WEDNESDAY 2ND JUNE 2021 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

Oil Price Hits 30-month High on OPEC’s Demand Rally Forecast Nigeria’s July production pegged at 1.579m bpd Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Crude oil prices yesterday climbed to the highest point in more than two-and-a-half years, after the Organisation of

Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies known as OPEC+ forecast a tightening global market. Brent crude, Nigeria’s oil benchmark, crossed the

much-awaited $70 mark, hitting $71.33 at a point. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose as much as 3.8 per cent to $68.87 a barrel, a level it has failed to hold for a sustained

period since 2018. However, the climbing oil price could worsen Nigeria’s fiscal crisis as it portends the federal government spending more to keep the pump price

of petrol stable at the current N162-N165 price band in view of the non-conclusion of talks with labour and other stakeholders on the need to float petrol cost in

conformity with the policy on the deregulation of the downstream sector. The new price levels were Continued on page 10

Emeﬁele: Revival of Cotton, Textile Industries Critical for Economic Recovery... Page 8 Wednesday 2 June, 2021 Vol 26. No 9550. Price: N250

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Federalism, LG Autonomy Top Demands at Constitution Review Hearings Sultan seeks immunity clause removal, role for monarchs Akeredolu wants Senate scrapped Segun James in Lagos, Christopher Isiguzo and Gideon Arinze in Enugu, Seriki Adinoyi in Jos, James Sowole in Akure and Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The clamour for federalism, local government autonomy,

community policing and devolution of power dominated the nationwide public hearings conducted yesterday by the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution. However, while the Sultan

of Sokoto and PresidentGeneral of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, called for the removal of the immunity clause in the constitution, the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu , advocated the

scrapping of the Senate to make the federal legislature unicameral, as one of the ways of reducing the cost of governance. Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa states have also unanimously demanded devolution of power in a

manner that the states will be given more powers and finance considering their enormous responsibilities. At Akure, one of the two venues of the public hearing for the South-west zone, Akeredolu said devolution of powers, true federalism,

state police, among others, as presented last week to the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review were germane in restructuring the country. Akeredolu, who was Continued on page 10

Promoters of Insurrection Are in for a Rude Shock, Says Buhari Vows attacks on INEC’s assets won’t stop future elections Reassures Nigerians no third term ambition

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday vowed to deal with those bent on destroying the nation through assaults on public buildings and institutions. He also assured Nigerians that despite security challenges facing the country, all future elections will be conducted as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Buhari, while receiving a delegation of INEC, led by its National Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at the State

House, Abuja, committed his administration to providing adequate financial backing for the commission’s operations. The INEC delegation came to brief the president on the series of attacks on facilities of the electoral body nationwide. The deteriorating security situation in the country also engaged the attention of the National Assembly yesterday with the President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, stressing the need for more legislative interventions to secure Nigerians. Continued on page 10

THE HEADQUARTERS HEIRS BUILT... Chairman, Heirs Holdings and Heirs Insurance Limited, Mr. Tony Elumelu (left) and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the inauguration of Heirs Towers, in Lagos...yesterday

South-east Govs Charge Security Agencies to Unravel Gulak's Assassination...Page 5

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NEWS South-east Govs Charge Security Agencies to Unravel Gulak’s Assassination Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike

Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

Nseobong Okon-Ekong

While residents of the five South-east states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo observed a forced sit-at-home order issued by the proscribed separatist group, Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) on Monday, their governors seized the opportunity to hold a virtual meeting to review the security situation in the zone. During the meeting, the governors condemned the killing of All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Hon. Ahmed Gulak, in Owerri, Imo State. They directed security agencies to unravel the circumstances surrounding the murder. They also resolved to stand by their colleague, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and the security agencies in their efforts to nab the masterminds of Gulak's killing. In a communiqué issued yesterday by Chairman of the South-east Governors' Forum and Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi, the forum commended the "governors from the North for their understanding in the face of this unfortunate murder

of their son." They also commiserated with the immediate family of Gulak, the government and people of Adamawa State. The governors thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for directing the security agencies to fish out the perpetrators, adding that the directive will further strengthen the bonds of unity and trust "with our Northern brothers and sisters." They said: “It is with a rude shock that we received the news of the unfortunate death of Alhaji Ahmed Gulak in the hands of the senseless gunmen. “We, on behalf of the people of South-east, condemn the act highly and we charge security agencies to immediately deploy their officers and men to arrest the perpetrators and make them face justice. We, however, pray to God to grant the deceased rest in eternity.” The governors condoled with the Gulak’s family, the Adamawa State Government and Nigerians in general. “We assure our fellow Northern governors of our commitment to unravel all masterminds of the act. “The forum urges the public to exercise restraint and allow

security agencies continue with their investigations while assuring that all those involved in the act will be brought to justice,” the forum said. Explaining the predicament of the governors in dealing with the unrest in the South-east and why they

could not countermand IPOB's sit-at-home order of Monday, Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, told THISDAY that "people decided to sit-at-home not necessarily because all of them believe in IPOB. I could not rise to say you must go out. I am elected

to protect lives and property. So, whenever I see myself as incapable of protecting lives and property of my people, I back out. "I do not want to put them in harm's way. Most people could not be persuaded to go out anyway because they

looked at how much they will make and the value of their lives and they preferred to stay at home. When I drove around town on Monday, I did not see police officers on patrol. In some states where the officers went out they were attacked."

VICTORY CELEBRATION... L-R: Edo State Deputy Governor, Hon. Philip Shaibu; the Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; and Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Osarodion Ogie, during a parade to celebrate the governor’s victory at the Supreme Court, in Benin City...yesterday

THISDAY Editor Emerges NGE's VP, Isa Retains Presidency Nation’s Capital Editor is general secretary Buhari congratulates new leadership Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) on Monday night re-elected Mr. Mustapha Isa to oversee the affairs of the guild for the next two years, just as the Editor of THISDAY Newspaper, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi was elected the vice president of the body for the West. Isa trounced the outgoing Secretary, Victoria Ibanga, by securing 176 votes against his main challenger’s 54 votes. Announcing the results of the keenly contested elections, the Chairman of the Screening and Election

Committee, Mr. Bonnie Iwuoha, said Mr. Ali M. Ali, was returned unopposed as the deputy president, while Kila Habibu Nuhu, was also elected unopposed as vice president (North). The Nation’s capital Editor of THISDAY, Mr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, also emerged unopposed as general secretary. The final results also showed that Samuel Egbala was elected vice president (East) after he secured 132 votes against a distant runner up, Mr. Sheddy Ozoene, who polled 88 votes Adebiyi defeated the outgoing Social/Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ken Ugbechie,

by polling 132 votes against his challenger's 80 votes to emerge as the vice president (West). Mr. Austeen Elewodalu was elected as Assistant General Secretary with 126 votes against Rose Moses, who polled 82 votes. Steve Nwosu pummelled all his opponents with 150 votes to emerge as treasurer. Catherine Agbo secured 51 votes, while Juliet Njiowhor got 26 votes . Vanguard Newspaper’s Editor, Mr. Eze Anaba polled 164 votes to trounce his sole challenger for the position of Social/Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chooks Oko, who scored to

53 votes. The Standing Committee members that were elected at the biennial conference included Gabriel Akinadewo, 174 votes; Onuoha Ukeh, 174 vote; and Wole Sogunle, 172 votes all emerged as winners for the West. Umoru Ibrahim led the pack of North’s Standing Committee members with 202 votes; Adesina Gbenga 113, votes; while Imoni Amarere failed to make the list with 99 votes. Ngwoke Ngwoke and Boma Nwuke were returned unopposed, respectively as Standing Committee members (East).

Buhari Congratulates New NGE Leadership Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Isa for winning a second-term of office in the justconcluded NGE convention. The president, in a statement by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, urged the new leadership of the NGE to join hands with his administration in ridding the nation of fake news and negativity. Buhari also congratulated those who emerged as members of the Standing Committee, both the re-elected and the ones who won fresh

seats. He commended the rancourfree conduct of the elections and the unanimous acceptance of the outcome, saying this has set a good standard for other unions to copy. He also urged the media to abstain from content that is against the maintenance of law and order and the sustenance of national security. In calling for partnership between the NGE leadership and his administration, the president said the media and the government working together ''can, and will build a strong, safe, secure and inclusive Nigeria."

75 Companies Bid to Emerge Concessionaires for 12 Federal Highways Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Seventy five companies have submitted bids to be picked as concessionaires for 12 federal roads through the online portal of the federal government under the first phase of the Highway Development Management Initiative (HDMI). Head of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mrs. Abimbola Asein, said in a statement by Director of Press and Public Relations, Boade Akinola, that the HDMI was created by the ministry to attract sustainable investment and funding in the development of road infrastructure and to maximise the use of assets along the right of way. The 12 roads to be given out

to the would-be concessionaires under the first phase of the HDMI are: Benin – Asaba; Abuja – Lokoja; Onitsha – Aba – Owerri; Shagamu –Benin; Abuja -Keffi – Akwanga; Kano – Maiduguri; Kano- Katsina; Lokoja – Benin; Enugu-Port Harcourt; Ilorin-Jebba; LagosAbeokuta and Lagos-Badagry. She said the rationale behind the private sector engagement was to provide alternative funding source for road development and management, adding that the ministry is working jointly with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (FMFB&NP), amongst other stakeholders, to bring the project to fruition.

“The buy-in of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Assembly had been obtained and the nation is looking forward to a robust procurement process that will attract capable concessionaires that will develop and manage these routes,” Asein added. According to the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Babangida Hussaini, the request for qualification bid opening ceremony signalled the commencement of the valueadded concession evaluation exercise. He said: “The ministry shall ensure that the procurement process is in line with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Act and approved

public-private partnership guidelines.” Hussaini stated that every proponent interested at the request for qualification stage and meets the basic prequalification criteria would be shortlisted and subsequently invited for the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage. The 12 highways mapped out for concession by the federal government have a combined length of about 1,963km and represents less than 5.6 per cent of Nigeria’s 35,000km federal highway network. The initial capital investments that the federal government is projecting is about N1.13 trillion, with employment potential estimated to be over 50,000 direct jobs and 200,000 indirect jobs.

Speaking during the formal bid opening ceremony, Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), represented by Hussaini, stated that the event signalled the commencement of the evaluation. “The ministry is committed to a transparent, fair and competitive bidding process throughout the HDMI project life cycle. Twelve pilot road corridors have been earmarked for concession and they are considered very viable,” he said. He stated that the evaluation committee will be chaired by the director (public procurement), who is a seasoned public procurement and public private partnership (PPP) expert. He added that the ministry

will ensure that at the end of the procurement process, and in line with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and Public Procurement Acts, the contract shall only be awarded to bidders who, having satisfied the prequalification criteria, submitted the most technically and economically comprehensive bid. . Fashola said the buy-in of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Assembly had been obtained, adding that the nation is looking forward to a robust procurement process that will usher in the much needed concessionaires that will develop and manage the routes, while recouping their investment.

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NEWS

Emefiele: Revival of Cotton, Textile Industries Critical for Economic Recovery Says 620,000 jobs created in two years CBN disburses N44bn to CTG sector James Emejo in Abuja The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday described the revival of the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sector as crucial for strengthening economic recovery, boosting employment and creating wealth for Nigerians. Emefiele, at a meeting in Abuja with critical stakeholders in the CTG sector also said the CBN's intervention in the sector had led to the creation of 620,000 direct and indirect jobs since the efforts to reposition the sector began in 2019. The apex bank has disbursed a total of N44 billion between 2019 and 2020 across the CTG value chain while monitoring recovery over the period. Emefiele, while listing other gains from CBN's intervention programme in the sector, said nine ginneries had been resuscitated while cotton had been ginned all-year- round for the first time in 10 years. He said the bank financed over 278,500 hectares in 2019 and 2020, adding that over 90,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) of cotton seed was harvested while industry capacity of ginneries increased from an average of 19 per cent to 51 per cent. He said the textile sector got 100 per cent of its major raw materials (cotton lint) at a CBN- subsidised rate of N440,000 as against the market price of N593,000, adding that the industry has an increase in production of over 10 million meters of yarn materials. At the meeting, which was convened to among other things, deliberate on the current state of the industry as well as chart the way forward, Emefiele told stakeholders

that the uniformed services had started to patronise locally-made textiles for their uniforms while the garment industry received orders for production of uniforms and cotton hand bags. He stated that the CBN's engagement with uniformed services has further resulted in no fewer than five agencies partnering with local textile manufacturers. Emefiele, represented by CBN Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate, Mr. Edward Adamu, stated that the bank is currently collaborating with some private stakeholders towards improving the quality of seeds to guarantee high yields. He added that textile companies have been supported in the last two to three years, leading to the revival of some previously moribund ones. Emefiele, however, said for the 2021 wet season, plans were underway with the involvement of ginneries to integrate backwards by cultivating an average of 53,100 hectares with an estimated output of 106,200 metric tonnes at two metric tonnes per hectare. According to him, the CBN is also working with prime anchors for 10,000 hectares of land with estimated output of 20,000 metric tons. He stated that the bank would be working with associations to cultivate about 80,000 hectares with an average output of 120,000 metric tonnes at 15 metric tonnes per hectare. He, however, said while some progress had been recorded, more work needed to be done as opportunities for higher capacity utilisation in textile and garment companies as well as ginneries abound. He explained that the main

objective of the engagement was to "effectively engage with all stakeholders to identify the pain points inhibiting the realisation of the major potentials of the CTG sector intervention and develop strategies to achieve the desired impact of the intervention." Emefiele added that the CBN remained committed to ensuring the successful implementation of the CTG policy, adding that it will dedicate appropriate resources to drive its implementation. Earlier, CBN Director, Development Finance Department, Mr. Yila Yusuf, said the bank had disbursed a total of N44 billion between

2019 and 2020 across the CTG value chain while monitoring recovery over the period. He stated that the main targets of the CBN intervention in the sector were to close the seed cotton gap of 450,000 metric tonnes by 2022 as well as increase the capacity utilisation of ginneries from less than 30 per cent to 80 per cent within same timeline. He said the CBN also sought to reduce smuggling and dumping of textile by at least 40 per cent by the end of 2022. Yusuf, represented by Head, Retail Contact, Division, CBN, Mr. Chika Nwanja, said the CBN had also financed

over 200,000 cotton farmers, cultivating 291,761 hectares of land with an output of 94,787 metric tonnes of cotton seed. He added that this has led to improvement in the household income of each farmer by an average of N240,000. He said the bank had also financed 19 ginneries, four textile companies and three garment manufacturers under the textile intervention facility, resulting in an increase in the number of active ginneries from 13 in 2019 to 21 as at June 2021. However, the stakeholders unanimously lauded the CBN's intervention programme in the sector, describing it as unprecedented.

President, National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), Mr. Anibe Achimugu, said the progress so far achieved would have been impossible without the apex bank's drive. According to him, the Anchor Borrower's Programme (ABP) remains one of the best agricultural interventions programmes of the CBN. The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mansur Ahmed, said the CTG industry could resolve the country's unemployment challenges, adding that the federal government and the CBN have done a great deal to revive the industry.

BRIEFING THE PRESIDENT... L-R: Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staﬀ to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the State House, Abuja...yesterday

FG Expects Next Batch of COVID-19 Vaccine in September Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The federal government has expressed the hope that the country may receive more consignments of Covaxbrokered COVID-19 vaccine between July and September. Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this yesterday during a press conference in Abuja. He also said 73,465 Nigerians had received their second dose

of the Astrazeneca vaccine across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He said President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, received their second dose last Saturday. While giving update on the vaccine rollout and efforts to secure more supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, Shuaib said the government had received information that the Covax vaccine consignment might be due in Nigeria as

from September. "On the global vaccine supply and anticipated next consignment, the Covax facility has communicated that the upcoming allocation is likely from July or September 2021. "The exact dates are still being finalised. Nevertheless, bilateral conversations are ongoing to see how we can access the surplus vaccines being stockpiled by developed countries," he said. He stated that the federal government was collaborating

with 33 embassies and high commissions in Nigeria on how to secure more supplies of COVID-19 vaccines. He added that the federal Ministry of Health was working with critical stakeholders to fast-track the establishment of local vaccine production plants in Nigeria so as to provide alternative supply of vaccines. On the state of vaccination in the country, he said 73,465 Nigerians had so far received their second dose.

Shuaib said Buhari and Osinbajo did their second doses on Saturday, May 29. Similarly, he said many state governors, members of the legislature, traditional and religious leaders had publicly started taking the second dose of their vaccinations. Speaking on the reports of adverse effects of the vaccine, Shuaib said there had been cases of mild, moderate and severe Adverse Events Following Immunisations (AEFIs) since the rolled out

of Covid-19 vaccination on March 15, 2021. He added that the AEFls symptoms ranged from pain and swelling at site of vaccination to more serious symptoms such as headaches, abdominal pain, fever, dizziness and allergic reactions. According to him, “a total of 10,027 cases of mild AEFI have been reported as of May 30, while 86 cases of moderate to severe incidents have been reported. All these individuals have since fully recovered”.

Obaseki: S’Court Verdict is Death Knell for Godfatherism in Edo Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday dedicated his victory at the Supreme Court, which last week cleared him of allegations of certificate forgery, to all those who stood by him when he took on politicians in the state who tried to stop his re-election. According to him, the judgment of the Supreme Court,

which also affirmed his victory in the September 19, 2020 governorship poll, signalled an end to godfatherism in the state and heralded freedom for the people. Obaseki, who spoke after receiving supporters at the Benin Airport, praised Edo people for their relentless support for his government. He said: “For us in Edo, this victory means freedom and emancipation; it means that we

must rededicate ourselves to our people because democracy is all about the people. "Democracy is not about an individual or godfather. We have defeated the godfather finally in Edo, in our quest to take Edo to where it should be.” He added: “First and foremost, we need to thank God. You are all witnesses to what we have gone through in the last two or three years

in our efforts to reposition the politics of Edo State. "They threw all sorts of trash at us, but by the grace of God, the verdict of the Supreme Court is just the final straw. All the court cases that we have gone through, all the challenges we have faced in the last two years, we have won every one of them. "This is by the grace of God: I will not say it is my own doing; it is God that has led us

through all of these challenges. But I believe that what is more important is the meaning of this victory. For us, we must rededicate ourselves to the work, which we have started for Edo people. “We cannot look back. At this time of the life of this country, we are faced with major critical challenges and as if we knew, we had started repositioning our state. The people who are fighting us are the same

fake people that are pulling this country down even at the national level.” On the congratulatory messages, after the Supreme Court ruling, by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the former National Chairman of APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, the governor said he was yet to receive an original copy of the letters signed by the duo.

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PAGE TEN PROMOTERS OF INSURRECTION ARE IN FOR A RUDE SHOCK, SAYS BUHARI He added that the Senate was tired of observing one-minute silence for victims of insecurity. Media adviser to the president, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement issued at the end of the closed-door session with the INEC officials, quoted Buhari as reiterating that he has no intention of staying in office beyond 2023. On the dangers posed to future elections by the burning of INEC facilities, the president assured the commission that his administration will do all within its powers to mitigate the effects on the conduct of future polls. He said: "We will do that so that no one would say we don’t want to go, or that we want a third term. There will be no excuse for failure. We’ll meet all INEC’s demands.” He, however, warned those bent on destroying the country through promoting insurrection, and burning down critical national assets to back off as a rude shock awaits them soon.

“I receive daily security reports on the attacks, and it is very clear that those behind them want this administration to fail. “Insecurity in Nigeria is now mentioned all over the world. All the people who want power, whoever they are, you wonder what they really want. Whoever wants the destruction of the system will soon have the shock of their lives. We’ve given them enough time,” he stated. Buhari recalled that he visited all the 36 states of the country before the 2019 elections, “and majority of the people believed me, and the election proved it.” He promised to continue leading the country in accordance with the constitution. According to him, those misbehaving in certain parts of the country are too young to know the travails and loss of lives that attended the Nigerian civil war. He added: “Those of us

in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand. We are going to be very hard sooner than later.” He stated that the service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police have been changed, “and we will demand security from them.” Shedding more light on his meeting with the INEC officials via his official Twitter handle, Buhari tweeted: “I received a briefing today from the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, on the series of attacks on their facilities nationwide. These attacks are totally unacceptable, and we will not allow those behind them to achieve their evil objectives. “I have assured INEC that we will make available to them everything they need to operate efficiently, so that no one will say we don’t want to go, or that we want a third term. There will be no excuse

for failure. We will meet all of INEC’s demands.” Earlier, Yakubu had said so far, 42 cases of attacks on INEC offices nationwide had been recorded, since the 2019 general election. He said: “The 42 incidents so far occurred in 14 states of the federation for a variety of reasons….Most of the attacks happened in the last seven months, and they are unrelated to protest against previous elections. "From the pattern and frequency of the most recent attacks, they appear to be targeted at future elections. The intention is to incapacitate the commission, undermine the nation’s democracy and precipitate a national crisis."

Lawan Seeks More Legislative Interventions to Secure Nigerians Meanwhile, the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan,

has stressed the need for more legislative interventions to secure Nigerians. He stated yesterday that that the lawmakers were tired of observing one-minute silence for the victims of insecurity. The Senate also expressed concern about the frequency of the one-minute silence usually observed at its plenary as a result of deaths associated with security challenges facing the nation. So far, it has observed one-minute silence six times in recent times for those who lost their lives through killings and murders in the wake of security issues across the country. Lawan, at yesterday’s plenary, said: "Let me observe that we have observed about six one-minute silence and most of it was to pray for the repose of the souls of Nigerians who were murdered or killed by criminals." He called for the intensification of legislative

interventions by the National Assembly to protect Nigerians from the heightening insecurity in the country. According to him, it is imperative for the National Assembly to step up legislative interventions to reduce the number of deaths caused by criminal activities. He added that such interventions would be backed by collaborative efforts among the legislature, executive and Nigerians to address the security challenges. He added: “It is very important that we step up our legislative intervention in ensuring that we protect the lives and properties of Nigerians to reduce the incidence of one-minute silence. “I believe that the Senate and, indeed, the National Assembly, working together with the executive and getting the support of Nigerians, we can bring the much needed succour to our people, and that is why we are here.”

reiterated his administration’s unwavering commitment to an egalitarian Nigeria where justice, fairness, equity and inclusiveness shall be functional directive principles of state policy. The governor had declared the state government’s support for amending the constitution to enhance the nation’s quest for unity and prosperity “in an environment where justice, fairness and equity shall prevail.” Declaring open the Southeast zonal public hearing in Enugu, the governor enjoined all institutions, civil society organisations, stakeholders and the entire Enugu State citizenry “to stand up and be counted in this important national discussion.” Women groups, organisations and labour unions made varying submissions on how to improve the constitution. Labour unions demanded autonomy for local government, the legislature and the judiciary for improved service delivery, autonomy. Also, women groups

called for gender parity and inclusion to allow women to participate actively in governance and decisionmaking.

FEDERALISM, LG AUTONOMY TOP DEMANDS AT CONSTITUTION REVIEW HEARINGS represented by his deputy, Mr. Lucky Ayedatiwa, also advocated that membership of the National Assembly should be part-time. He said: “The membership of the (National) Assembly should be part time. No member should earn allowances not known to the Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Committee and, more importantly, people they claim to serve. “Legislators should earn under a uniform salary structure. Allowance peculiarities must not be about obscenity. The Senate should be scrapped. The House of Representatives too should not be unwieldly. A maximum of four representatives should come from each zone.” The governor also advocated the decentralisation of the Supreme Court. He said: “The Supreme Court should be decentralised to ease the current burden of the appellate court. “In a true federal state, there should be a Supreme Court whose decisions are final in residual matters. The Supreme Court at the centre should concern itself mainly

with issues bordering on constitutional interpretations and matters arising between and among the states and the federal government, as well as revenue generation by the federal government. It should also administer the National Judicial Council.” In Bauchi, the state Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, stated that Nigeria needed a workable and acceptable constitution to serve the interests of the people. Such a document, he added, should allow for true federalism where Nigeria states are autonomous entities with power to run their affairs. The governor also appealed to the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution to look into the various agitations of the state and reflect them in its report. According to him, the participatory approach by the National Assembly in the amendment of the constitution is expected to produce a people’s constitution that will address the social-economic problems in the country. He added that Nigeria

must break from the command structure imposed on the country by the defunct military government, which concentrated enormous power at the centre as manifested in the 1999 Constitution. “The constituent units of the Nigerian federation represented by the current 36 states, the FCT and the 774 local government areas are near to the people that must be given enough powers with resources in order to positively impact the lives of the people at the grassroots,” he stated. In Lagos State, the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, restated his calls for a special economic status for the state owing to its status and the economic epicentre of the nation and the burdens it bears. He said at the South-west zonal public hearing that the continuous request for a special status for the state was by no means a selfish one, but stemmed from the interest of every Nigerian in the state. He stated that progress and prosperity of Nigeria as a nation is linked to that of

Lagos State. Earlier, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, while urging Nigerians to take the ongoing constitutional amendment seriously, had said the process of review and amendment would give the nation a near perfect constitution. He expressed optimism that such a new constitution will resolve the issue of “identity, political structure, human rights, administration of government, resource control, national security and so much else that has made our nation fragile and that has hindered our progress and prosperity.” He added: “The 1999 Constitution is as a result of a hurried national compromise that Nigeria entered into two decades ago, just to allow the military vacate the political scene and return to the barracks. It has always been our intention that one day, as one people, we will return to amend this document to give voice to the yearning of the Nigerian people”. In Enugu, the Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi,

OIL PRICE HITS 30-MONTH HIGH ON OPEC’S DEMAND RALLY FORECAST driven by expectations of growing fuel demand during the summer driving season in the United States as OPEC+ agreed to boost output and strong usage indications coming from China. OPEC+ also collectively agreed to continue a slow easing of supply curbs at its virtual meeting yesterday, coordinated from Vienna, as producers balanced an expected demand recovery against a possible increase in Iranian output. The cartel, according to information garnered from the meeting, pegged Nigeria’s July’s reference production at 1.829million bpd, the country’s adjustment was put at 250,000 bpd, while required output for the month is expected to be 1.579 million bpd. OPEC+ decided in April to return 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of supply to the market from May to July, anticipating rising global demand despite the high number of coronavirus cases in India, the world's third-largest oil consumer. Traders also continue

to follow the progress of negotiations between Tehran and world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, paving the way for increased oil supplies from Iran. At the meeting, OPEC+ stuck to its plan to hike oil output in July, pressing ahead with an increase of 841,000 barrels a day in July, following hikes in May and June. “The demand picture has shown clear signs of improvement,” Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said as the ministerial meeting started. His Russian counterpart, Alexander Novak, also spoke of the “gradual economic recovery. If OPEC+ stays on course, and Iran oil’s comeback is delayed, that should get WTI oil solidly above $70 a barrel, while Brent which has already exceeded $70 may then try to establish contact with the $75 region. The surge was hovering at a level not seen since 2018 as August Brent contract rose earlier by $1.82, or 2.6 per cent, to $71.14 a barrel, a level not seen since November

2018 when measured on a continuous basis. OPEC Secretary-General, Dr Sanusi Barkindo, who spoke at the 30th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), said latest projections showed Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 5.5 per cent in 2021, up from 5.4 per cent at the last meeting. He stated that the projections for oil are largely unchanged from last month, as demand is expected to grow by 6 mb/d to around 96.5 mb/d on average for the year, an increase of 6.6 per cent. He stated that the market outlook for later this year looks especially promising, while anticipating that demand will surpass 99 mb/d in the fourth quarter, which would put OPEC back in the range of pre-pandemic levels. Barkindo, who warned against complacency, stated that non-OPEC liquids production is now forecast to grow at a slightly slower pace than expected last month, rising by around 700,000 b/d

in 2021 to an average of 63.6 mb/d. According to him, the actions of the Declaration of Cooperation (DOC) have continued to support the rebalancing process, and have helped reduce the global supply by more than 2.9 billion barrels since May 2020. “However, there continues to be significant overproduction by some of the participating countries. The overproduced volumes need to be accommodated to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. “In this regard, the 15th OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting agreed to extend the very generous compensation period for overproduced volumes until the end of September 2021. “Our continued contributions to sustainable oil market stability depend upon all participants achieving 100 per cent conformity and, where necessary, working dutifully to compensate for overproduction,” he said. However, the meeting

welcomed the positive performance of participating countries in the DoC, as overall conformity to the production adjustments was 114 per cent in April. “In view of current oil market fundamentals and the consensus on its outlook, the meeting reconfirmed the existing commitment of the 10th OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting in April 2020, amended in June, September, and December 2020, as well as in January and April 2021. “The agreement was to gradually return two million barrels a day (mb/d) of the adjustments to the market, with the pace being determined according to market conditions,” OPEC stated in a release after the meeting. It noted that compensation plans should be submitted in accordance with the statement of the 15th OPEC and nonOPEC ministerial meeting and reconfirmed the decision on production adjustments for July as well as schedule its next meeting for July 1.

