FRIDAY 27TH MAY 2022

Buhari Talks Free Polls, Jonathan Attacks National Assembly, Faults Section 84 of New Electoral Act Declares lawmakers legislating to target particular persons, groups Insists quality of delegates disgraceful, monetisation of process unacceptable Deji Elumoye, Kingsley Nwezeh and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja President

Muhammadu

Buhari, yesterday, reiterated his government's commitment to free, fair, and credible general election in 2023. Buhari also expressed his

commitment to ensuring that only honest and reliable candidates won in the polls.

The assurances came just as in

a rare public outburst yesterday, former President Goodluck Jonathan took a swipe at the National Assembly over the controversy

surrounding section 84 of the Electoral Act, describing it as a mess.

This was just as divergent views

emanated from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) barely Continued on page 5

NPA Remits N45.08bn to CRF as NNPC Set to Deduct Record N874.5bn from Oil Proceeds... Page 6 Friday 27 May, 2022 Vol 27. No 9908. Price: N250

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Finance Minister: Nigeria’s Low Crude Oil Production Barely Enough to Cover Petrol Imports Peter Uzoho with agency report

ABIODUN GETS TICKET FOR 2ND TERM...

L-R: Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; his wife, Bamidele Abiodun; former governor, Gbenga Daniel and elder statesman, Olusegun Osoba at the MKO Abiola Stadium venue of Governorship primaries won by the governor…yesterday

Nigeria’s low crude oil production means the country is barely able to cover the cost of imported petrol from its oil and gas revenue, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed said yesterday.

Ahmed, who said this in an interview with Reuters, at Continued on page 5

Sanwo-Olu, Abiodun, Abdulrazaq, Sule, Inuwa, Matawalle, Others Secure APC Guber Tickets As protests greet outcome of gubernatorial APC GOVERNORSHIP PRIMARIES SO FAR

primaries in some states Segun James in Lagos, James Sowole in Abeokuta, Hammed Shittu in Ilorin, Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia, Segun Awofadeji in Gombe, Francis Sardauna in Katsina, Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki, Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia, Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt, Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan and Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba In what seemed like a clean sweep of their elections, nearly all the first term governors of the All Progressives Congress

(APC), yesterday, secured their governorship tickets across the country to return to office for a second term, at their respective primary elections.

Although there were hitches in some of the states, which followed protests by some of the defeated aspirants, such developments did not, however, affect the declaration of results by the various electoral officers, which saw the first term governors return as candidates of the APC. Governors, who made it

back to their government houses included Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara), Abdulahi Sule (Nasarawa), Yahaya Inuwa (Gombe) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara).

Other persons seeking to replace the outgoing governors of their states, who had served two terms of eight years, also emerged in the different states, where elections held.

Continued on page 5

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State

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Abia Borno Cross River Delta Ebonyi Enugu Gombe Kwara Lagos Nasarawa Ogun Rivers Zamfara

WINNERS

Chief Ikechi Emenike Professor Babagana Zulum Prince Bassey Edet Otu Ovie Omo-Agage Francis Nwifuru Uche Nnaji Inuwa Yahaya AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq Babajide Sanwo-Olu Abdullahi Sule Dapo Abiodun Tonye Cole Bello Matawalle

LOSERS

Chief Emeka Atuma

Rosemary Ofoke Nwogbaga

Others disqualified Fatima Abdullahi Adamu Olubiyi Otegbeye Ojukaye Flag-Amachree

Delegates' List: Court Stops INEC from Recognising Obaseki's Faction... Page 59

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Twitter Investors Sue Elon Musk for Stock 'Manipulation' During Takeover Bid Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja with agency report World's richest man, Elon Musk has been sued by Twitter Inc. investors, claiming he manipulated the company's stock price downward when he mounted a $44 billion takeover bid for the social media platform.

The investors said billionaire Musk saved himself $156 million by failing to disclose that he had purchased more than five per cent of Twitter by March 14.

They asked to be certified as a class and to be awarded an unspecified amount of punitive and compensatory damages.

According to Reuters, they also named Twitter as a defendant, arguing the company had an obligation to investigate Musk's conduct, though they are not seeking damages from the firm.

The investors said Musk continued to buy stock after that, and ultimately disclosed in early April that he owned 9.2 per cent of the company, according to the lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in San Francisco federal court.

"By delaying his disclosure of his stake in Twitter, Musk engaged in market manipulation and bought Twitter stock at an artificially low price," said the investors, led by Virginia resident William Heresniak.

Neither Musk nor his lawyer immediately responded to requests for comment. Twitter declined to comment.

The investors said the recent drop in Tesla's stock has put Musk's ability to finance his acquisition of Twitter in "major peril" since he had pledged his shares as collateral to secure

the loans he needs to buy the company.

Tesla's shares were trading at around $713 yesterday, down from above $1,000 in early April.

The timing of Musk's disclosure of his stake had already triggered an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Wall

Street Journal reported earlier this month.

SEC requires any investor who buys a stake exceeding five per cent in a company to disclose their holdings within 10 days of crossing the threshold.

The investors also said public criticism by Musk of the company, including a May 13 tweet stating

the buyout was "temporarily on hold" until Twitter proved that spam bots accounted for less than 5 per cent of its users, amounted to an attempt to further drive the share price down.

Musk on Wednesday pledged an additional $6.25 billion in equity financing to fund his bid for Twitter, a sign he is still

BUHARI TALKS FREE POLLS, JONATHAN ATTACKS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, FAULTS SECTION 84 OF NEW ELECTORAL ACT 72 hours to its national convention, with members expressing fears over lack of activities in the party and indication of unpreparedness for the party’s presidential primary.

Also, yesterday, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command said it had put in place a robust security arrangement ahead of the presidential primary of the

main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scheduled to hold May 28 and 29 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

Buhari spoke while playing host

to an APC Kano Central senatorial aspirant, Senator Basheer Lado, at the State House, Abuja. Lado's meeting with the president came a day before the senatorial primary

FINANCE MINISTER: NIGERIA’S LOW CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION BARELY ENOUGH TO COVER PETROL IMPORTS the World Economic Forum in Davos, said she hoped Nigerian oil production would average 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, up from around 1.5 million bpd in the first quarter.

The government had budgeted 1.8 million bpd of production, Ahmed said, blaming crude theft and attacks on oil infrastructure for the shortfall.

"We are not seeing the revenues that we had planned for," Ahmed said. "When the production is low it means we're ... barely able to cover the volumes that are required for the (petrol) that we need to import."

Nigeria exports crude oil and

imports refined petrol, suffering intermittent fuel shortages. It faces double-digit inflation and low growth, amid a shrinking labour market and mounting insecurity.

A plan to abolish its petrol subsidy was scrapped ahead of national elections in February 2023 and recently, President Muhammadu Buhari got the National Assembly to approve N4 trillion for subsidies in 2022, up from the N400 billion initially projected for the purpose, putting pressure on the budget.

Nigeria raised $1.25 billion via a Eurobond sale in March at a premium rate and had planned to issue another bond.

But Ahmed said the government had "not seen a good opportunity to go in."

The country's deficit is set to rise to 4.5 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product this year due to the fuel subsidy, up from an original estimate of 3.42 per cent in the budget.

After holding the Monetary Policy Rate constant at 11.5 per cent for about two and a half years, the MPC on Tuesday, raised the benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points to 13 per cent in response to global inflationary pressures, which had continued to hurt economies around the world.

Inflation in Nigeria rose to 16.82

per cent in April, the highest in eight months.

Commenting on the interest rate hike, Ahmed said the central bank move was necessary.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes, including a 50 basis-point rise earlier this month, alongside Russia's war in Ukraine and coronavirus lockdowns in China have prompted a move from riskier emerging markets to safe havens.

"We are certainly very, very concerned," Ahmed said of the Fed's policy tightening. "The actions that the Fed or the central bank in Europe take will affect us."

SANWO-OLU, ABIODUN, ABDULRAZAQ, SULE, INUWA, MATAWALLE, OTHERS SECURE APC GUBER TICKETS the state, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, Primary Election Committee, Isa invalid.

Lagos State Ogun State

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, emerged candidate of the APC in the state, after polling 1,170 delegate votes.

Party members defied the downpour that nearly marred the exercise held at Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Onikan and filed out to cast their votes to approve the governor’s second term ticket.

The electoral process commenced at 12:33pm with the arrival of the chairman of the election committee, a former Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Adamu Shettima Yuguda.

The electoral committee’s arrival was followed by the immediate accreditation of delegates across the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

Of all the 1,225 delegates expected to participate in the primaries, the committee accredited 1,198 present at the venue and disqualified two aspirants: Abdulhameed Olorunfemi Mustapha and Wale Oluwo, while officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) monitored the exercise.

Reacting, Sanwo-Olu dedicated the victory to all party members, and described them as the main winners of the exercise.

“Having thanked all our party faithful, the bigger appreciation goes to all Lagosians irrespective of the side they lean. This victory is for all residents, who have supported us on this journey we started four years ago. What we witnessed this evening is an affirmation that the good work we have been doing should continue.

“This is the assurance we are taking to the general election and we will ensure that we don’t fail. With all sense of responsibility, there are still a lot more that Lagosians should be expecting from us across all facets of governance. The confidence reposed in us will not be betrayed. We pray that God gives us the energy to take Lagos to a level that will reflect the aspiration of all Lagosians.”

working to complete the deal.

Musk was sued earlier this month in Delaware Chancery Court by a Florida pension fund seeking to halt the deal on the basis that some other big Twitter shareholders were supporting the buyout, a violation of Delaware law. Heresniak's lawsuit does not seek to stop the takeover.

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, emerged winner of the state governorship primary of the APC. At the primary conducted at the MKO International Stadium, Abeokuta, five other aspirants contested against the governor.

The aspirants were Olubiyi Otegbeye, Mrs Modele SarafaYussuf, Mr Owodunni Opayemi, Remilekun Bakare and Abdukadir Akinlade.

Of the six aapirants, only Abiodun, attended the primary, while agents of all the aapirants, announced their presence and did what was expected of them.

Giving the details of the election, that was conducted in a peaceful atmosphere, Chairman of the Ogun State APC Primary Election Committee, Mr Wale Ohu, disclosed that 1,180 delegates, from the 20 local governments, were accredited for the exercise.

Announcing the results, Ohu, said Abiodun scored 1,168 votes, while other aapirants, did not secure any vote while two votes, were voided.

Kwara State

Kwara State Governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has emerged the duly elected governorship candidate of the APC for next year’s election after polling 964 votes.

Four votes were also voided after the party's delegates voted in Ilorin, Kwara State capital.

Chairman of primary election, Dr. Emmanuel Dan Daura, who conducted the election announced results, affirming the governor’s victory. Abdulrazaq was the sole candidate.

Nasarawa State

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, yesterday, defeated the ex-wife to the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Fatima Abdullahi Adamu, to pick the governorship ticket of the party of the state.

Sule was consequently declared winner of the Nasarawa State APC governorship primary election held at the Lafia City Hall by chairman of the state APC Governorship

Ibeto.

The state APC governorship election committee chairman announced that Sule polled 698 votes to defeat the ex-wife to the APC national chairman,, Fatima who scored three votes.

Gombe State

Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has secured his second term ticket to run for the governorship of the state in the APC. He was declared winner and candidate for the party by Dr. Danjuma Dabo, Returning Officer for the primary election after securing the 563 delegates voice votes.

Zamfara State

Governor Muhammad Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has emerged APC governorship candidate for 2023 election. He emerged unpposed as other candidates withdrew from the race.

Returning Officer for the primaries, Babagana Tijjani Banki, declared the result in Gusau, the state capital, saying a total of 735 delegates from across 14 local government areas of the state affirmed Matawalle unopposed during the exercise.

THISDAY gathered that Abubakar Garba Gajam, who was considered Matawalle's major rival, withdrew from the contest before the commencement of the exercise.

Ebonyi State

Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Hon Francis Nwifuru, has emerged the governorship candidate of the APC in the state.

Nwifuru polled a total of 743 to defeat four other Governorship Aspirants of the APC in the state.

Mrs Rosemary Ofoke Nwogbaga, who came a distant second garnered 63 votes, while Senator Julius Ali Ucha, who came third scored 22 votes.

Others were a former Chairman, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Chief Elias Mbam, who scored 10 votes and Sir Edward Nkwegu with 8 votes.

A total of 8 votes were declared

The governorship primary election took place on Thursday at Pa Ngele Oruta township stadium Abakaliki. Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and security agencies were on hand to monitor the exercise.

The Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Prof. Adebayo Emmanuel, who announced the results, expressed happiness over the peaceful conduct of the exercise.

Abia State

A development economist and publisher, Chief Ikechi Emenike, has emerged the governorship candidate of the APC in Aba State.

He defeated five other aspirants to clinch the governorship ticket of the main Abia opposition party at the governorship primary held in Umuahia, yesterday.

Chairman of the APC governorship primary election committee for Abia, Chief Tony Obiefuna, who declared the result of the poll said, Emenike polled 672 votes out of 892 votes cast by 907 accredited delegates to emerge victorious.

"We hereby return Chief Ikechi Emenike as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Abia State," Chief Obiefuna declared, adding that the exercise was transparent and peaceful.

Emenike's closest rival, Chief Emeka Atuma received 150 votes from the delegates; Daniel Eke, 16; Paul Ikonne, 22; Obinna Oriaku, 12; and Uche Ogah, 6. One of the aspirants, Mr. Alex Otti, who had withdrawn from the race on the eve of the primary still got 14 votes.

All the governorship aspirants and major stakeholders were present at the venue of the primary held at Chidiebere Arena, Umuahia.

Rivers State

A business mogul and former Chief Executive of Sahara energy, Tonye Cole, has emerged the APC candidate in Rivers State.

Tonye Cole cinched the APC ticket with a total of 986 votes, defeating former APC Chairman in

who had 190 votes; Dr Sokonte Davies got 49 and Magnus Abe, got one vote even when he did not participate in the primary.

Announcing the result, Hon Larry Odi, who was the returning officer, said the exercise was peaceful and transparent.

Oyo State

The governorship primary of the APC in Oyo State, has been postponed to today. Though there was no official communication to that effect, it was learnt that the primary was postponed after one of the aspirants complained about the security at the venue of the exercise.

All the five aspirants, Senator Teslim Folarin, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, Engineer Hakeem Alao, Mr. Akeem Agbaje and Dr. Azeez Adedubtan, party chieftains, INEC officials and governorship primary committee led by Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, were already at Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, venue of the exercise, before the decision was taken It was gathered that one of the aspirants complained about the security arrangement, stressing that thugs had gained access into the main bowl of the stadium, where the exercise will hold.

Following the aspirant’s complaint, it was learnt that the committee decided to postpone the exercise.

Delta State

Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, was yesterday elected the governorship standard bearer of the APC in Delta State.

Omo-Agege polled a total of 1,190 votes, and was returned unopposed by a total of 1,235 accredited delegates of the party at the APC governorship primaries held on Thursday at the Federal College of Education, Asaba.

Announcing the results, Chairman of the party's election committee and returning officer, Mrs Oyibo Nwaneri, declared Omo-Agege winner, "having polled majority of the votes cast", noting that he was the sole candidate at the primary election.

of the party holding today.

Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, Lado said the President declared his commitment to credible elections that would ensure the emergence of candidates with integrity.

He stated, "After my briefing, Mr. President reiterated his commitment to credible and peaceful elections and also his desire to see candidates with integrity prevail at the polls all across Nigeria.

"As you are aware, Kano State is the largest producer of votes in Nigeria. It is the decider of who becomes the next president in the presidential election.

"Just like my governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has done in the past, I respectfully informed and reassured Mr President that the APC is still the party to beat in Kano, despite recent defections."

Meanwhile, according to the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 elections released

by APC, the screening of the presidential aspirants was supposed to take place last Monday. But as at yesterday, the screening committee that would assess the presidential aspirants was yet to be constituted.

Accreditation of those that would be attending the convention was also yet to commence, while Eagle Square, venue of the convention, remained empty and deserted.

Director of Media, Yahaya Bello Campaign Organisation, Ms. Yemi Kolapo, said she was not worried about the lack of activities in the party a few days to the primary election. Kolapo believed the party was only being strategic.

"I don't think so; they (APC) are only being strategic," she said.

Asked if the failure of the party to constitute a screening committee was part of the strategy, Kolapo added, "It has been constituted since. They can't constitute for others and not constitute for presidential.”

The Osinbajo Support Group also said there was no need to worry, stressing that activities would commence at Eagle Square on Saturday. Convener of the group, Badmus Olawale, said, "Screening can still happen 24 hours to the primary day. No worries whatsoever.

You will see activities at the Eagle Square ground from Saturday."

But the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Support Group (AATSG) wondered the kind of example APC was setting as a ruling party. National Publicity Secretary of the group, Hon. Sampson Oburu, said the ruling party ought to be doing everything right at all times.

Oburu said, "Less than 72 hours to the primaries, no screening of aspirants, and possible debates between aspirants is zero. I wonder what kind of example we, as the ruling party, is setting after we promised Nigerians change.

"We moved to the next level, one would have thought that we would move from doing things anyhow to doing the right things, the first time all the time, which to a large extent would muster unity within the party, raise the status of the party, and usher in a new era of hope.

"It is extremely important to sustain and in our own case now, restore confidence in the party by the electorate and public, because as it is, Nigerians are fast losing confidence in our ability to lead Continued on page 20

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022

NEWS

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

ONGOING WORLD GAS CONFERENCE IN SOUTH KOREA...

L-R: Chair Conferences, Nigerian Gas Association,Misan Jekhine; GROUP Chairman NESTOIL Ltd and NECONDE ENERGY Ltd, Dr. Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi; Group Executive Director, NNPC Upstream, .Adokiye Tombomieye; MD, Nigerian Gas Marketing Company, Mr. Justin Ezeala; Group Managing Director NNPC, Mele Kolo Kyari ; Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Ali M. Magashi and CEO, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed during the ongoing World Gas Conference in South Korea on Wednesday

NPA Remits N45.08bn to CRF as NNPC Set to Deduct Record N874.5bn from Oil Proceeds

NNPC, IOCs commence payment of multi-billion naira debts to NPA National oil company makes zero remittance so far in 2022

Eromosele Abiodun in Lagos and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has remitted a whopping N45.08 billion into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) in the last few months, out of which N26.83 billion was for its 2022 operational remittance.

On the other hand, the federal, state and local governments are in for more revenue shortages, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is set to deduct a record N874.5 billion when the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meets next month.

For the NPA, the improved revenue generation came as a result of cost cutting measures and sustained debt recovery by its new management led by its Managing

Director, Mohammed Bello-Koko.

Buhari had in February approved the appointment of Bello-Koko as the substantive Managing Director of NPA. Confirming the improved remittance yesterday, Bello-Koko told THISDAY that his background as a banker played a major role in the success of his effort to put port managers on their toes to ensure revenues due to the federal government were paid as and when due.

According to him, “The first thing we did was to improve the collection mechanism. We held the port managers responsible for revenue generation and we are holding regular virtual meetings, but what we now did was that they needed to pay us on time, pay us or we stop services and, then, we

Telecom Infrastructure Vandals Discouraging Investments, Says NCC Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on Nigerians to ensure adequate protection of telecom infrastructure spread across the 36 states of the country.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Dambatta, disclosed this yesterday, during the Telecom Consumer Village Square Dialogue held at Kano State.

Dambatta said members of the public are expected to allow installation of equipment and maintenance/repairs on sites by technical staff of service providers for quality telecoms service delivery.

The Executive Vice Chairman spoke through Engr. Bako Wakil said: "There is the need for the public to guard against destruction of Telecoms infrastructure, through prompt notification of service providers on any ongoing road construction activities by companies or government agencies to avoid service disruption or interference in service."

According to him, vandalisation of telecom infrastructure discourages investors from investing in the country.

"It will be good for the people to report cases of infrastructure vandalism to the nearest Law Enforcement Agents (Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

“Share adequate information to your family, friends, neighbors and in accordance with the information and materials provided by the NCC," he added.

The Executive Vice Chairman said: "Let's work with law enforcement authorities on the protection of telecom infrastructure in your community."

He said protection of telecom infrastructure was a collective responsibility, noting that protecting the infrastructure, means, “we are protecting every service offered on the network (your money, jobs, children’s future and your community.

"Let us work together to protect our telecoms infrastructure for better Quality of Service (QoS) and improved Quality of Experience.

"It is important that we all protect telecom infrastructure in our community because is a critical national asset that supports a lot of essential services, ensures better quality of service delivery and seamless customer experience," he said.

minimise cost.

“Cost minimisation was very key.

The idea is if you reduce cost, you are increasing the likely surplus that you will transfer to the government.

“However, we didn't minimise cost in areas that were relevant and necessary. We cut down on places we felt are not very important.

We started prioritising more, we always prioritise, but there is more prioritisation this time around. So we pay attention to spending on things that will also increase revenue.

“Also, there is less debt now than what it used to be, because we are all getting personally involved in terms of collection. I call the port managers in the morning, in the afternoon, to ensure that we are on the same page.”

He disclosed that NPA had been able to recover legacy debts owed it by NNPC and the international oil companies (IOCs).

Bello-Koko stated, “The IOCs and other debtors have started paying their debts. NNPC alone owes NPA over N30 billion and this month we forced them to pay N7 billion. So NNPC has this rebate, 50 per cent rebate, and we do reconciliation and then they paid us.

“Since 2019 NNPC hasn't paid us, but we have pushed them and made them know they have to pay or we stop service.

“We have become more aggressive, holding regular meetings and there are no formalities, you just pick the phone and call the port manager and say, where is the money.

“We made it clear to NNPC that they need to pay, some of them just paid and the IOCs have been paying for so long, Chevron and co. We have made it very clear that we have become more aggressive in our revenue collection and we have blocked leakages also where we are telling the IOCs that for service boat they cannot be the operator and also the agents.”

Apart from improvement in revenue generation, Bello-Koko said NPA had in the last 100 days, since his appointment, made giant strides in every facet of its operations.

According to him, “We have done a lot and key observers are testifying to this. In just 100 days, we rehabilitated and commissioned our Port Training School (PTS), furnished and equipped our control towers at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC)

and TCIP. “We have also deployed newly acquired pilot cutters and patrol boats to eastern ports, established and licensed 10 export processing terminals, established Standard Operating Procedure for barge operators and acquisition and deployment of motor cycles to monitor and enforce traffic regulations along Apapa corridor.

“Others are commencement of mapping and surveying of WarriKoko-Sapele cannel, commencement of Escravos dredging, commenced design (repair) of the breakwater at Delta Ports, commenced rehabilitation of road D Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne, establishment of an IFRS complaint Assets Register, payment of gratuity arrears to retirees, payment of promotion arrears to serving employees.”

Bello-Koko stressed that under him, NPA had obtained ISO certification for operational areas, commenced remittance to the Sinking Fund for the takeoff of Lekki Deep Sea Port, commenced rehabilitation of ports administrative buildings at TCIP, Warri, and Rivers ports, equipped Rivers port, procured radio communication equipment for use at various signal stations, and commenced the construction of a control tower at Takwa Bay. On NPA’s effort to prioritise export, he said the authority had created a dedicated lane for export products, adding that export has improved at Onne.

He said NPA had made effort to drive the eastern ports and would soon introduce incentives to encourage shippers to use the ports.

He said, “The Ministry of Transportation has encouraged stakeholder meetings, which took place in Port Harcourt. The essence here is to let people understand that it is not just Lagos and, logically, I do not know why people just think the only port we have is in Lagos. People need to understand that we have ports in the east and apart from selling the ports to them to encourage them to import and export through the other ports, we have to make sure that the ports are also operational.

“So, if you take only Delta port and the issue with it, which is the breakwater, and I am very sure that very soon, the design for reconstruction and rehabilitation of

the breakwater will be ready.

“It collapsed about 10 years ago.

They have been doing the studies and it will soon be ready. The first thing is to also ensure that we do remedial dredging at the entrance, which the federal government approved and it is already on-going at 80 per cent. They will soon finish and when they finish, that means we will be able to maintain that 7.5m draft when the dredging is done with.”

NNPC Set to Deduct Record N874.5bn from Oil Proceeds in June Meanwhile, in the document detailing its presentation to FAAC for May, obtained by THISDAY, NNPC announced that it had deducted another N271.13 billion as shortfall for the importation of petrol in April 2022.

The NNPC document stated: “The value shortfall on the importation of PMS (petrol) recovered from April 2022 proceeds is N271, 125,127.487.58, while the outstanding balance carried forward is N371 billion.

“The estimated value shortfall of N874, 503,649.643.98 billion (consisting of arrears of N37I billion plus estimated April 2022 value shortfall of N503, 313,767,828.14) is to be recovered from May 2022 proceeds due for sharing in the June 2022 FAAC meeting.”

Furthermore, it stated that the gas cumulative outstanding to date remained $1,017,322.063.08 or an equivalent of N396.409, 715, 100.79.

The huge sum, which NNPC said it spent on petrol subsidy or what it termed under-recovery, would leave it with a huge deficit.

In the same vein, at a time that oil prices have for months stabilised above $100, a rare occurrence, NNPC has, for the fourth month running, failed to remit a kobo to the federation account.

With that amount, the total deductions this year for the purpose has now hit N947.53 billion and has exceeded the company’s initial projected budget for subsidy by N799.95 billion for the first four months of this year.

Aside the N371 billion in arrears for the shortfall in April 2022, NNPC stated that an additional N503.3 billion would be removed during the June monthly FAAC conference.

This would take the total amount

deductible to about N874 billion.

The document further indicated that in January, February and March 2022, petrol subsidy gulped 210.38 billion, N219.78 billion, and N245.77 billion, respectively. This was expected to continue throughout the year.

With skyrocketing international oil prices, domestic fuel prices have also increased since Nigeria does not refine a drop of the products it consumes.

Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari got the National Assembly to approve N4 trillion for subsidies in 2022, up from the N400 billion initially projected for the purpose.

NNPC said for the month under review, it lifted overall crude oil of 8.8 million barrels (export domestic crude), representing a 10 per cent decrease relative to the 9.77 million barrels lifted the previous month.

In addition, the national oil firm recorded that Nigeria was only able to produce 1.354 million barrels per day for the period under review, as opposed to the over 1.7 million barrels per day Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota.

NNPC further stated that the sum of N337.6 billion was the gross domestic crude oil and gas revenue for the month of April 2022, while recovery of strategic holding cost of N239, 381,651.39 was posted. Crude oil export revenue received in April 2022 amounted to $14.70 million, even as export revenue received during the month amounted to $29.94 million, the firm said.

NNPC said NLNG feedstock gas receipt was $76.47 million, which represented last month’s receipt $72.48 million, plus arrears of $4.26 million.

Other receipts for the month, according to NNPC, included the sum of $29.18 million being miscellaneous receipts, gas and ullage fees as well as interest income.

For context, the N874.5 billion NNPC intends to net off next month would be far higher than its contribution to the joint account of N656.6 billion shared by the entire federal government and the subnationals yesterday.

This development emerged as oil prices rose yesterday, extending this week’s gains, as Nigeria’s benchmark, Brent Crude, rose 2.90 per cent to $117.3 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) sold for $113.69.

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BOOK LAUNCH: "POLITICAL PARTY GOVERNANCE"...

L-R: former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Salisu Alfa Belgore; former President Goodluck Jonathan; Book reviewer, Prof. Nuhu Yaqub; Chief launcher, Diana Chen; Author of the book, Dr. Mohammed Wakil and Prof Abubakar Sulaiman at the launch of the book "Political Party Governance" held at NAF Center, Abuja… yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

FAAC Shares N656, 602bn April Revenue to FG, States, LGs Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total of N636, 602 billion April 2022 federation account revenue to the federal government, states and local government councils.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the Committee's virtual meeting for May 2022, held yesterday.

Citing the communique, the Director (Information, Press and Public Relations), Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Henshaw Ogubike said the N656.602 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N461.189 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N166, 522 billion, and N8.891 billion being Excess bank charges recovered as well as a N20 billion augmentation.

In April 2022, the total

deductions for cost of collection was N29, 609 billion while total deductions for transfers and refunds was N147.651 billion.

The communiqué confirmed that from the total distributable revenue of N656, 602 billion, the federal government received N257.611 billion; states received N201, 256 billion while the local government councils received N149.251 billion.

The sum of N48.485 billion was shared to the relevant states as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

A gross statutory revenue of N635.037 billion was received for the month of April. This was lower than the N933.304 billion received in the preceding month by N298.267 billion.

From the N461,189 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government received N217.412 billion; the states got N110.275 billion, while the local government councils received N85.017 billion.

The sum of N48.485 billion

was shared to the relevant states as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

In the month of April, the gross revenue available from VAT was N178.825 billion, an amount which was lower than the N219.504 billion available in the March 2022, by N40, 679 billion.

From the N166,522 billion

distributable VAT revenue, the federal government received N24.978 billion, states received N83,261billion and the local government councils received N58,283 billion.

From the recovered N8, 831billion Exchange Bank Charges, the federal government received N4,684 billion; the state governments received N2, 376

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) popularly called Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the Zamfara State Government have vaccinated more than 148,000 children against measles in the state.

A statement by MSF yesterday, said it has supported the health authorities of Zamfara State to successfully conduct a mass measles vaccination campaign to reach children aged six months to five years.

It revealed that the exercise began following the detection of cases of the virus in the north-western state.

The statement read: “MSF began a mass vaccination campaign in April 2022 in the local government areas (LGA) of Anka, Shinkafi and Zurmi, and vaccinated 148,150 children

in 24 wards of the three LGAs. “Out of the total children reached, a total of 8,847 children were vaccinated in Anka, 97,837 in Zurmi and 41,466 in Shinkafi.”

It quoted MSF’s Head of Mission in Nigeria, Ahsan Abbasi to have said: “Routine immunisations are critical; they protect children and save lives.

We are pleased to assist the populations in need and to support the health authorities in dealing with measles and other outbreaks in the state,” adding that, “measles is extremely contagious and those most at-risk of contracting the disease are under- or unimmunised people, especially children aged under five.”

“It also has a severe impact on the nutritional status of children. Areas of conflict or high-density settings – such as refugee or IDP camps – with low

Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and Excise Duties increased marginally, while Oil and Gas Royalties, Import Duty, Companies Income Tax (CIT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) all recorded significant decreases.

The balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) stood at $35,377 million as at May 26, 2022.

Manufacturers Fault Hike in Monetary Policy Rate Dike Onwuamaeze

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has described the recent upward review of the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) as unfriendly to the manufacturing sector, saying it would hinder the sector's economic recovery and performance.

After holding the MPR

constant at 11.5 per cent for about two and a half years, the MPC on Tuesday, raised the benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points to 13 per cent in response to global inflationary pressures, which had continued to hurt economies around the world.

But MAN, in a statement issued yesterday, argued that the increase in MPR had widened the journey farther away from the preferred single digit interest rate regime.

MSF, Zamfara Vaccinate over 148,000 Children against Measles Michael Olugbode in Abuja

billion and the local government councils received N1, 831billion.

The N20 billion augmentation was shared as follows: the federal government received N10, 536 billion, the state governments received N5.344 billion and the local government councils received N4.120 billion.

According to the communiqué, in the month of April 2022,

routine immunisation coverage and weak local health systems often see epidemics.”

Furthermore, the statement also revealed that in Anka LGA, MSF also carried out a reactive vaccination campaign for meningitis after registering 44 suspected cases of the disease from January to April 2022.

According to the statement, MSF decided to add meningitis to its vaccination campaign in Anka and vaccinated 10,972 children within Anka town, targeting three wards.

Alongside the vaccination campaigns, MSF teams also conducted mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) screenings to identify malnourished children under five in Anka, Zurmi and Shinkafi.

A total of 8,847 children were screened for malnutrition in

Anka, 41,453 in Shinkafi and 92,054 in Zurmi. In six wards of Shinkafi and Zurmi, high rates of malnutrition were noted.

Therefore, MSF immediately decided to initiate an emergency nutrition response in the area, the statement revealed.

The MSF Head of Mission assured that: “We are committed to assist the population and to support the local authorities in responding to any disease outbreaks or health emergencies,” while lamenting that: “With increasing insecurity and influx of IDPs, the healthcare needs in Zamfara state are dire and often unmet.

Children are particularly affected by the limited access to primary healthcare, especially with regards to nutrition and preventable childhood diseases such as measles, waterborne diseases and meningitis.”

“It is not manufacturing friendly considering the myriad of binding constraints already limiting the performance of the sector.

“MAN is, therefore, concerned about the ripple effects of this decision and its implications for the manufacturing sector that is visibly struggling to survive the numerous strangulating fiscal and monetary policy measures and reforms,” it added.

The statement signed by the Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadri, also noted, “that the stringent conditions for accessing available development funding windows with the CBN will be relaxed to improve the flow of long-term loans to the manufacturing sector at single digit interest rate.”

Ajayi-Kadir said MAN expected that, “future adjustments of MPR takes into consideration the trend of core inflation rather than basing decision on headline and food inflation.

“This will no doubt shield the sector (manufacturers) per centof the backlashes from the 13.5 per cent MPR, ramp up production and guarantee sustained growth in the overall best interest of the economy.”

He said the implications of the latest MPR for the economy and manufacturing sector meant, “another level of increase in interest rates on loanable funds, which will no doubt upscale the intensity of

the crowding out effect on the private sector businesses as firms have lesser access to funds in the credit market.”

MAN also lamented that the recent upward review of the MPR would also spur upward review of existing lending rates and intensify the low demand of manufactured goods by Nigerian consumers whose purchasing power have been, “heavily eroded disposable income of Nigerians, constrained access of households and individuals to cheap funds.”

The association also noted that the increased MPR would, “lead to rising cost of manufacturing inputs, which will naturally translate to higher prices of goods, low sales and enormous volume of inventory of unsold products and exacerbate the intensity of idle capital assets, worsen the already declining profit margin of private businesses and heighten the mortality rate of small businesses.”

It added that the new rate would, “further reduce capacity utilisation, upscale the rate of unemployment, incidences of crime and insecurity as the capacity of banks to support production and economic growth is heavily constrained.”

Moreover, it would also, “reduce the pace of full recovery of the real sector, make manufacturing performance to remain lackluster and of course lead to leaner contribution to the GDP.”

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POLITICS

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

Onu: Keeping A Date with Destiny Kelvin Gilbert opines that Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu deserves the All Progressives Congress presidential ticket

H

e doesn’t seem like the typical Nigerian politician of this era.

Calm and unassuming, former Abia State governor and the immediate past minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has however managed to remain one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s long serving cabinet members for the better part of his administration until he resigned to contest for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

But how far can he go in a contest that is not just crowded but populated by money bags in a highly monetized political system?

