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Kyari: Why Nigeria’s Refineries Are Not Working, Says Rehabilitation Underway Assures 2.8 billion litres of petrol available, sufficient for 48 days Udora Orizu in Abuja Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari, yesterday told the

House of Representatives Adhoc Committee investigating the state of refineries in Nigeria that 25 years of bad management was responsible for the poor state of the country’s refineries.

Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, had on January 26, constituted the adhoc committee to work with NNPC, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Mid-

stream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and other relevant stakeholders to obtain the needed information for the assignment. The committee, in two separate letters, dated February

24 and March 17, 2022, requested the NNPC boss to present a status report on the state of the country's refineries.

Addressing the lawmakers, the NNPC GMD apologised for

being absent in the committee’s previous sittings, but assured that total rehabilitation of the refineries was underway.

Continued on page 10

JPMorgan Cuts Nigeria from ‘Overweight’ over Country’s Fiscal Woes… Page 5 Wednesday 11 May, 2022 Vol 27. No 9892. Price: N250

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Presidency to Clarke, Babalola: No Tenure Elongation for Buhari... Page 10

Party Primaries: Senate Amends Electoral ActYet Again, to Allow President, Govs, OthersVote House to do same today Sunday Aborisade and Udora Orizu in Abuja The Senate yesterday amended the Electoral Act, 2022, to allow ‘statutory delegates’ - all those

elected - to participate and vote in the conventions, congresses or meetings of political parties.

Similarly, the House of Representatives would today hold an emergency plenary session to

But will Buhari sign? re-amend the Electoral Act which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on February 25, 2022.

However, analysts are wondering if the president would sign the bill

if passed by the National Assembly following what happened to the previous electoral bill where they reached an agreement that they would amend the legislation and the lawmakers reneged.

“ There is also the question: How can they change the rules in the middle of the race? As it is now, the electoral process has started, so why do they want to change the rules when the processes have already

started?. But the most important issue here is that last time they reached an agreement on this matter, the National Assembly did not live Continued on page 10

APC Ticket: Jonathan Gives Conditions, Sale of Forms Extended to May 12 Former president joining our party, running for office will be one of the wonders of the century, says Umahi N100m forms: Presidential aspirant defects, alleges party has commercialised primary process High cost of APC, PDP presidential forms worries Kukah Warns Nigerians unwittingly pushing for plutocracy

Continued on page 10

THE SECOND TERM JOURNEY BEGINS...

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu during his submission of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Nomination & Expression of Interest forms at International Conference Centre, Abuja ...yesterday

WILL MOGHALU BE SECOND TIME LUCKY?...

L-R: Wife of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential aspirant, Mrs. Maryanne Moghalu; the aspirant, Prof, Kingsley Moghalu and ADC’s National Chairman, Chief Ralphs Okey Nwosu, when Moghalu PHOTO: KINGSLEY ADEBOYE picked his nomination form at the party’s headquarters in Abuja...yesterday

Court Gives PDP Four Days to Respond to Suit against Primary... Page 44

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

CONFERENCE FOR THE SECURITY, SAFETY, FIRE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT...

L-R: Atayero of Aramoko-Ekiti, Oba Olusegun Aderem; Publisher, Guardian Newspapers, Mrs. Maiden Alex-Ibru; President, School of Management and Security, Victoria Ekhomu; Regional Director, Afrocet Montgomery, George PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN Pearson, and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, at the opening ceremony of 10th Edition of Securex West Africa exhibition and conference held in Lagos… yesterday

JPMorgan Cuts Nigeria from ‘Overweight’ over Country’s Fiscal Woes Says country's economic challenges have raised market concerns despite positive oil environment Nume Ekeghe with agency report JP Morgan, an American multinational investment bank has removed Nigeria from its list of emerging market sovereign recommendations

that investors should be 'overweight' in, saying the country had not taken advantage of high oil prices.

It however, added Serbia and Uzbekistan to the list.

According to Reuters, JP

Morgan’s analysts noted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) did not transfer any revenue to the government from January to March this year, due to petrol subsidies and low oil

production, which was the reason it moved Nigeria's debt out of its 'overweight' category.

"Nigeria's fiscal woes amid a worsening global risk backdrop have raised market concerns despite

Court Declares Malami’s Committee on Sales, Disposals of Recovered Assets Invalid Says AGF lacks powers to usurp ICPC, EFCC’s constitutional duty Wale Igbintade The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has declared the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019 set up by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Abubakar Malami, as invalid and unconstitutional.

Consequently, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa nullified all sales and disposals of assets made by the AGF under the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019.

The judge held that the regulations were, “ultra vires the office and powers,” and beyond the powers of the AGF. Justice Lewis-Allagoa made pronouncement in suit number, FHC/L/CS/40/2021 filed by the plaintiff, Incorporated Trustees of HEDA Resource Centre, against the AGF as the sole defendant.

The AGF had on November 9, 2020, inaugurated the InterMinisterial Committee on the disposal of assets forfeited to the federal government.

This, according to the minister, was in accordance with the president’s directive in October 2018, following recommendations of the Presidential Audit Committee on Recovery and Management of Stolen Assets and a need for efficient management of the assets.

But HEDA, through its counsel, Omotayo Olatubosun, had challenged the AGF’s power to set up the committee.

It argued that the regulations conflicted with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commis-

sion (EFCC) Act, the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administrative Act, 2015, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, 2004 and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission Act (ICPC), 2000, among others, on the matter of disposal of final forfeited assets.

The plaintiff sought nine reliefs, including the nullification of all disposals of assets by the AGF’s Committee.

In its judgment, Lewis-Allagoa dismissed the AGF’s preliminary objection argued by its counsel, Tolu Mokunolu, and granted all of HEDA’s reliefs as prayed on the motion paper.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa held: “I am entirely in agreement with the submission of counsels to the plaintiff that the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019 are contrary to the statutory provisions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC Act, Trafficking in Persons Cohabitation Enforcement and Administration Act, NDLEA Act and Immigration Act. “A careful perusal of the above statutory provisions will show the provisions for the Attorney-General of the Federation to make regulations for the agencies for disposal of assets under the various enactments listed above.

“The above statutory enactments are therefore the enabling source of the Attorney-General of the Federation to the regulations.

“Consequently, the administrative powers to be exercised by the Honourable Attorney-General of

the Federation must flow from the enabling statutes.

“It is pertinent to state that the powers of the Attorney-General of the Federation do not override the provisions of the enabling statutes establishing the powers of the law enforcement agencies and anti-corruption agencies and consequently the powers referred to in the commencement clause of the regulations merely are to be exercised in accordance with the Acts not to usurp the mandatory powers vested in the law enforcement agencies and the anti-corruption agencies.”

Furthermore, the ruling added: “I am therefore in agreement with counsel for the plaintiff that the executive orders or any other forms of definition can be issued pursuant to session 315 of the Constitution; however, they are limited to enactments predating the 1999 Constitution.

“The Acts under consideration in this instant suit were enacted after the 1999 Constitution and do not fall within the ambit of session 315 of the 1999 Constitution.

“In all and for the reasons herein before given in this judgement, the questions put for determination in the originating summons are answered in favour of the plaintiff and all the reliefs sought are granted as prayed. This is the judgment of the court read in the open court."

The plaintiff’s reliefs granted by the judge included a declaration that by the ICPC Act, the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019, “is an invalid statutory instrument the former hav-

ing conferred no power abrogated by the Defendant to himself in the latter Regulations; an order nullifying the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019 as an invalid statutory instrument same being in excess of the provisions of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission Act, 2000.

“An order nullifying all sales and disposals of assets made by the Defendant pursuant to the said Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019 same being ultra vires the office and powers of the Defendant.”

a positive oil environment," they said.

In Nigeria, its Senate last month approved the total sum of N4 trillion for petrol subsidy in 2022. The figure represented the amount contained in two separate requests by the President to the National Assembly for approval.

The President, had in a letter to the Legislature dated 10th February, 2022, sought an additional N2.557 trillion to fund subsidy payments from July to December, 2022.

However, JP Morgan moved Serbia to 'overweight' stating that risks had been priced in and the country had high reserves and a fiscally cautious government, while relatively low debt despite Russian exposure led them to put Uzbekistan in the same category.

In addition, Reuters quoted analysts at the bank to have estimated that emerging market sovereign debt was at the "mercy" of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions, as the United States central bank's rate raises drain capital from developing markets.

Last week, the Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by half a percentage point, the biggest jump in 22 years, as it seeks to

tame high inflation while its rate increases also buffet higher-yielding emerging markets.

JPMorgan's Emerging Markets Bond Index Global Diversified (EMBIGD) index has fallen 16 per cent this year, the analysts said, "with most of the losses having come from rates" and $4 billion in net outflows from emerging markets since mid-April.

"The external and fundamental backdrop has become increasingly difficult for EM sovereigns," the analysts said. "The COVID lockdown in China poses further downside risks."

They noted that riskier sovereign yields were now 10.6 per cent, the highest level since the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, reducing market access and increasing the risk of debt defaults.

However, the analysts said the "front-loaded pain" for emerging market bonds, which they said had begun underperforming in September 2021, was a positive.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February caused commodity prices to spike, benefiting exporters. The over-performance of bonds issued by oil exporters now "looks to have played out", JPMorgan said.

Senate Passes Bill to Enact Arbitration, Mediation Act, Others for Concurrence The Senate, yesterday, passed a bill to enact the Arbitration and Mediation Act to provide for a unified legal framework for the settlement of commercial disputes.

Also, passed were there other bills for concurrence from the House of Representatives by the chamber after a clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

The bills include Federal Medical Centre Ogoja, Cross-River State (Establishment) Bill, 2022; Federal Medical Centre Igboora, Oyo State (Establishment) Bill, 2021; and Advertising Regulatory Council Bill, 2022.

The four bills for concurrence were sponsored by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North).

The Senate Leader, in his lead

debate, said the Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2022, sought to repeal the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Cap A18, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

He disclosed that the piece of legislation recognised and enforced the New York convention on foreign arbitration awards to any award made in Nigeria or in any contracting state arising out of international commercial arbitration.

He added that it also sought the application of the Singapore convention on the international settlement agreements resulting from mediation.

The four bills for concurrence were passed by the Senate after a clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

Meanwhile, a bill to repeal the

National Secondary Education Commission Act, Tuesday, scaled second reading in the Senate.

The bill sought to enact the National Senior Secondary Education Act, 2022, to prescribe minimum standards for senior secondary education in Nigeria.

Sponsor of the bill, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, in his lead debate on the general principles, said the bill made provision for the management of the National Senior Secondary Education Commission Fund, as a source of government intervention towards repositioning Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria.

The bill after consideration was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary) for further legislative work.

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OSINBAJO ENGAGES STAKEHOLDERS...

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN engages with stakeholders of the Bauchi State APC Chapter in Bauchi State. ..yesterday

African Speakers Seeking Debt Cancellation, Not Review, Says Gbajabiamila Udora Orizu in Abuja The Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has said the Conference of Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments (CoSAP) is pushing for total debt cancellation by creditor-nations as opposed to debt relief or review.

Gbajabiamila, who was speaking on day two of the ongoing 1st CoSAP in Abuja, explained that the body would want all debts owed by African countries cancelled.

The Speaker was contributing to discussions on the first plenary topic of the day, "Financing Africa's pandemic Response: Legislative Imperatives and Interventions," anchored by the Country Representative in Nigeria, World Health Organisation, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo. The session was chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, Rt. Hon. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

He noted that this would help the countries to start from "reset the button to zero," meaning they had no debts outstanding against them.

Compared to debt review or

relief, Gbajabiamila told his colleagues that in the case of the latter, the debts would still be outstanding, except that there would be some alterations, adjustments or even postponement of the repayment schedules.

"We want to reset our buttons to read from zero. That is the position, and I appeal that we all support this push," he stated Participants at the session, backing Gbajabiamila's position, spoke on the need for parliaments to step up their oversight duties in tracking how the executives spent loans taken on behalf of their respective countries, which ended as debt burdens or traps.

Some noted that in countries that secured debt reliefs, the parliaments must interrogate how the money returned to them was spent.

They pointed out that the creditor-nations, in considering the appeals for debt cancellation or relief, would look at several factors, including accounting for how the loans were utilised and the compliance of countries to agreements signed at the inception

of the loan requests.

Meanwhile, as part of his recommendation for tackling or preparing for pandemics, Gbajabiamila suggested setting

aside a percentage of the health budget for vaccine research and manufacturing by African nations.

He said this could also be legislated to make compliance

mandatory.

The Speaker also recommended the establishment of an African Centre for Vaccine Research and Production.

2023: I'll Recruit 750,000 Nigerians into Police Force, Make CBN Independent, Says Moghalu Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja Kingsley Moghalu, African Democratic Congress (ADC)'s presidential aspirant, has promised to increase operatives of the Nigeria Police from 250,000 to one million and make the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) independent if elected president in 2023.

He made the pledge on Tuesday at the party's national secretariat in Abuja after picking his expression of interest and nomination forms. The ADC presidential nominations cost N25 million.

Speaking on widespread insecurity in Nigeria, he said, "We will take out whatever threatens the nation's security because the political will to secure Nigeria is there. One life is too precious to be lost with me as a Nigerian president. We will take out anything that threatens the security and well-being of Nigeria. We will make use of intelligence agencies.

The government lacks the political will to secure Nigeria."

He further stated the security agencies would be "broken down" to "make them deliver."

Moghalu added, "As president, I will reform the Nigeria Police Force. I will increase the police

from 250,000 to one million operatives. It is through effective intelligence gathering that we can fight terrorism and win."

While responding to questions from journalists, Moghalu, a political economist and ex-deputy governor of the CBN, said the 16 per cent inflation rate in Nigeria was a result of mismanagement.

"If there is high inflation, then it is a performance failure. When I become the president, I will ensure we have an independent CBN with competent leadership.

Inflation is the most pernicious act on the poor. It erodes the ability of households to save and devalues the purchasing power

World Bank: Gender Disparity in Earnings Holding Back Nigerian Economy New report says closing gaps in key economic sectors could yield $22.9bn Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja A new report by the World Bank has stated that gender disparities in earnings are holding back the Nigerian economy, stating that closing the gender gaps in key economic sectors could yield additional gains of between $9.3 billion and $22.9 billion for the country.

The report also explained that women's economic empowerment would be key to accelerating a demographic transition and reaping the gains of a demographic dividend.

The report, "Closing Gaps, Increasing Opportunities: A Diagnostic on Women's Economic Empowerment in Nigeria," was

launched in Abuja, yesterday, by the World Bank Country Office in Nigeria.

According to the World Bank, as Nigeria faces the immediate challenge of stimulating economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding economic shocks, it also could address the sizable gender gaps that undermine women's economic empowerment and hinder inclusive economic growth.

It said: "Gender disparities in earnings not only hold back the Nigerian economy, they also represent an opportunity: closing the gender gaps in key economic sectors could yield additional gains of $9.3 billion or up to $22.9 billion.

"Women's economic empower-

He explained that the joint centre could be located anywhere on the continent, where all African countries could contribute to its development.

ment will also be key to accelerating a demographic transition and reaping the gains of a demographic dividend."

Drawing on data from the most recent Nigeria General Household Survey (2018-2019), the report made five critical contributions, highlighting the gender gaps in labour force participation; documenting the magnitude and drivers of the gender gaps in key economic sectors; diving deep into three contextual constraints: land, livestock and occupational segregation; measuring the costs of the gender gaps, and offering policy and programming recommendations of innovative options to close the gender gaps.

Giving specific instances of

sectoral disparity, the report said in agriculture, male farmers use over eight times more fertilizer and 50 per cent more herbicide than their female counterparts per hectare of land.

It noted that lower use of these inputs constrained the production of female plot managers, adding that doubling the quantities of fertilizer and herbicide used on a plot in Nigeria increases agricultural productivity by 6 per cent and 18 per cent respectively, on average.

The report also stated that women operate less-capitalised firms in Nigeria.

"There are consistent value differences in both the North and South across common crop types. On the average, households farming yams

attain significantly higher values per hectare while those farming other roots and tuber crops attain significantly lower value per hectare.

"In both the North and the South, women consistently farm the less valuable roots and tuber crops, restricting their agricultural productivity relative to male farmers.

"Self-employed women operate firms with significantly less capital than firms operated by men. More capitalised firms have higher profits, yet, the value of equipment owned by women-operated firms is only 16 per cent of the total value of firms operated by men. This lower capitalisation may be related to women's lower access to credit," the report said.

of the currency," stated Moghalu.

He also promised to resolve the lingering impasse between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government and put an end to ASUU strikes.

"I will resolve the ASUU crisis; allocate 20 per cent of Nigeria's national budget to education. We will sit at a table and negotiate with ASUU. If they can spend N4 trillion on fuel subsidy, why can't they spend it on education?" noted Moghalu.

The ex-CBN deputy governor disclosed that one of his strategies to win the 2023 presidential election would be based on allying with northern youths.

"We will build alliances for 2023, and 60 Arewa youth groups in the North have endorsed me. In 2019, it was believed that the presidency should still remain in the North, but now the case is different.

So many things have changed between 2019 and 2023," Moghalu reasoned. "I am running for the office of the president because of my vision and capacity."

Regarding zoning the Nigerian presidency, he said, "Nigeria must ensure that no region is left out in the presidency of this country, to ensure national unity. If you must zone then, it should go full circle.

If you have Federal Character and quota systems, then it should also apply to the presidency so that no one will be left out."

In his remarks, ADC's national chairman, Ralph Okey Nwosu, said if the party took over power, Nigeria would become a superpower nation within 20 years of ruling.

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MEETING ON AIR QUALITY IN LAGOS...

L-R: General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, (LASEPA) Dr. Dolapo Fasawe; Acting Consul General of the United States Consulate in Nigeria, Mr. Brandon Hudspeth; Representative of the Governor and Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, and Permanent Secretary Office of Environmental Services, Omobolaji Gaji, during the Air Quality high-level meeting between the U.S. Mission and Lagos State Government held at Ikeja… yesterday

INEC Refuses Parties' Request to Extend Deadline for Primaries By 37 Days Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission has rejected a request by the 18 registered political parties, through the Inter-Party Advisory Council, for an extension of the deadline for the conduct of party primaries The parties requested the extension yesterday at INEC’s second quarterly consultative meeting with political parties in 2022. The INEC Chairman stood firm on the timetable of activities insisting there will be no shift.

INEC had reviewed its schedules

for the 2023 general election in February after President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the electoral Act, 2022.

In compliance with the new legislation, the commission earmarked April 4 to June 3 for the conduct of party primaries.

Last week, the commission had maintained that the deadline for the conduct of primaries remains “firm and fixed”.

While the umbrella body of political parties, the Inter Parties Advisory Council (IPAC), appealed to INEC to tamper with the time tables and schedules of activities,

the commission insisted on strict adherence to the time tables for the presidential and other elections, because tampering with the timetable could create complications.

All the political parties have up till June 3, 2022, to conclude all their presidential primaries and other primary elections.

At its quarterly meeting with all registered political parties, the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said, "Twice in the last two weeks, the Commission had cause to remind political parties of the necessity for strict compliance with the timelines for party primaries. I,

hereby, reiterate the position of the commission that, there will be no review of the timelines. There are so many inter-related activities that are associated with the timelines, which must be carried out.

"Any review to extend the timeline for one activity will affect other activities and put unnecessary pressure on political parties and the Commission. This will ultimately result in more complications than what the extension seeks to achieve.

"Therefore, the Commission will not review the timelines. Working together, we should ensure fidelity to the timelines in conducting transpar-

FG Calls for Increased Investment in Calabar, Kano Free Trade Zones Ugo Aliogo In line with efforts to accelerate the pace of economic growth in the country, the federal government has called on potential investors to revive, reform and transform the Calabar and Kano Free Trade Zones (FTZs) in order to make them functional and globally competitive.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, said this yesterday in Lagos, during a road show for the concession of Calabar and Kano FTZs, organised by the National Council of Privatisation (NCP), through its secretariat, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in conjunction with Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).

Adebayo, who linked African countries like Ethiopia and Ghana, which had leveraged FTZs as designated areas for promoting trade openness and investment facilitation for growth and development, lamented that efforts to replicate the success of the FTZ model in Nigeria had not recorded the same success.

He said the two FGN-owned Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in their current state could not significantly improve the country’s competitiveness nor help the drive to effect structural change and economic diversification.

He hinged on poor infrastructure, reliance on treasury to finance capital expenditure, lack of link between the industrialisation strategy of government and the zones,

among others as factors responsible for Nigeria not meeting up with the needed structural change.

According to him, “The ultimate aim for the free trade zone scheme is to attract foreign direct investments, generate employment, enhance trade and industrialisation, promote exports, enhance foreign exchange earnings and encourage transfer of technical knowhow.”

He envisaged that the two FTZs when fully developed within a coherent, well-designed and executed framework could deliver tangible outcomes like their counterparts in other climes where FTZs have contributed significantly to their economic development.

“For instance, he said 30 years after the FTZs scheme was adopted in Nigeria, cumulative investment has only stood at about $20 billion, whereas in about 30 years when the first free zone was established in Jebel Ali area in Dubai, the UAE has emerged the destination of choice for global trade and investment.

“In 2015, he said JAFZA alone generated trade worth $87.6 billion and accounts for almost 32 per cent of the total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flowing into the UAE and for about 24 per cent of Dubai’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“In view of the above and given the large investments required to transform the zones, he said private sector investment was important to reduce government’s financial burden and the associated business risks,” he added.

The minister, said the 25-year concession done under the Build-

Rehabilitate-Operate and Transfer (BROT) model was adopted to ensure that private sector investors with the requisite technical competence and financial capability that would emerge from a competitive transparent process are allowed to invest, operate and manage the facilities during the period, while the ownership remains with the federal government.

The Director General of BPE, Alex Okoh, said with the level of participation, the level of interest

by prospective investors had been quite strong.

He said the Bureau published the request for qualification, earlier last month, which was the first stage of the process, while the deadline for submission was fixed at May 23.

The Managing Director, NEPZA, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, who was represented by Director, Zones, NEPZA, Muazu Ruma, highlighted the significance, benefits and incentives of investing in the Calabar and Kano FTZs.

ent and democratic primaries for the purpose of electing candidates for the 1,491 constituencies for which elections will be held on 25th February and 11th March 2023".

Earlier, the chairman of IPAC, Yabagi Yusuf Sani, had requested for a 37-day extension to enable the political parties meet up with the INEC timetable and schedules of activities.

Justifying why there should be an extension for 37 days, he said, "Some of the issues considered by the IPAC General Assembly, which necessitated the call for extension in the timeframe of the present INEC timetable and schedule of activities were based on certain circumstances and developments that have hampered timely and strict compliance by the political parties to the timetable. Some of the constraining developments which, we believe were not considered and therefore, not factored by the NEC while drawing up its schedule of activities include the following: "The Christian Lenten season and the Muslim fasting in the month of Ramadan respectively followed by the celebrations of Easter and Eid El Fitr, (Sallah), in which the vast majority of party members were involved. The developments inevitably, therefore, greatly disrupted planned activities and programmes of the political parties, leading to the loss of about two weeks out of the allotted time of the timetable. It is also, noteworthy that, the scenario

was the first time that the two major events in the Christian and Muslim calendars would be occurring around the period of general election.

"The forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun States within the timeline of the INEC for the conduct of party primaries were additional remarkable distractions and constraints that obviously affected the political parties, because most of them are, understandably, preoccupied with preparations for the conduct of the elections.

"Very pertinently, the IPAC General Assembly regards the time allotted by INEC for the conduct of party primaries as too short in view of the efforts required by the political parties for effective and scrupulous screening and selection of qualified and quality flag bearers.

The significance of a tidy selection of party candidates in the elections comes, in the country in the long run, with the benefits of minimizing conflicts with all the likelihood of slowing down the electoral process.

"Relatedly, while the unprecedented large number of aspirants jostling to emerge as candidates of their various political parties in the coming general elections, have made the task of screening very cumbersome and demanding, the political parties, have also had to be cautious and painstaking in the screening and selection procedures as a safeguard against creating rooms for disruptive incidents of litigation by aggrieved aspirants

Obaseki: How We Created 300,000 Jobs in Edo

Says state’s residents count gains, as Ossiomo Power battles BEDC for market share

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his government has created over 300, 000 direct and indirect jobs in the state in partnership with the private sector.

Obaseki, was quoted in a statement to have noted that through pragmatic reforms and interventions that have revived the state’s economic landscape and attracted more investors into Edo, the government had been able to engage more youths, create jobs and reduce unemployment.

According to him, “apart from interventions by the state’s skills development agency, EdoJobs in the information technology, manufacturing, construction and the creative industry, we have embarked on people-centric programmes that have transformed the job landscape in Edo and positively impacted the

livelihoods of the people.”

He listed some of the interventions to include the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Ossiomo Power Company to provide stable power to drive the state’s industrial sector; the establishment of the 6000bpd Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited, and the extensive agricultural development programmes such as the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP), which have opened up the space for large scale commercial farming in the state, impacting the lives of thousands of farmers, among other initiatives.”

Meanwhile, a separate statement yesterday has disclosed that the electricity market in Edo State was taking a turn for the better as increased competition among players has created options for

reliable power supply to residents, who credited Obaseki, for opening up the state for investment that has now improved their living standards.

“Checks in the Benin metropolis have revealed that the two major power distribution companies in the state, Benin Electricity Power Distribution Company (BEDC) and Ossiomo Power Company are in a fierce battle for the customers with the competition assuring better power options to residents.

“It was discovered that with the improvement of distribution infrastructure by Ossiomo Power in select areas in the Benin metropolis, residents are opting for the company’s power solution with the supply averaging 22-24hrs/ day,” the statement added.

Mr. Sylvester Omorogbe, who

resides in the Ugbor axis of Benin City, was quoted to have said a lot of people now opt for power supply from Ossiomo Power because of its reliability and ease of payment.

According to him, “We have just connected to Ossiomo Power. The power from the facility is stable.

We get 24 hours electricity from the company, as we have a direct link to their sub-station in the area.

“In fact, if you go around, you will discover that a lot of the new houses in the area are connected to the power company. They also use it as a marketing tool to even increase the rent for their houses because the people are assured of stable power. So, for instance, those who are building serviced apartments, they rather connect to the facility than to the others available.”

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Presidency to Clarke, Babalola: No Tenure Elongation for Buhari Says president upbeat securing country May 29, 2023 handover date sacrosanct Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Presidency has formally responded to the recent suggestions by two senior lawyers that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari should be extended by six months.

While Chief Robert Clarke, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the six months will be required by the president to adequately secure the country before hand over, his fellow SAN, Afe Babalola, canvassed for an interim administration to be put in place after May 29, 2023, for a new constitution to be put

in place before polls.

Presidential spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a release yesterday night titled, "May 29, 2023 Handover Date Sacrosanct," noted that much as Clarke, a very well-respected elder, might be sincere in his wish for the president to extend his term by six months, the presidency categorically reiterated that Buhari will step down on May 29th, 2023, after serving two terms in line with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

The statement emphasised that being the first recipient of a democratic transfer of power from

an incumbent administration to an opposition candidate in Nigerian history, the president was committed to extending and entrenching democratic values across the country.

Buhari, according to the presidency, shall, in turn, hand the privilege of serving the people of Nigeria to whomever Nigerian voters chose through free, fair and credible elections next year.

It stressed that the Buhari administration was concerned about ensuring that the country was well secured and cited the decimation of Boko Haram terrorists, and the return of Internally

Displaced Persons (IDPs) to rebuild their homes.

According to the release, "Chief Clarke is right to say that without security, Nigeria would not likely realise its true potential as a peaceful and prosperous nation. That is why it has been at the core of this administration. The results are there for all to see. Boko Haram have been forced back from controlling whole swathes of this country.

Internally Displaced Persons are now returning to rebuild their communities. These achievements have been accomplished through the bravery and determination of

the Nigerian armed forces and the fortitude of the people of our nation.

"New challenges have arisen and tackled in turn – whether it’s the National Livestock Transformation Plan to alleviate herder-farmer clashes, the elimination of the leadership of ISWAP, or new efforts to combat banditry.

"Till the last day of the administration, the security of the citizens shall remain the administration’s paramount concern. We shall finish the job. Yet, in any case, respect for the constitution and Nigerians' democratic rights remains the best path to securing and then

maintaining peace.

"Yet there are others, such as Chief Afe Babalola, that believe elections should be suspended, with the current elected government replaced by an interim unelected administration. This, he claims, is necessary to create a new constitution for the people, made possible, paradoxically, by ignoring their democratic rights.

Down that path lies crisis and instability.

"Instead, this administration proposes something entirely simpler: honouring the constitution and people’s right to decide."

the platform of APC included the proposed one-term of four years.

According to reports, the confusion that followed the purchase of the presidential form for Jonathan arose because of the spirited efforts by his loyalists in PDP to dissuade him from joining APC and running on its platform. Jonathan’s supporters were said to believe doing that would mean belittling his image.

Another reliable source said the former president had earlier met with the APC leadership last Sunday and concluded plans to accept the nomination form, but he was strongly discouraged by his close friends, who advised him to remain in PDP. The source said, “These people have been pressurising Jonathan until the very last minute not to accept to run on the APC ticket, no matter how tempting the conditions may be.

