TUESDAY 14TH JULY 2020

I Slapped Akpabio, Says Ex-NDDC Boss, Nunieh Presidency investigates minister, others over alleged corruption in NDDC Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The federal government’s intervention agency, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),

yesterday continued to be in the news for the wrong reasons as its former interim Managing Director, Ms. Joi Nunieh, said she slapped the Minister of Niger Delta

Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for harassing her in his guest house in Abuja.

"Why did he not tell Mr. President what he did that I slapped him?” she asked

ARISE NEWS, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspaper, stating proudly: “I am the only Ogoni woman, Nigerian woman that has slapped his face. I slapped him because

of his plan B.” Nunieh’s bombshell came just as THISDAY learnt that Akpabio and a host of others named in alleged fleecing of the NDDC are now being

investigated by the presidency.

Separate enquiries are going on in both chambers of the National Assembly Continued on page 8

CBN Directs Banks to Stop Processing Maize Import Documents... Page 6 Tuesday 14 July, 2020 Vol 25. No 9227. Price: N250

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Panel Quizzes More EFCC Directors as Magu’s Interrogation Enters Day 6 Recovered funds in TSA don’t generate interest, says suspended EFCC boss Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The presidential panel probing alleged corrupt practices against the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and

Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, yesterday quizzed more directors of the commission at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The interrogation was a

follow-up to last Thursday's grilling of some top directors of the EFCC, including the commission's Secretary, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, and few other directors as Magu's

interrogation entered the sixth day yesterday.

Magu also yesterday pushed back allegations that he diverted interests on recovered funds, saying that

recovered funds were kept in Single Treasury Account (TSA) and could not have generated interest.

This is coming as the General Overseer of Divine

Hand of God Prophetic Ministries International, Abuja, Prophet Emmanuel Omale, has denied allegations that Continued on page 8

P&ID Contract a Scam, Can’t Stand, FG Tells UK Court Insists firm knew there was no contract Uncovers illegal payments to daughter of govt official

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja with agency reports The federal government yesterday led evidence to convince a United Kingdom (UK) High Court to accept its allegation that the Gas Supply Purchasing Agreement (GSPA) between Nigeria and Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) for a 20-year contract on gas project, was conceived with the full intent of defrauding Nigeria.

It said the GSPA, under which P&ID was to build gas processing facilities in Cross River State and the government was to supply wet gas up to 400 million standard cubic feet per day

that will be processed to generate electricity, was a grand scheme conceived by an Irish businessman, Mr. Michael Quinn, in cahoots with top Nigerian government officials to defraud the country.

The lawyer representing the Nigerian government, Mr. Mark Howard, told an online UK High Court session, headed by Sir Ross Cranston, that P&ID knew from the beginning that there was no deal, noting that it was only a facade to fleece Nigeria.

Nigeria also alleged that it has uncovered previously unknown payments to Vera Taiga, a daughter of a Nigerian Continued on page 8

FG Releases New Guidelines for Reopening of Schools... Page 5

BOOSTING MORALE OF TROOPS...

Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin (left), and Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, during the CDS’ visit to troops in Katsina...yesterday

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

FG Releases New Guidelines for Reopening of Schools

Olawale Ajimotokan, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Martins Ifijeh in Lagos The federal government yesterday released new guidelines ahead of the planned resumption of schools without fixing a date for students to resume studies.

This is coming as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said that new research findings have suggested that COVID-19 may indeed be airborne.

The guidelines outlined actions, measures and requirements needed for the safe reopening of schools after the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the guidelines released by the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja yesterday, the safe distancing measures in the new guidelines required that in schools and other learning facilities, learners should be supported to stay two metres apart.

The guidelines, signed by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, and Minister of State (Education), Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, were developed in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Health and health safety experts.

The document said: “However, there are exceptions where the two-metre rule cannot be reasonably applied and other risk mitigation strategies may be adopted. Examples include early years, younger primary school children, and those with additional needs.

“In these circumstances, risk assessments must be undertaken with the best interests of the learners, teachers, and other education personnel in mind.

The scenarios require organising learners and children into small groups with consistent membership and compliance with the risk mitigation strategies. The membership of these groups should not change unless the NCDC public health guideline suggests otherwise.”

With the release of the document, the government would conduct a rapid assessment and determine funding requirement for upgrading infrastructure and facilities (such as classrooms, furniture, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene-WASH and ICT facilities) to meet and sustain prescribed safe school reopening requirements.

The government said it was time for it to plan and address the eventual safe reopening of schools and learning facilities.

The guidelines included a review of policies, practices and risk mitigation strategies in the use of schools for other purposes, such as distance learning centres, temporary shelters, isolation, quarantine and treatment centres, markets and voting centres, among others.

“COVID-19 pandemic poses an enormous risk to the health and safety of learners, teachers, parents, school administrators, education practitioners, and the wider community…More than 1.5 billion children and young people globally have been affected by school and university closures," it stated.

Airborne Transmission of COVID-19 Possible, Says NCDC The NCDC has said there is a new research findings suggesting that COVID-19 disease may be airborne.

It said it would soon commence posting of COVID-19 test results to persons via electronic means in order to reduce time-wasting and also maintain privacy.

Speaking yesterday at the media briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, the Director-General of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said there is now new evidence supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the virus may be contacted airborne.

Ihekweazu said: "Understanding the modes of transmission of any new virus is very critical to deciding response tactics. For COVID-19 and from the very beginning, our understanding showed that other coronaviruses travel through droplets of excretions from the respiratory tracks that can't stay on for long and will ultimately fall to the ground after two minutes.

"However, as we study infections and clusters of infections, we saw increasing evidence from clusters of infections where droplets from persons did not seem to be enough reason to explain the clusters that we are seeing.

Diseases that are commonly understood to be spread through what we call airborne infection are things like measles, influenza that can be suspended in the air and that move longer distances.

"Over the past few weeks, increasing evidence has emerged that in addition to droplets infection, we cannot rule that airborne transmission is also possible as a mode of transmission of COVID-19. And also WHO's updated records are saying the same thing," he added.

Ihekweazu said based on this latest development, Nigeria would have to act with the required discretion believing that this is also possible.

He said the import of the evidence is that the health protocols affecting staying together in closed places like restaurants and small rooms without good ventilation without face masks increases the risk of transmission.

According to him, indoor activities are more risky than outdoor activities, especially

when many people are clamped in one room without observing social distancing or wearing of face masks."

Also speaking at the briefing, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the federal government and the Cross River State government had resolved their differences and agreed to work as a team in tackling COVID-19 in the state.

Ehanire said the 17-man team of the ministry that was deployed in Calabar to engage with the Cross River State government in setting up their COVID-19 response and aligning it with the national response, has returned to Abuja, after a successful mission.

Ehanire said: "With this successful constructive engagement, I am pleased to report that Cross River State is now aligned with the Federal Ministry of Health COVID-19 response and has started reporting on the national dashboard. We have activated the GeneExpert machine at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital to increase testing capacity in the state and NCDC has resumed deployment of rapid response teams to provide technical assistance to their Public Health EOC to strengthen their incident management system.

"Following the intervention of the ministerial team with the Cross River State branch of the Nigeria Medical Association officials, issues that led to the withdrawal of medical services by the doctors in the state were resolved and the strike action has been called off," he stated.

The minister spoke about the development of local RNA extraction kits and its validation by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control

(NAFDAC).

"I am very proud of this development, which I have asked NCDC to evaluate because it will be a further step in reducing dependence on imported commodities," he said.

The federal government has also allayed the fear that the virus can be transmitted onboard passenger aircraft in the light of the almost impossible task by the civil aviation authority to ensure social distancing of passengers on all operated domestic flights.

The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said at the press briefing in Abuja, that research conducted at the outset of the pandemic established that it is safe for passengers to sit next to each other.

The minister noted that the chances of infected persons spreading the virus in the cockpit is very limited if the aircraft is decontaminated and every passenger is wearing a face mask and not showing signs of COVID-19 at the point of entering the airport and at the point of boarding the aircraft in addition to also observing all safety protocols.

Sirika said airplanes are made in such a way that the air that is circulated within the cabin in ambient and naturally clean air.

He said the filtering of air was carried out every two minutes during the flight while the air that goes into the plane is compressed, turned to water and cooled to 2oC from a temperature of 200oC. ''It is cooled and filtered to take out bacteria and viruses.

The process of filtration is done every two minutes,'' Sirika said.

The minister also stated that passengers no longer have to arrive at the airport three

hours before the take-off time of domestic flights.

In a tweet yesterday, Sirika said passengers could now arrive 90 minutes before departure time for domestic flights.

“My colleagues and I have reviewed passenger facilitation at our airports, consequently I am happy to announce that henceforth, travellers are to arrive one hour and a half before their departure time for domestic flights,” the tweet read.

The minister also advised passengers to check-in online so as to minimise time spent checking in at the airport.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the task force and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, said the federal government had received $8 million worth of PPEs from the German government and the ECOWAS Commission as a way of strengthening effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Mustapha also added that the task force conducted a mid-term review of the National Response Strategy last week by engaging key stakeholders in developing the way forward on the overall COVID-19 response efforts.

Mustapha noted that at the end of the two-day meeting, the PTF also resolved to focus on having enough oxygen nationwide as the number of hospitalised persons were increasing.

He also said the federal government intended to establish one sample collection centre in every LGA while also emphasising on high burden LGAS with precision interventions, including increased risk communication.

Russia Completes

Human Trial for COVID-19 Vaccine There seems to be a headway in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as Russia has completed the first-ever clinical trials of the vaccine on humans This is even as report has claimed that the vaccines have proven to be effective among volunteers they were used on.

Announcing the development yesterday, the Chief Researcher and Head, Centre for Clinical Research on Medications, Sechenov University, Russia, Elena Smolyarchuk, said those who featured in the human trial would be discharged soon.

He said: "The research has been completed and it proved that the vaccine is safe. The volunteers will be discharged on July 15 and July 20."

There was no other information on when this vaccine would enter commercial production.

Russia had allowed clinical trials of two forms of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology.

The first one was carried out at the Burdenko Military Hospital while the other vaccine was given to COVID-19 patients at the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.

"Some 20 people volunteered for the injection. After given the shot, the volunteers were asked to quarantine in the hospital for 28 days."

Earlier, results of the COVID-19 vaccine tests performed on a group of volunteers in Russia showed that they were developing immunity to the virus, but the actual composition of the drug was not explained.

LEGISLATIVE VISIT...

L-R: Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on National Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Olododo Saka (left), and Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, during an oversight visit to the ministry in Abuja…yesterday

Court Dismisses N5bn Libel Suit against THISDAY, Diamond Bank Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Bello Kawu of an Abuja High Court, sitting in Kubwa, yesterday dismissed a N5 billion libel suit against THISDAY Newspaper Limited and Diamond Bank Plc. Justice Kawu dismissed the suit brought against the defendants by a chartered accountant, Nixon Alanza, for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

The plaintiff had in 2015

sued THISDAY and Diamond Bank, which has now merged with Access Bank Plc., at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for allegedly defaming him when they included his name in a publication of a list of debtors to the bank.

In the suit with number: FCT/HC/CV/360/15, Alanza, through his lawyer, Mr. Blessing Timothy, had argued that THISDAY Newspaper in 2015 made a publication titled,

"Diamond Bank List of Major Delinquent Debtors” without justification or verification.

The lawyer said her client's name was stated with other persons as owing a term loan and lease finance facility to the tune of N181,728,381.55.

While submitting that the publication was totally false and defamatory, the lawyer said the plaintiff was neither a director of Global Scansystems Limited as listed by the defendant, adding that the plaintiff at no time

guaranteed any loan owed to Diamond Bank.

Consequently, Alanza prayed the court to award him N5 billion as compensation for aggravated and general damages for libel and another statutory interest of 10 per cent per annum from the date of judgment until the judgment debt is fully liquidated.

However, in its defence against the suit, THISDAY Newspaper through its lawyer, Dr. Frank Chude, argued that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gave a

directive to the bank to publish a list of delinquent debtors.

He said THISDAY was bound to publish "because it was a directive from a credible source, CBN, and the newspaper is covered by qualified privilege, which states that it owes a duty to publish so long as there is no malice.

“The public is interested in knowing what is going on, a qualified privilege avails publication without malice.”

He accordingly asked the

court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

In his judgment, however, Justice Kawu held that the plaintiff failed to prove the ingredients of libel for his case to have merit.

He noted that the plaintiff did not provide enough evidence for libel thereby making the suit liable for dismissal.

The judge accordingly dismissed the suit for lacking merit.

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CBN Directs Banks to Stop Processing Maize Import Documents Obinna Chima The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has asked banks and other authorised dealers to henceforth discontinue processing documents for maize and corn importation.

The move is part of efforts to stimulate domestic production of maize.

The banking sector regulator gave the directive in a circular dated July 13, 2020, addressed to all banks and authorised dealers that was posted on its website.

The circular was signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, CBN, Dr. Ozoemena Nnaji.

The central bank directed the banks to discontinue the processing of Form ‘M’.

A Form ‘M’ is a mandatory statutory document to be completed by all importers for the importation of goods into Nigeria. It is mandatory for all importers to complete and register Form ‘M’ with authorised dealers at the time of placing orders.

The circular said: “As part of efforts by the CBN to increase local production, stimulate

a rapid economic recovery, safeguard rural livelihoods and increase jobs, which were lost as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, authorised dealers are hereby directed to discontinue the processing of Form ‘M’ for the importation of maize/corn with immediate effect.

“Accordingly, all authorised dealers are hereby requested to submit the list of Form ‘M’ already registered for the importation of maize/corn using the attached format on or before the close of business on Wednesday, July 15, 2020.

Please ensure strict compliance.”

If implemented, the policy would take the number of items that had been restricted from accessing forex from the central bank forex windows to 44.

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had said the bank would sustain its intervention in the agriculture sector through its development finance mandate, in order to help catalyse growth in critical sectors of the economy such as agriculture and the manufacturing sectors.

In line with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari, the CBN had created several

Okonjo-Iweala: How I Tackled Corruption, Saved Billions of Dollars

Ejiofor Alike with agency reports

A former Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, has said that while serving under the administrations of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan, she worked hard to open up information and tackle corruption, saving billions of dollars that were channelled to other priorities.

She advised governments across the world to be more transparent and accountable amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

She noted that many countries are battling corruption in the procurement of medical supplies, including personal protective equipment, adding that governments should “publish all tenders and all contracts” and “companies receiving funds should not be anonymous.”

Okonjo-Iweala, a former World Bank managing director, who is Nigeria's nominee for the post of World Trade Organisation (WTO) director general, spoke on her stewardship in Nigeria and on how to fight graft in a write-up entitled, ‘To Beat COVID-19, Governments Need to Open Up,’ published on Bloomberg.

Okonjo-Iweala presently serves on the board of Bloomberg Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health.

She said during her two tenures as Nigeria’s finance minister from 2003 to 2006 as well as between 2011 and 2015, she introduced reforms that helped to curb corruption.

She said: “Getting medical equipment, and eventually vaccines, to those that need them most poses a major governance challenge. Already, many countries are battling price gouging, collapsing supply chains and even corruption in the procurement of supplies, including personal protective

equipment. Out of desperation, governments have contracted with suppliers who have no track record of delivering the equipment they need. Too often, those suppliers have failed.

“The only way to make emergency procurement fast and efficient is to do it in the open by publishing all tenders and all contracts.

“This openness should extend to the emergency budgets that have been established to fund healthcare systems and economic stimulus packages.

Even in normal times, finance ministries need to publish their budgets in a way that encourages accountability and citizen engagement. Right now, it is even more important to reassure taxpayers that funds are being spent on the right priorities.

“Opening up procurement and budgets can only have the desired effect if citizens and civil society are empowered to follow the money.

“During my tenure as Nigeria's finance minister, we worked hard in a difficult governance environment to open up information and tackle corruption. Though it was not easy, we saved billions of dollars that were channelled to other priorities.

“At a time when many governments are rapidly mobilising financial resources from their own budgets, international markets and donors, it is vital that funds are not wasted. Working in an open way will build trust with citizens and lenders, and it will ensure the money reaches the neediest.

“When this pandemic is brought to an end, one legacy should be an expectation for more open government that makes better decisions, uses resources more wisely and puts citizens first.”

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

The CBN governor explained that through schemes such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the Commercial

Agriculture Credit Scheme and the Bankers Committee AgricBusiness/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS), the apex bank has improved access to markets for farmers by facilitating a greater partnership with agro-processors and manufacturing firms in the sourcing of raw materials.

“As a result, manufacturers have integrated local options in sourcing their raw materials.

Partnerships forged through contracts between farmer cooperatives and agro-processors have also helped to support

improved production of agricultural commodities such as rice, cotton and maize.

“In order to address some of the challenges faced by local farmers and manufacturers, we embarked on measures to discourage smuggling and dumping of restricted items into the country, by imposing restrictions on the use of financial institutions in Nigeria by identified smugglers, as their activities undermined the growth of our local industries.

“These measures are aiding our efforts to support local

cultivation in rice, cotton and fish, etc.,” he had stated.

He added that at some point in Nigeria’s history, the economy was heavily reliant on agriculture, with increased cultivation and exports of primary products such as cocoa, palm oil, cotton and groundnut.

He, therefore, urged the country, in view of current challenges in the global economy, to return to the era, when the growth of the agricultural and manufacturing sectors was used to bring about growth and employment.

FIGHTING MALARIA SCOURGE...

An unnamed beneficiary; Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje; and Emir of Bichi, Alhaji Nasir Bayero, during the inauguration of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) in Kano State…recently

UNILAG Warns ASUU against Disrupting School’s Activities Peter Uzoho The University of Lagos has warned the school's chapter of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) against disrupting the activities of the university, particularly the meeting of the University's Governing Council slated for tomorrow.

The university’s Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Dr. Olawale Babalakin, reacting to the alleged threat by ASUU to disrupt the meeting of the governing council accused the union of fixing their congress the same day with the governing council meeting to disrupt the latter meeting.

Babalakin in a statement yesterday by the Registrar and Secretary to Council, UNILAG,

Mr. Oladejo Azeez, said the action of ASUU violated the freedom of movement of Nigerians within Nigeria as enshrined in the constitution.

The statement said: "I have the instruction of the ProChancellor and Chairman of Council to inform members of the university community and the general public as follows: "It is important to note that the council had earlier issued a notice for the council meeting commencing on the same 15th of July 2020.

"This council meeting, apart from being statutory was also requisitioned by the vicechancellor of the university.

"The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, recently requisitioned the meeting to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman

of the Governing Council, Dr. Wale Babalakin, on May 11, 2020, and June 26, 2020 respectively."

According to the statement, the time and topic by ASUU for their congress clearly indicated its plan to disrupt the council meeting, especially since it has issued several threats to prevent the pro-chancellor from coming to the university.

"This action is violently against the provision of Section 41, subsection 1 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) (Fourth Alteration), which guarantees freedom of movement of Nigerians within Nigeria "ASUU as a trade union under the laws of Nigeria is also expected to know that Section 4 of the Trade Union

Act states that ‘No person shall subject any other person to any form of constraint or restriction in the course of persuasion,’" it stated.

It said the UNILAG ASUU has shown that it is a group that does not adhere to the constitution of Nigeria or the trade union law, which it is a part of.

"As a responsible council, we will not engage ASUU, University of Lagos branch, on issues that are beyond its duties, powers and responsibilities under the laws of Nigeria.

"We, therefore, advise all law-abiding Nigerians to discountenance the action of the leadership of ASUU, University of Lagos branch and go about their legitimate duties as they will be protected under the laws of the federation," it added.

NERC: Poor Consumers Insulated from Electricity Tariff Hike Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has reiterated that the proposed electricity tariffs hike which will take effect from the first quarter of 2021, will not substantially impact poor power consumers in the country.

The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI)’s regulator made the pronouncement, even as the Senate said yesterday that it was working with the commission to review the extant laws to meet with current realities.

Speaking during a presentation to the Senate Committee on Power at the commission's head office in Abuja, the NERC’s

Chairman, Prof. James Momoh, assured the lawmakers that the tariffs increase was structured in such a way that the masses will not be affected.

Momoh told the lawmakers who were on their oversight function that a strategy had been put in place to ensure that whatever happens, the poor will no longer subsidise the rich.

He said: "It is not going to affect the poor. We will make sure that the downtrodden and the people you feel for at the moment will not be affected by any increase we will be bringing forth.

"It will be based on the hours of service and the quality of power available there. We don't

want the poor to subsidise the payment of the rich. In other words, we must make sure that the poor are not sacrificed in the process of tariff increase."

In his comments, the Chairman of the committee on Power, Senator Gabriel Suswan urged the commission to handle the tariff increase with caution because of the economic hardship it could inflict on the people.

He argued that given that many Nigerians cannot afford to feed themselves at the moment, as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the commission had "to make haste slowly" .

Suswam stressed that the

NERC had reviewed the tariff but that the economy had contracted by over 2 percent due to the covid-19 pandemic, noting that by their own programme, the NERC was supposed to have activated the increase by 1st of July.

He added: “We met with them at the level of national assembly and appealed that given the circumstances of the covid-19, they should tarry awhile and let Nigerians recover a bit from the economic shocks before they can activate that tariff."

He noted that the commission suspended the hike because of the pleas of the senate, but insisted that the suspension does not rule out its eventual hike.

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PAGE EIGHT P&ID CONTRACT A SCAM, CAN’T STAND, FG TELLS UK COURT official, Mrs. Grace Taiga, in the country’s latest attempt to overturn the $9.6 billion arbitration award against it.

Nigerian government’s lawyer also said he had evidence of payments from companies related to P&ID to Vera, 11 days before the deal was signed in January 2010.

Taiga was a former director of Legal Services for the Ministry of Petroleum, whose political head, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, signed the GSPA at the time on behalf of Nigeria.

The government said one payment of $4,969.50 was made on December 30, 2009, and a second of $5,000 on January 31, 2012.

The payments came to light following a United States discovery order in New York, it said. The government also said P&ID officials, and companies linked to it, paid several other officials in relation to the deal.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in 2019 charged Taiga with accepting bribes and failing to follow protocol related to the contract.

She has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial.

P&ID, founded by the late Quinn and Brendan Cahill, the lawyer told the court, had no intention to perform any obligation concerning the purported contract, reason the company went about bribing Nigerian government officials

at the time.

The company had taken legal action against Nigeria for alleged breach of contract, with a panel of three arbitrators voting 2-1 to award P & ID the full sum of its claim of $6.6 billion, plus interest which spiked the arbitration value to about $10 billion.

In January 2010, Nigeria allegedly signed the gas processing project, but two years later the company began an arbitration process, alleging breach of contract.

In July 2015, a London tribunal gave judgment in favour of the company and in January 2017, gave the final award of $6.6 billion, with an interest rate of seven per cent, pre and postjudgment.

Citing fraud, the federal government ordered an investigation by the EFCC and in January requested a hearing to present evidence that the so-called deal was a fraud.

The project first started under Lukman, whom the Nigerian legal representative said yesterday spearheaded the alleged fraud.

The federal government told the judge that Lukman and several government officials knew the agreement was a sham and stood to make financial gains.

Howard told Cranston that one Taofiq Tijani, who chaired the government technical committee that reviewed the gas plant contract, had admitted receiving $50,000 in cash from the late P & ID Project Director,

Neil Hitchcock, after meeting with Quinn.

“It is the corrupt elite who make payments to government officials when they are about to get a government contract.

The first payment was cash, the rest were through the banking system. The question is what was the essence of these payments? Mr. Tijani said he had significant pressure to put the project through.

“The payments we are referring to is a cash payment to Mr. Tijani.

These were disguised payments to cover up their tracks.

“October 19, £30,000, April 14, naira equivalent of €15,000 and same date €26,400 pounds and €13,317. These are all payments in connection with the project, which is described on page 34,” the lawyer told the court.

