WEDNESDAY 20TH APRIL 2022

IMF Raises Nigeria’s Economic Growth Projection to 3.4% Hails country’s non-oil sector growth momentum Nume Ekeghe The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised Nigeria’s 2022 economic growth forecast from the 2.7 per cent it had previously

estimated, to 3.4 per cent.

Additionally, the fund reviewed upward the country’s 2023 growth prediction, from 2.7 per cent to 3.1 per cent.

These were contained in the

IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), titled: “War Sets Back the Global Recovery,” that was released on the side-lines of the ongoing IMF/World Bank hybrid spring meetings in Washington DC.

The multilateral institution noted that the non-oil sector played a pivotal role in increasing Nigeria’s growth prospect, noting that globally only 86 per cent of countries saw a downward revision of its

growth projection. It indicated that Nigeria was amongst 14 per cent of countries that had been estimated to record growth.

On Nigeria’s growth forecasts, Division Chief Research Depart-

ment, Mr. Malhar Nabar, while responding to a THISDAY question, during a media briefing said, “The heterogeneity is a key factor, if Continued on page 41

Central Bank Governor Becomes Next in Line to Lead Ivory Coast… Page 10 Wednesday 20 April, 2022 Vol 27. No 9871. Price: N250

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Buhari's Senator Moves to Dump APC, Holds Meeting With Katsina PDP Leaders... Page 41

Soyinka to Buhari: Pardoning Dariye, Nyame Means ‘It Is Finished’ Nobel laureate: This is one egg squashed against Nigerians’ faces that they shall not forget – or wipe off – in a hurry Falana laments disparity in justice system, says influential politicians getting away with corruption Goddy Egene, Wale Igbintade in Lagos and Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole

Soyinka, yesterday joined the growing number of eminent Nigerians and groups that have condemned President Muham-

madu Buhari’s decision to grant a presidential pardon to former governors, Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame. Soyinka said the

pardon showed that the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption fight was over.

Echoing the words of Jesus

Christ before he breathed his last, Soyinka said regarding the president’s anti-graft effort, “It is finished,” signifying the end of

his mission.

In a similar vein, the National AsContinued on page 5

Buhari: With Advancement in Technology, No One Can Claim Millions of Votes Again Urges Nigerians to resist agents bent on destabilising their country Meets with govs, ministers, others over Iftar Insecurity worse now than in 2015, Diri declares Terrorists kill three kidnapped victims in Kaduna, threaten to kill 22 others over N20m ransom Three dead, 19 Injured as explosion rocks Taraba cattle market IG orders maximum security in schools, colleges across Nigeria Deji Elumoye, Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja, John Shiklam in Kaduna and Wole Ayodele in Jalingo President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, assured the Nigerian people that with advancement in technology by the Independent

National Electoral Commission (INEC), the 2023 elections would be different and prevent individuals from claiming millions of votes at elections.

Buhari, who met with governors, Continued on page 5

BRIEFING THE PRESIDENT...

President Muhammadu Buhari (left) receives briefing from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House, Abuja... yesterday

Kukah Takes on Presidency, Says Buhari Doing Terribly Bad Job of Governing Nigeria... Page 8

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CONTINUATION PAGE BUHARI: WITH ADVANCEMENT IN TECHNOLOGY, NO ONE CAN CLAIM MILLIONS OF VOTES AGAIN ministers and heads of government agencies at the State House, Abuja, over Iftar, however advised Nigerians to resist agents bent on causing breakdown of law and order, in the country, assuring them also that no individual or group would be allowed to destabilise the country.

But the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, yesterday, bemoaned the increasing insecurity in Nigeria and said the situation was worse than it was in 2015, when the All Progressives Congress (APC) took over power in the country.

The governor, who stated this at Government House, Yenagoa, during separate courtesy visits by new heads of some security agencies, therefore, called on the federal government to redouble its effort at combating insecurity, particularly, in the northern part of the country.

This is as some terrorists have killed three of their victims in Kaduna State, threatening to kill 22 others if a ransom of N20 million was not delivered to them before midnight yesterday.

At the same time, three people were killed while 19 others sustained varying degrees of injuries, when an explosions rocked Iware Cattle market in Ardo Kola Local Government Area of Taraba State.

In similar breath, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Baba, has ordered a review of police personnel and operational assets deployments to schools and colleges around the country.

Buhari, in a release issued by his Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, thanked the governors and ministers for honouring his invitation to break fast with, and expressed confidence that in spite of the current security challenges, the country would succeed.

Specifically on the 2023 elections, the president affirmed that being beneficiary of free, fair and credible elections, the introduction of technology and the Permanent Voters Card (PVCs), would make it impossible for anyone to claim millions of votes again in the country.

He however, noted that, "We have the land, we have the resources, and we have the people. But I do not know why people will allow themselves to be successfully subverted to destabilise their own

country."

Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi,however, commended President Buhari for demonstrating resilience and determination at a crucial period in Nigeria’s history.

“We have a leader, who is not distracted by momentary challenges but has continued to commit to the renewal of our nation and we, governors, ministers and heads of government agencies are equally dedicated to building a better Nigeria, on your watch," he said.

Noting that this year’s Holy month of Ramadan coincided with the just concluded Christian Lenten period, the Governor of Ekiti, said it held enormous spiritual value on the benefits of renewal, sacrifice, almsgiving, forgiveness and healing for the individual as well as the nation.

On his part, Diri, who spoke when he received the Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Bayelsa Command, Mr Sunday James, the Bayelsa helmsman lamented the level of insecurity in the north, saying once a part of the country was in distress, other areas were also affected.

He said the spate of killings by terrorists in the country was a great setback for Nigeria, where lives could be taken at will and urged the APC-led federal government to effectively curb the killings.

His words: “I use this opportunity to again call on the federal government to do something. These are the same issues that led to the APC government coming to power in 2015.

“I am sure that you will agree that things are worse now than in 2015. The federal government has to redouble its effort, otherwise, the joker card is with the people of Nigeria. They know what to do come 2023.

"When one part of the country is sick, it affects the other parts.

Kaduna and other states in the North are sick security-wise and it is affecting other parts of the country.

Nigeria is very close to the Thomas Hobbes’ ‘state of nature’ where life is described as nasty, brutish and short. The federal government has to do something to keep us away from the Hobbesian state.”

Earlier, James, said the visit was to formally present himself as the new helmsman of the service in the state, and said as the agency in charge of giving clearance to intending foreign visitors, he was prepared to synergise to realise the state's investment drive.

Diri equally charged the new Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas, to collaborate with the state government in curbing oil theft, illegal bunkering, kidnapping and related crimes in the maritime domain of the state.

He acknowledged that having served in the Command in other capacities, Rear Admiral Abbas, would contribute significantly towards sustaining the peace and development of the state.

He said: “I believe you have distinguished and excelled in your service and will not be a pawn in the chess game of anybody or any political party.

"Ensure that you discharge your functions with utmost professionalism to bring about peace, security and development of Bayelsa and the country as a whole.

"Security does not know ethnicity.

It has no face of political parties and so, let nobody influence you and your Command on politics.

We are in a political season and all kinds of characters are on display: the good, the bad and the ugly.

The number one thing is to ensure safety of lives and property in our maritime domain and that is the only way we can talk about genuine development."

Abbas, on his part, also said his visit was to officially present himself to the governor following his posting to head the Command on February 4 this year.

He expressed gratitude to the state government for its support to the Command and appreciated it for the donation of land to build a referral hospital, adding that the secondary school allocated to the Navy would be taken over completely in no distant time.

In a related development, Diri was decorated as an ambassador against drug abuse by the state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The NDLEA State Commandant, Commander Aminu Ali, conferred

the honour on the governor when he led other members of the agency to formally introduce himself as the new head of the command.

Mohammed Jalige, spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command did not respond to telephone calls, when contacted.

Terrorists Kill Three Kidnapped Victims in Kaduna, Threaten to Kill 22 Others over N20m Ransom

Three Dead, 19 Injured As Explosion Rocks Taraba Cattle Market

Some terrorists operating in Kaduna State had killed three of their victims in the state, and threatened to kill 22 others if a ransom of N20 million was not delivered to them before midnight yesterday.

The victims were abducted at about 8pm on March 31, 2022, in Anguwan Bulus, a suburb near Sabon Tasha GRA in Kaduna city.

Speaking with journalists, who visited the community yesterday, the Village Head, Mr. Gideon Goni, said the terrorists called the community on telephone to inform them that three of the victims had been killed and threatened to kill the remaining 22 if by midnight yesterday N20 million ransom was not paid.

He said on March 31, 2022, the terrorists invaded the community around 8pm, killed two people and abducted 26 others, adding that one person was later released on health ground.

He said the terrorists gave them a description of a location along the Kaduna-Abuja highway, to pick the corpses of the three persons killed.

“The terrorists called and said they had killed three of the 25 people being held in captivity and that if we don't pay N20 million ransom before 12pm on Tuesday (April 19, 2022), others would be killed,” Goni said.

According to him, the community was raising some money to secure the release of the victims “when the terrorists called us and told us to pick the corpses of three of their victims at Dutse.

"I am appealing to them not to kill anyone. We are appealing to the state and federal governments as well as religious bodies to come to our rescue so that the killings will stop,” Goni said.

One of those whose family member were kidnapped, said he had been able to raise N7 million, “but the terrorists insisted on the N20 million or they will keep killing the victims.”

Three people were yesterday killed while 19 others sustained varying degrees of injuries, when an explosions rocked Iware Cattle market in Ardo Kola Local Government Area of Taraba State.

The incident, which occurred around 4pm at a local drinking spot, sent the entire community in pandemonium as people ran helter-skelter for safety.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abdullahi Usman, confirmed the incident to THISDAY in a telephone interview.

A resident of Iware, Ismael Yakubu, also told THISDAY that the bomber came into the spot in company of another accomplice with the bomb hidden in a polythene bag and disguised as customers.

According to him, "Two guys came to the drinking spot as if they wanted to buy Burukutu and after they were served, the one holding the poly bag containing the bomb dropped his beer and the polythene bag and left.

“The accomplice then said he was going to look for his friend and would come back. After he had also left, the bomb exploded and many people were injured while some others were killed.”

One of the bombers was, however, apprehended and was killed by the angry mob before security operatives could arrive the scene.

The corpses of those killed had been deposited at the mortuary while those injured were receiving treatment at a health facility in Iware.

Others in critical conditions had equally been moved to the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo.

Iware cattle market is one of the biggest cattle markets in Taraba State and the economic hub of Ardo Kola Local Government Area, which operates every Tuesday.

IG Orders Maximum Security in Schools, Colleges; Hard on Compliance

The Inspector-General of Police,

Mr. Usman Baba, yesterday, ordered the review of police personnel and operational assets deployments to schools and colleges around the country.

The review may not be unconnected with the incessant kidnapping of school children by bandits in the North and the killing of school pupils in isolated incidents, owing to inadequate security by the affected schools in the Southern part of the country.

Lagos State government had yesterday shut Chrisland School over alleged sex scandal involving a 10-year-old female pupil during a trip to Dubai.

A statement by Force Headquarters said the review was to ensure the protection of schools and colleges, particularly, boarding schools, tertiary institutions and its campuses in areas prone to security breaches around the country.

The statement said the IG directive was issued at a meeting of the force management team at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, while reviewing the general security in the country including the security of schools and colleges as a result of some isolated incidences reported in some schools.

The IG slso directed all Commissioners of Police in the 36 States and FCT, tactical commanders as well as their supervising Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) to explore all available options and think outside the box to boost security in and around schools, colleges and student-based communities.

The IG, therefore, directed detectives/operatives of the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID) and the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) to ensure sustained surveillance and intelligence gathering activities within various school environments while the Police Airwing was directed to extend its aerial patrols to the six geo-political zones of the country.

The IG, however, assured the people that all hands would be on deck to ensure a safe environment for all pupils and students in the various schools and colleges in the country, even as he reiterated the commitment of his administration to diversifying resources towards sustainable security and safety of the citizenry.

SOYINKA TO BUHARI: PARDONING DARIYE, NYAME MEANS ‘IT IS FINISHED’ sociation of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) yesterday condemned the presidential pardon granted to the two former governors convicted for corruption.

Human rights activist and lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, denounced the disparity in the sentencing of rich and poor convicts in Nigeria, stressing that the justice system is often manipulated to favour influential politicians facing corruption charges.

Soyinka, in a statement, likened the state pardon given to the former governors to an egg smashed against the faces of Nigerians, saying it would take a long time to wiped it off.

The former governor of Plateau State, Dariye, and erstwhile Taraba State governor, Nyame, were serving jail terms for stealing N1.16 billion and N1.6 billion, respectively, while they were in office.

But to the surprise and disappointment of many Nigerians, the National Council of State last week approved that Dariye, Nyame, and 157 others serving jail terms be pardoned following the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, as approved by Buhari.

Mixed reactions greeted the decision, with many condemning it.

Human rights organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), specifically asked Buhari to urgently withdraw the pardon.

Reacting to the pardon, in a message titled, “A Putrid Presidential Easter Egg,” Soyinka said he aligned with Bishop Matthew Kukah, in his Easter message, where the cleric lambasted Buhari.

Soyinka said, “Coming from a leader who had placed all his eggs in one basket, labelled Anti-corruption, this is one egg squashed against Nigerians’ faces that they shall not forget – or wipe

off – in a hurry.

“It evokes the legend of Pandora’s box whose contents are alleged to constitute all the ills that plague the world.

“Putrid to the core, allied to power provocations in numerous variations, such as catapulting a notorious player in the martyrdom of a serving Minister of Justice to the hub of governance wheel, these define the nature of bequests that have brought the nation to this moment of near dissolution.

Precedents are no consolation, no excuses.”

Soyinka added, “One states the obvious in remarking that precedents either undermine or reinforce principles, and aspiring offenders, especially in the political domain, are encouraged or inhibited by the ease or difficulty of access to the fount of mercy.

“Office holders, we presume, are constrained by the existence of that dangling Sword of Damocles – simply knowing that one day, the cloak of immunity will turn threadbare, and the awaited day of reckoning finds them answerable.

Clearly, not any longer.

“You will forgive, though disagree with me, I know, for clambering onto the Easter wagon myself, to echo the words of the One whose passage through the world the Easter season commemorates: “It is finished.”

Commenting on Kukah’s homily, the Nobel Laureate said he was impelled not to miss an opportunity to add his own Easter drop “to the overflowing vessel of pietistic sentiments, if only to reassure Christians – and also Muslims in turn – that even ‘we, non-believers, do partake of that same ethical communion to which most humanities aspire.’

“Also, your Easter sermon opens up yet again those sluices of juridical hypocrisy to which we dare not cease to draw attention. Such, in

the immediate, remains the plight of two young men – Mubarak Bala and the musician Yahaya Sharif – one serving a sentence of twenty-five years, the other actually sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

“That word ‘blasphemy’ comes into its authentic mode, in my view, whenever anyone violates a solemn oath of office. It penitentially becomes even redoubled when such violators are pampered with the prerogative of mercy.

“Permit me to call special attention to the following from your (Kukah) sermon: ‘Religious leaders…. must face the reality that here in Nigeria and elsewhere around the world, millions of people are leaving Christianity and Islam. “’While we are busy building walls of division with the blocks of prejudice, our members are becoming atheists, but we prefer to pretend that we do not see this. We cannot pretend not to hear the footsteps of our faithful marching away into atheism and secularism. No threats can stop this, but dialogue can open our hearts.’”

Soyinka explained that he was persuaded that the recent largesse from the president had already won a few hearts and minds to the ranks, “if not of outright atheism, then at least to a healthy sceptical regard of piety spouting leadership that saw nothing wrong in attempts to extinguish the life of a young man for an honest declaration of conviction, while veterans of broken pledges were let loose to further infect a world they had betrayed.

“No pardon has been extended in the direction of endangered, youthful integrity. Of course, it is easy to track the trajectory of events.

“Nettled by increasingly scabrous comments, such as those of his

predecessor in office, Olusegun Obasanjo, who declared that this incumbent has run out of ideas, that he has nothing left to offer the nation, Muhammad Buhari decided to embark on the Easter train and donate an Easter egg of truly presidential proportions to his subjects.”

Falana Condemns Disparity in Justice System, Says Influential Politicians Getting Away with Corruption

Speaking yesterday at the Inaugural Public Lecture of Department of Public and International Law, Faculty of Law, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Oyo State, Falana stated that some personalities in the society seemed to be “untouchable, since they have the money, they can influence and manipulate the justice system in their favour."

In his paper titled, “Sentencing Rich and Poor Convicts In Nigeria: An Unbalanced Scale,” Falana identified the dysfunctional justice system operated by Nigerian courts as the main problem with the justice system.

He said, “Owing to the class character of the society, the courts and law enforcement agencies tend to favour rich convicts against poor convicts. This problem has caused the public to lose hope and trust in the country’s judicial system.”

The lawyer stated that drastic “steps must be taken to address the issue of disparity in sentencing, to ensure justice, fairness, and equality before the law, for all convicts.”

According to Falana, some influential Nigerians commit crimes and get away with it, owing to corruption and the abysmally compromised system.

He stated, “Some persons convicted and sentenced and jailed were never found in any correctional centre while unemployed young people serve prison terms

in lieu of rich convicts.”

He also said, “Judges could even be coerced into favouring those rich offenders against their own will. But there is often no one to speak for the poor, who often have no voice of their own. On the few occasions that the rich are convicted, they are usually granted pardon by the president and state governors.

“Corruption: this is also one of the major issues affecting the fair administration of justice in Nigeria.

Oftentimes, rich defendants engage in dilatory tactics, which frustrate and compel the state to enter into plea bargain with them.

“Judges award lighter sentences to convicted rich defendants or resort to technicalities to free them.

Otherwise, how could someone that embezzled pension funds worth billions of Naira be sentenced to only six months imprisonment, but another who stole a cheap telephone handset be sentenced to 10 years imprisonment?

“Injustice: there is also obvious injustice against the poor. More attention is being paid to cases involving the rich, as opposed to the poor.

“I will highlight a few cases to illustrate my point. First, is the case of Tafa Balogun, the former Inspector General of Police. After his arrest and arraignment by EFCC for corruptly enriching himself to the tune of N17 billion, Tafa Balogun went to court challenging the powers of the EFCC to prosecute him. He later withdrew the case from court and the EFCC’s case against him was eventually decided when he was sentenced to six months imprisonment.

“It was clearly a case of plea bargaining, as the withdrawal of his case from court led to the negotiation by which his punishment was reduced to six months imprisonment after forfeiting some of his loots to the government.

“Another incident of plea bargaining was the case of former Governor of Bayelsa State, Dieprieye Alamiesiegha. He, too, was arrested and taken to court by the EFCC, who, after entering into negotiation with the accused, reduced the charges against him to six. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment while he refunded some amount of money into the government coffers.

“Similar thing happened in the case of Lucky Igbinedon, the former Governor of Edo State, who was fined the sum of N3.5 million after he had entered into a plea bargain with EFCC to reduce the 191-count charge against him to just a single count. Though Igbinedion walked away a free man in Nigeria, he was effectively barred by the United States Government on January 12, 2013 from entering its territory henceforth.

“In the case of John Yusuf, who embezzled N27.2 billion pension fund of retired police officers, he was sentenced to two years imprisonment or a fine of N750,000.00 that being the maximum punishment provided for in Section 309 of the Penal Code under which he was charged!

“Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, the former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Oceanic Bank Plc. Mrs. Ibru was arraigned before the court by the EFCC on a 25-count charge of different charges of corruption while in office. After negotiation with the anti-corruption body, the charges against her were reduced to three.

“As a result of the plea bargaining between the EFCC and Mrs. Ibru, the accused decided to plead guilty to the reduced charges of mismanagement and abuse of office. Thereafter, Kola Awodein, (SAN), who appeared for the EFCC, subsequently informed the court Continued on page 41

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NEWS

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

FORGING CLOSER TIES WITH LAND OF THE PHARAOHS...

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (right) received in audience Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E Mr. Ihab Awad, at the State House, Abuja… yesterday

Kukah Takes on Presidency, Says Buhari Doing Terribly Bad Job of Governing Nigeria Insists current government nepotistic, divisive Maintains Lai Mohammed, Adesina, Garba have no contact with president Challenges them to public debate on Buhari’s achievements Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, yesterday doubled down on his attack on the Muhammadu Buhari presidency, maintaining that the president has continued to do a terribly bad job of governing Nigeria.

The respected cleric who also took a swipe at the trio of Lai Mohammed, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, the president’s spokesmen, challenged them to a public debate in the achievements of the current administration in the last seven years.

He described the Buhari government as nepotistic, wondering where any government exists all over the world in a highly divided nation, where almost all the security chiefs come from the same religion and speak the same language.

Kukah vowed to continue to

stick with his convictions despite the pressure from any quarters, pointing out that he had paid his dues in nation building and has therefore earned the right to criticise any government that is not doing well.

The presidency had accused the Catholic cleric of hatred for the Buhari administration and using the pulpit to play politics in reaction to an Easter message by Kukah where he accused the Buhari government of several failings.

Specifically, Garba said that from his pulpit, Kukah devoted his Easter message not to Christ’s death and rebirth so man might be saved – but to damning the government in the most un-Christian terms.

The government urged the bishop to put away his clerical garb, join partisan politics and see how far he can go, if indeed he thinks he’s popular with the Nigerian people.

But Kukah who doubled down

on his criticism of the Buhari government while appearing on Arise Television, THISDAY’s broadcast arm, explained that neither Lai Mohammed, Adesina nor Shehu has any access to their principal.

“I am not unaware of the state of mind of my two friends, Garba Shehu and Femi Adesina when it comes to talking about Bishop Kukah. They seem to suspend reason and go into overdrive, unless Garba Shehu has plans to convert to Christianity, or he’s a closet Christian or an anonymous Christian. “ I appreciate the fact that when it comes to talking, he has not quoted the holy Quran and all he does is to end up with convoluted interpretation of the Bible that are embarrassing in their context.

“And I am surprised that Adesina who I believe is a reverend of sorts in the Foursquare Gospel Church,

I am surprised he’s unable to help his friend put the facts together.

“But let me simply say that I have made an offer to them that they can choose the venue and the time and just let me know. I will like to sit down with the three of them beginning with their honourable minister, Lai Mohammed, let us sit down together and talk about Nigeria.

“These are the only spokesmen who have spent time buying photocopying papers and simply typing. They have been involved in statements of the poorest quality, never talking to the issues. The first thing is to show you their inefficiency. They are used to writing statements as opposed to talking to Nigerians about policies.

“And what this simply tells you is that 99.9 per cent of the things they write are simply secondguessing what the president’s mind is. They have no contact

Report: OPEC+ Supply Gap Widened in March on Cut in Russian Output Cartel produced 1.45m barrels less last month Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja with agency report The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting OPEC+ produced 1.45 million barrels per day (bpd) below its production targets in March, a Reuters report has shown.

The reduction in output was mostly on the back of Russian output which began to decline following sanctions imposed by the West, according to a report from the producer alliance.

Russia produced about 300,000 bpd below its target in March at 10.018 million bpd, based on secondary sources, the report showed.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a monthly report last week that it expected Russian oil output losses to grow to 1.5 million bpd in April and to double to 3 million bpd from May because of sanctions and buyer aversion.

OPEC+ compliance with the production cuts rose to 157 per cent in March, from 132 per cent in February, the data showed.

It was the highest since the group introduced record production cuts of about 10 million bpd in May 2020 to counter the impact of the pandemic on demand.

OPEC+, which groups OPEC

and allies led by Russia, agreed last month to another modest monthly oil output boost of 432,000 bpd for May, resisting pressure by major consumers to pump more. read more As the group unwinds production cuts, several producers, namely West African countries struggling with underinvestment and an exodus of international energy companies,

are failing to keep up.

At its meeting last month, OPEC+ also ditched the Paris-based IEA as one of its secondary sources, replacing it with consultancies Wood Mackenzie and Rystad Energy.

Nigeria also struggled again through the month, losing as much as 400,000 barrels per day and the cumulative under-production hit-

ting over 14 million bpd during the month.

The country has attributed its inability to meet the OPEC production of over 1.7 million bpd to oil theft, sabotage, under-investment, lack of infrastructure and inability to restart oil wells shut down in 2020 as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

with the president, they have no contact with the government policies and all they do is writing on behalf of the president. There’s nowhere in the world where the job of this nature has been done so poorly,” Kukah stated.

He recalled that since 1999, he had served in various capacities under at least four presidents including the Oputa panel, the electoral reform committee, the political reform conference as well as shuttling throughout the country.

In the course of national service , Kukah noted that he went to Ogoni land on a reconciliation tour as well as being instrumental to the signing of the peace accord between the then candidate Muhammadu Buhari and Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan after the current president said if the election did not go well it will be a bloody fight between the monkey and the dog.

According to him, while he was sweating around the country to ensure the peace and stability of the country, Adesina was receiving salaries from Orji Kalu in the Sun Newspapers, Garba was working for Atiku Abubakar while Lai Mohammed was working for Ahmed Tinubu.

Insisting that he had paid his dues, he challenged his critics to tell Nigerians where they were at the most critical moments of the country. “Now that some people’s bank accounts have swollen, they are preaching the gospel to us which they do not believe,” he quipped.

However, he said that he still has a lot of respect for the president,

2023: Three Oyo Coalition Commissioners, SAs, 93 LG Appointees, Others Defect to PDP Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan Ahead of the 2023 general elections, all the three Commissioners appointed into Oyo state's cabinet on account of the 2019 political coalition that brought in Governor Seyi Makinde, yesterday announced their defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Commissioners who were also joined by Special Advisers and 93 other Special Assistants appointed into local government positions as well as those from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said their decision to pitch tent with the

PDP in the state was as a result of Makinde's fidelity to the promises made to the coalition.

Speaking on behalf of other defecting members at a media briefing held in Ibadan, yesterday, Commissioner for Information, Culture, and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun, said the governor has fulfilled all promises made to the ADC as a coalition party, stating that the decision was aimed at ensuring the success of the governor's second term aspiration.

Olatunbosun, also explained that himself, the Commissioner for Energy, Seun Ashamu and

Commissioner for Agric, Adeniyi Adebisi, decided to join the PDP after much consultation with leaders of the ADC. According to him, "On behalf of the commissioners here - the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Hon. Wasiu Olatunbosun; Commissioner for Energy, Barr. Seun Ashamu and Commissioner for Agric, Hon. Adeniyi Adebisi, after much consultation with our leaders, we have decided to move to the ruling party, the PDP, because we believe that Governor Seyi Makinde, has fulfilled his promises to our leaders.

"So, we believe we should do everything within our power to make sure we give him all the necessary support to win the second term in office.

"We were part of the success in 2019 and believe that if we join forces together with him, we will be able to succeed together.

"Also with me here are Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Gbenga Oyetola, 93 appointees at the state level, and elected representatives at the local government level.

"So, that is why we have called this brief press conference."

but stated that Buhari has done a terribly bad job of governing the country. “He has done a terribly bad job and nothing I am saying is new,” Kukah added.

He called on the presidency to point out a single point he made that was wrong in his homily, stressing that it was insulting that Garba, a Muslim, should instruct him what to preach on Easter day.

Maintaining that he would continue to express his thoughts on national issues, Kukah stated that Buhari lacks the capacity to manage Nigeria’s diversity.

“I am not the first person to disagree with Buhari’s policies.

His own wife has said so. And also I live in northern Nigeria. I hear what everybody is saying,” he said.

He declared that truth will always validate itself, noting that he would never equivocate on his ideals and beliefs as a result of pressure.

“If I tell you what I feel about this government, the facts bear me out. We are fighting bandits.

Have we ever had a situation in this country when all those fighting insecurity are core Muslims or core Christians and from one tribe. How do you run a country as sensitive as Nigeria like that?

“Nepotism is horrible, it is evil because it denies you as a leader an opportunity to hear other voices.

So, you end up in an echo chamber where all of you are speaking the same language and think the same way,” he reasoned.

He told Buhari that he wasn’t voted by only one religion or region, saying that the present government was “killing” democracy, which is why he (Kukah) has become very resistant to the administration.

The cleric urged the Buhari government to make available to Nigerians any of the boxes he has ticked in the last seven years when compared with his campaign promises.

Describing politics in Nigeria as a monologue, Kukah said that Nigerians must insist on service delivery, stating that politics in Nigeria lacks intellectualism which does not interrogate government actions.

“I am not going to take lectures from illiterates who know nothing about scriptures or politics,” he declared, stressing that there’s a fine line between religion and politics, especially for people who criticise his comments which are not flattering if the government.

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NEWS

GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY OF KASI CLOUD DATA CENTRE...

L-R: Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Hakeem Fahm; former Minister of Information, Mr. Frank Iweke Jr.; MD/CEO, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Uche Orji; Lagos Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and CEO, Kasi Cloud Data Centre, Mr. Johnson Agogbua, during the Ground-breaking ceremony of Kasi Cloud Data Centre, at the Leisure Land, Lekki Peninsula II, Lagos ... yesterday

Nigeria Opts Out of Global Tax Deal, Cites Economic Impact Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja Nigeria has opted out of a global tax deal negotiated under the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OEDC)/ G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).

BEPS refers to corporate tax planning strategies used by multinationals to shift profits from higher tax jurisdictions to lower tax jurisdictions or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic activity, thus eroding the tax-base of the higher-tax jurisdictions using deductible payments such as interest or royalties.

Kenya, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also opted out alongside Nigeria.

Nigeria's position was predicated, among others, on the unreliability of the economic impact of the deal for developing countries.

The OECD estimates that countries lose $100-$240 billion worth of revenue annually to BEPS practices, which is the equivalent to 4-10 per cent of the global corporate income tax revenue.

The deal set out to introduce a global minimum tax rate and new profit reallocation rules, which aims to give countries a fairer chance to collect tax revenues from multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in or generating revenues from their jurisdictions.

In a new report titled, "OECD

Global Tax Deal: Key Elements, Opportunities and Challenges," Global Financial Integrity (GFI) stated that the framework represents a group of countries and jurisdictions working together to address systemic issues within the global taxation system that cause an inequitable distribution of tax revenues among countries and jurisdictions.

It operates under the leadership of the OECD, but any country or jurisdiction is allowed to join and participate.

The global tax deal represents a major reform to the rules governing the international tax system, aimed at bringing an end to tax havens and profit-shifting by multinational enterprises The deal specifically aims to address challenges that arise from the digitalisation of the economy, and is broken down into two pillars.

Pillar 1 aims to reallocate multinational MNEs' profits and taxing rights to market jurisdictions while Pillar 2 introduces a global minimum tax rate.

The Inclusive Framework releases the blueprints for the two-pillar solution to address tax challenges arising from digitalisation of the economy.

A total of 140 tax jurisdictions were part of the Inclusive Framework when the negotiations commenced, the report highlighted.

After the conclusion of the high-

level agreement in October 2021, Mauritania joined the Inclusive Framework as the 141st member in November, and also agreed to the two-pillar statement.

In total, 137 of the 141 member jurisdictions have agreed to the two-pillar solution while Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka opted out.

However, Nigeria expressed concern with Pillar 1 particularly, claiming that the OECD’s assessment of the economic impact for developing countries was unreliable.

Also, the mandatory dispute resolution element was one of the reasons for Kenya and Nigeria to disapprove of the deal because of concerns around losing sovereignty due to tax issues having to be resolved in residence countries.

Although the Nigeria made no

disclosures of its own calculations on potential revenue, its conclusion was that it was not worth the high cost of implementation.

Some of the concerns around the deal and reasons why Nigeria and the other countries rejected it included: Lack of transparency in negotiations, exclusion of majority of developing countries, the issue of too many MNEs out-of-scope, and limited impact for developing countries, among others.

According to the report, although the agreement was negotiated under the Inclusive Framework, a substantive part of the process was carried out within the G7 and G20.

This in turn made the process less transparent and gives rise to the concern that smaller and less rich countries were not given equal participation.

as the second-most powerful position in the West African nation’s government.

A 73-year-old economist, Kone previously served as minister of construction in the Ivorian government, before taking up the position of governor of the Central Bank of West African States in 2016.

The position of vice president has been vacant since Daniel Kablan Duncan resigned in 2020, after he was overlooked as a potential

been flagged to be more susceptible to illicit financial flows.

The reallocation rule applies to only a small portion of the profits (25 per cent) of ‘residual profits’ above 10 per cent profitability) of about 100 corporations that qualify (those with more than 20 billion euros in profit).

"Oxfam estimates this would result in only $140 million Ugandan shillings (UGX 500 billion) and US$8 billion (UGX 28.5 trillion) in annual revenue for low-income and middle-income countries respectively.

"As such, it is unlikely this will bring about structural changes in international corporate tax distribution, and may not even be worth the implementation costs for the smallest developing countries," the report stated.

BUA Group Donates 13,210 Bags of Cement for Islamic Education Centre's Expansion Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Director-General of the International Centre for Islamic Education (ICICE), Dr Kabir Kabo, has disclosed that the Chairman of the BUA Group, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu has supplied the

13,210 bags of cement he promised towards the expansion of the ICICE Al-Noor Masjid in Abuja.

Kabo disclosed this during the presentation of progress report and inspection of the project.

He put the cost of the supplied cement by BUA Group

Central Bank Governor Becomes Next in Line to Lead Ivory Coast Ivory Coast’s president named the governor of a regional central bank as his deputy, making him the front-runner to become the next leader of the world’s biggest cocoa grower.

The appointment of Tiemoko Meyliet Kone as vice president marks the start of a race to succeed President Alassane Ouattara, 80, who will step down after serving three terms in 2025. Ouattara also reappointed Patrick Achi, 66, as prime minister, which vies with the deputy presidency

Similarly, although the Inclusive Framework allows all interested jurisdictions and countries to become members, there are conditions and annual fees they have to commit to in order to join.

The majority of African (52 per cent) and Least Developed (78 per cent) countries have not joined the framework.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) had also pointed out that this makes the agreement less inclusive than it purports to be.

