TUESDAY 9TH AUGUST 2022

NESG to FG: Take Tough Choices,Tackle Insecurity, Remove Petrol Subsidy Now

Wants crude oil theft tackled, multiple exchange rate addressed MTEF 2023-2025 now unrealisable, go for cheaper financing, LCCI tells govt Prioritise manufacturing in FX allocation, NECA declares Dike Onwuamaeze

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has made a passion-

ate appeal to President Muhamadu Buhari to utilise the remaining 10 months in his administration to make tough choices and take

decisive actions that would pull Nigeria from the brink of socioeconomic collapse.

These decisive decisions, accord-

ing to the NESG should include addressing mounting insecurity challenge in the country and crude oil theft, ending the multiple exchange

rate system which it stated was keeping foreign investment away from Nigeria as well as to be decisive in removing petrol subsidy in a

manner that would not hurt the vulnerable segment of Nigerians Continued on page 10

Soyinka Condemns Seadogs’ Viral Video Purportedly Mocking Tinubu... Page 6 Tuesday 9 August, 2022 Vol 27. No 9982. Price: N250

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Sanusi: I Warned Buhari’s Govt that Its Policies Will Destroy Nigeria’s Economy... Page 5

Oil Theft: Okowa Wants Oil Facilities’ Surveillance Contracts Reviewed Seeks involvement of host communities FG, NNPC, Army partner Uzodimma on fight against oil theft in Imo

Peter Uzoho

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has advocated a review of surveillance contracts on oil facilities

to involve host communities in order to check the high rate of oil theft in the country.

This was just as it emerged that the federal government,

security agencies, Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited are partnering with Governor Hope Uzodimma and oil producing communities in

Imo State to ensure that the fight against pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the state is contained.

Okowa said reviewing oil surveillance contracts based on

performance of the contractors and engagement of host communities would ensure effectiveness in securing the nation's oil and gas assets.

The Delta State governor made

the call when he received a federal government delegation on anti-oil theft led by the Minister of State for Continued on page 10

NUPRC Stands Firm on Mobil-Seplat No Deal, Insists Status Quo Remains In sub-section 14 of same section 95, the PIA states that: For the purpose of this section, change of control means any person or persons acting jointly or in concert, to acquire direct or indirect beneficial ownership of a percentage of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the holder, by contract or otherwise, that exceeds 50 per cent at any time." Sub-section 15 states thus: "A holder of a petroleum exploration licence shall not assign, novate or transfer his licence or any right, power or interest without prior written consent of the commission.

Deji Elumoye and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) yesterday affirmed that the status quo remains with respect to the ExxonMobil/Seplat Energy share acquisition.

The clarification by the NUPRC Chief Executive, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, followed an earlier statement same yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the acquisition which effectively nullified the long-drawn attempt by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to block the $1.283 billion sale and purchase transaction between SeplatEnergies and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU).

However, several attempts to get presidency's reaction to the counter statement by the NUPRC saying its withdrawal of consent stays, proved abortive as the Media Adviser, to Continued on page 10

Inauguration of Igan-Ishamurin - Shikiti Road...

L-R: Ogun State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructures, Engr. Ade Akinsanya; the Ebumawe of Ago-Iwoye, Oba AddulRazaq Adenugba; Deputy Governor, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele; Governor Dapo Abiodun and All Progressives Congress party chairman in Ogun State, Chief Yemi Sanusi, at the inauguration of Igan- Ishamurin - Shikiti Road at Ago-Iwoye in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State ... yesterday

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Group News Editor: Goddy Egene Email: Goddy.egene@thisdaylive.com, 0803 350 6821, 0809 7777 322, 0807 401 0580

DAISY @ 70...

L-R: Governor of Taraba State, Mr. Darius Ishaku; Former Minister of Defence, General T. Y. Danjuma (rtd); Celebrant, Senator Daisy Ehanire Danjuma; Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; Governor of Dellta State/Vice Presidential Candidate, PDP, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and First Lady Edo State, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, during the 70th thanksgiving church service anniversary of Daisy Danjuma held at PHOTO: MUBO PETERS. Cathedral Church of Christ in Lagos...recently

Audit Query: Senate Probes N1.7trn MDAs' Service Wide Votes Asks Accountant General to submit records on disbursement

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate has commenced investigation into the utilisation of over N1.7 trillion Service Wide Votes spent by federal agencies outside of their approved budgets between 2017 and 2021 The Chairman of the Senate Public Account Committee, Senator Matthew Urhogbide, made this

known during the meeting between his panel and heads of the federal agencies that benefitted from the disbursement.

He insisted that all the affected heads of the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) must give explanations on how they spent the fund.

The Senator added that Service Wide Votes was disbursed to the

MDAs to take care of the shortfall in their capital and overhead budgets.

A Service Wide Vote (SWV) which is also known as the Consolidated Revenue Fund Charge is more or less the country’s contingency fund in the annual budget.

It is a huge sum of money which is kept for unforeseen expenditure.

The recurrent expenditure part of the fund is what is actually

referred to as the SWV, while the capital part of it is called Capital Supplementation.

The SWV is domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Finance.

The Chairman also ordered the Acting Accountant General of the Federation, Okolieaboh Sylva, who appeared before the Committee to submit details of disbursement of Service Wide Votes as quickly as

Sanusi: I Warned Buhari’s Govt that Its Policies Will Destroy Nigeria’s Economy Former Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has disclosed he warned the President Muhammadu Buhari administration that its economic policies would destroy Nigeria’s economy.

Sanusi also lamented the current state of the nation, saying Nigeria will not be where it is if public office holders take their job seriously.

The former Emir, who spoke in Lagos on Sunday at a stage play titled “Emir Sanusi: Truth in Time”, every inherent dangers in the economic polices he communicated to the administration when he newly came on board in 2015/2016 is what the country is facing today.

The former Kano Emir recalled how he wrote a confidential letter to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor voicing his strong concerns about the economy.

“If every president, every governor, every minister, every commissioner took their job seriously, this country will not be where it was,” he stated.

“If people are willing to be ministers, commissioners, governors and presidents for eight years, and not tell us how they have improved our lives, we have a problem.”

He charged politicians to be accountable to the people.

Sanusi asked Nigerians to take

charge of the country, he said Africa’s most populous nation will not move forward until actual steps are taken.

The ex-CBN governor also spoke on why he usually criticises government policies he found not to be good enough, saying what many do not know is that he would have advised the officials privately for months before going public.

On the current administration, Sanusi said he warned the Federal Government of the dangers of its policies in 2015, especially how it would destroy the economy.

“With the current administration, I spent the whole of 2015 and 2016 speaking to everybody who should

be communicated to, and telling them that the economic policies they were pursuing were going to destroy the Nigerian economy.

“It was only when that failed that I spoke publicly, and we had to speak. Now the question which everybody is asking is should an Emir speak? The answer is yes and it depends on what you are speaking on,” he added.

According to Sanusi, he served as Chief Risk Officer at the United Bank for Africa, at First Bank, and also as CBN governor; as Emir of Kano for six years.

He stated that he would be ungrateful to God if he expressed regret or sadness over his removal as emir despite his position in life.

Edo to Support 500 MSMEs to Grow Revenue to N10m Annually By 2025 The Edo State Government has unveiled the State Skills Development Agency (EdoJobs) Entrepreneurship Roadmap 2.0 targeted at assisting 500 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) communities to expand their revenue to N10 million annually in 2025.

The Managing Director, Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, said this at the unveiling of EdoJobs Entrepreneurship Roadmap 2.0, at the Government House, in Benin City.

She said the roadmap is in line with the vision of the Edo State Government to build a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

(MSME) community, delivering services to 20,000 active members out of which 500 have become formalized and will grow their revenue to #10million annually by 2025.

According to her, "the EdoJobs Business Success Scorecard provides upwardly mobile businesses with a roadmap to business success and is hinged on ten key milestones: Business formalization, sales and marketing competence, capacity for financial management, trade organization/association membership, human resource management, continuous capacity building, high

technology adoption, product development and diversification, mentorship and networking as well as external funding.”

She added, “Each milestone is worth 50 points and any entrepreneur who reaches a score of 500 is fit to join the exclusive EdoFuture500 Business Community, a feat only those who are determined and disciplined can achieve.”

Head, Entrepreneurship, EdoJobs, Segun Majekodunmi, said the state government is investing in the programme to transform small, one-man businesses into employers

of labour.

The Chairman, Edo State Government MSME Advisory Board, Mr. Peters Obaseki, urged entrepreneurs to follow the necessary requirements to be recognized entrepreneurs in the state to enjoy the benefits accruing to recognised entrepreneurs from the Edo State Government as well as local and international investors.

“With this, entrepreneurs in the state can grow their revenues and improve the sustainability of their businesses through a target-driven scorecard – the EdoJobs Business Scorecard,” he added.

possible.

Urhoghide said, "We want you submit details of disbursement of Service Wide Votes. Let us have it as quickly as possible, please we want speed.

"The other one that concerns you is the disbursement of Service Wide Votes from 2017-2021. You have not submitted the 2021 disbursement.

Let us have that of 2022 as quickly as possible.

"The reason is because we have 797 agencies to deal with to the letters. We have decided to put them on hold until we get your report of 2021, so that we don't start writing fresh letters on 2021 again as soon as possible. " We need to input it into our report. Let us be able to know that you have exercise level of cooperation with us. Give us hard copies for our members to study.

"We have to you first before any other agency, you will have to appear first week of our resumption."

The Senator said the agencies needed to explain how the Service Wide Votes collected have been spent.

He added that the Committee would need to know who authorised the fund from Service Wide Votes.

He said, "Who applied for it? The authority to incur the expenditure and the supporting documents.

"This is the first time the Senate is making inquisition to Service Wide Votes."

Urhoghide said his committee had made several attempts in the past years to ensure that heads of ministries, departments and agencies give accounts of what they got from the SWV but all efforts have been futile.

Bauchi Governorship: Ex-Chief of Air Staff Saddique Abubakar Denies Recruiting 1,000 Thugs Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

APC governorship candidate in Bauchi, ex-Chief of Air Staff, Saddique Baba Abubakar, has denied the allegation that he is recruiting 1,000 thugs and militants to intimidate his opponents ahead of the 2023 general elections.

"This story is ostensibly fabricated to mislead the average Bauchi voters who are increasingly showing interest in ensuring the success of the All Progressives Congress candidate in the 2023 gubernatorial election, owing to the colossal failure of the ruling party to provide the state with purposeful leadership and dividends of democracy in the past three years," he said in a statement issued by his spokesman on Monday evening.

Abubakar described the statement titled 'Ex-Chief of Air Staff, Sadique, Ruling APC Recruit '1000 Militants, Political Thugs’ Ahead of Bauchi Governorship Election' as " a comical political publication trending as news item and published by an online newspaper."

"To put the records straight,"

Abubakar said, "the publication in question, which publishers credited their sources to an unnamed Colonel of the Nigerian Army, said it is in possession of a ‘security signal’ on the said recruitment exercise, without further presenting facts, but only quoted some anonymous ‘politicians’ who obviously funded the publication."

The statement noted that Shehu Aliyu Musa (Barden Gabas of Bauchi), a member of the association, attended a meeting organised to congratulate him on his emergence as a running mate to ex-chief of air staff with the leadership of the Bauchi State Amalgamated Associations of Butchers, Hunters, Cobblers, Blacksmiths, and Berbers after opening the Associations’ State Secretariat in Bauchi."

Abubakar explained that, as law-abiding citizens, "we did not hold the meeting in question until we officially sought for and obtained the approval of the Bauchi state police commissioner who was represented at the meeting by an assistant superintendent of police."

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70th birthday celebration of Senator Daisy Danjuma...

L: R: Former Edo PDP Governorship Aspirant, Ken Imansuangbon; Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal; former PDP Presidential Aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen; former Governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna, and former Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, during the 70th birthday celebration of Senator Daisy Danjuma in Lagos…recently

Soyinka Condemns Seadogs’ Viral Video Purportedly Mocking Tinubu Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Renowned playwright and Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, yesterday took exception to a viral video in which members of the Pyrates Confraternity were seen chanting what appeared to be an anti-Bola Tinubu song.

The clip showed the group in a procession, mimicking a recent moniker, Emilokan, which is largely credited to the former Lagos governor and mockingly questioning how a man who allegedly has unstable limbs would insist “it’s my turn”.

Tinubu is the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming 2023 general elections.

In his comments which he titled: “Interim Statement on a Dubious Political Outing,” the octogenarian, who along with some

friends formed the association in his days as a university student, described the event as distasteful.

Soyinka stated that although he couldn’t impose what political views members should hold, it was patently wrong for the group to publicly discredit one of the candidates, stressing that the development was bizarre.

“My attention has been drawn to a video clip making internet rounds, of a dancing and chanting group, in red and white costume, purportedly members of the Pyrates Confraternity. The display acidly targets a presidential candidate in the awaited 2023 elections.

“Since the whole world knows of my connection with that fraternity, it is essential that I state in clear, unambiguous terms, that I am not involved in that public performance, nor in any way associated with the sentiments expressed in the songs.

“Like any other civic group, the Pyrates Confraternity is entitled to its freedom of expression, individually or collectively. So also is Wole Soyinka in his own person,” the respected writer said.

Stressing that he does not interfere in, nor does he attempt to dictate the political choices of the confraternity, Soyinka said he remained unaware that the association ever engages in a collective statement of sponsorship or repudiation of any candidate.

“This is clearly a new and bizarre development, fraught with unpredictable consequences,” he wrote.

Soyinka posited that having listened to the lyrics of the song, he came to the conclusion that it went against the culture that is clearly against mocking persons with disabilities.

“In addition, let me make the following cultural affirmation. I have listened to the lyrics of the chant intently and I am frankly appalled. I find it distasteful. I belong to a culture where we do not mock physical afflictions or disabilities. Very much the contrary.

“The Yoruba religion indeed designate a deity, Obatala, as the divine protector of the afflicted, no matter the nature of such affliction.

This sensibility is engrained in us from childhood and remains with us all our lives. It operates on the principle of mortal frailty to which all humanity remains vulnerable,” he said.

He recalled the condition of a fellow author, the late Cyril James, who he said had Parkinson’s but still remained mentally alert years after the disease.

“One of my favourite authors, about whom, by a coincidence, I had cause to write quite recently, was CLR James, author of The Black Jacobins, Beyond A Boundary etc. I called him my ideological uncle. He suffered from Parkinson’s

disease, but remained alert, lucid and combative for decades after the onset of the disease.

“We interacted politically at the Tanzanian pan-African Congress, the Dakar Festival of Negro Arts and a number of other cultural and political fora. We met frequently in his lifetime, dined together in restaurants, despite his challenge.

"It would be unthinkable, and a desecration of his memory to be part of any activity that mocked his affliction. A further statement will be issued when I have made further enquiries into this strange, uncharacteristic outing of the association,” he declared.

Abiodun: Our Goal is to Make Ogun Investors' Destination of Choice

Air Peace Suspends Flight Monarchs endorse him for second term Ex-minister, Shittu Service to Johannesburg knocks Amosun over comments against governor’s election Chinedu Eze

High cost and scarcity of aviation fuel, known as Jet A1, has forced Air Peace to suspend its LagosJohannesburg flight operations.

The airline explained in a statement yesterday, that due to the turbulent times the aviation industry was experiencing with Jet A1 fuel increases, scarcity of forex and a delay in visa issuance for South African travel passengers, it had to stop the service..

"Please be advised that the Johannesburg flight operation has been suspended effective August 22nd and will remain so until further notice.

"Passengers with future flight itineraries who wish to join nonaffected operational flights should be accommodated at no additional cost. Passengers seeking refunds may also apply," the airline said.

Johannesburg is one of the three international routes Air Peace operates. The others are Dubai and China.”

James Sowole in Abeokuta

Governor Dapo Abiodun has pledged to provide more infrastructure in Ogun to improve the quality of life and well-being of indigenes and other residents.

He said infrastructural development would facilitate economic prosperity.

Abiodun stated this while speaking at the inauguration of the 2Km Igan-Ishamurin-Odo Shikiti road in Ago-Iwoye town, Ijebu North local government area.

"For us in Ogun, our goal is to put our state in the league of advanced economies and make it an investors' destination of choice.

To achieve this, we know the importance of modern-day and world-class infrastructure," the governor stressed. "For this reason, we will continue to rehabilitate existing infrastructure, build new ones and put them in a position where they will not only stand the test of time but serve as a catalyst for our socio-economic development."

2023: Don'tVote for Peter Obi, Nnamani Warns Enugu Indigenes Sunday Aborisade in Abuja Enugu East Senator and former Governor of the state, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani has once more asked his constituents to reject any pressure or sentiments on them to vote for the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi in the February 2023 general elections.

Nnamani stated this in a statement he personally signed and made available to THISDAY in Abuja, yesterday.

He asked the people of Enugu East Senatorial District to remain

steadfast with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidates to restore hope and emancipate the people from deprivation.

The Senator warned against Greek gifts from the "Obidients canvassers" claiming that it would negatively affect the PDP chances to produce state governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives and state houses of Assembly.

The Senator likened the Obidient movement to the story of the tortoise who borrowed feather from other animals to enable it fly to

attend a feast only to appropriate what belongs to everyone to himself alone, claiming to be everybody.

He said, "That is exactly what they want. To borrow from every body and turn round to appropriate everything. Do not give them your feathers, let them Stay on the ground where they belong.

Your feathers are the structures they need. Call their bluff.

“Our party and platform is PDP. We must stand firm. We must not be swayed by the Obidient sentiments and vote Labour Part . If we blur the distinction, it will be difficult to reverse.

"Remember these Obidients advocates are noisy, loud, intolerant, proselytisers, condescending but less than 0.25 per cent of over 200 million Nigerian population. At least Osun state 2000 votes for Labour Party bears it out.

“Why should we establish foundation and beech head for others. We cannot allow Obidients to inherit our labour in the PDP. "In battle, do you give invaders your beech head to land and now seek to drive them away. We have to be on the alert because they are luring us into false sense of complacency using subterfuge."

He noted that the Igan-Ishamurin Odo Shikiti road was designed to improve the socio-economic life of the people of Ago-Iwoye and the surrounding communities by making transportation smooth and convenient for them farmers when evacuating their farm produce to urban market centres. The road will link to Ago-Iwoye, Oru Ijebu and Ijebu-Igbo townships.

Abiodun also disclosed that work was advanced at the IllisanAgo-Iwoye road, abandoned more than 11 years ago, stating that he had awarded a contract for the repair of failed portions along the Abeokuta-Ifo-Lagos expressway.

Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, said the road would improve people's economic activities and urged them to avoid dumping refuse in the drainage.

Ex-Deputy Governor Sefiu Adegbenga Kaka commended the Ogun governor's focus on infrastructure.

While delivering the message of the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Dagburewe of Idowa, Oba Yinusa Adekoya, announced the endorsement of Abiodun's second term bid by all the monarchs in Ijebuland.

"The message is clear. You have

done very well by fulfilling the promises made to us in 2019.

2023 is sure, and our people will vote overwhelmingly for you," he assured the governor.

The Ebumawe of Ago-Iwoye, Oba Abdul-Rasak Adenugba, said, "Though I am not a politician, the people of this ancient town have come to tell me that it is Dapo Abiodun they want and not anyone else. You have restored confidence in government and for keeping the promises made to us during the electioneering campaign."

The Orimolusi of Ijebu Igbo, Oba Lawrence Adebajo, stressed that Abiodun's achievements "have changed my perception about politicians as liars."

Meanwhile, ex-Minister of Communications and APC chieftain, Adebayo Shittu, has called on the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to sanction former Governor Ibikunle Amosun for anti-party activities.

Amosun had, while speaking in Abeokuta at the weekend, threatened to stop at nothing to stop the APC party from winning the 2023 governorship election in Ogun.

Speaking on ARISE TV on Monday, Shittu described Amosun’s statement as reprehensible.

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STRATEGISING TO END OIL THEFT ...

L-R: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor; Delta State Governor/Vice Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, and Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mallam Mele Kyari, shortly after a meeting with Okowa at Government House, Asaba, Delta State...yesterday

PDP Postpones NEC, Caucus Meetings to Pave Way for Atiku, Wike Reconciliation Chucks Okocha in Abuja

that the Rivers state governor objected to the headship of the presidential campaign council by Tambawul. It was learnt that the PDP governors were favourably disposed to having former Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki head the presidential campaign council.

But it was learnt that Saraki has not given a nod that he would chair the campaign council, but he is under pressure by the PDP governors to accept the offer as the most experience to head the campaign.

A source told THISDAY that there was great distrust against Tambawul since after the presidential convention, citing the inability of the PDP governors to meet after the May 28 presidential convention, where a group of the governors had accused the Sokoto Governor

of being a sell out by stepping down for Atiku.

Another member of the NWC of the party said the calling off of the two crucial meetings was to cool off tension over the call for Ayu to step aside.

The South-west arm of the party had over the weekend called for the resignation of Ayu. A member of the NWC who didn’t want his name in the print said Ayu have not also helped matters in the whole crisis.

Chief Bode George had written to the party’s National Chairman on the need to retain the zoning formula in the spirit of the con-

Presidential Pardon: Dariye Finally Released from Prison Four Months After

An international, non-partisan, non-profitable, advocacy and campaigning organisation that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease particularly in Africa through public awareness, among others, ONE Campaign, has recognised Enugu as the second highest performing state in Primary Healthcare Service Delivery in Nigeria for 2019-2021.

Presenting the award of recognition to the Executive Secretary, Enugu State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ENSPHCDA), Dr. George Ugwu, the Country Director of One Campaign in Nigeria, Stanley Achonu, commended the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the excellent status of primary healthcare system in the state.

Achonu disclosed that ONE

As part of efforts to ensure total reconciliation between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Rivers State governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, the party yesterday postponed it's scheduled National Executive Committee (NEC) as well as its National Caucus meetings of the party.

It was also learnt that postponement of the NEC and the National Caucus was to starve off ongoing plots to remove Senator Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman of the PDP. The PDP had summoned the NEC and National Caucus meeting for tomorrow and Thursday to discuss the constitution of members the Presidential Campaign Council.

But in a brief statement, the

National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu stated, "This is to inform all members of the PDP National Caucus and NEC that the meetings of the two bodies earlier scheduled for Wednesday, August 10 and Thursday, August 11, 2022, respectively, have been postponed.

"The postponement is due to unforeseen circumstances. A new date will be announced in due course. All inconveniences are deeply regretted."

However, THISDAY learnt that the party’s decision to put off the NEC and national Caucus meetings was to ensure proper reconciliation between the Atiku and Wike camps.

A source said Atiku and Wike were billed to meet within the week to iron out their differences as well as on the constitution of

the presidential campaign team.

Also, the source said Atiku and Wike camps were expected within the period to harmonise their positions and present to their principals for approval before submission to the National Caucus and later to NEC. Also, it was gathered that the PDP governors are divided over one of them chairing the campaign committee, especially since the May 28 presidential nomination convention.

The camp of the Governor of Rivers State is not happy to have chairman of the PDP governors’ forum, Aminu Waziri Tambawal head the campaign because of the role he played by stepping down for Atiku during the presidential convention.

At the last meeting between Atiku and Wike , it was gathered

Dariye, Nyame released on health grounds, good behaviour

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and Kuni Tyessi in Abuja Four months after the Council of State granted him a pardon, former Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau has finally been released from the Kuje Prisons. He was released on health grounds and good behaviour while in jail.

Dariye, prosecuted by the EFCC for N1.16 billion fraud, was, on June 12, 2018, sentenced to 14 years in prison for criminal breach of trust and two years in addition for misappropriation of public funds, both to run concurrently.

Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the FCT Court, out of a 23-count amended charge, found the exgovernor guilty of 15 counts bordering on criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds but discharged him on eight.

Dariye was first arraigned at the high court on July 13, 2007, after which he proceeded to the Appeal Court with an application to quash all charges. His application was dismissed.

The Apex Court ordered an accelerated hearing of the fraud case against him, thus necessitat-

ing the continuation of trial on January 25, 2016, before Justice Banjoko.

In addition to his sentencing, Justice Banjoko also ordered that the N80 million recovered by the EFCC be forfeited to the state government's coffers.

But in April this year, the Council of State, led by President Mohammadu Buhari, approved the pardon of 159 convicts, including Dariye and a former Governor of Taraba, Rev Jolly Nyame.

Since the pardon, they remained in prison custody until groups began to protest against their continued incarceration.

Meanwhile, a statement from Kuje prisons disclosed that the exgovernors were released because of their deteriorating health, age, and good behaviour while in the Kuje Custodial Centre.

The release followed the receipt of the letter of clemency from the presidential prerogative of mercy committee by the Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa.

In a statement signed by the prison's spokesman in Abuja, Mr Chukwuedo Humphrey,

the pardon which President Muhammadu Buhari granted earlier this year was done based on recommendations from the presidential prerogative of mercy committee.

"The controller of Corrections, FCT command, Ahmed Musa Ahmed, acting upon the directives of the controller general, also released three other inmates who were granted a pardon from

the Suleja custodial centre," the statement noted. "The pardon, which was granted earlier this year by President Muhammadu Buhari, was done based on recommendations from the presidential prerogative of mercy committee who have interviewed all inmates based on deteriorating health status, age as well as good behaviour and industry during the period of serving their sentences."

stitution of the PDP and unity of Nigeria.

George had said if the zoning formula in the constitution of the party was not respected, the party would be badly affected electorally in the forthcoming general elections.

He said, “Both sides, north and south, we are not yet at the point where we can say ‘it doesn’t matter where you come from.’

“Let us carry that level of respectability that the party was noted for, that in any crisis, you would have men who can rise above pettiness and still tell truth to power, the party must be definitive.”

Enugu Beats 35 Other States in Primary Healthcare Service Delivery in Nigeria

Campaign, which is also a global movement “pressuring political leaders to support policies and programmes that are saving lives and improving futures”, National Advocates for Health, Nigeria Health Watch, Public Private Development Centre, World Bank and other partners, worked together in the ranking of the 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Country Director maintained that Enugu State has done extremely well in Primary Healthcare Service Delivery to deserve the award.

He, therefore, commended Ugwuanyi for making primary healthcare delivery a priority of his administration in the overall interest of residents of the state, especially those residing in the rural areas.

ASUU Strike: NANS to Engage FG Over Keyamo's No Money Comment Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is set for fresh engagement with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige and Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, over alleged reports that the Federal Government has no money to meet the demands of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

NANS has, however, dissociated itself from a report calling for the sack of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, by some

"faceless students.".

NANS Vice President (Special Duties), Comrade Odiahi Thomas Ikhine, who addressed a news conference on Monday in Abuja, said the students were unhappy with comments credited to the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, that the government has no money to meet the demands of ASUU. Keyamo was said to have asked parents to beg ASUU to call off the strike because the government could not afford the N1.2 trillion demands of the Union as proposed by the Emeritus Prof Nimi Briggs

Committee on the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement.

Ikhine said NANS leadership would meet with Adamu and Ngige for a clearer picture of the situation.

He also clarified that NANS did not call for Emefiele's sack.

"We, therefore, wish to dissociate ourselves and the name of our organization from the unpatriotic call for the sack of the CBN governor. It is our belief that the CBN governor needed to be given moral support," explained Ikhine.

He added, "We call on security agencies to do their best in bringing

impostors who go about heating polity and engaging in actions capable of affecting national security and stability to book, especially at this time of fragile national security experience."

Meanwhile, NANS has disclosed that the current leadership of the association is in the process of transferring power to the next administration.

"This month's end, from all indications, this administration will transmit power to an organisation that will be run based on available rules and regulations in the constitution," he said.

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TEN Oil Theft: Okowa Wants Oil Facilities’ Surveillance Contracts Reviewed Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, yesterday at Government House, Asaba.

He admitted that the challenge of oil-theft was huge, given the level it had assumed, but expressed happiness with the steps being taken by the authorities to curb the menace.

"I am glad that we are discussing this hydra-headed issue which impacts directly on our economy and the environment.

"It impacts on the health of the people and sustainability of the environment and I am glad that we are taking some steps because there are so many issues that led us to this.

"We went through situations where gaps where created between host communities and oil companies, and unfortunately criminality set in.

"It has gone so bad but we are doing our best as a state. I am also glad about this collaboration,’’ he said and stressed the pertinence of a review of surveillance contracts of the oil facilities to ensure community involvement.

The governor pointed out that it was often difficult to secure the facilities, especially when the persons given the contracts did not have adequate information on the environment or not have the buy-in of host communities.

"We know that the impact of the nefarious activities on the health of the people cannot be immediately ascertained, and this collaboration is, therefore, very imperative.

"Any measure that will deliberately reduce the level of oil thefts is definitely worth supporting, and as a state government, we pledge our continued support.

"Why investment of the communities is needed is because there are some parts of the creeks that cannot be accessed by the surveillance contractor. Therefore, surveillance contracts should not be such that communities are not involved.

"The surveillance contracts should be tied to performance such that when there are oil thefts you terminate the contract and it is always good that communities are involved because they know the environment better," he said.

Okowa flayed the oil companies for not keeping faith with their Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs), thereby making stakeholders to lose confidence

in the system.

He explained that when oil companies failed to sign or implement MOUs, “it becomes very difficult for the state government to mediate when there are issues.

"The security agencies must heighten their operations and they need to be resourced to enable them to also increase their level of surveillance and for this to succeed, there must be sincerity on the part of all stakeholders."

Earlier, Sylva had told the governor that the team was in Asaba to seek the support and buy-in of the state government on measures to be adopted to check oil-theft, saying, "as a country we cannot sustain this kind of theft perpetually.”

He said oil theft had become a national emergency, especially as the nation had not been able to meet its OPEC production quota.

"Our production has dropped drastically to very unsustainable levels; so, we have decided to take the bull by the horn by putting some structures in place and those structures cannot function effectively without the collaboration of the state government," the minister said.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, who is coordinating the security intervention against oil theft, disclosed that in the last five months security agencies had been dealing with issues of illegal refineries and oil bunkering across the Niger Delta.

The CDS also advocated for the engagement of indigenes and host communities in the fight against the criminal activity.

On his part, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mallam Mele Kyari, said Nigeria currently loses about $2 billion monthly to the activities of oil vandals, with its attendant effect on environmental degradation.

"As a country, we hardly meet our OPEC production quantum of 1.99 million barrels per day with our current production level of 1.4 million barrels per day which is currently being threatened by the activities of these economic saboteurs.

"This has done extensive damage to the environment and losing $1.9 billion every month is colossal, considering the nature of the global economy at the moment,’’ he disclosed.

Kyari reinstated that the team

needed the support and buy-in of Delta state government, “because stopping this oil theft requires the concerted efforts of the federal, state governments, oil companies and security agencies."

FG, NNPC, Army Partner Uzodimma on Fight against Oil Theft in Imo

Meanwhile, speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the New Executive Chambers Government House Owerri yesterday, Uzodimma described the consequences of crude oil theft as, “very alarming and too much to be tolerated.’’

In a statement, the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Governor, Oguwike Nwachuku, quoted the governor to have noted that the problem of oil theft had not only led to the drop in earnings for the government but has also created environmental pollution and other health hazards.

The meeting was also part of industrial wide intervention to curb crude oil theft in Nigeria. It afforded the Governor the opportunity to host a high powered delegation comprising Sylva, the Minister of State Education, Rt. Hon. Gooduck Nana Opiah, Irabor, Kyari and other stakeholders of Imo State that included traditional rulers and representatives of oil producing communities.

The governor expressed concern by stakeholders over banditry and oil theft in the south-east and Imo State in particular and thanked the Armed Forces for their concerted efforts in the fight against the crime in the past years.

While welcoming them to Imo State, the Governor described the visit as a very important one, "meant to discuss national issues bordering on national security, economy, national peace, and unity of Nigeria."

He acknowledged that two years ago, oil production in Imo State and in most places where oil theft was a business, was almost at a bottom level and commended security agencies for their dexterity and efforts in the fight that has brought the production back to near normal.

He canvassed the need to cooperate with the oil companies and the management to enjoy the rich natural resources endowed to

the States that produce oil.

On the suggestion to engage private security contractors, the governor described the idea as, “a delicate one,’’ noting that, "for such to take place the Nigeria Security Agencies must take interest and profile the security contractors to ascertain their genuiness before engaging them."

He emphasised that those to be engaged, "must know the geography, the policies and programmes and the workings in the places they are to operate before engaging them to avoid engaging some of the thieves as security contractors."

Uzodimma added: “Crude oil theft is run by a cabal and a cartel that are ready always to resist the security agencies. This, in other words, informs that the oil thefts and pipeline vandals are sophisticated in their operations, which means there is the need for a strong support to the Armed Forces and other Para-Military Agencies that are involved in the protection of the Nigerian oil economy."

Emphasising the need and essence of the stakeholders’ discussion and its benefits, the governor said, "it has come to a point where all hands must be on deck to save

law which empowers it to hold such view, Komolafe stated that the status quo (its withdrawal of consent) still holds.

“Let me just put it simply, as a commission, we work strictly in line with the position of the law, and basically we don’t react on the basis of news making the rounds, but we work strictly in line with the law.

“And by virtue of the provisions of the petroleum industry act, under section 95, subsection 10, 14 and 15, the commission’s powers in these regards are clearly stated.

“So, regarding the issue you have raised, my clarification will just be an affirmation that the position of the commission stands in respect of the decline of the assets (sale), without prejudice to any other position.

“So, the position of the commission as the authority involved in the regulation of the upstream which had earlier been communicated to Mobil, stands. As far as the commission is concerned, nothing has changed. The status quo remains as far as we are concerned,” he maintained.

Checks on the sections highlighted

by Komolafe indicated that Section 95, sub-section 10 states, “Where the application for an assignment or a transfer of a petroleum prospecting licence of petroleum mining lease is refused, the commission shall inform the applicant of the reasons for the refusal and may give reasonable time within which further representations may be made by the applicant or by third parties in respect of the application.”