The federal government said there was no reason for P&ID to make those payments to Tijani if it was not because they knew the project was a scam.

“My Lord, you look at these payments and look at Mr. Tijani concerning these payments and you see that these payments cannot be accounted for. We are putting on one side the $50,000 that Mr. Tijani said he was paid in cash,” he said.

Still pushing the narrative that no legal contract existed, the federal government mentioned that one Ibrahim Dikko admitted to receiving gifts from the company, which the Nigerian government said

was inappropriate.

“We want to look at some other evidence. Mr. Dikko took over as the legal director in 2011 and he confessed on the 13th of January this year that he had been given $2,000 in cash by Mr. Quinn. Mr. Dikko was a government lawyer and what basis could Mr. Quinn be making personal gifts to a government lawyer when he was dealing with a government body.

“The suggestion is that it is plausible that Mr. Quinn could have sought to bribe Mr. Dikko.

Before we consider anything else that Tijani said he received, let's look at the accounts, bribes were being paid to obtain this contract,” he said.

In trying to convince the judge that the project was a sham, Howard said in the first quarter of 2010, there were massive withdrawals of millions of dollars from the company’s accounts, which he said were not a coincidence, since the late Quinn had just met with President Umaru Yar'Adua, now deceased, at the time.

He said the excuse that Nigeria was a cash economy at the time and that much of the transactions were done in cash was not tenable.

"It would be unheard of, for a company with such large-scale oil and gas project to be spending millions of dollars in cash which is illegal under Nigeria's money laundering legislation,'' the lawyer told the court.

He added that the late Quinn

PANEL QUIZZES MORE EFCC DIRECTORS AS MAGU’S INTERROGATION ENTERS DAY 6

he bought a property in Dubai

worth N573 million on behalf of Magu.

The EFCC's directors, who appeared before the Justice Ayo Salami-led presidential panel investigating a 21-point allegation of financial impropriety and fund diversion levelled against Magu, were asked to tell the panel all they knew about the allegations of fund diversion and other alleged misdemeanours against Magu and the commission under his leadership.

Top directors of EFCC who had appeared before the panel last Thursday did not provide satisfactory answers and were told to return for further interrogation with files of cases they handled since 2015, including assets' register and records of cash releases within seven days.

The directors who were reportedly tagged "Magu boys" because they were said to be especially favoured by the suspended EFCC boss, had been summoned by the panel for interrogation in view of allegations levelled against them by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami.

Malami had in a letter he earlier

sent to President Muhammadu Buhari, accused the "Magu boys" of perpetrating atrocities such as extortion, selling recovered assets without following due process and failing to remit proceeds to the Federation Account.

THISDAY learnt yesterday that directors who appeared before the panel last Thursday and were given seven days to return with files and documents are expected back before the committee today.

Magu was ambushed on the road in Abuja on July 6, by security agents and escorted to the presidential panel, which had been sitting three weeks earlier with their activities shrouded in secrecy.

He was subsequently detained at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) from where he has been appearing daily before the panel, since last week.

His house was also searched last week and some sensitive documents recovered.

The embattled EFCC boss, who has since remained in detention since last Monday, had filed a bail application before the police through one of his lawyers.

He was formally suspended last Friday, by the president and has been appearing before

the panel every day except on Saturday and Sunday.

Recovered Funds in TSA Don’t Generate Interest, Says Magu Meanwhile, Magu has stated that the allegations that he diverted interests on recovered funds were false, clarifying that recovered funds were kept in the TSA and could not have generated interest.

The Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets (PCARA) had reportedly accused Magu of not accounting for interests on N550 billion that was recovered.

But in a statement issued yesterday by Magu’s counsel, Mr. Wahab Shittu, the suspended EFCC boss described the claim as a “blatant falsehood.”

He said the recovered funds were lodged in the TSA with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), adding that funds in the TSA do not generate interests.

He stated: “It is a falsehood that Magu placed N550 billion recovered loot into a deposit account.

“The alleged transaction never featured in the proceedings before the Salami panel. Magu

was never confronted with any such allegation by the panel and the news is a blatant falsehood.

“To the best of Magu’s knowledge, no such amount is in any such account and he remains aghast at such outrageous figures. No one has confronted Magu with such allegations.

“All recovered funds are lodged in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Such recovered funds do not generate interest. This is elementary and can be verified from the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Finance.

“This can also be confirmed by other government revenue generating agencies. Funds kept in TSA account do not generate interest.”

Cleric Denies Buying N573m Property for Magu The General Overseer of Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministries International, Abuja, Prophet Emmanuel Omale, has denied an allegation that he bought a property in Dubai worth N573million on behalf of Magu.

The prophet said this yesterday in a pre-litigation letter addressed

I SLAPPED AKPABIO, SAYS EX-NDDC BOSS, NUNIEH over alleged monumental fraud and corruption that had plagued the agency since inception.

Alarmed by the mismatch between trillions of naira that had been released to the agency by the federal government and actual work done, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a forensic audit of the NDDC, substituting the board approved by the Senate with an interim management committee to superintend the financial scrutiny in October last year.

But the interim management headed by Nunieh soon got dissolved in February following intense pressure from political interests, which hauled sundry allegations of fraud and corruption against it.

The management, under Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, which was empanelled by the president a few months ago, has also become enmeshed in a web accusation of fraud.

The president, THISDAY

sources at the presidency said last night, has directed an investigation into the allegations, including those against the minister and members of the interim management and top federal legislators.

But Nunieh speaking to ARISE NEWS yesterday did not hold back against Akpabio, almost smashing the minister’s table.

She denied the minister’s allegation that she did not take part in the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, saying that she served in Kwara State.

Akpabio, during an interview with ARISE NEWS, last weekend had accused Nunieh, who was removed about six months ago, of being paranoia and having anger issue, which he said affected her alleged relationships with her four previous husbands.

Akpabio also accused Nunieh of insubordination, failing to respond to official memos as well as lacking the requisite qualifications to hold a high

office like the headship of the NDDC. He added that she could not present her NYSC discharge certificate.

The minister also accused her of refusing, on several occasions, to respond to official letters, describing it as insubordination.

But Nunieh disclaimed the allegations and accused Akpabio of always scheduling official meetings in private residences’ because he had a plan B', noting that one time, she smacked him in the face for harassing her.

The former NDDC boss wondered why the minister had so much interest in her private life but said though her private life remains private, she had never been married to four husbands.

She added that she failed to respond to most of the memos, which was termed insubordination, because they were frivolous and written by people under the minister, who did not have such rights to carry out official communication with

her office.

She added that she was pressured by the minister to take an oath of allegiance, which she declined, thereby further souring her official relationship with the minister.

She said: “He wrote me more than 30 letters, letters of appeal for amicable settlement of judgment. He wanted us to pay for legal fees. NDDC is not to pay legal fees to help people.

“He doesn't just understand that NDDC money is not to be used to help people. Another letter requested for assistance.

It’s for the Niger Delta people, not for assistance.

“I kept wondering - this letter was written by the Chief of Staff to the minister. Can you imagine?

How do I respond to this kind of letter? It’s documented. He could have called but it’s documented.

He wanted me to make payments to his cronies- payment for water hyacinth. That was the reason I was removed."

Nunieh, who said she did

had told the lower tribunal “a pack of lies,” and the deceased had no intention then of performing any contract from the moment talks on the project began.

“Lukman, Tijani and several other persons were 'procured' by the company. This case is an affront to decency," he stated.

Nigeria’s lawyer also asked for more time to appeal the about $10 billion arbitration award and pursue its claims that the 2010 gas supply contract with Process & Industrial Developments Limited was a sham.

It applied to the U.S. courts in March seeking documents from 10 banks, including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., in a bid to prove its corruption allegations. P&ID denies any wrongdoing and argues that Nigeria missed its window to appeal.

“It is very unusual in a fraud case to discover a single smoking gun,” Howard also told the court yesterday on the first morning of a two-day hearing.

“By its very nature, fraud is conducted in secret,” which makes it hard to detect and justifies an extension, he said.

Nigeria’s lawyers are seeking another hearing for the judge to decide whether misconduct has taken place, and whether it justifies overturning the contract.

P&ID has said the Nigerian government is engaged in a “manufactured fraud investigation” that has denied

its subjects due process.

Reuters reported that in a skeleton legal argument, its lawyers said the payments were legitimate and for medical expenses.

The hearing will continue today and the judge’s ruling will determine whether the government can continue its appeal and present its full case of alleged fraud in the English courts Evidence of P&ID’s “highly orchestrated scam” had only recently come to light, Nigeria's Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, said in a statement.

Lawyers to Nigeria have said they have uncovered alleged bribes to government officials and their family members dating back to 2009.

“There is good reason to believe that ministers at the highest level were involved in a corrupt scheme to steal money from Nigeria,” Malami said in court filings submitted on March 24.

P&ID, a British Virgin Islands-registered firm, alleged that Nigeria invented the fraud allegations to avoid paying its legitimate penalty. P&ID’s spokesmen in London didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Bloomberg reported that Nigeria would still have options for appealing should it lose in the London court.

to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

In the letter which was signed by his lawyer, Chief Gordy Uche (SAN), the cleric said he met Magu in Dubai earlier in the year but it was not to buy a property.

He said the suspended EFCC boss had travelled to Dubai for medical reasons and he only prayed with him.

The cleric said the NAN report reeks of calumny, denigration, actuated by malice, and is calculated to ridicule and disparage him and cast a stain on his reputation; expose him to public hatred and contempt and injure him in his religious calling, as the General Overseer of Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministries International.

The letter read in part, “We, however, wish to make the following clarifications to put the public records straight: That our client is the General Overseer of an inter-denominational/ multi-religious prayer ministry.

“That our client, only visited Mr. Ibrahim Magu in a hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, sometime in March 2020.

“That our client never laundered any funds whatsoever

for Mr. Ibrahim Magu or for anybody whatsoever. Our client does not own any foreign bank account anywhere in the world.

“That there are no funds whatsoever traceable from Mr. Ibrahim Magu to our client’s bank accounts whatsoever neither has our client received any funds whatsoever from Mr. Ibrahim Magu. Our client has never received any funds whatsoever from anybody on behalf of Mr. Ibrahim Magu.

“That our client does not own any property in Dubai. His name was never used to purchase any property whatsoever in Dubai, United Arab Emirates or anywhere else in any part of the world, neither has he purchased any property nor properties for Mr. Ibrahim Magu in any part of the world whatsoever.”

He subsequently asked NAN to retract the publication, which "has severely injured his reputation, character and calling.”

The cleric asked NAN to restrain itself from further defamation of his character or a libel suit of N1 billion would be instituted against the agency.

not want to return to the interventionist agency, explained that she was forced to speak out since she was removed from office because the minister impugned her character.

Nunieh explained: “When he saw he could not make me bring out the money, he now tried plan B. Why did he not tell Mr. President what he did that I slapped him? Why did he not tell Nigerians that I slapped his face in his guest house at Apo? Why did he not tell Nigerians what the insubordination was all about?

“Why did I stop going to meetings? He told the Senate Committee that I stopped coming for meetings. Why didn't he hold our meetings at our office?

I told Mr. Akpabio that I will not go for any meeting outside his office or my own office. The last week before I left, he came to Port Harcourt, but I did not go to Le Meridian to meet him.

Continued on page 36

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY JULY 14, 2020

POLITICS

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

Time to End Corruption at the NDDC writes that the ongoing public hearing of the Senate Adhoc Committee investigating corruption allegations at the Niger Delta Development Commission has uncovered a lot of disheartening infractions which support the insistent calls to disband the Interim Management Committee and a probe of the

Buhari

Nunieh

Pondei

Akpabio

T

district in the nine Niger Delta states. Women groups and the physically challenged got the same amount. With each state have three senatorial districts, the nine Niger Delta states collectively have 27 senatorial districts. Meaning for these three groups-of youths, women and the physically challenged-N405,000,000 in each state! If this is multiplied by the nine Niger Delta states, it adds up to N3.6billion. Pondei said this was in addition of food items which were purchased and distributed in the region as COVID-19 palliatives. With the population of Akwa Ibom State standing at 5.4million and that of the entire Niger Delta region estimated at about 30 million, each citizen from that part of the country could have received N3million as COVID-19 relief. As things stand, it would not be wrong to assume that the effects of Pondei’s did not get to the city centre of the Niger Delta states, let alone the rural areas.

Ms Joy Nunieh told the Senate panel of Akpabio’s demand for her to swear to a personal fetish oath of loyalty, not to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but to him as supervising Minister of the NDDC, aimed at ensuring that she keeps quiet and play ball to the Minister’s fraudulent schemes. However, according to her, no sooner had she taken the job than Akpabio demanded his pound of flesh - uncommon loyalty - sworn to in a fetish ceremony. In her words, “He told me to take an oath. He told me three times until we had a reconciliation meeting at the Villa in the office of Mr Abba who is the SSA. to the President on Domestics. In that meeting was Alhaji Maikano and he (Akpabio) said the only condition is when I take the oath and I

didn’t take the oath and will never take it.”

On Akpabio’s hold over the Commission, she added: “Nobody makes payments in NDDC without Godswill Akpabio’s consent. On the day of the inauguration, while we were in his car, he told me, Madam MD, if you don’t do what I said, the same pen I used in signing your letter, that is the same pen I will use in removing you. He said the first thing I should do, when I get to Port Harcourt, is to change dollars in (the) NDDC account into Naira. I told him I am scared to do that. He claimed that I have a poverty mentality, that I was afraid of money.”

Giving an insight into how Akpabio operates without following due process at the NDDC, Nunieh said further that Akpabio took a memo to the Federal Executive Council without going through the laid down process as prescribed in the Public Procurement Act. According to Nunieh, she refused to go along with Akpabio to present that memo at the FEC meeting because it was predicated on the NDDC budget, which has not been passed into law at the time because doing so carries a five-year imprisonment without an option of fine. “So if I had gone with him to deceive the president I would have been in trouble.” She further stated that Akpabio went ahead to get the approval in breach of the Procurement Act. Again, Akpabio got the Federal Executive Council on June 10 to approve yet another memo in the sum of N1.599 billion for the purchase of vehicles for the NDDC, again in breach of the Procurement Act. In essence, Akpabio in both instances, got the Federal Executive Council to commit an illegality in

contravention of the country’s Procurement laws.

Mr Kolawole Johnson of the NGO, Act for Positive Transformation, gave damning evidence at the Senate hearing of how payments were made to contractors and vendors post-haste and then shared out to the top NDDC officials in kickbacks. According to him, multiple payments were made for the same contracts, such as to Clearpoint Communications, which was paid N536 million and another N641 million tagged Media Support on the 22nd of May. After receiving payment, Clearpoint now made back payments to its collaborators among the IMC and Directors. For instance, according to Mr Johnson, “Mr Charles Odili, a director in the Commission, got N1.15 million into his UBN account from Clearpoint Communications. He got another on the 21st of May and N5 million again on the 24th of May into his UBN account.

He got another one again. If you ask for the accounts of these companies and individuals you will find how they made back payments to the NDDC Directors.”

Johnson also gave details of how the IMC members and their internal collaborators shared millions of naira on fictitious tasks. Prof Pondei collected N51 million monthly for maintenance of his guest house, while the IMC moved out money through the account of some Directors.

There were duplicate payments for project monitoring, with several millions paid into the personal accounts of the IMC members.

If there were doubts as to the financial recklessness and gross insensitivity of the IMC, the testimony of the current Acting Managing Director and head of the IMC, Prof Keme Pondei, put them to rest, with a stunning brazen revelation of how the IMC shared N1.5 billion among themselves and staff as Covid-19 Palliative. He said: “We used it to take care of ourselves. We are NDDC, we need to take care of ourselves too.” Pondei received N10 million as Covid-19 Palliative, while the Acting Executive Director Projects, Dr Cairo Ojugboh got N7 million. The rest was shared to other IMC members and staff in a bazaar arrangement that befuddles, especially as their salaries and allowances were still being paid. It can only be hush payments to buy the loyalty of the Directors and keep them from squealing on the IMC members. In addition to that, the IMC paid themselves N302 million as tour duty allowance, even though the country was on lockdown and the NDDC offices were closed. They were not done with the sharing as they paid themselves another N85.6 million in April and May as overseas travel allowance to attend graduation ceremonies abroad, at a time much of the world was on lockdown and flights were grounded.

he corruption, financial recklessness and voodoo fetish oaths at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) under the Interim Management Committee as unveiled at the recent public hearing of the Senate Adhoc Committee investigating corruption allegations should not be condoned any further. It is disheartening that these infractions, which came complete with evidentiary material, have the imprimatur of the Niger Delta Minister Chief Godswill Akpabio who, it seems, has engineered the whole fraud for his own selfish aggrandizement.

Akpabio, it seems took with him to his new office, the script, complete with the evil oath taking sessions, with which he allegedly milked the finances of Akwa Ibom State where he was governor for eight years between 2007 and 2015. On the outside, people saw the flyover bridges and the stadium which were built by his administration with exaggerated sums, but the Akpabio regime institutionalised malevolent cultism and elevated it to a status symbol. So deep has the tendency to do evil to others (which was nourished to an art by Akpabio) eaten into the fabric of the Akwa Ibom society that the current governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel has been battling to take the state back from hold of cultists. Recently, Governor Emmanuel proscribed scores of such groups from operating in the state. The proclivity towards cultism is arguably the most maximum damage that Akpabio has wrecked on the Akwa Ibom society. And emerging facts from the NDDC show that he had started establishing his sorcery in Abuja and Port Harcourt. Whereas Akwa Ibom could be easily tucked into his pocket (or so it seemed), the nine Niger Delta states, many of which are a hotbed of youth restiveness are proving to be a different kettle of fish.

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs may have found out too late that apart from impetuous youths, there are too many independent minded and established elders from states like Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa who can’t be hoodwinked by his favourite maxim that, ‘what money can’t buy, more money can’. The plethora of fraud allegations against the former governor of Akwa Ibom State which have not yet been pursued to a logical conclusion may just have been ignited again. Did Akpabio escape fraud allegations in Akwa Ibom only to be buried in the NDDC cesspit of corruption?

The presentations of the current Acting Managing Director Prof Keme Pondei and his immediate predecessor, Ms Joy Nunieh, who were both appointed by Akpabio, and Mr Kolawole Johnson of the NGO, Act for Positive Transformation Initiative, gave a blow-by-blow account of the financial recklessness that now pervades the NDDC under Akpabio and his IMC. Imagine, Pondei saying the agency disbursed N5million to youth groups in each senatorial

Anyone who truly opposes corruption should cringe at the fact that N81.5 billion has been spent recklessly in just a few months without demonstrable impact on the Niger Delta. You do not need anyone to tell you that an IMC that can preside over the stealing of that amount in just a few months has clearly won the gold medal in corruption. These infractions must not be treated with kid gloves if we are to make progress as a nation. The Senate investigation into the Akpabio and IMC corruption should run its full course and all those found guilty must get the appropriate sanctions, including retrieving all money collected inappropriately

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY JULY 14, 2020

POLITICS

Conversations Around Ize-Iyamu’s Ambition Iyobosa Uwugiaren explains the motivation behind the ambition of the All Progressives Congress candidate in the September 19 governorship election in Edo State

Obaseki

Oshiomhole

Afegbua

Odigie-Oyegun

F

that it is only through government that a true public office holder can hugely attract social amenities to the people and empower them.

To be sure, the former Secretary to Edo State Government had consistently told those who care to listen that his ambition, as a ‘’responsible and responsive politician’’, is to be part of those who take decision so that communities and the people do not suffer for lack of true representation.

However, day-after-day, while Ize-Iyamu remains in PDP, his suspicion that the party no longer shared his vision and objectives swelled. ‘’It was becoming very frustrating and quite a number of my followers were already frustrated with the attitude of many of those in the PDP,’’ he stated recently.

And because he was a foundation leader of the APC, there were a lot of overtures both at the state and national levels that he should come back to ‘’the house that he helped to build.’’

Going by the process that led to his return to APC last year, Ize-Iyamu did not take that decision without consulting his followers. Perhaps, that is why thousands of PDP members followed him back to APC in November last year.

Arguably, Ize-Iyamu returned to APC along with followers at a time Governor Obaseki was ‘’waging political war’’ with his perceived enemies and many leaders of APC in the state.

And many political observers had wondered why he contemplated joining a party that was enveloped in crisis. ‘’No, you cannot because of problems run away from the place your people desire you to be. How are you sure that our presence or going there will not bring peace and reconciliation? And whether you like it or not, they are in government at the state, federal and local government levels,” Ize-Iyamu explained.

Since his intention, according to those very close to him, was not to escalate the problem Obaseki was having with the state’s party leaders, he was not deterred. He perhaps, knew there were issues, and said that the issues are not insurmountable. His argument was that with sincerity, all the challenges can be resolved, while stating that all that is needed, is to get people who can talk to the parties involved and everything will be reconciled.

He may have been encouraged by the fact

that no party is perfect, believing that what is happening in Edo State is just a storm in the tea cup. ‘’I want to go there with those who believe in me because I believe that it is a platform that we built; it is a platform that our people believe can help us to actualise our dream.

The issue of governorship is secondary; I have not entered there; I don’t know those who are interested in governorship,’’ he told journalists last year.

He added, ‘’For me and for now, it is to go into the party, integrate and see what value we can bring in. Then, we leave the rest to God.’’ However, the timing of Ize-Iyamu’s return to APC may have created huge apprehension among Obaseki’s loyalists. Ize-Iyamu returned to APC at a time the governor was waging needless political war against his political godfather, Oshiomhole and key leaders of the party in the state. The war becamebecame so intense that all efforts by well-meaning Nigerians, including the revered Oba of Benin, to make Obaseki see reason for reconciliation were said to have been turned down by Obaseki.

At a point a respected traditional ruler in the Benin Palace, said that the ‘’arrogant governor’’ stopped picking Oba Ewuare 11’s phone calls.

For sons and daughters of Edo State, Obaseki’s action was sacrilegious. At a point the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’ Edo, Ewuare II, had to plead with President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly intervene in the feud between Obaseki and Oshiomhole.

“Mr President, we as traditional rulers in Edo State, are concerned about the crisis between Oshiomhole, APC National Chairman and Governor Obaseki of Edo State, and Edo State House of Assembly.

“If this crisis is not resolved now with immediate effect, it may jeopardise the progress of the state. On behalf of the good people of Edo State, we kindly appeal to Mr President to use your good offices to intervene and stop this crisis,” the Oba stated, when he led a delegation of traditional rulers to the Villa last year.

While Oba Ewuare 11 was seriously concerned about peace and unity in Edo State, many sons and daughters of the state see it as an attempt to demystify the well-respected Benin Palace. ‘’Why would Governor Obaseki force our

respected Oba to plead with the President to intervene in his war against APC leaders? It shows Obaseki’s disrespect for our Oba. There is no crisis or dispute that is too enormous for our Oba to resolve. It shows Obaseki is not a true son of Benin,’’ a university scholar, Dr. Ogieva Osarodion lamented.

While Obaseki may have his reasons for fighting Oshiomhole and some APC’s leaders in the state, not many political observers doubt that but for the maturity displayed by Oshiomhole, ‘’the governor’s intimidation, pompousness and holier-than-thou attitudes’’ would have created uncontrollable crisis in the state.

Already, apart from the huge opposition that is confronting him in the state, Obaseki’s seeming snobbishness is already instigating interminable squabble within his party - as the September 19 election draws nearer.

One of the spokesmen of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in the 2019 general election, Prince Kassim Afegbua, in a recent statement gave reasons why the candidate of his party, Governor Obaseki, will not enjoy his support. ‘’Pastor Ize-Iyamu’s comportment, diligence at delivering responsibilities, sense of organisation and marksmanship, are direct opposite of Governor Obaseki’s combative style, laced with blackmail, pretentiousness and over sanctimonious. ‘’Democracy talks about constructive engagement and collective bargaining. It preaches inclusion not exclusion. It reinforces participation, involvement and the collective. Governor Obaseki is the opposite of what an ideal democratic situation should be. His politics is destructive, exclusive and demonising,” he stated.