Sultan Seeks Removal of Immunity Clause On his part, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, called for the removal of the immunity clause in the constitution, saying it will compel leaders to live up to their responsibilities. He also advocated a constitutional role for traditional rulers, saying it was time Nigerians talk frankly on how they want the country managed. Addressing stakeholders at the Kebbi zonal hearing comprising Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States, the sultan attributed the crisis in the country to the relegation of traditional rulers as they were given no constitutional role to play. He said before the Nigerian nation came into being in 1914, the traditional institution had existed. Continued on page 42

TOP GAINERS MORISON CORONATION UPL CHI PLC REGENCY TOP LOSERS CHAMPBREW JOHNHOLT AFRIPRUD

NGN NGN 0.09 1.03 0.5 0.58 0.11 1.28 0.06 0.72 0.04 0.49 NGN 0.21 1.91 0.05 0.63 0.45 5.75 HONEYWELL 0.08 1.13 CHAMS PLC 0.01 0.20 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦1,420.00 Volume: 274.852 million shares Value: N2.632 billion Deals: 4,159 As at yesterday 1/6/2021 See details on Page 41

% 9.5 9.4 9.4 9.0 8.8 % 9.9 7.9 7.2 6.6 4.7

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021

COMMENT

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

BUHARI AND ANTI-GRAZING LAWS Sonnie Ekwowusi urges the President to work for all Nigerians

resident Muhammadu Buhari faults anti-grazing laws. He slams Governors of Southern States for banning open grazing in their respective states. This is preposterous. Whereas Mr. President objects to open grazing prohibition he keeps mute over the murder, rape, battery, assault and other crimes being committed by the AK-47-weliding Fulani herdsmen in the course of rearing their cattle and cows. President Buhari is biased in favour of his fellow Fulani kinsmen. Why should a president of a country who ought to see the whole country as his constituency condescend to the level of putting the cattle–rearing and private business of the Fulani herdsmen over and above public right and public interest? Nigeria is bigger than Fulani herdsmen. If Nigeria is a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-national society, why should Mr. President hold brief for Fulani herdsmen; an attitude which does not reflect the shared visions and aspirations of the variegated interest groups and nationalities that constitute Nigeria. Where has this president been all these six years in which the herdsmen have been freely going about killing, maiming, and raping their victims and dispossessing them of their farm lands? Has it not dawned on him that the Fulani herdsmen have killed or maimed thousands of innocent Nigerians in the last six years under his watch? Why has human life become so cheap in this government? Is President Buhari aware that in the last three years different Nigerian courts have consistently affirmed the right of Nigerian state governments to implement anti-grazing laws in their respective states? Is the president aware that the implementation of anti-grazing laws in different states of the federation has brought relative calm and peace and security of lives in the aforesaid states? Is Mr. President aware that the Northern Governors Forum banned open grazing before their Southern counterpart? Is President Buhari aware that the Governors of the 36 states of the federation have banned open grazing in their respective states? Is the President aware that the Federal High Court, Abuja has recently rejected a suit seeking to compel President Buhari to direct security agencies to enforce the Benue anti-grazing law? Anyway, the Southern state governors have ignored President Buhari’s flawed objection in the same manner they ignored the laughable anti-grazing opinion recently expressed by the Federal Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. Anti-grazing laws have come to stay. State governors are poised to enforce the laws to the letter no matter whose ox is gored. The problem is that Mr. President does not still understand the meaning and import of Presidential democracy which Nigeria operates. And this problem is compounded by the fact that the president’s managers and handlers are failing in their duty of helping the president to have organized, intelligent and coherent thoughts on vital issues of governance. It beats the imagination that the president is querying Southern state governors for banning open grazing. Mr. President should be reminded again and again that we are no longer under a military autocracy. Under military rule Buhari could issue a command from Abuja and it would be binding on the governors. During Nigerian military interregnum, the country operated a monolithic and hierarchical government that did not admit of power sharing. The Head of State or the Federal Military Government or the Supreme Military Council,

UNITY OF NIGERIA HAS A PRICE TAG. IT IS NOT SOMETHING IMPOSED FROM ABUJA THROUGH EXECUTIVE FIAT

was everything. But not so under presidential democracy which we are operating today. Under presidential democracy the Houses of Assembly and governors of the federation, as could be gleaned from the devolution of powers in the Exclusive, Concurrent and Residual Lists under the 1999 Constitution and under the Land Use Act, can enact anti-grazing laws to be binding in their respective states in order to protect the lives of the citizens of their respective states. I had expected Mr. President to raise the alarm over the terrible crimes being committed by the Fulani herdsmen across the country. Instead of raising such an alarm, President Buhari is raising the alarm that the criminals are not being protected or granted “grazing right” by the Governors of Southern states. Does Mr. President understand that right, in the words of the late Supreme Court Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, is not a one-way traffic? Right is reciprocal. Right is intertwined with and conditioned by duties. For example, the “right” of Fulani herdsmen to kill their fellow citizens in the course of rearing their cattle stops where the right to life of their fellow citizens begins. Besides, what is sauce for the goose is equally sauce for the gander. If Mr. President is raising the alarm that the Fulani herdsmen are denied grazing right, why is he not equally raising the alarm that the same Fulani herdsmen are killing, maiming and raping Nigerian citizens? Has it not dawned on the President that by virtue of the Land Use Act all the lands in Southern Nigeria are exclusively vested in Southern State Governors (not in the Presidency or Fulani herdsmen) who are at liberty to grant or convey or assign the use or title of them to any applicant who has fulfilled the conditions for such grant or conveyance or assignment? As you know very well, Nigerians from different walks of life have literally been begging President Buhari to eliminate nepotism and provincialism that breed secessionist and separatist agitations in Nigeria but he has refused to do so. Nigerians have also been urging him to correct the skewed political appointments in the country but he has also refused to correct the skewed political appointments. Instead of correcting the skewed political appointments, Mr. President keeps on uttering sermons on non-negotiability of the unity of Nigeria. Nigeria’s unity is under a serious threat today owing to President Buhari’s nepotism, provincialism and small-town outlook. It is worthy of note that prior to Buhari’s coming to power, the Fulani herdsmen rearing cattle in Southern Nigeria were not armed with AK-47 guns let alone killing their victims with alacrity. But unfortunately since Buhari came to power, these Fulani herdsmen have started carrying guns and indulging in all sorts of criminal activities. Now instead of bringing these criminals to justice the president is advocating for their “right” to open grazing. Does this perfectly square up with simple logic? No. Consequently in order to unify the country and thus pave way for the much-vaunted true Nigerian progress Mr. President should first and foremost shed the cloak of his nepotism, provincialism, narrowmindedness. Unity of Nigeria has a price tag. It is not something imposed from Abuja through executive fiat. You cannot be telling me that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable while at the same time you are ignoring the killing, maiming and raping and other crimes being committed by the Fulani herdsmen across Nigeria.

MAKING AN IMPRESSION

The Osun State government is reviving water infrastructure to enhance the living standards of the people, writes Abiodun Komolafe

ost assuredly, human societies and civilizations are adjudged developed, or otherwise, based on the attainment level of the visions of the founding people. It is all about leadership and vision. Societies merely mirror the vision of the founding fathers. Matter-of-factly speaking, since you cannot give what you don’t have, societies remain the exact replica or equivalence of the vision that gave birth to them. Therefore, for a people to readily resolve to blame the founding fathers’ vision, or the lack thereof, for all the nation’s predicaments, is to deliberately indulge in pointless self-pity, and wallow in irredeemable fatalism. That said, we need to note that development is a concept rooted in the philosophy of ideas, visions of the intellectual and visionary thinkers. It suggests a leap into the unknown, or an attempt to tread the uncharted path, to wit; extend the frontiers of knowledge, and embrace, or dare the unintended consequences. Humanity, on the other hand, is endowed with the incredible ability to re-invent, overhaul, or create a new beginning. As change is dynamic, so also is human ability to adapt and move on, which suggests that humans are supposed to domesticate their existential environment all the time. Without being immodest, history all over the world is full of stories about the existential relevance of water to humanity. From its critical role in agricultural production and food security, to its importance in manufacturing, health and sanitation, this ‘effective coolant’ is so essential for all “life on, in, and above the earth” that it constitutes up to 90% of some organisms’ mass body weight. So important is water to everyday life that it is recommended

that a man should take about 15.5 cups of water (125 ounces) each day while a woman should drink about 11.5 cups (91 ounces) daily. Studies have also shown that a man “can’t survive more than 8 to 21 days without food and water” while people on “their deathbed who are using very little energy may live only a few days or a few weeks without food and water.” As the saying goes, water really does not have enemy! A cursory look at our immediate environment shows that man can barely exist without water. In the same vein, industrial complexes, which are considered signs of economic and social development, will always remain a castle in the air without regular and adequate supply of potable water. Impliedly, “without water, there wouldn’t be life on earth.” This explains perhaps, more succinctly, the driving force behind the new move in the State of Osun, which is a different look at the concept of development and the preferred choice of service delivery strategy of water management. The new understanding in Osun is to view ‘development’ in the context of water supply, from the precinct of extant infrastructure, and its sustainability, with a grasp knowledge of the demographics of whom are the beneficiaries, dovetailing into new strategy and policy-priority outlay. Aware of the important roles of water to everyday life, one is not surprised that the Gboyega Oyetolaled government in Osun has prioritized the Water Resources and Energy sector. To avoid the backlashes of the negative effects of the lack of potable water, which may result in water-borne diseases, and may as well cripple other socioeconomic activities in the society, the governor wisely decided to invest heavily in Water Resources development, which is also a key

and remarkable means of development. Today in Osun, the incidences of decay and neglect of water infrastructure is no longer possible, and endless repeat of laying of foundations of the same water works or projects has become outdated. In other words, the water infrastructure management model in Osun is now a functional systemic outlay, which is self-sustaining. From the look of things, the water architecture of the ‘State of the Virtuous’ has not only been reinvigorated and reengineered to help stimulate growth, especially, in the rural areas, every nook and cranny of Osun has also been touched by the infrastructure of water to enhance the living standards of the residents. From the New Ede Headworks (straddling 11 Local Government Areas, LGAs, of the state), to the Ilesa Water Supply and Sanitation Project (spanning Ilesa township, Idominasi, Kajola, Ijaregbe and Iponda), which has reached 75% completion stage, this administration has proved itself capable of taking Osun to the Promised Land in terms of the infrastructure of water. Also in this mould is the Village Rural Water Development Project, which covers Ipetu-Ijesa, Iperindo, Osu, Ifewara, Igangan and Iwara, among others. In the Asi-Oyan axis, the Oyetola-led administration has carried out repair works on Motor Starter and Water Pump in Eko-Ende; and rewinding of four High Lift Pumps, repair of the vandalized Starter Panels; as well as rewinding of one Low Lift Pump in Asi, Oyan and Asaba communities, all in the Odo Otin LGA of the state. Ila Waterworks (covering Ila Oragun, Oke-Ila in Ila Local Government) has also had its fair share of this laudable government presence, especially, through the replacement of the Burnt Low Lift Submersible

Pump, Low Lift Pump Starter Panel and High Lift Motor Starter Panel. Lest we forget, the rehabilitation of the 33KV Garage Olode-Ifetedo Feeder Line is ongoing. Discussions with interested investors for the provision of solar energy for the state have also reached an advanced stage. These discussions include, but not limited to, training of Osun youths in the assembly of component parts as well as repair and maintenance of solar energy. Of course, there are other works, which approval has been given but are currently awaiting contract awards. Without mincing words, Oyetola’s deliberate interventions in this highly technical sector have greatly impacted the socio-political-cum-economic activities of Osun and the provision of job opportunities for its residents. With these key interventions by the current administration, one is not in doubt of a significant enhancement in the food security profile of the state, especially, through an appreciable increase in the yield of farm produce; thus, making good governance feasible and meaningful to the people. Through direct engagement of labour, professionals, technicians, even, artisans have been productively employed for specific jobs prescriptions and money has been injected into the system. Yes, water is used for drinking, transportation, irrigation, cooking, bathing, and other socio-economic activities. This therefore means that hitherto cases of water-borne diseases, especially, in the rural areas of the state, have become consigned to the dustbin of history. It also bears repeating that, where there’s good, uninterrupted supply of water, businesses are not only attracted, they also thrive. Komolafe is Senior Special Assistant to Governor Oyetola on Media

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021

EDITORIAL THE FUTURE OF NYSC…2 The programme is due for a comprehensive review Continued from yesterday

improve the self-esteem of participants and ensure that corps members serve their country with dignity. And three, it will restore the spirit of national service to the scheme.

espite our opposition to the idea of scrapping the scheme, reforming the NYSC will imply a trimmed programme. This could require that prospective users of corps members may have to guarantee them postservice employment or engage them on a two or three-year contract as part of a national policy. In that case, the allowances paid by government for the selected corps members can be advanced to organisations that request for corps members as contribution to a universal graduate employment scheme. While we understand the emotional subtext of the moment, we believe it is more useful to fix, rather than scrap, NYSC. The national integration argument of the scheme has not been overtaken, as recent events around the country show. But we need to ensure that corps members are well protected wherever they may be posted. Just as we also need to ensure that NYSC can provide added value, CORPS MEMBERS SHOULD and that it is aligned BE ENGAGED IN SECTORS with the current needs WHERE THEY ARE NEEDED, of the country and its AND WHERE THEY WILL ADD participants. Which is VALUE TO OUR NATIONAL why we find it more appealing that NYSC DEVELOPMENT EFFORT be reformed to ensure overall effectiveness and efficiency. Such reform package could focus on five inter-related areas: security, funding, branding, content, and structure. It will also involve the reform of the current approach of the major but compromised milestones in the life of corps members—from mobilisation, through orientation, primary assignment, community development to passing out. Posting corps members to areas of urgent national needs will offer the country multiple dividends. One, it will allow for better and a more even deployment of manpower and ensure focus and greater contribution to national development. Two, by ending the specter of rejected and under-utilised corps members, it will

Letters to the Editor

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

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TO OUR READERS Letters in response to speciﬁc publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 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 (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

IN PRAISE OF SUNDAY AKPAN

owever, the real test is in overcoming natural resistance and establishing robust structure for effective implementation. Among other imperatives, the supervisory ministry (Youth and Sports) and NYSC need to liaise with security agencies to ensure that corps members are and feel secure where they serve, offer incentives and capacity upgrade to perform well in new roles, ensure development of useful work-programmes so that corps members are fully engaged, sequence the reform components in a strategic manner, and communicate the reform effectively. Another alternative is to make the NYSC the basis of a new compulsory military service scheme. Under this programme, all graduates will be required to serve in the military and police for a compulsory speciﬁed number of years after graduation. At the end of it, they will have the option of making a career in the military or earning honourable discharge which should give them preference when seeking subsequent employment opportunities. Those who opt to make careers in the armed forces would be used to progressively raise the standard of our military and police services to replace the present predominance of illiterates that have complicated the work of internal security and national defence. The prospect of an elite national defence force should interest those concerned with our resent disorderly state of internal security. Whatever the preferred option, the point remains that the NYSC is overdue for a thorough review and reform or both. However, we believe that we should review the scheme in a manner that helps to alleviate the unemployment situation. We need a programme that allows young graduates to gain a breather in some form of government supported employment while they scout for better opportunities. But they should be engaged in sectors where they are needed, and where they will add value to our national development effort.

esides the career fulfillment that comes with the position, permanent secretaries enjoy even in retirement, socio-political and economic influences. The praxis of a permanent secretary can be analyzed in terms of his/her activities as they bear on government policy directions. A permanent secretary’s worth can be gauged by the contributions they make to a variety of departmental policy initiatives and the conduct of government business. This implies that in addition to their absolute loyalty and neutrality which demand that the expression of their personal political views or ideological prejudices do not constitute so strong a commitment to one political party as to inhibit loyal and effective service to governments of divergent political persuasions within the policy environment of their operations, a permanent secretary should and must be proactive, dynamic and broad-minded. To the extent that the civil service is an indispensable pivot in nation – building, persons to be elevated to the status of a permanent secretary should display impeccable character and sound intellect with a deep understanding of the practice of public bureaucracy. Nonetheless, the degree of attention a permanent secretary receives derives from the critical role assigned to his or her ministry and how effectively he functions to foster the achievement of those mandates, including his empathy for staff of the organization. In this realm, Mr Akpan Sunday Edet, permanent secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology has carved a niche for himself as a

maker, sharer and taker of policies; all of which he has done dispassionately over the years at the Ministry of Mines and Steel and in his present Ministry of Science and Technology. Judging by the number of policies which Mr Akpan has advocated in bringing about a stable policy environment; or those for which he very easily connects with the minds of his principals to advance the practicability and general acceptance of their policy initiatives, it can arguably be said that he is a policy technician highly practiced in government. Mr Akpan, a man of immeasurable standard, is successfully deploying his ability, skill and experience in managing policy programmes in support of the minister in delivering on the science and technology-driven development programmes articulated by the government of the day. The Science and Technology Ministry has a very tall mandate which among others include promoting significant scientific and technological research potential of Nigeria with a view to helping local industries move up the international value chain based on business activities, intensive knowledge and generating higher added value. These are laudable targets for a country that truly aspires to greatness but achieving them requires the exertion of centralists par excellence in the likes of Mr Akpan who has consistently shown remarkable zeal in implementing pragmatically political will through workable policy outcomes. Musa Wada, Abuja

DRIVEN TO DISTRACTIONPAN

ntelligent cars have been a part of our culture since the 1980s starting with the Knight Rider’s “Kitt”, a car probably far more intelligent than its driver. The Batmobile is always on call for Batman and with a push of a button it would locate him and drive there. Of course, having an automatic car with heavy weaponry may not be the best option for the average suburban driver.

A question may be what happens when the person using an auto-drive car is drunk, are they drink driving or drink auto-driving? A drunken slur may cause confusion as to which Cambridge to send them to, the one in Massachusetts, America or the University town in England. Should the auto-drive cars share the locations of Police Alcohol Testing stations so that their drunk passengers won’t get a fine? Auto-drive cars can be programmed to do anything including to kill, well actually to selectively kill. If an accident is going to hurt the passengers or someone outside, then being inside the car is the best option. Hackers could lead to more worrying possibilities. Anarchists could create havoc by simply sending all of the auto drive cars onto the major roads and then have them stop in the middle of every intersection. The end won’t come with the terminators shooting us down but rather it will be the auto-drive cars running us down. Maybe it’s time to saddle up the horses again.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

A Perplexing Political Killing in Owerri The gruesome murder of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and political adviser to former President Goodluck Ebere Jonathan on Sunday morning in Imo State poses intriguing questions, write Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Amby Uneze

Buhari

Jonathan

Uzodinma

Gulak

chaired the APC Governorship Primary Election Committee in Imo State, refused to sign an alleged forged primary election result, which declared Nwosu the winner of the APC governorship primary. In the said result sheet, Uzodimma was said to have scored 9,159 votes; while Nwosu got 455,655 votes. Gulak secretly returned to Abuja and alleged that he narrowly escaped being kidnapped in Imo State. He told journalists that he and other committee members conducted a peaceful exercise, which produced Uzodimma as the party’s standard bearer for the 2019 governorship election for Imo State. He said Uzodinma won after securing “423,895 votes to defeat eight other aspirants, including Governor Rochas Okorocha’s son in-law, Uche Nwosu.” Gulak alleged that about nine out of the 12-member committee were “kidnapped,” by persons he described as “agents of the governor” who were led by a team of policemen to the hotel where the committee members were lodged. He alleged also that he sneaked out of Owerri “under the cover of darkness at about 4:00 a.m” to make his way to Abuja. It is a curious irony that Gulak will eventually die in Owerri where he escaped being held against his will two years ago. Some reports say he was with a certain Mr. Ben from the South-west who was also a member of the 2019 APC Imo Governorship Primary. This information has set tongues wagging because this Mr. Ben was not part of the Constitution Review Committee assignment that supposedly took Gulak to Owerri.

moment except those who killed him that fateful Sunday morning. It is obvious that his killers had monitored his activities and movements in Owerri. It is also pertinent to note that Gulak might have had an inclination of some sorts that made him to sneak out of his hotel room and board a car hire as early as 7am to take him to the Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport. As a consultant to the constitution review committee (CRC) for the Imo and Abia zone, he was actually expected to leave as soon as the event ended. The Owerri zone of the CRC led by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu had its first sitting on Wednesday and was supposed to round off the following day being Thursday because it was a two-day event. Maybe, he stayed back to finalize the proceedings of the two-day public hearing that delayed his leaving alongside other members and senators that came for the hearing from Abuja. How come he stayed an extra three days in Owerri after the end of the programme?

07:20hours, armed bandits intercepted and attacked a Toyota Camry cab carrying Ahmed Gulak and two others who were on their way to Sam Mbakwe Airport to catch a flight.” The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Bala Elkana, a Superintendent of Police, said in the statement that Gulak left his room at Protea Hotel without informing the police or sister agencies in view of the fragile security situation in the South-east and Imo State in particular. “He left without any security escorts and while the cab driver took irregular route to the airport, six armed bandits who rode in a Toyota Sienna intercepted, identified and shot at Ahmed Gulak at around Umueze Obiangwu in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area close to the Airport. The Commissioner of Police Imo State, CP Abutu Yaro, has directed a discreet investigation into the matter as Tactical and Special Forces have been deployed to cordon the area and arrest perpetrators,” he added. But there have been reports there four persons in the car-Gulak and Mr. Ben were in the back of the car, while an escort took the passenger seat in front with the driver. When their vehicle was accosted, the killers were not sure who Gulak was. The Adamawa born politician and lawyer saved his companion by identifying himself, telling the assailants to shoot him and leave the others.

hen the one-time factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Gulak left his political base in Abuja to Owerri, capital of Imo State last week, he did not know that his end was around the corner. He would have preferred to stay behind in his comfortable office and residence with his loved ones than dying in active service to the nation. It has since been revealed by the Depity President of the Senate, Senator Ovie OmoAgege that the former political adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, was in Imo State to attend the public hearing of the constitution review organised by the Senate. Gulak, according to Omo-Agege was one of the consultants to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review. He was said to have gone to the lImo State capital for the zonal public hearing on constitution review for the South-East geopolitical zone. A charismatic Northern politician who was at home in the Southern of the country, Gulak exhumed the aura of juggernaut who could could be depended on to fix anything on the field of politics. He is a very good friend of the likes of Hon. New Nwoko. Gulak had been a successful politician in every ramification considering the plum positions he held while alive. Apart from being a former presidential adviser on Political Affairs to former President GoodluckJonathan, he was also the chairman of 2019 governorship Primary Election Committee for APC in Imo State. It was he who handed over the APC governorship ticket to Senator Hope Uzodimma amidst controversies that trailed the exercise. He allegedly rejected a bribe of over USD2 million from the incumbent government at the time to do its bidding. The bitter battle for the 2019 governorship APC ticket in Imo led to fictionalisation of the party and the eventual exit of Mr. Uche Nwosu, son in-law to former governor Senator Rochas Okorocha and his loyalists to the Action Alliance (AA). Thoroughbred Politician The late Ahmed Gulak was born in Adamawa State. He was a lawyer and a consummate politician who was elected a member of the Adamawa State House of Assembly and served as the Speaker of the House. In 2014, he showed interest to govern his state hence he picked a form to run for the governorship position on the platform of the PDP. Dissatisfied with the goings on in the party at the time, Gulak in 2016 declared himself the new national chairman of the PDP. He defected from PDP to APC in 2018 and played some key roles in the party until his death. Gulak conducted the last gubernatorial primaries in Imo State where Senator Hope Uzodimma emerged as the candidate of the APC. Uzodimma contested against Mr. Uche Nwosu, a son-in-law of his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha. However, Gulak, who

The Politics of Assassination Naturally nobody had expected that Ahmed Gulak would be joining his ancestors at this

Police Reaction When the news of the killing filtered in, journalists in a bid to confirm the authenticity of the information experienced a very difficult moment to get any clue from the police. Several calls were put across to the state police public relations officer, all to no avail. At this point, correspondents of national media organizations bravely sent ‘breaking news’ to their organizations, even without being too sure of the information. However, at about midday, the police news release confirming the killing hit the airwave and waiting hands grabbed it with every sense of seriousness. Confirming the murder of the APC chieftain, the police, in a statement, said: “On the 30/5/2021, at about

Having established the identity of the assailants and the description of the vehicles used in carrying out the attack, the teams further got details of the direction the hoodlums have taken. With further leads, the team was able to establish the location of suspects. The suspects were rounded up at Afor Enyiogugu junction in AbohMbaise Local Government Area. The hoodlums were met distributing onions to locals from a trailer they confiscated. The trailer was loaded with onions from the Northern region of Nigeria. On sighting the police, the hoodlums providing security coverage to those sharing the onions opened fire on the police teams. The gallant and battle-ready police officers swiftly returned the fire. The six hoodlums who carried out the killings and four other members of their gang were fatally injured. Three out of the four vehicles used in attacking Gulak were recovered

Second Police Statement At about 10.20pm same Sunday, another news release emanated from the Police, this time, announcing the killing of those that murdered Ahmed Gulak while their operational vehicles were recovered. In the statement, Elkana stated that the operatives overpowered the gunmen during the gun duel, adding that the two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) used during the operation were riddled with bullets. The statement said: “On 30th May, 2021, following distress received by the command on the gruesome murder of Ahmed Gulak, Police Special Forces, made up of Intelligence Response Team, Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Tactical Units from the command, were deployed to the scene at Obiangwu Junction at Ngor Okpala LGA of Imo State. The teams were given a clear instruction to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of the act with a view to bringing them to justice. “Eyewitness accounts, especially the account given by the driver of the vehicle that was conveying Ahmed Gulak to the airport before the attack, gave a vivid description of the assailants and the vehicles they used in carrying out the attack. The assailants were said to have used a Toyota Camry 2005 model with silver colour; Toyota Sienna 1998 Model with golden colour; Toyota Hilux with white colour; and a Lexus RX 330 with golden Colour. (Registration numbers are withheld for security reasons). “Having established the identity of the Continued on page 19

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021

POLITICS

A Perplexing Political Killing in Owerri

Omo-Agege

Okorocha

assailants and the description of the vehicles used in carrying out the attack, the teams further got details of the direction the hoodlums have taken. With further leads, the team was able to establish the location of suspects. The suspects were rounded up at Afor Enyiogugu junction in Aboh-Mbaise Local Government Area. The hoodlums were met distributing onions to locals from a trailer they confiscated. The trailer was loaded with onions from the Northern region of Nigeria. “On sighting the police, the hoodlums providing security coverage to those sharing the onions opened fire on the police teams. The gallant and battle-ready police officers swiftly returned the fire. The six hoodlums who carried out the killings and four other members of their gang were fatally injured. Three out of the four vehicles used in attacking Gulak were recovered. “Three AK-47 rifles, one pistol, five AK- 47 magazines with ninety two rounds of live ammunition and criminal charms were recovered. During the encounter, two of the police armoured personnel carriers were riddled with bullets but survived the gun battle”, they said.

Buhari expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased, the people and government of Adamawa State as well as his friends and associates all over the country. On his part, Jonathan described Gulak’s death as a painful loss, noting that the deceased was a loyal public servant and dedicated patriot. In a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan prayed God to comfort his family and grant his soul eternal rest. He said: “I received with shock the death of Alhaji Ahmed Gulak who died on Sunday, May 30, 2021, in Owerri, Imo State. “Gulak was a loyal public servant and dedicated patriot who gave his all in service to his country. His death is a painful loss to me and many others who worked and interacted with him.” Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state also described the news of the death of Gulak as shocking and disturbing. Akeredolu, in a statement he personnaly signed and made available to journalists in Akure, also described as “unacceptable,” the statement credited to the Imo State Police Command that some bandits were responsible for Gulak’s murder. He said: “This is one murder too many. It is senseless and wicked. The perpetrators of this heinous act are enemies of this country. “This contrivance is meant to mislead, confuse and destroy. It bears the unmistakable, despicable imprints of fifth columnists bent on setting the country on the path of conflagration. These criminals must not be allowed to succeed”. Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma whose reaction took over 24 hours to come however, bemoaned the way the former Political Adviser was assassinated, saying he did not deserve to die that way. In a statewide broadcast Monday evening, Uzodimma said “the pain of losing a person or loved one, the horror of holding your family member in his or her final moments, the anger of someone being so reckless, so thoughtless that their bullet destroyed your life, are emotions no individual should ever have to endure.” He described Gulak as an invaluable brother and friend as his murder was a personal loss to him. “I sympathize with the families of those who lost their lives through stray bullets during this period. As you know, the death of anyone diminishes mankind,” the Governor said. “The death of this compatriot is a personal loss to me because he was an invaluable friend and brother whose sense of justice, fairness and uprightness endeared him to me. I was shocked to my marrows when the sad news of his callous murder was broken to me. “I was getting ready to go to church when the sad news came and I could not attend the service again. It was simply one of the most devastating news I have had in my life and I am yet to recover from the shock. It remains a puzzle to me why anyone would want to murder him in this gruesome and vicious manner.” Governor Uzodimma continued: “Alhaji Ahmed Gulak was in Imo State for a national assignment. He came to Owerri with the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendment. Being a humble man, he chose to travel incognito according to his friend who was with him. Someone must have trailed him from the hotel to the airport. That is exactly why his gruesome murder appears to be a clear case of political assassination.

Controversial Killing of Hoodlums In as much as the police said they had killed the assailants of Ahmed Gulak some hours the act took place, the question which are yet to be answered by the same police is that if the killers were gunned down, who then will provide clue to unravel the real masterminds of the killing of Gulak? With the denial of the indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) absolving its members of involvement in the killing of the former presidential adviser, how can the assassins be identified? The Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Yaro while fielding questions from ARISE Television, Monday night, was evasive. All the questions posed to him were unanswered and the news presenters had to cut off the telephone interview for want of answers. Many who conversant with the operation of the Nigeria Police wonder when they suddenly became so swift and efficient in dealing decisively with criminals, when there are many high profile murders that are yet to be solved. They readily point to the murder of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, the late Choef Bola Ige was killed on Dec 23, 2001. Chief Funsho Williams, a leading politician in Lagos State killed on July 27, 2006. Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh was assassinated on December 18, 2018. Killers of these three men are still at large. Ahmed Gulak was killed on Sunday morning. By noon, Nigeria Police found his killers. Condemnations Dozens of condemnations have trailed the murder to Ahmed Gulak. President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, expressed dismay over such premeditated and gruesome murder of Gulak by those he described as “evil people who are determined to undermine the peace, unity and territorial integrity of our country.” He, however, warned that nobody or group of people who engage in such despicable acts should expect to go free, adding that “we will deploy all resources at our disposal to ensure that such callous and criminal elements are brought to justice.”