In sub-section 14 of same section 95, the PIA states that: “For the purpose of this section, change of control means any person or persons acting jointly or in concert, to acquire direct or indirect beneficial

ownership of a percentage of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the holder, by contract or otherwise, that exceeds 50 per cent at any time.”

It continued in sub-section 15 thus: “A holder of a petroleum exploration licence shall not assign, novate or transfer his licence or any right, power or interest without prior written consent of the commission.”

Also, Section 95, sub-section 8 states: “Where the consent of the minister is granted in respect of the application for a transfer, the Commission shall promptly record the transfer in the appropriate register.”

Sub-section 9: “The Commission shall communicate the refusal or approval of an application for an assignment, novation or transfer of a licence or lease in writing to the applicant.”

Earlier, Buhari, who is Minister of Petroleum Resources had intervened in the matter, which had grabbed the headlines in recent months, highlighting his commitment to driving Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the oil and gas sector.

Earlier in the year, THISDAY had exclusively reported that SeplatEnergies, an indigenous oil company, was in the process of acquiring the entire offshore shallow water business of ExxonMobil in Nigeria.

Seplat Energy Offshore Limited, a subsidiary of Seplat Plc, had entered into the Sale and Purchase Agreement to acquire the entire assets for $1.283 billion plus up to $300 million contingent consideration.

According to the sponsors, the deal was supposed to create one of the largest independent energy companies on both the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges, and bolster SeplatEnergy’s ability to drive increased growth.

become necessary to involve the Stakeholders, especially the host Communities."

He therefore canvassed the need to come together, and collaborate to solve the problem "and avoid the problem killing us as a country."

He added: "And to achieve the above there is the need to involve the State Government and the people at the grassroot."

He thanked the Governor for putting a lot of efforts to ensure that Imo is safe and the economy is not closed down.

“The sit-at-home is not working in Imo State as against the thinking out there.”

Adding his voice, Irabor, appreciated the governor for his efforts in supporting the Armed Forces towards contending the escalated actions against all criminality along the oil producing areas in South-east.

He called on the state government, the stakeholders and the communities to, "be involved in the fight against oil theft to a reasonable percentage and leave the rest for the Armed Forces," assuring that "the Armed Forces are always available to receive further support to fight banditry and all other forms of criminality in Nigeria and Imo State in particular."

NESG to FG: Take Tough Choices, Tackle Insecurity, Remove Petrol Subsidy Now adversely.

It also tasked the government to take necessary steps to restore Nigeria back to fiscal and debt sustainability.

The appeal by the NESG was contained in communiqué titled, “Of Hope and Despair ... Not Too Late to Turn the Curve,” obtained

by THISDAY yesterday.

The advice by the NESG came just as the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) expressed concern that almost all assumptions in the federal government’s Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2023-2025 were seemingly unrealisable and tasked the federal government to rethink its sources of debt by embracing equity financing and commercialisation of corporate national assets as cheaper financing options with less pressure on revenue.

Also yesterday, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) tasked the federal govern-

NUPRC Stands Firm on Mobil-Seplat No Deal, Insists Status Quo Remains the President, Femi Adesina did not answer THISDAY calls to his phone.

But the law as it stands today gives the regulator powers over such transactions. Clearly, the old Petroleum Act gave powers of conscent and approvals to the Minister of Petroleum. However, the new law, which is the PIA vests such powers in the Regulatory Commission. And Buhari is standing with the law.

Analysts are of the view that the NUPRC is merely upholding the law and anything short of it would amount to business as usual.

The Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) had in reaction to the statement by Femi Adesina conveying the Ministerial approval of the deal affirmed that status quo remains in respect of ExxonMobil/Seplat Energy share acquisition, Responding to media enquiries on latest development about the transaction, the Komolafe clarified that the Commission in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, remains the sole regulator in dealing with such matters in the Nigerian upstream sector.

“As it were, the issue at stake is purely a regulatory matter and the Commission had earlier communicated the decline of Ministerial assent to ExxonMobil in this regard.

As such the Commission further affirms that the status quo remains.

The Commission is committed to ensuring predictable and conducive regulatory environment at all times in the Nigerian upstream sector,” the NUPRC boss stated.

Shedding more light on the matter, when contacted last night

by THISDAY, Komolafe reiterated that the position of the PIA was clear on the matter.

Quoting relevant sections of the

Nigeria, save the economy, create job, discourage banditry and the pollution of our environment and the water resources.”

He called for the strengthening of environmental laws to save the environment and society from extinction.

Uzodimma promised that Imo State government would do her best to support and work with the federal government, the Army and Oil Producing Companies to achieve the fight against the hydra-headed monster of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.

He also thanked the NNPC for the 200 bed hospital the company is building at the Imo State University Teaching Hospital (IMSUT), Orlu and prayed them to speed up the project with the target of commissioning it soonest.

Earlier while briefing the governor and stakeholders, Sylva said, "the problem of crude oil theft has reached a level of national emergency" and that "the situation cannot be handled in Abuja alone."

The minister said: “It is a national emergency because the theft has grown wings and has reached a very bad crescendo. This is because the thefts are taking place in the Communities that host the oil pipelines and as a result, it has

But no sooner had the process been announced than the stateowned national oil firm moved to halt it from proceeding. The NNPC had claimed that it had a pre-emption right, before the Nigerian authorities put a stop to it, citing overriding national interest as one of the reasons for rejecting the deal.

“We regret to inform you that His Excellency, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, has declined his consent to the transaction,” a letter written by the NUPRC had stated thereafter.

The transaction encompassed the acquisition of the entire offshore shallow water business of ExxonMobil in Nigeria and was expected to deliver 186 per cent increase in production from 51,000 bpd to 146,000 bpd or 170 per cent increase in 2P liquids reserves, from 241 MMbbl to 650 MMbbl.

In addition, it was expected to deliver a 14 per cent increase in 2P gas reserves, from 1,501 Bscf to 1,712 Bscf, plus significant undeveloped gas potential of 2,910 Bscf (JV: 7,275 Bscf) Furthermore, it would increase by 89 per cent the total 2P reserves, from 499 MMboe to 945 MMboe, including offshore fields with dedicated, MPNU-operated export routes offering enhanced security and reliability.

But the president, who before yesterday’s statement by the NUPRC, had okayed the deal in a statement issued by Adesina.

According to the statement, Buhari took the decision in his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, and in consonance with the country’s drive for increased FDI in the energy sector.

The president recalled that ExxonMobil had entered into Continued on page 12

ment to prioritise the manufacturing sector in the allocation of the country’s foreign exchange (FX).

The NESG communiqué, which was signed by its Chairman, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, stated categorically that there was no doubt that Nigeria was at an inflection point, but added that the actions and inaction of the country’s political leadership would have significant implications for the direction of inflection.

Ighodalo stated: “It is still possible to turn the tide, and it is not too late to bring the nation out of the current quagmire. Our appeal to Mr. President is that a lot can still be done to turn the curve within the remaining 10 months of this administration. This requires tough choices and decisive actions, with no sacred cows.

“As one to whom providence has bestowed the honour of leading this nation time and again, your administration can begin to lay the groundwork for a legacy that a new government can build upon from Monday, 29 May 2023.”

The communiqué surmised the threatening socio-economic challenges besetting the country, including Nigeria’s inability to appropriate the benefits of the prevailing global high crude prices as a result of low crude oil production largely due to oil theft and pipeline vandalisation, declining investment and divestment caused by oil theft, high cost of production, and a harsh operating environment.

The NESG added: “The country’s external reserves have been declining for most of 2022 while the Naira continues to depreciate, and the country still operates multiple exchange rates.

“Amid this crisis, fiscal pressure is imploding because of declining revenues and soaring public debt.

Only recently, the Honourable Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed, alerted Nigerians that the cost of debt servicing has surpassed federal government’s retained revenue as total public debt continues to rise.

“Meanwhile, CBN’s Ways and Means financing to the federal government peaked at N19.6 trillion as of May 2022, and the country maintains an unsustainable fuel subsidy regime.”

It pointed out that the, “growing deficit means that Nigeria would rely on borrowing to finance the 2022 budget.”

It added that despite increased budgetary allocation to defense and national security, the current state of insecurity is indicative of a nation under siege.

The corollary, according to the communiqué, was that, “Nigerians now live in a permanent state of fear as bandits are able to hijack a train and kidnap dozens of passengers, overrun prisons and release hundreds of convicted criminals, and

hold hundreds of kidnap victims for months at a time.”

The NESG, therefore, recommended specific actions government could take to restore momentum to the country’s economy and national life.

These include, “a decisive action to tackle the government’s revenue challenges which cannot be divorced from leakages through the large-scale crude oil theft; difficult operating environment for businesses, and lack of innovation in tax collection/ administration, among others, that have resulted in low accretion to the nation’s revenue base.

“We strongly believe these leakages have continued unabated because of the absence of sanctions and ineffective tax systems.”

It also recommended that the country must be returned, “to the path of debt sustainability in the face of dwindling revenues,” rather than creating “a debt burden for future governments and, indeed, future generations.

“We must prioritise our expenditure, limit our spending to items we can sustain, and eliminate wastage and graft in government.

Governments, across all tiers, should lead by example through a drastic reduction in governance costs to reflect the austere times we face.

“We strongly advise greater transparency and simplicity in the management and communication of various subsidies (petroleum products, electricity, etc.) to establish their true costs that benefit the people.”

It pointed out that, “urgent action is required to ensure food self-sufficiency by prioritising critical value chains and supporting private sector-led interventions to curtail this crisis and build a vibrant and sustainable food ecosystem in Nigeria based on consistent incentives and sanctions.”

The NESG argued that failure to address the current prevailing condition of multiple exchange rates has continued to reduce the much-needed flow of foreign investments and official diaspora remittances.

“International investors, being savvy and rational, will not invest where there is a real risk to their ability to access and repatriate investment proceeds or when the functional currency is in sporadic depreciation.

“Multiple foreign exchange markets with significant price differentials create room for speculation, round-tripping, cronyism, and outright graft– with an attendant adverse effect on the economy. There is no better time to harmonise the FX rates than now.”

It noted that it has become, “clear that the current fuel subsidy regime's debilitating impact on our fiscal fragility cannot be overstated,” and Continued on page 28

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inauguration of a council road project...

L-R: Majority Leader, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Monday Bubou; Speaker, Abraham Ingobere; Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo; Governor Douye Diri, and Chairman, Nembe Local Government Area, Alalibo West, during the inauguration of a council road project at Nembe-Bassambiri ...yesterday

WAEC Releases 2022 WASSCE Results for School Candidates, Records 76.37% Pass in Maths, English

Funmi Ogundare

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), yesterday announced the release of the 2022 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.

The Head of Nigeria National Office (HNO), Mr. Patrick Areghan who briefed journalists in Lagos, said out of a total number of 1,601,047 candidates that sat the examination, 1,222, 505 candidates, representing 76.37 per cent obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

Of this number, 597,811, which was 37.34 per cent were male candidates, while 624,694, that is 39.02 per cent were female candidates.

The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for school candidates in 2021, for those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, he noted, was 81.70 per cent.

"Thus 796,217 were males while 804,830 were females, representing 49.737 per cent and 50.27 per cent, respectively," he said.

Out of the total number of can-

didates that sat for the examination in the country, he said 1,437,629 candidates, representing 89.79 per cent have their results fully processed and released, while 163,418 candidates, representing 10.21 per cent have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some issues being resolved. " Efforts are, however, being made to speedily complete the processing to enable all the affected candidates get their results fully processed and released within the next one week."

An analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates in the examination showed that out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, 1,409,529 candidates, representing 88.047 per cent, obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects (i.e with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics) which showed a 5.34 per cent decrease in performance.

The HNO said the results of 365,564 candidates, representing 22.83 per cent of the total number of candidates that sat the examination was withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice, adding that it was 11.747 per cent higher than the 10.9 per cent recorded in the WASSCE for school candidates in 2021.

NUPRC Stands Firm on Mobil-Seplat No Deal, Insists Status Quo Remains the landmark Sale and Purchase Agreement with Seplat Energy to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc., and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc., both registered in Delaware, USA. The statement said, “In his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, and in consonance with the country’s drive for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the energy sector, President Muhammadu Buhari has consented to the acquisition of Exxon Mobil shares in the United States of America by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.

“Exxon Mobil had entered into a landmark Sale and Purchase Agreement with Seplat Energy to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc, and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc, both registered in Delaware, USA. “Considering the extensive benefits of the transaction to the Nigerian energy sector and the larger economy, President Buhari has given ministerial consent to the deal.

“The president, in commitment

to investment drive in light of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), granted consent to the share sales agreement, as requested by the parties to the transaction, and directed that the approval be conveyed to all the parties involved.”

It added that Exxon Mobil/ Seplat were expected to carry out operatorship of all the oil mining licenses in the related shallow water assets towards production optimisation to support Nigeria’s Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota in the short term.

Furthermore, the statement noted that Buhari’s intervention was to ensure accelerated development and monetisation of the gas resources in the assets for the Nigerian economy.

Buhari also directed that all environmental and abandonment liabilities be adequately mitigated

by Exxon Mobil and Seplat in the course of the implementing the agreement.

Last month, leaked court documents indicated that the national oil company had approached an Abuja court, which granted it an “order of interim injunction” on July 6 barring Exxon “from completing any divestment” in the unit.

"Reasons for this are not farfetched - Candidates are no longer ready to learn. Preparations for examinations are poor. There is over-reliance on the so-called expo', which is actually non-existent.

"Candidates simply got frustrated when they got into the examination hall and discovered

that all they had celebrated was fake,” he added.

Areghan noted that this had pitiably led to some of them failing the examination, which if they had relied on themselves and studied hard, they would have passed like many others.

The council, the HNO noted,

would continue to sanction all cases of examination malpractice, adding that schools, supervisors, teachers and candidates perpetrating this evil are not helping the educational system. " It is the child whose future is being destroyed. Parents must stop funding 'expo' for their children; it

does not help. Those who indulge in posting items on designated platforms are nothing but destiny destroyers. “Beneficiaries of such 'help' will never go unpunished as they will never have their results.

All hands must be on deck to sanitise the system," the HNO stressed.

OneYear After, Family, Friends Pay Tribute to Late Okunbo Obaseki, Ibori, Awolowo, others eulogise the deceased

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Family and friends of the late Capt Hosa Okunbo converged on Benin City, Edo yesterday to pay him tributes one year after his demise.

The Edo-born business magnate and philanthropist died on August 8, 2021.

In attendance for the tributes were ex-Governor James Ibori; Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu; Director-General of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Dr. Segun Awolowo Jnr., lawmaker representing Ovia federal constituency, Mr. Dennis Idahosa; ex-legislator representing Oredo federal constituency, Mr. Razaq Bello-Osagie, and Secretary to the Edo State Government (SSG), Mr. Osarodion Ogie.

Others were Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Evang. Eunice Agbonifo; Bishop Feb Idahosa of Church of God Mission (CGM), President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Olumide Akpata, his

predecessor, Augustine Aleghe, and Pastor Charles Osazuwa of Rock of Ages Christian Assembly, etc.

At the one-year remembrance ceremony held at the Hosa Farms Ltd, Benin, Shaibu who stood in for Governor Godwin Obaseki said Okunbo, “lives on and will continue to live on. We can go on and on how he has touched lives. I have a personal relationship with him, and obviously we will miss him."

Ibori described the late Okunbo as a willing helper.

"We all benefited one way or the other from Capito's generosity. It was when great men like Capito died that we knew there is nothing to live and bicker about," said the former Delta governor.

"It is a time like this that you know who your friends really are. He was indeed a great man who believed in love and unity of the family, and I pray his children and siblings he left behind will continue to sustain that. He is still with us and not dead."

On his part, Awolowo described

Okunbo as, "a man who God gave riches and gave him the empathy of mind to reach out to people in need. He was a man of large heart that radiated with empathy.

His consideration was to give to mankind."

To Bello-Osagie, the late Okunbo was first among equals and someone who had a relationship with everyone, adding that life to the late business mogul and philanthropist is about giving, sharing and reaching out to all sundry.

Okunbo's eldest daughter and wife of the Olu of Warri, Olori Atuwatse III, said the departure of, "my dad felt like a thousand pillars crushing my heart. It heralded a phase of grief that I didn't know I could eventually conquer, were it not for the mercies of God through Jesus Christ and the fantastic people I have been gifted with."

She added: “At times of intense grief, we cannot overemphasise the imperativeness of faith in God who alone can comfort us and give us reasons to consciously

thank him in gratitude for the well-spent lives of loved ones who have transcended unto glory."

The ceremony also featured church ministrations and songs of praise.

Speaking on behalf of the Okunbo family, Kingsley Okunbo called for unity which he said was what his late brother stood for.

He said “It has been a long one year. Only one thing has bond this family together and it is love and we will not trade it for anything.

Cappy never played with the love that bond the family and this by the grace of God we will continue” The scion of Captain Hosa, Osahon Okunbo said the last one year since the demise of his father had been so challenging, noting that he missed those midnight calls and fatherly counsel.

"To brothers and sister who are unavoidably absent I'm always here for you. Just know that you have a big brother. I also want thank all those who took time on a Monday morning to identify with us. We are indeed grateful.”

We Are Embarrassed by Reports of Substandard Chinese Products in Africa, Says Chinese Govt

Michael Olugbode in Beijing

The Chinese Government yesterday said it was embarrassed by reports of substandard products imported into Africa from China.

The government equally expressed it readiness to punish any Chinese construction company executing substandard projects in Africa.

Speaking to African journalists who are in Beijing on a programme organised by the China International Press Communication Center, the Director of the Department of African Affairs, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Wu Peng said: “There is no doubt about it, the Chinese government always advocate that

Chinese should respect African culture and follow the rule of law of local country.

“We also encourage all our Chinese nationals and companies working, operating and living in Africa to be socially responsible to local communities, but there are always some bad apples that do bad things. I condemn this kind of misbehaviour but these are isolated cases and does not represent Chinese.

“Just like we welcome African people in China, we cannot just criminalise Africa by the criminality of few Africans. Africa should accord the same view about the few Chinese involved in criminal activities in Africa.

“If Chinese people violate the

rule of law in Africa, it is a very bad thing and we condemn it. We also respect your own rule of law to handle this kind of cases. We do not have to turn issues like this into political issues and allow it to affect our bilateral relationship.

“It is isolated case and should be treated in accordance with the rule of law of African countries, it is simple.”

He said the issue of substandard products from China imported to Africa was a commercial issue, adding that: “Many African businessmen go into China to procure lots of items and then take them into Africa and some buy some stocks through e-commerce to Africa, but whether this product made in China is of quality or not

must meet the national standard, from the Chinese official point of view we have procedure of goods exported into China.

“Of course I cannot deny sometimes because the price is different, some quality of the products may not measure up to expectations of African consumers but I believe we from both sides need to work together to change this situation.”

Peng added that he believed this has changed a lot in recent years because if a visit was taken to Africa a lot of high level products from China would be found.

He insisted that Chinese products around the world now enjoy the reputation of low price but high quality.

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Tuesday August 9, 2022 Vol 27. No 9981

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opinion@thisdaylive.com

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FOR INIBEHE EFFIONG Africa’s history holds lessons for powerful men and women, writes CHIDI ANSELM ODINKALU

See page 17 IBOM AIR AND THE AVIATION CRISIS AKIN OMOBOWALE writes that the stateowned airline is making a difference in air transportation

See page 17

EDITORIAL

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UNENDING ROW OVER $418 MILLION

See page 18

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Even though exhilarating, the increasing recourse to humour, seems at times, a means of escape from reality, writes PAUL NWABUIKWU

ARE WE LAUGHING TOO MUCH? As we move deeper into the political season and closer to the presidential, governorship and legislative polls of February next year, the pace of politicking has revved up. The media is full of breathless stories about secret engagements, hastily forged alliances, reconciliation meetings and politicians leading their “numerous supporters” out of one party and into another. One significant defection, from a familial perspective, was announced as this column was being finalized: Buhari’s nephew and member representing the president’s constituency at the House of Representatives, Fatuhu Muhammed, has, in the predictable words of Nigerian media reports, “dumped” the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Peoples Democratic Party. In a society where family is a big deal, this is big news. But it is not unprecedented. Late politician Samuel G. Ikoku defeated his illustrious father whose face is on one of the Naira notes, Alvan Ikoku, in an election during the First Republic. It would be difficult to top that.

Sadly, our politics is still defined more by activity than by substance. There is no real debate on vital issues, despite the existential threats facing the country: a collapsing economy with high debt, high inflation and joblessness; spiraling security challenges, citizens split down the middle by religion and ethnicity.

Some candidates like Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar have come up with some policy options but these are not getting as much attention as the yabis between Obidients, Atikulators and BATists. Again and again, jokes are winning the battle over substance.

Humour is king.

Nigerian humour is like Nigerian jollof rice. It has a full bodied, bold taste that envious Ghanaians cannot reproduce. It can get so spicy with pepper that your eyes water as you enjoy it. Sometimes the unlucky target of the humour will find lurking in its depths some barbed bones which can do damage if you fail to masticate with caution.

Social media is currently the richest showcase of Nigerian humour. Along with the encouraging motivational messages, verses from the Bible and Koran, guidance on how to live a long, healthy and blameless life, garish adverts on “organic“ ways to improve your sexual performance, are endless wisecracks, rib cracking observations, spoofs, pranks about all kinds of things.

Sometimes the jokes make themselves. The governor of Cross Rivers State, Prof Ben Ayade is a oneman humour factory who has turned the state’s budget – ordinarily a dry

compendium of estimated income and expenditure over the next 12 months - into a circus of incomprehensible words and impossible targets. The titles of his budgets have earned him national notoriety. From the relatively harmless “Budget of Deep Vision” in 2016, he pivoted to “Budget of Infinite Transposition” in 2017, and “Budget of Kinetic Crystallization” in 2018. The title of the 2019 version – “Budget of Qabalistic Densification” - should have earned Governor a prize for lunatic nonsense and perhaps some attention from concerned psychiatrists. There is no universe in which this kind of frothing gibberish can be justified as legitimate expressions of useful governance.

Ayade is of course not the only politician-jokester.

Dino Melaye, one of the recently announced spokespersons for the Atiku campaign has made a name as an APC, then PDP propagandist, connoisseur of expensive cars, champion of the suffering masses, dancer and singer in numerous videos in which he has mocked his political enemies. But Rivers Governor Nyesom is the confirmed superstar of the “As e dey pain dem, e dey sweet us” brigade.

Wike is the proponent of hard knuckle, in your face politics who spices his tough guy stance with appropriate proverbs and choruses delivered in his harsh, rheumy voice. Understandably, he’s been singing less and threatening more since he lost out to Atiku Abubakar at the PDP primaries.

Outside politics, with the same passion and creativity that they have transformed the music industry into a popular hub of global popular culture, Nigerian youths are also working hard to milk fame and money out of humour.

Hilarious and sometimes thoughtprovoking skits have become the rage.

According to a recent BUSINESSDAY story which quoted a report by Dataleum, a firm which describes itself as a “global talent accelerator”, the top five Instagram skit makers are

Since Nigeria is right now one of the most stressful places on the planet, our increasing resort to humour is understandable. Without it, Nigeria is like hell without air vents

Broda Shaggi, Mr Funny, Cute Abiola, Taaooma and Brain Jotter. The report was based on analysis of skits on Instagram in the first quarter of the year.

The kind of money that skits are generating is no laughing matter.

Dataleum says: “The skit making industry has evolved into a dominant one. Comedy is ranked the third largest entertainment industry with a net worth of over N50 billion”.

Although the THISDAY report did not quote the source of the figures, there is no doubt Nigerians are enthusiastic about the skits. Broda Shaggi whose real name is Samuel Animashaun Perry has over 10m Instagram followers and he attracted 48 million views within the period. He’s 28 years old. Mr Funny (real name: Chukwuemeka Emmanuel Ejekwu), a 27-year-old comedian and actor has about 31 million views while Cute Abiola (real name: Abdulgafar Ahmad Oluwatoyin) was slightly behind during the period with 30 million views and 4.6 million followers.

And so on and so forth. And these industry frontliners and others in the top bracket are living it up in expensive cars and mansions.

Of course, humour is bigger than money. Even for those of who have not earned one “shishi” from making others laugh, humour, as anyone who has ever had a good laugh would testify, is a real gift from God. Scientists say that enjoying a joke has significant psychological and physiological benefits. Not only does it make us feel good, it enhances our physical health and helps us cope better with stressful situations. And since Nigeria is right now one of the most stressful places on the planet, our increasing resort to humour is understandable. Without it, Nigeria is like hell without air vents.

Still, some question need to be asked. Have we as a society become too reliant on humour, indeed become so addicted to a dangerous degree at the expense of urgent priorities? Has it become the instinctive refuge from reality that allows us escape that reality for a moment without dealing with the issues behind the reality? Do we now use humour as an alcoholic utilizes his favourite beverage – to help him forget his sorrows for a while? Are Ayade and other elected and appointed persons escaping serious scrutiny because we are too busy laughing at their antics? I have no easy answers. But it’s something to think about as we enjoy the latest antics of Sabinus and co.

Nwabuikwu is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board

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T H I S D AY TUESDAY AUGUST 9, 2022

AKIN OMOBOWALE writes that the state-owned airline is making a difference in air transportation Africa’s history holds lessons for powerful men and women, writes CHIDI ANSELM ODINKALU

FOR INIBEHE EFFIONG “Democracy is a journey and the quality of the ride depends on what we collectively put into it. If we shut our ears and our eyes, the ship of state could derail….”

Dennis Odife, Without Money and Without Price: A Brief Autobiography, p.196 (2016) In court around 1 July, 2022, the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State in southsouth Nigeria, Ekaette Obot, repeatedly threatened to jail my good friend, Inibehe Effiong, for his diligence in representing an unknown client against two powerful men – the governor who appointed her into office

and a Senator without whose influence she probably may also not have been in office.

Four weeks later, on 27 July, she fulfilled her wish committing him to jail for one month at a whim before proceeding on vacation. The judge did this notwithstanding that there was pending before her “a motion….to disqualify and recuse himself (herself) from the case on grounds of bias or likelihood of bias.” At no point did the judge tell Inibehe what his crime was nor did she give him an opportunity to defend himself as he is entitled to.

The president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has gone on record to say that the course of conduct chosen by the judge against Inibehe “not only runs afoul of known practice and procedure in such cases but is also unconstitutional.” Other lawyers have described her conduct as judicial malpractice.

Madam Chief Judge may enjoy her momentary schadenfreude, but Africa’s history suggests those who abuse the rule of law - whether they be executive, parliamentary or judicial officers - in the way she has chosen to do almost invariably live to reap whirlwind in more ways than one. A few illustrations will drive home the point.

As French West Africa prepared for De Gaulle’s self-rule referendum in 1957, Ernest Boka was one of the most promising stars in the region’s politics. In his native Côte d’Ivoire, Boka was eclipsed in popularity only by Felix Hophouët-Boigny, the wealthy Baoulé Chief who was the first black person to be appointed Minister in France. Born in 1928, 23 years younger than Hophouët, Boka was a bright lawyer who appeared destined for greatness. At just 28 in 1957, he became Chief of Staff to the Governor-General, before rising from 1958 to 1959 to ministerial portfolios, first in education and then public service. As Independence approached in 1960, Boka was one of the leaders of HouphouëtBoigny’s Parti Démocratique de la Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), who strong-armed other

platforms from the contest, enabling Houphouët to emerge unopposed as Côte d’Ivoire’s President.

As Boka’s reward, Houphouët appointed him Côte d’Ivoire’s first Supreme Court President in 1960, where he initially proved to be a trusted believer.

But Boka was always a man of the people with socialist sympathies. At 35, in March 1963, Ernest Boka resigned as Supreme Court President. Shortly thereafter, in August 1963, he was among hundreds rounded up under the direction of Houphouët-Boigny for allegedly plotting to kill the President with Juju. A special security court sentenced 19 to life terms and condemned another six to death.

But Ernest Boka did not live long enough to stand trial. His lifeless body was found hanging from the ceiling of his cell in Abidjan bearing marks consistent with torture. In response to strong rumours that Boka’s death was not suicide, HouphouëtBoigny himself called foreign diplomats and correspondents to a briefing in April 1964 at his presidential palace for what turned out to be a trial of a dead man. At the briefing, Houphouët announced that Ernest Boka had confessed to an attempt to use Juju to assassinate the President. As evidence, Houphouët-Boigny, a practising Catholic, produced two suitcases containing an assortment of magic potions, dried remains of dead animals and a collection of puny coffins reportedly seized from Ernest Boka’s family house.

About the time Ernest Boka was being liquidated in Côte d’Ivoire, a lowly court clerk and interpreter was working his way into reckoning in Spain’s African plantation in Equatorial Guinea. Francisco Macias Nguema was famous for allowing financial inducements to dictate the content of his translations. As one of few locals with facility in Spanish, the colonialists came to hang on his every word, mistaking him for a man of influence. In one year between 1966 and 1967, Macias rose from assistant interpreter to Mayor, then Minister for Public works before becoming Deputy President of the Governing Council. When the gong sounded for Independence in 1968, he was well placed to be installed as Equatorial Guinea’s first President on 12 October 1968.

But Macias was unwell and given to outbursts of paranoia and violence fueled by dependence on tropical hallucinogens.

Six months after being installed as President, in March 1969, he personally bludgeoned his foreign minister to death before having opposition leader, Bonifacio Ondo Edu, abducted from exile in neighbouring Gabon and executed.

A reign of terror ensued during which Equatorial Guinea’s small population of professionals, including lawyers and judges were either killed or exiled. Rules were dismantled. With no judges, regime enemies were tried and executed by youth militias organized and administered by Macias’ nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema M’ba N’Zogo, an army LieutenantColonel.

On 3 August 1979, Teodoro Obiang toppled his uncle and had him put on trial for mass atrocities, including genocide and embezzlement.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu

IBOM AIR AND THE AVIATION CRISIS When he mulled the idea of a commercial airline, many scorned the move as dead on arrival in the light of awry experiences of airline projects that ended as white Elephant projects. But like an experienced Sailor on the high sea, who is vast about the water terrain despite the turbulence of waves, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa-Ibom state ignored criticisms and sailed on.

Today, he is celebrated as a visionary leader and seasoned administrator in the way he birthed Ibom Air and the strong corporate governance put in place to insulate the airline from the vagaries of politics and other interferences.

As Nigeria faces crisis in the aviation sector, Ibom Air which was written off by critics at inception has come to the rescue of many air travellers. Adjudged as one of the best airlines in Nigeria, Ibom Air has continued to maintain quality of service with minimal hassle for customers.

The airline is reputed for keeping to flight time.

The Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, while speaking on the myriad of challenges confronting the Aviation sector said domestic airlines are contending with how to source forex for their operations, how to source fuel and the devaluation of the naira which has caused a depletion in passenger traffic and increase in flight fares.

He said “This is a critical period because of the rising cost of aviation fuel and it is of serious concern to us. The Minister of Aviation and the Minister of Finance are making efforts to ensure that some form of alleviation can be gotten for the airlines for the sustainability of their operations. It is truly a pathetic picture.

We don’t refine Jet A1 in Nigeria and the conflict in Ukraine has brought about the sudden increase in the price.

“At the same time, the naira is getting devalued, so it is a double jeopardy on the airlines. They get all their revenue in naira and at the same time, dollars are not even readily available. So it is creating a huge problem for the industry and what we are facing now is a financial and economic crisis. But all the relevant government organisations and stakeholders are working very hard to resolve the matter. In all, we are ensuring that safety is a priority”.

The above scary realities that have brought the aviation sector on the edge is worrisome to all stakeholders including the Nigerian government. The imminent loss of jobs and the collapse of other ancillary service outfits whose survival depends on the sector are crises that should be averted at all cost.

What of loss of revenues to the government that is in dire need of more money to fund its budget and the heat on the economy as many business deals would be halted as a result of inability to connect physically? But what many states including the federal government are struggling to pull through, Udom Emmanuel did and positioned the airline on a sustainable path. He remarked, “Please pardon me if I get a little emotional, the reason would not be far-fetched. When we first mooted the idea for the establishment of Ibom Air, we were laughed and sneered at by many naysayers.

To them, we were day- dreamers, because in their estimation, if the federal government could not establish a national carrier, how then could we, a mere subnational with no corresponding control over policy be able to pull off such a huge project?

Besides, the airline has been expanding in a remarkable way. Governor Emmanuel visited Dubai to ink an agreement for the purchase of additional Airbus Aircraft.

“We started with an initial three CRJ 900 Bombardier aircrafts, later added additional two, bringing the fleet, then, to five, and earlier this year (2021), added two brand new Airbus 220-300 Series bringing our total fleet to seven. We have also increased our routes from an initial

Uyo-Abuja-Lagos-Uyo to other cities such as Calabar, Port Harcourt, and Enugu.

“In less than three years after it commenced commercial operations, Ibom Air has become a dominant force in Nigerian aviation industry, flying the colours of Akwa Ibom State within the Nigerian aviation space and proving cynics wrong who thought we were embarking on what they call in my country a ‘’ white elephant project.’’.

The Emmanuel administration has also upgraded critical aviation infrastructure in Akwa-Ibom State. ‘’In preparations for the new Airbuses for our operations, my administration has invested heavily in the construction of a brand new Terminal at the Victor Attah International Airport, Ibom Air’s operational hub. The terminal which promises to be the most intelligent and modern in Nigeria and possibly in Africa will be commissioned in 2022. ‘’When completed, it will serve as the launchpad for the airline’s expansion and strategic engagements, serving as its hub in handling both the domestic and international passengers. ‘’We are not just investing in only aircrafts; we are undertaking complete and total aviation development programmes.

