (HKSAAN) Adaora Ugwu said: “About 64 students and faculty of the Harvard Kennedy School from Cambridge have come to Nigeria on what they call an Africa policy trek.

“On this trek, they've done Nigeria and Ghana and usually on these treks they come to find out about the country, talk to the public and private sector, they want to understand governance policy and culture. So they visited Accra first and then they are now in Nigeria.”

Ugwu further added: “This is an opportunity to showcase Nigeria at a very critical time in our country's history when we are in between the presidential elections which happened a couple of weeks ago, and the gubernatorial elections.

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US Federal Reserve, Other Central Banks Move to Head Off Crisis by Keeping Dollars Flowing The US Federal Reserve and several other major central banks yesterday, announced a coordinated effort to boost the flow of US dollars through the global financial system with the aim of keeping credit flowing to households and businesses.

"The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank are today announcing a coordinated action to enhance the provision of liquidity via the standing US dollar liquidity swap

line arrangements," the central banks said in a joint statement.

Sunday's statement came just hours after Swiss authorities orchestrated an emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. Credit Suisse — one of the 30 most important banks in the global financial system — was bleeding money last week after investor and customer confidence collapsed.

According to the CNN, market turmoil triggered by the second and third biggest bank failures in US history earlier this month

was threatening to make it harder for people to borrow money, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week.

"If banks are under stress, they might be reluctant to lend," Yellen said Thursday in testimony to the Senate Finance Committee. "We could see credit become more expensive and less available."

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), told reporters Thursday that "persistently elevated market tensions" could further constrict

credit conditions that were already tightening in response to rising interest rates.

Swap lines are agreements between two central banks to exchange currencies. They allow a central bank to obtain foreign currency from the central bank that issues it, and distribute it to commercial banks in their country.

The swap line between US Federal Reserve and the ECB, for example, enables the ECB to receive US dollars in exchange for an equivalent amount of euros.

The ECB can then distribute those dollars to commercial banks in the 20 countries that use the euro.

The agreements can be an important tool for preserving financial stability and preventing market tension from affecting the economy, according to the ECB. During the global financial crisis of 2008 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, funding markets dried up because of an extreme aversion to risk. Under these circumstances it became difficult for euro area banks to obtain US

dollars.

From today, through at least the end of April, the Fed and other central banks would make dollars available on a daily basis, rather than weekly.

"The network of swap lines among these central banks is a set of available standing facilities and serve as an important liquidity backstop to ease strains in global funding markets, thereby helping to mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses," they added.

ship race in the state. Professor Emmanuel Adigio pronounced the PDP candidate winner in the contest.

Adigio, who is Vice Chancellor of Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, said Eno scored 354,348 votes to defeat the candidate of Young Progressives Party (YPP), Obong Bassey Albert, who secured 136,262 votes, while APC scored 129,602 votes.

However, the former interim National Secretary of APC, who defected to New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and became the party’s governorship candidate, Senator J.J Udoedehe, got 12,509 votes.

Oji, complained about irregularities, violence, and inconsistencies between results being collated and those uploaded on the INEC portal.

But Returning Officer, Professor Akpofure Rim-Rukeh, Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Efurun, said the call to stop collation could be granted, but that the agents should document their complaints and submit to him. Rim-Rukeh added that their reports and observations had been sent to the INEC national headquarters.

But the PDP gubernatorial candidate, Siminalayi Fubara, was leading in the results of 17 local government areas so far announced.

A P C W I N S B I G A S G U B E R P O L L R E S U LT S C O M E I N A C R O S S N I G E R I A in power, while flipping states previously won by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Although PDP struggled to come back in many states, especially, after the February 25 presidential poll, it re-emerged as the country's main opposition party.

In sweeping victories, many APC governors secured re-election across the six geopolitical zones, with extensive triumphs at the state assemblies. APC governors, who secured re-election, included Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, and Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq of Kwara State.

In addition, the ruling party retained control of states like Katsina and Jigawa, reclaimed Sokoto, and led comfortably in Ebonyi and many others.

On its part, PDP, aside reelecting Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, cleared Akwa Ibom State, and maintained unassailable lead in Delta and Rivers states, while posting controlling votes in Taraba, Bauchi, Enugu, and Abia, among states.

However, in Adamawa State, there was palpable tension between PDP’s Governor Ahmad Fintiri and APC’s Senator Aisha Ahmed-Binani, who were locked in a tough and tight race. With just one local government, Fofure, remaining, INEC had intended to suspend collation in the state, but the people, reportedly, insisted the exercise must be concluded.

At the time of filing this report, PDP was already leading with 35,615 votes in Adamawa State, after results from two more council areas – Michika and Song – were announced.

The situation in Kebbi State was equally tight, as the two main parties – PDP and APC – were in a tie with six local governments each, before collation was suspended last night.

In Anambra State, the governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, reportedly maintained dominance in the House of Assembly with his All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), despite the initial intimidation of the Labour Party (LP), which had a former governor of the state as its face.

Similarly, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke locked down the House of Assembly for PDP, while Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello showed strength for APC in the Assembly, just as Ekiti State Governor Abiodun Oyebanji of APC neutralised his opponents with overwhelming majority in the House of Assembly.

Expectedly, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) maintained its winning streak in Kano State, leading in many local government areas, and was on the verge of repeating its record during the presidential poll.

In another development, INEC assured that it was committed to the sanctity of the electoral process, and vowed to take drastic measures against proven irregularities in any part of the country.

LAGOS STATE Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and candidate of APC was declared winner of the

March 18 governorship election, after polling 762,134 votes to defeat his closest rival, Gbadebo Chinedu Rhodes-Vivour of LP, who scored 312, 329 votes. The PDP candidate, Olajide Adediran, came a distant third with paltry 62,449 votes.

Sanwo-Olu was declared winner of the election at 01.15 this morning by the returning officer, Adenike Oladeji.

The governor won the election with about 449,805 votes, after clearing 19 of the 20 local government councils in the state. He lost only Amuwo-Odofin to LP.

GOMBE STATE INEC declared the APC candidate in Gombe State, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, winner of the governorship election held on Saturday. Returning Officer for the state, Professor Maimuna Waziri, said Yahaya scored the highest votes of 342,821.

Yahaya, who retained his seat for the next four years, was closely followed by the candidate of PDP, Mohammed Jibrin Barde, who scored 233, 131 votes.

Waziri, who is Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Gashua, Yobe State, said there was a total of 1, 575, 794 registered voters, 618, 231 accredited voters, 605,355 valid votes, 11, 390 rejected votes, and 616, 745 total votes cast.

Yahaya won nine of the 11 local government areas, while Barde secured two local government areas, which had 114 wards.

OYO STATE Governor Seyi Makinde of PDP won the governorship election in Oyo State. He was declared winner by INEC in Ibadan, the state capital, yesterday.

Makinde won in 31 local government areas with a total of 563,756 votes to defeat his closest rival, Teslim Folarin of APC, who won in two local government areas and scored 256,685 votes.

The governorship candidate of Accord Party, Adebayo Adelabu, came third with a total of 38,357 votes.

INEC State Collation Officer, Adebayo Bamire, who is Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, announced the results.

OGUN STATE Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun of APC was re-elected in Saturday’s election, after polling 276,298 votes to defeat PDP’s Ladipupo Adebutu, who had 262,383, while Biyi Otegbeye of African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 94,754 votes.

Returning Officer, Professor Kayode Adebowale, said Abiodun won in 12 local government areas, while Adebutu won in eight.

However, PDP submitted a petition to INEC, asking the commission to order a rerun in some polling units, where results were cancelled due to failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and violence.

Meanwhile, Abiodun commended the people of the state for renewing his mandate, saying, “Power belongs to God.” Abiodun, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, described his victory as heart-warming and a “further proof that no man can play God or stop what God has ordained”.

GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION RESULTS RELEASED STATE

APC

PDP

OYO

256,685

563,756

GOMBE

342,821

233,131

YOBE

317,113

104,259

KWARA

273,424

155,490

JIGAWA

618,499

368,726

KATSINA

859,892

486,620

SOKOTO

453,661

404,632

OGUN

276,298

262,383

APC

LP

762,134

312,329

PDP

YPP

356,346

136,262

LAGOS AKWA IBOM

YOBE STATE

KATSINA STATE

Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni of APC was re-elected.

The returning officer, Professor Umar Pate, said Buni scored a total of 317,113 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Alhaji Sheriff Abdullahi of PDP, who polled 104,259 votes. Garba Umar of NNPP polled 14,246 votes to come third.

"I, Professor Umar Pate, hereby certify that Mai Mala Buni, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of the votes, is hereby declared winner of the election," the returning officer said.

Meanwhile, in a major upset, a 35-year-old candidate of PDP, Musa Lawan, defeated the incumbent Speaker of Yobe State House of Assembly, Hon. Ahmed Lawan Mirwa. Mirwa had been in the House of Assembly representing Nguru II since 2003, and became Speaker in 2019.

Lawan, a local businessman, according to residents of Nguru, received the support of his constituency who felt Mirwa was not generous.

Governorship candidate of APC in Katsina State, Dikko Radda, was declared winner of the election. The state collation officer, Muazu Abubakar, said Radda polled 859,892 votes to defeat his closest rival, Yakubu Lado of PDP, who got 486,620 votes.

The NNPP candidate, Nura Khalil, got 8,263 votes, while Imran Jino of Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) got 4,226 votes. Ibrahim Zakari of Social Democratic Party (SDP) got 1,049 votes, while Labour Party’s Abu Musawa polled 560 votes.

Abubakar said the number of registered voters in Katsina State was 3,516,719, while accredited voters was 1,399,291, total valid votes was 1,365, 848, and 20,579 votes were rejected.

“The total votes cast in the gubernatorial election was 1,386,427,” Abubakar, who is Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Gusau, stated.

AKWA IBOM STATE Pastor Umo Eno of PDP was declared winner of the governor-

TARABA STATE In Taraba State, PDP's Agbu Kefas maintained the lead in Saturday's gubernatorial election as INEC declared results of two more local government areas.

In Ardo Kola Local Government Area, Kefas polled 15,034 votes to defeat NNPP's Yahaya, who polled 14,577 votes, while the APC candidate, Senator Bwacha, polled 2,343 votes.

In Yorro, Kefas scored 11,880 votes to defeat Bwacha, who polled 5,282 votes, and NNPP's Yahaya who scored 4,072 votes.

The results of the two local government areas brought the total number of local government area results released by INEC to four, out of a total of 16.

Kefas had polled 20,183 votes in Zing local government to defeat Bwacha, who scored 7,299 and Yahaya who scored 2,919. In Lau, Kefas scored 13,368 votes while Yahaya and Bwacha scored 10,196 and 5,079 votes, respectively.

RIVERS STATE Agents of the opposition political parties in Rivers State, yesterday, protested against the results announced in favour of PDP in the state. Led by the LP agent, Frederick Nwojie, the agents rejected the results announced so far and called for suspension of the process.

The Accord Party’s agent, Iyk

ANAMBRA STATE Results declared so far by INEC in Anambra State showed that the ruling APGA clinched a majority of the seats in the 30-man state Assembly.

There had been apprehension in the state, especially among members of APGA, following the overwhelming popularity of the presidential candidate of LP, Mr Peter Obi, in the state, after the presidential election three weeks ago.

There were also allegations by Governor Chukwuma Soludo that Obi had planned to set him up for impeachment if LP clinched the majority seats in the Assembly.

However, the results declared showed that APGA clinched 17 seats in the 30-man Assembly, forming the majority.

LP won eight seats, mostly in the cosmopolitan areas of the state, with high number of non-indigenes of the state.

The Young Progressives Party (YPP), through the influence of its national leader, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, won three seats, which were concentrated around Nnewi, where he hails from.

PDP won two seats in the Assembly, through the influence of Senator Stella Oduah.

Continued on page 43

ATIKU: AMAECHI’S REVELATION CONFIRMS INEC IN RULING PARTY CANDIDATES’ POCKETS and interim Minister of Education in the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“INEC is a complete failure.

There are those of us who opposed the reappointment of Yakubu Mahmood. The person who nominated him is a member of Tinubu’s camp. So what are you expecting?

“Here in Rivers State, Mahmood worked under Wike as Executive Secretary of TETFund; so what you are having in Rivers is that APC and other parties are contesting, not against PDP, but against INEC, against police,” Amaechi had alleged.

Reacting to the comment by Amaechi, in a statement yesterday, Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu said the revelation by the former Rivers State governor was a confirmation, “of our worst fears that Yakubu's INEC was working for the APC.” Shaibu stated, “Former Governor Amaechi’s revelation is only a confirmation of what everyone always knew. That INEC under

the leadership of Prof. Yakubu is inside the deepest corner of Bola Tinubu’s pocket.

“This is a confirmation of our earlier statement that Tinubu had already embarked on a systematic state capture where the police, INEC and the judiciary are in his pocket.

Is it not surprising that the AIG who was deployed in Rivers State to supervise the governorship and presidential elections is Kayode Egbetokun, a known ally of Tinubu, who also served as Tinubu’s Chief Security Officer while he was governor of Lagos?

“This unholy alliance between INEC and the police is the reason why the election in Rivers State remains one of the most rigged in the history of Nigeria. Indeed, the journey to state capture has begun.”

Shaibu added that INEC chairman’s compromise was the reason results were not uploaded on election day, and also, the same reason that Yakubu continued to announce the results despite protests from political parties.

He said when the story of

Nigerian elections would be told, Yakubu’s name would be mentioned for the wrong reasons.

Atiku’s aide added, “This explains why, after promising Nigerians that he would upload election results from polling units, he changed his mind at the last minute and then blamed it on glitches. Truth be told, Yakubu was the only glitch because of his incestuous affair with Tinubu’s APC. “His predecessor, Prof. Attahiru Jega conducted two credible presidential elections in 2011 and 2015.

The 2015 election was so credible that it witnessed the lowest number of election petitions and court disputes.

“Rather than improve on this, Prof Yakubu put his personal interest far and above that of over 200 million Nigerians. He claimed before the election at Chatham House that the electoral system he put in place was so advanced that the human body odour could be used for voter accreditation if he wanted. But this was all part of his grand deception.

“Despite receiving higher alloca-

tions than any other INEC chairman in history, Prof Yakubu could not conduct a credible election. This is indeed shameful for a man who over 200 million Nigerians saw as their last hope.”

Shaibu said the exposè by an online platform on the eve of the presidential election that INEC had been compromised by Tinubu, had shown to be true after all.

Furthermore, Atiku’s aide added that it was also disheartening that INEC chairman continued to award sensitive election contracts to APC candidates.

He added, “A top consultant of INEC was caught on tape revealing that Tinubu would offer $170 million to the commission’s officials to manipulate the results of the presidential elections across Nigeria.

“In the same election season, INEC awarded sensitive contracts to companies owned by Senator Sani Musa of APC and Senator Aishatu Ahmed Binani, the APC governorship candidate in Adamawa. It is indeed safe to say that Nigeria’s democracy has been sold to the APC by Prof. Yakubu.”

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COURTESY CALL ON BABANGIDA...

L-R: Managing Director, Abbey Mortgage Bank, Mobolaji Adewumi; GMD/CEO, VFD Group Plc, Nonso Okpala; Former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, and MD, Anchoria Asset Management, Azubike Emodi, during a courtesy call in Minna… recently

NHRC Says Gubernatorial, House of Assembly Elections Fraught with Irregularities To invite Bello, MC Oluomo over hate speech, investigate attack on Arise TV crew Michael Olugbode in Abuja The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has lamented that Saturday’s gubernatorial and Houses of Assembly elections across the nation were fraught with so many irregularities ranging from attacks on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, vote buying, violence at polling units, attack on journalists, and cases of

death.

Presenting a preliminary report on the election, the Executive Secretary, Chief Tony Ojukwu, yesterday, said both Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, and the Chairman of Lagos State Parks Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya popularly known as MC Oluomo, would be invited to explain their roles in alleged hate speech shortly before the election.

Ojukwu, who also disclosed that the Commission was going to investigate the attack on Arise News TV crew in Lagos, called for investigation and prosecution of cases of electoral crime across the country during the election The Executive Secretary said as part of its mandate to promote and protect human rights, the NHRC deployed 600 Human Right Monitors across the 36 states for

the gubernatorial and Houses of Assembly elections, and also through the Human Rights Situation Room, closely monitored the elections and received real time complaints on human rights violations during the elections from across the country.

He said: “Our preliminary report highlights key findings from monitoring over 1300 polling units by our staff and reports and complaints received from Nigerians

Report: Access, UBA, GTBank Ranked as Institutions with Most Salient Banking Apps Says Jumia is Africa’s largest e-commerce platform Dike Onwuamaeze A new report titled ‘Nigeria Smartphone Study’ (NSS) has identified Access Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and the GTBank, as the three most salient bank’s apps in Nigeria with 11per cent, 10 per cent and nine per cent rating respectively.

These banks were followed by First Bank Zenith banking apps with six per cent each while StanbicIBTC and eNaira polled 1.0 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.

The report, which was carried out by the Orange Business Intelligence Technology (ORBIT) and dated March 2023, also identified OPay, PalmPay, Kuda and PayPal as the most popular fintech apps in the country with 14 per cent, 7.0 per cent, 4.0 per centand 2.0 per cent respectively.

The report also covered 10 top global and regional apps in Nigeria as well as the most widely used e-commerce, crypto currency, social media, entertainment, messaging, ride-hailing and betting apps in the country.

The ORBIT team, which is a research and tech unit of Orange Group Nigeria, sought to assess the trends and ascertain which apps are used with smartphones in Nigeria.

The latest report was based on a study that was done in Q4 2022 in 12 cities across Nigeria that focused on smartphone and application penetration. It followed ORBIT’s initial 2019 survey, which was carried out solely in Lagos.

The study was carried out in Ilorin, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Ibadan, Benin, Onitsha, Aba, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Abuja and Jos.

The study further revealed that 64 per cent of Nigerians use smartphones against 36 per cent that use non-smartphones, adding that Andriod, Windows and IOS are patronised by 86 per cent, 13 per cent and 1.0 per cent respectively of smartphone users in the country.

The report stated that Access Bank, UBA, and GTBank “are the study set's top three most salient banking apps,” adding that “Access Bank remains Nigeria's largest bank, with a total of $17.7 billion in assets and just under 50 million customers.”

It also stated that the eNaira’s app, a payment app developed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make its cryptocurrency more accessible to consumers, “currently has limited downloads, it possesses great potential to improve Nigeria's payment infrastructure.”

The report added: “OPay had the highest salience across fintech and banking apps. In addition to its mobile wallet, OPay offers payments and Point of Sale (POS) services,” adding that “Kuda, a digital bank, had impressive salience, with almost four times the salience of Stanbic IBTC’s banking app.”

The study on e-commerce apps found that Jumia, Jiji ng and Konga scored 12 per cent, 4.0 per centand 2.0 per cent respectively.

It said: “Jumia is Africa’s largest e-commerce platform.”

The report noted that Jiji and Konga are e-commerce platforms founded in Nigeria in 2014 and 2012, respectively. Although Jiji expanded outside Nigeria to other African countries, Konga remains largely focused on Nigeria.

On cryptocurrency apps, the study showed that, “Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency platform, has the highest salience across the survey group.”

The report added: “Although Nigeria is known to have a high adoption of crypto, researchers did observe peculiar feedback while asking respondents about cryptocurrency apps.

“Respondents noted that given CBN’s restriction of banks and other financial institutions supporting crypto transactions, most respondents were hesitant to show their crypto apps. Moreover, some respondents recalled random police checks where police would ask to see their phones and further harass them if they found any crypto apps on their phones.”

The report on social media showed that Facebook, Instragram, TikTok are the most popular apps with 77 per cent, 39 per cent and 36 per cent respectively.

They were trailed by Snapchat, Twitter and LinkedIn with 29 per cent, 19 per cent and 4.0 per cent.

It said: “Facebook remains the most salient across social media apps due to its low data usage.

“The study revealed a steep increase in TikTok downloads compared to the 2019 study in Lagos. Researchers believe that compared to other social media platforms, TikTok gained the most popularity in 2020 and 2021 as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns.”

However, the entertainment media were dominated by Boomplay, YouTube, Audiomax with 33 per cent, 29 per cent and 5.0 per cent respectively.

The study found that, “Boomplay

is most salient in the entertainment category. It offers a wide selection of Afrobeats available for streaming and downloads.

“YouTube continues to be popular, especially with its growing selection of Nigerian channels and content.

“The Ayoba app is Africa’s first super app, owned by MTN, and it offers chat, calls, content sharing, music, gaming, and financial services all in one app. Established in late 2019, it currently has over 20 million users across Africa in 22 languages.