There is also the issue of too many MNEs out-of-scope. The scope of companies to which this deal is applicable is narrow and leaves out many of the companies operating on the African continent, including Uganda.

The deal also excludes companies working in the extractives industry, although this sector has

successor to Ouattara in that year’s election. Ouattara went on to win a third term in office.

Under Ivory Coast’s constitution, the vice president takes over in the event the president becomes incapacitated.

Achi’s reappointment came a week after he stepped down to prepare for a slimmed down cabinet. Ouattara said last week he will reduce the number of ministers to “strengthen government effectiveness and bearing in mind the current world economic situation.” The

cabinet currently consists of 41 people.

“After today’s events, succession is still an open question,” said Tochi EniKali, Africa analyst at the Washington-based Eurasia Group. “Achi is by no means out of the race, but Kone very much fits Ouattara’s ideal profile. If anything, this development could limit the pool of serious contenders but, with elections three years away, there’s still a lot that could happen.”

towards the project which is now at between 30 to 40 per cent completion at N33.6 million. He also noted that the overall cost of the mosque has been upgraded to N4 billion with a new revised completion date of April 2023.

The project, whose foundation was laid on April 25, 2020, was originally awarded at the cost of N3.15 billion and due for completion in December 2022. He said the project has generated almost about N2 billion and what has been expanded to about N800 million.

“We are lucky that the Chief Executive Officer of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu has promised to provide all the cement. That has helped to cut cost. But very soon, with the kind of work that is going to take place in the female wing, we could be asking for more disbursement of funds in the region of about N500 million.

“The initial estimate of the project is N3.15 billion and with

other components that have been taken into account like the excavator, solar, lift, lightening and other things which will cost additional N800 million.

"So, all together even though the actual contract fee is N3.15 billion for the construction work, then a separate budget is needed within the region of about N600 million to N800 million in order to accomplish the exercise we want to see,” Kabo said.

Also the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Company and Chairman, ICICE Advisory Committee, Mele Kolo Kyari l, said the COVID-19 delayed the take off of the project because of the supply chain disruption.

He said the project was AlNoor Mosque’s contribution to national development to create very learned, moderate and informed Muslims that they could make contribution to the society.

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NEWS

8TH OMITUNTUN RAMADAN LECTURE...

R-L: Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde; Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Mohood Balogun and Are Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Daud Akinola during the 8th Omituntun Ramadan Lecture held at Arcade, Government House, Ibadan.... yesterday

Sanwo-Olu Performs Groundbreaking of $250m Hyperscale Data Center Segun James Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday performed the groundbreaking ceremony of a $250 million hyperscale data center

by Kasi Cloud Limited in Lekki

Peninsula, saying his administration was deeply committed to the rapid transformation of the Lekki corridor and other industrial hubs in the State.

He said his government was committed to using education and

technology, which is the second pillar of the THEMES development agenda, as a tool to create a 21st Century Lagos that the people of the State dream of and talk about.

The Kasi Data Center, a fourhectares of land, would provide

an interconnection and data center platform for Nigeria to support digital ecosystems and drive internet access to over 200 million people.

And as the technology hub of Nigeria and West Africa, Lagos State would host the data center,

FG Seeks House's Support to Enhance Technology-based Startups Says Nigeria now produces sim cards for Africa

Udora Orizu in Abuja The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isah Pantami, has appealed to members of the House of Representatives to back an Executive Bill seeking to create enabling environment for technology innovators in Nigeria to maximise their potential by becoming job

creators in the ICT sector.

Pantami who stated this during a meeting with the House Leader, Hon. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa and some other lawmakers, also restated his last year's disclosure that under the Buhari administration, Nigeria which used to import Subscribers Identification Module (SIM) cards can now produces her own and

India, USA, Brazil Top List of Countries with the Most Instagram Users Emma Okonji Statista a global provider of research and analysis services has ranked India, USA, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey, Japan, Mexico, UK and Germany among the top 10 countries with the most Instagram users globally.

The ranking was as of January 2022, and it showed countries with the most Instagram users.

According to the ranking, India ranked first with 230.25 million Instagram users; USA was second with 159.75 million users; Brazil ranks third with 119.45 million Instagram users; Indonesia ranked fourth with 99.15 million Instagram users; Russia ranked fifth with 63 million Instagram users and Turkey was ranks sixth with 52.15 million Instagram users.

Also, Japan was ranked seventh with 46.1 million Instagram users; Mexico eighth with 37.85 million Instagram users; UK ranks ninth with 31.75 million Instagram users and Germany ranks tenth with 29.85 Instagram users.

In 2021, Instagram reached two billion active users in 11.2 years after being launched.

WhatsApp reached two billion users after 11 years of launching and YouTube took a total 14.2 years to reach this milestone.

Facebook, which has recently rebranded as Meta, reached two billion users after 13.3 years of being founded.

According to Statista, “The data revolution has only just begun.

Today, more data is collected and made available than ever before.

Our mission is to enable our clients and customers to make the best decisions.

“To ensure this, over 200 experienced and well-versed Statista research experts and analysts track the latest developments and current trends in over 170 markets and industries every day. Our pool of experts is our and your greatest resource here, as we believe that only real people can extract meaningful and contextualised insights from an abundance of available data.”

even supply to other African countries.

The minister said the proposed legislation titled: "a Bill for an Act to Provide for the Creation and Development of an Enabling Environment for Technology Enabled Startups in Nigeria," when it becomes law would attract serious investment to expand numerous business ideas by young Nigerians who come up with problem-solving innovations on daily basis without having to depend on government for sustainability.

Pantami said since the private sector controls 91 per cent of financial inflow into the economy as demonstrated by available statistics, the bill if passed would encourage investors seeking to expand innovative ideas.

He also said the bill when enacted would create a regulatory Council which would be chaired by the president, with a view to providing policy guidance to tech startups.

He said, "There are seven Unicorns in Africa and five have roots in Nigeria with offices in Nigeria but registered in other countries due to lack of enabling laws to protect their innovations and investment.

“One of the startups that came up in 2018, by 2020, their value rose to $3 trillion which is the largest in Africa, and they are based in Lagos.

The essence of this Bill first of all is to create jobs for the teeming youths through these innovations and improve the economy."

When asked by the lawmakers, if the proposed Council would not add further burden on the already overstretched federal purse, as well as its effects on the role of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Pantami disclosed that funding for startups under the new law would be in form of soft loans aides by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority with flexible interest rate and repayment timeline.

which would be the largest in the country, with numerous economic benefits and nurturing the future generations.

Sanwo-Olu said the data center would create jobs, attract additional investment and deliver high-speed internet access that will be transformational for emerging and existing digital ecosystems.

“On our part as a State Government, we are deeply committed to the rapid transformation of the Lekki corridor, as well as every other industrial hub in the State. We are demonstrating this commitment through policies and interventions designed to improve the business environment, to reform critical government institutions and systems and to unlock new levels of innovative thinking among our people, especially our youth.

“We realise that the people of Lagos are the most formidable assets that we have. They are the ones who will write the narrative of this megacity now and into the future.

We must educate and upskill them, to prepare them for the rapidly evolving working environment of the 21st century. We want to use education and technology as a tool to be able to create a 21st Century Lagos that we all dream and talk about,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu while commending Kasi Cloud Limited for building the data center in Lagos, said what KASI is doing is a testament to the capacity and capability of Nigerians to dream world-class dreams and convert those dreams into reality.

“The economic impact that digital infrastructure improvement has on nation-building cannot be

overemphasised. The siting of the new infrastructure in this part of Lagos is also not by accident. This is the fastest-growing corridor of the State, home to several large-scale industrial, manufacturing and logistics investments,” he said.

Speaking at the event, former Minister of Information and Enugu State 2023 gubernatorial aspirant, Mr. Frank Nweke (Jnr), commended Sanwo-Olu for positioning Lagos as a pre-eminent destination for investment in Nigeria and indeed the continent of Africa.

He said: “What is happening here today is not an accident at all.

And it is on this basis that I want to pay my respect to Mr. Governor and his colleagues in Lagos State for positioning Lagos as a preeminent destination for investment in Nigeria and indeed the continent of Africa.

I salute your investment in security.

I salute your humility.

“The other reason why I am here today is to draw anointing from you as a gubernatorial aspirant in Enugu State and to also take a few lessons. I know that security is important and I know that even your understanding and knowledge of the economy, the local environment, national and global environment is extremely important.”

In his address, the Founder and CEO of Kasi Cloud Limited, Mr. Johnson Agogbua, who said the data center by his organisation would create jobs opportunity and investment in the community, commended the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration for its commitment to technology and innovation development in Lagos State.

MSF Launches Children’s Health Intervention in Kebbi Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières has launched a new children’s health intervention in Kebbi state.

This was in response to the high level of infant mortality driven by easily treatable diseases and high levels of malnutrition during the hunger gap period.

A statement yesterday quoted MSF Head of Mission in Nigeria, Shaukat Muttaqi, to have said: “Infant mortality rates in Kebbi State are driven to a significant extent by malnutrition during the annual hunger gap and by high incidence of easily treatable childhood diseases.”

He added that: “Our aim, together with the Kebbi Ministry of Health, is to prevent young children from dying by ensuring early access to treatment for the most common and deadly diseases and ensuring timely availability of treatment for malnutrition.”

According to the statement, in Kebbi State, childhood mortality was found to be significantly above the national average in the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey in 2018. As in many other contexts, malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition are among the key contributors to childhood mortality.

The statement added that additional health threats, including recent outbreaks of both measles

and cholera, and limited access to healthcare further exacerbated the vulnerability of children, noting that providing early access to medical care, MSF and the Ministry of Health aims at significantly reduce overall infant mortality in the project area.

The statement further said as part of the initial project plan, MSF has opened a 10-bed inpatient malnutrition stabilisation centre, and two outpatient therapeutic feeding programs in Karaye and Maiyama, disclosing that the first patients have already begun to receive treatment, with ITFC 17 patients hospitalised in total, 10 discharged and enrolled in ATFC for severe malnutrition and 72 patients enrolled in the

outpatient feeding programme the weeks of March 13th to 29th and in the coming weeks, MSF will add a community-based healthcare programme for malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea.

Commenting on the feat, Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Jaafar Mohammed said: “This is going to create a quality relationship in terms of strengthening the delivery of healthcare to have better outcomes and quality of care for our patients.

“We want to appreciate this partnership which we expect will lead to better outcomes and good progress toward our shared objectives to improve the health and nutrition status of our communities.”

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MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

Despite Being Home to Many Military Formations, Security Situation in Kaduna Worsens John Shiklam writes that in spite of the many military formations in Kaduna State, terrorists, for whatever reason, seem to have isolated it for frequent attacks

Buhari

D

espite the numerous military formations in Kaduna state, terrorists have continued to carry out their criminal activities with reckless abandon.

Given the location of these military and security establishments, Kaduna shouldn’t be going through the kind of security challenges it is currently facing.

Indeed, Kaduna ought to have been a no-go area for terrorists and other criminal elements that have made life miserable for people.

There are about 13 or so military establishments in the state.

They include, 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, the Nigerian Navy School of Armament, Kachia, the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria, and the Nigerian Airforce Training School.

Others are the Nigerian Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), the Nigerian Army School of Legal Services, Bassawa Zaria, the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), the Nigerian Army School of Artillery, Kachia, the Nigerian Army School of Military Police, Army Operation Base, Kafanchan, the Nigerian Army School of Infantry as well as the Nigerian Police College, Kaduna.

Ironically, in spite these array of military establishments, the state seems to be under siege by dare devil bandits who invade communities and schools, abducting and killing people without any qualms.

Some of these military establishments, including the personnel are not spared by the daring activities of these outlaws which have become a huge embarrassment to the Nigerian armed force as a whole.

One of such embarrassing instances was the August 24, 2021, attack by the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, a leading military training institution in the West African sub-region.

The terrorists had invaded the institution on that day, killing two officers while one was abducted.

The abducted officer, Major Christopher Datong was freed 24 days after his abduction by the terrorists.

This was a deadly blow on the psyche of the military.

Before the attack on the NDA, the criminals had invaded several schools, abducted students and collecting millions of naira as ransom from families of their victims before their release.

Several months before the attack on NDA, the terrorists had on March 11, 2021, invaded the neighbouring school, the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna, located along Aiirport Road was attacked and 39 students were abducted.

Similarly, on April 20, 2021, the terrorists

El-Rufai

invaded Greenfield University, the only private tertiary institution operating in Kaduna at by 8:30pm and abducted 23 students.

The school is located off the dreaded Kaduna-Abuja highway, about 30 kilometres away from Kaduna city.

Five of the students were killed in captivity.

Again, on July 5, 2021, the criminals invaded Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna and abducted 121 students.

The criminals became more daring on March 26, 2022, as the they attacked the Kaduna International Airport in broad daylight.

The attack on the airport came less than 48 hours after about 50 people were reportedly killed in nine communities in Giwa Local Government Area of the state.

The criminals were said to have delayed an AZMAN aircraft scheduled for Lagos from taking goff.

A security guard was killed at the runway during the incident which raised further uncertainty about the security in the country.

The criminals were not done with their evil act yet, as they planted explosives on some parts of the rail tracks between Kateri and Rijana communities in Kaduna state.

Eight people were killed while several others sustained injuries in that deadly attack.

Many of those abducted were yet to be released at the time of this report.

The attack was widely condemned across the country.

One of the most dreaded roads in Kaduna, is the Kaduna- Abuja highway which seems to have been taken over by terrorists.

Many people have been abducted while others were killed along the highway by kidnappers as hardly a day passes without people being attacked on the highway.

Many travelers have abandoned the road for the train services until the attack on the train and the subsequent suspension of rail operations on Abuja - Kaduna route.

Now travelers have no choice than to follow the highway.

The Kaduna-Abuja highway is supposed to be a very busy road as it is the gateway to states in the North-west zone ( Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara states.)

Despite, the deployment of police personnel and the frequent patrol by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Baba, travelers are skeptical about their safety.

For years, bandits have continued to operate along the road despite massive police and military operations along the road.

Given the massive security deployment on the road over the years, the terrorists ought to have been cleared of that road.

For instance, on August 5th August, 2016, the former Inspector General of Police, (IGP) Ibrahim Idris, launched “Operation Maximum Safety” on and deployed over 500 police personnel along the road.

Also on April 2019, Mohammed Adamu who succeeded Idris as the IGP, launched another security outfit - “Operation Puff Adder”, to check banditry and kidnapping along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, as well as Kogi, Katsina, Niger and Zamfara states.

Apparently these operations have not produced the desired results. The Kaduna state government, on September 29, 2021, suspended telecommunications services in some parts of the state worst affected by the activities of terrorists.

The state government also suspended the use of motorcycles for transport services and ban the sell of fuel to them.

However, even with the suspension of telecom services, attacks and kidnappings were still going on in parts of the state.

Even some abducted students of Bethel

Apparently these operations have not produced the desired results. The Kaduna state government, on September 29, 2021, suspended telecommunications services in some parts of the state worst affected by the activities of terrorists. The state government also suspended the use of motorcycles for transport services and ban the sell of fuel to them. However, even with the suspension of telecom services, attacks and kidnappings were still going on in parts of the state

Baptist School who were still in captivity could not be rescued by security personnel during the telecoms shutdown.

On November 26, 2021, the State Government, probably realizing that the suspension of telecoms services did not yield the desired results, announced the restoration of telecommunications services.

Many lives and property worth millions of naira had been destroyed by terrorists while thousands of people have been rendered homeless.

In 2021 along, 1,192 people were killed while 3,348 others were kidnapped in various attacks across the state, according to statistics by the Kaduna State Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs.

The statistics which were presented by Samuel Aruwan the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan to Governor Nasir El-Rufai on February 1, 2022, said 66AK47 rifles and other dangerous weapons were recovered from the criminals.

The report said Kaduna Central Senatorial District was the worst affected with 720 deaths, while the Southern Kaduna Senatorial District recorded 406 deaths with the Northern Kaduna Senatorial District recording 66 deaths.

The report said of the 3,348 people kidnapped in 2021, Kaduna Central District accounts for 2,771 and of that number, 2,449 were kidnapped within Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Giwa and Chikun local government areas”.

The Southern Kaduna Senatorial District of Kachia and Kagarko recorded the kidnap of 298 persons mainly on the highways traversing the areas.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai, recently said if the Federal Government fails to tackle the terrorists, he will import foreign mercenaries to flush out the criminals.

El-Rufai has never minced words on his desire to ensure total elimination of the criminals.

The question many keen observers are asking, is, ‘why has Kaduna been isolated for by terrorists for these deadly attacks? What is their motive? What do they really want?

Some observers have attributed several reasons for the attacks.

Sunday Oibe, a community leader noted that lack of political will on the part of government to deal with criminals is responsible for the unending attacks on Kaduna.

Speaking in an interview with THISDAY, he also said the bandits may have some scores to settle with “those who hitherto, were their supporters and defenders but suddenly, decided to turn their back against them hence the madness to unleash horror on the innocent people.”

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

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POLITICS

Why Morah Wants to Represent Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency in the Green Chamber

GOVERNANCE IN PHOTOS

At a time when leadership and governance in Nigeria yearns for credible candidates, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Morah, a legal practitioner from Anambra State has stepped in to serve her people, writes Nseobong Okon-Ekong

Jigawa State Governor, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar; Ekiti State Governor/Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Dr Kayode Fayem; Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; First Lady, Kaduna State, Hadiza Isma ElRufai; during a courtesy to the Kaduna State Governor

Morah

O

ne of the outstanding leaders to look out for in the dispensation beginning from 2023 is Mrs. Ifeyinwa Morah who possesses significant experiences both in law and human management.

Morah is a bilingual graduate of University of Lagos, Akoka-Lagos State, where she earned a Bachelor of Law Degree before being called to the Nigerian Bar. While studying at the University of Lagos, Barr. Mrs. Ifeyinwa Morah also studied French at Alliance Francaise, Yaba, Lagos.

She has an outstanding experience in Legal Private Investigation and also vast in Pro Bono Legal representation for the less privileged.

Morah is abundantly vast in conducting Surveillance, Fingerprint Verification and Handwriting Analysis for criminal matters. Her occupation exposed her to Oil & Gas Majors, Forex Trading and Politics.

With a career track in legal practice that started from Ajumogobia & Okeke, she moved on to the legal department of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited.

It was at Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) that her exposure to Oil & Gas, Petroleum Bill, Tax, Gas Marketing, Deep Water Operations, PSC Decree Review, Drilling, Procurement, Litigation, Arbitration, Anti-Trust, Alien Tort Claims projected her for her private thriving in Oil & Gas and Forex Ventures. She was able to deploy this knowledge in setting up the thriving Forex Arm Department at SIFAX Group where Dr. Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

However, with her vast knowledge in efficient service delivery and stand out quality, many people in her home town decides to approach and encourage her to also redirect such services to humanity, this time, to leadership at a national level.

She was co-opted by several invitations to join politics in her home

state Anambra. But this is coming after several hurdles in her initial aspiration to run for the seat of the Federal Constituency where she hails from in Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency. And notable reasons for the initial hurdle, being that she is female and her opponents were all male who taunted her that it wasn’t a beauty contest but a very rough, militant and dangerous terrain.

Undaunted, she worked vigorously with her party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to produce two female Senators and House of Representative members at the same general election in 2019.

Among one of the females that is currently serving in her zone at the National Assembly is Princess Stella Oduah representing Anambra North Senatorial District where Morah hails from.

Morah is an active member of PDP and has currently joined the race to declare her interest to run again for the House of Representatives –Oyi/ Ayamelum Federal Constituency in the 2023 general elections. This has been occasioned by the fact that the current sitting Federal Representative that emerged from her constituency has dumped the party and decamped to another. With the void created, the mantle falls on her, repositioning her to a candidate to beat in the next general election. She is Née Umenyiora and hails from Ogbunike, Oyi Local Government, Anambra State.

Morah is a member of several professional bodies that include Member of The Institute of Directors (IOD), The International Bar Association (IBA), The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), The Nigerian Police Force (NPF), International Association of Chiefs of Police (USA) IACP, Alliance Francaise Lagos-Nigeria (AFL) among others.

She also possess several certificates obtained in France for bilingual studies in French and English.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon.. Femi Gbajabiamila (right) with team leader, Austrian Parliamentary delegation, Axel Kassegger during a courtesy visit to the Speaker by Austrian Parliamentary delegation at the National Assembly

Cross section of indigene and non-indigene of Osun State boarding the free train ride provided by Osun State Government for the celebration of Easter Festival, at the Iddo Terminus of the Nigeria Railway Cooperation, Lagos

Minister, Niger Delta Affairs Ministry, Senator Godswill Akpabio, exchanging pleasantries with colleagues and chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), shortly after arriving the Presidential Banquet Hall, for the breaking of fast with President Muhamadu Buhari on Tuesday

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022

18

FEATURES

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

For Abiola Salami, It's Honour Deserved as Member FORBES Coaches Council World-class Peak Performance Strategist and Editor-in-Chief/Publisher of The Peak Performer Africa, Abiola "Champ" Salami, has set a remarkable record this year with his recent acceptance into the prestigious Forbes Coaches Council, an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Rebecca Ejifoma writes on his rise to stardom

Mr. Abiola "Champ" Salami

W

orld-class Peak Performance Strategist and Editor-in-Chief/ Publisher of The Peak Performer Africa, Abiola "Champ" Salami's membership of FORBES Coaches Council on April 8, 2022 followed swiftly on the heels of vetting and selection by a review committee.

This was in line with the depth and diversity of his experience and track record of successfully influencing business growth metrics alongside personal and professional achievements and honours.

Salami, fondly called Champ, is a well-respected performance strategist with a knack for raising extraordinary leaders, improving the productive capacity and brand perception of organisations and governments.

He's an alumna of Harvard University, Lagos Business School and American Government’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).

The author of The Magic of Emotional Intelligence was announced in the United Nations supported top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent class of 2020 upon the opening of the UN 75th General Assembly.

To further validate his input, Salami was also honoured as one of Africa’s Most Influential Coaching Leaders by the duo of African Leadership Awards and World HRD Congress.

Today, with this latest addition to his portfolio, the Performance Strategist, described FORBES as a signature of distinction amongst the one per cent of the one per cent of high performing leaders.

He enthused: "I'm humbled to be part of a community of the highest ranking thought leaders in the world.

I look forward to leveraging this opportunity to build coalitions, contribute

cutting edge knowledge to the community and deepen my expertise."

"With these, we are further positioned to elevate the performance levels of the forward-thinking executives and the organisations they lead across the globe."

As noted in a media release, the founder of FORBES Councils, Scott Gerber, expressed delight in the new membership.

"We are honoured to welcome Abiola Salami into the community collective that includes Forbes Coaches Council."

He highlighted their mission with Forbes Councils includes bringing together a pool of proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.

As an accepted member of the Council, Gerber expounded that Abiola has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him reach peak professional influence.

He is certain also that the Performance Strategist, Author

and Publisher will connect and collaborate with other respected leaders in a private forum.

In his submission, "Abiola will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share his expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com, and to contribute to published Q&A panels alongside other experts."

Meanwhile, Salami continues to add value to organizations through his signature interventions such as The Magic of Emotional Intelligence; Get MAD; SPEAK like a CHAMPION; The MAGIC From Boring TALES to Fantastic SALES. The list continues with Improving Team Performance; Developing Executive Presence; and Xceptional Leadership.

With over 10 years experience of corporate engagement and capacity development, Salami continues to seek more platforms to impact career professionals, entrepreneurs and politicians.

"I have already seen the opportunity towards this," he expounded. "We are committed to enabling peak performance across the public & private sector.," he said gleefully.

Truly, Salami isn't your regular life coach. His depth is unparalleled, his commitment to excellence is admirable, his consistent commitment to growth is unmatchable and his love for people

"Salami, fondly called Champ, is a well-respected performance strategist with a knack for raising extraordinary leaders, improving the productive capacity and brand perception of organisations and governments"

is evident.

"We have served thousands of executives and hundreds of businesses.

With the Forbes acceptance, we are at another level of work to influence more executives across the globe."

Not resting on his laurels, one of the good things Salami is shelling out this year is a media platform called THE PEAK PERFORMER. This is in line with his conviction that peak performance is inside-out not the other way round.

According to him, "The Peak Performer is both a digital platform and a monthly print tabloid designed to educate, inspire and celebrate career professionals, entrepreneurs and politicians across Africa."

This will stir them into gaining and sharing actionable insights for delivering excellence in their space.

While the print will be launching soon, the digital platform is already live at www.ThePeakPerformer.Africa.

"We'll be using this platform to celebrate people who are adding value across industries." He said.

Part of the quest of the magazine is to provide people with nuggets to enhance their work, personal lives, health, finances, relationships and time.

The Afrocentric platform will report unbiased local and international news, events, services and personal brands.

While conceding that a lot of work is underway, the platform will be furnishing individuals and corporate entities with an array of business solutions.

"The print will be coming out shortly.

And we're using it to unleash greatness in everyone," says Salami.

The Harvard University alumnus, however, concluded with strong appeal on the essence of consistency. "This acceptance has taught me to remain consistent, to value relationships, to have an open mind and to continue to serve."

19

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022

FEATURES

Seventh Anniversary and the Future of ID Africa Ayeni Adekunle

I

nfo Digital Africa aka ID Africa, was a child of necessity. I remember clearly that day around 2012 when the idea first occurred to me. I was in conversation with a couple of friends, exchanging notes on operational frustrations when I realised that one of the biggest risks to BHM’s continued growth and success was new media and digital technology. Clients needed more help and hand-holding as social media became ubiquitous, and smartphone technology was being transformed.

I was worried about not being ready enough and being left behind. We were one of the first companies in our market to have a website, to get on social media, but as things unfolded, I became agitated not just for our company, but for the industry. So-called digital agencies were emerging, clients were talking SEO, and CMS platforms were becoming a thing. It was clear that having an ‘IT’ department with folks good with networking, and troubleshooting would no longer cut it.

We ended the discussion, on this hot, sunny Lagos day promising to become digital experts.

The next week, I informed some of my colleagues that the company would consider setting up its own digital agency, to help us compete in that space, and to make sure our people

Ayeni Adekunle build capacity and are able to help clients better. I asked our freelance web developer to join as co-founder and CEO. When the company, ID Africa, went live in 2015, after being incubated as a BHM Digital department for about two years, digital marketing was already a multi billion dollar industry; and BHM was already considered a leader in digital communication services.

But we got a lot of things wrong, and I spent the first

few years fixing those errors.

Digital Marketing and Communications grew and changed rapidly, as did ID Africa. We acquired skills only to realise they were no longer needed.

No matter what areas you look at, you are only as good as yesterday’s skills.

Protocols and technologies and tools were changing in real time, and we did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.

One of the most watched, and early viral videos on Nigerian internet with over 13 million views across facebook and youtube. Cumulative 1.2 million social media following, the largest for any Nigerian agency. And so on and so on.

By the end of 2021, ID Africa was hiring 30 people full time, paying hundreds of vendors and freelancers; and servicing 10 accounts. Revenues grew 76% compared to 2020.

And it’s fascinating to see that the bulk of that growth has come from supporting clients in so many ways we could not have imagined when we set out seven years ago. In addition to its ‘digital’ work, ID Africa has built impressive capability in content creation, editorial distribution, owned media, communications advisory, media relations, and issues management. And they do it so well that BHM would be jealous.

Along with ID Africa, we’ve been building Plaqad since 2017, where most of our engineers, product managers, and designers are domiciled. And as Plaqad is emerging as the software technology

unit of our business, we see a new opportunity, presented by a challenge as urgent; as critical as the one that gave birth to the company in 2015. This challenge is Africa: the way it communicates; the way it is communicated; the way it sees the world; the way the world sees it. The challenge is the opportunity.

So what would the next seven years mean? What problems would we be solving? I believe the answer lies in the two announcements we made today: setting up operations in Kenya and Ghana, with many more countries and markets soon to follow. Using specific geographic locations, distributed teams, and Plaqad technology, we are optimising to be able to help consumers and clients no matter where they are; no matter what language they speak; and no matter how they access information. Clients want to know and do better, as concerns Africa issues and interventions and investment. And we want to help. Citizens are advocating for better governance and more corporate responsibility. We want to help.

And that’s the path to our future: helping individuals and organisations at home and abroad understand Africa better; help Africa understand and engage with the world better; and be a strong, active part of the community of believers working to build a better Africa, tell the Africa story, and of course delivering value to citizens, clients, consumers, and everyone else in the mix.

The work starts now.

2022 and Beyond: The Future of Content Consumption Bada Akintunde-Johnson

W

hat is the future of content consumption? This is a question you’ll find on the mind of anyone with the minutest stake in the media or content creation universe, especially with the rapid evolution witnessed during the pandemic.

That we nurture the desire to find answers isn’t strange, as content consumption has been changing over the past 15 years. The accelerated changes, particularly since March 2020, emphasize a need to further analyze and critically forecast how these dynamics impact and will continue to influence the media business. What can’t be disputed as gospel is that content will forever remain the currency that influences consumer behavior, but its evolution is tied mainly to how it is consumed a few years from now.

Around us, a rapid change in consumers’ preferences and accelerated technological expansion during the height of the pandemic saw consumers scrambling to media platforms that understood how, when and where they wanted their content served. And it’s no surprise that content distribution channels which were comparatively prepared and swift in understanding how to effectively meet these consumers’ demands emerged as ‘winners’ in the media rat race.

When it comes to media, we must first accept that innovation is the new norm.

This trend, we must also accept, isn’t likely to change as we look to future media concepts. In accepting that content consumption will evolve as new tools emerge and consumers will continue to make new demands, we would become well prepared to improve on the quality and accessibility of our technologies.

A major actionable marketing tactic we have witnessed over the last few years is the media’s ability to offer consumers multiple content formats, as this allows them to consume content the way that’s easiest for them. On accessibility, the distribution of these content across multiple platforms has also been an important indicator of a change in consumer behavior over time.

But compared to a few decades ago, consumers have begun to seek active participation in content, which gives them the power and access to generate even more engagement and relevance.

We have already seen how, in order to

Bada Akintunde-Johnson meet today’s content consumption dynamics, especially with increased cord-cutters, television services are packaging their content to support binge consumption. This strategy is credited in a 2020 report by the Motion Picture Association as playing a key role in the global entertainment market hitting the $100 billion mark for the first time.

From here on out, however, the future of content consumption will be largely influenced by the rise of mobile video, virtual reality, augmented reality, and the more refined use of data analytics. So how does this play out in a society with peculiar socio-economic challenges?

In deciphering the future of content consumption, it is critical that we understand the consumers. It is important to note that despite the rise of digital media as a form of entertainment among the younger demographic who make up the larger population, economic limitations mean that most Nigerians continue to rely on free to air TV. This opens up a new world of opportunities not just for the viewers but for digital broadcasters. Paramount Africa' youth channel brand MTV Base for example is leveraging partner-

ships with terrestrial TV platforms across Africa such as Silverbird TV to extend the reach of the brand beyond cable service providers. This masterful stroke has merged two on-demand output avenues, giving the brand cross-demographic coverage that has rippled into wideranged acceptance across borders, and has solidified its position as a top channel in many countries — evidenced by its recent rating, as the top music channel in Nigeria, by MPS Nigeria.

This evident boundless approach to content propagation is one that must be embraced to ensure continued social and cultural relevance. Still taking from Paramount’ playbook with its formidable youth channel brand, the brand adopted a cross-country coverage for content that is in-demand beyond local borders. The MTV Base Nigerian feed, for instance, serves not only the Nigerian audience but other audiences which data has reflected as having an affinity for Nigerian content such as Ghana, Kenya and other countries within West, East and Central Africa Region.

There needs to be a more sophisticated approach to how we utilise data. An embrace of the big data realm and incorporated insights will be critical in improving consumer demands as it pertains to content consumption.

Sophisticated utilisation of analytics will help to detect shifts in consumer behavior and consequently help media players to determine which new channels to adopt as well as gain insight into how consumers are responding.

Also, in understanding consumers' affinity for content on-the-go in today's world, we can deduce that the future of content consumption is mobile. Last year, data by Statista put the number of unique mobile internet users at 4.28 billion, indicating that over 90 percent of the global internet population use a mobile device to go online. As such, round-the-clock development of accessible content that is mobilefriendly is key in adapting to a change in content consumption dynamics.

Another major shift in paradigm we will witness in the next few years will be the continued exploration of emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), which will both change how consumers interact with available content. The potential of these content creation technologies is reflected in

data by market research provider, Research and Markets, in which it projected the global VR and AR market to grow to $1.3 trillion by 2030- indicating a major upswing from $37 billion in 2019. The VR and AR technologies represent further advancements on consumers’ demand for powerful, personalised experiences so it wouldn’t be out of place to see players in traditional media even in a developing nation like Nigeria take daunting but necessary steps in investing in these technologies.

To piggyback off how involvement in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality can impact content consumption in no distant time, we must pay attention to the natural crossover happening between the worlds of gaming and film/TV. For modern consumers, it couldn’t be any clearer that they want the flexibility to choose how they spend and engage with their content — with their control over subscriptions and micro-transactions currently serving as push for digital-first, user-friendly, and socially integrated gaming experiences.

This signifies yet another opportunity for adaptation to the future of content consumption by players in the media.

Especially if we are putting into consideration how eSports, which saw its global revenue top $1billion for the first time in 2019, has continued to grow significantly over the last few years.

I believe that to remain relevant and connect with young audiences going into the future, our strategy must evolve, as we must aim to become an active part of these consumers’ communities and conversations. To stay ahead as media companies, we need to demonstrate transcendent awareness about current trends and distill it into quality content.

This is what Paramount Africa aimed to achieve with its flagship reality TV show, ‘Inside Life’ with the 1st edition featuring reality TV star, Erica Nlewedim and its quintessential chart show, Official Naija Top Ten. These shows have successfully catered to the prevalent consumer appetite for entertaining and relatable content.