We have equally invested heavily in a large Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the same home- based airport, which we hope to commission in 2022. ‘’The MRO facility will provide a proper, hi-tech maintenance base for Ibom Air to be able to carry out all of its maintenance of the A220 fleet. We also plan to invest in a modern cargo terminal to facilitate the processing of cargo through the Victor Attah International Airport. ‘’These careful and thought-through strategic investments are being made to support the growth and stabilization of Ibom Air, and enable the airline to deliver on its high economic expectations of the shareholder, the Government and the people of Akwa Ibom State’’.

Omobowale writes from Abuja

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T H I S D AY

EDITORIAL

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

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TUESDAY AUGUST 9, 2022

UNENDING ROW OVER $418 MILLION The court should be allowed to decide

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contractors. or about a year now, the federal government Aside highlighting the legal cases it has won on the and the 36 states have been embroiled in a issue, including at the Supreme Court, the NGF is also controversy over the propriety or otherwise making serious allegations against Ahmed and Malami, of the controversial $418 million Paris Club the two ministers at the centre of the controversy. One, contractors’ fees. It is unfortunate that according to the NGF, it seems the allegiance of the President Muhammadu Buhari has not two federal ministers in the contentious $418 million deemed it fit to intervene on the side of transparency fees resides with the four contractors rather than the and accountability despite the fact that two of his key Nigerian people. Two, the ‘uncommon zeal and speed’ ministers are being called out by the governors. with which these two ministers have been pursuing the The controversy started on 11th November 2021 when cause of the four contractors has become suspicious, a letter by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National describing the latest attempt to stampede the Federal Planning, Zainab Ahmed notified the 36 governors Executive Council (FEC) through the Nigeria to approve the payment as Governors’ Forum (NGF) part of this plot. of a plan to commence the While we consider the deduction of $418 million allegations against the from their monthly The federal government and its agents must not jump the gun two key federal ministers statutory allocations. The on a matt er involving public resources as weighty, we note that said amount represents this is not the fi rst time the what the minister duo has been accused of described as the approved showing uncommon zeal in consultancy/service fees paying the controversial fees and gravitating towards T H I S D AY which were supposed to have been deducted at source EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU the interest of the contractors. That such allegations are by the federal government during the payment of the DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA coming from elected governors of the 36 states many various tranches of the London/Paris Club refunds to MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO of whom also belong to the ruling All Progressives states beginning from 2016.

DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU Congress (APC) make the situation troublesome.

CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI That letter sparked an instant push-back from the EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN It is therefore left to these ministers to prove that the NGF whose leadership argues that since the states were MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI allegations are unfounded by staying action on the not parties to any suit on the issue, the states were not THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE payment of the controversial fees until the case is fully liable to any person or entity in any judgement debt dispensed with. being relied upon by the federal government. As a Since this matter is already before competent courts preemptive measure, the NGF approached the court.

T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D of the land, it must be allowed to run its full course.

While the case remains pending at the Court of Appeal EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA This implies that the federal government and its agents in Abuja, the NGF on 1st August 2022 petitioned the GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, must not jump the gun on a matter involving public federal government through the Secretary to the ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI resources.

In the meantime, President Buhari cannot DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha. In the ANTHONY OGEDENGBE continue to keep silent on such a serious matter. At the letter signed by its chairman and incumbent Governor DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI very minimum, he should impress it on his ministers of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, the NGF alleged that SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH that they cannot pay out public funds without due the finance minister, and the Attorney General of the ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI process of law.

Doing so would imply that they are CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO acting beyond the call of duty and for reasons that were making surreptitious moves to kick-start the TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com cannot be in public interest. payment of the controversial $418 million fees to the

Letters to the Editor Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-300 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 (750- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive. com along with photograph, email address and phone numbers of the writer.

LETTERS

NIGERIA AIR AS A MISPLACED PRIORITY Nigerian aviation industry is in dire straits. A critical sector strategic to the nation’s economy has never been in such a protracted strain. Like a ship on a voyage already struggling to avoid sinking, the industry got pummeled by a virulent storm of Covid-19 in 2020.

While other countries gave out bailout funds in billions of dollars to their indigenous airlines to cushion the adverse effects of the pandemic and to stage a comeback, Nigeria government managed to give a paltry four billion naira to the entire aviation sector.

The unit cost of one aircraft engine is more than four billion naira. So, the meagre sum was a drop of water in a desert yearning for rain. The aftermath of the pandemic has left Nigerian aviation industry hemorrhaging and gasping for breath till date.

As I write, the situation has exacerbated. Local airlines have been struggling to remain afloat. Faced with skyrocketing price of aviation fuel, scarce forex, poor infrastructure at the airports, etc., the operating environment has been hellish and suffocating for local airlines. Fleet capacity has been reduced to 38%. Two local airlines have shut down operations with its attendant job losses.

Nigerian flying public has been experiencing incessant flight

delays, cancelations and astronomical increment in air fares. As a result of these ugly developments, a lot of Nigerians can no longer afford to fly neither will they risk travelling on the road for fear of being kidnapped. A time like this calls for pragmatic actions from the federal government to provide leadership out of the doldrums.

Unfortunately and sadly, the federal government via the Ministry of Aviation is on a wild goose chase of floating another airline—Nigeria Air, when local airlines are closing shops as a result of difficult operating environment. Thousands of jobs are being lost and many Nigerians are finding it hard to afford air ticket. Local airlines cannot access foreign exchange for critical spare parts, let alone acquiring new aircraft.

The entire aviation sector is enveloped in the misery of uncertainty and unpredictability. As a passenger booking your flight schedule, you are gripped by the fear that your flight could be delayed for hours, or even canceled due to difficult operating environment, yet the regulator that should be saddled with enhancing doing of business is preoccupied with a misplaced priority, trying to float another airline.

With most aviation transactions domiciled in dollars while income is in naira, local airlines are finding it difficult to service

their aircraft in the midst of acute scarcity of forex. For example, to do a C-check on Boeing 737 cost close to two million dollars.

With exchange rate of N700/$, it is a herculean task to raise such humongous amount with its attendant negative effects on the airlines bedeviled by rising cost of aviation fuel and poor infrastructure at the airports.

So, the big question is, why a national carrier now? Is it not ill—timed and wrongly advised? Ministry of Aviation said that federal government would only have five percent equity interest. Who are the remaining 95 percent shareholders? Information from the grapevine insinuates that 49 percent is reserved for a foreign interest, possibly an airline, while 46 percent is reserved for Nigerian investors.

What is the name of this foreign airline? What are the names of Nigerians taking up the 46 per cent shares? Why the secrecy regarding the shareholders of a proposed “national carrier”? Isn’t the government supposed to be occupied in helping a strategic sector like aviation survive the hard times instead of creating another conduit pipe to waste limited public resources?

Jeffrey Utapia, Abuja

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T H I S D AY • TUESday AUGUST 9, 2022

politics

Acting Group Politics Editor DEJI ELUMOYE Email: deji.elumoye@thisdaylive.com (08033025611 SMS ONLY)

Tale of Two Presidential Campaign Spokespersons

Emameh Gabriel writes that the stage is set for fireworks as the two main political parties, the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, appoint spokespersons for their respective presidential candidates

Keyamo

T

he political climate in Nigeria is close to a boiling point as campaigns for the 2023 general elections kick off in earnest next month.

With political parties, especially the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), already on top of their game to present their scorecards to Nigerians as well as to market their standard-bearers, it is expected to be an atmosphere of robust engagement, and fireworks as already being witnessed in the last few days.

A prerequisite for this is of course the deployment of well-equiped image makers who will serve as the first and last line of defence for their respective political parties to help propel them to victory at the polls.

From all indications, the 2023 campaigns would not be business as usual; it’s going to be issues based rather than a cacophony of expired fairy tales. Political parties’ spokespersons would be confronted with burning questions that require honest answers to Nigerians who are now better informed and politically sensitized.

It, therefore, came as no surprise last week when Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, was picked by the ruling APC as its campaign spokesperson and former ranking Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, as the mouthpiece of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, a selection that has been described in some quarters as mismatch.

Keyamo, a lawyer, social crusader, critic, fluent orator and columnist was at the buildup to the 2019 presidential election appointed the Director, Strategic Communications in President Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidential Campaign Organisation. A job he executed to the amazement of many Nigerians who believed that the Buhari-led APC would have nothing tangible to campaign with. Four years after, the party has again rewarded him with the same position to lead its army of propaganda.

Keyamo is a product of late Gani Fawehinmi and a front line legal activist in the days of National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) on the hey days of late GeneralSani Abacha regime in the 1990s.

His wit, charm, humour and charisma, skill of embellishing history with facts and the ability to captivate his audiences’ attention have made him a valuable asset to his party, especially as his party, the government in power, would mostly be on the defensive throughout the campaign.

Nnenna Agbai, a member of APC Strategic Communication Committee for the 2019 presidential election, in her defence of the choice of Keyamo said: “APC made the best choice of Keyamo, because he is well rounded and grounded. He is not just a legal icon in Nigeria, but an activist of history who ventured into politics out of realism and pragmatism. APC Keyamo and PDP Melaye is a total contrast.

More like night and darkness; an intellectual and a palace jester.

Melaye

“Keyamo would be a torn on the flesh of anyone he engages, especially the main opposition PDP, a party he is very conversant with its history and anticedence. He has an intimidating resume that bullies the likes of Dino. He is the best man for the job and someone like Dino Melaye who is careless talkative whould have to prepare for that”.

On the other hand, Dino Melaye, is no doubt a strong force in politics and his political career has been a successful one so far till recently when he was defeated by one of his arch political rival, Senator Smart Adeyemi.

Melaye started his political career at a student and was once a member of the House of Representatives, representing Kabba/Ijumu federal constituency in Kogi State and in 2015 he was elected as the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District.

He will bring his wealth of experience as a politician on the table but many believe that it’s would be difficult for him to take on Keyamo who is more experienced on the job.

“Dino Melaye, is a national voice to reckon with. He is a Senator with over 10 university degrees. He is one of the most followed and influential politicians on social media. When the campaign kicks off, Dino Melaye will bring intellectual and political experience to the table, with focus on facts and issue based campaign to promote the Atiku/Okowa ticket and PDP at large.

“Dino has been preaching about Atiku Abubakar before the primary election. So, I think what informed his selection is the fact he is a very strong supporter of Atiku and also one of the best in PDP, who is vocal and proactive to challenge the manipulative media propaganda of the ruling party”,

said Audu Mahmood, Director General, PDP New Generation.

Dino has been a staunch supporter of Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s presidential flag bearer, even against a northern presidency of the party.

His appointment, according to a source in Atiku’s camp, was a reward for his loyalty to the former vice president.

Both Keyamo and Melaye have been successful in their careers but yet again, they have arduous task ahead to convince Nigerians why either of the APC or the PDP deserve the goodwill of Nigerians. Their appointment has reignited the long running battle between the two major political parties in the country.

In an already charged and frenzied political atmosphere and extremely polarized nation, currently battling insecurity in all fronts, one that is also being affected by the global economic crisis, it is expected that both Keyamo and Melaye take into cognisance what voters think and understand the way in which media narratives dictate or undermine how electorate react much better to develop their winning strategy.

The APC for instance, after enjoying soaring popularity at the buildup to the 2015 general elections, has recently become a subject of increased criticism after almost eight years in the helm of affairs, and the main opposition PDP has taken advantage largely on the global economy crisis which Nigeria is not spared too, the slow pace of economic recovery and steady rise in inflation, as a tool for campaign.

On the other, the PDP has a damaged reputation to repair. The party had in the build up to the 2019 general elections apologized to Nigerians for how it mismanaged the country’s economy and promised to turn things around if given another chance.

The party is currently battling to rescue itself from how it poorly managed the country’s economy in its 16 years in power. The PDP was largely criticised for corruption, insecurity and impunity, especially under the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration- factors that majorly contributed to its defeat in 2015.

With Keyamo and Melaye leading the pack as their parties’ candidates megaphones, it is expected to be an atmosphere of verbal

In an already charged and frenzied political atmosphere and extremely polarized nation, currently battling insecurity in all fronts, one that is also being affected by the global economic crisis, it is expected that both Keyamo and Melaye take into cognisance what voters think and understand the way in which media narratives dictate or undermine how electorate react much better to develop their winning strategy

war and fireworks. But what is key for the campaign would be anchored on issues that directly affect the lives of the people. Their responsibility is a brutal one; the hours are long; the issues are complicated and the people are not taking it likely this time as these would no doubt ignite the days ahead.

Last week, in what appeared to be a prelude to the battle of wit ahead of the elections, Melaye launched a brutal attack on Keyamo over his recent outburst against the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. He did not only promise to devour the APC’s campaign spokesperson, he also challenge him for a debate.

Keyamo had earlier appeared on a national television programme last Friday, where he discredited the candidacy of former Vice President, condemning his presidential ambition, saying Atiku has nothing to offer the country as he lacks the capacity to rule Nigeria as a president.

During the interview, Keyamo noted that the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, is far better than Atiku in terms of capacity and experience.

He said: “Atiku Abubakar has never held any government position where he makes the final call. He was vice president; he was not the chief executive. He was never governor.

He was never anything. Even Peter Obi is ahead of Atiku Abubakar.

“Peter Obi is ahead of him in terms of capacity to make decisions. So how are we going to hand over the country to somebody who has never shown the capacity, who has never held a position where he makes the final call?”

In a swift reaction to Keyamo’s position, Melaye said, unlike Tinubu, the PDP candidate was contesting the 2023 election with rich credentials.

Melaye who countered Keyamo, said anyone who has served as Vice President is fit for the number one position.

In a video published on his social media handles, Melaye challenged the Minister to a debate where he vowed to break him (Keyamo) into pieces.

His words: “Ask Nigerians today, what portfolio is Keyamo holding? Many will tell you that they don’t even know the ministry he is working in because he is redundant, inactive, and not visible.

“Because he is not known as Minister, he is mistaking his office as a Minister of State for the office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. No Nigerian who is educated, and intellectually okay will abuse the office of the Vice President of Nigeria.

“What Keyamo attacked is not Atiku Abubakar but the office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the number two office in this country.

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

20

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 05Aug-2022, unless otherwise stated.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS

AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 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 Afrinvest Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.40% AIICO Balanced Fund 4.43 4.49 29.93% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 4.90% Anchoria Equity Fund 142.25 143.87 2.16% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.19 1.19 4.43% info@anchoriaam.com ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Eurobond Fund ($) N/A N/A N/A ARM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com; Tel 08069294653 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Naira N/A N/A N/A AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) N/A N/A N/A CAPITALTRUST INVESTMENTS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED halalfif@capitaltrustnigeria.com Web: www.capitaltrustnigeria.com; Tel: 08061458806 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Capitaltrust Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,010.59 1,010.59 4.52% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund N/A N/A N/A CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.39% Paramount Equity Fund 19.81 20.17 13.68% Women's Investment Fund 149.54 151.41 5.38% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.75% Cordros Milestone Fund 134.36 135.31 7.84% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 110.52 110.52 4.91% CORONATION ASSETS MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com, Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-asset-management-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Emerging Africa Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund N/A N/A N/A Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A FBNQUEST ASSETS MANAGEMENT LIMITED invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Halal Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Dollar Fund (Retail) N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy USD Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn

Coral Balanced Fund Coral Income Fund Coral Money Market Fund

4,112.39 3,595.92 100.00

4,169.81 3,595.92 100.00

9.43% 6.21% 9.47%

FSDH Dollar Fund 1.11 1.11 3.99% 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 N/A N/A N/A Vantage Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) N/A N/A N/A Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A 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 1.61 1.64 13.26% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,159.91 1,159.91 5.68% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.22% Meristem Money Market Fund 12.49 12.54 9.30% NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 101.66 101.66 9.69% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 8.00% 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 N/A N/A N/A PACAM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM EuroBond Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 130.04 132.63 4.74% 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 1.05 1.05 9.25% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,653.68 3,696.07 7.97% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 240.52 240.52 2.10% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.46 1.48 16.67% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 323.90 323.91 3.44% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 270.06 274.24 15.82% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.46% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 12,003.28 12,173.47 10.05% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.33 1.33 3.03% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 119.27 119.27 2.02% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 111.18 111.18 4.51% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Equity Fund 0.99 1.02 11.72% United Capital Balanced Fund 1.34 1.36 3.01% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.16 1.17 12.02% United Capital Sukuk Fund 1.07 1.07 4.29% United Capital Fixed Income Fund 1.90 1.90 3.79% United Capital Eurobond Fund 122.32 122.32 3.26% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.73% 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 Balanced Strategy Fund 13.86 13.99 5.10% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 16.19 16.37 10.81% Zenith Income Fund 22.93 22.93 4.45% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.72% VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD funds@vetiva.com Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund 3.83 3.93 -4.41% Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund 5.85 5.95 0.21% Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund 18.53 18.73 4.74% Vetiva Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.11% Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund 19.34 19.54 -3.22% Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund 149.12 151.12 -5.44%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

117.96 51.82

4.16% 1.90%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

14.61 136.78 105.48 17.10 16.40

14.71 140.11 107.73 17.20 16.50

4.44% 7.56% 5.71% -2.75% 20.47%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.59

0.00%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

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

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.

LAWYER TUeSday, AUGUST 9, 2022

A TR

UT H

& RE A SO

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weekly pullout

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& RE A S O

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Mr Olatunde Busari, SAN

‘We have taken Arbitration to Other African Countries’

II

TueSday, AUGUST 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

In this edition

Whether Objection to Appeal’s Competence Constitutes Abuse of Court Process Page IV

NBA-SPIDEL Annual Conference, Abuja 2022 Ends on a Cheerful Note

Quotable

Page V

‘In terms of how organised these terrorists are, Government needs to take them very seriously..…They told us that, they have spies planted across the country….

We heard them discuss things that they should not know about. We heard them talk very openly, about attacks they are planning.’ - Dr Mustapha Umar Imam, PhD, Molecular Biotechnology, Associate Professor in Medical Biochemistry, Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto; Recently Released Kaduna Train Attack Abductee

2022 SPIDEL: Host NBA Event in Sokoto Soonest, Akpata Page V

lawyer

onikepo braithwaite: editor, jude igbanoI: deputy editor, peter taiwo, steve aya: reporters

III The advocate

T H I S D AY • TueSday, AUGUST 9, 2022

When Accountability Matters

A

Insult to our Intelligence/Tragicomedy ccountability is synonymous with good governance in a Democracy.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed's justification for Nigeria's gift of luxury vehicles worth about N1.5 billion to Niger, set me thinking about accountability, and automatically reminds me of a Yoruba saying which can be translated to mean that an individual should refrain from identifying a dog as a monkey to another person (“ma p’aja l’òbò fun mi) - meaning that such individual should stop trying to deceive the other. She said:"…..Over time, Nigeria has had to support its neighbours, especially its immediate neighbours, to enhance their capacity to secure their countries as it relates to us. This is not the first time that Nigeria has supported Niger, Cameroun or Chad..... It is to enhance their capacity to protect their own territory, as it relates to security also to Nigeria".

While there's absolutely nothing wrong with Zainab Ahmed's statement on the face of it, especially if it was a gift that could truly enhance security, it is patently clear, even to the blind, that this is not the situation in this case. Pray tell, what role can luxury SUVs in Niger, play in protecting or enhancing Niger or Nigeria's security? Are they weapons of mass destruction or tools to fight insecurity?

I therefore, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry (tragicomedy), when I heard Madam Ahmed’s statement. I have always believed that, in some cases, “silence is golden”; because, sometimes in such cases, it is better to keep quiet than to attempt any explanation, especially when the explanation is absolutely untenable, or an insult to the intelligence of any right-thinking person that is listening.

Lack of Accountability The term Accountability has different types and elements to it; but in terms of governance, it is simply government being answerable for its acts or omissions, as well as being able to hold government responsible for same. According to Webster’s Dictionary, accountable is defined as “being responsible, liable, explainable, legally bound, subject to”. Clearly, this administration is extremely weak when it comes to Government to Citizen Accountability, no thanks for one, to Section 6(6)(c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) (the Constitution) which ousts the jurisdiction of the courts vis-à-vis Chapter II of the Constitution, that is, the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, which really is the essence of Government and governance (as I have said repeatedly), and the call to accountability as it sets the milestones that Government is supposed to achieve. See the case of Olafisoye v FRN (2004) LPELR-2553 (SC) per Niki Tobi JSC on the justiciability of Section 6(6)(c) of the Constitution. To be honest, with what Nigerians have seen in the last seven years, I’m not sure that it would have even made any difference to this administration (or any of the previous ones for that matter), if Section 6(6)(c) was not included in the Constitution, and Government could be sued directly to account, or for non-performance.

The cases would have just piled up and clogged up an already congested court system, with no end of litigation in sight.

With only $300,000 left in our Excess Crude Account; with 99% of Nigerians crying out from the pains of suffering and hardship; with our children out of school for almost six months because of the ASUU Strike, it is shocking and disheartening that our Government can still play 'Father Christmas' to Niger - not only is it a misuse and mismanagement of funds, it is totally insensitive to the plight of Nigerians who the money actually belongs to. That money would have been better spent on boosting the salaries of judicial officers, or paying ransom to the Kaduna train terrorists to release our brothers, sisters and children who have been in captivity for over four months and counting, since one of the captives who was recently released, Professor Imam, stated in a television interview that Government did nothing to secure his own release, and doesn’t seem to be doing anything to secure the release of the rest of the captives.

Again, even if our Government insisted on playing Father Christmas at a time that it is not in a position to do so, at such an inauspicious time when it definitely should not, what is wrong with Innoson cars? Innoson also has SUVs. Why didn't Government patronise a local manufacturer, so that it would not only showcase and advertise madein-Nigeria products/vehicles to other countries, but also help boost Innoson's revenue, and possibly create more jobs for Nigerians? Assuming that

sanctions for non-performance. It inspires workers to act in the interest of the organisations they serve; in the case of government officials, it is an incentive to act in the best interest of the public. Accountability encourages transparency and oversight in governance. It also promotes better decision making.

onikepo braithwaite onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive. com onikepob@yahoo.com

The

Advocate “Assuming that there was a good reason for the car gift, what Government has done is akin to importing cement from China to 'dash' Niger, when we have our own BUA and Dangote Cement who could supply cement. Is Government not being a saboteur of its own economy?” there was even a good reason for the car gift, what Government has done is akin to importing cement from China to 'dash' Niger, when we have our own BUA and Dangote Cement who could supply cement.

Is Government not being a saboteur of its own economy?

Certainly, it is this culture of lack of accountability and recklessness, that allows Government to make imprudent, extravagant decisions. It seems that Niger has the same mindset as Nigeria anyway. It’s not surprising; are we not relatives? A country that needs luxury cars purchased for them, obviously requires funds for other critical infrastructure.

But, here in these parts, having these expensive toys, is obviously more important to government officials than national development. I needed no further confirmation of Niger’s similar regressive mindset, when I saw the Governor of Zamfara State being decorated in Niger for security! Or did Niger mean for insecurity?! A State in which a wanted terrorist was recently turbanned as a Chief!

Because, the last time I checked, Zamfarans were crying to be rescued from the scourge of terrorists and bandits that has hit them.

And, instead of spending scarce resources more meaningfully on trying to secure the State, the Governor bought and distributed over 200 vehicles (foreign made, of course) to traditional rulers in Zamfara, ostensibly for them to fight insecurity, when we all know that this unjustifiable expenditure on the part of the Governor, is simply to curry favour and secure a second term come 2023!

Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed

It is also this culture of lack of accountability and apathy in governance, that gives Government officials and spokespersons like Garba Shehu, the temerity not just to make absurdly inaccurate statements that rile Nigerians, like ‘Nigeria is now a safer place to live’, when no one can go from Point A to B without looking over their shoulders, also trivialising what seems to be an insurmountable security problem in the country, but to give this administration glowing marks where they have failed abysmally. The non-admittance of facts, or the tendency to hide activities or events (opaqueness), does not allow for accountability, responsibility or redress.

Importance of Accountability in Government/Governance While accountability does not solve all the problems in governance, it’s importance must be underscored, particularly in a democratic setting where it is a core principle. Without accountability, there cannot be good governance, public trust and promotion of the rule of law. Its absence translates to the fact that government and its officials, are not subject to the same laws as the people. Accountability is a concept in which performance is measured, and there are consequences for either success or failure to meet the desired or set out goals. Here in Nigeria, the overview of these goals are laid out in Chapter II of the Constitution, while specifics can actually be judged from government policies and actions, and the lives of the people being governed.

Accountability improves the performance of government, especially when there are

Examples of Lack of Accountability Accountability can be internal or external. In Nigeria, within government agencies, there is no internal accountability, let alone being accountable externally to the people. The National Assembly is not taking its oversight functions, as seriously as it should. If there was internal accountability, an Accountant-General would not be able to systematically misappropriate over N100 billion from his organisation and go undetected for so long. The Police would not be able to torture and kill suspects in custody, and get away with it. The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs would not be able to come out boldly to state that she spent billions feeding school children, when the whole of Nigeria was confined to their homes during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. The Governor of Central Bank would have to do better than come up with lame excuses, as to why the Naira is depreciating on a daily basis.

The security agencies would have to explain why, despite knowing the whereabouts of terrorists and bandits, they are leaving them to continue to run amok with gusto and aplomb to brutalise Nigerians, instead of the National Security Adviser denouncing Governor El Rufai as a parrot for revealing these details to Nigerians.

The Minister of State of Petroleum would not only have to tell Nigerians exactly how much fuel we consume on a daily basis, but explain why they supplied bad fuel to Nigerians, and why there has been a lingering petrol and aviation fuel shortage. And, if there was accountability and responsibility, all of them, would have had to suffer the consequences of their failures.

Sanctions for Lack of Accountability Sanctions for lack of political and governmental accountability include public protest, sack, impeachment, or non-reelection of officials, civil action and criminal prosecution, amongst other sanctions available, in the case of failure or even corruption. On the contrary, in Nigeria, people are rewarded for failure and bad/criminal behaviour.

Will we ever forget Danjuma Ibrahim and the gruesome killing of the ‘Apo Six’ in 2005? While the death sentence was pronounced on the two rank & file Policemen who were involved in the killing, Ibrahim who was alleged to have ordered their killing not only got off scot free having been found not guilty by the court, he was a Deputy Commissioner of Police at the time of the incident, and was subsequently promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police, amongst other juicy rewards.

Ensuring Accountability and Better Leadership A responsible government, is one that is accountable and responsive to the people. Apart from protest, the other way in which the public can demand accountability from government, is to vote out those who do not perform, and keep voting them out. Clear expectations from government, have already been stated in Chapter II of the Constitution, and whether they are directly justiciable or not, they are binding on all persons and authorities in Nigeria (Section 1(1) of the Constitution). Since politicians love to recycle themselves, it is easy to identify nonperformers and those who place no premium on accountability and lack the necessary integrity, and not to vote for them. The masses whose votes are easy to buy because they have been so oppressed with poverty, must be educated about the dangers of vote-selling and its direct correlation with bad governance. Now that the 2023 election is upon us, the same way the skit on television about ‘Okoronko' spreading fake news in the town of ‘Akamata’ appears 100 times a day, there should be one explaining the dangers and negative consequences that result from allowing rich and corrupt politicians to buy votes. There must be more transparency in governance, better mechanisms put in place to scrutinise the civil service, and better performance of oversight functions by the Legislature. The Judiciary must also play its part, not only by disposing of election petitions properly, but meting out the harsh punishment to corrupt government officials and politicians, to serve as a deterrent to those who may be tempted to err. My dear colleagues, kindly, share your thoughts on how accountability can be instilled into governance, and become a culture in Nigeria.

IV law report

TueSday, AUGUST 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

Whether Objection to Appeal’s Competence Constitutes Abuse of Court Process

Facts The Appellants are the children of a certain Michael Babatunde Adeyemi, who was the 2nd Judgement Debtor in a suit before the Failed Banks Tribunal whose property was used by one Temple & Golders Ltd to secure some credit facilities from that Bank. The facilities were not settled or fully paid up to the time the Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Decree No. 18 of 1994 was promulgated. The 1st Respondent, therefore, filed a claim before the Failed Banks Tribunal for the Recovery of the sum of N35,724,513.80 being the total debt of Temple & Golders Ltd and Michael Babatunde Adeyemi.

By an Order of the Tribunal, the originating processes were served on the Respondents by substituted means. The Respondents did not enter appearance to defend the action. Upon being satisfied that there had been due compliance with the Order for service of the processes on the Respondents, the Tribunal gave a default judgement in favour of the 1st Respondent, further to the application of its counsel.

Following the promulgation of Decree No. 62 of 1999, the 1st Respondent applied to the Federal High Court for the execution of the judgement of the Failed Banks Tribunal, but the 2nd Judgement Debtor, Mr Adeyemi, filed a motion for setting aside of the judgement of the Tribunal on ground of non-service. He also filed an application for stay of execution of the judgement. The said 2nd Judgement Debtor/ Applicant died in 2003, and was substituted by the present Appellants. The Federal High Court refused the application to set aside the judgement of the Tribunal. The Appellants, therefore, appealed to the Court of Appeal against the Ruling of the Federal High Court.

At the appellate court, the 1st Respondent filed a Preliminary Objection challenging the Jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal to hear the appeal. The court upheld the Preliminary Objection. Dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal, the Appellants appealed to the Supreme Court, and the 1st Respondent filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection challenging the competence of the Appeal.

Issues for Determination Aside the Preliminary Objection to the competence of the appeal, the following issues were raised for determination by the court in the main appeal: 1. “Whether considering the facts of the case of Arewa Paper Converters v N.D.I.C and the Failed Bank (Recovery Debt and Financial Malpractices in Banks) Decree 1994 as amended, the lower court was justified when it applied the ratio in the case of Arewa Paper Converters v NDIC, to hold that the Appellants were served with the court processes and therefore, bound by the judgement of the Tribunal.

2. Whether in the circumstances of this case, the judgement of the lower court deli 3. Whether the judgement of the lower court delivered on 16/1/2015 when the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria was on strike, was a nullity” Arguments In arguing the Preliminary Objection, counsel for the 1st Respondent submitted that the issue of jurisdiction of a court can be raised at any time and at any stage of the proceedings of a case, in writing or even verbally, either by the parties or the court suo motu. Counsel argued that an appellate court has no jurisdiction to hear any appeal, unless it was vested by the Constitution or Statute. Counsel set out Section 240 of the 1999 Constitution on the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal, while contending that the Failed Banks Tribunal is not one of the courts listed therein for that court to exercise jurisdiction as an appellate court. Counsel contended that the law is trite that, for an ap-

Honourable Mohammed Lawal Garba, JSC

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday, the 8th day of April, 2022 Before Their Lordships Olukayode Ariwoola Ejembi Eko Uwani Musa Abba Aji Mohammed Lawal Garba Adamu Jauro Justices, Supreme Court SC./178/2015 Between 1.

2.

3.

4.

Miss Lucia Taiwo Adeyemi Miss Kehinde Patricia Adeyemi Mr Charles Ademola Adeyemi Mr Anthony Abayomi Adeyemi

Appellants

And 1.

2.

3.

4.

V.O. Achimu/NDIC (Assurance Bank Nig. Ltd) Mr Adepoju Adeyemi Ms Olayinka Roberts Mrs Olubunmi Laja

Respondents

(Lead Judgement delivered by Honourable Mohammed Lawal Garba, JSC)

pellate court to exercise jurisdiction over an appeal, the lower court from which it emanated must also have the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, otherwise the appellate court would also lack the jurisdiction to entertain the appeal against the decision of that lower court. Counsel argued further that the judgement being preserved as a concluded matter, the jurisdiction of the trial court was to enforce it as provided for in Section 2(5) of the Decree, and it was not within the matters that can be determined by the trial court under Section 2 and 3 of the Decree since it was not a part-heard matter. Counsel relied on AREWA PAPER CONVERTERS LTD v NDIC LTD (2006) 7 SCNJ, 457 and submitted that the judgement of the Tribunal was delivered more than one month before the commencement of the Decree, and therefore, it was not available for the trial court to pick up and determine, it not being a part-heard matter for which new proceedings were to be commenced before the court. He also argued that the only option opened to the Appellants was

“A serious, genuine, and real challenge to the competence of an appeal on any cognisable grounds of law by way of an objection to the hearing of the appeal, cannot be said to, and does not constitute or amount to an abuse of the court process”

to either apply before the Tribunal to set its judgement aside on ground of lack of service of process, or appeal against same within the time prescribed by Section 5(1) of the Decree, which they failed to do.

In response to the 1st Respondent’s Preliminary Objection, counsel submitted on behalf of the Appellants that the court should dismiss the objection summarily, because the grounds upon which it is premised are the same as those relied on in the objection before the court below which was upheld, resulting in the present appeal and by raising the same grounds of objection which forms the fulcrum of this appeal, the 1st Respondent is calling on the court to delve into and decide the appeal at this stage. Counsel contended that the 1st Respondent is, in essence, challenging the merit of the appeal and not its competence, and it is an abuse of the court process. He relied on CPC v INEC (2013) ALL FWLR (Pt. 665) 364, in support of his position.

Court’s Judgement and Rationale In deciding the Preliminary Objection, the Supreme Court held that a Notice of Preliminary Objection to the hearing of an appeal (or any action/matter) is a pre-emptive and pro-active step taken by a Respondent to the appeal to forestall its hearing on the merit, because it offends or

violates the law in a fundamental way to render it legally defective and not permitted by the law. A challenge to the competence of an appeal goes to and affects the competence and jurisdiction of the appellate court to adjudicate over the appeal, because competence is one of the essential elements of jurisdiction, the law permits and allows the challenge, question or issue may and can be raised at any stage of the proceedings of the appeal either by the parties or the court on its own motion - MADUKOLU v NKEMDILIM (1962) 2 SCNJ 1. A serious, genuine, and real challenge to the competence of an appeal on any cognisable grounds of law by way of an objection to the hearing of the appeal, cannot be said to and does not constitute or amount to an abuse of the court process, since it is a special procedure expressly provided for by the Rules of Court. The mere fact that the issue of jurisdiction of the trial court to entertain and adjudicate over the Appellants’ application, in this appeal, is the fulcrum of the appeal, does not prevent the challenge to the competence of the appeal by way of a Preliminary Objection and rather than being an abuse, it is a prudent procedure for dealing with the appeal holistically and comprehensively since the same issue of jurisdiction is the sub-stratum of both the appeal and the objection.

