FRIDAY 4TH JUNE 2021

Emefiele Guarantees Manufacturers Steady Supply of Forex Harps on environmental protection, sustainable banking principles James Emejo in Abuja The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday reiterated the bank's

commitment to ensuring steady availability of foreign exchange for manufacturers.

Emefiele also urged banks as well as Nigerians to strive to end environmental pollution

and ensure sustenance of banking principles.

Speaking alongside the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, at an interactive session with a

business team from the United Kingdom, Emefiele, however, explained that the fall in oil prices had affected the inflow of forex.

This, he said, informed the

restriction of access to forex for the importation of goods that could be produced locally, in order to ensure judicious use of forex.

He identified the three main

sources of forex inflows to the country as the sale of crude oil, remittances from Nigerians abroad and foreign investors.

Continued on page 8

Africa’s Oil-producing Nations Rally against Threat to Fossil Fuels... Page 6 Friday 4 June, 2021 Vol 26. No 9552. Price: N250

www.thisdaylive.com TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

DHQ Allays Fear of Mass Retirement

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

FIRST IN WEST AFRICA...

L-R: Secretary to Kwara State Government, Prof. Mamman Jubril; Regional Agriculture Counsellor, France Embassy, Dr. Sonia Darracq; Head, Cooperation and Cultural Affairs, France Embassy, Mr. Rafael Point; French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Jerome Pasquier; Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi; and Speaker, House of Assembly, Hon. Yakubu Danlandi, during the groundbreaking of the iconic Ilorin Visual Arts Centre Project in Ilorin…recently

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday allayed concerns about possible mass retirement of top military officers superior to the Chief of Army, Maj. Gen. Farouk Yahaya.

It said contrary to reports of an impending exodus of about 30 Generals in the military following the appointment of Yahaya, a member of the 37 Regular Course of Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), other major generals and equivalent ranks in the military senior to him would Continued on page 8

Obasanjo: Bad Leadership Has Turned Nigeria to Land of Bitterness, Sadness Insecurity does not make Nigeria failed state, insists FG Presidency: Foreign magazine's opinion on Nigeria distorted, unfair Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Kayode Fasua in Abeokuta Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday expressed worry over the state of the nation and blamed bad leadership for the nation's woes.

The former president, while

receiving a book titled, ‘The Man, The General and The President,’ written by Femmy Carrena, said in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, that even though the country is destined to be a land flowing with milk and honey, bad leadership has made it unachievable.

According to him, the country is currently dripping

with bitterness and sadness.

But despite the worsening insecurity, the federal government has said it is preposterous for anyone to declare Nigeria a failed state on the basis of the country’s security challenges.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) also said alleged plots by some

Nigerians to bring down the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would fail.

Obasanjo stated that although Nigeria is destined to lead the black race, failure of leadership has prevented the country from taking its rightful place in the comity of developed nations.

He said: “My prayer is that all of us will have something to contribute to making this country what God has created it to be – a land flowing with milk and honey.

“Right now, it is a land flowing with bitterness and sadness; that is not what God wants this country to be.

“We must change the

narrative; we must talk to ourselves in the civilised language.

“There is nowhere you go in this country that you will not see geniuses in any section of the country. So, why should we look down on ourselves?”

He stated that over 14 Continued on page 8

INEC Presses for Law to Transmit Election Results Electronically...Page 5

2

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 •T H I S D AY

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 • T H I S D AY

3

4

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 •T H I S D AY

5

FRIDAY, ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

INEC Presses for Law to Transmit Election Results Electronically

Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday called for legislation to transmit the results of 2023 elections electronically.

The commission also showcased new processes for voter's registration and transmission of results from ward level to the final declaration.

It said beginning from June 28 when the voter's registration will commence, facial capture would be added with the age determination factor to discourage underage voters.

The commission said it would use a new artificial intelligence to determine perceived underage voters.

INEC, however, said all these innovations were subject to the passage of the new electoral law currently before the National Assembly.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in his presentation, through the Director of Information Communication and Technology, Dr. Chidi Nwafor, said under the new electronic voting, there would no longer be any malfunctioning of the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) on the ground that there is no internet or network.

Rather, INEC has acquired the latest technology where the data is inbuilt in Ghana PVC, adding that a prospective voter will just go and cast his or her

vote without the old tale that there is no network or interest.

On the electronic voting, Nwafor said: "With the registration of voters commencing June 28 this year, all you have to do is to go online and open the INEC portal and commence the registration as a voter online.

"From here, you will be given an appointment online, where you will go to the allocated INEC office for your fingerprint and facial capture with your email address and telephone numbers.

"This is an innovation from the processes of 2011. And if in the processes of casting your votes, these two did not match, please go home as you are not entitled to vote. Your fingerprint and facial prints must match."

This processes, he explained, must ensure that new biometrics of the prospective voter are captured On underage voter, Nwafor said: "We have acquired a new artificial intelligence technology that would help determine the age of any voter that is suspected to be underage."

According to him, a transparent and credible election commences with voter registration and balloting.

He added that INEC has concluded plans for an electronic transmission of all election results in the same manner that was done in Edo and Ondo governorship elections.

He said in the new process, any interested Nigerian could

track or monitor the results of the election from his or her house.

"Once results of elections are announced from the collation centres, down to the wards local

governments and final collation centres, any person can monitor it without any human error.

"From the form EC8a to EC8b and Form EC8c, the result

would be the same; there cannot be any difference. This we have done from the state constituency election in Nasarawa State to Edo and Ondo states. This,

INEC will replicate in 2023, but this is subject to the passage of new electoral laws currently before the National Assembly," he stated.

WELCOME TO THE PARTY...

President Muhammadu Buhari (left) and Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, during a visit to the president by the governor in Abuja…yesterday Godwin Omoigui

FG: $1.5m for Clinical Trial Delaying First Local COVID-19 Vaccine Deji Elumoye in Abuja The federal government yesterday explained that the production of the first local vaccine for COVID-19 pandemic in the country is being threatened by its inability to raise the $1.5 million cost of the clinical trial.

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said at the ministerial press briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team in Abuja that a Nigerian researcher had developed a COVID-19 vaccine with a high probability to succeed but no fund yet for the clinical trial.

According to him, the federal government may look for sponsors who would recoup their investment when the vaccine is successful so that all the stages of the trial can be fulfilled.

He said: “There is no personal interest in this. There are at least two, perhaps even

three, Nigerian laboratories that have developed what you call vaccine candidates.

“In fact, yesterday, we also talked to a fourth Nigerian laboratory, based in Maryland, USA. He has also produced his own vaccine candidate.

A vaccine candidate means that you have already been able to get the antigen, you have produced something that will work.

“Now, you have to do what is called the clinical trials; clinical trial means you go through testing it that it’s safe.

First of all, if it’s safe, it doesn't cause a problem. "Secondly, that it does what it promises to do; generate antibodies in your system. Okay. So, you go through those clinical trials, which are very detailed and they are expensive.

“One of our researchers here, who has produced such a candidate, I asked him, how much do you think you’ll need to go through these

clinical trials; phase one, phase two, phase three? At least $1.5 million. That's a lot.

Do we have that now to test a vaccine?

“Well, we say we look for sources where we can get the sponsors because the sponsorship is what you need.

What some people do is that they invest in it and then once you produce the vaccine, it’s successful, they buy it and that means you are done. But if it turns out not to have worked, your money is gone.

“It’s hard to find a way to sponsor these clinical trials because they are expensive and they have a very good chance of being successful.

But some of them also have a good chance of not being able to see strong enough you know, the trick of efficacy. The efficacy means how well it works.

“So, we want to support our own vaccine and do the necessary to make sure they

come out. But we are looking for the funds to support and also the necessary technical and whatever other backings that are required to get them to a level where they can… not only shall we be proud, it will be cheaper for us, we can be able to export also.

“So, we are looking at that, we're looking for it and that's in fact our preference.

We know that those who are producing a vaccine now, we are at their mercy and I've said before that even if you have money now, you may not even get your vaccine.”

The minister also explained the delay in getting the supplementary budget ready for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, saying the government wanted to get a clearer picture of the different prices of the available vaccines, before submitting a budget.

Ehanire said the budget figures were still in rough stages and would soon be

done tuned.

He added: “There are different prices of the vaccines and we don't really know exactly the one we’re getting.

And we also know that the ones we're getting from COVAX are at no cost to us.

So what we’re doing is that the additional ones that we're going to get will take care of 50 million Nigerians. COVAX will take care of 20 million, they are even offering to take care of more than that, maybe up to 30 million.

“The prices vary, some vaccines are in the neighbourhood of $20 or $30, others are $5 or $6. So to really make a budget, we are working on a rough sketch, some money have been earmarked. But Mr. President has also announced that there will be a supplementary budget. But we want to get a clearer picture first, before you actually submit a budget.

“So, we only have rough

figures and as soon as those figures are there we can continue. We are also looking for perhaps, as I said, if we have to make the payments, we can find some money to do that. But when that budget time comes, we need some precise information.”

Asked for a particular figure for the vaccine budget, Ehanire said: “Well, I can't disclose any figure to you now because is not something we can immediately put out because as I said before, the prices are different.

“We are looking at Johnson and Johnson now, but if for example, we are to get more AstraZeneca vaccine, there is a steep difference between the two. And then again, if they are going to give you the Pfizer vaccine, Pfizer was on the original list of COVAX and that is different. So we're not really going to go public but very soon we will once we have all the figures.”

Engagement, Not Threats, Solution to South-east Violence, Abaribe Tells Buhari Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to embrace dialogue in order to resolve the agitation and violence in the South-east.

Abaribe said in an interview on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, that threats

would not resolve the crisis in the region.

Buhari, in a series of tweets via his tweeter handle@mbuhari, had threatened to deal with those fomenting trouble in the South-east in the language, they would understand, a situation that attracted sanctions from microblogging site, Twitter.

But Abaribe attributed the violence to an imbalance in the distribution of resources and

the unjust treatment of Igbo.

He stated that the South-east Caucus in the Senate had condemned the violence and no senator would support the destruction of infrastructure in the region.

"We all know that it's through negotiation that you can resolve it but the response we are getting from the federal government is not a response calculated to bring peace.

"When you threaten to visit the deprivations of the civil war on the South-east, what message are you sending? We expect the president as the father of the nation to be able to embrace everybody.

"But we have always seen this pattern. Anytime something happens in the South-east, that's when he comes out to say, I will crush you and we think that's not the way to go," he

added.

Abaribe traced the cause of the problem to injustice.

He said: "As for the root cause of what is leading to all these, we have consistently said it over the years that at the root of everything is injustice.

"If you do not give people justice, the impression will always be created in the minds of the people of South-east that they are seen as a people from

a different place.

"With things in their present state, to say you will visit the South-east with federal might makes all of us say we can find a better part or the only better part is engagement.

"We must engage. When the Southern governors met, they said let's try to engage.

Everybody has said let's try to engage and we are still waiting to engage."

6

FRIDAY, ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Africa’s Oil-producing Nations Rally against Threat to Fossil Fuels May float continental bank to fund oil projects Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Some African oil-producing nations yesterday opposed what they described as the global conspiracy to shut down the economies of the continent’s resource-dependent countries.

They urged members to take urgent action against the threat to their combined 100 billion barrels oil reserves.

Some of the 15 African nations that are largely dependent on proceeds from oil and gas, called for massive investment in research and development in preparations against the impending storm occasioned by the gradual withdrawal of external funding for fossils fuels as well as the plan by Europe and America to stop the production of machinery used in the oil and gas industry.

The African oil producers also mulled the establishment of a continental bank to fund oil projects.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Sylva, who threw his support for closer ties among African nations said the move would drive regional collaboration on local content matters, institutionalise a peer review mechanism among oilproducing countries on local content and domestication of sustainable growth of the continent hydrocarbons.

Sylva, along with the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote; SecretaryGeneral, African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), Dr. Omar Ibrahim, and representatives from Angola, Niger, Cameroon, Gabon, Egypt, Algeria, among others, spoke yesterday during the first African local content roundtable in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

There is currently a global

movement to halt the production of hydrocarbons, especially oil and gas, as multinational oil companies, powerful nations in Europe and the Americas, the international banking system as well as international civil society organisations canvassed defunding oil-related investments.

Sylva stated that it was time for Africa to look inward, adding that for instance, through the implementation of local content, Nigeria has achieved growth in the value chain in-country from less than 5 per cent in 2010 to 35 per cent in 2021 and setting a target to achieve 70 per cent by 2027.

According to him, Nigeria must lead the way in amplifying the benefits of local content to fellow African countries, which is the essence of the African local content roundtable.

The minister stated that Africa has not benefitted fully from its fossil fuels because it has failed to domesticate operations within the continent.

He said: “We all know that the gains of hydrocarbon production in Africa have not translated into the desired economic growth in our continent. While over 15 African nations are producing and exporting crude oil, a sad reality is that our people have not benefited maximally from this natural resource.

“This is either because we have not managed the proceeds optimally or we failed to domesticate the core of operations of the industry.

“We must therefore use the opportunity of this roundtable to initiate conversations around local content, share success stories, challenges and come up with policies that will deepen local participation and domiciliation in our respective countries.”

According to him, one of the pathways towards this collaboration is the African Continental Free Trade Area, to facilitate free movement of goods, services and investments within the 54 member states, creating access to 1.2 billion customers with a cumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of over $3.4 trillion.

He stated that the federal government has begun the funding of strategic energy facilities in-country, including the 10,000 tonnes per day methanol plant and the 500 million standard cubic feet of gas processing plant in Brass, Bayelsa State and the ammonia fertiliser plant in Akwa Ibom.

In his intervention, the NCDMB executive secretary said Africa must not always

pander to the West, and stressed the need to set up a continental bank to fund oil and gas projects, since foreign banks have started withdrawing their investments from oil and gas.

He called for investment in R&D, saying that only South Africa makes the list of countries in the continent in research with 0.02 per cent spending of GDP. “We were getting used to firewood, they discovered coal and they told us firewood is a very dangerous source of energy, so all of us decided to drop firewood. We started coal in Enugu and we're getting used to it, they said they discovered hydrocarbons and they told us it is the dirtiest fuel on earth.

“We abandoned coal

factories and started pursuing hydrocarbons. When the recent discussion started, it was initially on energy transition, but today it is renewables. The discussion has started as to how bad hydrocarbons are and how we have contributed to the ozone layer, to carbon emission.

They have hired engineers who are telling us how bad hydrocarbons are. Very soon, one professor will publish a paper telling us how gas causes cancer and we will all run away from the utilisation of gas. We must invest in R&D because by the time they start, all the companies manufacturing all the tools, Halliburton and Schlumberger and the rest will stop and then you begin to look for renewables which

they will sell to us,” he said.

Also, the APPO secretarygeneral said even the international oil companies that built their fortunes through fossil fuels are now redirecting their investments away from oil and gas.

He added: “Financial institutions and IOCs, even educational research institutions, that are centres of innovation for the industry are closing their petroleum faculties in order to be seen to be in conformity with the global paradigm shift.

“With over 100 billion barrels of oil still in our ground, most economies are still heavily dependent on oil revenue.

Is Africa ready to forgo the production of those 100 billion barrels and classify them as wasted assets?’’

INVESTIGATOR AT ALAUSA...

Chairman, University of Lagos Visitation Panel, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (rtd) (left), and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during a courtesy visit by the panel to the governor in Lagos…yesterday

Lawan: Projection of Ethnic, Religious Diversities Cause of Political Instability Chuks Okocha in Abuja The President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan yesterday acknowledged that Nigeria was going through serious economic and security crises, which were aggravated by people, who projected the country’s ethnic, religious, cultural and geographical diversities.

Lawan while speaking at the Blueprint 10th Anniversary/ Impact Series and Awards tagged "Technological Innovation as Antidote to election rigging," in Abuja noted that "the economic challenges are being felt in many parts of the world, with countries still seeking to escape the havoc of the Covid-19 pandemic on many aspects of life.

He lamented that "the insecurity in our country has taken an alarming dimension with killings, kidnappings and wanton attacks on public facilities becoming daily events in many parts of the country. While the Government

is forthright and unrelenting in its efforts to contain the security challenges, the crisis is certainly being aggravated by people cynically projecting our ethnic, religious, cultural and geographical diversities as the primary cause of political instability and social insecurity in Nigeria.

The Senate President who expressed his fervent belief in the destiny of Nigeria urged every Nigerian to hold on to that faith.

Lawan acknowledged that "in this age of information, the media play a crucial role in creating national unity and re-modelling of public opinions.

It is true that public opinion is always disturbed during a crisis. But in such situations, the media can control the public emotions and control public opinion with a positive attitude. Without a positive attitude in the media, even the best efforts of policymakers and government cannot produce results.

He continued: "Let us

also remember that crisis is inevitable in society. Indeed, it drives development when properly managed. The Nigerian media must, therefore, always seek to help the nation turn its crises into wheels of progress.

"This they can do by providing useful information to calm the people and encourage them to do positive actions.

In the current situations, the media should seek information only from credible sources in order to limit the spread of fake news. They should avoid information that is capable of inciting violence and reprisals.

When law and order succumb to anarchy, even lawmakers, journalists and journalism are endangered.

"We also tend to forget the challenges that shortened our earlier democratic journeys, and that our struggle to address those challenges brought us to where we are. If what we adopted as solutions in the past now seem to us as mistakes, let us be charitable

enough to see them as honest mistakes, learn from them to fashion better solutions, and move on.

"Democracy is a perpetual learning process that improves with constant practice. It learns from and builds upon experience. That is the reason our constitution makes provisions for its constant review and amendment so that the fears of the past and shortsightedness of the present do not shackle the future and waste its opportunities.

"Under the constitution review exercise, the National Assembly has received hundreds of memoranda from across the country and many bills have been proposed for consideration. These show the commitment of the National Assembly to improving the laws upon which our polity and governance system are based and the support of Nigerians for its efforts."

Lawan also challenged the Nigerian media to set an agenda for a brighter tomorrow

for the country.

Also speaking at the event, former President Goodluck Jonathan asked the Nigerian media practitioners to use the Freedom of Information Act (FO1A), which was enacted 10 years ago, to fight fake news.

The FOIA was enacted in 2011 to bequeath the media with the abiding freedom required to practice and unfettered access to information in the public interest.

Speaking in Abuja shortly after he bagged the Blueprint Newspaper’s ‘Icon of Democracy in Africa’ award, Jonathan called on the media practitioners to use the Act to fight fake news.

Represented by the former Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolemenen, the former president also tasked them to promote patriotism and national pride in view of the current security challenges in the country.

“I recall that in May 2011, my administration enacted the Freedom of Information Act

(FOIA) in order to bequeath the media with the abiding freedom required for this onerous duty, give the people unfettered access to information of public interest.

“The year 2021 makes it one decade since that landmark law was enacted. It will be interesting to see how far that piece of legislation has impacted on general reporting, development of journalism and national leadership.

“The media should therefore guide the crusade to checkmate the spread of false information which obviously does more harm than good in society.

“On this score, I believe mainstream media has even greater responsibilities now, especially at this time of worsening insecurity and ethnic tension, to promote patriotism and national pride.

“The media should be deliberate, constructive and exercise the kind of restraint that should promote unity, peace and sustainable development,” he said.

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 • T H I S D AY

7

8

FRIDAY, ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

PAGE EIGHT OBASANJO: BAD LEADERSHIP HAS TURNED NIGERIA TO LAND OF BITTERNESS, SADNESS million children were out of school, adding that if care is not taken, Nigeria would have more "Boko Haram in future."

Obasanjo urged Nigerians to emulate some prominent citizens that are doing well at the international level.

He said: "We have Akin Adesina running the African Development Bank (AfDB); we have Benedict Oramah running the Afrexim Bank; we have Mohammed Barkindo running the OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries); we have my sister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, running the WTO (World Trade Organisation), and we have Amina Mohammed who, I think celebrated her 60th birthday yesterday or the day before yesterday, who is number two in the United Nations (UN).

"These are things that should give hope and encouragement for the future.

"And each of these people that I have mentioned, are doing fantastically well. We have even at the AU (African Union), Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, who had just taken over as the Commissioner for Political Affairs & Peace and Security (PAPS) of the AU. "So why are they doing well there and here we are not doing well? Something must be wrong! We should be interrogating this; we should ask then what should we do?

"What we should do is put our house in order, and we can put our house in order."

The book was reviewed by Professor Emeritus, Michael Abiola Omolewa, a former Chairperson of United

Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and the review was read on his behalf by Ndidi Amaka-Okafor.

Insecurity Does Not Make Nigeria Failed State, Insists FG Meanwhile, the federal government has said it is preposterous for anyone to declare Nigeria a failed state due to the country’s security challenges.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this yesterday in response to a recent declaration by the Council on Foreign Affairs in the United States that “Nigeria is at a point of no return with all the signs of a failed nation.’’

Former US Ambassador to Nigeria and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr. John Campbell, and the President Emeritus of World Peace Foundation, Mr. Robert Rotberg, had urged the United States to acknowledge that Nigeria is a failed state in the light of the many challenges plaguing the country.

“Nigeria’s worldwide companions, particularly the USA, should acknowledge that Nigeria is now a failed state.

In recognition of that truth, they need to deepen their engagement with the nation and search to carry the present administration accountable for its failures, while additionally working with it to supply safety and proper financial system,” they had said in an article.

But Mohammed said in Abuja that “Nigeria is not

and cannot be a failed state.’’

He stated that the declaration by the council did not represent an official US policy.

Mohammed said: “This declaration is merely the opinions of two persons, former US Ambassador to Nigeria and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, John Campbell, and the President Emeritus of World Peace Foundation, Robert Rotberg.

“Declaring any nation a failed state is not done at the whims and caprices of one or two persons, no matter their status.

“Just because Nigeria is facing security challenges, which we have acknowledged and which we are tackling, does not automatically make the country a failed state.

“Like former US Senator Daniel Moynihan said, “You are entitled to your opinion but not your facts.”

Mohammed said Nigeria did not meet the criteria for a nation to become a failed state.

He listed the criteria to include the inability to provide public service and inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community.

“Yes, the non-state actors may be rampaging in some parts of the country; they have not and cannot overwhelm this government,’’ he said.

The minister said it was not the first time it was predicted that Nigeria would fail or break up.

He added: “We were even once told that Nigeria would break up in 2015. But their doomsday predictions have

all failed and will fail again.’’

Presidency: Foreign Magazine's Opinion on Nigeria Distorted, Unfair Meanwhile, the Presidency yesterday described as unfair and distorted an opinion in the latest article on Nigeria entitled 'The Giant of Africa Is Failing' published by the Foreign Affairs (Magazine).

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, made the condemnation in a reaction to the article.

In a letter addressed to the publishers of the magazine, the presidential spokesman took exception to the way and manner facts were being misrepresented to support distorted opinions.

The letter read in part: “The latest article on Nigeria in Foreign Affairs titled ‘The Giant of Africa is Failing’ is unfair both to a magazine with such an esteemed pedigree and to its readers.

“Former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, has been predicting the collapse of Nigeria for several years. He is of course entitled to his opinions, even where events consistently prove him wrong.

“But facts should not be bent to support distorted opinions.

“Let me give you one example.

“The authors write: ‘At an April meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Buhari reportedly requested that the headquarters

Also yesterday, the ruling APC said plots by some Nigerians to bring down the administration of Buhari would fail.

National Secretary of the Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary National Convention Planning Committee of the APC, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, said at an event organised by the APC Professionals Forum, in Abuja, that despite the challenges the party met on the ground, the president had recorded successes in the areas of infrastructural development, the fight against

corruption and the reduction of poverty.

Akpanudoedehe spoke on behalf of the Governor of Yobe State and Chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the APC, Mr. Mai Mala Buni.

He said: “Plans to bring down the government of President Muhammadu Buhari will fail; some disgruntled elements are trying to blackmail and discredit this government with the aim of bringing it down.

“President Muhammadu Buhari will be judged by security and other achievements.

We should not analyse the achievements of this government based on blackmail."

He added that despite misgivings in certain quarters, the benefit accruing to the nation through efforts being made by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy was visible.

According to him, the SIM card registration, which has drastically reduced the number of pre-registered sims available for use for criminal purposes has helped in improving the nation’s economy.

“Those who are heating up the polity so that people will believe there is insecurity are organising to bring down the government of the APC. We will bring them to book Insha Allah,” he said.

Akpanudoedehe stated that the positive effects of the social intervention programmes among Nigeria’s poor and the vulnerable were being underreported because most of the beneficiaries were neither party member nor did they share in the administration’s vision.

troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria intensified their operational efforts in the fight against terrorism, banditry, hoodlums and militancy as well as other criminalities across all the geo-political zones of the country." According to him, the troops conducted series of clearance patrols, ambush, raid, picketing, cordon and search operations as well as artillery bombardments.

Others are anti-piracy, antiillegal oil bunkering, anti-crude oil theft, anti-pipeline vandalism and anti-smuggling operations.

He said there were also extensive air operations, which included air patrols, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance missions, offensive air strikes, air interdictions, search and rescue operations, and close

air support for ground troops.

He said troops of Operation Hadin Kai carried out series of operational activities.

He added: "They rescued kidnapped victims, neutralised scores of terrorists, destroyed terrorists’ enclaves, arrested terrorists and intercepted terrorists’ logistics items, including vehicles.

"On 20 May 2021, troops had contact and engaged BHT criminal elements in Gwoza LGA of Borno State. This occurred as troops swiftly responded to a distress call by farmers on an attack on their location. Troops gallantly rescued the farmers.

During the encounter, several terrorists were neutralised, while some others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds."

of the U.S. Africa Command be moved from Germany to Nigeria so that it would be closer to the fight against jihadi groups in the country’s north.’

“President Buhari did not request that AFRICOM move to Nigeria. The transcript of the call with Secretary Blinken is available on the State Department’s own website.

“It’s not just a question of the invented addition of ‘to Nigeria’ with regard to AFRICOM. It sums up a piece that attempts – subtly but revealingly – to shift facts to suit an argument.’’

According to Shehu, Nigeria faces multiple challenges, not least of which is the dissemination of fake news and prejudiced opinion.

He said: “This is something we have come to expect from partisan blogs and politically motivated lobbies.

“It is still a surprise, and a disappointment, to see them joined by Foreign Affairs.’

Plots to Destroy Buhari’s Govt will Fail, Says APC

DHQ ALLAYS FEAR OF MASS RETIREMENT be redeployed to the Defence Headquarters.

In line with military tradition that forbids seniors saluting juniors, members of Course 35, 36 and 37 were expected to leave the service following Yahaya's appointment.

THISDAY gathered that members of Course 35, notably the Chief of Policy and Plans (COPP), Maj. Gen. Benjamin Ahanotu, and Commander, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Maj. Gen. Abubakar Maikobi, have not been seen at official functions since Yahaya assumed duties.

Ahanotu's deputy has been standing in for him at official functions.

THISDAY gathered that most Course 36 officers were redeployed to Defence

Headquarters and tri-service institutions, notably Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, Command and Staff College, Jaji and TRADOC and have since assumed duties.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, is of Course 34, whom by his seniority could accommodate officers of Courses 35 and 36 cadres in tri-service institutions under the DHQ. The new army chief is believed to have accepted to work with his coursemates (Course 37).

Briefing the media in Abuja yesterday, Acting Director of the Directorate of Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Bri. Gen. Bernard Onyeuko, said the military was not contemplating any retirement and had, in fact, not retired any general.

"I wish to use this medium to dispel such unfounded rumours.

Retirement is only voluntarily for senior officers who desire to do so,” he said, adding: "At this point, no retirement has been authorised by the military high command.”

He said the military high command would not be weary of appreciating the general public for their support and continue to encourage them to provide credible and timely information that will facilitate their proactive engagements in the theatres of operations.

"The military high command also lauds all efforts of the gallant troops of the armed forces and personnel of other security agencies involved in various operations across the country for their resilience and

indefatigable commitment," he said.

Onyeuko also reviewed DDMO's operational activities nationwide between May 20 and June 2.

He said the operations were the combined efforts of the military and other security agencies involving land, maritime and air operations.

He said: "It is worthy of note that these operations are conducted simultaneously in the various theatres of operation on daily basis across the country.

The unrelenting and committed efforts of the gallant troops as well as the cumulative results of our operational activities in the various operations and specific events will be highlighted under the different operations.

"Within the period in focus,

EMEFIELE GUARANTEES MANUFACTURERS STEADY SUPPLY OF FOREX Emefiele, represented by the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr. Kingsley Obiora, stated that some of the issues raised by the companies would be looked into to assist them in their daily operations.

However, Adebayo who facilitated the meeting said the growth of the companies would boost the economy and make more money available for the federal government to build more infrastructure and to create jobs for the youths.

A statement by Adebayo's aide, Mr. Ifedayo Sayo, said the companies lauded the CBN for funding of local companies and the various reforms put in place to assist in keeping their businesses afloat.

They also solicited for more forex to enable them to continue in business, pay their lenders and maintain their machines.

Some of the companies present at the interactive session included GlaxoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical company, Savanna Energy, AzuraPower

West Africa, Guinness Plc. Representative of GlaxoSmithKline, Mr. Omon Elyhibro, lauded the minister and Emefiele for the support which the businesses had received from the government in the firm's 50 years of operation in the country.

He said it was the desire of the government to make the country the export hub for pharmaceutical products, adding that this will be realised through a partnership with local manufacturers.

He commended the CBN support for the local manufacturing companies.

On his part, Managing Director of Azura Power West Africa, Edu Okeke, also praised the CBN for its support for the power generation company and called for more support in terms of forex allocation.

Okeke who commended the CBN for the various reforms put in place which had helped the growth of the sector stated that the reforms have helped

to unlock the sector.

Emefiele Harps on Environmental Protection, Sustainable Banking Principles Meanwhile, Emefiele, yesterday enjoined the banks as well as Nigerians to strive to end environmental pollution.

He said it was imperative to key into the global movement for a greener world adding that "We must keep our ecosystem alive so that everything remains green," he stated.

Emefiele, at a tree planting session alongside the CBN deputy governors, at the bank's headquarters in Abuja to commemorate the World Environment Day celebration with the theme: "Ecosystem Restoration," said lending practices must take the environment into consideration and ensure that sustainable banking principles are observed

when banks are lending money.

The CBN governor stated that some international financial institutions and development finance agencies have started to demand evidence of compliance with sustainable banking principles before approving monetary assistance.

He said: "As a bank, you want to borrow money from a bank, they will tell you that as long as they find anything that pollutes the environment, that does not make the environment clean and green, they will not condone that credit activity.

"And we must join not only as bankers, but we must also join as Nigerians and members of the global community to ensure that we join the entire community to ensure that our environment remains green.

"It keeps the oxygen flowing well in our lives and we can all live well and avoid pollutants that destroy our lives and environment."

Emefiele said the apex bank intended to seize the

opportunity to join "all wellmeaning human beings all over the world to commemorate a day like this."

"A day like this reminds us to ensure that our ecosystem remains green. And we need to make sure we remove everything that is creating pollution in our environment."

At the Model Secondary School, Maitama, the Special Adviser to the CBN Governor on Sustainable Banking, Dr. A’isha Mahmood, urged the pupils, who she described as young ambassadors of the environment, to protect the environment in order to avoid adverse environmental issues.

She stated that the CBN and other financial institutions had in 2012, adopted the Nigerian Sustainable Banking framework, a written document, guiding their business operations and practices, to ensure that their actions are socially and environmentally responsible.

