TUESDAY 6TH JULY 2021

Emefiele Seeks Varsities’ Partnership to Develop Entrepreneurship Pledges more support for MSMEs Obinna Chima and Funmi Ogundare The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is to collaborate with universities in

designing a framework for entrepreneurship development in order to arrest rising youth unemployment.

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, while

delivering the 51st Convocation Lecture of the University of Lagos, yesterday in Lagos, urged universities to begin sending requests to the CBN for research or for some form

of training on entrepreneurial development.

The topic of his lecture was: “National Development and Knowledge-Economy in the Digital Age: Leapfrogging

SMEs in the 21st Century.”

Emefiele also pledged the CBN’s readiness to increase its development finance interventions to support micro, small and medium

scale enterprises (MSMEs).

According to him, since the introduction of the Youth Entrepreneurship Continued on page 8

Senate Bows to Pressure, to Restore Electronic Transfer of Results...Page 12 Tuesday 6 July, 2021 Vol 26. No 9584. Price: N250

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PUSHING THE SOUTHERN CAUSE...

L-R: Governors – Senator Douye Diri (Bayelsa); Prof. Placid Njoku, (Imo State Deputy Governor); Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu); Mr. Emmanuel Udom (Akwa Ibom); Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Mr. Gboyega Oyetola (Osun); Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Chairman of the Forum, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo); Chief Nyesom Wike (Rivers); Prince Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta); Mr. Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Deputy Governors- Sir Ude Oko Chukwu (Abia); Mr. Philip Shaibu (Edo) and Mr. Kelechi Igwe (Ebonyi), after Southern Nigeria Governors' Forum meeting in Lagos…yesterday

Afenifere, Ohanaeze, PANDEF Back Southern Govs’ Demand for Presidency States to promulgate anti-open grazing law by September 1 Reject 3% host community fund in PIB Kick against 30% share of profit for frontier exploration Segun James, Vanessa Obioha in Lagos, Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu, Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan and James Sowole in Akure The pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, Afenifere; the Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum; the apex Igbo socio-

cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo; and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) have thrown their weight behind the demand by the southern governors for the next president of Nigeria to come from the South.

Rising from its second meeting held yesterday at

the Lagos State Government House in Ikeja, the southern governors resolved that the next President of Nigeria should come from the southern region.

In a six-point communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, which was signed by the Chairman of the

Southern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the governors also gave their members a timeline of Wednesday, September 1, 2021, to promulgate the anti-open grazing law in all the southern states.

They also rejected the three

per cent host community fund in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and recommended that the fund should be increased to five per cent.

The governors also rejected the removal of the electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021, and

the confirmation of exclusive jurisdiction in pre-election matters on the Federal High Court.

The forum also unanimously chose Lagos State as its permanent secretariat and appreciated the Governor Continued on page 8

Clark Rejects PIB, Insists on 10% Fund for Host Communities...Page 8

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

152 Pupils Missing as Bandits Invade Another Kaduna School We‘ve rescued 26, say police

John Shiklam in Kaduna About 152 pupils of Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi in Kaduna were still missing yesterday after bandits abducted about 180 of them in an early morning raid.

However, 28 of the abductees have returned after escaping from their abductors.

But the Kaduna State Police Command said it rescued 26 pupils.

The bandits said to be in larger numbers and armed with sophisticated weapons, reportedly invaded the school at about 2 am.

The Kaduna State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Joseph Hayab, in a telephone interview, said his son was among those who escaped from the bandits.

He stated that many of the pupils were still missing, adding that it is not possible to determine the number of those abducted until those who probably ran into hiding are back and a census is taken.

He, however, said many of the pupils were believed to have been abducted.

“We cannot give the exact figure of those abducted for now, until those who ran into the bush for safety are back and a census of the students is taken, but we know they took a lot of students.

“I am just speechless; I don’t know what to say! My son was among the students who narrowly escaped.

“I am part of this unfortunate incident because it is my church. This is a very, very sad situation for us.

“I was informed that bandits invaded the school around 2 am.

“They have just started the NECO exam and see what we are going through,” Hayab added.

However, a source in the school stated that 152 pupils were yet to be accounted for.

“We have 180 students in boarding and 28 escaped the bandits, at the moment we cannot account for 152 students,” the source said.

But the state police command said it rescued

26 of the pupils from the bandits.

Spokesman of the command, Mr. Mohammad Jalige, said in a statement yesterday that on the receipt of information about the incident, a joint team of the police, army and navy operatives were mobilised to the area with a mission to rescue the pupils unhurt.

According to him, the operatives rescued 26 pupils and a female teacher.

Jalige said rescue operations were still ongoing to ensure that all victims were safely returned.

He said: “On Monday, 5th July 2021, at about 0143hrs, the command received a report that armed bandits in large number had gained access into Bethel Baptist Secondary School, Kujuma in Chikun LGA of Kaduna

State.

“They shot berserk, overpowered the school’s security guards and made their way into the students' hostel where they abducted an unspecified number of students into the forest.

“On the receipt of the unfortunate incident, a joint team of the Nigeria Police, Army and Navy operatives were immediately mobilised to the area with a mission to rescue the abducted students unhurt.

“The operatives gave the bandits a hot pursuit occasioned by a tactical application of weapons and succeeded in rescuing twentysix (26) students, including a female teacher safely.

“However, the rescue operation is still ongoing to ensure that all victims are safely returned. Officers

involved in the said operation are charged to ensure no stone is left unturned with a view to successfully accomplish the rescue mission since resources will be availed to them without delay.

“The command is, therefore, encouraging parents not to be deterred by the recent bandits' activities in the state targeting schools and learning institutions as strategic measures will be emplaced to forestall further occurrence of such dastardly act of criminality against innocent children.”

He added that the state police command was saddened by the incident and called on all stakeholders to unite, particularly at this very critical time to safeguard schools in order to guarantee a safe and secured learning environment and other

meaningful businesses.

However, some parents of the pupils have debunked claims by the police that some of them were rescued.

Speaking in an interview, one of the parents, said: “The police are using the word rescue to give themselves credit for doing nothing.

“The 28 children escaped the bandits and they returned by themselves; they were not rescued by anybody.

“The police didn’t know how my son and several others miraculously escaped and they are claiming that they rescued them; this is not fair.

“For once, we should learn to be truthful; this kind of statement from the police does not inspire confidence.”

The abduction triggered a protest yesterday as hundreds of angry youths in Mararaban

Rido, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis, located near the school, and blocked the Kaduna-Kachia road.

Meanwhile, the state Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has condemned the abduction of the pupils.

The governor, in a statement by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, described the development as “unfortunate and an untold evil to humanity and the cause of education.”

Aruwan said: “Security agencies have assured the Kaduna State Government of vigorous search and rescue efforts to locate and secure the unspecified number of abducted students.

“The governor is following the development and receiving hourly situation reports."

VOICE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP...

L-:R: Chairman, Council of University of Lagos, Senator Lanre Tejuoso; Serving Overseer, Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare; Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, after the university’s 2019 Convocation Lecture in Lagos…yesterday

Obasanjo: I’m Done with Politics, Not Forming Party Kayode Fasua in Abeokuta Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said he was done with politics and was not floating any political party.

He described as false a report that he had mandated three former governors to mobilise membership for the formation of a new party ahead of the 2023 general election.

Obasanjo, who is currently

in Kabul, Afghanistan, as a guest of President Ashraf Ghani, not only refuted the report but stated that those that believed the report would also believe if told that their mothers were men.

The former president’s reaction was contained in a statement issued yesterday by his Special Assistant on Media Affairs, Mr. Kehinde Akinyemi.

The statement labelled the report as false, saying that

there is “no plan to float a new political party now or in near future.”

Obasanjo said: “In my part of the world when you say goodnight in a place, you do not go back there and say good evening. The one who reported that may need to visit Yaba Left. And those who believe it can believe that their mothers are men.

“I’m done with partisan politics but by my position

in Nigeria and in Africa and without being immodest and indeed in the world, my door must be opened and it is open to any individual or group of individuals who wants to seek my opinion, view or advice on any issue or matter and I will respond to the best of my ability, without being part of that individual or group.”

He said the report hardly came as a surprise because he had observed with

bewilderment the efforts by some people to drag him into their political games.

“If anything, Chief Obasanjo’s political party today is the party of Nigerians facing insecurity, unemployment, hunger, poverty, and various other challenging issues. It is the party of Nigeria that must be saved, kept wholesomely united in peace, security, equity, development and progress,” the statement

added.

It urged those who want to use the back door to force Obasanjo to return to partisan politics to respect his choice to remain a nonpartisan statesman.

The former president said he would continue to perform his role as a statesman focused on providing counsel, support, or solutions wherever possible in Nigeria, Africa and the world.

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FG: 400,000 Barrels of Oil Lost Daily to Theft Spends N60bn yearly to fix vandalised pipelines Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja About 400,000 barrels of crude oil is lost daily to theft, according to data from the federal government.

The Minister of Environment, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, at a town hall meeting on protecting oil and gas infrastructure, organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture,

Stop Pursuing Igboho, Apologise to Him, Soyinka Tells FG Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has urged the federal government to apologise to Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho), as it is not criminal or illegal for anyone to express intention to leave any federation.

He also condemned what he described as the “bizarre” midnight raid by the Department of State Services (DSS) on the Ibadan residence of the activist.

Soyinka, who spoke during an interview with BBC News Pidgin yesterday, urged the government to stop pursuing the self-determination agitator.

He said: “How can you place the will for separation as a criminal act? That kind of language doesn’t exist in the constitution; it doesn’t exist in law. It does not exist in the catalogue of immoralities because it is not an immoral act or position to say that you want to stop being part of an entity or you want to join an entity.”

He gave examples of people who left a federation or a union to form or join another state, including the Bakassi people of Southern Nigeria seceded to Cameroon.

The DSS had raided Igboho’s Ibadan home last Thursday and arrested his associates. It also told journalists that it recovered weapons from his residence.

Soyinka said: “More important for me is the position of the government, saying that the ‘existence of these weapons’ proved that he (Igboho) was planning war against the state. That position, a very loaded statement, was simply deliberate to conflate issues.

It was to obscure the fact that Igboho and other people, myself

included, have been decrying the loss of lives of law-abiding citizens, farmers especially all over the nation.”

Soyinka stated that a former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), had told the people not to trust the military anymore but to trust themselves.

He said: “Some other voices like governors have made similar statements. Now, Igboho, even if he had those weapons, he is claiming that his mission is to liberate his people from the tyranny of squatters, who now become violent overlords, and he has a good cause in that sense.

"Testimonies of farmers who have been brutalised, dehumanised by these squatters, who have acknowledged and identified themselves as Fulani, over decades of this anomalous kind of situation in which the people did not receive the necessary, mandatory and entitled defence and protection by the security forces, in which sometimes, it is the victims who’ve been jailed, the recent case in Ibarapa for instance, is a personal testimony of those who were arrested and detained by the police simply for going to challenge those who were terrorising and raping their women.

“So, now, you have a situation where the government is saying the ‘existence of these weapons’ means that Igboho is planning an armed insurrection against the state. The whole thing from beginning to the end just stinks: the raid, the motivation has become very implausible.”

Soyinka faulted the federal government for also not describing AK-47-wielding herdsmen as terrorists waging a violent insurrection against the Nigerian state.

yesterday in Abuja, said statistics had supported Nigeria as the most notorious nation in the world for oil theft.

Also at the event, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said about N60 billion was being spent yearly by the federal government to repair vandalised pipelines He added that between January 2019 and September 2020, 1,161 pipeline points nationwide were vandalised.

The other panellists at the meeting were the Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kyari.

Abubakar said Mexico, the second-worst affected country, only recorded between 5,000 and 10,000 barrels per day of stolen oil.

The minister also cited a report

by Nigeria Natural Resources Charter, which estimated that approximately N4.75 trillion was lost by the country to oil

theft between 2015 and 2018.

According to him, the report equated the federal government to having lost approximately three per cent of its revenue to oil theft.

He considered sustained oil pipeline vandalism as one of the major problems that has contributed to environmental degradation in the Niger Delta.

He said the attack on oil facilities had become the innovation that replaced the agitation in the Niger Delta against the perceived poor governance and neglect of the region.

Abubakar said: “The effect of vandalism of oil facilities has not only caused the nation loss of oil revenue, but the money that could have been used to develop education, health, housing and road, among others.

“Companies have also lost huge revenue as a result of the vandalism of the Trans Niger Pipeline, Nembe Creek Trunk Line and Trans Forcados Pipeline.

“Nigeria has lost

approximately N4.75 trillion as in the four years between 2015- 2018 according to the estimates by the Nigeria Natural Resources Charter. This equates to the federal government having lost approximately three per cent of its revenue to oil theft.

“The several statistics emphasised that Nigeria is the most notorious country in the world for oil theft lost roughly 400,000 barrels per day dwarfing the second country, Mexico reported only 5,00010,000 barrels per day. This is a difference of 3,900 per cent.”

He cited data from the National Oil Spillage Reduction Monitor Agency since 2015-2021 as putting the total number of spills recorded in the Niger Delta at 4,919, while the volume of oil spilled into the environment, as a result, was 235,206 barrels.

He proposed the use of unmanned drones, enhancing the role of the joint task force on security operations and prosecution of criminals as a deterrent as measures to enhance pipeline security in the Niger

Delta.

Kyari, who represented the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, said since 2014, an average of about 38 million barrels of crude oil were deferred annually due to incessant pipeline vandalism, while in 2020 about $1.538 billion in revenue was deferred due to 94 incidents.

He added that from JanuaryMay 2021, the NNPC pipeline segments have suffered 203 breaks with system 2B having 80 pipeline breaks and System 2E, a total of 114 pipeline breaks and a total cumulative loss of 39 million litres amounting to N.59 billion.

Kyari stated that pipeline vandals and criminals operating along system 2B axis have stolen about 307,994 million litres of petrol valued at N41.049 billion.

Akpabio raised a poser that if the federal government could be spending about N60 billion per year to fix pipelines, the imputation is that pipeline vandalism has become an industry.

APCON MEETS SEC...

Registrar/ Chief Executive Officer, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo (left), and Executive Commissioner Legal & Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Reginald Karawusa, during a meeting between SEC and APCON in Abuja...yesterday

Oil Price Set for Further Rise as OPEC Meeting Ends in Stalemate Brent hits $77 Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja with agency report Ministers of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, OPEC+ yesterday called off oil output talks after a deadlock that spanned three days of consultations as progress on contentious areas remains stunted.

Reuters reported that the disagreement followed from last week when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) balked at a proposed eight-month extension of output curbs, meaning no deal to boost production has been agreed.

The failure to agree means an expected increase in oil output from August will not take place, helping to drive up international benchmark Brent crude, which was trading around 1 per cent higher at over $77 a barrel.

Oil prices are now at the highest since 2018 and have already prompted concerns that inflation could derail a global recovery from the pandemic.

Last week, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, stated that Nigeria would support an increase in the production quotas allocated to the participating countries.

He said this could return the market to a bearish position, adding that beyond $50 to $60, rising oil prices was not in the interest of resource-dependent countries like Nigeria.

OPEC+ agreed to record output cuts of almost 10 million barrels per day (bpd) last year, about 10 per cent of world output, as the pandemic hit, but has been gradually relaxing the quota which now stands at about 5.8 million bpd.

The UAE had accepted a

proposal from Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ members to raise output in stages by about two million bpd from August to December but rejected extending remaining cuts to the end of 2022 from the current end date of April.

The country is upset about the baseline from which its production cuts are being calculated and wants it raised.

Abu Dhabi has invested billions of dollars to increase its production capacity and says its baseline was set too low when OPEC+ originally forged their pact.

On Monday, OPEC+ sources said the UAE's position was unchanged, stressing that a ministerial panel chaired by Saudi Arabia and Russia, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, needed more time to discuss the issue.

The UAE has said it was not alone in seeking a higher baseline

as others, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Nigeria, which Reuters reported had requested and received new ones since the deal was first agreed last year, are also making the same demand.

Decisions in OPEC+, which groups the cartel with Russia and other big producers, must be unanimous, according to the rules.

Potential outcomes, OPEC+ sources said, include raising output from August, or raising output from August and extending the remaining cuts with a new higher baseline figure for the UAE. OPEC+ could also go ahead with the deal as it is until April 2022 and discuss a new UAE baseline as part of a new deal, the sources said. The dispute reflects a growing divergence between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Before the stalemate,

expectations were rife that the oil producers' group could agree on returning about 400,000 barrels of oil per day between now and December.

The disagreements within OPEC+, that have been dragging policy negotiations since Thursday, have added a serious spin of uncertainty for traders and prices are rising on the prospect of a no-deal that could strip the market of the extra barrels that it expects from the alliance from August.

Oil market tensions have not been this tense since the March 6, 2020 breakup, and the uncertainty is driving prices beyond two-year highs in the near short term.

The reason a no-deal is bullish for the market is that unlike the previous breakup in March 2020, if OPEC+ members don’t agree on a new deal — they are still party to the original deal already in place, which does

not immediately cater for more output after July.

As balances stand at the moment and with a surge in summer oil demand, even rising output by as much as 500,000 bpd in August is bullish and it is believed that keeping OPEC+ production steady to July levels instead is ultra-bullish due to the undersupply that such a development would cause this season.

The core of the OPEC+ rift is that the UAE is lobbying for more production, a demand Russia is said to be quietly supporting on the sidelines and Saudi Arabia loudly opposing in the public arena.

If the UAE were to get leniency on its production quotas, it is likely other supplyenthusiastic countries such as Russia and Iraq would also be able to negotiate supply increases.

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Clark Rejects PIB, Insists on 10% Fund for Host Communities

Deji Elumoye and Udora Orizu in Abuja

The National Leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, has rejected some provisions of the recently passed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), particularly the three and five per cent operating expenditure granted to the host communities.

Clark, who is also the National Leader of the South-south zone, in an open letter dated July 5, 2021 and addressed to the principal officers of the National Assembly, including the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, described the provisions as unjust, satanic and provocative, given decades

of exploitation and neglect of the Niger Delta region.

In the letter, copies of which will be sent to all the six governors of the South-south zone and other leaders of the South-south, the elder statesman lamented that the people of the Niger Delta, at home and abroad, have expressed their great displeasure over the allocation of a paltry percentage of operating expenditure to oil-producing communities by the National Assembly.

He recalled that at the public hearings in January 2021, representatives from the Niger Delta insisted on the principle of the 10 per cent equity participation.

This request, according to Clark, has fallen on deaf ears as the operating expenditure being proposed by both houses

of the National Assembly, is to the disappointment of the region.

The elder statesman also said the fraudulent provision of 30 per cent of profits for further frontier oil exploration in the North calls to question claims by the current regime that it was working towards an economy away from oil.

He, therefore, insisted that the PIB must be reversed, reviewed and amended to ensure that the oil-bearing communities must now receive not less than 10 per cent of operating cost.

The former Federal Commissioner for Information stressed that if their request is not met, the Niger Delta people may be forced to take their destiny into their own hands and all International Oil Companies (IOCs) may

find themselves denied access to their oil activities in such communities.

The letter read, in part, "My Distinguished President of the Senate and The Rt. Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives, we have noticed with dismay, anger, disappointment and embarrassment, the oppressive and domineering attitude of most members of the National Assembly (NASS) over the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), now due for imminent harmonisation by the National Assembly. We have heard that the House of Representatives has seen it fit to increase the percentage from 2.5 per cent to five per cent for Upstream Host Communities - those who are directly impacted by the exploration and production activities of the oil and gas

operators - whilst a percentage of two per cent would be applied to communities that are host to midstream and downstream infrastructure, such as refineries and pipelines, however, we have also heard that the Senate has only seen it fit to set the percentage as three per cent.”

The letter argued that the demand of the oil-bearing communities of the Niger Delta region was for a minimum of 10 per cent equity participation.

The letter accused Lawan, Gbajabiamila and some of their colleagues in the National Assembly, of showing their “disdain to the Niger Delta people by redefining host communities to include pipeline-bearing pathway communities, in which case states where pipelines pass through to aid them with the

privilege of cheap supplies of Niger Delta petroleum products could also be entitled to the ridiculous and unacceptable percentages that the legislators are willing to cede to oilbearing communities.”

The letter noted that the long-suffering and oppressed people of the oil-bearing communities of the Niger Delta were not surprised at the news that the National Assembly finally passed the PIB, albeit the lofty dreams and vaunted expectations of over two decades of legislative dilly-dally had been dashed.

“This unhealthy anti-climax is a predictable end as northern legislators combined with the efforts of IOCs to pass an unjust piece of legislation to deny our people the benefits of the resources in their region."

Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Akeredolu of Ondo State, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Douye Diri of Bayelsa State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State was represented by his deputy, Placid Njoku; while Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo was represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu.

The deputy governor of Ebonyi State, Kelechi Igwe, represented Governor David Umahi, while the deputy governor of Abia State, Oko Chukwu, represented

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

The governors of Anambra and Cross River States were not represented at the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum has thrown its weight behind yesterday’s resolutions of the southern governors.

President of the forum, Mr. Akin Malaolu said in a statement yesterday that the southern “governors took landmark decisions that may put the nation on a good road to the recovery of her beauty in African's eyes and the world.”

He said the governors’ objections on what host and producing communities will take for government mining of oil on their indigenous lands and as stated in the petroleum

the faculty and staff.

On the role of the CBN in the development of SMEs, Emefiele said the bank had rolled out massive developmental interventions in some critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, especially in agriculture, manufacturing and SMEs. In his remarks, the ViceChancellor of the university, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said the lecture fell within the strategic plan of the institution, saying: "This is because we are aware that there is a need to empower our youths if we are serious about moving the economy of this nation forward."

He stated that youth development was a key consideration in the university's academic activities, adding that it is at the forefront of developing critical manpower required for building and developing the nation.

He said: “Our courses and research thematic areas are focused on preparing our students for nationbuilding and solving societal challenges.”

Earlier, the Chairman of the occasion, Pastor Tunde Bakare of The Citadel Global Community Church (formerly

Latter Rain Assembly), had expressed excitement about the topic, saying that the country needs young entrepreneurs to create jobs.

“We cannot always build the future for our youths, but we can build our youths for the future,” he said.

AFENIFERE, OHANAEZE, PANDEF BACK SOUTHERN GOVS’ DEMAND FOR PRESIDENCY of the state, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for the wonderful hosting of the meeting and his good work in the state.

The governors re-affirmed their commitment to the unity of Nigeria on the pillars of equity, fairness, justice, progress and peaceful co-existence between and amongst its people.

“The forum reiterates its commitment to the politics of equity, fairness and unanimously agrees that the presidency of Nigeria be rotated between Southern and Northern Nigeria and resolved that the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the Southern Region,” said the communiqué.

The governors reviewed the security situation in the country and commended the security operatives for their

relentless efforts in restoring security and safety.

They commiserated with families and loved ones of those who have fallen in the line of duty, and e-emphasised the need for state police.

The southern governors also “resolved that if for any reason, security institutions need to undertake an operation in any state, the Chief Security Officer of the state must be duly informed.”

“The forum frowns at selective criminal administration of justice and resolved that arrests should be made within the ambit of the law and fundamental human rights,” and “set a timeline of Wednesday, September 1, 2021, for the promulgation of the anti-open grazing law in all member states” and “resolved that funds deducted from the

Federation Account for the Nigeria Police Security Trust Fund should be distributed among the states and federal government to combat security challenges.”

The governors commended the National Assembly for the progress made in the passage of the PIB. They, however, rejected the proposed three per cent and supported the five per cent share of the oil revenue to the host community as recommended by the House of Representatives.

The southern governors also kicked against the proposed 30 per cent share of profit for the exploration of oil and gas in the basins.

According to them, “The forum rejects the ownership structure of the proposed Nigeria National Petroleum

Company Limited (NNPC).

The forum disagrees that the company be vested in the Federal Ministry of Finance but should be held in trust by Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) since all tiers of government have stakes in that vehicle.

“In order to consolidate our democracy and strengthen the Electoral process, the Southern Governors’ Forum rejects the removal of the electronic transmission of the election result from the electoral act; and also rejects the confirmation of exclusive jurisdiction in pre-election matters on the Federal High Court.

They unanimously chose Lagos State as the forum’s permanent secretariat.

Governors present at the meeting include Senator

Continued on page 12

EMEFIELE SEEKS VARSITIES’ PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP ENTREPRENEURSHIP Development Fund (YEDP), one of the bank’s development finance initiatives, there has been limited access by fresh school leavers.

He said: “This is to support our youths who are graduating so that rather than going out to seek employment from companies, that they can on their own access finance, both grants and loans that would aid them in setting up their own business, thereby creating jobs not just for themselves, but for others as well. That is what I think we should begin to think about at this time.

“Given population growth and the increasing number of graduates, we need to begin to see how SMEs can be incorporated and supported.

“Closing from this lecture today, we would be writing to all universities, to begin to conduct some kind of entrepreneurship development competition programme.

“If you truly say you are a graduate of agriculture, are you coming out of the university to begin to look for a job in a company or you are graduating with your certificate to go into agriculture business? So, we would like to encourage universities.”

He said the bank’s Development Finance

team would soon write to universities to develop a framework under which this can be done, adding that is one aspect where the bank can begin to stimulate the entrepreneurial skills in the youth.

Emefiele congratulated the graduating students and urged them to take advantage of some of the bank’s programmes aimed at supporting SMEs such as the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS); Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF); Agribusiness/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS); Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI); Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) and the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF).

He highlighted how critical vibrant and growing small businesses are to the growth of the economy and the creation of jobs for Nigerian youth.

He stated that special consideration needed to be given to strengthening physical and ICT infrastructure to enable SMEs to perform more efficiently and become globally competitive.

He added that the potential of SMEs in enhancing

economic growth was hampered by limited access to finance, inadequate infrastructure and poor digital penetration.

Emefiele urged governments at all levels and the private sector to provide more support in addressing the challenges of SMEs. According to him, as users of new technology, policies should incentivise the adoption of innovations that will improve SMEs competitiveness and productivity.

“In the 21st century, we have witnessed groundbreaking innovations and growth in several countries, stemming from significant investments in building a knowledge-based system that enables greater application of technologically driven research and innovation,” he said.

The CBN governor explained that technology is not only reshaping how knowledge is shared but also how goods and services are produced and traded, adding that it is also redesigning the various modes of payments for goods and services towards systems that enable faster and more efficient settlement of payment transactions.

“Today, the emergence of digital platforms such as

Amazon and Alibaba have provided SMEs with a significant ability to expand their operations by enabling them to sell and deliver their products to customers that are not within their immediate environment,” he added.

According to him, a digitalised and knowledgedriven economy can accelerate the growth and development of SMEs as well as create new opportunities to strengthen productivity, especially in the services industry.

He listed countries such as India, China, Korea and Singapore as having continued to harness the benefits of the knowledge economy to accelerate economic growth, largely, through the contributions of SMEs. He tasked all stakeholders to deepen reforms that will improve human capital development through skills enhancement and proper linkage of research to the SME sector.

Emefiele charged tertiary institutions to tap into the educational trends that are drivers of productivity in advanced and emerging markets, in order to reshape the curriculum, enhance the learning experience of students and foster innovation among

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TUESDAY, ;˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Senate Bows to Pressure, to Restore Electronic Transfer of Results

Nseobong Okon-Ekong in Lagos, Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale, Udora Orizu and Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

Faced with growing criticisms over attempts to surreptitiously remove electronic transmission of results in the draft of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021, the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday returned the controversial clause to the bill.

THISDAY learnt the committee took the decision at an emergency meeting in Abuja.

The National Assembly has been under fire since Sunday when the news broke that the new draft bill, which provides for a total ban of electronic transmission of votes is to be introduced at the Senate today.

The provision forms part of the 121-page document to be laid before the upper legislative chamber at plenary by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Kabir Gaya.

But the draft bill was said to be at variance with what was earlier agreed to by the committees of the two chambers of the National Assembly.

Critics on Monday had called attempts by the federal legislators to expunge the electronic transmission of results from the draft bill as a plot to rig the 2023 general election ahead of time.

The critics had argued that since President Muhammadu Buhari would not be in contention, the lawmakers were working to the answer for their own selfish purpose,

FG Raises the Alarm over Poliovirus Outbreak in FCT, 13 States Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

About a year after the World Health Organisation (WHO) certified Nigeria polio-free, the federal government yesterday announced an outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in 13 states.

It listed the states as Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, FCT, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

WHO had on August 25, 2020, declared Nigeria as the last polio-endemic country in Africa and was officially certified free from polio after marking three consecutive years since the last case of wild polio had been identified.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, said yesterday at a meeting of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care Delivery (NTLC) in Abuja, that the agency had taken steps to address the health challenge.

He said: "As of today, we have to circulate vaccinederived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreaks in Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, FCT, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara and we have conducted four OBRs using the Novelle Oral Polio Vaccine, which is a preferred choice as it doesn’t seed the virus.”

Shuaib added that suboptimal performance has been recorded in all the states due to the high number of missed children during the outbreak response, adding that the poor quality will affect how NPHCDA is able to bring the outbreak under control.

He attributed the apparent resurgence of cVDPV2 to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic after the country has been granted certification by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"This year has been a challenging one due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected all areas of our lives, including the immunisation programme.

calling on Nigerians to resist them.

About 22 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) had raised the alarm over the alleged plan by the National Assembly to pass the bill without the inclusion of the electronic collation of results in the bill.

The CSOs, in a statement on Monday, said the manipulation of Section 50(2) would undermine INEC’s efforts to improve the election results management regime.

However, sources told THISDAY yesterday that faced with the growing criticisms, the committee called the meeting to take a holistic look at the draft of the bill.

It was gathered that some of the committee members, who were apparently embarrassed by the report that the bill banned the electronic transmission of election results, expressed concerns and emphasised the need for the committee to revisit the report.

Some committee members were said to have called the leadership of the Senate, saying they were not part of the decision by the committee to insert the clause banning the electronic transfer of votes.

Based on this, it was impressed upon Gaya, the need for the committee to meet again yesterday to take another look at all the clauses contained in the draft bill ahead of its being laid at today’s plenary.

THISDAY gathered that a meeting of the committee was called at one of the Senate committee rooms and was attended by 12 committee members with Gaya presiding.

It was learnt that members of the committee insisted that all the clauses in the draft bill should be taken one after the other to avoid any misrepresentation.

When the committee got to page 25 of the document and subtitled procedure at an election under Section 50(2) of the bill was reworked to read: "Voting at an election under this bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the commission (INEC), which may include electronic voting provided that the commission may

transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable."

The meeting lasted for over four hours with the committee members insisting that the final draft be produced for them to assent before ending the meeting about 5 pm.

The previous Section 50(2) of the bill had read: "Voting at an election under this bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission (INEC), which may include electronic voting provided that the commission shall not transmit results of the election by electronic means."

THISDAY findings revealed that this clause was sneaked into the draft bill without the knowledge of the committee members.

A member of the Senate committee on INEC told THISDAY that at no time was that provision discussed at the committee level.

The senator said he now understood the delay in presenting the bill after the committee had long concluded its work.

He added: "This is not funny at all. I now know why the presentation of the report had been delayed this long after we finished our work at the committee level. They have been playing hide-and-seek on the matter.

"For all I know and other committee members can bear me witness, the issue of ban on electronic transfer of votes was not part of the report we wrote.

So, that means the committee chairman is culpable and owes the committee members an explanation over the strange insertion."

However, reacting to the allegation of a plot by the National Assembly to rig the 2023 general election ahead of time, the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, said presiding officers were not tampering with the workings of committees of both chambers on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021.

He spoke in Abuja during the inauguration of the National Commissioners of the Public Complaints Commission (PCC).

He said: "Let me seize this opportunity to react to

insinuations being made against the leadership of the National Assembly as regards the 2010 Electoral Act ( Amendment) Bill 2021, which will soon be considered and passed at both chambers.

"Leadership or presiding officers of the National Assembly are not the ones to determine what and what provisions should be in the report to be presented, making the series of phone calls being made to us unnecessary.”