The court held further that undoubtedly, the facts as narrated and found by the court in AREWA PAPER CONVERTERS LTD v NDIC, are not only identical but quite similar with those of the instant case as found by the court below in the judgement appealed against. The principles stated therein are apposite authority under the principles or doctrine of stare decisis or judicial precedent, as enunciated by this court in OBIEUWEBI v CBN. Since the facts in the AREWA case are substantially identical and similar to those in the Appellant’s case, the court below was not only right, but had the judicial obligation and duty to follow and apply the decision in the earlier case to the Appellant’s case.

Their Lordships of the Supreme Court emphasised that, by the provisions of Section 5(2) of the Decree 18 and the commencement of Decree 62, a decision/judgement of the Tribunal in a concluded matter is not only final, but extant and sacrosanct, as a decision of a competent court of law, and cannot be interfered with or set aside by any court of law including the Federal High Court, in the absence of express provisions of the law vesting the requisite power and authority or jurisdiction on it to do so. This decision of the court in AREWA PAPER CONVERTERS LTD v NDIC on the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to entertain an application to set aside a judgement delivered in a concluded matter by the Tribunal before the commencement of Decree 62, is not only apposite but precise to apply to the Appellants’ application at the trial court, for an order setting aside the judgement of the Tribunal in question. The court below was therefore, “firma terra”, and right to have relied on and followed the decision in upholding the objection by the 1st Respondent to the competence of the appeal before it, on the ground of lack/want of jurisdiction on the part of the trial court to entertain and adjudicate over the Appellant’s application to set aside the judgement of the Tribunal.

Appeal Struck Out.

Representation Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN with Tunde Ahmed Adejumo for the Appellants S.J. Gani for the 1st Respondent.

O. Gbadeyan, with Ibrahim Idris for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Respondents.

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

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NEWS

L-R: Dr Muiz Banire, SAN; Dr Monday Ubani; Mr Y.C. Maikyau, SAN; Mr Olumide Akpata; Hon. Justice Inyang Okoro JSC; Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN; Mr Babatunde Ogala, SAN; Mr Femi Falana, SAN and Mr Uche Ihediwa, SAN

NBA President, Olumide Akpata

NBA-SPIDEL Annual Conference, Abuja 2022 Ends on a Cheerful Note

Stakeholders in the Justice and Public Interest sector have warned that unless concerted efforts are made to rescue the Judiciary from several challenges that beset it, the rule of law may remain elusive in the country.

Rising from this year’s Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar

Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) in Abuja, the jurists urged stakeholders to do more to secure the independence of the nation’s Judiciary, and ensure that it does not remain the whipping boy among the three arms of government.

In his address, the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola noted that the electioneering season is about to set in, adding that it “is in a period like this, that the executives or those seeking and aspiring for political positions will not tread on the path of the

Industrial Court Slams TUC for Disobeying its Order

SteveAya

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Lagos, on Thursday expressed it dissatisfaction with the Trade Union Congress (TUC), for disobeying its order on the holding of its 12th Triennial delegates’ conference pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit before the court.

The trial Judge, Justice Rabi Gwandu, frowned at the Lawyers and parties that were involved, while warning that disobedience of court orders erodes confidence in the system, and failure to check it will breed anarchy.

The court had at the last sitting restrained TUC from holding its 12th Triennial delegates’ conference, or taking any further steps to hold it; but, the Union went ahead with the conference on 19th and 20th July, 2022. The Judge made the order in a suit filed by the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, and nine other associations against the TUC. The TUC however, claimed that the decision to hold the conference was hinged on another court order issued by Justice O.A ObasekiOsaghae of NICN, Abuja.

At the resumption of the matter last Thursday, Claimants’ counsel, Timothy Adewale, informed the court of the disobedience of the order made by the court, stating that he has filed an application for contempt against the Defendants.

According to him, the order of the court stopping the Defendants from holding the conference or doing anything whatsoever on the subject-matter of this case until the determination of the substantive suit, was clear and unambiguous. He said he was shocked that despite the court order, the Defendants went ahead to hold the conference, in violation of the court order. He urged the court to hear the contempt application,

#upjudicialsalaries

adding that, unless the Defendants obeyed the court order, they will be guilty of contempt of court.

However, counsel to TUC, Ambassador Sola Iji told the court that the first Defendant’s (Trade Union Congress) decision to proceed with the 12th Triennial National Delegates Conference, was based on an order by the NICN, Abuja.

He stated that the court directed that the conference should hold, in line with the provision of the existing constitution.

Justice Gwandu, however, stated that she will get to the root of the matter and adjourned the matter to August 24, 2022 to rule on applications of those that have applied to be joined as parties in the suit.

The Claimants, in their originating summons supported by a 27 paragraph affidavit, had prayed the court to declare that by virtue of the agreements and resolutions reached and ratified at the 11th Triennial delegates’ conference of the Defendant held on June 28, 2019, at NAF Centre, Abuja, the 1st Claimant, ASSBIFI, should produce the next President of the TUC for the year 2022 to 2025.

The Claimants also asked for an order, mandating and compelling the Defendant to immediately enable the 1st Claimant to produce and assume the office of the President of the Defendant, in line with the agreement and resolutions reached and ratified at the 11th Triennial delegates’ conference in Abuja. zThe affidavit states that sometime in 2019, due to the leadership imbroglio and the intricate nature of the situation around the Presidency of the TUC, members of the Defendant, during its triennial delegates’ conference, constituted an electoral committee chaired

by Comrade Augustine Etafo of Construction and Engineering Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and also a deputy president of the Congress,

to work out modalities for elections into TUC, as a way of resolving the imbroglio and saving the defendant from collapse.

It was averred: “That the Electoral Committee, after the national officers’ position were harmonised with the approval of the National Executive Council of the Defendant, recommended to the Defendant the following order of Presidency of the Defendant to prevent rancour or internal crisis.

“That Food, Beverages and Tobacco Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, FOBTOB, take the position of TUC President in 2019 to 2022. That ASSBIFI take the position of TUC President in 2022 to 2025, and after the tenure of ASSBIFI, the position of the President shall be open to all members to contest, and that these recommendations were approved and ratified.

“The Claimants were, however, surprised that the Defendant, in preparation for the 12th Triennial delegates’ conference, published a special notice dated February 8, 2022, for positions to be contested (2022 to 2025) at the conference to include the office of the President of the TUC, without any regard to the aforementioned motions adopted, ratified and already being implemented.”

rule of law, the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but will rather act on their whims and fancies to clinch power”.

Represented by Supreme Court Justice, Uwani Abba Aji, Justice Ariwoola accused politicians and the executive arm of undermining the rule of law, adding that past and present regimes in Nigeria “have not ceased to intervene and interfere in the premises of the Judiciary and have almost diluted its supposed sanctity, whittled down its powers and authority, and tampered with its independence and autonomy through various ways and means”.

“I conclude that the underminers of judicial authority must understand that since the three arms of government, though separated, but fitly fused, are joined together to bring out the best in any government or democracy, undermining one arm or the other, is to spell doom and anarchy for that government, even to the detriment of the underminers.”

Hon. Justice Inyang Okoro, also of the Supreme Court, warned while delivering the Keynote Address on the theme, ‘The Undermining of Judicial Authority in Democracy’, that “Nobody, whether government or citizen, is allowed to undermine an order of court or judgement”, adding that disobedience to court orders should be criminalised.

In his address, NBA President, Mr Olumide Akpata said: “As the NBA has repeatedly advocated under my administration, the imperatives for an effective Judiciary in Nigeria entail the

appointment/selection of suitably qualified Judges, as well as discipline of the few erring Judges; judicial autonomy/independence of the Judiciary, which has a direct bearing on the welfare of our judicial officers; and the need to enhance efficiency and efficacy of the justice delivery system, to reduce the chronic delays and congestion of cases in Nigeria. All of this, if addressed, will significantly address the challenges that currently undermine the authority of our Judiciary”.

In his welcome address, the NBA-SPIDEL Chairman, Dr Monday Ubani noted that, the Judiciary “has not been well-treated by the other arms of government”, adding that “the Judiciary has remained a poor cousin, a weeping and aggrieved sibling in a relationship of three brothers of equal age and status”.

Goodwill Messages were delivered by special guests from ROLAC, UNICEF, the Executive Secretary of National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the diplomatic corps from Australia and Switzerland.

Among the topics dissected at the Conference were “Disobedience to Court Orders & the Slide to State of Anarchy;” “Strengthening Judicial Authority in a Democracy through Effective and Sustainable Strategies;” 'The Impediments to Seamless Execution of Court Orders in Nigeria - Any Way Out?' 'Independent Investigative Panel (IIP) on Human Rights Investigation by Defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and Other Specialised Units: The Process, Enforcement of

the Panels' Decisions/Rulings - Challenges, Achievements and Lessons Learnt,' and 'A Disruptive Approach to Public Safety and Access to Justice Using Technology’.

The Speakers included foremost human rights activists, Mr Femi Falana, SAN; Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN; NBA Presidentelect, Mr Yakubu Maikyau, SAN; pioneer NBA-SPIDEL Chairman, Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN; former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Kanu Agabi, SAN, and Executive Secretary of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mr Tony Ojukwu, SAN. Others were the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Mr Modibbo Tukur; Lagos State Attorney-General & Commissioner for Justice, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN; his Abia State counterpart, Mr Uche Ihediwa, SAN; two-time Lagos State Commissioner, Dr Muiz Banire, SAN, and former All Progressives Congress National Legal Adviser, Mr Babatunde Ogala, SAN. Among the Speakers were also the President of the National Industrial Court, Justice Benedict Kanyip; Justice Mabel Taiye Bello of Federal High Court, Owerri Division; Associate Professor & Dean of Faculty of Law, Ave Maria University, Dr Sam Amadi; Deputy Vice Chancellor, Afe Babalola University and United Nations Independent Expert on Business and Human Rights, Prof Damilola Olawuyi, SAN, and immediate past NBA-SPIDEL Chairman, Prof Paul Ananaba SAN.

2022 SPIDEL: Host NBA Event in Sokoto Soonest, Akpata

Steve Aya

The incoming administration of the NBA, has been urged to organise another NBA event in Sokoto State as soon as possible.

The outgoing President of the NBA, Mr Olumide Akpata, made this remark while giving his welcome address at the recently concluded 2022 NBA-SPIDEL Conference in Abuja. He noted that, the reason is for the State to

know that the Bar has nothing against her, and to demonstrate the Association’s vote of confidence in the Government.

Mr Akpata also called for an improved standard of living for judicial officers and the solution to their peculiar needs, in order for the Judiciary to effectively play its role in the fight against terrorism and insecurity currently bedevilling the country.

According to the NBA

President, the fight against terrorism is a fight that all arms of government should get involved; the executive with the security outfit, and the Judiciary in the prosecution and conviction of culpable offenders.

“While you will agree with me that, the war against insecurity is the primary responsibility of the executive arm of government which superintends over Police and the other State actors, the

other arms of government equally have a role to play. For the Judiciary, the war against terrorism does not end with the arrest of terror suspects, but must end with the prosecution and conviction of those found guilty in accordance with the constitutional and relevant statutory provisions.

For the Judiciary to perform this role effectively, the peculiar needs of the Judiciary must continually be addressed.”

“The degenerate welfare and working conditions of the nation’s Judiciary are serious, and will be treated as such. A democratic government standing on a tripod comprising the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, cannot stand where one of its three pillars, the Judiciary is not properly nurtured, maintained and sustained, to deliver on its very pivotal constitutional duties.” - President Muhammadu Buhari

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Mr Olatunde Busari, SAN

‘We have taken Arbitration to Other African Countries’

For Alternative Dispute Resolution, Nigeria is fast becoming a hub in Africa; and as Arbitration continues to deepen, Nigeria has actually exported ADR to other African countries, including Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya and others. Mr Olatunde Busari, SAN is one of those who pioneered Arbitration practice in Nigeria in the early 1990s. In a chat with Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi, he spoke on a wide range of issues from Arbitration to Corporate Governance, the NBA, the recent NICN judgement with regard to salaries of judicial officers, why Nigeria doesn’t require a separate court for election matters and insecurity

A

rbitration seems to be your core area of expertise.

What have you done to promote Arbitration and alternative dispute resolution generally in Nigeria?

How popular is ADR today in Nigeria, especially given the slow pace of justice as far as the courts are concerned? Should more emphasis not be placed on it, especially as it is a means of decongesting the clogged court system?

That is correct. I developed a passion for Arbitration and ADR as a young Lawyer in 1995 when little was known about the law, practice and procedure of Arbitration in Nigeria. I read some literature about the subject, and I was attracted to the practice. I saw in it a solution to the congestion of courts, and at the same time, I was encouraged and excited about

the prospects of acting as an Arbiter, which meant that I would be a Private Judge appointed by parties to resolve their commercial disputes.

I reached out to practitioners in different jurisdictions in Africa, and also did a background search on the subject. I got introduced to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb, UK) in the United Kingdom.

I applied to join the Institute, and also train under them to become a practicing Arbitrator. The response was positive and encouraging. I was asked to write a short thesis on the subject, and I was thereafter admitted to Associate Membership.

I was also informed that there was a small Arbitrators’ Group in Nigeria with Mrs Funke Adekoya, SAN as the Secretary, and the late Jurist, Hon. Justice Dr Ola Orojo as the Chairman.

“I have contributed in my little way, to the promotion of Arbitration and ADR in Nigeria. Apart from being one of the pioneer members of the CIArb in Nigeria, I am also…. a member of the CIArb Faculty….. we have taken the crusade of Arbitration beyond the shores of Nigeria to Ghana, Rwanda, Liberia, Kenya and other African countries. We have also assisted in the training of Judges of the various courts of record in Nigeria……”

Other active members of the Group were Chief (Mrs) Tinuade Oyekunle, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN, Mr Babajide Ogundipe, Mr Dele Belgore, SAN, late Chief Ashiru, amongst others.

I was delighted to join the Group, and I became one of the pioneers of Arbitration in Nigeria. This Group was later to become the Nigeria Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) with the Late Justice Orojo as the first Chairman. In course of time, I progressed through the membership ladder of the Institute, and in 2004, I became a Fellow and a Chartered Arbitrator of the CIArb. I have contributed in my little way, to the promotion of Arbitration and ADR in Nigeria. Apart from being one of the pioneer members of the CIArb in Nigeria, I am also a past Branch Chairman of the CIArb Nigeria Branch, and a member of the CIArb Faculty. As an accredited tutor and assessor, I have for so many years been a part of the Training Team of the CIArb, and we have taken the crusade of Arbitration beyond the shores of Nigeria to Ghana, Rwanda, Liberia, Kenya and other African countries.

We have also assisted in the training of Judges of the various courts of record in Nigeria, thereby making the Judiciary in Nigeria learned and proficient in the law and practice

of Arbitration. We campaigned for the introduction of Arbitration into the court system, and sometime in 2002, under the auspices of the Negotiation and Conflict Management Group (NCMG), I was invited to join the pioneer steering Committee of the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) which gave birth to the first ever court-annexed Arbitration and ADR facilities presently in Lagos, and replicated in many other State High Courts and indeed, the Court of Appeal.

I chaired the Committee that drafted the Practice Direction which was signed by the then Chief Judge of Lagos State, the Honourable Justice Sotuminu.

I was also privileged to have served as a member of the Management Board of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC), a position I held until early 2022 when I resigned to allow fresh minds to build on what we have established.

In addition to my contribution to the growth of Arbitration, I am a listed Arbitrator with the LMDC, Nigerian Communication Commission Arbitration Scheme, Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, Lagos and the Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC), Rwanda. I am a member of the Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria, and Fellow of the Institute of Construction Industry Arbitrators. I am also a Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, UK (CEDR)

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‘We have taken Arbitration to Other African Countries’ Accredited Mediator, and a designated representative of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the Arbitration Panel of the ICSID (International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes), World Bank, Washington DC. In a bid to evolve a modern Arbitration legislation for Nigeria, I served on the The National Committee for the Reform and Harmonisation of Arbitration and ADR Laws in Nigeria, and we presented to the then Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN, the reformed Federal Arbitration and ADR Bill in 2007. This Bill is the foundation upon which the Lagos State Arbitration Law 2009 was enacted, and also the basis of the good work that the Technical Committee on the Review of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act Cap A.18 LFN 2004 has presented, as the proposed Arbitration Bill which should be passed by the National Assembly any moment from now.

It is a thing of joy to note that today, Arbitration and other ADR methods are viable and commendable means of dispute resolution complimenting the traditional court system, and thereby, helping to decongest the dockets of the Judges and repositioning Nigeria on the path of occupying a pride of place as a destination of choice in International Arbitration.

What more can be done to decongest the courts? Is it to appoint more Judges and Justices? Is it to have separate courts that deal with election petitions, since despite the clogged court system, Judges are pulled from their normal duties to sit on election petition tribunals, while the normal cases then suffer delays? What of the Supreme Court? Should the type of appeals that reach the Apex Court be limited, in order to increase the pace of justice?

The challenge of decongesting the Courts, has always been on the front burner. Having separate courts for election petition matters and regular matters, will not, in my view, solve the problem, as election matters are seasonal and only become necessary after elections have been conducted. Where courts are separated along those lines, it will mean that after the conclusion of the election tribunal assignments, the Courts/Judges would be idle, with no more tasks or responsibilities until the next election season. What can be considered is to attract more competent practitioners as Judges across the various courts, drawn from the Academia and even from the rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN).

Another option aimed at decongesting the courts, is to give prominence to virtual proceedings/hearings and as much as it is practicable, encourage parties to embrace ADR methods. Again, one of the reasons the regular courts are congested is due to avoidable delays, for example, frequent adjournments, delay tactics by Lawyers, filing of frivolous interlocutory applications. I believe this can be addressed by administration of civil justice reforms, to reduce unnecessary bottlenecks in the administration of civil justice in Nigeria. It may also

Mr Olatunde Busari, SAN

be ideal to assign non-contentious interlocutory applications to the Chief Registrars, who should deal with them as administrative house-keeping matters prior to the evidential hearing before the Trial Judge.

The award of costs on indemnity basis can be introduced, to discourage frivolous and unmeritorious cases and applications. Most times, a successful party gets paid a paltry amount as costs. This position must change, and costs based on the principle of “reasonable costs reasonably incurred” should be introduced, so that litigants will know that the actual costs reasonably incurred by a successful party would be paid by the unsuccessful party.

There is also the need to advocate the limiting of cases that should be submitted to the Supreme Court, in order to increase the pace of justice. A former Chief Justice of the Federation, the Honourable Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar GCON, had advocated (and I agree) that petitions arising from Governorship elections should terminate at the Court of Appeal, rather than the Supreme Court. This would be a welcome development. It re-enforces the need to avoid distractions at the Apex Court, with specific reference to Section 233 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which deals with the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

As a member of the Nigerian Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association, you have experience in assisting agencies

“…..one of the reasons the regular courts are congested is due to avoidable delays, for example, frequent adjournments, delay tactics by Lawyers, filing of frivolous interlocutory applications…..It may also be ideal to assign non-contentious interlocutory applications to the Chief Registrars, who should deal with them as administrative house-keeping matters prior to the evidential hearing before the Trial Judge”

and organisations to recover from financially distressed situations, and you have seen common mistakes that these organisations make. What are the key areas you would advise organisations to imbibe, in order to scale through and recover?

The first mistake that many owners and managers of businesses in financial distress make is that, they tend to be wilfully blind to the fact that before a business goes into financial distress there must have been signs and signals pointing in that direction.

It may have been some external matters such as government policy, the exchange rates, new technology or internal matters such as incompetent personnel, deficient management, cash flow problems, a combination of all or some of this, or even something completely different. Whichever it is, the cause of the distress must be identified and acknowledged.

The second mistake is that they get unduly sentimental, and are reluctant to admit the fact of distress. They therefore, refuse to seek professional help at the appropriate time or at all, and are averse to assessing new funds by way of structured debt or admitting new shareholders with fresh funds, even where that may save the business.

A third mistake is their belligerent stance against insolvency practitioners appointed by creditors, especially now that we have an insolvency regime that promotes business rescue. This attitude precludes a collaboration with a skilled professional, who may help save all or some of the business. I will advise business owners that once they identify the first signs of distress, or even at the advent of a melt-down of the business, they should seek professional advice, including and especially those of members of the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN). ßI must also make an observation, about our banking system. It is disheartening to note that, our Banks are not playing sufficient role in supporting genuine businesses.

Facilities are given to businesses and ventures, that are obviously structured to fail. There is no due process in granting facilities, otherwise how do you explain the high rate of unsecured facilities taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON)? We see this everyday in our courts, where defaulters rush to the courts to secure injunctions against the banks for unpaid loans. There must be an overhaul and reform in the banking system, as Banks today only provide an umbrella when there is no rain. The moment it starts to rain, they withdraw the umbrella from the customer. The more certain it is that you can repay a loan, the more uncertain that the Banks will grant you the facilities you require to finance your legitimate business. There must be a robust credit rating system, and our Banks should be a partner in progress to their customers.

Is it ethical to use Third-Party Funding in contentious cases?

It is difficult to answer this question, in the abstract. Simply put, third party funding is where somebody who is not involved in a case provides funds to a party to that case, in exchange for an agreed return.

There is currently no legislation or judicial pronouncement that expressly prohibits third-party funding; but regardless, the common law doctrine of champerty and maintenance continues to apply in Nigeria, and this makes the enforceability of third party funding agreements doubtful.

However, in Arbitration, third party funding has been legalised in a number of jurisdictions (e.g Singapore and Hong Kong), and the proposed amendments to the current Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1988 in Nigeria will abolish the applicability of champerty and maintenance in Arbitration, and this will confer legitimacy on third-party funding in Nigeria and pave the way for Nigeria to join this global trend and strengthen the practice of Arbitration in the country, being one of the leading arbitration centres in Africa.

Corporate governance has always been important to you; in fact, you have championed corporate governance cont'd on page VIII

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‘We have taken Arbitration to Other African Countries’ cont'd from page VII

amongst core audiences for most of your career. What does corporate governance mean, and what are the essential elements of good corporate governance?

Corporate governance can be defined as the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions affecting the way a company is directed, administered or controlled. It can be seen from various perspectives for instance, the roles and responsibilities of directors especially in relation to the stakeholder theory, and the framework for evaluating corporate goals. A good corporate governance must embrace the promotion of fairness, transparency and accountability in the running of corporations. This is the essence of corporate governance.

The important elements of Corporate Governance include honesty, ethics, trust and integrity, openness, performance orientation, responsibility and accountability, mutual respect and commitment to the organisation. The debate on the need for good Corporate Governance will continue to recur as we witness in our daily lives high-profile collapses of a number of Banks and Corporations in Nigeria due to poor practices, and particularly, due to failure of trust, integrity and accountability.

Recently, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria delivered a landmark judgment in the case of Chief Sebastine Tar Hon, SAN v National Assembly & 3 Ors. Per Obaseki-Osaghae J. ordering that the salaries of judicial officers be increased after a 14 year pay freeze. Kindly, comment on this.

The judgement raises a number of salient points. The Court had to first determine the Preliminary Objection raised by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice (sued as 3rd Defendant), against the action.

There were three grounds upon which the jurisdiction of the Court was challenged, including locus standi of the Claimant, failure to serve a pre-action notice and non-joinder of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) as a party, in view of the provisions of Section 3 of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission Act (NSIWC). The Court overruled these objections, for various plausible reasons.

On the major issue before the Court, the Claimant had in his case, submitted that the salaries and allowances of judicial officers has not been reviewed upwards by the National Assembly and the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (1st and 2nd Defendant respectively) in the last 14 years. He submitted that in the last 14 years, the Naira has lost its value vis-à-vis the US Dollar, British Pound Sterling and the European Euro, as a result of the devaluation and poor state of the Nigerian economy. He further submitted that the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the various Heads of Courts and other Judicial Officers have on numerous occasions, decried the poor remuneration of Judicial Officers. The Defendants did not dispute any of these facts.

Mr Olatunde Busari, SAN

The Court observed that the failure of the 1st and 2nd Defendant to act in accordance with the provisions of Section 84(1)-(4) of the 1999 Constitution 1999 (as amended) rendered the non-compliance as unconstitutional. The Court made comparative analyses with the earnings of Judicial Officers in the United States and Ghana, to come to the conclusion that Judicial Officers in Nigeria are underpaid.

His Lordship, Honourable Justice Obaseki-Osaghae, in view of the Exhibits before her, therefore, found that the salaries and emoluments of Judicial Officers in the United States of America and Ghana were being upwardly reviewed on a yearly basis, and concluded that “Justices and Judges who man the temple of justice in Nigeria are themselves victims of a great injustice. What an irony”!

I believe this decision is a landmark, which sets the stage for the entrenchment of the independence of the Judiciary. Judicial officers are motivated when they are properly remunerated, and indeed, to whom much is given, much would be expected. I am of the view that, Judges entrusted with the sacred duty of dispensing justice should not be a victim of injustice. However, whether and how this judgement can be enforced remains to be seen.

Another interesting point is that the Defendants can choose to appeal to the Court of Appeal, and the question of a Judge being a Judge in his own cause may arise. Justice

“…..Honourable Justice Obaseki-Osaghae….. therefore, found that the salaries and emoluments of Judicial Officers in the United States of America and Ghana were being upwardly reviewed on a yearly basis, and concluded that “Justices and Judges who man the temple of justice in Nigeria are themselves victims of a great injustice. What an irony”!”

Obaseki-Osaghae who delivered the judgement is also a beneficiary of the Judgment. But, objectively, the views of the trial court in this case is a landmark, even if the matter is taken to the Court of Appeal and ultimately to the Supreme Court.

Nigeria has a new Chief Justice whose name has been forwarded to the Senate for confirmation, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. Given the challenges of the immediate past CJN, what expectations do you have of Hon. Justice Ariwoola as he settles down in office?

The Nigerian Judiciary has been in the eye of the storm, in recent years. Questions as to the impartiality and integrity of the Institution are being asked on a daily basis, as the Judiciary is regarded as the last hope of the common man. We have witnessed many unpalatable events, with the removal from office of Honourable Justice Onnoghen, JSC amid corruption allegations, attacks on judicial officers by the EFCC, and then the resignation of the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Tanko Muhammed GCON. These events have left us with so many unanswered questions as to probity, maladministration and corruption, levelled particularly against the Heads of Courts.

There is no doubt that Honourable Justice Ariwoola, Acting CJN is a good man. He is honourable, detailed, cerebral, God-fearing and a good candidate for the job. Our expectations from him are high. He must avoid the mistakes of the past and turn the tide around in terms of knowledge, character, integrity, incorruptibility and he must be a role model. The new CJN will need to evolve true financial independence for the Judiciary as contemplated under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and ultimately, the welfare of Judges and other policies and directions must be enhanced, to ensure quick dispensation of justice across the various Courts in Nigeria.

There must be far-reaching reforms under his watch, in order to restore

the trust and confidence in the Judiciary.

The Nigerian Bar Association has undergone several changes over the years, for example, from the delegate voting system to universal suffrage.

How would you rate the recent 2022 election? Are you happy with where the NBA is now? What advice do you have for the incoming Maikyau led Executive vis-à-vis the Association's future advancement?

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) like every other Association, has gone through different seasons and times since its creation in 1900. Between 1900 and 1959, the leader of the NBA was referred to as the Chairman, but that title changed to President in 1960, without any change in terms of powers, duties and obligations. Between 1960 and 1992, the NBA has had a total of 16 Presidents elected through the delegates voting system. However, the NBA ran into crises in 1992 and was left without a President between 1992 and 1998, and during this period operated through its Branches across the country. After the crises, in 1998, the NBA began a new dispensation with Presidents and their Executive members taking the mantle of leadership for terms of two years. The delegate system of voting ran its course till 2014, when it could no longer be sustained. Hence, the last President. elected under the delegate voting system was Mr Augustine Alegeh, SAN. The era of “one Lawyer, one vote” (suffrage system) was introduced in the NBA 2016 national elections, after the amendment of the NBA Constitution in 2015 to allow for electronic voting.

Unlike what it used to be, the new dispensation now principally places the selection of NBA national executive in the hands of much younger Lawyers, as they are in the majority. It will therefore be somewhat uncomfortable for very senior members of the Bar who wish to lead the Association, to solicit for votes from their juniors. This new dimension changed one of the hallowed traditions of the Association, with respect to seniority at the Bar. One of the reasons for the change of the delegate system to the suffrage system was to address the allegations of electoral cont'd on page IX

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manipulations, which characterised the hitherto delegate system, and to significantly reduce campaign costs. Ironically, the new voting system which grants voting eligibility to all Lawyers who pay their annual branch dues and practicing fees, has not guaranteed the desired outcome of curbing electoral fraud, vote-buying and irregularities. The very first electronic voting system of 2016 that brought in the leadership of Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN recorded a lot of irregularities and there were reports of manipulations of the system. This led to several post-election appeals and court cases challenging the elections. The 2018 elections that brought in the leadership of Mr Paul Usoro, SAN witnessed similar problems, and cases of electoral manipulation of the voting site were reported. I acted as the Vice Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) in 2018 and Professor Auwalu Yadudu was the Chairman. We endeavoured at the time, to ensure that we created a clean data base for all Lawyers prior to the elections. However, despite the electronic voting, candidates still raised questions about transparency, fairness and credibility of the e-voting system. My view is that Lawyers are bad losers, and oftentimes, we do not act as good sportsmen. The NBA is greater than all of us, and we must not pull down the roof of the house in which we dwell.

Despite the challenges of the previous electronic voting in 2016 and 2018, the 2020 and 2022 elections recorded commendable success in terms of transparency of the voting process; however, one issue that remains unresolved is the cost of elections.

Candidates had to travel to events all over the country and solicit for votes, spending huge monies organising parties and sponsorship of young Lawyers etc.

This issue needs to be addressed squarely.

The legal profession remains a noble one, and not a jamboree.

The Y.C. Maikyau, SAN led Executive Committee must push for more electoral reforms within the NBA, to ensure a level playing field for all Lawyers desirous to lead the Bar. I also charge the new administration to ensure necessary amendments to the Legal Practitioners Act, in order to unify the various bodies within the profession as there appears to be a clash of powers between the Body of Benchers and the leadership of the NBA. The amendment should address the subjection of the Legal Practitioner Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) as an arm of the Body of Benchers, as well as the extent of the powers of the Chairman of the Body of Benchers. No association makes progress, if the house is divided.

By and large, the incoming Maikyau, SAN led Executive must improve on the gains of the outgoing Olumide Akpata led NBA, who has done well in projecting the NBA. With a first degree in Political Science, would you subscribe to the call that Law should be a second degree, as is obtainable in the United States?

About 1,500 new entrants were added to the legal profession last week at the Call to Bar ceremony in Abuja.

With an average of 4,000 new wigs annually, would you say too many Lawyers are being admitted into the Nigerian Bar? Ordinarily, it should be good news that we have an increased number of Legal

Mr Olatunde Busari, SAN

Practitioners every year being injected into the profession, but it is sad that most of the new entrants walk the streets without employment. There is an urgent need for the Federal and State Government to strengthen the public and private sectors, such that there will be availability of jobs for the new wigs. In both the private and public sectors, there are little or no vacancies. In fact, most offices are down-sizing, therefore, threatening the few people in employment. There is no job security for the old and new wigs.

I recall with nostalgia the days when the Banks and companies had need on a daily basis for Lawyers for documentation of Debentures, Mortgages, Lease Agreements, Sale Agreements, Development Lease Agreements, Land Purchase Agreements, Deeds of Assignments, Subleases, Hypothecation Agreements etc. Those were the good old days.

Today, legal departments of Banks and Companies have taken over these roles, and Lawyers in practice are left with little or nothing to do.

Also, because of the hardship of doing business in Nigeria, a lot of businesses have collapsed and the Banks are not into serious lending business anymore.

The legal profession has always been referred to as a noble profession; but unfortunately, the profession is not insulated from the moral decline that we witness in our daily lives, and as a result of the unbridled economic decline in the country, Lawyers are exposed to less than noble activities.

Talking from my humble experience, studying law as a second degree is an advantage, because you will have matured minds with

“There is no doubt that Honourable Justice Ariwoola, Acting CJN, is a good man. He is honourable, detailed, cerebral, God-fearing and a good candidate for the job.

Our expectations from him are high”

diverse academic experience. It is also an advantage, because we are likely to have people that truly see the profession as a calling, having taken the decision to study law as a second degree like they do in the United States.

Kindly, share your thoughts on the insecurity that has pervaded the country. Are our security agencies up to the task in handling insecurity? One of the victims of the Kaduna train attack and kidnap who was recently released, Professor Mustapha Umar Imam, has confirmed that these terrorists have not only infiltrated places they should not, they are extremely organised; that they participated in the Kuje Prison attack and are planning more attacks. What are your views on Nigeria seeking external assistance on fighting insecurity, given the fact that our security agencies have been compromised?

I do not think we should compromise our sovereignty, by inviting external assistance to fight (on our behalf) the insecurity which we have created by ourselves. To do so, will be an admission of failure on the part of the Federal Government. I do not believe that our security agents are handicapped, in this regard. How do we explain that kidnappers or bandits (or whatever we choose to call them) will take away their victims, who could be tens of hundreds of citizens and they will make phone calls to the relatives of the victims for ransom to be paid yet, their location and identity will not be traced. The truth is that, technology has gone beyond this. This evil act has become a business, and it is painful that those who are paid to protect us, are involved in the business. I don’t want to say more, on this very annoying trend in our national life. How can our law enforcement agents and our military, feign ignorance on the whereabouts of these bandits and kidnapers? Is it possible to have such mass movements of motorcycles or even buses used to abduct these poor victims, without some form of intelligence picking up a

trace? Our security agents are more potent when dealing with harmless citizens, but look the other way when real criminals are at work. There are certainly more questions unanswered, on the issue of insecurity in Nigeria.