“It was launched in Nigeria in 2020 and has rapidly grown to over five million users. Based on the study’s findings, it is a platform to watch in the future.”

Also, the study showed that the dominant messaging apps in the country are WhatsApp 96 per cent, Facebook Messenger 32 per cent and Telegram Messenger 12 per cent.”

Moreover, the Bolt, Uber and Gokada are popular ride-hailing apps in Nigeria with 16 per cent, 2.0 per cent and Gokada 0.2 per cent.

in our Human Rights Situation Room.

“The Commission during the elections process monitored among others issues relating to the conduct of law enforcement and security personnel, hate speech, election related Sexual and Gender based violence (SGBV) and vote buying.”

He added that: “The environment before the elections was fraught with tension arising from reports and allegations of threats from different political parties and their supporters concerning the elections. ethnic division and hate speeches were rife in many states, including Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Kaduna and Rivers.

“This led to the publication by the NHRC of an Advisory on Hate Speech Based on Ethnic and Religious Sentiments and 2023 General Elections in Nigeria on the 16th of March 2023.

“In Lagos, Enugu, Ebonyi and a few other states, there were threats of violence on opposition supporters, including the use of traditional institutions, schools and the public service. The advisory highlighted areas of concern for the Commission and recommended steps to be taken by the various agencies to address the issues before, during and after the elections.”

He said compared to the presidential and National Assembly elections held in February, the governorship and houses of Assembly elections witnessed a low voter turnout in states like Niger, Kwara, Benue and Kogi, adding that, “the turnout was abysmally low and in almost all the south eastern states.”

He said: “It is important to note that the NHRC in its monthly Review Forum on Human Rights and the 2023 Elections has warned that the consequences of the hitches and irregularities recorded in the Presidential election were capable of increasing voter apathy. It is also important to note that threats of

violence prior to the elections may also have played a major factor.”

Ojukwu added: “Our monitors reported incidents of violence, including cases of assault, vandalism, destruction of election materials and polling units in 16 per cent of the polling units monitored.

“There were reports from Rivers state of hoodlums attacking the INEC officials and stealing the BVAS device and election materials.

There was also reported cases of abduction of INEC Officials in Isu LGA of Imo state and attack on INEC officials in Odoakpu Ward 7, Onitsha in Anambra state “There were also various reports of attacks on polling units from Lagos, Rivers, Nasarawa and Enugu states. In Kano state there was a report of violence in Rogo ward of Sabo Gari Local Government Area that led to the death of one person.

“The Commission also received reports of disruption of elections in Ogbia Constituency 2 in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa state. This resulted in no elections in fours wards and 94 polling units.

There was also a report of ballot box snatching in Enugu East LGA. “The Commission received with great concern, the attack on the ARISE News crew at Elegushi Palace. We call on law enforcement to investigate these and other incidents of violence and bring perpetrators to book.

“The Commission received reports of the killing of thugs in Lagos, Katsina and Benue states, Labour Party agents in Lagos.

Elections are not war and no life should be lost in the process of elections.”

He said the Nigeria Police Force should arrest and prosecute all verified cases of political violence, including attacks and snatching of ballot boxes and materials, calling on all law enforcement and security agents in the remaining unconcluded ongoing elections to maintain political neutrality and impartiality.

LP Candidate, Chukwu, Defeats Nnamani in Enugu East Senatorial Election Gideon Arinze in Enugu The candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for Enugu East Senatorial Zone, Kelvin Chukwu has emerged winner of last Saturday’s election in the zone.

Chukwu polled a total of 69,

136 to beat a former governor of Enugu State and incumbent senator, Chimaroke Nnamani of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) who scored 48, 701 votes.

Chukwu was chosen to replace his brother, Oyibo Chukwu, who was the candidate of the LP, till he

was murdered three days before the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.

Following his gruesome murder, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) shifted the conduct of the senatorial election in Enugu East to March 18.

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Acting Group Politics Editor DEJI ELUMOYE

POLITICS

Email: deji.elumoye@thisdaylive.com 08033025611 SMS ONLY

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E Women Underrepresented with Only 17 Members in 10th N’Assembly Udora Orizu writes that the results from the National Assembly polls leaves much to be desired as the number of women that will have seats in the 10th National Assembly will be less than those in the current Ninth Assembly

Ireti Kingibe

Idiat Adebule

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wenty four years since the return to democratic rule, there’s still growing concern over low representation of women in both elective and appointive positions.

The results from the recent National Assembly polls leaves much to be desired as the number of women that will have seats in the 10th National Assembly will be less than those in the current 9th Assembly.

The results of the elections is a far cry from the theme of the 2023 International Women’s Day, “Embrace Equity”. Those who had last year thought that women representation in the parliament and other elective offices would get a boost at the 2023 elections, had their hopes dashed by the results from the polls.

Women constitute over half of the population of the world and contribute in vital ways to societal development generally. They assume key roles, which include; mother, caregivers, educators, entrepreneurs, political activists, just to name a few. But despite that, women are still being excluded, marginalised and underrepresented in political realms and other sectors of the society, due to some cultural stereotypes, abuse of religion, traditional practices and patriarchal societal structures.

In Nigeria, the extant National Gender Policy (NGP) recommended 35 percent affirmative action and sought for a more inclusive representation of women with at least 35% of both elective political and appointive public service positions respectively.

In 2020, female lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representatives stepped up the push for greater representation of women in politics and other sectors of the society.

The lawmakers who expressed their views at a two-day training and advocacy workshop for federal and state female lawmakers on gender responsive legislation, in Abuja, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to forward an Executive Bill to the two chambers of the National Assembly on 35 percent affirmative action.

Last year, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the federal government to comply with the 35 per cent affirmative action for women, which allows women to occupy 35 per cent of all appointments.

Delivering judgment in a suit filed

Beni Lar

Boma Goodhead

by a non-governmental organisation, Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), Justice Donatus Okorowo said the federal government had the obligation to implement the 35 per cent affirmative action, accusing past governments of acting in breach of international treaties on women participation in government. He added that the National Gender Policy is not merely a policy statement, but one that must be backed with requisite action on the part of the government.

The judge held that the 35 per cent affirmative action, which entails appointive positions for women to ensure inclusivity, must not be merely on paper as Nigeria is a signatory to international treaties, particularly on those that entrench the rights of women.

WIPF, a non-partisan forum for women used for addressing women’s marginalisation in politics and decision-making, was seeking the implementation of the 35 per cent Affirmative Action in appointments of women into public office.

Its lawyer, Funmi Falana, had argued during the hearing that women were being discriminated against as a result of the belief that women were inferior to men.

She noted that the National Gender Policy (NGP), which provides that women should be

allocated 35 per cent of all appointments was being violated.

However despite efforts by women folk to ensure more inclusion of women in political leadership, the country constantly declines in terms of stepping up the push. Every Assembly to no avail, as part of their legislative agenda, always promise to make efforts to allow more women to participate in politics and governance.

Last year, the lawmakers rejected five gender bills, prompting protests by women at the entrance of the National Assembly in Abuja.

For days, the women besieged the entrance of the National Assembly and demanded the reversal of the bills.

Following the protests, the House of Representatives rescinded its decisions on three out of the five bills.

The House rescinded its decision on the bill that seeks to amend section 26 (2a) of the 1999 constitution by opening citizenship registration to males and females. This means that if the bill is passed, foreigners married to Nigerian women can apply for Nigerian citizenship.

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Doguwa’s Political Travails Ibrahim Shuaibu writes on the travails of the majority leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Alhassan Ado Doguwa who’s currently being investigated by the police for alleged involvement in murder

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he last Presidential and National Assembly elections across the country came with some unprecedented surprises as voters trooped out to vote for the candidate of their choice.

As expected of every election cycle in Nigeria, election day came with violence which led to death of some citizens.

The Majority Leader of House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, is currently in the eye of the storm, following his arrest and prosecution by the police for alleged involvement in murder.

The APC lawmaker who represents Doguwa/ Tudun Wada Federal Constituency of Kano State, was arrested after he was accused of leading thugs, who attacked and set on fire the office of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) at Tudun Wada, Kano, where two people were also burnt to death on Sunday during the collation of results of the just-concluded elections.

Doguwa’s move to retain his seat was not surprising following a revelation that he was being positioned as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In 2022, Doguwa was accused of attacking the deputy governorship candidate of the APC in Kano State, Murtala Garo, with a tea up during a meeting.

However, the lawmaker denied attacking the deputy governorship candidate. But Garo had told BBC Hausa that the majority leader violently invaded a meeting at the deputy governor’s residence and made several “baseless accusations”

Doguwa

against the gathering, including the deputy governor, Nasiru Gawuna, who is also the party’s governorship candidate.

With his no-nonsense character, his constituency, made up of two local governments of Doguwa and Tudun Wada, was clearly seen to be divided during election with most of those voting for him coming from his local government, Doguwa.

In as much as he has to do a lot to ensure that he wins elections in Doguwa he had to do even more to

win in Tudun Wada. Unfortunately, the votes were ‘not coming in his favor and the possibility of winning the election was slim.

He is to be a sixth timer in the House of Representative and if elected he will inch closer to his dream of becoming the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Pressed by such ambition, he was ready to do anything to achieve such a dream.

There are several stories told, one of which is that his own house located at Isyaku Rabiu estate along Zaria Road was burnt by political opponents two days to the last election. A situation which has turned him even more committed to his ambition at any extent.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had recently confirmed that his name has been removed from the list of those to receive Certificates of Return as members-elect of the House of Representatives even as he was earlier announced as the winner.

INEC gave reason for declaring that he did not win the election saying the announcement was made under duress. It had since announced that a supplementary election will take place in 13 poling units of the constituency.

This followed his arrest and charge to a Magistrate court in Kano where he was accused on five-count charge that include culpable homicide.

He was said to have been part of alleged attack and destruction of INEC office at Tudun Wada which resulted in death of some people.

According to reports, the influential lawmaker was arrested after he was accused of leading

thugs, who attacked and set on fire the office of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) at Tudun Wada, Kano, where two people were also burnt to death on Sunday during the collation of results of the just-concluded elections.

Doguwa was accused of shooting two to death and injuring others during the raid on the NNPP Tudun Wada Office.

The magistrate, Ibrahim Yola, said he had no jurisdiction to entertain the charges and ordered the accused to be remanded in prison custody.

Following some legal technicalities, he was offered bail by a Federal High court with the sum of N500m and a first-class traditional ruler that will stand as surety for him. The embattled Doguwa is faced with even more travails as pressure is being mounted by concerned sectors of the public to ensure that he faces the wrath of the law.

Even if he is set free in the end, his dream of becoming the Speaker of the house may have been shattered by the travails he has gone through especially if he is confirmed by the court to have been involved in culpable homicide.

As he awaits trial, indigenes from Tudun Wada and Doguwa constituencies alleged that the House of Representatives and the Kano state government are collaborating to get the embattled majority leader, Ado Doguwa, freed.

The concerned group members led by former Commissioner Budget and Planning, Alhaji Nura Muhammad Dankadai, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that justice takes it course to avoid reciprocal violence.

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IMAGES

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke (left), receiving report from the Chairman of Ad Hoc Committee of the University of Ilesa, Prof. Taiwo Asaolu (right), during the visit of the governor to the institution in Ilesa, Osun State, while the Secretary of the State Government (SSG), Hon. Teslim Igbalaye (centre), looks on…recently

T H I S D AY ˾ DAY Ͱͮ˜ ͰͮͰͱ

Photo Editor Abiodun Ajala Email abiodun.ajala@thisdaylive.com

L-R: Public Relations Consultant, Sir Aramide Tola Noibi; former Federal Minister of Aviation, AVM Anthony Okpere (rtd); and the Presbyter, Patriarchal Methodist Cathedral, Ikorodu, Lagos, Revd. John Olanrewaju Solubi, at the Silverbird Man of the Year Awards held at the Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos… recently

L-R: President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Dr. Pamela Ajayi; Public Health Consultant and Senior Lecturer at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr. Alero Roberts; Management Consultant and Partner at Ciuci Consulting, Mrs. Ifeoma Monye; General Manager of NSSF, Dr. Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko; and Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, during the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) International Women’s Day celebration in Lagos…recently

L-R: Chief Executive Officer and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, Ms. Damilola Ogunbiyi, receiving the Energy Institute (EI) President’s Award from the President of Energy Institute, Ms. Juliet Davenport, during the International Energy Week held in London, United Kingdom…recently

L-R: Gloworld Sales Director, Olufolahan Faseyitan; Managing Director, Samsung, West Africa, Charlie Lee; Head of Division, Samsung Mobile Experience, Joy Tim-Ayoola; and Director, Gloworld and Experience Centre, Globacom, Mohamed Rabie, when Samsung Galaxy S23 mobile phone was unveiled in Lagos…recently

L-R: Director, Lancelot Fund and Portfolio Management Limited, Mrs. Hilda Nkor; Executive Chairman, Lancelot Ventures Limited, Mr. Adebayo Adeleke; Chairman, Lancelot Fund and Portfolio Management Limited, Alhaji Danladi Yaro; Director, Lancelot Ventures Limited, Mrs. Olubosede Adeleke; and Managing Director/CEO, Lancelot Fund and Portfolio Management Limited, Ms. Adedoyin Adelakun, during the 30th anniversary celebration of Lancelot Group in Lagos...recently

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023

This Week In Tech 08097710984

nosakhare.alekhuogie@thisdaylive.com

Nosa

Alekhuogie

Nell: Fostering Collaborations and Mentorship Helps Promote Equity The COO of Deimos, Louise Nell, has carved a niche for herself in the male-dominated world of technology including cloud hosting and cybersecurity. Still, in the spirit of International Women’s Day, she spoke on cyber security, the importance of mentoring and support networks and how tech empowers women across the continent while creating equity. Nosa Alekhuogie presents the excerpts.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a woman in the tech industry? or me, one of the biggest challenges has been to shift my mind and thoughts away from what Brene Brown calls ‘perform, please, perfect’ as a typical female stereotype from my own upbringing. Tech and leadership can be messy, and failure, in some aspect somewhere, is guaranteed. I have spent the last 20 years trying to be a better version of myself. I have just turned fifty, and I am incredibly grateful that I will hopefully have another 50 years to continue this journey of self-discovery and improvement.

programme is about?

At Deimos, we value our partnership with She Code Africa and recognise the organisation’s significant contributions to the African tech industry and the advancement of women in technology. She Code Africa offers practical, cohort-based learning opportunities throughout the year, providing female tech enthusiasts with exposure to the cloud and the platforms that support it. The programme is a hybrid initiative, allowing candidates from anywhere in Africa to participate, and we are proud to support such an inclusive and impactful initiative.

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Why and how did you start in the tech sector, especially cybersecurity and software engineering?

My original arrival in tech was through a generous bursary to encourage more women to participate in technology. Please bear in mind that this was over 30 years ago. I learned to code, build hardware, and build and construct networks - something that was fascinating and not what I had considered possible at all. I shifted to cloud technology quite recently, joining the Deimos Cloud team in November 2021. This change came about after meeting Andrew Mori, the founder, and being inspired by his vision of a strong African cloud presence built by Africans to empower and elevate African businesses. That is a vision that spoke to both my head and my heart.

How do you think the cybersecurity industry can attract and retain more women?

To my mind, the question is different: How can more women see themselves contributing meaningfully to senior technical leadership roles within the cloud technology space? Self-belief is a significant factor, as is financial support and mentoring. As African business leaders, we need to own up to our responsibility for affecting this change by empowering women to join the industry through training programs, financial sponsorship and being role models.

In your opinion, what are the most important skills needed to succeed in cyber security?

Cyber security is a niche field, even more so than general cloud computing or information technology. With this in mind, my first answer is always two-fold: self-belief and a genuine curiosity and interest in the field. One of the positive outcomes from the increasing volume of news stories regarding cybersecurity breaches is that the area is gaining exposure and is at the forefront of innovation.

What emerging cyber security threats do you think are the most concerning?

Data breaches at large financial institutions continue to surprise and concern me, and although these are certainly not new, they continue to put citizens at risk. Having your personal or financial information compromised is a significant breach of personal privacy, which often has dire consequences for individuals. Deimos has also witnessed a notable increase in cyberattacks targeting businesses due to misconfigurations in their cybersecurity systems. Misconfiguration refers to vulnerabilities in an organisation’s cybersecurity systems resulting from incorrect or incomplete configurations. With the widespread adoption of cloud technology, more businesses are transitioning to the cloud,

Nell

often trying to save costs and manage it themselves. Unfortunately, this approach can result in weak spots in their cloud setup. The shortage of local cybersecurity talent only adds to the growing threat.

Considering these challenges, it is critical that we prioritise the development and cultivation of cyber-tech talent in Africa more than ever before.

Participate in hackathons, and coding competitions, or contribute to open-source projects to gain hands-on experience. And finally, never stop learning. The technology industry is constantly evolving, so it is important to stay updated with the latest trends and technologies. Read tech blogs, attend conferences, or take online courses to stay ahead.

What advice would you give young women interested in pursuing a career in technology?

Go for it and ignore the voices in your head that tell you are an imposter. To quote one of my favourite movies: ‘You have all the weapons, now fight!’ Believe in yourself, start your journey and be diligent. You can have the amazing career you want. I will advise starting with the basics. Get a good foundation by taking computer science courses and learning programming languages such as Java or Python, you do not need to go to university. There are so many YouTube Channels and online courses, making it easier and more affordable.

Exploring different fields is important as technology is a vast field with diverse opportunities. Try different areas, such as software development, cybersecurity, data science, or artificial intelligence, to discover your passion.

Joining a community is on this list as well. Seek out communities, organisations, or groups that support and empower women in technology. These groups can provide mentorship, networking opportunities, and support. Building a portfolio; create a portfolio of projects to highlight your skills and knowledge.

What do you see as the future of cyber security in Africa, and how do you think it will impact businesses and individuals?

We are seeing a strong shift from having a Security Operations Center (SOC) Team to incorporating security into every part of the technology process within an organisation. Previously the responsibility lay with a security team to monitor and respond to threats. In the current security landscape with remote work and running businesses in the cloud, there is a need for everyone involved in the technology process (product owners, engineers, e.t.c.) to have a security-first mindset by contributing to building secure systems to protect financial and customer data. The challenge is for businesses to adapt to this ‘shifting security left’ approach, where security governance plays an integral part in how an organisation operates and approaches technology.

Failure to introduce and implement this approach correctly could hinder and slow down businesses’ ability to keep pace with the market.

You mentioned being one of the sponsors of She Code Africa. Can you give an insight into what the

Can you share some insights on how you have nurtured tech talents in Africa so far?

Aside from cultivating a culture of progressions, evolution, and upskilling, we have also sponsored organisations to assist with the nurturing of tech talent within Africa.

We are particularly proud of our She Code Africa candidates who successfully completed our challenging internship programmes and have gone on to grow big tech careers. All who participated in the internships received full-time job offers at Deimos.

Deimos has also donated to DevCareer, which supports underrepresented software developers in Africa with the necessary resources to succeed.

We funded Cloud Engineering Books for Beginners for twenty engineers from Adora Nwodo, a Software Engineer, Multi-Published Author and Tech Content Creator based in Nigeria.

We also donated money during the #EndSars movement, as we believe in the safety of our people first. We look forward to so many more opportunities to help our fellow techies on this beautiful and talented continent.

How do you think equity can be achieved in the technology sector?

Achieving equity requires an approach that addresses the barriers preventing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. I believe this can be achieved through 3-pronged approaches. Diversify the talent pipeline; It is essential to invest in educating and empowering young talent in tech to create a diverse talent pool for companies to select from. This can be achieved by supporting initiatives such as She Code Africa to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to enter and succeed in the technology field.

Also, fostering collaborations and mentorship helps promote equity. It is important to actively identify and provide opportunities for less fortunate talent to develop leadership skills and access mentorship programs. Collaboration and mentorship can help these individuals not only survive but also thrive in tech.

I will add creating inclusive workplace cultures. Inclusive equity practices must be implemented from the top down. Companies need to establish policies and practices that prevent bias and discrimination, provide diversity and inclusion training, and promote diverse leadership and hiring practices.

Are you working on any new projects in Nigeria currently?

Due to the sensitivity around cyber security, most of our clients rely on our ability to keep projects and system improvements strictly confidential. With this in mind, I am not able to call out innovative projects currently underway.

