TUESDAY 20TH JULY 2021

THISDAY Group Announces New Executive Appointments Momodu replaces Adebiyi as Editor, Iriekpen becomes Sunday Editor Olaleye, Chima, Akanbi, Alike, Others also promoted Nume Ekeghe The board of directors of THISDAY Group has

announced new executive and senior appointments for THISDAY Newspapers and the Arise News Channel, with immediate effect.

Following the approval of the board, Shaka Momodu after a 7-year stint as the Editor of the Saturday and Sunday titles of the newspaper, has

been appointed as the Editor of THISDAY. He succeeds Mr. Bolaji Continued on page 12

Momodu

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How Remi Tinubu’s Signal Influenced Voting on Electronic Transfer of Results...Page 8 Tuesday 20 July, 2021 Vol 26. No 9598. Price: N250

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Irabor Hails Pilot of Downed Fighter Plane for His Bravery, Gallantry Says he used cover of darkness and his phone set for navigation to elude bandits Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, yesterday commended the pilot of the downed Alpha Jet fighter aircraft, Flt. Lt. Abayomi Dairo, for his bravery.

Irabor, who met the pilot in company with the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, before proceeding to a meeting with military veterans in the North-west, commended the pilot for the gallantry and

bravery he demonstrated in the fight against banditry.

Earlier, the NAF had announced the crashing of a fighter jet in Zamfara State while returning from an interdiction mission.

A statement by the spokesman of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the aircraft came under enemy fire, forcing Dairo to eject from the aircraft.

It said the crash occurred on July 18, 2021 at 12.45pm while Continued on page 10

In Sallah Message, Buhari Challenges Nigerians to Expose Sponsors of Insecurity …Lawan, Gbajabiamila, Tinubu, CAN, PDP, preach unity, peace, love Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Udora Orizu in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari

yesterday urged Nigerians to team up with his administration in battling the security crisis facing the country by exposing

sponsors of insecurity.

The president, in a message to mark the Eid-el-Kabir, also stressed the need for Muslims to live in harmony with Nigerians of other faiths while praying for the progress of the country.

Continued on page 12

RESCUED PILOT OF THE DOWNED JET...

L-R: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor; Pilot of the downed Alpha jet, Flt. Lt. Abayomi Dairo; Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, while receiving the pilot ...yesterday

Oando, SEC Enter Settlement after Four Years of Dispute... Page 35

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

Jega: Electronic Voting Useless Without Electronic Transfer of Results Says N’Assembly’s decision undermines electoral integrity Insists moves to subject INEC to presidency crazy, senseless INEC confirms 752,011 persons registered online Chuks Okocha in Abuja Immediate past National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has described as utterly useless, the idea of electronic voting without electronic transmission of results, because approval for the former was impossible without the latter.

Jega, who carpeted the Senate and the House of Representatives over their alleged attempt to undermine electoral integrity by whittling down the powers of the election management body andsubjecting its decision to the National Communication Commission (NCC), a body under the Presidency, said it was a crazy and senseless decision.

Speaking with THISDAY, Jega re-affirmed his earlier comments about the amendments by the two arms of the National Assembly, describing it as crazy and encroaching on the independence and integrity of INEC, saying, "what the National Assembly did is senseless."

According to him, "What the National Assembly is doing is senseless, if not a crazy amendment. How can you make the decision of INEC subject to confirmation, concurrence and approval of the NCC? A body under the presidency? And what has the National Assembly – a legislative body got to do with executive decision of INEC? "Without approval for Electronic Transmission of Results (ETR) their approval of the Electronic Voting System (EVS) is virtually useless,” the former INEC chairman said, noting that the better alternative is for the Senate to grant INEC the powers to deploy to use, both the EVS and ETR. He explained that Senate should grant INEC the power to deploy both electronic voting system and electronic transmission of results as it deems necessary of how and when INEC could.

For example, Jega explained that, should "INEC decide to deploy ETR ahead of EVS, and if, and when, conditions are appropriate, it can then deploy both simultaneously. But, as I said, EVS, which the Senators approved for INEC, can't be deployed without ETR. "INEC has demonstrated capacity to go transparent ETR in a number of states and other off-season elections. They can improve that capacity greatly well before 2023. In any case, INEC has the professionalism and competence to know how and when to deploy both EVS and ETR," he stated.

When reminded that INEC has said it had the capacity to transmit election results electronically, Jega re-echoed same: "INEC has capacity

to transparent ETR" and condemned the action of the National Assembly as retrogressive.

On what the amendments meant for the country's democracy, Jega said, "The action is taking us backwards, and undermining electoral integrity as well as democratic development.”

But, Festus Okoye, the INEC Commissioner in charge of

Voter Education has affirmed that the Commission had the capacity to transmit result real time from all parts of the country.

Speaking as a guest on, Sunrise Daily, a Channel TV programme, Saturday morning, Okoye reiteratedthat over the years, INEC had tested and ran different forms of technological and electronic additions to improving the integrity of

the elections and that they had been successful.

Meanwhile, INEC, yesterday said a total of 752,011 new voters had registered online in the last 21 days.

A statement by Okoye stated that the number represented an average of 35,810 registrants per day.

"Out of this figure, 562,254 (74.7%) are youths between the ages of 18 and 34. In terms of

gender, 493,128 are male while 369,188 are female registrants.”

He said a detailed distribution of registrants by State/FCT, age, occupation and disability had been uploaded on the Commission's website and social media platforms.

The Commission, he noted, wished to reiterate its earlier decision that, because of the declaration of Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st July 2021 as public holidays by the federal government, the commencement of physical registration has been rescheduled to Monday July 26, 2021.

He said Online preregistrants, who booked for appointment to complete their registration physically between Monday 19th and Friday 23rd July 2021 would be notified within the next few days of the new dates for their appointments.

Okoye explained that prospective voters should visit the portal (https://cvr. inecnigeria.org) to choose a new available date and time if they so desire, even as he reassured all Nigerians that every eligible citizen willing to register as a voter would have the opportunity to do so.

INAUGURATION OF NALDA… L-R: Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu; CEO, National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), Prince Paul Ikonne; President Muhammadu Buhari; Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari; Hon Consul, Hungarian Embassy, Mr. Deri Endre and Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, at the commissioning of the First NALDA Integrated Farm Estate in Katsina State....yesterday.

Buhari: With Determination, Lifting 100m Nigerians Out of Poverty, Realisable Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has said that with more determination on the part of the federal government, the target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty cycle is realisable.

He, therefore, canvassed more synergy between government and the people, and diligence in diversifying the economy, with agriculture as the backbone to realise the goal.

The president, in a statement yesterday by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, at the inauguration of the first National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) Integrated Farm Estate in Suduje-Daura, said that Nigeria was blessed with both human and natural resources it could deploy to achieve the target.

He said: "The country is robustly blessed with good

weather conditions, good soil, human and material capacity, and a resilience to make a difference by all the hardworking youths.

“We can do it, and we will do it. No excuse will be good enough to remain a mono-economy with all the challenges in oil production and fluctuating global prices when we have vast opportunities in crop and livestock production."

He stated that reliance on oil has become a drawback on the economy over the years, with unpredictable and fluctuating global prices that made it more difficult to effectively plan budgets, implement and measure outcomes.

According to him, the mainstay of the nation's economy remains agriculture, where the country already commands a competitive advantage, with good weather conditions for crop and livestock farming, available manpower and willingness to learn new skills,

and good soil types for all season farming.

He added that a globalised world places more emphasis on competitive edge of the economy for relevance, and Nigeria will always play a leading role in the agricultural sector, with the vastness in experience, crop cultivation, animal husbandry, and more recently, a rising youth interest.

He said: “As the world becomes more globalised, countries will continue to draw from their competitive advantage to remain relevant. My belief, and it is also shared by many Nigerians, is that our country has a special advantage in food and livestock productions that we must harness and promote to feed ourselves, and build a firm structure for exportation.

“Our vision of a robust agricultural economy continues to provide amazing results. Across

the country today, we are seeing rising public and private interests in agriculture, especially among the youth, and a steady migration from subsistence to commercial farming.

“With the support of public institutions, like the Central Bank and Bank of Agriculture, old tools are giving way to more mechanised styles of farming, credit lines are becoming more accessible, and farming is becoming more acceptable and fashionable. Indeed, we are witnessing a revolution in the agricultural sector."

He said NALDA was resuscitated to meet growing needs in the agricultural sector for exploring available potential of job opportunities, entrepreneurship and marketing, home and abroad.

“The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) was already moribund when we assumed office. We

had to resuscitate it to meet the growing needs of the country. I am happy to see that the directive to the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of NALDA, Paul Ikonne, and his management team when I launched the National Young Farmers Scheme (NYFS) in November 2020, is gradually taking shape.

“At the launch of the National Young Farmers Scheme, I recall that I told the management that I have directed that all NALDA’s abandoned farm estates be retrieved to enable thousands of our young men and women to be engaged in farming.

“This administration will be achieving agricultural mechanisation through this scheme and I am confident that Nigeria under my watch, we will achieve food security in producing most of what we eat.

In good harvest years we may even export our surpluses and earn foreign exchange.”

The president commended the zeal and patriotism of the NALDA team in achieving Continued on page 10

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How Remi Tinubu’s Signal Influenced Voting on Electronic Transfer of Results Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and Segun James in Lagos With a cryptic signal message, the decision, last week, by some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House Representatives to vote against electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, might have been influenced

by Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

By implication, the senator representing Lagos Central in the upper chamber of the legislature, it was believed, subtly passed on the message of her husband and one of the national leaders of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, by voting against electronic transfer of results.

A member of the House of Representatives from Chinkun/ Kajuru Federal Constituency area of Kaduna State, Hon Yakubu Barde, who identified the role of the APC leader in the voting pattern of the lower chamber of

the National Assembly, described the moment the game changed as akin to the biblical anecdote of the “voice of Jacob and hand of Esau”.

The vote by South-west lawmakers clearly contradicted what the region had long been reputed for – the champion of democratic values, transparency, electoral reforms and its general progressive leaning.

It, however, came as a shock to many observers, who watched with dismay as the representatives of South-west voted against electronic transmission of election results, which would no doubt strengthen and deepen the evolution of the nation's electoral system, her democratic process and significantly reduce incidents of ballot box snatching and other forms of election malpractices.

According to Barde, the moment the news of the “no vote” decision of Tinubu’s wife was relayed to members of the House of Representatives,

it immediately swayed the voting choices of some APC members, many of whom he claimed were earlier rooting for electronic voting.

The lawmaker, who claimed to be ashamed of the charade that took place in the House during the debate and voting exercise, also lamented the attitude of some of his colleagues, whom he alleged campaigned vigorously against the electronic transfer of results as though it was an "anti-north clause".

Speaking on the Morning Show, a popular programme on the Arise News Television, Barde explained that, the moment Senator Tinubu voted against the transmission of election results at the senate, it was immediately interpreted by some House members that the APC leader wanted a vote in that direction and with such perception, influenced voting for non-transmission of votes.

"I like to be very honest to

myself, because if you know what happened on the floor of that house. There was this insinuation that Senator Remi Tinubu had voted no for electronic transmission, and what some people are saying was that it is the voice of Jacob, and the hands of Esau, which means that her husband, the elder statesman, Bola Tinubu, who is the leader of APC, is against electronic transmission of votes.

"So, automatically everybody, most of the people that are in the APC said, that's the the voice of our elder. Because before we pass it, we had information already that the Senate had passed it and Remi Tinubu voted no. So, that alone had a lot of influence on the decision of some lawmakers.

Unfortunately, because for me, I don't think I should work based on what senate or somebody who is in my party has done; I work based on what Nigerians want and that was what happened

and it became partisan," he said.

Barde was, therefore, convinced that Tinubu's influence and inclination to non-transmission of votes electronically encouraged the lawmakers to vote against the clause.

"It's unfortunate but let's not deceive ourselves, it happens.

But what I want you to know is not all APC members that were on the floor in that house on that day that were supporting the non-transmission of voters as a result, I mean voting result electronically – a very tangible number felt we should do it electronically.

"So, I'm not saying everybody, but some of them really wanted it to be transmitted electronically.

Now, since it became like a party affair, somebody, who was in APC will just say, oh, let me just sit down, because this walkout is not by members of my party but if you see what happened, predominantly those that walked out were members

UPING THE ANTE IN FIGHT AGAINST RAPE… L-R: Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Erewa Dabiri; Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe; and Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammad Buhari on Media, Mr. Femi Adesina, at the capacity building for journalists on Reporting Rape organised by the NCAC...recently.

Ismail Adebayo in Birnin Kebbi President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a directive to the seven governors in the North West zone to end banditry.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Kebbi State Governor, Mr. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, in Birnin Kebbi during a peace, security and unity meeting initiated by the state government and Fulani elders.

Bagudu said the directive by the president was to ensure the urgent restoration of normalcy and to achieve peace and security in the zone.

The governor said, "President Buhari is fully committed to adequately protecting the lives and properties of all law-abiding and peaceful citizens of the country".

He appealed to Nigerians to be less apprehensive in confronting the bandits whom he described as enemies of peace and unity, saying, "they are a negligible few and we should all brace the odds. The issue of ensuring security in the nation is a collective responsibility; all hands must be on deck in this

Bagudu: Buhari Has Directed Seven North West Govs to End Banditry direction".

He said as governors, they were not elected only to stay in the office, but to do anything to safeguard lives and properties of all law-abiding citizens in the states.

"We have to do everything to guarantee peace, unity and

security, even to the extent of sacrificing our lives as ordained by religious scriptures, " he said.

He explained that the Fulani stakeholders’ meeting was aimed at reviewing the progress made, and tackle the challenges, with a view to proffering plausible solutions to the security challenge.

He added that his government had set up a steering committee to look into grazing reserves, cattle routes as well as resolve lingering contentious issues between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in order to achieve peace and security in the state.

Bagudu, therefore, vowed to

sustain the ongoing efforts by his administration to improve the lives of the Fulani through livestock and dairy production, Fulani women empowerment, as well as enhance other forms of farming activities through the N1.7bn loan his administration had secured.

Court Restrains Zamfara Assembly from Sacking Deputy Governor Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, gave an order restraining the Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly and two others from taking any further step in their alleged plan to sack the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Mahdi Gusau.

The restraining order was made while delivering ruling in an ex parte application brought against the defendants by the

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Counsel to the plaintiff, Mr. Ogwu Onoja (SAN), in arguing the motion claimed that the Zamfara State lawmakers in connivance with some other persons were planning to sack the deputy governor, over his alleged refusal to decamp to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Among other reliefs he requested from the court was an interim order restraining the fifth to seventh defendants – the speaker, the state governor and chief judge of the state

from going ahead with the planned removal of the Deputy Governor.

In the short ruling, the court, while stating that the issue raised was of extreme urgency and also required its intervention, ordered parties to maintain status quo ante bellum pending the hearing of a motion filed by the plaintiff.

PDP, in the main suit, had asked the court to sack Bello Matawalle, Zamfara State governor, over his defection to the ruling APC. According to the opposition

party, Matawalle, having left the PDP through which he became governor has lost his ticket to remain in office.

In the suit marked FHC/ ABJ/CS/489/2021, the plaintiffs contended that in view of an earlier judgment of the Supreme Court, to the effect that the APC had no candidates in the 2019 governorship election in Zamfara State having not conducted valid primaries, it would be unlawful for Matawalle to retain his office as it amounted to transferring PDP’s victory to the APC.

of the opposition party," he said.

Furthermore, the legislator said: "You see, unfortunately, the insinuation which I happen to be privy to was that some people said yes, we heard that Remi Tinubu voted no and for that, it means that our leader in the APC, who is Asiwaju, is also inclined to the non-transmission of votes, electronically. I can tell you from from the vineyard that I overheard people (lawmakers) say that and that's just the truth".

But the Kaduna lawmaker was worried that the voting was made to look like an anti-north clause.

"As far as I am concerned, if you talk about democracy, the process where leaders emerge is very very important and democracy believes that people's view or whatever people want should be sacrosanct. Now, why I said I apologise is because the manner we went about it was rancorous. That was not how parliamentarians should behave.

So, for me, I felt ashamed that I was part of this. We want credible election, regardless of what party you belong to.

"The most important thing is that, let the view of the people supercede whatever interest anybody has and that is democracy. Now, we want it to be transparent. The best thing we can give to Nigerians as lawmakers, today, is to make sure that the process is transparent and people's view is what will emerge at the end of the day.

“So, I voted for electronic transmission of election result and my reason for that was it will enable us get some level of trust from international community; from Nigerians, unlike before, where somebody will just snatch the ballot box, run away with it, and they will tell you; oh, sorry, that election in that particular ward, or that polling unit will be canceled", he said.

Reiterating where he stood, Barde maintained: "I have always said it in different for a, we must love this country. The moment issues are taken into partisanship, ethnicity, religion, region, it defeats the essence of our nationhood. So, on the floor, you could imagine some people were canvassing that the north is not yet ready (for electronic voting). We have to make the north ready. If INEC has told us that they can transmit election electronically, what are you afraid of? Is there something you are hiding?

"So, it baffled me, because I don't have that answer, but I wish I had an answer so that I can tell them that we have a remedy. But, unfortunately, you never know details of people, but I want to tell them on the floor of the House that day. Some people were canvassing it to be a clause against the north.

"This is not the way I think we should behave. Election transmission electronically has nothing to do with ethnicity. It has nothing to do with party, but you will even look at what happened on the floor. It became partisan. APC against PDP. It is shameful – very shameful as far as I am concerned.

"So, for me, it was not a good one. But I believe there is still room to make amendment and I pray that when the committee that will seek to harmonise this position of the Senate and the House of Reps will look into it with all sense of responsibility, and let the views or yearnings of Nigerians prevail.”

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Emefiele Predicts Agricultural Revolution Within Three Years NALDA farm estate to generate over N1.7bn annually James Emejo in Abuja The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday, said the country was likely to make significant strides over the next three years in repositioning the agricultural sector for greater growth.

He said the combined efforts of the apex bank and the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) in making land and credit available to farmers would further add to the gains so far recorded through the bank's intervention support in the sector.

The CBN governor, at the inauguration of the maiden integrated farm estate established

by NALDA in Daura, Katsina State, described the facility as a milestone achievement, which would catalyse the desired agricultural revolution in the state and the country in general.

This is as the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive of the authority, Prince Paul Ikonne, said the farm estate, established on a 100-hectare land donated by the Katsina State Government, has the capacity to generate over N1.7 billion in the first year.

Emefiele, however, said the CBN would work with Ikonne and his team to explore the potential of providing affordable and accessible finance to the beneficiaries under the agricultural scheme to scale up productivity.

He pointed out that the strategic mandate of NALDA aligned with the current developmental priorities of the CBN. Emefiele said the CBN was positioned to ensure the integration of farmers into the federal government’s Economic Sustainability Plan, which was focused on providing five million homes with electricity using renewable energy.

He explained that under the programme, farmers with good repayment records under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) would be eligible to get solar home systems (SHS) to supply electricity to their homes.

He noted that the bank would develop a repayment framework that would allow the farmers to use their farm produce to pay for electricity consumed under the scheme.

The CBN, therefore, governor added that the initiative was expected to improve the standard of living of smallholder farmers across the country and motivate prompt loan repayment, as well as enhance the sustainability of the programme.

He noted that the survival of country was hinged on the resourcefulness and synergy among various government’s ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in areas of policy formulation and implementation, which was a pre-requisite to the attainment of the desired growth trajectory.

Emefiele recalled that the CBN intervention programmes and schemes were introduced with the core objectives of stimulating investments in the real sector, thereby catalysing growth and inclusive development.

He said: "As you may be aware, the programmes

and schemes have recorded resounding successes, and the recent unveiling of maize pyramids in Katsina State, as well as paddy pyramids in Niger, Kebbi, Gombe and recently Ekiti States are testaments to our success story.

"These symbolic events reinforce our belief in the massive potential of Nigeria’s agricultural sector and the need to stimulate more private sector investment in the agricultural value chain with the support of the government."

He said since inception, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had taken necessary measures to stimulate investments in critical sectors and segments of the economy, particularly those with high-growth impact and

employment-elastic potential.

He said in line with the bank's vision, the CBN had introduced several lending programmes and provided finance to these sectors and segments, with their implementation tailored to support the administration’s policy of repositioning Nigeria to become a self-sufficient food producer, creating millions of jobs and supplying the domestic industries with their raw material needs.

He said CBN's development finance efforts were also driven by the need to diversify the economy by reversing the ugly trend of relying largely on revenues from crude oil.

To this end, Emefiele said the ABP had become a game changer for financing smallholder farmersthat were

leading the bank's efforts at improving the cultivation of agricultural commodities including rice, cassava, maize, tomatoes, fish, cotton, oil palm, cocoa and wheat.

He said the programme also linked smallholder farmers to agro-processors and manufacturers, who provided quality inputs and trainings in best farming practices to ensure high yield and output.

According to him, the ABP had financed 3,734,938 smallholder farmers cultivating 4,648,880 hectares of 21 commodities across the 36 States of the federation and the FCT, since in 2015.

Emefiele added that under the Agri/Business Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS), loans had

been disbursed to 29,023 projects across the country, of which 16 per cent of beneficiaries were in the North West, with Katsina accounting for 21 per cent of North West beneficiaries.

Under the Targeted Credit Facility (TCF), he added that 631,738 businesses and households across the country had been supported, with 95,011 businesses and households having benefitted in the North West.

On his part, the NALDA chief executive explained that the farm was designed as cyclical, where every process was part of a value chain.

His words: "It is divided into 80 hectares for crop production and 20 hectares for animal production, processing and packaging, with growing

of feeds, which include recycling animal wastes as fertilizer for plants, and growing plants to feed the animals.

According to him, the facility comprises 40 poultry pens with a capacity of over 400,000 birds, fish ponds with a capacity of 200,000 fishes, cow and goat pens with a capacity of 500 animals, rabbit pens with a capacity of 3,000 rabbits, bee apiary with a capacity of 540 litres of honey per harvest and crop farming, packaging and processing zones among others.

The estate also has a school, clinic and a residential area, with 120 units of one-bedroom apartments to enable some farmers and their families live and work in the farm as well as capacity to engage 1,500 women and youth directly.

ANNUAL BUSINESS DINNER...

L-R: Chairman, The Petroleum Club, Dr. Layi Fatona; Honoree, Dr. Godswill Ihetu; Director-General, Department of Petroleum Resources, Sarki Auwalu; Honoree, Chief Chambers Oyibo; ETOP UKUTT. and Executive Chairman/Founder, AA Holdings, Mr. Austin Avuru, at the Petroleum Club's 2021 Annual Business Dinner in Lagos… recently.

IRABOR HAILS PILOT OF CRASHED FIGHTER PLANE FOR HIS BRAVERY, GALLANTRY the aircraft was returning from a successful air interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna states.

The statement said the pilot after ejecting from the fighter jet, sought refuge in some settlements and evaded strongholds of bandits before locating a Nigerian Army unit where he was rescued.

The crash brings to four the number of military aircraft that crashed in the last one year.

"On 18 July 2021, at about 12.45 pm, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet aircraft, returning from a successful air interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna State, came under intense enemy fire, which led to its crash in Zamfara State. Luckily, the gallant pilot of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, successfully ejected from the aircraft.

"Using his survival instincts, the pilot, who came under intense ground fire from the bandits, was able to evade them and sought refuge in nearby settlements awaiting sunset.

"Using the cover of darkness and his phone set for navigation, Flight Lieutenant Dairo was able to elude several bandits’ strongholds and manoeuvred his way to a Nigerian Army Unit, where he was finally rescued.

"It is instructive to note that upon receipt of the news of the crash, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, had

directed that all efforts must be emplaced to rescue the pilot", it said.

The Air Force said Intelligence, Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms and helicopter gunships were activated to locate the pilot.

"Accordingly, NAF Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance 0(ISR) platforms and helicopter gunships provided close air support to NAF. "It is gladdening to note that while in hiding, Flight Lieutenant Dairo confirmed that the presence of NAF aircraft within the vicinity of the crash site helped in scaring the bandits who were after him, thus enabling him to find refuge and escape to a safe location," it added.

The statement recalled that only recently, President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the Armed Forces of Nigeria to do all it takes to flush out criminals in Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna States.

"It is in fulfillment of this directive that the NAF, in conjunction with surface forces, has in the last two weeks mounted intensive day and night air interdiction operations against bandits and their hideouts, especially in these three states.

"Through these intensive air operations, hundreds of bandits have been neutralised and several of their hideouts destroyed," it said.

However, while praising

Dairo for his gallantry, Irabor, in a statement by Defence Headquarters, urged Nigerian Air Force pilots to remain steadfast in the war against banditry.

"Before proceeding for the security parley, the CDS, Gen Irabor, in company of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, met with Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, the NAF Alpha jet pilot, who survived the air crash yesterday.

"The CDS commended the fighter pilot for his gallantry and bravery, which he demonstrated

in the fight against banditry. He encouraged NAF pilots to remain steadfast in the task of national security," the statement added.

Irabor, who also met with military veterans, lamented the rising state of insecurity in the North-west.

He said: “The necessity of this gathering today, which is of course to engage with you (military veterans), and by extension the larger society, is partly what is responsible for the safe return of our cherished pilot.

We believe that going forward,

greater gains will be made as we undertake this operational task.”

Irabor, who spoke at the second edition of security parley, tagged “Chief of Defence Staff Interaction with Retired Senior Military Officers in North-west Geopolitical Zone," held yesterday in Kaduna, said the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) was constantly reviewing its techniques, tactics and procedures as well as operational doctrines to be in tandem with the requirements for the containment of the security threats.

BUHARI: WITH DETERMINATION, LIFTING 100M NIGERIANS OUT OF POVERTY, REALISABLE quick and sustainable results like the Integrated Farming Estate, which had pooled the strength of men, women and youths in 13 communities and channelled them into different kinds of farming in one location.

Buhari directed all federal institutions to work in synergy in lifting and diversifying the economy, and NALDA should be given all the support it needs to expand the Integrated Farm Estate across the 109 senatorial zones in the country.

He appreciated the governors, who were at the event to witness the historic inauguration, particularly Governor Aminu Bello Masari of katsina State, for

providing a 100 hectare land for the project, The president urged them to provide more support to federal institutions that have been mandated to work in engaging more minds and hands to turn the economy around for good.

Earlier in his remarks, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, said the financial regulatory body would start giving special attention to NALDA, while listing some of the laudable achievements of the administration through the Anchor Borrowers scheme for farmers.

He said: "Your Excellency, Mr President, as you told me during the inspection and I agree with

you that this is the best way to spend money. You are doing everything that is possible to bring the dividends of democracy to all Nigerians."

On his part, Executive Secretary of NALDA, stated that the Integrated Farm Estate had a capacity for 400 birds in the poultry, 200,000 fishes, 500, 000 cows and goats, 540 litres of honey per harvest, 120 units of one bedroom apartment, clinic and a school.

Ikonne said the recycling process on the farm and domestication of tools and skills of workers would guarantee sustainability and 1, 500 farmers would be empowered yearly to start their business after learning.

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY JULY 20, 2021

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TUESDAY, ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

PAGE TWELVE IN SALLAH MESSAGE, BUHARI CHALLENGES NIGERIANS TO EXPOSE INSECURITY SPONSORS Also in their Sallah messages, the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan; the Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), called on Nigerians to pray for peace, unity and development of the country.

Buhari, in the Sallah message by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, said: "Let us expose undesirable elements among us who are creating security problems for the country.

"I urge all Muslims to continue to live in peace and harmony with their fellow Nigerians of other faiths in the spirit of peaceful coexistence. Let us pray for the progress of Nigeria at all times."

Buhari reiterated the determination of his administration to create a just, harmonious and prosperous country in which the safety of lives and property is assured.

He added that the current insecurity bedeviling the country has produced severe and adverse effects on agriculture because farmers are prevented from accessing their farms by bandits and terrorists.

He, however, reassured Nigerians that his administration

is taking measures to address the security challenges.

"We have started taking delivery of fighter aircraft and other necessary military equipment and hardware to improve the capacity of our security forces to confront terrorism and banditry," he stated.

The president also reflected on current challenges facing the country, saying that "COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the economies of all countries, including Nigeria, in addition to the fact that floods have caused large scale destruction to agricultural farmlands, thereby impacting negatively on our efforts to boost local production in line with our policy to drastically reduce food importation."

This, he explained, has led to food inflation, which the government is working hard to address.

He added: "No government in our recent history has invested as heavily as we are doing to promote local production of about 20 other commodities, through the provision of loans and several other forms of support to our farmers.

"Apart from the destruction caused to rice farms by floods, middlemen have also taken advantage of the local rice production to exploit fellow Nigerians, thereby undermining our goal of supporting local food

production at affordable prices."

Buhari said his government was working hard on measures to bring relief to average Nigerians.

He said: "As an elected president who enjoys the goodwill of the ordinary people that gave us their mandate, let me assure you that we are continuing with measures to bring relief to Nigerians, including making fertiliser available at affordable prices to our farmers."

On the significance of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, the president appealed to Muslims to demonstrate the good virtues of Islam through personal examples and practices.

He stated that taking advantage of the celebration to exploit fellow citizens through outrageous prices of food and rams is inconsistent with tenets of Islam.

Buhari said: "As practising believers, we shouldn't seek obscene profits by making life difficult and miserable for others. We should not seek happiness at the expense of others. Remember that Islam is a religion of charity that urges us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves."

Lawan, Gbajabiamila, Tinubu, CAN, PDP, preach unity, peace, love

In his own message, the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, called on all Nigerians to pray for peace, unity and development of Nigeria.

He urged Muslims and all Nigerians to be steadfast in working and praying for the peace, unity and progress of the nation.

According to him, the current challenges are painful but a passing phase in the historical process of nation-building.

He assured Nigerians that the administration of Buhari was determined to address the nation's challenges as part of the process of making the country realise its potential as a great nation.

On the legislative activities of the upper chamber, Lawan said the report of the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution would be considered after the annual recess of the National Assembly by September.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, also called for prayers and unity of purpose among Nigerians at during Eid-el-Kabir.

The speaker said Nigerians, especially Muslims, should use the opportunity of the Eid-elKabir to pray for their leaders to be able to find solutions to the nation's problems.

Gbajabiamila, in a statement by

his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Lanre Lasisi, urged Nigerians to conduct themselves in a patriotic manner as they have no other country to call their own other than Nigeria.

The PDP, while congratulating Muslims on this year’s Eid-elKabir, called on citizens to use the occasion to strengthen their trust in God as the divine source of sustenance as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Ibrahim.

The party stated that Eidel-Kabir presents the nation and humanity with boundless occasion to recommit to the virtues of selflessness, love and care for one another, especially in the face of economic, political and social challenges facing our nation.

The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, urged leaders at all levels of government to use the occasion of the Eidel-Kabir to show more sacrifices towards the people and pursue only those things that will improve the living conditions of Nigerians.

It said: "Our party is, however, troubled that most Nigerian families are celebrating the Eid-el-Kabir under very serious economic despair, but urged them not to surrender to despondency but to keep hope alive as we collectively work to rescue our nation.",

Olaleye joined the THISDAY family on December 9, 1998, where he rose from being an intern to becoming the Group Politics Editor and later, Deputy Editor on Sunday.

A graduate of Mass Communications from the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (former Ogun State Polytechnic), Ojere, Abeokuta in Ogun State, he also holds a Master degree in Communication Studies from the Lagos State University, LASU. A noted political reporter, Olaleye had undertaken some development courses over time, including a media operation course at the Kofi Annan Centre in Accra, Ghana and an Executive Development Programme on Leading Teams for Optimal Performance by the TEXEM Group.

Chima joined THISDAY in 2010 as a Business Correspondent and was appointed Group Business Editor in 2018. He started his career in 2006, with National Mirror Newspapers as a Business Reporter, immediately after graduating from Imo State University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics. He also worked briefly with The Punch Newspaper and Business Hallmark Newspaper as Business Correspondent respectively, as well as with Profund Securities Limited as a Research and Planning Officer.

Chima is presently a doctoral student of Policy and Strategic Studies at Covenant University, Ogun State. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Research and Public Policy from the University of Lagos as well as a Master of Science in Economics from the Lagos State University. He has attended courses on business journalism in Nigeria, which includes Bloomberg Media Initiative in Africa; Advanced Training on Financial Journalism, Press Media Association, London; Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (AWARES), PanAtlantic University, Lagos; and Thompson Reuters Training on Financial Journalism, Uganda, among several others.

Akanbi boasts some 30 years

experience in Journalism. He began his journalism career with the old Daily Times in 1991, from where he joined The Punch in 2000 and rose to the position of Assistant Editor, (Business) until he joined THISDAY as Sunday Business Editor in March 2008.

In 2015, he became a deputy editor, THISDAY (Sunday) until he took a leave of absence to work with former Minister of Finance as a Special Assistant on Communications, in February 2016.

He later worked as an Assistant Director, Federal Inland Revenue Service between 2017 and September 2020. He returned to THISDAY as Deputy Editor, Saturday.

Akanbi, who holds a Master degree in History from the University of Lagos, is currently a doctoral student of History and Strategic Studies of the same University.

Alike, a graduate of Accounting and a Master holder in Banking and Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, joined THISDAY as Energy Correspondent in 2008 and was promoted to the position of News Editor in 2018. Prior to then, he was an Energy Analyst with BusinessDay Newspaper. He had also gathered experience in public service from the Enugu State Local Government System, where he rose to become a senior staff member.

Ogbu is a graduate of Mass Communication from Federal Polytechnic, Oko (then Anambra State Polytechnic), where he obtained HND. Thereafter, he obtained a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from Federal University of Technology, Owerri, before obtaining a Post-graduate Diploma and Master of Art in Linguistics and Communication Studies from the University of Port Harcourt.

He had held the positions of Judicial Editor, Editor, House of Representatives as well as covered the Presidential Villa, Abuja from where he was posted to the Saturday Desk as News Editor, before the current promotion.

T H I S DAY G R O U P A N N O U N C E S N E W E X E C U T I V E A P P O I N T M E N T S Adebiyi, who was promoted to the position of Managing Editor (Print and Digital). Mr. Israel Iwegbu was announced as the Deputy Managing Director, THISDAY. By this promotion, Momodu becomes the first person, who started his journalism career with THISDAY as a rookie reporter, to rise through the ranks to emerge as the editor of the most influential newspaper in the country.

He is expected to enrich the editorial content of the newspaper for the benefit of the paper's esteemed readers.

Also, the Deputy Editor of THISDAY, Mr. Davidson Iriekpen, has been appointed Editor of THISDAY, the Sunday Newspaper, while the Editor of the Saturday Newspaper, Mr. Yemi Adebowale was reappointed on same position by the board.

Similarly, Mr. Olawale Olaleye, who was the Deputy Editor of the Sunday Newspaper was promoted to the position of Deputy Editor of THISDAY, just as the Group Business Editor, Mr. Obinna Chima was also promoted to the position of the Deputy Editor of THISDAY. In the same vein, Mr. Festus Akanbi, the Deputy Editor of the Saturday Newspaper has been promoted to the position of the Deputy Editor of the Sunday Newspaper; the News Editor, Mr. Alike Ejiofor, was also promoted to the position of Deputy Editor of the Sunday Newspaper, and Mr. Ahamefula Ogbu, has been promoted to the position of the Deputy Editor of the Saturday Newspaper.

The Capital Market Editor, Mr. Goddy Egene was also promoted to the position of Group News Editor, while the Maritime Editor, Mr. Eromosele Abiodun is the new Group Business Editor.

For ARISE News Channel, the new Deputy Managing Directors are Mr. Bayo Awosemo and Mr. Emmanuel Efeni; and the Managing Editor is Mr. Christian Ogodo.

The board also announced the appointment of Mr. Summer Sambo as the Director of News (Abuja) and Mr. Yemi Ajayi as

Director of News (Lagos) for Arise News Channel.

Similarly, the Director of Engagement & Guest Liaison for Arise News Channel is Mr. Joseph Ushigiale and Tobi Soniyi is the Deputy Director of News (Abuja). Mr. Ohi Odiai is the Deputy Director of News (Lagos) for Arise News Channel.

Momodu, born March 12, 1968, was promoted editor of THISDAY, The Sunday Newspaper in June 2018, after over four years in the job as the Editor of THISDAY, The Saturday Newspaper. He had risen through the ranks to become an associate Editor of the Saturday Newspaper, where he was promoted to Editor of the Saturday title.

He brings into the job his invaluable experience that spans over 20 years.

Momodu is a graduate of Political Science, Edo State University now Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma. He is currently doing an executive programme at the prestigious Yale School of Management, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.

Momodu attended Okotie Eboh Grammar School, Sapele between 1982 and 1986 before proceeding to one of the nation’s foremost state universities, the Edo State University, Ekpoma between 1992 and 1996. He joined THISDAY as a reporter in 2000, and a year later was promoted to senior reporter.

In 2003, he was promoted to state correspondent and was posted to Governor’s Office, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

He left the post in 2007, when he was promoted to deputy editor of The Glitterati, a lifestyle pull-out section inside the Sunday Newspaper.

He was later appointed as associate editor of the Saturday Newspaper; a position he held until his appointment as the substantive Editor of the Saturday Newspaper.