“That was why the former president did not present himself to the APC national chairman on Sunday, when the form was to be formally presented to him by the Almajiri group, who wanted to show him appreciation for what he did for them during his tenure by building schools and rehabilitating them.”

The source, speaking on what prompted Jonathan to meet Adamu, said, “The main argument of those opposed to Jonathan running on the APC ticket is that it would be belittling to his image and standing in the world for him to do so, given where he has been and what he represents as a former president of Nigeria.

“But the point is that the deadline for picking the form is this week and if he does not accept the form, the window would be closed and the opportunity lost.

“That was why the former president had to meet Adamu

last night and their meeting was very productive, as both men came out happily at the end of the onehour meeting in Adamu’s house in Abuja.”

The chairman of Bayelsa State chapter of APC, Dennis Otiotio, said the former president was at liberty to join the party, even though he was yet to register. Otiotio spoke to newsmen in a telephone interview, saying he is not aware of Jonathan’s membership.

The APC state chairman said, “The former president is not yet a registered member of APC. He is free to join any party of his choice.

“We are open and willing to receive him into our fold. As a political party desirous of winning elections, the only way to go is by admitting people into the party.”

Following the purchase of the presidential form for him, the former president had said in a statement by his media adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, that he was not aware of the development and did not authorise it.

The statement released on Monday read, “It has come to the notice of His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, that a group has purportedly purchased Presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest forms of the APC in his name. We wish to categorically state that Dr. Jonathan was not aware of this bid and did not authorise it. While we appreciate the overwhelming request by a cross-section of Nigerians for Dr. Jonathan to make himself available for the 2023 presidential election, we wish to state, that he has not in anyway, committed himself to this request.

“We thank the general public for their concern, as we continue

APC TICKET: JONATHAN GIVES CONDITIONS, SALE OF FORMS EXTENDED TO MAY 12 Chuks Okocha, Deji Elumoye, Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja Fresh facts have emerged from the recent meeting in Abuja between the former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and National Chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, which was held behind closed doors.

The revelation from the meeting emerged just as the APC last night extended the sale of its nomination and expression of interest forms to Thursday May 12, 2022, while aspirants who had already bought forms are now expected to start submitting same on Friday May 13. According to a three-paragraph statement from the ruling party, although the original deadline for sale of forms was yesterday, the two work-free days observed last week were said to have encroached into the original timetable. Hence, the extension.

“Following the new submission date, APC has fixed Saturday May 14 and Sunday May 15 for screening of all aspirants that have returned their duly completed and signed nomination and expression of interest forms to the APC Secretariat,” it added.

The meeting between Jonathan and Adamu took place amid wide speculation that APC was hatching a deal with the former president to adopt him as the party’s presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 general election.

But a reliable source said Jona-

than, currently a member of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), told Adamu he would join the presidential race on the ruling party’s platform only if he was assured of being made the consensus candidate.

However, Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, also a presidential aspirant under APC, said the participation of Jonathan in the party’s presidential primaries this month would be another wonder of the world.

The governor’s comment came as one of the presidential aspirants on the APC platform, Adamu Garba, left the party yesterday over the N100 million cost of its presidential nomination and expression of interest forms. Garba said the humongous sum was tantamount to commercialisation of the APC presidential ticket.

In a similar vein, Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, His Grace Matthew Hassan Kukah, expressed worry over the huge amounts being charged presidential aspirants by the two major political parties, APC and PDP. Kukah said the country was walking the fine line between democracy and plutocracy, but might soon jettison the former.

The meeting between Jonathan and Adamu took place few hours after a Fulani group, under the aegis of Nomadic Pastoralists and the Almajiri Communities, purchased the ruling party’s nomination and expression of interest forms for the former president.

However, THISDAY reliably learnt late last night that people like

Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, Jonathan’s Chief of Staff while he was in office and some other close aides to the former president are opposed to him running at all because they feel he would be disgraced down the line.

"They were the people that drafted the hard-line press statement earlier yesterday, which was withdrawn few minutes after for the statement currently in circulation, because they don’t want him to run. As you may have noticed, the second statement was watered down version of the first one " The source who is familiar with the ongoing talks disclosed, “The former president just wants a coronation as the presidential ticket bearer."

The response of the APC chairman to Jonathan’s request for consensus presidential ticket was not clear. But THISDAY learnt that while only President Muhammadu Buhari could give the final approval for such an agreement, interest groups within the party would oppose such an arrangement.

THISDAY’s findings further revealed that in the one-hour meeting between Jonathan and Adamu, the demand of the former president was neither rejected nor accepted.

The meeting, held between 9pm and 10pm, and was organised in a bid to sort out grey issues concerning Jonathan’s bid to fly the APC presidential flag in next year’s poll.

It was gathered that if the consensus candidacy deal goes through, the former president might

KYARI: WHY NIGERIA’S REFINERIES ARE NOT WORKING, SAYS REHABILITATION UNDERWAY Kyari said NNPC followed due process and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) granted approval for the overhaul of the Port Harcourt Refinery. He said a contract of $1.55 billion was awarded for the job.

With the approval, Kyari said work was presently ongoing at the Port Harcourt refinery and would also commence soon at the Kaduna and Warri refineries.

Kyari explained, "We recognise that today none of our refineries is operating for the very obvious reason that through the work of this committee, you will find out why they are not operating.

“We will hide nothing from you.

We will also tell you where we are as we speak today. Needless to say that the refineries were essentially not properly managed overtime, not just today, but in the last 20 to 25 years.

“The turnaround maintenance processes were clearly mismanaged overtime. I have said this over and over. And when we took over, it was very obvious that what you are dealing with was not a turnaround maintenance. We were dealing with total rehabilitation.

“The panels were clearly in situations where ordinary maintenance will not solve the problem. We have degradation of monumental proportion that we met and, of course, the only way you can do this is to conduct a full turnaround maintenance.”

Speaking further, Kyari said,

"We have a very different concept of the rehabilitation process we have started. It will be financed by banks. That is the difference between what you had in the past, where you do halfway work and never complete what you were trying to do and banks always will put conditions for lending not just about payment but ability to pay from your cash flow.

“And part of the requirements is also to include O and M component, which means that maintenance contracts will be part of this deal, otherwise they will not lend us money. It means we have to have continuous sustained operations of the refineries to establish O and M contractor.

“This is what obtains anywhere in the world and that process is also going on and we will hand over these refineries at the end of the exercise with the optimisation of our existing staff, but also a third party to run it for us. We believe that at the end of this exercise, the refineries will come to their full capacity, at the very least 90 per cent of their installed capacity.

“Of course, no refinery runs at 100 percent. That is not technically practical, but we will do minimum of 90 percent of their installed capacity."

The GMD further assured Nigerians that there was sufficient petrol to meet their demand. He said there was a total of 2.8 billion litres of petrol available and that

was sufficient to meet country's demand in the next 48 days without importation.

Kyari blamed the current fuel scarcity in some parts of the country on hitches that occurred as a result the public holidays of Workers Day and Eid el Fitre. He explained that when such glitches occurred, there was usually a lot of panic buying which he said was causing the long queues at the petrol stations.

The NNPC boss said his team had tried to ensure people did not stay too long at the filling stations.

Kyari also said the relevant authorities were taking steps to ensure that “black marketers” did not take advantage of the situation, adding that once supply is maximised, the black marketers would disappear.

Earlier in his remarks, the chairman of the committee, Hon. Ganiyu Johnson, said the committee had a mandate to determine the amount so far spent on turnaround maintenance of the refineries.

The lawmakers resolved that NNPC should provide the survey report, commercial evaluation report, proof of waivers granted

by FEC, procurement documents and other relevant documents.

Ganiyu adjourned the hearing to June 3 and mandated that the GMD should appear with all the relevant documents.

have the governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Zulum, as his running mate.

“Granting him his request as a consensus candidate is still dicey because of the presidential declaration of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele,” the source said.

The source, who is one of Jonathan's relations, told THISDAY, “The former president gave the condition that all hurdles that could stand against him becoming the consensus candidate of the APC should be cleared before he would formally join the APC and the presidential race.

"Nothing is guaranteed. The meeting was part of the usual meetings since Sunday, but heightened with the purchase of the presidential form.

"You could see that the first statement by Oga's aide said he was not consulted before the purchase of the presidential form and, therefore, it should be disregarded. The second statement from the same person was more subtle, stating that there is no commitment from the side of President Jonathan.

"From the two statements, one thing that is clear is that the APC national chairman did not confirm that he (Jonathan) will be the consensus presidential candidate.

Abdullahi Adamu told him that he could not categorically assure that he will become the consensus candidate without further clarification from the president, who was outside the country."

The brother and former aide of Jonathan summed up the discussion at the meeting, thus, “Nothing was guaranteed and, hence, Oga said he was not committed to the pursuit of his presidential ambition on the platform of the APC.” The former aide said the grey issues to clear up regarding Jonathan’s potential candidacy on

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PARTY PRIMARIES: SENATE AMENDS ELECTORAL ACT YET AGAIN, TO ALLOW PRESIDENT, GOVS, OTHERS VOTE up to its own commitment to the president,” a political analyst who pleaded anonymity said.

He further pointed out that the president has 30 days to either sign or withhold assent, by then all the primaries would have been done.

So of what purpose is the rushed amendment?

The decision at the Red Chamber followed the expeditious consideration of a bill during plenary which scaled first, second and third readings, respectively, and was passed during plenary by the chamber after consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

Those identified as ‘statutory delegates’ include the President, Vice President, Members of the National Assembly, Governors and their deputies, Members of the State Houses of Assembly, Chairmen of Councils, Councillors, National Working Committee of political parties, amongst others.

The bill to amend the 2022 Electoral Act No. 13 was sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central).

Omo-Agege, in his presentation, said the bill seeks to amend the provision of section 84(8) of the

Electoral Act. According to him, the provisions of the section “does not provide for the participation of what is generally known as ‘statutory delegates’ in the conventions, congresses or meetings of political parties.”

“The extant section only clearly provides for the participation of elected delegates in the conventions, congresses or meetings of political parties held to nominate candidates of political parties.

“This is an unintended error, and we can only correct it with this amendment now before us,” the Deputy Senate President said.

Speaking after the bill to amend the 2022 Electoral Act was passed, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, in his remarks, said the amendment became imperative in view of the deficiency created by the provision of section 84(8) of the extant Act. He said, “The amended Electoral Act of 2022 that we passed this year, has a deficiency that was never intended and that deficiency will deny all statutory delegates in all political parties from participation in congresses and conventions.

“And, therefore, such a major and unintended clause has to be

amended before the party primaries starts in the next eight days. This is an emergency legislation, so to speak.

“Our expectation is that the National Assembly - the two chambers - would finish with the processing of this amendment of this bill, between today (in the Senate) and tomorrow (in the House of Representatives), and then the Executive will do the assent.

“That is so important to enable every statutory delegate to participate in the party primaries right from the beginning that will start on the 18th of May, 2022.

“So, this is an emergency effort to ensure that nobody is denied his or her rightful opportunity as a delegate, especially the statutory delegates, and these are those who are elected.

“These are the president, vice president, members of the National Assembly, governors, members of the State Houses of Assembly, Chairmen of Council and their Councillors, National Working Committee Members of all the political parties and so on.

Continued online

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MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

SDP Chieftains Prepare to Wrestle Power from APC in Kwara Hammed Shittu writes that the exit of leading members of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State to Social Democratic Party may have re-ordered the political expectations in the state

Afolabi

Lawal

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ince some aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State left the party for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the state, the political calculations in the state ahead of 2023 general elections have changed considerably.

Thus, the various stakeholders in the Kwara project come next election have returned to the drawing board in the bid to re-strategize.

The political exigencies of the period under review was borne of the fact that the new members of the SDP were the bulk of frontline political players, that symbolized and frontally lead the O’ toge’ (Enough is Enough) struggle that ousted the Saraki dynasty during the 2019 general election.

The efforts of the stakeholders were also crowned with the winning of the governorship position of the state during the last general election as the APC gubernatorial candidate and now incumbent governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq emerged as the sixth executive governor of the state.

This marked the defeat of the Saraki dynasty that held sway in the State for the past four decades. The APC candidates in the last general elections won all the 35 available elective positions (National Assembly, State Assembly and Governorship).

However, the intra-party crisis that had pitched the new SDP members and leaders against their former party, APC led them to seek another platform to realize their political ambition.

This new emerging political order according to the pundits in the state is giving the

people of the state choices among the candidates of other political parties that would be representing them in the various elective positions in the next polls The pundits, however, opined that the development would provide an opportunity to have good leaders that would rise to the needs of the masses and also bring quality representation in whatever area each of the leaders would find themselves.

They believe that, it is high time they redirect their loyalty and commitment to politicians that would be a brother’s keeper and also be interested in the development of the state rather than using their stooges and business partners to siphon the state’s resources to abroad.

Since the coming on board of the SDP in the state, the political calculations ahead of the next election has changed as many people have been trooping into the party to get themselves registered and more importantly to seek elective positions in the forthcoming polls in the state.

As it stands today, the party has two House of Assembly seats after they have defected from APC to the SDP. They are Hon. Saheed Popoola and Ndamusa Guyegi representing Offa and Edu local government areas respectively.

In view of the mass movement of

Lafiaji

Abdulraheem

the people into the party, the party has become the third force and is preparing to give the ruling APC and former ruling party PDP, a run for their money and popularity.

A visit to some of the wards in the three senatorial districts during the ongoing membership registration of members into the SDP showed that, thousands of the Kwarans have registered into the party while thousands are also angling to join the train.

However, in a chat with journalists in Ilorin recently after the swearing-in of the newly elected executive council of the party and permutations for 2023 , the new state chairman of the party, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Afolabi said that, the party would serve as an alternative platform for Kwarans to produce good and credible leaders in the next elections.

He also said that, “victory in the 2023 general elections in the state will be greatly influenced by the personality of individual candidates presented by each political party”.

Afolabi, said that, “the current political dispensation is peculiar.

“Current political dispensation is different from the previous ones we have been having.

This time around, personality matters.

“We are making sure that we’re presenting people of substance across the board to represent our party. The personality matters and it would serve as our own edge”.

The SDP chairman, who vowed to replicate the ‘O’toge’ movement of 2019 elections against the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government in the 2023 governorship and other elections in Kwara State said that, “the victory of the current Governor Abdulrahman

Abdulrazaq in 2019 was facilitated by our group when we were together in APC. “We were the strong advocates of the ‘O’toge’ movement. Even though we moved out of APC, we still have our structures across all the 16 local government areas of the state. We believe that we will forge ahead.” Stressing that all aspirants of the party will be given a level-playing ground.

“I am a broad-minded person. I believe in equity, fairness and justice. As far as I am concerned all members who are aspiring for one position or the other should go to the field and work. It is the output of their work that will tell us who will be the flag-bearers of our party. The party will give everybody free opportunity to operate without any interference”.

Moreover, shortly after the party put in place the state executive council, various contenders to the elective positions have commenced consultations among various stakeholders of the party so as to garner support for their ambitions and to wrestle power from APC. The aspirants of the party cut across the state and National Assemblies, while others showed more interest in the number one position of the state.

Aspirants for gubernatorial position have emerged and they have been making consultations across the 193 wards of the state so as to woo members of the party for its forthcoming primaries in the state.

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

Why Emmanuel Deserves the PDP Presidential Ticket Adeniyi Tosin writes that should the Peoples Democratic Party favour an aspirant from the South-south to fly it’s presidential flag, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State fits the bill

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he 2023 presidential race is getting more heated by the day as various aspirants are coming to light more and more. This has raised more and more speculations on whether the unspoken code of a southern President would take effect.

There are three geo-political zones in the South; the South-west, South-south and Southeast. All three are eying the prize and showing strong interest in the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

It is no question Nigeria needs a technocrat more than it needs a politician as its President and in the South, there seems to be more politicians than technocrats particularly in the South West and South East.

But even with a technocrat there would still be need for political reasoning so an exclusive breed of technocratic-politicians is the silver bullet Nigeria needs and in the South-South a shining example among them is the Executive governor ofAkwa Ibom state, Udom Emmanuel.

Governor Udom Emmanuel, who is on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a peak performer with many laurels to his name.

As a business man, with a master’s degree

Udom

in business administration from one of the world’s most prestigious universities, Udom Emmanuel strut his stuff in the business world before becoming the Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

His economic and infrastructural policies have all worked together in raising the GDP of the state to 13.19 billion dollars making it the second richest state in Nigeria after Lagos and slightly more than the oil rich Rivers State.

As the typical election cycle of Nigeria often plays out, many of the other aspirants are brandishing fictitious achievements and assassinating the character of more qualified opponents. But for Governor Udom Emmanuel the results speak for themselves.

The Governor’s vision for Akwa Ibom has created more jobs for the people of Akwa Ibom and among them Ibomites would most notably recall the Governor doing what the Federal Government was unable to do with Nigerian Airways, when he created a State carrier, Ibom Air, that has run successfully since June 2019.

Udom Emmanuel started out this audacious idea with 6 aircrafts and he has expanded it with an additional 10 more planes from Airbus later this year setting the airline on its way to becoming one of the biggest in Nigeria and in Africa.

More so in the area of security Governor Udom Emmanuel took strides in ensuring adequate investment were made in Akwa Ibom state. A

pivotal one is the donation of a fully built and equipped Special Protection Unit Base in Awa Iman and 15 Patrol Vehicles with state of the art communication and security gadgets to the Police Force. He also did commission 168 Houses in the Army Barracks, Ibagwa in Abak and built a Nigerian Navy Military School in Ikot Ntuen.

The skyline of Uyo has a historical land mark difference with a first of its kind 21 storey tower built by Governor Udom Emmanuel. The smart complex is a beacon to attract high net- worth individuals and companies to further increase the economic activities of the state. This visionary endeavor shows the determination of the Governor to not only dream with “the audacity of hope” idea but to make the dream a reality.

The 25 kilometers that separate Uyo and Ikot Epkene was dualised and reconstructed, twin bridges were built in Nto Edino/Ekwereazu, a flyover was built in Ikot Oku Ikono and many community roads were resurfaced, constructed and rehabilitated.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022

POLITICS

Politics and Electioneering in Cross River State

GOVERNANCE IN PHOTOS

Effiong Awatt emphasizes the importance of voters education in Cross River State, in order to afford them an opportunity to take informed decisions

From left- Osun State Governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola; his wife, Kafayat and others, during the 2022 Eid ElFitr Festival, at Oke Baale muslim praying Ground, Osogbo

Bassey

Onor

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tion for the aspirants, great concern can also be extended to the aspirants’ supporters. Most times, these devotees give themselves to strange vows of passion for their candidates, like a till-death-do-us-part pact. Of course, this is as a result of the amount of pecuniary gain they enjoy both before and after an electoral victory. It is sadly, a direct product of poverty.

Poverty, therefore, is the big elephant in the room that needs to be tackled.

Let us get a few things out of the way.

First, let us agree that politics should not act with bitterness. Then, let us agree that elections should not turn violent. Cross River State is a zone of peace. Let us agree to that. Let us also agree to a live-and-let-live atmosphere.

It does not portend docility. Rather, it means more political acuity on the part of the supporters. Would it then not be brilliant if supporters understood their candidates’ scorecards and manifesto before launching out in their support?

It would be interesting to see how the aspirants have fared in terms of articulating their scorecards and manifesto. Of all the candidates, the only one whose online and social media presence stands out is Senator Gershom Bassey. He has a website plus active presence on social media.

Apart from publishing his scorecard, he talks about restored security and economic restoration and development in Cross River State. A search for Sandy Onor ’s scorecard is laborious.

It is possible he has an impressive scorecard, but it cannot be found on cyberspace. Dan Asuquo, otherwise DanSuki, is absent on social media.

For doubters, Google is your friend.

How then do the candidates’ supporters connect and reach out to undecided voters? In other climes, social media is a number one go-to for political education. In the United States, social media platforms are increasingly used for political news and information by adults, especially when it comes to election time.

A study by Pew Research conducted in November 2019, found that onein-five US adults get their political news primarily through social media.

18% of adults use social media to get their political and election news. Not so in Cross River State.

Scaremongering and violence are no options. If Cross River State were to advance progressively, political education is key. Not all the money scattered across the state by supposedly affluent politicians can do the work of impassioned, convincing voter education. This voter education must speak to how Cross River State will fare four years, then eight years to come.

he political timetable all over Nigeria, nay Cross River State, is in a flurry.

Ward congresses are already being held and, pending appeals, the outcome of the various primaries can already be projected.

This is the situation in Cross River State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with gubernatorial aspirants already claiming victory in places where their supporters seem to have been selected by the wards as delegates to the state congress. Following a series of postponements, national delegates were expected to be selected at the local government congresses on May 10, 2022.

Obviously, it will be a tenacious fight-to-the-finish between Senators Gershom Bassey and Sandy Onor as their performances during the ward congresses can be deemed as quite outstanding. The state gubernatorial primary on Monday, May 23, 2022, will finally quieten all the noise and we shall know the eventual winner.

In the meantime, the horse-trading is on. Negotiations are in top gear and the permutations continue to hold sway. It is not an easy ride for all the parties. While the results from most of the congresses give Senator Gershom Bassey the upper hand with his heavy incursion into the Central Senatorial District and a clear dominance in the South, the Caterpillar movement, through an online publication, is claiming a Sandy Onor sweep of the ward congresses. Only time will tell.

The political climate during this time is interesting. Such times normally experience a preponderance of shenanigans which could include editorial tail-spinning, verbal mudslinging, political trickery, vote buying, collusive gerrymandering, and even violence. Because of precedence, these are things to be expected. But what will the people, nay, the aspirants, do about it?

In previous campaigns, the likes of Senator Gershom Bassey received the short end of the stick with supporters of his opponent wrecking violence on his person. He eventually got the victory, but he suffered grave injury. Such attacks are not to be taken lightly. In some cases, victims suffer palsies because of injury to the nervous system, or even death. Not a few bright stars in Cross River State have been dimmed in this manner. The late Bankong Obi is a case in point. Unknown assailants were reported to have broken into his home, way back in the ‘90s, and caused him mortal injuries. He was a leading politician in the local government area of Boki at the time.

While this calls for a lot of protec-

L-R: Ekiti State Governor/ Chirman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar; and Sokoto State Governor/ Vice Chairman, NGF, Rt Hon. Aminu Tambuwal; during a sallah homage to the Sultan’s palace in Sokoto

Speaker House of Representatives, Rt. Hon.. Femi Gbajabiamila, delivering a paper on “Consolidating Nigeria’s Democracy: Prospects for Strengthening Nigeria’s Electoral Systems Ahead of 2023 Elections” at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi with the Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, during the Governor’s visit to the Obi’s palace in Onitsha, Anambra State

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FEATURES

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

LEO: Consistency in Innovation, Trendsetting LEO, United Bank for Africa's Artificial Intelligence Chatbot, which simplifies processes and conversations, has upgraded. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that aside a feature of the introduction in a 3D animated format and move to Instagram, it highlights Leo’s trendsetting role and consistency in innovation

F

or United Bank for Africa (UBA), the launch of LEO, its Artificial Intelligence Chatbot, four years ago was to simplify processes and conversations for its millions of customers.

Striving to remain Africa's leading Ai Chatbot, the bank has continuously changed the face of digital banking in Nigeria.

Essentially, LEO is an artificial intelligence personality bringing banking through a simple conversation as a chat buddy who is always available 24/7 and is an repository of knowledge, especially when it comes to helping with banking services.

Already, Leo is present in 20 African countries and in three languages and has a number of rich and robust features bound to "mesmerise existing and potential customers with services that are extremely fast and secure as all transactions and inquiries are encrypted, end-to-end," the bank opined.

Upgrade Recently, UBA added a surprise upgrade to Leo as it launched on Instagram and GBC. This featured its introduction in a 3D animated format.

Given that Leo has always been in 2D, it evolved into the 3D format to make customer's interaction feel more real, thus making Leo to be perceived as more than a digital channel and UBA as more than a bank.

Also, being a tested, dependable and intelligent personality, Leo replicated on WhatsApp the success it recorded on the Facebook Messenger platform where it started its journey and later on the IOS (iPhone Operating System) platform. Now it has upgraded to Instagram.

"We call Leo’s world, Leoverse. This 3D Avatar also positions UBA to take advantage of current like Metaverse and future innovations. This move highlights Leo’s trendsetting role and consistency in innovation," the Group Managing Director/CEO, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka opined.

He added that "Leo is UBA’s chat banking solution allowing customers to transact while using social media apps. The uniqueness of Leo lies in the convenience. Customers can initiate transactions without leaving their favoured phone applications.

"By bringing Leo to the comfort zone of proximal customers, UBA's chat banking became a pioneer innovation and we have since enjoyed leadership status in the chat banking space. By making use of an effective marketing strategy, UBA can continue to improve status and reach intended goal of being Africa’s premier banking institution.

"Since his creation in 2018, Leo has exemplified this goal. His availability on WhatsApp, Facebook, Apple Business Chat and now launching on Instagram & Google Business Chat present opportunities to serve customers 360 degrees regardless of age and behavioural demographics.

"The uniqueness of Leo lies in the convenience of using it without customers having to leave their favoured phone applications. Customers can shop for their items on Instagram and payment directly on Instagram or transfer searching for an item on Google," he added.

Pioneer Innovation Uzoka added that by bringing Leo

Uzoka

to the comfort zone of " our customers, UBA's chat banking became a pioneer innovation, and we have since enjoyed leadership status in the chat banking space. It also shows UBA as a tech driven organisation with her customer ’s interest in mind.

"The innovative AI chatbot also boasts of remarkable innovative features that allows customers to make banking services easier. These and many more will be available across all the channels Leo has presence", he surmised.

Meanwhile, note that the bank presently offers banking services to more than 25 million customers across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.

With presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, UBA is connecting people and busi-

nesses across Africa through retail; commercial and corporate banking; innovative cross-border payments and remittances; trade finance and ancillary banking services.

So for the bank, LEO is one of the bank’s biggest investments in cuttingedge technology and has been steadily changing the face of banking in the continent. This is in tandem with UBA’s vision to always remain a dominating force in Africa’s digital banking space.

To achieve this, they must provide unparalleled experience across all channels, thus why as a technology-driven institution, LEO is key.

Features From bills payment to buying data, funds transfer, budgeting: savings plan/ spend limit, linking and funding of Prepaid card, account opening, viewing mini and full account statement, statement to Embassy/other banks/ Microfinance, balance Enquiry, and linking new account, Leo does it all.

Its other features include telling the weather, banking services like request/

"By bringing Leo to the comfort zone of proximal customers, UBA's chat banking became a pioneer innovation and we have since enjoyed leadership status in the chat banking space"

stop/confirm cheque, block card, freeze account; complaint Module: Log and track complaints; flight booking, ATM/Branch Locator, and Live Chat.

Login begins with simple steps like using UBA account or a UBA Prepaid card.

Summarily, the AI Chat Bot's goal is to make banking services less boring by making transactions simple, easy and fast just by having a conversation.

Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence (Ai) is the 'in thing' now. This is because globally, the hype around Artificial Intelligence keeps accelerating as the end goal is to simplify conversations and processes.

This is why UBA, through Leo, its flagship Ai Chatbot, has tapped into it to simplify the banking process for its millions of customers across the globe, while strengthening conversations.

Four years down the line, the Chat Bot has proven to be the most formidable artificial intelligence chat bot till date; serving an ever-increasing over four million clientele who now have less transaction hassles to worry about.

As expected, given the roaring success of Leo, the bank is bent on not just consolidating its successes and accolades, but also carrying out periodic and systematic upgrade with special emphasis on enhanced advancements and specialised unique features.

19

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022

ENTREPRENEUR

Femi Fagbemi: One Chance Game to Help People Make Smarter Decisions Babafemi Fagbemi is the founder of One Chance Game, an educative and fun platform bent on changing the narrative. In this interview with Rebecca Ejifoma, he revealed how he is using the platform to arm people with financial literacy tools while they are also having fun and making money. In the long run, it helps people make smarter decisions from their experiences after playing the game

W

hat is the motivation for inventing the One Chance Game?

I am Babafemi Fagbemi and I am Nigerian and proud. Nigeria is truly a very special place, some of the things that take place here can’t happen anywhere in the world.

We have communal joy and pain. I had the idea to create a game that reflects the true Nigerian experience – our shared joy and pain, turned into purpose. Something that feels like home, after all there’s really no place like home. There is hardly anyone who lives either in Lagos or any of the big cities that has not had One Chance experience and it doesn’t have to be a car robbery scenario but all our experiences both good and bad.

So, I felt why not recreate these experiences and see how we can entertain ourselves with it and most importantly learn life lessons from them. OneChance game is about the lessons, reinventing our minds and thinking about how we can change our negative stories for the better.

Do you have a One Chance story in Lagos and could this have motivated you?

One chance can happen anywhere, not only in Nigeria or Lagos. So even If you’re outside Nigeria better be on guard. One Chance is when you enter into a situation that only God can save you from. Yes, I have had a few one chance encounters in Lagos; I remember my phone getting stolen in computer village when I went to try and upgrade it, it wasn’t a funny day.