TOP GAINERS UPL BERGPAINTS JOHNHOLT ABCTRANS AFRIPRUD TOP LOSERS CWG UNIONBANK SOVETRUST

NGN NGN 0.14 1.54 0.60 6.70 0.05 0.58 0.03 0.37 0.40 6.20 NGN 0.18 0.20 0.40 5.55 0.02 0.28 COURTVILLE 0.01 0.20 JAPAULGOLD 0.02 0.57 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦1,420.00 Volume: 249.7 million shares Value: N1.876 billion Deals: 3,524 As at yesterday 3/6/2021 See details on Page 39

% 10 9.8 9.4 8.8 6.9 % 4.7 6.7 6.6 4.7 3.3

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 • T H I S D AY

9

FRIDAY, ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

10

NEWS

CAN Demands Return of Nigeria to True Secular State Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has asked the National Assembly to ensure the removal of sections of the constitution that are in conflict with the status of Nigeria as a truly secular state.

It also proposed the removal of the immunity clause from the constitution, saying that it will make every Nigerian equal before the law.

CAN also demanded the creation of new states to ensure administrative impartment and governmental dividends.

These positions and

others were presented by the association at the National Assembly, Abuja, during a public hearing on constitution review.

CAN General Secretary, Mr. Joseph Daramola, told reporters that the National Assembly should remove all religious provisions in the constitution or insert provisions for ecclesiastical courts.

"We demand removal of any religion provisions or if need be, insert also constitutional provisions for ecclesiastical courts," he said.

CAN also demanded devolution and decentralisation of power and

governance system through the formal introduction of geo-political zones/regions with clearly assigned roles.

Daramola who was accompanied by the Director, Legal and Public Affairs of CAN, Mr. Comfort Chigbue, said other recommendations included "gender equality, women employment through education and inheritance, equal opportunities in all sociopolitical affairs, 18 years as the age of maturity and for consent for marriage.

"Federal structure and power devolution, a confederation of independent regions or federation of states or regions.

"Devolution and

decentralisation of power and governance system through formal introduction of geopolitical zones /regions with clearly assigned roles.

"Constitutional recognition for traditional rulers and religious leaders by strengthening their cultural and social-religious leadership responsibilities."

CAN sought constitutional backing for the decentralisation and recognition for law enforcement agencies, and to expunge sections 214 and 215 (4) in the 1999 Constitution.

Other proposals include: "redefinition of courts of superior jurisdiction to

accommodate the purpose regional /zonal system with respective appellate structures; removal of religious provisions or if need be, insert also constitutional provisions for ecclesiastical courts.”

CAN said revenue allocation and sharing formula should be guided by the principles of sustenance and benefits to sources of derivation on the ratio of 70 per cent retained by regions and 30 per cent for the central level.

It added that the constitution should maintain the financial autonomy / independence of the judiciary, separation of the office of

the Attorney-General from the office of the Minister of Justice; proper constitutional definition of indigene and residency rights.

"Creation of new states for administrative impartment and governmental dividends vis-a-vis - Southern Kaduna/ Kataf/Gurara State, Adada State from present Enugu State, Cross River North State, Okun State, Okigwe State, Oke Ogun State etc.

"Amend Section 3 (2) and delete sections 3 (6) of 1999 Constitution to allow for the creation of local government areas of such autonomous administrative units to be created by the respective regions/confederating units."

Let’s Halt Nigeria's Drift Towards Anarchy, Says Okowa Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has appealed to Nigerians and members of the National Assembly to "douse the raging storms" and save the country from its present drift towards anarchy.

He stated that devolution of power would save the situation where the federal government is overburdened with responsibilities.

Okowa, while declaring open the Asaba Centre of the South-south Zonal Public Hearing on the review of

the 1999 Constitution, organised by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Constitution Review, said there was so much discontent in the country, adding that some of these culminated in general insecurity.

Earlier, when the House of Representatives SubCommittee on Review of the 1999 Constitution, led

by Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Ahmed Wase, paid him a courtesy call, the governor harped on the need for devolution of powers to states and local governments so as to stop overburdening the federal

government with too many responsibilities.

Okowa stated that the federal government is overburdened with many responsibilities, making it encumbered and inefficient.

According to him, states and local governments are closer to the people and required more funds to execute life-changing projects that would benefit the people.

He said: “There's a need for devolution of power. We believe that the exclusive list is too burdensome for the federal government to handle.

"It’s not about this administration; it's about all the administrations at the national level. When you take too much to yourself, you find it difficult to be as efficient as you would have been ordinarily.

"The sub-national governments are closer to their people and in the best position to reach out to the needs of the people. So, we think that there's a need to look at the exclusive list and to make adjustments, which will devolve more powers to the state.

"This will also follow a re-allocation of resources

in order to make the subnational government to be more impactful than they are at the moment. When we concentrate too much power at the national level, it creates a lot of challenges; there's no doubt about that."

Okowa also called for the amendment of Section 162 on public revenue, fiscal federalism and revenue allocations.

"In the past several years, that include all administrations from 1999 to date, we have not had a review of the revenue allocation formula. It ought not to be so, because that is

not what the law provides for", Okowa said.

Edo State, represented by the state House of Assembly Speaker, Hon Marcus Onobun, joined Delta and Bayelsa to demand devolution of power, state police and fiscal federalism as well as gender balance in matters of appointments, elective position and inheritance.

However, while Delta is asking for at least 50 per cent resource control, Bayelsa State demanded 100 per cent as well as the creation of six additional local government areas.

Corruption: Publish Assets of Public Servants, ICPC Tells CCB Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has called for the publication of assets declared by public and civil servants by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in order to curb corruption in the public sector.

A press statement issued yesterday by the commission’s spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, quoted the Chairman of ICPC, Prof.

Bolaji Owasanoye, as stating this during a meeting with the chairman and board members of CCB. Owasanoye noted that the secrecy that surrounds asset declarations by public and

civil servants was aiding corruption.

“Publicising asset declaration will assist the whistle-blowing policy and our work. We have not been able to take full advantage of asset declaration because of the opacity around it. If somebody lied about his or her assets, he or she can be found out by just the opening of the page where it has been published.

"I want to encourage the Bureau to push for that because the public will help us to do our work.

They will tell us who owns what assets and whether it is proportionate to their earnings”, Owasanoye said.

He noted that the cloudiness surrounding asset

declarations had added to the problem of insecurity and underdevelopment facing the nation.

The ICPC boss also encouraged the Bureau to move to review and revise the Assets Declaration Form to include information that could help trace assets such as BVN and new forms of investments such as cryptocurrency.

Owasanoye also urged the Bureau to start digital declaration of assets as against the old manual declaration method, saying that it would help in the easy tracing and analysis of assets as well as enable CCB to furnish government with information on the lifestyles of both public and

civil servants.

According to him, “If you digitise asset declaration, it will help you to reach everybody under your cover.

It is easily analytical and help you to know what asset the public servant owes. It will enable you to inform the government about the status of public servants, whether they are doing badly or not.”

The ICPC boss while offering the forensic platforms of the ICPC to the CCB added that that the commission was willing to assist the Bureau with capacity building programmes for its staff.

He expressed the hope that CCB would be active in assets recovery as an enforcement measure,

stating that public servants who lived beyond their legitimate income should have the illegally acquired assets taken away from them.

Earlier, the Chairman of CCB, Professor Mohammed Isah, called for synergy between the anti-corruption agencies noting that the problem of corruption cannot be successfully tackled by one agency.

He said that the synergy should include not dabbling into investigation of any petition that was already being handled by any of the anti-corruption agencies.

He added, “In the areas of overlapping function, who starts investigation of a petition first should be allowed to conclude.

The others should stop investigating the same matter to avoid wastage of resources. There is no need to over engage ourselves by doing the same thing.”

Isah, also maintained that CCB was willing to s are information on asset declaration with ICPC to aid its investigations.

The Bureau Chairman while speaking on the tracking of executive and constituency projects by ICPC said it was a laudable initiative that has taken out corruption and brought development closer to Nigerians.

He said that the CEPTG is proactive in nature rather than reactive, saying it is helping the people.

CJN Demands Involvement in Fixing, Reviewing of Judges’ Salaries Seeks reduction in number of apex court’s justices Alex Enumah in Abuja The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad has asked the National Assembly to alter the constitution to mandate the National Judicial Council (NJC) to fix and review judges’ salaries every four years.

The CJN made this

submission yesterday in the paper he presented as recommendations of the judiciary on the occasion of the national public hearing by Senate Committee on review of the 1999 Constitution held in Abuja.

A 17-page paper to the Senate committee titled ‘Input by the Judiciary to the Proposed Alteration to

the 1999 Constitution (as Amended)’’, contains 45 constitutional amendment proposals on reforms in the Nigerian judiciary.

In item 38, the CJN wants Part 1 of the Third Schedule Paragraph 21 to the Constitution be altered to include sub-paragraph ‘h’ to the effect that NJC should ‘’fix, in conjunction

with Salaries and Wages Commission, salaries and other emoluments of judicial staff; in the case of judicial officers, to review such salaries no later than four years from the last exercise’’.

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) reviewed judges’ salary by the enactment of, ’’Certain

Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.)

(Amendment) Act, 2008’’ which came into force on February 1, 2007 under Section 84(1) of the Act. Since this Act has not been reviewed with effect from 2008, judges’ salaries have remained the same for about 13 years.

The CJN also asked for the constitution to be amended for NJC Secretary seat to be at par with that of the Clerk of the National Assembly.

The constitution he said should categorically states that the CJN is the head of the judiciary of the Federation; just as he called for the Supreme Court Bench be reduced from 21 to 16.

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 • T H I S D AY

11

12

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 •T H I S D AY

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 • T H I S D AY

13

14

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021

COMMENT

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

CONSTITUTION REVIEW? A GAME OF DECEIT AND DISTRACTION The ongoing constitution review exercise is a wasteful distraction, writes Tola Adeniyi

I

t is curious that millions of otherwise educated people can be easily fooled and dragged into the on-going theatricalities and inanities of a so-called jamboree deceitfully tagged Constitution amendment panorama. What are they amending? Who is doing the amendment? For which purpose and to what end? And for whom?

I would have said it is laughable, but who in the Nigerian contraption is laughing now? Who is laughing? Is it the hundreds of thousands who had been driven away from their ancestral homes in the last five years and are now crowded and famished in the so-called Internally Displaced Peoples Camps...in their own country? Is it the Tivs and other proud owners of the Benue and Niger confluence who are routinely butchered in their homes and farmlands? Is it the heroic people of Southern Zaria that now hardly have a place to call home?

Is it hundreds of thousands of peaceful natives in Zamfara and Katsina States that can hardly sleep with two eyes closed? Is it the people currently under siege and being slaughtered before our very eyes in the Eastern Region of Nigeria? Is it the proud and civilized people of Yorubaland reputed to be the most urbanized in the whole of Africa whose kith and kin in their homelands are being daily terrorized by imported terror gangs with crazy expansionist agenda?

What is going on in the zany parade across the country is a dubious exercise in futility and a gross display of misplaced priorities and money guzzling project in character with the humongous corruption and treasury looting that had virtually swallowed the entire unfortunate country.

This is just a wasteful distraction. The politicians who are driving this insidious agenda know what they are doing. They want to proceed with sham elections that they are adept at. They want to pursue their ‘business as usual’ even though they are fully aware that the country is bleeding and it is on fire. They want to be councilors, council chairpersons, board members, [dis-] honourables, senators, governors, and even presidential candidates in a country where most states cannot pay 36 dollars a month to poor workers. Thirty-six US Dollars is N18000! And fellow human beings in some other countries on the same planet earn more than 36 dollars per hour!!!

Constitution amendment melodrama is an orchestrated Opium.

The designers, planners, promoters and the operators of this puppet show just want suffering Nigerians to be drunk on fantasy. Give them something to chew on like you throw hay to cows, while the conquering puppeteers are busy picking their teeth with sticks made of diamond. How can any group of human beings be this undiscerning?

The Senate, any Senate in the world, is a child of the constitution.

The Senate and all public office holders and the politicians who exercise power and distribute position and privileges are beneficiaries of the

CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT MELODRAMA IS AN ORCHESTRATED OPIUM. THE DESIGNERS, PLANNERS, PROMOTERS AND THE OPERATORS OF THIS PUPPET SHOW JUST WANT SUFFERING NIGERIANS TO BE DRUNK ON FANTASY. GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO CHEW ON LIKE YOU THROW HAY TO COWS, WHILE THE CONQUERING PUPPETEERS ARE BUSY PICKING THEIR TEETH WITH STICKS MADE OF DIAMOND

constitution. No knife, however sharp can carve its own handle. It is a famous aphorism in my country.

What would be ideal is a brand new constitution. But who, by Jove, is in position in the country that has completely broken down under the yoke of hate, distrust, unprecedented greed and calamitous colonization agenda can organize the procedure? Certainly none. And in any case, it is too late in the day for anyone to nurse the idea or prospect of a constitution for peoples that have not been able to live amicably together for over a century, simply on account of a forced marriage of convenience and external fraudulent interest.

Looked at this way, a vehicle has lost its engine, the body is completely mangled, the chassis is gone, transmission is gone, all the rims and tyres are gone, some thoughtless people are scrambling to find a driver [president] for the vehicle while some are clamouring to get the vehicle fixed through panel beating [amendments]. What an absurdity in the 21st Century when other people are riding driverless electrical vehicles and others are exploring places to live on the Moon or Mars?

Now the obvious politics of the whole invidious self-serving tantalizer: Out of the total 360 House of Representatives Members, the entire South has 169, while the North has a whopping 191. The North has 398 out of 774 local governments while the South has 376. These are the real centres of power where whatever amendments are made will be approved or disapproved, accepted or rejected. Even though we all know there is no monolithic North, whenever there is need to protect the source of undeserved advantage like the obnoxious quota system and selective federal character, only one stick is needed to enforce a nod.

Yet all those parading the corridors of transient power in their flowing agbadas, babaringas, heavy turbans, beaded crowns and colourful feathers and wigs are very much aware of this simple arithmetic of the Lugardian political ‘arrangement’.

I know there is no point asking those deceiving Nigerians to stop the game of deceit, simply because they will not listen. And those being deceived who are mostly collaborators in all the games of deceit before this one will also not listen. My great-grandfather, may his soul be blessed in perpetuity, told me that you don’t take your talking drum to the village of the deaf and dumb.

Regardless of what professional politicians in Yorubaland may say, this columnist on behalf of the suffering silent majority in Yorubaland, and indeed in the entire ravaged lands in the deliberately impoverished Nigerian space has no faith in the scandalous constitution amendment circus show going on all over the place.

One more thing; how do you amend a military document that pretends to be a constitution?

NIGERIA AND SCAVENGERS OF INSECURITY

Bode Elerande argues for constitutional channels for all intended changes in governance and restoration of national security

L

ike scavenger birds hovering above a decaying carcass, Nigeria’s out-of-job politicians have been gathering all over the country turning the alarming state of insecurity into a politically perfect ploy to short circuit the constitutional schedule and process for 2023 elections with subterfuge summits where mega-party formation is the hidden agenda. Capitalizing on insecurity also inflames the prevailing political tension confronting the Buhari Presidency as an additional catalyst for destabilizing the status quo to enlarge the scavengers’ buffet. The restless politicians have thus become scavenging beneficiaries of the agents of insecurity, from Boko Haram to the bush bandits!

The ulterior motive is so glaring even from the crass incompetence of the summiteers to go beyond cheap talk on security issues. A typical list of the repeatedly recycled speakers comprises the prominent traditional rulers, religious leaders and so-called leaders of thought all of whom share a strange extra-curricular political exuberance that discredits their declared calling. They represent a publicity-prowling variant of their professed occupations which are in dire need of their unsolicited crusades. Like their failed political counterparts, they lack the democratic mandate that they undermine so callously!

The hidden agenda is also exposed by the pedestrian communiqués which are prepared in advance of the summits as rehashed renditions of rhetoric on insecurity, offering nothing useful or new but unmistakably identical in propagation of partisan slogans like sovereign national conference and restructuring in feigned ignorance of the National Assembly and constitutional processes, democratically designated for such pursuits.

On this score, the latest insecurity-scavenging summit held by the southern governors exhibits all the symptoms of a contrived conclave of irreconcilable 2023 ambitions, hurriedly herded around the mega-party manouvers of an unrepentant kingmaker. Under political seduction, the southern

governors whose collective clout for security management ended with the creation of glorified local police squads now overwhelmed by local gangs of secessionist gunmen. The south eastern governors were still summiting for state police while IPOB’s security network gunned its way to the command and control of the region, imposing a stay-at-home order that was more effective than their curfews. Add the daring destruction of INEC structures in the region and you know that not even an unrepentant kingmaker can guarantee these governors a stake in 2023 elections.

However if any doubt remains about the political proportions of the sporadic security summits being staged to camouflage 2023 undercurrents, the mother of all security summits, powered by a donation of N50 million, the 700-Seater ABUAD Hall and the Five-Star ABUAD Inn is surely fit to launch the Security Party of Nigeria. But it is just a “Summit of Hope” aimed at “halting the country’s drift into imminent anarchy or resorting into another civil war”?

And just who are the war-averting, anarchy-annihilating eminent Nigerians shortlisted for this mega summit? The list comprises all former Presidents, all leading traditional rulers, religious leaders and leaders of thought. Among them: Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Prof Wole Soyinka, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Senate President and his deputy, Speaker of House of Representatives and his deputy, Chairman of NGF, Speakers, and deputies of State Houses of Assembly, leaders of Boko Haram(!), Miyeti Allah, IPOB(!!), Chief Gani Adams, Arewa Consultative Forum, and Chief Sunday Ighoho.

Indeed, with the exception of “leaders of Boko Haram” and IPOB, none of the enlisted has ever approached the “kinetic” zone! The organizers obviously have a lot of confidence in these eminent citizens’ capacity to ward off even asymmetric assault on the nation’s territorial integrity, seeing how, despite the petrifying presence of Boko Haram and IPOB delegates, they did not deem it necessary,

nay compulsory, to ensure that at least the service chiefs are on the list!

But it maybe that after a decade of futile “technical” encounters, it is high time to try political summiting, at any rate, they are not taking chances as invitees are assured that ABUAD it is safe, has a Federal Ministry of Aviation -Certified Helipad and a well-equipped 400-Bed Multi-System Hospital.”

The only thing missing from such a meticulous arrangement for an emergency national assignment is the identity of the non-academic off-campus masquerade who will be the beneficiary of all the wonderful political security strategies that will be in communiqué. Here one must deploy native intelligence to fathom that which the “stakeholders” consider premature for mention.

The unthinkable inclusion of “leaders of Boko Haram” among invitees to a summit supposedly aimed at “halting the country’s drift into imminent anarchy or resorting into another civil war,” provokes lingering thoughts of past liaison of this sort which in retrospect pulled more political weight than the emergency national assignment cover in which it was packaged. None other than ex-president Obasanjo held talks with Boko Haram said to be focused on how to free the kidnapped Chibok girls through negotiation. The sensational event which included a visit to Maiduguri and later a meeting at Obasanjo’s farm in Ota with relatives of senior Islamist fighters and intermediaries was widely reported and marked a highpoint in Obasanjo’s penchant for making political hay while the sun of imminent transition of power is shining.

To this remarkable flashback we cannot but add helpful insight of the uncommon philanthropist behind the Summit of Hope and proprietor of the ABUAD, Chief Afe Babalola’s fanatical faith in the former president’s political stature. In 2017, he made headlines describing Obasanjo as “the best president Nigeria ever had.” Then last year the chief expressed his own position on the “progressive agenda” when he told The Sun “we should not have the 2023 election until we have changed

the constitution to people’s constitution, until we have sovereign national conference, because the way they are going the same people repeat themselves, they will be there again. We are going to change the voting pattern.” The Summit of Hope is obviously a hybrid of OBJ’s 2023 kingmaking agenda, for which he has been zig-zagging from Sokoto to Sapele and the “restructuring” of voting pattern.

Not to be outdone in the pre-emptive ambush of the 2023 transition process, the tireless presidential aspirant, former VP Atiku Abubakar has also recently joined the summiteers with a call for all parties summit by Nigerian governors to discuss the political and economic problems facing the country which he said were “created by those with a regional mindset, and will not be solved by those with a similar mindset,” a guided missile.

The crux of the matter is that all these summits deliberately bypass credible constitutional channels for whatever changes intended for the enhancement of good governance, peaceful co-existence and restoration of national security. There can be no argument to legitimize the much talked about sovereign national conference or make it superior to the existing state and national legislatures as platforms for pursuing such aspirations. Moreover why the undue emphasis on President Buhari to do what is the duty of every concerned Nigerian, especially those agitating so menacingly? Simply activate the due process through the legislature and pursue it with all the resources devoted to sponsoring smokescreen summits!

In the final analysis, we must see the frank submission by eminent professor of law, Itse Sagay (SAN), on these surreptitious summits as patriotic and instructive especially when he remarked that “if all the insecurity is part of a move by people to destabilise the country and give the impression that Nigeria is ungovernable under the president, therefore, an unconstitutional measure should be introduced to remove him, that is unacceptable”.

Elerande wrote from Osogbo

15

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021

EDITORIAL THE NEEDLESS IMEI CONTROVERSY Pantami should stick to policy issues and ensure the independence of regulatory bodies

A

fortnight ago, Nigerians woke up to learn that they would have to submit the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of their phones and other mobile devices to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) effective July 2021. The decision, reportedly in aid of a centralised Device Management System (DMS), was said to be backed by President Muhammadu Buhari. He was said to have directed that the DMS be implemented within three months to serve as a repository for keeping records of all registered mobile phones’ IMEIs and owners of such devices in the country.

However, Nigerians were later made to understand that the said directive emanated from the Revised National Identity Policy for SIM card registration developed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ibrahim Pantami.

PANTAMI’S PENCHANT At the end, what FOR SHOWBOATING became clear is AND MICRO-MANAGING the confusion that THE REGULATORY arises when there is no coherence in AGENCIES UNDER HIS pushing governMINISTERIAL PURVIEW IS ment policy. The COUNTERPRODUCTIVE initial pushback arose because many Nigerians indeed felt that any new government directive that would, once again, subject them to another excruciating and compelling exercise of having to register their mobile devices’ IMEIs, would be unacceptable. This, at a time they were just wriggling out of the many problems created because of the linkage exercise of National Identity Number (NIN) and Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM) lines. But the controversy turned out to be much ado about nothing, following a statement by the NCC, clarifying that at no time

Letters to the Editor

did the commission ask subscribers for such data registration and it has no plans to do so.

T

he DMS project is the initiative of NCC. The commission had in 2015 organised a stakeholder forum aimed at developing recommendations that could influence decision and policy directions, leading to solutions to combat the issue of counterfeit and substandard Information and Communications Technology (ICT) devices in the country. Based on what the NCC highlighted as benefits to Nigerian consumers, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) collaborated for the acquisition of an effective DMS solution. Subsequently, in February 2019, the NCC set up two committees to fast-track the process of developing the DMS, whose main objective according to the commission, was “combating the proliferation of fake, counterfeit, substandard and cloned mobile communications devices in the telecommunication industry toward protecting the industry and the consumers.”

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

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

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.

TIME TO SAVE NIGERIA FROM COLLAPSE

T

he Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States, have said that Nigeria as a nation is at a point of no return with all the signs of a failed nation. The organization, which made the disclosure in a research finding it released through its senior fellow and former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell and Mr. Robert Rotberg, who is the founding director, Harvard Kennedy School’s Programme on Intrastate Conflict and president emeritus, World Peace Foundation, said Nigeria is currently in its final phase, from which it would eventually collapse.

The shocking analysis did not come to many Nigerians as surprise. Since the inception of the Buhari administration in the last six years, many national and international organisations have shared similar fears on how the country is gradually drifting into state of anarchy, as the result of incessant insecurity. Under the present administration, insecurity has taken a dangerous dimension. The North west states have become den of kidnappers and bandits. The armed bandits have continued to overun communities in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto and Kaduna States.

Their murderous activities have so far displaced many helpless farming communities with looming famine staring the country in the face. Added to this growing insecurity challenges are the activities of IPOB with its violent ESN wing unleashing terror, attacking security formations and INEC facilities. It seems the country is waging a survival war. While different approaches have been adopted by government to resolve the security

Given the foregoing, there was no point for the minister to unnecessarily drag the DMS issue as a new initiative worthy of national policy since it dwells entirely within regulatory powers of the NCC. The unwarranted tension and misunderstanding the matter triggered was because of the three-month ultimatum given in the SIM card registration and acquisition of NIN. We therefore continue to emphasize the need for Pantami to stick to policy issues and ensure the independence of all the regulatory bodies under his ministry to sustain the growth of the industry.

Pantami obviously prefers style over substance.

But his continual penchant for showboating and micro-managing the regulatory agencies under his ministerial purview is counterproductive.

While he reserves both the right and power to oversee what these agencies are doing, he should give them the freedom to exercise their mandates in accordance with the laws that established them.

challenges bedevilling the country, including military actions and negotiations, these strategies have failed to yield the desired results. We have seen how states like Katsina and Zamfara rolled out and granted amnesty to bandits who agreed to lay down their arms. Sadly, the repentant bandits after embracing the amnesty quickly abandoned it and moved back to forest. There is loud call from the country’s geographical zones on the need for the constitution to be amended or national dialogue convened as the panacea for achieving lasting peace in the country.

Since the return of democracy in the last two decades, efforts were being made to address the numerous challenges affecting the country through national conferences. It is on record that both the Obasanjo and Jonathan administrations convened national conferences aimed at resolving the lingering questions of nationbuilding process. However, the outcomes of these conferences usually end up in the shelf. While the ongoing zoning hearing for constitutional amendment is timely and expedient, the government should go beyond it. There is the need for government to re-evaluate its policies. In a situation where the bulk of resources is spent on maintaining our costly democracy at the detriment of over 70 million jobless youths, is not helpful. Any government which relegates the youths does it at its own risk. Government should redirect its resources to agricultural and youths’ empowerment. By so doing, the temptation of going into crimes or taking arms against the state will subside. Nigerians should do all what it takes to save the country from collapsing.

Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State

TEACHER QUALITY OR STUDENT QUALITY?

T

here are numerous articles examining the decline in educational results around the world and the most common suggestion seems to be to improve the quality of the teachers, but should that be the quality of the students? The long rows of compliant students sitting in silence, often enforced by a strap, as the teacher spoke disappeared last century, probably from the 1960s as did the teacher at the front desk approach. Student and their attitudes have been a concern seemingly forever as Socrates commented almost 2500 years ago, “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders ….” The current problems include the preoccupation with social media and YouTube which subjectively seems to waste a lot of their time and decrease their attention span which can affect their learning. There are also changes in the length of time students stay at school with fewer entry level jobs or apprenticeships that do not require a higher level of education that in past decades although not all students are successful at the higher levels.

Obviously, teachers should be of as high a standard as possible but low wages make this difficult to achieve. The biggest changes may occur when students are able to concentrate in class without distractions from unmotivated and unsuccessful classmates and they have the time at home to review work and complete their homework without the distractions that their social media feeds provide.

It’s time for a return to a learning environment where teachers are excellent, students are motivated and concentrate and then educational standards will rise.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

16

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 •T H I S D AY

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 • T H I S D AY

17

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021

18

POLITICS

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

Akpabio’s Planned Meeting with Ethnic Nationalities is a Sham Tonye Ogbogbula, President Niger Delta Elders’Forum amplifies the strident calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on Senator Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs ro inaugurate the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission

T

he announcement put out by Niger Delta Minister Chief Godswill Akpabio, that he will hold a meeting with presidents of the various ethnic nationality youth groups in the nine states covered by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to address the protests over the non-inauguration of the NDDC Board is a fraud. This is discernible from the associations he has invited to the meeting, many of which are either fringe groups or are non-existent. The only objective of the planned meeting is to buy the minister more time to continue to run the NDDC using interim managements, which are illegal and prone to manipulation by him.

What Akpabio is doing is to call leaders of fictitious and fringe groups, which are to all intents and purposes portfolio ethnic nationality youth associations that he apparently created and has been projecting to meet and endorse him and his destructive actions so far.

According to the statement from the minister, the invitation letter was sent to the so-called president of the so-called Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities Youth Council, one Terry Obieh, a portfolio association, which has been employed on several occasions in the past 20 months to praise copiously and endorse every action of Akpabio, however dubious or comical.

One year ago, after Akpabio failed to conclude the audit, as promised, and put the Board in place, the selfsame Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities Youth Council issued a press statement ‘passing a vote of confidence’ on Akpabio. Such characters do not represent the Niger Delta people. As usual, these fraudulent associations will claim to speak for the various ethnicities of the NDDC states where the more established and recognised unions hold sway. This charade cannot confuse anyone.

These unknown youth groups do not represent the leadership of the ethnic nationalities of the Niger Delta states.

For the avoidance of doubt, the authentic leadership of the Niger Delta ethnic groups have spoken clearly on these matters and they align with the central position of the Pan Niger Delta Foundation, PANDEF, Niger Delta Governors, statesmen and people, that Akpabio is deceiving the president in order to continue his sinister agenda at the NDDC. Having realised the dubious intentions of the minister, all these stakeholders have made it clear that the Board of the NDDC should be inaugurated without further delay.

On Thursday, April 29, 2021, the Delta State Governor and Chairman of the SouthSouth Governors Forum, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, speaking on behalf of the South-South Governors Forum was unequivocal when he called on President Muhammadu Buhari to inaugurate the Board of the NDDC without further delay to restore fairness, equity, full representation of the constituent states in its management and accountability to the intervention agency.

To drive home the position of the Southsouth Governors, he emphatically stated that “We are currently being fooled; we are not happy about it and when our people do agitate, we believe that they are doing so in the right direction. I think the time has come for the presidency to listen to the SouthSouth governors and all of us from the oil producing states to please quickly inaugurate the board because we are suffering from it. We believe that as at today, the funds of that agency are not being managed equitably and it is not being managed in such a way that we can truly say that are accountable. The EFCC can take over the issue of the forensic audit because we know it is not

for the board to handle. The board can only handle those projects but any fraudulent act of the past can be taken over by the EFCC and justice can be done to that. We cry to Mr. President today, we add our voice to those

of persons from the oil producing states to say that we urgently need a board for the NDDC. It is for the best interest of the oil producing states and the nation.”

Over the last two years Akpabio has

Kwara is on the Path of Progress Bashir Adigun, an aide of Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State on Political Communication catalogues evidence of development in the state since his principal became governor two years ago

K

wara is on the path of progress.

It’s been two years of glory, two years of steady progress and a clear departure from the inglorious past.

The administration of Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq assumed office at a time the people of the state were in despair. It was a time when civil servants in both state and local governments were owed salaries for several months.

Some civil servants became beggers on the streets and motor parks because they were not credit worthy in the markets and grocery stores.

Some women, badly affected in the service, did the unthinkable for survival while some men became commercial Motor cyclists and farm labourers.

The three Colleges of Education were not spared. Workers were owed up to Fifteen months salaries and they went on protracted strikes, bringing shame to a state that was once a pride of the nation.

The Universal Basic Education Commission blacklisted Kwara because the state did not pay its counterpart fund.

Public schools- primary and secondarywere eyesore. They were dilapidated as a result of lack of maintenance by the past administrations.

Development partners-Unicef, WHO, Global Fund and others left the state because the state government failed to fulfil its obligation. It was a time Kwara was rated as one of the worst hit by poliomyelitis.

The Nigeria Airforce and Navy revoked their MoU with the Kwara Aviation College on training of their personnel because the government failed to honour the agreement.

Roads in the state capital, major towns and rural communities were left unattended.

All these mismanagement and neglect were going on at a time most states

received bail out and when there were huge federal allocations. it was at the time a barrel of crude oil was selling above $100 in the international market.