Onu, like 24 other APC chieftains, bought and submitted the party’s N100 million presidential nomination forms ahead of the primaries on May 29/30 in Abuja, even though his joining the presidential race took many by surprise (considering his ascetic nature) as he was, hitherto, not noted as being interested in the top job.

He nonetheless comes into the race with a rich political background which interestingly, includes a close rapport with the president with whom he actualized the emergence of APC in 2013.

Beyond Onu’s strong academic background, including being a First Class university graduate in Chemical Engineering, he has been able to distinguish himself politically.

His political credentials include first governor of Abia State, chairman of Conference of Nigerian Governors, now Nigerian Governors Forum, pioneer Presidential Aspirant of All Peoples Party (APP).

He later became the national chairman of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) that led the first successful merger in the history of Africa.

A top Onu supporter and APC governorship aspirant in Plateau State, Hon Chief Geoffrey Yilleng, said “Recall, the train of events before the ascension of Mr. President on the throne,

you will believe with me that Nigeria is at a verge of collapsing due to many factors that was not properly handled and managed by the previous government, and that is why Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu initiated the coalition of the political parties with great leaders of Nigeria and unanimously formed a merger that gave birth to All Progressives Congress that Mr. President, H.E Muhammadu Buhari due to his track records and unequal leadership was

accepted to salvage Nigeria from total collapse.

“Today, to the glory of God and the selfless sacrifice of Mr. President, Nigeria is gradually recuperating to its healthy state as a giant of Africa. One will not dispute the fact that Nigeria has a lot of challenges that was bedeviling her, especially the global pandemic that does not only affect Nigeria but the entire world, Mr was able to neutralize its consequential effect on the citizenry. Thus, setting the path

for growth and progress.

“Mr. President has contributed immensely and outstandingly to the best of his ability to keep Nigeria on track and makes it great.

However, His Excellency has barely a year for his tenure to elapse, as such, the question, who has the capacity that will compliment the efforts of Mr. President to salvage Nigeria at a time like this? This and many questions has been the concern of many Nigerians who have the country at heart, but upon all the survey and research made, Nigerians have concluded that the right man for the right task at the right time comes 2023 for complementary and sterling performance is none other than H.E Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu,” he said.

Given to a low profile and not desperate for political office, many consider him a top choice because of his disposition to politics and his willingness to sacrifice for the greater good.

Recall he displayed in 1999, when he let go of his presidential ticket in order to allow Chief Olu Falae who was Alliance for Democracy presidential aspirant contest against Chief Olusegun Obasanjo of PDP at the time.

Recall that there was a clamour for the presidency to go to the South-west zone to compensate the region for the mandate that was denied them after the demise of Chief MKO Abiola.

Still, Onu’s followers are wont to argue that his ambition could serve as a uniting point for most of the divergent interests, considering that he is a former national chairman of one of the legacy parties, a leader of the APC merger, and a South-easterner to address the agitation of the region.

Nevertheless, the race for who succeeds President Buhari from within the APC was always going to be intense and keenly contested.

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

Osinbajo Wins Hearts of Delegates A Case for S’East Presidential in Nationwide Tour Aspirants by Igbo Monarchs, Bishops Fejiro Johnson catalogues the rousing that greeted Vice President Yemi Osinbajo everywhere he went for campaign

W

hen Vice President Yemi Osinbajo visited Delta State on Thursday, April 28, the party members, elders, elders and delegates came out in droves to welcome him. There drumming, singing and dancing. The women at the venue of the delegates meeting sang songs in honour of Osinbajo, with one striking message.

In Pidgin English parlance, they sang “follow who know road,’ meaning, follow the person that knows the right way to go. Simply put, the song implies that Osinbajo is the most favourite among the APC presidential aspirants. This has been the key features of the VP’s campaign stops as he moved from one state to the other.

The sheer excitements and jubilations at each stop reflect his wide acceptability and likeability among ordinary Nigerians across the country. It is also safe to say that his inspiring messages have also resonated with most Nigerians.

Osinbajo rounded off his nationwide tour Wednesday night in Lagos. It was a homecoming for him. He’s lived in Lagos all his live and served the state conscientiously. Supporters had lined the roads from the airport as early as 10am for an event billed to start in the afternoon. He had earlier visited Benue State, and so his arrival in Lagos was delayed.

Sunday Ani argues that a group of eminent persons from the South-east comprising monarchs and leading clergymen have presented persuading reasons why presidential tickets of the two leading political parties should be won by Igbo aspirants

B

In this tour, each city presented its uniqueness. In northern Nigeria, excited crowd chanted ‘’Sai Buhari!

Sai Osinbajo! You’re a good leader ’’, indicating that they see the VP as an alter ego to the President. The close working relationship between the two men and the mutual trust and respect they have for each other have been a refreshing departure from the past.

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

arely 48 hours to the presidential primaries of the two major political parties, All Progressives Congress(APC) and Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), the South East Council of Traditional Rulers and Igbo Archbishops and Bishops have called on all Nigerians, especially the delegates to vote for the South East aspirants as their party’s flag bearers in the 2023 presidential election.

The statement was jointly signed by the Chairman, Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council, Obi Nnaemeka Achebe and Secretary, representatives of Archbishops and Bishops, Dr. Chibuzo R. Opoko, and made available to Daily Sun, the Joint Body insisted that it is the turn of the South East to produce the next president of Nigeria after President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

The Joint Body noted that all the presidential aspirants from the South East were qualified, and that each would lead in the tradition of all past presidents, as a leader for all, saying their antecedents promise a leadership that would change the tide and reverse the dwindling fortunes of the nation.

It noted that in Nigeria’s democratic journey, the South East region had lent its support to candidates from all other

regions of Nigeria at general elections, noting that in the spirit of mutual reciprocity, other regions should equally support the South East to produce Nigeria’s next president in 2023.

Part of the statement reads: “We call on the South West to remember the part played by the South East region in 1999 to support the emergence of the President of Nigeria from the South West. We call on the South-South to remember how the South East supported their bid for the Presidency in 2011. We call on the North East and North West to remember how the South East has also supported candidates from their regions in past elections.

“At times like this, all men and women are called to rise above their personal interests and affirm that no individual is greater than the whole.

For the South East region, the quest for the high office of the President of Nigeria is a single, indivisible quest that aligns with the Nigerian dream in which all citizens are able to reach the heights of their full potential, and all its constituent regions have an opportunity to provide leadership without overt or covert ceilings.”

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

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‘A MORNING WITH A LEGAL LUMINARY’...

L- R: Student, Oxbridge Academy, Ms. Sheridan Okwe; Partner & Co-founder, Akinwunmi & Busari Legal, Mr. Seyi Akinwunmi; Partner & Co-founder, Akinwunmi & Busari Legal/Chairman, VFD Group Plc, Mr. Olatunde Busari and Student, Oxbridge Academy, Ms. Anjola Shonibare, at the annual academic visit titled ‘A Morning with a Legal Luminary’ organised by Oxbridge Academy...recently

PDP Meets Presidential Aspirants Amid Hope for Unity Candidate Party confirms 811 delegates for Saturday, Sunday nomination convention Chuks Okocha in Abuja Ahead of the Saturday and Sunday presidential nomination convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the national Working Committee (NWC) of the party, has summoned a meeting of all its presidential aspirants, with the hope that it could come up with a unity candidate.

The meeting is scheduled to take place today in Abuja.

THISDAY gathered the meeting could be discussing with its presidential aspirants on how to ensure a presidential unity candidate or at least to whittle down the number of aspirants.

National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Debo Ologunagba, told THISDAY that the party intended to meet all the presidential aspirants, but he refused to state the agenda of the meeting, adding that the PDP was already putting up plans for the Saturday and

Sunday presidential convention.

The PDP spokesman, however, said the presidential convention would be conducted in strict compliance with the Electoral Act article 84 (8).

He explained that the delegates were elected in compliance with the dictates of the act and that the venue of the convention was almost ready for the convention.

On the resignation of a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, from the party, the PDP

spokesman said, it was one of contest for power, adding that even within a family contest, "we do disagree to agree, as there is no family without the strife of survival of the fittest" Meanwhile, the breakdown of the national delegates expected to vote at the presidential convention is as follows: Abia 17, Adamawa 22, Anambra 9, Akwa Ibom 31, Bauchi 20, Bayelsa 22, Benue 22, Borno 27, Cross River 18, Delta 25, Ebonyi 13,Edo 19,

Ekiti 16, Enugu 17, Gombe 11, Imo 27, Jigawa 27 Kaduna 23, Kano 44, FCT 6, Katsina 34, Kebbi 22, Kogi 20, Kwara 16, Lagos 20, Nasarawa 13, Niger 24, Ogun 19, Ondo 18, Osun 30, Oyo 33, Plateau 17, Rivers 23, Sokoto 22, Taraba 16, Yobe 15 and Zamfara 14.

Then, there is the 37 delegates from the Persons with Disabilities from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

However, Chairman, National

Convention Organising Committee of the PDP, Senator David Mark, last night, summoned members PDP Special National Convention, the main committee to a meeting. The meeting was ongoing as at press time.

The meeting, which was in preparation for the 2022 Special National Convention of PDP. Held yesterday at the Conference Hall of Legacy House, Shehu Shagari Way, Maitama, Abuja

BUHARI TALKS FREE POLLS, JONATHAN ATTACKS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, FAULTS SECTION 84 OF NEW ELECTORAL ACT the country to the much needed next level.

"There are rancour and strife in almost all the states controlled by our party, multiple factions, poor internal democratic processes, where the electoral processes are hijacked by one or a few individuals against the collective strength of the majority."

On its part, the APC Rebirth Group expressed concerns about the lack of activities in the party. Its Convener, Mr. Aliyu Audu, stated, "While we are concerned about the lack of activities to show that plans are in place for the special convention, we want to believe that everyone involved is aware of the implications of not having a duly elected presidential candidate by the 3rd of June 2022. So, there are probably plans in place that are unknown to us."

However, all appears set for the PDP presidential primary, with the Nigeria Police promising a strong security arrangement.

The event would involve a high influx of people into the nation's capital, and the FCT police say they have taken charge.

The FCT command said in a statement, "Consequent upon the above and in a bid to ensure a hitch-free event, the FCT Police Command has designed a robust security arrangement defined by a generous deployment within and without the election ground and to every nook and cranny of the territory.

"The deployment prioritises the protection of lives and properties of all and sundry by emplacing counter-insurgency measures, maintenance of clear road access, robust stop and search at strategic points around the suburbs and city centre, effective crowd control, and intelligence gathering."

The command asserted that the

Commissioner of Police, FCT Police Command, CP Babaji Sunday, while briefing the divisional police officers, heads of the various tactical and intelligence units of the command scheduled for the operation, charged them to be effective in discharging their duties with utmost respect for fundamental human rights.

Sunday told FCT residents to go about their lawful duties without fear of harassment or molestation of any kind, urging them, also, to remain vigilant and report any suspicious or abnormal occurrence to the police.

Ex-President Jonathan Attacks National Assembly Over Section 84 of New Electoral Act

Meanwhile, a usually measured and reticent Jonathan yesterday accused the federal lawmakers of making laws to target individuals and groups, rather than observing the long-held maxim that like judges, legislators must be “blind” in the process of law-making, instead of dishing out self-serving legislations.

The former president was speaking in Abuja at the presentation of a book titled: “Political Party Governance,” authored by a former Minister of State for Power, Dr. Mohammed Wakil.

Some Nigerians recently expressed concerns that the National Assembly’s amendment of some portions of the Electoral Act, 2022, especially Section 84 was designed to boost the chances of certain persons in the electoral race.

Jonathan, who rated the current primaries as a total failure insisted that if it was to be rated, the process would not have a pass mark and would be scored less

than 25 per cent.

Picking Bayelsa as a case study, the former Nigerian leader characterised the process as “horrible,” stating that for instance, certain people who did some “magic” created just two wards in a particular state constituency where six elected delegates were to determine the fate of six aspirants in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“Let me use this opportunity to advise the National Assembly that laws must be designed to solve problems, not to create problems and that laws must be made assuming that those who are making the law are blind, just like the judges.

“That is so that they cannot be able to target an individual or a group of individuals and when you go into the system of making laws (like it is being done), you will make this terrible mistake that has really messed up the whole primaries that are going on. “ If you have not been involved in the process of primaries, you will be happy or you may not be happy, but for those of us who have been involved, it is terrible,” he maintained.

Jonathan stressed that those who are current delegates could easily be bought over, decrying how low the standards have fallen such that aspirants are now openly retrieving monies paid to the delegates.

“Take my local government for example. My local government by divine providence has me as a former president, we have former governors, former deputy governors, former senators and all the rest.

“Then only one elected delegate that you don't even know where it is coming from, will come to Abuja to select who becomes the

presidential candidate. Is that the kind of democracy that we want to practice?” he queried.

The former president alleged that the lawmakers had succeeded in strangulating the electoral system by going as far as determining the mode of primaries, arguing that every political party has its peculiarities.

While contending that laws must not be made at the whims of individuals, Jonathan picked holes on the argument of those accusing Buhari of not immediately signing the amended sections sent to him by the lawmakers, saying that assent to bills must go through a thorough process.

“This controversial Section 84, to me, if you read through that law, 80 per cent or more of that section has nothing to do with it and should be expunged from the Electoral Act because the National Assembly cannot make laws and lump up all the political parties together.

“They must have the leverage to do things differently. Political parties have different reasons for being set up,” he said, giving the instances of parties in South Africa.

“Two parties cannot do things the same way. Creating a situation whereby every party must have the same way of doing things as to who will represent them is nonsense. It doesn't help the practice of democracy. We must allow the parties the leverage,” he explained.

He pointed out that since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was already regulating the parties, they must be allowed to choose the method they would adopt in selecting candidates, as documented in their constitutions.

“Parties are not parastatals of the government. And the national

assembly cannot make laws to strangle the political parties and that is my thinking on this issue that is quite controversial,” he said.

He further called for the institutionalisation of democracy, instead of the current ad hoc practice by the lawmakers.

“We have to institutionalise democracy. What is the quality of delegates where some people are even going back to delegates to ask for refund when they fail election?

This is extremely disgraceful,” he declared.

He added: “In some countries, you cannot give a gift to the voter like what we normally do here where bags of rice and salt are shared. You are inducing the electorate and that's a criminal offence and the National Assembly should be able to criminalise this.

As it is now, Jonathan argued that any criminal can now aspire to the highest office of the land as far as the person has the money even if he’s an armed robber.

“If I tell you the kind of people that are coming up to pick the people that will represent us, you will feel sad. So the National Assembly must have to wake up.

“Some people are even blaming the president that he did not sign this, he did not sign that and that is another area that the national assembly must wake up to. You cannot wake up the president and say come and sign a bill, whether a new bill or an alteration of an existing one.

“In this matter, the president can't be blamed. Before the president signs any bill into law, it passes through different processes after the national assembly and their committees finish their work,” he noted.

According to him each member of the National Assembly has at least five aides who are expected

to be involved in vetting any bill passed to the president, accusing the lawmakers of not doing their jobs properly.

“The Speaker has more and the Senate President has more.

What is their duty? Is it just to be following the speaker and the senate president like a troop of monkeys or a bevy of birds?

“They are meant to read before it goes to the clerk of the national assembly that also has his own aides that will also read through that draft before it goes to the president and that’s bureaucracy at the government level so that the president is not meant to make silly mistakes.

“So nobody should expect the president to just wake up and say come sign this bill because it must go through a process and people must do their work in this country.

“You cannot just be taking money and be sleeping and for the national assembly this is a good wake-up call because they have various aides who are employed to do this work.

“And their laws must not target individuals or group of individuals. They must be laws that will improve governance and not be made for certain people to have an advantage over others.

“In fact, the whole of this primary that is going on is a mess.

If you know the standard practice, you will ask teachers here to score this primaries and it cannot get more than 25 per cent and you cannot use that process to elect the president.

“The process is already failed and it is not good for this country.

Yes , we will manage and move on and I pray that good people should emerge, but we hope that what has happened this 2022 will not happen again in this country,” he said.

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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

2 6 , 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%

Nigeria Loses $2bn Annually to Informal Export Trade from Lagos Airport

Chinedu Eze Investigation by THISDAY has revealed that on the average, Nigeria loses about $2 billion annually to exports, which are not documented but exported informally as personal effects.

The investigation further revealed that the foreign exchange earned by the country does not reflect in government’s financial system.

It was learnt that so many products are exported from Nigeria, which are not captured in Form M, indicating that the foreign currencies earned are not documented because the export of the products do not follow acknowledged official channels.

This is because the general opinion

is that products and produce from Nigeria do not meet European and American certification, so they are informally exported to individuals overseas as personal effects.

Personnel involved in the process who do not want their names in print told THISDAY the volume of such export from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos is huge.

Cargo management expert and the Managing Director of Flights and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan, said the informal export trade has been going on apparently to circumvent these cumbersome regulatory requirements.

He explained that when export trade is not captured by form M, there would be no record of foreign

currency earned and there would be no documentation that meets global trade standards.

“Consequently, the agencies of government are unable to officially articulate a growth path for this category of business. This lapse negatively impacts on our overall performance in terms of export trade when our business performance is measured,” he said.

THISDAY investigation also revealed that some of the items shipped as export from Nigeria to West and Central African countries include household utensils/consumables, electronics, pharmaceuticals and most of them are manufactured in Nigeria, some imported and transshipped from Nigeria.

Akpan said: “The export warehouses at the cargo terminal of MMIA processes these export shipments as long as they are opened for business all year round.

There are always 20 tons of cargo minimum per week to export from Lagos to each of the following cities: Kinshasa, Monrovia, Freetown, Conakry, Bamako, Brazzaville and Libreville. Some foreign airlines carry these as direct traffic from Lagos but document them as transshipment. All the agencies of government in the airport are part of these processes.

These are not in the agencies records yet there are unofficial revenues in the process. We need to find a way to bring these into the official system.

We should grow this informal trade and gain from its multiplier effect

in our economy.”

THISDAY also learnt that there are other informal export trade building up through the intercontinental flights that depart MMIA Lagos daily to Europe, America, Asia, and UAE. “Nigerians are sending cargo to their families and friends in Diaspora on every flight. About 10kg to 200kg per shipment consolidated by agents into three tons minimum per flight.

That is three tons of export cargo on each international passengers flight that depart MMIA. These cargoes are for family consumptions, for African restaurants, African designed wearsand some test products for international market trials. Whether these foodstuff and produce meet the certification of destination countries is asubject for another discussion,”

Akpan added.

He urged aviation agencies and other concerned authorities to capture this trend and articulate them as small private entrepreneurs with ability to impact the overall export trade performance, noting that “politics is involved in trade, so we input this as factor while we are discussing if our native foodstuff is fit for consumption abroad.”

“We should also note that we are taking in native foodstuffs from China and India, therefore reciprocity should be considered in selective cases.

I agree that we must encourage local processing of our agricultural produce and turn them into products Continued on page 22

NIMASA: Marine Pollution Prevention Our Focus, IOPC Fund Implementation on Track Eromosele Abiodun The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh has restated the agency’s commitment to ensuring effective pollution prevention and control

in the Nigerian Maritime domain in order to continue to create an enabling environment for the sector to thrive.

Jamoh who made this known while speaking at the 7th meeting of the National Standing Committee on International Oil

Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund implementation in Nigeria, emphasized the agency’s commitment to the effective implementation of the IOPC Fund regime by ensuring optimal utilization of the instrument in the country.

Represented by the Director

Marine Environment Management Department, Mrs. Aishatu Jidda, he urged all stakeholders to abide by the provisions of all enabling international instruments as provided for by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adding that the Convention for Civil Liability

for Oil Pollution Damage 1992 and the International Convention on Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Damage 1992 which Nigeria is signatory to remains relevant to the growth and development of the Nigerian maritime sector.

“Nigeria has domesticated these Conventions and we are qualified to reap the benefits therein. We at NIMASA have a register for contributing oil receivers in Nigeria. We urge all stakeholders Continued on page 23

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT T U E S D AY, M AY 2 6 , 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

7.73

108.85

9.89

106.42

10.35

119.11

11.07

111.18

11.28

Change Updated Time (%) May 13, -0.01 2022 May 13, 0.00 2022 May 13, -0.15 2022 May 13, 0.00 2022 May 13, 0.00 2022

Discount

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

306,00 307,00

0.02 May 13, 2022

301,00 303,00

-0.22 May 13, 2022

297,00 299,00

-0.54 May 13, 2022

293,00 296,00

-0.57 May 13, 2022

NTB 13-Oct- 345,00 350,00 22

0.46 May 13, 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 16.72 16.81 8.72

Change Updated Time (%) 0.15 May 13, 2022

8.75

0.14 May 13, 2022

11.32 11.58

-0.39 May 13, 2022

8.00

-0.43 May 13, 2022

14.13 15.09

-0.16 May 13, 2022

7.86

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 13, 2022 May 13, 2022 May 13, 2022 May 13, 2022 May 13, 2022

22

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

AIR WATCH

Aviation Expert Advocates Integrated Transportation System, Policies Chinedu Eze Director of Administration at United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), Mr. Linus Awute, has called on the federal government to review its transportation policies in order to build a symbiotic relationship between the Ministries of Aviation, Transportation and Works so as to create a more integrated transportation system that would fast track economic development of the country.

Awute made the call in an address he delivered at the 9th Annual Nigeria Transport Lecture themed “Nigeria’s transportation for development” which held in Abuja recently.

The event, which was hosted in collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation, attracted top government functionaries and critical stakeholders in the transport sector of the economy.

Awute, who spoke as representative of the Chief Executive Officer of United Nigeria Airline, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, said there, was the need to redraw transportation policies of the country in order to integrate all facets of transportation to take advantage of their inter-relatedness for economic development.

Noting that transportation is

the “livewire” of every economy, Awute, who retired from the Civil Service of the Federation as Permanent Secretary, said “There is a clarion call for an integrated policy review that will be made participatory, involving not only ministry of transportation, ministry of aviation and ministry of works, but the critical stakeholders and development partners alike, if possible with a dedicated funding arrangement, to be able to increase the mileage and sustain the tempo which the outgoing minister of aviation has generated in the sector.”

This, he said, has become necessary because “all the frontiers of transportation in Nigeria are heavy laden with monumental challenges, requiring too much to do in order to redeem the sector.”

Awute, who also acknowledged the efforts the Transportation Minister and his counterpart at the Aviation Ministry, Senator Hadi Sirika, are making in order to boost infrastructural developments in the sector, stated however, that “transportation, whether by road, air or sea, share a symbiotic relationship with economic development. It follows therefore that an efficient transportation system facilitates National and Regional Economic

Development. It is also established that efficient transportation system is one of the basic requirements for the security of any nation and, in fact, the live-wire and soul of trade, commerce and industry anywhere.”

According to him, “The ongoing efforts of government in the last few years, as championed by the Ministry of Transportation, have been very encouraging and commendable. We still believe that the ministry can enjoy a quantum leap forward if there is a deliberate cohesion and synergy between the Transportation Ministry and the Federal Ministry of Works, particularly on issues pertaining to road and highway infrastructure development.

This is not to wish away the required synergy between the transportation ministry with the Air Transport Department of the Federal Ministry of Aviation.”

“It therefore stands to reason that we have more to do as a nation in developing a consistent principle and inbuilt sustainable security mechanism upon which to anchor the thriving efforts of government through the widening of the scope of infrastructure and upgrading of the standards of our existing infrastructural environment”, he stated.

Finchglow Boss to Chair LAAC 26th Annual Conference The Chairman of Finchglow Group, Mr. Bankole Bernard, has confirmed the company’s participation at the forthcoming 26th annual conference of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC), scheduled to hold in Lagos on July 28, 2021.

Bernard who is also the Chairman, Association of Aviation Training Organisationsin Nigeria (AATON), in an interview with the conference committee in Lagos agreed to chair the event with the theme: ‘Sunset Airports: Economic & Safety Implications.’

No fewer than 250 participants are expected at the conference.

A statement by the Secretary, Planning Committee, LAAC, Albinus Chiedu said that apart from Bernard, other major industry stakeholders and players have also confirmed their participation at the

conference, which would be held virtually and physically.

Chiedu explained that as in the past editions, the conference had also drawn key participants and organisations from within and outside the country’s aviation industry.

Chiedu explained that Bernard in his acceptance speech lauded LAAC for its consistency at mirroring and shaping the travel industry in Nigeria through its objective and unbiased reporting.

He further said he accepted to chair the 26th edition of the conference because of his belief in the growth of the Nigerian aviation industry, stressing that the theme for the conference was timely and germane, especially at this time where operators were faced with myriads of industry challenges.

He said: “The first time I attended LAAC event, I was impressed by the

high-levelled discussions by panelists, stakeholders and participants. I am therefore humbled to receive the honour of being the Chairman of the 26th LAAC Conference and Awards. I believe that LAAC’s contribution to the aviation industry is worthy of recognition by all.

“At Finchglow Holdings, we thrive on a culture of professionalism and excellence.

These virtues are not alien to members of this esteemed association. I believe previous LAAC events have gone a long way in shaping the Nigerian aviation industry, hence, I am delighted to collaborate with the league.”

Chiedu stated that the 26th annual conference would centre on solutions to the multiple challenges faced by stakeholders in terms of safety and economics as a result of operating sunset airports in Nigeria.

NIGERIA LOSES $2BN ANNUALLY TO INFORMAL EXPORT TRADE FROM LAGOS AIRPORT so that we gain better value in the international market,” Akpan further said.

Reacting to this development, the Chief Executive Officer of Mainstream Cargo Limited, Seyi Adewale, said local and international trade laws are in favor of items categorized as ‘Personal Effect’, describing it as a liberal terminology that guides the ease of exportation for personal goods and belongings because the world needs to allow for ease of migration, transfer of residence and / or relocation.

“Therefore, many items are shipped under this broad category for favorable and tolerable customs clearing terms. It potentially shields the very strict export requirements of receiving country especially when it concerns perishables. I believe customs in the recipient countries allow tolerable amounts/ quantities since foreigners or people with foreign origins are used to certain

foods that are not readily available in the host countries,” he explained.

Adewale said: “Even if these items find their way into local corner shops or open markets, the very strict legal and regulatory requirements are waived since most are ‘off record’ transactions and may not have same scrutiny that a supermarket requires to operate under legally. For example, do they know or attend to the shelf life requirements that a supermarket is mandated to comply with?

“So, exportation of these items under corporate or commercial transactions will be difficult due to the specification needs of the items especially perishables, the need for proper certification including traceability, test for harmful substances, pest or disease to avoid epidemics or infestations.

“Importantly, the receiving company, supermarkets, traders, or corporations need to meet their regulatory requirements, declare,

get prior approval from food regulatory agencies and submit samples from time to time. This places huge burden and liability on this type of importers or consignee.”

However, travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, noted that as long as the products and produce pass through cargo handling companies, they must reflect them in their books, adding that whichever way it is, there is significant disparity between imports and exports from Nigeria.

“A lot of cargoes are coming into the country. I see a lot of cargoes coming in more than the previous years. For example, one Ethiopian Airlines passenger flight comes to Nigeria but I also see two other Ethiopian planes and I later learnt that they are all bringing cargo to the country,” he said.

A I R WATCH

As Nigerian Foods Make Wave Globally Chinedu Eze The Nigerian community is growing in different parts of the world, from Europe to Americas, Asia and Australia, and as their population grow in the diaspora, they long for their spicy foods from Nigeria.

For several years now, the Nigerian foods have been finding their ways through the bellies of aircraft to different international destinations.

It was this circumstance that gave birth to Enish, the Biggest Nigerian Restaurant Chain in the world with 10 branches in the UK, one in high brow Dubai and the company has occluded plans to open a $3M second branch at the Palms Jumeirah, Dubai.

THISDAY spoke to the restaurateur, Olushola Medupin who adopted a style to establishing his restaurants in sophisticated environment, which was the niche that beckoned at a class of Africans and Europeans who are the majority of his clientele. They fell in love with Nigerian cuisine, which has become irresistible, as high demand prompted Medupin to establish many branches in London and now adding another to existing one in Dubai at upper class Dubai neighbourhood of the Palms at Jumeirah.

He said Nigerians want their home comforts even when they are abroad, be it music or food, they want a taste of home all the time. With over 10 locations worldwide and counting, Enish Restaurant & Lounge provides the right ambience and gives customers that feeling of home that they are used to. With two outlets in Dubai Nigerians visiting are sure to have a first class experience on their visit.

The first Enish Restaurant & Lounge in Dubai is located in the heart of the Emirate along the famous Sheik Zayed Road and opened in February 2020, two weeks before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. However, Enish has stayed afloat even in such trying circumstances and now all is set for its second outlet in the Emirate.

As the only authentic Nigerian bar in UAE with soothing traditional signature African cocktails, Enish offers a perfect venue for both business and social meetings with various night themes for each day, such as: Ladies Night, African Night, Afrobeats Night and much more. In addition to this Enish often hosts live performances from many of Africans biggest names in music.

Apart from Nigerians, Enish Restaurants enjoy patronage from people of diverse cultures and nationalities. With outlets in London, Dubai and more to be established in Canada, US, Enish is arguably the largest Nigerian Restaurant chain in the world.

When asked what he thought was the impact of Enish on brand Nigeria, he said, “Even in London we have almost 200 Nigerians working and they are British born. And they are happy and proud of where they work like they are working in Nigerian restaurant. Before, they won’t even go near it. Even in London there are lots of people that want to partner with us, the BBC, all other top companies.

“There was a time Google came in, did free advert for us and put it on five different TV channels. When we got to Dubai, they

did not want to give us the restaurant in the hotel because it is a 5 Star hotel. We tried to convince them but they refused to listen; that they don’t want prostitutes hanging around, they don’t want nuisance. It did not go down well with us because if it were UK, I would have taken it up. So we told them that we are from UK and have the biggest Nigerian restaurant in the world.

“So they said they need to speak to their director who was a white lady from England as well. So when they went to her and told her that there was this Nigerian restaurant from UK that claimed to be the biggest. The woman just said, is it Enish? And that changed the whole narrative. Even when we got there the first three months, people were laughing at us; that where are we going to get the money to maintain this kind of space, because it is quite expensive, at about $30,000 a month rent. Even one of the Emirates Kings came and said who owns this place and how is he going to sustain it? Everybody underrated us.

“Other restaurants were also making fun of us and they gave us only three months.

But after one year we are number one in the hotel, we are making the highest sales and since then the hotel started respecting us,” Medupin said.

He explained that his concept was to have local food in a 5-Star environment because he noticed that Nigeria’s food has so many flavours that even the white people appreciate it.

“I think it is even the Nigerians that do not appreciate our food, but white people really appreciate it. The food is well presented, and we are doing everything good, it is just the environment and the presentation. So I can prepare pounded yam and egusi in another different bowl but it is still pounded yam and egusi, it still has its local taste. What I noticed is that when people have a posh restaurant they start changing stuff and foreigners don’t like it. They like what is original because when you go to Chinese restaurant what they serve you anywhere in the world is what they serve you in their country,” he said.

Medupin also disclosed that Enish sources most of its foods directly from Nigeria, some from Ghana and also from Dubai and London and the foods from Nigerian are airlifted by British Airways, Emirates from Nigeria to London and Dubai.

“We get most of our foodstuff from Nigeria and our chefs are Nigerians. I know a lot about food that is what I have been doing all my life, from my great grandparents, they had restaurant. My grandparents, my mum and I took over. So I know a lot about food,” he said.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022

23

BUSINESSWORLD

AVIATION

Reviving Air Transportation in Africa Recently aviation experts from Africa, Indian Ocean (AFI) region and other parts of the world met in Abuja to brainstorm on how to revive air transport in Africa, devastated by huge losses incurred due to Coronavirus pandemic and how to reinforce safety in air transport in the region, Chinedu Eze who attended the conference, presents conclusions by the experts

A

frican States, with the assistance of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and support, are achieving significant progress in improving international civil aviation standards, setting new pace in air safety, airport security and overcoming the immediate challenges occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting was 7th Aviation Week involving all African air transport stakeholders in the AFI region and the goal was how to eliminate barriers to air transport also to improve safety in air transport in the region.

It was hosted by the Federal Ministry of Aviation (FMA) in conjunction with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the occasion was graced by the Directors General of Civil Aviation Authorities, Aviation Safety and Security Representatives, Aviation Experts of African-Indian Ocean (AFI) Region Member States, and other Representatives and experts from International/ Regional Organizations.

This year’s AFI week engaged all participants in discussing important issues like progress made in implementing the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) global and regional Plan, enhancement of aviation performance in all ICAO strategic objectives, key priorities for the coming years, COVID-19 aviation recovery and building back better sector in the region and the outcome of the ICAO High-Level Conference on COVID - 19 (HLCC) 2021 amongst others.

The five-day event ended successfully as Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika canvassed for a safe, secure and efficient air transport system across African countries.

Sirika said such move would serve as a natural impetus for socio-economic development of the region and a means to support trade and tourism.

He said Nigeria’s determination to host the meeting was borne out of the desire to support the growth of air transport in the region.

“It is also a part of ICAO’s efforts in facilitating the recovery process of the industry from the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.This is why this meeting is important to review the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and to take cognizance of digitalization and innovation which are now being highly embraced by the industry,” he said.

The Minister added that such efforts to strengthen air transport system in Africa would also complement the Single African Air Transport Market and other initiatives of Agenda 2063 of the African Union.

The Minister said that COVID-19 management leadership based on collaboration and coordination with Member States and stakeholders ought to be commended.

He said that the ICAO’s leadership had encouraged Member States to collaborate and pool resources in resolving challenges, particularly in the area of enhancing safety in the Sub-region.

COVID-19

African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure, Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid kicked off discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said has caused devastating impacts on the lives and livelihoods of countries all over the world and the aviation industry, leading to deep losses and reductions in GDP, jobs, access to finance, and industry revenue.

He said that the rapid progress in the administration of vaccines has offered hope of an end to the worst of the damage caused by the pandemic, but there are many challenges to achieve the target of 60 per cent of vaccination rate in Africa by end of 2022 as set by the Africa CDC (Centre for Disease Control).

He noted that the economic and social impacts of the pandemic on African countries and the industry become more severe such that waiting for a full vaccine roll out is not a sustainable option.

“This aviation week should provide an opportunity to exchange on key challenges affecting the restart and recovery of the air transport industry. According to recent statistic from IATA, over the past year, governments around the world have provided over $400 billion to airlines to support their survival and restart efforts, given the importance of aviation to economies.

“In Africa, the total estimated amount of the financial relief measures provided to airlines in Africa was only $2,721,539,647 (almost $2.7 billion) by end of 2021.

This included the government support in the form of providing loans, guarantees, wage subsidies, and direct cash injections to airlines: $2,638,765,827 (almost $2.6

billion),” Dr Abou-Zeid said.