And then there are friends and relatives who have had very terrible and funny experiences. We recently had a Twitter Space conversation where many Nigerians shared their experiences, from car robberies to a newly arrived in Lagos who got scammed.

There was even a tailor who nearly ruined a wedding because he did not make the groom’s suit on time, the day was saved because the groom is a ‘wiseguy”.

But from the discussions, you find that there were different layers of response to a one chance situation and that is what this game completely encapsulates, I believe from all experiences, we should come out better, those are the things we want people to learn when playing our game.

How long did this project take you to complete?

This project has been a labour of love, there was no concept of time when we started creating this game. Our goal was to create a game that Nigerians anywhere in the world can fall in love with and feel like they belong, while telling our true story – However it’s been over two years since I had the idea and started working on it. I’m pleased because after all this time and resources spent, the quality of work does speak for itself.

We did not leave any stone unturned in creating a genuine and complete experience in this game, we had the best brains putting it all together and you can see in the accolades the game has received since we launched online on March 3.

Could you tell the main features of the game?

In this game you must pass JAMB, Yes JAMB. I love seeing everyone’s reaction when they find out, it always brings back memories. There’s also traffic in the game, when you enter traffic, you will be stuck while everyone is moving. There’s Ajo (contribution) and even Tax in the game.

As you play you earn Salary which you

Babafemi Fagbemi

can chose to invest in the bank or market.

Then there’s One Chance which can either be good or bad for example you can win N1,000,000 or you can find out your land papers are fake. There are a lot of other parts to the game but you have to get yours to truly experience. So like I said it is a complete experience, this is what we go through daily and in our career, however, in the game, you can make mistakes and learn from them using the knowledge to improve your decision making in real life. Everyone who has played it loves it.

What lessons or messages are you trying to pass across with this?

One Chance is equally as educative as it is fun. I hope we can arm people with financial literacy tools while they are also having fun and making money. It mimics our real-life experiences and I hope

people make smarter decisions from their experiences after playing.

There are financial and life lessons I learnt from my parents while growing up.

Experiences like what and when to invest.

I took some and discarded others, to my regrets really. But I want to pass on the same lessons to people especially those who are just making their way up in life.

It seems this game addresses Lagos only, was that deliberate and are you looking at adding other cities in future?

Lagos is the most popular state in Nigeria and the entertainment hub of the country, we thought it wise to start from Lagos because a lot of Nigerians have been to Lagos at one point or the other and the shared experiences will be similar. However, our One Chance Bus will be visiting other parts of Nigeria soon so look forward to future editions and hopefully even other countries – after all, Africa is one big village where our experiences are similar.

What do you plan for this game, are we looking at an upgrade anytime soon?

We are in the very early stages and honestly

"I hope we can arm people with financial literacy tools while they are also having fun and making money. It mimics our real-life experiences and I hope people make smarter decisions from their experiences after playing"

need every support we can get to build this brand into a global superpower that represents Nigeria positively, however I would like to think that the sky is the limit.

We can see so many endless possibilities in our future, however we need helping hands to get there.

Where can people get this game and is it available outside Lagos?

Currently this game is only available via Pre-order, if you visit our website www. onechancegame.com you will be able to place your own order for your own copy between now and 24th of March. Doorstep delivery is free and will begin April first – April 14th to Nigeria, UK, USA and CANADA. However, we would love to be in popular retail outlets across Nigeria and the world as well and we are working towards that effect.

I would like to end by saying thank you; Thank you to my mom, whom without her support this project would not have been possible. I want to thank my siblings and my late dad as well for arming me with the tool to dream of a world where any dream is possible. I want to thank my teammates who listened to my crazy idea and decided to follow me on this crazy journey.

Lastly, I want to thank you for reading this piece and supporting us as we begin this journey. You are the most integral part of our story from this point on and we look forward to hearing your experiences with our game, and having you become a passenger. You can visit @onechancegame on Instagram to find out more and contact me here – babafemi@onehcancegame.com

20

WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 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

M A Y

S & P INDEX

1 0 , 2 0 2 2

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

6.50%

CALL

10.75%

INDEX LEVEL

610.44%

1/4 TO DATE

– 1.31%

N416.75/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

7.17%

1-MONTH

9.66%

1-DAY

0.03%

YEAR TO DATE

7.13%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

1028%

MONTH-TO-DATE

– 1.31%

24 NGX Listed Coys Remitted N215.9bn Tax to FIRS, Others in Q1 2022

Kayode Tokede Following their expansion in Nigeria and other African countries, the likes of Dangote Cement Plc, MTN Nigeria Communication, Seplat Energy Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) and 20 other companies remitted a total of N215.9 billion tax to the Federal Inland Revenue

Services (FIRS), among other revenue generating agencies in first quarter of 2022.

This represents a 61 per cent increase over the N133.42 billion reported by these 24 companies in the first quarter of 2021.

The 24 companies are made up of cement manufacturing, telecommunication, oil & gas,

financial institutions and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

Companies operating in Nigeria are expected to remit corporate tax, information technology tax, tertiary education tax, among others to federal government agency, state revenue generating agencies and

agencies in countries where they have branches.

As gathered by THISDAY, Dangote Cement followed by MTN Nigeria remitted most tax expenses in the period under review.

Dangote Cement in Q1 2022 tax expenses rose by 25.14 per cent to N50.55billion as against N40.39billion reported in Q1 2021, while MTN

Nigeria reports N46.77billion tax expenses in Q1 2022, representing nearly 60 per cent increase from N29.2billion reported in Q1 2021.

The Chief Executive officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola in a statement stated that: “We have continued to make good progress in the first quarter, building on the momentum we achieved in Q4 2021

and delivering several key milestones as we grow our connectivity business and platforms.

“This was achieved against a backdrop of significant geopolitical volatility exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. This conflict has significantly impacted energy prices, Continued on page 28

Agusto&Co: Nigeria Recorded $699m FDI Inflows in 2021, Lowest Level Since 2013 Nume Ekeghe A report by Agusto&Co has indicated that insecurity has hampered foreign direct investments (FDI) as well as depleting the economic prospects of Nigeria, revealing that last year’s FDI, which stood at $699 was the lowest in eight years.

The report, titled, “the Economics of Insecurity: Nigeria Rough Patch,” noted that the rising insecurity is also rooted in the increase in unemployment and rising poverty.

It also stated that the increased insecurity in Nigeria has coincided with rising poverty levels, with an estimated 83 million people which is 39 percent of the total population, living in extreme poverty, which is less than $2 per day as of April 2022.

According to the report: “The rising level of insecurity constitutes a major drag on investor confidence which is negative for FDI inflows.

Nigeria recorded $699 million in FDI inflows in 2021, the lowest level since 2013. The country’s level

of insecurity, and the implication for business activity, cannot be overstated.

“Heightened uncertainty and instability hinder business operations including production, marketing, and distribution.

In many cases, the country’s security situation has resulted in the suspension of commercial operations and expansion plans, thereby increasing unemployment and poverty levels.”

It noted that lower-income earners are more vulnerable to

reductions in power purchasing power, job losses, and a lack of access to basic financial services that can help mitigate disruptions during periods of conflict. Security concerns in the country have also hampered access to raw materials in certain locations thus disrupting production cycles and driving up costs.

“Many transportation and logistics providers are charging higher fees to specific regions, as security risks are being factored into the fares.

According to the NBS, the average

airfare charged for specified routes is up 28.26 percent in the last year while the average charge for intercity bus journeys is up 35.65 percent within the same period,” it states Furthermore, on the impact of insecurity on the economic performance of Nigeria, it emphasised that in order to ensure sustainable long-term economic growth is closely tied to its national security.

It further stated: “The widespread insecurity in the country has led to the disruption of agricultural activities which is the largest employer of

labour and the largest economic sector in the country at 25.9 percent of GDP in 2021.

“Agriculture also provides input for various manufacturing companies.

Nigeria’s high food inflation rate, which stood at 17.2 percent in March 2022, is largely attributed to the increasing scourge of insecurity in the country’s Northern region.

Communal clashes and banditry, in addition to the farmer-herder disputes, have raged unabated Continued on page 28

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

BONDS DESCRIPTION

Price

Yield

14.20 14-MAR2024 13.53 23-MAR2025 12.50 22-JAN2026 16.2884 17MAR-2027 13.98 23-FEB2028

110.85

7.79

108.83

9.92

105.63

10.61

119.08

11.10

111.14

11.30

Change Updated Time (%) 6, -0.01 May 2022 6, 0.00 May 2022 6, 0.00 May 2022 6, 0.00 May 2022 6, -0.07 May 2022

Discount

NTB 9-Jun22 NTB 14-Jul22 NTB 11Aug-22 NTB 8-Sep22

304,00 305,00

0.00 May 6, 2022

323,00 324,00

0.00 May 6, 2022

350,00 353,00

0.00 May 6, 2022

349,00 353,00

0.00 May 6, 2022

NTB 13-Oct- 356,00 362,00 22

0.00 May 6, 2022

Yield

OTC F X F U T U R E S

CPS

MATURITY

Change Updated Time (%)

MATURITY NEVE CP I 24-MAY-22 DANC CP II 25-MAY-22 TRBH CP V 26-JUL-22 FSDH CP VI 1-AUG-22 NENL CP I 24-OCT-22

Discount Yield 16.52 16.65 8.56

Change Updated Time (%) -0.25 May 6, 2022

8.60

-0.24 May 6, 2022

11.67 11.98

0.75 May 6, 2022

8.44

0.84 May 6, 2022

14.14 15.14

0.12 May 6, 2022

8.27

CONTRACT Current TENOR Contract Rate ($/₦) (MONTH) NGUS MAY 25 1 427.24 2022 NGUS JUN 29 428.93 2 2022 NGUS JUL 27 3 430.63 2022 NGUS AUG 31 4 432.32 2022 NGUS SEP 28 5 434.02 2022

Updated Time

May 5, 2022 May 5, 2022 May 5, 2022 May 5, 2022 May 5, 2022

22

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

L-R: Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko and the Olu of Warri Kingdom, Ogiame Atuwatse III, during a courtesy visit to the Olu after a tour of the Warri Port in Delta State… yesterday

FG Urged to Implement New Sugar Tax, Earmark Funds for Healthcare

James Emejo in Abuja

The National Action on Sugar Reduction has urged the federal government to move swiftly to announce the tax enforcement structure and the timeline for the implementation of the newly introduced Sugar Tax for the benefit of Nigerians and the economy at large.

The coalition, in an Open Letter to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, welcomed the introduction of a N10 per litre excise tax on all non-alcoholic, carbonated and sweetened beverages in the 2021 Finance Act.

The group stated that the passage into law of the important pro-health tax reinforces the federal government’s commitment to prioritizing the health and welfare of Nigerians.

The coalition further described the sugar tax as vital health and finance policy intervention which the government should take additional steps to ensure its effective implementation through its enforcement and evaluation.

Their appeal for swift implementation of the sugar tax came against the backdrop of concerns over the significant opposition to the tax by the beverage industry which

had described the pro-health intervention as an unnecessary burden on Nigerian consumers.

The coalition in the open letter to the minister expressed anxiety that further delay in the implementation of the tax could jeopardize it completely.

The signatories to the letter included the Nigerian Medical Association, Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Nigeria Cancer Society, Nigeria Health Watch, the Nigerian Heart Foundation, Bundies Care Initiative and NOI Polls among others.

The group said, “Recent developments have revealed

the importance of protecting the tax and ensuring its swift implementation.

Significant opposition to the tax has already arisen, with the beverage industry framing it as an unnecessary burden on the Nigerian people.

“The industry has tapped highly influential groups and spokespersons to amplify this narrative. Further delay in implementing the tax can jeopardize it completely.”

The letter added, “Pro-health taxes receive more public support when citizens understand why the government has taken these measures. The Nigerian government and people stand to gain health and economic benefits from the tax.

“In South Africa, the introduction of an SSB tax not only led to reduced SSB consumption among heavyconsumers it also generated revenue that exceeded forecasts. In the first year of implementation, around $140 million in SSB tax revenue was recorded.”

The coalition further pointed out that an NOI Polls survey that it commissioned, reported that a majority of Nigerians support a sweetened beverage tax if funds are earmarked for healthcare.

The proponents of sugar tax added that “Through earmarking, tax revenues can be used to improve access to life-saving interventions, particularly for

low-income Nigerians living with type 2 diabetes and other NCDs. “It is our request that your ministry should determine earmarking of the tax revenue and sensitise the public about this course of action.”

Other signatories to the minister included the Faculty of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Ibadan, African Youth Initiative on Population, Health and Development, Project Pink Blue, Talk Health Naija, Lafiya Wealth Initiative, Breast Without Spot, Research Hub Africa, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and Policy Innovation Centre.

NPA Moves to Revive Eastern Ports, Commences Dredging of Escravos Channel Eromosele Abiodun In a bid to attract shippers to eastern ports and boost economic activity in the region, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), yesterday said it has awarded the contract for remedial dredging of Escravos

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)

channel.

The Managing Director of NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, who disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Warri, Delta State said the dredging of the channel will help to expand the channel and enable bigger vessels to visit the port in Delta State.

According to Bello-Koko, the dredging, which has started and is about halfway done, will enable port in Delta State to have a better draft, receive bigger vessels and record less incidences of vessels running aground when completed.

Bello-Koko said, “We all know that the breakwaters collapsed

about 10 years ago, and there has been high siltation resulting in reduction of the draft from 7 meters to 3 meters in some places.”

The NPA, he added, has also started the mapping and charting of the Escravos channel starting from the fairway buoy down to Koko Port, which has not been done for over a decade or more.

“The essence is to enable us to be able to know the draft along the way and also ensure that the navigational aids are properly placed. This is because there are some decisions that can only be taken after knowing that the channel has been properly

mapped and surveyed,” he said.

Bello-Koko further said the efforts put together means that the NPA is beginning to pay attention to the ports outside Lagos.

He added, “We have a special interest in ensuring that Warri and other ports are more active. This is why we have been holding stakeholders meetings and we are going to Port Harcourt for another one.

This enables us to engage with the importers and exporters for them to know that these ports are available for use. We will deploy more marine equipment and ensure that the signals are

also working to ensure safe navigation of vessels.”

The NPA boss added that the development will bring joy to the people, especially those that are into the business of importation, who have been yearning for the decongestion of the Lagos port and the bringing of business to the Warri port.

Speaking during a courtesy visit by the NPA boss and his management team to seek royal support in reviving the Warri Port, the Olu of Warri Kingdom, Ogiame Atuwatse III, expressed satisfaction on the NPA visit to Warri Port as the first port of call after his confirmation as

the managing director.

He said the eastern ports need to be opened up after several pushes by different governments in the past, adding that the recent efforts will yield positive results for the benefit of the importing community.

While saying that the NigerDelta people want the port to work, the Olu of Warri said that port generally drives the economy of the cities where they are located.

He assured that the NPA can always come to the royal family for support to achieve the goal of opening up Warri Port for business.

IPMAN Warns of Severe Fuel Scarcity Over N500bn Outstanding Claims Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has called on Nigerians to prepare for fuel scarcity if the federal government do not prevails on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA) to pay its members their outstanding bridging claims amounting to over N500 billion.

The IPMAN Chairman, Kano State Chapter, Bashir

Danmalam, made the remark while addressing a news conference in Kano, yesterday.

He said the failure of the NMDPRA to pay the bridging claims otherwise known as transportation claim had forced many of its members out of business as they couldn’t transport the commodity due to high cost of diesel.

He lamented that nonpayment of the claims by the NMDPRA for over eight months had crippled the

business of many of their members.

“NMDPRA is responsible for the payment of bridging claims otherwise known as transportation claims “Failure of the NMDPRA to pay the outstanding claims for about nine months, many marketers cannot transport the product because their funds are not being paid. Despite the high price of diesel, they manage to supply the petroleum products nationwide.

“The resurfacing of fuel queues in Abuja is just a tip of the iceberg with regard to the petroleum scarcity.

“Out of 100 per cent, only five per cent of the marketers can supply the petroleum products because of the failure of NMDPRA to pay them,” he added.

He noted that since after the creation of the NMDPRA, the, “agency had paid us only two times.”

Danmalam, therefore, called

on the federal government to intervene before the situation degenerated into a serious fuel crisis and spread to other parts of the country.

He said Nigerians should not blame their members for the fuel scarcity but rather should blame NMDPRA. “We are not agitating for a transportation fee increase, we are only clamoring for payment of our bridging claims that is over N500 billion,” he added.

123

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAYMay 11, 2022 Wednesday 11, 2022 Vol 27. No 9893 TR

See page 24 THE SOUTHEAST AND NIGERIA’S PRESIDENCY There is need to insert zoning in the country’s constitution, contends CHIEDU UCHE OKOYE See page 24 OSUN WEST AND BURDEN OF INTRAPARTY STRIFE ADAM ADEDIMEJI argues that experience pays See page 25 BIDEN AND AFRICANAMERICAN COLOUR TRIBALISM President Joe Biden’s dance on skin tribalism is perhaps triggered by the massive support

by Black voters, writes OKELLO OCULI See page 25

EDITORIAL THE PROPOSED 2023 CENSUS…11

See page 26

& RE A S O

N

opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND THE HAJJ SAVINGS SCHEME USMAN ALIYU BUBA argues against the suspension of the scheme

UT H

SONNY ARAGBA-AKPORE writes that the social networking platform might lose some of its attractions

ELON MUSK, TWITTER AND GLAMOUR If Elon Musk goes ahead with emphasis on subscriptions at the expense of its revenue generating advertising, Twitter may become an all-comers’ platform and, in the process, the glamour associated with it will be lost.

Although he has said it will encourage free speech by subscribers, but that too will be an issue as subscribers may take advantage of this and say what may be uncomplimentary to others.

Conscious of the reality of what successful people need to sustain their businesses, Musk last week invited18 of his billionaire friends, all members of his plutocratic club, including CZ, the founder and CEO of the world’s biggest crypto exchange, Binance, to a meeting.

After a presentation to his invited friends, the world’s richest man shared with them his dream for Twitter and how he wants to make WKH PLFUR EORJJLQJ SODWIRUP PRUH SURÀWDEOH and the beacon of free speech.

He pleaded for their support. After his presentation, his friends doled out a check for $7.1 billion for him inside the meeting room.

Oracle CEO, Larry Ellison the seventh richest man in the world and Musk’s personal friend, led the funding round by writing a $1 billion check. CZ, the CEO of Binance, wrote a check for $500 million. The money raised was for equity contributions and an investment in Musk’s dream to buy Twitter. The idea was to support their friend, his mission, and his cash raising drive to buy Twitter.

One of the investors, Ben Horowitz, cofounder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, tweeted about the investment with excitement. He said: “Elon is the one person we know and perhaps the only person in the world who has the courage, brilliance, and VNLOOV WR À[ DOO RI WKHVH DQG EXLOG WKH SXEOLF square that we all hoped for and deserve.

“We invested because we believe in him and Jack’s vision to connect the world and we EHOLHYH LQ (ORQ·V EULOOLDQFH WR ÀQDOO\ PDNH LW what it was meant to be. Though Twitter has D JUHDW SURPLVH DV D SXEOLF VTXDUH LW VXͿHUV IURP D P\ULDG RI GL΀FXOW LVVXHV UDQJLQJ IURP bots to abuse to censorship. Being a public company solely reliant on an advertising business model exacerbates all of these,” he added.

Musk raised about N5trillion at a sitting, not because he was a magician but because he had good friends.

And as it is, there are two currencies a man needs in the world to grow rich and become PRUH ÀQDQFLDOO\ VXFFHVVIXO 7KH ÀUVW FXUUHQF\ is money and the other is human capital.

Before the Twitter deal was reached last month, it has been an open book with advertising as its major source of income but with Musk taking over later in the year 2022, emphasis shifts to subscriptions whereby subscribers especially those tagged as premium users and blue subscribers will pay more to deploy information on Twitter.

5HJXODWLRQV PD\ EH GL΀FXOW IRU WKH QHZ owners as subscribers may be at liberty to post whatever they desire no matter how RͿHQVLYH VXFK SRVWV FRXOG EH RU QR PDWWHU WKH harm there from.

It’s not clear how Musk hopes to manage this, more so when a public domain now rests with a private individual who will run the service at his whims.

‘In a tweet, Musk insisted “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users.”

He said he wants to improve the social media company’s ability to make money.

“Ultimately, the downfall of the Freemasons was giving away their stonecutting services for nothing,” Musk tweeted. %XW GHVSLWH LWV KLJK SURÀOH QDPH 7ZLWWHU has long lagged behind the growth of Silicon Valley rivals. It’s advertising revenue of $4.5 billion in 2021 was dwarfed by the $115 billion brought in by Instagram and Facebook owner.

Twitter’s 217 million daily active users are a fraction of Meta’s combined 1.9 billion daily active users.

Facebook and Instagram do not currently charge users for access to the platforms and their features. Musk may be seeking to emulate the sales model of Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, which charges users a monthly fee for access to premium features and had revenues of $10.3 billion in 2021.

The suggestion of paid accounts is one of the changes to the platform Musk has mooted. Other plans include adding end-toend encryption for direct messages, reducing content moderation in favour of greater free speech, and introducing an ‘edit button’ to change the tweets after they are published.

“Let’s make Twitter maximum fun!” Musk tweeted recently.

0XVN·V ELG IRU 7ZLWWHU ZDV SDUW ÀQDQFHG by debt commitments from a number of major banks including Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Bank of America. The billionaire also sold $8.5 billion in Tesla shares in the space of D IHZ GD\V EXW GLG QRW FRQÀUP LI WKH VKDUHV

There are two currencies a man needs in the world to grow rich and become more financially successful. The first is money and the other is human capital

were sold to part-fund the Twitter takeover.

Advertisers are already nervous of using Twitter if Musk prioritises free speech over potential online harms.

Musk does not see advertising as the primary revenue source for Twitter. His vision is to generate revenue for Twitter from subscriptions rather than advertising.

Without having to worry about attracting and retaining advertisers, Twitter would have less pressure to focus on content moderation. This could make Twitter a sort of freewheeling opinion site for paying subscribers.

Before this deal Twitter has been aggressive in using content moderation in its attempts to address disinformation.

Musk has vowed to relax content restrictions after he struck the $44bn takeover deal. He has previously described himself as a “free speech absolutist”.

He has been vocal in his criticism of Twitter’s policies on moderating content, arguing that it needs to be a genuine forum for free speech.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” he said on announcing the deal.

He was quoted as saying for the purposes of emphasis that “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users,” he said in a tweet. %XW 7ZLWWHU LV \HW WR UHVSRQG WR WKLV R΀FLDOO\ The Tesla chief has been suggesting a number of changes to Twitter since last month. After adding the company to his cart recently, he said he wanted to enhance the platform with new features, make the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeat spam bots, and authenticate all humans.

Even before reaching a deal with Twitter, Musk had suggested few changes to the Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price.

Twitter’s ability to shape real-time discourse, as well as the ease with which data, including geo-tagged data, can be gathered from Twitter has made it a gold mine for researchers to analyse a variety of societal phenomena, ranging from public health to politics.

Twitter data have been used to predict health related emergency conditions, measure public epidemic awareness, and model ZLOGÀUH VPRNH GLVSHUVLRQ Tweets that are part of a conversation shown in chronological order, and Twitter archive provides instant and complete access to every public Tweet. This positions Twitter as a historical chronicler of record and a de facto fact checker.

Aragba-Akpore is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board

2 24

T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022

USMAN ALIYU BUBA argues against the suspension of the scheme

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND THE HAJJ SAVINGS SCHEME If every Muslim had their way, they would travel to Mecca at least once in their lifetime to SHUIRUP WKH VSLULWXDO GXW\ RI +DMM LQ IXOÀOPHQW RI RQH RI WKH ÀYH SLOODUV RI ,VODP %XW RXW RI DOO the duties that the religion of Islam has obligated the Muslims to perform, going for hajj requires much more than mere wishes. It involves a lot of funds, which only the rich can comfortably pay, and which the average Nigerian has generally EHHQ XQDEOH WR UDLVH H[FHSW E\ UHO\LQJ XSRQ the benevolence of the state, wealthy family or relatives.

The fact remains that hajj fares are relatively high especially because of the global economic realities which have contributed to rising LQÁDWLRQ UDWH 'XULQJ WKH KDMM RSHUDWLRQV WKH IDUH ZDV SXW DW 1 PLOOLRQ EXW LQ WKH IDUH KDV MXPSHG WR 1 PLOOLRQ <RX DUH DV sure as hell that the fares will shoot up in the following years.

Perhaps, conscious of these realities, and to ease the chances for the average intending Nigerian pilgrims to perform hajj, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), which statutory responsibility is to organise and coordinate the movement of persons from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia for the performance of pilgrimage or Ummra, came up with a scheme, known as the Hajj Savings Scheme.

With the launching of the scheme in Kano LQ DQG ELOOHG WR EHFRPH IXOO\ RSHUDWLRQDO LQ IROORZLQJ WKH JUDQWLQJ RI SUHVLGHQWLDO approval, the intending pilgrims especially from states wouldn’t have to struggle too hard to pay instant money anymore, but steadily work and save towards going to Mecca.

Because it brings with it long awaited succor, the support for this scheme was massive - evident in the encouraging interests and contributions by some intending pilgrims in some states into the JAIZ Bank which became the joint promoter of the scheme. ,Q IDFW DV RI 0DUFK WKHUH ZHUH RYHU HQUROOHHV LQ WKH VFKHPH DQG DOO RI ZKRP have had their accounts regularly credited with the proceeds that accrued under just one year, whereas those who had their initial deposits for WKH DQG +DMM ZLWK WKH 6WDWH 3LOJULPV· Welfare Boards (SPWPBs), which by the way had been adamant against NAHCON’s GLUHFWLYHV DQG H[WDQW ODZV WR UHPLW WKHLU savings to JAIZ bank, have yet to make such SURÀW 0RUH WKDQ DQ\ WLPH VLQFH WKH EHJLQQLQJ RI WKH VFKHPH WKH HQUROOHHV DUH H[SHFWDQW RI performing hajj anytime soon.

But this heart-warming story of support for and encouragement of the ordinary Nigerian Muslims intending to embark upon hajj may soon be truncated. Last week, the Senate passed for second reading a bill sponsored by one Senator Ibrahim Danbaba (Sokoto South), for the suspension of the scheme, and possible domicile

of its savings in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Earlier, the House of Representatives had made the same move through a motion by Aminu Ashiru-Mani, from Katsina State, who argued without any evidence that NAHCON’s recent directives to states pilgrims’ welfare boards, agencies and commissions to migrate Hajj deposits made by the intending pilgrims to the Hajj Savings Scheme platform with Jaiz Bank could give room for corruption and lack of accountability in the scheme.

If you were taken aback by these moves by the national assembly, you would not be alone, especially when you take into consideration, the delightful work that NAHCON has been doing to save the intending Muslim pilgrims IURP WKH ÀQDQFLDO SUHVVXUHV RQ WKHP WR SHUIRUP hajj and also the national economy from the colossal sums government sink, annually, into the sponsorship of hajj for political patronage.

You would also think that this alleged moves by the legislators were informed by the facts arising from their possible perusal of the books and records of NAHCON and JAIZ bank, and discovery of clear irrefutable evidence of mismanagement, and misappropriation. But no, there is no such evidence, rather what we read ZDV D PHUH H[SUHVVLRQ RI SRVVLEOH FRUUXSWLRQ ´LI the development (of allowing the accounts of intending pilgrims or subscribers in the bank) is not tackled.”

The questions thus arise: how does management of the intending pilgrims account

by JAIZ bank give rise to possible corruption?

Are there genuine complaints from the subscribers of the scheme about the loss of their contributions? Now if you end up suspending the scheme, or moving the contributions of the subscribers to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), what do the intending pilgrims stand to gain, especially given the fact that they will neither be able to receive halal alerts (interest IUHH RI SURÀWV E\ WKH EDQN DQG JURZLQJ WKHLU DFFRXQWV WR WKH OHYHO WKH\ FDQ EH ÀQDQFLDOO\ stable to embark on this journey? Will the intending pilgrims/subscribers be able to log in details to check how their accounts are doing as they were wont?

You see, when you have an institution that has come up with a valuable scheme for some struggling souls to uplift their faith, and you KDYH QR JUDWLWXGH WR RͿHU IRU VXFK LQLWLDWLYH , think the least you can do is to keep quiet. But this is Nigeria, where oftentimes pecuniary interests rather than altruistic fervors provide impetus for some vocalized actions.

At this moment, concerned stakeholders need to take a decisive stance against this needless legislative adventure before it is too late, because if the national assembly eventually have their way, it will kill the dreams of many of the indigent, struggling subscribers who have taken this scheme as a godsend, a scheme which is supposed to create a robust and healthy economy around Hajj, anyway.

