MONDAY 31TH AUGUST 2020

Banks’ Credit to Private Sector Rises to N30.189tn Analysts proffer measures to reverse foreign investments' decline

Obinna Chima in Lagos and James Emejo in Abuja Banking sector's credit to the private sector rose by N757 billion or 2.57 per cent to N30.189 trillion as of July 2020,

compared with the N29.432 trillion it was at the end of June.

Latest money and credit statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), obtained on its website yesterday,

also showed that net credit by banks to the government increased to N9.522 trillion as at the end of July, higher than the N8.862 trillion it was the previous month.

This is coming as analysts

yesterday offered policy recommendations to assist the federal government in arresting the recent decline in foreign capital importation amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the

country.

The surge in lending to the private sector could be attributed to the central bank’s aggressive development finance as well as measures it introduced to cushion

the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on households and micro, small and medium scale enterprises, in which the banks are the participating financial Continued on page 10

IG: Politicians Arming Thugs Ahead of Edo, Ondo Gov Polls... Page 8 Monday 31 August, 2020 Vol 25. No 9275. Price: N250

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Northern Elders Oppose Constitution Review Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

BUA PARTNERS ADAMAWA...

Adamawa State Governor, Mr. Ahmadu Fintiri, and Chairman, BUA Group, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu, during the governor’s visit to the company’s headquarters in Lagos…recently

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has faulted moves by the Senate to review the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

NEF accused the federal lawmakers of spending huge amount of money to fund the constitution review process since 1999 without any meaningful impact on the lives of the people.

Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, NEF’s Director of Publicity, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, advised the National Assembly to direct its energy and mandate Continued on page 10

Fighting for Nigeria: Heroes of Battle against COVID-19 See stories on page 52-59

Sanwo-Olu

Abayomi

Mustapha

Ehanire

Ihekweazu

Emefiele

Dangote

Wigwe

Akufo-Addo to Meet Buhari to Defuse Diplomatic Tension... Page 5

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

Akufo-Addo to Meet Buhari to Defuse Diplomatic Tension Ghana denies alleged maltreatment of Nigerians

Olawale Ajimotokan and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Ghanaian government has refuted the accusations by the federal government of intimidation and maltreatment of Nigerian citizens in Ghana.

It also stated that President Nana Akufo- Addo has made overtures to President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve the tension between the two biggest West African economies over alleged attacks on Nigerians.

Ghana's Minister of Information, Mr. Endkojo Nkrumah, said in a statement yesterday that Accra remained committed to the maintenance of warm relations with all sister nations, particularly with Nigeria, and would proceed to resolve matters that could sour relations between the two countries.

Nkrumah decried a statement by Nigeria's Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, accusing Ghana of persecuting Nigerians.

He described it as a clear departure from the manner in which officials of the two countries have related in the past.

The minister added that the outline of issues by the Nigerian government was not reflective of the developments in Ghana, and any protests, decisions or actions based on these reports would be unjustified.

The Ghanaian government while denying allegations of media war against Nigerians in Ghana, said there was no negative reportage on Nigerian residents in Ghana by the Ghanaian media, which could potentially lead to xenophobic attacks on

Nigerians, particularly traders.

On the contrary, Nkrumah noted that the negative reportage has been against the Ghanaian government from high places, adding that tweets by Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Minister, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, and a Nigerian businessman "who appears to have political interests in Ghana" in Nigeria, were inconsistent with established practice in the two countries’ good relations.

On the allegation of outrageous stipulations and amendments of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) Act, he described it as untrue, saying the law has been amended twice, and that there was no 2018 GIPC Act. It added that perhaps, the reference is to Sections 27 (2 & 3) of the GIPC Act and relates solely to persons who are not citizens, but want to engage in retail trade or trading activities, which are otherwise restricted to Ghanaians.

It said: "No Nigerian trader has been arrested. The closure of shops was as a result of infractions on Ghanaian laws.

Even then, those affected who are not only Nigerians, have been given ample time to regularise their documents.

Furthermore, no Nigerianowned shops are currently closed."

On the allegation of aggressive and incessant deportation of Nigerians from Ghana, which saw 825 Nigerians deported between January 2018 and February 2019, the Ghanaian government said the statement was not factual while explaining that in 2019, 700 Nigerians, who were found to have been involved in criminal activities such as fraud, prostitution, armed

robbery, among others, were deported.

On the allegation that Ghana Immigration Service has placed huge fees far higher than the fees charged by the Nigerian Immigration Service, which includes the compulsory non- citizen ID card of $120 and $60 for yearly renewal, Ghana said the fee was not discriminatory as all foreigners who apply for resident permits in Ghana, pay the same fees.

Nkrumah stated: "The Government of Ghana notes, with concern, a statement, dated Friday,

August 28, 2020, issued by the Ministry of Information and Culture and signed by the Federal Minister, Hon. Lai Mohammed, on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, concerning current relations between Ghana and Nigeria.

"The aforementioned notwithstanding, the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, who values very much his excellent relations with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, will engage President Buhari

with a view to developing immediately a framework for validating claims of illtreatment of citizens of either country and ensure citizens enjoy the full exercise of their rights, while respecting the sovereignty and laws of both countries. Ghana and Nigeria, as they have been doing, must continue to work together for a successful West Africa.

"The Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the other hand, is on record to have taken a number of steps in recent months, in pursuit of her national interests, which have

gravely affected other countries in the region. These include the closure of Nigeria’s SemeKrake border from August 2019 to date and the issuance of executive orders by Nigeria’s presidency, preventing foreigners from getting jobs which Nigerians can do, to mention a few. Ghana and other West African countries continue to believe redress to even actions like these can be sought, diplomatically, without resort to media statements and related activities that have the potential to aggravate further the situation."

MINISTERIAL VISIT...

L-R: Group Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Dangote Industries Limited, Nr. Devakumar Edwin; Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammed Nanono; and Permanent Secretary, Dr. Abdulkadir Mu’azu, during the tour of Dangote Refinery and Fertilizer Limited in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos…weekend

Afenifere, PANDEF Oppose Re-introduction of National Water Resources Bill Deji Elumoye in Abuja The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere and its counterpart in the Niger Delta, the pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), have criticised the federal government and the National Assembly over the re-introduction of the National Water Resources Bill 2020, rejected by the eighth Assembly.

While the Benue State Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom, had at the weekend called on the National Assembly to reject the bill, saying it was a ploy to hand over the banks of the rivers to herdsmen, a Nobel Laureate, Prof.

Wole Soyinka, had warned President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration against passing the bill.

The bill, which seeks to bring all water sources (surface and underground) as well as river banks under the control of the federal government is seen as anti-federalism as

it also negates the right of Nigerians to natural resources.

Section 13 of the bill states that “in implementing the principles under subsection (2) of this section, the institutions established under this Act shall promote integrated water resources management and the coordinated management of land and water resources, surface water and ground water resources, river basins and adjacent marine and coastal environment and upstream and downstream interests.”

Those opposed to the bill had alleged that the people pushing for the passage of the bill at all costs have a surreptitious motive, which is not yet clear to other Nigerians.

Ortom had alleged that the bill, in addition to its provisions which are at variance with the Land Use Act, is a disguised land-grabbing legislation designed to grant pastoralists

unhindered access to river basins, adjacent marine and coastal environments across the country.

He had described the bill as another version of Ruga, whose objective is to create grazing areas in the 36 states of the federation for herders and their livestock.

Civil society groups, including the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), also opposed the bill, saying it will deny Nigerians the right to water.

For instance, Section 98 of the bill states that “the use of water shall be subject to licensing provisions.”

Section 107 says that a licence may be cancelled if the licensee “fails to make beneficial use of the water.” Section 120 makes it compulsory for Nigerians to

obtain a driller’s permit before sinking a borehole in their homes.

Afenifere and PANDEF in their separate reactions described the bill as destabilising, obnoxious, draconian and anti-people.

National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, told THISDAY that the federal government and the National Assembly" are making surreptitious moves to destabilise Nigeria, given how sensitive land issues are and which are safely vested under the governors in our laws. " He accused those behind the moves to pass the bill of having ulterior motives, saying that "they are doing all these for Miyetti Allah".

On its part, PANDEF said it would be most unfortunate if the federal government and the National Assembly were planning to pass the bill.

Its spokesman, Hon Ken Robinson, told THISDAY that

the group had rejected the bill when it was presented to the eighth National Assembly, adding that "our position has not changed".

He cautioned the National Assembly against any plan to re-introduce the bill "as it would ignite unimaginable crisis and such a plan should be jettisoned immediately in the interest of national peace and stability."

"That bill is not only obnoxious but draconic and imperialistic. It is anti-people.

That was why it attracted wild condemnation. And the eighth National Assembly heeded to the voice of the people, by throwing out the bill. It would therefore be awful if the ninth National Assembly acts otherwise, and allows itself to be used against the people.

"It is absurd that while citizens are clamouring for the restructuring of the country, to divest more powers to the federating units, the federal

government is wanting more powers to control waterways and resources in an already over centralised, unitary system. Instead of initiating constructive dialogue processes to address the yearnings of Nigerians for true federalism.

"The people of the Niger Delta region, particularly of the South-south geopolitical zone, are against the bill in its totality. We consider it an attempt by the federal government to divest Niger Delta communities of their exclusive control of the waterways; seas, rivers and creeks, in the region.

They have plundered our oil and gas, our hitherto luxurious ecosystem has been devastated, without any meaningful development; they tried to take our lands through the so-called Ruga scheme. Now they want our waterways, Niger Delta Region people will resist it," PANDEF stated.

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IG: Politicians Arming Thugs Ahead of Edo, Ondo Gov Polls

Directs police commissioners to beef up security APC, PDP trade blame over allegations

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja, James Sowole in Akure and Adibe Emenyonu in Benin The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, has raised the alarm that politicians in Edo and Ondo States are arming thugs ahead of the governorship polls scheduled for September 19 and October 10 respectively.

He has, therefore, ordered the commissioners of police in both states to rejig their security system to forestall a possible breach of the peace during the elections.

The directive, according to a statement yesterday by Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, a deputy commissioner of police, came against the backdrop of security reports that politicians in the two states are planning to foment trouble on Election Day as they are arming thugs to be deployed to rig the polls.

The IG, therefore, warned the politicians to conduct themselves properly, play by the rules and steer clear of tendencies capable of undermining the electoral process.

However, the two major political parties in the two states, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have traded blame over the IG’s allegations.

While the Edo State APC said the IG’s warning was an affirmation of the party’s previous petitions and warnings on alleged arms build-up by the Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and his PDP, the Edo PDP accused the opposition party in the state of sponsoring thuggery and violence.

The APC and PDP in Ondo State have also denied any involvement in arming thugs or encouraging violence.

The IG said the warning and the directive to beef up security were informed by the election security threat assessment reports submitted by the commissioners of police in the states at a meeting held last Tuesday.

"The election security threat analysis reveals amongst other indicators, arming and movement of political thugs, use of inciting statements during political campaigns, high likelihood of violence and possible cross attack by political opponents, misinformation/disinformation aimed at heating-up of the polity and deliberate efforts at delegitimising government institutions involved in the electoral processes," he said.

The IG ordered the commissioners of police in the two states to rejig their preparations for the elections to accommodate and address the threats and emerging trends as contained in the security reports.

He noted that the force leadership was evolving customised security architecture to protect the people and ensure hitch-free elections.

"The IG, however, warns politicians and their supporters in Edo and Ondo States that the force will not hesitate to bring the full weight of the law on anyone or group, irrespective of status that may want to sabotage the security arrangement being emplaced for the elections," Frank’s statement said.

He assured Nigerians, particularly the people of Edo and Ondo States, that the police remained committed to protecting the sanctity of the ballot.

"The police would be neutral, apolitical and will work assiduously with all stakeholders in ensuring a level playing ground for all in the elections," he added.

APC, PDP Trade Blame The APC in Edo State has described the IG’s warning on arming of thugs as an affirmation of its previous petitions and warnings on the alleged arms build-up by Obaseki and the PDP. Reacting to the IG's warning, the Chairman of the Edo APC Media Campaign Council, Mr. John Mayaki, said the security report cited by the IG backed its previous allegations of arms build-up against Obaseki and the ferrying of thugs from neighbouring PDP states, notably Delta State.

Citing an alleged attack on the Edo Assembly complex and the arrest of seven persons caught with firearms during the invasion, the APC said the incident exposed Obaseki’s alleged involvement in the arming and funding of thugs to carry out attacks on the state.

The APC also accused the governor of shielding his aides from investigation after they were allegedly mentioned by the suspects as their direct contacts in the state government by securing a court order precluding them from arrest and prosecution.

The APC, in a statement, said: “The Election Security Threat Analysis report is an affirmation of all our previous petitions, alarms and warnings that Mr. Godwin Obaseki and his party, the PDP, are planning to mar the September 19 governorship election with large-scale violence to scare away voters because they are afraid of the people’s verdict after a four-year term of non-performance.

“We have filed video evidence of some of the violent attacks staged by known and identified thugs of Governor Godwin Obaseki and the world bore witnesses to others as they took place on live television. One of such is the attack on the Edo Assembly complex, in which Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Mr. Philip Shaibu, led thugs and other supporters to loot, vandalise and remove the roof of the complex in broad daylight.”

But the PDP Publicity Secretary in Edo State, Mr.

Chris Nehikhare, exonerated the party of any involvement in thuggery and violence.

He accused the APC of sponsoring thuggery and violence.

He added that he has a video in the social media where the candidate of APC, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, in the midst of people who described themselves as "lions and tigers," was directing suspected thugs to disrupt the election.

"He (APC candidate) even said some of you are dangerous that you can move to the next local government," he stated, noting that such uncomplimentary words coming from such calibre of person can encourage people to violence “because by so doing, you are telling them they are covered.”

"In PDP, we condemn anybody involved in thuggery, especially thuggery that is intimidating other members of the public in the state.

We condemn it and it is unacceptable to us.

"It is unfortunate that the IG made such a statement and we want him to fish out those involved and bring the full weight of the law on anyone involved," Nehikhare added.

However, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Ondo State, Mr. Alex Kalejaye, said the party would not engage or encourage any act that can bring pains to the people.

"The APC has been preoccupied with engaging the people. We have reminded the people about our promises to them four years ago and told them how far we have gone in fulfilling some of the promises.

"We are not arming thugs and we do not have an interest in doing that. Our works shall speak for us and we shall not do anything that will cause violence and bring pain to the people," Kalejaye said.

Also reacting to the IG's allegations, the Publicity

Secretary of PDP in Ondo State, Mr. Peretei Ikandu, said the party was not arming any thug.

He said: "We have tried as much as possible to make our campaign issue-based. The IG that has the intelligence that politicians are arming thugs should use the same intelligence to follow up and nip the matter in the bud, before they will unleash violence on people before, during and after the election.

"The IG is not saying anything new. He should be proactive and that is when we will know that he is doing the right thing. The police should be on the top of the game.

"We saw what happened in Kogi State during the election, when the IG said thugs in police uniform attacked people.

"Since IG has the information, he should do the needful by being proactive on the information available to him."

Similarly, the spokesman of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)’s

governorship candidate, Mr. Allen Sowore, said the IG should know the direction he should look considering some comments recently made by some leaders of the APC in the state.

Sowore said the ruling APC had shown its desperation with some attacks on members of the ZLP in the state.

"ZLP is relatively a new party.

The party is not part of the arming of thugs. The IG should ask the former aspirant of the APC, Mr. Isaac Kekemeke, what he meant when he said thugs would unleash terror against other political parties in the state during the election.

"The statement by Kekemeke, which was circulated through social media in a video, is enough for IG to know the direction to go and not by telling us that politicians are arming thugs. He should know those who are doing this by their acts and comments," Sowore said.

SEEKING ROYAL BLESSINGS...

L-R: Former National Chairman, All Progressives Congress, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole; APC Edo State governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu; Onewueweko of Okpepe, Peter Osigbemeh; deputy governor candidate, Mr. Gani Audu, during a visit to the Onewueweko Palace, in Okpepe, Etsako East, Edo State…yesterday

Utomi: New Coalition’s Agenda is to Restore Citizens’ Confidence in Nigeria Chuks Okocha in Abuja One of the Co-conveners of the National Consultative Front (NCFront), Prof. Pat Utomi, yesterday listed the core objectives of the group to include checking the slide and restore popular trust in a democratic way.

Utomi, in a statement he issued, said: "Our goal is to check the slide and restore popular trust in a democratic way as well as in our institutions, currently being suffocated by the politics of state capture and power erosion with attendant consequences, which include violence in Nigeria at large, which begs the question of the traditional definition of the state as the sovereign with

a monopoly of (lawful) use of violence."

He stated that a widespread culture of corruption, the gulf between the government and the people as well as the state and are threatening the social order and state legitimacy.

Utomi listed the challenging economy as one of the items to be addressed, explaining that the failing state-owned enterprises and the disastrous state of both education and healthcare, among other challenges are also other critical issues requiring urgent citizens' engagements.

"These matters are beyond partisan but all constitute existential threat to Nigeria as a nation. Most of us believe that to solve these problems and

save our dear nation from this leadership pandemic, all citizens ought to take ownership of the problems and act in ways that can lead to their resolution," he added.

According to him, many presently do not act as citizens for a variety of reasons, stressing that "we, therefore, believe the first duty of enlightened leadership is to wake up the citizen."

He urged Nigerians to view NCfront as a web of networks of people of conscience awakening citizen’s consciousness that will prompt actions to redeem Nigeria.

"Our commitment, as NCFront is to create the structures, work plan and inspiration to make this different

from similar initiatives in the past that stop at talking.

Here and today, our goal is simple and focused. To move Nigeria forward because the consequence of failure is staring us in the face already," he added.

According to him, the structure of the emerging people's movement will be given direction by a steering committee with co-chairs, which will be coordinating clusters of stakeholder groups.

Utomi said each cluster would determine its general operating mode within a framework proposed by the steering committee, which has already "defined who we are, our values, and goals as stakeholders and members of the NCFront."

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Edo Guber: INEC REC Denies Plot to Rig Election for PDP Party denounces increasing rate of attacks Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Resident Electoral Commissioner, (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Mike Igini, has denied any plot with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo state to rig the forthcoming governorship election.

Igini was reacting to a statement by the Chairman All Progressives Congress (APC) Media Campaign Council, Mr. John Mayaki, and Col. David Imuse to the effect that he received a bribe from the PDP to swing the polls in its favour.

Mayaki had asked Igini to explain his presence at Protea Hotel in Benin City where National Commissioners of the electoral body from Abuja were lodged, in fresh allegations raised by the party over Igini’s alleged connivance with Governor Godwin Obaseki to rig the Sept. 19 governorship election.

Mayaki said the APC had

received testimony from some contacted youth corps members who detailed how they were approached by Igini and offered a deal to swap results with fake, pre-written ballots allegedly in production at the Edo State Government House.

Igini said: “For the second time within a week, my name has been needlessly and maliciously dragged into a political group’s statement on the Edo election.

The statement falsely and erroneously claimed that I was in Benin on Thursday 27th August 2020.

“Contrary to that misleading claim, on the said date, I was in Lagos State; hence I find it very mischievous that those who made this cruel allegation now attribute the spiritual ability to be in two locations at the same time to my person."

He further explained: “Secondly, let me state without any shadow of a doubt to those characters, who made this atrocious allegation that I had

meetings with political actors where anti-democratic schemes were discussed, I have not met Gov. Obaseki since he was sworn into office up until the moment of the press statement in contention.

Given that I was not in Benin on the said day 27th August but in Lagos, the said meeting is unquestionably a mere figment of the imagination of those who made these allegations."

Igini said that evidently, those who made up the concocted story do not know him, as he explained: "If they do, certainly they will never attribute these anti-democratic sacrileges to my person.”

Part of the statement read: "For the avoidance of doubt and to disabuse the minds of respected Edo citizens and voters, I urge everyone to disregard these lies and innuendos I have never and will never be part of any scheme to rob voters of the right to choose their elected representatives.

"At a time when the journey

of this country and the prospect of democracy was less certain, we fought and risked our lives for this democracy, where were the likes of these two unknown characters called John Mayaki and Retired Col. Imuse?

“I have never been at the back but at the forefront of electoral reforms to ensure those citizens’ rights and access to ballots as the best means of the expression of the will of the people are strengthened and will never be part of any design to chase them.

“My entire public service has been an open book, I urge those who harbour any doubt to visit the public records and review the results of Elections conducted under my watch as Resident Electoral Commissioner in Edo. Cross River, Imo, Anambra and Akwa Ibom State.

“Under my stewardship, every vote counted and taken into account and every voter’s right was preserved. Rather than engaging in these campaigns

of character assassination by stepping out of the boundaries of decency that has now landed these two characters in the pool of litigation for libel where they are swimming at the moment dangerously, “I urge the political groups to concentrate on purveying policies that will endear them to the electorate and stop relying on how to undermine and discredit the institutional pillars of democracy upon which the legitimacy of the election will repose,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the PDP has condemned in strong terms increasing attacks on its members and supporters ahead of the September 19, 2020 governorship election in Edo State, warning that the simplicity and meekness of the party’s candidate and Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, must not be taken for granted.

The Deputy Director-General of Edo PDP Campaign Council, Mr. Gideon Ikhine, said this

during the governor’s reelection campaign rally in Ora, Ward 6, Ovia South West Local Government Area.

In a statement made available to reporters in Abuja, Ikhine noted: "Everywhere we go, they will go and destroy our campaign materials and sometimes beat up our supporters.

“The laws and powers are in the hands of the Governor. His simplicity should not be insulted.

Is it because he is gentle? Our Governor is gentle like Jesus Christ, but he will be re-elected like a lion.”

Ikhine who urged eligible voters in the area to vote PDP and protect their votes for continuity, maintained that PDP is sure of victory at the poll due largely to the number of trusted and reliable personalities it parades.

He advised: "Anybody planning to rig this election should have a re-think as Edo people are ready to defend their votes.”

alternative of leaders of thought, elders, groups and professional organisations and representatives of government to freely discuss every element of our co-existence as a country under principles of voluntarism, genuine representation mutual respect and integrity of the process.

“A Nigerian Peoples’ Conference on Review of the Constitution will benefit from past work in this direction in addition to contemporary challenges, which the country needs to address in a context that allows free and productive engagements without predetermined ends.

“The outcome of this conference should be submitted to the two arms of government, which should provide for a referendum in the constitution so that Nigerians can directly

decide on how they want their nation to be structured and function.

“The North is willing to discuss other options that will do justice to the current constitution and the future of our great country.

“The forum invites the attention of particularly northern groups to be wary of being railroaded into making submissions which the legislature will hold up as input, further justifying waste and deceit.

“No northern group should encourage further waste of public funds which should be channelled into battling killers, kidnappers, poverty and poor governance.

“The North wants a major review of the constitution, but it is also ready to resist attempts to create wealth for a

few while it leaves parts of the country to quarrel and blame each other for the state of the nation.

“Northerners are willing to discuss current challenges of the region and the state of the country with any group, anywhere, provided it sees evidence of sincerity and respect for each other.

“We advise the National Assembly to direct its energy and mandate towards convincing President Muhammadu Buhari to bring an end to the insurgency in the North-east and killings in most parts of North-central and North-west and other parts of the country.

“We advise the Senate to jettison the wasteful idea of giving Nigerians the impression that it is involved in a serious review of our constitution.”

Ekechukwu urged the government to provide solutions to the issues that had prompted the drop in foreign investments, namely the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic, which affected businesses as well as fears by investors not certain that they could repatriate their funds when the need arose following the temporary dearth of foreign currencies.

He said the impending recession in the country could have further discouraged potential investors.

On his part, Professor of Finance and Capital Markets at Nasarawa State University, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, blamed the pandemic for the downturn in investment inflows in Q2, stressing that the country needed to boost FDIs to help stem the rate of unemployment.

According to him, there's a need to guarantee investors of an enabling environment and be seen to be continuously improving the ease of doing business in the country.

"Like bees are naturally attracted to honey; foreign investors rush to economies they consider welcoming. Aside from return on investment, they also consider the economic environment which is part of country risk assessment.

"This will also include the ease with which funds and profits can be repatriated as an unstable forex market discourages foreign investors. In this regard, the CBN should continue its current efforts aimed at improving liquidity in the forex market," he stated.

Also commenting on the dismal performance in capital importation, Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Credent Investment Managers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Shelleng, said the country required a long-term vision and stable political and economic environment to attract the foreign funding it needed.

He stressed the need for a unified FX rate, which he said would help in solving issues that constrained investment inflows.

According to him, capital flight is expected during times of economic turmoil as portfolio investors look to de-risk their investments.

"But also our foreign exchange regime has not helped either as portfolio investors have not been able to repatriate their funds and have faced huge losses due to devaluation.

"What we should be looking for is foreign direct investment, which is more long term and creates jobs and infrastructure rather than just portfolio investment which is more volatile," he added.

An Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Port Harcourt, Anthony Onoja, urged Nigeria to encourage FDI from diaspora investors as well as develop infrastructure to woo quality investors.

He said the government should improve access to credit facilities for both foreign and domestic investors.

Onoja also tasked the government to improve the security situation and accelerate the momentum of the fight

against corruption as well as remove barriers to doing business in Nigeria.

He said: "At this period of the pandemic, when most markets are shut down, it is difficult to expect an increase in demand for Certificates of Capital Importation (CCI). Since the pandemic is easing off gradually in Nigeria, the markets need to be reopened so as to boost business activities especially the small and medium scale industries."

NORTHERN ELDERS OPPOSE CONSTITUTION REVIEW towards convincing President Muhammadu Buhari to end the insurgency in the North-east and killings in most parts of the country.

The Senate ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) had invited the public to submit memorandum to assist the “further alteration of the provisions of the constitution (as amended).”

But NEF queried the value of such efforts in the past, saying it is convinced that this repetitive initiative of the Senate is a predictable waste of time, resources and energy of the country and should not be supported by Nigerians.

It said: “Nothing fundamental or of any value has come out of these grand schemes to exploit our collective desire to address our political

and economic fundamentals.

This National Assembly is also following suit and it should not be encouraged on this path.

“Nigeria’s future rests largely on its willingness to address major constraints to equity and justice, a functional structure, consistent good governance, security for all citizens, a credible electoral process, growing understanding between and among all groups and an economy that grows and narrows inequalities between and classes and regions.”

The group added that national goals cannot be achieved by a process that makes wasteful expenditure around false hopes a routine.

It added: “The legislature and executive branches of government have large quantities of reviews,

recommendations and reports from past attempts at amending the constitutions.

“These represent enough resources for a review if the legislature is serious about this vital national priority.

“Even this is not likely to produce a genuine effort to address the basic requirements of securing a stable, secure and prosperous Nigeria, because both arms of this administration are unlikely to accept to put through wide-ranging reviews of the constitution.

“The forum specifically reminds legislators and other leaders from the North that security of our communities, reduction of crushing poverty and widening distrust among communities should be their priorities.

“The Northern Elders Forum recommends the

BANKS’ CREDIT TO PRIVATE SECTOR RISES TO N30.189TN institutions.

Also, the CBN report showed that narrow money supply (M1), which includes all physical monies such as coins and currency along with demand deposits and other assets held by the CBN increased to N12.

582 trillion as at July, up from the N12.239 trillion it recorded the previous month.

Quasi money, which is highly liquid assets other than cash that can be quickly converted, stood at N20.764 trillion in the review month, up from N20.212 trillion in June.

Also, currency-in-circulation increased in July to N2.396 trillion, compared with the N2.300 trillion it was the previous month.

Similarly, the data showed that currency outside banks stood at N2.002 trillion as of the review month, up from the N1.868 trillion it was the previous month.

In addition, demand deposits also climbed from N10.371 trillion the previous month to N10.580 trillion in the review month.

Also, while banks’ net foreign assets stood at N7.637 trillion as at the end of July, compared with the N7.577 trillion it was the previous month, the financial institution’s net domestic assets were N29.186 trillion in July, as against the N28.049 trillion it was the previous month.

Banks’ reserves also climbed to N11.026 trillion as at the end of July, from the N10.956 trillion it was at the end of June 2020.

The central bank’s data also showed that its Special Intervention Reserves stood at N317 billion as at July.

Analysts Proffer Measures to Reverse Decline in Foreign Investments Analysts at the weekend recommended measures to assist the federal government in arresting the recent decline in foreign capital importation amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) over the weekend showed a contraction of 78 per cent in foreign investments in the country in the second quarter of the year (Q2 2020) compared with Q1 and by 79 per cent when compared with Q2 2019.

But speaking in separate interviews with THISDAY, analysts noted that the drastic fall in capital importation to $1.29 billion within the review period compared with $5.85 billion in the preceding quarter, could be reversed by developing the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector and implementing the policy on the consumption of made-in-Nigeria goods and services.

They also urged the government to open up economic activities irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic, hoping that the planned resumption of international flights could improve capital inflows.

The analysts emphasised the need to provide adequate infrastructure, including power and transportation system as well

as improve the current security situation in the country.

Commenting on the development, the immediate past Director-General/Chief Executive, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. John Isemede, said it was high time government at the three tiers faced export and manpower development rather than resort to borrowing to fix the current challenge.

He said the government must also emphasise value addition and reduction in exports and set targets for the organised private sector and MDAs as well.

He said: "We must do away with speculative thinking leading to devaluation of the naira as another round of recession is looming. The only way to turn the tide is the development of our MSMEs, technical colleges to support local production and artisans..."

Also, commenting on the capital importation assessment in which only six states of the federation- Lagos, FCT, Anambra, Kano, Niger and Ogun- attracted capital inflow, a former Director-General, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, said the availability of foreign currencies which is currently being addressed by the CBN would, however, spur capital inflows.

He underscored the need to address insecurity, adding that nobody would want to invest in a country with a high risk of death and killings.

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN % FTNCOCOA 0.02 0.24 9.0 ROYALEXCHANGE 0.02 0.26 8.3 WAPIC 0.02 0.35 6.0 STERLBANK 0.03 1.20 3.4 CAP PLC 0.55 16.70 3.4 TOP LOSERS NGN % GUINNESS 1.45 14.15 9.2 JAIZBANK 0.01 0.58 4.5 JAPAUL 0.01 0.21 4.5 TRANSEXPRESS 0.02 0.75 2.6 FBNHOLDINGS 0.10 4.95 1.9 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦1,256.80 Volume: 137.054 million shares Value: N0.921 billion Deals: 2,869 As at yesterday 28/8/2020 See details on Page 37

MONDAY, ͻ͹˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWS

FG Reopens Enugu Airport, Seeks Investment in Concession Chinedu Eze in Lagos, Christopher Isiguzo and Gideon Arinze in Enugu

The federal government has reopened the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu and urged entrepreneurs from the South-east region to invest in the planned concession of airport facilities.

Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the ceremony yesterday, explained that the airport has been upgraded to international standards and soon international carriers would be landing and taking off from there.

The minister who commended the efforts of the Enugu State government in ensuring that the federal government's objective of

rehabilitating the airport was realised, said against the wishes of some stakeholders in the aviation industry to limit international flight services to only Lagos and Abuja airports, he ensured that Enugu, Port Harcourt and Kano airports were upgraded for international operations in a bid to satisfy travellers from these regions.

"Stakeholders wanted us to only make Abuja and Lagos airport international airports and use smaller aircraft to ferry passengers to their locations. I am a policy maker and look at the haves and the have-nots.

It will cost an average businessman about $1,000 to book hotel and board flights to come down to these airports from Lagos and Abuja. We will serve you where you are. I made

sure Enugu airport meets all international standard that it requires.

"In the next few days, most flights will commence.

Ethiopian Airlines and many other airlines that receive approval to come here will come here," Sirika said.

He thanked the Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for ensuring that the market, abattoir and free trade zones obstructing the work were removed for safety reasons.

"I also thank the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for performing their duties and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) for giving the project all the attention it deserves.

"FAAN management has been given the mandate to ensure that periodic maintenance is carried

out diligently so that we will not have to go through a painful experience of closure again. May I ask the government and people in this region to increase their commitment by using this airport to the fullest of its capacity? This airport will be placed in concession to ensure value for money," the minister stated.

Currently the airport is opened for daylight operations, from 6:30 am to 7:00 pm and Ethiopia Airlines, which was operating at the airport before it was closed, is expected to resume services.

Also, work is still ongoing at the airport for airfield lighting, water treatment plant, the international terminal and others.

Sirika said that by approving N10 billion as special funding for

the rehabilitation of the airport, the president had shown how dedicated he is towards the infrastructural development of the Southeast.

He said that though the airport was contributing hugely to revenue generation, the federal government had to prioritise the safety and the interest of Nigerians who are the primary stakeholders.

"With the airport reopening today, it is now open to local flights and on the 5th September, international flights will resume as soon as we begin to allow them into the country.

The chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr. Dave Umahi, said the decision to close the airport in 2019

was difficult but was in the interest of the people and their safety.

"It was a risk worth taking. And we are happy that it is being reopened today, after series of dialogues, persuasions and negotiations with the federal government," he said.

He added that efforts will be made to ensure that the Second Niger Bridge is given attention.

On his part, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi, said the Southeast deserved the same measure of attention and a sense of belonging like other regions in the country.

Also, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, said the reopening of the airport had brought relief to the people of the South-east.

Wigwe Named ‘African Banker of the Year’ Nume Ekeghe The Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, has been named the ‘African Banker of the Year’ at 2020 African Banker Awards.

According to a statement, Wigwe was recognised for several socio-economic efforts, including leading Nigeria’s private sector COVID-19 response.

Under his leadership, Access Bank donated over $2.7 million to support the government in fighting the virus while championing the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) initiative in

Nigeria, it stated.

Additionally, he has advocated other corporate climate change conscious business entities across the country to support the federal government towards the achievement of 25 per cent unconditional and 40 per cent conditional carbon emission reduction as agreed at the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Receiving his award, Wigwe spoke on the need for organisations to embrace the institutionalisation and practice of sustainable banking, saying, “financing and facilitating a sustainable

future for Africa, and indeed the world is something I am most passionate about."

He added: "Now, more than ever, Africa needs us to unite as we seek to improve access to healthcare, sustainable energy, finance and improve the standard of living in our communities.

"I enjoin all stakeholders to be a part of the facilitation of a truly sustainable future for Africa. The future of our respective organisations and the future of generations to come to depend on the alliances we form and the actions we take.

"Access Bank has taken steps towards facilitating the future I speak of, issuing

the first-ever Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) certified Green Bond in Nigeria, being a focal point in Nigeria’s fight against the novel coronavirus through the CACOVID, among others.

"Through innovative banking initiatives and our underlying sustainability drive, we will continue to create shared value for all our stakeholders, striking a balance between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility."

From his 10-year tenure as the group deputy managing director of the bank to assuming the role of the group managing director,

Wigwe has led the bank to grow its balance sheet by 1,022 per cent, from $901 million in 2007 to $19.7 billion in 2019 while pre-tax profits rose to $316 million in 2019, from $21 million in 2007.

The profit before tax recorded in 2007 was more than the cumulative profit made by the bank in the previous 12 years.

"This also marked the beginning of what would be a six-year triple-digit growth trend. In 2019, the Access Bank Group delivered a 26 per cent increase in gross earnings of $1.8 billion, from $1.4 billion in 2018 comprising interest income growth, to

$1.4 billion in 2019; from $1billion in 2018, a 41 per cent growth from previous levels, despite pressures on risk asset growth within the period.

"Furthermore, the bank recorded a non-interest income growth of $355 million (12% year-on-year).

This net effect on operating income resulted in strong profit before tax of $316 million against N283 million in 2018.

"The strength of the performance reflects a growing franchise supported by digital analytics and improving customer service touchpoints led by Wigwe," it added.

FG Earmarks N600bn to Boost Food Security Says Dangote fertiliser crucial to govt's agricultural agenda James Emejo in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, has said the federal government will inject over N600 billion as stimulus response into the agriculture sector.

The intervention, which targets small-scale farmers, seeks to ensure food security and sustainability, he added.

Nanono also described the Dangote Fertiliser Limited as crucial to the achievement of the federal government’s agricultural transformation agenda aimed at boosting food security.

Speaking during a tour of Dangote Fertiliser Plant at the weekend, he said 2.4 million farmers would benefit from the stimulus package in the first instance.

According to him, to avoid the abuse of government’s funds as well as its good intentions, the support will be in the form of inputs and not cash as was the practice

in the past.

Nanono said the closure of all international borders, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic had made it evident that Nigeria could feed itself.

In a statement by Director of Information at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs.Theodore Ogaziechi, the minister also pledged to support the Lagos State’s farming community with rural roads, solar lighting and water holes to encourage productivity.

He also promised to collaborate with the state in boosting fishing in order to tap the potentials of its marine endowments and reduce the importation of fish.

On the Dangote Fertiliser complex, Nanono said its operations were important to the achievement of the government’s agenda of boosting food security.

The minister called on the company to assist the federal government’s agricultural

mechanisation scheme as well as extension services for small-scale farmers.

According to him, Dangote's support is needed for the success of the mechanisation scheme, which is expected to cover 632 local government areas (LGAs) nationwide.

“It is very clear that Dangote, in one way or the other, will help in this programme by the federal government,” he said.

Nanono said the investment by the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, in fertiliser production would contribute to improved farm yields and agricultural productivity, which are critical to Nigeria’s long-term food security.

The minister commended Dangote for keying into the federal government’s Presidential Initiative on Fertiliser aimed at bringing down the cost of the commodity.

“The capacity of Dangote Fertiliser is enough to change

the way fertiliser is being used in this country. We are going to complement his efforts and support him in this regard. The challenge of the supply of fertiliser is going to be solved by the Dangote fertiliser plant. I can now go home and sleep,” he said.

According to him, the federal government wants to make sure that Nigerians have enough food to eat.

“We can only achieve the objective with enough fertiliser in the country.

I am extremely proud of Aliko Dangote for what he is doing in this country. I think no other person has probably done half of what he is doing in the area of investment. If we can have just an additional two of his type, this country will be completely different. I think all we have been trying to do as far as agricultural development is concerned, has been captured by the Dangote fertiliser plant.

Nigeria has the potential

for agriculture. Obviously, Dangote Fertiliser is going to help the government and the farmers,” he said.

Nanono stated that smallscale farmers would benefit from Dangote Fertiliser.

“There is a need for us to support small-scale farmers who have been helping the government with respect to food security. Once the small-scale farmers get all the necessary support, there will be an agricultural revolution in this country.

“Some of you will remember when the federal government initiated a policy to support local production of rice in Nigeria and discourage the importation of rice. Some vested interests kicked against it. The breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of Nigerian borders show that the federal government took the right decision regarding rice policy. Now, we are eating our own rice. The small-scale farmers have also been contributing to

Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in rice production in the country,” he said.

Giving an update on the fertiliser project, Group Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects & Portfolio Development, Dangote Industries Limited, Chief Devakumar Edwin, said the company had a wellequipped fertiliser soil testing laboratory to ensure the efficiency of the product for farmers.

“The laboratory will enable us to analyse and identify a particular soil deficiency. Applying the right fertiliser to the soil will enable it to yield maximum results. The goal of our soil testing is to provide an accurate assessment of the soil's fertility to make fertiliser recommendations.

A proper soil test will help ensure the application of enough fertiliser to meet the requirements of the crop while taking advantage of the nutrients already present in the soil.”

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COMMENT

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

SURVIVAL SKILLS IN A PROTRACTED LOCKDOWN Rajendra Aneja writes on the trials and tribulations of someone managing his domestic chores and professional work in a lockdown

M

y driver Bhima said, “God is angry with the world,� as a protracted lockdown commenced in March.

The lockdown piloted a major metamorphosis in my life. Before the lockdown, I led an active life, working about 10-12 hours per day, including weekends. A middle-class slogger, I have rarely taken a holiday or any annual leave in my life, in the last 40 years. I travelled 10-12 days every month on work. Now I am grounded.

Domestic maids are not permitted in our apartments during the lockdown. So, from 10 am to 1 pm I attend to domestic chores. I have learnt to make eggs, boil milk, use a water filter, clean dishes, sweep, mop floors, wash and dry clothes. I can even make decent yoghurt.