House, PDP Caucus, Others Flay Plan to Rig 2023 Election The House of Representatives also flayed the allegation that the leadership of the National Assembly was attempting to rig the 2023 general election through the manipulation of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2021.

In addition, the Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party Caucus of the House, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, said if the lawmakers failed to include electronic transmission of results and compulsory use of card reader in the new draft of the bill, then they did not accomplish anything in the amendment.

Reacting to the allegation that the National Assembly was planning to rig the future elections, House spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, told THISDAY that the bill, when submitted, would be voted on by the entire House.

"The House cannot say anything on something that is not before it. The bill, when submitted, will be voted on by the entire House. If there is any manipulation as alleged by the public, which I seriously doubt, the committee members will point that out on the floor and have it debated on in line with parliamentary practice,” he said.

Chinda told THISDAY that true democrats ought not to be afraid of the decision of the people.

He said the lawmakers ought to bequeath to Nigerians the legislation they want with no salt in them.

“If we fail to include electronic transmission of results and compulsory use

of card reader in the new draft of the bill, then we did not accomplish anything in the amendment,” he stated.

Another lawmaker, Hon. Bede Eke (PDP, Imo), said it was unbelievable that the National Assembly would pass the bill without the electronic transmission of results in the 21st century.

He urged his colleagues to give Nigerians an electoral law that will ensure free and fair elections.

Also reacting, a member representing Donga/Takum/ Ussa and Yantu Federal Constituency of Taraba State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Rimamde Shawulu, described as worrisome the strange clauses that were allegedly inserted into the bill.

The lawmaker expressed his concern yesterday while featuring on 'Good Morning Show' on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY. "In this case, we have not received the report of the Committee on Electoral Matters. They have not been distributed to members of the House, the information we have is the same information that the public has,” he stated.

Also reacting, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) lamented that the alleged insertion in the bill would jeopardize the integrity of future elections.

National Chairman of the party, Mr. Falalu Bello, in a statement yesterday, said it was sad that the National Assembly was poised to squander yet another opportunity for bringing remarkable improvement to Nigeria’s electoral legal framework.

However, the spokesperson of the Senate, Senator Ajibola Basiru (APC Osun), advised his colleagues with divergent views to keep their gun powder dry until the bill is brought up on the floor of the Senate.

Basiru told THISDAY in a telephone conversation that he was appalled that senators who are supposed to be familiar with the process of law-making were playing to the gallery and trying to conduct the affairs of the Senate on the pages of newspapers.

AFENIFERE, OHANAEZE, PANDEF BACK SOUTHERN GOVS’ DEMAND FOR PRESIDENCY industry bill, including the reconfiguration of the NNPC deserves scrutiny once again by the two chambers of the National Assembly.

He called on the Senate and House of Representatives to revisit their versions of the bills to address some disagreement, especially in the area of the percentage that should be allocated to host communities.

“We support the governors for recognizing the need for respect and regard for their positions as the chief security officers of their individual state. Their approval to enact anti-open grazing laws as legal teeth to reduce famine in the land and curb incessant conflicts deserve praises,” the forum said.

The forum condemned what it described as the Gestapostyle known to belong to

Hitler's era perpetrated against Chief Sunday Igboho, saying it was an incident that the Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, should take up officially and persuade the federal government to apologise for their criminal actions.

Afenifere, Ohanaeze Back Govs’ Demands Reacting to the governors’ demands, Afenifere, yesterday said since the North would have ruled consecutively for eight years by 2023, the next president would come from the South.

The National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jare Ajayi, while speaking with THISDAY, said it was imperative that the next president must come from the South if only for the sake of

equity, fairness and justice.

He, however, maintained that what is important to the group is the restructuring of the country before the next election, noting that every section of the country has people who are capable of occupying any position in the country, including the presidency “in order to ensure that every section of the country has a sense of belonging.”

“So, to us in Afenifere, political parties should ensure that their presidential candidates are picked from the South. But beyond the issue of where the next president comes from, it must be a condition that restructuring takes place before the next elections in Nigeria! Restructuring that encapsulates true federalism and confers the leverage for

self-determination on the constituent components of Nigeria.”

Also reacting to the communiqué, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Alex Ogbonia, who spoke to THISDAY, appealed to the governors to move a step further by conceding the presidency to the South-east in the spirit of justice, equity and fairness.

He said: "The outcome of their meeting in Lagos is a welcome development because the issue of the presidency moving to the South-east should be non-negotiable.

"This was part of the gentleman agreement reached between Northern and Southern leaders in 1998 to the effect that the Presidency should alternate between the North and the South.

"The South-west have had their full share through President Olusegun Obasanjo while the South-south have equally had their share through President Goodluck Jonathan; it is, therefore the turn of the South East.”

"The governors should therefore be magnanimous enough to reciprocate the kindness of the people of the South-east by boldly declaring that 2023 is for the South-east."

PANDEF Hails Southern Govs PANDEF has also hailed the unanimous resolution on the Southern presidency.

The group’s spokesman, Hon. Ken Robinson, in a reaction, expressed happiness that the Southern governors met again, less than two

months, after their historic Asaba meeting, to further accentuate the wishes and aspirations of the people of Southern Nigeria.

PANDEF, he said, is happy that the Southern governors have now added their voice to the critical matter, given the irrational proposals by some mischievous persons that the presidency should be open to all zones of the country in 2023 The group congratulated the Southern Governors and commended them for the demonstration of solidarity, and the commitment to consolidate the Unity of Southern Nigeria adding that "we hope that they would sustain this spirit of understanding and congruence, in the best interest of our people and the country".

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COMMENT

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

RICHARD MOFE-DAMIJO AT 60

Olusegun Adeniyi pays tribute to Mofe-Damijo, actor, writer, producer and lawyer

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eteran actor, Mr Richard Mofe-Damijo, known mostly by the acronym, RMD, is 60 today. I join well-wishers to celebrate a man who has inspired millions of Nigerians with his talent and creativity.

Like many, I knew RMD only by reputation, having never met him in person. But in 2017, our paths crossed when the teenagers in our church asked that we invite him for the Annual Teens Career Conference. I thought I would try, even though I was not sure what to expect. Not only did he accept my kind invitation to come all the way to Abuja from Lagos, he refused any remuneration. He got most of the attention at the conference with the theme, ‘Life is a Stage’. And the teenagers will never forget his admonition that while on the stage of life, they all must write their own scripts!

A rounded artiste, RMD was a journalist before succumbing to the allure of the big stage that mirrors the joy, sorrow, and foibles of society. He had briefly worked at National Concord in the late 80s and acquitted himself as a creative writer. His passion for the written word was what probably led him into founding a lifestyle magazine called ‘MISTER’ in the 90s. His devotion to the creative industry was further exhibited while he served as Commissioner for Culture in Delta State under the Emmanuel Uduaghan administration. He helped push the envelope of arts and culture in the oil-rich state so vigorously that Asaba, the state capital, became the preferred destination for Nollywood producers, actors, and actresses to shoot videos.

A University of Benin graduate of Theatre Arts before he later read law at the University of Lagos, RMD has for more than three decades been one of the biggest names in the Nigerian entertainment industry. In his late twenties, he was in the cast of ‘Ripples’, one of the longest running drama series on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) created by Zeb Ejiro before becoming one of the star attractions in the late Amaka Igwe’s ‘Checkmate’, a popular serial that also ran on NTA for four years. Indeed, it will not be an exaggeration to say that the national appetite ‘Checkmate’ helped whet opened the stage for Nollywood to bloom.

Starring accomplished professionals like Kunle Bamtefa, Nobert Young, Mildred Iweka, the late Francis Agu and my friend who has abandoned me, Bob Manuel Udokwu, millions of our people followed the series almost the same way people all over the world followed ‘Game of Thrones’. But it was RMD (who played the role of Segun Kadiri) and his ‘archenemy’, Ann Haatrope (Ego Nnamani, now Mrs Boyo) that made the soap opera a must-watch for many. Incidentally, ‘Checkmate’ brought on full display some of the ills that now define our society: violent cultism, sex-for-grades on university campus, dysfunctional families, irresponsible procreation, etc. But it was asking too much to expect those who hardly pay attention to the plight of the people to take seriously the drama of existence expressed in art form.

PERHAPS WHAT SET HIM APART SO EARLY WAS THAT WHILE SOME OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES TREATED THE EMERGING NIGERIAN FILM INDUSTRY WITH CYNICISM AND CONTEMPT OUT OF SHEER SUPERIORITY COMPLEX, RMD AND A FEW OTHER TRAINED THESPIANS SUPPORTED NOLLYWOOD WITH THEIR EXPERTISE, EXPERIENCE, EXPOSURE, AND CREDIBILITY

Adored, especially by women because of his Sean Connery stature and handsome looks, RMD remains one of the few professionals who excel on stage, television and the silver screen.

But perhaps what set him apart so early was that while some of his contemporaries treated the emerging Nigerian film industry with cynicism and contempt out of sheer superiority complex, RMD and a few other trained thespians supported Nollywood with their expertise, experience, exposure, and credibility. Today, the nation is better for it. Some of the movies he has acted in include ‘Out of Bounds’ (1997), ‘Hostages’ (1997), ‘Scores to Settle’ (1998), ‘Diamond Ring’ (1998), ‘Freedom’ (1999), ‘When God Says Yes’ (2003), ‘The Intruder’ (2003), ‘The Mayors’ (2004), ‘I want Your Wife’ (2004), ‘Engagement Night’ (2004), ‘Critical Assignment’ (2004), ‘The Bridesmaid’ (2005) ‘Darkest Night’ (2005), ‘30 Days in Atlanta’ (2014), ‘Oloibiri’ (2015), ‘Okafor’s Law’ (2016), ‘Three Wise Men’ (2016), ‘The Wedding Party’ (2016), ‘Chief Daddy’ (2018) and dozens of others.

In the uncertain times that we live in, people in the performing arts are not just entertainers, they help to relieve us of communal pain and provide catharsis for the burdens we carry. Actors, according to Jackie Apodaca, an associate professor, and the head of performance at Southern Oregon University, are storytellers, who temporarily extinguish our worries as they play out alternate realities on stage or screen. “Sometimes a performer holds up a mirror, shining light on hidden societal sins, but often he or she helps us escape, reminding us of happier times or our greater human potential,” said Apocada. “With actors carrying our frustrations, fears, desires, and hopes, we can let go of the fight—at least for a little while.”

While we have a few successful men like RMD in the profession, the reality is that we live in a society that cannot appreciate performing arts. I am not certain that many Nigerian parents would encourage their children to choose theatre arts as their first career choice today. Yet these are men and women who by their craft help us to improve our understanding of life. As one writer put it, “We compare our life with life in the scene, put ourselves in their shoes and think what would we do. So that drama influences our own lives and our way of thinking, encourages us to review our experience, our principles and change it for the sake of us and our loved ones.”

As part of the therapy to heal our society, we should pay more attention to the arts. Which is why writers and artists, deserve to be celebrated for helping to create a climate of joy and relief in a season of sorrow and forebodings. As he clocks 60 today, my dear egbon, Mr Richard Mofe-Damijo has much to thank God for.

But as a nation, we also owe him, and many of his colleagues in creative arts, a debt of gratitude. May he live long and enjoy good health!

BUHARI’S CLARION CALL There is need to give more attention to grassroots development in line with FIFA’s philosophy, writes Tony Olutomiwa

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he recent directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Youth and Sports Minister, Sunday Dare and the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, on the imperative of improving football performance and standards in the country, no doubt, was a clarion call.

President Buhari had directed both the minister and the NFF boss during a meeting at the Presidential Villa to fashion out a 10-year football development plan that will see the game “develop and move in a more dynamic trajectory from football administration to youth and grassroots football, talent hunt and use of Nigeria’s homebased talents”.

Of course, the president’s message is clear on the need to put more attention on grassroots development in line with FIFA’s development philosophy, which is the foundation for growth. It is reckoned that grassroots soccer is the most important part of the player’s pathway, where young people get their first experience and develop their skills.

Regrettably, we seem to have lost touch with this important element of the game until recently when the current minister of Youth and Sports came on board and radically improving the lot of soccer by returning to the golden era in youth football development especially the Principal’s Cup, which was so popular in the past and other innovative programmes to turn things around. This year’s hosting of the National Sports Festival, too, is raising hope of renewal, which is good for athletics development because many of the Imos, Egbunikes, Onyalis and Ajunwas were discovered at this athletics summit and similar competitions in the past.

Nonetheless, while it could be argued that the game of soccer in particular has fared relatively well in recent times, many football aficionados are

wont to state that we have actually fell from the top we used to be in terms of performance at home and abroad. Needless to say that Nigeria used to dominate the African soccer scene before the gradual decline.

As of April 1994, the Nigerian national football team was ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings, the highest FIFA ranking position ever achieved by an African team. However, the remarkable record was sharply contrasted by November 3, 2020 when Nigeria was ranked by FIFA as 35th in the world.

A pointer to this reality is that unlike in the past, Nigerian players are no longer featured prominently in the big transfer news in Europe.

Since the feat of the Super Eagles at the African Cup of Nations in 2013, we have been unable to create those sensational outings in subsequent editions. Also Nigeria’s U-17 and U-20 teams have not produced those sterling performances that consistently put the country’s name on the global soccer map in the past.

But hope is rising with the good thinking by the minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Dare, who is doing some good job by putting in place those institutional programmes that can over time take Nigeria back to the top we should be because we are endowed to do so.

Essentially, we need to develop the grassroots not only in soccer but in all our sports, thereby creating opportunities for talent discovery that can then be harnessed and developed to stardom as we had in the past, even winning gold in soccer and athletics at the Olympics.

This much was relayed to the youngsters at the recently concluded two-day talent hunt and mentoring programmme of the African Children Talent Discovery Foundation (ACTDF) in Bauchi by the Minister of Youth and Sports, who was represented by Bode Durotoye and Abiodun

Owoborode, Personal Assistant and Director of Grassroots Development respectively.

While presenting cash gifts to the young talents at the end of the event, the minister lauded the initiative and urged the discovered talents to make the best use of the opportunity provided by the foundation to excel.

On his part, founder of the foundation, Engr.

Noah Dalajji, was unequivocal that the programme will continue as an annual event and an opportunity for talented youngsters to participate in an open process and from where those who are really talented could be discovered and exposed for self actualization.

Speaking at the closing ceremony at the Tafawa Balewa Stadium, venue of the event, Dallaji affirmed that many Nigerian youths are talented and as such, the ACTDF was out to discover such talents, adding that the mentoring element of the programme was important since it would give them the needed inspiration. “Many Nigerian youths are talented, only waiting to have a platform, a ladder, they can climb and that ladder has come. We are here to show the world that Nigeria will be better,” he said. “So our objective is to support their talents but they need to first be discovered and be determined. It’s their choice. This is what we are doing to provide that important ladder to climb and be useful to themselves, their families and country”.

The strategic inclusion of mentoring in the Bauchi ACTDF talent hunt was quite revealing.

Both in the classroom and on the pitch, the young boys interfaced, mingled and played with the likes of Daniel Amokachi, Kanu Nwankwo, Emmanuel Babayaro, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Augustine Eguavoen, Taribo West, Tijani Babangida, Garba Lawal, Emmanuel Emenike and Sunday Mbah. Ghana’s ex-international, Stephen Appiah, Congo’s Lomana

Lua Lua and Khailou Fadiga of Senegal were also on ground to mentor the talents in what Dallaji said was to “teach, motivate and inspire confidence and build their skills”.

Perhaps in a bid to make the event sink in the memory of the young talents, it is apt to also say that it was one event where celebrity meets sport, driving home the point of grassroots development even in such a razzmatazz.

On this note, Dallaji remarked: ”Yes, we brought those celebrities to Bauchi to let the talent hunt sink in the minds of those young boys we discovered and realize that they too could become great and celebrated as celebrities who came to support them but to the extent that they also work for it. It’s their choice. ACTDF has provided the ladder, now left to them to be determined to do so”.

And so, it was thrilling to see the ace musician, Peter Okoye (Mr. P), of the P-Square fame play in the novelty match and came out to rousing ovation during his short performance just as we saw Reekado Banks doing similarly. Then the likes of Waje, Timi Dakolo, Ozo, Kaffy and the Nollywood crew added beauty to the memorable event.

But what the Bauchi fans won’t forget in a hurry were those displays by Jay Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo and Daniel Amokachi, who like other stars in the novelty match between the Friends of Dallaji and Bauchi All Stars, reenacted their glorious soccer skills which should inspire the talents.

Thus as we commend the ACTDF for such a good initiative, the burning issue, invariably, relates to the charge by President Buhari to both the Youth and Sports Ministry and the NFF leadership to live up to the expectations of Mr. Present and all soccer loving Nigerians on the imperative of not only crafting the 10-year soccer development plan but also actually delivering on its core objectives.

Olutomiwa wrote from Abuja

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EDITORIAL THE THREAT FROM NIGER DELTA The authorities should take the threat seriously

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of one facility or the other, but they are hardly completed.

pparently to douse the rising tension in the South-south states, the presidency last week expressed surprise at the threat issued by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to bomb critical oil and gas installations in the oil-bearing region.

Most of their demands had been assented to after President Muhammadu Buhari met with some leaders of the region, according to the federal government. But if the threats were issued despite presidential assurances, it is perhaps an expression of doubts about the sincerity of the administration.

The NDA, a militant group, is demanding, among other things, the development of the Niger Delta, the inauguration of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board in addition to what has become a national item: Restructuring of the federation for effectiveness and efficiency.

Failure to accede to their current demands, according to the militants, they would bring “down target oil installations capable of humbling AN ECONOMY THAT IS the economy into ALREADY VERY MUCH TROUBLED CANNOT STAND permanent recession.” Against the FURTHER SHOCKS background that in 2016 the group unleashed searing attacks on oil installations which almost crippled the economy, the threat should be taken seriously.

While we do not subscribe to threats of violence as a way of demanding a fair deal for any cause, the Niger Delta remains one of the most neglected regions in the country. It produces the wealth of the nation, but ironically most of the people live in penury. Years of oil exploitation and spillages have ruined and polluted most of the lands and poisoned their rivers, making farming and fishing difficult. Infrastructural facilities are scarce and far between. As Vice President Yemi Osinbajo observed not too long ago, the region is inundated with many signboards advertising the construction

Letters to the Editor

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othing seems to have changed. The Niger Delta is still an area replete with abandoned projects. The East/West road in the heart of the region, for instance, has been in the works since 2006. While new roads are sprouting out in every other corner in the country and completed with missionary zeal, the East/West road has become a monument to waste, a death trap where vehicles of all shape spend days and nights on the same spot.

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 OGED ENGBE 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.

KANU’S RE-ARREST AND IGBOHO’S HOUSE INVASION

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t the moment, the most trending public political discourse in Nigeria is the recent re - arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the de facto leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a secessionist group and the report on a joint security operatives raid on Sunday Adeyemo Igboho’s residence, a prominent member of Yoruba Nation agitator. While Nnamdi Kanu was reportedly apprehended in Kenya, Sunday Igboho evaded arrest and his whereabouts remains a mystery.

Kanu’s apprehension and the fact that Igboho is on the run may have created the notion that Nigeria’s government is currently on top of the agitation for self-determination. Notably, the agitation is mass-based agenda. Both the separatist leaders have unflinching grassroots support. Numerous persons with the exact Kanu and Igboho’s public status can easily rise with the mood on ground. In fact, if the most notorious person embraces and propagates secession agenda among the Southerners, he or she will be immediately eulogized and transformed to hero-like personality.

Indisputably, no government or political establishment would fold its arms and eagerly cede any part of its geographical territory without any iota of resistance.

Many a time, conflict precedes disintegration of nations.

The partition of British India to India and Pakistan in 1947 was not free of conflict, likewise the 1991 dissolu-

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Niger Delta and the NDDC, special vehicles established to help quicken the pace of development in the area have also become part of the problem. The NDDC has become a sink hole synonymous with large-scale corruption. After the billions poured into the parastatal, there is little to crow about. Indeed, worried by the overwhelming complaints of the people and the governors of the oil producing states, President Buhari asked for a forensic audit of the watering hole. But the minister of the Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio, has been using that exercise to prevent the inauguration of the legitimate board screened and confirmed by the Senate while the commission is run by handpicked cronies under a nebulous interim management board since 2019. At present, the commission is managed by a sole administrator who merely runs errands for the minister.

Last month, Akpabio had meetings with stakeholders of the Niger Delta and promised that the NDDC Board would be inaugurated in June.

We are now in July without any sign of efforts to constitute the board. The audit was expected to last for only few months. Last week, the presidency said the result of the forensic audit was expected by the end of July. In the face of the rising tension, something urgently needs to be done to address the problem. An economy that is already very much troubled cannot stand further shocks. It should not take forever to constitute the NDDC board.

tion and transformation of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) into 15 nations. The 2011 referendum which took place in Sudan and eventually led to its division into two nations was not achieved on a platter.

It is understandable that the plight of Kanu and Igboho emanated from an attempt to dissuade further attempt on secession agenda. No Nigeria’s president be it from North or South would condone secession without resistance or reluctance. Realistically, it is a difficult decision for a nation’s president to willingly derogate their authority. Nevertheless, once a people are unanimously determined to secede and live separately, history has proven that no government or authority could hinder such resolve. The achievement could only be delayed. The Buhari - led administration needs to exercise caution and embrace dialogue for national interest. Both the government and the separatist leaders are guilty of unlawful acts and illegalities. This is not a period for blame game or scapegoating. The government needs to retrace its step and dialogue with the separatist leaders. The adoption of any instrumentality other than dialogue would send a wrong signal to Southerners and jeopardize Nigeria’s corporate entity. The spirit of secession can’t be crushed with bullets or questions of legality. It would only harden the heart and resolve of the survival and their future generations.

Binzak Azeez, Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife

KANU, IGBOHO AND RISING INSECURITY

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he Nigerian government recently announced the arrest of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Days later, the home of Sunday Igboho, a Yoruba rights activist was raided by operatives of the DSS. Both of them are seen as individuals fighting to curb the spate of rising insecurity in their regions, hence, the rise in the support they get. However, the fact that both individuals and their organisations continue to stockpile weapons in the process of achieving their aims make them dangerous in the long run.

Individuals like Igboho and Kanu with their organisations are classified as non-state actors as they are organisations not funded or regulated by state laws. Non-state actors have been a source of concern for many countries with deteriorating security situations especially when they start to possess and enhance the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. In this situation, Igboho and Kanu should be a source of concern.

Possession of arms by non-state actors is a symptom of deteriorating national security structures.

Since non- state actors cannot acquire and bear arms legally, they resort to illegal acquisition through means such as diversion of state

stockpiles, trafficking, black markets and local production. These means of weapon acquisition in reality has no monopoly, hence, weapons can get to the hands of anyone. A society that therefore makes the acquisition of arms by non-state actors easy is walking on a keg of gunpowder.

A 2017 Oxfam report on the human cost of arms proliferation in Africa which analyzed events in seven African countries confirms that a continual proliferation of arms comes at a huge human cost in most cases, creating a rise further in insecurity. As IPOB and others get arms illegally, so do armed robbers, street thugs, etc., also have access to the arms. These, therefore, increase armed robbery, street gang violence and other violent crimes which are not in any way related to the agendas of the main non-state actors.

Nigerians have continually lamented and protested various cases of police brutality.

However, this is only possible because there is a rule of engagement set for state security forces, hence, any action taken outside the scope of the rules of engagement can be declared as wrong.

This is not the case with non-state actors. At a point in time, we will need to ask ourselves, who determines the rules of engagement of IPOB and Oduduwa Republic fighters?

Bright Ogundare, brightogundare@gmail.com

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POLITICS

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

Furore over Electoral Act Amendment Bill Emameh Gabriel writes that the National Assembly is in the news again as controversy over the Electoral Act Amendment (2021) may lead to a stormy session today

Lawan

Omo-Agege

Gaya

Yakubu

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supporters of the President have interpreted his action as a plot to change the election sequence, which they say would tilt the electoral landscape against him, his opponents argue that the President and the ruling party are just afraid of a free and fair election.

THISDAY recalls that the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan had on several occasions assured Nigerians that the new amendment would bring significant reduction of violence during the 2023 elections because of the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act. The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said the 2023 General Elections would record significant reduction in electoral violence after the passage of the amended Electoral Act in June by the National Assembly.

He said the Electoral Act under amendment by the Ninth National Assembly will provide for an Electoral Offences Commission, saddled with responsibility of prosecuting electoral offenders.

He said the Electoral Amendment Bill, when passed and signed into law, would, among other things, empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct transparent elections in Nigeria.

“Let me give some commendation to the National Assembly for continuously working on the Electoral Act to provide for a better Electoral environment in Nigeria.

“All the improvement we have added was as a result of legislation passed by the National Assembly, and of course, supported by the Executive.

“But in addition, we are currently working on the electoral act, we want to amend it and we intend to achieve the amendment before June or thereabout.

“Our intention in the National Assembly with this is to further sanitise the electoral environment, and empower the election management body to conduct seamless, transparent and very open sort of election where a winner is very happy

that he is a winner and a loser will be glad that he lost in a very fair contest.

“So, we are working on this and we hope that the 2023 general elections will see less of electoral violence because the law itself would have been further improved,” Lawan had assured Nigerians.

Sadly, this provision may have died prematurely, even if lawmakers in the National Assembly have not made their intentions known, the atmosphere and body language of lawmakers from the opposition party speak volume of what should be expected.

As lawmakers prepare for a showdown in Tuesday plenary Senators will today, Tuesday engage in a heated debate over an alleged attempt to smuggle strange Section 50(2), which completely outlaws transmission of votes by electronic means into the new Electoral Act Amendment- a situation that is already generating tension among lawmakers.

The provision, which some members of the Kabiru Gaya-led Senate committee on INEC described as strange, simply reads: “Voting at an election under this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedures determined by the commission, which may include electronic voting provided that the Commission shall not transmit results of the election by electronic means.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had adopted the electronic transmission of results in some previous elections to the admiration of many stakeholders, particularly in the September 2020 Edo State governorship polls.

THISDAY gathered that some members of the Senate Committee on INEC, are set to raise objection to what they have described as alien opinion the people and INEC’s recommendations for itch free elections in the future.

The INEC had in the past expressed its determination to adopt electronic voting, including the transmission of results by the same means.

Consequently, INEC chairman, Prof Mahmud

Yakubu, had urged the National Assembly to amend the Constitution and the Electoral Act to make provision for electronic collation and transmission of election results.

He had argued that the manual collation, which is enshrined in the laws, is too cumbersome and expensive.

Explaining the importance of technology, he said: “We have to also address our electoral process, which is manual. It is too expensive and cumbersome. The process of collating results is sometimes chaotic because the law says that you must write results manually and collate them manually right from the polling unit to the ward, from the ward to the local government, then, the state and from the state to the national level, in the case of the presidential election.

“A lot has been achieved in other climes with the simple application of technology. So, the encumbrances to the deployment of technology in the transmission of election results should be removed as part of this process.”

“Though not exhaustive, by this Bill we seek to -ensure that the Act clearly forbids members of political parties from taking up employment in INEC; mandate INEC to publish the Voters Register for public scrutiny at every Registration Area and on its website at least seven (7) days before a general election;.....

Meanwhile critics have accused the ruling APC of an attempts to rig the 2023 general election ahead of time through the manipulation of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2021.

They have objection to Section 50 (2) of the draft bill, whose consideration begins today, Tuesday at the National Assembly, which bars electronic transmission of results Coalition of activists and Civil Society Organizations on Sunday accused the leadership of both arms of the National Assembly of attempt to short change the will of the Nigerian people by altering the proposals agreed upon at the public hearings to decide the contents of the amendment to the Electoral Act In a joint statement released, the coalition consisting of Yiaga Africa, The Electoral Hub, Speak Out Africa Initiative, Centre for Development Alternatives Research and Studies, and 40 other groups describe it as dangerous manipulation.

They said the alteration of Section 50(2) of the amendment undermines INEC’s effort to improve the election results management regime, particularly after recent successful experienced in some of season election and that the increase on compaign financing threshold is an attpt to perpetuate undue influence of money in elections.

“It is instructive to note that following the submission of the Electoral Amendment Committee’s report, the National Assembly leadership undertook an additional review of the report to insert and reject some amendments unilaterally, without going through the established process for such insertion.

“We are concerned that the alleged final copy of the Electoral Amendment Bill, which we have reviewed, does not represent the interests of the Nigerian people and we therefore consider it a forged document that must not be substituted for our legitimate demands.”

isturbed by the violence, ballot box snatching, bloodshed and other electoral malfeasance that have overtime characterised elections in the Nigeria, the Nigerian Senate in 2019 initiated fresh moves to address these challenges through a rejig of the Electoral Act. The move rekindled the hopes and confidence of Nigerian electorates on the Ahmed Lawan-led National Assembly.

The clamour from key political stakeholders and the informed public is that until some of these challenges are addressed head on, elections in the country will continue to record needless setbacks and human casualties.

The sanctity of the ballot, credibility of the electoral process and the integrity of INEC officials, have constantly come under intense debate since the return of democracy in 1999.

Consequently, a Bill for an Act to ensure that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) adopts electronic voting method for future elections was introduced and the Bill scaled through a second reading without hitches.

The new legislation became a major component of the Electoral Act Amendment, which billions of naira was voted for. With the amendment, it was expected that INEC would operate an electronic database into which all results in an election should be transmitted.

The Bill entitled, “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act No.6 2010 and for Other Related Matters, 2019(SB.122) was sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie OmoAgege, and Co-sponsored by Senator Abubakar Kyari, seeks the amendment of Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2010 by introducing a “National Electronic Register of Election Results.

In clear terms, the new amendment stipulates that data of accredited voters must be transmitted to the central data base upon the conclusion of the accreditation of voters which would be done through the use of the card reader.

The Bill also stipulates that, “At the end of accreditation of voters, the presiding officer shall transmit the voter accreditation data by secure mobile electronic communication to the central database of the commission kept at the national headquarters of the commission.

“Any presiding officer who contravenes this provision shall be liable, on conviction, to a minimum of imprisonment of at least five years without an option of fine.”

It prevents INEC from shutting down the central data base until all petitions arising from the elections are determined by a tribunal or court.

Omo-Agege said it was a response in part to a plethora of Supreme Court decisions directly or indirectly calling upon the National Assembly to act.

Before the 2019 general election there was loud clamour for President Muhammadu Buhari to pass the electoral act which was to guide the conduct of the elections which he eventually declined citing ‘uncertainty about the legislation to govern the process.

The president had declined assent to the Bill in previous times, citing ‘drafting issues.’ While

Senators will today, Tuesday engage in a heated debate over an alleged attempt to smuggle strange Section 50(2), which completely outlaws transmission of votes by electronic means into the new Electoral Act Amendment- a situation that is already generating tension among lawmakers. The provision, which some members of the Kabiru Gaya-led Senate committee on INEC described as strange, simply reads: “Voting at an election under this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedures determined by the commission, which may include electronic voting provided that the Commission shall not transmit results of the election by electronic means

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POLITICS

Gathering Storms in the APC The decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the tenure of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress and recent defections of political bigwigs is already causing ill-feelings within the party, writes Adedayo Akinwale

Buhari

Buni

Matawalle

Marafa

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The Spokesperson said he sometimes wondered why Buhari, who is known as a man of principle can take such a decision, stressing that the party is not a one-man investment, adding, “how can one man take a decision without proper consultation - NEC meeting?

It is totally wrong.”

Dauda noted: “We are going to draw the attention of the President and the party elders.

As a party member, you have to write a letter to the party leaders and the President, because they misguided the President. That’s why he made that decision. Maybe Mr. President doesn’t know anything about the constitution of the party.”

“There is nowhere in the constitution that gives Mr. President the right to give them tenure elongation. Mr. President is always claiming he is a man of principle, he is a man of law and order, where is the law and order, where is the principle there? For violating the constitution.”

times defect to the governing party to remain relevant; to have access to government money; to gain political patronage, to win a second term election, among others.