GOVERNANCE IN PHOTOS

L-R: Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya, former governor, Senator Danjuma Goje and former Borno State governor, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriﬀ sharing an issue of interest during the mid-term ceremony in Gombe

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State (r) and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi at the recent Aba Business Summit

L-R: Institute Librarian, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Dr Emmanuel Mamman; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, during a courtesy visit by the 35 participants of the Senior Executive Course 43 of the Institute to Lagos state governor in Alausa, Ikeja... recently

Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu (right) and others, during the inauguration of the new State of the Art Woven Sacks and Shrink Laminate Plant at Adama plastic Limited in Yola...recently

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FEATURES

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

Assessing Critical Sectors of the Buhari Adminstration Six years after the President Muhammadu Buhari's administration took over the helm of affairs in 2015, Rebecca Ejifoma assesses his administration in critical sectors

like Bodo-Bonny in Rivers and Apapa-OshodiOworonshoki-Ojota in Lagos States. Moreso, the administration orchestrated a Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), a public-private partnership programme to mobilise, in its first Phase, over a trillion naira in private investment into the development and maintenance of 12 roads, amounting to 1,963km in length. The Buhari-led administration boasts of the N360 billion worth of Sukuk Bonds raised in 2017 for dozens of critical road projects across all six geopolitical zones.

n Saturday May 29, the President, Muhammadu Buhari, marked his sixth anniversary since he was elected president of the nation, through his popular change mantra. For the presidency, against all odds, they have recorded some milestones in the areas of finance, rails, roads, ports, housing, oil and gas, agriculture, power, social investment and poverty alleviation, sports, youth and creative industry, support to states, education, health, presidential assent to Legislative Bills, fiscal, trade, monetary and investment reforms, bilateral relations and asset recovery, among others.

Financing In terms of financing, last year, the presidency approved the establishment of InfraCo Plc, a world class infrastructure development vehicle wholly focused on Nigeria, with combined debt and equity take-off capital of N15 trillion. This was managed by an independent infrastructure fund manager. It also established the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) last year, with over $1 billion in funding so far. The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) saw a total additional inflows from the government of around $2 billion under the Buhari administration – since the original $1 billion which the fund kicked off with in 2012. Also, it further created the Nigeria Innovation Fund by the NSIA to address investment opportunities in the domestic technology sector: data networking, data centres, software, Agri-tech, and Bio-tech among others. Education Since assuming office, the Buhari administration said it has committed over N1.7 trillion of capital intervention to Nigeria’s tertiary institutions through various means, including TETFund – with the universities taking the lion share of the total amount, adding that it disbursed more than N170 billion in UBE Matching Grants to states and the FCT since 2015; N8 billion in Special Education Grant to states and private providers of Special Education; and N34 billion from the Teachers Professional Development Fund to states and the FCT. The Buhari's government also inaugurated the Alternate School Programme (ASP) designed to ensure that every out-of-school child in the country gains access to quality basic education, irrespective of social, cultural or economic circumstance in line with the aspirations of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG-4). The presidency also approved a new (extended) retirement age of 65 and Length of Service of 40 years for teachers in public basic and secondary schools in the country (both effective from january 1 this year. It further pioneered a new special teachers' salary scale, effective from January 1 next year, and a new special teachers pension scheme. Under the World Bank-supported Innovation Development & Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) Project approved in 2020, the presidency noted that $200 million would be invested in six participating states including Abia, Benue, Ekiti, Gombe, Kano, and Edo, as well as 20 Federal Science and Technical Colleges nationwide. In its record, the Buhari's government approved the establishment of the Federal Maritime University, in Delta State; Nigerian Army University, in Borno state; six new Colleges of Education (one per geopolitical zone: Benue, Ebonyi Edo, Sokoto, Bauchi, and Osun States. Others are: six new Federal Polytechnics in Gombe, Oyo; Katsina, Plateau, Enugu, and Cross River. Under the phased implementation of the National Youth Policy, six Federal Science and Technical Colleges (FSTC) were established last year. They are: FSTC Ogugu, Kogi; FSTC Hadeija, Jigawa; FSTC Umuaka, Imo; FSTC Igangan, Oyo; FSTC Ganduje, Kano; and FSTC, Amuzu, Ebonyi. Additional five FSTC will come on-stream this year, and will be located in Bauchi, Plateau, Sokoto, Enugu, and Cross River states.

President Muhammadu Buhari Health Giving a record of grants to state governments, the presidency hinted that at least $2.5 million was dished out to each state of the federation and the FCT, under the Saving One Million Lives (SOML) initiative to improve health outcomes. Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF): For the first time since the National Health Act was passed in 2014, the federal government in 2018 began including the 1 per cent minimum portion of the Consolidated Revenue Fund – amounting to N55 billion in 2018 – to fund the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). The fund, it emphasised, is designed to deliver a guaranteed set of health services to all Nigerians through the national network of Primary Health Care centers. While listing the passage of enabling legislation for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for the first time since it was founded in 2011, it outlined that the president approved a grant of N5 billion for the NCDC last March as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the presidency, a number of key federal hospitals across the country are being upgraded to effectively manage cancer and other major health challenges. Cancer Radiotherapy machines and other equipment are being provided to these hospitals; the National Hospital in Abuja has already received two LINAC machines. "In March 2018, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) invested $10 million to establish a world-class cancer treatment centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). It also invested $5 million each in the Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, to establish a modern Diagnostic Centre, adding, "These Centres have all been completed and are now operational". Rail One of the plus of this administration is the construction of rails. Already, 156km LagosIbadan standard gauge rail is nearing completion; 327km Itakpe-Warri standard gauge rail has been completed and commissioned 33 years after construction began. Abuja Light Rail was completed in 2018; ground-breaking was done for construction of Kano-Makurdi standard gauge rail, and revamp of Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri narrow gauge tail. Meanwhile, financing negotiations are ongoing for Ibadan-Kano standard gauge rail project. Roads For the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), the government invested over a billion dollars in three flagship projects. They are: Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; Second Niger Bridge; and Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway. As listed in its achievements, the executive order of seven mobilising private investment into the development of key roads and bridges

Ports This administration has also completed new terminals for international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt with construction of new runways for Abuja and Enugu International Airports and presidential approval for four International Airports as Special Economic Zones in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt. In its six years, it has approved new privatesector funded deep sea ports: Lekki Deep Sea Port (construction already well underway for completion next year); Bonny Deep Sea Port (Ground-breaking done this March); Ibom Deep Sea Port; and Warri Deep Sea Port. On the development of capacity at the Eastern Ports, in December 2017, Calabar Port commenced export of bulk cement to Tema Port in Ghana. And in 2019, three container ships berthed at Calabar Port, for the first time in 11 years. The dredging of Warri Port (Escravos Bar— Warri Port channel) was completed in 2018. On October 30, 2019, an LPG tanker operated by NLNG berthed in Port Harcourt – "The first time ever an LPG ship berthed in any of the Eastern Ports. On December 8, 2019, Onne Port received JPO VOLANS (owned by Maersk), the first gearless and largest container vessel (265.07 metres) to call at any Eastern Port in Nigeria. On August 1, 2019, Onne Port’s Brawal Terminal received MSC GRACE, its first container vessel since 2012. Power To energise education programme, the presidency took clean and reliable energy (solar and gas) to federal universities and teaching hospitals across the country. Four universities completed and commissioned already are: BUK (Kano); FUNAI (Ebonyi); ATBU (Bauchi); and FUPRE (Delta). IItis also taking clean and reliable energy (solar and gas) to markets across the country and has completed projects like Sabon-Gari Market in Kano, Ariaria Market in Aba, and Sura Shopping Complex in Lagos. The administration proudly confirms nationwide rollout of electricity metres to all on-grid consumers initiated last August. The Central Bank of Nigeria is providing N60 billion for the first phase, with a target of one million metre installations. So far, more than 500,000 metres have been delivered to the Discos, and over 280,000 installed. Solar Power Naija was unveiled this April to deliver five million off-grid solar connections to Nigerian households. The programme is expected to generate an additional N7 billion increase in tax revenues per annum and $10 million in annual import substitution. This May, the Rural Electrification Agency announced the planned deployment of solar-powered grids to 200 Primary Health Centres (PHC) and 104 Unity Schools nationwide. Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), also known as Siemens Power Programme, a government-togovernment initiative involving the governments of Nigeria and Germany, and Siemens AG of Germany, to upgrade and modernise Nigeria’s electricity grid was initiated. The contract for the pre-engineering phase of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) was signed this February, following the 2020 approval for the payment of FGN’s counterpart funding for that phase. Meanwhile, Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) provided grants for the deployment of 200,000 solar home systems, impacting one million Nigerians. The NEP is also delivering mini-grids across the country.

Housing The Family Homes Fund Limited (FHFL), incorporated by the FG in September 2016, is the implementing agency for the Buhari administration’s national social housing scheme. Over2,000 hectares of land with titled documents have been given by 24 states for the Buhari administration’s social housing programme with the capacity to accommodate about 65,000 new homes. Under the National Social Housing programme, Nigerians will be given at least a 15-year period with a monthly payment at six per cent interest rate to pay for each housing unit. CBN is providing a N200 billion financing facility, with a guarantee by the FG. Oil and Gas In this industry, the Buhari administration declared this decade the “Decade of Gas". This ground-breaking started from 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Project, and successful completion of Nigeria’s first Marginal Field Bid Round in almost 20 years, which is expected to raise in excess of half a billion dollars, and open up a new vista of investment in oil and gas. There was also the inauguration of National LPG Expansion Programme (including Removal of VAT from the domestic pricing of LPG); Financial close and signing of contract for NLNG Train 7, which will grow Nigeria’s production capacity by about 35 per cent. Interestingly this year, Nigeria and Morocco signed an agreement to develop a $1.4 billion multipurpose industrial platform (Ammonia and Di-Ammonium Phosphate production plants) that will utilise Nigerian gas and Moroccan phosphate to produce 750,000 tons of ammonia and one million tons of phosphate fertilisers annually by 2025. It will be located in Ikot-Abasi, Akwa-Ibom state. In December 2020, there was the commissioning of the new NPDC Integrated Gas Handling Facility in Edo state, the largest onshore LPG plant in the country, with a processing capacity of 100 million standard cubic feet of gas daily. It produces 330 tonnes of LPG, 345 tonnes of propane, and 2,600 barrels of condensate daily. The Buhari's administration says it established a $350m Nigerian Content Intervention Fund to finance manufacturing, contracts and assets in the oil and gas industry. Among its strides is the financial close on the following the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)-involved projects: a 10,000 tonnes per day methanol plant and a 500 million standard cubic feet per day gas processing plant, in Odeama, Brass, Bayelsa state. It also confirmed the ANOH gas processing plant, with a processing capacity of 300 million standard cubic feet of gas in Imo State. It is a joint venture between Seplat Petroleum Development company and the Nigerian Gas cmpany, a wholly owned subsidiary of NNPC, which has the potential to deliver 1,200MW of power when completed. And in six years, this government introduced the Nigerian Upstream Cost Optimisation Programme (NUCOP) to reduce operating expenses through process enhancement and industry collaboration. Agriculture In this sector, the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the CBN pioneered by the president on 17th November 2015, made over N300 billion to more than 3.1 million smallholder farmers of 21 different commodities – rice, wheat, maize, cotton, cassava, poultry, soy beans, groundnut, and fish – cultivating over 3.8 million hectares of farmland. The presidency recorded a government-togovernment partnership between the Nigerian and Moroccan fovernments in December 2016 when the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) produced 12million 50kg bags of NPK 20:10:10 equivalent in 2020, bringing total production since inception to over 30 million 50kg bags equivalent; and number of participating blending plants increased to 44 from three at inception. The partnership among FGN, AfDB Group, and other stakeholders including IFAD and BOI.

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FEATURES and mainstream transparency mechanisms and citizens’ engagement in the management of public resources across all sectors. In 2018, Nigeria was elected to lead the OGP alongside Argentina, France, and Romania. All four new members of the OGP Steering Committee would serve for three years starting on 1st October 2018.

"Under the Special-Agro Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme, agro-processing centres will be established across the country. For the Green Imperative – a Nigeria-Brazil Agricultural Mechanisation Programme is aimed at boosting agricultural production in the country. According to the administration, the National Assembly has approved a loan for the financing of the program. This, it says, will involve the development of 632 privatelyoperated primary production (mechanisation) service centres and 142 Agro processing (value addition) service centres across the 774 LGAs, and the reactivation of six privately owned partially-operational or moribund tractor assembly plants nationwide. It will also train 100,000 new extension workers. Social Investment and Poverty Alleviation In 2016, the president launched the National Social Investment Programme, currently the largest of such programme in Africa and one of the largest in the world. Currently, the National Social Register (NSR) of poor and vulnerable Nigerians has 32.6 million persons from above seven million poor and vulnerable households identified across 708 LGAs, 8,723 wards and 86,610 communities across the 36 states and the FCT. From this number, 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households - comprising over eight million individuals in 45,744 communities from 5,483 Wards of 557 LGAs in 35 states and the FCT are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme, which pays a bi-monthly stipend of N10,000 per household. In January 2019, President Buhari set up Nigeria’s Micro-Pension Scheme – which allows self-employed persons and persons working in organisations with less than three employees to save for the provision of pension at retirement or incapacitation. Accordingly, the Buhari government established the Survival Fund, National Youth Investment Fund, and National Special Public Works Programme, which had 774,000 beneficiaries across 774 LGAs nationwide. It soon established the Central Bank’s COVID-19 N300 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) – higher than N150 billion disbursed so far to support millions of small businesses, households, and young people with federal grants, loans and stipends. Of course, the Buhari administration highlighted that the Survival Fund provided its grants (Payroll Support, Artisan and Transport Sector grants, and General MSME grant) to over 800,000 beneficiaries since the last quarter of 2020. It has also provided free business registration to more than 200,000 MSMEs across the country. It also listed the presidential approval for the establishment of the Nigeria Investment and Growth Fund (NIG-Fund) this year. As at the end of 2020, Development Bank of Nigeria, which began operations in 2017 had disbursed N324 billion in loans to over 136,000 MSMEs through 40 Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs). This is as 57 per cent of the beneficiaries are women-owned MSMEs while 27 per cent are youth-owned. And in January 2019, Buhari originated Nigeria’s Micro Pension Scheme, which allows self-employed persons and persons working in organisations with less than three employees to save for the provision of pension at retirement or incapacitation. Creative Industry and Sports Long overdue renovation of the Lagos and Abuja National Stadiums kicked off last year ahead of concessioning for private management. The list also shows that in 2018, the National Sports Festival was held for the first time since 2012. Nigeria National U-17 football team, the Golden Eaglets, won the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the fifth time in 2015. Their first ever win was 30 years earlier in 1985, when Buhari was the Head of State. Nigeria’s participation at the 2016 Paralympic Games yielded her best gold medal result since Nigeria started taking part in the Games in 1992. D’Tigress, Nigeria’s Female National Basketball Team won the 2017 FIBA Africa Women's Championship, the continental championship Cup, for the first time in 12 years, and earned qualification for its first FIBA Women’s World Cup appearance since 2006. In 2018, they earned its first-ever win at the FIBA Women’s World Cup, and went on to advance to the quarterfinals. The team finished in 8th place – the best ever performance by an African team. Swiftly in 2019, D’ Tigress successfully defended its 2017 Afro Basketball Women

Railway, one of his achievements Championship Title and in 2020, they became the only female African team to qualify for participation in the 2020 Summer Olympic games. Nigeria’s Women’s Football Team, the Super Falcons, won the African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) in 2016 and 2018. In same 2018, Nigeria hosted a FIFA Executive Football Summit, one of 12 worldwide. Meanwhile, in 2019, the Super Falcons advanced to the group stage of the Women’s World Cup, the first time in 20 years. Same year, Nigeria won its first Athletics World Championship medal in six years. Youth and Creative Industry Support Today, this administration boasts of the establishment of the N75 billion National Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) approved by the President, Buhari, last year. In 2019, the FG added creative industries to the list of qualifying sectors for Pioneer Status’ Incentives, which grants relief from Corporate Income Tax for a specified period of time." The presidential approval for the handover of the National Theatre, Lagos to the CBN and the Bankers Committee for redevelopment into a world-class Creative Park serving the theatre, film, fashion, music, and ICT sectors dovetailed into a handover handover. Already, redevelopment work (valued at about 20 billion Naira) has now kicked off. Fiscal, Trade, Monetary and Investment Reforms The Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) in 2017 completed a long-overdue revision of the list of activities that can benefit from Nigeria’s Pioneer Status Incentive, which grants beneficiary companies a three to five-year tax holiday. The revision, done above 10 years after the last one, has modernised the list, thereby, expanding the tax holiday incentives to qualifying companies in E-commerce, Software Development, Animation, Music, Film, and TV. They also boast of restoration of federal budget to January-December cycle, with the 2020 Budget, for the first time in 12 years; introduction since 2020 of annual Finance (Reform) Bills to accompany the annual Federal Appropriation Bill; negotiation of the billions of dollars in arrears of Cash Calls inherited when the administration assumed office, resulting in an agreement for a significant discount of exceeding a billion dollars. The Buhari government saw to the introduction of a Visa-on-Arrival Policy, as part of ease of doing business reforms. In addition, a comprehensive reform of the existing Visa Regime, leading to the rollout of a new and enhanced Visa Policy for Nigeria in 2020, including expansion from six visa categories to 79 – each tailored to a specific type of traveller – 36 temporary residence visas, 15 permanent residence visas, and 24 short visit visas among others. Assent to Legislative Bills Some of the presidential assent to Legislative Bills include the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act, 1993 (Amendment) Act, 2019; Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Bill, the first legislation in Nigeria’s history focused on curbing anti-competition practices; establishing the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission; NCDC Establishment Act in 2018; Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, an Executive Bill, was signed into law in 2019. It facilitates the identification, tracing, freezing, restraining, recovery, forfeiture and confiscation of proceeds, property and other instrumentalities of crime, as well as the prosecution of offenders

in criminal cases regardless of where in the world they might be. Part of its milestone is the bill establishing the Police Trust Fund, which will significantly improve funding for the Nigeria Police Force (2019). Nigeria Police Act 2020 – the first comprehensive reform of Police legislation since the Police Act of 1943; Repeal and ReEnactment of the Companies & Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020 – the first comprehensive reform since 1990, and the Not Too Young to Run Bill (2018) – a Constitution Amendment Bill, to reduce the age of eligibility for running for elective office in Nigeria. For this administration, it recorded Nigerian Correctional Services Bill, 2019 – the first comprehensive reform of prison legislation in close to five decades. Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Bill, 2019 – the first anti-piracy legislation in West Africa; and a Bill to grant financial autonomy to States’ Houses of Assembly and States’ Judiciary (2018), Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020; Finance Act 2019 and 2020, and the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018. Executive Orders The Buhari Administration has since 2017, issued a number of landmark executive orders: executive order on promotion of Transparency and Efficiency in the Business Environment (2017), and the executive order on Promoting Local Procurement by Government Agencies in 2017. Others include Executive order on Submission of Annual Budgetary Estimates by all Statutory and non-Statutory Agencies, including Incorporated Companies wholly owned by the FG in 2017; Executive order on the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme same 2017; the presidential executive order on planning and execution of projects, promotion of Nigerian content in contracts, Science, Engineering and Technology in 2018; the executive order (and Amendment) on the Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularisation Scheme (VOARS) same 2018; and executive orders on Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme in 2019 and implementing financial autonomy of state legislature and state judiciary in 2020. BVN Deployment for Social Investment Programmes Considering that personnel costs are the FG's largest expenditure line, the FG gave priority to the deployment of the BVN for payroll and pension audits. The use of BVN to verify payroll entries on the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform has so far led to the detection of 54,000 fraudulent payroll entries. The FG emphasised that it ensured the deployment of BVN system to serve as the verification basis for payments to beneficiaries and vendors in the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), the N-Power Scheme, and the Homegrown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP). Open Government Partnership In May 2016, President Buhari attended and participated in the International Anti-Corruption Summit organised by the UK government. At that Summit, it stated, he pledged that Nigeria would join the OGP, an international transparency, accountability and citizen engagement initiative. Now in July 2016, Nigeria became the 70th country to join the OGP. Following this, Nigeria constituted an OGP National Steering Committee (NSC), which went on to develop a National Action Plan (2017–2019) that aims to deepen

Asset Recovery Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), the administration hinted, has helped anti-corruption agencies devise clearer strategies for obtaining forfeiture of assets suspected to have been acquired fraudulently, mainly from state coffers, before prosecuting suspected culprits. Part of this work has involved painstakingly reviewing existing Laws (like the Money Laundering Act, 2004; the EFCC Act, 2004; and the ICPC Act, 2000) to identify and highlight sections directly conferring powers of forfeiture on Nigeria’s anti corruption agencies. ICPC scrutiny of practices, systems and procedures of MDAs’ personnel cost from 2019 to 2020, yielded N189 billion in recoveries from inflated personnel budgets. "In 2019 alone, ICPC also recovered N32 billion worth of land, buildings and vehicles. ICPC’s audit of Constituency Projects covering 2015 to 2018 helped recover N2 billion of diverted funds and assets." Security and Justice Reform In terms of security, Nigeria's recapitalisation drive has been phenomenal. Thr Nigerian Air Force acquired 26 brand new aircraft since President Buhari assumed office in 2015, and is expecting another 12 (the 12 Super Tucano currently on order from the United States Government, due for delivery starting July 2021). The NAF is also locally re-activating several previously unserviceable planes. The Nigerian Navy has acquired close to 400 new platforms since 2015, including 172 Riverine Patrol Boats (RPBs), 114 Rigid- Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs), two Seaward Defence Boats (SDBs), 12 Manta Class/Inshore Patrol Craft (IPC), 3 Whaler Boats, 4 Barges / Tug Boats, 22 Fast Attack Boats, 14 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), 4 Helicopters, 14 River Town Class, 14 House Boats and 4 Capital Ships. In line with the President’s directive, the Nigerian Navy has established a Naval Base Lake Chad in Baga, Borno State, as well as deployed 14 Naval Security Stations along the nation’s coastline in areas prone to criminal activity.President Buhari signed into law, in 2019, the Bill establishing the Police Trust Fund, which will significantly improve funding for the Nigeria Police Force. As part of Criminal Justice Reforms, President Buhari in 2020 granted amnesty to 2,600 prisoners nationwide, representing about 3.5 per cent of all inmates, in a bid to decongest Nigeria’s prison population. The beneficiaries were those 60 years and above; those suffering from ill-health that might likely lead to death; convicts serving three years and above and have less than six months to serve; inmates with mental health defect; and inmates with a pending fine not exceeding N50,000 and with no pending cases. Presidential approval for commencement of Community Policing Programme nationwide, and release of take-off funding. The Community Policing Programme has now been enshrined into the Police Act, 2020. The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) is deploying a Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) at five International Airports. MIDAS is a global real-time border management system developed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and is linked to INTERPOL & other watchlists. The implementation of MIDAS at the International Airport in Abuja was described by the IOM as “the largest deployment of MIDAS at any airport globally, to date.” Bilateral Relations Under the Buhari administration, Nigeria has successfully entered into bilateral relations with different nations. From rail, ports and roads, as well as other infrastructural projects, the bilateral relations with China, Germany, UK, South Africa, US, Morroco, Russia, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Despite all these achievements, the administration has also been faced with several challenges like insecurity, unemployment, housing deficiency and inadequate funding, among others, which they have vowed to surmount before the expiration of the tenure in 2023.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ˜ 2021

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

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N379/1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes Polaris Donates Facility to Ogun

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: MD/CE, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Bello Hassan; Chairman, Board of Directors, Mrs Ronke Sokefun and Minister of the FCT, Mal. Musa Bello, during the NDIC Board’s visit to the FCT Ministry in Abuja…recently

Multilateral Organisations Seek End to COVID-19 with Fresh $50bn Investment Obinna Chima

ECONOMY

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva; Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; and President of the World Bank, David Malpass have pledged to commit an estimated $50 billion in the fight against the COVID-19. The sum is expected to help bring the pandemic to an end faster in the developing world, reduce infections and loss of lives, accelerate the economic recovery, and generate some $9 trillion in additional global output by 2025. They noted in a joint statement yesterday, that as preparations are made for the G7 Summit in the UK next week, top of the agenda was how to end the COVID-19 pandemic and secure the global

recovery. “It is a win for all — while around 60 percent of the gains will go to emerging markets and developing economies, the remaining 40 per cent will benefit the developed world. And this is without taking into account the inestimable benefits on people’s health and lives. “Investing $50 billion to end the pandemic is potentially the best use of public money we will see in our lifetimes. It will pay a huge development dividend and boost growth and well-being globally,” they added. According to the leaders of the four multilateral institutions, by now it has become abundantly clear there would be no broadbased recovery without an end to the health crisis. They stressed that access to

vaccination was also key. “There has been impressive progress on the vaccination front. Scientists have come up with multiple vaccines in record time. Unprecedented public and private financing has supported vaccine research, development and manufacturing scale-up. But a dangerous gap between richer and poorer nations persists. “In fact, even as some affluent countries are already discussing the rollout of booster shots to their populations, the vast majority of people in developing countries—even front-line health workers— have still not received their first shot. “The worst served are lowincome nations which have received less than one per cent of vaccines administered so far,” the statement added. They noted that increasingly, a two-track pandemic was developing, with richer countries having

access and poorer ones being left behind. Furthermore, they stressed that inequitable vaccine distribution was not only leaving untold millions of people vulnerable to the virus, but also allowing deadly variants to emerge and ricochet back across the world. As variants continue to spread, even countries with advanced vaccination programs have been forced to re-impose stricter public health measures, and some have implemented travel restrictions, they added. “In turn, the ongoing pandemic is leading to deepening divergence in economic fortunes, with negative consequences for all. “It need not be this way. That is why we are calling today for a new level of international support for – and implementation of – a stepped up coordinated strategy, Continued on page 25

KPMG: Nigerian Banks Spend Billions Annually on KYCs Dike Onwuamaeze A KPMG report has revealed that Nigerian banks spend billions of naira annually to implement the Know Your Customer (KYC), which is a compulsory regulatory tool used to reduce the menace of money laundering, terrorist financing and corruption, especially in managing public finance. The report stated that its survey showed that individual banks could spend between N50 million and N400 million per annum on KYC requirement depending on the customer base of the bank.

ECONOMY The report also stated that on average, between 15 to 30 per cent of customers who start the KYC process do not complete it, because the process is too manual, information required would be difficult to obtain and time consuming and could last for more than four weeks in some cases. It also noted that the KYC requirement could also be an inhibitor to the attainment of financial inclusion policy in Nigeria that did not have centralised identity management

systems. The report, which is titled “KPMG 2021 Know Your Customer (KYC) Survey: KYC Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria,” revealed that 85 per cent of the banks that responded to its survey stated that KYC process constituted a significant cost to their operations, with 71 per cent anticipating that the cost of KYC would continue to increase. In addition, more than 70 per cent of the responding banks, according to the KPMG, spend about N10,000 as direct cost for identity and address verification of a customer while others spend

as much as N40,000 on the KYC of a customer. The key drivers of the continual increase in the cost, according to the report, included frequent changes in regulatory requirements, financial inclusion programs, increase in customer base, initial cost of acquiring technology needed to implement KYC, more complex ownership structures of some businesses operating bank accounts and increase in the number of employees required to administer the KYC unit in a bank. The survey findings added: Continued on page 25

Polaris Bank has donated a building to serve as a ‘Sexual Assaults ReferralCentre’attheOlabisiOnabanjoUniversityTeachingHospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, Ogun State, as its contribution to combating the incidence of gender-related assaults in the country. The initiative which was done in collaboration with Ogun State governmentandUnitedNationsPopulationFund(UNFPA),isaimedat providing support to victims of gender-based violence with a view to properly rehabilitating and reintegrating them into the larger society. In a statement, Polaris Bank, disclosed that the decision to support the initiative was taken following the spate of incidences bordering on gender-related assaults in the country. The Bank’s Group Head, South West 1, Dr. Abimbola Akorede, who represented the Managing Director whilst handing over the building to the Ogun State Government decried the unfortunate spate of gender-based violence, especially cases involving minors with its attendantconsequencesonvictimsandthesocietyatlarge. Akorede noted that all hands must be on deck to reverse the menace. Inherkeynoteaddress,thewifeofOgunStateGovernor,Mrs.Bamidele Abiodun, lauded eﬀorts of the partners Polaris Bank and United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) for the initiative noting that such partnership is intended to provide support and succour to victims of gender-related assault. According to the Ogun State First Lady, “The menace has become the order of the day in our society but with the inauguration of the referral centre, we are assuring that in this state, the government will do everything within its capacity to ensure justice for victims.” Also speaking at the inauguration, Akingbolahan Adeniran, Ogun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, noted that thestatewouldensureproperinvestigationandprosecutionofcases relating to gender-based violence.

Qatar Expands US Network

Qatar Airways’ resumption of four-weekly Atlanta flights yesterday marked the full return of the airline’s pre-pandemic US network increasing its gateways to 12, two more than it operated before COVID-19.The airline will also be increasing frequencies to Boston, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle offering more flexible travel options for its passengers with more than 85 weekly flights across the United States. These increased services would provide enhanced connectivity to several of the airline’s global leisure destinations including CapeTown, Maldives, Seychelles and Zanzibar, along with other key traffic flows in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Despitethechallengesofthepandemic,QatarAirwayshasremained committed to its passengers and trade partners in the United States, maintaining continuous services while rebuilding its U.S. network and launching two new destinations - San Francisco and Seattle.We have also strengthened our presence in the U.S. through strategic partnerships with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue that have enabled us to connect to more points in the United States than any other airline, providing U.S. travellers the most convenient way to travel internationally this summer.