In the statement titled ‘’Obaseki Remains A Bad Omen For PDP’’, Prince Afegbua, who served in the same cabinet with Obaseki during Adams Oshiomhole-led Edo State government, accused Governor Obaseki of demolishing his political opponents’ houses, terrorising the populace, intimidating opponents and radicalising the youths as a mark of magisterial presence.

The former Commissioner of Information in Edo State added, ‘’Governor Obaseki dishes out ingratitude in place of gratitude, a simple thank you becomes abominable in his elocution, as he gleefully spends tax-payers money to fight imaginary wars. Such a candidate cannot enjoy my support. ‘’I had thought the party would interrogate him on all fronts before it gifted the ticket to him, but alas, in an age of money politics, the pockets speak louder than the mouth.’’

He stated that his current position was informed by a number of factors, adding that first, it was utterly wrong for a party to surreptitiously surrender its apparatus, privileges, structures and ideological stratosphere to a new entrant as though there were no persons in the party. ‘’Within 24 hours, scheduled primary elections were postponed, and all processes leading to the scheduled event were disrupted. If the urge was dictated by altruistic intention to feature Godwin Obaseki on account of strong and result-driven leadership, or performance, one could have understood.

or those very close to him, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu didn’t return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in November last year with the sole purpose of running for the Edo State governorship election. ‘’Let me say straightway that it was Governor Godwin Obaseki’s confrontational style, arrogant posturing, fastened with intimidation, pompousness and holier-than-thou attitudes that forced many leaders of the party in the state to put suffocating pressure on Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu to present himself as an alternative to the governor in the September 19 election’’, Barrister Odion Obazuaye, a close ally of Ize-Iyamu stated.

The Edo State APC governorship hopeful in the September 19 election was a foundation member of PDP since 1999 -- before he, along with some members of the party, were deregistered ahead of 2007 general election because of what insiders attributed to ‘’political disagreement with some forces’’ within the party.

While in PDP between 1999 and 2007, IzeIyamu headed a powerful pressure group known as ‘’Grace Group’’, and when the opportunity came for PDP to do registration, some forces felt that the best thing to reduce the influence of the pressure group was to deregister many of its leaders, and Ize-Iyamu and others became victims of PDP’s interminable squabble.

That seeming injustice meted on Ize-Iyamu and others, according to some political analysts, forced them to work for the formation of what is today known as APC. In a way, many political watchers in the state, see his return to APC late last year as ‘’returning to a house that he helped to build’’- because of a very strategic role he played in the APC’s registration and formation in Edo State and in the country.

And when again in 2014, he left APC, along with his huge followers, it may not necessary because of any ideological difference but on certain political disagreement. They may have felt that some of their members were not well treated, and consequently, took a collective decision to leave the party.

While in PDP, Ize-Iyamu played strategic roles for the party, especially in many of the elections conducted: He was the DirectorGeneral of the former President Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation in the 2015 general election. And in spite of the fact that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was then APC incumbent governor in Edo State and Chief John Odigie-Oyegun national Chairman of the party, he delivered Edo State to PDP -- with nearly 60 % votes.

Again, Ize-Iyamu played a similar tactical role again in the 2019 presidential election when he was appointed the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in Edo State. And, despite the fact that Obaseki was Edo State APC incumbent governor and Oshiomhole national chairman of the ruling party, Ize-Iyamu delivered Edo State to PDP with nearly 70% votes. He ensured that Governor Obaseki lost his polling unit in the Edo South Senatorial district.

For Ize-Iyamu, politics is essentially being able to represent people in the political arena, and an avenue to government with strong belief

While in PDP between 1999 and 2007, Ize-Iyamu headed a powerful pressure group known as ‘’Grace Group’’, and when the opportunity came for PDP to do registration, some forces felt that the best thing to reduce the influence of the pressure group was to deregister many of its leaders, and Ize-Iyamu and others became victims of PDP’s interminable squabble. That seeming injustice meted on Ize-Iyamu and others, according to some political analysts, forced them to work for the formation of what is today known as APC

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯͲ˜ 2020

COMMENT

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

OKONJO-IWEALA AND THE WTO

The G10 countries should endorse the Nigerian contender as DG of the World Trade Organisation, writes Sam Nwokoro

I

ndications have emerged that the Secretariat of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has accepted the nomination of Nigeria’s frontline contender for the post of the Director-General of WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala. She is already being touted to clinch the office. And many factors count in her favour. One, she is an African woman contending for the position after many years of non-African holding that post.

Secondly, and as attested to by many world diplomats and international scholars across world’s ideological divide, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala parades a far more encompassing and embracing resume than many other contenders for the position.

Global media reports profiled her as already preferred candidate based on her wide exposure to micro and macroeconomic elements of many sovereign economies including Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe and North America in her field operations as a World Bank Managing Director some years ago.

“Already, the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have thrown their unflinching support for her.

This backing implies that Africa is strongly behind her, and further shows a popular acknowledgement among top diplomats and politicians that Africa may be in line for the Director-General’s post at WTO,” said Keith Marwick of London School of Economics.

Last June, WTO kicked off the process for selecting a new DirectorGeneral after its current Brazilian Chief, Roberto Azevedo, decided to leave his job a year early, at the end of August. The surprise announcement has left everyone scrambling. His successor will have, as required, to steer reforms and negotiations in the face of rising protectionism, a deep recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and growing trade tensions, notably between the United States and China.

The global development analyst, Marwick, also noted inter alia: “Biographical records, however, show that Okonjo-Iweala developed a 25-year career at the World Bank in Washington. She then served two terms as Finance Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) under the political leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan respectively.”

Born into a royal family in Delta State, her father Professor Chukwuka Okonjo became the Eze (King) from the Obahai Royal Family of Ogwashi-Ukwu. With high aspirations, Okonjo-Iweala studied at the prestigious Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude with an AB in Economics in 1976. In 1981, she earned her PhD in regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a thesis titled Credit Policy, Rural Financial Markets, and Nigeria’s Agricultural Development. She received an International Fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) that supported

GLOBAL MEDIA REPORTS PROFILED HER AS ALREADY PREFERRED CANDIDATE BASED ON HER WIDE EXPOSURE TO MICRO AND MACROECONOMIC ELEMENTS OF MANY SOVEREIGN ECONOMIES

her doctoral studies.

With a solid education and broad experience, a number of African presidents, such as Niger’s President and ECOWAS Chairman Mahamadou Issoufou has strongly urged non-African countries to get behind and endorse Africa’s candidature, referring to Okonjo-Iweala. In addition, the Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry explained in a statement that ECOWAS had thrown their support behind her candidacy due to “her long years of managerial experience at the top echelons of multilateral institutions.”

There is broad support for an African candidate and a woman, since neither have headed the Geneva-based body. Supporters of OkonjoIweala vaunt her negotiating skills, including clinching a multi-billion dollar debt relief package for Nigeria, noted the international Scholar who also writes on global issues for the influential US-based Centre For Strategic And International Studies in New York.

There is general opinion that the rich countries of G10 made up of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and USA would consolidate their economic and trade ties with African countries by backing Mrs Okonjo- Iweala as the next Director-General of WTO. This is predicated on certain sure scenarios: one, there is need for the G10 countries who have spent so much in bilateral and multilateral assistance to African economies to have an African at the WTO in order to be able to oversee how these aids and grants have been working in making African trade competences and competitiveness ginger positive growths, and by that temper rampant fundamentalists-inspired terrorism plaguing most states in Africa.

No doubt, one strand of argument which most fundamentalist terror groups in sub-Sahara Africa has given is that the liberal economic reforms that have swept through the continent since 2000 is choking Islamic precepts.

The inability of most sectarian states in Africa to cue in to the liberal ways which has wrought growth in some other climes is partly due to the lack of presence of African technocrats in global policy making positions where they can leverage on collective alliances and neutral platforms to advance liberal ethos in African states. To smother creeping theocracy in most African states, which has in the past six or seven years given impetus to terror gangs, the advanced G10 economies should see to it that an African, in the person of OkonjoIweala becomes the next Director-General of WTO so that an equitable moderator between African economies and trade matters and western liberal economies can be effectively initiated through equitable trade protocols that promote the efforts of African enterprises and advance the cause of liberal trade.

Nwokoro wrote from Lagos

EDO: BATTLE FOR GOVERNMENT HOUSE Josef Omorotionmwan argues that the polls could go either way

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pparently, this writer is the only Independent Candidate around, occupying a position of neutrality or, shall we say, an escape from partisanship? It is a position of peace, which recognizes that the writer has to spend the rest of his life with himself. He must, therefore, be in a position to see, and say, things as they really are, irrespective of the political party and no matter whose ox is gored.

Sadly, elections in Nigeria have taken on the toga of war. The Commanders are many but General Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole has been at the centre of the theatre of war. Besides the carry-overs from the 2016 war, he is the immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. As we speak, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is parading two expired but totally contradictory video tapes on him, waiting to entrap him in self-reversal and portray him as an unsteady character.

The two video tapes are from the 2016 campaigns. In the first, Oshiomhole is seen condemning Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu (POI) who was the candidate of the opposition PDP to the pit of hell. In the second, he is seen praising Godwin Enogheghase Obaseki, GEO, who was the candidate of the APC to the high heavens.

Today, the two combatants have switched positions. The PDP thinks Oshiomhole must possess a lot of points to repaint the new combatants. The task before Oshiomhole is simple. It is only a nitwit that will refuse to reverse himself in the face of new superior information.

From our profound knowledge of Oshiomhole, he is a humane human. He is one man who is allergic to oppression. He could also be an extremist – he either likes you too much or he hates you too much – no midway!

Contemporary history is replete with men with Oshiomhole’s character trait – men who will either like you too much or hate you too much. When they like you, they will carry you on their head; and

if you even kill their dog, they will not be annoyed.

But if they hate you, they hurt you.

We have also found that such men go very high in their chosen career but they hardly attain the highest level of their desired career. The reason is simple: Relationships are like the chickens – they come home to roost. In turn, people also either like them too much or hate them too much. At the beginning of the contest, they are seen as slightly ahead of their opponents. But they end up losing.

They don’t get the swing votes. The swing votes are from the undecided voters.

Our late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was in this category. He spent a good part of his adult life, trying to become the President of Nigeria but all he attained was what Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu aptly described as “The best President Nigeria never had”.

For instance, a man like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe knew from the very beginning, “It is a principal error in politics to trust a reconciled enemy”, but when he fell out with Dr. Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, he didn’t lock the door tight against him.

Rather, he kept the door ajar.

The same could not be said about Chief Awolowo during his disagreement with Chief S. L. Akintola.

It was over and out! That was how Chief Awolowo lost a cream of fine politicians – Prof Opeyemi Ola, Olaiya Fagbamigbe, the renowned Akure Publisher, etc., to the NPN in 1983. Baba was not tolerant and would not give anyone a second chance.

Across the Atlantic, Senator Edward Kennedy spent a bulk of his adult life trying to clinch the Democratic Party ticket for the US presidential race, particularly after the death of his elder brother, John Fitzgerald Kennedy; but he was always beaten to the second position at the primaries. The book he probably wanted to write had earlier been written

by Adlai Stevenson.

Adlai Stevenson secured the Democratic Party ticket for the US presidency in 1948 and 1952 but on each occasion, he was beaten by his Republican Party opponent. He gave up the race and wrote a book, “How to come second”, which was an instant

Best Seller.

We can imagine that at the opening of the 2016 campaigns, Oshiomhole was ready for battle, fully equipped with what he thought he knew about GEO but totally bereft of ideas about POI until someone whispered to him that some time ago, POI gave somebody an acid bath. He was not given time to ask the supplementary question – how, what, why and when. The new information was enough for him and that was what he took to war.

On the contrary, Oshiomhole did not require any background check on GEO – a man who was with him virtually every day until bed time; a man who followed him to every meeting with an empty file jacket, with his two hands tied to the back in the manner of absolute obeisance; and one man who was going to take over from him and start from where Oshiomhole was going to stop. Evidently, the fake information was what Oshiomhole had in his war chest.

The truth is constant; and the truth crushed to death shall rise again. It did not take long for Oshiomhole to know he had been deceived all along. It soon became clear that the acid bath could have been in self-defence. He would be a moral idiot that would be attacked by armed robbers and if he had a full doze of COVID-19, he fails to pour it on them.

Even at that, the offence in question had expired.

The framers of our Constitution were wiser. They realized that like drugs and medications, offences must have expiry dates. Ten years in the life of a man is a long time. That explains why they provided in Section 66(1)(d) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, that an offence has a life span of 10 years. This runs across the entire Constitution as qualification for any political office. Oshiomhole soon realized that he was unfair to POI for canvassing an offence that he might have committed more than 30 years before 2016.

How did this devoted Catholic feel in the face of all this? He confessed and prayed for an opportunity to do it all over again, particularly as GEO has

disappointed him full circle. The man Oshiomhole thought was coming to start from where he stopped had not lifted a finger in performance after three and a half years. Evidently, 2020 is answered prayer and pay-back time.

Now, the die is cast. Why should Oshiomhole not freely tell the new truths, even where it means self – reversal! Self-reversal in good conscience is not a vice but a virtue.

In all this, one thing is clear: The PDP is taking a bad risk and it needs deliverance. In the face of stainless, eminently qualified aspirants, they are adopting a heavy baggage that was dumped by another party as their candidate – all because of the power of the purse. As they say in the colloquial, when money talks, nobody walks. The people who rejected this man are still around; and the reasons for his rejection are in the market place!

Again, the PDP should have known that this candidate is not running to win. Rather than engage in the serious business of campaign, this man will rather squander the precious time as a last chance for pursuing perceived enemies!

Since our return to democratic experiment in 1999, PDP was in power in Edo State until 2008, with virtually nothing to show for it. After its fall in 2008, it is over and out! PDP can never return to power in Edo State. The only exception here could come in the form of an occasional accident such as that which GEO now foists on them by default.

Again, this four and a half months punctuation can only be a coma – neither a semi colon nor a full stop. Elementary English grammar teaches us that the semi-colon is stronger than a coma but not as strong as a full stop.

Ask GEO and his men what their chances of defeating POI are in this contest; they will tell you that they have beaten him before and they will do it again. But do they realize that the configuration has charged? Although sociologically, no man sees himself as dead, GEO and his men are engaged in an exercise in self-delusion.

Hon. Omorotionmwan wrote from Benin City

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2020

EDITORIAL THE ATTACK ON UN HELICOPTER The assault on the helicopter is another wake-up call

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he recent daring offensive by Boko Haram insurgents that downed a United Nations (UN) aid helicopter in Borno State is very troubling.

According to reports, the aircraft was shot as it approached Damasak before the pilot manoeuvred it back to safety in Maiduguri, about 150 kilometres away. But the incident still claimed the lives of two people, including a five-year old baby. That the assailants employed surface- to - air missile on civilian targets is a sad depiction of the security crisis that has been confronting the country since 2009.

While President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the action of the insurgents as cowardly and promised that the attack would not go unpunished, the latest atrocity is a statement of intent by the Boko Haram elements to widen the scale of hostilities that has led to the death of thousands of Nigerians, rendered millions homeless and destroyed property valued in hundreds of billions of Naira. The uptick in violence has also THE SECURITY AGENCIES rendered many key roads in the NorthSHOULD ACTIVATE ITS INTELLIGENCE GATHERING east too dangerous to traverse in spite of NETWORK TO IDENTIFY repeated insistence by THE MOLES AMONG THE the military that the HUMANITARIAN WORKERS insurgents have been degraded.

The fallout of this disruption to socio-economic activities is that crimes have become the norm, while food security is severely hampered as many cannot cultivate their farms during the current raining seasons because of safety concern. Unfortunately, the latest attack, which targeted a humanitarian aircraft, happened in spite of the persistent claims by the federal government that the insurgents no longer possess such capacity. Instead of being weakened, the extremist group has been growing in strength and remain undeterred in pursuit of its nefarious agenda.

It has also continued to carry out daring attacks on

military positions and convoys in addition to civilian targets.

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

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

eanwhile, it appears that the latest shooting down of a civilian UN aircraft is a strategy that has paid off for the insurgents by according them the international attention they craved while enhancing their aura of invincibility. Therefore, the attack should serve as another wake-up call for government that this is the time to act against Boko Haram rather than continue to be in denial about their true capability. It is also expedient for government to mitigate further losses of lives and assets in the North-east by intensifying the onslaught on the terror group. And one practical approach of achieving this is to ensure that the military is provided with the needed arms and ammunition to carry out the task. There may also be the need for the retraining of their personnel in addition to procuring the right ammunition.

The security agencies should also activate its intelligence gathering network to identify the moles among the humanitarian workers, likely to have tipped off Boko Haram with their flight plans, as well as help provide them with the weapon of attack. The call for fresh personnel in the management of the insurgency should also be looked into by President Muhammadu Buhari if only to inject fresh impetus that will send a strong message to the insurgents that the federal government means business.

After more than a decade, the war on terror is now not only long-drawn but appears to be entering a more indeterminable stage. The apprehension here is that the security forces are not getting the right information concerning the insurgents’ activities. And where they are getting such information, they are not well processed. And even when they are, the courage to carry them through is grossly lacking. For us to win this ever-expanding war, something definitely has to give.

We cannot continue with business as usual and expect a different outcome. We definitely need to revisit our strategy.

TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

Nddc Postgraduate Scholars Stranded Overseas

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ometime in June 2019, the Niger Delta Development Commission called for applications from qualified indigenes of the Niger Delta region to apply for the Commission’s foreign post-graduate scholarship. In July 2019, applicants wrote tests, interviews and on 29thJuly 2019, about 210 successful applicants were presented letters of award. For clarity, the scholarship is to the tune of a take-off grant of s500,000.00 (for visa processing and flight costs) andUS$30,000.00 (for tuition and maintenance cost). Sir/Ma, the take-off grant that ought to have been paid immediately after the award in July 2019 to aid the processing of visa to respective countries was not paid until 19th April 2020. This delay in paying this sum resulted in some scholars not being able to raise the required funds and thus, could not leave Nigeria. We are also aware that some scholars from 2018 have not been paid by the Commission. The plight of these scholars has not been addressed by the Commission. The tuition fee and maintenance cost of US$30,000.00 ought to have been paid immediately on resumption and arrival of students in respective countries of study. For clarity, scholars resumed in September 2019 while others resumed in January 2020. Till date, no one has received the payments. Not only are the universities tired of writing to the Commission without any form of acknowledgment, the universities have now locked out majority of students from their online portal, meaning students who resumed in September 2019 can no longer continue to work on their dissertation for Masters Students; students who resumed in January cannot register for their next semester courses and PhD students can no longer access university services for their research. In addition to this, universities have now transferred the tuition debt to scholars and have given scholars tight deadlines to make payments, otherwise they would be reported to the respective immigration offices for eventual deportation. This is nine months of the lives of some of

the brightest Nigerian students about to be thrown in the refuse bin of history.

We are convinced that the National Association of Nigerian Students will not allow this to happen. While we had survived with working as bar attendants, warehouse assistants and even care workers during these nine months of being sent overseas without an upkeep, this assistive source of income has been lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the pandemic, scholars are unable to meet up with their basic obligations like rent and feeding and are living on the constant threat of ejection by their landlords in different parts of the world.

What is more, the universities have started to inform us that they are beginning to consider not recognizing the NDDC Scholarship as a bankable scholarship as this seems to be a norm even for previous beneficiaries of the scholarship. The implication of this is that students who rely on the scholarship may · automatically be rejected during Visa applications and the Nigerian name and reputation further debased across the world. We hope that your office will intervene in this issue whilst urging the leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the Central Bank of Nigeria to immediately release these funds to our respective institutions as well as our bank accounts. We have lived for nine months or five months without any support from the institution that sent us overseas. This action, if not addressed will lead to a further increase in the terrible brain-drain that the country is witnessing. We solicit your help to please Save Our Souls. We are in dire need of help. Whilst thanking you your for your kind consideration of this matter, please be assured of our kindest regards and esteemed considerations. Signed: For and on behalf of 2019 NDDC Scholars, C. A. Ukwuegbu, Yale School of Management, USA; A.O Olugbemi, University of Aberdeen, UK

We Need Some Real Magic

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lorida is currently the fourth highest ranked country, for the most new COVID cases a day, except that it’s not a country, it’s just one of the 50 US States.

It should be time to shut its borders and go into isolation at home but what does it do, it opens Walt Disney World.

The Disney ads proclaim it as “The most magical place on Earth” and it must truly be magical if there are no further cases of virus spread. They are encouraging appropriate responses although they do warn that it is your responsibility if you go there.

Although the Disney site is only one of many that are open it is probably one of the most famous and it should take the opportunity to set an example by staying closed and telling people to find the magic in their own lives.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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TUESDAY JULY 14, 2020 •T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͯͲ˜ 2020

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Group Business Editor Obinna Chima

Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

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Quick Takes CIBN to Adopt Remote Proctoring

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT

L-R: Minister,Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare; Minister, Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed; Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the formal handling over of the NationalTheatre, Iganmu Lagos to the Bankers Committee forrenovationandtransformationinLagos...recently

AfCFTA: Nigeria Needs Digital Infrastructure for Effective Competition Dike Onwuamaeze PwC Nigeria, a professional services firm, has advised the federal government to build a strong digital economy that can foster the production of higher quality goods and services at reduced cost in order to be able to withstand the competition that would arise under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in the post COVID-19 era.

The PwC gave the advice in its latest report titled: “COVID-19 and the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement,” adding that a strong digital economy would open new channels for value addition and broader structural change in the Nigerian economy.

The global accounting and auditing firm said the government need to review its information technology plan in line with economic digitalisation before trading in the AfCFTA would begin in 2021 because it is now clear that globalisation has gone

ENERGY online.

The report added: “One important question Nigeria must ask in these uncertain times is how its digital economic strategy – the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030) proposed by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy and The Smart Nigeria Digital Economy Project proposed by the Nigerian government can sustain economic interactions and development in the face of a pandemic.

“The AfCFTA will be competitive and countries like Egypt with three active digital strategies (National ECommerce Strategy, Strategy for Social Responsibility in ICT, and Digital Arabic Content Strategy) would have an edge over countries in the market with weak or no digital framework to support trade in good and service within the market.”

It also highlighted that only

countries that could get its digital development requirements could compete effectively within the AfCFTA and recommended the need to, “develop and upgrade the digital infrastructure, digital financial services, digital entrepreneurship and digital skills that are thematic pillars of the Digital Economy for Africa (DE4A) to encourage trading digitally across individuals, SMEs and governments.”

The PwC warned that AfCFTA should not be slowed down because of its potential to serve as the continent’s effective shock absorber if the global economy remains depressed by the pandemic and its uncertainty.

“This is a good time to start implementing the AfCFTA. With the birth of AfCFTA, a strong commitment and joint action by the continent’s leaders would undoubtedly benefit the fight against the pandemic and its economic consequences for Africa post COVID-19,” the PwC said.

It also urged the African

governments should seek ways to convert the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic disease to opportunities that could create stronger economic and political integration in the continent as a way of forestalling the possible negative impacts the pandemic would have on the implementation of the AfCFTA. The report noted that the risks posed to the continental project

by COVID-19 could be turned it into an opportunity for stronger collaboration, if signatories to the agreement would quickly pursue certain policies that would foster self-sustainability in food security, education, healthcare and logistical services.

The PwC advised against the closures of borders because of the negative signal it would communicate on the progress of the agreement and suggested that governments could reduce human flows while keeping borders open to key goods and services required for national development and economic sustainability.

FG Urged to Consider Niger Delta Indigenes in New Marginal Oilfields Bids Peter Uzoho The skepticism surrounding the transparency and fairness in the process of the ongoing bid round for 57 marginal oilfields has been heightened with one of the bidders expressing lack of faith in the whole process.