There must be a comprehensive reform in the Nigeria Police Force and the Army, such that they are well trained, well equipped, well remunerated and their lives insured.

We must have an institutionalised life and health policy for our Police and soldiers and celebrate our fallen heroes, such that the families of law enforcement agents will not be left on their own to suffer if they lose their breadwinner in the line of duty.

We understand you will be 60 in November; looking back on your career, how have you managed to balance family life, and work? And what advice do you have for the Lawyers you currently mentor, who want to follow in your footsteps?

Work/Life Balance is very important. You must have quality time for your family, and also for recreation. At the same time, your work must not suffer. My wife, Oluwayemisi is a successful Corporate Lawyer, and she understands the rigours of legal practice; so, she supports me in whatever I do. She also encourages me and make up for whatever lacuna, in terms of creating time for family activities. I make it a point of duty to talk to my children everyday, even when I am out of jurisdiction. I create family outings and vacations, as often as we can afford it.

I play golf at my leisure, and I spend time with friends and colleagues. I must say, I am blessed with a supportive wife, family, partners at work and friends.

My advice to young Lawyers is that they must be hardworking, dedicated and honest.

The legal profession is very versatile, and a Lawyer will be relevant in any business. You must continue to learn and acquire new skills all the time; after all, no knowledge is lost.

I see myself as a Lawyer in training at all times, and that is why I keep participating in local and international workshops and trainings to sharpen my skills and remain relevant. Networking also is a tool of trade, and so, Lawyers must belong to different associations and academic and/or professional bodies, as this will add value to the practice.

Above all, we must remain prayerful and God-fearing.

Thank you Learned Silk.

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Talking Constitutional democracy Dr. mike ozekhome, san

TueSday, AUGUST 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

0809 889 8888 SMS Only

Why is INEC Recklessly Striving to be Neckless? (Part 3)

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Introduction he need for the Commission to carry out its functions free from any external control is very crucial, considering the fact that free, fair and credible elections form the very basis of citizens’ participation in the choice of their elected representatives into public office, which is the essence of democracy. The Constitution could not have envisaged that INEC will share this power with any other authority or organ of government; but sadly, that has become the reality as election tribunals and courts have repeatedly declared as winners of elections candidates different from those declared through INEC, the body that organised, undertook and supervised the ballot. It is a serious irregularity and aberration, for INEC to conduct an election and declare a winner, and for other persons who took no part in the conduct of the election (the Judiciary) to declare a different person as winner.

The Shocking Expression of Helplessness by INEC As the preparation for the 2023 general elections heated up, it was observed that the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and former Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, did not purchase the APC’s expression of interest and nomination forms for election to the Senate.

They were not screened for election to the Senate. They did not participate in the APC primaries, for the Senate. Indeed, each of the duo purchased the expression of interest and nominations forms for the Presidential primary for N100 million, and were screened for that position by the APC. They proceeded to participate in the well televised Presidential primary election of the APC held in Abuja, and monitored by INEC. Meanwhile, in the Senatorial primaries conducted by the APC and monitored by INEC, Rtd. DIG Udom Ekpoudom and Bashir Machina emerged the candidates for Akwa Ibom West Senatorial District and Yobe North Senatorial District, respectively. Even though both candidates did not withdraw from the Senatorial race, the APC went ahead and submitted the names of Senators Godswill Akpabio and Ahmed Lawan for the two Districts, in utter breach of the Electoral Act 2022.

With regard to this issue, Mallam Mohammed Haruna (one of INEC’s Commissioners), stated that INEC has no powers to reject names submitted by political parties. He was reported to have said as follows: “INEC has no powers to reject names sent by political parties. Primaries are the sole prerogatives of parties. INEC's responsibility is merely to monitor the primaries and make sure they abide by their own regulations, the Electoral Act and the Constitution”.

“Our power in that regard, rests on the fact that our reports are admissible as evidence whenever an aggrieved candidate petitions his party or the courts. It is therefore, up to an aggrieved candidate to apply for the certified true copy (CTC) of our reports for presentation as evidence that his party did not abide by any or all of the three sets of regulations I mentioned.”

“In the specifics of Lawan and Akpabio, INEC has not picked and chosen as you said, citing media remarks by the Akwa Ibom REC. We merely received their names

from the parties, as stipulated in Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act.” “This does not automatically mean acceptance. The names submitted by the parties are interim. Section 29(3) provides for the publication, within a week of their submission, of the names submitted by the parties for claims and objections.”

As shown from our earlier analysis, Mohammed was dead wrong on his postulations. Mike Igini, that intelligent INEC Commissioner was legally correct, when he said that it must be understood that party primaries and nomination processes are governed by Sections 29 and 84 therein. He continued that it is the responsibility of the National Working Committee (NWC) of political parties, to conduct primary elections and set up Party Primary Election Committees for all States. The duty of the State Executive is thereby to provide the venue. This accords with the provisions of Section 84(1) which states that “A political party seeking to nominate candidates for elections under this Act shall hold primaries for aspirants to all elective positions which shall be monitored by the Commission.” It is therefore, clear that INEC’s monitoring is mandatory. Any primary held without being monitored by officials of INEC, is clearly illegal. Thus, Mr Haruna, got it all wrong, because INEC’s power has since gone beyond “merely to monitor” party primaries. Its report is a sine qua non. Falana further opined that the implication of the foregoing, is that the duty imposed by Section 29(1) on political parties is to ensure that the candidates whose names are submitted to INEC must have emerged from valid primaries, as against the earlier position in Section 31 of the now repealed Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). Under that regime, INEC was not empowered to in any way whatsoever, to reject names of candidates submitted by political parties. This position has however, been clearly fortified

by Section 84(13) of the 2022 Electoral Act, which ensures that not only can

“……. Section 84(13) of the 2022 Electoral Act, which ensures that not only can INEC monitor party primaries, it is also legally empowered to reject names of candidates who did not emanate from valid primaries, duly certified by its accredited monitors”

INEC monitor party primaries, it is also legally empowered to reject names of candidates who did not emanate from valid primaries, duly certified by its accredited monitors. However INEC’s decision is subject to judicial review under Section 285(14)(b) of the Constitution which gives an aspirant power to access the Federal High Court, in a "pre-election matter", to challenge "the actions, decisions or activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission in respect of his participation in an election"; or when he "complains that the provisions of the Electoral Act or any Act of the National Assembly regulating elections in Nigeria has not been complied with by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the selection or nomination of candidates and participation in an election".

The Way Forward Section 285(14) of the Constitution and Section 84(13) of the Electoral Act having given INEC the powers it requires to reject names of candidates that did not participate in elections, it becomes surprising to see INEC working assiduously and recklessly hard to be neckless. INEC must brace up, to have the political will to enforce the law.

The prevarication by INEC in the face of obvious illegality by some parties, especially the APC, in submitting the names of Lawan and Akpabio who did not participate in the party primaries to INEC is not because of the absence of statutory powers to so act; it is due lack of the political will to enforce the clear provisions of the law. I cannot find any lacuna in the law, that INEC requires to be filled.

Conclusion The law has given INEC enough ammunition, as far as rejection or disqualification of a candidate in an election is concerned. Rather than take the bull by the horns and take full charge of the electoral process, INEC is consciously fighting to be “Neckless”.

There is no doubt that INEC under the legal regime of the present Electoral Act 2022, has been given every power to disqualify a candidate that did not emerge from a valid primary. INEC must realise that, Nigeria has moved away from the era of arbitrary imposition and illegal substitution of the names of candidates by political parties with impunity. It is inconceivable that a person who did not participate in a Senatorial primary, but rather participated in a

Presidential primary and lost in the full glare of the public, should suddenly emerge from the blues to replace candidates that fully participated in and emerged from valid primaries in accordance with Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act. Unless such winners of party primaries voluntarily withdraw from the electoral process, under Section 32 thereof, such candidate cannot be substituted. Where wrongful substitution of such names to INEC occurs, INEC should immediately invoke its powers to disqualify the said candidates under Section 84(13) and impose a N10 million fine on the political party that brought forth such name in accordance to Section 29(8) of the Act. Any further abdication by INEC of its enormous powers under the Constitution and the Electoral Act, is an ill wind that blows no one any good. (The End).

Serious and Trivial “In South Africa, the biggest churches are owned by Nigerians. In Nigeria, the biggest businesses are owned by South Africans.” - Anonymous “Indeed Nothing Lasts Forever “No matter how long it lives, the Greatest Lion will eventually die miserably.

That's the world.

“At their Peak, they rule, chase other animals, catch, devour, gulp and leave their crumbs for hyenas. But, age comes fast.

“The old Lion can't hunt, can't kill or defend itself. It roams and roars until it runs out of luck. It will be cornered by the hyenas, nibbled at and eaten alive by them. They won't even let it die before it is dismembered.

“Life is short. Power is ephemeral.

Physical beauty is short-lived, I have seen it in lions. I have seen it in old people. Everyone who lives long enough, will become weak and very vulnerable at some point.

“Therefore,, let us be humble. Help the sick, the weak, the vulnerable and most importantly, never forget that we will leave the stage one day.” – Anonymous.

THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK “The intelligent ruler makes the laws select men and makes no arbitrary appointment himself; he makes the law measure merits and makes no arbitrary judgement himself”.

(Han Fei) “We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.” (Ayn Rand)

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XIII Photo Editor Abiodun Ajala Email abiodun.ajala@thisdaylive.com

L-R: Sales Head, Freshworks, Mr. Francis Sirus; Chief Executive Officer, Infytel Communications, Mr. Anant Sabat; and Country Manager, Freshworks, Mr. Winston Vimal Raj, during the user-based training and workshop organised by Infytel Communications in collaboration with Freshworks to promote the latter’s product in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

L-R: Insight and Category Manager, Intercontinental Distillers Limited (IDL), Mr. Samson Opaleye; artiste, Mohbad; and Sales Operation Manager, IDL, Mr. Christopher Eiwo, at the Confam Bitters party in Abuja... recently

Managing Director, Seven-Up Bottling Company Limited (SBC), Mr. Ziad Maalouf, and 7Up Harvard Business School MBA Scholarship 2022 winner, Miss Dafi Rogers-Halliday, flanked by National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members at the unveiling of Rogers-Halliday as the 12th awardee at SBC head office, Ijora Lagos... recently

L-R: Programme Manager, Irede Foundation, Wuraola Kayode; Head of Corporate Communications and CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Erhumu Bayagbon; Executive Director, Irede Foundation, Crystal Chigbu; and Director, Human Resources, Airtel Nigeria, Adebimpe Ayo-Elias, during the Airtel Touching Lives Season 6 prize presentation at the Irede Foundation office in Lagos...recently

L-R: Deputy Corps Marshal, Operations, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Kayode Fanola; Deputy Corps Marshal, FRSC, Training, Shehu Zaki; Corps Public Education Officer, FRSC, Bisi Kazeem; and acting Corps Marshal, FRSC, Dauda Biu, during a parade at the national headquarters of the commission in Abuja... recently

L-R: Edo State First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, Mrs. Kate Imansuangbon (Kenneth’s wife); and former state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant, Mr. Kenneth Imansuangbon, at the Senator Daisy Danjuma’s 70th birthday celebration in Lagos...recently

L-R: Group Head, Emerging Corporates (Corporate Banking Division), First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mrs. Theresa Onwuasoanya; Manufacturing Director, Unilever Nigeria, Mr. Abayomi Alli; Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Psaltry International Company Limited, Mrs. Oluyemisi Iranloye; Executive Director, Wholesale Banking, FCMB, Mr. Obaro Odeghe; Senior Manager Procurement, Unilever Nigeria, Mrs. Olutosin Ayorinde; and Deputy Director/Secretary to the Board of Agriculture Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Edwin Nzelu, during the unveiling of Psaltry’s sorbitol factory, in partnership with Unilever Nigeria and FCMB at Iseyin, Oyo State…recently

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

THE ALTERNATIVE

with RenoOmokri

When Reverend Fathers Worship at the Altar of Politics

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he Catholic Church is an institution I admire and have written about multiple times, as regular readers of my column, #TheAlternative, can attest to. I am enthralled by the sheer discipline of the Institution, and have in the past written that a Catholic education is perhaps one of the best things that can happen to any child.

In terms of discipline, education, and commitment to the sanctity of human life, you cannot take it away from the Catholic Church. And my family has a 500-year-old association with Catholicism, from my ancestor, Olu Atuwatse I, to my late mother. My family has been Catholic longer than any family in the geographical location now known as Nigeria. Bar none. Absolutely none. And this is evidenced in documentary proof, not oral accounts.

Recently, a Malawian-based Catholic Reverend Father of Nigerian origin wrote a blistering attack against me filled with several lies, which went viral.

He accused me of a variety of things, including photoshopping an image of Peter Obi to bring him down. I understand how emotionally invested this fellow and many others like him are in Peter Obi and I understand that his emotions may have gotten the better of him.

I have never photoshopped an image of Peter Obi, either on a Muslim prayer mat, or on anything. I urge this Reverend Father to provide evidence that I have ever done so.

But that is not what I want to address here.

This Reverend gentleman had gone on to poke fun at me because I do not believe that the man he calls Jesus Christ is God. First of all, the name Jesus Christ is a fictitious made-up name. The actual Saviour of the world was named Yeshua Ben Yosef, and given the title Hamashiach, while He was on Earth. The name Jesus came much later after His death, and I have written profusely about that, and anyone who is interested may Google my previous writings.

The man Yeshua Ben Yosef was not the God whom we worship. He never claimed to be. He is the Son of the God who sits on the Throne in the Ancient heavens and Himself never claimed to be that God that we worshiped, or to be equal with Him. Indeed, He said “My Father is greater than I.”-John 14:28.

It was men, like this Catholic Reverend Father, who made Yeshua into God, at the First Council of Nicaea, 325 years after the physical death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua.

They try to use The Bible to justify their acts, but they themselves crested The Bible. What existed during and immediately after the time of Yeshua were Scriptures. And Scripture is written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek, which are all languages that I am familiar with.

These gentlemen, and their successors, translated Scripture into a book they called The Bible, and on the basis of their translations, they introduced several ideas into The Way (which was what the sect of the Nazarenes was called, before European townsmen came up with the name Christian). You can see this in Acts 24:5.

The first Christians were all Jews and called their faith “The Way”. We see this in Acts 19:23.

The alteration of The Way into what is now known as modern-day Western Christianity occurred in Europe and was prophesied in Scripture in 1 Timothy 4:1: The European concept that the man they call Jesus Christ (both are entirely European words not found in Scripture) is Himself God, comes from their translations of two verses of Scripture-John 1:1, and 1 John 5:7.

I have taught and written about both verses in detail, and now, because of this Reverend Catholic gentleman, I am forced to do so again.

When most people read John 1:1, they do so in a European language, rather than in the original Koine Greek. In the English King James Version, that verse reads: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” However, is that what Scripture really said?

Let us allow Scripture speak for itself. John 1:1 in the original Koine Greek, reads as follows:

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.

This may not make sense to you if you do not understand Koine Greek, which is an ancient language. However, I will not impose my own

Pope Francis translation of that verse on you.

I travelled to Greece to research this verse.

Then I went to the John Rylands University Library, in Manchester, to study the oldest New Testament on Earth. Then I went to Ethiopia to research the oldest complete New Testament on Earth.

All I will say is that the modern translation of John 1:1 which many of us were taught from childhood should be personally investigated by each one of us individually, if we truly love God and value where our souls will go when we leave this realm of existence.

If you are interested in my findings on this issue, Google is your friend. I have written about it copiously. However, I do not want you to rely on my findings. Make your own research.

That is one.

The second verse they use in justifying their doctrinal dogma that Yeshua, who they call Jesus Christ, is God is 1 John 5:7.

Now, let me shock you. They made that verse up. And they cannot even deny it, because they were caught red-handed. And after being caught, they blamed their error on what they call the Comma Johanneum or the Johannine Comma.

1 John 5:7 is one of the shortest verses in Scripture. It says briefly that there are three that testify. However, if you read that verse in the King James Version, and the versions of some Christian denominations, which I will prefer not to mention, you will see other things, such as that these three are in heaven, that they are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that they are one.

The historical fact of the matter is that Scripture never said so. If you doubt me, open that verse in any translation other than the KJV and your church translation. Read it in the NIV, ESV, NASB, Amplified Version, etc.

The parts “in heaven…” and every other thing that follows, are man-made. They are not in the original Scripture, and this is not a dispute or an argument. Even these churches accept it as fact, because they were caught. Red-handed.

They attribute this addition to an honest mistake, called the Comma Johanneum or the Johannine Comma.

If you read the oldest New Testament Scriptures, the Comma Johanneum or the Johannine Comma is NOT there. What these churches attribute it to is an interpreter’s gloss, or explanatory note, which was ‘erroneously’ included into The Bible.

That is why you should also read Scripture before you die, and not rely on The Bible only.

Yeshua never claimed to be God. Yes, He did say “I and my Father are one” in John 10:30. But does that mean that He Himself is God that we worship and pray to? No. What does it mean? I do not know. And because I do not know, I am not prepared to give my own human interpretation to it.

As human beings, we are not meant to know everything. That is why Deuteronomy 29:29 says: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

What we do know is that the first testimony of Christ after His resurrection proves that He is not the God on the Throne, whom we worship and pray to, but that He is the Son of God, who is at the right Hand of God. We see this in the testimony of the martyr, Stephen, who said: “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”-Acts 7:56.

Paul Himself warned us in 1 Corinthians 8:6 that: “To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”

There is only one God. The Supreme Being who sits on the Throne, Whom no man has seen. And I will continue to believe that till I die. Put a knife to my neck, and I will not change my confession. Because it agrees with Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” Yeshua Hamashiach is the ONLY Way to God. As far as Scripture is concerned, there can be no other Way. We see this in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

However, He is NOT the Destination. The Destination is God. The One who sits on the Throne, and to Whom we pray.

I will strongly urge my readers not to accept anything that emanates from any church if it does not first emanate from Scripture. Remember the warning that Paul gave in Galatians 1:8: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”

The Gospel that Yeshua Hamashiach, whom

some people call Jesus Christ, is Himself the very same God Who sits on the Throne and Whom we worship and pray to is “any other gospel”.

It was not preached by our Lord and Saviour.

It was not preached by His Disciples. It was not taught by Paul. It is not in Scripture. And prior to 325 AD, it did NOT exist.

I, Bemigho Reno Omokri, will go only as far as Scripture goes. I will not add to it, nor subtract from it. I will not give my opinion on things that are not revealed to man.

In pursuit of understanding Scripture, I have travelled to almost every place mentioned in Scripture, and investigated the oldest manuscripts and documents on Earth. If it costs me everything I own on Earth, I will still consider the expense as a trifle, as long as it helps me know God and His only begotten Son. For as Christ said: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

If the Catholic Reverend Father wants to politicise my stance because I do not support Peter Obi’s Presidential ambition, so be it. I prefer to be unpopular doing what the Scripture tells me, than to be popular doing what a church tells me.

In conclusion, I call on the Catholic Church to call its priests to order. This Malawian-based Reverend Father, as well as one Reverend Father Oluoma, have clearly violated Canon Law. Father Oluoma has called on Nigerians not to vote for the Peoples Democratic Party, because the party violated a “gentleman’s agreement” (his words) on power shift. This is a lie. There is no such agreement.

But the issue is not that it is a lie. The issue is what is his business? He is a Catholic Priest.

His job is to serve God through the Catholic Church. By virtue of Canon Law, he should not be meddling in the internal affairs of a political party, especially one of which he is not a member (as a priest, Canon Law 258 prevents him from being a member) and of which he does not understand its inner workings.

There are possibly millions of Catholics who are also members of the PDP. By maligning the PDP, is he not also maligning them? By calling PDP members “goons” (his exact words).

If the Catholic Church could penalise Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka for calling Peter Obi “stingy”, then it will amount to hypocrisy if the same church does not call this Malawian-based Reverend Father, who told multiple lies against me, and Reverend Father Oluoma, to order.

They should remember that to show partiality is ungodly, as “God shows no partiality.”-Acts 10:34.

Reno’s Nuggets I was asked a question by a young man named Nkwuda Johnson. He asked: “With a due respect (sic) sir, how are you sure that heaven is into (sic) existence.”

Dear @NkwudaJohnson, Thank you for your comment. I would have given you scriptural references, but you appear to have issues with Scripture. So, I will use everyday experiences.

You, Nkwuda, have you ever sensed someone watching you from behind? How did you know? You don’t have eyes at the back of your head. You sensed it because you, Nkwuda, are a spirit. Your spirit lives on after your body, just as your SIM card lives on long after your phone dies.

It is the same reason why you experience what is commonly referred to as déjà vu.

Because you have sub-conscious experiences that your carnal mind cannot remember.

Because, you are a spirit.

And spirits do not live in a physical environment, like planet Earth, ergo, they must have their own plane of existence different from the natural realm. That plane is heaven. Heaven is just a generic word for the abode of God. Take your life on Earth as God’s quality control. He is testing your spirit to see if it is heaven worthy. This is not life. An average of 70 years and you fade away. No. This is the prequel to life.

Thank you again and may God bless you. #RenosNuggets #FreeLeahSharibu

XV

T H I S D AY • TUESday AUGUST 9, 2022

FEatures

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

Reinforcing Nigerian Navy's Role as Regional War Power

As part of Nigeria's effort in strengthening and enhancing security in the West African Sub-region, the Nigerian Navy recently deployed Nigerian Navy Ship KADA to embark military wares and contingent to Guinea Bissau on ECOWAS Peace Keeping Operation and stabilisation of the nation. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that this move has reinforced the navy's formidable role as a regional war power

Some of the military hardware onboard the vessel for the peacekeeping operation

CO NNS KADA, Captain Adoki briefing the FOC Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Wambai and other senior officers before the cast off

O

ver the years, Nigeria has played the big brother role to so many African nations, little wonder she is often referred to as the ‘Giant of Africa’. In military warfare, it is no different, as the country has continuously led and supported the continent in either its peace keeping role or warfare against external and internal forces.

Essentially, the importance of the military in a democracy cannot be overemphasised. In a sense, beyond its constitutional role, the military is seen as a national asset and a tool for national cohesion.

Indeed, the military is the soul of any nation.

Going by its records in peace-keeping missions and other pro-democracy engagements across the world, the Nigerian military could be comfortably referred to as a formidable force.

For the Nigerian Navy (NN), its role extends beyond warfare to port calls, which are diplomatic in nature as it’s tilted towards forging and blending bi-lateral relations between nations.

Role of Peacekeepers Peacekeeper's first role is to support governments to uphold their protection responsibilities through advice, technical and logistical support and capacity building.

Peacekeeping missions also seek, through political good offices and mediation, to take a preventive approach to protecting civilians. As a last resort, however, many peacekeepers are authorised to act to physically protect civilians.

Mandate for Protection of Civilians Given the mandate given to the peace keepers by the United Nations, they are are mandated to protect civilians.

This is one of the continuous advocacy championed by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy (CISLAC).

This mandate include protecting children and protecting against conflict-related sexual violence.

Essentially, they are mandated to prioritise the protection of civilians.

ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea Bissau Given the upheaval in Guinea Bissau after the President of Guinea Bissau, President Umaro Sisoco Embalo escaped a coup attempt in February 2022, the Economic West Africa (ECOWAS) set up the Security Stabilisation Mission in Guinea Bissau (ESSMGB) with one-year renewable mandate to stabilise the country.

Troops of Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and Ivory Coast make up the ECOWAS Security Stabilisation Mission in Guinea Bissau and the respective nations have their contingent deployed to Guinea Bissau.

Mandate for Tropps Essentially, the mandate of participating troops are three-pronged- ensure the protection of the government of Guinea-Bissau; assist the Armed Forces of Guinea-Bissau to stabilise the country, as well as protect civilians.

Navy's Deployment

Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo

The FOC West addressing the ship's company and the Special Boat Services In Nigeria, the Nigerian Navy (NN) deployed its Landing Ship Transport (LST), Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) KADA, to Guinea Bissau on ECOWAS Peace Keeping Operation.

On NNS KADA were military wares and contingent, which was part of Nigeria's effort in strengthening and enhancing security in the West African Sub-region.

The vessel which cast off Apapa in Lagos Saturday, conveyed the contingent and military hardware of different kinds as part of the strategic sealift role of the Nigerian Navy.

Rear Admiral Yakubu Wambai while addressing the Ship’s Company onboard NNS KADA charged them to adhere to integrity, professionalism and teamwork in all ramifications during the mission.

He also used the opportunity to urge the officers and men to respect the religious and cultural sensitivity of the Host Nation while discharging their duties in line with utmost professionalism.

On his part, the Commanding Officer NNS KADA, Navy Captain Reginald Adoki, prior to the departure of the ship, showed appreciation to the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, for his support and enabling ambiance for the Ship’s company to embark on the voyage in support of the mission.

The senior naval officers that accompanied FOC West to bid NNS KADA farewell to Guinea Bissau were, Rear Admiral Hamza Kaoje, the Chief Staff Officer, Headquarters Western Naval Command and Rear Admiral Samson Bura, the Fleet Commander Western Fleet.

Others were Commodores Bassey Duke, Gideon Kachim, Victor Choji and other Principal Staff Officers of the Headquarters Western Naval Command.

Nigeria's Commitment The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, who was represented by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Yakubu Wambai, who was onboard NNS KADA before it cast off, reiterated that the history of peace keeping in Africa and beyond cannot be written without mentioning the commitment and sacrifices of Nigeria.

He said "Since independence in 1960, Nigeria’s commitment has grown to be widely recognised in the international community as an unrelenting advocate of global peace, hence it is crucial for her continual involvement in peace keeping missions in Africa and beyond.

"NNS KADA is therefore embarking on the voyage to deliver the outstanding logistics

The Nigerian Navy has once again shown it is a naval force worthy of reckoning, not just in Africa but beyond the Gulf of Guinea waters. Little wonder the huge responsibility both the regional navies and international partners often place on the service during each operation or exercise

and stores of the NIGCON. By this effort, the capability of the new ship will be brought to bear in support of the ECOWAS mandate and in line with Nigeria’s Foreign Policy objective which focuses on Africa."

Meanwhile, the decommissioned NNS AMBE and OFIOM (both Landing Ship Tanks) had played similar roles before and during the ECOMOG operations in the 1980s and 1990s.

Role of Navy in Peacekeeping Operations On the role of the navy in any peace keeping operation Nigeria participates in, the FOC said the service plays general and specific roles.

Giving a breakdown of such roles, he said they include sea lifting of troops and logistics, Sea Surveillance, Blockade, Gun Fire Support, Control of Shipping and Sea Lane of Communication.

Others are Search and Rescue Mission, policing, conveying of relief materials amongst others.

About NNS KADA For NNS KADA, the voyage is her first national assignment since she arrived Nigeria from the United Arab Emirates on May 27, 2022.

NNS KADA, a 100-metre long roll-on-rolloff multipurpose vessel whose keel was laid in December 2019 at the Damen Shipyard in Sharjah, UAE, was launched 20 years after the navy decommissioned its last LST. With a capacity to carry over 250 passengers including 32 crew members and 16 embarked Special Forces, NNS KADA is currently the largest LST in the whole of Africa, which is designed for a range of duties including amphibious operations, strategic transport of equipment and troops, disaster relief, medical evacuation and humanitarian assistance.

It also has a helicopter deck and significant space to carry troops and tanks for ground forces on special mission.

As the vessel cast off, one thing was certain, the NN had once again shown it was a naval force worthy of reckoning, not just in Africa but beyond the Gulf of Guinea waters.

Little wonder the huge responsibility both the regional navies and international partners often place on the service during each operation or exercise.

XVI

T H I S D AY • TUESday AUGUST 9, 2022

Property & environment

Nigeria’s Economy Grew at 3.4%, Says UbosiEleh Report Bennett Oghifo

A

new report by Ubosi Eleh & company, an estate and valuer firm, says the nation’s economy grew at 3.4% to beat the 3% figure projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Ubosi Eleh & company annual report, now in its third edition, having debuted in

2019, reviewed the real estate situation in 2021.

The 3.4% economic growth was a significant highlight of the 128–page report that described the rate as the fastest and strongest annual rate since 2014 and that it was uncharacteristically driven by the non-oil sector. The report added that Nigeria’s GDP grew by 5.01% year on year in the second quarter of 2021.

Quoting the National Bureau

of statistics (NBE), the report in its macroeconomic review section, noted that 20% of workers in Nigeria lost their jobs due to covid-19 while the country’s unemployment rate rose to an alarming 33.3%, translating to about 23.2 million persons which it described as the highest in about 13 years and the second highest in the world.

One positive index the report noted was that total capital inflow into the country rose

in the fourth quarter of 2021 by 26 percent on a quarterly basis to $2.2 billion.

It narrated how the general state of insecurity and harsh socio - political situation impacted real estate in 2021.

In its political review, the report noted that in the efforts to ameliorate housing shortage in the country, 2000 hectares of land were given by 24 states for the federal government’s social housing programme. It was

expected that the programme would produce 17,584 housing units in 16 locations in the country. In the same vein, 17 states indicated interest to participate in the solar power programme. To address the high cost of cement, the FG reached an agreement with the major cement manufacturers namely Dangote Cement, BUA Cement and Lafarge Cement to sell a bag of cement for as low as N2,600 for the social

housing programme.

Noting that the country’s foreign reserve declined from $35.31 billion as at December 2020 to $33.32 billion as at June 2021, indicating a dips of $2.1 billion and 5.8 percent which the report emphasized was its lowest level in about 4 years. On the other hand, crude oil enjoyed a bullish first half of the year, gaining 45% year end to trade at $75 per barrel.

LSDPC Partners Brook Asset to Deliver Channel Point Apartments Bennett Oghifo Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has commissioned Channel Point Apartments, another estate delivered by the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation in Victoria Island.

Channel Point Apartments, which is designed to add to the housing stock of the state, is a joint venture project between Lagos State Development and Property Corporation and Brook Assets and Resources Ltd. It is located at 33/35, Sinari Daranijo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Governor Sanwo-Olu acknowledged the synergy between LSDPC and Brook Assets and Resources Ltd, which has birthed this project despite the challenges that ravaged the economy (COVID and ENDSARS) over the last years.

He highlighted the importance of the private sector, stressing

that the government cannot do everything.

He added that he would continue to work tirelessly to ensure that Lagos State has a conducive environment for Private-Public partnerships to flourish. He announced that his government is working closely with Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA) and the Lagos State Physical Planning Authority (LASPPA) to map out strategies “where we can use our limited land mass to be home to the teeming population of Lagos State.”

The Managing Director/ CEO LSDPC, Hon. Ayodeji Joseph described the project as “another progress” recorded by the Sanwo-Olu administration in closing the housing deficit in Lagos. He highlighted how the two plots of land on which the project stands was home to two families but today it is set to be home to 38 new families.

He announced that LSDPC is open to more Private-Public Partnership for the benefit of the residents of Lagos.

In his message, the Chairman, House Committee on Housing, Hon. Rasheed Makinde announced that Channel Point Apartments is the 16th housing project to be commissioned by the governor in the last three years with several others at different stages of completion.

He assured Lagosians that this administration will spare no effort to continue to reduce the housing deficit across the state.

The Managing Director Brook Assets and Resources, Ms Lanre Sola thanked the Governor, Management and Staff of LSDPC, and all who contributed to the success of the project. She specially thanked the LSDPC technical team for ably representing the Lagos State as a whole in ensuring quality delivery of the project.

The occasion also had in attendance the Commissioner for Housing, Hon. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai; Commissioner for Physical Planning, TPL,

Idris Salako; Members of the State Executive Council; Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal; General Manager Lagos State Urban

Renewal Authority (LASURA), Alhaja Jibike Shomade, LSDPC Management Team, Brook Assets Executives, amongst others.

L-R: MD/CEO LSDPC, Hon Ayodeji Joseph; Chairman, House Committee on Housing, Hon Rasheed Makinde; Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu; MD/CEO, Brook Assets and Resources Ltd, Ms Lanre Sola; and Commissioner for Housing, Mr Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, at the inauguration of Channel Point Apartments in Victoria Island, Lagos… recently

Uzo Oshogwe: Promote R&D, Alternative Building Techniques to Increase Housing Bennett Oghifo The federal government has been advised to look beyond brick-and-mortar structures and adopt creative ways and policies to provide mass housing.

The MD/CEO, Afriland

Properties Plc, Uzo Oshogwe, gave the advice at the 2022 edition of the Africa International Housing Show held in Abuja, recently, stating that there is a need to adopt a different approach for the government to achieve its aim of providing

mass housing for all.

She said, “We keep hearing about the 17–20 million housing deficit and it seems the story will never change. The real truth is that we can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. There must be a drastic

change in the thought process to providing affordable housing for citizens within the low to mid Income bracket.”

Oshogwe urged the government to invest more in research and development in the area of alternative building materials

in them. Proper investment should be made in research and development to open up more inroads into affordable construction technology so that we can build cheaper, more affordable homes in a shorter time.”

and methods to ensure affordable housing for all citizens.

She stated, “There are many other local building materials and methods that significantly lower the cost of construction, and government should be proactive enough to invest

NIPROPTECH 22 Presents Situation of PropTech in Africa Fadekemi Ajakaiye The NIPROPTECH 22 held recently in Lagos with professionals taking turns to elucidate on the state of Property Technology in Africa.

The convener, Dr Roland Igbinoba in an opening ad-

dress said, NIPROPTECH is the largest conference that connects different generations of real estate practitioners to collaborate and share insights in developing the Nigerian real estate market and providing superior customer experience for all users, through the use

of technology across all aspects of the real estate value chain.