It is instructive that, already, the Council RI ,PDPV DQG 8ODPD KDYH H[SUHVVHG WKHLU reservations about the manner the National Assembly is going about this issue. The ulamas led by Shaykh Ibrahim Nakaka ànd Dr Yusuf Yakubu Arrigasiyyu, Chairman and Secretary-General of the Council respectively, LQ D UHFHQW VWDWHPHQW H[SUHVVHG IHDUV WKDW WKLV scheme patterned along the Malaysian Tabung Hajj which had become a reference point for national economy of the South-East Asian country, was about to be shut down.

Buba writes from Abuja

There is need to insert zoning in the country’s constitution, contends CHIEDU UCHE OKOYE

THE SOUTHEAST AND NIGERIA’S PRESIDENCY Democracy, which originated in ancient Greece, ZDV GHÀQHG DV WKH JRYHUQPHQW RI WKH SHRSOH by the people and for the people by Abraham Lincoln, a former President of America. But the caucasoid imperialists, who overran Africa and carved it up into many countries for colonial rule brought democracy to the peoples of Africa. It was not that the peoples of Africa had no systems of government before the white people came to Africa. Hadn’t the kingdoms of Benin, Oyo, Bornu, $VKDQWL DQG RWKHUV H[LVWHG EHIRUH WKH FRPLQJ RI the white people to Africa?

But the white colonialists replaced our pre-colonial governments with democracy because they thought our pre-colonial systems of government to be primitive, crude, and unrepresentative of the people. Now, all over the world, democracy, as a system of government, is the in-thing. Most countries of the world practice either American model of presidential system of government or the parliamentary system of government. Since Nigeria’s attainment of political VRYHUHLJQW\ LQ VKH KDV EHHQ SUDFWLFLQJ representative government save the period when the military held sway in the geographical space called Nigeria. $IWHU ZH KDG H[SHULHQFHG SROLWLFDO OXOO IRU a long while in Nigeria owing to the military interventions in our politics, democratic governance birthed in Nigeria again in 1999 with the political kingmakers ceding the presidential seat to the southwest.

Although rotational presidency is not included in our constitution, it has been used to restore peace and unity as well as political stability to Nigeria. It was used to appease the Yoruba people, ZKR ZHUH LQGLJQDQW EHFDXVH WKH SUHVLGHQWLDO election, which was supposedly won by Chief MKO Abiola, was annulled.

Since the dawn of the fourth republic, the presidential post has been swinging between the south and the north with some geopolitical zones producing the president of Nigeria at GLͿHUHQW SHULRGV $OWKRXJK LW LV QRW LQVHUWHG LQ RXU country’s constitution, it is a democratic measure, if sustained, will guarantee peace and unity in Nigeria and accelerate our national development. %XW ]RQLQJ RI SROLWLFDO R΀FHV WR UHJLRQV LQ WKH country is among the laws and norms, which is operational in Nigeria’s two leading political parties namely, PDP and APC. But as Nigeria is a peculiarly unique country, where top politicians are ethnic chauvinists and religious bigots, who are swayed by ethnic and religious sentiments and prejudice, the political big cheese will always champion the use of rotational presidency for electing the president of 1LJHULD ZKHQ LW ZLOO EHQHÀW WKHP KRZHYHU WKH\ will vociferously call for its abandonment when they are disadvantaged by it in their pursuit of political power at the centre.

So tweaking the constitution of Nigeria to include the principle of rotational presidency in it will serve our collective interests as Nigerians and engender peace and progress in our dear country.

But then, some countries of the world, which have political stability are governed by unwritten constitutions. They are governed by judicial precedents, case laws, conventions, and others.

In this regard, the Great Britain readily comes to PLQG \HW WKH SHRSOHV RI *UHDW %ULWDLQ KDYH QRW WDNHQ XS DUPV WR ÀJKW RQH DQRWKHU 7KH\ DUH QRW living acrimoniously with one another, either.

However, today, it is saddening to note that the people(s) of Nigeria, who hail from diverse ethnic groups have acrimonious relationships with one another. Regarding politics and politicking, do the Yoruba people repose trust in the Hausa/Fulani

people? The Hausa/Fulani people’s distrust of the Igbo people is legendary. They have disdain and contempt for the Igbo people, and feel that if a person of Igbo stock becomes the president of Nigeria, he or she will use the massive presidential power at his or her disposal to bring about the dismemberment of Nigeria.

But that theory or conjecture is misplaced.

It has no basis in either reality or truth.

Their prognostication that Nigeria will split into many nations if an Igbo man becomes the president of Nigeria is not supported by evidential facts. Chief Emeka Ojukwu’s separatist misadventure in 1967 was sparked RͿ E\ FLUFXPVWDQFHV DQG HYHQWV WKDW compelled the Igbo people to acquiesced in Lt. Col Ojukwu’s secessionist war for the creation of the state of Biafra. +RZHYHU QRZ WKH VWRU\ LV GLͿHUHQW 7KH gregarious nature of the Igbo people is the reason why they have dispersed to every nook and cranny of Nigeria where they eke out their livelihoods through honest labour.

Their marrying people who belong to ethnic groups other than the Igbo ethnic group is a proof that they believe in one united and indissoluble Nigeria.

And since the colonial era when such IUHHGRP ÀJKWHUV RI ,JER H[WUDFWLRQ DV Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nwafor Orizu, Osita Agwuna, and others fought valiantly for the political emancipation of Nigeria, Igbo people have been contributing their quotas for the development of Nigeria.

But it is incredible that the Igbo people DUH QRW UHTXLWHG IRU WKHLU HͿRUWV WR UHPDNH Nigeria and take her to the acme of economic and technological development.

They are marginalized in our country’s scheme of things. President Buhari, a Fulani irredentist, shunted the Igbo people out of the top positions in our country’s security architecture.

And the southeast, which is the ancestral homeland of the Igbo people, trails other geopolitical zones in Nigeria in the area of infrastructural development. Are most of Nigeria’s military establishments not located in Kaduna, which is in the north? More so, Nigeria has a discriminatory and unfair admission policy for pupils, who want to enter our unity schools. The policy favours WKH QRUWK DW WKH H[SHQVH RI WKH VRXWK So against the background of the injustices, which are being meted out to the Igbo people, and the political inequities they have been H[SHULHQFLQJ WKH ,32%·V DJLWDWLRQ IRU WKH creation of the sovereign state of Biafra is understandable, and not misplaced. But ,32%·V PHWKRGRORJ\ RI ÀJKWLQJ IRU WKH political emancipation of the southeast is not acceptable to all Nigerians. The attainment of political sovereignty by IPOB is not worth the spilled blood of any Nigerian, however.

But the bloody rumblings in the southeast and the violent enforcement of the sit-athome order on every Monday will cease if the two leading political parties in Nigeria, PDP and APC, cede the presidential post to the southeast. The emergence of a Nigerian SUHVLGHQW RI ,JER H[WUDFWLRQ LQ ZLOO assuage the hurt feelings of the Igbo people and convince them that they are truly wanted in Nigeria.

Okoye writes from Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State

325

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022

ADAM ADEDIMEJI argues that experience pays

OSUN WEST AND BURDEN OF INTRA-PARTY STRIFE In the build-up to the 2023 general elections, Senator Adelere Oriolowo, a ÀUVW WHUP VHQDWRU UHSUHVHQWLQJ 2VXQ :HVW Senatorial District in the upper chambers of the National Assembly, is about having a personal face-to-face encounter with one of the factors constituting a cog in the wheel of Nigeria’s democratic progress.

In his ongoing bid to return to the Senate for a second term next year, the VHQDWRU LV WKLQNLQJ OHVV RI VTXDULQJ XS ZLWK opposition parties in the election scheduled for February 2023. What stands between the senator and his second term interest is rather internal competition in the APC that he belongs.

No fewer than four persons from his immediate Federal Constituency have indicated interest to slug it out with him for APC’s Osun West’s Senatorial ticket.

The rationale on which the ambition of other APC senatorial aspirants for Osun West is premised is saddening because it is not based on the need to raise the bar of representation of the constituency but solely on self-interest.

For instance, an aspirant among those angling to dislodge Oriolowo is reported to have said, “As for the allusion to the performance of the incumbent senator or his acceptability by the people and the party, I won’t be dwelling on that.”

The attempt by the party faithful to GLVORGJH DQ LQFXPEHQW R΀FH KROGHU from the same party is strange as it is also unhealthy for party supremacy and overall success of the party at the polls.

We can take a cursory look at the democracies of advanced countries such as the US and the UK. Instances of exceptions, which are very rare, arise where an incumbent is considered to have performed abysmally or acted in gross misconduct in the course of his public service. It is on WKDW SUHPLVH WKDW WKH SHUVRQ LQ TXHVWLRQ LV advised to step down on his own in order to save the face of the party he belongs. The best practice across the world, especially ZKHUH SXEOLF R΀FH LV DERXW VHUYLFH WR WKH people, is that a serving representative UHVHUYHV WKH ULJKW RI ÀUVW UHIXVDO There is no doubt that one of the beautifying ingredients of democracy is found in its competitive nature, which DͿRUGV WKH SHRSOH WKH ULJKW WR IUHHO\ choose their representatives or leaders.

Even so, party politics, which enhances organizational competition, conventionally frowns at unnecessary bickering within a political party because it is suicidal as it could lead to party’s failure at inter-party competition arena.

When a party is the architect of its misfortune, the essence of having a single fold for party men and women to drive their political interest and activities in the larger politics of the society is defeated.

In a nation like ours where politics is played along party lines, nobody, however LQWHOOLJHQW LQÁXHQWLDO RU VRSKLVWLFDWHG becomes anything within the political system without the party.

That is why party interest supersedes personal interest in the struggle for political power. This explains why the good performance of a party man or woman in public is a pride to the party. It is for this

reason that a party defends its own when another segment of the public, driven by inter-party animosity, tends to cast aspersion on the performance of the party SHUVRQ LQ SXEOLF R΀FH 7KDW LV ZK\ D SDUW\ as a body does not embark on a search for the replacement of its party person in SXEOLF R΀FH XQGHU WKH LOOXVLRQ WKDW DQRWKHU party person would better the best already DFKLHYHG E\ WKH FXUUHQW SHUVRQ LQ R΀FH It is conventional wisdom that you don’t change a winning team or person. +RZHYHU LW LV TXLWH XQIRUWXQDWH WKDW party supremacy and cohesiveness has been nose-diving across board since the return to democracy in Nigeria in 1999.

This alien and poor political culture is not only puzzling, bizarre and absurd, it has also taken our political development on the path of retrogression instead of progression.

The ugly trend has reared its face in Osun politics as experienced by Governor Oyetola. Though the Governor has overcome the challenge as he emerged the governorship candidate of the APC in his second-term election coming up later this \HDU WKH ZRXQGV LQÁLFWHG LQ WKH SURFHVV of internal wrangling are yet to heal. And if the injuries are not well treated by the SDUW\ LW FRXOG KDYH D ERRPHUDQJ HͿHFW RQ Oyetola’s second term election.

While the rivalry trailing APC’s governorship primaries was feverishly festering, Senator Oriolowo, though neutral, was on the side of the party because he cherishes cohesion in party politics as elucidated above. Unfortunately, following his being a school mate of one RI WKH DUURZ KHDGV LQ WKH SROLWLFDO IDFH RͿ some persons, either as a result of deliberate or uninformed stance, misconstrued the senator’s neutrality to have meant taking sides. What the senator is not ready to do because of politics is to erase history and those he has come across in his trip in life so far.

Uncomfortable and desirous of ending the unhealthy bickering at the top echelon of Osun APC as Senator Oriolowo has been, the prodding for 2023 general elections, which he is seeking a second term, has brought his own share of the damaging political culture to his doorstep.

On top of the ills of dethronement of party preeminence and unity in the political scheme of things, it should be recognized that the longer a legislator lasts in a parliament, the better it is for the legislative institution and that betterment dovetails to the primary constituency represented by such a ranking legislator.

Having long-serving legislator is indeed a panacea for fostering a strong legislative institution. The global convention of unlimited tenure for legislators, which the framers of the Nigerian Constitution have done well to imbibe, could not have been so enshrined for nothing. The practice of having fresh lawmakers every four years in the Nigerian legislative houses is rather defeating the essence of unlimited tenure for parliamentarians.

Adedimeji, a Lawyer, is a Senior Legislative Aide with the National Assembly Service Commission, Abuja

President Joe Biden’s dance on skin tribalism is perhaps triggered by the massive support by Black voters, writes OKELLO OCULI

BIDEN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN COLOUR TRIBALISM On Friday 6th May, 2022, CNN telecast Joe Biden’s white female Presidential Spokesperson introduced a ‘’Black-Is –Beautiful’’ AfricanAmerican woman as her successor. She had been her Assistant.

Unlike Vice President Kamala Harris and President Barrack Obama (with Indian and Caucasian ancestry in their skin colour, respectively), she is a direct line Black-African; DQG D GRXEOH ÀUVW WLPHU She becomes Biden’s fourth promise to ‘’have backs’’ of Black folks covered in return for voting for him directly or for the critical Jew and Black Democrats as Senators from the State of Georgia.

Those two seats gave him the very critical 50 votes to match the 50 votes by the opposition Republicans. In a tie over a proposed legislation, Vice President Kamala Harris, as the Chair of the Senate, would cast the winning vote. President Obama had faced hostile Republicans who routinely killed his bills.

Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris as running mate had made a WOMAN and a BLACKAMERICAN ‘’break the glass ceilings’’ of racial and gender exclusions. Appointing Linda 7KRPDV *UHHQÀHOG DQRWKHU GLUHFW OLQH ¶%ODFN African African-American’), as Ambassador to the United Nations matched her racial visibility with that of the head of the Armed Forces.

Vice-President Kamala Harris attended Howard University during a time when it was mandatory for applicants to attach their SKRWRJUDSKV 8QLYHUVLW\ R΀FLDOV SUHIHUUHG entrants with racial mixture in their skin. Film 'LUHFWRU 6SLNH /HH PDGH D ÀOP ZKLFK ODPEDVWHG this scandalous Black-on Black racism.

These appointments highlight the magnitude of the race not yet run, namely: cleansing the zones of poverty, child-pregnancy, drug ingestion and Black-on-Black violence, high fallout from school, lack of access to Federal State and Local Government funds for household economic advancement. It has been documented WKDW R΀FLDO SROLFLHV GHQLHG IXQGV IRU DFTXLULQJ

Several American Presidents encouraged this ‘colour-tribalism’ by giving high government jobs to ‘’Mulato Blacks”: Ambassador Ralph Bunche, Secretary Colin Powel, Condoleezza Rice, and Andrew Young personal housing and business ventures; as well as racist gang violence against Black businesses, KDYH EORFNHG WKH ÁRZHULQJ RI $IULFDQ Americans. .This is a zone in the status of the African Diaspora crying for intervention and social engineering by the so-called new-African immigrants. There has been some limited start through African graduates who graduated from

KLJK TXDOLW\ $PHULFDQ XQLYHUVLWLHV DQG WRRN up jobs in ‘’Black Colleges’’. They injected traditions of taking learning with seriousness both in teaching and grooming students.

It is noted that the new African Diaspora are

degree holders and earn high salaries. Their economic intervention to aid the slum victims would make vital investment. The African Union should review this situation.

Prime Minister Michael Manley has left a most valuable record of social engineering in Jamaica. He legislated free Primary and Secondary education as well as scholarships for tertiary education to children of poor Black families.

His Black wife Beverly, and Bob Marley, urged the Black 89 per cent of the population to: ’’STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS’’; and ÀJKW DV $IULFDQV WR WHUPLQDWH ¶·WKH 3KLORVRSK\ that holds one race superior’’ to another %UD]LO·V R΀FLDO SROLF\ RI ZHDNHQLQJ D Black liberation movement by indoctrinating mulato/’’MESTIZO’’ children to hate BLACK Africans and Afro-Brazilians also beckons for intervention by the African Union and the African Diaspora. In 1922, Sweden’s ambassador warned European governments that Brazil was becoming the largest African Country in the world. Biden may welcome it.

The American policy of classifying any person with a drop of African blood as None White, however, aroused intensive frustration in Mulatoes and made them the vanguard for struggle against racial oppression.

Unlike Brazil, Civil Rights combatants like Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew Young, W.E.B. Dubois and Malcolm X did not break ranks with their Black roots. Marcus Garvey, a dark-skinned immigrant from Jamaica, openly exploited the gap in ‘Skin Tribalism’’ for building his ‘African Empire of Mind and 6RXO· ,Q KLV TXDUUHO ZLWK 'XERLV DQG 'XERLV·V contempt for his lack of education, the ‘skin colour divide’ lurked in the air.

This divide would be echoed in rallying chants of: ‘’I am Black and Proud’’, ‘’Black is Beautiful’’, ‘’We are young gifted and Black’, ‘’Black Panther’’. By the mid-1960s, Mulato girls began to date and marry Africa-Black Males. Barrack Obama followed Michael Manley’s route by seeking out a Black Michelle for a wife.

Several American Presidents encouraged this ‘colour-tribalism’ by giving high government jobs to ‘’Mulato Blacks”: Ambassador Ralph Bunche, Secretary Colin Powel, Condoleezza Rice, and Andrew Young. President Joe Biden’s dance on this skin tribalism is probably LPSDFWHG E\ WKRVH YHU\ HͿHFWLYH LQ PRELOL]LQJ Black voters at the grassroots.

Prof. Oculi writes from Abuja

4 26

T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022

EDITORIAL

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

THE PROPOSED 2023 CENSUS…11

A

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Continued from yesterday fter a 16-year hiatus, Nigeria is set to hold a national census between March and April next year. We welcome the development because a credible census is necessary for sustainable development. The United Nations (UN), which recommends that a national census be conducted at least every 10 years, indeed maintains that enumeration is desirable for reliable data that provide a guide for national planning for any country.

But mindful of the Nigerian environment and the history of national census, there are already apprehensions that should not be dismissed by the authorities.

For sure, the demographic data which census provides are critical for national development. They are useful in sectoral planning and LQÁ XHQFH WKH GLUHFWLRQ RI JRYHUQPHQW SULRULWLHV 7KHVH demographic details are critical ingredients for sound national planning when they are products of empirical analysis via properly executed census exercises rather than estimates. By the National Population Commission (NPC) current estimate, the country’s population had risen to 193.39 million people. But in its ‘State of the World Population 2021’ report, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimated Nigeria’s population to be 211.4 million. Based on that UNFPA report, Nigeria’s population increased by 2.6 per cent from 2015 to 2021. It also projected life expectancy for Nigerian men at 54 years and that of women, 56. But DOO WKHVH DUH SURMHFWLRQV WKDW PD\ QRW UHÁ HFW WKH UHDOLW\ Although the country is long overdue for a national census, the recent approval for a headcount in 2023 has elicited divergent reactions. There are Nigerians who completely welcome the idea, while others pick holes in the timing: On the eve of a general election.

Yet, others question whether there can be a successful national head count at a time the country is embroiled

6

The omens bode ill for a credible census in unprecedented security challenges. Some have, therefore, admonished that the federal government VKRXOG À UVW WDFNOH WKH VHFXULW\ FKDOOHQJHV QDWLRQZLGH to enable census enumerators reach all the nooks and crannies of the country. For those on this divide, the unanswered questions remain: Would the enumerators resort to estimates or projections in certain areas that PD\ EH GL΀ FXOW WR DFFHVV GXH WR VHFXULW\ FKDOOHQJHV" And should that happen, would it not defeat the whole HVVHQFH RI WKH H[HUFLVH" While the point must be made that Nigeria needs a headcount, we hasten to align with those who argue that a country that is facing existential security FKDOOHQJHV PD\ À QG LW GL΀ FXOW FRQGXFWLQJ D credible national census.

And it would amount to a waste of scarce national resources if such an exercise does not achieve the desired goals. To worsen matters, Nigeria has had a chequered history with counting its population. Virtually every attempt at conducting a credible national census has ended in controversy, acrimony and rejection by one section of the country or the other. From 1962/63 to the last exercise in 2006, such exercises have always ended up in disputations.

Beyond security consideration which appears to be the most potent inhibiting factor to the proposed 2023 national census, how do we guarantee that the conduct of a headcount at a period of general election will not EH SROLWLFLVHG" :LWK HWKQLF VHFWLRQDO FOHDYDJHV YHU\ pronounced and geopolitical tensions rife, how do we conduct a census which will produce an outcome that LV ERWK FUHGLEOH DQG DFFHSWDEOH" What the totality of the foregoing suggests is that we need credible data about our population and the GLͿ HUHQW GHPRJUDSKLFV LI ZH DUH WR VXFFHVVIXOO\ WDFNOH the challenges that plague our country. But conducting a national census under the current economic and security environment will require much more rigour.

We hope the authorities will take into account the fears being raised by critical stakeholders.

Would the enumerators resort to estimates or projections in certain areas that may be difficult to access due to security challenges?

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 SITTING ON THE FENCE AMID BAD GOVERNANCE Even the blind now knows that the change promised unsuspecting Nigerians by Mr. Muhammadu Buhari and the broom-wielding All Progressives Congress in 2015 was a change for the worse. The last seven years of the All Progressives Congress have been spent in VHDULQJ Á DPHV If from 1999-2015, Nigerians used to quietly sip from the dregs of deprivation and depredations while inundated with tales of outrageous corruption, from 2015 until now, while nothing has changed in the menu of maladies set before Nigerians, they now also have to eat with their hearts in the mouths. This is a fallout of the brutal insecurity sweeping through the country like a hurricane, turning many lives upside down.

In these trying times, Nigeria`s democracy has somehow survived and even miraculously grown fresh shoots which give Nigerians options they could only dream of in the days when military uniforms FDVW JURWHVTXH VKDGRZV RYHU 1LJHULDCV QDWLRQDO Á DJ The conduct of free and fair elections in Nigeria, long seen as the crowning jewel of democracy, has continued to witness incremental changes even as INEC has continued to show the improving tendency to discard its nauseating allegiance to the powers that be while SOHGJLQJ LWV À GHOLW\ WR WKH 1LJHULDQ SHRSOH

But perhaps, more than anything, what has grown in leaps and bounds in Nigeria since 1999 is the political awareness of the everyday Nigerian who more than any other has borne witness to just how deleterious bad governance has been.

A time there was when Nigerian arms folded by apathy only unfolded to extend hands which received rice, wrappers and paltry sums in exchange for votes. Today, the growth of the Nigerian voter is such that pelted by the putrefying winds of bad governance, they now know to outrightly reject the sums peddled or to receive same only while thoroughly checking to ensure that their conscience remain free of any price tags. During the November 6, 2021 elections in $QDPEUD 6WDWH ODVW \HDU D ZRPDQ ZKR UHMHFWHG WKH SHDQXWV RͿ HUHG for her votes showed Nigerians just how to keep the political stoats at bay.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Folashade Yemi-Esan, recently warned Nigerian civil servants to stay away from partisan politics. Citing the legal opinion of the Attorney General of the Federation Mr. Abubakar Malami, the HoS reminded civil servants that participation in partisan politics was against Public Service Rules.

According to the HoS, the Supreme Court in INEC v Musa did not say civil servants could participate in partisan politics. It is certainly

a curious position to take. +RZ PXFK SROLWLFDO HGXFDWLRQ GR FLYLO VHUYDQWV JHW LQ WKH FRXQWU\" How much encouragement do they get to participate in the political SURFHVVHV RI WKH FRXQWU\" :LWK HYHU\WKLQJ KDSSHQLQJ LQ WKH FRXQWU\ now, is it not self-delusional for anyone to convince themselves that QHXWUDOLW\ LV DQ RSWLRQ" Nigeria has come to a point where participation in politics should be talked up at every given opportunity. If the prevailing mentality is that politics is a dirty game, it is because many people choose to VWD\ DZD\ DQG GR QRWKLQJ WR H[SHULHQFH WKLQJV IRU WKHPVHOYHV À UVW hand. It is because people do not participate enough, it is precisely because people are not vigilant enough, that charlatans and clowns who perpetuate bad governance continue to rule the roost in Nigerian politics.

Although the awareness has been growing for a number of years now, more still need to be done. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom and with the 2023 elections very close, to sit on the fence will be to make sitting duck out of oneself.

Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Uduanu:There Will Be More Consolidations in Pension Industry The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Sigma Pensions, Mr. Dave Uduanu, in this interview, spoke extensively on the recent recapitalisation exercise in the pension industry and the expected impact. He also spoke on the move to deploy pensions funds to develop infrastructure and other issues, Nume Ekeghe presents the excepts: The pension industry recapitalisation has just ended with 20 PFAs standing.

What does this mean for the industry? think it is a good thing. So, there are 20 Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) standing but I think it is still early days and I believe there will be more consolidations in this space. If you look at the pension industry beyond Stanbic IBTC, it is still very fragmented as Stanbic control anywhere around 40 percent of the markets so there would be more consolidations in the space.

The entry of banks is also good news as we have seen GTBank invest, FCMB and there are chatters about Access Bank investing in this space, so that’s good news.

I think they will bring more capital, more resources, more infrastructure in terms of branch network, technology, and just the aggression the banks have used to do their banking businesses. But more importantly, they’ll be a very formidable competitor to the number one player; so, I think it is good news. Also, with new capital, PFAs can invest more in customer service and technology in other to better serve the customers.

I

How is this recapitalisation going to impact operations and customer service?

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has a minimum requirement for branches to serve customers. So, for

Uduanu

every 10,000 funded accounts you have, you are required to set up a branch; although we think that technology will disrupt that because you can use technology to effectively serve more people.

We think that with the resources and the competitive pressures that have been occasioned by the recently opened transfer window, PFAs will invest more in technology and people to serve customers better. And of course, if you don’t serve customers, well, they will change their

PFA to someone else.

On customers changing PFAs, has there been a lot of movement between PFAs, and has the market accepted this initiative?

In the scheme of things, there has not been much movement. I think movements are less than 5 percent since the transfer window started so that isn’t a whole lot.

But again, these are early days and I think that there might be more movements in the future as there are issues with the transfer window now in terms of data recapture and some reluctance by PFAs to allow customers to move willingly and freely, as PENCOM would have envisaged.

But I think as the market opens up, customers will move. However, I have to caution that what is important is that people are moving for the right reasons.

The reason to move should be investment returns and customer service but we are seeing some induced movements where people are moving for no reason or maybe for gifts from PFAs, which is not the right reason to move.

So early days, but I think that there is a need for the regulator to sensitize this space so that people move for the right reasons.

this practice?

There are checks but there’s so much one regulator can do. It is located in Abuja and even with a few geographical regional offices; there is not much it can do when it comes to sensitization. So, I think selfregulation is more important. PenCom is doing a lot but I think the operators will have to regulate themselves better to ensure that they continue to maintain the ethical standards that the industry has been known for.

You mentioned inducement, are there no checks by the regulator to avoid

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

Recently when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the commencement of the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCo), they mentioned they plan to tap into pension funds especially as over the years there have been talks on pension funds being deployed to finance infrastructure. What are your thoughts on this?

InfraCo first of all is a positive step in the right direction and it is an idea whose time has come. The government holds a lot of assets that are described as public goods. There are toll roads, there are rail lines that are owned by the government, which need to be financed, and government finances are stretched so InfraCo is a good idea.

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

What NNPC’s CAMA Transformation Means for Nigeria Ifeanyi Onuba

B

y July 1 this year, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd will fully transform into a Company whose operations will be regulated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act. The NNPC’s transformation into a CAMA company follows the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act. The Corporate Affairs Commission had on September 21 last year completed the incorporation of the NNPC Ltd in accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

The PIA was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on 16th August, 2021, following its passage by the National Assembly in July of the same year.

Specifically, Section 53(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, requires the Minister of Petroleum Resources to cause for the incorporation of the NNPC Limited within six months of the enactment of the PIA in consultation with the Minister of Finance on the nominal shares of the Company.

With the registration by the CAC, the NNPC Ltd was floated with an initial capital of N200bn making history as the company with the highest share capital in the country.

Between when the PIA was signed into law in August last year and now, the management of the NNPC has taken proactive steps to prepare it for the July 1 take-off as a CAMA company.

For instance, several engagements have taken place between the NNPC, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Finance, Governors, legislators, host communities and other key stakeholders to understand the impact of the changes the PIA brings.

Also, a PIA transition committee has been set up to drive the transitioning of NNPC into a full CAMA Company.

The NNPC has also set up an in-house Kyari committee supported by renown reputable consultants (McKinsey, KPMG, PWC, Wood McKenzie and Olaniwun Ajayi LP) to define and implement the transition roadmap.

This roadmap includes valuation of the assets and liabilities, development of corporate governance frameworks, rebranding of NNPC to NNPC Ltd and change management.

Flowing from the PIA, one of the things that will be different as the NNPC transitions on July 1 is that it is expected to become a commercially oriented and profit-driven national petroleum company independent of government and audited annually.

What this means is that in terms of operations, the NNPC would be managed like a private sector enterprise and unlike previously when it was owned by the government, the NNPC is expected to become more efficient in its operations. This will enable the Company to effectively maximize returns on investment

for the 200 million Nigerians, ensure returns for shareholders and pay taxes to the government.

Where there is an impact of its operations on prices of petroleum products, the government will be expected to determine how the differential will be managed.

What this implies is that impact of prices will not automatically be transferred to the citizens as the government remains committed to providing energy security and sustaining the economy.

