WEDNESDAY 1st APRIL 2020

NERC Suspends New Electricity Tariffs over Poor Power Supply Ejiofor Alike in Lagos and Chineme Okafor in Abuja Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has suspended the payment of the new electricity tariffs scheduled to take off from today, citing poor electricity supply, wide

metering gap and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an Order No: NERC/198/2020, the commission stated that from the public hearings conducted prior to the tariffs review, it was obvious that the electricity end-users of the 11 distribution

companies (Discos) were willing to pay appropriate rates for services rendered by the Discos.

The order, which was signed by NERC Chairman, Prof. James Momoh, and the Commissioner in charge of Legal, Licensing,

and Compliance, Mr. Dafe Akpeneye, however, noted that the willingness of customers to pay the new tariffs depends on the guaranteed hours of service, quality of electricity and adequate metering.

The commission said the willingness of customers

to pay did not depend on improvement promises by the Discos that were never implemented in previous tariffs reviews.

“The wide metering gap in NESI (Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry), currently at 60 per cent, is about a

major impediment to both an immediate review and the revenue projection for the Discos. The consideration of customer's complaints was not placed on the agenda as the public hearings were for Continued on page 9

PPPRA Slashes Petrol Price from N125 to N123.50...Page 10 Wednesday 1 April, 2020 Vol 25. No 9123. Price: N250

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FG Considers Compulsory Use of Masks as COVID-19 Cases Rise to 139

Reviews lockdown protocol for Lagos, Ogun, FCT Recalls retired health workers Targets1,500perdaytestingcapacity Toreach11mwithpalliatives Ekiti discharges index case House donates March, April salaries Olawale Ajimotokan, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Udora Orizu in Abuja, Martins Ifijeh in Lagos and Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The federal government is considering compulsory use of

face masks by all Nigerians to stop the spread of COVID-19, whose cases rose by eight yesterday to hit 139.

It's also reviewing the protocols for implementing the 14-day lockdown of Lagos and Ogun states as well as

the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

To step up the treatment of the infected, the government has recalled retired health workers who are now being trained to support the overall preparedness and treatment

regimen.

Other measures to combat the pandemic include opening more testing centres so that Nigeria would be able to test 1,500 people daily in a bid to fast-track the detection rate.

Data from the Nigeria

Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) showed that the country has so far tested over 2,000 people since the outbreak of the pandemic on February 27.

The federal government is also considering a relief

package, targeted at cushioning 11 million people from the difficulties occasioned by COVID-19.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at a press briefing Continued on page 9

COVID-19 Calls for Global Action, Says Antonio Guterres Proposes $3tn buffer for poor countries Martins Ifijeh The United Nations SecretaryGeneral, Mr. Antonio Guterres, has said that the fight to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic requires a global action, emphasising the need for the international community to support poor countries.

He, therefore, proposed a $3 trillion buffer for poor nations whose economies would be affected by the impact of the global pandemic.

Speaking on Arise TV Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers yesterday, he said the pandemic was a humanitarian crisis with the capacity to destabilize the lives of people and the economies of most affected countries,

especially developing and underdeveloped nations.

He said: “Developed nations are already injecting funds into their various economies to buffer the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their people.

The United States a few days ago injected $2 trillion into its economy. Italy, Germany and other first world countries are doing it. This should be extended to poor nations.

Developed countries can do it. This is not a financial crisis, it is a humanitarian crisis.

“COVID-19 is messing with humanity, so the whole of humanity must fight the virus.

The international community should understand the support needed for poor nations is only a drop in the ocean in terms Continued on page 9

CALL FOR GLOBAL ACTION...

Arise TV anchor, Mr. Charles Aniagolu (left), interviewing United Nations’ Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres…yesterday

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

Airline Stakeholders Push for Bailout to Protect 8,000 Jobs Chinedu Eze Aviation stakeholders have canvassed for a bailout for the sector to prevent plunging the industry into a crisis that could erase 8,000 jobs.

They said the suspension of aviation activities in the country occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic would negatively affect airlines and might lead to job losses unless the federal government comes to their rescue.

According to them, a bailout package needs to be designed for the sector to support their activities, saying signs of bankruptcy have already been indicated among the local carriers.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, told THISDAY that Nigerian airlines would resume after the COVID-19 lockdown with very little working capital due to lack of revenue generation.

He said this would affect their operating capacity, noting that many of them would reduce capacity in order to cope.

“There are three things that will happen. One, some will lay off workers in order to survive; two, some may not be able to survive after laying off workers; three, some airlines will go to their shareholders to ask for more operating funds to restart the business, otherwise they will go under,” Sanusi said.

He explained that the

suspension of flights would adversely affect the nation’s effort to grow the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic must have been tamed.

“If the airlines are not given bailout, they will go into bankruptcy and this will slow the growth and recovery of the Nigeria’s economy. So, it will make it more difficult for Nigeria’s economy to recover. Air transport is a catalyst without which a nation’s economy cannot grow,” Sanusi added.

Industry consultant and CEO of Belujane Konsult, Mr. Chris Aligbe, told THISDAY in Lagos that airlines play pivotal role in driving any nation’s economy and without their contributions, any nation’s economy would be imperiled.

He advocated immediate bailout of the airlines after the COVID-19 pandemic so that the airlines could continue to operate and play their roles in revamping the economy.

Aligbe said: “The first thing to do is to give the airlines a grant; a grant that will get them up and going again. This will also ensure that about 8,000 airline workers don’t lose their jobs.

Government is working to make sure that there is employment.

“Those who are already in employment should not be thrown out because of what has just happened; that is what other countries are doing. Even other countries are going around to give stipends to their citizens.

“We may not have all that money to do this, but what we need to do is that the institutions, the organisations or corporations that provide livelihood for Nigerian citizens through their employers must be made to come back again. Must be reactivated and the way to reactivate them is to give them grants.”

Former General Manager, Business Development, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Nuhu Adam, said instead of direct bailout, government should direct aviation agencies to reduce charges paid by airlines and also to urgently install airfield lighting so that airlines could

operate for longer hours and improve the utilisation of their aircraft.

“I don’t support bailout for airlines because from past experience they tend to divert the money to other businesses; unless the grant would be tailored towards achieving specific objectives," he said,

adding: “What I may propose is that there should be significant reduction for charges like landing and parking and FAAN should urgently install runway lights at airports in Calabar, Asaba, Owerri and others so that airlines can operate longer hours and make full utilisation of their aircraft.”

LEADING BY EXAMPLE...

President Muhammadu Buhari, practising handwashing as directed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control as a preventive measure against COVID-19 in Abuja…yesterday

MTN Mulls Phased Sale of Nigerian Stocks FG Suspends Rehabilitation Work at Enugu Airport to Local Investors Chinedu Eze

Ejiofor Alike, with agency reports

MTN Group has said it would push on with a plan to reduce its majority stake in the wireless carrier’s Nigerian business, though turmoil caused by the COVID-19 may require the sale to be done in smaller chunks than anticipated.

The telecoms group said it might consider a phased sale to reduce its majority stake in its Nigerian business.

Bloomberg reported that MTN is disposing of part of its largest division after a series of disputes with Nigerian authorities, most recently over tax payments and the withdrawal of cash from the country.

The plan is to sell about a 15 per cent stake to local investors, reducing MTN’s ownership to about 64 per cent.

MTN was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last year, and is the country’s second-biggest publicly-traded company.

Nigeria is the company’s biggest market, accounting for a third of overall 2019 revenue and almost 40 per cent of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.

The Johannesburg-based company is also the biggest provider of telecom services in the country, with almost 69 million customers, according to the Nigerian Communications

Commission (NCC).

MTN Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ralph Mupita, said in an interview that the impact of the virus on international financial markets did not change the mobile network operator’s plans to sell part of its 79 per cent shareholding to local investors.

“In Nigeria, we still want to do part of our retail offer, even if it’s a smaller part of the total planned sale,” Mupita told Bloomberg by phone, adding: “We are applying our minds to doing this at the moment.”

MTN had earlier revised its medium-term target for its divestment plan and now wants to secure a further 25 billion rand ($1.40 billion) in asset sales over the next three to five-years.

The asset sales include an 18.9 per cent stake in African online retailer Jumia, a 27 billion rand worth stake in Mauritiusheadquartered IHS Towers, MTN Nigeria’s public offering and share sales to local investors in its Ugandan and Zambian units.

Mupita said the impact of the pandemic on international financial markets would not change the importance of selling part of the 79 per cent shareholding to local investors.

However, the rest of a threeto-five-year plan to dispose of 25-billion rand ($1.4 billion) of assets would probably take a back seat, for now, he said.

Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, yesterday announced suspension of ongoing rehabilitation work at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.

Sirika, who made the announcement when he inspected the airport, said procurement was suspended because workers of the construction company, PW, handling the project left the site to be with their families owing to the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world.

The minister, who was accompanied by the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Hamisu Rabiu Yadudu, stated that “92-93 per cent of the work at Enugu airport has been completed.”

According to him, “The work would have been completed in a few weeks’ time, but the workers left to be with their families in view of the social distancing protocol.

“But considering that the construction workers have downed tools owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government hereby officially announces suspension of procurement.”

He added that the remaining work at the airport would only require 15 days to be completed when the workers return to site.

He stated that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was fully determined to complete the rehabilitation of Enugu airport to international standard before Easter.

Sirika explained that the

circumstances the nation has found itself, regarding the escalating threat of COVID-19 globally, has made it impossible for the federal government to meet the deadline.

The minister pointed out that though the federal government had closed Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, alongside others, as one of the proactive measures to contain the spread of the deadly disease, such necessary decision couldn’t have affected the ongoing work at the airport if not that the company’s workers downed tools.

Sirika disclosed that the federal government introduced “glass mesh” in Enugu airport runway to strengthen it and help in retaining the structure for a very long time, adding that the new technology prior to this time was only introduced at Abuja

airport.

“Many other issues like the cargo section for this airport, other infrastructure, the terminal building under rehabilitation including the air conditioner system in the new international airport being built by the Chinese and of course the perimeter fencing, drainage and water supply, among others, will all be completed in this airport,” he said.

He, therefore, commended Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, other South-east governors and stakeholders for their sacrifice and commitment towards the rehabilitation of Enugu airport and appealed for understanding on the part of the people of the South-east geo-political zone, expressing hope that the issue of COVID-19 would be resolved soon.

Appeal Court Temporarily Shuts Lagos, Ogun, Abuja Divisions Alex Enumah in Abuja Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, has directed a temporary shutdown of proceedings at the Lagos, Ogun and Abuja Divisions of the Court.

The closure, which is for the first 14 days, is to enable the court in the three divisions to observe the lockdown declared

by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Dongban-Mensem, in an operational directive issued on

March 30, 2020 and sighted by THISDAY, however, enjoined other divisions to carry on with the judicial duties in line with the directive issued by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad on reducing the spread of the COVID-19.

"Following the 14 day lockdown directive of His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, with effect from 30/03/2020, I hereby issue an interim practice directive that all matters

pending before the court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun states shall cease in compliance thereof.

"Meanwhile, all court proceedings for states not mentioned in the presidential lockdown directive of 30/03/2020 shall continue in line with the directives issued by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice, Dr. Tanko Muhammad.

"The Bench and the Bar are enjoined to strictly observe the guidelines on social distancing as directed by the Nigeria

Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

"Counsel and litigants present in court should be limited to 20 persons maximum at all times," she said.

She, in addition, urged the use of ICT via online communication as much as possible so as to ameliorate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She also enjoined Justices and staff of the court to support the efforts of the federal government by observing all guidelines.

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President’s COVID-19 Regulations Unlawful, Insists Adegboruwa Davidson Iriekpen Despite the clarification by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), that President Muhammadu Buhari has the power to lock down states, a human rights lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), has insisted that it was wrong for the President to have invoked the Quarantine Act to lock down the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states.

He said the president should have declared a state of emergency instead of a lockdown.

Adegboruwa had on Monday described the order of the president restricting movements as “illegal.”

Defending the action of the president, Malami had said the Quarantine Act empowered the president to take such measures since COVID-19 had been declared an infectious disease.

Also, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the Quarantine Act gives the president the power to “make regulations of any kind.”

Responding to the vice president and the AGF, Adegboruwa said: “The Quarantine Act has no provision for the restriction of the movement of any citizen.”

According to him, “The act is meant for the isolation, care

and treatment of victims of infectious diseases simpliciter, for the purpose of isolating them away from interacting with other members of the public, generally and that it should not be twisted to restrain the uninfected.”

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) also said for the president to be entitled to make any regulation under sections 4 and 8 of the Quarantine Act, he should have published in a national newspaper “stating the particular place affected as an infected local area and such must be a well-defined area, such as a local government, a town or a community, and not just a blanket tag.”

“This has not been done.

How then do we lockdown citizens and detain them forcefully for two weeks, in one single spot, without any charge or offence alleged against them?

“The Quarantine Act does not contain any provision expressly authorising the restriction of movement of citizens and such power must not and cannot be assumed by the president," he explained.

Adegboruwa said Buhari should have explored the option of declaring a state of emergency as enshrined in section 305 (3) (d) of the constitution instead of a lockdown, which violates the constitutional rights of citizens.

“Section 305 (3) (d) of the

Gunmen Kill 11 in Kaduna Communities

John Shiklam in Kaduna

Gunmen have killed 11 people, including a traditional ruler, in three communities in Kaduna State.

This was disclosed in a statement issued yesterday by the spokesman of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Mr. Luka Binniyat.

He said the killings took place in Guruku ward, Kuduru village in Chikun and Jagindi, Jema'a Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.

He said in Guruku ward, six people were killed yesterday when bandits invaded the area.

He said on Monday, the District Head of Jagindi, Mr. Danlami Barde, and his brother, Musa Barde, were killed when suspected herdsmen attacked the community.

Binniyat added that last Thursday, three people were killed in Kuduru by suspected herdsmen who set houses and foodstuff ablaze, rustled cows and looted valuables.

He said those killed in Kuduru include: Hassana Bala, Jamilu Hassan, and Halima Bala, adding that Haliru Nawela and Kure Dogonyaro escaped with grievous gunshot injuries.

The statement called on the federal and state governments to deploy security in the ravaged villages and secure lives and property.

The statement appealed to good-spirited individuals and corporate bodies to assist victims with food, shelter, and

drugs, especially at this time of extreme difficulties.

However, when contacted, Public Relations Officer, Kaduna State Police Command, Mr. Mohammed Jalige, said he was not aware of the incidents and promised to find out and get back to THISDAY. However, he had not done so as at press time.

SOKAPU also drew the attention of the people to the reality of the presence of COVID-19 in the state and commended the state government for the proactive measures taken so far to ensure that the virus is contained.

“We equally applaud the residents of Kaduna State for abiding by the orders of the government authorities remain in a lockdown situation in spite of the difficult situations associated with this directive.

“We encourage the people to continue to obey instructions and cooperate with the law enforcement authorities to ensure that we all remain safe.

“Aware that our Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has been tested positive for the virus, we wish him a quick recovery and restoration of good health,” the statement said.

It, however, called on the state government to establish a facility in Kafanchan to handle cases that might arise from the zone, “taking cognisance of the fact that Kaduna South senatorial district does not have a hospital with the capacity to handle any eventual outbreak of the disease.”

Constitution permits the president to declare a state of emergency in any part of Nigeria through an instrument published in the official gazette when there is an occurrence

or imminent danger, or the occurrence of any disaster or natural calamity, affecting the community or a section of the community.

“The COVID-19 pandemic

qualifies an imminent danger, a disaster, and a natural calamity.

The president should have explored this window for his declaration,” he pointed out.

He added that such a

declaration would cease to have effect if it is not approved by the National Assembly through a resolution after two days of being in session or after 10 days of being out of session.

INNOVATION DURING PANDEMIC...

Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu (left), and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), during a Google hangout with young and innovative Nigerians developing and contributing innovative/technological solutions to confront COVID-19

Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Fault Lockdown of FCT, Lagos, Ogun Deji Elumoye in Abuja Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has faulted the federal government's decision to lockdown FCT, Lagos and Ogun states within 24 hours without due consultations with the affected state governments.

The forum, in a statement issued yesterday and entitled "Presidential COVID-19 Regulations and Its Subversions" and jointly signed by the quartet of Mr. Yinka Odumakin (South-west); Gen. CRU Iherike (South-east); Senator Bassey Henshaw (South-south) and Dr. Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt), said it was regrettable that after a long unpardonable silence on the pandemic, the presidency still could not get it right due largely to its disregard for rules and its operation of a disorganised

system and central planning.

"It is inexplicable that anyone who understands how society functions would shut down a city like Lagos under 24-hour without considering the impact on the citizens and when it is not that there is a serious programme of dealing with the health crisis on the ground.

"The lockdown of Lagos, FCT, and Ogun in such manner is therefore whimsical and too blatant. It is a flagrant violation of federal spirit to shut down states without consultation with governors under no known law than the jejune 1926 Colonial Quarantine Act the Attorney General is ignorantly flaunting about," the forum alleged.

The forum expressed happiness that the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has modified the president’s military fiat in a manner the Governor of New

York, Andrew Cuomo, made it clear to President Donald Trump that he had no power to shut down his city.

"The action of Ogun State governor is a clear testimony to the fact that the president did not consult with the governors of the affected states. We do understand that there are people who may feel that this is an emergency situation and we should allow any measure to deal with it.

But for us, those who neglected us all these weeks cannot be said to now develop any sense of emergency. And to allow them to get away with their characteristic abuse of process in this period is to arm them for more impunity in normal times.

"The forum while supporting measures aimed at dealing with the situation the nation has found itself, according to

the law and in federal spirit also advised the federating states to come up with laws to back their actions that require such and not to copy the arbitrariness of the federal government," the forum said.

The forum warned against the threat by the military to enforce the lockdown in the two states and Abuja, saying the military's main responsibility, for now, is to win the war against the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-east.

"We have seen some elements of armed forces boasting they will enforce the president 's directives. We hasten to remind the military that they have a war Boko Haram is currently winning to fight in the North-east, which they should concentrate on, while quarantine is the business of the police and civil defence," it added.

ICPC to Prosecute Health Workers Who Divert COVID-19 Funds Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has warned government and emergency officials not to divert COVID-19 funds or engage in sharp practices.

The spokesperson for the ICPC, Mrs. Rasheedat Okoduwa, said in a statement issued yesterday that public officials should also practices “social distancing from corruption” or face the consequences.

The commission said: “As the nation reels from the effect of COVID-19, ICPC wishes to caution against increase in risky behaviour hinged on critical desire to respond to COVID-19.”

The anti-graft agency said from past experience, national emergencies and pandemics instigate need for proactive

measures driven by local or national exigency such as the times that we are in.

It said government officials had in the past even diverted funds meant for Internally Displaced Persons.

The statement read in part: “Emergency response is not immune to corruption risks.

As the threat to national livelihood increases, so do the vulnerabilities to dishonesty.

“Corrupt public and private sector individuals will again test the nation’s anti-corruption architecture and commitment to integrity. It has happened before and may happen again.

“We have seen corruption in past responses to managing the needs of internally displaced persons, treatment of persons affected by natural disasters or acts of God; delivery of government palliatives for

the poorest of the poor and implementation of policies to address critical economic vulnerabilities such as assistance to SMEs; poverty alleviation programmes; improvement in education, promotion of agriculture etc.”

While commending the gallant role being played by all those currently involved in responding to COVID-19, ICPC said procurement processes must be respected.

The commission advised public officials to be mindful of corruption risks inherent in emergency procurement, endeavour to get necessary approvals even in emergency situations, ensure due diligence, avoid neglecting post quarantine management and regulatory controls, and take note of financial control regulations and limits.

She said engaging in conflict of interest, nepotism, padding, inflated costs and other risky behaviour in the name of emergency response would not be tolerated The commission added: “This advisory is not finger pointing at the health sector or its leaders and others in government and outside government who have sacrificially and admirably led our response to COVID-19 thus far.

“It is an opportunity for reflection and warning to all Nigerians at national and sub-national levels that it is wise to remember that keeping safe distancing from post-pandemic corruption investigation in any sector of the economy is as important as safe social distancing to prevent COVID-19.”

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PAGE NINE FG CONSIDERS COMPULSORY USE OF MASKS AS COVID-19 CASES RISE TO 139 by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, NCDC Director-General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the agency was considering compulsory use of face masks to mitigate against the spread of the virus.

Ihekweazu noted that though the World Health Organisation (WHO) had recommended that face mask should only be used by health workers, NCDC might recommend a national strategy around its use for the public to protect themselves from contracting the virus.

He said the centre was considering that approach in the light of new emerging evidence, adding that for the mask to be effective on a population basis, they might recommend its use for everyone.

“This is a strategy we need to think about before we implement it. Before we implement a national strategy around mask wearing, we have to be sure we can provide it or at least enable access to it. We will allow for the risk assessment and as the evidence comes together, we will make a decision based on the evidence and ability to provide every Nigerian with access to mask,” he said.

NCDC Targets 1,500 per day Testing Capacity Ihekweazu also said NCDC was set to increase its capacity to test for the virus to 1,500 per day.

“Last week, we had the capacity to test 500 per day, by the end of this week we will be at 1,000 a day.

“By next week we are hoping to get to 1,500 a day,” he said.

Ihekweazu, however, said Nigerians should reduce the demand side of the testing to those who really needed it.

He noted that the more the people force themselves into being tested, the less NCDC would have the capacity to test those who really need the testing.

Ihekweazu added that those that really need testing would, if not detected on time, be transmitting it into the community and more people would get infected.

According to him, by testing those that do not need it, people are blocking the system and there’s a price to pay.

Eight More Test Positive for

COVID-19 NCDC also announced eight more cases of COVID-19 in the country, raising the total count to 139.

Giving a breakdown of the eight fresh incidences, NCDC said three were from the FCT; three from Osun, and one each from Lagos and Ogun States.

It said of the 139 cases, 128 were still active and under management, nine had been discharged, and two had died.

So far, Lagos has recorded 82 cases; FCT 28; Oyo eight; Osun five; Ogun four; Kaduna three; Edo, Enugu and Bauchi have two each, while Ekiti, Rivers and Benue have one each.

FG Reviews Lockdown Protocol for Lagos, Ogun, FCT At the press conference in Abuja, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, also unveiled plans by the federal government to review the protocols for implementing the 14-day lockdown in the FCT as well as Lagos and Ogun states.

He explained that his team had met with the service chiefs for the review.

Mustapha said: “The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has met with the security chiefs to smoothen rough edges of implementation within the first day of implementation and we are working on issuing an appropriate restriction protocol and exemption guidelines, which will guide the subsequent days of restrictions.

“Initial feedback is that there is substantial compliance, however, there are violations of those restrictions by citizens that we desire to protect. Let me emphasise that the decision to lock down is to prevent community spread, which might be dangerous to manage.

“It can only be done by Nigerians and for Nigerians.

So, we use this medium to implore our people and plead with them to please respect and honour restrictions that have been imposed for the good of our people and nation.”

Mustapha added that COVID-19 has not only come to affect the health of Nigerians,

but also the nation's wealth.

The SGF said even though President Muhammed Buhari had imposed a 14-day lock on the FCT, Lagos and Ogun states as one of the measures to prevent the spread of the virus, some of the states had not complied fully with the restriction order.

He warned that it was not in the character of the federal government to pick up people up and throw them behind bars as in other climes.

He stated that Nigerians owed it as a responsibility to themselves to ensure they do not allow the virus to come into their communities and ravage the country.

FG Recalls Retired Health Workers The Federal Ministry of Health has said it would recall some of its retired staff back to duty to help beef up the human resource base needed to tackle the pandemic.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said at the press conference that additional measures were being taken to intensify contact tracing to support prompt case detection and isolation and treatment in order to reduce the spread of the infection.

He said the ministry was working closely with states, adding that members of the presidential task force would be holding a meeting with state commissioners of health to review the response activities to be able to protect the health of Nigerians.

As part of anticipatory measures aimed at boosting the core of medical workers that could attend to COVID-19 patients in the event of widespread outbreak, Ehanire said the ministry had put all its retired staff, particularly those that served at NCDC, on recall notice.

The minister said the presidential task force would meet later yesterday to review activities and measures to protect the health and well-being of Nigerians.

Ehanire said: "NCDC has engaged hundreds of ad-hoc staff to support call centres, contact tracing and laboratory work. Happily, many retired staff of the NCDC and also of the Ministry of Health, have reported for duty. Training is ongoing for the medical

personnel to support overall preparedness and treatment.

“We are preparing about 1,000 beds in Abuja, to be used immediately as isolation centres if the need arises. The capacity to increase bed space is present.

Resources for the procurement of required commodities have been provided.

“More testing sites have been opened in Ibadan and Abakaliki, while existing laboratories are being optimised in their performance. With new additions to the case definition, persons with fever and either cough or difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath in the areas of high COVID-19 prevalence can be tested for the disease.

“More laboratories will join the network of molecular diagnostic laboratories for COVID-19 in Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Port Harcourt and Sokoto.

“Within the next two or three weeks, the over 300 Gene expert machines that are used for tuberculosis diagnosis will be converted to be used for COVID-19 detection."

FG to Reach 11m Nigerians with Palliatives Also speaking at the press conference, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouk, said the federal government would be reaching more than 11 million Nigerians with palliatives to cushion the effects of the measures set to fight the pandemic.

Farouk, while responding to questions, added that internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North-east had already received two months' rations of relief materials.

She said the government already had a social-register with details of those considered as the vulnerable in the society in 35 states of the federation, adding that these people belong to around 2.6 million households across the country.

NSA to Clear Security Flights into Nigeria The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has said all security flights into the country must pass through the National Security Adviser (NSA) before

such flights could be given special permission to land in the light of the closure of all the country’s international airports.

Sirika also stated that protocol for the landing of all diplomatic flights must also go through the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

House Donates Two months’ Salary to Combat COVID-19 Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday conveyed the decision by the 360 members of the House to donate their two months’ salary to the fight against the pandemic.

Gbajabiamila, in a video message to Nigerians, said the donation would be independent of the contributions by individual lawmakers to alleviate the hardship that their constituents face at this time of national emergency.

He said the donation would be transferred directly to the National Relief Fund account.

Gbajabiamila said: "We have in the House of Representatives jointly committed to contributing one hundred per cent (100 per cent) of our salaries for the next two months to the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Our contribution will support provisions for the welfare of frontline medical professionals and health workers, and other interventions to provide for the well being of all Nigerians through these trying times.

"Accordingly, I have directed the Clerk of the National Assembly to see to it that all members’ salaries are transferred to the National Relief Fund for this month and the next. This is independent of ongoing individual efforts by members to alleviate the suffering brought on by this virus and to improve the living conditions of citizens in their various constituencies."

He added that the House would exercise its oversight power to ensure faithful administration of all emergency funds and contributions made so far to ensure they serve the purpose for which they were intended.

Ekiti Discharges Index Case Meanwhile, the only patient with positive case of virus in Ekiti State has been discharged.

COVID-19 CALLS FOR GLOBAL ACTION, SAYS ANTONIO GUTERRES of the resources it can offer.

“The United Nations agencies, non-governmental organisations, and rich countries should help population in distress in this difficult situation. Globally, we must offer a massive package of support to these nations to respond to the different impacts of COVID-19.”

He said the requested funding

does not need to come from monies already kept for other humanitarian responses, adding that what is needed was for different monies to be allotted to the COVID-19 response as it relates to economies of smaller nations.

“The response shouldn’t come from programmes already in place. We need additional

support to fight this outbreak.

There should be double digit percent of gross domestic product globally in order to be able to address this challenge,” he added.

Guterres said in addition to the financial aid, he was also suggesting debt cancellation for the affected smaller nations.

“Also, we are also calling for

global ceasefire and sanctions should be suspended for vulnerable countries. These sanctions should be the ones undermining the capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. These are bilateral sanctions that can be waved.

We are talking to countries to consider these suggestions,” he said.

Guterres said the entire package of support would allow developing countries to be able to support their citizens in their businesses and other life endeavours.

“If we don’t do this, their economies will collapse and that will bring devastating consequences to their vulnerable population,” he warned.

NERC SUSPENDS NEW ELECTRICITY TARIFFS OVER POOR POWER SUPPLY a defined purpose.

"The commission, however, observed that end-use customers used the opportunity to provide feedback on their dissatisfaction with the quality of service provided by the Discos and bitter feedback was also provided on the practice of estimated and sometimes, arbitrary billing,” the order explained.

NERC also noted that the global COVID-19 has significantly impacted on the availability of imported components for local assembly of meters for supply to enduser customers under the

commission’s Meter Asset Provider (MAP) regulations and rollout plan for the existing stock.

The commission also acknowledged what it described as the adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and the average Nigerian.

“The orders of the commission – Order No: NERC/GL/184/2019 to NERC/GL/184/2019 entitled: 'The December 2019 Minor Review of Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) 2015 and Minimum Remittance Order for the Year 2020' shall remain in force until June 30, 2020,

when a new minor review order shall be issued by the commission.

“There shall be no increase in tariffs of end-use customers on April 1, 2020,” NERC said.

The commission directed all the Discos to submit a detailed plan for the attainment of full recovery of prudent costs and allowed return on capital (revenue requirement) by June 30, 2021.

“The revenue recovery and financial sustainability plans shall be submitted to the commission no later than April 21, 2010. The plans shall include a path, with timelines for transiting customers to

a higher quality of service,” NERC added.

NERC, in its ‘December 2019 Minor Review of MultiYear Tariff Order 2015 and Minimum Remittance Order for the Year 2020,’ dated December 31, 2019, had said the new tariffs would take off today.

It said the order was issued to reflect the impact of changes in the minor review variables in the determination of cost-reflective tariffs and relevant tariff and market shortfalls for 2019 and 2020.

The commission said the order also determined the minimum remittances payable

by the Discos in meeting their market obligations based on the allowed tariffs.

It said: “The federal government’s updated Power Sector Recovery Programme does not envisage an immediate increase in end-user tariffs until 1st April 2020 and a transition to full cost reflectivity by the end of 2021.

“In the interim, the federal government has committed to funding the revenue gap arising from the difference between cost-reflective tariffs determined by the commission and the actual end-user tariffs payable by customers.”

The patient, who has been receiving treatment at Ekiti State Infection Disease Control Centre in Oba Adejuyigbe General Hospital Ado-Ekiti, was discharged yesterday, having been treated of the disease.

The index case was a driver who brought a 27-year-old American to the state few weeks ago and eventually tested positive for the virus.

The patient, according to Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, was full of joy for escaping death, saying the state government also demonstrated immense concerns for him throughout the period he was quarantined at the centre.

"I appreciate the state government, the medical team and entire Ekiti people for standing by me at my trying moment," the patient was quoted to have said.

Yaya-Kolade added that the index case was given best treatment and was confirmed free of the virus before being discharged.

"We are happy to inform Nigerians, most especially the Ekiti residents, that the index case in the state has been discharged today. He has been treated of the deadly Coronavirus," she noted.