ITC Launches Series on Global Trade

The International Trade Centre (ITC) has launched a new monthly seriesontheGlobalStateofTrade,bringingtogetherthemostrecent ITC data and research to highlight variations in exports and market access conditions across countries, regions, and sectors. Leveraging ITC’s trade and market access databases and in-house analytical capacities, the monthly briefs aim to support the trade policy debate by providing reliable, timely, and useful information to policymakers, trade journalists, and the wider trade community. “The pandemic has caused drastic changes in the global trade landscape. ITC’s monthly briefs on the Global State of Trade will help the trade community keep up with the latest developments and bring innovative research and analysis to its ﬁngertips,” ITC’s Executive Director, Pamela Coke-Hamilton said. Theseries’inauguralissuehighlightsthestrongimpactoftheCovid-19 pandemic on world trade and the extent of the recovery in recent

“In this decade of gas, I am assured that the NLNG will continue to support our drive for domestic gas expansion, while playing a fundamental role in monetising the vast gas resources in the country ”

Minister of State, Petroleum Resources

Mr. Timipre Sylva

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

BUSINESSWORLD MULTILATERAL ORGANISATIONS SEEK END TO COVID-19 WITH FRESH $50BN INVESTMENT backed by new financing, to vaccinate the world. “A recent proposal from IMF staff puts forward a plan with clear targets, pragmatic actions, and at a feasible cost. It builds on and supports the ongoing work of WHO, its partners in the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative and its global vaccine access programme COVAX, as well as the work of the World Bank Group, the WTO and many others,” it added. Shedding more light on the proposal, the statement explained that it entails, “first, increasing our ambition and vaccinating more people faster: WHO and its COVAX partners have set a goal of vaccinating approximately 30 per cent of the population in all countries by the end of 2021. “But this can reach even 40 per cent through other agreements and surge investment, and at least 60 percent by the first half of 2022. “To do so requires additional financing for low- and middleincome countries, with a very significant proportion in the form of grants and concessional financing. KPMG: NIGERIAN BANKS SPEND BILLIONS ANNUALLY ON KYCS

“Our analysis of the data reveals that for many banks, the direct cost of KYC is below N50 million per annum, but depending on the size of the bank it can rise to as much as N400 million per annum, which do not include the indirect cost of KYC. “Banks also incur significant indirect cost in performing KYC that include cost incurred in staffing the compliance office/sanctions screening desk, purchasing, installing and implementing technology, storing and managing customer KYC data, cost incurred due to regulatory reporting, fines incurred as a result of failure to report, opportunity cost incurred as a result of customers who are discouraged from opening accounts due to inefficient or cumbersome KYC systems.”

NEWS

Food Security: Kwara Unveils 15 New Tractors, Other Farm Implements Hammed Shittu in Ilorin As part of move to boost food production, Kwara State Governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has launched 15 new tractors and several modern farm implements for farmers in the state. The commissioning of the machines according to the governor was to give bite to the mechanisation component of the recently launched state agricultural transformation plan. Speaking at Ilorin recently, the governor said the whole focus of the transformation plan was, “to achieve food security, sustainable growth, and create jobs.” Other implements launched included ploughs, harrows, ridgers, and a mobile workshop to properly manage the machines. AbdulRazaq said, “mechanisation is key for the success of the crop production pillar of the agric blueprint and that the administration had kickstarted the implementation with the recent flag off of farm inputs subsidy scheme which gave at least 10,000 farmers access to improved seedlings, fertilisers and chemicals at half the market price. “The purchase of new tractors and implements is another milestone as the administration

did not inherit any functional tractor when it came to office in 2019.” The governor added, “Today’s commissioning of 15 new tractors and implements flags off the mechanisation component of the agric transformation plan. “I must mention, for the record, that our administration did not

inherit any functional tractor in 2019. This step speaks to our seriousness to truly transform how we farm and put Kwara on the map of agribusiness. “The objective of our mechanisation programme is to ensure increased output of higher value products.” He added: “It will also

eliminate hardship associated with agricultural production powered by human labour. This initiative has been designed to provide mechanisation services for smallholder and commercial farmers in the state. “This is just the first in the series of our mechanisation initiative. We would be acquiring more

tractors and other sophisticated equipments like combined harvesters, planters, boom sprayer and others to support our farmers and boost production. “This will totally transform the way crop production is carried out in Kwara state, and ensure that mechanisation becomes the norm for all farmers in the state.”

RENDERING ACCOUNT TO SHAREHOLDERS

L-R: Company Secretary, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Naﬁsat Lasisi, Chairman, Segun Ajayi, and MD/CEO ,Olaotan Soyinka at the 26th Annual General Meeting of the company held in Lagos... recently

GSK Promises Increased Efficiency, Better Performance Goddy Egene The Chairman, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer (GSK) Nigeria Plc, Mr. Edmund Onuzo, has said the task before the company is to drive its strategic objectives in order to keep the business afloat and also make its portfolio more efficient and profitable. Speaking at the annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos, amidst the celebration of company’s 50 years of existence in Nigeria, Onuzo said despite the challenging economic environment, particularly for manufacturers

in the country, the company was determined to achieve a sustainable performance across all its portfolio. According to him, GSK recorded a profit after tax of N623.01 million for the year ended December 2020, while a dividend of 40 kobo per share was recommended and approved at the AGM. He said the unpredicted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic slowed Nigeria’s economic recovery as the country went into a recession for the second time in five years, after the marginal economic growth

noticed before 2020. “The performance of our company in 2020 reflected our determination to remain strong and deliver value to our esteemed customers and stakeholders in a challenging economic climate. We will continue to invest in our brands and our people to achieve sustainable growth and development,” he said. Commenting on the company’s performance, the Managing Director, GSK, Mr. Kunle Oyelana, said the achievement was a result of collaborative support from all key stakeholders of the healthcare

delivery subsector. Oyelana noted that in the last 50 years, the company had remained Nigeria’s leading healthcare company focused on enabling Nigerian to do more, feel better and live longer with our pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. “This year’s performance complements our sterling milestones in Research & Development (R&D) and innovations as well as quality healthcare products delivery. “We have experienced sustained growth in our business operations centered on our three business

areas of Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare while we have also maintained some initiatives that have continued to generate impacts by creating shared values in our communities. “We are pleased with the results for 2020 as it showed the resilient spirit of the GSK team. Importantly, we at GSK were able to support the government’s efforts at managing COVID-19 in Nigeria via donations of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) through industry associations and our partners, Save the Children,” he said.

Fidson Healthcare Quotes N4.5bn CP on FMDQ Exchange Goddy Egene

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited has approved the quotation of the Fidson Healthcare Plc N4.50 billion Series 1 Commercial Paper (CP) under its N10 billion CP Issuance Programme on its platform. Fidson Healthcare Plc is a leading pharmaceutical manufacturing company that is engaged in manufacturing

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

ËÒÏÏ× ÕÓØÑÌÙÖß (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) ÜÙ×ÙÝÏÖÏ ÌÓÙÎßØ (Maritime) Ë×ÏÝ ×ÏÔÙ (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters

ÙÝË ÖÏÕÒßÙÑÓÏ (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

care Series 1 CP, the Chief Financial Officer of the company, Mr. Imokha Ayebae, said the debut CP issuance would allow Fidson Healthcare broaden its sources of funding and lower our overall cost of borrowing. “It will also strenAgthen our commitment to the vision of building sustainable brands that will foster our expansion and growth plans in the pharmaceuti-

cal industry across West Africa. “We acknowledge the support of the investor community in ensuring the success of the CP issuance. We will continue to assure their confidence in us as we deliver on our objectives of innovation and development within the Nigerian healthcare space,” he said. The Head, Investment Banking, FSDH Capital Limited, sponsor of the CP on

the exchange, Mr. Taiwo Olatunji, said: “We are pleased that FSDH Capital Limited was hand-picked by Fidson Healthcare to act as sponsor and lead arranger on the company’s debut CP issuance. We believe that the CP issuance has provided the company with access to a wider pool of well-informed investors, increased liquidity and increased visibility within the Nigerian DCM.”

GNI Boss Lists Benefits of Annuity Plan

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe

and sale of pharmaceutical and healthcare products in Nigeria. With over 35 registered pharmaceutical products, across different therapeutic areas, in the pharmaceutical industry, the proceeds from this issuance will be used by Fidson Healthcare to finance its short-term working capital requirements. Speaking on the successful issuance of the Fidson Health-

Ebere Nwoji The Managing Director, Great Nigeria Insurance Plc, (GNI) Mrs. Cecelia Osipitan, has listed benefits of pension savings and retirement benefits payment through annuity plan. Osipitan, who stated this while speaking with journalists on the performance of her company’s annuity business in the first quarter of this year, said her company’s performance in the period was

impressive. She said her company increased annuity premium by over 800 percent in the first quarter of the year from N52.5 million in 2020 to N4.7 billion in 2021. An annuity is a contract between a person usually a paid worker and an insurance company in which the person makes a lump-sum payment or series of payments to an insurance company and, in return, receives regular disbursements, beginning either immediately or at some

point in the future from the insurance company. It is a long-term investment that is issued by an insurance company and is designed to help protect a saving worker from the risk of outliving his income. Through annuitisation, his purchase payments (what he contributed) are converted into periodic payments that can last for life. She listed benefits of annuity system of retirement payment over programme withdrawal

which involves a pension fund administrator to whom the worker or contributor chose to save his money paying him certain amount monthly for 18 years or through annuity plan which involves the person purchasing annuity plan with a lump sum from an insurance company which commences payment of certain amount monthly through out the person’s life time. The Great Nigeria Insurance boss, while speaking about his

company’s annuity business performance listed some of its benefits to include the continuous flow of regular income for the retiree, insulation from the risks associated with the investment of lump sum benefits, structured management of resources and the transference of the risk of diminution in assets and possible failure of investments of retirees to insurance companies which are better equipped to manage such risks.

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

CBN and Nigeria’s Quest for Food Security Obinna Chima highlights efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to support the country’s quest for self-sufficient in food production

he global food security challenge is for the world to be able to feed nine billion people by 2050. By then, it is estimated that the demand for food will be 60 per cent greater than it is today. Owing to this, the United Nations had set zero hunger as the second of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030. Indeed, everybody needs food. But the complexity of delivering sufficient food to a national population and to the world’s population shows why food security is such a priority for all countries, whether developing or developed. For Nigeria, a country of over 200 million people, and projected to be about 450 million in a few decades, the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that dangers lie ahead if the country does not begin to depend largely on what it produces locally. Indeed, threat to food security in the country is also being worsened by numerous factors, including communal clashes, activities of bandits, climate change, poor funding, among others. To address the situation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased its intervention in the agriculture sector, especially through its Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP). The ABP which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, was designed to assist small-scale farmers to increase the production and supply of feedstock to agro-processors with the aim of creating an ecosystem to link out-growers (smallholders) to local processors. The programme has increased banks’ financing to the agricultural sector, enhanced capacity utilisation of agricultural firms involved in the production of identified commodities as well as the productivity and incomes of farmers. The anchor borrowers’ programme has also assisted rural subsistent farmers to reach commercial production levels. The thrust of the ABP is the provision of inputs in kind and cash (for farm labour) to smallholder farmers with a view to boosting the production of rice, maize, poultry, sorghum, cassava, tomatoes, cotton, palm oil, Soybean, among others. The idea is to stabilise input supply to agroprocessors and address the country’s negative balance of payments on food. It is a loan to farmers without collateral and the benefitting farmers are given farm input and cash to cultivate their farms, including the experiment on rice. According to the structure of the ABP, a farmer who wants to repay his loan can either do so with cash or give the central bank his /her produce of same value, after which officials of CBN’s Development Finance Department would sell and recover the loan. CBN’s Focus The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has said the bank would sustain its intervention in the agriculture sector through its development finance mandate, in order to help catalyse growth in critical sectors of the economy such as agriculture and the manufacturing sectors. As of January 2021, the CBN had disbursed N554.61 billion to 2,849,490 farmers to boost food security under the ABP since 2015. According to Emefiele, more than N300 billion had been disbursed to companies operating in the southern part of Nigeria, just as he appealed to farmers to pay their loans in order to sustain the programme. The CBN governor explained that under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, every farmer with a good repayment record would be eligible to get a solar home system that will provide electricity to power their essential home appliances. He expressed hope that the incentive would improve the standard of living of farmers in Nigeria, motivate prompt loan repayment and ultimately enhance the sustainability of the programme. “Loan repayment is the hallmark of every credit cycle and the sustainability of the programme is hinged on farmers’ ability and willingness to repay their loans, and we are constantly engaging with them to enhance their trust in the system,” he said. Emefiele explained further that over 3.1 million farmers have been financed for the cultivation of crops across twenty-one agricultural com-

modities captured under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) since inception. “A total of 3,107,890 farmers had been financed for the cultivation of 3,801,397 hectares across 21 commodities through 23 Participating Financial Institutions in the 36 States of the Federation and FCT, from the inception of the programme till date,” he said. Beyond the ABP, intervention schemes by the bank continued to focus on enhanced credit delivery to critical sectors, in a bid to enhance productivity and stimulate the real sector of the economy. Similarly, in a bid to further strengthen its intervention into the agricultural sector, the CBN, amended the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF). The amendment allowed for increase in the share capital of the Fund from N3 billion to N50 billion, as well as increase the maximum amount granted to both collateralised and non-collateralised loans under the scheme. The amendment also allowed the scheme to finance all aspects of the agricultural value chain. Similarly, to further increase agricultural productivity and ensure sustained income for farmers, the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), developed a Hybrid Multi-Peril Crop Indemnity-Index Insurance (HM-II). The new product, which was an outcome of NIRSAL’s long-term commitment to the development of innovative agricultural insurance products and expanding coverage for agricultural lending across the entire agricultural value chain, was designed to protect farmers from losses during planting season caused by bad weather, pest outbreak, disease outbreak, fire outbreak and permanent disability or death of farmers. The improved credit delivery and intervention programmes are expected to stimulate output, thereby easing inflationary pressure, particularly, food inflation. The intervention effort by the bank is crucial given the prevailing macro-economic development and is capable of further sustaining the goal of the bank towards ensuring price stability. Also, Emefiele recently appealed recently to bandits and others involved in unlawful activities to drop their arms and embrace the central bank’s ABP. According to Emefiele, his appeal to criminals to embrace family is because there is a linkage between security and economic growth. “If you want an economy to grow, the level of insecurity must be low because if there is a high level of insecurity like what we see today, the economy will suffer. I, therefore, would like to appeal to our brothers, who decide that they want to live in bushes and forests, that they should please, begin to retreat, drop their arms and come and embrace the anchor borrowers’ programme. If they do so, it will help them,” he appealed.

Also recently, the CBN Governor called on governors to make their states economically viable in order to reduce their dependence on allocations from the Federation Account. Emefiele, at the inauguration of the Rivers State Cassava Processing Plant in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state, lamented that notwithstanding the country’s position as the largest producer of cassava in the world, it spends over $580 million to import its by-products, adding that the country can no longer afford to support continued importation of items that can be produced locally. Emefiele said the CBN had set aside N1.5 billion for land clearing and urged the states, particularly those in the southern region, to take advantage of the facility to open up their respective economies. He also advised the governors to woo private investors to help resuscitate their economies to generate employment through agriculture, adding that this will help the states boost internally generated revenue. He explained: “We seize this opportunity to encourage our states, particularly the southern states, that there are facilities available for you to draw to involve in land clearing. “At least, N1.5 billion is available for land clearing. It may seem small but it’s a seed that we can start with. “We need to see to how we can open up our states for the good of our people and also for the economic viability of out states. “Please, help to make your states economically viable so you can depend less on revenues from FAAC so that you can grow your economy.” According to him, the cassava project could help drive economic growth, reduce unemployment as well as induce other wealth-creating activities in the state. He said the guaranteed off-take would encourage participating farmers to improve their output per hectare in order to earn additional income. He also said the project provided them with a verifiable platform to access finance from the CBN and other financial institutions through the ABP, among other benefits. Emefiele said the current situation had made it imperative for the central bank to work towards supporting programmes to enable greater cultivation and processing of key agricultural commodities. He said so far, the apex bank’s developmental finance initiatives had been focused on creating an enabling environment to drive both public and private sectors’ participation in the real sector with strategic deliverables around price stability, job creation, financial inclusion, import substitution and accretion to foreign reserves, among others. He added that the bank’s interventions seek to improve access to credit for households and businesses, which will enhance productivity and

create value across a wide range of economic activities. The CBN governor explained that through programmes such as the ABP, the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme and the Bankers Committee Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS), the apex bank has improved access to markets for farmers by facilitating greater partnership with agro-processors and manufacturing firms in the sourcing of raw materials. “As a result, manufacturers have integrated local options in sourcing their raw materials. Partnerships forged through contracts between farmer cooperatives and agro-processors have also helped to support improved production of agricultural commodities such as rice, cotton and maize. “In order to address some of the challenges faced by local farmers and manufacturers, we embarked on measures to discourage smuggling and dumping of restricted items into the country, by imposing restrictions on the use of financial institutions in Nigeria by identified smugglers, as their activities undermined the growth of our local industries. “These measures are aiding our efforts to support local cultivation in rice, cotton and fish, etc.,” he disclosed. Emefiele believes the bank’s on-going interventions, especially in agriculture, would, “help to boost not only our domestic outputs but also improve our annual non-oil exports receipts from $2 billion in 2018 to $12 billion by 2023.” Also, the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, called on Nigerian youths and graduates to explore opportunities in the agricultural sector, adding that if seen as business, the high level of unemployment in the country would be addressed. “Nigeria youths and graduates should look at agriculture in its total supply chain. There are many innovative ideas they can explore and engage in to get substantial income. From technology, IT, Logistics, marketing, distribution, inputs supply, markets research, irrigation systems supply and also quality assurance,” Dangote stated. Also, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, said the country must strive to grow its food despite the current security challenges facing it. “Obviously, we cannot succumb to our security challenges, we have to eat, we have to farm whether there is security or not and that is absolutely necessary. “The security matter is not affecting agriculture alone but the entire country, and I think in spite of all the security issues people have been raising, agriculture has been growing in this country even last year. This season’s dry farming will multiply what we have done last year,” Nanono added.

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Alade-Akinyemi: Growth Opportunities Abound in Nigeria Mr. Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, a certified accountant with 20 years of experience leading and transforming finance & supply chain teams in complex, multinational companies, is the Chief Financial Officer and Supply Chain Director of Lafarge Africa Plc. He spoke on the operating environment, the company’s performance and his career. Goddy Egene presents the excerpts:

consistently deliver business results with excellence. I am very fortunate to have a team that has fully embraced our ethos of ‘One Team One Direction’. My philosophy is “We build together, we win together and we celebrate together.’

ow is the operating environment now affecting the cement manufacturing industry? The operating environment in Nigeria is both challenging and dynamic. At Lafarge Africa Plc, we can see the growth opportunities in Nigeria despite all the macroeconomic challenges and complexities in the operating environment. The current challenges have impacted the cement industry value chain. In the last two years, naira has lost approximately 35 per cent in value coupled with the astronomical double-digit inflation. This has significantly affected the cost of doing business, specifically, the cost of energy, distribution, spares, maintenance, and materials. Beyond cost, there are also forex (FX) supply challenges generating some constraints for many businesses to invest in the required capital expenditure (capex). Amid all these challenges, our medium to long-term outlook remains positive. Looking back at last year when the world was ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, Lafarge Africa Plc recorded improved results, what were some of the measures put in place to minimise the impact of Covid-19 on your entire operations? I would say that we are a proactive organisation and as such, we were not caught off-guard when the pandemic happened. We immediately launched our health, cost, and cash initiatives. First, the health of our employees, contractors, our host communities, and other stakeholders was of utmost priority and we never comprised ensuring a safe and healthy working and operating environment for all our stakeholders. We minimised the impact of the disruption that came with the pandemic. We augmented our route to market to ensure our service level commitment to our customers is not eroded. We effectively managed our supply chain to reduce the stock situation of key materials. From a cost standpoint, we aggressively challenged all discretionary expenses. The team rose to the occasion and worked together, across all functions. We were clear on the challenges ahead and what we needed to do. It was “One Team, One Direction” all the way. Lafarge did very well in 2019 and 2020 despite the headwinds. How can you explain these performances? Secondly, if you look at your performance in recent times one of the factors that boosted performance was divesting from your loss-making subsidiary. How do you hope to sustain this performance going forward? What drove our performance last year was the strong market demand and the ability of the team to capture and realise these market opportunities despite the supply challenges we encountered in quarter four as we temporarily shut down one of our production lines in Ewekoro for maintenance which will significantly reduce carbon emission. We delivered double-digit net profit growth, we generated strong cash flow and cash conversion, and we significantly reduced our net debt position. The fundamentals of the business remain strong

If you look at the operating environment right now, talking about artiﬁcial intelligence(AI) and the internet of things (IoT) taking over, what likely impact do you think this will have on the future of accounting jobs and across all the sectors of the business environment? The exploitation of technology, specifically AI is here to stay and is a game-changer. It is poised to disrupt not just how we live our personal lives but how we work and the broader business landscape as we know it. It will create a competitive advantage for businesses that embrace it. Many of the in-demand jobs today did not exist years ago. Technology advancement has led to increased prosperity, productivity, and job creation. In the coming years, as changes occur across all businesses, AI will profoundly impact the employment landscape and productivity. We have seen these changes in the last 5 to 10 years and we will see more changes in years to come.

Alade-Akinyemi and we are well-positioned to take advantage of investment opportunities to expand our business in Nigeria. Looking at 2021, what will be your projection considering all the challenges because inﬂation is still going up. And what should stakeholders expect in terms of returns? Considering the Nigerian population, current infrastructure gap, the lingering housing deficits, and the relatively low cement consumption per capita, our growth expectation is positive in the medium-to-long term. We believe very strongly in the Nigerian market, we will continue to execute our health, cost, and cash action plan and make sure that we continue to provide solutions to our customers. The outlook is positive. Considering your competitors and their expansion drive, how does Lafarge hope to gain more market share? One of our immediate priorities is to invest in capacity expansion given all of the opportunities in Nigeria I described earlier. We are very committed to expanding our operations in Nigeria. Since assuming the role of Chief Financial Ofﬁcer (CFO) at Lafarge Africa Plc, what are those unique initiatives that you have brought

on board? Our ambition is to build a finance organisation of the future that is agile and innovative with strong technical and commercial acumen. We are focused on effectively partnering with various functions and external stakeholders to ensure that the company’s strategy can be realised and ultimately, we create value for our shareholders. We have taken out complexities and simplified our key processes without compromising on control. We have implemented and elevated the exploitation of our ERM system, created management dashboards to improve our decision-making process, application of data to create insights, and proactively identify opportunities and manage risks. We have created a conducive work environment for our various teams and an effective performance management system that ensures that we have a high-performing organization. Our diversity agenda is a work in progress - the diversity that is not only limited to gender but extends to skills set, work experience, among others. You have spoken a bit about your team, how would you describe your team brieﬂy at Lafarge and what is your philosophy? I am very proud of my team. My team is self-driven, highly committed and performancefocused. They all understand what is required and

Talking personally now, what informed your career path and who were some of those people that influenced your decision to play in this accounting field? I have always loved finance from a very young age. Therefore, going into finance was a no-brainer because I have always been known for being analytical and methodical in nature. I always look at things from different dimensions. Finance was a good springboard and launch-pad for my career progression as it provided the platform to better understand performance management. It made my transition to other functions seamless. In my career, I have taken up roles in many functions – sales, procurement, logistics, strategy, and business development. I am not your traditional finance professional. For a young persons who are looking up to be like you what will be your advice to them? You must have a strong appetite to gain knowledge beyond your core competency area, have a solution-centric mind-set, don’t compromise on performance, be known for consistently delivering on your commitments, show empathy, and go the extra mile to support others to achieve their goals. When success comes, don’t forget your source. On a final note, as the CFO of Lafarge Africa what would be your parting words to all stakeholders of Lafarge Africa plc? Lafarge Africa Plc has come a long way and is in a good place. The fundamentals of the business are healthy including our financials and sustainability drive. We have a great and resilient team and we are well-positioned to serve our customers better and capture growth opportunities in the Nigerian market.

PEARL Partners Canadian Firm on Chemical Production Peter Uzoho Pacegate Energy and Resources Limited (PEARL), an arm of Pacegate Limited, in collaboration with its partner, Canadian Energy Solutions (CES) Limited has launched an ultra-modern chemical manufacturing plant in Nigeria The 12.9 metric tons per day chemical manufacturing plant located at Ilupeju Industrial Avenue, Lagos would be formulating and manufacturing drilling chemicals, water and oil -based production chemicals to serve its clients in the oil and gas industry as well as the transportation sector. The plant was inaugurated recently by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment,

Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo, in the presence of the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Abhay Thakur; among other industry stakeholders. PEARL, an Integrated Management System (ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 & ISO45001:2018) Certified said it would provide chemical treatment solutions, laboratory testing and services, and professional field support services to the upstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian oil and gas industry as well as other relevant sectors. This, it explained, was in a bid to meet the growing needs of the oil and gas and transportation sectors of the Nigerian economy and Africa at large.

It said the milestone was made possible by its partnership with global energy solutions provider, CES and the partnership will see PEARL’s wide reach in both offshore and onshore operations supported and extended by CES’ global capabilities. PEARL said it would commence the formulation of eco-friendly products and provide superior innovative treatment chemicals and application technology services to oil and gas exploration and production platforms, refineries, petrochemical plants, among others. Speaking on the partnership, the General Manager, PEARL, Mr. Franklin Oranusih, said that PEARL was established out of a

desire to solve industrial challenges with innovative solutions and partnerships. “We have a commitment to deliver quality and eco-friendly products as we continue to play our part in supporting local content in Africa. As the oil and gas sector continues to grow, it is expedient that we consider the effect it has on the environment, among others. “This partnership is a sign of our commitment and we are delighted to announce it. We also appreciate the support of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board – NCDMB for its support as we continue to

fulfil this commitment.” Commenting on the investment and partnership, Adebayo stated that innovative partnerships such as the one by PEARL and CES was needed to boost local content in Nigeria. He said: “I am pleased to formally commission the first local content fluids and chemical solutions manufacturing plant in Nigeria, which represents a significant landmark for the country’s industrialisation programme. “Domestication of products has been at the centre of this administration’s industrialisation programme to drive job intensive growth of the Nigerian economy. It will increase local production, create job opportunity and

improve our foreign exchange reserve position. “I believe this will help in taking us ahead in our effort to diversify the economy and increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector to Gross Domestic Product.” The minister added that the plant would most especially provide jobs to Nigeria’s workforce, promote local content and save the nation the extra cost of importing the now locally produced input. Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Mr. Simbi Wabote, NCDMB, represented by the General Manager, Project Authorisation and Certification, Mr. Paul Zuhumben, commended PEARL for the investment.

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Outgrower Programmes and Fortunes of Smallholder Farmers in Nigeria

Balogun

Oluchi Chibuzor

n February 2017, famine was declared in South Sudan and Nigeria was mentioned alongside Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia,andYemen as also being countries with a high risk of famine. The situation turned grimmer when the 2020 Global Hunger Index ranked Nigeria 98th out of 107 countries surveyed, with a score of 29.2. This placed the country among the top 40 countries facing serious threats of hunger. The two developments, which were buoyed by the geometric increase in the country’s population growth compared to low food production, threw stakeholders into a scramble for ideas to prevent famine in Nigeria. As of 2016, Nigeria’s food demand was 243,168,942 metric tons and this is expected to grow to 335,100,918 metric tons in 14 years at the pace of the population growth, which is currently estimated to stand between 206 and 208 million. Over the years, different governments have come up with several deliberate efforts and initiatives to stimulate growth of the agricultural sector and improve production, including initiatives such as Operation Feed the Nation, Green Revolution, Lower River Basin Development Authorities, National Agricultural and Land Development Authority (NALDA); and the Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI). While they had some impact, these programmes have not been able to adequately address the challenges or bring about sustained change in the sector, especially in the case of food security. It was evident that the private sector needed to also play a significant role in the quest not only for food security in Nigeria, but enhancing the contribution of the agricultural sector to the nation’s economy. Amongst other things, key private sector players in Nigeria’s agric sector have paid close attention to supporting smallholder farmers, in recognition of their importance in the global agricultural value chain. Smallholder farmers are farmers owning smallscaled plots of land where they grow subsistence crops and one or two cash crops while relying almost exclusively on family labor. These farmers play an essential role, especially in sub-Saharan African countries like Nigeria where they represent more than 80 percent of all farming activities in the country and provide up to 98 per cent of the

Emeﬁele

food supply for most crops. However, small plot sizes, limited access to markets, inputs and finance make smallholder production unprofitable. As a result, smallholder farmers are often caught in a cycle of producing low-yielding, low-quality crops barely enough for domestic consumption. Historically, agricultural companies in traditional cash crop sectors such as cotton and maize, have developed smallholder outgrower schemes to source raw materials. These outgrower schemes allow companies to provide agricultural inputs (and sometimes, training) to farmers and then buy the produce at the end of the season under some form of contractual arrangement. More recently, however, outgrower schemes have been developed – often with donor support – in a wider range of value chains including food crops, livestock, and natural products. Outgrower schemes are often designed to address numerous sustainable agricultural objectives by bringing smallholder farmers into mutually beneficial partnerships with large aggregators or processors and increasing incomes by improving yields and produce quality through training, access to credit and markets. Success, however, is often dependent on the availability of partner or donor institutions to provide the needed financial support. To promote and initiate sustainable development in the agricultural sector, financial services and solutions providers in Nigeria have in recent times committed a lot of effort and facilitated innovative infrastructure. Most notably, significant impact has been achieved through the provision of credit facilities to outgrower initiatives targeted at helping smallholder farmers to maximize their yields, while also contributing to the nation’s development. Prominent among these financial services and solutions providers is First City Monument Bank (FCMB). FCMB has strategically intervened with various initiatives and support to the agric sector. In the last few years, the bank has gone the extra mile to upscale the performance of agribusiness and in the process turned around the fortunes of farmers. So far, FCMB has supported over 100,000 farmers in Nigeria to boost food production and foster financial inclusion through its various cutting-edge schemes and partnerships with individuals, groups, and other stakeholders in the agric sector.