An experienced journalist with over two decades’ cognate professional experience, he has extensive contacts within the nation’s business and political community. Momodu, in

the course of his career, has anchored many investigative stories, profiled and interviewed over 200 political and business leaders, viz. governors, legislators and top-notch CEOs. He has attended many seminars, conferences and training courses both within and outside the country.

Iriekpen attended Ogun State Polytechnic, Abeokuta and the University of Ibadan. He joined THISDAY Newspapers in 2000.

His commitment to his job, saw him being moved from the subdesk to Sunday paper, where he anchored international and political stories. In 2007, he was moved again to cover Judiciary, a beat he covered so diligently and effectively to the admiration of lawyers. As a result of the way and manner he covered the courts and other legal and constitutional matters, in 2010, he was made the Judiciary Editor.

In 2012, he was elevated to the position of Group News Editor, a position he held till 2018, when he was appointed Deputy Editor Daily.

Adebowale, 53, was reappointed the Editor of Saturday THISDAY Newspaper.

A British Chevening Scholar, he holds over 28 years’ experience in media, advertising and Public Relations. Before joining THISDAY, he had worked in places like Vanguard, Newswatch, The Punch, MTN Nigeria and the Yorkshire Post Newspaper in the United Kingdom.

Adebowale has won numerous awards in journalism, including the 2000 Commonwealth Media Award by Fletcher Challenge Paper, New Zealand; the 1999 African Journalist of the Year Award by the African Journalist Foundation, AJF, South Africa and the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA) in 1999.

The THISDAY Saturday Editor was educated at the University of Cambridge, University of Leeds, Ogun State Polytechnic, Baptist Academy, Lagos, Immaculate Heart Comprehensive Secondary School, Maryland, Lagos and St. Agnes Primary School, Maryland, Lagos.

The National Leader of APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, in a message he personally signed, urged Muslims not to forget the reason for Eid-el- Kabir.

“We commemorate an act of complete faith in Allah and His instructions unto us. Thus, lets celebrate but may we also dedicate ourselves to greater adherence and obedience to the compassionate and spiritually nourishing commands of Almighty Allah. Celebrate, yes, but let us not forget the poor and vulnerable among us.

“Reach out to give solace and succour to those unable to help themselves. Show brotherly concern and compassion to all.

To be a good Muslim is to be a caring and generous human being. The challenges that we face as a nation call upon us to adhere even more closely to Allah’s commands so that we may overcome these challenges and continue to build the just and prosperous society destined for us,” Tinubu said.

He called for prayers for Nigeria’s gallant soldiers and other security agents confronting insecurity in the country.

He also called for prayers for Buhari, governors and other leaders.

CAN also rejoiced with the leadership of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Muslims as they celebrate Eid-el-Kabir.

CAN urged them to continue to embrace the virtues of love, peace, unity, kindness and sacrifice, as exemplified by the Prophet Mohammed during and after the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

CAN, in a statement yesterday by its National General Secretary, Daramola Bade Joseph, said: “We felicitate with you for being alive to witness this day and celebrate despite the menace of insecurity challenges in the country occasioned by the criminal activities of bandits, kidnappers, terrorists, killer herdsmen and other undesirable elements.

“We, therefore, call on both the leaders and the followers of Islam to continue to embrace the virtues of love, peace, unity, kindness and sacrifice, as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW), during and after the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations. They should also use the occasion to pray for Nigeria to come out of these insecurity challenges better and greater.”

CAN also appealed to all security agencies, especially the police and the army to rise up to the security challenges facing the country with a view to preventing criminals from attacking the innocent during and after the celebrations.

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T H I S D AY • TUESDAY JULY 20, 2021

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T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2021

COMMENT

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

ROUGE ON THEIR CHEEKS

Dele Majekodunmi writes that the bill to curtail politicians’ act of reckless defections is in order

D

emocracy has been touted as the best form of government, though the African version of democracy still leaves much to be desired.

Every democratic society thrives on certain values and ideals like periodic free and fair, credible elections, respect for fundamental human rights of citizens, freedom of political association, making economic and social rights justiciable and of course multi-party system state.

Just as the political operators of democracy in Nigeria have over time subverted the basic ideals that nourishes democratic state, the flippant change of political platforms has assumed a dangerous trend in the polity.

Due to no consequences for the act, politicians in Nigerians go to bed brandishing umbrellas and wake up waving brooms, the insignia of the ruling party in Nigeria.

For instance, in less than two years, three governors namely David Umahi of Ebonyi State, Ben Ayade of Cross River State, and recently Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State changed their political party after securing their peoples’ mandates. The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki also changed party in the build up to his re-election when forces in the APC were against him.

The dangers of reckless defection for the nation’s fledgling democracy compelled the House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila to propose a bill to stem the practice.

Currently, only members of the National Assembly were statutebarred to defect. A member of the Peoples Democratic Party from Taraba State, Rimamnde Kwewum, has now sponsored a bill to extend the condition to the president, vice-president, governor and deputy governor.

The bill, which is awaiting second reading by the House, seeks to amend sections 144(1) and 189(1) of the 1999 Constitution “to check incidents of defections, that is, cross-carpetings or abandoning the political party that sponsored a president, vice-president, governor or deputy governor, as the case may be, for another political party, in the absence of a merger of political parties, division or factions within the sponsoring political party.”

Kwewum, in the legislative brief on the bill, said, “Presently, only legislators in the national and state Houses of Assembly lose their seats if they defect to other political parties. The intention remains the need to improve and deepen democracy by strengthening the political parties.

“There is no doubting the fact that all through history, political parties have remained the strongest pillars of democracy. They provide choices for people by professing and working through some governing philosophies, and help to educate people on different patterns of developments being proposed by the different political parties.

DUE TO NO CONSEQUENCES FOR THE ACT, POLITICIANS IN NIGERIANS GO TO BED BRANDISHING UMBRELLAS AND WAKE UP WAVING BROOMS, THE INSIGNIA OF THE RULING PARTY IN NIGERIA

“Often regarded by political parties which sponsored them as leaders, presidents and governors cannot abandon their political parties and retain the seat that they earned by the sponsoring political parties.”

The National Assembly as the main institution that symbolises democracy lived up to its bill by acting in the interest of the people and democracy. There is a need to nurture discipline in the party and to encourage fidelity to preferred political platforms.

Democracy thrives in an atmosphere of plurality of associations and opinions. If all elected public officers defected from smaller opposition parties to the main party, what remains for democracy? Fascism beckons as one party like that of China will only turn draconian, suppressing dissenting voices and views.

Also, amplifying the position of the sponsor of the bill, the sanctity of peoples’ mandates vested in a political party must be respected at all times. Just like the Labour and the Conservatives parties in the United Kingdom and the Democratic and Republican in the United States of America, citizens vote them into power largely based on party ideology.

Every discerning American adult knows what Republican or Democrat stands for, and support and allegiance and votes are often aligned with these biases and ideologies. So, it poses a serious threat to the development of democracy to betray such strong affinity by defecting. Good governance will also be strengthened across the federation.

An incumbent governor serving for the first term will be compelled to deliver exceptionally to earn the confidence of his political party for a second term. But that patriotic consideration will be thrown out of the window if the elected officer knows he can seek an alternative political platform if his performance index is abysmally poor.

Such political indiscipline should never be condoned in democracy.

Party supremacy should be upheld at all times. No individual regardless of status and class should be bigger than the party. That is the party of building democratic structures and institutions.

The reckless defection with impunity witnessed in Nigeria is antithetical to democratic ideals. In a bid to return back to power at all costs, politicians who had moved into another political party often destabilize the system by overheating the polity.

In this case, elections are heavily monetized and opposition political parties including voters are intimidated. Public funds that should be used to provide infrastructure and other services are used to induce voters, security agents and to hire thugs who disrupt election exercise if the people are ready to vote their conscience?

This is another sour taste which defection leaves in the mouth of the people and the society. It encourages sleaze in public offices.

Why perform in office when you can steal enough to buy peoples’ consciences?

WITHER INTERIM COMMON SERVICES AGENCY AND ESIALA? They are largely mismanaged, writes Eric Teniola

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hese days ESIALA and the Interim Common Services Agency mean nothing to many people. Yet, years ago, these two agencies dominated the headlines in the country.

In a televised address to the nation on July 30, 1975, the then Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed said that “a panel will be set up to advise on the future of the Interim Common Services Agency (ICSA) and the Eastern States Interim Assets and Liabilities Agency (ESIALA)”.

ESIALA was set up to take over the assets and liabilities of the old Eastern Region. The states created out of the region now comprises of nine states namely, Abia, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Imo, Anambra and Enugu States. At that time Eastern region was very rich in terms of mineral resources and industries. They included the Nkalagu Cement Factory, the African Continental Bank, the Eastern Marketing Board, the Eastern Marketing Development Corporation, West African Institute for Oil Palm Research, Nigerian Breweries Stout Factory at Aba, Tobacco and Glass Making Plant at Port Harcourt, Farm Settlements at Ohaji, Igbariam, Boki, Ulonna, Erei, Uzo-Uwani and Gbema; Nigerian Coal Corporation in Enugu, Rice Farms at Abakaliki and Ogoja and many other projects. Under Decree 39 promulgated by General Yakubu Gowon on June 24, 1970, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, established

by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe but opened on October 7, 1960, was listed as part of the assets of the Eastern Interim Assets and Liability Agency.

At the time General Yakubu Gowon split Eastern region, he also promulgated Decree Number 8 transferring the services of civil servants of the old Eastern Region into the Federal Public service. The decree empowered the Public Service Commission of the Federation to transfer, subject to certain terms and conditions, any officer from the public service of a former Region to the public service of the Federation. Two, by virtue of the decree any officer assigned to the Interim Common Services Agency shall be deemed to have transferred to the public service of the Federation, and on the expiration of

the life of the Interim Common Services Agency, or the Eastern States Assets and Liabilities Agency, that Commission may terminate the appointment of an officer of such agency or, where appropriate, retire him from the public service of the Federation.

Three, the decree provides that where the holder of a pensionable office in the public service of a former region had been assigned to perform the duties of any office, other than public service or service with the agencies aforesaid, the Commission may transfer the officer to that office, and thereupon the officer shall be deemed to have transferred to an “approved service”, within the meaning of the Pensions Act. 4. The decree also provides that pension payable by the government of a former region for any period of service commencing on or after 1st October, 1954 and ending immediately before the appointed shall now become the liability of the federal government.

General Gowon created three states out of the whole eastern region. They are South Eastern state, East Central state and Rivers state. For the East Central State he named Dr. Anthony Ukpabi Asika as the administrator, Brigadier Udoakaha Jacob Esuene as the governor of South Eastern State and Lieutenant Commander Alfred Diete-Spiff as the governor of Rivers State. Alfred Diete-Spiff is an Ijaw from Bayelsa State and the Amayanabo (King) of Twon-Brass, Bayelsa State. A stadium was named in honour of Brigadier Esuene in Calabar. His wife, Helen Esuene was appointed Minister of State for health in July 2005 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a close friend of late Brigadier Esuene.

In January 2006, former President Obasanjo also appointed Mrs Esuene as Minister of Environment and later Minster of Environment and Housing. She was elected Senator in 2011.

On 27th May 1967, General Gowon also promulgated Decree No 7. It states that all rights, interests, obligations and liabilities of any former Regional Government in any of the premises specified in the Schedule to this Decree shall be deemed, with effect from 27th May 1967, to have vested in and devolved upon the Federal Military Government. The Higher Commissioner for Nigeria

in London is hereby authorized as agent and representative of the Federal Military Government to take such action (whether by way of executing deeds or other documents or otherwise) as may in his opinion be necessary or expedient for the proper management or disposal of any of the said premises.

In this Decree “former Regional Government” means the government of a former Region of Nigeria and includes, in relation to any such region, the Governor, Military Governor, Agent-General or any other officer or person holding property in trust for or otherwise on behalf of the region or its Government. This decree may be cited as the Former Regional Governments (Disposal of Certain Properties) Decree 1971 and shall apply throughout the Federation and elsewhere to the extent necessary to give it proper effect. The decree shall be deemed to have come into force on 27th May, 1967.

General Gowon took over the properties of eastern region on behalf of the central government.

The properties of the region taken over in London were No 113, Hendon Way, N.W.2; No 142, Cheviot Gardens, London,N.W.2; No 176, The Vale, London, N.W. 11; No. 104; Cotswold Gardens, London,N.W.2; No 105, Cotswold, Garden, London, N.W.2; No 15a, Kessington Gardens, London,W.8; No 17, Chester Street, London, S.W.1; No. 35, Phillimore Gardens, London,W.8; Nos. 178/202, Great Portland Street, London,W.1; No.23 Phillimore Gardens, LondonW.8, Nos 257, The Vale, London,N.W.11, No.2, Tanfield Avenue, London, N.W. 2, No 35, Woodstock Road, London,N.W.11, No 93, Chatsworth Road, London,N.W. 2, Nos69/69a, St. Paul’s Avenue, London, N.W.2 and No. 73, Priory Park Road, London N.W. 6.

I do not know when last the Governors of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Cross River and Anambra states met to discuss on ESIALA. I do not know what happened to those properties and assets seized by General Gowon in 1967 on behalf of the federal government.

The governors should meet to discuss this issue for they are part of the legacy of The Premiers of the Old Eastern Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (16 November the old eastern region. Some of

these properties are still standing in London till today. Dr. Michael Okpara and their political party, NCNC, laboured so hard to establish the properties and institutions listed above. Something needs to be done on ESIALA today. Apart from political party affiliation, the PDP, I do not think there is a platform that unites the old Eastern Nigeria together again. That should not be so. The spirit of the old Eastern Region should not be allowed to die. The old Eastern Region was the envy of the rest of the country years ago.

The Interim Common Services Agency (ICSA) was established when six new states in the old Northern Region were created by decree No 9 of May 27, 1967 by General Gowon. It was through that decree that he created 12 states in the country out of the four regions in Nigeria. Specifically he created six states out of Northern Region namely North Western state made up of Niger and Sokoto, North Eastern state made up of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno and Sarduna, North Central state made up of Katsina, Zaria and Kaduna. Kwara state made up of Ilorin and Kabba, Kano state made up of Kano Emirates, Benue/Plateau state made up of Benue and Plateau areas.

In setting up the agency, General Gowon appointed General Hassan Usman Katsina as the Chairman. General Katsina was the son of the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Usman Nagogo.

General Katsina had earlier served as the Military Governor of the Northern Region. General Gowon then appointed the following as Military Governors.

Kwara state- Colonel Femi David Lasisi Bamigboye, Kano state- Police Commissioner Audu Bako, North Eastern state, Brigadier Musa Usman, North Central state- Brigadier Abba Kyari, Benue-Plateau state-Police Commissioner Joseph Dechi Gomwalk and North Western, Assistant Police Commissioner Usman Farouk. General Gowon ruled that “this decree may be cited as the Interim Common Services Agency Decree 1968 and shall continue in force for a period of two years and unless sooner extended by the Head of the Federal Military Government (by order) if he thinks fit for a period not exceeding at any one time, one year, it shall then expire”.

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JULY 20, 2021

EDITORIAL

THE MESSAGE OF EID-EL-KABIR The essence is sacrifice, obedience, and love

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he annual festival of Eid al-Adha, better known as Eid-el-Kabir, is being marked today across the world with the killing of rams and sharing the meat among families, friends and the less privileged. It is a unique festival that derives its origin from both Islam and Christianity based on scriptural accounts of how Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham in the latter), in obedience to God, offered his son as sacrifice before divine intervention. So, beyond the merriment that comes with the occasion, the season offers yet another opportunity to adherents of the faith and indeed all Nigerians to live the true meaning and essence of this occasion: sacrifice, obedience, and love.

Ordinarily, this is a religious festival that comes with social gatherings between and among family members and friends but with fears about the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, wisdom is needed in the manner of celebrations without limiting the spirit of the season. Meanwhile, there is perhaps no period in history that offers AS WE CELEBRATE THIS a better opportunity SPECIAL FESTIVAL, WE to share than now.

The lockdown MUST REFLECT ON AND and restrictions of IMBIBE THE ESSENCE OF the past year have SACRIFICE AND HUMILITY impacted negatively FOR THE PROMOTION on the lives and liveOF HARMONIOUS lihoods of millions RELATIONSHIP IN OUR of people. Therefore, COUNTRY those who celebrate must remember the less privileged of our society.

This year’s celebration, like in the past few years, is coming at a particularly difficult and trying time for our nation. The authorities may quote fancy statistics about the economy, but they do not reflect in the living standards of the people. By far the most worrying is the brutal killings that now define several theatres across the country, most especially Kaduna State. Critical stakeholders must come together to end the spiral of hate that is responsible for the violence

and makes reconciliation and peaceful co-existence difficult.

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T H I S DAY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

T H I S 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 SHAKA MOMODU, 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 TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

owever, there should be more to sharing than some portions of ram meat. Given the level of deprivation in the land, perhaps no period in our history offers better opportunity to share and to make sacrifice. The socio-economic conditions of the country in the past few years make it compelling for adherents of Islam and indeed all Nigerians to look beyond themselves and their immediate environment.

That explains why the occasion should go beyond the slaughtering of rams to sharing love and material possessions not only with relatives or acquaintances, but also with the displaced, the elderly, the orphans, and other people at the margin of the society.

The greater challenge of the country today is how to build an inclusive society that leaves no citizen behind on account of class, ethnicity, or religion.

Which is why what this festival offers opportunities for reflection by those in leadership positions. Against the background that there are usually challenges in the process of integrating members of any society into a cohesive social whole, what confronts us may not be particularly peculiar. But it will require all citizens working together if we are to resolve many of the ills that plague our nation. Thus, as we celebrate this special festival, we must reflect on and imbibe the essence of sacrifice and humility for the promotion of harmonious relationship in our country.

If we understand the fact that we are all creations of God, the propensity for hate based on some artificial differences would reduce and we would relate more with one another with love and mutual respect. Tolerance across these artificial divides that our politicians have erected will foster harmony and promote peace and development. It will also help the process of healing the deep wounds sparked off by politics and the manipulation of religion and ethnicity that has for decades held down our country.

We wish our Muslim readers Eid Mubarak.

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.

Letters to the Editor

WHY MILK IS GOOD FOR ALL “And there will be enough goat’s milk to feed you, To feed your household, and to sustain your servant girls.” - Proverbs 27:27.

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healthy drink - milk, is the first food we consume when we are born. Breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants during their first months of life.

Children are encouraged to drink up their milk so that they can “grow up big and strong.” Do we, however, tend to stop drinking this nutritious beverage, milk, as we grow older? Even as adults, should we still drink milk?

For decades, scientific research has continued to emphasize the importance of maintaining bone health as we age. Gradually throughout our lives, our bones are constantly changing. Hence, when our intake of Calcium-rich foods is low, our body ‘steals’ the Calcium it needs from our bones - which can cause them to become porous and weak. In Nigeria, bone diseases are quite common. Just as an example: according to data, more than 1.5 million cases of Osteoporosis are diagnosed in Nigeria every year! Osteoporosis refers to a condition in which bones become weak and brittle, and bone loss occurs without symptoms. Consequently, most people are unaware of their deteriorating bone health.

However, the good news is that drinking milk regularly can help prevent Osteoporosis and bone fractures and even help you maintain a healthy weight. This delicious beverage has always been a healthy drink because it is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and many other nutrients which are usually under-consumed by many people.

However, although milk is a good choice for many, some people cannot tolerate it because they are unable to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and dairy products (dairy products are products containing or made from milk). It is suggested that such people stick to unsweetened varieties of milk, to limit the amount of added sugar in their diet. Some examples of non-dairy milk alternatives include: soymilk, oat milk, almond milk, and more.

For those able to tolerate milk, however, consuming high-quality milk and dairy products has been proven to provide a number of health benefits. Milk is the topmost food source of Calcium and Vitamin D for children and adults. Calcium is an essential nutrient for strong bones, muscle movement and nerve signals. Vitamin D increases the body’s ability to abs orb Calcium. Sunlight is an excellent source of Vitamin D. Other sources of Vitamin D include: eggs, salmon, mushrooms, fortified milk and some yogurts.

Two, milk strengthens our teeth because it contains a high amount of Calcium. Lactose also helps prevent cavities and tooth decay.

Three, drinking milk is associated with a lower risk of age-related muscle loss. Also, several studies have demonstrated that drinking milk after a workout can decrease muscle damage, promote muscle repair, increase strength and decrease muscle soreness.

Besides, it is rich in protein. Your body requires proteins that can help in cell repair and boosting a person’s immunity. It also promotes heart health. The Potassium in milk may help with heart health.

Getting more Potassium while also reducing Sodium (salt) intake can lower blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

A quote by one Nischita Nibedita says: “A glass of MILK a day

keeps black thoughts away.” Yes, adequate levels of Vitamin D in milk supports the production of Serotonin, a hormone people associate with mood, appetite and sleep. Manufacturers often fortify cow’s milk and plant milk with Vitamin D. So, this can help to reduce depression. Milk boosts your metabolism and keeps you satisfied for a longer period. Also, whole milk can be added to your diet. With its high protein content, it can curb your cravings for junk food for a long time, which will aid you in your fitness strategy to burn fat.

Researchers have also found that milk helps in preventing many diseases, including some types of cancer. It soothes muscles and nerves and has a calming effect on you.

There are many foods that are acidic in nature and can cause heartburns. Milk gives you a calming effect that coats the stomach lining and oesophagus from causing heartburn. Milk makes your skin look young, soft and glowing. This is because it contains retinol, a known anti-aging and skin-restoring antioxidant. Milk’s Vitamin D is also an anti-aging vitamin, thanks to its anti-inflammatory effects and protection from ultraviolet rays.

Now that we know that milk has a wide range of benefits, how much milk should we consume daily? There is no hard and fast rule, but too much of something is not advisable. For adults, two full glasses of milk a day - once in the morning and once before bed - will provide an adequate amount of nutrients. For children below 12 years of age, two 250ml glasses of milk a day should be sufficient.

And, of course, babies require regular milk intake, as it is their sole source of nutrients.

Daniel Idhakpe, FESTAC Town, Lagos

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SALLAH GOODWILL MESSAGES...

Saraki, Omo-Agege, Ekweremadu, Others Call for Prayers for Nigeria Our Correspondents Former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie OmoAgege and Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Idris Wase have called on the Muslim faithful to continue to demonstrate fear of God which they described as a key ingredient in building a better Nigeria.

Saraki in his Sallah message released in Ilorin and signed by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu, also noted that, like the previous year, this year’s Eid-el-Kabir festival is holding with the COVID-19 pandemic still prevalent while the challenge has prevented many Muslims from embarking on the holy pilgrimage.

“The essence of Eid-El-Kabir is the demonstration of the fear of Allah by Prophet Ibrahim (ASW) and his son, Prophet Ismail (ASW). If all of us can imbibe the fear of Allah, then our society will be better. Our country will develop if leaders display fear of Allah in taking key decisions that will affect the interests of the country and lives of the ordinary people,” he said.

On his part, urged Muslim ummah to pray for the security of the nation.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, who described insecurity as the nation’s worst nightmare, stressed that without security of lives and property, development, progress, and economic prosperity would continue to elude the country.

According to him: “It is sad that insecurity has persisted as the nation’s worst nightmare for so many years. We have never had it this bad. I do not know of any other nation in the world where all shades of criminals kill and abduct citizens daily in peacetime as presently experienced in Nigeria.”

In a similar vein, Omo-Agege called on Muslims to continue to imbibe the spirit of love, peace, kindness and sacrifice, as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

While stressing that the country is passing through one of the most trying moments in the history of the nation, the ranking senator urged Nigerians to renew their faith in God. He further urged Muslims to preach peace and imbibe the virtues of Prophet Mohammed whose sacrificial and obedient life is the reason for the celebration.

Equally, Wase called for prayers and unity of purpose among Nigerians.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Umar Puma, urged Muslim faithful to use the occasion to pray for the success of the ongoing war against kidnapping, banditry, terrorism in some part of the country.

He also appealed to Nigerians to support the less privileged in the society.

Increase Prayers for Peace, Unity, Fayemi Tells Muslims Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has congratulated Muslims in the state and in Nigeria at large as they celebrate this year’s Eid-el-Kabir.

The governor, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, said the Eid-el-Kabir festival commemorates Prophet Ibraheem’s willingness to sacrifice his son in deference to the will of God. “It is only through love for one another and commitment to peace, security and stability that the country can progress towards the fulfilment of its great potentials as a nation,” he said.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum charged the Muslim faithful not to stop praying for the peace and progress of the country despite inability to observe this year’s Hajj and Arafat rites; saying that the fervent prayers by various religious bodies and individuals have been responsible largely for the peace that the country enjoys in recent times.

While urging Nigerians to celebrate moderately, Governor Fayemi tasked Muslims and nonMuslims to use the occasion to pray for peace, security, stability and prosperity of Ekiti State which, according to him, is moving on the path of sustainable development.

LET'S GO AND CELEBRATE...

Customers buying rams for Sallah at Zango Ram Market in Kaduna...yesterday

Abiodun Greets Muslim Faithful, Calls for Patience, Steadfastness As the Muslims all over the world celebrate Eid-el-Kabir, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, has urged faithful in the state to emulate the resilience, patience and steadfastness as well as absolute faith in Allah, as exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim.

The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, said the festival which is symbolised by slaughtering of rams as commanded by Allah, should be used to further foster unity and spread love in the state, and Nigeria.

He added that though the country is going through a trying period, the Eid-el-Kabir should serve as an opportunity to supplicate and seek the face of God, for restoration and healing.

He further urged Muslims to remember those who don't have and share the merriment with them.

"As our Muslim brothers celebrate, let us be moderate and remember those who don't have in our neighborhood and share the merriment with them. Let us remember Nigeria and in particular, Ogun State, in our supplications”, Abiodun was quoted to be saying in the statement.

Uzodimma Tasks Muslims on Love, Peace, Unity Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has urged the Muslim faithful in the country to make love, peace and unity the hallmark of their celebrations as they mark the Eid-el- Kabir.

Uzodimma said imbibing the spirit of love, peace, kindness, unity and sacrifice goes a long way in showing their understanding of what Prophet Mohammed stood and died for.

In a statement signed by Oguwike Nwachuku, Chief Press Secretary/ Special Adviser, Media, Governor Uzodimma further admonished Muslims to fervently pray for peace, unity, love, prosperity, stability and security of Nigeria.

He said no time was better to pray for Nigeria than now that the peace, love, unity, stability and prosperity of the country is being threatened by security breaches and sundry crimes.

Uzodimma also used the opportunity to salute President Muhammadu Buhari whom he said has demonstrated uncommon commitment to the security of Nigeria through social investment programmes that cater to the needs of the people.

While urging Muslims to use the opportunity of the Eid-El-Kabir to also pray for President Buhari, the governor noted that the president is taking steps to rewrite the story of Nigeria as regards infrastructure development and social welfare of the youth, women and the vulnerable in the country.

Ayade Urges Muslims to Emulate Prophet Muhammed

Ugwuanyi: Let’s Remain Committed to God in Prayers

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, has felicitated with Muslims on the festival of Eid-el-Kabir as they join their counterparts round the world to mark the occasion.

He admonished them to imbibe the virtues of obedience, love, alms giving, honesty and sacrifice as examplified by Prophet Muhammed.

The governor's admonition was contained in a Sallah message signed on his behalf by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Christian Ita. According to Ayade, "more than ever before, our country needs collective will of all its citizens to surmount its challenges. So as people of faith, I charge you to be ready at all times to make the sacrifices necessary for the progress of Nigeria "There is no better way to do this than through exhibition of love, sacrifice, obedience, honesty and sacrifice as taught by Prophet Muhammed.”

Continuing, the Cross River state governor described Eid-el-Kabir as "an opportunity for Muslim faithfuls to reflect on the faith, which prophet Ibrahim dutifully agreed to sacrifice his son in obedience to the command of Allah" “I wish to use this period of Eid-El kabir to speak to our inner selves and remind us that our great nation is going through challenges and all of us must play our role to overcome these challenges", he further said.

On the occasion of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has enjoined Muslims, and indeed all Nigerians, to remain committed to God in prayers for the peace, unity, security and progress of the country.

In his Sallah Message, Governor Ugwuanyi felicitated with all Muslim faithful, wishing them the blessings and guidance of Allah.

The governor urged Nigerians to embrace the cherished virtues of love, peace, charity and sacrifice as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Mohammed.

He stressed that the significance of the Islamic celebration has a huge positive impact in enhancing the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria as well as the nation’s efforts in surmounting its security, socio-economic and public health challenges.

Gombe Governor Enjoins Citizenry to Imbibe Spirit of Sacrifice, Tolerance, Love, Unity Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has felicitated with the Muslim Ummah on the occasion of this year’s Eid el-Kabir sallah celebration.

In a goodwill message, the governor described the Eid el-Kabir as a period of sacrifice, sharing and caring, calling on the ummah to continue to imbibe the spirit of sacrifice, love, unity of purpose and obedience as exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim ( AS) and upheld by Prophet Muhammad ( SAW).

The governor also admonished the faithful to remain steadfast in prayers for peace, prosperity and development of the state as well as for an end to the security and other socio-economic challenges.

"Gombe State is so peaceful, stable and progressive and that has a lot to do with the disposition of peace, unity and tolerance that has been consistently nurtured and fostered. I therefore charge us to maintain this spirit".

Yahaya who noted that “although this year’s celebration is coming at a period the country is grappling with security and other socio-economic challenges, such should not distract us from learning the good lessons of the festival which teaches compassion, selfishness, love and obedience to the commands of Almighty Allah.“

Obaseki Felicitates with Muslim Faithful, Charges on Unity, Tolerance The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has felicitated with Muslim faithful on the Eidel-Kabir celebration, urging them to continue to imbibe the spirit of love, tolerance and sacrifice as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

The governor, in a statement, charged Muslims to use the period to deepen their relationship with Allah and pray for unity, peace and development of the state and Nigeria.

Obaseki noted: “On behalf of the Government and people of Edo State, I felicitate with Muslim faithful on the occasion of Eid-el-Kabir.

“This year’s Eid-el-Kabir presents yet another opportunity for our Muslim brothers and sisters to deepen their relationship with Allah.

“As we celebrate this auspicious occasion, I call for dedication to the virtues of love, oneness, patriotism, tolerance and unity for the desired development in the state and Nigeria.”

Sule Re-echoes Adherence to COVID-19 Preventive Measures Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has re-echoed the need for Muslims to adhere strictly all COVID-19 protocols.

The governor stated this in his Eid-el-Kabir message to the Muslim faithful, insisting that clerics in the state should ensure that worshippers comply with the COVID-19 guidelines issued for the benefit of the people.

Sule, however, implored Muslim faithful to re-affirm their obedience to Allah’s injunctions as contained in the Holy Qur’an and follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

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TUESDAY, ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

SALLAH GOODWILL MESSAGES...

Eid-el-Kabir is a Reminder of What We Must Do to Heal Nigeria, Say Atiku, Secondus Our Correspondents Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, have said that Eid-el-Kabir teaches and reminds Nigerians of the meaning of sacrifice, love and forbearance with God and in the relationships with one another.

In a statement he personally signed, Atiku said: "As Muslims more especially, Eid-el-Kabir and the stories of Prophets Ibrahim and Ishmael (Peace and Blessings of Allah be with them) that accompany it requires that we take the whole of humanity as one nation."

He explained that the significance of the celebration is rooted in peaceful co-existence, mutual respect and tolerance, adding that these are the virtues that Nigerians, need to imbibe as well as seek to heal the country of all shades of mistrust.

The former vice president said that according to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the slaughtering of animals in celebration of this festival is to evoke and reinforce the consciousness of God in all the deeds and wishes.

Accordingly, he said, "We would not be able to fully appreciate the love from God if we allow killing of the innocent souls and propagation of hateful rhetoric become a norm amongst us.

"As I congratulate Muslims in Nigeria and across the globe on this year's Eid el-Kabir, may I remind you of our beloved Prophet’s saying that, "no nation is superior to the other.

But the best amongst you is the one with the best piety to Allah," Atiku stated.

On his part, Secondus expressed concern on the state of the nation and said that the worrisome situation calls for the intensification of prayers.

He, therefore, asked Nigerian Muslims to use the solemn period of Sallah to present Nigeria's discomforting situation to Allah for his prompt intervention and mercy.

The PDP boss said poor leadership was threatening the country and there was need to seek God's intervention.

He said that the blood of thousands of innocent souls being wasted daily in ther land at various troubled spots particularly the stress of school children in the North, should be enough mitigation to plead to God to save this country from destruction.

According to him, Nigerians should also use the period to offer fervent prayers for the unity and stability of the nation which is seriously under threat due to insecurity and biting economic hardship arising from poor leadership.

Ortom Calls on Nigerians to Pray for Peace, Unity

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has on Nigerians to continue to pray and support the peace and unity of the country.

The governor, who made the call on the occasion of this year’s Eid el-Kabir celebration, said the safety of lives and property in all parts of the state would remain the priority of his administration.

He said the current spate of insecurity where hundreds of school children are kidnapped daily in parts of the country, armed herders frequently attack farming communities and kill many people, as well as other acts of terrorism can only be surmounted if security agencies are given adequate support.

Governor Ortom, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akas, stated that Eidel-Kabir offers all Muslims the opportunity to exemplify the virtues of piety, honesty, charity and generosity, according to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

Ortom appreciated the understanding and support Benue people have given him since 2015 despite the challenges the state government has faced within the period.

‘He wishes the people of the state a joyful Eid-el-Kabir celebration,’ the statement concluded.

Don't Stifle Social Dialogue, NLC Tells FG, States Nigerian workers under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have urged

WHICH SHOULD I CHOOSE?...

Rams for sale at the Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan, Oyo State...yesterday government at all levels not to do anything that will block avenues for peacefull dialogue with agreived parties.

In a goodwill message to mark the Muslim festival of Eid-el-Kabir, NLC said that government being the custodian of the ideals of the nation’s collective civilisation must embrace social dialogue and with utmost good faith.

"We call on government to take utmost caution not to criminalise social dialogue. Social dialogue can only be meaningful when every party comes to the table in good faith.

"Government being the custodian of the ideals of our collective civilisation must embrace social dialogue and with utmost good faith," it said In the signed by its President, Ayuba Wabba, the NLC said that peaceful protest is a form of social dialogue, adding that peaceful protesters must not be harassed, humiliated, brutalised, maimed, imprisoned or killed.

He added that violent crushing of peaceful protest tends to send a very dangerous signal that civilisation and indeed the country’s shared humanity has failed.

Wabba said the government as the embodiment of the country’s sovereignty must ensure we never get to that point.

"On this Eid-el-Kabir, we must commend and extend the worthy sacrifice of the Nigerian workforce to all segments of society. The Social Partners – Government – Employers – Workers must all renew our commitment to making worthy sacrifices towards building a peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, secured, and sustainable society.

"Wabba urged Muslim clerics to use the opportunity to pray for the safe return of of those still being held hostage by bandits.

"There is no sacrifice too big to make for peace. We urge the Muslim Ummah to use the occasion of this Sallah to pray for the forgiveness of sin, peace in our country, for the safe return of all victims of hostage-for-ransom all over the country and for prosperity," he said

Sanwo-Olu Congratulates Muslims, Urges Residents to Celebrate with Caution Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide SanwoOlu, has congratulated Nigerians, especially Muslims across the country on the occasion of Eid-el-Kabir festival.

Governor Sanwo-Olu while rejoicing with Muslims on Eid-el-Kabir celebration urged them to celebrate with caution in the wake of the third wave of coronavirus infections in Nigeria. He also advised them to keep to all the COVID-19 protocols.

Sanwo-Olu in his Eid-el-Kabir message issued yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, advised Lagosians, especially Muslim faithful to imbibe the lessons of sacrifice made by Prophet Ibrahim and work for the peace, stability, unity and progress of the country.

The governor said there is strong connection between peaceful coexistence of all tribes and

religions and development, noting that as Lagosians, every resident must live together peacefully.

“On behalf of my family and government of Lagos State, I join millions of people around the world, to wish our Muslim brothers and sisters in the state and in Nigeria happy Eidel-Kabir, which comes with significant lessons for mankind.

"Eid al-Adha has become a symbolic event in the history of mankind, following the events that led to the sacrifice by Prophet Ibrahim, who held tenaciously to his faith in God despite his unpleasant circumstances at the time.”

Oyetola Rejoices with Muslims, Urges Strict Compliance with COVID-19 Protocols Governor of Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola, has rejoiced with Muslims in the State and across the world on the occasion of the 1442 AH Eid-el-Kabir festival, urging them not to forget the symbolic significance of the celebration.

This is contained in his Eid-el-Kabir message to Muslim faithful.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Ismail Omipidan, the governor encouraged the Muslim faithful to take cognisance of the symbolic significance of the festival and imbibe the lessons of obedience and sacrifice as demonstrated by Prophet Ibrahim.

Oyetola also called on the worshippers and all Nigerians to use the celebration to pray to Allah to save the country from the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, insecurity and other challenges facing the nation, just as he emphasised the need for unity, love, tolerance and peaceful co-existence among people in the State and Nigerians in general.