Following the decision of the APC to embark on an aggressive membership drive with its registration and revalidation exercise, which is still ongoing, the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been at the receiving end of the exercise. Each passing day, the PDP has seen its ranks depleted.

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade and recently the Governor of Zamfara state, Bello Matawalle have all pitched their tents with the APC. This also saw federal lawmakers, state lawmakers and political appointees following their governors to the APC. While the ranks of the APC continues to swell and the Caretaker Committee has been praised to high heaven for attracting eminent politicians to the party, the ruling party may be dancing into another round of crisis similar to or worse than what it witnessed during the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC).

Whoever thinks that the APC has seen the last of its crisis should better have a rethink.

While the crisis generated by the membership registration exercise remains unsolved, the ones that would be created through the forthcoming congresses and the fall out of the convention will shake the foundation of the party.

The recent defection of Matawalle from the

PDP to the APC has set off a new leadership struggle in Zamfara States as Senator Kabiru Marafa and former Governor Abdul-Aziz Yari have opposed a directive that the defector governor has automatically become the leader of APC in the state.

Matawalle had claimed that he joined the APC in order to get the federal government to end insecurity in his state, reinforced public’s stance that the APC and its government were responsible for the banditry, terrorism and kidnapping ravaging the state.

But Marafa, a grassroot and strong politician in the state noted that the declaration of Matawalle as the leader of the party in the state was tantamount to deception, insisting that they would not accept it. He added that Buni doesn’t have the powers under the constitution to make certain pronouncements.

Marafa, while speaking recently on ARISE News Channel contended that the APC constitution in section 17(4) forbade Buni from being the chairman of APC. He also said he had told President Muhammadu Buhari of the banana peel on the path of Buni as chairman of APC, threatening legal actions for his continued stay in office as APC Chairman.

Marafa stated: “Let me tell you something that is likely to happen, as far as I’m concerned.

APC should let the sleeping dog lie. Mai Mala Buni, the chairman, doesn’t have the powers under the constitution to make certain pronouncements and that is number one.

“Number two, issues will come up and we are going to challenge even the legality of his being a chairman of APC. When you look at our APC Constitution, Sections 17(4) in particular forbids Mai Mala from being the chairman of the party. I have warned.

“I have alerted Mr President a long time ago that we should be very wary of these banana peels, because if things are pushed to their limits, there will be consequences. Now when you push a man to the wall, definitely, he is going to fight back. So, we are going to ask these fundamental questions, when the need arises to do so.”

Specifically, Marafa said there was no APC in Zamfara and no governor for the state now, saying, “We don’t have any governor for now,” insisting that Matawalle’s defection violated the 2019 Supreme Court Judgement.”

He added, “We said for proper integration, there should be a meeting for proper consultations but all of a sudden, an announcement was made that the party executives had been dissolved and someone was named as leader of our party. This is incorrect.”

On his part, Yari for the first time is on the same page with Marafa because he has also rejected Matawalle as the leader of APC in the state.

Featuring on BBC Hausa Service, Yari rejected Buni’s declaration, saying Matawalle was not the leader of the party. He said this after a meeting with the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

n clear contravention with the constitution of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari recently approved the extension of the tenure of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) single handedly without consultation with the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party.

Nevertheless, despite the unconstitutional approval of the tenure of the committee, no member of the party was bold enough to speak out because apparently they don’t want to be seen as kicking against the decision of the President who they all adore.

The Caretaker Committee led by the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni was inaugurated on June 25, 2020 to run the affairs of the party after the sack of Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) following a protracted leadership crisis.

However, the caretaker committee that was supposed to be there for six months to reconcile aggrieved members and conduct convention for the party has now successfully had its tenure elongated for the third time.

The National Secretary of the party, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, in a statement said the President granted the approval after detailed consideration of the progress report, the schedule of outstanding activities with regards to Congresses, the National Convention and the forthcoming Anambra governorship election.

He said by virtue of the extension, the tenure of the caretaker committees at each level from ward, local government, state and national will end immediately elections are held at their respective levels and its officers immediately take oath of office terminating with the National Convention.

Stakeholders Kick A group, Concerned All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders was the first to dare the President, saying he lacks the power under the constitution of the party to grant tenure extension to the committee.

Reacting to the tenure elongation, the Spokesperson of the group, Mr. Abdulahi Dauda told THISDAY that his group disagreed with the tenure elongation given to the Committee, saying the party is not a one-man show.

According to him, “About the tenure elongation given to the Buni Committee, we totally disagree because this party is not a one-man show or investment. APC as a political party is an institution governed by constitution, anything out of the constitution, we will not agree, and everybody has to think.”

He wondered why a party that promised to respect law and order, decided to discard its own constitution in order to grant extension to the committee.

Dauda added: “As I am talking to you now, we are just coming out from the meeting about the issue, we are not happy. With due respect to Mr. President, he has no power, even the constitution has not given him such power without the National Executive Council (NEC).

But the problem is from those people, they only went to the president and lied to him.”

Zamfara APC leadership crisis Lately, the ruling APC has become the toast of political bigwigs across the country ahead of the 2023 elections. The party has witnessed an influx of serving and former governors, serving and former federal and state lawmakers into its fold. The defections recently witnessed is not probably because of the stellar performance of the APC administration but basically because the political parties in the country lack ideology.

Based on this, Nigeria politicians often

The National Secretary of the party, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, in a statement said the President granted the approval after detailed consideration of the progress report, the schedule of outstanding activities with regards to Congresses, the National Convention and the forthcoming Anambra governorship election.

He said by virtue of the extension, the tenure of the caretaker committees at each level from ward, local government, state and national will end immediately elections are held at their respective levels and its officers immediately take oath of office terminating with the National Convention. A group, Concerned All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders was the first to dare the President, saying he lacks the power under the constitution of the party to grant tenure extension to the committee. Reacting to the tenure elongation, the Spokesperson of the group, Mr. Abdulahi Dauda told THISDAY that his group disagreed with the tenure elongation given to the Committee, saying the party is not a one-man show

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

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LAWYER

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WEEKLY PULLOUT

06.07.2021

Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN

’STATES SHOULD COLLECT AND UTILISE THEIR OWN VAT’

2/DASHBOARD

06.07.2021

LAWYER

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WEEKLY PULLOUT

06.07.2021

Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN

’STATES SHOULD COLLECT AND UTILISE THEIR OWN VAT’

I P R S L S S PAGE 4

U E NBA L B C PAGE 5

QUOTABLES 'If we are going to have a credible election....based on this step you have taken to appoint Onochie, it means you cannot have a credible election.

You cannot have a card carrying member of a political party, be an electoral umpire that is supposed to be independent!' - Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike CON, GSSRS, POS, Lawyer, Life Bencher, Governor, Rivers State, Federal Republic of Nigeria 'Promulgate a law that brings about all the views you are currently collating, including the beautiful provisions of the 1963 Constitution….Then, that law will state that a small compact Constituent Assembly of the people be elected by the people, to come and finally debate those recommendations…..’ - Dr Mike Ozekhome, SAN, Human Rights Lawyer & Activist

$151$ P$$$$ C$$$ R$$$$$$M$$$$$$ W$$$$$ C$$$$$ C$$$ A$$$$$$ A$$$ G$$$ PAGE 5

T$$ L$$$$$$$ $$O$$$$$ $$$ $$M$$$$ $$$$'$ D$$$$$$$$ PAGE 6

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06.07.2021

Amnesty, Criminality and Rule of Law Last week, the three incidents which caught most of Nigeria’s attention, were the arrest of fugitive from justice, Nnamdi Kanu, and his repatriation to Nigeria to come and continue his trial (and possibly face additional charges); the raid/excessive attack on Yoruba secessionist, Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho’s residence in Ibadan, and the passing of the Petroleum Industry Bill after almost 15 years in the National Assembly cooler. We are yet to get the full details of this new Bill, but from the snippets we have heard, the host communities will be given 3% compensation, to the chagrin of Senators from the South South region who were demanding 5%.

Nnamdi Kanu’s Arrest, the Ensuing Drama and Tribalism The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu which came as a surprise to all, has already been enmeshed in the usual Nigerian drama and controversy.

I even saw a videoclip of his Lawyer saying something to the effect that as a British citizen, Kanu should not have been arrested in another country, and brought back to Nigeria. Tah! I am a British citizen by birth. Pray tell, when did British citizenship start to confer immunity from suit and legal process in a foreign land, especially for one who has been charged to court for a criminal offence and jumped bail?

Though the Government has been silent about where Kanu was arrested, his brother claimed that his arrest was effected in Kenya. Kenya, Nigeria and the UK are all member countries of Interpol (International Criminal Police Organisation) whose Parent Agency is the UN; an international Police outfit, which helps the Police Forces of its member States collaborate to apprehend criminals/fugitives from justice.

At some point, this ‘million dollar question’ will become pertinent - why did Nnamdi Kanu believe that he had to abscond?

As for me, let me start by saying that my heart’s desire is a one, united Nigeria, but certainly based on the sacred principles of equity, equality, justice and secularity. Unfortunately, as is the norm these days, the issue of tribalism has not been left out of Kanu’s drama. Many Nigerians (in the South), even the Governor of Benue State, believe that if the Government can arrest Kanu in a foreign land, and launch such an attack using what seemed like excessive force on Sunday Igboho and his residence (killing two people and unnecessarily destroying his property) (similar to what was done in Nnamdi Kanu’s residence in September, 2017), they certainly have the wherewithal to arrest Boko Haram insurgents and other bandits/kidnappers in the Northern parts of the country, like Dan Karami and Dogo Gide who have for one, terrorised and brutalised the Katsina and Zamfara people for years. Why hasn’t this been done? Is it that the Federal Government is only interested in vanquishing Southern secessionists so that power does not devolve and remains in the centre as it does now, while not caring too much about ‘ordinary’ Northern criminals who do not pose a threat to this Unitarianism?

Again, the failure to pursue these Northern criminals with the same gusto and aplomb that Kanu was pursued and arrested, has been attributed to tribalism and partiality. The attack on Sunday Igboho, is also being used as another example of how Government is clamping down on the Southern sections of the country, while others are ostensibly left to run riot, terrorise the people and are mollycoddled and offered amnesty instead. Dan Karami even boasted that the State Government came to ‘beg’ him to allow people to go to their farms, while Gide who was granted amnesty under former Zamfara Governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, recanted, returned to the forest and resumed his old criminal ways.

A criminal suspect is exactly that - a criminal suspect; no matter where he or she hails from, and must be treated as such.

The debate is already raging, as to why Nnamdi Kanu should be treated like a criminal and be facing charges, when he is exercising his right to self-determination, a right which is recognised under international law (but obviously becomes criminal, when it turns to insurrection), and even indirectly in our Constitution by virtue of Sections 38, 39 & 40 (freedom of thought, expression and association); while people like Sheik Gumi are asking for amnesty for bandits/criminals of Northern origin, maybe even foreigners too (non-Nigerian Fulanis)!

Sheik Gumi has been seen at various times in

videoclips, parleying with Northern bandits, many of them slinging AK 47 rifles on their shoulders like handbags - why were they not arrested? Why was Sheik Gumi not ‘tailed’ to the criminals’ hideouts, so they could be arrested? The answer is obvious - Government did not want to. Has culpability for criminality now been reduced to an issue of tribalism, and not law and evidence? Many are saying that, if Sheik Gumi is seeking amnesty for known armed Northern criminals - kidnappers, rapists and killers, why should anyone be looking for Sunday Igboho so vehemently? What crime was Igboho alleged to have committed, before the authorities laid siege to his residence? We would like to know.

Amnesty Amnesty is overlooking or absolution, the act of forgetting an offence, usually one that relates to offences against the political order of a State like treason and sedition. Amnesty must be distinguished from Pardon, which means forgiveness. The difference is that for Amnesty, the culprit may not have been charged before a court of law or convicted, while for Pardon, the culprit has been found guilty of an offence, convicted, and is then forgiven by the President or Governor. Amnesty can be given after a major event, like how the Biafran soldiers were granted amnesty after the civil war.

Is granting amnesty to anyone in Nigeria, constitutional? In 2009, President Yar’Adua granted amnesty to the militants, to quell their insurgency against Nigeria and the oil installations. Should he have? Sections 175 & 212 of the Constitution allows the President and Governors respectively, after due consultation with their Councils of State, to grant a Pardon to a convict, or respite of the execution of a sentence, or substitute a less severe form of punishment for any punishment imposed. Some proffer the argument that Sections 175(1)(a) & 212(1)(a) which use the words ‘concerned with any offence’, as the basis for asserting that pardon as provided in the aforementioned sections, can also be used interchangeably as amnesty for non-convicts (and for any offence), but, my position is that the grant of amnesty is not for pure bandits and criminals.

And, so what, if these bandits are full of complaints about how the system is warped and corrupt, and has failed them and given them a bad deal? I’m sure if we went to Kirikiri Prison, practically every inmate there will have one pathetic story or the other to tell, about why they were constrained to turn to crime to eke out a living, possibly because of chronic unemployment and its accompanying starvation.

Should the gates of all the Prisons in Nigeria then be thrown open, and every inmate forgiven and allowed to go home because they have repented?

This suggestion sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?

Where do we draw the line? It is as ridiculous as saying that those who have kidnapped the little Islamiyya children of Niger State, of which one was reported to have died, or those who killed the five innocent Greenfield University, Kaduna State students should be allowed to go scot free because the system has failed them. The system has failed us all - admittedly, some more than others; should we all then resort to crime, to show our discontent and make our point?

Rule of Law As far as I’m concerned, whether Nnamdi Kanu, or anyone who is suspected to have committed a crime - Government must follow due process and abide by the rule of law. Was there a proper invitation issued to Sunday Igboho to visit the

Nnamdi Kanu

authorities? Did he refuse to honour the invitation?

Was an arrest warrant subsequently issued? On what grounds? The fact that the DSS went to his house in the dead of night, shows that they were not there for a friendly chat or invitation.

Was there a search warrant issued, before his residence was ransacked and destroyed? Who was present from Sunday Igboho’s side when his house was being denuded, to ensure that no evidence was planted against him by the DSS, like weapons or drugs, just to incriminate him?

Did anyone sign a document on Mr Igboho’s behalf, to confirm that the weapons which were allegedly found in his residence, were already there and not planted? I think not, since they were all running for dear life. After all, it will not be the first time that Nigerian law enforcement will tell lies, or cover up (the #EndSARS Lekki Tollgate incident of October 2020, readily comes to mind).

I do agree that no harm should befall Nnamdi Kanu while he’s in the custody of the State, as was the fate of Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram who was killed extra-judicially by the authorities at the time, as a result of which a full fledged Boko Haram monster was facilitated, in launching a revenge mission against the Nigerian State for this injustice.

Section 42(1)(b) prohibits discrimination and according privileges not accorded to all, based inter alia, on ethnicity and religion. Suspects must all be charged for offences which are known to law, presumed innocent until proven guilty, and given fair hearing (Section 36(9), 36(5) and 36(1) of the Constitution). Their right to life, except in the execution of a sentence, must be upheld (Section 33(1) of the Constitution), while they must not be subjected to indignities, torture and inhuman treatment (Section 34(1)(a) of the Constitution).

See the Anti-Torture Act 2017. Suspects are all entitled to legal representation, which if they cannot afford, counsel must be appointed for them via legal aid. The proceedings against them should be guided by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA). All these rights are applicable to Nnamdi Kanu, Sunday Igboho, Dan Karami, or any other persons who may be facing criminal charges.

Applications for bail must be entertained, the grant of which is at the discretion of the Judge. For someone like Nnamdi Kanu who jumped bail and failed to appear in court for his trial for the last few years, will his claim that he jumped bail in order to preserve his life because his life was in danger at the time his home was attacked by soldiers in 2017, avail him a defence against one of the main criteria for an individual not being eligible for the grant of bail - that such individual may jump bail?

Will his inciting statements on social media while he was a fugitive from the law, even threatening the life of the Governor of Rivers State, be enough proof that he has breached another element that is considered in the grant of bail - whether the individual will commit another crime while on bail? See the cases of Chedi v AGF 2006 13 N.W.L.R Part 997 Page 308 at 322 and Ojo v FRN 2006 9 N.W.L.R. Part 984 Page 103 at 115-116; both cases per Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, JCA ( as he then was).

In the case of Sunday Igboho, was his house raided because of his secessionist tendencies and Government’s wish to truncate the rally which he was to be a part of in Lagos last Saturday?

The fact that Nigeria has sunk into a state of anarchy, is indisputable. Will Sunday Igboho’s quest to defend his people in the face of attacks allegedly by Fulanis, instead of leaving them as sitting ducks like those in Benue and Zamfara States for example, the Nigerian State having failed to protect them, be a viable defence or mitigation for whatever crimes he may be accused of (self defence)?

Conclusion My advice to Government (whether they want it or not), is to perish the thought of granting amnesty to bandits. Aside from the fact that the concept may be unconstitutional, most of these people do not qualify for amnesty - they are perpetrators of pure criminality, and should be made to face the consequences of their actions.

However, in so doing, the rule of law must be observed, and every suspect given a fair and transparent trial. I watched a videoclip of Senator Ali Ndume, in which he spoke vehemently against granting amnesty to insurgents, citing the example of how a number of clerics in his

“HAS CULPABILITY FOR CRIMINALITY NOW BEEN REDUCED TO AN ISSUE OF TRIBALISM, AND NOT LAW AND EVIDENCE?”

village were rounded up and slaughtered by insurgents like rams in an abattoir. Should those who kill innocent farmers in Benue State, raping their women in the bargain, not be apprehended and punished for their cruel crimes? Or those that killed seven villagers in Kaduna State over the weekend, be let go if they are apprehended?

What genuine cause are they fighting for, that warrants amnesty?

When the lines of the clamour for selfdetermination, or discontent or disillusionment cross into criminality, my humble view is that, these cases must be treated with the seriousness they demand, with absolutely no sacred cows.

The threat that the State will burn if the law is allowed to take its course, is cheap blackmail, and unfortunately, this blackmail is being fuelled

by Government’s soft treatment of Northern criminals, and seemingly harsher treatment of those from the South. This is no way to run a country, whose essence should be based on the principles of equity, equality and justice; and, as long as such injustice is seen to be perpetrated in favour of some over others, we will see many more Nnamdi Kanus and Sunday Igbohos, as we have seen that the silencing of Mohammed Yusuf did not end his movement. In fact, it expanded it.

I urge Government to tread carefully, fairly, constitutionally and lawfully in all that they do to handle these security, and indeed, all other challenges. For one, at least 60% of Nigeria’s population comprises of Youths, many of whom are lending their support to the various clamours for secession, because they too feel hopeless and hard done by the system. President Buhari is absolutely correct in his assertion that, many of the Youths have not experienced the trauma of war, like those in his generation have. Therefore, their tolerance for injustice and its siblings, reduces with each passing day, and their frustrations are acted out by means of joining the clamour for secession and insurrection (as if this is the magic wand that will make everything beautiful). A word, they say, is enough for the wise.

Government, take heed.

4/LAW REPORT

Infringement of Personal Rights of Shareholders: Locus Standi to Sue Facts The 1st to 4th Respondent owned 95% of the share capital of the 1st Appellant, while the 2nd Appellant owned the balance of 5% of the two million ordinary shares of the company; it was duly incorporated as a limited liability company under the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

By an ordinary resolution passed on 1st April 2002, the share capital of the company was increased to ten million.

The 1st, 2nd and 4th Respondent as well as the 2nd Appellant, were the original directors of the company. It was alleged that the company held board meetings on the 9th and 10th March, 2006 whereby the 1st Respondent was removed as Chairman, and his official residence and vehicle withdrawn. The Respondents contended that, due process was not followed in the said removal. Another board meeting was conducted on 4th April, 2006. Notwithstanding the fact that the 1st to 4th Respondent were not given notice of the meeting and the members present were unable to form a quorum, the decisions were taken by the 2nd Appellant. At another board meeting held on 6th October, 2006, the names of the 1st to 4th Respondent were removed as signatories to the company’s accounts. The houses allocated to the 1st and 4th Respondent, were put up for sale. The 1st to 4th Respondent were suspended, and their salaries stopped. It was alleged that the 1st to 4th Respondent, were by all the actions complained of, deprived of their rights as shareholders, directors, and management staff of the company without notice to them, and without being given the opportunity of being heard.

As a result, the 1st to 4th Respondent instituted an action against the Appellants seeking inter alia, a declaration that once the 1st Appellant has fully allotted its authorised shares, the shareholders to whom the same were allotted can only transfer the shares to another person through a proper instrument of transfer, and not by a resolution of the company. The Appellants, upon being served with the Writ of Summons, filed a motion on notice challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit on the grounds, inter alia, that the 1st – 4th Respondent lacked the locus standi to initiate, maintain and sustain the action as constituted. The trial court in its judgement, granted the application of the Appellants, dismissing the Respondent’s action. Dissatisfied, the 1st – 4th Respondent successfully appealed the decision at the Court of Appeal. The appellate court held that, the 1st- 4th Respondent had the locus standi to sue the Appellants for infringement of their legal rights. The Appellants appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Honourable Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, JSC

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday, the 15th day of January, 2021 Before Their Lordships

Olabode Rhodes-Vivour Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun Chima Centus Nweze Amina Adamu Augie Uwani Musa Abba Aji

Issues for Determination The following issues were considered for determination by the Apex Court 1) Whether the Court of Appeal was right, when it held that the 1st to 4th Respondent possess the locus standi to institute the action.

2) Whether the Court of Appeal was right when it held that it was not necessary for the 1st to 4th Respondent to seek and obtain leave of court to institute the action, as same was not a derivative action.

Arguments On the first issue, counsel for the Appellants submitted that a Plaintiff would only have locus standi, where the reliefs sought would confer some benefits on him. He contended that it is the Statement of Claim alone that determines whether a Plaintiff has the locus to institute the action, and that the locus standi of a Plaintiff is fundamental and touches on the competence of the court to adjudicate. He referred to paragraphs of the Statement of Claim, and argued that the 1st - 4th Respondent’s cause of action centres on irregularity in the allocation of unallotted shares of the 1st Appellant, the change of signatories to the 1st Appellant’s bank account, and illegal conduct of the 1st Appellant’s affairs by the 2nd - 5th Appellant. He asserted that the complaints reflect the wrong done to the 1st Appellant as a corporate body, and not a violation of the individual rights of the 1st to 4th Respondent.

He submitted further that, the complaints relate to the internal management of the company which the courts refrain from interfering with.

Countering the submission, counsel for the Respondents argued that while the general rule in FOSS v HARBOTTLE, as codified in Section 299 of CAMA, is that where there is an irregularity which occurs in the course of a company’s affairs, only the company is competent to sue, there are exceptions to the rule which have evolved through case law, and eventually codified in Section 300 of CAMA. These provisions protect the rights of members of a company who are personally aggrieved by the conduct of its affairs. He argued that the originating processes of the 1st – 4th Respondent disclose the necessary locus standi, and that the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the 1st Appellant have been breached as the actions complained of affect the personal rights of the 1st – 4th Respondent. He submitted that a holistic appraisal of the Statement of Claim reveals that, the cause of action was the protection of the 1st - 4th Respondent’s personal rights which they sought to enforce. He relied on the case of C.B.N. v KOTOYE (1994) 3 NWLR (Pt. 330) 66 at 75-76 H-B and 770, where it was held that, the rule in FOSS V HARBOTTLE cannot override clear statutory provisions to the contrary, or affect the rights and obligations conferred by the Constitution, and that it will not apply to an action instituted to protect the invasion of personal rights of an individual member qua member of a company.

Justices, Supreme Court SC.720/2017 Between 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Citec International Estates Ltd Bello Saka Oludare Akin Fayinminu Nurudeen Jinadu Goke Odunlami … …

…

Appellants

…

…Respondents

And 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Josiah Oluwole Francis Mrs. Josiah Olusola Abiodun Josiah Michael Fasubaa Albert Ademola Mrs. Bello Aderonke Corporate Affairs Commission…

(Lead Judgement delivered by Honourable Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, JSC)

“IN DETERMINING WHETHER THE PLAINTIFF HAS THE NECESSARY LOCUS STANDI TO INSTITUTE THE ACTION, IT IS HIS PLEADINGS THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED BY THE COURT…..STANDING TO SUE DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE MERIT OF THE CLAIM, BUT ON THE INTEREST OF THE PLAINTIFF IN THE SUBJECTMATTER OF THE SUIT”

Regarding the second issue, counsel for the Appellants contended that the 1st - 4th Respondent’s suit is a derivative action, for which the prior leave of the court ought to have been obtained before it was instituted. Referring to the decision in AGIP NIG. LTD v AGIP PETROL INT’L (2008) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1187) 348 at 393 G-H, he argued that the various reliefs sought show that they are not for the protection of the individual rights of the Plaintiffs, but beneficial to the 1st Appellant who seeks to redress wrongs committed against it. Counsel submitted that the action ought to have been commenced by Originating Summons, and not by a Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim. He argued that where, by a rule of court, the doing of an act or taking a procedural step is a condition precedent to the hearing of a case, the rule must be strictly complied with, as non-compliance is not a mere irregularity but a fundamental issue that goes to the root of the jurisdiction of court. He referred to AMAECHI v INEC (2008) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1080) 227 at 437 H-A, and Section 303(1) and (2) of CAMA. Counsel opined that the trial court was right in holding that the suit was a derivative action, and failure to commence the suit by Originating Summons rendered it incompetent. He urged the court to set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal.

In response, counsel for the Respondents submitted that a derivative action is an action brought to protect the interest of a company, and that the reliefs in a derivative action are sought for the benefit of the company. He submitted that the suit is not a derivative action requiring prior leave, and assuming the suit was commenced by a wrong mode, it was not sufficient to defeat the action.

Court’s Judgement and Rationale In deciding the first issue, the Supreme Court held that locus standi connotes the legal capacity to institute an action in a court of law. It is a threshold issue that affects the jurisdiction of the court, to look into the complaint. In determining whether the Plaintiff has the necessary locus standi to institute the action, it is his pleadings that would be considered by the court. Their Lordships held further that, standing to sue does not depend on the merit of the claim, but on the interest of the Plaintiff in the subject-matter of the suit. In this case, it is evident that the pleadings, along with the reliefs sought, are to the effect that the Plaintiffs have suffered personal injury arising from the interference by the Appellants with their rights as shareholders, directors and management staff of the 1st Appellant, without recourse to them.

The Supreme Court considered Section 41 of CAMA, juxtaposed with the relevant paragraphs of the Statement of Claim, in reaching its decision that the suit relates to breach of the obligations owed the 1st to 4th Respondent (as Plaintiffs) under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, as individual members and officers of the company. The Apex Court also held that the rule in FOSS v HARBOTTLE is inapplicable in the present circumstances, as the complaints are not complaints of wrongs done to the company, but denial of rights to notice of meetings where decisions affecting the individual rights of the 1st – 4th Respondent were taken. The court held that the provisions of Section 300 of CAMA do not only restrain a company from taking steps which are illegal or ultra-vires and applicable to completed rights; the said provisions relate also to injunctive and declaratory reliefs in respect of acts or omission affecting the Applicant’s individual rights. On the application of the fair hearing provisions under Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution to company proceedings, the court held that since the Memorandum and Articles of Association of a company makes provisions for giving of notice of meetings to shareholders, it follows that those entitled to receive such notice of meetings are entitled to participate in decision making of the company. The law is that, even proceedings of a non-judicial or administrative body, must be conducted in accordance with the principles of natural justice – ADENIYI v GOVERNING COUNCIL OF YABATECH (1993) 6 NWLR (Pt. 300) 426. Concluding on the issue, the court held that the 1st – 4th Respondent had the requisite locus standi to institute the action.

Regarding the second issue, the Supreme Court held that, the suit of the 1st - 4th Respondent does not seek to redress any wrong done to the 1st Appellant, but to protect and enforce their individual rights, and therefore, it cannot be regarded as a derivative action which requires prior leave for the suit to be properly instituted. The Apex Court also held that the said suit was properly commenced by Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim, and was therefore, competent.

Appeal Dismissed.

Representation A.M. Kayode with C.I.A. Ofoegbunam and A.F. Obiwumma for the Appellant.

Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN with Olumide Adekunle, Saadu Lukman and Funmilayo Longe for the 1st to 4th Respondent.

Olayinka Adedeji for the 5th Respondent.

O.O. Olowolafe with O.O. Owonla for the 6th Respondent.

Reported by Optimum Publishers Limited, Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports (NMLR)(An Affiliate of Babalakin & Co.)

NEWS/5

06.07.2021

Uwanna Elected NBA Lagos Branch Chairman The Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch, has just concluded its elections for the new Executive Committee for 2021-2023. The election had two positions that were contested, that of the Chairman and that of the Secretary, while eight other positions had candidates who were unopposed.

The campaigns were brief fast-paced, but quite engaging.

The office of Chairman had three contestants, Amaefule Seth Obulor Stanley, Atata Anthony and Ikechukwu Uwanna. The office of Secretary had three candidates, James Olaseni Sonde, Nta Ekpiken, Shola Abiloye.

The election which held on 30 June, 2021 through electronic voting system, had a total of 889 eligible voters, while 829 representing 93.2% of the eligible voters voted for the two contested posts and some of the uncontested positions.

At the conclusion of the election, which commenced at 8am and concluded at 6pm, Ikechukwu Uwanna was

Nta Ekpiken

Ikechukwu Uwanna

returned elected with 590 votes representing 71.8% of votes cast for the post of the Chairman. Mr. Atata Anthony polled 186 votes, representing 22.6% of the votes cast while Mr. Amaefule Seth Obulor Stanley polled 46 votes, representing 5.6% of the votes cast.

For the post of the Secretary, Nta Ekpiken polled 533 votes

representing 64.7% of votes cast for the office, while Shola Abiloye polled 258 votes representing 31.3%, and James Olaseni Sonde polled 33 votes representing 4.0% of the votes for Secretary.

At the conclusion of the election, the Chairman of the NBA, Lagos Branch Election Committee, Mr. Wale Akoni, SAN announced

that Ikechukwu Uwanna was returned elected as Chairman, while Nta Ekpiken was elected as Secretary. Other offices announced by the Electoral Committee Chairman are Abiye Tam-George (Vice-Chairman), Caroline Obi (Treasurer) Anthonia Enitan Eke (Financial Secretary), Enomma Umoren (Social Secretary), Chiwendu Ugo-

$151m Paris Club Refund: Mauritz Walton Closes Case Against Abia Govt

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Mauritz Walton Nig. Ltd, a consulting Firm, has closed its case against Abia State Government, over alleged refusal of the Government to honour an agreement to pay the company N12 billion consultation fee.

In closing its case, counsel WR WKH 3ODLQWLͿ 0DXULW] Walton), Isaac Anumudu, urged the court to rely on the testimony of the Witness in Chief, Dr. Maurice Ibe and his statement on oath.

Anumudu asked the court to hold Abia State liable to honour the terms of agreePHQW RI WR WKH 3ODLQWLͿ after successfully reconciling the over-deductions of loans by the FG. 7KH 3ODLQWLͿ FORVHG LWV case, after the Defendants cross- examined the Witness in Chief. Dr Ibe, during cross- examination by the Defendants, explained to a High Court of the Federal &DSLWDO 7HUULWRU\ )&7 KRZ the contract his Firm entered ZLWK $ELD 6WDWH *RYHUQPHQW ZDV QRW D UHJXODU FRQWUDFW +LV ÀUP 0DXULW] :DOWRQ Nigeria Limited, had dragged the Abia Government to court, for refusing to pay it consultancy fee of N12 billion, after it successfully played its part of the contract. ,Q DQVZHULQJ D TXHVWLRQ from the Abia State AttorneyGeneral, Tony Ogbulafor UHSUHVHQWLQJ WKH 6WDWH RQ ZKHWKHU WKH FRQWUDFW ZHQW through Tenders Board, competitive bidding and evaluation, or if he appeared before any Committee, Ibe VDLG ´, ZDV QHYHU DVNHG WR appear before any Committee.