After lunch, from 2 pm to 8.30 pm, I attend to my professional work. My consulting firm specialises in marketing and distribution strategy. Prior to the lockdown, I travelled to countries from Nigeria and Brazil, to Yemen and Singapore studying urban and rural markets. Now, I provide services from my home. However, my billings have plummeted. I wonder what the future holds for professionals like me.

My home was always my base camp prior to the lockdown. I came home from office to eat, refresh, sleep, wash, etc., to fight another day in the office. Now, my home is a base camp and an operations theatre.

So, I have converted my dining room, which has a large table, into my office. The room has laptops, monitors and TV screens. I keep the TV news perpetually on, hoping for a vaccine to be discovered. I am petrified that Covid-19 could dislocate the world order.

Living alone, without maids, is an exacting experience. The key angst is that I am unable to maintain the requisite levels of cleanliness in my home. I suffer from spondylitis and have to wear a soft collar around my neck most of the day and sometimes even in the night, if there is inordinate pain. So, the dusting gets neglected.

Cleaning the dishes, twice every day, is also a dreaded chore. I have become an expert on which scouring powder or detergent is best for cleaning dishes. Pots and pans are the most painful to clean, since scrubbing the edges to make the grease vanish, consumes inordinate time and effort.

Normally, when we dine our tables are adorned with spoons, forks and knives. We barely notice these tiny steel creatures, which facilitate our dining. It is only when you rinse the cutlery later, you realise the attention required to make each tine sparkle again.

However, these are frivolous frustrations. I am fortunate, in having a home and food to eat. Millions of migrant workers have lost livelihoods. Sometimes, I feel alone. Then I go and spend some time in my father’s room, in my house. He passed away at the age of 96, three years ago. I have maintained his room as it was, including his toiletries in his bathroom. Many

WIN WE WILL, BUT HOW FAR AWAY IS OUR VICTORY? THE QUESTION HAUNTS AND KEEP ME AWAKE IN THESE DARK NIGHTS

years ago, in 1987, when I went through a gut-tearing time in my life, he had hand written a brief note to me, “Show Courage and Confidence, Not Weakness.� I have framed the pithy note of six words. So, when I feel a bit despondent, I read his message. Then, I feel invigorated.

I have always loved my home deeply. Life was kind to me. I worked for three decades with Unilever in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Whilst working and travelling in many countries like Brazil, Colombia, Tanzania, Kenya, Dubai, etc., I had the opportunities of buying paintings, local handicrafts, etc., made by the deft fingers of the talented local people. So, I had made my home my haven, overflowing with heartwarming memories. During the lockdown, I have come to cherish my home even more.

I keep in touch with my brother three times daily on Facetime. He sends me home-cooked meals, when he can find a courier. Those are good days. I elongate a single meal, over two days, just to enjoy the joys of wholesome Indian food.

I made a list of all the people who had made any contribution to my life. I contacted all them to thank them for whatever they did for me, even 50 years ago. So, the lockdown helped me refresh my relationships. I also made a list of people who I thought had bowled me “bouncers� sometime in my life. I decided, let bygones be bygones, and telephoned each one to enquire about them and their families.

However, deep in the nights, I keep awake and wonder, when will this crisis end and how? Most countries are gradually easing lockdown restrictions. However, Covid-19 cases are yet spiralling. The vaccines are at least a year away.

The remedy for Covid-19 is yet a bridge too far. What if the disease goes wildfire? It is tough to enforce social distancing in the crowded slums in Sao Paulo, Caracas, Nairobi or Mumbai.

Nations need to re-ignite their economies, because if they do not, some governments may go bankrupt. How will nations balance their financial compulsions with ensuring Covid-19 protocols amongst people?

The world has never faced a crisis of this nature and magnitude. Our only response to this virus onslaught is physical, stay away from each other, don masks, use sanitisers, etc.

A medical response, in the form of appropriate medicines and a vaccine are yet absent. We fight an invisible virus, travelling and attacking at free will. This virus is transmuting social human beings into solitary souls and fostering narcissism.

In the movie “Out of Africa�, when Karen’s coffee farm burns in the middle of the night, her trusted Kenyan houseboy Juma, awakens her and announces, “I think that God is coming.� I hope this time God will come to douse the fires of anguish consuming so many of us on this earth.

Win we will, but how far away is our victory? The question haunts and keep me awake in these dark nights.

Aneja was the Managing Director of Unilever Tanzania.

He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and is the author of “Rural Marketing across Countries�

SMES, FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, AND PANDEMIC Small enterprises’ operators should pay attention to the structure of their businesses, writes Timi Olubiyi

G

lobally, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are critical to the development of any economy as they possess great potential for reducing poverty through employment creation and income generation. This sector also improves innovation, local technology, output diversification, development of indigenous entrepreneurship and forward integration with large-scale industries. Further to this, in Nigeria, many people work for these small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for subsistence. Therefore, the importance of SMEs is well recognized and documented in Nigeria.

Regardless of the significant contribution to the economy, SMEs’ survival rate is significantly lower than that of large corporations.

Unfortunately, SMEs in Nigeria have underperformed over the years. However, these SMEs in Nigeria constitute more than 90% of the businesses around, their contribution to the nation’s GDP is below 10% according to recent data. Empirical evidence shows that finance contributes about 25% to the success of SMEs, and one of the key issues attributed to nonperformance is lack of access to funds.

Having access to finance gives SMEs the chance to develop their businesses and acquire better technologies for production, therefore ensuring their competitiveness. However, funding has remained one of the key SME internal issues that confront most enterprises in Nigeria today.

SMEs in Nigeria face the financing gap, and this restricts their economic prosperity. Consequently, the lack of external finance availability for SMEs is the focus of this article.

Recall, Small and Medium Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) is the Nigerian government’s institution to develop the SME sector. The agency provides insights into the definition of small businesses based on the number of employees. The agency defined small and medium enterprises as a business employing 1 to 200 persons. Therefore, in the context of this article, this definition is relied upon. The SME Sector in Nigeria is bedeviled

with many challenges. Among these, a shortage of finance occupies a very central position. The economic and funding importance of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is well recognized in academic and policy literature and also evident globally. Access to financing for these SMEs remains severely constrained, restricting their business growth.

Small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs outnumber large companies by a wide margin and also employ many more people. For example, Australian SMEs m...

For several reasons, large firms may have a comparative advantage over SMEs because of business structure, credibility in the market and easy access to funding. The limited access to financing by SMEs usually impedes their productivity and growth. Evidently, SMEs face credit discrimination from banks because of opacity, lack of structure and it is quite common that these SMEs do not have in place audited financial statements. For these reasons and more, it is usually difficult for SMEs to show credit quality to banks and other financial institutions. So, SMEs constantly experience financial constraints, and they experience more stringent credit terms than the large companies, which are seen to be less risky.

Access to finance can give SMEs the chance to develop their businesses seamlessly and acquire better technologies for production, therefore ensuring their competitiveness.

However, funding has remained one of the key SME internal issues that keep confronting most enterprises in Nigeria today. To substantiate this perennial issue, an opinion poll was conducted on SMEs in Lagos State - (computer village Ikeja, Alaba international market and some market associations (Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers-ASPAMDA and Balogun Business Association). The findings also revealed one of the main constraints faced by SMEs to be lack of access to finance. Typically, most of the respondents cited funding and access to finance as the most important constraint. About 79% of small firms cited a lack of finance and

access to financing as the main constraint to their business growth. That means only 21% of them have access to required funding for the development of their businesses, and this crucial enabling factor is difficult for SMEs to access. Consequently, the access to the necessary financing or credit required to expand and continue to perform the business operation, growth, innovation and employment will be affected greatly.

Banks and credit institutions perceive SMEs in Nigeria as risky structures: not very resilient, fragile in terms of activity, solvency and management. Context observation also revealed that many banks do not have specialized products targeted at SMEs, particularly startups and micro-businesses in Nigeria. The absence is due to the banks’ reluctancy to lend funds to startup firms, as it is found that these younger firms’ survival rates are lower than the established large firms. The opinion poll conducted also indicated that constraints are larger for SMEs in relation to larger firms due to inadequate assets for use as security or collateral. From the opinion poll, it was further gathered that a very high-interest rate is one of the most significant barriers for small businesses to access funding.

SMEs are discouraged from taking loans from banks, as they cannot agree with the loans’ price. Because it will only increase their debt burden, and that can negatively affect the value of the businesses. Other factors discovered that affect the access to finance for SMEs are cumbersome application procedures, short loan maturities, collateral requirements and the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has drastically changed the lender characteristics, among others. The COVID-19 has had devastating economic effects on the world, and countries are experiencing a decline in economic output.

Majorly SMEs have been hard hit in Nigeria with their business continuity severely threatened.

The economic impact of the COVID19 is very high, and perhaps the government might need to consider more pragmatic palliatives

such as social and fiscal policy palliatives targeted at SMEs. These include providing more low-interest credit facilities and tax breaksparticularly cutting taxes to increase disposable income. Most SMEs run their businesses on loan facilities, and the current situation has impeded their capacity to access or service current loans.

Nigeria’s government needs to continually support this significant sector, given its potential growth and poverty reduction opportunities.

Consequently, interventions and policy responses to promote access to finance for these SMEs are recommended. The key recently released guidelines and requirements to access the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) COVID-19 palliative measures worth N3.5 trillion for businesses, should be relaxed to promote wider eligible participation of SMEs. Those that truly and meaningfully require it might not be able to access it, especially the micro-businesses and small firms, if the current requirement is not reviewed. Besides, government and regulators may take initiatives to reduce the interest rate for SMEs, which can foster the growth of the SMEs and contribute to the economy and (net) employment creation.

From the aforementioned, it is also apparent that SME operators need to pay adequate attention to the structure of their businesses, adopt good corporate governance, prepare a financial statement when due and keep proper records.

The symmetry of information in the companies will strengthen the capacity to access finance for growth. Where necessary, the engagement of knowledgeable professionals can also make a substantial impact on your business operations and give advice on innovative SME financing.

For instance, the capital market can present opportunities and give alternatives to bank lending. Therefore, to achieve the right type of funding for your business, it might be necessary to seek advice or professional guidance. Good luck!

Dr. Olubiyi is an Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management expert

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EDITORIAL

THE FURORE OVER STAMP DUTY Government should put its house in order

I

t is a crying shame that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), both agencies of the federal government, cannot resolve the controversy over collection of stamp duties without public acrimony. With that, a clear statutory function has now been lost in allegations and counter-allegations that have given practical expression to an unhealthy inter-agency rivalry.

Firing the first salvo, Chairman of NIPOST Board, Maimuna Abubakar lamented that the FIRS had stolen her agency’s mandate, arguing that the fiscal authority, which has the primary function of assessing, collecting and accounting for tax accruing to the Nigerian government, had started printing stamps. The FIRS promptly fired back, describing her tweet as ‘indecorous’ aside other broadsides. While NIPOST has doubled down on its claim that the postal agency operates an illegal stamp duties account, PRESIDENT BUHARI Nigerians are not MUST DEAL WITH THE only embarrassed INDISCIPLINE UNDER but befuddled HIS WATCH BY WHICH that government agencies could HEADS OF AGENCIES ARE FIGHTING ONE ANOTHER IN fight dirty in public over funcTHE PUBLIC SPACE tions that should

T H I S DAY

be clearly spelt out. It is particularly regrettable that before the open show of shame nobody in the administration could avert what had started to brew since last year.

Indeed, the open spat between both agencies is another sad commentary on the Buhari administration’s internal conflict resolution capacity. In recent times, there have been shameful altercations between top government agencies and officials over matters that should routinely be resolved in-house. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and the Chairman of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) fought on social media over office space. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Minister of Power squabbled over the sack of

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the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc (NBET). There are many others, including among the security agencies.

In the instant case of NIPOST and the FIRS, it is important to situate why two federal agencies are at daggers-drawn over who controls stamp duty collection. There is no denying the fact that the bickering by top government officials over stamp duty collection is not borne of altruistic motive. It is not about the quest to bolster revenue generation and better the system. It is much more about what accrues to the individual agencies as cost of collection. By the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (2007), revenue generating agencies are entitled to five per cent of generated revenue as cost of collection. Such costs are left to the whims of the agencies and has over the years been subject to abuse.

The federal government is targeting about N1 trillion annually from stamp duty, which is second only to oil revenue. Five per cent cost of collection is princely. This accounts largely for the turf fight among the agencies as to which of them is mandated to collect revenue. Even more worrisome is that audit reports from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation have consistently reported that under the Buhari administration, the number of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) which have failed to subject their activities to audit scrutiny as required by law, is on the increase.

Against the background that the House of Representatives recently lamented the huge loss of federal government revenue due to under-remittances by government agencies, we must condemn this squabble. If the overriding motivation is purely to generate revenue for the government, the agency saddled with the collection is immaterial.

We therefore urge the federal government to find a lasting solution to the current FIRS-NIPOST imbroglio. Beyond that, President Buhari must deal with the indiscipline under his watch by which heads of agencies are fighting one another in the public space. As we have repeatedly admonished, the president should put his house in order.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to speciďŹ c 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.

THE FIVE ‘INSOLVENT’ STATES: THE WAY OUT

n August 24th, 2020, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) raised the alarm over the ‘extremely poor’ Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by state governments. Thus, Katsina, Kebbi, Borno, Bayelsa and Taraba states are declared as ‘insolvent’. Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also indicate many states struggle to generate internal revenues and record a decline in revenue generation.

This is not good for states.

If no creative and feasible measures are taken, these insolvent states may not leapfrog their IGRs, or would further witness a decline in local revenue generation. Most states in Nigeria are battling with dwindling federal allocations, poor innovations on internally generated revenue; bloated workforce and fraud-riddled workers’ payroll.

Generating substantial internal revenue is an important task and policy for any serious government. Thus, it is a critical situation that requires critical measures. State governments should look at ways to generate revenue other than overly depending on the declining federal allocations. The easiest way is through massive IGR. But, once IGR is mentioned, we mostly cast our minds to the old methods of taxation, which unfortunately had histories of corruption and inefficiency, and thus most Nigerians are skeptical of the

taxes and levies of many state administrations.

States can generate new revenues and wealth through levies and taxations, but the governments must move away from the ‘rocket-science’ approach to tax collection.

We must admit that most states do not have flourishing economic activities that are profitable and easy to tax without upsetting common people.

States should introduce a modified system of awarding ‘tax collection rights’ to investment firms. This should be modeled according to each state’s economy, culture, needs and environment. For example, a state government can enter into an agreement with a firm to give the state government monies in advance for taxes from a certain sector, while the firm would then subsequently collect the money by operating as a tax agent for the state, through the famous tax auction systems. For example, if it is projected that state ‘A’ revenues from taxes, buses and lorry services in a certain local council can generate one million naira a month, an innovative investment firm could agree to give a state government about N800,000 in advance. Then the firm will collect these taxes in the local council for that particular month. This type of arrangement can be implemented across sectors of the economy of the state using what operation researchers call the ‘reductionistic’ approach,

whether monthly, quarterly or on yearly basis.

A good investment firm will make the tax collection efficient and fair by reaching agreements with taxpayers on how to pay and enjoy the incentives around this too.

This type of arrangement can assist the state to have tax efficiency and tax fairness, and the governments will relieve itself from the burden of tax collection and would have the needed revenues in advance (which could be up to a 10-year advance payment). It would also generate thousands of jobs, while government tax officers would be kept very busy in the area of regulations.

We must also remind ourselves that many of us including government officials misunderstood or rather misapply the use of consultants. The consultant’s major task is to support the government with specific areas.

Consultants are mainly catalysts for innovation and invention – they are simply the resource and the facilitator in tax administration. The leadership and ownership of the process still remains the government officials.

Land use charges are important instrument in revenue generation for government. State governments should cash-in in that area.

Most state, especially in the north, should entirely overhaul and simplify the land title registration, ownership of Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) and documentation of all land transactions. Geographic Information

System should also be setup or resuscitated and introduce a seamless payment process for the land use charge as well as eliminate all multiple taxations. Kaduna State is handsomely generating IGR from this.

Apart from innovations in the collection of taxes, states can look into leveraging on the assets they have. There are thousands of unserviceable vehicles, farm implements and many types of electrical equipment.

Governments can make money by auctioning such items. Furthermore, many states have some under-utilized buildings – completed and uncompleted, fenced and unfenced plots of land (e.g. the liaison and guest houses in Abuja, Kaduna and Lagos). These assets are commercially viable. They can be leased or sold. Funds can be generated from these arrangements. In addition, the state can discuss with CBN and other financial hubs – there are billions of ‘free’ and ‘soft’ monies in Nigeria and in the international arena. A state governor that understands these and the working of the international institution would be added advantage to a state. That’s why I admire polished individuals like Nuruddeen Muhammad as governors of a state- they are in the know of the local needs and very familiar with the operations and politics of the Bretton Woods Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Aamawa State

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG

POLITICS

Email: nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E

Igbo Presidency in Jeopardy?

Segun James wonders if the political dynamics in the country will favour an Igbo as President of Nigeria

Buhari

Nwodo

Okorocha

Ngige

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In the midst of this call for an Igbo presidency to fulfill one of the creed of the National Anthem that the nation must be a place where peace and justice should reign, the voices of some Igbo youths are calling for the breakup of the Nigerian nation.

Prominent among the proponent of this call is the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and the MASSOB who are strong advocates for a break away nation.

However, in the map created for their new nation, these group of radicals included states like Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta as part of their dream country. But many leading figures from these states have faulted the assumption that they could be part of the proposed Biafra, without a proper understanding of their stake in the proposed Biafra.

After nearly eight years at the helm of Africa’s biggest democracy and economy, President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to hand over the rein of power to a southerner, presumably, an Igbo man in 2023.

By that time, he would have completed his two terms of eight years. This would be in respect of the gentleman’s agreement between the north and the south; and between the two major ethnic nationalities of the south that power must rotate between north and south and between the southwest and the southeast.

This arrangement began in 1999 when the country political leadership agreed to allow for an all-Yoruba candidates in the election that ushered in the Fourth Republic in compensation and to assuage the feelings of the Yoruba people for their loss occasioned by the nullification of the June 12 election presumably won by Chief Moshood Abiola.

At the end of the eight years reign of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and even

the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) acceded that power must move to the north, hence both parties fielded northern candidates, an action which saw the emergence of Alhaji Umar Yar ’Adua of the PDP as president.

But things soon changed following the death of Yar’Adua. His deputy, a southern minority, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan took over to complete Yar ’Adua’s tenure. But in a order to assuage the feeling of loss felt by the north and respect the gentleman’s agreement, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the successor of the ACN fielded Buhari as its candidate in 2015 and he won.

For most of the 2000s and the following five years, it seemed almost inevitable that the nation would become more integrated and borders even less bothersome. That was the dream that the coming of the Fourth Republic represents with the people. And that was the situation until the coming of Buhari. The reality has never been more nuanced.

Today he is on the last lap of his tenure.

It is at this point that things are beginning to take a new dimension as power is expected to move to the south, and more particularly, the South east which has never had a shot at the presidency.

Not original, but certainly visionary, the plan to rotate the presidency between the north and south has helped to stabilize not only the polity, but the nation from falling into crisis. No people want to be under the subjugation of another forever.

This was the reason for the break up of India, Ethiopia and the Sudan, and why the former Yugoslavia broke into many nations. It is also why the Scots want to break from the United Kingdom and the Catalans from Spain.

To escape this, Nigeria created a system for themselves - quota system, which has helped to stabilized the polity. But with

the obvious abuse of the system in the last five years, the call for a breakup of the nation has become very strident.

When Mamman Daura, one of Buhari’s close allies suggested that the north would no longer respect the sacred political arrangement put in place by the nation’s leadership, he failed to realize that within the zoning formula, no party of the country can go it alone.

There is no doubt that the foremost challenge is political. Nigeria is a complex country. In the midst of these complexities, one reality is clear. No zone can go it alone when it comes to the producing the next president.

In the First Republic, it is true that the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) was favoured by the British colonial overlords to win the prime ministership. But they never could muster a majority.

Combined, the Southwest and the Southeast along with minority groups held more seat in the federal parliament. The NPC was forced to go into alliance with NCNC to form a government. If the leadership of the Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe led NCNC and Chief Obafemi Awolowo led Action Group (AG) had bonded together, they would have upstaged the NPC. That was the situation when the military struck.

In 1979, when the Second Republic was ushered in, no party in the country could go it all alone or unilaterally decide where power will swing. Although Alhaji Shehu Shagari won the presidency no doubt, but without the support and alliance with the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP), governing Nigeria would have been difficult even though he won majority votes over Chief Awolowo. If the votes of NPP and the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) were added together, it was more than that of Shagari’s National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

So Shagari had no choice but to negotiate with the NPP. The NPN had to concede the Speakership of the House of Representatives to NPP’s Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke with four ministerial positions to have a smooth sail into government.

Before the collapse of the Second Republic, the NPN wanted to do it alone.

Instead of negotiating with other ethnic nationalities, the Fulani leadership of the party chose to call the short singly; telling southern political leaders not to dare contest.

They chose to regionalism or personalize their victory, forgetting that it was a pan-Nigerian mandate. Because there was no longer a broad collision, they were forced to engage in rigging with the claim that they have won the 1983 election by a landslide.

They never survived it as the military

he call for Igbo presidency has become more strident in recent times. The agitation continues to receive a boost from eminent Igbos including the President General of the Igbo sociocultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. John Nwodo, even as there are dissenting views from equally influential Igbos.

Nwodo said that the raging debate over power shift and the argument for competence against zoning as self-serving, and not sustainable in the face of the electoral history of the country.

He contended that it was denigrating to talk of competence as a criterion for choosing the president in 2023 when it’s the turn of the South-east to take a shot at the presidency.

“Those calling for competence as a yardstick for choosing leaders of this country rather than the agreed zoning system are not sincere to themselves. Their agitations for competency shows they do not believe in the competence of Nigerians from the various zones of the country.

“I am confident that we have competent people in different zones of the country and the Easterners, whose turn it is to produce the next president of the country in 2023, have a lot of competent people that can rule our great country Nigeria. If the Easterners are given their rightful chance, Nigeria as a country will smile again. The restructuring we are talking about is to make state governments independent of the federal government in terms of control of natural resources in the state.

“Nigeria must develop its agricultural sector and should be able to export products out of her plenty cassava produce.

The idea of importing virtually everything should be discouraged. We have cattle in abundance in Nigeria yet we still import milk, we have cassava in abundance and we still import flour. In today’s digital technology era, there are growth opportunities for agriculture, solar power and we are not exploring the opportunities around them.”

Over five decades after the end of the civil war, sectarian violence and drums of war are beating in Nigeria again with loud and worrisome echoes.

For an overarching explanation of what has gone wrong in Nigeria, a doctrine of trust is a good place to start. Trust can be defined as the expectation that other people will act in ways that are fair to you. That is what is now lost in the polity with other parts of the country refusing to respect the gentleman’s agreement reached when it came to the turn of the Igbo to produce the next president of the federal republic.

Okorocha, insisted that there is nothing called Igbo Presidency in Nigeria, adding that what we have is a Nigerian Presidency or Nigerian President of Igbo extraction. Okorocha, who represents Imo North senatorial district at the National Assembly said it is possible for an Igbo man to become President in 2023. He said, “Absolutely, democracy is about the people and the South East is not on its own

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020

MONDAY DISCOURSE

Anyanwu

Abubakar

Jonathan

Obasanjo

struck bringing catastrophic consequences as demonstrated by the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha.

For longer than most Nigerians have been alive, the military have had influence over the polity. The third republic was decreed into existence with two parties - the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Congress (NRC)

by General Ibrahim Babangida. After the June 12 election, some people were not comfortable that Chief Moshood Abiola of the SDP supposedly won that election.

Perhaps they felt that the presidency is the birthright of their region. The election was annulled. They again attempted to impose their will on other Nigerians. It failed terribly.

When they tried to put a Yorubaman, Chief Ernest Shonekan into position as a puppet, it led to a devastating consequence.

The bottom line of it all is that nobody can sit down somewhere and determine who will run the country and where its leadership must come from, without taking the people along.

The stormy relations within the polity has been high throughout the Buhari administration. So far, some politicians, particularly from the south and the middle belt are already looking beyond the Buhari years; even though he is yet to complete his second term.

They are not expecting any radical change in the way things are handled and the way the president sees things from a sectarian and religious point of view. Instead, they want to see how a minority ethnic nationally will continue impose its will on the rest of the country.

Presidency or Nigerian President of Igbo extraction. Okorocha, who represents Imo North senatorial district at the National Assembly said it is possible for an Igbo man to become President in 2023.

He said, “Absolutely, democracy is about the people and the South East is not on its own. It is part and parcel of this country. And it is possible. I don’t think that there is anything called Igbo Presidency in Nigeria. We don’t have any of such nomenclature as Igbo Presidency.

What you have is a Nigerian Presidency or Nigerian President. What you will be asking would be what do you make of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction. I think that is the question you are asking.

That is the question.

“Absolutely, democracy is about the people and the South East is not on its own. It is part and parcel of this country.

And it is possible. But it is possible with supports of other states and other ethnic groups. There is nothing wrong with anyone contesting elections for the office of the President, Republic of Nigeria. But we have come to a very crucial moment in our nation’s political history to say that sentiments of where you come from should not determine the position you hold in this country. Rather, we should start looking for people that have something upstairs and who can afford to bring about development and the dividends of democracy in this country.

“You have a lot of them in Igbo land.

There are many of them who can do that.

So, you cannot just be a president because you want to be a president.

“If you want to be a president because you can guarantee security in this country, you can bring about harmonious corelationship among the various ethnic groups in this country; and then you can put food on the table for the common man and create jobs for the youth of this country.

“This is what should be the criteria for the Nigerian President and not where you come from. Over the years, we have been in this tradition of where you come from as a determinant of what position you hold and that has not given us the best results.

“And so, we must grow above that

and begin to think of people who have the capacity, the capability to handle the affairs of this nation and make it a giant of Africa that it should be.

“If it is on that note, I agree with everybody that we need a Nigerian President, but he is and should be for all Nigerians.

“The other challenge is that most of the time, we have allowed our primordial sentiments to control the political atmosphere of this country and that has not yielded the positive results. I must say at this point in time, let us look for credible people, let us look for somebody, at whatever level.

“Be it at the local government level, senatorial or be it at the governorship level. Let the people that have the capacity and can create jobs, handle the affairs of this country. That is what I believe in.”

Leading Igbo caucus members of the APC like Senator Rochas Okorocha who has never hidden his intention to take a shot at the presidency will find it difficult to sell a different narrative from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) assertion that the APC hates Igbos.

Meanwhile, a high-powered All Progressives Congress, APC, South-East leadership, comprising the five Ministers from the region, a former Senate President and member of the National Caretaker Committee of the party, Dr. Ken Namanni, and Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, rose from a meeting at the Government House, Owerri, and resolved to present an impregnable and united front ahead of 2023.

They also resolved to support President Muhammadu Buhari and collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that the people of the South-East derive maximum benefits from the centre. Uzodinma, who briefed newsmen after the meeting, disclosed that the leaders were more than committed to work harmoniously with the Federal Government for the overall benefit of Ndigbo.

The ministers at the meeting were Minister of State for Education, Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba; Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige; Dr Ogbonaya Onu, Minister of Technology; Mr. Uche Uga, Minister of State for Mines and Steel, Development, and Geoffery Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs. According to the Imo governor, the leaders were more than committed towards strengthening the APC in the zone so as to make it a party of choice for Ndigbo. He disclosed that Imo is the gateway of APC to the South-East, adding that the ultimate goal of the leaders was to ensure that the people of the five states of the region derive maximum benefits from the Federal Government.

“We need to re-examine our alliance strategies and see for ourselves which alliance trend has paid the South-East more: The first and second republics’ alliances we had or the ones we are having in this third republic”, the governor said.

Nnamani, on his part, said the choice of Owerri for the meeting was strategic because, as the only APC state in the region, Imo provides the launching pad for the APC in the South-East. According to him, the leaders came to show solidarity with the only governor the party has in the region and to congratulate him for making the APC proud through his laudable projects. Ngige assured the people of the South-East that those of them in the federal cabinet were alert to their duties and that everything due to the people of the region will get to them.

Over the next two and half years,the nation faces two challenges in relationship between the various ethnic nationalities tribalism and religion. First and foremost, is the need to see beyond one’s ethnicity and secondly, the need to see beyond religious sentiment. These two have been the bane of the nation’s sociopolitical advancement.

As 2023 approaches, Nigeria will enter the period of break or win in its political life. The political situation in the country will be more tense and tolerance will be tested to the very limit of endurance.

Atiku Abubakar’s Challenge Adamu Atiku-Abubakar, son of the Presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 Presidential election, in a bombshell interview said that his father, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will contest for the number office, come 2023. This is coming despite the support that the Igbo had given his father.

Adamu who is the commissioner for Works and Energy in the administration of Governor Ahmadu Finitiri in Adamawa state made it clear that “personally, I don’t see anything wrong with my father contesting for the presidency. In 2023, my father will be aspiring to the number one office in the land because he has been an astute, strategic, master politician for almost four decades.”

Atiku has contested for the number position five times already and lost each time.

He is now seen as a serial candidate. If he contests, especially in the southeast, he would be going against his most ardent supporters so far in his political bid.

But as contentious as the Atiku ambition may be, and as controversial as the position of presidential cousin, Mallam Mamman Daura may sound, it has support from the immediate past Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha who has said that come 2023, Nigerian must go for someone who has the capacity to create jobs, handle the affairs of the country and provide security.

Okorocha, insisted that there is nothing called Igbo Presidency in Nigeria, adding that what we have is a Nigerian

Igbo Reaction In his own reaction, a leader of the APC in the Southeast, Chief Longers Anyanwu believes that one of the ways to fast forward the Igbo presidential dream and give the people from the zone a sense of belonging in the ruling party is to allow the region produce the next chairman of the party.

“In contention also for the office National Chairman is the Southeast region, where the party is eager to make an impression.

A key partner in the APC was the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), led by Chief Ogbonaya Onu, the Science and Technology Minister. With the surprise emergence of Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State flying the APC flag, the Southeast region is ready to stake all it has to occupy the top office in the party.

“It is believed that there will be a dramatic acceptance of the APC by the people of the Southeast in 2023, particularly if the President is able to deliver the Second Niger Bridge before the election year.”

He stressed that the proponents of a Southeast APC National Chairman are hoping that the President can persuade Labour and Employment Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige to exit the Federal Executive Council to serve as National Chairman of the APC. The snag, however, is that the position will automatically halt the quest for an Igbo presidential ticket in the APC.

Prominent among the proponent of this call is the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and the MASSOB who are strong advocates for a break away nation. However, in the map created for their new nation, these group of radicals included states like Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta as part of their dream country. But many leading figures from these states have faulted the assumption that they could be part of the proposed Biafra, without a proper understanding of their stake in the proposed Biafra

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

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FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 08038901925

Fight Against Human TrafďŹ cking in Edo Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that in tackling the menace of human trafficking in Edo State while rehabilitating and reintegrating those rescued, Governor Godwin Obaseki is restoring dignity to the vulnerable and abused

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki (right) comforting one of the victims of human traďŹƒcking

Governor Obaseki (4th from right), with victims of human traďŹƒcking who beneďŹ tted from the Edo State government’s empowerment programme at a forum organised by the Edo State Taskforce Against Human TraďŹƒcking (ETAHT), in Benin City, Edo State capital

Governor Obaseki (3rd from left), with victims of human traďŹƒcking, in Benin City, Edo State capital

B

uilding societies can very well be about setting the brick and mortar, building critical infrastructure to drive growth.

But much more than that, it is also about creating a society that has a soul, that feels and breathes life and solves its problem as it rides up the ladder of progress.

In the last three years and nine months that the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led government has held sway in Edo State, it has sought and found the soul of state, restoring the dignity of people who were neglected for years were caused to make hard choices because of bad governance foisted on them by previous governments that had neglected its core functions for other pecuniary gains.

This is made evident in Governor Obaseki’s reintegration and rehabilitation programme for returnees,many of whom were stranded in Libya, European countries and other parts of Africa.

At least well over 6,000 returnees have been received by the state government. On arrival, the returnees were provided with initial accommodation before reintegrating with their families, while others found solace in the entrepreneurship and farm initiatives of the state government.

To set the ground work for this and working in collaboration with the Oba of Benin palace, the governor set up the Edo State Taskforce Against Human Trafficking (ETAHT) enabled by the Edo State Trafficking in persons Prohibition Law (2018), which provides an effective and comprehensive legal and institutional framework for the prohibition, prevention, detection, prosecution and punishment of human trafficking and related offenses in Edo State.

On August 15, the state government received and reintegrated 18 indigenes of the state, made up of 17 young girls and a year-old male child, who were stranded in Mali. This was in addition to the over 5,000 returnees that were received from Libya alone between 2017 and date.

In ensuring that the returnees were fully reintegrated into the society and kept busy, the state government in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) opened a pineapple factory operated by a business cooperative, consisting of returnees and unemployed youth, and the private sector.

It is part of the IOM’s integrated approach to sustainable reintegration.

The facility employed 42 Nigerian returnees and local youth. Those employed at the fac-

tory received technical and vocational training under a project funded by GIZ. It’s the first community-based reintegration project to launch in Nigeria and, besides the direct hires, will benefit 250 individuals, their families, as well as farmer associations and residents of Iguobazuwa, Edo State.

In addition to the pineapple processing factory, another cassava factory was launched in the town of Ehor, Edo State, providing job opportunities for 25 returning migrants and youth, and indirectly benefiting 150 individuals in the community.

The plant aims at involving returning migrants in income-generating activities together with their home communities, to promote inclusive local development while also reducing socioeconomic challenges.

Since April 2017, some 16,102 stranded migrants, including 1,200 victims of trafficking, have voluntarily returned to Nigeria as part of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration. Thirty-five per cent of these returnees cite better employment opportunities as their main reason for leaving.

Community-based reintegration complements the existing individual and collective reintegration modalities and addresses the structural issues of unemployment and social cohesion in the country.

Receiving the latest batch of returnees on arrival in Benin City, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof Yinka Omorogbe, said the returnees comprised irregular migrants and victims of human trafficking.

Omorogbe said the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration has in the last three years and eight months stemmed the scourge of illegal migration through massive investment in the education sector, in addition to creating various empowerment programmes for the youths.

According to her, “we have just received 18 Malian returnees into the state. These are girls that were trafficked out of Nigeria to Mali where they were rescued. They spent some months with the High Commission in Mali before being transported back to Nigeria. “A plane-load of girls arrived in Nigeria from Mali; among these people are 18 persons; including 17 young girls and a baby boy that is either from Edo State or reside in the state.�

The commissioner reassured the commitment of the state government to the welfare and wellbeing

Governor Obaseki (right) presenting a certiďŹ cate to one of the victims of human traďŹƒcking during the graduation ceremony for 150 victims of human traďŹƒcking who were trained on agribusiness, in Benin City of the returnees, noting that over the years the government has ensured the rehabilitation and reintegration of the returnees by assisting them to acquire skills through training and retraining programmes as well as the provision of loans and payment of stipends for start-ups.

She added: “The Edo State Task Force Against Human Trafficking, as usual, brought them back to Benin. Ever since we started operations in early November 2017, the task force has been on the ground to receive every Edo indigene brought back into the country. “These people just returned and we have taken and stored their information in our database; they will be incorporated into our numerous programmes initiated by the Obaseki-led administration to make them independent and employable.� “So, as they have just arrived, we will be seeing to their needs. We have been seeing to their basic medical needs; they have been profiled and we will ensure that they are fully reintegrated into the society,� the commissioner added.

Coincidentally, Omorogbe, who is also the Chairman of Edo State Taskforce Against Human Trafficking (ETAHT), had earlier disclosed that the Governor Obaseki-led government has so far spent N300million for the upkeep of the returnees and other logistics within the period, adding that the achievements have corrected the wrong perception earlier held by the international community about Edo State. “Our efforts in Edo State have been acknowledged internationally. If you look at the trafficking in persons before 2019, you will realise that copious references were being made to Edo State and there is no doubt that this was the reason the state in that report was upgraded because they saw our great efforts and they realised the different things being done in the state,� she added.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr Crusoe Osagie, recently gave the state government’s assurances that the permanent shelters being constructed to accommodate returnee Edo indigenes, who were trapped abroad as victims of human trafficking and irregular migration, will strengthen the state government’s rehabilitation and reintegration programme.

Osagie said the facilities would enable the state government fast-track short, medium and long-term objectives of rehabilitating and

reintegrating the returnees.

He noted that the shelters would support the state government’s far-reaching approach to providing support for returnees, which includes medical screening, payment of stipends, capacity building and provision of starter-packs, reunion with families and regular monitoring and follow-ups.

A Professor of History and International Studies, who is also Dean of Students’ Affairs at the University of Benin, Benson Osadolor, had also recently called for national policy intervention, youth civic engagement, and mind management for creativity as effective measures to address youth migration.

It is in furtherance of this that the state government sought the partnership of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to provide succour to returnees from Europe who are indigenes of the state. Governor Obaseki had specifically requested the NIS to provide accurate statistics of returnees to enable the state plan effectively.

A beneficiary and returnee from Libya, Rescue Esosa, said she was glad to return home and reintegrated into the society. “I am glad to return home and start my life again in Nigeria after all the troubles I went through in Libya in search of greener pastures.

The pain and experience I went through in trying to cross over to Italy were unbearable. I lost my friends to the desert and some at sea.

I’d rather stay and invest in my country than risk my life in the hands of smugglers. I am glad to have something doing now,� she said.

A physically challenged returnee from Libya, who has established a tailoring outfit in Benin City, Frank Obeahon, also recalled that people travel out due to lack of jobs.

He, however, said getting something to do in one’s father's land was better than traveling abroad because some people die in the process of trying to migrate illegally. “The truth is that people consider traveling out of the frustration they are facing in the country.

If they are engaged through employment, a lot of people will jettison the idea of traveling out for greener pastures. Traveling through these routes is an issue of life and death and the chances of getting to the destination are 50-50 because a lot of people die in the process,� he said.

Other states could key into the initiatives of the Edo State government to cushion the sufferings of Nigeria returnees from abroad.

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T H I S D AY Ëž AUGUST 31, 2020

FEATURES

Spotlight on Dormant Baro Port King Akan, who recently visited Baro Port in Minna, Niger State, writes that despite the economic benefits it represent, the inland port remains dormant

A wooden bridge on the way to Baro Port

An old warehouse at Baro Port

Railway station U-turn

Baro Port

A

pproximately four hours from Minna town in Niger State, lies Baro Port, a national treasure lying dormant for years due to neglect.

Located at the Agaie Local Government Area of Niger State, Baro Port was the first inland port in the country, which catered for water transportation to and from Northern Nigeria. It is also the seaport where the first Governor-General of Nigeria, Sir Fredrick Lugard, disembarked prior to the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates in 1914 after voyaging from the South. Several years later, a rail line was also attached to it.

In its hay days, it was a commercially viable port which enhanced trade relations between the North and the South, as well as the West.

However, the port has suffered from a steady decline caused by a dearth of operation since the late 1960s.

In 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned Baro Port to the delight of the community. That memorable ceremony fuelled the hopes and expectations of the people of Baro Town. But it has been over a year and seven months. With no cargo lifted, no vessel berthed, no work done to restore the port to functional status since the ceremony, it has become a major cause for concern to the people.

In retrospect, the fact that the president commissioned the port a few weeks to the 2019 general elections looks like a strategic electioneering move rather than a response to the cries of the people.

On August 15, 2020, a delegation of lawmakers from Niger South Senatorial District of Niger State, led by Senator Mohammed Bima Enagi, visited Baro Port for an inspection exercise. The lawmakers also engaged with the management of the port to understand their challenges and chart a way forward to facilitate its operation.