"In the spirit of Eid-el-Kabir celebration, I enjoin us all to respect our differences in terms of religion, tribe or political affiliation, and embrace love, unity, tolerance and peaceful co-existence.

In diversity lies our strength," Oyetola said.

Nasarawa Speaker Calls for Sustained Prayers for Nigeria As Muslims celebrate this year's Eid-el-kabir today, speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, has called for sustained prayers for peace and progress of the country.

Speaker Abdullahi stated this in a statement signed by his Press Secretary, Jibrin Gwamna, which quoted the speaker as calling on Muslims to reflect on the significance of the period which is sacrifice to extend hands of love and friendship to one another especially the less privileged.

The speaker called on all Nigerians to tolerate, love and live in peace with one another irrespective of religion, political or ethnic differences to build an egalitarian society.

He said: "I call on religious, political, traditional and community leaders to always preach peace

and unity among their people. I also call on the people to always be law abiding, pray and support leaders at all levels to succeed.

"I enjoin Nigerians, especially Muslims, to use the period to also pray for God's intervention in the security and other emerging challenges facing the country."

Glo Rejoices with Muslims on Eid-el-Kabir As Nigerian Muslim faithful join their counterparts all over the world to mark this year's Eid-el-Kabir, Telecoms giant, Globacom, has congratulated them on yet another celebration in the worship of the Almighty Allah.

In a goodwill message sent to Nigerian Muslims yesterday, Globacom urged Muslims to use the occasion of the festival to pray for peace, unity and development of the nation and imbibe fully the teachings of Prophet Mohammed (SAW).

Globacom said: “We rejoice with Nigerian Muslim Ummah as they celebrate the 2021 Eid-el-Kabir festival. We urge them to use the occasion to continue to promote peaceful co-existence and live up to the tenets of their faith through acts of charity and obedience to the injunctions of the Holy Quoran”.

The company also urged them to exhibit the lessons of commitment, dedication and obedience to higher authorities as exemplified

by Prophet Ibraheem’s willingness to sacrifice his son in deference to the will of God, a supreme act of faith which Eid-el-Kabir glorifies.

Let Peace Reign In Nigeria, Speaker Obasa Pleads The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has urged Nigerians to see peace as one of the major ingredients for democracy to thrive.

Obasa made this known in his Eid-el-Kabir message to Nigerians including residents of Lagos and politicians in the state, which is preparing for local government elections.

The Speaker, who noted that the yearnings of many well-meaning Nigerians were justified, however, added that going about such demands and requests through violent means would not help the citizens and the country.

"We complain about a dwindling economy today, but the truth is that restiveness, banditry, terrorism, kidnappings and general insecurity are some of the major causes.

"It is not difficult to know that no nation can thrive or succeed when it is violence-ridden.

"Just as citizens must begin to live in peace and neighbourliness, we, as leaders, must also not nap, we must not sleep on ideas to make the country great.

"We must show perfect examples of love for country and sacrifice to humanity as Islam teaches.”

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY JULY 20, 2021

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POLITICS

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

Questionable Reprieve for Electoral Offender The recent conviction of Professor Peter Ogban for electoral offences that was described as a landmark decision in the nation’s jurisprudence, was last week made a mockery courtesy of a controversial bail pending appeal aimed at setting him free, Davidson Iriekpen writes

Ogban

B

arely four months after Justice Augustine Odokwo of the Akwa Ibom State High Court was commended for a landmark decision convicting Professor Peter Ogban for electoral fraud, he is on the street walking as a free man courtesy of a N10million bail pending appeal granted him last week by another judge.

Justice Justice Pius Idiong while ruling on the bail application filed by the convict, said the bail conditions would include a surety in like sum who must reside and have properties within the jurisdiction of the court. Other conditions include the presentation of Certificate of Occupancy signed by the state governor and two passport photographs each of the applicant and surety to the Registrar of the court.

The judge held that though the applicant did not prove exceptional circumstance or unusual reason to be granted bail, the applicant may have to serve the terms of the sentence before the determination of the appeal.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had arraigned Ogban, a Professor of Soil Science of the University of Calabar, Cross River State last year before Justice Odokwo.

The university don who acted as the Collation/ Returning Officer during the 2019 National Assembly elections, was charged with two counts of fraudulently tampering with the election results in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial district.

In one of the court’s sessions, Ogban had told the court how the results of the election were falsified to give the APC an unfair advantage over its main rival, the PDP. For instance, some 5,000 fake votes were added to the APC’s score in Oruk Anam, in the election.

The initial judge, Justice Odokwo, after listening to the arguments, said the prosecution was able to prove its case against Ogban beyond any reasonable doubt. He found the Professor guilty of manipulating and falsifying the scores of election results in Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo Local Government Areas in favour of the APC. The judge consequently sentenced him to 36 months jail term and a fine of N100,000.

When the judgment was delivered, not only was it hailed across the country, it was also described as a landmark decision in the nation’s jurisprudence.

Soon after, his lawyers swung into action with an appeal at the Court of Appeal. But THISDAY gathered that a former governor of the state whom Ogban had allegedly connived with to rig the election in his favour, masterminded a bail pending appeal for him. It was gathered that the former governor who saw the gesture as pay back time, was at the time contesting a senatorial election. It was believed that he did not want to leave Ogban in the cold after he attempted to risk his career and life for him.

Immediately the professor was convicted and sentenced, he was led away by prison officials.

Since the news of the bail pending appeal

Muhammad

became public, observers have been criticsing it, saying the action makes a mockery of the judgment convicting him and the lessons thereof.

They noted that such actions make the high and mighty to evade prison after being convicted and sentenced for infraction of the law. They further wondered why the Nigerian criminal justice system creates loopholes for the high and mighty to take advantage of.

Those who spoke to THISDAY on condition of anonymity, faulted the judge who despite holding that “the applicant did not prove exceptional circumstance or unusual reason to be granted bail,” still went ahead to grant him bail.

For too long in the country, election riggers were scarcely brought to book, creating an incentive for unscrupulous politicians and their cohorts in INEC to persist in bad behaviour. In the 2015 elections, the electoral umpire received 149 case files. Most of the cases were dismissed for lack of diligent prosecution. At times, the attorneys-general of the states file nolle prosequi motions to get the offenders off the hook. At the end of the day, 61 cases were prosecuted, but no conviction was secured. This is appalling. In this way, the offenders compromise the elections with impunity.

Despite the introduction of technologies like the smart card reader and the permanent voter card – the police recorded 796 arrests in the second phase of the 2019 general election and 323 arrests in the first phase.

In its final report, the European Union Observer Mission to the 2019 polls stated that the prevalent forms of electoral fraud included forgery of permanent voter cards, interference with a ballot box or ballot papers, dereliction of duty by election officials, impersonation, voting when not qualified, bribery, violation of the secrecy of the vote, and disorderly conduct of elections.

Incidentally, vote-buying on Election Day occurs prominently. Not only do political hirelings on

Yakubu

many occasions chase away voters, security agents too have been fingered in mass thumb printing of ballots for their masters. Politicians deploy weapons and skulduggery to win at all costs. Hanging on to technicalities, the courts often close their eyes to all this. The implication is that over time, the electorate has become disillusioned with democracy. Voter apathy is escalating.

The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), a British NGO, stated that the voter turnout in the 2019 presidential election fell to 35 per cent from 44 per cent in the 2015 polls.

That 44 per cent turnout was also a decline from 54 per cent attained in the 2011 polls.

“Statistics show that the voter turnout for Nigerian presidential elections has been dropping since 2003,” the WFD lamented.

Repeatedly, INEC deplores its helplessness to rein in offenders. Under the Electoral Act, it cannot investigate or arrest offenders, though it can prosecute. By relying on external forces to do its job, this hamstrings the commission.

Since 2015, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been prosecuting the suspects linked to the $115 million allegedly distributed by a former Petroleum Minister, Diezani AlisonMadueke, to compromise that year’s general election. In a scandalous case, INEC said though it secured 40 convictions – described as the highest so far – in a bye-election in Kano State in 2016, “the convicts did not apparently spend any time in prison” because they were given the option of fine.

It is believed that Nigeria, electoral fraud begins from the party primaries. Although INEC has an observer status during this exercise, it has no power to intervene. For the 2019 elections, there were 1,700 pre-election suits as of November 2020 with INEC spending between N3 million and N4.5 million on each case. This is more than one and a half years after the election

His lawyers swung into action with an appeal at the Court of Appeal. But THISDAY gathered that a former governor of the state whom Ogban had allegedly connived with to rig the election in his favour, masterminded a bail pending appeal for him. It was gathered that the former governor who saw the gesture as pay back time, was at the time contesting a senatorial election. It was believed that he did not want to leave Ogban in the cold after he attempted to risk his career and life for him. Immediately the professor was convicted and sentenced, he was led away by prison officials

itself. This is weird. It ought to be reviewed, and the Electoral Act strengthened.

For a long time, many Nigerians had wondered when the laws would finally catch up with at least one heavyweight involved in electoral malpractices to serve as a deterrent. But the favour granted Professor Ogban instead of allowing him to serve his prison term, has clearly shown that the Nigerian prisons are not meant for those who have connections with the high and mighty in government.

While miscreants are randomly arrested by law enforcement agents and arraigned and sent to prison on trumped up charges, the rich often tends to escape justice via technical loopholes or outright undermining of the system. For instance, from 2007 to date, security and antigraft agencies in the country have arraigned no less than 50 high-profile public officers and personalities but are still yet to secure conviction against them.

Though there is no dearth of laws in the country, what many believe is lacking range from diligent prosecution to political will to move against powerful and influential people who contravene the law. They wonder why people who steal public funds, and those who commit electoral fraud, financial and corporate fraud are allowed to freely walk the streets when they are supposed to be behind bars.

It was against this background that Nigerians were jolted when an Osun State High Court in Osogbo recently sentenced a 31 year-old man, Kelvin Igha Igbodalo, to 45 years imprisonment for stealing a Sony Ericson mobile phone.

Igbodalo, who was arraigned on a six-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, stealing, impersonation and advance free fraud, pleaded guilty. Justice Jide Falola sentenced Igbodalo to 10 years in prison for each of the first three charges and five years each for the last three counts.

But a former Assistant Director in the federal civil service, Mr. John Yakubu Yusufu who admitted to being part of those who stole N32 billion was practically allowed to go free.

The sentencing of Yusufu which was the first conviction in an elaborate scam that came to light in 2012 involved several top officials, offices and banks. The convict was tried on a 20-count charge alongside Atiku Abubakar Kigo (Permanent Secretary), Ahmed Inuwa Wada (Director), Veronica Onyegbula (Cashier) and Sani Habila Zira (ICT Officer). His sentencing came after he pleaded guilty to betraying trust and fraudulently converting N2 billion of police pension funds to private use. He admitted to the 19th and 20th offences relating specifically to him, each involving betrayal of trust and the conversion of N1 billion apiece. But to the consternation of Nigerians, the trial judge, Justice Abubakar Talba, handed the convict a mere sentence of six years in jail and an option of N750,000 which he promptly paid to avoid going to jail.

T H I S D AY ˾TUESDAY JULY 20, 2021

19

POLITICS

Osinbajo Can Returm Nigeria to an Era of Professionalism in Government Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo understands the challenges and demands of the office of President of Nigeria and has acquired the depth of on-the-job-training and preparedness to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari

Buhari

Y

emi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President can be the president all Nigerians clamour for come 2023; and he will work for everyone, including those who think he is not deserving.

There are many likely aspirants, like the accomplished businessman, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, who holds such a promise. The imperative for a president who is totally devoid of sectional interests has never been so paramount.

Mr. Osinbajo has worked very closely, almost without rancour with President Muhammadu Buhari, except for instances of misunderstanding contrived to benefit those who do not wish him to succeed the president.

For now, it may be said that the Vice President has no personal agenda beyond carrying out assigned roles and giving unalloyed support to his principal. His loyalty brings to mind the years of distrust and the divided presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

The expectation of the Nigerian public on what qualities the next president of Nigeria should possess is squarely captured in Osinbajo. He understands the challenges and demands of the office. Arguably, no Vice president has acquired the depth of on-the-jobtraining and preparedness. He is well suited to the demands of the office.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has experienced a lot of skirmishes over the bid to control the party. These unpremeditated fighting has led to unhealthy cleavages that threatens to severe the cord of unity within the party. Osinbajo can be that fine thread that completely sews and restores the tattered fabric of the APC. Inside of him is a huge capacity for compassion and decency. A President Osinbajo would have a bold respect for the rule of law, not because he is a professor of law and a preacher of the gospel whose moral compass has been unwavering on the path of rectitude, but he has demonstrated over time that he strives for excellence without compromise. No doubt public confidence in democratic institutions will be restored. With Osinbajo on the saddle there would a swing back to the era of regard for professionalism in government. It can almost be taken

Osinbajo

for granted that competence will form the basis of call to service in his administration. Nigeria and Nigerians will experience a new lease of life and pride in their nation as Osinbajo deploys every possible method to address injustices to aggrieved sections of the country in a bid to put the nation first.

It is clear that Osinbajo would be guided by his famous statement.

“As I repeated many times during the course of the campaign that our country is not short of ideas, we are not short of projects; we are not short of money either; what we are short of is integrity in office.”

Mr. Osinbajo recommends himself for not dealing treacherously with two of the most powerful figures, not only in the APC, but in the country. He served as Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice under Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Governor of Lagos State.

For his dedication, Tinubu had no reservation in putting him forward when it became clear that Nigerians would not accept his bid to pair Buhari as running mate; mainly because of the religious sensitivity of MuslimMuslim ticket. Since 2015, Osinbajo has largely remained where the lines are defined for him; not overtly ambitious to attempt a crossover into needless controversies. Therefore, Buhari has enjoyed a relatively peaceful presidency, assured that his deputy is a gentleman to the core.

As president, Osinbajo will certainly

be under some sort of pressure from Tinubu directly or remotely from his supporters. The demand on him will be to show gratitude at all times to the man who God used to pave the way for him to reach the pinnacle of governance in Nigeria. But what many including Abuja-based lawyer, Kayode Ajulo who have started to rally friends and associates of the Vice President into a potential political pressure group, first within, the APC, and later with the mandate to reach farther in the larger society, believe that Osinbajo can be trusted to keep the ship of state on an even keel. The Ajulo train for Osinbajo is anchored on continuity, competence, experience, stability, charisma and zoning. “My support for Osinbajo is based on principles over politics,” he said.

To date, it may be argued that most successful Minister of Finance in Nigeria was Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was a lawyer, journalist and thinker.

Osinbajo headed Nigeria’s economic team at a most critical period under the Buhari presidency. His economic recovery plan as Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) is still the structure on which some of the current policies are being run.

His record of accomplishments has almost been indelible until the mud that was splashed on his reputation owing contrived complicity in the Tunde Fowler alleged corruption case at the Federal Inland Revenue

Nigeria and Nigerians will experience a new lease of life and pride in their nation as Osinbajo deploys every possible method to address injustices to aggrieved sections of the country in a bid to put the nation first. It is clear that Osinbajo would be guided by his famous statement. “As I repeated many times during the course of the campaign that our country is not short of ideas, we are not short of projects; we are not short of money either; what we are short of is integrity in office

Service (FIRS). It was alleged that the Vice President took N90 billion from the FIRS to fund the 2019 elections.

Soon another allegation of corruption against Osinbajo emerged from the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He was mentioned in the N5.8 billion National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) scandal. The Vice President was also unfortunately tied to an unsavoury report by a notorious online publisher that linked him to corrupt receipt of money from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu. In all these instances, the allegations died naturally because they were without substance. It is noteworthy that at no time did President Buhari show displeasure of the conduct of the Vice President. At this juncture, it becomes necessary to recall the testimony of a renowned Professor of Law, Itse Sagay. On Osinbajo, he said, “The Vice President is an incorruptible man of God, a man of high moral standing who is as clean as a whistle.

He will not appropriate any money that doesn’t belong to him to himself.”

Supposing the APC permutation favours him and he goes on to win the general election, Mr. Osinbajo will also do very well in foreign relations.

Like his mentor in politics, Osinbajo has an uncanny gift to assemble the right team of men and women that can buld bridges over troubled waters in all spheres. The questions will be tough on all counts and Nigerians will want quick, almost magical results, but the Vice President has the level-headedness to pilot Nigeria into her avowed destiny of admirable greatness.

Before Nigerians are offered the choice between Osinbajo and others, the APC must do the country the favour of bringing him forward and availing him with the best support available to triumph in the 2023 presidential election.

It would be wrong to say here that Osinbajo has no flaws. There is no such human being. What is possible is that if he emerges as the APC presidential candidate, he has the capacity to shepherd Nigerians to realise their God-given potentials in all fields.

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FEATURES

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

Enhancing Professionalism, Responsiveness in the Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army recently held a training for chief clerks targeted at enhancing professionalism and responsiveness, as well as strengthening information security for optimal performance, writes Chiemelie Ezeobi

Commandant NACOL, Major General Martins Enendu (middle) flanked by other senior officers including the GOC 81 Division, Major General Lawrence Fejokwu (third right)

The GOC with Colonel Onyekachi Eneowo

The resource persons who delivered lectures

Cross section of participants at the training

T

o strengthen information security and prevent leakage of official documents, the Nigerian Army recently held a four-day training for its chief clerks aimed at enhancing professionalism and responsiveness for optimal performance.

The training which held at the headquarters, Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps (NAOC), Yaba, Lagos, was targeted at NA Chief Clerks, who are non-commissioned officers (NCOs) attached to administrative departments and units where they perform clerical duties.

The NA 2021 Chief Clerks Convention attracted senior officers and over 400 Chief Clerks drawn from units, formations, Corps Headquarters and training institutions across the Nigerian Army.

Developing Capacity Declaring the convention open, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya said it was designed to remind the participants on the need to uphold the Official Secrets Act in the course of their duty.

The COAS who was represented by the Commandant, Nigerian Army College of Logistics (NACOL), Major General Martins Enendu, reminded the participants that they are the custodians of documents in the army and must guide against leakage of information that could either embarrass the service or jeopardise its operations.

He said: "This training is designed to bring us all on the same page towards ensuring such leakages are checkmated. The issue of disclosures from theatre of operations may not in all cases be limited to structured

manner of handling information. Some of these leakages are from men in the field and sometimes, even from people who are not soldiers. We are here for the structured manner of handling document security and I think we would achieve the objectives."

According to Yahaya, the training would enable the soldiers develop needed capacity and enhance their performance in the discharge of their duties as mustered and trained confidential secretaries, personal assistants and Chief Clerks of the various formations and units they serve in.

He warned against falsification of documents/signatures, late/non-rendition of returns, unauthorised publications and dissemination/disclosure of classified information to the press or other unreliable audiences, describing such as unpatriotic acts that could have dire consequences on the image of the army.

He said: "As trained clerks, you must uphold the Official Secret Act which provides the guidelines and regulates your professional conduct. In this regard I wish to use this opportunity to reiterate that as chief clerks, you must discharge your duties professionally and desist from acts which contravene the Official Secret Act which you all swore to uphold.

"It is also expected that your actions will portray you as role models to your subordinate clerks in the branches, wings, cells or orderly rooms of your various formations, units or establishments. You must therefore strive to lead by example and imbibe all the core values of the NA to ensure professionalism and honesty in

the discharge of your duties.

"Additionally, you must consider your service as a sacrifice for the betterment of the system especially on issues bothering on all clerical matters. You must therefore take this convention seriously and maximise the benefit that comes with it so as to ensure your effectiveness as a chief clerk.

"Similarly, you must endeavor to seize every opportunity, to develop yourselves and acquire requisite skills so as to be prepared to surmount challenges which are associated with the modernisation and technological advancement of our societies especially as it affects the discharge of your duties as Chief Clerks.

"You must therefore keep abreast and key into the ongoing process of using modern smart technology and strive to acquire all the clerical skills, it provides.

"To this end you must be computer literate and proficient in the use of internet facilities and be capable of performing cloud computing and other related clerical aspects of these emerging technologies. It is only through such commitment, focus and dedication, that you can cope with the ongoing transformation in the NA which I desire to achieve in the attainment of my vision.

"It is therefore important that as chief clerks, you must serve the NA with utmost honestly, sincerity and above all, with a God fearing mindset. You must therefore ensure uprightness, guided by good morals and values so as to remain relevant in the effective functioning of your respective corps, formations or units. Accordingly, imbibing these attributes will no doubt

assist in the actualisation of the purpose of this convention."

Optimal Functioning In his welcome address, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Major General Lawrence Fejokwu expressed optimism that the trainees would be better informed and equipped at the end of the convention.

He said: "Chief Clerks are expected to be robust, endowed with quick thinking, analytical and armed with problems solving skills and foresight. Only in this way, can chief clerks contribute to the optimal functioning of formation and units in the NA." He urged the participants to make optimal use of the opportunity by learning the rudiments of contemporary clerical work, adding that the knowledge acquired would enable them function in various capacities.

Lectures In the first Lecture titled “Capacity Development of Clerical Staff: Challenges and ways forward” delivered by Colonel Onyekachi Eneowo, he enlightened the participants on the roles of NA Clerical Staff. He pointed out the challenges to capacity development, especially in the face of current security challenges confronting the nation.

Also, Brigadier General Chijioke Onwule in a lecture titled, “Exploring Information Communication Technology for Optimal Performance of the NA Chief Clerks" drew the attention of the participants to global best practices that are in tune with military conventions.

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FEATURES

Okowa: Six Years Like Six Decades Kenneth Orere

W

hen the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, released the 2020 National Poverty Index which saw Delta State leapfrog to second least poorest state (state with lowest number of poor people) in Nigeria, it came as no surprise to many Deltans. By 2010, Delta was ranked 10th. It is now classified as second least poor state. And this is happening at a time of low ebb in global economy; at a time of depleting foreign reserve for the country, at a time of very low crude oil price in the international market which translates to low revenue to states and the federal government. During this period, particularly within the last two years, many states could not pay basic salaries let alone embark of major capital projects. But that was the time Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, revved up development in the state.

Many linked the state’s movement from the high poor belt to the least poor bracket to efficient public finance management, productivity-oriented economic policies, effective multi-sector interventions, youthtargeted job and wealth creation initiatives and conscious effort at diversifying the state’s economy through agriculture. But some Deltans believe it is far more than these. They attribute the jump and general improvement of the state’s economy to probity and prudence in fiscal management as well as a carefully calibrated prioritisation of development programmes embarked upon by the governor.

Working on the development blueprint captured in his SMART programme to build a Stronger Delta, Okowa strategically moved the state away from overdependence on oil money. The diversity of Delta ecosystem is such that it is both riverine and upland and it has the capacity to support agriculture in diverse crop and animal farming namely: Cassava, rice, yam, tomato, oil palm production as well as in aqua-culture (fishery), piggery, poultry, among others.

The governor’s bullish construction of roads and bridges in the state which earned him the moniker, Roadmaster, also helped to contribute to the state’s economic stimulation. The completion of 799 civil infrastructure projects including the construction of 5 bridges (15 more ongoing), 1,577.8 kilometres of roads and 908.8 kilometres of drainage channels has not only helped to reduce infrastructure deficit as well as encourage commuting and movement of goods and services across the state, it has remained a reference point in infrastructural development in the history of the multi-city state .This coupled with the wide-ranging initiatives in job and wealth creation especially among the youths galvanised activities in the non-oil sectors.

The resultant impact was a growth in the size of the state’s economy beating every odd and surpassing earlier projections despite a general cloudy economic environment that stymied economic growth at the national level and in most states.

For instance, the state’s economy nosed up from N2.96 trillion in 2015 to N4.47 trillion in 2019, amounting to a jump by 51%. Analysts have rated the growth as phenomenal especially taking cognisance of the economic recession that whittled the nation’s growth between 2015 and 2016.

This impressive economic performance has been attributed to innovative economic policies, institutionalisation of best practices in governance and fiscal prudence. But much more as a result of the government’s deliberate push which created and expanded new frontiers in non-oil sectors.

The deliberate investment in agriculture created a buffer for the state against the dwindling revenue from the federation account. For a state steeped in subsistence farming over the years, Okowa brought a paradigm shift in agriculture with the introduction of youth-focussed initiatives one of which is the Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP). It was one of the programmes to actualize

Stephen Keshi stadium

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa his promise of ‘Prosperity for all Deltans’.

The YAGEP programme offered a safety net to rein in the youths, got them actively engaged such that they were able to turn their youthful energies and feisty fervour into productive ventures in agriculture.

Under YAGEP, a total of 893 previously unemployed youths were effectively trained, empowered and settled in 25 farm clusters across the state over three successive years (cycles) spanning from 2015 to 2018. The involvement of these youths in agriculture soon turned them from jobseekers to wealth creators and employers of labour. And this gave a fillip to a holistic improvement of the agriculture value chain.

The overall impact was that agriculture GDP rose from N432 billion in 2015 to N583 billion in 2019, an impressive leap of 35%. Officials of the state government said this growth could have been more but for the massive flooding in 2018 and the scourge of insecurity visited on the state, especially farmers, during the period by armed herdsmen.

Evidence of the impact of YAGEP on the economy is captured in the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which showed that the agricultural sector in the state grew at an annual average of 13.3% from 2015-2017, compared to 8.6% from 2013-2015. The growth has remained on the ascendancy with every passing year.

Between 2015 and 2020, the government created over 100,000 direct jobs including entrepreneurs and over one million indirect jobs arising from various interventions and infrastructural development in the state.

Some of the MDAs that created direct jobs include Job and Wealth Creation Bureau, Ministry of Youth Development, Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Science and Technology, Girl Child Empowerment Office among others.

The governor’s focus on rural folks,

women and the girl-child has been legendary. Using the Rural Youth Skills Training programme (for youths resident in the rural communities with basic knowledge in chosen trade/enterprise); Girls Entrepreneurship and Skills Training (GEST) programme (for young ladies between ages 18 and 30); and, the Women Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition Programme (WESAP), Okowa has empowered rural dwellers including women. For instance, he gave a boost to the making of Akwa-Ocha (White Cloth), the popular traditional hand-woven cloth common among the Anioma people of the state which is being exported to different parts of the world to Diaspora Anioma people, their friends and those who are thrilled by the tapestry and grandeur of the intricately woven piece of cloth. Before now, Akwa-Ocha was made using local looms and it was done mostly by old women without any plan of sustaining the art through the coming generations.

But Okowa has modernised the operations thus enhancing efficiency including speed of production and splendour of the final product which translates to more money for those in the business. Besides, the government has made it attractive to the younger generation through the Delta Fabric (Akwa-Ocha/Akwa-Oma) training programme at the Accelerated Delta Innovation (Leather works/Shoemaking Factory) in Issele-Uku, Aniocha North LGA. All the youths trained at the factory were also given starter-packs.

Youth empowerment is high on Okowa’s agenda as their engagement would engender peace in the state. To this effect, the government has initiated a lot of skills acquisition projects to get the youths meaningfully engaged. Programmes such as ICT-Youth Empowerment Programme (ICT-YEP), Rural Youth Skill Acquisition Programme (RYSA) have become veritable vehicles for youth empowerment.

To sustain the policy on youth empowerment, the Directorate of Youth Monitoring and Mentoring (DYMM) was established in 2016 to monitor the training activities of agencies that have to do with job and wealth creation in the state. The fact that Delta maintained first position consecutively in the last three National Sports Festivals attests to an actively engaged youth population.

A youth leader and grassroots mobiliser in Ubulu-Uku, Aniocha South local government area of the state, Mr. John Nwajei, likened Okowa’s six years in office to six decades. “Governor Okowa’s six years looks like six decades to some of us who had been around in the state. What he has achieved in six years is what would have taken some other leaders six decades to achieve. He built schools including technical colleges as we used to know them of old; he built roads and bridges in both urban and rural areas including riverine

communities in a manner no leader has ever done. He built hospitals, houses and he built humans. He turned our youths from crime and street lives to productive ventures,“ he said when he addressed some youths in his community ahead of the local government election which held earlier this year.

Governor Okowa’s peerless stride in infrastructure development has continued to draw top politicians and thought leaders in the nation to Delta State to perform commissioning ceremonies or flag-off of projects including the multi-purpose state secretariat, concessioning of a hugely rejigged Asaba International Airport, Stephen Keshi International Stadium, hospitals, schools, a brand new High Court complex after the old building was razed during the EndSARS protest, roads and bridges in all parts of the state.

Under Okowa, Delta has positioned itself to retrieve its old glory as the birthplace for academic excellence and breeding ground for fecund minds. The state now has four state government-owned universities (Abraka, Agbor, Asaba and Ozoro), two polytechnics, (Ogwashi-Uku, and School of Marine Technology, Burutu), two Colleges of Education (Warri and Mosogar), wellequipped technical colleges, four schools of nursing/midwifery (Eku, Agbor, Ughelli and Asaba); in addition to two federal universities (Effurun and Okerenkoko), five private universities (Ogume, Ibusa, Kiagbodo, Oghara and Agbara-Otor) and two private polytechnics (Agbor and Owa-Oyibu). All these are geared towards entrenching the total man concept of human capacity development.

Former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki in a foreword to a special publication on Okowa’s leadership wrote: “Governor Okowa has stabilized the polity despite the daunting security challenges that have enveloped the country through a combination of persuasive engagements and job creation. All of these have resulted in an impressive GDP spanning over five years that have witnessed a significant growth (52.8%) of the non-oil sector as against oil and gas (47.2%) in 2019. Services accounted for 34%, Agriculture 13% and manufacturing 5.4%. Given the huge youth population and growing unemployment, his interventions in job and wealth creation have been complemented with 19 new technical colleges to provide a skills base and promote self-employment.”

Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Governors Udom Emmanuel, Samuel Ortom, Godwin Obaseki, Douye Diri and other elite Nigerians have visited Delta at various times to commission projects across the state. It’s a mark of productivity of the Okowa government.

-Orere, Public Policy Analyst, wrote in from Warri

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T H I S D AY • TUESDAY JULY 20, 2021

LAWYER

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WEEKLY PULLOUT

20.07.2021

WILL THE PIB GUARANTEE A BETTER PETROLEUM INDUSTRY?

2/DASHBOARD

20.07.2021

LAWYER

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WEEKLY PULLOUT

20.07.2021

WILL THE PIB GUARANTEE A BETTER PETROLEUM INDUSTRY?

QUOTABLES ‘And, those of us who have shed part of our blood and sweated for this country, we did it because we wanted a country where every Nigerian can claim as his or her own…..’ - General Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR, former Military Head of State (1976-1979), former President, Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999-2007) ‘…..If you look at some of the elections we have organised since 2020, you can see that we have uploaded the results of 22 elections…..We have the capacity and the will, to deploy the use of technology in the electoral process.’ - Festus Okoye, Lawyer, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee

Requirement of NYSC Certificate to hold Ministerial Position in Nigeria PAGE 4

IBA ARF Releases Comprehensive Guide to Safeguarding Personal Data for Lawyers PAGE 5

Tech Explosion at the NBASBL Annual Conference PAGE 5

NASS 2021 Electoral Amendment Bill: Betrayal of Peoples’ Trust PAGE 6-7

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20.07.2021

E-Transmission of Results and Senators’ Unclean Hands Justice for the ‘Queen’s College 3’ Before I go into the word for today, I would like to make a brief observation - we have definitely not forgotten - it’s been about four years since my fellow QC (Queen's College, Yaba, Lagos) Girls, Praise Sodipo, Vivian Osuniyi and Bithia Itulua, lost their lives as a result of an epidemic in the school, caused by the grossly unhygienic and inhumane conditions that the QC Girls were forced to live in, where faeces and other bacteria were the main contents of the liquid that these young ladies were given to consume as drinking water, and use for all other purposes - water that was not fit for human consumption. It’s looking like these three beautiful young girls, will not get the justice they deserve. On the contrary, Dr Lami Amodu, who was the Principal of my alma mater, QC, in 2017 when this ugly incident occurred, instead of facing criminal charges of Voluntary Manslaughter (amongst others) with her cohorts, was spirited away and rewarded with the Principalship of another school far from Lagos, and no one heard about the unfortunate incident again. Unbelievable!

The level of lack of accountability on the part of Nigerian public officials, with the connivance or enablement of Government, is past alarming, to say the least. Aside from the few who are unfortunate enough to be used as token scape goats to show that Government is fighting evil and corruption etc, the bulk of them are able to get away with murder, like Dr Amodu! To the best of my knowledge, Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)(the Constitution) only grants immunity from suit and legal process to a selected few as stated therein, not every public official in Nigeria. Dr Lami Amodu and her cohorts, should be brought to justice.

Non-Confirmation of Lauretta Onochie Last week, two incidents occupied the front burner of events in Nigeria - the nonconfirmation of Lauretta Onochie as an INEC National Commissioner, and the rancorous passing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 (EAMB) by the National Assembly (NASS).

Why did the Senate ascribe their failure to confirm Ms Onochie, to the Federal Character provisions of Section 14(3) of the Constitution?

Are we babies? When did Federal Character begin to be a factor in making appointments in this administration? If this is a ruse to somehow re-present Ms Onochie again as a candidate for INEC National Commissioner in the future, many Nigerians including my humble self, repeat unequivocally that Ms Onochie is partisan, and therefore, does not satisfy the requirement of being unbiased in order to qualify to be a member of the electoral umpire. She also perjured herself at the Senate Committee hearing. Such a person, is unfit to hold such a delicate and crucial position.

See Third Schedule to the Constitution Part 1 F - INEC Section 14(2)(a) & 3(b) on partisanship and unquestionable integrity.

It is this type of behaviour by Legislators, plus their blatant self-centredness, over and above the needs of those they represent, that fuels the distrust and contempt which Nigerians feel for many of them, and Politicians generally. This suspicion is what we have seen play out, in the latest Nigerian political saga of electronic transmission of election results!

Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 While I haven’t had a chance to peruse the EAMB, a cursory look at it showed that our self-serving Politicians failed to amend Section 31 of the EA, which provides that INEC shall neither reject nor disqualify a candidate for any reason whatsoever. Any Aspirant who wants to challenge the documentation of another, must go to court.

With the ANDP and the two underaged candidates they presented in the last Bayelsa Gubernatorial election, I used their case to illustrate how nonsensical this provision can be when the Constitution has a made a specific provision in a matter, and the candidate clearly does not qualify; and the evidence of such non-qualification of the candidate is included in the documents submitted to INEC. In the ANDP case, their candidates were less than 35 years of age, contrary to Section 177(b) of

the Constitution. I concluded that, in such a case, it is the Constitution, and not INEC that has rejected or disqualified the candidate, and surely the time of the court should not be wasted on such clear cut matters. INEC should be able to weed out such obvious non-starters from incipiency.

But, because Politicians are fond of taking their chances in court, doing forum shopping to where they may find favour, this provision was not amended to, at least, include a proviso that in a case where the failure to meet the criteria is as clear as a bell, such as the ANDP candidates, or a baby or a Chinese or Haitian person wanting to run for office here, INEC should be able to decline such applications that do not meet these clear and basic conditions ab initio.

I must say that the debate on whether transmission of results should be done electronically or manually, eliciting the claim by Senators that only about 50% or so of Nigeria has network coverage, confirms the poor state of Nigeria’s infrastructural development, and how stagnant we can be in terms of progress. Naturally, the blame for this cannot be laid solely at the feet of this administration; it is the collective culpability of successive administrations. Successive Governments have simply failed to meet the economic and social objectives set out in Sections 16 and 17 of the Constitution, required to attain the requisite level of development Nigeria should have achieved by now.

More importantly, the distrust of NASS and Politicians by most Nigerians, has been sealed with cynicism (and rightfully so), as we can see clearly that many of their decisions are driven purely by self-interest. The way they manipulate the law and the system for their own gain, is sickening. Many are of the opinion that the polarisation of NASS on the issue of the electronic transmission of results, has to do with the fact that the APC wants to have room to manipulate and rig the elections in 2023 with the use of manual transmission of results, especially since their popularity may be at an all-time low, while the PDP are dead set against manual transmission of results, because they have used it for rigging purposes in the past, and can see what the APC is trying to achieve from 1000 miles away. What is that Nigerian proverb? About what an elder (PDP) can see sitting down on the ground, a child cannot see even from the top of the tallest tree!

History of Section 52 of the Electoral Act In 2018, aside from the issue of amending Section 25 of the Electoral Act (EA) regarding the sequence of the elections, which fell through (another proposed amendment, again, borne out of the self-interest of some who believed that they may not win in the elections if theirs took place after the the Presidential election - I believe it was referred to as the ‘bandwagon effect’), we had a similar debate about amending Section 52 of the EA and electronic voting. In the 2010 version of the EA, Section 52 strictly prohibited the use of electronic voting machines.