Content consumption dynamics are constantly changing and even more so in this new era; it is imperative that operators in linear TV are quick to adapt in order to stand the test of time.

-Akintunde-Johnson is Country Manager, Paramount Africa.

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022

21

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

REPO

A T

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

08056356325

A P R I L

S & P INDEX

1 9 , 2 0 2 2

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

8.0%

CALL

6.56%

INDEX LEVEL

610.09%

1/4 TO DATE

-1.37%

N417.09/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

8.83 %

1-MONTH

7.53%

1-DAY

0.10%

YEAR TO DATE

7.07%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

7.94%

MONTH-TO-DATE

-1.37%

Despite Macroeconomic Challenges, 48 NGX Listed Companies Report N11.89trn Revenue PBT up 40.7% to N2.73trn 12 DMBs reported N1.21trn Performance outpaced 2021 inflation rate

Kayode Tokede Not withstanding the global and domestic macroeconomic challenges, a total of 48 companies quoted on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), reported a significant increase in revenue and profit before tax for the year ended December 31 2021.

The companies, Dangote Cement

Plc, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Access bank Plc, and 45 others announced 23.15 per cent and 40.7 per cent growth in revenue and profit before tax, respectively during the year under review.

THISDAY analysis of their 2021 financial performance showed that the combined revenue of the 48 companies rose to N11.89 trillion,

an increase of 23.15 per cent from N9.65 trillion reported in 2020.

The profit before tax also rose by 40.7 per cent to N2.73 trillion from N1.94 trillion in 2020, a development analysts attributed to lower than expected loan loss provisions, low tax rates, among others.

The profit before tax reported by the 48 companies outperformed

the 2021 inflation rate that closed December 31, 2021 at 15.63 per cent, while its all-time high in 2021 was at 18.17 per cent in March.

The 48 companies are Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Cement Manufacturing, Fast-moving Consumer Goods, Petroleum Marketing, Information Communication Technology,

Breweries, Industrial, Pharmaceutical, among other key sectors contributing to the country’s economy.

However, the growth reported in revenue and profit before tax reflected on the country’s economy that continued to show signs of progress, with real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth remaining positive.

According to National Bureau of

Statistics (NBS), the GDP advanced by 3.98 per cent year-on-year in fourth quarter (Q4) 2021, the fifth consecutive quarter of economic expansion.

The growth continued to be driven by the non-oil sector that gained 4.73 per cent with main positive Continued on page 22

CPPE Hails FG’s Fiscal Policy, Wants NCS to Own Its Implementation Dike Onwuamaeze The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has commended the federal government for putting in place the 2022 Fiscal Policy Measures that came into effect from April 1, 2022, with the objective of creating an industrial sector that is protected and supported for competitiveness.

The CPPE also recommended that since the Nigeria Customs

Service (NCS) should be left to fully implement the fiscal policy document approved by government without further recourse to the Ministry of Finance for additional approvals.

In a statement, the Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said: “we believe that the NCS is competent enough to interpret the fiscal policy and determine eligibility for fiscal incentives since the idea of seeking approval and exemption certificates from Ministry of Finance

or any other ministry is not consistent with the spirit of the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and should therefore be discontinued.”

The 2022 Fiscal Policy, according to the CPPE, has three major sections, namely the Supplementary Protection Measures (SPM) for the implementation of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (2022-2026); the second section is related to excise duties on non-alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and tobacco products

and telecommunications services while the third is on import duty concessions on medical supplies for COVID intervention measures The CPPE noted that the key components of the SPMs included the Import Adjustment Tax that stipulated levies on 172 tariff lines to offer protection to domestic industries against importation of finished goods.

It also said that the Import Prohibition List is applicable to goods originating from non-ECOWAS

countries, which Nigeria has attained high level of domestic production capacity in order to protect domestic industries.

It also stated that the national list is made up of items with concessionary import duties and taxes, which is meant to reduce the cost of inputs and raw materials for domestic industries across various product groups and stimulate growth and development in critical sectors.

Yusuf said: “The CPPE commends

the government for putting in place this new fiscal policy measures with the objective of creating an industrial sector that is protected and supported for competitiveness.

“While appreciating the intent and objective of the fiscal policy, we recommend that the fiscal policy measures should be released alongside the Finance Act and the Appropriation Act. This would Continued on page 29

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT T U E S D AY, A P R I L 1 9 , 2 0 2 2 BILLS

BONDS DESCRIPTION 12.75 27-APR2023 14.20 14-MAR2024 13.53 23-MAR2025 12.50 22-JAN2026 16.2884 17MAR-2027

Price

Yield

107.93 4.92 111.64 7.60 112.41 8.68 107.24 10.14 120.75 10.76

Change Updated Time (%) 08, -0.02 April 2022 April 08, 0.27 2022 08, –0.20 April 2022 April 08, 0.00 2022 April 08, 0.31 2022

Discount

NTB 28-Apr22 NTB 12May-22 NTB 9-Jun22 NTB 14-Jul22

307,00 307,00 0.00

April 8, 2022

313,00 313,00 0.00

April 8, 2022

188,00 188,00 0.00

April 8, 2022

288,00 290,00 0.00

April 8, 2022

NTB 11Aug-22

318,00 322,00 0.00

April 8, 2022

Yield

OTC F X F U T U R E S

C Ps

MATURITY

Change Updated Time (%)

MATURITY

Discount Yield

Change Updated Time (%)

UNCP CP VI 2-MAY-22 NEVE CP I 24-MAY-22 DANC CP II 25-MAY-22 TRBH CP V 26-JUL-22 FSDH CP VI 1-AUG-22

8.93

8.93

-0.09

April 8, 2022

16.46

16.81 0.07

April 8, 2022

8.65

8.75

0.08

April 8, 2022

11.15

11.53 0.30

April 8, 2022

7.78

7.97

April 8, 2022

0.28

CONTRACT TENOR Contract (MONTH) NGUS APR 27 1 2022 NGUS MAY 25 2 2022 NGUS JUN 29 3 2022 NGUS JUL 27 4 2022 NGUS AUG 31 5 2022

Current Rate ($/₦)

Updated Time

427.24

April 8, 2022

428.93

April 8, 2022

430.63

April 8, 2022

432.32

April 8, 2022

434.02

April 8, 2022

22

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

WELCOME TO ONE…

L-R: Commercial Manager, APM Terminals West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), Noah Sheriff; Port Manager, Onne Port Complex, Stanley Magaji Yitnoe; Customs Area Controller, Onne, Mohammed Auwal; General Manager, Government and Public Relations of WACT, Innocent Ogbuji; and Head of Operations of WACT, Sulaiman Dalabieh, in front of Lady Jane – the second largest containership to berth in Nigeria, at the Onne Port, Rivers State… Thursday

12 Banks Generates N942bn from Charges, Boosting Revenue by 29% Nume Ekeghe With the growing number of bank customers, electronic banking penetration, a total of 12 Deposit Money Banks (DBM) generated N942 billion for maintaining current account of customers, fees from Automated Teller Machines (ATM) transactions, among other commissions in 2021.

This is 29 per cent increase from N728.3 billion generated by these 12 DMBs in 2020.

THISDAY analysis of the 2021 audited result and accounts of the DMBs revealed that tier-1 banks are reaping tremendously from numerous commissions on the backdrop of performing non-core banking operations.

DBMs other means of generating commission from customers include credit related fees and commissions,

commission on bills and letters of credit commission on touch points, credit related fees and commission, among others.

The 12 DMBs are: Access Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Guaranty Trust Holding Plc (GTCO), Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), and Zenith Bank Plc. Others include: Fidelity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria and Jaiz Bank Plc. ETI with its expansion in 13 African countries generated the highest commission from customers, followed by Access bank and UBA. Analysts noted that these three DMBs are benefitting from consistently improving on products targeted at driving non-interest income, stressing that improving customers base also play a critical

role in commissions generation.

The breakdown from the DMBs 2021 audited results revealed that ETI generated N204.79 billion commission from customers’ transactions, an increase of 26 per cent from N162.2billion in 2020.

Access bank grew its commissions from customers’ transactions to N159.18billion in 2021, 36 per cent from N116.7billion in 2020, while UBA commission grew by 25 per cent to N158.65billion in 2021 from N126.9billion in 2020.

The Group Chief executive officer, Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe attributed the bank’s growth in fee and commission to increased transaction velocity across all channels and other electronicbusinesses as well as credit related fees and commissions that grew by 33per cent.

He added, “We will continue to

gain traction on our income from these lines as we extend our retail and loan offering.”

The GMD/CEO, UBA, Kennedy Uzoka in a statement said the Pan-African financial institution’s on going Enterprise Transformation Program is designed to enhance the bank’s process agility, service delivery and customer experience.

According to him, “We are also making sizeable investments in cutting-edge technology and cyber security, to keep our innovative digital banking offerings above the curve, as we tool and re-tool our human resources to compete and win in rapidly changing and evolving landscape.

“These will ensure the bank continues to achieve respectable top and bottom-line growth through the medium to long term.”

In addition, Zenith Bank reported

a total commission from customer’s transactions at N132.88 billion, an increase of 29 per cent from N103.22 billion in 2020, as GTCO reported N74 billion commission from customers in 2021 from N53.18billion in 2020.

However, GTCO in its presentation to investors/analysts attributed the growth in its fees and Commissions to NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) volume expansion and other digital related transactions resulting in a 79 increase in e-Business related income to N21 1 billion in 2021 from N11.7 billion in 2020 and 34 per cent growth noted on Current Account Maintenance Charge (from N12 5 billion to N16 7 billion on the back of 38 per cent growth in Turnover Volumes to N24 8 trillion from N17 9 trillion during the same period.

Meanwhile, Fidelity Bank

reported N29.41billion fees and commission from customers transactions in 2021, about 48 per cent increase from N19.85 billion in 2020, while Stanbic IBTC Holdings reported for N88.32 billion fees and commission in 2021 from N17.5billion in 2020.

Others DMBs, Wema Bank reported N13.42 fees and commission generated from customers from N8.42billion; FCMB Group grew fees and commission by 18 per cent to N35.59 billion in 2021 from N18 billion in 2020; Sterling Bank in 2021 reported N25.17 billion fees and commission from N17.68 billion in 2020; Union Bank of Nigeria reported N18.94 billion fees and commission in 2021 from N14.27 billion as Jaiz bank reported N1.11 billion fees and commission in 2021 from N500.9 million in 2020.

Access Bank to Support Unregistered SMEs With N10m Digital Loans Kayode Tokede Access Bank Plc has unveiled an online account opening platform for unregistered Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) businesses, stressing that such businesses are to access digital loans from N250,000 to N10 million.

The online account opening platform is a paperless and seamless digital process which allows customers to register their business account within five minutes without visiting a branch.

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Deputy Business Editor Chinedu Eze Comms/e-Business Editor Emma Okonji Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Senior Correspondent Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) KayodeTokede(CapitalMarkets) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Reporters Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy) Ugo Aliogo (Development)

The platform is available for anyone above 18 years across Nigeria and the Diaspora.

Speaking on the launching of the online account opening platform, Group Head, Emerging Businesses, Access Bank, Ayodele Olojede in a statement said, “It is about the millions of local businesses struggling

to lay their foundation and growth.

“As part of our commitment to support entrepreneurs and small business owners, we have created a simple seamless digital platform for individuals to obtain an affordable and flexible account for their unregistered businesses which will give them access to digital

loans from N250,000 to N10million.

Access to capacity building programs and trainings, Business registration at a discounted rate for those unregistered businesses, Invitation to link up with investors and build a website with as little as N20,000.

“We believe SMEs play a major

role in most economies, particularly in developing countries. SMEs account for the majority of businesses worldwide and are important contributors to job creation and global economic development.

They represent about 90% of businesses and more than 50per cent of employment worldwide”

Ayodele concluded.

Ayodele also called on SMEs owners to ensure proper records keeping for their businesses and advised them against mixing business funds with personal expenses as it leads to poor corporate governance and risk of misappropriation of cash belonging to the business.

DESPITE MACROECONOMIC CHALLENGES, 48 NGX LISTED COMPANIES REPORT N11.89TRN REVENUE contributions from the agriculture sector that appreciated by 3.58per cent, and financial services, 24.14per cent.

On the other hand, the oil sector shrank 8.06 per cent in Q4 2021, reflecting lower oil output as the average daily crude oil production stood at 1.5 million barrels per day (mbpd), down from 1.57 mbpd in Q3 and 1.56 mbpd a year ago.

Companies in the Nigeria were faced with scarcity of foreign exchange as the Interbank market witnessed a upward trend by six per cent y/y to stand at N424/ Dollar, as analysts attributed the trend to adjustments in local currency and lean supply by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Sectoral performance by THISDAY revealed that a total of 12 DMBs contributed 41.5 per cent or N4.91 trillion to N11.89 trillion revenue reported by these 48 companies in 2021 from 37.3per cent or N4.41 trillion revenue reported in 2020.

In terms of profit before tax generated, the 12 DMBs reported N1.21trillion in 2021 as against N1.01trillion in 2020.

Extracts revealed that Zenith bank Plc remains the most profitable bank in Nigeria as its profit before tax rose by 10 per cent to N280.37 billion in 2021 from N255.96 billion in 2020.

The lender grew its revenue by 10 per cent to N765.56 billion in 2021 from N696.45 billion in 2020 to emerged third most revenue generating DMBs on the Exchange.

According to THISDAY findings, Access Bank leads other DMBs in revenue, followed by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).

Access Bank grew revenue by 27 per cent to N971.89billion in 2021 from N764.72billion in 2020, while ETI’s revenue advanced by 14 per cent to N956.39billion in 2021 from N841.14billion in 2020.

With the federal government bridging the gap in the infrastructure and domestic consumption of cement, the likes of Dangote Cement, BUA Cement and Lafarge BUA Cements generated N1.93trillion revenue in 2021 from N1.47 trillion reported in 2020.

Dangote Cement dominated in revenue generation, reporting 34 per cent increase in revenue to N1.38 trillion in 2021 from N1.03 trillion in 2020. Dangote Cement also grew profit before tax by 44 per cent to N538.4 billion in 2021 from N373.31 billion in 2020.

Meanwhile, the oil and gas sector recovered in 2021 as the five companies in the sector recorded N915.85 billion revenue in 2021 from N613.8 billion in 2020, while

profit before tax closed 2021 at N99.08 billion in 2021 from a loss of N25.92 billion reported in 2020.

The impressive performance by Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Totalenergies Marketing Nigeria and Conoil lifted the sector performance during the year.

Despite recovery in revenue Eterna Plc was the only oil & gas company that post loss in 2021 financial year.

The petroleum marketing company reported a loss of N936.42 million in 2021 from N548.15millioni in 2020.

The agriculture sector (comprising Presco Plc, FTN Cocoa Plc, and Okomu Oil Palms) followed with 79 per cent revenue increase to N84.9 billion from N47.54 billion in 2020.

The classification of the sector as essential allowed farm produces and its derivatives unhindered movement from producers to the markets/ consumers, hence, improving their financial position.

The telecommunication sector, represented by MTN Communication Nigeria followed with 32 per cent growth in revenue to N1.65 trillion from N1.35 trillion in the previous year, while profit before tax gained 32 per cent to N436.7billion in 2021 from M298.87billion in 2020.

Analysts believed that the major reopening of economic activities had led to an unprecedented recovery

in key sectors, which made most companies operate at the maximum levels that impacted on profits and dividend pay-out to shareholders.

Finance and Capital market expert, Mr. Rotimi Fakeyejo attributed the 2021 performance to the combined support from both the fiscal and the monetary authorities to boost economic activity through special interventions to the most vulnerable individuals and companies during the period.

According to him, “More interestingly, the improvement in the combined bottom-line of these companies could be linked to the adoption of aggressive cost management strategy to curtail the impact of the global shock on overall expenses as it became difficult to deliberately grow revenue owing to depleted consumer purchasing power, low investment and constrained government spending.

Also speaking, the Managing Director/CEO APT Securities and Funds Limited, Mr. Garba Kurfi commended listed companies for posting impressive result and accounts for 2021, expressing concerns that the declared dividend by these companies did not reflect in the trajectory of the stock market.

According to him, “These companies have declared impressive

dividend payout to investors but I do not know why the stock market did not respond to dividend payout

by Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, among others.”

The CEO, Wyoming Capital & Partners, Mr. Tajudeen Olayinka urged investors to investigate if these companies were paying from the reserve or current earnings reported on the NGX, “For those companies that have proposed dividend, we praise their effort. If a company is paying from current earnings, it shows effective management despite the challenges. What some of these companies are paying as dividend is substantial which is good for their stock prices.”

He added that: “It is excessive if a company is paying over 10per cent yield on its dividend to shareholders and it means these companies are operating at a higher cost per capital. When you have a functional market where companies are doing well, I don’t expect a company to pay more than five per cent yield on dividend to shareholders. That was the level our domestic market was in 2007 before the global economic meltdown. If a company is able to pay at least five per cent yield, it means they will be able to raise money at a low level per capital.”

123

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 20, 2022 Wednesday April 2022 Vol 27. No 9872 TR

See page 24 E-FRAUD: A THREAT TO YOUTH DIGITAL INCLUSION KABIR ABDULSALAM canvasses the need to introduce the use of forensic intelligence to tackle cybercrime See page 24

OF GOD AND GODS OF INSECURITY Government watches on helpless while terrorists whip, torture and kill the citizens, writes KENE OBIEZU See page 25 IN DEFENCE OF YEMI OSINBAJO ETIM ETIM argues that voters should be left to decide the fate of the Vice President See page 25

EDITORIAL

BEYOND REVENUE ALLOCATION FORMULA

See page 26

& RE A S O

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opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

COME ONE, COME ALL Enugu is in need of visionary leadership, contends CHUKWUEMEKA OLUKA

UT H

Africa has the lowest number of internet connections, but has the largest potential for progress, writes Sonny ARAGBA-AKPORE

AFRICA AND THE RACE FOR INTERNET CONNECTIVITY Imagine life without the internet and telecommunications.

Until the internet entered many African countries, communications was a nightmare.

When digital communications emerged, life began to improve as it became easier to communicate.

And the internet became a leveler or so it seemed as it created and enabled business to business, business to commerce and person to person connectivity.

But in spite of this magic tool, not all Africans have access to the internet on a high scale, and so many people on the continent still live without connectivity.

That’s the reality for half the world’s population today.

Africa has the lowest number of Internet connections—only 22 percent of the continent has access. It also has the largest potential for progress.

While the African Union, with support from the World Bank Group, sets the goal of connecting every individual, business, and government on the continent by 2030, many governments across the continent are not as enthusiastic.

Countries with liberal telecommunications sector like Nigeria which opened the sector nearly 30 years ago have created an environment where access to services is JLYHQ ZKLOH HͿRUWV DUH RQ WR WDNH VHUYLFHV WR unserved and underserved areas.

A private sector driven industry is not readily available in many African countries hence the lull. So far more than 1.2 million kilometers of Internet cables run across the RFHDQV· ÁRRUV EXW MXVW \HDUV DJR $IULFD was completely disconnected. Those who did have access—using Internet provided by satellites—paid 10 times more than users in other regions. Service was also slow and painfully unreliable.

By 2007, the international Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank ODXQFKHG DQ DPELWLRXV HͿRUW WR EXLOG D QHWZRUN RI XQGHUVHD ,QWHUQHW FDEOHV RͿ WKH coast of East Africa.

It was expected to boost the region’s connectivity which required enormous LQYHVWPHQW DQG VLJQLÀFDQW UHJXODWRU\ reforms.

IFC helped mobilize $70 million for the submarine cables from private sector partners while the World Bank worked with governments to resolve regulatory issues— including rights of way, licensing, and crossborder connectivity.

Reports have it that the East African Cable System (EASSy), a 10,000-km undersea ÀEHU RSWLF FDEOH V\VWHP UXQQLQJ IURP 6RXWK Africa to Sudan, became operational in 2010.

EASSy has expanded Internet access for 20 coastal and landlocked African countries, lowering broadband costs by as much as 90 percent.

The next step of broadband expansion

in Africa is bringing Internet connections inland from underwater submarine cables WKURXJK ÀEHU RSWLF QHWZRUNV )LEHU RSWLF cables are made of glass and are as thin as a strand of human hair. They’re expensive: 2QH NLORPHWUH RI ÀEHU FRVWV $IULFD still needs 500,000 km of cable to achieve full connectivity, that’s about $15b.

Japanese investors are working with IFC in Africa to improve connectivity. As IFC and Japan improve digitalization across the continent, the potential impacts are clear: a 10-percent increase in mobile broadband penetration increases GDP per capita by as much as 0.7 percent—as people connect to PDUNHWV DQG DFFHVV ÀQDQFLQJ WKURXJK WKH Internet.

This means expanding access to DͿRUGDEOH KLJK VSHHG ,QWHUQHW WKDW PDNHV it easier to do business across state borders in the 21st century workforce, IFC reported.

“Right now, nearly nine out of 10 young people not using the Internet either live in $IULFD RU $VLD DQG WKH 3DFLÀF :H QHHG WR change that to create more opportunities for all,” says Samuel Gikandi, co-founder DQG FKLHI H[HFXWLYH R΀FHU RI $IULFD·V 7DONLQJ D WHFKQRORJ\ ÀUP WKDW LV XQORFNLQJ the potential of mobile-communication networks across the continent.

Speedtest Global Index released recently WKH UDQNLQJ RI PRELOH DQG À[HG EURDGEDQG VSHHGV IURP DURXQG WKH ZRUOG 2Q WKH À[HG broadband speeds in Africa, Ghana ranked number one and 79th globally, with a speed RI 0ESV 7KLV PHDQV *KDQD·V À[HG broadband is the fastest in Africa. Ghana is followed by South Africa, which placed 85th in the world. Egypt ranked third in Africa.

Speedtest Global Index measures the global internet speed, and it looks at the internet speed of about 181 countries.

Speedtest Global Index listed the 10 FRXQWULHV LQ $IULFD ZLWK IDVW À[HG EURDGEDQG internet as follows: Ghana leads the pack in Africa and has an International ranking at number 79 with a Speed of 53.28 Mbps; South Africa is next with International ranking: at 89 and Speed

of 47.32 Mbps; Egypt has International ranking at number 91 and Speed of 42.42 Mbps.

The others are Madagascar with international ranking of 96 and speed of 38.68 Mbps; and Cote d’Ivoire with International ranking of 101 and speed of 37.36 Mbps. Seychelles has an International ranking of 103 and speed of 37.02 Mbps.

Senegal stands at 105 International ranking with a speed of 35.28 Mbps. This is followed by Morocco (110) and speed of 28.38 Mbps. Mauritius stands at 121 and speed of 25.60 Mbps and Burkina Faso with international ranking of 125 and speed of 23.95 Mbps. ,W LV SURMHFWHG WKDW PLOLLRQ SHRSOH LQ sub-Saharan Africa will subscribe to mobile services by 2025, equivalent to 50% of the UHJLRQ·V SRSXODWLRQ 7KHUH DUH SURMHFWLRQV that 28 percent of total connections will be on 4G by 2025 and 3% will be on 5G. The mobile industry in sub-Saharan Africa continues to play a crucial role in the response to Covid-19. Mobile operators have implemented measures to support YXOQHUDEOH FRPPXQLWLHV LQFOXGLQJ RͿHULQJ GLVFRXQWV RQ PRELOH WDULͿV DQG SURYLGLQJ digital content and tools to help people and businesses get online.

By the end of 2020, 495 million people subscribed to mobile services in subSaharan Africa, representing 46% of the region’s population – an increase of almost 20 million in 2019. With more than 40% of the region’s population under the age of 15, young consumers owning a mobile phone IRU WKH ÀUVW WLPH ZLOO UHPDLQ WKH SULPDU\ source of growth for the foreseeable future DFFRUGLQJ WR WKH SURMHFWLRQV Over the period to 2025, 4G adoption in sub-Saharan Africa will double to 28%, compared to a global average of 57%. It LV VWLOO HDUO\ VWDJHV LQ WKH MRXUQH\ WR * LQ sub-Saharan Africa; as of June 2021, there ZHUH VHYHQ FRPPHUFLDO * QHWZRUNV LQ ÀYH markets across the region. By the end of 2025, 5G will account for 3% of total mobile connections in the region. $FFRUGLQJ WR WKHVH SURMHFWLRQV E\ Speedtest Global Index “economies recover and restrictions ease, mobile technology will be even more integral to how people live and how businesses operate. It will enable new digital solutions for small and large enterprises and support the growing use of online channels by consumers. Strong LQYHVWRU FRQÀGHQFH DQG FRQVXPHU LQWHUHVW in digital platforms point to a digital-centric future for sub-Saharan Africa, with mobile at the centre of the creation and consumption of innovative solutions.”

Aragba-Akpore is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board

2 24

T H I S D AY

Enugu is in need of visionary leadership, contends CHUKWUEMEKA OLUKA

COME ONE, COME ALL At the last count, there were at least DVSLUDQWV WR WKH /LRQ %XLOGLQJ WKH JRYHUQRUVKLS VHDW RI (QXJX 6WDWH RQ WKH SODWIRUP RI WKH 3HRSOHV 'HPRFUDWLF 3DUW\ 3'3 QDPHO\ IRUPHU 'HSXW\ 6HQDWH 3UHVLGHQW &KLHI ,NH (NZHUHPDGX %LVKRS 5DOSK 1ZRQ\H 3URI %DUWK 1QDML &DSW (YHUHVW 1QDML 6LU &KLQ\HDND 2KDD +RQ &KLMRNH (GHRJD 'U -RVHI .HQ 2QRK 0U *RGZLQ 2JHQ\L 3DVWRU %HORYHG 'DQ $QLNH (QJU (UDVPXV $QLNH 6HQDWRU *LO 1QDML 0U 3HWHU 0ED 'U .LQJVOH\ 8GHK 'U $EUDKDP 1QHML +RQ 2ͿRU &KXNZXHJER 3ULQFH *LOEHUW &KXNZXQWD 3URI -HKX 1QDML DQG 3URI +LOODU\ (GHRJD )RU WKH 3'3 WKLV WUDQVODWHV WR DERXW 1 PLOOLRQ UDNHG LQ from sale of nomination and expression of interest forms.

Whereas such an array of aspirants should RUGLQDULO\ EH H[FLWLQJ VRPHWKLQJ LVQ·W VLWWLQJ ULJKW 1RQH RI WKH DVSLUDQWV H[FHSW (NZHUHPDGX KDV SUHVHQWHG DQ\ PDQLIHVWR WR 1GL (QXJX +H SUHVHQWHG KLV DJHQGD ´3DWKZD\ WR D 1HZ (QXJX 6WDWH µ DW D FRQVXOWDWLYH PHHWLQJ ZLWK WKH PHGLD HDUOLHU in March this year. *RLQJ WKURXJK WKH ERRNOHW WKH ODZPDNHU SURPLVHV LQGXVWULDOL]DWLRQ WKURXJK WKH EXLOGLQJ RI DW OHDVW WZR LQGXVWULHV LQ HDFK RI WKH ORFDO JRYHUQPHQW DUHDV LQ IRXU \HDUV DQG E\ HPEDUNLQJ RQ ZKDW KH FDOOHG ´2QH /RFDO JRYHUQPHQW 2QH 3URGXFWµ DFFRUGLQJ WR FRPSDUDWLYH DGYDQWDJHV He promises to reduce youth unemployment by 70% in four years, create MREV IRU RXU \RXQJ PHQ DQG ZRPHQ LQ WRXULVP DJULFXOWXUH HQWHUWDLQPHQW LQGXVWU\ ,&7 HWF DQG FUHDWH DQ HQDEOLQJ HQYLURQPHQW for the youth to thrive in the private sector.

5HJDUGLQJ URDG LQIUDVWUXFWXUH (NZHUHPDGX SURPLVHV WR EXLOG VXSHU KLJKZD\V IURP (QXJX FLW\ FHQWUH WR (QXJX·V ERUGHU VWDWHV DV ZHOO DV FRQVWUXFW D ULQJ URDG WR FRQQHFW DOO ORFDO JRYHUQPHQWV LQ WKH VWDWH which he said he had started as a lawmaker WKURXJK WKH URDG SURMHFWV KH DWWUDFWHG DFURVV the three senatorial districts.

2Q JRRG JRYHUQDQFH KH SOHGJHV WR ensure equal treatment to all, open and FRQVXOWDWLYH JRYHUQDQFH LQGHSHQGHQW DQG H΀FLHQW OHJLVODWXUH DQG MXGLFLDU\ HQVXUH VHUYLFH SURYLVLRQ WKURXJK ZHOO GHVLJQHG H JRYHUQPHQW ]HUR LQWHUIHUHQFH ZLWK ORFDO JRYHUQPHQW IXQGV DQG SURPSW SD\PHQW RI VDODULHV DQG UHWLUHPHQW EHQHÀWV WR UHGXFH corruption.

2Q VHFXULW\ (NZHUHPDGX RͿHUV WR SURYLGH D GLJLWDO VHFXULW\ QHWZRUN VHW XS DQ H΀FLHQW VWDWH IXQGHG VHFXULW\ RXWÀW WKDW FDQ UHVSRQG WR DQ HPHUJHQF\ LQ PLQXWHV FUHDWH DQ (QXJX 6WDWH ,GHQWLW\ 'DWDEDVH DQG VHW XS 6HFXULW\ DQG 3XEOLF 6DIHW\ &RRUGLQDWLRQ &HQWUH The senator promises to build dams and UHKDELOLWDWH H[LVWLQJ ZDWHU VRXUFHV SLSHOLQHV and other infrastructure to ensure that water VFDUFLW\ EHFRPHV D WKLQJ RI WKH SDVW LQ (QXJX $OVR KH SURPLVHV WR H[SDQG WKH FRYHUDJH RI (QXJX :HVW :DWHU IRU $OO +H SURPLVHV KHDOWK UHIRUPV LQFOXGLQJ HQVXULQJ WKDW WKHUH LV D IXQFWLRQDO DQG ZHOO manned primary healthcare facility for every community, secondary healthcare facility for HYHU\ ORFDO JRYHUQPHQW ZKLOHV WKH (QXJX 6WDWH 8QLYHUVLW\ 7HDFKLQJ +RVSLWDO LV WR be transformed into a world-class tertiary healthcare facility.

2Q HQHUJ\ KH SURPLVHV WR H[WHQG

electricity supply to every home and restore YDQGDOL]HG OLQHV VHFXUH (QXJX·V HOHFWULFLW\ OLQHV DQG LQIUDVWUXFWXUH JRLQJ IRUZDUG HPEDUN RQ ODUJH VFDOH UHQHZDEOH HQHUJ\ DQG SURYLGH PLQL JULGV IRU UHPRWH FRPPXQLWLHV 5HJDUGLQJ DJULFXOWXUH KH FRPPLWV WR SURPRWLQJ WKH SURGXFWLRQ RI FURSV RI KLJK GHPDQG LQ WKH LQWHUQDWLRQDO PDUNHW SURYLGLQJ OLYHVWRFN DJULFXOWXUH FUHDWLQJ access to funds for farmers, and the local production of farm inputs like fertilizers, VHHGOLQJV DQG DJUR FKHPLFDOV 7KHVH ZLOO PDNH IDUPLQJ DWWUDFWLYH HVSHFLDOO\ WR WKH youths. *RLQJ E\ ZKDW (NZHUHPDGX ZDV DEOH WR do in the three senatorial districts of the state DQG EH\RQG DV MXVW D ODZPDNHU DQG JRLQJ by the experience, contacts, and exposure he KDV JDUQHUHG RYHU WKH \HDUV IURP WKH ORFDO to international levels, he no doubt stands a JRRG FKDQFH WR GHOLYHU RQ WKHVH SURPLVHV However, the issue here is not even his capacity to deliver, but the fact that, unlike others, he has publicly tabled a blueprint by ZKLFK KLV DVSLUDWLRQ FDQ EH ZHLJKHG $OVR 1GL (QXJX FDQ KDYH VRPHWKLQJ ZLWK ZKLFK to benchmark him if elected. &RQYHUVHO\ DQG XQIRUWXQDWHO\ RWKHU DVSLUDQWV DSSHDU WR EH EDQNLQJ RQ WKH KRSH RI *RYHUQRU ,IHDQ\L 8JZXDQ\L·V DQRLQWPHQW DQG WKH KLJKO\ FRQWURYHUVLDO ´,W·V RXU WXUQ DUJXPHQWµ HYHQ ZKHQ WKH JRYHUQRUVKLS position has rotated around the three senatorial districts.

Upon interaction with a handful of other aspirants on why they’re yet to present any SURJUDPPH DJHQGD WKH XVXDO DQVZHU LV WKDW WKH\ DUH ZDLWLQJ IRU *RYHUQRU 8JZXDQ\L WR anoint his successor.

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022

KABIR ABDULSALAM canvasses the need to introduce the use of forensic intelligence to tackle cybercrime E-FRAUD: A THREAT TO YOUTH DIGITAL INCLUSION ,Q PDQ\ GHYHORSLQJ FRXQWULHV WKH \RXWK SRSXODWLRQ LV WKH ODUJHVW DQG PRVW SURGXFWLYH ,W KDV WKH SRWHQWLDO WR GULYH ÀQDQFLDO JURZWK DQG LQFOXVLRQ <HW \RXQJ SHRSOH IDFH PDQ\ EDUULHUV WKDW hinder their inclusion in economic activities.

developed nations.

A report by RiskOps stated that online fraud attacks increased by 233% between 2019 and 2021 in the US. $ NH\ ÀQGLQJ LQ WKH UHSRUW LV WKDW despite the increase in online transactions

6RPH FKDOOHQJHV IDFHG E\ \RXWK especially in countries like ours, are limited job opportunities.