He stated that the African Union Commission continue to urge African States and her key development finance institutions to further support African airlines, using many forms including deferral of charges and taxes whenever possible, sovereign guarantees for private airlines, wage subsidies and other payment support.

“The AU Taskforce on safe reopening of borders is also working on harmonizing the existing digital platforms for traveler health credentials and border requirements. It is also important to ensure that the adopted platforms are interoperable and are recognised by other regions to address the issue of restrictions to travel within or out of Africa.

On this note, AUC (African Union Commission) is urging governments to continue to provide timely and accurate updates on their health protocols or requirements and to continue to provide digital COVID-19 vaccination certificates.

“The operationalisation of the SAATM is still among our key priorities to ensure sustainable restart and recovery of the industry and also improve air transport connectivity in support of the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area). I am glad to inform you that AUC finalized a continental study on the benefits of SAATM (Single African Air Transport Market), which is now serving as advocacy tool to urge remaining States to join SAATM,” he said.

HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

In his introductory speech, Sirika also called on the International Civil Aviation Organisation to ensure the revival of the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF), which has become inactive in the past four years.

He appealed to the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and other stakeholders on the continent to pressurise the ICAO Secretary General to use his good offices to revive the fund, which had remained inactive since 2018.

According to Sirika, Nigeria was one of the major contributors to the fund, which primary purpose was to train technical personnel for the industry, stressing that personnel trained on this programme had gained tremendous knowledge about the industry in the past years.

HRDF is expected to provide a mechanism, which would allow for the collection and use of voluntary contributions from states and other donors to identify and develop opportunities for capacity building in civil aviation in African States.

Sirika said the fund would assist them (African States) to better meet the human resource needs required for operational efficiency and continuous implementation of ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and other programme activities, and which would enable

safe and reliable air transport for African States, thereby contributing to the social and economic development in the African region.

The funds were contributed voluntarily by member states and were meant for capacity building.

Sirika said: “I wish to seize this opportunity to appeal to Member States here present and the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and to call on the ICAO Secretary General to use his good offices to revive the ICAO Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF), which has remained inactive since 2018.

“Nigeria generously contributed to this fund and equally benefited from the inaugural secondment of officers to ICAO under this programme. The exposure, experience and knowledge gained by the officers attest to the usefulness of the HRDF programme.”

Sirika further reiterated the support of Nigeria to ICAO’s initiatives and collaborate with member states and development partners on the development of air transport in Africa.

FLY GREEN PROGRAMME

The Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu, in his presentation at the event said that Nigeria wasfaced with a host of climate change challenges, including the highest deforestation in African sub-region, so it is initiating the Fly-2-Green Nigeria Program to help carbon emission reduction.

He stated hat the programme was engineered to launch the first Green Aviation Marketplace program in Africa and promote progressive possibilities that profit the people and the planet through climate smart, efficient programmes that guarantee Green and Blue Economic Growth for the United Nations Global Green Goals Agenda.

Nuhu, who spoke on the theme: Green Flight to Eco-System Conservation in Nigeria Mobilizing Market-Based Measures for Sustainable Aviation in Nigeria, said research indicates that the African continent which is responsible for less than 3 per cent of global emissions would bear the brunt of over 60 per cent of global Green-House Emissions effects.

He said this would leave the continent exposed to myriad of socio-economic, environmental, security and humanitarian challenges from desertification, the drying up of Lake Chad and Blue Bio-diversity losses within Pan-African wetlands and ocean shorelines stressing that it was time for Africa to put a ‘Green Foot forward’.

“Nigeria is home to a host of climate change challenges, most of all bio-diversity degradation and pollution. Nigeria holds the record for the African country with the highest deforestation rate hence, the urgency to mobilize a common but differentiated Sustainable Aviation Solution for Nigeria that is designed specifically to ensure Bio-Diversity Conservation and Restoration across

our communities.

“Green-Sky-Green is the first Eco-Citizen Flyer Miles program that deploys incentive-based voluntary Eco Label tokens to mitigate Aviation Industry Carbon Emission Footprint beyond the ICAO’s CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) scheme in Nigeria through Forest Impact programs that guarantee Bio-Diversity and Eco-System conservation to combat desertification and protect wetlands for SDG Goals 14 and 15.

“The Green-Sky-Green program is a voluntary carbon emission reduction program that empowers Eco- Citizen travelers to grow 10 trees for every domestic ticket and 100 trees for every international ticket purchased in Nigeria,” Nuhu said.

According to Nuhu, the Fly-2-Green Nigeria is designed as an Eco-Citizen stimulus program that goes beyond open lifestyle incentives to create shared values, shared visions and shared possibilities that rally Eco Consumer driven Sustainable Aviation Value Chain Marketplace to drive Net Zero Emissions Footprint for the Aviation Industry.

He revealed that the Fly-2-Green Nigeria product promotes progressive partnerships and possibilities that profit the people and the planet through a smart Eco-Citizen Flyers Empowerment program that drives Future Forest Footprint projects through Green Sky Miles that guarantee 100 million Fly-2-Green Carbon Neutral tickets totaling over 10 billion Eco-Citizens Flyer Miles to plant over 1 billion trees across Nigerian in 10 years in commemoration of the United Nations Decade for Eco-System Restoration in Nigeria.

SAATM

Speakers at the event emphasised the effective implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) as a flagship project of the African Union Agenda 2063, an initiative of the African Union to create a single unified air transport market in Africa to advance the liberalization of civil aviation in Africa and act as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration agenda.

They stated that SAATM would ensure aviation plays a major role in connecting Africa, promoting its social, economic and political integration and boosting intra-Africa trade and tourism as a result. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), SAATM was created to expedite the full implementation of theYamoussoukro Decision.

IATA fully supports this initiative, which is expected to open up Africa’s skies and promote the value of aviation throughout the continent. Opensair arrangements boost traffic, drive economies and create jobs. An IATA Survey suggested that if just 12 key Africa countries opened their markets and increased connectivity, extra 155,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in annual GDP would be created in those countries.

The highlight of the meeting included the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Nigeria, Rwanda and Sierra Leone on air transport cooperation.

NIMASA: MARINE POLLUTION PREVENTION OUR FOCUS, IOPC FUND IMPLEMENTATION ON TRACK to play their part to ensure reports emanating from Nigeria are in line with acceptable standards”.

“It is good we have a record as a contributing oil receiver and because it is our obligation to ensure we give the IOPC Fund, the names of all contributing oil receivers in Nigeria. NIMASA is committed to ensuring Nigerians

enjoy all the benefits from being signatory to these International Conventions.” The DG said.

Jamoh reaffirmed the importance of the conventions to Nigeria’s Marine Environment Management.

He said the facilitation of domestication by NIMASA led to the constitution of the National Standing Committee (NSC) on

IOPC Fund in September 2004 and five other Sub-Committees in October 2016, with a mandate to ensure seamless implementation of both conventions.

The five subcommittees include the Sub-Committee on Fish Stock/Fisheries; Sub-Committee on Identification of Receivers of Contributing Oil; Sub-Committee

on Compilation of Oil Report; SubCommittee on Claims Handling and Sub-Committee on Pricing Index.

The objective of the meeting was to deliberate on the resolutions reached at the 6th meeting including; the development of a roadmap on the establishment of a Local Oil Pollution Compensation

Fund by local insurance companies; drawing up national guidelines on fish stock/fisheries, as well as the collation of recent data on Contributing Oil Receivers and Contributing Oil Products imported.

Other resolutions include drawing up National Guidelines on fish stock/fisheries; collation

of recent data on contributing oil receivers, contributing oil products imported, and quantity of product and details of coastal movement of Low Pour Fuel Oils (LPFO) and High Pour Fuel Oils (HPFO) from the refineries and condensates as well as distribution of COR-1 Forms and carrying out sensitization programmes.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022

24

BUSINESSWORLD

OIL & GAS

Marginal Fields: Moving from License to First Oil With the current marginal oil field awardees seemingly unable to proceed beyond license receipts due to multiplicity of challenges, experts have proffered suggestions on how the companies could surmount the bottlenecks, reports Peter Uzoho

T

he federal government has been yearning to see Nigeria’s oil reserves and daily production rise to 40 billion and 3 million barrels respectively.

To some extent, the government is relying on the 57 marginal oil fields won last year by 161 companies to realise the reserves and production growth aspirations.

The government believes that the 57 marginal fields hold significant volumes that could help to improve the current low oil production, generate more revenues and add immense value to the country.

The 2020 marginal oil field bid round started in June 2020 and by May, 2021, 161 companies were shortlisted as winners of the 57 marginal fields put on offer, which spanned onshore, swamp and shallow-water.

Some of the companies, which emerged winners from the exercise included: Matrix Energy, AA Rano, Andova Plc, Duport Midstream, Genesis Technical, Twin Summit, Bono Energy, Deep Offshore Integrated, Oodua Oil, MRS and Petrogas.

Others were: North Oils and Gas, Pierport, Metropole, Pioneer Global, Shepherd Hill, Akata, NIPCO, Aida, YY Connect, Accord Oil, Pathway Oil, Tempo Oil and Virgin Forest, among others.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had at the time put the total value of the 57 marginal oil fields at not less than $500 million.

However, early this year, the successor Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) disclosed that 80 per cent of the awardees had complied in terms of payment while close to 90 per cent of the companies had complied in forming the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).

The commission had also disclosed that the marginal oil fields awarded to 33 companies had been revoked following their inability to meet the 45 days deadline required to pay the signature bonus for the fields.

But since receiving their award certificates at the award presentation last year, none of the companies has been able to proceed to the site to commence drilling, let alone achieving first oil.

Dissecting the issues around the 2020 marginal field bid round and how they have contributed in putting the process in a stalemate, the experts, who spoke at a recent marginal field conference in Lagos raised concerns on some issues.

They identified high bid participation fees and signature bonus, inadequate data about the fields, difficulties in accessing finance from lenders, and lack of technical how-how on the side of the awardees.

Other issues pointed out as militating against taking the assets to production stage included lack of collaboration among the companies, as many of them see themselves as knowing everything and refused to partner.

The speakers equally identified insecurity in the Niger Delta, absence of an enabling environment, and government’s misguided focus on raising revenues rather than encouraging more companies to be willing to play in the country’s oil production business.

OUTRAGEOUS FEES

In his presentation at the conference, with the topic, “From License to Oil: Fundraising for Marginal Fields,” Subsurface Manager, Energy and Mineral Resources Limited (EMR), Mr. Collins Ibekwe, criticised the excessive cost of participation in the marginal field bid round and the expensive signature bonus the successful companies were asked to pay.

He said the high cost of the exercise has eroded the commerciality of the assets, adding that that has made it difficult for companies to raise fund to proceed to drilling after one year of issuing them award certificates.

Ibekwe therefore opined that the government should consider providing bailout funds to the companies either in form of returning the signature bonuses or through any other form of financial assistance to them.

He explained that his call for bailout fund for the awardees was based on the fact that there had been instances where government had to intervene to help businesses that were going through financial difficulties just to help them recover and continue to contribute to the nation’s economy.

He maintained that such intervention was needed to enable the companies have fund to proceed to drilling and help achieve the nation’s aspiration of increasing oil production to 3 million barrels per day, raise the reserves to 40 million barrels and in turn boost government’s revenue and job creation.

Ibekwe said: “My opinion is this: if we have to be truthful to ourselves, then we have to look at this holistically-think outside the box. What really should be done? Because I think those who put the process together were not long-term-focused. I think they were too short-term focused.

“But it should not be too late to say, let’s return this money. You may say, my interest is to raise money for government. But is that really the optimal expectation? Should it not be better for our expectation to be: let’s grow new businesses; let’s grow these marginal fields and have many new indigenous operators that are capable.

“How do we achieve first oil? One of the ways I believe we can achieve it is for government to say, let’s return these funds, let’s return these signature bonuses and give these people a chance.

“It may sound unrealistic, but thinking outside the box would be the right thing to do, because it will give them the necessary boost that they would need to kick-start to be able to gather all the data they will need, process interpretation and then have a standpoint to kick off.”

Chief Executive Officer, Tritekk Consulting Limited, Mr. Ayodele Fasakin, shared same pessimism about the companies performing better than the previous awardees, basing his point on the current general difficulties in funding fossil fuel projects.

He advised that NUPRC should be an active partner to the point of ensuring that operators secure funding to proceed to first oil rather than being interested in raising revenue for government.

Fasakin said: “I agree that the 2020 marginal field operators will not perform better than the 2003 marginal field operators. I agree with a no answer especially if you look at the current happenings in the entire world, causing financial challenges.

“The critical part in the entire thing is money.

NUPRC needs to define the success factors of this programme. Is the objective to raise money or to increase reserves and production?

“I believe that NUPRC should see themselves as being involved in the licensing to oil beyond just the regulator that collects signature bonus.

They have to work with the awardees to the point of accessing the funds.”

He also suggested that Nigeria should have strategic reserves considering the fact that most of Nigeria’s foreign earnings comes from the sector while about 80 per cent of the budget is funded with oil revenue.

WHETTING LENDERS’ APPETITE

To overcome the funding challenge posed to the marginal field awardees, Partner, Tax and Regulatory, Deloitte Nigeria, Mr. Olumide Esan, said lenders were always concerned about the certainty of the fiscal and regulatory environment of the operator’s country of operation before accepting to lend.

Noting that with the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Nigeria has been able to solve the concerns about the certainty of the fiscal and regulatory environment, Esan contended that the PIA was not enough to satisfy the appetite of lenders.

He explained that national political instability,

coupled with insecurity in the Niger Delta were part of the things investors consider while deciding to lend.

“So we can talk about the fiscals and how positive it is but it must be seen in the light of other challenges that this marginal field operators are facing.

“Lenders will naturally be concerned on the certainty of fiscal and regulatory environment of the country where they are about to lend it. So if you look at that in terms of Nigeria, I think with the PIA enactment we’ve been able to cross that bridge about certainty and it has put us in a positive step”, he said.

Managing Partner, Olaniwun Ajayi, Dr. Tominiyi Owolabi, said Nigeria remains a very interesting proposition when it comes to investments in the oil and gas sector but that security remains a key concern.

He explained that the ability to evacuate the produced product remains a major concern for lenders.

Adding that the capacity to operate as well as governance structure were also key considerations for lenders, Owolabi pointed out that by bringing a lot of people into forced marriage, the ability to take decisions quickly and respond to issues quickly was also a major consideration for lenders.

“The environmental consideration is also key for lenders. Especially in these days of energy transition, traditional lenders are beginning to take a back seat. It is interesting to see where they will be getting funding from,” he submitted.

Sharing insights as marginal field operators, Managing Director, Niger Delta Exploration & Production (NDEP) Plc, Mr. Gbite Falade, observed that issues around carbon emissions and energy transition were discouraging lenders from embarking on longer lending to oil companies.

Falade therefore advised the new marginal field awardees to take a different approach in getting value from the assets.

He stated, however, that “If the regulator will allow people with the know-how to take the lead in taking licenses as in other climes, investments will be safe in their hands.”

NEED FOR STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

In his intervention, Chief Executive Officer, Dupiaza Energy, Mr. Segun Ashiru, said one of the ways the companies can overcome their current funding challenge was to “execute a strategic alliance agreement with a contractor that could provide both the technical and financial services to stream the field in exchange for crude oil produced in the field.”

He said another option, if approved by NUPRC, was for the awardees to farm-out part of their participating interest in the field to an investor that could carry them in the course of developing the field and recover cost from crude oil production.

Like the previous speakers, Ashiru also suggested that government should provide the enabling environment and required support to marginal field operators facing challenges in streaming their assets.

According to him, if no progress is made by those companies after the intervention, prior to the expiration of the statutory development timeline, such marginal field licenses might be revoked.

He attributed the failure of the companies to progress to production to access to funding and the credibility and track record of the sponsors, adding that the state of the wells may also be a factor.

“It’s easier to produce or expand production from wells that you can easily re-enter and that have high-demand sweet crudes like the Bonny Light,” Ashiru stated.

PIA AS SAFETY NET

Addressing the participants, NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, said the PIA has provided a safety net for financiers to provide funds for the development of oil and gas in Nigeria, noting that the marginal field operators can leverage on this to raise funds for their operations.

He said the PIA under Section 95 (5) has also made provisions for “holders of license or lease by way of security, to assign, pledge, mortgage its interest, in whole or in part under the applicable license or lease provided the consent of the commission is obtained”.

Represented by the commission’s Head of Basinal Assessment and Lease Administration, Mr. Edu Iyang, the CEO listed the various options opened to the marginal field operators and investors to raise funds for marginal field development as “private equity, capital market, strategic alliance and debt financing.”

The NUPRC CEO noted that the commission was improving due diligence protocols to enable investors and operators access information prior to taking investment decisions and encouraging synergies in the use of shared facilities.

He stated further that the commission was also developing regulations to enable ease of implementation of the PIA, saying concerted efforts were being made in collaboration with stakeholders to tackle security issues in oil and gas sector.

Komolafe said the commission had delineated the 57 marginal fields’ areas and engaged awardees to resolve issues arising from the 2020 marginal field award as well as concluded drafting of model license document, which is critical for issuing Petrolatum Prospecting License (PPL) to awardees.

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

FG Approves Digital Reporting of Air Accident Investigations Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), has announced that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the use of digital technology to report accident investigations in Nigeria.

The Commissioner of AIB, Engr. Akin Olateru, who made the disclosure in Abuja, Olateru said that the Bureau is delighted to announce that funding has been approved for the development of Advanced Report Generation Utility Engine (ARGUE), a system which will dramatically improve how Air Accident Investigation results are communicated to, and accessed by, stakeholders.

He stated that by and large, accident investigation authorities do an excellent job of investigating aviation occurrences worldwide, through a long evolution of best practices detailed in ICAO Annex 13. Olateru, said that however, “when it comes to communicating the

results of investigations, most States still default to the legacy verbose written approach in which reports are published as PDF documents.

“In today’s fast paced world where people often barely skim the headlines, effective marketing of the results of investigations is arguably the next hurdle to overcome, if we are to truly exploit the lessons learned.” He further maintained that many state databases are notorious for collecting information, but when it comes to the dissemination of information, they perhaps fall short of the mark as, in some cases, the information is not even accessible to the public. According to him: “The Accident investigation process, put simply, involves the investigation of incidents/occurrences and the documentation of findings and recommendations via word documents, which are subsequently converted into PDF format and published to the world.

“An average report could contain

over 200 pages of information, ranging from the basics of the incident in view to more complex technical issues about the aircraft.

“The document is usually of interest, and relevant, to a wide range of stakeholders for varying reasons.

The communication of information can only really be deemed effective if it is relevant and readily accessible, in both content and format, to the target audience.

“AIB-N is taking the lead on this front, with ARGUE, by taking the next logical step in the publication of its report. We will shortly begin producing our reports in Digital format, with embedded animation capabilities”, Olateru stated.

The Commissioner said, “by this initiative, we will bring accident reporting into the current media age.

ARGUE has embedded tools which enable the use of advanced graphic/ animation software to communicate more effectively than often ambiguous written words.

Energy Firm to Provide 30,000 Solar Home Systems in 6 Geopolitical Zones Kasim Sumaina in Abuja An indigenous energy firm, SunPawa Energy Limited, has said it will provide 30,000 Solar Home Systems (SHS) in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Chief Executive Officer of the firm Mr. Odera Ozoka, stated that the aim was to bring relief to the people living especially in the rural communities.

Ozoka, while speaking to the press in Abuja, listed Adamawa, Anambra, Kaduna, Kwara, Kogi and Delta as the pilot states where the products would be rolled out, while other states would be visited two years from now.

He noted that SunPawa is looking at bringing solutions in the renewable energy space that will go a long way in bringing relief to a lot of people living in darkness, especially in the rural

communities.

He disclosed that at the moment, just under half of the population in Nigeria is living without any electricity and of those, 75 per cent are mostly found in the rural communities.

“According to Ozoka, “As entrepreneurs, we look for creative ways to ensure that people have access to reliable electricity thereby increasing Nigerians economic growth exponentially. “

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T H I S D AY FRIDAY MAY 2022 Friday27, May 27, 2022 Vol 27. No 9909 TR

See page 32 THE PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNERS The presidential hopefuls are mostly the big spenders, writes FREDRICK NWABUFO

See page 32 MONKEYPOX: ANOTHER RED ALERT FOR NIGERIA The outbreak of the viral disease in some parts of Europe and North America is a wake-up call, reckons LINUS AWUTE See page 33 FCTA, DEI-DEI AND COUNCIL CHAIRMEN’S TENURE EXTENSION DANLADI AKILU argues that the Dei-Dei violence was avoidable See page 33 EDITORIAL PREPARING FOR THE 2022 FLOOD

See page 34

& RE A S O

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opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

MISTAKES PDP DELEGATES SHOULDN’T MAKE YUSUPH OLANIYONU urges the delegates to choose right

UT H

All Progressives Congress leadership’s preference for a consensus presidential candidate unattainable, writes BOLAJI ADEBIYI

APC’S CONSENSUS CONUNDRUM It is clear from the body language of the All Progressives Congress leadership that it would prefer a consensus presidential candidate for the 2023 general election.

There were two indications of this. First, President Muhammadu Buhari, among other reasons, initially refused to assent to the 2010 Electoral Act Amendment Bill until consensus was included as one of the modes of selection of candidates. Second, he insisted on a no-contest during the selection of the party’s national working committee at its extraordinary special national convention in March.

Although many of his candidates lost out in the intrigues that attended the convention, the president was able to pick the biggest price, the national chairmanship, which went to Abdullahi Adamu, a two-term governor of Nasarawa State and two-term senator of the federal republic. Given the executive nature of the nation’s parties’ national chairmen, that was strategic enough for him to have a hold on the party. As it has turned out, the APC national chairman has shown enough signs that he would do nothing but the bidding of the president.

In fairness to the APC establishment, the consensus is a desirable political option because of its capacity to reduce the rancour, divisiveness and tension that attend the competitive contests for elective positions in this clime. However, for it to achieve its desired purpose there must be a collective agreement among the various interests at play. The moment an interest is perceived to be short-changed, the consensual process will irretrievably collapse like a pack of cards.

This is not a fresh political concept in the nation’s politics though. Except that in the past, party leaders had deployed it to undemocratically muscle out otherwise popular aspirants for their preferred choice who most times were not the choice of the people. Ironically, the outcome became the exact opposite of what they had wished to prevent: rancour, which breeds what they call anti-party activities. Of course, the greatest culprits of this obvious abuse of power are the executives who use WKHLU JXEHUQDWRULDO KROG RQ VWDWH ÀQDQFHV and coercive machinery to elbow the less privileged party members.

It was in protest of this unfair state of DͿDLUV WKDW WKH IHGHUDO OHJLVODWRUV KDYH VLQFH 2010 been passing legislations that tend to interfere with the internal management of the parties. This course of action ordinarily should have been unusual but given the growing arbitrariness of the executive arm of government both at the federal and state OHYHOV WKH OHJLVODWLYH UHVSRQVH LV MXVWLÀDEOH Buhari demonstrated this executive arbitrariness when he vetoed the amendments to the electoral law severally.

In the last instance of the Electoral Act

2022, the president had to be persuaded to give assent based on a compromise that the legislative arm would later renege on.

He was opposed to Section 84 (12), which VHHNV WR RXVW WKH LQÁXHQFH RI WKH H[HFXWLYH and its appointees in the party primary process, and Section 84 (9) and Section 84 (10) that though enshrined his preference IRU FRQVHQVXV EXW JDYH LW D GHÀQLWLRQ WKDW HͿHFWLYHO\ WLHG WKH KDQGV RI WKH SDUW\ power brokers.

According to Section 84 (9), “A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate.” Although the purpose of this section is to preserve the democratic content of the consensual policy, the party power brokers, who are largely found in the executive arm found it objectionable because it circumscribed their erstwhile stranglehold on the party structures.

The APC establishment struggled with WKLV OHJDO GHÀQLWLRQ RI FRQVHQVXV GXULQJ LWV extraordinary special national convention

It appears a little too late to ask people to stand down and take a walk after so many financial and emotional investments in their aspirations. It will certainly take more than an arm and a leg to achieve that

in March and only wobbled through the LPSRVLWLRQ RI LWV SUHIHUUHG R΀FLDOV ZLWK GLVVDWLVÀHG DVSLUDQWV EDUHO\ UHVWUDLQLQJ themselves from taking lawsuits against their marginalisation. However, if the manipulation of the selection process of the party’s leadership went without a legal challenge, it is doubtful whether any manoeuvring of the presidential primary would go without dire consequences.

Apart from the fact that Section 84 (9) is clear that consensus must be consensual and voluntary, Section 84 (10) by stipulating that where no written consent can be obtained, then there should be direct or indirect primaries, leaves the party leaders with no inch room for mischief. Herein lies the dilemma of the APC leadership that wants a consensus presidential candidate but has collected N100million from each of the 28 aspirants, amounting to a whopping N2.8 billion.

Already, many of the heavyweight aspirants have indicated their intention to resist any bullying by refusing to sign the voluntary withdrawal form attached to their N100million nomination forms. “I will not sign any withdrawal form before the contest,” Ken Nnamani, a former president of the Senate, who had complained about the exorbitant nomination fees, told ARISE NEWS Channel earlier in the week.

Addressing some delegates, a couple of weeks ago, Bola Tinubu, national leader of the party, and clearly the man to beat in the intensely conspiratorial race, had a UDUH DXUD RI FRQÀGHQFH ZKHQ KH WROG WKHP that though he was not invincible, he was sure of victory. “I will go back home if I am beaten but with the amount of work I have done, be rest assured that I will win,” he told his audience which responded with tumultuous applause.

Emeka Nwajiuba, the youthful political son of Buhari, who had to forgo his ministerial career for his presidential ambition, toed the same line. You cannot begin to talk of zoning after collecting N100million from aspirants, he told THISDAY Newspapers in an interview published on Monday.

The aspirants are not necessarily opposed to consensual politics, after all, there is nothing that says they may not be the preferred candidate but the point they are making may well be that the APC leadership is closing the stable door long after the horse has bolted. It appears a little too late to ask people to stand down and WDNH D ZDON DIWHU VR PDQ\ ÀQDQFLDO DQG emotional investments in their aspirations.

It will certainly take more than an arm and a leg to achieve that.

Adebiyi, the managing editor of THISDAY Newspapers, writes from bolaji.adebiyi@ thisdaylive.com

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T H I S D AY

The presidential hopefuls are mostly the big spenders, writes FREDRICK NWABUFO

YUSUPH OLANIYONU urges the delegates to choose right

MISTAKES PDP DELEGATES SHOULDN’T MAKE On Saturday, leaders, stakeholders, and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will gather inside the Velodrome of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, for the National Convention of the party. This convention will witness the primary election to HOHFW WKH ÁDJEHDUHU RI WKH SDUW\ LQ QH[W \HDU·V February Presidential election.

As aside, it should be noted that the man after whom the venue is named, Chief MKO Abiola, should provide good symbolism and inspiration for the PDP leaders and delegates to PDNH GHFLVLRQV WKDW ZLOO EHQHÀW 1LJHULD XSOLIW

democracy, and promote good governance.

Following the provision of the Electoral Act (2022), the nature and number of the electorate have changed from what they used to be since 1999 when the PDP had its inaugural presidential convention in Jos City, Plateau State. The usual situation where certain HOHFWHG SXEOLF R΀FH KROGHUV SDUW\ FKLHIWDLQV at local, state, and national levels, candidates of the party in the House of Representatives, Senate, and governorship, as well as former HOHFWHG SXEOLF R΀FH KROGHUV ZHUH DXWRPDWLF or statutory delegates with voting rights, has changed. The only people who would have voting rights now are the ad-hoc delegates VSHFLÀFDOO\ HOHFWHG WZR ZHHNHQGV DJR IRU WKH national convention.

There are 774 of these delegates elected to represent the respective local government areas. They will be joined by 37 people living with disability, each of whom was selected to represent their respective states and the federal capital territory. This gives a total ÀJXUH RI 7KH VXGGHQ UHDOL]DWLRQ WKDW D ORW RI WKH SHRSOH ZKR ZHUH H[SHFWHG WR EH YRWHUV DW WKH FRQYHQWLRQ DUH QR ORQJHU TXDOLÀHG KDV changed the calculation. Ordinarily, by the old calculation, over 3700 delegates would KDYH EHHQ TXDOLÀHG WR HOHFW WKH SUHVLGHQWLDO candidate.

However, with a smaller number, the convention should ordinarily be easier to PDQDJH IDVWHU WR FRQFOXGH DQG OHVV H[SHQVLYH for both the parties and the aspirants, if you know what I mean. ,W DOVR PHDQV WKDW WKH ZLVH PHQ KDYH D date with history. The future of Nigeria and her ability to pull through the present challenges facing her place some responsibilities on the leading opposition party in the country to lead in the search for solutions. The country is at war on many fronts. Nigeria is assailed by the war waged against her by insurgents, bandits, kidnappers, secessionists, cultists, religious bigots, and advance fee fraudsters.

7KH FLWL]HQV WKHUHIRUH KDYH WR JUDSSOH ZLWK

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2022

mass unemployment, endemic poverty, high LQÁDWLRQ HFRQRPLF FULVLV KXQJHU GDLO\ WKUHDWV to their survival, and frequent bloodletting in which, in many areas, non-state actors have VHL]HG FRQWURO RI WKH LQVWUXPHQWV RI YLROHQFH from the state and now dictate the rule.

7KHVH FRQGLWLRQV KDYH PDGH H[SHUWV DFURVV the world describe Nigeria in her current state as a failing state having tumbled from the ranks of strong, too weak, and now failing states with the possibility of descending to a failed state. All the characteristics of a failed state are manifesting in the country. The current government has tried its best but it seems the best has not been good enough. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has only demonstrated that it is good as an opposition FRDOLWLRQ EXW QRW D SODWIRUP WR RͿHU HͿHFWLYH governance.

The people therefore will look forward to the PDP as the only possible alternative, even though there are a few who may want to argue to the contrary. The PDP delegates, therefore, should realise that at this convention they are making decisions on whether Nigeria should go down the precipice or rise and march forward to realise her potential as the true giant of Africa.

The delegates should realise that they are to decide whether Nigerians should rely on them to produce a leader who can work hard and work with the people to unite the country.

They should not make the mistake of voting for a politician whose biggest credential is knowing how to manipulate the political process. They will be required to vote for a person who knows what the problems are, what to do, how to go about doing it, and have the courage.

The PDP delegates should not make the mistake of turning the convention into a ED]DDU ZKHUH WKH KLJKHVW ELGGHU FDUWV DZD\ WKH trophy. The winner at this convention should EH H[SHFWHG WR JR KRPH ZLWK WKH KHDGDFKH RI how to produce workable alternative ideas and policies that will demonstrate to Nigerians that he can lead the country better and provide good governance, restore the dignity of the nation, and set her people to work for the redemption, rebuilding and resetting of the country.

Nigeria should not be for sale at the PDP convention. The delegates should not make the mistake of selling the ticket to the one who FDQ SD\ RU RͿHU WKH KLJKHVW SULFH 7KH\ VKRXOG not make the mistake of electing an aspirant who lacks the energy, vigour, idea, and agility to work round the clock to save Nigeria. No aspirant who cannot put in the work of 26 KRXUV LQ RQH GD\ DV 1LJHULD·V SUHVLGHQW VKRXOG mistakenly emerge as the candidate from this PDP convention.

The delegates should not elect anybody ZKR ZLOO UXOH E\ SUR[\ RU VSHQG PRUH WLPH attending to himself than attending to the DͿDLUV RI KLV QDWLRQ :H VKRXOG QRW DOVR HOHFW DQ LQH[SHULHQFHG SHUVRQ ZLWK D SURYLQFLDO worldview or a bully. There should be no mistake in electing a person with a short fuse or the one who cannot unite the country but can HDVLO\ WKURZ WKH ÀUH LQWR WKH QDNHG IXHO E\ KLV ZRUGV DFWLRQV DQG WHPSHUDPHQW :H QHHG D SHUFHQW VREHU UHÁHFWLYH VDQH PDWXUH FDOP EXW HͿHFWLYH EROG DQG H[SHULHQFHG SUHVLGHQW WR À[ WKH PXOWL GLPHQVLRQDO SUREOHPV IDFLQJ Nigeria.

Olaniyonu writes from Abuja

THE PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNERS The political trajectory of Nigeria in the next four years will be initialised this Saturday – as the two leading political parties (the APC and the PDP) select candidates for the 2023 presidential election. The fate of our nation rests in the whimsical repository of a few deciders. We can divine the future possibilities and challenges of our country from the outcome of these presidential primaries. It is a make-or-mar fixture.

Nigeria is at a precarious time in its evolution. As I wrote in a previous column, Nigeria’s next president will be coming at a time the country is agonisingly sundered along ethnic and religious contours; at a time of seething anger and great uncertainty; when

society. But Nigeria cannot achieve its manifest destiny without some hard scrubs. Tinubu comes off as that leader who is not disinclined to dare the undared. He is feisty, deliberate and unbending.

Tinubu may not be the favourite of the APC umpires, but he has support across the states, particularly in the north-west and in a section of the south-west. If he goes through with the primaries, he could pull a summer surprise. However, party insiders say he may not breast the tape. They say he could yield his bid to Fayemi who may eventually become the standard-bearer.

the economy is in shreds; corruption at the apogee; at such a perilous time when Nigerians cannot commute from one part of the country to another for fear of being killed and kidnapped; at such a vulnerable time when a dollar is N600 at the parallel market, and when over 13 million children are out of school. Nigeria’s next president will be coming at a time of anomie.

The task ahead is enormous. Nigeria desperately needs the right people to get the right fixes. A president who will address the hydra of insurgency, banditry and kidnapping; galloping debts, oil revenue shrinkage, freewheeling inflation, and the Venus flytrap called petrol subsidy. These are tasks demanding extraordinary competence and a surfeit

Fayemi is a presidential specimen. He has copious understanding of governance and economy; he is a thinker who could become Nigeria’s first philosopher president. Being the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, he has composite knowledge of the problems gnawing at the heart of the federating units.

But he is not very popular within the APC and the delegates. His political fate may be starcrossed as it is tied to the whim of Tinubu. If Tinubu capitulates to pressure and decides to retrieve his gauntlet, Fayemi stands a fantastic chance of becoming the party’s presidential candidate.

Amaechi, the lion of Ubima, is the most resilient of all the presidential hopefuls in the APC. He resigned his appointment as minister to trudge through an undulating and serpentine path. He makes the politically impossible seem plausible. He is the earl of possibilities; a fighter and believer. He has visited most of the states, seeking the support of APC delegates. Some of the governors and APC stakeholders have publicly declared their support for him. In Plateau State, Simon Lalong, the governor, said: “You are the first presidential aspirant to come and see us, when I invited others to come, they said they can’t come to Plateau because it would be a waste of time because Plateau people will not vote for them, but will vote for Amaechi. So, you didn’t need to talk much. We want to rely on somebody that has done it before. We are telling you so that you would not waste your time to come back for campaigns. We have taken our decision. You have done a lot for our people.’’