The process of consultancy for the Paris Club Refund,

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu

ZDV QHYHU DW DQ\ SRLQW LQ time seen or recorded as a UHJXODU FRQWUDFW DV LW ZDV QHYHU WHQGHUHG QRU ZHQW through procurement Board”.

He stated that the contract ZDV EDVHG RQ KLV SURSRVDO to every State in the country, after he stumbled on debt SURÀOH RI HDFK 6WDWH IURP information gathered by forensic audit.

7KH ZLWQHVV IXUWKHU WROG the court that after his proSRVDO ZDV UHYLHZHG IXOO\ DQG thoroughly by each State, he ZDV WKHQ HQJDJHG WR IXUWKHU UHYLHZ DQG GHWHUPLQH WKH YHUDFLW\ RI ZKDW VKRXOG EH presented to the Ministry of Finance Debt Management 2΀FH '02 DQG WKH R΀FH of the Accountant- General RI WKH )HGHUDWLRQ 2$*)

´6R LW ZDV QRW D JHQHUDO FRQWUDFW WHQGHUHG WKDW ZRXOG go through procurement process. At no time throughout the process, that a State government, Abia or any other, asked me to appear before any Committee to ratify the contract”, he said.

The Witness also respondLQJ WR TXHVWLRQV IURP -HͿ Njikeonye, SAN, counsel

to 4th Defendant, Ziplon Concept, further revealed to the court that he petitioned the Defendants to the EFCC, EHFDXVH KH GLGQ·W ZDQW WR EH a “part of money laundering to any individual or entity”, because of his career and profession.

The Defendants include Abia State Government, Attorney- General of Abia State and Commissioner for -XVWLFH $FFRXQWDQW *HQHUDO of Abia State, a commercial bank and Ziplon Concept.

The 4th defendant is claiming that, it also played a role in the renegotiation of the excess deductions the State ZDV DEOH WR UHFRYHU IURP WKH Federal Government.

“My Lord, the 4th DefenGDQW ZURWH WR WKH 3ODLQWLͿ that the State Government ZLOO DFFHSW WR SD\ WKH IHH LI he accepts a 40/60% sharing formula.

“The Abia State GovernPHQW RͿHUHG 1 P WR PH and the 4th Defendant in the SUHVHQFH RI -HͿ 1MLNRQ\H FRXQVHO WR WKH WK 'HIHQdant), and representatives of Government of Abia State. ´,Q WKH PHHWLQJ LW ZDV revealed that Ziplon had already been paid the sum of N100m, and the issue EHFDPH ZKDW KDSSHQV WR WKH 1 P RͿHUHG “The then Accountant*HQHUDO RI $ELD 6WDWH ZDV shocked to learn that I did QRW NQRZ WKDW 1 P KDG been disbursed to Ziplon.

“If I recall vividly, counsel to the 4th Defendant interjected and said the 1 P ZDV JLYHQ WR WKH formerGovernor.

“At that point, I told him, , ZLOO QRW EH SDUW RI PRQH\ laundering for any individual

or entity, because of my career and profession.”

He said based on the foregoing, “I proceeded WR ZULWH D SHWLWLRQ WR WKH EFCC against the Abia State Government and some of LWV R΀FLDOV ,QYHVWLJDWLRQ LV ongoing”.

In the suit marked: FCT/ +& &9 ÀOHG E\ &KDUOHV 8GH WKH 3ODLQWLͿ is seeking the order of the court to make Abia State Government pay Mauritz Z:DOWRQ 1LJ /WG WKH sum of N12 billion, being consulting fee for the Paris Club Refund of Abia State GHEW UHFRQFLOLDWLRQ ZLWK WKH Federal Government.

chukwu (Welfare Secretary), Elo Adhekpukoli (Publicity Secretary), Rita Uloko (Provost) and Jude Chukwuka Iwelumo (Assistant Secretary).

The Chairman of the Electoral Committee expressed delight at the peaceful and cooperative form the elections were conducted, and wished that such smoothness in the elections will witnessed at the national level.

Shortly after the announcement of the results, both Atata Anthony and Amaefule Seth Obulor Stanley called and congratulated Ikechukwu Uwanna on his victory, and promised to work with him to achieve the collective goal for the Branch.

The Chairman-elect, Ikechukwu Uwanna was the Secretary of the NBA Lagos Branch from 2017 to 2019 under the chairmanship of Mr. Chukwuka Ikwuazom, SAN. Prior to his election as the Secretary of the Branch, he was elected and served as the pioneer Secretary of the Young Lawyers' Forum. Mr. Uwanna has hinted that he intends to build on the achievements of his worthy predecessors, and work with every member

of the Branch to fulfil his promise as contained in his manifesto. To achieve this feat, he has further hinted that all the candidates who participated in the election, may be coopted to form the team geared towards success.

Uwanna, who himself, is a practicing Lawyer and a Partner with Tsedaqah Attorneys, emphasised that among his goals will be to have a strengthened and enduring cordial relationship between the Bar and the Bench in Lagos State, by ensuring that these two pillars of the Judiciary interface regularly for the eventual good of everyone in need of justice in Lagos State. According to him, the legislative arm of Government is key, in ensuring the type of laws that are churned out for the people to follow. As a result, he will work towards ensuring that the Lagos State House of Assembly considers and accepts to work with Lawyers within the Branch, in the process of law making for the people of the State.

Noting that the Lagos Bar is only a Branch, but the pioneer and amongst the most vibrant Branches of the NBA, the Chairman-Elect said the Branch will continue to engage the national body of the Bar, so that the Branch benefits immensely from incentives and initiatives of the national body.

One burning issue that the Branch has been dealing with over the years, particularly before Covid-19 pandemic, has been the building of an edifice for use as the NBA Lagos Branch Bar Centre. Uwanna said he will work towards actualising the wishes of his colleagues within the requisite timeframe, while ensuring their safety in the face of the pandemic.

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: Chairperson, 2021 FIDA Nigeria Lagos Branch Law Week Planning Committee, Mrs Adejoke Layi-Babatunde, Mr Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, Chairperson of FIDA Nigeria Lagos Branch, Mrs Philomena Nneji and Mr Layi Babatunde, SAN

Mrs Nneji and Mrs Layi Babatunde flanked by other FIDA Members with students of FIDA’s Adopted School, Aiyetoro African Church Primary School, Makoko, Yaba, Lagos at the Law Week which held at Protea Hotel, Alausa, Ikeja on 16th June, 2021

6/

06.07.2021

The Legality or Otherwise of Matawalle's Defection This article by Raymond Nkannebe examines the legality or otherwise of the recent defection of the Governor of Zamfara State, Dr Bello Matawalle from the PDP on whose platform he got into office, to the ruling APC, and the possible outcome if, indeed, the PDP decides to go through with their threat to institute legal proceedings against him for defecting Background The People's Democratic Party (PDP) according to its Spox, Kola Olagbodion are perfecting plans to challenge the defection of Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in Court. After weeks of intense speculation about his political future, Bello Matawalle finally defected to the APC with a substantial part of his political structure in the State on Wednesday, 29th June, 2021.

His reception by at least ten Governors from the APC-fold, is by-far indicative of what it means for the ruling APC, which must see this as a restoration of what it lost, by other means. It is therefore, understandable, why the PDP is visibly irritated by this particular move, which makes it the third in what is increasingly becoming a wave, after similar defections

by Matawalle's Ebonyi and Cross River States' counterparts.

PDP’s Legal Action The legal footing of the PDP's proposed action however, remains shaky, but by all means interesting. To a large extent, it is founded on morality and good conscience, rather than settled legal principles. It is briefly summarised thus: since the PDP became the ultimate winner following the 2019 general election in Zamfara State (after the unprecedented legal crises that rocked the APC), it is unconscionable for a Governor under its platform to defect from the party to the opposition, whilst being no more than a trustee of the party's mandate. It is their case that under our laws, the votes cast at an election belong to the political party, and not the candidate; as a candidate is no more than an ‘agent’ of the political party. They hope to rely on the Supreme Court's decision in Faleke v INEC (2016) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1543) S.C 61 which invoked this principle five years ago in Kogi State, in what would crystallise into the Yahaya Bello government in the Confluence State, today.

I imagine they would also find shelter in the Court's earlier decision in Amaechi v INEC (2008) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1080) 227 S.C to urge that proposition. Finally, it is also their contention that to the extent that Independent candidacy is not yet a part of our Jurisprudence, per, Andrew v INEC (2018) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1625) 420 SC, Governor Bello Matawalle cannot purport to assign the proprietary interest of the PDP in the votes it polled at the 2019 general election, to the APC; a party which in the eyes of the law, did not participate in the said election.

At face value, the contentions whet the judicial appetite. And, the logic is not farfetched. Some observers of the political scene have however, questioned the moral authority of the PDP in making these claims, having been at the beneficial end of executive cross-carpeting in the recent past. They're wont to cite the defection of Governor Samuel Ortom to the PDP in 2018, and even more recently, Governor Godwin Obaseki (though Governor Obaseki was re-elected on the platform of the PDP). But, since this is intended to be a legal expose, suffice it to address the underlying legal issues irrespective of what history holds on the conduct of the feuding political parties.

The Legal Position The hard question is: is there a law that prescribes that a person voted into the

Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle

office of the Governor of a State, would lose their seat, if they defect to another political party different from the one on whose platform, they were elected during the pendency of a term? It is within this legal context, that the implicated legal issues may be easily resolved.

The 1999 Constitution (as altered); and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), are

“HAVING CIRCUMSCRIBED THE LIMITED PROVINCE WITHIN WHICH AN ELECTED GOVERNOR MAY LOSE HIS OR HER SEAT, THE PROSPECTS OF THE JUDICIARY EXTENDING THAT TO INCLUDE DEFECTIONS, WOULD BE FAR AND IN-BETWEEN, AS THE DUTY OF THE JUDGE IS TO INTERPRET THE LAW AS IT IS”

easily the two principal legislations to guide this legal inquest. However, a thorough evaluation of both legislations,p show that they lack provisions that directly answer the vexed question, one way or the other.

Under the Constitution, the only circumstances wherein an elected Governor can lose his or her seat, is as provided under Sections 188 and 189 thereof that is to say, in the event of an impeachment or removal from office; or in the event of a permanent incapacity to discharge the duties of the office. In any of these instances however, the law is clear, that the Deputy Governor of the State would step into the office of the Governor, who it is instructive to note, would ordinarily be a member of the same political party, to further execute the party’s mandate.

The Electoral Act on the other hand, is equally silent, and expectedly so, on the consequences of defecting to a different Political party by a person voted into such office, on the platform of another Political party. The closest the draftsman of the legislation came on this score, is to delimit the fate of a person voted into an elective office on the platform of a political party which was however deregistered before the expiration of the mandate. Section 97 of the Act provides clearly that, such a person would remain in such office until the end of the tenure.

A further look at the Constitution shows that there exists a legal framework proscribing defections by elected members of the National and State Legislature, save such defection is informed by circumstances envisaged under the proviso to the law.

Here, we speak of Sections 68(1)(g); and 109(1)(g) of the Constitution for Federal and State legislators respectively.

In cases such as FEDECO v Goni (1983) LPELR-1266 (SC); and Abegunde v O.S.H.A (2015) LPELR-24588 (SC)- the Supreme Court had to explore the purview of these provisions which incidentally is also contained in the 1979 Constitution; the forerunner to the 1999 Constitution.

To paraphrase the Apex Court in the referenced cases, any legislator who defects from their Political party to another Political party whilst there being no split or division in the national organ of the party

on whose platform he or she emerged, would lose such Senatorial Seat. According to Justice Aniagolu in GONI (supra), the mischief behind the legislation was to cushion against the “malevolent practice of cross-carpeting of politicians of yesteryears, who for financial considerations or otherwise, crossed from one Political party to another without qualms and without conscience”.

Whilst it must be noted that the ramifications of Sections 68(1)(g); and 109(1)(g) of the Constitution is limited to the legislative arm of government, public commentary, has tended to associate the operability of the same provisions to members of the executive arm of Government. It is understandably against the backdrop of these false notions, that defecting Governors have often been threatened that they would lose their seat by their erstwhile political party. This is the context of the PDP’s legal threat. Assuming they finally make it to the court, it would be interesting to know the interpretation the Judiciary gives to the associated provisions of the law, since they have not been judicially tested in the context of elected members of the executive.

That said, in my earlier essay entitled, A Legal Inquest into the Recurrent themes in the Interpretation of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, I argued that an interpretation to the effect that defecting members of the executive would lose their elective seat, as the PDP contends, would abide a constitutional amendment. This is because, the office of the Governor is created and jealously protected by the Constitution.

Conclusion Having circumscribed the limited province within which an elected Governor may lose his or her seat, the prospects of the Judiciary extending that to include defections, would be far and in-between, as the duty of the Judge is to interpret the law as it is. My follow-up argument would be that, political parties lose their control over elected members of the executive the moment they take the Oath of Office. It is the Oath that gives life to the Office, and affords it full protection beyond the control of political parties under the Constitution.

Against this backdrop, my hunch is that the Faleke v INEC; and Amaechi v INEC line of cases are most likely to be inapposite in the circumstances.

Be that as it may, one potential ugly outcome of the case if it ever gets to the court, would be that it cannot be determined to finality within the life of the Governor Bello Matawalle Administration which is set to expire by 2023. Since it cannot be commenced under the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, it would have to make the rounds from the State or Federal High Court, up to the Supreme Court, by which time the tenure of the Governor would have elapsed, with the ugly prospect of rendering the matter academic.

For a simple constitutional question that could be resolved by a full panel of the Supreme Court sitting as a 'Constitutional Court' as is the practice in some jurisdictions, that the PDP may end up with an empty victory in the unlikely event it succeeds in court, is yet another reason why we must rethink our Judicature Act. Raymond Nkannebe, Legal Practitioner, Lagos

06.07.2021

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T

he National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association held its quarterly meeting at the NBA House, Abuja recently. These are some of the NEC Members who attended the meeting. PHOTOS: GODWIN OMOIGUI L-R: NBA General Secretary, Joyce Oduah, President Olumide Akpata and 1st Vice President, John Aikpokpo Martins

L-R: NBA National Publicity Secretary, Dr Rapuluchukwu Nduka, Assistant Secretary, Uchena Nwadialo and 3rd Vice President, Frank Briggs NBA 2nd Vice President, Adeyemo Kazeem

L-R: Lawrence Umudu, Desmond Ogba and Folarin Aluko Mr Y.C. Maikyau, SAN

Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN

Professor Oluyemisi Bamgbose, SAN and a cross-section of NEC Members

Orji Uka (left) and Olumide Akpata

Joyce Oduah (left) and Lady Lilian Eronini

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06.07.2021

‘States Should Collect and

Only a negligible number of female Lawyers have had the privilege of serving as State Attorney-General. Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN is one of such rare Nigerian female Lawyers who served in that capacity as AttorneyGeneral of Ogun State 2013 - 2017, and distinguished herself as a thoroughbred advocate. She told Mrs Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi in a recent interview, the reason why she believes that we have not had many female AGs, the possible cause of the paucity of female Senior Advocates, and why she believes that State Police should be on the agenda in the restructuring of Nigeria. She also expressed her opinion, on the issue of open grazing

Learned Silk, you are one of the few female Attorney-Generals that Nigeria has had so far. You may not be up to ten female AGs in the history of the country, with no Federal AG ever. Similarly, you are one of the few female SANs, especially at the time you took Silk, you may have been one of the first few in your age bracket.

Why is this so?

I cannot claim to have the correct answer to that question. I am aware that Lagos State has had four female Attorneys-General in the past. A few States in northern Nigeria have also had female Attorneys-General.

However, I am of the view that as the name of the rank portends, being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria means that one is involved in the art of advocacy at the highest levels.

As you are aware, not all Lawyers are advocates. You have corporate Lawyers, solicitors and advocates. An advocate in law, is a person who is professionally qualified to plead the cause of another in a court of law.

While I don’t demean or take anything away from the solicitors and corporate Lawyers, I believe that advocacy is similar to waging warfare with legal principles, legal techniques and words.

Life itself and the place of work are a constant battle terrain for survival, when you then have to earn your daily bread waging warfare with legal principles, legal techniques and words, it is like adding an additional stressor to your life. It is not a lifestyle for the faint of heart. It is for this reason that you will find that a lot of women, and even a decent number of men, do not like to be advocates.

One is inclined to agree with them, that life does not have to be so hard.

This state of affairs, is not assisted by the slow pace at which justice is generally delivered. The delay in the justice delivery system can be quite frustrating, and this leads to a bit of an exodus from the field of advocacy, especially by women who want to feel a better sense of fulfilment and achievement. If you don’t have a passion for it, you will not see the beauty in it, and you are better off not wasting your time with it. It can be really stressful.

It is only after you have practiced as an advocate for at least 10 years and you have met so many other requirements; and these are requirements that you can only meet by virtue of your being an advocate, that you can apply to be elevated to the

Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN

prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. It is a hard and lonely road that many women and even a fair number of men, do not think is worth the hassle. But, things are changing.

More women and even more men are developing an interest in becoming advocates, and aspiring to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Even if some use the excuse that it

“ONE OF THE CRITICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE AG IS TO ENSURE THAT THE RULE OF LAW IS UPHELD, AND THAT NOBODY RISES ABOVE THE LAW”

is the women who fail to aspire to the rank of SAN, in the case of an AG which is by appointment, why are women usually not considered?

What is so special about this tour of duty, that many women who are more than capable are excluded? Could it be as a result of gender discrimination within our profession? Even in elective and governmental positions, it is the same story of male domination.

The Constitution provides in Sections 150 and 195, that a person shall not be qualified to hold or perform the functions of the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation or a State respectively unless he is qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria, and has been so qualified for not less than ten years. The Attorney-General is the only Minister and State Commissioner, recognised and mandated by the Constitution. It is considered to be a very sensitive office. Indeed, it is a very demanding and sensitive office. The Attorney-General is the Chief Law Officer for the State, and the leader of the Bar in the State or in the country as the case may be.

Ideally, any legal practitioner, male or female, who has practiced as such for ten years should qualify to be appointed as Attorney-General.

However, we do not live in an ideal world. Even in the most democratic of democracies, the vicissitudes of politics ensures that a President will only appoint a person in whom he

has a lot of faith and trust to be the Attorney-General, even though the said Attorney-General must be apolitical to ensure that he lives up to the billings of his office.

I then come to Nigeria. The vagaries of politics in Nigeria are not different.

A Nigerian President or Governor will only appoint a person he absolutely trusts, to be the Attorney-General.

What are the chances of that person being a woman, given the realities of the poor showing of the average Nigerian woman in politics? Very slim.

Women are rarely considered for the office of Attorney-General, because there is some form of gender discrimination which stems from a feeling that women cannot bear the weight and demands of the office of Attorney-General. It also stems, to some extent, from our traditional values. I know of a Yoruba adage that says “Men are to be found in tough places”. I need not state that the said adage is now outdated because there are different types of tough places, and scientific research has shown that women can also be tough, resilient and very strong in many scenarios.

Another reason why more women are not considered for the role of AttorneyGeneral, is the sensitive nature of the office. I must state that the manner in which the office is sensitive, is often misconceived in our locality. I will come back to this point.

The Attorney-General is the Chief legal officer of the State and legal adviser to the Governor -in-Council.

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06.07.2021

Utilise Their Own VAT’

On assumption of office, the AG swears and oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This means, and this is where the true sensitivity of the nature of the AG’s office lies, that the AG must remain true and loyal to the Constitution, and not to the interest of the Governor or the President who appoints him or her. Unfortunately, what you find is that AGs are appointed on a premise that totally ignores the “loyalty to the Constitution” component, and that component is substituted with loyalty to the persona of the Governor or the President. You will agree with me that, since most Governors and Presidents are men, very few women will ever be considered to be appropriate for appointment as AG. I daresay that the position is not likely to change, until Nigeria as a country begins to have strong institutions rather than strong men.

Having said that, I cannot help but commend Senator Ibikunle Amosun, CON, FCA who was the Governor who appointed me as Attorney-General of Ogun State, as a rare gem in this regard. I had never met him, prior to when he first interviewed me for the position of the AG of Ogun State.

The State needed an Attorney-General, and they went to the legal industry to ask for a daughter or son of the State who was a good legal practitioner with integrity and qualified to be appointed as Attorney-General. I was recommended to them by a couple of eminent jurists. A few of us were interviewed for the office.

After the Governor had decided that he would appoint me, he called all my references, that is, everybody I told him that I had worked with. I guess all my references checked out.

He was brave enough to appoint me as Attorney-General, even after one of my references had told him that I could be stubborn sometimes. The rest is history.

I just heard the AG of the USA addressing a congressional committee, and he told them that he would apply the law with equanimity. He stated clearly that he would ensure that the law will be applied to Republicans and Democrats alike, and that the law should not be different for friend or for foe. If that were to be in Nigeria, there is a great chance that the Governor or President would receive strong calls to remove such an AG for not being loyal, or for anti-party activities. We need to understand that if you must tamper or interfere with the workings of any Minister or Commissioner, it should not be the AG. One of the critical functions of the AG is to ensure that the rule of law is upheld, and that nobody rises above the law.

To answer your question in summary, there is a combination of reasons why women are usually not considered for the office of Attorney-General These

“I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT SECESSION

WILL BRING ABOUT A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. I THINK IT MIGHT EVEN FURTHER FRACTURE THE PROBLEM INTO SMALLER, BUT LESS MANAGEABLE PIECES”

Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN

reasons include gender discrimination within our profession and among our people in general and the sensitive nature of the office.

Do you think some formal affirmative action as has been done in Rwanda is required here, or women must just up their game?

While I wouldn’t advocate that there should be affirmative action specifically designed for the office of AG alone, I do think some affirmative action would be necessary to bring about some gender balancing in political appointments generally. It is human nature that nobody willingly gives up an advantage that they have or enjoy, except there is some deliberate step taken to create some balance to even out the advantage. It would also be an added advantage if women also upped their game, as they would have nothing to lose in so doing and everything to gain.

Mentoring doesn’t seem be popular in the Nigerian legal sphere, though you are known to be a strong advocate of mentoring of young Lawyers. How can we deepen mentoring, to achieve the desired goal of having well-rounded Lawyers in character and learning?

I really don’t have any bright ideas about how we can deepen mentoring, aside from encouraging those who have gone before and who appear to have done well, to share their experiences on the journey to success with those who are coming behind them.

I hold the view that, many seniors in the profession are not sharing the realities of their climb up the professional ladder with the younger ones.

The younger ones aspire to be as successful as the seniors they see with all the trappings of wealth in their SUVs, shiny clothes, expensive

jewellery and designer bags.

Seniors need to share the story of their own journey with their younger colleagues, and encourage them by making them realise that the journey to professional success is a marathon and not a sprint, if it is to be meaningful and if it is to endure. We live in a microwave age when children want what they want and they want it right now! To my mind, mentoring is about teaching them that good things come to them who wait, and who work hard while they wait.

I enjoy mentoring younger female and male Lawyers, who have come particularly to seek me out to ask for career advice. I am such a busybody that we end up talking about not only career advice, but we often tend to venture into personal and family advice. My joy is often complete when many years later, they say to me that they took my advice on something that has worked out well for them.

It is a super feeling.

Professional mentoring is also necessary, especially at a time when a young Lawyer is feeling low and is in the slough of despondency.

Everybody has a moment when they are discouraged. Such would be the time, to seek out a mentor.

As they say, a problem shared, is a problem halved. At such times, a good mentor should be able to encourage the younger Lawyer by sharing his/ her own similar experiences, in a bid to reassure the younger Lawyer that what he/she is experiencing is par for the course, and that this too will soon pass.

I am aware that the NBA Women’s Forum has a mentoring wing, and that they are doing a lot of work with women in the profession.

Many admire your multilingual background as an avid speaker of

French, German and Italian. As a linguist, did this in any way impact on your studying law, and eventual practice as an advocate? Has your multilingual background given you any advantages in your practice of law? Would you recommend that all Lawyers have a second international language to enhance their practice, especially in this new age of foreign partnerships?

The primary tool of the Lawyer’s trade, is the language he speaks. As such, I can say that studying language for my first degree, helped my practice as a Lawyer. A first degree in language helped me to understand the structure of language, and has perhaps, made me articulate and better able to communicate effectively.

I was constrained to study language as a first degree, because I did not have enough A’ level points to gain admission to study law at that time.

All things worked together for good, in the end.

Aside from that, I do not believe that my multi-lingual background has given me any other advantage in the practice of law. The only advantage it may have given me would have been with client relationships, but you will find that most international clients who have business to conduct in Nigeria tend to speak enough English to find their way through. So, my language services are not required in that area.

I would however, recommend that cont'd on page 10

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06.07.2021

‘States Should Collect and Utilise Their Own VAT’ cont'd from page 9

Lawyers learn a second language, because I have heard it said that in order to be marketable in a globalised world, a person will need to speak a foreign language.

Nigeria is on the boil as it were.

Killings, insurgency, armed bandits, kidnappings; restiveness all over the country. What would you suggest as a panacea for peace at this time in our nation’s history? Is it Secession for those who want to leave? Or State Police?

Strict enforcement of Section 10 of the Constitution? Job creation?

Reduction in the salaries of legislators? Constitutional amendment?

More equality in appointments to governmental positions? Will these measures help to dampen the tension in the country?

The situation in the country is most unfortunate, and saddens me to no end. Nigeria is such a beautiful and blessed country. Our people are so hard-working, and they do not ask for much in return. However, I don’t think that there is a single panacea for peace, because the problems are hydra-headed and multi-faceted.

In as much as I don’t have a silver bullet answer to your question, I do not believe that secession will bring about a solution to the problem. I think it might even further fracture the problem into smaller, but less manageable pieces.

It is clear to me that something needs to change because it is obvious that all is not well, and if you want a different result, you have to change your ways of doing things or something has to give.

The current model we operate is obviously not sustainable, in the long term. I think some form of restructuring, is necessary in Nigeria. Nigeria is too large, to be governed by one person sitting in Abuja. This makes governance at the Federal level, to be unwieldy and ineffective. There is a saying that if you don’t know where you are going, you will at least know where you are coming from. Perhaps, we should consider bringing back the regional system of government, with necessary modifications that will bring that system up to speed with current realities.

The restructuring that I have proposed, should have accommodation for State Police. It is evident from current realities that the Nigerian Police Force as presently constituted, lacks the capacity (both technical and numerical) to effectively enforce the law in Nigeria today. The restructuring that I propose, will also dispense with the collection of VAT by the Federal Government. VAT should be a matter for the States to collect and utilise. It is an anomalous situation for instance, when you realise VAT from alcoholic beverages and when the revenue from alcoholic beverages is distributed, it is distributed to States where the consumption of the same alcoholic beverages is banned, or the item itself is being destroyed on sight.

Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN

It is essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul, and Paul goes back to destroy Peter’s farm.

I could go on and on.

Has Government handled the Farmer/Herdsmen crisis satisfactorily?

I do not think that the Government has handled the farmer/herdsmen crisis satisfactorily, and the evidence of my

“THE INFRACTION THAT LED THE FORMER MINISTER OF FINANCE TO RESIGN HER APPOINTMENT, IS NOWHERE NEAR AS DANGEROUS AS WHAT DR. ISA PANTAMI HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF”

assertion is there for all to see. If it had been satisfactorily handled, the problem would have gone away, or at least would have been significantly reduced. If anything, it is getting out of hand.

Many believe that it is impossible for there to be fairness or objectivity, since President Buhari is a Patron of Miyetti Allah. They see his Patronship as a conflict of interest contrary to the Oath of Office of President contained in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, allowing his personal interest to influence his official conduct and decisions in this regard. What is your opinion?

I had earlier stated that Nigeria as a country, needs to have strong institutions rather than strong men.

If Nigeria had strong institutions, it really would not matter that President Buhari is or was a Patron of Miyetti Allah, because the head of law enforcement would do his job to ensure the safety of lives and property across the Federation, no matter whose ox is gored. If Nigeria had strong institutions and sufficient integrity, the President, knowing that he is or was a Patron of that organisation, and for the avoidance of conflict of interest issues, ought to recuse himself when it comes to taking decisions or issuing directives regarding the organisation where he is or was a Patron.

If he had taken this step, the matter would be settled about whether he was fair or objective on the issue. As matters stand now, it is difficult to argue with the school of thought that believes that the President is neither fair nor objective, on the issue of the farmer/herdsmen crisis.

On the issue of strong institutions, if the USA did not have strong institutions, former President Donald J. Trump would still have been in office today, even though he lost the elections.

This would have created something akin to our June 12, 1993 situation, in America. Former President Trump was and still is a strong man, but the American institution, built over hundreds of years and defended by the blood of the founding fathers of that country, was stronger than him and prevailed over his strength in the end. This is where we need to get to, as a nation.

Do you agree with the Southern Governors’ recent resolution to ban open grazing, or you are of the school of thought that it is an infringement on freedom of movement?

My understanding of open grazing is the age-old practice of roaming about with animals in open fields, plains and nearby bushes in search of pasture or food for the animals.

If my understanding is correct, then I agree with the recent resolution of the Southern Governors to ban open grazing. It cannot accord with any standard of justice in the modern day world, for animals of any sort to be left to wander about in large numbers in civilised society, or even on a cultivated farm.

Some argue that animal husbandry is a private business and not a charity or non-profit organisation, and they see no reason why it should become a national/Government problem where herders are given land free for ranching under the auspices of RUGA or whatever policy, when it isn’t as if Nigerians get their meat free in the market. That they and their umbrella Association, should invest in their business like everyone else does, by purchasing land for ranches and so on, only getting the similar initiatives that Farmers get from Government. Or in the interest of peace, should every State Governor allot land to the Herders for their purposes? Kindly, share your thoughts on this issue with us.

I am inclined to agree with the school of thought that holds the view that animal husbandry is a private business, and not a charity or non-profit organisation. Likewise, I am hard put to understand why herders should be entitled to be given land free for ranching. There are however, some States in Nigeria who have land in abundance, and may find that such land could be put to good use by granting the herders a form of rental or lease to use the land to graze their cows.

I believe the model of roaming about with animals in open fields, plains and nearby bushes in search of pasture or food for the animals, is outdated and out of touch with modern realities. Society has moved on, times have changed, and man must be cont'd on page 11

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06.07.2021

‘States Should Collect and Utilise Their Own VAT’ cont'd from page 10

constrained to change with it. Besides, I doubt that the open grazing model could be sustainable in the long term, because the herders, at some point will need to start to plant the pasture upon which their animals will graze.

I am aware that in Europe, where the weather undergoes significant changes on an annual basis, there is a saying that “you should make hay while the sun shines”. Hay is dried grass. If you travel in any part of the European countryside in the summer, you will see farmers gathering in the hay. They gather the hay into huge blocks while the summer sun shines, and stack them in barns for the cattle to eat in the cold winter months. This tells you that they are being proactive, and preparing ahead for the lean times.

An insistence on open grazing shows some level of lethargy, and demonstrates that the shepherd or herder is not interested in investing anything in ensuring that his cattle will feed when the season changes, as they surely will. Rather, he is happy to let nature or other people’s farms do that work for him. I have serious doubts that the said model can be sustainable, as the evidence before us has now confirmed. Development is happening everywhere at a very fast pace, and soon there will be no free or idle pasture for their cattle graze upon. This would be the opportune moment to make investments in acquiring grazing land, before that window of opportunity closes as well.

If however, the open grazing model is to be sustained, then strict rules and justiciable principles must apply.

This brings to mind the story of the Prophet Mohammed (SWT) that we are told about, when the Holy Prophet mediated between a herder and a farmer whose crops were eaten up or destroyed by the herder’s cattle. The Prophet ensured that, justice was done in a fair and commensurate manner.

Are the Holy books not given to us, so that we might learn from them?

What do you believe are the issues that need to be addressed, as the Constitution is being reviewed? As many are suggesting, is it a totally new Constitution we need or mere amendments? Many are not holding out any hope that anything will come out of this process started by the National Assembly. What do you think?