Going by the transitioning, the NNPC’s operations will not be subsidized by the government because as a CAMA Company, it would be expected to pay dividends to shareholders which in this case is the government.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari gave credence to this

when he said recently that the National Oil Company will serve as a holding company for all its subsidiaries in the post PIA era.

He said, “So, these shareholders can decide, as the law provides that over time, they can reduce the shareholding into some private shareholding. That means it can be floated subsequently as a company that is quoted on the stock exchange.

The intention at the very onset is not to go to that step but there is provision in the law that allows us ultimately to sell shares of this company.

“This is very simple. This company will pay taxes and royalties, which are revenues that accrue to the federation.

So, every part of this country and every sub national institution or government will benefit from it.

“Secondly, this company will pay company income tax that also comes to the federation for the benefit of all. So, what is different is that this company will now have profit to make and declare dividend, which will be decided by the board of directors of this company.”

But one would wonder what becomes of the assets and liabilities of the NNPC based on the transitioning? The simple answer to this is that the NNPC Ltd will review its existing assets and liabilities, determine those that they intend to operate based on sustainable commercial principles, incorporate those assets into her balance sheet.

Similarly, other assets will be left with the Corporation for government to determine their fate.

For third parties with subsisting contract(s) and joint operating agreements with the NNPC, Section 54 of the PIA provides essentially that all assets and liabilities of the NNPC will be transferred to NNPC Ltd within the 18 months of the PIA coming into effect. Subsection 2 of the Act states that any assets, interests, or liabilities not transferred shall remain that of the NNPC until extinguished or transferred to government.

What this means in effect is that under the transitioning, existing contracts and Joint operating agreements with NNPC will be evaluated and transferred in line with agreed principles to ensure business continuity.

With the transitioning, the NNPC is also expected to enter new investments and partnerships in upstream assets to increase gas production in line with the decade of gas agenda.

Also, Nigerians will begin to see further expansion of downstream operations to ensure energy security, while modular refineries will be developed in addition to current investment in rehabilitation of existing refineries.

Already, the NNPC had secured a $5bn corporate finance commitment from the African Export Import Bank to fund major investments in Nigeria’s Upstream sector.

The NNPC’s $5bn corporate finance commitment from Afreximbank is seen by oil industry stakeholders as a dividend of the Petroleum Industry Act and the incorporation of the NNPC as a limited liability company.

Under the NNPC Ltd funding strategy for selected upstream investments, the Company would be raising between $3.5bn and $5bn as corporate finance to fund major upstream investments.

To achieve this objective, the NNPC would be taken over ownership from non-investing partner through acquisition of pre-emption rights in the sample Joint Venture.

The NNPC’s strategy would also see the company investing in assets to address integrity, bottlenecking and growth issues including rig-less activities, and drilling campaigns in the oil industry.

The funding would also be used to finance part of the NNPC’s investment including acquisition of interest in quality upstream oil and gas producing assets.

AGUSTO&CO: NIGERIA RECORDED $699M FDI INFLOWS IN 2021, LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 2013 throughout Nigeria’s North-Central zone, spreading to neighbouring states including the South-West zone.”

“Insecurity has constrained the

ability of many farmers to access their farmlands while some are forced to pay terrorist groups to gain access to their farmlands for planting and harvesting. This

translates to suboptimal agricultural output, scarcity, and higher food prices. This eventually impedes our ability to attain self-sufficiency in food production which is fueling increased

food importation and piling on the pressure on the external reserves,” it stated.

The report however recommended that tackling poverty and

unemployment from their root causes is crucial to winning the war against terror adding, “While pro-poor growth strategies and social welfare are crucial to assuaging

poverty, strengthening institutions and investing in infrastructure are key to stimulating investments that would support long-term economic growth and stimulate job creation.”

the country.

If companies are paying education tax and universities are on strike, you begin to ask yourself if it makes sense or not. Government is depriving companies of opportunities to invest and the education sector is not improving. It is like companies are getting hit at two fronts.”

Analyst at PAC Holdings, Mr. Wole Adeyeye explained aggressive growth in profit before tax impacted on listed companies tax expenses, stressing that the increased economy activities post-covid-19 boost companies revenue drives.

According to him, the likes of Dangote cement, MTN Nigeria and Nigerian Breweries grew revenue that impacted on profit before tax. When a company reports growth in profit before tax, it is expected to reflect on tax expenses.

However, analysts at FBNQuest Capital Research had noted that the increase in the tax expenses

take is commendable. However, it is still abysmally low even when viewed from an emerging market context.

According to the Research team at FBNQuest, “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently noted that Nigeria’s consolidated government revenue-to-GDP ratio at 7.5 per cent is one of the lowest in the world. The story is worse if we narrow down on non-oil revenue-to GDP which is roughly around 4.3 per cent,” the report stated.

It further added that some new revenue provisions in the Finance Act 2021, such as capital gains on the sale of shares worth more than N100 million, excise levies on non-alcoholic sweetened beverages, and e-commerce taxes, are expected to enhance non-oil revenue.

“However, we believe the Federal Government’s non-oil revenue projection of N7.1trillion in the 2022 budget is quite a stretch.”

24 NGX LISTED COYS REMITTED N215.9BN TAX TO FIRS, OTHERS IN Q1 2022 broader inflation, supply chains and consumer spending.

“Nevertheless, I am pleased that we have made significant strides in deepening our relationships with all our stakeholders while substantially enhancing our contributions to government revenue.

“In recognition of our remarkable performance in remittance of taxes despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the FIRS recognised MTN Nigeria as a top 20 taxpayer and one of the best tax compliant organisations in Nigeria for the 2021 tax year.”

Further extracts from listed companies unaudited Q1 2022 results showed that Seplat petroleum reported N26.4billion tax expenses from N1.19billion reported in Q1 2021, while Totalenergies Marketing Nigeria reported N2.2billion tax expenses in Q1 2022, representing an increase of 58.5 per cent from N1.38billion reported in Q1 2022.

In the banking sector, Ecobank

Transnational Incorporated (ETI) reported N13.75billion tax expenses in Q1 2022 from N10.34billion in Q1 2021, as GTCO’s tax expenses rose by 36 per cent to N11.08billion in Q1 2022 from N8.2billion reported in Q1 2021.

Finance experts have attributed growth in tax expenses to pending tax accrued by these companies, explaining that significant increase in profit also drives growth in tax expenses in the period under review.

Speaking with THISDAY, Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader, at PwC, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele attributed the hike in tax expenses by listed firms to payment of deferred tax liabilities.

According to him, the tax expenses reported in Q1 2022 is not the amount companies definitely remitted due to deferred tax.

He explained further that “You will have to take into account that a company can always report N1billion as tax expenses but the amount remitted to FIRS, among

other agencies might be N400million.

“If a company reports an increase in profit, its expenses expected to go up and if you come from a period you made losses to a period when you’re making profit, such a company expects its tax expenses to go up because they are ways you upset your losses before paying taxes. It has an impact on hike in tax expenses declared by the company.”

He noted that increase in capital assets investment likely impacted these companies’ tax expenses.

He explained that, “The more companies are investing in new equipment, plant, the lower their tax expenses because they have a lot of capital allowances. But if they are no longer investing a lot in capital assets, tax expenses will increase because their capital allowances are going to drop.”

He stated further that tax expenses differ by sectors, saying “specifically, the banking sector has a different pattern from the manufacturing sector. The banking sector has a

lot of tax exemptions including government bonds which those in the manufacturing sector are not enjoying.”

Oyedele noted that increasing tax expenses due to improved business activities in the country is good for the nation’s economy, stating that, “increasing tax expenses over government policies that seems to impose additional burden is not a welcome development.

“In the final quarter of 2021, one of the changes was increasing the education tax from two per cent to 2.5 per cent.

“Definitely, what companies pay on education tax is expected to increase as government policy has increased the tax burden on them. It can have a negative impact because companies have to pay taxes that could have been used to invest and expand.

“It could be positive if the government collects these funds and uses it well for our universities not going on strike actions across

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022

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BUSINESSWORLD

ECONOMY

Need to Overhaul Non-oil Export Sector James Emejo writes that the economic diversification agenda requires an emergency declaration in the non-oil export sector that is plagued by regulatory lapses among other limitations

A

Although the government’s regulatory agencies are primarily set up to among other things ensure orderliness and sanity in all fields of endeavour and to fast track the development of their relevant sectors by removing encumbrances to growth.

For example, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) regulates the activities of companies and their products in terms of setting the operating standards and quality administration for the manufacturers and importers. But the regulations and rules put in place are expected to also encourage the growth of the players in that sector and not strangle them out of existence.

This is because it is when such industries and manufacturers record growth in their respective businesses that the government also makes money in terms of revenues from taxes among others.

Therefore, such regulatory agencies are expected at all times to craft policies that facilitate the progress of the sectors they supervise; while also ensuring that they comply with laid down guidelines for healthy competition and public safety.

REGULATORY GAPS

In recent times, however, regulatory agencies have been found wanting in living up to their primary responsibilities and have helped to make the business atmosphere in the country unbearable for new and existing players.

In the country’s non-oil export sector in particular, the segment had been struggling for decades owing to its continued neglect by successive administrations as the dearth of infrastructure and expertise had rendered the sector uncompetitive on the global stage.

The issues of multiple taxation and duplication of processes are some of the vexing concerns.

Yet, experts are of the view that for the country to surmount its current economic predicaments increased local production and a vibrant non-oil sector remained critical.

The present administration’s agenda to diversify the base of the Nigerian economy also has its success tied to a vibrant export base to among other things improve foreign exchange inflows into the economy, thereby strengthening the local currency, aiding job creation and helping to correct the current trade imbalance.

POOR EXPORT FACILITATION

More than anything, operators in the non-oil export sector are overwhelmed by the challenges of the sectors most of which they attributed to the roles played by government regulatory agencies who become a clog in the development of the export segment, rather than regulatory strive to support the expansion of the industry in the general interest of the economy.

Yet, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,

it is the responsibility of the government at all levels to lead the charge towards unlocking the potential of the non-oil sector.

He admitted that the challenge facing the non-export economy remained huge, especially in the light of what had transpired in the last eight years.

The Vice President, at the maiden “National Conference on Non-Oil Export,” which was recently organised by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), said, “The country must seek to achieve a situation where regulators see themselves as facilitators of business,” noting that the non-oil sector had been lagging behind other sectors namely tech and services in its contribution to economic growth.

Further reiterating the role of regulators in shaping a vibrant non-oil export sector, Osinbajo said, “This has been the focus of the ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, especially with the MSME clinics where we try to show that the very best approach is for regulators to see themselves as those that must promote business.

“Our jobs as government is to assiduously enable businesses, especially with the regulatory policies with its procedures and processes. This must be coupled urgently with the supporting infrastructure needed to aid production distribution and network.”

The VP also said, “The commitment to deepening our production and export capacity in the coming months and years is also evidenced by the national development plan 2021-2025. The strategic objective of the National Development Plan shows clearly where we are headed to in terms of the non-oil export which includes the establishment of a strong foundation for a diversified economy to invest in critical infrastructure enabling human capital, improving governance and strengthening security all of which we expect will contribute significantly to achieving the national development aspiration.

“We have to focus all our attention on being productive, local investment is more important than foreign investment, once we show that our sole focus will be on productivity which will be a guiding focus for local regulatory agencies. What we are interested in is productivity, which will bring jobs. We are determined to accelerate our efforts through holistic stakeholders’ input.”

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Maryam Katagum, acknowledged the efforts of the NEPC in organising the programme pointing out that it was in line with the federal government’s economic diversification drive, adding that the country can no longer depend on oil as its major source of foreign exchange earnings.

Commenting on some of the initiatives by the government to reposition the non-oil export sector, the Minister noted the recent Ad-Hoc Committee on Agro-Exports set up by the Vice President, under PEBEC, had come up with recommendations which are currently being implemented under the National Action Plan (NAP) 7.0 as well as “strengthening and expansion of our National Agric and Agro-Products Development Initiative (NAADI) offices throughout the federation. This is aimed at the identification of new commodities and improving the value chain for agricultural products.

Katagum further encouraged the Organized Private Sector to deepen its partnership with the government for the sustained growth of the economy.

On his part, the Executive Director/Chief Executive, NEPC, Dr. Ezra Yakusak, said the conference could not have come at a better time considering the plethora of challenges bedevilling the non-oil export sector including the adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on export operations, the distress calls of practitioners on regulatory constraints and restrictions on export business, and the dire need to strengthen the diversification agenda of the federal government.

He said, “Of greater concern is the Nigerian non-oil export performance in recent times in comparison to import. Report from Pre-shipment Inspection Agencies (PIA) revealed significant growth in export proceeds in the last 5 years 2017-2021 from $1.2 billion to $3.4 billion as against an annual average of $22 billion in food importation alone into the country.

“To close this gap, concerted efforts are required from all practitioners in the nonoil export value chain….We at the NEPC believe firmly that our survival as a nation depends on non-oil export.

“We have therefore scaled up efforts to mobilise citizens to engage meaningfully in the sector which is the nation’s next line of defense.”

MANUFACTURERS’ CONCERNS, RECOMMENDATIONS

As stakeholders sought solutions to the non-oil export challenges, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said it is imperative for Nigeria to address the perennial challenges confronting businesses in the country.

It said the manufacturing sector was particularly hit and deliberate action must be urgently taken to boost its competitiveness.

MAN further highlighted the need to review and re-energise the vision of

NEPC (Export For Survival) & CBN (RT200 FX Programme) in the light of the forgoing presentation, adding that if the way forward and proposed solutions offered are favourably considered, it will encourage and empower the exporter, expand their market, enhance the inflow of non-oil export proceeds into the country as well as ameliorate the disruption of Nigerian non-oil export potential.

The association had pointed out that export trade is generally considered as a veritable instrument for sustainable economic growth and facilitates improved foreign exchange earnings, strengthens the balance of payments, encourages the development of export-oriented industries in the manufacturing sector, increases the profitability of firms, creates jobs and increases government revenue through taxes, levies, and tariffs -all of which will cumulatively accelerate economic growth.

It said, “Historically, the economy of Nigeria was buoyant during the pre- and post-independence years because of huge earnings from non-oil export like cocoa, cotton, groundnut, palm oil etc. The economy was so strong that it financed an appreciable number of capital projects without borrowing and the export market of the country was reasonably developed.

“However, the discovery of crude oil brought a shift that made the country to majorly depend on the oil sector to the neglect of other sectors.

This made the economy susceptible to fluctuations in revenue, occasioned by the usual instability associated with the prices of crude oil in the international market.”

Also, speaking on “Sustainable Market Access for Nigerian Non-oil Export”, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Dr. M. A. Abdulhamid, among other things, said the negative impact on Nigeria’s external reserve had exerted unprecedented pressure on the Naira, exceptional reversals in capital flows and weakened Nigeria’s ability to finance its import, undermine its balance of payment position.

According to him, “The fact that Nigeria is only able to take up less than 1 per cent of the global market share of most products it exports is a sign that all is not well.

“Apart from the perennial macro-economic, infrastructure and policy environment challenges, there are emerging challenges that have compounded the situation and led to a declining volume of the meagre exports from the country.”

The WTO scribe however, described the CBN RT200 FX programme as a good initiative designed to stimulate the growth of non-oil export in the country adding that the “programme has a pillar for the non-oil export Fx rebate scheme. However, the N65 to $1 offered by CBN is not covering the FX rate gap between the official and parallel market.”

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

INSURANCE

Insurance Industry’s Long Walk to Global Standards The effort to repositioning Nigerian insurance sector to meet global standard, which was kick started by the sector regulator, NAICOM in 2009, is beginning to bear fruit. In this report, Ebere Nwoji examines the achievements so far.

T

the insurance industry going by positive developments that happened in the past few years has covered reasonable distance in its long walk to meet global standardisation and competitiveness.

The industry has achieved this from both regulatory and operational fronts.

A critical look at its activities shows that whereas in the past, while the regulator was faster in initiating and implementing regulatory programs that will reposition the industry to world class operational standard, the operators with their heavy weight of outdated and conservative business model drag the regulator backwards with the result that they often end up in disagreement.

Currently, what obtains in the industry is that operators are gearing towards by passing the regulator in initiating new business models that have been attracting the masses towards insurance patronage despite their eroded income caused by hard economic times besieging the country.

Evidence is on product innovations witnessed by the industry in the past few years as well as innovative regulatory models being dished out by the regulator.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK

For instance, in terms of business pursuit, operators are no longer clustering the corridors of federal government agencies in search of connections to be involved in the insurance of government assets and group life insurance of government workers.

Rather they have developed and are still developing a good number of retail insurance products that meet the current needs of Nigerians.

Indeed, insurance market in Nigeria is fast opening up even among the rural dwellers due to availability of products that address their peculiar problems.

This is a major shift from what was obtained in the industry over the years during which operators keep on recycling outdated products especially life insurance products that hardly meet the demands of the present generation.

ANALYSTS’ EXPECTATION

Before now industry analysts had expected to see Nigerian insurers look critically into various professions like musical and other forms of arts, medical and legal professions among others and coming up with products that will cater for specific risks inherent in these professions .

But this has not happened until recently when some new generation firms put on their thinking caps and moved away from the industry’s culture of pursuing government’s group life insurance business to innovative products that will meet the needs of the people.

INDUSTRY PACE SETTERS

One of such first insurance firms that initiated this was the Mutual Benefit Assurance which some years back launched 36 insurance products that could cater for the interest of Nollywood actors, law firms, politicians, churches, travel and tour

agencies among others.

The company said the above policies fall within its general business, adding that there were others that fall within life business such as Lady life assurance policy, Juvenile life Assurance, pilgrim welfare insurance mutual, Benefits school fees Guarantees scheme among others.

According to industry observers, the above products, if well pushed into the market would definitely expand the market and position insurance in the minds of an average Nigerian as an industry worth patronising.

This is in line with the dream of the regulator NAICOM when it launched its market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI) 13 years ago.

The initiative has the objective of transforming the insurance industry into a trillion naira market, create about 50,000 fresh jobs through the agency network system while raising the contribution of the industry to the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) significantly.

NAICOM had since after the launch of the initiative severally challenged the insurers to move in and tap from the opportunities existing in the industry through designing of products that meet the needs of the people.

Along the line the commission has launched the micro insurance initiative and has released the guidelines for its operations.

Currently, the commission is still issuing operating licences to micro insurance operators.

It has projected that opportunities in micro insurance business if well harnessed would inject N60 billion to the economy annually.

The Chairman, Mutual Mutual Benefit Assurance Mr Akin Ogunbiyi said his company saw opportunities in mass appeal innovative retail insurance products and has moved into the remotest areas of the geopolitical zones of the country organising petty traders, artisans okada riders, cooperative societies, members of Nigerian Union of Teachers and other small trade groups into small groups through which it has continued to administer insurance services to them.

Ogunbiyi said this has been yielding his company such huge premium income that government’s group life insurance has not yielded to it.

He said having explored opportunities in this area, his company has moved to the urban cities with products that address people in different professions such as the Nollywood actors and actresses who have suffered frequent death of its members in the past few years without any form of competition.

INSURANCE PRODUCT FOR DIFFERENT PROFESSION

Before this, criticisms and calls for befitting insurance cover for Nollywood actors have trailed the sudden death of actors like Enebeli

Elebuwa, Peter Eneh, Sam Loco, Justus Esiri among others who were said to have suffered one ailment or the other before their death without any insurance or compensation for their dependants.

Indeed many Nigerians who witnessed the exit of these celebrities between 2011 to 2013 call for special insurance policies for them and other similar public figures, arguing that in advanced countries, their counterparts insure their various organs and parts of their bodies used in performance for about $50 per month.

Initially, insurers gave impression that such was not possible in Nigeria, as nobody would patronise such products but from what is happening in the country today, insurers have responded to this calls and have come up with array of products that would cater for the interest of the Nollywood practitioners.

YEARNINGS BY ACTORS, ACTRESSES

At the bi- monthly members’evening of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers held in Lagos last week, the popular Nollywood Actor Segun Arinze urged insurers to save Nigerian actors and actresses by coming out with insurance packages that would cover his colleagues in the event of health challenges and other calamities that might befall them.

He said he was tired of making donations to those already down with sicknesses.

He noted that the Nollywood market was a vast market for Nigerian insurers to explore and make money while at the same time contributing to the well being of the actors and actresses.

INSURERS’ RESPONSES

Also in recent times more insurance firms have come up with more innovative retail products that address needs prevalent in Nigeria.

For instance, penultimate week, Allianz Nigeria, launched funeral insurance policy to cater for expenses associated with burial ceremony in Nigeria. Before then, Leadway Assurance has launched similar product.

Anchor insurance launched job loss insurance cover to cater for the needs of Nigerian workers who were thrown out of jobs due to general economic crunch plaguing many businesses leading to downsizing in the number of their workforce.

Old Mutual Insurance launched terminal ailment insurance that would aid those affected with terminal diseases to seek for medical treatment abroad.

AIICO insurance and many other life insurance experts are out with children’s school fees insurance that helps parents pay their children’s school fees with ease.

African Alliance insurance on annual basis make impressive outing among Igbo traders in Onitsha, Aba and other eastern states with

retail and investment related products including Takaful insurance.

These are to mention but few and these insurance firms are pushing these products into the market, using agents and digital insurance marketing tools.

Recently, Afriinvest insurance brokers came up with a product that enables Nigerians in diaspora renew their vehicles papers and insure their assets at home in the comfort of their room abroad.

The company before then had launched the Afriinvest 247 a digital insurance marketing solution that extends insurance products to Nigerians at home and abroad. Heirs insurance few weeks back came up with her motor insurance specially designed for female drivers.

Industry watchers said these are good signs that Nigerian insurance industry is on the verge of meeting its counterparts in the developed world.

Also in the list of retail insurance products pushed into the market by Mutual Benefit Assurance include Event centre Insurance, Fast Food Restaurant Insurance, Mosque Insurance, Land lord Tenant Insurance, sales shop and Super Market Insurance, Micro Finance Bank insurance SME comprehensive Insurance Celebrity Life insurance, Senior Citizen plan and Income Continuity insurance among others.

Ogunbiyi explained that the company has designed these products not to serve as micro insurance products but as retail products, adding that the company through study has discovered that accessibility is main problem of insurance in Nigeria.

Also insurers are beginning to venture into special risks insurance line of business like their counterparts abroad after years of jettisoning such line of business.

The claims paid by the industry on #Endsars protest is a testimony to this. Aside these developments in product designs, the insurance industry has in the past few years witnessed series of reforms .

NAICOM’S NOTABLE REGULATORY REFORMS

These reforms include enforcement of compliance with compulsory insurance in line with the Insurance Act 2003, the sanitisation and modernisation of insurance agency system, wiping out of fake insurance institutions, and introduction of risk-based supervision of institutions under the regulatory purview of the Commission. The successful migration to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by insurance companies.

The effort of the commission in facilitating financial inclusion of low income earners in the country in the area of insurance services through micro-insurance, agricultural insurance and Takaful insurance.

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

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EDUCATION Kila: Political Parties Should Support ASUU with Money Made Selling Forms to Aspirants Anthony Kila is a professor of Strategy and Development and the Director of the Centre for International Advanced Professional Studies. In this interview with Funmi Ogundare, he explained why Nigeria should emphasise its teachers to continue to inspire and impact society.

He also proposed that political parties donate part of what they receive from nomination forms to ASUU to solve the funding problem in universities. Excerpt:

Y

our centre has put together the ‘CIAPS Great Teachers’ initiative.

Why the focus on teachers?

I believe that the greatest ideas that we have done as individuals and society come from something we have learnt in life, and most of the things we have learnt in life, somebody taught us. Majorly, the people who taught us were teachers. Whatever good thing we have become in life was inspired or influenced by one teacher or the other, especially for professionals and inventors, it is one teacher that inspired them. The other side of teachers is that we tend to forget that we have an active memory and do not appreciate it. So, what we have thought about the CIAPS Great Teachers initiative is to help people on one side appreciate their past and reconnect with their teachers who have influenced their lives, recognise the teachers and reward them where possible. So, we are focusing on people who can think that what they have achieved in their lives today is partly due to their teachers. We want to prick the conscience of society and individuals to remember their source. By recognising and celebrating teachers, you are appreciating the part of your past, the source of who you are today and also investing in your future. The initiative allows people to think about the teachers who have influenced their lives. We want those teachers to be recognised and rewarded. It doesn’t matter if the teacher is living or dead, but if they are still alive, we will contact them and find a way to reward them. If the teacher is dead, we may still recognise their families. The whole point is to help people appreciate their past and inspire present and future teachers to know that their labour is not in vain, and by doing so is a win-win situation for all. To participate in the initiative, we set up a website where people could go and nominate their teachers.

Enrolment in teacher education, especially in education colleges in Nigeria, seems to be declining. What do you think could be responsible for this, and what should be the way forward?

Enrolment is declining because, generally speaking, teachers are not appreciated interns of their remuneration and status in society. So, you get a lot of people saying they are teaching for now if you ask them what they are doing, which breaks my heart. I am teaching because I chose to, I have been a banker, director and consultant, but teaching is my thing and the opportunity to shape people’s lives. So, a lot of people don’t feel that way because they are not remunerated enough and appreciated. That is why the CIAPs Great Teachers initiative wants to start doing that and hopefully get the rest of society to start thinking about it that way.

How do we attract people to teach and improve the profile of teachers? As individuals, as a society? What we have to do is to appreciate the importance of education in our lives. We have to know that everything linked to education is an investment in our future. As parents, it is what will give our children better lives. As a society, it will not just give us better lives. Government and companies should even think that they should have educated citizens as consumers.

For the government, you need a citizenry who knows the importance of wearing a seatbelt at a pedestrian bridge so they will not be causing an accident. As companies, education helps you buy the right product, and you can get the right skills to build or manufacture and manage. If we understand the importance of education, we will see the importance of getting good people to do it; and those good people have to be rewarded. I think we need to tell ourselves that our teachers should be the best and brightest people in this society so that they can teach our children how to birth those ideas.

with good education, so to a large extent, we have to see education as a capital investment. It is the mother of all investments. It is when you invest in education that you get people who can think, create and analyse. That is the step that we need to take as a country. If you look at it, all the countries in the world in the past and present that are progressing, it is because they have the skills that can create progress.

Where they do not have the skill, they even import the skills. There is no progress that doesn’t come without education. Whether it is the industrial revolution, IT, medicine, art and design, or even fashion, everything has its root in education.

Kila People seem to go into the teaching profession because they feel there is no other thing to do.

What is your view about this?

It is a wrong idea. People should be going into the profession because that is the best profession to do. Teachers also need to help themselves to make it noble. It has not always been like this years ago. Teachers were one of the noblest of people. They were respected in society, and without begging, people in society treated them well and gave them goods in kind. They have their salaries. But in rural areas, farmers give them food, hunters give them meat, and everybody treated them very well.

Now that we are not farmers and hunters anymore, if everybody decides to look back and take care of their teachers and teachers get the certainty that their students will remember them, I think more people will be inspired to teach, and if more people are inspired, we can have the luxury of choosing only the best to teach.

How best can teachers’ training be revamped to guarantee quality education?

I have a radical idea about our teacher training. For instance, our teacher training schools should all be converted to postgraduate schools so that only graduates will teach. You

don’t go into the college of education because you cannot get into the university. The way it is now, the fact that people who don’t pass UTME or can’t get degree courses are going to the colleges of education is sending the wrong signal. If I was president of Nigeria, what I would do is convert our colleges of education into postgraduate schools so that we will see the teachers who are real professionals, not just one short professional course. They will start a degree in any area of their choice. Then they will learn the art of teaching, which is very important.

How can Nigeria advance the teaching profession?

The country can do this by doing four things; firstly, it is about appreciating the value of education, and once you appreciate the value, you will then put in place very robust teacher training programmes that will attract and train the best and the brightest, thirdly, you must remunerate them very well. As part of our understanding of the importance of education, their remuneration will reflect on the fact that we appreciate the fact that to get the skills we need to improve the country and get the people we need to become better citizens, education is an investment. At the moment, people spend more on basic things such as energy than education. It is wrong. We should be treating education as an essential amenity that should take a huge part of our budget. Unlike other days, education and energy are things we use for production. We should see education as one of the factors of production so that even when you produce good services and good people

As individuals and as a society, what we have to do is to appreciate the importance of education in our lives. We have to know that everything linked to education, is an investment in our future

Do you share the view that the quality of education in Nigeria is dwindling?

The state of our education is terrible at the moment. If you look around at the quality of students we are producing, school leavers or graduates, though some fantastic ones are doing great things, overall, the level is lower. If you compare the school leavers that we produced 50 to 60 years ago, the school levers were competent people, but if you look at them now, they are not. They are not as disciplined as the ones we had before. The same goes for the kinds of graduates we have now. When we talk about quality education, we have a peculiar case. For instance, the strikes we are having in universities are an indictment of how little we value education. Education is not just about teaching you the subjects. It is also a case where you learn discipline, routine, practice, perseverance and continuation. So, when you have a system where the schools go on strike, you are disrupting that discipline. They are not only losing classes. You are giving them a life that is uncertain, that can be disrupted anytime.