Muhammad Badaru, governor of Jigawa, also endorsed Amaechi for the APC presidential ticket. He said ‘’it’s either you or me’’. While Amaechi will win some states in the presidential primaries, he may need more than that to become victorious. He needs Buhari’s imprimatur. He needs the president’s endorsement to sail plainly through the primaries. Buhari’s endorsement will seal it for Amaechi.

The task ahead is enormous. Nigeria desperately needs the right people to get the right fixes. A president who will address the hydra of insurgency, banditry and kidnapping; galloping debts, oil revenue shrinkage, freewheeling inflation… of courage.

Cleaving substance from blanks in the APC, Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos; Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti; Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of transportation, and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo are the presidential probables.

Tinubu is perhaps the most popular presidential hopeful in the APC. I think in Tinubu resides the gravitas to take tough decisions. Nigeria needs a president who is not afraid to be unpopular. Taking critical and tough decisions comes with revulsion and even violent opposition from segments of

Nwabufo is a writer and journalist

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T H I S D AY FRIDAY MAY 27, 2022

DANLADI AKILU argues that the Dei-Dei violence was avoidable The outbreak of the viral disease in some parts of Europe and North America is a wake-up call, reckons LINUS AWUTE

MONKEYPOX: ANOTHER RED ALERT FOR NIGERIA There is a shock wave in several countries as there is now an outbreak of Monkeypox, a viral infection that has spread to several countries in Europe as well as to the United States, Canada and Australia. Only last Friday, more than 100 cases were either suspected or FRQÀUPHG LQ (XURSH ,W LV DOVR EHOLHYHG WKDW this is the largest outbreak of the disease ever in Europe. , ZDWFKHG WKH &KLHI 3XEOLF +HDOWK 2΀FHU RI Canada, Dr. Teresa Tam, on YouTube when she said in an interview that the world is shocked that the outbreak could happen in countries outside Africa. According to Dr. Teresa Tam, “It is unusual for the world to see these many FDVHV UHSRUWHG LQ GLͿHUHQW FRXQWULHV RXWVLGH of Africa, I think at the beginning of every outbreak we should try and understand the transmission routes”. This is trying to mean that it was not supposed to be an European or American disease. This is just one statement in the midst of many negative remarks on Africa and West Africa in particular since the monkeypox disease outbreak. It is now obvious that the focus of the west is adjusting towards the speculation that the source of this pandemic is Africa instead of discussing the vulnerability of the African continent and the need to join hands with African leaders in order to protect the continent and its people from the monkeypox disease outbreak abroad.

It is true that the WHO has taken a bold step to call a meeting in Geneva working closely with countries to respond to the monkeypox virus outbreak; however, this call for a meeting is unfortunately dealing more on the outrage that this particular outbreaks, reported in 10 to 11 countries of Europe and America are atypical as they are occurring in non-endemic countries instead of the endemic countries of Africa. This is too sad to note, but it equally tells us, the Africans, to know the world and understand the interests of those living in it in order to readily understand when we are being used or insulted as a means of perpetuating the expression of innate feeling of superiority over us.

Stigmatizing countries like Africa or groups of people because of a disease is not acceptable and we trust to believe that WHO itself does not believe in stigmatization. It therefore behoves on the organization to understand how to go ahead of national governments RI WKH DͿHFWHG FRXQWULHV WR HFOLSVH WKHLU sentiments, outrage, hasty mischaracterization and judgment with the correct narrative of their own unwholesome lifestyle and trending belief system that are capable of provoking the emergence of unknown diseases.

As monkeypox spreads through Europe, Canada, America and Australia, the best that anyone can expect of these countries is for them to focus their response on the people DͿHFWHG DQG WKHLU FORVH FRQWDFWV DV ZHOO DV research and study their own peculiar life style.

People who closely interact with someone who is infected are at greater risk for infection.

7KLV LV WKH VFLHQWLÀF SULQFLSOH DQG WKH QRWDEOH belief system that govern disease control, containment and prevention. We do not have to resort to conversations that diminish, unconsciously, the intellectual capacity of the scientists themselves.

For us in Nigeria, this is a wake-up call for a country with unmanned multiple land crossings and porous border lines. The lesson to take home now is the fact that the monkeypox may be yet another threat on the sobriety of Nigerians, our patriotism and

resilience. We must therefore watch out with a clear head and not to allow ourselves to be too drunk with the sweet and bitter wine of politics which has hitherto saturated the air.

Monkeypox is real. Although a rare disease that is caused by infection with monkey-pox virus, it is disease of high morbidity.

0RQNH\SR[ YLUXV DV GHÀQHG LQ WKH YDULRXV KHDOWK MRXUQDOV DQG VFLHQWLÀF GRFXPHQWV RI WKH Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria, “ is the type of virus belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae. In the Orthopoxvirus genus, there are cowpox virus, variola virus which causes small pox and vaccine virus used in small pox vaccine”.

According to experts who have spoken by way of interview on the subject, ...human transmission of monkeypox occurs through close contact with infectious material from skin lesions of an infected person, through respiratory droplets in prolonged face to face contact and through fomites”. It manifests in V\PSWRPV VLPLODU WR WKH W\SH WKDW VXͿHUHUV of Ebola Virus Disease and Covid19 have narrated such as fever, headache, muscle ache, backache, chills, exhaustion, etc. The most distinguishing symptom for monkeypox virus is the swollen lymph nodes. Above all, monkeypox kills adamantly like the other named diseases. )URP WKH EHQHÀWV RI KLQGVLJKW RQH FDQ RQO\ EXW SRVWXODWH RU WHDFK WKDW ZKLFK FDQ VX΀FH DV patriotism under the circumstance. Borrowing the words of our former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, during his 85th birthday on 5th March 2022, “We must understand the world we live in and which may not feel it owes us anything except what we can wrest from the abundance of good on earth for ourselves, essentially by ourselves to be preserved and used for and in the best interest of ourselves….”. To this end, I am inclined WR VHL]H WKLV RSSRUWXQLW\ WR UHÁHFW LQ RQH sentence, on the unprecedented scale of the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in West Africa and how it was timely contained in Nigeria in order to underscore the need for us to consider the monkeypox now ravaging Europe and America as another threat on Nigeria, the extension of which is Africa.

Strictly speaking, Ebola Virus Disease was contained in Nigeria not by the frontiers of monetary budgets, partisan rhetoric and foreign interventions, It was rather contained by the deep patriotic devotion of the Nigerian, coupled with the spontaneity of the leadership in the bureaucracy of the Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria in our resolve to be ahead of WKH GLVHDVH XVLQJ D FROOHFWLYHO\ GHÀQHG PDWUL[ for mutual accountability for achieving results for Nigerian.

Awute, mni, was a Federal Permanent Secretary

FCTA, DEI-DEI AND COUNCIL CHAIRMEN’S TENURE EXTENSION The unfortunate violence that engulfed the Dei-Dei building materials market in Abuja on Wednesday, 18th May 2022 and the ill-conceived ruling of the FCT High Court that retroactively granted a one-year tenure extension to the six FCT Area Council Chairmen are two major events that have continued to dominate discussions in the nation’s capital.

While one has been described as a purely constitutional issue, the other incident at the Dei-Dei market is a sad reminder of how easily the fragile peace within a society could be punctuated when level heads fail to prevail and hoodlums allowed to run wild.

As it happened in Dei-Dei, an incident that was purely accidental in nature was unfortunately hijacked by hoodlums to XQOHDVK PD\KHP RQ WKH VRFLHW\ IRU VHOÀVK reasons.

According to reports, a lady was said to KDYH IDOOHQ RͿ D FRPPHUFLDO PRWRUF\FOH and was run over by a vehicle along the Dei-Dei Market, killing her on the spot. But rather than follow appropriate channels to seek redress, some hoodlums within the market hijacked the situation to target economic assets, destroying a substantial part of the market and causing regrettable loss of lives and property. In the end, the FCT authorities were left with no option but to close the market to forestall further breakdown of law and order.

In a territory like Abuja that is mostly famed for its strict adherence to the provisions of law, shutting the market in that circumstance is the least that is expected of a responsible and proactive government to contain the ugly situation.

Following up on that also, the FCT Administration is reportedly working with the Dei-Dei market and community leaders, as well as the political authorities in the area to increase the presence of security in the market and this, in my humble view, is a welcome development. $OVR ZRUWK SRLQWLQJ RXW LV WKH HͿRUW PDGH by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello to dispel the false reports, which circulated on social media that the incident was ethnically and religiously motivated. Malam Bello’s proactiveness is quite commendable because in an era of social media, where people have been known to act out of order, based on false reports or fake news, any action to debunk fake reports in moments of crisis is indeed a step in the right direction. $OVR ZRUWK\ RI SUDLVH DUH WKH HͿRUWV PDGH by the security agencies and community leaders in containing the violence to ensure that it did not degenerate any further.

But as timely as these interventions may have seemed in mitigating the crisis, there are however a small section of the society that believe what happened in DeiDei could have been averted if the ban on the activities of commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada, had been enforced in the area. In this regard, it is pertinent to mention here that the ban on Okada as I understand, is being implemented in phases in the FCT and not an outright ban on their activities as is being speculated in some quarters.

For instance, while Okada operations are

outrightly banned within the city centre and some estates like Gwarinpa, they are however not banned within the satellite towns and suburbs of the FCT, as well as the Area Councils. Understandably, this is due to the critical role they play in the transportation value chain in these areas, especially at the beginning and terminal points of movement.

Moreso, the idea that has been consistently communicated by the FCT government is to have Okada and Keke gradually phased out in the satellite towns and other areas as the provision of infrastructure continues to improve in the FCT. In that sense, it would be wise for FCT residents to exercise patience and XQGHUVWDQGLQJ ZKLOH HͿRUWV DUH EHLQJ made to actualize the gradual ban.

On the much-disputed FCT High Court judgment that suspended the swearing in of new Area Council Chairmen, along with Councilors, kudos must also be given to the FCT Administration for the way it has gone about in addressing the issue in line with the provisions of the law.

It could be recalled that Malam Bello explained in his public address that based on the order of the Court, the FCT Administration was compelled to suspend inauguration of the newly HOHFWHG R΀FLDOV WR DYRLG D VLWXDWLRQ ZKHUH there could be irreparable damage.

However, in line with the provision of law also, the FCTA, in addition to expressing displeasure over the incident, has approached a higher court to appeal the judgment and seek the true position of law on this matter. It is now left for the reputable men within the judiciary to do what is right by upturning the judgment in line with the provisions of the law.

But while FCT residents await the judgment of the Appeal Court, calls have been made for calm and patience to allow the due process of the law to run its cause.

Already, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has joined other well-meaning Nigerians and youths in the FCT in expressing conviction that the judgment is faulty and cannot stand the test of time. Other notable legal luminaries have also spoken along this line and they are all in agreement that it is only a matter of time before justice prevails on the matter.

Akilu writes from Gudu District, Abuja

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T H I S D AY

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EDITORIAL

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

PREPARING FOR THE 2022 FLOOD It’s time to make good use of the ecological fund

R

ecent data by the federal government in the 2022 Annual Flood Outlook collated by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) should put everyone on red alert. It predicts that there will be FRDVWDO ÁRRGLQJ GXH WR WLGDO VXUJH DQG ULVH in sea level in Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, and Ondo States. The outlook does not also look good, particularly for Adamawa, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, and Ebonyi. Others are Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Osun, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory.

The unmistakable impact of climate change crisis can be felt everywhere in Nigeria.

Ordinarily, heavy rainfall over a short period of time can cause ÁDVK ÁRRGV RU PRGHUDWH UDLQIDOO RYHU VHYHUDO GD\V FDQ RYHUÁRZ ULYHUV RU GDPV $FFRUGLQJ WR 1,+6$ DW OHDVW 32 states and 233 local governments are at high risk RI EHLQJ ÁRRGHG GXH WR KHDY\ GRZQSRXUV GXULQJ WKH ongoing rainy season. There are ominous signs in all these states that the prediction is gradually becoming a reality, considering the intensity of the rains so far and reports of whole communities in some states being submerged by storm water.

Anytime the federal government’s weather agencies SRVW WKHVH SUHGLFWLRQV RI H[WUHPH ÁRRGLQJ WKHUH LV always trepidation triggered by the possibility of a UHSHDW RI WKH ÁRRGV WKDW NLOOHG SHRSOH DQG displaced over 2.1 million people. Estimated damage DQG ORVVHV FDXVHG E\ WKH ÁRRGV ZHUH 1 WULOOLRQ according to the National Emergency Management $JHQF\ 1(0$ 7KLUW\ RI WKH VWDWHV ZHUH DͿHFWHG E\ WKH ÁRRGV EHOLHYHG WR EH WKH ZRUVW LQ \HDUV ,Q other states like Adamawa and Taraba, hundreds of homes and farms were submerged due to the rage of QDWXUH 6LQFH WKHQ WKHUH KDYH EHHQ VHDVRQDO ÁDVK ÁRRGV

during its annual rainy seasons that destroy property in towns and cities and are sometimes lethal, especially in the rural areas and overcrowded slums, where drainage is poor or does not exist at all.

(QYLURQPHQWDOLVWV ÀQG LW SDLQIXOO\ ZRUULVRPH WKDW WKH (FRORJLFDO )XQG WKDW KDV QRW EHHQ HͿHFWLYHO\ deployed over the years since it has achieved too little in terms of adaptation to climatic issues and to mitigation of the problems. It does not make sense as the huge funds do not match the scrawny drains built in communities to lead storm water to nowhere, as they are ill-conceived, poorly designed and programmed to fail for reasons of corruption.

7KH EHQHÀFLDULHV RI WKLV fund are the Ecological )XQG 2΀FH ()2 1DWLRQDO Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) and the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC).

The failure of the Ecological Fund to make a desired impact is also the reason communities in the nation’s coastal areas are being washed away, and it is probably a reason the government is unable to build the treebarrier, known as the Great Green Wall, to keep the desert in check. The avoidable deaths and devastation FDXVHG E\ WKH ÁRRGLQJ LV UHIXVLQJ WR JR DZD\ particularly in the minds and hearts of those who took direct hit. Naturally, the government is known to react to these disasters, but Nigerians wish there would be mitigation plans in anticipation of these unusual nature events.

Considering the dire predictions in the 2022 Flood Outlook, Lagos, and other states, as well as the FCT must audit the plans to make them work better. The federal government, in addition to embarking on massive enlightenment campaigns, must include contingency plans to evacuate people to higher ground, and providing fresh drinking water to avert outbreak of diseases. The damaging impact of global warming can be cushioned by good personal and political decisions.

The damaging impact of global warming can be cushioned by good personal and political decisions

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 HARIRA AND THE WANTON KILLINGS IN THE SOUTH EAST Memory is a tricky thing indeed. It can act like a sponge, soaking up things, and letting them go though it or it can be like a failproof trap that catches everything that comes its way and never relinquishes same. The things that go into the memory can become weaponized consciously or subconsciously. It is why many times, unbidden, some of the images long held in the memory rise and successfully colour reality.

The collective memory of the people of Southeast is indeed a long and scarred one. The perceived injustices which precipitated the Nigerian Civil War have continued to shape not just the mentality of an entire region of Nigeria, but also its relations and engagement with Nigeria. %HFDXVH WKH 1LJHULDQ &LYLO :DU ZKLFK UDJHG EHWZHHQ DQG LV \HW WR FRPSOHWHO\ IDGH LQWR WKH GLVWDQW SDVW WR ZDWFK WKH VHFXrity architecture in the South-East disintegrating is particularly painful because each gunshot and each drop of blood spilled hark back to the days of the Nigerian Civil War. Criminals have recently run amok in the South-East, turning a hitherto peaceful region into a war zone. Almost every other day, people are cut down in cold blood or abducted. The recent abduction and beheading of a member of the Anambra State House of Assem-

bly painted in horrifying strokes the danger that lurks in practically every corner of the South-East especially in Anambra State.

The many iniquitous crimes being perpetrated in Anambra State have links to the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB) who have deliberately fostered an atmosphere of insecurity in their bid to force the release of their leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who is currently in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) and KH FRQWLQXHV WR IDFH WULDO IRU WHUURULVP UHODWHG RͿHQFHV DW WKH )HGHUDO High Court in Abuja.

Public buildings including police stations and local government secretariats have been razed in Anambra State and countless innocent people including security personnel have been mowed down.

As the atrocities accumulate, the IPOB has been careful to distance itself and condemn the atrocities in carefully worded but caustic statements. It then begs the question of who is turning Anambra 6WDWH LQWR D NLOOLQJ ÀHOG In one of the bloodiest day yet, a pregnant Mrs. Harira Jubril was killed in cold blood together with her four children at Isulo in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State on Sunday May 22, 2022. On the same day, there were killings and arson in other parts of the state.

That a woman and her innocent children could be killed in the way she was is as callous as it is condemnable. The brutal killings of Mrs. Harira and her children show that there are some people in Anambra who sing from the same song sheets as the ruthless criminals who patrol the shadowy forests of Borno, Zamfara and Kaduna States. There can be no doubt that whatever their tribe or tongue, these criminals can have no place in Nigeria whatsoever.

7KH\ DUH QRW ÀJKWLQJ IRU DQ\WKLQJ RU DQ\ERG\ 6LPSO\ SXW WKH\ are terrorists – the worst kind there is – and their insatiable bloodlust gives them away as lacking any iota of dignity or humanity.

At the moment, Anambra people feel besieged by the many FULPLQDOV ZKR SRVH DV D SRVVH RI IUHHGRP ÀJKWHUV ,W LV IHDU WKDW makes many seem compliant with the weekly sit-at-home order.

Many people cannot believe what the state has become and is becoming.

7KH DXWKRULWLHV PXVW PRYH VZLIWO\ DQG IRUFHIXOO\ WR ÀVK RXW those who slaughtered Mrs. Harira and her four children. To do otherwise is to give them more time and space to attack more innocent people.

Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com

This

Weekend

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022

TR

UTH

& R E ASO

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WEEKLY MAGAZINE

NEWS Guinness Nigeria Empowers Women, Youths in Osogbo See page 37

ETRENDS Kizz Daniel’s ‘Buga’ Makes Waves Globally See page 38

ART WEEKEND Tales of Trauma in Wana Udobang’s ‘Dirty Laundry’ Show See page 39

POLSCOPE 2023 Presidency: The Contenders and Pretenders See page 40

Temi Popoola: Group Features Editor: CHIEMELIE EZEOBI chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com

07010510430

Fostering Corporate Governance

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COVER

Temi Popoola: Fostering Corporate Governance ÒÏ˿ ÓÑÏÜÓËØ âÍÒËØÑÏ Ó×ÓÞÏΘ˿Ë ÖÏËÎÓØÑ ÖÓÝÞÓØÑ ËØÎ ÞÜËÎÓØÑ ÚÖËÞÐÙÜ× ÓØ ÐÜÓ͢ ÜÏÍÏØÞÖã ÚËÜÞØÏÜÏÎ ÞÒÏ ÓÑÏÜÓËØ ËÜ ÝÝÙÍÓËÞÓÙØ ËØÎ ÞÒÏ ØÝÞÓÞßÞÏ ÙÐ ÓÜÏÍÞÙÜݘ ÞÙ ÖËßØÍÒ ÞÒÏ ÙÜÚÙÜËÞÏ ÙàÏÜØËØÍÏ ÜÓËØÑÖÏ˛˿ ÞÝ˿ ÒÓÏÐ âÏÍßÞÓàÏ ʩÍÏܘ Ï×Ó ÙÚÙÙÖ˘ ÓØ ÞÒÓÝ ÓØÞÏÜàÓÏá áÓÞÒ˿MARY NNAH˜˿ÒÓÑÒÖÓÑÒÞÝ˿ÞÒÏ àËÖßÏ ÙÐ˿ÝÙßØÎ ÍÙÜÚÙÜËÞÏ ÑÙàÏÜØËØÍÏ ÓØ ËÍÒÓÏàÓØÑ ËØ ÏÖÏàËÞÏÎ ÍËÚÓÞËÖ ×ËÜÕÏÞ ËÝ˿ ˜ Ë ÜÏÝÚÙØÝÓÌÖÏ ÙÜÑËØÓÝËÞÓÙؘ˿ÖÏàÏÜËÑÏÝ ÍÙÖÖËÌÙÜËÞÓÙØÝ ÞÙ ËÎàËØÍÏ˿ÍÙÜÚÙÜËÞÏ ÑÙàÏÜØËØÍÏ ÝÞËØÎËÜÎÝ ËØÎ ÚÜËÍÞÓÍÏ ÓØ ÓÑÏÜÓË Tell us about the rationale behind your recent partnership? igerian Exchange Limited (NGX) in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association Section of Business Law (NBA-SBL) and the Institute of Directors, IoD, launched the Corporate Governance Triangle (CGT) in March 2022 to collectively pursue their shared vision and mission of developing and promoting best-in-class corporate governance in Nigeria among members of the business law community, and other corporate stakeholders working in concert with relevant regulators.

CGT was established to leverage the unique positions of the partnering institutions to increase the awareness of corporate governance learnings, orientations, and best practices through stakeholder meetings, interventions, and literature to address contemporary issues surrounding corporate governance practice in Nigeria.

pushing the envelope on existing initiatives aimed at driving corporate integrity such as the Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) for listed companies to cover nonlisted entities.

Each party has a key role to play to ensure that the objectives of the CGT are achieved. The partnership will involve extensive consultation amongst each other, sharing information to collaborate in respect of the Triangle, organise reciprocal capacity development programs for relevant personnel and members of all the Parties.

In addition, the parties will collaborate to identify relevant global and regional developments and topics in corporate governance for inclusion in the curriculum of X-Academy, IoD Nigeria and NBA-SBL’s professional development program(s) and agree on credit hours for participation in the relevant program(s).

As key stakeholders in the corporate world, NGX, NBA-SBL, and IOD are in are uniquely positioned to influence their members, share best practices and develop frameworks that will enhance corporate governance in Nigeria.

The Triangle aims to leverage the combined strength of NGX as the premier platform for raising capital in Nigeria and facilitate a thriving secondary market for the trading of securities, NBA-SBL which works to raise the level of business law practice in Nigeria by engendering the professional development of Nigerian commercial lawyers, and the IoD Nigeria represents and promotes directors to various stakeholders and develops best practice corporate governance intending to enhance the economy for business development.

With the NGX seeking to attract more companies to list on the exchange, how does the launch of the Corporate Governance Triangle enhance this drive?

NGX has remained committed to the highest governance standards, in recognition of its critical role in the capital market ecosystem. Our participation in the CGT positions NGX to leverage the benefits of improved trust and corporate governance, promoting corporate governance across our ecosystem helps to increase investors’ confidence in our platform and, accordingly, provides companies with increased access to a deep pool of domestic, regional, and international investors. In addition, good corporate governance ultimately brings about greater transparency and trust in the Nigerian capital market and positions the Nigerian capital market on a strong pedestal as a leading capital market in the region.

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How does sound corporate governance enable the transparency and trust required to keep the financial system running?

Trust is the fundamental value that keeps the global financial system running. The availability of high-quality financial information of companies is critical to the investment decision-making process. Asset managers, investors and other key stakeholders rely on this information to make informed investment decisions in complying with fiduciary duties toward their clients.

On the other hand, these investing parties rely on the disclosures issued by companies.

A breach in trust by the public concerning the quality and relevance of financial information provided to market participants could have a cascading effect that could result in a global crisis as evidenced in the 2009 subprime mortgage crisis.

Effective corporate governance principles are central to establishing trust within the financial market. These foundational principles drive our aspiration to play a leading role in promoting corporate governance across Nigerian Exchange Limited. As a securities exchange, we recognise our truly unique role as an organization that can foster the growth of long-term sustainable capital by positively influencing our key stakeholders to adopt sustainable business practices, including best practice corporate governance.

What are the major objectives of the Corporate Governance Triangle and what role do they play in the advancement of the Capital Market?

Through the CGT, NGX, NBA-SBL, and IOD will work closely together to collectively foster good corporate governance in Nigeria among members of the business law community and other corporate stakeholders working in concert with relevant regulators. This will be achieved by

How will the CGT propel the innovation and digital transformation that you are leading with the capital market?

Advancements in corporate governance are increasingly leveraged to enable organisations to manage the recent trends in data and information management as business assets while minimizing risks and costs, and leveraging advances in technology.

The digital transformation of the capital market will require the development and expansion of frontiers of corporate governance especially as it applies to new and emerging sectors of the capital market such as fintech, digital currencies, use of Artificial Intelligence, and Machine learning amongst others. NGX will support the CGT in its advances to promote policies aimed at maximizing and improving the capital market’s response to these technological advances while adhering to best practices in corporate governance.

How is the NGX ensuring that activities on the stock market follow all applicable laws and market regulations?

Over the years, NGX has played a leading role in promoting various corporate governance initiatives in the Nigerian market. One leading approach has been through the incorporation of corporate governance principles in NGX’s listing and post-listing requirements.

Our listing and post-listing requirements, including disclosure standards, incorporate various corporate governance principles

“Nigerian Exchange Limited has remained committed to the highest governance standards, in recognition of its critical role in the capital market ecosystem”

and best practices. Therefore, for a company to be listed on NGX’s Premium, Main, and Growth Boards, the company must have demonstrated a strong commitment to high standards of disclosure and corporate governance.

Our Premium Board takes the level of corporate governance to higher standards due to the stringent corporate governance and listing standards required of companies listed on the board. The Premium Board showcases companies that are industry leaders in their sectors and adhere to international best practices on corporate governance.

Our role in monitoring compliance with these requirements is strengthened by the fact that local and international investors often look to NGX to provide a quality mark for its listed companies.

The Corporate Governance Rating System (“CGRS”) implemented for listed companies by NGX Regulation helps to drive adherence with required corporate governance statutes and recommendations.

The CGRS was launched in 2014 through the joint initiative of NGX and The Convention on Business Integrity (“CBI”) with the primary objective of providing a comprehensive, trustworthy d i a g n o s i s of Nigerian companies’ c o r p o r a t e governance and business integrity practices. CGRS rates companies listed on NGX based on indicators such as corporate integrity, corporate compliance, understanding of fiduciary

responsibilities by their directors, and corporate reputation. The rating system covers themes including Business Ethics & Anti-Corruption, Internal & External Audit, and Control, Shareholder & Stakeholder Rights, Board Structure and Responsibilities, and Transparency and Disclosure.

NGX leveraged the CGRS to create the NGX CG Index, a capitalisation-weighted and free float-adjusted index, that tracks the performance of all CGRS-rated companies listed on NGX. Along with other NGX indices, the NGX CG Index allows investors to follow market movements and properly manage their investment portfolios.

CGRS ratings allow our listed companies to differentiate themselves by showing good corporate governance practices and enabling investors to make informed investment decisions.

These ratings form part of the criteria for being listed on NGX’s Premium Board and are a key eligibility requirement for admission to the NGX CG Index.

NGX provides dedicated training and capacity building on corporate governance through the X-Academy, our specialised learning centre, which offers a wide range of courses on corporate governance to capital market participants, investors, and the general public.

Our training programmes and workshops on corporate governance are often geared toward helping participants to understand their respective roles in delivering best practice corporate governance for an organisation thereby promoting the adoption of corporate governance best practices in Nigeria.

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NEWS

Guinness Nigeria Empowers Women, Youths in Osogbo Stories Mary Nnah In line with its commitment to Nigeria’s socio-economic development, Nigeria’s foremost total beverage company, Guinness Nigeria Plc has empowered 90 women with trade assets and simple business training through the company’s Plan W-empowerment programme.

Also, 40 other individuals received seed capital to start up or scale-up their trade through the Orijin-Osun Osogbo partnership empowerment scheme.

Guinness Nigeria’s Corporate Relations Director, Mr. Rotimi Odusola, explained at a two-day event that climaxed at the Palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo that the empowerment programme is

part of the company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives aimed at growing the capacities of the underrepresented in Nigeria, in line with the organisations Society 2030: Spirit of Progress campaign- a 10-year action plan towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Before the Osogbo activity, Odusola said that the Plan W-empowerment initiative had been initiated in the South-East and North-West of Nigeria benefiting over 500 women.

“By investing in more women, we hope to have a sustainable impact in the societies and economies where we operate. The Plan W-empowerment programme aligns with our sustainability plan under the three pillars of

leadership in alcohol in society, building thriving communities, and reducing our environmental impact in the communities where we operate. We believe that the programme, empowering these women, will make a significant contribution to the development of thriving communities in Nigeria” Odusola said.

Commenting on the OrijinOsun Osogbo partnership, Uche Onwudiwe, Marketing Manager, Mainstream Spirit, and RTDs said “empowering men and women living in Osogbo is one of the programmes put in place as part of our expansive yearly sponsorship of the Osun Osogbo festival.

Apart from the thrills that Orijin delivers, we have had wonderful support from the palace since the relationship began last year

ensuring that we continue to inspire people to stay true to who they are, and their roots because that is when they can truly be at their best.

Oba Jimoh Abidemi Oyetunji Olanipekun, the Ataoja of Osogbo, expressed gratitude to Guinness for sponsoring the Osun Osogbo festival under the Orijin brand.

All of the recipients, according to Oba Oyetunji Olanipekun, should make accountability their watchword and ensure that they use the skills they learned throughout the programme to create and grow their businesses.

The recipients, who came from several councils and wards in Osogbo, were taught skills like bookkeeping and accounting that would help them build their enterprises.

KOHLER EXPANDS FRONTIERS IN AFRICA

L-R: Head of Sales, Kohler Africa, Rohit Mehta; Channel Marketing Manager, Kohler Africa, Jane Nwaogu; and Commercial Director, Kohler Africa and the Middle East, Alan Orchard

The 150-year-old iconic brand, KOHLER has expanded its presence throughout Africa to further its philosophy of ‘Gracious Living’ in a rapidly growing continent. Over the last one and a half-century, Kohler has become a global multi-industry brand that designs personalised homewares, providing power solutions and the most luxurious Hospitality Services.

Kohler tries to provide an intimate and customised experience to all its users by designing its products as the epitome of craftsmanship, comfort, and cutting-edge innovation.

With their trusted and consistent history of quality and innovative designs, a new sophisticated matte black collection and Vive faucet design were unveiled at the recently held Kohler Bold event.

The event held at The Wheatbaker Hotel on May 12, 2022 had a remarkable turnout with over 150 attendees including industry leaders, architects, designers, executives, and experts.

The guests enjoyed an immersive experience of the Kohler brand and its latest additions.

The event had a wide range of mind-gasping attractions like the Virtual Reality Experience – an exploring virtual exposé of the exquisite world of Kohler, the Vive Ballet performance, the Kohler History Wall, and many more.

Speaking at the event, the Commercial Director of Kohler Africa, and the Middle East, Alan Orchard, said, “With our compelling propositions, we will make it impossible for our customers to look beyond Kohler.

“If we can get our customer engagement right, we will automatically be the largest brand by value in the continent.

But we are not obsessed with the outcome, we are committed to our customers and engage with them.”

Kohler enjoys standing warm relationships with theArchitect and Developer community globally. It’s not different for Kohler Africa, and the brand intends to continue the well-entrenched engagement process.

“We consider it our responsibility to keep our Architect and Designer partners in line and ahead of customer expectations.

We ensure that they create masterpieces each time they sit L-R: Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun; Orijin-Osun Osogbo, Partnership Empowerment Beneficiary, Mrs. Mujidat Ilori; and to draft a proposal and that their creations are timeless. We ensure that they win.” Orchard added.

Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Rotimi Odusola during the presentation of cheques to beneficiaries at the event Kohler Africa boasts of two exclusive Kohler Experience Stores in Lagos. The experience store in Lekki is in partnership with Sweethome while the VI store is in partnership with WATCO.

Four NYSC Members Emerge Winners of BATN Foundation Farmers for the Future Grant Esther Akinola Four National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members have benefited from the total grant sum of N6.5 million in cash and technical support for emerging winners at the Farmers for the Future Grant competition organised by the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) on May 17, 2022.

Victoria Emmanuel, the CEO of Sokvikia Enterprises, a catfish processing firm located in Kogi State, emerged the overall winner and was awarded the prize of N3 million. The first runner-up prize of N2 million

was awarded to Chidinma Ezeh, the CEO of FarmCAS, an agricultural human resources service organisation, while Paul Ugorji of Swift Fish Farm received the sum of N1 million for finishing third.

The winners were among the six finalists earlier selected from over 20,000 participants who registered for the competition sponsored by the BATN Foundation.

The Farmers for the Future (F4F) Grant is an agricultural entrepreneurship grant designed to support young National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who run viable agri-business, with equity-

free capital and other associated support they may require to upscale their businesses.

The Grant provides access to technical training through a rigorous bootcamp facilitated by subject matter experts. It also provides them access to mentorship with renowned agripreneurs in their areas of interest, and finally, access to finance to upscale their agriculture enterprise.

In his opening address, the outgoing Director-General, NYSC, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, who was represented by the Director, Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Department

(SAED), Alhaja Walida Isa Saddique, expressed his profound appreciation to the management of BATN Foundation for initiating the programme through which corps members are empowered with start-up capital and technical support to establish and scale their chosen agribusinesses.

He noted that the training and technical support received are in tandem with the objectives of the NYSC, which is to build the spirit of self-reliance in the Nigerian youth and encourage them to contribute their quota to the socio-economic development of the country.

NSITF Charges Employers to Put Safety Policies in Workplaces Rebecca Ejifoma The Nigeria Social Insurance Security (NSITF) has called on organisations across the country and the world to put policies in place that support safety and health of employees at work places.

The organisation said this at the Road Walk programme in line with this year’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work on the theme, “Act Together to Build a Positive Safety and Health Culture ‘’.

TheAssistant General Manag-

er/Branch Manager, NSITF, Mr. Daniel Omotayo, recommended that employers should maintain zero tolerance for injuries or death at workplaces.

“Sometimes they are inevitable,” he pointed out while harping on the need for organisations to take responsibility when it occurs.

According to the AGM at the NSITF’s Road Show in Apapa, they aimed to create awareness on the Employee Compensation Scheme. He further highlighted that many employees have sustained injuries or died on the job

while their dependents suffer without compensation.

Hence, Omotayo appealed to firms to register their workers under the Federal Government Environment Compensation Scheme (ECA) for appropriate compensation should there be avoidable injury at work places.

The AGM emphasised: “Nigeria has joined the League of Nations giving social benefits to workers with the signing into law the Employee Compensation ACT, ECAin 2010 precisely on November 17, 2010 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“NSITF and ECA came into operation to provide succour for the employees in case of injury at the workplace.”