Our exemplary Governor, His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq, came to office and took the bull by the horns. Salaries of civil servants in both state and local governments were cleared.

All the salaries of workers in the three Colleges of Education were paid.

The administration has paid about N16Billion in pensions and N3Billion in gratuities for civil service retirees.

The process of injecting fresh blood into the civil service is also on going.

The governor, on assumption of office, also paid the UBEC counterpart fund and the state government has been able to draw about N7 Billion from UBEC for the resuscitation of the collapsed education sector. And this has reflected in the massive renovation of schools and recruitment of over 4,000 teachers in the state.

The development partners in the health sector are also returning, having realized that there is a new dawn in the state.

At the moment, Kwara state can be described as a construction site going by the numbers of road constructions and repairs going on across the state.

The Governor was also concerned with standard of living of residents in the state especially the aged and the teeming unemployed youths. He introduced the Kwara State Social Investments programmes KWASIP, Kwapreneur and Kwarafarm, thus replicating Federal Government programmes with deeper state impact and flavour.

He has also been a champion of gender affirmative action, thus setting a record of the largest number of female appointees into the executive cabinet of sub nationals.

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

run the NDDC like his personal fiefdom, appointing and relieving Interim Managements as he chooses, while disregarding the inauguration of the substantive Governing Board. Beginning from October 2019, when he announced the imposition of an Interim Management Committee, Akpabio has shifted the goalposts on the purpose of the two IMCs he appointed and sacked, and the current Interim Sole Administrator. First, it was to stay for six months and allow for the conduct of a forensic audit, now it has taken over 20 months, with fresh excuses every step of the way. But the evidence is that there is absolutely no reason not to put the Board in place while the forensic audit is ongoing. This is the crux of the matter. Why can’t the Board be put in place? The forensic audit is about the past and the incoming Board members did not run the NDDC during the past period which is the subject of the forensic audit.

The truth is that for Akpabio, the NDDC is his killing fields, where he has deployed his Interim Managements to continue a tradition of opaque management that has seen over N800 billion spent by the Commission in the last two years without impact on the people of the Niger Delta states.

Since Akpabio hijacked the NDDC he has turned it into the worst example of public sector corruption, a fact that is clear to all Nigerians and the international community, with over N800 billion wasted on frivolous, self-centred expenditure, financial recklessness and mismanagement.

Not a single project has been executed in any of the states during this period, while he and his cronies as Interim Managements have continued to fritter away the funds coming into the Commission from the nine constituent states, the Federal Government, the local and International Oil Companies (IOCs), on a monthly basis.

Through guile and schemings, Akpabio has weaponed the so-called forensic audit to justify the illegality he is superintending at the NDDC. In his flawed logic, an external audit cannot be carried out in an agency except the legally-provided-for Board is put on hold. Everything about his forensic audit is tainted, from the selection of audit firms to Akpabio’s personal interest and involvement in the NDDC corruption over the years.

Akpabio served as Governor of Akwa Ibom State between 2007 and 2015 during which time he nominated a chairman, a managing director and NDDC state representatives. His Interim Sole Administrator, Effiong Okon Akwa who is supposed to oversee the audit was a key player in a past NDDC management facilitated by Akpabio when he was Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

Effiong Okon Akwa was first appointed as General Manager of Akwa Ibom Savings and Loans by Akpabio and then posted as Special Assistant on Finance to a former NDDC MD (Bassey Dan-Abia) who was nominated for the position by Akpabio. If, indeed, the idea is to supervise a credible forensic audit from its inception to 2019, which also covers the period of the DanAbia regime in NDDC (2013-2015), then Mr Effiong Akwa clearly cannot be the right person to supervise the conclusion of the forensic audit of the NDDC. That management was sacked by President Buhari on assumption of office in 2015. How then can the vomit become the saving meal?

This exposes the folly in the whole excuse of having the audit before inaugurating the Governing Board. There is nowhere that a Governing Board of a public agency in NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021

19

PERSPECTIVE

Abdulrahman Govt’s False and Diversionary Claims Buhari’s Twitter Problem and Iron Fist Chido Nwangwu Publisher? USAfricaonline.com weighs in on the recent penalty forced on President Muhammadu Buhari by the microblogging social media platform, Twitter

T

he great thing about today’s multimedia of communications Is the magic of organic spontaneity.

Information and news can be shared, instantly.

Yes; you no longer have to wait for the BBC, CNN, NTA, TASS, and for all it is worth, for Nigeria‘s Information Minister Lai Mohammed to spin, manage, package and relatively define what you read, how and when you consume the news and information.

A few hours into the morning of Wednesday, June 2, 2021, the world’s number one micro-blogging site, Twitter, deleted Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet where he referenced the 1967 to 1970 NIgeria-Biafra War. He intended to and did deliver a chilling threat to deal with “misbehaving” Nigerians in “the language they understand.”

Buhari warned on Tuesday June 1, that “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”

Nigerians responded on Twitter and other social media platforms in massive numbers and expressed their disagreement with the threats by the President. In a clear and deliberate reference to activists and agitators primarily in the East-central/ South-eastern part of Nigeria, the former retired army general, Instantly demolished claims of his spin doctors and media special assistants that he was “the father of the nation.”

The fundamental fact and objective truth remain, as some of the distinguished gentlemen and women from his part of the country have attested to is that Mr. Buhari’s actions and nepotistic appointments polarize Nigeria.

Narratives and previous pretenses to a basic level of statesmanship has vanished!

Against his own interest, what do I know; maybe in his preferred interest, Buhari’s first and consistent goal in history is the unapologetic defender, activist and champion of the Fulani and their herdsmen.

Those who have made six years of exculpatory excuses for Buhari’s understandable incompetence and potentially (repeat) genocidal threats?actions were awakened by the Twitter reprimand against him.

His temperament and rage were barely concealed.

Alas, even the carefully-crafted spin and falsehoods collapse in the merciless digital vortex of communication.

Literally, assumptions and claims that had been made by Buhari & Co over decades are withering amidst an avalanche

of global counterpoint.

Remarkably, the asymmetrical landscape of communication can mortally damage the credibility of leaders and the direction of many countries.

With such power and influence of multimedia exposure via the ubiquitous internet and extranet platforms, they have pierced the walls of impunity and highhanded bigotry.

The social media has the capacity to catapult events to distant places.

Twitter’s statement on Buhari’s threat: “This tweet violated the Twitter rules.”

USAfrica review of those rules show, in part, posting and sharing tweets which threaten to reflect “behavior” such as “Threaten violence against an individual or a group of people; engage in the targeted harassment of someone, or incite other people to do so; nor promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.”

Evidently, with the rise of the social media of communication, the world has become the broadcast platform for anyone with digital instruments such as the iPhone, any mobile device and fixed desktop devices.

Buhari warned on Tuesday June 1, that “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.

Nigerians responded on Twitter and other social media platforms in massive numbers and expressed their disagreement with the threats by the President.

In a clear and deliberate reference to activists and agitators primarily in the East-central/South-eastern part of Nigeria, the former retired army general, Instantly demolished claims of his spin doctors and media special assistants that he was “the father of the nation.

The fundamental fact and objective truth remain, as some of the distinguished gentlemen and women from his part of the country have attested to is that Mr. Buhari’s actions and nepotistic appointments polarize Nigeria

Abdulqadir Abdulganiy, Media Aide to the immediate past Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki defends his principal against accusation of corruption

O

ur attention in the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office has been drawn to a press release by the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq government titled “Assets: Try Saraki, Others for Criminal Conspiracies against Kwara. White Paper Panel Tells Gov” and our initial reaction is that we are not surprised the quality of writing demonstrated in the statement and the incoherent, fallacious and salacious claims contained in it. It just shows how low governance has become in Kwara State.

First, for the information of discerning members of the public, neither Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki who left the Office of Governor of Kwara State 10 years ago nor Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed, the immediate last Governor got an invite to appear before any investigative and fact-finding panel set up by the Abdulrazaq administration. Thus, it is clear that the so-called investigation being conducted is not about finding facts. It is about throwing mud and staining the predecessor of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in Office.

Secondly, while reacting to the claims contained in the poorly written and disjointed press statement, it should be noted that both Dr. Saraki and Alhaji Ahmed will never be shy of giving account of how they managed the assets of Kwara State.

In fact, both men took decisions concerning those assets in a manner that will enhance their value and stimulate economic activities in the state, which was hitherto referred to as a civil service state.

To go into specifics, the press statement mentioned the issue of Kwara Mall. This is a project which, based on the decision taken by the Saraki administration, stands today as the epicentre of economic activity in Ilorin, the state capital. In fact, it’s importance is further underscored by the decision of the government to give the owners of businesses inside the mall a grant totaling about N1 billion to cushion the harsh effect of the ‘EndSARS’ protest on their property.

It is obvious that the mall today provides direct and indirect employ-

While reacting to the claims contained in the poorly written and disjointed press statement, it should be noted that both Dr. Saraki and Alhaji Ahmed will never be shy of giving account of how they managed the assets of Kwara State. In fact, both men took decisions concerning those assets in a manner that will enhance their value and stimulate economic activities in the state, which was hitherto referred to as a civil service state

ment to hundreds of Kwarans and Dr. Saraki is proud that his administration initiated the idea where Ilorin became the first town outside Lagos to host a Shoprite in its mall.

The press statement also mentioned Shonga Farms as one of the projects on which the government seeks to make the Saraki administration look bad. This Shonga Farms more than anything demonstrates the cluelessness of the current governor of Kwara State and his advisers.

That is why on some occasions, key officials of the administration will hold the Shonga Farms as a glory of Kwara State and on some other occasions, like the case of the press statement under reference, it will seek to paint it in bad light.

We are surprised that other companies that this government facilitated their investment into Kwara State like Dangote Flour Mills were not being cited as examples of how the previous administrations ‘misapplied’ the resources of the state.

This same Shonga Farms is not only a model how we need commercial farming to revolutionise agriculture in Nigeria but it is the second commercial farm in the country.

The farm today has an investment worth over $100 million and has in its service over 1000 Kwarans in the state. It is a project that went through the scrutiny of President Olusegun Obasanjo and the CBN. It is also noteworthy that Abdulrazaq’s administration has failed woefully to attract any investment in its two-years in office and has rather resorted to making false claims about how BUA Investments came to Lafiagi. This is an investment that was attracted to the state by both the Saraki and Ahmed administrations.

It is clear that the press statement under reference is another one of the tactics of Abdulrazaq to divert the attention of the people from his non-performance and lack of tangible projects that can be showcased during the second anniversary of his administration.

We know that Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is always incensed about Saraki and will always seek to malign the person of the former President of the Nigerian Senate, however, we think it is in his interest to focus on how to deliver on his numerous promises to the people of Kwara State, after he has wasted two years chasing shadows.

Abdulrahman should stop getting jittery about the name of Saraki. He should focus on working for the people of the state and executing projects, initiating programmmes and policies that will benefit the people of the state.

20

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 •T H I S D AY

21

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

BUSINESSWORLD

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

Ͱ Ͷ ˜ Ͱ ͮ Ͱ ͯ MONEY MARKET OBB OVERNIGHT

REPO 18.67 % 19.17 %

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

18 % 20 % 22.50 %

S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

506.59 % 0.07 % -1.13 %

S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE -9.34 % YEAR TO DATE -24.42 %

EXCHANGE RATE N412/1US DOLLAR* ̩

Quick Takes

Processing of Passports Resumes June 8

RENDERING ACCOUNT TO SHAREHOLDERS

L-R: Group Managing Director/CEO, VFD Group, Mr. Nonso Okpala; Chairman, Mr. Olatunde Busari (SAN); and Company Secretary, Gbeminiyi Shoda, at the fifth annual general meeting of the VFD Group held in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

Passengers Suffer Check-in Delays as SITA Withdraws Service Chinedu Eze Check-in for hundreds of international air travellers to various destinations was on Tuesday delayed for several hours when the airlines reverted to manual system for passenger facilitation.

This was because on May 31, 2021, Societe International Telecommunication Aeronautiques (SITA), which provides Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE), withdrew its services and the company, Arlington Securities Nigeria Services, which was supposed to replace SITA, was yet to install its own equipment to migrate airlines to the new system.

CUTE is IT solution that enables multiple airlines to use existing airport facility to

AVIATION check in passengers.

THISDAY learnt that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) rejected SITA after it provided the agency service for over 10 years and chose Arlington, but as at the time SITA withdrew its services as was agreed with FAAN, Arlington was not ready to provide unobstructed succession, thus forcing airlines to revert to manual check in that is fraught with delays.

A senior official of FAAN who spoke to THISDAY on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that Arlington and SITA bided, but FAAN preferred Arlington, so SITA having known that its services would no longer be renewed allegedly pulled out on

May 31, as FAAN had already said Arlington would take over.

“But from all indications, Arlington is not ready and they have not installed their selfcheck-in machine. Recently there was trial for their equipment but what they brought in did not work. So those airlines like Air France, which did not have back-up equipment resorted to manual services and this caused so much delays,” the official said.

Country manager of a major international airline told THISDAY that globally it is the airport that provides CUTE system for passengers, saying that when SITA was to pull out, FAAN management arranged a meeting with airlines on Tuesday but later cancelled it.

“The major devastating effect of what has happened is the

delay in passenger processing and the major reason why airports are necessary is for passenger processing.

“Security came up because airports are seen as targets. What is happening inconveniences passengers. Ideally it should take three minutes to process each passenger, using Advanced Passenger Information Service (APIS).

“You know that when you are travelling from country A to country B, the destination country should get information of the passenger ahead so that countries like the United State’s Transport Security Administration (TSA) will profile the passenger. If he is a security risk you will not get his boarding pass. Manual check in is cumbersome,” he said.

Apapa Gridlock: NSC, FRSC Sign MoU on Standards for Truckers Eromosele Abiodun The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set standards for truck owners and drivers.

The MoU is expected to deliver effective services anchored on standard compliance, a move that would significantly reduce the incidents of breakdown of trucks on Apapa port access roads, the Executive Secretary of the NSC, Mr Hassan Bello has said.

He revealed that the MoU was also intended to generate a database on trucks, training, Vehicle Transit Areas (VTAs) implementation, public education, enlightenment and others.

Bello disclosed this during an interactive session with the

MARITIME Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dr. Boboye Opeyemi and haulage operators in Lagos.

Also, he said the conceptualisation and development of Truck Transit Parks (TTPs), now called VTAs would provide convenient rest areas for truckers and other road users to ensure the safety of lives and cargoes in the country.

According to him, “We have signed an MoU with the FRSC that would ensure standards among our truckers. Also, we believe that the efficient utilisation of VTAs would ensure efficient and effective service delivery across the nation’s transport chain and reduce accidents resulting from drivers’ fatigue.”

He added that the corps marshal’s support of the coun-

cil’s projects and activities had accelerated the achievements of major milestones in the development of critical infrastructure for trade facilitation.

He said to facilitate the development of critical transport infrastructure, which supports trade and standards enforcement, the council was promoting two major transport infrastructures, namely Inland Dry Ports and VTA project.

He noted that the development of the VTA to provide convenient rest facilities for truckers as conceptualised by the shippers’ council, was aimed at furthering safety of truckers and goods; including other category of road users.

He said, “NSC also has the mandate to ensure efficient and effective service delivery is enforced across the transport chain. Our partnership between

the NSC and the FRSC has recorded reasonable landmarks, especially in traffic management and safety of cargo in transit.”

In his speech, Opeyemi lamented that some truck accidents occur because most truck heads are pulling more than they were built to handle, while others carrying the actual size have already outlived their lifespan.

Another issue, which leads to accidents pointed out by the Corps Marshal, was that several trucks in the nation operate without taillights and tailboard reflectors that should enable other road users quickly spot trucks at night.

He stressed the need for an intervention from the federal government to ensure truckers had fleet renewal as vehicles that had been on the road for 30-years should be scrapped.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has announced that the federal governmenthasextendedthecommencementofthenewpassportregime earlierscheduledforJune1,2021,June8,2021.This,itexplainedwastoclear thebacklogofapplicantsturninguptocollecttheirpassportsacrossvarious issuingcentres,asituationthatisnowcreatingcongestion.Theexplanation wascontainedinastatementissuedbythePublicRelationsOfficer,Amos Okpu,onbehalfoftheComptroller-GeneralofNIS,MuhammadBabandede.

Babandede noted that NIS had made significant progress in clearing the backlogofpassportapplicationswithatotalof230,500applicationscleared andpassports produced.

“InfurtherancetotheMinisterialdirectivestoclearallbacklogofpassport applicationsacrossissuingcentres,theComptrollerGeneralofImmigration Service,MuhammadBabandedeMFR,wishestoinformthepublic,especially PassportapplicantsthattheServicehadmadesignificantprogressinthe clearanceexerciseofthebacklogofPassportapplications.

“Sofar,atotalnumberof230,500applicationshavebeenclearedandthe Passportsproduced.Outofthenumber,atotalof43,350areyettobecollected.

“Passport Control Officers have been directed to continue to send out short message notifications for collection to all applicants who indicated functionalcontactdetailnumbersintheirapplicationswhileeffortshavebeen intensifiedtoclearuptheremainingapplicationsinsomecentres,“hesaid.

TheNISbossfurtherdirectedthatdetailsofallPassportsthatwereyetto becollectedbeuploadedontheservicewebsite,www.immigration.gov.ng for the attention of the public, adding that the service was also deploying othermedia means to notifythepublic.

NAHCO Wins United, Qatar Contracts

NigerianAviationHandlingCompany(NAHCO)Plcsaidithaswonthecontract tohandleUS-basedUnitedAirlinesforthenextthreeyearsjustasitsigned a five-year contract with Qatar Airways in Abuja and renewed the Lagos contractforanotherfiveyears.

UnitedAirlineshadvoluntarilyexitedNigeriain2016andismakingacomeback in November and has chosen NAHCO as its preferred partner, providing passengerandgroundhandlingservices.

NAHCO’sGroupExecutiveDirector,BusinessDevelopmentandCommercial, Saheed Lasisi described it as a boost for the industry, saying, “NAHCO is excitedtobethechosenone,wewelcomeUnitedAirlinesbacktoourairspace, andweareeverreadytoprovidetheairlinequalityhandlingatalltimes,as beingcurrentlyprovidedto ournumerous clientairlines.”

Alsothecompanyrecentlysignedafive-yearcontractwithQatarAirways inAbuja,as well as renewedtheLagos contractforanotherfiveyears.

Lasisiadded:“Withthenewcontracts,whichrunsforfiveyearsandcoupled with the additional frequencies of Qatar flights to Nigeria and Ghana, we aregladtogoevenfurthertoprovidethetop-notchservicesforwhichwe areknownandhaveofferedtheairlineforthepastnineyears.”

Thecompanysaidthenewlyrenewedcontractswouldcoverallserviceareas, asitwouldseeNAHCOprovidepassenger,cargo,andgroundhandlingservices toQatarAirways.Italsoincludestheprovisionofcrewtransportationand otherancillaryservices to therespectedairliner.

Also,NAHCOhasreneweditscontractswithEgyptAirandRoyalAirMaroc foranotherthreeyears.NAHCOsaidthenewsigningsandrenewalsindicated thecompany’scommitmenttoserviceexcellenceandreaffirmitsleadership positioninthenation’s groundhandlingbusiness.

Qatar Resumes Phuket Flights

QatarAirwaysmarkedasignificantmilestoneinthereboundofinternational leisuretravelwiththeresumptionoffourweeklyflightstothefamedholiday destinationofPhuket,Thailand,starting1July.Theairlinesaidinadditiontoits 12weeklyBangkokflights,theairlinewilloperateatotalof16weeklyflights toThailand,providingseamlessconnectivityforitspassengerstravelling from Europe, the Middle East and United States. AsThailand reopens to holidaymakersfromaroundtheworld,fullyvaccinatedtravellerswillsoonbe abletovisitonceagainwhilstalsoenjoyingtheaward-winninghospitalityand serviceavailableonQatarAirwaysandatitshub,HamadInternationalAirport, thefirstandonly5-StarCOVID-19SafetyRatedAirportintheMiddleEast.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “With the resumption of flights to Phuket, Qatar Airways marks a significant milestone in the recovery of international tourism. We are proud to have leadtheindustry,settingthebenchmarkforsafety,innovationandcustomer servicethroughoutthepandemic.

“We know many of our customers are eager to get back flying and return tosomeoftheirfavouriteholidaydestinations,suchasPhuket.Famedfor itsmanyexoticbeaches,familyfriendlyatmosphere,turquoisewatersand deliciouslocalcuisine,Phuketisanidealdestinationforasummergetaway.

We look forward to working with our partners in Thailand to support the recoveryoftheirtourism sector.”

“If Nigerian Customs Service implements the waiver granted to airlines well it will save the aviation industry between N3 billion to N5 billion annually” Former CEO, Aero Contractors,

Captain Ado Sanusi

22

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

The Lagos-Ogun Collaboration in Context Between Nigerian Airlines and International Operations

Sanwo-Olu

Abiodun

Yekini Alli

in Lagos at specific epochal moments had their roots in the present-day Ogun State.

A dramatic artist rendered the Efunroye phenomenon in a song within an eponymously titled play thus: “Efunroye Tinubu, our mother, wealthy mother, the pillar of orphans, Lagos will never forget you and your mighty works..”

Then with modernisation and expansion, Ogun and Lagos are intertwined. Indeed, there are areas within the two states that can confuse visitors, because what separates Ogun from Lagos may be less than a minutes’ drive.

Consider Julius Berger and Sango-Ota, for instance: strangers can be forgiven for thinking that they are part of Lagos. Ikorodu kingdom, one of the most prominent parts of Lagos State, has its roots in Remoland in Ogun State, and was in fact part of the old Remo Division at a period under colonial rule. There is Eko Epe and Ijebu Epe: separating Epe culturally from either of Lagos or Ogun is a difficult exercise.

Ogun is not just the nearest state to Lagos: it is Lagos’ siamese twin and it is a fact that its past, present and future is inextricably linked to Lagos’. Besides, when you look at Nigerian music, most of the brightest stars are/were from Ogun: people like Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Ebenezer Obey, K1, Ayinla Omowura, Haruna Ishola, Sir Shina Peters, Salawa Abeni, Adewale Ayuba, Olamide.

However, although originally from Ogun, these musicians are/were as Lagosian as any Lagosian can be. In any case, with inter-marriage, the Lagos and Ogun peoples have blended together for centuries.

The Adiyan waterworks that Lagos benefits from is in Ogun State. The Agbara Industrial State, the major industrial estate in Ogun, serves the Lagos economy strategically. At least 95 per cent of residents of Ibafo/Mowe area of Ogun State actually work in Lagos. Politically, the role of Ogun people in Lagos cannot be under-estimated: many of the permanent secretaries and commissioners in Lagos have their roots in Ogun. Olorunnimbe Mamora, two-time speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly and two-term senator, is from Ogun State. Lagos West senator, Olamilekan Adeola, hails from Yewaland in Ogun. What is more, politically, Ogun and Lagos have been in the same political party for ages. Thus, this new commission coming after previous collaborations in the area of roads is a welcome development.

There is no two ways about it: Lagos and Ogun must collaborate to achieve greater industrialization and cost-effective development. They must take advantage of the recently signed Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) through cost competitiveness and provision of industrial clusters with adequate infrastructure.

They stand to achieve efficient port logistics through much more coordinated call-up systems where Ogun provides holding bays/parks for trailers heading to Apapa ports in order to reduce the traffic congestion in Lagos.

L

ast week, in a strategic and visionary move, the governments of Lagos and Ogun states signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on joint development of infrastructure in borderline communities between the states.

At a ceremony in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Governors Babajide SanwoOlu and Dapo Abiodun inaugurated the Lagos-Ogun Joint Development Commission (LOJDC). Speaking on the occasion, SanwoOlu harped on the megacity status of Lagos and the need for developmental synergy with the neigbouring Ogun.

As he noted: “The Joint MoU is a sustainable development agenda under which Lagos and Ogun States will combine resources to meet our present socioeconomic needs and prepare for the future.

We have nothing to lose but a lot to gain by synergizing efforts with Ogun State in the areas of Infrastructural development, (the development of boundary town roads, water works, mass transportation); as well as revenue and taxation (including PAYE remittances, and boundary town revenue management and collection).”

On his part, Abiodun described the event was a success story, being the first time that the two states had emplaced a formal, structured framework of legislation-backed bilateral engagement.

Abiodun added: “It is undeniable that we share historical and cultural affinities and long before now, successive administrations have mouthed and attempted to have some omnibus or spatial arrangement to have Lagos and Ogun States to work together.

But, again, never had there been a time that this was concertised or encoded nor a lawbacked structure, institutional arrangement; human and funding resource requirements formalised to actualise what and remains the right way to uplift our people improve their prosperity.”

According to him, the two states would, “forge a common alliance to jointly tackle issues bordering on security, sanitation, traffic and transportation, waste management, water supply, land use planning, infrastructure development and maintenance, urban renewal and slum upgrading for the mutual benefit of our people and the generality of Nigerians,” as development would come to border communities in Ota, Akute Alagboole, Lambe, Ojodu, Agbado, Mowe, Warewa, Isheri and all the eight local government areas that share boundaries with Lagos State.

To say the least, the Lagos/Ogun economic integration is a dream come true. The history of Lagos and Ogun is irretrievably intertwined.

For one thing, Ogun indigenes have, for ages, been actively involved in developmental strides in Lagos. Ogun indigenes are solidly established in parts of Mushin, Ikorodu, Palm Groove, Ogba, Agege and Aworiland, and were it not for colonization and military rule, perhaps Ogun and Lagos would have been one state. Historical figures such as Madam Efunroye Tinubu and Madam Funmilayo Kuti who reigned

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

Abuja airport new terminal Chinedu Eze Many industry stakeholders, including airline operators have over the years lamented how Nigerian carriers have failed in international flight operations.

According to industry observers, without effective interline arrangement with other international carriers that can take their passengers farther, Nigerian airlines would not only continue to perform poorly on international routes, also they would barely make profits on such ventures.

In fact, THISDAY learnt that the airlines that have operated international destinations in Nigeria recorded losses, which were moderated by revenues they were making on domestic services.

That is why there have been advice that Nigerian airlines should develop local destinations and make them profitable. This is because with over 200 million population and road transport threatened by insecurity, air transport holds great optimism for Nigerian carriers.

Travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ikechi Uko told THISDAY that with effective collaboration through interline and codeshare Nigerian airlines can operate profitable international service.

He said one airline cannot go it alone, which is why they need to work together and take advantage of the market in West, Central Africa and more distant destinations.

He said dollar access and exchange rate also play significant role in international flight service.

The travel expert said for airlines in the country to succeed, Nigeria has to build a hub in one or two of the major airports with transit logistics so that passengers from other countries in West and Central Africa can transit from Lagos or Abuja.

“We have to build hub and feed the hub from other countries around Nigeria. That is what Ghana is doing with fifth freedom, bringing passengers from different parts of West and Central Africa and connecting them to other international destinations.

We have to build hub and feed the hub from other countries around Nigeria.

That is what Ghana is doing with fifth freedom

“Interline is the best option for everybody.

In that way you work with other airlines and bring passengers to the hub and take them from there to other destinations. For example, if Air Peace will fly global, other airlines have to feed it with passengers.

“But no one airline will have the capacity to run it alone but working together they can make efficient and profitable international flight operation. Another example is what Asky is doing with Ethiopia Airlines. Asky brings in passengers in time for Ethiopian to take them to the United States. Asky fully utilises its aircraft operating in the West and Central Africa.

“The airline has eight aircraft and operates to 23 destinations. The defunct Virgin Nigeria Airways was feeding passengers to Virgin Atlantic and British Airways from the West Coast. They would bring passengers in the morning that would follow Virgin Atlantic and others will follow BA to London in the night,” he said.

He said that countries in Central Africa (SEMAC) nations are 25, while ECOWAS countries are 15, with Lagos and Abuja at the centre of these countries as well as with three hours equidistance to all the other nations, adding that these countries can be serviced from Lagos and Abuja.

An official of one of the international carriers in Nigeria told THISDAY that flying point to point for airlines is unprofitable, adding that it is what Nigerian carriers do, “because they don’t have interline with other major carriers and for them to succeed they would have to also be members of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which will provide them clearing house because they would have deposits with the global body.”

“Most Nigerian airlines lose money on international operations because they charge cheap fares and their business class is most often empty and they operate point to point.

Airlines like Emirates may have 200 passengers, only about 80 will drop in Dubai but the others will connect flight to other destinations.

“Also for Nigerian airlines to succeed, Nigeria should have developed airport with good transit facilities where passengers can stay overnight and connect their flight the following day. You cannot successfully operate international flights when your passengers don’t even have a place they can brush their teeth,” he said.

He also said it costs so much to operate international destinations that Nigerian airline that operates to Ghana, for example, would pay high landing charges, calculated by the weight of the aircraft and $80 service charge per passenger, noting that without making profits international flight service is a waste of funds for Nigerian carriers.

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

23

BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

As New Airlines Engender Competition, Fare Reduction Chinedu Eze writes that the new players in the aviation sector may tame current outrageous fares, boost capacity and make domestic market more competitive

W

hat is ironic is that when many airlines in other parts of the world are shutting down and aircraft being rested due to the devastating effects of the COVID-19, Nigeria is witnessing the emergence of new airlines.

It is also at a period when aircraft maintenance facilities overseas are not working at their peak due to the pandemic, forcing aircraft due for maintenance to queue, prompting the call for major maintenance facility in Nigeria.

This is also a period when the naira is under pressure and has depreciated against the dollar, forcing the costs of goods and services up the ceiling, including airfares.

But the coming of new airlines gives hope to air travellers that competition in the air travel market would bring down the fares.

This is one of the benefits identified by aviation experts who said new airlines that are being registered by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) would boost the contribution of the sector to the nation’s GDP, reduce the cost of flight tickets, create more jobs and develop new flight routes and destinations.

According to them, it is surprising that despite the devastating effects of the pandemic on the global economy, including Nigeria, investors are still being attracted to the aviation industry to establish new airlines at the time other parts of the world are scaling down air travel.

New airlines have been emerging in Nigeria since the coming of Ibom Air, which started operations in 2019, United Nigeria Airlines, which started in February 2021, Green Africa which is poised to start operation in June, Chanchangi Airlines, which has staged a comeback when it obtained Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in April, NG Eagle, Binani Air, Obike Airways and Cardinal Airlines, which are in line to join the market.

More Jobs Experts noted that more airlines joining the domestic market means that there would be more jobs for Nigerians as well as manpower development, adding that contribution of the aviation sector to the nation’s economy would increase.

Travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ikechi Uko told THISDAY that establishing new airlines means new investment into Nigeria’s economy, new jobs for Nigerians and development of new routes, which would benefit air travelers.

But, he noted that existing airlines are facing the problem of capacity.

“Most of the airlines are using smaller aircraft, those that have large fleet most of them are not operational so you have an increase number of passengers. The airlines have limited supply of equipment so when the supply is not meeting the demand there is going to be a lot of problems of flight delay, flight cancellation and there will be so many reasons for aircraft on ground.

“Until the Nigerian airlines come back to full health, these problems will remain with us,” he said.

On his part, former CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, told THISDAY that the emergence of new airlines was good for the nation’s economy. This, he said was made possible by government which created conducive environment by introducing zero tariff for imported aircraft and spares, removal of VAT, which is a huge burden off domestic carriers.

“Government has put a lot of policies in place to enhance new investment in the aviation industry with the introduction of zero duty on imported aircraft and spares and the removal of VAT. We also look forward to improved foreign exchange access,” he said.