That is not good for future generations.

In a recent interview, the labour minister said most of ASUU’s demands in the 2009 agreement are unimplementable. As the ASUU strike continues, politicians seem unconcerned. What do you think?

What is the job of the politician? They get elected, and they use it as they think is right.

So, I cannot blame them for politicking. The only problem we have is that the rest of us are not insisting that they allow us to do our old jobs. If the 2009 agreement is not implementable, before lecturers go on strike, somebody in that ministry should have brought out the file, looked at it, and pointed out the problem. Once an agreement is signed, you cannot come out and say it is not implementable, but if you want to object to it, you have to negotiate it very well.

I think that issue is beyond the ministers, and the president has to step in directly.

Do you think the president can achieve anything?

With vision and political will, it can be done in 48 hours. We can only hope for it, but if we keep insisting that the president should stand up and step in, and we are able to prioritise it for our universities to be reopened, we should also need to decide if we are going to borrow to pay what ASUU wants or shift priority? If we understand how much ASUU really needs, maybe the political parties collecting millions for notification forms can do a corporate social responsibility and donate to ASUU as a sign of goodwill. I propose that political parties should donate some part of what they are receiving from nomination forms to ASUU to solve this problem we are having. If I have N100 million today to buy forms, I will give part of it to ASUU because I value education.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022

EDUCATION

Fadayomi: ICT Education is Key to Education’s Future The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Atlantic Hall Secondary School, Chief Eniola Fadayomi, speaks on the education sector’s challenges and what the school offers to make a difference in this interview with Dike Onwuamameze. Excerpt:

H

ow do you view the state of education in Nigeria?

We have been scrambling for a new educational system, but I think that we have gone further than we are giving credit to ourselves. It is unfortunate that we are still at a stage where we are having ASUU’s strike in the university. I believe that there will be better and greater communication between our universities and government to prevent this kind of thing. I also believe that teaching is a very important profession. For us at the Atlantic Hall, we place a very high premium on the quality of our manpower. We know that the person has to be well satisfied in two ways- in terms of remuneration and also in terms of job satisfaction.

There is this general opinion that the intakes into the university are not adequately prepared for university education?

That is where the quality of the secondary school a child attends becomes very important.

Honestly, I cannot speak for other schools. But I know from our own point of view at Atlantic Hall that the quality of our own students is well above average in terms of academics, in terms of behaviour, standards, and culture. But I will suggest that schools should look at the quality of their teachers and their job satisfaction because they will affect their output.

What is your opinion about the declining reading culture in the education system?

That reading culture is very important, and we need to nurture it. Reading is something students should get used to for their exams and mental nourishment. It should be encouraged as a culture. Schools have to train children to enjoy the concept of learning.

What is your view about parents that want students in the university in their early teen years?

Education is not just passing exams. In Atlantic Hall, we do not allow entrance into our school below the age of 11 because we believe that they must have a certain level of maturity before they can enter the school. Maturity, before a child enters secondary school, is important. Some schools abroad even insist on 12 years. And I believe the same for the universities because

Is Nigeria ready to provide the necessary infrastructure to support online learning?

We cannot be ready enough. That is why I am appealing to our government and private sector to really gear up because of the onslaught that is coming. We have to expose ourselves to what is going on around us in a controlled manner because the world is now a global village. We want to make it clear that children must be given this opportunity.

How is the Atlantic Hall encouraging girl-child education?

When you talk about a girl child, you are talking about giving her opportunities for education because a girl child’s development is anchored on the kind of education and exposure that are given to her. It is very important to support a girl child, and my emphasis is on education so that they can make an impact wherever they go.

Fadayomi maturity is needed to take advantage of all the learning offered at the university level.

What difference is the Atlantic Hall making to improve educational standards in Nigeria?

We create a conducive learning environment for our students. We remove all those pressure points for our students and teachers as they live within the school premises. We also make sure that we conduct continuous training for our teachers and even take them abroad, sometimes to just get exposed to other kinds of climes.

All of these improve the quality of what is being offered to the students.

What areas is the school focusing on?

We are putting more emphasis on ICT without compromising on where we are coming from. For students, the first foundation and platform have to be your English Language and Mathematics. English is the communication language that you need to articulate and express yourself. It is very

important to give students a good base and groundwork in English and Mathematics.

We also ensure that students who have special skills and talents in certain areas are encouraged to pursue them.

How do you apply ICT facilities in your educational system?

We have put in a lot of resources to ensure that we have improved our internet reception, and our teachers and students are provided with laptops to ensure that they are abreast with the technologies that are evolving.

What is your view about the claim that ICT holds the key to education’s future?

We cannot avoid ICT because it holds the key. So, we must be well plugged into it. One must have all the devices and be conversant with them. We do not have much choice about it, and that is the point I am making. So, we must be prepared.

Bullying, cultism, and rape are now commonplace in secondary schools?

Bringing up children is a 24-hour job that requires total dedication, and even after we have done everything, we must also not relent in prayers. We must keep them occupied because the devil makes work for idle hands and also let them understand their boundaries.

How do we make quality education affordable and accessible?

This is very important. We do scholarships even though our fees are high. And I want to use this opportunity to appeal to corporate bodies that also have a role to play in sponsoring the educational system as part of their CSR. How do you define the concept of total education?

Total education allows students to discover areas they have talents for and are interested in pursuing. We are collaborating with the County University in Canada. They are coming to teach what is called experiential education, which enables students to learn how to find resources to educate themselves. The brain is very broad. So, students should understand what they want to know and how to zero in on them. It may be entrepreneurial studies, which we are involved in at the Atlantic Hall.

EdoBEST Targets Teachers over Basic Education Reform Since its inception, teachers’ professional development has been at the centre of the EdoBEST basic education reform.

Between April 28 and May 9, 2022, when state-owned primary and junior secondary schools in Edo were on Easter holiday, four basic education sector professional development exercises occurred across the state.

Between April 5 and 8, headteachers, principals, education secretaries, school heads and other school leaders attended a three-day summit in Benin aimed at upskilling them on the job. On April 27, another set of school leaders was trained in their various local government areas, with a few virtual presentations disseminated centrally from Benin.

Three days before resumption, Quality Assurance Officers (QAOs) and Learning and Development Officers in the state’s three senatorial districts met to undergo a training that now enables them to prepare for an impending audit and plan for school resumption.

The training came on the heels of two pronouncements that show that Governor Godwin Obaseki is ahead in the basic education sector reform curve.

While speaking to a group of engineers on April 13, 2022, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), expressed concerns over poor learning outcomes in basic education in Nigeria.

Bobboyi blamed the state of basic education on a few factors, including a lack of regular professional training programmes for teachers and low remuneration.

Four days earlier, Dr. Geofferry Njoku, UNICEF’s Communications Specialist, declared that ‘“it is about time we focused on learning for children through teacher training, changing the curriculum and changing the quality of education.”

Njoku spoke at a media dialogue event on foundational literacy and numeracy. Among other things, UNICEF noted that Nigeria is going through learning poverty, where 70 per cent of 10-year-olds who are in school cannot understand a simple sentence or perform basic numeracy tasks.

Steps Ahead As far back as 2018 in Edo, Obaseki addressed these emerging national challenges through EdoBEST. After the programme’s

launch in primary schools, as many as 11,000 teachers were trained to enable them to deliver lessons better with the help of technology. Some personnel in the school system were even sent abroad to gain knowledge relevant to 21st-century education system management. No effort has been spared to ensure that pupils in state-owned primary and junior secondary schools achieve superior learning outcomes.

In November 2021, junior secondary schools were officially handed over to the Mrs. Ozavize Salami-led Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (Edo SUBEB) for better management and administration. By February 2022, the EdoBEST programme had been successfully extended to 232 junior secondary schools and 148 primary schools considered hard-to-reach and riverine schools, neglected by successive state reforms before the Obaseki era.

The focus of the governor on teachers’ professional development is understandable. At a recent graduation ceremony for EdoBEST training inductees in Benin City, the governor noted that “no society develops without teachers. Teachers are at the heart of the EdoBEST

Some Edo basic education teachers during a professional development programme reform.”

“You are very important to us,” he told teachers in February 2022 as they concluded their EdoBEST induction training.

“We are ready to go to any length to get resources to train you because you are the ones driving the reform,” he said amidst applause from teachers.

To this end, the basic education system has been impacted positively.

Principals who were part of the EdoBEST Induction

training in February attested to the impact of the training.

“This training has been beautiful and awesome. My expectation has been met because this is a new dawn in the history of education in Edo State,” one of them said. “This training will help us manage the school better, especially for a school like mine which is large. With the knowledge I have gathered here means technology is coming in instead of analogue, and the things we

didn’t even know before we have been taught here.”

She added, “With these tablets provided by the government, it will be much easier to manage the school because, for instance, attendance, we don’t have to do it manually, we just have to click, and the records are taken.

And teaching is going to be very effective. You don’t have to monitor the teachers running up and down. You can stand at one point and monitor the teachers.”

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022

CITYSTRINGS

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

How Nigerian Idol Season 7 Dominates Sunday Night TV

Nigerian Idol season 7 top 6 performing at the seventh live show Mofijesusewa Samuel

T

he seventh season of Nigeria’s biggest music reality show, Nigerian Idol, has dominated TV screens for several weeks now since the first day of auditions premiered on February 6, 2022.

First, a wild mix of hilarious and seriously-talented hopefuls entertained the audience. 75 of the many contestants made it to theatre week, where the directions of the auditions took a more serious turn.

The judges weeded out the unserious hopefuls, and those in the theatre week had to fight tooth and nail for a place in the final 10.

Typically, the Nigerian spirit understands what it means to struggle, so many viewers could relate to the hustle of proving one’s worth and making it to the promised land. So, viewers continued to follow the contestants on this harrowing journey they had embarked on, choosing their favourites then and there.

Millions tuned in every Sunday to find out who would make it to the next round and many stayed glued to the 24-hour Nigerian Idol extra channel.

Eventually, the over thousands of people who auditioned came down to a surprising final 12. Viewers had already been watching the show for over a month and were more than ready to see the live shows begin.

When the live shows began on March 20, fans who had only followed via social media, especially Twitter, knew they finally had to get in on the action by catching the shows on Africa Magic channels every Sunday at 7 pm.

The judges - Obi Asika, Simi, and D’banj, had taken 12 people to the live shows. They were the final 12, the chosen ones.

These talents were unequivocally the best of the lot. Social media couldn’t stop commenting about how the judges

had done a great job handpicking the best of the best to make it to the live shows.

Several top entertainment personalities also weighed in on the quality of contestants this season.

Famous media personality and Big Brother Naija host, Ebuka ObiUchendu, took to Twitter at the end of the first live show to talk about how good the contestants were. He tweeted, “The judges did a great job on Nigerian Idol this season.

Pretty solid group of contestants.”

Other show fans also commended the judges on a top-tier pick of contestants. One avid fan of the show, Isioma Adedeji, tweeted: “The judges can leave the show since their job is obviously done since the emergence of the top 12. Or else, let them keep judging and evicting till the top 3, so we can have a worthy winner and not a winner with a large fan base. #NigerianIdol”.

The quality of the contestants ultimately meant spectacular live shows every week, and each of the finalists has not disappointed. Each Sunday they were on the show, Gerald, Abigail, Itohan, David, Faith, Debby, Joel, and Precious brought their A-game. They gave performances worthy of a being on international stages. The competition is now down to the top 4, with Jordan, Banty, Zadok, and Progress going head to head to make it to the final three.

Social media, especially Twitter, has been agog with excitement every week, following each contestant’s performance. Since the season premiered, Nigerian Idol has trended every Sunday and even on Mondays after the live shows.

But it isn’t just the show trending.

Every member of the top 6 - Itohan, Faith, Jordan, Banty, Zadok, and Progress - has made the trends list at different times since the live shows started - some more than others.

However, audience engagement goes beyond just social media conversations. Each contestant has doubled their social media presence since getting on the show. Most have experienced more than a 1000% increase in followers, especially on Instagram. The votes also tell an incredible story of how this season is captivating viewers across Africa. The first week of voting saw the contestants receive 11 million votes, only 3 million shy of the votes received in the final week of the previous season. However, the number of votes has steadily increased since the first 11 million, up to 22 million votes per week.

Interestingly, voting is only available via the MyDStv and MyGOtv apps and on the Africa Magic website and mobile sites. Yet, the show records an outrageous increase in votes and audience participation weekly.

Audience participation is

"Typically, the Nigerian spirit understands what it means to struggle, so many viewers could relate to the hustle of proving one’s worth and making it to the promised land"

sometimes even more significant, with owners of some of the songs covered on the show commenting. When Zadok covered Michael Bolton’s Soul Provider in April, the legend took to Insta-stories to commend the top-4-finalist on a job well done. He said, “shoutout to this week’s performance of ‘Soul Provider’ on @NigerianIdol”. Other artistes like Timi Dakolo, Simi, and D’banj, have also commented when contestants have covered their songs.

Timi Dakolo took to Instagram to campaign for Zadok when he covered his song Wish Me Well on the show. He shared, “the kind of performance that can win you a show. So beautiful to experience. Well done, @iamzady. Justice done! The one moment that can define everything after it is also dangerous because everyone will assume he will be voted for in the coming weeks, and few people then vote. That’s how your favs go home. Don’t assume your Fav will get enough votes. VOTE!!”

It’s been three months since ruling Nigerian TV every Sunday, and the show is approaching its finale. The season has reached a boiling point with the battle for the top three and the eventual Idol coming to a head.

As viewers fight to keep their favourite on the show till the final moments, the bitter-sweet thoughts of ‘is this the end?’ have begun to arise.

It’s been a great run this season, but forward-thinking people are already looking to the next season, asking “whose life will change next?”

Follow the final leg of the seventh season of Nigerian Idol every Sunday on AM Showcase (DStv channel 151), AM Urban (DStv channel 153 & GOtv Supa channel 6) and AM Family (DStv channel 154 & GOtv channel 2) from 7 pm.

Visit www.africamagic.tv/nigerianidol for more information, and follow the official Nigerian Idol handle on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more updates.

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ MAY 11, 2022

39

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Stanbic IBTC Opens N15bn Infrastructure Fund Series II Nume Ekeghe Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, has announced that the N15 billion Series II Offer under its Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Fund (N100 billion) Shelf Programme is now open and scheduled to close on Friday, 10 June 2022.

The Fund is designed to bridge the gap between the long-term funding needs of promoters of infrastructure projects and the needs of investors with longterm capital. The Fund, which is structured as a close-ended collective investment scheme, seeks to provide competitive returns above the benchmark

Federal Government of Nigeria 10-year bond yield.

The managers in a statement noted that they successfully closed its Series I offer in September 2021 and raised N6.745 billion across diverse investors, including Pension Fund Administrators, Asset Management Companies, Insurance Companies, and High Net-worth Individuals (“HNIs”).

The proceeds of the Series I offer were deployed towards the energy and healthcare sectors.

Speaking about the development, Chief Investment Officer, Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Fund, Dolu Olugbenjo stated: “Subsequent to the deployment of Series I proceeds, we are pleased to present the Offer to

investors to support a robust pipeline of investment opportunities currently under our review.

These include infrastructure and infrastructure-related project opportunities in healthcare, transport, logistics, renewable power and energy, amongst others.”

“We encourage institutional investors to continue participating in the Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Fund by partnering with us to bridge the existing infrastructure asset gap that could deliver positive social and economic multiplier effects,” he added while aiming to deliver competitive investment returns to investors within acceptable risk thresholds”.

Alpha Morgan Capital Ranked Among the Fastest-growing Companies in Africa Alpha Morgan Capital, an asset management company has been ranked among Africa’s fastest growing companies by Financial Times (FT).

Alpha Morgan Capital was ranked 4th out of 10 companies in the Financial Service sector, 7th in the General list of all sectors across Nigeria and 22nd in the overall list of 75 Africa’s FastestGrowing Companies.

This was announced in the inaugural publication of the FT – Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies 2022 ranking, released on May 3, 2022. In collaboration with Statista, the FT ranked companies that had the strongest revenue growth in Africa between 2017 and 2020.

Commenting on the inclusion of the firm in the list, the Group Managing Director of

Alpha Morgan Group, Mr Ade Buraimo, stated, “It’s an honour to be ranked on the inaugural FT Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies list.”

Buraimo disclosed that, despite the global economic challenges they are glad to be ranked among the top companies across Africa in many categories, “this is as a result of our demonstration of steady revenue growth and staff expansion.

“Our growth mandate has garnered attention throughout the world, and we are overjoyed by this recognition and achievement.

We will continue to improve on what we do best, which is to sustainably manage and grow our clients’ wealth.

“We want to use this opportunity to appreciate our clients who have trusted us over the past 10

years, as well as our faithful staff, without whom this would not have been possible”, He added.

It will be recalled that in August 2021, Alpha Morgan Capital was rated BBB-(1M) with a stable outlook by Agusto & Co. Rating Service and has since maintained its growth in the financial sector.

The inaugural FT annual ranking of Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies provides a snapshot of the corporate landscape in a continent where technology, fintech and support-service businesses have had to adapt to a radically altered environment.

South Africa has the highest companies’ representation with 24, followed by Nigeria 20, Kenya is the third most represented country with 9 while Egypt had 6.

UNVEILINGCIBNBANKERSHALL

L-R: Registrar/Chief Executive, The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr. Seye Awojobi; Rector, Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Dr. Michael Arimanwa; President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Dr. Bayo Olugbemi; 1st VicePresident,CIBN,Dr.KenOpara;andNationalTreasurer,CIBN, Mr.DeleAlabi,duringtheofficialunveilingofThe CIBNBankersHall,alegacyprojectofCIBNbequeathedtoFederalPolytechnicNekede,Owerri,ImoState...recently

MARKET INDICATORS 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

Firm Unveils Investment Opportunities in US Stocks

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

Kayode Tokede

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

As part of its mission to help millions of people across the world achieve financial independence, leading investment platform, Xantos Lab has expanded its operations to Africa, starting with Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya.

The platform which has built its reputation in over 150 countries will extend its service to Africans, providing a veritable platform through which individuals can invest in USD and enjoy great returns through its recently launched mobile app.

The launch, which was officially announced recently will provide citizens of the aforementioned countries, an opportunity to grow wealth with a fully-managed portfolio without encountering the stress and confusion that are usually

associated with such a venture.

Best of all, the company confirms, is that the entire process requires no trading fees.

According to the company’s Managing Partner, Chuk Orakwue, “Xantos is an investment adviser committed to every client with a mission to offer low minimum, low fee, and premium investment experience to allow everyone to build wealth with ease.

“Unlike popular self-directed trading apps, where you have to figure out what to invest; the team of experts at Xantos builds and manages portfolios based on your risk appetite.

Their clients get to sit back and relax, while the team does the work for them.”

Orakwue explained that the company employs fundamental analysis for security selection along with a systematic ap-

proach to portfolio construction.

The firm is an SEC-registered investment advisor in the United States of America.

According to him, “we are delighted to bring Nigeria and the rest of Africa, an opportunity that we believe offers unique access to American markets.

“We all know how critical financial independence is, unfortunately, a lot of Nigerians are not able to enjoy this largely because of a lack of knowledge or know-how. We are glad to be bridging this gap and providing everyone easy access to a fully-managed portfolio so they can build their wealth. In the coming months, we will do a lot to intensify our message of financial freedom and we are confident in the support we will enjoy from stakeholders and the customers.”

NetPOS App Certified by NIBSS Leading Fintech, NetPOS has secured approval from NIBSS to roll out its NetPOS Contactless App for commercial use in Nigeria.

The app converts NFC-enabled devices to be able to accept card payment using contactless cards.

The company confirms that it is already in discussions with multiple commercial banks in Nigeria to make the app available to SMEs in Nigeria.

Speaking about the solution, Bamidele Omolehinwa who is the

Chief Commercial and Business Officer of the company says that this is a significant value-driven solution for Micro and Small businesses in Nigeria. He mentioned that MSMEs are often passed on when it comes to POS issuance by banks and can now take advantage of their existing Mobile Phones to accept payment. He reckons that this will be an ideal solution for many of the 40M+ SMEs in the country

On the technology itself, Bamidele said the app is leveraging technologies that have not only been certified in Nigeria but globally, making this a secure solution for payment transactions.

The app’s embedded software that captures and submit card information for processing has been tested and certified, and has been built to ensure that a fraudulent merchant doesn’t capture consumer’s card information.

--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 MONDAY MAY 9, 2022

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $114.37 a barrel on Friday, compared with $113.04 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

40

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯ​ͯ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

International Breweries Migrates from N3.56bn Loss to N1.86bn PBT in Q1 Kayode Tokede International Breweries Plc has migrated from N3.56billion loss reported in first quarter ended March 31, 2021 to N1.86billion reported in the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 over its resilient consumer demand drives volume growth ahead of industry, with significant revenue and profit growth.

Profit for the period moved

from N2.6billion loss to N721.2million in Q1 2022 to indicate the management effectiveness growing profit.

With the growing demand for Trophy lager, Budweiser, Hero among other brands of International breweries, revenue for the period rose by 47.6 per cent to N57.5billion from N38.96billion reported in prior period.

The Managing Director, International Breweries, Hugo

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

Dias Rocha in a statement said: “Based on a consistent commercial strategy, we are growing ahead of our industry.

We have continued our journey to profitability, which translates in strong results. We remain committed to create value to our stakeholders consistently.”

He explained further that: “Building on top of the momentum of a strong FY 2021, our business started 2022 on

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

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

a positive note. On the back of firm consumer demand for our brands; a robust revenue management; and volumes growth ahead of industry our revenue grew by nearly 50 per cent in 1Q22. We saw consistent growth across all our portfolio.

“Keeping focus on profitability, we have enabled our High-End Company brands to grow healthy in the market. Our global brand, Budweiser and our newest in-

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

novation, Trophy Extra Special Stout are on a growth path as part of the High-End growth of above 40per cent.

“In terms of profitability, our Gross Profits grew by 307 per cent, while Gross Margins expanded by +1800bps. In absolute terms, we are proud to highlight that we returned to profitability in Q1 2022 as we delivered a positive operating profit of N7.8 billion (excluding

O F 1 0

net FX losses) and Profit Before Taxes of N1.9 billion amidst cost headwinds.

“Through this profitability, we plan on the further strengthening of our brands through powerful campaigns and commercial actions to grow in market.

“In the reporting period, we are proud of the recognition given by LinkedIn as one of the top best places to work in Nigeria.

/ 0 5 / 2 0 2 2 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

41

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 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 09May-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 199.76 200.91 19.65% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 6.19% Nigeria International Debt Fund 319.41 319.41 4.34% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 105.25 106.40 6.68% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.78% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.71 3.78 4.83% 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 N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A info@anchoriaam.com ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 22.62 23.31 11.53% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 509.18 524.53 12.86% ARM Ethical Fund 42.37 43.65 8.76% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) N/A N/A N/A ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.04 1.04 2.27% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.63% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com; Tel 08069294653 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 105.11 105.11 7.98% AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Naira 1,103.28 1,103.28 10.33% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.10 2.10 7.10% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.38 2.43 28.15% CAPITALTRUST INVESTMENTS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED halalfif@capitaltrustnigeria.com Web: www.capitaltrustnigeria.com; Tel: 08061458806 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Capitaltrust Halal Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.04 1.04 2.94% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.77% Paramount Equity Fund 20.54 20.94 17.84% Women's Investment Fund 154.84 156.71 9.03% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.15% Cordros Milestone Fund 137.64 138.58 10.31% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 109.14 109.14 4.80% 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 N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 8.29% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.04 1.04 7.40% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.07 1.07 17.29% Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 102.22 102.22 4.16% FBNQUEST ASSETS MANAGEMENT LIMITED invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Bond Fund 1448.55 1448.55 10.30% FBN Balanced Fund 195.98 197.40 11.83% FBN Halal Fund 119.36 119.36 9.20% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.35% FBN Dollar Fund (Retail) 123.62 123.62 4.67% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 170.99 173.28 12.17% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy USD Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn

Coral Balanced Fund Coral Income Fund Coral Money Market Fund

4,264.87 3,544.88 100.00

4,334.77 3,544.88 100.00

27.61% 6.24% 5.99%

FSDH Dollar Fund 1.10 1.10 3.66% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.79% Vantage Balanced Fund 3.13 3.20 16.57% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 140.02 140.02 2.18% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.35 1.39 13.31% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.08 1.08 4.14% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 13.81 13.88 17.01% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 8.02% 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) 101.32 101.32 5.61% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 8.74% 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 1.72 1.75 7.20% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.72 11.74 4.83% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.17% PACAM Equity Fund 1.55 1.56 9.20% PACAM EuroBond Fund 116.17 118.97 0.96% 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 134.43 137.31 11.45% 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 3,736.89 3,779.89 8.56% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 238.46 238.46 1.16% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.52 1.55 18.08% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 319.25 319.25 1.89% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 276.47 280.81 14.24% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.60% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 12,609.06 12,789.67 13.52% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.31 1.31 1.67% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 118.27 118.27 1.11% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 109.09 109.09 2.45% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Equity Fund 1.02 1.05 10.32% United Capital Balanced Fund 1.49 1.51 9.15% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.20 1.22 10.59% United Capital Sukuk Fund 1.10 1.10 2.63% United Capital Fixed Income Fund 2.00 2.00 2.38% United Capital Eurobond Fund 124.62 124.62 1.87% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.73% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Balanced Strategy Fund 14.14 14.28 7.23% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 16.43 16.62 12.51% Zenith Income Fund 22.57 22.57 2.47% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.36% VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD funds@vetiva.com Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund 4.30 4.40 7.07% Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund 6.72 6.82 14.88% Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund 20.18 20.38 14.07% Vetiva Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.25% Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund 22.51 22.71 12.56% Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund 166.48 168.48 5.49%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

122.16 53.16

1.62% 0.82%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

15.31 150.94 119.49 23.70 23.10

15.41 154.64 122.08 23.80 23.20

9.58% 14.66% 15.30% 0.00% 0.00%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.55

12.10%

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

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

42

WEDNESDAY, ͹͹˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

AT WAGPA COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS’ MEETING...

L-R: Minister of Energy and Mines Togo, Ms. Mila Aziable; Minister of Energy, Republic of Benin and Chairman of West Africa Gas Project Authority (WAGPA), Dona Jean-Claude Houssou; Minister of Energy, Ghana and former chairman WAGPA, Dr. Matthew Prempeh, and Minister of States, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, at WAGPA Committee of Ministers’ Meeting, held at Abuja …yesterday

Ekiti Election, Two-horse Race Between APC, SDP, Says Anap Foundation Mo Abudu joins advocacy for youth participation in 2023 polls Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Anap Foundation led by Mr Atedo Peterside, yesterday said that a survey conducted on its behalf by NOI Polls Limited , has shown a close-run race for the Ekiti state governorship seat between two top aspirants, Abiodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Segun Oni of the Social

Democratic Party (SDP).

Stressing that the poll indicated that the two candidates were running neck-to-neck, a statement signed by founder of the organisation, Peterside, stated that surprisingly, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Olabisi Kayode, was running a distant third.

However, the report noted that a whopping 33 per cent of those

polled were still undecided as to their choice of candidate, but added that this proportion of voters would be critical in deciding who eventually wins the governorship election.

While the survey results showed that youths between the ages of 18-25 years were more inclined to vote for the APC candidate, the result further indicated that a larger range of young people aged 26-35

and the next age bracket 36-45 was more inclined to vote for Oni, the SDP standard bearer.

The survey further observed that that 93 per cent of registered voters polled have their Permanent Voter's Cards (PVCs) with them, whilst 79 per cent of those voters claimed that they were absolutely certain that they will cast their vote in the June 18 June poll.

2023: Mammoth Crowd Storms Bauchi Airport, Emir's Palace to Welcome Osinbajo VP stresses need for united Nigeria Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi A mammoth crowd of supporters yesterday stormed the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport to welcome Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to Bauchi as he continues to consult with influential Nigerians regarding his presidential ambition to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

The APC presidential aspirant's chartered plane landed at the Bauchi airport around 11:30 a.m.

Osinbajo was in Bauchi in continuation of his nationwide consultations with party delegates ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC)'s primary election to choose the party's candidate for the 2023 presidential election.

THISDAY reports that amidst heavy security, Osinbajo was received by hundreds of enthusiastic supporters as he drove straight to the palace of the Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, for homage.

Osinbajo, warmly received by the traditional ruler, highlighted the numerous achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration, stressing the need for a united Nigeria with every citizen treated with fairness and justice.

"The unity of this country is very, very crucial. There is no point trying to govern a country that is not united. Our primary task is unity and security, which is also very crucial. And these are issues that we are concerned with and which we are trying to deal with every day," said Osinbajo. "One of the critical things one recognizes is that in a diverse country such as

ours, different religions, different ethnicities, people with different designs, but we must treat everybody with fairness and justice. We must treat everybody, every faith, and every ethnicity with fairness and justice. And I believe that this is one of the reasons why it is important for us even in putting ourselves forward for the position of president, to bear in mind that the unity of this country is one of the most important things that we need."