Part of the NSITF’s duties include enlightenment campaigns to employees and employers, educating them on the need to maintain safety and health at the workplace.

On her part, the Senior Manager, Claim Unit of NSITF, Apapa Branch, Mrs. Ijeoma Akiri, admitted that the problem becomes enormous once accidents occur as the inflow of notifications and claims come in.

LION DONATES UMBRELLAS TO WOMEN STREET VENDORS Lagos Mainland Legacy Lions Club District 404B2 has donated 20 umbrellas to vegetable sellers at Ajao market in Lagos, as part of its service to humanity.

Members of the club led by the president, Lion Rukevwe Origho-Nwoye said they distributed the 20 specially designed umbrellas with the logo of Lions Club International to empower women.

The club mitigates the difficulties of people like street vendors who are deprived of a roof above their heads while conducting their businesses through sunshine or rain, to have space to display their wares in a conducive atmosphere.

Origho-Nwoye said the gesture is an act in continuation of its service to humanity. They had to make the donations after they carried out a need assessment exercise, they realised that giving umbrellas to women street vendors at the market, would contribute to the women’s welfare.

“They don’t need the stress of staying under the sun or running helter-shelter when it rains. We decided to encourage, the women by distributing the street vendor umbrella to protect them from the sun or rain. “ Nwoye advised the women not to give up, but should be encouraged with their means of survival, adding, “what is happening in our economy today, is disheartening but will always bring succour to his children”.

More so, the Chairperson of the Project, Lion Lillian HarryUka said they saw a need to empower the women after seeing some of them under the sun trying to provide for their families.

Uka stressed that the club is all about serving the needy in society and that was why as a Club, they decided to give its support to the women street vendors at that small market.

She explained that they now have access to shelter with this service project. The club has been able to contribute to society.

She charged the traders to make good use of the facility, through proper maintenance to make it last longer and be beneficial to them.

While handing over the facility to the women, she called on the government to equip small-scale enterprises, as well as give priority to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) owned by women in the country.

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E-TRENDS KIZZ DANIEL’S ‘BUGA’ MAKESWAVESGLOBALLY

MUSIC SHOWBIZ

…Your weekly entertainment delight

NOLLYWOOD

For Her First Solo Art Exhibition, Olubukola Bolarinde Presents 106 Expressions of Art and Fashion Stories by Vanessa Obioha

Kizz Daniel.

Rebecca Ejifoma Kizz Daniel’s latest banger, ‘Buga’, has been rated the world’s top five Afrobeat trending globally. Shazam, an app that identifies music, recently named it the Most Shazamed Song in the world.

“Big congrats to @KizzDaniel!! #Buga is the most Shazamed song in the world,” read a tweet by the music app.

The song’s popularity goes beyond its catchy vibes. The accompanying dance step spurs confidence in listeners.

Since the release of the hit song, social media has been awash with creative skits on Tik Toks, and group performances, with mesmerising jigs and twists to the rhythm.

Buga, which is the lead song on Apple Music’s top 100 in Nigeria and top one among the top 100 on Apple in Kenya, will see the singer perform in Birmingham on Saturday, May 21 as part of his London tour.

Commenting on the outing, the ‘Woju’ crooner expressed, “After the London tour, I’ll still be on the road. I want to connect with my fans worldwide”, adding that the US tour is next. He is expected to tour some parts of Africa, Europe and Australia.

“It’s a great feeling”, he said. “When you put out a masterpiece and the rest of the world accepts it as one, that’s a satisfying feeling right there. And such encourages you to do more.”

In a fortnight, self-taught artist and architect Bukola Bolarinde will be presenting her artworks to audiences in a one-of-its-kind art and fashion exhibition. The exhibition tagged ‘106 Expressions’ is her first solo art exhibition and is curated by the prolific art and culture custodian Nike Davies-Okundaye of the Nike Art Gallery.

‘106 Expressions’ is an intimate display of Bolarinde’s artworks inspired by her experiences from childhood that traverse time and culture. It is a combination of art in different forms. From visual paintings to a fashion display, the exhibition will highlight and celebrate the rich African heritage.

“106 Expressions is a collection of artworks celebrating our African heritage; our people, and our culture. I have drawn inspiration from my experiences as an African child. The works transport you to a place and a time, perceived through an African child’s mind. A different time from the times we now live in. As our world continues to evolve, a great number of our children have not and will never have these experiences,” explained Bolarinde.

Naturally drawn to art in all its forms of expression, Bolarinde has always evinced a passion at an early age. This was demonstrated through her pencil drawings.

Born in Lagos and the second of five children from her parents, Olubukola’s formative years were in the northern part of Nigeria; from Jos to Kaduna and then Zaria. This helped in establishing her unique sense of identity and diversity.

She left Nigeria for the United

Olubukola Bolarinde

Kingdom where she studied Architecture (she gained admission into The School of Architecture, solely on the strength of her art portfolio) and later obtained a Master’s Degree in Environmental Design and Engineering from the prestigious Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL). After qualifying as an Architect, she returned to Nigeria and went on to have a most successful professional career spanning

Tunde Kelani, Joke Silva, Femi Odugbemi Step Out to Celebrate KAP Academy First-ever Graduates

L-R: Filmmaker Tade Ogidan; former D.G., National Theatre Prof. Ahmed Yerima; KAP Academy Founder, Kunle Afolayan; veteran actress, Joke Silva; Chairman AVRS, Mahmood Ali-Balogun; Ace Cinematographer, Tunde Kelani; Keynote Speaker, Femi Odugbemi and Chairman of KAP Academy, Prof. Duro Oni at the graduation ceremony of the first set of KAP Academy-USC-Netflix trainees in Lagos, Monday

Iyke Bede

Recently, some of Nollywood’s biggest names assembled in the cinema arm of the Kunle Afolayan Production (KAP) Film and Television Academy cradled in Ikeja, to mark the auspicious graduation ceremony of its first set of graduates.

The KAP Academy is an initiative affiliated with the University of South California’s (USC) School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) and supported by the international streaming platform Netflix.

The first graduating class comprised 10 trainees who embarked on a 10-week journey to become certified diploma holders in picture editing, with all emerging successful.

With what started as a tour around the facility that housed various production units, Nollywood stakeholders like Joke Silva, Tunde Kelani, Mahmood

Ali-Balogun, Tola Odunsi, and BabatundeAdewale were later ushered into the KAP Cinema where the convocation ceremony held.

The graduates were Toye Peter, Ifeanyi Passion, TodumuAdegoke, Adesuwa Omon, Ugbede Peter, Oyinbra Fegha, Emeka Egbueui, Unyime Patrick, Temitope Folarin and Candace John-Jumbo.

The occasion was chaired by Professor Duro Oni who noted their potential and the significant contribution they will add to the local film industry.

“I have come to realise that editing, lighting and sound have been major causes of concern in Nollywood. Many great scripts have been ruined by poor aspects in those areas. The entry of their graduates today into the industry will no doubt alleviate this challenge and as such make Nigerian films compete more favourably.”

Oni’s insight is reflective of the

driving force behind filmmaker Kunle Afolayan who started the academy as his way of ensuring continuity of excellence in Nigerian filmmakers.

“I hate to say that there was no structure; there was a structure,” Afolayan noted the contribution of past filmmakers whose work was driven by passion. However, you cannot compare Nollywood’s structure to structures in other places around the world. Despite not having those structures from other places, we are still able to do stuff. Our films are now going international.”

He added that he started the training programme to impact and “build a new generation of filmmakers in our little way.”

In alignment with best practices, the academy sourced the expertise of Dough Blush, Stephen Flick and Richard Burton, all of whom have gained international repute for their works in the space.

Artwork by Olubukola Bolarinde

over 25 years; with more than 20 years in key leadership positions across the banking, oil and gas, and telecommunications sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Today, she wears many hats in the creative industry that describe her as a unique storyteller of her time. As a writer, her descriptive prowess as a storyteller is translated through her art.

For the art exhibition, Bolarinde deployed various media such as

acrylics and oils on canvas; the use of rich textures to create pieces that give an illusion of being tactile and three-dimensional and hopes to deliver an immersive experience for viewers. However, what really stands out in the exhibition is her choice of venue, an uncompleted building in the iconic Eko Atlantic City in Lagos. This, she said, will heighten the experience of guests at the exhibition scheduled for June 10.

THE NIGERIA BROADCASTING AWARDS TO REWARD EXCELLENCE IN BROADCAST MEDIA INDUSTRY

tants to the Awards Steering Committee.

“BON is, therefore, organizing The Nigeria Broadcasting Awards (TNBA) to recognize and reward excellence in the Broadcast Media industry,” Ugbe said.

BON and non-BON members are eligible and will have 13 categories. These include Radio Station/ Best Television Station of the Year, Best Radio Station/ Best Television- News in English, Best Radio Station/ Best Television Station-Indigenous Language, Best Radio/ Best Television Station- Original Production in English and Best Radio / Best Television Station-Original Production in Indigenous Language.

They also include awards for Best Radio Best Television Station in Documentary/ Feature in English, Best Radio/ Best Television Station -Documentary/ Feature in Indigenous Language, Best Radio/ Best Television Show in English and Best Radio/ Best Television Show in Indigenous Language.

Others are Newscaster of the Year- Radio/ Television, Reporter of the Year -Radio/ Television, Presenter of the Year - Radio/Television and Special Contributions to the Broadcast Industry.

Murray-Bruce, Chairman of the Awards Steering Committee, expressed hope that the awards will spur broadcast media professionals to greater standards of practice.

BON is the umbrella body of all private, public, commercial and community electronic media organisations in the country and has over 300 broadcast platforms as members.

As a way of recognizing and rewarding excellence in the broadcast media industry, the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) has announced the country’s first industrywide reward and recognition event, The Nigeria Broadcasting Awards (TNBA).

TNBA, scheduled to hold in October, was announced on Tuesday, in Lagos, where the event logo was also unveiled

by BON Chairman, Mr. John Ugbe.

The BON Chairman, who is also Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Nigeria, stated that the awards were instituted to formally celebrate the excellence of broadcast media professionals, responsible for providing daily information, public enlightenment, and entertainment to Nigerians.

He disclosed that the decision to institute TNBA was taken at the BON 76th General Assembly, which approved the composition of the Awards Steering Committee drawn from public and private broadcast media houses under the chairmanship of Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce, President, Silverbird Group.

Ugbe equally announced the appointment of Strategic Outcomes Limited as consul-

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ART WEEKEND

…For pure art enthusiasts

Tales of Trauma in Wana Udobang’s ‘Dirty Laundry’ Show Water and soap may wash off the blood stains from a rape victims’clothes, floors and walls but not the dark memories.

At the‘Dirty Laundry’exhibition inside the new Whitespace, Ikoyi, the multidisciplinary artist, Wana Udobang fondly called Wana Wana interrogates multi-generational stories of sexual abusive, rape and other traumatic experiences using poetry-themed installations. Yinka Olatunbosun reports

T

wo women are washing clothes in basins inside the exhibition hall. A notice on the wall invites others to bring their dirty laundry. A sight of the hung Installations-unframed prints- was a throwback to a time when homes had fabric calendars: our childhood or our parents’.

Wana Udobong, a globe-trotting performer has the mastery of transporting the viewers through trauma, personal experiences of self and others using deftly crafted poetry in mixed-media installations.

A history predates the ‘Dirty Laundry’ exhibition: the spoken word artist performed one of her poems in tears at another part of Ikoyi- Bogobiri House when this idea first struck. She, like many women today, bears the burden of inglorious narratives that the world, at its hypocritical best, doesn’t want to hear in public. In 2013, she released her first spoken-word album titled “Dirty Laundry.’’ With this first solo exhibition, she unleashes a cathartic experience.

“I like to call it a documentation of my personal history and those of others,’’ said Wana at the opening of the show. “But, I didn’t see myself as an artist. And as we grow, we always seek permission in our minds. I kept shoving off the idea to the back of my mind. In 2020, I finally thought of the idea of putting that dirty laundry in public. It is a metaphor of shame; putting your

people feel courage. Silence thrives in loneliness and isolation. There are a lot of things that happened to women and we are encouraged not to talk about it. Everyone is going through the same things in their homes and they are quiet. The violence and assault continue to thrive because we are not talking.

Nothing is changing. If we can all put our dirty laundry out there, then something can start to shift,’’ she said.

When asked if washing dirty laundry in public wouldn’t rob the survivor of personal dignity, Wana responded with rhetorical questions.

“Who determines personal dignity? Who says what is dignified and what is not? I don’t think it is by force to share things. I have always wanted to interrogate the One of the works at the solo show idea of what is dignified, what is classy. When is it dignity and when Yinka Olatunbosun Wana Udobang is it that we are hiding shame? Our culture is preoccupied with perfecbusiness out for everyone to see.’’ is named after my mother and tion or the appearance of perfection. Mitchelle Innocent James also known With support from Ford it is actually about my mother. We are very good performers-we as MitchyJ was still adding some fresh Foundation, the project-having I have written some of these perform perfect families. We cry paints to canvas when this conversation survived the pandemic- comes about five, six and seven years inside,’’ she said. In her view, the started. The portrait seemed amusing alive, beaming light on deeply ago. But it lets you know what culture towards gender-based at first- an image of Jesus draped in an agonising stories of domestic is happening in Nigeria and to violence and abuse of minors needs African traditional robe. It was easy to violence and sexual abuse. the people that those same stories to change – erasing stigma- before think it was about Easter celebrations that Saturday. But James was more conIn ‘Thick Skin,’ the tone seemed that happened in the 80s are also laws can be effective. cerned about the future elections and casual for the weight of the happening now.’’

In 2020, Wana was selected to nerve-wrecking revelation: an The cringe-worthy piece “Epi- participate in the 54th International how we articulate the role of religion uncle molesting a little girl and taph for Girls Who Want to Stay Writing Program Fall Residency in human consciousness.

Titled, ‘Be Luxuriant: Wisdom to A a father making his daughter A Little Longer” is dedicated to at the University of Iowa to join take his supposedly poisoned women who lost their lives to the ranks of notable writers such Beloved Nation,’ the 3-day show was tea. The first-class graduate of violent marriages. No doubt, so- as Elechi Amadi (1973), Cyprian his first solo show. As a graduate of the University for the Creative cial media has helped to amplify Ekwensi (1974), Ola Rotimi (1980), philosophy from the University of Uyo, Arts draws upon personal stories stories of women like these but Femi Osofisan (1986), Niyi Osun- his work is rooted in a careful juxtapose of religion and moral responsibility in to captivate her audience with the experiences are not new. dare (1988) Festus Iyayi (1990), Lola portraits of poetry.

“I hope that in my sharing Shoneyin (1999), Obari Gomba governance. For him, the Jesus persona “The poem called ‘Dorathy’ these experiences in poetry, more (2016) and Tade Ipadeola (2019). is not a symbol of discord that is seen in Christianity today.

“Jesus is a moral teacher. His moral teachings are more prevalent in our time. He propagated the golden rule: do unto others what you want others to do unto you. And love your neighbor as on a wide array of issues ranging yourself. And when you have systems from human rights to the role of and religions, you would see they have religion in the decay of modern-day that element in their beliefs,’’ he began.

African societies. In his painting titled Through his colourful mixed-media ‘Power’, he depicts a domineering portraits, James argued that many poforce in military beret and boxing litical figures have failed to imbibe gloves to represent Nigeria’s past the moral values from their various military regime. religious backgrounds in the way they In the same vein, Uche Uzorka manage public funds. creates narratives that define social “The leaders take funds that belong issues. Using various media in his to the nation and accrue them to themwork, he explores the domino-effects selves. Their families have the best- the from systemic breakdown. Politics, best schools, the best cars. That means the environment, education and cor- they do not lack love. But there is a ruption are some of the recurring distinction between how they treat their themes in his critically acclaimed family members and what they do to body of work. Uzorka’s collection society- their larger family. named ‘Desert Stations: The state of “These works are targeted at this elecaustere’ he paints grim reality in the tion period, to provoke conversation. piece ‘Open borders’, showing how Every day, Nigerians are dying and One of the works at the exhibition the country can easily disintegrate no one is resurrected. But you would and by extension the dislocation that tion. Of course, the police who On his part, Uwagboe is a mul- is occasioned by war, for example celebrate the resurrection of Jesus but the ones whom he died for are suffering. disposed Andu of the cash would tidisciplinary artist whose work, in Ukraine.

You cannot be a patriotic leader if you never know that he was the 2018 early in his career, has inspired him In its gallery statement, AMG cannot love,’’ he said.

Winner of the Art X Prize in 2017 to establish Protest Art Studio, in Projects noted that artists were In his work titled ‘Message to the which propelled his career. At this Lagos. He won a joint grand prize known to have contributed to issues that show, he called his body of works at the National Art Competition, affect the socio-political directions of their South’ the artist reveals that the re‘Is Your Friend (Checkpoint)’ thus NAC, in 2011, organised byAfrican environment. In Twenty Twenty-Three, sources are many but the managers restating the message of the ‘End- Artists Foundation, AAF. Using Uwagboe,AnduandUzorka,whohave are few. The fear is that in the next 20 SARS’ protest and the need for elements of satire, Bob-Nosa “well-documented history of pushing or 30 years, we would be running into reform in governance while his Uwagboe’s art fearlessly defies boundaries through work that is deeply a new form of colonialism because the piece titled ‘Downward’ explores conventional boundaries and rooted in activism will attempt to answer people who are able to manage their social justice in the context of the political correctness. Through quite a number of questions within minds morally and who understand disparity in the use of technology his body of work called ‘Stepping the context of agitation towards a the value of humans in other parts of the world would come back again,’’ in the educational system.

Forward,’ he offers commentary greater Nigeria.” he said.

‘Twenty Twenty-three’ Exhibition Stirs Activism at AMG Projects Gallery Yinka Olatunbosun Artivism. That’s the summary of the body of works by three conscious artists who contemplate Nigeria’s socio-political climate ahead of the 2023 general elections. Bob-Nosa Uwagboe, Habeeb Andu and Uche Uzorka relived on canvas the experience of every conscious citizen of Nigeria where they work and reside.

The show which opened at AMG Projects gallery on April 30 took the viewer on a journey through life in Nigeria and the duty to change the narrative.

Andu was ushered into 2022 by some armed policemen along Ibadan-Ijebu Ode axis. They stopped and searched, demanding for his phone and car keys as he was dragged from the driver’s seat to the bare floor. Without any proof of crime, they asked him to pay N100,000 before he could be released. Surrounded by bush,Andu made a tough decision and parted away with the money. That was broad day robbery- a routine practice along that axis.

His experience of police brutality informed his paintings executed on perforated canvas, using mixed media such as worn or stained school uniform to depict the state of the na-

ARTIST RAISES MORAL QUESTIONS IN ‘BE LUXURIANT’ EXHIBITION

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POLSCOPE

withEddy EddyOdivwri Odivwri with eddy.odivwri@thisdaylive.com,0805 0805306 3069356 9356 eddy.odivwri@thisdaylive.com,

2023 Presidency: The Contenders and Pretenders

t is interesting seeing how politicians have been justling to position themselves in the struggle to become the nation’s president.

Although there are about eighteen political parties in the country, the attention seems to be understandably focused on just two: the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with a foot note attention on African Democratic Congress (ADC), essentially for hosting a platoon of smooth speakers who have no political structures anywhere and may never win elections.

Within the two major parties, it is obvious some are serious, very serious, while some just want to use their buying the expensive Nomination forms as a bargaining chip for a prized appointment after the election has been won by the more serious and committed contenders.

Those who have shown appreciable commitment to the race, I classify as Contenders, while the political “wanna bes”, otherwise called the also-rans, I classify as Pretenders. In the ruling APC, while about unprecedented number of 28 persons had indicated interested in running for the presidency, only about 20 may have submitted their nomination forms. Some of the ministers who had wanted to contest withdrew when they got ultimatum to resign.

But even among those who submitted their forms, some are anything but determined.

In the APC, just about three persons have demonstrated strength and commitment in the race. They include, in that order, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Yemi Osinbajo. The trio have nearly gone round the country wooing delegates and explaining their programmes, selling their candidacy.

But the unsure story about the party seeking a consensus candidate may upset some of the permutations on the field.

I

CHIBUIKE ROTIMI AMAECHI, His track record of performances, as Speaker, governor, minister, Director General of Buhari Campaign organisation etc., his young age, plus his adroit disposition to every assigned duty have helped to tick all the boxes of fitness for the job. Being a peripheral Igbo man, from Rivers State, will also help push his argument for zonal consideration. He has reached out to almost all the state delegates, just as his legislative and executive experiences are likely to count for him.

BOLA AHMED TINUBU Famously described as the National Leader

Amaechi

of the APC, Tinubu comes with a truckload of governance experience. As former Lagos State governor and former senator, he sure qualifies for the job. His added advantage being the mythical belief that he has a huge and inexhaustible financial war chest, an edge that sometimes is his problem as many people doubt his source of wealth, if not from government. He has literally criss-crossed the length and breadth of the country to canvass votes to achieve his “life long” ambition. He is believed to have a well serviced nation-wide network of supporters.

But many are wary about his age, educational background and his health, but in the face of heavy quid rain, delegates may not mind any drawback—real or perceived.

YEMI OSINBAJO He is the sitting Vice President, a political scion of Bola Tinubu. His on-the-job experience should count for him but he is considered a political neophyte, having not been a known politician ere 2015. His erudition and evident intelligence, as a law professor, Senior

Advocate of Nigeria and a pastor are some of his Unique Selling Points. He has shown more than a passing commitment in the pursuit of his ambition, as he traversed nearly all nooks and cranny of the country in soliciting for support from the delegates, many of whom do not really know him (beyond his official tag) and vice versa. Even then, coming from the same geo-political and hitherto political family with Tinubu, will surely vitiate his victory at the primary.

The pretenders in this party are the likes of Emeka Nwajiuba, Ogbonnaya Onu, Dave Umahi, Ken Nnamani, Rochas Okorocha (now in EFCC net) all of whom are from the South East, but have not shown seriousness in the pursuit of their presidential dream. Except Umahi whose TV adverts on his being voted Man of the Year by a national newspaper, there is no evidence of his solicitation of support of delegates’ votes outside his Ebonyi State.

It is not sure what they are banking on.

Other Pretenders from South West are Kayode Fayemi, Ibikunle Amosun, Tunde Bakare, Ajayi Boroffice, Dimeji Bankole. Except Fayemi who had made some measly efforts in consulting some delegates in a few states, while admitting that he is not a “money bag”, none of the other aspirants from the South West made any readable or visible effort in going for the crown. They may have just added to the banal demography of road-side aspirants. Meanwhile, the likes of Ben Ayade, Godswill Akpabio, Yahaya Bello, Ahmad Lawan, Sani Yerima etc., may have served as mere political outliers, who came to swell the vault of the APC with their N100 million nomination fee, as their carts are not ever likely to fly.

In the same vein, the PDP parades contenders and pretenders. While the contenders are the likes of (in that order) Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki, Nyesom Wike, the pretenders are Sam Ohabunwa, Ayo Fayose, Cosmas Ndukwe, Udom Emmanuel and Aminu Tambuwal.

Others include Bala Mohammed, Dele Momodu, Chikwendu Kalu, Anyim Pius Anyim and Mohammed HayatuDeen. Many of the pretenders have not even shown a whimperish effort to sell themselves.

Peter Obi--- Somebody recently wrote on Facebook concerning Peter Obi: Win or lose, Peter Obi has made all the points. He appears the most prized aspirant of the PDP,

not so much on the number of states he has covered, but in the quality and content of his presentations. He sure knows his onions. His sparkling records as Anambra governor, plus his ascetic simplicity and deep knowledge of the economy, and scandal-free records, make Obi a star in the pack. Not for him the politically correct dress codes of every region/state. He has remained consistent on his simple safari anytime, saying everything that makes sense convincingly.

Sadly however, Obi has not only been choked out of the party by the ‘rough riders’, he has pulled out of the race, but vowed to maintain his determination to rescue Nigeria “even if the route differs”.

ATIKU ABUBAKAR He had contested so many times but has hardly won, save the governorship of Adamawa State in 1999, a victory that shot him into the presidency as Vice President to then President Olusegun Obasanjo. He has controversial political profile, but believed to not only have wealth of governance experience, but also a deep pocket. He had striven most in contacting delegates across board.

Bukola Saraki – Not many thought he was exactly serious with the plan to run. He comes with a legislative and executive experience in public governance, having been a state governor and a former Senate President. He is one of them who has shown commitment in the race, as he travelled to many states in a bid to win more delegates’ support. It is not certain how much inroad he made. Beside his controversial past, he is not believed to have a wide national network, beyond the firm grip he has on his home state, Kwara. Being young and well educated may however count in his favour, if the race is not reduced to the contest of financial buccaneers.

NYESOM WIKE The sitting governor of Rivers State is among those who travelled most across the length and breadth of the country in furtherance of his presidential bid. Yes, he talks practical things, many fear he lacks the finesse and nicety of the great off ice of a nation’s presidency. Considered garrulous, crude, brusque and tempestuous, his political wizardry may not over-ride his publicly acknowledged deficits, even though he is believed to have a huge financial war chest, what with the recent declaration as a wanted person (by EFCC) of the Accountant General of his state, Fubara Siminayi alleged fraud to the tune of N435 billion. Curiously, he is the aspirant Gov Wike sponsored to succeed him. It tells a story.

Gov Sanwo-Olu and the Okada Ban

fter months and years of dithering, Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State finally summoned the courage to do the long awaited needful: ban the Okada riders from the streets of Lagos. This was penultimate Wednesday. It would take effect June 1. But he stopped short of a comprehensive ban. It would appear he wanted to test the waters by effecting the ban in just six out of the twenty Local Government Areas of the state, “for now”. More than two- third of the state would still have to contend with the menace and plague called Okada riders, until such a time the spirit would minister action to the governor again. Lagosians just hope it won’t be after the 2023 election.

I had wondered deep why Gov Sanwa-Olu had paid deaf ears to the hue and cry of Lagosians all the while about the menace and undeserved defacement of the Centre of Excellence with the hordes and hordes of the Motor cycle riders in the state. It was everything but supportive of the status of a Centre of Excellence or Mega City niche which the Lagos Government is keen on profiling the state with. How could a good-thinking governor live with the scourge and nuisancy of the Okada riders all along?

Was Gov Sanwo-Olu considering the political usefulness of the Okada riders during elections, as a reason for not coming hard on them? Well, the action of penultimate Wednesday has shown that he was not being held back by political considerations, after all, the elections are less than a year away.

Sad as the needless death of David Sunday Imoh in the hands of Okada riders was, it seemed

A

Gov Sanwo-Olu

to have been what was needed to rouse up the action in Gov Sanwo-Olu. The said David Sunday Imoh, a sound engineer, was lynched to death and burnt by a team of Okada riders in the Lekki area of Lagos, on May 12, over disagreement on the fare charged by the motorcyclists.

So, Lagosians are happy with the ban, but cannot wait for the extension of the ban to the entire Lagos state, or at least the metro region.

Even more gratifying is the fact that the feared ethnic interpretation is clearly out of it, as even the Arewa group in Lagos has issued a statement

supporting the ban. Everybody is tired to the hilt of these ill-skilled, trouble vendors called Okada riders.

Indeed, the ubiquitous spread of motor cycles, everywhere you turn in the state, does not portray the state as decent and orderly as it ought.

In all my travels, perhaps the only place I have seen an army of motor cyclists like that is in Ho Chi Minh city, in Vietnam. But even at that, they are more disciplined in riding it, as they observe the traffic rules and respect other road users. But inherent in their case, as in ours, is that the bikes are vehicles of crime and criminality.

The fact that many of the 37,000 riders of motor cycles in Lagos are largely illiterate and know nothing about traffic signs should make government worry about the effect of such riders.

Not surprisingly, the number of road accidents caused by the Okada riders in Lagos is huge. So huge that an entire ward at the Igbobi Orthopaedic hospital is code named Okada ward, as the ward is occupied mainly by victims of Okada accidents, as many of them have broken limbs, ligaments and general fracture. But the greater trouble is the security issue the Okada riders pose. Many of them go about with arms. They have daggers and other dangerous weapons tucked away in their foul sweat-scented clothes.

Because they are not educated, they have no idea about traffic rules. Thus, they could be running against traffic, they do not understand/ obey traffic lights, and in their blind haste they run into other motorists. Yet, even their victims will soon be swamped by dozens of their ilk, in a vexatious class solidarity---the type that killed David. Many of the bike riders do nor have

registered motor cycles, just as many of them are not even Nigerians. Many of them are from Niger, Chad, Mali etc. That itself is a risk, as they cannot be traced when they commit crimes. How they got into the country remains an issue only the Immigration service can explain.

The demography of the Okada riders, put at 37,000 is worrisome. No doubt, many of them are youths from the northern part of the country, fleeing from the harsh terrorist acts in that part of the country. More than 90% are homeless. So, beside the security concern they cause, they also do not help matters in maintaining environmental sanity, as they defecate and mess up where ever they hibernate.

Those who argue that they assist in movements from one point to another in Lagos, speak as if we did not live peacefully in Lagos before the advent of Okada. Did we always use Okada in Lagos? It is comforting that there are today, mini buses (aka Korope) and even tricycles (aka Keke Marwa) on Lagos streets. We can do without the Okada riders. A little walk from the bus stops to our homes will not kill us. It is good exercise.

Those who live in London, America, and many parts of Europe where Okada riders do not operate are living well and healthily.

Yes, may of the riders survive on the operations of those bikes. Government can create farms where they can work and earn a living. Some of them can be trained to drive the many buses government has provided as substitutes to the Okada bikes. Former Governor Babatunde Fashola did ban them (from some roads) but all those laws have all been subverted now. We surely cannot continue the way we have been going.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY MAY 27, 2022

IMAGES

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

L-R: Public Relation Officer/First Trustee Arik Airline, Uchechi Ogbonna; General Secretary, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Frances Akinjole; General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Ocheme Aba; and Senior Organisation Secretary, NUATE, Augustus Arokoyo, during a press conference by ATSSAN and NUATE, on the activities between Aero Contractor and Arik Air at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos...recently PHOTO: KOLAWOLE ALLI

L-R: Book Reviewer, Prof. Dominic Badaiki (SAN); Hajia Sefiat Musa Elakama; Special Guest/Book Reviewer, Mr. Eghosa Imade; the author, Prof Lance Musa Elakama; Guests, Sir Ike Onyechi and Dr. Michal Fadeyi, during a book launch by Prof. Elakama in Ikeja, Lagos...recently

Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya (left), receiving the Leadership Governor of the Year Award 2021 from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, during the 2021 Leadership Annual Conference and Awards in Abuja...recently

L-R: Public Relations Lead, 9mobile, Chineze Amanfo; Convener, Girls in ICT, Ufuoma Emuophedaro; and Manager, IT Production Support, 9mobile, Mofoluke Ojo, during an event to mark ‘Int’l Girls in ICT Day 2022’, in Lagos...recently

L-R: Deputy Brand Manager, Lush Hair, Oluwadamilola Agboola; Lagos State President, Nigerian Association of Hairdressers, Barbers and Cosmetologists (NASHCO), Mr. Michael Onyeanu; Life Matron, NASHCO, Chief Mrs. Elizabeth Osinsanya; Marketing Supervisor, Lush Hair, Bridget Elue; and National President, NASHCO, Chief Mrs. Betty Ejiro Ishoka, during the celebration of NASHCO 44th year anniversary in Lagos...recently PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda; Chief Executive Officer, Equiti Group Limited, Mr. Mohamed Alahmad, and Managing Director, Strategy, Equiti Group Limited, Mr. Gaurang Desai, during a meeting between SEC and Equiti Group Limited in Abuja...recently

L-R: Deputy Country Director and Investment Officer, UK Department of International Trade (DIT), Morayo Adekunle; Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Baker Magunda; UK Minister for Exports and Equalities, Mike Freer MP; Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Rotimi Odusola; British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn-Jones; and Country Director, DIT, Chim Chalemera, after a tour of the Guinness Nigeria factory during the UK delegation’s visit to the Guinness site in Ogba, Lagos...recently

L-R: Founder/Chief Executive Officer, SecureID Limited, Mrs. Kofo Akinkugbe; President Muhammadu Buhari, and Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, during the conferment of National Productivity Order of Merit Award at Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja...recently

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ MAY 27, 2022

42

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Yusuf: CBN Disbursed N40bn to IKEDC, Commends Pace of Lagos Rail Projects Nume Ekeghe The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that it disbursed N40 billion to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC),through it’s Real Sector Support Facility Discretionary Cash Reserve Ratio (RSSF- DCRR) to aide IKEDC’s mass metering projects and other developmental projects to enhance electricity distribution and productivity.

The Director, Development Finance Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Philip Yila Yusuf, disclosed during the CBNs on-site monitoring and evaluation of Eko Electricity Distribution Company, and the Red and Blue rail projects in Lagos yesterday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the tour, he said: “ Ikeja Disco across the various interventions, in excess of N40 billion has been disbursed to them and we’ve seen how they’ve utilised the funds for, we’re happy and we are proud with some of the facilities that we

see on ground.

“I’m really impressed because, you know, take for instance, initial mass production program, they’ve exceeded the 106,000 meter target that was set for them by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).”

He commended the IKEDC management and said the apex bank would continue to support as long as they continue to meet all its requirements.

Furthermore, he added: “The central bank as part of this development, finance efforts does disburse funds to different sectors for energy as part of our N8.8 trillion portfolio, 24 per cent has gone into this sector.”

Speaking on the blue and red rail projects which the CBN financed with N60 billion, he noted that the Managing director revealed the rail stations has the capacity to convene 750,000 to 1 million people daily which would have a vast multiplier effect on the economy of

Lagos.

He said; “We look forward to its completion next year.

The Managing Director Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority(LAMATA) has also given us a briefing that it is expected convene between 750,000 to 1 million passengers daily on the line and that’s huge. As a central bank, that is significant as it will contribute to output in the country. I look to a situation where other states will emulate the kind of infrastructure we see here. Because really, without infrastructure, you cannot move on the path of development.

“It’s in multiple financing Lagos state government is getting. We are lending through the banks to them and for the blue line, we given them N60 billion. I mean, for me, it’s not the disbursement the scale of the project and what has been done. You can see lots of jobs, you can see It’s almost done and I look forward to at the end of Q1 2023.”

L-R: Group Head, Projects & Structured Finance, Access Bank,Seun Olufeko and Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda during Yuguda’s visit to Access Bank’s pavilion at the West African Capital Market Conference held in Accra Ghana... recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021

Relief as BoI Moves to De-risk, Improve Lending to SMEs in 2021

Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

James Emejo ÓØ ÌßÔË

-- 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

The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Olukayode Pitan, has said it would advance more money to customers this year.