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Monday March 20, 2023 Vol 27. No 10204

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opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

BUHARI, YAKUBU, ATIKU AND THE DEATH OF TRUST (2) TUNDE OLUSUNLE argues the February 25, Presidential election must not be allowed to stand

See page 25

NATIONAL UNITY, PREJUDICES, AND THE CONSEQUENCE OF ANGER We must be sensitive to Nigeria’s unity, peace, and harmony, writes FREDRICK NWABUFO

See page 25 EDITORIAL

ADDRESSING THE MISERY OF NIGERIANS

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The crisis poses grave danger to our search for unity and nationhood, writes ETIM ETIM

THE VIOLENCE IN LAGOS AND MY FEARS FOR THE FUTURE The violence unleashed on voters in some areas of Lagos during the governorship elections was a well-planned scheme at voter suppression designed to achieve victory for governing APC and perpetuate the Tinubu dynasty on the nation’s major economic hub. Lagos, and indeed, the western parts of the country, have always been a hotbed of radical political activities and violence, but yesterday, it assumed a dangerous ethnic dimension.

In many areas dominated by Igbo and other non-Yoruba voters, hooligans ran riot, assaulting voters, destroying voting materials and generally disrupting voting. In Okota, where I lived about 20 years ago, a Labour Party candidate was beaten by thugs and his shirt torn.

He was seen in a video crying. In all, Labour Party strongholds were prevented by marauding thugs from voting. Igbo people and even some Yoruba persons who were suspected of being Igbos from their looks, were singled out of the voting lines and assaulted. The whole exercise was eerily reminiscent of the hounding and persecution of Jews in Germany in the 1930s. Nigeria is degenerating every day.

My fears are that by demonizing and targeting the Igbos, the major supporters of the Labor Party simply because they chose to vote for their preferred candidates, the masterminds of Saturday’s attacks have set in motion a very dangerous precedent in the country. In subsequent elections, I foresee a situation in which non-indigenes in some states would be warned to vote in a particular manner or they may lose their property or businesses. Although our country has experienced many religious and ethnic violence in the past, never before has a major ethnic bloc been so violated, humiliated and demonized for choosing to support a candidate of their choice. This certainly poses a grave danger for our search for unity and nationhood, and belies the spirit and letter of the Peace Accord which all the Presidential and governorship candidates consented to.

So far, neither the Lagos governor and the President-elect has issued a statement to condemn the attacks, thus fueling speculations that they were privy to the plans. Whether they were in the know or not, violence and tainted elections have set the subtext for the Tinubu presidency.

Just as President Buhari was perceived to be condoning of the atrocities of Fulani KHUGVPHQ IRU UHDVRQV RI WULEDO D΀QLW\ Tinubu would be remembered for supporting attacks against a major ethnic group political reason.

The Governorship candidate of Labour

Party in Lagos State, Mr. Gbadebo RhodesVivour, is a Yoruba man of a decent ancestry, born of an Igbo woman and married to an Igbo woman. Based on the energy of Labour voters and the strong performance of Peter Obi, its presidential candidate in the presidential election of February 25, Rhodes-Vivour was widely expected to win the gubernatorial race.

Such an upset would terminate Tinubu’s 24-year grip on the N40 trillion economy, upend his many lucrative deals and possibly open up a pandora box. It was therefore a little naïve not to have DQWLFLSDWHG D ELJ ÀJKW IURP WKH $3& EXW I must confess that I did not, however, IRUHVHH WKH VSHFLÀF HWKQLF SURÀOLQJ DQG derogation of the Igbos as foreigners who wanted to take over Lagos and the constant attacks against Rhodes-Vivour as a foreigner. The Igbos did not ever want to assume the leadership of Lagos. There is nothing to show that they wanted to take over Lagos government. Rhodes-Vivour is a Yoruba man, just as Tinubu’s children, born of an Itsekiri woman, are also Yoruba.

The violence in Lagos was therefore a ploy by some powerful and ruthless persons to protect their business interests.

The real danger now lies in the future and fate of the Igbos in Lagos. With Tinubu KLPVHOI DV 3UHVLGHQW LW LV GL΀FXOW QRW WR expect that the over 10 million Igbos (and even other non-Yoruba persons) in that city ZRXOG QRW VXͿHU RQH IRUP RI YHQJHDQFH or another. Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who will likely become the 3UHVLGHQW·V &KLHI 3UHVV 6HFUHWDU\ RͿHUHG what could be an ominous hint. He tweeted: ‘’Let 2023 be the last of Igbo Interference in Lagos politics. Let there be no repeat in 2027. Lagos is like Anambra, Imo, any Nigerian State. It is not No Man’s Land; not Federal Capital Territory. It is

a Yoruba Land. Mind your business’’.

Implicit in this threatening message is the warning: Lagos belongs to the Boss. Don’t ever contemplate going against his will.

0DÀD ERVVHV LQ ,WDO\ DQG WKHLU GHVFHQGDQWV in New York and Chicago were known to be very ruthless in their territorial control. Their minions, eager to sustain their privileges, also acted cruelly against rivals and perceived threats. Onanuga’s message is his own way of assuring the Big Boss that he remains loyal and is ready to play his own part in furtherance of the survival of the empire.

So far, neither Ohaneze Ndi’gbo, the main sociocultural association of South East people nor Labour Party has uttered a word, but a few bold members of the Igbo intelligentsia have spoken. In a statement titled, Time for Major Statement on Igbos as Citizens of Nigeria, Dr. Amadi, a former university professor, notes that ‘’the violence against Igbo voters in Lagos because of their perceived political preferences about an election by all Lagosians is a serious threat to national unity and a renewal of the hateful past by APC leaders. It is now time for a major action by Igbo leaders. The Igbos are being targeted for attack in Nigeria. If there are Igbo leaders this is time for a major meeting to task Nigeria on the protection of Igbo lives. Igbo are Nigerians and should be protected. This is time to make a strong and blunt statement for equal citizenship.

If Igbos cannot vote freely in any part of Nigeria, then they are not citizen’’.

For me personally, it is quite strange that the Igbos are being humiliated under the watchful eyes of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As Lagos governor, he had appointed Ben Akabueze from Anambra State, as his Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning. Before then, Akabueze was the Chief Executive of NAL Bank till the bank merged with others to form Sterling Bank in January 2006. He was in retirement from banking when Tinubu tapped him into this cabinet, and he served as a commissioner for the remaining part of the Tinubu administration and for all the eight years of the Fashola era. Akabueze had hired me in NAL in December 2000, and so in early 2007, I was delighted to attend his inauguration as a Commissioner in Lagos State government. Tinubu spoke glowingly of Akabueze and praised the Igbos in Lagos for their industry and political sagacity. Sixteen years after, what has changed?

Etim is a Journalist

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MONDAY MARCH 20, 2023

TUNDE OLUSUNLE argues the February 25, Presidential election must not be allowed to stand

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We must be sensitive to Nigeria’s unity, peace, and harmony, writes FREDRICK NWABUFO

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26 4

T H I S D AY

MONDAY MARCH 20, 2023

EDITORIAL

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

ADDRESSING THE MISERY OF NIGERIANS The current index is another wake-up call

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RI LQÁDWLRQ DQG XQHPSOR\PHQW LQ WKH FRXQWU\ he federal government must be 3HUKDSV PRUH GDQJHURXV LV WKH IDFW WKDW DERXW concerned that despite the assumptions per cent of that army of idle citizens is peopled by that informed the Central Bank of WKRVH EHWZHHQ WKH DJHV RI DQG 0DQ\ RI WKHP Nigeria (CBN) Naira redesign policy, university graduates, are not only miserable but LQÁDWLRQ LV VWLOO RQ WKH ULVH 7KH FRQVXPHU FRQGHPQHG WR WKH VWUHHW FRUQHU price index (CPI), which measures the The clear and present danger of such a high level of rate of change in prices of goods and services, surged idleness among young persons are already manifest WR SHU FHQW LQ -DQXDU\ XS IURP SHU in the high level of strife and crimes in virtually FHQW LQ WKH SUHYLRXV PRQWK *RLQJ E\ WKH &3, UHSRUW HYHU\ FRUQHU RI WKH FRXQWU\ :KHUHDV WKH PXOWLWXGH released last Wednesday by the National Bureau of of violent outbursts might have religious and ethnic Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s misery index has soared colorations and undertones, it is also a notorious fact E\ SHUFHQWDJH SRLQWV WR 7KLV VKRXOG EH WKDW PRVW RI WKH SHRSOH LQ WKH ÀHOGV DQG WUHQFKHV disturbing for all relevant stakeholders while the of war are youths who if otherwise meaningfully DXWKRULWLHV PXVW EHJLQ WR ÀQG VROXWLRQ WR ZKDW FRXOG engaged would have been unavailable for those HQJHQGHU D QDWLRQDO XSKHDYDO worthless anti-social According to Steve HQGHDYRXUV :RUVH VWLOO LV Hanke, an economist at that there is no evidence to -RKQ +RSNLQV 8QLYHUVLW\ suggest that the authorities LQ %DOWLPRUH 8QLWHG Our educational training curriculum must incorporate skills acquisition LQ $EXMD DQG WKH VWDWHV States who developed appreciate the gravity of and entrepreneurial development so that graduates leave school with the misery index to the situation as there are assess the degree of the capacity to create wealth rather than seeking jobs no clear-cut plans to deal hardships faced by ZLWK WKH SUREOHP citizens in their country, We call on government it is “the sum of the at all levels to begin to T H I S D AY XQHPSOR\PHQW LQÁDWLRQ DQG EDQN OHQGLQJ UDWHV EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU ÀQG D FUHDWLYH ZD\ RI WDFNOLQJ WKLV FKDOOHQJH EHIRUH PLQXV WKH SHUFHQWDJH FKDQJH LQ UHDO *'3 SHU FDSLWD DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA LW EHFRPHV XQPDQDJHDEOH 7KH QH[W DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ +LJKHU UHDGLQJV RQ WKH ÀUVW WKUHH HOHPHQWV DUH ¶EDG· MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO must prioritise youth employment and formulate DQG PDNH SHRSOH PRUH PLVHUDEOH µ $QG DV WKH LQGH[ DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU SROLFLHV WR UHGXFH LW WR WKH EDUHVW PLQLPXP :H rightly explained, the country’s misery ranking is laid CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI also hope that the economic programmes will EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN at the foot of the economy and the unemployment VSHFLÀFDOO\ WDUJHW \RXQJ SHUVRQV 7KH SUHVLGHQW MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI FULVLV THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has harped on the need It is particularly disturbing that the controversial IRU FRPSHWHQFH DQG ZH KRSH KH ZLOO ZDON KLV WDON Naira redesign policy of the CBN has not brought Beyond the foregoing, there is the urgent need to GRZQ LQÁDWLRQ DV HQYLVDJHG GHVSLWH ZKDW PDQ\ realign the nation’s educational curriculum with the 1LJHULDQV KDYH KDG WR HQGXUH LQ UHFHQW ZHHNV 7RGD\ T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D QHHGV RI WKH HFRQRP\ ,W KDV EHHQ VDLG ZLWK VRPH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA Africa’s largest economy is either leading the world GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, PHDVXUH RI MXVWLÀFDWLRQ WKDW PDQ\ RI WKH VFKRRO or almost doing so on the negative side of growth ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI leavers are unemployable, having regards to their DQG KXPDQ GHYHORSPHQW LQGLFHV %HVLGHV 1LJHULD DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, WUDLQLQJ DQG VNLOOV 7KHUHIRUH RXU HGXFDWLRQDO WUDLQLQJ has the greatest number of citizens living in extreme ANTHONY OGEDENGBE curriculum must incorporate skills acquisition and SRYHUW\ DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI entrepreneurial development so that graduates leave SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH Figures available paint a dire situation of millions school with the capacity to create wealth rather than ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI of adults and youths roaming the streets looking VHHNLQJ MREV )RU XV WR HQG WKH PLVHU\ RI RXU SHRSOH IRU ZRUN EXW ÀQGLQJ QRQH ,QGHHG WKH 1%6 KDV CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO ZH PXVW EHJLQ WR WKLQN DORQJ WKRVH OLQHV reported a consistent pattern of worsening situation TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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LETTERS LESSONS FROM THE GUBERNATORIAL POLLS 2Q WK 0DUFK WKH ,QGHSHQGHQW 1DWLRQDO (OHFWRUDO &RPPLVVLRQ ,1(& FRQGXFWHG JXEHUQDWRULDO DQG VWDWH KRXVHV RI DVVHPEO\ HOHFWLRQV /LNH WKH 3UHVLGHQtial and National Assembly polls, voter apathy reared LWV XJO\ KHDG RU LQGHHG EHFDPH ZRUVH 7KHUH ZHUH reported cases of violence and votes buying which PDUUHG WKH H[HUFLVH DFURVV WKH FRXQWU\ 7KRXJK VRPH politicians have been arrested by operatives of anWL JUDIW DJHQF\ ()&& IRU DOOHJHG YRWHV EX\LQJ WKH elections could be described as huge joke taking too IDU ,Q WKH ODVW 3UHVLGHQWLDO DQG 1DWLRQDO $VVHPEO\ elections, Nigerians did not experience voters’ inducePHQW GXH WR FDVK VFDUFLW\ 7KH QDLUD UHGHVLJQ SROLF\ ZDV D ELJ EORZ WR PRQH\EDJ SROLWLFLDQV 7KHUH ZDV QR FDVK WR LQGXFH YRWHUV 7KH PHDVXUH KDG KHOSHG JUHDWO\ WRZDUGV FRQGXFWLQJ IUHH DQG IDLU HOHFWLRQV he cash-swap policy has adversely or negatively DͿHFWHG WKH OLYHV RI 1LJHULDQV LQ GLͿHUHQW ZD\V %XW

implementing it at the eve of the elections has reduced the menace of votes buying especially in the presidenWLDO HOHFWLRQV 5HJUHWWDEO\ WKH VXSUHPH &RXUW UXOLQJ which compelled CBN to extend the validity of old FXUUHQFLHV XQWLO 'HFHPEHU KDV SURYLGHG DQ DPple opportunity for desperate politicians to use their stashed currencies for votes buying during the guber SROOV 7KH JODULQJ DQG DQQR\LQJ YRWHV EX\LQJ DFURVV the polling units have eroded the gains recorded by ,1(& LQ WKH ODVW HOHFWLRQV 9RWHV EX\LQJ KDV PRFNHG RXU GHPRFUDF\ ,W KDV IXUWKHU PRQHWLVHG RXU HOHFWLRQV Politicians with high stakes count themselves as poWHQWLDO ZLQQHUV +RZHYHU ,1(& VKRXOG QRW EH EODPHG IRU WKLV PHVV 2XU SRYHUW\ VWULFNHQ HOHFWRUDWH VKRXOG take the blame for selling their votes to the highest bidGHUV ,W LV UHSRUWHG WKDW LQ PDQ\ SROOLQJ XQLWV YRWHUV ZHUH LQGXFHG ZLWK OLWWOH WRNHQ 6RPH YRWHUV FROOHFWHG DV OLWWOH DV 1 RU RQH SDFNHW RI VSDJKHWWL WR YRWH 7KLV

is a sad!

The electorate have never paused for a minute to ask themselves a simple question on what will be their IDWH LI WKH\ VHOO WKHLU YRWHV IRU SHDQXWV 7KHVH GHVSHUDWH politicians are ready to invest their last kobo in other WR ZLQ HOHFWLRQV $IWHU ZLQQLQJ WKH SROO RQH VKRXOG H[SHFW WKHP WR ZRUN IRU WKH FRPPRQ PDQ 7KH\ KDYH WR ÀUVW UHFRXS WKHLU LQYHVWPHQW DORQJ ZLWK WKHLU SURÀW EHIRUH GURSSLQJ FUXPEV WR WKH HOHFWRUDWH :KLOH YRWHV EX\LQJ LV D VHULRXV HOHFWRUDO RͿHQVH SXQLVKDEOH E\ ODZ 1LJHULDQV DUH \HW WR VHH DQ\ RͿHQGHU IDFLQJ WKH IXOO ZHLJKW RI WKH ODZ 8QOHVV ZH VWUHQJWKHQ RXU ODZV WR prosecute those who engage in election malpractice, including votes buying, Nigerian elections will continXH WR EH SUREOHPDWLF Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023

27

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

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

08056356325

M A R C H

S & P INDEX

1 7 , 2 0 2 3

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

11.25%

CALL

10.55%

INDEX LEVEL

612.93%

1/4 TO DATE

-0.22%

N461.46/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

11.50%

1-MONTH

10.80%

1-DAY

0.30%

YEAR TO DATE

0.22%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

11.65%

MONTH-TO-DATE

1.44%

Amid Rising Inflation, Regulatory Charges, Tier-2 Banks’ OPEX Hit N553.44bn

Kayode Tokede Following a double-digit inflation rate and regulatory charges, seven Tier-2 Nigerian banks reported N553.44billion total operating expenses in 2022, representing an increase of 25.433 per cent from N441.24 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2021.

The six banks are: FCMB Group Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, and Jaiz bank Plc. Analysis of the banks’ results has revealed that the likes of Fidelity

bank, Wema bank, and Jaiz had their operating expenses above the 21.334 per cent inflation rate in the year under review.

The inflation rate in Nigeria, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), increased to 21.34 per cent in December 2022 from 15.6 per cent reported in January.

Aside hike in inflation rate, the 0.5 per cent Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) charges on banks’ total assets on and off-balance sheet items and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) levy mounted pressure on banks expenses in the

period under review.

Also, the dwindling fortune of the naira, among others as factor, contributed to the rise in banks operating expenses within the review period.

THISDAY can report that the prevailing of inflation rate across Africa countries impacted on pan-African banks operating in the continent.

Further analysis revealed that Stanbic IBTC Holdings reported N129.47 billion total operating expenses in 2022, an increase of 21.4 per cent from N106.65billion reported in 2021.

The group thus grew its profit before tax to N100.35billion in 2022, an increase of 52 per cent from N66billion reported in 2021.

The Chief Executive Stanbic IBTC, Dr Demola Sogunle in a statement admitted that 2022 was a peculiar year for Group as a financial services provider within the Nigerian operating environment.

He added that, “Despite the volatile macro-economic indicators, coupled with varying regulatory burdens, we made substantial progress towards achieving our set financial goals based on our

guidance for the year.”

Fidelity Bank ended the year with 46 per cent growth in total operating expenses to N122.17billion in 2022 from N83.46billion in 2021, Wema Bank recorded 34.5per cent in operating expenses to N59.5billion in 2022 from N44.23billion in 2021. Both banks ended the year under review with operating expenses above inflation rate.

In addition, Jaiz Bank also closed the year with 34.5 per cent total operating expenses, moving from N12.81billion in 2021 to N15.97billion in 2022.

As Sterling Bank’s total operating expenses stood at N87.25billion in 2022, representing a decline of 20 per cent from N72.83billion in 2021, FCMB Group on its part announced N112.099 billion total operating expenses in 2022, an increase of 17 per cent from N96.19 billion in 2021.

In addition, Unity Bank reported N27billion total operating expenses in 2022 from N25.08billion in 2021, an increase of eight per cent.

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

$61.5M Sealink Project Gets Boost as NEXIM, Navy, NIWA Unveil River Navigation Charts James Emejo in Abuja The $61.5 million regional Sealink project being promoted by the Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has received a boost with the unveiling of navigational

charts for the lower River Niger.

The project seeks to establish and operate a maritime shipping company, which will connect the West African coastal ports as well as link parts of Central Africa to the West African region in order to facilitate trade.

The initiative will gulp $60 million in equipment and working

capital and $1.5 million for the operation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the promotion of the concept among member countries.

The funding of the landmark project includes 40 per cent equity participation by private investors while the remaining 40 per cent capital would come from

institutional investors in the form of loans.

The launch of the survey and navigation charting, which was jointly undertaken by hydrographers of the Nigerian Navy and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) with financial support from both NEXIM and Afreximbank,

comprised of 12 paper and electronic charts to ensure navigational safety of the lower River Niger channel to boost both hinterland and coastal trade.

Speaking at the ceremony over the weekend, Managing Director/ Chief Executive, NEXIM Bank, Mr. Abba Bello, said as a trade policy institution, the bank embarked

on the deliberate policy initiative to bridge maritime infrastructure gaps towards lowering logistics cost to foster trade with the promotion of the regional sealink project.