The APC presidential hopeful said he would want to alleviate the plights of Nigerians, thereby uniting the country, noting that the Buhari government's concern is the plight of the masses and how to ensure that they get a fair chance to be employed and have a decent living.

"This is the reason why several of our projects that we have undertaken, especially the social investment programme, have been to better the lives of the common man. But also, we have been concerned about young people; how we can improve not just the quality of education of our young people, but the opportunity for young people to get jobs, to be employed and to have a decent standard of living," Osinbajo explained. "This is very important for us as a government. This will also explain why I am running for the president of this country come February 2023."

He told the Bauchi emir: "Your Royal Highness, I have served as vice president to President Muhammadu Buhari for the past seven years, and with God helping us, I will see out that term till May 2023."

The vice president pointed out

that serving Nigeria alongside Buhari has exposed him to the governance of "a complex and diverse level my office has allowed," praising Buhari for his "openness and transparency."

"I have learnt a lot, and I know that even during that period that I acted as president of this country, I was exposed to so much," added Osinbajo.

Having served as vice president and a part of the current administration's policies and implementation, Osinbajo mentioned that he would be better positioned to consolidate Buhari's achievements.

Osinbajo asked the emir and other Nigerians to pray for his success ahead of the APC presidential primary election.

Responding, Adamu commended the vice president for paying him a courtesy visit at his palace and the APC party delegates in Bauchi, saying his actions show the love and respect he has for the people and traditional institutions in the state.

"I want to welcome you to Bauchi State. I believe you are in Bauchi for political activities, but you still considered it necessary to visit me at this material time. This shows the love and respect you have for the traditional institution," said the Bauchi ruler. "We believe that power belongs to Allah and he gives it to whoever he wants and at the same time, by virtue of our position, we are not politicians, we can't participate in politics but we only advise wisely."

The emir added, "We pray that whatever you are here to do today in Bauchi state is fruitful. Whatever will bring unity and peace in our country what we are after."

Osinbajo was in company with Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa (Bauchi North) and Senator Kabiru Gaya (Kano Central), ex-Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi, among other top dignitaries.

The vice president, who moved from the emir of Bauchi's palace to the tomb of the late Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, on Ran road, addressed the APC Bauchi delegates at the Hazibal Events Centre, Yelwa Road, Bauchi.

It added that even if the voters only partially live up to their claim, then the pointers are that voter apathy may not occur in the same magnitude it did in the Anambra governorship elections where approximately 90 per cent of the registered voters failed to vote on election day.

NOI Polls Limited conducts periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria, while the Anap Foundation is a non-profit organisation promoting good governance.

Meanwhile, the foundation has announced that the Chief Executive Officer of the EBONYLIFE Group, Mo Abudu, has become a “GoAmbassador” an organisation which advocates youth participation in the electoral process.

Anap stated that Abudu joined other distinguished citizens and celebrities in endorsing the GoNigeria advocacy campaign for effective youth participation in the country's electoral processes as the general elections in 2023 approach.

It added that Abudu's endorsement is coming at a time the public enlightenment campaign themed GoNigeria, an advocacy to sensitise Nigerian youths to participate in the electoral process, is gaining greater

momentum in the run-up to the June 30, 2022 deadline for voter registration.

GoAmbassadors, it stated, are celebrities and outstanding people in various endeavours that include the arts, sciences, entertainment, tech professionals, performing artists, sports persons, innovators and social advocates, who have all bought into the initiative and are prepared to ,among others, help tackle voter apathy. “ The overall aim is to encourage Nigerian youths to register and vote en-masse in the 2023 general elections. Hence, Mo Abudu’s addition to the growing GoAmbassadors' list is a positive development that will add great value to the works of the initiative. “ The international media mogul and CEO of the EBONYLIFE Group can help influence the target group i.e. youths aged 18 to 34 and her involvement is expected to deepen the ongoing voter sensitisation campaign.

“This is aimed at getting the young demographic that constitutes over 80 per cent of the electorate to become politically active and further stimulate their direct involvement in the 2023 general elections, thereby helping to shape the nation's political destiny,” Anap stated.

MultiChoice Invites Nigerian Filmmakers to Apply for 2023 Talent Factory Now approaching its fifth year, the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) Academy has called for applications for its "world-class" film and TV training programme.

The programme will kick off in October. Applications opened on May 9 and will close on June 3, 2022, according to a MultiChoice statement issued on Tuesday.

The call is open to all emerging filmmakers with industry experience or a relevant post-school qualification to apply for this "exciting opportunity to hone their television and film production skills," stated MultiChoice.

It noted that applications must "be completed on https://cte. multichoicetalentfactory.com/."

Applications made outside of the website "will not be considered."

MultiChoice disclosed that the 12-month fully funded

programme would be open to candidates from Nigeria and Ghana for the West Africa Academy, based in Lagos, Nigeria.

"The curriculum combines film studies such as directing, sound design, and the business of film, to name a few, with workplace experience on Africa Magic and SuperSports top productions," added the statement.

Speaking on the announcement, Atinuke Babatunde, the West Africa Hub Academy Director, said, "This couldn’t be a more exciting opportunity for African film and TV content creators. There are so many stories on our continent that need to be told and documented with a sense of skill and passion that only a programme such as the MTF Academy can train young people to do. I can’t wait to be

a part of this journey."

Alongside her expert track record with M-Net through Africa Magic since 2014, Babatunde will lead the class of 2023 with her over 20 years of experience.

"In addition to the hands-on training that all students will receive as part of the programme, they will also get enhanced training experience from the Academy’s partnerships, which include the New York Film Academy (NYFA), the Henley Business School, Dolby and Canon, among others," added the statement.

MultiChoice's previous cohorts have worked with United Nations’ Verified campaign and pitched projects to Partners Against Piracy (PAP) and Creative Development on a climate change campaign.

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THANK YOU VISIT TO MR PRESIDENT...

Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi (left) and President Muhammadu Buhari, when the governor visited him in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja...yesterday.

PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

Strike: Senate Pledges to Bring Back FG, ASUU to Negotiation Table Urges students to avoid confrontation as NANS dumps planned protests Resolve dispute with lecturers now or face industrial action, TUC threatens FG Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, yesterday assured that the Senate would intervene in the lingering dispute between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) by bringing back the two parties to the negotiation table.

This is just as the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has advised the federal government to immediately resolve all lingering issues with ASUU or be ready for any industrial action.

Lawan, made the promise to the officials of the National Association of Nigerian Students(NANS) who were led to his office by a concerned Methodist Bishop, Dr. Sunday Ndukwo Onuoha.

The NANS President, Sunday Asefon who spoke on behalf of his other colleagues lamented their continued stay at home and disruption of their academic programme and urged the Senate President to intervene in the dispute between the federal government and the university teachers.

Responding, the Senate President expressed unhappiness about the turn of events, recalling that the Senate had intervened in the past before everything broke down again.

He, however, promised that the Senate would wade in again and expressed optimism that the issues would soon be resolved.

"You are in the right place. We are going to intervene. We will make concerted and sustained efforts to bring back ASUU and the federal government to the negotiating table so that we are able to resolve as quickly as possible those issues that are now very knotty and have stopped our universities from reopening, that is now making our students walking the streets all over the country.

"But I want to appeal to you too, since we are going to make effort to bring back everybody back to the negotiating table, you should give us a chance to do that believing that we are going to find a solution because it is not only enough to bring them back to the negotiating table, but we will participate and I want to make sure that we find the solution when we start the negotiation again.

"Now that you have come here, we are going to make sure that everybody in this sector especially those in public sector who has responsibility and mandate perform

their functions. We will make sure they do that.

"Because you have come, I think we also have some tonic enough in us. Time is of essence and we must do whatever is necessary to get this issue resolved,” the Senate president added.

Also responding to the threat by the students to disrupt political activities, Lawan appealed to them to continue in the path of consultation and avoid confrontation.

"I want to also advice, I don't think it will be necessary to disrupt political activities. We shouldn't do that and we don't need to do that.

“What we need to do is to continue to follow the path of consultation, consolidation and avoid confrontation. It is when you emphasise consultation, it is much easier for us to find something that you can consolidate.

"Your prayer that you want the federal government and ASUU back to negotiate and resolve the issues.

We have taken this prayer. We have endorsed it and we will work for it as quickly as possible.

"It is an opportunity for me also to appeal to ASUU to suspend this strike period because there is no way ASUU can negotiate with the Federal government when it is on strike.

“So it is an opportunity for us to have them, at least create a window, suspend the strike for a certain period and let us see how far we can go.

"I want to be very positive that we are going to resolve this issue as soon as possible by the Grace of God," Lawan said.

The Senate President said the 2009 agreement which is the Crux of the matter was not properly thought out before it was signed.

"Somebody just wanted ASUU to go back to the classroom and just signed everything there. We must

understand that there are things that when we promise we should do, we must do," Lawan added.

An intervention by the Senate and a group, Vision Africa convinced the NANS to suspend the planned shutdown of Abuja during political parties' primaries scheduled for the end of the month.

Asefon, had threatened to shutdown Abuja during the forthcoming political parties’ primaries.

However, the founder of Vision Africa and the Bishop, Methodist Diocese of Umuahia, intervened in the situation after considering the implications of the protest by the students who had been out of school for over three months.

The Bishop had during the series of meetings with the leadership of NANS, initiated a discussion with the leadership of the National Assembly which led to the suspension

of the planned protest.

Onuoha went further to lead the leadership of the students to meet with the principal officers of the National Assembly.

Asefon said they had planned to shutdown Abuja, because the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, "apparently don't care about how they can resolve the ASUU and the federal government face-off.”

He added: "We decided that no political party will hold a primary in Abuja because the issue of the strike action embarked upon by ASUU for months has been neglected.

However, with the intervention of Vision Africa through Bishop Sunday Onuoha, we want ASUU and the federal government to go back to the negotiation table so that we can go back to school.

"The Senate has done it before,

President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Dame Adaora Umeoji and the entire family of Umeoji of Aku Village, Anambra State on the demise of their beloved mother and matriarch, Chief Lady Ngami Umeoji, KSJI, (Adagbaodu 1).

The President, in a condolence message issued Tuesday by his

Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige and Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu cannot resolve the issues at stake, they should quit.

"We strongly condemn the continued disruption of academic calendar in public institutions and the apathetic attitude of political office holders, who are busy buying nominations forms at N100 million while the economy is gasping for breath. They make politics expensive to disenfranchise Nigerians of conscience from the political space.

The peak of the absurdity is that even serving politicians with no visible projects to their credit are also buying forms to be president!

"We wish to stress that the reason why politicians care less about the plight of Nigerians is because their children school and live abroad, what happens in Nigerian public universities is none of their business."

Dagogo: Groups Berates Wike’s Use of Derogatory Comment against Ijaws Sylvester Idowu in Warri The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) and the Delta Ijaw Comrades Community (DICC) have berated the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike over what they described as his attack on the Ijaw ethnic nationality.

Wike had last Sunday launched an attack on the ijaws following the controversy surrounding the arrest of Federal lawmaker, Hon. Farah Dagogo and the 48 hours’ ultimatum issued for his immediate release The leadership of the umbrella body of the IYC, described as insulting and totally unacceptable

Rivers State Governor's comment that, “thunder fire those who issued the ultimatum.”

The IYC, in a statement reacting to the derogatory word used by the Governor during a church service, described the comment as disturbing, inciting and denigrating of the high office he occupies.

The Ijaw youth body, in the statement signed by its National spokesman, Ebilade Ekerefe yesterday, noted that such tactless and disrespectful comment by Wike was the height of his prolonged disdain for the Ijaw nation as a whole and Rivers Ijaw people in particular since he became governor of the state.

Buhari Commiserates with Zenith Bank DMD, Adaora Imeoji, over Mother's Demise Deji Elumoye in Abuja

we are ready to allow for such an atmosphere," Asefon said.

Meanwhile, the TUC and its affiliates have said they are unanimous on the return of students back to school, adding that government has no excuse whatsoever to further keep the students and their lecturers at home.

A statement signed by the President of TUC, Quadri Olaleye stated," On behalf of the National Administrative Council of the TUC, we call on the federal government to immediately resolve all lingering issues with ASUU or be ready for any industrial action."

Olaleye said the TUC was worried that a government that could raise money to feed children who were at home during the heat of Covid-19 cannot do same for the education sector now.

He said: "At this point, if the

spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, noted that “Mama” as she was fondly called was indeed a towering personality.

According to him, her passion and commitment to humanity, advancing the good in others resonated in the church, education field and the local community, where she touched the lives of the less privileged, and especially widows, in the society.

“While her transition has left

a void too difficult to fill, I urge the family to be unwavering in advancing her ideals and take solace in the truism that her memory will always be a blessing.

“I pray that God Almighty will grant her soul peaceful rest and equally grant all her children, grandchildren, numerous friends and relations the fortitude to bear the loss.

"Kindly accept my profound condolences," the President said.

The group said it was even more shocking that the Governor took his unrestrained verbiage to the hallowed pulpit of a church and desecrated the altar of God. The IYC restated that its only ‘sin’ that attracted Wike’s ire was its demand alongside its parent organ, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), for the release of an Ijaw son, Dagogo, that was arrested and remanded in prison on the orders of the governor.

"Despite being the fourth largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria and the largest in the Niger Delta, the Ijaws have consistently promoted peaceful and harmonious relationships with other ethnic groups, including Wike’s Ikwerre nationality in Rivers State.

“However, Wike should be reminded that such unguarded and incendiary comments are capable of rupturing the existing good relationship with the Ikwerres, and his kinsmen are advised to call him to order.

"The IYC also reminds Governor Wike that power is transient and that by May 29, 2023, he will vacate the exalted governorship seat, that he has equally ridiculed, to become an ordinary citizen like others in Rivers State and Nigeria.

"Wike has forgotten that by calling fire and thunder on the Ijaw nation, his benefactor and our

revered leader, former President Goodluck Jonathan, is an illustrious Ijaw son,” the statement added.

It noted that: "This ‘thunder’ did not fire the former president when, despite all odds, he made him the choice of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State against the wishes of other competent Ijaw aspirants in the state.

“Now, Jonathan as an Ijaw man, is also under fire from Governor Wike. For him, all those that made him, including the people of Rivers State, are in his pocket and can be insulted at will."

The DICC also condemned the governor's comments during the church service.

The group, in a statement signed by its President General Binebai Yerin Princewill, described as uncharitable the response by the governor to the ultimatum by Ijaw National Congress (INC) and its youth wing, the IYC. The group noted that the governor benefitted more from ijaw nation and did nothing in return for the ethnic group other than to castigate them.

The group went memorable lane recalling how late Major General Jaspa Adaka Boro declared the Niger Delta republic in February 23rd 1966 and that 12 days later, the revolution was foiled by federal superior fire power.

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FUNERAL MASS FOR LADY IZEGBU...

L-R: Prof. Victor Izegbu; Mrs. Juliana Edewor-Izegbu; Ms. Ifeyinwa Izegbu; Chinwe Izegbu; Mr. Nduka Ben Izegbu; Mrs. Mimi Izegbu, and Medua Izegbu, at the funeral mass for late Lady Beatrice Izegbu at St Joseph Pro-Cathedral Catholic Church Asaba, Delta State…recently

Court Gives PDP Four Days to Respond to Suit against Primary As lawyer to party's scribe kicks Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Tuesday ordered the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to file all its processes within four days in a suit seeking the court's order to halt its presidential primary

slated for May 28, 2022.

Justice Okorowo gave the order while delivering ruling in an application for abridgment of time as well as accelerated hearing in the suit filed by an aggrieved aspirant and member of the PDP, Chief Cosmas Ndukwe.

Ndukwe, a former Deputy

Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, had on April 28 brought an ex-parte application for an order of injunction restraining the PDP from proceeding with its scheduled primary election pending the hearing and determination of his suit challenging the position of the

party on the issue of zoning the party’s presidential ticket.

Defendants in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/508/2022 are PDP, its National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu; PDP's National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu and the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) as 1st to

Edo High Court Adjourns for Final Adoption, Address by Counsels on Rotation of Otaru Stool Among Ruling Houses Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Edo State High Court presided over by Justice Daniel Okungbowa has adjourned the chieftaincy disputes among the Ikelebe dynasty of Auchi on the rotation of Otaru traditional stool among the ruling houses.

With the closure of the defendants’ case in the Auchi, Etsako West local government Area Chieftaincy dispute, Justice Okungbowa adjourned the case to June 27, for the adoption of final address by the counsels.

The suit No: B/329/2018 is between the claimants Mamudu Ikharo, Yahaya Ikharo against the Attorney General, Edo State, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government Affairs, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Haliru Momoh, Ikelebe III, Otaru of Auchi.

The claimants are seeking a declaration that the selection, presentation and appointment and/ or production of Otaru of Auchi is rotational; that each sub-ruling house of Ikelebe dynasty must take its turn in accordance with the custom and tradition of Auchi as enshrined in Section 3(2) and 14 (1) (c) of the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Law 1979.

The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that the Odjiugo Commission of Inquiry into the Otaru of Auchi Chieftaincy title as regards the number and identity of the Ruling Houses and the order of rotation represents the true traditional, correct and customary position of Ikelebe title under Auchi Native Law and Customs.

When the case came up last Monday, one of the defendants' witnesses, Mallam Sule Yusuf was absent just as the defendant counsel, Mr. Daud Momodu didn't

call any witness, but rather chose to close his case and adjourned for final address.

The development prompted the judge to adjourn the case to June 27 considering the fact that the same witness refused to show up during the last sitting on March 30.

For the late submission of an application for amendment/substitu-

tion of dead parties, the trial judge had on March 30, fined one of the defendants' counsels because of the delay and inconvenience caused by the application.

Despite the vehement opposition of counsel to Ikharo Family, Mr. Dan Ose Okoh, Justice Okungbowa had admitted in evidence the Bendel State Legal Notice No. 133 Legisla-

tion of 1979 as exhibit 10 which was tendered by Momodu.

Contending that as an extra legislation, it is of no moment in law as it is the prerogative of the legislature to make laws, Okoh had argued in vain for the rejection of the document which is at the heart of the defence of Momoh Ruling House.

4th respectively.

However, rather than grant the application to halt the planned primary, Justice Okorowo ordered that the PDP should appear before it on May 5 and show cause why the court should not accede to the plaintiff’s demand.

When the matter came up last Thursday, hearing in the matter could not go on following complaints by counsel to the plaintiff, Paul Erokoro, SAN that he was just served the affidavit of the PDP, relating to the court's order to show cause why the primary should not be stopped.

Erokoro, subsequently asked for time to respond to PDP and was granted since counsel to the PDP, Mahmud Magaji, SAN, did not object to the request for adjournment.

Justice Okorowo subsequently shifted hearing to May 10 and ordered parties to file and exchange their processes in the suit.

When the matter came up yesterday, May 10, 2022, Magaji announced appearance for the 1st defendant, Mr Abdullahi Aliyu SAN and Mr Kalu Agu announced appearance for the 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.

Both Aliyu and Agu complained to the court that they were yet to be served with the suit as ordered by the court.

When efforts were made to serve them in court, while Aliyu accepted service on behalf of the 2nd defendant, Agu declined, claiming he was not given such instructions from his client.

Accordingly, Justice Okorowo granted an order of substituted service on the 3rd defendant, which the court held should be pasted at the Wadata office complex of the defendants in Wuse, Abuja.

Continued online

APC TICKET: JONATHAN GIVES CONDITIONS, SALE OF FORMS EXTENDED TO MAY 12 to encourage citizens’ participation in the affairs of the country.”

Jonathan Will Be a Hard Sell for APC, Says Umahi

Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi warned that Jonathan would be difficult to elect as APC’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election. The governor told newsmen yesterday after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the State House, Abuja, that it would be difficult for the ruling party to campaign with Jonathan as its presidential candidate.

Umahi, who is one of the 26 presidential aspirants of APC, said although there had been denials of the former president's rumoured move to APC, if he eventually defected to the ruling party, it would be a material for the Guinness Book of Records. He wondered how APC would reconcile its policies and promises with those of PDP under which Jonathan was president from 2010 to 2015.

According to Umahi, "The reason is that if you go and see the campaign programmes of APC and you now ask President Jonathan to come and run, I don't know what will be our campaign promises and what will be the stories we will be telling Nigerians.

"I believe strongly that he was not aware of the forms and I want

to believe that people that are mischievous would have bought the forms to embarrass him.

"But from what I read, he has quickly distanced himself from that.

Like I said, if that is not the case, then the Guinness Book of Records is not totally filled up."

On his views about Jonathan joining the presidential race, the governor recounted that God used the former president and his wife for him to emerge as Ebonyi State governor seven years ago.

Umahi stated, "Jonathan is my father and God used him and the wife to make me governor of the state and so, anybody who has done anything for me, I've always remained very grateful to such a person and I will continue to be very grateful to him, the wife for being available and my destiny helper.

"Probably if that miracle did not take place, then the miracles that happened in Ebonyi State, in terms of total evolution and transformation, wouldn't have taken place.

"So, he is a man we cannot forget, just like Sani Abacha, who created the state and Mr. President. Of course, we have named the airport after him, we have named the light tunnel after him, we have named the Presidential Lodge after him.”

Umahi, however, stressed that it would be a wonder ran for president on the APC platform.

He stated, "Good intention that we don't forget people who have helped us, but on the question of joining, I may not say much about that because I've seen a lot of write ups, denials, but if he decides to join and to run, it will, for me, become one of the wonders in this century."

N100m Form: APC Presidential Aspirant Defects, Alleges Adamu Has Commercialised Primary Process

Adamu Garba announced his defection from APC yesterday, saying he would disclose his new party within the next few days. He advised those who had contributed money to his campaign to seek refund immediately.

Garba spoke at a news conference in Abuja.

He said, "We have recorded the sum of N81, 750,000.00 in private donations and N1, 457, 794.70 in online donations, totalling N83, 207,794.70.

"We sincerely, immensely, and graciously thank everyone for these wonderful contributions and donations, including those who made theirs anonymously.

"We, however, request that all those who donated online and who require a refund send an email with evidence of payment to adamugarba@adamugarba.org.

I assure you of a complete refund upon request.

"Those that made private donations, we know them, we will meet them and settle this out.”

Garba added, "Incidentally, if your donations are done for pursuing our course for the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the coming 2023 election, the battle is not over yet. Kindly do bear with us for further directives in the coming days.

"I deeply, immensely appreciate my supporters, friends, well-wishers, and the well-meaning Nigerian youth who contributed unceasingly to this journey."

He alleged that the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee (NWC) of APC had commercialised the process leading to the emergence of a credible candidate for the party in the 2023 presidential election.

He also expressed fear that the leadership of the party could further compromise the process with the inclusion of the voluntary withdrawal form in the nomination and expression of interest forms.

Garba predicted that the NWC might adopt consensus to pick an anointed candidate and ask other aspirants, who had obtained forms with N100 million, to seek refund.

He maintained that the NWC's latest directive that 10 statutory delegates must sign the forms of the aspirants had automatically made the party's ticket accessible

only to the highest bidder.

According to Garba, "Information at our disposal has it that some aspirants are paying as much as N50, 000 to each statutory delegate to get their forms signed.

"After high-level deliberation with our internal campaign team, we have concluded that we will not be obtaining the expression of interest and nomination form for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the platform of the APC.”

Nigerians Unwittingly Pushing for Plutocracy, Says Kukah

Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, His Grace Matthew Hassan Kukah, spoke on the topic, "Citizens Participation in a Democracy," during a brief ceremony to mark the 60th birthday of veteran civil society activist, and Director of the Policy and Legislative Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Mr. Clement Nwankwo.

Kukah said Nigeria could not get the right citizens’ participation in governance if people did not believe in the constitution or the electoral process.

He said some of the bizarre things “being witnessed today in our democracy have tended exclude citizens from participation in governance.”

Continued online

WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Navy Chief Calls for Comprehensive Database for Maritime Criminals

Chiemelie Ezeobi

The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo yesterday advocated for a database for maritime criminals, especially pirates, given the intensity and trans-national nature of maritime crimes within the region.

He posited that the fight against maritime crimes like piraczzy, crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, amongst others, require a more diligent record and data capturing identity of perpetrators.

Gambo noted that most of the criminals migrate to other countries within the sub-region to continue their activities once they have been arrested, convicted and done their times, thus the need for a comprehensive database.

The CNS, who spoke at the 10th SECUREX West Africa, an international security exhibition held in Lagos, delivered a keynote paper titled, “Protecting Critical National Infrastructure: Tackling Maritime Crimes; Protecting Nigeria’s Ports.”

He said: “Despite the Nigerian Navy’s (NN) effort at ensuring that maritime crimes are reduced,

new challenges continue to unfold due to the dynamic nature of criminals.

“The intensity and trans-

national nature of maritime crimes within the region requires a more diligent record and data capturing identity of perpetrators.

“Sadly, lack of adequate database on identified criminals has allowed perpetrators of maritime crimes to relocate

from one country to the other without being identified.

“Some persons who have been prosecuted for maritime

crimes on completion of their jail terms have resumed their criminal activities in other countries unnoticed.

EMENIKE SUBMITS GUBER FORMS...

L-R: Former Commandant, School of Infantry, Jaji, Major-Gen. Ogbonna Okoro(rtd); former GOC 2 Division Ibadan, Major-Gen. Chinedu Abraham (rtd); frontline All Progresives Party (APC) governorship aspirant in Abia State, Chief Ikechi Emenike; Member representing Ikwuano/ Umuahia North and South Federal constituency in the House of Representatives and Senatorial aspirant for Abia Central, Hon. Sam Onuigbo; former President, Nigerian Institute of Management and Chairman, College of Education, Yola, Adamawa, Dr. U.N.O. Uwaga, and House of Representatives aspirant, Hon. Obilor Ogbonna, after Emenike submitted his gubernatorial forms to the party in Abuja...yesterday

Ortom: No Going Back on Law Hilltop Club Drums Support for South-east Presidency Banning Open Grazing George Okoh in Makurdi Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has insisted that the law banning open grazing in the state is irrevocable just as he told the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore that he is prepared to meet them in court for any legal battle.

Secretary-General of the group, Saleh Hassan at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, May 9th, 2022 threatened that they will take legal action against the Benue State Government over what he claimed were illegal seizures of cows belonging to their members on account of violation of the ban on open grazing of cattle in the state.

Reacting yesterday, Governor Ortom dismissed claims by the group that the cattle seized in the state by the Livestock Guards for violating the anti-open grazing law in the state were done illegally.

“There is a law in place. And it is very clear that anyone who

allows his or her cattle to roam freely in the state violates the law.

When such herds are seized by the Livestock Guards, a time frame is given for owners to come forward and claim. When the time given by law elapses, we are left with no option but to auction. And that is what has taken place,” he said.

According to him, “As a state, we are law-abiding and we cannot allow lawlessness,” explaining that the law came into force in 2017 and was reviewed this year after it underwent every legislative process.”

“So anybody or group who violates it will bear the consequences.”

He stated: “We are prepared to meet them in court. The law is made to be obeyed so that we can have an orderly society. This law protects the interest of everyone irrespective of tribe or religion. It protects herders against rustling and also protects farmers who suffer the loss of their crops.”

A socio-cultural club of accomplished public officers, technocrats, academics, professionals and leaders of thought of Enugu State origin, the Hilltop Club 1972, has enjoined Nigerians to support the zoning of the 2023 presidency to the South-eastern part of the country.

The group specifically appealed to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),

and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to zone their presidential tickets to the South-east, in the interest of national unity, peace and stability of the country.

The club made this call in a statement yesterday by its Chairman, Chief Emeka Ibe and Secretary, Barr. Pascal Ozioko.

According to the group, the case for a Nigerian President of South-east extraction in 2023 is a pragmatic one founded on the

fact that of all the major ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Southeasterners have been steadily marginalised from ascending to the position.

The club argued that even though people from the zone invested most in the Nigerian project as they live and invest in virtually every nook and cranny of Nigeria, championing small and medium scale enterprises, the engine of growth in any

economy, they are still being denied the position.

They argued that a Nigerian President of South-east extraction will not only promote “national unity” and the “national loyalty” of Nigerians, but would unleash the ingenuity of the Igbo and other ethnic groups in the country and redirect Nigeria on the path of “stability, economic recovery and sustainable development”.

Aspirant Withdraws, Others Threaten Defection as Crisis Hits Plateau APC the party, accusing Governor decision to withdraw from “Additionally, many

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

A frontline gubernatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State, Professor Dakas Clement Dakas, has withdrawn from the forthcoming gubernatorial primary elections of the party in the state.

This is as other 17 other gubernatorial aspirants of the party in the state had equally threatened to dump

Simon Lalong and the party EXCO of trying to impose a candidate on the party.

But the party EXCO, has denied the allegations of imposing a candidate as unfounded, reassuring that level playing ground would be provided for all aspirants.

Dakas, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in a statement said, he had to make an excruciating, but strategic

the race for the governorship of the state on the platform of the APC and reflect on the happenings in the party.