He said more airlines joining the market do not mean that they would concentrate on already established routes but many of them would develop the secondary airports, develop new routes and also enhance manpower development.

Aircraft Choice However, Sanusi noted that the new airlines have chosen short haul aircraft because they

already know the routes they want to operate and are acquiring the aircraft type that would suit those routes and disclosed that acquiring these short haul aircraft is possible because currently regional aircraft are available and affordable, as airlines in other parts of the world are resting such aircraft types due to the effect of COVID-19.

So they are available for sale and for lease and in addition, the coming airlines have done their studies and matched the aircraft types to the routes they intend to operate.

“The new airlines are acquiring small body aircraft. These are the airplanes that are available now for lease and for purchase. The airlines that are coming up have carried out studies and have chosen the routes that need smaller aircraft. Some routes have changed over time, some are no more functional so new routes would have to be developed.

“Smaller aircraft are less expensive to run, the cost of operation is lower than bigger aircraft, but the only challenge they will face is the expertise.

“They will have to train new engineers, which means providing more jobs for Nigerians.

Nigeria has engineers who have expertise for Boeing 737, ATR, and Bombardier; so they would train more engineers that will specialise in the new aircraft types like Embraer 145, the Airbus A2020. Emergence of new airlines means more jobs, manpower development and better service to the passengers,” Sanusi said.

He said some airlines might build their major operations on new airports like the ones in Kebbi, Asaba, Osubi and others and build a very good network, like flying from Yola directly to Calabar, from Owerri to Kano without a stop in Abuja, noting that the short haul aircraft can deliver high load factor with about 40 passengers.

Industry analyst and the publicity secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Olu Ohunayo, said it was the best decision for emerging airlines to choose small body aircraft because they are appropriate for the market.

He said it enables airlines to increase their frequency, as it carries relatively fewer persons on every flight and enables airlines to break even with 50 per cent load factor.

“It will attract more customers because it is the right aircraft that fits the domestic and regional market, but what the airlines should ensure is that there is reliability, passenger satisfaction and safety.

“It costs less to maintain, especially at this time of low forex access. What the airlines with smaller aircraft need is to build maintenance facility in Nigeria so that it will cost less to maintain their aircraft,” Ohunayo said.

Low Capacity In his contribution, the President of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria and Managing Director/CEO of Smile Air, Alex Nwuba said the new airlines would

provide the needed capacity and this would help to reduce the cost of airfares, noting that existing airlines have not been able to meet the needs of the market.

“Existing airlines capacity to meet the market needs has been significantly degraded so artificial demand is created which results rather in the opportunity for carriers to increase prices. The problem however is that a new entrant may push a disruptive price strategy and reduce prices to capture market share which results in reaction from other carriers which will lead to losses and industry failure.

“However this is how free markets should operate except when a national carrier is introduced, which is meant to live off on special incentives and anticompetitive practices with dire consequences for a thin margin industry like aviation.

“With respect to employment more airlines should create additional jobs, which will initially absorb the large numbers of professionals out of work. If the market grows it will have long-term benefits but a disruption will have further dire consequence.

“Oxford economics reports that aviation contributes only 0.4 per cent to the Nigerian economy, this should grow under the right circumstances with the emerging airlines,” Nwuba said.

More Alternatives To the Managing Director, Flight and Logistics Solutions, Amos Akpan, emerging operators mean more airlines with more aircraft have come to provide services for air travelers, so existing customers will have choices from these new services.

“Operators will become innovative in the services they offer. They will create services to attract more customers. Nigerians need more air travel options. We have to increase flight frequencies to most secondary airports: Kebbi, Bauchi, Akure, Osubi, Asaba, Eket, Ibadan, Makurdi, Minna, Kaduna, Jos, Ilorin, Calabar, Sokoto need increased flight frequency.

“Travel by road is no longer the preferred choice and won’t be for a long time in Nigeria.

What the new and incoming operators need is to design operational module to suit the environment. Choice of aircraft type, route network and size of operations is key to viability.

“One may cultivate the business class traveller, another may cultivate traders and economy travelers, another may choose to cultivate the mixed market, some may synchronise their schedule to distribute international passengers from the hub airports (Lagos/ Abuja/Kano/Port Harcourt). Each operator will chose how to present her Service with the aircraft cabin outlay, the aircraft type, and the route,” Akpan said.

He also noted that there are also various business ventures for new airlines to pursue, especially in the general aviation sector.

“The entrance of new airlines will create employment in the sector, it will generate training needs which will improve skilled manpower. We need to stress on business modules that will make the new airlines sustainable.

“Cooperation amongst the operators will eliminate excess capacity on specific routes at certain times. Hub and spoke is good using modern propeller aircraft.

“There are also various business ventures for new airlines to pursue especially in the general aviation sector. The entrance of new airlines will create employment in the sector; it will generate training needs, which will improve skilled manpower.

“We need to stress on business modules that will make the new airlines sustainable.

Cooperation amongst the operators will eliminate excess capacity on specific routes at certain times. Hub and spoke is good using modern propeller. Yes! Nigerian aviation industry can take up to 50 operators and more if the business opportunities in general aviation is exploited,” Akpan added.

Airfares On whether the emerging airlines would drive down fares, the Chief Operating Officer and Accountable Manager of Dana Air, Obi Mbanuzuo warned that it is economic parameters, not having more airlines that determine airfares.

He said that airfares are dependent on cost of operation and noted that no airline would sell ticket that would keep it unprofitable.

“To be honest with you, we have to look at more of the input into, because the fare is dependent on the cost of the operation.

No airline will sell a ticket that keeps them unprofitable.

“So, a lot of the input in the airline business in Nigeria is dependent on foreign maintenance of its aircraft for the input, let me give you an example, two of our aircraft is in Europe now for maintenance.

“So, 99 per cent of all the maintenance is done abroad. Yes we have MRO (maintenance facility) locally but the level of service it can offer is limited and there is a lot of aircraft parked here and there, queuing for checks.

“The situation is not always ideal. Maintenance is largely done overseas, all the spare parts are acquired in foreign currency; so the question of when people will have affordable fares is a function of the economy of the country. If the foreign currency is rising day by day; then I am afraid I cannot give you any hope that things will get better until the general economic situation gets better.

“Unfortunately the operating environment is not conducive. And apart from the input, we always talk about leasing, purchasing aircraft, when those things are sourced from abroad in foreign currency, I don’t see light at the end of the tunnel soon,” he said.

24

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

BUSINESSWORLD

MARITIME

Apapa Gridlock: Merits of Electronic Call-Up System Eromosele Abiodun insists that the electronic call up system also called Eto, introduced recently remains the final solution to the Apapa gridlock

I

n early 2019, Africa’s richest man, AlikoDangote, joined numerous port users and businesses to echo the daily suffering and the revenue loss by businesses and government due to the protracted gridlock on Apapa ports access roads.

Dangote had estimated that the country was losing about N140 billion weekly to traffic gridlocks on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Lagos, the access road to Nigeria’s main seaports.

“The economy loses more than N20 billion daily and N140 billion weekly. It affects businesses across the country. All our operations in the hinterland in Ilorin, in Kano are operating at 40 per cent maximum capacity,” he had said.

Lamenting the state of roads in the country, he added: “Today there is no linkage road going from South West to the North. You have to go all the way through Ajaokuta, Obajana, Lokoja and you have to go by that uncompleted road Obasanjo (ex-president OlusegunObasanjo) started 13 years ago.”

Dangote is not the only one frustrated by the Apapa situation. In the last few years, Apapa has become a no-go area for visitors, hellish for those who reside and work there, and traumatic for business owners and those exporting or importing goods.

Cost of doing business at the ports has risen so high manufacturers are abandoning their cargo at the port. The call on government to fix the ports access road has however been heeded by government as work has since commence on the roads.

But like everything Nigeria, security personnel sent to maintain traffic turned the problem into an enterprise.As a result of extortion by security officials, haulage cost from Tin Can to any other part of Lagos has risen by more than 1,000 per cent from about N100,000 a year ago to about N1.2 million.

Recently, truckers raised the costs to move a container from the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, to any other part of the city by 50 per cent, from N1.2 million to N1.8million.

As a result of the blockage of the roads, millions of containers are trapped in the ports and shipping companies have had to stay at several anchorages for between three to four months incurring all manner of surcharges.

On average, 100,000 containers carrying various cargos are discharged in Lagos ports monthly, with shipping companies now charging $6000 to sip a container to Nigeria, it costs shippers in Nigeria $600 million (N234 billion) every month to transport 100,000 containers to Nigeria.

In the first half of this year, it cost $1,000 to ship a 20-foot container to Nigeria from the Far East.

Today, the cost charged by shipping lines for the same service is between $5,500 and $6,000. Due to the massive congestion at Tin Can and Apapa ports, many shipping lines have started diverting Nigeria-bound cargoes to neighboring ports in Cotonou and Ivory Coast.

Importers, THISDAY learnt pay N25, 000 as demurrage per container a day and another N15, 000 as storage fees to terminal operators excluding 7.5 per cent value added tax (VAT).

This amounts to N12.5 billion daily demurrage charges on 500,00 containers and N7.5 billion storage fees.

Finding Solution In a bid to find a permanent solution to the Apapa gridlock, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) collaborated with a private firm, Trucks Transit Parks (TTP) Limited to deploy technology and remove human interference.

TTP Limited is a cutting edge transportation infrastructure company that uses innovative technology to provide solution to the traffic challenges in Nigeria.

It was specially designed to manage truck traffic and parking issues within Nigeria. The TTP service, design and delivery is measured against safety, reliability, cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction.

Following the take-off of the electronic call-up system known as ETO, sanity returned to Apapa, a once thriving port city that was brought to its knees by a protracted traffic gridlock.

However, a few weeks after the system came into force, entrenched interest made effort to sabotage it leading to the return of traffic on the corridor.

Analysts said that was so because it was the first time in the history of the nation’s port operations that electronic call-up would be deployed to direct truck movement into ports in Lagos. Apart from the entrenched interests, who made an industry of the unfortunate crisis, there are other factors.

Top on the list of the factors is the continued bad shape of the access roads. The reconstruction work on the Tin Can/Mile 2 axis and Liverpool junction has been very slow.

In fact, the pace of work on the road has not been encouraging. The contractor handling the construction work should be made to expedite action on the road to ensure quick completion without further delay.

Another factor inhibiting the new call up system is lack of attitudinal change by truck operators and all those who have been the beneficiaries of the chaotic system. The truckers unions have pledged their support and willingness to make the Eto App work. But this pledge must be demonstrated in action and should not be seen as mere lip service.

Be that as it may, there is no gainsaying that electronic call-up is the only solution to the Apapa conundrum.

TTP Assure Nigerians Meanwhile, the TTP Limited has assured stakeholders that it is committed to ensuring that the electronic call up system remain effective and functional calling on all stakeholders to work with it for the betterment of all.

The Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mr. Temidayo Adeboye, told THISDAY, in an interview, that the solution to the problem was for all stakeholders to work together.

“The problem cannot be solved by just one entity. And we had a holistic plan to solve the entire traffic situation in Apapa and we are discussing with the Lagos State government.

“But when we looked at the demography of the traffic in Apapa, we find out that 30 per cent were oil and gas, then the remaining 20 per cent was fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), manufactures. Which has dwindled from what it used to be. And the reason why it dwindled was because the cost of manufacturing within Apapa with the gridlock there became too high for many FMCGs and manufactures there.

“In the first two weeks we came up with a solution but as they say when you fight corruption, corruption will fight back. There were lots of monies that were changing hands and people were profiteering from the chaos and weren’t happy when TTP came.

“So people started fighting back and the major fight back we had is the human technology interface. So you have the right technology to drive the process and it was a very reliable system, it was organised and guarantied easy control of traffic.

“But what we have seen basically is that people are trying to circumvent the technology, not wanting the technology to do what it is meant to do, trying to create loopholes in the technology, to slowdown the system in order to go back to what it used to be.

“So those are the challenges we are facing

now. It has nothing to do with the technology, it has nothing to do with the plan, it is just has a lot to do with corruption trying to fight back,” he said.

He stressed that the company would continue to improve on the system despite the challenges.

“We are making progress and we have done a lot in a short time. So far we have processed about a 100, 000 trucks in the past three months.

We have about 5700 different stakeholders, that transporters and transport companies. And the average daily truck count at the Apapa port is about 700 on the average. There are a number of other terminals that have access to the port they are about 700. The Tin Can area we just deployed yesterday so we yet do not have the accurate statistics of how many trucks accessed the Tin Can port,” he said.

Stakeholders Pledges Support In the same vein, critical stakeholders have pledge their support for the call-up system stressing that Eto will solve the Apapa traffic problem.

For instance, a coalition of truck owners’ operating in the maritime sector has urged its members to embrace the call-up system in order to ease the gridlock in Apapa and its environs.

The group, which is made up of Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and Container Truck Owners Association (COTOAN), said the electronic call-up system is the best thing that has to the port in many years.

“In view of the gridlock staring the faces of truckers, stakeholders in maritime industry, Apapa residents and the public at large; all our members are hereby directed to support the call-up system.

“This initiative is to help regulate the movement of all trucks/tankers into the ports and tank farms, ”it said.

The group noted that the call-up system would reposition their businesses and put an end to all forms of corruption arising from the disorderly situation being experienced in Apapa.

It also solicited the support of other corporate truck owners including Dangote, Flour Mills and BUA to embrace the call-up system.

The coalition said all representatives of truck parks should to go to the associations’ office in Apapa for further briefing on the call-up system.

On his part, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello, commended the NPA for the introduction of the electronic call- up system to ease the perennial gridlock on the Apapa ports access roads.

Bello, who commended NPA and its ingenuity at deploying Eto called on maritime stakeholders to be patient with the system as innovations are associated with progressive phases for success.

“I commend the NPA for the introduction of the e-call up system. The system is workable.

People should have patient. Innovations are associated with teething problems; so, all that is required are some adjustment which NPA is already doing.”

“We must be mindful of those who have seen the innovation as a problem to their personal

interests in the system. These are the people trying to derail the system. NPA, however, is on top of the situation and we see all the challenges becoming a thing of the past soon,” Bello said.

He therefore called on the maritime industry stakeholders, especially truckers and terminal operators, to cooperate with TTP Limited to make this system workable.

“I am happy that NPA has identified the problems, procedures and the infrastructure to make this system work, “he said.

Bello assured the agency of the cooperation of NSC to make the e-call up work and change the fortunes of the nation’s ports and Nigerian shippers.

According to him, “the NSC will work with NPA to ensure the success of the new system on the ports access roads.”

Also speaking, the Vice President of the National Association of Licensed Customs Agents (ANALCA), Dr. Kayode Farinto, told THISDAY, that the electronic call-up system was a brilliant idea that will change the status quo at the nation’s seaport.

However, he called for the cooperation of security agencies to allow the effort, aimed at solving the Apapa gridlock work and urged the government to adopt the intermodal port system.

He also called on the federal government to open up the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway that is 80 per cent completed.

He said: “What is happening is that at night, the road construction company will use heavy blocks to barricade the road and will only open it for any truck who gives N20, 000 to the security agencies. From Tincan Island Port to Mile 2 along Apapa Oshodi road they are there extorting truckers. They constitute a nuisance along that corridor and if they are taken out, it will solve the problem to some extent.

“The government has to relocate all the tank farms in Apapa; if that is not done, there is no miracle that we can have. We will continue to have gridlock in Apapa. The residents of Apapa are crying daily.”

Farinto added that the only solution to the crisis was for the government to embrace the intermodal port system.

He said the barges that were only recently introduced to reduce the pressure on the road have been balkanised by entrenched interests.

“If you want to move cargo via barges now, it is expensive and frustrating. If you bring in the best experts in the whole world to come and manage Apapa traffic, that expert will be disgraced in under one week. Look at the beautiful idea brought in by NPA to solve the problem.

The electronic call-up, he assured, will work despite the initial challenges adding that, “It would worked despite the human factor. There are people who believe it is their right to make money from the chaos. We have officers in Area B who claimed to have been posted directly from the Office of the Inspector-General of Police and there is a specific amount they collect from each truck each day. And they collect the money openly before everybody - very glaring, “he stated.

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

25

BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Emefiele: Seven Years in the Saddle Obinna Chima reviews the stewardship of the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele seven years since he assumed the mantle of leadership

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act of 2007 charges the banking sector regulator with the overall control and administration of the monetary and financial sector policies of the federal government.

Although the four key objectives of the CBN includes to ensure monetary and price stability; issue legal tender currency in Nigeria; maintain external reserves to safeguard the international value of the legal tender currency; promote a sound financial system in Nigeria; and act as banker and provide economic and financial advice to the federal government, the central bank has continued to perform major developmental functions, focused on all the key sectors of the economy.

Indeed, central banks in developing economies aim to promote and maintain a rising level of production, employment and real income in the country.

This they do by working in alignment with the fiscal authorities for effective policy transmission.

That is why in his inaugural speech titled, “Entrenching Macroeconomic Stability and a Engendering Economic Development in Nigeria,” when he was first appointed in 2014, as well as his five-year policy thrust when he was reappointed for another term of five years (2019-2024), the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who today marks seven years in the saddle as head of the central bank, has embraced unorthodox and interventionist model.

This has seen the regulator aggressively pursue its development finance function by intervening in critical sectors of the economy.

Clearly, when Emefiele assumed office in 2014, there was a significant decline in the price of crude oil which led to acute capital flow reversals and forex shortage.

The impact then was quite severe, forcing the economy to go into a recession.

The development then necessitated bold reforms as well as forced the central bank to throw in different unorthodox policies from the CBN to lift the economy out of recession then.

About eight months after he was reappointed for a second term, the economy suffered similar fate. This time around, the disruption was occasioned by the COVID-19 which came into the country in 2020.

The pandemic led to a significant drop in the price of crude oil and once more exposed the economy’s weak underbelly.

Crude oil represents about 95 per cent of Nigeria’s export revenue and a downturn in the market for the commodity always has a ripple effect on the economy.

The pandemic which started as a health crisis transformed to an economic crisis and necessitated response from fiscal and monetary policy authorities across the globe, including in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, in line with the first-responder approach, the Emefiele-led central bank acted swiftly, almost when the first case broke out in the country by unveiling a raft of measures to moderate the impact of the virus on households, businesses as well as the economy.

Precisely, Emefiele announced an extension of the moratorium on the apex bank’s interventions programmes, interest rate reduction, creation of a N100 billion targeted credit facility; N100 billion health sector intervention facility and N1 trillion for the manufacturing sector. Some other measures included strengthening the central bank’s Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) policy and regulatory forbearance.

Also, as part of efforts to stimulate infrastructural development across the country, the CBN, working with the fiscal authorities also established a N15 trillion infrastructure development company (Infraco).

In addition, Emefiele was also instrumental to the formation of the private-sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), which was able to mobilise billions of naira and has immensely supported the country’s

Emefiele

COVID-19 fight by setting up healthcare facilities across the country as well as in distributing palliatives to states.

The health sector facility provided loans to pharmaceutical companies to expand/ open their drug manufacturing plants in the country and also for hospitals and healthcare practitioners to expand/build health facilities.

As part of efforts to stimulate infrastructural development across the country, the CBN, working with the fiscal authorities also established a N15 trillion infrastructure development company (Infraco).

In all, the CBN recently disclosed that 585,593 beneficiaries have received N462.722 billion as at May 28, 2021, from its various intervention schemes.

A breakdown of this showed that from January 2021 to date, N157.517 billion have been disbursed for 29 real sector projects under the Real Sector Support FacilityDifferentiated Cash Reserve Requirement (RSSF-DCRR).

Also, from January 2021 to date, N26.008 billion has been disbursed for 10 projects under the COVID-19 manufacturing intervention schemes, while N255.992 billion have been disbursed for 78 projects under the CMIS from January 2020 till May 28, 2021.

A total of 91 healthcare projects have also been funded to the tune of N97 billion under the Healthcare Sector Intervention Facility (HSIF) as at May 28, 2021; just as the sum of N111,706,807,536.11 have been disbursed by the CBN under AgriBusiness/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) to 29,023 beneficiaries as at May 28, 2021. In the same vein, in line with its desire to stimulate output growth, the sum of N3, 198, 911, 438.20 have also been disbursed under the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) to 341 beneficiaries as at May 28, 2021, while the sum of N253, 447,787,865 have been also been so far been disbursed under the targeted credit facility to 548, 345 beneficiaries as at May 28, 2021. The

central bank recently announced that the Monetary Policy Committee has approved the raising of the targeted credit facility from the N300 billion it was increased to in March this year, to N400 billion.

Also in line with its drive for youth empowerment, the sum of N3, 004, 5555,000 have been disbursed under the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) to 7,057 beneficiaries as at May 28, 2021, while the sum of N85, 190, 160, 367.80 have been disbursed under Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) to 746 beneficiaries as at May 28, 2021 and the sum of N6 billion have been disbursed under SANEF to 14 beneficiaries as at May 28, 2021.

Furthermore, the sum of N173, 419,822.07 have been disbursed under the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF) to 67 beneficiaries as at May 28, 2021. YEDP disbursement by geo-political zone showed that for the South-west, 39 beneficiaries got N98, 570,852.07; North-central, 11 beneficiaries got N28, 805, 740; and for the South-east, eight beneficiaries received N22, 050,000. In addition, for the South-south, six beneficiaries received N16, 023,230; the North-west had two beneficiaries which received N4, 970,000 and the North-east had one beneficiary which got N3,000,000 A breakdown of the N100 billion healthcare facility also showed that applications have so far been received for 222 projects valued at N177.424 billion.

Out of the 222 projects, 91 projects, that is 41 per cent of total HSIF valued at N97.444 billion have been approved and disbursed as at May 28, 2021.

Of the approved projects, six valued at N12 billion were new (Greenfield), while 85 projects valued at N85.444 billion were expansionary. These projects includes funding for cancer treatment centres, funding for medical laboratories, funding for pharmaceuticals, funding for state governments’ health institutions, funding for private sector hospital/other services, funding for dental services as well as funding for

These policies are aimed at positioning Nigeria to become a self-sufficient food producer, creating millions of jobs, supplying key markets across the country and dampening the effects of exchange rate movements on local prices

local assembly of ambulance.

Under the N1 trillion real sector fund, a total of 234 real sector projects valued at N857,644,988,332.70 was approved and disbursed from November 2018 till May 28. Of the total 234 project, 155 real sector projects valued at N614, 612, 616, 904.95 was financed from January 2020 till May 28, 2021 to: 78 manufacturing projects – N255, 991, 800, 593.50; 36 agricultural projects – N84, 481, 444, 941.05; 30 Service projects – N190, 639, 371, 370. 40; and 11 Mining Projects – N83, 500, 000, 000.

As of January 2021, the CBN had disbursed N554.61 billion to 2,849,490 farmers to boost food security under it’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme since 2015. Also, 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.

To Emefiele, the disruptions caused by the pandemic was an opportunity to re-echo a persistent message the CBN has been sending for a long time, on the need to reset the economy and to birth “a new Nigeria.”

According to him, for a country of over 200 million people, projected to be almost 450 million in a few decades, “we can no longer ignore repeated warnings about the dangers that lie ahead if we do not begin to depend largely on what we produce locally because the security and well-being of our nation is contingent on building a well-diversified and inclusive economy.”

This, he said informed the central bank’s aggressive development finance interventions.

“The CBN has indeed created several lending programmes and provided hundreds of billions to smallholder farmers and industrial processors in several key agricultural produce. These policies are aimed at positioning Nigeria to become a self-sufficient food producer, creating millions of jobs, supplying key markets across the country and dampening the effects of exchange rate movements on local prices,” he explained.

This philosophy, according to Emefiele, has been the consistent theme of the CBN’s policies over the last couple of years, just as he cited the restriction of access to foreign exchange from some items at its window.

Emefiele said: “Many times, the bank has been accused of promoting protectionist policies. My answer has always been that leaders are first and foremost accountable to their own citizens.

“And if the vagaries of international trade threaten their well-being, leaders have to react by compelling some change patterns of trade to the greater good of their citizens.”

He said the measures were deliberately designed to both support the federal government’s immediate fight against COVID-19 and also build a more resilient, more selfreliant Nigerian economy.

Therefore, he stressed the need for Nigerians to continue to support the federal government in its quest to deliver highquality infrastructure, support large-scale production of staple and cash crops in the country and develop the educational sector, among others.

Nevertheless, the Emefiele-led CBN would have to redouble its efforts in the area of price stability as well as do more to boost forex flows in order to guarantee exchange rate stability and boost the external reserves which presently is at $34 billion.

This is because with inflation at 18.2 per cent as of May 2021, it leads to income redistribution and brings about weak purchasing power. Likewise, rising prices neutralise the money that one earns from investments. That is, inflation is effectively the reverse of compound interest.

That is why CBN needs to continue to take steps to see that inflation returns to single-digit. In addition, the monetary authorities must continue to work with relevant fiscal authorities to lower the rate unemployment in the country presently put at 33.3 per cent.

26

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 •T H I S D AY

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 • T H I S D AY

27

28

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 •T H I S D AY

THIS WEEKEND WEEKLY MAGAZINE

NEWS METRO THISLIFE ART WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com 07010510430

Oluseyi Soyege: Making History through Painting, Sculpting

30

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ 2021

COVER

Oluseyi Soyege: Making History through Painting, Sculpting With over 25 years of experience, 109 artworks created and 98 sold, as well as nine awards in his kitty, Oluseyi Soyege, a Nigerian painter and sculptor is certainly living his dreams. Recently, he made history as the only Nigerian artist who participated in the just-concluded Colour: Story exhibition 2021 held in Houston Texas, United States of America, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports

Elegant

F

or Oluseyi Soyege, who doubles as a painter and sculptor, his journey into art has borne fruitionfrom awards to commendations, he has made history in his 25 years of art experience having churned out 109 art works with 98 sold, as well as nine awards over the years.

He recently made history as the only Nigerian artist who participated in the just-concluded Colour: Story exhibition 2021 held in Houston Texas, United States of America.

Soyege, a professional artist of over a decade, is responsible for producing stunning high quality artwork and contributing unique perspective to the overall display concept of his projects.

Focusing on the sensual nature of art, Soyege uses colour, texture and symbols to depict his works.

Mostly abstract and hyper realistic in nature, his works explores the relationship amongst textures shapes and colours. He is especially captivated with using scrap materials to creatively capture images.

Missing You Daddy

Collaboration The Colour: Story 2021 is a dynamic community event, which featured art opening, reading and poetry slam. At the exhibition, visual arts were paired with poetry. The collaboration saw the work of 20 artists being paired with local, national, and international poets.

The poets read their work live at the opening. Each piece of visual art in the exhibit was inspired by and contained words of the poetry of a single writer.

At the exhibition, Soyege’s paintings, Colorful and Solace were paired with the poetry of Rachel Brown titled She and A church Mother ’s Hat by Je’ni Barret.

The event, which started on April 17, was created by Houston visual artists Leslie Gaworecki and Marlo Saucedo to bridge literary and visual creative worlds.

It ended on May 8 at the Spring Street Studios on Spring St, Houston.

Experience Soyege, who was educated at the Houston Community College and the Yaba College of Technology, is also an Art tutor who creates three-dimensional and two- dimensional art works with tools on stones, plaster, metals, wood,

Colorful

plates, acrylic etc.

He works with tools such hammer, chisels and gouges and creates abstract sculptures and paintings to be displayed in public establishments. He uses manufactured or raw materials to form artworks and can work and interact smoothly and effectively in a team – oriented environment. Essentially, he is also capable of working remotely on a customer ’s site.

Exhibitions For exhibitions, he boasts of solo exhibitions like “Our Environment 1997”, “Our Time 2005”, and group exhibition like “Throwing Stones at the Glass House – 1998”. Others include Midtown Houston – Art In The Park February 9, 2019; Pancake and Bronze – Austin April 12, 2019; Midtown Houston – April 6, 2019; Imperial Art Alliance @ Heritage Museum – April 27, 2 0 1 9 ; a n d M a s u r M u s e u m – M o n ro e L o u i s i a n a – 2019.

Awards For awards, he won the Ogie Le Meridian Award in 2007; the Club Award in 2014, Best Artist Gate Design in 2002; Imperial Art Alliance @ Heritage Museum – April

27, 2019: First in Abstract Work and also First in Pastel Work.

Work Dynamism Speaking about his work on Sawyeryards.com, the artist delved into the intricacies behind his works. He said: “My work explores the relationship between synesthesia, most of abstract and scrap materials. Also, it frequently includes dynamic, sweeping brush strokes of acrylic paint or black ink on canvas that characterize much of my art.

“It’s often noted that my paintings/ sculpted works convey a controlled but dynamic sense of movement. New synergies are generated from both traditional and modern structures. Mistakes or accidents often turn out to be fortuitous and usually remain.

Ever since as a teenager, I have been fascinated by unrelenting divergence of the human condition.

“What starts out as hope soon becomes finessed hegemony of power, leaving only a sense of chaos and the possibility of a real world .As shimmering forms become frozen through boundaries and repetitive practice, the viewer is left with an epitaph for the edges of our condition.”

31

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ 2021

The Luxury Network Nigeria Plans First Post COVID-19 Networking Event Stories by Mary Nnah The world’s leading private Business Club and affinity marketing group for luxury brands, high-end businesses and premium service providers, the Luxury Network is of the view that the global luxury industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace.

Therefore, forward-thinking companies must respond to the emergence of the new business environment by breaking the mould and fully embracing new and innovative strategies.

In line with this assertion, the Luxury Network will on June 17, 2021, host its first post-Covid networking event.

Managing Director, The Luxury Network Nigeria, Cas Ojo, said the event will be a private gathering for members and will see an exclusive group of Nigeria’s finest companies converge at the Seattle Residences and Spa, VI, Lagos, to explore strategic partnerships and new business opportunities within the network.

The Luxury Network Nigeria MD, Cas Ojo

Speaking on the objectives of the company in Nigeria, said, “As a company, we have proven expertise identifying new business channels that are mutually-beneficial for our members. In addition to the brilliant partnerships we facilitate within our network, The Luxury Network Nigeria

also aims to boost the profile and perception of the Nigerian luxury industry on the global stage. Nigeria is ready to take her place on the global luxury business stage, and we will assist companies, to respond to the opportunities that lay ahead.”

She revealed further that

the company’s Learning and Development programme commences on 24th June 2021. The first session will be a virtual event hosted via a Zoom webinar, adding that interested persons can visit the website https://www.theluxurynetwork.ng/ to find out more.

The company believes the future of Nigeria’s luxury industry demands a fresh approach that focuses on promoting a consistent and homogeneous luxury narrative, and raising the profile of the luxury industry in Nigeria, through conversation and collaboration with established luxury brands and service providers on the global stage.

With over 15 years of industry experience, the company has worked extensively with the most prestigious brands in the world. The core objective of the network is to identify synergies between luxury brands, with the view to facilitate strategic alliances and collaboration for its members, both in Nigeria and on the global stage.

Zikel Cosmetics, Bregha Launch New Lip Gloss Zikel Cosmetics in collaboration with beauty influencer and Pro makeup artist, Bisola Omoregha, popularly known by the brand name, Bregha, recently launched into the beauty market a new range of lip gloss.

The Zikiel+Bregha Lip Glaze is a range of luscious and long wear lip glosses which was specially formulated with a unique mineral complex that provides a glossy seal of conditioning colour. It moisturises, hydrates and plumps the lips.

Speaking on the recent collaboration, Omoregha, said, “Zikel Cosmetics to me means countenance, resilience and consistency.”

Speaking further she said, “The Zikel brand is so consistent that they keep pushing their limits and doing more and more and that is what really draws me to the brand because I feel like it is limitless.”