The lawmakers called on the federal government to ensure the completion of Baro Port. They also advised that the federal government include the project on its list of projects funded through its Sovereign Wealth Fund. Speaking at the press conference, Senator Enagi expressed the concerns of the Baro community. “This project has been in the works for about two decades. It was designed in the 90s by PTF, contracts were awarded in 2009, re-awarded in

2013 and 2016, yet the aim has not been achieved. “As Federal and State legislators and Council Chairmen from Niger South, where Baro Port is located, we are pleading with the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, see to the completion of every component of this project, so that Baro port can become operational,� he said.

Also speaking, the Executive Chairman, Agaie Local Government Council, Niger State, Captain Hassan Mohammed (Rtd), added that it was necessary for the federal government to get the port working again because of its economic benefits to the country, stating that, “the port serves the whole of Northern Nigeria as the only outlet to the Western world. Here we used to have very efficient economic activities; groundnut, cottons, hides and skins were all shipped from the far North through Baro to present day Delta State and to the western world. Today it is no more there.�

He added that: “against the backdrop of the high rate of lack of job opportunities in the country, it is projected to bring about thousands of direct and indirect jobs.� He also attributed lack of political will and communication as the major factors hindering the progress of the project, which he said, “may be due to economic downturn�.

Before the inspection, the delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Emir of Agaie, Alhaji Yusuf Nuhu, at his palace, to pay their respects. Lamenting on the sorry state of Baro Port, Alhaji Nuhu disclosed that in years past, during the times of the colonial masters, Baro Port was a busy port but now "a shadow of its old self." The Emir also lauded the lawmakers for their efforts to ensure the restoration of the port to its glory day.

During a town hall meeting, which held after the inspection of the port, the group commended President Buhari for his interest in the project considering its neglect by past governments barring the Yar-Adua administration which awarded over N5.8 billion to Chinese firm, CGCC Project Limited in 2012 to deliver the port. “We commend President Buhari for making this project dear to his heart. This project is so dear to our President, hence he saw to its design while he was the Chairman of the Petroleum Task Force (PTF) in the 90s. As President, he promptly awarded contracts for its modernisation and other of its components. We appeal to him to see that this project is completed before the end of his

tenure. By 2023 we should see this port very functional.�

The Baro Port situation can be termed a blind one. Reminiscent of a time when former President Goodluck Jonathan visited the THISDAY Newspapers office in Abuja after the 2012 bomb blast. Before his arrival, security personnel had driven the traders and hawkers around the area and ordered people to pick items littering the road leading to the office. After this exercise which lasted a few minutes, what was left and what former President Goodluck Jontathan met was a clean and serene street like a deserted island. The neighbourhood had never looked that neat before.

Like Jonathan, President Buhari’s arrival to Baro Port on a helicopter deprived him of the true realities of the situation of Baro Port. Not that it will be advisable for the President to visit Baro Port by road, which is a long stretch of undulating road in poor state, capable of assisting the delivery of a pregnant woman due for delivery commuting, from the incessant wobbling on the road. The four hour drive from Minna town paints the whole picture. Adding to the poor state of the road are several bridges; some made of entirely wood, some container bridges, a dangerous site to behold.

In reality, for the port to be fully functional, several infrastructures must be put in place. An opinion shared by the Port Manager, Baro Port, Engineer Bamidele Toluwase. “For the project to be successful, roads and rail lines have to be completed. Without these infrastructures, no meaningful operations would begin here,� he said.

This is not only apt but true, lack of accessible roads are stalling the port from operating. Accessible roads as well as rail lines need to be constructed to ensure a successful commencement of operations at the port. Even if the port were to be completed before the roads are made accessible, the cost of transportation of goods will be high due to the poor state of the road leading to the port. “There is no point building a port that is about N10bn worth and then there is no road network, how do you take goods out of here? The railway line is not functioning, the road is not functioning, so will you bring your goods here and dump?�

Captain Hassan concurred.

He disclosed that a 52km road construction

was awarded six years ago but only 10km has been executed till date. He also recommended maintenance dredging of the Lower River Niger, construction or rehabilitation of the Lambata-Bida, Agaie-Katcha-Baro and Baro-Abaji roads (linking to the port), and reconstruction and modernisation of the Baro Port rail network for the port to become optimally operational.

It will be no mean feat to bring the project to a reality, but when completed, the economic benefits of Baro Port are numerous. It served and can still serve as the bridge between the North and South in a commercial sense.

Baro Port has expansion potential in terms of tourism and hospitality. It houses relics of the colonial masters and companies like the popular Royal Niger Company, the most popular been the Lord Lugard House. When the port is fully operational, it won’t be surprising to see a plethora of hotels and hospitality outlets spring up in the area. If well exploited, it could become a revenue generator for Niger State and the country as a whole.

Water transport business is another potential money spinner to be realised from the Baro Port project. Ferry services, barge container services, inland mail services, the list is endless. Additional income can also be generated through boat club/ yacht club subscriptions, water games, cargo handling services, fisheries development and ship repair services. And who says the Baro community can’t have their own fishing or water sports festival?

A festival will in turn attract sponsorship and more attention to the state.

Commencement of operations at Baro Port will definitely improve security in the community. It is sad that from Minna town to Baro Town there is a paucity of police check points, making it an easy target for kidnappers and armed robbers.

With its array of economic benefits, it is puzzling to say the least that whatever the colonial masters saw that encouraged them to set up a port at Baro, we Nigerians cannot see.

It is axiomatic that the completion of Baro Port will boost the Nigerian economy in more ways than one. But there have been several failed attempts by well meaning Nigerians in the past to get the attention of the federal government to revive the port, which suggests that the Baro Port jinx is far from being broken.

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MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 •T H I S D AY

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BUSINESSWORLD

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Quick Takes ACCI Lauds Adesina’s Reelection

COURTESYVISIT

L-R: Administrator Lagos Free Zone, Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Mr. Wilfred Odega; GM, Private Zones, Mr. Mu’azu Rumars; MarketingManagerLagosFreeZone.Mrs.ChinjuUdora; ManagingDirector,NEPZA,Prof.AdesojiAdesugba; CEOLagosFreeZone,Mr.DineshRathi,and Legal Council/GroupRelationshipDirector,LekkiPort,Mrs.AdesuwaLadoja,duringthehostingoftheManagingDirector,NEPZAandhisteaminLagos‌recently

Nigeria’s Broadband Penetration Grows 10% in One Year, Says FG Nume Ekeghe The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami has said that in the last 11 months since he assumed the position, broadband penetration in the country has grown by 10 per cent, from an average growth of two per cent annually since year 2000.

According to the minister, the federal government remains committed to digitalising the Nigerian economy, saying the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the need for the government to aggressively achieve a digital economy.

Pantami, made this remark at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s (CIBN), 2020 Graduates’ Induction/Prize Awards day, which held virtually over the weekend. The CIBN inducted 1,311 new members and awarded the best performing students in its different professional certification

ECONOMY categories.

Speaking on the feat recorded by his ministry, Pantami said: “In less than a year, when I came on board, the broadband penetration was a little higher than 30 per cent, from year 2000 to 2019. But, by the end of July this year, broadband penetration was over 42 per cent.

We achieved almost 10 percent increase in less than a year. “With all sense of humility and modesty, before we came on board, the penetration annually was averagely less than two per cent. But this year alone, the penetration is 10 per cent which is highly unprecedented.�

He further said the growth of the digital economy was reliant on continuous innovation and entrepreneurship. “COVID-19 is clearly showing us why it is important to fast-track

the digitalisation or rather the digital transformation of Nigeria.

To drive digital economy, there are two components that are key. One is digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship.�

In her presentation, A Professor of Information Systems/Academic Director, Lagos Business, Prof.

Olayinka David-West, noted that the digital economy was birthed alongside the information age and represents the levels of economic activity from digital connections between people, businesses and extending to devices, data and processes.

According to her, such connections or interactions depend on the interconnectedness of people, organisations and machines facilitated by the internet, mobile technology and the internet of things (IoT). “We have seen jobs transition from place to space, where work is not just a place we go to but an activity we carry out. Given that

not all work is digitally enabled, the value of some roles in the organisation will be re-validated.

An example of this is in the civil service, where workers below a certain grade have been away from work and unable to work for months. “Digitally enabled work means that work activities or business processes are executed digitally (without paper) endto-end (inter-departmental and inter-organisation). Related to this is that organisations are distributed and aggregating quality digital infrastructure at one location is inefficient because now, our homes are our workplaces and our organisations have to accommodate this shift. “This also raises the issue of the digital tools we buy. Because our models have been place-based, desktops have dominated the workplace; but how portable Continued on page 24

NSE All-Share Index Rises Marginally Despite Low Trading Value Goddy Egene Sustained demand for bellwethers made the stock market to maintain its positive momentum with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) rising slightly by 0.35 per cent to close at 25,309.37.

However, the value of trading was lower than previous week’s performance.

In all, investors staked N7.384 billion on 1.072 billion shares in 16,684 deals, compared with N10.123 billion invested in 950.414 million shares exchanged in 16,647 deals the previous week.

But the Financial Services industry led the activity chart with 586.761 million shares

CAPITAL MARKET valued at N4.022 billion traded in 8,483deals, thus contributing 54.8 per cent and 54.5 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Conglomerates industry closed as the second most active with 307.744 million shares worth N799.159 million in 1,010 deals, while the Consumer Goods industry, occupied the third positive with a turnover of 50.170 million shares worth N968.272 million in 3,018deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, UAC of Nigeria Plc and United

Bank for Africa Plc, accounted for 396.337million shares worth N1.373 billion in 1,845 deals, contributing 36.9 per cent and 18.6 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

In terms of price movement, 29 equities appreciated in price last week lower than 31 equities in the previous week just as 36 equities depreciated in price, higher than 27 equities in the previous week.

University Press Plc led the price gainers with 31.4 per cent, trailed by FTN Cocoa Process Plc with 20 per cent, just as Champion Breweries Plc appreciated by 19.2 per cent.

NEM Insurance Plc and PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc gained

9.09 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively, while Unity Bank Plc and AXA Mansard Insurance Plc chalked up 7.6 per cent and 7.5 per cent in that order.

Unilever Nigeria Plc ended last week with a gain of 7.5 per cent, just as Wapic Insurance Plc garnered 6.1 per cent. The underwriting firm recently changed its name to Coronation Insurance Plc, a development its explained was aimed at enabling the company reflect its independence, achieve set goals and in line with ongoing transformations in the nation’s insurance industry.

The President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Mr. Adetokunbo Kayode has congratulated Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina over his reelection as President of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

HealsocommendedtheboardofgovernorsoftheBankforacknowledging Adesina’s contributions in the last four years.

Kayode noted that Adesina had in the last four years changed the face of AfDB, making it more impactful on the developmental lives of Africa.

InastatementissuedbyACCIMediaOďŹƒcer,LatifatOpoola,theChamber’s PresidentlistedseveralinterventionsoftheBankoninfrastructure,health, education and economy, citing also the increase in bank’s capitalisation and improved governance.

He said the AfDB president’s bold reforms and achievements in the bank including repositioning the bank globally, and driving highly impactful programmes had accelerated the development of the continent earned.

He added that through his hard work at the Bank, AfDB has maintained its AAA rating by all the four major global rating agencies, four years in a row adding that this is a reection of the bank’s sound ďŹ nancial and risk management, excellent liquidity and strong shareholder support.

Kayode, however, urged the Bank’s President to rededicate himself to the task of ďŹ nancially empowering and developing Africa, urging him to attend to the needs of African chambers of businesses which are peopled

by SMEs. He said: “We congratulate Dr. Adesina and we urge him to be a president of SMEs in his second term. We acknowledge his contributions so far.

Africa is proud of him�.

‌Kwara Hails AfDB President

KwaraStateGovernor,AlhajiAbdulRahmanAbdulRazaqattheweekend congratulated Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina on his re-election as president of the AfDB. Hesaidthereelectionwasatriumphofbrilliance,vision,andforthrightness.

A statement issued in Ilorin that was signed by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. RaďŹ u Ajakaye, stated: “The Governor commended Adesina for standing ďŹ rm and focused during his recent trials at the Bank. His eventual clearance aďŹƒrmed his commitment to transparency and wide acceptance of his rich vision by various power blocs within the Bank.â€?

The statement added: “I join our compatriots to congratulate Dr. Adesina for his uncommon victory and re-election as AfDB President. It is an honour well deserved. “That he was elected by 100 per cent of the votes was a total vote of conďŹ dence in his leadership which has no doubt been phenomenal in the history of the bank especially as regards its impacts in the lives of millions of Africans,â€? the Governor said.

He added: “While his ďŹ rst term tenure indeed brought so much growth to African economies, we believe that Dr Adesina will beat his own sterling record in this second term as he takes the AfDB to a greater height.â€?

Insurers Seek Media Support

Themediahasbeenappealedtoassisttheinsuranceindustrytoachieve its objective to deepen penetration in Nigeria.

ManagingDirector,AnchorInsuranceLimited,MrAugustineEbose,who made the appeal at the inauguration of new executives of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents in Lagos, said the media could assist the insurance industry in the area of shaping the mind and understanding of Nigerians towards insurance especially in the area of enlightenment.

Ebose, in his paper titled “the role of insurance journalists in emerging realities,� acknowledged the exclusive role the media plays in information dissemination,insisting thatdeepeninginsurancepenetrationinthecountry would come through the media role in communicating the message of insurance to the public.

The Anchor insurance boss, who was represented by the Executive Director, Technical, Adebisi Ikuomola, said the new normal created by Covid-19 pandemic, has placed a responsibility on the media to constantly educate the public on the new ways of doing things.

He said: “It is the social responsibility of the journalist to ensure that as the light of the public, no one is left in the dark about new realities.�

“When I hear about concession, all I say is that please follow the law only so that you are not exposed to phenomenal damages�

Chairman, Bi-Courtney,

Continued on page 24

Dr. Wale Babalakin

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąÍŻËœ 2020

24

BUSINESSWORLD NIGERIA’S BROADBAND PENETRATION GROWS 10% IN ONE YEAR, SAYS FG are those desktops? Again this raises the dilemma of information security and data theft when organisational information is dispersed across machines. The digital infrastructure and tools deployed in our homes require hard infrastructure like electric power and housing conducive to home-based work,� David-West said.

She noted that the digital transformation in the banking industry was an interesting journey that started in the 1990s when the new generation banks introduced online real-time banking enabled by core banking applications and communications networks.

This evolution, according to her, has evolved beyond branch banking and spans digital financial instruments and delivery channels. “While our financial services ecosystem has recorded significant progress in areas like the bank verification number (BVN) and instant payments, the surge on bank branches after the first phase of the lockdown presented some interesting challenges to the financial services ecosystem and the digital transformation of financial services. There’s still work to be done,� she added.

NSE ALL-SHARE INDEX RISES MARGINALLY DESPITE LOW TRADING VALUE

Conversely, Beta Glass Plc led the price losers with 9.9 per cent, trailed by Arbico Plc that shed 9.5 per cent. C & I Leasing Plc went down by 9.0 per cent. The Managing Director of the company recently disclosed of plans to raise additional funds between N10 billion and N13 billion to boost its operations.

Consolidated Hallmark Insurance lost 8.1 per cent, while Cutix Plc and Fidson Healthcare Plc went down by 7.8 per cent and 7.2 per cent respectively.

Guinness Nigeria Plc, African Prudential Plc and Transcorp were among the top price gainers, losing 6.9 per cent, 6.6 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

AMCON’s Assets Under Management Now N137bn, Says Kuru Obinna Chima The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Ahmed Kuru, has revealed that the corporation’s total assets under management (AUM) is currently at N136.73 billion.

The agency also has about N112.03 billion worth of propriety assets. Kuru, said this at the weekend, when he led the management of AMCON to appear before a technical session of the Senate Committee on Banking Insurance and other Financial Institutions, held in Abuja. He renewed the call for legislative support to the corporation.

According to a statement from the corporation, the Senate Committee met to review the impact of COVID-19 on AMCON policies and process – with the view to reposition AMCON for optimal performance amidst the pandemic. “We want the 9th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to pile pressure on some of our obligors through the Senate Committee on Banking Insurance and Other Financial Institutions under the leadership of Senator Uba Sani as Chairman. Some of these obligors are very important members of the society and, as distinguished senators, I know they have all it takes to intervene and even compel AMCON obligors to meet their obligation.

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Despite gulping a whopping N243 billion between 2010 and 2014, the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) in the Niger Delta region, is yet to achieve its objectives, a report released to the public has indicated.

Describing the programme as one of the most expensive in the world, the report on the Assessment of the PAP by the Nextier Security, Peace and Development (SPD), which was

Ellah Lakes Plc, a palm oil producer is meeting investors to raise $40 million to expand operations and meet increasing demand for the commodity after government restrictions on imports increased an existing supply gap.

The company, based in Edo State is raising $35 million by offering shares and debt as well as another N2.1 billion ($5.4 million) in equity to fund oil palm

Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT)

impact on the globe and Nigeria in particular. Not only has it adversely affected the global economy, but the entire health system of the world has remained on its knees. AMCON, one of the institutions of government saddled with the responsibility of revitalising Nigeria’s economy is not immune to this monumental global disaster. “The pandemic has impacted negatively on the various sectors of our economy, particularly the sectors, which AMCON is substantially exposed to, like aviation, oil and gas,

manufacturing and retail sectors.

On his part, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Uba Sani, assured that committee and AMCON have identified the strategies being employed by debtors to stall the repayment of loans, including the dragging of court cases for many years.

The Senator who represents Kaduna Central at the 9th Senate said: “The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has remained at the receiving end of these well laid and orchestrated acts of economic sabotage.�

STOCK-TAKING

L-R: Acting Secretary, AP Ardova Plc, Oladeinde Nelson-Cole; Chairman, AbdulWasiu Sowami; CEO, Olumide Adeosun and Chief Financial Officer, Moshood Olajide,duringthe41stAnnualGeneralMeetingoftheCompanyheldinLagos...recentl AbiodunAjala

unveiled in Abuja recently, urged the government to devolve the activities of the programme into state oil commissions.

Nextier SPD is an international development consulting firm based in Nigeria which uses evidence-based research and policy in developing and building knowledge and skills for governing the society.

The organisation maintained that of the four options considered, including outright closure of the programme, devolution

to ministries and agencies of government, transforming it into an autonomous youth programme, the most viable was to divest power from the centre to encourage more local participation.

All the speakers during the event, agreed that the programme needed to be reviewed since it had not achieved a substantial part of the reason it was established by the federal government.

Principal Partner, Nextier, Mr Patrick Okigbo, who spoke during

the ceremony, however, warned against ending the programme, saying it will have an adverse impact on the relative peace currently enjoyed in the region.

He said Nigeria neither has the capacity nor the infrastructure to sustain its growing population, given the current crisis in the oil market, explaining that a double whammy in the form of a crisis in the Niger Delta would put the country in a precarious situation.

However, he argued that the amnesty programme cannot

continue forever, saying that there has to be a risk assessment of the situation before any further action is taken. While acknowledging concerns that the programme was becoming too expensive to maintain, as well as being marred by corruption, nepotism, prebendal and patrimonial sentiments, the organisation said the report was to trigger debate on the programme after 10 years of its operation.

Nextier SPD noted that like most bureaucratic institutions in the country, the PAP now suffers from

plantations, seedlings and fertilizer, Bloomberg quoted the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Chuka Mordi, to have said during an interview in Lagos.

The company is looking to cultivate 4,000 hectares of oil palm plantation by year-end from 2,300 currently, he said.

Ellah Lakes is increasing production amid intensified efforts by President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to encourage

investment in agriculture and industries to help diversify the economy away from crude oil, which accounts for 90 per cent of export earnings.

The government had imposed a 35 per cent tariff on imported palm-oil to boost local production and the central bank had stopped the use of foreign exchange from official sources to import the commodity. Nigeria accounts for about one per cent of global

output, producing one million tons annually and consuming about at 1.4 million tons, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

The capital raising started earlier this year through a private placement but was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mordi said, adding that the company was expecting some foreign investors when international travels resumes.

Ellah Lakes will export some

output to earn foreign exchange even though local demand is strong, according to the chief executive. Half of the revenue will come from exports in the next three years “just to manage currency fluctuation,� he said. A slump in the price of crude oil cut revenue for the West African nation and hampered the ability of the central bank to meet the dollar requirements of companies for imports.

ISPON Seeks Policies to Stimulate Economic Growth

Senior Correspondent

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Eromosele Abiodun (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy)

to do more to support AMCON’s recovery, saying some of the top obligors of AMCON still hide under legal technicalities to tie down the corporation in courts, “exploring the loopholes in the Act prior amendment, which is why the Corporation has witnessed slow judicial process including undue adjournment, lack of hearing date and adequate understanding of AMCON Act among other issues.�

The AMCON CEO added, “COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has had a monumental

Ellah Lakes to Raise $40m to Enhance Oil Palm Investment

Emma Okonji

Correspondents

“This is because we cannot over emphasise the importance of recovering the huge outstanding and the positive impact it will have in the Nigerian economy, which like other economies have been further challenged by the outbreak of the dreaded coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,� the AMCON Kuru, also told the committee that although the corporation has, with the aid of the National Assembly sought to address some of the challenges in the 2019 Amendment Act, the Senate needs

Report: Despite Gulping N243bn in Four Years, PAP Yet to Achieve its Aim

Comms/e-Business Editor

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising)

NEWS

Emma Okonji The Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) has called for policies that will drive economic economic growth and development in the country, especially at this time when organisations in Nigeria are re-skilling their workforce to meet up the digital skills’ demand for digital transformation in the digital era.

The newly elected President of ISPON, Mr. Chinenye MbaUzoukwu, who made the call recently during the official handing over ceremony and change of leadership roles at ISPON, urged the government to reconsider a panoramic review of policies in Nigeria. Mba-Uzoukwu, who also received the emblem of office from his predecessor, Dr. Yele Okeremi, said: “Change in policy that will

positively impact on businesses in the era of new normal occasioned

by COVId-19, is the only way the country can move forward, and be abreast with new technology developments that are trending and shaping the globe.�

According to him, most of the policies that currently govern technology businesses in Nigeria, were enacted as far back as the 1960s, hence the country has remained

technologically backward.

Specifically, he said: “the country’s education policy is still based on analogue while the world is now digital.�

Mba-Uzoukwu assured members of the institute that ISPON under his tenure would be leading advocacy in this direction to ensure that Nigerian youths get the right education to be able to function and excel in the digital world.

During his inaugural speech at the handover ceremony, MbaUzoukwu thanked the founding members of ISPON for their vision to establish a body that would outlive them and add value to the society at large. He also expressed appreciation to the present members for their votes and promised to build on the legacy that the immediate past president left behind.

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąÍŻËœ 2020

25

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

NTA-StarTimes Welcomes National Assembly’s Proposed Forensic Audit Raheem Akingbolu As government and other stakeholders in the NTA-Star TV Network Limited continue to bicker over the company’s transactional and financial credibility, the management of the Pay TV company, which is a joint venture between the Nigerian Television Authority and the StarTimes Group has welcomed the forensic audit on its finances and operations,

as requested by the Senate’s Joint Committee on Finance and National Planning.

Addressing journalists at the in Lagos at the weekend, the company through its Public Relations Manager, Lazarus Ibeabuchi, said no revenue was missing in its coffers.

It added that earnings had been repeatedly ploughed back into cost of production to cover cost of components, namely transmitters, equipment, generating sets and

satellite. The company also pointed out that this also covers operating costs, which include salaries and other running costs, incurred within our ten years of operation. “NTA-Star TV Network Limited is a responsible corporate organisation, with our business activities conforming to statutory laws and regulations. Our accounts are audited by one of the big four audit firms in the world, widely known for their integrity and professionalism in the audit field.

Aside our statutory audits being carried out by external auditors, our financial activities are fully audited by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS. “The loss in our operations over the years is as a result of the fact that our huge upfront investment is in U.S. dollars, and the long-term cost recovery has met brick-walls with successive years of naira depreciation. “Pay-TV business is capital

intensive and has a long gestation period. More than 80 per cent of inputs into our operations are dollar-denominated. The naira fluctuations haven’t been favourable to the business, making it more and more difficult to meet dollar-denominated obligations,� the company stated.

While expressing the company’s regret over the outcome of the Senate hearing, which it described as a media trial without proper due diligence,

StarTimes said unequivocally that it opened to a proper investigation into the company’s operations and financials.

It said: “With the support and trust of the public and business partners, StarTimes operating environment is fast improving, performance is rising, and our losses have been decreasing. We believe that as a going concern, we will eventually achieve profitability shortly and make greater contributions to society.�

Saraki to Champion Transport CHI Restates Benefits of Hollandia Yoghurt Infrastructure on AfCTA Consumers are increasingly boost our immunity, prevent Director, Toyin Nnodi, stated, so that it can become the preferred Francis Anatogu, argued that the

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The Minister of State for Transportation, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki, has been chosen to champion the “Workstream on Road Transport Infrastructure and Services in readiness for African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA)�, single continental market for goods and services in Africa.

This disclosure was made when she received the Workstream Subcommittee on AfCTA in her office in Abuja, recently.

While commending the initiative behind the continental pact, Saraki stressed that Nigeria could only harness the potentials it offers by providing enabling environment such as: good access roads, stable electricity supply, and security along trade corridors are addressed

investor’s destination. She added that the era when the country depended on crude oil is over The Minister in a statement by the Ministry, added: “Government has no business in business, but to render service by creating an enabling environment,� noting that Nigeria under the President Muhamadu Buhari’s administration was working to revamp infrastructure so as to become globally competitive.

The Minister of State for Transport, while appreciating the fact that the task ahead was daunting, but not impossible, assured the Committee of her Ministry’s support in achieving the laudable objectives of AfCTA. Earlier in his presentation, the Senior Special Assistant to the President and Secretary, National Action Committee on AfCTA, Mr.

situation whereby the continent spends $650 billion on importation annually, out of which 85 per cent comes from outside of Africa was no longer acceptable.

Anatogu posited that for Nigeria to harness the potentials in the continental agreement, the country needs to be part of the African Union’s (AU) conversation towards ensuring that policies introduced are in tandem with national laws of the country.

Reacting to the issue of funds as the reason why Nigeria has not fared so well, the Acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Husseini Adamu, said the onus was on the Committee to justify why money should be allocated to it, adding that ideas and proposals put forward must be easily understood and comprehended.

seeking for products that will meet their health and wellness needs, especially during this pandemic, CHI Limited has said.

The company, in a statement, noted that beyond being a refreshing dairy beverage, Hollandia Yoghurt has, since inception in 2005 been at the forefront of providing wholesome nutrition and nourishing goodness, and driving consumer awareness of the health benefits of yoghurt.

It stated that Hollandia Yoghurt is loved by consumers who want a healthy and great tasting dairy beverage that provides an exciting way to get required nutrients into their daily diets. “Hollandia Yoghurt contains protein and essential vitamins and minerals such as Vitamins A, B6, B12 & Calcium. These nutrients help

certain illnesses, and enable us live healthier lives. Besides providing wholesome nourishment, other benefits of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients contained in Hollandia Yoghurt are providing increased energy, reducing fatigue, preventing reduced levels of alertness, as well as improving overall cognitive and mental performance. “Millions of Nigerian consumers enjoy Hollandia Yoghurt daily because it contains wholesome nutrients to actively nourish their bodies, provides revitalizing energy for the day’s activities, serves as a meal-replacement, and keeps them positively recharged to be at their best. Hollandia Yoghurt can be consumed on-the-go, at work, at school, at play, or at any other time or place,� it added.

CHI Limited Marketing

“Since inception 40 years ago, CHI Limited has put the nourishment and wellness of Nigerian consumers first in all that we do. We re-defined the beverage industry and yoghurt category by launching the first ever ready-todrink, ambient drinking yoghurt product in aseptic packaging. “Over the years, we have driven innovation in this category we created through the launch of exciting flavours, variants, packaging formats, and pack sizes that have further re-enforced our category leadership. Given the many nutrients our Hollandia Yoghurt contains, it is the perfect beverage for Nigerians to consume daily to ensure they build their immunity, stay nourished, and improve their body defenses, especially during this on-going pandemic.�

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Yuguda: We Will Simplify Capital Market Operations, Protect Investors The Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Lamido Yuguda, in this interview spoke on the outcome of the first virtual Capital Market Committee meeting held recently. Goddy Egene brings the excerpts: Tackling issue of unclaimed dividends The issue of unclaimed dividends is something that we are actually looking at very carefully.

This problem is in two folds. One is that we have the existing stock of unclaimed dividends, and the second is to prevent the accumulation of the unclaimed dividend in the future. Now we have the e-dividend and the mandate at the moment which substantially takes care of the accumulation of the unclaimed dividends in the future. Even though it is not working perfectly but substantially it has reduced the accumulation of unclaimed dividends. But the task now is to work with the registrars, to make it easy for shareholders on boarded onto the system. Although there have been some complains in the capital market that the shareholders are finding it difficult to key in and most probably the registrars are not working really quick enough to get investors on boarded but we are going to tackle these issues. Now the existing stock of unclaimed dividends, some of these have been returned to the companies and a little percentage is still with the registrars. These are issues that we are also looking at and we will come out to the market very soon with a statement.

Know your customers and identity management On know your customer (KYC), using the stockbrokers’ KYC for identity management, I think this is an issue that is quit broad. At the CMC meeting, we listened to Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Central Securities Clearing Systems Plc (CSCS) and the kind of work they are doing, I think we need to look at the entire issue, at the moment I don’t know what the stockbrokers have been able to collect from their clients but I think we need to look at it from an industrial wide issue. This is something that is really at the fore front, as we have been discussing it, we have the National Identity Number, the BVN, all capital market transactions start off from a banking accounts and end in a banking account and so on. On the issue of information, the stockbrokers have on their clients is something that we will also need to look at. A lot has been done and more will still continue to be done. The stockbroking community and the Association of Stockbroking Houses (ASHON) working with the CSCS and the Registrars.

We are all working together to get this issue resolved. There is a backlog, the first thing or one of the key important things is to make sure it doesn’t keep accumulating and everybody has a part to play, clients should give their details including the bank number, so that the registrars can promptly credit them. And on the issue of backlog as you are well aware the Commission directed, to a good extent, the registrars complied, by making repeated publications, having information readily available on the website of the offices, encouraging clients even with multiple subscriptions. I am aware in the time past that the Commission had to give about two extensions, allowing multiple subscriptions to be unified so that all these things can be captured. I won’t dwell on the issue but it requires concerted efforts and we will continue to make sure that the unclaimed dividends issue gets reduced. Whether it is the issue of unclaimed dividends or the issue of multiple applications, all the issues are around the issue of identity management, and the Commission is really working to see that the issue of identity management is resolved.

There is a committee that has been set up, which is working with other stakeholders, to come up with a single form to be used by all the capital market operators and once that is done, the issue of unclaimed dividend will be an issue of the past. The legacy issue is also connected with this issue of multiple subscriptions and there are a lot of investors who used different accounts and some of them cannot even remember the name they used in applying for shares is the issue. The other issue is in respect of the new issue, so what the commission has done is that the commission has given the directives to all stockbroking firm to get their clients update information in respect to BVN and account number. Also

Yuguda during the boom in the capital market there was no BVN but now that there is BVN which the commission is also trying to use for identity management. The commission has directed all stockbroking houses to get their clients to update their information in respect to BVN and account number. The information will be sent to CSCS and CSCS will send same information to the registrars and the registrars will use in payment of dividends.

SEC’s support to the market during Covid-19 pandemic Covid-19 presents real economic crisis, not only for Nigeria but for around the world.

This is because we have seen massive drop in output. We have seen a collapse in the price of oil, we have seen essentially a halt in economic activities in many, many respects.

Now what can we do. First is to make sure that the capital market and the SEC continue to work together. The SEC has been open for business throughout the pandemic and also the major operators in the capital market have been working remotely, so we have not really had a stop in the capital market activities.

What can we now do, the thing is that even before the pandemic the capital market really needed a kind of revamp. We need to attract more investors into the market, and we also need to attract more issuers to the capital market. Now, what do you do to attract more investors, you need to demonstrate to investors their investments are very secured, and long terms, the returns are really worth their investments, but we will be able to generate returns that are above the inflation and you can only do this when you invest in the stock market because you cannot have these kind of returns except when you invest in the market.

The issuers also, we have seen a lot of issues on coming to the market now, but we know that there have been a few cases of companies

that have been delisted from the market. We need to demonstrate to issuers that there is a lot of value in an issuer listing in the market and also listing securities periodically in the market. So we are going to continue to attract investors by making sure that the market is a fair play, that it instruments traded in the market are fairly valued and in the end investor is actually going to make a profit by having their money in this market. For issuers, we are going to make sure that the benefits or listing and issuing in the market far out ways walking to a bank to borrow money.

Pension Funds On the issues of pension funds, pension have been accumulating funds in a very fast rate and these are funds essentially are deducted compulsory from the salaries and wages of workers. PFAs are supposed to invest a significant amount of their portfolio in the capital market but that is really not happening at the moment. Pension funds are very much underweighted to what actual allocation to the capital market should be, the capital market needs to understand that there is this pool of money waiting to be invested in the market, but what is stopping pension funds from investing in the capital market. We need to have that evaluation and that dialogue with that important class of investors so that we can attract as much of the pension funds as possible. If we achieve that, we will see that even with the pandemic the capital market will really roar in Nigeria, because right now if you look at the number of collective investment scheme (CIS) accounts, with less than 400,000 CIS accounts for a country that has a population of almost 200 million, that tells you that there is really a lot of potentials. So it is really only left for the capital market to show that, there is value in this investment and also there is protection for the investor.

SEC’s position on issues of infractions We have a number of cases that we have inherited. We have been working right from the first day to resolve all cases of infractions.

Really, our aim is to have as little as possible the infractions in the market. We intend to work with all self-regulatory organisations (SROs) and all the various capital market operators (CMOs) to make sure that infraction are reduced to the barest minimum. Where they happen, we have a very strong resolve to really fight infractions to mete out sanctions as appropriate as quickly as possible. We have a number of cases that we are looking at, we are reviewing each case in a case-by-case basis. We are working to make sure that these cases are resolved in the shortest possible time. However, make no mistake about it, we have a zero tolerance for market infractions. We need a capital market that is actually very fair. That is a market that is fair to investors, a market that is not really tilted or biased one way or the other or in favour of any market operator that seeks to make a gain at the expense of investors. We have a fiduciary duty to the people that we serve and it is not only by doing that, investors will feel that this market is for them. If you look at the statistics the average age of the client is over 50 years and that tells you that a lot of young people today are not coming into this market. This is really something that we need to reverse, because if young people are not coming to the market, then this market future is doomed. These people have the money and the capital, because they are young, so they have the earning power. So, we have to bring them to the market and it is only by making sure that infractions are reduced to the barest minimum that you can really have people will know that this market is really a market for them and not for fraudulent operators.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

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YUGUDA: WE WILL SIMPLIFY CAPITAL MARKET OPERATIONS, PROTECT INVESTORS

Yuguda The healthcare infrastructure fund The Capital Market Support Committee on COIVD-19, has been raising funds to support the efforts the combating the disease. In addition, the committee thought to set up a longer lasting fund, one that we can raise through the capital market to build health infrastructure around the country. You bear me witness that during the lockdown many people could not access medical treatment outside the country. So, the idea is for us to raise money through the capital market and put these infrastructure in place on commercial basis or as business that will be self-sustaining, that can return these monies to investors with good profit, good return. So what we have done is to set up a committee. It is a market-wide committee and the committee has been given the task to iron out the modalities and guidelines and objectives for the funds and how we will go about it. The Committee will report to the main committee in the coming weeks and am sure that as we go on, we carry the press along so that you can know what is being done. The most important thing there is that we set this up and we want it to be something that is long lasting and that will provide the needed health care infrastructure to our country. Thank you.

What to expect from new SEC management In few words I will just tell you these, expect a much simpler capital market. At the moment, transactions in the market are quite complicated and that has really not helped attracting investors into the market.

I know how I can walk into a bank and open a bank account. I know that once I put money into this bank account, I can go back tomorrow and get back the money and use it for whatever purpose I want to use it for.

Now with opening, let say buying shares, from the point of parting with your money, to the point of getting the benefits of that money either as benefits or as proceeds for the sales of those stocks that you have bought, the process is extremely complicated. And for many people that complication is a turn-off because they do not want to go through that process and you agree with me that along that line a lot of things could happen. So people part with money and they end up not getting any shares. Other people get shares but the shares become worthless at some point. So, there are a lot of things that we need to do to simplify. Today, sitting here, if I want, I can open a bank account essentially on-line, especially if I have an existing relationship with the bank, I can open a bank account here online. With the capital market you don’t really have that simplicity and I tell you the capital market doesn’t need to be that complicated.

So expect a lot of efforts from us towards simplifying transaction in the market.

Secondly, expect an increase emphasis on investor protection, both from stock market transactions and for CIS. We have discussed significantly, what we need to do to make sure that investors are actually protected.

Right now, there are a lot of loopholes in the capital market and these loopholes have been capitalised on by certain operators to essentially shortchange investors. We are eagerly working to close those loopholes.

Then the most important thing is investor education, we have already mentioned these, and this is something that we are going to really emphasized. You have to educate the investor. I mentioned the infusion of capital market studies, you know the curriculum that has been developed and incorporated into the curriculum of the basic and the secondary school. You have to start educating investors from that young age but also you have a lot of people who are adults earning incomes that are not participating in the market, you need to educate these people. What do you need to do? You need to have both the regulator and the capital market operators to devote significant resources to make sure that investor education takes the pride and place of that it should be in our capital market and that you can expect from us very, very strongly.

Then implementing the capital market master plan is actually a priority. This is a plan that has been designed for 10 years and our tenure is coming exactly halfway into this tenure period, which is 2020-2025 will be the second part of the master plan.

So expect a very rigorous implementation of the master plan and really using it to make sure that the Nigerian Capital market moves to the next level.

Also, advocacy is very important. The current pandemic has really shown us how really deficient our economy is with a lot of people using our facilities that have been developed in other countries were travelling to those countries to enjoy the facilities.

You can use the capital market to develop these facilities at home. If you are talking of good hospitals, good universities or good entertainment centres that we are flocking to other countries to go and enjoy, you can use the capital market to actually develop those facilities. The only thing is that you then have the right policy environment that can promote the development of these types of centres that can really help investors to say okay, I have the right policy environment to invest my money to develop these kinds of facilities. So expect these from our tenure.

We are going to work with government and other government agencies to make sure that the policy environment is conducive for infrastructural development.

UBA Foundation Calls for Essay Competition Entries UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc yesterday commenced the 2020 edition of its annual National Essay Competition in Nigeria with a call for entries.

Now in its tenth year, the National Essay Competition (NEC) is part of UBA Foundation’s education initiative which is aimed at promoting the reading culture and encouraging healthy and intellectual competition amongst secondary school students in Nigeria and across Africa, a statement from the bank explained.

This year’s edition has been modified to ensure ease of access and increased participation of senior secondary school students from the comfort of their homes through the introduction of a digital submission portal.

Taking into consideration the effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had on lives and incomes across board, the UBA Foundation has also increased the prize money for the 2020 edition of the NEC by 33 per cent as the first prize winner would get an educational grant of N2.5

million, up from N2 million in 2019.

The second and third prize winners would now receive N2 million and N1.5 million educational grants respectively, from N1.5 million and N1 million which were awarded in the previous year’s competition.

The Chief Executive Officer, UBA Foundation, Mrs. Bola Atta stated that with the newly introduced digital submission portal, more students in secondary schools across the country would have the opportunity to scan and send in their entries and compete to win educational grants for study at any university of their choice on the African continent.

She said, “As a Foundation, which is the CSR arm of the United Bank for Africa - a fully digitalised bank, we are driven by the mantra to always innovate and adapt to our constantly changing environment. “This year, we thought hard about how to ease the pains that everyone is feeling. Students have not been able to go to school and there has been a lot of anxiety in families trying to

ensure that educational gaps do not emerge. “It is imperative for us at the UBA Foundation that our impact programmes do not wane. We also need to design them to be as inclusive as possible so that those students who don’t have easy access to computers can still participate in the competition with a chance to win grants towards their tertiary edification.�

Atta explained that the choice of topic for this year’s edition is one that helps promote creative and analytical thinking in students whilst helping them become problem solvers.