Property Technology is the intersection of technology across the real estate value chain. PropTech is growing rapidly in market size and it is making a compelling case for the transformation of real

Architects Mourn Colleagues Killed by Terrorists Fadekemi Ajakaiye The Nigerian Institute of Architects has said it “received with shock and grief the terrible news of the terrorist attack on the company vehicle conveying personnel of the West Africa Ceramics Limited, Ajaokuta from their factory premises to their residence during which six lives were lost while several staff were kidnapped.”

The NIA stated its grief in a statement signed by its President, Arc. Enyi E. Ben-Eboh, and Honorary

General Secretary, Arc. Chike Chamberlain Ibeanu.

“It has become necessary to make this statement to draw the government’s attention to the impact of insecurity on the building industry. Among others, on January 25, 2022 one of our members in the employment of the Yobe State Government was kidnapped by terrorists operating in the Yobe area and has remained in captivity since then. On April 24, 2022 an Electrical Engineer was kidnapped in Kaduna while another was killed in Kaduna in August 2021 in

spite of payment of ransom demanded. This year alone many project sites under various Government and private housing and related infrastructure projects have either had to be relocated, closed or completely shelved on account of activities of non-state actors in various parts of the country. Worst hit are project sites in the North East, North Central and North West. Some of the projects include Constituency projects and projects funded

by State and Federal Government as well as the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.

estate across the globe. The global real estate technology market size was estimated at $11.7B in 2022, and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5% to reach $23.79B by 2027.

The value of investments in the global PropTech industry

is expected to grow by an average of 5.2% to exceed $85Trillion over the next 20 years(2022-2050). Globally, there are now more than 6,000 proptech startups and statistics reported that global proptech investment increased from $2B in 2013 to $18B in

2018. PropTech startups raised $18.7B across 598 deals blw 2017 & 2019, with the numbers of PropTech transactions increasing by 33% from 187 in 2017 to 250 in 2019. In Q1 2022 VCs recorded $1B invested in proptech which is a 41% jump from Q4, 2021.

Landwey Unveils Experience Center to Ease Home Purchase Fadekemi Ajakaiye

A real estate firm, Landwey Investment Limited, has initiated Nigeria’s first interstate real es5tate development model called ‘WeyFlex’ to provide homes for Nigerians across the country.

The firm also launched a Project Experience Center,a state-of-the-art facility, to showcase components and designs required for housing development.

This was disclosed at the official launch of the new project model at the weekend, the firm said the project model,WeyFlex,is set to offer Nigerians the opportunity to own FlexVilla homes

in over 20 locations nationwide, with a variety of design options to choose from, providing an instant modification to taste and standard whether for residential or investment purposes.

According to the firm,” Owing to several factors, many Nigerians,at home and in the Diaspora struggle to find a home in their preferred locations.”These factors often range from the rising cost of land purchase in metropolitan areas like Lagos, demand for quality countryside homes that meet all regulatory standards, ease of construction for those in the diaspora amongst others.

Speaking on the benefits of WeyFlex and the LandWey

Project Experience Center, the Chief Executive Officer, LandWey, Olawale Ayilara, said, “WeyFlex was designed for ease and convenience, affording Nigerians, both home and abroad, control over where they want their next home to be, how they want it to look and when they want it to be delivered.”

He noted, “The LandWey Project Experience Center transcends boundaries and limitations to showcase the different structural designs, building types, e-brochures, interactive 3-D designs and other virtual experiences to ease the home buying process.

21

THI S DAY • Tuesday, August 9, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

REPO

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Email oriarehu.eromosele@thisdaylive.com

08056356325

A T

A u g u st

S & P INDEX

S & P INDEX

8 , 2 0 2 2 EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

11.25%

CALL

10.25%

INDEX LEVEL

613.31%

1/4 to daTE

-0.85%

N416.86/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

11.50%

1-MONTH

9.56%

1-DAY

0.16%

YEAR TO DATE

7.64%

*AS AT LAST friDAY

3-MONTH

10.52%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.44%

Fitch: Weak Oil Receipts, Low Capital Inflow Increasing Pressure on Nigeria’s Foreign Reserves

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Weak oil receipts and low capital inflow into Nigeria will continue to mount pressure on Nigeria’s foreign reserves in the coming months, a new report by Fitch Solutions on the currency crises across Africa, has revealed.

But any hope that Nigeria’s current dollar crunch could subside remains forlorn as its July crude oil production remained below expectation, berthing at a meagre 1.083 million barrels per day for the month.

July’s production figure, sourced from the just-released data by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum

Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), followed the trend in the country’s abysmally low drilling capacity in at least the last 10 months.

For the month under review, whereas the country’s production allocation by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was roughly 1.8 million (1.799) barrels per day, it meant that Nigeria could not produce as much as 717,000 bpd or 22.22 million barrels during the month.

While the rest of the oil-producing world and oil majors continue to enjoy high oil prices, Nigeria’s case has been different, even though it currently needs every dollar

it can possibly get, as pressure on the economy, due to the near non-availability of the greenback continues to mount.

In the report titled: “Sub-Saharan Africa Monthly Outlook: Currency Roundup, Broad Depreciatory Trend With Few Outliers,” Fitch stated that although the local currency remained relatively stable in the first half of 2022, the second half will most likely experience a weaker naira.

“The naira remained stable over H1, 2022, at an average of N416.83/ USD, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued to intervene in the exchange rate.

“However, low capital inflows

and weak oil receipts despite high crude prices have increased pressure on foreign reserves. As a result, the currency started to weaken in June, by 1.2 per cent, and we believe that the CBN will allow the naira to depreciate slightly over H2, 2022, to N430.00/USD by end-2022, ”the report stated.

Nigeria has blamed massive oil theft, outright sabotage, deteriorating upstream infrastructure and inability to restart oil wells shut down in the country in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic for its inability to meet its OPEC production quota.

Fitch noted that the short-term outlook for most currencies in Sub-

Saharan Africa will remain bearish, predicting that the Nigerian naira will continue to depreciate but at a slighter rate in the coming quarters.

“We think that larger adjustments are unlikely ahead of the February 2023 elections, as the authorities seek to maintain broad currency stability.

“We expect that the naira will depreciate further after the election, falling to N450.00/USD by end-2023, although the pace of currency devaluation will depend on who becomes the next president,” the firm, which operates in over 200 countries, stressed.

On the last day of business last week, the exchange rate between

the naira and the US dollar closed at N428.12/$1 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, where forex is traded officially.

This is compared to N429.2/$1 recorded in the previous trading session while in the same vein, the exchange rate at the black market appreciated to close at N665/$1 compared to N670/$1 recorded previously.

Nigeria’s external reserves also rose for the first time in over two weeks, gaining marginally by 0.01 per cent to stand at $39.07 billion.

The reserve level had depreciated Continued on page 23

FG Seeks Support of Stakeholders, NGOs to Improve Nigeria’s Animal Welfare Practice Gilbert Ekugbe The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, has solicited the support of stakeholders in the agriculture sector and NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs) to improve animal welfare practice in Nigeria on a sustainable basis.

Abubakar stated that the

federal government has stepped up efforts to introduce global best practices in Nigeria’s animal welfare strategy, particularly for the livestock and poultry industry.

Speaking during the inauguration of the National Council on Animal Welfare (NCAW) in Abuja, he stated that the move would ensure the regulation of animal welfare in Nigeria in line

with global best practices.

Abubakar said: “It is our duty to ensure that animals are treated humanely, responsibly and devoid of stress, hunger, anxiety and pain.”

The minister emphasised collaboration with relevant stakeholders and the need to commit resources to formulate a national standard for the use and care of animals before the objectives could be achieved.

Food

Commodities

name of commodity

Size

State

Price

name of commodity

Rice

100kg

Abuja

N23,000–N25,000

Sorghum

50kg

oyo

N22,000-N25,000

50kg

Plateau (Jos)

N23,500-N25,000

50kg

kwara N24,000–N27,000

50kg

Lagos

50kg

rivers N23,000–N26,500

50kg 50kg

He described the inauguration of NCAW as apt and timely, and noted that the move would chart a new course for the implementation of animal welfare practices in Nigeria.

The minister opined that the NCAW would have its steering and technical committees.

In his remarks, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Senator Adeleke Mamora, stressed the need for

Price

the two ministries to work together to in order to attain the set goal of taking care of these animals to avoid diseases being transmitted to humans.

In her opening remarks, the Director of Federal Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, Dr. Maimuna Habib, stated that the inauguration of the council was aimed at formulating national standard for use and care of animals as

T o d ay

Price

name of commodity

100kg JIGAWA

N9,000

COCOA

100kg

Benue

N8,500

100kg

Kaduna

N8,500

50kg

Enugu

N23,000

50kg

Lagos

N17,000

sokoto N11,500–N13,000

100kg

Delta

N23,000

N17,000–N20,000

100kg

Abia

N23,000

Edo

N23,000–N26,500

Size

State

well as implement policies on matters concerning the general care of animals in research, teaching and mandatory testing of products in Nigeria.

Habib added that the meeting would serve as a medium for awareness creation/sensitisation of relevant stakeholders on good animal welfare practices, noting that NCAW would operate committee system.

Size

State

Price

1 TON

ONDO

N740,000 – N760,000

1 TON

OSUN

N730,000 – N750,000

1 TON

Edo

N720,000 – N740,000

1 TON

CROSS RIVER

N700,000 – N720,000

1 TON

AKURE SOUTH, ONDO

N730,000 — N755,000

22

Tuesday, August 9, 2022 • T H ISDAY

BUSINESSWORLD

News

NCS Arrests Three Vietnamese, Eight Suspects over Attempted Trafficking of Pangolin Scales Eromosele Abiodun The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in partnership with Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) has arrested three Vietnamese nationals and eight suspects in their attempt to smuggle 397.5kg of pangolin scales and ivories through Nigeria.

The arrest according to a statement issued and signed by the Public Relations Officer, in the office of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Deputy Comptroller,

Timi Bomodi, said the arrest is the fourth major illegal wildlife arrest in one year resulting from the strategic partnership between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Wildlife Justice Commission.

The statement stated that three of the arrested suspects were identified as high ranking members of a major organised crime group involved in the trafficking of ivory, pangolin scales, rhino horns and lion bones from Mozambique and South Africa through Nigeria to

Vietnam.

The three suspects, the statement added, were arrested while sourcing for pangolin scales in Nigeria as 397.5kg amount of Pangolin scales were found in their possession.

“It is important to note that the Wildlife Justice Commission is an international body which works to disrupt and dismantle networks of illegal wildlife trade. Through an intelligence-led operation, the collaboration between NCS and WJC led to the confiscation of 400

Kg of pangolin scales put up for sale on the illegal network. The two organisations were able to identify other members of the criminal syndicate for arrest.

“To further put a stop to the environmental destruction posed by these unscrupulous elements, the arrested suspects have been charged to court on various counts bordering on the illegal trade in wildlife.

These arrests came as part of a proactive enforcement opera-

tion targeting the top echelon of wildlife traffickers worldwide, and are assessed to have caused unprecedented disruptions to organized global wildlife trafficking network.

“The partneeship demonstrates the commitment of the Nigeria Customs Service as a formidable ally in the fight against wildlife trafficking. Initial crackdowns in 2021 had resulted in discoveries of 7.1 tonnes of pangolin scales and 850 kgs of ivory, all of which

were seized by the NCS, “the statement reads.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali, while commending officers of the Service for their efforts in breaking the chain of illegal wildlife trade and unlawful deforestation and tree felling activities, assured the public that the Service will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to support the rest of the world in protecting endangered species and prevent deforestation.

Fashola: Permanent Solution to Challenges on East-west Road Underway Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has assured Nigerians that steps are being taken to provide a permanent solution to the perennial challenge of completing section 4 of the Eastwest road, measuring 15 kilometres from Onne Port junction to Eleme Port junction in Rivers State.

A statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Blessing LereAdams, said the minister gave the assurance during a meeting with the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Umana Okon Umana in his office at the ministry’s headquarters in Mabushi, Abuja.

Due to public concerns, the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry which handed over the supervision of the road to the federal ministry of works and housing early this year had written to inform Fashola of its decision to do some remedial works on the road through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

However, the statement said that based on advice of directors from the ministry, who inspected the road last month and discovered that its cardinal problem is lack of

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Deputy Business Editor Chinedu Eze Comms/e-Business Editor Emma Okonji Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Senior Correspondent Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) KayodeTokede(CapitalMarkets) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Reporters Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy) Ugo Aliogo (Development)

drainage; Fashola decided that a permanent and holistic approach should be taken.

He noted that this was important so that the problem is put to rest; since without the drainage whatever

Palm oiL

Size

State

Gilbert Ekugbe

The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to boost cocoa production in the country.

The Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development, (FMARD), Mr. Mohammad Abubakar, has assured that the ministry would provide hybrid seeds and ensure timely provision

PH

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja A delegation from the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) has visited the Centre for Petroleum and Energy Studies (CPESK) in Kaduna, established by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) with a view to making it a regional centre of excellence for African oil and gas producing countries.

of pesticides and other critical cocoa farm inputs to farmers.

He also promised that FMARD would also link farmer to financial institutions for financial support at affordable rates, support processors in order to add value to the farm produce.

Abubakar stated this while inaugurating a National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC) in Abuja recently.

According to him, the inauguration would boost Living Income Differential (LID) for the cocoa smallholder farmers, guarantee quality, traceability, transparency and sustainability for cocoa value chain as well as meet export demands.

He added that the initiative would lead to working out modalities for Nigerian cocoa farmers to start benefitting from

the project like their counterparts in Ghana and Cote d’ Ivorie.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of FMARD, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, traced ‘the emergence of the committee to the outcome of the interactive meeting between the Nigerian cocoa delegation and the Ghanaian Cocoa Board in Accra, Ghana, in May, 2022.

The Chairman of the NCMC,

Mr. Garuba Abubakar, assured that the committee would work assiduously to achieve its mandate and increase the production of quality of cocoa seeds that would meet export demand.

The committee’s terms of reference included the development of a framework for the regulation and monitoring of the activities in the cocoa sector to make the industry more transparent.

The membership of APPO comprises 15 countries namely: Algeria, Libya, Gabon, Nigeria, Benin, Angola, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa and Libya.

Secretary General, APPO, Dr Oma Ibrahim who led the inspection team to Kaduna said that the visit was in conformity with the organisation’s mission to

promote collaboration among its members by establishing regional training and research centres throughout Africa.

The Centre when established, he said, is expected to among other things, address the major challenges of the energy transition in Africa.

The Kaduna energy studies centre is a specialised training institution for the fund’s training and human capital development

programmes, to promote the growth of research, technology, skills, and relevant manpower in the oil and gas sector.

The college hosts an analytical laboratory for research and development activities, a renewable energy research centre, gas technology as well as other collaborative research and development areas.

The APPO delegation said that

it was visiting the institution as part of its long-term strategy to study prospective regional centres of excellence by visiting oil & gas training and research centres in Nigeria and other member nations.

The mission, a statement from the PTDF said, will also facilitate partnerships between similar institutes in different APPO member countries to advance technological education and development.

FCMB, Unilever Partner Psaltry International to Deliver Africa’s First Cassava-based Sorbitol Factory Africa’s first cassava-based sorbitol factory, constructed by Psaltry International Limited (PIL) in partnership with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and Unilever Nigeria has been commissioned by the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, in Iseyin, Oyo State.

Speaking at the commissioning of the factory, Governor Makinde said: “This is another value addition to Cassava which Oyo State is known to produce in large quantities. We are glad that the strategies adopted to boost agribusiness in the state are yielding the desired results. We believe there

Price

N19,500 – 25,000

25cl Ibadan N18,000-N22,000 25cl

IMO

N21,000–N24,500

25cl

Edo

N19,000–N21,000

25cl Abuja

Certificate of No Objection (approval) expeditiously so that the work can be complete,” the statement noted.

Energy Transition: APPO Plans Regional Centres, Visits PTDF’s Energy Studies Centre in Kaduna

25cl Lagos N20,000-N25000 25cl

funding to complete the work has been sent to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to obtain a

FG Reaffirms Commitment to Boost Cocoa Production in Nigeria

cannot be urban transformation without rural development. Our government is in full support of Psaltry International Company Limited.”

Describing the economic impact of the Sorbitol factory, the Founder/ CEO, Psaltry International, Mrs. Oluyemisi Iranloye, said: “This factory which is the first of its kind in Africa is projected to create 25,000 direct and indirect jobs while empowering 10,000 rural farmers and families living within an 80km radius covering more than 20 host communities around Oke-Ogun in Iseyin, Oyo State. The factory, which will produce 24 tons of Cassava-

Food name of commodity

work is done on the road will not last.

“Already request for additional

N19500- N25000

name of commodity

Tomatoes

based Sorbitol daily, was financed

by FCMB through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme and has Unilever as the largest off-taker as part of its localisation of raw materials for production. Also called sugar alcohol, Sorbitol is used to preserve moisture, add sweetness, provide texture to products, and potentially support digestive and oral health.”

Commenting on the development, the Managing Director of FCMB, Mrs Yemisi Edun, restated the commitment of the Bank to food security and import substitution in Nigeria by growing its lending to the

Commodities Size

State

40kg Benue

Price

N15,000

40kg

Kaduna

N5,000

40kg

Abia

N18,000

25kg Lagos 40kg Delta

N9,500 N17000

Price

agricultural sector from N53.6 billion in half-year 2021 to N87.9 billion by half-year 2022, representing a 16.5% growth.

According to her: “We are proud to have financed the first Cassava-based Sorbitol factory in Africa and excited that it has come on stream. It is another example of our commitment to developing domestic industries and reducing reliance on foreign imports. Doing this helped create employment and improve income levels, particularly for youths and women around Iseyin in Oyo State, thereby reducing rural-urban migration.”

On his part, the Managing Director, Unilever West Africa, Carl Cruz, said: “Unilever is pleased to be part of this initiative in line with its localisation agenda to source raw materials locally in Nigeria.

With our sustained investment on localisation, we have enhanced the capacity of partners to increase their production output in sorbitol and cassava starch. This has reduced our dependence on importation of raw materials for our local production and enabled us to generate employment for factory workers, agronomists, back-office support, harvesters, pruners, and suppliers.”

T o d ay

name of commodity

Size

State

Price

ONIONS

100kg

Ibadan

N25,000

100kg

KANO

N10,000

100kg

BENUE

N27,000

100kg GOMBE

N12,000

100kg DELTA

N21,000

100kg LAGOS

N25,000

100kg ENUGU

N15,000

100kg

N29,000

ABIA

name of commodity

MAIZE

Location

Price

100kg Jigawa

N9000

100kg Enugu

N24000

100kg delta

N15000

100kg Abia

N14000

50kg Lagos

N13500

Size

23

THIS D AY • Tuesday, August 9, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

interview

Energy Transition: Nigeria’s Position Will be Properly Represented, Says New OPEC Head A few hours after he took office in Vienna, headquarters of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the new Secretary General of the organisation, Mr. Haitham Al Ghais, held an online conversation with select Nigerian journalists on his plans for the global oil industry. Emmanuel Addeh presents the excerpts.

Yourself and your successor, the late Dr Sanusi Barkindo, worked together at OPEC. How was that relationship? irst, allow me at the onset of our discussion today to personally extend my sincerest condolences to Nigeria. To all of you to my brothers and sisters in the oil sector in Nigeria, for the great and tragic loss of my brother, his Excellency Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo.

In fact, this morning I was received by the staff at the Secretariat and I had everybody join me in a minute of silence, out of respect, to pray, to reflect and pray for mercy on the soul of our late brother.

I don’t need to say this to you, but it is only apt that I briefly share some of the experiences I had with my brother Barkindo, whether here in Vienna, or other places around the world where he travelled frequently and we accompanied and travelled together for various meetings and occasions related to OPEC, and OPEC+.

Barkindo and I were such close personal friends.

It was a tragic day for me when I woke up at 6am in the morning in Kuwait, and I got a message from one of the governors here (of his demise). I was in disbelief.

It’s a loss not just for Nigeria and for OPEC. It’s a huge loss for the oil industry at large and for the world.

The Barkindo was well known everywhere you go.

He was an ambassador for OPEC and for OPEC+.

He was a man who worked for cooperation, for multilateralism, for dialogue among everybody and all the energy stakeholders around the world.

He has built a lot and I hope to be able to build on what was left behind and the legacy of Barkindo.

put the plans for all the critical issues that we have and challenges that we have, including what you highlighted, which is absolutely a critical issue and challenge.

However, I can say the following: That OPEC’s voice and Nigeria being a member, as I said, an important key member of OPEC, OPEC’s voice will be heard loud and clear, just as it was very loud and clear through its late Secretary General, Mr. Barkindo. We have many discussions, which are centred on energy transition and climate change. In fact, we have in Egypt in the month of November, the cop 27 negotiations where OPEC will be present.

Next year, Cop 28 will be held also in the United Arab Emirates, which is also a member country of OPEC. And these are actually very good platforms for OPEC member countries to come and voice their opinions and their views on how the energy transition must unfold in a way that is sustainable, in a way that is all encompassing in a way that is fair.

And as I said earlier, there is no one size fits all. This is key. We have to make sure, we have to be aware that different people in different parts of the world have different requirements. I hope this is again, loud and clear to everybody.

F

You were unanimously elected in January to take over the leadership of OPEC. How does that make you feel?

I would like to start by saying how appreciative I am to the Nigerian government, to his Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari, to his Excellency the Minister of Oil, Mr. Timipre Sylva and to all my colleagues, brothers and sisters in the Nigerian oil sector, who have supported my candidacy for this position from the very beginning.

It is, as you are aware, not a secret that I was voted into the position by acclamation by all the 13 member countries. I highly appreciate the support of Nigeria and the executives in charge of OPEC from Nigeria who have given me their voice. This is an honour that has been bestowed upon me.

It is a great thing that I will appreciate and highly value for the rest of my life. And I look forward to developing further cooperation with OPEC and Nigeria being a critical and vital player within the OPEC organisation and the wider OPEC+ alliance. As you all know as well, Nigeria has been a key member representing the African continent since the 1970s, a member of OPEC and Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa.

Nigeria’s extension of its energy activities encompasses a wide array of activities. We saw the news lately about the signing of the gas pipeline that is going to be built between Nigeria, Niger and all the way to Algeria. This is a significant development on the continent.

And we really commend Nigeria for its active role in the energy sector in Africa and its development. And we also congratulate NNPC for the recent unveiling of its new, if I may say this new character or the new logo, if I’m not mistaken.

I was in touch with NNPC Managing Director Mr. Mele Kyari, my friend and congratulated him on that as well. Nigeria is a key player in the OPEC plus alliance. And you are all aware of course that Nigeria is a member of the joint ministerial monitoring committee. This is a committee that is critical to the successful implementation of the Declaration of Cooperation.

Mr. Barkindo was the key player and instrumental player in bringing about the alliance at its onset.

I remember in 2016 when he took office as Secretary General, and I was at the same time

Al Ghais appointed as the first chairman of the joint technical committee in charge of monitoring the implementation of the production adjustment agreement back then.

I worked very closely with the late Secretary General in the joint technical committee, and then the joint ministerial monitoring committee to implement the agreement and actual successful implementation. So I really highly appreciate and value the role that Nigeria under the leadership of his Excellency Minister Sylva is playing in the declaration of cooperation and the JMCC. God willing, I will be arranging a visit to Abuja to meet with the officials and to discuss opportunities for further enhancement of Nigeria’s activities with OPEC and of the of the wider continent activities and OPEC, and also to focus on the importance of the African continent on today’s energy landscape.

The continent has 1.2 billion population, there are 600 million, almost half of them without electricity. There is an ongoing discussion about the energy transition and the voice of these people needs to be heard, and be taken into consideration seriously and accounted for. And I want to say that in the energy transition, there is no one size fits all solution.

Everybody’s voice must be presented.

Everybody must be part of this dialogue, most notably, our brothers and sisters on the African continent. So there is a lot that has to be tackled, many issues, many challenges, going forward.

But OPEC has been there for 62 years since its establishment in 1960. And with leading members such as Nigeria, OPEC will overcome I’m sure all these challenges in the future, and we will work on them with the cooperation of all our member countries.

You have spoken so well about our brother and immediate past Secretary General, who did a lot to represent Nigeria beautifully at the global scene there. And you spoke about his intervention in trying to balance the market and ensure stability

of the oil market. For the most part of the last four years, that’s what he’s been doing. So, what direction are we looking at? Are you going to continue with what he did to stabilise the market?

This is a very important question, and I want to clear it to make it crystal clear. From the very onset, OPEC has been an organisation with a joint effort, a joint objective and unified spirit. It is not about me coming and taking over from my late brother to go and change the direction.

The direction is dictated by the market conditions. The market condition is what unites OPEC and then the wider group of OPEC+ and in doing whatever it thinks necessary to maintain the market balance, bearing in mind that in the market, a healthy state where it’s balanced between supply and demand, is in the interest of not only the oil producers, but also all consuming countries.

It’s to the benefit of the wider global economy, to the benefit of our peoples. So, absolutely, I will maintain this course, this direction. It is not only me personally, this is the whole organisation with all its member countries, and the wider alliance, broader lines are open plus the 23 countries that are interested in maintaining what my late brother embarked on in 2016 just to make that very clear.

The whole world is talking about energy transition now. And in your short speech, you talked about the interventions the Nigerian government is making to ensure that it takes advantage of opportunities in the energy sector. I want to know specifically what kind of support we expect from OPEC to be able to realise most of those projects?

Let me remind you again, that this is my first day in office. I will have to sit with all the esteemed member countries as we do through our usual avenues, whether it’s the Board of Governors or the Economic Commission Board, and then with the management and

I wanted you to be clear regarding coming to Nigeria. I wanted to know if you have a time line as to when we should expect you in Abuja?

To be honest with you, I haven’t fixed the time yet. Today is just my first day but I have been in touch with my brothers and we are trying to set a time that is convenient to the schedule of the minister, and the Nigerian government officials and as soon as I get the green light, I will come and I will make sure that we will inform you well ahead of time so we can have a chance to sit together face to face.

I always prefer the face to face dialogue which is a much better opportunity to understand each other and communicate, but we will definitely let you know through the ministry and the media people in the ministry well ahead of time before the trip is planned.

I expect, but please don’t quote me, that within the coming two to three months, I should be down there.

There is pressure from some parts of the world, especially the United States. They are asking that OPEC should increase supply but as you know, OPEC does not have much capacity to increase the supply. Would you be willing in the next few weeks or few months to meet with the US officials to discuss some of these issues that are pending?

I think it’s not up to me just to meet with the officials. You’re seeing that the US officials have come to the Middle East, they have met with a wide group of the Gulf Cooperation Council, out of which three member countries Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait are also OPEC member countries. So, there is ongoing dialogue definitely with the US officials. I personally don’t see any reason why I cannot not meet with US officials if required. It’s not an issue for me. We are again as I said, we are open to dialogue.

OPEC has existing dialogues with the EU, with China, with the Russian Federation, with Africa and with the Gulf Energy Exporting Forum. So OPEC is open to establishing dialogues with the US. And what I would like to reiterate and emphasise on is that all our decisions are done within the wider context of the OPEC+ framework to increase production or to decrease production, and ultimately, as I said, always with objective of a market balance.

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

Fitch: Weak Oil Receipts, Low Capital Inflow Increasing Pressure on Nigeria’s Foreign Reserves for eleven consecutive days.

Put side by side other currencies on the continent, for Angola, another oil-producing country, Fitch stated that the kwanza, the country’s currency, has appreciated by 27.9 per cent in the year to date (YTD) to a spot rate of AOA434.9/ USD on July 26.

The report stated that the increase in the value of Angola’s local currency, reflected the sharp rally

in the prices of oil, which made up over 90 per cent of Angola’s goods exports in H1, 2022, as well as improving investor sentiment due to strengthening fiscal and external metrics.

However, it added that in 2023, it expects the kwanza to weaken by 7.3 per cent to an average of AOA4S99.00/USD due to declining domestic oil production and global oil prices — but will remain

stronger compared to 2020 and 2021.

In Zambia, it said that the kwacha has appreciated by just 2.6 per cent YTD to a spot rate of ZMwW16.27/USD on July 26, due to both a rally in global prices of copper (Zambia’s main export) until mid-April 2022 as well as improving investor confidence.

“While copper prices have slipped since May due to an

economic slowdown in China (the world’s largest copper importer), the Bank of Zambia will likely continue to intervene to support the currency as it seeks to bring inflation back within its 6.0-8.0 per cent target range,” it said.

The Kenyan shilling, it said, has weakened to a spot rate of KES118.90/USD as of July 26, 4.8 per cent weaker in the YTD, due to deteriorating terms of trade

in H1, 2022 and global risk-off sentiment caused by the RussiaUkraine conflict.

“We expect that these factors, along with risks related to Kenya’s August 2022 general elections, will cause the shilling to depreciate further to KES119.90/USD by end-2022, averaging KES116.80/ USD in 2022,” Fitch said.

For the South African rand, while there was previously anticipated

moderate appreciation this year, Fitch stressed that the rand will depreciate by 6.2 per cent to an average of ZAR15.75/USD over 2022.

In Ghana, the cedi, it said, has depreciated to a spot rate of GHS8.27/USD on July 26, weakening by 25.3 per cent in the YTD, reflecting growing investor concerns about Ghana’s fiscal metrics and a stronger US dollar.

24

T H I S D AY •TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022

business/MOnEYGUIDE

Experts Urge Government to Create Enabling Environment for Informal Sector Oluchi Chibuzor The Technical Advisor on Employment Promotion to the Governor of Edo State, Helen Igboka, has urged governments at every level to create an enabling environment for the informal sector of the economy to thrive.

Speaking at the Second Edition of the Clickafix Webinar Series, Igboka said the informal sector of the economy is the soul of every economy and governments must pay due attention to the sector if poverty is to be eradicated in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Igboka said there is a need to change the orientation of artisans, who make up the largest percent of the informal sector, to that of entrepreneurship.

According to her, artisans are demeaned as lower class citizens because there is a

perception that only the less privileged or dullards go into vocational training and there is a lack of capacity by the artisans to present themselves as professionals in offering their services.

This, according to her, is robbing artisans of their earnings and respect in society while discouraging the younger ones from taking up vocations that suit their skills.

Commending Clickafix for providing a marketplace platform where service seekers and artisans can transact business and be mutually satisfied, Igboka said apps such as Clickafix are creating an enabling environment for artisans to thrive and enabling comfort, convenience, and choices for the populace. Clickafix is a one-stop shop for tested and trusted artisans such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and technicians for generators, air condition-

ing, refrigerators, and other home appliances.

Also speaking, the Assistant Secretary of the Lagos State Association of Professional Plumbers, Mr. Taiwo Igbayisanmi, said Clickafix is transforming the entrepreneurship sector with the opportunities being provided for artisans to meet clients they may never have come across.

He said the platform is also changing the perception of the artisans and enhancing respect for their trade because there is mutual respect between the customer reached via Clickafix and the artisans.

Igbayisanmi also said government at all levels must stay committed to training and retraining of artisans to enhance their capacity for professional delivery of service.

He also advised artisans to constantly improve themselves through continuous learning and exposure to new technology.

Members, Board of Directors, BUA Foods with Company Secretary BUA Foods,Oluseye Alayande, (3rd from left); Chairman BUA Foods, Abdulsamad Rabiu (4th from left) and Managing Director, BUA Foods,Ayodele Abioye, (6th from left) at the first Annual General Meeting of BUA Foods in Abuja... recently

MARKET INDICATORS

CBN to Fund Focal Commodities to Strengthen Naira Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has assured of its commitment to continue to fund 12 focal commodities that include cassava through its Commodity Development Initiative (CDI).

The Director, Development and Finance Department, CBN, Mr Yusuf Yila, gave the commitment during the inauguration of the first cassava-based Sorbitol factory in Africa, Psaltry International Company Ltd, located at Ado-Awaye in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State.

Yila who was represented by the Deputy Director in the department, Mr. Edwin Nzelu, said the initiative introduced in 2019, is aimed at conserving foreign exchange through import reduction, boosting local production, thereby closing the exiting supply gap of commodities with comparative advantage, as well as job and wealth

creation, stating that it has enabled the bank to intervene across the value chain of several commodities from production to processing.

According to him, Psaltry was one of the beneficiaries of CBN’s CDI, noting that local production of cassavabased Sorbitol would help to strengthen the naira, reduce unemployment and over reliance on importation of the product which is a natural sweetener extracted from glucose that drives agricultural revolution.

He said, “Psaltry International Company Limited is a beneficary of the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS), one of the CBN’s interventions aimed at fast tracking development of the agricultural sector of the economy by providing credit facilities to commercial agricultural enterprises at a single digit interest rate.”

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Psaltry, Mrs. Oluyemisi Iranloye,

said the company would create job for 10,000 youths in the community, adding that it would also indirectly impact on 100,000 people within 200 km radius to the factory covering more than 50 communities.

She added that the company would create pathway for aspiring entrepreneurs, aid financial institution on how they can play important roles in agricultural revolution and how the nation can reduce its dependent on other countries for survival.

She said, “The factory has capacity to produced 25 tons of sorbitol per day.

CBN funded our first starch factory, which started production on January 26, 2012, and finished in 2013. Part of the funds was used to finance the community projects. From the funds, we invested immensely into enhancing the quality of the farmers’ agricultural produce. Quality is a key ingredient in the success of our company.”

YEASA Targets Active Youth Participation in Agriculture The Youth Employment in Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture (YEASA) project is targeting to improve the livelihoods of youths in rural communities through agriculture and agriculture enterprises by providing them with improved technical, business, entrepreneurial, financial

and life skills.

The YEASA said at a workshop that was organised by a consortium of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and AfricaRice for national and local stakeholders on the roadmap for public and

private youth investments in the agricultural sector, said that the workshop showcased agribusiness start-ups that emerged from project implementation to facilitate linkages with government and private sector opportunities for youth.