This has led to an increase in perpetration RI H IUDXG ZLWK LWV DWWHQGDQW HͿHFW RQ various sectors of the nation’s economy. &LWLQJ D &%1 UHSRUW WKH 'LUHFWRU &RQVXPHU $ͿDLUV %XUHDX 1&& (IRVD

by 65%, Florida alone witnessed a 202% rise in in-store credit card fraud.

This was found to be the riskiest state in America for card-present fraud.

The data indicates that the fraud was primarily committed in person in 24hour convenience stores by criminals XVLQJ VWROHQ GHELW FDUG 3,1 FRGHV :DVKLQJWRQ '& 1HZ <RUN DQG Maryland were the second, third, and fourth riskiest states in the US respectively.

Other electronic methods used to defraud people/customers include WKURXJK 3KLVKLQJ 3KDUPLQJ 6NLPPLQJ or any other fraudulent means. )LQGLQJV VKRZ WKDW 1LJHULDQ VFDPV cost the British economy at least £150 million a year.

7KH UHDOLW\ RI EHLQJ D YLFWLP RI H IUDXG LV QRW MXVW DERXW ORVLQJ PRQH\ 7KHUH DUH YLFWLPV ZKR DWWHPSW FRPPLWWLQJ VXLFLGH many homes have been broken and a lot of businesses crashed.

7KH YLWDO TXHVWLRQ ,V GLJLWDO ZURQJGRLQJ RU F\EHUFULPH WKH DQVZHU IRU MREOHVVQHVV DQG GHVWLWXWLRQ LQ 1LJHULD" 7KH UHVSRQVH LV REYLRXVO\ ´12 µ We all need to talk about fraud-related experiences with family and friends in a QRQ MXGJPHQWDO ZD\ 1RZDGD\V ZH PXVW UHFRJQLVH WKH prevalence of fraud and the ways it LPSDFWV LQGLYLGXDOV DQG RUJDQLVDWLRQV DFURVV VRFLHW\ 5HOHYDQW DJHQFLHV QHHG WR EH PRUH SURDFWLYH LQ VHQVLWLVLQJ DQG HGXFDWLQJ 1LJHULDQV RQ IUDXG UHODWHG issues. $ERYH DOO 1LJHULD DV D QDWLRQ needs to introduce the use of forensic LQWHOOLJHQFH WR HQKDQFH WKH WHFKQLTXH WR WDFNOH F\EHUFULPH ZLWK KLJK VHFXULW\ JDGJHWV

The reality of being a victim of e-fraud is not just about losing money.

There are victims who attempt committing suicide; many homes have been broken and a lot of businesses crashed ,GHKHQ VDLG WKH DSH[ EDQN KDG UHYHDOHG WKDW H IUDXG ZDV FRVWLQJ WKH 1LJHULDQ ÀQDQFLDO VHFWRU VWDJJHULQJ ORVVHV LQ PRQHWDU\ WHUPV +H VDLG ´$V WHFKQRORJ\ HYROYHV WKHUH LV D JURZLQJ FRQFHUQ RYHU WKH ULVLQJ WUHQG of fraud perpetrated on telecom platforms DFURVV NH\ VHFWRUV RI WKH 1LJHULDQ HFRQRP\ known as e-fraud.

“This menace which follows wide acceptance of new methods of mobile EDQNLQJ DQG RWKHU SD\PHQW V\VWHPV has been discovered to cost the country ZKRSSLQJ VXPV RI PRQH\ ´7KH &%1 UDWHV H IUDXG DV WKH ELJJHVW ULVN LQ WKH VHFWRU ZKLFK KDV ZLGHO\ DͿHFWHG electronic payment solutions such as $XWRPDWHG 7HOOHU 0DFKLQHV $70V 1LJHULD ,QWHU %DQN 6HWWOHPHQW 6\VWHP 1,%%6 ,QVWDQW 3D\PHQW DQG PRELOH EDQNLQJ µ ( IUDXG DV D PHQDFH LV QRW RQO\ FRPPLWWHG LQ 1LJHULD EXW HYHQ LQ PDQ\

Abdulsalam writes from Wuye District, Abuja

325

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022

ETIM ETIM argues that voters should be left to decide the fate of the Vice President

Government watches on helpless while terrorists whip, torture and kill the citizens, writes KENE OBIEZU

OF GOD AND GODS OF INSECURITY Nigeria is a deeply religious country. In recent times, the faith of many of its more than 200 million citizens which sometimes border on religiosity has been savagely

tested as well as fashioned into a stick with which Africa`s most populous country has been relentlessly whipped for its embarrassing development indices. +RZHYHU LQ VSLWH RI WKH ÁDNV Nigerians have continued to pray and to believe. Every Friday and every Sunday, adherents of Nigeria`s two major religions, Christianity and Islam, troop into mosques and churches, to pray.

Religion permeates national life. It is central to the identity of many Nigerians and consequently, whatever they do and whenever they do what they do, they turn to God in prayer.

The Minister of Defence has asked Nigerians to call on God to end the insecurity in the country. But is he doing his bit? Are his fellow cabinet members doing their bit?

So religious is the Giant of Africa that even those who pollute the country with WKH XQJRGO\ VDFULÀFHV WKH\ RͿHU WR WKH JRGV of power in the corridors of power know how to call on God. As Nigeria continues to disintegrate, religion has come to sit side by side with insecurity not as a competitor for Nigeria`s biggest challenge as insecurity will take the cake, but as a co-enabler, one that quietly acts as a foil for the other.

Nigerians have watched in horror as lives have been ripped out of family members and livelihoods irreparably decimated, they have learned to turn to an invisible and invincible God for succor.

Between God and Nigerians crushed by insecurity, it has been a bond forged in the ÀUHV RI DGYHUVLW\ DV HYHQ *RG KDV QRW EHHQ spared the bile and brimstones of ruthless criminals.

Churches and mosques have crumbled under the fury of mortar shells, even as worshippers and those who lead them have been indiscriminately killed.

A lot of prayers have been said to arrest Nigeria`s slide into insecurity. The pulpit has been hardly silent in this time even if the noise has not been deafening. There have EHHQ SUD\HUV RͿHUHG IRU *RG WR LQWHUYHQH in the security situation in Nigeria just as religious leaders have admonished those in government to do more to secure the lives and properties of Nigerians.

The Nigerian government has become and bumbling bundle of bristles – one that largely bristles at the admonition to wake up, preferring instead to brief its increasingly hollow megaphones on just how to fashion out new names for those who have had the courage to call it out. Thus, a government elected to bring succour to Nigerians watches on while terrorists play poker with its citizens.

While prayers go on for Nigeria and pulpits from around the country reverberate with messages about what could be done to rescue the country from the callous clutches of insecurity, there is no doubt that among Nigerians are those whose business it is to keep Nigeria insecure. For these people, business is only as good as long as insecurity remains. Their biggest interests are vested in Nigeria`s insecurity, and as such, they will do everything to keep the wheels of insecurity grinding down the country.

Suspicions have long been rife that these SHRSOH ZKR IHHG WKH ÁDPHV RI LQVHFXULW\ DQG are well known to the authorities have so far failed to come to detention, prosecution and subsequent conviction because they work directly for powerful interests in the country or have some dirt on powerful people within the country.

Although credible claims have been made in that wise, nothing has been conclusive yet, given the complicated nature of security, diplomacy and politics the world over. Yet, WKHUH LV KDUGO\ HYHU DQ\ VPRNH ZLWKRXW ÀUH and is it not in the interest of a country built with tinder to proactively investigate the source of the plume of smoke lest it is burnt down in no time by a raging inferno?

This necessarily involves measures aimed at confronting as a matter of national urgency all those who may have a hand in the insecurity destabilizing the country. This must also mean asking all those who are in positions to do something about the insecurity but have so far done nothing to account for their dereliction and indecisiveness or resign. The Minister of Defence has asked Nigerians to call on God to end the insecurity in the country. But is he doing his bit? Are his fellow cabinet members doing their bit?

It is humiliating that the Giant of Africa FRQWLQXHV WR VXͿHU WKH KXPLOLDWLRQ RI EHLQJ dictated to by crude criminals such as the ones who now ask that some incarcerated terrorists be released to them in exchange for some of those abducted in the vicious train attack of March 28,2022.

What more humiliation can a people SRVVLEO\ VXͿHU" :KDW PRUH LQGLJQLW\" :KDW more ignominy?

Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com

IN DEFENCE OF YEMI OSINBAJO Since Vice President Yemi Osinbajo launched his presidential campaign over a week ago, an avalanche of malicious, false and cruel campaigns have been unveiled by various interest groups against him. From P\ ÀQGLQJV WKHVH IDEULFDWHG PHVVDJHV DUH mostly sponsored by other APC Presidential aspirants who feel threatened by the entrance

bemoaning, with his supporters throwing tantrums and insults with reckless abandon.

Over the weekend, Tinubu went overboard by launching scathing personal attacks against President Buhari. At a rally in Onikan, Lagos, the septuagenarian accused the President of being full of excuses and WRR ZHDN WR ÀJKW WHUURULVP +H DWWDFNHG virtually every policy of the government, including the barring of some telephone lines not linked to National Identity data, an action taken strictly for security reasons.

In all my years in Nigerian politics, no aspirant has been so brutal against a President elected on the same party as his.

I understand that Tinubu is planning to come out in a full ballistic manner against President Buhari. PDP is happy with him.

Asiwaju is enraged that the President is not handing him the Presidency on a platter of gold.

Discouraged, Tinubu’s supporters are busy manufacturing asinine commentaries, the most senseless being that the VP has betrayed Tinubu by deciding to run. You of the VP into the race. Supporters of Bola can only betray someone if you had entered Ahmed Tinubu have been particularly into an agreement with the person. There mean-spirited, vengeful and malevolent in is no such pact between the VP and the their attacks against the VP. I am also reliably former Lagos governor. The fact that Prof. informed that devotees of Chibuike Amaechi, Osinbajo had served as Attorney General in the Minister of Transportation, who is also in Lagos when Tinubu was governor cannot the race, have joined in pouring invectives debar the VP from running against Tinubu. on the VP. Another angry crusader against Those touting the betrayal theory have the VP is Farooq Kperogi, a fellow acting as therefore reduced the Nigerian presidency a lone wolf to wage hateful attacks against to a kind a Tinubu heirloom - an object an innocent man for no obvious reason. that has belonged to his family for several Kperogi’s allegation that the VP favours only generations, to which nobody else dares his church members in making appointments contest for. It is a poor sense of judgement LV XQIRXQGHG 2I RYHU VWDͿHUV LQ WKH 93·V if Tinubu’s sole strategy in the contest for 2΀FH RQO\ IRXU DUH LQ KLV FKXUFK DQG PDQ\ the presidency is based on blackmailing RWKHUV DUH SHRSOH RI GLͿHUHQW IDLWK Osinbajo. Nobody wins a major presidential So, in the last one week or so, these ticket by elevating his sense of entitlement discontented crusaders have been spewing as a key achievement. out corrosive articles and fabricated Since 1999, Tinubu has been the Lord allegations against the Vice President all in Manor of Lagos State, where he decides attempt to bring him to disrepute and cow ZKR LV WKH JRYHUQRU FRXQFLOORUV +RXVH him out of the race. They’re frustrated by of Assembly members, the market leader, the wide acceptability of the VP by ordinary refuse collectors, revenue collectors and folks across party lines in all the nooks and MXVW DERXW DQ\ERG\ HOVH +H KDV /DJRV LQ crannies of the country. Apparently nobody his pocket, and now he wants the whole gave Prof Osinbajo a blinking chance in this country. Nigeria has become a prize well race. They are incensed that the VP’s message sought for by Tinubu as the crowning glory has resonated well with ordinary Nigerians, of his past political victories. That is why he and his ‘’Likeability Factor’’ is the strongest does not want anybody, the VP least of all, among the aspirants. They are startled that to challenge his ‘’lifelong ambition’’.

Osinbajo, whom they had earlier thought In 2019, the Lord Manor disallowed then would not have the courage to run, is now Lagos Governor Akinwunmi Ambode the front runner and the leading aspirant. opportunity to go for a second term. Tinubu Meek, soft spoken and gentle in manners, the adamantly refused all entreaties from VP does not cut a picture of a typical Nigerian President Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo politician who talks bombastically, throws his and other eminent persons to give Ambode weight around and splashes stolen money at a fair chance. Tinubu brooks no opposition. everybody and every occasion. While Tinubu I understand that the Ambode experience and Amaechi are infamous for scotched was an eye opener to the Presidency on the earth politics in their respective domains type of person Asiwaju really is. ‘’If he could (their inability to accommodate those with turn down an appeal from the President to opposing interests are well known), Osinbajo save Ambode, what else could he do or not had spent the last seven years working hard do if he ascends the top job? Who could and supporting the President to deliver on stand in his way? his agenda to Nigerians. A few days ago, In conclusion, let me repeat that in Amaechi went to consult the Ooni of Ife and modern democracies across the globe, the boastfully declared that he is the best of all 9LFH 3UHVLGHQWV DUH XVXDOO\ WKH ÀUVW LQ OLQH the aspirants in both the APC and PDP. What to, or the favoured ones to succeed their a cheek! This is a man whose tenure as Rivers bosses. Yemi Osinbajo has the right to run State governor was a monumental failure. and present his case to Nigerians. Only the Bola Tinubu’s response has been very voters will determine his fate. pathetic since Prof. Osinbajo announced his interest in the race. The old man has been Etim KX΀QJ DQG SX΀QJ DURXQG VXONLQJ DQG writes from Abuja

4 26

T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022

EDITORIAL

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

BEYOND REVENUE ALLOCATION FORMULA The proposed sharing formula falls short of expectation

R

eport of the review of the vertical revenue allocation formula was recently received by President Muhammadu Buhari from the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). It proposes a sharing formula of 45.17 per cent for the federal government, 29.79 per cent for state governments and 21.04 per cent for the local governments. While the recommendation is an improvement on the current formula, we do not believe that it is good enough. The federal government should shed further load, and receive much less.

However, the most important issue with Nigeria is not how revenue is shared but the revenue itself. Nigeria’s revenue to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is about 8% while the average for Africa is 18%. ,W LV WKHUHIRUH PRUH SURGXFWLYH WR FRQFHQWUDWH HͿRUWV on how to improve revenue generation across the ERDUG WKDQ WKH À[DWLRQ RQ VKDULQJ :H KDYH D KXJH revenue problem.

The revenue allocation formula is the proportion of resources accruing to the federation that goes to HDFK RI WKH FRPSRQHQWV RI WKH QDWLRQ ,W DOVR GHÀQHV the slice of the resources retained in the territories where they are generated as well as the proportions of the revenue accruing to the collecting agencies of government. The perceived lack of justice and fairness in the distribution of the resources often accounts for tension and controversies in the polity. But with D À[DWLRQ RQ ¶VKDULQJ WKH QDWLRQDO FDNH · PRVWO\ RLO rent, the revenue allocation formula has always been a contentious issue. Meanwhile, by virtue of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the RMAFC is empowered to review the revenue allocation formula from time WR WLPH WR UHÁHFW FKDQJLQJ UHDOLWLHV Established in 1989, the RMAFC came up with the current revenue formula in 1992 during the military era of General Ibrahim Babangida. Attempts to

tinker with the sharing arrangement in 2013 were thwarted by the federal government perhaps for fear of losing its hefty share of the national cake. President Goodluck Jonathan could not present the newly drafted revenue formula to the National Assembly EHIRUH KLV WHQXUH ODSVHG ¶¶2UGLQDULO\ , ZRXOG KDYH gone ahead to table this report before the National Assembly as a Bill for enactment,” President Buhari told the RMAFC team led by chairman, Elias Mban. ¶¶+RZHYHU VLQFH WKH UHYLHZ RI WKH YHUWLFDO UHYHQXH allocation formula is a function of the roles and UHVSRQVLELOLWLHV RI WKH GLͿHUHQW WLHUV RI JRYHUQPHQW I will await the outcome of the constitutional review process, especially as some of the proposed amendments would have a bearing on the recommendations contained herein.”

It is indeed unfortunate that despite more than two decades of democratic rule, the country’s revenue allocation formula is still stuck in the past. It is little wonder that the federal government has more than a fair share of the resources of the country to the detriment of other units that are closer to the people with plenty of needs and responsibilities. Under the prevailing formula, the federal government gets 52.68 per cent, the 36 states share 26.72 per cent while the 774 local government areas in the country share 20.60 per cent every month. Besides, the horizontal distribution of the resources among the states encourages outright laziness.

Across the country today, the consensus is that WKHUH LV XUJHQW QHHG WR GHYROYH PRUH ÀQDQFLDO resources from the centre to the 36 states and 774 local governments. This is towards ensuring that these tiers of government can carry out their functions and ultimately improve the economic growth and development in the country. While we endorse that clamour, we nonetheless believe that we are not generating enough for our size and needs as a country.

It is more productive to concentrate efforts on how to improve revenue generation across the board than the fixation on sharing

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

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

Letters to the Editor Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-300 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (750- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with photograph, email address and phone numbers of the writer.

LETTERS STOP CALLING ON GOD TO END INSECURITY I was shell shocked when recently the Minister of defense was calling on God for divine intervention to solve our security problems for me that was another reminder of how low we have become in society.The menace of banditry has eaten deeply into our society and we know the solutions but we choose to look away but we are so quick to call God. 'LͿHUHQW 0LOLWDU\ VWUDWHJLVWV KDYH JLYHQ D FOHDU VROXWLRQ to the problem with copious recommendations but we lack the sincerity of purpose and political will but we are quick to call God.God has given us the solutions to our problem but self deceit will continuously blind us.

2YHU GD\V VLQFH WKH WUDLQ ERPELQJ LV NDGXQD DQG ZLWK the millions and billions spent on defense don’t we have HQRXJK LQWHOOLJHQFH WR ODXQFK D UHVFXH HͿRUW EXW ZH H[SHFW God to solve all our problems For me when people call God over problems that the solution is within reach it is clear hypocrisy,Just as we once

touted that the super tucano will solve the problem but the banditry remains.I don’t think the Army doesn’t have HQRXJK ZHDSRQV WR ÀJKW EDQGLWV , GRQ·W WKLQN 1LJHULDQ DUP\ LV LQFDSDEOH WKH VDPH 1LJHULDQ DUP\ DOZD\V H[FHO LQ peacekeeping missions.The same Nigerian army that restored peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone is a powerful army.I have met Liberians that talk glowingly of our Nigerian soldiers.I dare say if you send Nigerian soldiers on peaceNHHSLQJ PLVVLRQV RXWVLGH 1LJHULD WRGD\ WKH\ ZLOO H[FHO EXW ZK\ FDQ·W WKH\ H[FHO LQ 1LJHULD 7KH DQVZHU LV FOHDU LW LV WKH Nigerian factor that is wrapped up in many other factors, let’s be honest when we are ready to end all these insecurity it will end but let’s not forget the human casualty is getting out of hand.This is not time to call God because God see it all.This is the time to save Nigeria Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com

A TWITTER FOR FREEDOM The potential purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk so that it will improve free speech is a noble intention but is free speech that easy to protect? There have been many concerns with the use or PLVXVH RI WZLWWHU E\ H[ SUHVLGHQW Donald Trump and others and the banning of Trump does stop the problem but is in itself a breach of free speech.

Social media in its various forms provides a great opportunity for SHRSOH WR H[SUHVV WKHLU YLHZV EXW the concern is that some of the YLHZV DUHQ·W ÀW IRU SXEOLFDWLRQ DQG the question is who gets to decide,

or should anyone decide? There are some materials that should be removed from the Internet and generally that falls into the hands of legal authorities.

The quote “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” from Evelyn Beatrice Hall’s biography of Voltaire, is from a time long before social media became so all encompassing. Would so many now be willing to die for something they oppose?

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

27

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

MONEY

Gains of CBN RT200 FX Policy The Central Bank of Nigeria in a bid to increase foreign exchange earning through non-oil-export recently commenced the RT200 policy, Nume Ekeghe writes on the traction and gains of the policy

L

ast week the Central Bank of Nigeria made the first payment of rebate under the RT200 FX programme, with 150 exporters getting N3.5 billion for remitting their exports proceeds through the banks for the benefit of other foreign exchange users and not for funding its own operations.

The CBN had in February this year announced the commencement of the RT200 FX programme, which is a drive to meet up with the target of $200 billion through exports within a time frame of three to five years. This is part of the bank’s efforts at increasing foreign exchange inflow in the country.

In less than two months into the commencement of the programme, the country through the RT200 FX programme has seen an inflow of $60 million dollars. This is according to the data released by the CBN.

A PLUS FOR FX INFLOW According to the managing director and chief executive of Fidelity Bank, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe who spoke during a press briefing at the end of the Bankers Committee meeting, the rebate is a way of encouraging more exporters to channel their proceeds through the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange market (NAFEX) also called the Investors’ and Exporters’ Window (I&E) and make it available for other users of foreign exchange.

Onyeali-Ikpe noted that the N3.5 billion would be disbursed to exporters of finished and semi-finished products who qualified under the RT200 FX programme. Introduced in February this year, the RT200 FX Programme, targeted at increasing the non-oil foreign exchange earnings of the country over the next three to five years using a set of policies. Under the programme, exporters of finished and semi-finished goods are to get a rebate of N65 and N35 per dollar that is remitted into the country through the banks.

“At the meeting of the bankers committee today, the central bank

governor announced the immediate release of rebates totaling N3.5 billion incentives to our various exporters in fulfillment of his promise on the policy on the race to $200 billion from non-oil exports to boost the foreign exchange inflows into the country.

“This policy was rolled out in February 2022. The initiative is to encourage value addition to export products of Nigeria. Specifically, the policies focus to value addition in place of immediate which is semifinished products, intermediate which is semi-finished products and completely finished products, ”she said.

On how much foreign exchange has been brought into the country through the programme, she said, “The figure that I have is $60 million which is the figure coming out of the Central Bank. On how many exporters have benefited from the N3.5 billion that the Central Bank is going to distributed today.

“There are 150 customers at various levels and some under the finished goods and some under the semifinished goods that qualified for the rebate. The money was only released today for this quarter and it is going to be paid quarterly. And this N3.5 billion is going to be paid at the close of business to the 150 customers.

“You will recall that the central bank governor announced rebates of N65 for every dollar of export proceeds sold to another end-user and that the proceeds from the exports that is sold to another end-user will attract a rebate of N65 while the proceeds from exports utilised by

the exporter will attract a rebate of N35 for every dollar of the proceeds utilised by the exporter.”

QUALIFYING FOR THE REBATE The guideline which was released by the CBN a rebate of N65 or N35 is given to exporters for every $1 dollar that is remitted into the country through the I&E window. According to the CBN, the only exporters of finished and semi-finished goods are eligible for this incentive, adding that exporters whose proceeds are sold at the Investors’ & Exporters’ Window (I&E) would be eligible.

According to the guideline, eligible transactions that qualify for incentives under the scheme are exports of finished and semi-finished goods wholly or partly processed or manufactured in Nigeria, except otherwise stated by the CBN. Also eligible are export of goods and services (I.T and Creative Businesses) that are permissible and excluded under existing export prohibition list; Completion of e-Form NXP; Registration with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC); Sale of repatriated export proceeds at the I&E Window.

Under the rebate scheme, exporters who are eligible would get a rebate of N65 for every $1 repatriated and sold at the I&E Window for other thirty party use, and N35 for every $1 repatriated and sold into I&E for own use on eligible transactions only.

However, the spread should not be more than 10 Kobo. Payment of the incentive shall be made on quarterly basis. The accounts of exporters that

“The guideline which was released by the CBN a rebate of N65 or N35 is given to exporters for every $1 dollar that is remitted into the country through the I&E window.”

qualify for rebates shall be credited latest one week after the end of the quarter.

The application procedure includes the submission of request, which is to be made through the authorised dealer bank where the e-form NXP was established.

It is the responsibility of the bank to authenticate all documents submitted for the rebate.

Documents required when submitting an application for rebate include a written request from the exporter, completed application, form which is designed by the CBN and forwarded to exporters through their banks, the documentation requirements for exports as stipulated in the FX Manual, evidence of repatriation and sale of export proceeds at the I&E window as well as any other document as required by the apex bank.

After this, it is left for the bank to process the application, confirming all documents and forward it to the CBN within five working days after consummation of the export proceeds sale transaction at the I&E window.

It however warned that any exporter that presents fraudulent document(s) or tries to undermine this scheme shall be banned from accessing the incentive for 24 months and all accounts shall be placed on Post No Debit (PND).

AFTER-EFFECTS OF REBATE PAYMENTS Head of Export and Agric Businesses at Fidelity Bank, Isaiah Ndukwe, speaking on the RT200 FX policy, noted that it would encourage more businesses to go into export as well as prompt exporters to add value to the commodities they export.

“The new policy will not only reshape exporters’ mindsets, but will also infuse value addition on their commodities, allowing them to earn more forex. With the implementation of this policy, the CBN has stated that the supply of foreign currency to commercial banks will cease by the end of 2022, while investors will be able to generate forex through the RT200 FX Program template that has been designed to strengthen commodity exports,” he said.

28

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

ECONOMY

Depleting the Grains Reserves: Matters Arising James Emejo writes that the federal government must do all within its powers to boost local food production by addressing insecurity and increasing investment in agriculture

L

ast week, President Muhamaadu Buhari had summoned the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammad Abubakar, and directed him to release 40,000 Metric Tons (MT) of grains from the national Strategic Grains Reserves (SGR) to be distributed among vulnerable Nigerians.

According to the Minister, the President was shaken by the increasing food inflation in the country and sought for a way to cushion the effects on ordinary Nigerians who may not have the means to acquire the costly food items from the market.

The Minister, while officially signaling the commencement of the distribution exercise at the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) camp in Karmajiji, Abuja, said, “As part of the federal government of Nigeria’s effort to ensure food security and alleviate poverty, Mr. President, Muhammad Buhari has approved the release of 40,000MT of assorted food commodities from the National Strategic Reserve to the vulnerable Nigerians to cushion the effects of rising prices of food items.”

The Minister stressed that the incessant bandits’ attacks had displaced many farming communities in some states, disrupted their source of livelihood and rendered them homeless, adding that some of the victims are currently taking shelter around the schools, mosques and churches while households are in dire need of food assistance to ameliorate their sufferings as they faced untold hardship and food scarcity.

Specifically, he noted that the high prices of maize in the open market had affected the cost of production of poultry feeds and consequently, the availability of the products thereby threatening the poultry industry, which had been a major employer of labour for decades.

He further pointed out that high fuel prices, insecurity and the low purchasing power of public servants had also made access to food difficult and challenging, adding that the low-income civil servants and as many that need the relief package would benefit from the intervention.

Abubakar also noted that while the measures were temporary, the government would continue to take steps aimed at ensuring that food prices are substantially subdued.

FOOD PRICES UPWARD TRAJECTORY

However, even as the government took measures to ameliorate the sufferings of vulnerable Nigerians through the provision of food palliatives, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated over the weekend that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation increased to 15.92 per cent (Year on year) in March 2022 compared to 18.17 per cent in March 2021.

This is the highest level inflation had attained since October 2021, when it was recorded at 15.99 per cent before dropping to 15.40 per cent in November, 15.63 per cent in December, 15.60 per cent in January and 15.70 per cent February.

Month- on -month, the headline index increased by 0.11 per cent to 1.74 per cent in

March compared to 1.63 per cent in February.

According to the CPI figures for March, this implied that on annual comparison, the headline index slowed down in March 2022 when compared to the same month in the previous year.

Nonetheless, month-on-month, the food sub-index increased to 1.99 per cent in March, up by 0.12 per cent from 1.87 per cent in February, marked by increases in prices of bread and cereals, food product, potatoes, yam and other tuber, fish, meat, oils and fats.

Year on year, the core index, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, added to the inflationary concerns, rising to 13.91 per cent in March 2022, up by 1.24 per cent when compared to 12.67 per cent in March the previous year.

The highest increases were recorded in prices of gas, garments, cleaning, repair and hire of clothing, shoes and other foot wear, clothing materials, other articles of clothing and cloth¬ing accessories, liquid fuel, fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment and oth¬er services in respect of personal transport equipment.

CONCERNS OVER DEPLETION

The federal government’s decision to draw from the SGRs to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians, though a laudable initiative, has nonetheless called into question, the level of national food security.

One of the major sources of worry is that the country had not been able to meet the minimum 3.5 million tons of grains reserves required at any particular time, as stipulated by the United Nations.

The concerns came at a time several international orgnisations including the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) had in recent times painted a gloomy picture of food insecurity in most parts of the country, as farmers are kept away from their farms as a result of insecurity.

Observers have also concluded that drawing from the SGRs was an indication that food production challenges subsists in the country, a situation which calls into question the government’s claim of the country’s self-sufficiency in food production and security in recent times.

HUGE SUPPLY GAPS

Analysts also believed that the rising cost of food items was a result of demand-supply gaps caused by low local production, which had further been blamed on the inability of farmers to access their farms due to insecurity.

Thus, there had been doubts as to whether the country actually had this much in the SGRs as there are allegations that the government could have been buying grains from other countries to bridge existing shortfalls.

But according to the Director of SGR, Mr.

Sule Haruna, the country’s food reserves had been reduced to only about 32,000 metric tons after the federal government ordered the release of 70,000 metric tons of grains from the SGR as palliatives to vulnerable Nigerians amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

He, however, insisted that the reserves had since been restocked to 90,000 metric tons and urged the government to hasten efforts at replenishing the food vault.

FUELING INFLATION

There are further concerns that the federal government through its activities may be inadvertently giving room for rising inflation in the country.

To restock the grains reserves, the government often acquires produce from farmers during harvest, a development, which some analysts said could create scarcity and lead to rising prices.

But Abubakar, while responding to the allegations said, “We have more than 40,000 metric tons and we have restocked the grains after releasing the 70,000 metric tons to where it is now. We have about 90,000 MT and we are releasing 40,000MT and if and when another need arises, we will release again…I don’t know why anyone will think the grains are not there.”

ANALYSTS’ PERSPECTIVES

Analysts have urged the federal government to do more to rein in rising inflation, occasioned largely by structural challenges.

However, reacting to the increasing inflationary concerns and the government’s reaction, analysts in separate interviews with THISDAY, said the recent palliative measures by the government, though plausible, would only provide a short-term reprieve for the soaring food prices.

They argued that current local food production remained inadequate in satisfying increasing demand amidst a fast-growing population. The analysts also recommended the importation of food items in the short term to meet existing supply gaps.

Managing Director/Chief Executive, SD&D Capital Management Limited, Mr. Idakolo Gbolade, told THISDAY that the release and distribution of the 40,000 metric tons of grain could only serve as a stop-gap measure only if it is adequately channeled to the poorest in the population and not on political leanings.

He said, “The factors leading to the high cost of food prices are still subsisting and if not addressed we might not witness a reduction in the cost of food prices for a long time to come. The gas pressure has abated temporarily in some state capitals however, it has increased the cost of transportation of farm produce which definitely affects the cost.”

He added, “The continuous rise in the exchange rate has not helped matters because the high cost of imported farm

implements will affect the price. Presently, if we can attain self-sufficiency in fertilizer production, as Dangote refinery is trying to do and we can achieve self-sustenance in crude oil refining, then we can start seeing a gradual reduction in inflationary trends.

“These two products go a long way in affecting not only food prices but production in general.”

In the same vein, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Credent Investment Managers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Shelleng, said to tame inflation, heavy investment in mechanised farming remained the only way out.

According to him, the federal government must also look for a solution to the security issues that continued to plague the agricultural communities, especially in the Northern part of the country.

He said, “The palliative measures by the government, whilst laudable will only be a short-term reprieve to soaring food prices. With a population of over 200 million, 40,000 MT will hardly be sufficient to significantly cater to rising demand.

“According to UN and other development agencies, Nigeria should have strategic grain reserves of a minimum of 3.5million MT and from recent figures, we are far below that figure.

“This means that any intervention by the government will literally be like pouring a bucket of water on an inferno. It is also worth noting that in order to shore up the grain reserves, the government would need to buy up more from the market thereby causing even more inflation.”

According to Shelleng, “Global supply shortages caused by the Russian-Ukraine war is also having a significant impact on food prices, especially wheat and with the government coffers already under massive pressure, there may be limited resources available to buy up more grain from the international market.

“Our local production is simply inadequate in meeting up with demand and this has to be addressed. Heavy investment in mechanised farming is the only way to address this, whilst also looking for a solution to the insecurity issues that plague the agricultural community, especially in the Northern part of the country.”

On his part, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Dignity Finance and Investment Limited, Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu said, the government needed to identify all the causes of inflation and high cost of production and deal with them head-on.

He also expressed concerns that the grains being distributed by the federal government may not really get to several persons who may be in dire need of the items.

Ekechukwu said, “The last time the National Strategic Grains Reserve distributed grains, did anybody receive any grain in my village, and the answer is no. As a reader, I am certain nobody received in your village or town.

“Let us, therefore, look for the short-run and long-run solutions to reducing inflation and ensuring people go back to the farm. In the short run, we can allow for the importation of food items that were hitherto banned, or items not valid for FX allocation. We need to identify all the causes of inflation and high cost of production and deal with them head-on.”

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

WACT Onne Receives Second Largest Containership to Berth in Nigeria West Africa Container Terminal Nigeria (WACT) has received the second largest containership to berth at a Nigerian port.

The 5,042 TEUs containership named Lady Jane operated by OOCL shipping line having a length overall of 294.5 meters arrived at WACT terminal Onne Port Complex, Rivers State, on Wednesday 13th April.

WACT previously made history in August 2020 when it received the largest containership to berth in Nigeria. The ship named Maersk Stadelhorn has length overall of 300 meters and capacity to carry about 10,000 TEUs.

The Managing Director of WACT, Naved Zafar, said that effective coordination by Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) and the USD112 million (about N47 billion) investment in the terminal by APM Terminals, made it possible to handle very large container vessels.