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT F R I D AY, M A R C H 1 7 , 2 0 2 3 BONDS DESCRIPTION Price ^14.20 14MAR-2024 ^13.53 23MAR-2025 ^12.50 22JAN-2026 ^16.2884 17MAR-2027 ^13.98 23FEB-2028

10.335, 00 10.339, 00 10.129, 00 11.289, 00 10.543, 00

Change Updated Time (%) 11.02 -0.01 January 13, 2023 January 11.71 0.11 13, 2023 January 11.98 -0.01 13, 2023 January 12.24 0.00 13, 2023 January 12.50 0.00 13, 2023

Yield

BILLS MATURITY

Discount

NTB 26-Jan23 NTB 9-Feb23 NTB 9-Mar23 NTB 27-Apr23

1.53

NTB 11May-23

2.70

1.54 1.83 2.43

Change Updated Time (%) January 1.53 0.00 13, 2023 January 0.00 13, 1.54 2023 January 1.84 0.01 13, 2023 2.44 -0.31 January 13, 2023

Yield

2.72

January -0.54 13, 2023

OTC F X F U T U R E S

CPS MATURITY FDHP CP III 17-MAR-23 VHPL CP III 1-APR-23 MREP CP VI 11-APR-23

Change Updated Time (%) January 8.08 8.20 -0.24 13, 2023 January 13.12 13.50 -0.33 13, 2023 January 9.52 9.74 -0.39 13, 2023

Discount Yield

.

.

.

. .

.

.

.

. .

CONTRACT Current TENOR Contract Rate Updated Time ($/₦) (MONTH) NGUS JAN 25 469.87 January 1 2023 13, 2023 January NGUS FEB 22 2 472.05 2023 13, 2023 NGUS MAR 29 474.23 January 3 2023 13, 2023 NGUS APR 26 476.42 January 4 2023 13, 2023 NGUS MAY 31 478.60 January 5 2023 13, 2023

28

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Report: Nigeria’s Ginger, Shea Butter Have Significant Global Market Potential James Emejo in Abuja A new report has identified Nigerian-grown ginger and shea butter as potential Geographical Indications (GIs) products, which could immensely contribute towards realising the federal government’s diversification objectives.

The report titled, “Value Chain Analysis of Nigeria Ginger and Shea Butter as Potential Geographical Indications (GIs) Products under the Zero-Oil Plan of the Government of Nigeria,” was released by the Africa International Trade and Commerce Research (AITCR) in partnership with Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).

The study revealed among other things that both products have “significant market potential in various international markets, such as

Europe, the United States, and Asia” and urged the federal government and relevant stakeholders to pay particular attention considering the enormous economic opportunities in the value-chains.

Speaking at the unveiling/ validation workshop on market access and value-chain analysis for the products for non-oil Executive Director/Chief Executive, NEPC, Dr. Ezra Yakusak, commended the AITCR for the effort adding that the outcome would boost the diversification agenda of the federal government.

He said registering Nigeria’s ginger and shea butter under the GIs system would safeguard these unique Nigerian traditional products against imitation and misuse as well as increase their value in international markets.

Specifically, the NEPC boss said the initiative would offer opportunities for smallholder farmers and rural communities engaged in producing these goods to access better prices and earn more income.

Represented by NEPC Deputy Director, Policy and Strategy Department, Mr. Ben Anani, Yakusak said the validation of the results marked the process towards creating a legal framework to provide legal protection to Nigeria GI products to boost exports and promote the income and livelihoods of producers in the country.

However, in his presentation, Executive Director of AITCR, Mr. Sand Mba-Kalu, said the report provided valuable insights into the potential of Nigeria’s ginger and shea butter as GI products.

Expert Challenges Minister over Claims of 12.99m Cyberattacks in Four Days Emma Okonji The claim by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, that Nigeria recorded 12.99 million cyberattacks in four days during the presidential election, has been challenged by a cybersecurity expert, as the claim continues to generate reactions, especially within the cybersecurity ecosystem.

Pantami had last week in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Uwa Sulaiman, disclosed that 12.99 million cyberattacks were recorded

during presidential election week.

According to the statement, there were 6.99 million attacks on February 25th, which was the presidential election day, coupled with other series of hacking attempts such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), Email and IPS attacks, SSH login attempts, brute force injection attempts, path traversal, detection evasion, and forceful browsing.

The statement further said: “Generally, threats to public websites and portals averaged around 1,550,000 daily. However, this skyrocketed to 6,997,277 on the

day of presidential election. Between February 24 and February 28, 2023, a total of 12,988,978 attacks were recorded, originating from both within and outside Nigeria.”

Reacting to the statement, a Nigerian cybersecurity expert, who is based in the United Kingdom, Mr. Remi Afon, challenged the Minister and asked him to break down how his ministerial standing committee on advisory role for the protection of cyberspace and ICT came about the figure which, according to him, is unprecedented in the history of cyberattacks globally.

FG, FAO Lament Threats to Food Security in 2023 James Emejo in Abuja The federal government and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have expressed concerns over the increasing challenges to food security in the country.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, said the country is still faced with post-COVID-19 pandemic challenges, and the negative economic impact of Russian -Ukraine war as well as

the daunting issue over insecurity which had continued to threaten Nigeria’s food and nutrition security.

Speaking at the 2023 CADRE Harmonise (CH) Result Release workshop in Abuja, Umakhihe noted that these challenges had led to disruptions in food production and distribution systems, resulting in poor consumption patterns among several households especially, in areas affected by insecurity.

This came as the FAO Country Representative in Nigeria and

ECOWAS, Mr. Fred Kafeero, said there had been an unprecedented levels of farmland destruction by floods affecting about half a million hectares of formerly productive land.

He said, “This brought negative consequences for food production and early depletion of household food stock leading to predictable food scarcity this year.

“We worry that this would be more pronounced during the lean season further increasing vulnerability to food security and malnutrition.”

Firm Pledges to Deliver Social Investments O b l i g a t i o n s to Host Community Okon Bassey in Uyo Management of Oriental Energy Resources Limited has vowed to deliver on its social investments obligations to the host communities of Mbo local government area of Akwa Ibom State based on the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021.

Its Managing Director, Mr Mustafa Indimi said the company has made significant contributions to sustainable community development as evident in the projects and programmes successfully completed

in the last five years.

He disclosed that Oriental Energy has made satisfactory progress towards the establishment and incorporation of the Host Communities Development Trusts Fund as required by the Act. “We Are currently in the process for finalizing arrangements to conduct Host Communities Needs Assessment in collaboration with the communities stakeholders as required by the Act, “he said.

He lauded the people of the area for partnering with the oil company to deliver sustainable

community development projects and programmes in the area of operations.

Earlier, the Managing Director of Azimarine and General Services Limited, Michael Abakam had said the training of the beneficiaries of the skills acquisition programme was totally funded by Oriental Energy Resources Limited.

Abakam whose company undertook the training said the firm has successfully trained over 1000 technicians, engineers across the Akwa Ibom State, South-south and Nigeria at large.

Stanbic IBTC Empowers Nigerian Export Business Owners Nume Ekeghe Stanbic IBTC Bank has empowered export business owners with the knowledge and resources needed to succeed in the export trade sector through its recently hosted Trade Export Webinar.

During the webinar themed, “Getting Your Business Export Ready,” attendees gained valuable insights on successfully navigating

the complexities of exporting goods and services in the export trade sector.

Head of Enablement and Ecosystem at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Olufemi Oyekola, noted during his opening remarks that the exchange of goods through export and import activities determines the economic status of a nation.

Head of Africa China Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Chigozie Onyeocha said, “At Stanbic IBTC

we are constantly on the lookout for the latest trends that support our agenda for business growth.”

Onyeocha added that the webinar aimed to empower export business owners with the knowledge to prepare for headwinds, as World Trade Organisation (WTO) economists predict a 1.0 per cent increase in global merchandise trade volumes, down sharply from the previous estimate of 3.4 per cent.

CPS: What You Should Know about Employee’s Rights The Pension Reform Act 2014 (PRA 2014) confers certain rights on employees, providing protection, compensation and alleviation to the employees and their loved ones during their working years and upon retirement.

These rights cover all employees in the Public Service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and States that have implemented the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and the private sector.

Therefore, employees and employers need to know these rights are to be guided accordingly.

RIGHT PENSION

TO

Section 3(1) of the PRA 2014 states, “There is established PENCOM DG, Aisha Dahir-Umar for any employment in the Federal Republic of of a retirement savings account shall, upon Nigeria, a Contributory Pension Scheme for payment of retirement retirement or attaining the age of 50 years, benefits of employees to whom the Scheme whichever is later, utilize the amount credited to applies under this Act. The Scheme shall apply his retirement savings account for the following to all employees in the Public Service of the benefits: (a) withdrawal of a lump sum from Federation, the Federal Capital Territory, States, the total amount credited to his retirement Local Governments and the Private Sector….” savings account provided that the amount Accordingly, this means that every employee left after the lumpsum withdrawal shall be covered under this Act has a right to a Pension. sufficient to procure a programmed fund withdrawal or annuity for life….”

RIGHT TO THE EMPLOYER’S CONTRIBUTION Section 4(1) of the PRA 2014 states that “The contribution for any employee to which this Act applies shall be made in the following rates relating to his monthly emoluments: (a) a minimum of ten percent by the employer; and (b) a minimum of eight percent by the employee…” What constitutes monthly emoluments is as defined in the employee’s employment contract. Still, it should not be less than the sum of basic salary, housing and transport allowances. Therefore, every employee covered under this Act has a right to the employer’s contribution towards their pension, which is a minimum of 10% of their monthly emolument.

RIGHT TO LIFE INSURANCE Section 4(5) of the PRA 2014 states that “… every employer shall maintain a Group Life Insurance Policy (GLIP) in favour of each employee for a minimum of three times the annual total emolument of the employee and premium shall be paid not later than the date of commencement of the cover. Where the employer failed, refused or omitted to make payment as and when due, the employer shall arrange to effect the payment of claims arising from the death of any staff in its employment during such period….” Thus every employee covered under this Act has a right to Insurance.

Section 5.5 of the Revised Guidelines on GLIP for Employees provides that employers shall display a copy of the GLIP certificate conspicuously within their premises.

RIGHT TO DETERMINE HOW TO ACCESS RETIREMENT BENEFITS Every employee covered under the PRA 2014 has a right to determine how to access their retirement benefits by choosing Programmed Withdrawal or Annuity. Specifically, section 7(1) of the PRA 2014 states that “A holder

RIGHT TO CHOOSE A PFA Section 11(1) of the PRA 2014 states, “Every employee to whom this Act applies shall maintain an Account, in his name, with any Pension Fund Administrator of his choice…”

Therefore, every employee covered under this Act has a right to choose a PFA without any interference from their employer or by any third party.

Right to timely remittance of contributions Section 11(1) of the PRA 2014 states that “The Employer shall…not later than seven working days from the day the employee is paid his salary, remit an amount comprising the employee’s contribution…and the employer’s contribution to the Pension Fund Custodian specified by the Pension Fund Administrator of the employee...”

Accordingly, every employee covered under this Act has a right to timely remittance of contributions into their retirement savings account (RSA).

It is pertinent to note that it is in the best interest of every employee covered under the PRA 2014 to observe and report any infractions of the laws mentioned above.

Employees should also ensure that they open only one RSA, confirm that their employer is remitting both the employer and employee portions of monthly remittance to their RSA and that they are receiving quarterly statements of their RSAs. In conclusion, RSA holders are encouraged to regularly review their RSA statements and report non-remittance of their monthly pension contributions to the National Pension Commission (PenCom). It is also vital for employees to verify that their employers have subscribed to Group Life Insurance Policy (GLIP) and that the premiums are paid annually, consistent with relevant laws.

PenCom remains committed to the effective regulation and supervision of the pension industry in Nigeria.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023

29

BUSINESSWORLD

STATUS REPORT

Stanbic IBTC Maintains Positive Performance Despite Challenges

Kayode Tokede

D

espite challenges in the financial sector, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc in 2022 audited financial statements for period ended December 31, 2022 reported significant improvement in key financial parameters to maintain its position as one of the leading Tier-2 banks in the country.

The group in the period under review announced a significant increase in balance sheet position that impacted on its bottom-line and dividend payout to investors who invested in the company’s stock.

For example, its total assets hits N3.03trillion in 2022, an increase of 10 per cent from N2.74trillion in 2021, driven by growth in gross loans & advances and customer deposits.

The group’s gross loans & advances was up by 31per cent to N1.24 trillion in 2022 from N946.26 billion in 2021, while customer deposits increased by 11per cent to N1.25 trillion in 2022 from N1.13billion reported in 2021.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings’s total liabilities increased to N2.62trillion in 2022 from N2.37trillion in 2021, while total equity improved to N407.67billion in 2022 from N376.87billion in 2021.

The deposit mix moderated to 71.7per cent in 2022 from 66 per cent of current-and-savings accounts deposits to total deposits.

Mix gross earnings, operating expenses performance mark N80.81bn PBT The Holdings performance in 2022 was marked by significant growth in gross earnings and total operating expenses to post N80.81billion profit before tax.

In 2022, the Group reported N287.533billion gross earnings, an increase of 39 per cent from N206.64billion in 2021.

Internet income stood at N152.67billion in 2022, an increase of 46 per cent from N104.75billion in 2021, while interest expenses

grew by 34.6per cent to N39.55billion in the year underreview from N29.38billion reported in the corresponding year.

The increase in interest income was driven

by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hike in its monetary policy rate to 16.5 per cent in 2022 as the Group reported N119.96billion interest on loans and advances to customers in 2022 from N77.72billion in 2021.

This brings the group net interest income to N113.11 billion in 2022, up by 50per cent from N75.37billion in 2021.

The group’s non-interest revenue stood at N127.00 billion in 2022, representing an increase of 3333 per cent from N95.77 billion reported in 2021.

With double-digit inflation rate, the group reported N129.47billion total operating expenses in 2022 from N106.65billion in 2021, driven by N51billion staff costs in 2022 from N42.04billion in 2021 as other operating expenses hits N78.5billion in 2022 from N64.61billion in 2021.

In all, the group declared N100.35billion profit before tax in 2022, an increase of 52 per cent from N66billion in 2021 as profit after tax stood at N80.81 billion in 2022, up by 42per cent from N56.97 billion reported in 2021.

The board and management of Stanbic IBTC Holdings a final dividend of N2.00 kobo per share.

IMPROVEMENT IN KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS

The Group’s total Capital Adequacy Ratio closed at 21.2per cent in 2022 (Bank: 16.9per cent), which is significantly higher than the 11per cent minimum regulatory requirement.

The Group maintained a strong and diversified funding base throughout 2022.

The Group’s liquidity ratio closed at 85.04per cent, which is above the regulatory minimum requirement of 30per cent and indicates the

MAN Enjoins Incoming Government on Rev iva l o f D i s t r e s s e d Industries, FX Unification Dike Onwuamaeze The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has enjoined the incoming administration to initiate steps that would herald the revival of closed and industries in the countries, especially in the North-east and also direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to prioritise availability of foreign exchange to manufacturers within its first 100 days in office.

These views were expressed

by MAN in a public statement that was titled “Expectations from the New Administration,” and signed by the Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, in which it tasked the incoming administration to ensure that the Finance Bill 2022, should reflect the critical inputs of the organised private sector by jettisoning the highly objectionable removal

of the 10 per cent investment allowance on the acquisition of plants and machinery in the Company Income-tax Act, Section 32.

Ajayi-Kadir said that the new administration must arm itself with a must-do list within its first 100 days after the swearing-in to enable it harvest the low-hanging fruits while outlining its long-term perspective for stabilising and growing the economy.

He said that the new administration should “announce a special policy initiative to address the revival of closed and distressed industries, particularly in the northeast where 60 per cent of our member companies have closed.”

He also demanded that the new administration should “direct the CBN and ensure that it complies with the prioritisation of foreign exchange to the

productive sector, particularly to manufacturers to import raw materials, spares, and machinery that are not locally available while taking immediate and time-bound steps to achieve the unification of the foreign exchange windows.”

The manufacturers association further demanded that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission should be directed “to admit all qualified applicant companies into the Eligible Customer Scheme in order to allow them access to power as stipulated in the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005.”

It also urged the incoming administration to address port congestion by directing “all relevant agencies of government to ensure that the electronic call-up system at ports aimed at redressing the congestion works without fail.

Group’s sound position to continue meeting its liquidity obligations in a timely manner.

In 2022 financial year, the group closed with 2.4 per cent Non-performing loan (NPL) to total loan ratio as against 2.1per cent reported in 2021.

Despite a hike in operating expenses, Cost to income ratio dropped to 53.9per cent in 2022 from 62.3 per cent in 2021.

The group’s return on average equity stood at 20.4per cent in 2022 from 14.7 per cent in 2021, while return on average assets increased to 2.7per cent from 2.1 per cent reported in 2021.

Remarks The Chief Executive Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Dr Demola Sogunle in a statement said, ““2022 was a peculiar year for us as a financial services provider within the Nigerian operating environment. Despite the volatile macro-economic indicators, coupled with varying regulatory burdens, we made substantial progress towards achieving our set financial goals based on our guidance for the year.

“We recorded growth in our profit metrics, loans and advances, and deposits during the year. The Group’s profit after tax increased by 42per cent to N80.81billion, being the second highest PAT in the history of the organisation.

This was largely attributable to significant increase in net interest income and growth in non-interest revenue. The 50per cent YoY increase in net interest income resulted from growth in the volume and average yield on cumulative risk assets while growing our loan book.

“In addition, non-interest revenue was driven by growth in trading revenue following an improvement in trading activities as well as 9% growth in fees and commissions compared to the prior year.

“The improvement in our earnings led

to an increase in our return on equity to 20.4 per cent from 14.7 per cent in 2021, well above our target range. Increased focus on our cost savings initiatives led to a moderation in our cost-to-income ratio to 53.9per cent from 62.3 per cent in 2021, which is in line with our target of at most 55per cent for the year.

“We particularly exceeded our guidance for loan growth as gross customer loans increased by 31per cent to N1.24 trillion, attaining the one-trillion-mark as we continue to support our clients in achieving their financial goals.

“The non-performing loan ratio moved up to 2.4per cent, still within the acceptable limit of five per cent, as the total non-performing loans increased YoY due to proactive recognition of increased credit risks in specific clients. We will continue to extend loans in a responsible manner and in line with our established credit risk management practices.

The increase in our loan book was funded by a 11per cent YoY growth in customer deposits.

The current account to savings account ratio increased to 71.7per cent, exceeding our target of at least 70per cent due to accelerated growth in low-cost deposits.”

He added that, “We demonstrated our commitment towards promoting sustainable finance and climate action during the year as 32 bank branches and seven pension locations now run on solar powered energy solutions. We have also recycled 14 tonnes of waste papers in return for tissue papers during the year, “We are sincerely grateful to our valuable customers, employees, investors, regulators, and other stakeholders for contributing to these achievements in 2022.”

On prediction for this year, he said, “In 2023, we will focus on our theme for the year- ‘Accelerating Growth’. We aim to accelerate growth in the areas such as digitisation, customer focused initiatives, ecosystems, and partnerships as well as value chain banking, all in a bid to deliver value to our esteemed stakeholders.”

NISS Trains N/West Farmers, Extension Agents on Protection, Soil Resources Management Onuminya Innocent In line with the mandate to promote soil quality management, the Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS) has concluded training for farmers and extension agents across the North West states.

Thirty farmers and Extension Agents from Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara states and 53 farmers and Extension Agents drawn from Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Jigawa states participated at the one-day training, held simultaneously in Sokoto and Kano states.

In his welcome address the Program Manager of Sokoto Agricultural Development Project, SADP, Abubakar Malami commended NISS for training and retraining of farmers and Extension Agents in the country on various activities. He enjoined the participants to make good use of the knowledge to be acquired during the workshop and step it down to the grass root level.

Professor Samaila Sani Noma,

of the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, UDUS, who is the zonal coordinator, remarked that, the training is the second on the Protection and Management of Soil Resources but, sixth in the series held in the zone.

Dr. Haliru Muazu, in his lecture, “Soil Resources of Nigeria,” pointed out that, the soils of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states are moderately fertile with sandy to loamy sand textures with varying depths.

According to him, “soils of Nigeria, like in other parts of the world are experiencing various forms of degradation hence, the call for proper management and protection of soil resources in Nigeria by all concerned from farmers to policy makers.”

Malam Murtala Mohammed Sauwa, in his lecture, “Integrated Soil Fertility Management,” grouped the processes of soil degradation into five classes, soil erosion (water & wind); soil fertility decline;

salinization; water logging and lowering of the water table.

For effective fertilizer use, Malam Murtala recommended application of the ‘4Rs’ - right fertilizer product, at the right rate, at the right time and, at the right place.

On his part, Malam Saleh Lukman lecture, dwelled on ‘Good Agricultural Practices and Soil Fertility Management for Rice Production in Nigeria.’