Stop Stigmatising COVID-19 Patients, Says Minister The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has urged Nigerians to stop stigmatising people that tested positive for the virus.

The minister made the appeal yesterday on a Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) programme, “Good Morning Nigeria” monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“The challenge we have today in Nigeria is that of people trying to stigmatise those who have Coronavirus.

"This is responsible for why many people are not coming out for test, even when they have contact with confirmed cases or have recent travel history.

“They did not come out for testing because they are afraid of the stigmatisation if they turn out to test positive for the virus,” he said.

The minister called on the media to limit report of positive cases for the virus by not mentioning names except when such persons come out to announce their status.

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

PPPRA Slashes Petrol Price from N125 to N123.50 Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The federal government has further reduced the pump price of petrol to N123.50, down from the N125, it announced

in March.

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in a statement late last night, said the new template was for the month of April.

NNPC to Supply Gas to Power Stations Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday backtracked on the alarm it raised earlier about a nationwide blackout as a result of shortage of gas for powering the electricity plants.

General Manager, Public Affairs, TCN, Ndidi Mbah, said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had come to the rescue of the struggling plants, noting that the challenges would be over in a few hours.

“TCN wishes to inform the general public that it is receiving unprecedented support from the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) led by the GMD, Mr. Mele Kyari and COO Gas and Power, Yusuf Usman in resolving the issue of gas availability to

Executive Secretary of the agency, Mr. Abdulkadir Saidu, said the price cuts across all the retail outlets in the country.

He added that the move was in line with the government’s approval for a

monthly review of the pump price of the product.

“The PPPRA, in line with the government approval for a monthly review of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pump price, hereby announces guiding PMS pump price of

N123.50 per litre.

“The guiding price, which becomes effective April 1, 2020, shall apply at all retail outlets nationwide for the month of April, 2020.

“The PPPRA and other relevant regulatory agencies

shall continue to monitor compliance to extant regulations for a sustainable downstream petroleum sector.

“Members of the public and all oil marketing companies are to be guided , accordingly,” the statement said.

thermal power plants and this has significantly improved gas supply to gas generation stations nationwide.

“Consequently, power plants previously experiencing gas supply shortage have started generating power to the grid and if the trend continues, the problem of gas supply to power plants will be resolved in a matter of hours and also distribution companies as well as Point Load Consumers of Electricity will be adequately served.

“TCN wishes to express its appreciation to the management of NNPC, Generation Companies, Distribution Companies, TCN staff on their duty posts nationwide and other sector players for the effort in sustaining the grid during this trying period” the company said.

FUMIGATING LAGOS… Army Redeploys Senior Lagos State Government COVID-19 Response Team fumigating Yaba market as a preventive measure to curb the spread of the virus KUNLE OGUNFUYI Officers in Massive Shake-up ...yesterday of Army Staff and appointed KingsleyNwezehinAbuja 168m Nigerians Living in Unclean Environment, Says Report Special Adviser, Nigerian Army The recent ambush by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, that led to the death of 29 soldiers in Gorgi, Borno State and the viral video of the former Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj- Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi, lamenting the lack of equipment by soldiers to confront the terrorists may have sparked a massive shake-up in the Nigerian Army.

Adeniyi had in the viral video lamented the barrage of mortar bombs and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) unleashed by the insurgents on troops without a commensurate response from troops owing to lack of equipment.

The shake-up, which affected many senior officers, sawAdeniyi moved to the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), Abuja as a senior research fellow.

He was replaced by Maj. Gen. F. Yahaya who was moved from Headquarters 1 Division Kaduna to Headquarters, Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maiduguri and appointed commander.

The NigerianArmy, in a statement by its spokesman, Col. Sagir Musa, said the shake-up was carried out in order to rekindle the spirit of professionalism.

It described the posting, which was approved by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, as a routine exercise intended to reinvigorate the system for greater professional effectiveness and efficiency.

The Major highlight of the posting include the posting and appointment of Maj-Gen.ACAgundu from Special Task Force (STF) Operation Safe Haven, Jos to NARC, Abuja, as a senior research fellow; Maj- Gen. HI Bature from Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Defence Liaison Office, National Assembly, Abuja to Army Headquarters’ Department of Civil-Military Affairs and appointed as Chief of Civil-Military Affairs; Maj. Gen. UM Mohammed from Nigerian Army Property Limited (NAPL) to the Office of the Chief

University, Biu/Deputy Chairman Board of Trustees NAPL; while the erstwhile Special Adviser, Nigerian Army University, Biu, Maj. Gen. CC Okonkwo, is now redeployed to STF, Operation Safe Haven, Jos and appointed Commander; Maj. Gen. S Idris from Sector 2 OPLD Damaturu, Yobe State redeployed to DHQ Abuja and appointed Director Liaison.

Others affected include Maj. Gen. AAAdesope from Office of the Chief ofArmy Staff Directorate ofAudit and Financial Management to NAPLand appointed Group Managing Director; Maj. Gen. MG Ali was moved from Headquarters Theatre Command OPLD, Maiduguri to Headquarters 4 Special Forces Command, Doma, Nasarawa State as Commander, while the erstwhile Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, AHQ, Abuja, Maj. Gen. US Mohammed has been redeployed to 1 Division Kaduna and appointed General Officer Commanding.

Similarly, Brig. Gen. HI Daniel from the Defunct Army Special Forces Command, Maiduguri has been redeployed to Headquarters, Training and Doctrine Command, Minna and appointed DirectorArmy Training Support, while Brig. Gen. BE Onyeuko is to remain in DHQAbuja as Acting Director, Defence Media Operation.

The shake-up also led to the redeployment of Brig. Gen. NM Jega fromTrainingandDoctrineCommand, MinnatoInfantryCorpsCentre,Jajiand appointed Chief of Staff; Brig. Gen. LA Araba from Nigerian Army Welfare Limited by Guaranty Abuja to Sector 2 OPLD Damaturu, Yobe State as Ag. Commander; Brig. Gen. VO Ita from DHQ, Abuja to Headquarters 402 Special Forces Brigade, Azare and appointed Commander, while Brig. Gen. JAL Jimoh was moved from Sector 3 Artillery Brigade OPLD Monguno to Headquarters 31 Brigade, Minna, and appointed Commander.

Abuja, Akwa Ibom rated cleanest city, state Udora Orizu in Abuja Clean-Up Nigeria, an environment group, in its 2019 report on Nigerian Environment Performance Index Ratings, revealed that over 168 million of Nigerians are still living in an unclean environment.

The study conducted in partnership with the Clean-Up the World, Australia; International Council for Local Environment Initiative, Canada; Keep America Beautiful, United States; DSZ

Germany, and Suez Foundation in France, also ranked Akwa Ibom State and Abuja as the cleanest state and city respectively for 2019.

The study conducted from January 2018 to December 2019, comprised of 15 members who were split into seven teams comprising two persons per team for each geo-political zone, with five international partners that carried out verification tours around the country to monitor and re-evaluate earlier scores submitted by each study team.

The National Coordinator of the National Technical Study Group (NTSG), Clean- Up Nigeria, Prince Ene Owoh, who unveiled the group’s findings in Abuja, said 33 out of 36 states in Nigeria from the average scores derived from the graphic statistical study are dirty and unclean.

Owoh said the group used performance indicator scores of streets and roads cleanliness, vegetation and drain control, waste management service and public opinion poll to arrive at

its findings.

He said other indicators used for the assessment included social media and knowledge, attitude and practice of hygiene and sanitation of the populace.

Highlights of the study’s observations revealed that funding by states and local government councils are still inadequate and actually amount to nothing when compared to the work at hand, this he said calls for serious review on the part of governments at all levels.

WHO: Over 50Vaccine Trials Ongoing for COVID-19 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said there are more than 50 trials for a vaccine on COVID-19.

The Country Officer for WHO in Nigeria, Fiona Braka, said there is also a multi-country trial for a drug

for the virus.

Braka said while there is no vaccine for the disease yet, WHO is fast-tracking the process of producing one.

She said: “We currently have over 50 vaccine trials that are in place, trying to work round the

clock to fast-track the vaccine development process, and we continue to keep countries informed of that process.

“When it comes to treatment, WHO is leading a multicountry clinical trial. So far, 45 countries have signed up

for that.”

The WHO country director added that what is being adopted is a “solidarity trial” that would “test different drugs in four different arms against the normal standard of care we are currently implementing.”

31 COVID-19 Patients Recover in Ghana Thirty-oneCOVID-19patientsinGhana have been discharged after recovering from the disease.

The country’s Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang, broke the news during an interview with journalists yesterday.

Thecountryhasconfirmed161cases,

ofwhichfivedeathshavebeenrecorded.

Agyemang said the 31 recovered patients would be monitored closely in their respective homes.

This is the highest number of patients who have recovered on the continent so far.

“Wehaveconductedsometestsand

31 persons out of the total active cases have not shown symptoms,” he said.

“I keep on emphasising that the fatality rate in Ghana is very low so Ghanaians should not be scared. The five persons who have already lost their lives had underlying medical conditions.”

Globally, over 830,000 coronavirus caseshavebeenconfirmed,accordingto Worldometer,awebsitewhichprovides real-time updates on the virus situation globally.

At least 176,000 people have recovered while over 41,000 people have died from the disease.

PDP NWC Reconstitutes Ondo Exco as Caretaker Committee Chuks Okocha in Abuja National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday approved the reconstitution of the current PDP Ondo State exco into the state caretaker committee with

effect from April 5, 2020 when its tenure is due to expire.

NWC’s decision is predicated on the party’s inability to conduct the state congress scheduled for March 24, 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 leading to the stay-at-home and social

distancing directives issued by the federal government to curtail the spread of the virus.

According to the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan: “By the approval of the NWC, the state exco is empowered to act as a

state caretaker committee until such a time that it is possible for the conduct of the state congress for the election of state officials, provided that they shall not serve in such capacity for more than three months from April 5, 2020”.

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COVID-19 UPDATE...

COVID-19 UPDATE...

Obasanjo, Ex-African Leaders Seek Emergency Plan to Combat COVID-19 Twelve former African leaders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, have called for an emergency plan to combat the COVID-19 onslaught in Africa at a continental or regional level.

The former leaders made the appeal in a four-paragraph statement, entitled: “Appeal for Preparation for Africa to Confront the Onslaught Of COVID-19.”

In the statement signed by Obasanjo and the 11 other former leaders and made available to journalists yesterday through Obasanjo’s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, they warned that “with porous borders all over Africa, national efforts will not be enough” to combat the pandemic.

They called on the African Union (AU), United Nations (UN), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Bank and G-20 to urgently develop the plan to moderate the social and economic effects of the pandemic on Africa.

The statement read: “In the

almost four months of the outbreak of COVID-19, we have seen the mitigation effect or otherwise by the preparatory and preventive actions made by different nations and international organisations to combat the killer virus. The results have been related to seriousness of preparation and preventive measures taken including the level of healthcare measures and delivery.

“The epidemiological progression in already affected areas has indicated that the worst case is yet to occur in Africa.

Taking into account the weak healthcare bases in Africa, the conurbation, and the communal living of our people particularly in ghettos and poverty-stricken areas of our cities, the outbreak of COVID-19 in these areas of African communities and cities will be a monumental disaster.

Serious measures have to be taken for containment and for addressing any national epidemic.

Bauchi Confirms Third Case, Locks down Bauchi State has recorded the third confirmed case of COVID-19.

The Deputy Governor, Senator Baba Tela, who doubles as the Chairman State Rapid Response Task Force on COVID- 19 disclosed this to journalists in Bauchi, the state capital yesterday, while giving a situation update.

He added that the third case is a 55- year-old man.

According to Tela , the confirmed positive case was one of the contacts of the two previous cases.

He assured that efforts have been intensified to trace all of the contacts of the three positive cases to ensure that they were tested.

He added that samples of 100 people have been taken and tested out of which a substantial number have turned out negative.

The deputy governor further said that essential drugs and other management needs have been procured for case management and treatment.

He appealed to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to give the state all necessary testing machines considering the suspected number of cases discovered in the state so far.

In an effort to control the spread of COVID-19, the Bauchi State

Government has imposed a lockdown throughout the State for a period of 14 days.

The lockdown takes effect from Thursday, April 2 from 6.00p.m.

In a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Mohammed Sabi’u Baba, all the borders would be equally closed.

Security operatives have also been instructed to enforce the lock down order.

The statement reads: “His Excellency, Sen Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed CON, the Executive Governor of Bauchi State appreciates the sacrifice of the public in these agonising times. ”He has however, imposed a lockdown throughout the State for a period of 14 days which takes effect from Thursday, April 2 , 2020 from 6:00pm.”

The statement added ” He has subsequently directed that in order for the public to secure food items, movement is allowed between 10:00am to 4:00pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The ban does not however, affect essential services” The statement also appealed to the public to cooperate with government to reduce the spread of the infection.

Rivers Cautions Banks against Closing Operations Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has warned banks closing their operations in the state amidst the war against the COVID-19 pandemic, to rethink their decisions.

The governor, in a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Paulinus Nsirim, said any bank found closing its operations would find it difficult to reopen in the state.

The statement further clarified that the curfew imposed at Education Bus Stop

to Agip Junction, Ikwerre Road and Obiri Ikwerre Junction to Ozuoba, Rumualogu and Choba was for 24 hours with effect from yesterday.

The governor said: “It has also come to the notice of the state government that some banks are closing down in the state. The curfew is targeted at only some parts of the state.

“Therefore, banks have no excuse to shut down their operations. Any bank that is found to be closed will find it very difficult to reopen for business in the state.”

“We, as concerned African leaders, note the efforts that African governments are making within their limited resources to deal with this global challenge.

We, however, appeal to leaders

and elites at national, regional, and continental level and to international organisations and foundations to draw up a concrete, effective, and continental emergency plan to

combat COVID-19 onslaught at its crescendo in Africa which will be soon. With porous borders all over Africa, national efforts will not be enough but regional and continental.

“We particularly call on AU, UN, WHO, World Bank and G-20 to urgently have a plan that will moderate the social and economic effect of the onslaught of COVID-19 on Africa.”

DEFEATING THE PANDEMIC…

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ekiti State Hospital Management Board, Dr. Williams Afolabi; Ekiti State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Moji Yaya- Kolade; and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Folake Olomojobi; briefing journalists on the state’s COVID-19 index case discharged from the Infectious Disease Control Centre, Ado-Ekiti…yesterday.

‘Getting Upset at Beginning of Isolation is Normal for Patients’ Martins Ifijeh Following complaints by some COVID-19 patients at the Infectious Disease Centre in Yaba that they are not being attended to as expected, the Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi said it was not out of place for patients to get upset at the beginning of their isolation process as it was a new journey for them.

Abayomi, who stated this during the inspection of a 120-bed space isolation centre at the Lagos

University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba yesterday, said isolation wards are not normal wards where patients are allowed to interact with persons who are not infected.

He said: “When COVID-19 patients come into isolation wards, it usually takes one to two days before they get used to the operations at the centre.

“In normal wards, people will come greet you; healthcare providers will come check your blood pressure as often as possible, among others. But in an isolation

ward, every time a doctor or nurse comes in there, he or she wears a N70, 000 outfits, which can only be worn once.

“The healthcare providers will only come into the ward two, three or four times a day.

A patient in that ward might be confused for the first day or two until they get accustomed to the fact they will not see their healthcare provider as often as in normal wards. There is a reason it is called isolation centre. But what is most important is that the patients are given qualitative

care at any given time.”

He said he does not blame the husband of one of the patients who complained in a viral video, adding that it was usually expected within the first few days of commencing treatment at the centre.

He also noted that few days after admission, patients usually get comfortable with the isolation process, adding that every intervention they need are often provided within the period of the isolation.

Obaseki Invokes Quarantine Act, Firms up Response to COVID-19 The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has signed the Quarantine Regulations made pursuant to Section 8 of the Quarantine Act, the Public Health Law and other legislations, as the state firms up its response framework to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the state.

Entitled ‘Infectious Diseases (Emergency Prevention) Regulations 2020’, the regulation gives legal sanctions to the

response actions of the Edo State Government to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The regulation, which was made available to journalists in Benin City, bestows on the governor powers to “direct the restriction of movement within, into, or out of the local area, particularly, the movement of persons, vehicles, aircraft, and watercraft on waterways within the local area save for

transportation or movement of essential supplies such as food, water, pharmaceutical products, medical supplies and medicines, and any other essential supplies as the governor may deem appropriate.”

“It also regulates the movement for the purposes of procuring essential supplies such as food, water, pharmaceutical products and medical supplies, and any other essential supplies as the

Governor may deem necessary; and movement of essential services personnel.”

In relation to events, public gatherings and premises, the regulation empowers the governor to restrict or prohibit the gathering of persons in the state, such as conferences, meetings, festivals, private events, religious services, public visits, and such other events, save where the written approval of the Governor is obtained for such gathering.

SAN Tasks Buhari on Measures to Tackle Pandemic Tobi Soniyi ASenior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Sebastine Hon has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take other critical steps necessary to stop COVID-19 from destroying the country.

In a statement he issued yesterday, Hon said that the presidential speech and the steps so far taken by the federal and the various state governments to arrest the situation “are very far from being satisfactory”.

He said: “I have read President Buhari’s national address on COVID- 19 and have observed other steps taken so far; but as I stated above, they are just a drop in the ocean.

“Aso Rock must immediately rise to the occasion, borrowing from other countries and even crafting our indigenous means of tackling the scourge.”

He urged the president to consider taking the following measures: “Mr. President can act through the Central Bank of Nigeria, as other

countries are doing, to provide some immediate interventionist measures.

FormerCBNGovernor,Muhammadu Sanusi, unilaterally, relying on extant legal frameworks, released the sum of N150 billion in 2013 to manufacturers, at the rate of seven per cent interest, to shore up the manufacturing sector. This can be replicated now, to enable manufacturing, at cheaper rates, of hand sanitisers, facial masks, fumigation chemicals. The various petrochemical companies in the Niger Delta should be compelled to liaise with other manufacturing entities

to achieve this. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the various Chambers of Commerce, captains of industry, can be coopted into this arrangement.

“Secondly, the federal government should, still utilising such large financial war chest from the CBN, immediately give grants to all the States of the Federation and the FCT, Abuja, to enable them fight the plague to a standstill. This gesture should even be extended to all the 774 Local Government Councils of the country.

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COVID-19 UPDATE...

COVID-19 UPDATE...

Lockdown: Govs Want Beverage, Healthcare Companies Exempted Chuks Okocha in Abuja In an attempt to ease the flow of essential commodities during the lockdown, state governors in the country have thrown their weight behind food, beverage, pharmaceutical and healthcare companies towards ensuring their continuous operations and making essential goods and services available to Nigerians throughout the period of the lockdown.

This was a fallout of the concerted efforts by governors to bring succour to the Nigerian people during the lockdown as well as ensure that the remedy does not ultimately turn out to be counter-productive.

According to the Head of Media and Public Affairs of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulrazaque BelloBarkindo, quoting a letter to the manufacturers, which was signed by the Chairman of the NGF and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the governors noted that

“considering the crucial role you play in ensuring the production of essential items such as nutritious food, beverages, medical and pharmaceutical products critical for the sustenance and the wellbeing of individuals and families especially in these times, and following careful and deliberate considerations we are pleased to convey to you our full support to ensure that your operations continue unhindered.”

To guarantee the continued effective movement of essential foods, beverages and medical supplies as well as attendant essential services, the governors further stated: “We note that the whole value chain from farmers to suppliers of raw materials, from manufacturers to suppliers of packaging materials, transporters, distributors, sales teams and retailers should continue with their lawful operations within the confines of the law and to the extent that the current realities permit.”

The governors reasoned in the

letter that lending their support to these key players in the industry whose products are critical to the daily existence of the Nigerian people, they would need some waiver to continue to move their products around the country without let or hindrance.

The letter reads: “In view of the

essential nature of food, beverage and pharmaceuticals, all parastatals and agencies of state governments have been advised as follows: ‘To guarantee the continued effective movement of essential foods, beverages and medical supplies as well as attendant essential services, the whole value

chain from farmers to suppliers of raw materials, from manufacturers to suppliers of packaging materials, transporters, distributors, sales teams and retailers should continue with their lawful operations within the confines of the law and to the extent that the current realities permit.

‘The operations and activities of food, beverages, medical and pharmaceutical product companies and their suppliers of raw and packaging materials, transporters, distributors, sales team and retailers should not be hindered by officials or agents of the state governments.

NDDC Donates N1bn to Nine Niger Delta States The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced the donation of N1.045 billion to the nine states of the Niger Delta region to fight against the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the region.

Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, Acting Managing Director, NDDC, announced this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, by the commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili.

Pondei, who directed immediate shutdown of NDDC operations in the states, said the fund would soon be released to authorities in the states.

“The interventionist agency will make available N775 million to support the nine states under its mandate.

“Also, additional N270 million will be released to fast-track the establishment of isolation centres

in the 27 senatorial districts across the region.

He said the commission was also collaborating with stakeholders in the area of treatment of COVID-19 patients.

“We are exploring avenues to see if we could intervene in providing ventilators and facilitate the procurement of oxygen.

“We are also looking at the drugs that have been used so far in other climes for treatment. NDDC is going a step ahead of what others are doing,” Pondei added.

The managing director said the total shutdown of NDDC operations on March 30, was due to growing concerns over increasing new infections.

According to him, directors, heads as well as heads of units of security, plant operators and other essential workers would provide skeletal services during the shutdown.

Akeredolu Signs Public Health Regulations Order James Sowole in Akure Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, yesterday signed the regulations meant for the good order, safety, security and public health of the state.

These regulations, which came on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, could be cited as the Ondo State Dangerous Infectious Diseases (COVID-19) (Emergency Prevention) Regulations, 2020.

The making and signing of the regulations was announced in a statement that was signed by the State’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Donald Ojogo.

Ojogo said the regulations were made in exercise of the powers conferred on the state governor by the Public Health Law, Cap. 124, Volume 3, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006, and in pursuant to other laws and enabling powers.

He said all acts done prior to the commencement of these regulations to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic are hereby ratified, adding that the purpose of the regulations was to prevent and contain the spread of the pandemic as it seems necessary.

The local areas affected by the regulations, according to the document, include all structures within boundaries of the state offshore on onshore.

The regulations deal with the following, among others: “Power over potentially infectious persons; restriction of movement; powers relating to events, gatherings and premises; power over conduct of trade and commercial activities; closure of public educational and vocational institutions within the local area and power relating to food, drugs, other essential supply chain, hoarding and processing manipulation.

ENFORCING THE LAW...

Policemen checking vehicles coming into Lagos at Berger, along Lagos-Ibadan expressway in Lagos …yesterday

SUNDAY ADIGUN

Ayade Releases N500m, Inaugurates Task Force Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Governor of Cross River State, Professor Ben Ayade, yesterday approved the release of N500 million to the state’s newly inaugurated COVID-19 Response Team as part of the proactive measures against the spread of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic in the state The team, which was inaugurated yesterday by Ayade at the open field of the Governor’s Office, Calabar, was given 20 vehicles to support its operations.

The mandate of the team, according to the governor, is to safeguard the state against the global scourge.

Ayade used the opportunity to appeal to the federal government to give special treatment to the state due to its strategic border location.

He said: “Cross River is an international border state, and with the incident in Cameroon, I call on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Health to treat Cross River in a very peculiar way. We need the obvious and express attention of the federal

government.”

The governor charged the team, which is headed by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Betta Edu, to work assiduously to ensure that all preventive measures against the spread were adhered to.

Ayade said: “You are all aware that there is no unanimity about the history of this global pandemic but Cross River, as a state governed by two Professors, must find ways and provide a leading direction at the subnational level.

“It is therefore, our desire to

ensure that Cross River will continue to maintain zero incidence as far as this pandemic is concerned.”

He specified that the taskforce’s core mandate was to guarantee the full implementation of the lockdown of our borders and ensure that medicines, food supplies and welfare packages are made available to our people.

“We are sensitive to the challenges of locking down a state where people have barely earned their last salary, therefore, the social sensitivity of our lockdown must reflect in the subsequent actions we take,” the governor said.

Oyetola Constitutes 21-man Relief Committee The Osun State Governor, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has set up a 21-man Food and Relief Committee, which is made up of eminent Nigerians, to cushion the effect of restriction placed on human and vehicular movements across the state as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the State.

The committee members are Mr. Tunde Badmus, Mr. Adebayo

Jimoh, Pastor EnochAdeboye, Pastor Matthew Asimolowo, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja I, General Alani Akinrinade (Rtd), Mr. Tunde Ponle, Rt. Hon. Patricia Etteh, Dr.Akin Ogunbiyi, Sir Demola Aladekomo, Rt. Hon. Lasun Yusuff, Dr. Wale Babalakin and Dr. Segun Aina.

Others members are Mr. Yussuf Alli, (SAN), Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija,

Mr. AbdulKabir Aliyu, Dr. Deji Adeleke, Mr. Iyiola Omisore and three former governors of the state, Chief Bisi Akande, Mr. Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Ogbeni RaufAregbesola.

Astatement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Wole Oyebamiji, said the committee would be chaired by Badmus while Mr. Adebayo Jimoh would serve as the secretary.

Oyebamiji said as efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 continue with intense devotion, it had become necessary for the state government to set up Relief and Humanitarian Banks across the state, adding that “the state appreciates its supportive friends, donors and partners, who have contributed to the project, including those who have pleaded to remain anonymous.”

Mark Wants Total Battle against COVID-19 Chuks Okocha in Abuja A former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, has urged Nigerians to join forces with state and federal governments in the battle against the dreaded disease code named COVID-19.

Mark said the unabated spread of the virus reinforced the urgent need for all citizens to comply with the stay-at-home order and the observation of personal hygiene, regular washing of hands and the application of hand sanitiser to curtail the

spread.

A statement signed by the Media Adviser to Senator David Mark, Mr. Paul Mumeh, said the lockdown in some parts of the country was one of the measures needed to contain the scourge.

Mark, therefore, urged Nigerians to accept the discomfort and cooperate with authorities in order to curtail and ultimately terminate the virus.

The former Senate President also urged the federal government to work out modalities toward distributing

palliatives to Nigerians in order to ameliorate the pains of the lockdown like it is done in other countries affected by the pandemic.

He, however, enjoined authorities especially the law enforcement agencies, to apply the internationally accepted standards of enforcement by respecting the human rights procedures, the rule of law and operating with human face.

He said: “It is necessary to observe all safety measures on both sides so that we would

not unwittingly create more problems. After all, the whole essence is the safety of all.”

He also reminded those in authority that the primary objective of government is the welfare and security of the citizens, which he described as the sacred covenant government had with the people.

Mark noted that the scourge would be surmountable if Nigerians would comply with the preventive measures without minding their discomfort.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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PDP Wants Eminent Nigerians to Manage COVID-19 Palliatives Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute an Eminent Nigerians Group (ENG) to ensure that donations from the private sector and palliatives from the federal government reached the desired persons in the overall effort to mitigate the health and economic impact of COVID-19 in the country.

The party also called on the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to hands off the management of the palliatives in order to eliminate corruption as well as political and bureaucratic bottlenecks that would impede the effective administration of the social panaceas to vulnerable Nigerians.

The PDP in a statement that was issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, also asked the federal government to halt plans by

the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to increase electricity tariff because Nigerians are going through excruciating pains.

The party also expressed concern that the federal government has so far failed to reach vulnerable Nigerians in the informal sector whose sources of daily incomes have been crippled by the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

These vulnerable Nigerians, according to the PDP, included cab driver, “keke” and “okada” operators, artisans, labourers, market women, traders, food sellers, fruit vendors, farmers and dealers of perishable goods, motor mechanics, among others, whose survival directly depends on daily income in the markets, shops and streets.

The PDP said: “Our party is deeply worried about the cries of hungry children whose parents can no longer go out to provide for their families at this critical

Makinde Didn’t Contract Virus at Ibadan PDP Rally, Says Media Aide Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan The Oyo State Government has disputed the insinuations in some quarters that the State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, who on Monday tested positive to Covid-19, contracted the disease at a zonal rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was recently held in Ibadan, the state capital.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, said that “the issue of the governor being said to have contacted the Covid-19 at the March 18 PDP Southwest Zonal Unification Rally doesn’t come to play, because there was no known incident of the virus in Oyo State at that time. Also, the governor didn’t have any symptom(s) as of that time.

“At the time that the rally was held, there was no known case of the Covid-19 and after the rally, Governor Makinde actually put out a message to indicate that if he had got a hint of the existence

of the virus in the state an hour to the rally, he would have cancelled the event. He took responsibility for holding the rally.

“So, we can’t afford to politicise the issue of Covid-19. It is beyond politics.”

Adisa noted that the only plausible case of exposure that Makinde had to COVID-19 was when he attended the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on March 19, 2020, a day after the Ibadan rally, He added that all the governors who attended that meeting were advised to self-isolate and undergo testing after one of the attendees tested positive to the virus.

“The Nigerian Governors’ Forum had a meeting on March 18 and Governor Makinde joined his colleagues on March 19 for the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting. He had contacts with people that have now tested positive to the virus. So, we should not politicise an issue like this,” he said.

Ebonyi Discharges Eight Suspected Cases Benjamin Nworie in Abakliki Eight persons suspected to be COVID-19 patients have tested negative and discharged in Ebonyi State.

In a special broadcast made by the Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr. David Umahi, said the state’s COVID-19 Centre for testing of cases is ready.

Umahi also said that the federal government assisted the state government to configure reagents to fit into the screening machines owned by the state government.

He explained that he has refused to go into self-isolation because he does not want to abandon his people at this critical moment, stressing that he would continue to be visible and at the forefront in the fight against the pandemic.

The governor announced that observation centres have

been established in six locations across the state on equality of zones, adding that with the three treatment/isolation centres being put in place and the check points at the various borders of the state, the state is battle ready to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to Ebonyi State.

He further stated that the directive on closure of all borders at the entry and exit points of the state as well as the ban on gatherings of religious worshipers, movement of vehicles and persons in and out of the state, drinking joints, burials, wedding ceremonies and other social events are still in force. The only exceptions were those on essential services.

He also charged political office holders at all levels as well as security agencies to ensure full enforcement of the directives of government on the COVID-19 pandemic.

time.”

It, therefore, warned that the situation at hand required urgent involvement of all Nigerians, irrespective of their political, ethnic or religious persuasion.

“It is a time we must bring

in eminent Nigerians from the private sector to assist in developing and implementing operable target-specific strategies to reach the vulnerable Nigerians across all informal sectors of our economy,” the party said.

It also called for special interventions for farmers as well as Nigerians involved in the production, distribution and marketing of perishable consumer items.

“We also urge for strategic

intervention for distressed Nigerians such as cab drivers, ‘keke’ operators, traders and other small-scale entrepreneurs, who took bank loans for their enterprises, but have been grounded by COVID-19 pandemic,” it said. .