The 2015 amendment to Section 52 of the EA (done just before the end of President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure), permitted voting to be done in accordance with the procedure determined

by INEC. This meant that it was up to INEC,

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, INEC

to determine which procedure would be adopted to run elections (and it paved the way for the previously prohibited electronic voting). And rightfully so too, since Section 78 of the Constitution gives INEC the mandate to register voters and conduct elections subject to its direction and supervision. In fact, Section 78 uses the word ‘shall’, meaning that conduct of elections (and everything pertaining thereto) must be under the direction and supervision of INEC. The use of the word ‘shall’ in a statutory provision, imports that a thing must be done. See the case of Ugwu v Ararume 2007 12 N.W.L.R. Part 1048 Page 367 at 441-442 per Tobi JSC. Yet another proposed amendment of Section 52 of the Electoral Act failed to sail through in 2018, when President Buhari declined to assent to the 2018 Amendment Bill. The proposed amendment of Section 52(2) of the EA provided thus: "The Commission shall adopt electronic voting in all elections or any other method of voting as may be determined by the Commission from time to time". Personally, I found the wordings of this section a bit clumsy, for the simple reason that, by virtue of the definition of the word 'shall' as highlighted above, it is a contradiction to command that you must do something in a particular way, and in the same breath, say you can do the same thing any other way that is determined by INEC. See Ugwu v Ararume (Supra). The second part of the proposed amendment, seems to make nonsense out of the first part.

However, I could see what the drafters of the amendment were trying to do - make allowance for manual voting or some other means, maybe in case of failure of the electronic process. This was the version that was again resubmitted for the EAMB 2021. The Senate Committee however, reverted to the 2015 version, but was more specific than the old version, by actually stating that electronic voting may be used, but that transmission of results electronically may be done where and when practicable.

The act of then subjecting the decision as to the practicability of electronic transmission of results to the NCC, a Government agency for that matter, and NASS who are also running in the elections, is not just preposterous, but makes nonsense of INEC’s independence; as an independent body so empowered by the Constitution, INEC cannot be subject to these other bodies - it is independent; unless the Constitution is amended so to provide.

It is trite that the grundnorm can only be amended by means of its Section 9, and not by a statute, as the EAMB 2021 attempts to do with this NCC/NASS inclusion into the electoral process.

A community reading of all the amendments to Section 52 of the EA, shows that they have never actually made electronic voting in Nigeria mandatory, and this new version is no different. The EA has only moved from outrightly prohibiting electronic voting initially, to recognising it as a form of voting that may be used.

Conclusion Now, in 2021, six years after the door to electronic voting in our country’s electoral process was opened, should we really still be having arguments about insufficient network to conduct elections? In any event, INEC has come out to debunk this claim, and affirm that they are able to transmit results electronically from any part of the country, as they have done so in at least 20 elections in the last couple of years. So, what is the need for this debate?

Credible elections, is one of the most crucial elements of democracy. Electronic voting and processes, are possibly the best way to deliver unimpeachable elections, especially in environments like ours, where Politicians are prone to election rigging and malpractice - it is difficult to rig elections using this method.

To this end, Africa has embraced electronic processes in their voting systems; the question is, why should Nigeria lag behind?

Proponents of electronic transmission of results, say lack of network is just an excuse to leave room for manipulation of results. I watched a television interview of a former staff of INEC. He said that the card readers etc function rather well, but saboteurs

“…..THE APC WANTS TO HAVE ROOM TO MANIPULATE AND RIG THE ELECTIONS IN 2023 WITH THE USE OF MANUAL TRANSMISSION OF RESULTS…..THE PDP ARE DEAD SET AGAINST MANUAL TRANSMISSION OF RESULTS, BECAUSE THEY HAVE USED IT FOR RIGGING PURPOSES IN THE PAST…..”

connive to make sure that they malfunction on election day so that the manual process will be adopted instead, paving the way for Politicians to influence and falsify the voters list and results to their own advantage. As if this is not bad enough, lawmakers want to observe the Constitution in the breach, by usurping INEC’s constitutionally provided role, by giving themselves the task of determining whether results should be transmitted electronically or not! - an integral part of INEC’s mandate to organise and conduct elections. Could there be a better example of conflict of interest than this? Lawmakers helping themselves, while hurting our nascent democracy? Unlawful Lawmakers. Tah! In my humble opinion, the EAMB 2021 is not yet ready to be passed. It still requires fine tuning. I have highlighted only two sections therein - Sections 31 & 52, and it is obvious that they still need to be worked on.

4/LAW REPORT

Requirement of NYSC Certificate to hold Ministerial Position in Nigeria Facts The Plaintiff, a citizen of the United Kingdom with Nigerian descent, graduated from the University of East London, United Kingdom at the age of 20 years. The Plaintiff worked in the United Kingdom until the year 2003, when she came to Nigeria at the age of 36 years. She was appointed as a Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State, between the year 2011 and 2015.

Thereafter, she was appointed as the Minister of Finance in 2015, a position she occupied till 2018, when it was paraded in the public space that she did not participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Scheme, and as such, not eligible to hold an office as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This rumour remained unabated, and the Plaintiff resigned from her office as the Minister of Finance. Nonetheless, the Plaintiff’s career was impaired by the insinuations regarding her failure to participate in the NYSC Scheme, and this consistently put her at disadvantageous positions both within and outside the country. Hence, she instituted the present action by way of Originating Summons, inviting the Honourable Court for a determination of some questions. She also sought various reliefs from the court, including a Declaration that the Plaintiff, being a United Kingdom Citizen in 1989 when she graduated from the University of East London, United Kingdom at the age of 22 years, was ineligible to participate in the NYSC scheme, established by the National Youth Service Corps Act, (NYSC Act) Cap N84, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004.

Issues for Determination

Honourable Taiwo O. Taiwo, J

The following questions were posed for determination of the court: 1.Having regard to the combined provisions of Sections 106 and 107; 192(4); 177 and 182; 65 and 66; 147(5); and 131 and 137 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which respectively prescribe the qualifications and disqualifications for the offices of a member of the House of Assembly of a State; a Commissioner in the State Executive Council; Governor of a State; member of the National Assembly; Minister in the Federal Executive Council; and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, whether any Nigerian citizen is otherwise disqualified from holding any of the offices afore-listed by reason of not participating in the National Youth Service scheme, established by the NYSC Act. 2. Considering the clear provisions of Sections 200(1)(a) and 156(1)(a) of the Constitution which stipulate the qualifications membership of State Executive Bodies and Federal Executive Bodies respectively, whether any Nigerian citizen is disqualified from holding offices as a member or Chairman of any of the said bodies by reason of non-participation in the NYSC scheme, established by the NYSC Act.

In the Federal High Court of Nigeria In the Abuja Judicial Division Holden at Abuja On Wednesday, the 7th day of July, 2021 Before Their Lordships

Taiwo O. Taiwo Judge, Federal High Court Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CR/303/2021 Between Folakemi Adeosun

And

Attorney-General of the Federation

Plaintiff Defendant

(Judgement delivered by Honourable Taiwo O. Taiwo, J.)

3. Upon the combined reading of the provisions of Section 26 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979 (being the one in force in 1989), Sections 25 and 36(8) of the 1999 Constitution; and Section 6(1)(b) and (c) of the NYSC Act, whether the Plaintiff, being a citizen of the United Kingdom as at 1989, was not ineligible to participate in the NYSC Corp (as at 1989), when she graduated from the University of East London, London, United Kingdom at the age of 22 years.

Given the questions above, the Defendant raised a sole issue thus: Whether the Plaintiff is entitled to the reliefs sought against the Defendant.

Arguments In support of the application before the court, counsel for the Plaintiff contended that there is nothing in any of the referenced provisions of the 1999 Constitution which requires or mandates compulsory participation in the NYSC scheme, and obtaining a discharge certificate. Counsel reasoned that it is a constitutional misconception to conclude that the Plaintiff, who was born in the United Kingdom in 1967 and retains the citizenship of the United Kingdom as required in Section 28 of the 1979 constitution, and the fact that the Plaintiff lost her Nigerian citizenship immediately she attained the age of 21 years. By this fact, the Plaintiff lost the right and resultant liability accruing to a Nigerian citizen, including the right to vote and be voted for.

Conversely, the Defendant argued through his counsel that any graduate in employment in Nigeria is expected to have provided his employer in Nigeria with a discharge/exemption certificate prior to obtaining the job as obligated by the provisions of Section 12 of the NYSC Act. Counsel submitted further that by the provisions of Section 147(5) and 192(4) of the 1999 Constitution, the minimum qualification required for a Commissioner/Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is school leaving certificate. He posited that the provisions of the Constitution takes precedent over that of the NYSC Act, and that despite the fact that the Plaintiff is a graduate, there is no constitutional requirement for her to present her first degree certificate or any other certificate, including the NYSC certificate, to be appointed as a Minister. Counsel submitted that the ministerial appointment of the Plaintiff was neither illegal nor unconstitutional, even without presenting the NYSC certificate.

“REGARDING THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 26 OF THE 1979 CONSTITUTION (WHICH WAS THE APPLICABLE LAW AT THE RELEVANT TIME WHEN THE PLAINTIFF GRADUATED), SHE WAS NOT A CITIZEN OF NIGERIA AT THE TIME, AND WAS NOT ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE NYSC SCHEME”

Court’s Judgement and Rationale Preceding the determination of the questions posed by the Plaintiff, the court addressed the issue/stance of the Defendant that the Plaintiff did not establish a cause of action against the Defendant. The court adjudged this as a jurisdictional issue and addressed same first, before delving into resolution of the main questions/issues. His Lordship referred to the affidavit in support of the Originating Summons and decided that though the Defendant was not responsible for the resignation of the Plaintiff as a Minister, nonetheless, the issues before the court are constitutional in nature, and the court should not shy away from finding solutions to constitutional questions within the Constitution itself and any other subsidiary legislation. The Plaintiff has a constitutional and legal right to approach the court, and where there is no remedy provided either in common law or statute, the courts have been urged to create one – OMOYINMIN v OGUNJI (2008) 3 NWLR (Pt. 1075) 471. It is the law that the proper person to be made a party/Defendant in cases relating to the interpretation of the Constitution, is the Defendant herein. Though the Plaintiff voluntarily resigned her appointment as Minister, her action does not prevent her from asking the court to determine the questions posed in the instant case, and joining the AttorneyGeneral as a Defendant in the suit.

Going to the main issues/questions before the court, His Lordship reiterated the trite decision of courts, that where the words of the Constitution or statute are plain, clear and unambiguous, they must be give their plain, ordinary meanings as there is nothing to interpret – A-G BENDEL STATE v A-G FEDERATION (1981) 10 SC. 1.

Sections 106 and 107, 192(4); 192(4), 177 and 182; 65 and 66; 147(5); 131 and 137 of the Constitution, prescribe the qualifications for members of the House of Assembly of a State; Commissioner in a State; Governor, member of the National Assembly, Minister, Federal Executive Council and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There is nowhere in the Constitution where any Nigerian, including the Plaintiff, is disqualified from holding office by reason of non-participation in the NYSC scheme. The Constitution is supreme, and any law which provisions is inconsistent with the Constitution, is void, while the Constitution prevails. By Section 147(5) of the Constitution, a person becomes eligible to be appointed a Minister in Nigeria, if he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives. Sections 65 and 66 relate to the yardstick for qualification as member of the House of Representatives, and participation in the NYSC scheme is not one of the listed grounds.

In this case, the Plaintiff was born in the United Kingdom and became citizen of the United Kingdom. Her education, up to university level, was also obtained in the United Kingdom, until she graduated in 1989 at the age of 22. If she was a citizen of Nigeria when she graduated at the age of 22, she would have been eligible to participate in the NYSC scheme upon her return to the country. However, by the time she moved to Nigeria in the year 2003, she was already 36 years old, and not eligible to participate in the NYSC scheme. To do otherwise, would have been a criminal offence. Nonetheless, the Plaintiff falls into the category of persons entitled to an exemption certificate upon restoration of her Nigerian citizenship by the 1999 Constitution, by which time she was already 30 years old. Further, the Plaintiff had also been self employed, and needed not to produce any certificate to an employer.

Regarding the provisions of Section 26 of the 1979 Constitution (which was the applicable law at the relevant time when the Plaintiff graduated), she was not a citizen of Nigeria at the time, and was not eligible to participate in the NYSC scheme.

The referenced Section 26 of the 1979 Constitution has been repealed by Section 25(1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, which provision restored the Nigerian citizenship of the Plaintiff.

However, at the time the 1999 Constitution became operational, the Plaintiff was not eligible to participate in the NYSC scheme, as she was well over the required age for participation. More so, NYSC discharge certificate is not a mandatory requirement for qualification to contest, or be a member of the House of Representatives.

While the court observed that the reliefs sought by the Plaintiff were declaratory in nature, and that the Plaintiff must prove her entitlement to the declaratory reliefs sought, the court held that from the evidence before it, there was nothing to show that the Plaintiff had not proved her entitlement to the reliefs sought.

His Lordship stated that, to deny the Plaintiff the reliefs will not do justice to her and her reasons for approaching the court.

Thus, the court granted all the reliefs sought by the Plaintiff.

Claim Succeeds.

Representation Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN with Emeka Ananyi for the Plaintiff.

T.A. Gazali, SAN for the Defendant.

Reliefs in the claim Granted.

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

NEWS/5

20.07.2021

IBA ARF Releases Comprehensive Guide to Safeguarding Personal Data for Lawyers The African Regional Forum of the International Bar Association (IBA ARF), has released a comprehensive guide on data protection and privacy laws for legal practitioners on the African continent.

The IBA ARF Data Protection/Privacy Guide for Lawyers in Africa, has been developed in the context of a newly implemented European Union data protection law, which sets out stringent rules for the collection and processing of personal information from individuals who live in the EU. Titled ‘General Data Protection Regulation’ (GDPR), it has led to data controllers in Europe calling for

IBA President, Sternford Moyo

their counterparts across Africa to implement similarly rigorous standards

for the data processed on their behalf. Despite little or no guidance given to

legal practitioners in Africa regarding compliance with these directives, Africa’s data protection regulators have echoed the call of their opposite numbers in Europe.

The IBA ARF’s new guide, is to provide vital support for practitioners navigating the complex and changing world of data protection law. Comprehensive and practical in design, the guide will aid Lawyers in advising clients and ensuring compliance by their practices, with the fast-evolving and increasingly expansive areas of data protection and privacy laws.

The new guide has drawn on international

Tech Explosion at the NBA-SBL Annual Conference

•As Organisers leveraged use of “silent disco” technology to buttress theme Technological advancement has completely transformed the way law is practiced across the globe, and discussions continue to centre on how much more legal practice can benefit from technology.

Increasingly, there are talks about the introduction and use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, especially in legal research, which is expected to further improve the speed, accuracy and quality of legal research, as well as help legal practitioners better advice their clients, draft documents or handle cases.

In a 2019 Forbes article, “Will A.I. Put Lawyers Out of Business?”, for instance, Neil Sahota quoted Tom Girardi, renowned civil litigator, as saying, “It may even be considered legal malpractice not to use AI one day. It would be analogous to a Lawyer in the late twentieth century still doing everything by hand, when this person could use a computer”.

At the 15th Annual Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) which held at the Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos, the physical venue of the Conference on Wednesday and Thursday, one was left without a doubt that the organisers are fully abreast of technological advances, and the challenges and opportunities they present to legal practice.

The theme of the two-day Conference, “Re-tooling Businesses for Change: Leveraging the Tech Explosion”, was clearly not accidental. The Chairman of the NBA-SBL, Ayuli Jemide, said that much in his welcome remarks on Wednesday when he commented “The theme of this year’s Conference has a call to action - Leveraging the Tech Explosion - which is a clarion call to Business Lawyers and the business community to get in the tech craft, fasten our seatbelts and enjoy the ride to places that only a tech

NBA-SBL Chairman, Ayuli Jemide enabled person can travel to; a world made faster, smarter, yet smaller by the transcendental changes induced by Technology.

Further buttressing this, NBA President, Olumide Akpata, said that the Conference theme was “as topical as it is critical, especially in the context of the extraordinary times which the legal profession and indeed, the Nigerian society have faced in the past 18 months”.

He said the choice of the topic erases any lingering doubts about “the continuing relevance of the NBA-SBL to the overall attainment of the aims and objective of the NBA, as outlined in the 2015 NBA Constitution(as amended)”.

It was a Conference of Many Firsts First, the Conference took a hybrid form, with virtual and on-site content to ensure maximum reach, which, according to Adeleke Alex-Adedipe, Chairman, Conference Planning Committee, “is a testament to how technology marches us forward”.

But, unlike the 14th Annual Conference in 2020 which took a virtual format as a stop-gap arrangement in keeping with the Covid-19 health and safety protocols, Alex-Adedipe said the choice of a hybrid form for the 15th

Conference was deliberate and strategic. The hybrid nature of the Conference also foretells a new and exciting beginning, demonstrating new possibilities that are available when society embraces innovation, he said.

“On the one hand, it allows us to enjoy the best of both worlds – getting back the irreplaceable value of good old human contact, and joining in on the refreshing excitement of borderless interactions. On the other hand, this Conference gives us an updated picture of what business rooms increasingly look like”, he said.

For the first time, the breakout sessions held in a silent mode. The about 300 attendees at Harbour Point were connected to the three breakout sessions (a total of six topics), using headsets provided by the organisers.

It was a highly innovative

approach that allowed the participants to switch between sessions, simply by adjusting a button on their headset.

Another first was the Whova app, which enabled participants from anywhere in the world to navigate the event agenda and logistics, even without Wi-Fi or data; access useful information like ridesharing and local attractions through the Community Board; network effectively (plan whom to meet by exploring attendee profiles and sending out messages), and participate in event activities through session likes, comments, ratings, live polling, tweeting, and more.

Other topics were “Technology and International Arbitration”, “Techpreneurs: Building Nigeria’s Talent Pipeline”, and “Technology and the Future of Elections in Nigeria: E-Voting, Mail Voting; Are we ready?”.

best practice guidelines and data laws already adopted in African nations, and provides advice on how to manage personal data within a law firm, as well as easy-to-implement sustainable protocols and controls that adhere to privacy laws. Chapters include:

Court Orders EFCC to Seize Nora Johnson’s Assets A Federal High Court, Hon. Justice A. Lewis Allagoa of Lagos Division, has ordered the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) to take possession of all property owned by Ms Nora Johnson.

The anti-graft agency had received a petition over some infractions allegedly committed by Ms. Johnson in her former office.

It was learnt that Ms. Johnson was accused of over-invoicing on purchase of vehicles, inflating air ticket fares and more, and the amount in local and foreign currencies were in excess of N1 billion. This then prompted the interim forfeiture of some properties and bank accounts on the order of Justice A.M. Liman on February 16, 2021, following an application on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria by the EFCC. However, on March 21, 2021, Ms Johnson and the other Respondents in the suit: Babajide Aremu Johnson, Olabose Ibrahim Falobi, Steve Nnamdi Izebu, Steve Ibem and Bakoliza Limited, went to court to suspend or stay execution on Justice Liman’s order.

They had sought an order to discharge the interim order of forfeiture of assets, an order discharging the final forfeiture, and any other orders as deemed fit by the

Human Rights Activist, Chidi Odinkalu Joins The Fletcher School The Fletcher School has announced the appointment of International Human Rights law expert, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, PhD, to a Professor of Practice Faculty position.

The School, in a statement, said Chidi Odinkalu’s position is for a three-year term beginning in the Fall of 2021.

He will join Fletcher’s multidisciplinary Faculty focused on preparing tomorrow’s leaders to use the latest legal, political, economic, and business thinking to generate policies and inform decisions that shape global events.

“Chidi Odinkalu is a renowned human rights activist with a distinguished record of public service, who has spent more than three decades working at the front line of human rights law and research, development advocacy, international institutional law and governmental policy”, remarked Kelly Sims Gallagher, Academic Dean at The Fletcher School.

“His profound contributions to the advancement of human rights, intersect with Fletcher’s

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu mission and core values”, she added. “We are delighted to welcome him to the Fletcher community.”

Odinkalu’s background reflects an extensive record of research, publishing and teaching in the areas of human rights, development law and public policy throughout Africa, Europe and the US. Most recently, he was part of a three-member team that mediated the readmission of The Gambia into the Commonwealth, where he litigated

• Data Protection in Africa; • Data Protection principles; • Common Exemptions; • Individual Rights; •Data Controller/Data Processor Obligations; •Regulator Powers; and •How the GDPR affects your practice

human rights before national and regional courts, as well as in transnational contexts.

From 2011 to 2015, he chaired Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, the country’s lead institution for the protection of human rights, and promotion of human rights policy. He also worked within human rights philanthropy.

For 10 years prior, he was involved in drafting the Protocol for the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights through to adoption by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1998. In 2004, he led the advocacy effort for its entry into force, with the creation of the Coalition for the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

For more than three years, until 1993, Odinkalu was head of legal services for the Civil Liberties Organisation in Lagos, where he was responsible for litigation, advocacy and constituent building strategies, as well as managing relationships with the military Government and its institutions.

Nora Johnson court.

In his judgement, after hearing J.O. Adeyemi Counsel for the Applicant/Respondent and V.C. Nwokafor Counsel for the 1st, 2nd and 6th Respondent/ Applicants, Justice Allagoa ordered that the motion of Ms. Johnson and the other Respondents dated March 12, 2021, is “hereby set aside”.

The judgement delivered on July 15, 2021 stated further: “That the order of Justice Liman stands in all its ramifications”, and “That the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are entitled to take possession of all that property subject of the Order of my Lord A.M. Liman on 16th day of February, 2021”.

Ms Johnson then released a video which went viral, where she was seen wailing, gnashing her teeth, and making wild allegations against her former employers.

Those who are aware of this unfortunate incident, believe that Ms Johnson’s display in the video was simply a calculated, underhand attempt to blackmail her former employers and garner sympathy for herself in the court of public opinion, on account of her melodramatic display which was nothing more than a last ditch attempt to escape liability, and prevent the Federal Government from taking possession of her assets purportedly acquired from the proceeds of fraud perpetrated against her former office, as was ordered by the court.

EFCC sources say her fellow conspirators have refunded over N400 million of the money allegedly misappropriated, proof of a prima facie case against her.

Discerning members of the public are therefore, wondering why she won’t prove her innocence in court, if indeed, she believes there is no case against her, or that she is being witch-hunted.

However, Ms Nora Johnson has since recanted that she and co-conspirators, have repaid some funds.

6/

20.07.2021

NASS 2021 Electoral Amendment Bill: Betrayal of Peoples’Trust This article by Jide Ojo gives an overview of the Electoral history and laws in Nigeria since 1923, and more importantly, a critique of the controversial Section 52(2) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly last week, concluding that the proviso that the transmission of election results by INEC should be subject to the clearance of NCC and NASS is unconstitutional, and therefore, null and void Introduction Periodic election, is one of the cardinal principles of democracy. Nigeria’s electoral journey started in 1923, after the coming into force of Clifford Constitution of 1922. In the 98 years of Nigeria’s electoral history, many negative adjectives such as fraudulent, violent, and expensive, have been used to describe the country’s polls. Yet, it is only through elections, that political leaders are expected to emerge in a democracy. Recall that it was a rigged 1964 /1965 General Election, that led to the first military coup of January 15, 1966. After the return to civil rule 13 years after, that is, in 1979, the Second Republic was short-lived, as the military shot itself back to power on December 31, 1983 citing rigged elections in Ondo, Oyo and some other parts of the country, and also due to corruption by the political class.

In order to organise, undertake and supervise all elections in Nigeria, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria established two electoral management bodies (EMBs). The first was the Independent National Electoral Commission which was established by Section 153(f) and States Independent Electoral Commissions established by Section 197(1)(b) of the Constitution. Having birthed these EMBs, the grundnorm also prescribed roles and functions of these bodies, as well as the laws guiding their operations. While some of the laws guiding operations of INEC and SIECs are in the Constitution, the bulk of the laws are either in the Electoral Act for INEC and State electoral laws for the 36 State Independent Electoral Commissions.

These EMBs are also at liberty to come up with regulations, guidelines, codes and manuals, all in a bid to enable them conduct credible, free, fair and successful elections.

Brief History of Nigeria Electoral Laws The National Assembly (NASS), from time to time, has altered the Constitution and Electoral Act, in order to enhance and improve the performance of INEC in the onerous task of conducting national and State elections. While there have been four alterations to the Constitution in the 22 years of this Fourth Republic which started in 1999, there have been four electoral Acts as well, with several amendments. There was 2001 Electoral Act, 2002 Electoral Act, 2006 Electoral Act and 2010 Electoral Act. The 2001 Electoral Act was short-lived, due to certain controversial clauses contained therein.

One of such was the National Assembly’s plan to make laws for the conduct of Local Government elections, which was challenged by Attorney-General of Abia State, and was ruled in favour of Abia State by the Supreme Court, that NASS has no power to make laws for the conduct of LG elections.

The 2002 Electoral Act was then passed, and used for the conduct of 2003 General Election.

That too, contained an obnoxious section, trying

National Assembly Complex

to order the sequence of election for INEC. The Commission went to court, and the court agreed and struck out that section, saying that NASS has no such power to order sequence of elections for INEC. The 2006 Electoral Act, also had its own controversial section. Conference of Nigeria’s Political Parties, went to court to challenge the sharing of

“…..MANY COMPATRIOTS FELT LET DOWN GIVEN THE PROVISO INSERTED IN CLAUSE 52(2) OF THE BILL PASSED BY THE SENATE, WHICH SAYS THAT INEC MUST GET CLEARANCE FROM THE NIGERIA COMMUNICATION COMMISSION (NCC), WHICH MUST ALSO BE APPROVED

BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF ELECTION RESULTS. THIS IS A LANDMINE. A BOOBY-TRAP. IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, ULTRA VIRES, NULL AND VOID….”

grants to political parties. Justice Abimbola Augie of the Federal High Court in December 2006, ruled that that section of the Electoral Act 2006 was at variance with provision of Section 228(c) of the Constitution, which stipulated fair and equitable sharing of grants meant for political parties.

INEC has conducted three General Elections, using the Electoral Act 2010. These are the 2011, 2015 and 2019 General Elections. While the Act was amended in 2015, it was not signed into law

by President Goodluck Jonathan until very close to the elections of that year. In fact, as at the time of the 2015 General Election, the amended 2010 Electoral Act had not been gazetted. There was another attempt to amend the 2010 Electoral Act in 2018, but the President, Muhammadu Buhari on four different occasions refused to assent to the Bills. INEC then had no choice, but to fall back on the 2010 Electoral Act for the conduct of the 2019 General Election. However, it is important to state that, the 8th National Assembly was able to successfully alter the 1999 Constitution for the fourth time. Among other election related amendments of 2018, was the Not-Too-Young-to-Run law, law giving INEC power to deregister political parties, law extending time to conduct run-off Presidential elections from seven to 21 days.

Current Attempt to Amend the Electoral Act 2010 Given the 2018 failed attempt to amend the Electoral Act 2010, the 9th National Assembly in 2019, inaugurated a joint Committee on electoral reform made up of Senate Committee on INEC headed by Senator Kabir Gaya, and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, headed by Hon. Aisha Dukku. There was also a technical Committee made up of the NASS Committee on Electoral cont'd on page 7

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NASS 2021 Electoral Amendment Bill: Betrayal of Peoples’ Trust “INDEED, WHAT THE

cont'd from page 6

Reform, representative of INEC and representative of Office of Attorney-General, while the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre provided technical support to the Committee. It is worth mentioning that the 9th National Assembly promised three times on when they would pass the electoral amendment Bill, and thrice they failed. They first pledged to pass it in December 2020, they failed; they shifted to first quarter of 2021 and also failed to deliver; they then promised to pass the Bill before the end of the second quarter of 2021, they equally did not keep their promise.

Meanwhile, I have it on good authority, that the report of the joint Committee on electoral reform was ready since March 2021. However, the Bill was not passed until Thursday, July 15 in the Senate, while the House of Representatives passed their own version on Friday, July 16, 2021.

The controversial Clause 52(2) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, despite the promise of the 9th National Assembly to pass the electoral reform Bill that Nigerians will be proud of, many compatriots felt let down given the proviso inserted in Section 52(2) of the Bill passed by the Senate, which says that INEC must get clearance from the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), which must also be approved by the National Assembly for electronic transmission of election results. This is a landmine. A booby-trap. It is unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void.

My view is very much in consonance with that expressed by the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, who is a former Speaker of House of Representatives, and also a Lawyer. He said in a statement: “For the avoidance of doubt, Section 78 of the Constitution provides that ‘The Registration of voters and the Conduct of elections shall be Subject to the Direction and Supervision of Independent National Electoral Commission’.

“In the Third Schedule, Part 1, F, S.15: INEC has power to Organise, Undertake and Supervise all elections. The Constitution further provides that INEC Operations Shall Not be subject to the direction Of Anybody or Authority.” Unquestionably, the mode of election and transmission of results are critical parts of the Conduct, Supervision, Undertaking and Organisation of elections in Nigeria.

Of course, NASS has the power to flesh out the legal framework, but that has to be consistent with the Constitution.

“These constitutional powers have been solely and Exclusively Prescribed By The Constitution to INEC, and Cannot Be Shared With the NCC, or any other Authority, and certainly not a body unknown to the Constitution. The Senate’s decision to subject INEC’s constitutional power to conduct elections to NCC, is consequently, patently VOID, unconstitutional and unlawful.”

It beggars belief why the Senate also wants INEC to come back to it for final approval, after getting clearance for electronic transmission of results from NCC. It is noteworthy, that members of Parliament are Politicians who will be standing for elections that INEC will be conducting. Indeed, what the Senate has tried to do is self-serving, and for their personal aggrandisement. I am of the considered view that, the Senate should have passed the Bill the way House of Representatives did.

Recall that the House passed the controversial Section 52(2) of the Bill last Friday, July 16 by

SENATE HAS TRIED TO DO IS SELF-SERVING, AND FOR THEIR PERSONAL AGGRANDISEMENT”

Jide Ojo

allowing INEC to determine when, where and how voting and transmission of results will be done. It stipulates thus: “Voting at an election and transmission of results under this Bill, shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission.”

Conspiracy Theories and Questions The action of the Nigerian Senate, and by extension, the National Assembly on the Electoral Bill 2021, smacks of mischief and deliberate orchestration of confusion. The question is being asked, as to why the National Assembly did not keep to its earlier promise of passing the Bill latest by the first or second quarter of 2021? Why did the Federal lawmakers wait till the last day on which they would proceed on their annual two months’ vacation, before passing the Bill? Why did the two chambers not pass the same version as agreed on, at the technical Committee level?

Which version of the two chambers will prevail when the Conference Committee is constituted to harmonise their positions on the two versions?

Will the President sign the Bill, if the Senate’s version is presented to him?

The truth is that, what played out in the National Assembly on the Electoral Bill is a well-rehearsed drama, meant to frustrate any electoral amendment ahead of 2023 General Election. The scenario that is likely to play out is that, having passed this Bill with the controversial Section 52(2), the Conference Committee may not be constituted until NASS resumes from vacation on September 14, 2021. By that time, the President will be ready to present Appropriation Bill 2022 which will take the time of the Federal lawmakers, as they will want to pass it on time for the President to sign before December 31, 2021, since we are now back to January to December budget cycle. Even if they squeeze time to pass the harmonised version before the end of the year, the President may not sign.

Recall that in 2018, after NASS passed the Electoral Bill and sent it to President Buhari in February of that year, the President on March 3, 2018 vetoed the Bill, citing three grounds: The first being that the amendment to the sequence of the elections in Section 25 of the Principal Act may

infringe on the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of INEC to organise, undertake and supervise all elections in Section 15(a) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution; second, that the amendment to Section 138 of the Principal Act to delete two crucial grounds upon which an election may be challenged by candidates, unduly limits the rights of candidates in elections to a free and fair electoral review process; third, that the amendment to Section 152 (3)-(5) of the Principal Act may raise constitutional issues, over the competence of the National Assembly to legislate over Local Government elections.

As eloquently stated by the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Bello Tambuwal, asking INEC to get clearance from NCC and NASS before it can deploy electronic transmission of result is Mala Fide and unconstitutional, as it is against the provision of Section 78 of the Constitution. It can be recalled that, in 1979 in the Unongu v Aper Aku case which had to do with a provision of the Electoral Act 1978, which sought to fix time frames for the conduct of elections by the defunct FEDECO, it was held by the Supreme Court, that an electoral law cannot seek to prescribe to FEDECO how it could go about a mandate given to it by the Constitution.

Since then, that has been the position of the law.

This is the more reason that I have confidence that the President will not sign the Electoral Bill 2021, if the version passed by the Senate were to be the version sent to him for assent. Should this be the case, we are then back to the 2018 situation where the President refused to assent to the Electoral Bill on four different occasions.

Conclusion Nigerians were looking forward, to a more transparent and accountable 2023 election. However, with what just played out at the National Assembly last week on the Electoral Bill, many citizens are likely to be disenchanted with the electoral process and refuse to register to vote, and even if they did register, they may not come out to vote or even participate in the entire electoral process. Many Nigerian youths are of the opinion that electronic balloting and electronic transmission of results hold the key to solving the opaque and fraudulent collation process. Unfortunately, they may have to wait for a longer time, before that dream is realised.

Jide Ojo, Columnist, TV Show Host, Author, Development Consultant and Public Affairs Analyst

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20.07.2021

Will the PIB Guarantee a The Petroleum Industry Bill 2020, is unarguably the most controversial piece of legislation that Nigerian lawmakers have ever been challenged with. It was conceived and birthed in animosity. It has gone through several Assemblies, and sat comfortably as the oldest Bill in the National Assembly, until its eventual passage last week. Several versions had been bandied around, until it was eventually passed by both Chambers last week. Will President Buhari assent to the final version of this controversial legislation? How did the present crop of lawmakers manage to scale the ethnic, religious and political hurdles to pass the final document into law, especially as those from the oil producing areas still seem quite dissatisfied with they deal they got?

Senate Spokesman, Senator Ajibola Basiru, delves into the highlights of the new law Background The oil and gas industry contributes less than 10% to the country’s gross domestic product, but it contributes about 90% of the foreign exchange earnings and 60% of total income. So, expectedly, any happening in the industry tends to have ripple effect on Government finances.

The past efforts at reforming the industry have remained largely unfruitful, until the introduction of the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 (PIB). The PIB started as an omnibus Bill, and was later divided into four separate Bills before emerging in 2020 as a consolidated Bill. Previous attempts at passing the PIB in 2009, 2012 and 2018 failed because of factors such as lack of ownership, misalignment of interests between the National Assembly and the Executive, perceived erosion of Ministerial powers, stiff opposition by the petroleum host communities, and push back by investors on the perceived uncompetitive provisions in those versions of the Bill.

The PIB is not just an ordinary piece of legislation drafted to curry political marks, it is an outcome of deep research and commendable industry. The Bill is realistic, fair and balanced, as Government has tried to strike a balance between immediate revenue demands, and the need to attract long-term investment for the industry.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, only $53.5 million or 0.55% of total investment of $9.680 billion in Nigeria in 2020, was made in the industry. If we must achieve our ambition of 40 billion barrels of oil in reserves and four million barrels of oil per day, we need to attract new investments into the sector. The oil in the ground is of no use to the country if it cannot monetise it, therefore, the PIB must lead to a massive transformation of the industry, and succeed in attracting the desired investment required to reposition the industry.

Chapter 1 of the PIB Chapter 1 of the PIB 2021 vests the property and ownership of petroleum within Nigeria and its territorial waters, continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone in the Federal Government of Nigeria, and outlines the following objectives for the governance and administration of the industry: • To create efficient and effective governing institutions, with clear and separate roles for the petroleum industry; • To establish a framework for the creation of a commercially-oriented and profit-driven national petroleum company; • To promote transparency, good governance, and accountability in the administration of the petroleum resources of Nigeria; and • To foster a business environment conducive for petroleum operations.

The PIB segments the Nigerian petroleum industry into upstream, midstream and

Buhari

Lawan

“….THE POWER HITHERTO HELD BY THE MINISTER, OF ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AND POWER TO GRANT OR REVOKE OIL LICENSES - THIS HAS BEEN CURTAILED….

THE COMMISSION IS TO RECOMMEND TO THE MINISTER, BEFORE THE MINISTER CAN EXERCISE SUCH POWERS”

Gbajabiamila

downstream sectors. The upstream sector is to be overseen by the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (‘the Commission’), while the midstream and downstream sectors are to be under the oversight of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (the ‘Authority’) with general oversight powers over the petroleum industry vested in the Minister of Petroleum, whom the Commission and Authority are required to report to. This remains unchanged, from the previous governance regime under the Petroleum Act. A far-reaching change is in the power hitherto held by the Minister, of absolute discretion and power to grant or revoke oil licenses - this has been curtailed. In the PIB 2021, the Commission is to recommend to the Minister, before the Minister can exercise such powers. The PIB has generally vested considerable powers in the Authority, or Commission.

The Commission Section 4 of the PIB establishes the Commission to have primary regulatory powers and oversight over the technical, operational, and commercial activities of the upstream petroleum industry. The Commission will regulate all technical activities in the upstream sector by enforcing, administering, and implementing all laws, regulations, national and international policies, standards, and practices relating to the sector. The Commission is also to enforce compliance with the conditions of all leases, licenses, permits and authorisations issued to companies in the sector. Given that these powers were exercised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (‘DPR’), the Commission will replace the DPR in that regard,

Sylva

as Section 10 vests the Commission with the power as the successor to the DPR and the Petroleum Inspectorate Division.

The PIB empowers the Commission to oversee commercial activities in the upstream, such as reviewing and approving commercial aspects of field development plans, supervising costs and cost control in upstream petroleum operations, implementing cutback orders by the Minister.