The essay topic selected is “Do you think that the lock - down during the Covid-19 pandemic was an essential measure in spite of the hardship it has brought economically? What would you have done differently and why?�

All entries are to be handwritten and scanned copies of the entries as well as ID are to be uploaded on the digital portal before October 2, 2020. They may also drop off the handwritten essays at their nearest UBA business office for onward submission to the UBA Foundation.

Royal Exchange Posts N10.58bn Premium Ebere Nwoji Royal Exchange General Insurance Company (REGIC) has declared a Gross Written Premium of N10.58billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2019.

This was disclosed by the chairman of the company, Alhaji R. M. Gwarzo, at the company’s virtual Annual General Meeting, held in Lagos recently.

Gwarzo, also affirmed that the company was on the path of profitability and sustained growth.

He said the company’s gross premium income for the period stood at N10.86 billion while total net claims paid to policy holders stood at N1.11billion. Also, underwriting profit was N1.14 billion in the period under review.

He said total assets for the company for the year under review was N21.94 billion with shareholders’ funds standing at N9.61 billion. Its profit before tax stood at N974.6 million, just as profit after tax of N654.7million was reported for the 2019 financial year.

Addressing the media after the meeting, the Managing Director/Chief Executive REGIC, Mr. Benjamin Agili, said despite the harsh operating environment, the company was able to grow its topline figures and maintain its leadership in key corporate accounts, participating in large-ticket insurance transactions, its renewed focus on the retail markets which shall be a growth driver in the future

and agriculture insurance, which is beginning to gain attraction in the insurance market in Nigeria. “We are expanding our strategic focus to these three main areas: – digital insurance, retail insurance market and agriculture insurance as farming is a key economic activity in Nigeria�.

On the firm’s recapitalisation plans, in line with NAICOM’s directive, Agili said Royal Exchange General, with its approved 2019 financials was poised to surpass the NAICOM’s directive and plans.

He added that plans were on top gear to ensure that REGIC is well capitalised and able to take advantage of the opportunities that will present itself in the insurance market in Nigeria.

Facebook Launches N500m Grants Programme for SMBs Emma Okonji Facebook has announced a N500 million grant to support 781 small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Nigeria, as part its $100 million Global Grants Programme announced earlier this year, which aims to support 30,000 SMBs in over 30 countries.

Aimed at stimulating economic recovery following the effects of COVID-19, this is expected to help empower and extend a lifeline to local small business owners who have been most affected.

The grants would be administered and managed

by Deloitte in partnership with FATE Foundation and

Afrigrants. It will be provided as a combination of cash and ad credits to help small businesses as they rebuild, re-engineer and recover operations during this challenging year.

Available to qualifying SMBs in Nigeria, applications were opened from 24th August 2020 for the North East, North West and South East regions and 26th August 2020 for the South West, South-South and North Central regions.

In the recent State of Small Business Report, published by Facebook in partnership with the OECD and the World Bank, the many challenges faced by

SMBs during this COVID-19 crisis were laid bare, specifically with over 37 per cent of SMBs in Nigeria saying that cash is a concern.

Announcing the grants, Regional Director, Facebook Africa, Nunu Ntshingila, said: “We know small businesses are the engine of the Nigerian economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has extended beyond a public health crisis to an economic emergency, with small businesses most affected. We are listening to the challenges that small business owners are facing right now and want to provide useful resources for them during this difficult and uncertain year.�

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Surviving Changing Global Energy Landscape Industry players have continued searching for workable solutions to the many challenges now besetting the oil and gas sector writes Emmanuel Addeh

U

nlike in the past, when major ‘tsunamis’that impinge on the smooth working of the oil and gas sector could be accurately predicted, the coronavirus pandemic took the industry by surprise and has since then sent shock waves through the global oil market.

In a country whose foreign earnings and budgetary revenues come from oil exports, the impact has been even more devastating, leaving corporate concerns reeling and government agencies looking for ways to subdue the headwinds.

With oil accounting for 60 per cent of government revenue and 90 per cent of foreign exchange and Nigeria’s break-even oil price at about $133, the highest in the world due to high refining costs and inefficiencies within the system, according to Fitch Ratings, the country was at a time generating losses for every barrel it produced.

Generally, the most prominent of the measures taken to quell the storm, have been to cut costs, renegotiate contracts and at the national level, award of some assets, including marginal fields, which is being handled by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and re-tweaking the laws governing the industry.

In one of the meetings to brainstorm on ways to check the challenges, petroleum engineers last week gathered decision makers in the industry to talk about the way forward and how those decisions would impact the long-term sustainability of the oil business.

During the event which drew participants from the public space and corporate organisations, representatives of the federal government enunciated what was being done and what needed to be done to surmount the unexpected storm that has confounded the entire globe.

For instance, it noted that rejigging the laws would be a win-win for the government, the International Oil Companies (IOCs), host oil communities and the generality of Nigerians The federal government said when passed, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will change Nigerians from being mere spectators to active participants in the country’s oil and gas industry.

It said that the bill which is expected to be presented before the national assembly any time from now, will also address most of the issues that cause restiveness and anger in the Niger Delta, where Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves are mostly found.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Energy Industry Transformation Summit (NEITS) , Minister of State, Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has made indigenous participation in the oil and gas business imperative.

The theme of the programme was “Changing Global Energy Landscape: Repositioning for Industry Sustainability�.

Sylva noted that given that the end of the precarious situation is not in sight, Nigeria must deliberately pursue a policy of being largely self-sufficient in activities in the oil and gas industry. “Before the NOGICD Act 2010, Nigerians were mostly spectators in this industry. The last 10 years saw an exponential growth in the number of Nigerian service providers. “With the pandemic, encouragement of local Industry participation is now an element of national strategy and sustainability. The proposed PIB will further encourage the participation of Nigerians in various oil and gas activities� he said.

He added that the declaration of 2020 as the year of gas is now being pursued through the national gas expansion programme to deepen gas penetration and avail Nigerians options for alternative fuels and cleaner environment.

Sylva posited that the onus now lies on experts to take advantage of the opportunities created by the pandemic to use cleaner energy, noting that it is a wake-up for Nigeria to reduce its dependence on oil. “Therefore, we must rejig the petroleum industry and energy framework to chart a new course. In the ministry, all efforts are being made to sustain the current relative peace in the Niger Delta for sustained investment. “The proposed PIB takes care of the foregoing

to put Nigeria among the list of investment havens. It’s our belief that the future is bright and attractive for the Nigerian petroleum industry� he stressed.

The minister opined that Nigeria’s yearning for stable power supply cannot be achieved without greater focus on gas, saying that the growth of the Nigerian economy is hinged on constant power supply. “Nigeria has favourable conditions to bring electricity to its citizenry at modest cost compared to many other countries. In collaboration with stakeholders, the ministry of petroleum resources wishes to ensure that we convert the massive amount of gas being flared at the moment to energy for Nigerians at affordable rates. “A significant network of our additional gas pipelines is a priority. The AKK is part of the important steps in this direction. An optimal framework for electricity generation based on natural gas will provide a strong basis for providing electricity to Nigerians. “Based on increased gas production, stable electricity and gas framework , Nigerians will be able to attract further investment. A gas pricing committee is currently at work and the PIB will provide a wide variety of features to ensure that natural gas is provided in the medium and long term.

Sylva explained that with the national gas expansion programme, existing policies, legal

Nigeria has favourable conditions to bring electricity to its citizenry at modest cost compared to many other countries.

In collaboration with stakeholders, the ministry of petroleum resources wishes to ensure that we convert the massive amount of gas being ared at the moment to energy for Nigerians at affordable rates

and regulatory framework and commercial instruments that hinder the development of the local gas sector were being reviewed. “Strategies that will promote cost-effective distribution of the various gas streams by marine , rail and road for achieving most accessible and affordable are being formulated while deepening of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) penetration, auto-gas, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is on, he noted.

In his remarks, the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mallam Mele Kyari, said despite all the arguments, oil will still add 70 per cent to the energy mix by 2040.

He opined that Nigeria must seek sustainability, while businesses must focus on people and survival, maintaining that what the industry is going through is simply a a transition, not extinction.

Kyari said the coronavirus pandemic has, more than ever, reinforced the need to upscale the human capacity within the industry for the next phase, and develop the capacity to attract, train and retain people in the sector. “There must be collaboration across different dimensions; government, industry, academia and, particularly, with the communities where we carry out our operations. “The social license to operate is critical to the industry’s long term survival. Also, partnership among industry peers to chart new ways of resolving industry challenges and preparing for tomorrow cannot be over emphasised� the GMD submitted.

Kyari said that for the Nigerian petroleum industry to move forward in the face of the covid-19 pandemic, stakeholders will have to evolve innovative ways to reposition the sector for sustainability.

He stated that industry players needed to train their eyes on a strategy that focuses on people, partnerships, profit and posterity, explaining that the new normal era brought about by the coronavirus pandemic has, more than ever, reinforced the need to up skill the human capacity within the industry for the next phase and develop the capacity to attract, train and retain people in the sector.

He disclosed that for sustainability, industry players must learn to manage cost, improve efficiency and deliver required cash flow (margins) for reinvestment and expansion, stressing that without creating profit today, “we wouldn’t be in a position to take advantage of the opportunities

that keeps us viable and ready for tomorrow�.

Another key to reposition the Industry for sustainability, according to the GMD, is for industry players to always act and take decisions with posterity in mind. “We must bequeath to the next generation a world worthy to live in. Our operations must therefore be carried out in a safe manner without adversely impacting the environment. “As you know, most discussions around energy substitution or green economy stem from looking at the industry as ‘dirty’ and ‘unconscionable’. “It must be reiterated that our Industry remains the bedrock of modern human existence. We must therefore work to create a positive view if we are to remain relevant in the long run,� he declared.

Delivering the keynote address, the President, SPE International, Shauna Noonan, clarified that the concept of energy transition was not to wipe out fossil fuel but rather an aspiration for cleaner energy.

She said the SPE, Nigeria Council, has a great role to play in reducing energy poverty, noting that energy transition was important for greater value in the global oil and gas industry.

Earlier in his welcome remark, the Chairman, SPE Nigeria Council, Mr. Joseph Nwakwue, said the society was ready to offer professional services and work with all stakeholders to move the industry forward.

He informed that part of the society was focused on capacity building to develop the required skill set for the oil and industry operations, stressing that it was what informed the choice of the theme of the conference.

Managing Director, Total E&P, Mr Mike Sangster, in his intervention, said the world will still need oil and gas for decades to come, noting that the company would like to be part of the transition, while working towards zero emission and efficient use of energy, reduce carbon intensity by 60 per cent and increase use of biogas and invest in biofuels.

Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr Sarki Auwalu said the industry must adapt to survive, arguing that the industry must adopt cost control measures and optimise business processes.

He also urged the industry to embark upon strategic partnerships, cut unnecessary expenditure, and engage in vertical integration as well as diversification, portfolio rationalisation and asset optimisation.

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FG Launches COVID-19 Incidence Tracker Dashboards Peter Uzoho The federal government has launched two COVID-19 Incidence and Response Tracker Dashboards, which aims to enhance transparency, accountability and accessibility of information in the national response to the pandemic.

The two dashboards were unveiled recently in Abuja, during the briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF) include the Incidence and Response Tracker Dashboard designed by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in collaboration with the funding partner, Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG).

The other one is the COVID-19 Resource Tracker Dashboard developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

While unveiling the two dashboards, the Secretary

to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the PTF, Mr. Boss Mustapha, said both dashboards corroborated government’s focus on a data-driven response, which it has consistently maintained from the onset of the pandemic.

According to him, “The dashboards are transparent living and very interactive portals for all our resource mobilisation activities, donations, needs and disbursements. We will continue to collaborate with the private sector in creating models that ensure all our activities are easily accessible by the public in line with the Freedom of Information Act.�

Mustapha commended the task force’s funding partner, AIG, for ensuring the realisation of the dashboards.

In his remarks, the Chairman of NESG, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, said the group and

Firm Reaffirms Commitment to Lagos Aesthetic Appeal Raheem Akingbolu Two years after entering the Nigerian market via a partnership with Grace Lake Partners (GLP), JCDecaux S.A. (Euronext Paris: DEC), a leading global outdoor advertising company, has reiterated its commitment to the country by announcing an expansion of its innovative Lagos Traffic System (LATIS) with the addition of three new strategic routes across Lagos State in October, 2020.

The announcement of the company’s new investments, which comes as other companies scale down on operations and investments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is further proof of the Lagos Government’s commitment to ensuring the state’s viability as the number one destination for Foreign Direct Investment in sub-Saharan Africa, and will further increase the over 200 jobs created by JCDecaux Grace Lake in the state.

The first of its kind LATIS project delivers a solution that gives citizens real-time information on traffic, through digital traffic arches at key junctions across Lagos. This traffic information system helps in suggesting alternative routes and estimating times of arrival for travellers. The data collated from the LATIS system has proved extremely valuable to the Lagos government, which continues to show support for the JCDecaux Grace Lake business whilst ensuring that multinational organisations are able to thrive and bring in much needed FDI. Speaking on the announcement, the Country Manager, Nigeria, for JCDecaux Grace Lake, Mr. Dele Odugbemi, said: “The impact of COVID-19 on the global economy has been tremendous and we have seen the shattering of business across the world, in major and developing economies alike. “Fortunately, with the support we have received from the Lagos State Government, we are thrilled to announce an

expansion of our investments by increasing the number of routes on our LATIS network. “As Lagos is an aspiring megacity, the data and traffic support provided by our LATIS network is extremely beneficial as it provides commuters with the information they need to make decisions regarding their travel times and schedules especially when traveling through notoriously congested routes.�

The LATIS expansion announcement also comes as JCDecaux Grace Lake increases the capacity of its self-cleaning automatic public toilets programme, located at Lagos’ busiest bus stations.

Launched in 2018, the toilets boasted a capacity of 40,000 people freely using the services every month. With the recent announcements, the toilets’ capacity will be increased by 100 percent in October 2020, meaning that up to 80,000 people will now freely use the services every month when the toilets are re-opened in line with government mandated COVID policies.

Speaking further, the Managing Partner of Grace Lake Partners, Mr. Ladi Delano said: “The expansion of the LATIS network and increase of the public toilets’ capacity is indicative of our commitment to ensuring that we make critical investments in the communities where we operate.

As we all continue to grapple with the impact of COVID-19, there is a need to also reinforce our belief and confidence in the Lagos economy and its people. “LATIS has proved immensely beneficial to the people of Lagos State by providing citizens with the power to make informed travel choices, and also providing the government with real time data to make decisions regarding infrastructure development and deployment of critical traffic and works’ personnel. “We must also acknowledge the role of the Lagos State government in providing the necessary operational support to make these investments possible.�

the private sector were making history with the launch of the COVID-19 Incidence and Response Tracker and Dashboard.

He explained that the creation of the dashboard and the joint collaboration by all enablers typified achievable successes whenever the private and public sector actively collaborate.

According to Ighodalo, “the

dashboards primarily reveals the resource requirements across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, to enable respective subnational governments, alongside the federal government and donors identify needs and gaps that exist in three critical priority areas: testing, treatment and isolation, and contact tracing and tracking.�

On her part, the Director of AIG, Mrs. Ofovwe AigImoukhuede, expressed delight about the partnership with NESG and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) towards the development of the dashboards.

She described the initiative as a demonstration of what the Nigerian public sector in partnership with the private sector could achieve.

According to her, beyond improving the transparency, accountability and governance of resources sourced from public, private and development sectors, the Predictive Analytic Model embedded in the platform would allow the PTF on COVID-19, and the NCDC to predict and project the rate of infections, deaths and the resources needed to tackle them.

GRADUATIONCEREMONY

L-R: FirstVice President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr. Ken Opara; President/Chairman of Council, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, and Registrar/ CEO,Mr.OluseyeAwojobi,duringthecertificateofaccreditationceremonyheldinLagos...recently ETOPUKUTT

New NBC Code, Product of Due Diligence, Says Idachaba James Emejo in Abuja The Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Prof.

Armstrong Idachaba has said contrary to insinuations, the recent amendment to the controversial sixth edition of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code by the commission was a product of thorough consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

The new regulation has since been the subject of contention in the public domain as some private broadcast organisations which described it as a political tool to limit free speech.

Essentially, the new NBC, which is a product of the Onanuga committee’s recommendations approved

by President Muhammadu Buhari towards implementation of reforms among other things stipulates strict enforcement of provisions of the Code and application of sanctions in compliance with provisions governing broadcasting in the country

by broadcast stations.

It also effected an upward review of fines from N500,000 to N5 million for breaches relating to hate speech, inciting comments and indecency as well as provided for suspension of license in willful repeat of infractions on three occasions after fining a broadcast station.

The implementation of the amended code had awaken broadcast practitioners to the reality of the new regulatory regime following the N5 million fine imposed on a radio station for alleged hate speech.

The stakeholders argued that the code was unilaterally reviewed by the commission.

But speaking with THISDAY, Idachaba said contrary to allegations that it sidelined the operators in amending the NBC code, all major broadcast institutions were written and requested to make inputs into the amendment process.

Specifically, he said the committee wrote to the Nigerian Television Authority, Federal Radio Corporation

of Nigeria, Channels Television, TVC Communication, DAAR Communication and Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) for inputs.

Others institutions which received the committee’s invitation according to him included the Federal Protection and Consumer Protection Commission, Nigerian Communication Commission, Inview Nigeria (Middleware Provider of the Digital Switch Over), Cable Channels Nigeria Limited and APCON. According to the NBC boss, in order to make the process an all-inclusive affair, the committee further engaged the consultants including the Executive Director Institute of Media and Society, Dr. Akin Akingbulu, former Secretary General Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation, Shola Taylor as well as another veteran in the broadcasting industry, Mr. Okoh Aihe.

He pointed out that contrary to allegation that the new code was handwritten by

the commission, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had in October last year inaugurated a seven-member Committee on the Implementation of Reforms in the NBC with Idachaba as member.

He also the minister had earlier in April 2019 inaugurated the Onanuga Committee with terms of reference to among other things, find out to what extent the NBC was able to effectively carry out its regulatory role before and during the 2019 general elections and recommend measures that could strengthen the NBC’s regulatory role and make it more effective.

Idachaba said: “To have broader and independent views relating to the terms of reference of the committee, the committee invited some veterans in the broadcasting industry, broadcast station owners represented by BON and relevant professionals from other ministries, departments and agencies as well as the civil society.�

CNAS, Institute Hold Summit on Global Compliance Adedayo Adejobi The Compliance Institute Nigeria (CIN) in partnership with the Centre for National American (CNAS), a coalition of global Compliance Professionals and business leaders, would hold a three-week web workshop series on Fridays, 11th, 18th and 25th September, 2020.

The 2020 CIN-CNAS Virtual Workshop series slated for three weeks in September, would address the need for policymakers in the continent to look inward into sanction implementation update,

cryptocurrency, challenges in sanction compliance, and most crucially adopt measures to create enabling environment for the compliance industry to thrive post-COVID-19.

The 2020 CIN-CNAS webinar series slated for 11th September, 2020 with the theme, ‘Sanctions implementation update,’ will provide an overview of significant developments on sanctions since August 2019, including new sanctions developments; new trends in sanctions evasion , trends drawn from United Nations Panel of Experts Reports; and compliance “best practices.�

This first session would

consist of webinar presentations to be delivered by key resource persons, whilst question and answer sessions would address key germaine contemporary issues and relevant case studies.

The panelists include Peter Harrell, Adjunct Senior Fellow in the Energy, Economics, and Security program at the Center for a New American Security(CNAS); Pattison Boleigha, President, Compliance Institute, Nigeria (CIN); John Hughes, Adjunct Senior Fellow in the Energy, Economics, and Security program at the Center for a New American Security(CNAS), and Vice Presi-

dent at Albright Stonebridge Group; and Ashley Feng,Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security(CNAS).

The second week webinar series which would hold on Friday, September 18, 2020, seeks to focus on companies and financial institutions involved in cryptocurrency.

Seasoned international cryptocurrency experts would in a robust panel discussion, dissect issues on trends in the use of cryptocurrency to evade sanctions and compliance best practices.

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Thomas: Financial Services Hardest-hit by Covid-19 Ebere Nwoji Financial services sector is the most affected by the Covid-19 and its resulting business lockdown, the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas has said.

He made this observation while addressing insurance brokers at this year’s CEOs’ retreat organised by the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) in Lagos.

He said this was because the nature of their business mostly require physical contact, saying often than not, product

distribution requires face to face contact for the sellers to get the buy-in of potential clients.

He noted that this year has no doubt been a very challenging one for the insurance sector, individual households and the economy at large as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said for the insurance sector, what this situation has thrown up is that there must be a paradigm shift from operators’ usual way of business practice.

Thomas, said it has become imperative on insurers to embrace and align their businesses

to the new world order if they must be seen to be relevant.

He informed the brokers that NAICOM on its part had also adjusted to the challenges and opportunities which the pandemic has imposed on the socio-economic and business environment, adding that among the fall out of the pandemic was the review and extension of the recapitalisation programme, fast tracking of automation of the Commission’s processes for prompt service delivery, among others.

Thomas, x-rayed the menace of the previous tax laws on insurance operators, saying that

it permitted double taxation by taxing investment income and policyholders’ funds.

It allowed tax losses to be carried forward only for a maximum of four years of assessment contrary to what was obtainable in other businesses, he said.

He further noted that it did not allow a full tax deduction on unexpired risk provision in relation to the financial year.

He said with the enacting of the financial act, the industry has been liberated from the draconian tax laws.

He urged the brokers to embrace ethics in their

professional dealings, saying the unprofessional conduct of a few amongst them posed great dangers to the insurance sector’s collective integrity as an industry. “Over the years, a lot has been put into improving the fragile image and perception of insurance in this country.

We all must rise up to the menace of unethical business behaviour in our sector. “As the insurance industry positions itself for Post Covid-19 era, the demands of the insuring public will require sound work ethics for us to optimise performance,� he

added.

As intermediaries, he charged the brokers to ensure sincerity and customers’ satisfaction were central to their core business principles.

He assured the brokers that the Commission has always and would at all-times extend full support to all stakeholders in the industry in its drive for the sector’s growth. “The Commission is open to new ideas and shall continue to introduce new reforms and initiatives in line with international best practices that will strengthen our institutions�, the commissioner assured.

Report: New Petrol Pricing Regime Enhances Transparency Peter Uzoho Notwithstanding reservations by marketers of petroleum products in the country with respect to petrol marketing business, the new pricing regime put in place by the federal government is expected to emplace a more transparent operating model that will stimulate investment growth and encourage the importation of products by marketing companies, a report

by Augusto & Co has stated.

Augusto & Co in its latest 2020 Oil and Gas Downstream Sector Report also believes that the continuous efforts of the government to deepen the utilisation of cooking gas or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in Nigeria will continue to bear fruit in the medium to long term.

While noting the positive steps taken by the federal government to fully deregulate the downstream petroleum industry, the firm in report pointed out that the recent plunge in the price of crude oil and slowdown in demand for petroleum products occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic led to a reduction in the pump price cap of petrol to N123 per litre by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA).

The report stated that a recovery of crude oil prices in June 2020 led to the revised price of N143.8 per litre for petrol, saying, the consensus mediumterm outlook for the crude oil market was positive, implying that the price of petrol will be higher than the old regulated pump price in the near future. “The pricing of petrol will continue to be overseen by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) through a pricing template.

The new pricing template

takes several factors such as the petroleum product cost and the foreign currency conversion rate into consideration,� the Augusto & Co report noted.

Augusto & Co, however, stated that it expects the recent adjustment of the official exchange rate from N306 to N380 per US$ to test the sustainability of the pricing template before the end of 2020.

It noted that substantial local supply of refined petroleum products was imminent with the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote Refinery currently under construction.

It added the expansion of the Waltersmith Petroman’s refinery by 25,000 bpd to 30,000 bpd and other smaller modular refineries coming on stream were also expected to drive increased local refining capacity in the near to medium term.

The report further revealed that the growth of the Nigerian oil and gas downstream sector remained hindered by the lack of substantial investments, import constraints and regulated pump prices. “This is largely attributable to the dominance of the government in the industry, particularly in relation to the importation of refined petroleum products.

Over the years, the industry has enjoyed stable demand of petroleum products as a result of the subsidies provided by the government. This contributed to the gradual crippling of government finances,� it explained.

It said a significant structural change in the industry was hinged on the approval of the PIB, which aims to create efficient and effective governing institutions with clear and separate roles. The report stated that the delay in the approval of the bill has brought about uncertainty for potential investors.

COURTESYVISIT

GovernorofBauchiState,BalaMohammed(left)andMD/CEONEXIMBank,AbbaBello,duringasationvisittoNEXIMBankinAbuja...recently

NIMASA Assures Dockworkers of Improved Welfare Eromosele Abiodun The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has assured stakeholders of its commitment to the protection of the rights and welfare of dockworkers as guaranteed in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Decent Work Agenda.

The agency’s executive director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Victor Ochei, gave the assurance in Lagos during a meeting of the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC).

The meeting discussed a revised minimum wage and improved living standard for dockworkers through the Col-

lective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) initiative endorsed by NIMASA and NJIC in 2018.

Ochei said: “Dockworkers are integral to efficient and effective stevedoring operation and the NJIC has remained resolute in ensuring harmonious working relationships through the principle of tripartism and the execution of Collective Bargaining Agreements on minimum standards for the dock labour industry.�

Ochei, who is also Chairman of NJIC, extolled the efforts of the dockworkers to keep the maritime industry afloat, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said NIMASA was determined to ensure the dockworkers got what was due to them.

He called on the council members to cooperate with NIMASA towards ensuring meaningful negotiations that would culminate in the signing of another CBA. He stated that the Agency had made necessary arrangements for successful council proceedings.

He added that the success of the exercise would further demonstrate Nigeria’s compliance and commitment to the ideals of the ILO Decent Work Agenda, which seeks to promote safe work, decent wage, and freedom of association.

The representative of the Federal Ministry of Labour, Mrs. Joyce Udoinwang, expressed the Ministry’s commitment to the welfare of dockworkers,

assuring of its resolve to ensure no dockworker in Nigeria is short-changed. Udoinwang appealed for more cooperation from all the parties involved in the tripartite agreement.

In his remarks, PresidentGeneral of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, commended NIMASA for midwifing the CBA, adding that it has ensured industrial harmony and peace in the maritime industry.

Adeyanju disclosed that the NJIC would reconvene in the next few weeks to deliberate and agree on new wages for dockworkers.

Speaking also at the meeting, the representative of the

‘149m Digital Skill Jobs Required to Transform Economies by 2025’ Emma Okonji Given the unprecedented impact that COVID-19 pandemic has had on organisations and industries, which has compelled industries globally, Nigeria inclusive, Microsoft has said about 149 million new digital skill jobs are required in the next five years to accelerate global transformation.

Speaking at a virtual roundtable event, it hosted recently to discuss how the rampant digital

transformation accelerated by COVID-19 has impacted skills demand, the Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria, Mr. Akin Banuso, noted that COVID-19 had dramatically accelerated the pace of digital transformation and as a result, digital skills are required immediately.

According to Banuso; “Our recent research study shows that by 2025 digital job capacity will mean the creation of 149 million new jobs. Further to this, 800 million people will be required

to learn new skills to fully execute their jobs by 2030. As the economy in Nigeria starts to slowly reopen for business, we anticipate the return to an economy with different needs and certainly one, were a new challenge presents itself in terms of skills.�

The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, Inuwa Kashifu Abdullahi, said with the global demand for new digital skill jobs, Nigeria must

begin to retrain its citizens and equip them to become part of the required number people expected to have new digital skills by 2025. According to him, lack of digital skills gap could jeopardize recovery from COVID-19 pandemic. “Never before have digital skills been more critical as they are today. As we are gradually coming out of COVID-19, there is need for Nigerians to adjust to the new normal for work life balance and re-skilling for the

new digital jobs. The impact of COVID-19 is actually accelerating the speed of digital transformation and Nigeria must be part of the global digital transformation,�

Abdullahi said.

He cited the Mckinsey Global Report of 2017, which estimated that as much as 375 million workers, which represent 14 per cent of the global workforce would have to switch occupations to acquire new digital skills by 2030 because of the emergence of automation

and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic is fast forwarding the trend.

Abdullahi further said the COVID-19 pandemic escalated digital initiatives into digital imperatives, and created urgent pressure for organisations to rethink the needed skills that would adjust to the new normal.

Off the back of the recent Global Skilling Initiative announcement to aid 25 million job seekers worldwide

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CRC Credit Bureau Sensitises Bank Customers on New GSI Policy Maduabuchi Ubani In light of the mixed reactions around the Global Standing Instruction (GSI) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the CRC Credit Bureau has moved to give more insights around the new policy that is aimed at reducing the incidence of non-performing loans in the Nigerian Banking and thereby encourage economic growth.

The GSI Policy which has taken effect since August, 1, 2020 allows financial institutions to leverage on the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) and Credit Risk Management System (CRMS) platforms to recover bad loans.

While speaking on the new policy as a game-changer, the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, CBN, Dr. Kelvin Amugo, explained that the policy would not only guarantee the financial stability in the financial system, but would also reduce the rate of unserviced loans, improve loan recovery efforts and uphold responsive borrowing in the banking system.

He further mentioned that the new policy would help in

ensuring bank customers become more responsible in upholding their character when borrowing from financial institutions, saying the Central Bank was working towards including more financial institutions. “CBN has commenced GSI enlistment for other financial institutions, especially the microfinance banks. We also want to onboard the mobile money operators, because at the end of the day, we want the chain to be complete,� he added.

Stating the implications of the policy on customers, the Chief Risk Officer, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Olajumoke Odulaja announced that the policy would go a long way in correcting situations where a customer who has the capacity to pay back a loan refuses to pay.

She further explained that the policy would improve lending confidence, thereby bringing a decrease in interest rate. “It is safe to also note that banks are not allowed to wrongly trigger the GSI mandate against a customer, as there are stiff penalties for banks that do that, � she added.

Saraki Charges Committee on IMO Council’s Bid Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The Minister of State for Transportation, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki has charged the federal government’s Inter-Ministerial Committee for Nigeria’s bid into the Category ‘C’ Council of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) slated for November, 2021.

She urged the committee to embrace all diplomatic and operational strategies in soliciting for votes that would ensure Nigeria gets a seat in the IMO Council.

The Minister, made this known in Abuja recently, when she inaugurated the steering committee tasked with responsibility of ensuring that Nigeria secures a seat in the Council of the IMO at the 32nd

Regular Session of the Assembly in November/December 2021 at the IMO Headquarters in London.

Nigeria had failed in her previous attempts to clinch the coveted seat. Owing to this, she challenged the members to work assiduously as Nigeria cannot afford to lose once more.

Making a case for why Nigeria deserves a seat in the IMO Council, Saraki disclosed that the country generates the largest ‘throughput’ in the region, adding that Nigeria’s commitment to the aspirations of IMO ought to put the country in good stead to have a place in the decision making organ of the organisation.

The Minister in a statement by the Director of Press of the Ministry, Eric Ejiekwe, noted

that Nigeria as a maritime nation has invested enormous resources into making the maritime domain a hub in the sub-region by addressing issues of port decongestion, reduction of cargo charges, set in motion steps to achieve 24/7 port clearance time, emission control, maritime insecurity as well as addressing issues of domestication/ratification of IMO conventions/protocols.

She further charged the committee members to project Nigeria’s commitments and achievements to the international maritime community to facilitate her winning the coveted slot in the upcoming election.

The committee which consists of: the Acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMot), Mr.

Hussani Adamu, as Chairman, Director, Maritime Safety and Security, FMoT, Dr. P. Adalikwu; The Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administrative and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh; the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza bala-Usman, the Director General, Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Dr. Bayero Farah, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hassan Bello; the Managing Director, Nigerian Inland Waterways (NIWA), the Registrar, Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Sam Nwakohu, the Director, Maritime Services, FMoT, A.D Sulieman, among others promised to work towards achieving this mandate.

Western Digital Introduces New Solution to Accelerate Productivity Emma Okonji Western Digital has introduced the new WD brand My Passport SSD in capacities up to 2TB, with a sleek, compact metal design and blazing fast speeds powered

by NVMe technology.

The new palm-sized storage drive allows home and business users to save, access, accelerate their productivity and protect their valuable content without compromising style.

Announcing the new product at a virtual launch recently, Vice President, Consumer Solutions at Western Digital, Susan Park, said: “The new My Passport SSD delivers the speed, reliability and functionality consumers have come to expect from us. “It is a powerful and sophisticated solution for the everyday content creators, curators and hobbyists who need to move files quickly. The rounded corners, waving ridges and soft edges enhance the My Passport SSD’s portability and make it easy to carry, yet also distinctly recognizable as a member within WD’s award-winning My Passport product line-up.�

Giving details of the product, Sales Director, Africa at Western Digital, Ghassan Azzi, said: “Now more than ever, consumers are looking to empower their productivity by keeping their files and increasingly large content libraries with them.

Creators can move and edit high-quality content nearly twice as fast with the new My Passport SSD compared to the previous version of the storage drive, saving time to do more.

Whether on a laptop or desktop while at home, in the office or on the go, professionals can reliably

store their data on this drive. “WD’s My Passport SSD is designed from the ground up to provide reliable performance and a touch of luxury, inside and out. The bold metal design is both stylish and durable. It feels great in the hand and fits comfortably in a bag or pocket, enabling consumers to bring their content wherever life takes them and keep productivity flowing.

Available in a range of modern colors, including Gray, Blue, Red and Gold, consumers can choose the drive that best fits their style.�

According to Azzi, the new My Passport SSD offers the technical features users need and want, including:Blazing fast NVMe technology with read speeds of up to 1050MB/ s1 and write speeds of up to 1000MB/s1; Password enabled 256-bit AES hardware encryption to help protect valuable content simply; Featuring shock and vibration resistance and drop resistant up to 6.5 feet (1.98m); Software2 to make it easy to back up large files to your drive or a cloud service account3; USB 3.2 Gen-2 technology with a USB-C cable and a USB-A adaptor; and Ready to use out of the box and compatible with Mac and PC. For pricing and availability, Azzi said “My Passport SSD is backed by a five-year limited warranty and is now available in the 500GB and 1TB capacities in Gray worldwide at select e-tailers and retailers, with additional colours and capacities available later this year. The new drive has a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP in USD) in the US of $119.99/500GB and $189.99/1TB, respectively.

The solution is compatible with social channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

STRENGTHENINGRELATIONSHIP

Chairman,SenateCommitteeonBanking,InsuranceandOtherFinancialInstitutions,SenatorUbaSani(left)andManagingDirector/CEOAssetManagement Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, when the AMCON boss and some of his executive members appeared before a technical session of the SenateCommitteeinAbuja‌recently

Power: NLNG, LCCI Seek Greater Synergy Between Research, Industry Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) have called for more collaboration between researchers and businesses to find solutions to Nigeria’s growing power challenge.

Both organisations made the call during a virtual forum for the winners of the Nigeria Prize for Science 2019; Professor Meihong Wang and Dr. Mathew Aneke, to share insight into their winning work on “Carbon Capture, Carbon Utilisation, and Biomass Gasification and Energy Storage for Power Generation�.

The forum jointly organised by

the LCCI and NNLN, sponsors of the Nigeria Prize for Science, the Nigeria Prize for Literature and the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism also dwelt on safe bio-alternatives to firewood for cooking and emission of less carbon.

The Deputy President of Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Olawale Cole, in his remarks, said that the handshake between the industry players and scientists is the pathway to generating value that can turn around the narrative on the country’s development.

He added that only then can industry operators make informed decisions, noting that elsewhere collaboration between

businesses and scientific research organisations have led to groundbreaking outcomes which helped in solving societal problems. In her remarks, General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, NLNG, Mrs Eyono Fatayi-Williams , who spoke in the same vein, noted that that was the reason the company had continued to support winning works in different areas of science through the Nigeria Prize for Science.

She added that the force behind the company’s drive was its vision of “helping to build a better Nigeria�, with the deployment of brilliant ideas to solve national problems.Also speaking, former Minister of Commerce and

ex-President LCCI, Mrs Nike Akande, who lauded the efforts of the NLNG, called for more innovation and collaboration between Nigerian researchers and those in the business community.

The 2019 winning work provides solutions to the capture of carbon from the atmosphere and subsequent utilisation as well as providing alternative and safe energy for cooking and electricity.

The prize winners said that it has potential in reversing the trend of tree cutting for cooking and contributing positively to the roll-back of droughts and desertification in the country. “The work also shows possibilities of using bioenergy for electrification� the said.

FBNInsurance Develops e-Payment Channels Ebere Nwoji FBNInsurance Limited, a member of the Sanlam Group, said it has upgraded its digital capabilities and platforms to adequately serve its customers, especially its payment channels.

The company said this was in response to the demands of the new normal.

FBNInsurance said in line with this, it has introduced various payment channels to its customers

to ensure premium payments are made with ease and on time so that customers continue to enjoy the benefits of the various insurance policies held.

Addressing journalists, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer FBNInsurance Mr. Val Ojumah, outlined some of the payment channels available to customers to include FBNInsurance Customer and Financial Advisor (FA) Apps, E-Insurance on their website, POS

at their Aba, Onitsha, Warri and Ikeja Retail offices.

He further identified other alternative payment channels introduced by the company as USSD, ATMs, Web payments, Money Agents, Bank Payment/ Online Transfer, Direct Debit/ Standing Instructions, FirstBank First BAP platforms amongst others.

Explaining the use of these channels, Ojumah, said through the company’s online platforms,

the company could show customers that it would fulfil its promises to them by insuring their most valued assets and safeguarding their future. “The introduction of various payment channels to our customers is one of the few innovations being pioneered by the insurance company. I urge our customers to use these alternative payment channels to generate e-receipt(s) for every payment made,� he explained.

32

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 •T H I S D AY

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 • T H I S D AY

33

34

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 •T H I S D AY

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 • T H I S D AY

35

36

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąÍŻËœ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Report Predicts Rebound for Nigerian Businesses Maduabuchi Ubani Following the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses globally and locally, the Philips Consulting CEO Report has forecasted normalcy for businesses next year.

Phillips Consulting Limited recently engaged 100 Nigeria business leaders on the current economic landscape and presented the insights in its “CEO Report�, which stated that 57 per cent of CEOs expect that the earliest possible time for the business environment in Nigeria to normalise would be August 2021.

According to the report, CEOs are increasingly taking responsibility for their companies, and

are not necessarily looking up to the government for solutions to the problems occasioned by the pandemic.

For a greater awareness on political leadership in the country, the survey showed that as against the 79 per cent CEOs who voted in the 2019 general elections, only 67 per cent CEOs have reported that the pandemic would make them more interested in the outcome of the 2023 election.

Speaking on the CEO Report, Philips Consulting’s CEO, Rob Taiwo said, “Results from our survey showed that the Nigerian government and business leaders should pay close attention to the post-COVID19 policies and strategies of the United Kingdom,

China, and the United States of America as these will have the most profound impact on the Nigerian business environment.�

He added: “At pcl, we are committed to working with our clients and partners to build and develop people’s capabilities, technology systems and processes, effective and robust strategies, and business continuity plans. Let us work with you to future proof your business in the next normal.�

On managing money matters, Taiwo said, “Our 2020 Mask in the Air report states that “the most significant impact of COVID-19 is the restriction in movement, having its direct and detrimental impact on the local and global aviation industry.�

PolarisBankPromotesSavingsCulture Polaris Bank has launched the ‘Polaris Target Savings Account,’ to help Nigerians imbibe healthy savings culture as a means to building a strong financial base.

The bank in a statement released at the weekend quoting its Group Head, Products & Market Development, Mrs. Adebimpe Ihekuna, to have said: “The savings culture is gradually going into extinction as people generally spend than save, hence the launch of the target savings account to help Nigerians save for a better tomorrow. “We recognise that there is never going to be enough money to save. That is what one must

first accept - but the need to develop the habit of savings is as important as life in itself. “A salary increase for most people will not necessarily get them to save more. Your children finishing school, will not get you to save more. A bigger client for your business will not get you to save more. “Getting older, will not enable you to save more. Paying off your mortgage and other debts, will not get you to save more. All these are excuses not to start saving today.