OBEYING THE LAW…

Army officers washing their hands at the 82 Division Headquarters along Abakaliki road , Enugu...yesterday

ASUU Members Offer to Serve asVolunteers to Tackle Pandemic Onyebuchi Ezigbo inAbujaand Kemi OlaitaninIbadan The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said its members nationwide are willing to work with medical and paramedical workers as volunteers in carrying out public enlightenment and professional intervention initiatives against the COVID-19 spread in Nigeria.

The Union, which recently embarked on an indefinite industrial action over the disagreement with the federal government on the implementation of the Integrated

Personnel and Payroll System (IPPIS) and funding of universities, said its members are ready to wave aside the strike to join hands in stemming the tide of the dreaded coronavirus in Nigeria.

ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi, who stated this during a presentation of COVID-19 intervention materials yesterday at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, said if there had been qualitative and accessible university education, the universities in the country would have acted as “a storehouse of knowledge in scientists, doctors, nurses, laboratory

technologists and other medical and paramedical personnel to cope with a pandemic of the magnitude of the COVID-19.”

Ogunyemi, who was represented by the Zonal Coordinator, Ibadan Zone, Prof. Ade Adejumo, while addressing journalists at the University of Ibadan, said the Union has made her members available to help in checking the menace of COVID-19.

He said the decision of ASUU to support government’s efforts towards stemming the tide of the coronavirus was taken at its recent emergency meeting held at

the University of Abuja.

“At that meeting, NEC resolved that the Union should participate actively in the ongoing efforts to prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus. At the press conference that followed on March 23, 2020, we had declared: ‘To demonstrate our concerns for the welfare and well-being of the Nigerian people, ASUU members nationwide shall be willing to work with medical and paramedical workers as volunteers in their public enlightenment and professional intervention initiatives,” he stated.

Commotion at Kaduna Prison over COVID-19 Scare John Shiklam in Kaduna There was commotion at the Kaduna prisons yesterday following rumours that an awaiting trial inmate brought to the correctional facility was infected with COVID -19 diseases.

The inmates were alleged to have protested the presence of the inmate in their midst and demanded to be released in order to avoid being infected.

The inmate, according to sources, had allegedly infected two other inmates.

“There was heavy security at

the Independence Way, where the prison is located as vehicles of the Kaduna State security outfit, Operation Yaki, barricaded the area,” a source said.

Reacting to the rumour, the Controller of the Kaduna State Command of the Correctional Centre, Mr. Sanusi Muazu Danmusa, said “there is no suspected case of COVID-19 in the centre. We only had a mere misunderstanding and we have resolved it. Our environment is now peaceful and calm.

“There is no suspected case of COVID-19 in Kaduna Convict

Prison, whoever is carrying such, is carrying a mere rumour. To the best of my knowledge and as far as I know, there is no case of COVID -19 here.

“Nobody enters this place, except you are a staff and even the staff, we wash and sanitise our hands before we enter and the people who work here do not go out until they close,” he said, adding that there was no casualty in the fracas that ensued.

Meanwhile, the Spokesperson of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Mr. Ibrahim Musa, has expressed concern

about the safety of its leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaki, who is being detained at the Kaduna prison.

The statement called on all relevant authorities to ensure that the security and safety of Zakzaki and his wife.

“Credible reports emanating from the Kaduna Correctional Center, where the government is wrongly detaining Zakzaky and his wife has reached the IMN of a turmoil leading to the opening of fire and blocking of all access roads to the Center.

Yobe Gov, Other Office Holders Donate Half Salaries Michael Olugbode inDamaturu Yobe State Governor, Mr. Mai-Mala Buni, and his deputy, Hon. IdiBarde Gubana and other members of the State Executive Council and all top appointees have donated half of their salaries toward the battle against COVID-19.

A statement on Monday by the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Mr. Abdullahi Bego, said the contribution was towards building resources for the ongoing fight to ward off COVID-19.

Bego, who is also the State’s

COVID-19 Resource Mobilization Sub-Committee Secretary, said that the state governor and the rest of his team have continued to adopt various measures to ensure that the disease would not break out in the state.

He said: “Following the example of the governor, members of the State Executive Council, the Secretary to the State Government, Head of Service and the Chief of Staff to the Governor are also donating 50 percent of their basic salaries to the Fund.

“The Yobe COVID-19 Sub-Committee on Resource Mobilization under the leadership

of the Hon. Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr. Abubakar Garba Iliya, also wishes to announce that all permanent secretaries, chief executive of boards and parastatals, permanent members of commissions, including the Local Government Service Commission, House of Assembly Service Commission, Judicial Service Commission, Teaching Service Board, Science and Technical Schools Board, StateIndependentElectoralCommission, Fiscal Responsibility Board,Arabic and Islamic Education Board, Bureau For Public Procurement, Civil Service

Commission, and the Pilgrims Welfare Commission, as well as the Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs) who are currently in charge of the 17 local government councils will also donate 50 percent of their basic salaries to the effort to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak in the state.”

He also said that the Speaker of the State Assembly, Hon. Ahmed Lawan Mirwa; his deputy, Hon. Mohammed Auwal Isa and 22 other members of the House of Assembly are also putting their shoulders behind the effort by donating 50 percent of their basic salaries.

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍŻËœ 2020

COMMENT

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

FIGHTING FAKE NEWS ABOUT COVID -19 Ehiwe Dominic lists digital means of checking misinformation

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s our country and others currently battle to contain the spread of COVID -19, individuals with nefarious motives are taking advantage of the situation to sow seeds of fear, create divisiveness and influence public opinion for different reasons. We are witnessing a lot of mis- and disinformation circulating online around the country about the pandemic.

Fortunately, there exist simple and effective digital techniques by which we can verify the information being spread and received via the different social networking platforms.

It is our individual and collective responsibility to VERIFY before spreading. This way we can curb the spread of rumors and support the efforts of those at the frontline working to keep us all safe.

The key to fighting fake news or the spread of any misinformation involves a tested and proven process of verification. This involves carrying out the following steps: One, confirm originality. Confirm if you are looking at the original video, audio or image of what the information is about. It is quite easy to manipulate videos, audios or photoshop anything digitally. There exist free tools and platforms by which you can verify if any image, video or audio has ever been posted anywhere online. If there exist a similar record or snapshot of the image or video or audio, the similar versions will be retrieved. For this, you can utilize Reverse Image Search platforms available from Google and similar applications. You can use Tineye Reverse Image Search which is available here https://tineye.com/ In confirming originality, it is interesting to note that there are mobile application versions of these resources. These verification checks can be done anytime, anywhere on our smartphones and are easy to perform.

Two, confirm the source. Ask yourself if the sender of the video, audio or image is the creator of the information.

Most often, people who share messages on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp are not the creators.

Three, confirm the location using google. Check out details

THE KEY TO FIGHTING FAKE NEWS OR THE SPREAD OF ANY MISINFORMATION INVOLVES A TESTED AND PROVEN PROCESS OF VERIFICATION

about the geographic location the information is purported to have originated from. For example, where the video or image says “Kofo Abayomi Street in Victoria Island, Lagos�, there are different free and widely utilized tools and platforms to confirm if this is true. You can check and localize Tweets originating from Victoria Island, Lagos, Instagram posts from the location, etc. You can utilize free and easy to use google platforms such as Google Street View, Maps, etc., for real time information about the reported location.

Four, confirm the date and other metadata info.

Also important is to ask and verify the date the reported information took place. Digital artifacts like videos, audios, pictures, etc., have metadata information that can assist us validate date a picture was taken, location information for a video file, etc. The information is key for determining if a reported incidence took place same day, one day, two days, weeks, months or years ago. Mischief makers are known to post and re-post old images and videos as though they are recent happenings.

Fortunately, there are digital technologies freely available which makes it easy to validate metadata information about videos or audios that have been posted online. For YouTube videos, you can make use of the YOUTUBE data viewer provided by Amnesty International and it can be found here https://citizenevidence.amnestyusa.org/. Similar resources exist for other video and audio sharing platforms.

Five, confirm the motivation for the spread of the information. Lastly, ask yourself what likely is the motivation for the creation and distribution of the content you have been sent. Could it be to create awareness, sensitize people, sow discord and panic, influence public opinion for negative reasons, etc.? People are motivated by different reasons and these could be selfish or nefarious in nature. Resist the urge to help fake news and misinformation spread about the COVID – 19 or any other subject of public interest. Iit is our collective responsibility.

Dr. Dominic is a Digital Forensic / OSINT Consultant

WHAT THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS DID NOT ADDRESS Adewale Kupoluyi argues that the package to cushion the impact of Covid-19 is not comprehensive enough

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here have been mixed reactions on the disposition of President Muhammadu Buhari in addressing the nation on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While some people feel that it may not be necessary for him to do so, not a few people felt this was crucial because of the severity of the pandemic, the festering rumour that Mr. President was ill and that he had been flown out of the country, glaring responses of others heads of state, to douse tension and the import of talking to the citizens at this low moment. Strategic communication is an essential part of public administration.

At last, the president’s short address touched on the measures that the federal government had put in place on planning prevention, containment, and curative plans before the disease hit the nation, assuring that efforts were ongoing to link up with institutions towards finding a solution that would be certified by international and local medical authorities. He urged Nigerians to support the Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Presidential Task Force.

President Buhari stated that the government had introduced healthcare measures, border security, fiscal and monetary policy responses with an initial intervention of N15 billion, recruited hundreds of ad-hoc staff to man call centres, support tracing and testing efforts in addition to the training of selected medical representatives from armed forces, paramilitary, security and intelligence personnel.

Stressing the need for consistency in policy guidelines between federal and state agencies, the president, who gave the casualty figures, disclosed that inter-state and intercity movements were being restricted to prevent further spread. In this regard, he

announced the cessation of all movements in Lagos State, Federal Capital Territory and Ogun State for an initial period of 14 days effective from 11 pm on March 30. According to him, all seaports in Lagos would remain operational following previous guidelines and that the government would develop a better strategy on how to sustain the school feeding programme without compromising social distancing policies.

There is also the granting of three-month repayment moratorium for all borrowers in the TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni facilities with immediate effect alongside all the federal government-funded loans issued by the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, and the Nigeria Export-Import Bank, among others while for the most vulnerable in the society, the conditional cash transfers for the next two months has been approved for immediate payment while internally-displaced persons would receive two months of food rations.

Furthermore, federal government’s stadia, pilgrim camps, and other facilities are to be converted to isolation centers and makeshift hospitals. The president appreciated the contributions of individuals, the private sector and development partners, assuring that all contributions and donations would be coordinated and centralised to ensure judicious spending. He promised that relevant government ministries, departments, and agencies were working hard to bring the deadly virus under control, as the president further commended public health workforce, health care workers, port health authorities and other essential staff for their selfless service to the nation.

Analysis of the provisions announced by the president bordered on restricting people’s movement to encourage social distancing without adequately addressing germane factors that could make the direc-

tives effective. It is acknowledged that the president cannot attend to peoples’ concerns in an address of about 20 minutes. To begin with, no specific intervention was made to ensure a regular supply of electricity. As argued in my earlier articles, there is no way that people can be made to stay indoors as long as the public power supply remains epileptic. How many people can afford to buy petrol or diesel to run generators for a long time that cannot be ascertained?

Presidential order that would have largely ensured a constant supply of electricity should have been given.

Another important area left out is the salary of public servants. The directive should have been given for an advance payment of two months’ salary of workers.

This would have enabled them to plan. As it is now, many public servants are likely to be financially incapacitated. Private sector employees should have equally been encouraged to pay their employees by rewarding them in turn with generous tax reliefs and other incentives. Already, prices of food, consumables and other household items have been jacked-up.

Pensioners seem to have been left out in the scheme of things. As arrangements were made for internally-displaced persons, old persons and senior citizens should have been captured since the essence of the any meaningful intervention package is to provide social security for eligible persons including the poor and needy. Old people are vulnerable to infections because of their weak immunity.

No doubt, many factories, companies, and production firms and service-oriented organisations are to remain shut down. The window offered to loan beneficiaries listed in the presidential address is meager when compared to the several affected companies.

Special loan packages should be extended

to them repayable over a reasonable period.

Surprisingly, no direct intervention was extended to the many reputable, indigenous and impactful non-governmental organisations complementing government’s efforts in tandem with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. There is a lot of work that would be done in the next few weeks.

NGOs should be carried along in salvaging the nation from this scourge.

Nigeria can learn from other democracies. Just before the presidential address, I received an alert update from the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau on the various intervention programmes unfolded for his citizens. These include support for individuals and families; increasing child benefit; special goods and services tax credit payment; giving of extra-time to file income tax returns; mortgage support; intervention for people facing unemployment, and people who are unable to work; women’s shelters and sexual assault centre; intervention for students and recent graduates, support in providing small business with wage subsidies; and access to credit, among others. We can borrow some of these lofty interventions from Canada or other countries.

Since President Buhari has assured that the initiatives would be reviewed from time to time, it is not too late for some of the points raised to be looked into in the best interest of the people and the state. More importantly, the government should be sincere with the figures being churned out to the public, law enforcement agents should do their work with human face while relief items should not be diverted. On a final note, more generous donors should come out and alleviate the plight of the people healthwise, materially, and financially.

Kupoluyi wrote from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020

EDITORIAL VIOLENT COMMUNAL LAND DISPUTES Frequent clashes impact negatively on governance and the economy

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o fewer than 12 persons were recently killed and scores of others injured following a communal clash between Ebom and Usumutong communities in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State. At about the same time, the border communities between Benue and Ebonyi States were engaged in renewed attacks which pitched the Agila against Ngbo people over disputed lands. In several other theatres across the country, communities are rising against one another in supremacy battles over land that is not put into any productive use. According to the latest figures from the Global Centre for Responsibility to protect, over 3,600 people have been killed in Nigeria as a result of intercommunal clashes since January 2016.

While many of these clashes are preventable, the National Boundary Commission (NBC) that should help resolve them by wading in with facts and figures has been castrated due to lack of fund. The commission’s acting Director-General, Mr Adamu Adaji, told a National Assembly committee THE EASE OF ACCESS last year that it “has TO WEAPONS HAS six zonal offices across MADE INDIVIDUALS AND the country without COMMUNITIES MORE a single operational vehicle in the zones.

FORTIFIED AND HENCE There are lingering LESS AMENABLE TO boundary crises, but ENTREATIES TO MAKE we find it difficult to PEACE intervene in some due to lack of funds.”

Sadly, frequent violent clashes across the nation are increasingly having destabilising impact on governance, the economy and the society at large. With thousands of houses, schools and farmlands destroyed and hundreds of thousands displaced as a result of these incessant eruptions, the losses to the economy cannot be easily quantified. Aside the people that have been killed and property that had been razed, several families are today dislocated

with countless people physically and psychologically maimed for life. The future ambitions of many Nigerians, particularly children, have been cut short or disrupted.

More worrying is that many communal conflicts across the nation also highlight the prevalence of weapons in the hands of non-state actors. That Nigeria is awash with illegal small arms and light weapons (SAWLs) is no longer news. The ease of access to these weapons has made individuals and communities more fortified and hence less amenable to entreaties to make peace. Many communities are self-arming to protect themselves, to go on the offensive or for reprisal attacks.

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

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

his development does not bode well especially at this critical time when the nation is experiencing serious security challenges. It was such easy access to SALWs by some unscrupulous elements that resulted in total breakdown of law and order in some of the failed states in Africa of which Somalia is a prime example. Such proliferation equally led to difficulties in conflict resolution as was the case in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the recent past.

This is why we enjoin all the relevant authorities to recognise the danger posed by these communal clashes and act very quickly to tackle the menace before it is too late. There is also the urgent need to develop a framework that will enable the country to effectively respond to any crisis and safeguard lives, property and ensure stability and growth in the economy. Just last week, residents of Ologbo in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government in Edo State called on the House of Assembly to wade into the crisis threatening to destroy their community.

For now, the inability of the government to maintain law and order in many localities is too obvious. That has to change if we must restore peace to our country.

Besides, and even more fundamental, there is need for a holistic approach that not only addresses the immediate challenge but one that deals with some of the root causes of this violence over land disputes in our country – the issue of growing unemployment that has created many idle hands.

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THE POLITICS OF 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

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s Nigeria braces for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, politicians are still doing their thing - playing politics. It is a global practice, no harm. The Adams Oshiomhole’s two weeks bitter power struggle in the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a pointer to the fact that the political actors have begun scheming how to grab presidential power. So, we cannot shy away from discussing the politics of the 2023 presidency. The battle will be fierce - the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be on the offensive; while the party in power, the APC will be on the defensive.

Ordinary Nigerians will be able to put both parties on a scale and score them. PDP had spent 16 years in power while the APC would have spent eight. Both have tasted power. Who is bringing something new and interesting?

The issues of security, economy and the fight against corruption will be on the front burner in assessing both parties.

Has anything changed? Are things different from what they used to be? What ought to be? These questions will be very paramount to many Nigerians and the answers will be key to deciding who they will vote for.

In addressing these concerns, the APC may struggle and may be on the defensive, giving the PDP the edge to go on the offensive. What may help the APC is the politics of the vice president’s slot

Based on current permutations, the APC will likely zone its presidential ticket to the southwest- with frontrunners including Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Governor Kayode Fayemi. The PDP, on the other hand, seems to be spinning on a spot- Atiku is currently the only person who appears willing and ready; though, as times moves on, the field will be crowded.

For instance, if the APC picks Tinubu and PDP picks Atiku again, it will be an interesting contest. Each of them has well-established political structures that can easily scare an opponent and each can pay his own political bills. Both are veterans of Nigerian politics and have decades of political relevance and strong public support. Notwithstanding the candidate each party fields, the joker of the 2023 elections is the choice of running mates. Any party that gets this wrong will suffer a devastating loss.

For APC, picking its vice-presidential candidate from the north will give the party an edge. Some people in the northwest; especially governors in their second terms would be interested in the position; however, the northwest has produced two presidents and one vice president from 2007 to date. Besides, the ordinary man in the northwest may not expect the presidential or vice-presidential ticket to be zoned to the region, and most of the governors are in their 60s.

Nigerians will expect to have a young VP in his or her 40s.

In a modern democracy, the vice president’s position is tooled to present another face of the government. If the president is old, a young vice president is picked, acting as a balance in the government.

It is rarely likely both APC and PDP will produce a young person as a president. With Nigerians likely to use same scale to gauge both APC and PDP- performance in security, economy, and the fight against corruption, APC’s weapon will be to present a young person from the north as its vice-presidential candidate. In 2015, the north-central gave APC nearly 15% of the 15,424,921 votes; while the northeast gave the party 18.4% of the votes. In 2019 the north-central produced 15.2% of APC’s 15,191,847 votes, while the northeast muscled 21.3%. Democracy is about numbers and at the same time, about simple logic. The APC may not just ignore the northwest’s 46% and 61% votes contribution to its victories in 2015 and 2019 but apply logic by giving the vice president’s slot to the northwest’s cousins- the northeast. The region has also some young men in their 40s playing vital role in the polity which is also an added advantage. Nigerians already know the likely presidential candidates in 2023, the game-changer will be the vice-presidential candidates. The region they come from, age and their personalities will be key to winning the election.

Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Adamawa State

WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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24 HOURS...

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Lockdown Grounds Activities in Lagos, Ogun, FCT Sanwo-Olu warns against breach of restriction order Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja, and Segun James, Rebecca Ejifoma in Lagos The lockdown on Lagos, and Ogun states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday grounded activities in the the affected areas.

THISDAY gathered that right from the border of Lagos and Ogun states at Iju-Ishaga, some policemen and LASTMA officials were around asking the few motorists on the roda to identify themselves and their destination.

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a short statement issued yesterday warned residents against violating the sit-at-home order.

At Agege, there was complete lockdown as no movements were noticed.

The same situation took place in Ikeja where the heavy presence of security agents deterred movement in that direction.

At Ovba and Abule-Egba, movements in the inner streets were noticed but because of the police stations located within the vicinity, movements on the highway were minimal.

But in the backstreets of Obawole, Olowosokedile OjoduBerger, it was free movements even as some beer parlours took the opportunity the make brisk business.

The main highway between Ojodu-Berger and the old tollgate at Ojota were no-go areas due to heavy security presence.

The same situation applied to Alausa area where the secretariat of the state government is located.

In Awolowo Market in Mushin, thousands of shoppers mingled as the buy everything they could.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu has also stated that some major markets in the state were complying with the lockdown issued by the federal government.

Some of the places visited, according to the CP during a briefing, included: Maryland, Ojota, Ketu, Mile 12, Owode Onirin, Majidun, Ogolonto, Agric, Ikorodu and Ojodu – Berger, Magodo.

In all there was total compliance.

The CP, however, added that some contingents of police and army officers were on the

enforcement of the directive on shutting down Lagos, adding that there was also a team of RRS officer dispatched to different parts of the metropolis.

In their visit to several places, a Deputy Commissioner of Police,

Olatunji Disu enlightened some youths at Ikosi Road and Majidun, who barricaded the roads and played football.

The DCP advised the youths to observe social distancing, imbibe the culture of regular

hand washing in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.

He further urged them to return to their houses, emphasising that the essence of the sit-at-home order is to minimise social interactions.

As the 14-day stay-at-home

order imposed by the federal government on the FCT commenced yesterday, activities were grounded to a halt.

Parts of Asokoro, Nyanya, Wuse 2, Jabi and Central Business District were virtually deserted.

TOTAL LOCKDOWN…

Iyana Ipaja roundabout, Lagos- Abeokuta Expressway in Alimoso Local Government Area of Lagos State, deserted as a result of stay-at-

home order by the federal government…yesterday KOLA OLASUPO WHO, EU to Build Healthcare Services for 21 COVID-19 Scare in C’River over Isolation of 28 Communities in Borno Michael OlugbodeinMaiduguri The World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Union (EU) have begun the process of bringing quality healthcare closer to people of troubled Borno State.

With funding support from the EU, WHO is rehabilitating and reconstructing nine health facilities in eight local government areas of the state, a recent publication by the apex global health body said.

The publication said: “The facilities will provide healthcare services for over 600,000 people in 21 communities. The health facilities are General hospitals in Biu, Mafa and Monguno as well as Family Support Programme (FSP) clinics in Konduga, Gwoza, Bama and Kukawa LGAs during a 30-month implementation period.”

The publication claimed further that: “Following the 11-year conflict in the North-east Nigeria, only 30 percent of health facilities in Borno State are fully functioning

according to the WHO health resources availability monitoring system (HeRAMS); 45 percent in Adamawa State and 69 percent in Yobe State. The healthcare resources have been devastated with more than 1.7 million vulnerable women of reproductive age requiring reproductive health care and support. Over 50, 000 live births face complications with a high risk of maternal mortality and morbidity.”

But with funding support from the EU, WHO is now rehabilitating and reconstructing nine health facilities in eight local government area of Borno State. The facilities will provide healthcare services for over 600,000 people in 21 communities.

WHO has completed the reconstruction of Biu FSP Primary Healthcare Clinic, Bama and Konduga FSP Clinics as well as Mafa General Hospital, including the theatre, the Pediatrics ward, the postnatal ward, the administrative block and three units of staff quarters.

Kwara Closes Borders, Fumigates Markets Hammed ShittuinIlorin Kwara State Government has announced the immediate closure of its local and external borders amid ramped up efforts to block entries of vehicles from outside and prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 in the state.

The government however said the border closure excludes all categories of movement sanctioned in the broadcast of President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that the partial shutdowns within the state remain in force until further notice.

“The government hereby announces the shutting down of all our land borders to ban movement to the state from elsewhere. The only exemptions to this rule are those stated in the address of Mr. President. Specifically, these

are vehicles carrying agricultural produce, medical equipment, and officials on essential duties related to COVID-19 campaign,” the state Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19, Mr. Kayode Alabi told reporters in Ilorin yesterday.

“All previous restrictions and exemptions locally remain in force. A specific warning here goes to commercial motorcycles (Okada) who have been violating the shutdown orders. Any violators caught would face the full consequences of the law.”

Alabi also said the government will begin fumigation of markets and other specificlocationsafterwhich specific markets would be designated for people to purchase essentials like food and medicines.

Oil Workers in Tinapa

Govt gives reasons for stopping 35 Americans’ flight Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Cross River State capital, Calabar, has been enveloped by COVID-19 scare following reports that 28 persons suspected to be workers of an oil exploration company who entered the town last Saturday are being lodged in a form of isolation at the Tinapa Lakeside Hotel.

The scare may have been heightened due to the confirmation of a COVID-19 suspected patient who tested positive in Port-

Harcourt last week, and the suspicion that the 35 Americans whose flight was denied from landing in Calabar last Monday, were billed to converge with the oil workers that are in Tinapa.

Sources close to Tinapa and the hotel, who pleaded not to be quoted, said the 28 oil workers are being lodged in a manner that can be described as ‘Self-quarantine’ as they asked the management of the hotel not to accommodate any other guest while they are being lodged there.

The sources also said the oil workers demanded that none of the workers should leave the hotel while they are lodged there, and that they would pay for all services and inconveniences.

The development has created serious anxiety because of the report of a positive case of COVID-19 in Port-Harcourt, and the fact that the US where 35 others were to join them from currently holds the record of the country with the highest rate of the virus infections.

Also, their demand to stay

isolated or ‘quarantined’ with the workers of the hotel through out their stay, even without the knowledge of the state government about their presence in the state, has added to the scare.

The fear in the town is that they have not undergone any form of test since they arrived Calabar last Saturday, more so as they had entered the town after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Port-Harcourt, River State.

Eleganza Supports Fight against COVID-19 with 50, 000 Essential Items Eleganza Industrial City Limited has supported the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria with 50,000 essential items.

In a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, the Chairman, Chief Rasaki Akanni Okoya said

the gesture was to ensure that most vulnerable Nigerians get the resources needed to halt the pandemic in the country.

He said: “In this very difficult time of uncertainty, we must all do what we can to ensure the

most vulnerable in society are able to get the resources they need.

“I am pleased to announce that we will be making a donation of 50,000 essential items to support medical services. These items are manufactured by our company,”

he added.

Breaking down the items, he said these include 500 pieces of diamond armless chairs, 28,800 pieces of Eleganza care soap, 1152 medicated and antiseptic item, among others.

Igbo Community in Lagos Seeks Palliative Measures As government intensifies the stay- at- home measures to further curtail the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 virus on rampage, the leadership of Igbo Speaking Community in Lagos, a social cultural organisation, has called on the government to expedite action in providing some supports for poor families

to avoid starvation and possible disobedience.

The group, which prides itself as the most patriotic social cultural group in Lagos, thanked the President for his address to the country, stressing that such is very crucial to the faith and spirit of the Nigerian populace in this trouble times.

It added that a sick nation needs to maintain a high morale to help it fight through its present challenges.

The president general of the group, Chief Sunday Udeh, explained that although the President’s address was a happy development, the speech however said nothing about supporting poor families that have been staying at

home for weeks following the partial shutdown in the state.

He argued that, while the trending COVID-19 remains a huge threat to nations of the world, hunger is equally as deadly, hence government must be very quick to extend supports to families before a new killer emerge from the homes.

Abuja Estate’s Residents Donate Medical Supplies Prince and Princess Estate, Duboyi, Abuja yesterday received medical supplies from Mr. Tony Afechukwu, Dr. Eric Nwanze, Dr. Charles Agadu and other kind- hearted residents as part of efforts to curb the spread of

coronavirus in Nigeria.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Handwash equipment, Sanitizer closets among other items made accessible for the residents at the two main entrance gates, the

Chairman of the Estate Residents Association, Mr. Victor Adoga, commended the philanthropic gestures of members of the Estate and the COVID-19 Response team, especially at this crisis time.

Adoga said the medical supplies, donated to the estate

by Ifechukwu to prevent the spread of COVID-19, would be located at the two entrance gates of the estate with effect from yesterday.

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

UK, France Record 880 COVID-19 Deaths in 24 Hours Britain and France, on Tuesday, reported a total of 880 deaths in less than 24 hours.

381 persons died in the UK while 499 persons died in France.

But experts warned not to read too much in the figures, citing indications that stringent measures put in place last week to cut close-contact transmission of COVID-19 were working.

“As of 5 pm (1600 GMT) on 30 March, of those hospitalised in the UK, 1,789 have sadly died,” the health ministry said on its

Twitter page – up from 1,408 on Monday.

Some 25,150 people have now tested positive for the virus in Britain, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a daily increase of 3,009.

Also, there are 22,757 people hospitalised in France with COVID-19, with 5,565 of them in intensive care while a total 3,523 person have died so far, health official Jerome Salomon told reporters in his daily update.

The French death toll includes

Six African Countries Yet to Record Any Case of COVID-19 Six of Africa’s 54 nations are among the last in the world yet to report cases of the new coronavirus.

The global pandemic has been confirmed in almost every country, but for a handful of far-flung tiny island states, war-torn Yemen and isolated North Korea.

In Africa, authorities claim they are spared by god, or simply saved by low air traffic to their countries, however, some fear it is lack of testing that is hiding the true impact.

South Sudan The East African nation is barely emerging from six years of civil war and with high levels of hunger, illness and little infrastructure, observers fear the virus could wreak havoc.

Doctor Angok Gordon Kuol, one of those charged with overseeing the fight against the virus, said the country had only carried out 12 tests, none of which were positive.

He said the reason the virus has yet to reach South Sudan could be explained by the low volume of air traffic and travel to the country.

“Very few airlines come to South Sudan and most of the countries affected today they are affected by… people coming from abroad.”

He said the main concern was foreigners working for the large NGO and humanitarian community, or people crossing land borders from neighbouring countries.South Sudan has shut schools, banned gatherings such as weddings, funerals and sporting events and blocked flights from worst-affected countries. Non-essential businesses have been shuttered and movement restricted.

The country can currently test around 500 people and has one isolation centre with 24 beds.

Burundi In Burundi, which is gearing up for general elections in May, authorities thank divine intervention for the lack of cases.

“The government thanks allpowerful God who has protected Burundi,” government spokesman Prosper Ntahorwamiye said on national television last week.

At the same time, he criticised those “spreading rumours” that Burundi is not capable of testing for the virus, or that it is spreading unnoticed.

Some measures have been taken, such as the suspension of international flights and placing handwashing stations at the entrances to banks and restaurants in Bujumbura.

However, several doctors have expressed their concerns.

“There are zero cases in Burundi

because there have been zero tests,” a Burundian doctor said on condition of anonymity.

Sao Tome and Principe Sao Tome and Principe — a tiny nation of small islands covered in the lush rainforest — has reported zero cases because it is unable to test, according to World Health Organisation representative Anne Ancia.

However “we are continuing preparations,” with around 100 people in quarantine after returning from highly-affected countries, and the WHO keeping an eye on cases of pneumonia.