He highlighted choice of land, land preparation, recommended varieties, seed management, sowing methods, fertilizer application and time of application, weeding, pest and disease control, harvesting and threshing as good practices for rice production in Nigeria.

In Kano, the lead trainer, Professor Nafi’u Abdu of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, stated that, the workshop is aimed at training the farmers on the importance of soil and how to manage it for sustainable agricultural production and environmental protection.

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BUSINESSSPECIAL

Editor: Obinna Chima obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08024557078

Oyerinde: Incoming Govt Must Address Challenge of Low Revenue Generation The Director General of the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association, Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, in this interview bares his mind on burning national issues. Dike Onwuamaeze brings the excerpts What will the incoming government put in place to turn around the economy of this country? hank you for the opportunity to engage once again. As you have rightly said the presidential election has come and gone. The institutional umpire, which is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has already announced the president-elect. While we will allow the politicians to deal with the issues arising from the elections and also allowing the court to play its role, we will expect the incoming government to focus on three fundamental issues. First of these fundamentals is the fiscal and monetary policies.

We cannot over emphasise this because it is the foundation on which so many things are built. If we do not get it right at that level, then it becomes difficult for us to get it right in any other area. It is just like building a structure on a very fault foundation. I feel that the challenge we have had over the years, especially in these past eight years, has been a deliberate or unconscious misalignment within the context of fiscal and monetary policy. Secondly, we will have to deal with issues concerning revenue for the government. We call Nigeria the giant of Africa and one off the biggest exporter of crude in the OPEC. But progressively we have realised that our ability and capacity to meet even our OPEC quota has been compromised by so many things like oil theft and others, which have consequences for the economy of Nigeria as a whole. The third fundamental is that the incoming government must put round pegs in round holes.

They must be those that understand the issues surrounding their ministries or agencies.

The incoming president will have to play the role of a statesman by looking beyond politics and ethnicity and every other issue that has bugged us down as a country to actually pick individuals that can make definitive difference in the context of turning the economy around and turning it around as quickly as possible.

not even the manufacturing sector. So, one of the things I think we should do is to call a summit to rethink our educational system. We need to carry out curriculum review. Is the curriculum actually preparing them for the workplace that is currently changing rapidly?

If it is not, then we are wasting the time of these students. So, we need a true summit of all stakeholders in the educational summit to know what exactly is wrong.

Let us deal with the issue of low educational standard in this country to reduce the propensity of Nigerian students to study abroad. Energy crisis is one thing organised businesses are facing. We cannot develop without adequate power. Power is very fundamental to our national development and industrialisation but government must take a dispassionate and holistic view about the whole challenges that surrounds the power sector. It is not one challenge. It is a multidimensional challenge.

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How will the fiscal and monetary authorities work together to turnaround this economy and enable it to move forward?

You cannot operate monetary policies successfully without a deliberate alignment with the fiscal policies. They are meant to work together. You cannot operate any of them independently. The challenge we have had in the recent past is when the fiscal and monetary policy authorities are working at cross purposes. Let me give you an instance, when the Naira issue came up the minister of finance said that the ministry was not consulted and was not aware, and this is supposed to be an institution that should be controlling the fundamental part of the country’s economy.

It gave a wrong signal to investors that our monetary and fiscal authorities are working at cross purposes, which will create problems for all of us.

The CBN from our perspective is not a sovereign. It is the only the president of the country that is sovereign whose authority and words are final. The spirit of the Act that set up the CBN does not view the central bank in the context we are interpreting it as a sovereign. No economy survives without a serious alignment between the fiscal and monetary policies. They must complement each other. So we believe strongly on the need for alignment between the fiscal and monetary authorities.

What will you advise that the fiscal and monetary authorities should look at to work together?

It boils down to the role of the president who appoints both the CBN’s governor and the Minister of Finance. It is not sufficient for either the fiscal or monetary authority to run policies that are not targeted at achieving the overarching objectives of the president. The president is the one that is elected to fix the economy and he is the person that shares his vision about where he wants to take the economy to. Now the fiscal and the monetary authorities are to help him to achieve these objectives. In that line it rest on the president

Are you calling for a review of the privatisation exercise in the power sector?

Two things have happened. We know that there were management changes in some DISCOs like Benin, Abuja, and Kano DISCOs. My concern about those management changes is whether the challenges that they had were management challenges or whether they were fundament challenges. We need empirical evidence to identify what went wrong before we can provide adequate solutions. Otherwise solutions will be based on perceptions or emotions depending on where one’s interest lies.

Oyerinde to ensure that he understands where he is taking the economy. He must have a firm perspective of what he wants to do concerning the economy.

Then the actions of the CBN and the Ministry of Finance and all the agencies and departments under the ministry should be to complement each other so that the president’s vision can be achieved. We should know that whatever the CBN or the Ministry of Finance does, the buck still stops on the president’s desk.

To some analysts the time frame for the execution of the Naira redesign exercise was too short. What would have been the best solution to resolve the controversies that are trailing the Naira redesign?

There are drivers of cashless policy, and one of them is the banking online infrastructure, including the POS, the ATMs and money agents. For you to implement this policy at the national scale you must take a stock and do an audit to ascertain if the current online infrastructure in the country is sufficient to carry the weight of all Nigerians coming on that platform at the same time. The second part is the issue of sensitisation. Once you realise that your sensitisation is not deep or sufficient then you should know that you should come up with innovative ways to deepen the sensitisation. Like I have said it was a laudable policy and a direction that I think we should be going, but we should not put the cart before the horse.

What are the errors you observed in the implementation of the Naira redesigned exercise?

One, we did not do the audit to gauge whether the current infrastructure we have is sufficient enough to carry the burden of online payments and transfers. Economic theories are built on the assumption of production and consumption and once the consumer is not in a position to buy in order to consume you have short circled the whole process, which will cause disruption that can be expressed in any way up to

the country’s GDP. These are fundamental issues we felt that the CBN should address and address quickly to avoid putting the institution of the central bank on the public glare.

What is your message to the federal government and the CBN about the Supreme Court judgment?

The government has a zero option and we urge the government to speedily implement the court’s decision.

Is there a need for either the federal government or the CBN to speak to Nigerians on this matter?

I do not think so. They just have to obey the judgment by implementing it.

Do you foresee some small businesses going into extinction by the current cashless mode of the economy?

Some have already gone into extinction.

A business that is already on life blood now has the pipe that is supplying it blood squeezed and you expect magic that it will still be alive. The volume of cash transactions in the informal sector is high and a lot of businesses have crashed in the MSMEs sector due to this policy.

How can we achieve inclusive participation in the economy?

You mentioned a word that is quite interesting which is inclusiveness. We feel that it is wrong to exclude the people you are planning to include. The inclusiveness that is meant to be achieved with the new Naira design ended up excluding so many individuals. And inclusiveness should start with input from stakeholders at the policy formulation point in order to build national consensus.

What blueprint do you expect from the government on issues that bother on education and power supply?

It will surprise you that the two major foreign exchange leakages in Nigeria are education and health. These two items are the highest consumers of foreign exchange,

The federal government has again postponed the takeoff of the revitalised Port Harcourt refinery?

There was a video of the incoming president during campaign where he said that he must remove subsidy. But it is ironic, and difficult to explain to a child, that the product that I’m subsidising on his behalf is not available. With four refineries and as a major producer of crude oil with a population of over 200 million people we cannot get 100 people that can manage our refineries successfully.

Meanwhile we have an individual that has successfully built a refinery and is about starting operation. It is shameful for us as a nation to be waiting for an individual’s refinery as our saving grace. It is shameful and it is part of those contradictions that I have mentioned that the things that are blessings to many nations are curses to us.

One of the positive outcomes of the Russia/ Ukraine conflict is increase in crude oil prices and while many OPEC’s countries are cashing in on it, Nigeria is making the money and losing it through fuel subsidy. I think we are the only OPEC country that is importing fuel, which is shameful.

How can Nigeria enhance productivity to boost employment?

One of NECA’s efforts to mitigate this issue is the Industrial Training Fund (ITF)/NECA Skill Development Project. It is a project that targets skill development. We feel that beyond people going to school and getting degrees, we should focus more on skill development.

We think that government should give more attention to technical and vocational trainings.

It is the direction that we think we should go even as we continue to struggle with our formal educational system.

That is the path that will help us to deal maximally with the issue of unemployment.

We are actually sitting on the keg of the gun powder with a large population of youths out there without employment. Government should give more support to projects like the ITF/NECA Technical Skill Development as a pathway to remove the youths from the unemployment. Those that will be trained would either become employers of labour or because those skills they would have learnt are the skills that the industries needed it will become easier for them to secure job placements. As employers we are concerned and we doing everything within our limit to continue to contribute our quota to reducing the challenges of unemployment.

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BUSINESS SPECIAL

INTERVIEW

Cashless Policy as Economic Enabler The cashless policy initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria has proven to be a business enabler, rather than a threat to the economy, James Emejo argues.

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n 2012, the CBN disclosed its plans to begin a transition to a cashless economy as part of the country’s ambition to become one of the best 20 economies before the year 2020.

The cardinal aim of the cashless initiative was to reduce the number of naira notes and coins used for business but not to eliminate cash usage in its entirety and seeks to ensure a seamless, inclusive and equitable implementation of the exercise for the overall benefit and growth of Nigerians, the financial system and the economy as a whole.

According to the central bank, “Our economy uses too much cash for transactions for goods and services, especially for buying and selling. This is not how it is done in other progressive countries of the world where there are other payment options like debit and credit cards, bank transfers, bank direct debits, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and even mobile phone money.”

According to the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the “level at which people carry cash in Nigeria is unacceptable”.

Essentially, the cashless policy seeks to among other things increase the volume of all available payments instruments in the country, as well as promote end-to-end electronic payments in Nigeria as well as promote end-to-end electronic payments in the country.

DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION

Although the process to reduce cash usage in the economy commenced in 2012, the implementation had been delayed for obvious reasons.

Emefiele pointed out that there had been five reversals in the bank’s attempt to go cashless and promote financial inclusion since 2014 when he was first appointed as CBN Governor.

He explained that reversals were born out of the need to deepen the country’s payment system infrastructure, adding that the payment system in Nigeria is now among the best six in the world as well as the need to enlighten the public to choose other available payment options instead of the excessive reliance on cash for transactions.

Emefiele however, said the time was now ripe for the implementation of the cashless programme given the robust infrastructure and payment systems that has been put in place across every nook and cranny in the country.

“So, we believe that we have put in place enough infrastructure that would help us attain or achieve a cashless policy that will be in the line of global practices,” he said.

Some of the initial objectives of the cashless system were to reduce the huge costs of providing banking services as the money saved will be used to lend credit to Nigerians, as well as help the central bank and commercial banks better manage our economy to ensure that monetary policy is effective.

INTRODUCTION OF WITHDRAWAL LIMITS

Consequently, on December 21, 2022, the central bank announced an upward review of its cash withdrawal policy across all payment channels by individuals and corporate organisations.

Effective January 9, 2023, individuals and corporate entities can withdraw a maximum of N500,000 and N5 million respectively on weekly basis compared to N100,000 and N500,000 which was previously announced on December 6, 2022.

However, the central bank, in an updated circular dated December 21, 2022, and addressed to all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Other Financial Institutions, Microfinance Banks, Mobile Money Operators, and Agents, explained that the upward review was, as a result of the feedback it received from stakeholders on the implementation of the policy.

The CBN stated that in compelling circumstances where cash withdrawal above the limit is required for legitimate purposes, such request shall be subject to a processing fee of 3 per cent and 5 per cent for individuals and corporate organisations respectively.

The new policy on cash-based transactions seeks to reduce the amount of physical cash circulating in the economy, and not to eliminate it – as well as to encourage more electronic-based transactions in the payments for goods, and services among others.

According to the CBN, the policy was introduced to drive the development and modernization of Nigeria’s payment system in line with Nigeria’s vision 2020 goal of being among the top 20 economies by the year 2020.

The bank maintained that an efficient and modern payment system is positively correlated with economic development and is a key enabler for economic growth.

Specifically, the cashless policy will cut the cost of banking services including the cost of credit and

drive financial inclusion by providing more efficient transaction options and greater reach; improve the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and driving economic Growth; provide increased convenience and more service options for consumers and reduce the risk of cash-related crimes, particularly banditry, ransom taking and terrorism financing as well as provide cheaper access to banking services and access to credit.

No doubt, the policy has helped to achieve slower growth in inflation as well as a more stable exchange rate regime in the economy.

For corporations, the policy will create faster access to capital, reduce revenue leakage, and cash handling costs while the government will enjoy increased tax collections, greater financial inclusion, and increased economic development.

Security as central to business growth Unarguably, security guarantee remains one of the enablers of economic activities. Prior to the implementation of the cashless policy, growing insecurity occasioned kidnapping, banditry, and ransom-taking characterised the socio-economic landscape, denying the country the much-needed economic prosperity.

For years, the activities of kidnappers, bandits and deadly groups ensured that businesses were deserted in affected areas. The farmers were unable to access their farms for fear of being cornered by criminals who requested millions of naira from their victims in order to regain their freedom, some even lost their lives even after paying the ransom.

However, the majority of Nigerians can now attest to the fact that the introduction of the cashless policy whose implementation became full-blown with the currency redesign programme of the central bank – had drastically reduced incidences of kidnapping and made the roads safer for businessmen and women to ply for economic activities. Farmers have also regained access to their farms.

One of the problems that had limited investment inflows into the Nigerian economy had been insecurity. Thus, the faithful implementation of the policy will reassure prospective investors and positively impact the economy in general.

On the political front, the introduction of the cashless programme and by extension, the Naira redesign policy helped minimise vote-buying and other financial inducements by politicians.

CASH POLICY LIMITS CORRUPTION IN PUBLIC SERVICE

Only recently, in a complementary gesture, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) unveiled new guidelines aimed at mitigating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation of weapons among others.

The provisions of the framework also prohibit cash withdrawal from public accounts and ban the payment of estacodes and overseas allowances to civil and public servants in cash – in an apparent drive to complement the recent efforts by the CBN to tackle terrorism-related

financing as well as promote a cashless economy.

The Enforcement, Guidelines, and Policies for Mitigation of Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, Proliferation of Weapons and Prevention of Predicate Crimes which became effective on March 1, 2023, restricts cash payments of a sum exceeding N5 million (or its equivalent) for individuals, and N10 million or its equivalent for a body corporate.

Section 19 of the MLPPA, 2022 imposes a fine of at least N10 million or imprisonment for a term of at least three years (or both), in the case of individuals; and a fine of N25 million in the case of a body corporate. Section 26 of POCA, 2022 makes provision for the seizure and detention of cash over the prescribed amount under the law.”

The framework allowed for the discontinuation of cash withdrawal in Naira and foreign denominations from public accounts at federal, state, and local government levels were in compliance with its statutory responsibility under Section 3(1) a - s and Section 23 (2) a of the NFIU Act, 2018, and other provisions under the MLPPA, 2022.

According to the NFIU, “Civil servants are becoming more and more vulnerable to money laundering and its predicate offences due to their exposure to cash withdrawals from public accounts”.

An analysis spanning 2015 to 2022, showed that the federal government, states, and local governments withdrew N225.72 billion, N701.54 billion, and N156.76 billion respectively – all in cash.

According to the NFIU chief executive, “The cash withdrawals directly contravene the provisions of the MLPPA, 2022 and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022 (POCA, 2022) which provide the legal framework setting limitations on cash transactions and sanctions for infringement of the provisions.

“We support the CBN circular on cash withdrawal limit which is in harmony with the law, provided in Section 2 of MLPPA, 2022. This guideline will support the efforts of the CBN.” Similarly, Emefiele, during his recent interaction with the diplomatic community also decried the continued use of cash for bulk transactions.

He said, “You are all foreign dignitaries representing your countries in Nigeria and you know and you would agree that the level at which people carry cash in Nigeria is unacceptable.

“In your countries, you do not carry cash anyhow. If you carry cash and you are seen, you are questioned and profiled continuously.”

He said, “We want to look at your country and that is why we are saying that Nigeria, being the largest economy in Africa and with the largest population in Africa, really must go cashless. And we are delighted at the CBN that with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari, we would achieve this.

“We know that at these initial stages, Nigerians will go through what we call temporary pains and we call it transient because there would be

normal pains they would come with those kinds of shocks; indeed, I must describe this shock as unprecedented.

“And that is why I would continue to appeal to everybody – Nigerians and those of you constitute our diplomatic community to give us all the needed support for us to achieve this objective. We want our country to look like your country and we will continue to seek your support for us to be like you.”

Although most analysts lauded the policy as a step in the right direction to tackle corruption, insecurity, and vote-buying by politicians, others regarded the move as politicised.

But Emefiele had repeatedly clarified that the new cash withdrawal limits were not politically motivated, insisting that it was for the overall benefit of the economy.

POLICY IN INTEREST OF NIGERIANS

No doubt, beyond the immediate benefits of the CBN’s cashless policy and currency redesign, which includes countering terrorism, and managing money supply among others, the initiative will also ensure that going forward, social intervention programmes that are targeted towards poor Nigerians achieve their desired objectives.

This is partly because going cashless would ensure that such funds can easily be tracked and monitored and this will further provide for greater transparency and accountability by those who administer the resources.

Also, as attested to by Emefiele recently, though the security agencies have been on top of their game in recent times tackling insecurity across the country, nonetheless, the cashless policy initiative of the central bank has helped to reduce the incidence of kidnapping and banditry as a result of the restrictions placed on cash withdrawals.

In spite of the repeated assurances that the policy was conceived in the interest of the Nigerians, particularly the common man on the street and the country as a whole, some groups of individuals, particularly the elites who appeared to benefit from the old system of doing things, have continued to disagree with the CBN and resorted to maligning the bank in order to cause disaffection between the apex bank and the people.

These unpatriotic Nigerians have created the false impression that the recent policy directions of the CBN were inimical to the interest of Nigeria and these would cause them more hardship.

However, the CBN governor had always emphasised that the central bank under him would always be people-focused in its policy directions.

This was particularly evident in the role played by the bank in supporting small businesses and households during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no doubt that the cashless policy remains popular with Nigerians who believed that the initiative would plug leakages in the administration of public resources and well as help to win the fight against corruption which is endemic in the country. The only obstacle to the policy is the privileged and corrupt elites who want to continue to take undue advantage of the system to enrich themselves to the detriment of vulnerable Nigerians.

The cashless programme has recorded early benefits and will impact the lives of Nigerians positively in the long run.

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

CIS, CISI Urge Companies, Investment Advisers to Embrace Sustainability Kayode Tokede The Chairman, Bond Forum and Capital Markets Pathway Qualifications Assessment Board, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) in the United Kingdom, Neil Brown, has urged companies to implement sustainability policies of environmental, social and governance (ESG) to respond to increasing investor demand.

Besides, Brown, a Chartered Fellow of CISI, who was the keynote speaker at a recent webinar organized by Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) in partnership with CISI, listed some benefits of sustainability, a major tool deployed by portfolio managers, asset managers and other investment advisers to recommend profitable companies for their clients. Delivering a paper entitled “Sustainability in Nigeria’s economy, Capital Markets and Investment Products,”

during the webinar last week, Brown explained that companies should embed sustainability in their businessboth to capture positive investment performance as well as offset negative effects of environmental challenges, promote good governance and community relations.

According to him, companies should also collaborate with stakeholders to raise awareness, build capacity and promote action on sustainability. Specifically, Brown advised that companies should “identify new opportunities whilst embedding sustainabilityconsiderations into their business to avoid, minimise or offset negative impacts. They need appropriate governance, policies and audit to promote communityrelations , collaborate with stakeholders to raise awareness, build capacity, manage risks, develop solutions promote finance of priority sectors and report value of

investments made and support received. “ He stated that regulators would expect companies to be transparent on their sustainability credentials as real actions can be under-reported through greenwashing tactics and its variants, including greenwashing, greencrowding, greenlighting, greenshifting, greenlabelling, greenhushing, greenlobbying and greenwishing.

Brown noted that physical and transition risks would drive changing valuations for sectors and stocks and warned investment advisers that: “They should understand what drives their clients. Some investors may be driven by part or whole of sustainability.

Investment advisers must look for a measure that matches their clients’ objectives. They should also beware of misleading scorecards.