He also said though the bank had not done much in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) space in terms of lending support, it is however working to de-risk the sector in order to give opportunities to small businesses amidst the current challenging economic situation.

He said, “So expect to see more disbursements to SMEs this year from the BoI”.

Pitan, in an interview with THISDAY said, the development finance institution is also working with the federal government to see how it could improve the lives of Nigerians by allow-

ing them access to affordable financing.

He said global developments including the rising inflation arising from supply chain disruption occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine war, had made it inevitable for the BoI to respond to the plight of Nigerian businesses by advancing more money to customers this year.

According to him, “The events happening in Russia and Ukraine affect everyone.

Nigerian import is more of fertilizer form Ukraine and that affects the price, a lot of iron and steel from construction companies in Ukraine which will be affected. The wheat which we use in our bakeries including flours in making bread is already affected and it’s likely the prices will go further up if Ukraine is not able to export

its harvest this year.

“So, Nigeria has to be prepared because we have a large population and it is affecting the cost of food and that is higher inflation.

All of these are part of our plans for the year and we are going to work with the government, the central bank, the ministry of finance to see how we can make life better for our people.”

The BoI boss said,” Our customer base cuts across; we do support a lot of the micro and medium enterprises but most of our loans are in the large enterprises because the loan size is bigger. “But we are doing a lot in the SMEs space and we have spoken to government and trying to de-risk lending to that area; and giving us some of the money to use to de-risk the sector.”

Evercare Hospital Lekki Becomes First EDGE-Certified Hospital in Nigeria Oluchi Chibuzor Evercare Hospital Lekki has made history as the first hospital in Nigeria to receive Final EDGE Certification as a resourceefficient and environmentally friendly designed building healthcare project.

Sintali-SGS, an environmental certification body and global certification partner for the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) EDGE green building program, said Evercare Hospital Lekki’s resource-efficient design achieved 38.81 per cent reduction in energy usage, 20.50 per cent in water consumption and 42.07 per cent in materials’ embodied energy compared to a local benchmark.

Evercare Hospital Lekki, a modern, 165-bed purposebuilt multi-specialty, tertiary care private state-of-the-art hospital is located at Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria. It is part of the Evercare Group of hospitals which provide integrated healthcare delivery services in emerging markets across Africa and South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Kenya.

The hospital offers care across a range of specialty medical and surgical services and is delivering high quality, and accessible healthcare to communities in Lagos.

“We are excited that Evercare Hospital Lekki has achieved Final EDGE Certification. This milestone is testimonial to the hospital’s vision for leading sustainable change in Nigeria’s health care industry. It also shows that it is possible for hospitals, which consume 2.5 times the energy of an equivalent commercial building, to provide enhanced care for its patients as well the planet,” IFC EDGE Green Building Market Transformation Program, Corinne Figueredo said at an event held in Lagos.

“Hospitals are where people go to get better and the comfort and ambience of it can fast track healing in a placebo-like effect. We are happy to work with EDGE towards ensuring that our hospital provides quality and advanced medical and healthcare services to Nigerians in an environmentally friendly environment.

“This is because, we believe that medical facilities can provide state-of-the-art treatment while minimising energy and water use if the right decisions are made at the design stage.

Additionally, this will help us cut operational costs. Working with EDGE, we have been able to target those areas where technologies can significantly reduce energy bills and help facility managers stay within tight budgets,” CEO Evercare Hospital Lekki, Rajeev Bhandari said.

An innovation of IFC, EDGE helps property developers to build and brand green in a fast, easy, and affordable way. EDGE is supported by free software that encourages solutions to reduce energy, water and the energy used to make building materials by at least 20 per cent, which is the standard for EDGE certification.

The program has been generously supported by the following partners: Austria, Canada, Denmark, ESMAP, EU, Finland, GEF, Hungary, Japan, United Kingdom, and Switzerland. For more information, visit www. edgebuildings.com.

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT MONDAY MAY 23, 2022

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $114.79 a barrel on Friday, compared with $112.04 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).

43

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͱ͵˜ ͰͮͰͰ

Caverton Group Records 16% Growth in Total Assets to N78.3bn

Kayode Tokede

Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, has announced a 16 per cent growth in its assets base from N67.51billion in the financial year ended December 31, 2021 to N78.33billion in the same period in 2021.

The increase in the Group’s Total Assets in the review audited financial year was attributed to its capabilities to

weather the prevailing economic storm in the period and move forward stronger and better.

The Caverton Group’s Asset base has enjoyed consistent growth in the last five years.

Total Assets grew from N46.25billion as at the end of the financial year in 2017 to N57.98billion in 2018 and further moved to N65.84billion in 2019. Despite the scourge of the Covid-19 in the 2020

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

financial year, Total Assets attained N67.51billion.

Relatedly, the Group’s Total Annual Revenue maintained a consistent growth in five years (2017-2021) from N20.54billion in 2017 to N34.76billion as at December 31, 2021.

Total revenue stood at N33.21billion in 2018 and grew to N34.98billion in 2019. In the Covid year, 2020, growth remained positive, albeit

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

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marginal drop to N32.17billion.

Meanwhile, Profit after Tax (PAT), which recorded a positive growth until 2019, witnessed a drop in 2020 due to Covid impact. However, PAT dropped into the negative threshold in the review financial year ended December 31, 2021. PAT stood at -4.34billion as at December 31,2021 as against N1.18billion in 2020.

Speaking about the group’s

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

performance during the Annual General Meeting (AGM), held by proxy in Lagos, Chief Executive Officer, Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, Mr. Olabode Makanjuola, said: “ Despite the poor results, Caverton was able to utilize its cash reserves to accommodate the losses and remains cautiously optimistic for improved fortunes for shareholders in the coming year(s).”

O F

Also commenting on the results, Chairman, Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, Aderemi Makanjuola said the Group remain focused as the leading provider of oil and gas logistics in the Nigerian oil sector. He disclosed that Caverton will continue to strive to provide safe and efficient service to its clients whilst utilising its reserves to accommodate the accrued loss recorded in 2021.

2 6 / 0 5 / 2 0 2 2 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022

44

FOCUS

FirstBank Bounces Back to its Leadership Position, Delivers a Fantastic Performance in 2021

As financial market analysts continue to digest the 2021 financial results of the FirstBank Limited, which they say reflect the return of the banking conglomerate to its leadership position, Festus Akanbi writes that the regime of strong fundamentals which the robust performance represents is in tandem with the ongoing restructuring being midwifed by the current board and management of the company

T

commensurate with the size of its business capabilities of its people.

And for the shareholders of the company, it was a harvest time with N12.56 billion set aside as divided, about 8.3 percent of the total net earnings recorded in 2021.

A capital market analyst, Mr. David Edobor explained that the major transformation in First Bank, as evident in its mouth-watering performance should be attributed to the doggedness and determination of the new leadership of the bank. His view was corroborated by a source from the company who explained that the performance was driven by a relentless focus on the needs of customers and improving the competitiveness of the bank’s offerings.

“We have sharpened our “Go to Market” approach to better leverage the opportunities which our large scale provides, in addition to becoming more relevant to our clients by improving our value propositions.”

Over the years, FirstBank has been able to grow customer accounts from about 10 million in 2015 to over 36 million (including digital wallets). It also became the secondlargest issuer of cards in Africa with over 11.8million issued cards, onboard over 18.6 million active customers on First Bank digital banking platforms.

he Nigerian investing community was held spellbound earlier in the week when First Bank released its much-awaited 2021 financial statements to the public, showing a stellar performance, especially in its banking subsidiary, which is said to be indicative of its strong recovery from its hitherto dwindling financial position.

Banking and capital market analysts, in their immediate reactions, said the impressive results signpost a regime of strong fundamentals after a period of restructuring by the leadership of the bank.

RECORD PERFORMANCE

One remarkable feature of this result is the fact that for the first time, the bank was able to cross the threshold of N100 billion profit as it declared a Profit After Tax of N130.9billion, a 77.9 per cent improvement over the previous year’s figure of N73.6 billion. The new figure which represents the best result in more than a decade of history of the bank shows a clear departure from results for previous years.

THE SCORECARD

To mitigate the effect of the low-interest rate on investment securities and revenue generation, the bank was said to have intensified deposit mobilisation and funding strategy to support enhanced loan growth at optimised rates leading to a 5.7% increase in interest expense to N140.8 billion as against N133.2 billion in December 2020.

During the period, non-interest revenue grew by 96.1% to N364.6 billion as against N185.9 billion in the preceding year on the back of increased fees and commission income, treasury activities, and other operating income.

According to a report by Nairametrics, in its bid to further enhance its revenue generation capacity, First Pension Custodian Limited, a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, entered into a definitive agreement with Access Bank Plc for the planned acquisition of the entire share capital of Access Pension Fund Custodian Limited held by Access Bank Plc. This, according to the management of the bank will further boost its market share in the industry, aid revenue diversification, and support annuity income.

The bank says it will continue to create quality loans with a focus on retail lending driven by technology as it continues to grow non-interest income to further diversify revenue.

To show for the relentless efforts of the board and management of the bank, deposits from customers increased by 19.5% y-o-y to N5.9 trillion (Dec 2020: N4.9 trillion) reaffirming the bank’s strong market access and robust funding base.

A statement from the bank said, “Our investment in agent banking, digitalisation, and deployment of digital platforms which our customers have adopted, improved customer penetration and deepened our solid retail franchise. This continues to provide us with access to stable funding, reducing our cost of fund ratio to 2.1% (Dec 2020: 2.3%) while supporting the float of our current and savings account at 91.2% (First Bank of Nigeria).”

In the same vein, total assets grew 16.2% y-o-y to N8.9trillion as against N7.7trillion in 2020, driven by a 30.0% y-o-y increase in customer loans and 26.3% increase y-o-y in investment securities. Cash and balances with Central Banks, loans to banks & customers, and investment securities constitute 87.2% of total assets (Dec 2020: 83.4%).

“With a cleaner balance sheet and resilient earnings-generating capacity, FirstBank (Nigeria) was able to accrete capital buffers from organic earnings. Hence, despite the increase in loans and advances, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained steady, marginally increasing to 17.4% (Dec 2020:

NEW HANDS, NEW CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE

CEO, First Bank Limited, Adesola Adeduntan 17.0%),” the report said.

Meanwhile, the audited report for the group indicated an impressive double-digit growth in the top line and the bottom line. Gross earnings rose from N590.66 billion in 2020 to N757.30 billion in 2021. Profit before tax doubled by 99.1 per cent to N166.66 billion in 2021 as against N83.7 billion in 2020. Profit after tax grew by 68.4 per cent from N75.6 billion to N151.079 billion. Earnings per share thus increased from N2.45 in 2021 to N4.17 in 2021.

Its balance sheet also gives cause for joy to its stakeholders as its total assets rose from N7.69 trillion in 2020 to N8.93 trillion in 2021. Customers’ deposits grew to N5.85 trillion in 2021 as against N4.9 trillion in 2020.

Loans and advances to customers also improved from N2.21 trillion to N2.88 trillion. With total liabilities rising from N6.92 trillion to N8.05 trillion, shareholders’ funds increased from N765.17 billion in 2020 to N879.86 billion in 2021.

A quick analysis of the performance shows a progressive trajectory that has portrayed First Bank as an organisation that has recovered from past episodic challenges that led to a change of baton at its board level.

Analysts are quick to point at the recent restructuring exercise in the organisation as the launchpad for the excellent balance sheet operations which translated into a 30.3 per cent rise in its gross earnings, while total assets and customer deposits rose by 15.9 per cent and 19.5 per cent respectively.

The audited report also confirmed Mr. Femi Otedola as the largest individual

shareholder of the group, with total direct and indirect shareholdings of 7.57 per cent.

FALL IN NPLS, BOOST TO PROFITABILITY

For a bank that was almost brought to its knees by the burden of non-performing loans, it came as a great relief to both the shareholders and the regulatory authorities that for the first time in a long while, First Bank’s NPLs came down to 6.1 per cent, significant progress for the bank when compared to other Tier 1 banks and the regulatory threshold of 5.0per cent.

Analysts also attributed the significant fall in the NPL rates from 40 in 2016 to 6.5 per cent in 2021, to a new culture of corporate governance currently in place in the group and which has successfully revamped the company’s risk management capabilities.

According to the bank, the recent turnaround and improvement in the non-performing loans have been a major boost in FirstBank’s quest to improve profitability and reinforce its leadership in the financial services industry in Nigeria.

Analysts said with the impressive results for its 2021 operations, the board and management of FBN have proven to the investing community that the company is ready to take its leadership role in the nation’s banking sector and that the years of locusts have been put behind the institution.

A TRANSITION TO SUSTAINED GROWTH

In their view, First Bank, with these impressive results has demonstrated the fact that is transitioning into a sustained growth phase and delivering performance

Market watchers said although some of the impressive figures represented the performance of the bank before the coming of the current leadership, analysts said the good news coming from the organisation will greatly challenge the incumbent board and management to push the frontier of excellent performance in the company.

It would be recalled that the bank was able to stabilise after a leadership tussle at the board level. However, with the triumph of Adeduntan and his return to his post, the foremost bank has been recording stellar performances.

Part of the changes was the emergence of the chairman of Geregu Power Plc, Femi Otedola as the highest single shareholder of the company.

An elated Chief Executive Officer of First Bank, the banking arm of the holding company, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, described the success of the commercial banking business as the beginning of the transition into a sustained growth phase.

He said, “Following years of strategic restructuring of the Bank’s balance sheet and operations, the Commercial Banking business is beginning to transition into a sustained growth phase delivering performance commensurate to the size of our business and capabilities of our people. Profit before tax is up 77.9%, gross earnings 30.3%, total assets 15.9%, and customer deposits up 19.5%.”

This performance, according to him, was driven by a relentless focus on the needs of customers and improving the competitiveness of the bank’s offerings.

“We have sharpened our ‘Go To Market’ approach to better leverage the opportunities which our large scale provides in addition to becoming more relevant to our clients by improving our value propositions.

“This performance is also in line with the Bank’s Quantum Profitability Leap agenda which seeks to ensure that we fully maximise the revenue-generating capacity of our business to boost the bottom line and fulfil the expectations of all stakeholders in the business,” Adeduntan stated.

FirstBank engages in the business of commercial banking and has many subsidiaries that focus on international commercial banking, trusteeship, capital markets, pension fund custodianship, mortgage financing, insurance brokerage, and management of SMIEIS fund investments, small-scale banking, and bureau de change activities.

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PERSPECTIVE

Crunch Time as PDP Decides Who Will Rescue Nigeria’s Sinking Ship

By Dr. Malik Abdurahman If the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, thinks it is going to sell Nigerians another dummy, it should do a rethink because Nigeria needs PDP now more than ever. Whereas democracy is about popular choices and participation, it is increasingly becoming debatable, whether or not party members, not nuanced in the general make up of the larger ecosystem where their choice of candidate to fly the party’s flag, and would face a competition that is neither indexed in sentiments or sheer cheap talk, are properly guided to ensure victory in the general election.

By now, it should be clear to those PDP leaders and members who are not cognitively distant - that is, those who know and understand how to win the general election - that their party needs critical thinking to arrive at who becomes its presidential candidate.

Chanting the mantra of zoning without the corresponding benefit of vote count would mean nothing.

Mounting the platform and rehashing the time-worn phrase of past exploits that did not amount to anything in terms of electoral victory, will never translate to electability for a candidate.

Again, threatening other aspirants and demarketing them only goes to show an aspirants disdain for courtesy and his abhorrence of decency.

Yet, in all these, the PDP must make its choice - and a good one at that.

No doubt, the push for zoning can never be discounted. It’s a good push. But all pushes do not necessarily translate to electoral victory.

Take it or leave it, the present structure of PDP places it at a disadvantage in terms of accruable demography either in the North or the South. Therefore, its candidate must be one without the baggage of age, corruption blemish and needless faux paux.

Let me explain: Firstly, it is becoming obvious that Peter Obi possesses the skills and mental alertness to become a good president. But how strong is he in the party among delegates and the establishment? A good cruncher of the numbers, Obi is well versed in the polemics of political economy as well as its practicalities. That he governed Anambra State at a time the state was in need of stability, which he provided, is a pointer to what a Peter Obi can do for Nigeria. Yet, the malady and carnage being wrought by unknown gunmen of the South East cast a pall on his ambition. Worse, the recent killing of Fatimah and her children in the South East last week by these beasts sends a message of hate. Some would argue about the murders of Boko Haram in the North at a time when Buhari was canvassing for votes, but the near-total condemnation of Boko Haram terrorists is a far cry from the very loud silence of Igbo leaders against terrorists called unknown gunmen. Obi’s blueprint is enviable but is he connecting with the right delegates as against the street excitement that his aspiration is generating?

Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (NEW), the Rivers State governor, packs a punch in terms of a war chest.

He has worked hard and has moved round

PDP Chairman, Ayu and is not short of determination. In fact, were elections to be won simply based on theatrics and show of bravado, Wike would be PDP’s candidate. But strategic thinking, emotional intelligence and an appreciation of the ethos of cosequence management are qualities that appear to suffer discounts here. Add to this, his hollow mobilisation speeches, bereft of strategic ideas that can move Nigeria forward. ‘Give me power’ has become his Swan song.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and presidential candidate of PDP in 2019, is not an unknown quantity. He appropriates PDP’s 12 million votes in 2019 as his and, therefore, insists he’s the best candidate.

Yes, Atiku has name recognition but that is also his albatross because of the perception deficit his former boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has created in the realm of corruption. It will dog his every appearance as it did in 2019. Is he electable?

The result of his past participation in the race has not birthed the important fruit.

Can PDP ignore him? Of course not. He has become an important entity in the party and must be respected and carried along.

A Wike, with his bluntness and fire-spitting mien would energise any PDP Presidential campaign, just as an Atiku on a campaign platform would add the needed gravitas.

Yet, in this mix, we also have an Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) who moved from PDP to APC and back to PDP. Whereas, as Senate

President, he demonstrated how well, walking across the aisle could advance the cause and course of democracy, the divisiveness his ascension created in 2015 leaves a sour taste in the mouth of APC leaders because he became Senate President despite the avalanche of opposition from his party. But his ability to manage the Senate and lead the NASS as its chairman for four years, despite the plethora of forces arrayed against him, speaks to his staying power and his managerial ability.

Containing President Muhammadu Buhari’s onslaught, defending against Bola Tinubu, defeating the system when DSS stormed NASS to enforce an impeachment agenda, and coming out clean as unblemished, via a Supreme Court judgment that quashed corruption charges against him as sanctioned, again by the state, through the Code of Conduct Bureau and its Tribunal, puts Saraki in good stead. Many aspirants cannot boast of this. At least a leading All Progressives Congress, APC, aspirant who is trying to fulfill a life ambition is struggling to settle a corruption case out of court because of fear of being found gratuitously guilty. Unlike Saraki who insisted in going to court to clear his name, some of the aspirants dare not because such a move would open a terrifying Pandora’s box.

On the economic front, Saraki, as Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo, midwifed a policy of self-sufficiency which has now seen the emergence of the likes

of Dangote of Dangote Group, Abdulasamad of BUA Group and the Innoson and Ibetos of our world.

Then there is the issue of youth connection, age and zone.

Hailing from the North Central zone which has never produced a President or vice president should prick the conscience of party leaders and members. Just like the South East where Dr. Peter Obi hails from, the North Central has not even produced a civilian Vice President, how much more, a President, since independence. While the South East produced late Dr. Ifeanyickuwu Alex Ekwueme in the Second Republic, the North Central has never produced a number two civilian. Fair is fair so, fair should be fair.

That Saraki ‘topped’ the consensus list speaks to something.

In terms of age, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State also comes in handy. However, his faux paux about the inferiority of Igbo votes, as well as the optics of his governorship of a state where terrorism is ravaging, do not position him as possibly being capable of leading a Nigeria that is on edge. Being a life bencher, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives who successfully battled the demons of state power present him as a good manager of men. But good as competence is needed - and Tambuwal has this in good supply - he is from the North West go-political zone. As civilians, his zone has produced three presidents - Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (Sokoto); Umar Musa Yar’Aduas (Katsina); Muhammadu Buhari (Katsina). In terms of competence, fairness and spread, this knocks the bottom off Tambuwal’s aspiration.

Perhaps, that’s why even the consensus approach he jointly pushed was cognizant of this hence Abubakar Bukola Saraki emerged along with Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, with a caveat that North Central has never produced a President or Vice President.

Mohammed Hayatu-Deen was a participant in the consensus mix but he did not get the endorsement of the northern leaders. But being the MD of Northern Nigeria Development Corporation at an early age of 30 says something about his competence. His achievements in the field of management turnaround and strategic planning means Nigeria stands to benefit from his wealth of experience at a time when the economy is shambolic. But does he have name recognition?

For Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, another consensus promoter, he is said to have also picked a governorship ticket which means, he knows exactly what he wants.

In the final analysis, what the PDP should be looking towards is an individual with a mix of positives that can appeal across board and that person who can get the boxes ticked.

Is it about fairness, competence, appeal to youth and youthfulness and a bridge builder at a time of division, the northern elders who sifted through the consensus list and came up with a choice know what they are doing.

•Dr. Abdurahman a Political Economist, sent this piece from the FCT, Abuja.

2023: Why Tambuwal is Nigeria’s Best Option Martind Ori Nigeria is currently under a serious siege. The country is certainly at a crossroads. There is high degree of insecurity in all the nooks and crannies that make up the land. As a matter of fact, Nigeria is facing a quagmire. Hopefully, it is just about few months to the next presidential election. Preceding the general election is the parties’ presidential primaries where the candidates for the various candidates will emerge.

For the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, there is an aspirant who has the wherewithal to revive Nigeria as well as heal her wounds. Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State is the man to beat in the PDP presidential primaries.

Following the resolve of the umbrella party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) that only the three man ad hoc delegates will decide who emerges PDP’s presidential candidate, Tambuwal has dramatically become the cynosure of all eyes as his North West zone will parade overwhelming majority of the delegates now pegged at 811.

The foregoing simply means that with the North West zone in his kitty, Tambuwal will only need to poach few delegates from the other zones to fly home to victory in the convention

Tambuwal which is just few days away. Even with the convention in view, Nigerians of all walks of life are already poised for the Sokoto governor’s ultimate victory at the PDP’s presidential primary. The reason for this is not far to seek.

Clearly, Tambawal who was trained as

both a teacher and a lawyer has the knack for administrative expertise which produces excellent results. Given his background and pedigree as a personal assistant to Senator Abdullah Wali when the latter was the senate leader between 1999 and 2002, down to his glorious days as the speaker of the House of Representatives between 2011 and 2015, Tambuwal has proved himself as an outstanding administrator who knows his onions. For instance, it is on record that his tenure as the speaker of the Federal House was the most peaceful, most organized, and most importantly, supervised the onerous task of producing the current 1999 Constitution as amended.

As the governor of Sokoto State, Tambuwal has been quite exceptional in performance and delivery. According a publish account: “Some of the laudable projects of the present administration include, but are not limited to the following: Diagnostic Centre in Sokoto, International Conference Centre, modern school building in Gudu. The government has contributed in no small way to the development of education, which earned him several awards, including Tribune Platinum Tourchbearer, Silverbird Television Man of the Year, among others. In the health care sector,

the governor stands tall among his colleagues due to how he had handled things in the last five years. It is on record that Sokoto is one of the few states where health workers have never for once embarked on either warning or total strike, even for a day. This is due to how he has managed affairs”.

One point that stands Tambuwal out is that he is humble even as he prefers to jaw –jaw to war –war. He believes in constitutionality and constitutionalism. He promotes the concept of party supremacy and he encourages equity, fairness and justice. In all , he is approachable because he is an easy going fellow who will not create a hall of Jericho around him.

A true Nigerian, he has friends all over the country thus his government will be a Nigerian government for all Nigerians. He equally understands the compelling importance of securing the lives and properties of his subjects as can be verified the way he swiftly responded in the aftermath of the last confusion that engulfed Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto.

There is only one option left for PDP delegates in the forthcoming convention if really they love Nigeria and Nigerians; if truly they want Nigeria to have a restart to greatness and true nationhood – vote Aminu Tambuwal as the PDP presidential ticket!

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PRESIDENTIAL WEEKLY BRIEFING...

L - R.: Senior Special Assistant (Strategic Communications) to the President, office of the Chief of Staff , Oge Modie ; Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina and Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Uche Orji, during the Presidential Communication Team weekly briefing at the Presidential Villa , Abuja....yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

FG: Nigeria to Take Delivery of 105,000 Tonnes of Fertiliser Inputs from Canada, Russia Next Week Says over N100bn spent on Second Niger Bridge Deji Elumoye in Abuja The federal government has disclosed that Nigeria would take delivery of 105, 000 metric tonnes of basic raw materials for fertiliser production from Canada and Russia next week.

It also explained that it had also secured Letters of Credit for three vessels of basic raw materials that would arrive on June 3, 2022.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji, who made

this known while speaking at the weekly media briefing organised by the Presidential Media team at the State House, Abuja, stated that a total of 105,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser inputs would be coming from Canada and Russia in the next few days.

According to him, out of the number, 35,000 tonnes would be from Russia while the rest would be imported from Canada.

He added: "But now that we've re-established the Russia supply link for pottash, subsequent transactions will likely come from Russia, just

Section 84(12) Electoral Act: Buhari, NASS, Others Know Fate as S'Court Reserves Judgment Alex Enumah in Abuja The fates of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, the National Assembly and two others were yesterday put on hold as the Supreme Court reserved its judgment in the suit seeking to void Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

Buhari and the AGF had last month approached the apex court to interpret the said provision with the view of setting it aside for violating the 1999 Constitution.

The court had last week adjourned to May 26, after it joined both the Speaker of Rivers State and the Attorney General of the State as defendants in the suit which originally has the National Assembly as the sole defendant.

However, the Supreme Court yesterday announced that the date for its judgment in the matter would be communicated to parties in the suit.

Justice Muhammad Dattijo, who led six other justices of the apex court made the announcement after lawyers to all parties had adopted and argued their brief of arguments in the matter.

The respondents, who declared their opposition to the suit asked the apex court to dismiss the suit marked SC/CV/504/2022, for being an abuse of the judicial process.

They argued that Buhari, having

assented to the Electoral Act, could not turn back to challenge its provisions in court.

The respondents further submitted that only the political appointees whose rights may be infringed upon by the said provision of the Electoral Act could challenge it at the Federal High Court.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), which sought and got the permission of the Supreme Court to be allowed into the case as amicus curiae (friend of the court), urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit in the interest of the public.

"It is our submission that there is no conflict between Section 84(12) and any other section of the Electoral Act, the 1999 Constitution, as amended, or the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right.

"Your lordships should take note of the ill the said section is meant to cure. The essence of the section is to provide a level playing field for all Nigerians, such that political appointees should not use their office to advance their personal interests," counsel for the NBA, Mr. Charles Mekunye submitted.

At the end of arguments Justice Dattijo announced that judgment has been reserved to a date to be communicated to the parties.

The plaintiffs in the suit dated April 29, 2022, are contending that the said Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022, is in conflict with constitutional provisions.

because it saves us time. It's one week shorter in terms of saving time for the vessel from Russia versus Canada. Because it's not even Canada it's not east of Canada it's central Canada, that's where these things come from. So it's a long journey to get to Nigeria."

The NSIA boss, who stated that fertiliser was exempted from items sanctioned by the European Union against Russia, noted that expected items included Potash and Ammonium being imported from Russia and Canada.

The recent crisis between Russia and Ukraine had led to a scarcity of fertilisers owing to slow supply from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

Russia is the world’s number one exporter of nitrogen fertiliser and second in phosphorus and potassium fertilisers.

Orji further said: “Letters of Credit has been established for four vessels of phosphate.”

According to him, “two vessels are currently being discharged, the third vessel is currently on queue at the Onne port for discharge and the fourth vessel has been nominated.”

Orji who also disclosed that two vessels of Ammonium Sulphate totaling 95,000 metric tonnes had been established, adding that, “a vessel is currently discharging at the Intels port while the other is inbounded with ETA of May, 2022.”

“In 2022, I know one question many of you are going to ask me is, potash difficulties because there were headlines about potash. It was true.

There was potash difficulty. About 30 per cent of the world’s potash comes from Russia and Belarus. So, when the crisis started there was a blockade, there were sanctions and all kinds of issues, and we couldn’t get potash,” he said.

“But now, I’m glad to report that we have solved the potash problem.

On June 3rd, the first vessel will arrive from Russia. On June 6th, the second vessel will arrive from Canada.

“The president gave us the instruction to go and solve it, find it wherever you can, bring it into the county. We will have enough potash between now and the middle of June for all our needs for the year.

“Last year, we had enough to

produce up to 40 per cent of the country’s need in inventory in the warehouses, so that’s coming out. Central bank is one of the big buyers, and they’re releasing it,” he added.

Nigerian farmers have lamented the shortage of the agricultural inputs, leading to hoarding and sharp increase in their prices.

Orji assured the government was now buying most of the raw materials needed to ease the supply challenges.

His words: “Our job is to ensure that we have most of these raw materials available and as you may be aware, fertiliser and oil and gas were not included in the banned items “We are assuring our farmers that these items will arrive on time ahead of June and July, which are biggest application season.”

He further assured farmers that the unavailability of potash, which was the biggest problem last year, has been solved earlier through the PFI, which seeks to drive fertiliser initiative.

He also warned those hoarding fertilisers.

“Anybody who is hoarding, it’s not fair to do that. We have a food crisis, and there are agencies of government who are now involved in ensuring that people release what they have. We are going to unleash a whole bunch of supply. At the moment, we’re struggling to clear them at the ports. We have two vessels discharging phosphate, and there’s already more in the warehouses.

“So, I sense that as these things get into the market, by the time we get into the peak application season at end of June and July, I’m hoping that this problem will be completely solved.”

On the contributions of the NSIA to security, Orji stated that the, it has procured 16 patrol trucks and donated same to the security agencies to boost security, especially on the Abuja Kaduna road.

"The President recently approved for the NSIA through some of the gains made from managing the PIDF to buy 16 patrol trucks given to the police to ensure that every 10 kilometer of the Abuja-Kaduna road there's a patrol truck to improve security.

Nigerian Banks Tap Pent-up Demand for Retail Services Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja While the coronavirus pandemic and fall in the price of oil pushed Nigeria into recession twice in the past six years, the country’s financial services companies have expanded at breakneck speed.

The Financial Times reported that, overall, Africa’s largest economy was home to 20 of the fastest growing companies of any kind in the inaugural FT ranking, compiled with research company Statista.

That puts it second only to South Africa, which has 24 listed.

According to the FT, among these Nigerian companies are specialists in agricultural commodities, construction and food. But it is those offering financial services — from fintech to asset management and insurance — that dominate, making up more than a quarter of the country’s entries.

Head of African banks at rating agency Fitch, Mahin Dissanayake observed that this was because Nigeria’s “awful” economic data

does not capture the activity taking place “below the radar”, and the transactions that people are still making.

However, the country’s financial sector has been able to harness technology to turn these people into customers, he says.

“Africa offers a huge unbanked and underbanked market for financial services companies.

“It offers both incumbent and new entrants opportunities to grow very fast,” Dissanayake said.

Nigeria’s 200 million population has enabled huge growth to be achieved simply by focusing on the local market. Dissanayake says the main shift has been Nigerian banks’ expansion into retail banking.

Previously, they avoided retail customers as creditworthiness could not be established easily. Now, technology has made it easier to track behaviour. So banks are offering more services, such as insurance and remittances.

Data from Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), a

research body that monitors financial inclusion in Nigeria, show that 45 per cent of adults used bank services in 2020, up from 38 per cent in 2016.

Some of the growth has been driven by efforts to cater to young people in a country that has a median age of 18, said Tunde Leye, a partner at Lagos-based intelligence consultancy SBM. “There was a gap in terms of what the formal financial sector provides, and what most of the people that are coming into the working class economy require,” he said. Now, a new generation of fintech entrepreneurs and bank executives wants to create services for its peers.

United Capital, a Lagos lender founded more than 50 years ago, has benefited from targeting retail customers, says Ejikeme Okoli, its head of strategy and innovation.

In 2019, the company — which has subsidiaries offering investment banking, stockbroking and wealth management — set up a consumer finance business to provide

microloans.

Okoli says it has over 250,000 customers, with applications processed on an app.

The company has also applied for a digital banking licence to offer services such as payments and deposit taking. In its 2021 annual report, it said: “As part of our evolving corporate strategy, there is an increasing focus on the mass retail and underserved segment of the economy.”

Global Accelerex, ranked 34th in the FT-Statista list, provides electronic payment technology to businesses and government agencies seeking to process transactions. It has expanded by providing new ways of making transactions which Shalewa Alonge, head of brand and partnerships, says have grown in volume by 55 per cent in the past five years.

The company can capture payments through card machines and agency banking, and digitally via QR codes and USSD (a communications protocol for exchanging data).

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LAUNCH OF CAPTAIN IDAHOSA WELLS OKUNBO STEM INNOVATION CENTRE...

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Take Urgent Action against Killings in South-east Before Things Get Out of Hand, JNI Urges FG Urges south-east governors, leaders to assuage fears, tension in their states John Shiklam in Kaduna The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) led by the sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’adu Abubakar, has called on the federal government to take urgent action against killings and maiming of innocent citizens in some parts of the country before things get out of hand.

The JNI made the call in a statement yesterday, condemning the killing of a pregnant mother, Harira Jibrin and her four children in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State by gunmen.

The statement signed the Secretary General of the Islamic body, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu described the killing of Harira, her unborn child and four children as, “senseless and barbaric, maintaining that the recurring heartless and calamitous unprovoked killings and maiming in Anambra and other parts of the country are condemnable.”

“The JNI condemns the senseless, barbaric and unprovoked killing of one Harira Jibrin; a pregnant woman with four of her children at Isulo in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

“The incident is just but an addition to the series of many other killings meted, particularly to Muslims in the South-eastern states of Nigeria”, the statement said.

Aliyu added: “JNI has painfully, with dismay been observing the orchestrated unchecked atrocities dished out to many innocent Muslim menial trader’s wares including animals,” stressing that, “The attitude, in effect, depicts the most unfortunate high level of hatred and impunity.”

According to him, “The JNI feels that it was high time the governments acted lest things get out of hand.”

The statement commiserated with the families of those affected by serial killings and abductions across the country and urged the federal government to synergise with state governments facing all forms of security challenges to restore law and order.

The JNI added: “As it could be discerned, the killings are

now transforming to being more religious and ethnic/tribal conflicts.

“Their escalation may not be easily halted. Nigerians should learn from different historical accounts that, religious or ethnic conflicts and wars are undoubtedly extremely preposterous.