Babban Gona-FCMB Collaboration A case in point is the work FCMB has done with Babban Gona (meaning “Great Farm” in Hausa language), an award-winning, high impact, financially sustainable, and highly scalable social enterprise, partly owned by the participating farmers. The scheme contributes to creating a secure future for Nigeria’s youth by transforming agriculture into a job-creation engine that helps to break the cycles of poverty and unemployment. Through the Babban Gona Agricultural Franchise Model supported by FCMB, member farmers received training, credit in the form of agricultural input and tillage services, harvesting and marketing support that resulted in increased productivity and profitability that is 2 to 2.5 times the national average. The programme which started with just 100 farmers, currently has over 20,000 member farmers and today signifies one of FCMB’s most significant commitment to the development of the Agricultural sector. FCMB’s Partnership with Psaltry International Over the years, FCMB has worked extensively with Psaltry International Company Limited (PICL), an indigenous agro-allied company established in 2005 to market cassava produce. The company later expanded its business line to include farm development and production of food-grade starch from cassava. With support from FCMB and other stakeholders, Psaltry’s robust outgrowers’ programme has grown to more than 2,000 farmers cultivating within 80 km radius from the factory in 4 different local governments in Oyo State. With funding from FCMB, Psaltry’s Sorbitol Production Plant with a capacity of 6,000MT per annum has been established and is awaiting commissioning. Once the plant takes off fully, the company will be able to meet 60 per cent of the country’s annual sorbitol demand of about 10,000MT per annum. FCMB also funded Psaltry farmers under the Anchor Borrowers scheme, which benefitted 252 cassava farmers. FCMB-Plantation Industries Plantation Industries Limited (PIL) is a leading cocoa processing company that engages in the processing and conversion of raw cocoa beans into cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa cake and cocoa

powder. This GFSI Markets Award recipient has a modern processing plant with the capacity to process over 15,000 metric tonnes of raw cocoa beans per annum. The raw cocoa beans are sourced from suppliers and also directly from cocoa farmers with emphasis on quality control. Under the Anchor Borrowers Programme, FCMB supported 1,424 outgrower farmers that rely on PIL for offtake. Speaking on this unprecedented development and the significance of FCMB’s support to various outgrower programmes, the Divisional Head, Agribusiness of the Bank, Mr. Kudzai Gumunyu, said: “Through our work with partners such as Babban Gona, Psaltry and many others who have set up robust outgrower programmes, we are able to provide smallholder farmers with tillage services, fertilizers, as well as extension services. This helps to make their farm yields higher than those of the average farmer, which means more income. As a result, these farmers are able to send their kids to school, build houses, and many are coming on board to join the scheme because of the great impact”. A critical part of how FCMB helps improve the welfare of smallholder farmers is by making banking and financial services accessible, evenin some of the most remote locations in Nigeria. The Bank does this through an agency banking model that allows farmers the flexibility and convenience to carry out transactions, even within remote communities or areas far removed from the locations of bank branches. Through this model and several efforts, FCMB aligns with the government’s financial inclusion drive to expand financial services access and use to underserved populations. The lender has also formed partnerships with some organisations including, World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI), German International Development Cooperation (GIZ), Technoserve, DFID-LINKS, to further the financial inclusion push. Analysts and experts are of the opinion that with the giant strides of FCMB in agribusiness, the Bank is well positioned to create more opportunities for farmers to add significant value to the quest of Nigeria to attain food security and wealth for the nation.

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Osagie: Education, Access to Information Critical for SMEs’Survival Jerry Osagie, a business and personal finance expert, and the author of ‘Borrowing Made Easy,’ a book on access to finance, in this interview says capital does not guarantee business success even as he underscores the importance of entrepreneurial education and market information. Oluchi Chibuzor brings the excerpts:

n your experience as a financial advisory expert, can you share with us critical success requirements for SMEs? Based on my experiences and on what I have seen from SMEs, there are critical success factors that will support the growth of SMEs especially in emerging markets like Nigeria and the African continent. While a lot of people talk about financing, basically I think it is just one aspect. One of the things that I would talk about is lack of access to markets. Access to markets is very critical for SMEs to thrive so that when you have products and services; who do you talk to, how do small businesses showcase their goods and services? So, access to market is something that is critical to the survival of SMEs amongst other factors. There should be good infrastructure, to support technology, logistics, payment, and collaboration. Also, financing is an important part of any business. SMEs require financing and business support is also very important to SMEs. As an SME or a startup you need capacity building for people to hand-hold you through that process of growing from a startup to a thriving business. Technology is also critical for their success. For instance, in today’s world, you cannot solely depend on the opening of new stores to expand your reach but must leverage technology to enable you to end up on different platforms or in different countries. In addition, technology helps SME to receive or make payment, organize their business, inventions, staff, and other aspects without spending a fortune. If you look at the supermarket or retailer with two or more stores, they can leverage on simple technology whereby they pay as little as N3000 per month to leverage what they called enterprise resource planning, or accounting tools to manage the entire departmental store. Then, the prevailing policies in the country of operation are very important. In the country where you see SMEs thrive and are doing well, the policies and framework there must have added to their growth. There must also be an opportunity for SMEs to have access to information. Information must be democratised. For instance, if I am producing wood or shear butter, I must be able to have the critical information for wood or maybe a country or people that need what I am producing. If you look at the agricultural value chain, some farmers produce maize and may require manufacturers in the food or pharmaceutical industry who require the same as an input in their own production. A lot of people have mentioned that capital is the most important need for SMEs. What is your opinion about this school of thought? Money is important, but money is not the most important thing for SMEs in my opinion. A lot of people have had access to funding and they have made a mess of that business. The first thing is the right entrepreneurial education or training; you do not have to go to school that is very academic, but going through the normal entrepreneurship system of education. When you go through that, you are able to allocate resources efficiently and you know sometimes all you need is the market. For some people you will see a situation where somebody just collects goods from someone that has a lot of them and goes into the market within three days, sells them and goes back and still makes some gains. Some will continue like that until they start up their own, so most times capital is not the number one thing even though it is one of the most critical factors for SME to succeed. How do you generate and develop those ideas? Look for the market; customers are critical. If you have funds and produce a lot of things and you do not have customers to sell the goods to, there will be problems. However, if you don’t have the information on customers to sell as well as every other thing and you keep talking about funds, you might be awash with money and not know what to do with that money. So, business education, support, ability to grow the idea

Osagie

and not just funding alone is important to the success of the SMEs. Can you explain to us the various sources of funds that can enable SMEs and businesses to grow? Some can be free. One of my bosses once said that one of the ways to get something is to beg. Some people can get capital in the form of gifts from friends and family as donations. For instance you might say you want to start a food retailing business, I want this barber shop and I need just like N300, 000. You might just get that from family and friends, who may require you to write a one-page summary of what you want to do, how and the returns. Gift is important, even though you might not see some of the official protocols around that. Also there is equity in the form of investment and some people can tell you, you are putting out this business and I can invest, so you can either have a single investor or multiple investors or you have a crowd-funding whereby people come together to put money. Also there is credit which is in the form of a loan and some people have started business with this, even though I advise some people that except you are in that line of business and understand that business before using loans to establish it. People must not use loans to do trial and error. So all these funding sources have their own advantages and disadvantages of their own. Debts in the form of loans have theirs as well.

Though you have clariﬁed the critical things that can enable SMEs grow and be more productive, majority of businesses still feel that ﬁnance is one of the most important aspects, and that credit plays a major role in solving this gap. Do you believe that? When people come to you, they will tell you that it is money that they need. Credit do play a major role in solving financial gap because few people would want to give you the money they have for you to start a business and investors can come in with equity. But with the democratisation of credit whereby people use technological platforms, you can access credit upfront up to a particular limit or percent especially when they know your history. Credit is seen as the first solution to solving the financial gap among lots of businesses. I will agree with them even though I said earlier that financing is not the only challenges facing SMEs, but in solving financial gap that is required to make businesses grow, credit is a major factor and can go a long way in bridging that gap, especially to reach our potential and that is why a lot of governments, central banks and credit companies are coming together to solve the credit gap and make people bankable. Can you educate SME operators on requirements to access loans? A lot of individuals and MSMEs constantly seek loans but when you ask them simple questions, they don’t have answers. For instance,

what they want to do with the loan (purpose)? So, it is important that SMEs are able to know what makes them eligible for a loan in the simplest format. A business that is looking for a loan must first determine what is the purpose, because when there is no purpose abuse is inevitable. SMEs must identify the financing gap either by themselves or can have an adviser to identify what are the financing gaps they need. If they establish that there is a gap. Secondly, SMEs must determine the purpose. As a lender one critical thing that I must know is the purpose of your loan, even if you say you want to go and blow it in a party. So I will be asking myself if the purpose serve what I am looking to solve in the market. Do I have a product to meet the need before thinking of if he or she can repay. When you know the purpose, then you must know the kind of loan you want to get. For example, somebody might say they want an additional machine that would help increase business output or meet shortfall in performance. Here, such a person might not need to get an overdraft but an equipment or asset finance facility. So, you can say what I need is asset finance. If I am able to approach this credit company or those that sell the machine and can give me this machine on credit; I would have achieved my objective. Because I want to buy this machine and be able to produce this and I would consistently pay you back. At that point in time you probably do not need an overdraft as you are not addressing overhead. One other thing I tell SMEs is to formalise their business because it is important. It is good to start individually using your name, but for you to scale as most big corporations, you need to formalise your business. It is also important for you to have a business plan. A lot of people that want to finance your business want to see what you want to use the money for. In addition, you must be able to determine your cash-flow. How much money is coming or going out? As a small business or any business at all, you should be able to say how much I want to be putting into this business to run it or somebody is given me and then how much will be coming in periodically in order to be able to pay this loan and also retain my business. For instance, you must know the timing of your cash flow and have an idea of the amount when they come. People will also say that you must have a very good financial statement. One thing is that we are using a lot of alternative ways to evaluate people to give them loans; but you must start gradually as there are things you can be doing without all this financial statement. But it is important today if you say you are an SME to have a footprint even if it is with a microfinance bank, cooperative, or other financial institution that will show like a record. We even have digital banks all over. Those financial statement are often good because with technology you can review every money you have everywhere and as an SME that is structure you should ensure that a lot of the things you are doing have records and if you know that you do not have records you must try to have financial records, and you do not need much education to get that done. Even if you go to a cooperative, you have a record that they know this person is saving, bringing this amount and we are able to give this amount of money as loan; you should be able to do this to not only your financial institutions but to your credit union, local markets and association. Another thing that is important is your credit status. Since 2009, the Central Bank of Nigeria instituted a private credit bureau, where I am able to check your credit history and see your past performances on any loan you have obtained to determine your borrowing character or credit worthiness. Lenders will check If you have been in the financial system, borrowed, did you payback those loan because there are a lot of bad borrowers and if they see you did not pay back those loan or it take time before repayment, they have a feel of your character and may play a major role in their lending decision.

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BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

NPA Channel Management Options: Matters Arising Edmund Chilaka

growth of its annual throughput volumes.

The recent reported pronouncement by the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMOT) on the Nigerian Ports Authority’s (NPA) management of seaport channels deserves the closer attention of port industry operators to ensure that it is in line with the best interest of all stakeholders. According to the news reports, the FMOT was reported to have directed the NPA to re-consider in-house management of the channels. In view of the extreme importance of the issues at stake here, it is critical to make this clarification to ventilate the space and avail members of the public, all authorities, and especially policymakers, with the unimpeachable facts of the case in hand. For, as Edmund Burke said, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” From my long experience in publishing local and international dredging data and comparisons with other successful maritime nations, I can say that the dredging of the channels is at the crux of Nigeria’s current position in both regional and international sea trade, especially as the commander of over 65 per cent of the maritime shipping traffic in West Africa. The aim of this comment, therefore, is to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s channel management architecture from any adverse groundswell of politics, and the reason is obvious. The reach of Nigeria’s port industry presently exceeds the boundaries of national politics and any interventions deemed by any stakeholder to have adversely affected their operations brook possible legal actions locally or overseas, with Nigeria’s sovereign assets exposed to judgment claims. I shall demonstrate this below. So, what are Nigeria’s options for harbour dredging in order to avoid an erroneous backward step? Is the reported FMOT directive on the matter tenable, practicable and/or, advisable? Why Dredge at all Unlike countries blessed with natural seaports which have deep channels unblocked by silting sand, many Nigerian seaports are actually built along rivers and dredging their channels to the sea is indispensable to make them functional in the international scheme of shipping and maritime trade, and to keep them to the advertised draughts. Any port is only as good as its channels and berths. Without a navigable channel, no port will be patronised by ship owners, carriers or other marine operators, because the essence of a port is as a gateway to safely bring in imports and take out exports, without damage to the vessel. For example, the Lagos port system came alive only after 1907 when the steam dredger, Egerton, removed the blocking sand shoals to gain a depth of 10½ft needed by big steamers to call at the Customs Wharf in those days. Previously, most Lagos-bound cargoes were landed at Forcados Port (which had the necessary depth), for transshipment to Lagos. Thus, from 1907 till 2005, the Lagos port system was dredged continuously using in-house management and infrastructure and the status of its channels and aids to navigation always determined the size and

NPA’s In-House Dredging Management Pre-Concession Era However, although the dredging regimen used during the pre-colonial, colonial and post-independent periods sufficed for the time, the Authority’s in-house harbour management methods began to fail by the 1980s. There were ship groundings and lots of complaints from ship owners. Note that the NPA had acquired some equipment for dredging and wreck management, namely: two trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHDs), Sea Lion and River Challawa; the suction dredger, SD Gumel, the heavy-duty crane, Kakube, the buoy-laying vessel, Bode Thomas, and the hydrographic survey vessel, Argungu, all deployed to the Lagos pilotage district. For the eastern ports, the Authority retained the services of Tayasa Dredging Nigeria Ltd and the foreign dredging companies. This was the state of affairs until the Joint Venture partnerships with Lagos Channel Management (LCM) and Bonny Channel

Company (BCC)) were set up in 2005. Nevertheless, as I write, most of this NPA’s owned fleet of dredgers and equipment in Lagos are completely outdated and non-functional. In a telling report of this era, the World Bank concluded that the state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including NPA, guzzled Government subventions, returned losses on investments, were incurably bureaucratic, slow, corrupt and mostly irredeemable. This verdict gave rise to the seaport reforms. However, I daresay that if the present FMOT idea of restoring NPA’s in-house channel management arrangement is adopted, the previous issues which necessitated the reforms would resurface. The nation would see more of such losses of key equipment caused largely by the typical bureaucracy, lack of maintenance and ineptitude. Moreover, new staffs would have to be employed. Would they be willing to work the 24/7 rosters being used presently by the JV partners to keep the Lagos and Bonny pilotage districts effectively deep, buoyed,

lighted, and wreck-free? The Origin of the Joint Venture Partnerships Conversely, let us take a closer look at the JV channel management arrangements which were emplaced during the 2001 seaport reforms. So far, it remains the most rigorous and concerted effort to lift the Nigerian seaport system to international levels of administration and operation, as attested by current key performance indicators (KPIs). Various stakeholders and consultants participated to deploy this system, including the National Assembly, the Federal Executive Council, the FMOT, the National Council on Privatisation, the Transport Sector Reform Implementation Committee, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, the World Bank, CPCS Transcom Canada, the ICS, Royal Haskoning, NPA, NIMASA, and several inter-ministerial committees, on the one hand. On the other hand, there was the coterie of local and foreign shipping lines and port operating companies, which participated in the bids for the port terminals offered by the NPA

under the emergent seaport concession programme. The process lasted from 2001 and culminated in 2006 when successful bidders took over cargo operations in 26 terminals, which were offered for concession from Lagos to Calabar under the newly-adopted landlord port model. The joint venture partnership agreements which shared the former in-house channel management functions with the NPA were established with LCM and BCC in August 2005. Coastal and Reclamation Engineers (CARES) was appointed as independent dredging auditors. The resultant lease agreements and joint venture partnerships relied on the execution of the NPA Act, section 8 sub-sections j, l, x, to protect stakeholders’ investments. Fifteen years later, one can attest to modest achievements by the JV partnerships, especially the improvement in safer and deeper channels for the concessionaires’ strive for increased throughput volumes. NOTE:Interestedreadersshouldcontinueinthe onlineeditiononwww.thisdaylive.com

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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EDUCATION Ogunbodede: OAU Has Been a Trailblazer Since Inception 60 Years Ago As Obafemi Awolowo University, one of the outstanding universities in the world in the area of research, innovation and academic excellence marks its diamond anniversary on June 8, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos, speaks on several landmark innovations led by the institution, and how the school continues to pride itself in value addition to the body of knowledge in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. Sunday Ehigiator was there

Private Business Enterprise, and the Future Leaders African Independent Research (FLAIR) fellowship run by the African Academy Sciences (AAS) in partnership with the Royal Society, supported by UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund. Between 2010 and 2020, we received external research grants received in four categories. First, we received 20 grants in dollar, amounting to $12,583,291.54; we also received 13 grants in pounds, amounting to 383,381.05; we received seven grants in Euros, amounting to €576,515.48 and also received 18 grants in Naira, amounting to N815,526,741.

ell us about OAU from inception? Obafemi Awolowo University is a comprehensive public institution established in 1961, by the regional government of Western Nigeria, as a conventional university that places a premium on teaching, research and community service. The university which commenced classes in October 1962, as the University of Ife, was renamed Obafemi Awolowo University on the May 12, 1987 in honour of Chief Obafemi Awolowo who lived between 1909 to 1987, and was the first premier of the Western Region of Nigeria, and one of the founding fathers. The take-off site was the campus of the defunct Nigerian College of Science and Technology, Ibadan, and the university is presently situated on a vast expanse of land totaling 11,861 hectares in Ile-Ife, Osun State in the South-west of Nigeria. What was the establishing vision of the institution? The visionary founders set out to establish a university that would be unique in a number of ways; they dreamt of a university of the highest standard and of world-wide repute in the Western Region of Nigeria. Fired by the nationalist spirit of the age and the fervor deriving from newly won political independence, they conceived of a university that would not be a mere colonial ivory-tower, but rather a true African university both in form and in substance. What are some of the early achievements of the university? The university started the first Faculty of Pharmacy in West Africa, the first Department of Chemical Engineering, the first Technology Production and Development Unit and the first campus Intranet/Internet facility in the country. The arts and the sciences were given adequate space to co-mingle with ease, so that a graduate of the sciences could feel at home in the world of the liberal arts, and in the same manner, the arts graduates could pick their way through our increasingly scientific and technological world. The idea was to make the products of the institution emerge as well-rounded educated people with a capacity for adapting to change. Tell us about some of the founding philosophies of the institution? The guiding philosophy of the university set by its founders emphasised the Omoluabi (moral integrity) principle which entails hard work, integrity, public spiritedness, and an honour code. OAU, also referred to as ‘Great Ife’, has in its 60-year of existence lived up to this expectation. Also, a core value of OAU is the defense of the rights of individuals and groups in the society. The motto of the university is ‘For Learning and Culture’. Education is seen as the dominant tool for the development of society. The mission of the university is to nurture a teaching and learning community; advance frontiers of knowledge; engender a sense of selfless public service; promote cultural adaptability and add value to African culture. The university strives to ensure that our graduates meet not only the employment requirements of the nation and the world at large, but also the challenges of principles higher than mere self-interest and self-fulfillment in a rapidly changing technological world. Beginning with academics, mention some of the notable achievements of the university? The university has in recent years achieved rapid growth and development, particularly in the areas of academic programmes, research, staff training, and infrastructural development and staff/student welfare. Also, all the 93 academic programmes in the university are currently accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC), making

Prof. Ogunbodede OAU one of the few universities with 100 per cent accreditation of its programmes. The lockdown and ravaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic also caused the university to put in place the necessary machinery to facilitate the deployment of appropriate technology for online teaching in the university. The university runs a Centre for Distance Learning (CDL) and all the programmes in the centre are currently accredited by the NUC. Also, the university has greatly improved its service delivery in teaching, research and community service. This is evidenced in our performance in the annual Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, which is usually widely reported in Nigerian newspapers and the electronic and social media. This has helped to boost the institution’s reputation nationally and internationally. The university intends not to just maintain our current ranking, but improve on the performance. How has the university fared in the area of research? The university has made significant advances in research resulting in nationally and globallysignificant success stories. The university has produced, among its staff, a Nobel Laureate and six Nigerian National Merit Award Winners. Nigeria’s only Nobel Prize winner (in Literature) and the first African laureate, Wole Soyinka, was Professor of Comparative Literature at OAU and currently Emeritus Professor of Dramatic Arts at OAU. Also, the university pioneered kidney transplant in Nigeria in 2002, which was the first renal transplantation to be undertaken by a team of indigenous surgeons in any public institution in Nigeria. The research’s contributions to global significance in medical research include; identification of the potential anti-sickling properties of Fagara zanthoxyloides; mechanisms of chloroquine-induced pruritus and the role of thiamin deficiency, (induced by anaphe venata entomophagy) in the causation of ‘Ijesha shakes’ otherwise known as seasonal ataxic syndrome. Also, the first separation of Siamese twins in sub-Saharan Africa was carried out at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, a feat that has been successfully repeated on different occasions. In addition, a cochlear implantation has successfully been performed repeatedly in our Otorhinolaryngology Unit. Our medical research facilities are embodied in the sprawling Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital’s complex comprising the Ife State Hospital, the Wesley Guild Hospital Ilesha,

and Comprehensive Health Centres, as well as the multidisciplinary laboratories at the main University Campus. Departmental laboratories are also well equipped for cutting-edge research. How about staff contribution in the area of research? The university encourages staff to publish in high-impact journals and organises several research-grant workshops and seminars to widen the capacity of the staff in grantsmanship. The university subscribes to information resources on grant awarding organisation and makes these readily available to staff. Staff are also sponsored on local and foreign staff development training programmes (post-doctoral research, PhD training, and professional Dl development). The university will like to acknowledge the financial contribution of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in facilitating the participation of many of our staff in these programmes. How well are staff trained from time to time? Funding has been accessed for Academic Staff Training and Development (AST&D) to pursue Master/PhD programmes in different institutions outside the university. Over 50 members of staff of the university (academic and non-academic) have attended local and international conferences and workshops through TETFund support, while many others have attended such workshops and conferences through support from international donor agencies. Training of university staff on Advanced Digital Appreciation Programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI) took place from Monday 16, to Friday 20 November 2020. How has the institution performed in the area of grants? I will say we have performed brilliantly. The number of awards for NRF and IBR funds increased tremendously in the period under review, which is between 2010 and 2020, when compared to those of previous years. First, the global competition of the COVID-19 African Rapid Grant Fund of the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Research and Innovation Support and Advancement (RISA) for 2020 higher institutions was awarded to three of our academic staff members. Also, staff members attracted research grants for equipment and research materials through the university’s partnership with the African

Tell us about infrastructural development of the school? Recently, the university undertook the procurement and installation of 39 desktop computers; procurement of generator and equipment for woodwork, fashion designing, photography, air conditional diagnosis, aluminum fabrication, leather-works and painting for entrepreneurshi; procurement and installation of teaching and learning equipment to meet the accreditation needs of 30 departments and units; radio station equipment; two Toyota Hilux vehicles and one 33-seater bus. The following projects are also either completed or on-going: construction of Environmental Design and Management (EDM) Building, construction of Environmental Design and Management (EDM) Building (Mechanical and Electrical Works), and renovation of ETF 500-seater capacity lecture theatre. Others are construction and furnishing of 250-seater lecture theater, storm waste drainage and pedestrian walkways, construction of Electronic and Electrical Engineering Building (undergraduate laboratory), and construction of Electronic and Electrical Engineering building, to mention but a few. Also, currently ongoing is the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) 8.03MW power project for the supply of electricity to the university, which is almost completed. The university also processed and obtained from the Transmission Corporation of Nigeria the license as an electricity distributor, making it the first Nigerian university to enjoy the privilege. The university has embarked on a Staff Housing Scheme as part of its efforts to address the welfare of staff. The project is proposed for a land area of 123,407 hectares (305 acres) which has already been acquired. Construction of student hostels is also currently progressing under phase 3 of the students’ village project. What about collaborations with other players? We have collaborations with various international partner institutions in Europe, USA, Canada, and Germany, among others. Strong links have also been established with the Federal Ministry of Health, Osun State Government, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, and Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. The first iLab in Africa, south of Sahara was developed and established in OAU, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It has continued to make significant contribution to teaching and research. In-house development of software for university administration and records; Result Processing (RPS Software); Transcript Processing Software etc The university has developed a robust entrepreneurship programme supported by TETFund to improve the employability and ability of our graduates to contribute effectively to national development. This is accessible to all undergraduate students of the university. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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EDUCATION

FGC Nise: Parents, Alumni Divided over Students’ Learning Condition Parents of the Federal Government College, Nise, Anambra State recently protested the deplorable condition under which their children learn, but the alumni association of the school believes the petition was fabricated. David-Chyddy Eleke wonders if the students are learning good morals in deplorable environment

here have been complaints by parents of students of the Federal Government College, Nise against the Principal of the school, Dr. Ijeoma Ekumankama, over the deplorable state under which students live and learn in the school. The parents accused the principal of extortion from parents; diversion of funds for the construction of a magnificent building for herself; shabby management of students’ health condition; deplorable condition of hostels; and intimidation of parents to stop them from speaking up about their wards’ conditions. Attempts by THISDAY last Friday to gain access into the school compound to assess the state of infrastructure was rebuffed by security men, who said the school was on break as students were away on mid-term break, leading to the absence of the principal. Meanwhile, a petition signed by Concerned Parents to the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, over the condition of their wards in the school, which was made available to THISDAY, showed dilapidated infrastructures in the institution, and several allegations against the principal. The parents alleged the maltreatment of their children, describing their children as being in prison under Ekumankama, while calling for an urgent intervention by the minister. The petition, which was also copied to the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Uche Ekwunife read in parts: “Our children are presently living in overcrowded hostels with maggot-infested overflowing toilets. The Principal, Mrs. Ekumankama defiantly refused to improve these children’s living conditions despite all the resources channelled in by the PTA. The children are malnourished, due to very poor feeding in the school, despite support, with provisions by the parents, and these happen under the principal’s watch. The hostels and dining of these children are worst than prison. They are so overcrowded with a population of about 2,200 students.” They also accused the principal of channelling support made available to the school by the parents for their children’s welfare to building a mansion for herself, stating that rather than punish students for wrongdoings as a deterrent, the principal imposes fines on them, which are borne by the parents. A parent told THISDAY that “sometime last year, I was asked to provide money for blocks, because my daughter allegedly scaled the school fence. I asked why I should provide that, instead of the school authority flogging the child so she can realise her mistake, but they told me they had work at hand and needed the blocks. “Other parents who I complained to about it told me that it has been the same thing, and that since Ekumankama came, the school has always been about levies. Another parent, who said her child was sickly, said despite the levies the parents pays, students are only given painkillers when they fall sick. The woman, who was

The school gate visibly annoyed, said her only consolation was that her daughter would soon graduate from the school, so no need creating enmity and endangering her daughter who had less than a year to stay there as at that time.” When THISDAY reached out to Ekumankama by phone for her reactions to the petition by the parents, she reneged, insisting that she was a civil servant and didn’t have the powers to speak to the media. She referred our correspondent to the Federal Ministry of Education, saying that any enquiries can be channelled to them. Meanwhile, old students of the college, under the aegis of Concerned Alumni of FGC, Nise have described the petition as a campaign of calumny targeted against their alma mater and the principal. The group in a statement signed by Mr. Chinedu Aniagboso, said it received with shock the publication on petition entitled ‘Save the Soul of Our Children’, saying that it was sponsored by one Kenenna Obiatuegwu. They expressed worry about the damage the publication would do, not only to the management, but the institution which has nurtured great minds for 26 years now and still counting. Part of their statement read: “We wish to state that just as the case in most government owned institutions, FGC Nise has its own infrastructural challenges which to the best of our knowledge are being genuinely addressed. We will not allow anyone to malign and ridicule the school or its management in the name of pursuing personal vendetta. “Therefore, we clarify that the infrastructure and amenities in the school were inherited by the current management and based on our findings, the management has demonstrated genuine efforts and commitment towards making them better. The pictures and videos used in depicting the state of affairs (shown on the social media) were taken at a time the facility was undergoing maintenance and so, no

longer valid as the facilities have been fixed. Under the current administration, collapsed e-library was reconstructed, JS1 boys and girls hostels were tiled and painted, 12 classrooms comprising JS3 and SS3 installed with ceiling fans and painted. “Embankment was constructed on five block of classrooms to check erosion on the structures, a new principal’s house was built, and a modern gate house was constructed, the dining hall was tiled and painted while the school toilet seats and bathrooms were repaired and new ones built. A number of other projects were also executed including construction of drainages in the hostels, installation of solar-powered street lights on strategic areas, construction of school pavilion, completion of Home Economics Department among others. “The petitioner’s niece was admitted without paying a dime even when she did not meet the cut off mark, this makes his claim of admission sale surprising,” it stated. The group called on the federal government to increase funding to the school to enable management to meet the educational and facility needs of the school, while appreciating the the capital projects and intervention projects funded through the annual national budget. Also, the PTA Chairman and Secretary of the school, Dr. Chinasa Iloabueke and Mr. Chris Obichukwu, and five other members of the executive, described the allegations as unfounded and distanced the association from it. The association said it is working assiduously within the limits of available resources towards improving the learning and living conditions of students and exonerated the principal of allegedly meddling with PTA funds. “We hereby categorically disassociate the PTA from the publication which contained unfounded allegations. The present PTA executive has been working tirelessly in partnership with the college management and the government in upgrading the

facilities in the college. Since we came on board, the entire SS2 girls’ hostel and all the adjoining corridors connecting it with SS1 girls’ gostel have been tiled, the students’ dining hall has also been tiled in partnership with the college. Renovation works at the SS3 boys’ hostel toilets are ongoing, ceilings in some classrooms were replaced also in partnership with the college and PTA has never signed any cheque in favour of the principal. “The government runs a Remitta account and no federal government ministry maintains a bank account and the PTA is duly represented in the SBMC. The continued and unwarranted attack on the principal and by extension the PTA executive is misguided and vindictive. The principal of the college has been a lady of very strong character and a disciplinarian par excellence. The college under her leadership has witnessed a meaningful transformation in areas of infrastructure and discipline with visible transformation. Consequent upon the above, we pray the Federal Ministry of Education to disregard the frivolous petition against the principal. Indeed, some of the allegations are laughable,” the body stated. Investigations by THISDAY however showed that some vocal members of the PTA have been severally intimidated into silence by the principal of the institution. One of the parents who sent WhatsApp messages to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said Ekumankama has threatened to deal with any parent who dares to speak up against her, stating that upon her agitation for improved infrastructure in the school, in which she also posted the dilapidated state of infrastructure on social media, she has received a call from DSS Office in Awka warning her to desist from such or risk arrest. “I am bringing this to the media because the future of our children are at stake. The minister of education must act.” At the time of filing this report, there was no reaction from the minister.