L-R: Secretary FMN Women Network, Kehinde Akani; Chairperson FMN Women Network, Olasubomi Sofowora; Student, United Christian Senior Secondary School, Ayinla Sikirah ; Team Lead, Strategic Planning & Implementation at FMN, Grace Beredugo; Principal, United Christian Senior Secondary School, Agesin Taiwo and Performance, Career & Culture Manager at FMN, Ginikanwa NwaorahOnwuekwe during an outreach to mark International Women’s Day in Lagos...recently

MARKET INDICATORS

International Breweries Harps on Promoting Diversity, Inclusion in Businesses Kayode Tokede The Managing Director, International Breweries Plc, Mr. Carlos Continho has expressed that the breweries maker is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of business for men and women, most especially in the technology sector.

Speaking recently at the company’s 2023 International Women’s Day with a theme “What the tech?: Gender inclusivity in the workplace” in Lagos, he said the company is proud to have many talented men and women who are making significant contributions to technological advancement.

In line with this year’s global campaign theme, “Embrace Equity,” the event had activities and a panel of discussion that comprises women experts from the tech space.

In his opening remarks, Continho said, “We are also proud of the women who are making headway in various fields such as data analysis software development, cybersecurity experts, and technology professionals,” he said.

He stated that, “On this International Women’s Day, I want to salute all women who are making a difference, most especially in tech. Your passion, creativity and perseverance inspire us all and we are

proud to stand with you in your search for excellence.”

The keynote speaker, Founder of Main Street Technologies and Chief Executive Officer of Main One Cable, Funke Opeke said the 2023 theme for International Women’s Day is about embracing equity and driving equity, gender equity with innovation and tech.

According to her, “I believe that there is a tremendous opportunity for women in tech today with the various modes of work where we have the flexibility, rules of engagement, platforms and tremendous growth and value creation which I benefitted from being a part of.

Sterling Bank Commits to Supporting Creative Industries Nume Ekeghe Sterling Bank Plc has reiterated its determination to empower and energise the creative industry because of its strategic importance to the economic growth of Nigeria.

Head of Media and Entertainment Financing at Sterling Bank, Mr. Olanrewaju Olalusi, disclosed this while addressing participants at a seminar organised by the Legends of Nollywood with the theme: “Empowering the Nigerian Film Industry – Actualising Your Resources.”

Olalusi in a statement noted that the bank had begun exploring financing of the creative indus-

tries in addition to its HEART sectors programme because of its importance to the national economy.

“Sterling Bank has become renowned for its strategic focus and investments in the Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation sectors of the Nigerian economy.

These sectors have been affectionately dubbed the HEART of Sterling and HEART has contributed immensely to the growth of the bank, the sectors and the Nigerian economy, he noted. Olalusi said it is important for artists to leverage funding from financial institutions to

scale the level of their operations, remarking that the bank has set up a desk for the purpose of financing practitioners in the creative industry, information technology (IT) and animation, among others.

“We are open to having conversations with partners in the creative industry on the way forward,” he said.

He said that the industry was bustling with amazing talents and potential, but highlighted a key challenge confronting the industry, which include a lack of viable business plans on the commercial perspective of creativity to show investors.

Ecobank Partners IITA to Train, Support 16,000 Youths on Wealth Creation Nume Ekeghe Ecobank Nigeria Limited said it is partnering with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to train and also provide support services to 16,000 Nigerian youths on wealth creation through agriculture.

The training is targeted at young Nigerians between the ages of 18-40 years and will cover key areas of specialization including poultry, aquaculture, horticulture, and value addition.

Announcing the training

partnership in Lagos, Head, Public Sector and Agricbusiness, Ms. Ayo Osolake said the training is designed for both digital and physical audiences and is structured into phases. The first phase will last four weeks and will be strictly online while the second phase will be hybrid, entailing practical sessions and farm visits. She states: “Ecobank as a Pan-African institution, it is important for us to continue to sow the seeds of growth in the communities where we operate, especially among young people

who are the future of our nation and in real economy-impacting sectors like Agriculture. This is at the heart of our partnership with IITA, where we are combining the full scale of our expertise to empower and equip young Nigerians with the prerequisite knowledge for success in agriculture. Our commitment to helping young people create wealth is unwavering, and we are keen on working with similar-minded stakeholders in other sectors to help nurture the dreams of our youths.”

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS (MILLION NAIRA) AUGUST 2022 Money Supply (M3)

49,356,443.6

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

50,601.36

Money Supply (M2)

49,305,842.3

-- Quasi Money

27,869,678.3

-- Narrow Money (M1)

21,436,164

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,680,236.81

---- Demand Deposits

18,755,927.2

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

5,074,909.92

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

27,869,678.3

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

61,195,142.4

---- Credit to Government (Net)

21,001,401.5

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

40,193,740.9

--Other Assets Net

6,785,979.22

Reserve Money (Base Money

14,040,351.9

--Currency in Circulation

3,210,664.98

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,829,686.9 390,557.8

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

July 2022

Inter-Bank Call Rate

13.00

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

2.76

Savings Deposit Rate

1.42

1 Month Deposit Rate

3.64

3 Months Deposit Rate

4.96

6 Months Deposit Rate

5.87

12 Months Deposit Rate

5.76

Prime Lending rate

12.10

Maximum Lending Rate

27.61

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 8 MARCH, 2023

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $84.37 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $84.59 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

41

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023

MARKET NEWS

NGX, Futureview Empower Retail Investors on Processing of Unclaimed Dividends Kayode Tokede Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and Futureview Asset Management Limited have reiterated the capacity of retail investors in processing unclaimed dividends with a webinar to increasingly drive down the number of unclaimed dividends in the capital market.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), unclaimed dividends

in the Nigerian capital market had clocked N180billion as of December 2021.

However, this amount represented only five per cent of the entire dividends declared in the capital market that year.

The virtual meeting held during the weekend clarified the processes to claim outstanding dividends for investors and recommended solutions to clear backlogs.

While giving his opening

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

DEALS

F O R MARKET PRICE

remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Mr Temi Popoola, noted that the issue of unclaimed dividends was not peculiar to Nigeria alone, seeing as peer markets like South Africa ($68.26million) also grappled with unclaimed dividends.

He said, “Our apex regulator, SEC, continues to work assiduously with stakeholders to reduce to the barest minimum, the cases of unclaimed dividends.

“Recently, the Commission

created an e-dividend portal to reduce the high incidence of unclaimed dividends. The e-dividend portal also enables proceeds from secondary market transactions to be credited to their preferred Bank Account (Direct Cash Settlement). Investors are forthwith encouraged to register on the portal to ascertain the value of dividends they are yet to claim.”

The Group Managing

S E C U R I T I E S

T R A D E D

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

MAIN BOARD

Director, Futureview Group, Mrs Elizabeth Ebi during her remarks highlighted the need for investors to use the more formal route of fund managers for their investments as this could help them reduce complexity and generate better returns in the long run that they may not be able to achieve on their own.

Delivering her presentation, the CEO, Futureview Asset Management, Ms Ugochi

AS O F

Nnodi explained that investors could eliminate the hurdles of dividend recovery through different means: using a stockbroker; engaging a professional asset manager; or subscribing to equity mutual funds like Futureview Equity Fund.

“Some of the reasons for unclaimed dividends are lack of awareness, forgotten investments, multiple subscriptions, inaccurate or outdated information/identity management,” she added.

1 7 / 0 3 / 2 3 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

42

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023 • T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 16Mar-2023, unless otherwise stated.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A AIICO Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 6.19% Anchoria Equity Fund 153.72 155.36 6.06% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.25 1.25 1.51% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com info@anchoriaam.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 23.37 24.07 6.48% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund 47.40 48.83 5.06% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.14 1.14 1.05% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.12 1.12 1.48% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.32% ARM Short Term Bond Fund 1.05 1.05 1.28% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com; Tel 08069294653 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 93.48 93.48 -1.70% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,125.24 1,125.24 -0.11% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.15 2.15 4.10% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.39 2.44 7.64% CAPITALTRUST INVESTMENTS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED halalfif@capitaltrustnigeria.com Web: www.capitaltrustnigeria.com; Tel: 08061458806 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Capitaltrust Halal Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund N/A N/A N/A CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.35% Paramount Equity Fund 20.01 20.38 4.05% Women's Investment Fund 157.07 158.50 4.22% CHD Nigeria Bond Fund 101.94 101.94 10.76% CHD Nigeria Dollar Income Fund 1.00 1.00 10.48% 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 8.66% Cordros Milestone Fund 143.68 144.60 4.35% Cordros Fixed Income Fund 107.48 107.48 9.71% Cordros Halal Fixed Income Fund 104.52 104.52 5.79% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 114.43 114.43 5.66% CORONATION ASSETS MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com, Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.00 1.00 10.06% Coronation Money Market Fund 1.22 1.23 2.08% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.40 1.40 -0.89% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 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 9.04% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 10.97% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-asset-management-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Emerging Africa Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund N/A N/A N/A Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A FBNQUEST ASSETS MANAGEMENT LIMITED invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Bond Fund 1507.13 1507.13 11.97% FBN Balanced Fund 208.89 210.42 4.61% FBN Halal Fund 126.03 126.03 12.35% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.10% FBN Dollar Fund 121.96 121.96 6.92% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 174.04 176.34 5.09% FBN Specialized Dollar Fund 106.13 106.13 9.59% 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 7.61% Legacy Debt Fund 3.53 3.53 -11.83% Legacy Equity Fund 2.09 2.14 20.42% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.28 1.28 6.10% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1

Fund Name Coral Balanced Fund Coral Income Fund Coral Money Market Fund

Bid Price 4,359.46 3,771.08 100.00

Offer Price 4,387.95 3,771.08 100.00

Yield / T-Rtn 17.52% 7.73% 10.83%

FSDH Dollar Fund 1.14 1.14 5.66% GUARANTY TRUST FUND MANAGERS LIMITED enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.gtcoplc.bank; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Vantage Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) N/A N/A N/A Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: www.meristemwealth.com/funds/; Tel: +2348028496012 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 12.93 13.00 5.01% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.05% NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 102.51 102.51 9.73% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 12.50% 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 N/A N/A N/A PACAM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM EuroBond Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 135.24 138.48 7.58% 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 11.02% 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 3,824.94 3,852.94 12.79% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 247.14 247.14 4.91% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.50 1.52 19.84% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 336.70 336.70 7.53% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 278.65 281.63 19.22% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.21% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 12,924.98 13,080.06 18.37% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.38 1.38 7.11% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 122.52 122.52 4.80% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 117.05 117.05 10.03% Stanbic IBTC Absolute Fund 4,653.45 4,653.45 9.39% Stanbic IBTC Aggressive Fund 3,422.03 3,464.90 23.09% Stanbic IBTC Conservative Fund 4,382.00 4,398.46 15.10% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Equity Fund 1.06 1.08 10.81% United Capital Balanced Fund 1.56 1.59 14.14% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.26 1.29 8.79% United Capital Sukuk Fund 1.13 1.13 9.99% United Capital Fixed Income Fund 1.98 1.98 7.25% United Capital Eurobond Fund 126.74 126.74 5.46% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.97% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Balanced Strategy Fund 14.50 14.64 4.55% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 16.49 16.65 4.30% Zenith Income Fund 23.90 23.90 1.47% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 0.00% VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD funds@vetiva.com Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund 4.27 4.37 6.42% Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund 6.98 7.08 19.32% Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund 19.85 20.05 12.18% Vetiva Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.77% Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund 25.41 25.61 27.04% Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund 141.95 143.95 -9.96% REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

115.40 53.52 101.31 9.93

1.31% 4.74% -13.05%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

17.09 138.06 111.05 17.40 16.40

17.19 140.46 112.98 17.50 16.50

10.39% 8.19% 11.07% -3.28% -3.99%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

106.75

0.00%

Fund Name

SFS REIT Union Homes REIT Nigeria Real Estate Investment Trust UPDC REIT

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

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.

43

MONDAY, M ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺͻ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

EY ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023/GALA AWARD CEREMONY...

L-R: EY Regional Managing Partner (West Africa), Anthony Oputa; Interswitch Group Managing Director/ Master Category winner of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2023, Mitchell Elegbe; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adeniyi Adebayo; Founder/Chief Analyst, Nairametrics Financial Advocate Ltd/Emerging Category winner of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2023, Ugodre Obi-Chukwu; and EY Head of Markets/EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award Leader for West Africa, Ashish Bakhshi at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2023 for West PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN Africa Gala Award Ceremony at Eko Hotels, in Lagos….yesterday

INEC: We’ll Take Drastic Measures Against Proven Irregularities Condemns invasion of INEC office in Obingwa by thugs Explains why all presidential poll results weren’t uploaded on IReV INEC assured Nigerians that it was committed to the sanctity of the electoral process and would not hesitate to take drastic measures against proven irregularities.

The commission also cleared that allegations of voter inducement, harassment, and manipulation of results would be reviewed and addressed.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and

Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, disclosed these yesterday in Abuja while addressing a press conference.

Okoye said as the 2023 general election was approaching its concluding stages, the commission promised Nigerians that there would be improved processes during the governorship and state Assembly elections held last Saturday. He said in keeping with this promise, INEC

held meetings with its Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), service providers, and the InterAgency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to review processes and procedures to ensure more optimal delivery of personnel and materials to various locations for the election to facilitate the opening of the polling units on time. He added that a majority of the polling units nationwide

opened on schedule and citizens were attended to promptly.

Similarly, Okoye explained that there was improved voter authentication using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), while the uploading of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) witnessed a remarkable improvement.

He said the commission left no stone unturned as far as the

processes and procedures under its control were concerned.

Okoye stated, "However, for difficult and unforeseen circumstances outside the commission’s control, we did our best to respond, especially where processes were disrupted by actors over whom we have little or no control. Such diabolical behaviour did not only affect citizens but also impacted on the commission’s officials and

processes."

He lamented that INEC staff, both regular and ad hoc, were victims of violence, with some staff abducted, harassed, intimidated, hospitalised and in one case, killed. He said where the commission could not deploy to enable citizens to vote, it took the decision to remobilise to such places to enable citizens exercise their franchise.

Governor Ademola Adeleke expressed gratitude to the people of Osun State, and extended the olive branch to the opposition.

In a statement yesterday, Adeleke celebrated the chain of victories PDP had secured in the state from July 16, 2022 to February 25, 2023 and March 18, describing the outcomes of the elections as "complete embrace of PDP by Osun people for good governance and responsive leadership.”

Announcing the results, Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Dutsinma, Professor Armiyau Hamis, said Sokoto polled 453,661 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mallam Saidu Umar of PDP, who polled 404,632 votes.

The APC governorship candidate won 17 local government areas, out of 23, while PDP won in six local governments.

A P C W I N S B I G A S G U B E R P O L L R E S U LT S C O M E I N A C R O S S N I G E R I A

EBONYI STATE Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly and governorship candidate of APC in the state, Francis Nwifuru, won nine of the 12 local governments officially declared by INEC. The results showed that Nwifuru won in Abakaliki, Ebonyi, Izzi, Ikwo, Afikpo North, Afikpo South, Ivo, Ohaozara and Ohaukwu local government areas, while APGA won Ezza North and Ezza South council areas. The governorship result of Ishielu local government was still awaited at press time.

PDP won in Onicha Local Government Area, where the candidate of the party, Dr Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, hails from.

From the 12 local government areas declared, APC scored 188, 649 votes, while PDP got 74,979 votes, APGA secured 48,491 votes.

DELTA STATE Governorship candidate of PDP in Delta State, Chief Sheriff Obovrewori, won in 12 of the 14 local government areas announced so far by INEC at the collation centre in Asaba.

The APC candidate and Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege came second, winning two local government areas.

The results, as announced

by Electoral Officer, Professor George Owuneri, yesterday, showed that PDP polled 203,101 votes, while the opposition APC garnered 113,854 votes so far.

The ruling PDP won Ika North, Aniocha North, Ndokwa East, Ika South, Patani, Sapele, Aniocha South, Okpe, Bomadi, Ethiope East, Oshimili North, and Warri South. APC won only in Urdu and Uvwie local government areas.

BAUCHI STATE Governorship candidate of PDP, Senator Bala Abdukadir Mohammed, led in eight of the 10 local government areas so far declared by INEC, while his closest challenger, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar (rtd) of APC, was leading in two local governments The results were announced by the different collation officers of the various local government areas at the INEC state collation centre. Bauchi State has 20 local government councis.

NIGER STATE The APC candidate in Saturday’s governorship election in Niger State, Umar Mohammed Bago, may be coasting home to victory, going by the results so far announced by INEC in Minna. Of the 11 local government area results collated, Bago led his closest opponent, Isah Luman Kantigi of PDP, by winning in nine, while Kantigi won in only two council areas.

NNPP and LP trailed in that order.

KWARA STATE Kwara State Governor and

APC governorship candidate in the state, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, was declared winner of the governorship election.

AbdulRazaq defeated his main opponent, Shuaib Yaman Abdullahi, of PDP by polling 273,424 votes to PDP’s 155,490.

Others, who participated in the election and lost to the winner, were the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Alhaji Hakeem Oladimeji Lawal, and NNPP candidate, Professor Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem.

JIGAWA STATE INEC declared Alhaji Umar Namadi Dammodi as winner of the Jigawa State election.

Announcing the result, Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, Professor Zayyanu Umar Birnin Kebbi, said Malam Dammodi of APC, having scored 618,449 votes, emerged winner and new elected governor of the state. He explained that the total registered voters were 2,351,298, while the total accredited voters stood at 1,073,540, and the total votes cast were 1,052,793.

Umar said while Dammodi scored 618,449, his closest rivals, PDP’s Lamido Mustapha Sule, scored 368,726 votes and Ibrahim Aminu Ringim of NNPP scored 37,156 votes.

KOGI STATE APC won a total of 22 seats in the Kogi State House of Assembly, while the opposition parties PDP and African

Democratic Congress (ADC) won the remaining three legislative seats.

Results collated from the 21 local government areas of the state revealed the pattern.

PDP won in Bassa and Ogori/ Magongo local government areas, while ADC won a seat in Yagbba West Local Government Area.

EKITI STATE Twenty-three candidates of APC won their seats in the House of Assembly election.

A statement by Head of Voter Education and Publicity, Ekiti State INEC, Temitope Akanmu, and Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ekiti State, Professor Ayobami Salami, said APC won 23 seats of the 26 seats in the Assembly, while Social Democratic Party (SDP) won two.

THISDAY, however, gathered that Ido/Osi Constituency 1 was declared inconclusive due to the disruption of the exercise by suspected hoodlums.

Candidates of SDP in Ekiti East Constituency 1, Dele Ogunsakin, and that of the Ise/ Orun Constituency, Omotayo Babatunde, won the two other seats in the Assembly to defeat their closest APC rivals.

ABIA STATE

OSUN STATE

The situation report in Abia State, which had seen the LP candidate, Alex Otti, leading, changed midway with PDP said to have overtaken LP in the yet to be announced results.

But LP issued a warning to INEC and other relevant authorities to stop any attempt by the ruling PDP in Abia State to upturn the results of the governorship election.

National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, raised the alarm yesterday, alleging a plot

by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of PDP to rewrite the results of the election after sensing defeat, saying the party has activated the process to commence a nationwide protest against what he described as sham and disregard for citizens rights.

PDP in Osun State won 25 of the 26 state legislative seats, while the APC won only Boripe/ Boluwaduro State Constituency.

INEC declared Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto of APC as the governorelect of Sokoto State.

SOKOTO STATE

KANO STATE Gubernatorial candidate of NNPP in Kano State, Abba Kabiru Yusuf, was yesterday, ahead of his APC rival, Dr Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, in the 13 local government areas, out of the 21 so far declared at the state collation centre.

APC won nine local governments so far.

The local government areas won by NNPP were Rano, Rogo, Wudil, Karaye, kibiya, Minjibir, Gabasawa, Ajingi, Albasu, Gezawa, Garko, Tudunwada, and Bunkure.

Those won by APC were Shanono, Kunchi, Makoda, Dambatta, Warawa, Kabo, Bagwai, Takai, and Tsanyawa.

INEC Declares Kebbi Governorship Election Inconclusive INEC’s REC in Kebbi Professor Yusuf Saidu, has declared the governorship election in Kebbi state inconclusive over what he described as irregularities which marred elections in 18 local government areas of the state.

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COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE...

L-R: Financial Secretary, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, (ACPN), Lagos Branch, Rebecca Akawa; MD, Cutting Edge Pharmacy, Grace Ikani; Chairman, (ACPN), Lagos Branch, Lawrence Ekhator; Cerave and La Roche Posay Brand Representative, Dr. Edidiong Enetie; MD/CEO, Nett Pharmacy, Josephine Ehimen; and the ACPN General Secretary, Charles Oyeniyi at the ACPN Lagos PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN Branch 2023 Community Pharmacists Educational Conference held in Lagos

State Assembly Election: Osun PDP Congratulates Elected Candidates Thanks electorate for the overwhelming support Describe murdered party members as martyrs of the electoral victory Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Osun Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has congratulated all her elected candidates in the just concluded House of Assembly election for their victory at their different local constituencies The party in a victory-laden statement yesterday, by its Acting Chairman, Dr. Akindele Adekunle, applauded the choice of the party in the different sellable candidates that

hoisted its flag to victory in the 25 state constituencies in Osun, saying the last outstanding constituency would be taken back through necessary legal means.