With only four ICU beds for a population of 200,000 people, the country is desperate to not let the virus take hold and has already shut its borders despite the importance of tourism to the local economy.

Malawi Malawi’s health ministry spokesman Joshua Malango brushed aside fears that Malawi might not have registered any COVID-19 cases due to a lack of testing kits: “We have the testing kits in Malawi and we are testing.”

Dr Bridget Malewezi from the Society of Medical Doctors told AFP that while “we may not be 100 percent ready”, government was gearing up for the arrival of the virus.

She suggested it may only be a matter of time before the pandemic hits Malawi.

Lesotho Tiny Lesotho, a kingdom encircled

by South Africa with only two million inhabitants, went into national lockdown on Monday despite registering zero cases.

Until last week the country had no tests or testing centres and received its first kits thanks to a donation by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma. Authorities had reported eight suspected cases that they had not been able to test and the first results are expected soon.

Comoros The Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros, situated between Madagascar and Mozambique, has yet to detect a single case of the virus, according to the health ministry.

One doctor in the capital Moroni, Dr Abdou Ada, wonders if it may not be because of the wide use of the drug Artemisinin to treat malaria.

“I believe that the mass antimalarial treatment explains the fact that Comoros is, at least for now, spared from COVID-19. it is a personal belief that needs to be confirmed scientifically.”

only those who died in hospital and not those who died at home or in old people’s homes.

“This situation is completely unprecedented in the history of French medicine,” said Salomon.

France has been in lockdown since March 17 in a bid to slow

the spread of the epidemic and officials have repeatedly warned it will take time for the measures to bear fruit.

Salomon said hospitals in eastern France — one of the hubs of the outbreak — were under “great tension” and in Paris

and its wider surroundings the situation was also “difficult”.

As a result, France has been moving some patients to other regions or even abroad to neighbouring countries.

Salomon said 288 patients had been transferred to

regions under less pressure so far and this number would increase in the days to come.

He confirmed that on Wednesday a specially equipped train would transfer 36 patients from Paris to Brittany.

Saudi Urges Muslims to Defer Hajj Plans over COVID-19 Saudi Arabia’s hajj minister asked Muslims on Tuesday to temporarily defer preparations for the annual pilgrimage amid uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round “umrah” pilgrimage over fears of the new coronavirus spreading to Islam’s holiest cities, an unprecedented move that raised uncertainty over the annual hajj.

“Saudi Arabia is fully ready to

serve pilgrims and umrah seekers,” hajj minister Mohammad Benten told the state-run Al-Ekhbariya television.

“But under the current circumstances, as we are talking about the global pandemic… the kingdom is keen to protect the health of Muslims and citizens and so we have asked our brother Muslims in all countries to wait before doing (hajj) contracts until the situation is clear.”

Saudi authorities are yet to announce whether they will proceed with this year’s hajj, scheduled for the end of July.

The pilgrimage – which last year attracted 2.5 million people – is a key revenue earner for the kingdom. But it could be a major source of contagion as it packs pilgrims closely in religious sites.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia suspended prayers inside all its mosques except the two holiest

sites in Islam as it increased efforts to contain the new coronavirus.

The announcements risk riling fringe Muslim hardliners, for whom religion trumps health considerations.

Saudi Arabia is scrambling to limit the spread of the disease at home. The kingdom’s health ministry has reported 1,563 coronavirus infections and 10 deaths from the illness so far.

New York Hospital Doctor Prepares for the Worst With the rapid rise of hospitalizations and a health system nearly at capacity, New York doctor Shamit Patel is preparing for the worst over the next few days, all while hoping he won’t have to start choosing which coronavirus patients to treat.

Just 10 days ago, only half of the 46-year-old internist’s patients at Beth Israel — one of the Mount Sinai hospitals in Manhattan — were suffering from COVID-19.

“We’re not over capacity yet, but we’re planning for it to go over capacity,” he said, adding he thinks the hospital has “planned well.”

The wave of virus patients at Beth Israel corresponds to the one inundating New York City, which shot from 463 confirmed cases two weeks ago to 36,000 on Monday.

“At the rate that I’m seeing, the peak could be anywhere from end of this week to sometime next week,” said Patel.

Under extreme pressure for the past two weeks, he is preparing for the worst, even if “it’s something that we hope we don’t have to see.”

For Patel, the worst would be a situation similar to that in certain regions of Italy, where the health system is so overwhelmed that it can no longer take care of all patients.

“You’re gonna have to be a little quicker in seeing and assessing and getting the treatment plan for each patient,” Patel predicted, noting they “may have to double or triple the number of patients you’re seeing.”

But, he added worriedly, “you can’t really go more than triple the number of patients you’re seeing in a day and provide effective treatment.”

In addition to the limitations of healthcare personnel, Patel is worried about a potential shortage of equipment, particularly of ventilators. New York governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City mayor Bill de Blasio talk daily about the need for the machines.

“If you get a surge of patients coming in, and you only have a limited number of ventilators, you can’t necessarily ventilate patients,” Patel said. “And then you have to start picking and choosing.”

Outside of the hospital, Patel is also worried about transmitting the virus to his family. He lives

with his 80-year-old father, who suffers from Parkinson’s, and his aunt, who has cancer.

“I don’t want to come back here and actually give it to them because I don’t think they would do well at all,” he said.

He maintains the minimum two meter (six-foot) distance and uses antibacterial wipes generously, while ensuring his relatives have enough food.

“I stay pretty much in my room,” Patel explained, “and then

I’ll go out there and periodically check on them.”

But stress and anxiety are ever-present, both at work and at home for Patel and his colleagues, who are running a marathon, as governor Cuomo put it.

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, 2020

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

A N A LY S I S

Lokpobiri Continues the Battle for Justice Segun James writes that the major hurdle between Senator Heineken Lokpobri and justice is his own political party, the All Progressives Congress

Oshiomhole

E

ven by the standard of Nigerian politics, this may be a new low. How can a political party side with the opposition in a case filed by its own aggrieved member?

This is the situation right now in the case filed by the former Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobri before the Supreme Court asking the apex court to review its judgment on his case on the grounds that his case required a panel of seven justices as against five since it relates to interpretation of Section 318 (4) of the constitution in relation to Section 285 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Section 234 of the constitution states that anytime the Supreme Court is sitting on a constitutional interpretation it shall do so with a panel. Therefore, Lokpobri is praying that the court set aside its judgment because the panel that gave the judgment was a panel of five hence, inadequately constituted and therefore a nullity. If the judgment is set aside, it will be to the advantage of the APC. Lokpobri had gone before the court to insist that he won the APC primaries for the governorship election; and as such, he ought to be declared the duly elected candidate of the party. He contended that this should be upheld by the apex court, and since he had no issue of falsification of documents, he should be declared winner of the election and sworn-in as governor instead of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Douye Diri who is now the Governor.

Surprisingly, the party against Lokpobri’s move is not the PDP but the APC! And this is the party that will benefit the most from the case if the former Minister’s petition sails through.

A second ground, according to him is that anytime the Supreme Court is specifically invited to depart from and overrule its earlier decision on any matter, the law is for the supreme court to enpanel seven justices to hear and determine that appeal. In this case the apex court was invited to depart from and overrule its earlier decision in Idiagbon versus APC and others (2019) 18NWLR (Part 1703). And that ought to have been done by a panel of seven justices not five. So his case, he insisted is completely different from all the other cases that have come before the apex court for review.

Leading the opposition against Lokpobri are the National Chairman of the APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole and the Bayelsa State leader of the party, Chief Timipre Sylva. Also in league with them is the candidate that cost the party the ticket, Mr. David Lyon. They are contesting Lokpobri’s position on the matter.

Why are they against Lokpobri’s move?

Why not leave the PDP to carry its own cross?

Why spend millions of Naira in legal fees to oppose your own party man?

These are some of the questions as the nation awaits the apex court’s decision on the application by Lokpobiri. If it sails through,

Sylva it will be a landmark judgment in the annals of the country.

However, it is good to trace the origin of the crisis within the APC in Bayelsa State, how it got to this level and where it will lead to?

It all began in early 2019 when news had it that Governor Seriake Dickson was to defect to the APC following a fall-out with the leadership of the PDP and opposition from former President Goodluck Jonathan.

One of the demands of Dickson was he be guaranteed a soft landing; principal of which is that a very pliable candidate who would not be antagonistic and investigate his past be made the APC governorship candidate.

He specifically demanded that Lokpobri should not be the candidate if the agreement was to hold. Oshiomhole and Sylva were said to have agreed to this demand. As a Lokpobri candidacy would be contrary to this plan, the APC settled for David Lyon, a businessman, with high ties to militancy in the Niger Delta.

He was believed to malleable.

Following this agreement, Lokpobri was frustrated at every turn from that moment on even as he stubbornly stayed the course on his ambition. After the governorship primary, Lokpobri claimed it was visibly fraudulent and devoid of any decency; and was blatantly and openly rigged.

But since he had his facts, Lokpobri headed for the national headquarters of the party to lay his complaints and where he expected to get succour, but the party ignored him. For someone who was a former Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic and an ex-minister, they, simply failed to listen to him.

Despite all these, Lokpobri still urged his supporters to vote the party in spite of the ordeals he was going through.

Lokpobri decided to head for the courts, seeking justice instead of rocking the boat of the party. This patriotic stance by him was the main reason that the APC won the governoship election with a landslide.

But today, not surprisingly, the same forces against him from the beginning are still after

Lokpobiri him. The same people opposing his prayers at the Supreme Court are not from the opposition PDP, but the people who denied him justice in the first place, his own party leadership.

What is most surprising about the situation is that if his prayers come true, the APC would benefit the most since Lokpobri belongs to the party.

According to a source close to the former Minister, all that Lokpobri is asking for is that he won the governorship primary and should have been the party’s candidate in the first place.

He was said to have called and assured that party’s leadership opposed to him that he is not working against the party but for the party; hence, he wonders why the APC is in court against the review of the previous judgment when it is for a common good. “After all, the David Lyon case is closed for good,” the source stressed.

But how did the PDP become the winner even though it came a distant second? The answer was recently revealed by the Bayelsa State Secretary of the PDP, Chief Godspower Keku, who unintentionally blurted out the intrigues that took place and how APC chieftains made the PDP winner.

Keku, on behalf of the State Executive Committee of the PDP, has asked the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to stop the unnecessary vilification of the Supreme Court and the Judiciary, as a fallout of the apex court decision on Bayelsa Governorship Review.

The PDP State Scribe said that Sylva and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, played a critical role in aiding the Peoples Democratic Party to wrest the mandate from the APC through the bold decisions of the court.

He said that the party commended Sylva and Oshiomhole for making it easy for the PDP to avert awaiting catastrophe by foisting a candidate who never won a primary and handpicking Senator Degi Eremienyon, his cousin as the running mate to David Lyon.

According to him, Sylva propped up David

The same people opposing his prayers at the Supreme Court are not from the opposition PDP, but the people who denied him justice in the first place, his own party leadership. What is most surprising about the situation is that if his prayers come true, the APC would benefit the most since Lokpobri belongs to the party.

According to a source close to the former Minister, all that Lokpobri is asking for is that he won the governorship primary and should have been the party’s candidate in the first place

Lyon and Degi as his stooges in furtherance of his ambition to combine the position of the minister with that of the Governor of Bayelsa State.

Keku made the comment while reacting to an interview by Chief Sylva who accused the Supreme Court of wrong-doing in the verdict.

He said that with the final verdict of the Supreme Court on the issue of the Bayelsa Governorship, Sylva ought to have apologized for the Nembe massacre of 21 persons, the vandalization of former Governor Seriake Dickson’s and Governor Douye Diri’s residences, the attack on the PDP Secretariat, the Steve Azaiki Library, the judiciary among others rather than casting aspersions on the integrity of the Supreme Court.

He stated also that Sylva should show remorse for the sponsored protests at the residences of Honourable Justice Mary Odilli in Abuja and Port Harcourt.

“Sylva should not blame the Supreme Court and the Judiciary. The fact is that he helped us; his people worked with us to reclaim the mandate wrongfully taken by the All Progressives Congress to avert a disaster.

Keku challenged Sylva to explain what he did with over 150 Million Dollars he received from oil companies and others for the Bayelsa governorship election which he didn’t spend.

He called on the Federal Government to investigate the minister for foisting extreme violence on Bayelsans and Bayelsa since 2015.

He also called on the international community to investigate the minister and impose a visa ban on him for hiding under the influence of the Presidency to perpetuate political terrorism in Bayelsa.

Keku called for an investigation of the minister raised the alarm that the interview he granted may be a ploy to set the stage for further violence in the state.

The question on many lips is, when did Sylva and Oshiomhole become friends? It would be recalled that in 2015, it was Oshiomhole who nearly cost Sylva the APC governorship ticket but for the unflinching support of Lokpobri and others who came to his support.

Lokpobri it was who stood by Sylva financially and physically when he had been frustrated by the PDP government of President Goodluck Jonathan when he was going through a most challenging political time of his life; an election which the former governor later lost to Mr. Seriake Dickson.

The source recalled that oblivious of the Oshiomhole-Sylva and Dickson pact, Lokpobri had gone to meet Sylva to pledge his loyalty and support if the former governor would be taking another shoot for the Creek Haven Government House at Yenagoa, but if he was not, Lokpobri signified his interest to contest the position.

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

19

T H I S D AY ˾WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, 2020

POLITICS

Anambra: Much Ado about Governorship Zoning

GOVERNANCE IN PHOTOS

David-Chyddy Eleke writes that the recent endorsement of the zoning of Anambra governorship to the southern senatorial zone by members of Anambra State Elders Council has ignited another round of argument over zoning

Obiano

O

n 5th March 2020, members of the Anambra State Council of Elders stirred the hornet nest during their first meeting for the year. They were reported to have thrown their weight behind the decision of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and other interested persons in the state to zone the position of the governor of the sate to the southern senatorial zone.

The group which consists of very eminent citizens of the state, including former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku, former governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, the traditional ruler of Onitsha Kingdom, Igwe Alfred Achebe and others during the meeting backed the plan, and described it as being just. Though the meeting dwelt on several other topics of importance, including reviewing the state of ongoing projects in the state, but the only topic that caught the attention of members of the public was the support for the governorship position to be zoned to the south.

The details of the meeting of the elders was communicated through a communique jointly signed by Anyaoku and secretary to the state government, Professor Solo Chukwudebelu.

Part of the communique read, “The council reiterated its position on the rotation of the office of the governor among the three senatorial zones in the state, and hence its expectation that the next governor of the state will come from the Anambra South senatorial zone.”

THISDAY gathered that former CBN governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, who is the Chairman of the Anambra State Vision 2070 Committee, used the opportunity of the meeting to present a blueprint of the state’s developmental plan to the elders.

Many see Soludo’s presence in the meeting as part of the reason for the support of the elders for the zone, as he hails from the south, just as he has become the choice candidate of APGA and also the choice of the incumbent governor of the state. This has caused vehement rejection of the position of the elders by some persons in the state who also have interest in vying for the position. Those opposed to the position of the elders council see their endorsement as a subtle push to do the bidding of the governor as Soludo will be vying on the platform of APGA. Reacting to the endorsement by the elders, a former governorship aspirant of APGA, Dr Elo Aforka said, “The communique credited to the so-called Anambra Elders Council of which they have not till now denied stated that the 2021 Governorship seat in Anambra State has been zoned to Anambra South. This assertion is not different from the counsel of Ahitophel, the notorious adviser of David who counseled David’s son, Absalom, to murder his father, so as to take over the rulership of the kingdom of Israel.

“The Anambra Elders Council has shown

that they lack qualifications to be regarded as Elders in Igboland by supporting thoughtless idea that only breeds bifurcation, confusion, suspicion and distrust among brothers in Igboland. One is not surprised because it is evidently clear from their statements that the persons in Anambra Elders Council are merely puppeteers of Governor Willie Obiano.

“Obviously, the members of Anambra Elders Council have maintained long years of affluence such that in due of lack of contact with the real reality of the human condition in Igboland and Nigeria in general, they can stand up and say nonsense. They should seek counsel from a philosopher’s statement: “whereof ye cannot speak, thereof thou should keep your mouth shut,” he said.

Several other reactions have followed the endorsement, but besides the that, the endorsement has also gained the attention of traditional rulers from northern senatorial zone of Anambra State. The royal fathers rejected the call for the governorship position of the state to be zoned to the Southern senatorial zone. The monarchs who met last weekend at the palace of the traditional ruler of Igbariam community, Igwe Nkeli Nzekwe, who is also the chairman of Anambra North traditional rulers opted out of the pronouncement, saying they will not support it.

Igwe Nzekwe while briefing journalists after the meeting of the monarchs said they will not support the ceding of the governorship position to any zone, but will rather ask that whoever becomes the governor of the state, must have the good of the state at heart and ready to work for its development.

“We are traditional rulers, we are royal fathers, the father of all. We do not tell lies.

Our role is to bless anyone who emerges as governor. You cannot zone the governorship position to a particular zone, and people from other zone will also be in the contest, as have been seen in previous elections. To us, it is confusing. If you want to enforce zoning, then only people from the zone where the governorship is zoned should be allowed to contest. If you leave people from other zones to contest and by a stroke of luck they win, will you take the victory away from them because they are not from the favoured zone?” Nzekwe asked.

The monarchs said they will not be forced into accepting a zoning system that does not exist, while calling on politicians to throw open the contest, as what is more important is for the state to have a competent governor who has the capacity to develop her.

The war on whether to zone the governorship of the state to a particular senatorial zone or not started after the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA stated publicly that the party would choose a successor for the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano from the southern senatorial zone. Obiano is from the Northern zone, and he succeeded Mr Peter Obi from the Central zone, and the APGA believes that it is equity for the governorship position to move to the south.

Though there are other groups in the state who have also spoken in favour of the next governor coming from the southern zone, but the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP which is one of the top contending parties for the governorship position has thrown the contest open for all that are willing to contest. The chairman of the party in the state, Ndubuisi Nwobu during a stakeholders meeting in Awka disclosed that anyone from any part of the state that wishes to gun for the position can throw their hat in the ring. He however added that the party will endeavour to make the primary election transparent and also ensure that the winner will be one of high pedigree, with a proven capacity to develop the state.

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

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Hospital Management Board, Dr Williams Afolabi; Ekiti State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. (Mrs) Moji Yaya- Kolade and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr(Mrs) Folake Olomojobi; briefing journalists on the state’s COVID-19 index case discharged from the Infectious Disease Control Centre, Ado-Ekiti

Cross-section of participants during the historic virtual exco meeting held by Lagos Executive Council members with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu

Governor, State of Osun, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola (left) and Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Timothy Owoeye, during the signing of State of Osun security network and Amotekun Bill into Law, at the office of the Governor, Abere, Osogbo

L-R: House of Representatives member representing Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency, Rep Egoh Oghene, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep Femi Gbajabiamila and GM LASEMA, Mr Femi Osanyitolu during the visit of the Speaker to the families of victims of pipeline explosion in Abule Ado and Festac in Lagos

20

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

FEATURES

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

Towing the Storytelling Path Maduabuchi Ubani shares the personal experiences of a lawyer who is getting Nigerians to come out of their shells and talk about their heartfelt stories

Martin with other African nationals at the Facebook Icons of Change event Accra, Ghana in 2019

Martin with an interviewee

S

ometime in 2016, a young man lost his job as a Bond Trader in Chicago,United States. Of course anyone can lose their job, you'd think; he's isn't the first, nor will he be the last.

But what this man did next is a calculated risk that will forever change the way we see human perseverance and storytelling in years to come.

He took his camera, stepped outside and started a personal project to take pictures of people in the streets and share their personal stories.

Today, that singular act has not only brought him to limelight, but has also provided a platform for people to share their stories and connect with people across the world.

That man's name is Brandon Stanton, and

Martin Beck Nworah he is the founder of Humans of New York ( HONY). Right now, HONY, which is an online community, has more than 15million followers, spanning across different social media platforms.

Of course, Brandon has done an amazing job with HONY. But that's not his only victory.

Across the globe, different communities in diverse countries are emulating what Brandon is doing with HONY. These days, we have so many Humans of __ in so many social media platforms, all because of the courage of one man to take action Tales of Nigerians Clearly, Brandon, as one of his greatest achievements, has inspired a lot of people across the globe to see storytelling and sharing of experiences as an integral part of human

existence.

One of such persons is Martin Beck Nworah; a lawyer and Founder of Tales of Nigerians (TON). Founded in 2018, TON runs a page and group (TON Mansion) on Facebook, where Nigerians can share their own real life personal experiences by themselves.

With more than 223 thousand followers, TON collates the stories of everyday Nigerians.

The platform has overtime defied all known stereotypes to give Nigerians a platform where everyone can share their real life personal experiences.

The Epiphany It all started 2018. Nworah had met many people while on transit who had one story or the other to share about their life. After

sharing these stories with him, he often moved to shared some of it with his online audience on Facebook.

But over time, many of his online audience wanted to share their own stories too, and so he felt the need to create a platform that would give everyone the opportunity to share their life stories with a dedicated audience, always ready to listen, laugh and advice if need be. " It has been two years down the line and I am grateful for the platform we have built thus far. It has been a bitter sweet experience but it's one that is ongoing. People always have a story to share about their life and if you're willing to listen, they will talk."

Power of Storytelling Building a platform that focused on the

21

T H I S D AY Ëž APRIL 1, 2020

FEATURES

Martin with a female Facebook sta and a Ghanaian entrepreneur

Martin at the recent TON inaugural Conference in Lagos, Nigeria

Martin on duty

stories of people has overtime changed the way people like Nworah see the things that most people hold tenaciously.

"For me, TON has taught me some engaging life lessons. One of which is that money is not everything, but for many people, they need money in everything. I have also come to understand that storytelling is the most powerful tools given to mankind. We have survived to this day because we had documentation of what happened many centuries ago. “Stories are powerful and they teach us so much about our world. In the end, we are only left with experiences which are the stories we are going to be telling people. It is important we live significant and impactful lives so our stories can resonate with the world."

"I have a team of agile young people who bought into this dream.People send leads to me from time to time and it is my team that investigates many of these leads. " It is true that I started TON with what I had and grew from there over time. But with my team, we have managed to grow tremendously, and our audience understands we are for everyone and we try our best to tackle any divisiveness that comes up."

Using Stories to Connect There's no doubt that everyone's got a story; we are the stories we tell. Nworah understands this, and uses TON to connect and explain that we get to know people through the stories they tell about themselves.

"Brands are the stories they tell and so are humans too.

Your most powerful tool to gaining new grounds is how you present yourself and the stories people hear about you. The stories you tell about yourself matters a whole lot. So don't leave your life's narrative in the hands of other people when you can shape it yourself. Tell your own story."

Breaking the Conversation Ice When trying to meet with people, Nworah starts with a smile, greeting and introduction.

Then he asks random questions about business and weather. From there, he slowly gains the confidence of his subject and they become relaxed. Then he gradually ask the personal questions.

"On several occasions, I've had people ignore this protocol and just go on to tell me about their life's journey. I have also had people decline to share and it is cool too. Being able to feel what someone is telling you is really powerful.

It's like you are in that moment in their life and they want to tell you more."

In the course of meeting people, Nworah points out that when people sense you don't care about their story, it irritates them and you may not get enough details.

"So it is very important to maintain eye contact, ask deep questions and genuinely show interest in what they tell you. Sometimes they

may want to cry and I allow them to cry. I cry along sometimes."

Building Experiences It is a general belief that experiences shape who we become. Although some school of thought may not choose to admit it, Nworah seems to concur with the former as the truth.

"I once interviewed a man who said many nasty things about lawyers. He never knew I was a lawyer. I asked why he resented lawyers so much and he said his best friend was a lawyer and because he was an uneducated businessman, his friend took advantage of many business deals he negotiated for him and ripped him off. At that moment, I knew his behavior was shaped by his experience.

"Again, people all over the country have similar stories of struggles and success. Each may be different from the other, but in the end, we are all fighting to succeed and make meaning out of our lives."

Life of an ICT Lawyer: The day of every ICT professional starts whenever their data is switched on. For the likes of Nworah, it's one and the same, and even more.

"My day starts whenever my data is turned on in the early hours of the morning. I am an ICT lawyer and many of the things I do are on the internet. I also run an impactful community on Facebook where people share their life stories too.

"Even as a lawyer, my calling is to tell the story of the Nigerian person. I see this as a divine call because if people don't tell their story, we won't know what happened to them.

In addition, being a lawyer is a blessing in all the things I am doing today. You have to always view things from a legal point and be sure you're doing the right thing with people's stories and getting the right permissions too.

"So as an ICT personnel, I have managed to arrange my life and work schedule in such a way that balance has been created."

Building a Team Even in many formidable platforms, it is the people backstage that make things happen, and most times, we don't even get to see them.

In the case of TON, the team has played a significant role in the growth and stability of the community.

Nworah calls them the team that assists in 'creating magic for the nation.'

Coping with Emotional Stories There are stories that touches the very core of our being, and Nworah explains how he handles it: "I try to tell the story as it is no matter the emotions I feel. Truth is, the story doesn't belong to me and the owner would really want their story to be told how they want it to be told.

"So I try to keep my emotions in check and always do the work that needs to be done.At the heart of what we are currently doing is to celebrate the ordinary Nigerian and their courage. We intend to do more of these within and outside the country."

Platform for Learning There is the unspeakable feeling we get when we are able to see that we are not alone in our challenges, struggles, hurdles and even victories.

As a community, TON is not only a place where we get to hear what someone else has been through in their life, and possibly relate with our own journey.

For Nworah, it's a community that gives "courage and strength to know that you are not the only one going through that same thing.

"Knowledge is gained from these stories too.

Many people get to learn about the need to do proper documentation before going into contracts or to be weary of certain things before committing.

So stories are an important fabric of our society.

"There is this opportunity to read, learn, laugh, cry and express a lot of emotions which TON offers. Along the line, what we are building is a nation of more empathetic and committed citizens. The TON platform will remain committed to the noble ideals of great storytelling that uplifts our humanity."

Act of Listening It is true that when we speak, we learn nothing new.

But when we listen to others, there will

always be something to learn.

Nworah‘s job as a storyteller requires active listening, and so he engages his conversationist with not just leading questions, but also with attentive listening. " I understood long ago that if you have a story to tell and you have someone sitting across the room ready to listen to you, you will surely speak. People want to talk, but many times, no one wants to listen because everyone wants to talk."

What the Future Holds The vision for TON is to keep celebrating the lives of Nigerians in any part of the world they may be. And in a way, it connects with the legacy which Nworah wants to leave behind for generations to come. " I wish to be remembered as the person who celebrated Nigerians from all walks of life. Young and old, rich and poor, educated and uneducated. I want to be remembered as that person who gave everyone a voice."

Fund Generation Surprisingly, TON does not generate any income on its own. Most of its funding comes from donations and personal savings of Nworah.

"Currently, I use personal funds and funds donated to me by friends. TON is not generating any income at the moment and it will remain that way for more time to come."

Stories that Matter As one who collates stories, Nworah makes it clear that people sometimes downplay their personal experiences, because they think it bears no weight or holds no validity.

"Many people feel their existence is inconsequential compared to others they see on the internet. They see the glamour and perfectly edited pictures and stories, so they feel they don't worth being out there.

"This is why TON celebrates everyone. So they will know no matter your state in life, your story matters.

There is always something to learn in every story and I make an effort to see that the lessons are made known.

Beautiful memories are things that Martin holds tenaciously to. As part of the human race, he believes that our existence is a story and till we leave earth, we shall continue to create and live our stories. “Therefore, it is important to create memories that are worth the effort�.

22

˾ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020

Wednesday, April 1, 2020 Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index Down 0.3%

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

Yesterday, the Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index declined 29bps to close at 888.04points following declines recorded in GUARANTY (-1.1%), ZENITH (-2.1%), and ACCESS (-1.7%).