He said, “Lady Jane is the second largest ship to call at WACT. This is important because as you know, WACT has embarked on a transformation plan since last year with an ambition to become the most efficient and reliable partner to our customers. Declaring a big ship like this is a clear indication of the unwavering trust in our

capabilities and an affirmation of the investments that we have made since last year.”

“In line with WACT’s vision of becoming the gateway to East Nigeria and beyond, we continue to stretch our boundaries by investing and expanding in our service capabilities to deliver the best-in-class supply chain solutions to both our shipping line customers and landside customers. The arrival of Lady Jane is the practical manifestation of that commitment,” the WACT Managing Director further stated.

Also speaking, the Port Manager of Onne Port, Stanley Magaji Yitnoe,

said, “This achievement indicates that container traffic is growing.

Last year, container traffic in Onne grew by 31% but with Lady Jane bringing in containers to discharge and to load, including full exports, container traffic is definitely picking up in Onne. We have WACT to thank for that and they are doing far more, as they are about to roll out a Container Freight Station (CFS) with focus on handing agri-commodities, which means more full exports will be loaded out of Onne Port once the CFS resume operations.”

The Commercial Manager of WACT, Noah Sheriff, described the berthing of large containerships at the terminal as a great achievement.

“It brings additional capacity both

on the import and export side and all categories of our customers stand to benefit,” Sheriff said.

“For the import customers, the regular direct services from the Far East coupled with our berthing window protocol, cargoes get here on time and agents/consignees are able to get the cargo to the market quicker using our online platforms.

“For export customers, Lady Jane provides more slots for export loadings, which is important for the overall economy today. It is a good development for our shipping line customers as well, as we are positioned to accommodate such upgrade on the back of the recent investment,” he said.

Sheriff said that WACT continues

to increase its e-commerce capabilities with the upcoming Truck Appointment System (TAS) product, which will further enhance service delivery for trucks visiting its facility.

“Once TAS is rolled out, truckers who book appointment will not have to wait in pre-gate lines to access the terminal. They will have direct access to the terminal per scheduled slot. TAS booking will be similar to the seamless online booking for physical examination product we offer today.

“Our vision is to make WACT the best performing terminal in West Africa by providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective services to our customers,” he added.

CPPE HAILS FG’S FISCAL POLICY, WANTS NCS TO OWN ITS IMPLEMENTATION

L-R: Sales Coordinator, Comforters Laundry Services, Olamide Ajayi; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Vignali Maurizio and Chief Operating Officer, Vignali Comfort Oluwakemi, at the introduction of Zio Cleaning Products in Lagos… recently

facilitate planning, reduce uncertainty, minimise investment risk and boost investors’ confidence. We propose that the fiscal policy should be released effective from January 1.

“The CPPE commends the grace period of 90 days that was provided for the implementation of the tariff component of fiscal policy.

We commend the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning for creating this transition window to minimise the shocks of fiscal policy changes on investors.”

The CPPE commended the removal from export prohibition list of items that were previously imported into the country. It stated that before now, any equipment or item that were imported even for specialised projects in the country and which needed to be returned back, were prohibited by extant law which stated that any item imported

cannot be re-exported.

“We are pleased to note that this policy has been reviewed under the 2022 Fiscal Policy. We have had instances where some specialised equipment, appliances or machineries were imported for temporary use and needed to be taken back to the country of origin but such re-exports were prohibited,” he said.

Yusuf also advocated for the use of fiscal policy to promote access to renewable energy through the introduction of zero import duty on solar panels, inverters, solar batteries and on all renewable energy equipment and installations.

He also called for zero VAT on renewable energy equipment, including batteries and tax holidays for renewable energy companies in the country.

He also appealed to the federal government to intervene to resolve the

conflict, contradictions and confusion currently existing in the trade policy space regarding the import prohibition list and the CBN’s forex exclusion list.

“The lists are conflicting and disrupting trade. There are many items on the forex exclusion list of the CBN which are not prohibited from importation under the extant fiscal policy of government. It is untidy to have what we can describe as two sets of trade policy document: one, by the CBN, and the other by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

“The presidency should reconcile these two lists in order to resolve the current policy conflict in our international trade ecosystem and minimise disruption to trade. We should not have a situation where an item that is not prohibited under our fiscal policy and being denied access to Form M by the CBN,” Yusuf said.

30

WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022 • T H I S D AY

31

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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

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

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

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 14Apr-2022, unless otherwise stated.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.53% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.60 3.66 1.73% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 7.19% Anchoria Equity Fund 145.38 147.10 4.57% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.19 1.19 3.93% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com info@anchoriaam.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 21.26 21.90 4.83% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund 41.28 42.52 5.95% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) N/A N/A N/A ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.03 1.04 1.98% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.60% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com; Tel 08069294653 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 109.43 109.43 7.59% AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Naira 1,094.76 1,094.76 9.48% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.11 2.11 9.83% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.25 2.30 13.70% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.03 1.03 2.51% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.36% Paramount Equity Fund 18.75 19.10 11.45% Women's Investment Fund 147.01 148.76 5.75% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.24% Cordros Milestone Fund 141.91 142.84 7.35% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 108.93 108.93 5.08% CORONATION ASSETS MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com, Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.77% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.17 1.18 7.32% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.48 1.48 5.01% 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 EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-asset-management-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.90% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.03 1.03 6.84% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.03 1.03 13.73% Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 101.94 101.94 3.88% FBNQUEST ASSETS MANAGEMENT LIMITED invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,439.58 1,439.58 10.11% FBN Balanced Fund 189.44 190.87 8.09% FBN Halal Fund 118.54 118.54 9.31% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.64% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Money Market Fund Legacy Debt Fund Legacy Equity Fund Legacy USD Bond Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Balanced Fund Coral Income Fund Coral Money Market Fund

123.39 160.47

123.39 4.20% 162.62 6.04% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price 1.00 3.97 1.79 1.22

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.00 6.00% 3.97 -0.79% 1.82 2.89% 1.22 1.23% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price 4,054.13 3,528.85 100.00

Offer Price 4,118.56 3,528.85 100.00

Yield / T-Rtn 4.19% 1.74% 6.07%

1.10

1.10

1.00%

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 N/A N/A N/A Vantage Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) N/A N/A N/A Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.51 1.54 5.00% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,144.93 1,144.93 2.88% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 12.77 12.86 8.33% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 8.32% NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 101.02 101.02 6.84% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 8.51% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.65 1.67 2.40% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.59 11.48 3.07% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 7.09% PACAM Equity Fund 1.49 1.50 5.20% PACAM EuroBond Fund 115.81 118.50 0.61% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 128.73 131.55 4.99% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.02 1.02 9.25% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,598.28 3,638.74 4.52% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 237.90 237.90 0.92% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.40 1.42 8.46% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 318.24 318.24 1.56% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 254.48 258.38 5.14% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.75% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 11,697.28 11,862.92 5.30% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.31 1.31 1.31% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 118.05 118.05 0.92% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 108.63 108.63 UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Equity Fund 0.96 0.98 3.33% United Capital Balanced Fund 1.42 1.45 4.66% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.15 1.17 5.96% United Capital Sukuk Fund 1.10 1.10 2.15% United Capital Fixed Income Fund 2.00 2.00 2.02% United Capital Eurobond Fund 124.20 124.20 1.52% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.67% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Balanced Strategy Fund 13.68 13.81 3.76% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 15.67 15.84 7.23% Zenith Income Fund 22.46 22.46 2.02% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.79%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

122.16 53.16

1.62% 0.82%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

14.36 137.28 108.75 20.80 22.48

14.46 140.64 111.11 20.90 22.58

2.79% 4.28% 4.94% 0.00% 0.00%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

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

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.34 5.58 18.47 1.00 21.29 167.15

4.44 5.68 18.72 1.00 21.49 169.15

8.06% -4.53% 4.54% 5.62% 6.50% 5.91%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

Fund Name NAV Per Share Yield / T-Rtn Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund 107.53 10.80% 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.

FSDH Dollar Fund

32

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022

EDUCATION Areghan: How WAEC is Improving Education Standards, Tackling Malpractice Mr. Patrick Areghan is Head of National Office, WAEC Nigeria. In this interview with Funmi Ogundare, he explained the council’s efforts since he was appointed to improve teaching, learning, and quality of assessment. Excerpts:

Y

ou were appointed two years ago. What efforts have you made to reposition the WAEC? I became the Head of National Office, WAEC Nigeria, on March 5, 2020. I was just trying to settle down when COVID-19 struck. Remember, the first index case was on February 28, and it did not really get to Nigeria until later in March. We had to go back home to lock ourselves in. I had some ideas before I came in, but all those plans were disrupted by COVID19. The ideas include; repositioning the council generally in terms of massive deployment of technology to ensure better ways of conducting the examination, ensuring better service delivery to better a lot of staff, and improving relationships between the council and our various stakeholders. In terms of infrastructure, taking WAEC to the next level by providing relevant tools and facilities for the council to do its job better.

These were my main areas of focus before the disruption, but eventually, when we came back, we started doing something. And you will discover now that I have done a lot.

With the onset of COVID-19 and schools shut down, how were you able to rekindle the hope of school candidates so that they do not fail?

We had to do what we call a massive deployment of technology. Even during the lockdown, we were still able to reach the schools, the candidates and other stakeholders. We have what we call WAEC Connect learning portal; two of them. We made them available to the candidates and schools, and we told them and showed them how to log in, and they have learning materials in these portals. So even when they were at home, they were studying and learning. That is why the result of that examination was impressive. People did not really know the secret. Everybody was at home, we were appealing to parents and teachers, and we made sure that they had access to these two portals, which we loaded with various learning materials relevant to the writing of our examinations. So candidates were well equipped for the exam, and so they were able to deliver when the moment came. So that was one major way that we were able to reach the candidates and make sure that they did well in that examination.

What about the infrastructure?

On infrastructure, we have done the little we can. It is not all that glitters that is gold. It is not when you have a skyscraper that you will know that you have put up a structure.

There are certain things we are doing now that I may not want to disclose them. In terms of facility, we have improved our Information Communication Technology (ICT) division.

We have a state-of-the-art machine now that, within three weeks, we can print about 1.5 or 1.6 million certificates. That is something that was taking a lot of time and energy to do before. Although WAEC Nigeria has been trying a lot, if you go to other West African countries, it is not like that. We don’t have any backlog of certificates for somebody to say that we are owing him or her. Everything has been printed to date, and all the other products we roll out, everything till date. If you go to our ICT, you will see the state of the art facilities there, so we are not really lacking. We are venturing into other areas. We have been able to roll out a lot of products for the benefit of education generally.

What are these other innovations?

We have what is called WAEC Verify. What is WAEC Verify? If you gain admission, for instance, and you are a prospective student of ABU, Zaria, for instance, and you need to travel to ABU for clearance there, and you carry your hard copies of your certificates there, anything could happen on the way.

they want placement, we carry out all these tests. The Nigeria Police, we did a recruitment exercise for them about two, three months ago and we are about doing another one now, and it was hugely successful. Whatever we do for you is impeccable. It cannot be faulted because there is no element of bias whatsoever. So you are sure, and you trust our service.

Areghan And you can fake it and get one from Oluyole or from anywhere and present it. The unsuspecting university authorities may not know until your final year when you are about to graduate. They will say WAEC ‘confirm’. But now, they can just log on to our result portal, and they will have everything and verify. Two, we have what is called Educert. If a university student wants to do his or her research or carry out a study on Chemistry. How many candidates passed Chemistry in Lagos at credit level? How many got five credits, including English language and Mathematics, in Lagos or Ogun or anywhere? They will need to apply to us, and we need to do the approval processes back and forth. Now you log on to a portal, it leads you to the statistics available, and then you just type in there what you want, and everything comes out for you after fulfilling all requirements. That is Educert. And again, this is a big one. You have your certificate, sometimes, you don’t even know where you keep them, but there is what we call the Electronic Certificate Management System ( e-CertMan). If you wrote your examination in Kaduna, for example, in the year 2010, in a school there and you have not collected your certificate, and you want to travel to Kaduna. So what you just do is apply. Whether it is a school exam whether it is a private candidate, you apply to us. We will bring it wherever it is, and we will send it to wherever you want it to be sent. It makes it seamless. The risk of being on the road is cut off, the cost is cut off, and you enjoy the convenience.

Moreover, you don’t need to go to the WAEC office to collect your certificate. So you just apply online and fulfil all the conditions. We will print it and send it to wherever you want to collect it. Scholarship;

How have you ensured the timely release of results of about 1.9 million candidates each year? Any challenges?

We have what we call operation 45.90.

What does this mean? For the next exam now, the WASSCE for school candidates 2022 will be ending in Nigeria in June. It will be ending in other countries on June 24. Now for this, immediately the examination ends on the 23rd, we count 45 days. Within that period, the result is out. This is something that used to take months before, but because of the massive deployment of technology, processing of results and other processes that lead to the release of results, we have massively improved upon it. We can do this, and we can beat our chest and assure you that within 45 days, you can get your result.

The challenges were majorly processing. If you go out there, we have 85 marking venues spread across the nooks and crannies of the country, and you have to harvest everything and bring them back. But right there at the marking venue, we can now harvest them and the scores, you bring them to a central place in Lagos for processing, and in a jiffy, you process all these things, and the result is out. So that is an improvement in technology.

The challenge we have at the marking venues is having to pursue examiners to finish up to bring their scripts.

What’s WAEC doing to tackle exam malpractice effectively?

Exam malpractice is one of our biggest headaches today. Examination malpractice can be said to be any act that deviates from the set norm. Trying to cut corners to write your exams in an attempt to pass in an unfair means is examination malpractice. The candidates themselves bring in foreign materials. Some write on their bodies, some on their cloths, and anything you write is foreign material. Some bring in their handsets, and our regulation says don’t bring in cell phones. Some schools organise special centres. We do know that these centres exist, but they are not of our making, and we do not support them. So any centre where they arrange to cheat to help candidates could be qualified to be called cheating centres. There can be collusion. It can be that you arrange with some people outside, they smuggle out something and smuggle in something. The latest one is the row website, whereby they form syndicates.

They snap and post to a designated platform that they have subscribed to. They solve the questions for them, and they distribute the answers through that same platform. So if you don’t go into the exam hall with your phone, you will not have access. Sometimes, in an attempt to defraud the unsuspecting candidates, they post anything, and gullible candidates and parents will subscribe. It is the irresponsible parents that will give their children money to subscribe. We have people who are monitoring these sites. We have a backyard team that monitors. So because we have digitalised printing our question booklets,

The government should do what it is supposed to do. Go to schools today; how many teachers will you find in a school?

Some don’t even have teachers, and you expect them to pass English and Mathematics. These are some of the factors responsible for examination malpractice

if anybody snaps your own and posts on the internet or wherever, we will catch you. We will know how you posted it and where it was posted to. We will inform our officers in Maiduguri that somebody has just posted this thing online. Go and take a policeman, go to that centre and arrest that person. We harvest all of them nationally, and we take them to Abuja. The inspector general of police is cooperating very well with us, and he will parade them on national TV and charge them to court. So that is what we are currently doing, and this battle cannot be fought by WAEC alone. We need the assistance of the government. That is how to fight crime.

Do you think Nigeria’s education system is declining, and what’s the way forward?

As far as WAEC is concerned, if you look at the mileage of life, we are ensuring that educational standards are maintained by providing qualitative assessment. From our own angle, the standard is maintained. As far as WAEC is concerned, there is no decline standard. But when you talk of education generally, you are talking of the quality of teaching and learning in schools now. That one is different from the assessment. People are trying to reverse the order, it should be education before assessment, but people are now putting it in reverse gear. When you teach, you are teaching the candidates and equipping them according to the curriculum so that when their exam is determined today, they will do well. But that is no longer the case in Nigeria. They are now using the result of examinations to teach the students, which is wrong. There is a disconnect between education and examination. Education should lead to examination, not examination leading to education. So you have to be taught broadly.

But people now wait for the outcome of examinations, and they now use that one to teach the students. They have narrowed it down. So if you want to talk about the quality of teaching in schools, the quality of learning, the quality of facilities, you can say education has declined. But in terms of quality of assessment, we remain where we are since 1952. The way forward is that all hands should be on deck. The government should do what it is supposed to do. Go to schools today; how many teachers will you find in a school? Some don’t even have teachers, and you expect them to pass English and Mathematics. These are some of the factors responsible for examination malpractice. So they don’t provide laboratories and libraries.

There are no teaching-learning facilities in schools. There are no teachers. If they have teachers, they are not qualified.

Will you attribute this to the abysmal performance of candidates in WASSCE in the last five years?

Of course, but there is no abysmal performance. An examination that recorded 70 something per cent, 81 per cent, how can you call it abysmal? Since 2020 under my watch, it has been going well. And because we have exposed schools and candidates to learning portals, we have provided what we call chief examiners to report. We have sort of made it compulsory. There is one document where we put all the past question papers and the answers and how to answer the questions and tell them their strengths and weaknesses and how to avoid their weaknesses and all that. We also made available to schools compulsory. So some students on their own come to buy and study.

So these are the ways we improve teaching and learning. These are the ways we prepare the candidates for our examination. And those two learning portals I talked about, WAEC Connect and the other interactive portal, are exposed to them, and there are many learning materials in them.

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022

EDUCATION

Assessing Impacts of Lagos Spelling Bee Competition In this report, Omolabake Fasogbon writes about how the Lagos State Spelling Bee competition has enhanced educational outcomes and the need to sustain its broad impacts

The Director General, Education Quality Assurance Lagos State, Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni (second left); winner, senior secondary school category, Abdulazeez Abdulrahmon of Oriwu Model College, Ikorodu, being presented prizes of N300,000; trip to Finland; one-day governorship; scholarship to public university in Lagos State; and the state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo at the 20th Lagos State Spelling Bee Competition...recently

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imitless reasons abound in the choice of education over ignorance. The outcomes have not been disappointing. The United Nations considers education a veritable tool to enable upward socioeconomic mobility and escape poverty.

It recognises it as indispensable in reaching gender equality and fostering tolerance and peaceful societies.

At an individual level, the universally accepted goals for education aim for every child acquires new skills, decide on a career path, develop a positive attitude and confidence, resilience and ability to think critically.

Achieving the education goals does not come cheaply- it is worked for, educationists have averred. Getting the work done, however, does not spare anyone.

The parent, schools, teachers, government at all levels, private organisations, nongovernmental organisations, individuals and students all have a part to play in actualising education goals.

Education proponents found the competition to have come in handy and a major enhancer in realising education goals. Recent research carried out by a group of academics in the London School of Economics further revealed how competition is working out to impact children’s progress.

In her words, Founder and Executive Director of TrueCompetition.org, Jennifer Veale, said, “Healthy competition inspires kids to do their best – not just good enough.

When students compete, they will become more inquisitive, research independently, and learn to work with others. They will strive to do more than is required. These abilities prepare children for future situations of all kinds. Whether it’s applying to college, seeking a promotion, or finding a cure for cancer, the ability to be competitive will give them an important edge.”

Considering its impacts, many private organisations are exploring the platform to support the government’s efforts in

realising education dividends. Among them are the Maltina School game, Cowbell mathematics competition, Interswitch SPAK Competition, and Nigeria Info’s Debate Competition.

Quite a number of Nigerians have harnessed competition as a ladder in reaching their immediate and future dreams either by way of prizes and cognitive boosts but also by raising the Nigerian flag higher on the global stage.

A good reference is Fatima Akinola, the Nigerian scholar who graduated with a perfect grade in Mathematics from Marshall University in the United States. As secondary school student, Akinola partook in several competitions outside her school. According to her, she could not have scaled so high without the exposure she got as a partaker in several competitions back home.

Lagos championing ‘champions’ with Spelling Bee Lagos is a shining example concerning education development at the state level. The state actors are not resting on their laurels, nor are they taking chances with opportunities proven beneficial to the growth of students.

For 20 years now, the state has set standards with its ‘Spelling Bee’ competition anchored by the Office of Education Quality Assurance in the Lagos State Ministry of Education.

So far, the initiative has not dwindled in expectations, especially concerning

the discovery and making of talents.

Then-First Lady of Lagos and now senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District, Oluremi Tinubu, set the stage opened for the Spelling Bee, which has become a yearly tradition in Lagos.

Launched in partnership with the New Era Foundation in 2001, the competition aimed to promote academic excellence, good reading habits, healthy academic rivalry, and public speaking proficiency among public school students in Lagos.

So far, the organisers of the muchcoveted competition have been pulling out all the stops, thus consolidating the founder’s mission.

Asked about the driving force, Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, hinged the success on the commitment and support of successive administrations and private sector involvement.

Previous editions had proved exhilarating. The attractions and buzz came lavishly at the concluded 20th edition of the competition that saw Abdulazeez Abdulrahmon of Oriwu Model College, Ikorodu, come first, ahead of 57 other students in Lagos.

Abdulrahmon was crowned the winner at the Adeyemi-Bero auditorium at Alausa in Ikeja. This came as a surprise to the winner, who could not avoid tears of joy.

Abdulrahmon smiled home with N300,000 and a scholarship to any

Like everywhere else in the world, we can never do enough. What we can do and keep doing is providing an enabling environment for our public school students to thrive

Lagos-owned public university for his fine performance. This is in addition to the opportunity of becoming a one-day Lagos governor and a trip to Finland.

“I was able to overcome with persistence and Prayer,” said Abdulrahmon.

Seriki-Ayeni commended all the contestants, noting that “sometimes to get one success, you’ll experience many failures.”

Also on the ground to cheer the champions was the Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo.

“This gives credence to the government’s commitment to improving teaching and learning in Lagos public schools,” she stressed.

According to Seriki-Ayeni, several past Spelling Bee winners now hold key positions of leadership in the country.

She said, “Like everywhere else in the world, we can never do enough. What we can do and keep doing is providing an enabling environment for our public school students to thrive – and this by committing to holding ourselves accountable, pushing the boundaries of what has been done before, and putting our money where our mouth is by making funds available.

After a series of preliminaries, other winners that emerged from the 57 public primary and secondary schools were Oki Coordinator from Ansar-udeen Society Senior Grammar School, Badagry, who received a prize of N200,000 for emerging the first runner-up; Alimot Saheed of Jubilee Model Senior Secondary School, Coker-Aguda came second-runner up with a prize of N150,000.

For the primary school category, Sofia Muhammed of Agbowa Baptist Primary School emerged the overall winner, while Khalid Olayide of Ikosi Primary School and Daniel Olanrewaju of Keke Primary School emerged first and second runner-up, respectively. They were all presented with cash prizes to appreciate their academic excellence.

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022

EDUCATION

Mathematics Competition: Finalists Get Cash, Scholarship Efforts to improve and increase interest in Mathematics in Nigeria have received a boost with the award of cash prizes and scholarships to finalists of the 19th Annual Mathematics Competition.

The event was held recently in Abuja.

The second-round qualifiers were invited for the second round and award ceremony at NTIC on April 8, 2022, witnessing the emergence of 20 exceptional students from the junior and senior categories.

Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) announced scholarships and cash prizes to the finalists.

The finalists will have access to 100 per cent full-tuition scholarships plus cash prizes and academic equipment. The awardees are the outstanding students from the junior and senior categories.

Three exceptional students were given a 100 per cent

scholarship, with Luis Lu from Kerridale Prep School Port Harcourt topping the roll in Primary V and VI while Okadike Kennedy. O. from Dority International School came first in the JSS 3 category.

The top 20 positions were awarded cash prizes that ranged from N10,000 to N200,000 for both the primary category and JSS 3 categories.

Also, the maths teachers of the awardees’ schools received cash prizes of up to N100,000, and schools got gifts including giant-sized photocopiers, desktop computers and printers.

Lu, who could not conceal her excitement, said she developed interest in Mathematics because it is related to science, which she loves.

While encouraging her peers to develop interest in mathematics, she disclosed that her ambition is to become a pilot.

It was the same feeling expressed by her fellow awardee,

Favour Enewo, a student of LGEA GFS Iduka Okene, Kogi.

Favour, who came position in the north, thanked his parents for helping to develop his interest in Mathematics.

A parent of one of the awardees, Mrs. Ngozi Ogbuagu expressed delight about her son’s award.

She said she helped to nurture his interest in the subject when she, alongside her husband, noticed his interest in the subject.

In his remarks, the NTIC Managing Director, Fevzullah Bilgin, said, “I must confess that the Annual National Mathematics Competition (ANMC) is one of Nigeria’s largest mathematics competitions.”

Bilgin restated NTIC’s commitment to organising the maths competition every year to energise further students’ love for mathematics and other science-related subjects.

The ANMC coordinator, Erdal Yilmaz, noted that, currently,

167 students are benefiting from the NTIC scholarship scheme, with more than N500 million spent annually for the rewards.

“With ANMC, we have been able to awake the mathematics potential in students and has been of great help in leveraging the students’ functionality in the science-oriented area,” he added.

Presenting awards at the event, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, commended the efforts of the ownership of Nigeria’s mathematical sectors, who, he said, were collaborating with the NTIC to recognise the diligent and intelligent students.

In his remarks, the DirectorGeneral, National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Prof. Promise Mebine, said, “The problem of mathematics is not really a problem. People just have a phobia for this subject, and the government is not doing enough.”

The winners with some of the dignitaries at the award presentation ceremony recently

Tekedia Institute Unveils Mini-MBA Programme Boston-based business school, Tekedia Institute, has announced the launch of its virtual professional Mini-MBA programme for young professionals and business leaders.

This is to better equip participants with an in-depth knowledge of core business principles, problem-solving capabilities, analytical competencies, and contemporary business models that are needed to thrive within

the 21st-century business ecosystem.

The Tekedia Mini-MBA programme is a virtual 12-weeks innovative management programme that is designed to provide practical training on business growth, optimization, and execution. It is on this backdrop that faculty members have been selected from global organisations like Microsoft, Shell, Flutterwave, Nigerian Breweries, Jobberman, Coca

Cola, Deloitte, Schlumberger, Mastercard, Access Bank, AXA Mansard, KPMG, MTN Nigeria, among others to provide contemporary insights into global best business practices.

Commenting on the importance of the Mini-MBA programme, Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, the lead faculty of Tekedia Institute, noted that the programme is poised to equip professionals, including business owners, with the

contemporary skills that will guarantee both professional and business growth.

The Tekedia Mini-MBA is an innovative programme designed to strategically position young professionals as future leaders within their respective areas of expertise while equipping business owners with the contemporary skills needed to upscale their business operations and execution strategies, he said.

Foremost Educationist Dies at 104 Dike Onwuamaeze

Ceremonies marking the burial of a foremost educationist in the old Western Region, the late Adepoju Akomolafe, will commence May 9 to 13.

The burial arrangement, announced by his son and the immediate past president of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Oluwatoyin Akomolafe, would commence with a service of songs at All Saints Church, Baale Oyewole Road, Ibadan, on May 9, while the funeral service and interment would

be held at St. John’s Anglican Church Ido-Ekiti.

Pa Akomalafe, born on April 4, 1917, and died on January 4, 2022, would be remembered for his role in laying the foundation of modern education in the Western Region through the establishment of many secondary schools.

Akomolafe was recruited in 1954 to found the second secondary school in Ekiti: the Ekiti Parapo College, Ido Ekiti, among others.

He was also a close associate of the late Premier of Western Region, Chief Obafemi

Awolowo, and was a founding member of the Action Group.

Pa Akomolafe attended Ondo Boy’s High School and St Andrews College, Oyo. He schooled at the University of London, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree and postgraduate Certificate in Education.

He returned to Nigeria, taught at Igbobi College, and served as the deputy housemaster in Aggrey House under the late Cannon L. D. Mason. He later became the housemaster of Aggrey House.

Pa Akomolafe was ap-

pointed by the then Military Governor of Western Region, the late Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo, to become the first chairman of the Statutory Corporation Service Commission, Western Region, an umbrella overseeing all the corporations.

He was appointed the first chairman of the University of Nigeria, Teaching Hospital, Enugu. After the end of his successful tenure, he was appointed again as chairman of the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital until 1980.

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Teacher’s DIARY KEHINDE OMORU

www.kayomoru.com

CANDOR’S DONE A RUNNER!

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andor being the noun and Candid its adjective, are traits dwindling by the day all around us.

Candor refers to being sincere, forthright, open, regretful, confessional, and desirous of making up or correcting an error, trustworthiness, remorseful..., and the list is endless of like behaviours.

Why this has become so scarce all around us is what begs for a serious revisit of the values we care to pass down to children of below the age of five. Why this age group you may ask? Because even under 10s these days relentlessly lie, defying sticking to their stories, repeatedly behave street-wisely.

Purely from personal experiences, having taught children of this group for a number of years in the past, being with them until twilight when their parents picked them up, and therefore knowing that those are the crucial formative years of an individual’s life, hope is not lost, the present decline of candor in Nigeria is reversible.Between the age of 0-5 (may well stretch to 8), the foundations of cognitive, social, emotional, psychological and physical development of a child are set.

Things are more difficult at 12 for instance, 12/13 being the most impressionable period of an individual.A good teacher and parent should be packing in loads of teaching opportunities to ferment quality learning during this time. Toys, role-play, modelling and story are a few ways to teach them at this time.

Personally I have never toyed with the power of carefully chosen toys. TOYS ARE US!! Toys ‘r’ Us!!Two children the one a 5 and the other a 6+ year old were playing down below.

I was 3 flats above them, and heard most of their entire conversation. The older described how her mum, at the end of the day, has been asking for the money she’s gathered during the day. Mum goes on to keep these in a piggy bank for her.

Mum tells her the ability to pilfer are strengths, not theft, and only show how smart she is becoming. So mum tells her, in the Nigerian mantra, a phase that has come to stay, to “shine your eyes”.And so this little girl-child shared that she cleverly steals from teacher’s bag, from other children’s lunch packs, feigns hunger and lack to get donations of other’s lunches, and professed proudly that she has still not been caught.Is this new? No. Is this common? Yes. Is this proper? No. I am privy to countless experiences of people playing smart and ripping others of computers, money begged for fabricated needs and diverted to build their own houses, bills inflated because labourers feel you have limitless funds...and the list is endless.What is particularly sad about children hardened this way, is that they grow up wired to see candor as surreal.

Can something rectifiable be done, yes? By whom? Teachers, parents, you and I. -Omoru is a freelance writer, education, health and social care advocate

Oxbridge Club Plans Students’ Sustainable Scholarship Scheme Funmi Ogundare

The Oxford and Cambridge Club of Nigeria (OCCN) have elected new executives that will steer their affairs, just as the new President, Mr. Lanre Fatimilehin, called for a sustainable scholarship scheme for students seeking to pursue degrees at the universities.

At the 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM), held both virtually and physically in Lagos, Fatimilehin emphasised building sustainable scholarship funds.

In a recent statement, he noted that the club had continued to receive requests for financial support from students seeking to pursue degrees at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, adding that it entered into a partnership with the Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust to offer jointlyfunded scholarships for study at the University of Cambridge.

He, however, solicited financial support from members, adding,

“small contributions of £5,000 would go a long way in assisting the students.

He added, “It would be wonderful if we are able to offer two grants of £5,000 to one student going to Oxford and another one going to Cambridge.”

He stated that £10,000 annually should not be beyond the reach of the membership of the club.

He acknowledged the support and contributions of Chief Phillip Asiodu, Prof. Bomi Ogedengbe, Mr Fela Akoni, Mr. Demola Akinrele (SAN) and Mr. Jonathan Millard.

Other newly elected executives include: Vice President (Oxford), Mr. Obiora Agbim; Vice President (Cambridge), Mr. Adeola Adenubi; Honorary Secretary, Ms Oyin Eva Johnson; Honorary Treasurer, Mrs. Ehimhen Okoh-Agunloye; Membership Secretary, Dr. Onyeka Erobu; and Social Secretary, Mrs. Ebun Awosika.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY APRIL 13, 2022

CITYSTRINGS

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

Making Case for Increased Foreign Earnings, Unadulterated Cable Manufacturing Every month, the Cable Manufacturers Association of Nigeria deals with an estimated loss of several hundreds of millions of naira due to fake, substandard or adulterated cables in the market.

To tackle this, as well as attract foreign exchange earnings into the country, Precious Ugwuzor writes on ongoing measures put in place by the new CAMAN president, Mrs. Bukola Adubi to expand capacity by 100 per cent across board within the next three to five years

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ub-standard and adulteration of cable brands, failures to implement local content laws and executive orders by some government agencies, and dearth of experienced personnel in the industry have been identified as some of the challenges confronting cable manufacturers.

This, according to the new president of Cable Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CAMAN), Mrs. Bukola Adubi, has led to an estimated loss of several hundreds of millions of naira monthly due to fake, substandard or adulterated cables in the market.

According to Adubi who was elected into office at the annual general meeting (AGM) in February for a two-year term, since the manufacturing industry in Nigeria depends heavily on imports of raw materials and suffer greatly from the unavailability of forex, to become competitive, cable manufacturers need extra support to continue to sustain the industry standard.

The umbrella body of indigenous cable manufacturing companies, also advocated for support from relevant agencies of government in order to attract more foreign exchange earnings into the country.

She enjoined the government to support CAMAN by making the processes for raw material clearance at the ports easier; providing development grants and funding for upgrades of machineries; making provisions for better infrastructure such as inland roads, railways, waterways among others; and provision of electricity.

Making a case for duty waiver on raw materials for CAMAN, Adubi described duty waiver as an offshoot of financing and competitiveness, adding that if an accredited manufacturer is given waiver on their raw materials, it will make them competitive and enable them to be able to compete with Asian and other European imports.

To deepen local content across industries in Nigeria, the President Muhammadu Buhari led government had signed Executive Order 3 (EO3)

Bukola Adubi - President, CAMAN & COO, MicCom Cables and Executive Order 5 (EO5) in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Speaking on how the EO3 and EO5, as well as the local content laws have aided the operations of cable manufacturers, she commended the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for its efforts in the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) act and encouraged other bodies like the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and Rural Electrification Agency (REA), among others to follow suit.