Jaiz Bank Increases Half-year Profit by Over 27% Jaiz Bank Plc’s unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended 30 June 2022 were released to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), revealing a 27.6% increase in Profit After Tax (PAT) from N1.99 billion declared in June 2021, to N2.54 billion at the end of June 2022.

Given the performance, the Bank’s total income increased by 17.8% during the review period, from N8.86 billion for the six months ending June

2021 to N10.44 billion for half year ending June 2022.

Meanwhile, the Bank’s earnings per share increased by 8.25% during the period under review, from 6.78 kobo for the second quarter of 2021 to 7.34 kobo at the end of the second quarter of 2022.

The positive earnings result is undoubtedly reassuring, to all stakeholders and the public. It underscores the role of Jaiz as the pioneer Non-Interest Bank

in Nigeria, as well as the industry leader. In response to the outcome, Managing Director/CEO of the Bank, Hassan Usman, stated that the Bank remained committed to providing value creating ethical banking services to its growing customer base.

He assured that the Bank is positioned to continue its remarkable earnings streak for the remainder of the year, by leveraging on technology and extending its touch points across the country.

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JUNE 2022 Money Supply (M3)

48,865,823.53

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

167,956.2

Money Supply (M2)

48,797,867.32

-- Quasi Money

28,405,330.1

-- Narrow Money (M1)

20,392,537.22

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,722,785.91

---- Demand Deposits

17,669,751.32

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

6,242,394.29

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

42,623,429.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

57,267,178.05

---- Credit to Government (Net)

17,996,690.06

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

39,270,488

--Other Assets Net

5,566,430

Reserve Money (Base Money

11,320,304

--Currency in Circulation

3,259,269.15

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,320,303.72 384,377.56

• Source - CBN

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

June 2022

Inter-Bank Call Rate

11.10

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

13.00

Treasury Bill Rate

2.45

Savings Deposit Rate

1.38

1 Month Deposit Rate

3.48

3 Months Deposit Rate

4.55

6 Months Deposit Rate

4.97

12 Months Deposit Rate

5.30

Prime Lending rate

12.29

Maximum Lending Rate

27.61

• Monetary Policy Rate - 13%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE As At THURSDAY, MAY 7

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

25

T H I S D AY •TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022

mARKET NEWS

H1 2022: Investors on NGX Gain N3trn Amid Global Disruptions Kayode Tokede Despite the compounding damage from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which slowed down the global economy, Nigeria’s capital market activities remain positive in the first half (H1) of 2022 as both local and foreign investors on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) gained about N3 trillion.

According to data obtained from NGX, the All-Share Index

(ASI) which opened the year at 46,624.67 basis points appreciated by 11.14 per cent to 51,817.59 basis points as at June 30, 2022.

Consequently, market capitalization grew by N2.81 trillion to N27.940 trillion from the year’s opening figure of N25.130 trillion.

However, the volume of stocks traded declined by 19.03 per cent from N7.37 billion shares to N5.96 billion shares while the value of stocks traded in the period under review fell to N78.46 billion from

P R I C E S MaiN Board

F O R DEALS

N161.73 billion, representing a 51.5 per cent decrease.

Analysis of the data revealed the deals on the bourse grew by 9.32 per cent from 88,257 deals in January 2022 to 96,480 deals.

The top price gainers in H1 2022 include; Meyer, Academy, Guinness, NAHCO and RT Briscoe with 447.83 per cent, 154 per cent, 132.05 per cent, 127.27 per cent and 120 per cent respectively.

Further analysis showed that

S E C U R I T I E S

Market Price

quantity traded

value traded ( N )

the value of fixed income traded rose by 84.81 per cent to 348,602.00 from 188.623.00 in January 2022 while the value of fixed income traded moved from 190.97 to 356.844 representing an 86.86 per cent rise.

In addition, the market capitalisation of fixed income moved from N21.42 trillion to N22.231 trillion in June 2022.

Reacting to the performance of the market, the Managing Director of APT Securities and Funds

T R A D E D MaiN Board

A S

Ltd, Mallam Garba Kurfi said available data for the half year showed a 61 per cent increase in the total NGX market turnover and 21.31 per cent gain in ASI compared to the same period of the previous year.

“Among the factors that contributed to this impressive performance is that most of the major capitalised stocks, that is, Airtel Africa, MTNN, Dangote Cement and BUA Cement, which control over

O F

0 8

70 per cent of the total market capitalisation gained about 50 per cent during the period under review and qualified to be Invest by PFAs, which they did,” Kurfi said.

Also speaking on the gain in the market, the MD of ARM Securities Ltd, Rotimi Olubi, said the improved participation by local investors in the market and the strong earnings result from some quoted companies buoyed investor sentiment in H1 2022.

/ 8 / 2 0 2 2 DEALS

Market Price

quantity traded

value traded ( N)

26

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Thisday Afrinvest loses Thisday Afrinvest 40Index Index fell by 0.3% 14bps The ThisdayAfrinvest Afrinvest index fell 0.3% to 2,467.12 The Thisday 40 40 Index declined by 14bps to settle

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

at 1,674.89 points to sellͲpressure ZENITH GTCO (Ͳ0.6%), index points due due to losses in MTNNon(Ͳ2.3%), WAPCO (Ͳ1.3%), and UBA (Ͳ0.7%). These stocks cumula(Ͳ0.5%), and ZENITH (Ͳ3.0%). Cumulatively, these

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

tively account for 13.2%.

stocks account for 15.5% of the index.

ProfitͲtaking on Gains Market Performance…

ASI ASI up 11bps asWeighs DANGCEM 3.3%

dips 0.5% Previous day, price uptick in HONYFLOUR

(+9.8%), DANGCEM (+3.3%), and FBNH (+0.7%) bolYesterday, theperformance local bourse resumed the trading stered positive on the local bourse as the AllͲ Share on a negative index rose week note as profitͲtaking activitiesby 11bps to (Ͳ2.3%), 39,550.36 ZENITH points. (Ͳ3.0%), Consequently, YTD loss imin MTNN and FBNH (Ͳ1.4%) proved to Ͳ1.8% while market capitalisation rose by

dragged the benchmark index lower by 0.5% to

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

1,905.40

3 BUA Cement Plc 4 Guaranty Trust Holding Co PLC

-0.32% 0.0%

33.0% 146.7% 49.4%

99.5%

ROE

ROA

P/E

26.0%

4.9%

10.0%

19.2%

6.7%

P/BV

4.8x

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

0.8x

6.7%

13.9%

1.0%

210.00

-2.3%

7.2%

6.6%

-8.7%

144.8%

14.4%

12.6x

16.0x

6.2%

58.80

0.0%

4.8%

-12.3%

-18.2%

23.3%

12.1%

22.1x

5.0x

4.6%

4.5%

20.50

-0.5%

4.2%

-21.2%

0.0%

19.8%

3.2%

3.4x

0.7x

14.6%

29.6% 37.4%

7.9%

5 Zenith Bank PLC 6 Dangote Cement PLC 7 Lafarge Africa PLC

21.25

-3.0%

4.1%

-15.5%

-2.1%

20.6%

2.6%

2.7x

0.5x

14.6%

265.00

0.0%

3.7%

3.1%

-3.6%

44.2%

15.8%

13.2x

6.0x

7.7%

7.6%

25.45

0.0%

2.8%

6.3%

-3.6%

15.6%

11.1%

6.8x

1.0x

8.0%

14.7%

8 FBN Holdings Plc 9 Nestle Nigeria PLC 10 SEPLAT Energy PLC

10.80

-1.4%

2.5%

-5.3%

-6.9%

20.5%

1.9%

2.3x

0.4x

3.2%

43.3%

1,300.00

0.0%

2.4%

-16.5%

-7.1%

178.2%

15.1%

22.4x

35.7x

3.8%

4.5%

1,430.50

0.0%

2.8%

120.1%

10.0%

9.9%

5.1%

11.1x

1.1x

2.9%

9.0%

9.00

0.0%

2.1%

-3.2%

-3.2%

17.9%

1.6%

2.0x

0.3x

7.8%

50.9% 48.1%

₦23.4bn to ₦20.6tn. Trading activity was mixed as volume

traded declined by 21.6% to 110.8m units while value

13 Nigerian Brew eries PLC 14 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

ed to 18.2% (previously: 18.7%) while market capitraded rose by 88.5% to ₦3.1bn. The most traded stocks

2467.12

1 Airtel Africa PLC 2 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC

11 Access Holdings PLC 12 United Bank for Africa PLC

50,489.73 points. Accordingly, YTD return moderat-

Price Previous Price Current Change Price Change Weighting Index to Change YTD Date

Current Price

Ticker

0.0%

1.6%

-9.9%

-2.7%

15.6%

1.4%

2.1x

0.3x

13.9%

0.0%

1.2%

-5.7%

-19.8%

13.4%

4.9%

16.0x

2.1x

3.4%

6.3%

216.90

0.0%

1.4%

52.7%

0.0%

52.6%

30.4%

9.7x

4.8x

3.6%

10.3%

9.90

0.0%

1.2%

13.8%

-6.6%

20.0%

1.1%

2.0x

0.4x

6.4%

50.0%

31.00

0.0%

1.1%

-13.9%

-7.6%

15.6%

2.1%

6.5x

1.0x

9.7%

15.3%

5.25

0.0%

1.0%

6.1%

-16.7%

-2.4%

-0.9%

market activity improved as volume and value tradunits), and OANDO (7.3m units) while NESTLE (₦2.2bn),

18 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC 19 Fidelity Bank PLC

32.90

2.8%

0.9%

16.0%

1.2%

3.00

0.0%

0.6%

17.6%

-12.3%

13.3%

1.2%

DANGCEM (₦145.0m), and GTCO (₦134.8m) by value. ed rose 39.2% and 10.1% respectively toled207.2m

20 Guinness Nigeria PLC 21 Presco PLC

83.00

0.0%

0.6%

112.8%

-8.3%

19.1%

8.1%

158.40

0.0%

0.4%

80.4%

-4.0%

53.7%

20.2%

7.0x

units and N2.1bn.

22 Wema Bank PLC 23 FCMB Group Plc 24 AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

talisation N125.4bn to ?N7.2tn.

Meanwhile, by volume shed were TRANSCORP (11.9m units), FBNH (11.1m

Bearish Sector Performance

Mixed Sector Performance Across sectors under our coverage, performance was

bearish as lost,sectors, 1 index gained while AFRͲICT Across our4 indices coverage performancethe was

15 Ecobank Transnational Inc 16 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC 17 International Brew eries PLC

7.25 47.15

25 United Capital PLC 26 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC 27 Transnational Corp of Nigeria 28 PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

index remained flat. Topping the laggards are the Consum-

29 Cadbury Nigeria PLC 30 UAC of Nigeria PLC

er Goods and Insurance indices, down 4.6% and

31 TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeri 32 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

mixed albeit negatively tilt as 3 indices lost, 2

gained while the Oil & Gas index closed flat. The

1.2% respectively on the back of profitͲtaking in NESTLE (Ͳ

Banking and AFRͲICT indices led laggards, down 9.1%),

UNILEVER

(Ͳ3.5%),

LINKASSURE

(Ͳ6.4%),

1.1% and 0.9% respectively on account of sellͲoffs and MANSARD (Ͳ2.2%).

Similarly, the Oil & Gas and Bankin ZENITH (Ͳ3.0%), FCMB and MTNN ing indices fell by 0.2% and (Ͳ1.9%), 2bps respectively due(Ͳto sellͲ offs in OANDO (Ͳ0.8%), ZENITH (Ͳ0.2%), GTCO 2.9%).

Trailing, the Industrial Goodsand index fell(Ͳ0.2%).

1bp

33 Custodian and Allied Insurance 34 Unilever Nigeria PLC 35 Jaiz Bank PLC 36 Oando PLC 37 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 38 Sterling Bank PLC 39 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd 40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

Conversely, the Goods index wasflip theside, lone gaindue to losses inIndustrial CUTIX (Ͳ6.3%).

On the er,

up

1.8%

driven

by

price

apprecia-

T ic k er

FLOURMILL (+2.8%), and HONYFLOUR (+5.7%)

-2.4%

0.7x

6.5%

2.3x

0.3x

11.7%

11.6x

2.0x

8.4%

8.6%

3.7x

4.6%

14.3%

43.8%

3.35

0.3%

0.5%

365.3%

5.0%

15.7%

0.9%

8.4x

1.8x

7.2%

11.9%

3.05

-1.9%

0.4%

2.0%

-11.8%

12.4%

1.2%

2.0x

0.2x

6.6%

49.9%

5.7%

1.7%

1.89

0.0%

0.4%

-18.5%

-5.5%

12.80

4.5%

0.4%

29.3%

0.4%

16.55

0.3%

0.4%

-4.9%

1.5%

23.2%

1.08

-6.1%

0.3%

12.5%

-12.2%

19.0%

10.25

0.0%

0.3%

68.0%

15.40

0.0%

0.2%

11.20

0.0%

234.50

0.0%

9.3x

0.5x

13.3%

10.7%

6.1x

2.9x

11.9%

16.3%

8.7%

6.8x

1.5x

6.0%

14.8%

4.3%

2.6x

0.4x

1.9%

37.8%

6.8%

7.8x

1.1x

2.5%

12.8%

75.0%

-10.7%

8.7x

1.9x

3.3%

11.4%

0.2%

17.9%

0.9%

18.7x

0.7x

5.8%

5.4%

0.2%

5.7%

0.0%

3.6%

1.6%

1.8x

25.90

0.0%

0.2%

15.9%

-2.3%

19.1%

2.1%

5.5x

0.8x

9.7%

18.2%

6.80

0.0%

0.2%

-13.9%

-2.9%

18.2%

5.2%

4.1x

0.7x

7.4%

24.4%

13.50

0.0%

0.1%

-6.9%

-8.8%

7.2%

4.3%

42.0x

1.2x

3.7%

2.4%

0.88

2.3%

0.1%

57.1%

-3.3%

20.0%

1.5%

6.4x

1.3x

4.5%

15.6%

4.99

0.0%

0.1%

12.9%

-12.0%

5.80

0.0%

0.1%

-1.7%

-5.7%

6.4%

0.7%

9.3x

0.6x

1.50

-0.7%

0.1%

-0.7%

-1.3%

10.3%

1.0%

2.7x

0.3x

-17.7%

-4.1%

62.50

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

6.25

0.0%

0.0%

16.2%

0.0%

-21.5%

-180.2% 10.8% 6.7%

1.8x

-1.8%

1.0x

1.1%

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

J A P A ULGOLD

0.37

8.8%

FB NH

74.6

-1.4%

H ON YF LOUR

2.95

5.7%

M ULT IVER SE

20.5

0.0%

drove the Insurance and Consumer Goods indices

C OR N ER ST

0.75

5.6%

A C C ESSC OR P

12.3

0.0%

Investor Sentiment Strengthens

LA SA C O

0.98

5.4%

A IIC O

11.6

3.6%

up by 1.4% and 0.2% respectively.

UC A P

12.80

4.5%

Z EN IT H B A N K

10.2

-3.0%

Investors sentiment, as measured by market breadth

A IIC O

tion in DANGCEM (+3.3%).

(advance/decline ratio), strengthened, settling at 1.6x

from 1.3x recorded in the last trading session as 24 stocks advanced while 15 stocks declined. MRS (+9.9%), MAY-

0.57

3.6%

ELLA H LA KES

10.1

-9.6%

32.90

2.8%

J A P A ULGOLD

7.6

8.8%

J A IZ B A N K

0.88

2.3%

H ON YF LOUR

7.5

5.7%

D A N GSUGA R

16.55

0.3%

GT C O

6.7

-0.5%

WEM A B A N K

3.35

0.3%

ST ER LN B A N K

6.2

-0.7%

F LOUR M ILL

BAKER (+9.8%), and HONYFLOUR (+9.8%) led gainers

Outlook while ABCTRANS (Ͳ8.3%), LASACO (Ͳ6.7%), and LIVEInvestor sentiment, as measured by market STOCK (Ͳ4.8%) led losers. Previous day, we expect the

breadth, weakened to Ͳ0.1x from 0.2x last Friday as

market sentiment to remain mixed, as earnings season

10 stocks gained, 15 lost while 84 closed flat. Togradually winds up.

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

T o p 10 L o s e r s P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

R T B R ISC OE

0.36

-10.0%

FB NH

820.2

-1.4%

IM G

8.25

-9.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

219.1

-3.0%

SKYA VN

5.65

-9.6%

M TNN

194.6

-2.3%

-9.6%

GT C O

137.2

-0.5%

-6.8%

SEP LA T

122.4

0.0%

-6.2%

A C C ESSC OR P

111.2

0.0%

N GXGR OUP

44.7

-0.7%

T ic k er

ELLA H LA KES C A VER T ON

3.58 1.09

P ric e C hg %

day, we expect the bearish sentiment to linger in

C UT IX T R A N SC OR P

1.08

-6.1%

the trading session barring any positive catalysts.

UP D C

1.08

-4.4%

M ULT IVER SE

38.5

0.0%

21.25

-3.0%

ELLA H LA KES

36.0

-9.6%

210.00

-2.3%

N EST LE

35.3

0.0%

Z EN IT H B A N K M TNN

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

2.25

36.5%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

T o p 10 G a in e r s

price uptick in AIICO (+3.6%), CORNERST (+5.6%),

1.0x

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com

Taiwo Ogundipe | togundipe@afrinvest.com

Christopher Omoh | comoh@afrinvest.com

Damilare Asimiyu | dasimiyu@afrinvest.com

27

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

Inauguration of the Orochiri -Worukwo Flyover...

L-R: Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Dakorinama George-Kelly; Lagos State governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike; Rivers State deputy governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry-Banigo and the Speaker Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ikuinyi Owaji-Ibani, during the inauguration of the Orochiri -Worukwo (Waterlines junction) Flyover in Port Harcourt by Governor Sanwo-Olu ....yesterday

Afenifere Laments Buhari's Alleged ‘Cluelessness’ to Worsening Insecurity Southeast not haven for terrorists, Ohanaeze tells president Deploy drones to crush terrorists in Katsina, SDP urges FG

Deji Elumoye, Udora Orizu in Abuja, Gideon Arinze in Enugu and Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Pan Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere has expressed concerns over the level of insecurity in the country wondering if President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of the deteriorating situation at all.

The group in a statement issued yesterday entitled, 'Insecurity in South West, other parts of Nigeria: Where is the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C)?' stressed that the rate at which insecurity was festering, it was as though there was no authority who could reign-in the monster.

This was just as the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, yesterday took a swipe at Buhari over his recent comment that insecurity persists in the Southeast because the leaders have not forcefully spoken.

Also miffed by the intractable security challenges in Katsina

state, the state chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has called on the federal government to urgently deploy modern technology such as drones in order to flush out terrorists and other criminals in the state.

Afenifere in the statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, Afenifere stated that there were no veritable indications that the C-in-C was aware of the enormity of the situation or was putting up any strategy to arrest it.

The Afenifere spokesman submitted that the business of Nigerian president was not to ‘grieve’ for victims of terrorism, but to ensure that terrorism, kidnapping and allied crimes do not occur at all in the country.

Ajayi opined that because of the kid-glove manner with which government was dealing with terrorists and kidnappers, they have been so emboldened that they now attack security institutions at will and malevolently go into houses of their victims to deal with fellow Nigerians all under the watch of

government and security agencies.

He reiterated the much-vaunted position of Afenifere on the need to allow State Police and to properly take care of security agencies generally.

While calling on Buhari to demonstrate that he was still the as the C-in-C, he suggested that the president could delegate all the necessary authority to his Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo with whom he shared a joint ticket anyway.

He said, "It would be recalled that within two weeks, there have been about three kidnappings in Ogbomoso in Oyo State leading to the death of some victims, beheading of five people in the South-east, abduction of people in Katsina, Kaduna, Nassarawa and Niger, killing and abduction of about 15 people including Indian expatriates in Kogi State and abductions of some chiefs in Akoko area of Ondo State etc all within days.

“These are in addition to several of such dastardly acts that have

been happening in different parts of the country with increasing ferocity.

"The report from Ondo State where the Amotekun corps intercepted two trucks carrying 151 young men and women.

Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong in people moving from one part of the country to the other.

“But if those people were not on a satanic mission, why would they hid under bags of rice and beans? Why would they not be able to state their mission and actual destinations? They claim to have been raked from Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States to come to the South-west for a mission or missions that they were not told.

“Afenifere commends the efforts of Ondo state government and Amotekun officers for the gallant work they are doing.”

He added, "Reports have it that bandits on the night of Sunday, August 7, attacked and killed three persons while scores were reportedly abducted by the attackers in Bali town, headquarters of Bali Local Government Area of

FG Expresses Fears Over Meeting COVID-19 Vaccination Target Only Nasarawa, Jigawa, Kano have reached 50%

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Federal Government has expressed serious concern over the country's failure to achieved targets set for COVID-19 vaccination.

It said that as at yesterday only three states - Nasarawa, Jigawa and Kano, had performed optimally with regards to the attainment of vaccination coverage of 50 per cent.

According to the government as at Monday, not less than 40 million eligible Nigerians have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines, while only 27.7 million have been fully vaccinated, which represents 25 per cent of the total proportion of persons vaccinated.

This falls short of the 70 per cent vaccination target set by the end of the year.

The World Health Organization also expressed concern over the

vaccination rate in Africa and Nigeria, stating that although Nigeria's vaccination rate is commendable, more still needs to be done because if Nigeria can't do it, then Africa can't.

The Speaking during the official flag-off of the SCALES 3.0 Strategy by the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in Abuja, to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination, routine immunization and other primary health care services, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said: "Total performance still falls short of our desire, because as of August 3rd 2022, only about 25 per cent of the eligible population have been fully vaccinated, with only three states - Nasarawa, Jigawa and Kano having a vaccination coverage of over 50 per cent.

"We are left with 34 States

including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) performing not quite optimally in vaccination coverage. Hence, the need for the team to refine the current 2.0 S.C.A.L.E.S strategy to accelerate the vaccination by identifying the enablers that are unique to each state, and developing them and also deploying them as States specific strategies that will help us to ramp up coverage."

In his remark, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha regretted that the proportion of fully vaccinated Nigerians is still low when compared to the set target.

"The present record of only 24.4 percent of the total eligible population of fully vaccinated as at August 3 2022 leaves much to be desired," he said.

Speaking with journalists, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the

NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, said: "What we are rolling out today is the SCALES 3.0, which is an improvement over the SCALES 2.0 COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

We reviewed the performance of the States and looked at the bottlenecks, and then decided that there were specific fixes to the strategies that were required.

"We are looking at how we can now move closer to the people by looking not only from the health facilities, but making sure that we are able to go settlementby-settlement, and then in some instances, go door-by-door.

"This will ensure that the vaccines are now brought closer to where people live and work. We are also using the opportunity to provide second doses of booster doses to Nigerians who have already taken the first dose, and for first timers to go and take the COVID-19 vaccine."

Taraba State. The bandits began to raid people from house to house after overpowering the security personnel at the checkpoint.

“Just last Friday, four police officers were killed when gunmen attacked Agwa Divisional Police Headquarters in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria’s South-east. Specifically, Afenifere faults the idea of reintegrating confirmed terrorists and bandits “as evidence had shown that such seemingly reintegrated bandits go ahead to commit crimes that are more heinous than the ones they were known for beforehand.”

Southeast is Not Haven for Terrorists, Ohanaeze Replies Buhari

Meanwhile, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide has taken a swipe at Buhari over his recent comment that insecurity persists in the South-east because the leaders have not forcefully spoken.

The organisation which was reacting to the president’s comments on the killing of civilians and several policemen at their duty posts in Imo State also accused him of being unduly selective in his vision and comment on insecurity as it concerns the south-east geopolitical zone.

The Special Assistant to the President on Media, Mallam Garba Shehu had been quoted as saying that, “President Muhammadu Buhari condemned in strong terms the recent attacks against non-indigenes and law enforcement officials by terrorists in the Southeast, calling on the “community and religious leaders to speak more forcefully against the killings and to stand up and defend the ethos of the nation’s cultural and religious heritage.”

However, in a statement made available to newsmen by the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, Ohanaeze frowned at the president’s comment which it stated was, “nuanced against the Southeast as a haven for terrorists that attack non-indigenes and law enforcement agencies.”

To the organisation, the comment was unfair to the Igbo, especially

when the president knows the root cause and the nature of the insecurity in the South-east, adding that the solution to the insecurity in the South-east was in the enormous powers of the presidency.

“The above remarks by the presidency appear to have ignored the prolonged open war with the Boko Haram in the North-east; the banditry in the North-west, especially in Katsina State; the Fulani Herdsmen invasion of several communities in the Middle Belt region; the Church massacre at Owo; the daily kidnappings on our highways; the Kaduna-Abuja train abduction,” Ohanaeze said.

The statement further noted that while Ohanaeze joined the Presidency and the good people of Nigeria in condemning the dastardly killing in Imo State, it maintained that the sanctity of life was so elevated that killing of a human being in whatever circumstance was considered an abomination in the South-east.

“In fact, it is not in the character of the Igbo to kill in whatever disguise. These recent developments are indeed very much alien to the reflexes, culture and norms of the Southeast,” Ohanaeze noted.

The organisation maintained that it had severally called on the Nigerian security operatives to ensure that the perpetrators of such acts were brought to book as a deterrent to others, adding that failure of the Nigerian security agents to fish out the criminals cannot be blamed on the Igbo.

Deploy Drones to Crush Terrorists in Katsina, SDP Tells FG

Also, the Katsina state chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has called on the federal government to urgently deploy modern technology such as drones in order to flush out terrorists and other criminals in the state.

The opposition party explained that if the war against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping must be won, the federal government must invest drones and other security gadgets to frontline states to tame the scourge.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

Reviewing Economic Impact of the Proposed Benin City River Port ...

L-R: Panel Chairman/Socio Economic Impact of the Proposed Benin City River Port (BRP) and Access Road Project in Edo State, Prof. Boyowa Chokor; Chairman, Engr. Greg Ogbeifun; representative of Edo State Governor and Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, and representative of the Federal Minister of Environment, Engr. Gomwalk Celestine, during a panel review exercise for the BRP, in Benin City ... yesterday

Wike: I Am in Charge, We'll Vote Against Those Who Don't Like Rivers

...As Sanwo-Olu inaugurates 7th Flyover in Port Harcourt Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has declared that the state will vote against any politician who does not recorgnise its political capability ahead of the 2023 general elections.

This as he reiterated that those who looted the treasury of the State will not be supported to become governor of Rivers State, adding that presently he is fully in charge.

Wike made the declaration yesterday, at the commissioning of the Orochiri -Worukwo (Waterlines junction) Flyover that was performed by the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Port Harcourt.

According to Governor Wike, the dynamics of contemporary politics has made it unpopular to just gift votes away without the assurance of derivable benefit for the people.

According to him, "If you say Rivers State does not matter, Rivers State will tell you that you don't also matter at the appropriate time. If you don't like us, we will not like

you. If you like us, we will like you.

"Nobody will use our votes for nothing. Our votes will matter and Rivers State must benefit from anybody that we are going to support.

"Politics now is no longer just vote for somebody, it is about what you will do for the people of Rivers State."

Wike pointed to how difficult it will be for anyone to upset the voting pattern of Rivers State and support for the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).

"My guest from Lagos State, let nobody tell you story that anybody will come here to win as governor of Rivers State. It will not happen" On the treasury of the State he warned that "Those who looted the treasury of the State will not come here to be governor of Rivers State and I have challenged them.

"I am fully in charge. I am not that kind of governor people will go to Abuja and hold meetings against.

I am fully in charge here."

Governor Wike also challenged

those criticizing his development strides to rather show what capacity they have by executing projects and invite renowned persons to inaugurate them.

He explained the invitation of

the Lagos State governor is not the first time persons of other political parties were invited to inaugurate projects in Rivers State.

Inaugurating the completed 7th flyover, Lagos State, Sanwo-Olu,

commended Governor Wike for his commitment to the delivery of physical infrastructure in Rivers State.

“I would like to specially commend my brother, Governor Wike, for his strong commitment to the

2023: Ex-Guber Aspirant, Mustapha Says APC Has Failed, Has Nothing More to Offer Nigerians Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Former governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, Hon Faruk Mustapha has urged Nigerians to reject the ruling APC in the 2023 general elections, In his opinion, the APC has nothing to offer Nigerians having failed in its over seven years governance in the country.

Mustapha, who made the call while speaking to his supporters in Azare, headquarters of Northern

Senatorial zone of the State at the weekend, pleaded with people of the state to reject all the candidates of the party in the forthcoming general elections in the county.

The politician who dumped the APC soon after he lost the gubernatorial primaries in the state was speaking at a political event in the area organised by the Chief Protocol Officer to be the State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, Umar Hassan.

Mustapha who recently joined

the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state regretted joining APC in the past, maintaining that, "the party has nothing good to offer to Nigerians and therefore must be voted out of power in the next year's general elections."

He therefore declared his support for the reelection bid of Bala Mohammed and promised to support and work with all stakeholders of the PDP in the state and Bauchi North in particular for the victory of the governor and other candidates of the party in

NESG to FG: Take Tough Choices, Tackle Insecurity, Remove Petrol Subsidy Now

urged “the federal government to explore a systematic subsidy removal programme that cushions the impact on our most vulnerable population through a well-coordinated and effectively transmitted social protection regime.”

The NESG also urged the government, “to devise a pragmatic national security strategy that unconditionally guarantees the safety of lives and properties within the country,” adding that, “the ongoing face-off between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has resulted in the closure of universities for about six months, has become a national embarrassment.

“In order to signal the government’s commitment to a speedy resolution, we now need direct and strong presidential leadership in the discussions and negotiations to get our students back to school.”

The NESG also pledged to support the government to evolve sustainable governance and funding strategies for tertiary education in the country as the frequency of this face-off between government and university teachers has indicated a failure in the current funding model for tertiary education.

The NESG also called for a new social contract between the government and the people of

Nigeria to reduce the growing trust deficit, since “the goodwill that a government enjoys from its people is no different from the operation of a bank account – in this case, an emotional bank account.

Good governance yields additional deposits while each governance failure gradually depletes the account.”

Notwithstanding, the board of the NESG commended “the federal government for commencing the implementation of the MediumTerm National Development Plan (2021 – 2025).”

It also “acknowledges and commends the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly in passing into law the Electoral Act, 2022, which is already proving to be a veritable tool for improving our electoral process. These are good legacies, but there is much more to be done.”

LCCI: MTEF 2023-25 Now Unrealisable, Tasks FG on Cheaper Financing

Meanwhile, the LCCI has also advised the federal government that accumulation of foreign debt would pose significant exchange rate risk and put more pressure on domestic inflation due to the weakening of the Naira in the foreign exchange market.

delivery of physical infrastructure in Rivers State, a commitment that has been recognized by all and sundry, and which has earned him the appellation of "Mr. Projects" within and outside Rivers State."

These views were expressed yesterday by the President of LCCI, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole, in a statement titled: “Nigeria’s Debt Burden.”

It explained: “There are already concerns that most, if not all, of the assumptions in the MTEF 2023-2025 will be missed as we continue to experience unprecedented levels of disruptions to supply chains and agricultural production. The 2022 budget assumptions have already fallen short in terms of inflation, exchange rate, and GDP growth rate. All of these assumptions have become inadequate.”

Olawale-Cole added that, “the chamber has consistently advised the government to borrow from cheaper sources and consider deficit financing from equity instead of the expensive debts borrowed and used for recurrent expenditures.

“The commercialisation model proposed for NNPC Limited is the right direction to go. Once this plan succeeds next year, it should be replicated with other national corporate assets scattered across the country.

“Nigeria must manage its debt burden to avoid further pressure on revenue. It is also imperative that more spending is needed in supporting productive infrastructure instead of spending borrowed money on subsidising consumption. Government must rethink its

sourcing of debts and spending of borrowed funds.”

Olawale-Cole cautioned that, “with the high component of Eurobonds as part of Nigeria’s external debt, the weakening of the naira signifies a significant exchange rate risk that is likely to put pressure on inflation and its attendant consequences, which we already see today. A weaker naira means a more expensive foreign debt for the country.”

He identified the recent listing of N250 billion Sukuk on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) by the Debt Management Office (DMO) as proper alternative financing source to bridge the infrastructure gap in the country.

He said: “The issuance and subsequent listing of the Sovereign Sukuk on the NGX platform aligns with the Chamber’s persistent call for cheaper government financing away from debts by leveraging innovative and cost-effective revenue sources.”

The president of LCCI observed that public borrowings have been increasing significantly from N39.56 trillion in December 2021 to N41.60 trillion by the end of the second quarter of 2022, as revealed by the DMO, adding that Nigeria had been struggling to service these debts due to revenue mobilisation challenges and an increased fuel subsidy burden.

He also observed that Nigeria’s fiscal situation was being worsened by the rising level of insecurity that has battered investors’ confidence and affected FX inflows into Nigeria.

Olawale-Cole said: “The rising debt stock incurred by the government is becoming increasingly problematic in the face of dwindling government revenue and the unsustainable burden of subsidy payments. The fact that the most recent statistics on government revenues show a poor performance and mounting government costs makes it evident that Nigeria is going through a debt crisis.

“It is disturbing to know that debt servicing alone is higher than actual retained revenue in the first four months of this year. On the path of caution, we urge the Federal Government to discontinue this unsustainable pattern.”

NECA to FG: Prioritise Manufacturing in Forex Allocation

On its part, NECA has tasked the federal government to prioritise the manufacturing sector in FX allocation.

This call was made yesterday by the newly appointed Director-General of NECA, Mr. Wale Oyerinde, who also enjoined the government to commence a deliberate consultation with stakeholders in

the polls.

According to him, "No politics of Bauchi or Katagum in 2023 General Elections. All of us in Bauchi North are going to vote for His Excellency, Senator Bala Mohammed and all the PDP candidates in the elections."