If you are not saving with what you have today, chances are you might not save when you have more money,� Ihekuna added.

Speaking further, the banker explained: “It’s simply because we seem not have inculcated the culture of savings. One of the definitions we found describes culture, as a way of thinking and behaving in a society. “In our own words – Anything done consistently becomes a habit; a habit done over and over, becomes a way of life i.e. culture. If we look at our society, we have a spending culture as opposed to a savings culture. This is why most often, a bigger salary means more spending; while we often assume, albeit erroneously, that we will invest or save more when we earn higher income.

CardinalStone’s Debut Commercial Paper Records 148% Subscription CardinalStone Partners Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading multiasset investment management firms has announced that it successfully completed its debut Commercial Paper issuance with a subscription of 148 per cent.

The subscription level, according to a statement, demonstrates investors’ confidence in the company and the ability of its management team to deliver value.

The company had set out to raise N5 billion in the first

tranche under its N10 billion Commercial Paper Programme recently registered with FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited.

However, subscriptions totaling N7.1 billion were received from individual and institutional Investors including asset managers, pension fund administrators amongst others.

The Series I 270-day Commercial Paper was issued at an effective yield of 7.0%.

The company’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Michael Nzewi, was pleased with the

overall outcome of the commercial paper issuance.

He indicated that the funds would enable the company to diversify its financing mix and fund its working capital requirements. “This issuance is expected to consolidate CardinalStone’s position as a credible borrower in the Nigerian capital market while at the same time setting a precedence for commercial paper issuance by a non-bank affiliated financial services business,� Nzewi stated.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS Money Supply (M3)

36,822,751.47

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

3,476,121.25

Money Supply (M2)

33,346,630.22

-- Quasi Money

120,764,479.02

-- Narrow Money (M1)

12,582,151.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,002,026.89

---- Demand Deposits

10,580,124.31

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,637,137.23

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

29,185,614.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

39,711,115.95

---- Credit to Government (Net)

Ecobank has announced that it has won the award for Innovation in Financial Services at the 2020 edition of the African Banker magazine awards.

The awards, which reward banking excellence in Africa, were announced at a virtual ceremony held recently. The African Banker’s judging process sought to recognise the African banks that have demonstrated original and practical uses of technology to provide customer convenience,

improved and more affordable services and greater access to the financial services sector in Africa.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank, Ade Ayeyemi said: “Winning the Award for Innovation in Financial Services from the African Banker magazine is such an honour. “It provides public recognition of our pioneering role in harnessing technology to complement our pan-African presence and partnerships, to

deliver accessible, convenient, affordable and innovative banking products which are making a difference to millions of lives and businesses across sub-Saharan Africa. “Five years ago, we commenced a digital transformation journey to transform our banking products and services. This award attests to the success of that journey and we are delighted that our significant investment in technology is yielding the desired results.

Amaecom Group to Launch Business School in Awka David-Chyddy Eleke Ă“Ă˜ ĂĄĂ•Ă‹ Amaecom Group, Africa’s leading assets financing company is set to launch a business school in Awka, to teach entrepreneurs the basic rudiments of entrepreneurship.

The chairman of the group, Dr. Amaechi Ofomata, who

also doubles as the Chancellor of Mitchel and Michelle Business School, said the proposed institution would parade some of the best brains in business as lecturers. He said: “The idea of a business school is to impact on the people, little of what we know that can make them break even in their businesses.

“People need to acquire basic knowledge about running businesses. Today, Amaecom Group has 36 branches in Nigeria with five companies in the conglomerate, a branch in Ghana and Cameroon. When we started, we were not given a chance, but we applied the knowledge we have gained.

19,521,851.08

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-130,189,264.87

--Other Assets Net

3,472,017.70

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,421,827.07

--Currency in Circulation

2,395,917.03

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,025,910.04 317,234.17

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

Ecobank Group Wins Award

(MILLION NAIRA)

JULY 2020

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

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ Í°Íľ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $45.81 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $46.05 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), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

37

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

No Dividend for Guinness Shareholders as Covid-19 Induces Loss Goddy Egene Guinness Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of Diageo Plc, has announced its audited results for the year ended June 30, 2020, showing a decline in revenue and a loss due to the significant impact of COVID-19 lockdowns and ongoing economic challenges.

The audited results showed that Guinness Nigeria reported a revenue of N104.376 billion, showing a decline of 21 per cent

from N131.498 billion in 2019.

Operating loss printed at N12.832 billion in 2020. But an increase of 131 per cent in net finance cost to N4.24 billion, from N1.86 billion made the company to end the year with loss before tax of N17.07 billion, compared with a profit before tax of N7.10 billion in 2019. However, tax credit of N4.495 billion reduced the loss after tax to N12.58 billion as against a profit after tax of N5.48 billion in 2019. Due to the loss, no

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

dividend has been recommended for the shareholders.

Commenting on the results, Managing Director/CEO, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Baker Magunda, said: “The last quarter performance of fiscal 2020 was significantly impacted by restrictions due to COVID-19, exacerbating the already challenging economic environment. Closures of on-trade premises (bars, lounges, clubs and dine-in restaurants) which represent the major part of the

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

consumption occasion for our products; and bans on celebratory occasions impacted sales.� “Demand was also impacted by reduced consumer income, unemployment concerns due to the shutdown of a large number of businesses, and increases of VAT and excise throughout the year.�

He added that distribution was further impacted by the ban of inter-state, and in some cases intra-state travel. “Although Management

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

worked diligently with regulatory authorities to minimise the impact, this hampered our distributors ability to restock and have our brands available for purchase,� he said. The MD, however, revealed that its reaction to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 lockdown in Q4 was centered around reducing risk to the business by focusing on cash delivery, reducing distributor inventories, and fast-tracking the ongoing distribution transforma-

O F

tion project for efficient sales operations. This focus ensured a reduction of trade receivables by 88 per cent over same period last year. “We also focused on cost management by reacting to the drop in demand by reducing operations for a month. Agile actions taken in the period impacted by COVID-19 complemented the work already undertaken throughout the year to reduce cost of sales by year end,� Magunda said.

2 5 / 0 8 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

38

IMAGES

T H I S D AY ˞ ͹ͯ, 2020

Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

L-R: Vice Chancellor Bauchi State University, Mr. Auwalu Uba; Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Bauchi state, Samaila Adamu; Country Manager OCP Africa fertilizer Nigeria Limited, Mr. Caleb Usoh; and Head of Supply Chain, OCP Africa, Mr. Uma Obasi; during the signing of MOU between Ocpafrica and Bauchi state government on agriculture, in Abuja... recently PHOTO: KINGSLEY ADEBOYE

L-R: SSAP, Mallam Shehu Garba; Chief of Sta, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha, during a virtual Council of State Meeting held at the Council Chambers State House Abuja...recently PHOTO: STATE HOUSE

L-R: Chairman, Farmers and Herders for Peace, Kaduna state branch, Salim Umar; Chairman of the Peace and Reconciliation Summit, retired AVM Ishaya Shekari; and Commander, Operation Safe Haven in Plateau, Maj.Gen. Chukwuemeka Okonkwo, during the Atyap Peace and Reconciliation Summit, at Maryamu and Yakubu Foundation Multi-Purpose Hall in Mawakili village, Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna state... recently

Joyce Ugbosu at the virtual presentation of her book, Back against the Wall, in Lagos...recently

L-R: APC governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and former APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, during the APC governorship campaign at Orhiomwon local Council Area of Edo...recently

L-R: Children of the deceased, Richard Fadiora; Sam Fadiora; Widower, Michael Oyebisi Fadiora; Folakemi Adewoyin; Victor Fadiora and Oluwaseun Fadiora, at the funeral of late Madam Esther Fadiora in Lagos... recently

L-R: Zenith Bank Ikeja Zonal Head, Mr. Justine Osogbo; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs. Aramide Adeyoye and the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, during an inspection of the Alausa Multi Agency OďŹƒce Complex with a multilevel car park facility, in Lagos...recently

L-R: Managing Director, Sahara Energy Nigeria Limited, Aliyu Buba and Chief Executive oďŹƒcer, Rahamanyya Oil and Gas, Abdulrahman Bashir, during the latter’s visit to Sahara oďŹƒce in Abuja recently

39

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

CITYSTRINGS

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ë›Ă?äĂ?Ă™ĂŒĂ“ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—Ëœ ͙͔͙͚͚͓͖͑͑͑͒

A Traditional Rift in Anambra David-Chyddy Eleke reports that the rift between Anambra State governor and some traditional rulers in the community who are loyal to oil mogul, Prince Arthur Eze has escalated

W

hen the rift between oil mogul, Prince Arthur Eze and Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano started, no one expected that it will reach the level where some traditional rulers would ditch Obiano whom they all supported, and move to pitch tent with Eze, but that is exactly what it has become. The fight between the two sons of Anambra has also robbed 13 traditional rulers in the state of their position, as they are now suffering like the grass does when two elephants fight.

Eze had weeks back promised to lead selected traditional rulers of the state to see President Muhammadu Buhari, while also boasting to report Obiano to Buhari for his refusal to hold council elections, and also refusing to pay five per cent of the state’s income to monarchs. He made good his words by leading 13 monarchs to Abuja in the week that followed, but Eze and the monarchs were unlucky, and the trip turned awry, as the president allegedly refused to meet them.

The news of the failure of Eze and the monarchs set tongues wagging in Anambra, just as government officials and their aides made a laughing stock of the monarchs. A video of the monarchs allegedly sharing money in the home of the billionaire oil mogul further made their case worse and it was immediately tagged as bribe money given to them

by Eze to convince them to join him to the Abuja trip. Some commentators even tagged the revered traditional rulers as 'renegades'.

To redeem their image, Eze and the monarchs stayed back in Abuja in the hope of accomplishing their mission, but instead, they ended up seeing the Chief of Staff to the president, Prof Ibrahim Gambari after many days of wait. In the meeting, the monarchs commended the president for the various projects it has been embarking on in the South-east.

The monarchs named the projects to include; the second Niger Bridge, the Ziks Maosoleum, the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, and the Owerri-Onitsha road too. Contrary to allegations that they planned to report Obiano to the president, no mention of Obiano was made during the meeting.

As innocent as the visit could be, the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council quickly held a meeting recommending the suspension of the travelling monarchs, on the guise that part of the rules of the council was that no traditional rulers was permitted to travel outside the state without obtaining permission from the governor of the state, or even the local government chairman.

Igwe Alfred Achebe the chairman of the council who briefed journalists after their meeting said, "The traditional rulers leaving their respective domains without notifying either the state or their respective local governments, have violated the code of conduct prescribed for their office."

Acting according to the recommendation, Obiano last week placed one year suspension on 12 traditional rulers out of the 13 that embarked on the trip. He rightly gave his reason for the action as travelling out of the state without alerting him.

Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Mr. Greg Obi who revealed the suspension on behalf of the governor listed the listed the affected traditional rulers as follows - Igwe Alex Edozieuno of Mkpunando, Igwe Mark Anthony Okonkwo of Alor, Igwe Chukuwma Bob Vincent Orji of Ezinifite and Igwe Engr G.B.C Mbakwe of Abacha. Others are; Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo of Nawfia, Igwe Nkeli Nelly of Igbariam, Igwe Anthony Onyekwere of

L-R: Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano; wife, Ebelechukwu Obiano; Chairman of Oranto Oil, Prince Arthur Eze and former Secretary General of Common Wealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, during an event in Awka, when Eze and Obiano were still in good terms

Owelle, Igwe A. N Onwuneme of Ikenga, Igwe Simon Ikechukwu Chidubem of Umumbo, Igwe S. O Uche of Ezira, Igwe Dr Emeka Ilouno of Ifitedunu and Igwe Peter Ikegbunem Udoji of Eziagulu Otu. Though it was not clear who the 13th monarch was, but it was suspected that Igwe Peter Uyanwa of Ukwulu or Chief Austin Ndigwe could be the 13th. Though no reason was given why the 13th monarch was not suspended, but a source told THISDAY that Uyanwa had earlier been suspended, having been the first casualty of the Obiano/Arthur Eze fight, and as such cannot be suspended twice.

Chief Austin Ndigwe who is a factional monarch in Awka, the source said, could not also have been suspended alongside legitimate monarchs as he is seen as being illegitimate. "You can not suspend someone who is not a monarch, alongside with legitimate monarchs. Ndigwe is a private individual, and can go to Abuja anytime he likes. Suspending him will be like legitimising his Igweship," the source said.

Already, almost all the monarchs who went on the journey are embattled, as their communities have commenced the process to remove them. The leadership and entire people of Alor community in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State fired the first salvo, when it credited the inability of the monarchs to meet President Buhari to minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige. The community which revolted against its monarch, Igwe MacAnthony Elibe Okonkwo for 'acting disgracefully', called on the governor to remove him.

A press release signed by the President General of Alor People Assembly (APA), Sir Uzoma Igbonwa and made available to THISDAY in Awka thanked Ngige for the gesture, while also disowning Okonkwo for being among the monarchs who made the trip. “This offers us the opportunity to thank our illustrious son and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Nwabueze Ngige, for swiftly acting to prevent the total desecration of the Office of the Governor, before Mr President and the people of Nigeria.

"We, hereby wish to state our unequivocal support for the governor m and every step he has taken to restore sanity to our traditional institution, the suspension of erring traditional rulers

that includes the purported Traditional Ruler of Alor. We, the good people of Alor are peace-loving, law-abiding and loyal to the Government of Anambra State. And we shall continue to do so.

"We, hereby dissociate our entire community from the actions of Igwe Elibe Mac-Anthony Chinedu Okonkwo, who was imposed on our community and has strangely been conducting himself to the disapproval of our people, culminating in the latest sabotage against the government of Anambra State. “The state government may well see the reason the Alor community rejected this imposition on us by the former Governor, Mr Peter Obi and more reasons, the communities should be allowed to freely elect its traditional rulers in an atmosphere strictly guided by democracy, traditions and the norms,’’ the release read.

The call for the total revocation of Igwe Okonkwo's certificate was even after he had dissociated himself from the travelling monarchs, while also tendering apologies to Governor Obiano and asking for forgiveness.

Okonkwo who was caught on camera alongside other monarchs counting wads of Naira notes purported to be bribe money given to them by Prince Arthur Eze also stated that he never received bribe to join other monarchs to Abuja, rather the money seen with him was meant for his aides and driver to procure fuel.

Other erring traditional rulers are also battling to retain their kingship in their communities. The latest are two monarchs from Obiano's town; Aguleri.

The two monarchs; their majesties Alex Edozieuno of Mkpunando and Peter Ikegbunem Udoji of Eziagulu communities were disowned by their communities.

On Monday, Aguleri indigenes met at Obu Gad, the town square to protest against their conduct,saying that their disgraceful conduct can no longer be tolerated.

Elders of the community who spoke through Ichie Aruno Odefi called on the Anambra State governor, Chief Obiano to remove the two monarchs, saying that their conduct in the town has not only been disgraceful, but negates the love the town has for Obiano who is also a son of the soil.

"They can not continue to be monarchs.

Aguleri town has five communities, but

this very two Igwes have not represented us well. The height of it is joining other traditional rulers to Abuja to go and report our son, Obiano to Mr President.

We have had enough and will no longer take it. If Obiano does not want to remove them, then let them become traditional rulers at the government house, and not for Aguleri communities," he said.

The Presidents General of the five communities in Aguleri who also spoke through Barr Hippo Onwuegbuke condemned the two monarchs for joining 11 others in a trip that is meant to tarnish the image of a son of the soil (Obiano).

He said even if they apologised as some other traditional rulers have started doing, the people will no accept their apologies because they are already fed up with their disgraceful conduct. “Look at this crowd that trooped out to protest against them. What will you tell them that will appease them? The best thing is for the monarchs to toe the line of honour and resign their kingship.

The people are already calling on Obiano to remove them as you can see."

Though it is not clear what Prince Arthur Eze was doing to help the embattled monarchs who are on the verge of losing their traditional stools for associating with him, THISDAY gathered that as a way to appease them, each of the 12 suspended monarchs were given a brand new Lexus GL570.

Though this has not been confirmed as a close aide of one of the traditional rulers said even though his principal was back from the trip, they are yet to see the car gift. "We have not seen Igwe with any car that is not his official car.

He has been back since two days now, but we have not seen any car, and no one has asked him."

Meanwhile, the state government has made it clear to the monarchs that it will not tolerate any form of recalcitrance from them. In an earlier press release by the governor's Chief Press Secretary, Mr James Eze, in which he announced the initial suspension of Igwe Peter Uyanwa, he cited clearly the instance of Kano State governor, Alhaji Abdulahi Ganduje, who delt with the former Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, adding that if such a first class monarch could be dealt with by a state governor, how much more the few recalcitrant ones in the state.

˾ MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020

40

MONDAY, AUGUST 31ST, 2020 ŽŵĞƐƟĐ ƋƵŝƟĞƐ DĂƌŬĞƚ͗ dŚĞ ƵůůƐ ^ƵƐƚĂŝŶ WŽƐŝƟŽŶ ŝŶ

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

ƚŚĞ ƋƵŝƟĞƐ DĂƌŬĞƚ

The uptrend in the local bourse persisted last week as sustained

buying

h D Ed

(+2.8%),

and

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interest

in

^d E /

(+1.2%)

(+4.5%)

supported

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

Ticker

Current Price

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

overall

performance. Consequently, the NSE All-Share Index closed in the green on 4 of the 5 trading sessions in ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ͕ ƌŝƐŝŶŐ Ϭ͘ϯй ǁͬǁ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ Ϯϱ͕ϯϬϵ͘ϯϳ points. Similarly, YTD return improved to -ϱ͘ϳй ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ േ45.6bn w/w to close at േϭϯ͘ϮƚŶ͘ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ ǀŽůƵŵĞ rose 12.8% to 214.3m units while average value

Price Previous Current Change Price Weightin YTD Change g

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

1,116.62

0.05%

-23.9%

11.7%

17.4%

3.9%

3.8x

0.5x

7.2%

17.9%

1 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC

117.80

0.0%

32.0%

12.2%

8.1%

163.8%

12.2%

12.2x

17.2x

5.9%

8.2%

2 Airtel Africa PLC

380.00

0.0%

19.1%

27.1%

27.1%

9.4%

3.1%

3.1%

3 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

25.40

0.8%

10.0%

-14.5%

-13.0%

31.1%

5.2%

3.6x

1.2x

11.0%

27.6%

4 Zenith Bank PLC

16.85

0.0%

6.2%

-9.4%

-9.9%

24.5%

3.2%

2.5x

0.6x

16.6%

39.5%

5 Nestle Nigeria PLC 6 Dangote Cement PLC

1,175.00

0.0%

4.2%

-20.1%

-20.1%

106.4%

23.1%

22.6x

29.4x

6.0%

4.4%

134.20

0.0%

4.5%

-5.5%

-5.5%

26.9%

12.0%

11.0x

3.1x

11.9%

9.1%

7 Access Bank PLC

6.40

2.4%

2.9%

-36.0%

-36.6%

16.1%

1.4%

2.2x

0.4x

10.3%

44.7%

8 United Bank for Africa PLC

6.35

-0.8%

2.7%

-11.2%

-11.8%

15.6%

1.5%

2.5x

0.4x

15.7%

39.8%

9 FBN Holdings Plc

4.95

-2.0%

2.3%

-19.5%

-23.8%

14.2%

1.4%

2.4x

0.3x

7.7%

41.9%

10 Nigerian Brew eries PLC

37.00

0.0%

1.8%

-37.3%

-37.3%

7.8%

3.3%

35.3x

1.7x

5.4%

2.8%

11 Lafarge Africa PLC

11.55

0.0%

2.2%

-24.5%

-16.3%

44.7%

24.1%

8.1x

0.5x

8.4%

12.3%

385.00

0.0%

1.5%

-41.5%

-35.0%

2.5%

1.5%

18.2x

0.3x

9.7%

5.5%

ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ Ϯϳ͘ϭй ƚŽ േ1.5bn. The top traded stocks by

13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

36.05

0.0%

1.9%

-12.1%

-9.9%

25.9%

3.7%

5.1x

1.2x

8.3%

19.7%

14 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

18.80

0.0%

1.0%

-4.6%

-4.6%

0.5x

7.4%

volume

15 International Brew eries PLC

3.70

0.0%

0.4%

-61.1%

-61.1%

-30.1%

-8.6%

16 Ecobank Transnational Inc

3.90

-1.3%

0.6%

-40.0%

-40.5%

11.0%

0.7%

1.5x

0.2x

17 Fidelity Bank PLC

1.76

-1.1%

0.7%

-14.1%

-12.9%

12.4%

1.3%

1.9x

0.2x

11.4%

53.9%

175.00

0.0%

0.8%

18.3%

18.3%

18.7%

8.5%

8.8x

1.5x

4.7%

11.4%

were

dZ E^ KZW

;ϭϴϰ͘ϵŵ

units), h E (118.4m units) and h (84.2m units) while

E/d,

(േ1.2bn),

'h Z Edz

(േϳϬϮ͘ϭŵͿ

and h E (േϲϳϵ͘ϮŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

skewed as 3 indices under our coverage gained w/w.

The Insurance index led gainers, up 2.8% on the back buying

in

E D

(+15.0%),

18 11 PLC

interest D E^ Z

;нϳ͘ϲйͿ

and t W/ (+6.1%). Trailing, the Consumer Goods

in

, DW/KE

;нϭϵ͘ϮйͿ͕

W

;нϵ͘ϭйͿ

and hE/> s Z ;нϳ͘ϱйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ index inched higher by 0.6% as investors took

down 0.2% as h (-3.8%) and d/ (-2.5%) dragged performance. Finally, the AFR-/ d ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϵdž ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘Ϯdž ĂƐ Ϯϵ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϯϰ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ performing

stocks

for

were

(+31.5%),

&dE K K

and

hW>

, DW/KE

;нϭϵ͘ϮйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ

the

79.00

0.0%

1.0%

42.1%

42.1%

23.5%

15.8%

10.8x

2.4x

2.6%

9.3%

0.0%

0.5%

-8.1%

-10.7%

21.2%

11.5%

6.6x

1.2x

8.8%

15.3%

0.4x

1.8%

0.57

-1.7%

0.3%

-42.4%

-46.7%

22 Unilever Nigeria PLC

15.00

0.0%

0.4%

-31.8%

-27.5%

-11.5%

-7.2%

1.3x

23 Guinness Nigeria PLC

14.15

-9.3%

0.2%

-52.9%

-52.9%

3.0%

1.6%

0.4x

d '> ^

(-

10.0%), Z / K (-ϵ͘ϱйͿ ĂŶĚ /> ^/E (-ϵ͘ϭйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͘ &ŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ĐŽŶƐĞĐƵƟǀĞ ǁĞĞŬƐ ŽĨ ŐĂŝŶƐ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŽ ƐĞĞ ƐŽŵĞ ƉƌŽĮƚ-taking in early trades this week.

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

-9.6% 10.7%

-40.6%

24 FCMB Group Plc

2.15

2.4%

0.5%

16.2%

18.1%

9.8%

1.1%

2.1x

0.2x

6.5%

46.6%

25 Sterling Bank PLC

1.20

3.4%

0.2%

-39.7%

-36.8%

8.7%

0.8%

3.4x

0.3x

2.5%

29.8%

26 UAC of Nigeria PLC

5.70

-0.9%

0.2%

-33.7%

-36.0%

-11.2%

-5.5%

2.3x

0.3x

1.8%

43.4%

27 Custodian and Allied Insurance

4.80

0.0%

0.2%

-20.0%

-20.0%

13.9%

4.9%

4.6x

0.6x

9.4%

21.9%

49.00

0.0%

0.3%

3.2%

3.2%

12.5%

5.3%

9.4x

1.7x

4.1%

10.7%

5.40

0.0%

0.2%

-10.0%

-10.7%

7.7%

1.0%

6.8x

0.6x

5.0%

14.8%

8.1%

28 Presco PLC 29 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 30 Total Nigeria PLC 31 Oando PLC

80.00

0.0%

0.1%

-27.9%

-27.9%

5.7%

1.1%

18.3x

1.1x

2.35

0.0%

0.1%

-41.1%

-41.1%

14.5%

2.6%

1.0x

0.1x

5.5% 98.8%

32 NASCON Allied Industries PLC

10.05

0.0%

0.1%

-22.4%

-22.4%

16.7%

5.2%

7.0x

2.1x

4.0%

14.4%

33 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

17.00

0.0%

0.1%

2.5%

-14.6%

10.8%

1.2%

6.7x

0.7x

9.9%

14.8%

0.51

0.0%

-25.0%

9.3%

0.7%

2.7x

0.4x

7.8%

37.2%

0.0%

0.1% 0.1%

-31.1%

12.60

-30.4%

-30.0%

-3.0%

-1.0%

35 Ardova PLC 36 Continental Reinsurance PLC

0.0% 55.40

0.0%

0.1%

3.0%

3.0%

13.5%

9.1%

38 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd

62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-13.1%

-3.6%

39 AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

1.84

0.0%

0.1%

-7.1%

-7.1%

17.6%

5.0%

40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

4.00

0.0%

0.0%

-18.4%

-18.4%

-6.4%

-3.2%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e T ic k er

Vo lum e

1.0x

-3.3%

-100.0%

37 Beta Glass PLC

P ric e C hg %

6.1x

4.1x

0.8x

0.0x

-6.7%

0.6x

24.5%

0.6x

0.0x

-11.7%

T o p 10 G a i n e r s T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

25.8

2.4%

F T N C OC OA

0.24

9.1%

FB NH

15.6

-2.0%

R OYA LEX

0.26

8.3%

F T N C OC OA

11.3

9.1%

WA P IC

0.35

6.1%

R OYA LEX

11.2

8.3%

ST ER LN B A N K

1.20

3.4%

FCM B

8.1

2.4%

CA P

16.70

3.4%

WA P IC

5.3

6.1%

A C C ESS

6.40

2.4%

GUA R A N T Y

5.2

0.8%

FCM B

2.15

2.4%

Z EN IT H B A N K

4.8

0.0%

C A VER T ON

1.89

2.2%

UA C -P R OP

4.6

0.0%

P R EST IGE

0.52

2.0%

UB A

4.6

-0.8%

UC A P

3.10

1.6%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e T ic k er

16.5%

1.6x

A C C ESS

week (+20.0%)

65.3%

12.50

ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ W (+3.4%) and h D Ed (+2.8%).

Conversely, the Banking index emerged the lone loser,

-73.1%

19 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

34 Wema Bank PLC

ŝŶĚĞdž ƌŽƐĞ ϭ͘ϭй ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ

0.6x

20 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC 21 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂůďĞŝƚ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞůLJ

of

12 SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

T o p 10 L o s e r s

Value

P ric e C hg %

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

A C C ESS

162.5

2.4%

T ic k er GUIN N ESS

14.15

-9.3%

GUA R A N T Y

131.3

0.8%

J A IZ B A N K

0.58

-7.9%

N EST LE

91.6

0.0%

J A P A ULOIL

0.21

-4.5%

D A N GC EM

82.2

0.0%

T R A N SEXP R

0.75

-2.6% -2.0%

Z EN IT H B A N K

80.1

0.0%

FB NH

4.95

FB NH

77.7

-2.0%

NA HCO

2.04

-1.9%

GUIN N ESS

51.2

-9.3%

T R A N SC OR P

0.57

-1.7%

SEP LA T

45.8

0.0%

R ED ST A R EX

3.85

-1.3%

UB A

28.9

-0.8%

ET I

3.90

-1.3%

NB

26.2

0.0%

F ID ELIT YB K

1.76

-1.1%

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Ola Belgore | obelgore@afrinvest.com

Abiodun Keripe | akeripe@afrinvest.com

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Oluwarotimi Ashimi | oashimi@afrinvest.com

Adedayo Bakare | abakare@afrinvest.com

41

MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Seplat Appoints Oteh, Rolet as Non-executive Directors Goddy Egene The

Board of Directors of Seplat

Petroleum Development Company Plc has appointed Ms. Arunma Oteh and Mr. Xavier Rolet as independent non-executive

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

directors of the company, joining the Seplat Board with effect from October 1, 2020.

Oteh is a seasoned C-suite executive

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 27Aug-2020, unless otherwise stated.

with several years of experience operating at the highest levels at major multilateral agencies, global financial institutions and

in government. She was the director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC)Nigeria from 2010 to

2015. She also served as treasurer and vice president of the World Bank from 2015 to 2018.

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 N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 0.92 0.93 2.33% ACAP Income Funds 0.78 0.78 10.23% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.80% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.97 3.05 21.08% 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 N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 14.42 14.85 -5.87% ARM Discovery Fund 340.99 351.27 -1.29% ARM Ethical Fund 30.44 31.35 4.66% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.15 1.15 15.16% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.08 1.08 8.19% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.47% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 96.79 97.47 0.74% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.69% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.13 2.13 16.16% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 1.86 1.88 5.91% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.36% Paramount Equity Fund 11.33 11.53 -9.50% Women's Investment Fund 110.44 111.39 0.01% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.68% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 105.14 105.47 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 109.17 109.48 Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 102.71 102.71 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.36% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.95 0.96 2.12% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.55 1.55 16.91% 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 4.26% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 4.46% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,169.25 1,180.02 5.38% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,391.72 1,393.41 14.07% FBN Balanced Fund 152.04 153.07 3.56% FBN Halal Fund 107.27 107.29 7.27% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.50% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 119.70 120.16 3.08% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 115.20 116.99 -11.47% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.40% Legacy Debt Fund 3.81 3.81 4.32% Legacy Equity Fund 1.13 1.16 0.19% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.12 1.12 3.34% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 3,133.71 3,168.02 3.05% Coral Income Fund 3,187.61 3,187.61 3.64% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 4.05% 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 100.00 100.00 4.27% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 113.31 120.54 8.47%

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 4.08% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.13 2.17 -2.55% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 8.59% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 149.84 150.57 4.53% 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 1.25 1.27 7.08% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,131.80 1,131.80 6.91% 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 N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 1.38 1.41 13.39% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.93 12.00 5.95% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.79% PACAM Equity Fund 1.09 1.10 PACAM EuroBond Fund 107.81 110.35 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 114.57 116.70 -2.49% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.01 1.01 6.44% 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 N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 0.15 1.17 -3.59% United Capital Bond Fund 1.85 1.85 6.71% United Capital Equity Fund 0.65 0.67 -7.06% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.67% United Capital Eurobond Fund 114.31 114.31 4.62% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.02 1.03 -2.42% 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 10.35 10.46 0.63% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.63 11.70 -0.08% Zenith Income Fund 24.53 24.53 10.19% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.18%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

117.83

5.06%

53.40

2.59%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

9.06 86.38 67.23

9.16 88.21 68.44

4.06% -8.57% -10.53%

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund Union Homes REIT

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.05 4.24 11.94 1.00 11.09 182.81

3.09 4.32 12.04 1.00 11.29 184.81

-14.04% -28.10% -1.51% 3.28% 6.69% -2.81%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.03

15.02%

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.

42

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 •T H I S D AY

THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE RIGHT JOB IN THE NIGER DELTA BUHARI GOT IT RIGHT

T

his morning, I awoke to read about the appointment of retired Col. Milland Dixon Dikio as the new Amnesty Program Coordinator. I was optimistic, but cautiously so and called a few friends to make sure it was the same Dikio that went to Baptist High School, Port Harcourt with me in the post-Civil War days. Yes, WKH\ DOO FRQ¿UPHG WKDW LW ZDV LQGHHG WKH VDPH 'LNLR My cautious optimism turned to a radiant joy that brought great pride for me as Niger Delta person and a Nigerian – Buhari got this one perfectly right!

I sat down with my morning tea and pondered a VHULHV RI TXHVWLRQV %XKDUL GH¿QLWHO\ IRXQG WKH right man for this job. How did Buhari manage WR ¿QG WKLV VTXDUH SHJ WR SODFH LQ D VTXDUH KROH" Isn’t the Niger delta lucky for Buhari to appoint an Ijaw Man of Dikio’s calibre to this important Niger 'HOWD SRVW" $Q ,MDZ 0DQ ZLWK HQRUPRXV FDSDFLW\ DQG FUHGHQWLDOV 'LNLR¶V DSSRLQWPHQW LV GH¿QLWHO\ not based on any form of political correctness. This man has capacity and depth. How could this happen, I scratched my head in delighted wonderment. +RZ GLG KH ¿QG RXW DERXW WKLV &RORQHO ZKR VKXQV publicity and is completely publicly apolitical, even ZKHQ KH VHUYHG LQ WKH PLOLWDU\" The fact that this process of choosing the best man for the job happened back-to-back following Dr. Adesina’s recent re-election as the head of African Development Bank is reason for cautious optimism for the future of the Niger Delta and Nigeria.

Perhaps the days of lobbyists pushing political correctness and political cronyism in Nigeria are beginning to fade – recent signs indicate there may be hope for that once silly pipedream. Dr. Adesina’s FDVH LV RQH KHFN RI DQ H[DPSOH RI WKH EHQH¿WV RI putting a round peg in a round hole. First, when he was investigated he came out as clean as a whistle.

A corrupt person would certainly have been found wanting given the intensity of the scrutiny and investigation mounted and supported by the almighty United States of America. Yet Dr. Adesina came through that process to serve Nigeria as the Right Man for the Right Job. Now, on the heels of that rare personnel appointment triumph, this recent appointment of retired Col. Dikio by President Buhari is stunning and a reason for genuine joy. The appointment of Dikio has followed the pattern of Adesina’s re-election in WKDW &RORQHO 'LNLR LV FHUWDLQO\ WKH PRVW TXDOL¿HG person any head of state could appoint to a position as sensitive and potentially controversial as that of handling matters pertaining to amnesty in the Niger Delta.

As an Ijaw man from Engenni, Col Dikio is a GLVFLSOLQDULDQ ¿UP EXW IDLU +H LV D VWUDLJKW VKRRWHU D QR QRQVHQVH PDQ D YHU\ EULOOLDQW 2I¿FHU and even more so a true Gentleman that has always done himself, his family, his position, and his country proud. He is a man of substantial intellect and reason. He is a stickler for adherence to process and procedure, but never at the expense of doing the right thing that achieves the most common good for all. In Dikio, you have the Best Man for the Job. As I stated earlier, Col Dikio is from a small market

community called Mbiama in Engenni. The Engenni people are considered the earliest settlers in the Niger Delta Region and many scholars

FRQVLGHU WKHP WR EH DPRQJ WKH ¿UVW SHRSOHV WR settle in what is now Nigeria. The Engenni people are Ijaw people that live in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. They are considered to be Edoid based on linguistic grounds. They are actually Ijoid (they are of Ijaw root), and their oral history connects them with their Ijaw relatives. They primarily live in the Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Although they are Ijaw, the Engenni speak an Edoid language. This is due to the LQÀXHQFH RI WKH ROG %HQLQ NLQJGRP 7KH SHQHWUDWLRQ of the Niger Delta by Edoid groups extends to the Epie-Atissa and Engenni of the central and Eastern Niger Delta. The Epie people, along with the Ogbia people and other groups of the central and eastern Niger Delta are also historically united with Ijaw.

The other groups of the central and eastern Niger Delta that are also said to be historically Ijaw, include the Engenni. The Engenni also have close relations with neighbouring Ijaw tribes such as the Zarama and Epie-Atissa.

Engenni as an area and the Ijaw as a people are

collectively a people whose contributions to the wealth of the Nation are without peer. Mbiama, Col. Dikio’s hometown, is clearly endowed by QDWXUH ZLWK SOHQWLIXO QDWXUDO UHVRXUFHV VSHFL¿FDOO\ in the form of crude oil. Proof can be found in the QXPEHU RI RLO ¿HOGV ZLWKLQ D WKLUW\ PLOH UDGLXV of Mbiama: %,6(1, KDV RLO ZHOOV 6+(//Š RSHUDWHV eleven (11) of these oil wells and calls its oil ¿HOG ³$',%$:$ 1257+ ($67 2,/ ),(/'´ NIGERIAN AGIP OIL COMPANY (NAOC) RSHUDWHV ¿IWHHQ RLO ZHOOV DQG FDOOV LWV RLO ¿HOG ³,'8 %,6(1, 6$0$%5, 2,/ ),(/'´ 7KH DFFHVV URDG WR %LVHQL ZDV FRQVWUXFWHG E\ 6+(//Š ZKLOH the access roads to the oil wells were constructed by the individual companies that operate the respective oil wells. ('$*%(5, %(77(5 /$1' KDV IRUW\

active oil wells and seven (7) dormant wells. These RLO ZHOOV DUH RSHUDWHG E\ 6+(//Š DQG WKH RLO ¿HOG LV NQRZQ DV ³$',%$:$ 2,/ ),(/'´ 7KH DFFHVV URDG ZDV FRQVWUXFWHG E\ 6+(//Š

delight at Dikio’s appointment are based upon my knowledge of him as a young man growing up together in the Niger Delta. We both attended Baptist High School in Port Harcourt immediately DIWHU WKH ZDU HQGHG WKDW -DQXDU\ WK , JUDGXDWHG LQ ZKLOH KH JUDGXDWHG LQ $IWHU VFKRRO ZH lived together in a certain boy’s quarter as he was planning to attend the Nigerian Defence Academy while I was preparing to continue my studies in America. He went to Kaduna and a year later I went to Superior, Wisconsin USA. When I visited home IURP WKH 8 6 IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH LQ , VWD\HG ZLWK my old friend Dikio at Ikeja Military Cantonment in the home of his buddy, Lt. Merriman-Johnson.

During several subsequent visits to Nigeria I spent time with Col Dikio, including a visit to see him when he was serving in Maiduguri. Dikio chose the path of service to Nigeria in the military and I chose the path of service to the law. He worked to make Nigeria better, whilst never forgetting his Ijaw and Niger delta roots.

I know this man very well and I can authoritatively say that Buhari got his appointment right. I have often had the pride of being Col Dikio’s friend DQG KDYH VSHQW VLJQL¿FDQW DPRXQWV RI WLPH ZLWK him both personally and professionally – certainly enough time to take the true measure of the quality of the man. And, yes, I know Col. Dikio enough to write about him to express my thoughts and genuine happiness at the good fortune of Nigeria to have selected him for this important service to his fellow Ijaw and all peoples of the Niger Delta.

Dare we Nigerians hope that this is a new trend in 1LJHULD ± WKH 5LJKW 0DQ IRU WKH 5LJKW -RE" 2U LV WKLV MXVW D FDVH RI D EOLQG GRYH VRPHWLPHV ¿QGLQJ D SHD" )RU QRZ , FKRRVH WR VHH WKH DSSRLQWPHQW of Col. Milland Dixon Dikio as a new sunrise over the Niger Delta and a portent of better days for my beloved homeland. All Nigerians can hope this is the case.

All Engenni people, all people of Ijaw Nation, and the entire people of the Niger Delta should congratulate Col. Milland Dixon Dikio and express WKHLU SURIRXQG WKDQNV WR %XKDUL IRU ¿QGLQJ DQG appointing the Right Man for the Right Job of piloting the affairs of the Niger Delta Amnesty Program.

*OSHIE COMMUNITY has two (2) oil wells RSHUDWHG E\ 1$2& DQG LWV ¿HOG LV NQRZQ DV ³26+,( 2,/ ),(/'´ 7KH DFFHVV URDG ZDV FRQVWUXFWHG E\ *Dr. Lloyd F. UKWU, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

NAOC. *AKINIMA COMMUNITY* has seven (7) oil wells and all are presently active and operated by 1$2& 7KH ¿HOG LV DOVR SDUW RI WKH ³26+,( 2,/ ),(/'´ 7KH DFFHVV URDGV DUH FRQVWUXFWHG E\ NAOC. 258$0$ $.,(21,62 KDV IRXU DFWLYH oil wells operated by NAOC and two (2) oil wells RZQHG E\ 6+(//Š WKDW DZDLW GULOOLQJ 7KH IRXU

oil wells operated by NAOC are also part of the ³26+,( 2,/ ),(/'´ Col. Dikio is clearly the Right Man for The Right Job – he is an Ijaw man from the right Niger Delta community, Engenni. Moreover, he has the proper intellect, demeanor, skill set and temperament to head the Niger Delta Amnesty Program. Inarguably, Col. Dikio is right for this task - ethnically, geographically, and personally These observations, and indeed my truly heartfelt

Col. Milland Dixon Dikio, Rtd

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

43

INTERNATIONAL

Sudan Rebels Accept Key Peace Deal Sudan’s main rebel alliance has agreed a peace deal with the government aimed at ending 17 years of conflict, official news agency SUNA said Sunday.

The Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), an alliance of rebel groups from the western region of Darfur and the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, inked a peace agreement with the government late on Saturday.

A formal signing ceremony is planned for Monday in Juba, the capital of neighbouring South Sudan, which has hosted and helped mediate the long-running

talks since late 2019.

Senior government officials and rebel leaders “signed their initials on protocols on security arrangements” and other issues late Saturday, SUNA reported.

However, two key holdout rebel forces have refused to take part in the deal.

The final agreement covers key issues around security, land ownership, transitional justice, power sharing, and the return of people who fled their homes due to war.

It also provides for the dismantling of rebel forces and

the integration of their fighters into the national army.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and several ministers flew to Juba on Sunday, the news agency said, where he met with South Sudan President Salva Kiir.

Hamdok said that finding a deal had taken longer than first hoped after a initial agreement in September 2019.

“At the Juba declaration in September, everyone expected peace to be signed within two or three months, but …we realised

that the questions were of one great complexity,” Hamdok said.

“However, we were able to accomplish this great work, and this is the start of peacebuilding.”

The rebel forces took up arms against what they said was the economic and political marginalisation by the government in Khartoum.

They are largely drawn from non-Arab minority groups that long railed against Arab domination of successive governments in Khartoum,

including that of toppled autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

About 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since rebels took up arms there in 2003, according to the United Nations.

Conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile erupted in 2011, following unresolved issues from bitter fighting there in Sudan’s 1983-2005 civil war.

Forging peace with rebels has been a cornerstone of Sudan’s transitional government, which came to power in the months

after Bashir’s overthrow in April 2019 on the back of mass protests against his rule.

Two movements rejected part of the deal — a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Abdelwahid Nour, and a wing of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), headed by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.

Previous peace accords in Sudan, including one signed in Nigeria in 2006 and another signed in Qatar in 2010, have fallen through over the years.

Half of Lebanese Could Face Food Shortages, Says UN More than half of Lebanon’s population risk facing a food crisis in the aftermath of a Beirut port blast that compounded the country’s many woes, a UN agency said Sunday.

“More than half of the country’s population is at risk of failing to access their basic food needs by the year’s end,” the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) said.

“Immediate measures should be taken to prevent a food crisis,” ESCWA executive secretary Rola Dashti said.

Lebanon’s government, she said, must prioritise the rebuilding of silos at the Beirut port, the country’s largest grain storage.

Lebanon was mired in an economic collapse even before the cataclysmic August 4 cataclysmic blast at Beirut’s port, which killed 188 people, wounded thousands and destroyed swathes of the

capital.

Lebanon defaulted on its debt, while the local currency has plummeted in value on the black market and poverty rates have soared, on top of a spike in the number of coronavirus cases.

“The yearly average inflation rate is expected to be more than 50 percent in 2020, compared with 2.9 percent in 2019,” ESCWA said in a statement.

Lebanon relies on imports for 85 percent of its food needs and the annihilation of the silos at the Beirut port could worsen an already alarming situation, aid agencies and experts have said.

ESCWA said increased transaction costs of food imports could lead to a further rise in prices.

To prevent a crisis, authorities must set a ceiling for food prices and encourage direct sales from local producers to consumers, Dashti added

Brazil COVID-19 Death Toll Exceeds 120,000 Just over six months after registering its first case of the new coronavirus, Brazil crossed the grim threshold of 120,000 people killed

by Covid-19 Saturday, with no end in sight to the crisis.

The country of 212 million people has now registered 120,262 deaths from the virus and 3,846,153 infections, the health ministry said in its daily update.

Brazil is just the second country to surpass a death toll of 120,000 in the pandemic, after the United States, where the number killed is now more than 182,000.

Unlike in Europe and Asia, where the virus hit hard and then subsided, Brazil’s outbreak is advancing at a slow but devastating pace, said Christovam

Barcellos, a researcher at public health institute Fiocruz.

“Brazil is unique in the world.

Since the start of the pandemic, its curve has been different from other countries’, much slower,” he told AFP. “It has stabilized now, but at a very dangerous level: nearly 1,000 deaths and 40,000 cases per day…. And Brazil still isn’t past the peak.”

‘Total lack of coordination’ Brazil confirmed its first case of the virus on February 26, a Sao Paulo businessman returning from a trip to Italy. It recorded its first death on March 16.

The pandemic soon turned political in Latin America’s largest country.

An Italian coastguard vessel came to the rescue on August 29, 2020 of rescue vessel, Louise Michel funded by British street artist Banksy, which sent out a distress signal on with more than 200 migrants onboard.

AFP.

Boat Carrying Nearly 370 Migrants Reaches Italy’s Lampedusa A fishing boat carrying nearly 370 migrants landed overnight on the Italian island of Lampedusa, the country’s news agencies reported on Sunday, as a nearby humanitarian ship carrying another 350 people sought a port of disembarkation.

Italy has been struggling in recent months to deal with daily arrivals of hundreds of migrants to its southern shores, a task complicated by security measures imposed by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The boat carrying 367 people, which was in danger of sinking due to high winds, was escorted

by the Italian coast guard and police to the island’s port, ANSA news agency said.

They were met at the port by a demonstration organised by the far-right, anti-immigrant League party.

The migrants, whose nationalities were not known, underwent temperature checks before they were taken to an emergency reception centre on the island which now houses some 1,160 people, 10 times its maximum capacity, Lampedusa’s mayor, Toto Martello, told ANSA. About 30 other small boats, mostly from the Tunisian coast,

had already reached the island since Friday carrying some 500 migrants, the Italian press reported.

“Lampedusa can no longer cope with this situation. Either the government takes immediate decisions or the whole island will go on strike. We can’t manage the emergency and the situation is now really unsustainable,” Martello told ANSA. Nello Musumeci, the rightleaning leader of sister island Sicily, on Sunday wrote on Facebook that he would ask the government for a meeting on the “humanitarian and health crisis”.

“Lampedusa can’t do it anymore. Sicily cannot continue to pay for the indifference of Brussels and the silence of Rome,” he wrote.

The Italian coast guard on Saturday also transported 49 people who had been rescued in the Mediterranean by the MV Louise Michel, a vessel funded by the street artist Banksy.

The 150 other passengers on that ship were transferred late Saturday to the humanitarian rescue boat Sea-Watch 4, which now has some 350 people on board and is looking for a port of disembarkation.

India Sets New World Record With 78,761 COVID-19 Cases in One Day India on Sunday set a coronavirus record when it reported 78,761 new infections in 24 hours — the world’s highest single-day rise — even as it continued to open up the economy.

Home to 1.3 billion people, India is already the world’s third-most infected nation with more than 3.5 million cases, behind the US and Brazil.

It has also reported more than 63,000 deaths, according to the official health ministry toll.

The US set the previous record on July 17 with 77,638 daily infections, according to an AFP tally.

In his regular monthly radio address on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not comment on the milestone but called on

Indians to observe health safety measures.

“It is important that every citizen is healthy and happy and we defeat coronavirus completely together,” Modi said in Hindi.

“Corona(virus) can only be defeated when you remain safe, when you fulfil the resolve of keeping a safe distance of two yards and wearing masks.”

Experts warn that while a ramp up in testing in recent months was encouraging, more needed to be done to capture the scale of the pandemic in the world’s second-most populous nation.

The virus has badly hit megacities such as financial hub Mumbai and the capital New Delhi, but is now also surging

in smaller cities and rural areas.

“Testing per million in India at 30,000 remains the second lowest in top 10 (virus-infected) countries.

Mexico is lowest at about 10,000,” virologist Shahid Jameel, who heads the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance, told AFP Sunday.

“We are still finding one positive in every 11 to 12 tests.

This number should be one in 20 simply and means that testing is still sub-optimal and the outbreak is growing.”

Doctor Hemant Shewade, a Bangalore-based community medicine expert, added that India also needed to focus on reducing deaths — the fourth-highest in the world according to a tally by John Hopkins University.

The government collects fatality numbers from positive cases but not from suspected infections, raising concerns among scientists that the true picture of the epidemic is not being reflected in the official toll, he said.

“It is a small subset like the tip of the iceberg,” Shewade, who has been analysing India’s official toll data, told AFP of the government’s decision to focus only on positive cases recorded within the official health system.

“We should develop mechanisms to capture suspected Covid-19 deaths… Even after doing this, a continuous triangulation of data with routine death surveillance should be done at district levels and state levels.”

44

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Edo APC, PDP inVerbal War over Alleged Bloody Attacks on Supporters Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-city The Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council yesterday condemned the alleged bloody attack on a top party chief and others in Agbede, Etsako West Local Government Area of the state.

The party alleged that Mr. Jah Usman and others were among those attacked, noting that two suspects connected to the attacks have been arrested.

But the state Police Command did not confirm the allegation as calls and text messages put across to it were not answered.

Nevertheless, a senior officer within the command, who did not want his name mentioned, yesterday, stated that the report of the incident has not been brought to the attention of the command.

He said: “Both camps have had reasons to complain about cases of attacks and counter-attacks in the past two weeks, so we don’t know how best to describe their issues as preparations towards the election get

intensified.”

According to the state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, who spoke at a press conference in Benin-city, the gunmen in mask numbering about 11 had last Thursday stormed the residence of Mr. Usman as he and others were holding a meeting in his house and rained bullets on the people, while several vehicles and buildings in the process were destroyed.

While reacting, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council, through its Chairman on Media, Mr. John Mayaki, alleged that the attack is the handiwork of the state governor and his party, who he alleged have formed the habit of instigating attacks on themselves and the APC, only to turn around to blame opponent to get public sympathy.

He said the two suspected political thugs arrested were among 11 suspected assassins who struck at the residence of Usman in Agbede.

Meanwhile, Nehikhare has expressed the party’s displeasure over the spate of attacks targeted at

Nigeria’s COVID-19 Cases Rise By 138 to 53,865 Martins Ifijeh

Nigeria has recorded 138 new cases of COVID-19, bringing to 53,865 the number of confirmed cases in the country.

Announcing this yesterday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said Plateau State recorded 55 new cases; Lagos, 15; Ebonyi and

Oyo, 11 each; Abia, eight; Anambra, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Rivers, seven each; Kaduna, six; Ondo, five; Kwara, three; Bauchi, Benue, Bauchi, and Edo, one each.

It said: “Nigeria has so far recorded 53,865 cases of COVID-19.

41,513 patients have been discharged, while 1,013 persons have died.”

APC, Jegede Bicker over Ore Overhead Bridge James Sowole in Akure The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State yesterday engaged in a verbal war over an overhead bridge project inaugurated by the administration of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.

The governorship candidate of the PDP, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, while meeting with artisans in the state, allegedly described the project on the Benin- Ore Expressway, as “a phony project.’’

But in a swift reaction, the APC, in a statement issued by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Steve Otaloro, accused Jegede of mischief.

“We viewed with disgust the conservative partisan claim of Mr Jegede, in which he insinuated that Governor

Akeredolu embarked on a phony project in respect of the overhead bridge built at Ore. “The Ore interchange bridge is one of the ways the government strives to reduce traffic lockdown and the rate of vehicular accidents which, very often, claim the lives of our people around the area.”

In his response, Jegede, through the Head of Media and Research of Eyitayo Jegede Campaign Organisation, Mr. Samuel Fasua, insisted that the bridge was a waste of resources.

“Desirable as a bridge in Ore was, they shouldn’t gloss over the fact that spending about N6bn on it cannot be justified; this could have catered to three other such projects in the southern senatorial district,” Fasua said.

members of the party at every campaign event.

He noted that the APC members have resorted to

violent attacks and other dangerous methods aimed at stopping the PDP from carrying on with its state wide

campaign tours because of its rising popularity and the achievements of the state Governor Godwin Obaseki-

led administration which he said have continued to reverberate in many parts of the state.

RELIEF FOR AIR TRAVELLERS...

L-R: Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prof. Placid Njoku; Ebonyi State Governor and Chairman of South East Governors’ Forum, Mr. David Umahi; Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika; Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, during the reopening of the rehabilitated runway of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu...yesterday

Two People Feared Killed, Scores Injured as Shi’ites, Police Clash in Kaduna Two members of the Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky- led Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) otherwise known as Shi’ites, were reportedly killed during a clash with Police in Kaduna yesterday.

It was learnt that gunshots rented the air around the popular Ahmadu Bello Way as police made efforts to disperse the protesting

IMN members.

The sect members were out in protest to press demand for release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, who have been in detention since December, 2015 after a bloody clash with soldiers in Zaria.

Kaduna State Government had since outlawed the group and prohibited all forms of protest

in the state.

A leader of IMN yesterday evening said two of their members were killed during the Sunday clash while several others were injured.

“As we speak, we are working on our press release. There was a clash and lost two of our members were killed by Police.

Several other members were also

injured,” he said.

Contacted, Kaduna State Police Command’s PPRO, ASP Muhammad Jalige, said he was yet to receive signal on the incident.

According to him: “I called the DPO in charge of the area, he didn’t pick; Maybe he was busy containing the situation. But, as soon as I get details about the incident, I will call you.”

New NBA President, Akpata, to Audit 2016, 2018, 2020 Elections The new President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olumide Akpata has set up an Electoral Audit and Reforms Committee to audit the body’s 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections.

The Committee, headed by Ayo Akintunde (SAN), will also recommend reforms for future electoral systems and processes.

Akpata, who was sworn into office for a two-year term last Friday, made the disclosure yesterday morning in a series of tweets on his Twitter handle.

The NBA has faced threats to its unity following unresolved questions on the credibility of its national officers’ elections of last July 29 and 30.

The NBA leadership had been dominated by Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) until Akpata, 47, caused an upset recently.

He defeated two SANs – Dr. Babatunde Ajibade and Mr. Dele

Adesina – to become the first elected non-SAN president of the NBA in about 22 years.

But Adesina faulted the process, alleging the election was manipulated.

The NBABoard of Trustees agreed that the election was not perfect.

Last Thursday, two northern lawyers announced the formation of a parallel bar, the ‘New Nigerian Bar Association’ following the withdrawal of a speaking engagement offered Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, among other grievances.

Referencing the issues in his statement,Akpata said: “On Friday 28 August 2020, I was sworn into office as 30th President of the Nigerian Bar Association, the foremost professional membership association in Nigeria and the most influential network of legal practitioners in Africa.

“I use this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to God;

to the entire membership of the NBA for their mandate; and to the Nigerian populace for their interest and goodwill.

“In my inaugural address to the members, I outlined our policy direction for the next two years while also assuring the members of our intention to fulfill the promises that we made during the electioneering period.

“For me, two things stand out.

The first is the need to audit the election that led to our emergence, but which was also characterised by certain glitches that should not be associated with a foremost professional association like ours.

“It is for this reason that I immediately constituted an Electoral Audit and Reforms Committee headed by Ayo Akintunde (SAN) to audit our 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections and to recommend

reforms for our electoral systems and processes.

“Secondly, I am not unaware of the very recent events and agitations that have tended to divide our bar along regional and religious lines.

This is rather unfortunate for an egalitarian association like ours.

“The weight of expectations on us is immense and there is no time to take anything for granted. This enormous task cannot be achieved if we continue to fan the embers of division at a time when we desperately need to unite and speak with one firm voice.

“The bar that I now lead must be one that is united on all fronts and that recognises that our diversity is, perhaps, our greatest strength.

I plead with all Nigerian lawyers to bear this sense of unity in mind as we commence a new journey together.”

Ex-worker Demands N100m from Mobil for Alleged Unlawful Sack Alex Enumah in Abuja A staff member of the Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mr. Ernest Omo-Ojo, has dragged the oil giant before the Abuja Division of the National Industrial Court (NIC) over alleged unlawful termination of his appointment.

Omo-Ojo is contending that the termination of his appointment

by Mobil in a letter dated June 24, 2019, after he published a faith-based book and contested for vice-president of the ExxonMobil Employees Multi-purpose

Cooperative Society, was wrongful, null and void in law.

He is also asking the court to order the defendant to pay him the sum of N100 million as compensation for damages suffered as a result of his alleged wrongful sack.

In the suit filed by his counsel, Max Ogar, the complainant is contending that his sack was done without due process on release of employee as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which is the statutory regulator of the oil

and gas industry had in its resolution of October 15, 2019, issued a 14-day timeline to comply with the DPR guidelines.

Omo-Ojo informed the court that since the “unethical stoppage” of his salary and allowances, he has gone through avoidable pain for over 15 months with a serious toll on the welfare of his family and his children’s university education with psychological impact on his family members.

He wants the court to hold among others that the Federal

Ministry of Petroleum Resources is under an obligation to enforce its guidelines and ensure compliance with same.

The sacked worker further demanded “an order directing the DPR to wield the big stick against the defaulting Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and/or ExxonMobil.

“An Order declaring as null and void the action of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) and/or ExxonMobil taken in the face of a pending complaint before the DPR.”

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

45

NEWS

Tinubu, OAU Hail Adesina on His Re-election as AfDB President Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife (OAU) in Osun State have hailed the re-election of the President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina.

In a statement issued by his media office, Tinubu said the re-election of Adesina for another term of five years is an affirmation of Africa’s confidence in his ability and commitment to the development of the region.

The statement noted that in a passionate letter forwarded to Adesina at the weekend and personally signed by him, the former Lagos State governor said: “By way of this letter, please accept my heartfelt congratulations over your election to serve a second five-year as President, African Development Bank at the recent 2020 Annual Meetings of the AfDB Group.

“Your unanimous re-election by the Board of Governors, coming after ill-defined attempts to block your continuance, shows that if we remain vigilant and true to the

collective purpose of the economic progress of the African continent then fairness and justice will win out in the end.

“As a globally renowned economist, you demonstrated outstanding competence and professionalism during your first term. Your re-election was but affirmation of Africa’s confidence in your ability and commitment.

“In your first term, you distinguished yourself by driving to reshape the Bank that it would be a more active catalyst for Africa’s development. You focused on five development priorities known as the High 5s: Light up and Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the Quality of Life for the

People of Africa.

“As AfDB President for another term, I urge you to continue in like manner. Continue to invest your cognitive abilities, immense skills and robust energy in the development of Africa.

“Given the exigencies of the present moment due to the global pandemic, you must put your knowledge and creativity into

fullest use that we work towards creating more employment for the people of this continent and remove them from the grip of poverty and its attendant difficulties.

“The AfDB must be at the policy and intellectual vanguard as we seek ways to contain both the public health and economic challenges of COVID-19.

Military to Deploy Aircraft to Protect National Waterways Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The military said weekend it would deploy special mission aircraft to Benin, Edo State capital, as part of the federal government’s integrated national security and waterways’ protection infrastructure.

It said the deployment was aimed at comprehensively tackling insecurity in Nigeria’s territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar made the disclosure weekend during an operational visit to the 107 Air Maritime Group (AMG) to inspect facilities and infrastructure preparatory to the deployment of special mission aircraft.

He said the ATR-42 aircraft, which operates from Benin, had flown combat support missions all over the country, including Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, among others.

The NAF boss commended personnel of the 107 Air Maritime Group (107 AMG) Benin for their contributions in the efforts of the Nigerian Air Force to ensure a secured Nigeria.

While making the commendation, the CAS also reiterated that the NAF, working in synergy with other arms of the

military and security agencies, would continue to work round the clock to ensure that Nigerians in every part of the country would be able to pursue their legitimate aspirations without fear.

“As I speak to you now, the ATR-42 aircraft, NAF 930, is currently conducting missions in the North-east of the country.

“So, clearly your unit is contributing significantly to what we are doing to ensure that our country is secured and our people can pursue their legitimate aspirations without fear”, he said.

Speaking further, Abubakar said the purpose of his visit was to assess facilities and infrastructure for the imminent deployment of additional air assets to Benin by the federal government.

“We are here to look at the infrastructure available and also identify gaps. The hangar facility is adequate. However, there will be need for aircraft shelters and some ground support equipment in order to make the deployment possible”, he added.

He further noted that more pilots, engineers and technicians, whom he said had already been nominated for conversion training on the new aircraft as well as force protection elements, comprising NAF special forces personnel, would also be deployed to Benin.

Bauchi Govt to Extend Monthly Environmental Sanitation to 20 LGAs Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Bauchi State Government has said henceforth, the monthly environmental sanitation usually conducted within the state capital will be extended to all the 20 local government areas of the state.

The state Commissioner for Housing and Environment, Hon. Hamisu Muazu Shira, who disclosed this at the weekend at the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, said the move was part of the state government determination to ensure the state is clean and healthy for the benefit of both the government and the citizenry.

The commissioner said in order to enable the ministry to perform optimally, the state Governor, Bala Mohammed, has approved the purchase of a brand new wheel loader and the repair of grounded vehicles used for environmental

sanitation.

He noted with satisfaction the compliance of residents of Bauchi metropolis during the conduct of the monthly environmental sanitation, and requested them to maintain the tempo.

According to him, “Today, we have conducted our monthly environmental sanitation, and we have seen compliance of about 90 percent by residents, and this is to show you that they are with us now.

“BASEPA and cosmopolitan cleaners will continue to work together to keep the state clean against any outbreak of any disease.”

Shira assured the people that the ministry and indeed the state government would continue to work in synergy with the state House of Assembly in order to achieve the desired objectives.

DEDICATING TO GOD...

L-R: President of The Sword of the Spirit Ministries, Bishop Francis Wale Oke; Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde; his wife, Mrs. Tamunominini Makinde; General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye; his wife, Mrs. Folu Adeboye; RCCG Pastor, Mrs Victoria Oke; and Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, during the inauguration of Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye Global Mission Centre, Ibadan...yesterday

Kaduna LGA Enacts Law against Indecent Dressing, Excessive Make-up John Shiklam in Kaduna The Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State has enacted a bye-law to regulate the sale of liquor, prohibition of prostitution and indecent dressing, including “excessive make-ups or jewelry by women in the area.”

The bye-law, which is already in force, was signed by the council Chairman, Mohammed Ibrahim Usman, on June 10, 2020, causing

serious concern among residents of the area.

It was learnt that several groups, including operators of beer parlours in the area, have kicked against the bye-Law, vowing to challenge it in court.

The law prohibits men from plaiting or wearing or curling their hair, wearing of dirty, tattered, worn out jeans, earrings or nose rings; wearing of singlet or garment with offensive or

provocative messages or writing publicly; display of inner wears and unkempt appearances among others.

Tagged as ‘Control and regulation of sale of liquor and/or spirit and other related offences (Regulation/Prohibition), Bye Law No. 2 of 2020’, it prohibits women from “wearing short and skimpy dresses publicly, which expose vital parts of the body such as back, breast and hip.

“Wearing of micro or miniskirts or gowns above the knee publicly, wearing of tight trousers publicly without proper overall garments reaching below the knee.

“Putting on undergarments publicly, wearing of transparent or revealing garments publicly without putting on proper and appropriate under wears. Also, putting on dirty tattered or worn-out jeans/garments publicly.

Wike Sues for Unity as APC Members Defect to PDP Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Thousands of members and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State led by Chief Ambrose Igbokwe Nwuzi, the Ogbugaa 1 of Etche Nation, yesterday defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Addressing the defectors, the state Governor, Nyesom Wike, urged PDP leaders in the area to work together for the overall interest of their people.

Wike said he made a promise to reconcile all aggrieved members

of the party during his second term inauguration, and would not allow further divisions in the party.

He called on the leader of the party in Etche LGA, Prince Emma Anyanwu, to carry all members of the party along in the scheme of things.

According to Wike, “The people of Etche ethnic nationality have lost a lot of things because of division. You should see the overall interest of Etche far above personal interests.

“I have embarked on developmental projects in Etche,

including the Olakwo-Afara-Nihi Road, even when Chief Ambrose Nwuzi was in APC. “We shall provide more people-oriented projects in your area during the lifespan of this administration.”

He commend Nwuzi for taking the bold step to return to the PDP, and urged the people to understand that the development of Etche is more paramount.

Receiving the defectors to the party, the state Chairman of the PDP, Desmond Akawor, said the return of Nwuzi to the party was prompted by the developmental

strides of the governor across the state devoid of ethnic and political sentiments.

Akawor stated that with the defection of Nwuzi to the PDP, there is no more APC in Etche LGA. In his speech, Chief Nwuzi apologised to the people of Etche for what he described as his sabbatical journey to the APC. He described APC as a party of unfulfilled promises, noting that with his return to the PDP, there would be massive defection to the party in the coming days.

Nigerian Engineers Lament Low Govt Patronage Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Engineers in the country at the weekend bemoaned lack of support and patronage from government at all levels, stressing that the development was having a negative impact on the practice of the profession in Nigeria.

The engineers argued that it was increasingly becoming more difficult to get jobs from the federal, state and local governments, saying if the government does not provide

the opportunities, it would be impossible to know the true capacity of those in the field.

Speaking during the 2020 Engineering Conference and Annual General Meeting organised by its Abuja branch with the theme: ‘The future of work post-COVID-19: The new normal’, the National President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Babagana Mohammed, maintained that as a country in need of infrastructure, it was ironical that many Nigerian

governments were not willing to engage members of the organisation.

He urged members of NSE to approach and engage people in authority, stressing that in times of crises, no other country will be willing to help those who cannot produce skills locally.

According to him, “We need to partner the governments and proffer professional advice to them at all levels. NSE is a knowledge bank. We need to engage the government at higher levels.

“From getting jobs for our members to getting jobs for our contractors, I tell everyone that Nigeria is an infrastructuredeficient country. So also is Africa!

“How many engineers do we have in Nigeria? From the record, it’s 53,000, and off-record, may be it is 100,000. That shows that we must engage.

“There shouldn’t be any reason an engineer should not be at work because we are intelligent species, and no country plays with its engineers.”

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56 Days after, Magu Yet to be Served with Copy of Allegations Interim report on Magu, figment of authors’ imagination, says counsel Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, is yet to be served a copy of the 22-point allegations levelled against him by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, 56 days after the panel was inaugurated.

This is coming as the Counsel to Magu, Mr. Wahab Shittu, said the purported interim report allegedly submitted to the presidency did not emanate from the panel.

Today marked 56 days since the panel began sitting at the presidential Villa, Abuja.

The panel sat for 40 days since inauguration with the exclusion of 14 days being weekends and public holidays.

Magu’s legal team had repeatedly insisted that Magu

was yet to be served a copy of the allegations against him.

The lawyers have also alleged that he has not been allowed to cross-examine witnesses testifying against him.

Magu’s Counsel, Shittu, weekend said the Chairman of the panel, Justice Ayo Salami, ruled on his application against the media report.

Shittu stated that he confronted the panel with the consequence of the purported release of the said interim report in certain sections of the media.

Shittu further said he had urged the panel to take a judicial notice of the publications and the need to take necessary action against the purveyors of the fabricated report.

But Shittu quoted Salami as insisting that the report was based on the figment of the authors’ imagination.

Wahab also quoted Salami as saying this in his ruling over the interim report, “The story arising from the so-called interim report is not from us.

“What should concern you and your client is what the chairman said. Inviting the promoters of the story will not serve any useful purpose as they will not disclose their sources of the story.

“The purported story is a figment of their imagination”.

Magu was arrested on Monday, July 6, 2020 and taken before the panel.

President Muhammadu Buhari signed the letter of instrument on July 3, 2020 and named the panel as commission of inquiry to look into alleged mismanagement of recovered assets against Magu.

The letter was made available to Magu on Saturday, August 8.

SGF Celebrates FMCYola for Successful Separation of Conjoined Twins from Bayelsa Daji Sani in Yola and Onungwe Obe in Yenagoa The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, has celebrated the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Yola, Adamawa State, and the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Awwal Muhammad Abubakar, following the successful separation of conjoined twins.

The SGF made the announcement over the weekend at an occasion organised in Yola to celebrate the CMD, who is also the lead surgeon, and the hospital for successfully carrying out the separation of the conjoined twins.

Mustapha noted that the success has made Adamawa State and the hospital proud as a centre for medical excellence in the country.

He said since the inception of the FMC, the hospital has separated conjoined twins in 2013, 2018 and 2020, adding that this makes it the fifth time the CMD, Prof Awwal, has separated conjoined twins in his career, and he needs to be honoured.

“l will try to talk to the federal government so that we can honour you; surely your labour will not go in vein,” he said.

Mustapha urged Nigerians to always express love to one another and shun any divisive tendency, adding that the fact that conjoined twins born in the Niger Delta came to Yola to receive free treatment, shows an unprecedented love extended by one Nigerian to another irrespective of any difference.

He noted that such spirit must underpin how Nigerians should relate.

The SGF commended the Chief of Air Staff, Air Mashal Abubakar Sadiq, for airlifting the conjoined twins who were born in Beyalsa State to Yola to receive the free treatment.

Shortly after the occasion, Prof.

Auwal revealed to journalists that Grace and Mercy, the eight months old set of female omphalopagus twins, were delivered by Caesarean section at the General Hospital in Nembe, Bayelsa State, on December 25, 2019, with a

combined birth weight of 5.8kg, shared a single umbilical cord and were joined from the mid thorax to the mid-abdomen with a fused liver.

He said the twins were earlier managed at FMC in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, before being transferred to the FMC in Yola, Adamawa State, on January 4, 2020, to be separated.

Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Director of FMC Yenagoa, Dr. Dennis Alagoa, said while receiving the babies on arrival at Bayelsa International Airport on Sunday disclosed that a team of pediatric surgeons and healthcare personnel from the two medical institutions collaborated to achieve the feat while the Nigerian Air Force provided logistics for medical evacuation from Yenagoa to Yola.

“We applaud the Chief of Air Staff, Air Abubakar, for his swift intervention by making avaliable the aircraft and logistics for medical evacuation of the babies alongside their parents and medical team to and from Yola.

Group Faults FG over NPC Appointments Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja Controversy has trailed the recent appointments into the National Population Commission (NPC) as a civil society group, Centre for Social and Inter-ethnic Cohesion (CENSIC), faulted the federal government for the exclusion of some regions from the appointments.

The National Council of State (NCS) had recently ratified the appointments of the Chairman, Mr. Silas Agara, as well as other officials of the commission.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, had recently confirmed the ratification of the officials of the commission.

The nominees are Muhammed Dottijo (Sokoto); Razaq Gidado (Kwara); Ibrahim Mohammed (Bauchi); Joseph Shazin (FCT); Bala Banya (Katsina) and Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin (Lagos).

Others are from Zamfara, Yobe, Jigawa and Ekiti, while two representatives were from Nasarawa State.

Reacting to what he described as the federal government’s lopsided appointments in a statement, the CENSIC Director of Public Relations, Mr. Wellington Olaiya, said it was surprising that the South-south and South-east regions were left out of the appointments.

He urged the government to correct its mistake in the coming days or weeks, adding: “It has come to our attention that the composition of the members and chairman of the commission is in clear breach of the law.’’

According to Olaiya, the appointments excluded the two geopolitical zones, which is a clear violation of the Federal Character Act. “We want to believe that this is an error on the part of the

executive arm of the government, and we looking forward to its correction,” he said.

The House of Representatives had recently asked the federal government to conduct a national census before the end of 2020, adding that the result from the last one conducted in 2006 is no longer effective for policy-making.

Hon Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos), whose motion led to this resolution, called this unfortunate, saying until census is made a mandatory national ritual at intervals like elections, Nigeria would continue to have delays in organising national census.

The government, he said, required data to know the number of children being born; number of schools and hospitals that would be needed; how many workers are in a given town and how many foreigners are in the country for proper provision of infrastructural facilities.

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SERAP Sues Buhari over Failure to Publish Details of N800bn Recovered Loot Udora Orizu in Abuja Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari over failure to disclose information and documents relating to the names of people from whom N800 billion looted public funds have been recovered, specific dates of the recovery, and details of projects on which the money has been spent.

Buhari had in his speech in commemoration of Democracy Day on June 12, 2020, stated that the government has recovered looted funds in excess of N800 billion, and that these monies are being ploughed into development and infrastructure projects.

In the suit number FHC/ABJ/ CS/1064/2020 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP is seeking an order for leave to apply for judicial review and an order of mandamus to direct and/or compel President Buhari to publish a comprehensive list of names of people from whom N800 billion looted funds have been recovered, the details of spending of the money, and the specific dates of the recovery.

The group is also seeking an order of mandamus to direct and compel Buhari to instruct appropriate anticorruption agencies to promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate alleged payment of N51billion of public funds into individual private accounts in 2019.

The suit followed SERAP’s Freedom of Information (FoI) request dated June 23, 2020, to President Buhari, stating that: “The public has a right to know how recovered N800billion loot has been spent, and the details and purpose of the alleged payments of N51billion into individual private accounts.

“The transparency over transactions by the government is critical to ensuring public confidence in the integrity of management of public resources and wealth.”

Joined in the suit as respondents are the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed.

In the suit, SERAP is arguing that: “The court ought to compel the respondents to disclose the details and whereabouts of the public funds. There is no

PTF, NCAA Outline COVID-19 Protocols for International Passengers Chinedu Eze The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in collaboration with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has outlined coronavirus safety protocols for passengers wishing to travel out or come into Nigeria when international flight operations resume on September 5, 2020.

The PTF insisted that potential travellers must be acquainted with the regulation before initiating their plan to travel so that they would not be stopped midstream after they have made financial and time commitments.

The new regulation, which was contained in a document dated August 21, 2020, and made available to THISDAY, states that all intending travellers to Nigeria must have tested negative for COVID-19 by PCR in the country of departure pre-boarding and PCR test must be within seven days before departure and preferably within 72 hours pre-boarding.

According to the document, for certain countries, COVID-19 PCR tests would only be acceptable from specified laboratories and tests done more than seven days before departure are not valid, and such person would not be allowed to board, but for the 72 hours minimum, this is advisory and will not preclude boarding.

“All intending passengers are required to register via a national payment portal online (details to be made available) and pay for a repeat (second) PCR test to be done upon arrival in Nigeria. This payment portal will provide passengers with the options of where and when to carry out the PCR test.

“Passengers will be given an appointment time and date to present themselves at the Sample Collection Centres located in their

states of residence for a repeat COVID-19 PCR test on the seventh day after arrival. A list of accredited private laboratory providers and Sample Collection Centres across the country will be available on the payment platform and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) website.

“Passengers will also fill the online Health Declaration/Self Reporting form co-located on the same national payment platform and submit online or print out for presentation on arrival. They should ensure that the information/contact details provided on the form are correct, verifiable and that they can be reached on the phone number and address provided.

“Passengers must inform port health officials on arrival of any change in their health circumstances since completion of the Health Declaration/SelfReporting form,” the document stated.

The document further stated that prior to boarding, passengers are requested to upload their COVID-19 PCR negative results onto the national payment portal and bring along an electronic or hardcopy of the result for presentation at the airport.

At the time of boarding, all travellers will undergo thermal screening for fever and questioned for symptoms of COVID-19.

Passengers with COVID-19 related signs and symptoms will not be allowed to board the flight.

The PTF requested that airlines must only board passengers with test results showing that the tests were done within the stipulated seven-days before boarding and airlines that board passengers without a negative COVID-19 PCR tests or test results of more than seven days prior to boarding will be sanctioned.

legally justifiable reason why the information should not be made widely available to Nigerians, especially as the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) requires the government in section 15(5) to abolish all forms

of corruption. That means ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of public resources and wealth.”

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Opeyemi Owolabi,

read in part: “As a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Nigeria

has committed to ensuring transparent management of public resources, and unhindered access to public information.

These commitments ought to be fully upheld and respected.

SET FOR EDO 2020...

L-R: National Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Festus Okoye; Resident Electoral Commissioner in Edo State, Dr. Johnson Sinikiem; and the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during the INEC chairman’s visit to the state headquarters in Benin City, Edo State ...weekend

Ganduje Disburses N880m for Schools’Renovation in 44 LGAs Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has given out the sum of N880, 942,432.38 million for the renovation of primary schools in all the 44 local government areas of the state.

Each local government area in the state would be given N20 million through the Community Promotion Committee (CPC) to execute the renovation project.

Speaking during the presentation of the cheque held at Sani Abacha

Indoor Stadium in Kano yesterday, Ganduje said his administration has accorded utmost priority to education as the bedrock to societal development.

According to the governor, his administration had provided a blueprint to finance education, some of which is the allocation of 26 percent of the annual budget of the state to education.

He added that his administration had made sure that 5 percent of the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is spent on education, adding

that 5 percent of the statutory allocation of the local governments also goes to education financing, under the Education Trust Fund.

Ganduje also revealed that 2 percent of each contract awarded in the state is expended on education with a view to improving its quality, aimed at moving the state forward.

“After we introduced free and compulsory education policy from primary to junior secondary, we made sure that we built the policy on four aspects.

“The aspects are: political will, education financing, strong institutions and community participation. At the institution, we made sure that we upgraded the Ministry of Education with seven or nine parastatals.

“We also made sure that we encourage community participation.

We are now presenting these pieces of cheque to all of the 44 local government chairmen. The money would go to CPC for the execution of the projects,” Ganduje stated.

Photojournalists Association of Nigeria Elects New Officers The members of the new executive of the Lagos State chapter of The Photojournalists Association of Nigeria (PJAN), have emerged after election was conducted by members in Lagos on Saturday.

In the new team are the chairman, Mr. Abiodun Ajala (THISDAY); Vice Chairman, Mr. Pius Okeosisi (Businessday); Secretary, Odutayo Odusanya; Assistant Secretary, Mr. Tony Eguaye(West Africa News); Treasurer, Mr. Akeem Salau (Vanguard); Financial Secretary, Suleimani Huisseni (New Telegraph) and Internal Auditor,

Mr. Ayodele Adeniran (The Guardian).

The election, which was conducted at the premises of Lagos Television (LTV), had in attendance 26 members of PJAN with a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, (NBA), Mr. Folorunso Ogunekun on hand to conduct the swearing of oath by the officers into the various offices.

In his acceptance speech, which he titled ‘The New Dawn,’ the new chairman, who is the Photo Editor of THISDAY Newspapers, described the outcome of the election as a true expression of

the members’ choice.

He said to the excited gathering that the trust reposed in him and his exco members would not be wished away.

He asked everyone to be rest assured that his administration would be pivoted on professionalism, leadership, teamwork and transparency.

“I am happy with the calibre of people that surround me; a new foundation is laid today as members will be treated like kings.

“I will organise a stakeholders’ meeting where the future of the association would be discussed

soon . We are determined to pursue accountability, professionalism, transparency, integrity and prudence.

“Our projection is to classify our programmes into short, medium and long-term basis. The change we all desire would begin to manifest in no distant future.

“I appeal to members to join hands with us to build the association to that enviable height.

“This executive cannot do it alone and it is the duty of every member present here and those to join us to redeem the great image of our association .

LCCI Seeks Review of CBN’s Circular on Form ‘M’ Dike Onwuamaeze The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called for the review of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) circular, which directed that Form M for Letters of Credit, Bills for Collection and other forms of payment should only be opened in favour of the ultimate supplier of a product or service.

LCCI stated that “while the chamber appreciates the efforts of the CBN in curbing abuses in the foreign exchange market, this policy measure would create more problems than it would solve.”

The reaction, which was contained in a press release

titled the “LCCI comments on the CBN circular on payment Form M, Letters of Credit and other Forms of Payment” and signed by the Director General of the LCCI, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said that the new policy on payment should be urgently reviewed to avoid further disruptions to businesses, adding that already most foreign exchange transactions have been frozen on account of this circular.

“What this means is that the supply chain of over 80 per cent of the business community has once again been disrupted and dislocated. This is like substituting the global supply chain problem with a domestic supply chain

disruption,” Yusuf said.