Greensprings to Integrate Robotics, AI into Curriculum Uchechukwu Nnaike The management of Greensprings School, Lagos, has announced that the school will start offering robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to its secondary school students. The announcement followed the admission of the school into the second phase of the Next Robotics Legend Programme, organised by

Edu360. Speaking during the official launch of the programme recently, the school’s Deputy Director of Education, Dr. Barney Wilson said: “We are thrilled to have been chosen as one of the four schools that will participate in the second phase of the Next Robotics Legend Programme. This programme will complement the Airbus Foundation

Little Engineer programme that our students had a couple of years ago. “According to the plan, this training will run for six weeks and both our teachers and students will be trained. The organisers are also providing all the robotics toolkits, including mekamons needed for the training. At the end of the programme, robotics and AI will be fully integrated into our

school curriculum, thereby making Greensprings School one of the first few schools offering robotics and AI at the secondary school level in Nigeria. This is a very good opportunity for our students; and they are extremely happy to be part of the exciting project,” he stated. The Next Robotics Legend Programme is an initiative of Edu360

by Union Bank. The initiative aims to integrate robotics and AI into the education of Nigerian children, and better prepare them for the workplace of the future. The programme is facilitated by Awarri - the pan-African Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) company, founded by the renowned Robotics Engineer, Silas Adekunle.

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EDUCATION

Rekindling Conﬁdence in Public Education: AGN Overhauls Community School Richard Akanmode The hope that public schools can be reinvented to equate their lost glory has been rekindled, going by the revelation that a development network group, Ayetoro-Gbede Global Network (AGN), has spent a huge sum of N85 million to upgrade facilities at the community-founded Ayetoro-Gbede Community High School in Kogi State, Nigeria. Presenting a valedictory address at the annual general meeting of the association, the President, Mr. Ola Oyelola reported that about N24 million had also been expended on the acquisition and preliminary development of a site for a community hospital and other social infrastructures. In essence, the 72-member group, who are all indigenes of the community has over the last three years raised and applied about N117

million to the construction and rehabilitation of education and health structures in the community. The comprehensive turn around of the school covered the renovation of 19 classrooms, provision of 700 new chairs and tables, construction and reticulation of a motorised borehole, construction and furnishing of a new laboratory complex for Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Information Technology. A 5KVA solar power was installed to power the laboratories while eight solar security lights were provided around the premises of the school. Other upgrades include a library, white board and about 2,000 books on various subjects donated by a United States based family Mr and Mrs Akin-Adeyemi. If the phenomenal intervention provided by the AGN is exceptional there still remains a lot on the plan, as the body targets the provi-

sion of 100 units of computer systems for the students. In addition about N5 million is projected annually for the remuneration of teachers in STEM subjects. The annual meeting, which held virtually recorded attendance by members of the association mostly based in Nigeria and a few from the diaspora. At the apex of the Board of Trustees is Prof. Olu Obaro, a high profile medical expert based in the United Kingdom. Beside the school upgrade, the AGN has also commenced work on the acquisition and development of a community hospital expected to provide basic and secondary medical services to the residents of the community. Although the intervention of the AGN is unprecedented in the community, its significance lay in the association’s commitment to sustain the self- development philosophy of the

founders of the community, and their successors, who have at various times pioneered the development of schools, postal agency, health facilities, civic centre, markets, access roads and water projects. It’s a little wonder then that before the online meeting ended, a few members had already committed to providing a number of computer sets to equip the new computer laboratory. In Ayetoro-Gbede the spirit of self-help never sleeps. With the impressive stride set by the Ayetoro-Gbede Global Network, a template for repositioning public schools through the intervention of non-state actors in Kogi State, and indeed Nigeria, might not only have been innovated, the Ayetoro-Gbede Community High School, which has become the model of such an effort might stand out as one of the best improved schools in its immediate and wider environment.

KEHINDE OMORU www.kayomoru.com

PUBERTY AND THE GIRL CHILD Assoonaspubertygainsgroundsinyoungladies,breastlumpssurfaces in women’s breasts. Virtually every woman has felt a lump - painful or painless in her breast at some time in their life. Breast lumps are common amongst women (and can occur in men) and are of several types. For instance, a breast cyst is a firm fluidfilled lump in the breast. It is usually a benign (non-cancerous) lump that’s harmless. Breast cysts are thought to be caused by hormonal changes occurring at the different stages of a woman’s life. Women undergo these “hormonal revolutions” during their menstrual cycles, pre-menopausal period and post meno-pausally. In younger women, a common type of breast lump known as Fibro adenoma is termed “breast mice”. Breast mice are smooth and firm, and move around easily in the breast.They come just before or during a period and disappear after a period. They may feel painful. Quite often, women experience breast abscess. Breast abscess is a painful collection of pus that forms under the skin of the breast. It is usuallyasaresultofabacterialinfection.Breastabscessisalsothought to be caused by changes in hormones and are commonly experienced by pre-menopausal women having hormone replacement therapy. A type of breast lump that’s very common in breast feeding women is mastitis. In mastitis, the breast tissue becomes inflamed and painful. Mastitis is caused by an engorgement of milk within the breast or damage to the nipple, milk duct or glands in the breast. When breast milk is not being sufficiently removed by the suckling baby, there is a build-up of breast milk (milk-statis) within the breast. Bacteria begin to breed and grow in this enabling environment of stagnant breast milk. Quickly breast tissues break down, the area becomes red, swollen, painful and uncomfortable.The breast feeding mother experiences enduring and searing pain in her breast whilst breast feeding. In addition to this, she experiences fever, chills, aches and pains, tiredness and fatigue. She may become impatient with the baby, irritable, weepy, and unsociable due to the pain she is undergoing. A woman suffering with mastitis should keep on feeding her baby from the affected breast. Although it is painful and miserable for her, milk from the infected breast will not harm the baby. Plenty of rest, lots of fluid-intake, paracetamol or ibuprofen may help. Warm compress, warm baths, warm showers and stroking the breast from the lump area towards the nipple give relief. Consult your doctor on any breast lump you feel.

Omoru is a freelance writer, education, health and social care advocate

LSUBEB Celebrates Children through Symbolic Registration into Schools Funmi Ogundare

The new equipped laboratory

Proprietress Tasks School Owners on Revitalising Public Schools Funmi Ogundare The Proprietress of Standard Bearers School, Lekki, Lagos, Mrs. Modupe Adesanya-Oni has stressed the need for private school proprietors to help in the revitalisation of the public schools system in the country. Adesanya-Oni, who was speaking on the sidelines of the 2021 Children’s Day celebrations, noted that the current reality is that several well-heeled private schools are doing much better than other less endowed private schools, as well as the bulk of public schools in the country. She said the situation is not conducive for rounded educational development across the country. The proprietress, who has been in the teaching profession for four decades, stated that in line with the need to walk the talk, she and several other like-minded professionals in

the sector, had already begun to carry out activities to help bridge the gap and also advance the overall vision of quality education for all. According to her, “I belong to a group where we have actually taken on board the assignment to help schools whose pupils are paying between N20,000 and N25,000 and below as fees, to help train their teachers. It is just a voluntary thing that we are doing. “Just recently, we had our first online version of the project and we were able to reach more people than we could have at a physical event. We had people from Port Harcourt and other places participating.” She said this showed that the teachers were actually looking for the help, but it is just that nobody really remembers them, adding that the group is committed to working with them. Adesanya-Oni, who was

a teacher at Corona Schools before establishing Standard Bearers School, Lekki some 24 years ago, said it is imperative for stakeholders to take active interest in matters that have to do with the application of technology in the school system and the continued development of the teacher, adding, “there is indeed a need to pay specific attention to the peculiar educational needs of every child, as the education enterprise is not a one-shoe-fits-all experience. “The big school doesn’t really work for every child because sometimes it goes beyond doing well in school. It is also about having the freedom to choose, the need for a bit more engagement. So some children would probably benefit more from a smaller school setting. Different schools work for different children. And you need a school where the children would not just go but will thrive,” she stressed.

The proprietress also harped on the importance of inculcating confidence in children, saying that it was a major component of the learning diet in her school. “In talking about my children here in the school, and what I think is most notable about them, I will say it is their confidence. We don’t tell them what they cannot do, rather we tell them that if you can dream it, you can do it. We are a small school, a family school, and we believe that children should be able to express themselves in their natural environment. Because if there is anything to correct, it is through their expression that we can see it. We make it a way of life for them.” “Confidence is the most important thing for children. For a lot of children, their voices are being drowned out under that old philosophy of children only being permitted to listen and not being heard.”

The Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB), recently commemorated the 2021 Children’s Day celebration with a symbolic registration of nursery and primary one pupils into public schools. The theme of the celebration was ‘Unite to Reverse the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children’. In his remarks, the Chairman of the board, Mr. Wahab AlawiyeKing said the initiative was part of its tradition to register pupils at the beginning of the session, adding that it is free. According to him,”we have been doing it in the past and it has become a custom for us to do it again. All parents need to do is to go and register their children. It is free.” Speaking on the theme of the celebration, he affirmed that it was apt, as government is making effort to ensure that the children are supported and to reverse the impact of COVID-19 by bridging the learning loss. “The government is very much concerned about the children’s psychological, educational, social and emotional wellbeing. The government is

doing everything possible to ensure that we bridge the learning loss. And in order to achieve that, we must continue to empower our teachers through distribution of materials that enhance learning.” In her remarks, the state Commisioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo said in order to recover the learning lost during the period of COVID, with the EkoExcel initiative, the students were all given MP3 players and the teachers were encouraged to work even beyond the normal call of duty. “During the period, we had the telephone links especially for the secondary school children, so if they had any problem, they could call the numbers they could. The supply of devices to the students and tablets to the teachers is just to ensure that learning keeps going.” A parent, Mrs. Sarah Michelle who came to register one of her children going from kindergarten to primary at Ikeja Central Primary School, expressed excitement about government’s efforts on the pupils, saying that the academics of some of her neighbour’s children has improved as a result.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return. An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 31May-2021, unless otherwise stated.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors. Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return. NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 153.73 155.26 -4.97% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 3.95% Nigeria International Debt Fund 302.66 302.66 -24.80% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 110.53 110.53 -1.38% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ACAP Income Funds N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.21% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.25 3.31 -9.73% info@anchoriaam.com ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 3.09% Anchoria Equity Fund 128.75 130.19 -3.21% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.05 1.05 -21.20% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 18.93 19.50 4.37% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 413.91 426.39 3.38% ARM Ethical Fund 37.20 38.32 10.36% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.08 1.09 -11.28% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.96 0.96 -14.57% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.03% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 104.38 104.38 2.63% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 1.94 1.94 -24.17% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.00 2.04 -25.57% mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.01 1.01 1.21% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.73% Paramount Equity Fund 15.88 16.15 -0.77% Women's Investment Fund 131.89 133.26 -0.95% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) N/A N/A N/A CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.96% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.15 1.16 -4.45% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.35 1.35 -14.86% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 2.84% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 2.64% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,158.48 1,166.06 -3.27% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,371.23 1,371.23 10.08% FBN Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Halal Fund 109.62 109.62 6.31% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.04% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 124.96 124.96 3.26% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 152.66 154.77 0.98% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy USD Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH Treasury Bills Fund N/A N/A N/A

GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria Entertainment Fund N/A N/A N/A GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.86% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.78 2.84 21.01% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 149.07 149.50 -4.08% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.22 1.26 28.79% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.08 1.08 5.92% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ﬁncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.37 1.39 0.69% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,139.46 1,139.46 3.17% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 10.85 10.8837 3.53% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.31% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.64 1.66 7.26% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.39 12.45 2.17% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.66% PACAM Equity Fund 1.57 1.58 -0.56% PACAM EuroBond Fund 110.83 112.41 0.79% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 126.52 128.83 6.88% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.01 1.01 2.95% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,123.57 3,148.32 -2.88% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 229.81 229.81 2.21% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.17 1.19 0.00% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 301.37 301.37 2.28% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 214.65 217.33 -1.76% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.51% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,096.87 10,221.90 -3.87% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.25 1.25 2.30% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 113.75 113.75 2.40% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 101.18 101.18 UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.34 1.36 -1.99% United Capital Bond Fund 1.94 1.94 2.66% United Capital Equity Fund 0.88 0.91 2.15% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.04% United Capital Eurobond Fund 120.67 120.67 3.06% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.08 1.10 -0.23% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.05 1.05 5.07% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.14 12.25 2.33% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.58 13.70 11.14% Zenith Income Fund 24.09 24.09 0.48% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

123.46 51.40

2.25% -1.91%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.47 123.46 96.68

12.57 123.46 98.43

-5.66% 1.41% -2.74%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.68 5.58 16.82 1.00 18.70 159.41

3.72 5.66 16.92 1.00 18.90 161.41

-2.43% -1.95% 2.89% 3.68% -8.82% -27.09%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.52

13.11%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

CITYSTRINGS

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Harnessing Capacity for Hydrographic Surveys at Sea Over the years, the capacity of the Nigerian Navy to conduct hydrographic survey that would assure safety of naval and merchant traffic at sea was significantly hampered by the absence of a hydrographic ship in its fleet. To address this gap, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that the newly acquired hydrographic vessel, NNS LANA, a first ever purpose-built Offshore Survey Vessel, is geared to provide and improve reliable hydrographic data and information as a critical component in the projection of naval power for enhanced maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea

Aerial view of NNS LANA

L-R: Hydrographer of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Emeka Okafor; FOC WEST, Rear Admiral Jason Gbassa; CNS, Vice Admiral Gambo; and representative of MD NPA ny force is only as good as its military equipment and for the Nigerian Navy (NN), its platforms. This is because in protecting the domestic and even external territorial integrity, aggressive fleet recapitalisation strategy must be enabled. Firm believers of this ideology, the NN recently boosted its fleet by taking delivery of its first ever purpose-built Offshore Survey Vessel, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) LANA, from Saint Nazaire, France. However, beyond its role in the recapitalisation process, the new vessel is unique in the sense that it will boost hydrographic survey in the nation's maritime domain. After its launch in France, the vessel began its journey home and was received at the jetty of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT last month, just in time before the now cancelled NN anniversary week.

more others. To tackle this, the Nigerian Navy has had to patrol the endless miles of waterways despite some major challenges like shortage of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), budget constraints, inadequate local ship building capacity for constructing naval vessels and inadequate surveillance. The challenge is even pronounced given that the navy not just protects Nigeria's territorial integrity but also contributes its quota at the regional level, by patrolling the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, which is a vast expanse of water stretching almost 6,000km from Senegal to Angola. But today, some of these challenges are gradually becoming a thing of the past especially when it comes to fleet acquisition, surveillance and ship building capacity.

Maritime Illegalities Although 70 per cent of Nigeria's economic growth lies on the waterways, the maritime domain is often fraught with the challenges of maritime illegalities ranging from piracy, sea robbery, smuggling, illegal fishing to brazen crude oil theft, proliferation of illegal refinery, destruction of critical infrastructure for oil and gas, reckless violent crimes such as kidnapping, hijack and attack on security forces and many

Role of Hydrography It's a known fact that over 90 per cent of the world’s trade is conducted by the sea, and this is, by far, the most cost-effective way to move large quantity of goods and raw materials around the world. Thus, it would be safe to say that world economies have been hugely dependent on various maritime activities. Daily, about 180,000 vessels take to sea, 30 million tons of goods

L-R: Commanding Officer NNS LANA, Captain Abdullateef Mahmud; Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo; and Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Jason Gbassa are ferried across the world; ports are built, coastal infrastructure are developed, coasts are defended, marine environmental plans are implemented. Also, cables carrying data run the length and breadth of the earth, enabling more than 3.7 billion humans use the internet daily. One of the unseen forces that makes these possible is a hydrographer. Without the services of hydrographers, who provide charts and other nautical publications, voyages through the sea would have become a nightmare to captains of ships, who need to move goods and services from one part of the world to the order in a safe and economical way. Over the years, the Nigerian Navy, in line with her constitutional roles, has been building both human and material capacities to enable her provide hydrographic services that meets international standard. These efforts have paid off. In recent times, Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office (NNHO) ramped up its hydrographic capabilities with several first-of-its-kind products to support Nigeria’s Blue Economy project. This was seen during the last World Hydrography Day (WHD) when the NNHO published the first indigenous navigational chart ever produced by Nigeria; NG 2501 (Lagos Harbour Chart) with much fanfare. According to the Hydrographer of the Navy during the last WHD, Rear Admiral Emeka

Okafor, "this feat completed Nigeria’s hydrographic capacity development as required by the IHO". Essentially, with the induction of the state-ofthe art offshore survey vessel, with autonomous capabilities, this has ensured that the navy will be fully poised to provide up-to-date marine geo-spatial information of Nigerian waters to diverse maritime operators, for enhanced economic growth of Nigeria. According to the Director of Naval Information (DINFO), Commodore Suleman Dahun, it is envisaged that the rebirth of NNS LANA would afford the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Department the leverage to successfully and systematically conduct hydrographic surveys and charting of Nigeria’s waters. He said: "It would also afford Nigeria with the opportunity of keying into the General Bathymetric Charts of the Oceans (GEBCO) Seabed 2030 project and the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) synthesis project which would ultimately facilitate Nigeria’s accomplishment of its obligation under SOLAS Convention in accordance with President Muhammadu Buhari’s deliberate and sustained policies on maritime safety and security." Fleet Recapitalisation Asides its hydrographic role, the vessel is a

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

CRIME&SECURITY

Cross section of senior oﬃcers with the CNS boost to the fleet recapitalisation effort of the navy. It is pertinent to state that the foremost desire of every littoral state is to have a fleet with the right mix of platforms to meet its operational objectives in patrolling the vast littoral space. So for the NN, seeking to overwhelm the criminals in their game, the requirement for enormous capacity upgrade has led to massive fleet recapitalisation, generous logistic support, retooled maintenance facilities and equipment restock, processes recalibration, and manpower boost in quality and quantity. Construction The new vessel was conceived as a replacement to the previous NNS LANA, a survey ship that was decommissioned about 10 years ago. Notably, the construction of the Offshore Survey Vessel 190 MKII (NNS LANA) commenced in December 2019 and the project was divided into four major milestones which were: the completion of the deck molds, completion of hull blocks, hull assembly on the main deck and the delivery and installation of the main engines at the shipyard. According to the Director of Information (DINFO), Commodore Suleman Dahun, these milestones were the benchmarks which determined the level of work achieved at each stage of the project. The building process was successfully completed and the ship was launched on September 24, 2020 at Les Sables d’Olonne, France. Handover In preparation for its onward journey home, NNS LANA was handed over to the Nigerian Navy in France on January 15, 2021 after the provisional acceptance trials was concluded. The crew training however commenced on January 2021 and ended on April 12, 2021. They also signed contract for another 35 metre Offshore Survey Vessel with OCEA. Flag Transfer In taking delivery of the ship, a Flag Transfer Ceremony was held in France. This represents the transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability of a vessel from one flag state to another. Speaking at the Flag Transfer Ceremony, the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd), represented by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo stated that the new vessel was conceived as a replacement to the previous NNS LANA, a survey ship that was decommissioned about 10 years ago. The minister, who was the special guest of honour at the event, added that the occasion marked a great milestone in the fulfilment of the dream of not only replacing but, enhancing Nigerian Navy’s survey capability. Importantly, the new vessel is expected to fill the void created following the decommissioning of the previous NNS LANA. Highlighting the import of having a survey vessel like NNS LANA, he said that survey services and charting waterways play a crucial role in ensuring safe navigation as well as delivery of maritime security. Hence, NNS LANA will not only enhance the safety of Nigeria’s maritime environment but the ship will serve as a critical component in the projection of naval power for enhanced maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea. While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment towards the re-

NNS LANA at NNS BEECROFT jetty in Apapa, Lagos capitalisation of the NN Fleet, he also added that the ship will play a critical role in protection of maritime resources and preservation of law and order at sea, thus contributing significantly to promotion of global maritime commerce. Port Calls After the inauguration, the NN's newest Offshore Survey Vessel (NNS LANA) began her homeward journey to Nigeria. The voyage included port visits to Lisbon, Las Palmas, Banjul and Tema-Ghana before it arrived Nigeria on May 17, 2021. Reception At its arrival, the navy received the vessel at NNS BEECROFT Jetty and the parade ground respectively. At the reception, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, who was the guest of honour, was elated at the capacity of the vessel. After the arrival of the vessel at the jetty, part of the activities were the report of sea proceedings, tour of the ship by dignitaries led by the CNS and group photograph. Revenue Generator For the navy, aside the boost to hydrographic survey, the newly acquired hydrographic vessel, would be a revenue generator. According to the CNS, the vessel would also be deployed in Nigeria waters and anywhere her services are required inorder to boost hydrographic efforts within the Nigerian maritime space. He said: "Where we get patronage from the Gulf of Guinea and other parties as may be, we will render services at a cost. So, she is a revenue generation asset for the country and the Nigeria Navy and other maritime agencies. It's revenue generating in the sense that the Nigerian Hydrographer had been given approval to produce navigation charts for the country and the countries in West and Central Africa. Therefore, people such as maritime stakeholders will now have to pay for such charts inorder to procure them for their safe navigation." Capacity for Hydrographic Survey NNS LANA (A499) was designed and purposely built to enable the NN conduct hydrographic and oceanographic surveys. It is also capable of conducting geophysical studies, search and rescue operations as well as patrol duties.

According to the CNS, "the induction of NNS LANA will enhance the capacity of the service to conduct hydrographic survey and provide charting service for safe navigation as well as delivery for maritime security." Noting that the vessel would soon join other NN ships at seas to contribute to the navy's efforts in the defence of the nation's maritime environment, he added that the federal government has embraced the blue economy initiative inline with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal-14 agenda. He said: "The agenda entails the sustainable exploration and exploitation of vast resources in the nation's maritime environment. The provision of quality hydrographic services is key to the development of the various sectors of the blue economy. Therefore, the acquisition of this survey vessel is an affirmation of the federal government of Nigeria's commitment towards the nation's economic development." Gambo further noted that the navy would collaborate with other maritime stakeholders to actualise the country's vision of developing a sustainable economy that would contribute to the nation's socio-economic prosperity. Maintenance While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for the enormous support to the navy's recapitalisation effort, the CNS also pledged that routine maintenance on the vessel would be sacrosanct. "She is a specialised and sophisticated vessel, therefore we have consciously procured both consumables and other spare parts that would last the next two to three years while she is in service. Also, the usual dockyard maintenance routine will also be observed just like other vessels are also observed in the course of her service," he added. Asset to Naval Fleet Earlier, the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Jason Gbassa noted that the new acquisition was an asset to the naval fleet as reliable hydrographic data and information from the NN would further guide maritime activities He said: "Putting it in context, NN’s capacity to conduct hydrographic survey that would assure safety of naval and merchant traffic over the sea was significantly impaired with the absence of a hydrographic ship in NN fleet. With NNS LANA joining the fleet, going forward,

the maritime industry can be assured of getting improved and reliable hydrographic data and information from the NN to guide maritime activities." According to the FOC, in seafaring, safety is key and can mean life. “All the potentials and prospects man stands to benefit from the sea and by traversing it amounts to nothing without safety. Anything that will keep one away from danger in an unfriendly environment such as the sea is welcome. Therefore, NNS LANA is one such asset hence our joy at receiving the ship", he added. Commending the leadership of the CNS, he said it reflects in his vision to re-energise the NN and motivate its personnel, adding that the command " is grateful for this rare privilege to receive the brand new NNS LANA. I have no doubt that the ship will contribute to safety in the maritime industry as well as to Nigeria’s national security". CO's Report Also speaking, Commanding Officer (CO) NNS LANA, Captain Abdullateef Mahmud, who gave report of the sea proceedings said the ship spent 30 days at sea from France to her voyage to Lagos, Nigeria, amassing 440 hours at sea. He said: “Based on the average speed of 10 knots, the ship covered a total distance of 4,005 nautical miles and approximately spent 30 days on the voyage. The ship stopped over at four countries which were Portugal, Spain, Gambia and Ghana. The ship performed satisfactorily well during the voyage except for one oil operation unit that developed a problem which was rectified in Portugal." Capabilities NNS LANA(A499) is designed and purposely built to enable the NN conduct hydrographic and oceanographic surveys. It is also capable of conducting geophysical studies, search and rescue operations as well as patrol duties. The ship is equipped with state-of-the-art modern survey equipment as well as a wellequipped 7.6m surface vehicle for shallow water surveys. Furthermore, the ship has an Automatic Weather Station (AWS), wet and dry laboratories, scientific and technical workshops as well as operating and processing rooms for survey data. The machineries include 2 x MTU engines, 3 x CAT main generators/one emergency generator, electric propulsion system and other auxiliaries. The electric propulsion which is operated at survey speed is particularly installed to minimise distortion of data due to machinery noise. The ship has a maximum speed of 14 knots and a capacity of 50 crew. It would also afford Nigeria with the opportunity of keying into the General Bathymetric Charts of the Oceans (GEBCO) Seabed 2030 project and the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) synthesis project which would ultimately facilitate Nigeria’s accomplishment of its obligation under SOLAS Convention in accordance with President Muhammadu Buhari’s deliberate and sustained policies on maritime safety and security. Essentially, it is envisaged that the rebirth of NNS LANA would afford the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Department the leverage to successfully and systematically conduct hydrographic surveys and charting of Nigeria’s waters.

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ˜ 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Kuru: Recovery of N5tn Debt Burden, AMP Scheme Pivotal Nume Ekeghe Five years after the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) launched the Asset Management Partners (AMPs) scheme, the Managing Director/CEO of AMCON, Mr. Ahmed Kuru has described the initiative as a major tool in the recovery efforts of the corporation and key to its success. Kuru spoke in Lagos, at a 2-day training for Asset Management Partners (AMPs) of AMCON. The AMPs scheme of the government agency currently has about 6,000 Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) at different stages of resolution and about 3,000 matters at various Courts in the country.w Through the AMPs, AMCON said it is essential each of the cases are properly captured as

they progress in the Courts. AMCON is chasing to recover over N5 trillion from obligors that have remained unwilling to repay their debt. Of this humongous figure, the government agency had informed Nigerians that only 350 obligors alone account for N3.6 trillion, which is over 82 per cent of the outstanding exposure, which if recovered would be enough for the federal government to actualise a good number of projects such as roads, railways, electricity generation and distribution, hospitals, and the like across the country. The AMCON boss noted in a statement that with all the facts and its negative effect to the economy of Nigeria, the AMP concept, which is playing a pivotal role in the recovery exercise must scale up their efforts because it would not

be fair to allow this crop of obligors that have collectively destroyed the commonwealth of Nigerians escape justice, which is why AMCON would continue to interact and cross-fertilise ideas and provide them with the necessary assistance they would require to excel as recovery agents. Kuru, who was represented at the event by Mr. Aliyu Kalgo, in his keynote address at the beginning of the training session stated that since the inception of the AMP scheme, AMCON has made significant milestones even though the application of the concept and achievement have not mitigated some key challenges. He said it is for that reason that AMCON has and will continue to engage with different stakeholders especially the AMPs to ensure that they understand the AMCON Act as amended.

Kuru

MARKET INDICATORS

NDICSeeksFCT’sSupportonFailed Banks’Assets James Emejo ÓØ ÌßÔË The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has solicited the support of the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the realisation of landed properties of banks in-liquidation within the FCT to enable it pay depositors of such institutions. The Chairman of NDIC Board of Directors, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, made the appeal during a courtesy visit by the corporation’s board and management to the Minister of the FCT, Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello in Abuja. Sokefun, said the corporation had faced some bottlenecks in the full payment of trapped depositors’ funds as a result of difficulty in realising assets of banks in-liquidation due to

poor documentation by the banks, revocation of title by authorities and litigations over the assets. She pointed out that some of the assets were located within the FCT and appealed for the support of the ministry in realising them, adding that this would assist the corporation in the effective discharge of its mandate of deposit guarantee. This, according to her, ensures that depositors recover their savings in the event of bank failure. Also speaking on the issue, NDIC’s Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Mr. Bello Hassan, elaborated on the roles and relationship between the NDIC and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in the management of banks assets. In a statement by Director,

Communication and Public Affairs Department, NDIC, Bashir Nuhu, the MD explained that the NDIC as a liquidator, focuses on the assets of closed banks following revocation of their licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) while AMCON was involved with only Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) of existing banks acquired by AMCON. Bello, however, observed that problems relating to landed properties in the FCT were usually not by the ministry but from issues arising from the title of such properties. He said the ministry was amenable to assisting the corporation in resolving issues around its properties and those of banks in-liquidation in the FCT within the ambit of the law.

Facility Managers Seek Synergy to Achieve Environmental Sustainability As facility managers in the country recently marked this year’s ‘World Facility Management Day,’ operators have called for synergy among players in the sector towards achieving an excellent built environment. The event which took place in Lagos, had as its theme: “Celebrating FM: Standing tall beyond the Pandemic.” Addressing stakeholders at the celebration, the President of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Nigerian Chapter, Mr. Segun Adebayo said the event in line with the global practice sought to recognise and celebrate the vital work that

facility managers across the world, adding that it has contributed to different industries during the pandemic and even now that we are gradually winning the war against COVID-19. He states further that IFMA would continue to map out critical paths towards a better operating environment, as members are determined to achieve a sustainable and forward-thinking industry through capacity building, knowledge development and research. According to him “For us in IFMA, Nigeria Chapter, we are celebrating the day with a strong sense of commitment towards

improved health and safety in the built environment, effective activation of business continuity and emergency preparedness. “While we will continue to map out our critical path towards a better operating environment, we are also determined to achieve a sustainable and forwardthinking industry through capacity building, knowledge development, research and development.” The President noted that between the last celebration and this year, the body has been able to deepen its advocacy commitment through its knowledge-sharing session series.