Much as I agree that what we need is a totally new Constitution, I believe that we need a document that will restructure the country to allow the regions to govern themselves, have their own Police, collect and spend their own VAT, control their resources under the umbrella of a unifying centre that will have reduced, but exclusive powers. compared to what presently obtains. However, I recognise that we are still far away from such a document, and will only have to be content with an amendment for the moment.

Given current realities, the present structure of the Nigerian Presidency is not sustainable, and appears designed

"AN INSISTENCE ON OPEN GRAZING SHOWS SOME LEVEL OF LETHARGY, AND DEMONSTRATES THAT THE SHEPHERD OR HERDER IS NOT INTERESTED IN INVESTING ANYTHING IN ENSURING THAT HIS CATTLE WILL FEED WHEN THE SEASON CHANGES, AS THEY SURELY WILL"

Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu, SAN

to fail. Even if you were to appoint the most skilled and experienced persona into the office of the Nigerian President today, he or she would not score 40% with the majority of the people because the structure is defective. 40% is not a pass mark.

The way the country is presently structured, the Presidency can be likened to a polygamous father of very many children. As a father, he does love them and wants to provide for them adequately, but the resources are lean.

He is determined to provide for them, but they must bring all their earnings and resources to him to distribute. He wants to provide them with everything they need such as education, scientific development, power, security, law enforcement, airlines, functioning ports, motorable roads etc. He wants to be everything to all of them, and he wants to control their resources. Given what we know, he is clearly failing in his quest to be everything to everybody, while controlling their VAT and their resources. It would be wise, at some point, for the father and his advisers to review his modus operandi, if he is to succeed in realising his desire to provide adequately and efficiently for his large family. After all, if you want different results, you cannot continue to do things the same way.

President Buhari had issued a shoot-on-sight order on those found armed in the forests. Recently, he also talked tough about knowing how to deal with those causing trouble in the South East, so much so that Twitter took exception to his post and took it down. Do you also think his comments are genocidal, when symbols of authority are being burnt and destroyed on a daily basis in the South East? The Minister of Communication has accused Twitter of a hidden agenda by removing President Buhari’s post. What are your views?

The Twitter ban is an unfortunate development for Nigeria, and only

lends further credence to my earlier statement that we have strong men but we lack strong institutions in Nigeria. This lack of strong institutions, has led our leaders to have what I call a “Kabiyesi” complex. In other words, the mentality of the average Nigerian in a powerful position is, “I am he who you dare not question or controvert”. I am inclined to believe that this mentality is a carry-over, from some of our cultures that arrogate power and wisdom to the one who is in authority. The “Rankaidede” and “Kabiyesi” culture. At the end of the day, the said leader is only a man or a woman like you and I, with feet of clay.

Twitter has rules, and Twitter followed its rules when it received enough complaints about the President’s Tweets, they deleted the said Tweet. If the handlers of the President had been alert to their duties, they should have acquainted themselves with Twitter’s rules, and deployed the resources that are constantly available to them to complain to Twitter about those other Tweets that they found offensive, and I am sure that Twitter would have thrown the rule book at those Tweets as well.

With due respect, I find the comments of the Minister for Communication about Twitter having a hidden agenda on account of their removing the President’s post, as being misplaced and misconceived.

Do you think that Dr Isa Pantami should have been relieved of his position as Minister, since he did not resign?

In answer to this question, I want to remind us about the former Minister for Finance who was constrained to resign from office on account of the fact that she found herself, through no direct fault of her own, with an NYSC letter that was found not to be authentic. It is on record that she bowed honourably out of office. The infraction that led the former Minister

of Finance to resign her appointment, is nowhere near as dangerous as what Dr. Isa Pantami has been accused of.

This brings back to mind the issue of strong men, and our lack of strong institutions. Again, I restate, if we had strong institutions and any modicum of integrity, things should have played out differently with Dr. Isa Pantami by now.

It has been said that the Nigerian legal market is shrinking, and that Nigerian Lawyers are not enthusiastic about embracing new and emerging areas of law practice like other jurisdictions.

How do we expand the scope of practice in Nigeria, so that many young Lawyers can be gainfully employed?

I am not aware that, Nigerian Lawyers are not enthusiastic about embracing new and emerging areas of law practice. As a matter of fact, I am surprised that anybody should hold this view. On the contrary, my view is that the Nigerian Lawyer is eager and enthusiastic to learn and embrace new and emerging areas of law. However, the Nigerian legal market is shrinking because the Nigerian economy is experiencing a rather slow growth rate, and this has economic implications that present as a challenge for the legal industry and consequently, for Nigerian Lawyers, by parity of logical reasoning. It must be borne mind that the ability to embrace new and emerging areas of law is not free, and comes at a significant cost.

The less income you realise, the less disposable income is available to you to invest in new trainings.

Thank you Learned Silk.

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06.07.2021

Unburden Lawyers from Scrutinising Clients’ Sources of Funds A Rejoinder Antithesis to Mayowa Owolabi’s Thesis (Part 1) Introduction I have carefully read through the article titled “A Critique of the Court of Appeal Judgement in FRN v Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN)”, published by ThisDay Lawyer on 29th June, 2021, and circulated on other media outlets, wherein the earned author, Mr Mayowa Owolabi, stated inter alia, that: “… The recent pronouncement of the Court of Appeal in the Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN case is discomforting, and unduly exposes international transactions emanating from Nigeria to additional scrutiny, as it presupposes that there are no applicable internal mechanisms which ensure that Nigerian Lawyers are not unwittingly utilised for money laundering schemes...”.

In the section of the article captioned “Background”, the said Mr Owolabi noted that he had reviewed the facts surrounding the procurement of the ex-parte order, the subsequent vacation of it, and therefore, submitted very unequivocally that “the decision of the Court of Appeal accords with logic”.

Mr Owolabi also conceded that the Court of Appeal had held that the EFCC suppressed material facts in the ex parte application, with which it procured the order freezing Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN’s account. He even conceded that “issues connected to Lawyer’s remuneration and professional fees are stipulated in Rules 48 and 54 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, 2007”. What is more, Mr Owolabi conceded that “there is no provision in the Rules that requires a Lawyer to ascertain the source of funds provided to pay his fees by a prospective client. Therefore, the Court of Appeal’s pronouncement in the Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN case, would appear unimpeachable based on the applicable regulations”.

Having accepted the above facts and sound rationale for the decision, the author surprisingly somersaulted and contended furiously in the same article that the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal at page 27 of the said judgement, to the effect that it is not the requirement of the law that a legal practitioner should ascertain the source of the funds from which he would be paid, is “discomforting and unduly exposes international transactions emanating from Nigeria to additional scrutiny as it presupposes that there are no applicable internal mechanisms which ensure that Nigeria Lawyers are not unwittingly utilised for money laundering schemes”. I am amazed at this line of argument. Mr. Owolabi did not tell us how and why compliance with Nigerian Laws and valid court decisions based on them, especially by an appellate court, will “expose international transactions emanating from Nigeria to additional scrutiny of Nigeria Lawyers, to ensure they are not wittingly utilised for money laundering schemes”.

It must be noted that, the subject-matter of the suit culminating in the said judgement, was not an international transaction. It therefore, becomes pertinent to afford readers, a brief background facts of FRN v Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN. Background Facts The Court of Appeal (Lagos Division) in Appeal No. CA/1/174/19, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA v CHIEF MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, had on 14th May, 2021, upheld the judgement of the Honourable Justice Abdulazeez Anka of the Federal High Court, Lagos, delivered on 3rd April, 2017.

The facts of this case, started from an arms deal procurement by the Federal Government. There were allegations of misappropriation of the arms deal money, leading to an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (“EFCC”).

In the course of investigation, the EFCC approached the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court presided by Hon. Justice M.B. Idris (as he then was) and obtained an ex parte interim order to freeze some bank accounts linked to the then Governor Ayodele Fayose, the former Governor of Ekiti State. Fayose subsequently approached the Ado Ekiti Division of the same court presided over by Hon. Justice Taiwo, and obtained judgement setting aside the earlier Order of Idris J. Fayose was represented by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN. Upon obtaining the judgement, Fayose approached the bank and physically withdrew N5 Million from his account for himself.

He then transferred the sum of N75 Million to the Law firm of Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, as part payment of his professional fee in handling many cases for him. The EFCC later proceeded to the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court presided over

by Abdulazeez Anka J, to obtain an interim ex parte order for 120 days freezing Mike Ozekhome’s Chamber’s account with Guaranty Trust Bank. Thereafter, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, applied to the same Judge to vacate the ex parte interim order. He subsequently obtained an order of the same court, setting aside the freezing of his law firm’s account. The lower court held that the EFCC had suppressed material facts, and did not follow due process or the law in obtaining the ex parte order. It also held that as at the time the EFCC procured the ex parte order, the N75 million (subject-matter of the freezing order) had already been

dissipated, having been withdrawn and utilised by Chief Mike Ozekhome as his professional fees. EFCC appealed against this lower court’s order, defreezing Ozekhome’s account. The Court of Appeal upheld the judgement of the lower court defreezing Mike Ozekhome’s Chamber’s account.

The Court of Appeal held that the lower was right to have set aside the earlier ex parte interim order, on the ground that the account from which the N75 Million was transferred was unencumbered as at the time the transfer was made. It also held that there was suppression of material facts by the EFCC in obtaining the order, since the N75 million was payment of part legal fees for professional services duly rendered, and it could not be termed proceeds from unlawful activity, as a Lawyer is not required by any law to inquire from a client the source from which his legal fee would be made.

Mr Owolabi in his write-up in the This Day, sought to impugn this brilliant judgement anchored on solid facts and law; a judgement which actually accords with extant Nigerian laws.

He did this because, inter alia, a foreign United Kingdom law purportedly provides otherwise. He also went on this voyage of discovery because, as he personally noted emphatically, his critique was of “particular interest considering the fact that the client in question was a serving executive Governor of a State in Nigeria, and therefore, was a Politically Exposed Person” (PEP). Having got the premise of his thesis wrong, his conclusion could never have been right. How does the mere

“HOW DOES THE MERE FACT THAT A CLIENT IS A POLITICALLY EXPOSED PERSON, SUDDENLY IMPOSE A BURDEN ON HIS LAWYER TO ASK HIM OR HIRE PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS, TO PROBE THE SOURCE OF FUNDS WITH WHICH THE PEP INTENDS TO PAY HIM?”

fact that a client is a Politically Exposed Person, suddenly impose a burden on his Lawyer to ask him or hire private investigators, to probe the source of funds with which the PEP intends to pay him? I cannot understand this. Or, can you?

More illogical is Mr Owolabi’s thesis, importing the completely alien legislations obtainable in the UK (which have no bearing whatsoever on our corpus juris) to argue his points. This, surprisingly, after again (rightly) conceding that “the current state of laws and the regulations relating to the practice of law in Nigeria, clearly indicate that we are not par with the applicable regulations in the United Kingdom”.

In OLAFISOYE v FRN (2004) LPELR-2553(SC), the Supreme Court emphasised the limits of foreign decisions on our local corpus juris, when Niki Tobi JSC (of blessed memory), in Pp 87 - 88 Paras G – E, held: “Decisions of foreign countries, are merely of persuasive authority. This Court will certainly allow itself to be persuaded in appropriate cases, but this Court will not stray away from its course of interpreting the Nigerian Constitution by resorting to foreign decisions which were decided strictly in the context of their Constitutions, and which are not similar to ours. In Okon v The State (1988) 1 NWLR (Pt.69) 172 , Nnaemeka- Agu, JSC, said at page 180: It is well to remember not only that a foreign decision should at best be of persuasive authority in a Nigerian Court, but also that before it can even qualify as such, the legislation, substantive or adjectival, upon which it was based must be in pari materia with our own. It is dangerous to follow a foreign decision, simply because its wording approximates to our own. Nigerian Courts are obliged to give Nigerian legislation its natural and ordinary meaning, taking into account our own sociological circumstances, as well as other factors which form the background of our local legislation in question. A 'copy-cat' transposition of an English decision may in some circumstances, turn out to be inimical to justice in our own Courts.”

The Apex Court further reaffirmed this position in INAKOJU & ORS v ADELEKE & ORS (2007) LPELR-1510(SC), thus: "It is the law that decisions of foreign courts, however learned they are or may be, are of persuasive authority and not binding on this Court. The courts have held that decisions of English Courts are of persuasive authority, as they lack binding effect in our principles of stare decisis.

See Alli v Okulaja (1972) 2 All NLR 351; Dada v The State (1977) 2 NLR 135; Eliochin (Nig.) Ltd. v Mbadiwe (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt. 14) 47; Oladiran v. The State (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt. 14) 75.

In my Book on Sources of Nigerian Law (1996), I said at page 94: “Certainly, it will not only be ridiculous, but an abuse of statehood with all its attendant ramifications in international law, for courts of a sovereign country operating an equally sovereign and independent legal system, to be bound by decisions of courts of another country having the same status in international law and practice. The United Nations Charter clearly recognises the equality of States as subjects of international law, even the smallest States, and so the question of one sovereign nation succumbing to the judicial decisions of another sovereign nation should not arise at all, no matter the historical tie or connection.

Viewed from this angle, it is submitted that decisions of English courts, whether by the House of Lords or the Court of Appeal, should be persuasive authorities in Nigeria, and this applies to all Nigerian courts.” Per NIKI TOBI, JSC (Pp 61 - 62 Paras C - B).

See also, on the need not to use foreign laws to stifle or overcome ours, the following cases of OKON & ORS v STATE (1988) LPELR-2472(SC); BASINCO MOTORS LTD v WOERMANNLINE & ANOR (2009) LPELR-756(SC); OBI v INEC & ORS (2007) LPELR-2166(SC); CHIGBU v TONIMAS NIG. LTD. & ANOR (2006) LPELR-846(SC); NUHU v DSS KWARA STATE COMMAND (2017) LPELR-42351(CA); NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC v PABOD BREWERIES LTD & ANOR (2010) LPELR-4609(CA); BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (INVESTMENTS) LTD v A.G. OF LAGOS STATE & ORS (2014) LPELR-23200(CA); BAT INVESTMENT LTD v A.G OGUN STATE & ORS (2011) LPELR-3891(CA). (To be continued).

The Serious and the Trivial “Life is a bank account in God’s hands. Nobody knows the balance of the remaining days. Keep depositing with forgiveness, respect, love, pure heart, prayer and obedience.

Above all, always do good”.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK “Our attitude towards life, determines life's attitude towards us”.

(John N. Mitchell)

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COURTESY VISIT

Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS),Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (left), welcoming the President, Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, during the industrialist’s courtesy visit to the Naval Headquarters in Abuja...recently

PIB: Lawmakers Shun Advisory Council’s Single Regulatory Body Recommendation Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The National Assembly has jettisoned the request by members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC) for a single regulatory agency for the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.

However, the EAC’s advice that the federal government should not hold 100 per cent stake in the proposed company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited was heeded to by the lawmakers, who have now set in motion the process of fully commercialising the national oil company.

The Doyin Salami-led organisation charged with the responsibility of advising the President Muhammadu Buhari on economic policy matters in a recent presentation at its sixth regular meeting with the president had opposed a provision in the PIB that recommended two regulators for the industry.

While stressing that one regulator was enough, the EAC had argued that it would be more efficient and allow for greater

ENERGY synergy in regulating the entire industry value-chain, citing the examples of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

But in the versions of the bill passed by the lawmakers, they indicated that while the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority shall oversee the midstream and downstream, the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission will regulate the upstream part of the industry.

According to the legislation, which is currently being harmonised before being sent to the president for his assent, the Authority shall be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of midstream and downstream petroleum operations in the petroleum industry. “(It) will regulate midstream and downstream petroleum operations, including technical, operational, and commercial activities; ensure efficient, safe, effective and sustainable infrastructural development of midstream and downstream petroleum operations;

“(In addition) it will promote healthy, safe, efficient and effective conduct of midstream and downstream petroleum operations in an environmentally acceptable and sustainable manner (and) promote a competitive market for midstream and downstream petroleum operations “It will promote the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products in midstream and downstream petroleum operations and the security of natural gas supply for the domestic gas market; ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations governing midstream and downstream petroleum operations,” the proposed law stressed.

For the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, the recently passed bill indicated that it shall be responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of upstream petroleum operations. In addition, it will ensure that upstream petroleum operations are carried out in a manner to minimise waste and achieve optimal government revenues and promote healthy, safe, efficient and effective conduct of upstream petroleum operations in an environmentally acceptable

and sustainable manner.

The commission will further ensure efficient, safe, effective and sustainable infrastructural development of upstream petroleum operations; determine, administer and ensure the implementation and maintenance of technical standards, codes, practices and specifications applicable to upstream petroleum operations pursuant to good international petroleum industry practices, among others.

The legislation also failed to address issues in the gas sector raised by Shell, Nigeria over domestic obligations before companies are allowed to export gas.

Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Mr Bayo Ojulari, had at a recent forum stated that that the condition set for exportation of gas resources by companies operating in the sector in the bill will stifle competition.

“Currently, the version of the PIB that we have is not sufficient and will not enable us incentivise investors to unlock the huge nonassociated gas that we have,” he had argued.

Continued on page 24

‘GlobalOilMarketNeedsMoreCrudeThanOPEC+isOffering’ Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja with agency report The global oil market needs much more crude than what the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) along with its allies, OPEC+ is planning to add by the end of this year, the world’s biggest independent oil traders, Vitol, has said.

The OPEC+ coalition was set to agree last week to boost collective crude output by 400,000

ENERGY b/d each month from August to December and extend their supply management agreement through the end of 2022.

But the UAE stymied the agreement by insisting its baseline production level from which its quota is determined should be raised, which other countries have said was unfair, delegates had told S&P Global Platts on the condition of anonymity.

“There is very little doubt, that whatever OPEC agrees by way of lessening of the cutbacks it will surely be a fraction of that amount needed to meet demand,” Head of Vitol, Asia, Mike Muller, said.

“OPEC are in a big chunk of the way towards their stated objective of getting the global inventory overhang back to manageable levels from their perspective, which is basically 2019 norm and we still have a market which has an outlook which for the spot months there

is going to be more demand than supply,” he added.

Platts Analytics forecasts global oil demand will rise 8.8 million barrels per day from June to December.

OPEC’s two million barrels per day collective increment in supply between August and December is at the low end of demand estimates, according to Muller.

“I think there is 100 per cent consensus there that this sort Continued on page 24

TheUnitedbankforAfrica(UBA)haslaunchedapodcast,REDRadio, which is now available every day year uninterrupted.

Thedynamicandcreativeonlineradiochannel,REDRadionowprovides round the clock informative and entertaining content, bringing out the best of Africa, a statement explained.

RED Radio www.itsredradio.com was berthed as part of the communicationsuiteofUBAtoproviderealtimecontenttolistenersacross the African continent and globally.

UBA’sGroupHeadCorporateCommunications,BolaAtta,explained thattheplatformisanaffirmationoftheleadingrolethatUBAisplaying in the innovative space on the African continent as the bank keeps seeking more ways to reach out to and galvanise people.

She said, “RED Radio can be described as a meeting place. It is an avenue to discuss all kinds of issues that affect the youths on the continent, whether it be business related, health, relationships, sports, lifestyles…anything.”

“As we bring people together, we also entertain them with music from across the continent. It’s such a cool and diverse platform with shows in different languages to appeal to a wide section of listeners.

I leave it on quietly on my ipad constantly, catching up with anything I have missed,” she added.

Some of the flagship shows on RED Radio include the Barbershop Chronicles - a talk show featuring Shody; Sess, Alhaji Popping and Femisoro who discuss life matters from the perspective of men; Diary of an Africana follows the journey of a young African woman as she manoeuvres through various obstacles whilst she explores her true self; The Red Pill which brings you exciting news and music from the Congo and so much more.

AfreximbankRecognisedforCOVID-19Fight

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has been recognised by Global Trade Review (GTR) as Leader in Trade for Pandemic Support and ranked by Global Finance Magazine, in its annual World’s Best Investment Bank’s list 2021.

The recognition was as a result of the bank offering, “crisis finance solutions in Africa in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The recognitions were as a result of Afreximbank’s swift action at the beginning of the pandemic when the Bank launched its Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation facility (PATIMFA) in March 2020 and the $1.5 billion Collaborative Covid-19 Pandemic Response Facility (Coprefa) in November2020. PATIMFAplayedakeyroleinsupportingAfreximbank’s member countries to mitigate and manage the financial, economic and health effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the continent, while COPREFA supported African economies to weather commodity price shocks and procurement of medical supplies.

TheGTR,aworld-classindependentpublishingandeventscompany for companies and individuals involved in global trade, recognized Afreximbank’s quick action to curb the impact of the pandemic. GTR noted that the Afreximbank facilities helped countries battle the detrimental economic and health effects of the pandemic, giving them funding for the procurement of healthcare goods, food and agricultural inputs. The bank was also recognised for setting up the $1.5bn Collaborative Covid-19 Pandemic Response Facility (Coprefa) alongside the International IslamicTrade Finance Corporation and the Arab Bank for Economic Development.

Cummins W’Africa Appoints Igwebuike MD

Cummins West Africa Limited has announced the appointment of Mr. Okechi Igwebuike as the new Managing Director and leader of Cummins distribution business in Nigeria effective July 1 2021.

He replaced Ade Obatoyinbo, who is moving on to pursue other opportunities outside the organisation.

AstatementsignedbythecompanystatedthatIgwebuikebringsover 18 years diverse experience with a proven track record of successful facilitation of business transformation and improvements in various capacitiesacross Cummins’Africa&MiddleEastRegionalBusinesses including Corporate Strategy, Power Generation Distribution Leader covering five countries under the Africa & Middle East Region, and Aftermarket Leader for the Nigeria Business.

“The most destructive impact of the agitations in the Niger Delta region are the activities of vandals who disguise themselves as agitators and wantonly destroy critical oil and gas infrastructure thereby disrupting oil and gas production in the region” Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio

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PIB: LAWMAKERS SHUN ADVISORY COUNCIL’S SINGLE REGULATORY BODY RECOMMENDATION In the domestic gas space, Ojulari had noted that the PIB requires the fulfilment of domestic gas obligation as a condition to export gas which potentially puts long-term export gas supply at risk, adding that the country needed to move away from the “unproductive” debate about satisfying local need before shipping gas abroad.

But the pending law prescribed the allocation of the domestic gas delivery obligation on a lessee based on the domestic gas demand requirements determined or updated pursuant to section 173 of the Act. “A lessee may, on a voluntary basis, conclude contracts with wholesale customers of the strategic sectors or with wholesale gas suppliers supplying the sectors for delivery of marketable natural gas to the customers or suppliers and notify the commission of the contracts.

“Provided that where the volume of the contract is equal to or higher than the domestic gas delivery obligation for the lessee, the lessee shall be deemed to have fulfilled its domestic gas delivery obligation,” it said.

On the supply of crude oil and condensates for the domestic market, the legislation said that it shall be on a willing supplier and willing buyer basis, but noted that crude oil may only be sold to holders of crude oil refining licences, whose refineries are in operation.

‘GLOBAL OIL MARKET NEEDS MORE CRUDE THAN OPEC+ IS OFFERING’ of extra volume from OPEC+ combined with the fact that the rig count in the US is unable to bring us extra production from North America is going to see inventories continue to draw,” Muller said.

Ministers adjourned their online proceedings late July 2, agreeing to take the weekend to regroup and reconvene yesterday.

But all OPEC+ agreements require unanimous approval.

The OPEC+ impasse helped push oil prices higher, with Platts assessing Dated Brent at $77.62/b on July 2, its highest since October 2018.

3% Allocation to Oil Communities Unfair, Says IPMAN Chairman Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Chairman, Rivers State Chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr. Joseph Obele, has said it was unfair for the Senate to have approved just three per cent funding for oil producing communities in the country.

In a statement, Obele argued that the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was not worth celebrating in the Niger Delta region. But, he stressed that overall, the PIB would usher in new investments and create a large volume of employment opportunities in the sector.

“The breaking news that the Senate has finally passed into law the long awaited PIB is a good news for the oil and gas sector and bad news for the people of the Niger Delta region.

“The reason is that we in Niger Delta are the direct oil producing people and the initial 10 per cent proposed by the initiators of the bill was not too big for the host region. Today, the PIB has been passed into law leaving the host communities

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Senior Correspondent

ËÒÏÏ× ÕÓØÑÌÙÖß (Advertising) Correspondents

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

ÙÝË ÖÏÕÒßÙÑÓÏ (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

I think it’s not bad at all, we own the oil and we are saying 10 per cent should be assigned to the host communities,” he opined.

According to him, in the oil and gas sector, the new law

would henceforth dismantle the operational bottleneck bureaucracy and the monopoly of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

“On that note, I give kudos

to the senate. A lot of foreign investors have been waiting for the passage of this bill…the new law has further broadened the investment opportunities in the sector,” he said.

PROMOTING MSMES

L-R; Managing Director/ CEO Development Bank of Nigeria Plc, Tony Okpanachi; Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Olukayode Pitan, and Managing Director, NEXIM Bank, Abba Bello, at the Nigerian MSME Awards held in Abuja... recently

Moghalu: Why Nigeria Needs Defined Philosophical Foundation Dike Onwuamaeze A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank f Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has stated that Nigeria needs a comprehensive approach and clearly defined philosophical foundation for it to achieve economic diversification.

Moghalu said this recently, when he delivered a keynote address titled: “Economic Diversification and the Wealth of Nations: Lessons and the Path Forward for Nigeria,” at the 2021 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economics Students Association (NESA) of the University of Port Harcourt.

He said: “Achieving economic diversification in Nigeria will require a comprehensive and joined up approach to economic policy, rather than the silo approach we have seen for many years in which specific aspects

of economic policy appear to be in conflict with stated policy objectives of diversification.

“For such an approach to succeed, the two most important requirements, which are lacking in the Nigerian context, are, first, a clear philosophical foundation for our country’s economic policy that is based on a clearly defined vision and sets out the balance between the role of the government and the role of the market.”

Moghalu, who was a candidate in the 2019 presidential election and has also expressed interest to contest in 2023, stated unequivocally that it would also require political leadership with a sophisticated understanding of economic transformation and the capacity and will to execute it, for Nigeria to be able to change course economically in the years ahead. He said: “A competent political leadership that understands and prioritises economic

development over the crony capitalism of vested interests, backed up by competent economic management and a capable state bureaucracy, is essential in realising the country’s quest for economic diversification.”

He defined economic diversification as the process of shifting economies away from a reliance on one or a few products such as natural resources or agricultural products toward the production and export of a wider range of value-added products that were manufactured and traded competitively.

He said this could be achieved by expanding the production value chain in already existing sectors as well as expanding into new sectors based on market opportunities or state-driven industrial policy. He stated that economic diversification is a fundamental requirement for real development, in the

form of human development, economic growth and structural transformation that is achieved when the productive structure of an economy has become more sophisticated, diversified and resilient so that agriculture would play a vastly reduced role in the overall economy.

He said: “We must understand that true economic diversification is a very difficult goal to achieve for resource dependent countries such as Nigeria. And yet, it remains an imperative for our country to become a part of these elite clubs.

“Lessons show that successful diversification requires strong government policy engagement with the economy because there must be deliberate intent. This in turn calls for both political will and competent economic management, which is not the same thing as statism or populism.”

Moghalu said Nigeria’s leaders in the First Republic, and even in the military regimes of Yakubu Gowon and Murtala Muhammad/Olusegun Obasanjo, demonstrated a better understanding of the imperatives of long-term structural economic transformation with an emphasis on periodic development plans and industrialisation.

He, however, lamented that, “in more recent years, Nigeria suffered from a decline in structural economic thinking led in the past by economists such as Dr. Pius Okigbo, Dr. Adebajo Adedeji and Professor Sam Aluko, and a somewhat premature shift, under pressure from the Bretton Woods institutions the IMF and the World Bank, to extreme liberalisation of trade without an appropriate foundation of industrialisation that would have made us more competitive in the global economy with diversified exports.”

Ogbele Field’s Production Hits 20m Crude Oil Barrels, 95bscf Gas Peter Uzoho

Group Business Editor

with only three per cent.

“This is indeed unfair to us and is not good news and we are not greeting this move with open arms. If the initiators of the bill asked for 10 per cent derivation,

Nigeria’s first marginal oil field, Ogbele field, owned by the Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc has produced 20 million barrels of oil and 95 billion standard cubic feet of gas in its 15 years production.

The NDEP disclosed this at its 26th annual general meeting (AGM) held virtually recently, where it celebrated its 15th anniversary since the oil production at the Ogbele field.

The company said the achievements were recorded despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on oil companies last year.

The latest production performance disclosed by the NDEP, whose upstream subsidiary, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources (NDPR) Limited is the operator of the field, showed that the

company increased production at the field by one million barrels of oil and five billion scf of gas in 2020, from the cumulative 19 million barrels and 90scf reported in 2019.

The Ogbele marginal field located in Rivers State, which was carved out of the Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL)’s onshore asset in Oil Mining Lease (OML 54), was awarded to NDEP in 1999, in Nigeria’s first attempt to award a marginal field to an indigenous company.

NDEP hit its first oil on the Ogbele marginal field on August 28, 2005.

The company which also owns and operates a 1000-barrels per day modular refinery sited at the Ogbele field -the first private-owned refinery in Nigeria, where it produces diesel, said it has produced 160 million litres of diesel as at end of 2020.

Through its wholly-owned

operating Companies, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited (NDPR), ND Gas Limited and ND Refineries Limited, NDEP owns a range of assets including its flagship asset, the Ogbele Oil and Gas Field with a fully self- managed Flow Station.

The company also owns its soon-to-be inaugurated refinery with 11,000 barrels per day processing capacity, a 100 million scuf per day gas processing plant, and a Joint Venture in South Sudan with Nile Petroleum.

Shareholders at that meeting approved a dividend payout of N7 per share, being the company’s 15th year of consistent dividend payment.

The Chairman of NDEP, Mr. Ladi Jadesimi, who gave the company’s performance in a statement made available to THISDAY, said the dividend payout was significantly lower than its record N17 per share for

the preceding year.

Jadesimi, noted however that it was a prudent approach based on the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and reflected NDEP’s solid fundamentals and commitment to its growth strategy and cash preservation.

He said that despite the effect of the pandemic on business operations in 2020, NDEP, “demonstrated its resilience by meeting all its obligations, attaining new milestones and ended the year in profit albeit modestly with staff strength intact.

“We rose to the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the prolonged lockdown” he said, “The Board and Management carefully monitored industry developments and took steps to reposition NDEP and its subsidiaries while sustaining efficiency and ensuring company survival,” he added.

With a profit after tax of N1.6

billion for the Company and N16.8 billion for the Group, he added that NDEP entered 2021, “on a solid financial foundation.”

He announced the appointments of Mr. ‘Gbite Falade and Mr. Adegbola Adesina as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, respectively, after their ratification by the shareholders at the AGM. He thanked the pioneer Managing Director/CEO of the company, Dr. ‘Layi Fatona, for coming out of retirement to hold forth until Falade’s appointment.

The NDEP chairman also announced the approval by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for the introduction of Hydrocarbon to the Train of the company’s Ogbele Refinery, which he said would make the full-fledged refinery “the first of such privately owned and operated in Nigeria.”

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ʹ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

NDPHC Commences Work on 15km Power Supply Line in Osun Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited has flagged off the construction of a new 15-kilometres 33kV line from Ile-Ife transmission substation to Garage-Olode Town, Ife South local government of Osun State.

A statement by the Head, Communication & Public Relations of the company, Olufunke Nwankwo, explained that the project when completed, will restore power supply to the area which has been without electricity supply for over 10 years.

During the official flagoff, which was done by the Governor of Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola, the Executive Director, Networks, NDPHC, Mr. IfeOluwa Oyedele, said the distribution intervention project also included the rehabilitation of the Ifetedo u line.

Oyedele stated that the project would see the ‘dualisation’ of 3km of 33KVA line from Mayfair roundabout to Modakeke, adding that eight units of the 300 KVA and an additional eight units of the 500KVA distribution transformers will be supplied and installed in the community.

He described the flag-off of the project construction as historic, saying it marked, “the commencement of the construction of a project that is conceived and will be implemented to improve lives and economic activities in Garage-Olode Town in Osun State”.