The renowned makeup artist who is also beauty instructor

Bregha

for the brand said she is so excited to collaborate with Zikel Cosmetics to create a lip gloss, adding, “Zikiel+Bregha Lip Glaze is a hybrid product that is just mind-blowing. It is a five colour lip gloss and they are absolutely beautiful.

Everyone is going to love it”.

Speaking on the reason for the choice of Bregha for the collaboration, the CEO of Zikel Cosmetics, Mr. Kelvin Ezekiel

said he went for Bregha because she is one of the best makeup artists in Nigeria “This is someone that has distinguished herself in what she does. She is very good in makeup and swooshing lip gloss. We have done a lot of collaboration with other artists but a lot of people were yearning for collaboration with Bregha and lip gloss is something that every woman uses every day and that is why we chose lip gloss”, Ezekiel said.

The Zikel Cosmetics boss believes that with this launch, more people will get to know about not just the lip gloss but Zikel as a brand.

“These are marketing tools we use to push our brand to a higher level. So we expect that after this launch we are going to move from where we are to a higher level”, he noted further.

Highlight of the event was the launch of the Jollof TV Show, a reality TV show created by Iwuchukwu “Ahneeka”

Marianne Onyii, former housemate in Big Brother Nigeria 3 in collaboration with Zikel Cosmetics.

Speaking on the inspiration behind the Jollof TV show he said, “I have always loved the media and this is an arm of Zikel going back to the media.

This is an opportunity to go back to what I love”, he said, adding that the show would be on air every Friday by 8pm.

Speaking further on the newly launched TV show, he said, “Nigeria has been able to export Jollof everywhere. It is a pop culture in Nigeria and a lot of countries know us for our good Jollof. So the Jollof TV show will help highlight this fact. Ezekiel explained more about the show: “The show is where we talk about lifestyle, beauty, fashion, gossip and everything trending. It is going to be shown on DSTV, GOTV, Star Times and all other terrestrial channels.”

NGX’s“TheStockAfrica isMade of”,hosted AfCFTA, andAfricanRenaissance the first-ever African

Anthony Ajero

At the global launch of the Nigeria Exchange (NGX) Group Plc a few days ago, my mind kept returning to the concept of Zeitgeist – the defining mood of a period, milieu, era, or epoch as reflected in the ideas and beliefs of that particular time in history - as I wondered how the NGX principals arrived at the theme campaign – “The Stock Africa is made of”?

I wondered not too long, for in that campaign was encapsulated a theme resonant with the current strident spirit pervading Africa and indeed the Black race. Reference “Black lives matter”, and reference “I can’t breathe” on one hand. On the other, reference the number of Blacks (some of Nigerian origins) President Biden has appointed to the world’s most powerful nation’s cabinet – from Adewale Adeyemo as Deputy Treasury Secretary to

NGX Group

Linda Thomas-Greenfield as United Nations Ambassador.

Reference, some will add, the inspiring stories coming out of Africa such as from Kigali, Rwanda. Interestingly, one of the key speakers at NGX’s global launch, Toronto Raptors President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri challenged fellow business leaders at the launch (Aliko Dangote, Jim Ovia, Tony Elumelu et al) to turn the Lagos national stadium into a money spinner like the 2019-built-andfinished 10, 000-seater Kigali indoor arena which hours later

basketball competition. The same Kigali, Rwanda where 44 Heads of State, on 21 March 2018, signed the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area - AfCFTA. Hence its other name - the Kigali Declaration.

The AfCFTA, which turns Africa into a free trade area, was created by theAfrican Continental Free Trade Agreement.

The first nations to ratify the agreement were South Africa.

Kenya and Ghana. Its Secretariat, situated in Accra, Ghana, was commissioned and handed over to the African Union on August 17, 2020, by Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo.

APwC article titled “AfCFTA - Thriving in a New Africa” spotlights this agreement which has all the prospects of a game changer for Africa. Broad objectives? Create a single continental market for goods and services; enable free movement of business persons and

investments; pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Continental Customs Union. Bottomlines? Enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploitation of opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources.

The business case remains simple. In intra-continental trade volumes, Africa does 15 per cent, Latin America 20 per cent, North America 48 per cent, Asia 58 per cent, Europe 67 per cent. No rocket science is required in seeing the correlation with continental development.

Even more pointedly, since the World Trade Organisation came into effect, Africa’s free trade zone is the largest in the world in terms of countries with 54 of African Union’s 55 countries participating.

GenesisGMD,NnaetoOrazulike WinBigatNACCIMA60TH Anniversary Several notable Nigerianswere gathered, Tuesday, at the International Conference Cen-tre in Abuja, as several industry leaders including WTO boss,Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Dr Nnaeto Orazulike of GenesisGroup and Bolanle Austen Peters were awarded for theirtransformational leadership in their respective fields.

The awards were spearhead-ed by the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce,Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) as part of its ac-tivities to commemorate its 60th anniversary.

The icons were awardedfor being thought leaders in their various industries. Forexample, Dr Nnaeto Orazulike has played an exemplary role inthe entertainment and hospitality sector. He was presented withthe Excellence Award for his contribution to the Hospitality and Entertainment industry.

Other awardees include Grammy-winning artist Burna Boy andAmina Jane Mohammed, who received their awards virtually.

National President, NACCIMA, Hajiya Saratu Aliyu, while commending the awardees noted that their invaluable dedication to African progress and service to humanity was the benchmark used for the awards.

She especially praised the awardees in the entertainment and hospitality sector, where Orazulike, Austen Peters, among others are domiciled, for their significant growth in the sector.

Orazulike, while reacting to the reception, noted that he is open to raising up the generation coming after him; teaching them how to succeed and make an impact through his platforms.

He also stated that the award would spur him and his group to continue to do more for the entertainment and hospitality sector.

CMOs,HeadofCorporate CommunicationsSelectMostPopular BrandsinNigeria2021 The 2021 annual top brand evaluation in Nigeria, which has now become like a report card from which major top corporate brands in the country have a feel of their brand positioning from the consumer’ points of view is taking a new dimension this time.

A key component of this annual evaluation is the Top of the Mind (TOM) survey. This is a test of consumer’s cognitive ability of major brands in Nigeria, which from observations are influenced by relationship and affinity.

According to Top 50 Brands Nigeria®, the firm that evaluates and rate top corporate brands in Nigeria, the Most popular brand selection for the year, which is done with the TOM survey, will now be conducted among Chief Marketing Officers and Head of Corporate Communications (Affair) of top corporate brands in the country. To this end, Chief Communication Officers (CMOs)/ Head of Corporate Communication and Chief Marketing Officers are required to mention 10 corporate brands they could easily recall, aside from their own brands.

The outcome will determine the Most Popular Brands in the country for the year. The TOM is also the first component of the seven variables in Brand Strength Measure (BSM Index), the model they use to evaluate the 50 Most Valuable Brands in the country for the year, TOP 50 BRANDS NIGERIA®.

CEO, Top 50 Brands Nigeria®, Taiwo Oluboyede, during a virtual chat with journalists said, brand evaluation, that is, measuring the value or perception of corporate brands has become a vital component of every living brand.

“It is now a necessity to know how your brand is doing and how it’s standing in the market place. As we all know, branding has gone beyond just one of marketing activities, it has become a vital stakeholder’s metrics for measuring success”, he added.

TheSERASCSRAwardsAfrica 2021CallsforEntries

The organisers of Africa’s foremost, gold-standard Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability awards, The SERAS CSR Awards Africa have announced the call for entry for the 2021 edition of the awards. The awards, which have grown in popularity across Africa, have become the signature award ceremony that annually celebrates the roles organisations across Africa play in ensuring that the continent meets the sustainable development goals target of the United Nations. The 2021 edition marks a milestone in history as the awards attain the 15th year. In line with this, the organisers have announced some new awards categories.

Vice-chairperson of the local organising committee and executive director of TruCSR Nigeria, Mrs. Mary EphraimEgbas, said, “This is a significant year for Africa and us as well when it comes to CSR and sustainability.

“When The SERAS began, it took us many toils to convey why it was important for organisations to invest in CSR, sustainability, and communities across Africa.

“Adoption may have been painstakingly slow, but today we are happy that this awards platform has helped accentuate the importance of excellence and provide the guardrails that have helped sustainability grow into a veritable industry in Africa.

“To mark the anniversary, we are introducing five new award categories and informing the public that because the sustainability industry is nearly two decades old, we shall also be inaugurating the Africa Sustainability Hall of Fame, beginning with the announcement of four Lifetime Achievet"OUIPOZ "KFSP JT B TUBGG ment award winners from the four regions of the continent.

PG $ BOE ' 1PSUFS /PWFMMJ

her to sic acof he he yes als er ut ate ne

32

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ 2021

E-TRENDS

MUSIC SHOWBIZ

…Your weekly entertainment delight

NOLLYWOOD

The Battles Are Here Stories by Vanessa Obioha After a fierce knockout, team Darey finally drew the curtains on the Knockouts round.

The Battles, which is the final round that allows coaches to decide the fate of talents, will kick off tomorrow.

Last week’s episode showed that being the last team to perform can be advantageous.

Of all the six talents in Darey’s team, only one talent went home: Blessing.

Rachel, Jeremiah and Esther are the only talents saved by the coach, while Dapo who got two steals from Falz and Waje, joined Falz’ team; and Ayomikun is now on Waje’s team.

Interestingly, Darey stole KPee from team Falz while the latter stole Dapo from him.

Each coach now has four talents going to the

Team Darey on Knockouts round

Battles where the talents will compete against each other for a slot in the live performance.

Out of the 24 talents that participated in the

Knockouts round, only 16 are in the Battles.

They are Rachel, Jeremiah, Esther and KPee (Team Darey); Naomi Mac, Tamara, Peace and

Dapo (Team Falz); Nuel Ayo, Inioluwa, Eazzie and Ayomikun (Team Waje); and Vanilla, Kitay, Toeseen and Anu (Team Yemi Alade).

The Battles will see only two talents from each team advance to the live performance where voters will have the opportunity to keep their favourite talent on the show, and perhaps, clinch the coveted title of the winner of The Voice Nigeria third season. Apart from the talents, fans of the show stand a chance to be rewarded by First Bank. Every week, the bank which prides itself on creating interventions in the entertainment industry posts trivia questions about the show on their social media platforms. Six fans who answer these questions correctly are rewarded with prizes. The First Bank Moments, according to the bank, is a way of connecting fans to the show beyond entertainment.

From the Shadows of BBNaija, Laycon Finds His Voice on Stage Iyke Bede Throughout his stay on the Big Brother Naija reality television show, Olamilekan Agbeleshe, popularly known as Laycon, maintained a calm demeanour.

With his recent performance at the Koga Studios in Lagos, however, he deviates, revealing a fierce alter ego with an agency.

The rapper had just returned to Nigeria from Ghana, where

he embarked on a promotional tour for his debut album, ‘Shall We Begin’.

Like he entertained his fans (Icons) in Ghana, returning to Nigeria, he focused on select home-based fans.

The album, released last April, marked a continued success for Laycon, having accrued 20 million streams across digital platforms in its first three weeks of release.

He describes the album as a

project conceived from his life experiences, a quality he believes makes it relatable to not just his fans but also to music lovers and critics alike.

“I write from my experiences,” he says. “I don’t try to confuse my audience, I don’t want to impress them to the extent they don’t get the message I’m trying to convey.”

Ahead of Laycon’s performance that evening, Nigerian singer

Gyang, Toon Up Join Line-up of Durban FilmMart 2021 Director of Òlòturé, Kenneth Gyang and Ridwan Moshood, founder of Toon Up Animations will be joining the conversations at this year’s Durban FilmMart (DFM) which takes place in July.

Gyang will join a range of directors like Mahad Mashi (Somalia) and Isaac Nabwana (Uganda), from the continent to highlight their storytelling journeys through the various forms of fiction, and documentaries on the film festival’s Talent Filmmaker Talks initiative.

The festival also announced that it will be introducing a new Animation @ DFM stream which will spotlight the growing influence of animation on the continent. The sessions will allow animators to engage with leading professionals from organisations such as Toon Up (Nigeria), Kugali (Nigeria/ Uganda), Na Aap Production (South Africa), Katanimate Studios (South Africa), among others.

Retaining last year’s format due to the pandemic, the festival this year will host audiences and participants virtually from July 16 to 25 under the theme ‘Disrupt!

The Shape of Stories to Come’.

“Building on the success of our

Kenneth

first all-digital market last year, the 12th Durban FilmMart will look to unpack the disruption that the film industry has had to navigate while celebrating the unique opportunities it has presented,” explained Magdalene Reddy, acting General Manager of the Durban FilmMart Institute.

“We will also acknowledge key aspects that are unique to us as Africans - all while offering the same fair access across the industry, fostering community within the African film industry, and providing a platform for networking with an international market.”

She added that the festival serves as a key entry point for both creatives and business professionals and connects the film industry to the world. “The 2021

edition will harness the energy of the times, in which online networking, financing, cloud-based workflows and disruption of the distribution ecosystem have the potential to democratize access across the film value chain.”

Following last year’s inaugural DFM Content Shop, the 2021 programme will present a digital catalogue of 60 African projects (fiction, documentary film of all lengths as well as series and animation) that are ready for sale and distribution.

These films have been curated to reflect the unique storytelling of African that is available to the international market.

Earlier, organisers announced the African countries that will participate in the Finance Forum Projects — consisting of individual mentorship, public pitching and one on one meetings with film investors, sales agents, distributors, content editors, broadcasters, and programmers — where 28 films and documentaries were selected.

They include ‘Forget Me Not’ (South Africa); ‘Hamlet from the Slums’ (Egypt); ‘Defying Ashes’ (Kenya) and ‘Dusty and Stones’ (Swaziland).

The Housemates Are Back to Spill their Guts What really happened between Eric and Lilo? Was Erica really into Laycon? What was all that drama with Lucy? And did Ka3na ever have the hots for Praise? All of these juicy details are likely to be discussed when the Big Brother Naija Reunion Show begins on Thursday, June 17.

Known for its drama and revelations, the organisers are promising a healthy dose of drama from the housemates of season five who were nicknamed the ‘Lockdown Geng’. It is an opportunity for the housemates to clear the air and express their real feelings towards each other.

Hosted by Ebuka ObiUchendu, the show is done as part of preparations for the commencement of another season of the reality show. It will air Mondays through to Fridays on Africa Magic Urban and Family at 10pm and 10:30pm respectively.

Ikuforiji Olaitan, better-known as Oxlade, opened the show with his latest track ‘DKT’. Backed by a live band uniformly dressed in yellow, long-sleeved overalls, he took the audience on a musical journey paddling with smooth vocals on the backdrop of soothing instrumentals. He later performed ‘Kolo’, and wrapped his session with the earworm ‘Away’.

Following the album’s tracklist sequence, ‘And So She Spoke’,

a track with spoken words of prayer from Laycon’s mom was the ideal opener for the rapper.

Afterwards, the ‘Verified’ rapper emerged on the stage dressed in a black robe with gold accents, a string of cowries wrapped around his head, and white markings made across his face to project a godlike image.

He performed the gutsy ‘God Body’. During this performance, he takes centre stage swaying

his long dreads from side to side to match the song’s energy.

Undoubtedly, his rap skills shine through as the enthused crowd joined in to sing along.

However, he couldn’t maintain the same level of energy on ‘All Over Me’, which required more singing than rapping.

Laycon experienced a fair level of difficulty vocalising but managed to pull through just fine.

New Street Foodz King Emerges After 13 weeks of sizzling competition, Fajana Adegboyega of La Krim Foods emerged winner of the second season of Street Foodz Naija, a reality television show showcasing the best of African delicacies from local chefs.

Competing with four other finalists on the grounds of Alao Aka-Bashorun Park, Gbagada, Lagos, he took home the star prize of N5 million. Street Foodz Naija is a production of FoodBay TV, owned by Maxima Media Group. The docu-series mirrors cooking competition on global food channels by showcasing the best street delicacies through the culinary prowess of 13 contestants.

“Food Bay has one mission: to put African food – not just Nigerian food – on the world food map,” said CEO of Maxima Media Group, Femi Ogundoro.

“We started this journey about three to four years ago, building content that cut across different

Fajana(3rd right), winner of Street Foodz King S2

segments within the culinary space. We decided to do this because we saw that gap within that space. If you check within the food media, we pretty much have two giants within that space: BBC Lifestyle and Food Network.

There is no platform big enough or bold enough to be able to take the African story, when it comes to food, to the rest of the world.”

For the second season finale, each contestant was presented with the same recipe to create their unique version of a potato dish within 45 minutes. Their cooking was assessed based on the taste,

general presentation of the meal, adherence to cooking brief, and observance of hygiene.

With his presentation of potato pancakes and a side of chicken sauce, Fajana stole the hearts of all three judges: Chef Alex McCoy (Lucky Buns), Chef Ette Assam (Ette’s Finger Likin’), and Chef Tosan Jemide (Cakes

by Tosan).

“When you go to a diner, you want something hearty and homey. This is something that I’d want to eat in a diner,” Alex said in his assessment of Fajana’s dish.

Keeping up with Nigerian Idol Season Six Oluwabunmi Fache The ongoing Nigerian Idol music talent reality show aired on DStv Channel 198 and Gotv Channel 29, is almost on its last tail as the battle for whom to be crowned the winner on July 11 has intensified.

Just last week, Daniel Ikechi’s hope was dashed as he is now out of the competition with the least votes eviction.

The spectacular performance

by Emmanuel Elijah, one of the

contestants, was captivating and electrifying. The judges were forced to give a standing ovation as he performed “Kiss from a rose” by Seal as Daniel who had the least vote was evicted from the show.

Another contestant, Kingdom Kroseide ignited the stage by performing “un-break my heart”

by Toni Braxton and the rendition was simply breathtaking as he held the entire viewers glued to the screen all through his performance.

Short of words, Obi Asika says “you have done a great job to the song and it was a great performance”, while Seyi Shay added “I am blown away with your vocals and the way you delivered the song”. DJ Sose couldn’t help but shower praises on the contestant, reiterating that he killed the song.

Akunna Okey would do everything possible to continue to up her game, and with her rendition of LeAnn Rimes “how do I live.”

33

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ 2021

Unpacking the Themes of Colonialism and Duty in Death and the King’s Horseman Chiamaka Ozulumba This past weekend, I visited the famous Terra Kulture to watch the stage adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman. The show was produced by Bolanle Austen-Peters, in partnership with the MTN Foundation.

While many elements of the story were retained, there were slight changes in the dialogue, some twists and powerful dance and musical performances that gave the production a refined, yet authentic feel.

Death and the King’s Horseman is set in WWII, in Oyo State so Nigeria is still a British colony. The production sticks to the historical fact, which is, in fact, based on true events that occurred in 1941.

It is the story about Elesin Oba, the King’s horseman, who enjoys all the privileges of a King in return for submission to his fate to commit ritual suicide after the death of the king he serves and follow him to the realm of the dead. This tradition is considered sacred and crucial in honouring the dead king and ensuring the well-being of the community.

The show climaxes when due to Elesin Oba’s hesitation, he is prevented by Mr. Pilk-

L-R: Cast, Death and the King’s Horseman, Olarotimi Fakunle; Executive Secretary, MTN Nigeria, Odunayo Sanya; Cast, Death and the King’s Horseman, Mawuyan Ogun; Customer Operations Executive, MTN Nigeria, Ugonwa Nwonye and Cast, Death and the King’s Horseman, Lanre Adediwura at the command performance of Death and the King’s Horseman, sponsored by the MTN Foundation, in Lagos.

ings, a local colonial officer, from committing ritual suicide.

Mr Pilkings arrests Elesin Oba for what he considers a crime.

The morality of the custom of mandatory ritual suicide has been questioned severally, as is typical with most cultural practices. Elesin Oba’s role is regarded as crucial by members of the community in ensuring its balance and progress but the British thought completely differ-

ent, asserting that the practice was “barbaric,” without first attempting to understand it which is characteristic of the colonialists and so-called “explorers”.

It was interesting to see the various characters insist on their perspectives, which are heavily influenced by their socialisation. One of the most influential chiefs, Iyaloja and Olunde, son of Elesin Oba, were persuaded that the com-

mission of ritual suicide was a non-negotiable tradition to be followed, while Mr. Pilkings, his wife and Amusa, a converted Christian maintained that it was bad tradition.

The white messiah complex of Mr. Pilkings was also evident from his assumption that arresting and preventing Elesin Oba from committing ritual suicide was saving his life. Elesin Oba, clearly, was not very pleased with this because

NAFOWA Commemorates Children’s Day with Air Force Pupils

he knew what it entailed for him and the rest of his community, telling Pilkings: “You did not save my life, District Officer. You destroyed it.”

The play also emphasises the theme of duty. It was evident that the writer had intended to hold Elesin Oba solely responsible for the outcomes of his actions. Elesin Oba was happy to enjoy the privileges of his office but unwilling to perform his customary duty.

His irresponsibility and distraction by the privileges he enjoyed were chided by the Iyaloja, when she encourages him to stay true to the ritual upon which the good of his society depends, “Eating the walnut is not so difficult as drinking water afterwards.”

He also delays in carrying out his duty by going to marry a young bride and inadvertently provides Mr Pilkings enough time to stop him.

The events take a tragic turn when Olunde convinced it was his duty to fulfil tradition and maintain the spiritual well-being of the community where his father had failed, committed suicide in his place.

Olunde’s stronger sense of responsibility, in spite of the fact that he hadn’t enjoyed the privileges his father had, further darkens the shadow already cast on his father’s actions and amplifies his shame.

The production was a terrific watch. The actors, singers and dancers all understood the assignment and delivered sublime performances both individually and as a group.

I didn’t expect any less from a partnership between the MTN Foundation and Bolanle Austen-Peters and I certainly was not disappointed.

Chief Abu Inu Umoru Buries Father-in-Law in Style

Chairperson, NAFOWA Logistics Command, Mrs. Yemisi Makinde, flanked by members and some of the beneficiaries

To commemorate Children’s Day, the Nigerian Air Force Officers’ Wives Association (NAFOWA), Logistics Command chapter, donated school materials to the less advantaged pupils in Nigeria Air Force Schools in Ikeja.

They also conducted a free de-worming exercise for pupils of the Nigerian Air Force Primary School 1, 2 and 3, also in Lagos. The Chairperson, NAFOWA Logistics Command, Mrs. Yemisi Makinde, while presenting the materials to pupils, said the association carries out such intervention to make impact and serve humanity.

According to her, the programme is to celebrate and identify with the children to make them feel loved given the situation of what is happening

in the country to let them know the future is bright.

She said: “Children’s Day is celebrated all over the world due to its significance. The day is set aside globally in recognition of the greatest human assets the next generation.

Those human assets include all our children here.

“Some of them would indeed be the defenders of our great nation either as productive civilians or as service members in any of the military services. “ In the Nigerian Air Force, the officers and men have taken a solemn duty to preserve the territorial integrity of the nation’s airspace and associated assets.

“While the officers and men are engaged in this great sacrifice, we, the wives, are charged

with the responsibility of managing the home front.

“In doing this, we ensure that our husbands and children are mentally and physically ready to endure the challenges they face either at the workplace or their schools.

“Thus, the Nigerian Air Force Officers Wives Association (NAFOWA) is set up to encourage both our spouses and children to be the best in whatever they do.”

On the increasing trend of social vices such as drug abuse, sexual and genderbased violence, and fraud, she said it has necessitated the need to continually talk to children and be more involved in their lives.

“We need to give them all the support we can and encourage them as they are

our future leaders.

As a body, NAFOWA has come to see our children, to talk, encourage and also show them that we care so they don’t engage in these acts of criminality which can ruin their future and prevent them from achieving their dreams and aspirations”, she added.

While visiting the NAF Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, NAFOWA donated items including adjustable baby cots, safety nets, curtains and distributed gifts to children in the ward as well as special gift package to children born on May 27.

The highlights of the visit include tour of children wards to interact with the children and also to identify possible areas where NAFOWA contribute their quota.

Mbah

It was a carnival of sort as Mr. David Orji Mbah, a renowned Christian and community leader was laid to rest in his country home at Nenwe, in Enugu State. A revered gentleman by character and discipline, Uncle David as he was fondly called was a very hospitable man. While in Lagos in his hay days, his house was home for all, especially for young men and woman who came to the city from the village in search of greener pastures.

No wonder, the occasion was a roll call of sort as dignitaries from far and

home were in attendance.

Chief Abu, the Chairman of Setraco Nigeria Limited, who by virtue of being the first in-law, he is married to Thelma Ify, the first daughter of Uncle David, had an array of guests who graced the occasion. Distinguished guests included Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the former governor of Edo State and erstwhile National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Mr. Clem Agba, the minister of State for Economic Planning, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Former deputy Senate president, among others.

34

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ 2021

ART WEEKEND

…For pure art enthusiasts

Uniting Cultures with Moers Festival 2021

Although the NRW’s InternationalVisitors Programme for global culture experts was restricted to a virtual experience due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the performances at the 50th anniversary of the Moers Festival in Germany released spectacular cultural and creative energy. Yinka Olatunbosun reports

S

even participating journalists Rejean Beaucage (Canada), Nuno Catarino (Portugal), Tom Greenland (USA) Eyal Hareuveni (Isreal), Bouke Mekel (Netherlands), Yinka Olatunbosun (Nigeria) and Kazue Yokoi (Japan) were taken on a virtual tour of the cultural space which had been revived by the golden anniversary of the international music festival with the theme “50 Years of Moers Festival: Border Crossings Between Jazz and Contemporary Music in the lower Rhine and the Ruhr region.’’

The concert was made enjoyable by the top-quality production job by the ARTE network that enhanced visibility at every show, providing superb streaming of the entire event, including interviews with performers and exciting discussions towards making positive impact.

The Moers Festival which ran from May 21 to 24 was given a boost when a legislative decision in Germany allowed limited outdoor audiences. The on-site team carried out over 1,400 mandatory COVID-19 tests to ensure that on-site fun seekers are kept safe.

For virtual audiences, the burden was shifted to broadband strength.

The Director, Moers Festival, Tim Isfort in virtual press conference with the international journalists, revealed that the festival has the tradition of celebrating innovative musicians.

The double bassist who also writes theatre music and film scores revealed

Joe McPhee in performance

that the festival was important in uplifting the spirit of the artists who had been constrained by the pandemic.

For five decades, the Moers festival had been remarkable for being a cipher for new music, experimental soundscapes and free improvisation. This edition featured not just jazz greats but rock bands. Opening highlights included a gathering of all fourteen previous “Improvisers in Residence” from a tradition established in 2008, and a beautiful solo set by pianist Brad Mehldau.

American jazz guitarist John Scofield, Ukranian Composer and pianist Lubomyr Melnyk, American multiinstrumentalist Joe McPhee; sound artist and composer Julien Desprez; Will Guthrie & Ensemble; Australian percussionist Nist-Nah, Colin Stetson (Canada), American jazz artist David Murray, American Rock Band Strictly Missionary; the American rock band Cel, the Ugandan Ensemble Nihiloxica amongst others. The virtuoso guitarist, Desprez brought some rock vibrations

to the stage whilst the Miami-born Joe McPhee evoked some Harlem spirit with his tribute to the jazz saxophonist and composer, John Coltrane. It must have been a cultural picnic for the physically distanced audience who sat on the grass to enjoy the Will Guthrie & Ensemble, a predominantly audiophonic collective.

Founded in 1971 by Burkhard Hennen, Moers Festival is an annual international music festival in Moers, Germany. It emerged from being a platform for free jazz to world and pop music as well as avant-garde jazz.

It included African Dance Night in 1985 which featured legendary artists from Africa such as Mory Kante, Salif Keita,ChebMamiandYoussouN’Dour.

The press conference that preceded the concert weekend was an opportunity for the Nigerian journalist to open the eyes of other culture journalists to the world-class stature of Afrobeats, citing the recent victory of Burna Boy in the Global Music Category at the 2021 Grammys as a case in point.

Exploring Ancestral Ideology in ‘LostTruth’ Chinelo A. Iwenofu Patrick Ofili has defied the norms of the strict scientific reasoning which is usually accredited to his medical profession by veering into the world of the spiritual and the African supernatural. In his second published work, ‘Lost Truth,’ he explored the African phenomenon of ancestral curses. A calm feast of intrigue awaits the readers.

Ofili introduces us to the typical Nigerian bourgeoisie Skinner family, by in an easy flowing style. But a sense of urgency is introduced to the reader from the very beginning, when a mysterious birthday card and invitation note written by Femi Skinner who is the most senior surviving member of the brood, arrives at the home of his

estranged life-long friend, another main character known as Sekibo Suku. As relationship intrigues unfold one after the other, plagued by some mysterious ancestral curse, in trying to solve it and meet the challenges, one travels throughout the narrative with colourful characters.

Ofili’s narrative technique is realistic, deliberate and gripping.

The different interests described demonstrate the deep selfishness of the human agenda and ushers in complications which led to the need for an investigation of the family past in the first instance.

It is certainly not your normal run-of-the-mill tale. Fans of detective ‘Whodunnit’ type stories are bound to appreciate the build-up to finding out the truth, as the audience are treated

to a history lesson on the origins of the featured family.

A mesmerising background check it is as mystery upon mystery pile up one after the other.

Clearly, the grip around human curiosity keeps on tightening until the very last page of the book, when a painful realisation dawns on the surviving family members. Indeed, the ‘Lost Truth’ is finally found.

The 218-paged book was first published in 2019 by UK-based Austin Macaulay Publishers. Though currently available as an e-publication, hard copies will soon be distributed around the world. t*XFOPGV JT UIF $&0 "GSJDBHFOEB 1VCMJDBUJPOT

Art House Revs for Online Auction Yinka Olatunbosun Arthouse Contemporary announces the twenty-sixth edition of its Modern and Contemporary Art Auction, taking place online on Invaluable. Bidding opens on May 28, 2021 and closes on June 7, 2021.

This auction will include 77 lots of artworks ranging from the modern period to contemporary art. Auction highlights include Ben

Enwonwu’s ‘The Leaf,’ an abstract wood sculpture from 1962, and two landscape watercolour paintings

by Ben Enwonwu from the early 1960s.

The auction will feature Bruce Onobrakpeya’s Sahelian Masquerade, a large-scale metal foil relief from 1988. The auction also features three gelatin silver prints by famed Nigerian photographer J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere from his iconic series on Nigerian hairstyles.

‘Invaluable’ is an online auction

platform and marketplace with a bidding console that simulates all of the aspects of being at the auction house. Invaluable bidding is user friendly, safe and secure. Bidders bid with ease and confidence with tools like language translation, currency conversion, and a real-time message centre.

Public viewing of auction highlights will take place at Kó Gallery, 36 Cameron Road, Flat 2, Ikoyi, Lagos, from Monday, May 31, 2021, to Monday, June 7, 2021.

COVID-19 Concert Honours the Fallen Ones Yinka Olatunbosun On Sunday May 16, 2021 Church Organ Projects in Nigeria (CHOPiN) held a concert and memorial service in honour of the lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Held on the first anniversary of a YouTube weekly hymn episodes conceived by Lanre Delano, CEO, CHOPiN, the concert was organized to inspire people and make them embrace with optimism the reality that there is life after COVID-19.

The concert had at its venue the Methodist Church of the Trinity, Tinubu, Lagos in adherence COVID-19 to guidelines. Attendance was strictly by invitation and with no more than 150 people in attendance.

The event was kick started with an opening prayer by the Proto Presbyter, Very Reverend Jonathan Bamidele Osin; the opening hymn titled ‘For All The Saints,’ and then the welcome address by Tele Ogundipe.