The LCCI also observed that the proposal on price verification would amount to another layer of bureaucracy, especially when the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has a full-fledged department on valuation that is charged with the responsibility of determining the value of imports.

“It is a paradox that the NCS is busy hounding the private sector of under invoicing and under-pricing while the CBN is accusing businesses of over invoicing and overpricing. This is yet another quandary for the business community,” Yusuf noted.

He noted that it would be impractical to expect all importers

of raw materials, equipment, and other inputs to buy directly from the ultimate producer, manufacturer or supplier, especially in an economy driven

by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as being demanded by the CBN’s circular.

The chamber argued that the SMEs would be the first set of casualties of this policy because they lacked the capacity to place high volume of orders that the main manufacturers would respond to, adding that many of the SMEs currently enjoy suppliers’ credit from the agents from whom they buy, which they would not get from the original product manufacturers.

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NEWS

Buhari Has Assured of Fair, Peaceful Election, Obaseki Tells Edo Voters Adibe Emenyonu in Benin The Edo State Governor and governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 19 election in the state , Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has called on voters to come out en masse to exercise their franchise without fear of harassment or intimidation as President Muhammadu Buhari has assured him of a free, credible and peaceful election in the state.

Obaseki gave the assurance while addressing party faithful during his reelection campaign rally in Ovia South West Local

Government Area (LGA) of the state.

According to the governor, “President Buhari has assured me that the Edo election will be peaceful. There will be peace in Edo; don’t be intimidated by the opposition, before, during and after the election.

“They are not more than us in number; vote and make sure your vote counts. Stay back in your polling units to ensure they count your vote in your present.

“To start with, after my reelection, I will construct the Udo access road, the Ofunama Road and the Nikorogha Road.

The construction of these roads

was hindered by godfathers who were disturbing me to share taxpayers’ money for their selfish interests.

“The forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state is about setting me free from the hands of those godfathers who never meant well for Edo people.

“These godfathers were

hounding me over money meant for Edo’s development, they never wanted me to work for the people. Even with them on me, I still spread infrastructural projects across the state. Imagine me as governor without any godfather.”

“Your turnout today is an indication that you are going to vote massively for the PDP, and

when I return as governor, I will construct more roads, extend electricity to you, build more schools and employ and train more teachers from this locality,” he said.

On his part, Deputy Director-General of Edo State PDP Campaign Council, Mr. Gideon Ikhine, charged the electorate to be on the alert

and report strange faces in their communities to the security agencies.

He further urged them to come out en masse on September 19, 2020 to vote for the PDP so as to return the governor to office to continue with his administration’s people-centric programmes and policies.

Atiku Mourns as Kogi Announces Death of Attah Igala Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja A former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar yesterday commiserated with the government and people of Kogi State on the death of its foremost traditional ruler, the Attah of Igala, Dr. Idakwo Michael Ameh, Oboni II. The state government yesterday officially announced the demise of the Chairman of Kogi State Traditional Council and Attah Igala, who died in an Abuja Hospital.

He died on Thursday at the age of 72, after brief illness.

Until he ascended the throne of ancestors as Attah Igala in 2013, Oboni was a retired Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Housing in Abuja .

In a statement signed by the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communication Strategy, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, the state government said it regretted to announce the passing away of the first- class traditional ruler.

“It is with absolute submission to the divine will that the Kogi State Government announces that the Chairman of the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers and the Attah of Igala, His Royal Majesty, Michael Idakwo Ameh Oboni

II has passed on to the great beyond. In line with royal Igala tradition, the Palace has made it known that the Royal Father joined his ancestors on August 27, 2020.

“The late Attah of Igala was a great man indeed, and often ahead of his time and institution in thinking and action. He ruled with great courage and the fear of God. He was fiercely loyal to his people throughout his lifetime and used the revered throne of the ancient Igala Kingdom to foster friendships and partnerships for his domain and for Kogi State.

“His Royal Majesty’s most enduring legacy will include his avid support, as Chairman of the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers, for this administration’s signature initiative to replace competition and rivalry with cooperation and integration as the basis of engagement amongst the diverse ethnic nationalities in Kogi State.

Meanwhile, Atiku in a statement by his media adviser, Mr. Paul Ibe said that the late Attah, until his death was a man of peace and a generous man who cared much for the peace and unity of the diverse ethnic groups that make up Kogi State.

CONGRATULATIONS...

Chairman of Obanliku Local Government Area, Dr. Pastor Margaret Inde (left), and the Special Adviser, Peace and Security, Mr. Gabriel Sunday Akomaye, during the inauguration of the council at its secretariat in Sankwala, Cross River State .... recently

Police Confirm Killing of Suspected Kidnappers ByVigilante Group inYobe The Yobe State Police Command has confirmed receiving the bodies of three suspected kidnappers killed by vigilante groups during an ambush in the state.

Channels Television quoted the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Dungus Abdulkarim, as stating that the suspects were killed yesterday morning.

He stated that while information on the attack was unclear at the

The New Nigerian Bar Association (NNBA) has written to the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), informing him of its decision to form the association.

In the letter, dated August 28, and signed by Nuhu Ibrahim and Abdulbasit Suleiman, first and second conveners respectively, the faction said the national executive council of the NBA“failed to take into consideration our national interests”.

“We are pleased to inform you of the formation of a new Association of Lawyers as above captioned,” the letter read.

“The formation of the new association has become imperative and expedient especially flowing from the activities, disposition and most recently, the decision of the Nigerian Bar Association-NEC (National Executive Committee) which apparently failed to take into consideration our national interests

and particularly do not promote the unity of our indissoluble country, Nigeria.

“Sir, the New Nigerian Bar Association believes in the ideals that bounds (sic) our country together as echoed in our National Anthem: ‘The labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain.”

The NNBA said the processes required to set up the association are in place, adding that the AGF will be updated with developments.

“You are, however, to be further informed that work is in progress with regards to all the nitty-gritty of the formation of an Association such as this to which we shall keep you updated,” it said.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, had said that the plan to carve a faction out of the NBA will not work, vowing that members of the bar will resist any attempt to form a parallel association.

been deposited at a morgue in the Specialist Hospital in Damaturu while investigations are ongoing.”

According to local sources, a group of armed men believed to be kidnappers had stormed Dungurum community in Murfa Kalam village.

During the attack on the community in Damaturu Local Government Area of the state, the assailants reportedly kidnapped

one person.

On getting the information, the vigilante group in the area laid an ambush on the attackers, killing three of them in the process, while others escaped.

Another source said that three other suspects were arrested and handed over to the Nigerian Army.

However, the military authorities did not make any comment on the matter.

House: Armed Forces Support Fund Bill will Strengthen Fight against Insecurity Udora Orizu in Abuja

Why We Formed New Association, NBA Splinter Group Writes Malami

time of this report, the police command was making efforts to get full details.

Abdulkarim said, “It was this morning (Sunday) that we received information about an attack on a community under Murfa Kalam village where three suspected kidnappers were killed following an ambush by a vigilante group.

“Presently, the corpses have

The Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has said the passage of the Nigerian Armed Forces Support Fund Bill would go a long way to strengthen the fight against insecurity in Nigeria.

Kalu, in an interview with journalists in Abuja over the weekend, said the bill would fix the funding gap for the Nigerian armed forces in order to provide a lasting solution to the problems facing the security forces.

The bill, which has been passed for second reading at the House, was sponsored by the Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Hon. Babajimi Benson.

According to him, “We promised Nigerians that between June 2020 and May 2021, we would enact legislation to support structured funding of the armed forces to improve military readiness and enhance our capacity to respond to present and emerging threats to national security.

“It will interest you to know

that presently, we already have The Nigerian Armed Forces Support Fund (Establishment) Bill 2020, sponsored by Hon Babajimi Benson, which has passed second reading and is scheduled for public hearing upon resumption.

“The essence of the bill is to provide Special Financial Support for the revamping of the Nigerian Armed Forces, and to also provide for regular training of Armed Forces personnel as well as the provision of modern security and defence equipment and

other related matters.”

He urged Nigerians to actively participate in the public hearing of the bill, which will come up as soon as the House resumes from the recess in September.

Speaking on the insurgency in the North-east region as well as the herders and farmers’ clashes in the middle belt and the southern part of Nigeria, Kalu said: “For over a decade, Nigeria has contended with a recalcitrant insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country that has continued to transform, adapting itself to

FG Charges States to Invest in Mining for Revenue Generation Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The federal government at the weekend encouraged state governments to invest in mining sector to increase their revenue base and create wealth for their people.

The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah, gave the encouragement when he paid a courtesy visit to the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on his two-day working visit to the state for the optimisation of revenue

generation.

Ogah, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, said he would also carry out an on-thespot inspection of polluted stream water by coal mining activities in some communities in Okpokwu Local Government Area.

He noted that the federal government prompt response to the communities’ complaint was indicative of its determination to ensure that mining operations were carried out responsibly by mining companies

He urged the state to support the programmes of the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO), as it would enhance revenue generation from mining operations.

In his remarks, Ortom expressed the state willingness to support and adopt the federal government policies that would bring revenue growth and development to the state.

He solicited for the ministry’s collaboration in mineral exploration,

disclosing that a lot of unexplored minerals abounded in the state.

Ortom also stated that Benue State Government would readily take advantage of any opportunity to create jobs and put “smiles on the faces of the Benue people.”

Earlier, the Federal Mines Officer, Agamah Simon Ogwuj, in his welcome address, affirmed the abundance of mineral resources, especially barite, in Benue State, as every local government area of the state has at least one mineral resource.

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PDP Wins All LG Seats in Ebonyi Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ebonyi State Chapter, has cleared all the 13 local government chairmanship positions and the

171 councillorship seats in the state local government election.

The election, which was earlier scheduled to hold in March but was conducted on August 29, witnessed massive turnout of

Court Restrains Enugu Health Workers from Embarking on Industrial Action The Enugu Division of the National Industrial Court has issued interim orders restraining the leadership and members of the Enugu State Chapters of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives; the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria and the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), respectively, from embarking on any strike/industrial action, pending the hearing and determination of Motions on Notice for Interlocutory Injunctions already filed separately by the Enugu State Government on August 24, 2020.

The court also made an order of interim injunction restraining the members of the affected three bodies “or any other persons, however, so called or described acting under the instructions, direction or mandate of the defendants from embarking on, or

continuing in furtherance of, any strike/ industrial action, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice already filed.”

The court, therefore, granted the claimant/applicant (Enugu State Government) leave to serve the originating summons, motions on notice and all other processes in the suits on the defendants, respectively, along with the interim orders granted.

The court orders were granted

by Hon. Justice N.C.S Ogbuanya, on August 28, 2020, in Suit Nos: NICN/EN/31/2020, NICN/ EN/32/2020 and NICN/ EN/33/2020, filed against the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), and the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, respectively.

Igbo Lawyers Beg Other Nigerians to Concede Presidency to South-east A group of lawyers under the aegis of the League of Igbo Youth Lawyers, has appealed to Nigerians to concede the office of the president to the South-East in 2023.

According to the group, doing so would engender the spirit of national unity.

The plea was contained in a communique titled, ‘Preserving corporate Nigeria; issues and evaluation,’ signed by the leader of the group, Stanley Okafor, in Awka, yesterday.

It said Nigeria stood a better chance of preserving its corporate existence through dialogue with restive youths and organisations as such would help in addressing the deplorable security situation in the country.

The group said no other tribe was more “genuinely committed”

to the Nigerian project than the Ndigbo, describing the Igbo as “the community developers” in every part of the country.

The lawyers promised to partner with other sister organisations to hold an inaugural national leadership lecture series later in the year, adding that the annual lecture would be named after a past Nigerian president.

They urged the Federal Government to de-emphasize confrontation in dealing with civil agitations.

The communique read in part, “Security agencies should eschew overzealousness in situations of youth restiveness.

We also call on Enugu State government to institute an inquiry into the killing of unarmed youths on the 23rd of August, 2020.

Osun Monarch Hails Tinubu’s Leadership Qualities Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has described ex-Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as a living legend in Yoruba Land and urged the Yorubas to make him a rallying point for the region and the nation.

The royal father spoke while receiving the Special Adviser to Osun State Governor on Civic Engagement, Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, who paid him homage at his palace in Iwo at the weekend.

The Oba said: “Tinubu should be made the image of Yoruba nation who shall be speaking on our behalf because he’s a symbolic living legend.

“Because of his sterling

qualities, which he has exhibited over time, he should be likened to our late foremost leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whose charismatic personality and progressive leadership have immensely contributed to the plenary development of the Yoruba nation.

“It’s time the Yoruba rallied their support round Tinubu and not crucify him like Awolowo who was made to suffer despite his sacrifices and the developmental monuments such as the establishment of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, the Cocoa House, the Western Nigerian Television, the first television service in Africa and free education policy among others that were recorded under his leadership.

voters and was adjudged free and fair.

The chairman of Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC), Mr Jossy Eze, who announced the results in Abakiliki said that a total of 13 political parties participated in the election.

The 13 elected chairmen include:

Hon. Mr. Sunday Eze (Ishielu); Mr. Eni Uduma Chima (Afikpo North); Mrs. Nora Aloh (Ezza North); Mr. Ken Eze (Ezza South); Mr. Clement Odah (Ohaukwu); Mr. Paul Nwogha (Izzi); Mrs. Chinyere Nwogbaga (Ebonyi); Mr. Felix Igboke (Onicha) and Mrs. Chinyere Iyioku (Ohaozara).

Others are Mr. Steve Orogwu ( Ikwo); Mr. Emmanuel Nwangele (Abakaliki); Mr. Onyebuchi (Ivo) and Mr. Obiageri Oko (Enyim).

The Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. David Umahi, said he was satisfied with the peaceful conduct of the election and commended the electoral commission for organising

the free, fair and credible elections.

The elected Chairman of Ishielu Council Area, Hon. Eze, also expressed satisfaction with the turnout of voters and the transparent conduct of the election.

He noted that the outcome of the election was a clear testimony of the PDP’s strong roots in the state.

CHANGING THE NARRATIVES...

L-R: Managing Director, Riveting Integrated Entertainment, Mr. Leke Akinrowo; Nollywood Actor, Mr. Francis Onwuchei; Founder of TiG TV, Iretidola Ojekhoa; Nollywood Actor, Mr. Bimbo Manuel; and renowned Actor, Mr.Tunji Sotimirin, during the unveiling of the new TiG Television for national transformation, in Lagos...recently

New Television Channel Aims for National Transformation Vanessa Obioha Plans are underway to launch a new television channel that will proffer solutions to social and developmental issues in the country. Called TiG, the terrestrial channel is a collective effort of well-meaning Nigerians who are committed to changing the narrative and portraying the country in a good light.

“For so many years, I have looked forward to the transformation of Nigeria via the media,” said Founder of the TV channel, Iretidola Ojekhoa at the

official launch of the TV. “So, we are starting a TV that will showcase what is good, encourage what is good, bring more people into the net of the good because the good people seem to be hiding in Nigeria as there is no platform to back them. This will be the channel for them. It is a platform for solving Nigeria’s problems by beaming the light on the nation’s prospects.

We will not only report, but we are also involved.”

By ‘good people’, Ojekhoa is referring to people without ethnic or religious biases but

are committed to transforming the nation.

A former TV presenter, Ojekhoa disclosed that she had been working on the idea for years.

However, she dabbled into politics in 2014 when she joined President Muhammadu Buhari’s Support Group. That experience exposed her to the political landscape and fired up her ambition to use the media as a catalyst for social change and national development.

She emphasized that the channel will not be run by one person. As a political player, she

is engaging members of different political parties to run the station.

“We are nonpartisan. No particular person is calling the shot. We are dedicated to solving a problem,” she explained at the launch which was graced by the Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide SanwoOlu on Development Agenda for Southwestern Nigeria (DAWN), Adekunle Olayinka; Nollywood veterans Bimbo Manuel and Francis Onwuchei; and Managing Director of Riveting Integrated Entertainment Limited, Leke Akinrowo.

MultiChoice Increases Costs of DStv, GOtv Peter Uzoho MultiChoice has announced that it will carry out upward adjustments of the costs of some DStv and GOtv packages from September 1, 2020.

According to a statement from the company, this decision was made after careful consideration of the market and a review of its business operations.

“We have made efforts to contain any price adjustments on subscription prices.

However, in order to ensure the sustainability of the business

we have to consider financial impacts, including inflation as well increased content and operational costs. As such we have reviewed the prices of some of our bouquets so that we can continue to survive as a business and bring quality entertainment to our customers.

“To arrive at the decision to adjust prices, we took into account many factors, including the impact on the customer, current inflation, which stands at 12.82%, the highest in 27 months; content costs and efficiencies within the company.

Please, be assured that we have worked hard to keep this year’s tariffs manageable,” said John Ugbe, Chief Executive Officer of the company.

“Our packages will continue to be available at varying pricing points to allow subscribers flexibility in price and choice without compromising quality or variety.

“To this end only the prices of some of the bouquets have been reviewed upwards while the lower bouquets have been left untouched.

“We will continue to give our

customers the best experience.

The price adjustments will allow us to keep delivering top-quality entertainment experience by telling the best local stories through our series and movies, give you access to nail-biting sporting action and up-tothe-minute news as well as the best international series, movies and documentaries, while ensuring that we offer your children movies and series that will keep them educated and entertained,” it explained.

Dickson Hails Appointment of Dikio as Amnesty Programme Boss Onungwe Obe in Yenagoa The former Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has commended the appointment of Col. Milland Dikio (Rtd.) as the new Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

Dickson, in a statement issued yesterday by his Media Advisor, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, his Media Advisor, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing another Ijaw son into the vital position of the coordinator of the amnesty programme.

He said the President showed his love for the Ijaw nation with Dikio’s appointment in spite of the pressures on him to take the appointment to other areas because most of the beneficiaries of the amnesty programme were Ijaw youths.

The former governor, however, urged the new coordinator to deploy his expertise as a senior military officer to unite the former Niger Delta militants and promote peace and stability in the region.

Dickson urged all stakeholders in the Niger Delta to set aside their

differences and support Dikio in the overall interest of the people now that the appointment has been made.

He also advised Dikio to pay attention to the training and provision of opportunities for self-employment to the youths and explore ways of making the impact of the amnesty programme more visible and sustainable.

He, therefore, called on all exagitators, youth leaders and others critical stakeholders to support the new amnesty coordinator because his success would be in

the interest of the Ijaw nation, the Niger Delta and Nigeria.

Dickson asked those who indicated interest in the job but couldn’t get it to support the new Amnesty boss in the overall interest of Niger Delta by making their experiences available to him.

He thanked the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno, for the maturity with which he has handled the amnesty office and for finding “our people worthy of trust.”

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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JAMB Lifts Suspension on Printing Admission Letters, Others The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has lifted the suspension on the printing of admission letters, and inter-university transfers among

others.

It said with the development, “all requests for printing of admission letters, inter-university transfers, condonement of

No Policeman Missing in Enugu , Says CP The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State (CP), Mr Ahmad Abdurrahman, has said no policeman is missing in the state contrary to speculations about missing personnel.

Abdurrahman, in a statement issued yesterday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Daniel Ndukwe, in Enugu, urged residents to disregard the falsehood being peddled by mischief-makers.

Abdurraman, however, warned peddlers of such falsehood and rumour to “desist forthwith with their malicious intention.”

According to the CP, such malicious, misleading, and mendacious information was capable of causing tension and affecting the peace enjoyed in the state.

He warned that the police would ensure the prosecution of those in the habit of peddling such

rumors if they failed to desist.

“The attention of the Command has been drawn to the false, malicious and misleading information published on August 27, by one online blogger and replicated on social media, claiming that nine policemen went missing in the state.

“To this end, the general public, particularly residents of the state, have been enjoined to totally disregard such falsehood being peddled by misguided and mischief-makers in its entirety.

“Such incident did not happen anywhere in the state, neither did the Command confirm nor issue any statement in that regard,’’ the commissioner said.

He assured residents of the Command’s commitment to protecting lives and property as well as the maintenance of law and order in the state.

Fayose: I haven’t Endorsed Oni’s Governorship Ambition Former Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, said on Sunday evening that he had not endorsed the 2022 governorship ambition of an ex-governor, Chief Segun Oni. Fayose had on Saturday, during a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congress, officially received Oni, who had earlier left the party for All Progressives Congress before returning recently.

Fayose, in a series of tweets, urged members of his group, the Osoko Political Family, to accord Oni with all respect, saying that “does not represent or amount to an endorsement of Oni’s gubernatorial ambition”.

He tweeted, “To my brothers and sisters in the PDP Osoko Political Family, having formally received Engr Segun Oni into the PDP at yesterday’s (Saturday’s) State Congress, henceforth, nobody

should castigate, embarrass or undermine him (Oni) on any social media platforms associated with Osoko Political Family.

“True leadership is demonstrated by forgiveness, followed by restoration after a show of true humility. However, this statement does not represent or amount to an endorsement of Engr Segun Oni’s gubernatorial ambition.

“Rather, it is part of our sincere efforts to keep the party together and accommodate everyone, except those members who are due for political perdition.”

Oni had while addressing the delegates and party members, said he felt elated to return to the PDP and realign with those he had worked with in the past and those he could trust in party politics.

Leadership Tussle Rocks NULGE as South-west Leaders Disown Scribe James Sowole in Akure The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in the six South-west states has cautioned their governors and members not to relate with the former Deputy National Secretary of the union, Mr. Razak Lawal, who has seized to be an employee of the union after attaining the retirement age of 60 years.

The call by the NULGE leaders was the highpoint of the communiqué issued by the union’s officers at the end of their meeting in Akure, Ondo State, during the weekend.

The communiqué, which was read by the National Trustee of the NULGE, Comrade Abimbola

Babalola, was signed by the six state presidents of Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Lagos and Ekiti.

The leaders alleged that Lawal, who was a former employee of the union, had been engaging in various anti-union activities nationwide and particularly in the South-west.

Specifically, they alleged that Lawal created an illegal National Caretaker Committee of the union in contravention of the union’s constitution that vested such responsibility only on the National Executive Council (NEC) of the NULGE. However, Lawal has denied the allegations that were leveled against him by the NULGE’s officers.

illegitimate admissions and other processes for previous years which had been hitherto suspended would now be restored from Monday, August 31 2020.”

JAMB’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, made the announcement in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja.

He said, “To ensure that candidates who took the UTME prior to 2020, and who require certain corrections of their processes are accommodated,

JAMB has lifted the suspension earlier placed on processes covering those years.

“However, it is to be noted that most of these operations are only available at JAMB offices nationwide. Furthermore, as the Board is desirous of sustaining compliance with COVID-19 protocols, it maintains that 2020 UTME candidates desirous of these services will only be attended to through the Appointment Booking Platform which they could access online

through their phones to secure a definite date and time for an appointment.

“The Board urged all State offices to ensure that all clients comply with all existing COVID -19 protocols. To ensure that candidates who took the UTME prior to 2020, and who require certain corrections of their processes are accommodated, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has lifted the suspension earlier placed on processes covering those years.

“As you may be aware, the need to prevent overcrowding at its Computer-Based Test Centres and other partner facilities, in line with extant COVID -19 protocols issued by relevant agencies, led it to allow candidates to seek corrections and other processes only through the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination or Direct Entry platforms. This measure had the intended effect of limiting the number of persons visiting the centres.

BUDGET ON THEIR MINDS...

L-R: Kwara State Director of Planning, Alhaji Issa Ibrahim; Director of Budget, Mr. Victor Olawepo; Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Florence Oyeyemi; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Alhaji AbdulRazaq Folorunsho; and Acting Accountant General of the state, Dr. Ismail Waheed, during stakeholders’ meeting on revised budget at the ministry of finance, Ilorin...weekend

NBC, NTC Exams Begin Sept 21, Says NABTEB The National Business and Technical Examinations Board on Sunday announced the conduct of its NBC/NTC examinations between September 21 and October 15.

The organisation in a statement by its Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe, said the National Common Entrance Examination for JSS 3 students’ admission

to technical colleges had been brought forward from October 3 to September 5.

She said, “While commending the Federal Ministry of Education and all state Ministries of Education and their stakeholders, for excellent planning and a smooth resumption of school and examinations for the exit classes, I wish to, on behalf of my Board – NABTEB – provide

the following updates on our examinations.

“A reminder that the NABTEB NBC/NTC examinations will soon commence on the September 21 and end on the October 15, as already announced by the Federal Ministry of Education.

“The National Common Entrance Examination for JSS 3 students’ admission to technical colleges has been brought forward

from October to September 5.

“This is in consideration of the convenience of JSS candidates seeking admission to technical colleges who will be concluding their BECE examinations on Friday, September 4.

She said there would not be any need for students to go back to school on October 3 for another examination.

PDPYouth Leaders Express Optimism on Obaseki’sVictory Charge INEC, police on insecurity in the state Sunday Okobi The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Assurance Movement (YAM) has predicted victory in the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State for the party standard-bearer and the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, “on back of huge grassroots’ support in the state.”

The youth arm of the party also condemned the political tension in the state “as a result of violence orchestrated by the leaders of the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), knowing that

they have been rejected by the Edo people.”

Speaking to THISDAY during the weekend on the current issues in the state, the National and State Coordinators of theYAM, Mr. Asunogie Tajudeen and Mr. Yamah Dirisu, respectively, charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to remain neutral and above board as millions of Nigerians, home and abroad, are closely monitoring the events leading to the poll.

They stated that seeing that they have been rejected by the people with failure staring them in the face, “Adams Oshiomhole and other failed members of the APC have no other option than to resort to violence.”

The PDP’s youth leaders “want to inform Nigerians and friends of our dear state that the APC leaders are planning to subvert the will of Edo electorate in the September 19 gubernatorial election.

“We have also been reliably informed that leaders of the APC made frantic efforts to

bribe officials of INEC in Edo State to help them rig the poll, but this was rebuffed by the INEC officials. We learnt that the sacked national chairman of the APC, Oshiomhole, has vowed to do everything humanly possible to ensure Obaseki doesn’t return as governor, even if he wins at the poll. So their next plan is to take the bribery game to the highest level and ‘penetrate INEC from above’. We appeal to the leadership of INEC to play by the rules and allow the will of Edo voters to prevail on September 19.”

NCDMB Partners ITF to Train 255Youths 9,000 trained since inception of agency The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has partnered the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to tutor 255 Nigerian youths in nine vocational skills.

The six-month training is being funded by the NCDMB and will be conducted by the ITF, covering classroom and intensive practical exercises in hospitality and tourism, mobile phone repairs and troubleshooting, Information and Communication Technology,

electrical/electronic technology and industrial automation and mechatronics.

Other areas include Instrumentation and Process Control, mechanical services and maintenance, residential air-conditioning and refrigeration maintenance and building technology.

Speaking during the kick-off ceremony held recently in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Kesiye

Wabote affirmed that the initiative was consistent with the objectives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and NCDMB’s 10-Year Strategic Roadmap, targeted at growing Nigerian Content from 27 per cent in 2017 to 70 per cent by 2027.

According to him, the roadmap also aspires to retain over $14billion out of $20billion estimated annual industry spend in-country and create

over 300,000 direct and indirect employment.

He said the intent of the collaboration between the board and ITF is to close gaps in vocational and entrepreneurship skills among Nigerian youths, drive self-employment and value creation in the oil and gas industry and linkage sectors and address youths’ redundancy and loss of economic value of human capital needed to drive economic growth.

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SPECIAL REPORT

FIGHTING FOR NIGERIA: HEROES OF BATTLE AGAINST COVID-19

Femi Otedola

Obinna Chima, Kunle Aderinokun and Martins Ifijeh Contrary to the projections of some foreign opinion molders that by now bodies would have littered the streets of Nigeria and indeed, many parts of Africa, as a result of the stings of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria, as with many African countries, has thus far defied the odds, and has done relatively well in managing the pandemic since the first index case recorded some 186 days ago in Lagos.

This, according to THISDAY’s special report on the pandemic, was made possible by the patriotic and humanitarian intervention of some individuals and corporate bodies many analysts said had became heroes of the nation’s battle against the ravaging virus.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, had on February 27 announced that the country had confirmed a case in an Italian man, who flew into the country from Turkey three days earlier.

To compound issues, the Italian index case had met a couple of Nigerians both in Lagos and Ogun States before he fell ill and was tested for the virus.

That announcement threw the nation into panic mode the next morning, with many Nigerians fearing that the worst could happen. To them, it was a no-brainer that Nigeria was going to be hard hit considering the poor state of its health sector and the citizens’ attitude to health protocols.

In fairness to a majority of Nigerians, all they could see were the devastation, tears and sorrows that COVID-19 was leaving behind in many nations, including China, Spain and Italy at the time. It appeared the country would have no shot at managing the virus.

The years of neglect of the health sector began to stare in the face of Nigerians and the international organisations, which on many occasions clamoured for the prioritisation of the health sector as a buffer against prospective pandemics like the coronavirus.

But against all odds, some Nigerians and institutions rose to the challenge. They hurriedly took up leadership roles to ensure the country did not only mitigate the impact of the outbreak, but also managed community spread of the disease, which was clear, was going to be experienced in the country.

From the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide SanwoOlu, to Ehanire, up to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, the private sector and other foresighted governors, an endless pool of Nigerians rose to the challenge, and so far, the country has done relatively well in managing the virus as against initial thoughts that bodies would be littering the streets due to complications that were to arise from the pandemic.

As a matter of fact, the devastating effect in other climes and the severe limitation of healthcare resources available in Nigeria – such as laboratory testing

capacity rouse the private sector to step up and help the government to fight the virus.

On March 26, the Coalition Against COVID-19, known as CACOVID, was formed. Led by Africa’s wealthiest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the coalition is backed

by Access Bank Group, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, and several others.

The mission is to mobilise private-sector leadership and resources to support health facilities to respond to the crisis but also to use their reach to increase awareness about the pandemic.

The group, a mix of corporations, philanthropists and donors, has provided thousands of beds to Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Abuja, Enugu and Borno States, amongst others and has set up testing facilities and treatment centres in some states.

The idea is to get private labs involved in testing to speed up the process. The ultimate goal is to test at least two million people, the group’s website notes.

Total donation to the CACOVID relief fund is over $55.7m as of April 6, with Dangote and the Central bank donating $5.1m each.

Other major private players such as Segun Agbaje (Guaranty Trust Bank), Jim Ovia (Zenith Bank), Herbert Wigwe (Access Bank), Tony Elumelu (United Bank for Africa), Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA Group, Folorunsho Continued on page 53

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FIGHTING FOR NIGERIA: HEROES OF BATTLE AGAINST COVID-19 Alakija of Famfa Oil Limited, Oba Otudeko (First Bank), Femi Otedola of Amperion Power, billionaire businessman Mike Adenuga of Globacom and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation have provided $2.59m each. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and some oil companies have pledged $30m to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to improve patient care, medical supplies and equipment.

THISDAY celebrates these individuals and institutions who have dedicated themselves to selfless service to Nigerians and humanity.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu Prior to the start of the pandemic in Lagos, not many residents believed the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was working enough to address the myriads of economic, infrastructural and human development challenges faced by Lagosians.

To some, he was only a motivational speaker, who for nine months since his inauguration had not addressed some of the rudimentary governance issues he said he was going to fix in a hurry once inaugurated. From the Apapa gridlock to the dilapidated roads, to the environmental challenges – the list was endless.

But Lagos residents saw the other side of the governor, when it was clear the state was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which at the time was causing devastation in many countries, especially in cities with a dense population like Lagos, however, with better healthcare system.

He rose up to the challenge; got a brush up of the nature of the pandemic quickly assumed the role of incident commander, and went to work. He deployed the state’s resources to fixing healthcare loopholes and logistical challenges made tough economic decisions by locking down the state, started massive training of health personnel and championed daily enlightenment campaigns to educate the over 23 million residents on what was coming.

Sanwo-Olu saw the future and was determined to stop it. From the records of the few cases of COVID-19, the state started seeing tens and hundreds of cases. By June, it peaked to the point over 400 confirmed cases announced daily in the state. However, through his management of the virus, the state is having a deep

Ovia

slope of cases with the last four days recording 26, 17, 21 and 27. Many people, including experts, had thought by now bodies would be littering the streets with millions of infections recorded, but 186 days into

the outbreak, the state still has below 20,000 cases of infection.

Akin Abayomi “I am happy to have Prof. Akin Abayomi as the Commissioner for Health at this point in our lives, when we are being threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. As early as December 2019, he had told me this virus was coming, he suggested to me all that we needed to put in place to mitigate the impact.”

These were the words of Governor Sanwo-Olu to Prof. Abayomi, who has brought to bear his wealth of experience as a biosecurity expert in managing COVID-19 in Nigeria.

To be fair, many of the protocols and policies being implemented against COVID-19 in the country were the brainchild of the virology professor; a development that made Lagos a model state for the nation and other states in the fight against the pandemic.

Abayomi, who is Lagos’s Deputy Incident Commander on COVID-19, played a prominent role in the defeat of Ebola Viral Disease in 2014, and many virologists believed he has the wealth of experience to manage this present pandemic in the state. He was recently confirmed positive to the virus and has been on isolation since last week. He is said to be responding well to treatment.

Boss Mustapha When President Muhammadu Buhari set up the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in March and made the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha the chairman of the taskforce, several health experts raised concerns that the position should have been given to an epidemiologist or at best a public health expert, who understood outbreaks of the COVID-19 magnitude.

But five months down the line, the leadership skill of the SGF has become a template to many countries that also set up presidential taskforce against the pandemic.

From the initial belief that Nigeria was going to be hard hit by the virus due to the population and the poor healthcare system in the country, Mustapha has been able to lead the country through testing, dissemination of information, management of the disease, among others. When the history of how COVID-19 was defeated in Nigeria will be told, his name will be imposingly cited.

Chikwe Ihekweazu Elumelu

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FIGHTING FOR NIGERIA: HEROES OF BATTLE AGAINST COVID-19 If Nigeria is to fail in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, one person that would easily be blamed is the Director General of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu as his agency is the government’s body Nigerians depend on for prevention and management of all forms of disease outbreaks.

To be clear, just as the Nigerian military is responsible for the protection of the country against wars and terrorism, the NCDC under the watch of Ihekweazu is responsible for the health security of the nation.

But while many ‘centres for disease control’ in many countries, including that of the United States, Russia, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and a host of others have not done much to keep the COVID-19 cases in their nations minimal, that of Nigeria has done relatively well so far.

Ihekweazu’s quest for data, transparency and teamwork has seen the centre’s acceptability even in otherwise difficult states in the country – an attitude that has helped in the management of cases across the country.

He is one of the brains behind the imminent victory against Covid-19.

Osagie Ehanire Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Ministry of Health, headed by Dr. Osagie Ehanire did not get the much-needed attention it deserved, a situation that could partly be blamed for the poor healthcare currently suffered by Nigerians in the country.

But since the start of the pandemic, the minister has stepped up his game, pushing for attention to the ministry, especially in the area of disease outbreaks, with major focus on COVID-19.

Through his goodwill, influence and leadership, he has been able to rally many political, religious and business leaders into supporting the fight against COVID-19; a move that has ensured the country has so far not lacked the requisite facilities and equipment needed for the management of the pandemic in the country. He has also used his goodwill to push for international support against the pandemic. He is one of the heroes of COVID-19 in the last 185 days.

Nasir el-Rufai The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai was the first to get the COVID-19 bug in the state. To, however, ensure it did not spread round the entire state, he instituted the longest lockdown in the country.

While other states were having lockdown fatigue

Nasir el-Rufai

and opening up for movements despite the rise in cases, el-Rufai insisted he was not going to open up the state’s economy till it was relatively safe to do so – an action he took at the detriment of the economy.

To him it was health first. Through his leadership, the state’s COVID-19 cases have remained relatively low despite having a high influx of infected almajiris from mostly Kano.

Kayode Fayemi Ekiti State under Governor Kayode Fayemi was rated a couple of months ago as second to Lagos in terms of response to the pandemic, a rating informed solely by smart leadership and the capacity to lead through personal examples.

Fayemi, who just came out of the infection too, not only kept the numbers low through close monitoring, the provision of palliatives, which came with money to the vulnerable also stood his state out in the management of Covid-19.

As the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Fayemi also used his office to interface with his colleagues by way of comparing notes and improving their lots of the people, he also stood efficiently as the gap between them and the federal government.

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi Enugu is another state with impressively low cases of Covid-19, courtesy Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, because he understood what was coming and took no prisoners in warding off the avoidable outbreaks.

Like his colleague in Ekiti, Ugwuanyi personally implemented the safety protocols every day during the lockdown as he moved from places to places and offices to offices, making sure community spread of the virus was effectively prevented.

Today, the result of that feat is evident in the state, as it remains relatively low in terms of the number of cases recorded, even though he has refused to rest on his oars because he is not convinced yet that the battle is over.

Ifeanyi Okowa Perhaps, it is by providence that Delta State is under the leadership of a medical doctor, who did not need anyone explaining the possible weight of the effect of the pandemic if allowed to have a free ride in the state. And from the word go, Okowa set up a capable task force directly overseen by him and went to work.

Okowa

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Fayemi

Interestingly, too, supports from different quarters came the way of Delta State, possibly because the governor leveraged his contacts as donations from far and near kept coming in to assist in the fight against Covid-19.

Today, Delta is one of the few states that could boast of a controlled rate of infection with the lowest numbers, because a man, who knows the name of the game, is the governor and in charge of the supervision of the situation.

Herbert Wigwe is one of the heroes in Nigeria’s COVID-19 fight. He is a leading member of the CACOVID. Being the Chairman of Body of Bank CEOs in the country, he was also helpful in mobilising his colleagues in the banking industry towards actualising the goals of the private sector coalition. CACOVID has sustained public awareness about the pathogen, has supported the health sector by building medical tents, isolation and treatment centres as well as in providing palliatives to the vulnerable across the country. Through his HOW

The CACOVID Team Godwin Emefiele The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has earned his stripes as one of the heroes of the country’s efforts to contain the Covid-19.

In line with the first-responder approach the CBN has continued to display when it comes to issues involving the economy, immediately the first Covid-19 case was recorded in Lagos, the Emefiele-led CBN took decisive actions and unfolded raft of measures to moderate the impact of the virus on households, businesses as well as the economy.

In addition, Emefiele was also instrumental to the formation of the private-sector-led Coalition Against Covid-19 (Covid-19), which was able to mobilise billions of naira and has immensely supported the country’s Covid-19 fight by setting healthcare facilities across the country as well as in distributing palliatives to states.

In terms of specific CBN’s interventions, as part of efforts to cushion its impact on households and SMEs, the CBN immediately announced an extension of the moratorium on the apex bank’s interventions programmes, created a N50 billion targeted credit facility and credit support for the healthcare industry; introduced a N100 billion healthcare intervention to support operators in the sector; also made available N1 trillion in loans to boost local manufacturing and production across critical sectors; established health sector grant, to promote research in the development of vaccines, among other policy measures.

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

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

Herbert Wigwe

Ugwuanyi

Foundation, he has also supported vulnerable Nigerians whose livelihoods were affected by the pandemic.

Jim Ovia Jim Ovia, the founder and chairman of Zenith Bank Plc is a prominent member of the CACOVID funding committee Continued on page 56

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and hero of COVID-19 fight. His contribution towards the containment of COVID-19 is immense. Ovia, who is also the founder and Chairman of Mankind United to Support Total Education (MUSTE), a philanthropic organization focused on providing scholarships for the less privileged, has headed numerous Non-Governmental Organisations [NGO]. In addition, he is the founder of the Youth Empowerment / ICT Foundation, which focuses on improving the socioeconomic welfare of Nigerian youths by inspiring and motivating them to embrace Information and communication technology.

He helped positioned Zenith Bank as one of the largest and most profitable in Africa within his two decades of leadership.

Tony Elumelu Tony Elumelu, economist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist is hero of COVID-19 fight. He and his bank United Bank for Africa Plc, which he chairs, donated generously to the COVID-19 fight. A significant member of CACOVID, Elumelu, is the chairman of Heirs Holdings, the United Bank for Africa, Transcorp and founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Through his foundation, an Africabased and African-funded philanthropic organization, he has empowered thousands of budding entrepreneurs across Africa

Segun Agbaje Segun Agbaje, the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) is a hero of the fight against COVID-19.