“Against the backdrop of the media frenzy and trending news that I would be purchasing the APC Expression of Interest Form and Nomination Form, today, this is obviously a stunning turn of events. Indeed, I travelled to Abuja to purchase the requisite forms today.

individuals and groups offered to purchase the forms for me. However, after series of consultations with several critical stakeholders in the Plateau Project, I decided to sacrifice my aspiration in furtherance of our collective resolve to ensure that the leadership recruitment process produces an outcome that is in the overarching interest of our dear state.

Ignore Alleged Imposition of 2023: Kwara South Senatorial Stakeholders Warn against Zoning Isin/ Irepodun/Oke-Ero in the area.

“My main thrust, if given Candidate by Akeredolu, Ondo Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Federal Constituency in Kwara Oloyede stressed that “what chance, in the next elections is in the Kwara State, Dr. Toba Oloyede, gave is going on in the Kwara South on how to bring uncommon APC Chieftain Tells Members Stakeholders South Senatorial District were the advice yesterday while Senatorial District is a game of agenda that would improve Fidelis David in Akure A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Ondo State, Mr. Mathew Oye Oyerinmade, yesterday, called on members of the party in the Southern Senatorial District of the state not to be perturbed by the alleged imposition of a candidate on the people by the Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, ahead the forthcoming party’s primary elections in the state.

Oyerinmade, who spoke with journalists after meeting with the members and delegates of his constituency at Okeigbo, in Ileoluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of the state, stressed that the governor had given his words to support only candidates that emerged democratically through free and fair primaries and not by

imposition.

He promised to intensify efforts toward ensuring that youths and women in the senatorial district (Ondo South), are engage meaningfully, constructively and are able to passionately subscribe to the national development plan.

Oyerinmade, therefore, said that he is fully ready to render a quality services if given the opportunity to serve the good people of the senatorial district of Ondo State.

He said: “Most of our graduates are there doing nothing. We need to understand the level of their involvement and the areas of their discipline. We need to engage them in order to know what they need.

“It is my duty to present quality bills that will torch the lives of our people. I will lobby for the benefits of my people.”

urged to allow fairness, justice and equity to prevail in the choice of candidates that would represent the district in the next general elections and bring even socio-economic development to the area.

A Chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Aspirant to the House of Representatives for Ekiti/

speaking with journalists on his aspiration.

Oyedele, however, advised that credibility and capacity to deliver should supersede zoning arrangement in the senatorial district.

He stated that the senatorial district deserved good representation that would bring economic prosperity

which town has produced a federal lawmaker and which others have not but this should not be a priority for this time.

“What should be paramount now is the issue of credibility and capacity and those that will deliver the goods for the people and those that will advance the well being of the area in the next polls.

the socio well being of the federal constituency.

“I have a long term blueprint that would touch the lives of Ekiti/Isin/ Irepodun/ Oke-Ero Federal Constituency and if given chance to represent them in the next elections more delivery of dividends of democracy will come to their doorsteps.”

Military Pensions Board Pays Second Tranche of 24 Months Arrears Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Military Pensions Board (MPB) said yesterday it has effected the payment of the second tranche of 25 per cent of the arrears of minimum wage increment to eligible military retirees.

It said the payment was made to eligible military retirees on Friday, May 6,

2022 and concluded the exercise on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

The board said payments were for arrears of increment in pensions of military retirees, who are on MPB payroll between April 18, 2019 and April 30, 2021, occasioned by the new National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2019.

A statement by the board said that all Next of Kins (NOKs) of deceased military pensioners who are entitled to arrears were paid in full.

“The payments were made to the various bank accounts of pensioners on the MPB payroll. Consequently, all eligible military pensioners are advised to contact their banks for their entitlements.

“This payment is the second instalment being paid to eligible military retirees, who are active on the board’s data base and it is in fulfilment of the agreement reached between the board and the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning for quarterly releases of the appropriated sum in the first month of each quarter of this year,” it said.

46

WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

PDP Accuses APC of Stealing for Elections Through N100m Nomination Form Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, accused the Buhari presidency of allowing a mass looting of public funds to corruptly create a war chest for the APC to intimidate Nigerians and muscle the 2023 general election.

The PDP also claimed that the APC was diverting public funds meant for development purposes and salaries of workers to its coffers by orchestrating the purchase of its presidential nomination form by all manner of persons at excessive N100 million to warehouse sleaze funds for the elections In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP stated, “Our Party has information of how public funds are being withdrawn from Ministries, Agencies and Parastatals of government and diverted to people, who have no verifiable means of livelihood to purchase APC’s Presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest forms for individuals without any

electoral value and who cannot even win local government elections.

The party said the rejected APC has resorted to this underhand method to corruptly

rake in billions of naira from public treasury without consideration for the welfare of Nigerians.

PDP claimed APC’s nefarious action was informed by its

realisation that its leaders could not make huge donations to the APC coffers as they would be violating the limits of contribution to political parties as stipulated by law and regulation.

According to the opposition party, “The APC is a sinking ship with ill-fated and inchoate sailors holding on to straw including this shameless attempt to sweep our national treasury.

It is regrettable that the APC has shamelessly and soullessly extended their corruption to our electoral process, not minding the consequential effect on our democratic system.

FIGHT TO END MALARIA…

L-R: Head of Key Accounts, Reckitt Nigeria, Afam Onwordi; Marketing Director, Reckitt Sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzim Rezwan; Chief Commercial Officer, Shoprite, Jordan McCrackin, and Corporate Communications Manager, Shoprite,Venessa Ebifemi, when the two firms sign a partnership deal in support of the ‘Fight to End Malaria’ campaign in Lagos…recently

FCTA to Recoup N29bn Ground Nestle CEO: Nigeria Produces, Consumes 25% of Global Fortified Foods Rent from Land Allotees Dike Onwuamaeze

Olawale Ajimotokan inAbuja The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has stepped up plans to recover N29 billion being the ground rent owed it by land allotees in the FCT. The General Counsel and Secretary of the Legal Services Secretariat of the FCTA, Mohammed Babangida Umar, disclosed this at the end of the FCT Executive Committee meeting that was chaired by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello.

He said the exercise would be carried out through the instrumentality of the Land Use Act which allows the recovery

of ground rents through the Magistrate Court.

He added the recovered amount could be used to build infrastructure and improve services for the teeming residents of the FCT who require these services and whose welfare is the cardinal objective and concern of the present administration.

“It is our intention that very soon, debtors and the people who are recalcitrant, who have refused to pay their ground rents and other rents due and payable to the FCT Administration, will be made to do so by being sued to court and if they don’t pay, may forfeit their titles on such land,” he said.

Kano High Court Sentences 19-year-old to Death for Killing Nephew IbrahimShuaibuinKano High Court in Kano State yesterday sentenced a 19-year-old man, Ibrahim Khalil, to death by hanging for killing his five-year-old nephew, Ahmad Ado. The state High Court presided by Justice Usman Naabba sentenced Khalil to death for killing Ado by sealing his nose and mouth with tape.

In his judgment, Justice Usman Na’abba held that the prosecution had proven their case beyond

reasonable doubt, and therefore sentenced the convict to 14 years imprisonment for kidnapping, and death by hanging for homicide.

Khalil, whose address was not provided by the court, was convicted on a two-count charge bordering on kidnapping and culpable homicide.

In his earlier submission, the prosecution counsel, Lamido Sorondinki, informed the court that the convict committed the offence in 2019 at Karkasara quarters in the Kano metropolis.

Olukoya to Dedicate Mountain of Fire HQ Annex in Abuja The General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Dr D K Olukoya, will be visiting Abuja on Saturday, May 14, for the official dedication of the New international headquarters annex, “Prayer, Praise and Power Cathedral”, located along Tunde Idiagbon Road, Wuye District, Abuja .

According to Pastor Olumide Oni, the Senior Regional Overseer of the headquarters Annex, the dedication ceremony to the glory of God is scheduled for

7am on the said date. He said the general public is invited for the dedication and thanksgiving service on Sunday.

The Chief Executive Officer of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Wassim El-Husseini, yesterday, disclosed that 25 per cent of global fortified purchase, which is estimated at $16. 2 billion, is produced and consumed in Nigeria.

El-Husseini also disclosed that 80 per cent of raw materials utilised by the Nestle Nigeria were sourced domestically, adding that the organisation’s is targeting to

and consumed in Nigeria. I was really astonished.

“The Central West Africa Region is so important for the Nestle group because we produce and consume 44 per cent of the global, which Nigeria is more than half of it. So, we are more than 25 per cent. That is something that we are really proud of,” he said.

El-Husseini also said that protecting the planet for future generations is among the top priorities of Nestle.

According to him, Nestle’s sustainability priority today is to collect from the environment what it produced before taking it to the next level.

“We do not want our plastic bottles to be thrown into the environment or gutters, rivers, or the sea. This is our commitment, and as of December 2021, 43 per cent of what we produce was already collected. We are aiming at 80 per cent this year and 100 per cent by next year. “

2023: Gombe PDP Assures Peter Obi of Support to Realise Dream for Nigeria Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

Apparently satisfied with his intended approach to tackle Nigeria’s socioeconomic challenges, the Chairman of Gombe State Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Abnon Kwaskebe, has assured one of the party’s Presidential Aspirants, Mr. Peter Obi, of Gombe delegates’ support.

Kwaskebe told Obi after he and other Gombe State

PDP delegates were dazzled with data, facts and figures of how Nigeria got to its present predicament and how the aspirant intended to get the country out of the woods.

The meeting between the aspirant and all the PDP delegates took place at the Gombe State PDP Secretariat, along Bauchi Road in Gombe.

According to Kwaskebe, “the delegates from Gombe State will give you that opportunity

to bring our country out of these problems.”

Earlier, Obi, one of PDP’s Presidential aspirants, told the delegates that the country is where it is today because of long neglect of its productive population.

He said: “We’ve had leadership problems because we didn’t invest in our young men yesterday. They were denied opportunity of a means of livelihood and they

are taking their revenge today on the society.”

He described as a very unfortunate situation where, “we can no longer feed ourselves as Nigerians because we can no longer go to our farms due to insecurity.”

He said that Nigeria’s government kept on burrowing everyday and attributing it for capital projects, whereas, there is none to show.

Akeredolu Approves Recruitment of Additional 350 Amotekun Operatives in Ondo Fidelis David in Akure Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), yesterday said he has directed that 350 personnel should be employed into the state Security Network Agency codenamed ‘Amotekun Corps’.

The governor stated this at an award event organised by

the state agency held at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office in Alagbaka, Akure.

He noted that the crop of Amotekun Corps would be deployed to the forests and bushes to provide security for farmers.

Akeredolu said more operational vehicles and

motorcycles would be purchased to aid Amotekun operations in the state.

According to him, “We have agreed to employ 350 personnel into the Amotekun Corps in the state. Operational vehicles and motorcycles will be also be purchased too.”

Akeredolu also congratulated awardees at the event for

distinguishing themselves in their chosen endeavours.

He said: “There is need to move the agriculture sector to the next level in order to compete with nations across the world. It is an incontrovertible fact that agriculture holds the future of Ondo State and my administration will continue to see it as a priority.”

Niger INEC Records 34,000 Invalid Registration, Says 39,900 PVCs Ready for Collection

Laleye Dipo in Minna

Olukoya

attain zero net emission by 2050.

He made the disclosures during a breakfast meeting with the media.

According to him, the purpose of the company is is to unlock the power of foods to enhance the quality of Nigerians’ lives.

“The first step in providing this is by providing nutritious food options and choices for Nigerians.

We do that in Nigeria first through fortification. I was astonished to learn that 25 per cent of global fortified purchases are produced

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared 34,000 voters’ registration as invalid in Niger State while stating that nearly 40,000 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) were ready for collection in the state.

INEC also said that it would

commence the monitoring of the campaign expenses by political parties and their candidates after the party primary elections.

Addressing a stakeholders meeting in Minna, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Sam Egwu, explained the 34,000 voters’ registration were

declared invalid because of double registration and the likelihood that community members were being cajoled to register regardless of whether they had registered before or not.

Egwu said: “There is no need for those who have registered before to register again. It is not true that previous PVCs will

become invalid after a while.”

He disclosed that the June 30 deadline for new registration would not be extended.

The resident commissioner told po;itical parties to adhere strictly to the rules guiding campaign expenses and be democratic in the conduct of their primary elections to avoid litigation.

47

WEDNESDAY, ͹͹˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Yusuf Drops Osimhen, Ighalo, Lists Eight NPFL Players for Mexico, Ecuador Friendlies

FemiSolaja Eight players from the domestic Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), have been listed in a 30man squad released yesterday by Super Eagles’ First Assistant Coach, Salisu Yusuf for the Mexico and Ecuador international friendlies scheduled for next month.

The home-based pros are led by NPFL top scorer, Ishaq Rafiu of Rivers United who has 14 goals to his credit so far this season.

The list is not without notable absentees like Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and AFCON 2019 top

scorer Odion Ighalo.

Captain Ahmed Musa and forward Moses Simon however made the list which had seven other players from the NPFL namely; Goalkeeper Adewale Adeyinka (Akwa United) and Ojo Olorunleke (Enyimba). Others are: Isa Ali (Remo Stars), Ibrahim Buhari (Plateau United), Afeez Nosiru (Kwara United), Chiamaka Madu (Rivers United) and Victor Mbaoma (Enyimba).

Although last year, an entirely players from the domestic league traveled to United State of America for international friendly against

Mexico and lost 4-0, this is the first time a large percentage of players from the domestic league will make the squad.

The three –time African champions will clash with CONCACAF powerhouse Mexico at the AT & T Stadium in Dallas, State of Texas on Saturday, 28th May, before flying to New Jersey to tackle Ecuador at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison on Thursday, 2nd June.

Only 25 players will make the final list for the tour, which is preparatory to next month’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying

matches against Sierra Leone in Abuja (9th June) and São Tomé & Príncipe in Marrakech, Morocco (13th June).

INVITED PLAYERS: Goalkeepers: Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands); Adewale Adeyinka (Akwa United); Ojo Olorunleke (Enyimba FC) Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Leon Balogun

(Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Isa Ali (Remo Stars); Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Calvin Bassey (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Ibrahim Buhari (Plateau United) Midfielders: Joseph AyodeleAribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Oghenekaro Etebo (Watford FC, England); Chiamaka Madu (Rivers United); Babatunde Afeez Nosiru (Kwara United); Azubuike Okechukwu (Yeni Malatyaspor, Turkey); Samson Tijani (Red Bull Salzburg, Austria); Alhassan Yusuf (Royal Antwerp FC, Belgium) Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Ademola Lookman

(Leicester City, England); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Emmanuel Dennis (Watford FC, England); Cyriel Dessers (Feyenoord FC, The Netherlands); Victor Mbaoma (Enyimba FC); Ishaq Rafiu (Rivers United)

RESULT Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool TODAY Leeds v Chelsea Leicester v Norwich Watford v Everton Wolves v Man City COPPA ITALIA Juventus v Inter

Basketball Players Protest, Accuse Dare of Indifference to NBBF Leadership Crisis Olawale Ajimotokan inAbuja

Ahmed Musa (right) is to lead Super Eagles to the international friendlies with Mexico and Ecuador in the USA later next month

Shaibu: Itemuagbor Has Brought Okpekpe to World Map Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has hailed Mike Itemuagbor, the CEO of Pamodzi Sports Marketing, organiser of the historic and world-famous Okpekpe International 10km Road Race for helping make Edo a destination for sports.

“I want to thank my brother, Mike Itemuagbor, who has brought the Okpekpe 10km road race, an event to a small village in Etsako East Local Government in Edo State to the map of the world,” said Shaibu on the sidelines of the five-day technical officiating training course which began Monday at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City .

The course, facilitated by the Okpekpe race organiser will see participants certified as technical officiating officials at the end of their training.

Shaibu also used the ocassion to reiterate the state government's support for the race.

“We as a government are pleased with the giant strides the race has made. The project is in line with one of our cardinal pillars in the Edo MEGA (Make Edo Great

Again) agenda because we believe it will create a lot of avenues for the youths in the state to explore and demonstrate their God-given talents.”

Shaibu said some of the trained officials will be used at the World Athletics elite label Okpekpe race scheduled for the last Saturday in May.

“For us in Edo State, we cannot be a destination for sports in Nigeria when none of us is officiating in the Okpekpe race, it's an abberation.

When we say we want to be a destination for sports, we mean everything about sports including playing, officiating, facilities and all that make up sports. We want to be the destination and place

ourselves as resource persons in the development of sports in Nigeria,” concludes the deputy governor who has featured in almost all the editions.

The Okpekpe international 10km road race is the first road running event to be granted a label status in Nigeria and one of the leading road races in the world.

Sunday Dare...Sports Minister that their career is uncertain after the Mark D’ Ball Basketball Championship that has kept them busy ever since the crisis.

“We thought it wise to visit the Games Master General of the country, and have an honest conversation with him. Our visit shouldn't be deemed a protest, because it is a visit to the Sports Minister, who in addition as the custodian of all sports in Nigeria, is like a father figure to us. Mark D’ Ball Championship has kept us busy in recent years, but with the championship coming to an end, we are tempted to ask, what would become our future as players?"

Gumut queried.

Enyimba Chairman, Anyansi, Bags FG Award R-L: Mike Itemuagbor, CEO of Pamodzi Sports Marketing, organisers of the Okpekpe International 10km Road Race; Phillip Shaibu, Deputy Governor of Edo State and Zack Amodu, Race Director during the media briefing to herald the 2022 edition of the World Athletics labeled race

Flying Eagles to Grab S’finalTicket against Burkina Faso After a comfortable 2-0 win and three maximum points secured against defending champions and reigning Africa’s best, Ghana on Sunday, Nigeria’s Flying Eagles are expected to keep things intense but firm against the Junior Etalons of Burkina Faso today to earn their semi final ticket at the ongoing WAFU B U20 Championship in Niamey, Niger Republic.

Agitated basketball players yesterday staged a protest at the office of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare, at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja over the leadership impasse rocking the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).

The angry protesters were led

by Players’ Representative on the NBBF Board, Mr Stanley Gumut.

The players, who did not meet Dare in office, accused the minister of duplicity and apathy in resolving the post-election crisis that has rocked the NBBF since January 31, 2022 that led to the emergence of two parallel boards led by Igoche Mark and Ahmadu Musa Kida. Two parallel elections held in Abuja and Benin City respectively to usher in the two combatants laying claims to the soul of basketball in the country.

Gumut said the procession by the players to the Minister’s office was one of the resolutions reached at their meeting held last Tuesday following Dare’s failure to respond to series of letters to him over the crisis.

He said the minister’s apparent inaction in finding a solution to the intractable leadership tussle was affecting the players’ individual careers, as well as hampering domestic basketball in Nigeria.

The players also lamented

WAFU B TOURNEY Both teams will take to the pitch at 5pmat the Stade General Seyni Kountché, the same venue where the Flying Eagles enacted a masterclass to send African champions Ghana tumbling on Sunday.

Ibrahim Muhammad and former U17 star Ahmed Abdullahi scored

the goals that downed the Black Satellites.

Coach Ladan Bosso still has the full complement of his squad, and is unwilling to rest any of his regulars as he looks to make sure of a place in the last four.

“We must approach the match against Burkina Faso with even stronger determination and desire than we did for the Ghana match.

A ticket to the semi finals is key at the moment, and we can then start thinking of a ticket to the final and a place in the Africa Cup of Nations next year.”

Only the two finalists at the WAFU B Championship in Niamey will be eligible for next year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations, already scheduled to take place in Egypt February/March.

Chairman of Enyimba FC of Aba, Chief Felix Anyansi Agwu would on Thursday join other eminent Nigerians to receive federal government’s National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award for 2019 and 2020.

Labour and Productivity Minister, Chris Ngige, in a letter to the successful football administrator stated that the award is being conferred on him based on his hard work, productivity and excellence.

The letter read in part...”The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhamadu Buhari, GCFR has approved the conferment of the National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award on you in recognition of your high productivity, hard work and excellence.”

Other eminent Nigerians to be honored include the National Chairman of the All Progressives

Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha, former Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr. Chike Ihekweazu, Lagos State Commissioner for Health Dr. Akin Abayomi, industrialist Abdulsamad Rabiu and billionaire businessman Mike Adenuga jnr.

NPOM posthumous awards would also be conferred on the late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, who died from the Ebola virus while quarantining the patient zero, Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian in a medical facility in Lagos, as well as the late Mr. Babatunde Lawal, who until his death was the permanent secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office, in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

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MISSILE

Umahi to Jonathan

“I believe strongly that he (Jonathan) was not aware of the (nomination) forms and that people that are mischievous would have bought the forms to embarrass him.

“He has quickly distanced himself from that. But if that is not the case, then the Guinness Book of Records is not totally filled up.” – Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State on the reported moves by former President Goodluck Jonathan to seek the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the next year’s presidential election.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE THE HORIZON

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

0805 500 1974

Of Tickets and Policies

A

lthough the long transition programme of the regime of President Ibrahim Babangida ended tragically with the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, some elements of the process are worth pondering in retrospect.

In a way, the memory of the denouement of the transition process is kept but not the historical fact of deliberate efforts of Babangida to recast the Nigerian political economy in his own terms. Make no mistake about it, the programme was theoretically grounded. Some eminent scholars worked hard on the idea of the transition programme.

The harvest of ideas for the programme began in 1986 with the inauguration of a 17-man Political Bureau headed by Dr. Samuel Joseph Cookey. The members of the Bureau toured the whole of the country to receive 27,000 submissions and ended up recommending the ideology of socialism for Nigeria.

The military government, of course, rejected that recommendation among others.

However, with the annulment of the election won

by Bashorun Moshood Abiola, the Third Republic was aborted because no president was inaugurated even though the National Assembly was in place. One of the components of that transition programme was the campaign to de-monetise politics. “Moneybags” became a dirty word in political discussions. Another feature of the programme was the conscious attempt to define political parties by their programmes and ideologies. Before the military government decreed into existence “a little- to -the-left” Social Democratic Party(SDP) and “a little-to-the -right” National Republican Convention (NRC), some parties were formed by some political forces. Six of these parties were registered in 1989. Significantly, one of them was the Labour Party. Among the requirements for registration by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) under the chairmanship of the eminent political scientist Professor Eme Awa was the submission of the parties’ programmes and manifestoes with the constitutions, registers of members, emblems, flags and motto. There was a novelty to the process.

Apart from ascertaining the uniqueness of names and logos, the programmes and manifestoes of the parties were graded for ideological clarity and coherence. It was a spectacle as political parties seeking registration besieged the secretariat of the electoral commission with lorry loads of documents and materials to prove that they had real structures on ground. Unfortunately, in the twists and turns of the programme, the six registered were dissolved to pave way for the government-created SDP and NRC. Yet, the Babangida regime defined the programmes and ideologies of the two official parties which were thrown open to “equal founders and equal joiners” as members.

It is tempting to dismiss the approach of the military to party formation as artificial. Actually, the programme attracted a lot of criticisms as many genuine democrats shunned it. After all, political parties evolve historically with their distinguishing ideologies. But the point to underline here is that the attempt at transition to democracy emphasised a programmatic content of political parties. You cannot deny the transition programme that credit. The parties were associated with some ideas, naturally or artificially.

In contrast, in the Nigeria’s experiment with liberal democracy in the last 23 years, there has been little or no programmatic content of political parties. It is generally known that politicians relate to parties as mere electoral vehicles. No commitment to party policies or ideologies is demonstrated. In the first place, the political parties are ideologically indistinguishable.

Adamu

Ayu

Neither has there been any notable policy debate among the political parties which have emerged in this dispensation. The All Progressives Congress (APC) is assumed to be a social democratic party. But its chairman Senator Abdulahi Adamu, a politician with a well-known conservative background, is too busy selling nomination forms at exorbitant prices to think of such an ideological category. Similarly, given the political pedigree of its founders (who came from various political traditions), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could be expected to be a right -of- the- centre political party. Such an ideological categorisation is certainly a luxury that the chairman of PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, can hardly afford at the moment as he brings calms to the episodic storms of his party. Ayu had already made a name as a radical sociologist at the University of Jos before joining party politics during the Babangida transition programme. Today the former senate president is too preoccupied with forging a zoning formular to have the time to articulate party ideology and policies in clear terms.

What obtains in the APC and PDP also applies to virtually all the parties. Even the fresh politicians join political parties to become presidential candidates.

Hardly does any politician out there go into a party to fight for certain programmes and policies that should be owned by the political party. Members of the parties in the National Assembly and the State Houses of Assembly are expected to popularise their parties’ programmes and ideologies in the course of debates in the legislative houses. Not so here, the stepping stone to politics for everybody is the presidency with personal (and not party) agenda.

The mood in political circles seems to be that of securing the party ticket before you think of what the party stands for in the first place. In a clime of politics with principle, the reverse is actually the case. The policy of the party should be the first attraction before you seek to fly its flag in an election.

Political parties have been selling nomination forms for aspirants who earnestly seek their tickets. With the close of the market for nomination forms, it is time the party began to sell their policies so that delegates to the conventions could watch how much aspirants could articulate party policies.

In fact, there should be intra-party debates among the aspirants before the primaries. Such debates would

reveal the tendencies within the parties. It would also be a test of the comprehension of the ideas on which a political party rests among those who want to govern in its name. Perhaps, it is is not everyone who has money to buy the nomination forms that actually believes in the party programme, much less articulating it during campaigns or implementing it if elected into the high office. Politics of issues and ideas would be entrenched on a long-term basis.

This is important because whoever emerges as the candidate should be articulating the party strategic visions, programmes and policies.

Since political parties do not seriously sell their programmes before elections, those elected on their platforms always talk of their personal agendas instead of the parties’ programmes while in office.

As a matter of fact, such agendas are developed long after the inauguration of the president. You can hardly trace the ideological roots of such personal agendas in the party programme and ideology, if any. For instance, a president or governor elected on the platform of a party that professes social democracy should be hard put to justify the neglect of public education and healthcare delivery. If a right- of- the- centre party promised low tax during its campaigns, a president or governor elected on its platform would have to justify to the electorate if it had to raise taxes because of its fiscal circumstance.

At least, there would be a basis for policy debates from the floor of parliament to the streets.

Now that the aspirants have bought nomination forms, the political parties should begin to sell their programmes and policies.

The political parties especially the two largest ones - APC and PDP- appear to in a quagmire on the question of “zoning” the office of the president.

To be sure, the decision on which part of the country

Now that the aspirants have bought nomination forms, the political parties should begin to sell their programmes and policies

should “produce” the next president is an issue of nation-building. You cannot build a nation when a section of it is alienated from the process of choosing the leader. It is a deeply subjective issue. But then of all the ingredients of building a nation, the most indispensable one is the subjective factor of the sense of belonging on the part of the people, that is the national consciousness which cannot be forced. For instance, the Igbo Question has been legitimately posed in the Nigerian polity. The sharpness of the question has moved beyond what it was in the days when that cerebral politician, the late Ojo Madueke, said many years ago that the talk of “Igbo presidency is idiotic.” That remark understandably generated a fury because Madueke was purely misunderstood.

He later explained that the advocacy should be for a Nigerian president of Igbo origin. He called for the engagement of the Igbo political elite with their counterparts in other zones. Today, nobody talks of Igbo President anymore. The talk is now about “zoning the presidency to the south east.” So, Madueke has been posthumously vindicated in framing the question.

Come to think of it. Obasanjo was never called a Yoruba president. Yar’Adua was not described as a Fulani president. Jonathan was not the president of the Ijaw. Similarly Buhari cannot be called the Fulani president. These statements are borne out of material facts of our recent history. Without prejudice to the legitimacy of the clamour for the president to be elected from various parts of the country at different electoral seasons, in objective terms the origin of the president means little or nothing to the material conditions of the people. During the debate preceding the gubernatorial election in Anambra recently, Governor Charles Soludo made an incontrovertible point. In this same dispensation, there was a period when all the major economic appointments were held by Nigerians of Igbo origin on the basis of their technocratic competence. Was the political economy of the southeast turned to an Eldorado as a result? After eight years in office, President Olusegun Obasanjo returned to Otta to meet the collapsed road to the place just as the important road linking Lagos and Ibadan was not fixed. The water project in Otuoke, the homestead of President Goodluck Jonathan, was recently executed by the present administration. Jonathan could not fix it for his people. The former president hosted Minister of Water Resources Engineer Suleiman Adamu to a lunch when the project was commissioned years after Jonathan left office. Jonathan could not fix the East-West Road that connects all the south-south states in his six years as president. Katsina, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, by no means immune to insecurity. Parts of the state remain ungoverned spaces in which terrorists and kidnappers reign supreme.

So much for Yoruba president, Ijaw president or Fulani president!

Yet the derivative questions of nation-building remain legitimate in the specific context of 2022 Nigeria. The answer to the problem, such as the Igbo Question, is not to dismiss it as a sectional aspiration or a misplaced clamour. Really, it is a dialectical challenge requiring political engineering, at least at this stage of nation-building. With maturity of purpose in the polity equity can be demonstrated.

Maybe in the long run it would not matter where the parents of the president were born or what dialect they spoke. With the dominance of ideas of development in the public sphere ethnicity, regionalism and religion would recede as issues of politics. To quicken the arrival of such a day in Nigeria, the seeds of politics of ideas should be sown beginning with the campaigns for the 2023 elections.

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