He stressed that, "The APC has failed and has nothing good to offer to citizens, and with that I am urging citizens to reject APC in the forthcoming elections and give opportunity to PDP for the county to be on the path of the economic growth and development."

Nigeria’s organised private sector for alternative policy options that would re-energise Nigeria’s economy.

Ayorinde said: “Economic interventions aimed at improving living standards and enterprise sustainability should be implemented.

While FX scarcity persists, allocation of the available foreign exchange to manufacturing and other productive sectors of the economy should be given priority.”

He noted that although the government had been making efforts to salvage the economy, there is, however, need for a more holistic approach to resuscitate the stuttering economy.

He said: “A deliberate and economic priority influenced approach and wide consultation with stakeholders should commence, with the view of harvesting alternative policy options to re-energise all sectors of the economy.”

Oyerinde stated that there was no better time than now when, “the nation is currently faced with multiple challenges. With dire combination of spiraling inflation, rising energy cost (aviation fuel, diesel, etc.), scarcity of FX, dwindling value of the naira, an almost comatose aviation sector, stuttering education system, rising debt, depleting foreign reserve and rising fuel subsidy expenses among others, which threatened to lay bare the country’s economy” to commence this consultation.

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NEWS

Again, Amotekun Intercepts 168 Suspected Invaders, 40 Motorcycles, Cows in Ondo Fidelis David in Akure

Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun, have intercepted another 168 suspected invaders with dangerous charms, who cleverly concealed themselves as well as 40 motorcycles beneath cows loaded in two trucks in the state.

This comes four days after the corps arrested 151 suspected charm-carrying invaders cleverly concealed behind bags of rice, around Sango, Akure/Ado road.

While showcasing the latest suspects at the command headquarters in Akure yesterday, the state Commander of the corps, Mr. Adetunji Adeleye, said they were intercepted around Itaogbolu-Iju, in Akure North LGA by his team who were on ‘stop and search’ as they became suspicious of their movement.

Adeleye explained that investigation revealed that they were coming from Kano

and Jigawa states, while they claimed that they were picked in groups along the road and

they had no destination.

He said: “After the profiling of the earlier ones,

majority of them that do not have any case to answer we, saw them back to where they

came from but we found out that the influx of invaders still continues.

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Bakers Advised to Be 2023: APC Leader, Others Defect to PDP in Kwara Creative with Ingredients Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The Managing Director of Spectra Industries Limited, Mr. Duro Kuteyi, has called on bakers in Nigeria to be creative by embracing innovative ingredients for the production of bread.

Kuteyi made the call recently at the opening of a model of Spectra shop which is designed to bring Spectra products nearer to residents of Suco community He noted that for bread, which is a necessity to continue to remain on the breakfast table of average Nigerians in the face of the sky-rocketing price of imported flour, bakers must begin to look inward by

embracing domestic and made in Nigeria ingredients that will not only improve their profitability but also bring down the cost of production of bread significantly.

“A lot of bakers are going out of business and the few resilient ones have increased the price of bread which is making bread a luxury and unaffordable to a lot of Nigerians. This is mainly due to the scarce forex and the crisis in Ukraine, which is outside the control of bakers. But bakers can be creative about it by looking at local innovative ingredients such as Sobake which is defatted soya flour produced indigenously by Spectra, Kuteyi said.

Motorcyclists’ Clash with Task Force Causes Traffic in Abuja The blockade caused panic Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada, yesterday clashed with the Task Force mandated by the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) to enforce the ban on commercial motorcyclists operations in some parts of Abuja.

The protesters set up bonfires on the road close to Dunamis Church on the Airport road, causing traffic.

But the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has said it restored calm in the area, warning that the destruction of public property remained a criminal offence.

in the city, forcing motorists to drive against traffic and taking alternative routes.

An eyewitness said dozens of riders caused chaos, threatened, and hurled insults at motorists.

According to the eyewitness, “Thank God for my life. On Lugbe road, there was a heavy protest going on-throwing of stones and burning of tyres.

We managed to scale through.

They gathered on the side of the road that leads to town, not far from the Glory Dome of Dunamis Church.”

However, the FCT Police Command said it has restored normalcy in the area.

Police Dismiss Constable, IG Frowns at Brutality, Extortion

Sunday Ehigiator

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed a Police Constable, Liyomo Okoi, attached to Ekori Divisional Headquarters in Cross Rivers Police Command after being found guilty of gross misconduct as captured in a viral video on July 31, 2022, where he was flogging a man with a machete.

This is just as the InspectorGeneral of Police (IG), Usman Alkali Baba, expressed grave disappointment at the reports of brutality and extortion

levelled against some police officers via various complaint channels available to the public, particularly on social media platforms.

In a statement issued and signed by the Force spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, yesterday, the IG, therefore, directed all supervising Commissioners of Police and Tactical/Strategic Commanders to ensure strict supervision of their personnel as further incidences of this nature would be viewed strictly.

All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Kwara State, Alhaji Bala Mahmud, and his teeming supporters in the party yesterday dumped the party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 polls in the state.

Mahmud, who was a former member of the 14-member committee on Patigi/Lafiagi crisis

set up by the state government, stated that he decided to dump APC for PDP with his supporters in view of the leadership skills of former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and the decision of the PDP to zone the governorship ticket of the party to Kwara North senatorial district ahead of next year polls in the state.

The defectors are from Patigi town, the headquarters of Patigi

LGA of the state.

They were later received into the PDP fold by the former Ambassador to Japan and former governorship aspirant of the party, Professor Mohammed Yisa Gana.

Speaking at the event at Patigi, the leader of the defectors, Mahmud, said their decision was based on the zeal of the PDP as the only political party that gave Kwara North the opportunity

it has been looking for.

He said: “We’ve come to join the only party that has proven to us that Kwara North is also part of Kwara State.

“I want to assure the leadership of the party that we will join hands with our people in other local government councils in Kwara North to deliver massively for the party governorship candidate, Alhaji Shuaibu Yaman Abdullahi.”

Christian Group Hails Ortom for Establishing Volunteer Guards George Okoh in Makurdi

The Northern Christian Women Coalition has hailed the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on the establishment of Benue State Community Volunteer Guards (BSCVG) to combat insecurity in the state.

National President of the coalition, Princess Leah Solomon Olusiyi, commended the

governor yesterday when she led a delegation of the group to pay a courtesy call on Ortom at the Benue Peoples House in Makurdi.

She acknowledged that Governor Ortom has been proactive in initiating solutions to security problems bedeviling the country, stressing that the Community Volunteer Guards recently established by the state

government was a step in the right direction.

Princess Olusiyi commended governor for being a voice for the voiceless, noting that in the country and international community, Ortom has remained fearless and courageous in speaking against the injustices meted out on citizens.

The Christian women group also extolled Ortom’s

deliberate policies on women inclusion in the leadership of his administration, stressing that the voices of the Benue women are now prominent in the politics in the country.

The group, therefore, urged the governor not to give up but to continue in the quest to seek justice and security for his people, adding that they were in solidarity and prayers with him.

NANS Absolves Self from Report Calling for Emefiele’s Sack KuniTyessi inAbuja

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has absolved itself from a report calling for the sack of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

NANS Vice President (Special Duties), Odiahi Thomas Ikhine,

stated this while addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday.

He said some faceless individuals who paraded themselves as the leadership of the NANS (Zone D) had demanded the sack of Emefiele over what they had described as the bastardisation of the nation’s economy.

“Let it be expressly clear that

these impostors are neither students nor leadership of NANS in the South-west but rather political jobbers readily available for the highest bidders for the campaign of calumny against politically exposed persons for the purpose of blackmailing or settling political scores. “We, therefore, wish to dissociate ourselves and the

name of our organisation from the unpatriotic call for the sack of the CBN Governor.

“It is our belief that the CBN governor needed to be given moral support to develop monetary policy strategy that will serve as an economic palliative for our nation at this time of global economic gloom.

Oyo APC Warns against Re-election of Makinde Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday warned that the state would be in a total mess if the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, is re-elected for a second term in office in 2023.

The party in a statement yesterday issued by the state Secretary, Alhaji Tajudeen

Olanite, alerted members of the public to what he described as “unapologetic manners with which Makinde has been using the instrumentalities of the state to empower thugs that have been fingered in the killing of some people in the state, as well as threats to lives of innocent Nigerians that are not members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”

The APC spoke against the backdrop of the alleged threat to kill the party’s 2023 governorship candidate in the state, Senator Teslim Folarin, stating that former factional chairman of National Union of Road Transports Workers (NURTW) in the state, Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi (aka Auxiliary), appointed by the governor as the chairman of

the disciplinary committee for the Park Management System (PMS), was behind the threat to Folarin’s life.

Olanite alleged the threat to the life of the chairman, Senate Committee on Local Content

by Lamidi has become a matter of public knowledge via video clips that have gone viral on the social media within the past few days.

Police Re-arrest Escapee from Jos Jail Break, 25 Others in Plateau Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

The Plateau State Police Command has re-arrested Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, one of the inmates that escaped from the Jos Custodial Centre in November 2021 jail break.

The Commissioner of Police

(CP) Bartholomew Onyeka, announced this when he presented him and other suspects to the media yesterday in Jos. Onyeka said that Ibrahim, 39, was re-arrested by anti-kidnapping police squad at Wamba Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

He said, “In a bid to arrest all escapees of the recent Jos jail break that occurred in November last year, our operatives intensified efforts and re-arrested Mohammed Ibrahim.

“Ibrahim escaped from lawful custody of the Jos Correctional Centre and among the master

minds of the attack on the facility.

“He had been in prison awaiting trial for alleged case of criminal conspiracy and kidnapping before he escaped.”

The commissioner said that the suspect would be handed over back to the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) for further action.

tuesday august 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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NEWSxtra

Six Shiite Members Reportedly Killed, Several Others Injured in Kaduna

John Shiklam inKaduna

Six members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as ‘Shiites’ were reportedly killed yesterday in Zaria, Kaduna state, during their annual “Ashura Day” procession - a religious ritual.

The leader of the movement in Zaria, Mallam Abdulhamid Bello, confirmed the killings on Monday night, alleging that a combined team of security operatives attacked the IMN members while observing the religious procession.

According to him, the security personnel shot at the Shiites members indiscriminately, resulting in the death of six people while scores sustained injuries.

Bello gave the names of those killed during the incident as Jafar

Magaji Jushi, Kazeem Lawal Magume, Ali Lawal Samaru, Muhsin Badamasi Yakub Zakzaky, Umar Inuwa Anguwar Fatika and another member who he could not identified.

He said the total casualty figures had yet to be ascertained, adding that “alot of people”, have been rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital, Wusasa while those in critical condition were taken to ABU Teaching Hospital, Shika also in Zaria.

When contacted, the state spokesman of the Kaduna state police command Mohammed Jalinge, said he was aware of the incident, but had yet to be briefed.

In December 2015, members of the IMN allegedly blocked the road

EFCC Arrests Three Internet Fraud Suspects in Kwara

HammedShittu inIlorin

Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arrested three internet fraud suspects at the Ilorin International Airport in Kwara State.

The arrest, according to THISDAY checks, might not be unconnected with the ongoing onslaught by the commission against corruption and illegal movement of cash through the country’s airports.

The arrested suspects are Olawale Ipadeola, Opeyemi Badmus, and Wasiu Babatunde.

It was gathered that the suspects were arrested yesterday except for Wasiu, which arrest happened on August 6, 2022, following actionable intelligence.

Sources said two of the suspects (Olawale and Opeyemi), who flew in from Lagos, landed at the Ilorin airport around 11.56 a.m. on the waiting hands of the eagle-eyed operatives of the EFCC at the airport.

Contacted, a senior officer of the commission, who sought anonymity, confirmed the arrest of the affected three suspects to journalists in Ilorin yesterday.

in Zaria, during a similar religious rites, preventing the convoy of the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai who was in Zaria for the Passing Out Parade of

the Military School from passing.

The incident escalated into a clash with soldiers, resulting in the killing of over 300 members of the IMN.

The leader of the IMN, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky and his wife Zeenat, were later arrested and detained for five years.

The couple were prosecuted by

the Kaduna state government on an eight-count charge of culpable homicide, disruption of public peace and unlawful assembly among others.

Shock as Renowned Filmmaker, Biyi Bandele Dies at 54

Yinka Olatunbosun

Nigerian filmmaker, novelist and playwright, Biyi Bandele is dead. The shocking news of his death on August 7 was announced on social media by his daughter, Temi Bandele yesterday.

The Facebook post found on late Bandele’s wall reads:

“Biyi was a prodigiously talented writer and film-maker, as well as a loyal friend and beloved father. He was a storyteller to his bones, with an unblinking perspective, singular voice and wisdom which spoke boldly through all of his art, in poetry, novels, plays and on screen. He told stories which made a profound

impact and inspired many all over the world. His legacy will live on through his work.

“He was taken from us much too soon. He had already said so much so beautifully, and had so much more to say. We ask everyone to please respect the privacy of his family and friends as we grieve his loss.”

Bandele made his directorial

debut with the Nigerian civilwar themed drama movie “Half of a Yellow Sun” which was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. His television credits include the Netflix Original Series, “Blood Sisters” and the third season of MTV’s “Shuga.”

Osun PDP Reassures Members of Inclusive Govt state’s governor-elect. party are duly rewarded. within the party.

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

Osun State Chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday reassured its teeming supporters that no segment of the party would be excluded from participation in the government to be formed by Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, the

In a statement made available to THISDAY and signed by the State Caretaker Committee Chairman, Dr. Akindele Adekunle, the party reiterated the assurance of the party and the governor-elect to ensure that party men and women who toiled day and night to secure victory for the

According to the party chief, neither the governor-elect nor the party leadership has shared positions and offices ahead of the change of government, repeating his earlier address at the party’s recent stakeholders’ meeting that the incoming administration will integrate all interests and caucuses

Adekunle posited that the recently constituted committee has been further harmonised just as the party election review committee has commenced operations to further harvest the views and aspirations of the party for better performance in future elections.

Ebonyi Officials Tasked on Good Governance, Economy governance and economy, that and implementation.

Special Assistant to Ebonyi Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki A Public Policy Consultant, Dr. Joe Abah, has advocated for stronger synergy between the political and bureaucratic classes in order to fast track growth and development of the nation’s economy.

Abah made the call at the ongoing workshop on good

was organised for memebers of Ebonyi State Executive Council, at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

His lecture, which centred on good governance, institutions and public policy, observed that mutual mistrust among the political class and civil servants has negated policy formulation

He added that good governance and quality services are critical for inclusive growth and participation of a broader set of stakeholders.

He appealed to political leaders to shun corruption and manic greed by prioritizing the welfare of their subjects.

In a statement issued by the

State Governor on Media and Strategy, Mr. Chooks Okoh, the guest lecturer, Abah attributed the monumental achievements of Governor David Umahi to prudent utilisation of the meager resources anchored on proper policy formulation and implementation.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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Brume: Our Performance in Birmingham Inspiration for More Girls in Sports

Ese Brume, gold medalist in the women’s long jump event of the 2022 Commonwealth Games concluded in Birmingham, United Kingdom last night has stressed that Team Nigeria’s women’s performance on the penultimate day of the Games will inspire girls in the country to take up sport.

The 26-year-old Delta State born Brume reclaimed her long jump title on a day Tobi Amusan won

COMMONWEALTH GAMES FALLOUT 100m hurdles gold before inspiring Team Nigeria’s women's 4x100m relay to the gold medal, 28 years after such feat in Victoria, Canada.

That took Nigeria's Games tally to 12 gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze medals to finish overall seventh position and Africa's top performers in Birmingham.

"I know this will be an inspiration for them," Brume told BBC Sport Africa.

She added: "Of course, when you see someone you look up to doing well, you want to definitely be like them. So this is going to motivate and inspire them.

"I hope it works."

Three-time African champion Brume set a new Games record with a leap of 7.00 metres to win, adding a second Commonwealth gold to the one she claimed in Glasgow eight years ago.

After two jumps of 6.99m and one of 6.96m - which would all have been enough to secure top spot on the podium - Brume said her record jump demonstrated her consistency in her discipline.

"This is one thing I really wanted - to get the Games record," she added.

"This is special for me, because it shows consistency. It shows the hard work of all those that have supported me, and my coach who has been backing me up.

"Sometimes it's about how you're able to show that what you're doing is not a fluke."

Amusan set a new Games record of 12.30 seconds to add the Commonwealth 100m hurdles title to her gold at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene.

The 25-year-old then returned to help Nigeria to 4x100m relay victory alongside Favour Ofili, Rose Chukwuma and Grace Nwokocha, who said the result was all the sweeter after they finished fourth in Oregon last month.

"We've been working so hard to get ourselves a fast time so that we could be at world level and we could be champions," the 21-year-old Nwokocha added.

"It is what we have always wanted to be. When we went to the Worlds, we felt so disappointed we didn't get a medal."

HOW NIGERIA WON 35 MEDALS S/N sports

Athletics Boxing Para Athletics Para Powerlifting Para Table Tennis Weightlifting Wrestling

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Gold Silver Bronze 4

1 1

2 1

2 3 1 1 2 3 2

2 2 1 2

2 3

12 GAMES 9 2022 COMMONWEALTH Total Number of Medals MEDAL STANDINGS (First 10 Teams)

14

35

Medal Standings (First 10 Teams) POSITION

Ese Brume won the Commonwealth Games women’s long jump gold medal with a 7.00m. It was also the new Games record

Buhari to Sports Ministry, Stakeholders: Build on Nigeria's Success in Birmingham Dare says future is bright for Nigerian sports

Deji Elumoye inAbuja President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the Sports Ministry officials to work with all relevant stakeholders to build on the success of Nigerian athletes at the just concluded 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

The President, in a statement issued Monday by his Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, advised government officials to begin early and earnest preparations to surpass this spectacular achievement in future competitions.

President Buhari said he looked forward to a rousing reception from Nigerians for members of Team Nigeria Birmingham 2022, just as he assured all stakeholders that youth and sports development will remain a priority for this administration.

He congratulated the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, led by Chief Sunday Dare, Sports Federations and Associations in the country on the successful conclusion and performance of Team Nigeria at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The President expressed delight at several reports of peaceful atmosphere, unity and camaraderie in the camp throughout the Games, which reflected positively in the psyche of the athletes, contributing to the harvest of medals for Team Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, has described the performance of Team Nigeria as excellent, inspirational, phenomenal, commendable and commanding.

His words: "This is a performance like no other," Dare said on Monday, "many new records were set, old records broken, long standing jinxes of not getting on the podium in

some sports were destroyed.

"This sign posts a brighter and better future for Nigerian sports development "I congratulate all our sports men and women, not just those that won medals but all those

who competed. I appreciate their sacrifice, commitment, confidence and patriotism.

"I am proud of them, Nigeria is proud of them and I believe that the Nigerian spirit that led them to these performances will lead them

to the place of excellence," Dare said.

Team Nigeria posted an impressive outing at the competition, finishing as Africa’s top performer in seventh position on the overall medals table with 12 gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze.

TEAM

1

Australia

2

England

3

Canada

4

New Zealand

5

India

6

Scotland

7

Nigeria

8

Wales

9

South Africa Northern Island

10

G

S

B

TOTAL

66

55

53

174

55

59

52

166

26

31

34

91

19

12

17

44

18

15

22

55

12

11

26

49

12

9

14

35

8

6

13

27

7

9

11

27

7

7

4

18

Abia APC Celebrates Gold Medalist Opobo Marathon: Daminabo Redeems Pledge to 2022 Winners Onyekwere, Team Nigeria Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Chioma Onyekwere, the gold medalist in the Discuss event at the just concluded 22nd Commonwealth Games has received accolades from her home state of Abia over the historical feat she achieved.

Her 61.70m throw on the opening day of the track & field events not only set a new Games record but also put her name in the history books as the first Nigerian female athlete to win a gold medal in discus event of the Commonwealth Games.

The only other gold medal that Nigeria had ever won in discus came from male thrower, Adewale Olukoju, at the Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games.

In a congratulatory message to the golden home girl, the Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress(APC) said that it received the news of her heroic feat with a high sense of pride as the discus thrower has become a national hero and an icon here in Abia, her home state.

"The APC family in Abia congratulate our golden girl, Chioma; We share in her joy and

Chioma Onyekwere celebrating winning the Commonwealth Games women’s discus gold medal on the first day of the track & field events wish her more successes in the field of sport and her other endeavours," the Abia APC Chairman, Dr Kingsley Ononogbu, noted in the press statement.

He noted that Onyekwere, who is also the reigning African champion in the female category of discus event, has shown that "Abia brims with sporting talents waiting to be discovered and given the necesaary push to become world champions".

The discus gold medalist, whose

father, Engr Chima Onyekwere is a prominent Abia APC stateholder, hails from Umuokpara in Umuahia South Local Government of Abia State.

"My assurance to Ndi Abia is that if they give us their mandate in 2023 our government would ensure that Abia would continuously produce more champions like Chioma in every area of sport," Dr Ononogbu said, adding that God's own state would become a resource hub of sporting talents.”

The winners of the 2022 edition of Opobo Marathon were last Friday presented with their winning prizes by the CEO of Dynasty Perfumes and Cosmetics Limited, Hon. Daminabo Alali Daniel.

The event which was held in Port Harcourt, had in attendance the Management of Dynasty group, ConnectOpobo Ltd, while the winners for the male and female categories joined virtually.

Speaking during the virtual presentation, the CEO of one of West Africa's largest perfumery, Daminabo Daniel thanked the organisers of the event and stated that the marathon will bring about peace and development to Opobo Kingdom.

According to him, “I'm happy to have in audience the organisers of the yearly ConnectOpobo Marathon and for a simple idea of the prize money in which my humble self, Hon. Daniel Alali Daminabo on behalf of my company, Dynasty Perfumery and Cosmetic Africa pledged the sum of $1000 yearly. So we are here to redeem the prize money for this year.

“Today, witnessing history been made. I know we have winners from Osun and Ekiti states; coming all the way to

our ancient Opobo Kingdom to participate in the marathon.

I know how welcoming we are as a people, we hope that the marathon will one day get to the stage where people in and out of Africa will want to participate.

“Myself and the brand are happy to associate with ConnectOpobo, we are always happy to support and sponsor this yearly event, especially in giving the prize money. I hope that in the future, we will continue the partnership as well as making it bigger."

Speaking on behalf of the winners, Akintomide Abayomi thanked the organisers of the marathon for keeping to their words in redeeming the prize to them.

He further thanked the sponsor of the prize for his gesture.

In a vote of thanks, the Team lead of ConnectOpobo Ltd and facilitators of the marathon, Iyowuna Cookey thanked the CEO of Dynasty Group for his continued contribution/support to the marathon.

Akintomide Abayomi (Osun) and Rukayat Oladapo (Ekiti) emerged champions of both male and female categories of the 2022 Opobo Marathon.

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

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MISSILE

ASUU to Federal Govt

“These delay tactics may lead to loss of our best brains in the universities, by the time it ends. Do they think that they can owe university lecturers six months without consequences? Is there any country in the world where that will happen?

The result is that they will leave in droves to other countries. And many of them that will remain will not take the university job serious…” --- ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, responding to Festus Keyamo’s outburst on the strike.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

On the Commonwealth Games 2022 T

he organizers of the just concluded 22nd Commonwealth in Birmingham, UK deserve high praise for delivering an event at the Alexander Stadium in the West Midlands that proved to be a triumph of art, culture, multi-sports glory and remarkable diversity. This was the first carbon-neutral Commonwealth Games (CWG) to be organized, thus a pacesetter for other multi-sports events hereafter.

It was also like no other Commonwealth Games before it, with the inclusion of more games and medals on offer for women’s sports – for the first time, women’s cricket was introduced, in addition to eight para events that were integrated to further highlight the themes of inclusivity and diversity.

The last time the UK hosted the “Friendly Games” as the CWG is also known was 20 years ago in Manchester, this year’s event, 10 years after the 2012 London Olympics, was bigger and coming in the year of the Queen’s Platinum, it has been a befitting tribute to the shared Commonwealth heritage, the city of Birmingham itself, and to all the athletes for whom the Friendly Games provides opportunities for self-realization beyond the thrill of participation or attendance.

Our high praise for Birmingham and the UK is not misplaced given the challenges that the hosts had to grapple with. The city of Durban was originally chosen as the next host of the 2022 Games as far back as 2015, but when Durban had to withdraw due to financial constraints, Birmingham volunteered to be the host in 2017, thus saddled with a shorter time for preparation ahead of the 2002 Games. Then COVID-19 up-ended the entire world, creating global process and supply disruptions, lockdowns and shutdowns and an inevitable re-ordering of processes with cost implications. Yet, despite this, Birmingham delivered. The opening ceremony of the Games on July 28 has been adjudged one of the most colourful ever, a celebration of diversity with prominent thematic motifs including equality of all persons and races, and properly toned reminders of culture, art and history: William Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, Edward Edgar, Charlie Chaplin.

The high point of the opening was the gigantic automaton Bull of Birmingham charging into the stadium, which was eventually tamed. Duran Duran, Spice Girls. A festive musicality filled the air. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall drove into the arena. Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Laureate who adopted Birmingham as her new home, after she was shot by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2012, also gave a speech on the importance of girls’ education. The Commonwealth comprises 72 nations and territories, most of which were formerly under the British Empire, representing 2.5 billion people of the world. This year, the Games had in attendance 6, 500 athletes competing in 280 medal events. It started on a high note. It ended on an even higher note, with UB40, Goldie and other global artists performing and Australia topping the medals table with 174 medals.

History was made. I note, in particular, the record set by 72-year-old Rosemary Lenton of Scotland winning the gold medal in para women’s pairs bowling with Pauline Wilson, 58. Birmingham has the most youthful population in the whole of Europe, 40% of its population is under the age of 25, and yet at this year’s Games, Scottish ladies, Lenton and Wilson proved that age is no barrier.

But of course, the bigger excitement for me was the performance of the Nigerian contingent at the Games. This was our country’s 15th appearance at the Games, we sent a total of 93 athletes (41 men and 52 women) competing in 7 sports – athletics, boxing, judo, para powerlifting, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling, but this was our best outing ever at the CWG, a firm, redoubtable, confirmation that Nigeria is a country of champions, who

Tobi Amusan only need to be given the opportunity and the enabling environment for their talents to flower.

At the CWG 2022, Nigeria finished seventh on the medals table with a total of 35 medals – 12 gold, nine silver and 14 bronze medals. The last time Nigeria did something faintly close to this was at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, when the country got 11 gold medals, 13 silver and 13 bronze, and also at the 2014 Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

This year’s performance would be unforgettable, particularly with the record-breaking performance put up by the Nigerian team. The harvest of medals began with Adijat Olarinoye setting the new Commonwealth record in weightlifting, 55 kg category, lifting a total of 203 kg, Rafiatu Lawal also set a new record in the 59 kg weightlifting with a total lift of 206 kg, Folashade Oluwafunmilayo also set a new record in women’s heavyweight powerlifting, winning the gold medal, her compatriot, Bose Omolayo, took the silver medal in the same event. Tobi Amusan whose phenomenal performance at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, US had been celebrated two weeks earlier when she set a new record in the 100 m hurdles, soon proved that her earlier performance was truly the stuff of genius when she repeated the same feat at the CWG and thus defended her title as indisputable Nigeria, African, Commonwealth and the World Champion in 100 m hurdles.! She is in addition the first Nigerian athlete to successfully defend a Commonwealth Games 100m hurdles title, having won the same in Gold Coast, Australia in 2018. Nwachukwu Goodness provided a taste of additional goodness to Nigeria’s performance when she won gold and set a new record in women’s discus throw with just her first two throws! Another hero in discus is Chioma Onyekwere. Nigeria also took another gold and set another record when the quartet of Tobi Amusan, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma and Grace Nwokocha won the gold medal in the 4 x 100 women’s relay. Ese Brume placed a nice cap on it all when, on Sunday, she also took the gold medal in the long jump, breaking the record in the event twice on the same day!

It has been said that the ladies did better than the men, winning nine out of all the 12 gold medals for Nigeria. This is not to make light of the effort of the men who won medals for Nigeria: Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, Alaba Akintola and

Raymond Ekewvo won a bronze medal in the men’s 4 x100 relay. Edidiong Umoafia also won a bronze in 67kg weightlifting. Overall, it was a good outing for Nigeria. We may not have done well in table tennis – the Ouadri Aruna-led men’s table tennis team was beaten in the semi-finals

by India, dashing our hopes. Our women’s table tennis team could not advance to the quarter finals, having been defeated by the English team. There was also some initial disturbance about sports kits and Nigeria having to engage a British company MG Sportswear to work round the clock to produce last-minute kits for the athletes – this is a perennial problem with Nigeria. We never manage to get ready until the last minute. Or after. Poor management is the bane of sports in Nigeria, and you can add to that - politics, greed and corruption.

Nonetheless, what stands out after the country’s outing in Birmingham is the epochal performance of the Nigerian contingent, more specifically, the female athletes, and the Ministry of Sports which tried to ensure that there was no scandal. That in itself should be considered an achievement. The contingent deserves applause.

Those special moments on the podium at the World Athletics Championships two weeks ago and now at the Commonwealth Games have given us something to be joyful about as a country - at a time when everything appears dim in Nigeria: public-owned universities have been shut down since February 14, the national currency, the Naira, has depreciated so badly in value many families cannot afford to buy a loaf of bread on the family menu because it is now so expensive, inflation is about 18.6%, unemployment - 33.3%, terrorists are getting bolder by the day, they are even threatening to abduct the President and other political leaders… and just in the midst of all that Tobi, Ese, Favour, Goodness and others have made us proud, and put a smile on our lips.

Nigeria could have done better if we had participated perhaps in more events, but the starting point would be for the country to develop the existing potential in other sports. We need world-class facilities to train and build athletes.

Many of the Nigerian athletes who often do well in major competitions, may have been discovered at home, but they tend to get to the peak of their potential through foreign exposure and training.

It should be possible to generate and keep world talents at home by making our environment more sports-friendly. Once upon a time, Ogbe Stadium in Benin City, Rowe Park and the National Stadium in Lagos, and Liberty Stadium in Ibadan were rated as world-class sports facilities. These days, these and even newer sports facilities merely survive for about a year or two before they go into disrepair despite huge amounts spent on them. Frustrated, many of our athletes take up the citizenship and jerseys of other countries. This is why the dedicated ones who still give us podium moments at competitions are true heroes and sheroes. What remains is to ensure that our 2022 CWG patriots get the befitting reception that they have earned, and of course, nobody has talked about the ethnic identity of these achievers as we all share in their glory as Nigerians – an indication of how sports can be a strong tool for promoting national unity. .

Successful as CWG 2022 may have been, however, questions have been raised about the continued relevance and merit of the Games in its present format. There are three sides to this: politics, cost and scope. There are many who remain uneasy about the fact that the Commonwealth Games draws its identity from a legacy of monarchy, empire and colonialism. They want a clean break from the colonial past as the Empire itself has since ceased to exist as it then was. Originally established as the “The British Empire Games”, the Games has since

changed its brand to the Commonwealth Games or The Friendly Games, to reflect the equality of members and the dominance of democracy. The Games thus promote partnership, friendship and the history of the shared heritage among members.

Those who want a new identity refer to the fact that in terms of membership, certainly new, nonEmpire members have since been admitted into the Commonwealth, the most recent being - Rwanda, Mozambique, Samoa, Gabon and Togo. If it is possible for countries that were never colonies under the British empire to join the Commonwealth out of their own volition, then it should be possible to expand participation in the Games to make it truly multi-sports and multi-nation. Gabon and Togo having become members are expected to send participants to the next Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Australia in 2026.

What is the issue about cost? Funding the CWG can be rather expensive. This is the major reason why in more than two decades, only one other country, that is India (Delhi 2010) has hosted the games outside the UK and Australia. Durban, South Africa had to opt out of its right to host CWG 2022 due to financial constraints. Indeed, no African country has ever hosted the Games since its debut in 1930. Birmingham spent about 778 million pounds to host this year’s event. Can any African country put such an amount together to host a sporting event? Outside Africa, many of the smaller members of the Commonwealth (eg.

Nauru, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Gambia, Tonga, Antigua and Barbuda etc) may also face financial constraints.

But if countries are admitted based on capacity to host the Games, the question is: would the CWG not begin to look more like the Olympics? Would the opportunity cost consideration not translate into a complete erosion of brand and identity?

Is there a possible new model for financing and hosting the Games to reduce cost and the burden on interested host countries? Unless a new model of financing is thought up, the dream of having every member country host the Games may never be realized. The rich countries that can afford to do so, would continue to lead. Hence, countries like the UK (Manchester 2012, Birmingham 2022), New Zealand (Auckland 1950,1990), and Scotland (Edinburgh 1970, 1986), have hosted the Games more than once. Australia in fact, holds the record of multiple hosting of the Games – five times and would again be the host in 2026 followed

by Canada hosting four times (– Hamilton, 1930, Vancouver, 1954, Edmonton, 1978, Victoria, 1994).

The doctrine of the sovereign equality of states is a fundamental principle of international law, but in real terms countries are not equal, human beings are also just as unequal.

The assumption that Britain is using the CWG as a vehicle to divert attention away from the ills of its past, presenting itself as a more compassionate nation now making friends with former subjects, compared to other former imperial powers, does not devalue the Commonwealth Movement. The Commonwealth Games in whatever form would continue to showcase cities, and put such cities on the global map as it has done for Birmingham and other cities before now, in addition to providing a strong platform for athletes to prove their mettle in a manner that resonates throughout the Commonwealth and beyond, and a vehicle for the promotion of diplomacy, communalities, goodwill and understanding through sports.

Nigeria and its athletes must begin to prepare for the next Games in 2026. For now, CWG is a good outing. At the opening ceremony, on July 28, the Nigerian contingent danced excitedly to Kizz Daniel’s song: “Buga”. By yesterday when the games ended, “E choke” to borrow Davido’s famous Nigerian slang!

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