“So, they should by all means be avoided. In light of the forgone, we call on governments at all levels to, as a matter of urgency, do everything possible and use any means possible to curtail the situation and arrest all those who are behind the ongoing killings in the south-eastern Nigeria, before it is too late.

“The lexis of the so called unknown gunmen is no longer tenable. They are known but ignored!

“We have had enough, so it should be left for what it is ENOUGH! Moreover, as we have always stated in our similar press releases, governments should be seen as swiftly acting on security related issues as it is its primary constitutional responsibility to protect, secure and provide welfare to citizens, as enunciated in the second schedule of the 1999 amended Constitution.”

According to Aliyu, it is prayers of JNI and all Nigerian Muslims

are that: “Government must spare no efforts to immediately take control of all forests and swampy areas that have become hideouts for criminals.

“Examples should be set by speedily arresting and prosecuting all criminals, devoid of legal encumbrances.

Constituting commissions of inquiry should NOT be the only way to go.

“Hence, government should intensify efforts in identifying and prosecuting the so called unknown gunmen;

“Governments at all levels, in collaboration with different security agencies must be up and doing against the tides of insecurities, in whatever guises.

“Thorough proactive measures should be taken in nipping the situations from the buds, before becoming uncontrollable.

The JNI called on the government to consider setting up a joint (security) task force to specially attend to the rising tide of killings in the south-east.

It urged governments at all

levels to “act beyond mere verbal condemnations on security related matters. “ It said, “Nigerians desperately yearn for more concrete actions against all forms of criminals and criminalities.

“The unfortunate spate of the alarming horrendous butchering of human lives in the Nigerian states should be halted.

“The south-eastern states’ governments and governors, as well as community leaders over there should be seen and heard

Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative, Rebecca Foundation Commence Construction of Eight Libraries in Ghana The Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa), the brainchild of Abdul Samad Rabiu - philanthropist, industrialist, and Chairman of BUA Group, in collaboration with Rebecca Foundation of Ghana, has commenced the construction of eight multi-functional libraries in schools across Ghana.

This is coming a few months after ASR Africa awarded the Rebecca Foundation a $500,000 inaugural Africa-focused basic education

infrastructure grant to support the Foundation’s “Learning to Read and Reading to Learn initiative.”.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of the first library situated in Kwahu Bepong community, Kwahu South District of the Eastern Region in Ghana, the Managing Director of ASR Africa, Udoh Ubon, was quoted in a statement to have commended Rebecca Foundation for its role as the implementing partner of the project, and for their commitment to

building a reading culture amongst children in Ghana.

Udoh also thanked the Kwahu Bepong community for providing the land for the construction of the library and noted that the sustainability framework of the project will ensure its sustenance even after it is handed over to the Ghana Library Board for management. He further added that construction of the other libraries will commence over the next few weeks in other communities across Ghana.

Siblings Launch Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo STEM Innovation Centre Kunle Ogunfuyi As part of efforts to provide children in Warri Kingdom and Delta State with qualitative education, her Royal Majesty, Olori Atuwatse III has officially unveiled the Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo Stem Innovation Centre, Iyara.

The center was launched in memory of the Queen’s late father, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo, recently and had in attendance notable representatives from the palace, local and state governments.

The ceremony was officiated

by Zion Oshiobugie, founder of CleverMinds Foundation and administrator of the innovation centre, who warmly welcomed the Ogiame and Olori Atuwatse III alongside other guests to the centre.

The Monarchs and guests were treated to exciting demonstrations

condemning and assuaging fears and tension within their respective states and communities (as the case may be).

“Silence would not be golden, in so unfortunate a situation. Perhaps they should emulate their northern counterparts (governors) in reacting quickly and appropriately, on similar happenings within their jurisdictions; “Security surveillance should, maximally be accorded Muslim communities in the south-eastern Nigeria.”

by the young learners of the centre.

Displays included the remote control and management of electronic devices, the Warri-Tesla prototype and other exciting projects embarked upon by the children.

They also performed a tribute song in honour of the late Captain Idahosa that left guests with tearyeyed.

Speaking at the occasion, the Cofounder of the centre Olori Atuwatse III welcomed His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse III to the centre and every other guest present at the occasion. She acknowledged the efforts of the First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha Buhari and the First Lady of Delta State, Edith Okowa on their respective initiatives geared towards providing indigent children with improved and qualitative education.

She, however, noted that there was still so much work to be done.

‘It all starts with little initiatives like this STEM Lab. We do not always have to wait for the Government or huge funding to build legacies for our children. All we have to do is to touch lives in remote communities like Iyara and the effect will trickle down into other parts of the nation. “As a collective, our little efforts can go a long way in providing the infrastructure and enabling environment necessary for our children to grow into intellectual giants.

“This is my dream for every community in the kingdom, that the lives of children will be transformed from even as young as two and three years old. That we would import the highest quality education and give our children the environment that creates giants and enables them to thrive.

“Children who will grow and be

able to stand shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts from across the globe,” she added.

The Queen commended her siblings for their contributions to making the centre a reality.

The Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo Stem Innovation Centre is the first of its kind in the kingdom where orphaned and indigent children from different slum areas around Warri can through play, explore the amazing world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The space was well equipped with a wide array of engaging activities for kids to tinker with including Digital labs, Coding challenges, Robotics kits, prototyping with 3D printers, Physical computing with Arduino, computer games, and child-friendly sci-fi movies/ animations, short videos on emerging technologies, and many more.

According to Udoh, “This modern library project seeks to provide Ghanaian children a comparative advantage in competing with their peers all over the world.

“This is the beginning of a partnership that will go beyond the library. I can assure you that with what we have seen and with how you have responded to this first grant, we intend to consider future partnerships on other developmental projects.”

On her part, the Ghanaian First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, who is also an Executive Director of the Rebecca Foundation, thanked Rabiu and the ASR Africa initiative for supporting the Foundation to build the libraries, and expressed confidence that before long, the library would be up and running.

Represented at the ceremony by Akosua Newman, Director of Operations for the Office of the First Lady, she said that since inception in 2017, Rebecca Foundation had carried out several programmes and infrastructural projects under its “Learning to Read Reading to Learn” initiative in line with the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

“With our partners from ASR Africa, the Rebecca foundation looks forward to building more of these libraries in other communities”.

Rebecca Akufo-Addo added.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022

NEWSXTRA

AFRICA BRAND LEADERSHIP AWARD...

L-R: Chairman, Brand Africa, Thebe Ikalafeng; Founding Partner, Open Squares Africa, Feyi Olubodun; Chief Executive Officer, AT3 Resources Limited, Tosin Adefeko; Founder & Chairman, Troyka Group, Dr. Biodun Shobanjo, and Chief Growth Officer, Kantar EMEA, Karin du Chenne, during the presentation of Africa Brand Leadership Excellence Award to Shobanjo at the 2022 Brand Africa awards held at Eko Hotel, Lagos…Wednesday

AU Leaders Meet In Malabo for Definite Position on Terrorism, Unconstitutional Change of Govt Buhari leads 8-man Nigerian delegation Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The African Heads of State and Governments are holding a three-day meeting in Malabo to discuss issues of security and unconstitutional change of government on the continent.

Already, President Muhammadu Buhari, has departed Abuja yesterday as head of an eight-man Nigerian delegation to the African Union Extra-ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State

and Government in the capital of Equatorial Guinea.

The President, according to a release issued by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, will join other African leaders to deliberate and take a definite position on “Terrorism and Unconstitutional Change of Government”, and also reach agreements on new approaches to stem the tide.

The three-day summit, which will hold on May 26th-28th, will also focus on Humanitarian Challenges in Africa, with

related issues on migration, refugees, returnees and Internally Displaced Persons.

The African leaders will also deliberate on Hopes and Challenges in Africa, and participate in adoption of Assembly Declaration on Humanitarian Summit and pledging conference.

President Buhari will also hold sideline meetings with some leaders during the meeting in Malabo.

Mrs Aisha Buhari, who is the

Children's Day: Parents, Governments Urged to Invest More on Education Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Children's Parliament has called on parents to shun false myths on western education, while also calling on government to invest more in education for out-of-school children.

The group noted that despite the Compulsory Free and Universal Basic Education Act of 2004, lack of access to quality, free, safe, uninterrupted and inclusive education for girls remained a big driver of child marriage.

The Children's Parliament made this known in a communique issued at the end of a-2 day capacity building training for principal officers of State Children’s Parliament and Girl Ambassadors organised by the Save the Children International implementing states of Benue, Borno, Cross River, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Yobe and members of the Child Rights Advocacy Club of GJSS Gwagwalada, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Cross Rivers State Speaker of the Children's Parliament, Hon. Etukudo Abasi, while speaking at a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, said child marriage was both the cause and a result of poor education of girls in Nigeria, with over 10 million out of school children in the country, of which over 60 per cent are girls.

She said, "Despite the Compulsory Free and Universal Basic Education Act of 2004, lack of access to quality, free, safe,

uninterrupted and inclusive education for girls remains a big driver of child marriage.”

Abasi noted that while the domestication of the Child Rights Act was a critical step to stop the war on girls, it should also be backed by financial and human resource for its full implementation to provide a favorable environment in which children could realise and release their full potential.

"Over 7000 girls and women were subjected to sexual violence inflicted by non-state armed groups, many of whom gave birth to children.

"Non-state armed groups have used child marriage as a weapon of war. They kidnap school girls and forcefully marry them off to their soldiers as an incentive," she said.

Reading the communique at the end of the two days capacity building training, the Speaker of Borno state Children's Parliament, Hon. Sunoma Ibrahim called on the government and non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) to campaign against all forms of abuse on children.

The parliament noted that there should be stronger laws against sexual abuse targeted at children to help prevent abuse, while rehabilitation should be provided for affected children and ensure the reporting of cases of abuse.

He said: "Parents should be encouraged to take their children to school and false myths on western education should be shunned;

leaders should create an enabling environment for education and government should invest more in education for out-of-school children.

“The quality of education should be improved. Parents need to improve knowledge and commitment to contribute to enrolling their children in school at the right age and time."

The parliament stressed that security agents should be equipped with tools to protect children from attack, adding that stronger security strategies should be carried out in affected areas.

President of African First Ladies Peace Mission, accompanied her husband to the African Union meeting.

Others on the entourage of the President included Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey

Onyeama; Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd); Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management & Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq; National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana

FCTA Reopens Dei-Dei Building Market after Deadly Clashes Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has reopened the Dei-Dei Building Materials market and the adjoining markets nine days after their closure in the wake of the crises that erupted at the market on May 18, and claimed some lives.

The minister who stated that yesterday, while addressing journalists after a meeting with major stakeholders of the Dei-Dei community, held at the FCDA Conference Hall, Garki, noted that markets woulf re-open for business today.

He said the market would be re-organised and placed under relevant and proper supervision.

He said all stakeholders at the meeting agreed that the Dei-Dei market fracas was not an incident inspired by ethnicity but a traffic accident that was hijacked by hoodlums.

The meeting had in attendance stakeholders of the Dei Dei community led by Sarkin Jiwa, Dr Idris Musa and all the leaders of the five major markets within that community, as well as religious leaders and FCT Commissioner of Police Babaji Sunday.

"Basically, we reaffirmed the need for peace in that community, as well as FCT in general, and discussed at length, all issues relating to last week's incident that led to the destruction of properties and unfortunately, loss of lives.

"The conclusion of our

Zulum: Rule Me Out of Race for Vice President, Wins Primary Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri Borno State Governor, Prof.

Babagana Zulum, yesterday, said he should be ruled out of the contest for the nation’s vicepresidency in 2023, because he was not interested.

Zulum, who was nominated unopposed at the primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday for re-election, said his priority was to continue with the progressive work in his state.

The governor, while giving a remark after accepting his nomination as candidate of the APC in Borno for the 2023 governorship, said, “As you all know, the APC will be holding presidential primaries coming

Monguno (rtd); Director General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar and Chairman, Nigerians In Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

weekend. I have seen all kinds of promotional media content, including articles by notable columnists, associating me with the 2023 presidency.

“Let me reveal with apologies, that some close associates of key presidential aspirants, have sent me offers for the position of running mate, as possible Vice President, depending on the outcome of the APC presidential primaries by the weekend.

“I have thought deeply about these offers, because becoming vice-president is considered attractive. I have thought about all the powers and privileges of being VP. I can see the honour of presiding over meetings attended by governors and

ministers and the privilege of having a presidential Jet at one’s disposal. I can see the honour of presidential receptions within and outside Nigeria.

“However, I have asked myself, that should I get the opportunity to become VP and raise my political profile, what happens to all our ongoing works for the people of Borno State?

“We have built more than 10,000 houses and currently more of such and reconstructing existing ones, for ongoing resettlement of our people. We have resettled more than 20 communities so far. Yet, thousands of our fellow citizens are still homeless and in desperate need of food, water and healthcare.

meeting is that all the communities agreed that what happened was not a tribal or religious crisis.

What happened was just an unfortunate accident that was overtaken by hoodlums in the community who created havoc.

“The general consensus now is that every community will make sure that miscreants and hoodlums are flushed out," Bello said.

He also said the operations of commercial motorcyclists popularly known as Okada would be brought under full regulation and control.

He similarly announced the constitution of a technical committee that would provide a comprehensive report and a roadmap for the redevelopment of the whole area for the benefit of the citizens.

The committee, which has four weeks to submit its report, is chaired by Ibrahim Ismaila, the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Land and Urban and Regional Planning and draws membership from the local and business community of the Dei-Dei area, the security agencies as well as officials of the FCT Administration.

The Sarkin Jiwa also sued for peace, saying they were all brothers and sisters and so should endeavour to live in peace at all times.

Corroborating the minister and Sarkin Jiwa, Chairman of the Dei-Dei International Building Materials Market, Mr. Kingsley Orabuego, stressed the need for all to live in peace as one nation.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022

NEWSXTRA

SANWO-OLU'S SECOND TERM...

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, First Lady Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs) Mrs Orelope Adefulire after Mr. Sanwo-Olu's victory at the APC primary at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan...yesterday

Delegates' List: Court Stops INEC from Recognising Obaseki's Faction Declares Dan Orbih's camp authentic Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday made an order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or accepting the list of ad-hoc delegates produced by the Governor Godwin Obasekiled faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Edo State.

Ekwo declared the ad-hoc delegates produced by the Dan Orbih faction of the party as the authentic delegates that must be recognised and accepted.

Edo State chapter of PDP pleaded for calm among members of the party after the court ruling.

The judge made the declaration while delivering judgement in a suit instituted by 581 delegates elected on April 30.

Ekwo, in the judgement, held that PDP and other defendants in the suit were bound by Section 84 (5) of the Electoral Act, 2022 as well as Section 15 of the PDP constitution relating to delegates elections.

The 581 delegates instituted the suit marked FHC/Abj/ CS/598/2022 through their five representatives – Hon. Monday Osagie, Hon. Reuben Ekhosuehi, Hon. Adeyanba Osaro, Hon. Magdalene Osawe, and Hon. Imariabe Oghogho.

The PDP, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Umar Bature, and INEC were listed as 1st to 5th defendants, respectively.

The reliefs sought by the plaintiffs in the suit, argued

by Dr. John Musa, included a determination whether the PDP in view of Section 84 (5) of the Electoral Act, 2022, and Section 15 of the PDP constitution could jettison their election monitored

by INEC for another one conducted in violation of the

provisions of the relevant laws.

Another issue for which they sought determination was whether the defendants could on their own jettison the authentic delegates for others whose purported election was unknown to any law.

In his judgement, Ekwo, after scrutinising the documentary evidence, including the report of INEC on its monitoring of the April 30 delegates election, agreed with the plaintiffs that they were validly and legally elected as authentic ad-hoc delegates for Edo State chapter of the PDP.

Edo PDP calls for calm over court ruling

The court held that the role of INEC in primary elections, congress and convention monitoring was statutory and constitutional and must, therefore, be strictly adhered to by all political parties.

The court said going against the elections of the plaintiffs would amount to brazen violation of unambiguous laws, an action, which no court must allow to stand.

Ekwo, therefore, issued an order of injunction against the 1st to 4th defendants, restraining them from tampering with the plaintiffs’ list, having been duly

elected in the congress of the party held on April 30.

The court also issued an order of perpetual injunctions against the 1st to 4th defendants stopping them from conducting any other congress with the purpose of replacing the plaintiffs.

Ekwo issued a mandatory order of injunction against INEC stopping it from recognising or accepting any delegates’ list other than the one produced

by PDP's congress of April 30 where the plaintiffs emerged as ad-hoc delegates.

The plaintiffs were elected

from 18 local government areas of the state for the purpose of electing national delegates for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, and senatorial elections.

Meanwhile, the Edo State chapter of PDP urged calm by members of the party following the ruling.

In a statement, the chairman of PDP in the state, Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, urged delegates who emerged from the congresses to remain calm, as the party had appealed the judgement at the appellate court.

Aziegbemi said, “Our attention has been drawn to an Abuja High Court ruling regarding the conduct of the Edo State PDP congresses.

“We call on all candidates that emerged from the exercise to remain calm as the party has appealed the judgement at the appellate court.”

Aziegbemi also stated, “We are certain that the exercise was conducted in line with laid down procedures and guidelines of our great party and are confident that these would be duly acknowledged by the higher court.”

Anxiety as Mass Resignation Hits Anambra PDP over Obi David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Mass resignation has hit the Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following the recent resignation of a former governor of the state, Mr Peter Obi from the party, THISDAY can authoritatively report.

Obi, a presidential aspirant had on Wednesday resigned his membership of the PDP and also withdrew from the party's presidential primary, citing irregularities in the processes leading to the party's presidential primary election as reason for his resignation.

His action was said to have dampened the zeal and aspiration of some of the party's aspirant to national and state assembly, as it was believed that Obi's popularity in the state has a way of affecting other aspirants of his party positively.

Mr Valentine Ozigbo, PDP's governorship candidate in the November 2021 governorship election in Anambra and a senatorial aspirant, yesterday, withdrew from the scheduled primary election. Hon Valentine Ayika, Hon Tony Nwoye and Hon George Ozodinobi, former members of National Assembly also withdrew from the contest

and resigned from the party too.

Ozigbo, in his withdrawal letter, which was addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, stated that the party has been highjacked by three Senatorial aspirants and their cohorts.

He listed the aspirants to include Senator Uche Ekwunife, Senator Stella Oduah and selfstyled godfather of Anambra politics, Chief Chris Uba, who is also running for Senate.

In the letter sighted by THISDAY, Ozigbo said, "I wish to bring to your attention a series of retrogressive developments in our

great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State, particularly, in Anambra South.

"Sir, I would like to state this clearly. The actions of Chris Uba and Linus Ukachukwu, with the support of Uche Ekwunife, and Stella Oduah, and a few others are the reasons PDP in Anambra may end up fielding no candidate in the 2023 elections."

Consequently, he announced his withdrawal from the primary.

THISDAY learnt that he is also set to leave the party.

A source within Anambra PDP told THISDAY that more prominent politicians in the state would still dump the PDP in the

coming days.

The source said it was in anger that Peter Obi left the party, as Uba and others were working to humiliate him in the state, even as he battled his fellow presidential aspirants.

"More people will leave before the end of this week. It is true that PDP in Nigeria has problem, but the problem of Anambra PDP is far more than that of the nation.

It is still the reason they have not held primary election for any position, till today.

"The plot is for all Obi line up to move en mass, and join Labour Party, from where they will give PDP a fight," the source said.

Senbanjo Drops Senatorial Ambition, Mobilises for Abiodun's Re-election Segun Senbanjo, the Ogun East Senatorial District aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, has announced dropping his ambition to focus on Governor Dapo Abiodun's re-election bid in Ogun State.

Senbanjo explained that it was a personal sacrifice he had to make for the greater good of the Southwest state bordering Lagos.

Distinguished delegates, I am here to announce that I will no

longer contest the senatorial seat.

Do not despair," said Senbanjo in a statement issued yesterday.

"I have resolved to use my time, energy, and resources to mobilise the campaign for Governor Dapo Abiodun for the ultimate good.

It is a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the good of Ogun State.

The APC stakeholder, who had vowed to improve Ogun East's social-economic well-being last week, urged his supporters

and well-wishers to join him in helping Abiodun realise his dream of getting a second term in office as Ogun governor.

Join me in this journey; we will work together at the local level to build and develop Ogun State together, which is Governor Abiodun's socio-economic policies. That was my promise to you," said Senbanjo. "I know the issues and will join hands with our amiable and hard-working

governor Abiodun to achieve his people-oriented policies, plans and projects."

Though he has dropped his senatorial ambition, Senbanjo reiterated his commitment to discussing and engaging the Bill Gates Foundation to establish "several welfare programmes" which will impact "our constituency."

"In addition, I am also discussing with some potential

foreign investors with the aim for them to invest and establish industries in our constituency," he stressed. "I will continue to support and serve my constituency to my utmost capabilities by ensuring that the continuous selfless agenda of Governor Abiodun is implemented and my desired programme for the people of my constituency is brought to fruition."

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FRIDAY MAY 27, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Gunmen Kill Soldier, Kidnap Expatriate in Ondo Fidelis David in Akure Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have killed a soldier and kidnapped an expatriate construction contractor identified as Mr. Wali Duo, along Alafia junction in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

THISDAY also gathered that the soldier was as orderly to the expatriate.

An eyewitness, Mr. Kehinde Ogunkorode, told THISDAY that the driver of the expatriate who was shot during the incident on Wednesday was rushed to the hospital but gave up the ghost yesterday’s morning.

Ogunkorode said: “The gunmen were two. They came with a motorcycle to where the Lebanese was inspecting the dualisation of Mobile-Ikare junction road.

The soldier, who was trying to protect the Lebanese, was shot as well as his driver.

The kidnappers zoomed off immediately the Lebanese was abducted.”

When contacted, the Ondo State Police Public Relations

Officer, Ms. Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the development and explained that the incident happened on Wednesday.

She said: “Two gunmen attacked the Lebanese, killing the soldier that was guiding

him and also killed his driver.

They also went away with him and his Hilux vehicle.”

When asked if the kidnappers have called to demand for ransom, the police image maker replied: “No, we don’t have any

information about that.”

This is coming few days after a Christian Cleric, Venerable Olu Obanla, and his son were kidnapped along Ifon-Okeluse Road in Ose Local Government Area of the state.

The cleric and his son were traveling along the road when the hoodlums accosted and dragged them into the bush to an unknown destination.

Shortly after the abduction, the gunmen contacted the family and demanded a sum

of N10 million for the release of the victims. It was learnt that the family were unable to get the money as they could only gather N1million which the abductors refused.

But Odunlami confirmed their release on Tuesday.

CAVERTON ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING…

L-R: Independent Director, Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, Chief Raymond Ihyembe; Company Secretary, Ms. Amaka Obiora; Chairman, Mr. Aderemi Makanjuola; Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Olabode Makanjuola, and Non-Executive Director, Mr. Akin Kekere-Ekun, at the 2021 Annual General Meeting of company in Lagos…yesterday ETOPUKUTT

Ekiti 2022: Govt Collecting 2023: Don’t Create Enmity among APC Workers’ BVN, SDP Alleges Presidential Aspirants, Fayemi Tells Delegates The leading opposition party in Ekiti state, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has called out the All Progressives Congress (APC) for insisting that civil servants in the state submit their BVN details in a fresh verification exercise it is conducting.

In a statement issued by the Chairman of the Segun Oni Media Advisory Council, Moses Jolayemi, SDP described the motive as “ulterior and suspicious in the wake of an election month” He said:” We have it on good note that the APC led government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi has instructed civil servants in the State to provide their personal

accounts details.

“We wager a bet that there is something sinister and clandestine about this move. Why would a government insist that people have to give their BVN details if it is not to either induce the voting population of the civil service or to blackmail them to do their biddings during the election” Speaking further, Jolayemi noted that they have evidence of the allegation that the government is going round the state trying to mop up voters’ cards and the “trick of collecting the BVN details may be another desperate attempt to ensure they arm twist and hijack a process that should be fair.”

Media Professionals Charged on Solution-oriented Journalism Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo In its efforts to uplift peaceful coexistence and national development, a non-governmental organisation, Search For Common Ground (SFCG), has charged media professionals on solutionoriented journalism.

SFCG pointed out that the media has a strategic role to play in the country’s development, and must desist from biased reportage and hate speech.

Speaking at the end of a four-day workshop for journalists yesterday in Osogbo, the National Media Specialist of SFCG, Mr. Temisan Etielsola, called for a

democratic approach to reporting.

Etielsola explained that incitement to cause harm, expressions that hurt feelings of a public office holder or community are forms of hate speech that could cause havoc.

He added that conflict not well managed with factual and objective information leads to violence causing loss of lives and property.

According to him, “The media has immense power to shape the way people, communities and the society look at issues. It possesses the power to change the dynamics of conflict to the benefit of all.

Foundation Partners 27 Organisations WR $GGUHVV $IULFD·V 6RFLDO 'HÀFLWV Sunday Okobi

The Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation has unveiled 27 recipients of its 2022 Grant Scheme across multiple backgrounds, including health, environment, entrepreneurship, STEM, and leadership, who will receive a substantial grant to further their exceptional work.

The awarded projects were selected from a competitive pool of over 500 submissions from nonprofits and innovative organisations spread across Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the Foundation,

the grants will enhance and build upon these national and regional organisations’ critical works that align with ACT Foundation’s core mission to provide skills training, entrepreneurship, mentorship, and pipeline development for health, environment, and leadership.

The new grantees for 2022, the body said, are comprised of a diverse group of national and international organisations such as Dove-Haven Foundation, Cece Yara Foundation, Ashake Foundation, Somo Africa Trust, TonyMay Foundation, and The Bridge Foundation for Youth Leadership.

AdedayoAkinwaleinAbuja Ahead of the presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) slated for Sunday, May 30, in Abuja, Governor of Ekiti State, who is one of the presidential aspirants, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has urged delegates not to create enmity among aspirants.

Fayemi stated this when he

visited Osun and Oyo states on Wednesday to address party leaders and delegates, while also seeking their support.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Dr. Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Fayemi asked the state delegates to queue behind him based on his rich educational pedigree, integrity, capacity and competence.

He said: “I appeal to the

delegates and party faithful not to create enemies for aspirants where none exist because this struggle is about service and not about self.

The biggest thing is for APC to win and South-west to clinch the ticket.” While addressing delegates and party leaders in Ibadan Oyo state, Fayemi promised the Ibadan Mega City Project and aid the efforts of the state government in turning the vast

fertile landscape into an agricultural gold mine that would make the state the nation’s food basket.

He added: “With my knowledge of Ibadan and Oyo State in general, I’ve a duty to contribute significantly to its development if elected. I’ll bring my God endowed knowledge and capacity to bear in the onerous task of making Nigeria one of the safest places to live in Africa.”

We are All Winners, Says Delta PDP Governorship Candidate, Oborevwori Sylvester Idowu inWarri

Candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), in Delta State and Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Sheriff Francis Orohwedor Oborevwori, has said his victory at the PDP Governorship Primaries on Wednesday was for all Deltans.

Specifically, the PDP governorship candidate said there

were no losers in the primaries, noting that the contest was a family affair and “We are all winners”.

In a press statement issued yesterday, the Governorship candidate said that he was deeply humbled that most of the party delegates chose him from among the list of other eminently qualified aspirants as the PDP standard bearer for the 2023 governorship election in Delta State.

“Their overwhelming support is an emphatic endorsement of my M.O.R.E agenda, which seeks to keep Delta State ahead in all aspects of social and economic wellbeing. The broad spectrum of the voting pattern is very reassuring, and consistent with my pan Delta disposition”, he stated.

He expressed gratitude to the State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa for providing a level playing field

for all aspirants adding “Indeed, Governor Okowa has once again solidified his reputation as a model democrat.”

“It is on record that under his administration, party primaries in the State have been competitive, free, fair, and transparent, a wholesome departure from what it was before his coming in 2015.

Thank you, Your Excellency, for being a torchbearer”.

Group Condemns Killings in Anambra, Calls for Punishment of Perpetrators UgoAliogo The League of Anambra Professionals has condemned the widespread grievous criminality which has gripped Anambra State and the South-east in general in the guise of agitations.

The group in a statement signed and made available to THISDAY by the President, League of Anambra

Professionals, Mr. Chijioke Okoli, (SAN), noted that the largescale bloodletting and arson which have left Anambra state tethering on the brink of anarchy for some months now descended to a new low in the past couple of weeks.

The statement warned of the dire consequences when criminal elements started their systematic delegitimization of the law

enforcement agencies with the murder of policemen and burning of their stations.

The statement revealed that the predictability of evil has fixed in its infernal scorecard extremities like the beheading of the legislator representing Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s constituency in the State House of Assembly, Dr. Okey Okoye, and the pregnant young

lady, Hajira Jubril, murdered with her four little children.

“Similarly, in an obvious threat against holding last year’s gubernatorial election in Anambra State, the bloodthirsty miscreants attacked a political gathering by then Candidate Soludo, the acknowledged front-runner, and killed four policemen providing security there.”

Marginal Oilfields Licensing: Court Restrains FG from Issuing Licences Olusegun SamuelinYenagoa The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa has restrained the federal government from issuing licences for marginal oilfields in the Niger Delta pending determination of a pending suit.

Some Ijaw leaders had in 2020 approached the court seeking to

halt licensing of marginal oilfields located in their domains, but following setbacks and delays suffered by the suit, the bid winners were announced on June 1, 2021.

According to the court order, sighted yesterday in Yenagoa, presiding Justice Isa Dashen granted the injunction order in favour of the plaintiffs.

Plaintiff in the suit marked No. PHC/YEN/CS/81/2020 are Chief Brown Agu (Opu Agu VIII), Mrs Rosemary John-Oduone, President Ijaw Women Connect and Mr Femowei Friend on behalf of themselves and the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality. On the other hand, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Minister

of Petroleum Resources and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources are defendants in the suit.

The reliefs sought and granted by the court are: “That the respondents be restrained from further advertising and receiving bids in respect of the marginal fields.

University of Ibadan Appoints Adaralegbe Adjunct Professor University of Ibadan has appointed Dr. Bayo Adaralegbe as Adjunct Professor of Law at its Centre for Petroleum, Energy, Economics and Law (CPEEL). CPEEL is a joint collaboration between the University and the MacArthur Foundation, United States of America (USA) for research and training studies

in energy. Adaralegbe will be the first legal practitioner in private Legal practice to be appointed to Professorship cadre by a first generation Nigerian University.

Commenting on this appointment, Director of CPEEL, Professor Olusanya Olubusoye, said: “ We are lucky to have someone of

Professor Adaralegbe’s standing join us at a time CPEEL is repositioning itself not only for the Nigerian market but also internationally, especially considering developments of energy transition and the new Act in the industry. Not only does he have over three decades of industry experience, he is a scholar in his

own right.”

On his part, Professor Adaralegbe said: “I take very seriously my responsibilities to our students and the Centre and look forward to working closely with my other colleagues at the Centre to achieve a perfect ranking for the Centre.”

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

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WORLD OF ISLAM Court: NBC Lacks Power to

NEWSEXTRA

Regulate Advertising in Nigeria Wale Igbintade The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has held that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) acted beyond its powers by seeking to regulate the practice of advertising in Nigeria.

Justice Ambrose LewisAllagoa held that the NBC lacks the power to prohibit exclusivity on privately acquired intellectual property right in programme contents of a right holder.

He further set aside the proposed amendment to the 6th Edition of the NBC Code for being ultra vires, incompetent null and void, and perpetually

restrained the Commission from implementing it.

The judge made the orders in suit FHC/L/CS/1152.2020 filed by Mr. Femi Davies as sole plaintiff and the NBC as defendant.

Davies argued, among others, that if allowed, the amendment would greatly violate his right to a fair hearing.

He prayed the court to uphold his six prayers as set out in his originating summons.

The plaintiff’s reliefs include a declaration that the Commission lacks the requisite vires to prohibit exclusivity on privately acquired intellectual property right in program content of a

right-holder viz-a-viz the salient provisions of the constitution and the Copyright Act. “A declaration that the commission acted ultra-vires in so far as it sought to regulate the practice of advertising in Nigeria contrary to the provisions of the extant Advertising Practitioners (Registration, etc) Act, 2004.

“A declaration that the commission acted ultra vires when it sought to retroactively compel right holders of programme content to compulsorily share extant right acquired under existing licence under the proposed amendment to the 6th Edition of the NBC Code.

No Threat to Abba Kyari’s Life in Our Custody, Says Correctional Service The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) yesterday said that the former Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, was safe in custody, noting that there was no threat to his life.

The Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Mr. Francis Enobore, said this in a statement in Abuja.

Enobore said that it was necessary to address the issue following a publication by an online media organisation alleging Kyari was attacked by his fellow inmates.

According to him, the fake news peddler further stated that the authorities of the Service was considering transferring Kyari to DSS custody.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly known and addressed as OGUNEYE DELE now wish to be known and addressed as OGUNEYE BANDELE JOSEPH. All documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as MISS AGU CHISOM JULIET now wish to be known and addressed as MRS VICTOR CHISOM JULIET. All documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OMOLODUN OGHENEADJEKE EDITH now wish to be known and addressed as OGHUVWU OGHENE-ADJEKE EDITH. All documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as KASUMU TAIWO OMOTOLA now wish to be known and addressed as KAZEEM TAIWO OMOTOLA. All documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as FOLAKE AMINAT OKUNOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as FOLAKE AMINAT ABOH. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as PATRICIA NDUBUISI EJIMUDO, now wish to be known and addressed as PATRICIA NDUBUISI OKWUMBU. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as ANNABEL LUCKY EFENI, now wish to be known and addressed as ANNABEL EFENI RICHARD. All former documents remain valid. Librod Energy Services Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited and the general public please take note

He said “the story is false, reckless and mischievous.

“It is the handiwork of some jobless cheap recognition-seeking charlatans

masquerading as newsmen, lacking in intellectual capacity to interrogate what they conjure or hear before feeding the public.

Oduah Denies Absconding from NYSC Camp, Gives Agency 48 Hours to RetractIn theAllegation letter addressed to the The former Minister of Aviation and the Senator representing Anambra North Senatorial District, Stella Oduah, given the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) 48 hours to retract the allegation that she did not complete her national service.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as MATHIAS EJIKE EGBO now wish to be known and addressed as AKUEGBO MATHIAS AKUABATA. Old date of birth in Access bank 25/08/1978, Old date of birth in FCMB Bank 12/09/1980.