She said,"We have not really been enjoying this to the height we should be. The one industry that has fully supported and implemented this on

our behalf is the oil & gas industry.

"The NCDMB, under the leadership of the Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Wabote has done great things for the industry and we are very thankful for this.

"We pray the other industries and parastatals follow suit. The TCN, REA, etc should begin to intentionally seek to engage CAMAN member companies in the sourcing, manufacture and supply of cables for their use.

With the support from the oil & gas industry, Adubi, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of MicCom Cables, said that she expects CAMAN member companies to expand capacity by 100 per cent across board within the next three to five years.

She noted that there are so many new projects in the national budget that could help its members to achieve their expansion targets but for the lot

of these, CAMAN members are not typically sought after for one reason or the other.

"Most of these project needs are achieved using imports, which negates the whole idea of the E03 and E05. If we get to enjoy these, we will see an exponential growth within all of our members.

"I can tell you that the proportion of cables imported far outweighs the ones produced locally.

This is a big part of our prayers to the Federal Govt. It is terribly unfair to the local manufacturers when we are overlooked for imports. And most times, even fake imports.. " It makes all of our hardwork and resilience, especially in these hard times, to be underappreciated. We need a lot of support from all stakeholders in the industry. We have more than enough capacity in-country amongst all 11 member companies to accommodate the requirements of the country. Our cables are widely accepted as being of international quality and we are competitive enough. We should be given first rights to the manufacture and supply of cables and wires in-country."

CAMAN is an 11 member not-for-profit association whose main objective is to promote and protect the cable manufacturing industry in Nigeria.

It aims to provide the federal government and any/all parastatal with a central representative body with whom to confer and seek assistance/ advice with regards to all matters concerning cable manufacturing or likely to affect such interests.

It also aims to encourage and enforce quality manufactured products through the collection and circulation of useful information and the promotion of standards in the field of cable manufacturing.

CAMAN member companies include Bracon wires & Cables, Coleman Wires & Cables, Cometstar Manufacturing Company Ltd, Cutix Plc, Denki Wires & Cables, and Geolis Cables Ltd. Others are Kabelmetal Nig Ltd, MicCom Cables & Wires Ltd, Nigerchin Elect. Dev. Co, Nocaco Ltd, and Purechem Cables & Wires.

Herconomy Takes Bold Steps Towards Gender Parity at Annual Conference Mary Nnah

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erconomy, one of Nigeria’s leading female-focused platforms, held its conference and first-ever awards and gala night on March 11, 2022.

The conference, which kicked off at 10 am at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, was themed: Action to Impact: Creating Inclusive Pathways for Women.

Over 200 participants, mostly women, were present to listen to various panel sessions, with female professionals and economic experts sharing their perspectives and experiences on how to create a truly equal world, where women are visible and empowered.

Founded by Ife Durosinmi Etti, a Nigerian author, entrepreneur, and young global leader, Herconomy is a female-focused organisation committed to empowering women through access to business grants, scholarships, capacity building, mentoring, and networking as well as financial products such as discounts and savings.

The conference closed out with the announcement of the top three winners of the 2022 Enterprise Challenge, being awarded for their innovative business solutions and ideas.

The Enterprise Challenge is an annual event held by Herconomy, where female founders and small business owners get to compete for a business grant and an opportunity to be featured on Herconomy’s platforms.

This year, there were over 400 applicants from which twelve finalists were selected. Of the twelve, Seun Alley, Founder, Fez Logistics received 1,500,000 Naira as the winner of the challenge while Mariam Amaka Eluma, Founder,

Ife Durosinmi- Etti Founder Herconomy Hobeei received 1,000,000 Naira as the first runner up and Joy Chioma, Founder, Natal Cares received 500,000 Naira as second runner up.

Other finalists include Posh Meals, Eti Farms Global, Next Wear Technologies, Proach Shoes, TJL Signatures, Colibri Africa, Qash 4 Trash and NaFarm Foods.

The three finalists are getting this financial support and visibility from Herconomy and its sponsors as part of their commitment to building the business and financial capacity of female entrepreneurs.

The awards and gala which began at

6:00 p.m also turned out to be an authentic and fun-filled experience, marked by the celebration of outstanding women across various fields.

The following women were honored with the Herconomy Woman of the Year Award: Olamidun Majekodunmi, Educator; Veekee James, Fashion Designer; Chioma Ikokwu, Fashion Influencer; Anita Adetoye, Beauty Influencer; Lala Akindoju, Actor; Mariam Bakre, Content Creator; Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani, Real Estate; Sylvia Nduka, Philanthropist; Kike Ojewale, Legal; Khadijah Abu, Tech; Yagazie Eguare, Photography; Rinsola Abiola, Politics; Tosin Olaseinde, Finance; Blessing Abeng, Branding; Rinu Oduala, Advocacy and Owen Omogiafo, Corporate Leadership.

Herconomy also recognised some corporate entities in five different categories.

Winners include Tech4Dev, NGO of the Year, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Corporate Award for Diversity and Inclusion, Bankly, Startup of the Year, Hello Perfect, Beauty Brand of the Year, and Mavin Records, Corporate Leadership Award for Equality.

The night was coloured by the glitz and glamour of an awards night with special performances

by Bovi, Fave, and other entertaining features.

The month of March has been marked by various notable achievements for Herconomy, including having finalists of its Enterprise Challenge on billboards across Nigeria to celebrate the 2022 International Women’s Day (IWD) campaign “Breaking the Bias”.

The Billboards projected insightful tweets from women in various industries, on their individual perspectives on the global theme #breakingthebias.

"Do it afraid", Ife Durosinmi-Etti, Founder, Herconomy said, as she recalled how fearful she

was about organising a conference and an awards ceremony on the same day, but was encouraged to put her best foot forward.

And with great support from her network, Durosinmi-Etti successfully pulled off a wellattended programme for women's month and is optimistic about the future.

While expressing her thoughts about the events, Ife said she was extremely thankful to her team for their hard work: “My team is the wind beneath my wings. God bless each and every one of them for the effort they put into ensuring this event went excellently".

She also extended her heartfelt gratitude to all sponsors and partners for their generosity and contribution to the success of the 2022 Conference, Awards, and Gala Night.

Sponsors of the event include Providus Bank, Luno global, JC Deceaux Gracelake , Sunlight Nigeria, Maggi, Burger King Nigeria, Red Bull, Seven-up Bottling, Company, Grocedy, Nuban Beauty, DND travels and Tour, Mac Beauty, Jand2gidi, IYL Foods, WokBox, Krispy Kreme, DaintyAffairs Cakes, Jand2gidi, M.A.C Cosmetics Africa, Smoov, Lora Cucina,, Johnnie Walker NG, Siri Beauty, Viva Detergent, MacAdams Baking System, Ankara Souvenir, Paxo Health & Beauty, ABIDOL Pharmacy, Smokebox, IONIO (Asia Africa Investment Consulting Nigeria Ltd), Melting Moments, Baileys Nigeria, Gazmadu Studios, BUNMI Adedipe Studios, Fragranceatelier, Mo Baby Care and Trendybeevents.

Herconomy is already fostering new partnerships, and more events are in the works even now, as it continues to sustain the momentum for a transformative year for her over 18,000 community of women.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY APRIL 13, 2022

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CRIME&SECURITY

Incorporating Traditional Institutions in Tackling Insecurity The importance of traditional institutions is often undermined despite its proximity to the people and far reaching influence. Ibrahim Oyewale writes on Governor Yahaya Bello's advocacy for the constitutional role of the traditional rulers to tackle fledging insecurity in the country

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orried by the spate of insecurity and its attendant carnage in some parts of the country, the Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello is leading the vanguard and an incurable advocacy of creating a constitutional role for the traditional rulers by including them in the programmes and policies of the government.

According to him, the traditional institution has a major role to play in the maintenance of peace, unity and security of their various domain given that they are the custodian of culture and tradition.

Peace, unity, tranquillity and security are without a doubt synonymous with the sociopolitical and economic development of a nation.

Nigeria as a nation has been enmeshed in a hydra-headed insecurity challenge and it is no longer news that in the past 14 years, the advent of insurgency has not only brought about calamity but also left unhealed scars in the mind of average Nigerians.

From Boko Haram insurgents in the far North-east, armed banditry in the North-west, as well as kidnapping, cultism and ritualists on the prowl waiting for the innocent prey every minute in other parts, the country has continued to bleed on daily basis.

The situation has so far evaded all efforts of the conventional security apparatus and unconventional ones in a bid to step down the high tide of emerging insurgency as they seemingly remain helpless in tackling the menace of self-inflicted problems.

The reality has become that insurgents, armed bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, cultists and ritualists have continued to inflict injuries, maiming, raping, kidnapping and killing of innocents Nigerians daily.

As expected, the spate of insecurity in the country has continuously attracted condemnations from international and African leaders, while Nigerians at home and in the diaspora have also lamented the hopeless situation the most populous black African nation had found herself with seemingly no end in sight as average citizens are no longer sleeping with their two eyes closed.

As part of efforts to seek lasting solutions to the ravaging insecurity that has bedevilled Nigeria, the Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello has continued to advocate for the inclusion of the traditional institution in the programmes and policies of the government if Nigeria want to overcome perennial insecurity.

He has continuously reiterated that the relative security of lives and property enjoyed in Kogi State was as a result of the robust relationship with the traditional rulers, who he described as representatives of God on earth, a symbol of unity and custodian of culture and tradition.

Recently, at the official installation and presentation of Staff of office to the new Attah Igala, His Royal Majesty, Mathew Alaji Opaluwa Ogwuche Akpa II at the Palace of Attah Igala on Friday, February 4, 2023, the governor pointed out that the role of traditional rulers in development of this country cannot be overemphasised, noting that the cooperation with the traditional institution and Kogi State government in past six years has yielded positive results in the area of security of lives and property.

In the same vein, Governor Yahaya Bello at the presentation of staff of office to 104 traditional rulers at President Muhammadu Buhari Civic Centre in Lokoja on Saturday, February 5, 2023, stated that his administration since its inception prioritised unity, peace, tranquillity, progress and development, adding that all of these couldn't have been possible without the cooperation, understanding and support of all the traditional rulers starting from the Attah Igala, the Ohinoyi of Ebira land, the Ohimege Koton-Karfe, the Obaro of Kabba and all other Paramount rulers, including the recently upgraded traditional rulers.

"We have chosen this to do for you not because you are the only one, we followed all our laws, rules and regulations and it

Gov. Bello Presenting Staff of Office to traditional ruler

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello is a clear fact that you have been chosen out of many because of your impeccable character, integrity and uprightness.

"You can contribute toward the development of peace and security which we are enjoying in Kogi State.

I had always advocated and I will continue to advocate because in this country if we want to have peace, tranquillity, safety and development, the government must be able to consciously and deliberately include our traditional rulers in our programmes and policies.

Governor Bello also suggested that the traditional rulers should be recognised even as the fourth tiers of government, emphasising that he would continue to send that message across even to the National Assembly "because a situation where our traditional rulers are the representative of God on earth and yet we are yearning for peace and tranquillity, this means that if we don't include them in the government activities then we are not ready to enjoy the desired peace, safety and development in our land.

"Our traditional rulers are the owners of the land, they know every

inch of our land, they own it and every crime committed are being perpetrated on the land and not on the air at all. Since they are the owners of the land, any crime and criminalities that take place in their domain, they should be able to know the perpetrators.

"If the government refuses to include them in its activities, how can crime and criminalities be tackled? I could not have succeeded in the fight against criminalities in the state without the cooperation and support of all of the traditional rulers from the First Class, Second Class, Third Class and even the ungraded ones.

"Therefore, I use this opportunity to appreciate all the traditional rulers in Kogi State for their support, understanding and prayers that have brought the state to the enviable height we have achieved in the area of security."

The governor also charged all the traditional title holders to redouble their efforts in holding the trust of the people, pledging that his administration will continue to work with the traditional rulers to achieve the desired peace and peaceful coexistence of all parts of the state irrespective of tribe and religion.

Bello, therefore, appreciated the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Salami Ozigi Deedat for painstakingly and diligently taking his time to process all the traditional rulers appointed, upgraded today, adding that he trusted his judgement and takes his advice 100 per cent "because as a Lawyer, I am very sure that he will always do justice to issues brought to his table".

Earlier in his remarks, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Salami Ozigi Deedat expressed profound gratitude to the state governor, Yahaya Bello who gave all the "necessary support and encouragement to reach the level we have attained today in the affairs of traditional rulers in Kogi State".

Salami noted that the "grading and upgrading of stools we are celebrating today is the manifestation of the zeal demonstrated by Governor Yahaya Bello's administration to give the traditional institution their right place in the scheme of things in the state.

"The traditional rulers being the custodians of our culture and tradition need to be given priority attention which the New Direction Government has done since its inception six years ago."

The commissioner pointed out that despite the obvious scarce resources, the state government

"If we want to have peace, tranquillity, safety and development, the government must be able to consciously and deliberately include our traditional rulers in our programmes and policies...

has never reneged in its effort to attend to the welfare of the traditional rulers in Kogi state-a feat that has never been achieved since the creation of the state over thirty years ago.

"The government also places high premium on the traditional rulers in the state which has accounted for the continued review of the structure of our chieftaincy institutions by positioning them to be more effective and responsive through the engagement of programmes.

"It will interest you to know that throughout the process and arrangement of the ceremony for the Staff of Office the state government shoulders all the responsibilities. Therefore a dime was not collected from anybody for grading or upgrading of any stool.

"Today's event will remain indelible in the minds of the Kogi people. The presentation of Staff of Office to deserving chiefs goes to them and their communities. Without an iota of doubt in the last six years, this administration has transformed the socio-economic, political and traditional landscape of the state. Fairness, equity and justice have been the landmark of this administration.

"I am using this occasion to charge the traditional rulers who have received their staff of office today that they must be mindful of their new roles and the consequences of the change in their new status.

"With the presentation of staff of office it means that you are with the instrument of authority and you have become members of Kogi State Council of Chiefs, it is therefore expedient and instructive that you actively participate in the activities of the council.

"As traditional rulers, you are expected to ensure there is peace and tranquillity in your domain and also ensure the rule of law prevail in the cause of discharging your official duties.

You will be held accountable for any breach of peace and security in your domain. " Kogi State is known to be the most peaceful and secured state in Nigeria and you must join hand to sustain that feat", the commissioner posited.

In his goodwill messages, the Vice President, Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers and Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, HRM, Dr Ado Ibrahim said that it was obvious that the traditional rulers have known the Governor for what he is- a governor that is a dynamic leader and committed to what is right.

"We can not thank and appreciate enough for what the governor has done to traditional institutions in the state and we hope that those who are looking forward to the future will follow the footstep of Governor Yahaya Bello."

The Obaro of Kabba and the Secretary, Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers expressed profound appreciation to the government for doing the needful at this particular time by making it possible for those who have been yearning for this action to take place.

"We thank the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs for his doggedness and commitment to the welfare of traditional rulers in the state knows no bound," he added.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammed Sa'ad Abubakar commended the state government for the epoch-making event under the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello.

The Sultan of Sokoto, who was represented by the Estu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, prayed to God Almighty to bless the people and the state.

He, therefore, admonished the newly appointed, graded and upgraded Royal Highnesses that this is another gesture by the government "telling you that you need to do more.

"We all know by history that traditional institutions stand the best in terms of administrations, in terms of knowing people, understanding people in terms of what they are supposed to do and at what time.

"So more is expected from you the newly upgraded traditional rulers and we pray that God Almighty will guide you and give you the strength to carry out this very important responsibility," Sultan added.

38

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ APRIL 20, 2022

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Bank of Industry Group Grows Profit by 75% to N62bn in 2021 The Bank of Industry Group has reported a profit before tax of N62.28 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2021; 75 per cent higher than the 2020 profit of N35.54 billion.

This is contained in the group’s summary financial information released yesterday.

Discounted for tax, the profit for the year under review comes to N53.41 billion, compared to N31.59 billion in 2020.

Also consistent with its growth trajectory, the group grew its total equity to N384.84 billion for the year ended 2021; over the 2020 position of N336.48 billion.

However, its total asset dropped slightly to N1.71 trillion.

The Group comprises the Bank of Industry, herein referred to as The Bank, and its subsidiary companies.

The Bank made an after tax profit of N52.60 billion in 2021, compared to N30.90 billion in 2020. It has consistently demon-

strated resilience in the face of macro-economic headwinds and recorded remarkable growth, even in face of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bank’s traditional commitment to grow local industries got a boost as loans and advances to the its numerous customers rose from N748.9 billion in 2020 to N779.29 billion in 2021.

The increased support for industries in 2021 was consistent with its mandate to transform Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing long-term financing and counter-cyclical loans diversified across industries such as agroprocessing, gender businesses and renewable energy among others.

In the five years up to 2021, BOI promoted financial inclusion by supporting the expansion of over 3 million enterprises, thereby creating over 7 million jobs.

To expand its capital-base to meet the needs of its customers, and contribute to economic

growth of the Nigeria, the bank made successful forays into the international market and raised about $3.8 billion in the last 4 years. This includes a $750mn syndicated medium-term loan in 2018 (fully paid); a €1 billion syndicated loan in March 2020; a $1 billion syndicated loan in December 2020; and in addition, a €750 million Senior Eurobond (the first by any African national DFI) in February 2022.

Investor confidence in BOI is reflected in its balance sheet, which has more than doubled since 2017, growing significantly from N713 billion to about N1.7 trillion as at December 2021.

BOI’s performance is reflected in its favorable credit ratings from global ratings agencies. Recently, Fitch Ratings upgraded the bank’s National Long-Term Rating to ‘AAA (nga)’ from ‘AA+(nga);’ and affirmed the bank’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B’ with a Stable Outlook.

MARKET INDICATORS

Sundry Foods Opens Five New Outlets in Lagos,Abuja, Port Harcourt Sundry Foods Limited (SFL), an integrated food service company in Nigeria and owners of the Kilimanjaro Restaurant chain, says it has officially opened five new outlets in Lagos, Abuja and PortHarcourt.

In a statement signed by Mr. Mokwunye Nduka, Head Marketing, Sundry Foods Limited, the new outlets include Kilimanjaro, Nigeria’s leading quick service restaurant which opened at the Festival Mall in the Amuwo Odofin area in Lagos,Pizza Jungle– its pizza restaurant at the 911 Mall on Usuma Street in Maitama, Abuja, and a food courtalong Old Aba-Port Harcourt Road in Obigbo, Port Harcourt housing three of its brands -Kilimanjaro,

Pizza Jungle & Kiligrill to the applaud of the people living in these areas. ‘’We provide meals that people love and serve them through our chain of restaurants, canteens, bakeries and direct to their homes all over Nigeria through our various ecommerce channels.

Over the years, we have continuously improved on our products and services with the aim to maximize customer experience at all our touchpoints.

Whether it’s that hot, crispy crust pizza or ourdelicious beans and plantain, we draw commendation of our customers who love our food,’’ the statement said.

According to the statement, the new outlets are coming in fulfillment of a promise made

by the company to bring its qualityproducts and services closer to its customers and the public and in accordance with the Company’s growth plan for 2022 and beyond.

The statement further revealed that with the 5 new outlets, Sundry Foods now operates out of 142 food service outlets across the country, even as plans are underway to increase the company’s footprints in major cities in the 36 states of the country. ‘’We believeevery Nigerian deserves to be treated with the Sundry Foods experience and that is why we are relentless in our pursuit to reach every part of the country” the Head of Marketing said.

QNET PartnersTransblue on E-commerce, Plans Big for Consumers Yinka Olatunbosun A leader in global e-commerce and direct selling, QNET Limited, has launched in Nigeria in partnership with Transblue Limited as its lead market partner in one of Africa’s biggest economies.

QNET is a global e-commerce and Direct Selling company that provides customers around the world with unique high-quality products and services while providing an opportunity for Independent Representatives (IRs) to build a sales business by promoting these products.

Speaking at the launch, the Regional General Manager sub-Saharan Africa for QNET,

Mr Biram Fall said: “The entry of QNET in Nigeria is in line with the government of Nigeria’s vision to partner with the private sector to effectively achieve the desired economic recovery and transformative growth. At QNET, we intend to play our part by boosting entrepreneurship in Nigeria through our wellestablished global e-commerce and Direct Selling ecosystems.

Partnerships are part of our DNA, and we are delighted today to unveil our partnership with Transblue Limited. The partnership leverages Transblues’ robust market presence and local expertise to enhance customer service, provide training to our

independent representatives, and facilitate faster access to our products, among other areas of collaboration.”

While reflecting on this partnership, Managing Director of Transblue, Mr Abiodun Akeem Ajisafe, said: “We are excited to embark on this journey with QNET, as we are confident that our mutual strengths will help bring Nigerians a unique opportunity to generate additional income.

Not only does this partnership provide access to unique, highquality products, it also provides a business model that has been tested globally, and that is locally supported.”

Eterna Plc Appoints New Directors, Company Secretary The Board of Directors of Eterna Plc has announced the appointment of new Directors and a new company secretary for the company.

The Board appointed Mr. Akinwande Ademosu as an Independent Non-Executive Director, while Mr. Benjamin Nwaezeigwe was appointed an Executive Director.

Mr. Mandella Golkus was appointed as the new Company Secretary of Eterna Plc. Eterna Plc said this in a statement to newsmen signed by the Executive Director, Corporate Services, Mrs Phoebean Ifeadi.

According to the statement, Mr. Akinwande Ademosu was appointed an Independent Non-Executive Director, effective 1st of March 2022.

Akinwande is an accomplished entrepreneur with over two decades of Banking, Finance, Retail Credit and Consumer Finance experience spanning several banks and non-bank financial institutions in Nigeria. He is currently the Managing Director of Credit Direct Limited, a subsidiary of FCMB Group.

In the same vein, Mr. Benjamin Nwaezigwe joined Eterna

Plc as the Chief Operating Officer on the 2nd of December 2021 and was appointed an Executive Director, effective 1st March 2022.

He worked as the Managing Director of BHR International Ventures Limited, a privately owned indigenous downstream company which specializes in the distribution of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).

He has worked with Fynefield Petroleum Company where he was responsible for coordinating the company’s petroleum products terminal activities and subsequently.

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY 19 OCTOBER 7

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $110.54 a barrel on Monday, compared with $108.52 the previous Thursday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

39

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͱͮ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

Guinness Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC, 19 Others Lift Stock Market by N19bn Kayode Tokede Investors renewed interest in some medium and large capitalised stocks lifted the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) market capitalisation by N19billion as the market sustained bullish activity.

The overall market capitalisation value gained by N19bllion to close at N25.632trillion, while the NGX All Share Index (ASI) rose by 35.48 basis points or 0.07

per cent to close at 47,545.86 basis points.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Guinness Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Unilever Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria and FBN Holdings (FBNH).

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative as 31 stocks lost relative to 21 gainers. Meyer Plc recorded

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N1.76, per share.

Guinness Nigeria followed with a gain of 6.86 per cent to close at N74.80, while NPF Microfinance Bank rose by 6.80 per cent to close at N2.20, per share.

Cadbury Nigeria went up by five per cent to close at N8.40, while Unilever Nigeria appreciated by 4.51 per cent to close at N12.75, per share.

On the other hand, Academy

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

QUANTITY TRADED

Press led the losers’ chart by 9.72 per cent to close at N1.30, per share. John Holt followed with a decline of 9.30 per cent to close at 78 kobo, while Japaul Gold and Ventures depreciated by 9.09 per cent to close at 30 kobo, per share.

Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals declined by 8.23 per cent to close at N1.45, while Pharma Deko Plc depreciated by 7.51 per cent to close at N1.60, per share.

T R A D E D

VALUE TRADED ( N )

MAIN BOARD

A S

The total volume traded declined by 5.1 per cent to 365.454 million units, valued at N7.106 billion, and exchanged in 5,790 deals. Transactions in the shares of Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 33.758 million shares valued at N132.131 million. Access Holdings followed with 23.960 million shares worth N247.074 million, while MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN) traded 22.152 million shares

O F

1 9

valued at N4.719 billion.

Omatek Ventures traded 17.899 million shares valued at N3.580 million, while R.T. Briscoe Nigeria transacted 15.074 million shares worth N8.892 million.

Commenting on yesterday’s market performance, analysts at InvestmentOne research in a report said, “The equities market closed northwards today due to the gain recorded in the Consumer Goods sector.

/ 0 4 / 2 0 2 2 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

40

WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022 • T H I S D AY

41

WEDNESDAY, ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

FORTY-ONE

Buhari's Senator Moves to Dump APC, Holds Meeting with Katsina PDP Leaders Sunday Aborisade in Abuja and Francis Sardauna in Katsina A leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) representing Katsina North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Ahmad Babba- Kaita, yesterday, commenced moves to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Kaita, who was a member of the House of Representatives, and represented the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the Kankia/Ingawa/Kusada constituency of Katsina State, in 2011, is currently representing the senatorial district of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 9th Senate.

The senator had first met behind closed-doors with the state PDP leader and former governor of

the state, Ibrahim Shehu Shema, in Abuja yesterday.

Other PDP bigwigs, who attended the meeting held at Shema's office were the PDP governorship aspirant, Hon. Salisu Yusuf Majigiri; the 2015 PDP governorship running mate to Musa Nashuni, Gambo Bakori; former state Chairman of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Ibrahim Lawal Dankaba, state PDP Youths leader, and Hamza Jibia, among others.

A credible source privy to the meeting that lasted about two hours, told THISDAY that the senator had reached agreement with the PDP stalwarts and that his formal declaration would happen soon.

According to the source, "Yes, Senator Ahmed Babba Kaita met

with us in the official office of our party Leader and former Governor of our state Ibrahim Shehu Shema.

"During the meeting, the Senator (Kaita) reached an agreement with the leaders of our great party the PDP. He has agreed to join the party and his membership card will be given to him after his official declaration.

"He told us during the meeting that he has an empowerment programme to be done in Daura soon. So, after the programme, he will officially decamp to PDP with thousands of his supporters.

Not only Babba Kaita, there are more senators and House of Representatives members in the state that will soon join the party."

Asked whether the senator discussed his governorship

ambition during the meeting, the source said, "We didn't discuss that with him but I think after his defection, the issue will be discussed."

In the same vein, an official of the PDP in Katsina State, who spoke with THISDAY on the conditions of anonymity, confirmed that Babba-Kaita was already discussing with party leaders in the state.

The source said the senator, who is representing Buhari's Daura Local Government Area, in the northwestern state, had almost completed the process of leaving the ruling APC. "It is true that the Senator flew in to Katsina this morning and met with top PDP leaders in the state. I can assure you that he has nearly completed his movement

to the PDP by 70 per cent. We would have formally made the announcement today but the chairman was not around.

"Our chairman in Katsina State is also a governorship aspirant and he was in Abuja as of the time Babba-Kaita flew in around 10am. What I can tell you is that, he is already discussing with us.

We needed to perfect the arrangement, because he is representing President Buhari's constituency in the National Assembly," the PDP official added.

Babba-Kaita has, in recent time, been vocal in his opposition to the unabated insecurity in his senatorial district and the worsening economic situation in the country.

There were unconfirmed information that Babba-Kaita

was also planning to contest the governorship election in the state, next year.

Several attempts to speak with Babba-Kaita on phone were not successful as his number was perpetually engaged.

The Senator had also yet to reply to the text messages sent to him as of the time of filing this report.

However, when contacted, his colleague in the red chamber, who is representing Katsina South, Senator Bello Mandiya, said he had no information about Babba-Kaitta's rumoured defection.

"I have no information about what you are asking me. I am also reading it and seeing the pictures like every other person. I have not spoken with him on the matter," Mandiya said.

“Since the constitution provides for equality of all citizens before the law, all other persons convicted for stealing, fraud and money laundering ought to be pardoned and freed. There can be no moral or legal justification for jailing poor people who steal spaghetti and noodles to feed their family members while those who loot the treasury are granted clemency or pardon.

“In conclusion, permit me to call on the poor who constitute the majority of poor victims of institutionalised criminal justice system to unite and fight for socioeconomic justice and equality before the law.

“In particular, indigent accused persons are advised to brief lawyers in the Legal Aid Council and the Office of the Public Defender in every state of the federation to provide them with legal practitioner whenever they are arrested, detained or charged with any criminal offence.

“It is the responsibility of the state to assign lawyers, free of charge, to citizens who earn less than the national minimum wage of N30,000.00.”

“The law is not neutral in a class society. It is made and enacted by rich legislators to serve the interests of the rich. The judges interpret the law to favour the rich and powerful people in the society.

“The big lawyers hired to defend the rich exploit loopholes and technicalities in the law to free their rich clients. Hence, the poor man who stole noodle in Abuja to feed himself, was jailed by an Upper Area Court. Even though he had no more to feed himself, the judge sentenced him to six months imprisonment or N20,000 fine.

“But the former top public officer who laundered $9.8 million and £74,000, has been set free by the Federal High Court. The judge blamed the EFCC for not proving the case beyond reasonable doubt!”

said the intention of presidential pardon ought not to be for the likes of Nyame and Dariye.

The statement said, “The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) is extremely disappointed by the unfortunate decision of the Council of State.

We are saddened that the Council, which courageously, reportedly, turned down a state pardon for former Bank PHB Managing Director, Francis Atuche, also serving jail term for corruption, could not display the same courage and reject the request to pardon Nyame and Dariye.

“Whatever the rationale behind acquiescing to the recommendation of the committee to pardon the two corrupt former governors before serving out their prison terms, the nation has been let down by this eminent body.”

The statement also said the pardon had lent justifiable credence to speculations that its intention was to shore up the battered image of the ruling party and give it a bounce ahead of the 2023 elections.

Owoaje pointed out that the presidential pardon was inconsistent with Sections 15(5), 17(a) and 42 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

He added that it “also miserably falls below standards, measures and rules in the United Nations Convention against corruption.”

He admitted that corruption in the country predated the Buhari administration, adding, however, “his numerous assurances that he would fight and defeat corruption was one of the key reasons Nigerians elected him in 2015 and re-elected him in 2019.

“Seven years down the line, Nigerians are still bearing with the oft repeated refrain that ‘we must kill corruption before it kills us’ as the only tangible reference to demonstrate the president’s acclaimed commitment to tackle corruption.

“Well-meaning Nigerians had hoped that President Buhari would be able to summon the courage and salvage his administration’s tepid anti-graft war. Sadly, the presidential pardon has made mockery of the war against corruption. Unequivocally, the grim implication of the presidential pardon, aside the demoralising effect it would have on anti-graft officials, is the fact that it has effectively sabotaged the war against graft.

“It certainly would embolden our well- heeled citizens to engage in corruption with the belief that they can be granted pardon by their friends in government. We have previously recommended to the government steps to take to tackle corruption but the administration's latest action has shown that it is not willing to lift a finger to fight corruption. In granting state pardon to corrupt individuals, President Buhari has conferred on himself the status of the Chief Undertaker that sounded the death knell for his administrations’ anti-graft war.”

SOYINKA TO BUHARI: PARDONING DARIYE, NYAME MEANS ‘IT IS FINISHED’ that the commission had reached an agreement with Mrs. Ibru and the said agreement had been filed in court.”

Speaking further, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria added, “On Friday, the 8th day of October, 2010, the trial judge, Justice Dan Abutu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, delivered judegment in the matter.

He sentenced the accused to six months imprisonment on each of the three counts and directed that the sentences should run concurrently. This means the convict was to spend only six months in prison.

“The convict, however, forfeited N191 billion worth of properties and assets to the government, according to the judgement of the court. Among the properties so forfeited were those in Nigeria, United States of America and Dubai in United Arab Emirates, together with shares in more than 100 companies, most of them listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange.

“The judge ordered Mrs. Ibru to be taken to Reddington Hospital, Victoria Island, Lagos by the prison authorities within two hours after they receive the copy of the judgement and she is to remain in the hospital until she is certified fit to stay in prison custody.

“The case of FRN v. Sarah Ochepke & 2 Ors , where the Defendant along with two other accused persons were by an Amended Charge dated 9th of February, 2018 arraigned before the Federal High Court, Jos, on

three counts charge of conspiracy, to accept cash payment of the sum of N450,000,000 from one Annet Olije Gyen, Head of operations, Jos branch of Fidelity Bank Plc, and did accept and retain the said amount of N450,000,000.00, which sum exceeded the amount authorised by law to be paid to an individual(s).

“The court sentenced the defendants Sarah Ochepke (being the former Minister of Water Resources), Raymond Dabo, and Leo Jitung, to three months imprisonment each, with an option to pay a fine of N1 million each. The offence contravenes the provisions of Section 16(1) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2013 (as amended), carries a minimum term of three years imprisonment or a N10 million fine.

The judge, however, exercised his discretion and sentenced them to three months imprisonment each or an option N1 million naira each.”

Continuing, Falana said, “The case of FRN v. Abdulrasheed Maina is one of the few that made a little difference: Maina who was charged with criminal offences, punishable under sections 11(2) (a), 15(3), and 16(2) (c) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, and also acted in breach of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, was in November, 2021, convicted and sentenced to eight years imprisonment, after being found guilty on all the 12-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) preferred against him and his company, Common Input

Property and Investment Limited.

“The court ordered Maina and his firm to forfeit about N2.1 billion that was traced to their bank accounts, as well as another sum of $223, 396, 30, to the federal government, after which he directed that the company should be wound up. It also ordered the forfeiture of Maina’s two choice properties at Life camp and Jabi districts of Abuja, to the government, likewise the auction of a bulletproof car and a BMW 5 Series exotic car that was found in premises of the convict.

“On March 18, 2022, an Abuja Upper Area Court in the Gwagwalada area council sentenced a 19-year-old student, Hillary Yunana, to four-month imprisonment for stealing spaghetti and noodles from a shop. The convict, a resident of Bassa village, along Airport Road, Abuja, was charged with burglary and theft.

“The judge, Sani Umar, jailed Yunana after he pleaded guilty to the offence. Umar, however, gave the convict an option to pay N10,000 for each of the charges, or serve a jail term of two months for each of them.