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϯϱ͘ϰй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘ Ticker

Banking Stocks Drag Market Performance... ASI down 14bps At the close of trade, price declines in ZENITH (2.1%), GUARANTY (-1.1%) and ACCESS (-1.7%) dragged the All-Share Index down ϭϰďƉƐ ƚŽ Ϯϭ͕ϯϬϬ͘ϰϳ͘ ŽŶƐĞͲ quently, zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ƐĞƩůĞĚ Ăƚ -ϮϬ͘ϲй ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝͲ ƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ĚĞĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ േϭϱ͘ϴďŶ ƚŽ േϭϭ͘ϭƚŶ͘ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů declined as volume and value traded fell 9.6% and 10.8% ƚŽ ϰϮϮ͘Ϭŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ േϭ͘ϳďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ĂĐƟǀĞ stocks

by

volume

were

STERLING

;ϯϬϯ͘ϲŵ

units), ZENITH (29.7m units) and GUARANTY (16.9m units) while ZENITH ;േϯϱϬ͘ϰŵͿ͕ STERLING ;േϯϰϴ͘ϳŵͿ and GUARANTY ;േϯϬϭ͘ϮŵͿ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ǀĂůƵĞ ĐŚĂƌƚ͘

Price Previous Current Change Price Weightin YTD Change g

Current Price

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 1 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC 2 Airtel Africa PLC 3 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC 4 Zenith Bank PLC 5 Nestle Nigeria PLC 6 Dangote Cement PLC 7 Access Bank PLC

888.04

-0.29%

-39.5%

-11.2%

90.00

0.0%

30.8%

-14.3%

-17.4%

298.90

0.0%

18.9%

0.0%

0.0%

ROA

12.2%

4.6%

P/E

P/BV

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

3.6x

0.5x

8.9%

22.4%

9.1x

12.7x

5.2%

11.0%

3.6%

17.70

-1.1%

8.7%

-40.4%

-39.4%

31.6%

5.5%

2.5x

0.8x

15.6%

39.4%

11.70

-2.1%

5.5%

-37.1%

-37.4%

23.8%

3.4%

1.8x

0.4x

23.4%

56.9%

765.00

0.0%

3.4%

-48.0%

-48.0%

95.4%

25.7%

13.3x

13.3x

9.2%

7.5%

0.0%

5.5%

-8.7%

-8.7%

21.6%

11.7%

11.0x

2.5x

13.7%

9.1%

5.95

-1.7%

3.4%

-40.5%

-41.1%

17.8%

1.6%

2.0x

0.3x

10.9%

51.1%

5.00

0.0%

2.7%

-30.1%

-30.6%

16.2%

1.6%

2.0x

0.3x

20.0%

50.4% 36.5%

3.95

-1.3%

2.3%

-35.8%

-39.2%

10.3%

1.0%

2.7x

0.2x

6.6%

25.65

0.6%

1.6%

-56.5%

-56.5%

9.6%

4.2%

12.8x

1.2x

7.7%

9.20

-1.1%

2.3%

-39.9%

-33.3%

50.3%

23.4%

9.2x

0.4x

544.50

0.0%

2.7%

-17.2%

-8.0%

16.2%

9.6%

3.0x

0.4x

7.6%

33.0%

24.30

0.0%

1.6%

-40.7%

-39.3%

27.3%

4.1%

3.5x

0.9x

12.5%

28.8%

16.5x

0.6x

5.6%

10 Nigerian Brew eries PLC 11 Lafarge Africa PLC

14 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC 15 International Brew eries PLC 16 Ecobank Transnational Inc 17 Fidelity Bank PLC 18 11 PLC

ROE

129.70

8 United Bank for Africa PLC 9 FBN Holdings Plc

12 SEPLAT Petroleum Development C 13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

Price Change Index to Date

21.25

2.2%

1.5%

7.9%

7.9%

3.6%

1.3%

4.90

0.0%

0.7%

-48.4%

-48.4%

-114.4%

-7.5%

7.8% 10.8%

4.4x

6.1% -57.4%

4.45

0.0%

0.9%

-31.5%

-32.1%

13.2%

0.8%

1.5x

0.2x

1.78

0.6%

0.9%

-13.2%

-11.9%

13.4%

1.5%

1.8x

0.2x

11.2%

55.8% 15.3%

66.7%

160.90

0.0%

1.0%

8.8%

8.8%

24.1%

10.9%

6.5x

1.5x

5.1%

19 Okomu Oil Palm PLC 20 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC 21 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

55.05

0.0%

0.8%

-1.0%

-1.0%

19.1%

13.5%

9.5x

1.8x

5.4%

10.5%

9.00

0.0%

0.5%

-33.8%

-35.7%

19.6%

11.6%

5.3x

1.1x

12.1%

18.7%

0.66

-2.9%

0.4%

-33.3%

-38.3%

22 Unilever Nigeria PLC 23 Guinness Nigeria PLC

11.00

4.8%

0.3%

-50.0%

-46.9%

-5.6%

-3.5%

25.20

0.0%

0.5%

-16.1%

-16.1%

4.9%

2.6%

13.1x

0.6x

6.7%

7.6%

1.1%

1.7x

0.1x

9.3%

59.3%

1.5% 0.9x

-6.7%

Mixed Sector Performance

24 FCMB Group Plc 25 Sterling Bank PLC

1.50

0.0%

0.4%

-18.9%

-17.6%

9.2%

1.15

-4.2%

0.3%

-42.2%

-39.5%

10.0%

0.9%

3.0x

0.3x

2.6%

32.9%

Sector performance was mixed as 2 indices gained, 2

26 UAC of Nigeria PLC 27 Custodian and Allied Insurance

7.20

-2.7%

0.3%

-16.3%

-19.1%

-9.6%

-4.1%

2.0x

0.5x

8.9%

49.5%

lost while 2 ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ

28 Presco PLC 29 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 30 Total Nigeria PLC

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ĚƵĞ

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ZENITH

(-

2.1%), GUARANTY (-1.1%) and WAPCO (-1.1%). Finally,

31 Oando PLC 32 NASCON Allied Industries PLC 33 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC 34 Wema Bank PLC 35 Ardova PLC 36 Continental Reinsurance PLC

5.90

0.0%

0.4%

-1.7%

-1.7%

13.6%

5.3%

6.0x

0.8x

7.6%

16.6%

36.45

0.0%

0.2%

-23.3%

-23.3%

15.9%

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Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Ola Belgore | obelgore@afrinvest.com

Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com

Oluwarotimi Ashimi | oashimi@afrinvest.com

Adedayo Bakare | abakare@afrinvest.com

23

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻËœ 2020

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

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Quick Takes Kenya’s Ination Falls

Kenya’s year-on-year ination fell to 6.06 per cent in March, from 6.37 per cent last month, the statistics oďŹƒce said on Tuesday.

On a monthly basis, ination was 0.18 per cent, from 1.80 per cent in February, Reuters quoted the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics to have said in a statement. The East African nation has enjoyed stable ination, anchored within the government’s preferred band of 2.5-7.5 per cent in recent months, allowing policymakers to embark on an easing cycle last November.The statistics oďŹƒce has rebased the year it uses to calculate ination to February 2019 from February 2009, in order to better reect changing consumer trends, it said on Monday. During the rebasing, it dropped some items like video cassettes from the basket of good used to measure ination, and replaced them with items like mobile money transfer fees and television subscription fees.

Rain, Sun to Boost Cocoa

SOCIAL DISTANCING

L-R: Managing Director/CEO, GuarantyTrust Bank Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, Chairman, Mrs. Osaretin Demuren, and Company Secretary Mr Erhi Obebeduo, duringthebank’s30thAnnualGeneralMeetingheldinLagos‌recently

Real Estate Expert Foresees Mortgage, Rent Defaults Post COVID-19 Obinna Chima The Chief Executive Officer of Northcourt Real Estate, Tayo Odunsi, has anticipated mortgage and rent defaults in the country after the COVID-19.

Odunsi, stated this in a presentation during an online real estate forum monitored by THISDAY in Lagos.

According to him, the global pandemic has levelled the real estate investment plain, adding that all locations are up for consideration to investors. He said sales and lease transactions have also been disrupted as the ongoing lockdown in Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory has forestalled formal close.

Odunsi, noted that real estate, like other investment classes are hard hit by the spreading virus.

According to the real estate expert, “a wait-and-see approach becomes default, but may be counterproductive in certain instances.�

In the presentation, Odunsi pointed out that residential properties have maintained

ECONOMY status-quo with little or no relocations or take-ups.

For office spaces, he said new stocks were expected to see declined uptake in foreseeable future until the economy rebounds, adding that work from home was expected to be a new wave even post-COVID-19, further reducing need for office real estate. “COV-D-19 will test the business resilience of co-working operators and if the work-fromhome extends beyond two to three quarters, some operators may not survive. For retail, consumer spending will become even more discretionary reducing the reliance on brick and mortar retail even post-COVID-19. Online retail demand will increase and may be more permanent. “For industrial, demand and supply chain disruptions will promote need for warehousing during and post-COVID-19, especially as online retail rises, requiring the support of ware-

housing/logistics. Specialised warehousing continues to be in demand,� Odunsi noted.

He described the hospitality sector as the first and hardest hit sub-sector, adding that the impact on sub-sector would last long after COVID-19.

A number of sub-sector players are projected to go out of business if there is no bail-out, Odunsi predicted.

According to him, the COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of the healthcare sub-sector. He anticipated that consequently private and social capital would enter the sector, considering the level of interest shown in the sector since the outbreak of the virus in the country.

Furthermore, in his presentation, he anticipated that construction costs would surge, mainly due to the impact of devaluation and reduced importations from China, among other hit the sector.

For land, he said: “This may remain the investment haven for many as bare land has historically demonstrated more resilience

during recessionary times than other options. Land banks in nascent locations and growing gated-estates will be a good store of value.�

The recently established Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) said they have begun in earnest to provide and equip medical facilities in the six geopolitical zones. The Director, Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Isaac Okorafor, disclosed this in a statement he issued on behalf of CACOVID. According to the statement, the medical facilities includes the creation of testing, isolation and treatment centres, as well as the provision of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and molecular testing labs.

The statement explained that: “We have started with Lagos (1,000 beds); Kano (500 beds); Rivers (210 beds) Abuja (200 beds); Enugu (200 beds); and Borno (200 beds); and expect to be operational within 10 days. “The next phase will see locaContinued on page 24

Mile 12 Market Commences Mobile Food Services Oluchi Chibuzor In view of the lockdown in Lagos State which was intended to help stop the spread of the COVID-19, the authorities of the Mile 12 international market have commenced offering mobile food delivery market.

The move, according to them, was to bring the market nearer to the communities in all the local government areas in Lagos state.

President Muhammadu Buhari, as part of the nation’s efforts to stop the spread of

ECONOMY COVID - 19 , had on Sunday, ordered lockdown in the Federal Capital Territory , Lagos , and Ogun states.

Buhari, during the nationwide broadcast, had said the 14 -day lockdown would enable the government to trace and treat those who must have contracted the virus.

Speaking with THISDAY, the Executive Chairman of the Market, Shehu Usman, disclosed

the modalities of the mobile food service adopted to ensure food items are accessible to people.

He said, “We are going to be at a particular station like tomorrow we are going to be in Kosofe Local Government Area. The service would commence from 8 am to 5 pm for any LGA visited. “We are also going to be doing it a way that it will cover every local government. The produce will be sold in our van to ensure compliance with government order. “The price will be okay for

anybody to afford. This is to help people as they are not coming out and because of government instruction, we are trying to bring it down to their home to make things easier at this period,� he explained.

It would be recalled that the market was fumigated by the Lagos State Government officials from the ministry of Agriculture last week, aside the body temperature checks and hand sanitisers given to Continued on page 24

Abundant rain mixed with sunny spells in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa regions last week will boost the mid-crop in the world’s biggest producer, farmers said on Monday. Ivory Coast is entering the rainy season that runs from mid-March to late October when downpours are regular. According to Reuters, Farmers said they were happy with the weather and that if rain remained frequent, most of the mid-crop beans would be big and the harvest would be longer and larger.

The marketing season for mid-crop starts today and runs until the end of September. Farmers in several villages said they would only have small quantities of beans in April but volumes would rise in May. “If April is rainy then we will have less issues with quality,â€? said Jonas Bile, who farms near the central region of Yamoussoukro, where 76.7 mm of rain fell last week, 60.2 mm above the ďŹ ve-year average.

In the central region of Bongouanou which received 53.8 mm last week, 36.3 mm above average, farmers said the weather would help the growing of cherelles and small pods but harvesting would be slow in April. There were similar conditions in the center-western region of Daloa where 55.2 mm of rain fell last week, 37.1 mm above the average. In the western region of Soubre, farmers said the weather was boosting the growth of plenty of small pods and that the quality of beans leaving the bush was appreciated by buyers.

Angola to Cut Budget

Angola’s ďŹ nance minister said the country’s economy will contract by 1.21 per cent in 2020, marking a ďŹ fth year of recession, as the coronavirus and a slump in oil prices batter its ďŹ nances. Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa said Africa’s third-largest economy is freezing 30 per cent of its “goods and servicesâ€? budget and recalibrating spending plans based on a maximum oil price of $35 a barrel - $20 lower than previously envisaged.

She said the, “deterioration of the surrounding economic environmentâ€? was having a signiďŹ cant impact on the oil-producing nation.

Crude oil prices - slammed by a coronavirus-related drop in demand andabattleformarketsharebetweenSaudiArabiaandRussia-have fallen precipitously, with Brent crude settling a little below $25 a barrel on Friday.Angola’s capital expenditure has been suspended until the budget review is complete, according to a statement issued after a Council of Ministers meeting on Friday, and Daves de Sousa warned that the country will experience an increase in exchange rate depreciation and higher than expected ination. “We will do everything so that this pandemic reaches the smallest number of Angolans,â€? she said.

Kenya Airways Seeks Bailout

Kenya Airways has sought an undisclosed amount of cash from the government to help it cover critical costs such as payment of sta salaries, its chairman, Michael Joseph, said on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, the carrier, in which Air France KLM holds a small stake, is only operating a handful of local ights after the government stopped all international ights last week to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

“As I have emphasised in recent interviews, the COVID-19 crisis has graphically exposed the failure of the federal and state governments to invest adequately in human capital – Convener,TBAN, Prof

Kingsley Moghalu

24

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

REAL ESTATE EXPERT FORESEES MORTGAGE, RENT DEFAULTS POST COVID-19 tions set up in Katsina, Ogun, Bayelsa, Anambra, Bauchi and Plateau to be ready within three weeks. The remaining states of the Federation will be set up in the last phase within the next five weeks.� It stated that based on the population of Lagos, and the fact that it is presently the epicentre of the crisis, it would also be creating a permanent structure within the next four to six months. “Teams have been set up and world-class standards are being employed to aggressively pursue a solution to this pandemic. “This is a massive effort and all hands must be on deck, which is why at a time like this, it is critical we come together as one – hence the need to channel all our efforts through the CACOVID umbrella.

Meanwhile, Nigeria yesterday recorded four new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 135.

Announcing this Tuesday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said of the four cases, three were from Osun State while one was from Ogun State.

NCDC said: “As at 11:15 am of March 31, there are 135 confirmed cases of COVID19 reported in Nigeria with two deaths.�

MILE 12 MARKET COMMENCES MOBILE FOOD SERVICES customers.

The Lagos State government had revealed that it has initiated biosecurity measures across its abattoirs and slaughter houses.

The move was part of measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and other infectious diseases through the facilities.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Gbolahan Lawal, had explained that the government has stopped all non-essential activities such as food vendors and other non-related abattoir activities.

Lawal, however, warned that the state government would not condone any illegal conveyance of meat and meat products from any of the abattoir and slaughter houses to the markets, adding that the use of Eko refrigerated meat van was the only recognised means for transportation.

Group Business Editor

ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ă‹ Capital Market Editor

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Comms/e-Business Editor

Ă—Ă—Ă‹ Ă•Ă™Ă˜Ă”Ă“ Senior Correspondent

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Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Maritime) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Finance) ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? åÙÔÓ (Insurance) Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ě™(Energy) Reporters

Ă&#x;Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă?Ă‘Ă’Ă? (Money Market) Ă™Ă?Ă‹ Ă–Ă?Ă•Ă’Ă&#x;ÙÑÓĂ? (ICT)

NIA Offers Life Insurance Cover to Health Personnel Stories by Ebere Nwoji The Nigerian Insurers Association(NIA) has volunteered to procure testing kits and protective materials for medical personnel in fighting against spread of the COVID-19 in Nigeria.

The association, which is the umbrella body of insurance underwriters and reinsurance firms operating in Nigeria said it has also provided life insurance cover for all health personnel and allied professionals who are attending to victims of the virus.

NIA Chairman, Mr Tope Smart, who announced the donations at a media briefing organised by the association in Lagos, said this was part of the association’s support to ongoing efforts made by the federal government through the presidential task force , the state governments, Ministry of Health and Nigerian Centre for Disease Control to contain the spread of the deadly virus. “Our intervention will therefore be in two folds. Arrangements are on to procure testing kits and protective materials for the use of medical personnel saddled with this responsibility. “The materials will be delivered to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in line with our profession as risk managers. “NIA, has decided to arrange a special life insurance cover for all health personnel and allied professionals who are attending to victims

of COVID-19�, the NIA Chairman said.

Explaining how the health workers would benefit from the life insurance cover, Smart said, “We have therefore decided to provide the following benefits to those who may be exposed to the following risks in the course of their duties: These benefits apply to all medical personnel all over the nation, N1000,000 cash benefit to all health workers who die in the course of discharging their duties in fighting the COVID-19, and N1000,000 for permanent disability on the part of the health workers.�

He said in doing this, NIA took cognisance of the fact that the front line staff were

exposed to a lot of risks and as association, it felt the need to provide cover for them against their exposures.

On how to deliver the aids, Smart said: “We shall be liaising with Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the state governments to provide us with detailed information about these personnel so we can arrange appropriate cover.�

The NIA Chairman also advised Nigerians to adhere to the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other government agencies and institutions as they relate to efforts to curb the

disease.

He also advised the public to observe restriction of air travels into the country, limits on religious and other mass gatherings, interstate movement by some state governments, closure of schools and markets and other public places. “Observe regular hand washing regime, use of alcohol based hand sanitisers and enforcement of social distancing among others. “We urge Nigerians to stay safe and stay insured,� he said. He assured that the insurers, on their part would ensure the activation of business continuity and disaster recovery strategies by providing the necessary

support for the wellbeing of employees, clients and other stakeholders Ensure delivery of quality services to clients through prompt payment of genuine claims.

Deployment of alternative channels for effective provision of insurance services to customers. Donation of Personal Protective Equipment worth millions of naira to Lagos State, University College Hospital, Ibadan, NCDC and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and others He informed that members of the public can now purchase 3rd Party Motor Insurance from any member company through the Association’s online platform.

CSR-IN-ACTION

Managing Director Sterling Insurance, and Council Member NIgeria Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. F. K. Lawal (left), and Managing Director Nem Insurance Plc and Chairman NIA, Mr. Tope Smart, at a media briefing to announce donation of testing kits and life insurance cover for health personnel working in the fight against COVID-19, held in Lagos‌ recently

AXA Mansard Supports Fight against COVID-19 AXA Mansard Health Limited, one of the Health Management Organisations (HMO), has supported efforts at eradicating the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria through donation of personal protective equipment worth millions of naira to the Lagos State Government and University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan.

AXA Mansard said the donation, was made to complement governments’ efforts in the fight against the spread of the disease in Nigeria.

The Chief Executive Officer of the organisation Mr. Tope Adeniyi, in a statement, commended the sacrifice and

professionalism of medical personnel who are putting themselves on the line by caring for the infected persons and helping curb the spread of the virus. “To this ends, AXA Mansard Health Limited has donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worth millions to the Lagos State Government, University College Hospital, Ibadan (UCH) and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja to aid in their fight against the COVID-19 Outbreak. “PPE donated include Splash resistant suits/coveralls, N95 Masks, Goggles

etc. In addition to this, the company will be donating N100 million worth of life insurance cover for 100 medical professionals across Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan respectively,� he said.

He also commended the efforts made by doctors and other healthcare workers in Nigeria and around the world to combat the outbreak and curtail the spread of the virus adding, “We share the view that the world needs to come together to provide a stronger support for these men and women who have chosen to risk their lives to serve their countries. “Through this donation and commitment, AXA

Mansard has meaningfully responded to the rising need for medical supplies at healthcare facilities in Lagos and Oyo states and FCT, three of the major hubs designated to fight the disease, ensuring swift responses are given to COVID-19 or any other health related cases.�

Also speaking the CEO, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Mr. Kunle Ahmed, said there was need for collaborative efforts at both individual and corporate levels – spearheaded by key leaders in the society to defeat the outbreak. “As a responsible member of the society, AXA is

extremely responsive to the situation and we will continue to lend our voice by sensitising the public through the media even as we also throw our weight strongly behind the government in the fight against the epidemic.�

Responding to the donation, Professor of Surgery and Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and Consultant Urologist at the UCH, Mr. Oluwabunmi Olapade-Olaopa, stated that the intervention was timely and addresses the core of what was needed at this time to keep the fight going and enable care for the sick and research on the disease.

Standard Bank Withdraws Guidance over COVID-19 Standard Bank on Tuesday withdrew its financial guidance citing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) which has forced South Africa into a 21-day lockdown expected to take a toll on an already sputtering economy.

Africa’s largest lender by assets was the first of South Africa’s major lenders to warn that its outlook and guidance might no longer stand.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold and countries respond to this crisis in different ways, there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding the impact it will have on Standard Bank’s financial performance in the 2020 financial year,� Reuters quoted Standard Bank to have said in a statement. “Shareholders are advised that the outlook and guidance... are hereby

withdrawn.�

The bank’s guidance, given just weeks ago when it reported 2019 results, was already relatively pessimistic, with the lender warning that the outlook and operating environment in its markets was uncertain and challenging. Rivals Nedbank and Absa both said then they would not meet key profitability targets on time due to a further deterioration in the South African economy,

which slipped into recession in the final quarter of 2019.

The outbreak of coronavirus looks set to exacerbate these conditions, even for lenders that have seen continental operations boost their profits as growth at home lagged, such as Standard Bank.

The bank said it would hold an investor call at 1500 GMT on Tuesday and would update the market further once sufficient certainty

exists.

Its shares rose 4.8 per cent at market open, outperforming the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s banking index which was up 3.3 per cent in a relief rally after recent sharp falls.

Lenders’ shares suffered on Monday after the South African rand hit an all-time low, and the local stock market has seen huge volatility since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

25

COVID-19 and Wealth Creation Opportunities BasedoninformationprovidedbyInvestdataConsultingLimited,anindependentresearch and financial education company, Goddy Egene writes that the COVID-19 pandemic has driven prices stocks to affordable level for investors

T

he global pandemic, the COVID-19 has virtually aficted many stock markets and devastated economies across the globe. The negative impact of the virus has affected both developed or developing markets.

However, this COVID-19-driven bear market has provided new opportunities for value investing among intelligent investors, which is as old as the stock market.

Value investors look for juicy margins of safety in equity investment as a result of which they seek to buy value, while at the same time protecting their capital by avoiding poor decisions and market downturns. In summary, this is a situation when a stock is worth much more than its market value.

Before the onset of this ravaging virus, the global markets carried a positive momentum into 2020 amidst trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies- the United States and China, a situation that had dominated market trends for most of 2019, and eased, following the signing of phase one trade deal by both parties.

This was, nonetheless, short-lived following the spread of the coronavirus from Wuhan in China to other countries beginning from the middle of January that saw markets tumbling, eroding early gains made earlier.

The commodities’ market was not left out, with the price of crude oil falling sharply and remaining depressed at around $26.35 per barrel on the expectation of lower demand after factories in China, the largest consumer began to shut down as a result of the ensuing lockdown.

Also, the infectious disease gave way to concerns amongst global investors as appetite for risk declined, while they sought safe havens in instruments like government bonds.

The last week of February 2020 happened to coincide with one of the worst bear markets in stocks as shareholders worldwide lost an estimated $6 trillion in market capitalisation between just February 24 and 28, 2020, according to reports.

With the economic impact of the coronavirus rising, global and country growth forecasts are being revised downwards with little optimism, given the shutdown of manufacturing factories and disruption in trade-flows around the world.

Investors and businesses are urging policymakers to introduce or increase stimulus packages in the form of palliative measures to cushion the financial impact of the pandemic on businesses and households.

Uncertainties remain in the global economy even though market indexes’ showed a little recovery from last week, as investors see opportunities for long-term positioning on the expectation of positive market turnaround.

This optimism is seen against the backdrop of a possible containment of Covid-19 to a large extent across the globe soon, followed by the resumption of full-scale economic activities, supported by fiscal stimulus and continued implementation of trade talks between the US and China.

Wealth Creation According to the Chief Research Officer of Investdata Consulting, Mr. Ambrose Omordion, wealth creation through the stock market is more of an art, rather than a science. “Anybody can create wealth by intelligently investing in equities through seeking to buy value at some discount that represents a high margin of safety that lowers your investment risk, despite the high risk associated with stock market investing,� he said.

He explained that in our drive to make money, many of us try to exchange time with money, forgetting that we only have a limited amount of time to generate wealth by investing our hardearned income so as to attain our short-term goals.

In the process, we often forget about long-term wealth creation investing, as “Warren Buffet rightly said:� if you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die. Back home, the Nigerian stock market, has over the years, created wealth for discerning investors who understand the dynamics of the equity market and its mantra of “buy low and sell high.�

Investdata noted that it is obvious that before the ongoing global pandemic induced bear market, the Nigerian stock market had suffered many setbacks, at the least, since early last year, owing to factors such as uncertainties related to the 2019

NSE trading oor

general elections, especially the Presidential poll.

Others included policy summersaults on the part of government, regulators, the lack of depth in the nation’s equity market, poor corporate governance, the urgent need for investor education, and low confidence level.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)’s All-Share Index, which gives a general overview of the market performance, has so far taken a deepdive, falling by 20.5 per cent year-to-date, while market capitalisation has lost over 12.12 per cent, closing at N11.1 trillion as at Monday. To put it in context, these economic indicators mirror business activities and company performances in the country.

Omordion said when the performance of the stock market is weak or poor, it means investors are losing value as the worth of quoted companies contracts, given that the performance of any stock market is determined largely by the well-being of its quoted companies which are generally affected by cycles or disruptions in the economy.

Today, most companies whether global or domestic, are already feeling the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak and this is one of the reasons for the decline in oil prices and stock market performance.

NSEASI Movement from 2009-2020 He explained that creation or transfer of wealth occurs at a time like this when the composite NSEASI is at its 11-year low, indicating that prices of most listed companies are coming cheap for wise investors to latch onto. “This is considering that the Covid-19 driven

down-market is a first of its kind and way different from the 2008/2009 global financial meltdown. It is, therefore, heartwarming that so much intervention is being packaged by the public and private sectors, in addition to measures already announced by central banks to curtail the spread and cushion the effect of the pandemic on the economy and some sector that are more exposed to the risk of the virus than others,� he said.

Other Factors “We recall that there are other factors that impacted the nation’s financial market, long before the onset of the outbreak, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive restricting domestic investors (whether institutional or retail) from participating in its Open Market Operations (OMO), in the fixed income market.

This led to the subsequent crash in rates across fixed income instruments leading to the continuous drop in treasury bills, with the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day rates tanking to as low as 2.49 per cent, 3.78 per cent, and 5.3 per cent respectively.

Similarly, bond rates have fallen as of the last Federal Government Bond auction which settled at 9.85 per cent, 11.125 per cent and 12.56 per cent for the five-year, 10-year, and 30-year maturities respectively, thus limiting investors’ investable options for short-dated instruments,� he added.

With Nigeria’s inflation rate currently above returns on investment, investors are earning negative real returns on their fixed-income investments.

Omordion said following the developments in the fixed income market in fourth quarter (Q4) 2019, the equities market got a boost from the

situation as investors diverted their funds to the stock market in search of higher yields. “Consequently, the Nigerian bourse witnessed positive price movements leading to a bull-run throughout January 2020, after which it closed with a 7.46 per cent month-on-month growth in the All-Share Index, while market capitalisation recorded 10.38 per cent return,� he said.

Omordion said the tea-party could not be sustained, in the month of February as sell-off began, with investors harvesting profits on positions held since 2019 through January 2020. “There was also investor reactions to the CBN’s decision to adjust Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) at its January meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which investors were still grappling with before the market was further hit by Covid-19 impact, pushing the year-to-date loss to 18.55 per cent as mentioned earlier,� he said.

According to Investdata, valuations have become cheap with average Price Earnings Ratio of the Nigerian stock market at around 6.12x, well below its peers in frontier and emerging markets which shows that Nigerian stocks are trading at a great discount. “We expect policy changes in the fixed income market, particularly the FGN bonds, given the government’s shaky revenue profile due to the low oil price that has forced a N1.5trillion cut in the 2020 capital spending plan. This may, however, offer some respite to the equities market prompting a stable rally from the over N2 trillion maturing fixed income investments in 2020, as investors look for an asset class capable of offering a positive real rate of return to deploy their funds into. Only the stock market can offer such positive real returns desired by investors, and we expect to see long-term bargain hunters taking opportunities of high yields and low valuation. “We advise investors to start accumulating on fundamentally strong stocks whose valuations have fallen so cheap and hold in anticipation of a market recovery in the long term as the Nigerian market remains one of the most attractive in emerging markets,� the firm said.

Key takeaways Investdata said stock prices to oscillate in second quarter (Q2) on fear of panic selling and the challenging economic situation. NSE-listed companies will see no earnings growth in 2020.

Investdata expects the NSE’s benchmark index to slide farther down, but recover by year-end.

We recommend that investors should look the way of defensive stocks and sectors that will be favoured by the CBN interventions.

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Bakare: COVID-19 Will Slowdown Nigeria’s Growth On April 1, 2017, Mr. Hafiz Bakare was appointed the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Bank Limited and he successfully steered the transition of the financial institution during that crucial period and laid the foundation for its subsequent growth.

In this interview with Oluchi Chibuzor, exactly three years after, the former CEO of the bank speaks about his achievements at the bank and issues in the economy. Excerpts: Can you just tell us about your career before joining Keystone Bank?

Let me start by saying that I was appointed MD/CEO of Keystone Bank by the then new owners, the Sigma Golf/River Bank Consortium following the successful divestment exercise which led to the transfer of ownership from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in March 2017. Before then, I was the bank’s Executive Director in charge of Corporate Bank and Treasury, and also overseeing the Lagos and West commercial directorate, having been appointed to the immediate past board by AMCON in July 2014. So, with that sort of background, I was not necessarily coming in from outside Keystone Bank. I had been in the bank for about three years before I was appointed MD/CEO to lead the transition from a government owned bank to a private financial institution. I had wide-ranging professional experience that cut across management consulting, banking, insurance, manufacturing, health and other sectors, locally and also across Africa. I was Chief Strategy Officer for First Bank of Nigeria, where I was responsible for bank and group strategy; mergers and acquisitions; conception and incubation of new subsidiaries; group coordination; new business development; economic intelligence; local and international ratings; investor relations; brand management and corporate communications. Also, I was, at some point in my career at First Bank, overseeing the products portfolio covering consumer banking products, money transfer, agriculture business and wholesale banking products.

In the course of my career, I was also Group Director at Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) PLC, an insurance conglomerate with business interests in other sectors locally and internationally.

At some point, I was Non-Executive Director at a company called SONARWA i.e Societe Nouvelle d’Assurances du Rwanda, which is the premier insurance institution in Rwanda, as a representative of IGI on the board and as part of my oversight responsibilities.

It may also interest you to know that I am a qualified Pharmacist. I equally have an MBA from IESE Business School, University of Navarra in Spain and was top of my class at the preparatory programme where I had a record of 25 As in 26 courses. My main consulting experience was nurtured at Andersen Consulting, which later became Accenture and I was on the firm’s outstanding track.

Before I was appointed to the board of Keystone Bank as Executive Director in 2014 by AMCON, I was actually running my own management consulting and capacity development practice, which I founded to assist different organizations across different sectors, and post-Keystone, I have resumed management consulting practice among other business endeavours.

I was also a Consultant for Knowledge Factory International, UK; an alumnus of the European Bank Training Network’s International Banking Summer School; a Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria; a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management and a member of the Institute of Directors. In addition to these, I have received executive education at Harvard Business School, USA and Wharton School University of Pennsylvania, USA while I have participated in major international conferences including the IMF/ World Bank Annual Meetings, World Economic Forum on Africa, and Economist Conferences.

I have also been a panelist at the African Business Conference of the Harvard Business School at some point and a council member of GLG, Gerson Lehrman Group, in the USA, which is the world’s largest knowledge brokerage and expert network comprising thought leaders and specialists in different fields.

How did you start your leadership in Keystone Bank, what were your responsibilities when you joined them and what were your ďŹ rst pronouncements and actions as CEO?

Bakare Like I said, I was appointed by AMCON to join the board as an Executive Director in charge of Corporate Bank and Treasury. We did what we needed to do to make sure that we worked with the available resources to improve things further in order to make a mark within the organisation, providing adequate support to the then CEO, Philip Ikeazor. When it also happened that one of the Executive Directors who was in charge of the Lagos and West Commercial Directorate had to move on, I had to take on that additional responsibility.

There were a number of other things that I had responsibility for as an Executive Director – for example, even the divestment programme itself that is, the divestment of AMCON from the bank, was within my purview from the bank’s side. So, I was the one designated by the erstwhile Board of Directors of the bank as Project Co-ordinator, to oversee that entire process and I was managing the interface with different stakeholders. So, I mean that was what I had to do in my capacity as a

It was important for the CEO to personally engage all customers through mails and letters, so, we had that communication and basically it was to inform them, ďŹ rst, about my assumption of ofďŹ ce, then to also indicate the successful completion of the divestment programme, that the bank had become a privately-owned ďŹ nancial institution

member of the erstwhile AMCON-appointed board.