He added: “Following the intervention of the governor of Osun State, we at NDPHC, in keeping with our mandate to improve electricity infrastructure in Nigeria visited Garage-Olode Community

for location inspection and discovered that the community electricity supply is being fed from old Akure Transmission Substation which has been dilapidated for a very long time”.

“In scoping this project, we engaged with IBEDC and we have been assured that the intervention of NDPHC in the improvement of electricity infrastructure in this community will align with their proposed infrastructure upgrade in the community and the entire state.

“With this intervention, there will be great improvement in the condition of living of the people, socio-economic activities, commerce and industry and general wellbeing in the community,” he stated.

In his comments, Oyetola praised the people of the area for their patience in the past 10 years without electricity supply.

“For me, today is a day of joy as history is being made. I am elated that we have now brought to an end the tortuous journey that left you, our dear people, in darkness for over 10 years”, he stated.

Oyetola thanked NDPHC for executing the project noting that “through this project, power supply will be restored to Ife South West LCDA, thus ending the unpalatable decade of power outage”.

He added that the power intervention efforts will also help to power towns and villages such as Iyanfoworogi, Aye Coker, Aye-Oba, Wanikin Eleja, Egbejoda, Idi Obi and Ali Ahanran in this first phase, and when completed, the project will cover the entire Ife South Local Government and the LCDA.

We are Installing Meters at No Cost, EEDC Insists The Enugu Electricity Distribution PLC (EEDC) has reiterated that the meters currently being installed across its network under the National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) are free of charge to its customers.

This was made known by the Head Corporate Communications, EEDC, Emeka Ezeh in a reaction to news published by an online news platform.

Ezeh, in a statement, dissociated EEDC from such act, stating that the information was baseless.

“As a matter of fact, EEDC has put measures in place to ensure that there is no room for extortion, and that even when it happens, that there are channels through which customers could report such cases,” he said.

He said the company had been sensitising its customers on the matter.

“The company also engaged the services of local town criers in areas where the metering is ongoing, reiterat-

ing the fact that meter is free and that customers should not allow themselves to be taken advantage of by anyone or group, as well as weekly live interactive radio programs across the states within EEDC coverage area, where this information are dished out.

“We have deployed several communications (billboard, sensitisation programs, social media posts/engagements, etc.) to underscore that meter and its installation is at no cost to our customers; and that any attempt to extort customers should be reported to EEDC through established Whistle Blower platforms, but customers are reluctant to use these established platforms,” he maintained.

He added: “We are currently in the “Phase O” of the NMMP which provides us with about 92,300 meters, and close to 60,000 customers are already metered under this program, while effort is on to wrap up this phase so we move on to the next stage which is the “Phase 1” of the program.”

Oil, Gas Service Providers Kick against VAT on LPG Peter Uzoho The Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN) has urged the federal government not to implement its plan to impose Value Added Tax (VAT) on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas.

OGSPAN said the planned imposition of VAT on LPG would discourage demand and utilisation of the energy source an d stifle investments and growth of the sub-sector.

The National President of OGSPAN, Mr. Colman Obasi,

who advanced the position of the association in a statement issued on Lagos at the weekend, warned that the return of VAT on LPG would negate the Decade of Gas policy of the federal government.

Obasi noted that the stakeholders in the sector were delighted when the federal government previously excluded operators in the LPG sector from paying the VAT but that they were shocked to hear of the plan to impose the VAT on the product again.

“We were even more delighted when it (federal government) declared January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2030, as ‘The

Decade of Gas Development for Nigeria’ with emphasis on LPG. “However, having taken these steps, we were shocked to learn that the Federal Government is currently considering imposing VAT, targeted at increasing its revenue,” he said.

He, also wondered how the gas industry could grow the Autogas initiative when VAT was applied to increase gas cost even while subsidy remains on petrol.

He stated that the LPG sector had suffered for too long from many problems, including policy inconsistency, inadequate funding, and low domestic utilisation,

which he noted, needs to be fully addressed by the current administration.

The OGSPAN boss also warned that the planned introduction of VAT on LPG could culminate into the reversal of gains already made in the federal government’s Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) which is targeted at achieving rapid development of the sector.

He stressed that Propane spec LPG, the industry-approved standard for Autogas in Nigeria was cheaper that petrol and portends huge savings for families and businesses.

UNVEILINGLAGOSINNOVATIONCENTRE

L-R:DirectorSustainability/CorporateCommunications,IHSNigeria,CimaSholotan;ChiefCommercialOfficer,OlufemiArosanyin;GeneralManager,LagosStateParksandGardens Agency(LASPARK),AdetounPopoola;ChiefCorporateServicesOfficer,IHSNigeria,DapoOtunla; and ExecutiveSecretary,LagosStateEmploymentTrustFund(LSETF),Tejumola Abisoye,atthecommissioningofLagosInnovatesCentre(EnergyandEnvironmentHub)inLagos...recently ETOPUKUTT

‘Liquidity, Metering Challenges in Power Sector Easing off ‘ Peter Uzoho The twin challenges of revenue crisis and the wide metering gap in the Nigerian power industry is gradually easing off, owing to the acknowledgement of the real issues and the collaboration of the stakeholders to tackle them, THISDAY can report.

The improvement is being recorded through the introduction of the cost-reflective tariff regime and the new National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) put in place to support the earlier Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme to ramp up the number of metered electricity customers in the country. Such cost-reflective tariff and the ag-

gressive metering programmes are resulting in the improvement of the Aggregate Technical and Commercial (ATC&C) Losses, a major challenge suffered by the Distribution Companies (Discos), with the end result being the poor power supply in the country.

The Chief Executive Officer of IE, Ms Folake Soetan, said the collaboration of the federal government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the industry regulator -the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the operators and other key stakeholders in the industry had resulted in the improvement in the liquidity situation.

This is just as Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IE) Plc recently inducted 20 young

engineers into a 12-months comprehensive developmental programme targeted at improving their capacity and field practice experience for the overall development of the nation’s power sector.

Soetan, who spoke to journalists in Lagos recently at the induction of the new set of young engineers into the company’s fold, revealed that the improved liquidity situation, particularly at Ikeja Electric, had given the Disco the opportunity to invest in infrastructure and improve supply to customers.

She pointed out that the revenue challenge resulted from the absence of cost-reflective tariff which was in the sector in the past.

She added that investing in the firm’s infrastructure, ultimately improves IE’s capacity and availability to provide improved power supply to its customers.

Soetan said: “Like you rightly said, the revenue crisis is a challenge as a result of past issues of not having a cost-reflective tariff.

However, the government, from the CBN, from the regulator, they have come together to try and make sure that there is liquidity in the market.

“With that liquidity, what that does essential for the Discos, Ikeja Electric in this case, is that it gives us the opportunity to invest in our infrastructure, and in investment in an infrastructure, it improves the availability that we give to our customers.

Fashola Blames Speed Violation for Incessant Road Accidents Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has said speed violations, rather than bad roads are to blame for incessant road crashes in the country, stressing that it accounts for 32.8 per cent of all cases.

Speaking at a virtual seminar in commemoration of his 58 birthday, Fashola insisted that while bad roads contribute just 1.3 per cent, other human factors, such as speed violations, loss of control, sign light violation, dangerous driving, wrongful overtaking, among others, make up 87 per cent of all road crashes across the country.

According to him, in January, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded the highest number of road crashes, roughly 106, with 17 people killed, while Kogi State had 67 road crashes with 60 deaths, with Lagos having the highest number of booked offenders. “The default narrative is always that the road is bad.

This is not the truth. We have said this narrative for an entire generation. Perhaps, if we had earlier than now focused on what was the major cause, we may not have the numbers that we see.

“Although bad roads contribute, according to the figures, in January 2021, 691 lives were lost. That is a lot of lives that have been lost in one

month. The people who died as a result of road crashes in January were more than those we lost to COVID-19 and to malaria combined.

“We need to pay more attention to something that kills more than malaria and COVID-19 combined. While we are chasing malaria and COVID-19 as we should, the silent killer is going away very undetected,” he said.

In his contribution, Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi revealed that 2,233 Nigerians lost their lives to road crashes in the first four months of the year.

Themed “Building a Road Towards Better Driving Culture’’,

he said the death toll came from 4,459 accidents involving 28,826 persons, adding that the figures, from January to April, indicated that 691 died in January, 497 in February, 480 in March and 565 in April.

Like Fashola, he identified overspeeding as the major cause of accidents in Nigeria, arguing that the number of aged cars on the country’s roads was disturbing.

“The way we are experiencing road crashes that resulted in fatalities is alarming while the absence of toll plazas has made enforcement to be a bit difficult. When there are toll plazas, we will be able to track those speeding above the speed limit,” he said.

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Affordable Path to Homeownership for Workers John M. Agbokpile

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he Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) is unique in boosting decent, quality, and affordable housing for Nigerian workers.

Decades before the recent improvements in Nigeria’s housing finance market, the apex mortgage bank maintained a low-interest rate regime and still provides housing loans at single-digit interest rates as low as six per cent per annum.

In comparison, commercial rates range from 22-25 per cent per annum.

FMBN is also the only institution that accommodates 30-year mortgage tenors in Nigeria. The best tenors on offer in the open market, aside from FMBN, range from ten to 20-years tops.

Additionally, the Bank allows zero equity requirement for loans below N5million and a maximum of 10 per cent equity for loans ranging from N5 million to N15 million.

The implication is eligible contributors to the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme can access a five million housing loan without a down payment and only one million naira for a loan worth ten million naira to build or purchase a home.

These favorable FMBN housing loan terms define the Bank’s offerings and are, unarguably, without competition in the Nigerian housing market. They provide the most affordable homeownership path to Nigerian workers within the low-to-medium income bracket.

Within the past four years alone, the Bank provided housing loans totaling N43.141 billion to 4,985 beneficiaries and Home Renovation Loans totaling N49.265billion to 60,500 beneficiaries.

In addition to ticking the affordability box, FMBN is a leading catalyst of affordable housing stock development. The Bank’s role in this supply side of the housing value chain is germane. Its mandate is not profit-driven.

Houses built with funds from commercial banks have profit at their core with price tags that workers can’t afford. As a social housing provider, FMBN leverages low-cost funds accruing to the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme to finance the development of purpose-built affordable housing stock that matches the financial standings of workers.

Within the past four years, the Bank also used over 38 billion naira to finance 9,540 affordable housing units across the country through different construction product windows.

The amount includes Estate Development Loans totaling N20.195billion, Cooperative Housing Development Loans totaling N10.985billion, and Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme loans totaling N6.873billion.

Of course, these numbers are pretty small when weighed against the massive housing deficit that experts estimate to range between 17-22million units. The framers of the FMBN Act designed the Bank to play a more profound role as a catalyst of affordable housing growth.

However, in reality, the Bank faces systemic encumbrances that have limited its ability to deliver the expected impact.

Housing analysts and stakeholders familiar with the FMBN Act and trends in the housing industry agree that FMBN would have recorded more significant achievements and impacted the housing deficit more save for two key factors.

One is adequate capitalisation, and two, a more robust National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme. At the core of these two pivotal factors lies finance.

This argument has merit at many levels. Take the size of the Bank’s capital base for a start.

Statutorily, the FMBN has a total capitalisation of N5 billion.

The equivalent stake of its owners is 50 per cent for the federal government, 30 per cent for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and 20 per cent for the National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). Unfortunately, while the federal government with a 50 per cent stake has redeemed its share totaling N2.5 billion, none of the others are yet to do their bit; the CBN and the NSITF are yet to put down the cash value of their 30 and 20 per cent shareholdings, respectively.

This longstanding handicap has constrained the FMBN’s capacity to leverage housing finance to boost housing development and counter the housing deficit.

The second argument bordering on NHF’s financial resilience is also vital. Framers of the NHF in 1992 empowered the scheme with well-defined sources of finance to drive FMBN

Dangiwa operations.

First is the mandatory monthly contribution of 2.5 per cent of workers’ salaries. Second, commercial banks’ investment of 10 per cent of loan portfolios.

Three, insurance companies’ investment of 40 per cent and 20 per cent of life and non-life funds, and four, federal government direct financing interventions.

Unfortunately, gaps in the program’s framework have led to its abuse. The concerned financial institutions have failed to comply with the Act’s provisions, and legal enforcement has proven difficult owing to several institutional factors.

The federal government has also not lived up to its obligation to periodically inject capital into the scheme.

As a result, the NHF relies on the 2.5 per cent monthly contributions from workers’ salaries to drive its operations.

So from funds accruing to NHF, FMBN has done a remarkable job within the past four years.

The management team leading the Bank for the past four years has shown that progress and impact are possible despite these weaknesses.

Ahmed Musa Dangiwa leads the team as Managing Director. In April 2017, when President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Dangiwa to head FMBN as its Managing Director/Chief Executive, many industry experts widely commended his choice as fit and wise.

And for good reasons. First, Dangiwa combined an impressive track record of academic excellence and private sector experience as a housing industry practitioner and professional.

He boasts an MSc in Architecture and a master’s degree in business administration on the academic front, providing relevant foundations for his role.

Within the past four years alone, the Bank provided housing loans totaling N43.141 billion to 4,985 beneficiaries and Home Renovation Loans totaling N49.265billion to 60,500 beneficiaries

Second, he had built an enviable track record as a successful, practicing architect with over thirty years of wide-ranging experience and understands at both the theoretical and practical levels the business of real estate as well as the social imperative upon which it rests. His career spanned both the private and public sectors.

From 1996 until his appointment, he built two leading architectural and construction companies: AM Design Consults, an architectural and real estate development consultancy firm, and Jarlo International Nigeria Limiteed, a construction company.

As the driver of those companies, he acquired practical experience in designing and supervising the delivery of several outstanding housing and related projects in diverse areas and sectors across the country.

Besides his expertise and experience as a top-level real estate consultant, Dangiwa came onboard as someone already familiar with the mortgage banking industry. He had worked with Sahel Mortgage Finance Limited, where he rose through the ranks from being a Property Manager to Manager of the Mortgage Banking Division.

In this role, Dangiwa experienced at close range the nitty-gritty of the mortgage industry, how it works, and the social impact that it can have in stimulating the growth of the housing sector and the economy at large.

Specifically, he designed and constructed various mortgage and real estate projects that provide housing solutions to different stakeholders, especially in the social mass housing end.

It has been four years since Dangiwa was appointed FMBN MD/CEO. A broad range of housing industry analysts and professionals attest that he has brought a new era of positive change at the FMBN. Dangiwa has led his equally competent management team to champion a series of bold corporate reforms and a private sector management edge to bear on the Bank’s operations.

Consider the accelerated stakeholder rally to bolster the financial capacity of the Bank.

The Dangiwa-led management of the FMBN successfully lobbied critical players in the industry and the National Assembly to pass the reviewed FMBN and NHF establishment Acts. Although the president declined assent to the two bills, the feat is a critical milestone in the over twelve-year history of repealing the bills. FMBN is engaging stakeholders on

identified problem provisions and, once resolved, the president is likely to grant consent. With two more years left, the possibility of ending this longstanding attempt to review the FMBN and NHF Acts within the Buhari administration is still high.

The implications for the FMBN are enormous.

First, the reviewed Acts will provide the legal foundation for the Bank’s recapitalisation to the tune of N500 billion.

With such a heavy war chest, the FMBN will provide more housing loans to more Nigerian workers and catalyse housing development.

Another notable result will be a stronger, more financially liquid NHF with a more robust legal framework for enforcing compliance to its provisions.

As the lead man at the FMBN in the past four years, Arc, Dangiwa has demonstrated a passionate commitment to putting the Nigerian worker first.

“I believe that in executing the mandate of the FMBN to deliver affordable housing, we must improve access to cheap housing finance and encourage developers to build houses that workers can afford,” he remarked recently.

“From design to finish, the uppermost consideration must be the financial capacity of workers. Many previous housing programs have failed in the past because they were not built based on a thorough understanding of the financial dynamic of the Nigerian worker in mind”.

A good reflection of this “worker-centric” mindset that Dangiwa has brought to bear on the Bank’s operations includes reducing the equity requirement for housing loans.

Instead of five and 20 per cent equity requirements, workers now pay zero equity for loans below N5 million and only 10 per cent for loans from N5 million to N15 million.

He has also led the Bank to introduce the ‘Rent-to-Own’ Homeownership Scheme. The scheme allows a beneficiary to move into FMBN-owned housing property as a tenant and pay to own the property in monthly or annual installments over 30 years at an interest rate of just nine per cent.

Another notable stride is the launch of FMBN Digital Platforms. The Digital Platforms have ushered in a new era of transparency and accountability in the National Housing Fund (NHF) operations by empowering contributors with real-time access to information on their NHF accounts.

Under his leadership, FMBN is implementing a digital core banking solution for its services.

Once operational, it would help the FMBN to create an integrated technology-driven platform to activate its operations. On the back of the digital service provisioning eco-system, the Bank would then tackle the many systemic challenges that it has had to contend with over the years due to the largely manual nature of its operations.

Top on the list is fixing the longstanding inability of the Bank to update, in real-time, subscribers’ monthly contributions to the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme. The second is that the system would help redress the time it takes for subscribers to access credit from the Bank and, in the process, upgrade the overall customer experience of NHF subscribers.

Of particular note is the FinTrak Finance Module. Once implemented, it will aid the Bank in keeping proper records of its financial transaction of payments and receipts, general ledger, etc., that will provide the base for financial reporting.

Financial reporting automation would help improve audit readiness, promote reliable consolidation of financial statements, team sharing, optimised collaborations, electronic review, and monitoring while ensuring transparency and credibility of financial data.

Overall, the new direction of change at the FMBN inspires hope for expanding access to affordable housing for a more significant number of Nigerians. To sustain the tempo of reform at the FMBN, government and stakeholders should rally around the current management. They have demonstrated competence, transparency, and a passionate commitment to making a historic difference at the nation’s apex mortgage institution in dire need of reform.

Enabling them to transform the Bank is critical to increasing access to affordable social housing for Nigerian workers. t"HCPLQJMF JT B QVCMJD QPMJDZ BOBMZTU CBTFE JO "CVKB

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Enhancing Productivity for Africans Hamid Ayodeji Before 2020, the average annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for Africa consistently outperformed the global average and was estimated to grow by at least six per cent annually until 2023.

As one of the fastest-growing economies, Africa’s economic growth is primarily due to its sizeable working-age population of about 1.2 billion people and growing consumer markets in the region.

According to the World Economic Forum, “Africa – the youngest region globally, will be the source of most global labour-force growth.”

It is projected that half of Africa’s population will be under 25 years old by 2050. The implication of this is the availability of labour to enhance productivity, sustain the economic boom, and reduce poverty. 2020 hit the continent’s prospect, casting gloom on economic revival with lowered productivity and economic recession. The World Bank’s bi-annual economic analysis estimates that economic growth in the continent contracted by two per cent in 2020, with prospects for recovery currently strengthening amid actions to contain new pandemic waves and speed up vaccine rollouts. Also, growth is expected to reach between 2.3 per cent and 3.4 per cent in 2021, with GDP growth estimated at 3.1 per cent by 2022.

The upside is predicted considering the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) potential, which will play a crucial role in diversifying African economies. The AfCFTA, according to the United Nations Commission for Africa (UNECA) Economic Report for Africa 2020, could generate a combined consumer and business spending of $6.7 trillion by 2030.

Amidst the economic growth, turmoil and recovery, private sector investment has been a propelling factor.

In the first half of 2020, $1.1 billion was raised in Africa. Private sector investments supplement

government efforts in any country.

This benefits societies, translating into more jobs and better income. Considering the young population, Africa has moved towards a digital transformation that could change the continent’s trajectory.

This has helped boost productivity while providing jobs for an increasingly technologysavvy population. One of the private sectors contributing to the African economy is the ride-hailing industry.

It has been a tremendous contributor by solving some of Africa’s most significant challenges while providing an avenue for extra income either as full-time or part-time driver-partners.

This tells the story of Bolt, one of Africa’s leading ride-hailing platform, which expanded into the continent with its first launch in South Africa in 2016.

Bolt Regional Director for Africa and Middle East, Paddy Partridge, revealed that the continent remains one of the company’s strongest regions with great potential for further growth.

About five years after the commencement of operations in the region, Bolt has built its presence in over 70 African cities in at least seven countries and has plans to diversify its mobility services by the end of 2021.

Presently, Bolt operates in over 20 towns and cities in South Africa. In addition, the platform is present in over 25 states in Nigeria, with recent launches in Umuahia, Abakaliki, Yenagoa and Lafia.

“Our strategy in Africa is to be present in as many cities as possible in each of the markets where we have operations,” he added.

Paddy also informed that the company would announce its presence in other countries beyond the seven existing before the end of the year.

“We are actively looking at several new markets where the urban population is sizeable and smartphone penetration significant, and where we believe there is an opportunity to improve the convenience and affordability of transport.

As a result, we hope to announce a few new countries before year-end,” he said.

Everywhere Bolt operates, it strives to be a development initiator. The strategy to expand, especially in towns and smaller cities, is a way to create opportunities for more income while extending the convenience of mobility services to everyone.

Also, in achieving development, environmental sustainability is critical. Paddy shared that the mobility platform has a Green Plan to make mobility in the continent more environmentally sustainable and hopes to roll out forms of electric micro-mobility over the next 6-12 months.

Bolt is set to become the largest micro-mobility player in Europe, investing over 100 million Euros in electric scooters and bikes.

Its ecological journey has been successful in Europe, with its rides 100 per cent carbon neutral.

For Africa, the offering has been introduced in Kenya with Bolt Green to offer eco-friendly rides.

The category has hybrid and electric cars to reduce emissions during trips taken on the Bolt platform, thus offering greener transport options.

The plan is to expand the green approach across Africa as the platform contributes to sustaining communities.

Improving access to safe and comfortable mobility and earning possibilities, especially in Africa, is core to Bolt’s values and a part of its business. The company continuously improves features on its platforms while engaging in empowerment and skills development.

In commemoration of International Women’s Day, 2021, marked recently, Bolt launched a programme to encourage women participation in the Technology industry.

The initiative inducted as #Drive4WITech is an internship programme for young women who choose to challenge the status quo and jumpstart a career in the technology industry.

The programme aims to bridge the gap and create more opportunities for gender inclusion in the technology sector by offering internship

opportunities in Operations, Engineering, and Product Design.

Bolt Country Manager, Nigeria, Femi AkinLaguda, said: “The tech industry in Nigeria and Africa continues to enhance productivity while fostering economic growth. We must continue to leverage the opportunities it provides to prepare Africa for the future.

“At Bolt, we also understand the important role of women in societal development. By establishing the #Drive4WITech programme, we hope to contribute to capacity building for young women and create the opportunities necessary for women to have an increased impact on Africa’s technology and mobility sectors. “Through initiatives like this, we continue to show our support and commitment towards Africa’s advancement by enabling young people and especially women in creating a diverse and inclusive society that fosters productivity and delivers the Africa of their dreams.”

Bolt has maintained productivity by supporting Africa with income optimisation initiatives for current and potential driver-partners.

However, considering that the average GDP per capita in Africa as of 2019 stood at $1,596 while the average price of used cars in Africa is sold for about $5,000, it can be quite challenging for e-hailing drivers to acquire suitable vehicles. To manage this, a good number of driver-partners engage in hire-purchase options, which requires them to return a bulk sum of their weekly income to the car owners.

The average hire-purchase condition in Nigeria requires drivers to remit a significant amount weekly, aside from funding all car maintenance bills. Considering this, Bolt launched a Vehicle Financing scheme in partnership with Sterling Bank, which will help driver-partners own a car with low equity repayment and optimise their income while retaining its bulk.

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

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TUESDAY JULY 6, 2021 • T H I S D AY

TUESDAY JULY 6, 2021 • T H I S D AY

ADVERTORIAL

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY JULY 6, 2021

30

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT Ghana Issues Only 50 Years Leasehold for Property Foreigners Buy Bennett Oghifo

N

igerians, and other foreigners, who are planning to acquire property in Ghana should know they are entitled to a leasehold of 50 years only, but it can be renewed if the holder desires.

Individuals and businesses can buy property in Ghana. If their interest is land purchase, then they may choose from the five types of land available.

They can also buy a building or buildings and in all cases prepare their 50 years lease document in collaboration with their vendor and this will be taken to the Ghana Lands Commission for authentication and processing. The only document required during property purchase is the identity of the Nigerian or non-Ghanaian, for instance, a passport. Businesses with over 40 per cent non-

Ghanaian ownership-structure are considered foreign. Officials of this Commission said it takes 140 days to complete documentation. They are working on reducing the time to process leasehold to 30 working days, but now it is between 90 days and 140 days.

They advised that prospective owners take possession immediately. They will also need to hire a lawyer to guide them through all the processes from land identification to documentation.

Ghana’s Estate Surveyors have not been empowered by law to do this job.

This information was provided at the Ghana-Nigeria Business Council’s first webinar on ‘Understanding Leasing and Purchasing Land in Ghana, held recently. The webinar was called because of a growing need to make people understand the processes of purchasing and leasing land in Ghana, which is considered a key challenge

for most people, according to the Executive Secretary of the Council, Nadia TakyiwaaMensah in her introduction.

Nadia Takyiwaa-Mensah stated that the Council was established to support people and businesses from Nigeria that intend to invest in Ghana and to support Ghanaian businesses that are interested in investing in Nigeria.

The webinar featured two people from Ghana’s Lands Commission, Timothy Anyiodoho, and Ruth Mawunyo Asuo, both Surveyors, and a special guest, Ekua Eguakun, a Lawyer.

There are five main ownership regimes of land in Ghana- State Lands; Vested Lands; Stool/Skin Lands; Family Lands and Private Lands. Understanding this is a major challenge to many investors from Nigeria and to even Ghanaian, said Anyiodoho.

The State Lands are acquired

by State and “all interests are extinguished, this type of land can only be granted from the State. The dangers with lands like these is that sometimes when government acquires large tract, it is not in absolute control of them so people go and encroach or the people we call the expropriated owners (original owners) to back to the same land and may mislead an investor and tell him that the land is State land but government has given it back to us and therefore we have the authority to grant it,” he said, adding it is misleading and that it is only the state that can grant it.

Vested Land has split ownership. “It is pretty much like the State Land, but only that the proceed goes to the Stool from which the land was acquired, after the necessary deductions are made. It has similar characteristics of the State Land,” in terms of management.

There are Stool/Skin Lands.

Skin Lands are found in Northern Ghana and Stool Lands are in lower north to south of the country. They are managed by Stools. “The Stools management them, as a fiduciary duty, on behalf of the larger communities, and in collaboration with the Principal Eldest. If somebody is supposed to approach a Stool for land, he should be wary and understand that the Stool or Chief will not be acting in his personal capacity.” Ensure his Principal Eldest is present during land negotiations.

The fourth category is the Family Lands that are controlled by family heads and manage the land in conjunction with Principal Members of the family”, who must be present when looking at the property.

Then there is Private Lands/ Property that were acquired by individuals over the years and have become self-acquired

property. The only caution here is to ensure it is free of encumbrances.

To identify which land the prospective buyer is interested in, he or she would be presented a site plan, defining the boundaries and “you do a search at the Lands Commission, which is decentralised in formerly 10 Regions but now 16 Regions in Ghana. They should be able to inform you whether the land falls within State Land or any of the others. But there is a small caveat somewhere because the Commission’s record is not sacrosanct because it is limited to the extent of information in its records. There may be areas where no Stool or Skin has gone through the process of registration.

Ghana has six categories of land titles- Allodial, Common Law Freehold, Customary Freehold, Usufructuary Interest, Leasehold Interest, and Customary Tenancy.

Ogunleye: We Strive To Build Affordable Properties in Prime Locations The Chief Executive Officer of Denaro Properties, Jide Ogunleye talks about their target to build affordable homes in prime locations where prospective owners can live close to where they work One can safely say that Denaro Properties belongs to the generation of real estate firms that are young but with strong footprints.

Tell us about this company and what you do Denaro Properties Limited is a solution provider in the housing sector. We do real estate development and housing construction in particular.

We also do development and management of properties. We opened for business in 2009, but started full operation in 2011. So, this year is our 10th anniversary. We started with site and service schemes in Lagos and in other states. In terms of housing construction, we have done quite a number of projects.

We have just commissioned block of terraces in Nomad Grandville Court in Ilupeju, Lagos, which is a joint venture project between us and Nomad Investment and Properties Limited. In joint ventures, some entities own the land while we come in to build. We also provided funding from conception to finishing.

In Allen, Ikeja, we did fully detached duplex which we have sold out and handed over to those who bought.

In Agege, we have a project that comprises three-bedroom apartment. In Magodo, Isheri, we have Victoria Court which is a semi-detached development.

For our site and service schemes, in Ogun state, we started with Mayflower Gardens in Ofada,

Silver Sand in Agbara and Fairfield in Simawa. In Lagos we have Victoria Park, Grand Park and Downtown Park in Ibeju Lekki. In Silversand Agbara, we have Grand Apartments where we have built two-bedroom bungalows for rent-to-own scheme.

People are allowed to deposit N1 million, move in and start to pay by installments for four years. The interest on this scheme is so affordable and competitive that it can stand against what the mortgage banks offer. Our goal in this scheme is more to provide solution than targeting profit. So, on the mainland, we have done pockets of developments that are meant to fill empty spaces for people who cannot afford to build in such locations where land alone may cost up to N90 million per plot.

We are focused on the Lagos mainland as we believe we are rebranding the face of the Lagos mainland. We go out looking for houses or land that are not well developed and we move in and build something that can attract people and are yet affordable. What we do essentially is gentrification. Through this model, we are changing the face of Lagos Mainland, bringing in new ideas, new concepts, and new structures.

because our target is people who can afford them and would like to live near to their work places in the city centre. On the mainland, we focus on areas close to Alausa in Ikeja. On the Island we look at places close to Ikoyi and Victoria Island which are the centres of business activities. Areas like Sangotedo and Awoyaya are also good locations for our kind of projects.

Where are your areas of focus and who constitute your target audience?

We strive to build affordable properties in prime locations

Now, of your estimated 1000 clientele base, what percentage of them is in the low income bracket?

When we started, it was all

Looking back 10 years, what impact have you been able to make on families and the economy?

In terms of providing housing solutions, our client base is over 1000. We have done quite a number of schemes and a lot of people have benefited from what we have done. When you talk about impact, it does not consist in selling houses alone as almost 100 artisans work on a single building project. These people are also impacted. We also do property management for clients. We have expatriate clients who have taken Nigeria as their home. We offer after sales service in which case we sell and also manage the property for clients. We do our best to ensure that residents don’t complain of anything that is necessary for their comfort.

about mass housing. It was later that we graduated to taking care of people who are in the middle and high income class.

In terms of categorization, those in low income constitute about 70 per cent of our clients. The mid-income group makes up 20 per cent while high income earners are 10 per cent. The low income earners are in the majority and you cannot ignore them, else you miss out.

You have been involved in joint venture projects. Who are your partners—corporate bodies, individuals or governments?

We have done mostly with corporate bodies and individuals.

The concept of the joint venture we have been involved in has to do with land owners. We believe that if you have land that is not being used, it is dead capital, especially if it is not yielding anything for you. The same way, if you buy a property, rent it out and tenants are not paying, the property could also be regarded as dead capital. This is why we advise land owners to look critically at their property and see what they can do with it profitably. So, what we do is to approach land owners with our capital, technical know-how and marketing strategy and agree with them on how to share the properties that will come out of the land. We can agree on 60:40 or 70:30 per cent sharing ratio depending on the value of the

land and the kind of property built. We can even market their own share for them and that becomes a win-win situation.

The challenge here however is that a lot of land owners are still struggling to understand the concept.

In the last four to five years, how many of such joint venture projects have you done?

We have done about five in different locations and with different land owners under different MoUs. In Ilupeju where we have the Nomad Grandville

Court, the landowner is Nomad Investment and Properties limited. In a joint venture, what ties the developer to the project is an MoU where all the requirements, agreements and clauses pertaining to the project are spelt out. Everything is spelt out including the duration of the project.