The main menu of the day was the rendition of hymns and there were quite a few of them performed by greatly talented singers that included Wanyinna, Olumide Dada and Angela Loks backed up by the choir and the organists Victor Ashaolu, Biodun Falode and Henry Ujiro on the Five-Manual Allen Organ.

Guests included many hymn loving eminent personalities amongst which were Sir Abayomi Williams, Sir Olusegun George, Pastor Oluwemimo Ogunde (SAN), Ambassador Ogunnaike, Architect Roti & Gbemiga Delano, Mr & Mrs Ayo Koyejo, Engineer Sunmade Agbe-Davies, Professor Oluremi Sonaiya and her husband, Tokunbo Odukale, Prof Debo Adeluola and Senator Dr. Lanre Tejuosho, Pro-Chancellor, University of Lagos, who was the special guest of honour but was ably represented by Lady Chika Nmezi.

In his remarks about the event, Pastor Ogunde, who was integral to it, said, “It should be an occasion of consolation of comfort for us. I don’t think it’s actually a sad occasion, and the reason why I say so is that I believe the worst is past and affliction will not arise the second time in the name of Jesus.

“So this is the reason why I came in here today with the mind that we’ll use this time to assure

Delano

ourselves in the Lord, all of us who are believers, that God is still on the throne, He’s greater than COVID-19, and we’ll use this time to remember all those who’ve lost loved ones. “ And our set, Igbogbi College Old Boys Association 1975-77, was also badly hit. We lost five members in that terrible COVID-19 year so this memorial is also for us. Good friends who left great families behind; we also are remembering them today.

“And so, we thank the Lord that He has spared our lives to be here and to use this occasion to remember them in spiritual songs in hymns, Psalms and spiritual songs as the Bible has commanded us. So, it’s actually a pleasure for me to see today, to see all of us alive, and to see clearly that all those who died haven’t in vain.”

Touching briefly on his COVID-19 experience, Lanre Delano explained why the weekly hymns are necessary to help people cope with the pandemic.

“I was seated on my favourite chair in my parlour on a Monday getting fresh air through the window when I got a call that a classmate had died. The following day and the next was the same story so I resolved not to sit on the chair again. “ But I forgot and sat again on it on Friday and immediately my phone rang again but I didn’t pick the call until I had stood up from the chair and moved away from it totally.”

Other hymns, including ‘When Peace Like A River’, ‘O Lord My God’ and ‘I Cannot Tell’ were also performed at the concert which rounded up with a vote of thanks

by Ogunde alongside the closing prayer and benediction by Bishop Oluranti, a Retired Anglican Bishop of Ife Diocese.

Communal Re-Imagination Call for Artists Yinka Olatunbosun Communal Re-Imagination, an alternative art school programme, is in search of artists to collaborate with other artists to regenerate and revive the community through artistic interventions and creative engagement of young creatives between the ages of 18 and 35.

Participants will be expected to re-imagine Iwaya-Makoko community based on their understanding of its present state to what they wish it could be by using multimedia and interdisciplinary methods.

In addition, the participants will work in tandem with the Site Gallery’s Society Explorers, that is a collective of young people aged

14 and 19 who meet regularly to collaborate, discuss and create.

They work with artists and the gallery team to get involved in the artistic programme and to develop projects, events and ideas.

This call is open to only 20 artists, between the ages of 18 and 35. These successful applicants will be enrolled in a three monthlong series of workshops and creative brainstorming sessions facilitated by both Site Gallery’s Society of Explorers and selected interdisciplinary artists from the artist network of the Vernacular Art-space laboratory.

The call targets artists with skills in photography, video art, 3D printing, T-shirt print, Tie and Dye, Disc Jockeying, Performance art and Contemporary (pop) dance.

35

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ 2021

METRO

…Your city life in print

Makinde’s 730 Days of Engagements in Oyo Olusegun O. Oludire In soccer, half time is not for rest. It is for stock-taking, strategy and restrategising.

In governance, middle-of-term period serves the same purpose. The team leader gathers his strikers, together they review the shots fired, goals netted and goals missed. The team that would win comes out of its concave, out of the half-time retreat roaring to go for gold. I have seen this in the last couple of days in Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State as he marks his second anniversary, serially inaugurating projects and at the same time renewing his bond with his people.

He was in Ogbomoso during the week where he inspected the 3km Under G-Stadium-LAUTECH-Second Gate road which was reconstructed and lit by his administration. He took a walk down the length of the road and used that as an opportunity to interact with residents in the area. He held a town hall meeting in that town where the old and the young of both sexes freely told the governor their minds. He listened with rapt attention as his people raised issues with two standing out: they wanted enhanced security and more infrastructural projects. The governor told them his government would construct the Iseyin-Oyo and OyoOgbomoso roads. The people clapped.

More importantly, they wanted the governor to implement the ban on open grazing of cows. They knew how vicious herdsmen had been using open grazing to ruin lives and farms in far and near places.

They knew that courtesy of Makinde’s proactivity, the state already had a law criminalizing open grazing. What needed to be done was making the law to work.

Makinde told the people that he was resolute in his resolve to implement the law banning open grazing. He told his people that their fears were his fears, their comfort his comfort. He promised them security of their lives and property from all forms of threats. The people were relieved. They rejoiced.

The reception the governor got in Ogbomoso was understandably tumultuous.

Ogbomoso people have a reason to cling to Makinde. The community has been a major beneficiary of the administration’s thoughtfulness in policy, project and programme conception and implementation. The suffering of students, parents and staff of LAUTECH, Ogbomoso ended with the coming into office of this governor. He succeeded where others before him failed in getting the university freed from the fetters of joint ownership with Osun State. Now, students of that school and their sponsors can predict when the school opens and when it closes; when they commences their courses and when they would graduate. There is no longer the fear of four-year courses taking ten years to finish.

A General does not rest on stale victories, he moves from one field to the other consolidating on grounds won and looking far ahead for more to win for his people. It is not enough to get the sole ownership of LAUTECH, it must be made to go back to its old position as the best state university in Nigeria. That resolve demands every effort and resource. So, Makinde, during the visit, commissioned the High Dependency Unit (HDU) at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso. The HDU, according to the governor, would provide secondary healthcare services for individuals who need more extensive care. He was at the

Makinde inaugurating St Paul Primary School, Okutapemo, Iseyin

Makinde receiving a portrait from representatives of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) students in Ogbomoso

Makinde acknowledging cheers from residents during an inspection walk on the 3km Under G-StadiumLAUTECH-2nd Gate Road, Ogbomoso, which was reconstructed and built by his administration

main campus of LAUTECH where the entire students population massed round him in appreciation of his purposeful leadership. Then, to whom much is given, much is expected. That saying is applicable to the government and the governed.

Governor Makinde spoke clearly as a truly progressive minded leader. He assured the students that now that Oyo had secured sole ownership of the university,

the era of academic calendar disruptions were over for good. The ecstatic students cheered. Then he capped everything with the announcement of a 25 percent reduction of school fees for all students. The campus roared in joy. Indeed, when the righteous rules, the people rejoice.

The governor went deep into Oke Ogun area and held a townhall meeting at Saki.

He listened as the people expressed their

concerns on several aspects of their lives.

He listened, he made clarifications when expedient; he made promises where necessary and announced policies when appropriate to allay fears. He gave the people feedbacks about what he was doing on virtually all aspects of governance in the state. As expected, the people made requests. They asked for better healthcare and infrastructure. The governor assured them that his government would continue working to address these issues. There would always be new projects for the people to enjoy. While in Saki, he flagged off the 45.3km Saki-Ogbooro-Igboho road reconstruction. The road has a pivotal role to play in turning round the lives of the agrarian communities it is planned for. It is being reconstructed by Messrs China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for N8.7 billion under the Alternative Project Funding Approach. He did not leave Saki without commissioning the reconstructed Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) Headquarters, Saki. “We made the decision to situate the headquarters of agribusiness in Oke-Ogun, the food basket of Oyo State and put this former moribund OYSADEP facility to good use. At the same time, we launched the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP). The programme will train 1,000 youths in agribusiness. This is one of our government-led and private sector supported projects,” he told the people.

Iseyin is the gateway to Oke Ogun.

Governor Makinde entered the town a winner having broken the jinx of Moniya - Iseyin road which is the major road that links Oke Ogun with Ibadan, the state capital. Before his coming into the governance of the state, that road had completely collapsed. The APC regime that preceded Makinde’s government awarded the contract but did nothing on it. Makinde came, revoked the contract and re-awarded it to a credible contractor who stuck to the marching order to deliver a quality, Grade A road. Makinde got the applause in Iseyin during the week. The people are with him because he did not betray their trust. He also commissioned St Paul Primary School, Okutapemo, Iseyin. This is one of the 26 model schools completed by his administration under the FGN-UBEC/ Oyo SUBEB intervention projects in the past year. Makinde promised that his government would “continue to prioritise access to quality education in Oyo State.

We want all our children to be in school.

We want them to have access to quality education. That is why we are not just constructing/renovating buildings; the classes are equipped with furniture and we even go a step further to provide our children with textbooks and notebooks.”

He has vowed to continue to inaugurate projects till December as his own patriotic way of telling the opposition that he is different from them in seriousness and Godliness. He said his second-year anniversary “is an opportunity to present our midterm scorecard. My team has tracked our campaign promises against our manifesto – Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State 2019-2023 to see how we are faring. Our goal is to continue to fulfill the promises we made to our people in Oyo State since that is the basis upon which they gave us their mandate.” His enemies sure have a war to lose fighting him. ...Oludire writes from Ibadan.

36

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ 2021

POLSCOPE

áÓÞÒ ÎÎã ÎÓàáÜÓ ÏÎÎã˛ÙÎÓàáÜÓ̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙט ͸΀͸ͽ ͻ͸; ΁ͻͽ;

The Follies of the IPOB Agitation

Nnamdi Kanu

T

he Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) is not exactly a pressure group. It is more like a selfdetermination group. But worse still, it is a group dedicatedly focused on how to break out of the Nigerian federation. Thus, it can rightly be described as a separatist group. It is based exclusively in the South eastern states of Nigeria. It is now being led by a certain 54-year old Nnamdi Kanu, from Abia State.

In the Beginning…

Before him was Ralph Uwazurike and his MASSOB (Movement of the Realisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra) noisome pestilence, also with the poise to break away the Igbos from the Nigerian federation.

Uwazurike who had gone in and out of prison detention a couple of times on account of the unwholesome agitation is now in the cooler.

Like a relay race, the younger Nnamdi Kanu has taken over from where Uwazurike stopped with greater fire, fevour, fury and folly.

Kanu himself had had a leadership battle with Uwazurike whom he accused of enriching himself wholly from the financial support in the pursuit of the dreamy Biafran project.

Since he took over the agitation, neither the East nor the Nigerian federation has known peace in its real sense. He had formed a vanguard of Boys, mostly idle but energetic boys, who it seems, have sworn to preach or perish with the Biafran idea.

Few years ago (in November 2015), the Nnamdi Kanu was arrested and clamped into detention. He was charged with crimes of insurrection, treasonable felony and belonging to an outlawed group. He was bailed by his senator, Eyinnaya Abaribe. Bail was granted on health grounds. Not quite long after Kanu was released, he broke all the bail conditions he was given. Security operatives thus swooped on him. And he fled. That was how he turned a Nigerian fugitive, and inadvertently put Abaribe in trouble as he (Kanu) had obviously jumped bail. I don’t know Abaribe wriggled out of that legal noose, as he could never find Kanu to appear in court.

From wherever he is (some say Israel, others say Malaysia and yet others say London), Kanu has literally been waging war against Nigeria, saying and sending many unprintable verbiages and missiles on the Nigerian state and its leaders. He was the author of the BuhariJubril-of-Sudan story, claiming that the “real Buhari” had died in London hospital and that the one posing as Buhari is indeed one Alhaji Jubril from Sudan. Time and space have long proven the wildness and folly of such a story.

Buhari has remained alive ever since then.

The Uzodinma Factor Some analysts however say that the activities of IPOB was reactivated after the curious emergence of Hope Uzodinma as the governor of Imo State. They, along with others, have wondered about the weird Supreme Court logic of catapulting a man who came fourth

President Buhari

in an election to the number one position, as the overall winner. Those who so believe aver that the height of unrest in Imo State is not unrelated to the “manipulated victory” of Senator Uzodinma, whom they perceive as the representative of the “oppressive order”.

The latter has also mishandled many of his opportunities to build bridges, rather he had tried to show prowess in unleashing the instruments of government terror on the people. That explains why he has been a serial victim of the attacks by the IPOB and ESN (Easter Security network) operatives. His country home was attacked, a section of it, plus a Rolls Royce car (insignia of a Bourgeois) were burnt. Earlier this week, reports said his convoy ran into the ESN operatives and a gun duel ensued, with him narrowly escaping death. The fire of violence is surely blazing high in Owerri.

The October #EndSARS protest of last year, which swept across the country, was to further raise the notch of violence in the South east region beyond a comfortable bar.

In recent months however, the scale of attacks on government facilities and infrastructure have further heightened tension in the region.

The degree of disquiet and raw violence being visited on federal institutions and organisations, including human beings, have clearly declared that it is an uprising against the Nigerian state.

The prime target seems to have been Police Stations and their formations. In almost all the states especially Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra and now Delta, the spate of attacks on police stations and policemen has been very worrisome.

Next to Police stations is the attack on INEC offices in the entire region. Hardly is there any state in the South east where INEC offices and materials have not been burnt down. According to INEC, a total of 21 INEC offices have been burnt down across the country in the last two years. Again, that indicates that the attackers or their sponsors have an angst against INEC, another agency of the federal government.

In Owerri, the attackers had also hit the Owerri Correctional Centre , burnt it down, and set over a thousand inmates free. To say the damage on government has been huge would be an understatement. Not only are the facilities being razed down, suspects and convicts in the various facilities and police cells have been set free, thus worsening the criminal content of the society. Everybody is on edge. Tension is pervasive. And this arrests development and commerce.

So, what does IPOB Really Want?

Driven by factors that are far from real, all that would assuage the quest of the IPOB brigade is the realization of a Biafran State. The IPOB is galloned full with utopian ideals, a fairy-tale ululation that with the Republic of Biafra, all of the problems of the Igbo man would have been technically solved. Such a great illusion!

Sadly, the sweet but deceptive talks about the possibilities of a Biafran State, has continued to serve as ethnic tonic for the mass of idle but brawny youths who see Biafra as their ultimate breakthrough in life. So, the follow-

ers of Nnamdi Kanu are quite fanatical about their beliefs, ethos and modus vivendi. The brainwash they get is evidently photographic.

It sticks indelibly.

But why have they refused to learn from the failed bid of late Odumegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu who unsuccessfully waged a war against the Nigerian state in a bid to create the Biafran republic. May it be said that Biafra will not happen, at least not in the nearest future. Those who think otherwise may have to re-format their thinking template.

Perhaps sadder is the failure of the IPOB leader to apply common sense to the quest.

He is surrounded by and goaded by the mileu of jobless youths, some of whom are without skills, whose main occupation is how to pull down the Nigerian state. They have become the ready and willing raw material required to execute the Biafran project. They operate like tractors without a brain box. They lack reason. They lack logic. They lack tact. They are bereft of critical thinking.

Yes, they may be receiving funding from some elite and wealthy businessmen, but how many sub-regional leaders in the region share the silly El-Dorado the IPOB leaders are painting?

How can an enterprising Igbo man either in private or public sector truly support the Biafra agitation? How is it going to work?

Kanu himself has little or no stake in the Nigerian state. His immediate family is not in Nigeria. He gets grants and financial support from all kinds of organisations across the land. Yet, he has no investment, not even a six-inch block, anywhere in Nigeria. How does he expect the burgeoning entrepreneur of the Igbo extraction, to support the idea of a Biafran nation? Does Kano realise that his fellow Igbos are a very possessive set of dwellers? The Igbos land in a place and they literally take it over.

I just returned from Kaduna, where the Nigerian Guild of Editors held its Biennial conference. Driving round the Kano city, we could tell how entrepreneurally domineering the Igbos are. The whole of Sabon-Gari and many other parts of the state are visibly under the commercial control of the Igbos.

Does Kanu want these ones to abandon their financial empire and head to Okigwe or Uturu or Awkunanam? In Lagos, the Igbos are literally the financial controllers of the Lagos economy, what with the ownership of all the leading markets in the state. It is about the same story everywhere in the country. If Nigeria fails, (God forbid), the likes of Kanu will simply dodge under the veil and move on. He has alternatives. How many people trooping after him, has an alternative locational plan?

What is even the guaranty that if there is a Republic of Biafra, there will no longer be problem among the Igbos? Have we not seen and witnessed the bitterness and desperation in their politics, so much that there are tales of killings and maiming? Who says having the illusionary Biafra would spell heaven-on-earth for the Igbos?

It is true that those fanning the embers of war do not understand the language of war. What

they probably have heard is mere dialect of war.

Even the Kanu who is 54 was yet a suckling when the Nigerian Civil war started in 1967.

Many of the ESN/IPOB youths spoiling for war today, were neither born before the war, nor do they truly understand the colours of war. They should go and read Chimamanda Adichie’s, Half of a Yellow Sun..... It is an experience not worth having again.

What the Argument Should Be I think rather than call and drive for a secession agenda, the agitation should be for a more equitable treatment of the Igbos in the larger Nigerian federation. The South East is surely one of the major tripods that make up the Nigerian state. It should be treated not only fairly but equally. I refuse to understand, for instance, why the South east is the only geo-political region with five states while all others have six, even as the North West geo-political zone has seven.

Some think the larger Nigerian federation is yet fighting a proxy war with the East. Were it not so, there is no reason why an Igbo man, cannot be the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police. There appears to be some unwritten codes that bar the Igbo man or woman from certain offices and privileges. The Nigerian state should climb out of the trenches and make the country run truly on the prism of No Victor, No Vanquished!

I think, the IPOB and all such other groups in the region should put their hands together and crusade for a more equitable distribution of the privileges and appurtenances of the federation.

There is no tribe or ethnic group that is more Nigerian than the other!

Going Forward…

We cannot continue the way we are going. Not only is the spate of unrest, destruction and killing quite unsettling, it portends grave danger for the continued unity of the country. The killing , for instance, of Ahmad Gulak, in Owerri, last week, by the notorious “Gunmen”, bodes a bad omen for the unity of the country. If it is not well managed, it could trigger ethno-tribal clashes that could throw the nation into a cesspool of crises.

To avoid a dire consequence, I believe all sides, especially the IPOB/ESN agitators should cease fire and end the hostilities. Government –at the national and subnational level, should also create an atmosphere that can gender free and unfettered dialogue. Tough talks on both sides should stop. That is why I also believe that the threat by President Mohammadu Buhari to literally teach the IPOB agitators a lesson, though provoked, was unnecessary.

IPOB and its leaders must stop not only the attacks and wanton destruction of lives and property, but also desist from the irreverent insult and abuses on the President , and other leaders who disagree with their approach. Two wrongs will never make a right. No dialogue or rapproachment can ever be meaningful in the atmosphere of abuses and insults.

What everyone should want ultimately is a united and prosperous country where though tribe and tongue may differ, we shall remain resolved to stand in unity.

37

FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 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 02Jun-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 153.49 155.02 -5.12% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 3.98% Nigeria International Debt Fund 303.67 303.67 -23.78% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 111.78 111.78 -0.29% 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 4.63% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.25 3.31 -9.67% 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 128.54 129.96 -3.36% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.05 1.05 -20.99% 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 18.87 19.44 4.06% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 413.25 425.71 3.22% ARM Ethical Fund 37.09 38.21 10.04% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.08 1.09 -11.21% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.96 0.96 -14.51% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.03% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 104.44 104.44 2.68% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 1.94 1.94 -23.75% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.00 2.04 -28.88% mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund N/A N/A N/A CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.73% Paramount Equity Fund 15.83 16.11 -1.05% Women's Investment Fund 131.73 133.09 -1.08% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.57% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 115.84 116.59 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 106.64 106.64 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 3.17% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.16 1.17 -3.33% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.35 1.35 -14.63% 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 2.74% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,161.98 1,169.66 -2.97% 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 1,371.94 1,371.94 10.34% FBN Balanced Fund 185.40 186.57 -1.22% FBN Halal Fund 109.67 109.67 6.66% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.41% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 125.02 125.02 3.29% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 152.16 154.22 0.65% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.18% Legacy Debt Fund 3.95 3.95 2.01% Legacy Equity Fund 1.56 1.59 2.27% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.16 1.16 2.09% 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 2.79 2.85 21.45% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 149.19 149.62 -4.01% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.22 1.26 29.58% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.09 1.09 6.17% 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 1.35 1.37 -0.69% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,140.02 1,140.02 3.22% 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 10.82 10.85 3.25% 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 1.66 1.68 7.19% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.37 12.44 2.02% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.52% PACAM Equity Fund 1.58 1.59 -0.28% PACAM EuroBond Fund 110.91 112.52 0.87% 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 3.05% 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 3,123.06 3,147.80 -2.89% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 229.89 229.89 2.24% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.17 1.19 0.00% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 301.49 301.49 2.32% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 215.15 217.80 -1.54% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.51% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,106.72 10,231.95 -3.78% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.25 1.25 2.32% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 113.78 113.78 2.43% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 101.23 101.23 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 N/A N/A N/A United Capital Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Wealth for Women Fund N/A N/A N/A United capital Sukuk Fund N/A N/A N/A QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.15 12.25 2.36% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.57 13.69 11.11% Zenith Income Fund 24.09 24.09 0.49% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.83%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

123.46 51.40

2.25% -1.91%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.48 123.39 96.71

12.58 123.39 98.46

-5.57% 1.36% -2.71%

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 5.55 16.83 1.00 18.78 160.08

3.72 5.63 16.93 1.00 18.98 162.08

-2.53% -2.36% 2.94% 2.11% -8.42% -26.81%

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.

38

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Minister Seeks 30-year Concession for Airports Chinedu Eze The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has proposed about 30 years period for the concession of the four airports in line with its concessioning programme.

Sirika, made this known in Lagos, saying that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) was expected to give the final approval for the concession of the airports.

The federal government had in 2016, listed the Murtala muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja; Aminu Kano International Airport (AKIA), Kano and Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), Port Harcourt, as strategic airports that would be concessioned in the first phase of the exercise, while

others would follow after that.

But the aviation unions have ceaselessly continued to kick against the policy, even as the government insists there is no going back on the programme.

Sirika explained that the infrastructure concessions of this nature come with significant financial obligation, stressing that in order for the concessionaires to recoup their investments, the concession period would be between 20 to 30 years and may be extended.

He also clarified that apart from the passenger terminals of the airports slated for concession, the government would also concession the cargo terminals in the four airports.

“Infrastructure concessions of this nature come with a significant

financial obligation, which any responsible concessionaire will no doubt be keen to recoup.

“To this end, we envisage a minimum of 20 to 30 years for the programme, which may be extended depending on performance and Nigeria’s best interests. That said – the duration is not set in stone and will be subject to negotiation and then final approval by the Federal Executive Council,” Sirika said.

Sirika insisted that the concession of the airports would enable Nigeria to achieve its objective in terms of air transport value chain growth by developing and profitably managing customercentric airport facilities for safe, secure and efficient carriage of passengers and goods at worldclass standards.

Ecobank Disburses N9.5bn to Support Agric Value-chain Nume Ekeghe In a bid to support the agricultural value-chain in Nigeria, the Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan, yesterday said the financial institution has disbursed N9.5 billion to the sector.

Akinwuntan also said with the strides being made in the sector, the bank has grown its agric entrepreneur customer base from 13,000 to 145,000.

He said this at the Ecobank/ Vanguard Agribusiness Virtual Summit where hundreds of stakeholders gathered to deliberate on, ‘Digitising the agricultural value-chain for unlocking productivity, economic growth and

food security.’

He said: “We are population of over 200 million and agriculture is absolutely critical and at this summit, we expect to further explore how we can unlock the productivity, economic growth and food security potentials of the segment. “We did support the implementation of the Anchor Borrowers’ scheme of the central bank across all regions in Nigeria with a total disbursement of N9.5 billion to over 52,000 farmers and in fact, at this point, the number of agric customers of Ecobank which at the end of 2019 was just 13,000, is currently about 145,000 agric entrepreneurs have come to join us and are accessing these facilities.”

He further praised the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) proactive support for the sector, saying it was a major driver of growth recorded in the positive GDP growth recorded in Q1 2021.

He added: “We are all aware how the year 2020 brought about global challenges in terms of the Covid-19 pandemic with economic recession and disruption of the global supply chain. And amidst all this, the agric sector in Nigeria continues to contribute positively to the overall economy.

“When you look at the economy of Nigeria, for the first quarter 2021, we recorded positive GDP growth but the growth of the agric sector was 2.9 per cent.

Aero Launches Flight Service to Bauchi, Maiduguri Oluchi Chibuzor Aero Contractors, one of Nigeria’s major carriers on Wednesday launched flight service to Bauchi and Maiduguri using its Boeing 737- 400 just released from C-check.

The airline said the introduction of the new routes was in a bid to serve its customers and give them more choices and flexibility in planning their business, family and leisure trips.

Speaking during the launch of the routes at its office in Lagos, the company’s Managing Director and Accountable Manager, Captain Abdullahi Mahmood said the airline would fly from Abuja to Bauchi four times a week; every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, beginning

from Wednesday, June 2, 2021; while the Abuja to Maiduguri flight would commence soon.

Mahmood said Bauchi flight would depart Abuja at 09:10am, arriving Bauchi at 10:10am. The return leg would then depart Bauchi at 10:40am, and arrive Abuja at 11:40 on weekdays, while on Sunday the flight would depart Abuja for Bauchi at 09:50am, with the return flight from Bauchi at 11:20am.

Passengers from Lagos can fly to Bauchi via Abuja using the 06:45 flight out of Lagos.

“We believe that these routes will add fresh breadth to our schedule and complement the quest to rebuild our network to other cities as part of our strategy to expand. Bauchi and Maiduguri are some of the under served

cities in Northern Nigeria.

“The Boeing 737-400 aircraft, which will be used for these new routes has just been released from C-Check by our Maintenance Repair Overhaul team. We are proud of our team for their expertise and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for their professionalism and support,” Mahmood said.

He said the airline’s Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) allows it handle total repair with certified maintenance facility where commercial and private aircraft maintenance can be completed, adding that Aero’s foundation is built on a proven safe, reliable and on-time transportation while delivering to customers the highest standard of safety and efficient services.

FirstBank Promotes 1179 Employees First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced the promotion of 1179 employees to new grades as part of the year-end appraisal outcomes.

The promotion exercise, according to a statement from the bank, was a demonstration of its commitment to empowering its employees and driving productivity against all odds, especially amid the social, economic and health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, “the resilience and sustainable performance

and growth of FirstBank for the past 127 years have been largely attributed to the commendable efforts of our employees.

“Promotion is one of the numerous incentives we employ to reward our employees and boost their passion as they work towards the accomplishment of their individual career goals as well as the delivery of the bank’s strategic objectives.

“In this regard, the promotions serve to specially thank our employees who worked assiduously with dedication throughout the unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a Bank, we are committed to grooming and retaining top talents who are motivated to demonstrate and live our core values of entrepreneurship, professionalism, innovation and customer-centricity.’’

It noted that FirstBank has a clearly defined career growth and talent programmes that cater for the leadership development needs of employees across levels. These include the Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP), Leadership Acceleration Programme (LAP) and FirstBank Management Associates Programme (FMAP).

Sirika

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

---- 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 ˜ ͯ ͰͮͰͯ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $69.01 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $68.53 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

39

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ˜ 2021

NGX All-Share Index Rises 0.2% as Market Extends Gains Goddy Egene The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited All-Share Index (ASI) rose 0.2 per cent to close higher at 38,548.24 as the market extended its recovery for the second day.

The appreciation was supported by gains recorded by MTN Nigeria Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Lafarge Africa Plc. Market capitalisation added N34.3 billion to close at N20.1 trillion. Similarly,

the volume and value of trading improved 59.1 per cent and 41.2 per cent to 249.7 million shares and N1.9 billion respectively.

The most traded stocks by volume were Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc (35.5 million shares), FCMB Group Plc (22.7 million shares), and AXA Mansard Insurance Plc (16.9 million shares) while Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc (N182.9 million), Lafarge Africa Plc (N100.3 million), and MTN Nigeria Plc(N99.2 million) led

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

by value.

A total of 19 stocks appreciated led by University Press Plc with 10 per cent, trailed by Berger Paints Nigeria Plc with 9.8 per cent. John Holt Plc gained 9.4 per cent.

Conversely, 17 stocks declined led by CWG Plc with 9.6 per cent, trailed by Union Bank of Nigeria Plc with 6.7 per cent.

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc and Courtville Business Solutions Plc shed 6.6 per cent and 4.7 per

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

cent respectively.

Analysts at InvestData Consulting had on Wednesday said the undervalued state of the market and rising dividend yields had made equities more attractive, with most of the low-priced stocks outperforming the prevailing inflation rate, making equity space an irresistible hedge for investors against inflation.

“The low Price/Earnings ratio of the market, owing to the stronger corporate numbers, ahead

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

of the half-year earnings season and interim dividend payments, presents huge opportunities for discerning investors and traders to build wealth,” they said.

According to them, sector rotation will continue in June, as sectors and companies benefiting from the inflationary pressure and rising yields may likely post better numbers.

“The trading pattern we saw in the previous month may continue, given that many companies have

O F

June as mark-down and payment dates, end of the quarter for fund managers window dressing, and repositioning of portfolios ahead of Q2 numbers and others. This calls for a change in investor perception and trading strategies to stay ahead of the market, thereby ensuring that you are among the few who make money from equities’ trading, which is possible through regular learning of technical analysis and candlestick pattern,” they said.

0 3 / 0 6 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

40

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 •T H I S D AY

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 • T H I S D AY

41

42

˾ FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021

Friday, June 4, 2021 Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index Fell 7bps The dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ϴďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

ϭ͕ϲϴϮ͘ϴϯ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ dŚŝƐ ǁĂƐ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ ZENITH (+0.2%), MTNN (+1.5%), and WAPCO (+0.5%).