A top official of one of the companies participating in the bidding process, said the federal government should right the wrongs allegedly done to the southern part of the country, particularly the oil-bearing Niger Delta by allocating certain number of the marginal oilfields to the people of the area as compensation.

The source who spoke to

ENERGY THISDAY in a telephone chat on condition of anonymity, said the government should use the marginal fields to assuage the feelings in the south-south and Niger Delta people.

He said: “Just like the gas flare commercialisation programme, this one also has so many interests here in Nigeria and outside Nigeria, and then of course you know that the interest is so huge that ordinary things that are supposed to be done are not done. “What are the ordinary things? For instance, if we say that more than 90 per cent of the oilfields have been

ceded to northerners, so what are you doing now to balance the equation so that southerners too can have? You are throwing the thing out to anybody, so that even the north can get.”

He said the restiveness being experienced in the South –south, especially in the Niger Delta for many years were mostly hinged on the fact that they were not benefitting from the oil which is being produced in their lands.

He said the South–south have oil but are not given the opportunity to participate and enjoy its benefits, adding, “they don’t even have oilfields, people from that area don’t have oilfields.

So why can’t we say, for this purpose, the South–south people

are given certain opportunities to participate even if they don’t meet all the criteria; let us see how we can say, at least one for each state of the Niger Delta.

But they are not doing that.”

He said by throwing open the new marginal oilfields for bidding by all and with exorbitant fees, the government had made it possible for the fields to be acquired by the wealthy Nigerians who already had oilfields, thereby technically leaving the south out of the equation again.

He, however attributed the alleged consistent injustice to the inability of southern stakeholders to really mobilise at the grassroots and fight for the right of their people

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has announced plan to adopt remote proctoring for the conduct of its professional banking and certification examinations.

According to a statement released by the Head Corporate Communication and External Relations, Mr. Nelson Olagundoye the new examination mode which would commence in April 2021, is in line with the strategic intent of the Institute to stay ahead of the curve.

Thegoverningcouncil,thehighestdecisionmakingbodyoftheinstitute had given its approval to the initiative that will further position it as a foremost and world class professional body.

“Remote Online Proctoring is the digital and live form of assessment whichenablescandidatestowritetheirexaminationsonlineinaremote location of their choice duly certified and surveillance- monitored as cheat free to ensure the integrity and sanctity of the exams.

“Studentsmustconfirmtheiridentityandlocationwhichwillbeclosely monitored via a live webcam/video proctored software throughout the course of the examination,” the statement added.

He further explained that the proctored examination would ensure the identity of the candidates, flag any irregular behaviour, scan and ensure the integrity of examinee’s environments as well as detect any instancesoffraudorsuspectedviolationsoftherulesbythecandidates.

Olagundoye, also said the move was adopted in response to the pandemic which has significantly disrupted the examinations of professional bodies all over the world. “Online proctored exams are also rapidly gaining relevance in the certification and professionalisation industry. More professionals are seeking ways to earn professional certificationwithease.Institutionsintheknowledgespaceareinterested in digital solutions that will enable them to enhance the examination experience for their candidates in line with global best practice,” the statement added.

Book on Financial Market for Launch

An integrated financial and investment advisory service firm,Value Investing Limited, will host the presentation of a newly published book titled: “Financial Intermediation: Operations and Practice.”

ThepublicpresentationofthebookwillholdvirtuallyonJuly21st,2020.

The book is a guide book for financial market operators and practitioners.

The author of the book is Seye Adetunmbi, the Chief Responsibility Officer ofValue Investing Limited and the convener of Capital Market Roundtable in Nigeria.

TheChiefExecutiveOfficerofNASDPlc,MrBolaAjomale,isexpected to review the book, while the Chairman of the event would be Dr. Alimi Abdulrazaq, the Chairman of Forte Oil - Upstream Services Limited.

Also, the Chairman of ANAP Foundation, Mr. Atedo Peterside and ChairmanofDubrilOilLimited,Dr.UduimoJustusItsueli,aretheSpecial Guests of Honour.

“The chief presenter of the Book is Chief Dele Fajemirokun, a distinguishedentrepreneurofinternationalrepute.Otherleadpresentersare Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Chairman of National Assembly Committee on Capital Market; Mr. Kayode Alabi, Deputy Governor of Kwara State and Mr Gboyega Alabi, the Deputy Governor of Osun State.

“Other special guests expected at august event are Alhaji Lamido Yuguda, Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Ms. Yewande Sadiku, the Director-General of the Nigerian InvestmentPromotionCommission;Mr.OscarOnyema,ChiefExecutive Officer of Nigerian Stock Exchange and Ms Arunmah Oteh, one-time Director-General of SEC,” a statement from the author revealed.

Algeria Tightens Travel Restrictions

Algeria re-imposed travel restrictions on Friday and increased testing in a bid to stop a rise in novel coronavirus infections. Under the measure, citizens would be barred from traveling to and from 29 provinces including the capital, Algiers, for a week starting from last Friday, Reuters quoted the government to have said in a statement afterameetingchairedbyPresidentAbdelmadjidTebbounetodiscuss the health situation.The authorities last month eased restrictions and had shortened its curfew.

“The creative centre, which comprises music, movies, fashion and ICT, can be a key source of growth for our economy creating up to one million jobs for the country’s teeming youths” CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Sylva: Why Modular Refineries Will Not Solve Nigeria’s Fuel Supply Challenges The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, in this interview on Arise TV, speaks on why modular refineries are not the magic wand for solving the supply challenges in the petroleum industry. Emmanuel Addeh brings excerpts: A lot of progress seems to have been made in the gas sector. Can you tell us about that?

This has been a good year for gas, especially with the overwhelming support of President Muhammadu Buhari. We have achieved quite a bit. We have achieved the FID (Final Investment Decision) of train 7 and the flag-off off of the AKK pipelines. Two major projects valued at about N50 billion or so and that’s quite a lot at this time of covid-19 and we are proud of that. This is just the beginning. Talking about opportunities in the gas sector, we envisage that with the passage of the PIB (Petroleum Industry Bill), we will open up the space. With that people can have investments in pipelines for instance. Right now, that doesn’t exist in Nigeria. Private sector is a not able to invest in that sector. So, if you have to do a refinery, you also need to build pipelines. Therefore, the cost becomes prohibitive. But if I can come in and just invest in pipelines, which will make it easier so that I can charge anybody who puts their gas in my pipelines. That will open up the sector. We are hoping that with the introduction of auto gas which we are also pushing for this year, we intend to roll that out in a few weeks, so that gas can serve as fuel for cars. Because we believe that with deregulation, we need to introduce auto gas and a lot of opportunities for conversion of cars. It means you can go to an estate and build a gas tank, a mini grid within an estate. Then put your gas and pipe it to every house within that estate. Once that’s done, you are clocking, you just sleep and start earning money. It will happen as a result of the expansion of the sector.

Apart from the opportunities that will come with AKK, which is now a backbone from the south to the north, it will create a development corridor because anybody can tap into that gas line and get gas and set up their industry.

The PIB appears to have been watered down which may not achieve its original goal. Are you tweaking the bill to encourage people who want to invest?

It has not been watered down. I don’t know who has seen the bill. It’s still in draft. It has gone through several modifications. It’s the whole idea.

You can’t change the laws very easily. It tells you that when we are able to pass the bill, it won’t change for a long time because it has taken us about 20 years to get to where we are. It’s now ready to go to the National Assembly. But it has not been watered down.

Everything has been done in the national interest and in the interest of Nigeria and we are hoping that in the next two weeks we will be ready to go to the national assembly, then people can talk. Before seeing the bill, you can’t say its been watered down.

What has been delaying this important bill?

It’s a bill at the foundation of the main industry.

There are lots of parts to it: community, government, industry, everybody’s interest has to be accommodated. We have been able to take a lot of interests on board. Not everybody will be on the same page. There’s no way government and private sector will be on the same page 100 per cent, but what we have tried to do is to narrow the gap as much as possible. Right now, we are ready to go to the National Assembly, so we can get this bill passed.

Nigerians heard the good news recently that petrol price went down to between N123 and N125, only for us to hear that the prices have gone up, can you shed more light on that?

Everywhere in the world, petrol retailers cannot just set their prices. To protect the consumer, even if you go to the United States, there is the recommended retail price, the UK it’s the same because government has a duty to protect the consumer. So, we will not allow consumers to just wake up and set prices. Diesel was deregulated a long time ago. Before then, it always was cheaper than petrol, but today it has hit the roof. If we allow it, petrol will also get to that level. But what

the four other refineries.

As far back as I can remember, we have been talking about Turn Around Maintenance (TAM)?

Nigerians should at least be truthful to themselves. The other day, I was talking to the leadership of NUPENG and PENGASSAN. We have a situation now of a refinery that has not functioned for three years, yet it’s paying salaries. Every staff is being paid. The refineries haven’t worked for three years. We have carried on paying salaries. Nobody can sack anybody.

People are getting promoted, but the refineries are not functioning. Unions will not let you. Those are the real issues. A few days ago, the GMD just threatened to lay off some contract staff in Kaduna refinery which has not functioned for three years and the unions wrote to me that they heard that their members were to be sacked and gave threats.

So, these are the realities. If things are done in the private sector way, things will be different.

Now, we in the public sector, a public company.

You can’t fire.

Sylva we are trying to do is to ensure that government plays its traditional role of regulation.

What people must understand is when you say prices came down and prices went up, that’s how it’s supposed to be. When we say we have deregulated, it means we are out of the business of supplying petrol products as a government.

We are allowing private sector to do it. Petroleum products are refined from crude oil and it is linked directly to the cost of the feed stock. If crude oil prices go up, it will affect the product, if it goes down, it will also affect it. It’s as simple as that.

When crude oil prices went down, government also decided to take that benefit to the consumers.

Now prices are going up, we are beginning to see it as a problem. We never said at any time that we will reduce price permanently. That is what is happening which is the whole idea of deregulation.

But there are those who think that if our moribund refineries were working, we won’t be in this precarious situation?

We would still be refining the crude, but that’s another topic. Today, we have been able to deregulate and we are preparing to go to the national assembly, two things that will catalyse the growth of refining.

Before now, there was subsidy regime, where you refine and sell at a loss. Nobody could have invested in that sector. Government was also put in a dilemma with limited funds. The people say subsidise our fuel and you put the money in subsidy and you don’t have enough money to fix your refineries or manage them.

The other thing would have been to fix the refineries and take away subsidy, so they will work. But the people say, no, don’t take away subsidy at all. Government kept subsidies and the refineries suffered and that’s how we got to where we are. With deregulation, we expect that the refineries will come on very quickly. If the NNPC continues to be in the refining business as a commercial entity, with the PIB passed, they will make profit from the refineries. But before now, the refineries were a centre of loss, because you refine at a cost and sell lower. In addition, we should have started work on one of those refineries by first quarter of 2020, but civid-19 has slowed us down a little bit.

Now, Nigeria has found itself in an embarrassing situation where we are importing products from Europe with high sulphur levels?

My problem with Nigeria is that we like getting into global discussions without first getting to those levels. We must learn to walk before learning to run. We cannot join the race to renewables. It’s a cleaner form of energy, but are we ready for that race? The research is not going on here. The investment in research is not going on. We know where we are. If the first world has got there and people are beginning to insist that we too should begin to discuss like the first world, it’s unrealistic. We must first and foremost ensure that we must first get electricity to everybody even if with the dirtiest fuel, then we can start talking about cleaner fuel.

Are you saying you are not concerned?

I am not SON (Standards Organisation of Nigeria), it’s not for me to regulate. It’s the SON that should. It’s their role. But first, let’s get fuel to the people, then we can start talking about cleaner fuel. If we begin to join those conversations, first world conversations, we are not there yet.

I am not aware that dirty fuel is coming in, but its the job of the SON to do that.

What’s the government policy on modular refineries that was thought could close the gap, where major refineries are not working?

Well, it’s good to know that now, it’s not going to be the case. It’s a very tall order. For example, modular refineries are very small refineries: 1,000 bpd to 2,000bpd. In most cases they are so small that they don’t have the catalytic cracking unit to crack the crude, so they don’t produce the lighter ends like petrol. They produce mostly diesel and other heavier products. So, they cannot be a replacement, they will only be an augmentation, because if you have 100,000 barrels, you will need 2,000 barrel refineries to give you the capacity that is being produced. There are issues of economy of scale.

But Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, did promise, when he visited the Niger Delta, that modular refineries will be in the front burner?

I mean, it is on the front burner. There are a lot of these modular refineries that are under construction. There’s one that’s ready for commissioning, 5,000 barrels per day. I am supposed to commission it. There are a lot going on, but they cannot replace bigger refineries because the volumes they produce cannot meet the needs of the country. If you put the volumes together, it’s still small. We still require bigger refineries and we are hoping that the Dangote refinery will be part of the solution to this problem. Its about 650,000 capacity refinery in addition to

But where would you really put the blame for those refineries not working?

The unions, their members, were the ones managing the refineries. Yes, I know government is to blame. I am not absolving government completely, but they themselves are part of the blame game. They were managing it. We share the blames, because it’s a two-way traffic. All of us are guilty. If it has to function properly as a commercial venture, then you can’t keep somebody who has not been working in employment.

So, would you suggest outright sale of those refineries?

I will not on this table begin to talk about that.

Those are larger issues.

What is being done to improve local content, especially in the upstream sector?

I will say that if we ever needed to develop local content, there’s no better time to do that.

Because with covid-19, it could have been a disaster. Every country evacuated their citizens.

For example, in the oil industry, expatriates mostly were evacuated by their countries. So, you were left with Nigerians who were evacuated from other countries as well. So, more than ever before, there is the need to develop local content. We are not taking it lightly, there’s an agency for that purpose. In the oil industry, we have been able to move the ownership of vessels that operate in the industry from three per cent and our target is to move it to 70 per cent in 2027. Twenty per cent of the oil produced in Nigeria is done by Nigerians, and we are also moving that up. With the marginal fields’ award going on, Nigerians will take more of those assets and produce a little bit more. We have become very mindful of the fact that we have to develop local content or a time will come when the expatriates for one reason or the other will move to their countries and we will be left alone.

What are those specific policies to achieve this?

We have targets. We have the local content development board saddled with the responsibility and they have a clear plan and a roadmap. This is not the opportunity to go into the roadmap to achieving 100 per cent participation.

Let’s talk about the marginal assets and the issue of sharing to political cronies.

People will always say things when a process like this is ongoing because everybody is interested.

There are two categories of people: those who thought they should be on the driver’s seat but are not and those who before now would just go and drop names and get their own. Now, they are not able to do that. But I must assure you that the process is sacrosanct and we are not doing for political cronies.

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Mustapha: FG Implementing Policies to Promote Accountability, Transparency The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, in this interview, speaks on wide-ranging issues, stretching from fiscal policy decisions and actions of the federal government to varied government’s intervention programmes as the nation battles to combat the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic. Excerpts: With the attendant negative effect of COVID-19 on crude oil prices, globally, Nigeria’s major foreign exchange earner has taken a bad hit. How has the Buhari administration bridged the gap in funding of the economy?

There is no doubt that COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted on the global economy.

The virus has affected every aspect of human existence. Industrialized nations of the world are not spared either. Most countries of the world have had to review their economic growth rates. Stimulus packages have been introduced by some other countries to prevent the total collapse of their economies. Nigeria, like many other nations, whose major source of revenue is crude oil has had to contend with the sharp decline in the global crude oil price. The country’s GDP in the first quarter of 2020 was 1.87 per cent compared to 2.27 per cent in 2019 due to the decline in global economic activities occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. To bridge the gap in funding the economy, Mr. President constituted the Economic Sustainability Committee chaired by the Vice President. The Committee has submitted its report. Government has also put in place measures to stabilize the economy.

The measures put in place are enunciated in Mr. President’s Democracy Day nationwide address on June 12, 2020.

The security and monitoring of the nation’s oil pipelines is of paramount concern given the importance of crude oil to our national life. What effort is the administration making through the Presidential Amnesty ofďŹ ce in ensuring that the Niger Delta remains peaceful?

Niger Delta, like every other region of the country, is so important and unique to the economic wellbeing of Nigeria. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has since its inception been engaging with leaders and youths of the Niger Delta Region and this effort has yielded remarkable results. With continuous dialogue, peace has returned to the region. We are constantly reminded that peace is a panacea for both economic and social development in the region. The Presidential Amnesty Office has continued to deliver on its mandate by empowering Niger Delta Youths through scholarships and provision of infrastructure and social amenities.

In addition to the role of the Amnesty Office, Government is working hard to reposition the Niger Delta Development Commission to be able to wake up to its statutory responsibility of delivering developmental projects to every community in the region. All these efforts and engagements of government with leaders and youths of the Niger Delta region have resulted in peace and security, making it easier for the law enforcement agents to monitor pipelines in the region.

The North-East Development Commission is a novel project by this administration.

What is the progress report as Nigerians are yet to feel the impact?

The North-East Development Commission (NEDC) is the focal organisation charged with the responsibility to assess, coordinate, harmonize and report on all intervention programmess, and initiatives by the Federal Government or any of its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), States; and other development partners and for the implementation of all programmes and initiatives for the North- East states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe. Since the Management Board was inaugurated in 2019, it has embarked on a number of programmes which are categorized under humanitarian, coordination, early recovery, long term development as well as North- East recovery and stability. The

Mustapha commission has been supporting in the fight against COVID-19 in the North East geopolitical zone. The NEDC has also provided medical outreach in Maiduguri. Over 4,000 indigenes have benefitted from the programme. Relief materials are also being distributed from time to time while several communities have benefitted from the provision of social amenities with the objective of improving quality of life among the rural communities. The commission, no doubt, has been working so hard to ensure that the zone is completely rebuilt and developed after years of insurgency.

The ďŹ ght against corruption is one of the major cardinal projects of the Buhari Administration. Kindly give us a scorecard of the administration’s effort to stamp out graft and what in your estimation are the major obstacles?

In the area of fighting corruption, the Buhari administration has shown a consistent determination to fight the cankerworm decisively.

Since the president assumed office in 2015, so much has been done in terms of recovery and prosecution of offenders. In the second term of the administration, the focus is to strengthen all anti-graft institutions; putting in place mechanism that will help stop corruption from taking place at all because it comes with a lot of expenses which I know requires a lot of paradigm shifts. Fighting corruption also entails building structures and evolving policies to make corruption unattractive.

I believe that we need to create safety nets for the people in the workplace as a disincentive for corrupt tendencies. Going forward, we should strengthen the institutions and build capacities for them; make sure too that we create safety nets around the whole place so that people can have a bit of comfort. The federal government is quite conscious of the need to deliberately evolve and implement policies and programmes to promote accountability and transparency through the Open Government Partnership.

Through the transparency portal on financial transactions we have strengthened auditing and accountability mechanisms so as to ensure that rules and regulations are followed strictly, while minimising fraud and theft of government funds.

The report recently submitted by the committee headed by the Vice President

on post-COVID-19 effect is grim, as an estimated 39.4 million jobs would be lost this year. What safety nets is the administration putting in place to cushion the effect?

The pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to x-ray the state of our healthcare sector, which is in dire need of reforms and funding. The weaknesses in our health system became more glaring as we see how more established health systems in Europe and America have buckled under pressure. To directly address the economic challenges of Covid-19, President Muhammadu Buhari approved a Fiscal Stimulus Package as part of an Integrated Policy Framework to ensure that Nigeria’s healthcare system, fiscal position and economy are sufficiently supported to weather these shocks. We have received assurances of support from our partners at the World Bank. We are continuing our engagements with the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank to access concessional funding to support the implementation of the 2020 Budget. We have also applied for funding from the International Monetary Fund’s COVID-19 Rapid Credit Facility to draw from our existing holdings with the World Bank Group/International Monetary Fund. This loan will attract no conditionalities. However, it is essential to clarify that Nigeria does not intend to negotiate or enter into a formal programme with the International Monetary Fund at this time or in the foreseeable future. The federal government has provided N102.5 billion in resources to be available for direct intervention in the healthcare sector. Of this sum, the government has already made available N6.5 billion to the NCDC for critical expenditure. The federal government remains committed to supporting the states in these difficult times in battling with the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government is committed to the augmentation of the states’ FAAC allocations and moratorium on states’ debts. Based on the financial assumptions underpinning of the 2020 Appropriation Act, the Federal Government projected the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee disbursements to the Federal and State Governments at N888.5 billion. However, due to the significant drop in international oil prices, FAAC monthly disbursements have

declined in recent months to N716.3 billion in January and N647.4 billion in February 2020.

Our experience shows that monthly FAAC receipts must average at least N650billion for the Federal and State Governments to meet their current obligations. We must prepare our minds that monthly receipts may decline to below N400 billion, over the next three to six months. To address these emerging fiscal risks, Mr. President has approved the withdrawal of US$150million from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority Stabilisation Fund to support the June 2020 FAAC disbursement.

The federal government has created the Stabilisation Fund for such emergencies and Government will utilise it for this purpose.

Government is exploring other options to augment FAAC disbursements for the 2020 fiscal year. The President has approved that the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning should engage with the CBN to agree on a Debt and Interest Moratorium for States on Federal Government and CBN-funded loans. The moratorium will create fiscal space for the States, given the projected shortfalls in FAAC allocations. Accordingly, once monthly average FAAC receipts fall below a specific threshold, relevant bodies will suspend interest and capital payments by States until monthly average FAAC receipts exceed the threshold.

The moratorium intervention is vital to create fiscal space for the states, as they deal with the health and economic impact of the crisis.

The federal government will also encourage states to explore similar arrangements for their outstanding debts to commercial banks. The Finance Act 2020 provided significant tax relief for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Finance Act has also expanded the VAT Exemption List for essential food, medical supplies and other basic items that are critical in the effort to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Government has also granted a two-month waiver on licence fees for broadcast organisations.

The 2020 Appropriation Act rested on certain fiscal assumptions that certain economic realities have compelled the government to revisit given the emerging economic realities.

How would you assess the leadership of the national oil company under Mr. Mele Kyari, given the fact you have worked with him closely during this Covid-19 intervention?

Mr. Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, has brought dynamism and pragmatism to the management of the organisation. NNPC under his leadership has contributed immensely to the national response to COVID-19 by mobilizing private investors to contribute and support the efforts of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

As a result of his efforts and that of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, substantial donations both in cash and kind have been received by the Federal Government. Although the coronavirus pandemic happened on us without warning, I think as a nation we have not done badly in our national response. Government and the private sector players alike have been quite responsive in the effort to combat the disease and defeat the pandemic. The NNPC has lived up to its status as a corporate giant, rallying companies in the oil and gas sector to raise funds and provide the critical equipment and facilities through their international contacts. We cannot but commend Mele Kyari and his team for their patriotic spirit in raising funds running to billions of Naira and applying the same judiciously. By and large, the NNPC has acquitted itself well in discharging its corporate social responsibility Culled from thewhistler.ng

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Okwuosa:AKKPipelineNeedsNo GovernmentSupporttobeViable TheChairmanofOilservLimited,Mr.EmekaOkwuosa,inthisinterviewwith journalists on the sidelines of the flag-off of the $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-KadunaKano (AKK) Gas Pipeline in Ajaokuta, Kogi State recently, highlighted the economic potential of the facility and the readiness of his company to deliver the project on schedule, among others. Peter Uzoho brings the excerpts: Can you tell us how ready you are in delivering this project?

We are ready for it; in fact, what we are carrying out today is official flag-off which is the groundbreaking ceremony. But as you can see over there, we are ready, we are already working, and we are laying the lines. Oilserv is an indigenous company, and like the question the previous person also asked, we are 100 per cent indigenous, currently employing more than 600 staff. With this AKK we probably will go to between 1,500 and 2,000 at the peak of the personnel matrix.