After the divestment, I was appointed to lead the transition by the new owners under a Transition Board with Alhaji Umaru Modibbo as Chairman while one of my colleagues on the AMCON Board Mrs. Yvonne Isichei was retained as an Executive Director. My leadership of the bank took effect from 1st April 2017, incidentally a Saturday, but the first working day was actually Monday 3rd April 2017.

With respect to my first major pronouncements and actions on the way forward which were effected on the very first day as the CEO to lead the transition, let me mention a few: One was the strategic direction of the institution, which I had to indicate to all staff would be hinged on six major strategic imperatives that would drive all our activities thenceforth. These were (1). Governance; Customers; employees and resources; processes; delivery channels – branches, alternative delivery channels; and finally, considering where we were coming from, earnings. So, that was one of my first major pronouncements, stating basically that these would be the six major imperatives to drive every activity of the bank and that performance measurement with well-defined key performance indicators would be intensified for every job position.

In fact, what we did by publishing performance ranking or “league table� on a monthly basis, changed behaviour across the institution and also gave staff the assurance that change didn’t necessarily mean that we would start changing the people, because, of course, in any transition that’s the initial fear. Then, what we did in terms of external communication and engagement, was to send personal mails and letters to all customers of the bank between my effective date of assuming duty on 1st April 2017 which was a Saturday and the actual first working day on Monday 3rd April 2017. It was important for the CEO to personally engage all customers through mails and letters, so, we had that communication and basically it was to inform them, first, about my assumption of office, then to also indicate the successful completion of the divestment programme, that the bank had become a privately-owned financial institution.

To also let them know about the leadership

transition, seamless handover from the immediate past MD and to equally build confidence that I would leverage the institutional memory to the advantage of everyone, in view of the fact that I was a member of the immediate past board and management of the bank. So, that message needed to go out, seeing as customers were a bit apprehensive, not knowing who the new owners were, but because I had been around, that gave them some level of assurance. In the course of the transition, we followed this with face-to-face business development and confidence building marketing calls to Chairmen and CEOs of our various major customers across the country while establishing new relationships.

I also sent on that very first day, personal mails and letters to all CEOs of other banks, to introduce myself because I knew that I would be working with them thenceforth. And of course, like I earlier mentioned, there was personal communication in form of an e-mail to all staff of the bank, to lay down the strategic direction and my leadership philosophy. I subsequently had meetings with senior management staff.

Later that same day Monday 3rd April 2017, I had a town-hall meeting with all staff of the Corporate Head Office, a face-to-face, real-time meeting with everybody in the building. In the course of the transition, we followed that with similar sessions across all the different regions of the bank to meet all staff around the country.

Still talking about my first pronouncements and actions on the very first working day as CEO, I equally set up a multifunctional committee, with people of varied backgrounds and interests across the bank, focused on Business and Service Optimisation. This helped us a lot during the transition period to resolve a lot of issues on operations, systems, products and processes Then, also, the immediate commencement of a bank-wide revamping of our branches, to bring life to those branches. Considering the state of most of our branches at the time, they tended to create a wrong impression in the minds of not a few customers and members of the public that maybe the bank was not even operational. So, it was important for us to send that immediate signal that could not be ignored indicating that the bank had witnessed positive change and that we were very much in business while also building confidence in our people as well as the banking public. This was done in phases and the feedback from customers and members of the public was quite positive in all respects.

You really understood the power of communication. What were your main objectives that led you to attain success and the desired performance?

The major objectives, like I’ve said, were anchored on six strategic imperatives, which I made very clear to all staff from the very first day. Recall I mentioned, governance, customers, employees, processes, delivery channels and earnings. Those were the major anchors. Then, as part of these objectives we had looked at a few things that we felt were very key, going forward. There was need for some culture change and continued engagement, which was why we had to do all of those things about communication, being open and transparent.

And then, capital injection. Of course, if you had a divestment programme it was expected that moving from being a government-owned institution to a privately-owned institution would substantially enhance the capacity of the bank to be able to do things that it hitherto was not able to do. So, under the “Governance� strategic imperative, we highlighted capital injection as one major anchor of what should ultimately happen going forward with the support of the new owners along with forbearances requested from the Central Bank of Nigeria, some of which were granted both during the transition and subsequently.

It was equally necessary to further build the CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

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BAKARE: COVID-19 WILL SLOWDOWN NIGERIA’S GROWTH

So, putting it mildly and without delving into details on other macroeconomic variables, economic slowdown is expected but this would not be Nigeria-speciďŹ c as the world economy and most individual economies across the world are expected to slow down as a direct result of COVID-19 confidence of customers to facilitate deposit mobilisation and retention because the life blood of any bank, is to be able to mobilize deposits that you can lend to your customers. It was important that we built public confidence, such that we were able to retain existing customers and develop new business relationships, which provided foundation for post-transition customer attraction, retention and business growth.

Something that had been an issue generally in the Nigerian banking industry and particularly at the time, was the issue of non-performing loans.

As a player in the industry, the bank had its fair share of non-performing loans. Some of those loans became non-performing, essentially due to the fact that the country had gone through recession and therefore, the companies operating within could not be completely divorced from what was happening in the economy. A number of the loans were both syndicated and stand-alone facilities in strategic sectors which had been affected by significant changes in the assumptions underlying the original government roadmaps even as these companies had significant verified government receivables. As the economy itself was gradually getting out of that recession, it was important for us to also find a way of working very closely with these customers. So, one of the major anchors was risk management, something that we were very keen on, particularly in the areas of loan recovery, rejuvenation of business activities along with resumption in meeting obligations and perhaps most importantly, collateral enhancement to ensure adequate coverage. We took concrete actions in these areas during the transition with positive results that transcended the period as the succeeding management followed this lead which was reflected particularly in first-half 2018 results underpinned by reversal of impairment charges.

I had earlier mentioned branch transformation and this was about improving the façade of our branches as a form of brand projection. We did not contemplate changing the bank’s name from Keystone to something else because at the time, we needed to send a strong message first that we were back in business, projecting the brand through the outlook of our branches/service outlets, the quality of service delivery and also continued media engagement. There was sustained media presence as a number of our visits to Chairmen and CEOs of customer companies were given publicity, to create further confidence and use that as a basis for projecting the institution positively.

Would you say you succeeded in repositioning the bank and laid a foundation for the subsequent management team?

With all modesty, I would say yes! I have mentioned the bit about performance management, which remained very key. Performance stood at the very base of all the cultural transformation, by way of leading by example and the signal that came from the approach and style of the leader. Everybody took a cue from that. So, with the cultural transformation and performance management it became clear that it was an open environment where anyone could succeed. You didn’t have to know anybody, you didn’t have to be my friend, just do what you had to do.

We developed very clear performance parameters and followed the strategic direction which was well communicated to all staff leading to a very seamless and successful transition. Let me mention a few of the key highlights in addition to those already indicated: Deposit liabilities increased significantly even within the first four months

Bakare post-divestment despite the intensely challenging and competitive operating environment at the time, especially for a bank in transition; loan recoveries increased by over 100 per cent and the number of profit-making branches also increased considerably while there was a resurgence in dormant and inactive account reactivation; there was 40 per cent growth in activity levels on self-service channels and improved efficiency of operations with considerable growth in ATM transactions, POS collections, internet banking and mobile telephone banking volumes. Alongside operational improvements, cost-to-income ratio improved consistently every month during the transition; we enhanced controls leading to effective cost containment, revenue recovery through optimization of revenue assurance tools and enhanced compliance.

Specifically, the bank successfully processed USA Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) with Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN), to facilitate correspondent banking relationship and thereby reduce cost. On July 31, 2017, after very intensive cross-functional teamwork which I supervised personally, we launched Keystone Bank’s Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) product with the original unique *533# short code so that we could stand to be counted in the industry. It was necessary to ensure our customers continued to have confidence in the bank and have every reason to enhance patronage as we offered them convenient service comparable to, and even better than what was offered by competitors. Our PIN driven product at the time was superior to a number of already established USSD offerings in the industry as we consciously combined customer convenience with security.

This provided the foundation for the succeeding management which further fine-tuned the product with subsequent changes in the short code. So, under my leadership, we gradually repositioned the bank during the transition, building on the work done by the previous AMCON-appointed team of which I was a key member. We put the bank on a turnaround path and laid the foundation for subsequent growth.

Can you give an evaluation of the conduciveness of the business environment from an investor’s point of view, since you had this relationship with all the investors especially during the divestment, what are your insights?

Well, I will just say a few things here. You know, government itself had to put together some initiatives towards having a business-friendly environment. I believe this has impacted positively in the last couple of years and further improvements are expected once some of the things that the government is trying to do are fully implemented. What we’ve seen in previous efforts by government to reform

the policy and regulatory landscape didn’t quite deliver the significant results that were expected, because the efforts were fragmented and there was also inadequate prioritization at the highest level. Now, to overcome these challenges, the federal government set up what is called the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by the Vice-President, with its membership drawn from the Central Bank and the key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that are involved mostly in providing such services. It has yielded positive results over time with considerable improvement in the country’s Ease of Doing Business ranking and my belief is that when PEBEC initiatives are fully implemented, this will create an even more business-friendly environment for both existing and potential investors.

On the sale of the bank to investors, it is important to state that while the AMCON-appointed Board had me as Project Coordinator on the basis of which I anchored the interface with different stakeholder groups during the divestment exercise itself, the responsibility for evaluation of bids and final selection of the preferred bidder was exclusively that of AMCON. In that regard, AMCON was the Seller and Keystone Bank was the Target.

To guide AMCON’s sale decision, there were reputable Transaction Advisers like FBN Quest, Citibank, Ernst & Young, Banwo & Ighodalo and CrosswrockLaw, that supported in making the process thorough, competitive and transparent.

What do you think is the growth prospect for Nigeria in the light of the COVID-19 crisis?

The current situation has made the approved subsisting 2020 budget with its assumptions, revenue and expenditure projections, unrealistic.

The federal government is already working towards adjusting the budget with a planned 20 per cent reduction in capital expenditure across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and 25 per cent reduction in both recurrent and capital expenditure of government-owned enterprises leading to an estimated N1.5trillion reduction in the size of the N10.59 trillion budget. And with the planned reduction in oil price benchmark for the budget from $57 per barrel to $30 per barrel, the implication is an increase in the budget deficit from N1.8trillion to possibly over N3 trillion. Growth would therefore be a struggle in the circumstance!

There has been a significant drop in oil price to 17-year low at under $30 per barrel due to the effect of COVID-19 on economic activities across the world with our major trading partners, some of the worst hit. This is coupled with the direct implication of the trade war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, having United States

also in the mix. Notwithstanding our genuine diversification efforts through the non-oil sector, we still remain a mono-product economy driven by hydrocarbons. So, the dynamics of the oil industry as earlier indicated will ensure a drastic reduction in oil, hence foreign exchange revenue. Limited accretion to the foreign reserve due to reduced FX inflow would put pressure on CBN’s ability to sustain the naira at the level it has been for the past three years and we are already seeing the signs with CBN’s recent N380/$1 peg for interventions at the Investors & Exporters and Bureau De Change windows, which the apex bank has termed price adjustment. In view of this, planned FX borrowings by the government would have to be put on hold given the potential to spend more naira than budgeted to support servicing such loans if the pressure on the currency reaches a breaking point despite the controlled exchange rate management regime. And it appears this is well understood by both the executive and legislature given the current disposition to the proposal for $22.7 billion foreign borrowing which was initially enthusiastically pursued but now suspended. In that case, even the laudable infrastructure projects might be held back as government devises alternative sources of local funding like the N1.5trillion Infrastructure Fund, an idea which has just been conceived by the CBN working with the private sector to develop the modalities.

So, putting it mildly and without delving into details on other macroeconomic variables, economic slowdown is expected but this would not be Nigeria-specific as the world economy and most individual economies across the world are expected to slow down as a direct result of COVID-19. I acknowledge government’s proactivity through the CBN with the earlier mentioned Infrastructure Fund and others amounting to over N3.5trillion to cushion the COVID-19 effects on the economy in addition to forbearances on loan structure and interest rates.

Finally, the phrase, “change begins with me� what did that mean to you and Keystone Bank then?

Well, when the federal government’s campaign started, it was essentially aimed at educating and enlightening Nigerians to appreciate the values of integrity and accountability, and it was part of the government’s National Re-orientation Programme.

When the President launched it in 2016, the slogan was about the need for us to see change, not just in economic terms, but also in terms of our personal behaviour, how we conducted ourselves, how we engaged our neighbours, friends and generally how we lived within the larger society, in a positive and definitive manner, so that we could promote the common good. Those were some of the things the President said at the point of launching the campaign. So, what that campaign meant to me and to Keystone Bank was how the philosophy of the leader would permeate the organization by the symbolism of the leader’s words and actions as he led by example and the entire organization took a cue. Therefore, as a leader I believed (and still do) that the key principles that would ensure a changed and better work environment must be hinged on attributes like personal discipline; work ethics; fairness to everyone; no special privileges to anyone considered your friend or “loyalist�; openness; transparency; being true to your words and regard for everyone whether contemporary, superior or subordinate; and inclusive decision making to give a sense of ownership and worth, while leaving no one in doubt that as the leader the buck stopped on your table! Remember I said on the first day I assumed duty as CEO, we formed a multifunctional committee, with people of different backgrounds (and interests!) to look at issues of business and service optimisation, just so that people had a sense of being part of the decision making. And we achieved a lot with this during the transition. Finally, especially given the context of the bank, it was paramount to be prudent while following due process in all respects despite one’s privileged position as the leader. So, I believe these were the ways we internalised and manifested “change begins with me� in a manner that gradually improved the mood and culture of Keystone Bank. I wish the shareholders, current board, management and staff the very best as they continue to move the bank forward on this journey as a privately owned financial institution.

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Rewarding Customer Loyalty Nume Ekeghe writes about how Access Bank Plc has been empowering its customers through its reward scheme

C

hidi Okpala, 47, is a clearing agent working in Lagos. In 2013, he opened a DiamondXtra account. He had been attracted by the product’s dynamic ability to serve as a current and savings account. “When you open that account with N5,000,� he said, “the initial deposit (N5,000) is not retrievable. But they are not going to charge you anything for transactions again, except if you exceed like N10 million in a month; then they will now charge you a little.�

In his words, it was very good for “small business owners.� So he recommended it to friends and anyone who cared to listen.

In December 2019, Okpala received a call from one Mr. Bovi who said he was reaching out on behalf of Access Bank. (In 2019, Diamond Bank merged into Access Bank, taking with it all of its products) Bovi, then told Okpala that he had won an education grant of N100,000 for five years in the DiamondXtra promo. “I didn’t take it seriously,� Okpala said, “because I thought it was all these fraudsters.

I was waiting for him to ask for my account details, instead he directed me to visit the nearest Access bank branch.�

Okpala’s doubts lingered. The year (and for some, the decade) was running out and here was a call that, if true, would be a miracle. But what if it was false? To resolve the dilemma, two days after Bovi called, he visited his Access Bank branch at Kirikiri where he met with his account officer.

The account officer reached out to the bank’s headquarters and Okpala was told to wait for 24 hours. The next day, the instructions from headquarters directed him to the Access bank branch where he had originally opened the account. The branch was in Apapa.

A few days later, Okpala showed up at the Apapa branch, full of expectation. There, it was verified that he had, indeed, won the education grant.

On January 15, Okpala joined other DiamondXtra winners to converge at Access bank’s headquarters in Lagos, where he was officially awarded. “Actually that was when the excitement set in,� Okpala said. “When Mr Bovi called, he had said the grant was N100,000 for five years. I thought it was an annual payment, which would have amounted to N500,000. I was like, yeah, it’s great. N500,000 is not a small money and I had not bargained for it. “But on the official award day, the presenters came to me and asked for my category. I told them. They said, ah this is our star winner o. I was confused. When others are winning N1 million, Salary for Life, how could I be the star winner. Then they explained it to me. It was a monthly payment, which would amount to about N6 million. I said I would not believe it until I see the cheque.�

That day, Okpala received the cheque.

How it works DiamondXtra was launched in July 2008 as SavingsXtra to encourage savings and reward for Diamond bank’s loyal customers.

In 2013, the name was changed. According to the bank, over 19,000 customers have been rewarded with about N5.7 billion in the last 11 years. This year, the scheme will reward a total of 5,027 customers with N348.9 million.

Wigwe.

Some of the prizes include a health insurance cover worth N1.6 million and a N1 million business grant.

To participate, existing customers are expected to increase their DiamondXtra account balance with a minimum of N5,000 every month and new customers can open an account with a minimum of N5,000 and start growing their balances. Every N5,000 into the account manufactures a ticket that goes into the draws - so the more multiples of N5,000 a customer saves, the higher their chances of being picked. The draw occurs monthly and quarterly. “We want every Nigerians to move to the DiamondXtra initiative so that they can partake in the goodies which the product brings,�

Executive Director, Retail Banking, Access Bank, Victor Etuokwu, said. “The only way companies remain profitable is by creating value so as long as we keep doing this, our customer base will increase and this initiative will not affect our bottom-line.�

When Diamond bank merged with Access bank, some thought the DiamondXtra scheme would be scrapped, but that hasn’t happened. “DiamondXtra is not going away, it is here to stay and so customers should be assured that the corporate merger between Access and Diamond banks will ensure more accessibility of products to more customers,� Head, Product insights and Capabilities Access Bank Plc, Robert Giles, said.

“It is exciting that we are going to continue changing more lives because we now have a larger customer base. So our coming together with the best capabilities will bring the best services and products in the market.�

Testimonies Over the years, many winners of DiamondXtra have shared their stories with reporters.

At one of the Season 9 draws, a trader from Abia, Raphael Ogugua, won a brand new car. During the presentation at the Diamond Bank main branch in Umuahia, Abia State on February 16, 2018, Ogugua came out of the car and exclaimed, “It is real, it is real. I am the owner of a car.� He then sprawled on the bonnet of the glittering car still shouting in excitement.

Ogugua, who had not owned a car before, said that when he got the first call informing him that he had won a car the previous December he dismissed it as one of those scam messages. However, he said that when another call came three days later the truth sank in.

A businesswoman based in Abuja, Catherine Onwusonye, was rewarded with the DiamondXtra star prize, a Hyundai Accent car, during the Season 10 DiamondXtra Regional Prize presentation ceremony, which was held in Lagos.

Shortly after the prize presentation, Catherine told journalists that she thought it was a joke

when she received the call informing her that she had won the star prize of the draw. “I have never won anything free in my life before and I never expected that a new car would be the first free thing I would win. I want to encourage other customers to open a DiamondXtra account, you can never tell when it will be your turn,� she said.

In 2019, Mrs Nnenna Chukwu was the star prize winner, winning N100,000 per month for 20 years in the Salary for Life category. Chukwu could not hide her excitement, explaining that she had opened her DiamondXtra account a long time ago and was not expecting to win.

Last year, too, one of the winners was Chukwuemeka Emmanuel, a businessperson based in Lagos. He had been operating his DiamondXtra account for five years. “I am filled with joy today and I encourage Nigerians to tap into the rewarding scheme.

When I received a call that I have won N1 million, I did not believe it, but now that the bank’s executives have presented a cheque, I have no reason to doubt them. I thank God and thank the management of Access Bank for this great initiative. My advice to all out there is to go and open a DiamondXtra account and save to win too.�

For Okpala, who has been receiving his monthly checks since January, the win is for his children. “It’s a very big relief for me,� he said, “the problem of paying their school fees is now subdued, kind of. It’s real.

Rose of Sharon Foundation Supports Widows The Founder, Rose of Sharon Foundation (RoSF), Mrs. Folorunso Alakija, has given N25,000 to each of its registered widows and orphans in the six geo-political zones in the country, due to the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19.

A statement from the Foundation explained that following the outbreak of the virus, low income earners have

been adversely affected by the health and safety policies instituted by the federal and state governments.

A breakdown of the support to the widows showed that those to benefit are in the north central region, which include Niger, Benue, Nassarawa, Plateau, Kogi and Kwara states. The Federal capital territory is also included in this zone. In the north-west,

the states to benefit are Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara and Sokoto states.

For the north-east: Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states.

The south-south: AkwaIbom, Cross-River, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta and Edo states.

Also, the south-east includes: Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra states.

In addition, widows in the

states in the south-west are those in Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos, with Lagos being RoSF international Headquarters’. “The Rose of Sharon Foundation wants to make sure that none of our beneficiaries go hungry, as 90 per cent of our dependents’ daily income is derived from small trading activities.

“Widows are vulnerable as they have to take care of their families as sole breadwinners, and orphans have to fend for themselves.

RoSF is an NGO focused on alleviating the plight of widows and orphans. “We design and execute programs that give financial independence and educational opportunities to widows, their children and orphans. Together,

these programs build on the Foundation’s mission and values, responding to the challenges faced by widows and orphans. “Let us all rise up to the occasion: “reach out and touch� those who are vulnerable to this pandemic that faces our nation Nigeria.

May God heal our land and bless us all,� the statement added.

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Bridging Energy Exclusion Gap Lumos Nigeria, a renewable energy services company, recently came to the rescue of a teenager in dare need of electricity for her studies, writes Peter Uzoho

A

few months ago, a picture of a female teenager, Miss Dele Rasheed Fathia, in Ondo State, who was doing her homework at night in her remote village, with the aid of illumination from a bank’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM) went viral in social media.

The picture undoubtedly attracted plethora of comments and bashing at the nation’s leaders for failing to deliver stable and sustainable electricity supply to the citizenry, resulting to such national embarrassment.

Fathia’s home and that of other children of her school age in their remote community lack basic electricity. This posed great challenge to them especially with their academics, as they struggle to cope without sustainable power supply.

Upon getting knowledge of the said picture and being touched by the determination of the young schoolgirl to continue to work hard in her academics despite limitations posed by lack of electricity, Lumos Nigeria, a solar energy company decided to come to her rescue.

Within 48 hours, the company immediately visited Fathia’s home to assess the level of electricity need in the area and without delay, installed a free solar-powered system for Fathia and her household.

However, Fathia’s story is nowhere strange in Nigeria as over 50 per cent of the country’s population lack electricity. Both individuals and businesses have to resort to spending their fortunes on buying and running petrol or diesel generators just to have electricity at homes and business places.

While these generators can serve the purpose which they were purchased, little attention is paid to the health and environmental hazards associated with their use.

Most shockingly, in many rural areas in the country, people still use candles and kerosene-powered lanterns as their sources of illumination, not minding the effects these obsolete energy sources will have on their eyes.

For decades, Nigerians have been lamenting the poor power situation in the country.

Billions of dollars have been committed into the nation’s power sector without anything to show for it. Series of reforms have been done in the power sector but none has been able to change the narrative in the sector.

The unbundling of the Nigerian power sector and the eventual emergence of private entities in 2013, to serve as power generation and distribution companies respectively, have not performed any better.

The generation companies have an available capacity of about 8,000 megawatts (MW), with a transmission system which can only transmit about 5,000MW and a distribution network only capable of absorbing about 4600 MW. Today, so many homes in the country still

Most shockingly, in many rural areas in the country, people still use candles and kerosene-powered lanterns as their sources of illumination, not minding the effects these obsolete energy sources will have on their eyes

Adebajo remain unconnected to the national grid, with its attendance poverty, backwardness, and under-development. The ones that have managed to be connected seldom get five hours power supply in a day.

Such failure by the on-grid power sources to give unhindered access to electricity to the populace has led to calls by experts for Nigeria to shift to renewable energy.

This, they believe will solve the issue of energy exclusion and also reduce the hazards associated to the use of biomass and other primitive sources of energy by rural dwellers.

Lumos Nigeria, is one of the few renewable energy companies with focus on using solar energy to democratise access to energy and

transform communities.

This led it to intervene in the case of Fathia, where it has succeeded in solving a problem that would have scuttled her ambition. “Fathia’s story epitomises the Nigerian ‘Can Do’ spirit in the face of any obstacle.

We are pleased, as a company, to have supported Fathia’s quest to seek education and will continue to do more,� the Chief Executive Officer of Lumos Nigeria, Mrs Adepeju Adebajo explained.

Lumos Nigeria is part of Lumos Global, a renewable energy giant, and it offers clean, affordable solar power to a market of 40 per cent of Nigeria’s population who live within and off the electricity grid areas.

Adebajo, who is passionate about child education, added that solar power holds the potential for accelerated socio-economic growth across rural communities.

According to her, “it is very-easy-to-deploy, affordable and pollution-free alternative solution to Nigeria’s huge energy deficit and an answer to the need for constant electricity supply. “At Lumos, we believe everyone has the right to enjoy a better quality of life offered by access to clean, affordable and reliable power. We remain committed to powering one home, one business, one community at a time.�

Over 100,000 households and businesses in Nigeria are already using the services offered by Lumos.

Lumos offers clean and affordable solar power to a market of 1.3 billion potential customers across the world, who live off the electricity grid. It enables people to replace hazardous and expensive kerosene generators and lanterns with modern solar electricity that can power lights, cellphones, fans, computers, TVs and other compatible small electronic devices- giving you a better living.

By offering Solar Power as a Service, Lumos offers homes and small businesses a simple and affordable way to pay for electricity in small installments using their mobile phones.

The renewable energy firm believes everyone has the right to enjoy a better quality of life offered by access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity.

This, it makes possible through enabling off-grid customers to take control of their energy generation and usage; providing high-level customer support and technical service; and leaning on remote monitoring (m2m) and data intelligence to keep systems running smoothly and minimising the need for on-site technicians. The company also achieves its energy accessibility agenda through designing durable, energy efficient, worry-free solar power systems, suitable for private usage.

NIPCO Assures Customers, Staff of Protection against COVID-19 Peter Uzoho NIPCO Plc has pledged to support and protect its customers and staff against the COVID-19 currently ravaging the World.

The Managing Director of NIPCO, Mr. Suresh Kumar, in a statement signed by the company’s Assistant General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Lawal Taofeek, said, “there is nothing more imperative to NIPCO than the wellbeing of our customers and employees.�

According to him, “As COVID-19 continues to spread, we want you to know we are doing all we can to support you.� “We hereby seek your collective support to stop the spread of the disease.

We share the concerns and apprehension of our stakeholders on the pandemic especially its toll on the populace so far.�

Suresh said the downstream player has put in place series of measures to shield its esteemed marketers and indeed

other stakeholders who may have one transaction or the other to do with the company.

He noted that top level management meeting had been held on the health and social economic implication of the virus on NIPCO’s publics – internal and external, with a view to coming up with practical policies to protect them in the course of the company’s operations.

He added that the company’s terminal has full compliments of sanitisers, hand gloves and face masks

for staff and customers alike, to ensure safety of all, while daily briefings and monitoring of measures put in place were been done as part of sensitisation programme on how to cope with the pandemic. The NIPCO MD further said: “Our front office officers and interfacing personnel in Sales & Dispatch have also been sensitised on measures to prevent the spread of the disease to the terminal even as temperature checks for marketers and staff are being accelerated.

“We cherishes your transactions with us and seeks your kind support to contain the spread of the deadly virus. “We equally pledge our continued exemplary service to you all but with a caveat that your safety and good wellbeing would not at any time be relegated to the background.�

The company had earlier at a special event recognised some of its staff who have displayed commitments in services over the years. “It is pertinent to note that

the annual event is principally to recognise and appreciate NIPCO’s long serving staff for their contribution to the steady growth of the company. “Over 100 employees have so far benefited since the company was inaugurated in 2004 with 12 staff mounting the podium once again to receive 15 years long service awards aside from those that qualified on the ten years recognition of commendable service to the organization,� he added.

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IMAGES

Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi (right) and CMD of FETHA, Dr. Emeka Ogah during the inspection of the newly furnished Ebonyi COVID19 isolation center in Abakaliki...recently

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻ, 2020

Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

First Baptist Church, Broad Street, Lagos, under lock and key in compliance with government directive that worship places should be shut down to curb the spread of Corona Virus  in Lagos...recently

L-R; Fiyin Okupe; Sade Onabowale; Student Volunteers, Tomiwa Onabowale; Mindshift BoT member, Mrs Debo Onabowale; Mindshift Founder/FutureSpeek Convener, Mr. Joko Okupe; Mindshift Volunteer/Consultant, Mr. Desmond Ekeh; Mindshift Secretariat Head, Muyiwa Akano and Mindshift Volunteer and Digital/Social Media Manager, Daniel Maliki during the FutureSpeek pre-conference parlay in Lagos....recently

L-R: Brand Manager, Beauty and Hygiene, Unilever Nigeria, Motunrayo Babalola; Director, Corporate Aairs and Sustainable Business, Unilever Ghana and Nigeria, ‘Soromidayo George; Commissioner for Health,Ogun State, Dr. Tomi Coker; Director, Supply Chain (Manufacturing), Unilever Nigeria, Cephas Afebuameh; Occupational Site Physician, Unilever Nigeria (Agbara), Dr. Olukemi Albert-Udoh, and Head, Corporate Communications, Unilever Nigeria, Godfrey Adejumoh, at the presentation of Lifebuoy soaps to Ogun State Government in response to COVID-19 case in the State....recently

Secretary to Plateau State Government, Prof. Danladi Atu (right) and Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr Dan Manjang during a press conference on COVID-19 update in Jos...recently

Focal Person, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Edo State, Mrs. Ifueko Alufohai (left) presenting the Edo SDGs OďŹƒce start-up grant to a beneďŹ ciary in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the state...recently

L-R: Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Health, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu; CEO, Renal Dailysis Centre (RDC), Dr. John Olugbenga Okoh and Representative of Minister of State for Health/CMD LASUTH, Prof Adetokunbo Fabanwo, during a symposium to mark 2020 World Kidney Day in Lagos‌.recently

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

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Residents of  Narayi queuing for the donation of cash and food items from Microvis Micro Finance Bank in collaboration with GELD foundation to caution the eects of Covid-19 in Kaduna...recently

Village Head of Narayi, Sule Garba (middle); Managing Director, Microvis Micro Finance Bank, Kayode Akinade (right) presenting cash and food items to Mrs Docas Yakubu during the donation of cash and food items to Kaduna residents by Microvis Micro Finance Bank in collaboration with GELD foundation to caution the eects of Covid-19 at Narayi village, Kaduna...recently

L-R: Permanent secretary Lagos state Health service Commission, Eniayewu Ademuyiwa; Permanent Secretary Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye; Head, Emergency Operations Centre ( NCDC)/Lead National Rapid Response Team on COVID 19, Dr. Everistus C. Aniaku and Managing Director/CEO, Aliko Dangote Foundation, Zouera Youssoufou, during the presentation of 4 Ambulances to COVID 19 by Aliko Dangote Foundation on behalf of CACOVID with all private Sector for the Operations in Lagos.at Marina Lagos...recently

L-R: Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Bala Ciroma; DPO Zuba Police Command, CSP Lamido Alkali and Deputy Commander IRS, FCT Police Command, CSP Azeez Idowu during the enforcement, of the federal government directive on social distance and compliance of motorists carrying overload to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Abuja...recently

Law enforcement agents enforcing the directive of the federal government of social distance on motorist carrying overload to curtail the spread of Covid-19 along Dei-Dei /Kubwa expressway in Abuja...recently

Ucheagwu “Kachiâ€? Onyeka declaring his commitment to propose to Rosemary “Rosieâ€? Afuwape, after emerging winners of the maiden edition of Ultimate Love. With them is media personality and co-host, Oluwaseun P. Olaniyan at the grand ďŹ nale of the Ultimate Love reality TV show in Lagos...recently

L-R: P&G Government Relations Manager, Ridwan Sorunke; Director of Dentistry Division, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. (Mrs) Bola Alonge; and one of the community members of the Karomanjiji area of Abuja, Alhaji Ayuba Karomanjiji; during the oral health awareness drive with Oral B in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja...recently

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T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻ, 2020

EDUCATION Schools Deploy More Carrots, Fewer Sticks to Curb Lateness Late coming to school has proved to be a challenge confronting the society which can impede learning among children, but as it is, some stakeholders who spoke to Funmi Ogundare on the issue, explained the measures they have been taking to encourage punctuality among their pupils

I

n the face of mass late coming to schools in Lagos State and across the country, the introduction of behavioural incentives and rewards in a few schools is changing the picture and making students enthusiastic early birds. The measures include recognition of early birds on a character board in the school and certificates of good behaviour for positive attributes including punctuality. Others include compulsory early morning tests on key subjects in some schools.