To ensure that the desired promotion activities over frontier basins are undertaken, the PIB proposes a Frontier Exploration Fund, to consist of 10% of rents on petroleum prospecting licences and petroleum mining leases. The vision to promote exploration activities in frontier basins is seen by many as commendable, because they believe it will ensure long term sustainability of the industry by boosting the available reserves.

The Commission is to be run by a Governing Board, which is responsible for its policy and general administration.

The members of the Governing Board, which is to be headed by a non-executive Commissioner, are to be appointed by the President subject to the Senate’s confirmation, however, the President solely has the power to remove the members without deferring to the Senate. The Commissioners are to hold office for a term of five years, which is renewable for a another five-year term. The confirmation of the members of the Governing Board, enables the Senate to discharge its constitutional oversight function.

The Commission will have six Executive Commissioners for its operational management, although only two of the Executive Commissioners (those for Exploration and Acreage Management, and Finance) are to be members of the Governing Board, along with the Chief

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Executive Officer. The PIB requires that the salaries of the Commission’s employees be benchmarked against the general standard in the petroleum industry, after consultation with the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission. One of the sources of funds to the Commission, will be from fees earned from services rendered to licensees. This is concerning, given the reputation of Nigeria which is rife with incidences of rent seeking by government officials, and issues of conflict of interest, as well.

The Authority Section 29 of the PIB establishes the Authority to have technical and commercial regulation of midstream and downstream petroleum operations, in the midstream and downstream segments of the petroleum industry. The Authority’s functions include the regulation of petroleum liquid operations, domestic natural gas operations and export natural gas operation, among other functions.

The Authority is also empowered to issue regulations, in pursuance of its regulatory oversight powers.

Interestingly, the PIB seems to suggest that the sole power to grant, issue, modify, cancel, or terminate all licences, permits and authorisations for midstream and downstream petroleum operations, is vested in the Authority. This is a significant departure from the previous regime, whereby such powers were typically vested in the Minister.

The Authority is also to be run by a Governing Board, which is responsible for its policy and general administration.

The members of the Governing Board, which is to be headed by a non-executive Commissioner, are to be appointed by the President subject to the Senate’s confirmation. Also worthy of note, is the 1% levy to be imposed on the wholesale price of petroleum products in Nigeria. The stated intention of the PIB is to move away from regulated prices, to those determined by market forces.

Midstream Gas Infrastructure Fund Section 52 of the PIB establishes the Midstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, which is to be a body corporate with its own Governing Council chaired by the Minister of Petroleum. The stated purpose of the fund is to “make equity investments of Government owned participating or shareholder interests, in infrastructure related to midstream gas operations aimed at – (a) increasing the domestic consumption of Natural Gas in Nigeria in projects which are financed in part by private investment; and (b) encouraging private investment.

The major source of funding for the Midstream Gas Infrastructure Fund is a 1% levy on the wholesale price of petroleum products sold in Nigeria, and natural gas produced and sold.

NNPC Limited Section 53 directs that the Minister, within six months of the PIB’s commencement, incorporate a Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited at the Corporate Affairs Commission (‘CAC’). The shares are to be held by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, on behalf of the Government.

The PIB provides that the Minister of

“THE COMMISSION HAS A REGULATORY ROLE OF MONITORING AND ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH THE PIB, WITH RESPECT TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION THAT MAY RESULT FROM PETROLEUM OPERATIONS OF Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru

Petroleum and the Minister of Finance are to determine which assets, interests, and liabilities of the current statutory NNPC, are to be transferred to NNPC Ltd. Any other assets, interests and liabilities not transferred to NNPC Ltd will continue to be held by NNPC, until they are extinguished or transferred to the Government upon which the NNPC would cease to exist.

Section 58 indicates that the Board of NNPC Ltd is to be constituted in accordance with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (‘CAMA’), and the company’s Articles of Association. The Government has taken a bold step by incorporating NNPC Ltd as a CAMA entity; it should bite the bullet by freeing it up to run the same way that other private companies are run, albeit with interventions as its shareholder.

Interestingly, Section 65 encourages NNPC Ltd and its joint venture partners to explore the use of incorporated joint venture companies, under the principles enumerated under the Second Schedule to the PIB. Functions of the Commission The Commission is empowered to make recommendations to the Minister, on granting licences or leases to operating companies incorporated and validly existing in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied Matters Act. The Commission has the responsibility of receiving application for licences and leases, and making necessary technical and commercial appraisals that will form the basis of its recommendation to the Minister on the grating of licence/lease to respective applicants.

The form of the major licences/leases to be issued for upstream operations are: Petroleum Exploration Licence (equivalent to the current Oil Exploration Licence): A Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) is granted for exploration of petroleum on a speculative and nonexclusive basis and shall be for three years and may be renewable for additional period of three years.

Petroleum Prospecting Licence (equivalent to the current Oil Prospecting Licence): A Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) is granted for exploration of Petroleum on an exclusive basis. A PPL for onshore and shallow water acreages shall be for a duration of not more than six years, comprising an initial exploration period of three years and an optional extension period of three years. For deep offshore and frontier acreages, it shall be for a duration of not more than 10 years, comprising an initial exploration period of five years and an optional extension period of five years.

Petroleum Mining Lease (equivalent to the current Oil Mining Lease): A Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) is granted to qualified applicant to search for, win, work, carry away and dispose of crude oil, condensates and natural gas and shall be for a maximum period of 20 years and may be renewable for one or more additional period of not more than 20 years each, subject to meeting specified conditions.

The PIB prescribes that, where the Minister does not act upon the recommendation of the Commission for the award of licence within 90 days, the approval shall be deemed as given.

However, for Ministerial consent, it is 60 days. These provisions will greatly help, in enhancing transparency.

The Commission has a regulatory role of monitoring and ensuring compliance with the PIB, with respect to environmental sustainability and environmental degradation that may result from petroleum operations of licensees and lessees. A licensee or lessee, who engages in upstream petroleum operations, is required by the Commission to submit for approval, an environmental management plan in respect of projects which require environmental impact assessment within one year of the effective date of the PIB, or six months after the grant of the applicable Licence or Lease. The Commission gives its approval of such plan, provided it follows regulations issued under the Act, and the applicant has the capacity or has provided

LICENSEES AND LESSEES”

for the capacity to rehabilitate and manage negative impacts on the environment.

Furthermore, to be sure of the safety of people and the environment, the PIB requires that the applicable permit and approval is granted by the Commission to upstream operators, before chemicals can be used for their operations. As a condition for the grant of a licence or lease and prior to the approval of the environmental management plan by the Commission, a licensee or lessee is required to pay a prescribed financial contribution to an Environmental Remediation Fund established by the Commission, for the rehabilitation or management of negative environmental impacts with respect to the licence or lease issued to such licensee or lessee.

This is a notable feature of the PIB, that is aimed at engendering a culture of good environmental consideration practice that has been called to question in the sector. It may also help to deal with the perennial issue of oil spillage in the Niger Delta, because of petroleum operations.

Gas Flaring Gas flaring is one of the age-long ills that has plagued the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector. The PIB has upheld the prohibition of gas flaring, except for a few circumstances in which there is no other reasonable option than to flare gas.

According to the PIB, a licensee or lessee shall pay a penalty prescribed pursuant to the Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations 2018. The only recognised few instances where gas flaring may be allowed by the PIB are as follows: i. in the case of an emergency ii. pursuant to an exemption granted by the cont'd on page 10

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Commission. iii. as an acceptable safety practice under established regulations.

As part of the efforts to manage the flaring of gas, the Commission requires upstream operators that produce natural gas to submit, within 12 months of the effective date of the PIB, a natural gas flare elimination and monetisation plan to the Commission. This is expected to be prepared, in accordance with regulations made by the Commission under the PIB. Supply to the Domestic Market In line with the principles of free market and healthy competition, the PIB provides that the supply of crude oil and condensates for the domestic market, shall generally be on a willing supplier and willing buyer basis. However, to manage national exigencies and in the interest of the Nigerian people, the Commission is empowered to issue regulations or guidelines on the mechanism for setting domestic crude oil supply obligation for lessees in the upstream petroleum operations. This power is exercised where, in the opinion of the Commission, the domestic market results in shortages or inadequate supplies of crude oil and condensates for holders of crude oil refining licences. The Commission liaises with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (the “Authority”), to ascertain the crude oil requirements of refineries in operation. This is a mediation role of the Commission, to ensure that the local market is adequately supplied to the extent possible for the benefit of the Nigerian people, in line with the objectives of the PIB. In order to establish an orderly, fair and competitive commercial environment within the petroleum industry, the Commission, working hand in hand with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, is responsible for determining, monitoring and ensuring that the volume of natural gas that is expected to be supplied by lessees to strategic sectors and aggregators, is achieved. The Commission will manage this through an allocation system among lessees, as determined by the Commission upon consultation with the Authority with consideration of supporting infrastructure availability. Lessees who fail to comply with the domestic gas delivery obligation placed on them by the PIB, shall incur a penalty of US$3.50 per MMBtu not delivered, subject to the penalty for failure to deliver, as may be stated in any gas purchase and sale agreement between a lessee and a wholesale supplier of the strategic sectors. The penalty amount may be adjusted as the Commission may prescribe, in a Regulation made under the PIB. The penalty does not apply in the following circumstances: i. force majeure ii. the inability of a purchaser to accept allocated natural gas volumes iii. the inability to transport the allocated natural gas for reasons beyond the control of the lessee; or iv. the failure of a purchaser to pay for allocated natural gas volumes. Apart from the penalty for non-compliance, the PIB has made compliance with the domestic gas delivery obligation, a condition for approval of the supply of natural gas for export projects by lessees.

Functions of the Authority The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (the “Authority”) shall be responsible for the management and administration of the midstream and the downstream sector of

the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.

The notable administrative areas of influence by the Authority are as follows: Licence Application: The Authority is responsible for granting, renewing, modifying and extending licences and permits to operators, in the midstream and downstream sector. Where the licence relates to the operation of a refinery, this is issued by the Minister on recommendation by the Authority. In performing this role and making relevant decisions, the Authority is saddled with the responsibility of considering commercial, technical, and environmental factors, among others. The Authority is empowered to make and enforce regulations and guidelines that will help it discharge its duties in relation

“…… THE AUTHORITY IS TO, AMONG OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES, CURB MONOPOLY AND RESTRICTIVE MARKET PRACTICES OF “POWERFUL” OPERATORS, DIAGNOSE AND FORESTALL ALL TENDENCIES OF BARRIERS TO MARKET ENTRY. THIS WILL CREATE AND ENCOURAGE AN ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE FOR FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS”

to licensing matters.

Tariff: The Authority has the power to use Regulations to determine the pricing framework for transportation, distribution, and processing of petroleum. The PIB requires that tariffs be determined in US dollars, but may be paid in Naira, where the applicable exchange rate shall be based on the Securities and Exchange Commission over-the-counter market rate or any successor rate. The prices should be cost reflective, and should allow for reasonable return for the operators. The Authority, prior to establishing a tariff methodology, is required to initiate and conduct a stakeholders’ consultation with applicants, operators, consumers, prospective customers, consumers associations, associations of prospective customers and any other persons with interest in the subject-matter of the proposed tariff methodology.

The PIB requires a holder of a subsisting lease, licence or permit, who is engaged in activities in midstream or downstream gas operations prior to the effective date of the PIB, to apply to the Authority within 24 months from the effective date of the PIB for the appropriate licence or permit, as applicable. To properly administer gas operations in the sector, the PIB provides that the Authority can issue special guidelines and regulations as may be deemed necessary. The Authority performs the customer-protection function, by issuing regulations that require oil and gas product distributors and suppliers to: i. publish their terms of supply or distribution including tariffs; and ii. facilitate the establishment of a forum at which customers can express their views and raise concerns, among others. The PIB provides that the Authority shall, prior to the 1st day of March of each calendar year, determine the domestic gas demand requirement and inform the Commission of this requirement.

One of the overarching objectives of the PIB, is to engender a competitive market devoid of customer exploitation. Subject to the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, the Authority is to, among other responsibilities, curb monopoly and restrictive market practices of “powerful” operators, diagnose and forestall all tendencies of barrier to market entry. This will create and encourage an environment, conducive for foreign direct investments. Where an operator is engaged in acts that contravene the

requirements of the relevant chapters of the PIB, the Authority is empowered to state its intention to issue a “cease and desist” order to curb the unwanted actions of the operator. There is a penalty of a maximum of 10% of the annual turnover of the operator, that fails to comply with the provisions of the “cease and desist” order.

The Commission and Authority are required to consult with stakeholders, such as licensees, permit holders and lessees, prior to finalising any regulations or amendments to regulations. This may not be the case in instances of exigencies.

A regulation made shall be valid for not more than one year with effect from its commencement date, except it is confirmed following a stakeholders’ consultation.

Provisions for Decommissioned and Abandoned Wells The PIB requires that necessary and adequate provisions be made for the decommissioning and abandonment of onshore and offshore petroleum wells, installations, structures, utilities, plants and pipelines for petroleum operations and shall be conducted in accordance with international best practice and guidelines by the Commission or the Authority. This exercise shall take place with the approval of the Commission or the Authority, as applicable. The PIB requires that each lessee and licensee shall set up and maintain a decommissioning and abandonment fund, which shall be held by a financial institution that is not an affiliate of the lessee or licensee. The fund so set up, will be used for abandonment and decommissioning purposes. Where the licensee or the lessee fails to comply with the abandonment plan, the Commission or the Authority will access the fund for this purpose. Operators are required to make periodic payments, as may be determined from time to time, into the fund. A licensee or lessee is required to inform the Commission or Authority, as the case may be, of the establishment of its decommissioning and abandonment fund not more than three months from the date of commencement of production for upstream petroleum operations, or the commissioning of the facilities for midstream petroleum operations; and furnish the Commission or Authority, as the case may be, on an annual basis with statements of accounts with respect to its cont'd on page 11

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Will the PIB Guarantee a Better Petroleum Industry? cont'd from page 10

decommissioning and abandonment fund.

The PIB provides that, from the effective date, contributions to the decommissioning and abandonment fund are eligible for cost recovery and shall be tax deductible, if decommissioning and abandonment costs disbursed from the decommissioning and abandonment fund shall not be eligible for cost recovery or deductible for tax purposes. Where there is excess in the decommissioning and abandonment fund after the decommissioning and abandonment has been carried out and approved by the Commission or the Authority, the excess will be available for consideration as income for production sharing or tax purposes and the residual amount left over after the withholding of profit oil and any tax has been deducted shall be returned to the licensee or lessee. The PIB further provides that, from the effective date, contributions to the decommissioning and abandonment fund is eligible for cost recovery and shall be tax deductible, provided that decommissioning and abandonment costs disbursed from the decommissioning and abandonment fund, shall not be eligible for cost recovery or deductible for tax purposes.

Conversion and Relinquishment of PPLs & PMLs All existing OPLs and OMLs will be automatically converted to PPLs and PMLs, upon their expiration. However, the PIB allows holders of OPLs and OMLs under the current regime to voluntarily covert them to PPLs or PMLs, respectively. The PIB provides some condition precedents which are to be contained in the Conversion Contracts. One such condition, is a stipulation that all on-going arbitration and court cases will be terminated. Other conditions are that the fiscal stabilisation clauses, will not be grandfathered.

OML holders will need to designate their acreages into five broad classes: - parcels that merit an appraisal (for exploration); parcels to make a declaration of commercial discovery, for which a field development plan is to be submitted; - parcels that have a significant gas discovery; - parcels which already have development programs underway; and - parcels in which regular commercial production is occurring. The PIB prescribes that these five parcels should cover 40% of the area of the licence granted, and other areas are to be relinquished.

The limitation to 40% suggests that if the parcels cover more than 40% of the entire area of the lease area, there would be no relinquishment under such OML. The proposed relinquishment of 60% appears to be onerous, and may serve as a disincentive to conversion.

Host Communities’ Welfare One of the issues that contributed to the delay in passing the previous versions of the PIB, is host communities. The host communities, Government and operators could not agree on the best way to address the concerns of the host communities. While the host communities are demanding more to deal with the issue of the environmental effect of oil operations, the Government believes that enough is already being done in this area, given all the agencies that are involved in the development of the Niger Delta region. It is, therefore, not surprising that the PIB 2021 adopts a novel approach to this issue.

Chapter 3 of the Bill introduces the Petroleum Host Community Development (PHCD) which has the following

objectives: • To foster sustainable prosperity within host communities; • To provide direct social and economic benefits from petroleum operations to host communities; • To enhance peaceful and harmonious co-existence between licensees or lessees and host communities; and • To create a framework to support the development of host communities. The PHCD is expected to improve the quality of life of the host communities’ population, and improve accountability in the management of host communities’ development trust (HCDT or “the Trust”) fund. Some of the significant provisions of the framework are as follows: •Section 235 of the Bill requires a settlor or a group of settlors under a joint operating agreement, to incorporate a HCDT. The Trust is to aid the development of the economic and social infrastructure of the communities, within the petroleum-producing area.

Where the HCDT is incorporated by a group of settlors under a joint operation, the operator under the agreement will be responsible for the Trust on behalf of the other parties. The Bill requires the settlor to appoint and authorise a Board of Trustees (BoT), which will be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, for the purpose of managing the Trust.

The following administrative activities of the BoT are determined by the settlor – • the selection process, the procedure for meetings, financial regulations and administrative procedures • the remuneration, discipline, qualification, disqualification, suspension, and removal of members of the BoT; and • other matters other than the above relating to the operation and activities of the BoT. •Section 251 requires the settlor to conduct a host community needs assessment to determine the needs of each host community, and develop a Community Development Plan to address the identified needs.

The Bill requires the BOT to set up a Management Committee that comprises one representative of each host community as a non-executive member, and other executive members of high integrity and professional qualification. Further, it empowers the Management Committee to prepare the budget of the fund, manage project awards on behalf of the Trust, supervise project

execution, and other functions that may be assigned to it by the BOT. The Host Community Advisory Committee (“Advisory Committee”) is to be set up by the Management Committee in accordance with the constitution of the Trust. The Advisory Committee will be responsible for nominating members to represent the host communities on the Management Committee, communicating community development projects to the Management Committee, monitoring the progress of community projects, securing project facilities, and advising the Management Committee on measures to improve security and peace within the community.

Petroleum Industry Fiscal Framework Chapter 4 of the Bill introduces the Petroleum Industry Fiscal Framework (PIFF), which has the following objectives: Fiscal Provisions: • To establish a progressive fiscal framework that encourages investment in the Nigerian petroleum industry, balancing rewards with risk and enhancing revenues to the Federal Government (FG); • To provide a forward-looking fiscal framework that is based on core principles of clarity, dynamism and fiscal rules of general application; • To establish a fiscal framework that expands the revenue base of the FG, while ensuring a fair return for investors; • To simplify the administration of petroleum tax; and • To promote equity and transparency in the petroleum industry fiscal regime.

The Bill amends and repeals various laws that have implications for the oil and gas industry, and provides for the current Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT) to be split into two namely: Hydrocarbon Tax (HT) and Companies Income Tax (CIT) both of which will apply to companies engaged in upstream petroleum operations.

The fiscal and tax amendments in the PIB will apply upon: a. conversion of existing Oil Prospecting Licences (OPLs) and Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) to Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs) and Petroleum Mining Licences (PMLs) b. termination or expiration of unconverted licenses, and c. renewal of OMLs. Consequently, holders of OPLs and OMLs that do not convert to PMLs will continue to be taxed under the current PPT Act, pending the expiration

“CHAPTER 3 OF THE BILL INTRODUCES THE PETROLEUM HOST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (PHCD) WHICH HAS THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES: TO FOSTER SUSTAINABLE PROSPERITY WITHIN HOST COMMUNITIES; TO PROVIDE DIRECT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS FROM PETROLEUM OPERATIONS TO HOST COMMUNITIES…..”

of their licences.

The Bill introduces the HT, which will be chargeable on the profits of upstream petroleum companies. The HT will be charged at varying rates depending on the terrain, contract type, and whether it is a new or converted acreage.

The PIB has effectively resolved the controversy relating to the applicable fiscal legislation for condensates and NGLs that are subsequently commingled with oil. The determination of the applicability of HT will depend on whether the volumes of the condensate or NGLs can be determined at the measurement point or exit of the gas processing plant. Further, only the costs that cannot be deemed to be exclusively incurred to produce associated gas will be claimed as tax deductions under the HT. Based on Section 277 (3) of the PIB, companies yet to commence bulk sales or disposal of chargeable oil are required to submit their tax returns within 18 months from the date of incorporation in the case of a new company, and within five months after any period ending on 31st December of the following year, in the case of any other company. Further, Section 281 of the Bill has significantly increased the general penalty for non-compliance from N10,000 and an additional N2,000 for each day of continued default to N10,000,000 and an additional N2,000,000 for each day of continued default. The stiff penalties, are to encourage voluntary compliance. However, Section 218 provides for taxpayers that have genuine reasons that may impact their ability to file their tax returns as and when due, to proactively engage the FIRS and agree an extension to avoid payment of the penalties.

Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru Ph.D, Notary Public

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Unburden Lawyers from Scrutinising Clients’ Sources of Funds A Rejoinder Antithesis to Mayowa Owolabi’s Thesis (Part 3) Introduction

and the UK provide that their Lawyers under the American Bar Association and the CCBE (Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe) require that legal practitioners report complex or suspicious money transactions to their corruption agencies Task Forces, other countries like Nigeria, Canada and Japan do not make such requirements of their legal practitioners.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations in the stead of asking Lawyers to report their client of suspicious funds, has its own regulations that allow the legal profession to maintain a “Never to Whistleblow” approach to countering money laundering.

In fact, it is their position doing such will be an invasion of Lawyers’ privacy, and will be a direct enemy of the client/Lawyer relationship – a sacred relationship provided in almost all countries’ laws. A final argument against this mode of Money Laundering Discovery being surreptitiously imposed on Lawyers, is that such matters should be left to Anti-Corruption agencies; and not used to put a strain on legal practitioners and the legal profession.

There is a legitimate presumption by a Lawyer, that his client is paying him with clean funds. If you demand that a Lawyer probes into his client’s funds, it becomes inquisitorial. It means the Lawyer who ought to believe his client and defend him maximally, is already doubtful about his bona fides, his honesty and his trustworthiness.

Do clients also enquire into the source of their Lawyers’ knowledge and expertise? Let Lawyers defend their clients, and earn their living. Do not impose on them the extra burden of prying into their accounts, or means of livelihood.

In my last two outings, I had shown thus far, how Mr Owolabi mis-construed the decision of the Court of Appeal which he conceded “accords with logic”. Mr Owolabi had however, reneged on this position, when he postulated that the same judgement will be “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 had debunked this thesis in my earlier antithesis. Today, I will continue and conclude this discourse.

A Legal Practitioner is Entitled to His Professional Fees (Continues) That a Legal Practitioner is entitled to his professional fees is the correct position of the law, as seen from our outing last week.

In GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. & ANOR v UDOKA ANYANWU ESQ. (2011) LPELR-4220(CA): “A legal Practitioner has a right to be remunerated for his services; he can earlier be paid in advance upon a named fee, or rely on the terms of any agreement reached for his fees.

However, if he has not received his fees and no agreement was reached as to what they would be, he must submit his bill of charges. See Oyo v Mercantile Bank (Nig.) Ltd. (1989) 3 NWLR (Pt. 108) 213. All the relevant authorities say that reasonable remuneration must be given for the actual work or service rendered by a Claimant on quantum meruit, which is Latin for “as much as he deserved”. See SBN Ltd. v Opanubi (2004) 15 NWLR (Pt. 896) 437 SC. In effect, when the bill of charges (as they are called) are properly brought by the Legal Practitioner in compliance with the provision of LPA, the Court will normally give judgement for the amount of fees so claimed, unless there are other factors preventing it from doing so, such as the absence or non-existence of any agreement for the payment of the fees by the client, or an attempt by the legal practitioner to illegally enrich himself at the expense of his client (by way of champ arty) see Oyo v Mercantile Bank (Nig.) LTD.(Supra) and Akingbehin v Thompson ( 2008)6 NWLR (Pt. 1083) 270, where Adamu, JCA added as follows: In some cases, even where the charges or fees were not agreed upon or fixed by a contract between the parties, the court can award a reasonable fees or remuneration to the legal practitioner for his services actually rendered or admitted to have been rendered by him, at the request or instruction of this client on the basis of quantum merit or quasi-contract. See also SBN Ltd. v Opanubi (Supra).

Furthermore, in EGBE & ANOR v ODU (2014) LPELR – 23805 (CA), it was held that: “A legal Practitioner is certainly entitled to be paid agreed or appropriate fees, for professional services rendered by him. A Legal practitioner is entitled to be paid his fees on the basis of : (a) An agreed sum (b) Advance payment for his services, and (c) On Quantum merit” Per EKANEM, J.C.A (Pp. 13- 14, paras. F.A).

Duty of a Lawyer to His Client Under the Rules of Professional Conduct in Nigeria The duties of a Lawyer in relation to his client, are firmly listed out under Rule 14 – Rule 25 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Rules 19, 15, 24 and 48 of the Rules, provide for a legal practitioner’s relationship with his client.

Rule 15 of the Rules provides that a Lawyer should represent his client within the bounds of law. Section 15(3) of the Rules, further stops a Lawyer from engaging in any illegal acts while in the service of his client.

Rule 19 provides for the privileged communication of a Lawyer with his client, and states that a Lawyer should not disclose the business of his client except in the situations provided under Section 19(3) of the Rules, which deals with situations of an illegal or fraudulent nature.

Rule 24 provides that a Lawyer has the responsibility to accept a client’s brief, and should not under any circumstance, refuse to give a client advice. See Lord Denning’s immortal words in Rondel v Worsley (citation) and the “Cab Rank Rule”.

The provisions stated above streamline the structure on how Lawyers should relate with their clients, and also puts adequate checks and balances to ensure amongst other things, that a Lawyer does not over charge the client (Rule 48). To insist (as suggested

by Mr Owolabi) that a counsel before or after accepting his brief, should investigate where his client’s source of income (from which he will be paid) comes from, not only over-burdens the Lawyer and puts more stringent strange rules on the legal profession, it also stifles the job of a Lawyer whose dictate it is to accept all clients’ briefs, and show absolute devotion in handling the cases in which he acts. Where a Lawyer, following the rules of the profession, especially those stated above, gets a client’s brief, the question of investigating the client’s source of income becomes a burdensome

and ridiculous exercise; and seeks to cause unnecessary chaos to already set rules.

Such a demand, also knocks at the very heart and soul of our criminal justice system. We practice the Anglo-Saxon accusatorial system of law, as opposed to an inquisitorial system (French model). In our accusatorial system, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. By casting suspicion on a client and his source of income, from which to pay his Lawyer, it puts, in my opinion, further harm on the Lawyer’s ways, and also clogs in the wheel of justice. The ordinary individual comes to the law, in the hope of obtaining justice. If the Lady Justice is a symbol of a blind-folded lady with a scale of justice and a sword, the need to first pull down the blindfold, even before advocating for one’s client, becomes a two-pronged treachery waiting to happen.

That is, being suspicious of one’s own potential client; and also being discriminatory to the very client who desperately needs justice. With Lawyers thus being cowed, how does the ordinary man approach the courts for help? It must be emphasised that Lawyers’ countless duties, do not include being an investigator.

The provisions of Rule 25 of the Rules of Professional Conduct which states that a Lawyer shall investigate the witnesses he intends to call to the stand to substantiate his case in a courtroom, does not call on a Lawyer to investigate the money trail of his client’s source of income. Making a Lawyer a private investigator of his client’s funds, is an unfavourable, tasking and injurious task not provided for by law.

It should also be noted that, while counties like the USA

Implication of the Court of Appeal Judgement Anyone who has an axe to grind with the well-reasoned decision of the Court of Appeal based on extant laws and decisions has two options: appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, or propose a Bill before the National Assembly to amend the existing laws.

Conclusion The hallmark of any presentation, is coherence. This postulation is further corroborated by the axiom that, you cannot approbate and reprobate. Mayowa Owolabi in his article titled “A Critique of the Court of Appeal Judgement in FRN v Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN)” noted emphatically that, the decision of the Court of Appeal accords with logic. However, in the same article, he postulated that the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal 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. (The End).

Serious and Trivial There are two sides to every coin. Life itself contains not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly. Let us now explore these.

“A couple watching TV after a hard day at work.

Wife: Do you drink beer?

Man: Yes Wife: How many beers a day?

Man: Usually about three Wife: How much do you pay per beer?

Man: $5.00 which includes a tip.

Wife: And how long have you been drinking?

Man: About 20 years, I suppose.

“IT MUST BE EMPHASISED THAT LAWYERS’ COUNTLESS DUTIES, DO NOT INCLUDE BEING AN INVESTIGATOR…..

MAKING A LAWYER A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR OF HIS CLIENT’S FUNDS, IS AN UNFAVOURABLE, TASKING AND INJURIOUS TASK NOT PROVIDED FOR BY LAW”

Wife: So a beer costs $5.00 and you drink three a day which makes it $450.00 each month. In one year it will be approximately $5,400.00 Man: Correct!!

Wife: If in 1 year you spend $5,400.00. The 20 years puts your spending at $108,000.00?

Man: Correct!!

Wife: Do you know that if you didn't drink too much beer that money could have been put in a savings account. And after counting the interest for the past 20 years you could have bought a plane?

Man: Do you drink beer?

Wife: No. Man: Where is your plane?”

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you, as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you, as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

(Khalil Gibran)

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BUSINESSWORLD

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima

Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

ͯ ʹ ˜ Ͱ ͮ Ͱ ͯ MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

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Quick Takes W’Bank Raises Climate Action Support

BRANDAWARENESSSUMMIT

L-R: President, EXMAN, Tade Adekunle; Director, Africa International Operations, Dubai Tourism, Stella Fubara-Obinwa; Chairman, Coscharis Group, Maduka Cosmas, and Chairman Planning Committee, EXMAN Brand Experience Summit,Tunji Adeyinka, at the 2021 Summit held in Lagos... recently ETOPUKUTT

‘How CBN’s Interventions Have Kept Power Sector Afloat’ Stories by Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Several interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the power sector estimated at N1.5 trillion may have helped keep the industry afloat to prevent a total collapse of electricity supply to Nigerians, documents have shown.

Coming, especially in the last seven years, the central bank’s assistance, in over 23 instances, aside the prospects of job creation, has kept the sector going despite its many challenges.

But stakeholders have insisted that the bank has to be firm on sticking with its repayment schedule for its creditors.

The CBN fourth quarter economic report containing details of the interventions, showed that some of the releases were meant to speed up electricity supply in industrial clusters in

ENERGY the country, expected to ramp up employment generation, raise living standard and spur further investments.

Top among the interventions are the Power and Aviation Intervention Fund (PAIF) worth roughly N300 billion, the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF), valued at N213 billion and the N140 billion Solar Connection Intervention Facility (SCIF).

In addition, the CBN disclosed that it has further pumped in over N600 billion to augment tariff shortfall, plus a recent N120 billion intervention designed for mass metering, which has now benefitted over one million Nigerian homes.

While commending the interventions, some industry players , lauded the level of transparency on the initiatives, but noted that repayment plan remained a critical issue as well

as monitoring the impact.

A document authored by Templar Law’s Partner, Dayo Okusami and Senior Associate, Moses Pila, noted that although the CBN does not regulate the sector, the interventions are necessary for now until the mismatch in earnings and capital expenditure was fixed.

“Gas prices and other elements of the capex for the sector participants are dollar-denominated.

With the electricity tariffs in naira, there is a perennial mismatch between revenue earnings and the capex inputs,” the document noted.

It showed that there are some policies that are within the domain of the CBN that would have direct impact on the power sector market imbalance and liquidity challenges.

While the exchange rate in the tariff is usually fixed, the fluctuations in the general foreign exchange market makes

it challenging for the players in the sector to procure foreign exchange at the rate stated in the tariff, the experts argued.

The document stated that the CBN may opt to either provide further capitalisation to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Limited (NBET) or some form of payment support to enable NBET adequately meet its payment obligations under its power purchase agreements.

It added: “This will in turn enable the generation companies to meet their payment obligations to their gas suppliers. The CBN may also choose to provide a special foreign exchange dispensation to the power sector to mitigate the challenges.

“Another area that the CBN could actively influence is the area of collection leakages at the Disco level. Even where, NBET has not been able to exert Continued on page 24

OPECProjectsGradualRecoveryinOilDemandinto2022 The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has predicted a gradual recovery in demand for crude oil this year and next, as the group closes in on a deal to revive the production still shuttered since the pandemic.

The need for supplies from the OPEC will continue to climb, remaining well above the group’s current output and exceeding pre-virus levels by the second half of 2022.

But it will go through a lull in the first quarter and that could see the global market return to surplus, the group anticipated.

“Looking ahead to 2022, risks and uncertainties loom large and require careful monitoring to ensure the recovery from the

ENERGY Covid-19 pandemic,” OPEC said in its monthly report, which contained the first detailed estimates for next year.

The mixed outlook fits with plans by OPEC and its allies – yet to be ratified – to gently restore the vast amounts of production they still have offline in monthly tranches of 400,000 barrels a day.

Before that road map can be approved, the group must first resolve a spat between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, The two countries have made progress in resolving a dispute over what the UAE says is an unfairly low output limit. If they

can overcome the bitter impasse, the coalition can proceed with restarting the idled barrels, it added.

International oil prices are trading near their highest level in two and half years, at about $74 a barrel in London, as fuel consumption roars back in the US and China with the lifting of lockdowns, yet crude remains volatile amid threats from coronavirus variants, and fears that OPEC’s internal clash could fray its cohesion.

The analysis underscores why the cartel wants to move carefully – and why Abu Dhabi’s insistence on ramping up output was initially rebuffed, Bloomberg reported.

OPEC predicted that global oil demand will climb by 3.3 million barrels a day in 2022, about 3.4 per cent and surpass 100 million barrels a day in the third quarter for the first time since the coronavirus emerged.

But before reaching that level, consumption will suffer a relapse in the first quarter, slipping back to 97 million a day.

Much of the rebound in demand will be satisfied by a revival in supplies from OPEC’s rivals. Non-OPEC production will increase next year by 2.1 million barrels a day, or 3.3 per cent, with about a third of the growth coming from the cartel’s Continued on page 24

TheWorld Bank Group recently announced its new Climate Change Action Plan that aims to deliver record levels of climate finance to developing countries, reduce emissions, strengthen adaptation, and align financial flows with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

TheActionPlanfor2021-25broadensWorldBankGroupeffortsfrom investing in “green” projects to helping countries fully integrate their climate and development goals.The plan also comes as countries seek sustainable pathways out of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our new Action Plan will identify and prioritise action on the most impactful mitigation and adaptation opportunities, and we will drive our climate finance accordingly.

“Thismeanshelpingthelargestemittersflattentheemissionscurve and helping countries achieve successful adaptation and resilience to climate change,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass.

“We will be delivering climate finance at record levels and seeking solutions that achieve the most impact.”

TheWorldBankisalreadythelargestmultilateralproviderofclimate finance for developing countries.The Plan includes a commitment to increasedeliverytoanaverageof35percentoftotalWorldBankGroup financing for climate over the duration of the Plan. At least 50 per cent ofInternationalDevelopmentAssociation(IDA)andInternationalBank for Reconstruction and Developing (IBRD) climate finance will support adaptation. It also includes identifying and prioritising opportunities for high-impact climate action to inform future World Bank Group climate engagements and investments.

NDPHC Loses Director

Management and staff of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited have paid tribute to the Executive Director, Legal Services/Company Secretary, to late Mr. Mohammed Mahmud, who died recently at the age of 57.

Speaking at a day of tribute organised by the NDPHC, Managing Director, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo described Mahmud’s death as painful.

“Mahmud was not just a colleague but a great friend, a confidant.

Mahmud and I met as lawyers at a transaction, a few years before I became the MD of NDPHC. His charisma and charming personality made us instant friends. As a friend, he was very caring, reliable and dependable.

“When, I became the MD in 2016, Mahmud became extremely supportive, without envy and without bile or guile. He helped me tremendously in settling into my new role and continued to guide me, caring so much about my health and well-being. He was such a wonderful friend. I have lost a great friend”, Ugbo added.

In his tribute, the Executive Director, Networks, Ife Oluwa Oyedele describedlateMahmudasafriendalso,addingthathisdeathwasashock.

Oyedele said late Mahmud was, “a very knowledgeable and urbane gentleman yet he was also humble and very respectful”, adding that he “neverfailedtopasscomplimentsaboutthosethingsheadmiredinone.”

Onhispart,ExecutiveDirector,Finance&Accounts,NDPHC,Mallam Babayo Shehu, described late Mahmud as a friend and brother who was a blessing to the company and those around him.

Zoom to Buy Five9 in $15bn Deal

ZoomVideo Communications Incorporated has announced a $14.7 billion all-stock deal to buy cloud-based call center operator Five9 Incorporated in its largest-ever acquisition, as competition intensifies in its core videoconferencing sector.