Halogen Group Harps on Security Education in Schools Nume Ekeghe Halogen Group, Nigeria’s security risk management organisation has called for inclusion of security education in the basic and secondary school curriculum. The company gave this counsel as it announced plan to host an online summit on school safety and security in partnership with IA- Foundation. The summit seeks to address the recurring issues of safety as it relates to the education system in Nigeria. Speaking on the proposed

summit, CEO, Halogen Group, Mr. Wale Olaoye, in a statement made available to THISDAY stated: “Security education is key to growing a safer and peaceful learning environment in the country. There is no better time to include security awareness education and safety knowledge in our school curriculum. “This is why Halogen is partnering IA- Foundation a United Kingdom (UK) registered educational charity set up to transform lives through education in Nigeria and Africa.”

Also speaking, COO, Academy Halogen, Dr. Wale Adeagbo, organiser of the event said: “It is essential for our children to have good knowledge of security and safety tips. As parents, guardians, teachers and carers, we should start teaching our children and pupils some basic security tips. “They must learn to speak out when they see something strange. Children need to develop and practice keen observation of their environment by identifying strange developments or movement around them.”

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT MONDAY, 31 MAY 2021

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $68.53 a barrel on Monday, compared with $68.20 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), 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). SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

Neimeth to Raise N5bn via Rights Issue, Special Placement Goddy Egene The Board of Directors of Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc has resolved that the N5 billion capital raising approved by shareholders last March would be sourced through rights issue and special/private placement. Shareholders had at the 62nd annual general meeting (AGM) approved and authorised the board to work out the best options to raise N5 billion for

the recapitalisation of the firm. In a notification to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday, the company said at an emergency meeting held on Monday, the board resolved that about N3.679 billion be raised through rights issue of 2.373 billion shares of 50 kobo each at N1.55 per share in the ratio of five for every four shares already held. The board resolved that N1.320 billion be raised through a special/private placing of 628.753

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million shares at N2.10 per share. According to the company, the funds would be used to support the financing of the expansion plan to boost its performance and increase value for investors. The plan involves an upgrade of current plant at Oregun, Lagos to take up new products while increasing manufacturing capacity for existing products and the construction of a new multi-product facility that will be tailored to comply with the

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World Health Organization (WHO) current standards of Good Manufacturing Practice (WHO cGMP) at Amawbia in Anambra State. The Chairman of Neimeth, Dr. Ambrosie B.C. Orjiako had told shareholders that the plans would help the company achieve a quantum leap to become a leading healthcare conglomerate in Africa. “Our plan is to significantly upgrade the Oregun factory and enhance its output and

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

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ensure continued compliance with current standards of Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP)” he said. According to Orjiako, with facilities, Neimeth will be in a position to meet the demands for her key products and introduce new ones. He said the two plants are critical to the attainment of the company’s five year Strategic plan and new corporate vision “to be the leading innovative healthcare provider out of Africa.”

O F

The Managing Director/ CEO of Neimeth, Matthew Azoji, said the plan was to make the company become a manufacturing hub for medicines and centre of excellence for pharmaceutical development in Africa. He said the Amawbia plant will be a multi-products plant and will be presented to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for certification under her current standards of Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP).

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WEDNESDAY, ͺ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Elumelu Unveils New Insurance Companies, Pledges to Deepen Penetration Sanwo-Olu calls for private sector investments Obinna Chima The doors of Heirs Insurance Limited and Heirs Life Assurance Limited were yesterday officially opened for business in Lagos. The ceremony also saw the unveiling of the Heirs Towers, a new edifice by Heirs Holdings. The event had in attendance, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas; Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu; bank chief executives as well as other business executives. In his opening remarks, Elumelu who is the Chairman of Heirs Insurance, thanked the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for granting operating licences to both organisations. He pledged to deepen insurance penetration in the country as well as change the insurance landscape. He said: "Let me say that the journey that started seven years ago has finally materialised. It is good when

our policymakers, regulators and public sector leaders begin to understand that for us to eradicate poverty, both the private and public sector must work together." According to him, by approving the licences for both companies, the regulator has helped to create more jobs in the country and improve the country’s tax revenue. He stated that over the years, Nigerians have been yearning for insurance companies that will offer excellence and superior services, which would be digitally-driven. He added: “These are what Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life Assurance would bring to our people. I want to say to you (Thomas) as our regulator, we have a track record of governance, best tradition of compliance and making sure that you (Thomas) looking back even when you retired, you will be very proud that you signed off these licences for these two companies. “To the general public, we believe that our economy is the biggest in Africa, yet insurance-to-Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) is insignificant. We need to work with the regulator and other stakeholders to make sure that insuranceto-GDP improves. In most other economies, insurance companies own banks. “Finally, I want to say that we are coming with a strong track record, not just on governance, but on business success and business turn around and most importantly, wealth creation for all. We believe that prosperity should be democratised; success for us will not only be felt by the shareholders, but would be felt by everybody, including our communities as we strive to eradicate poverty.” On his part, Sanwo-Olu, who commended Elumelu, said coming out of the pandemic, there was need for increased collaboration with the private sector. He said: “We need to encourage the private sector because they are the real engines of growth; we need to acknowledge that no matter how well the government does, we certainly cannot employ everybody that needs to be

employed and the private sector are the ones that can create opportunities for our businesses and they are the ones that can grow the GDP. “Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life are bringing freshness and new beginning to the sector and they have said to us that they are going to be simple, they are going to use technology to drive insurance and that it is going to be affordable. “I am convinced that Heirs Life and Heirs Insurance would certainly change the insurance landscape. With the array of men on the board and management team, it is clear to me that you will bring your wealth of experience to drive this company and take this sector to greater heights.” Thomas also commended Elumelu over his decision to play in the insurance sector as well as his decision to contribute to building the insurance sector. “The timing of this launch could not have been more auspicious in view of the fact that NAICOM has been rolling out various developmental initiatives aimed at deepening insurance

penetration in the country. With the capitalisation of these companies (Heirs Life and Heirs Insurance), I have no doubt that the Nigerian insurance market is poised to write big ticket risks. “We want to minimise outflows and conserve foreign exchange for national development. Let me quickly state that the commission expects that the affairs of these companies would be conducted in consonance with extant insurance sector corporate governance guidelines and other directives. “The independence of the board and its committees, including ensuring adequate disclosures and transparency are required of these companies. Let me state here that the commission is now more determined to ensure professionalism and high ethical standards to protect the integrity of the Nigerian insurance industry,” Thomas added. In her contribution, the Acting MD/CEO, Heirs Insurance, Dr. Adaobi Nwakuche, said: “We are delivering insurance that is easy to understand, quick

and reliable, simplifying our customers’ lives. Our mission is simple: make insurance accessible. “Our goal is to transform customer service: cutting waiting time in claims processing and purchase to bare minutes — across all touchpoints, including mobile devices. At Heirs Insurance, we want to give our customers what they have so often lacked – high quality insurance, at an affordable price – and with an insurer that is on their side.” On his part, the MD/CEO, Heirs Life, Niyi Onifade, said: “Our goal is to integrate life insurance products into people’s daily lives to create financial inclusion and bring quality financial services to the many, not just the few. “This way, we empower people to live more confidently and achieve their dreams, whilst securing the future of their loved ones. Heirs is all about giving our clients financial security. As people build wealth, we want them to know that they have a partner in Heirs Life, providing financial support throughout their life.”

FG Sets 10,000MW Target, to Close Metering Gap in Two Years Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The federal government yesterday unveiled plans to boost electricity supply by wheeling a minimum of 10,000 megawatts of electricity into homes, while setting May 2023 as target to close the six million metering gap in the power sector. Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Infrastructure, Mr. Ahmad Zakari, while featuring on The Morning Show, the flagship breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS CHANNEL, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said the government in collaboration with its development partners would commit between $3 billion and $5 billion to the power sector in the next 24 months. Zakari added that the

president understands that billing people arbitrarily is one of the main challenges of the sector, and he has mandated the transitioning to the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), which is now fully funded. He said: “On 100,000MW, we do have a trajectory, but we will definitely not be there in 18-24 months. But we have continued to have an imbalance between generation and in some estimates, we have the line of sight at about 20,000MW. “The administration is also looking at this power approach, not only in megawatts but on its impact on people. We are working to ensure that energy access is improved. But we think we have a clear line of sight of 10,000 MW during the life of this administration in terms of delivered power

to end users.” According to him, the Buhari administration is currently focusing on the transmission and distribution parts of the value chain to be able to get the electricity being generated into the homes of Nigerians. He stated that the government was also ramping up the delivery and installation of meters nationwide. "The estimated six million meters gap in the country will be eliminated by the end of the life of this administration. We are in phase 0, which the central bank has provided funding for. “Thus far, that phase 0 is about a million meters. Phase 1 will be 4 million meters. We have mopped up all the available meters. About 600,000 have been

delivered to the Distribution Companies (Discos) and about 400,000 plus have already been installed,” he stated. Zakari said the geolocation of beneficiaries was being tracked and gave the assurance that energy theft would be significantly reduced when the metering covers a large number of customers. He stated that the recently launched service-based tariff will be focused on customers paying for what they get, noting that the conversation needed to change from tariff increase for the sake of it, to the provision of service to consumers. Zakari reiterated that there will be a refund to customers and “de-banding” of any areas that do not receive commensurate supply of electricity with the tariff band, adding that

there has never been any policy in the past that linked quality of service to tariff. On why the federal government was unbundling the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) before concession, Zakari stated that the extant law empowers the president to break it down before privatisation. He said the first step was to unbundle and then go to the next phase of commercialisation or whichever route the government decides to take. According to him, while Nigerians are right to be frustrated with the power sector because of lost opportunities, activities are now being undertaken to revamp the sector. He stated that the government is transitioning from subsidising the sector to building critical

infrastructure, lamenting that for instance, the whole TCN budget in 2014 was $30 million, resulting in a huge mismatch. Under the Transmission Rehabilitation Expansion Programme (TREP), he said the World Bank would assist with about $1.6 billion, adding that the country recently signed $500 million for distribution expansion. In addition, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has earmarked about $500 million as emergency fund for the sector while the Siemens initiative will see the expenditure of upwards of $2 billion over time. Zakari said six Discos would align their activities with funds available, adding that metering has been improving liquidity since the new regime of tariffs took off last year.

the audience, Plateau State Governor, Hon. Simon Lalong, had urged Nigerians to be bold, sincere and patriotic in their submissions to the constitution review panel in their quest for a greater nation. Lalong stated that the much-talked about restructuring will be considered to ensure that the agitations and anxieties being expressed are addressed. According to him, there are high expectations that this particular exercise will not go the way of previous ones which failed to address some key issues affecting the governance of the nation,

leading to further agitations that are growing and in some way threatening peace, security and unity of the country. “I therefore appeal to members of this special committee and Nigerians presenting memoranda at this public hearing to see this exercise as a very important duty which presents another opportunity for us to build a Nigeria that we desire to see. We should take advantage of the platform to ventilate and make submissions as to what we want injected or removed from the 1999 Constitution to make it more people -centred,” he said.

FEDERALISM, LG AUTONOMY, TOP DEMANDS AT CONSTITUTION REVIEW HEARINGS He said: “One of the controversial issues, which I feel strongly about is the immunity clause. When you are immune, nobody can take you to court as a leader and it means that you can do whatever you want to do. You can claim to be God. “But when that immunity is removed and you are made to live in a society where people are taken to court for abuse of office, I think our leaders here will wake up. Let us see how to tinker with that immunity clause. “Will it be better to give immunity to a few people or remove the immunity so that all of us will be equal? It

is another food for thought. So, please don’t hold back, speak your mind on how you want this country to move on.” Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa Demand Devolution of Power, Single Tenure for Presidents. Meanwhile, Plateau, Benue, and Nasarawa states have unanimously demanded devolution of power in a manner that the states will be given more powers and finance considering their enormous responsibilities. They also requested that the state governors, as the chief security officers of their states, be given the powers

to control the police in their states to enhance quick and rapid response to crisis and crime. They decried the situation where a state police command has to get clearance from Abuja to respond to crisis in its domain. Presenting their memoranda at the Northcentral zonal public hearing in Jos, the three states also advocated a single tenure of five years for the president. Presenting the position of Benue State, representative of the governor, and Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Hon. Titus Ugba,

urged the National Assembly to grant the demands of people seeking creation of additional states. Plateau State AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice, Chrisantus Ahmedu, and his Nasarawa State counterpart, Abdulkareem Kana, who toed the same line with Ugba on most of their demands, added that the three tiers of government could be reduced to two; comprising only the federal and state governments, such that states are given the resources to cater for the local governments. Earlier, while addressing

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Bandits Kill Police Inspector, Three Civilians in Fresh Onslaught on Katsina Village Francis Sardauna in Katsina A Police Inspector and three civilians were on Monday evening killed in a gun battle with a group of gunmen suspected to be bandits who launched fresh onslaught on Zandam village in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State. The incident occurred at about 6pm when the suspected bandits invaded the village and ambushed Mobile Police personnel who were deployed to the area immediately after receiving a distress call on the invasion of the village by the hoodlums. THISDAY gathered that the combined team of security

operatives, who arrived the village in their patrol vehicles, were ambushed by the mercenaries. It was learnt that in the cause of exchanging fire, the police officer was killed along with three bandits. The Executive Director of Zandam Area Development Association (ZADA), Ambassandor Gidado Suleiman, who confirmed the incident to THISDAY, said the bandits also injured six persons and set ablaze a police patrol vehicle. He said: “The bandits killed three civilians and one Police Inspector. They injured six people who are currently receiving treatment. They also burnt our Maternal and Child Clinic under construction and

police patrol Hilux. A day before yesterday, they carted away with 25 cattle some metres away from the same village”. The Spokesman of the State Police Command, Gambo Isah, while confirming the incident in

a statement issued yesterday, said the bandits had a fierce gun battle with the mobile policemen deployed to the village. Isah, a superintendent of police, said: “At the scene, it was discovered that three residents (all Male ) were

shot and killed by the hoodlums while five others sustained injuries. The team succeeded and gunned down three of the armed bandits. “One Inspector of police gallantly lost his life during the encounter. An uncompleted clinic block was

set ablaze by the hoodlums. Police reinforcement was deployed to the area and injured persons were given first aid and moved to the general hospital. Investigation is in progress with a view to track down the fleeing hoodlums.”

NECO Boss Died after Brief Illness, Say Examination Body, Police Ikpeazu mourns the late registrar Laleye Dipo in Minna and Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia The Police and the National Examination Council (NECO) Headquarters in Minna Niger State have attributed the death of the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the NECO, Professor Godswill Obioma to a brief illness. This is coming as the Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has expressed profound sadness over the death of Obioma, describing it as “yet another blow to the people of Abia State”. Obioma, who hailed from Nkpa in Bende LGA of Abia State, died barely a year after he was appointed the Registrar of NECO. In separated statements issued yesterday, the examination body and the police claimed the family corroborated their positions that Obioma died after a brief illness. NECO’s statement on the issue was signed by its Head of Information and Public Relations, Mr Azeez Sani, while the Niger

State Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun issued the statement by the police. “The attention of Niger State Police Command has been drawn to a publication circulating in some section of social media and national dailies (Not THISDAY) that NECO Registrar, Prof. Godswill Obioma was murdered by unknown gunmen in Minna. This story is totally false, untrue and a pure piece of fake news “It is important to state categorically that on May 31, 2021 the family of the Registrar/ CEO, National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Godswill Obioma formally announced that he passed to eternal glory after a brief illness at National Hospital, Abuja. “Members of the public are hereby urged to disregard the fake news and news reporters are advised to always verify their report before publication to avoid creating unnecessary panic and fear in public domain” the police statement reads.

Bandits Abduct 72 Persons in Kaduna Community Release 18 after payment of N8m ransom John Shiklam in Kaduna The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) has said that N8million was paid for the release of 18 out of the 72 people abducted by bandits in Libere community, Kallah ward, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Spokesman of the group, Mr. Luka Binniyat who disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday in Kaduna, said bandits had on April 22, invaded the community and abducted the 72 people. He also condemned the killing of four people by bandits on Monday in Goska community, Jama’a LGA, Kaduna State. According to him, 34 of the victims were still being held by the bandits while about 20 others had escaped from captivity. He said a ransom of N8 million was paid to the bandits on Monday before 18 of the victims were released. The statement said people were being abducted in many

rural communities across the state, adding that residents of rural communities cannot go to farm for fear of being killed or abducted. The statement accused the Kaduna State government of alleged silence over the abduction of the 72 villagers. “It is sad that such huge number of citizens would be forcefully taken from their homes and not even a mere acknowledgement of their plight from a government which cardinal responsibility is to protect them”, Binniyat said. According to him, “As at yesterday (Monday) N8 million was paid to the kidnappers and they released 18 persons. “As at now, information reaching us indicates that about 20 of the hostages had escaped at different times. “This means that the kidnappers are still holding 34 hostages. They are demanding for N10 million before their release.”

WITH DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS…

L-R: Osun State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji; Managing Director/CEO, Keystone Bank Limited, Mr. Olaniran Olayinka; Osun State Governor, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola; Divisional Head, West, Keystone Bank , Mr. Ademola Adeyemo; and Technical Adviser to MD/CEO, Keystone Bank, Mr. Isaac Ikeme, during a courtesy visit by the bank officials to the governor of Osun State in Osogbo…yesterday

Kidnappers Demand N110m for Release of 156 Abducted Tegina School Pupils Laleye Dipo inMinna Bandits who abducted pupils of the Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School in Tegina town in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State last Sunday have made contact with management of the institution. The bandits were said to have contacted the School Headmaster, Alhaji Abubakar Alhassan at about 4 pm yesterday, asking him to pay N110million as ransom for the

release of the abductees Alhassan, who disclosed this to THISDAY yesterday in a telephone interview, said the bandits said 156 pupils were being held by them. According to him, the kidnappers threatened that if they did not pay the ransom by the end of today (Wednesday) they would kill all the children. Alhassan said the message had been passed on to the government. THISDAY learnt from another

source that some public-spirited people within the community have started raising money for the bandits. Meanwhile, the Niger State Government has said that it had set the necessary machinery in motion to ensure the safe release of the school children. It, however, ruled out the payment of ransom to the kidnappers. A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Abubakar

Sani Bello, Mary Noel Berje quoted the state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Ketso as also saying that “Government is on the pursuit of the bandits and efforts are being put in place to identify them.” According to the statement “the number of the kidnapped school children is not fully ascertained; however, efforts by security agencies to secure their release have been intensified”

Buhari Seeks Senate’s Conﬁrmation of Yahaya as Chief of Army Staff Upper chamber wants FG to immortalise Attahiru Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate seeking its confirmation of the appointment of Major General Yahaya Farouk as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). This is coming just as the upper legislative chamber urged the federal government to immortalise the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General

Ibrahim Attahiru, who died in an air crash in Kaduna last month while on official assignment. The President, in the request letter dated May 27, 2021 addressed to the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan and read at yesterday’s plenary, implored the upper legislative chamber to give his request the usual expeditious approval. The letter read in part: “I hereby forward for confirmation by the

Senate, the appointment of Maj. Gen. Farouk Yahaya as the Chief of Army Staff of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “His CV is herewith attached. It is my hope that the Senate will consider and confirm the nominee in the usual expeditious manner. “Please accept Distinguish Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.” President Buhari had last

Thursday named Farouk as the new COAS after the death of former Army Chief, Lt.Gen Attahiru, who died in an air crash in Kaduna on Friday, May 21, 2021. Also yesterday, the Senate called on the federal Government to immortalise Attahiru by naming a military structure in his honour so that an appreciative nation will live to remember its heroes.

Plateau Sacks 532 Workers over Forgery Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The Plateau State Government has sacked 532 workers over falsified documents following findings of investigation of a committee, on the verification and audit of staff strength. Speaking yesterday at the closing ceremony of Policy Retreat for the state Permanent

Secretaries, held at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies(NIPSS), Kuru near Jos, Governor Simon Lalong, who disclosed this further stated that the huge manpower gaps that existed in the Plateau State Civil Service would be addressed at end of committee’s assignment. “Already, about 532 names have been removed from

Government payroll after an investigation using the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system, revealed inconsistencies in their records. “Some had falsified their ages or tampered with their records. Others could not appear to answer queries on such records. “We shall ensure that all of them are properly investigated

and made to face appropriate sanctions. This exercise will be a continuous one,” he said. He said the retreat was organised to build the capacity of Permanent Secretaries, because they occupied a unique and critical role in administration, and to ensure their diligence as leaders of the workforce.

Oyetola, Umahi,Tinubu, First Bank, Access Bank, Others Honoured The Governors of Osun and Ebonyi States, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola and Mr. Dave Umahi emerged winners at the Champion Newspapers 2020 Award. Oyetola won double award as Champion Newspapers Man of the Year and Governor of the Year while Umahi emerged as Champion Newspaper Man of the Year on Infrastructural

Development. In addition, the National Leaders of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, won the Democracy Icon of the Fourth Republic; the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, emerged the Most Outstanding Public Servant of the Year while the Chairman of

the Innoson Group, Dr. Innocent Chukwuma, won the Innovative Manufacturer of the Decade. Similarly, the Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, was awarded the Most Outstanding Security Conscious and Peaceful Governor; Hon. Sir Dr. Jude Chukwuemeka Idimogu, member Lagos State House of Assembly emerged the Champion

Newspaper’s Most Outstanding Lawmaker of the Year 2020 and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, won the Grand Peacemaker of the Year. On corporate award category, the Managing Director /CEO of First Bank PLC, Dr. Adesola Adetuntan, emerged the Banker of the Year 2020 while the Access Bank PLC was the Bank of the Year 2020.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Akwa Ibom, Rivers Demand 100% Resource Control by States Okon Bassey in Uyo The governors of Akwa-Ibom and Rivers states, Udom Emmanuel and Nyesom Wike, have demanded a return to the 1963 Constitution and the removal of resource control from the Exclusive List of the 1999 Constitution, to allow the 36 states of Nigeria to control their resources and pay tax to the federal government. The states separately made the demand yesterday at

the “Zonal Public Hearing” on the review of the 1999 Constitution in Uyo, AkwaIbom State. The Attorneys-General of Akwa-Ibom State, Mr. Uwemedimo Nwoko, in his presentation on behalf of the state government, called for the adoption of the 1963 Constitution, to allow states of the federation, mind their resources and pay a royalty to the federal government. “The Akwa Ibom State

government, wants the National Assembly, to adopt the 1999 Constitution which gives the states, 100 per cent control of their resources”, he stated. Head of Service, Rivers State Government, Mr. Rufus Godwin, had in his submission, on behalf of Wike, kicked against 13 per cent derivation for states. He insisted that states should be allowed to control their resources and compete

favourably with other states of the federation. “The constitution should be amended to allow for states to control their resources; you can’t be mining our resources and giving us only 13 per cent derivation. It is not acceptable. It is wrong,” argued. Godwin, also insisted on the justifiability Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution, which he opined, was the most important part of the 1999 Constitution.

“The entire Chapter 2 of the Constitution, is actually the heart and soul of the 1999 Constitution, but sadly, it’s not justiciable. Section 6 paragraph c, says none of these principles, can be challenged in court, so this is no constitution at all”, he submitted. He also condemned the appointment of the bulk security chiefs, from one side of the country. The Rivers State government,

also called for Judicial Autonomy, insisting, State judges should be appointed by state governors, as against their appointment by the National Judicial Council, NJC. Rivers and Akwa Ibom states also backed State Policing, demanding its inclusion in a new Constitution. “We want State Police, which will be funded by state governments and controlled by the state government,” Godwin added.

Secondus Urges EU to Sanction Institutions FG Extends Commencement of New Undermining Nigeria’s Democracy Passport Regime by One Week Chuks Okocha in Abuja The National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday charged the European Union (EU) to review its support and partnership programmes with Nigeria with a view to strengthening the operations of democracy in the country. The PDP chairman, who urged the EU to consider reviewing its sanction policies against governments and democratic institutions that are not playing by the rules, said “you must find a way to sanction INEC or any agency that receives from you but not playing by the rules.” Secondus, according to a

statement from his media office signed by Mr. Ike Abonyi, made the call while receiving the EU team of Evaluators led by Prof. Adele Juniad and Prof. Victor Adetula in his office. The PDP national chairman, who lamented what he called the reluctance of the government to allow for electoral reforms, however, added, “APC administration has destroyed the democracy we built for 16 years in six years.” He added, “If European Union has put in about 100million Euro supporting democratic institutions in Nigeria like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it should ensure that they play by the rules.”

He said that the PDP won the 2019 presidential election but was denied the victory because of the blatant violation of electoral rules and the militarisation of election venues. Secondus mentioned in particular the brazen electoral fraud in Osun and Kano states governorship elections where military operatives were used to thwart the will of the people as clearly expressed at the polls. “I urge you, EU officials to sit down with the INEC and insist that the right things are done and to also put necessary pressure for the passage and signing of amended Electoral Act,” Secondus said.

Era of Looting At NSITF over, Says Ngige Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has stated that the federal government will not allow finances of the Nigeria Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to be mismanaged again President Muhammadu Buhari had relieved the Managing Director of the NSITF, Bayo Somefun; three executive directors and nine other top management staff members of NSITF of their duties in what seemed to be a punitive measure to deal with persons indicted of committing financial infractions in the organisation. While inaugurating members of the new NSITF board at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday, Ngige

said the era of spending NSITF money without adhering to approved financial regulations is over. He said: “It is important for me to draw the attention of the new management to the financial hemorrhage the NSITF has passed through in the last few years and the imperative of a new direction as contained in the directive of the president. “The NSITF must be revitalised and repositioned to fulfill its mandate in accordance with the establishing Act.” Ngige cautioned that the new management should not indulge in the sins of the past, and must adhere to the statutory conditions of service and remunerations as enshrined in the NSITF Act. The minister advised the new board to ensure that

procurements are done as contained in Procurement Act 2007 and Financial Regulation and the extant federal government circulars. He told them that their performance would be measured quarterly and annually, adding: ‘’Our measure as supervising ministry is tied to your performance in terms of realisation of your mandate and vision. “I congratulate you all especially those who held the ship in the past 11months, which was a trying period even as you recorded an increase of about N7 billion in your contributions when compared to same time last year.” The minister, therefore, said the tenure of the members of the executive management was four years in the first instance and was renewable.

Ayade’s Vision Motivated My Defection to APC, Says Ita-Giwa Sunday Okobi Former Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters and the leader of the Bakassi people, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, yesterday gave reasons why she defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the Cross River Governor, Prof. Benjamin Ayade, recently. In her response to inquiry on her defection to the APC as well as accepting the ambassadorial position given her by the governor, Ita-Giwa stated that the vision that would lift her people and state out of perennial poverty were all she needed to support and defect

with the governor to the APC. She added that it was incumbent on her part to do all in her power to ameliorate the hardship her people are going through, saying: “In doing this, I don’t mind being occasionally misunderstood by people who do not feel the pinch.” The former senator stated that she would not hesitate to do all she can to promote the state and its industrial revolution, “which was why she accepted to be the Cross River State Ambassador for Industrial Projects, even at the risk of being mocked by less discerning pundits.”

“At 75, nothing will please me more than to relax and enjoy my celebrity status, attend events in eye-popping outfits and so on, but when a digital-driven governor like Ayade comes along with such verve and vision that will lift my people and the state out of perennial poverty, I am left with no other option than to support him. “Cross River State has had to bear the brunt of many economic setbacks; the loss of our oil fields, then more poignantly to me personally was the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon.

Michael OlugbodeinAbuja The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr. Muhammad Babandede, has extended the commencement of the new Passport regime earlier scheduled for June 1 by one week. The spokesperson for the agency, Mr. Amos Okpu, made this known in a statement in Abuja yesterday. The service had announced the suspension of receiving and processing of all fresh passport applications nationwide until June 1. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also reported that the

suspension was to allow for clearance of the backlog of all passport applications received before May 17, as all backlogs were expected to be cleared by May 31. “Babandede wishes to inform the public, especially Passport applicants that the Service had made significant progress in the clearance exercise of the backlog of Passport applications. “So far, a total number of 230,500 applications have been cleared and the Passports produced. Out of the number, a total of 43,350 are yet to be collected. “Passport Control Officers have been directed to continue to send

out short message notifications for collection to all applicants,” Okpu added. The Immigration boss further directed that details of all Passports that were yet to be collected be uploaded on the service website www.immigration.gov.ng for the attention of the public. “The extension is to clear up all backlog of Passport applications across Issuing Centres. “A huge number of applicants are already turning up to collect their Passports across Issuing Centres and this is causing some forms of congestion.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

Military Personnel Kill German-based Nigerian in Imo Amby Uneze in Owerri Security operatives deployed to maintain peace in Imo State yesterday continued their alleged killing of innocent people as a German-based citizen of the state was shot and killed by a soldier at a military checkpoint in Owerri, the state capital. Soldiers and policemen deployed to the South-east and Imo State in particular have been accused of killing innocent youths without provocation.

A soldier had earlier shot and killed a businessman, Mr. Noel Chigbu, at the Amakohia flyover in Owerri. Noel was shot dead on the day he took delivery of his new Camry car and was driving home at the close of work. The state police command was said to have told the family of the deceased that the soldiers said that they shot him because he violated their checkpoint rule. Noel was the owner of Shawarma Zone in front of the

Home Away Palace by Ukaigwe Hospital, Akwakuma junction, Owerri. Noel’s wife was four months’ pregnant, while his son turned two years a day after he was killed by soldiers. He also had a four-year-old daughter. Five days before he was killed, soldiers had also killed a 100-level student of the Imo State University (IMSU), Miss. Divine Nwaneri, in front of the state Government House, Owerri.