Bridge International Academies is one of a group of schools that have worked out an answer to the challenge of persistent lateness.

The Public Relations Manager, Bridge International Academies, Mr. Femi Awopetu said his school has a system that encourages punctuality and other positive behaviours through the use of character board, a live tool that is updated daily to celebrate pupils’ punctuality among other positive behaviours. “There are various sections on the character board and one of the sections celebrates pupils that arrive school early. The pupils’ names are written on the character board and are celebrated by their peers.�

With such step being put in place, he noted that the school has received numerous reports from parents of how their children wake up early to go to school so that their names would be written on the character board.

Another tool used by his school to reinforce punctuality, he added, is the behavioural certificate. He said pupils are awarded the certificate towards behaviour celebration such as punctuality, cleanliness, care for the environment and respect for others during mid-term and at the end of the term. “Pupils and their parents feel proud whenever they receive the behavioural certificates. It’s like a competition for the children, so they always feel compelled to behave well,� he said, adding that the school also shows support by featuring them on its monthly newsletter. “Parents are usually pleased that their children are recognised for good behaviour. To them, it is an indication that they are being trained well, “Awopetu said.

Others are deploying carrots and sticks. Rather than the cane, a school in Oyo State offers early morning quizzes that students know never to miss due to lateness.

The Director of Omolewu Buckman Heights School, Okeho, Oyo State, Mr. Segun Omolewu said it usually organises quizzes in subjects like Mathematics, English Language and Basic Science for students in the junior classes; including Biology/Economics for those in the senior classes between 8am and 8.30am.

He said the quiz is meant to motivate them academically, ensure they are mentally alert and guard against lateness among the students. “The vice-principal academic must organise teachers daily to conduct the quiz every day. It makes the students mentally alert on the key subjects. With that, there is discipline, but once a student is absent from the quiz, it means he or she has not come to school that day and maybe punished,� he stressed.

The director said because of this, students ensure that they get to school between 7am and 7.30am to do general cleaning and prepare for the quiz, adding that the reward for getting questions right is to ensure that they are further motivated. “If they cannot get questions right, they will be ashamed, so they prepare well for the quiz.�

The case of a hitherto brilliant student illustrates the link between the home, performance of students and lateness. It is the story of Shola Adegunle who lives with her aunt in Lagos.

Before she came to live with Mrs. Adeoba, she was known for taking the first position at Iwara-Oka, Ondo State, where she finished primary school and did her first two years of secondary school. She was known for an excellent performance. Now, she didn’t know how to deal with this antithesis. She has become frustrated, sad with herself and reticent, living in a tiny

Some Nigerian students world, where she was left abandoned.

Shola is one of many students who usually go late to school due to one reason and another.

Some of these reasons are not far-fetched. They include parents’ attitude to the wellbeing of their children, on-going road construction leading to traffic in some cases, engagement in untimely domestic chores, distance to the schools, the habit of waking up late, lack of functional and effective punctuality policy, among others.

It was 7.30am and her domestic chores were not half done. She would still cook, attend to her aunt whom she is living with, mop the floor of the house before getting herself ready for school. She had roughly calculated she would be in school by 9am. This has been the painful routine since Shola Adegunle came to live with her aunty, in Lagos, Mrs. Folashade Adeoba. She calls her mummy. Mummy had a clumsy and uncaring attitude but only showed good concern whenever Shola was sick and she never allowed her to go hungry. But that was the cul-de-sac of her benevolence.

Mummy never cared for Shola’s education and being a woman bereft of any enthusiasm about domestic activities, Shola was left with the burden of total house upkeep. Whatever she left undone in the morning, she continued when she returned after school.

A bright and vivacious girl, Shola became introverted after two years of living with mummy.

She had to box everything in because she was no better at school. Her results found the way to the lowest rung of the ladder. She knew it was not hers, but circumstances had played a game on her.

The problem of lateness seems to have eaten deep into the Nigerian system and has now turned to a national problem. Little wonder the usual cliche ‘Nigerian Time’. Pupils no longer take punctuality seriously as they should. Usually, schools resume at 7.30am between Monday to Friday, while academic activities start at 8am daily.

The students/pupils in primary and secondary schools are meant to be in school for at least five to seven hours depending on the level they are.

The effective number of hours students have contacts with teachers is at least five to six hours per school day with a 40 minutes per subject period.

However, the number of contact hours has been reduced due to lateness which can disrupt the flow of a lecture or discussion, distract other students, impede learning, and generally erode

class morale.

When THISDAY monitored some public schools within Lagos metropolis around 8am and 9am, on the issue, this reporter discovered the alarming rate at which students get to their various schools very late.

From public schools within the Mile 2 axis in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area to those in Orile-Iganmu, Oshodi and Ilupeju under Mushin Local Government Area, the story is the same. They all tell sad tales of late coming.

Between 8am and 9am when academic activities were supposed to have commenced, students were seen walking leisurely to their various schools. Some mothers were also seen taking their children to school around the same time.

A JS one student of Amuwo Odofin Junior Secondary, Mile 2, Miss Abosede Adeola couldn’t offer any explanation as to why she was just going to school around 8.20am, when this reporter confronted her, while a bus belonging to Superstars School, FESTAC was just picking up its pupils about the same time.

According to UNICEF Nigeria Office annual report 2018, child survival, development, protection and participation in school, depending on the degree to which individuals, households, communities and social groups discuss and act to adopt desirable behaviour, and at a scale that creates movement.

The Fund said fostering family/community engagement is instrumental in reducing institutional barriers and improving access and learning. “Fostering dialogue and collective problemsolving around local education-related barriers and challenges is essential, especially for children.�

When THISDAY visited Ilupeju Junior and Senior Secondary School, this reporter met the principals of both schools having a meeting with a few staff and a police officer under a tree within the school premises, around 9am, apparently trying to resolve an issue. A student was also seen kneeling at a corner.

THISDAY inquired from the principals who do not want their names in print on the effort they have been making to curb lateness among students. According to them the issue of lateness is a recurring decimal. “We have been embarking on disciplinary measures to curb lateness. We had to punish the students who came late and still counsel them in their classes. To a large extent, it has been working, but it all depends on when their parents released their children to go to school.�

A public school teacher who prefers anonymity, said her school frowns at the issue of lateness because it affects students’ overall performance, adding that they usually ask students who come late to serve different punishments ranging from frog jumps, picking papers and leaves within the school compound, cutting of the grass, as well as washing the toilets.

She said this has improved punctuality in her school, adding that parents must continue to ensure that their children leave home on time.

The Director of The Foreshore School, Ikoyi, Ms Oyindamola Egbeyemi told THISDAY that the importance of instilling discipline as far as timeliness is concerned cannot be overemphasized.

She said her school usually has personal discussions with parents on the importance of dropping their children off on time so that they don’t miss out on classes and assemblies.

According to her, “for both the beginning of the day when children are dropped off and at the end of the day when they are picked up, it is very important. For drop-off, we treat it on a case-by-case basis.�

She said students need to start the day on time so that they don’t spend the entire day trying to catch up, adding that this method has been working for her school compared to taking disciplinary actions on the children. “I think this method works better for us than taking disciplinary action which comes across as harsh.�

A teacher at Edmonton Nursery and Primary School, Apple Estate, Mile 2, Mr. Ayobami Olupo said aside ensuring bus pick-up for the pupils, the school has made it a policy to pick its prefects from among those who leave home early. “The school buses leave as early as 6.30am to pick up the children in their different homes to ensure punctuality. Teaching on punctuality is also very paramount as we have been selecting our prefects and timekeepers from among pupils who abide by the rules,� he said, adding that this move has been motivating pupils to be punctual to school.

The Education Director, Citacard School, Magodo, Lagos, Mrs. Adeola Oyeniyi told THISDAY that her school does not have serious cases of lateness, adding that once they give the pupils warnings, they quickly adjust. “For staff, we have an average of one lateness per week. Once it’s more than five per month, the staff suffers salary deductions. That always makes them adjust,� she said.

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T H I S D AY Ëž APRIL 1, 2020

EDUCATION

COVID-19: Dawn Project Unveils Climate Change Essay Contest Oluchi Chibuzor In view of the flurry of COVID-19 disease outbreak, the Dawn Project has unveiled its climate change essay competition titled ‘A Plea’ which is a poem written by Dr. Pamela Ajayi.

Speaking at the official launch of the poem recently in Lagos, Ajayi said this became necessary because of social distancing currently enforced across the country. “Happenings around the world now is a clear negligence on the impacts of negative actions on mother earth.�

She said COVID-19 is a dawn of a new conscience that should make people get in tune with their environment, adding that there is a strong relationship between the health of the world and medicine.

On the guidelines to the Dawn Project, she said primary school pupils and secondary school students are to write between 75 to 300 word creative essay on the interpretation of the poem, ‘A Plea’. “What ideas and feelings does it evoke?

What are the solutions or suggestions to address the issues identified? Think about the threat of climate change in your lifetime, your community and country. Include your own ideas, suggestions or experience(s),� she said, adding that entries will open from March 21 to April 22.

On the relevance of the poem to COVID-19, Ajayi said:

“As a medical practitioner, what I have found out is that there is a strong relationship between the environment and our health. Globally, when there is climate change, the negative changes have negative impacts on our health. “It is high time people realised this simple phenomenon.

We may not realise it, but there are certain things that come with global climate change,� she said.

According to her, pupils between the ages of seven and 14 will win a cash prize of N50,000, N20,000 and N10,000 for the first, second and third positions respectively, including consolation prizes and a grand prize of N100,000 for the best creative design in that category.

She said students between the ages of 15 and 18 will win cash prizes of N100,000, N50,000 and N20,000 for the first, second and third positions respectively and 10 consolation prizes, while adults will smile home with cash prizes of N200,000, N100,000 and N50,000 for the first, second and third positions respectively with five consolation prizes of N20,000.

In his remarks, the founder, LUFASI Nature Park, Desmond Majekodunmi said: “We have been slapping mother nature for too long, she has not slapped us back; what she has done with this COVID-19 is just a tip. Viruses would become more prevalent simply because of climate change and the desperation of destroying

COVID 19: First Bank Partners Lagos on e-Learning First Bank of Nigeria has partnered the Lagos State government to equip and empower primary, secondary and tertiary institutions with e-learning solutions and devices as part of efforts to minimize the effect of disruption in schools’ academic calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The low-end devices preloaded with government accredited curriculum are designed to work offline and efficient for all students, especially the indigent, considering that the data consumption of most elearning solutions has been a major stumbling block for majority of students and teachers alike.

Speaking on the partnership, the Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan said since education remains the bedrock of any society, it is believed that when children are educated, the nation produces global citizens who will provide ground-breaking solutions for the continent and the world at large.

He said the bank will be providing a sizeable number of devices in this drive to move one million students to e-learning.

“This partnership is an avenue to support our children to remain resourceful and fully engaged at this time so that they can compete favorably with their peers internationally. It’s a responsible approach to empower them given that they are our future and the foundation to build our country to greatness. By partnering on this, we are solving a problem for families and for our future.�

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the state had to ensure that it engages the students while they stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We plan to use multiple media, including radio, TV and the internet to reach students. In addition, we have worked on a technology device loaded with the Nigerian curriculum that the students can use while at home. They will be able to continue learning, test themselves and send tests to their teachers who will also be equipped with the device.�

The governor and First Bank MD jointly called on well-meaning organisations to partner on the initiative and keep the children engaged and safe during this period.

nature. “We bring together different animals such as squirrel,

mongolia and pangolins to Nigeria, and antelope from South Africa and put them

in a cage. The reality is that each of these creatures has its own individual virus, but that

never come in contact with each other. In a jiffy, something will just happen,� he explained.

L-R:The Chairman, Building Committee, New Era Girls’ Secondary School Old Girls’ Association (NEGSSOGA), Mrs. Toyin Adebajo; Chairman, Board of Trustees NEGSSOGA, Chief Shade Thomas-Fahm; President of the association, Prof. Tamra Runsewe-Abiodun; member, BOT, Mrs. Teju Akindolire; the Vice-President, Mrs. Nike Bankole; members, 1968/72 set, Mrs. Yemi Osho; and Mrs. Oyinka Balogun, at the sod turning of alumni building at the school in Lagos... recently

Green Energy Awards N50m Scholarship to 340 Rivers Indigent Students Kasim Sumaina in Abuja Green Energy International Ltd (GEIL), the operator of the Otakikpo Marginal Field in OML 11 with operational base at Ikuru Town in Rivers State, has awarded a N50 million scholarship to 340 students from Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.

According to the company, the scholarship would enable the beneficiaries to pursue their education for the 2019/2010 session and covers secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

The spokesman for GEIL, Olusegun Ilori, in a statement, disclosed that the students were selected after a rigorous qualifying examination from among over 7,000 applicants for the scholarship under the ‘Green Energy Leaders of Tomorrow

Scholars’, instituted in 2018 to enhance the education standards of youths of the host community.

Presenting the scholarship at the yearly community stakeholders luncheon in Port Harcourt, the Chairman of the company, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe said the company apart from infrastructural improvements of the communities in its area of operation, considered provision of scholarship as critical to the human capacity development of the communities in Andoni and Rivers State in general.

He said the company’s believe that crude oil production is not an end in itself but a means to achieve economic development and other development goals prompted the move towards supporting education as one of the critical pillars of social change in the country.

Adegbulugbe recalled that

during its five years of operation and engagement with the communities, the company contributed significantly towards achieving some United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through consistent health intervention programmes, the revamping of health facilities through the Johns Hopkins University partnerships, the conservation of animals species programme and infrastructure development through the Community Trusts Fund, among others.

He said the thrust of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability work remains capacity building, socio economic growth, environmental protection, promotion of green and energy efficient technologies and upliftment of the marginalised and underprivileged segments of the society.

Also, the state Commis-

soner for Energy and Natural Resources, Dr. Peter Medee commended the board and management of Green Energy for investing in the education of youths in the host communities.

He also commended GEIL for its investment in the development of the communities and promised to partner the company in the proposed power generation and LPG production projects being planned for the Andoni area.

The chairman of Andoni Local Government Area, Paul Lawrence on his part said the gesture of the company in providing over 340 students with scholarship in one year was unprecedented in the area.

He said the company has proved to be a partner in the progress of the people of his local government and promised to ensure the peaceful operations of the company in the area.

JAMB’s Online Services Will be Active, Says Oloyede Funmi Ogundare The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has put in place all necessary arrangements to ensure that its services are not only active and available online, but are not disrupted in any way as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Registrar of the board, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, who made this clarification in a statement, reiterated its determination to ensure that it delivers on its mandate of providing quality service to Nigerians. He said by implication, Nigerians can access all its services from the comfort of their homes as they stay at home to be safe. “The SERVICOM Unit of the board could be reached round

the clock through our ticketing platform to receive complaints and enquiries. The board would promptly attend to it.�

Oloyede therefore called on the public to take full advantage of these channels for fast and efficient service. He affirmed that the board, as a responsive organisation is dutybound to support the efforts of government in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 by not encouraging or sanctioning needless assemblage of people at its various offices.

The registrar also charged Nigerians, particularly UTME candidates, to strictly comply with the various directives issued by the government to curtail the spread of the deadly virus.

In another development, the board has commended its staff

for the successful conduct of the 2020 UTME, stating that a webinar was a potent way of communicating with staff in line with the social distancing protocol and the prevailing lockdown of all MDAs. Oloyede appealed to them to adhere strictly to instructions from the Federal Ministry of Health and the various state governments. “You are to respect the social distance policy as directed, as well as observe other precautionary measures stipulated by other regulatory agencies.�

He said the board’s online platforms are up and running, adding that it has provided necessary tools with which staff could provide essential services from the comfort of their homes.

He charged zonal directors and state coordinators to oversee the security of their offices and liaise constantly with the headquarters or supervising directors for necessary directives during the period of the lockdown. “Prior to the webinar, the board had some proactive measures aimed at protecting its staff as they prepared for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), by providing nose masks, gloves and hand sanitizers, which we have strategically installed at strategic locations within the premises.�

For effective communication, Oloyede said the board had grouped it staff into four webinar meeting groups and each had their webinar meeting last week.

34

T H I S D AY Ëž APRIL 1, 2020

EDUCATION

Group Seeks Curriculum Restructuring amidst Poor Funding Oluchi Chibuzor A non-governmental organisation, Concerned Parents and Educators (CPE), and other stakeholders, have called for curriculum restructuring amidst the current low investment in the education sector.

They said this is necessary considering the various western-based curricula used by some schools in the country that do not reflect national values and needs of the country.

Speaking at the Save Education Dialogue with the theme ‘How’, organised by the CPE in Lagos, the former Deputy Governor of Lagos, Mrs. Sarah Sosan, who was the keynote speaker, called for increased funding of the sector.

She said basically without education, there is no way the

nation can move forward and change, adding that in moving forward, everyone should be represented. “Today, most of us are just educators, but we want other professionals to be there so we can talk it up, as education is basic to everyone of us. “Today’s event is disruptive as many people would be wondering who are the CPE?, what do they want and how will the ideas that the children bring up help us in formulating policies for their own good and the country,� she said.

The convener of CPE, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, promised that the members of CPE will continue to fight for the improvement of education in the country, while calling for better communication among Nigerians and members of the

organisation to improve and actualise the group’s objectives. “A curriculum that serves the society is a curriculum that meets the people’s needs and this can be achieved when there is a proactive leadership which understands the needs of the children,� she said.

In her remarks, Dr. Ifueko Thomas, who spoke on ‘How do we create a curriculum that serves the need of society?’ called on the federal government to evolve an effective curriculum that will save the country’s education sector. “We have a situation where some say we operate the British and American curriculum and we do not have a Nigerian educational policy that truly reflects our present realities creating opportunity for our education to be inferior,� she said.

On his part, a public speaker, Mr. Praise Fowowe noted that there should be a process that will encourage parents to work hand in hand with schools to nurture and educate the Nigerian child.

The stakeholders also agreed that schools should recognise the multiple intelligences of children when grading their academic capabilities.

Commenting on how they want to learn, students highlighted conducive environment and a practical oriented teaching, among others. “A situation where every student are not compelled to learn only on academic perspective, but along other innate potential and in an interactive environment, and where there is a physical relationship between students and teachers should be encouraged.�

KEHINDE OMORU www.kayomoru.com

CHILL - LAY IT ALL DOWN Even if you wanted to get busy, make contacts, ďŹ ll up your weekly planner, take stock of the previous week’s endeavours and achievements etc., you can’t! The world is in a lockdown, basic courtesies are in a lockdown, in short normalcy is in a lockdown and if we’re not all careful, frustrations, anxieties and mental imbalances will take us over.

No more did this sink in than last Friday when I popped into the post oďŹƒce to get something done. Right up to the street, the ground was visibly marked with signs directing people to stand two metres apart.

There was a sense of emergency wartime-like treatment in the air.

Four people were allowed into the post oďŹƒce at a time by austere voiced shop attendants, two of who wore face masks.

I was particularly mied by the fact that the other two shop attendants who in addition to wearing face masks wore rubber gloves and looked more like morgue attendants than high street shop attendants. They more or less barked out orders (rather than make the usual courteous oers to help or support) to customers. It felt as though the customers waiting to be served were deďŹ nitely COVID-19 infested whilst the shop and its attendants were deďŹ nitely COVID-19 negative.

TherewasthissillyairofnastinessandharshnessaboutthatIwondered whether it really is necessary for any service to still remain open if people were going to continue to treat each other like “shit�. Do permit my language but I need to spill out the pervading negativity succinctly.

You must take care of your mental health this time than ever before.

There really is no need to lose your mind and give way to impatience, grouchiness, snappiness and rudeness. It is indeed a trying time for everyone globally.

Going to the shops or market currently puts many mums and dads around the world in panic. Prices of basic needs have doubled, food is scarce, jobs are being lost, businesses are grinding to a halt, people are dying... the tales of woe are continuing. But you must take a grip on your mental health and remain stable and sound in mind.

It is now time for every individual to take stock of what they have left.

What do you have left? Have you begun to make a list of all the skills, resources and ideas you have that might help you survive perhaps the next three to six months of lockdown?

Are you going to wait until it is too late to do an inventory of all you will need to get you and your family through the next six months of lockdown? Non basic or essential tasks, cannot be attempted now.

Don’t even attempt them as to do so is to take yourself on a journey to the land anxiety and panic. Remember that you are not alone in this situation. It’s a pandemic issue meaning that it is felt globally. So chill and lay it all down.

Mrs Kehinde Omoru writes from the UK

JAMB to Accredit More Centres in 2021, Says Minister Some pupils of The Foreshore School, Ikoyi celebrating their victory at the inter-house sports competition held recently

Foreshore School Director Calls for Opportunities in Sports Funmi Ogundare The Director of The Foreshore School, Ikoyi, Ms. Oyindamola Egbeyemi has stressed the need for the country to create opportunities especially in the area of sports so as to allow people to exploit their inherent talents.

Egbeyemi, who said this recently during the school’s inter-house sports 2020, themed ‘Working Together in Love’, said if sports is taken seriously in schools, for instance, it will be a good opportunity to exploit talents and offer scholarships to children who might want to go abroad for further studies. “The US is constantly looking for sportsmen and women to give scholarships to. Look at all the sports teams in the world, you will notice that the greatest talent are of African descent. So genetically, we have the make up to excel sports

wise. I feel we need to exploit that a little more.�

In terms of promoting wellness, she said the school has always been an advocate for health and fitness, adding, “good health is very important.

We had a guest speaker today who spoke about physical fitness as a key thing that keeps people alive. He said lack of physical fitness kills people the most because they don’t realise that it is important to stay active. Inactivity is what kills people the most, so it is very important to stay active to promote movement. In Nigeria, we are always sitting down instead of being active.�

In ensuring good sportsmanship, Egbeyemi said focus should be on working together to promote team spirit among competitors to achieve a goal. “There are many facets to sports, for us, the key factor this year is working together in love and we are trying to

promote good sportsmanship. “People always focus on who is going to win during inter-house sports, whereas the focus should be people working together to promote good team spirit, enjoying the sports together as a team and making sure we have the same vision and achieving the same goal. There are many people who are working together to ensure this day turns out well and members of staff getting the children ready and they themselves having to put in their efforts to develop team spirit.�

The director said the school encourages the children to love each other within their team, adding that their parents are also carried along in building team spirit. “Without them, we won’t be together as a unit, so we try to promote working together and the team work that we share.�

She expressed excitement about the quality of games being showcased at the competition, saying that it is all about being intellectually coordinated that will bring about success in sports. “Though I wasn’t directly involved in the games, but I was very impressed to see that the games was not just about speed and endurance and some cognitively thought out games such as doing the thread, filing sponge with water to fill up bottles, among others. It goes to show that sports is not just about speed and endurance which is what is usually promoted.�

At the end of the competition, Chestnut House came first with 11 gold, six silver and five bronze medals; Oak House was second with eight gold, silver and 10 bronze medals; while Redwood House came third with four gold, 17 silver and six bronze medals.

Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba has disclosed that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) would accredit more centres for its annual Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Nwajiuba made the disclosure in Calabar during the monitoring exercise of UTME and inspection of educational facilities in Calabar.

The minister, who was in the company of the Cross River Commissioner for Quality Education, Mr. Godwin Amanke and the JAMB State Coordinator, Mrs. Ville Pius, said after the monitoring exercise, a report would be prepared by the South-south Coordinator of the board so that the government can plan for 2021.

He said in 2020, the centres were expanded based on what they had in 2019, so based on what they have seen this year, they will expand accordingly in 2021. “We have monitored some centres within Calabar and from what we have seen, the exam is going on well.

“The network hitches have now been resolved, the students that complained had genuine complaints because in some of those places, the glitch was technical and they have been resolved, the candidates were also allowed a little bit more time to continue with the exercise,� he said.

However some of the candidates who spoke to THISDAY expressed their displeasure over the issue of sending candidates to other states to sit for the UTME. According to Miss Joan Ekanem, “I registered here in Calabar and wanted to write my examination in Calabar, but I was posted to Ikot-Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State.

Another candidate, Joseph Ogar who registered in Calabar, but was posted to Ikono in Akwa Ibom State, complained about the whole process, adding that JAMB does not take the safety of the candidates into consideration before posting them to different states.

Some of the centres visited by the minister and his team included the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Calabar Study Centre and the examination center at the University of Calabar.

35

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻ, 2020

Oyakhilome Inaugurates N1bn Faculty Building at Benson Idahosa Varsity Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Founder and General Overseer, Believers’ Love World, aka Christ Embassy, Dr. Chris Oyakhilome has inaugurated a N1 billion Faculty of Engineering building at the Benson Idahosa University (BIU), Edo State.

Oyakhilome had in 2016, promised to donate N1 billion towards the construction of the engineering building.

At the inauguration ceremony, the cleric said the donation was not only towards contributing to the actualisation of the dream of late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, but also an opportunity for him to appreciate the founder’s contribution in his life.

Oyakhilome, who commended the late founder’s family for keeping his legacy, said what he has become today was shaped

by Idahosa. “So I didn’t think I was doing something other than expressing my appreciation.

I took the opportunity he afforded me to say thank you. “I am one grateful person,

grateful for what Idahosa was doing. Coming here, I thought about the legacy of Idahosa, I always have it in mind that I am his legacy. We are part of his fruit. “I count myself lucky for having the opportunity to celebrate him. Idahosa gave me a picture of what I will become today before he passed on. “Idahosa had always told us to support the poor and the government, he said this knowing that the government is not poor. He taught us how to give. We are the legacy of his ministry, life, work and message, we are taking this message everywhere,� he said.

Oyakhilome appealed to everyone to key into the legacy of the late archbishop by contributing to actualise his dream university. “It is our university, a university that we all need and we just do what we have to do to have it.�

Also speaking, the Chancellor of the institution and wife of the late cleric, Archbishop Margaret Idahosa said she never had doubt about the actualisation of the university even when

some people expressed fear that it will be a tall dream after the demise of the founder.

“Nobody ever thought that BIU will be a reality.

I thank God for people like Chris Oyakhilome and

others who have made this dream a reality.

Similarly, the President of the university, Mr. Feb

Idahosa said BIU remains a legacy that was built by all, including the students and the likes of Oyakhilome.

L-R: The Laboratory Director/Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, El-Lab Medical Diagnostics and Research Centre, Prince Elochukwu Adibo, overall best graduating student, David Iragbai, best graduating student, Histo-Pathology and Immuno Chemistry, Victoria Idowu, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Idowu, during the presentation of cash awards to best graduands at the induction ceremony of Medical Lab Science graduates of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos... recently

Fourth Mulade Quiz, Essay Contest for Riverine Association Restates Commitment to Producing Schools Holds in Warri Sylvester Idowu in Warri Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), to education development that North emerged winner and Sheriff Mulade, said the will help to eradicate illiteracy got a cash prize of N100,000; Educated Women The fourth edition of the competition was organised and reduce civil unrest in their Egbokodo Secondary School Oluchi Chibuzor

The Holy Child College Old Girls’ Association (HCCOGA) has restated it commitment to producing more educated women in the society through its intervention programmes.

This is coming as the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi had earlier in his keynote speech delivered at the college as part of activities marking the HCCOGA’s 75th anniversary, urged the nation to produce more educated women to speed up its development.

The group, through its President, Mrs. Titi Akisanya, said as a college with history of producing notable ladies and eminent women in various sectors, which includes the wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, it would not relent in pursuing developmental initiatives within the school and beyond.

She said the funds raised at the event would go back to the college in areas like scholarship and mentorship programmes and the upgrade of the college hall to a world class standard. “A lot of notable old girls and sets have done notable things to upgrade the standard of the school, repairing and creating new laboratories; recently a mathematics laboratory was created by a set and donated ICT gadgets for students to use in class. “Not too many schools in

Nigeria have this equipment especially when it comes to a dedicated digital mathematics laboratory; this is notable because the subject is very important in today’s world of inventions. This means that Holy Child College is in line with technology as robotics and artificial intelligence is shaping economy. “Not too many students like mathematics, but having a digital mathematics laboratory where you use technology to enhance the education of mathematics and the advancement of the subject, it means the old girls are focusing on making the subject more interesting and have seen more of the students doing very well in various secondary school examinations,� she explained.

On her part, the Chairperson, 75th Anniversary Planning Committee, Dr. Bimpe Adebajo, announced the postponement of other events lined up for the anniversary due to the COVID-19 outbreak. “In view of the pandemic, we have to be sympathetic and observe the necessary measure put in place by government and as old girls we have to give back to the school through the fund raising for interventions support programmes and also to students who cannot afford their fees as a result of loss of parents, among others.�

Comrade Sheriff Mulade Interlocal Government Quiz and Essay Competition for rural/ riverine secondary schools in Warri North, Warri South and Warri South West Local Government Areas of Delta State has ended with a charge on participants to be shining examples and beacon of hope to others.

The competition, which held at Hussey College, Warri, saw Alema and Egbokodo Secondary Schools defeating seven other participating schools to emerge first in junior and senior categories respectively.

Speaking at the event, the organiser and Coordinator of the Centre for Peace and

to sustain the existing peace among the ethnic nationalities in the communities within the three Warri Local Government Areas, particularly the Ijaws, Itsekiris and the Urhobo people.