The party said the victory its candidates had wouldn't have been possible without the overwhelming support Osun citizens and the electorates gave to Osun PDP at the poll, “and this serves as a vote confidence on the PDP government in the state led by His Excellency,

Senator Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke.”

"The victory Osun PDP had been gaining since the gubernatorial election of July 16th 2022, to the overwhelming majority victory we had in the state assembly election wouldn't have been possible without the people of Osun standing as a strong pillar of support for our party "We sincerely thank all the civil servants, retirees, Osun market women, diverse business men,

artisans, students organisations, organised labour groups, sympathisers of our party, advocates of good governance which our party stands for, our associates across the length and breadth of Nigeria, our party members and Osun electorates and citizens in and outside the state and so many other interest groups too numerous to mention.

"We assure you, we will not take this massive support for granted.

We will continue to do more to

better the lives of Osun citizens and advance the economic prosperity of this state.

“We thank our governor and leader of the party in the state, Senator Ademola Adeleke for standing as a real biblical David and fighting on behalf of the Isrealites which Osun symbolises and ensuring victory against the marauded philistines that the dead opposition party in the state (APC) can be liken to.”

The party also applauded the

MOSOP Demands Termination of all HYPREP Contracts Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People in the United States of America (MOSOP-USA) has demanded termination of ongoing awards of contracts by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) on the cleanup of Ogoniland.

The demand was contained in a 10-paragraph petition addressed to the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, with the

title: "The Looting of $1billion Hyprep Funds: MOSOP-USA Demands Immediate Termination of All Contracts."

Signatory to the petition were the President, Public Relation Officer and Secretary of MOSOP-USA, Augustine Kpuinen, Samuel Nweemee and Keesiiop Kpooni, respectively.

They alleged that there had been massive looting of HYPREP funds to tune of $1billion, which according to the Ogoni ethnic

HOPE OF IMPROVED POWER SUPPLY DASHED AS NERC, NBET'S 5000MW DEAL WITH GENCOS, DISCOS, TCN, GAS SUPPLIERS FAILS to the plans, Ogaji stated that the four-pager document raised more questions than answers.

"All our questions were not responded to. We were mocked for asking questions. Because contract establishes the obligations and responsibilities of parties and the standard of performance to be expected of them, we expected to know clearly for instance, how Gencos will be paid 100 per cent for their capacity and energy as the partial activation arrangement made no concrete plan for payment of Gencos invoices.

"No risks matrix designed for the process. A contract allows the parties to examine the economic risks involved in the transaction and allow allocation of the risks in advance. This was not done.

It was like a box ticking exercise.

"No securitisation arrangement for the plan. Typically, a contract provides for what is to happen if things go wrong, or a default is committed by a party. Gencos were not provided any form of guarantee in form of letters of credit to provide a buffer," she said.

Furthermore, she contended

that contrary to common utility practice, historical Gencos' stranded capacities, which they invested to recover, were never taken into cognisance to be compensated.

While forcefully making Gencos to sign the PPA activation, Ogaji pointed out that there was no audit of physical interfaces along the electricity value chain to ensure that, starting from the gas supply requirements, 5,500mw could be viably produced, transported and distributed to consumers and paid for.

She stated that another reason why the partial activation did not work was because there was absence of a take or pay obligations on Discos for energy supplied.

She also said there was no assessment and solution provided for the gas supply arrangements - GSAs and GTAs, contracts and guarantees underpinning the commercial relationships.

Ogaji added that the PPA activation also failed because the document did not mention verified infrastructure improvement or implementation plan by TCN to support the programme.

group, necessitated the petition for the immediate termination of contracts.

The group also noted that they had uncovered plans by the current management of HYPREP to allegedly award projects just few months to the exit of the Mohammadu Buhari-led federal government.

The MOSOP-USA explained: "Less than three months to the expiration of the current Administration, credible sources reveal to us that the current HYPREP board, with active connivance of some political gladiators and gullible Ogoni stakeholders, is in a frenzy busy awarding phantom contracts running into billions of Naira to themselves, cronies, hangers-on and political associates, by either bypassing due process or fast-tracking the awards through the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP)."

They stressed that the intent of the petition was to inform the Minister and HYPREP board that there should be immediate termination of the "phantom contracts" and no bills or payments be made to that effect.

"It has come to the attention of MOSOP-USA that your deed on the awards of phantom contracts in connivance with the HYPREP board to some few individuals from within and outside Ogoni, which they intent to embezzle due to their selfish and self-centered interest and their cronies.

"MOSOP-USA is truly in possession of some very credible evidences, including Court Injunctions confirming that the present HYPREP Board has perfected strategies to loot and empty the account of the agency before the expiration of tenure of the present

administration on 29th May, 2023."

The group, however, warned that it would institute a legal suit against the Minister and the HYPREP Board at the international court if nothing was done to stop the alleged move to further loot the treasury of the interventionist agency.

"If further action other than we have requested occur, then there will be a court suit against you in the Nigeria Court of Justice, including the International Court of Justice.

"This is not a threat, but a promise and an action that has already been established awaiting your reaction to the effect. There is no time to further play on any Ogoni properties," they added.

The MOSOP-USA however, condemned the shooting of Chief Gani Topba, an Ogoni son, who they said was lying critically in an undisclosed hospital.

notable financier of the party in the state and Nigeria at large, Dr. Deji Adeleke for not getting tired of the struggle, describing him as the anchor of the liberation Osun momentarily enjoys today through the good governance PDP is currently offering in government.

"We want to specifically appreciate and thank the huge philanthropist and anchor of our political liberation in Osun, Dr. Deji Adeleke for his unending support for the party and the system that surrounds it.

"We also thank Yeyeluwa Modupeola Adeleke-Sanni for her motherly role throughout the struggle, your unflinching support is immeasurable, we appreciate you", the statement said.

In the same vein, the party also has word of honour for the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye, party leaders and excos of the party from the state level to the ward level for not getting tired in the day to day activities of ensuring emphatic victory for the party and urge them to continue to do their best for the party in any capacity they find themselves at any point in time.

While celebrating the victory, the chairman on behalf of the party commiserated with the departed political soldiers who lost their lives, “in the hands of murderous APC to ensure the victory Osun PDP and the citizens of the state are celebrating today,” describing them as the “martyrs of the victory.”

Police Launch Manhunt for Killer of APC Campaign DG in Rivers Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt The Commissioner of Police in charge of election duties in Rivers State Command, Mr. Echeng Echeng has ordered for an investigation into the killing of a campaign Director General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ahoada West local government area of the state.

The victim, Chiosom Lennard, a native of Ahoada who is also the Ward 10 leader of APC in the area, was shot while trying to prevent suspected hoodlums from hijacking election materials on Saturday.

The spokesperson of the APC in the state, Darlington Nwauju, who spoke to THISDAY on the incident,

said Lennard served the party as Caretaker Chairman in his LGA and until his death was leader of APC in Ward 10 and Campaign Coordinator of their Governorship campaign in the area.

Nwauju revealed that the killed party DG left behind two children and a nursing wife. "He left behind his two kids and wife still nursing a one-month old baby. I am ashamed that the party I belong to could not bequeath a legacy of free and fair elections to Nigerians.

"Rivers State has always been a flash point but President Muhammadu Buhari did nothing to secure voters to freely elect their leaders.

“How can you have an election

where people were being flogged, abducted and killed and you call that an election? The violence and nauseating malpractices supervised by the Police and INEC delegitimises the validity of the elections."

Meanwhile, in a statement made available to THISDAY in Port Harcourt yesterday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko said the Commissioner of Police has vowed to bring the perpetrators to book.

Iringe-Koko said: "The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Election duties in Rivers State Command, CP Echeng Echeng has tasked operatives of the Command to deploy all necessary human

and investigative assets to ensure that the killers of the Campaign Director-General for the All Progressives Congress in Ahoada West in Rivers State, Hon. Chisom Lenard, are brought to book.

"From information gathered, the Campaign DG was shot by yet to be identified gunmen in the afternoon of Saturday 18th March, 2023."

She added that, "the Commissioner of Police commiserate with family of the bereaved and has promised to bring perpetrators of such heinous crime to justice."

Also, one Julius Akoi, an ad hoc staff of INEC was killed by alleged thugs in Abua/ Odual LGA during the Saturday election.

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SECOND INTERIM STATEMENT ON GUBER AND STATE ASSEMBLY ELECTION...

L-R: Executive Director, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Mr. David Anyaele; Co-Convener, Situation Room, Mr. James Ugochukwu and Convener Situation Room, Ene Obi, during the Second PHOTO: ENOCK REUBEN interim Statement on Gubernatorial and State Assembly Election in Abuja ... yesterday .

Bode George: Lagos Guber Election Was a Sham, Utter Disgrace to Democracy Tells Bayo Onanuga to stop commenting on Lagos matters, says the APC spokesman not a Lagosian Segun James The former Deputy National Chairman and Lagos State leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George has described the governorship election in Lagos State as a sham and an utter disgrace to the sensibilities of Lagosians.

George, in a statement yesterday, said he felt, "so shattered, so heartbroken that our democracy is now in shambles."

He insisted that the spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Bayo Onanuga is not a Lagosians and should stop speaking with authority on issues regarding Lagos and its people.

"What a disgrace! I am close to 80 years now but never in my life have I seen such a despicable and dishonourable way of not allowing people express their right to elect whoever they want. This election, in some places, was completely shambolic. What is going on?” he said.

He said it was, "it is disheartening that Lagos State, the bastion of civility, humility, decorum, harmony and respect for the rule of law was, on Saturday, turned to a den of lunatics during the Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

"This is no longer democracy.

What happened on Saturday, March 18 in Lagos State was utter lunacy, a complete sham perpetrated by demented souls. Our forefathers who founded Lagos, the Aworis and others, will be angry in their graves at those power-hungry fellows who turned everything upside down in

their quest to retain power at all cost.

"We all know that 'Oro' is done in a rural setting, and in the night.

But in Lagos, we saw some 'Oro' worshippers – fake or real – invoking spiritual insults on other Nigerians in broad daylight. This is a bastardisation of our culture and tradition."

George stressed that, "other states are running their elections smoothly and democratically without violence, but reverse is the case in Lagos.

"During the Presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, soldiers were seen on the road and there was civility.

Thugs didn't mess up. There was complete peace. So, who ordered that the soldiers should be withdrawn during the governorship and House of Assembly elections? Was their withdrawal ordered to ensure that thugs had a field day, snatching and burning ballot boxes and papers?

"When are we going to be civil in our approach to constitutional democracy? This is not the Lagos we used to be proud of. This election is a total disgrace to APC as a party and Nigeria as a country.

"Due to threats from thugs, many potential voters returned home in anger without voting. In many polling units, we watched videos of snatching of ballot boxes/papers by APC thugs. Ballot boxes and papers were also burnt. Thugs were seen with dangerous weapons invading polling units, threatening voters to either vote for APC or leave. Some voters were matcheted and shot.

"The tragic -comedy of the electoral charade was witnessed when a couple was turned back from a polling unit by APC thugs

because they look like Igbo. Whereas they are full blooded Yoruba.”

According to him, "Sisi Yemmie, the affected woman, said in a video which has gone viral: 'I was born in Lagos. I am a Lagos woman.

This is my village but I was not allowed to vote because I don't look like Yoruba. My husband and I were not allowed to vote. They said we look like Igbo people. I can't believe this'.

"In the video, she was heard arguing with some APC thugs that she was born in Lagos but the

blood-thirsty thugs were adamant and unyielding. Eventually, they were not allowed to vote. What a disgrace!

"In democracy, you can't force anybody on the people. Let the will of the people prevail. Is this now a mob state? With what happened on Saturday, Lagos is now the centre of 'Wetie', with thugs on the rampage, attacking innocent citizens.”

Furthermore, he said: "Those responsible for this despicable act should be ashamed of themselves and must be brought to justice. I

Kogi State Police command has rescued officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and ad hoc staff who came under heavy attack by armed hoodlums at Obajana while on their way from Kupa North and South Wards to the constituency collation centre in Lokoja.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Police Public Relation Officer, ASP William Aya, a copy of which was made available to journalists in Lokoja yesterday.

Aya explained that the Police

escort attached to the team responded robustly and engaged with hoodlums in a fierce gun duel.

"On receipt of the distress call, reinforcement teams were promptly mobilised and sent to the scene which equally engaged the attackers and owing to the superior fire power of the Police, the attackers were forced to flee with varying degrees of injuries.

"The Commissioner of Police in charge of Election in Kogi State, CP Yekini Ayoku, mni, led rescue team to the scene for on-the-spot assessment. He later led the evacuation of the 96 rescued victims comprising

by a criminal organised network.

How else do you explain the level of violence and mayhem witnessed during the election? What we are now experiencing can be likened to international organised crime.

"Now, the only seemingly sane institution holding government to account, the media, also came under violent physical attack. Do we really have a government in Lagos? The first responsibility of government is the protection of life and property.

Even that, the government in power failed woefully.

Over 13 Federal Varsities Yet to Pay Minimum Wage Arrears, Says SSANU Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has lamented that over 13 federal universities were yet to paid arrears of the new minimum wage to their staff.

In view of the high inflationary trend in the country, SSANU expressed concern over the delay in the commencement of re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement with the federal government.

It demanded an immediate commencement and conclusion of the exercise without any further delay as the content of the current agreement had been eroded by the harsh economic situation occasioned

by hyper-inflation and its attendant effect on workers.

The association called on the Head of Service of the Federation, (HoSF), to stop the usurpation of the functions of the University Governing Council on the promotion of staff of universities.

These among others were contained in the resolutions reached at the regular national executive council meeting of SSANU which was hosted by the Umaru Musa Yar'adu University, Katsina State.

In a communique read by the National President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, the association expressed concern that its members in over 13 federal universities had either not been paid or fully paid

Police Rescue INEC Officers , Ad-hoc Staff from Kidnappers in Kogi Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

watched videos of armed thugs moving from polling units to units, telling people not to come out and vote if they were not voting for APC. What an affront! What an insult!

Is this no longer about democracy?

Do we now have full-blown dictatorship in the land?

"Disenfranchising people who have a legal right to vote and excluding them through mob action is a clear indication that Lagos is now under the rule of the mob.

"Lagos obviously is being run

INEC Officials, Adhoc Staff, Bus drivers and others to the INEC Headquarters in Lokoja. While the three injured victims were evacuated to the Federal Medical center Lokoja for treatment.

"The Commissioner of Police has accordingly ordered the deployment of operational and tactical assets of the Force to embark on thorough combing of the general area with a view to apprehending the attackers and to rescue the two (2) victims yet to be accounted for.

"The CP further tasked the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Criminal Investigation Department

to commence thorough investigation with a view to apprehending the miscreants and bring them to deserved justice.

"The Commissioner of Police while commending the gallantry displayed by the men of the Force, urged members of the public particularly the adjoining communities to be on the lookout and report any body seen with bullets wounds to the nearest security Formation or agencies,” it added.

It assured the public that the Police would not rest on its oars in the fight against criminality in the state.

the arrears of the minimum wage approved by government.

The affected universities included the Federal University, Otuoke; Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike; Federal University, Dutsima; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Federal University, Gashua, Yobe and Federal University Kashere.

Other universities still owing workers are, University of Maiduguri, University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Modibo Adamawa University, Yola, University of Benin, Benin, Federal University, Lokoja, University of Lagos, Lagos and Federal University of Lafia, Lafia.

Regarding the allegations of usurpation of functions of the University Governing Council, SSANU accused the HoSF of directing universities on how, when and the number of persons to be promoted at any given time.

The association vowed to take all legal means to ensure that its members were not subjected to obnoxious policies, contending that there had not been any time that the Head of Service been part of the promotion of staff of universities.

"The ugly emerging trend of federal government's incursion and seizing of Federal Universities Governing Council powered and functions was re-appraised on the floor of the NEC. "Statutorily, Council is the highest and final decision making organ in any university. Some overzealous agents a trying however to truncate

this process.

"We now hear of circulars from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, directing universities on how, when and the number of persons that should be promoted at any given time.

"It should be noted that at no time has the Head of Service been part of the promotion of staff of universities. Promotion in the system ends with the Councils of Universities, where a representative of the Federal Ministry of Education is also a member.

"Councils of Universities should be allowed to do their work devoid of interference by the Office of the Head of Service or any external agents for that matter. NEC clearly says no to the usurpation of the powers of Council in relation to the promotion of our members in universities and inter-University Centres, and is poised to take all legal means to ensure that our members are not subjected to obnoxious policies."

On the release of N50 billion for payment of outstanding earned allowances, SSANU stated, "NEC in session deliberated on the promise of government to release the sum of N50 billion for payment of outstanding Earned Allowances to University and inter-university centres.

“This promise is now overdue.

Government is therefore urged to keep to their word and not go their normal way of reneging on their promises to avoid industrial dispute in the system."

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NEWS

TIMIPRE SYLVA VOTES…

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, at Polling Unit 4, Dukuraku Central Open Space, Okpoama, Ward 4 , Brass Constituency II, for the Bayelsa State House of Assembly election on… Saturday

Situation Room Seeks Probe of Shortcomings of 2023 General Elections Lists poor procurement, logistics, abuse of electoral process

OnyebuchiEzigboinAbuja

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has asked the federal government to immediately order an independent inquiry

into the conduct of the 2023 Nigeria general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It said the independent inquiry should address amongst other issues,

Lagos Election: Residents Injured as Thugs Attack Abule Ado Community SundayEhigiator

No fewer than 10 persons have been reportedly injured following alleged attacks on Igbos residing in Oteyi Garden Estate, Abule-Ado area in Amuwo-Odofin LGA, Lagos state.

According to reports, the attacks are said to be connected to the outcome of the 2023 presidential elections in the state, and the candidacy choice of the Igbos in the community, as thugs were allegedly asking Igbo residents in the community to return to Anambra State.

According to an eyewitness who spoke under anonymity, the Igbo indigenes living in the area were pointed out by their neighbours to thugs and were visited in their homes and asked to vacate Lagos State.

This is just as some of them were physically attacked and injured as seen in a video circulating on social media.

He said: “Thugs are going round and singling Igbo people for attacks.

They have shot so many already, injured quite a lot and destroyed people’s properties.

Osun Assembly: Adeyemi Declared Winner, Thanks Electorate

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in last Saturday’s Osun State House of Assembly election for Ifelodun Constituency, Hon. Tajudeen Akinlolu Adeyemi, has been declared winner of the poll.

The declaration was made by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Returning Officer for Ifelodun Constituency, Dr. Adeola Ayodeji Shobola, from Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, at the INEC’s Collation Centre for the Constituency, at Odo Amo Area Ikirun.

Adeyemi, a former Majority Leader of Osun State House of Assembly, won with 16, 184

votes, to defeat the incumbent member representing Ifelodun Constituency and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Mulikat Abiola Bello, who polled 7, 460.

According to a statement, the announcement was greeted with great enthusiasm and wild jubilation from his supporters, who had thronged the INEC’s Local Government Office, to identify with Adeyemi.

In an interview, the lawmakerelect was quoted as appreciating the people of Ifelodun state constituency for the confidence reposed in him and promised not let them down.

Your Victory, a Call to Serve the People More, Adelabu Tells Makinde

KemiOlaitaninIbadan

The gubernatorial candidate ofAccord Party in Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has congratulated Governor Seyi Makinde, on his victory at the governorship election held on Saturday.

A statement signed by Adelabu, said the victory was a call to do more and serve the people diligently.

He said: “Election has come and gone and we should all go back to our normal daily lives, like I always say. It is my strong belief that election should not be a do or die affair, as God changes times and seasons,

he enthrones and dethrones kings according to his wish. God’s time is the best.

“Election is all about giving our state the best in governance and achieving the desired socio-economic development to improve the welfare and prosperity of our people. While we will continue in our constructive, objective and helpful criticism of government policies and programs, all that matter now is joining hands with the Governor in our respective capacity to achieve the desired peopleoriented development for the state, for posterity to smile on us.

procurement, logistics management, and abuse of electoral process by INEC and security officials.

The Situation Room is made up of civil society organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria numbering more than 70.