He said the sentence would run concurrently and warned Yunana to desist from committing crimes in the future. The judge said the sentence would serve as a deterrent to anyone who wanted to toe the depraved path in the future.

“On March 31, 2022, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, discharged and acquitted the former Group Managing Director

IMF RAISES NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH PROJECTION TO 3.4% you look at the global revisions that we have 86 per cent of the global economy revising down and Nigeria is one of the few that's actually revised up and there are two main factors: one is what you mentioned, the increased oil price, which represents a favourable terms of trade effect for Nigeria, will increase oil production and oil exports.

“And then the second factor is the strong momentum that we saw in the non-oil sector part of the economy. The non-oil sector of the economy is also showing strong momentum going into this year, which helped lift the outcome, growth forecasts that we have for Nigeria to 3.4 per cent for this year, and 3.1 per cent for next year, and that's 0.7 percentage point increase for this year and 0.4percentage point increase your next.”

IMF Chief Economist, Mr. PierreOlivier Gourinchas, also noted that oil price increase played a role in the upward review.

Gourinchas said, “Nigeria is an energy producer and exporter.

And I think that explains a good part of the upward revision in our growth projections.”

However, IMF in the WEO noted, “The increase in oil prices

has however lifted growth prospects for the region’s oil exporters, such as Nigeria. Overall, growth in sub-Saharan Africa is projected at 3.8 per cent in 2022.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, food prices are also the most important channel of transmission, although in slightly different ways. Wheat is a less important part of the diet, but food in general is a larger share of consumption.

“Higher food prices will hurt consumers’ purchasing power particularly among low-income households and weigh on domestic demand. Social and political turmoil, most notably in West Africa, also weigh on the outlook.”

Commenting on the global economy Gourinchas said policymakers should also ensure that the global financial safety net operates effectively.

According to him,“For some countries, this means securing adequate liquidity support to tide over short- term refinancing difficulties. But for others, comprehensive sovereign debt restructuring will be required.

“The Group of Twenty’s Common Framework for Debt Treatments offers guidance for such restructuring but has yet to

deliver. The absence of an effective and expeditious framework is a fault line in the global financial system.

“Particular attention should also be paid to the overall stability of the global economic order to make sure that the multilateral framework that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty is not dismantled.

“In this difficult environment, national-level policies and multilateral efforts will play an important role. Central banks will need to adjust their policies decisively to ensure that medium- and longterm inflation expectations remain anchored. Clear communication and forward guidance on the outlook for monetary policy will be essential to minimise the risk of disruptive adjustments.”

He added, “Several economies will need to consolidate their fiscal balances. This should not impede governments from providing welltargeted support for vulnerable populations, especially in light of high energy and food prices.

“Embedding such efforts in a medium- term framework with a clear, credible path for stabilising public debt can help create room to deliver the needed support.”

(GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Andrew Yakubu, of the money laundering charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) preferred against him.

“The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Ahmed Mohammed, held that the anti-graft agency failed to prove its case against the erstwhile NNPC boss.

The court ordered that monies the EFCC seized from Yakubu, who was GMD of the NNPC between 2012 and 2014, should be returned to him.

"The EFCC had on the strength of a tip-off by a whistle-blower, raided Yakubu’s guest house situated at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna State in 2017 and discovered the sum of $9.7million and £74,000 which he hid in a fireproof safe inside the house.”

Falana explained further, “Between 2005 and 2006, a panel of enquiry instituted by the federal government found that 197 defendants who were tried, convicted and jailed for drug trafficking were not found in any correctional centre in the country.

“At the end of their trials, members of a syndicate made of prosecution and defence lawyers, court clerks and warders collected heavy bribes from the convicts and allowed them to escape imprisonment.

“It was found that the convicts returned to the nefarious business.

I took up the matter with the authorities of the NDLEA, who assured me that the convicts would be arrested and made to serve the prison terms. But that was the end of the story.

“On July 10, 2015, the then Chief Judge of Anambra State, the Honourable Justice Umeadi, visited all prisons in the state for the purpose of jail delivery to decongest the prisons. His Lordship disclosed that some prison inmates have no records in the prisons. The scandal was well reported at the material time.

“Since inmates are committed to prisons by warrants issued

by Judges and Magistrates, the authorities of the correctional centre are challenged to explain who authorised the 'imprisonment' of inmates without records.

“Awaiting trial inmates constitute not less than 75 per cent of the prison population in the country.

Majority of the inmates, including convicts, are poor people. The few rich people and members of the ruling class that are jailed are usually granted pardon by the president and state governors in exercise of their powers under section 175 of the Constitution.

“Based on the recommendation of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Council of State has just approved the pardon of a number of convicted persons, including two former state governors that were jailed for laundering billions of naira.

Pyrates Confraternity Condemns Pardon to Nyame, Dariye

The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) declared that Nyame and Dariye were undeserving of the presidential pardon.

The group said the pardon had made mockery of the anti-graft law, stressing that it is manifestly undeserving, blatantly discriminatory and distasteful.

Furthermore, it said the Council of State let the nation down by not rejecting the recommendation of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy to the former governors, adding that the pardon has effectively killed the anti-graft war.

The NAS Capoon, Mr. Abiola Owoaje, in a statement titled, “Presidential Pardon for Corrupt Ex-governors: Buhari’s death knell for the anti-graft war,” and made available to THISDAY in Yenagoa,

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BREAKING OF FAST WITH THE PRESIDENT...

L-R: Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma; Minister of Foreign Affairs , Geoffrey Onyeama and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, during the breaking of fast with the President at the PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI Presidential Villa, Abuja ...yesterday

FG Signs Agreement to Host 2022 Global Tourism Conference

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The federal government has signed an agreement to host the first Global Conference on Cultural Tourism and Creative Industry in Lagos from November 14-17, 2022.

Minister of Information and

Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, signed the agreement yesterday in Madrid, Spain, with the SecretaryGeneral of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili.

He assured that the country would put together a trailblazing event.

He described the signing of the agreement as the clearest indication yet of Nigeria's commitment to hosting a successful conference, officially entitled '1st UNWTO Global Conference on Linking Tourism, Culture and Creative Industries: Pathways to Recovery and Inclusive Development'.

The minister said the conference would be held at the National Theatre, Lagos which is currently being renovated at a cost of $100 million, under a partnership between the Federal Government and the Bankers' Committee/Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said the conference would

form a part of the events to formally declare open the National Theatre, the iconic edifice which is undergoing its first renovation in over four decades, in addition to witnessing the construction of new hubs for fashion, information technology, film and music.

He said the global conference

CSO Hails Lagos GAC Members, Congratulates Sanwo-Olu on Second Term Bid A Civil Society Organisation (CSO) has hailed the endorsement of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for second term by Lagos State Governance Advisory Council (GAC), the apex decision-making body of the State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The organisation welcomed the body’s decision to endorse Sanwo-Olu for another shot at the gubernatorial ticket as constitutionally required of him ahead of next year’s general elections in the country.

In a statement yesterday and signed by the Coordinator of the group, Mr. Rasaq Olokoba, it stated that the GAC stamp on Sanwo-Olu’s second term bid was a testament to the group’s regular public pronouncements about the personality of the Governor and the quality of service he is rendering to the people of Lagos State.

He said: ‘’We have maintained in our various communication that the present Governor of Lagos State is a round peg in a round

hole. It is impossible to satisfy everybody but you must be seen to be doing your best under any circumstance and that’s exactly what Governor Sanwo-Olu has been doing since he assumed office as Lagos State Governor.”

Olokoba further stated that the GAC members must have been impressed by the sterling performance of Sanwo-Olu, which made them, like millions of Lagos residents love him.

He said the governor’s infrastructural renewal, completion of abandoned projects and revamping of the health sector

as well as the educational sector are visible achievements for every Lagosian to see, saying this may have also added to the reasons the performing governor was allowed to continue his great work.

He added that continuity was key, noting therefore that the decision of the apex body of APC in Lagos would further restore confidence to the business community and corporate Lagos.

“We are aware that this governor has not departed from the economic blue print of Lagos State.

He represents the brightest and most creative minds in politics,

policy-making and governance the State has produced and he has been able to stabilise the State of Aquatic Splendour in the face of prevailing economic challenges. “in the light of the above, we congratulate the Lagos GAC for a well thought out decision to allow Governor Babajide SanwoOlu continue for another term of four years in office. We also congratulate the Governor and urge him not to depart from the path of progressive governance, which has earned him the trust and confidence of the people.”

Olokoba said.

would affirm Nigeria’s status as the hub of the Creative Industry in Africa, and help reposition the cultural tourism and creative industry as the engine of growth not just for Nigeria or Africa but indeed all countries of the world.

Mohammed said the conference would boost the creative industries, which according to the UN generate annual revenues of $2.25 trillion and account for 30 million jobs worldwide.

He commended the UNWTO for coming up with the conference and also for giving Nigeria the hosting rights.

Also, the UNWTO SecretaryGeneral, Mr. Pololikashvili, assured that the UN agency would immediately kick-start a global publicity campaign for the event as part of efforts to ensure its success.

The signing was witnessed by the Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, Mr. Demola Seriki, and the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mr. Folorunsho Coker, among others.

Peter Obi Pledges to Fix Nigeria from ‘Total Collapse’ Amaechi: Only One with Courage, Experience Can Lead Nigeria Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki One of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirants in the 2023 general elections and former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday assured that he has the capacity to fix the country, “from total collapse” if elected President in 2023.

Obi who met with PDP delegates and other officials of the party, in Abakaliki, explained that Nigerians were not in need of a consensus candidate but a problem solver that has what it takes to fix the country.

He added that Nigerians were looking forward to having somebody that could make Nigeria productive and pull Nigerians out of poverty.

The former Governor said: “Nigeria is insecure; Nigeria is not unified and Nigeria is unproductive and it is collapsing.

"Going by the enormity of Nigeria's problems, they are not looking for a consensus candidate, they are looking forward to somebody who will start solving their problems.

"The firm duty of a leader is to be a problem solver. Nigerians are looking forward to somebody that can make Nigeria productive

and start getting Nigerians to be pulled out of poverty. That's what Nigerians are looking for, not consensus candidate. So, I want to correct that.

"Even the Northerners; everybody has a problem in Nigeria. Nigeria as it is today is insecure, Nigeria is not unified and Nigeria is unproductive.

"It is collapsing. Nigerians are looking for a fixer. Somebody who will start creating wealth, not about where he is. Where you come from is important, because some people can say we are looking for equity and justification, which is necessary in a diverse country.

"But most importantly, we want someone who will start creating wealth in the Nigeria. You need to check my track record. Am a trader.

I have operated in the corporate world. I have been a Governor.

That's the record you need to check.

“You don't need to ask me. Just check my trajectory. And I have been everywhere in the World and I believe I can fix Nigeria.

"I maintain that PDP has array of candidates who are qualified and competent and everything. But within even competent people, in Serie One leagues, they are still the best."

Meets Ondo, Ekiti delegates, canvasses support

The Minister of Transport and presidential hopeful, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has declared that only a man with courage and relevant experience could pilot the affairs of Nigeria at this difficult time in the country.

Amaechi stated this, when he separately visited the government and delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo and Ekiti States on Monday, to seek their support.

The minister, who also visited the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, stated that experience in governance mattered, but courage was required to run the affairs of a country like Nigeria, and had both.

“What I come with is not just experience, I come with courage.

That’s what you need. You need a man of courage, a man that is sincere, you don’t need a doublespeak person. You need an honest Nigerian, and I bring that to you free. All I need from you is your support.

“They’ll come (other aspirants), they’ll tell you the same old stories.

What is new? All of us who are

running, we must present to you what is different. What makes you different from the rest? I happen to be the only Nigerian running now, that has governed a state where there was militancy.

“When I took over in Rivers State, they were kidnapping two months old children and I couldn’t sleep. I was very worried, but I understood that we needed to deal with it. That’s the reason why I’m running. I’m running to bring that experience to bear, because I understand what it means to be hungry, I understand what it is to manage hunger and manage poverty to wealth,” he said.

Amaechi urged the delegates to always ask ‘how’ whenever politicians or aspirants come to them with promises, seeking their support.

His words: “One question you should always ask politicians is ‘how?’ like everybody is saying now. ‘I will create employment.’

How do you create employment?

They will all come and say, ‘I will create wealth,’ your question should be ‘how?’ That’s how to catch a politician.

“If given that opportunity, I come with a wealth of experience, we’ve

passed through this country. I know literally all the Speakers you’ve called here, they’re my colleagues.

They’re not just people I hear about, they’re people I’ve dealt with, even governors.

“I was Speaker at 34, I was governor at 42, I became Minister at 50. if God blesses me, I’ll be President at 58. I said this because, to the youths, I understand your phase and I identify with you completely.

To our elders, I also understand what it means to pass through the wheel, because I passed through all the stages in the political development of our country, and with all respect to all other aspirants, I appear to be the most experienced of them all.

“I’ve been governor, Speaker and Minister. If you look at the history of Nigeria, you can’t escape me, you can say there have been so many governors, yes some of us have been governors; you can say there are so many Speakers, yes some of us have been speakers. But there’s no one Director-General of a campaign that removed a sitting president, only me, the first and only one yet.

“At a time when we could have

been taken for granted, we were able to surmount the incumbency and supplant ourselves. It wasn’t an easy fight, it was quite difficult, but we won. I’ve been Chairman of Governors Forum twice and Chairman of speakers forum twice, so tell me why I’m not the most experienced?”

Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa said, Amaechi’s experience was not in doubt as well as his performance, and hailed his courage to aspire to the presidency, while assuring that the state and its delegates would participate strongly at the primaries.

On the other hand, the Ekiti monarch, Oba Adejugbe while welcoming Amaechi t said, “We know you are a distinguished Nigerian. Nigeria is lucky this time around that we have people like you in the race, and I thank you for the sympathy with the traditional institution. I pray that we visit the insecurity situation in the country, so that the atmosphere will be conducive enough for us to conduct a credible election. Chief Amaechi, you’re welcome to our environment. We vouch for you, and we know what you stand for.”

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FLAG OFFICER COMMANDING AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE, YENAGOA...

L-R: Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo; Governor Douye Diri and the new Flag Officer Commanding Central Naval Command, Yenagoa, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas, during the latter’s courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa…yesterday

2023: Buhari, Adamu will Determine APC Presidential Candidate, Says Women Leader Declares party won’t give ticket to anyone not women-friendly Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja In what seemed like a strategic hint of what to come, the National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Beta Edu, yesterday, said President

Muhammadu Buhari, the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdulahi Adamu and some other party leaders, would decide the choice candidate of the party for the presidential run.

Edu, who spoke at the national

secretariat of the party in Abuja, when she paid a solidarity visit to the women wing of the Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Team, said all the presidential aspirants coming out from the ruling APC were all good and above average.

We’re Retooling Politics in Edo to Impact Lives, Engender Devt, Says Obaseki Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his government has taken deliberate steps to retool politics in the state to build public trust and engender sustainable growth and development.

The governor reassured that his government would sustain reforms and programmes to improve the livelihoods of the majority of Edo people and ensure economic prosperity for the state.

In a statement yesterday, he noted that though his administration inherited a state that was essentially under the control of various non-state actors, the state government under his leadership has been able to open up the political space to a broad range of players to the chagrin of the godfathers.

Obaseki said: “In Edo, we had to take deliberate and intentional steps to retool our politics to engender development. This has led to the introduction of people-centric policies and programmes which have won our administration significant public trust.”

He further stated, “Following this, we were able to open up the political space to a broad range of players to the chagrin of the godfathers. These patrons of the old order thrived in the exclusion of the majority from participating in the political process.

For them, the fewer the actors in the system, the more relevant they were and the more they were able to take the process hostage.

“With the opening up of the political system, we embarked on institutional reforms to enhance the capacity of the government to deliver public services. This was done by enhancing the work environment, ensuring regular payment of salaries and pensions, improving compensation packages, and creating better conditions of service for workers.”

The governor continued: “We also revamped the public service to cut back on waste and with this, we were able to deliver more projects

with less resources than would have been required.

“Having built public trust, we had to open up the business environment which led to robust partnership with the private sector and international development organisations. With their support, we have been able to substantially curb the menace of human trafficking and irregular migration, which once pillaged our most valuable resources – our young

people.

“We rolled out infrastructure projects in a fair and equitable manner that engenders a sense of inclusion among the people across the various sections of the state.”

“We were able to win the trust of the electorate in Edo State because we had focused on ideals that have come to define our politics and through which we have made the most impact in their lives,” Obaseki added.

She, therefore, said the women wing of the party would negotiate with all the presidential aspirants to secure their commitments and what the women stood to gain if given the opportunity to lead Nigeria.

"The aspirants that are coming out for the presidential tickets in APC are not in any way even close to average; they are high above and are far above board. I have not seen one that is not good.

"Now, as a party, we will come together under the leadership of the President Muhammadu Buhari and of course, the national chairman and other leadership structures of our party to decide who will be the candidate of our dear party.

"Before that decision is made, there is something we must do immediately. If indeed you are supporting a candidate in APC, you are supporting Governor Yahaya Bello, you must go out now and begin the door to door mobilisation

for registration. Go door to door and begin the campaign for voter registration," she said.

Edu, however, declared that the ruling party would not hand its ticket to any presidential candidate that was not friendly to women.

Her words: “But one thing is certain, APC will not give its tickets to a presidential candidate, who will not favour women. We know our president and all the glass ceilings he has broken; you know our party chairman and all the glass ceilings he has broken for women – giving us free forms.”

Earlier, Director, Women Mobilisation, Hope 23, Yahaya Bello Campaign Organisation, Ms. Zara Onyinye, said a candidate like Bello, who supported women would definitely stand the chance of winning the election, because women formed the highest number of voters across Nigeria.

Onyinye said: "That person, who has shown that he has the

women in his heart, he has love for women, he creates enabling environment for women, he gave them that opportunity to sell and that person is Yahaya Bello and all the women have shown that he has indicated interest as the person, who supported them, that same person they're going to support and so that stands him out of all the aspirants going for this election."

Also, Secretary to Kogi State Government, Folashade Ayoade, said Bello loved women and cared for them in his government.

"I need to just let you know of the fact that Yahaya Bello loves women; he gives us a place of honour. In Kogi State, as we stand from 2016 to date, I have been the SSG – a woman, not just that, the head of service, has been a woman. We have a pioneer pension commission, in all the 21 local government areas, all the vice chairmen are women," She added.

2023: Uzodinma Flays Afe Babalola's Call for Interim Govt Says it's an invitation to anarchy Discloses arrest of two over killing of INEC official Deji Elumoye in Abuja Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, yesterday, dismissed the suggestion by a renowned legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola, for the setting up of an interim government at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari's tenure in May, 2023 and described it as a call to anarchy.

Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Babalola, had at a media parley in Ado-Ekiti on Monday, called for the suspension of the 2023 general election and the setting up of an interim administration to run the country.

He premised his call on the need for a new constitution that would deliver the country from falling beyond redemption, adding that the current almost bankrupt state of the nation’s economy and other crises plaguing the country, had been as a result of the faults in the 1999 Constitution currently in use.

However, reacting to the development while speaking with newsmen after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, Uzodinma said the 1999 Constitution did not have any provision for such options, adding that an interregnum would throw

the country into anarchy, because the constitution did not provide for it.

According to him: "By May 29, if there is no elected government, our Constitution has not provided for an interregnum. There shouldn't be a gap, otherwise, you are creating room for anarchy.

"What will be the process of selecting the interim government, because after May 29, the president may not have constitutional powers to function as a president anymore?

So, I don't think we will decide to abandon our constitution.

"Constitution is like a bible.

Some of us, who are Christians, the Bible is the manager of our faith.

So, the Constitution should be the instrument guiding our actions as a country.

"If you think there is an opinion you think that is worthy to be canvassed, superior to what is in the Nigerian Constitution, such opinion should be taken to the National Assembly and they will, through due process, amend our Constitution to factor in such an opinion.”

On last week's killing of an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official in Ihitte Uboma, the governor said

the attack was originally targeted at the correctional facility at Okigwe, which had already been heavily fortified as the plot to attack the facility had been uncovered.

He, however, disclosed that two of the criminals that attacked the INEC officials, who were in the process of voter registration exercise, had already been arrested and were helping security operatives in their investigations.

His words: "The incident that happened that involved INEC staff, regrettably, INEC was not the target. We had the intels that the Correctional Center facility in Okigwe was to be attacked by bandits.

"We recorded their conversation and fortified the Correctional Center for safety. And true to it, the bandits, approaching Okigwe, saw how fortified the place is, tried to escaped through Ihitte Uboma and ran into INEC staff, when they were doing continuous voters registration. It was out of that anger and frustration, they (bandits) attacked them.

"You must have heard that two of the bandits have been arrested and are helping the Nigerian police and Imo State government to do a very thorough investigation and

until that is done, I will not say much on that."

While calling on politicians to play politics without bitterness, Uzodinma said, "I am no longer in doubt on those sponsoring banditry in Nigeria" and also appealed to Nigerians to be more patriotic and place national interest above any other personal consideration.

He said, "On the issue of the sponsor of banditry by APC, I want us to look at the issue of banditry in Nigeria holistically. If anybody's telling you that the government in power is sponsoring banditry, how and why?

"How can anybody even think of a government sponsoring banditry in a country that they are in charge.

If that is correct, assuming that is a possibility, how many states governed by opposition parties are under this kind of attack that we hear from Kaduna every day.

"That we get from Imo State every day, that we get from Ebonyi State.

So, if we are the ones, why are we attacking our own states? Why are we going to be enemies and opposition to our own governments?

Among those that have been killed and houses that were attacked, how many of those buildings belong to opposition party?

"Am I supposed to be attacking burning down my own house? Or do you think Ebonyi governor will burn down his own house? Or the Kaduna governor burn down facilities in his government? So, we should be able to ask questions, not only as media practitioners but as Nigerian citizens. I just use this medium to call on Nigerian politicians to play politics without bitterness and stop letting blood here and there in the name of looking for power.”

On why he met with President Buhari, the governor said, "I got the approval of Mr. President to commission the Owerri-Orlu Road and the Owerri-Okigwe Road next month. The contractor is a world class contractor, the roads almost 95% complete. By next month they will all be completed, ready for commissioning by Mr. President and Mr. President has graciously approved that he will be there to commission the roads.

"I also used the opportunity to brief him on the state of affairs in my state, particularly, as it has to do with the recent resurgence of banditry and the efforts we have made to contain the situation,” he said.

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MEMORIAL HOSTEL BUILT BY AGBALLAH...

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (left) with the State Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Ugochukwu Agballah, during the memorial service of Agballah's parents and dedication of 'Petrus and Chianuka Memorial Hostel' built by Agballah and donated to Mater Dei Secondary School, Udi Station, Udi Local Government Area of the state...yesterday.

2023: Wike, Ayu Banter over PDP Presidential Ticket Rivers gov: It's payback time, I fought Secondus to make you NWC members Party’s chair: No, we won't grant you this request, we’ll conduct transparent primary You will not make it to presidency, Ganduje taunts Wike Tambuwal submits forms, says he is a unifier Ikpeazu: I'm an Igbo man who can’t be held down by geography Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano Rivers State Governor and presidential hopeful, Nyesom Wike, and the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, yesterday, traded tackles, when Wike told the Ayu-led National Working Committee (NWC), to make him the party’s presidential candidate as payback since he fought the former national chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, for their sake.

But in a swift reaction, Ayu responded, saying, "No, we won't do that. Rather, we will conduct a transparent presidential primary election as we did in Jos in 1998."

According to Wike, who came to the PDP national office to inform the NWC of his aspiration and manifesto, "When I was fighting the former NWC, some of you were supporting them. Now, all of you are here.

"One good turn deserves another.

So, you people should also payback, because you didn't go to campaign, but now I am coming to campaign.

So, payback. But please do us the favor to conduct a free and fair election, that will be an advantage for us to win in 2023.”

Continuing, he said, "To show you how serious I am, I did not come here to negotiate for vicepresident. I came here to win this election and I will win this election on May 28/29.

"I did not buy Senate forms or told somebody to buy form and hold it for me. No! It is only one form I bought and that is for the Presidency of Nigeria. I am not going to run for any other election.

"PDP requires people like us to face APC. Everybody in this country knows me, because of my views on national issues. Nobody can say I don't know whether Wike will do this or do that. When I see issues, I say my view and I am not going to run away from it.

"The other day because I did not attend the Council of States Meeting, the Presidency said why was I condemning the pardoning of some people. I don't need to be in the Council of States Meeting.

“You told this country that you are fighting corruption, (real or not) but now, we know that is not real.

One of the things you must do for Nigeria is to fight corruption.

"Fine, people were charged to court. From the FCT High Court,

down to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court. This is the same government that is criticising the judiciary of not supporting them to fight corruption. People were jailed and whether they committed the offence or not, as far as the court said they committed.

“Because of election, you went and released them. What signal is that? Your anti-corruption fight is fake. I told them to disband EFCC and ICPC, because there is no need, if they can take the whole energy to prosecute and at the day, the same government that say...These are things we should not allow.

"Of all the aspirants, nobody should talk about sentiments, nobody should say look at the way his face is. You don't need my face. All we need is to win election. Can Wike win this election for PDP? The answer is yes. You don't need to listen to what the elites are saying. Who are they talking about at the grassroots? It is Wike, because in this country, everybody has seen what I have done in Rivers State."

He said party leaders across the country could not deny that he invited them to come and commission projects, adding: "This is the only opportunity PDP has. If we lose this election in 2023 (God forbid). The only way God can forbid is give the man, who has the capacity to win election the ticket.

"I am courageous, fearless and I have capacity. If you allow me fly the flag of the party, which I know by the grace of God, I will be the candidate, and I become President, one of the things I will do is to address the disconnect between party and the government," he submitted.

Responding, Ayu said, "Let me assure you that this NWC will run credible elections, which we started since 1999. I want to assure you that there will be no foul play, we will do better than what was done in the last national convention. We will try as much as possible to make it happen.

"I want to assure you that once you emerge as candidate of the party or whoever emerged, we will do everything within our power to ensure that PDP wins in 2023.

"On the hand, you want a level play field from the NWC. On the other hand you want the NWC to canvas vote for you and vote for you to emerge as the presidential candidate. You have to choose one,

you can’t have the two.

“But let assure you, this NWC will try to uphold the tradition of the PDP, that tradition since 1999 is running very credible, transparent conventions starting from Jos to the last one that produced this National Working Committee.

"I want to assure you, that there will be no foul play, no manipulation, we will certainly do better than what you did in October last year. We will hold an absolutely transparent convention. At that state, we will try to be the INEC of the Peoples Democratic Party, not be partisan. We’ll try as much as possible to make sure that every member of the National Working Committee works for the party.

“But I want to also assure you, that once you emerge, as the candidate or the party, whoever emerges from that point on, we will be aggressively partisan, because you want the party to win the election. We will do everything in our power by way of canvassing for votes from Nigerian people to ensure that the PDP wins the next election, because a victory by PDP candidate is a victory for everybody.

"And it in that light that I particularly like your submission, when you you made it clear, that win or lose, you will never leave the party. You will work for the party. You’ve done it before and we are very sure that you will do

it again.

“Not only did you say that, you also spoke on issues. You applied your agenda in summary form, you outlined those things you want to see the party to do. We’ve never attacked an individual and that is what we want from all our presidential aspirants that they should stick to issues.”

Ayu cautioned against personal attacks among the presidential aspirants, saying, "You should not attack each other. By attacking each other, you undermine the party, because if you give to opposition the nursery ammunition to attack us, when the candidate emerged...

"Secondly, when you attack yourselves, you’re undermining your candidate also, because if you emerge as the candidate of the party, you need every aspirant and every member of the party to canvass for you. In many parts of the country, you alone cannot win elections. You need every member of the party to work for the party,” Ayu said.

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, who introduced Wike, said, "I am an Igbo man, who cannot be held down by geography.

I will stand for competence and supports any man with focus. "

You Will Not Make it to Presidency, Ganduje Taunts Wike

In a related development, Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar has teased his Rivers State counterpart, Governor Nyesom Wike, saying the presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not make it to the Presidency.

Ganduje while teasing Wike in Kano, said, “you (Wike) are in a bad party,” alluding to the PDP. The governor added, “In a democracy, if we all belong to one party then there is no democracy and I foresee good efforts in your presidential bids, but you will lose, but you will be a good loser and live to fight a good fight.”

Ganduje spoke when Wike paid him a courtesy call at Kano Government House.

He told his visitor that he was particularly impressed by the diversity of the Wike Presidential team, adding that it clearly demonstrated his belief in one united Nigeria.

Ganduje explained that “Party differences should not make us stupid, our diversity is an advantage, even though we failed to utilise our diversity, each one of us must try in his own bid to change the status quo.”

Earlier in his address, Wike said, “Nigeria from wherever prism you choose to look at it, our great country Nigeria is bleeding, and certainly requires the collective efforts to recover its soul.”

He explained that desperate situations need tough, discipline man line him to lead the country out of the wood adding that he has the necessary wherewithal to champion the course.

“There is no gainsaying that the country is not having it right, and there should be a desperate effort to save the nation, and by which I’m out to right the wrongs,” he added.

He told Ganduje that he would step down his ambition if Ganduje was in the race to salvage Nigeria.

“If Ganduje is running for the Presidency some us will quickly withdraw our ambitions, but thank God he is not running and I’m sure he will help me to make it,” Wike charged his colleague.

Tambuwal Submits Forms, Says He is a Unifier

Meanwhile, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, yesterday, submitted his presidential and expression of interest forms.

It was submitted by his campaign office.

Leader of the team, Dr. Nicholas Msheliza, said Tambuwal was the actual unifier, who can be trusted to rescue the nation from the present crisis, adding that the consensus idea was a good thing and prayed that PDP members should encourage consensus.

2023 Election: Senior Advocate Cautions Politicians against Violence, Bloodletting Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Ahead of 2023 general elections, a constitutional lawyer, Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali (SAN) has called on politicians in the country to shun all forms of violence that could lead to bloodletting in the country.

The legal luminary made the remarks in Ilorin, Kwara State, during his annual Iftar session organised for the members of the State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) held on Monday.

Ali explained: "Nigeria has witnessed many bloodshed due to incessant killings of innocent people, kidnapping, banditry among others and this must not happen again

during the forthcoming general elections in the country."

He added: "I want Nigeria politicians to play the game according to the rules and shun all forms of actions that may lead to bloodletting in the country."

Furthermore, Ali stressed that politicians should not see the game as a do or die affair adding that, "they should abhor all forms of comments and utterances that may create violence.

"Violence doesn't bring positive development and the politicians in the country should always behave in accordance to Allah's will and work as brothers and sisters so as to add values to the socio well being of the electorate."

Ali who urged them not to see their ambitions as a desperate one noted that, "Allah gives power to whom He pleases and avoids what can lead to the breaking down of law and order."

The legal icon stated further that the period of the Ramadan fast should be a period of sober reflection, adding that every individual must be their brother's keeper.

He maintained that, "Allah preaches kindness, assisting one another and abhors evil things".

Ali, therefore said he would continue to use his wealth to support less privileged people, saying that, " We came to this world with nothing and we will go back with nothing."

He also commended the journalists in the state for promoting peace and development appealing to them not to relent in their efforts at moving the nation forward through their pens.

Also in his remarks at the event, the state Chairman of NUJ, Abdulateef Lanre Ahmed lauded the benevolence attitude of the legal icon all times.

He said the legal luminary has been a pillar of success of many people in the state and advised other wealthy individuals to emulate his kindness so as to add more values to the society.

Ahmed therefore prayed to Allah to continue to keep the legal icon for the services of humanity.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWS

2023: Group Wants EFCC, INEC to Monitor Campaign Spendings The Electoral Hub, an advocacy group, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) anti-graft and financial institutions to monitor the 2023 campaign spendings.

The Electoral Hub, is an organ of the Initiative for Research, Innovation and Advocacy in Development (IRIAD).

Director of IRIAD, Electoral Hub, Ms Princess HammanObels, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja said that the call was to ensure compliance to the law and ensure a fair playing ground for all.

Hamman-Obels said the cooperation of the anti-graft agency will ensure that election results are not determined by the amount of money a political party or a candidate spends during campaigns.

“Although money is germane in the conduct of campaigns, this does not warrant the excessive deployment and vile use of money in the electoral process thus, contravening acceptable ethical standards.

“In the 2022 Electoral Act, expenditure ceilings, a presidential candidate is now

at liberty to spend up to five billion naira while governorship candidates can spend up to one billion naira.

“For the Senate and House of Representatives candidates, they

can spend up to a maximum of N100 million and N70 million respectively.

“Compliance with these regulations as well as the monitoring of all sources of

funds accruing to political parties is placed on the shoulders of INEC by the constitution.

“This campaign ceiling for candidates is actually a lot for vulnerable groups like women

,youths and persons with disabilities because traditionally or socially , they do not have access to resources yet some candidates overshoot it.”

Hamman -Obels said that

for a long time because of the patriarchal nature of the society ,men have been controlling resources and their “old boys” network make them access resources easily.

NEW TRUCKS FOR ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY...

L-R: Hon. Razaq Owolabi; Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Alhaji Abdulrazaq Jiddah, and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Alhaji Folorunsho Abdulrazaq; during the inspection of newly procured trucks for the Ministry of Environment in Ilorin…yesterday

Chrisland: Head Teacher, APC NEC Meets Today, to Consider Options for Presidential Primaries Abuja and it is expected and approve a timetable for all our decisions at the NWC Parents to Report at SCID Panti Adedayo Akinwale inAbuja Hotel, to commence by 10 am. the various primaries for the meetings of last week and Rebecca Ejifoma The Lagos State Police Command, yesterday invited all parties involved in the alleged sexual abuse of a 10-year-old primary six pupil of Chrisland Schools (name withheld) to report at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti.