This is different from an arrangement where two developers pool capital to do a project. In that case, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) is formed. A joint account may be created for the purpose of the project.

Ogunleye

S.S Afemikhe Consulting Rebrands to SSAC Advisory and Professionals Fadekemi Ajakaiye A leading professional consulting firm, S.S. Afemikhe Consulting is rebranding after 36 sterling years in business in response to its accelerated growth, renewal of its corporate values and the

constantly changing realities of the world today. At the heart of the initiative is a change of its name to SSAC Advisory and Professionals (SSAC) and a modification of its corporate logo.

In a statement signed and made available to the

media by one of its Group Executive Directors, Mr. Greg Afemikhe, the company said it has resolved to change its name to SSAC Advisory and Professionals in a rebranding effort to further accelerate its growth and renew its corporate values, given the constantly

changing realities of today.

According to the Group Executive Director, “we have had 36 years of offering stellar service to local and international businesses, driving consultancy services in pursuit of Best in Class service delivery and value for money reviews

across all sectors of the Global economy. ‘’Now, we think it is time for a strategic refresh. Be assured that even in the face of a new identity, SSAC will continue to deliver efficient and effective services with technological innovation at

the core of this and enhance value to our clients without any compromise. We will deliver more value, more productivity and work with our clients to pursue and attain best value, asset optimisation and growth as we embark on enhanced quality service delivery.”

31

T H I S D AY ˾TUESDAY JULY 6, 2021

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT

Onuesoke Advises Govs to Make Afforestation Budget Priority Sylvester Idowu in Warri

C

hairman of DAS Energy Services in Udu, Delta State, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has advised governors to make afforestation budget a priority.

Onuesoke, who spoke in Lagos during an event on the effect of deforestation in Nigeria, said the frequent natural disasters experienced in some parts of the country can be traced to climate change, which has been aggravated by the increased emission of greenhouse gases and loss of forest cover due to deforestation.

He lamented that the removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage

to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity with adverse impacts on bio-sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide in different parts of the country.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain noted that although the federal government has increased afforestation and reforestation efforts under various projects and programmes to augment natural regeneration processes, but the rate of afforestation is not commensurate with the rate of deforestation which consequently calls for the various state governors assistant.

While calling for review of forestry policy of 2006, he advised that national forest management plan, with clear objectives for conservation,

utilization and sustainable management should be developed, adding that from this, the states forestry department can develop their own site specific forest management plan taking into account the three aspects of sustainable development of social, economic and culture.

Describing afforestation as planting of trees manually in a methodical and planned manner which is different to natural forest to replace the depletion of forest, Onuesoke said it has a lot of advantages which include, “increase greenery, avoidance of desertification, aiding of farming, increase of water resources, reduces of air pollution, aid in minimizing global warming and increases of content in oxygen in environment.”

L-R: Principal Investment Officer, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mr. Babatunde Obaniyi; Senior Special Assistant (Administration) to the Governor, Office of Chief of Staff, Lagos State, Mrs. Titilayo Oshodi; Managing Director, STL Trustees Limited, Mrs. Funmi Ekundayo; Head, Finance and Accounts, LASRERA, Mrs. Tope Agunbiade; Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke BensonAwoyinka; Commissioner for Finance, Lagos State, Mr. Rabiu Olowo, Head, Real Estate Unit, Stanbic IBTC Group, Mrs. June Majoroh, Founder, Address Homes Ltd and former GMD, FirstBank of Nigeria, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, during a Technical meeting of Finance Committee of Real Estate Regulations of Lagos State and Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA), in. Lagos… recently

Builders Canvass Excellence in Research for Societal Progress Fadekemi Ajakaiye Professional builders in higher institutions under the auspices of Association of Builders in Academia, ABA, hosted participants to the maiden edition of its lecture series on ‘Advancing Research and Professionalism in Building’. The lectures, which held virtually, attracted participants who included educators, top academics and researchers in various aspects of the Building profession.

Professor Martin Dada, the Chairman of ABA, welcomed the participants to the programme

indicating the rationale for the lecture series: members making positive impact on the society academically and professionally at both national and global levels through research, publications and mentoring of upcoming academics.

The Chairman of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Professor Kabir Bala, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria challenged the participants on the need for high quality research output. He explained that stakeholders have come to realise that research outputs and publications

are better judged on the basis of quality than quantity. He further explained that identifying problem to be solved in research is fundamental, central and key to all research endeavours; the accompanying methodology are mechanical and ancillary issues.

He equally spoke on the sourcing of research grants as ways to augment the traditional but insufficient funding windows available to universities. While commending the initiative of the start of the lectures, he suggested that efforts and attention should also be focused on educating members on accessing grants

for research purposes The President of the Nigerian institute of Building, Builder Kunle Awobodu, charged participants on the subsisting need for actionable research to address challenges of local materials for building construction. According to him, the COVID-19 lockdown, which affected importation, exposed the vulnerability of the Nigerian building industry. The vulnerability can be harnessed and turned into opportunity for local materials production, Awobodu further said The two resource persons for

the lecture, Professor Godwin Idoro and Professor Isaac Odesola were respectively the supervisor and the winner of the ‘Nigerian Universities Doctoral Thesis Award (NUDTAS) for the Best Thesis in the Discipline of Environmental Sciences’ in all Nigerian Universities for the Year 2012. Both resource persons dwelt on the topic: Achieving Excellence in Research for the Built Environment.

Professor Idoro explained the fundamental place of properly identifying, defining and communicating the research problem.

According to him, a research

problem can be obtained by checking gaps in literature and areas for further research identified in earlier research.

A research problem could also emanate from a nagging challenge in the society such as traffic grid lock in our cities such as Lagos, Idoro posited.

Odesola addressed the theoretical underpinning for research and the important place of the world view or perspective of the researcher and the context of the research. He equally explored other areas as quantitative and qualitative data analysis among others.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ʹ˜ 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

CBAN: Why MSMEs Need Efficient Book-keeping Dike Onwuamaeze Members of the Credit Bureau Association of Nigeria (CBAN) have advised operators of micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria to embrace efficient book-keeping in order to enhance access to finance as well as for them to expand their businesses.

The advice was given during the National Credit Reporting Conference, which was organised by the CBAN with the theme “Promoting MSMEs Credit Worthiness: Effective Bookkeeping and Loan Accessibility.”

The Managing Partner of Taisha Associates, Mr. J. Taiwo Popoola, who made the key presentation during the conference on the “ABC of Effective Bookkeeping for MSMEs,” said efficient bookkeeping could help enterprises to secure business loans, detect banking errors quickly, show were their money is going and ensure

that they enjoyed favourable tax deductions.

Taiwo said: “Book-keeping can be tedious work, but the sweat equity buys you something priceless: financial insight into your business. Without bookkeeping, you’re driving blind like a car without a gas gauge.

“Sure, the car is driving fine, but who knows how long before you have to pull over and wait for a friend to bring a jerry can?

“Book-keeping is the process of tracking all of your company’s financial transactions, so you can see exactly where your business is spending money, where your revenue is coming from, and which tax deductions you’ll be able to claim.

“If you need financing of any kind, having well-kept books give lenders or investors a clear idea of your business’ current financial state, and allows them to make financial projections

about your company’s ability to pay off its loan in the future.”

He also advised MSMEs to always separate their businesses from personal expenses, choose a book-keeping system and accounting method that are suitable, categorise their transactions, organise and store their documents and prepare potential deductions.

“Organising and storing your documents like invoices and vouchers are crucial because the only language the taxman understands is business documents. We need to emphasise this because most MSMEs ignore this vital area,” he said. In his contribution, the Chairman of CBAN and the Chief Executive Officer of the CRC Credit Bureau, Dr. Tunde Popoola, said the theme of this year’s conference was informed by the realisation that less than four per cent of more than 40 million SMEs in Nigeria have access to credit.

MARKET INDICATORS

Egwim Appointed Coronation Merchant Bank Chief Economist Coronation Merchant Bank Limited has announced the appointment of Chinwe Egwim as its Chief Economist.

The appointment became effective from June 28, 2020.

According to a statement, prior to joining Coronation Merchant Bank, she had worked at FBNQuest Merchant Bank, FBN Capital, Fitch Ratings Milan and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

She holds a Masters in Financial Economics from Kingston University London, a BA in Economics from Kwame Nkrumah University Kumasi Ghana and is an alumna of the European School of Economics.

It added: “With over 500 published economic notes under her belt, Chinwe has carved a

niche as an outstanding economist renowned for consistently applying rigorous analysis in her work whilst ensuring Africa’s economic landscape is better understood.

“Her contributions have also supported high-level committees’ setup by development agencies like the World Bank.

Furthermore, she has been included in IMF Article IV consultations and is also an active member of the Africa Development Bank Meetings.”

Presently, she sits as a member of the board committee on research at the Nigeria Economic Summit Group and has served as Resident Economist for the researchbased initiative, AiR – Africa

Investment Roundtable.

Commenting on her appointment, the Managing Director/CEO of Coronation Merchant Bank, Banjo Adegbohungbe said, “Chinwe brings in a wealth of experience in economic analysis and financial matters. Her broad experience and competence – within macroeconomics, research, as well as economic policy and reforms -positions her appropriately to provide strategic insights for our customers.

“We are certain she will be an excellent addition to the Coronation team and we trust she will enjoy working with us.”

Coronation Merchant Bank was established in 2015 to provide wholesale banking to a long-underserved market.

Jiji, Cars45 Merge Operations Sunday Ehigiator Jiji, an online marketplace in Africa said it has reached an agreement to merge its operations with automotive trading platform, Cars45, to create a new and leading pan-African car buying and selling business.

During a ceremony in Lagos to announce the merger, the two companies said they would not be considering a rebranding at the moment despite the business combination, but wouldn’t overlook the possibility of such in the future.

They said the agreement will merge both companies’ operations in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

In his address, Cars45 Chief Executive Officer, Soumobroto Ganguly, said the merger was a

significant and landmark deal.

“This merger will create Africa’s leading automotive marketplace for end-users, dealers, and OEMs. The merger of operations promises a new level of trade experience for auto buyers and sellers across the three countries.

“Joining the Jiji family will allow Cars45 users to benefit from Jiji’s market-leading products in online classifieds. In turn, Cars45 brings a unique online-to-offline, car buying and selling service, where cars can safely be sold instantly to dealers or via a consumer marketplace to other consumers.

“Together, users in the auto sector can expect a new level of convenience layered with technology and transparency in buying

and selling cars, combining online and offline capabilities,” he said.

Also speaking, the Investor Relations Manager, Maxim Makarchuk, said the merger represents Jiji’s bold step into the transactional business model and an important foundation for building the future of the company. According to him, the goal of the merger was to bring value to the end-users and create a one-stop solution for buying cars in the most convenient way for customers.

“The merger is also a logical step in Jiji’s development as the leading e-commerce platform on the continent. Our strategy implies moving further into transactional marketplace models and Cars45 merger is an important step in its realisation,” he added.

Heirs Insurance Companies to Host Brokers Newly launched insurance companies, Heirs Insurance Limited (HIL) and Heirs Life Assurance Limited (HLA) have announced plan to host over 300 brokers at the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers’ (NCRIB) monthly forum.

The event, which is scheduled to hold in Lagos today, will have the leadership of both companies

meet with brokers from across the country to further solidify existing relationships and discuss ways to improve the industry.

According to the MD/CEO, Heirs Life Assurance, Niyi Onifade, the gesture would enable the companies to achieve the goal of providing customers with insurance that is simple, quick, accessible, and reliable.

He stressed the importance of strengthening such relationships for the improvement and practice of insurance in the country to meet the needs of the 21st century customer.

On her part, the Acting MD/ CEO, Heirs Insurance, Dr. Adaobi Nwakuche, described the opportunity as timely and with great potential.

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 ˜ Ͱ ͰͮͰͯ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $75.18 a barrel on Friday, compared with $74.84 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).

33

T H I S D AY ˾ ʹ˜ 2021

Tripple Gee & Company Grows Profit by 129% Goddy Egene Tripple Gee & Company Plc, a manufacturer of financial instruments, secure and commercial documents, labels and flexible packaging materials, overcame the Covid-19 induced challenges and posted a growth of 129 per cent in profit after tax for the year ended March 31, 2021.

Details of the audited results showed that Tripple Gee posted gross earnings of N2 billion,

indicating an increase of 32 per cent compared with N1.321 billion in 2020. Gross profit stood at N419.938 million 2021, as against N318.665 million, while profit before tax printed at N128.646 million, showing a jump of 133 per cent from N55.198 million last year. Tripple Gee’s profit after tax (PAT) grew faster by 129 per cent from N37.535 million to N85.880 million in 2021. The board has recommended a dividend of seven kobo per share, up from

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

five kobo last year.

The improved performance of the company did not come to many as its chairman, Mr. Sam Ayininuola and management director, Chief (Mrs.) Bimpe Giwa, had given indications to that effect. He had told shareholders that company would continue to pursue the diversification and expansion of its business for improved performance and return on investment.

“Tripple Gee’s resolve for

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the years ahead is to remain steadfast and undaunted. The company will continue to pursue its diversification and expansion of business plans even as we keep a close watch on the industry both locally and globally,” he said.

He added that with the advent of the COVID -19 Pandemic a new normal has been created in business environment and this has necessitated a re-think of processes by industry players that will not only survive but

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emerge stronger thereafter.

On her part, Giwa said the despite the present challenging operating environment, the company had a very bright prospects given the expansion plans being embarked upon.

She said the company would introduce 3D printing with the objective of revolutionising the packaging business for the manufacturing world.

The MD had explained that while truData, which is a product

O F

introduced by the firm to tackle identity theft is doing very well in the market, Tripple Gee was equipping its factory with new production lines to cater to the needs of fast consumer moving goods(FCMGs) companies in terms of flexible packing of all kinds. Meanwhile, the equities market opened the week on a positive note as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited AllShare Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.02 per cent to close at 38,220.01.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ʹ, 2021

34

FEATURES

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

Championing Call for Transparency, Prudence of Public Funds The Nigerian Army Finance Corps recently held a training week for Warrant Officer/Senior Non-Commissioned Officers targeted at improving professional and innovative financial services for the army in line with extant regulations. Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that it was a call for greater demand for openness, prudence and accountability in the use of public funds

Cross section of participants at the seminar

O

ne of the many issues that have dogged the military over the years has been lack of openess and accountability, especially when it comes to financial matters and funding of theatres of operations.

Thus, the recent training for Warrant Officers (WOs)/Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (Snacks) organised by the Nigerian Army Finance Corps (NAFC) held at Nebo hall, Abati barracks, Ojuelegba Lagos, was targeted at emphasising the need for openness, prudence and accountability in the use of public funds.

The training also harped on providing professional and innovative financial services in line with financial and other extant regulations, just as it was aimed at improving their skills and competences.

This year, the annual ritual, specifically highlighted the need to enhance transparency and accountability in the management of resources at the army's disposal.

Improving Capabilities Declaring the training open, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, said it was specifically designed to improve the capabilities and competencies of the WOs/SNCOs to enable them function optimally as vital link between officers and soldiers.

Yahaya who was represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Major General Lawrence Fejokwu, said the army must continue to develop requisite skills and competences that would make it ready to achieve its constitutional duties.

He said: "In view of the contemporary security challenges in Nigeria, the NA must remain steadfast, focused, disciplined and professional in dealing with these challenges, especially in a joint environment. Thus, the development and deployment of critical capabilities that will contribute significantly to the defence and security of our nation becomes imperative.

"The NA must of necessity be creative and improve its problem solving skills to be able to defeat all forms of adversaries, particularly non-state actors. To achieve this,

Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya

Major General Adekunle Adesope

the prudent utilisation of financial and indeed all resources cannot be overemphasised, especially in the face of dwindling resources.

"In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the theme of this conference has been aptly crafted as Repositioning NAFC WOs/SNCOS for professional and innovative financial services delivery in the NA. "As financial advisers and custodians of NA financial resources at unit levels, you are expected to provide professional and innovative financial services in line with financial and other extant regulations. I am therefore delighted that this training week is taking place at a time when there is a greater demand for openness, prudence and accountability in the use of public funds.

"The prudent and efficient use of resources also becomes compelling given the anticorruption drive of the Federal Government of Nigeria as well as dwindling national revenue due to the adverse effects of global COVID-19 pandemic."

reforms towards the prompt payment of troops' operation allowances and other related allowances in the army.

Assuring troops in different theatres of operations across the country of his resolve to sustain prompt payment of their allowances, as a boost for optimal discharge of their constitutional responsibility, he also charged them to be focused, disciplined and professional as they tackle insecurity.

"I am also aware of the ongoing reforms towards improving accountability, transparent, quality audit and assurance services.

All these innovations and reforms have added value to the NA and contributes significantly to enhancing and sustaining troops morale as well as compliance with government extant regulations," he added.

Ongoing Reforms Commending the NAFC for effective delivery of quality professional advisory services, he noted that there has been positive

Professional Services In his remarks, Army's Chief of Account and Budget, Major General Adekunle Adesope said the trainees were expected to professionally and administratively discharge financial services in support of all Nigerian Army's constitutional dealings.

He explained that the training week was designed to strengthen and improve the performance of Warrant officers and senior

non commissioned officers in executing their core functions as the vital link between officers, soldiers and junior leadership in the Nigerian Army.

He said: "This is one of the training programmes lined up in the activities of the Nigerian Army Finance Corps to train our Warrant Officers and Senior NonCommissioned Officers (SNCOs). Finance Corps operates in a very dynamic environment with new policies and innovations in financial management."

The fundamental objective of this particular training according to him, aligned a with the imperative of the Finance Corps mantra “which is to professionally and relatively discharge financial services in support of all Nigerian Army constitutional duties".

He added that “this has become expedient considering the dynamics of the contemporary environment that places a premium on requisite expertise in meaningful decision making and complex strategic thinking in prioritising need due to acutely scarce resources.

“Expectedly, the warrant officers and senior non commissioned officers training is coming against the backdrop of a mirage of security challenges besetting our nation.

"So, from time to time, we update the knowledge of our men. Most importantly, we need to be more open in managing the scarce resources allocated to the Nigerian Army. We need to be more open in justifying whatever is appropriated to us. " The payment of our men in various theatres of operations have always gone on well. What the COAS said is that he would sustain it for as long as we receive what is required from the government, we, on our part, will do the needful. " It is believed that the training will provide the prerequisite for improving skills and professional capability of participants in the very changing financial sector which is highly regulated and guided by government policy and internationally accepted best practices.

“Your roles are quite distinct and very important, being the link between the soldiers and junior leadership in the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army towards the attainment of our premium objective for this year."

35

TUESDAY JULY 6, 2021 • T H I S DAY

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 02Jul-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 154.95 156.49 -4.22% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 4.52% Nigeria International Debt Fund 318.01 318.01 -21.18% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 111.23 111.23 -0.77% 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 6.27% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.24 3.41 -4.47% 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 3.34% Anchoria Equity Fund 133.51 135.04 0.38% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.10 1.10 -17.25% 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 19.39 19.97 6.90% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 421.84 434.55 5.36% ARM Ethical Fund 38.23 39.39 13.42% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.09 1.09 -1.23% ARM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.88% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 104.96 104.96 3.20% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 131.77 132.23 4.43% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.32% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 1.97 1.97 -16.90% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.06 2.10 -15.41% mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.02 1.02 1.63% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.83% Paramount Equity Fund 16.27 16.57 1.73% Women's Investment Fund 135.10 136.65 1.51% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.34% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 116.97 117.74 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 107.04 107.04 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 4.80% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.18 1.20 -1.38% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.39 1.39 -12.20% 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 3.07% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 2.69% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,139.95 1,149.64 -0.39% 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 1,384.02 1,384.02 11.04% FBN Balanced Fund 188.97 190.27 0.69% FBN Halal Fund 110.92 110.92 8.09% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.00% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Money Market Fund Legacy Debt Fund Legacy Equity Fund Legacy USD Bond Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Balanced Fund Coral Income Fund Coral Money Market Fund

125.89 157.93

125.89 3.53% 160.11 4.47% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price N/A N/A N/A N/A

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price 3,666.18 3,358.16 100.00

Offer Price 3,717.38 3,358.16 100.00

Yield / T-Rtn -2.11% 2.50% 5.57%

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 7.87% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.87 2.93 0.55% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 151.00 151.27 -2.89% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.26 1.31 0.34% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.09 1.09 0.02% 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 1.41 1.43 3.47% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,149.56 1,149.56 4.04% 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 11.19 11.23 6.81% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 7.20% 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 11.49 11.54 -5.31% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.65% PACAM Equity Fund 1.63 1.64 2.92% PACAM EuroBond Fund 111.27 112.94 1.22% 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 131.37 133.68 4.23% 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 3.41% 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 3,248.65 3,280.43 1.11% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 230.95 230.95 2.71% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.21 1.23 3.39% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 303.34 303.34 2.95% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 222.80 226.05 2.07% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.49% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,400.59 10,549.95 -0.88% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.26 1.26 2.79% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 114.64 114.64 3.20% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 102.00 102.00 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 12.90 13.01 8.73% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.15 14.27 15.80% Zenith Income Fund 24.15 24.15 0.73% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.23%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.09 51.54

2.77% -1.64%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.22 124.66 98.78 17.77 17.94

13.32 127.62 100.89 17.87 18.04

0.05% 3.61% -0.46%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.83 5.97 17.28 1.00 19.16 151.51

3.87 6.05 17.38 1.00 19.36 153.51

1.45% 4.88% 6.52% 4.38% -6.60% -30.84%

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.

36

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2021

NEWSXTRA

Kanu’s Health Deteriorating Due to Solitary Confinement, Says Lawyer Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The lawyer representing the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor has raised the alarm over his deteriorating health condition due to his solitary confinement and the mental torture he was subjected to by security agencies.

Ejiofor while featuring yesterday on

‘Good Morning Show’a programme on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY, said there was urgent need for his doctors to attend to him before it is too late.

He said Kanu was brought into the country after being detained, maltreated and subjected to all forms of inhuman treatment.

Ejiofor said the IPOB leader was also inflicted with severe injuries due to the handcuffs that were put on

his hands for hours before he was brought to court.

Ejiofor lamented that he was not informed by the prosecution panel that his client had been ‘abducted’ and ‘kidnapped’ from Kenya and brought into the country to appear before the court last Tuesday.

He added that if at all there was transparency in what the federal government has done, the prosecuting

panel should have informed him that Kanu would be charged to court.

Ejiofor stated: “There is an underlined fact that my client will not get a fair trial in that court; that is settled.

The issue of fair trial has been taken away by this collaboration. But we will keep on watching and we are going to see them in court.

“I have seen him and he has given me every information and details about

what transpired in Kenya, how he was arrested, how he was taken to an unknown destination and how he was maltreated and how they nearly killed him over there. And it is obvious from what he told me that it was at the behest of the federal government that they were doing those things until when they asked them to come. This is against and obvious infractions to all international

laws and treaties, but we are going to address it at that level.

“It is obvious from every indication that my client will not get a fair trial in this court, until when the contrary is established,” he added.

Ejiofor recalled that before Kanu was granted bail, he spent over two years in prison, adding that the court itself was aware that he was in prison custody before he was granted bail.

36 Investors Jostle for Five NIPPs Slated for Sale Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja No fewer than 36 investors have submitted Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for five power plants built under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) slated for privatisation by the federal government through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

BPE Director General, Mr. Alex Okoh told journalists in Abuja yesterday that the privatisation of the five power plants was in line with the Bureau’s 2021 workplan as approved by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), which would

be strictly followed.

He disclosed that the five plants slated for privatisation would be disposed off as planned, in line with President Muhhamdu Buhari’s administration’s determination to resuscitate the power plants and put them to full use for the much-needed power needs of the economy.

The affected plants are Benin Generation Company Limited at Ihovba, Edo State; Calabar Generation Company Limited, Cross River State; Geregu Generation Company Limited, Kogi State; Olorunsogo Generation Company Limited, Ogun State; and Omotosho Generation Company Limited, Ondo State.

Lagos Passes Bill Stopping Parade of Suspects Segun James The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday passed an amended version of the Criminal Justice Law of the state barring the police from parading suspects before the media.

The bill was passed at a sitting presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, on behalf of the Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa.

Section 9(A) of the newly passed bill states: “As from the commencement of this law, the police shall refrain from parading any suspect before the media.”

The bill further stipulates conditions under which a policeman can arrest without warrant one of which is that a person must be reasonably

suspected to unlawfully be in possession of firearms or other such dangerous instruments.

A subsection of the bill also barred the police or any other agency from arresting a person “in lieu of any other person in a criminal matter.”

The bill provides that a person who is arrested “shall be given reasonable facilities for obtaining legal advice, bail or making arrangements for defence or release.

The bill stipulates that a suspect should be “accorded humane treatment, with the right to dignity of person; not be subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment; be brought before the court as prescribed by this law or any other written law; or be released conditionally or unconditionally.”

Kano Assembly Suspends AntiCorruption Agency’s Chairman Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The Chairman of the Kano State Public Complaints and AntiCorruption Commission, Muhyi Rimin-Gado, yesterday suspended from his position.

Rimin-Gado was asked to step aside for a month over his alleged opposition to the posting of an accountant to the agency from the Office of the Accountant-General of the state.

The suspension, according to the state Assembly, followed a letter of complaint sent to the Assembly over the matter by the Office of the Accountant-General of the state.

The Majority Leader of the

Assembly, Labaran Madari, asked the Assembly to refer the issue to the Assembly Committee on Anti-corruption for investigation and action.

It appointed the committee Chairman on Public Complaint, Mr. Umar Musa Gama, to head the investigation, and submit a report within two weeks.

Members of the Committee are Mr. Lawan Shehu, chairman Assembly Committee on Judiciary; Chairman, Assembly Committee on Public Account, Mr Salisu Ibrahim Doguwa; Assembly Committee Chairman on Finance, Mr. Magaji Dahiru Zarewa; and Chairman Assembly Committee on Hajj, Mr. Sale Ahmad Marke.

Okotie-Eboh’s 2nd Memorial Service for Today The second memorial service of Chief Joseph Okotie-Eboh has been fixed for today, July 6, 2021 at the Ikoyi Baptist Church, Lagos.

Among other activities, the event will feature worship, hymns, prayer of thanksgiving, Bible reading, exhortation, among others.

It will be presided over by Reverends Olusegun Adeleke, Bosun Adegboyega, Adekunle Oyeniyi, Micheal Onyegbu and Olufemi Babalola.

A former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), OkotieEboh died in 2019 at the age of 64.

Colours, Flavours Exhibition to Hold in Lagos Sylverscreenarts is set to hold a photo exhibition, themed ‘Colours and Flavours of Lagos’ in Lagos.

A statement from the organisers revealed that the event, which will be hosted by Dayo Akinbode, would be

begin on July 9, and end by July 11.

The event which is targeted at art lovers, and still-life image lovers, “would be held at Museum hall, Freedom Park, Lagos, from 10a.m. to 8p.m. daily.

2022 BUDGET ON THEIR MINDS… L-R: Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed; and Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, at a meeting on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper in Abuja…yesterday

Soyinka: IPOB Leader was Kidnapped Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan Nobel laureate, Profesor Wole Soyinka, has declared the the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu was kidnapped by the federal government.

Soyinka warned that there will be a “huge squawk” if the truth is known about how the federal government arrested the IPOB leader.

He said this during an interview with BBC Pidgin.

Soyinka asked the federal govern-

ment to show eagerness in arresting bandits and terrorists.

“It’s not for me to tell the president to prepare itself because it’s going to be a huge squawk when the truth about how Kanu was arrested comes out. People are alleging this or that.

That is one phase whether Nigeria has acted outside international law.

“The second issue, however, has to do with Kanu’s conduct outside the nation. There’s been a level of hate rhetoric which has been unfortunate, from Kanu. Hate rhetoric is an issue that can only be judged by the laws

of any nation.

“Was it right ‘to have been kidnapped?’ You can say intercepted as much as you want but I think Kanu was kidnapped. That is wrong internationally and morally.

“The government cannot wash itself clean on what seems to be a kind of comparative energy in pursuing the destabilised forces in the nation,” he said “If we take ourselves back, once when I threw a challenge to Buhari, what I expect from a true leader is to issue an order, give a deadline

that any illegal occupant of any villages, farms is given 48hours to quit after which the mighty forces of the nation will be unleashed on them. It was ignored.

“Years later, he came to say ‘we will respond to these people in the language they understand’. This is what I expected him to have said years ago, at the beginning of the insurgency.

“Their leadership–the Miyetti Allah — should have been arrested years ago, long before IPOB was declared a terrorist organisation.”

Insecurity: Kaduna Closes down 13 Vulnerable Schools John Shiklam in Kaduna The Kaduna State School Quality Assurance Authority has announced the closure of 13 vulnerable private schools in Chikun Local Government Area of the state.

A letter dated July 5, 2021 and addressed to the proprietors of the schools, directed the immediate closure of the schools in view of their vulnerability to insecurity.

The letter signed by the Director General of the authority, Umma

Anmed said the decision to close the schools was reached at a meeting held yesterday with the National Association of Proprietors of Private schools (NAPPS) and some key stakeholders following yesterday’s attack on Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi.

The letter reads: “Sequel to the information reaching the authority on the security threat at the Bethel Baptist High school, Damishi, a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private

schools (NAPPS) and some key stakeholders was held on Monday, July 5, 2021 with the resolution that the following schools should close with effect from Monday, July 5, 2021 - Faith Academy, along Kachia Road adjacent to Jakaranda, Deeper Life Academy, Maraban Rido; Ecwa Secondary School, Ungwar Maje; Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi; St. Peters Minor Seminary, Katari and Prelude Secondary School, Kujama”.

Other schools to be closed,

according to the memo, include, “Ibiso Secondary School; Tashar Iche Tulip Interational (Boys) School; Tulip International (Girls) School; Goodnews Secondary School; St. Augustine, Kujama; Comprehensive Development Institution (CDI), Tudun Mare and Adventist College, Kujama”.

“You are hereby advised to adhere to the contents of this letter as appropriate sanctions shall be meted out to schools that are found wanting for non-compliance, please.”

Electricity Workers Issue Strike Notice to FG over Planned Sale of TCN Electricity workers under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) have served the federal government a notice of industrial action over planned sale of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had earlier rejected the plan to sell the TCN and declared “Operation Save TCN from the Enemies of Nigeria”.

Meanwhile, NUEE in a statement issued yesterday by its General Secretary, Mr. Joe Ajaero, argued that “leaving the nation’s full power architecture in the hands of private business owners, who

lack the expertise to own and run critical economic assets, poses serious security risk to the nation, as we will be driven by the wimps and caprices of the ‘harvestors’.”

Ajaero contended that the enemies of Nigeria had once deceived the country to grant about N1.5 trillion to the same private individuals the government sold its distribution and generation facilities to, at a ridiculous rate of not more than N400 billion.

He lamented that almost eight years after the privatisation of the power sector, there had not been any visible improvement in terms of power supply, expansion or investments by the new owners

of the DisCos and GenCos. The NUEE General Secretary accused “Three key officers working with a few vested interest in the Ministry of Power, who do not understand the concept in power generation, transmission and distribution,” of carrying out “their selfish personal privatisation agenda and milk the nation off it’s vital economic assets.”

“Why would the federal government want to privatise TCN with the improvement made in terms of expansion and strengthened transmission network?

“The five-yearly performance appraisal process provided for in

the Electric Power Sector Reforms, EPSR, Act, 2005, has been jettisoned despite calls by Nigerians to review the performances of the sector players.

“A dime has never been declared as profit for government’s 40% asset ownership in the privatised companies till date, yet it remains a pitiable tale of ‘private gain, public disaster’.

“We had alerted the federal government and Nigerians against going into a fraudulent/fictitious agreement with SIEMENS towards improving transmission capacity to a level which the existing nation’s transmission capacity had surpassed.

37

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2021

NEWSXTRA

2023: INEC Insists on Electronic Voting Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it was determined to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process in Nigeria.