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϭϰ͘ϵй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘

Local Bourse Sustains Gains... ASI up 0.2%

Ticker

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

1,692.83

0.08%

15.3%

69.3%

15.4%

3.6%

5.3x

837.00

0.0%

32.4%

-1.7%

-1.7%

10.0%

3.5%

12.5x

74.00

0.0%

11.3%

-4.3%

-4.3%

19.1%

11.2%

35.5x

28.40

0.0%

8.6%

-12.2%

-12.2%

26.6%

4.3%

23.00

0.2%

6.6%

-7.3%

-7.3%

23.1%

2.9%

215.50

0.0%

5.6%

-12.0%

-12.0%

32.0%

164.90

1.5%

4.9%

-2.9%

-2.9%

1,400.00

0.0%

3.9%

-7.0%

20.50

0.5%

3.4%

-2.6%

8.15

0.0%

2.8%

10 United Bank for Africa PLC 11 FBN Holdings Plc

7.15

-0.7%

7.15

-0.7%

12 Nigerian Brew eries PLC 13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

59.00 45.10

Buying interest in MTNN (+1.5%), FCMB ;нϮ͘ϵйͿ ĂŶĚ WAPCO ;нϬ͘ϱйͿ ďƵŽLJĞĚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůů-Share

3 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC 4 Zenith Bank PLC

improved to -4.3% ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ by േϯϰ͘ϯďŶ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ േϮϬ͘ϭƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚͲ ened ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ϱϵ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϰϭ͘Ϯй ƚŽ Ϯϰϵ͘ϳŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ േϭ͘ϵďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ SOVRENINS (35.5m units), FCMB ;ϮϮ͘ϳŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ MANSARD ;ϭϲ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ STANBIC

5 Dangote Cement PLC 6 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC 7 Nestle Nigeria PLC 8 Lafarge Africa PLC 9 Access Bank PLC

14 International Brew eries PLC 15 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC 16 SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

ROE

20 Ecobank Transnational Inc 21 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

1.0x

10.6%

24.4%

0.7x

13.1%

32.2%

15.5%

12.1x

3.8x

7.4%

8.3%

97.1%

11.4%

14.7x

13.3x

5.7%

6.8%

-7.0%

104.8%

17.8%

28.3x

37.9x

4.3%

3.5%

-2.6%

8.8%

6.2%

10.3x

0.9x

4.9%

9.7%

-3.6%

-3.6%

16.4%

1.4%

2.5x

0.4x

9.8%

40.4%

2.3%

-17.3%

-17.3%

0.3x

7.3%

2.6%

0.0%

0.0%

11.1%

1.1%

3.8x

0.3x

6.3%

0.9%

2.3%

5.4%

5.4%

4.5%

1.8%

63.9x

2.9x

1.6%

1.6%

-2.0%

2.1%

2.4%

2.4%

20.7%

2.9%

6.9x

1.3x

8.9%

14.5%

-15.5%

-3.4%

5.35

0.0%

1.5%

-10.1%

-10.1%

28.50

1.1%

1.2%

9.6%

9.6%

680.00

0.0%

1.8%

69.0%

69.0%

1.6%

0.9%

7.4%

3.2%

6.0%

6.0%

24.6%

16.0%

11.7x

2.7x

7.3%

8.5%

-11.1%

-11.1%

11.4%

1.1%

2.2x

0.2x

9.9%

44.8%

14.3%

5.00

0.0%

0.6%

-16.7%

-16.7%

0.6%

0.0%

66.6x

0.2x

17.00

0.0%

0.6%

-3.4%

-3.4%

25.5%

12.6%

7.0x

1.7x

8.6%

3.15

2.9%

0.5%

-5.4%

-5.4%

4.8%

29.3%

1.64

-1.2%

0.3%

-19.6%

-19.6%

9.2%

0.9%

4.1x

0.4x

3.0%

24.7%

7.8x

2.9x

3.0%

12.8%

0.5x

1.1%

-2.4%

2.4x

2.7%

-6.9%

18.4%

5.8%

-2.2%

-2.2%

-1.3%

-0.3%

as 5 ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ϭ ŝŶĚĞdž ůŽƐƚ͘ dŚĞ &Z-/ d ĂŶĚ ŽŶͲ

26 Presco PLC 27 Unilever Nigeria PLC

75.90

0.0%

0.3%

7.0%

7.0%

17.9%

7.3%

11.90

0.0%

0.2%

-14.4%

-14.4%

-6.2%

-4.1%

ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂͲ

ƟŽŶ in REGALINS (+3.8%), OANDO ;нϬ͘ϳйͿ ĂŶĚ WAPCO ;нϬ͘ϱйͿ͘ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ĨĞůů Ϭ͘ϱй ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƐĞůů-ŽīƐ in FBNH (-Ϭ͘ϳйͿ and UBA (-Ϭ͘ϳйͿ͘

;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ to 1.2x from 0.8x in ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ ϭϴ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ϭϱ ĚĞͲ ĐůŝŶĞĚ͘

UPL

(+10.0%),

BERGER

;нϵ͘ϴйͿ

and JOHNHOLT ;нϵ͘ϰйͿ ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ ǁŚŝůĞ CWG (-ϵ͘ϲйͿ͕ UBN (-ϲ͘ϳйͿ ĂŶĚ SOVRENINS (-ϲ͘ϳйͿ ůĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐ͘ tĞ ĞdžͲ

1.1x

6.9% -5.8%

0.0%

0.2%

3.8%

3.8%

0.3%

31.6%

31.6%

35.5%

4.2%

29.00

0.0%

0.3%

52.6%

52.6%

-17.8%

-9.0%

6.05

0.0%

0.2%

3.4%

3.4%

25.0%

7.8%

3.1x

0.7x

1.19

0.0%

0.2%

5.3%

5.3%

20.5%

3.3%

3.3x

0.2x

145.00

0.0%

0.2%

11.5%

11.5%

21.9x

#N/A N/A

4.3%

4.6%

19.00

0.0%

0.2%

7.8%

7.8%

8.3%

1.1%

8.3x

0.6x

2.1%

12.0%

-15.9%

33.3%

37 Oando PLC 38 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd 39 Beta Glass PLC

3.00

-1.7%

0.1%

-6.7%

0.0%

0.7%

0.1%

-18.9%

4.7x

#N/A N/A

1.8%

1.5x

11.3%

0.9x 9.1%

-15.9%

8.0%

0.5%

3.0x

0.4x

6.9%

7.4%

0.9%

6.3x

0.6x

4.5%

-18.9%

14.5%

2.6%

1.3x

0.2x

62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-28.7%

-7.6%

0.0%

0.1%

-2.5%

-2.5%

9.3%

6.4%

3.57

0.0%

0.0%

-0.8%

-0.8%

-10.6%

-5.5%

15.8% 77.4%

1.9x 7.8x

32.4% 30.6%

-100.0%

54.00

21.1% -22.4%

-16.8%

0.7x

2.1%

0.6x

12.9% -22.5%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

UP L

1.54

10.0%

SOVR EN IN S

35.5

-6.7%

B ER GER

6.70

9.8%

FCM B

22.7

2.9%

J OH N H OLT

0.58

9.4%

M A N SA R D

16.9

0.0%

T ic k er

A B CTRA NS

0.37

8.8%

F ID ELIT YB K

14.5

0.9%

A F R IP R UD

6.20

6.9%

J A P A ULGOLD

12.4

-3.4%

C H IP LC

0.80

6.7%

FB NH

9.0

-0.7%

UC A P

6.20

5.1%

ST ER LN B A N K

8.7

-1.2%

VER IT A SKA P

0.22

4.8%

R OYA LEX

7.5

-2.5%

R EGA LIN S

0.55

3.8%

VER IT A SKA P

6.6

4.8%

FCM B

3.15

2.9%

UA C N

6.4

0.0%

ƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ͘

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

T o p 10 L o s e r s T ic k er C WG

P ric e 1.69

Value

P ric e C hg %

-9.6%

ST A N B IC

182.9

-2.0% 0.5%

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

UB N

5.55

-6.7%

WA P C O

100.3

SOVR EN IN S

0.28

-6.7%

M TNN

99.2

1.5%

C OUR T VILLE

0.20

-4.8%

D A N GC EM

93.1

0.0%

J A P A ULGOLD

0.57

-3.4%

FCM B

72.2

2.9%

LA SA C O

1.49

-3.2%

UA C N

70.5

0.0%

R OYA LEX

0.78

-2.5%

FB NH

64.5

-0.7%

-2.0%

GUA R A N T Y

57.9

0.0%

47.6

0.0%

41.8

0.0%

ST A N B IC

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

14.4x

5.1%

0.58

T ic k er

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ as measured by market breadth

3.4x

5.50

T o p 10 G a i n e r s

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ

1.5%

6.20

35 Wema Bank PLC 36 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

2.5%

0.7%

-6.9%

ƉƌŝĐĞ

6.0%

0.9%

0.4%

ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ

0.6x

0.9%

0.4%

ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͕

4.9%

0.0%

0.0%

33 Total Nigeria PLC 34 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

39.9x

-8.8%

0.7x

2.24

0.0%

Gas ĂŶĚ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƌŽƐĞ ϲďƉƐ͕ ϱďƉƐ ĂŶĚ ϭďƉƐ

0.9x

26.3%

96.50

0.88

31 Custodian and Allied Insurance 32 AIICO Insurance PLC

13.5%

3.1x

13.50

and FLOURMILL ;нϭ͘ϭйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ͕ Kŝů Θ

5.7%

4.1x

24 NASCON Allied Industries PLC 25 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

(+1.5%)

0.6x

8.0%

ĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ďƵůůŝƐŚ

ƟǀĞůLJ͕ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ MTNN

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

2.8%

22 FCMB Group Plc 23 Sterling Bank PLC

28 PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC 29 United Capital PLC 30 Guinness Nigeria PLC

P/BV

2.5%

Bullish Sector Performance

sumer Goods indices ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ͕ ƵƉ Ϭ͘ϴй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘Ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐͲ

P/E

6.7x

0.0%

18 Okomu Oil Palm PLC 19 Fidelity Bank PLC

ROA

2.1%

;േϭϴϮ͘ϵŵͿ͕ WAPCO ;േϭϬϬ͘ϯŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ MTNN ;േϵϵ͘ϮŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ 17 11 PLC ǀĂůƵĞ͘

Price Change Index to Date

Current Price

1 Airtel Africa PLC 2 BUA Cement Plc

index rose Ϭ͘Ϯй ƚŽ ϯϴ͕ϱϰϴ͘Ϯϰ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ zd ůŽƐƐ

Price Previous Change Current Price YTD Weighting Change

45.10

N EM

2.08

-1.9%

A C C ESS

WEM A B A N K

0.58

-1.7%

OKOM UOIL

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com

Taiwo Ogundipe | togundipe@afrinvest.com Christopher Omoh | comoh@afrinvest.com

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

43

NEWS

Imo PDP Asks Uzodimma to Resign over Insecurity Amby Uneze in Owerri The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State yesterday asked the state governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, to resign over escalated insecurity in the state.

Speaking at a press conference in Owerri, the state capital, the PDP chairman in the state, Mr. Charles Ugwu, said that the crisis in the state had shown that the governor had no answer to the spate of killings in the state.

2023: Kogi Gov Kicks against Rotational Presidency Deji Elumoye in Abuja Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has rejected the quest for the country’s presidency in 2023 to be based on rotation, describing the system as one that has outlived its usefulness.

Rather, he said competence and the ability to deliver on all variables should be the criteria to be used in considering who occupies the presidency in the next general election.

Speaking to journalists yesterday after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, Bello, who said he may heed the clamour from Nigerians to contest the 2023 presidential election, emphasised that competence and capacity should be the criteria for electing the next president, and not his ethnicity or region.

He stressed the need to fix Nigeria politically once and for all since 1999, by evaluating the country’s successes or achievements from the rotational presidency between then and now.

According to him Nigeria

should simply go for the best “after all, we copy this democracy from America and some of the order developed countries. How many of these countries are practising ‘traditional’ presidency?”

The Kogi State governor also said: “You see, we are where we are today not because we are practising rotational presidency. If you want to go by that rotational presidency, then do perfect zoning. Go by perfect rotation. And if you go by rotation and whichever way you come from, I don’t think you should exclude where I come from. That’s number one.

“Secondly, let us get a credible, sincere, patriotic Nigerian to fix the country.

If you’re flying an aircraft, you don’t ask who the pilot is. If you take the operation in a hospital, you wouldn’t ask which doctor is this, is he from your zone, your tribe or your religion? all you want is the best pilot to fly you safely to your destination. All you want is for the best doctor to handle you and deliver you safely in the operation.

The party also called for a holistic investigation into the killing of a former presidential aide, Mr. Ahmed Gulak, in the state, on Sunday morning.

Ugwu said that the All Progressives Congress-led government lacked the capacity to guarantee the safety and security of lives and properties of the people of the state.

“Governor Hope Uzodimma in his capacity and responsibility as the Chief

Security Officer of the state has failed to protect the lives and property of Imo State.

This has become necessary in view of the evident lack of capacity of the All Progressives Congress in Imo State to guarantee the safety of the people of the state,” he said.

The PDP chairman said that the opposition party was alarmed at the continued escalation of the militarisation of the state and mass arrest and alleged killing of the

youths of the state.

Ugwu said that PDP was worried at the ongoing intimidation and harassment of youths of the state and “the attendant reciprocal and retaliatory attacks, burning down of police stations, and offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

He said, “Our party finds it too worrisome that innocent civilians are mowed down daily, security personnel are wantonly killed, arson,

murder, and carnage have become the lot of the hitherto most peaceful state in Nigeria.

The climax is the gruesome murder of Hon Ahmed Gulak, the former aide to the then president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and a former member of the PDP. “The PDP, Imo State, wishes to use this medium to solemnly extend our heartfelt condolences to all those who have fallen to the senseless and avoidable carnage going on in the state.”

IN THE SPIRIT OF PARTY AFFILIATION …

L-R: Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Debo Ogundoyin; Benue State Governor and Special Guest, Dr. Samuel Ortom; Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde; his deputy, Mr. Rauf Olaniyan; and the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Prof. Daud Sangodoyin, during the official inauguration of 65km Moniya-Ijaye-Iseyin road, at Moniya junction, Ibadan…yesterday

Abductors of 156 Tegina School Girls Increase Seven Unknown Gunmen Ransom Demand to N200m Kill Three People in Imo

Laleye Dipo in Minna

Seven hoodlums yesterday invaded the Orji area in Owerri, the Imo State capital and its environs and allegedly killed three persons in different locations.

The unknown gunmen operation started at about 05:30pm lasted for more than an hour, moving in and round the area shooting sporadically.

The gunmen started their operation from Orji axis, headed to Spibat area and visited other areas, killing three persons.

The victims are a woman and two men among which was a truck driver.

The abductors of the 156 pupils of the Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School in Tegina town, Niger State, last Sunday, have increased the ransom demanded for their freedom to N200million.

Initially, the bandits demanded N110million for their release with a threat

The hoodlums, who wore black clothes, drove freely in their two vehicles, a bus and a hilux vehicle.

Reacting to the incident, the Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Bala Elkana, said: “Normalcy has returned to Orji area by combined teams of the Police and other supporting security agencies. Three persons were killed by the hoodlums who blocked Orji flyover and started shooting sporadically.

The cause of the shooting is still not clear at the moment.

The investigation has, however, commenced.”

NECO Governing Board Appoints Ogborodi as Acting Registrar Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The Governing Board of the National Examinations Council (NECO) has approved the appointment of Mr. Ebikibina John Ogborodi as the acting Registrar/Chief Executive of the Council.

Ogborodi hails from Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

He holds his first degree from the University of Jos in 1986, and a Master degree in Learning Disability from the same university in 1999.

In a statement signed by the Council’s spokesperson, Azeez Sani, the appointment followed the death of the late Registrar, Professor Godswill Obioma, on June 1, 2021, after

a brief illness.

It stated that until his appointment, Ogborodi was the director of Special Duties in the Council.

“A circular issued by the Director of Human Resource Management, Mr. Mustapha K. Abdul, explained that the acting registrar’s appointment was endorsed by the governing board of the council at its emergency meeting held on June 2, 2021,” the statement said.

The circular explained that Ogborodi’s appointment was as a result of his being the most senior director in the Council.

It stated that all activities of the Council are to continue unabated as earlier planned.

that if by Thursday (yesterday) the money was not paid, the children would be killed.

However, the bandits reportedly got across to the parents yesterday evening that the ransom has been increased to N200million with the same threat.

Father of five of the victims and a tipper driver, Malam Ali Mohammed, confirmed the

latest development to THISDAY yesterday night.

Mohammed, who was sobbing during the conversation with THISDAY, said: “The bandits are serious about killing our children if we cannot pay.

“We are poor people; we don’t have such money, so we are pleading with the government to come to our rescue.”

THISDAY learnt the parents and public-spirited people in the community have been able to raise only N11million, a large chunk of the money was by a top political office holder in the area.

It was also learnt that a mother of one of the victims, whose name was not given, died yesterday as a result of trauma.

Don’t Invade South-east, Igbo Youths Warn Military Nseobong Okon-Ekong Igbo Youths Movement (IYM) has raised the alarm over an impending proclamation of a state of emergency and the invasion of South-east by contingents and battalions of soldiers and warned that the consequences of such military action would be difficult to contain and impossible to control.

Founder of IYM, Mr. Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, said that the rulers of Nigeria did not have the idea of the resolve and anger of the people in the region.

“The rulers will certainly meet unexpected reaction

from the people of the zone.

51-year-old pent-up anger in their hearts will explode in an unimaginable dimension, that may make it extremely difficult to save Nigeria.”

Ugochukwu-Uko argued that those who planned to invade South-east and conquer the region, clearly, did not “know the pain and humiliation the people of the region had endured for years, their strength and wealth, and especially the commitment of the diaspora population, and their readiness for a long and protracted struggle for justice and freedom from oppression.

“The federal government,” he

said, “underestimates the mindset of over 20 million Igbo youths scattered all over the world, who have sworn not to hand over a situation of eternal servitude as permanent onlookers in the Nigerian project, to their progeny.

Regardless of whatever may be wrong with the methods of the agitators, 90 percent of the masses, sympathise with their cause, therein lies the problem.”

Ugochukwu-Uko who is believed in many quarters to have the ears of the leadership of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), narrated his personal experience.

“I have been closely involved

with Igbo youths for close to four decades. I know that the last two years have been a remarkable period in the renaissance of ideas for self-determination, never before experienced in this clime. I happen to know, because I have intensely interacted with Igbo youths over the years and managed to earn their confidence.

“I say this confidently: Neither their parents nor teachers have any idea the degree of anger and bitterness in the hearts of Igbo youths born between 1990 and 2000, who are aged between 21 and 31 years- certainly not the government. The whole world is in for a rude shock.”

Panic as Gunmen Snatch School Bus in Ondo James Sowole in Akure There was a palpable panic yesterday by parents of the pupils of Chimola Nursery and Primary School, Oba Ile, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, when information filtered into town that the school bus had been hijacked by gunmen, who allegedly whisked the vehicle attendant away.

The incident, according to

a source, happened around 6:45a.m., when the driver and the attendant were on the routine house-to-house picking of pupils.

The source disclosed that as the driver was waiting in front of a house to pick some pupils, three men riding on a motorcycle came and ordered the driver to surrender the bus key.

It was also gathered that while the driver surrendered the key at gun point, the attendant, who rushed down from the bus, was

bundled back into the bus by the gunmen, who drove off with her inside.

The source also stated that an Assistant Commissioner of Police, whose house is located where the incident occurred, called the school administrator and narrated what happened.

It was also the police officer who called the officers of Obaile Police Division, who came to take the driver away to the station.

As the news of the snatching of the bus filtered to Obaile and environs, parents, whose wards attend the school, became apprehensive and besieged the school demanding to know the whereabouts of their children.

While speaking on the incident, the school Administrator, Mrs. Bolatito Akindemowo, said it was at the police station where the driver narrated what happened to her.

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

44

NEWSEXTRA

Bandits Gathering in Kano Forests, Ganduje Cries Out Kingsley Nweze in Abuja

The Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje, yesterday raised the alarm that bandits were gathering in the forests in the state and called for military intervention in the state.

Ganduje stated that bandits had taken over its forests and converted them to hideouts.

He added that the bandits were gathering in Falgore Forest and may be planning to carry

out attacks.

Ganduje said this at a meeting with the service chiefs at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

“I am also here to seek the help of the Nigerian Army to sustain the peace in Kano State.

Bandits have converted some forests in the state into hideouts.

“The bandits are grouping in Falgore Forest and may be planning to attack our people.

“We are building houses, schools and hospitals for the

herdsmen in some of the forests but we want the Army to commence activities at the Falgore Forest.

“I plead with the Nigerian Army to quickly conclude

work on the training depot at the Falgore Forest so that they can take over the forest.”

The governor also condoled with the Nigerian Army over the death of the former Chief of

Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 other officers, describing their death as painful, untimely and sorrowful.

The Chief of Army Staff, Major General Yahaya Farouk,

reiterated the commitment of the Army in conjunction with, other arms of Armed forces and security agencies to contain insecurity across the country.

House Member Accuses Security Agents of Extra Judicial Killings in Imo Udora Orizu in Abuja A member of the House of Representatives representing Abor Mbaise and Ngor Okpala federal constituency of Imo State, Hon. Bede Eke, yesterday alleged that security agents were killing people in the state.

Eke who addressed journalists in Abuja, said the killings were coming on the heels of the recent murder of the former presidential adviser and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Ahmed Gulak in Owerri, Imo State.

He listed the names of some of the victims of extrajudicial killings by security agents in the state as Noel Chigbu Nzeribe and Tochi Ekwe, while Ekwe’s kinsmen were missing.

The lawmaker lamented that

some of his constituents had fled to the bush due to fear of being harassed by security operatives in their homes.

He appealed to the security agencies to stop killing innocent people, adding that the police and Army should conduct discreet investigations to identify the perpetrators of Gulak and bring them to justice rather than mass intimidation and killings of his constituents. ‘’Recently in Imo State, so many issues and security challenges have been on and I want to tell you that we have had casualties; some of my constituents killed and we expect the police and the military to unravel the killers of these people. These are innocent citizens, I am aware that the family of these constituents of mine has written a petition to the Nigerian Army.

Akeredolu: Why Nigeria Must Legalise Cannabis Cultivation James Sowole in Akure Ondo State Governor and Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, yesterday restated his call for Nigeria to legalise the cultivation of Cannabis.

Speaking on a live TV programme, the governor argued that it is important for the country to legalise the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

The live interview programme tagged ‘Governor Speaks’, was part of activities lined up in commemoration of his 100 days of his second term in office.

Akeredolu was sworn in for a second term on February 24,

2021 after he won the October 10, 2020 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

Speaking during the live interview, the governor said cannabis could be a strong foreign exchange earner for Nigeria if its cultivation was legalised.

Akeredolu said, “We must find a way to legalise cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes. There is nothing wrong about it. We are only shooting ourselves in the foot.

It is a foreign exchange earner for people outside the country.

People want this. We ourselves, even our pharmacies want to develop…

ROYAL VISIT …

Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (left), presenting a souvenir to the Emir of Jiwa, Abuja, Alhaji Idris Musa, during the monarch’s visit to the Naval Headquarters in Abuja…yesterday

Tomori: Poor Preparation Responsible for COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Challenges Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja A renowned Professor of Virology and Chairman, Expert Review Committee of COVID19 pandemic intervention, Oyewole Tomori, yesterday said Nigeria would have prevented the current uncertainty over supply and availability of COVID-19 vaccines

if the country had acted promptly to order for the vaccines.

Tomori also said self-interest and lack of national interest was responsible for the inability of the country to establish and sustain factories to produce various vaccines, including that of COVID-19, locally.

Nigeria is currently

experiencing shortages of COVID-19 vaccine as the roll-out of the vaccination programme has been halted after the first phase due to lack of more doses for deployment.

The federal government has indicated that it is yet to secure confirmation for the delivery of the next consignment of

COVID-19 vaccines being procured through the Covax facility.

Tomori disclosed these to journalists at the public presentation of a book: ‘30 Laws for Good Health’, written by a medical doctor and Publisher of the Healthcare Magazine, Dr. Bola Olaosebikan.

NFF Calls for End to Killings in South-east Says Nigeria’s security forces one of the worst Tobi Soniyi The Nigerian Feminist Forum (NFF) has called for an immediate stop to the extrajudicial killings and other forms of genocide operations taking place in the South -east, as well as the abductions and disappearances of young men daily.

In a statement signed by its Communications Officer, Angela Nkwo, NFF also called for the release of all persons, including students rounded up in examination halls, and those alleged to be involved in

terrorism, assassination, prison break, murder, amongst others from the police, army, DSS, and other security sister agencies.

The group also called for an immediate and thorough investigation into the killings.

It also called on all security operatives to discharge their duties with a human face and respect for other people’s rights especially as Nigeria is a signatory to international conventions where suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The statement read in part: “We appeal to the Nigerian

government to embark on massive reorientation of our security operatives on the rules of engagement under a democratic dispensation.

“The Nigerian Feminist Forum calls on the south east governors to rise up to the oath of their office to protect their people and stop the massive human rights abuses under their watch.”

NFF expressed concern at the disproportionate killings and arrest of Nigerian citizens of eastern origin by operatives of the security agencies.

It also noted that Nigeria

security forces had been rated one of the worst in the world in terms of lack of professional knowhow, secular or pluralistic composition and adherence to human rights principles during their operations.

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, a leading research and investigative rights group in its recent report unmasked evidence of how soldiers, police and other Nigerian security operatives presently deployed to the South East have engaged in falsely labeling and abducting innocent citizens and students.

Stop Renouncing Your Soyinka Distances Self from Separatist Agitators Nation.

Identity Theft for the furtherance does not participate in Facebook, Citizenship, FG Tells Youths Nseobong Okon-Ekong In a statement issued of their views.

Tweet, Blog, WhatsApp, or other The federal government has urged young Nigerians to stop renouncing their citizenship in pursuit of greener pasture.

The Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, said the trend was worrisome and counterproductive.

He assured that the federal government would put mechanism in place that would keep young Nigerians busy in productive activities.

He urged them to stop renouncing their citizenship.

Aregbesola spoke during the Ministerial Alignment Meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Deliverables for Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government.

A statement issued yesterday

by Mr. Towoju Raphael on behalf of the Director of Press in the Ministry, Mrs LereAdams, said the minister was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Shuaib Belgore.

Aregbesola said a committee would be set up in the Ministry with stakeholders to oversee the operations and implementation of the deliverables.

He announced that the committee would be chaired by the Director, Planning Research and Statistics (PRS) in the Ministry, Mr. Kabiru Ayuba, with representatives of the four Services under the Ministry and other relevant officers.

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has distanced himself from statements making the rounds on social media, suggesting that he supported the agitation for the Yoruba

yesterday, the laureate urged the general public to ignore the utterances of those he described as “contemptible interlopers” who lack the courage of their conviction and thus take to

The statement added that Professor Soyinka does not express his opinions on national issues on social media except through print media.

“For a start, Wole Soyinka

offerings of Social Media. Any views that he wishes to express on national and other issues routinely go through the print media,” the statement partly reads.

APC Suspends Inauguration of South-east Secretariat David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended the commissioning of its Southeast zonal secretariat over the recent murder of a chieftain of the party, Mr. Ahmed Gulak.

Former Senate President and Chieftain of the APC, Senator Ken Nnamani, stated this in a press release he signed and made available to journalists.

Nnamani, who is also the South-east representative and member National Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the party, said the suspension was in honour of Gulak, who he described as a loyal party man.

The press release stated: “In honour of Mr. Ahmed Gulak, who was gruesomely murdered recently, we have decided to postpone the official

commissioning of the Southeast APC Zonal Secretariat to a future date.

“Gulak was a notable stalwart of our party and a very good friend of many of us from the South-east Chapter of the APC. “We condemn, without mincing words, the murder of Gulak and call on security agencies to unravel the circumstances surrounding

his death.

“We equally condemn the uncivilised acts of destroying government properties and attacks on uniformed operatives. All utterances and conducts capable of inciting people must be discontinued.”

Gulak was killed in Owerri, Imo State, on Sunday morning as he made his way to the Sam Mbakwe Airport to catch a flight to Abuja.

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

45

24 HOURS...

24 HOURS...

UNILORIN Student Raped, Murdered in Kwara Hammed ShittuinIlorin A 300-level student of the University of Ilorin, Miss Olajide Omowumi Blessing, has been reportedly raped and murdered in her residence located at Tanke area of the Ilorin metropolis in Kwara State.

The State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi, who confirmed the incident yesterday to journalists in Ilorin, said that men of the state criminal investigation bureau have commenced full investigations into the ugly incident.

The deceased, who was said to be staying with her elder sister at Tanke area until her death, was a student of Agricultural Science Department and hailed from Oke-Opin community in the Ekiti Local Government Area of the state.

Okasanmi said: “Her elder sister came back from work at about 06:00p.m. on Tuesday and tried severally to reach her on phone but couldn’t as the phone kept ringing.

“The elder sister came back from work to meet the door of her apartment locked and couldn’t gain entry despite repeated knocks on the door.

“She then called some neighbours who helped to break

open the door. They all met the deceased lying dead on the floor when they entered with her two hands tied to the back, and her mouth gagged.

“She was met naked, bruises was noticed on her private part, her mouth was covered among others.

“Also, a note said to have been written on a piece of paper was placed on her chest containing a message: ‘Unilorin doesn’t forgive.’

“The people later informed the police at F’ Division Police Station, who discovered the dead body, snapped the picture, and took the corpse to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) for autopsy.”

He also said that the state Commissioner of Police, CP. Mohammed Bagega, has directed immediate investigation and arrest of the attackers, which is what we are doing right now.”

Reacting to the development, the Representative of Ekiti State Constituency at the Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Ganiyu Abolarin, decried the growing insecurity in the state and demanded immediate investigation, apprehension and prosecution of the culprits.

Abolarin said: “I am deeply concerned about increasing cases of rape and brutality against the

21 Federal Civil Service Directors Fail Permanent Secretary Exams Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Twenty-one directors in the Federal Civil Service have failed the written examinations that were organised to fill the vacant permanent secretaries’ positions.

A document that was signed by Mr. Sunny Echocho and titled “Re; Selection exercise for the appointment of permanent secretaries in the federal civil service,” and dated June 1, 2021, announced the result on behalf of the examination committee.

The document disclosed they scored below the 50 percent threshold necessary to advance to the final stage of the exercise.

The least score by any candidate in the examination was 33.5 per cent while the highest was 68.5 per cent.

Names of the candidates were, however, not indicated

on the document as they were only identified by their service numbers.

The written examinations were held in Abuja on Monday to replace the retiring permanent secretaries from Ekiti, Enugu, Katsina, Lagos and Nasarawa States. The test was to appraise their grasp of policy knowledge of 46 substantive directors on Salary Grade Level 17.

The remaining 25 candidates who passed the examination by scoring 50 per cent and above, would be qualified for the next stage of the selection process which was held yesterday. They were grilled on their ICT Proficiency, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint presentation.

The final stage of the selection process is an interactive session with a broad-based panel of experts and practitioners.

Go Back, Constitute NDDC Board, Our Ultimatum Stands, Tompolo, Others Warn Akpabio Sylvester Idowu in Warri The Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, was told yesterday to return to Abuja and constitute the board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

One of the ex-militant leaders in the region, Chief Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo, was said to have insisted that the seven-day ultimatum for the constitution of the board still stands.

Sources told THISDAY that the ex-militant leader also cautioned that all the ethnic groups in the region must also be carried along in the

commission affairs.

According to the sources, “At the meeting with the minister, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo and other Niger Delta leaders reaffirmed the seven-day ultimatum, and told the minister to go back to Abuja after much deliberation to immediately constitute a substantive board for the NDDC.” Among those at the meeting with the minister were the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Kingsley Otuaro; the Sole Administrator of the NDDC, Mr. Akwa Effiong, and member representing Burutu federal constituency in House of Representatives, Hon. Julius Pondi, among others.

girl child in Nigeria.

“I strongly condemn the gruesome killing of Olajide Omowumi Blessing, a 300 level student of Agriculture Science at the University of Ilorin, who

hailed from Oke-Opin in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.

“This gruesome murder of Olajide Blessing, who was allegedly raped to death in her

home at Tanke, Ilorin, is one death too many.

“The action of the culprits is horrific, condemnable and should not be condoned by any society.

“I, therefore, urge security

agencies to speedily investigate, arrest and prosecute the culprits.

“The perpetrator(s) of this dastardly and barbaric act must be brought to justice. We must all seek justice for late Olajide Blessing.

PROMOTING TOURISM…

L-R: Vice President, FITAN, South-west, Mr. Ayodele Olumoko; Chief Executive Officer, Goge Africa, Mr. Isaac Moses; Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos on Tourism, Arts and Culture. Mr. Solomon Saanu Bonu; Divisional Head, Retail and Consumer, Banking, Shina Atilola, at the Goge Africa Tourism Training powered by Sterling Bank in Lagos... recently

Buhari Canvasses Global Support for Niger Basin Development Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has canvassed for global support to develop resources in the Niger Basin area, which is home to over 160 million people who depend on the River as a means of sustenance.