The parties include Leader of the Teachers Delegation and Head Teacher, G.I. Azike alongside parents of the female pupil allegedly drugged and abused in the World School Games in Dubai.

Although they were scheduled

to meet at the SCID yesterday, the meeting was been postponed to today (Wednesday) morning after the school said it got the invitation late.

The Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this to THISDAY that all parties involved in the case were directed to report to give a written statement, as further questioning will be done.

According to the school management, the female pupil was among 76 pupils that represented the school in Dubai between March 8 and 14 this year.

Five Kidnapped in Anambra on Easter Monday after Attending Wedding Party David-Chyddy ElekeinAwka At least five persons have been kidnapped by unidentified men wielding guns in Anambra State on Easter Monday.

THISDAY learnt that the five persons who attended the traditional marriage ceremony of a cousin to the Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Sly Ezeokenwa, were on their way back home when they were kidnapped at gunpoint.

An alert message by the commissioner, which was made available to our correspondent, stated that the victims were kidnapped around Akpo

community in Aguata Local Government Area at about 10p.m. on Monday, and that no contact has been established with them or the kidnappers.

Ezeokenwa wrote: “The following friends of my cousin Sampson Okafor, Chidozie Eze, Franklin Osuuagu, Chijioke Uduba, and Benedict Ozoagwu, who visited for his traditional marriage on Monday were kidnapped at gunpoint at about 10p.m. last night in Udo Village, Akpo (Aguata LGA) along Akpo-Nkpologwu Road about 300 metres to Akpo Junction. We are yet to establish any contact with the victims.”

Rivers, FIDA Denies 50 Cases of Sexual Abuses in Schools Blessing Ibunge inPortHarcourt

The Rivers State Government and the International Federation of Women Lawyers, have denied reports of teachers sexually abusing 50 pupils and students in Rivers State’s public schools.

Speaking, the Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Professor Kaniye Ebeku, said the report was false and a fake news with malicious intent.

The report, which was credited to the International Federation of Women

Lawyers, quoted the Chairperson of FIDA in Rivers State, Adata Bio-Briggs, as saying that between January and April 2022, over 50 cases of teachers defiling their students had been reported and charged to court.

The report said some of the recent cases were recorded in Ahoada, Elelenwo and Rumuokuta areas of the state, even as she commended the police for promptly prosecuting many of the cases, which she described as disheartening.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) will today holds its emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in attendance.

However, like what was obtainable in the past, the national secretariat of the party won’t hold today’s meeting due to ongoing renovation.

The meeting will be held at the Congress Hall of Transcorp

The NEC is expected to consider options for presidential primaries for the 2023 elections.

However, a reliable source within the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, who pleaded for anonymity told THISDAY that the committee will present its decision to the NEC for ratification.

The NWC of the party met yesterday at the party national secretariat in Abuja to consider

elections of party flag bearers in the 2023 general election.

THISDAY also gathered that the NWC has concluded on the cost for the expression of interest and nomination forms for various offices from the House of Assembly, National Assembly, the Governors and President.

The source said: “Because the NEC is the highest decision making organ of the party,

that of today (Tuesday) will be presented to the NEC for approval tomorrow (Wednesday).

This will form the main agenda for the meeting.”

“We have made our recommendations. It is for the NEC to approve the various costs pegged to various positions. Mind you, the NWC has approved free nomination forms for all female aspirants, irrespective of the position they want to contest.”

Ben Akak: Why I Want to be Governor of Cross River Businessman and philanthropist, Ben Akak has said that his passion for service delivery and desire to deepen the job creation efforts of the incumbent, Professor Ben Ayade, are at the heart of his aspiration to be Cross River state’s next governor.

Speaking after holding consultations with Governor Ayade over his intention to succeed him, Akak said that as an investor in the state his destiny was tied to Cross River and will deliver if

elected governor.

“I love Cross River State. I’m very passionate about the state. I think my destiny is tied to this state. All my businesses and all my investments are here in Cross River. Everything is here, so there is no way I will not want the state to work because if Cross River state goes down, I go down too,” he said.

On continuity and governor Ayade’s achievements in areas of job creation and industrialisation,

Akak admitted that the governor would be leaving behind a big shoe but promised he would wear it and continue from where Ayade will stop.

His words: “I’ll tell Cross Riverians the truth the way it is and that is, Governor Ayade’s shoe is big, that’s the truth. It’s a big shoe but we’ll wear the shoe and it will fit. We will wear the shoe in a such a way that Cross Riverians will be impressed and

proud of us” As a youth himself, he pledged to allow young people to express themselves if elected governor as “our present governor has done”.

Akak, who is so far one of the youngest politicians to have formally joined the 2023 Cross River governorship race, said that as a job creator, an employer of labour and a manager of men and resources, he was eminently qualified for the state’s topmost political position.

Police Arrest Two Teenage Robbery Suspects, 12 Others in Ondo Fidelis David in Akure

The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a three-man robbery suspects who have been terrorising residents of Owo Local Government Area of the state.

The suspects are Mr. John Samuel (18), Mr. Tersoo Godwin (18) and Mr. Vincent Pascal 21 years.

A statement made available

to journalists yesterday in Akure by the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP. Funmilayo Odunlami, said that items recovered from the suspects included two axes; four masks, a pack of weed and jewelries.

She noted that trio was among the 14 suspects that were arrested by the police command since the beginning of April 2022.

The statement reads: “On April 11, 2022, at about 10.00 hours, a case of armed robbery was reported at ‘A’ Division, Owo, that on April 10, 2022, a three-man gang attacked one Mukaila Bello ‘m,’ aged 54 along Ikare Road, David Camp and also collected the sum of Two Hundred and Three Thousand Naira Only (N203,000.00) cash from one Vincent John

Yohanna.

“Upon the receipt of the information, detectives took the battle to Ashawo Camp, Amurin via Owo area and arrested the three suspects.”

She explained that the Command also arrested a 27-year-old man, Mr. Owolabi Abiodun, and a 23-year-old Mr. Benedict Ifeanyi, for impersonating as military officers.

Ganduje Rejects Resignation of Chief of Staff, Three Commissioners Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has rejected the resignation of his Chief of Staff, Mr. Ali Haruna Makoda, and three other commissioners and directed them to continue carrying out their duties in their respective ministries.

Those affected were the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa; Commissioner for Budget, Mr. Nura Muhammad Dankadai, and the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Ali Haruna Makoda, and Commissioner of Education, Mr. Sanusi Kiru.

It was reliably gathered that the rejection of their resignation was

meant to douse political tension in their respective constituencies.

It was reported that Dankadai was eyeing the seat of the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Honorable Alhassan Ado Doguwa, while Tsanyawa was said to be eyeing the seat of a House of Representatives Member Representing Tsanyawa/Kunchi

Federal Constituency, Mr. Sani Bala, while Mr. Sanusi Kiru was believed to be eyeing Kiru/Bebeji constituency.

Also, a statement that was released yesterday by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ganduje, Mr. Abba Anwar, revealed that the governor has approved the resignation of seven commissioners.

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WEDNESDAY, ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

BACK PAGE CONTINUATION CONFRONTING THE MENACE OF OIL THEFT vandals would not have enough time to inflict maximum damage. This idea was muted at the presentation venue and did not get to top management of NNPC at that time because of the associated high cost to deploy such technology. That costly decision to mute the idea did not consider the long term cost- benefit implications. If that technology was deployed at that material time, the country would have saved more than $20bn or more to date. Apart from the long term cost saving, the technological experience in managing the pipeline surveillance and security over the years would have been extended to our railway and road networks for same purpose.

This 1995 technology has advanced to modern and faster technology with many adds on (e.g. use of HD video cameras to capture footage needed in identifying and persecuting the criminal bunch in court, SMS, long distance drones, cloud storage, satellites, etc.).

It is still not too late if we prioritise the need to deploy this technology. The money to acquire this technology can be generated if we can significantly reduce the huge wastages from the three tiers of government which are too numerous to mention here. The government can reengineer its processes to save cost and improve efficiency in delivery of their goals.

In 201, the GULF OF GUINEA ENERGY SECURITY STRATEGIC (GGESS) INITIATIVE was interested in the curbing of Oil theft in Nigeria. The UK Government (Foreign & Commonwealth Office – FCO) offered technical assistance to address the problem of illegally obtained (stolen) crude oils in the Niger Delta. The FCO engaged and funded University of Plymouth (UoP) to develop techniques capable of resolving the problem.

The Federal Government of Nigeria directed NNPC to join in the initiative.

NNPC commissioned its roburst Research & Development Division based in Port Harcourt to work with University of Plymouth, UK on identification of Nigerian Crude anywhere in the world which will discourage theft of Nigerian crude. FINGERPRITING TECHNOLOGY is

one of the methods considered to address this menace. Crude Oil fingerprinting ( like Crude Oil signature) is an analytical technique to identify key biomarkers in CRUDE or its PRODUCTS or we can call it Hydrocarbon Forensic Geochemistry. The basic principle of the technique is that Crude Oil from different reservoirs have its unique fingerprint and information could be used for Oil Spill identification, source identification of crude, identification of formations that are actively producing, solve production allocation problems.

At the end of the day, the fingerprint of most Nigerian crude was almost completed and further works were necessary to identify Nigerian crude from a mixture (comingling) with other foreign crudes. The challenge was the immediate acquisition of more sophisticated analytical equipment to complete the investigation. NNPC R&D division made a presentation on this study (as promising tool to stop stealing Nigerian Crudes for easy detection anywhere in the world) to the office of Hon. Minister of Petroleum in 2013. A promise was made by the office to release $350,000 for immediate purchase of HIGH RESOLUTION TIME-OF FLIGHT (TOF) MASS SPECTROMETERS (GC-GC-TOF-MS) and GAS CHROMATOGRAHY COMBUSTION

ISOTOPE RATIO MASS SPECTROMETRY (GC-C-IRMS).

The purchase of the equipment did not see the light of the day and that was the constraint to conclude the high end research to establish a base to identify Nigerian stolen crude anywhere on this planet. It is good to let Nigerians know that the NNPC R&D division was at the time (and may be till now) the most equipped laboratory in African continent with developed capabilities to carry out many complex Oil and Gas studies that were being done in overseas saving several millions of dollars. By 2013, they had developed capabilities to study and advice government on oil pollution, atmospheric pollution, specialized core analyses, complete crude oil assay, advanced geochemistry, catalysis studies for the refineries, gas utilization studies, enhanced oil recovery etc. .

If the government means business, to stop the Oil Theft it should invite NNPC R&D division, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Multinational and National oil companies to meet and come up with solutions to put a final STOP to the old problem that has wrecked the nation below its productive organs of survival.

The Oil Theft can be decimated through

combine use of Advanced Warning and Detection Technology, Policy and Judiciary. The local vigilante group can be a useful catalyst in this drive for intelligence surveillance and information gathering. It is long overdue to overhaul the security of our national asset or we are gradually preparing a ground breaking recipe for self-implosion. _____________________________________ For the public knowledge, NNPC Research and Development outfit was set up at the same time with NNPC via the Federal Government April 1977 ACT No. 33. Most times when a war or a battle is won, nobody hears about those intellectuals and intelligent community that worked 24/7 behind the scene to support and enhance the outcome of the victory. It is now time for the federal government to wake up, make an early morning call to challenge and push the intellectual community of our great nation to start solving national problems through aggressive research and innovation.

No Nation on this planet thrive in this highly competitive age without a solid foundation in Pure and Applied Research.

Mr. Obaigbena is a retired Group General Manager in the NNPC Research & Development Division.

The Nigerian state should be alert to its duty of stamping out electoral violence.

On their part, the politicians of all parties should be conscious of the implicit civil nature of the exercise. Civility and not warfare should be the defining features of elections. Effective campaigns and selling of competing ideas should be employed and not guns and cudgels.

Elections are not military affairs. It is, therefore, an aberration to deploy soldiers to the streets during elections. By deploying troops to keep peace during elections, the process is being unwittingly militarised. The electoral culture should be deliberately demilitarised. Politicians should stop involving soldiers in a purely civil process. Soldiers have been reportedly implicated in cases of electoral malpractice. Troops have

been accused of being employed by politicians to intimidate their opponents. While in power, some politicians have boasted about the use of soldiers as instruments to overwhelm their opponents. An army officer once prevented a state governor from moving into another state at the eve of election. Given the state of insecurity, the nation would be taking a great risk by overstretching its military resources to perform the duty which the police should statutorily perform in 2023.

The demilitarisation of the electoral process should begin with stoppage of the use of martial language when talking about elections.

Constituencies should be fairly won and not “captured” by politicians and their parties. It is only soldiers who capture territories!

THE ATMOSPHERE OF ELECTIONS in the electoral process because of insecurity.

In 2019, only 35% of the registered voters turned out to vote. That could not be described as a celebration of democracy.

If declining voter turnout is caused by violence before, during after elections, it would not be out place to consider it an issue to engage the attention of all those interested in deepening democracy. Voters should be assured of a safe environment for the process in order to enhance the credibility of elections.

Therefore, the police should be able to muster the capacity to secure the process of elections. If the Nigeria Police Force is equipped to perform its functions, the periodic policing required during elections would be readily provided by the Force as a matter of routine.

NEWSXTRA

Two Die as NAF Training Aircraft Crashes in Kaduna

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna

A Nigerian Air Force plane yesterday crashed during a routine training session at the 401 Flying Training School at the Nigerian Air Force

Base in Kaduna.

Two pilots were feared dead.

Spokesman of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, was yet to confirm the incident as at the time of filling this report.

Security sources said an instructor pilot and his student may have been involved.

THISDAY learnt that the student pilot, Flight lieutenant Abubakar Alkali, has since been buried at Kawo burial ground according to Islamic rites.

Meanwhile, the aircraft was said to be a Mushshak trainer aircraft.

It was also used by Pakistan Army and Air Force for training purposes.

The crash comes eleven months after a NAF aircraft crashed in Kaduna. The incident, which occurred in May 2021, then involved

a Beechcraft 350 which crashed around the Kaduna International airport.

Former Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other military officers, who were on board when the plane crashed died then.

Following the incident, the House

of Representatives had called on the federal government to investigate the air crashes involving military planes in the country.

In all, five NAF aircraft have crashed in the last one year.

Three crashed in Kaduna while two went down in Abuja.

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige yesterday formally declared his intention to contest for the position of President of Nigeria, saying he has a burning desire to see a prosperous, united and equitable Nigeria.

Ngige, who unveiled his presidential ambition before a mammoth crowd at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, said the country as it is now requires an all-round person who can fix the problems of economy, insecurity and forge a united Nigeria.

Addressing the crowd of supporters, the former Anambra State Governor said having served 40 years

equipped as an administrator, with huge wealth of experience, capacity and energy as well as large heart to accommodate the differences among Nigerians.

A statement by his Media Office, in Abuja, quoted Ngige as having recounted his numerous achievements as a former governor, ex- Senator and two-time minister, described himself as the “Jack of all trade and master of all” that Nigeria needs now.

He thanked the President for the opportunity offered him to serve as a minister, which broadened his knowledge of the various ministries, departments and agencies, being a member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the conciliator of disputes between employers and employees in the various arms of

He said his stewardship in the difficult and complex Ministry of Labour as the chief conciliator, enriched his knowledge of the problems of workers, the difficulty the industrialists and entrepreneurs face, why industries close down, and why some run far below their installed capacity and in turn employ less hands.

Ngige said: “I also know the unproductive areas and the areas of waste in the public service. I see the energy in labour, which has not been properly harnessed. I have seen the low hanging fruits in agriculture , the handicaps, the factors that militate against job creation, ,which is one of the mandates of my ministry, especially the inter-ministerial and inter agencies cooperation that is

population without a corresponding advantage in terms of improvement in GDP.” He said under his watch, the Labour Ministry has conciliated 1683 industrial disputes in the last seven years, 95 percent done successfully in the ministry and its agency, the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP), while only about three percent of the disputes went up to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria(NICN).

The minister said they took labour administration to a higher level in the international arena , where their labour diplomacy brought Nigeria back to the Governing Board(GB) of the International Labour Organisation(ILO) after 10 years in absence .

2023: INEC, Security Agencies Meet Ngige Joins Presidential Races, Says Nigeria Needs Competent Leader in Abuja over Rising Insecurity 2023: in the public service, he was fully government and the private sector. missing. I have seen our burgeoning Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Chuks Okocha in Abuja

With the spate of insecurity in the country not abating, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will this week meet with the nation’s security community under the auspices of Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

This hint was dropped by a top official of INEC and the outgoing Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Akwa Ibom State, Mike Igini.

He spoke on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily.

According to Igini, security is a big issue ahead of the 2023 general elections as INEC has been on the receiving end and just recently in Imo state a staff member was killed and two others abducted while on the Continuous Voter Registration which will end in June 2022.

“Security is key as the country moves toward the 2023 General Elections. Unfortunately, INEC has been on the receiving end of the insecurity in the country. And look out what happened recently in Imo state”.

“It’s really a case of ignorance on the part of these people who carried out that heinous crime. I heard they said we are talking about referendum and they are taking of

elections. But these elements do not know that INEC is the only body that has the Statutory duty or responsible to conduct both elections and referendum,” Igini posited.

The outspoken REC, however, said that INEC RECs from 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will converge on Abuja during the week to participate in the crucial meeting between INEC and ICCES which comprises all the arms of the country’s Armed Forces and para-military agencies headed by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno.

Meanwhile, Igini has called for absolute security neutrality by the security agencies in the forthcoming general elections in 2023, pointing out that there should be a level playing fields for all the aspirants.

He said: “I must appeal to the security agencies to maintain absolute security neutrality. No aspirant should be allowed to use the security agents attached to them to intimidate opponents ahead of the political parties primary elections and the general elections.”

“Some aspirants should not be allowed to have security agents while others do not have or denied to have. It will create problems for everyone. There will be bad blood if that happen.”

FEMA Rescues Three as Flood Ravages FCT Community Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Local divers stationed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have rescued three residents drowned in heavy floods that submerged the Dogongada community in the Lokogoma District of the FCT following a heavy rainfall last Monday.

A statement issued yesterday by the Head of Public Relations Unit, FEMA, Nkechi Isa, said the

flood was as a result of the pool of water from Apo District.

She said following the directive of the Director-General of FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss, for an assessment tour of the affected areas, a search and rescue team was led by the acting Director, Forecasting Response and Mitigation, Mrs. Florence Wenegieme.

The team was informed that the heavy floods at Apo Dutse road which affected residents living at Amina Court, Brains

and Hammers, was traceable to narrow box culvert and an ongoing construction along the river bank.

Wenegieme appealed to residents not to drive in heavy pools of water, but to wait and allow the water to subside.

She added that FEMA would soon embark on the posting of early warning signs in vulnerable areas.

Reacting to the flash floods in some part of the FCT, Idriss said FEMA would ensure all obstructions to the free flow of

water in the Territory are removed.

He stated that the FCTA under the leadership of Malam Mohammed Musa Bello has zero tolerance for infractions on waterways and any violations to the FCT Master plan which could result in the loss of lives and property.

He urged residents to respect the Abuja master plan, the building codes and environmental precautions in order to stay alive in the community.

47

WEDNESDAY, ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

S’Eagles Draw S’Leone, GuineaBissau, Sao Tome/Mauritius

Femi Solaja withagencyreport

Three-time African champions, Super Eagles of Nigeria, will begin a new football calendar with matches against Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome & Principe or Mauritius after the draw for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations concluded last night in South Africa.

The draw means Nigeria will be up against West African side, Sierra Leone for the second consecutive qualification series after both sides cancelled each other out the last time in 4-4 score-line at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City and goalless outing in the reversed fixture in Freetown.

The qualifying tournament will start in June and it will the first competitive outing for Super Eagles since the team was eliminated by the Black Stars of Ghana in the last World Cup play-off tie.

In other group pairings, holders, Senegal will battle Republic of Benin, Mozambique and Rwanda.

Aliou Cisse's side won the tournament for the second time in February, beating Egypt via a shootout.

Mohamed Salah's Egypt, who have won the competition a record seven times, will play against Guinea, Malawi and Ethiopia.

In all, 48 countries have been split into 12 groups of four, with the top two in each group reaching the finals.

However, hosts Ivory Coast are guaranteed a spot at the tournament, so whichever of their opponents- Zambia, Comoros and Lesotho finishes highest in Group H will qualify alongside the two-time winner.

Meanwhile, Kenya and Zimbabwe were included in the draw despite being banned from international football by world

AFCON 2023 governing body FIFA. And should either country fail to have their suspension lifted two weeks before qualifiers begin, then they will be eliminated and their respective groups will comprise of just three teams.

Elsewhere, Sao Tome & Principe and Mauritius are awaiting the outcome of a Confederation of African Football (CAF) disciplinary process to see which country will take the fourth spot in Group A.

Sao Tome & Principe won their preliminary qualifying tie 4-3 aggregate but could yet miss out for a place in the group stage proper.

Qualifying is set to begin with two matches between May 30 and June 14.Two more fixtures will follow in September, with the final two rounds billed for March next year.

CAF will announce the dates and schedule of fixtures in due course.

The 2023 Nations Cup is set to be held in Ivory Coast in June and July next year.

AFCON 2023 QUALIFYING GROUPS Group A: Group B: Group C: Group D: Group E: Group F: Group G: Group H: Group I: Group J: Group K: Group L:

Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome or Mauritius Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Togo, Eswatini Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, Burundi Egypt, Guinea, Malawi, Ethiopia Ghana, Madagascar, Angola, Central African Republic Algeria, Uganda, Niger, Tanzania Mali, Congo Brazzaville, Gambia, South Sudan Ivory Coast (hosts), Zambia, Comoros, Lesotho Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Mauritania, Sudan Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Botswana Morocco, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Liberia Senegal (holders), Benin, Mozambique, Rwanda

Ondo Govt Honours Autosport Group The government of Ondo State has honoured Autosports group, Work and Play who are the organisers of the Ondo Autosport Rally for their support in driving tourism and empowering the youth through their events.

The award which was presented by the Deputy Governor of the state Honorable, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, on behalf of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu during the closing races of the fifth Ondo Auto Rally in Akure last Saturday.

While presenting the award to the President of the group, Adeoye Ojuoko, the deputy governor said that, “the state is very pleased with what Adeoye and his Motorsports group is doing to the tourism space of the state.”

He said the state governor directed that recognition award be given. “It is a show of endorsement and appreciation for the impact this event has had and the huge

opportunities it brings with it every time it is hosted,” he added.

Also, Founder of Elizade Group, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, said the youth in the state should leverage the opportunities presented by the event for economic empowerment including upskilling to be relevant in the Motoring industry.

“Ojuoko said that the award from the state will only spur him and his team to do more for the growth of the Autosport in the country.

“I am indeed grateful for this honour and the level of support the government has extended to us and keep giving us. We will take this as a motivation to increase our footprint in the state.”

This years edition brought in top racers from different Auto racing clubs across the country apart form Autosport enthusiasts and tourists who came to watch in droves.

Golfers Excited as DStv Premium Golf Day Approaches Ahead of the second edition of the DStv Premium Golf Day, golfers from clubs across the country have been registering for the event in large numbers. The event, which debuted two years ago, will be held at the Ikeja Golf Club, Lagos, on Saturday, and is also supported by soft drinks bottling giants, Pepsi.

Flykite Production, organisers of the event, in a statement yesterday, noted that interest in the event has exceeded expectations, attracting about 600 registrants, who will battle for the three bumper prizes to be awarded for stellar performances.

The first prize is a business class flight ticket to Dubai for a weekend a five-star hotel stay, with the second being a business class ticket to Kigali, Rwanda, for a weekend stay at a five-star hotel. The third prize is a weekend five-star hotel stay in Lagos.

One hundred golfers will be selected for participation from about 600 registrants for the event, which will be played with only four clubs and a putter with winners emerging via a stroke play format.

At the maiden edition, Dr.

Ogunbiyi Ogunbanjo of Ikeja Golf Club, Messrs. Remi Olukoya and Rasheed Adebisi won the first, second and third prizes respectively.

Chairman, 2nd DStv Premium Golf Day Organising Committee, Akin Areola, commended DStv and Pepsi for their support for the event. Areola stated that their gesture is indicative of their commitment to the growth of golf, sports as well as healthy lifestyle in the country.

He called on other corporate bodies to take a leaf out of the books of the two corporate organisations.

Tope Osunkeye, Head of Marketing, MultiChoice, whose DStv platform is the headline sponsor, explained that the DStv Premium Golf Day will deepen the company’s relationship with DStv Premium subscribers and golf buffs.

“We understand that golf tournaments provide enormous thrill for our DStv Premium subscribers through some of the most important games. It is the reason we are providing this sponsorship support,” he said.

Super Eagles who will miss out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar were drawn against Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, São Tomé or Mauritius in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers ...yesterday

Sports Minister Impressed with Forms of Ofili, Nathaniel, Others The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Chief Sunday Dare, is happy with the early season form of some Nigerian athletes, mostly the student athletes participating in collegiate competitions and a few others based at home.

Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, Grace Nwokocha, Tobi Amusan, Udodi Onwuzurike, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Raymond Ekevwo, Alaba Akintola, Favour Ashe, Chinecherem Nnamdi and Dubem Amene are some of the Nigerians athletes abroad that have posted impressive times and marks so far this season.

Ofili ran a new national record of 21.96s in the 200m to win the 2022 Tom Jones Memorial Classic, becoming the first Nigerian woman and collegiate athlete ever to run sub 22 seconds over the distance.

The 19-year-old is the top ranked athlete in the event in the world so far this year and the only one to run inside 22 seconds.

Indoors, Ofili is also the only Nigerian woman ever to run a sub 23 seconds over the 200m distance.

She is also ranked the eighth fastest woman so far in the world over the 100m distance after

Favour Ofili...shortly after setting the new NCAA 200m record ...yesterday improving her personal best to 11.00 seconds a forthnight ago.

Ofili's compatriots Rosemary Chukwuma with a personal best of 11.05 seconds and Grace Nwokocha with a season's best of 11.13 seconds in the 100 metres are also highly rated this year.

Tobi Amusan is ranked the fastest African athlete in the 100m hurdles so far this year and holds a personal season's best of 12.61 seconds.

For the men, Udodi Onwuzurike is the 11th fastest man in the world so far this year following

his impressive 10.07 seconds performance in the blue ribband event last month while Raymond Ekevro, the reigning African Games 100m champion is returning to reckoning after an injury plaughed 2021. The 23-year old ran 10.11 seconds in the event over the weekend at Walnut, California.

Akintola (10.09s), Ashe (10.11s) and Godson Oke Oghenebrume (10.12s) also posted personal bests in the 100m event just last weekend.

Speaking about these impressive performances, the Minister said they were good signs for Nigerian athletics ahead of the African Senior Athletics Championships in Mauritius in June, the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, United States of America in July and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

Dare promised the Sports Ministry will always provide the enabling environment that will lead to the discovery of so many talents and charged the AFN led by Tonobok Okowa to provide enough competitions for the athletes to enable them fulfil their potentials.

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MISSILE

Ohaneze to Oluwo of Iwo

“It is self-evident that Nigeria is a beleaguered country that urgently needs nation-building; inflammatory and incendiary remarks from monarchs and the highly placed are antithetical to peace and unity of Nigeria”---President of the Ohaneze Ndigbo, Professor George Obiozor reacting to the statement of Oluwo of Iwo Oba Adewale Akanbi that Nigerians would not trust an Igbo man as president of the country.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE THE HORIZON

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

0805 500 1974

The Atmosphere of Elections E lections should ordinarily be festivals of liberal democracy; but Nigeria’s political history has recorded episodes of elections as wars. Since 1999 the war mood has often prevailed in periods of elections.

Imagine the deployment of a security team of 35,000 comprising policemen, security agents, soldiers and para-military personnel to secure a state for a gubernatorial election in which fewer than 500,000 people voted!

The security context is pivotal to the integrity of elections in two respects. The first aspect is the state of national security before the dates of elections. The other dimension is the violence that defines elections in some locations. To be sure, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has the responsibility to judiciously regulate the process for the purpose of free and fair elections, it is squarely the job of the police to provide a secure environment for elections to take place.

Doubts have been expressed in some quarters about the feasibility of the 2023 elections in the face of worsening state of insecurity in the country. It is, for instance, obvious that no credible elections could be conducted in ungoverned spaces. Villagers who could not feel secure to go to farms should be not be expected to troop out to vote on the day of election. The public attitude towards elections especially in the last 23 years has been informed

IG of Police, Usman Alkali Baba by the bloody experience of process. About 1,149 persons including INEC staff and security personnel have been reportedly killed in electoral violence.

A panel headed by Sheikh Ahmed Lemu was appointed to investigate the massive violence that erupted after the elections of April 2011.

An Islamic scholar, Sheikh Lemu was the first

Grand Khadi and Chief Justice of Niger State.

His deputy was Justice Samson Uwaifor, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The important report of the committee issued more than a decade is quite relevant to the situation of Nigeria today.

The Lemu report in 2011 linked electoral violence to the general insecurity plaguing the land as follows “The general insecurity of life and property in people’s houses and on the highways and kidnapping are adding fuel to the fire of public frustration and disappointment…

The true state of affairs could escalate to social revolution if preventive measures are not taken in time.” The report has been ignored by consecutive administrations since 2011.

Some estimates put the number of people killed in the ensuing riots after the 2011 elections at more than 800.

In 2015, the elections were postponed for some weeks on the ground of insecurity especially in the northeast zone of the country. Mercenaries were brought in to fight Boko Haram terrorists in some local government areas of Borno and Yobe states and to create a safe atmosphere for elections.

The climate of insecurity at present is, perhaps, scarier than the situation in 2015 and 2019. While the elections must hold as scheduled by INEC, the stark reality of an insecure atmosphere for a credible election should not also be ignored.

Whereas in 2015 the northeast was considered

as the epicentre of insurgency, other parts of the country are also insecure today for elections.

The case of the northeast is such that if elections were to be held today, it might be extremely difficult if not possible for INEC officials to be deployed for the exercise.

In some areas of the northwest the activities of terrorists pose a categorical threat to the conduct of credible elections. In the southeast, INEC offices and police stations have been targets of attacks by elements violently opposed to the idea of elections in the zone. Policemen and members of INEC staff have been killed by these criminal gangs campaigning against elections. It is clear that adequate security efforts would be required to keep the southeast, in particular, safe for elections given the activities of violent anti-election forces.

One of the consequences of the violence associated with elections is poor voter turnout.

The apathy of the electorate is partly explained by the fact the streets and polling stations are not considered safe enough by voters. The progressive decline in voter turnout puts the legitimacy of the mandates received during elections into question despite the fact that the results meet the requirements of the electoral laws. Beyond legalism, the basis of participatory democracy is diminished when a majority of the electorate is disallowed from participating Continued on page 46

BENJAMINOBAIGBENA GUEST COLUMNIST

Confronting the Menace of Oil Theft

I

t is a surprise that Nigeria has just woken up from its heavy inertia to know that the country is losing substantial volume of crude oil to oil theft and bunkering. These activities are as old as the oil industry.

Nigeria cannot shy away from the truth or claim ignorance of the astronomical volume of oil theft for the past 50 years. It deliberately let loose the baby tiger into the wild to mature to a monstrous size and sophistication to evade being caught or detected in the act for several years. There is a common sense that anywhere in the world where criminals are never caught or brought to justice for a long time, the government agents are directly involved or a cartel with powerful links to high profile politicians in government protecting the common interests of both parties is involved. The world is very familiar with this phenomenon as we always see in mafia movie plots. You may go to church everyday and twice on Sundays, it does not to change the way of this world because this world is not a Holy place but a hotbed for intimidation,

victimization and terrorism garnished with condiments of betrayal, greed and corruption.

The unprecedented economic consequences of the immense oil theft has left most serious thinking business men and high value politicians to ponder in their silent moment saying “What Have We Done to Get to this State of Putrescence?”

It is not that nothing was done in the past.

Actually, in year 2000 NNPC made a very innovative and successful strategy to combat corruption at the PPMC depots nationwide, reduced pipeline vandalisation and smuggling of petroleum products to the neighboring countries.

Let me rewind. A few years back, NNPC was fighting this battle alone especially the theft through pipeline vandalisation for crude and finished products along system E and 2E NNPC pipelines. The depot pumping station may hardly know the conditions along the pipelines but a receiving depot may notice a drop in pumping pressure (signaling a suspected line break). At this stage it is impossible to physically inspect

hundreds of kilometers of pipeline to detect the exact spot but have to patiently wait for a report from the affected community. Early detection of pipeline disruption was not possible at that time and may still be so today. In the past it took four to seven days to locate a vandalized spot through the effort of good Samaritans who took upon themselves to travel long distances to the nearest pipeline depot to report a case of pipeline rupture from either failed integrity of highly corroded pipes or from vandalization. On receiving such reports , NNPC would mobilize MOPOL with selected engineers to the location for the repairs of the damaged line.

In the early 2000, NNPC mobilized military and MOPOL to assist to curb the menace but it was later discovered they were part of the problems too. It was nightmare for NNPC There was a proposal to involve the local communities to constantly monitor the safety of the pipelines passing through their communities in return for monthly payout for work well done. In this scenario, you cannot

rely too much on human beings where there is exchange of money as a reward. The highest bidder becomes the master of the business and immediate change of loyalty.

In 1994, a think tank of NNPC then, the Consultancy Services Unit (CSU) based in Lagos proposed the use of technology to monitor the distribution of Crude and Product lines using the principles of TELEMETRY/ SCADA where NNPC could monitor real time distribution activities of the pipelines along the country’s arteries of pipeline network. Any vandalization or pipeline break along the distribution lines is instantly detected with a telltale blinking lights or audible alarm displaying the coordinates of the location on the screen. An SOS signal is immediately dispatched to the nearest military base (Airforce, Navy or Army or combined team) for immediate dispatch of anti-terror personnel to swoop the area and contain the menace.

Response time would be such that the Continued on page 46

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