But the fact remains that we are ready. This is not the first project. We are commissioning the OB3 gas project which is actually slightly larger than this in terms diameter -48inch diameter. So we have the experience, we have the personnel, we have the equipment and we are capable and we would deliver this project.

Are you thinking of the indigenes in your employment?

Yes, like I said, we will crank up our employment by more than 1,000 and the major part of this 1,000 will be indigenes of the areas where we pass. We have a clear programme to develop the areas where we build pipelines.

What will you be saying to the Nigerian government for patronising an indigenous company to carry out such a big project?

First of all, I will give thanks to President Muhammadu Buhari. Clearly he has been at the forefront of driving progress in the oil and gas industry. As you may be aware, which a lot of people may not, he built most of the infrastructure we had in the 70s when he was the Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources.

Most of these refineries you see today were built when he was there within a few years. When he came to power in 2015 he made this a cardinal project. This project has been on the drawing board since 2008, 2009, he made it happen. What it shows clearly is the dedication he has to the development of local content and local capacity.

Oilserv is an example of that, and Oilserv shows clearly that the government means what they said. We have been operating before the local content law came into being but we have also continued to build capacity including building capacity beyond Oilserv by empowering other contractors to grow. So we constitute a team with the federal government in this regard.

The whole scope of this project has some partnership. How are you coordinating and cooperating with other partners to ensure smooth process and execution within the time limit?

Yes, we have partners, which is why I said earlier, it is a consortium arrangement and this consortium arrangement has a Chinese company called CFHEC. You may be aware that this project also is not funded directly by the government.

This project is funded using facilities or loan that is obtained for this project. This project is a project that is commercially viable. It’s a project that the loan can be taken care of by the commercial nature of the project. So in lieu of that we have injected a Chinese partner to meet the Chinese content requirement. But Oilserv is the primary EPC Company. Our experience is what we also help to drive this process a lot. We also have Oando in the consortium and Oando is a consortium partner, they are not an EPC company but we have worked together for a long time in other projects where Oilserv is the EPC company.

You said this project is commercially viable.

What is the viability and how do you intend to pay back the loan since the project is going to be running on a loan?

Like I said, this is fully viable. The facility being taken is meant to be repaid in 15 years.

But this project can pay itself in less than 10 years because this is a commercial venture. When you

Okwuosa pipe this gas, you have gas flowing through, will go to industries, go to power plants. There are tariffs to be paid to even transport this gas. If you understand the mechanism of gas transportation, for every cubic metre of gas that passes by there is an amount that is paid by those who use it. In addition to that, gas itself that passes by would have to be paid for to be used.

So this is a commercially viable project. It is not the kind of a project that government has to support for it to be viable.

Are you having any fears at all that might hinder this project?

I won’t say I have fears or I don’t have fears. Every project comes with its challenges. There are challenges to build a project like this in virgin forest, to go through rivers, to go through rocks, to deal with security issues.

These are challenges but I don’t have fears because we have the knowledge and the experience to deal with it. We are very ready to deliver the project and deliver the project on time.

Can you tell us exactly, the current state of the project?

The AKK project, let’s put it in perspective. First of all, I want to use this opportunity to thank President Muhammadu Buhari, for making all the efforts to make sure that we got to where we are today. The Nigeria Gas Master Plan has been on the table for close to 20 years now and it has been built in different stages. AKK which is Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline is one section of the entire gas master plan but a very important section.

You may not believe it, the process of tendering and awarding or trying to execute this project started more than 10 years ago but when President Muhammadu Buhari came into power in 2015, he accelerated the process and made it to be possible today. So the current situation today is: we commenced work on it already, we are far gone in the engineering design, we have already started construction activities and this project is meant to be delivered in two years’ time and it is going to be delivered on schedule.

Now, there are concerns on the possibility of delivering this project within a space of two years just like you mentioned. Some believe that it is too ambitious due to the security concerns and attacks on pipelines. What security measures have you put in place to mitigate risks during and after construction?

First, let me put it again in proper perspective. The first thing to know about projects like this is that this project has been conceived and then modeled properly. NNPC is in charge of this project and they are controlling this project’s process. The NNPC headed by Mele Kolo Kyari has done a great work in making sure that the proper processes are put in place. The way it is structured is this: we are the contractors, we are building the first segment that will start from Ajaokuta and then end up between Abuja and Kaduna; and then another contractor will take it from there, all the way to Kano.

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FEATURES

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

How Runsewe is Promoting Nigerian Culture Amid a Pandemic Charles Ajunwa writes on how the Director-General National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe, is promoting Nigerian arts and culture amid the deadly COVID-19 pandemic

Owu Waterfalls in Kwara State

Ogbunike Cave in Anambra State

T

he COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. For one, the rules and flows of international travel will most likely never remain the same again as countries gradually relax lockdowns imposed to slow down the virus’ spread.

And, as airline stocks tank and tourism economics sink into historic lows, what will be the new normal?

One trend that might provide an insight into the shape of the future is the rapid adoption of digital communication tools. Services such as Zoom have experienced massive growth amid the pandemic, leading many to conclude that the future of everything - including cultural tourism - will be intertwined with digitalisation.

All around the world, fashion shows - the Paris fashion show, for example - are being staged online. The BET Awards show was also staged online with artistes hooking up from different locations. The show must go on.

In Nigeria, the cultural tourism industry, under the guidance of the Segun Runsewe-led National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), is also beginning to adjust to the new realities.

With the country still under some form of lockdown and international travel into the country all but disallowed, the industry must find new, innovative ways to keep the engines running. The show must go on.

Part of Runsewe’s answer to the questions posed by the pandemic was revealed on June 27, when NCAC unveiled a Virtual Cultural Tour of Nigeria via a Zoom conference call.

Before the unveiling, Runsewe had been engaging stakeholders in the culture industry virtually, weekly, to brainstorm on how to reposition the sector against the effects of the pandemic.

“COVID-19 is like rain falling and it gives us an opportunity to think outside the box and to come up with this virtual cultural tour which serves as a therapy and rain jacket for the pandemic,” Runsewe said at the unveiling.

The Virtual Cultural Tour - which can be accessed via https://www. ncac.gov.ng/cultural-virtual-tour/ - is a 360-degree video rendition of some of the most culturally stimulating spots across Nigeria. From the comfort of your room, it is possible to travel

Runsewe

through the scenic beauty of Yankari Game Reserves and then hop on to the bronze-plated streets of Igun Street in Benin-city before pausing to wonder at the mysterious allure of Ogbunike cave in Anambra. Each site is accompanied by a voice narration that, like a tour guide, provides relevant, well-curated information; the narration heightens the immersive experience offered by the virtual tour platform.

The benefits of the virtual tour are obvious. For one, it is a powerful educational tool; many Nigerians do not know enough about the country’s rich cultural heritage; that information is now one click away and is presented in a stunningly visual format. The virtual tour also makes Nigeria more accessible to foreigners who will, no doubt, be taken by the allure of some of the country’s cultural treasures - that fascination will inevitably lead to the inflow of more tourism dollars.

Another benefit is that of documentation. In the event of disasters such as war or flooding, these sites can undergo gargantuan changes, but since the past has been preserved, albeit in digital

format, future generations can have a frame of reference for how things once were.

NCAC’s forward-thinking owes a lot to the man in charge of its affairs - Runsewe. Born in Kaduna to the family of Pa Bankole Runsewe from Ogun State, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, with degrees from schools in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, has achieved decades of success in Nigeria’s media, culture and tourism spaces.

In 2000, Runsewe was appointed as an Executive Director at the National Orientation Agency, a position he held until his appointment as the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) in 2006. During his time at the NTDC, Runsewe worked hard to put Nigeria on the global tourism map. “Tourism is life,” was a slogan he popularised as he showcased the potential of Nigerian tourism to the world at international exhibitions such as FITUR in Madrid, ITB in Berlin, the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai; and the World Travel Market in London.

In 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari,

looking for a solid hand to oversee the development of culture and arts in the country, appointed Runsewe to head the NCAC. It was a prescient move.

NCAC’s vision under Runsewe - to reposition culture as a tool for national unity, peace and social integration as well as a machinery for stimulating rapid socio-economic growth and development - is gradually becoming a reality through several groundbreaking initiatives such as the virtual tour.

“I can see everything turning around for culture and tourism in Nigeria very soon and I stand to appreciate Runsewe’s undivided attention and dedication to see the sector blossom profitably,” the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, said in 2019.

Since his emergence as the NCAC chief, Runsewe has organised trips to Dubai for his executives so they can understand the direction in which Nigeria must go.

“Everywhere you go in the world, the tourism sector is doing very well,” he once said. “What is wrong with us?

Today, we must find a solution to the problem in Nigeria. Programs like this begin with a vision of one man. And every one of us has a role to play in achieving this vision.”

And Runsewe is adamant that Nigeria has what it takes to become a top tourist centre. “Art is everywhere,” he said at a forum in 2019. “Culture is everywhere, nothing is plastic or artificial.

Everything in the public domain has been created by someone for something.

When we go out for entertainment, films, music, theatre, comedy, history, food — it’s all an art-form created by someone with a passion. Any public space has been carefully designed to be at once functional and beautiful.

Museums and galleries share incredible artworks created by infamous artists.

No matter where you look, there is art and culture in Nigeria that could be marketed. It’s a part of what makes us human – a form of expression.”

The virtual tour is one way, despite the odds posed by the pandemic, through which Runsewe is expressing the country’s uniqueness. According to him, the virtual tour will now be used as a template for the forth-coming National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) slated to hold in Jos, Plateau State in October this year.

A NBA President, Paul Usoro, SAN

WEEKLY PULLOUT

14.07.2020 Chairman ECNBA, Tawo Tawo, SAN

Ensuring Free and Fair NBA Elections

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14.07.2020

Before the NBA Elections As the ‘Almighty’ Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Elections draw close - in fact, they are more or less upon us (they are scheduled to hold on July 29 & 30), for Lawyers, the excitement as to who will emerge as the new leader of our esteemed Association for the next two years, is palpable. Two Fridays ago, I watched an online interactive session which featured the three Presidential candidates, Dele Adesina, SAN, Tunde Ajibade, SAN, and Olumide Akpata, and they all spoke well enough. But, as we all know, being a good NBA President goes far beyond being an orator or having the gift of the gab; and as we move into a new phase of leadership, this is as good a time as any, to consider the innovations we wish to see in our Bar Association going forward, and the type of leaders/representatives we desire in furtherance of these objectives.

What is a Bar Association?

We are aware that a Bar Association consists of a group or body of Lawyers usually within a jurisdiction (though we have Associations like the International Bar Association and Commonwealth Lawyers Association which cut across jurisdictions), with the responsibility of regulating the legal profession, as well as looking after the welfare of Lawyers, and trying to ensure that Government and its agencies uphold the rule of law in its area of operation. Of course, the more the Bar Association is successful at achieving these goals, the better and more effective it is said to be. A Bar Association, must also be actively involved in pushing for law reform (See Section 3 of the 2015 NBA Constitution on the Aims and Objects of the NBA).

Qualities of NBA Office Holders Naturally, to be able to be the moral and legal compass of adherence to the rule of law, the occupants of the principal offices of our Association, must not only have the capacity to function optimally in their roles, but must also be people of integrity, forthrightness and without any impediment that will prevent them from operating effectively, or from calling the Government out and holding them accountable when necessary. Accordingly, candidates must meet the criteria for qualification for offices set out in Section 8(3) of the NBA Constitution and 2020 ECNBA Guidelines (Electoral Committee of the NBA set up by virtue of Section 9(1) & (2) of the NBA Constitution, seised with the responsibility of conducting the elections), particularly Section 8(3)(e) of the NBA Constitution and Paragraph 5 iv of the ECNBA Guidelines which provide inter alia that, candidates for national office must be of:

Late Alao Aka-Bashorun, former NBA President

“......proven integrity, administrative skills and experience.....” and “......proven skills, experience with demonstrated capacity to serve, without expecting or having consideration for pecuniary rewards and remuneration......”, respectively.

In making our choices from the candidates who have been cleared to participate in the upcoming elections, assessing their possession of these qualities should be a major part of our checklist. I must say that, I do not agree with those who believe that the Presidency of the NBA should necessarily be the preserve of Senior Advocates, as not only do our rules for qualification exclude any such stipulation, one’s prowess as an Advocate certainly does not translate into having the ability to run the Association.

Disqualification of Candidates Paragraph 6 of the ECNBA Guidelines sets out the infractions which can lead to the disqualification of a nominee/aspirant from participating in the elections or holding national office. The question to ask at this juncture, is how seriously is the ECNBA taking its own Guidelines, or its responsibilities as the organiser of the NBA elections? While candidates who lose out on the elections may still want to “cry over spilt milk” after the elections and go to court to ventilate their grievances, I would imagine that this is the most appropriate time (before the elections) to lay any complaints about election preparations before the ECNBA, for action.

Lately, social media has been awash with different complaints, not just about the ECNBA’s preparations for the elections, but about infractions by candidates. Firstly, in the matters arising, is the issue of the compilation of the register of eligible voters, which is provided for in Paragraph 8 of the ECNBA Guidelines.

There have been serious criticisms that in several Branches, some names of eligible voters were excluded from the lists, while some of the same names appeared multiple times on the lists. There was a photograph of a voters list that went viral on social media, which included the name ‘Opening Balance’, as one of the eligible voters! I wondered if such a list could actually be real, or whether it is a photo trick, and if indeed, it is real, what the ECNBA is doing about it. Paragraph 8.6 of the ECNBA Guidelines allows members to draw the attention of the ECNBA to such anomalies, and it behooves on the ECNBA to ensure that Branches correct discrepancies before the elections, in order to make the final voters register as flawless as possible.

Accusations are rife, that some Branches may be manipulating their final voters registers, in order to skew the elections in favour of their

leaderships’ preferred candidates. Surely, this definitely qualifies as a matter that the ECNBA should be addressing with the sense of the seriousness it demands, as it will be impossible for the ECNBA to deliver on its promise to provide free, fair and credible elections, if one of the main tools for conducting the said election, is considerably flawed.

The second issue, relates to the candidates themselves. Some candidates have been accused of travelling to various parts of the country in the past few weeks, contrary to Paragraph 6.7 of the ECNBA Guidelines, even during the Covid-19 no inter-State travel ban, to stylishly canvass for votes and support from various Branches. Aside from being a contravention of the laid down NBA Rules, such travel also runs foul of Government Regulations which placed a ban on inter-State movement, in order to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus within the country. How much integrity can rule and law breaking candidates, be said to have?

Again, an audio recording of one of the candidates for election who travelled to the South-South region to canvass for votes during the no travel period, has made the rounds on social media. The recording leaves you in no doubt as to the identity of the candidate, who in selling their own candidacy, also disparaged the other contestants to the audience. Is the ECNBA oblivious of this, or is it that these things do not really matter? Or is it the end that justifies the means? Are candidates who are desperate enough to realise their ambitions by breaking the law, qualified to be national officers of the Bar? Do such people have any moral standing to call out the Government or any of its agencies for disrespecting the rule of law, when they themselves are law breakers too?

Some have also accused candidates of giving out financial inducements, especially to the younger Lawyers, to entice them and influence their choices in the upcoming elections, contrary to Paragraph 9 iv of the ECNBA Guidelines.

The ECNBA Has the ECNBA investigated these allegations?

In This Day Lawyer’s recent interview of the Chairman of the ECNBA, Mr Tawo Eja Tawo, SAN, he said: “The essence of the guidelines and constitutional limitations and prohibitions to campaigns, such as traversing and criss-crossing the entire length and breadth of the country for votes, is to discourage unnecessary spending of money with the attendant urge to recoup same upon being elected....we are monitoring the activities of the prospective candidates and their supporters, and we shall not hesitate to impose appropriate sanctions for any violation.....as an ingredient of a credible election which pertains to members’ rights to question the conduct of stake holders and the candidates for the election”. How effectively are the activities of candidates and their supporters, being monitored?

As beautiful as the 2020 ECNBA Guidelines may be, it becomes nothing more than a useless decoration, if it is not properly implemented or applied. Many have become cynical, and are of the opinion that, the ECNBA may be doing nothing more than paying lip service to Lawyers about delivering credible elections; that the elections will hold as usual, without the ECNBA taking any worthwhile action regarding these obvious discrepancies and improprieties. I hope the ECNBA, forthwith, proves the cynics wrong, as there is absolutely no use in Lawyers claiming that they want to take the NBA to the next level, if the process of doing same is fraught with irregularities, and our elections are run little better than the general elections conducted in the country, which are always marred with vote buying and rigging. This type of elections, usually result in the most inappropriate candidates securing the positions. For those talking about the good old Alao Aka-Bashorun vibrant NBA days with nostalgia (he is said by many to be the best NBA President in the history of the Bar, and he was not a Senior Advocate), I’m sorry to ‘burst your bubble’ - at the rate things are going and with the type of elections we are running, ‘c’est ne pas possible’ (it is not possible), as you cannot do things the same

“LATELY, SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEEN AWASH WITH DIFFERENT COMPLAINTS, NOT JUST ABOUT THE ECNBA’S PREPARATIONS FOR THE ELECTIONS, BUT ABOUT INFRACTIONS BY CANDIDATES”

‘questionable’ way, and expect a different, good result. I hope and pray that, I am wrong.

The bottom line is that, once elections are monetised and/or rigged, the candidates who spend the most money on vote buying and/or manipulating the voting system, usually the worst candidates for the positions, most times, emerge as winners. If the ECNBA takes the implementation of its Guidelines as seriously as it should, we may be able to prevent our esteemed Association from the downward spiral which many, including some members of the Justice Reform Project, believe it to be in. It is at least of some consolation, that to the best of my knowledge, the outgoing Executive of the NBA, has not been accused of any financial impropriety with regard to the NBA’s funds during their time in office.

This is a step in the right direction, as same cannot be said for most agencies, whether Government or otherwise. We shall not give up hope, and our strong desire and expectation that the most suitable persons for the various positions shall emerge as the winners, in the forthcoming elections.

My dear colleagues, this is one of those “speak now, or forever hold your peace moments” - or rather, hold your peace until it’s time for the 2022 elections, if you don’t register your satisfaction or otherwise now.

Kindly, send me your comments. Thank you.

I wish the candidates in the various elections, the best of luck. May the best candidates win!

LAW REPORT/3

Statutory Protection Where Public Officer Acts Pursuant to Non-existent Law FHC/KD/28/2003 and FHC/ABJ/CS/247/2003 contain identical subject-matters. Counsel submitted that the issue of absence of evidence to prove that the Appellant was an economic beneficiary of Braven Company, was not deposed to by the Appellant in the Affidavit in support of the Originating Summons, for the trial court to rely on same.

Facts

T

he Respondents had authorised the Swiss Authorities to freeze the bank accounts held in that jurisdiction by the late General Sani Abacha, his children, servants, agents or any other third party who participated in the misappropriation of public funds.

The foregoing directive impelled the commencement of an action by Originating Summons, against the Respondents.

After taking submissions on the Originating Summons and the issue of limitation period as prescribed under the Public Officers’ Protection Act, the trial court dismissed the action. The appeal to the Court of Appeal was also dismissed, and the decision of the trial court affirmed. This prompted a further appeal to the Supreme Court.

Issues for Determination Parties formulated issues for determination of the court.

The Supreme Court however, adopted the issues formulated by the Respondents, which it considered as more precise and appropriate, having regard to the complaints raised in the Notice and Grounds of Appeal. The issues are: 1. Whether the Appellant’s case in its entirety is not caught by the Public Officers’ Protection Act, Cap 379, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

2. Whether the Appellant’s case is not caught up by the principle of Estoppel per rem judicatam by reason of the judgement in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/347/2003 or Suit No. CA/A/221/2003 Sulgrave Holdings INC. & Ors. v F.G.N. & Ors (FHC/ABJ/CS/347/2001) as well as Suit No. FHC/KD/CS/281/2003 Ali Abacha v A-G Federation.

Arguments Arguing the first issue, counsel for the Appellant submitted that the provisions of the Public Officers’ Protection Act which requires that all suits against public officers be filed within three months from the date of the accrual of the cause of action, excludes the right of action . He submitted that, the Respondents relied on the Bank (Freezing of Accounts) Act, an enactment which does not exist anymore – IBRAHIM v JUDICIAL SERVICE COMMISSION KADUNA STATE (1998) 14 NWLR (Pt. 584) 32. He posited that the Respondents action was without legal justification, as they acted outside the colour of their office.

Counsel reiterated that Section 2(2) of the Public Officer’ Protection Act operates subject to exceptions, qualifications or limitations imbedded in the law. He placed reliance on the authority of NWANKWERE v ADEWUNMI (1996) All NLR 119, in aid of his submission that the Respondents did not act in good faith and within the precinct of their office, when they relied on a non-existing law to issue the directive to the Swiss Bank.

Countering the submission above, Counsel for the Respondents argued that the Appellant’s case before the lower courts was caught by the provisions of the Public Officers’ Protection Act, since it was not filed within three months of the act complained of. He argued that the issue of non-existence of the Banks (Freezing Account) Act, was outside the scope of the Public Officers’ Protection Act and that the words – “any law” in Section 2(2) of the Act, is not limited to the Bank (Freezing of Accounts) Act of 1984. Counsel opined that the action of the Respondents was necessitated by their public duty, and that by Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, the President has a duty to act in the best interest of the overall wellbeing of the country, even in the absence of any law in existence, to allow for the recovery of stolen money stashed away in foreign accounts by past public officers. Counsel submitted that, lack of legal justification is not enough to strip the Respondents of the protection given by the Public Officers’ Protection Act, especially when they acted in accordance with Section 5 of the Constitution.

He reacted to the argument of the Appellant about the Respondents acting outside the colour of their office, by stating that the action of the Respondents was justified, as there is no law which prohibits the Respondents from requesting the Swiss Authorities to freeze the Appellant’s accounts.

On the second issue, counsel drew the attention of the court to the conditions that must exist for the doctrine of estoppel per rem judicatam to be applied. Counsel relied on the conditions in aid of his submission that the subject-matter in Sulgrave Holdings INC and Ors v F.G.N. and Ors. (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/347/2001), is not the same as that in the present appeal. He argued that the Respondents had the onus to prove that the Appellant was an economic beneficiary of Braven Company, and that

Honourable Chima Centus Nweze, JSC

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday, the 7th day of February, 2020 Before Their Lordships

Olukayode Ariwoola Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun Chima Centus Nweze Amina Adamu Augie Paul Adamu Galinje Justices, Supreme Court SC.68/2010 Between Alhaji Abba Mohammed Sani …

And

…

1. The President Federal Republic of Nigeria 2.Attorney-General of the Federation …

Appellant

Respondents

(Lead Judgement delivered by Honourable Chima Centus Nweze, JSC)

the lower courts were wrong in their decisions when the Respondents did not furnish enough evidence.

The Respondents, on their part, maintained that the suit was caught by the doctrine of res judicata as Suit No.

“...... WHERE A PUBLIC OFFICER IN THE DISCHARGE OF HIS STATUTORY DUTIES REASONABLY BELIEVES THAT HE IS SO EMPOWERED TO ACT IN THE INTEREST OF THE OVERALL WELLBEING OF THE COUNTRY, AND GOES AHEAD TO ACT ACCORDINGLY, EVEN WHERE THERE IS NO EXISTING LAW TO BACK HIS ACTION, HE WILL BE PROTECTED UNDER THE PUBLIC OFFICERS’ PROTECTION ACT”

Court’s Judgement and Rationale Their Lordships prefaced the resolution of the first issue, by stating that the limitation provision in the Public Officers’ Protection Act, was promulgated to provide protection against actions of public officers acting in execution of public duties – FAMILOJU v UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN (2007) 2 NWLR (Pt. 1017) 74. This limitation period, like every other one, is founded on public policy, as a stale claim may not only be unfair to the Defendant, it may actually wreak cruelty on him. Nonetheless, it is important to note that, what the statute bars is the action and not the cause of action. Whereas, the cause of action refers to the facts or combination of facts which the Plaintiff must adduce to be entitled to any relief, the action itself is the medium which affords him the opportunity to ventilate his bundle of facts – PATKUM INDUSTRIES LTD v NIGER SHOES LTD (1988) 5 NWLR (Pt. 93) 138.