Speaking yesterday while declaring open the 12th virtual Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Niger Basin Authority (NBA), Buhari said the Niger River commonly called

Djoliba in Guinea and Mali, offers enormous development opportunities in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, hydro-power, hydraulics and navigation.

He emphasised the need to continue to promote its enormous potential for the benefit of the people and the improvement of the socio-economic development of the region.

The President thanked the NBA’s Technical and Financial Partners, including the African

Development Bank (AfDB), the Global Environment Fund (GEF), the German Financial Cooperation (KFW), for identifying with the vision and projects of the authority.

Buhari also urged them to continue to support efforts geared towards developing the Niger Basin in the fight against pollution and the degradation of ecosystems in order to manage its resources in a sustainable and equitable manner.

Buhari, who is the outgoing

Chairman of the NBA Leaders’ Summit, also used the occasion to give account of his five-year stewardship, piloting the affairs of the institution.

He said: ‘‘ Your excellencies, it has been a privilege to lead this Summit of Heads of State and Government for the past five years, since you all unanimously endorsed me as the Chairman at the 11th Summit held in Cotonou, Benin Republic on January 8, 2016 to lead our common institution.

Omo-Agege: N’Assembly Has No Power to Write New Constitution Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has disclosed that all parts of the current constitution cannot be altered, stressing that the National Assembly has no power to write a new Constitution.

Speaking yesterday on a live TV programme, Omo-Agege urged all those agitating for a new constitution to mount pressure on their representatives at the National Assembly.

Constitution amendment and

review has been an issue of debate in Nigeria for quite a while with many calling for the total repealing of the present charter.

Channels TV reported that the proponents of the repeal process argue that the 1999 Constitution upon which the nation currently operates is not a ‘people’s constitution’.

According to these advocates, the present canon is flawed and was forced upon Nigerians by

the military.

For those who seek to repeal the Constitution, an amendment will not suffice, however, Senator Omo-Agege in his interview stated that the legislators “do not have the power to write a new Constitution,” adding that the only power invested in the legislature is the ability to alter.

According to him, the extant legal order only provides for alterations, not a total overhaul.

He stressed that Section

9 which some often quote, envisages that any provision of the constitution can be altered, but not all at once.

Omo-Agege further disclosed that for a rewrite of the constitution to be done, then Section 9 would have to be amended, however, for this section to be revised, then fourfifth vote in the Senate which is about 88 Senators out of 109 and about 288 members of the House of Reps.

Katsina Police Kill Five Bandits, Repel Attack on Katsina Villages Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Katsina State Police Command yesterday said its operatives repelled bandits’ attacks on Wurma and Yarbudu villages in Kurfi Local Government Area of the state, and killed five of the bandits.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Gambo Isah, in a statement made available to

journalists, said over 150 bandits riding on motorcycles invaded the villages last Wednesday at about 5:30p.m.

Isah, a superintendent of police, in the statement, said: “On June 2, 2021, at about 17:30hrs, bandits numbering over 150 on motorbikes, armed with AK 47 rifles, attacked Wurma and Yarbudu villages in Kurfi LGA. “A team of Police Mobile

Force (PMF) personnel stationed at Wurma village engaged the hoodlums in a fierce gun battle and repelled their attack. One was neutralised and many escaped with gunshots wounds.

One operational motorcycle of the bandits was also captured.”

According to him, a team of policemen led by the Area Commander of Dutsinma blocked the escape route of the bandits

at Yarbudu village and engaged them in a gun duel.

Isah added: “The doggedness, uncommon courage and tactical operational strategy adopted by the police officers made the bandits to flee into the forest with varying degrees of bullets wounds. In the course of profiling the scene, four bandits were neutralised and five of their motorcycles were also captured.”

Corps Commander Unveils Projects to Immortalise Attahiru

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Commander, Nigerian Army Armoured Corps (NAAC), Major General Mohammed Magaji, yesterday commissioned landmark projects in Obienu barracks to immortalise the name of the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru.

The projects were meant to strengthening the corps security and improve its capacity for

administrative purposes.

The projects that were commissioned included the refurbishment and repair of 22 ‘B’ vehicles that have contributed immensely to the accomplishment of the tasks of the corps.

Magaji also repaired and refurbished 12 low beds (tank transporters) and sunk five boreholes in the cantonment, which were also commissioned.

He also commissioned the installed Solar Street Lights in

the barracks and the beautification of the barracks gate and befitting sentry posts at the two gates with street lights.

The Commander of the Armoured Corps (CAC) explained that the commitment of the corps in the refurbishment of the vehicles would definitely go a long way in improving the operational capabilities of the army’s personnel.

He lamented that “some of the vehicles were unserviceable for

more than 10 years and some beyond repairs” but expressed happiness that the refurbished vehicles would help to equip officers that would be deployed to the war zones with healthy vehicles to perform well.

The CAC commended the officers and men of the corps for their support and hard work and urged them “to continue to be committed to their professional mandate towards discharging their statutory duties.

46

FRIDAYJUNE 4, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

Ayade Visits Buhari, Accuses External Bodies of Backing Secessionist Agenda Deji Elumoye in Abuja Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, yesterday visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, with an allegation that external bodies are fanning the embers of disunity in Nigeria “in order to sell their arms and ammunition in the event of crisis.”

Ayade, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) about a fortnight ago, told journalists after his meeting with the president that Nigeria’s foreign enemies are precipitating the current crisis, including secessionist propagations in some parts of the country, so as to have it balkanised for the purpose of

selling their weapons.

According to him, “As you know, what this international community does for Africa, once they see that large deposit of natural resources in a country, they would be glad to see such country go to war. On one side, they’re funding enemies of state; on the other hand, they’re funding secessionists in order to be in the business of gun running.”

Meanwhile, Ayade also played glowing tribute to the PDP, saying he still has great respect for his former party, adding that it was the platform that gave him the ticket and supported him to win elections for the Senate and governorship respectively.

Ayade said until he defected to the ruling party, he was

a committed and dedicated member of the PDP. On why he moved to APC, the governor said: “I moved into the APC because of my personal relationship with the president. I have watched him, and I found honesty and integrity, and I see his wish and commitment to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. To that extent, I have a leader that I trust.

“Opposition in the third world means let everything happen that will make the other party look bad. The increasing insecurity in Nigeria as Nigeria suffers attacks from extraneous aggressors, paid militia and bandits, and the opposition party only celebrates that because it believes it gives it a chance to win in 2023.

Lagos Seizes 34 Rams, Vows to Confiscate Roaming Goats, Others The Lagos State Government has seized 34 rams during raids of illegal slaughter slabs in different parts of the state.

The government also warned those breeding animals within their residences to restrain and prevent their pets from roaming the streets, warning that the government won’t hesitate to confiscate any straying animal.

The government made this known in a statement issued yesterday and titled, ‘Lagos Dislodges 10 Illegal Slaughter Slabs At Ipaja, Ikorodu, Others.’

The statement quoted the Commissioner for Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, as saying, “The officials of the Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance Team of the State, during the week dislodged four illegal slaughter slabs and animal markets at Ayobo-Ipaja, Odogunyan and Maya in Ikorodu, and Mangoro, Old Abeokuta Expressway. During the exercise, 21 live rams, 13 live goats and well over 4.5 tonnes of meat carcass were confiscated; after being certified safe for consumption the meat was donated to orphanages and correctional homes “It has been observed that the animals slaughtered at these illegal slaughter slabs are not inspected by

veterinary officials, as a result, the wholesomeness cannot be vouched for, hence the need for officials of the MEC Team to continue the dislodgement exercise.”

“The Commissioner also enjoined those who breed animals within their residences to restrain and

prevent their pets from roaming the streets as these animals not only constitute a nuisance to public health, but also destroy the aesthetics created by the State Government to beautify the city, adding that any stray animal confiscated by the MEC Team would be auctioned.

Lottery Commission Extends Inter-agency Collaborations Ahead of its planned National Gaming Conference, slated for July 2021, the Management of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) has expressed its readiness to collaborate with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on all areas of mutual interest in fostering increased revenue generation for the federal government.

The Director General, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila stated this recently when he led the management of the NLRC on a courtesy visit to the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Mr. Muhammad Mamman Nami.

The NLRC DG noted that with the sustained developmental

CHANGE OF NAME CHANGE OF NAME I formally known and address as SAMSON CHIBUIKE, now wish to be known and address as NNA CHIBUIKE CHARLES. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS BLESSING ANULIKA PULIFE, now wishes to be known and addressed as MRS BLESSING ANULIKA PULIFE-OKAGU. All documents remain valid. General public, please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as ONUKARIGWE ROSEMARY NKECHI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ONYIBE ROSEMARY NKECHI. That i am changing my name because I am legally married to MR. EMMANUEL ONYIBE at Ikoyi Registry on 27th March 2021. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as UGOCHUKWU STELLA NGOZI. now wishes to be known and addressed as ISAAC STELLA NGOZI. All documents remain valid. General public, please take note.

I formally known and address as ONAH AGATHA UKAMAKA, now wish to be known and address as ANIOMA AGATHA UKAMAKA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS JOY HOPE OKAFOR. now wishes to be known and addressed as MRS JOY HOPE ANYAHAEBIZI. All documents remain valid. General public, please take note.

I formally known and address as MRS BALOGIN BASRAT OMOLARA, now wish to be known and address as MRS RASAQ BASRAT OMOLARA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formally known and address as IGHILE NOSADEBA FAITH, now wish to be known and address as ISSA THANKGOD NOSADEBA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OFUME HENRY now wishes to be known and addressed as OFUME OZOEMELEM HENRY. All documents remain valid. General public, please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as ONOJA BLESSING ELEOJO now wishes to be known and addressed as DARE BLESSING ELEOJO. All documents remain valid. General public, please take note.

growth witnessed in the lottery industry, coupled with the ancillary business opportunities therein, it became imperative for the commission to seek collaborations with relevant agencies to complement its regulatory efforts.

“Scope of operations has grown, just as the entire industry is witnessing an astronomical growth. We seek out sister Federal Government agencies relevant in our actualizing our mandate for concrete collaborations. We already have ties with Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA as well as with anti-graft agencies, namely the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.”

MTF Academy Announces Call To Entry for Class of 2022

MultiChoice, the leading Pay TV service provider in Nigeria has announced the call to entry for its sought-after film and TV training programme, MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy. The call is open to all emerging filmmakers with either some industry experience or a relevant post-school qualification in film to apply for the exciting opportunity to hone their television and film production skills. The application to MTF West Africa is open to only Nigerians and Ghanaians from 1 June to 30 June 2021.

“The MTF Academy is our commitment to the future of our Industry and gives young Nigerians the chance to hone their television and film production skills through a world-class training programme. After two successful years, we are proud to announce a new call-to-entry and look forward to meeting the next generation of film makers,” CEO of MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe, explained

WORLD OF ISLAM

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

Why Do People Reject Truth? – II Spahic Omer/IslamiCity (Continued from last week) There is nothing better than the power - and laws - of time when it comes to honoring truth and its brethren, and discrediting falsehood and its own comrades. It is rightly said in this regard that only “time will tell” who is who and what is what in the grand scheme of things.

Today in the age of communication, people talk more than ever, but the last thing they certainly do is communicating and understanding each other. They have mastered many complex scientific disciplines, but have failed to get hold of life’s most basic questions. Truth is ever more evading, and so are authentic knowledge and wisdom. Modern civilization is not really what the earlier generations dreamed of. The predicament generally boils down to the deliberate dismissal of truth and the adoption of junk existential missions and lifestyles. Falsehood with all its manifestations became a raison d’etre.

The reason for rejecting truth Nonetheless, why do many people still reject the clear and sensible truth, embracing the ambiguous and irrational falsehood instead? How can a sense be repudiated in favor of nonsense?

How can a normal person, for instance, consciously be a hedonist (believing that life’s purpose is but physical pleasure-seeking), a nihilist (believing that life is meaningless and purposeless), an agnostic (believing that truth is neither known nor knowable), an evolutionist (believing that life is an accident and is a result of natural selection and evolution), a polytheist, a liberal, etc.?

Certainly, it takes a lot of deluding valor and contagious arrogance to subscribe to something like that.

The situation could be explained as follows: A person actually never rejects truth.

He cannot do so, for he is a part thereof, and so is everything around him, known and unknown. Man is a microcosm of truth. The universe is its theatre. What is more, in life there is only one thing: truth. There is no falsehood; it is fiction.

What is normally called falsehood is a qualified absence of truth.

When a person is said to be rejecting truth, he actually misdirects and abuses God’s gift of freedom. He does so as a result of his many artificial priorities, obsessions, and personal interests, which he has chosen for himself and has placed on a pedestal. He posits those things between himself and his association with truth, causing, in turn, his intellectual and emotional waywardness, as well as his spiritual negligence and laxity.

Truth is not rejected thus. It is only being challenged and stood up to. It is being distorted and misrepresented. In doing so, a person thinks he is in the know, but is downright ignorant; he thinks he perceives things and proceedings but is nothing but blind, and he thinks he is in the right, but is merely arrogant and is doing a great disservice to his cause.

Instead of keeping his intrinsic relationship with truth clear and sustained, such a person renders it distorted, hazy, and cluttered.

Before seeing the truth, he sees everything else. Before attending to it, he attends to everything else. Since his lifespan is short and his capacities extremely limited, he has time only for his immediate passions.

Under such conditions, truth is always relegated to a back seat. It must settle for second best. It is obscured and rendered dormant. Hence, one of the meanings of kufr (non-belief) is “hiding” or “covering something.” Shirk, in the same vein, is not denying or rejecting God either. It signifies the acts of associating things and ideas with the Almighty, placing them at the same level of legitimacy and authority as He. For such a person – having thus become either blind or myopic - truth becomes too distant to be seen, too irrelevant to be taken care of, and too subdued to be heard. He does not renounce truth as such. He only

neutralizes it. He also incapacitates himself to recognize and internalize it. He creates a universe of impediments between it and himself. He becomes heedless (ghafilun).

That is why calling to truth actually means removing those impediments. It is also a task of ridding the truth of its false mantles, making it visible and appealing again, and simultaneously enabling people to see it. A caller to truth is a reminder, reviver, and restorer, all at once. Accordingly, a person reverts, rather than converts, to the truth.

Nobody is invited to the truth as something novel and strange. Both people and truth were there the entire time. They just needed to be freed from their respective sets of fetters and imputed froths. They needed to find each other again.

Whenever a person dies – when all masks fall off and all veils are lifted – the first thing a person will see is truth in its true and pure colors. He will come to his senses. The next thing he will desire is to be returned to this world, to be given another chance, and to set things right.

He will have realized then that what he had done was utterly reckless and foolish.

Three examples For example, Satan, as the greatest rebel against Heaven and the perfect incarnation of falsehood, never really denied or rejected the truth. How could he when he directly communicated with Almighty God (the Absolute Truth) and unambiguously witnessed the most consequential dimensions of both life and truth?

However, he was so arrogant, selfish, and egocentric that he became completely blinded thereby. Nothing mattered, nor truly existed afterward, even after he had been told, and he so accepted, that Hell will be his ultimate abode. Satan was a victim of his own self-professed “reputation” and “status.”

Pharaoh likewise was an avowed enemy of truth. He was Satan incarnate in his own right. However, Prophet Musa (Moses) reminded him at one point that he was fully aware that the signs he had brought to him were from Almighty God. As if Musa told him that the effects of that very knowledge which Pharaoh had, should have extended to the realm of his total consciousness and action.

Musa told Pharaoh: “Verily, you know that these signs have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth as clear evidence (proofs)” (al-Isra’, 102).

Epitomizing by and large all people who act in like manner, Pharaoh, when he was dying, collected his faculties and attested to truth: “At length, when drowning overtook him, he said: “I believe that there is no god (deity) except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the Muslims” (Yunus, 90).

However, the testimony was too little, too late. Pharaoh was told: “Now? And you had disobeyed (God) before and were of the corrupters?” (Yunus, 91). Pharaoh was not directly accused of rejecting or denying truth. Instead, he was called to account for rebelling against it and its heavenly source, which resulted in him disobeying it and becoming mischief and vice-monger. He yet attempted to rival and outdo the truth.

Even the behavioral models of the most adamant members of the Makkan chiefs and other Quraysh leaders fit into the same mold. They did not deny or reject Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), nor did they question his integrity.

Rather, it is the signs or revelations of Allah, which persistently denounced their venal and self-centered conducts, that they denied and flouted (al-An’am, 33). They did not want those revelations to dictate their lives, thus setting themselves against the revealed guidance and its heavenly origin.

Once Abu Jahl confessed to the Prophet: “We do not call you a liar, but regard as false (inadequate and unauthoritative) what you are presenting.

Concluded

FRIDAY JUNE 4, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

47

FRIDAYSPORTS

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

Super Eagles Set to Extend Unbeaten Streak with Cameroon Friendly Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Three-time African champions Super Eagles have expressed their determination to extend an unbeaten streak

of five matches when they confront the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon at the Stadion Wiener Neustadt in the Austrian capital in an international friendly this evening.

....Nigeria Vs Cameroon Clash to Air Live on DStv, GOtv The much anticipated Nigeria and Cameroon match this evening will be aired live both on DSTv and GOtv Nigeria.

The match with which Super Eagles intend to extend their unbeaten run has seen GOtv Nigeria announce that the high profiled international friendly will be available to its subscribers on the Max and Jolli packages.

The match will air live on a special pop-up channel, SuperSport Nigeria Pop-Up (GOtv channel 35) at 7:30pm.

The Super Eagles have been unbeaten in the last five fixtures, recording a 3-0 home win against Lesotho in the last ACN qualifier clash in March.

Meanwhile, the Indomitable Lions have only won once in their past seven matches.

The Lions are currently winless in the past four games.

This match will be the sixth match between the two nations in the last 20 years, with Cameroon still in the hunt for their first win against the Super Eagles since the turn of the century.

The match will also be live on DStvchannel 204, which is available on the Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, Confam and Yanga packages

The Nigeria versus Cameroon friendly match was organized to help the Super Eagles stay in top shape ahead of the September World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde.

To ensure customers get to experience this match, GOtv has dedicated a special pop-up channel which will launch today, Friday, 4th June at 6:20pm and close on Saturday, 5th June at 7:15pm.

“We know our GOtv customers will be looking forward to seeing the Super Eagles in action and we are thrilled to bring this match live to their screens with this special Pop-Up channel”, says MultiChoice Nigeria’s Chief Customer Officer, Martin Mabutho.

The game against the Indomitable Lions is the Super Eagles’ third international game in 2021 – with their last two outings being qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations.

This will be the second clash in two years between Toni Conceicao’s men and Gernot Rohr’s team.

The Super Eagles had the upper hand in their last encounter at the 2019 AFCON round of 16 in Alexandria.

Sports Minister Adopts Young Table Tennis Prodigies The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, has reiterated government’s commitment to support the trio of Table Tennis Champions- Usman Okanlawon and the Mustapha brothers (Musa and Mustafa) through the Talent Hunt Programme to enable them win more laurels for the country.

The Minister gave this assurance in his office in Abuja yesterday when he received in audience the three Table Tennis Champions; Usman Okanlawon, Musa and Mustafa Mustafa who were led by the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Ishaku Tikon.

Mr. Dare said their adoption into the fold of the TableTennis Federation was very important as it would expose them to tournaments that would hone their skills through sponsorship. ‘’We are excited because our emphasis on other sports is paying off. I’m excited and thrilled that Nigerian Athletes are performing excellently well.

Nigeria is proud of your performance which is an

indication that our grassroots sports development is on a progressive chart,” stressed the minister.

He added: ‘’The Talents Hunt Programme of the Ministry will adopt and support the Mustapha brothers and Usman Okanlawon. They will be supported anytime they are to take part in competition. They will be closely monitored so that they can continue to excel,” stressed Mr Dare.

He attributed the performances of Okanlawon, silver medalist in the Under-15 Youngsters Contender series and the Mustapha brothers 11th and 14th ITTF ranking as a testament of their immense talent. .

Mr Dare also commended the excellent performances of Nigerian Athletes like Ese Brume, Tobi Amusan, Blessing Okagbare and Uche Eke and their doggedness for podium performances.

“We are happy that Nigerians are putting up excellent performancesall over the world. Nigeria is proud of you all. I am proud of you and will lend you all necessary support,” the sports minister further assured the youngsters.

Nigeria is yet to concede defeat since Eagles were edged by the odd goal by reigning African champions Algeria in an international friendly also in Austria in October 2020.

Since then, they have drawn 1-1 with Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles in a friendly match; drawn 4-4 and 0-0 with Sierra Leone in back-toback 2021 AFCON qualifying

matches in November 2020; defeated Benin Republic 1-0 in Port Novo in another 2021 AFCON qualifier and; walloped Lesotho 3-0 in the finale to the 2021 AFCON qualifying race in Lagos.

Defender Anthony Izuchukwu, who plays for Sparta Trnava of Slovakia, joined up with the Nigeria camp at the Hilton Garden Inn, Wiener Neustadt

Osterreich on Wednesday, moving the needle on the number of players in camp to 21.

Both fierce rivals on the African continent will again clash in a second game also at the Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Vienna on Tuesday.

Players in camp: Goalkeepers: Maduka Okoye, Francis Uzoho, John Noble

Defenders: William Ekong, Valentine Ozornwafor, Chidozie Awaziem, Anthony Izuchukwu, Jamilu Collins Midfielders: Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, Abdullahi Shehu, Abraham Marcus, Samson Tijani Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Paul Onuachu, Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, Anayo Iwuala, Terem Moffi, Peter Olayinka

Super Eagles players and officials shortly after Thursday’s final training session ahead of tonight’s international friendly with Cameroon in Austria

Nigeria Makes U-turn on Hosting African Athletics Championships The troubled African Athletics Championships has been thrown into doubt once again after Nigeria made a U-turn over hosting the event yesterday.

Nigerian sports authorities have insisted that the championships cannot be hosted as planned between 23 and 27 June due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Just last week, Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare had agreed to step in to host the event in Lagos to replace Algeria, who had asked for a postponement while also citing Covid-19.

This latest decision leaves the future of the athletics showpiece in doubt for this year despite Algeria

insisting it is still willing to host the event later this year, coronavirus permitting.

The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) had hoped that with Nigeria hosting the championships it would give athletes the chance to achieve qualifying standards for the Tokyo Olympics ahead of the 29 June deadline.

It is yet another problem to hit the biennial event which should have taken place in 2020 before being postponed by a year due to Covid-19.

The plan was then to hold the championships in the Algerian city of Oran between the 1st and 5th June 2021 before it was then moved to Algiers and set to take place 22-26 June.

UNIICEF CHARITY POLO

Fifth Chukker, Intershelter Win Access Bank Cup, UNICEF Titles First stage of the prestigious 2021 UNICEF Charity Shield Polo Tournament climaxed on high with triumphs for Fifth Chukker and Intershelter teams as the event enters its final stages, with nine teams jostling for honours.

Home fans’ favourites, Fifth Chukkers handed a thumping 11-7 defeat over hard-fighting Jos Malcomines, to clinch the glittering Access Bank Cup, just Intershelter secured a closed 6-4 victory for their first UNICEF Cup title.

Both finals that were decided before a capacity crowd at the foremost Kangimi Resort in Kaduna saw Fifth

Chukker scoring three quick goals in the opening chukka and go all the way for another Access Bank Cup title.

In contrast, the UNICEF Cup finals was a tense back and forth clash that went all the way to the final chukka before Tata Ali Kura pulled away Intershelter with two late goals against their resilience Sublime((2) opponents, to separate the winners.

The grand finale stage of the international that has raised over N100 million in funds to support UNICEF projects for vulnerable children and the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Kaduna State and its environs,

promises to be more exciting as nine equally match teams vie for honours.

Three teams, including many times champions, Access Bank team, last year finalist, Malcomines and Barbedors jostling for the event biggest prize, the Charity Shield, while six ambitious teams would lock in a trench war for the Usman Dantata Cup. Major highlight of the opening stage of the annual charity event this year, was undoubtedly the Children Day celebration with the First Lady of Kaduna State, Hajia Aisha Ummi EL-Rufai as the Mother of the Day.

The First Lady, who celebrated the Children’s Day with pupils from selected school around Kaduna, thumbs up the partners for using the Access Bank UNICEF Charity Shield polo platform to enhance the educational and health well being of children in a most special way.

“There is an important need for both private and public sectors to do a lot more in support of the Nigerian child, particularly the orphans and vulnerable children to enable them look forward to a better tomorrow,” the Kaduna State First Lady added.

Friday June 4, 2021

Book Your COVID-19 Tests & Vaccinations TEXT

‘COVID’ TO 58123

This service is provided in association with accredited service providers

TR

UT H

& RE A SO

N

Price: N250

MISSILE

Olurode to Supreme Court “If you look at Imo State, for example, I think they are trying to communicate certain grievances that what they have in the state is a kind of judicial victory and legitimacy is still outstanding and there is no correspondence between judicial victory and legitimacy” – A former INEC National Commissioner, Prof Lai Olurode, linking the attacks on some INEC offices in Imo State to the Supreme Court ruling.

FEMIFALANA GUEST COLUMNIST

An Anti-Corruption Model O

ur discourse on corruption is usually an elitist affair as the masses who are victims of corruption are completely excluded. Furthermore, the discourse is limited by the failure to analyse corruption within the context of the peripheral capitalist system operated by the government. It is a political system which facilitates corrupt enrichment and criminal diversion of public fund by members of the political class. Section 16 of the Constitution provides that the natural resources of the nation shall be used to promote the welfare and happiness of the Nigerian people. But the criminal diversion of public funds by the political class has made it impossible for majority of citizens to access to education, health and other social services. As lawyers have a role to play in the fight against corruption we shall examine the relevant provisions of the Constitution and other laws on public accountability.

Public Accountability It is submitted that access to information is a fundamental right by virtue of section 38 of the Constitution which stipulates that “every citizen shall have the right to freedom of expression including the right to obtain information and impart ideas”.

Access to information is equally protected by article 9 (2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act which provides that “Every individual shall have the right to receive information”. In Dododo v EFCC the Court of Appeal upheld the human right of the appellant to access information when it was said that he was entitled to a copy of the report of the investigation in respect of his petition alleging corruption involving a former governor.

In order to promote transparency and accountability in government and open up the government to the public, the Freedom of Information Act was enacted by the National Assembly in 2011. Accordingly, it is the duty of all public institutions to allow citizens to access public records.

Sometime in 2019, the Socio Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) requested for certified true copies of asset declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) by President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The request was rejected by the CCB on the grounds that it is not covered by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Completely dissatisfied with the decision of the CCB the SERAP approached the Federal High Court for redress.

In dismissing the application, the learned trial judge, Musiliu Hassan J. (as he then was) held that by virtue of paragraph 3(a,b&c) of part 1, 3rd schedule of the constitution it is the duty of the National

EFCC boss, Abdulrasheed Bawa

ICPC Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye

Assembly to prescribe the conditions for the release of Asset declaration forms for inspection and to achieve this, the National Assembly has to pass an Act to that effect which has not be done. The court also held that the terms and conditions to be prescribed by National Assembly must be specific and related to asset declaration of public officers and not a legislation of general nature such as the Freedom of information Act, 2011. Even though SERAP has filed an appeal against the judgment the Buhari administration has deliberately prevented the Nigerian people from monitoring the illicit acquisition of assets by public officers.

Furthermore, the decision of the CCB to withhold information on asset declaration of public officers has made it impossible for citizens to exercise their constitutional duty of reporting non-compliance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers set out in the Constitution.

The attention of the CCB ought to be drawn to the meaning of the word “declaration”. According to the Jowitts Dictionary of English Law, declaration means “a proclamation or affirmation, open expression or publication, a formal statement intended to create, preserve, assert or testify to a right.”

Collins Dictionary has also been defined declaration as “an official announcement or statement.”

Since declaration means official announcement, it is submitted that the declaration means the official announcement of the assets and liabilities of public officers. To that extent, it is illegal and unconstitutional on the part of the CCB to continue to treat the asset declaration forms of public officers as private documents whose contents are known to the declarants and top officials of the CCB. Even though his administration did not declare any war against corruption the late President Umaru Yar’Adua declared his assets and caused the media to publish the details. President Buhari ought to demonstrate leadership by example by causing the media to publish his assets and those of other public officers in the aadministration.

It is illegal and unconstitutional on the part of the CCB to continue to treat the asset declaration forms of public officers as private documents whose contents are known to the declarants and top officials of the CCB

Ranches or Grazing Reserves?

More than ever before the media and the Nigerian Bar Association ought to intensify the campaign for the actualisation of the provisions of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy.

In particular, this is the time to mount sufficient pressure on all governments to provide for the welfare and security of the people pursuant section 14 of the Constitution. However, in its belated response to the reckless killing of farmers, destruction of farms, kidnapping and raping of women by killer herders, the federal government has decided to revive grazing reserves as a knee jerk reaction to the

decision of the Southern Governors Forum to ban open grazing. Thus, the reaction of the Presidency has further polarised a country whose unity is being seriously threatened by separatist groups. But the reaction is uncalled for having regard to the fact that the National Economic Council and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had banned open grazing and resolved to embrace ranching.

Whereas the Presidency has said that the fundamental right of armed herders cannot be abridged why has the federal government decided to restrict the movement of cattle to grazing reserves?

Last Friday, the Federal High Court ruled that state governments have the power to enact anti grazing laws. Therefore, it smacks of brazen official impunity on the part of the presidency to have said that the ban on open grazing is of doubtful legality. Even though it has been said that the policy would take off in June not a single grazing reserve has been identified, prepared and put into use.

Similarly, the federal government had announced in 2016 that 55,000 hectares of land had been acquired in 11 states for the establishment of ranches. By April 2018, the federal government launched the National Livestock Transformation Plan with emphasis on the establishment of ranches. The federal government later turned round to adopt Cattle Colony and Ruga policies which were rejected by a number of state governments. Instead of further dividing the country along ethnic lines we call on the federal government to halt the mindless killing of farmers and kidnapping of innocent people by killer herders.

Instead of weeping more than the bereaved the federal government should listen to the Miyetti Allah which has accepted the ban on open grazing and demanded for the establishment of ranches.

Since there is a popular demand for the proscription of open grazing all hands should now be on deck to establish ranches without any further delay. From the information at our disposal not less than 24 states have applied to the federal government for grant to establish ranches.

The presidency should not compound the crisis by giving the erroneous impression that grazing reserves are different from ranches. The federal government is advised to study the Grazing Reserves Act of 1964 which provided for the establishment and operation of grazing reserves in the northern part of the country. The Kano State Government has braized the trail by setting up Ruga Settlements which provide opportunities for thousands of herders to practice cattle business without violating the rights of farmers and other citizens.

Falana is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)

Printed and Published in Lagos by THISDAY Newspapers Limited. Lagos: 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos. Abuja: Plot 1, Sector Centre B, Jabi Business District, Solomon Lar Way, Jabi North East, Abuja .

All Correspondence to POBox 54749, Ikoyi, Lagos. EMAIL: editor@thisdaylive.com, info@thisdaylive.com. TELEPHONE Lagos: 0802 2924721-2, 08022924485. Abuja: Tel: 08155555292, 08155555929 24/7 ADVERTISING HOT LINES: 0811 181 3085 0811 181 3086, 0811 181 3087, 0811 181 3088, 0811 181 3089, 0811 181 3090. ENQUIRIES & BOOKING: adsbooking@thisdaylive.com