The teleconferencing services provider has become a household name and investor favorite in the year since the coronavirus pandemic, as businesses and schools adopted its services to hold virtual classes, officemeetsandsocialise. AccordingtoReuters,theSanJose,Californiabased company is now shifting focus to its two-year-old cloud-calling product Zoom Phone and conference-hosting product Zoom Rooms as bigger players Facebook and Alphabet’s Google amp up their video products.“TheacquisitionisexpectedtohelpenhanceZoom’spresence with enterprise customers and allow it to accelerate its long-term growth opportunity by adding the $24-billion contact center market,” Zoom said in a statement.

“The bank will continue to engage and partner with fiscal authorities on measures to dismantle the encumbering structural bottlenecks and correct inflationary trends” initiatives”

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele

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BUSINESSWORLD ‘HOW CBN’S INTERVENTIONS HAVE KEPT POWER SECTOR AFLOAT’ the required influence on the remittance level of the Discos, the CBN can use its influence in the banking sector to act.”

It stressed that because every Disco is guaranteed by a commercial bank, the CBN can exert regulatory influence over the conduct of the commercial banks regarding the Discos’ revenues and ensure the sanctity of collections and the priority of the remittances to the electricity market.

In his intervention, the President, Nigeria Consumer Protection Network (NCPN) Kunle Olubiyo, noted that given the level of financial liquidity in the sector, support in terms of soft loans would greatly assist in keeping the sector afloat.

However, Olubiyo noted that there was an urgent need for a review, especially with supporting policies that would drive holistic results from the programmes.

Also expressing his opinion, PWC’s Habeeb Jaiyeola, stressed that it was not out of place for such interventions to take place in countries around the world, saying that the actions would usually ramp up economic development and control cost of borrowing, but noted that repayment must be enforced.

OPEC PROJECTS GRADUAL RECOVERY IN OIL DEMAND INTO 2022 long-standing competitor, the U.S. Demand for crude from the organisation will exceed 30 million barrels a day in the second half of 2022, substantially above the 26 million it pumped in June.

That ought to allow OPEC and its partners, who have already restored about 40 per cent of the output cut during the pandemic, to produce at near-normal levels.

“Ongoing broad-based stimulus measures and high saving rates in advanced economies are forecast to lead to a release of pent-up demand in the second half of 2021, which will carry over into 2022,” the organisation said.

Yet in the first quarter of 2022, the call on OPEC’s crude will retreat to 26.4 million barrels a day – below the level it’s likely to pump this month once scheduled increases are made.

NEWS

Gencos Seek NNPC’s Intervention as Gas Supply Challenge Persists Peter Uzoho With gas supply to thermal power plants around 13 per cent more than seven years after the power sector privatisation, power generation companies (Gencos) have called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to intervene and save the sector. Twenty-eight megawatts (MW) of gas equivalent is required by the thermal power plants in the country, according to the National Control Centre, the data house of the nation’s power sector, and only 13 per cent has been supplier to thermal plants since the last seven years.

Consequently, the Gencos are demanding that the NNPC, as holder of 50 per cent stake in the Joint Venture (JV) with gas producing companies, should intervene by taking over their gas obligations to gas suppliers to enable them generate more power. The Executive Secretary of Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), Mrs Joy Ogaji, made the request on behalf of her association during a panel session at the recently held 2021 Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG) in Abuja.

The panel session centred on, “Developing the Domestic Gas Market to Deepen Gas Utilisation.”

Ogaji noted that one of the

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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)

privatisation in 2013.

Ogaji said: “One of the challenges that we generation companies are facing is gas suppliers requesting for securitisation.

And again, as lawyers, you know that contracts have to be backto-back. If it is not back-to-back, it is not possible for me to be able to post to you what has not been posted to me.

“So, the way the power sector

is designed is such that a value chain is as strong as its weakest link. So, it is designed such that we have a bulk trader, NBET, as a securitisation agent or an obligor or a buffer for the Gencos.

“So, NBET is expected to provide a securitisation in the form of a bankable commercial letter of credit from a commercial bank to the Gencos, who in turn, will now post it to the

gas suppliers.

“As you all know, we have not received that and this is why we are not able to post it to the gas suppliers. My proposition is, we want NNPC, who has 50 per cent of the JVs to take up the gas obligation of the generation companies, and we will generate as much megawatts as you want, if you are able to consume or utilise it. ”

CIPM INVESTITURE

L-R: Representative of Chairman of the Occasion, Dr. Fred Odutola; wife of the new CIPM President, Mrs. Omolara Mojeed; President, Mr Olusegun Mojeed; past President, Mr Victor Eburajolo, and anoher past President, Dr Oladimeji Alo, during the investiture of the 20th President of institute held in Lagos... recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

Sylva: Nigeria Lost Funds to Non-performance of Atala Oilfield, Others Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, has said the federal government lost revenues in taxes, royalties and other payments on the Atala oilfield located in Bayelsa and about 10 others revoked in April 2020.

Sylva, who spoke while fielding questions from journalists in Abuja, noted that there are conditions attached to the ownership of any licence, including optimal utilisation of the asset, insisting that for 17 years, that condition was not met by the Bayelsa government and the owners of the 10 other facilities.

He noted that all the procedures

for cancelling any licence granted to an oilfield licence holders were thoroughly complied with and wondered why the former holders should be interested in whoever the new owners of the assets are.

He said: “About 11 marginal fields were revoked for nonperformance and the holders of these fields held them for 17 years without producing these fields, and as a country, we lose money (when that happens).

“Because if we are producing these fields, the country too will be getting royalties and other payments, and taxes from your production. But when you hold an asset and you just keep it and you are not producing that asset, the country is losing money

ultimately.

“So after 17 years, the president in his wisdom decided to revoke those assets and revoking it means it is no longer your asset. So, if it is no longer your asset, what is your business whether it has been given to somebody else?”

Sylva added that the Bayelsa state government which formerly owned the oilfield has not refuted the allegation of non-performance, explaining that licence owners do not just hold them for the sake of it, but to put them to maximum use which will invariably earn more revenue for the government.

“Bayelsa state government, are they denying that they ran the asset sub-optimally? They are not, and I am sure they are

not arguing with that, they are not arguing with the revocation.

“So, I don’t want to go into all the details. So, just know that this asset was not singled out. It was revoked along with a lot of other assets for the same reason.

“I don’t want to now single out one of those assets and discuss it. If you are talking about all the assets, then we’ll discuss it, but I don’t want to single any one of those assets and discuss it, because I happen to come from Bayelsa state too,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Bayelsa state government has called for the reversal of the revocation of the Atala oil marginal field (OML 46), saying the oilfield remained a “prized asset” of the state to

which it is sentimentally attached.

A statement the Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted Governor Douye Diri, as calling on all concerned parties, including the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the minister to consider returning the oilfield to the state.

“Part of what I have done in the last one week of my absence was to state the position of the Bayelsa state government, which I did very clearly to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

So, our position on Atala oilfield is that it is a prized asset of Bayelsa state and that revocation should be cancelled.

Fashola, Kyari, Others Chart Path for Infrastructure Development Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Group Business Editor

major challenges facing Gencos was the request by gas suppliers that Gencos provide “securitisation” before they could supply them gas. She explained that the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) was expected to provide the securitisation in the form of a bankable commercial letter of credit from a commercial bank to the Gencos, but that NBET had not given them such since

Prominent players in the country’s infrastructure space have met in Abuja to chart the way forward for the country’s poor infrastructure base.

Some of them included the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola; Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, as well as the leadership of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).

In his goodwill message at the plenary session of the National Infrastructure Summit organised by the NSE, Fasola restated that infrastructure development, maintenance and management was at the core of the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s strategy for growing the economy and lifting people out of poverty.

He said the stock of infrastructure and the commitment to grow

them remains the real measure of a nation’s desire for growth and prosperity, stressing that a country cannot grow bigger than the capacity of its infrastructure.

Fashola pointed out that this was underscored by the fact that the ministry is currently managing over 800 contracts for roads and bridges, covering over 13,000 kilometres of the 35,000 plus kilometres of federal highways and bridges.

He described the projects as critical drivers for employment of professionals for design, surveys, and construction practitioners as well as a galvaniser for other sectors like mining for gravel, sand, laterite, crushed stones, while it drives the demand and supply of lubricants like diesel, and oils, as well as bitumen production and supply.

He stressed that while design, construction and governance account for only about 30 per

cent of Jobs in the built industry, it is maintenance and operation that provides 70 per cent of the sustainable jobs long after construction has ended.

According to him, this is why the Buhari administration must take the credit for approving the first ever FGN Facility Management and Maintenance policy in March of 2019, which led to the rehabilitation of 24 federal secretariats under a facility management contract.

In addition, he stated that 37 bridges nationwide are now undergoing maintenance and repairs, some of which have been due for decades, stressing that many projects recommended for development in the 2013 National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan are now at different stages of completion.

Chairman of the NSE’s Infrastructure Report Card Committee, Ademola Olorunfemi, noted that

the body was set up as part of the society’s contributions to driving Nigeria’s Infrastructure improvement and revolution, with the first edition of the report published in 2015 and the 2nd edition in 2017 with the third edition now in the works.

He stated that the report would provide a comprehensive assessment of current infrastructure conditions and needs, grade the state of built infrastructure in all sectors and states and provide policy makers an empirical guide in making choices and investment decisions.

In addition, he said it would enable government leaders to inspect their project portfolios critically, drive efficient allocation of resources, as well as encourage benchmarking and competition among the different levels of governance.

NSE President, Babagana Mohammed, in his remarks, said

the summit was borne out of the society’s quest to continually drive Nigeria’s infrastructure revolution and sustainable development.

He said that a cursory review of Nigeria’s infrastructure development, maintenance and management spectrum reveals vivid challenges that need deliberate and pragmatic solutions.

He listed some of the sector’s challenges to include unclear and conflicting infrastructure goals and objectives at the federal, state and local government levels as well as ambiguous regulatory framework and inappropriate economic regulation with respect to pricing structures for the consumption of infrastructure.

He stated that the resultant effect was that Nigeria is currently confronted with the dilemma of a staggering infrastructure deficit and skills gap running into trillions of dollars.

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Adigun: DPR Can Revoke Unproductive Marginal Field License Ademola Adigun is an oil and gas policy expert, who has worked on oil sector governance and transparency for over a decade as the Country Team Lead for the Facility for Oil Sector Transparency and Reform. In this interview, Adigun who is currently the Executive Vice President of Metacura Development Initiative, an Abuja-based policy and Management Consultancy firm, speaks on the issues around the Petroleum Industry Bill, revocation and re-allocation of Marginal Oil fields by the Department of Petroleum Resources to new operators and other industry matters. Hamid Ayodeji brings the excerpts: The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petition and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) are on a collision course over Dawies Island marginal field loss by Eurafric for holding the national asset without production and making it unviable for 17 years. The Minister of Petroleum Resources through the DPR awarded the field to Petralon 54 Limited and its partners during the last bid round, a decision that has been countered by Eurafric through a petition to the House Committee on Public Petitions.

What is your take on this in the light of the debate around the Petroleum Industry Bill and the role of regulators?

The thinking behind it is simple: The oil and gas sector suffers some deficits, one of them is governance which is the foundation of growth for any country. Other deficits include accountability and transparency. You would agree with me that every government in power have had a scandal or more about oil or the NNPC. In the real sense, we have the DPR which is an emergent party from a Ministry.

It was first an Inspectorate department then it became the DPR, it has a Director who reports to the Minister. With DPR, there is no independence, there are no real powers.

Remember a time in Nigeria when we had a Minister of Petroleum who fired about four leaders of the DPR due to various issues. When there is no independence as a regulator, there are limitations. If you are not accountable to some Board structures, you will not be as transparent as you ought to be. So, the whole reason is to strengthen governance and have a Commission for the upstream and another one for the midstream and downstream. Now, the question people will ask is, why you don’t have a single regulator, which is a practice.

But every country determines how they run theirs, every country determines what they want to do and I think for Nigeria, the focus is to develop the midstream and downstream where we can create jobs and grow the GDP. For the upstream again, there were issues around improving the power but not allowing to have a super regulator which becomes super creepy. Those ideas were to have a balance and the way the governance was strengthened, transparency was there and it allows some flexibility. There should be no one man, a DPR Director, Minister or a President who should be the alpha and omega in the oil sector. That was the thinking behind it.

What is your position is on the National Assembly having ratified the three percent for Host Communities Fund which has become a bit contentious and what do you think will be the impact of the PIB on the newly awarded marginal field assets when it comes to the 2020 bid round in terms of developmental efficiency in getting the assets into production. How would you advise new awardees to proceed in light of this?

I think one of the greatest things that have happened which is in the PIB is the concept of drill or drop. We have had a history. I think the first attempt to Nigerianise the oil and gas sector was in 1990 when the Babangida Military government awarded oil blocs to some Nigerians who were thought to have financial capabilities to make the necessary investments.

Of the award, only about three or four have been mined, that is Famfa, Conoil and some other two. Now, a lot of people get these licences or win these bids then go sell it off.

They sell it off to those who are incompetent and the whole thing stalls and we suffer as a country. We have two problems in the sector right now; we have declining take from the barrel and we have declining returns from crude. Now, we are limited to 1.45 million

Adigun barrels a day by OPEC quota and we have a failure to ramp up 2.1 million barrels per day.

If the oil blocs lie fallow and people are not producing from it, we are losing revenue from the field, we are losing job creation from the field, and we are losing what should be the contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as field development fee. It’s a whole basket of having something you cannot use, it is therefore better you drop it.

To your specific question of what happens to the new awardees, the PIB is clear, you have a timeline, you pay your licensing fee.

You also have a timeline to find investors to work with you. If you can’t, drop it. Drop it for someone who can. The truth is, we are fighting a battle; the truth is crude is not going to be as powerful or useful as it is in the next 20 to 35 years. Now, imagine you getting a bag of cowrie shells from your grandmother.

At that point or in time past, it was much money but if you have cowrie shells today it is to be used for decoration. So, in a race to ensure that we maximise what is under the ground now, we can’t have people having fields, whether marginal or others and not exploit it. That is because in the long run, the state loses. The relevance of crude and the present value of money also plays a role.

We are country with challenges in balancing our budget, so as much as we can get in taxes, royalties and other fees are important for now. So, anyone going into that kind of exploration should be thinking about the capacity. If they don’t have the capacity, they should drop it. Now, laws are not usually retroactive but everybody is going to come under the PIB once there is assent by the President. The PIB repeals about nine laws, all those laws that are currently governing the sector become repealed as soon as the PIB is signed and that means as a sector, we are going to be governed under the new law. Anyone in the sector should be thinking about capacity, capability, efficiency and the ability to say “if I can’t do this, let me look for someone else that can.” As a country, we

cannot tap the revenue for the future today because people are not capable or because they are emotional.

What is your opinion about the three per cent that has been ratified as development fund for host communities by the Senate?

For me, I am a person that sees a glass that is half full instead of one that is half empty. I have seen a lot of positions from people saying we want 10 per cent or 20 per cent. Yes, we can have any per cent, but the question I ask every day is, what the principle behind this thinking? The second one is, this is an addition. You had zero per cent before now. What has this tried to do? It is trying to bypass capture, in the corruption that has happened allegedly in the Derivation, in the NDDC and other parties and give the communities a voice in determining their own future. It also ties them to the production, it ties them to the state. Now, three per cent of what? Three per cent of previous years’ operating expenses can be significant. But the question is not how much the money is, but how well utilised the money is? It is a starting point and you can move forward from there.

You can say 10 per cent tomorrow but they were at zero before. Now, if you say don’t sign the PIB because of that, then you go back to zero. Zero percent of Zero is Zero. So, it is better for the communities to think, we have got something, we still get derivation, we still get what we get through NDDC, we still get other things and it is a good starting point for discussions. Again let me add that I am not concerned about percentages, I am concerned about utilisation and benefits. I am concerned about the fact that we can ensure that the money goes back to the community that really needs it, so I am in support of it.

So let’s talk about the last marginal oil field bid rounds. Some analysts have said that not only was the 2003 exercise more transparent than that of 2020, they also argued that the 2003 was more

rigorous, yet 11 fields did not achieve production. I am asking this in light of the recent controversy between the House of Representative and the Department of Petroleum Resources over Dawies Field.

What exactly are we dealing with here, what are your thoughts?

We have to ask ourselves a question, do I have the mandate to act in the way I have acted legally? Yes, I can. Now, does the DPR have the right to act and revoke license unutilised?

Yes they can. Was it part of the contract you signed at the point and time when the license was given to you? Yes, it is. Now, the problem we have in Nigeria is that people don’t want to follow rules. We live in a country where people want to use influence to get things done and this is why we have an oil sector that is in crisis. You cannot because you are a member of the House or you are a Senator or the President negate the powers of an institution. You asked about why we are having an upstream and downstream commission and institution, the reason is simply because of these kinds of issues. When you take a field and keep it for 17 years, you don’t invest in it, there is no returns from it. Imagine if that field was producing when oil prices was like $120 a barrel or $110, imagine what we could have done with that money. There is something called the net present value of money, which is an accounting term for saying money today is best utilised for today than saving money when you cannot predict tomorrow. So, it is not the business of the National Assembly to get involved in such matters. I see it as an abuse of process and law. The question we should ask is, does the DPR have the power, the mandate, is it following the law?

If we can prove that other than the law, there is something else, then the party that is complaining about Dawies Field should fight. I watched a news report about Bayelsa State too and the emotional argument of the governor about the marginal field the state had undeveloped for 17 years. If you have 17 years to make something operational, to invest in it, you didn’t do it. Now, when it is time to take it from you, you say you could have done it. No! it doesn’t work that way. There must come a time when we follow rules and laws. And on the question of transparency and bid rounds. A lot of complains about this bid round have been raised, I mean, I have read reports about this bid round not being as transparent as it ought to be. But I think the issue is, DPR has a process which it published that the law says that is the way the bid round will be conducted and the way it will be assessed. If that is not followed, then, it falls on the parties to go through the right channels to appeal.

If the guideline has been followed, then it is a defined case. When you say, 19 years ago we had a bid round and we still have 15 fields lying fallow, now that’s the problem.

That is why the PIB now has a clause that says drill or relinquish or drill or drop. It has to be that you cannot hold something in perpetuity just for you. People must know that Oil is a diminishing asset, the oil money is what we need today to build the future. We need to start thinking about transitioning from oil but we need oil money to transition away from oil. So, if you keep something on the ground there, you read the EU guidelines released recently on cutting emission and climate transparency.

So, we have an asset that might be worth nothing in four years. I think as it is clearly published, it should not be a matter for the National Assembly. I think this is part of the abuse of processes that happens in the country.

This is why people just do the way they do it.

We are almost becoming a country of anyhow.

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T H I S D AY • TUESDAY JULY 20, 2021

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Family Home Fund Completes N10bn Sukuk Issuance Stories by Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Family Homes Funds Limited (FHFL) through the Family Homes Sukuk Programme Plc has successfully completed the issuance of a N10 billion sevenyear 13 per cent Series 1 Ijara Lease Sukuk due in 2028, under its N30 billion Sukuk Issuance Programme. The company said the Series I Sukuk is the first ever SEC-registered corporate Sukuk to be issued in Nigeria and the first corporate Sukuk certified by the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE) of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

According to the FHFL, the transaction also represents its debut in the Nigerian debt capital market, while the issuance was 2.1x oversubscribed.

A release by FHFL Company Secretary, Franklin Ezeagwu, noted that the book building process for the transaction was launched on June 25, 2021, and was completed on July 6, 2021.

It stated that the transaction was well received and attracted significant demand from a wide range of high value and quality investors including pension funds, ethical funds, fund managers, non-finance Islamic institutions, trustees, corporate and high net worth individuals.

The company said the total value of orders received during the process was N21.3 billion (representing a 2.1 times oversubscription) of the intended N10 billion, while the issuance was launched at a rental rate of 13.00 per cent per annum.

“Notwithstanding current market dynamics and volatility, this debut transaction had tremendous support from the debt capital market,” it said.

FHFL noted that the series I Sukuk issuance reinforces the company’s commitment to facilitating the provision of affordable homes and diversifying its funding sources, as well as the resilience of the domestic debt capital market.

“Family Homes will deploy the net proceeds to finance and develop affordable homes for low-income earners,” said the company.

Commenting on the development, Chief Executive Officer of FHFL, Femi Adewole, described it as a landmark and lauded all those who contributed to the success of the historic initiative.

“We are very proud of this landmark transaction, which is the first ever certified corporate Sukuk issued in Nigeria. The domestic debt capital market has given us the opportunity to further diversify our funding sources and provided the necessary support for our goal of providing affordable homes across Nigeria.

“The strong support for this transaction, given the challenging environment, is a reflection of the depth of the market, and investor confidence in Family Homes Fund’s long-term strategy and management team,” he said.

World Bank, TCN Train 708 Electrical Engineers, Linesmen The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it has commenced an intensive training programme for 708 engineers in the company, taken from the electrical, maintenance department, protection, control, and metering department as well as linesmen across the 10 regions of the company, through a World Bank programme.

A statement by the General Manager, Public Affairs of the organisation, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, said while declaring the training open in Abuja, acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Mr. Sule Abdulaziz, explained that the training was to expose maintenance engineers to facility improvement programmes under the World Bank’s Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project (NETAP).

Abdulaziz said: “In all, engineers undergoing this training are those in the Protection, Control and Metering Department

(PC&M), Electrical Maintenance Department (EMD), and Lines Maintenance Department (LMD), totaling 708 engineers from the 10 Transmission Service Provider (TSP) regions nationwide.”

The TCN head noted that the company was prioritising the training of its staff as it gradually expands the capacity of its transmission network with the execution of several projects to ensure grid efficiency and stability.

“A more robust grid, coupled with the role we must play under the new Service Level Agreement and our part in the West African Power Pool (WAPP), among others, underscore the need for our engineers to be trained and retrained, to ensure that they are relevant and efficient,” Abdulaziz added.

According to him, the training which is divided into five modules is aimed at honing their skills and, in the end, give them fresh perspectives

on how to get their jobs done more efficiently and effectively to produce better results.

The Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider (TSP) in TCN, Victor Adewumi urged the participants to ensure active involvement during the programme and to ask questions whenever they require clarification during the two-week training.

On his part, the Executive Director, Human Resources and Change Management at TCN, Mr. Justin Dodo, revealed that much preparation was put into the programme design for maximum result.

Also, General Manager, Programme Coordination at TCN, Mr. Joseph Ciroma urged the graduates to deepen their knowledge as the hybrid training team will provide deeper knowledge about emerging trends and what is expected of the trainees in their job roles at TCN.

NBET: No N7.68bn Insertion in Our Budget The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc has maintained that it did not insert projects outside its area of operations in the 2021 budget of the organisation that was passed in December.

Some reports, quoting insider sources, had alleged that NBET was allocated N7.68 billion and had a proposal approved to

provide 500KVA transformers for some selected communities in various states at the cost of N150 million as well as the supply and installation of transformers in selected areas of Gombe for N100 million and N50 million for different locations in Kano State. In addition, the report listed the electrification of Gudus, Nyalun, Kunkyam, Yuli and other

selected communities in Plateau State to the tune of N300 million, outside NBET’s mandate, as other projects surreptitiously inserted into the document. When asked to respond to the insinuations, Head, Corporate Communication, NBET, Henrietta Ighomrore, explained that the organisation never added any item in the budget beyond those that were critical to its operations.

She insisted that one of the reports by an online medium that NBET scrambled to remove certain suspicious items from the document after it was uncovered could not be farther from the truth, saying it was impossible for NBET to alter an appropriation law, which is an Act of Parliament, singlehandedly.She emphasised that although there may be different versions of the document it presented before the National Assembly flying online.

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Deepening Nigeria’s Payment System Donald Nwaogu

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently has unveiled plans to launch its digital currencies before December 2021.

With this plan, the CBN joins over 70 per cent of central banks around the world that are respectively researching on the payment technology following the growing investor interest in cryptocurrency.

Beside, technological advances in recent years which was further propelled by the COVID-19, have led to a growing number of fast, electronic means of payment available to consumers for everyday transactions.

While China is in the final testing stages of its Digital Yuan, South Korea and Brazil recently announced their digital currencies for 2022, the European Union began research on CBDC development while the Fed Reserve is taking its first steps towards a digital dollar, according to a report by Zerocap, an Australian-based full-service digital asset investment platform.

Essentially, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are digital representations of fiat currencies developed and issued by central banks. Given their source, CBDCs are not decentralised but simply a digital token issued as the territory’s currency, regulated and backed by local monetary reserves, the report by Zerocap stated.

In addition, CBDCs may or may not utilise blockchain technology, depending on the frameworks used to implement the assets into circulation.

The Digital Yuan or DCEP, for instance, does not; although it utilises distributed ledger technology, it is a centralised mutable ledger that contains peer-to-peer properties.

The Bank for International Settlement (BIS) notes that there are various design choices for CBDCs, including: access (widely versus restricted); degree of anonymity (ranging from complete to none); operational availability (ranging from current opening hours to 24 hours a day and seven days a week); and interest bearing characteristics (yes or no).

Furthermore, it points out that many forms of CBDCs are possible, with different implications for payment systems, monetary policy transmission as well as the structure and stability of the financial system.

“CBDC raises old questions about the role of central bank money, the scope of direct access to central bank liabilities and the structure of financial intermediation. Traditionally, central banks have, for various reasons, tended to limit access to (digital) account-based forms of central bank money to banks and, in some instances, to certain other financial or public institutions. “By contrast, physical central bank money, that is cash, is widely accessible. This approach has, in general, served the public and the financial system well, setting a high bar for changing the current monetary and financial structure,” the BIS added.

Although CBDCs will probably not function precisely like paper notes or bitcoin, they will hold some digital features similar to physical cash.

Assets will be easily transferable between entities and carry the same value in third-party wallets or platforms.

These properties also apply to their storage; CBDC users will store the tokens in their digital wallets and use the assets wherever they go. Citizens will most likely need to open an account with their central bank affiliations, but storage options will vary from mobile to desktop, online and offline anywhere on the planet.

Leal Brainard, Governor of the Federal Reserve System, recently spoke at Washington on how the Fed was advancing research on CBDCs. The US seeks to obtain a solid foundation of this novel monetary system before developing its own version, ensuring “a safe, inclusive, efficient, and innovative payments system that works for all Americans.”

CBN Lists Benefits For Nigeria, there is no doubt that over the years the country has made noticeable progress in its desire to create a robust payment

system through several reforms targeted at restoring confidence in the system.

Indeed, a sound payment system infrastructure, where operators and customers can transact business with confidence and convenience, trust and timeliness, underpins many of these reforms.

For instance, in 2007, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the Payment Systems Vision 2020 which identified series of recommendations to increase the resilience of the payment system infrastructure and work-streams to encourage the usage of electronic payment methods were inaugurated. Since then, the country has continued to introduce initiatives that would help simply payments and deepen financial inclusion.

The Director, Information Technology, CBN, Ms. Rakiya Mohammed, said every Nigerian would have access to the CBDCs when it is introduced.

She said: “Let me state categorically that cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin and the rest of them are not under the control of the central bank; they are purely private decisions that individuals make and are not part of this arrangement.

“We have spent over two years studying this concept of central bank’s digital currency and we have identified the risks. And it is one of the reasons why I said we are setting up a central governance structure that would involve all industry stakeholders to access all the risks as we continue on this journey.

“Very soon we would make an announcement

With CBDCs, local or international transfers can occur almost instantly and require much lower fees than the traditional system.

It will drastically minimise the task of verifying funds or riskmonitoring in each banking platform, since CBDCs are the actual fiat currencies in digital form

on the date for the launch and by the end of the year, we should have the digital currency.”

According to her, about 80 per cent of central banks across the world are presently exploring the possibility of issuing the central bank’s digital currency, saying that Nigeria cannot be left behind.

Mohammed added: “You are aware that we have two forms of fiat money: The notes and the coins. So, the central bank’s digital currency is the third form of fiat money. So, this digital money is going to complement the cash and note that we have.

“The central bank digital currency will just be as good as you having cash in your pocket.

So, if you are having the currency in your pocket, you are as good as having cash on your phone.

“Now, why did we need to go into this?

There are different cases that the central bank is looking at. For instance, we have remittances, which is a huge market in Africa. We also know that in the last EFInA report, our target for this year was to achieve 80 per cent financial inclusion. We are about 60 per cent and at the rate we are going, it is unlikely we would meet this target. But the central bank digital currency would accelerate this target.”

She said it would support the cashless policy as well as innovation, adding that the central bank has a “very clear roadmap on this and we are about to move to the next stage of a proof of consent after which we would start a pilot.”

Other qualities of CBDCs according to the report by Zerocap include: Simple cross-border transactions With CBDCs, local or international transfers can occur almost instantly and require much lower fees than the traditional system. It will drastically minimise the task of verifying funds or risk-monitoring in each banking platform, since CBDCs are the actual fiat currencies in digital form. Reducing fees at faster transfer rates will also promote economic growth and benefit lower classes through low payment fees and higher accessibility to funds.

Social Inclusion Since CBDCs are issued through central banks and available to use through digital wallets, the unbanked may access and transfer their funds without the need for private bank accounts, which are often not at their disposal.

It will also benefit the underbanked through higher access to financial services with more straightforward frameworks and faster KYC. M-Pesa, a P2P payment platform released in Kenya, is a good example of such inclusion.

Released in 2007, M-Pesa promoted easy payments and transactions without the need for private bank accounts. As a result, Kenya`s access to formal finance grew from 14 per cent in 2006, to 83 per cent in 2019.

Combating illegal activities Digital fiat creates more significant obstacles to illegal activities as physical cash allows funds to be hidden and transferred outside of surveilled financial systems. With CBDCs rising in adoption, payments and transfers will be easier to identify and trace back to previous sources, drastically reducing fraud and money laundering risks. However, this seemingly safer system does come with concerning possibilities.

Lessons from China’s Digital Currency A report from businesstimes.com.sg, revealed that China has been working on its digital currency roadmap from as early as 2014, and leads the rest of the world’s central banks presently experimenting with CBDCs. It noted that the country’s big technology companies, like Ant Group and Tencent, played a big role in giving China the upper hand on this journey.

“Driven by a desire to increase convenience and retain customers, they ventured into mobile wallets and digital payments.

“At first, regulators, including the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), took a hands-off approach to this. That wasn’t a wholly deliberate decision.

“It takes time to study and regulate new technologies and services. This gave China’s tech companies the freedom to experiment and push the boundaries of the financial system.

“The result was a wave of new fintech services emerged in China between 2012 and 2020.

These included digital know-your-customer processes, credit control and fraud control.

“It was only when companies started using their technology aggressively for highlyleveraged lending that regulators stepped in,” the report added.

It pointed out that one advantage of letting large, competing consumer businesses lead innovation is that the platforms are willing and effective in educating consumers.

When people are informed, they are more likely to try innovations and embrace novel concepts.

Now, many Chinese consumers are comfortable with digital forms of money and wallets, meaning they may be more willing to embrace a government-issued coin.

Consumers’ acceptance of and confidence in digital payments also forced state-owned enterprises and traditional businesses to adapt, further entrenching digital payments.

It has also led to the PBOC having more experience dealing with this field, which it can apply when rolling out its own digital currency, giving it a sharper focus and cutting down on avoidable mistakes.

These indeed are lessons the CBN must embrace as it works towards introducing its own digital currencies in the coming months.

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͮ, ͰͮͰͯ

IMAGES

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Photo Editor Abiodun Ajala Email abiodun.ajala@thisdaylive.com

First Lady of Ondo state and Founder, BRECAN Foundation, Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu (6th left); Founder, Atinuke Cancer Foundation, Mrs. Tinu Lawal (5th left); accompanied by other cancer survivors during ‘Cancer Survivor Luncheon’ held in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

L-R: Director Media and Publicity, Global Health Advocacy and Innovation Alliance (GLHADIA), Mr. Samson Oki; Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Luth, Dr. Emmanuel Owie; President/Founder, GLHADIA, Dr. Kennedy Eguagie; Special Guest of Honuor, Dr Wilfred Ugwoeruchukwu; Wellness Trainer/Pulic Health Practitioner, Dr Olajumoke Oke; and Executive Director, Mobilizaeion and Logistics, GLHADIA, Mazi Nwachukwu Sidney during the Advocacy & Campaign Flag off of thene: Covid 19 Vaccine Acceptance for All

by GLHADIA at Ikeja, Lagos...recently PHOTO: KOLAWOLE ALLI

L-R: Son of disease/Chairman Coronation Capital, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; President, Dangote group, Aliko Dangote; former President, Nigerian Bar Association NBA, Mr. Paul Usoro; and Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, at a reception in honour of the late Pastor (Mrs.) Emily Okhenren Aig-Imoukhuede in Lagos …recently PHOTO: KUNLE OGUNFUYI

L-R: President, Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), Comrade Christopher Isiguzo; wife of former Governor of Imo State, Mrs Nkechi Okorocha and newly installed 5th President of Rotary Club of Abuja, CBD, Mrs Anne Obi, during the investiture of the 5th President of the Club, in Abuja…recently

L-R: Clerk, House of Representatives Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, Alfa Salisu; member, House of Representatives, Rep. Tajudeen Abass; Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; other members Rep. Zainab Gimba; and Rep. Zakariyau Galadima, during the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Africa Region) Conference in Nairobi, Kenya…recently

L-R: Guest, Mr. Boye Oyewumi; President, Board of Trustees Parah Family Foundation, Mrs. Adejumoke Airuoyo; Special Guest of Honour , First Lady of Ogun State, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun; Vice President, Board of Trustees Parah Family Foundation, Princess Dayo Odukoya; BOT member, Mr. Tosin Odukoya and Board Member, Mrs. Isioma Olugbenga, at the 3rd edition of Parah Fertility Conference held in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

L-R: Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Chairman, Punch Nigeria Limited, Mrs Angela Olufunmilayo Emuwa and Publisher/Managing Director, Genevieve Magazine, Mrs Betty Irabor, after the Women Intentional Motivational talk Living with Betty, in Lagos...recently

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY JULY 20, 2021

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PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT No Data to Support 17m, 22m Housing Deficit Claim, Says Fashola Bennett Oghifo

T

he Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has said Nigeria does not have housing deficit of 17 million or 22 million homes, adding that there was no proven data to support that claim.

The minister stated this in his keynote address at the Concrete Ideas webinar organised by Lafarge Africa Plc., recently. The theme was ‘New Solutions to Nigeria’s Urban Housing’.

Fashola said he had approached the subject critically, stating that one of the things he was confronted with on resumption as minister of housing, was the talk about 17 million housing deficit which was credited to the World Bank.

“I invited the country manager for World Bank and said this is credited to you and he said no we have no hand in it and we know nothing about it. And then somebody said it was the African Development Bank and I called the country representative, and he said we know nothing about it.”

He then called the Director General of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics and was told there was no data about people who need homes in Nigeria, but that there was data about the number of households (families in Nigeria), which is 35 million households.

So, he asked where the figure 17 million emanated from and the DG said if the analysis of that huge deficit exists then it means half of Nigeria is homeless. The DG then promised to collect data on this in future.

The minister said he then went to the Planning Commission that does census and told them the next census should include home ownership and home rental census, “because we can’t solve a problem that we cannot measure.

“And I kept digging and found where 17 million deficit claim came from- it came from my ministry (Works and Housing) in 2012. There was a policy document and in the preface, somebody just put if there.

I’ve called my predecessor on this desk and she said there was no data to support it.

“Quote me, Nigeria does not have a 17-million or a 22-million housing deficit. Two interesting things are that in 2017 when our household survey was 35 million, the housing deficit was 17 million, that is 48.57 per cent of the household number.

Now, there is an updated household survey that puts Nigeria’s household at 45, and you know the interesting thing, the housing deficit has followed it to 22 million which is being quoted and it is also 48 per cent. People are just adding up.”

The minister said the theme of the webinar was ideal by saying ‘New Solutions to Nigeria’s Urban Housing’. “It is an urban problem; it is not a rural problem.

We don’t know the number, but it is an urban problem. So, in most of Nigerian rural areas, they don’t have housing challenges. In fact, many of the people sweating for an apartment in the city of Lagos, Aba, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, probably have a 4-bedroom or 5-bedroom bungalow in their village that are empty, unused, and therefore Lafarge is leading us in the right direction.”

Fashola

Adefioye

Khaled El Dokani

Fashola said housing problem arose with rapid urbanisation. “So, there is demand and supply issue. Now, even in those urban centres, and I’ve travelled to all of Nigerian states by road, there are empty houses, unused houses, unoccupied houses.

“Before we begin to build, the question is have we optimised the ones we have? Why do you have a shortage when you have unused assets?” Let’s begin to think, do we have a 22-million housing demand?

Because it is a business and if Lafarge is ready to build 22 million houses, then who will buy them?”

On his vision for urban housing in the country, the minister said land is a very crucial component in housing development but that it is controlled by the states and not by the federal government.

According to him, “Even if all the states government are building, as many of them are, housing is a commodity, so it is something that the private sector can leverage their entrepreneurial skills to deliver,” stating that “in the last four years, the footprint of real estate developers is increasing.”

He said government could strengthen that space by using its monetary and physical policy muscles to make it even more prolific to play in by bringing down the interest rates for lending and borrowing, and longer tenure financing.