Thus, whereas the Plaintiff’s cause of action remains intact, although in a vacuous and bare form, a statute of limitation denudes him of his action, the right to judicial relief.

A Plaintiff, who desires to enjoy the dividends which recourse to the judicial process affords, must commence his action within the period stipulated by statute. Legal proceedings cannot be validly instituted after the expiration of the period prescribed by the law – SANDA v KUKAWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT (1991) 2 NWLR (Pt. 174) 374.

Given the above, the action of the Appellant is statute barred; he cannot claim any right to judicial relief – EGBE v ADEFARASIN (1987) 1 NWLR (Pt. 47) 1.

On the Appellant’s contention that the Respondents acted outside the colour of their office/outside the scope of their statutory duty, by relying solely on a non-existent law - Banks (Freezing of Accounts) Act of 1984, the Supreme Court held that where a Public Officer in the discharge of his statutory duties reasonably believes that he is so empowered to act in the interest of the overall wellbeing of the country, and goes ahead to act accordingly, even where there is no existing law to back his action, he will be protected under the Public Officers’ Protection Act. The delegation of power by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Attorney-General of the Federation, to recover monies belonging to the people and Government of Nigeria looted and stashed away in foreign countries by past public officers, their family members and associates, is in exercise of a public duty owed the citizens and Government of this country by the President, to act in their best interests in accordance with the powers conferred on him by Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution.

With regard to the second issue, their Lordships held that, the lower court was right in upholding the decision of the trial court, relying on paragraph 63 of Exhibit 1, as the said exhibit forms part of the evidence before the court. The exhibit, which was attached to the affidavit in support of the Originating Summons, constitutes pleadings in the proceedings and the court is not bound to call parties to address it, since the documents were in court before argument was taken on the Originating Summons. The trial court has the power to study the proceedings and judgement in a previous action, even if the subject-matter and parties are not the same – ADONE v IKEBUDU (2001) 14 NWLR (Pt. 733) 385.

From the Records of Appeal, it can be seen that the subject in Suits FHC/KD/28/2003 and FHC/ABJ/CS/247/2003 or CA/A/221/2003 and the subject in the present suit, are identical. The reliefs claimed, are also identical. The position of the Appellant, that the subject of this appeal and the case of SULGRAVE HOLDINGS are not the same, and that the principle of res judicata is not applicable, is untenable. Once the end result of the two cases is the same, even if the reliefs are different, res judicata will apply – MINISTRY FOR WORKS v TOMAS (NIG) LTD (2002) 2 NWLR (Pt. 752) 740, 778-779.

Appeal Dismissed.

Representation R.O. Atabo with S.O. Atabo, Esq.; D.O. Ogunniyi and I.O. Enagbonwa for the Appellant.

I.V. Ogiemwonyi with Oluseye Adebayo for the Respondents.

Reported by Optimum Publishers Limited, Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports (NMLR)

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Ensuring Free and

Since the introduction of universal suffrage by e-voting in 2016, the elections of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) into national offices have been fraught with allegations of irregularities, manipulation and deliberate tampering with the process. This has oftentimes resulted in litigation, some of which is still pending in court. In a couple of weeks, Nigerian Lawyers will go to polls again to pick their national officers for the Association. Human Rights Lawyer, Dr Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, who has always advocated for free and fair NBA elections, proffers a panacea to the NBA which can guarantee a free, fair and credible election come July 29 and 30, 2020. The question is whether the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA), will give these suggestions any consideration just about 25 years, to add another 100,000 to Nigeria’s Roll of Lawyers.

As with most things Nigerian, however, the current figures for Nigeria’s population of Lawyers are not readily handy, but the number is well over 150,000. With this geometric growth in its population, the leadership of the NBA was well advised in 2016 to condition the implementation of universal suffrage on the deployment of digital solutions.

Achieving this, however, required data management disciplines and capabilities that were not historically very Nigerian. The NBA’s records, were historically poor. The Roll of Lawyers was kept with the Supreme Court, not the NBA, which is, in actuality, a mere non-governmental organisation (NGO). Data synergy has never existed between the NBA and the Supreme Court, nor has it ever been achieved. The NBA instituted digital democracy solutions, before it had deployed the systems or processes to manage them credibly. These gaps were liable to be instrumentalised, by those who wanted to make sure that the NBA was defanged as a force for good in Nigeria.

There were many of them.

Too Big to be Left Alone: The 2020 Elections of the Nige rian Bar Association Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

Voters Register

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eyi is a Lawyer, practicing somewhere in North-Central Nigeria. He has been enrolled for more than five years, and is active in his Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He is active on social media, and is competent in basic digital applications. He is punctilious about paying his Annual Practicing Fees and, as an ambitious Lawyer who desires to rise up the highest echelons of the professional grease-pole, he is also fully paid up on his Branch membership dues and has been for over five years. As such, Seyi was pleased, but not surprised when he saw his name among those listed as eligible to vote in the NBA’s leadership elections at the end of July 2020. To activate his voting right, however, Seyi needed to go to the NBA portal to verify himself. After four days of trying unsuccessfully, he had exhausted the help menu available, run out of his phone-a-friend options and was himself exhausted. The last time a similar ballot took place in 2018, similar frustrations with “verification” had precluded Seyi from voting. There was, for him therefore, a sense of déjà vu to this experience.

Determined this time to rectify this matter and ensure he was able to participate in the vote, Seyi sent a message to the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) bringing his predicament to their attention, and seeking their assistance to resolve it. Seven days later, he had still to hear from them.

Ugo, another Lawyer in another Branch of the NBA, found that the final voters register released by the ECNBA contained three different entries for him. In effect, he was registered to vote three times as the same person. Embarrassed but conscientious, he wrote to the ECNBA at the end of June to bring this to their attention. Over one week later, they had still not acknowledged him.

Delegates System of Voting The experiences of Seyi and Ugo, are routine among the thousands of Lawyers seeking to participate in the forthcoming elections to the leadership of the NBA. The Association, which prides itself as the largest body of Lawyers in Africa, must elect a new leadership every two years. 28 years ago, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the effort to elect the leadership of the Association ended up in a fiasco, which the then ruling military regime, found use-

NBA President, Paul Usoro, SAN

ful. The NBA went into abeyance, for six years. When it was resuscitated, it was on the understanding that its leadership would be elected by a handful of Branch delegates, not on the basis of universal professional suffrage among its members as used to be

“NOW, LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS IN THE NBA ARE PRE-DETERMINED, EVEN BEFORE THEY TAKE PLACE NOT BECAUSE THERE IS NO COMPETITION, BUT BY A CONSPIRACY OF FACTORS DESIGNED TO COMPROMISE THE LEGITIMACY OF ANY LEADERSHIP.....”

the practice. Being a delegate in the NBA elections became a huge revenue stream for those selected to be delegates, an endless drain on those seeking to serve the Association, and a source of corruption from sundry sources.

It was also cumbersome. As this writer had occasion to recall in 2012, it was “a four-day jamboree. On the first day, delegates travel to and arrive at the venue in Abuja. On the second day, the delegates are accredited and addressed by the candidates in a “Manifesto” night. Voting takes place on day three, followed by counting and declaration of results. On the fourth day, most travelling delegates return home”. It was clear, as I pointed out then, that “[E]lections at the [Nigerian] Bar are one car crash away from being hostage to avoidable tragedy.”

Restoration of Universal Suffrage The clamour to reform this system, was irresistible. In 2016, then NBA President, Augustine Alegeh, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), achieved reform of the Constitution of the NBA to restore universal suffrage.

The population of Lawyers in the country, had grown in geometric progression. In its first 100 years, between 1888 when Nigeria enrolled Christopher Sapara-Williams as its first Lawyer, and 1988, the country achieved less than 14,000 Lawyers on the Roll. It took

Too Important to be Left Alone With its numbers and its reach, the NBA is, potentially a powerful force for good. Indeed, until the Port Harcourt debacle, it used to be so. Alao Aka Bashorun, the charismatic and thoughtful Lawyer who led the Association between 1987 and 1989 made the NBA a formidable force in the country, on a par, arguably with the military. When he entered the fray on any issue, the country listened.

The military regime of Ibrahim Babangida, whom he wrestled, found this worrisome and invested considerable resources in discrediting it. Port Harcourt was reward for their efforts.

That experience continues to shape the way in which government and vested interests in the country, see and engage with the NBA. Sometime around 2011, as the NBA prepared to elect yet another President in 2012, a Governor in the then ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), approached a SAN who was his personal Lawyer, and asked the SAN whom he thought “they” should support among the emerging candidates.

The SAN, who seemed genuinely surprised, asked the Governor, who was not a Lawyer, why he should be interested in candidates in an election in which the Governor could not have a vote. The Governor’s answer was quite straightforward: “You don’t know that the NBA is too important to be left alone?”

The interests in the NBA elections, are not just political. There are also fiscal and economic interests. The Association is a billionaire in its own right, and generates even more billions from statutory and compliance transactions from its members. With a network of 125 branches spread all over the country, its membership and footprint is a veritable mine of data in an under-banked and under-recorded country.

Access Bank, the sole banker to the NBA, has, therefore, emerged as an interested party in the Association’s elections. This is one account, it cannot afford to lose. The current President of the Association, has served for yonks on the board of directors of Access Bank. The

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Fair NBA Elections “ONE PARTICULAR VOTER ON THE LIST GOES BY THE INCREDIBLE NAME OF “OPENING BALANCE”.

THE JOKE IS THAT THIS VOTER HAS A TWIN, ALSO A LAWYER CALLED “CLOSING”.

THEIR DAD, “MR. BALANCE”, MUST BE PROUD”

voting solution providers in the rigged ballot that produced him, was a company in which the Bank had substantial shares. A candidate who is not in the good books of the Bank, will surely run into significant headwinds.

In a contest in which every major candidate is interested in getting ahead rather than ensuring a credible and level playing field, the concert of systemic vulnerabilities, external interests and personal ambition in a country with a huge appetite for impunity, have conspired to remove from the NBA’s ballot processes, the indeterminacy that should underpin a credible election. Now, leadership elections in the NBA are pre-determined, even before they take place not because there is no competition, but by a conspiracy of factors designed to compromise the legitimacy of any leadership, such that anyone who emerges leader of the Association, can only do so with the indelible stain of knowing that they were rigged into office.

A Crime that cannot be called by its name In his infamous letter issued last month in June 2020 to the 1998 transitional President of the NBA, Chief T.J.O. Okpoko, SAN, senior Nigerian Lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, himself also a SAN, appealed that “it will be a great failure of leadership (of the NBA) for the senior advocate (sic) to surrender leadership to the outer Bar, when there are willing and able senior advocates.” In an election in which two of the three aspirants for the top prize of the Presidency of the NBA are SANs, this was as close as anyone could come to openly advocating rigging the election à la carte, without calling the crime by its name.

Barring last minute course correction by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA), Chief Awomolo is likely to get his wish – the 2020 NBA elections, like the two before it in 2016 and 2018, has been set up to be rigged.

Chief Awomolo may have provided the motive or rationale for the rigging, but the mechanics for procuring it are in the hands of the ECNBA. By way of context, it is useful to explain that the NBA elections are digital.

In their 2018 book, How to Rig an Election, Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas point out that “once upon a time, to do the dirty job of changing votes, you had to be present in the actual polling location. That is no longer true”. In an earlier piece of work on “Making Democracy Harder to Hack” published in the Michigan Journal of Law Reform in 2017, Scott Shackleford and his collaborators examined essential vulnerabilities that make rigging possible in digital democracy, focusing in particular, on three aspects: who can vote (voter rolls); how you vote (voting platforms) and counting the vote (vote computation). As will be shown shortly, all three vulnerabilities are deliberately built into the NBA’s electoral processes.

There are four vulnerabilities, which have been designed to guarantee rigging of the vote in the 2020 NBA election. These are voter rolls (register), portal integrity (or lack of it), voter verification opacity with prohibitive transaction cost, and lack of independence in the ECNBA. I will explain each of these briefly.

Voter Register: Voters in the NBA ballot, have to meet three conditions. First, they must be enrolled as Lawyers in Nigeria. This is easily confirmed from the Roll of Lawyers, kept with the Supreme Court. Every Lawyer on the Roll has a unique enrolment number, with which their enrolment can be verified.

Second, the person must have paid their annual practicing fees, by 31 March. The collecting bank for this, is Access Bank. It should be easy to verify those who paid, from the bank’s records or tellers. The only people who have access to this record, are the President of the NBA and those whom he wishes to. The current President of the

Chairman ECNBA, Tawo Tawo, SAN

NBA, himself with a long personal history of membership of the board of directors of Access Bank, cannot be in a haste to turn over this data trove to any person who – in his subjective view - cannot protect the profit interests of the bank.

Third, the voter must also have paid his or her Branch dues by 31 March. The NBA comprises 125 Branches. Each Branch manages its own processes, for collecting dues. These are not standardised. The list of eligible payees, is at the say so of the different Branch chairpersons.

Without access to the records of the bank or of the Branches, the register of voters lacks integrity and it shows. When the ECNBA issued the provisional register at the end of May 2020, it contained 21,067 names. By the time it issued what it called a final list one month later in June, it had ballooned by 186.65% to 39,321. Between the two lists, the number of voters in the Abuja Branch inexplicably grew from 2,861 to 5,799 names, a metastasis of over 202%.

A close reading of the list shows it contains multiple repetitions, omissions and even figments. By some estimates, the final list may have been padded by up to 25%. People who did not pay the practicing fees or Branch dues are there, while many who paid are not. Many Branches have no records of people, whom they claim as having paid Branch dues. There are credibly attested reports of chairpersons printing payment receipts, and back-dating fictional payments. One particular voter on the list goes by the incredible name of “Opening Balance”. The joke is that this voter has a twin, also a Lawyer called “Closing”. Their Dad, “Mr. Balance”, must be proud.

In Abuja, some Lawyers in the Directorate of Legal Services of the Nigerian Army, are threatening to drag a factional Secretary of one of the competing Branches of the Bar before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC). They are angry that their names are missing, from what appears indisputably, to be back-dated records.

Portal Integrity: In 2018, the voting portal for the NBA election was from a compromised provider. In 2020, it is not clear who the provider is. The portal appears to be managed by the NBA itself. It is not clear who has built it. There is neither transparency to its provenance, nor verifiability or falsifiability to its operations and computations. As such, its integrity can neither be investigated, nor guaranteed.

Putative voters are required to key in the

e-mail addresses with which they intend to vote, but there is no confirmation that the address they provide is actively cross-matched to and stored against their names. This is important.

In 2018, three domains, Airmail, Firemail and Openmailbox, hosted at least 657 unregistered e-mail addresses used to record votes in favour of the candidate ultimately declared winner, in a ballot in which the margin of “victory” was a mere 89 votes. Unquestionably, the lack of portal integrity then made all the difference to the outcomes.

It should not be too difficult to engage external monitors for the purpose of ensuring platform integrity, or invite the leading campaigns to designate back-end agents to monitor and verify the integrity of the operations. The campaigns should demand this, and the ECNBA has a duty to invite or accede to it.

Verification Opacity and Prohibitive Transaction Cost: By meeting the three conditions for getting on the voters register, a potential voter does not earn the right to vote as such. She only qualifies for the privilege of verification. To do this, the voter is required to go to the portal and upload their details, including their qualifying certificate and an e-mail address, to which a password can be sent to them. The uploading can take up to three to four days. Many voters find this frustrating, and opt out. Passwords are generated by the portal and changed by it at will, without the agency of the voter.

The voting register does not contain the e-mail address of the voter, so it is impossible to verify in any forensic process whether an e-mail corresponds to any particular voter. On their part, the ECNBA and the NBA can put forward data-protection concerns for circumspection, with publishing of the e-mail addresses. In response, surely, that cannot be cited to justify creating deliberate balloting vulnerabilities. The opacity guarantees inflation of actual voting.

In 2018, this was precisely the vulnerability that allowed for clusters of voting to happen using fake Firemail addresses, for instance, generated from one source. That is almost guaranteed to occur in 2020. The prohibitive transaction cost is engineered for targeted disenfranchisement of voting conurbations, seen as favourably disposed to unfavoured candidates.

Lack of Independence in ECNBA: Appointed to supervise the NBA election, the ECNBA lacks independent appropriations and operations. It has to function through

the NBA Secretariat under the direction of the NBA President. Despite the existence of an ECNBA, aspirants and candidates continue(d) to receive letters from the NBA Secretariat and the NBA continues to be involved in directing essential aspects of the election value chain. The absence of institutional and process independence, could become a dent on the personal integrity of members of the ECNBA. All this happened in 2016 and 2018. The litigation commenced in 2016 against the rigging of the NBA Presidency, was only concluded at the end of the tenure of the beneficiary in 2018. After the 2018 election, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the State Security Service (SSS) instituted investigations into the rigging of the ballot for the NBA Presidency. Several staff of the NBA Secretariat, were arrested. In one case, a young mother on the staff of the NBA was arrested and detained for nearly two weeks.

Her bosses were hardly perturbed.

The ECNBA has an opportunity even less than three weeks to the ballot, to avoid a repeat.

It can easily infuse greater transparency into its operations, invite independent monitors to certify the integrity of its operations and accredit the campaigns for access to its records and back-end. These are not expensive steps.

The campaigns should demand these. The only reason none may happen, is because the elections are not likely to be credible. I will be happy to be proved wrong, and to eat humble pie. I am also unable to understand how candidates willingly subscribe to a ballot with so many obvious vulnerabilities, that are clearly designed to compromise its integrity.

This, then, is the architecture of rigging that almost assuredly guarantees that Chief Awomolo and his gang of insecure, entitled antediluvians will get their wish. As I have said elsewhere, any system in which a minority feels entitled to rule over the majority has only one name: Apartheid. It should be resisted.

Dr Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, Co-Convenor of the Open Bar Initiative, writing in his personal capacity

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6/NEWS

Presidential Committee on Correctional Service Reform Submits Report The Presidential Committee on Correctional Service Reform and Decongestion, (PCCSRD) - formerly, (Pres-idential Committee on Prison Reform and Deconges-tion) inaugurated by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, three years ago, has concluded its assignment and submitted its report to the Minister.

The AGF, while commending the Committee, said it lived up to its expectations to change the face of Cor-rectional Centres across the country.

He said the urgent need to decongest the nation’s Correctional Centres informed the setting up of the Com-mittee.

The need to decongest Correctional Centres cannot be over-emphasised, considering the deplora-ble condition the Centres were before the Committee swung into action.

In 2017, while hosting a delegation of Supreme Court and Appeal Court Justices, President Buhari, had de-scribed prison congestion in the country and the elon-gated period spent by inmates while awaiting trial, as a national scandal and a long-standing crisis within the criminal justice system in Nigeria.

In October 2017, the AGF constituted the Presidential Committee, chaired by the Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Ishaq Bello, to initiate strategies for sustainable deconges-tion of the Centres, with Mrs. Leticia Ayoola-Daniels, as the Secretary.

When the AGF inaugurated the Committee, he gave them a very simple task. “Go and decongest Nigeria’s Correctional Centres�.

The Committee was also expected to, among other functions, come up with a roadmap for the prison decongestion program, providing a comprehensive user-friendly approach for tackling the problems bedevilling the Nigerian prison system.

It was also expected to provide

an insight into the past and present efforts of the Federal Ministry of Justice and other stakeholder institutions, towards repositioning Nigeria’s prisons system via a strategy deployment of technology and the implementation of the Virtual Automated Case Management System, for the decongestion of prisons in Nigeria.

The Committee visited 39 prisons in 18 States. During the visits, a total number of 7,813 were released. Ac-cording to the AGF, this was made possible during the visits through advocacy overtures to relevant authori-ties, and also collaboration with other stakeholders, via general review of peculiar cases and payment of fines for convicts for minor offences, with the option of imprisonment for those who are unable to pay the fines.

Also, the Committee was tasked with reviewing the case of awaiting trial inmates generally, who account for above 70% of the population of Custodial Centres. During its visit to the Centres, the Committee also con-ducted a special review of cases of inmates awaiting trial for upwards of five years, inmates eligible for the Prerogative of Mercy, and cases of condemned convicts on death row for over ten years, with the view to getting relevant authorities to commute the sentences to life imprisonment and peculiar cases.

The vision of President Buhari for the justice sector, and the passion of the AGF to have the country's Cor-rectional Centres decongested, led to the setting up of the Committee.

Justice Bello said the Committee's focus, is to initiate sustainable strategies to fast track the decongestion of Correctional Centres nationwide.

In the course of carrying out its mandate, the Commit-tee had a retreat in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State with rele-vant stakeholders, where the ’first draft’ of the pro-posed Sentencing Guidelines incorporating

L-R: The Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN; Secretary of the Committee, Mrs. Ayoola-Daniels; Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Justice Ishaq Bello; and the Director of Public Prosecution, Umar Mohammed, during one of the visits of the Committee to the nation's Correctional Centres

Non-Custodial Measures for the effective implementation of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, was re-viewed.

As part of measures to decongest the Custodial Centres nationwide in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the dangers posed to the Centres, the Committee in collaboration with the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, the Ministry of Interior, State Executives and other relevant stakeholders, have been able to further decongestion of the Correctional Centres. In all, about 7,813 inmates have been released.

Out of this figure, 3,789 inmates were released during the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country.

In Lagos State, the Correctional Officers were com-mended for exhibiting a cordial relationship with in-mates, and having a sanitised environment, which is notably profitable to the inmates’ mental health. On the discovery of a number of inmates, and in particu-

QUOTABLE “IT IS AN ANTI-CLIMAX FOR AN ANTI-CORRUPTION CZAR, TO BE LINKED TO AN ARSENAL OF CORRUPT PRACTICES.....

THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE A WAKE UP CALL ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, TO EMBARK ON A COMPREHENSIVE HOUSE CLEANING EXERCISE, OTHERWISE THE INVESTIGATION WOULD BE A SELECTIVE EXERCISE FOR CHANGE.�

Femi Falana, SAN - FEMI FALANA, SAN

lar, one who had advanced himself educationally whilst incarcerated and was in fact a ‘P.HD’ student at the time of visit, the Committee made a recommenda-tion to Mr. President for the consideration of such in-mates for presidential pardon, which will see them making useful impact in the society upon release.

The Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent

Secretary Mr. Dayo Apata, SAN, stated that the many outstanding achievements of the Committee noted by the Chairman, was made possible because of the shared passion and vision of the HAGF and the Chairman; because of their determination and guidance the Committee has been able to deliver on its mandate.

The Secretary of the Committee, Mrs. L. Ayoola-Daniels,

stated that ''The adoption of a uniform Sen-tencing Guidelines incorporating non-custodial measures throughout the country starting from the FCT is crucial, considering that an elaborate system of non- custodial measures will ensure the reduction of the use of the Correctional Centres, and by implication, lead to the decongestion of Correction Centres''.

Appeal Court Overturns Federal High Court Decision to Jail Businessman over N80 million Peter Taiwo

The Court of Appeal, Lagos, in a unanimous decision, held that, the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to try Mr Olukemi Adeloye, Managing Director of AG Moeller Ltd and his company for the offences, since the Attorney-General’s consent was not obtained for their prosecution.

The Appellate Court quashed the verdict of the Federal High Court in the lead judgement delivered by Justice Tijjani Abubakar and held that, the provisions of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act %2),$ RQ WKH ÀOLQJ RI such charges were explicit and unambiguous. Justices Gabriel Kolawole and Ebiowei Tobi concurred with the judgement.