Nwaneri, 24, was shot dead by soldiers, who were guarding the government house when she and her friends were driving through the area. THISDAY gathered that in yesterday’s incident, a soldier shot and killed a German-based Nigerian, Mr. Oguchi Unachukwu who hails from Umuomumu Mbieri, in Mbaitoli LGA of Imo State, while he was on his way to the Sam Mbakwe Airport to board a flight back to Germany

enroute Lagos. According to sources, a combined team of security operatives who were on stop-and -search operation at a military check point stopped him and his family, and also ordered them to step out of the vehicle. It was gathered that after identifying himself, there was a heated argument between the deceased and the security operatives, before one of the soldiers shot and killed him in the presence of

Niger East Senator Kano APC Splits into Factions Condemns Attack on Tegina Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano addressing a news conference was born out of effort to The Senator representing Niger East senatorial district, Mohammed Sani Musa, has condemned the attack by bandits on Tegina in Rafi Local Government Area of the state last Sunday. He described the attack that has reportedly led to the death of an internally displaced person (IDP) and the abduction of children from Islammiya, as callous and unfortunate. Commiserating with the victims of the attack, he noted that the enemies of peace in the area would soon be brought to book. He said: “I received credible information of the gruesome daylight attack on

the good people of Tegina by bandits. With utmost concern, I strongly condemn these attacks and reaffirm the solidarity of my office with the people and Rafi LGA over these gruesome attacks. “My heart goes out to the victims and all those affected by this horrific attack in our senatorial district. I stand with the people of Tegina at this tragic and difficult time.” Musa also reiterated the call for the federal government to strengthen security in Niger State, particularly in areas where bandits have been terrorising undisturbed.

A staunch supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari in Kano State, Alhaji Abdulmajid Kwamanda, has created a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Akida, splitting the party into two factions in the state. Kwamanda, who has been championing Buhari’s ideologies since 2003 when he contested for the presidency on the platform of the defunct All Peoples Party (APP), said the state Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and the APC state caretaker Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, should be held responsible for the crack in the party. Kwamanda, who disclosed the situation in the party while

in Kano yesterday, said the meeting for the splitting of the party commenced on May 31. According to him, “The actions of the state governor and the party caretaker chairman for vehemently blocking some party loyalists who wish to contest the state gubernatorial seat has clearly negated the principles of democratic norms and internal politicking. “We have already designed our movements and how we are going to ensure that our new APC Akida makes it to the Government House in 2023.” He said the decision to split the party into two, ‘one for principled politicians and the other for hungry politicians’,

ensure that Ganduje does not impose candidates on the people of the state in 2023. “We are creating APC Akida, and we have the backing and support of the Kano people 100 percent. Even President Buhari cannot stop us from splitting the party for now. “The new faction, APC Akida, would resist any attempt by Ganduje and the caretaker chairman of the APC to impose their candidates on the people of the state in 2023,” he said. The APC chieftain, who was said to be suspended from the party in Kano municipal wards of Kofar Wambai for alleged anti-party activities, denied knowledge of the

his family. Though the reasons for shooting him were unknown, THISDAY gathered that that that apart from Nwaneri and Noel, several other innocent youths had allegedly been shot in the same style by soldiers and policemen deployed to the state. Meanwhile, when contacted, the Army Public Relations Officer, 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze Imo State Lieutenant Babatunde Zubairu said he was yet to get any brief on the incident.

suspension, insisting that what they did was null and void. He said one could not be suspended or sacked from a party without giving fair hearing and or even contacting him to hear his own version of the story. “I think those who said they suspended me are doing a hatchet job, but they have since failed because right now, as you can see, we have split the party with the emergence of our Akida faction, so we will see who is who,” he stated. On whether Buhari will not be happy with the splitting of the APC in the state, Kwamanda said: “Buhari does not control my political ideologies and he knows that whatever I’m doing is the right thing.”

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

NDLEA Foils Attempt to Move Illicit Drugs to Belgium, Turkey Michael Olugbode in Abuja Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled attempts to export skunk and methamphetamine through the

Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to Turkey and Belgium. A statement issued by the spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said operatives of the agency were able to arrest

a 23-year-old secondary school leaver, Iwuyi Chukwuka, and a Europe-based Nigerian, Peter Mkwo, while attempting to export nine kilogrammes of skunk and methamphetamine through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to Turkey and

Belgium respectively. He said Mkwo, 37, was arrested on May 28, 2021, while trying to board an Ethiopian Airline 910 enroute Abuja-Addis AbabaBrussels, Belgium. He disclosed that when he was searched, three kilogrammes of

methamphetamine was discovered to be stuffed in the lining of a false bottom of his luggage. The agency spokesman said during interrogation, Mkwo claimed he has lived in Belgium for 15 years and worked as a forklift driver in

an automobile company, where he earned €1,700 per month. “Mkwo said he traveled to Nigeria on April 26 for the burial of his father who died in August 2019 but buried on April 30 in Awka, Anambra State.

FG to Celebrate Buhari’s Achievements on Social Media Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The federal government has stated its plans to celebrate the second and final term of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration by flooding the social media and airwaves “with unmistakable video evidence of its various achievements.” The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this yesterday while addressing journalists. He said ahead of the anniversary, the government has inaugurated an all-encompassing and an unprecedented documentary on the projects and programmes of the administration. Mohammed said the documentary, which is ready, would be aired on the television sets and internet devices via Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram among others, adding that because of the sheer enormity of

the achievements, the documentary will be aired in three parts and will run for several months. The minister said the documentary, which would be updated from time to time until the end of this administration, covers roads, rail, housing, power, aviation, agriculture, ports, bridges, health, fight against COVID-19, water resources and the economy generally. He listed some of the projects undertaken by the administration since it started its second term of four years to include the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Apapa-Oworonsoki expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt road dualisation, Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road dualisation, Abuja-KadunaZaria expressway, Kano-Maiduguri expressway dualisation, SulejaMinna highway, Milliken Hill Ngwo and Bonny-Bodo-Road, Second Niger Bridge and LokoOweto Bridge.

Moghalu: Why I Want to Run for President in 2023 The 2019 presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has said he will run for the presidency again in 2023. He said this in a statement he personally signed yesterday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), announced shortly after the 2019 presidential election that he had resigned from the YPP and had also quit partisan politics. However, he said he changed his mind to join active politics again: “My decision to re-contest the top seat is driven by concern for the youth and to seek a clearer alternative to the status quo that would tackle challenges currently facing the nation.”

He said he would not run on the platform of YPP but would decide and join in the next few months, a party of his choice. Moghalu said he would run on a four-point agenda which he code-named ‘SWAG.’ “SWAG means Security for all Nigerians and Nigeria’s territory; War against poverty: skills, jobs for our youths and an innovation economy; Accelerated education and healthcare reform; Good governance: inclusive, transparent, effective and accountable,” he said. He said if elected, he would run a government with a team of highly competent Nigerians from all parts of the country. “Along with strengthened, independent institutions, we will deliver results on a 4 point agenda in four years,” he said.

Ondo Pays N360m WASSCE Fees JamesSowoleinAkure The Ondo State Government yesterday said N360 million was spent on the payment of 2021 West African School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) fee for students in public secondary schools in the state. It also stated that about N4 million had been approved for the 2021 NABTEB fees for 209 final year students in the five technical colleges of Ondo State. The state Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, stated this in Akure, the state capital, during the celebration of students who excelled at international and national competitions and state examinations during the 2020/2021 academic session. Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Princess Oladunni Odu, the governor highlighted some of the policies

executed by the state to revive its education. He said: “You will recall that our administration has renewed its commitment to pay the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) fee for students in public secondary schools in the state, in spite of the dwindling state resources. “It is a common knowledge that most states that had hitherto paid the WASSCE fees for their students had stopped such payment for a long time. “It is no exaggeration that our government cannot afford to watch the educational career of our students, especially the indigent ones, truncated for lack of fund. To the glory of God, about two months ago, we paid the sum of N360 million for 2021 WASSCE fee for students in public secondary schools in the state.”

FIFTY- FIVE HEARTY CHEERS...

Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Sunday Dare (right), during his interaction with youths to mark his 55th birthday in Ogbomoso...recently

Hydro-power Projects Can Solve National Energy Challenge, Says UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Regional Director and representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), UNIDO regional hub, Nigeria, Jean. B Bakole, has said the country’s energy crisis is surmountable with renewable energy resources such as hydropower, solar, biomass and wind.

He stated this at a capacitybuilding workshop on small hydropower development for renewable energy development and financial institutions in Nigeria held at the Transcorp Hotel, Calabar, Cross River State. The UNIDO assisted N8.2 billion hydro-electricity project in Obudu Ranch Resort in the state to provide alternative electricity to the state and other surrounding states was also

flagged off by the state Governor, Ben Ayade, at the occasion. Bakole identified energy as a critical input for economic growth and sustainable industrial development of any country, and expressed delight that Nigeria is rich in renewable energies. According to him, “Fortunately, Nigeria is endowed with a tremendous amount of renewable energy resources such as

hydropower, solar, biomass and wind. “Among the renewable energy resources, Small Hydropower (SHP) holds great potential towards increasing access to electricity and addressing climate change. “Recent government estimates indicated that SHP accounts for about 15 percent of a hydropower potential of approximately 24,00MW.”

Alleged Sexual Harassment: FUOYE Slams Lecturer With Suspension Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Federal University OyeEkiti (FUOYE), has suspended an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Media Arts, Dr. Jonathan Mbachaga, over an alleged sexual harassment. This was contained in a statement that was signed yesterday by the Chief Information Officer to the Vice Chancellor, Mr. Foluso Ogunmodede.

The statement said that Mbachaga’s suspension came after a committee inaugurated by the institution’s Faculty of Arts to investigate the alleged sexual harassment established a prima facie evidence against him. The suspension, which was with immediate effect, would pave the way for a proper investigation of the allegation by a five-member committee that was set up by the vice chancellor of the FUOYE.

The statement reads: “the Vice-Chancellor of FUOYE, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina, who has zero tolerance for indiscipline and any form of sexual harassment against students of the institution, has consequently approved the suspension of Dr. Mbachaga to allow for proper investigation into the matter.” “The vice chancellor has also mandated the Dean, Faculty of

Arts, Professor Tajudeen Opoola, to conduct proper investigation into another allegation of sexual harassment against another lecture in the same department, Dr. Agofure, and submit a report in due time for necessary actions.” The statement added that the current management of the university would do its best to cleanse the system of all social vices.

Diaspora Igbo Group Insists on Restructuring, Fiscal Federalism A group of Igbo people in Diaspora, Igbo World Assembly (IWA), has insisted on the need to restructure Nigeria to ensure true federalism as it was in the 1963 Constitution based on regions or zones respectively. This is even as the group has condemned strongly the federal government position on the shoot-at-sight order of South-east youths, noting that it was an act

of ethnic cleaning and genocide. The Chairman of IWA, Dr. Nwachukwu Anakwenze, who stated this in his keynote address in Abuja at the just-concluded Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Transition Inter-ethnic peace dialogue, told the gathering that true fiscal federalism was needed in Nigeria to address issues affecting the country. Restructuring Nigeria, according

to him, should be a means of tackling the worsening security situation and the agitation for secession. He said: “We need a Nigerian political structure that is based on equity, fair play, balance and equal access to political power for the good of all Nigerians. “IWA feels that what Nigeria needs on the long run is true fiscal federalism which is a system of

government based on democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and region/ state governments. The individual federating units need to have more control over their own affairs. “The regional government should control their resources and pay a percentage royalty tax to the federal government.

We’ve Reformed, Harmonised Tax Systems in Ogun, Says Abiodun Kayode Fasua The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, yesterday revealed that his administration had carried out several tax and financial reforms to eliminate bottlenecks and enhance the ease of doing business in the state. The governor stated this in Lagos while speaking at the investiture of Mrs. Olujumoke

Eyitayo as the President of Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigerian (ICAN), assuring the people that the state under his watch has reformed and harmonise the tax system as well as levies in order to eliminate multiple taxation. Noting that the state government is in partnership with the private sector on many fronts, Abiodun explained that

the focus of his administration is premised on the ‘ISEYA’ mantra, which stands for Infrastructure, Social Wellbeing, Education, Youth Empowerment and Agriculture. He added that the tax reforms would make the tax regime very transparent and provide for online payment and filling of tax returns. According to him, “We have also implemented the International Public Sector Accounting System

(IPSAS), the TSA system, and Billing and Payment Management System (BPMS) as part of reforms of our financial system.” The governor listed other elements of the financial reforms to include adoption of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), the Medium Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS) and the establishment of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2021 ˾ THISDAY

WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Eagles’ Camp in Austria Bubbles with 17 Players for Cameroon Friendly Femi Solaja With barely two days to the first of two friendlies arranged for Super Eagles, no fewer than 17 players are in camp for the match against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on Friday. The three-time African champions have already settled down for business in Austria despite initial fears that withdrawal of seven key Eagles may scuttle the tune-up matches ahead of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers in September. Super Eagles’ Media Officer, Babafemi Raji, confirmed to THISDAY that majority of the players came into the camp last night. The team had light work out session late in the evening while the main training will hold this morning (Wednesday) before the match on Friday. According to Raji, all the three invited goalkeepers namely; Maduka Okoye, Francis Uzoho and John Noble were amongst the early arrivals with the Vice-captain, William Troost-Ekong, Alex

Iwobi, Shehu Abdullahi, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Chidozie Awaziem joining the train to the Austria camp later in the evening. Other Eagles in camp as at last night include; Jamilu Collins, Etebo Oghenekaro, Valentine Ozonwafor, Anayo Iwuala, Abraham Marcus, Terem Moffi, Peter Olayinka with Samson Tijani completing the list of 17 players. Super Eagles Head Coach,

Brom’s Semi Ajayi, Fulham’s Ola Aina, Benfica’s Tyronne Ebuehi and Hoffenheim’s Kevin Akpoguma pose great danger for the game. The Super Eagles will take on the Indomitable Lions in

a double-header at Stadion Weiner Neustadt on Friday with the second game coming up four days later on June 8. The friendlies were arranged as part of Nigeria’s preparation for the upcoming

World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde Islands in August and September. The Super Eagles recently qualified for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations after finishing top of the Group L.

Kelechi ‘Senior Man’ Iheanacho at training yesterday in Austria

Ndidi Laments Leicester City’s UCL Miss Super Eagles’ midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, has expressed his disappointment after Leicester City failed to qualify for the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League. The Foxes failed in their quest to finish in the top four of the English Premier League on the last day of the season for an automatic spot in the top European competition. Leicester lost their last crucial game to Tottenham Hotspur to finish fifth on the final league table. The Nigeria international who had this past season helped Brendan Rodgers’ men to win the FA Cup title, expressed his disappointment on missing out on a place in the European competition. “Every player wants to play in the Champions League if they have the opportunity but if you don’t have the opportunity, grab whatever you see,” Ndidi told SuperSport’s Monday Night Footballprogramme. “We played the final (FA Cup) before the Premier League matches ended and so we actually grabbed that one and hoping to qualify for the Champions League. “It’s not like we were just hoping to qualify for the Champions League and just let the FA Cup just go away like that,” observed the Leicester midfielder enforcer. Ndidi however remains grateful to God winning the FA Cup with Leicester. “I’m very grateful that we grabbedthatonebutitwasn’tpossible for us to go to the Champions League.” Ndidi also expressed his delight with the performance of his compatriot and teammate Kelechi Iheanacho. The centre-forward delivered spectacular performances in the 2020-21 season, scoring 19 goals and providing seven assists in 39 appearances for the Foxes.

Gernot Rohr, had on Monday expressed his worries in an interview with ESPN that the absence of players with injuries like Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, Crotone’s Simy Nwankwo, Porto’s Zaidu Sanusi, West

“We all know Kelechi Iheanacho is a very good player. Right from the U17 days, he can score goals, he can make assists,” he continued. “As a footballer not getting much time playing can actually reduce your confidence but I’m very happy he’s back. “I’ve always tried to encourage him, he’s always giving his best in training but you could see Jamie Vardy is always there, running round the pitch. “I just feel if Kelechi had the chance he would have actually done something that time when there was no chance for him to showcase but now he’s doing everything I expected of him and we all know the kind of player he is and I’m very proud of him and happy to play in the same team with him.” The Super Eagles midfielder also praised the influence of Leicester manager Rodgers on his development at the club. “Brendan Rodgers is a very good coach, he is tactical. He’s a lovable coach, the players love him because he is not just a coach, he’s also like a father figure to us (the players),” he added. “He’s very friendly, smiles, his door is always open for players. He has actually improved my game psychologically and on the pitch, understanding the game.

Super Eagles’ Goalkeeper Trainer, Alloy Agu (right) plotting with goalkeepers Francis Uzoho, Maduka Okoye and John Noble how to stop Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions on Friday in Austria

Ancelotti Dumps Iwobi’s Everton for Vacant Real Madrid Job Everton have been left stunned after Carlo Ancelotti accepted an offer from Florentino Perez and agreed to return to Real Madrid. Ancelotti, who led Real to their 10th Champions League title in 2014, received a firm offer from the Spanish giants over the weekend and will return to Santiago Bernabeu after a compensation package was agreed; the Italian has signed a three-year contract. Ancelotti will take his son, Davide, to be his assistant, along with his son-in-law Mino Fulco, who was Everton’s Head of Performance. Ancelotti’s longserving fitness coach, Francesco Mauri, and analyst, Simeone

Montanaro, are also expected to leave. Madrid turned to Ancelotti after missing out on Max Allegri, who has been reappointed by Juventus, and Mauricio Pochettino but the speed in which this move has been completed has thrown Everton’s plans for next season into disarray. The 61-year-old reported to Finch Farm, the club’s training base, at 11:15am yesterday morning for talks with Marcel Brands, Everton’s Sporting Director – the Dutchman’s attempts to convince Ancelotti to stay until 2023 and honour his £11million-per-year contract were futile.

In a statement, Ancelotti said: “I would like to thank the Board of Directors, the players, and the Evertonians for the tremendous support they have all given me during my time at the Club. “I have complete respect for everyone associated with Everton and hope they can achieve the exciting opportunities they have in front of them. “While I have enjoyed being at Everton I have been presented with an unexpected opportunity which I believe is the right move for me and my family at this time.” Farhad Moshiri, Everton’s major shareholder, must now begin the search for another new manager.

This will be his fifth such appointment since he took charge at Goodison Park in February 2016 and it is imperative that this decision is right. Nuno Espirito Santo was quickly installed as one of the favourites to succeed Ancelotti but he is also wanted by Crystal Palace, who have been speaking to the Portuguese since last week. Eddie Howe, was in the frame to replace Marco Silva at Goodison Park in December 2019. They were linked with Steven Gerrard, the current Rangers manager and Liverpool icon, but there would be little chance of success if Everton decided to pursue the 41-year-old.

ITTF Confirms Aruna’s Qualification for Tokyo 2020 The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) yesterday confirmed the eventual qualification of Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna for the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. According to a letter addressed to the President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and immediate past President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and singed by ITTF Competition Director Gabor Felegyi, Aruna who is the first African in the history of the Olympic Games to make it to the quarter-final stage of the singles event is expected to join 85 others across the globe Ti

to compete in the men’s singles event at Tokyo Olympic Games next month. “It is with great pleasure, I announce the qualification of Quadri Arena to compete in the table tennis Men’s Singles event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, on the basis of World Ranking allocation according to the June 2021 ITTF Olympic Qualification Ranking,” Felegyi stated. He however, stated that NOC is expected to confirm Aruna’s participation on or before June 16. With this development, Aruna will be making his third appearance at the Olympic Games having featured in

In a bid to create a quality sport-broadcasting experience for Nigerians, leading-media ﬁrms, Nigeria Info and Wazobia Max, under the auspices of AIM Group, have been awarded the broadcast rights from the ofﬁcial UEFA-licensed owner in Nigeria, Media Business Solutions (MBS), to freely air the UEFA Euro 2020

tournament across the country. The competition would be broadcast across Wazobia FM, Arewa Radio, Cool FM Kano, and Wazobia Max both in English and selected local languages, including Pidgin English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, in order to cater for the sporting needs of a wide-spectrum of Nigerians.

London 2012 and Rio 2016. He is to join his compatriots - Olajide Omotayo, Olufunke Oshonaike and Edem Offiong to compete in the men and women’s singles event respectively at Tokyo. It was at Rio 2016 in Brazil that Arena stunned the world with his performance to become the first African to reach the quarterfinal after edging out some of the best players in the world including former world number one, Timo Boll of Germany. He eventually lost in the quarter final to the eventual winner of the gold medal, Ma Long of China. An excited Chairman of

the Caretaker Committee of NTTF, Ishaku Tikon said he has been proved right with the confirmation by ITTF as the exploits of Aruna in the last two years were enough to secure him a place at the Games.

Quadri Aruna...qualifies for Tokyo 2020

Nigeria Info, Wazobia Win Euro 2020 Broadcast Rights

Wilfred Ndidi...sad missing Champions League ticket with Leicester

Commenting on the groundbreaking development, the Chief Executive Ofﬁcer (CEO) for Cool FM, Wazobia FM, Nigeria Info, Arewa Radio, Serge Noujain, described the partnership as one that would further strengthen the love Nigerians have for the game of football. “We as a leading brand

understand that most Nigerians are genuinely passionate about the game of football. That is why we have taken it upon ourselves to go a step further after the acquisition of the World Cup 2018 Russia broadcast rights by partnering the MBS to freely broadcast the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament in a unique Nigerian style.

Wednesday June 2, 2021

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Buhari to Secessionists “Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the ﬁelds for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand” – President Buhari assuring those who want to destroy his government they will be shocked.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE The Constitution-Making Industry M THE HORIZON

aking a people’s constitution is not only a ritual in Nigeria, it has also evolved into a yet -to- be acknowledged industry. The industry flourishes when the ferment is generated against the subsisting constitution and activities are stepped up for the making of another which the promoters believe would be the only legitimate document as the basic law of the land. Politicians push vigorously for a new constitution when out of power and they pay a lip service to constitution reviews when they are in government. The politics of constitution-making is such that politicians are good at identifying the problems of Nigeria only when they are out of power. Apart from the episodic heat generated by the politics of constitution-making or review, the exercise comes with a lot of cost. The reports of the past efforts at making a new constitution or reviewing the existing one are simply ignored while the frenzy for a fresh attempt is taking place. Worse still, the cost of the past exercise does not come into reckoning as funds are made available for another exercise. Billions have been spent since 1999 on reviewing the constitution; but the huge cost is hardly a matter of public discussion. In most cases the executive and legislature set up parallel committees to work on reviewing the constitution. Just as it is the case in the current attempt, the Senate and the House of Representatives appointed at various periods separate committees. The committee members, of course, travelled round the country in the name of “meeting the people” at enormous public expense. Sometimes, the committee members went abroad to get inspiration from other countries on making a people’s constitution or to consult with Nigerians in the diaspora. Meanwhile, the expenditures made on the mostly still-born constitution-making exercises were seemingly not affected by the economic climate of poverty enveloping the lives of the people for whom the constitution is supposedly meant at any time. So, each time you hear of constitution-making in Nigeria always remember that it is not only thousands of words that would be spoken, billions of Naira and millions of dollars are also spent in the process. This is the defining feature of the Nigeria constitution-making industry. It is, of course, consistent with the culture of non-accountability in the public realm. In a clime of genuine accountability, it would be amazing to know how much has been spent by the successive administrations and sessions of the National Assembly on reviewing the constitution. It would also be interesting to know how much the non-governmental bodies and groups have invested in the business of “inclusive” review or making of the constitution. It is time to audit not only the reports of the past efforts at making a constitution but also the cost to government and non-governmental bodies. The auditing should be extended to the support of foreign governments and non-governmental institutions. The foregoing proposition could be illustrated with samples of attempts made “to do something about the constitution” in the last 22 years. The important background to this was the constitutional component of the agitation for the revalidation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. In the struggle for June 12, the call for a “sovereign national conference” was strident. Implicit in the call was the idea that the proceedings of the proposed conference would be distilled into a “truly federal” constitution which would determine the terms of the Nigerian union. The proponents of the sovereign conference often said that the conference should answer two questions. The

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

Buhari first was if Nigeria should be one country and the second was on the structure of the union. The deaths within a space of one month of the Head of State, General Sani Abacha, and that of the winner of the June 12 election, Bashorun MKO Abiola, brought an entirely different political scenario. The succeeding regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar was wisely conscious of the fact the public mood would not countenance another prolonged military rule. So the 1999 was understandably put together in a hurry to give the legal basis to the Fourth Republic. Now, those who dismiss the document contemptuously as “illegitimate” and “a big lie” (even though it has been the constitution longest in use in the nation’s political history!) often skip some parts of the story. Despite the fact that he was in office for less than a year, General Abubakar set up a committee headed by Justice Niki Tobi made up of distinguished Nigerians. The committee also went round the country (as some persons are doing now) to seek the views of the people. The exercise too was at a monetary cost to the nation. At the end of the opinion sampling, the nucleus of the 1999 constitution came from the important 1979 Constitution, the draft of which was memorably debated by an elected constituent assembly in 1977/78. Some critics of the 1999 Constitution now present issues as if a soldier merely wrote a paper and proclaimed it as the constitution. As Abubakar said recently on Arise Television, his regime could not be held responsible for the inability of the nation in 22 years to review the constitution comprehensively or even make a new one as some Nigerians would rather prefer as an option. And Abubakar is quite right on that score.

It is relevant to ponder why all attempts to review the constitution in the last 22 years have failed despite the huge amount of money spent in the process

0805 500 1974

It is, therefore, relevant to ask why all attempts to review the constitutions in the last 22 years have failed despite the huge amount of money spent in the process. In order to ensure the success of the current attempt, this question should be answered in the national interest. It was no surprise that barely six months after his inauguration on May 29, 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo set up a multi-party committee to review the constitution. The Attorney-General in that administration, Chief Bola Ige, had been a strong advocate of sovereign national conference and restructuring. Ige was the deputy leader of Afenifere and a former presidential aspirant on the platform of AD. His support for the proclaimed work of the committee was conspicuous. The presidential committee had members from the three major parties at the time – the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD). The presidential committee was liberal enough to have a member of an opposition party, the AD, Ambassador Yusuf Mamman, to be the chairman. He was later replaced by Alhaji Ahmed Abdulkadir when the AD crisis erupted. The Ford Foundation partly funded the exercise. The committee reportedly submitted an “interim report” to the government. Till he left power on May 29, 2007, Obasanjo never referred to the report of this committee of eminent Nigerians. Meanwhile, successive committees of the National Assembly were also actively working on the review of the constitution. The topics which the various committees examined included devolution of power, state police, fiscal federalism, status of the local government etc. These are the same issues being debated today as if they just emerged from the womb of the polity. Obasanjo was not done yet in responding to the agitation in the political landscape. Although he never pursued restructuring while in power, Obasanjo played politics with the agitation for “true federalism.” In 2005, he inaugurated a Political Reform Conference. The conference attracted the best and the brightest within the polity and the civil society. For instance, the great nationalist Chief Anthony Enahoro, a prominent advocate of a sovereign national conference and restructuring, led the Edo state delegation to the conference. Not a line of the recommendations of the conference on constitutional amendments was ever implemented despite the huge public funds expended during the months that eminent Nigerians converged in Abuja. President Umaru Yar’adua isolated the issues of lack of credibility of the electoral process by setting up a committee headed by former Chief Justice of the federation, Justice Muhammadu Uwais. Yar’adua died before the end of his tenure. Successive administrations have ignored the report of the committee including the aspects that could require constitutional amendments. Before President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the famous 2014 Conference, the Seventh National Assembly was actually carrying out its own edition of constitution-making. As a matter of fact, on February 27, 2013 the Joint National Assembly Committee was in Chatham House in London to “consult” with Nigerians based in the United Kingdom on the review of the 1999 Constitution. Among the constitutional matters that came up in the discussions were gender inequality, state creation, local governments, integrity of elections and immunity for chief executive officers and their deputies from prosecution. The 2014 conference attracted wide interests across the political spectrum and the various divides. The high quality conference took its task seriously and competently discharged it. Some of its recommendations require administrative steps for implementation while some others require

legislations and constitutional amendments. In fact, not a few advocates of “restructuring” and “true federalism” who participated in the conference have said that the ills of the Nigerian federalism could be substantially cured with a clinical implementation of some of the recommendations of the distinguished forum. The problem started with the failure of Jonathan, whose idea the conference was in the first place, to implement even the administrative part of the report. Jonathan’s successor, President Muhammadu Buhari, has been urged in vain to give leadership in the process of implementing the aspects of the report requiring constitutional amendments. These aspects include power devolution, creation of state police and purging the exclusive list of some items that should be in the residual list. Yet the conference cost the nation a fortune. Items for constitutional reviews are still being discussed, but the cost is never discussed as it is normal with the ethos of the constitution-making industry. President Buhari’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaigned among other things on the platform of restructuring in 2015. However, it is clear now that restructuring has never been Buhari’s priority. In the build-up to the 2019 election, however, the APC set up a committee to reformulate its position on restructuring of the Nigerian federation. The committee headed by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state has submitted its report a long time ago. The President is yet to give effect to his party’s manifesto in this respect. However, the constitution-making cycles have continued. About 24 months to the end of Buhari’s tenure, the political landscape is agog again with activities to review the 1999 constitution. Now, restructuring or the quest for a “true federalism” is ultimately a constitutional question. The legislative steps required to bring this about are strictly within the purview of the National Assembly. In fact, this otherwise valid point has been opportunistically exploited by the Buhari administration that is really not enamoured of restructuring. The unhelpful refrain of some members of the administration has been that if you want restructuring, go to the National Assembly. Meanwhile, some restructuring advocates and enthusiasts of “true federalism” still question the legitimacy of the legislature to genuinely review the constitution. According to these critics, the sovereign power to make a constitution resides in the people and not in the legislature created by the constitution that should be changed. They want an entirely new document derived from the popular will. Yet, it will take an unconstitutional measure to take away the power of constitution review from the legislative arm of government created by the 1999 Constitution, however defective anyone may think it is at present. It is sheer optical illusion to think otherwise. No incumbent government will voluntarily convoke a sovereign national conference for the purpose of making a new constitution. This is one of the hidden problematics of restructuring by means of a review or amendment of the constitution. To solve this conundrum, the dissonance between ethnic and regional champions on the one hand and their respective representatives at the federal and state legislatures on the other hand should be removed. There is, therefore, the need for a lot clarity of purpose so that the constitution would be seen for what it is really: a living document that is subject to amendments as the need arises from one age to another. This is necessary to put an end to the growing industry of periodic making of constitution at enormous costs.

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