This is even as the nation’s electoral umpire said that electronic voting is one of the legacies the commission wanted to leave for Nigerian people.

Addressing a workshop on

Technological Applications in the Continuous Voter Registration Process Systems for Heads of Department of ICT in the states and FCT yesterday in Lagos, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education, INEC, Mr. Festus Okoye, said the commission must improve with every election and with every electoral cycle.

Okoye said based on the resolve of the commission to improve the quality of the register of voters and

provide the opportunity for every eligible Nigerian to register to vote, some technological innovations were recently approved and introduced to the voter registration system.

He said the development was in keeping with the commission’s avowed

determination to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process through innovations that introduce desirable changes and new solutions to the electoral process.

He said the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) process and the

registration of voters was a crucial building block for any electoral democracy.

He said a credible register of voters is a sine qua non in the electoral process.

“While a register of voters of questionable integrity undermines the

credibility of an election and erodes the trust of the people in the electoral outcomes, an accurate and reliable register of voters not only enhances electoral transparency and integrity; it confers credibility on electoral outcomes.

Kogi Gov Inaugurates High-powered Economic Advisory Council Daniel Agada The Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, yesterday inaugurated the state’s Economic Advisory Council.

The high-worth council was inaugurated virtually.

While inaugurating the Council, the governor challenged members to “guide the state into prosperity,” tapping into the abundant human and mineral resources available to her.

He said the members were carefully selected based on their pedigree and track record, saying their main responsibility is to work with the state to “open new doors of opportunities towards economic diversification”.

The governor said the way out is for the nation to go back to the days of agricultural boom as well as devise a way of optimising the abundant mineral resources in the country.

His words: “As you know, agriculture was the pride of the nation before the discovery of oil, in the 60s, but the coming of it, utterly neutralised the gains in Agriculture and stalled the progress in other sectors, as well. The entity called Nigeria is so naturally blessed, with the potential to be one of the leading country in the world but the circumstances of oil and all the issues around it, has made this very difficult to realise.

“Ladies and gentlemen, there is no doubt that, crude oil, in Nigeria, is suffering declining relevance and may actually become extinct, with the passage of time or become totally irrelevant, due to improvements in renewable energy over environmental concerns.

“In 2016 and 2020 respectively, Nigeria was ushered into a recession over the collapse of the price of crude oil. This, for me, underlines the fragility of our economy and, indeed, a wake-up call, that we must begin to think beyond oil, if we are to be sustainable, as a nation and, by extension, if we are to survive, as a State.

“As you know, Kogi State is vastly blessed with human and natural resources that are yet to be optimally harnessed for the good of our people. The available data indicates that, we have over 29 solid minerals in commercial quantity. In addition, we are blessed with the confluence of Rivers Niger and Benue, we are a gateway to the FCT, we are bordered by 10 States including FCT, we are blessed with considerable

arable land, we are blessed with potentially world class tourist sites, we are blessed with leading cash crops such as cashew, cassava, rice etc, we are blessed with high profile industries such as Ajaokuta, Itakpe Iron Ore, Obanaja Cement Company, we can go on and on.

We cannot and must not, therefore, be complacent, in the face of these enormous blessings and see our people, our State struggling with basic necessities of life”.

He informed the Committee that the rational behind the establishment of the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara was to create local capacity and strategically position the state to take advantage of the abundant mineral resources she boasts of.

The Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council, Mr. Aliyu Nda Salami while responding on behalf of the other members, thanked the governor for the intrinsic confidence reposed in them, saying they have resolved to hit the ground running and change the fortunes of the state for good.

He said the governor has taken the right step by bringing together, a crack team to move the economy of the state forward.

The Council’s membership is testament to the intimidating profiles of Kogites in different spheres of endeavors.

While Salami is the chairman, Ambassador Olusiji Godwin Aina is the Alternate Chairman.

The members include: Chief Joseph Makoju; Chief Kola Jamodu; Dr. Aheruvoh David Ohiku; Dr. Emmanuel E. Onoja; Chief Abdulrazaq Isa Kutepa; Mr. Segun Adaju; Prof.

S .I. Ocheni; Mr. Ola Oyelola; Musa Itopa Jimoh; Mr. Isah Shaibu; Prof.

Seidu O. Muhammed; Mr John Obaro; Mr. Lawal Itopa Lamidi; and Dr. Isah Abdullahi.

Other members include: Prof. Sule Jafaru; Dr Audu Dangana; Prof .

John O. Alabi; Amb. Shola Rafiu Enikanolaye; Mr. Tunde Ayeni ; Prof.

Suleiman A. S. Aruwa; Ismail Akaba; Mr. Thomas Etu; Alhaji Abubakar Sanusi Gamji, Member; Ebi Atawodi; Dr. Ronke Bello; Mr. Tony Okpanachi; Mr. Korede Adedayo; Hajia Dr. Halima Alfa; Mr. Gimba N. Baba; Dr. Suleiman Adejoh; Dr. Michael Abuh; Hajia Ladi Ibrahim; and Dr. Joshua Okpanachi.

Mr. Abdulateef Bello is to serve as Recorder.

Nigerian Army Offers Free Medical Service to 3,000 Persons in Sokoto Communities In continuation of the celebration of Army Day, the Nigerian Army yesterday offered free medical service to no fewer than 3,000 persons in Sifawa, Bodinga Local Government Area and Dange/ Shuni in Dange Shuni LGA in Sokoto State.

The medical services cover testing and treatment of malaria, hypertension, visual and eye treatment, provision of eye glasses, dental services, diabetes screening and pediatric services.

Speaking to journalists at the

events, the General Officer Command (GOC) 8 Division, Sokoto, Major Gen Usman Yusuf, represented by the Garrison Commander, Brig Gen Ralf Nnebeife, said the medical outreach is part of the army cooperate social responsibility to it host communities.

He added that the medical outreach would last for two days, stressing that they came with adequate drugs with a promise that everyone who turns up for the exercise would be attended to.

PROMOTING SPORTS… L-R: Secretary General of Lagos Country Club, Mr. Adegboyega Oduwole; President of Abeokuta Sports Club, Mr. Olusola Egbesola; President of Lagos Country Club, Funmi Bamkole; and General Secretary of Abeokuta Sports Club, Mr. Yinusa Jamiu, during the club’s retreat in Abeokuta, Ogun State…weekend

Minister Slumps in Bauchi Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The Minister of State for Industry Trade and Investment, Ambassador Maryam Yalwaji Katagun, slumped at an official function in Bauchi State yesterday.

The minister, who was in Bauchi to launch an empowerment

programme, slumped when she tried to deliver her speech at the ceremony which had the Deputy Governor, Senator Baba Tela, in attendance.

She was immediately evacuated to the Trauma Centre of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBU-TH).

“She just held her head and

slumped suddenly while officials rushed her to the hospital immediately,” a witness said.

It was gathered that the minister, who has been in Bauchi since Saturday, featured in a live programme on Globe FM radio on Sunday.

She has had other personal engagements before the programme

of yesterday.

All efforts made to get updates on her situation at trauma centre of ATBUTH, where she is recovering medical attention proved abortive.

A senior government official told journalists that as soon as the situation has improved the minister would be flown to Abuja for further medical attention

Osinbajo: FG Created, Saved over 2m Jobs through ESP Deji Elumoye in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigeria has created and saved over two million jobs through the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) which began in June last year.

Osinbajo stated this yesterday at a virtual meeting of the Economic

Sustainability Committee.

He gave kudos to the federal government’s COVID-19 stimulus package, saying the Nigerian economy did not degenerate as feared and at least over two million jobs have been both created and saved with the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan.

According to him, although the target of N2.3 trillion estimated to be

spent under the plan has not been achieved just as yet, the federal government appropriation part of that total being N500 billion has been completely released by the end of May, making it possible to attain several objectives of the ESP directly supporting a few million Nigerians.

He said, “While a total of 2,100,021 jobs have been saved and created all

together, the breakdown of the figures indicate that 1.3 million jobs have been retained through interventions in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) space, including the Payroll Support. The 774,000 jobs from the Public Works Programme and 26,021 Jobs from construction /rehabilitation projects across the country were among those freshly created.

CBN: Our Interventions will Boost Nigeria’s Participation in AfCFTA Dike Onwuamaeze The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that its interventions in the real sector of the Nigerian economy were targeted at boosting Nigeria’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) agreement.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Deputy Governor of the CBN for Economic Policy, Dr. Kingsley Obiora during the “Town-Hall Meeting with Financial Sector Stakeholders in Respect of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) Agreement,” which was organised by the CBN.

Obiora said: “The CBN has been implementing various development finance programmes aimed at stimulating the real sector activities and diversifying the economy particularly in the agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare and other non-oil sectors. The interventions include the Anchor Borrowers Programme, the Real Sector Support Facility, Export Stimulation Scheme and the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme.

“These examples are indications of the central bank’s involvement and commitment to growing our domestic industries and boosting international competitiveness,

particularly in preparation for the AfCFTA.” He pointed out that Nigeria’s government assent to the AfCFTA agreement has made it an imperative for stakeholders in the country’s economy to harmonise various sartorial strategies for the effective maximisation of the opportunities that could be derived from implementing the agreement.

He said: “We believe that the financial sector has the potential to accrue substantial benefits from the AfCFTA in view of the intermediary role of finance in facilitating growth and engendering sustainable growth.

“The critical advantage of the AfCFTA to the Nigerian financial sector would be the removal of barriers for the expansion of financial institutions and services. This advancement will foster the provision of financial service in the continental market at a reduced cost.”

Obiora noted that as a key regulatory agency in the financial sector, the CBN is playing a leading role in engendering risk mitigation methods that would protect the Nigerian financial system from potentially damaging trade policies and position the sector for the benefits associated with the AfCFTA.

House Probes Banks over $28bn Foreign Exchange Leakages Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives yesterday commenced investigation into the activities of two money deposit banks over allegations bothering on underpayment of Withholding Tax

(WHT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) as well as foreign exchange leakages to the tune of $28.048 billion between 2010 and 2019.

According to the report of the first phase investigation conducted by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance and Banking &

Currency, one of the banks allegedly underpaid WHT and VAT worth $2,838,296,330.74 and was involved in foreign exchange leakages to the tune of $25,199,851,112.97 for the period under review. The report indicted another bank for tax infractions and foreign exchange infractions to the

tune of $9,963,335.72.

Speaking at the investigative hearing, Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Hon. James Faleke expressed concern over the flagrant breach of extant financial regulations and relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

38

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ;˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹

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

First Batch of Team Nigeria’s Athletes to Depart for Tokyo Today 2020 OLYMP IC GA ME S

Duro Ikhazuagbe i eriaȂs preparations for podi m o tin at the okyo ŘŖŘŖ Olympic ames e ins today with the depart re of the ęrst atch of the co ntryȂs contin ent to apan from

A a.

Altho h the ames are not d e to kick oě ntil ly Řřǰ eam i eria athletes are oin to the ar ast nation to acclimatize Ahead of the Games.

Accordin to the irectorǰ ederation of lites Athletes of

the ederal Ministry of o th and Sports evelopment ǰ r Simon ho iayeǰ mem ers of the canoein teamǰ Ayomide Bello and her coachǰ enezer kw nnaǰ sther oko and her coachǰ e ina nofe alon side Secretary General of the Rowin and anoein ederationǰ

Ol nmi Ol odeǰ will depart for okyo thro h the namdi Azikiwe nternational Airport in A a y thiopian Airline today.

Also in the ęrst atch of eam i eria team to leave for the Games is Mary Onyaliǰ former African record holder in

the sprint and twice Olympic medalist who is Special Adviser to the Minister of Sport.

Listed for the team is the medical crew to handle the health maĴers of eam i eria athletes. hey incl deDz r.

Sam el O ondemin ǰ Messrs O oh osephǰ A d lsalam Sh ai and ndayo O n nle. arlier on Mondayǰ an advance team of the Ministry of o th and Sports evelopment departed for o yo

via the M rtala Mohammed nternational Airport in La os.

Accordin to the itinerary of i eriaȂs trip to the Gamesǰ the second atch is sched led to depart for okyo on ly ŗř. i eria will e competin in nine sports at the resched led okyo Olympics which r ns from ly Řřrd to A st Şth while the aralympians will e competin in fo r sports startin from A st ŘŚth to Septem er śth ŘŖŘŗ.

Pinnick: Home-based Eagles to Continue Exposure with More friendlies

Sports Minister, Sunday Dare , at an interactive session with some of the athletes to represent Nigeria in Tokyo 2020...recently

Enri ue Out to SeĴle Spain’s Old Scores with Italy Tonight Luis Enrique's belligerent self-belief has led Spain to the semi-finals of Euro 2020 Championships, but the former Barcelona boss has another personal score to settle in tonight’s last four battle with Italy.

His playing career at major tournaments is best remembered for the vicious elbow from Mauro Tassotti that left blood flowing from his burst nose over his white Spain shirt at the 1994 World Cup. Tassotti escaped without punishment at the time - Spain denied a stoppage time penalty and the chance to take the game to extra-time as the Azzurri ran out 2-1 winners.

The Italy defender was subsequently banned for eight games by FIFA, but the damage was already done for Spain as they exited at the quarterfinals.

That was a familiar story for Spanish football at the time as generations of talented players came and went without leaving a trace at major competitions.

All that changed in 2008 as a last eight win over Italy on penalties opened the door for Luis Aragones's side to win the European Championship.

Vicente del Bosque then took over to win the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

But by the time Luis Enrique got the call, Spain had fallen rapidly from grace.

In the previous three major tournaments, they failed to even reach the quarterfinals as the generation of a glorious era grew old together.

Luis Enrique's contentious call to leave out former captain Sergio Ramos for Euro 2020 broke the

last remaining link to the 2008 team.

Without Ramos, or any other Real Madrid player for the first time in Spain's history at a major tournament, the Madrid press cried foul, claiming La Furia Rojawould lack leadership.

"I am one of the leaders, like all coaches," said Luis Enrique in response. "If that is not the case, it is a bad signal."

It has not been a totally smooth ride. A case of coronavirus for

Spanish players at training ahead of tonight's clash with Italy in the semi final of Euro 2020 Championships

All Set for Ibadan Judo Showdown

All is now set for the eagerly anticipated National Judo Championship. Over 200 judokas from the 36 states, Abuja, the military and para military will jostle for laurels at the championship which is scheduled to take place from July 13 to July 18 at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium in Ibadan.

According to the schedule of events of the championship released by the organisers, Nigeria Judo Federation, NJF, a seminar for coaches and referees will take place between July 13 and 15 while the action on the tatami mat holds between July 16 and July 18.

Interestingly, all judokas in the country are mandated by the NJF to participate in the championship.

The federation explaining why

the championship was mandatory said it would provide the basis for beginning the process of creating a credible database of judokas in the country.

As at now, according to the federation, such a credible database is not available.

Aside the database, winners that emerge at the championship would stand a chance of earning a place in the national team which will participate in international engagements including the upcoming Commonwealth Games billed for Birmingham next year.

Sponsor of the championship, Dr. Musa Oshodi said it was time for Nigerian judo to regain its lost glory.

According to him "Once upon a

time, Nigeria was among the big league of world judo but sadly the situation has changed.

"However, we are still blessed with the talents that can take the country back to the big league".

He said lack of focused leadership was largely responsible for the decline in the fortunes of Nigerian judo.

"There's been massive leadership deficit in Nigerian judo and because of that so many things went wrong.

And sponsors who are very important in sports development rejected the sport.

"With the right leadership in place, Nigerian judo will regain its bearing and it won't be long return to its golden era".

Sergio Busquets in the days before the tournament began meant the coach's decision not to take his full complement of 26 players was further questioned.

Spain have also only won one of their five games in 90 minutes.

Yet, a number of Luis Enrique's biggest calls have come through for him when it mattered most.

Alvaro Morata had to listen to his own fans chant "how bad are you" in a pre-tournament friendly against Portugal.

After a host of missed chances, including a penalty, in the group stages, the Juventus striker produced a stunning finish in extra-time to turn the last 16 tie against Croatia back in his side's favour.

Unai Simon's comical own goal in that game to open the scoring when he failed to control a simple back pass from Pedri reopened the debate over who should be Spain's No 1.

But the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper made two penalty saves in the shootout win over Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Nationalised just weeks before Euro 2020 kicked off, centre-back Aymeric Laporte has made vital contributions in both boxes as has Cesar Azpilicueta on his international recall after three years.

Further forward, Paris Saint-Germain winger Pablo Sarabia has more than justified his surprise place in the squad with goals against Slovakia and Croatia, while Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal have all made telling contributions when introduced as substitutes.

"I always said we were one of the eight candidates to win the European Championship and now we are among the four best," said Luis Enrique.

"It would be ridiculous to be in the semifinals and not think about taking one step more. This is the objective."

A familiar foe stands in his way at Wembley, but win or lose, Luis Enrique will do it his own way.

he plan of the i eria oot all ederation to et the S per a les e¡posed to hi h rade international ames to improve their level of confidence and aptit de remains in placeǰ despite the defeat yMe¡icoȂs ȁAȂ eam in Los An eles on Sat rdayǰ resident of the ǰ Mr. Ama Melvin innic has stated. innic ǰ also a Mem er of the A o ncilǰ has also co nseled the players to disco ntenance the hi h-score defeat and rather ta e to heart the reat lessons of the enco nterǰ while em racin the fact that they need s ch ames to come to reat stead and e a le to compete credita ly at international level. ȃ here is nothin that has happened here that will disco ra e s from p shin ahead with the plan we have for the teamǰȄ innic said after the match watched y an impressive śřǰŘśŞ spectators inside the LA olise m in the State of alifornia. ȃO r pro ramme to et the team to a hi her level thro h re lar e¡pos re to the to hest ames possi le will contin e apace. ȃ elieve the players ave their est in the enco nterǰ and the res lt co ld have een different if we didnȂt concede those early oals and we too o r chances that came immediately after. he difference was in reater e¡perience and m ch more e¡pos reǰ and nothin stops o r oys from standin p to the Me¡icans with a n m er of ames nder their elts in the ne¡t few months.Ȅ Star Ȯst dded l ri mined immense psycholo ical advanta e from scorin two oals in the openin fo r min tes as i eriaȂs defenders were still settlin into

the enco nter. Livewire Anayo w ala m ffed an opport nity and tripped on anotherǰ and l ri went ahead to score two second half oals to wrap p the tie. ȃ am stron ly of the elief that the players sho ld e commended for their efforts in the ame. hey did not st lie down to sla htered. hey p t p a fi ht and were only nl c y. ȃ e will o ahead and deliver on the pro ramme we have for them to e a m ch stron er teamǰ as we look forward to the next African ations hampionship.Ȅ he s ad co ld make a ret rn to the SA in a few months as the cooperation a reement etween the and the overnment of State of Maryland starts to take shape. innick ǻon ehalf of the Ǽ and the Lie tenant overnor oyd therford ǻon ehalf of the overnment of State of MarylandǼ last week si ned a cooperation a reement ased on shared vision and shared val es and with the pillar of m t al nderstandin for rapid development. he dele ation of S per a les is expected ack in i eria on ednesday mornin .

Bronze medallists at the third edition of the A in So th Africa in ŘŖŗŚǰ the S per a les B won silver as r nners- p at the ęfth edition in Morocco in ŘŖŗŞǰ t failed to alify for the ŘŖŘŖ ęnals played in ameroon early this year as a res lt of the disr ption to international calendar y the lo al coronavir s pandemic. he alifyin matches for the seventh edition of the A ǰ to e sta ed in Al eriaǰ are sched led to e in efore the end of the year.

GOtv Boxing Star, Baby Face, to Fight WBO Title in Ukraine

nternational o¡in ederation ǻ Ǽ ntercontinental elterwei ht championǰ i eriaȇs ilwan Ȉ a y aceȈ a at ndeǰ is sched led to ta e on raineȇs ymtro Mytrovanov for the orld o¡in Or anisation ǻ OǼ Oriental Middlewei ht title. he ę htǰ sched led for ŗŝ

ly at ides l ǰ ievǰ the rainian capital cityǰ is the i erianȇs ęrst ę ht o tside the co ntryȇs shores and will nderline his risin proęle since his discovery at the ina ral edition of Otv o¡in e¡t en Search. a y ace has en oyed a meteoric rise in his professional career d rin which he has remained ndefeated a ainst

local and international opponents.

e has won the nationalǰ est African Boxin nion and B ntercontinental welterwei ht titles since rstin on the scene.

Speakin a o t the forthcomin o tǰ Ba y ace said he is conędent of winnin and addin to his la rels despite the fact that he is facin the opponent in his home co ntry. Ȉ have nothin to fear. ȇm preparin well and ȇm conędent of defeatin Mytrovanov. t doesnȇt maĴer that the ę ht is holdin in the kraine. A ęfth ro nd knocko t is what my opponent sho ld expectǰȈ said the oxerǰ who had previo sly t rned down o ts in the nited Ara mirates and Sa di Ara ia.

TUESDAY JULY 6, 2021 • T H I S D AY

39

Tuesday 6, 2021

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Madu to Malami “The Attorney General of Nigeria, Abubakar Malami is a disgrace to the rule of law, and not worthy to be an officer of the court. He has shown himself to be a bigot who does not understand what it means to live in a pluralistic society governed by the dictates of the rule of law” – Minister of Justice and Solicitor-General of the Government of Alberta, Canada, Kelechi Madu, carpeting the AGF, Abubakar Malami, over Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest.

TUESDAYWITHREUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

Igboho’s Cats, Kanu’s Interception and Buhari’s ‘Language’

W

hen a few weeks ago, President Muhammadu Buhari declared that those who seek to overwhelm and undermine the Nigerian state would soon be spoken to in the language that they will understand, this was immediately interpreted to serve as a signal of a declaration of war against the people of the South East because the President spoke in the context of war, as he referred to the civil war of 1967 -70. Subsequently, the President made it clear that the language of engagement would be communicated not just in the South East, but in every part of the country including the North West and North East and elsewhere in the country where attempts are being made to sabotage the sovereignty of Nigeria, and the government’s responsibility to ensure the security and welfare of the people.

Last week, Nigeria found itself in the grips of a security turmoil, and that promised confrontation with “language.” Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and founder of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), two organisations promoting separatism or secession and committed to the actualization of a Republic of Biafra to be carved out of Nigeria, was intercepted, re-arrested/extradited, and rendered Nicodemously, back to Nigerian soil. Nigerians got to know about the operation through a press conference by the Attorney General of the Federation/Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN who disclosed that Kanu was intercepted with the help of intelligence and security services. Kanu was re-arraigned in court on Tuesday, June 29.

The presiding Justice ordered that he should be remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services until July 26. Second incident: in Soka, Ibadan, DSS officials stormed the home of Chief Sunday Adeyemo, a.k.a, Sunday Igboho, the Yoruba co-promoter of the idea of an Oduduwa Nation, a modern-day defender of Yoruba territory against the incursion of criminally-minded Fulani herdsmen into the South West. The DSS has since declared Igboho a wanted man. He has reportedly said nobody can intimidate him, because he has not committed any crime and that he is in his house despite the attack on him, his aides and his properties by State Security. Third incident: the brusque manner in which the Nigeria Police put an end to the Yoruba Nation rally at the Freedom Square, Ojota, Lagos, on Saturday, July 3. Not only did the Police block the people’s right to protest (which is condemnable), the life of a young lady was snuffed out, according to one account by a stray bullet, but the police insist that she died from a knife-stab. She did not deserve to die.

These three incidents can be taken as an indication of “the language” that the President recently spoke about. It is the language of power, in form of an affirmation of the supremacy of the state. The only problem is the politics of it, the tone, nature and fall-outs and how the Nigerian government is doing the right thing in a wrong, untidy and controversial manner. What is right? And what is wrong? The Buhari administration has consistently insisted on the sovereignty of Nigeria, its indivisibility and indissolubility in line with the Preamble of the 1999 Constitution and Section 2(1) thereof, in addition to its resolve to uphold the same principles and provisions. In the face of calls for secession, restructuring and a referendum on the future of Nigeria and the state of the Union, government spokespersons have argued that whereas the Constitution can be amended, and the country can be restructured, as the people wish, this has to be done through the legislature, and not outside the extant Constitutional framework. Those who insist that the 1999 Constitution is a “military invention” and not a “Peoples Constitution”

Igboho have also been told that the latter which they seek through a referendum, without the National Assembly would amount to an unconstitutional proposition. There is no provision for a people’s referendum, or any contemplation of secession or separation by any part of the Federation known as Nigeria, in the 1999 Constitution.

This is the source of the difference between the separatist groups led by the likes of Chief Sunday Adeyemo and Nnamdi Kanu and other ethnic nationalists. The latter argue that Nigeria’s 1914 amalgamation has since expired and since government is not prepared to re-negotiate the terms of the union, in the face of so much injustice, mis-governance and inequity in the land, it is better for those aggrieved groups within the Federation to re-define their own destiny. Self-determination is a universally recognised right under Articles 1(2) and 55 of the United Nations Charter. The Nigerian Government has been careful not to openly use that phrase, self-determination, but it rails against any effort to achieve that objective through the means of violence, or deliberate mobilisation to undermine Nigeria. “No responsible government will fold its arms” and allow non-state actors to overwhelm it is the common phrase we hear. Or something like the government’s responsibility to defend the rule of law or that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable. This is of course readily dismissed as hypocritical by those who accuse the Nigerian government of having no regard whatsoever for the rule of law, and hence no moral high ground to stand upon.

Sunday Igboho is committed to the actualization of an Oduduwa Nation, which means the South West of Nigeria pulling out of the Nigerian Federation. He also defends the Yoruba territory.

He has led rallies across the South West, in Ibadan, Osogbo, Akure, Abeokuta, Ado Ekiti to sensitize and mobilize the people. The proposed Oduduwa Nation has its own anthem and a national flag.

The latest rally was scheduled for Lagos, July 3. Two days earlier, the DSS attacked Igboho’s residence in Ibadan in the middle of the night. In the case of Nnamdi Kanu, he had been arrested by the Nigerian government in 2015, and taken to court on a nine-count charge of treasonable felony and other offences. IPOB which he leads was later proscribed and declared a terrorist group. In April 2017, Kanu was granted bail, under strict conditions. In September 2017, he jumped bail and became a fugitive from the law.

He was declared wanted.

While on the run, Nnamdi Kanu and his associates sustained an attack on Nigeria through propaganda and other organised activities in the South East. Without a doubt, both Igboho and Kanu had become persons of interest to the Nigerian state. Igboho had been invited in the past by the police. There was also an unsuccessful attempt by state agents to kidnap him on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on one occasion. Igboho has remained undeterred. He has pursued his Yoruba Nationalism with gusto. It is not beyond the state to take an interest in him. As for Kanu, what the state has proven in his case is that whereas the will of the state may be slow, it will eventually prevail, and that nobody is above the laws of the land. The argument that Kanu is a British citizen offers neither a defence or immunity under the law.

Dual nationality which Nigerian laws recognise does not grant anyone the right to or seek to, overwhelm the Nigerian state and expect the affected state to look the other way.

What is wrong is how Nigeria has handled the two cases in question. Igboho’s house was attacked in the dead of the night, ostensibly without prior notice, in a Gestapo style reminiscent of those locust years of military dictatorship. The DSS claims that its team was attacked as it approached Igboho’s residence. So? In the absence of any prior notice, the DSS team could well have been regarded as intruders coming to do harm. Given his circumstances, any reasonable person would expect Igboho to have security arrangements at his home to keep intruders out. Did the DSS officials identify themselves before approaching the house, like the use of a Public Address system asking Igboho to surrender himself? In trying to assert the might of the state, the DSS adopted extra-legal tactics. Two persons were killed including an aide who was reportedly on a praying mat. Wives, including Igboho’s wife, were carted away, and released later. 13 persons ended up in custody.

The vehicles in the compound were sprayed with bullets and damaged. This certainly cannot be a standard security agency operating procedure. DSS said it was acting on a tip off that Igboho was stockpiling arms in his home. The man says the few arms and ammunition that have been paraded do not belong to him. He is a traditionalist he insists, who deploys metaphysical powers. The DSS team was looking for arms, but they also ended up killing and arresting Igboho’s cats. Cats!

Ologbo Iya agba. Ologbo Ijeun. Meow, Meow.

Pussy Cat. How ridiculous. Did the cats also resist the invasion of Igboho’s residence?

The international community must be having a good laugh at Nigeria’s expense about this cruelty to animals and the ethno-theological assumption that it is possible for Sunday Igboho, a human being, to turn into a cat to escape arrest. The US SEAL Team came all the way to Nigeria in October 2020, on a special security operation to rescue a 27-year-old Philip Walton who had been kidnapped in Niger and brought to Nigeria. It was a precision operation, driven by science and professionalism. Nigerian security agents are always busy looking for fetish objects. Many of our own security agents will be better off joining the Vigilante, the Amotekun, the hunters’ guild or Ebube Agu. Igboho’s cats have not yet been paraded by the DSS. Those cats should also be allowed to have their day in court and their charges properly read out to them. I have no doubts that there will be more than enough lawyers who will take up their matter, pro bono, to make the simple argument that under Nigerian laws, an animal is not a juristic entity. Until that matter is determined, nothing must happen to those cats.

Everything must be done to ensure that they do not end up in anybody’s pot of soup as a captured delicacy and spoil of war!

It is this same sloppiness that we have seen in the Kanu case. Ordinarily the matter should not have generated any controversy at all. A man runs away from the law. The law catches up with him.

Simple. He should have his day in court. But the whole thing has been turned into something else because of the lack of clarity about the circumstances of his arrest. The Nigerian Government has not even disclosed how and where he was arrested, the international agencies or governments that provided support, and how he was brought back into the country. The secrecy has now given room to needless speculation, confusion, and conspiracy theories. The Kenyan authorities have said for example that he was not arrested in Kenya.

Persons close to him insist that not only was he arrested in Kenya, he was also tortured by Kenyan officials before he was handed over to the Nigerian authorities. By doing the right thing wrongly, the Nigerian government is gradually turning the narrative against itself, and turning both Igboho and Kanu into heroes among their supporters, and across ethnic constituencies in the South and the Middle Belt. We have now reached a point whereby Nnamdi Kanu’s supporters in the South East are supporting and defending Sunday Igboho of the South West and vice versa.

The emerging conversation is gradually focussing on due process, the right to self-determination and why in speaking language to power, the Nigerian state has not deemed it necessary to arrest anyone involved in attacks on the sovereignty of Nigeria in the Northern parts of the country. Questions: Can the point be confidently made, that it is only in the South that non-state actors challenging the integrity of the state can be found? How about the Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North East and the bandits in the North West? Only yesterday, Boko Haram reportedly appointed a Governor of its own to oversee parts of Borno State. Why is the government not going after whoever is the co-called Boko Haram Governor? Will he appoint Commissioners too and collect tax? Why are Boko Haram terrorists being approached for negotiation and offered chances of rehabilitation unlike agitators in the South? These are the kind of questions being raised. No government that expects to be taken seriously can afford to lay itself open to such charges of double standards.

Other commentators have gone further to insist that what needs to be addressed are the specific issues that continue to throw up non-state actors who question the value of the Nigerian state: these are issues of equity, fairness, justice, good governance and ensuring a collective sense of ownership and belongingness among Nigerians, not through vapid rhetoric but concrete actions.

It is not an accident that these latter points are captured in spirit, in the communique issued at the conclusion of the meeting of the 17 Governors of Southern Nigeria held in Lagos on Monday, July 5, 2021.

The Government of Nigeria needs to manage the crisis of confidence it faces. It needs to rebuild trust. It can start by ensuring that the right things are done in an open and just manner, that is fair to all parties concerned. And the security agencies must play their own part by always acting professionally. On Saturday in Lagos, a young lady who was not even part of the Yoruba Nation rally lost her life. In less than 24 hours the Lagos Police Command told the public that no policeman fired any shots at all (something that was seen on television!), and that the victim did not die as a result of gunshot wound (did the police carry out an autopsy to determine the cause of death so fast?). State officials must learn to be truthful, otherwise whatever they do or say will be politicised and treated with doubt and suspicion.

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