"The clear, natural and ordinary interpretation of Sec-tion 65 (3) of BOFIA "is simply that no prosecution in respect of any offence under BOFIA shall be instituted without the consent in writing of the Attorney-General of the Federation", he declared.

Justice Abubakar held that contrary to the trial court's ÀQGLQJ WKH $SSHOODQW GLG QRW obtain the N80 million under false pretence. The cash, he

said, was "earned as interest on a commercial agreement, and not obtained with intent to defraud.

"To disguise the sum paid as interest upon a commer-cial agreement as a sum obtained by false pretence with intent to defraud, is in my humble view, uncon-scionable and overstretching the law. Earning com-mercial interest which is the ground on which the trial court found the Appellant guilty, is not the basis of count four of the charge against the Appellant.

There-fore, his conviction and sentence on that count, is hereby

Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem

set aside".

Justice Abubakar, however, upheld the Appellant’s conviction for conspiracy, but freed him from jail since one year had lapsed since he was sentenced on De-cember 13, 2018.

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on December 13, 2018 sentenced Adeloye to three years imprisonPHQW IRU HQJDJLQJ LQ ÀQDQFLDO business without license under BOFIA; seven years for obtaining money under false pretence; ÀYH \HDUV IRU XVLQJ KLV EXVLQHVV premises in Surulere for fraud, and one year for conspiracy.

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14.07.2020

Covid-19 and Legal Liabilities Introduction

depends on the peculiar circumstances of each case. This may require a party incurring additional costs and difficulty.

A party who never intended to perform a contract, or who had already breached the terms, cannot hide under force majeure. The doctrine can also not avail a party who cannot prove that force majeure did in fact, prevent him from performing his obligations under a contract.

Since the advent of Covid-19 late 2019, the world has not known peace. The social, economic and political fabrics of the world, including Nigeria, have been rewired. FOREVER! What are the civic responsibilities of citizens, that activate civil and criminal liabilities? What are the responsibilities of the government, which, when neglected, could incur legal liabilities? Legal liabilities from both citizens and government are therefore, corollary.

Covid-19 and Civic Obligations of Citizens Section 24(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as altered), provides for legitimate expectations from citizens in perilous times.

These include abiding by the Constitution, respecting its ideals and its institutions, the National Flag, the National Anthem, the National Pledge, and legitimate authorities; helping to enhance the power, prestige and good name of Nigeria; defend Nigeria and render such national service as may be required; respecting the dignity of other citizens and the rights and legitimate interests of others; and live in unity and harmony and in the spirit of common brotherhood.

The citizen is also expected to “make positive and useful contributions to the advancement, progress and well-being of the community where he resides; render assistance to appropriate and lawful agencies in the maintenance of law and order; declare his income honestly to appropriate and lawful agencies, and pay his tax promptly”.

Accordingly, the law expects that citizens respect the interest of fellow citizens in all contractual agreements, which due to Covid-19, have been altered. This ordinarily, could attract damages for breach of contract.

Covid-19 and Legal Liabilities of the Government to the Citizens Governments at all levels – Federal, State and LGs – are enjoined to maintain law and order; protect the fundamental rights, lives and properties of citizens within and outside the country; promote justice and democracy; provide necessaries of life, such as roads, houses, hospitals, water, electricity, education and other social services that make life meaningful.

Nigerian Governments are duty-bound to promote good fiscal and monetary policies, that promote economic growth and prosperity for the people; provide employment and create job opportunities.

Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution dealing with Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy are clear: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government (Section 14). The economic system shall not be operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of a group (Section 16). Every citizen shall have equality of rights, obligations and opportunities before the law, have adequate shelter, food, reasonable living wage, old age care, sick benefits, pensions, welfare of the disabled, etc.

(Section 16). Exploitation of human or natural resources in any form whatsoever for reasons other than the good of the community is prohibited. Children, young persons, the aged, are protected against any exploitation whatsoever and against moral and material neglect (Section 17)”.

Covid-19 and Contractual Liabilities Failure of parties to meet contractual rights and obligations, attracts damages for loss or injury suffered thereby [STAG ENGINEERING COMPANY LTD. v SABALCO NIGERIA LTD & ANOR, (2008) LPELR-8485(CA)].

The Coronavirus pandemic, will surely impact upon current or future contractual obligations of citizens of Nigeria. For contracts entered into before the outbreak, citizens are expected to consider the rights of fellow citizens under force majeure clauses, or the doctrine of frustration.

Other clauses may also be relevant (including limitations on liability, time of essence clauses or material adverse change provisions).

Force Majeure Force Majeure clauses are special provisions in contracts, inserted to protect people and businesses from the impact of extraordinary events or circumstances that are beyond their control on their contractual obligations. Such events include epidemic, war, strike, riot, or act of God. Typically, in force majeure clauses, a party must need to show that: r "O FWFOU IBT JOEFFE PDDVSSFE EVF UP DJSDVNTUBODFT beyond a party’s reasonable control; r 5IF FWFOU BDUVBMMZ QSFWFOUFE IJOEFSFE PS EFMBZFE performance of the contract; and r 5IF EFGBVMUJOH QBSUZ IBT UBLFO BMM SFBTPOBCMF TUFQT UP mitigate the event or reduce its consequences.

The Court of Appeal, per Ndukwe-Anyanwu, JCA, in

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad

GLOBE SPINNING MILLS (NIG) PLC v RELIANCE TEXTILE INDUSTRIES LTD (2017) LPELR-41433(CA), put it succinctly, thus: “Force majeure is something that is unexpected and unforeseen happening, making nonsense of the real situation envisaged by parties.”

Deciding whether the Covid-19 outbreak is a force majeure event, will depend on the precise wordings of the clause. Not many force majeure clauses expressly refer to a “pandemic”.

Catch-all terms such as “act of God” or “government restrictions” could therefore, suffice; but determining this, will require careful consideration of the contract.

Issues of whether Coronavirus has prevented, hindered or delayed the performance of a contract, will also be factual.

Usually, performance must be legally or physically impossible, rather than simply being more expensive or difficult.

Some contractual clauses require a lesser standard, of only showing that the event “delayed” or “adversely affected” the defaulting party. Finally, it must be shown that a defaulting party has done everything reasonably possible to avoid or mitigate the effects of the pandemic, or its consequence on its contractual obligations. What is “reasonable”, again

“DECIDING WHETHER THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK IS A FORCE MAJEURE EVENT, WILL DEPEND ON THE PRECISE WORDINGS OF THE CLAUSE.....CATCH-ALL TERMS SUCH AS “ACT OF GOD” OR “GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS” COULD THEREFORE, SUFFICE....”

Covid-19 and Frustration Frustration of contracts, is quite different from force majeure.

Frustration removes parties’ contractual obligations when things beyond the control of the parties occur, that make performance impossible. You may be able to rely on frustration, if the contract relates to: r BO VQDPNJOH FWFOU UIBU XBT SFRVJSFE UP CF DBODFMMFE to comply with a Government direction; or r B QBSUJDVMBS QFSTPO EPJOH B QIZTJDBM BDU XIP DBO OP longer do this, due to self-isolation rules.

Whether frustration will apply will depend on a number of factors, including the terms of the contract, the context it was made, the parties’ expectations and knowledge at the time of the contract, the nature of the intervening event, and the reasonable possibilities of future performance.

As held by the Supreme Court in AG, CROSS RIVER STATE v AG, FEDERATION (2012) LPELR-9335(SC): “It is defined as the premature determination of an agreement between parties, lawfully entered into and which is in the course of operation at the time of its premature determination, owing to the occurrence of an intervening event or change of circumstances so fundamental as to be regarded by law both as striking at the root of the agreement, and entirely beyond what was contemplated by the parties when they entered into the agreement.”

In NWAOLISAH v NWABUGOH (2011) LPELR2115(SC), the Apex Court held: “The events which have been listed by the court to constitute Frustration are: (1) Subsequent legal changes or statutory impossibility (2) Outbreak of war (3) Destruction of the subject-matter of the contract or literal impossibility (4) Government acquisition of the subject-matter of the contract (5) Cancellation by an unexpected event like where the other party to a contract for personal service, dies or where either party is permanently incapacitated by ill-health, imprisonment etc., from rendering the service he has undertaken”.

See also GLOBE SPINNING MILLS (NIG) PLC v RELIANCE TEXTILE INDUSTRIES LTD (2017) LPELR-41433(CA); DAVIES CONTRACTORS LTD. v FAREHAM DC (1956) AC 696; AKANMU v OLUGBODE (2001) 13 WRN 132; NBCI v STANDARD (NIG) ENG CO. LTD. (2002) 8 NWLR (Pt. 768) 104; OBAYUWANA v THE GOVERNOR OF BENDEL STATE (1982) SC Pg. 167; TAYLOR v CALDWEL (1863) 3 B & Y S 826; J. P. DAWODU v B. ANDERSON & CO, LTD (1925) 6 NLR Pg. 105; ADU v MAKANJUOLA (1944) 10 WACA 168.

In ADDAX PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT (NIG) LTD v LOYCY INVESTMENT CO. LTD & ANOR (2017) LPELR-42522(CA), the court held: “It is implicit in the doctrine of Frustration, that the parties did not default in aborting the contract. See S.E.CO. LTD v NB.C.I. (Supra). If there was default, then the doctrine of Frustration could not be invoked.”

Though the doctrine of Frustration is applicable to all contracts (AROKO v MCC LTD (1978) 2 LNR 60, self-induced Frustration is no Frustration, but a breach of contract [JACOB v AFAHA (2012) LPELR-7854(CA)]. See PULSELINE SERVICES LTD. v EQUITORIAL TRUST BANK (2010) LPELR-4886(CA).

Covid-19 and Other Areas of Concern There is an urgent need to amend two important pieces of legislation, if Nigeria really desires to join the international community in taking full advantage of digital trade or internet related transactions: The Bill of Exchange Act, 1882, and the Carriage of Goods at Sea Act, 1992, both of which are received English Laws and therefore, form part of our corpus juris by virtue of Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution. Both laws require physical signatures. To reflect the position of the Electronic Communications Act which promotes paperless trade, they must be amended.

Similarly, other laws that impinge on Covid-19 must also be amended immediately. They include the Quarantine Act, the National Population Commission Act, the Social Development Act, and the National Economic Reconstruction Fund Act. THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK “Loyalty to the Nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it” - Mark Twain

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Coronation Asset Management Highlights Investment Strategies Obinna Chima The Head of Research at Coronation Asset Management, Mr. Guy Czartoryski, has said investors in Nigeria are faced with difficult choices.

Czartoryski, who said this yesterday, during an online presentation of a report by Coronation Research titled: ‘Navigating the Capital Market: the Investor’s Dilemma,’ noted that “as interest rates have crashed. The alternatives are either to simply wait for rates to rise again in future, or to accept more risk in order to increase returns. But, to do that, they need to increase their understanding of risk.�

The report studied the Nigerian investment scene over a 10-year

period and found how Nigerians have managed to preserve their capital over the long term.

Some of the conclusions were that it has been remarkably easy to beat inflation over the last 10-years by buying Federal Government of Nigeria Treasury Bills. However, with the crash in interest rates in the first half of 2020, this era has come to an abrupt end, it stated.

By contrast, the report noted that equity market returns have not preserved capital for investors over the long term, even when adding back the generous dividends paid to investors.

By looking at the internal profitability of stock exchange-listed companies, it identified stocks that are most likely to generate

satisfactory returns for their owners, and back-tests the results.

Furthermore, the report took a new approach to setting investment return benchmarks.

For instance, instead of targeting inflation, which is the conventional benchmark, it recommended that investors should aim to beat the effects of naira devaluation against the US dollar, and obtain the risk-free return they would have in US dollars. This suggests that they should ask for naira risk-free fixed-income (or Treasury bill) return of 14.7 per cent per annum over the long term. And, when it comes to equities, Coronation Research calculates that Nigerian investors should demand a return of 20.5 per cent per annum.

COVID-19: BoI Strategises for Hard-hit Sectors The Bank of Industry (BOI) has said it is reviewing its strategic priorities to ensure continuous support for enterprises, especially those hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A statement explained that the bank is deepening penetration in agro-processing, food processing, technology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals to stimulate economic recovery and growth.

It quoted the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Kayode Pitan, to have disclosed this at a webinar on overcoming business challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, said it is an additional response to the significant changes in the global and local operating landscape.

Soon after the outbreak of the

pandemic, the bank responded with a number of measures to reduce the economic impact on customers.

Among them, the bank reduced interest on its direct line of credit by two per cent for one year from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021; granted a threemonth moratorium on principal repayment to all beneficiaries of the BOI Fund from April1, 2020 to June 31, 2020; with option to extend by up to 12 months for customers with proper justification on case by case basis. For loans issued under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention programme and in line with a CBN directive, the bank reviewed interest rate downwards to five per cent per anum, with a

3-month moratorium.

Also, it revealed that the bank worked with the Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB) to reduce interest rates on credit facilities approved under the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund from eight per cent per anum to six per cent per anum, including extension of the moratorium period.

Pitan noted that Nigeria, like many countries around the world, has not been immune to the economic headwinds created by the COVID-19 pandemic and has therefore been impacted with revenue shortfall and the fear of possible recession; low investor confidence; downgrade of credit ratings and difficulty in funding social intervention programmes due to reduced revenue projections.

KyariTasksNew PPMCBoard on Energy Sufficiency Peter Uzoho The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has charged the newly reconstituted Board of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) to sustained all-season availability of products across the country.

Kyari who made the call recently, while inaugurating the new Board of the corporation’s downstream subsidiary at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, said PPMC was a vital asset critical to the delivery of the corporation’s constitutional responsibility of energy sufficiency to the nation. “The PPMC is the live wire of our country’s energy supply system. It is not just a business, but a major strategic asset of this

corporation operating in line with the provisions of the laws of the country which says that NNPC must guarantee energy sufficiency for this country,� he explained.

The GMD urged members of the new Board to guide the company’s management in deepening its focus on commerciality for greater value addition to the shareholders.

He said the company has huge potential that could help it overcome the challenges posed by the current COVID-19 pandemic and oil price volatility, stressing that its network of structure and competence for handling efficient products distribution nationwide were second to none in the country. He commended the management of PPMC for the recent encouraging performance as reported in the audited financial

statement and urged the team to improve on it.

In his remarks, the Managing Director of PPMC, Mr. Musa Lawan, said the company under his watch would continue to focus on profitability and efficiency in marketing refined petroleum products.

He emphasized that energy security would continue to be a top priority as the company continues on the path of automation of its services.

The reconstituted Board of PPMC is made up of Kyari, as Chairman; Chief Operating Officer, Downstream, Ms Lawrencia Ndupu, as Alternate Chairman; Mr. Ibrahim Bello, as Secretary; Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Mr. Adokiye Tombomieye; and Managing Director of PPMC, Mr. Musa Lawan.

Lagos,OgunLaudInvestmentOneonFaceMaskDonation Bamidele Famoofo Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his counterpart in Ogun State have applauded the management of Investment One Financial Services Limited for the group’s contribution towards stopping the spread of the novel Corona virus pandemic in the States.

Investment One Financial Services Limited, an investment and financial services group, made a donation of 10,000 units of Investment One Branded Face Mask (cloth) to the governments of Lagos and Ogun States recently.

Speaking about the rationale behind the donation, Group Man-

aging Director of the company, Mr. Nicholas Nyamali, said, “it is one of our ways to give back to the society as a socially responsible organization. He said the company has always contributed towards improving the lives of Nigerians and will continue to do so.�

Responding to the gesture of Investment One through a letter dated May 18, 2020, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, said it was worthy of emulation by all responsible corporate organizations.

The letter reads in part: “On behalf of the good people and the Government of Lagos State, I write to express my heartfelt

appreciation for the outpouring of love and support received from your organization, as we continue to battle the ravaging Covid-19 disease as a State. Though this disease has take a heavy toll on global economies and it continues to have far-reaching negative socio-economic consequences on our own local economy, Lagos State, however, counts itself lucky to have such worthy allies and partners as yourself in its fight to contain and manage the disease. “In this vein, your generous donation of the following medical consumables is very much appreciated (Investment One Branded Face Mask (cloth)).

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

SEPTEMBER 2019 Money Supply (M3)

35,029,779.72

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

7,374,356.91

Money Supply (M2)

27,655,422.82

-- Quasi Money

116,533,891.21

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,121,531.60

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,625,047.69

---- Demand Deposits

9,496,483.91

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

13,911,335.83

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

21,118,443.89

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

35,918,179.45

---- Credit to Government (Net)

10,452,199.38

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

11,007,422.79

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

25,465,980.07

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-14,799,735.56

--Other Assets Net

7,000,253.07

Reserve Money (Base Money

2,005,600.83

--Currency in Circulation

4,677,530.81

--Banks Reserves

317,121.43

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

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OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ ÍŻÍŽ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $43.46 a barrel on Friday, compared with $43.31 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͯͲ˜ 2020

MARKET NEWS

All-Share Index Falls 0.44% as Market Opens Week Bearish Goddy Egene Trading activities at the stock market started the week bearish as the benchmark, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) fell 0.44 per cent to close at 24,200.60.

Also, market capitalisation shed N55.2 billion to close lower at N12.6 trillion following the losses by bellwethers.

The depreciation brought the year-to-date(YTD) decline to

9.8 per cent.

Seventeen stocks depreciated compared with 14 stocks that appreciated. Double One Plc led the price losers with 9.9 per cent, trailed by Chams Plc with a fall of 8.3 per cent.

Eterna Plc shed 6.7 per cent, just as WAPIC Insurance Plc and Transcorp Plc went down by 4.6 per cent.

United Capital Plc and Zenith Bank Plc lost 3.3 per cent and 2.9 per cent per cent in that

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

order. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, MTN Nigeria Plc were also among the price losers.

Ecobank Nigeria Plc, which announced the appointment of a new chairman, also shed 1.0 per cent.

In a notification to the NSE, ETI said that Mr. Alain Nkontchou,a Cameroonian and independent non-executive director since 2015, has been appointed as board chairman effective June 30, 2020.

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

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The chairman was quoted to have said: “I am honoured to be appointed as chairman of ETI. Having served on its board since 2015, I have seen Ecobank’s resilience and its proud history, built on strong foundation to secure the bank’s future success. I look forward to working with the board and Executive team as we continue our journey ahead and I know that we are wellplaced to navigate through

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

the current environment and set the standards in financial services for our customers across Africa.”

Chief Executive Officer of ETI, Ade Ayeyemi, said: “The entire management of the group and I warmly welcome Mr. Nkontchou as group chairman. We will give him and the board our continued full support in ensuring the realisation of the strategic imperatives of the

O F

Ecobank group. Nkontchou has always utilised his wealth of experience on the Board and we look forward to his successful and strong leadership.”

The new chairman of ETI is the Managing Partner and co-founder of Enko Capital Management LLP, an asset management company based in London and Johannesburg, which focuses on African investment opportunities.

1 0 / 0 7 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

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TUESDAY JULY 14, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Bandits Kill 24 People in Kaduna At least 24 people have been killed and several others injured after gunmen attacked three communities in Zango Kataf Local

Government Area of Kaduna State.

Although the police authorities are yet to confirm the incident, the Chairman of the local

Boko Haram Insurgents Demand N20m Ransom to Free Two Captives Michael Olugbode inMaiduguri A 75-year-old blind internally displaced person (IDP), Mr. Jato Ndarfa has been asked by suspected Boko Haram fighters to pay N20 million ransom for the release of his daughter and niece abducted by the group.

Speaking to journalists at the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Centre IDP camp in Maiduguri where he has taken refuge alongside hundreds of others displaced from Gwoza Local Government Area of the state since 2014 by insurgents, the blind old man cried for assistance from the federal government, Borno State Government and well-meaning politicians to get his daughter and niece released by the terrorist group.

Ndarfa said his daughter, Lami Jato, a-25 year old graduate of

Sir Kashim Ibrahim College of Education Maiduguri and his niece, Renita Bitrus were abducted by the suspected Boko Haram terrorists two weeks ago in company of a tractor driver while on a farm at Tungushe village in Magumeri LGA of Borno State.

Tungushe is a village located at about 15 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital on Maiduguri-Monguno road.

He said the terrorists had few days after the abduction, made contact through her niece’s mobile phone, demanding N20 million ransom for the release of the two women.

Ndarfa, who could not control tears, said the terrorist group would not take his appeal for the release of their victims even after telling them that he is a 75-year-old blind man residing in a camp and finding it difficult to feed.

Nigeria’s COVID-19 Cases Rise By 595 to 33,153 35 Kwara doctors test positive for virus

Martins Ifijeh inLagos and Hammed ShittuinIlorin Nigeria has recorded 595 new cases of COVID-19, bringing to 33,153 the number of confirmed cases in the country.

Announcing this yesterday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said Lagos recorded 156 new cases; Oyo, 141; Federal Capital Territory (FCT), 99; Edo, 47; Kaduna, 27; Ondo, 22; Rivers, 20; Osun, 17; Imo, 13; Plateau, 10; Nasarawa and Anambra, eight each; Kano, Benue and Borno, five each; Ogun, four; Taraba and Gombe, three each; while Kebbi and Cross River recorded one each.

It said: “Nigeria has recorded 33,153 cases of COVID-19. 13,671 patients have been discharged, while 744 persons have died.”

Meanwhile,nofewerthan35medical doctorsinKwaraStatehavesofartested positive to COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

KwaraStateChairmanoftheNigeria MedicalAssociation(NMA),Dr.Kolade SolagberutoldreportersinIlorin,thestate capitalatthisyearAnnualGeneralMeeting (AGM) of the association.

Solagberu, however, said that the association had not recorded any

casualty among its members.

The NMAchairman told residents of the state that COVID-19 is real, urging them to disregard rumours saying the pandemic was only a money- making avenue for the government.

“Residents should help the doctors to help thembynotpayingunnecessary visits or consultations to hospitals.

“Fornow,peopleshouldavoidvisiting thehospitalexceptforlifethreateningissues.

“Weadvisepeopletoengageine-health service instead of physical consultation to avoid contact as much as possible.

“Peopleshouldstopunnecessaryvisit to patients in the hospital. Those who follow a patient waiting to be attended to, are not encouraged for now.

“You should just help us to help you because the less the number of patient we attend to, the less the chances of spreading the virus.

“This is because every patient is a potential COVID-19 case.”

The NMAchairman commended the Federal and State governments for continuous closure of schools, adding that safety should be paramount until the coast is clear.

As at 7 p.m on Sunday, Kwara state had 401 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 208 active patients, 179 persons discharged and 14 deaths.

23-year-old Lady Commits Suicide in Lagos Rebecca Ejifoma An alleged constant physical abuse from an elder brother has driven a 23-year-old lady, Ms. Sherifat Suleiman, to commit suicide yesterday in Isawo Community in Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

The deceased reportedly consumed a substance suspected to be a poisonous liquid after she was brutally beaten by her elder brother.

An eyewitness account said that residents discovered that Sherifat

had taken the substance when they saw her wriggling in pains.

The eyewitness disclosed that Sherifat passed away few minutes before she was rushed to a hospital in Ikorodu.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP. Bala Elkana, told THISDAY that he was yet to confirm the report from Ikorodu. “I have sent a message to Ikorodu but I’m yet to receive any information if the incident is true or not.”

government, Hon. Elias Manza, said the criminals, suspected to be Fulani militia, first attacked Chibob village on Friday night, and killed nine people with many others seriously injured, while many houses were also burnt.

He also said that similar attacks were carried out by the gunmen in Sabon Kaura village where 15 people were also murdered in the night while the third attack at Ungwan Audu village on Sunday night also left several

houses and farmlands burnt with many injured.

Speaking further, the council chairman explained that several families have been displaced from their homes as a result of the attacks, while the injured ones

are currently receiving treatment at different hospitals in Kafanchan and Zonkwa.