He said he is having this discussion with the Minister of Finance Budget and Economic Planning.

He also stated that all the states houses of assembly and the states’ Attorneys General “must rise up to intervene on behalf of their residents by way of rent control,” stating that housing ought to be discussed in terms of ownership and rental.

He said, “Before you get to the ownership ladder, you get to the rental ladder first. But where you have people asking citizens to pay three years’ rent in advance from salaries earned monthly, there is a mismatch and housing can never be affordable.”

Another strategy he discussed with Lafarge was that there was need to change the building method to fit prevailing demand. For instance, people no longer demand 4-bedroom or 5-bedroom houses because they require small spaces and most use showers and not bathtubs. He advised that proper survey be done before developing a house for it to fit demand.

Fashola advised real estate devel-

opers to take into consideration a post-COVID world where people may want to do business remotely from their homes, even in their rural communities if they have broadband/ internet.

He said post-COVID scenario is a defining barometer to determine whether rural-urban migration will continue. “Are we going to get to what it was like before COVID? What if we don’t need offices anymore, at least not at the rate highrise buildings were springing up, and we can do a lot of businesses from home. We have to rethink our investment in real estate. If I can talk to you from my village because I have broadband, then why should I come to the city and be struggling for a house? It is going to affect how other businesses are arranged. Urbanisation, in my view, is what encourage the development of highrise clusters and it has also affected how we feed during work hours, fast food, deliveries around urban conurbations. Is this going to continue? So, as we plan to invest, let’s think what does the future look like?

He also expressed his views about urbanisation and urban regeneration, saying there was a fine line between urban regeneration and gentrification.

“Partnerships are instructive here and the private sector has a big role to play and it should be driven by data, science and to understand what the market says.”

He said in the last one year, a national policy has been developed to increase the use of cement and stone in the built industry, especially for roads, and “as a result of that our ministry was challenged and we have responded to government by developing a real design manual for concrete roads, which we have shared with all the states of the federation and the FCT at the National Council for Works last year.

“We are increasing the footprint of concrete roads in the country slowly but surely- the Apapa-Oworonsoki road, Obajana-Kaba road, Bodo-Bonny with NLNG, there is room for more concrete roads in the country and there is a design manual to guide everybody.”

The minister stated that the nation was in “interesting and challenging times, especially in the built industry” where a lot of initiatives were taking place.

He said, for instance, there is the Highway Development Management Initiative (HDMI), which is “the largest concession of public road

ever undertaken on the continent of Africa.”

He commended Lafarge for concrete ideas, saying since its inauguration in 2020, it has gone on smoothly.

The Concrete Ideas webinar of Lafarge Africa, now in its third edition, began in October 2020.

Present at the recent webinar, which was converged by Lafarge Africa Plc., included the company’s Chairman, Prince Adebode Adefioye; the Country Chief Executive Officer, Khaled El Dokani; and Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, Director, Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development, Lafarge Africa.

The Panelists were, Dr. Ayo Tariba; Bldr. Kunle Awobodu; Amaka Nwokolo; and Jumoke Adegunle.

The webinar was moderated by Arit Okpo.

The Chairman of Lafarge Africa gave the theme a thumb-up, saying “all industry players need to work in synergy to reverse the impending urban housing challenges.”

Adefioye noted that some recommendations from the two previous Concrete Ideas webinar were being implemented by the government in its policies, such as the implementation of the highway development management initiative (HDMI), by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, to attract the participation of the private sector in the development of infrastructure segment.

Also, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has mandated professional bodies in the built environment to develop a manual that will complement the Nigeria Industry Standard on cement (NIS 4441 of 2003), which was part of the recommendations in the second session, he said, and that recommendations from the series were being put together as blueprint in the sector.

The Country Chief Executive Officer, Khaled El Dokani thanked the minister for the valuable challenge and inspiration that he brings to the discussion.

Khaled El Dokani said the commitment of the federal government’s agencies towards encouraging private sector involvement in critical policy formulation cannot be overemphasised.

He called on all key stakeholders within the sector to work together to find solution to Nigeria’s urban housing initiatives, adding that Holcim was a leader in the construction industry.

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T H I S D AY ˾TUESDAY JULY 20, 2021

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT

How Second River Niger Bridge will Impact Nigeria’s Economic Development

E

very day, millions of people journey from Asaba, capital of Delta State, to Onitsha and back through the iconic Niger Bridge, which has become a symbol of national enterprise. Atop the Asaba side of the bridge reads the sign, “Welcome to the land of progress.” The mere sight of it sparks the image of the entrepreneurial Nigerian building a future for themselves and their family.

On the other side of the bridge is Onitsha, Anambra State, home to the biggest commercial market in West Africa.

Merchants in Onitsha Market deal in every type of product you can imagine -- mobile phones, foodstuff, clothing items, toiletries, bathroom fittings, etc. Every year, an estimated $5 billion worth of goods pass through that market. Onitsha is also home to 51 Iweka Road, one of the largest distribution networks for Nigeria’s multibillion-dollar movie industry,

Nollywood.

Thirty minutes (or 22 km) away from Onitsha is a small town called Nnewi. According to Forbes, it “has bred more naira billionaires than any other town in Nigeria, and possibly Africa”.

Nnewi is also famously a hub for automobile spare parts dealers, manufacturers of household goods, and many of the largest transport companies in Nigeria.

Several of these business activities happen across states and require hours commuting from the East to the West of Nigeria.

However, the snag is that most of this economic activity flows through one bridge.

The current Niger Bridge is a 1402.08-metre steel truss bridge that connects Onitsha to the rest of Nigeria. It is over 56 years old, dating back to 1965. The bridge is part of the Trans-African Highway between Lagos and Mombasa, Kenya, and is also the primary connection between Eastern and Western Nigeria, two highly industrious regions. So, one cannot overstate

its importance to Nigeria and Africa’s prosperity.

Over the years, the need for a second Niger Bridge has arisen.

Since the construction of the first Niger Bridge, Nigeria’s population has grown by over 400%, and the amount of people travelling through Asaba and Onitsha has also skyrocketed.

This creates a heavy flow of traffic for the travellers and residents of both cities.

Speaking to the New York Times earlier this year, Patrick Okigbo, a policy analyst, said about the current state of traffic on the Niger Bridge, “it impacts the cost of doing business. It impacts lives. If they can afford it, nobody travels by road anymore. If you can’t, then you go on a prayer.” In answer to the needs and yearnings of the people, the construction of a new bridge will ease the traffic burden enhancing the free flow of access to work, business centers, markets and other places that have social and economic significance to

the people.

The Second River Niger Bridge is the product of a Public-Private Partnership involving the Federal Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Finance, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the Presidential Infrastructural Development Fund (PIDF), and Julius

Berger Nigeria Plc. The project is a Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Transfer (DFBOT) model.

This means that the government owns and finances the project’s construction while Julius Berger, a company with a track record of excellence over 50 years, designs and builds.

Back in 1970, Julius Berger was called upon to repair the dilapidating Onitsha bridge, which was accomplished in just seven weeks. The company has also delivered an impressive number of iconic projects that have supported Nigeria’s economy over time.

The second bridge over the River Niger between Asaba and Onitsha

Ogoni Clean-up: 1,200 Women to Receive Entrepreneurial Skills Michael Olugbode in Abuja One thousand, two hundred Ogoni women are to be trained in entrepreneurial skills in the ongoing Ogoniland Clean-up Project, the Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar has said.

The Minister made this disclosure while reeling out the achievements of the Federal Government in it’s efforts to clean-up Ogoni land of oil spillages and to boost it’s economy.

The Minister, who address a press briefing in Abuja, said:

“The Project Coordination Office (PCO) proposed to train 1,200 Ogoni women in various entrepreneurial skills from the four LGAs of Ogoniland.

“The Agribusiness Skill Training and Empowerment Programme for 400 Ogoni women was initiated as an integral part of the front–end activities of the clean-up of Ogoni land.”

He said the primary objective is aimed at presenting sustainable agriculture and agribusiness as alternative sources of livelihood for women

in the area.

Abubakar also disclosed that a tripartite capacity building partnership between the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN) trained 15 youths from the four local government areas of Ogoni land.

He noted that at the end of the three months intensive training, the trainees fabricated machines which were used in setting up a Cassava Processing/

Fabrication Facility at Korokoro, Tai local government area and On 14th July 2020, the facility was commissioned.

The Minister said as part of the employment creation drive of Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), 882 community youths have been engaged by Batch 1 remediation contractors, while additional 1118 community youths are being engaged by Batch 2 remediation contractors.

He said, “Therefore, as at today, a total of 2000 temporal jobs were created in the course

of remediation across the four LGAs of Ogoni land besides the numerous indirect jobs that are to be created in the form of trading and support activities.”

As at today, Seventeen (17) Lots have been completed by HYPREP, out of which ten have been closed-out by National Oil Spill Detection Agency (NOSDRA). Certification sampling of three Lots for close-out has been completed, while the other three are awaiting certification sampling for close-out by NOSDRA. The remaining five which are yet to be completed

by HYPREP are at various stages of completion.

On the other areas of achievements in Ogoni land, the Minister said: “Thirty-Six (36) remediation contracts comprise of two Project activities namely soil remediation works (29 lots) and Tier 2 (T-2) Assessment of groundwater works (7 lots) were awarded in February 2020. However, due to the global corona virus pandemic in the first and second quarters of 2020, activities preceding mobilization of these contractors to sites were slowed down.

Afriland Delivers Owena Housing Project in Lagos Fadekemi Ajakaiye A Real Estate company, Afriland Properties Plc has further demonstrated its capacity to deliver high-quality real estate assets with the completion of the Owena Residence Apartments situated in the highbrow Parkview Estate in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The luxury residential showpiece which was designed and managed by the firm consists of six 3-bedroom luxury apartments with fullservice facilities, including a transformer, generator, water

treatment plant, among other value-adding features.

Speaking on the project, the Managing Director of Afriland Properties, Uzo Oshogwe stated that the building is a testament to Afriland’s dedication to quality service and client satisfaction declaring that the best materials were used and the highest technical knowledge employed to bring the project to bear. “I feel elated that we have been able to complete this project. In true Afriland fashion, we have finished it before the scheduled date. It is important

to state that as it is with all our projects, the best hands were employed and only top-quality materials were used. For us, execution perfected, excellence delivered is more than just a slogan, it is part of our genetic makeup and we approach tasks and projects with a mindset focused on value addition.”

The Afriland Chief Executive equally spoke on what to expect from the company soon, expressing enthusiasm about the organisation’s strategies and plans. She said “It has been not been easy with the

outbreak of the Covid-19 virus and a lot of organisations share the same sentiment; however, we have an obligation to our stakeholders which we must fulfil. Resilience in the face of adversity is one of the traits that give us an edge in this industry and it continues to propel us to identify opportunities even in adversity. We have several projects lined up and are optimistic that we will deliver on all of them. “ “We have a project similar to the completed Owena Residence coming up on club road, Ikoyi.

We are equally putting the finishing touches on our plans to commence construction of our one- and two-bedroom apartments in Ikeja tailored to suit the need of the young and upwardly mobile millennials that form a large core of the workforce in Lagos. Our plans equally include the construction of a residential estate and an ultramodern Mall in Portharcourt Rivers State, The Afriland Malls. These are just a few of the projects that we have lined up and I can assure our stakeholders that exciting

times are ahead.”

Afriland Properties has recorded major successes in property development in recent times with high-value projects that include the Afriland Towers on Broad Street, Marina, Lagos and Heirs Towers on Ajose Adeogun, in Victoria Island Lagos.

Recall that the Heirs Towers was recently commissioned by the Lagos State Governor, His Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Renown Philanthropist and Entrepreneur, Tony Elumelu who is also the Group Chairman of the Heirs Holdings group.

‘Reversing Land Degradation Crucial to Fighting Climate Change’ Bennett Oghifo Climate change, overuse and conversion for agriculture, cities and infrastructure mean that one fifth of the planet’s land area is degraded.

This is the view of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

This damage, which also drives drought and desertification, harms the livelihoods of almost half the planet’s population. However, as much as one billion hectares can be restored over the next 10 years if there is political will. The world leaders set the direction

for the coming decade at the at a High-Level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought convened by the President of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir.

“We are facing a triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, and land is at the centre of all three,” said UN Deputy Secretary General, Amina J. Mohammed at the meeting. She laid out four priorities for the coming decade: Raising ambition on land restoration, including aiming to end illegal deforestation; investing in land-based

solutions to sustain COVID-19 recovery efforts and tackle the climate crisis. Doing this, Ms. Mohammed said, is possible while creating strong economic returns; getting the financing right to scale-up land restoration and translate commitments into action; and measure our land resources and ecosystems to value them so that natural capital – our land, forests, wetlands and other ecosystems -- are recognized in economic reporting and that our natural assets are maintained like our economic assets.

“Put simply, a land-centred approach to COVID-19 recovery

can change the world,” said Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Ibrahim Thiaw. “So far, the world’s largest economies have already spent USD 16 trillion in post-covid recovery efforts.

Investing a fifth of that amount, collectively, per year, could shift the world’s economies to a sustainability trajectory.

Within a decade, the global economy could create close to 400 million new green jobs, generating over USD 10 trillion in annual business value.”

The meeting comes against a backdrop of increasing

concern about land loss and soil degradation. A report released in early June by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency draws up a stark picture if urgent change to current land-use policies is not undertaken. A scenario of no change will mean an increase in agricultural production in subSaharan Africa and Central and South America to meet growing food demand, leading to 300 million hectares of land being cleared by 2050. This would lead to a decline in global biodiversity by 6 per cent, a loss of 32 gigatons of carbon to the atmosphere and a marked

decline in soil health and its ability to hold water, leading to increased chances of drought and floods. However, through a combination of restoration and protection, an improvement in land management using known practices with proven results would enable the world to restore more than 5 billion hectares of land, leading to increased crop yields, improved water-holding capacity of soil and a significant reduction in the release of greenhouse gas emissions and increased carbon storage. It would also reduce loss of biodiversity, and overall increase income for farmers.

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T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͮ˜ 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

BPE, Quest Electricity Sign SSPA for YEDC Ndubuisi Francis ÓØ ÌßÔË The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and Quest Electricity Nigeria Limited - the new investor in the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) have signed a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) for the privatisation of YEDC. At the agreement-signing ceremony in Abuja, the Director General of BPE, Mr. Alex Okoh, revealed that in addition to paying the purchase fee of N19 billion, the new investor has committed to a performance improvement programme which will involve an investment of US$68 million (N28 billion) over a period of two years.

In a statement from the privatisation agency, he said Quest Electricity was committed to improving the quality of life of the inhabitants in the North East geopolitical zone through aggressive investment drive,

thereby providing an economic tool for combating the insurgency in the region.

According to him, “this investment will be utilised for the purpose of carrying out an extensive upgrade of the company’s electricity distribution network, in order to bring the business to the level of financial viability.”

Okoh added that it is expected that this investment will deliver results within a period of five years.

These results, he disclosed, included reduction in ATC & C losses from the current level of 80 per cent (which is the highest in the industry) to 29 per cent hich translates to a 51 per cent loss reduction.

Others are growth in customer base from 396,650 to 596,650 (which represents a 50 per cent increase); and a significant increase in energy supplied from 1,305 GWh to 1,714GWh (an

increase of over 400 GWh or 31 per cent increase.

He added that as a result of the aggressive investment drive by the investor, t is expected that the increase in energy supply will stimulate economic growth and development in the region through the creation of new industries and opportunities as well as attracting much needed investment, and boosting job creation.

Noting the rigorous process of the negotiation which took place in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and its crippling impact on economic activities as well the challenging operational environment in the North East region of the country, Okoh said it was a testament to the commitment and doggedness of the parties to deliver on the transaction and the high collaborative spirit between the federal government and the core investor

‘Aura by Transcorp Will Democratise Access to Hospitality’ The Director, Business Development, Aura by Transcorp Hotels, Ifeoma Okafor-Obi has said the Aura, a new digital platform recently was introduced by the hospitality brand will help in democratising access to hospitality in the country.

Also, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc, Mrs Dupe Olusola, urged Nigerians to take advantage of opportunities provided on the digital platform.

The both said these during an online interactive session that on the new product.

The digital platform was launched about a fortnight ago by Vice President, Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; the Chairman of Transcorp/Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu; Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe; Hon. Ndudi Elumelu; among others eminent personalities.

According to Olusola, Aura by Transcorp is truly a wonderful experience.

She said: “It is something that

has never happened in Nigeria and we are very happy that we are at the forefront of leading this initiative. It helps position us as the leading hospitality company to deliver so much to Nigeria.

“The domestic tourism market is crying for investment and this is going to give opportunity to so many people to invest and enjoy the beauties that we have across Nigeria.”

Continuing, Okafor-Obi said Aura by Transcorp was introduced to empower Nigerians, create employment, saying, “We just want people to live the best of their lives and all these should be a click away and at your finger tip.”

She added: “What is beautiful about Aura is that we have made it seamless and a click for you to enjoy. That is really the thinking behind Aura. Now, aside from being an online platform, we also want this product to enable every member of society to partake in hospitality and to earn money.

So, literally what we want to do is to that we want create a new breed of hospitality entrepreneurs.

“Now, the question is how do

we want to do that? Everyone more or less stays in a house, but most of the time we live in homes where we are not maximising.

You stay in a couple of rooms and there are still rooms available.

So, you have an opportunity to tap into the home-sharing platform. You can put that part of your home that you are not using up on Aura.

‘Also, you could have a beautiful house in the village that you enjoy only during Christmas and you want when you are not around that that house is being utilised. That is one thing Aura can do for you. So, it can be home-sharing and you can put your full home on Aura.”

Furthermore, Okafor-Obi said another thing users of the app could do is that they can become an experience provider on Aura.

She explained: “You can become a tour guide such that where you are there are so many beautiful places around and you want to showcase it. Also, you can have skills in arts that you are very good at, photography, among others, Aura enables you to showcase it.

US Varsities Offer $4.35m Scholarships to 30 Nigerian Students Emma Okonji About 30 Opportunity Funds Program scholars of the US Consulate General in Lagos have received fully funded scholarships totaling $4.35 million to attend American universities and colleges for the 2021/2022 academic session.

Following a competitive selection process, the 30 highachieving, low-income students, received financial aid from the US Consulate General that covered expenses involved in the college application process such as payment for standardised tests, application fees, and visa fees in addition to air travel to the United States.

Speaking in Lagos during a reception in honor of the US bound students recently, US Consul General, Claire Pierangelo, urged the scholars to make the

most of their opportunity to get a top-notch education while gaining first-hand experience of American life and culture.

“I congratulate each one of you on your tremendous success.

Your success is evidence of your leadership, academic performance, and the great potential young Nigerians hold for the future of this country,” Pierangelo told the departing students.

“This is a very important step in your life. I strongly encourage you to maximise this opportunity.

This is not just in reference to your education as you have proven yourselves to be academically outstanding students.

“I am also referring to your chance to broaden your horizons and embrace the diversity of people around you and learn, not just about America, but also about other cultures,” Pierangelo further said.

Ekene Ezeunala, one of the 2021 Opportunity Fund Program scholars, achieved the highest score in Nigeria at the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The 17-year-old alumnus of Meiran Community Senior High School Lagos received full funding to study Computer Science and Mathematics at Columbia University in the City of New York.

He described the EducationUSA Opportunity Funds Program as “a truly life changing experience.”

“EducationUSA opened up a whole new world of opportunities and resources I never knew were available to me,” Ezeunala added.

Another 2021 OFP scholar, Urinrin Otite, was the first student to earn a first class degree in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ ͯͳ ͰͮͰͯ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $73.15 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $75.29 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 ˾ Ͱͮ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

Unilever Nigeria Recovers from Loss to N1.21bn Profit after Tax Goddy Egene Unilever Nigeria Plc has reported a profit after tax (PAT) of N1.207 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2021, compared to a loss of N1.634 billion in the corresponding period of 2020.

The company recorded a revenue of N19.724 billion in 2021, up from N14.008 billion in 2020, and profit before tax (PBT) of N1.041 billion in 2021 as against a loss before tax of N1.515 billion in 2020. PAT

printed at N1.207 billion, up from a loss of N1.633 billion in 2020, thereby raising investors’ hopes for good dividend at the end of the year.

Analysing the results, analysts at Cordros Securities said its revenue grew by 40.8 per cent following strong growth in revenue across the Home & Personal Care Products (HPC) (+48.7 per cent) and Food (+34.6 per cent) segments.

“Although the business could

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

not implement a substantial price increase due to the heightened competition, we believe the top-line growth was driven by a gradual increase in credit sales to distributors following the substantial progress made in reducing its trade receivables between 2018 and 2020 (-82.4 per cent),” they said.

According to them, Unilever’s earnings were further supported by the growth in finance income primarily due to the increase of

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

N7.07 billion in cash and bank balance to N44.17 billion in Q2-21 from N37.10 billion as of December 2020. “Similarly, the company recorded a net operating profit of N557.86 million in Q2-21, which is the highest since Q2-19 compared to a net operating loss of N1.86 billion in Q2-20. Overall, the company recorded a PBT of N1.04 billion – the highest in eight quarters as opposed to a loss before tax of N1.52 billion

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

in Q2-20. Similarly, PATN1.21 billion was boosted by a tax credit of N166.14 million, translating into an earnings per share (EPS) of N0.21 for the period,” they explained.

The analysts said they liked that the company overturned the prior quarter’s loss with a decent top-line growth bringing the H1-21 EPS to N0.21 amidst the sub-inflationary price increase across its product portfolio.

“In addition, we believe that

O F

the company management’s gradual increase in credit sales will remain supportive of volume growth in the near term. As such, we now expect Unilever to deliver positive earnings in 2021,” they stated.

Meanwhile, trading at the stock market opened for the week on a positive note as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited All-Share Index (ASI) recorded a marginal growth of 0.01 per cent to 37,952.65.

1 9 / 0 7 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

34

TUESDAY JULY 20, 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 16Jul-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 156.30 157.85 -3.39% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 4.80% Nigeria International Debt Fund 317.70 317.70 -21.25% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 111.57 111.57 -0.47% 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 7.24% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.25 3.42 -4.23% 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 3.32% Anchoria Equity Fund 134.16 135.69 0.86% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.09 1.09 -17.95% 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 N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Eurobond Fund ($) N/A N/A N/A ARM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 105.19 105.19 3.42% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,009.04 1,009.04 0.90% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.67% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 1.98 1.98 -15.10% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.06 2.10 -14.23% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.02 1.02 1.82% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.82% Paramount Equity Fund 16.39 16.69 2.48% Women's Investment Fund 135.82 137.39 2.06% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.12% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 117.37 118.11 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 107.22 107.22 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 4.98% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.18 1.19 -1.82% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.36 1.36 -14.23% 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 6.27% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 3.93% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,130.24 1,143.60 -1.92% 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 N/A N/A N/A FBN Balanced Fund 190.32 191.64 1.40% FBN Halal Fund 111.25 111.25 8.20% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.34% 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

126.14 156.81

126.14 3.59% 158.98 3.73% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price 1.00 3.95 1.57 1.18

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.00 4.71% 3.95 2.19% 1.60 2.85% 1.18 3.79% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price 3,671.63 3,358.16 100.00

Offer Price 3,722.77 3,358.16 100.00

Yield / T-Rtn -1.96% 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 7.22% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.89 2.95 1.14% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 151.40 151.68 -2.63% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.27 1.32 1.13% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.09 1.09 0.17% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.41 1.43 3.47% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,135.22 1,135.22 4.61% 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 11.43 11.48 9.17% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 8.10% 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 1.63 1.66 7.29% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.53 11.59 -4.93% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.95% PACAM Equity Fund 1.63 1.64 3.03% PACAM EuroBond Fund 112.20 113.89 2.07% 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 132.76 135.04 9.69% 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 1.00 1.00 10.10% 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 3,253.67 3,285.49 1.26% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 231.33 231.33 2.88% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.20 1.22 2.54% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 304.34 304.34 3.29% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 220.11 223.40 0.86% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.64% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,281.34 10,426.54 -2.03% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.26 1.26 3.00% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 114.81 114.81 3.36% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 102.36 102.36 UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.29 1.31 0.88% United Capital Bond Fund 1.90 1.90 3.57% United Capital Equity Fund 0.86 0.88 8.24% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.85% United Capital Eurobond Fund 118.95 118.95 3.94% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.06 1.07 3.74% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.06 1.06 5.65% 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 12.88 12.99 8.53% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.14 14.27 15.75% Zenith Income Fund 24.19 24.19 0.88% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.55%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.34 51.61

10.09% 2.31%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.27 125.77 99.22 18.01 18.16

13.37 128.80 101.33 18.11 18.26

0.41% 4.55% -0.02%

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

3.95 5.90 17.38 1.00 19.14 150.21

3.99 5.98 17.48 1.00 19.34 152.21

4.64% 3.65% 7.09% 5.20% -6.71% -31.38%

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.

35

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2021

NEWSXTRA

Oando, SEC Enter Settlement after Four Years of Dispute Goddy Egene Oando Plc has entered into a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of all matters that were subject of litigation and other issues relating to a dispute that started in 2017.

Oando disclosed this in a notification the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday, a development that was confirmed by SEC in a statement, saying the settlement is in the overriding interest of the shareholders of the company and the capital market.

Some directors of Oando had taken SEC to court over decision of

the commission to suspend them in 2019 following the conclusion of investigations into allegations of mismanagement by some shareholders of the company in 2017.

The commission had ordered Oando Plc’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wale Tinubu, the Deputy, Mr. Omamofe Boyo and other board members to resign and had ordered that an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting be convened to appoint new directors. But Tinubu and Boyo took the apex regulator to court and the matter had remained in court.

However, Oando yesterday said it had entered a settlement with SEC,

saying both parties believe that a settlement was the most appropriate course of action and one that was in the best interest of the company, its employees, shareholders as well as the capital market.

“Specifically, the settlement

reached by the parties seeks to prevent further market disruption and harm to Oando Plc’s shareholders. As a result, Oando’s directors and management team can now fully focus on business operations whilst continuing to ensure that it

is in compliance with all governing statutes.

“In the immediate, the Company will be convening its 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) to give its shareholders the opportunity to exercise their rights to receive

information as well as vote on company affairs. This has been an extraordinary time in the life of the Company and a defining moment in its relationship with the regulator,”the integrated energy company said.

Alleged N29bn Fraud: You Have Case to Answer, Court Tells Nyako, Son Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered a former Governor of Adamawa State, Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd.) to enter his defence in the alleged N29 billion money laundering charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Justice Abang gave the order yesterday, while ruling on the no-case submission filed by the former Adamawa State governor, his son Abdul-Aziz and other defendants in the matter.

The other defendants are: Zulkifik Abba, Abubakar Aliyu, Blue Opal Limited, Tower Assets Management Ltd and Crust Energy Ltd. The judge said that he had painstakingly perused the evidence given by the 21 witnesses called by the prosecution and was of the view that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the defendants.

“I have calmly, carefully, and painstakingly scrutinised the evidence adduced by the 21 witnesses in chief and under cross-examination, including the oral and written arguments of all the defendants.

“I have again carefully and painstakingly considered the evidence of the 21 witnesses and the massive documentary evidence and the extrajudicial statements of the defendants.

“I have carefully considered the legal arguments of all the counsel for the defendants, their written and oral arguments, and the argument of the prosecution in this ruling “It is my humble but firm view that the prosecution has established a prima facie case against the defendants and they are required to enter their defence immediately.”

The judge held that the no-case submission filed by the defendants lacked merit and he accordingly dismissed it.

He adjourned the matter until October 4, October 5, October 7, and October 8 for the defendants to open their case.

Eid-el-Kabir: FAAN Bars Protocol Officers, Orderlies from Airports Chinedu Eze The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said it would not allow protocol officers and orderlies of dignitaries into airports during the Eid-el-Kabir period except they are travelling alongside their principals.

FAAN said this in a statement issued yesterday, adding that airport security architecture has been strenghtened while measures have been put in place in respect to COVID-19 protocols laid down by government.

The statement titled, ‘FAAN Expresses Readiness For Eid-ElKabir,’ was signed by General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu.

“As Muslim faithfuls prepare for the celebration of this year’s Eid-El-Kabir, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has assured all airport users that the nation’s airports are fully ready to

play host to air travellers during and after the celebration.

“To ensure safe, healthy and seamless facilitation of our highly esteemed passengers during this celebration, the Authority has put necessary safety measures in place, particularly with respect to the Covid-19 protocols laid down by relevant Government agencies.

“Other facilities are also functioning optimally, while our airport security architecture has been strengthened to provide for the expected increase in passenger traffic at the airports.

“While we advise intending passengers to make early preparations towards completing their travel requirements in good time, we also want to re-emphasise that protocol officers and orderlies of dignitaries will not be allowed into the airport except they are travelling alongside their principals. Only travelling passengers will be allowed into the airports.”

DELIVERED AHEAD OF 2023…

Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa (left), receiving a copy of the address as presented by the Delta State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Pastor Monday Udoh Tom, when he led some INEC officials on an advocacy visit on the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise to the governor in Government House, Asaba...yesterday

S’west Attorneys -General Demand Power Devolution, State Police, Others Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Attorneys General and Commissioners for Justice of the South-west region have called for the creation of state police and devolution of powers in the country.

They have also promised that relevant legal steps will be taken by the six states in the region for expeditious and robust implementation of autonomies for their legislative and judicial arms.

On the federal system of government being practised in Nigeria, they called for power devolution for states to be more powerful, while also advocating for the state police to tackle the hydra-headed insecurity problems confronting the nation.

They spoke yesterday via a communique issued and signed by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ekiti State, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, after a meeting of the six South-west AGs and Commissioners for Justice, held

in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital.

The meeting had in attendance, Fapohunda; Mr. Akingbolahan Adeniran, Attorney-General Commissioner for Justice, Ogun State; Mr. Oluwafemi Akande, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Osun State; Sir Charles Titiloye, AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice, Ondo State and Moyosore Onigbanjo(SAN) ,Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State. Fapohunda stated that the AGs reaffirmed the

commitments of their respective states to financial autonomy for their judiciaries and legislatures.

The AGs commended the South West Governors Forum for its proactive steps in the resolution of the issue of financial autonomy for the judiciaries in the South West states and the adoption of a template for its implementation.

The communique partly read: “We also welcome the passage of the Judicial (Funds Management) Bill, 2021 by the Ondo and Ogun States Houses of Assembly.

Masari Kicks against Intervention of Foreign Powers in Nigeria’s Affairs Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, has said those asking international bodies and foreign powers to meddle in the internal affairs of Nigeria are unpatriotic Nigerians.

He added that no responsible

citizen, especially all those who are the foremost beneficiaries of the commonwealth, should encourage foreign powers to interfere in the internal affairs of their nation, regardless of its adversities.

Masari, in an Eid-el-Kabir message issued yesterday by his Director General, Media, Mr.

Abdu Labaran Malumfashi, noted that as a sovereign nation, Nigeria deserves the respect of foreign nations whatever their status on the global stage may be.

According to the statement, the governor spoke against the backdrop of recent calls by prominent Nigerians, on international bodies and foreign powers to forcefully

interfere in the nation’s internal affairs, following the security situation in the country.

He argued that instead of clamouring for such interference, the Nigerian elite should be more supportive of the federal government by avoiding unpatriotic conduct that may cast the country in bad light.

Insecurity: Army Has Lived up to Expectations, Says COAS Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya, yesterday stated that the Nigerian Army has lived up to expectations in tackling insecurity in the country.

Yahaya made this known yesterday in a statement titled “Goodwill message from Lieutenant General F. Yahaya, the Chief of Army Staff, to officers and soldiers

of the Nigerian Army and their families on the occasion of Eid El Kabir celebration 2021”.

The statement partly read, “No doubt the nation is faced with myriads of security challenges. The Nigerian Army has so far lived up to expectations and will continue to remain focused on tackling these challenges.

“I, therefore, wish to specifically recognise and appreciate the immense sacrifices of our troops

in Operations HADIN KAI, HADARIN DAJI, THUNDER STRIKE, WHIRL STROKE, and all other operations the NA is engaged in, both in the country and abroad “Let me use this opportunity to once again pay special tributes to our colleagues who have paid the supreme price in the defence of our fatherland. May their gentle souls rest in peace, Ameen.”

The COAS also promised that

the welfare of police personnel will continue to receive adequate attention under his administration. “ It is important to reiterate at this point that the welfare of my officers, soldiers and their families will continue to receive adequate attention under my watch. Our hospital facilities and services are being improved upon and I am ever determined to ensure the healthcare of personnel and their families both within and outside the country.”

36

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2021

NEWSXTRA

South-South Not Part of Biafra, Says Clark Chuks Okocha in Abuja Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has rejected the inclusion of South-South in Biafra Republic by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), saying the separatist

movement is dreaming.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Pidgin on IPOB, Clark said, “They are very unrealistic boys.

To me, IPOB is not pursuing the right thing.”

“I told him(IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu) that he has a good fight,

that the people of the East are being neglected. They have only five states, whereas other regions have six. In fact, one has seven.

Based on what? Nobody knows.

“For every appointment that is being made in this country, the Igbo are shortchanged. If Universities are

being distributed per state, they will have five. Others will have six while North-West will have seven. This is despite the Igbo forming the third leg when this country was created “So, they have a good complaint, but going about it wrongly.”

When asked if the South-South

states are also part of the Biafra that IPOB is agitating for, Clark said, “How can Delta be part of Biafra? In what way? Is Biafra older or bigger than Delta?

“How can Rivers State or Akwa Ibom become part of Biafra? They are dreaming for still thinking about

the Eastern Region of those days.”

On Kanu’s rearrest, Clark said,“‘I hope the Federal Government will give him a fair, decent and open trial. Because, up till today, I do not understand how the Federal Government got him back into Nigeria.

2023: Ekweremadu Optimistic About Electronic Transmission of Election Results Deji Elumoye in Abuja Former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has expressed optimism that total transmission of election results will be adopted during the 2023 general election in the country.

Ekweremadu, in a statement issued yesterday said he still has faith that electronic transmission of results will still be part of the 2023 general poll, adding that he is not deterred by attacks on his person by the uninformed over the outcome of the voting on the electronic transmission of results.

“Instead, I have faith that results of the 2023 elections will ultimately be electronically transmitted because it is the best way to go. The issue of electronic transmission of results should not be reduced to party or sectional

dichotomies. Every lawmaker is expected to vote in support of what is best for the country, irrespective of political affiliation.”

The ranking Senator expressed his commitment to work with other patriotic and progressive lawmakers to resurrect electronic transmission of results upon the resumption of the National Assembly, starting from the point of harmonisation of the clauses passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

He has also enjoined those opposed to electronic transmission of results to use the opportunity of the break to reflect on the issue and return with the determination to do what is best for the nation, more so when INEC has further affirmed that it has the capacity to do electronic transmission of results.

Kano Police Arrest 10 for Allegedly Hacking Bank Accounts Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The police in Kano State have confirmed the arrest of eight men and two women for allegedly belonging to a syndicate that specialises in hacking individuals’ bank accounts to withdraw money.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abdullahi Haruna-Kiyawa, disclosed this in a statement in Kano.

“On July 14, at about 23:50hrs, a team of policemen led by DSP Kabir Wali working on credible information arrested the suspects in a hotel in Kano metropolis.

“The suspects are Umar Aminu, Muhammad Muhammad, Kabiru

Idris, Salim Sani, Umar Muhammad, Yusuf Ibrahim, Aminu Lawan, Jibril Aliyu, Hauwa Abubakar and Aisha Abubakar.

“They all reside in Sheka quarters, Kano and were arrested in connection with electronic cardrelated fraud,” Haruna-Kiyawa said.

He said that the suspects confessed to hacking various individuals bank accounts and withdrawing various amounts of money.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Sama’ila Shu’aibu-Dikko, he said, has ordered for discreet investigation into the matter He added that the suspects

Ogun Police Arrest Suspect for Kidnapping Military Officer Kayode Fasua in Abeokuta The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a suspect for kidnapping a military officer and stripping him off his uniform and using it to commit a crime.

The incident occurred at Odo Pako Ota, in Ado Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The suspect was alleged to have made an attempt to snatch a Dane gun from a vigilante operative.

The police spokesperson in the state, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi said the suspect Waliu Oloyede was arrested following a distress call received by the

Divisional Police Officer, Sango Ota divisional headquarters, CSP Godwin Idehai that vigilante men are having issues with an army officer at Odo Pako area of Ota. “Upon the report, the DPO led his team to the scene where the suspect, who dressed in full military camouflage uniform with the rank of W02 but could not give a satisfactory account of himself, was apprehended and brought to the station.

“Upon interrogation, the suspect was unable to give an account of how he got the military uniform, or address of the unit where he is serving, hence he was detained for impersonation”

IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU… L-R: Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (left), presenting a souvenir to the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Dr. Tosan Erhabor, during the presentation of certificates of accreditation to the Nigerian Navy by the MLSCN at Naval Headquarters, Abuja…weekend

Okowa Condemns N’Assembly’s Rejection of e-Transmission of Election Results Sylvester Idowu in Warri Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday decried National Assembly’s rejection of electronic transmission of elections results through the votes of most members of both chambers of the parliament against that clause in the Electoral Act. Speaking when he received the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Pastor Monday Udoh-Tom and

his management team on an advocacy visit on Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), Okowa said that the lawmakers’ action could be interpreted that there was a plan to rig elections.