Mulade told participants that the “annual competition is aimed at bridging the gap between the rural/riverine schools and their counterparts, so that the coastal schools can have a taste of what they have been denied over time in terms of academic competition and exposure.�

He urged multinational oil companies within the area to channel more of their corporate social responsibility functions

operational areas in line with goal four of the SDGs. Some of the schools that participated in the competition were Ogbe-Ijoh Secondary School, Okerenkoko Secondary School, Ogidigben Grammar School, Alema Secondary School, Obodo Secondary School, Erejuwa Secondary School, Egbokodo Secondary School, and Oloduwa Secondary School.

The competition featured essay writing for the senior secondary school students and quiz competition for the junior secondary school category.

At the end of the competition, Alema Secondary School, Abigborodo, Warri

came second and received N70,000, while Okerenkoko Secondary school came third and received N50,000.

For essay writing, Egbokodo School emerged winner and got N50,000; Alema School came second and received N30,000; while Erejuwa School came third and got N20,000.

Guests at the event commended Mulade for his humanitarian activities over the years, saying that his likes are few in Africa and wished him success in all his endeavors.

The event was well attended by key players in the Delta State education sector, local government as well as other lovers of education.

Foundation Awards Scholarship to 52 Indigent Students in Anambra David-Chyddy Eleke in Akwa A non-profit organisation, Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora (OCI) Foundation has awarded scholarships to 52 indigent junior and senior secondary school students in Anambra State to assist them achieve their academic goals.

The beneficiaries were selected from various public schools in Anambra East, Anambra West and Ayamelum Local Government Areas under the foundation’s Ifedioramma Okafor Memorial Secondary School Academic (IFOMSSA) Awards.

Presenting the awards recently at Fr. Joseph Memorial Secondary School, Aguleri, Anambra East Local Government Area, the OCI founder, Dr. Chris Ifediora, who was represented by the Legal Adviser to the foundation, Mr. Steve Ononye, said the annual event was the fourth and a total of 124 students have so far benefited from the scholarship scheme since 2017.

The founder, who noted that a total of 15 received the award in 2017; 22 in 2018; and 35 in 2019, promised to increase the figure annually.

He said the scholarship programme was instituted

in honour of his late father, Ifedioramma Okafor, for his firm believe in education. “The beneficiaries all underwent a one-off examination called the IFOMSSA Challenge, which was held on January 27 before they were selected. “The 37 junior award winners are all Nsugbe indigenes enrolled at the Community High School, Nsugbe while the 15 senior category beneficiaries were selected across the three local government areas,� he said.

Ifediora said the aim of awarding the scholarship was to motivate young ones and spur students from the

Omambala area of the state to attain greater academic successes. “We at the OCI Foundation believe in the powers of an educated and a motivated mind. Such a mind can dream unimaginable dreams, surmount impossible obstacles, achieve the unachievable and explore limitless opportunities. “The OCI Foundation wishes to give our younger ones the opportunity to bridge the gap between riches and poverty, and to arm them with the tools with which they will overcome failures and attain successes,� he added.

36

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻËœ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

SMEDAN Grants Three Months Moratorium to Loan Beneficiaries Nume Ekeghe The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has granted a three-month moratorium to beneficiaries of its One Local Government One Product (OLOP) programme.

A statement from the Corporate Affairs Unit of the Agency, quoted the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Dr. Dikko Radda, to have stated that the moratorium would take effect from this month.

Radda, said the decision was taken in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Presidential relief packages for micro enterprises in the country.

“Let me use this opportunity to implore relevant participating microfinance banks to ensure strict compliance,� he stated The programme was adapted from world-famous One Village One Product (OVOP) Movement, first implemented in Japan’s Oita Prefecture in 1979.

As a regional economic development model, it mobilises local people to translate naturally- available resources (i.e. unique skills/ raw materials) of rural communities into value-added, economic activities/products or services.

OLOP emphasises bottomtop development approach (i.e.

Government’s role limited

to facilitation only), and the expected value-addition is achieved through processing using modern production technologies, quality control through relevant certifications or licenses and product branding for domestic and foreign market.

Under the scheme, a participating community or cooperative may focus on one (or a few) products for which it enjoys comparative advantage (or local pride). “SMEDAN vision is to cover the 774 local government areas of the country under its OLOP programme, so far, the agency has covered 218 local governments areas with the support of the federal government,� it further states.

FCMB Temporarily Suspends Promo First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has announced a temporary suspension of the season seven edition of its promotion for savings account customers tagged, ‘’FCMB Millionaire Promo.�

A statement from the bank explained that the decision to suspend the promo, which it disclosed had been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was part of strategies of the bank to support the efforts of the government to mitigate the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

FCMB explained that the development was also in line with the social distancing protocol and other measures recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Nigeria Centrefor Disease Control (NCDC) to contain the disease.

Thousands of customers of FCMB and officials of the regulatory agencies usually attend the live draws of the promo across the four regions and nineteen zones that make up the Bank nationwide.

The FCMB Millionaire Promo Season 7 was scheduled to run from March to October 2020, and produce another set of 16 lucky customers of the bank as millionaires through winnings of cash ranging from N1 million to N2 million. This was in addition to 152 LED televisions, 152 power generating sets, 912 smart phones

and 760 decoders, to be won through electronic selection of all qualified customers.

According to the Executive Director, Retail Banking of FCMB, Mr. Olu Akanmu, “the decision to temporarily suspend the Millionaire Promo Season 7 was a difficult one.

However, as a responsible organisation, the safety and well-being of customers and the entire public are paramount at this critical period of a health emergency. “As soon as the situation becomes conducive, the season 7 of the promo will resume, because we are committed to reward the aspiration of our customers to save and fulfil their dreams.’’ It pointed out that the bank has continued to provide prompt and convenient financial services despite the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. “The bank has already activated its business continuity plan and commenced a comprehensive implementation of safety measures for customers, staff and the public to contain the spread of the pandemic,� the statement.

Apart from advising Nigerians to diligently adhere to all the rules put in place by the government and the health authorities to avoid further spread of COVID-19, the bank stated that it has also put in place several safety measures

at all its touch points. “Among this is the cleaning of teller counters at all branches with disinfectants every hour. This is in addition to compulsory enforcement of temperature screening, the use of hand sanitisers for all those that must gain access to any of its business premises and keeping a keen eye on social distancing rules. “Following this, FCMB has further optimised its robust alternate and digital banking channels to effectively cater for all forms of transactions required. Customers are therefore encouraged to make use of the Bank’s selfservice channels, including, internet banking, the new FCMB Mobile app, USSD solution, automated teller machines, among others, to send money, pay bills, request for loans, purchase airtime, check account balance and carry out other transactions on the go,� it added.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is a member of FCMB Group Plc, which is one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments. Having successfully transformed to a retail banking and wealth management led group, FCMB expects to continue to distinguish itself through innovation and the delivery of exceptional services.

COVID-19: Foundation Donates N2m to Vulnerable Nigerians Oluchi Chibuzor As parts of the effort to cushion the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria, the Stephen Akintayo Foundation has donated the N2 million to vulnerable Nigerians.

This also included the sum of N1 million given to an online grocery stores to distribute food to residents of Ajegunle.

The Chief Executive Officer of Gtext Homes and Founder Stephen Akintayo Foundation, Mr. Stephen Akintayo, who disclosed this in Lagos, said the gesture was a relief package to orphanages and the most vulnerable in Nigeria.

According to Akintayo, “This is not the season to think of you and your family alone, this is the season to give.

We need to be our brothers’ keepers by ensuring that those that do not have benefit from our deeds of kindness as this will also go a long way in helping people stay off the street to forestalling the spread of the epidemic in Nigeria. “I am also using this opportunity to call on our partners, friends and other Nigerians both corporates and individuals to see the need to give to the vulnerable among us,� he said.

Meanwhile, other organisa-

tions that benefitted included Gideon Orphanage and Widow homes and Tivid Orphanage Home Int’l, that also received N250,000 relief donation from the Foundation.

He also noted that, “Maiduguri IDP Camp will also benefit through a nongovernmental organisation that will buy food items and distribute as well as medicine for the hospital in the IDP Camp.�

Meanwhile, N1 million has been given to an e-commerce website, www.ginido.com, that will be distributing groceries to communities in Ajegunle and other areas.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

SEPTEMBER 2019 Money Supply (M3)

35,029,779.72

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

7,374,356.91

Money Supply (M2)

27,655,422.82

-- Quasi Money

116,533,891.21

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,121,531.60

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,625,047.69

---- Demand Deposits

9,496,483.91

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

13,911,335.83

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

21,118,443.89

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

35,918,179.45

---- Credit to Government (Net)

10,452,199.38

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

11,007,422.79

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

25,465,980.07

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-14,799,735.56

--Other Assets Net

7,000,253.07

Reserve Money (Base Money

2,005,600.83

--Currency in Circulation

4,677,530.81

--Banks Reserves

317,121.43

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT MONDAY, 30 MARCH 2020

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $21.66 a barrel on Monday, compared with $24.26 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

37

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻËœ 2020

MARKET NEWS

COVID-19: Equities Market Loses N2.6tn in One Month Goddy Egene The Nigerian equities market has suffered its biggest monthly loss in March, as the impact of the COVID-19 and declining price of crude oil continued to affect global markets. The market lost N2.558 trillion in market capitalisation indicating a decline of 18.7 per cent, compared to a loss of N1.11 trillion in February.

Specifically, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) market capi-

talisation dipped from N13.658 trillion to N11.1 trillion, while NSE All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 18.8 per cent from 26,216.46 to 21,300.47.

The market shed 0.1 per cent yesterday, which is the last day of the month, with 11 stocks depreciating, while nine stocks appreciated.

Year-to-date, the market has declined by 20.6 per cent, with the apprehension that further depreciation would

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

be recorded going forward.

Worried by the impact of the COVID-19, countries have been putting up stimulus measures in response to the economic challenges.

In Nigeria, for instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced some stimulus measures to support the real sector given COVID-19 spillovers. Some of the measures announced include the reduction of interest rate to 5.0 per cent from 9.0 per cent and a one-year

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

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

moratorium on all CBN intervention facilities. The apex bank also created a N50.0bn targeted credit facility to support households and SMEs as well as a special credit support of N1.1 trillion for the manufacturing and the healthcare sectors respectively. In addition, the CBN announced a private sector coalition to support the federal government in procuring medical supplies to contain COVID-19 pandemic. To further support the economy, the

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

commercial banks have also been granted regulatory forbearance in the restructuring of loans.

On the fiscal side, an ‘Emergency Economic Stimulus Bill 2020,’ that proposes temporary measures to cushion the effects of COVID-19 spillovers on Nigerians and businesses and is expected to terminate in December, 2020. Some of the provisions of the Bill include the suspension of import and stamp duties on essential medical

O F

supplies required to fight the pandemic as well as a 50 per cent rebate on corporate taxes and the imposition of new moratorium on mortgage obligations.

However, analysts at Afrinvest said while the proposed stimulus measures are laudable, their impact would be limited. “ The rebate on trade duties should support Nigeria’s response to the spread of COVID-19 and the healthcare system.

3 0 / 0 3 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

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38

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

CSCS to Sustain Remote Service Delivery to Capital Market Community Goddy Egene The Chief Executive Officer of the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri yesterday said the company remained committed to continue to serve its community

and markets, leveraging its digital channels and systems during the 14-day lockdown period in Lagos, Ogun States and Abuja.

The financial market infrastructure for the Nigerian capital market, had suspended services to walk-in clients and switched to the use of

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

digital channels as part of efforts to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic last week. And following the lockdown announced by the federal government, CSCS said it would sustain its remote trading.

According to Jalo-Waziri, over the past week, they have seen their

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 30Mar-2020, unless otherwise stated.

workforce perform effectively in home-working arrangements with all services running efficiently as they continue to support as a financial market infrastructure.

“We continue to achieve 100 per cent performance across all services daily with our people

having adapted to this new way of working. Furthermore, as part of our business continuity and governance process, we have instituted crisis management committees at both our board and management levels to ensure integrated governance and holistic coverage of our

response mechanisms and practices, particularly at this unprecedented time. We assure our stakeholders and clients that CSCS will continue to ensure a high level of system stability and client service support across all business services at all times,” he said.

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 111.91 115.58 -23.59% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 6.48% Nigeria International Debt Fund 295.91 295.91 -5.31% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.87 0.87 3.06% ACAP Income Funds 0.77 0.77 34.46% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.07% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.45 2.50 -0.47% info@anchoriaam.com ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 12.53 12.91 -18.17% ARM Discovery Fund 306.06 315.29 -11.40% ARM Ethical Fund 25.18 25.94 -13.42% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.54% 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 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 0.07 0.05 7.08% Paramount Equity Fund 9.67 10.05 -21.93% Women's Investment Fund 104.35 105.19 -5.53% 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 6.38% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 91.91 92.29 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 98.67 99.13 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,300.81 1,302.45 0.75% FBN Balanced Fund 127.98 128.84 -12.83% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.20% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 110.72 111.41 -7.15% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 111.30 111.99 -7.12% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 100.73 101.89 -22.59% 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 7.09% Legacy Debt Fund 3.72 3.72 1.75% Legacy Equity Fund 0.94 0.95 -17.47% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.09 1.09 1.10% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH Treasury Bills Fund N/A N/A N/A GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.48% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 114.78 115.54 7.00%

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.35% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.07 2.10 -5.71% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 11.31% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 136.65 137.03 -4.77% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.12 1.14 -3.97% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,129.87 1,129.87 2.84% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 7.18 7.25 -26.70% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 4.57% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.27 1.28 4.21% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.37 11.40 1.21% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 5.00% PACAM Equity Fund 0.91 0.91 PACAM EuroBond Fund 86.33 88.33 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 109.92 110.76 -11.16% 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 1.03 1.03 2.68% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,521.35 2,532.80 -5.28% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 1.69% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 -14.04% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 1.92% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 -13.59% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.53% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 -14.56% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.16 1.16 1.42% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 118.18 118.18 0.00% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Wealth for Women Fund N/A N/A N/A QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 8.99 9.09 -12.53% Zenith Ethical Fund 10.90 11.00 -6.21% Zenith Income Fund 23.26 23.26 4.62% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.69%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

3.20 120.83 52.49

-66.85% 1.45% 0.85%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

7.00 74.07 54.90

7.10 75.62 55.91

-19.50% -19.92% -25.54%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund Union Homes REIT

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

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

2.37 3.20 9.74 10.31 164.68

2.41 3.28 9.84 10.51 166.68

-33.18% -45.54% -19.17% -0.75% -11.77%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.69

17.60%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

39

WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

New Tokyo 2020 Date is a Silver Lining for Athletes, Says Gumel The President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Habu Gumel, has described the new date announced on Monday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the 2020 Games in Tokyo as a silver linen across a gloomy sky as the world continues the battle against Covid-19 pandemic.

The NOC topshot said the July 23 to August 8, 2021 date announced by IOC will give athletes, coaches, investors and governments a new sense of purpose as they continue their preparation for the Games.

Gumel said it was imperative

for the NOC to update Nigerians about the multi-sports fiesta which will still be known as Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“We are all aware that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, officially known as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a new date announced,” stressed the NOC Chief.

Speaking further, Gumel who doubles as the treasurer of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) said, “The IOC is aware that all Olympic Movement stakeholders

and the athletes face significant challenges in securing the final qualification places for the Tokyo Games.

“Even in some countries, athletes are finding it difficult to continue their regular training schedules but the IOC has reassured all stakeholders that all the athletes will have their time for the qualification window as new dates will be

made available very soon so as to give clarity to all the actions,” revealed Gumel.

He reiterated the full commitment of the IOC to the delivery of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games The IOC member expressed confidence that with the measures being taken by various authorities around the world, the Covid-19 virus will soon

be curtailed.

He therefore encouraged all Nigerian athletes across the world to continue their preparation for the Games with renewed vigor.

“The Nigeria Olympic Committee is equally hopeful for speedy solutions to the health challenges posed by Covid-19.

On a brighter side, we all can take advantage of the extended

period to adequately prepare our contingent for a glorious outing at the Tokyo Olympic Games.”

Meanwhile, the IOC has established a Task Force, code named “Here We Go” to ensure coordinated actions by all stakeholders with a mandate to constantly keep all stakeholders abreast of the situation.

Scolari: Clashes with Drogba, Anelka Caused My Exit from Chelsea Brazilian Coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, has admitted that his clashes with strikers Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka led to his sacking at Chelsea.

The Brazilian was brought in to succeed Avram Grant in 2008 but lasted just seven months in a frustrating spell at Stamford Bridge.

The 71-year-old, who guided Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, admitted he had ‘issues’ with some of the Blues stars.

‘Chelsea had some problems with injuries, some problems in the team,’ he told Yellow and Green Football.

“I had a form of leadership that clashed with one or two players,” revealed Scolari several years after leaving Stamford Bridge.

When asked which members of the squad in particular he had problems with he replied: ‘Anelka and Drogba.

‘Our medical department thought that we should let Drogba go and recover (from surgery) in Cannes, in the middle of summer.

“I thought he should stay in London. I’d also like to go to Cannes in the middle of summer. I’d stay there for a month, two months, enjoying

myself.

“When he came back, I tried to adapt so that Drogba and Anelka could play together. Anelka was the top scorer in the league. We had a meeting and Anelka said: “I only play in one position.”

“So, there was a bit of a lack of friendship, of respect, of trying to play together with Drogba. They were both great, but someone had to do something different, to get back to help when we lost the ball.

“That was when it changed a bit. But we’ve met since then, me and Drogba. The last time was in Russia in 2018. We spoke openly about it.

“There wasn’t any ill intention from him or Anelka.

But it happened and I lost out on one of the great chances of my life,” stressed the Brazilian.

Scolari had made a good start to life in West London, masterminding a 12-match unbeaten run at the start of the season.

But towards the end of the year and the start of 2009 results and performances dropped and he was eventually dismissed following a 0-0 draw at home to Hull City.

Cancellation of Wimbledon Imminent A series of emergency meetings is under way to decide whether Wimbledon can go ahead this year.

The All England Club has said a final decision is yet to be made, but the cancellation of the Championships for the first time since World War Two now seems inevitable.

The Wimbledon Championships are due to run for two weeks from Monday 29 June.

The French Open has already been pushed back four months to late September because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I guess everyone’s been waiting on it,” Britain’s seven time Grand Slam doubles champion Jamie Murray told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“It’s obviously the next big event in the tennis calendar

that’s still on the calendar for the moment.”

BBC Sport understands a decision to abandon this year’s grass court season is likely be made in conjunction with three governing bodies - the Lawn Tennis Association, the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association - within the next 48 hours.

The All England Club admitted last week that a postponement would not be “without significant risk and difficulty,” and Murray says there are many practical reasons for that.

“I think for them, it’s difficult to move the tournament back because you’re running into other tournaments that are for the moment still on the schedule,” he explained.

Scolari (right) and Drogba when the going was good for them at Stamford Bridge

Nigerian Sports Stars Unite against Covid-19 Femi Solaja Some of Nigeria’s best known names in sports, including Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor and Tobi Amusan are included in the short video by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sport and the Nigeria Olympic Committee to create awareness for the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other iconic sports stars also in the video include Enefiok Udo-Obong, Chika Chukwumerije, Ahmed Musa and a host of others, According to Udo-Obong on FUBS WhatsApp platform yesterday, the 43-line campaign

message introduced by the Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare, “is recited by a total of 41 ex and current International athletes made up of 19 male and 22 females across 14 sports.

The sports from which the past and present stars were selected include, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Football, Handball, Judo, Para-Athletics, Powerlifting, Para-Rowing, Shooting, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Wrestling and Volleyball.

“The objective of this campaign by the FMYSD with the country’s Olympic, Commonwealth and African medalists is to inform the public about the virus, talk about things

to do to help stop the spread and then give hope for the future to Nigerians,” observed the Sydney Olympic 4x400m relay gold medalist.

Also trendy on social media yesterday was the video message by Nigerian wrestling sensation, Odunayo Adekuoroye who is also urging Nigerians to adhere to all instructions from the World Health Organization and the Federation Government of Nigeria on how to defeat Covid-19.

The world number one ranked star in women’s 53kg free style wrestling said in a emotional video circulating the social media, that the entire populace have big role to play in order to prevent

the widespread of the virus in Nigeria.

Nigeria has recorded about 113 coronavirus cases and in the efforts to combat the virus , the federal government has impolsed 14 days curfew on states that have been hit like Lagos, the FCT and Ogun.

Odunayo who has won laurels for the country at both the Commonwealth Games and the World Championship however urged Nigerians not to panic , but follow the instructions given by the appropriate authorities and also pray for the country.

She however remains optimistic that Nigeria would win the battle against Covid-19.

Premier League, EFL, Clubs to Discuss Collective Wage Deferral Today Premier League and English Football League clubs are set to discuss a collective wage deferral agreement at a meeting with the Professional Footballers’ Association today.

The proposal is one option to help clubs facing financial struggles during the coronavirus crisis.

It is also understood the PFA will ask clubs if wage deferrals are justified.

Professional football in England has been suspended until 30 April at the earliest because of the pandemic.

It is widely accepted that a return is likely to come at a later date.

The Premier League and English Football League (EFL) are both committed to finishing the season but have said they will resume “only when it is safe and conditions allow”.

On 18 March, the EFL said it would release a £50m fund to help its clubs cover shortfalls this month. Wednesday’s meeting will now focus on how to cover April’s costs without any football.

Premier League clubs are also conscious that not finishing the season could mean they owe broadcasters about £760m.

Talks will centre on whether clubs need to defer wages among players and if a collective

agreement can be reached.

Players at Championship leaders Leeds United have already volunteered to take a wage deferral, while Birmingham City’s players who earn more than £6,000 a week have also been asked to take a 50% cut for the next four months.

But the PFA is urging other clubs to involve the union and for a collective approach to be taken.

There are also understood to be reservations from other clubs who feel they have been more careful with their finances and do not want to be forced into a generic agreement.

Wednesday’s meeting will discuss cash flow data from clubs and consider any updates issued by FIFA and UEFA, the world and European governing bodies, who are also set to meet earlier today.

That meeting will look at matters such as player contracts and the transfer system, which could impact English football.

The PFA is also set to meet the Football Association about the future of women’s football in England.

The professional Women’s Super League and semiprofessional Championship are also suspended until 30 April.

Wednesday April 1, 2020

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UT H

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Sultan to Islamic Clerics “One may not be wrong to conclude that the action of some of the ‘Ulama clearly depicts sheer whims and caprices of their myopic worldview, stark ignorance of reality based on genuine knowledge and medical scholarship” – The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, expressing anger over the attitude of some Muslim clerics for misleading their followers over coronavirus.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE What’s to Be Done about the Pandemic?

THE HORIZON

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

I

t is axiomatic that in the raging global war against the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), each country is a battle front.

The leadership in each country constitutes the command structure that is expected to mobilise men and equipment to fight the public health enemy until victory is achieved.

Nigeria should take its own battle front seriously for the health of its people and because its action is very strategic for Africa in the unfolding crisis.

Unlike the global crises of recent years in which world powers were expected to provide leadership, the war against COVID-19 provides a different situation in which such a leadership is simply absent. For instance, the United States of America and its allies in Europe are themselves overwhelmed by the spread of the virus. So, no serious country appears to be looking westward for rescue.

The epicentre of the disease has moved from Asia to Europe and now to America.

Yet, perceptive global observers are warning that if the poor countries are not given a helping hand in this crisis, the rich country may still remain endangered even after the crisis is presumed to be over in some parts of the world.

After all, if there is any lesson of the pandemic that is undeniable, it is the lesson of the common humanity. It is the point that the whole of mankind could sometimes share the same fate in global crises as those of health, environment, nuclear armament and biological weapons.

The extraordinary nature of the present crisis is also partly explained by the fact that it was virtually unpredictable even though the year, 2020, happens to be the one “that launched a thousand forecasts,” as the London newspaper The Economist, puts it in its yearly publication, The World in 2020. There have been many predictions about 2020 especially from the beginning of this century. There were even predictions made a century ago and in the middle of the last century of how 2020 would look like as the target year.

Some commentators were reportedly asked in 2009 to state their visions for 2020. Their responses would seem intriguing now in retrospect. One pundit had a vision of villages inhabited only by pensioners who would employ the services of robots. There was also the forecast that in 2020 Britain would have a national DNA database. Another futurist predicted that by 2020 there would be artificially grown hearts in the laboratory for sale to patients.

No one said precisely that a virus would emerge that would change things in such a dramatic way that this coronavirus appears to be doing at present Amid this process of looking back and imagining the future by thinkers, the United Nations rose to the occasion yesterday with the launch of a 26-page report with a “call to action” on governments.

In the report entitled Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the Socio -Economic Impacts of COVID-19, the United Nations (UN) challenges governments and the society to action.

The timely call is premised on the following

President Muhammadu Buhari fact: “The COVID-19 Pandemic is a defining moment for modern society, and history will judge the efficacy of our response not by the actions of any single set of government actors taken in isolation, but by the degree to which the response is coordinated globally across all sectors to the benefit of our human family.

“The United nations global footprint at the national level is an asset for the global community to be leveraged to deliver the ambition needed to win the war against the virus.

“With the right actions, the COVID-19 pandemic can mark the rebirth of a society as we know it today to one where we protect present and future generations. It is the greatest test that we have faced since the formation of the United Nations, one that requires all actors – governments, academia, businesses , employers and workers’ organisations, civil society organisations, communities and individuals – to act in solidarity in new , creative, and deliberate ways for the common good and based on the core United Nations values that we uphold for humanity.”

This informed perspective from the UN is another categorical rebuke of isolationism and a proof of the suitability of global action to problems confronting our common humanity.

It’s worth recalling that the viral scourge came in the ferment of right-wing populism in the West ranging from Trump’s “America First” to the upsurge of neo-fascist politics in Europe.

The important voice of the UN should, therefore, bear some resonance in Nigeria as it tackles the public health crisis.

Not a few thinkers have made the prognosis that the multi-dimensional impacts of COVID-19 would be such that things would never be the same for the polity, economy and society in many countries. There is already the suggestion of paradigm shifts in many areas of human life.

Historically, the moment could turn out to be so defining that it would continue to feature in the course of analysis of epochs many years from now. Hence in 50 years from today, a pundit analysing some events of the early 21st Century may have to indicate if the period he is referring to is pre-COVID -19 or post-COVID-19.

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In fact, while the future is awaited (and no one could say precisely when victory would be proclaimed by mankind in the war against COVID-19), some changes are already afoot. Take a sample. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly said amid the battle against the virus (which he has unfortunately contracted) that “there is such a thing as society.” He made the important statement in a recent press conference. Johnson is a conservative prime minister like his late predecessor, Margaret Thatcher, who said in 1987 in a famous interview that “there is no such thing as the society.” Thatcher spoke at a time when neo-liberalism began to rule the wave of public policies during the last quarter of the 20th Century. It was the period of the triumphalism of market forces and the glorification of selfish individualism; a period when every problem was deemed to have a market solution including the ones in the social sector of health and education.

Thatcher would probably shake her head in the grave now that one of her conservative successors doesn’t seem to be embracing the neo-liberal ideas of Fredrick von Hayek.

Von Hayek was the ideological inspirer of Thatcher. But the ideas of John Maynard Keynes appear to be coming alive again in the West with Johnson’s stimulus package that is very similar to that of President Donald Trump in America.

So, one lesson that Nigeria could learn from the global dynamics is that some problems should be viewed as those of the “human family” as the UN aptly puts it. These are not the issues for a deal in “competitive markets” as our neo-liberal experts often insist in policymaking. For instance, every country affected in this public health crisis is so involved as a member of the “human family” and not as an “emerging market” or a “developed market.”

In short, the society is certainly more than a market.

That is the lesson from America, the richest country that is having its health infrastructure overwhelmed by a virus. The investment in the health sector should not be subjected to the logic of market because public health issues have no market solution as demonstrated from Asia to America. They are purely social issues. You could be infected by a virus if your neighbour cannot afford the cure of the disease caused by the virus. The social character of any pandemic is self-evident.

Talking about policy failure, it shouldn’t take COVID-19 for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to be properly funded if public health is understood to be a social sector investment. Such an institution should not be subject to logic of free marketeers.

For years, the advocacy for increase in health budgets have fallen on deaf ears and successive neo-liberal experts in power would insensitively justify why the poor people should be responsible for their bills if they want “quality and efficient healthcare delivery.” Universal healthcare is treated with unpardonable tokenism. But as shown by this pandemic, a virus is not only a danger to the poor man who cannot afford the bill; it also puts the health of everyone in peril.

The healthcare infrastructure being put in place by state and federal governments should not only be an emergency measure.

This public health emergency should be a positive turning point for the Nigerian healthcare delivery system. For Nigeria to be part of the change for good that pundits are predicting for the post-COVID-19 world, it should invest heavily in the health sector.

This should include health infrastructure uplift and the development of the manpower to run the system. That should be a policy priority . Modern equipment should be made available and the working conditions medical staff should be improved upon to the extent that medical professionals would turn down offers from other countries to work.

For the avoidance of doubt, paying attention to these global political and economic trends in tackling the pandemic should be without prejudice to what could appear as peculiar issues here in Nigeria.

One of the WhatsApp messages circulating on the pandemic is as follows: “Corona Virus is very respectful. It is the only disease that came into the country and went to greet the leaders first.”

Here is a related WhatsApp post: “Discipline saved China. Indiscipline drowned Europe.

Arrogance is killing America. I hope ignorance will not kill Africans.”

In a way, the second message is an admonition on the first one. It is sheer ignorance to say that only “leaders’ are first infected by the virus. It is universally known that the virus is no respecter of class, race or gender.

Some commentators even call it an equalizer.

The fact is that it is not the “leaders” who constitute a majority of the officially reported cases. For ethical and other professional reasons, the identities of those who test positive are not disclosed by NCDC unless otherwise requested by the patients. Now, the politics of coronavirus is that the public would expect political office holders and other public figures to announce their status especially if they test positive. So, only the names of governors and senior government officials and their relations and acquittances as well as businessmen have been mentioned as being positive. Hence, the wrong impression is given that COVID-19 is an ailment of only “the big man.”

There are videos of residents in poor neighbourhoods almost forming a club of coronavirus deniers. The matter is not helped by the poor capacity for testing and contact tracing. This is a sociological dimension to the problem. Public enlightenment and health education could cure this disease of ignorance. The respective departments for public education in the various tiers of government have their work cut out in this respect.

What is to be done? Perhaps, in the difficult circumstance of Nigeria it is better to err on the side of optimism. Coronavirus will be defeated in this war. Nigeria should, therefore, rethink its battle strategy against COVID-19 so as to prevent loss of lives in thousands as being witnessed in more developed climes.

Time and truth are two important things to which attention should be paid in the process.

Beyond that, the country should be prepared for the changes the world will witness postCOVID-19.

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