He is an active member of CACOVID. The bank, which he leads, funded the establishment of the isolation centre in Onikan, Lagos in collaboration with Lagos State government. Agbaje started his career at Ernst & Young in San Francisco and joined in GTBank 1991.

Rabiu

He rose through the ranks to become an Executive Director in January 2000, and Deputy Managing Director in August 2002. Agbaje became GTBank’s Managing Director of GTBank in April 2011 following the death of Tayo Aderinokun. He was elected to the board of directors and audit committee of PepsiCo effective 15 July 2020.

of fighting the pandemic.” Just recently, he donated three new emergency response ambulances to the Delta State Government.

Raj Gupta

Raj Gupta, a member of CACOVID funding committee, is the chairman of African Industries, popularly called African Steel. African Steel is into steel milling and processing services in Nigeria. The African Steel Group, Aliko Dangote a diverse Nigerian group focused on development of The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote steel industry in the country, currently operates in eight has been playing a major role in the country’s COVID-19 different locations within the country, and exports its fight. He is a leading member of CACOVID. Besides products mainly to other West African nations. that, through his Dangote Foundation, he ensured that the efforts of the federal government in the COVID-19 fight got the necessary technical, operational and funding John Coumantaros support. In addition, the Aliko Dangote Foundation partnered 54Gene, a molecular diagnostics company John Coumantaros is the chairman of Flour Mills specialised in research, and diagnostics, to set up a of Nigeria. Coumantaros, who is a member of the 400 test/day capacity laboratory in Kano State. The funding committee of CACOVID, is a hero of the Foundation also supported the Rapid Response Teams COVID-19 fight. Born in 1961, he is the son of George S. in their work to identify suspected COVID-19 cases Coumantaros, who founded FMN in 1960. Coumantaros across the healthcare centers in Kano as well as provided has a bachelor's degree in history from Yale University. capacity building platforms for health workers in Kano.

Abdul Samad Rabiu

Yemi Johnson

In January when the world was coming to terms with the possibility of COVID-19 becoming a full-fledged To strengthen the national response to COVID-19, an the outbreak, the Medical Director and Chief Executive industrialist and Founder, BUA Group, Abdul Samad Officer of First Cardiology Consultant, Dr. Yemi Johnson, Rabiu has so far donated close to N7 billion to support already saw the future. He knew people with certain the fight against the burden. He singlehandedly ferried health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and equipment into Nigeria to support Lagos, Edo, Kano, respiratory diseases, among others, were at risk of Kwara, Sokoto, Akwa-Ibom, Abia, Rivers and Adamawa. heart complications if they contract the virus. And he During one of the donations, he said: “This donation knew it was only a matter of time for the disease to will not only provide additional needed funds to the find its way into Nigeria, and unfortunately infect the government and the NCDC’s effort but will also serve to class of persons with underlying ailments. protect healthcare and medical workers on the frontline

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FIGHTING FOR NIGERIA: HEROES OF BATTLE AGAINST COVID-19 To mitigate the looming threat, Dr. Johnson, a seasoned US-trained interventionist cardiologist, immediately set up critical care units exclusive for COVID-19 patients in the world-class hospital. Through the initiative, his hospital became the first private health facility in Nigeria to admit and manage COVID-19 patients with the permission of the federal and Lagos State governments.

By the end of March, some Nigerians whose COVID-19 cases had been complicated by their underlying illnesses started finding solace in First Cardiology Consultant with many now reunited with their families after being successfully treated. His hospital hopes to help the country reduce the mortality rate from COVID-19.

Dr. Yemi Onabowale Dr Yemi Onabowale, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Reddington Hospital Group, is the brain behind Armoured Shield Medical Complex and Reddington Zainelab – two world class facilities for COVID-19 testing and management of the disease.

The twin facility, according to the Lagos Health Commissioner, Abayomi, is the only health facility so far that has scored 100 per cent at the end of inspection for accreditation, adding that every equipment and protocol in the facilities met all requirements set out by the state government.

Many healthcare professionals at the launch were not surprised by the commissioner’s assertion, especially because the pioneer of the initiative, Onabowale has over the years exhibited a penchant for accuracy, professionalism and world-class delivery of healthcare.

The twin-facility is the first private health institution in Nigeria to offer both testing and treatment of cases of the coronavirus. They are also the first to deliver COVID-19 test results within 24 hours of taking samples.

Other institutions deliver results within two to 10 days.

Onabowale, the easy medical expert and business mogul, who often prefers to work behind the scene, has vowed that the COVID-19 facility will help both the federal and Lagos State governments mitigate the impact of COVID-19 among Nigerians. The story of Nigeria’s COVID-19 pandemic cannot be written without Onabowale playing a prominent role as a hero.

Geoffrey Onyema If there is one man whose job description has doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; and especially since the closure of Nigeria’s airspace

Coumantaros

Gupta

on March 23, it is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Godfrey Onyema. In one breathe, he had to look out for Nigerians under lockdowns abroad, in another, he is plotting how to bring home stranded Nigerians who had been affected by abrupt international travel restrictions in countries where they were at the time.

Along with the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri, he has successfully prosecuted both jobs.

Along the line of duty, Onyema contracted COVID-19, a development that made him take a 14 day break from his job to attend to his health. Of the 186 days since Nigeria recorded its first case of COVID-19, those 14 days are perhaps the only days he thought of himself as against 172 other days dedicated to Nigeria and diplomatic issues.

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FIGHTING FOR NIGERIA: HEROES OF BATTLE AGAINST COVID-19 Dr. Sani Aliyu It was no surprise to Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Dr. Sani Aliyu as the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. As the immediate past Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), he championed interventions that led to the drastic reduction of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, taking the country from the second highest burden globally to fourth – just after South Africa, India and Mozambique.

His experience as an infectious disease expert has also been brought to bear in fighting COVID-19. He has been working round the clock to see that the country effectively monitor, control and proffer solutions on how to reduce the numbers – a job he successfully carried out as NACA DG when he led the agency.

Hadi Sirika Two of several decisions that have kept Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases relatively low are the timely closure of international airspace by the federal government and the insistence to follow that pronouncement to the letter.

As the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, he had one of the toughest jobs during the heat of the pandemic; which was to ensure the pronouncements on air travel restrictions were carried out to the letter – failure to which would have resulted in several thousands of extra COVID-19 cases from people coming into the country. Airlines that tried to circumvent these rules got his hammer. At the expense of revenue to the country, he took the health of Nigerians as priority.

He was one of the most vilified government officials on Twitter for refusing to prevail on the federal government to open international flights. But only at the right time, and after health/travel protocols had been developed, he made the announcement for the opening of the international airspace by September 5.

Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong At the start of the pandemic, one of the obvious gaps

Sirika

Johnson

Nigeria had was its lack of capacity to conduct high number of COVID-19 testing; a situation that was in no small measure hampering the fight against the

Onyema

pandemic.

To fix this, 54gene, an African genomics startup with Continued on page 59

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Aliyu

offices in Lagos and Washington DC decided to launch a testing fund to raise cash to expand testing up to 1,000 per day. It first donated $150,000 and then secured $350,000 from other partners, including Union Bank.

Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong, who is the brain behind the initiative, is the CEO of 54gene.

Today, Nigeria’s testing capacity has improved, courtesy of Ene-Obong whose 54gene technology has now been felt across the country. He has also helped in several other capacities to address challenges faced by the Nigerian government in fighting the outbreak

Tope Shonubi Tope Shonubi is the Executive Director, Sahara

THISDAY Dome

Shonubi

Group. He was one of the first Nigerians to rise to the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He donated medical equipment worth billions of naira to the federal government, as well as several other public health institutions to help in the fight against the pandemic. He also donated state of the art equipment to THISDAY Dome in Abuja for effective treatment of COVID-19 patients. Nigeria’s COVID-19 history will not be complete without his role in tackling the pandemic.

THISDAY Dome Although THISDAY Group has the mandate to report news around Nigeria and beyond, it went out of its way to support the fight against the COVID-19 by

donating one of its Abuja facilities, the THISDAY Dome, to the federal government as testing and isolation centre; one of the biggest treatment facilities in the country.

Speaking during the handing over of the facility to the federal government, Ehanire described it as the best COVID-19 isolation and treatment centre in the country.

Ehanire said: “It is the most comprehensive of our treatment centres. It is fully equipped to treat mild, severe and even critical COVID-19 cases. It has ventilators, oxygen concentrators, dialysis machines, among others.”

The facility which houses 300 bed spaces has the capacity to accommodate 200 more beds. The history of Nigeria’s fight against COVID-19 cannot be written without the mention of THISDAY in it.

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

Gusau Removed As North West Zone Rep on AFN Board The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) President, Ibrahim Shehu-Gusua, has been recalled as the representative of the NorthWest Athletics zone on the board of the AFN. This was contained in a communique issued Friday

by North West Athletics Association at the end of its meeting held in Kaduna on the sidelines of the Covid-19 Awareness and Sentisation Lecture organised for all Directors of Sports and Chairmen of all Sports Associations in the seven states that make up the zone.

In the communique, the Association passed a vote of ‘No Confidence’ on Gusau who they elected over three years ago to be its representative on the board of the AFN.

Ibrahim Shehu Gusau...removed as North-west Rep on AFN Board

Gusau was accused of gross inefficiency which first led to his removal as chairman of Zamfara State Athletics Association as well as lack of communication with the zone that elected him into the board of the AFN,the platform he used to be elected president of the federation.

The Association elected Comrade Jamilu Aliyu, Zannan Gusau, Kachallan Hausa and District Head of Karal, the man who replaced Gusau as Zamfara State Athletics Chairman as the zone’s new representative on the board of the AFN. Gusau’s recall was endorsed by the zone’s Council of Sports (directors of sports and chairmen of all sports associations in the zone) which also read riot acts to a few other zonal representatives on the board of national sporting federations who have neglected their constituencies while appreciating the zone’s representatives on the board of volleyball, cricket, taekwando and weightlifting for their track record of performances.

By this action, Gusau ceases to be a member of the AFN board as article 8.1.5 of the federation’s 2017 constitution states that not more than one elected member from any of the six zones recognised by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigerian shall be on the board of

Bobsleigh Star Seun Adigun Joins Fight against Malaria Mary Nnah

Against the backdrop of the global pandemic, leading athletes from Africa and beyond, including Kenyan world-recordholding marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge, World Cup-winning South African rugby captain Siya Kolisi, top female South African explorer Saray Khumalo, veteran international footballer Luis Figo, and founder of the first-ever Nigerian bobsleigh team, Seun Adigun, are urging people to ‘see the bigger picture’ by tackling Covid-19 and malaria together to save more lives.

Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga were the three women who put Nigeria down in history as Africa’s first bobsleigh team at the last Winter Olympics in Korea.

The former Nigerian sprinter Adigun is part of the new team of global influencers who are joining with youth champions behind the “Zero Malaria Starts with Me� campaign to inspire awareness and action on this World Mosquito Day Speaking during an event to commemorate the World Malaria Day, CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, Dr Abdourahmane Diallo, said malaria does not stop devastating lives during health emergencies and still kills a child every two minutes, adding, “Indeed, experiences from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa show it can resurge in times of crisis with immediate and deadly consequences. Covid-19 has

exposed weaknesses in health systems around the world and, with lives at risk and resources increasingly stretched; long-term malaria investment alongside short-term Covid-19 response is essential, smart, and costeffective.�

To shine a spotlight on the vital importance of sustaining malaria efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bigger Picture campaign, launched recently, featured Eliud Kipchoge, Siya Kolisi, Saray Khumalo, Luis Figo, and Seun Adigun.

The stars filmed themselves wearing a face mask whilst talking about the vital importance of tackling malaria and saving more lives during the pandemic, creating a striking image of Covid-19 and malaria together – a visual representation of seeing the Bigger Picture.

Malaria is one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases, transmitted by mosquitoes, which still kills an average of over 400,000 people annually – over 90 per cent of them in Africa. An estimated 228 million long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) were due to be delivered across SubSaharan Africa this year - more than ever before - but severe disruptions to life-saving net campaigns and limited access to antimalarial medicines as a result of Covid-19 could potentially result in a doubling of the number of malaria deaths in the region compared to 2018, according to recent modelling analyses by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Imperial College, London.

the Athletics Federation of Nigeria.

Gusau, irrespective of the court case he instituted

against the board of the AFN and the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development also ceases to

be the president of the AFN. Gusau’s recall would be the second in the federation in the last one year after

Sunday Adeleye, the Athletes representative was removed by his constituency in 2019.

Carolina Pliskova (left) is aiming for her first Grand Slam title, while Novak Djokovic is trying to go level with Rafael Nadal in terms of major wins

Top Players in Action as US Open Begins French Number 17 seed, Benoit Paire, withdrawn after Covid-19 positive test Top seed Novak Djokovic has said that he is playing some of the best tennis of his career as he prepares to start his bid for an 18th Grand Slam at the US Open.

The Serb faces Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in the first night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium (00:00 BST on Tuesday).

Czech Karolina Pliskova, the women’s top seed, faces Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina on Ashe when the tournament begins at 17:00 today.

Britain’s Cameron Norrie and Kyle Edmund also play on the opening day.

Norrie, ranked 77th, has been given a tough draw against Argentine ninth seed Diego Schwartzman and plays first on court five at 16:00.

World number 44 Edmund takes on Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan on the same court at about 21:00.

Japan’s 2018 champion Naomi Osaka rounds off the first day’s

play on Ashe, although the fourth seed says she is “stressed� about whether she will be fully fit.

If Edmund beats world number 51 Bublik, he is likely to face Djokovic in the second round.

The world number one has won all 23 of his singles matches in 2020 and claimed the Western and Southern Open title on Saturday.

If Djokovic, 33, wins a fourth US Open crown it will put him within one of Rafael Nadal and two of Roger Federer in the trio’s battle for the most men’s Grand Slam singles titles in history. “Going on an unbeaten run so far this year obviously brings even more confidence each match,� said Djokovic, who also resigned as president of the Association of Tennis Professionals’ player council this week to set up a new male-only players’ union. “How long that journey is going to last and what kind of

legacy I’m going to leave behind, that’s on somebody else to really judge and evaluate.�

Britain’s former world number one Andy Murray opens tomorrow’s play on Ashe (17:00) against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who is ranked 48th.

British women’s number one Johanna Konta, seeded ninth, will be on court about the same time against compatriot Heather Watson, with the pair playing second on court five.

Dan Evans, Britain’s leading men’s player and the 23rd seed, starts after that match on the same court, taking on Brazilian youngster Thiago Seyboth Wild, who is playing in his first Grand Slam main draw.

Meanwhile, a player has been withdrawn from the US Open, which starts today, after testing positive for coronavirus.

The player, who has not been named, is showing no symptoms but must now isolate for 10 days.

On Sunday, French number 17

seed Benoit Paire was replaced in the men’s singles draw by Spain’s Marcel Granollers.

A US Tennis Association statement said: “A player has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been withdrawn from the tournament.�

Contact tracing will also determine if close contacts will need to quarantine for 14 days.

Paire had been scheduled to play Kamil Majchrzak in the first round at Flushing Meadows in New York on Tuesday, with the Polish player now listed as facing Granollers.

British number one Johanna Konta said it was “shocking and worrisome� a player had tested positive inside the US Open bubble. “We’ve had a few [positive tests] but it is definitely different when they’ve been here, had negative tests and then tested positive,� said Konta, who plays fellow Briton Heather Watson on Tuesday.

La Liga: Messi’s Release Clause of £624m Must Be Paid

The 700m euros (£624m) release clause in Lionel Messi’s Barcelona contract is still valid, La Liga announced yesterday.

Messi, 33, informed the club on Tuesday that he wished to leaveand did not attend a pre-season medical on Sunday.

The Argentina forward plans to invoke a clause that would allow him to depart the club for free but Barcelona argue the deadline for that has expired.

Spain’s top-flight competition La Liga now says it will not de-register the player unless the clause is met. “In compliance with the applicable rule, La Liga will not approve a request to be de-registered as a player with the Spanish football federation, unless the amount in the release clause has been paid,� the body said in a statement.

Messi was due at Barcelona’s

training ground at 10.15am local time on Sunday but did not attend.

The player’s lawyers plan to exercise a clause in his four-year contract, signed in 2017, which would have allowed him to leave the club for free if he had requested to do so by 10 June.

They will argue that date, nominally the end of the season, is now irrelevant after the coronavirus delays that led to the season’s extension and the team playing deep into August.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng said at the weekend that he could see problems between Messi and Barcelona even before their stunning Champions League quarter-final victory.

Barca suffered one of the worst defeats in their entire history at the hands of Bayern in Europe last season.

Hansi Flick’s men knocked them out of the Champions League at the last eight stage, winning 8-2 in a one-off knockout tie in Lisbon.

The humiliating result cost Quique Setien his job, and compounded a miserable campaign for Barca which saw them fail to win a trophy for the first time since 2007-08.

Ex-Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman has been brought in to oversee a squad rebuild, with wholesale personnel changes expected ahead of the new season. One unexpected name on the list of potential outgoings at Camp Nou is Messi, who submitted a formal transfer request last week.

The Argentine has been vocal on Barca’s failings in Europe in recent years, and was also critical of the team’s level following their La Liga defeat to arch-rivals Real

Madrid in July.

The loss to Bayern pushed Messi to his limit, with the 33-year-old now seeking to activate the release clause in his contract which allows him to leave on a free transfer.

Boateng insists he could see that the Barca superstar’s patience was wearing thin before coming up against him in the Champions League, which Bayern went on to win by beating Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain. “You noticed in advance that there was drama between Messi and Barcelona,� the German defender told Bild.

Messi has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City, where his former mentor Pep Guardiola is currently plying his trade, and Boateng can see a final deal coming to fruition due to their past relationship.

MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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MONDAYSPORTS

The Silent Shout in Protest

O

n a night overshadowed by the great world record run from Joshua Cheptegei, it is forgivable not to remember the raised gloved fist of Noah Lyles at the start of the 200m during penultimate weekend’s Diamond League competition in Monaco. The action was akin to the actions of US athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos on that fateful morning during the 1968 Olympic Games. Then it was a Black Power salute, and in Monaco on Friday, almost 52 years later, it was in solidarity for Black Lives Matter, almost the same cause.

With the increased viewership and passionate followership worldwide, Sport is an obvious choice for voices to reach a large target.

The sheer numbers that tune into different sports make it attractive to advertisers and also to people with a cause to promote or publicize.

And it is so much so for the greatest sporting showcase in the World, The Olympics. As

the biggest multi sports event watched by over 2 billion people it is a great avenue for people and companies to advertise their goods or make their causes heard. It is even more powerful a voice when athletes themselves are the carriers of these protests.

In 1968, as a response to the two American athletes’ public protest, the International Olympic Committee president, Avery Brundage saw this gesture as a domestic political statement unfit for the Olympic Games. In pressured the American Team to expel the two athletes from the Games. Today, the IOC has Rule 50 in its charter to guard against open show of protest by athletes.

Rule 50 states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.�

However some have argued that this is gagging athletes as they have a freedom of expression clearly defined in their recently documented Declaration of Athletes Rights.

Though there is a thin balance in preserving the neutrality

and brand of the Olympics and obstructing the rights of individual expression.

Recently, the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) have called athletes together for consultations on protests at the Paralympic Games as societal and global events recently have really brought injustice and racial prejudice to the fore especially in Sports.

Pressure has grown on the

Joshua Cheptegei

IOC to relax Rule 50, which bars athletes from protesting at Olympic venues and sites during the Games, in light of worldwide demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in the United States.The move from the IPC follows the International Olympic Committee tasking its Athletes Commission to conduct a similar exercise amid growing pressure on the organization to relax or abolish its Rule

50, which prohibits athletes from protesting at the Olympic Games. “We all know that athlete protests at the Games is something of a Pandora’s Box. The last thing we want to do is create a free-for-all at the Games where Para-athletes are free to protest on any subject they like, including ones the wider world will find repulsive, as this will overshadow the sporting performances. Our aim is to strike a fine balance whereby Para-athletes can raise their views in a constructive way rather than use the Games as a platform to spread hate.� said Chelsey Gotell, the IPC Athletes’ Council chairperson.

Protests on the stage of sporting events have become popular. The cases of hammer thrower Gwen Berry and fencer Race Imboden were highlighted as part of discussions on Rule 50, with the two athletes protesting at last year’s Pan American Games in Lima.

Since August 2016, some American athletes have protested against police brutality and racism by

kneeling on one knee during the U.S. national anthem.

The protests began in the National Football League (NFL) after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat and later knelt during the anthem, before his team’s preseason games of 2016.

Throughout the following seasons, members of various NFL and other sports teams have engaged in similar silent protests IOC President, Thomas Bach, who has been an advocate of athletes’ rights, has refused to rule out allowing podium protests although it is thought unlikely these will be allowed during the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games - and warned of the need to differentiate between what he called “divisive demonstrations� and suitable forms of protest.

Many sporting organizations support advocacy against injustice using their field of play. While the English Premier league disallows the use of gestures and personal

signs to highlight political beliefs (The former French international striker played his last game for Premiership side West Bromich Albiom FC after using a political gesture during a goal celebration), it has encouraged anti-racism protest by supporting kneeling before Premiership games recently.

A minute’s silence at the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is one of the options being considered within International Olympic Committee (IOC) circles as a compromise in relaxing Rule 50. However the debate is on and no matter what is reached, Sports has become a platform for the oppressed to protest different forms of injustice.

So the voices of the protesters somehow would be heard‌even in silence.

* EneďŹ ok is an author, Speaker, administrator, Life coach, businessman and Nigeria’s ONLY Male two Time Olympic Medalist

I Deserve Ballon d’Or for Winning Everything this Year, Says Lewandowski Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski said at the weekend that if the Ballon d’or were not cancelled, he should have been given a reward as he won everything this season.

In the Saturday interview for the Polish paper Przeglad Sportowy, Lewandowski told how he had reacted after the information that there will be no winner this year. “If the organisers didn’t cancel the Ballon d’Or, I should have been the winner. I won everything this year. Winning the Champions League was my greatest dream and I achieved it. I’m really proud of that. In the final game against PSG, I didn’t

score but I worked really hard for my team,� he said.

He had a perfect season to win the treble with Bayern Munich.

The 32-year-old became the top scorer of the Bundesliga and Champions League.

He was believed to be a strong favourite to win Ballon d’Or but the France Football magazine cancelled the vote due to the Covid-19 pandemic in June.

In the Champions League final, Bayern beat French champions Paris SaintGermain 1-0 thanks to Kingsley Coman’s goal from the second half. “PSG created their chances but I knew that

we would win this match.

After finding the net, we had everything under control.

In the final phase of the match, Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Perisic came in and the opponent got a message that we will put the pressure on them until the end. We felt that It could be our year for a long time,� said the Poland captain.

The player also revealed his next objectives. “We would like to lift the European Supercup and German Supercup.

The more you have, the more you want. We have a young, strong team. It seems to me that none of us will be satisfied with what we just won,� he said.

F1: Dominant Hamilton Strolls to Belgian GP Win to Close in on Schumacher’s Record Lewis Hamilton won the 89th race of his career by dominating the Belgian Grand Prix from start to finish at the weekend.

The victory opens up his championship lead over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who finished third, to 47 points, and reinforces the impression that he will waltz away to a record-equalling seven title.

The Briton is being helped in this pursuit by the relative sluggishness of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who failed to apply any significant pressure on Hamilton at the start or the re-start following a yellow flag period for a potentially serious accident involving

Williams’ George Russell.

The biggest drama unfolded on the 10th lap when Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi lost control at Fagnes chicane and spun into the tyre wall before being spat out across the track.

His left rear tyre was untethered and barrelled into Russell’s path.

The impact of the flying missile fell, thankfully, on his front wheel and sent him into the barriers.

Both men walked away unharmed, their races over.

It could have been much worse for Russell but for a few inches.

Elsewhere, Ferrari were fighting like rats in a bag.

Having qualified 13th

and 14th, it got worse for their disgruntled pair of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. They both had strong words with their team – Vettel urging them to ‘f******’ consider pitting him again, and Leclerc asking why he was brought in for a second time. ‘We’ll tell you later,’ he was told.

Ferrari subsequently confirmed it was to top up his pneumatic pressure.

There was a sense of the disarray about everything and everyone red as Vettel’s 13th-place finish and Leclerc’s 14th underlined.

Hamilton deviated off track but it was a satisfactory, if far too predictable, outcome.

Lewandowski celebrating the UEFA Champions League final victory over PSG

Zaidu Seals Five-year Deal with FC Porto Portugal’s topflight side, FC Porto at the weekend announced the signing of Nigerian defender Zaidu Sanusi from Santa Clara on a five-year deal.

Zaidu caught the eye following his impressive showing for Santa Clara in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season.

The 23-year-old scored one goal in 24 league appearances for the modest side.

Following his impressive

performance, Zaidu has constantly remained on the radar of Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr, to fit into the left back role.

Porto beat off strong competition from Greek club Olympiacos to sign the left-back. “I will give everything on the field, for the fans and for everyone at the club,�

Zaidu told the club’s official website.

The Kebbi State-born

utility player got his brekathrough playing for Mutunchi Academy in Kaduna.

Two years ago, he was playing third division, last season played premier with Santa Clara and now in the elite class.

Top agent, Jorge Mendes, fell in love with him and snapped him up and now it’s FC Porto for the next five years.

Zaidu previously played for Portuguese club Gil Vicente and Mirandela.

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T H I S D AY ˾MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020

MONDAYSPORTS TRANSFER NEWS..... TRANSFER NEWS.....

Havertz’s Stunning £90m Chelsea Switch Almost Done Deal Kai Havertz has missed Bayer Leverkusen’s performance tests over the weekend as he closes in on a transfer to Chelsea, according to Bild.

Havertz...Chelsea bound

The 21-year-old did attend the club’s headquarters on Friday and Saturday as he reported for two coronavirustests, as he is required to carry them out for his upcoming national team matches with Germany.

Chelsea have been pursuing the attacking midfielder for some time, as they continue to spend big in their summer rebuild under manager Frank Lampard.

Earlier in the window, fellow Germany team-mate Timo Werner made the switch from RB Leipzig to Stamford Bridge, with Havertz reportedly taking baby steps closer to following him.

The Blues recently added Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell to their growing list of new signings, as the England international made a £50million move to London.

They also announced the signing of Thiago Silva,

formally of PSG, on a free transfer from PSG, as well as French defender Malang Sarr.

However, Sarr could be heading straight off to Germany on loan to long-term admirers Bayer

Leverkusen in a sweetener to help Chelsea get a deal for Havertz over the line.

The German wonderkid is set to cost Chelsea around £90million, with the finer details of the deal being the biggest negotiating factor

in the drawn out transfer saga.

The Premier League side were hoping to secure Havertz’ signature for £70million, but Leverkusen stuck by their £90m valuation.

Aston Villa Wants Tammy Abraham Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has attracted interest from his former loanee club Aston Villa but remains determined to battle with Werner for a first-team spot at Stamford Bridge.

Abraham scored 26 goals for the Midlands outfit and helped fire them to top-

flight promotion in 2019, but has enjoyed a successful breakthrough campaign with Chelsea.

The youngster is keen to once again prove his firstteam credentials in west Londonand looks set to turn down any advances made this summer.

Man Utd Agree £40m Fee for Van de Beek from Ajax Manchester United are closing in on the signing of Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek after the two clubs agreed a fee in the region of £40m.

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a huge admirer of the Netherlands international, 23, and has had him watched on a number of occasions.

It is understood United have now firmed up their interest with a medical and personal terms still to be concluded.

The transfer is expected to be finalised within days.

Van de Beek is set to sign a five-year deal, which should allow him to be available for United’s opening game of the 2020-21 season, against Crystal Palace on 19 September.

He will become Solskjaer’s first close-season signing after a much-publicised move for

Matt Doherty

Spurs Confirm Signing Wolves’ Doherty

Donny van de Beek Borussia Dortmund’s England winger Jadon Sancho stalled over the size of the fee.

Van de Beek was part of the outstanding Ajax side that got to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.

He was left out of Ajax’s friendlieswith German pair Eintracht Frankfurt and Union Berlin over the weekend.

Juventus Sign American McKennie from Schalke on Loan Juventus have signed United States international midfielder Weston McKennie on a oneseason loan from German club Schalke with an option to buy

Weston McKennie

at the end of the campaign, the Italian champions said late on Saturday.

The Turin club, who sealed a ninth straight Serie A title last month, will pay 4.5 million euros ($5.36 million) for the loan period and up to 25.5 million euros more if they decide to make the move permanent, Juventus said in a statement.

The versatile 22-yearold started his career in the youth system at FC Dallas before moving to the Schalke academy as a teenager, going on to score five goal s i n 9 1 appearances for the Bundesliga side.

Wolvesright back Matt Doherty has completed an anticipated £15million move to Tottenham.

Sportsmail revealed on Friday that Spurs had agreed a fee with the Midlands sidefor the 28-year-old’s services following a breakthrough in talks.

Now both clubs have now confirmed the full-back has signed a contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until 2024 and will wear the No 2 shirt.

On the move, Doherty said: ‘I am very proud to be joining such a big club. It has the best stadium and possibly the best training ground in the world from what I have seen.

‘When you start something new you want to start well

and get off to a fast start. I can’t wait to get going.

‘I wanted to travel down to play in the game [against Birmingham] and that’s how excited I feel coming here.’

The 28-year-old is Spurs’ third signing of the summer after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg joined from Southampton and Joe Hart arrived on a free transfer after leaving Burnley.

His arrival will allow Serge Aurier to move on but Tottenham are still to receive a suitable bid for the £22m-rated full-back.

But the news of the signing of Doherty may still cause some Tottenham fans to raise a few eyebrows at his tweet from September 2013, which read: ‘Yes I’m a HUGE Arsenal fan!’

Should Doherty prove himself on the pitch, however, Spurs supporters are likely to forgive any old allegiance towards their great rivals especially given talisman Harry Kane was famously pictured wearing the Gunners’ kit as a boy.

Doherty made 50 appearances for Wolves last season, scoring on seven occasions as Nuno Espirito Santo’s men finished seventh in the Premier League and reached the Europa League quarter-finals.

The defender started his senior career with Wolves and played in League One with them in 2013-14 before helping the club earn promotion back to the top flight.

Having established himself as one of the best full-backs in the Premier League, Doherty has now linked up with Jose Mourinho’s men as he was so eager to do.

The signing addresses a noticeable gap in the squad, with Aurier guilty of some glaring errors with many fans blaming him for giving away needless fouls and penalties in the last campaign.

The club have also sold Kyle Walker-Peters to Southampton this summer, so they were in need of greater strength in depth in the position. Last year Kieran Tripper left for Atletico Madrid with no direct replacement.

Ibrahimovic Returns to AC Milan Zlatan Ibrahimovic, back in Italy to sign a contract extension with AC Milan, said he intends to “help the club get back to where it deserves to be”, in a video posted on Sunday.

The video, posted on the AC Milan website and entitled “Iz Back”, started with a small plane landing at the city’s Linate airport on Saturday evening and then showed the 39-year-old Swede, who was decked out in club gear, declaring he was delighted to return “to

where he feels at home”.

Ibrahimovic has yet to sign the extension but, according to Italian press reports, the star striker and Milan have agreed an extra year’s contract, with an annual salary of seven million euros.

He rejoined the club last December on a sixmonth contract from the Los Angeles Galaxy, on a salary of €3.5 million with an optional extra year. He scored 11 times in 20 Serie A and Italian Cup matches.

“As I said before, I’m not here to be a mascot, but to bring results, to help the club, the team and the coach get back to where Milan deserves to be,” he said in Italian on the video.

“We’ve done great things in the last six months but we haven’t gained anything.

Now I have the chance to be there from the very beginning, we have to keep going and do the same thing,” said the Swede.

The Italian season starts on 19 September.

“Ibrahimovic is our priority,” AC Milan technical director Paolo Maldini said last Tuesday, without ruling out a Plan B as negotiations with the Swedish giants dragged on.

“We know it will be a short pre-season, so we want to complete the deal in a very short time.” Maldini added.

AC Milan’s stated aim is to return to the Champions League, a competition the Rossoneri have won seven times but have not played in since 2014.

Monday August 31, 2020

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MISSILE

NEF to N’Assembly

“We advise the National Assembly to direct its energy and mandate towards convincing President Muhammadu Buhari to bring an end to the insurgency in the North-east and killings in most parts of North-central and North-west and other parts of the country” – The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) accusing the National Assembly of spending billions to fund the constitution review since 1999 without any meaningful impact on the lives of the people.

OKEYIKECHUKWU The Corporate Affairs Controversy EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS

okey.ikechukwu@thisdaylive.com

T

he controversy over the revised (and perhaps questionable) 2020 version of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) has taken on a life of its own.

“Comply or be doomed,” the leadership of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) was quoted as saying a few days ago. “Away with the amended version of the old Act, part of which seeks to bring the secular into non-secular matters,” the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is shouting from the rooftops. There is, as yet, no official position from the Muslim leadership, but there may yet be some response from that quarter; especially when we consider that there is hardly any religious group without factions and denominations that someone may decide to merge tomorrow, based on a provision of this new law which allows the CAC to merge organisations with “similar aims and objects.”

Already, some prominent citizens and public interest organisations have joined the debate, fuelling the general suspicion, true or not, that there are ulterior motives for the amendments. The argument in some quarters is that the amended Companies and Allied Matters Act is the reintroduction of a defeated legislation by other means and that there is bad faith on the part of the authorities.

Though the issues are now being further befuddled, we must reject the extreme positions of those who stop short of saying that the CAC should not regulate the space. It is the business of the CAC to prescribe, and where necessary ensure the enforcement of, Rules of Engagement for any entity desirous of carrying out any legitimate business in Nigeria. It is the norm, everywhere in the world, that no nation leaves its living space and allows everyone to treat it as an ungoverned space. That is why organisations must operate “within” the law, in order to be protected by the laws. But laws may lose their overarching protective resonance and objectivity when they are the products of limited vested interests and regime myopia. To that extent, we all have the sacred duty of vigilance.

The fact of human fallibility obliges us to always examine any regulatory instrument, to see whether it has any challenges that may pose some foreseeable dangers to the society. That is why the matter at hand should not be taken lightly. So, let us further examine it for better understanding and objective evaluation.

Of particular interest here, first of all, is the position of those who contend that it is best to operate the amended law, as signed, and work towards further amendments at some future date. To the extent, that the “intention” behind the amendment is to bring alleged fringe actors and, perhaps recalcitrant, organisations within a broader regulatory framework with no leakages, we can say that the goal is right in principle.

Their position is that the fears of the critics of the new law are not yet confirmed by experience and that we should first operate the law, determine what provisions need a reconsideration or amendment; and then deal with that in future.

But are the fears really unconfirmed? If

CEO, CAC, Garba Abubakar the only way to confirm every doubt we have about anything in this world is to “wait and see” what happens, we would all most probably be dead. It is because human being can use their mental faculties to spare themselves the unpleasant consequences of trial and error that we are endowed with intelligence. To begin with, it is precisely because there are strong fears, and also rational grounds for such fears at all, that we may all need to look more closely at certain provisions of that new law.

If you look at the Part C of the new Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, for instance, it gives any reflective person genuine cause for worry. It says that there would now be a classification of association registered in accordance with the aims and objects of the association. This is neither new nor strange, because it makes sense for the state to want to know why you are registering an association and what you intent to do with it. But we cannot view Section 849 of this same section of the amended Act without misgivings. It says that “Two or More association with similar aims and objects can now be merged.”

Really? Nearly all our political parties are based on a liberal democratic governance framework. Nearly all denominations of every religion in Nigeria accept similar underlying principles on Theism, the basic

teachings, etc. Should they all now be merged, because they have similar aims and objects in principle? Should the PDP and APC, for instance, be merged because they are made up of basically the same people with very similar attitudes to corruption, responsible leadership and leadership recruitment; as they switch from one platform to the other?

Should all political parties with a “socialist” orientation also be merged, because they have similar concerns about the place of the masses in the scheme of things?

Speaking more with an eye on fundamental principles, to say that two things are similar is to say, first and foremost, that they are not the same. To merge associations with “similar” objects is to overlook the fact that it is only a fundamental lack of homogeneity in the perceptions, preferences, emphasis and focus of the parties concerned that made them to register as different associations even though they are aware of each other. Even, as in the case of philosophical disputation, where two objects which are so completely alike that there is no way of distinguishing one from the other, the problem is solved by placing the objects next to each other and saying that their individual identity is established by the fact that they are not occupying the same space “at the same time;” and in the same place. That is how the problem of the Identity of Indiscernibles is resolved in philosophy, in so far as anyone can speak of a resolution. If indiscernibility of looks, quality and shape does not translate into annulment of being, merger of identities, etc., for the object of experience, how much more associations with elaborate articles; and which are made of adults of sound judgment?

Outside the domain of academic and philosophical disputations, and smack into the thick open space of Realpolitik, it is even much more dangerous to speak of merging “similar” associations. Without prejudice to the capacities within the CAC, as well as its ready assurance that decisions on merger would not be arbitrary and could be appealed, there is still the question of “who” determines similarity and by what overriding criteria. Who interprets on my behalf an object or aim that I present and prefer, despites finding something similar but not necessarily “identical” with what exists in another organization’s Articles of Association? Supposing we set out to resolve a long-standing disagreement between two

It is the norm, everywhere in the world, that no nation leaves its living space and allows everyone to treat it as an ungoverned space.

That is why organisations must operate “within”the law, in order to be protected by the laws. But laws may lose their overarching protective resonance and objectivity when they are the products of limited vested interests and regime myopia

or more new denominations or factions of, say, the Anglican, or Methodist Church, or even between various splinter factions of the same political party who hold different positions on gay marriage and the LGBTQ+ culture. Would it be right for us to annul their new registrations, simply force-merge them, by arguing that they all adhere to the same basic foundational principles and objects? Will that settle anything, or would we not then be fermenting further trouble, when the basis of the disagreement is that one group wants to be left alone to endorse gay marriage and propagate the new LGBTQ+ culture, while the other does not? In any case, what makes it the business of the state here, when there is no disturbance of public peace?

Will the fact that neither group has renounced, or even modified, the basic aims and objects of their “association” make their “similarity” so comprehensive and unimpeachable as to turn them into “ontologically homogenous” entities? I think not. Thus, except the little matter of gender disputation between the different groups is resolved, neither party would, in all good conscience, propose, posit and insist that it be merged with the other. And we cannot do that for them by force of any manmade law. It is just not done!

Outside of matters of politics and religion, should we recommend, for instance, that the various species of the citrus fruit, like oranges, shaddock, tangerines, etc., be abolished, because the citrus family have basically similar looks and nutritional benefits? Can we ignore the fact that they all taste different, focus instead on certain similarities, and then rename them; or command everyone to go for the particular “endorsed” species? If the answer is ‘no’, then we may all wish to think again about endorsing certain aspects of the amended law under discussion here.

To say that the aspect of it we have just thrown up for examination is extremely dangerous in our society that is, as yet, not so politically mature as to always operate by objective rules is to put it mildly. I say nothing about the budding allegation, spurious as it may sound, that this move is still part of a progressive islamisation agenda.

The commission can dissolve an association within 15 days where the bank account of the association is dormant, and they fail to satisfactorily respond to the commission by furnishing the commission with the evidence of their activities. It is also empowered to suspend trustees of an association, sometimes in order to protect the property of the association and secure its proper application, and even appoint an interim manager, by obtaining a Court Order. And that is once commission has got the approval of the minister of trade, who is the supervising minister, to suspend Trustees, or “secure the proper application of property.” Really?

Perhaps we can now see why some religious organisations are alarmed. Can you appoint an interim manager, and exercise jurisdiction, over the non-secular in this way? Where you have a sane and sober minister today, you may have a bigot tomorrow. That is the serious and glaring worry now.

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