Correct Date of Birth is 12/12/1978. All former document remain valid. General

public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as ADIJAT OLUWAFUNKE LASISI, now wish to be known and addressed as ADIJAT OLUWAFUNKE AROWOLO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as ADEBISI BASIRAT ADEDAYO, now wish to be known and addressed as AFOLABI BASIRAT ADEDAYO. All former documents remain valid. NIMC 1DWLRQDO ,GHQWL¿FDWLRQ 0DQDJHPHQW Council and the general public please take note

I, formerly known and addressed as ADEYEMO ADEKUNLE SAHEED, now wish to be known and addressed as ADEYEMO ADEKUNLE SIMON. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OGBODU ERIOGHENEYOMA PORTIA, now wish to be known and addressed as FAFOWORA ERIOGHENEYOMA PORTIA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as SARAH EKE, now wish to be known and addressed as ONWUKA SARAH KALU. All former documents remain valid. Ndi Uyo &RPSRXQG $PDHNSX 2KD¿D and the general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as HAPPINESS STEPHEN, now wish to be known and addressed as HAPPINESS IJEBOR. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

Director General, National Youth Service Corps and titled, “48 Hours Notice to Retract Your Statement as Contained in Your Letter Dated 24th May 2022 Ref No. NYSC/DHQ/PPRU/783/ VOL 111”, the Senator stated: “Our attention has been called to your scandalous letter referenced above in which you acknowledged that Sen. Stella Oduah was mobilized for youth service in 1982 and served in the Lagos orientation camp but then concluded that she “absconded” and was not issued a certificate of discharge.”

The letter, which was signed

by Director, Media/Publicity for Distinguished Senator, Stella Oduah, Ezennia Nonso Chukwudebe, described the allegation as reckless and stated: “That reckless statement which we consider grossly irresponsible no doubt suggests that it was procured from you for political considerations in favour of Sen. Oduah’s political detractors.”

Peak Milk to Celebrate World Milk Day with #BreakfastPolice Rally To celebrate the World Milk Day this year, Nigeria’s foremost dairy brand, Peak Milk, from the stables of Friesland Campina WAMCO, has announced its plan to revive the declining breakfast culture of Nigerians, drive good dairy nutrition knowledge and debunk breakfast myths with its #BreakfastPolice rally.

The brand will engage its consumers across different touch points on World Milk Day through a disruptive digital experiential campaign tagged: “Missing Breakfast is a Crime,” a creative way to drive the importance of milk and breakfast as the ultimate meal of the day. The campaign and celebration begin May 23 as the National Breakfast Week and lead up to the World Milk Day on June 1.

According to the company, the Peak Breakfast Police, a fictional character of authority, will dramatise the ‘Missing Breakfast is a Crime’ campaign with a mass arrest of breakfast defaulters across different locations.

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

The Spirituality of Hajj (1) By: Spahic Omer/IslamiCity

INTRODUCTION Islam is the religion of actions and good work (‘amal), imbued with the spiritual certainty (iman). This combination is called comprehensive excellence (ihsan or itqan) and is the hallmark of Islam as the complete way of life. At the same time, Islam is the religion of quality rather than quantity, and of spiritual profundity rather than material showiness.

Almighty Allah says in the Qur’an: “Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them (as to) which of them is best in deed” (al-Kahf, 7).

“Those are the ones from whom We will accept the best of what they did and overlook their misdeeds, (their being) among the companions of Paradise. (That is) the promise of truth which they had been promised” (al-Ahqaf, 16).

The Qur’an repeatedly puts emphasis on the fact that Allah only accepts the deeds of those who are righteous; that is, those who are pious and fear Allah alone. Accordingly, ritualism and deliberate mediocrity are incompatible with the Islamic holistic spirit. Yet, they are un-Islamic and sinful, which means that insincere persons and their soulless actions under no circumstances can gain currency in Islam.

The relationship between form and purposeful function in Islam and its civilizational trajectory is very clear. There is no aspect of form or of any religious ceremony that reaches Allah; it is only people’s faith, righteousness and God-consciousness that do. The former plays second fiddle to and is in full service to the latter. As the Qur’an points out in the context of the sacrifice ritual (qurban): “Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you. Thus have We subjected them (sacrificial animals) to you that you may glorify Allah for that (to) which He has guided you; and give good tidings to the doers of good” (al-Hajj, 37).

Moreover, according to a hadith or tradition of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) excellence (ihsan), as the highest level of functional quality, is to worship Allah as if one sees Him, and if one cannot achieve this state of devotion, then (he should take for granted that) Allah sees him.

The Prophet also said that Allah is Good (Tayyib) and accepts only that which is good (sincere, truthful, reverent, outstanding and beautiful).

When it comes to the quality of good work, furthermore, the Prophet said that Allah loves when a person does something to perfect it.

As the final pillar of the edifice of Islam, Hajj denotes the attainment of one’s religious (spiritual) journey. It is its apex. It is likewise a manifestation, as well as affirmation, of one’s self-fulfilment. Hajj, in addition, is the proof of the efficacy of all the other pillars of Islam.

Demonstrating how the physical realities of life are but an echo of, and the overture to, the metaphysical ones, Hajj is also an ultimate proof on its own. Analysing the above-mentioned subjects - and dimensions - of Hajj shows why and how such is the case.

Hajj is a fabulous opportunity for Muslims to up the ante and work up the courage, for Hajj as a spiritual revolution in our world today is progressively attracting global attention. In its capacity as one of the largest concentrated and recurring religious festivals in the world, Hajj does not pass unnoticed. People are as much curious as they are fascinated and intrigued.

Questions are asked and an increase both in the academic and popular demand is created.

The ball is in Muslims’ court.

In a certain sense, this book signifies a response, and is a humble step in the outlined direction.

It follows especially the examples of Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali’s “The Book on the Secrets of Pilgrimage (Hajj)”, representing the Islamic classical culture, and Ali Shariati’s “Hajj: Reflections on Its Rituals”, representing contemporary times.

The book invites other researchers to build on its content, and to thus contribute to the field of the roles of Hajj in remodelling the Muslim present-day consciousness and in reviving Islamic civilization.

IHRAM AND TALBIYAH Two subjects associated with the dramatic commencement of Hajj are ihram and talbiyah, further enhanced by the concepts of sincere intention (niyyah) and mawaqit (fixed times and places for the beginning of Hajj).

Ihram is making the intention for Hajj on the 8th of Dhul Hijjah and taking off all sewn clothes and wearing the Hajj garment. The garment consists of two sheets of white cloth made of

very plain and simple fabric. One is wrapped round the upper part of the body, except the head, and the other round the lower part of the body.

This is the dress for men. For women, however, it can be regular clothing, albeit with all ihram restrictions applying to them as well.

Talbiyah is the uttering of specified words while donning the garment of ihram. It is part of the Hajj intention and continues to be uttered afterwards in most Hajj circumstances until the throwing of the first pebble at Mina on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah. Imam al-Shafi’i is reported to have said: “We love to say it (talbiyah) at all times (during the said period of three days).” As for its legal importance and rank, talbiyah oscillates from being recommended to being obligatory.

The standard words of talbiyah are the Prophet’s words: “Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am. You have no partner. Here I am. Verily, all praise, grace, and sovereignty are Yours alone.

You have no partner.”

The Prophet (pbuh) also said: “Here I am, O God of Truth.” Moreover, he approved of some people’s addition to the original talbiyah: “Here I am, O Owner of the Ways of Ascent. Here I am, O Owner of Excellence”. A companion of the Prophet (pbuh), Abdullah b. ‘Umar, used to add as well: “Here I am and blessed by You, and all good is in Your Hands, and desire and action are directed towards You.” It goes without saying that there is more to ihram and talbiyah than what is immediately apparent. The two acts constitute a procedure that ushers a person into a higher realm of meaning and experience. The set times and locations for the start of Hajj (mawaqit) denote the end of a less significant domain and the beginning of a greater and more consequential one. The mawaqit function as the transition point, and ihram together with talbiyah as an epitaph to it.

The city of Makkah is a holy city. It was and remained umm al-qura, the mother of all cities and villages, i.e., all types of urban and rural human settlements. Its nobility and luminosity stand for the source of all other nobilities and luminosities. Not only is Makkah the centre of life on earth, but also the centre of the universe and all existence. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that Almighty Allah decreed Makkah to be what it is – i.e. a holy city, sanctuary, and a place of safety – the moment He created the heavens and the earth. As if the city is the existential raison d’etre of terrestrial life.

Following the heavenly feat of creation, it all started the moment Adam and his wife Hawwa’ descended from Paradise to earth. Adam built the Ka’bah as the House of God and as the first house of worship established for mankind, and thus introduced the ceremony of pilgrimage.

However, no sooner had monotheism been swapped for polytheism, than the Ka’bah and the tawhidic (God’s Oneness) pilgrimage rites were distorted, abandoned and, in the end, forgotten.

Later, Prophet Ibrahim and his son Isma’il - also prophet - were tasked with the rebuilding of the Ka’bah and the revival of the Hajj institution.

Almighty Allah instructed Ibrahim: “And proclaim to the people Hajj (the pilgrimage); they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant path” (al-Hajj, 27).

At the time Makkah was a barren and uninhabited valley. There was nothing that could attract anybody to undertake a journey to it, let alone to settle there or to fall in love with it.

What was happening was hard to rationalize and relate to the laws of nature or society.

Even Hajar, Ibrahim’s wife, whom he had brought to the valley together with his newly born son Isma’il and was about to leave them there, was lost for words - and judgments. In desperation she asked Ibrahim if Allah had commanded him to do all that, to which he replied in the affirmative. Afterwards she calmly responded: “Then certainly, He will not abandon us.”

Indeed, the story of Ibrahim, his wife Hajar and his son Isma’il, was intended to be something extraordinary. The story represented a divine plan for mankind. Yet, it was about mankind’s destiny.

Furthermore, it was a window into the future where some of its most momentous chapters were intimated. Thus, Ibrahim is normally called the father of holy prophets, but in the highest heavenly spheres he is known as the friend of God. It follows that studying human history with holy prophets at centre stage means exploring the unfolding of the divine plan. It also means reading the Will of God at work, and reading the evolution of the mother of human settlements (umm al-qura) from being nothing to being everything, and of the world from being misguided and directionless to being guided and purposeful.

To Be Continued

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BACKPAGE CONTINUATION THE CHIBUIKE ROTIMI AMAECHI I KNOW with the book know that there is not even a page or a chapter in the book devoted to discussing Amaechi’s politics, programmes or style of governance.

My purpose then was to point my readers to the essence of purposeful leadership and meaningful development, which he represented and still does. I felicitate with him today and in the context of the unfolding political situation because I see in Amaechi one of those best equipped with the right vision, passion and experience to set a new agenda in the nation’s development trajectory. As State Governor and chair of the Governors’ Forum, Amaechi stood noticeably taller than most of his colleagues who were batting below average.

The Amaechi I knew then is essentially the same Amaechi I see today. Considering the severe security challenges in Rivers State when he took office as Governor, and the steady hand with which he routed the cult groups and criminal elements, one feels confident that he understands that if Nigeria is to survive, the state must effectively reclaim the ungoverned spaces taken over by groups of foreign and local bandits and terrorists. Safety of life and property is a sine qua non for sustainable development, human fulfillment and happiness. Here’s a man who travelled that road successfully, offering himself for more service.

The Amaechi I know is very passionate about social welfare, the nexus between his compassion and his vision. He understands that without creating employment, widening and deepening the positive advantages of education as well as skills acquisition, and bringing the benefits of healthcare to the grassroots, security would not be assured. Insecurity would still be feeding on illiteracy and ignorance, joblessness and hopelessness.

Merely throwing arms and money at insecurity does not solve the problem so long as the fundamental causes are unattended to.

As Governor, Amaechi ensured that at the same time as his administration was denying safe harbour to cultists and criminals, it was also building the economy, reinforcing the education foundation and recruiting into the public sector, especially education, to deny insecurity the pool of hungry, angry and despondent youth from which it found recruits. The bold and novel steps to boost education and agriculture created hundreds of new jobs.

Amaechi

The detailed redesigning and reconstruction of primary and model secondary schools as well as primary health care facilities in local governments and communities turned the State into a massive construction sight.

Even his worst critics, unless they are blinded by partisanship, see in Amaechi a man who demonstrated his concern for the future of the youths by creating conditions for their development.

One of the abiding characteristics of the Nigerian ruling class is its antiintellectualism and intolerance of ideas and debate – unless the ideas came ready-made from donors or the World Bank. Amaechi is happily free of this trait. When he made education top priority under his administration, he was not playing to the gallery. He is a self-confessed lover of books and ideas. He still finds time

to read! This is rare among members of the Nigerian political elite. Amaechi’s administration supported the annual Book festival in Port Harcourt. He not only dutifully attended them but he also participated actively in the discussions that were not always pro-government.

Under his administration, Port Harcourt was named one of the Book capitals of the world. Here is a man who can take criticism in his strides; a man who acknowledges his own mistakes.

He cannot be leader who has no vision of where he wants to take the society. As Rivers State Governor, Amaechi showed that he had a holistic vision and a plan for its implementation, based on what was provided in the State’s Master Plan. Each of his major projects derived from his vision of a safe, economically strong State with

of Obi to London.

Notwithstanding the too little too late dimensions of the gesture, the step must be acknowledged as a unique acceptance of responsibility for what becomes of Nigeria.

After all it is trite to reiterate that Nigeria is a sole and exclusive creation of the British empire and for no better reason than the administrative convenience of colonial exploitation. In and of itself this is sufficient reason to hold the British accountable for the failure of the Nigerian experiment. It may be a jaded refrain but how do you create a country with no better originating mores than the utility of exploitation - as documented in white and black in the colonial archives .

It gets worse. This bad beginning was relentlessly reinforced with colonial insemination of hate and division among their Nigerian colonial subjects. “‘Lugard certainly left a legacy of dottiness and nasty racism behind him…his fabrications still colour Whitehall’s attitudes to Nigeria, which can be summed up as pale-skinned Moslem North good, black-skinned Christian South bad* “By 1914, modern Nigeria came into being under an autocratic Governor, Sir Frederick Lugard, who succeeded in isolating one Nigerian group from the other….It was Charles Temple, the senior resident in the North and his racist fellow traveller, Sir Richmond Palmer, who indoctrinated Northern emirs about their total difference, not only politically, but even racially from their Southern compatriots. Sir Theodore Adams went as far as to say, in 1941, that the emirs considered the Northern provinces as a separate country and that enforced cooperation with the South would lead to a

demand for ‘Pakistan”. ….in administration, in land policy, in a dozen different fields of colonial government, the administration reinforced not the unity of the colony, but the differences between North and South” noted Nigerian historians As the Nigerian political crisis snowballs, the logic of neo colonialism and globalisation has highlighted the imperative of the intervention of the international community.

No critical member of the international community owe the obligation for such intervention than the United Kingdom, UK, at least as atonement for the many mishaps it has foisted on the country. Britain will not be choosing the Nigerian president for us and Obi or any igbo for that matter will probably not become president but a positive momentum has been generated the end of which no one can predict.

According to the French poet Victor Hugo, there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come (but Nigeria being Nigeria), I doubt the applicability of this wisdom to Nigeria-notorious for its negative exceptionalism. A vintage Bob Marley lyrics says ‘its your love that I’m waiting for, its your love I’m running from’. In like manner, Nigeria, at one and the same time alienates and yearns for the likes Obi. A drastically sick Nigeria needs a countervailing drastic solution but it is difficult to imagine how a Nigerian context that enables the theft of eighty billion naira by its accountant-General will welcome the arrival of a prudent self-denying disciplinarian as president.

In the words of Obi himself “What people are acquiring now is no longer greed. It’s become a sickness. People are sick here.

People have to reduce their greed. People are

an educated and skilled workforce able to leverage the advantages of the expanding infrastructure. Care was taken to ensure equitable spread of all development aids across the Local Government Areas. One could see a leader planning today for a greater tomorrow.

Amaechi is not without his critics and some of them are justified. However, some of the critics mistake for arrogance his outspokenness and low tolerance for incompetence; they see him as disrespectful and intolerant. I must say that this is far from the Amaechi I know. But then that is the lot of a man who has few guiles and who prefers to call a spade by its proper name. He can be brash, yes; but disrespectful, certainly not. The fact is that when he sets his mind on a goal, he gives it his best - sometimes at the risk of stepping on toes. He strictly distinguishes between the personal and official relations. Because he takes responsibility for what he does in office, he is not one to let personal relations get in the way of doing the job to the best of his ability. Obviously, those who see things differently will most likely place negative construction on what results from such interactions.

Amaechi has a high sense of loyalty.

Some people achieve high office and abandon old friends as they embrace new ones. Not the Amaechi I know. He stands by old friends. It is in relating to them and to those who remind him where he is coming from – the poor and weak – that his compassion comes to full play.

It is fair to describe Amaechi as a workaholic. His staff will attest to the fact that his working day begins quite early and ends rather late. He is not daunted by the amount of work he has to do. He is worried that it should be done well.

Those of us who claim a critical disposition have some responsibility to hold up to the young people those who have the potential to steer the ship of state in a positively different direction. The Amaechi I know is one of such people.

As I felicitate with him on this birthday anniversary, I hope he continues to be steadfast in standing for justice and equity, for hard work with fair returns.

Happy birthday greetings, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi! As the Igbo say when they see what is commendable in anyone, Jide nk’i ji!!

•Ekekwe is a Professor of Political Science

THE PETER OBI PHENOMENON make him a marked man for good but it has equally make him a putative foe of the status-quo bound Nigerian political establishment. There is also the happy coincidence of coming against the immediate backdrop of across board groundswell of enthusiasm of the ‘end sars’ generation.

I got a first hand experience of this booster at the annual gathering of the Royal African Young Leadership Forum (RAYLF) at ilé ìfe last weekend. Let me first cede the introduction of the representative group to Bala Shagari “It is a gathering of the who is who among the young people who have made their mark in various endeavors. A Hundred of us were selected and invited to be awarded under the Royal African Young Leadership Forum (RAYLF). As the President of the National Youth Council at that time, I had always dreamt of having a gathering like this where successful young Nigerians would come together to form a forum, but I’ve always thought it was impossible. Because we don’t usually have the kind of cooperation that will allows us organize in such a way. But here it is like magic, for the first time ever we came together under one platform. I have always lamented that young Nigerians are successful individually but not collectively” At a subsequent small gathering of the yuppies, I sat next to a member (Akin Laoye) who casually drew my attention to the evidence of the mobilisation feat of raising forty million naira for Obi within a time frame of 24 hours through crowd funding solicitation! They had played similar crucial roles in the ‘ENDSARS’ protest that caught Nigeria by storm one and a half years ago. Two days later the news broke of a meeting of minds whitehall invitation

acquiring what they don’t need. N80 billion is a budget of a state. That’s no longer greed, it’s sickness”. In the evolving Nigerian political drama Obi has appropriately resigned his membership of the PDP in protest against the scandalous gate fees to the party primaries “recent developments within the party make it practically impossible to continue participating and making constructive contributions”. He said The presidential application fee of one hundred million naira and forty million naira of the APC and PDP respectively is nothing short of incitement to criminality.

How did the ministers, senate president, vice-president and governors among the applicants come by the hundreds of millions they are throwing around with so much levity and insensitivity? What is their legitimate income and how does this correlate with the financial status of those who can afford to play around with a hundred million naira? Do their sworn declaration of assets before the code of conduct bureau indicate the financial capacity on rogue display? Let us not forget that the boom industry in Nigeria today is the kidnap for ransom banditry. Which begs the question-Is there no nexus between this banditry and the ongoing celebration of corruption and impunity at the highest echelons of public service?

I beg to now take my leave with a contrary citation. ”I came to offer my services to Nigerians free of charge through the Platform of PDP, but PDP decided to sell it to the highest bidder, I did not steal government money and I have no intentions of stealing it in the future . Nigerians have suffered so much as a result of this type of politics of buying political offices”-Peter Obi

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FRIDAY, ͺͿ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

FRIDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Ligue 1, La Liga at War Over Kylian Mbappe

The President of French Ligue 1, Vincent Labrune, insisted yesterday that attacks by La Liga over Kylian Mbappe's new Paris St-Germain deal are "unacceptable".

France striker Mbappe, 23, signed a lucrative three-year extension on Saturday, having been strongly linked with a free transfer to Real Madrid.

La Liga called PSG's reported contract offer “scandalous”, but Ligue 1 president Labrune has responded angrily.

He said: "Over the past 10 years, La Liga has spent 32% more on players than Ligue 1."

PSG are owned by Qatar Sports Investments, a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the state-run sovereign-wealth fund

T R A N S F E R SAGA in Qatar.

With Mbappe's contract running out in June, they were desperate to keep him and prepared to offer a £21m net annual salary.

La Liga announced plans to file a complaint to UEFA as well as French and EU authorities after President Javier Tebas described the deal as an "insult to football".

But in a letter to Tebas, Labrune vented the French football governing body's "disapproval and incomprehension" at the outbursts.

"Your attacks on Ligue 1 and one of our clubs Paris St-Germain,

and one of our players Kylian Mbappe, are based around your own interpretation of financial unsustainability and competitive imbalance, which you repeatedly attribute to Ligue 1 and one of our clubs," he wrote.

"The fact that you publicly and repeatedly take this position against Ligue 1 on this topic and denigrate our league and our clubs is both unacceptable and manifestly false.

"Two of your clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, have broken a multitude of records in the past decade.

"In terms of transfer fees, these two clubs have broken the world record six times. In terms of player salaries, Real Madrid currently has

two of the highest-paid players in world football sat on their bench.

"In terms of debt, Barcelona is reported to have a debt level of €1.5bn, and this is despite the European Court of Justice finding that Real Madrid and Barcelona benefitted from illegal state aid."

Speaking on Wednesday, UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin, told BBC Sport it has "financial fair play rules which are quite strict".

"Whoever will respect our rules is welcome to play in our competitions; who will not respect the rules will not," he said.

"Not Real Madrid or anyone else will tell UEFA what to do. They are outraged from one point of view and, as much as I know, their offer was similar to (PSG's) offer."

Diri Splashes Cash Gifts on Victorious Bayelsa Queens, Wrestling Champions Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri has doled out cash rewards to Bayelsa Queens, winners of the 2021/2022 Nigeria Women Football League’s Premiership Super 6 competition recently concluded in Benin City, Edo State.

Also honoured were wrestlers that won medals at the just concluded African Wrestling Championship in Morocco.

The governor announced the cash awards, while receiving the athletes on Wednesday in Government House Yenagoa.

Apart from emerging champions, winning all their five matches, Bayelsa Queens also claimed all the individual prizes, including the Most Valuable Player, Best Goal Keeper and Highest Goals Scorer of the tournament.

The Bayelsa Governor who is a former board member of the NFF, could not contain his excitement at the feat of the state’s female football team.

"It is on this note that the following rewards is hereby announced and this monies have to be released before the team embark on continental campaign.

"Each first team player of Bayelsa Queens will go home with N500,000.

We are doing this because we are going to prepare the team very well for the CAF Women’s Champions League. When you come back victorious, it is then you’ll know what your government will do for you,” observed Gov Diri.

For Monday Gift who emerged the highest goals scorer of the NWFL 2021/2022 season, there is additional bonus of N100,000 for her.

"Because we just received all your laurels, the Most Valuable Player will receive additional N100'000 from the state government and additional N200,000 from me (Governor); the Highest Goals Scorer will have an additional N100, 000 and additional 200,000 from me (Governor). The Best Goal Keeper will have N100,000 plus additional N200,000 from me (Governor).”

Also, the coaches and back room staff were also rewarded.

"The Technical Adviser will go home with N700,000 while the Assistant coaches are to get N500'000 each. The Secretary of the management team will receive N500'000 same as the Chairman of the team.

The team and other team members will get 300,000 each while Board members are to be rewarded with N200,000 each.

Gov Diri urged members of the team to maintain the winning tempo, assuring them that the state government will give them the needed support to enable them have a successful outing in their quest for continental glory later in the year.

He however urged sponsors of women’s football league to have an upward review of the prize money in order to encourage the development of the Women's game in the country.

Gov Diri also expressed delight with the Bayelsa contingent to the 2022 African Wrestling Championship in El Jedida, Morocco, where the Bayelsa wrestlers clinched a gold, three silver and one bronze medals.

He thanked the wrestlers for

Leadway Partners Sporting Lagos FC to Boost Sports Devt In advancing its commitment to strengthening youth engagement, deepening sports development, and promoting talents, Leadway, the foremost financial services provider, has entered into a sponsorship agreement with Sporting Lagos Football Club, a debutant in the Nigerian National League (NNL).

The season-long sponsorship with the growing Lagos-based football club, which includes delighting the fans on match days, aligns with Leadway's philosophy of contributing to individual growth, especially the youths, promoting local content, and bolstering economic advancement in its immediate community, the country, and Africa at large.

Commenting on this initiative, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Leadway Holdings, Mr. Olusakin Labeodan, stated that the sponsorship is in line with Leadway's corporate objective of strategically creating value by harnessing the talents and potentials of individuals through support to an organisation aimed

at advancing lives and promoting economic progress.

"We are delighted to partner the Sporting Lagos FC team to change the face of sports in Nigeria. The impact and importance of sports, especially football, to the Nigerian youth is beyond the peripheral.

Sports have become a platform for youth to express, engage, incubate and develop their talents. It is both an entertainment and a platform for identity and opportunity and an integral part of socio-economic advancement.

Sporting Lagos Football Club is the brainchild of Shola Akinlade, Co-Founder/CEO of Paystack, Nigeria’s leading online payment platform and a wholly owned subsidiary of Stripe.

Sporting Lagos is a community effort to build something enduring that creates opportunities for millions of young Nigerians. The team currently plays in the Nigeria National League (NNL) and is seeking promotion to the first division of Nigerian professional football.

taking the name of the state to greater heights, stating that, the government is proud of their brilliant showing at the continental show piece.

He assured them of the government's continuous support in their efforts at winning laurels for the State and the Country.

"For the continental kings in wrestling, the coach will go home with N850,000 and additional 300,000 from me.

"Blessing Oborududu, you have done very well and will go home with N700, 000 and additional N300,000 from me to make it N1million.

All the three silver medalists, Ebikewenemo Wilson, Patience Opuene and Hannah Reuben are to receive N500,000 each while the only bronze medalist, Ebi Biogos, was blessed with N300,000.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Daniel Igali, thanked the governor for his support to the sports sector, which has resulted in the outstanding performances of the athletes at the various local and international competitions.

Mbappe ...at the centre of war between Ligue 1 and La Liga

Calvin Bassey (left) and Joe Aribo arrived Super Eagles camp in Dallas, Texas yesterday evening ahead of tomorrow's friendly with Mexico

Bassey, Aribo Swell Super Eagles Camp in Texas to 15 Players Duro Ikhazuagbe The arrival of Europa League finalists Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo swelled Super Eagles camp to 15 players for the international Friendly with Mexico’s El Tri tomorrow in Dallas, Texas, USA. The pair who played pivotal roles in Scottish Rangers getting to the final of the second tier European competition, joined up with the 13

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES early birds that include; William Troost-Ekong, Moses Simon, Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina and Semi Ajayi.

Although Eagles are going to be without top stars like Victor Osimhen, Maduka Okoye and Emmanuel Dennis for various reasons, this first game under the watch of new Portuguese Coach,

Jose Peseiro, will afford the gaffer first hand knowledge of the players he’s going to work with in these friendlies with Mexico and Ecuador.

Eight players from the domestic Nigeria Professional Football League opened the camp on Wednesday.

They include; Adewale Adeyinka (Akwa United); Ojo Olorunleke

GOLFERS ALL...

L-R: Captain of TYB Golf Club, Brig. Gen. AM Bello; Lady Captain, Mrs. Susan Marcus and Vice Captain, Brig. Gen. GG Shipi (rtd) at the TYB Ladies Open Golf Championship which held in Abuja....recently

(Enyimba FC), Ibrahim Buhari (Plateau United), Chiamaka Madu (Rivers United), Ishaq Rafiu (Rivers United), Victor Mbaoma (Enyimba FC), Faisal Sanni(Katsina United) and Babatunde Bello( Akwa United).

The first of the two friendlies for the Super Eagles will hold at the AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas on Saturday against the El Tri who Coach Gerardo Martino has already lined up 38-players for.

Top amongst the stars lined up against Eagles are; Wolves striker Raul Jimenez, Jesus Corona of Sevilla and Hector Herrera from Atletico Madrid.

The Super Eagles will play Ecuador on June 2 before returning to the Nigeria to prepare for the AFCON 2023 qualifier against Sierra Leone.

15 SUPER EAGLES IN CAMP: Adewale Adeyinka (Akwa United); Ojo Olorunleke (Enyimba FC), Ibrahim Buhari (Plateau United), Chiamaka Madu (Rivers United), Ishaq Rafiu (Rivers United), Victor Mbaoma (Enyimba FC), Faisal Sanni(Katsina United), Babatunde Bello( Akwa United), Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy), Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England), William Ekong (Watford FC, England), Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France), Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England), Calvin Bassey(Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Jo Aribo(Glasgow Rangers, Scotland).

Friday May 27, 2022

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MISSILE ASUU to INEC “We have said ASUU will not take part in elections, because before you start voting, the system is already corrupted. At the polling units, the system is corrupt. You tell us to stay at the top to compile results, we won’t do that. Anybody participating is going as a Nigerian, not as a member of ASUU, and when he is arrested, he should be treated as a Nigerian, not as ASUU” –ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, giving reasons why ASUU won’t officiate in elections.

AKINOSUNTOKUN DIALOGUE WITH NIGERIA

akinosuntokun@thisdaylive.com

The Peter Obi Phenomenon M y reaction to the rise in the political profile of Peter Obi is predictable. I am immeasurably elated on account of the well known position I have taken on the next Nigerian presidential succession. As igbo he ticks the box of the opportunity we have to advance the cause of Nigerian nationhood by causing the emergence of the next President of Nigeria from the south-east geopolitical zone. It is a contradiction in terms to talk of Nigerian national unity and integration without recognising and accepting the utility of this prescription.

Ironically, the prescription is itself an indication of the political ailment with which Nigeria is plagued on account of radically straying from the path of federalism.

A few days ago, one of the items making the rounds in the social media habitat was the fifty six years anniversary of the unification decree (which abolished federalism) promulgated by the first Nigerian military government of General JTU Aguiyi Ironsi. Given the chain of reactions it unleashed, the promulgation amounted to the proverbial opening of the pandora box. To put it in the idiom of William Yeats “The falcon cannot hear

Obi

the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”. To the bargain, there was the carnival of blood counter coup, the

pogrom and the monumental tragedy of the civil war.

Significantly it established the doctrine of the balance of terror and might is right as the organising principle of Nigerian politics. It lately culminated in a situation in which the fait accompli of two northern Muslims as presidential candidates of the two dominant parties, the All Progressive Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is being contemplated as the send forth gift of the Muhammadu Buhari dispensation. If the rough and tumble political drift that subsisted till 2015 has put anyone in doubt as regards the persistence of this predicate of Nigerian politics, a rude awakening has been provided by the zero-sum, winner-takes-all power politics of the Buhari presidency.

Nonetheless, pending the return of political sanity (the practice of federalism) to the shores of Nigeria, the requisite irreducible minimum for the political stability of Nigeria is the stop gap measure of power rotation between the North and the South. The subsequent identification of the South East as the more deserving of the three zones comprising Southern Nigeria is an extension of the same logic. If I may restate my position- anyone inclined to accept the responsibility of engineering

nationhood out of the present Nigerian miasma must accept the concomitant obligation of promoting the realisation of a Nigerian president of Igbo origin as categorical imperative. Failure to do this by omission or commission carries with it the implication of keeping the task of national integration and unity in abeyance.

The good news is that Obi is not just coming on the platform of zoning but in his own right as, perhaps, the most compelling candidate of the season. At the risk of being perceived as seeking neo colonial validation, it is a fact that one of the significant highlights of the current election cycle is the invitation of Obi to 10 Downing St, London as guest of the British prime minister. As a non Nigerian government actor the privilege extended to him has no precedence in recent memory. And rightly so, it is going to give his political leadership standing a massive tailwind.

It addresses the misgivings of those who worry that the cacophony of a multitude of igbo aspirants plays the spoiler role to the realisation of an Igbo becoming the president of Nigeria-by effectively narrowing down the field to one individual. It has Continued on page 62

EME N. EKEKWE The Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi I Know GUEST COLUMNIST

“For what is a man What has he got if not himself To say all the things he truly feels And not the words of one who kneels…”

–Paul Anka, in the song, My Way, which was sang and popularised by Frank Sinatra

T

hose words paint the picture of a man who speaks his beliefs with conviction and no apologies; of a man who is passionate, bold and courageous in giving form to his beliefs and ideas. Demand of me to name a contemporary Nigerian politician who has these characteristics and more, and I will readily name Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Those are some of the enduring traits which I have, for as long as I have known him, associated with the former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, former Rivers State Governor, former Hon. Minister for Transportation and now an aspirant for the office of the

President of the Federal Republic.

I have known Chibuike Amaechi since his days as an undergraduate student at the University of Port Harcourt.

Then, he was a leading light in student unionism. I knew him to hold strong progressive opinions but he was always clear-headed and realistic. I recall one of the critical moments then when the real Amaechi stood up for what was fair and just. In the course of the students’ union election of that year, it became apparent that the ethnic bogey would topple everything: it was the only weapon the opposition could effectively deploy against the frontline candidate. Those who thought an Igbo – never mind he was from the State - should not be leader of the union were hoping that Amaechi would throw his considerable influence behind them. But he quickly saw the injustice in what was to be and gave his unequivocal, clear and direct support to the embattled frontline candidate who went on to win. That early in his

career, as demonstrated in this instance, Amaechi’s conviction in the justice of the situation trumped over pressure to do the wrong and yield to the convenience of sentiment.

The Amaechi I know is a man who has held fast to certain principles: loyalty and respectfulness, justice and fairness, humility, compassion courage and forthrightness. Where he changes his position on issues, it is because he encountered superior facts. To be sure, he hardly does so out of convenience but on reasoned conviction. The man is uncompromising with his opposition to oppression and injustice, insincerity and treachery.

Back in 2011, I edited a book with the title Nigeria, Leadership and Development: Essays in Honour of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. I consciously did the book to honour Amaechi, then Governor of Rivers State, because I was impressed with the boldness of the vision of development he demonstrated, the passion and energy

with which he went about his work, as well as the courage with which he took on some of the vested interests in the State. Given what the country is used to, Amaechi even then demonstrated a promising vision. He still does.

I have never been Amaechi’s political associate nor was the book in his honour for partisan political or any material reasons. It was simply because I saw reason, logic and hope in what he was trying to do and in the enthusiasm with which he was going about it. Such persons, I believe, deserve recognition and honour, to encourage them and to inspire others. In the same breath in which I commended what Amaechi was doing, I also commended others like Donald Duke in Cross River State, Adams Oshiomhole in Edo State and Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State – leaders in their respective States who were exemplary at the time, in my view. Those familiar

Continued on page 62

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