He, however, commended Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its efforts at ensuring the credibility of the electoral process and for declaring that it had capacity to transmit results electronically.

The governor warned that

rejection of electronic transmission of election results could deter the country’s effort at attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).

According to him, Nigerians must truly appreciate INEC for the fact that on a daily basis the electoral body was thinking of the best ways to move the electoral system forward.

“Once Nigerians trust our electoral process, many Nigerians will come out to register and

vote during elections. We need to change the narrative of many Nigerians that whether they vote or not, results will still come out the way they want it.

“I want to specially congratulate the INEC Chairman for coming out to insist that INEC has the capacity to truly transmit election results and I do not see any reason why any Nigerian would want to vote for non-transmission of election results.

Buhari will Leave Nigeria More United, Peaceful, Says Gambari Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari has said that the president will bequeath a better and united Nigeria.

He emphasised that Buhari will leave the country more peaceful and more prosperous.

Gambari gave the assurance in Ilorin, Kwara State, during his official visit to his hometown.

He urged Nigerians to rally

round the Buhari’s administration to ensure its success “This period is an opportunity to reflect on the state of our country and to give maximum support to our President, Muhammadu Buhari, because his success is our success and by the grace of God with all the programmes and projects he has embarked upon, in economic spheres, political spheres and social spheres will materialise for the betterment

of our people. So at the end of his tenure, Nigeria will be more united, more peaceful and more prosperous,” he said.

Gambari was received at the Ilorin International Airport by a high-powered delegation of state government officials led by Kwara State Deputy Governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu; Special Advisers on Political Matters and

Strategy, Abdullateef Alakawa, and Alh Sa’adu Salahu, among others.

He applauded the state government for according him befitting reception, saying: “I am grateful to the Almighty Allah for giving me life and health to be able to come back to the city of my birth as this is where all my trajectories occurred, and for the state government for this heroic reception.

Court Grants Bail to 48 Yoruba Nation Agitators Segun James

A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in the Yaba area of Lagos has granted bail to 48 Yoruba nation agitators arrested and detained by the Lagos Police Command.

Chief Magistrate Adeola Adey-

eye granted them bail yesterday after listening to the application by their counsel, Mr. Olasupo Ojo. Ojo had argued amongst other things that there was no charge yet preferred against the agitators by the police.

At the last sitting of the court on July 5, the Magistrate had

granted bail on self-recognisance to one of the agitators who was a lawyer.

The 48 others were granted bail in the sum of N300,000 each with two sureties.

The court held that one of the sureties must be a family member and the other a community leader

or clergy. Both sureties must have proof of tax payment which is to be verified by the police.

The Lagos Police Command had paraded all 49 suspects arrested in connection with Oodua Republic mega rally at Ojota.

Those paraded include 47 men and two women.

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NEWSXTRA

Court Orders INEC to List Ozigbo, Soludo as PDP, APGA Governorship Candidates in Anambra Conflicting order recognises Uba as PDP candidate David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka A Federal High Court in Awka, the Anambra State capital has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name of Valentine Ozigbo as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the November 6 Anambra State governorship election.

However, in a conflicting judgment, an Anambra State High Court

in Awka has ordered the INEC to list Senator Ugochukwu Uba as the state governorship candidate of the PDP. The court was presided over by Justice Obiora Nwabunike.

Also, a high court in Awka presided over by Justice Chukwudi Okaa yesterday ordered INEC to enlist Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state.

Ozigbo, a former chief executive

officer of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, secured 62 votes to emerge as the standard-bearer

of the party in the primary election which was held on Saturday, June 26, 2021, at Dora Akunyili Women

Development Centre, Awka.

Ozigbo had approached a federal capital territory (FCT) high court in

Maitama seeking an order restraining the PDP from“tampering”with his name as the authentic candidate.

Air Peace Unveils New E195-E2 for Service Delivery Chinedu Eze Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace, has officially deployed its brand new Embraer 195-E2 airplanes for scheduled flight operations.

The three ultramodern 124-seater jets, which were delivered in the first half of 2021, commenced service on July 19, 2021, amid fanfare and excitement.

The spokesman of the airline, Stanley Olisa, in a statement disclosed that the airline was delighted to finally launch into service the brand new Embraer aircraft, adding that the acquisition of the aircraft was Air Peace’s com-

mitment to giving the flying public world-class flights and services.

“Air Peace cares so much about the comfort of its customers and that explains why we keep investing in brand new aircraft to give the average passenger a memorable experience to look forward to on-board. This fleet expansion is also driven by our ambition to provide numerous connections for the flying public,” Olisa said.

He said the first set of passengers who flew on the E195-E2 aircraft were thrilled with multiple bags of goodies, and they expressed excitement over the unparalleled comfort they experienced on-board.

Buhari Appoints Wushishi as Substantive Registrar of NECO Kuni Tyessi in Abuja and Laleye Dipo in Minna President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Professor Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi as the substantive registrar and chief executive officer of the National Examination Council (NECO).

Wushishi replaces Professor Godswill Obioma, who died about two months ago.

A statement confirming the appointment of the new Registrar made available to journalists in Minna, Niger State, yesterday said

the appointment letter of Wushishi was signed by the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.

The letter with reference number: FME/PSE/NECO/1078/C.1/36 dated July 16, 2021, said the appointment is for an initial period of five years effective from July 12, 2021.

The statement, which was signed by Azeez Sani, head of Public Relations and Information, said the new appointee is a Professor of Science Education at the Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger State, before his appointment.

Convention: APC Programmes will be Executed as Scheduled, Says Buni Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Chairman, Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, has assured his party members that the committee would execute its programmes as scheduled with sense of commitment and patriotism.

He added that the committee is committed to building a strong political party that would stand the test of time to win elections.

Buni in a statement issued yesterday by his Director-General of Press and Media Affairs, Mr.

Mamman Mohammed, said the period of Eid-el-Kabir calls for a deep reflection into the lessons of devotion, sacrifice and obedience as exemplified by the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, Ismail.

He said: “The Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee would ensure the programmes of the party are meticulously executed with every member given a sense of belonging.

“We are committed to building a strong political party that would stand the test of time to win elections and make us proud.”

COURTESY VISIT… L-R: Director General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Mr. Joseph Ari, presenting a souvenir to the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Plateau State, Mr. Hussaini Pai, during the visit of the commissioner to ITF in Jos…yesterday

PDP: Ortom, Wike, Secondus Meet in Makurdi Police confirm killing of three aid workers George Okoh in Makurdi As part of efforts to rebuild the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP), Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday met with his Rivers State counterpart, Mr. Nyesom Wike, and the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, at Benue Peoples House in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

Ortom, who addressed journalists at the end of the meeting, said it was the process to sustain the confidence Nigerians have in the PDP with a view to winning the 2023 general election.

According to him, “This is a family meeting for us to reason together in order to make our party more vibrant because Nigerians are waiting for us to take over the mantle of leadership at the centre in 2023.”

He explained that the realignment had been ongoing within the party with several meetings held in different states, stressing that more of such meetings would hold in months to come.

Speaking on insecurity, the governor condemned the killing of two humanitarian health workers and six others in Guma Local Government Area of the state by militia herdsmen, saying the presidency is not yet ready

to address the insecurity in the country perpetrated by herdsmen based on its body language.

He lamented that one of his relations, who was a 200 level undergraduate at the Benue State University Makurdi, was also killed in the attack, pointing out that the killers used one of the workers’ phone to send words that they would continue to kill until the ranching law of the state was repealed.

CAN Condemns Attack on Dunamis Church Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has condemned the recent invasion of Dunamis Gospel International Centre in Abuja by some youths who were protesting against the government while the Sunday service was ongoing.

CAN, however, urged the concerned security agency to release

those who were arrested and are in its custody over the unlawful actions on humanitarian grounds.

In a statement issued yesterday by the General Secretary of the body, Daramola Bade Joseph, CAN said their actions were ungodly, unbiblical, unacceptable, unprecedented, reprehensible and provocative.

He added: “We wondered what could have led those misguided youths to turn a place of worship

to a political arena.

“According to reports which we received from the church, which corroborated our findings, some youths came to the church premises on July 4, 2021, wearing branded T-shirts with the inscription ‘BUHARI MUST GO’ and participated in the first of the three services conducted.

“The church denied that the protesters were arrested when they came out to answer the altar

call, and were handed over to the Department of State Service (DSS) operatives.

CAN, however, said it was not questioning the legality or otherwise of the inscription on their T-shirts during the altar call.

However, it said immediately after the departure from the altar, the youths swung into protest blaring trumpets and saxophones right from the exit door of the church.

Big Brother Naija Season 6 to Have Two Launch Shows Vanessa Obioha In a new twist, the organisers of Big Brother Naija yesterday announced that the sixth season would have two launch shows.

The launch show will begin on July 24, 2021, and run till July 25.

Also, to build suspense, the

organisers are keeping the new look of the house, the number of housemates as well as the season’s theme a secret.

However, they disclosed that the housemates would stay in the house for 72 days, and while adhering to the COVID-19 safety guidelines, the housemates will

not have any contact with anyone outside the house as well as a no-audience live shows.

Also, there will be no text message voting this season. Viewers can only vote via the DStv and GOtv apps and website.

The chief customer officer of Martin Mabutho said: “Our

primary project is to provide access to our content to as many families as possible. “We asked ourselves if we really need the text message voting as opposed to giving access to many Africans as possible. We want people to have access to vote for the housemates as much as they can.”

38

TUESDAY, ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Iheanacho Dreams Big with Leicester City, Wants EPL Title

Femi Solaja with agency report

Super Eagles striker Kelechi Iheanacho is optimistic Leicester City will achieve their Premier League objectives in the new campaign.

The towering attacker was in a good form in the 2020/21 season and went on to score 19 goals for the Brendan Rodgers-led team.

"Obviously, I scored goals last season," Iheanacho told the club's official portal yesterday.

"I think, this season, we really need to do more and focus on our games. I have a good feeling that this season, it might fall for us and we will get what we want. As I said before, we need to concentrate and focus on the games, one after the other and hopefully, we will get there in the end.

"I pray for more goals, but most importantly, more wins and more points."

The 24-year-old also expressed his feelings after re-joining the former league champions for the pre-season.

"It feels good, it is sunny! I am happy to be back. Pre-season is on, so you know what it means: running, running, running!"

Iheanacho continued.

"Of course, it’s good to be back.

Now, we need to concentrate on the work that we have ahead. We just need to focus and get through the pre-season and focus on the new season.

"It is good to be back with this special group of lads. We are like a family. We are all friends, so it is always good to be back with everybody. We are hoping we will be back fit and strong so we can work together again.

"I am happy, coming back here, and hopefully we will enjoy it and even enjoy the running as well!"

Leicester had narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League after finishing fifth with 66 points, a point less than Chelsea who finished fourth.

They won 20 out of the 38 matches they played, drawing six and losing 12. They scored 68 goals in the process and conceded 50. City will be starting their 2021/22 campaign with a home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

L-R: Leicester City’s stars, Youri Tielemans, Kelechi Iheanacho and Johnny Evans celebrating one of Foxes bright moments of the 2020/2021 English Premier League season. Now, Iheanacho is dreaming of winning the league title this new season

NOC President Tasks Team Nigeria to be Worthy Ambassadors at the Games The President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Habu Ahmed Gumel, has charged Team Nigeria’s delegation to the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, to be worthy ambassadors

TOKYO 2020 of country at the multi sports global fiesta.

Public Relations Officer of the

on Sunday said: “I have to congratulate every athlete representing Nigeria at this games.

You are our worthy ambassadors who have toiled day and night to qualify to represent our great country.

Hybrid Saharalympics Sparks Excitement as Season Four Begins Leading energy conglomerate, Sahara Group has commenced Season 4 of the Saharlympics, which is the Group's biennial sporting competition that features several games contested by employees across Africa, Asia Europe and the Middle East.

Head Corporate Communications, Sahara Group, Bethel Obiora, said the Saharalympics is a celebration of "competiveness and camaraderie" and provides a platform for enhancing employee collaboration, recreation, and productivity.

"The Saharalympics made

its debut in 2014 and has ever since become a flagship event at Sahara Group that reinforces the role of sports in enhancing excellence, team performance and sustainability.

“This Season 4 is particularly special for us as it coincides with the celebration of Sahara's 25 years of transformative impact and leadership in regional and global energy sectors, " he said.

Obioma said a hybrid approach had been adopted for the 2021 edition that would see 16 teams from Sahara's Power, Upstream, Midstream,

Police Officer, 11-year old Girl Shine at Ijebu-Ode Heritage Half Marathon Femi Olusanya, a police officer and an 11-year old girl, Abigael Ogunbowale, attained recognitions with other Kenya nationals at the maiden edition of the Ijebu-Ode Heritage Half Marathon powered by Rite Foods Limited last Saturday.

Although it was a clean sweep for the Kenyans, Olusanya became the “First Ijebu Man” to complete the race while Abigael became “a star” completing the 21-kilometre race at the Dipo Dina Stadium in the ancient city.

Apart from the popularly grassroots coach known as Buka T in Ijebu, nobody, including Abigael’s parents obliged her participation in the race, but she shocked all comers completing the half marathon.

Nigeria Olympic Committee, Phemmy Adetula, quoted Gumel as describing the country’s athletes and officials as the most important personalities to him at the Games.

Gumel, who on his arrival at the Narita Airport in Tokyo

In response to her courageous act, Mr. Seleem Adegunwa, the Managing Director of Rite Foods Limited, makers of Bigi Table Water, the official water for the race, rewarded Abigael with N250, 000.

Adegunwa affirmed that it was a wonderful beginning, seeing a girl of such age competing with international stars. He encouraged her to sustain the stride.

He pointed out that Rite Foods was proud to identify with worthy initiatives that add value to lives, as demonstrated in the just concluded Bigi soft Drinks' sponsored Nigerian Idol music reality show for budding talents.

The Rite Foods boss

commended the athletes who participated in the race and encouraged them to do same with such high spirit next year.

“As the son of the soil, I will continue to promote activities that will bring honour to our people by bringing events of this nature home.

“By our composition in Nigeria, we are good at sports, we just need to harness it so we can move to greater heights.

I was not surprised today to see a 55-year-old man and an 11-year-old finishing the race.

We are naturally gifted and only need to improve on our talents.”

He promised that his company intends to do more in sports with the Abeokuta Marathon also coming up later in the year.

Downstream, Infrastructure and Technology businesses compete for medals and glory. Games for the online version of the Saharlympics include Chess, Scrabble, PlayStation Football and Need for Speed, and Kahoot.

Football, athletics, volleyball, basketball and other novelty games will be played during the physical games under strict compliance with Covid-19 protocol. The online Saharalympics is underway. The physical edition will be held in October.

"The excitement right now in Sahara is palpable and our Saharalympians are ready to trade tackles and move fairly and expertly in the spirit of

the Saharalympics.

While Saharians will smile home with individual medals, ultimately, just like the conventional Olympic Games, everyone is a winner with the Saharalympics," Obioma added.

The Saharalympics also involves the participation of prominent sports men and women in line with Sahara Group's commitment to celebrating and promoting excellence. Previous editions featured Nigeria’s first individual gold medalist at the Atlanta Games in 1996, Chioma Ajunwa, 1996 400m bronze medalist, Falilat Ogunkoya and former Super Eagles Captain, Joseph Yobo.

“As you are representing Nigeria, you are representing yourselves and your families as well. So, it's extremely important you all represent well.

“Your whereabouts before, during, and after the Games are key to us at the Nigeria Olympic Committee and, we implore you to stay clean and win clean medals,” observed the NOC chief.

Gumel thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his fatherly role in making the athletes have a sense of belonging as they will be competing at the games. Also, he appreciated the working relationship and understanding between the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development and the NOC. He stressed that the relationship has geared the athletes for a good outing in Japan.

Team Nigeria with 58 athletes, will compete in nine spor9ts at the Olympic Games starting from 23rd July to 8th August.

Nigerian Referee, Madu, Passes Fitness Test, Set for Action in Japan The Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), is excited that one of the country’s top FIFA-badged female referee, Patience Ndidiamaka Madu, has passed the fitness test and has been selected as part of the match officials to handle the football events of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Spokesman of the NRA, Kelechi Mejuobi, confirmed yesterday that Madu who is from the Enugu State Council of the referees body kept hopes alive on Sunday 18 July 2021 morning in Tokyo Japan, as she passed all the pre-Games FIFA physical fitness tests they were

exposed to.

Madu had on arrival in Tokyo last Wednesday tested negative to COVID-19 at the port of entry and again was medically approved to participate in the fitness tests two days later.

“The technical preparations had been quite intensive both in the theoretical as well as in the integrated components. She came out in Flying colours,” observed the NRA spokesman yesterday.

Madu is one of the FIFA badged referees from Africa selected to fill the continent’s slot in the officiating crew for the football events.

Patience Ndidiamaka Madu... selected to officiate at Tokyo 2020

39

TUESDAY, ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

SPORTS

NBA Stars Dominate Team Nigeria’s Final Basketball Squads Duro Ikhazuagbe The final rosters for Nigeria’s senior men and women’s basketball teams were released yesterday with less than five days to the kick off the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

D’Tigers final 12-man list

TOKYO 2020 selected by Head Coach, Mike Brown is predominately dominated by players from the American National Basketball Association (NBA) after one month of intensive camping in Sacramento and Las Vegas.

‘Athletes’ Village Beds Not Strong for Sex’ The cardboard beds at the Tokyo Olympic Village are “sturdy”, organisers insisted yesterday after a report warned they were not strong enough for sex.

Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan filmed himself jumping repeatedly on a bed to prove the point, after the report in theNew York Post claimed the beds were deliberately flimsy to promote social distancing.

“The beds are meant to be anti-sex. They’re made out of cardboard, yes, but apparently they’re meant to break with sudden movements. It’s fake – fake news!” he said in the video posted on Twitter.

The official Olympics Twitter account thanked McClenaghan for “debunking the myth”, adding “the sustainable beds are sturdy!”

The report in the New York Postwas based on a tweet, apparently tongue-incheek, by US distance runner Paul Chelimo, who said the cardboard beds were “aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes”.

“Beds will (only) be able to withstand the weight of a single person to avoid situations beyond sports,” he tweeted.

It is not the first time the beds,

which signal a commitment to sustainability, have come into question.

In January, manufacturer Airweave said they can withstand a weight of 200kg and have been through rigorous stress tests, after Australian basketball player Andrew Bogut queried their durability.

“We’ve conducted experiments, like dropping weights on top of the beds,” a spokesman told AFP. “As long as they stick to just two people in the bed, they should be strong enough to support the load.”

Thousands of athletes will stay at the Olympic Village during the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, which start on Friday.

Despite warnings to “avoid unnecessary forms of physical contact”, organisers are expected to hand out 160,000 condoms.

But the organising committee told AFP: “The distributed condoms are not meant to be used at the Olympic Village.”

Instead they are supposed to be “brought back by athletes to their respective home countries and to help them support the campaign to raise awareness (about HIV/Aids)”, it added.

Jordan Henderson...wanted by PSG and others

Brown who also doubles as associate head coach of Golden State Warriors in the NBA selected Josh Okogie (Minnesota Timberwolves), Miami Heat’s trio of Gabe Vincent, KZ Okpala and Precious Achiuwa.

Also in the squad is Jahlil Okafor (Detroit Pistons), Miye Oni (Utah Jazz) are all in line to make their debut for Nigeria.

Jordan Nwora (Milwaukee Bucks) will join Caleb Agada (Hapoel Be’er Sheva), Obi Emegano (Fuenlbrada, Spain),

marring the showpiece event.

FA chiefs yesterday said they had informed the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) of the review over the weekend and vowed to identify those responsible for the "disgraceful scenes" both before and during the match.

"We are determined to fully understand what happened outside and then inside Wembley Stadium at the UEFA EURO 2020 Final on Sunday 11 July 2021," the statement said.

"We informed DCMS at the weekend that an independent review led by Baroness Casey of Blackstock has been commissioned to report on the facts and circumstances involved. It will

to the commencement of the basketball event.

D'Tigers are grouped against Italy, Australia and Germany.

In the women’s 12-man list, all eyes will be on Adaora Elonu, Aisha Balarabe, Elizabeth Balogun, Promise Amukamara, Atonye Nyingifa, Ezinne Kalu, Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpannah and Ify Ibekwe at the Olympics ahead of their first game against USA on the 27th of July.

Coach Otis Hughley who led the team to the 2019 Afrobasket win in Senegal also picked

Oderah Chidom, Victoria Macaulay, Erica Ogwumike and Amy Okonkwo to complete the list of D'Tigress team heading to the oriental city of Tokyo.

The four players are in line to make their competitive debut for Nigeria at the games.

D'Tigress resumed Olympics camping in February and played series of tune up games as they are set to face USA, France and host-Japan.

The five-month training till date remains the longest in the history of basketball preparation.

Nigeria’s D’Tigers and D’Tigress final squad lists for Tokyo 2020 were released ...yesterday

PSG, Atletico Target ‘Unsettled’ Liverpool Captain, Henderson Jordan Henderson is facing an uncertain future with a number of Europe's top clubs waiting to pounce for the Liverpool captain.

Henderson, the England international, has entered the final two years of his contract at Anfield and his representatives held talks with the club's hierarchy about an extension before the European Championships.

But UK’s Sportsmail understands the discussions were not fruitful and there is now an impasse; as things stand, there is no indication when - or if - talks will resume.

The 31-year-old is one of only five players to have played 10 seasons in the Premier League for Liverpool and he has been a driving force in the success that has been achieved during Jurgen Klopp's reign.

But there is now the real possibility that he will leave this

English FA Commissions Independent Probe into Euro Final Mayhem The English Football Association has commissioned an independent investigation after ticketless fans fought their way into Wembley before the Euro 2020 final.

It has been reported that thousands of supporters gained entry to the stadium by storming the gates prior to Italy's win against England.

There were ugly scenes in the stands and concourses during the game as fans with tickets clashed with those who had broken in.

Outside Wembley, it has been estimated that 200,000 people were in the area for a match with a 67,500 capacity, with the drunken and violent scenes

Chimezie Metu (Sacramento Kings) and Ike Nwamu (Samara, Russia).

The team which recorded two famous wins against USA (World number 1) and Argentina (number 4) before a loss to Australia in their last tune up game will also include Ekpe Udoh who just completed a move to Virtus Bologna in the Italian Serie A. According to the latest power ranking compiled by analysts, D'Tigers are rated fourth on the power ranking with just a week

speak to all parties concerned and include external experts.

"A key emphasis of the findings will be to ensure that lessons are learned and such disgraceful scenes are never able to be repeated.

"We continue to work with the relevant authorities in support of their efforts to identify those responsible and hold them to account."

Police have since released CCTV images of some of those they want to question.

England trio Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused on social media platforms after penalties in the decisive shoot-out following the 1-1 draw.

TRANSFER summer as Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are monitoring the situation and will move for Henderson if the opportunity arises.

PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino is a huge fan of Henderson's aggressive style and wants to add more dynamism to a squad that is being assembled to win the Champions League.

The French side, who are also seeking to wrestle back the Ligue 1 trophy from Lille, would not have any issues being able to pay

for Henderson and would like the idea of re-uniting him with his former Liverpool team-mate Gini Wijnaldum.

Henderson lifted the Champions League in Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in June 2019 and his hard-running qualities would also fit perfectly into Diego Simeone's system.

The situation will come as a shock to supporters, who saw Henderson lead their club to a first domestic title since 1990, but he would be prepared to move if Liverpool give the indication they are ready to sell.

Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool's

manager, would be loathe to lose a man whom he has come to rely upon in some ways, particularly having seen the influential Wijnaldum when his contract expired. Klopp wanted the Netherlands international to stay but Liverpool did not meet the demands and were prepared to let him walk away.

This is expected to be a busy summer for Liverpool in terms of renegotiations with Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah all in line for new deals but Henderson now finds himself in a position where he could move on.

Hamilton Racially Abused Online after British Grand Prix Win Lewis Hamilton has been the target of racist abuse on social media after his victory at Sunday's British Grand Prix.

Hamilton received a 10-second penalty after a collision with title rival Max Verstappen during the first lap of the race, which led to the Dutchman crashing out.

Mercedes, F1 and governing body the FIA condemned the abuse "in the strongest possible terms".

"These people have no place in our sport," read a joint statement.

"We urge that those responsible should be held accountable for their actions.

"Formula One, the FIA, the drivers and the teams are working to build a more diverse and inclusive sport, and such unacceptable instances of online abuse must be highlighted and eliminated."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have seen it in the football in the European Championship and the abuse that is absolutely not acceptable, and the same yesterday, and I

still question whether some just don't get it.

"This is not acceptable and we will react to it."

Verstappen's team Red Bull Racing said it was "disgusted and saddened" at the abuse directed towards Hamilton.

"While we may be fierce rivals on-track, we are all united against racism," the team said in a statement. "We condemn racist abuse of any kind towards our team, our competitors and our fans.

"There is never any excuse for it, there is certainly no place for it in our sport and those responsible should be held accountable."

Facebook, which owns Instagram, said in a statement: "The racist abuse directed at Hamilton during and after the British Grand Prix is unacceptable and we've removed a number of comments from Instagram.

"In addition to our work to remove comments and accounts that repeatedly break our rules, there are safety features available, including comment filters and message controls, which can

mean no one has to see this type of abuse.

"No single thing will fix this challenge overnight but we're committed to the work to keep our community safe from abuse."

Verstappen was taken to hospital for precautionary checks after suffering an impact of 51G in the crash, but was later released without any major injuries.

Hamilton's 10-second penalty saw him drop to fourth place after his pit stop, but the seventime world champion fought back to overtake Ferrari's Charles Leclerc with two laps remaining to secure victory.

Verstappen later called Hamilton"disrespectful" and "unsportsmanlike" for celebrating the win while the Dutchman lay in hospital.

The incident comes a week after England footballers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were targeted with racist abuse on social media after they all missed a penalty in the Three Lions' Euro 2020 final shootout defeat against Italy.

Tuesday July 20, 2021

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Price: N250

MISSILE Okowa to N’Assembly

“It’s actually very wrong. It gives the people the impression that people are out to rig elections from day one. It’s not the best for us as a nation and it sends wrong communication.” – Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, deploring National Assembly for rejecting e-transmission of election results

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI Obi Cubana and the Oba Burial T abati1990@gmail.com

he sociology of death and funerals is an important aspect of the African cosmogony. Parents pray that their children should outlive them in order to give them a befitting burial. They liken this to the same manner when fire dies out in the hearth, it is replaced by ashes, and when a banana tree withers, a sapling sprouts in its place.

When Africans die, it is believed that they have merely travelled to another realm, and become ancestors, and hence, a funeral ceremony is a send-forth event. The death of a young person however, is considered a tragedy. This is why such obituaries are prefaced with the solemn declaration that “The wicked have done their worst”, “We love you but the Lord loves you more” or “A Painful Exit.” The tone of the elegy at a funeral is thus a function of the circumstances of the death, or the religious inclination of the family as in “With Total Submission to the Will of God…”, “Inna Lillahi wa inna Ilayhi Raji’un”. Age is indeed a factor. If the dead lived up to an old, ripe age, you are likely to see such announcements as “A Glorious Exit”, “With Gratitude for a Life Well Spent” or “Ä Celebration of Life”.

Among the Yoruba of the South West, the death of an old man or woman is described as “oku eba”, that is - a transition that is worth celebrating, with generous dollops of cassava paste. Other groups in the country also have varying patterns of burying their dead. Among Muslims generally, the burial of the dead is carried out swiftly in line with Islamic injunctions. The simplicity of Muslim burials, the solemnity and dignity of it, is incomparable to anything else I have seen, even if Muslims in the South West of Nigeria, still find an excuse to throw lavish parties that have more to do with the culture of the people, rather than the religion. One dictionary describes the Yoruba as the “fun-loving people of the South West Nigeria.” But in general, the manner of burials, the scope of the rites, the scale and tone, is a reflection of cultural norms and dominant values, at both community and individual levels across Nigeria. What is noteworthy is how the loss of a beloved family member could suddenly end up as a celebration, and the explanation for that is as complicated and diverse as the Nigerian society itself.

In this regard, something happened last week, in Oba, Anambra State, Nigeria: the funeral of the mother of a man popularly known as Obi Cubana, which would seem to be a metaphor for the collapse of values in Nigeria generally, the effect of poverty – spiritual, mental and physical – and how that pushes the people to desperate ends. The burial of Cubana’s mum may be seen as a form of celebration, she died at 75, but it was a lavish send-forth that was terribly obscene. The town of Oba has certainly never witnessed anything like that. Not even in the entire Anambra state has anyone organised anything so loud and extravagant. This was not a celebration of life. It was a celebration of Money.

Obi Cubana’s mother died in November 2020. It took him more than seven months to plan the burial and when he decided that it was time for the dead to be sent forth, his obvious intention was to organise the mother of all burials, such that even the living would envy the dead and wish to die. The only problem is that not many Nigerians would rather die knowing that it is not every one that would ever get that kind of burial. Oba is ordinarily a quiet town of nine villages, located between the commercial town of Onitsha and the industrial town of Nnewi.

During the civil war, it was the last frontier of the Biafran Army. But that community will now be remembered for a long time, for the burial of the mother of a certain Obi Cubana. The role played by the social media, and by Cubana’s

Obi Cubana friends is remarkable: how a country lost its moral centre and has produced a generation of new Nigerians who worship money, ego, kudi. The excitement generated among young Nigerians who could not make it to Oba but who followed the event on social media and became excited, is a measure of the extent of the crisis that Nigeria faces.

By Friday, the spectacle had begun to unfold.

Social media managers of the burial who apparently had been engaged to do so – they are called influencers – told us and showed pictures, about the Obi Cubana Festival of Money.

The first of the videos that I saw was that of a young man throwing Naira notes around, on the streets as if he was distributing candies to children. The notes were in packs, crisp new notes, and as each bundle was thrown at the crowd, people fell over themselves and rushed to pick up pieces. This was like a John the Baptist display. Many of Cubana’s friends and guests would soon arrive, and before they did, many of them posted on Instagram, the stacks of money they were going to spend. Cartons of Naira notes. In one post, a group of women were shown swimming in a pool, others were hanging around, scantily dressed, all looking like they had adjusted their biological features. That is now standard practice among a category of Nigerian women. They do a breast job, acquire a surgical, traffic-stopping butt, and they all look alike, fully bleached to their knuckles, with fake hair, strange eyelashes that protrude like pins, and of course foreign accents that have a combination of every dialect from Wales to mid-West America.

The boys by the pool threw money into the water and the girls scrambled to grab their share of the offering. This was the pattern throughout the burial. Naira notes, sorry bundles of Naira, were thrown about, sprayed, pasted so recklessly you would think this was a future Olympics Game, in which the athletes were preparing for a Gold Medal. Obi Cubana himself was at the centre of it all. One lady, simply identified as Livy was shown in one video throwing so many bales of money at Cubana that he exclaimed that he would need a Chest X-Ray! The way money was being thrown like pieces of cement blocks, I also thought that an ambulance should have been on standby. “Killed by money at Cubana’s mother’s burial” would have been an appropriate headline in the circumstance. The public was later informed that Obi Cubana got about 300

million Naira as contributions by his friends to bury his mother. He also received over 100 rams, and 400 cows, 46 out of that was supplied by one guy called Cubana Priest who not only announced the donation but also said that was just a tip of the iceberg.

Cubana himself did not disappoint. He wore a diamond pendant that was valued at N50 million. His mother’s casket, specially imported from wherever was said to have been about N40 million. This celebration of money was so unbelievable, the burial became a matter for social media punditry and the creation of emojis.

Some people said it was certain Obi Cubana’s mother was already in Heaven as a saint, sitting on the right-hand side of the Almighty. Nobody has been to Heaven to confirm that, so we have no proof. Others said with the volume of money spent at the funeral, the Nigerian government should henceforth approach Obi Cubana for a loan and stop disturbing China, IMF and the World Bank. Other observers were worried about the source of the money that was being thrown around like confetti. Nigerian banks would also readily tell you that they don’t have new notes.

They give out dirty notes to their customers. But there were more crisp, mint notes in circulation at Oba over the weekend than in the entire Nigerian banking system. And the notes were abused.

The Central Bank Act of Nigeria – Sections 5, 21 (4-5) prescribe penalties for the abuse of the country ‘s national currency. The law forbids the sale, purchase, and the plunking of the Naira, and prescribes penalties: six months imprisonment or a fine of N50, 000 or both.

The penalties are so light, I don’t think they mean anything to Cubana and his friends or their likes. And why should that bother them anyway when the Oba funeral was attended by the same law enforcement officers who should know that it is an offence to abuse the Naira (truth is: policemen joined others to collect the notes that dropped on the floor), and there were lawmakers and prominent politicians in attendance too. In fact, nobody should be surprised if Cubana ends up as a Governor or Senator tomorrow. He has effectively used his mother’s burial to prove a point: that he has cash and the courage to spend it. Nigerians worship money. And that was why throughout the weekend: the popular saying was: who no dey Oba, na wahala him get? Women were turned into objects and debased. Whoever had not seen his girlfriend or wife was advised to go to Oba in Anambra State. And there was a particular video of one lady who collected up to three big bags of money, by just picking money from the floor like a mendicant! Nollywood stars fell over themselves to be seen and heard.

One respected actor even got so carried away he began to act like an Area Boy on Instagram.

I won’t mention his name because he is a man I like very much. Money is a Devil in Nigeria.

It turns even the most enlightened into clowns.

At Obi Cubana’s mother’s burial, so-called celebrities, some of these characters who describe themselves as brands (whatever that means!) became ushers, bodyguards, “all-right-sirs” and videographers. Obi Cubana has every right to bury his mother the way he wants. But who is he? How did he make his money? How much tax does he pay to the Nigerian government?

The Oba burial is over now, but the only thing anybody will remember is the Bacchanal orgy of money. I am not sure half of the people at the event even know who Cubana’s mother was. What kind of person was she? How did she relate within the community? Did she even ever see, handle, spend, a bundle of crisp Naira notes in her lifetime? Who are Obi Cubana’s family members? Does he even have siblings

or extended family members? They were all blanked out! Members of the Oba community were advertised as crumb eaters. They struggled to grab the Naira notes that were thrown into the air. They stared at the money-miss-road invaders from a distance. When it was all over and the waka-come-Cubana crowd left, they struggled over the left-over crumbs of cow-meat barbecue.

They were effectively reminded of their poverty.

Obi Cubana would probably not visit that community again until he needs to organise another show-off. Would it not have been better if he built a hospital in his mother’s memory?

Or a school? Or a church? And then the people will remember her, and not how her son and his friends put money to shame at her funeral. And who are these friends? The kind of names that have been mentioned sound unfamiliar to me: E-Money, Internet Money, Pablo Cubana, Escoba, Jowizaza, Livy, Cubana Priest. Is the Nigerian Immigration Service, in charge of aliens and expatriates, the Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in charge of National Identity Registration and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in charge of Homeland Security, aware of the presence of these people inside Nigeria? Who are they? And why do they spend money like that?

Not even Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, or Warren Buffet will throw money around like that!

The burial of Otunba Mike Adenuga’s mother in 2005 has been compared to that of Cubana’s mother’s burial, and certainly Otunba Adenuga should feel maligned. It is an unintelligent comparison. The point that has been made is that when Adenuga was burying his mother he donated a cow to every street in Ijebu-Igbo, his home town. Yeah. But there were no drunkards throwing bales of money on the streets or cleavagebearing women, bleached from head to toe, with artificial physiognomy and a mass of excessive protoplasm, promenading here and there, with shameless, bedmatic display. Last weekend, we saw a new definition of womanhood in Oba. My point is about taste, class and values, not melodrama, or the right of persons to live as they wish. And here, I also draw attention to the burial about the same time of the mother of the former Managing Director of Access Bank, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, which took place in Lagos at the Tafawa Balewa Square. The contrast is striking but I bring it up because it also says something about Nigeria: the emergence of two polarized publics, both of seemingly strong weight and whose difference lies is the inherited future of our children because of the way Nigerian leaders have failed the people. The burial of Apostle Mrs Aig Imoukhuede was a dignified, classy event attended by the Nigerian establishment from politics to business and civil society. It was the celebration of a woman who achieved distinction in her own right and whose accomplishments in that regard were properly show-cased. The funeral was not about her first son, the banker, investor, philanthropist, friend of every important figure. It was, most appropriately, a celebration of her life. Nobody had any need to throw money around. Even if Mrs Imoukhuede was a trader at Oyingbo market, there would have been no need to turn her funeral into a festival of money. And yet the richest and most influential Nigerians with the strongest pedigree were there. One weekend, two burials, different tales! I leave it to you to stretch the comparison. I have made my point: Nigeria is in trouble. Young Nigerians, products of a failed leadership, worship money and fakery.

The gentrified class train their children in the best schools abroad, but those same children will return to a country that would have been taken over by the Oba crowd who are sadly, the future of Nigeria. Obi Cubana, and Aig Imoukhuede, our commiserations.

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