According to the foremost Nigeria Civil Society observer group, the objective of the inquiry should be to identify challenges and make recommendations towards repairing

the damaged credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process.

In the group’s second interim statement presented to newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the Convener of the Situation Room, Ene Obi, said that said that apart from incidences of vote-buying, violence, harassment of voters and observers, there were serious glitches in the collation and transmission of results by officials of the electoral body during the February 25 2023 Presidential/

National Assembly election and March 18, 2023 Governorship/ State Assembly poll.

Situation Room said its observers reported problems with collation of results in several polling units across the country.

It said the usual procedure of vote counting at polling units and collation at the ward level was circumvented in some places in violation of the election regulations.

In addition the Observer group

alleged that INEC officials with active support of the security officials moved collation from the polling units to local government headquarters despite the protests by some political parties.

Obi said: “In the light of the serious shortcomings with the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, the Situation Room calls for an independent inquiry into the conduct of the 2023 Nigeria General Elections.

Yiaga Africa: Guber and State Assembly Elections Marred by Voter Suppression, Electoral Violence, Others ChuksOkochainAbuja

Yiaga Africa, a pro -election and civil society group, has faulted the March 18 Governorship and StateAssembly elections, stating that it was marred by thuggery, voter suppression, electoral violence and vote-buying.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, Yiaga Africa’s Ezenwa Nwagwu said: “The governorship/state assembly elections were signposted with

voter suppression, electoral violence, electoral impunity, vote-buying and capture of the results management by political thugs in Delta, Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Kano, and Taraba states.

It further said: “Yiaga Africa is saddened by the cases of attacks on voters, INEC officials, election observers and personnel of the EFCC by political thugs. These stakeholders suffered grievous bodily harm and psychological trauma. Reports also

indicate that at least eight fatalities were recorded within the last 24hrs”.

According to the group, “These election-related deaths are unacceptable and highly condemnable. It is important for security agencies to hold the political thugs and their sponsors accountable for these deaths and attacks.

“Yiaga Africa condemns, in unequivocal terms acts of voter suppression fuelled by ethnic profiling, political thuggery and

desperation to secure electoral victory at all costs. In flagrant abuse of the constitution and the 2022 Electoral Act, registered voters and fellow citizens were denied the opportunity to vote in some states.”

It said that voting is a constitutionally guaranteed right of voters that requires free and fair participation of all eligible voters in a peaceful process, adding “Adenial of this right undermines the credibility of electoral outcomes”

NDLEA Arrests Two Members of Afro-Europe Drug Cartel, Nine Others for Drug Trafficking Michael Olugbode inAbuja

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized no fewer 1,205,260 pills of opioids in two interdiction operations in Kogi and Gombe states.

The anti-narcotics officers at the

Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos also disrupted the activities of a drug syndicate that operates between Nigeria, East Africa and Europe, with the arrest of two members of the cartel.

A statement yesterday by the spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said that operatives at the Lagos airport had last Monday

intercepted a member of the drug syndicate, Ejezie Ifeanyi, during screening of inward passengers on Ethiopian Airline flight from Malawi via Addis Ababa at the arrival hall.

Babafemi said when a search was conducted on Ifeanyi, it was discovered that one of his two bags has a false bottom concealment, and

during preliminary interrogation, the suspect confessed that a member of the syndicate was waiting at the airport car park to pick him, prompting an immediate follow-up operation which led to the arrest of Chukwu Bright, who was waiting in a grey colour Mercedes Benz C180 coupe, marked EKY 973 GQ to receive the drug consignment.

C’River NNPP Vows to Sue INEC over Omission of Party’s Logo The governorship candidate, New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in Cross River, Wilfred Bonse, yesterday said the party would sue the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the omission of the party’s logo from ballot papers.

Bonse, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ogoja said he was

disappointed over the conduct of the governorship and house of assembly elections in the state.

He noted that the party had earlier written a letter to INEC to ensure the inclusion of his party’s name on the ballot paper, instead of only the logo.

NAN reported that the governorship election was largely peaceful in Ogoja and Boki local

government areas of Cross River.

The NNPP gubernatorial candidate for Cross River said he was denied the opportunity of voting for himself and having the Cross River people vote for him.

Bonse said that the party would sue INEC for the wrongful exclusion of its logo from the ballot papers.

“This is a very interesting

election in which I didn’t even have the opportunity to vote for myself because I was wrongfully excluded from the ballot.

“NNPP was not represented at all in the governorship ballot paper, and that’s not acceptable.

“We are going to sue for wrongful exclusion. We intend to take this to the highest possible level to ensure we get redress.

NSCDC Condemns Election Day Attack on Journalist in Nasarawa The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC) Nasarawa State Command, has condemned the attack on Mr. Edwin Philip, Head of News, Breeze FM Lafia, by its personnel and vowed to fish out the perpetrators.

The State Commandant, Mr. Abbas Muhammed, said this

through the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Command, Jerry Victor during a press briefing on Sunday in Lafia.

Philip was attacked at Polling Unit 016, Chiroma Ward, by some personnel of the Command in Lafia Local Government Council while covering the Governorship

and State House of Assembly elections on Saturday.

The commandant expressed shock at the news of the attack on the journalist by men of the command whom he said were on a routine patrol monitoring election processes within the Lafia metropolis.

Muhammed condemned the act, saying it was not a true reflection of the character and attributes of the command’s personnel.

He vowed to investigate the incident to fish out the perpetrators for disciplinary action.

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MONDAY, ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺͻ ˾ T H I S D AY

MONDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Simon, Ndidi, Iheanacho Early Birds in Super Eagles’ Camp

Winger Moses Simon will be one of the early birds at the Super Eagles’ John Woods Hotel abode as invited players begin to stream in for the quick-fire double header 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Guinea Bissau’s Djurtus.

Simon, who plays for Nantes of France was scheduled to ar-

2023 AFCON QUALIFIERS rive camp last night alongside TSG Hoffenheim of Germany defender, Kevin Akpoguma.

Leicester City of England duo of Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho were also expected in town yesterday.

Rivers Utd Qualify for CAF Confederation Cup Q’final Rivers United yesterday qualified for the quarterfinal of the CAF Confederation Cup after a 2-2 draw with Congo’s Diables Noirs in a Group B clash. It is an early berth for the Nigerian side who still have a game at hand.

The Congolese side who defeated Rivers United in match day 1 can still be hopeful of also getting to the quarter finals, even with the drawn game with Rivers United.

Rivers United have 10 points from five matches, same points as ASEC Mimosas from Cote d’Ivoire who defeated face Motema Pembe

of DR Congo 2-1 later on Sunday.

Diables Noirs are third with five points, while Motema Pembe have two points.

Rivers United will finish top of the group on goals difference should they avoid defeat in their final game at ASEC. Yet, like they began badly the group series in February, they came back from a self-inflicted goal to lead 2-1 following a brace by striker Nyima Nwagua in the 73rd and 77th minutes.

The Congolese drew level in the 81st minute to keep their quarter-finals dreams alive

Final Group B Standings Team

P

W D

L

F

A

GD PT

Rivers Utd

5

3

1

1

9

6

3

10

ASEC

5

3

1

1

5

4

1

10

Diables

5

1

2

2

5

5

0

5

Motema

5

0

2

3

2

6

-4

2

Cricket: Nigeria, Sierra Leone in Women’s T20i Opening Clash in Lagos Nigeria Senior Women's Cricket team, the Female "Yellow-Greens", will launch their title chase for the 3rd NCF Women’s T20i Invitational Tournament with a tie with Sierra Leone next Monday, March 27, 2023 at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, in Lagos.

Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Barrister Chuma Anosike, said he remains confident that the tournament would be a show of good cricket and believes the Nigerian ladies will give a good account of themselves at the event.

“It would be my joy for the Nigerian team to win, but a good tournament for me will be one that all teams have a good experience,” he stressed.

The event is supported

by Access Bank, Lagos State Government, Alaro City, EKO Electricity Distribution Company, Pets Foundation, Aries Suites, and Geregu Energy.

Coach of the Female National Team, Leke Oyede, confirmed that the team has been in camp for three weeks and are ready for the tournament.

“When the team files out against Sierra Leone, my job is to present a confident and disciplined side.

Most of the players on the team are well-exposed, and we have planned to win every match we enter at the event, irrespective of our opponent,” he observed.

Rwanda, defending-champion of the tournament, will face Ghana

later on the opening day of the event.

Debutant, Cameroon will take on hosts Nigeria on Tuesday March 28th, for their first matchof-the-tournament, while Ghana will square-up with Sierra Leone for the second match of day two.

Thursday, March 30th has been designated as a rest day; after each of the teams would have tested at least two of their four opponents in the 10-match series.

“Last year’s experience at the event is what we are building on,” continued Anosike, “And beyond the action on the pitch, we have plans to make the rest day a memorable one, and we are glad that some of our partners are supporting us to make this a key part of the event,” he added.

Nigeria’s matches against Ghana and Rwanda, are scheduled for the second phase of the event; on Friday, March 31st, and Saturday, April 1st respectively.

According to Oyede, “I believe those matches will weigh in more on us winning the event or not, and we have prepared so far to win, so expect a more experienced team and an interesting encounter in all.”

Rwanda and Nigeria are the two highest-ranked T20i teams at the event, they sit on the log at 27th and 29th respectively; while Sierra leone is 28th. Ghana and Cameroon Women's national teams are currently not ranked by the International Cricket Council.

Simon, one of the longestserving players in the team, is expected to play a key role in the two games that could see the Super Eagles snatch an early ticket to the 34th AFCON finals in Cote d’Ivoire early next year.

Akpoguma, who captained Germany at the FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand in 2015 before committing to Nigeria a few years later, will be among the pillars at the rear.

With six maximum points from their previous two matches, victory in the top-ofthe-table clashes will see the three-time champions soar to 12 points and most probably in an unassailable position.

Sierra Leone could earn six points in their clashes with Sao Tome and Principe, but that still keeps them on seven points, and the Super Eagles still have a home game against bottom-ofthe-table Sao Tome and Principe on the final matchday of the campaign.

Majority of the remaining 19 invited players are expected in Abuja this morning.

Nantes of France winger, Moses Simon, is amongst the fire set of Super Eagles players to arrive camp for the 2023 AFCON

Napoli Three Wins Away from First Scudetto Title in 33 Years Osimhen’s brace give Napoli 21-point gap after 4-0 win at Torino Femi Solaja with agency report

Victor Osimhen hit a brace as Napoli's march to the Serie A title continued with a 4-0 victory at Torino.

The Nigeria striker fired in either half at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino to send Napoli 21 points clear at the top, although second-placed Inter were one goal down at 77 minutes in Juventus as at press time last night.

After Osimhen opened the scoring in the early exchanges, the Partenopei soon had control as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored from the penalty spot.

Any hope of a Torino comeback was wiped away soon after the interval, Osimhen netting again before Tanguy Ndombele added another to keep Napoli on course for the crown Osimhen has now scored 20 league goals this season, becoming the fourth Napoli's player in the De Laurentiis era to have scored 20+ goals in a single Serie A campaign, after Cavani, Higuaín and Mertens.

It took just nine minutes for Napoli to take the lead, Osimhen meeting Piotr Zielinski's corner and heading a controlled finish into the far corner of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic's net.

The hosts would not be silenced

ITALIAN SERIE A though, Alex Meret denying a fierce Samuele Ricci drive before Nikola Vlasic poked the rebound onto the post from close range.

Napoli doubled their lead 10 minutes before the break as Kvaratskhelia slotted a penalty

straight down the middle after being felled by Karol Linetty.

Osimhen struck a drilled effort from outside the box that required a diving save from Milinkovic-Savic, with Luciano Spalletti's visitors threatening to run rampant before the break.

Napoli struck again after 51 minutes as Kvaratskhelia's

inventive flick found Mathias Olivera, who lofted an inviting left-wing cross for Osimhen to tuck home.

Kvaratskhelia capped a fine individual display in the 68th minute, unselfishly teeing up substitute Ndombele to poke under Milinkovic-Savic and wrap up a commanding win.

L-R: Executive Director, Ikorodu City FC, Kayode Badmus; Vice President, Ikorodu City FC, Adesanmi Doherty; Managing Director, Kingmakers Nigeria, Gossy Ukanwoke; and Chief Financial Officer, BetKing Nigeria, Oladapo Olasope, at the partnership announcement between BetKing Nigeria and Ikorodu City FC to promote local sports development in communities in Lagos....recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

It’s Man City v Sheffield Utd S’final Clash Manchester City will face Championship side Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals, while Brighton will play Manchester United.

City progressed to the last four with a 6-0 win over Burnleyon Saturday.

The Blades beat Blackburn 3-2yesterday before Brighton ended League Two Grimsby's dream run

FA C U P to the last eight with a 5-0 win.

In the last quarter-final, Manchester United came from behind to beat Fulham 3-1at Old Trafford.

Both semi-finals will take place at Wembley Stadium across the weekend of 22-23 April.

City's star forward Erling Haaland's scored his second hat-trick in five days in the win over the Clarets.

This will be Sheffield United's first FA Cup semi-final since 2014.

Loan players are not allowed to play against their parent clubs in the FA Cup, meaning that Blades pair Tommy Doyle and Jamie

McAtee will not be permitted to play against six-time competition winners City.

Doyle struck a stoppage-time winner against fellow Championship side Blackburn to send the Blades to Wembley.

Brighton last reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 2019 while Manchester United are 12-time winners.

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Monday, March 20, 2023

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MISSILE IPC to Political Thugs “The International Press Centre (IPC) is highly disturbed by the reported attacks on Journalists and other media professionals covering the governorship and House of Assembly elections in some parts of the country, including Lagos, Ogun and Rivers states. IPC strongly condemns these unacceptable attacks which constitute both the violation of the fundamental rights of the affected Journalists and media workers and major assault on press freedom”– IPC Press Freedom Officer, Melody Lawal, condemning the barbaric attacks on Journalists covering the elections.

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MAHMUDJEGA VIEW FROM THE GALLERY

Flip Flop, Flip Flop I

t is either a sign of confusion or a sign of maturity, depending upon the angle from which you look at it. The presidential race three weeks ago was a close three-way race with APC and PDP winning twelve states each while LP won eleven states and FCT. Many people thought the results of last weekend’s election for governors and State Assembly members will mirror the same pattern, but that was a major mistake.

The candidates are different, the issues are different, expectations are different, mistakes are different and strategies adopted by the different actors were also very different.

While voters in many states held firmly to the pattern of the presidential election contest, we ended up with important flip flops in some states.

Most closely watched was Lagos State.

Lagos was the biggest shock of the February 25 election. Long consigned by reporters and analysts to be President-elect Bola Tinubu’s political fief, his APC party lost the state, very narrowly, even though he was at the head of the party’s presidential ticket. Loss of Lagos did not prevent Asiwaju from winning the election, nor would it prevent him from the exercise of presidential powers after May 29, but it promised to be a major personal, social and political discomfort. I say so because, as a student back in the Second Republic, I used to stand by the street in Sokoto to watch the spectacle whenever President Shehu Shagari visited his home state. The NPN state governors spared no effort to make it a political carnival. If an LP or PDP man is Governor of Lagos, would President Tinubu enjoy his home visits?

But that was not the main issue in Lagos at the weekend. Following LP’s victory in the state in the presidential election, some of its overzealous supporters, many of them based abroad, made the unguarded remark about Lagos being “No man’s land.” This generated the most hectic ethno-political mobilization seen in a governorship election in recent times. For the first time since Edo State in 1991 when the Oba of Benin, through his Chief Priest Nosakhare Isekhure, placed a curse on anyone who voted for Lucky Igbinedion, the son of “an enemy of the Oba,” we saw traditional chiefs in white robes performing rites on the streets of Lagos in order to prevent its “conquest” by hostile forces. In the event, APC’s votes from the previous election went up by 260,000, LP’s votes nosedived by 280,000 while PDP was virtually extinguished in the state.

Not only Lagos flipped. The two big Northern states of Kaduna and Katsina were also expected to flip. Though both are presently APC controlled, the party lost them in the presidential election, Katsina by a narrow margin but Kaduna by a

Sanwo-Olu

Makinde

wide margin. This time around the large chunk of Southern Kaduna votes that went for LP on February 25 was expected to return to PDP and help it to victory. But then, the populous local governments in the state’s northern parts broke for APC by wide margins. Unlike Kaduna which has sharp ethno-religious divides, Katsina State is ethno-religiously near-homogenous and APC’s candidate was winning in all local governments.

An important survivor was Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde. He bucked the trend of the G-5 governors’ fate. Though he played with political fire by supporting a different party’s candidate in the presidential election, he easily bounced back yesterday and was re-elected with a wide margin. It was historically important because in the same Oyo State in 2003, when then Governor Lam Adesina joined other AD governors in supporting the PDP candidate Olusegun Obasanjo for president, he was promptly rewarded with a humiliating loss in the governorship election. Makinde played the same trick and got away with it, which in future will tempt others to try.

Not so lucky were his G-5 fellow travelers Governors Samuel Ortom of Benue, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia. As at yesterday evening, LP’s candidate Alex Otti was set to win in Abia, not a surprise since his party won in the state on February 25. APC candidate Reverend Hyacinth Alia was also well ahead in Benue, again not a surprise since his party won presidential elections in the state. Ortom was actually elected Benue’s governor on APC’s platform in 2015 but was re-elected on PDP’s platform in 2019. Social media wags

were already saying last night that Ortom will blame Fulani herdsmen, his favorite bogey, if his party lost the governorship election.

That Governor Babagana Zulum was heading towards an easy re-election was not a surprise since Borno was the only North Eastern state that APC won in the presidential election. Tallies late afternoon yesterday also indicated Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara was headed for an easy victory, as were APC candidates in Jigawa and Niger states. Since the party won all these states on February 25, there was no flip there. There was however a big flip in Yobe, which APC lost to PDP on February 25 but whose candidate, Governor Mai Mala Buni appeared headed for an easy re-election last night. Yobe and Borno thereby maintained their record as the only two Northern states that have never been ruled by PDP since 1999. The only other such state in the country is Lagos.

Another flip was in the offing in Gombe State, where Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya was on his way to getting re-elected despite his APC party’s defeat in the state in presidential election. These flips in Yobe and Gombe suggest that it was the homeboy factor that helped Atiku Abubakar to win most of the North East states in the presidential election, including these two that have APC-controlled state governments.

APC’s victory in the presidential election would also be a factor that buoyed up party men and somewhat discouraged its opponents.

Also keenly awaited last night were results from the three states of the extreme North West corner, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara.

The latter two are APC controlled, but PDP won both Sokoto and Kebbi in the presidential election, the latter by a narrow margin of 3,000 votes. Senatorial election results in Sokoto, in which both Governor Aminu Tambuwal and top kingmaker Aliyu Wamakko are candidates, were all declared inconclusive. Partial results released last night indicated all three states were on course to flip from February 25, but it was yet to be seen.

There were no surprises in either Akwa Ibom or Ogun. In the former, PDP candidate Umo Eno won the election, confirming his party’s win in the presidential polls three weeks earlier. In Ogun, Governor Dapo Abiodun was declared winner after managing to survive a hot challenge from PDP candidate Ladi Adebutu. After winning the neighbouring Oyo State, sweeping State Assembly seats in Osun and doing so well in Ogun, it shows that PDP is alive and well in the South West, despite its virtual wipe out in Lagos, where LP took over its base.

One of the biggest battles was unfolding in Kano State last night. NNPP’s leader, presidential candidate and former state governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso finished fourth in the presidential election but garnered nearly a million votes in Kano, two-thirds of his total haul. The party was fighting last night to consolidate its gains by winning the state governorship. Many analysts suspect that the governorship of Kano was the Kwankwasiyya movement’s top political goal in the first place. If Kwankwaso’s candidate Abba Kabir Yusuf, who is also his son-in-law, succeeds, it will be the godfather’s second sweet revenge in 12 years. The first was in 2011, when he won a second term to succeed Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, who defeated him at the polls in 2011. An NNPP victory this time around will be sweet revenge against Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Kwankwaso’s former deputy and anointed successor, with whom he later fell out. But the contest was still too close to call last night against Ganduje’s deputy and APC candidate, Nasir Gawuna.

Also keenly awaited last night was election result from Adamawa State, where APC’s Hajiya Aishatu Dahiru, better known as Binani, was in a push to become Nigeria’s first elected female governor ever. It was a very keen contest unfolding in the state, home state of PDP’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar. His loss in the presidential election could have boosted Binani’s confidence, though she was up against the incumbent governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of PDP. By this morning, results from most of the states would probably be in, and the scale of the flip flops would become clearer.

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