He also appealed for the deployment of more security operatives to Zango Kataf in order to forestall further attacks.

EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE REVENUE SOURCE...

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Edeth Sunday-Akpan; Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite; and Minister of State, Mr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, during the ministers’ interactive section with journalists on the development of the mining sector in the country, in Abuja ...yesterday

Minister: 3,600 Rapes Case Recorded During COVID-19 Lockdown Deji Elumoye in Abuja Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, has disclosed that a total of 3,600 rape cases were reported nationwide during the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

This is just as the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, stated that the Senate recent passage of the sexual harassment bill was to

protect Nigerian women’s rights.

Tallen, who stated this while on a courtesy visit to the deputy Senate president yesterday evening, revealed that during the COVID-19 induced lockdown, each state recorded not less than 100 cases of rape.

She condemned the upsurge in rape cases nationwide, adding that reports she received from Commissioners of Women Affairs across the 36 states of the federation revealed the

upsurge in the number of rape cases nationwide during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The minister also applauded the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) for declaring a state of emergency on sexual and gender-based violence.

Tallen also called for more legislation to protect the girl-child and women, while commending Omo-Agege for sponsoring the anti-social harassment bill, and noted that by this development, lawmakers have written their

names in gold.

Quoting from a letter dated July 7, 2020, signed by Comfort Lamptey, the United Nations Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Tallen noted that “UN Women stand ready to support federal and state governments’ efforts to implement this important legislation in the period ahead; work closely with women’s constituencies, students, educational institutions and other relevant stakeholders.”

House Gives Naval Chief Seven-day Ultimatum to Appear before Public Account Committee The House of Representatives Committee on Public Account has given a seven-day ultimatum to the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, to appear before the Committee.

Lawmakers in the committee expressed their displeasure that the Chief of Naval Staff failed to

honour their earlier invitation, and instead sent the Nigerian Navy’s Assistant Director of Budget, whom the lawmakers consider to be too low ranked to address the parliament.

They asked the Chief of Naval Staff to ensure that he honours the invitation within seven days.

The Naval Chief is expected to respond to a query from the Auditor General of the Federation regarding certain activities within the Nigerian Navy.

Recently, the House of Representatives launched various investigations and

probes, querying some sectors and agencies within the country.

Most recent probes include an investigation into the alleged illegal withdrawals from the dividends accounts of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), as well as a probe of the power sector.

Police Seize 10 AK47 Rifles, Ammunition from Suspected Gunrunners in Taraba The Taraba State Police Command has seized 10 AK47 rifles and ammunition from two suspected gunrunners in Lau local Government Area of the state.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP David Misal, disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists in Jalingo, the state capital.

Misal said that the two suspects abandoned their motorcycle together

with the weapons upon sighting the police in Lau. He listed other weapons recovered as, 13 magazines and 425 live ammunitions.

Misal said that effort were ongoing by the command to arrest the suspects.

The police spokesperson also said that operatives of the command had intercepted a truck loaded with

different kinds of goods, which arrived from Anambra.

Misal said that drugs of different kinds were recovered after a thorough search.

He listed the drugs to include 20 cartons of codeine, 21 cartons of codolin codeine and 20 cartons of piscof Codeine.

Misal mentioned others as 13 cartons of Tutolin, two cartons of

coflin, one carton of liquid quinine, five cartons of sildenafil citrate tablets and other illicit drugs.

He explained that the drugs were bearing different brands to conceal the facts.

The PPRO also said that one Mr. Emmanuel Ugwoke and Jude Azu were arrested and detained in connection with the crime.

Oil Workers Accuse NNPC of Sacking 850 Refinery Workers Peter Uzoho The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) have disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had sacked 850 contract workers at the country’s refineries.

The unions disclosed this in a joint statement signed by the National President of NUPENG, Mr. Williams Akporeha, and his counterpart in PENGASSAN, Mr. Ndukaku Ohaeri, as well as their general secretaries.

The statement was entitled ‘NUPENG and PENGASSAN strongly react to comments by Minister of State for Petroleum

Resources, Timipre Sylva, on refineries and oil and gas workers’.

“On the purported threat of the Group Managing Director of NNPC to sack workers, we wish to state here that it was actually no more a threat but that it had already been carried out with the sack of 850 support staff in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, throwing almost a

thousand workers into hard financial situation without an iota of empathy or consultation with the union,” the unions said.

The unions said they never threatened to go on strike, but that they only demanded to be engaged for a proper discussion on the commensurate terminal benefits of the workers who had worked for 10 to 15 years.

TUESDAY JULY 14, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

36

NEWSXTRA

W’Bank: Nigeria Has Signalled Commitment to Reform Obinna Chima The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri, yesterday said recent policy measures adopted by the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are indications that the country

is committed reforms.

He said this last night in an interview on ARISE NEWS Channel, a THISDAY sister broadcast station.

Specifically, Chaudhuri said the recent exchange rate adjustment, the passage of the revised Medium Term Expenditure Framework

Data Price to Drop By 60%, Says Pantami Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, has disclosed that data price will drop by 60 per cent by 2025.

He said such would be achievable with what the ministry has put in place in terms of infrastructure, and as the government is making ICT infrastructures as national infrastructure.

The minister made this known yesterday in Abuja during the official opening of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) training programme organised for ICT journalists with the theme: ‘Digital Skills in News Reportage For ICT Journalists’.

Pantami said high cost of right of way, provision of security for telecom infrastructure by telecoms provider are responsible for

the high cost Nigerians pay for telecoms services, and now, the federal government has taken that burden off them.

“By 2025, Nigerians will pay 40 percent of what data cost them now,” he stated.

Speaking further, he said: “In the ministry, we are working on restructuring all the departments because most of them are obsolete. We will have many critical departments that will focus on digital innovation, entrepreneurship, digital economy and more to make sure that we are on the right track for a digital Nigeria.”

He hinted on the need for Nigeria to join rest of the countries that have preference of skills over certificate when employing workers, saying what is most important is not the certificate but the skill.

Many developed nations are promoting skills rather than certificate.

Fire Guts World Trade Centre, Abuja Bennett Oghifo Fire yesterday gutted a section of the World Trade Centre building located in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The fire was said to have started from the top of the skyscraper which dots the skyline of Central Business District (CBS), Abuja.

However, First Continental Properties Limited, owners of the centre, has said the building is intact and safe after an unfortunate fire in a small section in the upper floor of the 24-floor building.

The General Manager,

Operations, Ibukun Adeogun told THISDAY, “A small fire close to our top shaft, immediately the building’s management system deployed the sprinklers that put out the fire within minutes. But because it is close to the top and the extractor was working, it took the smoke out of the building.”

Adeogun said the building is intact and safe, stating that the smoke was seen easily because the building is the tallest in Abuja, and that no single window pane in the mostly glass building is broken.

(MTEF) as well as the market determined pricing of petrol prices were steps in the right direction.

“A number of things Nigeria has done in the last few months signal a real commitment to reform. The passage of the amended budget clearly lays the government intention and the move towards exchange rate unification would help.

“Moving towards the official

rate and a more market reflective rate would bring more resources into the federation account and that means the government would have more resources to spend to protect livelihoods and economic activities. The move towards a market-based gasoline pricing is also something good.”

Responding to a question about how the Washingtonbased multilateral institution

has supported the country following the Covid-19 disruption, Chaudhuri said the bank helped Nigeria in designing its development agenda in terms of helping to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

“So, the way we have approached the current crisis is really to say what can Nigeria do to make sure that it survives this crisis and that it gets back to

mitigate the worse impact of this crisis and get back on its trajectory to fully realise its potential?

“So, the first point of our support is to try and work with our government partners to see how we can marshal these resources and the approach is similar to what a household would do if all of a sudden the main income earner lost his job.

CELEBRATING MEGA PROJECT...

L-R: Managing Director of Megastar Technical and Construction Company, Mr. Harcourt Adukeh; Director, Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Patrick Daziba Obah; and General Manager, Facility and Logistics Division (FLD), NCDMB, Mrs. Maureen Ohaeri, during the handover of the newly completed Nigerian Content Headquarters by the contractor to NCDMB, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State...yesterday

Alleged Kidnapping: Court Admits Six Guns in Evidence against Wadume Alex Enumah in Abuja The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court yesterday admitted six guns tendered as exhibits against alleged against Taraba State kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala, otherwise known as Wadume, and his co-defendants.

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court admitted the six guns as exhibits B, B1 to

B5, shortly after the prosecution tendered them through its fifth witness, one Inspector Samuel Abdullahi.

Abdullahi, led in evidence by the prosecution told the court that his team that investigated the issue involving Wadume and his codefendants retrieved the six guns from the kidnap kingpin.

The witness explained that, Wadume instructed the seventh

defendant, Rayyanu Abdul, based in Ibi to move the guns, which belongs to him, to a safe place.

He added that when Wadume was told that some money would be needed for spiritual prayers over his matter, he then ordered that two of the rifles be sold to raise money for that purpose.

Testifying further, the witness disclosed that the fifth defendant, Bashir Waziri (aka Babaruns),

was in the Sharon vehicle that the military used in chasing the police operatives, which they shot and summersaulted, killing three policemen and two civilians.

Abdullahi however informed the court that the six guns were retrieved from Bashir Waziri and Uba Bala, who were also defendants in the matter and kept in the custody of the exhibit keeper of the Nigeria Police.

Osun Eases Lockdown in Four LGAs Osun State Government has approved the ease of lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic in four local government areas (LGAs) with effect from the midnight of yesterday.

A statement signed by Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Wole Oyebamiji titled, ‘Osun govt. approves conditional

ease of lockdown in four local government areas’ on Monday said the decision was based on undertakings and assurance received from traditional and religious leaders, as well as civil society groups within the axis.

The statement said stakeholders had assured that safety guidelines would be strictly adhered to

by the residents of Ilesha East, Ilesha West, Atakumosa East and Atakumosa West LGAs that had been locked down since Tuesday, July 7 upon discovery of community transmission of coronavirus.

The statement read in part, “Physical meetings and mass gatherings in any form remain

banned in that axis and indeed throughout the state till further notice.

“Notwithstanding the ease of the lockdown, enforcement of safety protocols – especially the use of nose mask in public places – must be continued in the axis, and non-adherents will be sanctioned.

Fred Ojeh

place virtually as participants are to join through the church’s website.

A statement issued by Christa Omawumi Thompson for the church said the audio-only stream of the services would also be available on the church website.

According to the statement, “This year’s conference with the theme: ‘Exceeding Grace in

Uncertain Times,’ is designed to equip believers with the richer concepts of God’s grace on how to thrive in this season of uncertainty.

“Despite the border controls currently in place, the church will continue in its long-standing tradition of featuring insightful teachings of the bible precepts by world-renowned gospel ministers.”

She added that Bishop T D Jakes, Senior Pastor of The Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas, United States; Dr. Creflo Dollar, Senior Pastor, World Changers Church International, Atlanta, US, and Dr. Mensa Otabil, Senior Pastor, International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Accra, Ghana, are expected to attend the virtual programme.

Court Sentences Hairstylist to 20Years in Prison for Rape Adefarasin Set to Begin Virtual Word Conference 2017, lured Miss A to a hotel in Davidson Iriekpen A 28-year-old hairstylist, Tayo Bakare, was yesterday sentenced to 20 years in prison by an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court for rape, luring and kidnapping.

The convict was accused of luring, kidnapping and raping a student on Industrial Training (IT) in one of the media houses in Lagos.

Justice Abiola Soladoye who found Bakare guilty of four out of the eight-count charge of conspiracy, robbery, deprivation of liberty and rape proffered against him by the Lagos State Government, said the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.

According to the prosecution, led by Arinola Momoh-Ayokanbi, Bakare had lured and raped the student (Miss A) and her friend (Miss B).

The prosecutor alleged that Bakare had, sometime in August

Ikotun, Lagos by using Miss A’s friend phone, which he had stolen.

“Unknown to Miss A, she was not chatting with her female friend but the convict.

“When she got to the hotel room, the convict came into the room and told her that her friend (Miss B) had set her up.

“He threatened her by saying that he was a member of the ‘Badoo’ cult.

“The convict beat her, raped her and stole her belongings, which included two mobile phones, ATM cards and N2,000.

“He locked her in the hotel room and left.

“Miss A went to the bathroom and alerted a passer-by who helped her to escape,’’ the prosecutor had told the court.

According to Momoh-Ayokanbi, the convict had also lured, kidnapped and raped Miss B and stolen her mobile phone, which was used to lure her friend Miss A to the hotel.

The seventh edition of the House on The Rock (HOTR) annual Word Conference will commence tomorrow to end next Sunday.

According to the organisers, in compliance with COVID-19 protocols, this year’s highly anticipated conference will take

I S LAPPED A KPABIO , S AYS E X -NDDC B OSS , N UNIEH “I am the only Ogoni woman, Nigerian woman that has slapped his face. I slapped him because of his plan B. He thought that since he couldn’t get me to take that money, he thought that his plan B could come up on me.

“He didn’t know that I am a Port Harcourt girl. Port Harcourt girls are not moved by money or by somebody telling me he will make me the substantive MD. “Akpabio’s meetings with me were either in Apo, Le Meridian, or whatever. I slapped him.

Harassment sounds better, not rape.”

Nunieh, a lawyer, wondered why the minister was interested in her private life, rather than respond to the allegation of misappropriation of funds, stressing that Akpabio described her as ‘temperamental’ in the Saturday interview because of the way she rebuffed his moves.

She added: “Why was he jealous that I was married for 20th time - did he want to be my seventh husband? Even if I married 80 times, I did not even marry four times.

“After the money, I would have taken the oath and walked away, no one would have heard all these. That’s why he said I am temperamental because of that incident.”

She alleged that the NDDC had paid to get electricity directly from Afam, but was disconnected at the gate because the minister’s girlfriend supplies diesel to the agency.

She said she got engineers to get it back, but the money wasn’t approved; so, that NDDC will keep paying for diesel, alleging that the

minister wanted her to approve monies for his presidential ambition.

“He got upset that I saw Mrs. Amaechi (Rotimi) and Mrs. Sylva (Timipre) at the airport and I spoke to them because they are his political enemies, thinking I wanted to stop his political ambition,” Nunieh said.

She said she didn’t want to be reinstated, but to state the facts as they were, insisting that the minister also tried to compel her to take an oath of allegiance, which she declined.

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TUESDAY JULY 14, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Ize-Iyamu Unveils Six-point Agenda for Edo PDP alleges mass defection from APC Chuks Okocha inAbujaand Adibe EmenyonuinBenin-city The Edo State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, yesterday launched his six-point programmes of action for the state, saying the four cardinal programmes of the defunct

Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) of the Second Republic reshaped his interest in politics as well as the importance of manifesto for a political party and politicians.

This is coming as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the mass defection from the APC to the PDP ahead of the state governorship election as an

602 Repentant Boko Haram Denounce Membership No fewer than 602 repentant Boko Haram members yesterday denounced their membership of the group and swore Oath of Allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The ex-insurgents, who have completed a de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration programme, denounced their membership of the insurgent group at the Malam Sidi Camp in Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that they denounced their membership of Boko Haram before an 11-man Quasi-Judicial Panel headed by Justice Nehizena Afolabi, of the Federal High Court, Gombe.

Speaking during the exercise, the Coordinator, Operation Safe Corridor, Maj. Gen. Bamidele Shafa, said the appearance of the repentant insurgents

before the judicial panel was a major requirement, before their reintegration into the society.

“The panel is for the clients to appear before it to confess their pasts and denounce their membership of Boko Haram, Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) as the case maybe.

“And swear Oath of Allegiance to be loyal, discipline and obedient citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and then make commitment.

“The commitment is that at the end of the programme, where they commit any offence, they stand to forfeit all privileges that they have acquired today and will be liable of offence against the State.”

Shafa revealed that since the operationalisation of the DRR programme in 2016, it had admitted 893 clients into camp while 280 including two Chadians had been transferred to their various national and state authorities.

end-of-the-road signpost for the APC and its candidate, Ize-Iyamu.

Speaking yesterday when he unveiled his agenda for the state tagged: ‘SIMPLE agenda’, Ize-Iyamu said every component of manifesto creates room for employment generation, just as he promised

to continue with the programme he would inherit from the current administration if he wins the election, particularly the Benin Water Storm project, designed to check flooding in the state.

He said: “When Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1978 formed the Unity

Party of Nigeria (UPN), even though I was quite young, I was fascinated by the manifesto of his party. The four cardinal programmes of the UPN namely: free education, free health services, integrated rural development and employment for all. It was very easy to understand

as it was all encompassing, and the manifesto alone made me to pick an interest in the party-I became a member of the youth wing. From an early age, I appreciate the role of manifestoes in party formation and it was key in the choice of the party to belong.”

Buratai: Service Chiefs Haven’t Disappointed Buhari, Nigerians Francis SardaunainKatsina The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has declared that he and other service chiefs appointed five years ago have not disappointed President Muhammadu Buhari and the country in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Buratai made the claim yesterday while welcoming the Chief of Defence Staff, General

Gabriel Olonisakin, to the Nigerian Army Super Camp Four located in Faskari, Katsina State.

Olanisakin was on an operational visit to the camp to assess how troops in the newly formed Exercise Sahel Sanity based in the camp were faring.

Buratai said, “Exactly five years ago, I was in Ndjamena, Chad Republic, when I heard the announcement of General Olanisakin as the Chief of

Defence Staff as well as my own appointment as Chief of Army Staff. We are grateful to Almighty God for giving us good health to lead the armed forces.

“It is a thing of joy to say that we are quite grateful to the President and Commander-inChief of Armed Forces for this honour, and assure you that we have not disappointed President Muhammadu Buhari in carrying out our responsibilities. We have

not disappointed Nigerians.”

Buratai said Exercise Sahel Sanity had begun to tackle banditry and other crimes in the North-West just few days after it was launched.

He added that some logistics suppliers for bandits as well as their informants and collaborators had been arrested.

Olanisakin, in his remarks, lauded Buratai for modernising the Nigerian Army.

Obasanjo: My Administration’s Mistakes Not Based on Selfish Interest Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that any mistake his administration made was a genuine one that was not based on selfish interest.

The former President said there was no question of favouritism when he was in government, adding that all decisions were in the interest of Nigeria.

Obasanjo, who spoke in an interview published in The Point

Newspaper, a weekly Nigerian tabloid, on Monday, noted that some South-west elders had complained that he did not do as much for the South-west (Yoruba), but he told them that if he did well for Nigeria, he had also done well for the South-west.

He said, “When you are in a position of leadership, don’t think only of today, think of

tomorrow, because, look, you would be a reference point. How did he perform? How did he do? What did he do? In future, people would refer to it. For one thing, I have no mind for malice. I cannot even think of malice. And when I have a job to do, I sink myself into it.”

“People who worked with me, it doesn’t matter where they come from; they remember what

we did together.

“There is no question of favouritism, there is no question of, yes, this is my kith and kin. There is no question of this is my personal interest. I never say that we didn’t make mistake or we are perfect, but whatever mistake we made was a genuine mistake. It wasn’t a mistake we made as a result of selfishness.”

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TUESDAY JULY 14, 2020 •T H I S D AY

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˜ ͹ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

TUESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

UEFA’s FFP Rules Set to Change after Man City Ban Overturned at CAS After UEFA’s attempt to ban Manchester City from European football was overturned by sport’s highest court on Monday, the continental governing body’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) system, under which they were charged, faces likely changes.

FFP regulations aim to stop clubs running big losses through spending on players but, after 11 years, UEFA was already examining possible changes before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) backed City’s appeal against a two-year ban.

UEFA accused City of “serious breaches” of its FFP rules in information submitted to the governing body between 2012 and 2016 and banned the club from European competition for two years.

But CAS ruled yesterday that those allegations were either “unproven” or “timebarred”, as UEFA’s own rules placed a five-year statute of limitations on prosecutions.

Some of the cases may also have been covered under a “settlement agreement” UEFA and City entered into after a previous probe ended in 2014.

It will not be clear until CAS’ full decision is published in the coming days how many of the cases were ruled out as time-barred and how many were unproven.

But the fact that such a high-profile case ended in failure for UEFA-with even City’s fine for “non-cooperation” with the investigation cut by the two thirds to 10 million euros ($11.33 million) -- is a defeat for UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).

The ruling did not, however, make a judgment

on the FFP system itself.

“There is no suggestion of a finding that the legal basis of FFP is somehow invalid. That means that whilst this result may embarrass UEFA, it does not appear to undermine the legality of the FFP rules themselves,” Christopher Flanagan, managing editor of the International Sports Law Journal, told Reuters after CAS ruling.

UEFA was quick to defend the FFP system, which was introduced by the European governing body’s former President Michel Platini in 2009.

“Over the last few years, Financial Fair Play has played a significant role in protecting clubs and helping them become financially sustainable and UEFA and ECA (European Club Association) remain committed to its principles,” UEFA said in a statement.

But at UEFA’s congress in Amsterdam in March, the body’s President, Aleksander Ceferin said the system is likely to be changed.

“Its too early to say how it will look in the future but we are thinking about it and will probably have to adapt,” he told reporters.

While the system was created to stop clubs going into debt, critics believe it may have created a closed ‘elite’ with clubs outside the traditional powerhouses limited in their ability to build teams.

Ceferin said change was on the agenda.

“It has been very successful as a system.

There are almost no losses in European football anymore and now we will probably have to adapt to different times,” he said.

“Our experts are in discussion but changes will not happen very soon, I assume.”

Maduka Okoye Joins Sparta Rotterdam Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Fortuna Dusserdolf Goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye, has joined the Dutch Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam on a two-year deal.

Okoye made his debut for Nigeria in an international friendly

Maduka Okoye ...joins Sparta Rotterdam

match against Brazil in Singapore last year.

The Dutch club made the announcement via the club website, stating that Okoye has signed a 2-year deal with an option same years of extension.

The team head coach was excited over the capture of 20 year old Nigeria international.

“With Maduka we bring in a great talent,” says Henk van Stee, “who has a lot of potential. He was in the interest of several clubs from different countries, but he believes he can take the next step at Sparta. We believe he can be of value to this club and are happy that he signed here,” he said.

The deal is subjected to medical that is expected to take place anytime from now.

What form the changes take remains to be seen, but some supporters of the system believe it has simply become too complicated.

“Sometimes, to tell the truth, it is not easy

for us either to respond on questions regarding FFP because we don’t understand as well,” Karl Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of Bayern Munich said in 2015.

But Lars-Christer Olsson, president of the European Leagues organisation, has warned against getting rid of the system altogether.

He said that ending FFP would be “the opportunity

for the richest clubs to widen the gap. This would take us back to the time where the clubs had debts which continued to build ... and that would be detrimental.”

Obafemi Denies Man Utd Top Four Spot Irish international Michael Obafemi was the kill joy for Manchester United last night as his added time equaliser

earned Southampton 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.

The top four standing of the English topflight remains

the same with Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Leicester City in that order.

United on same 59 points as Leicester are fifth on account of Foxes superior goal difference.

Irish international, Michael Obafemi (2nd right) scored an added time equaliser to deny Manchester United entry into the top four of the English Premier League...last night

Osimhen Reacts Strangely to 10-day Ultimatum from Napoli Nigeria and Lille forward, Victor Osimhen, yesterday reacted rather strangely to a purported 10-day ultimatum handed him to decide on a transfer to Napoli.

Osimhen simply tweeted: “10 days ultimatum” accompanied by two emojis of tearful joy.

According to Italian media, Corriere dello Sport,Napoli demand a

final decision from Osimhen and Lille in 10 days starting from Sunday.

The Serie A club was acting against its experience with Lille as regards Nicolas Pepe transfer last year.

Napoli were confident they had signed Pepe only for the Ivorian winger to finally opt for Arsenal in the English Premier League.

Although Lille who

are desperate to cash on Osimhen’s Red hot value in the transfer market have been silent on the reluctance of the Nigerian to sign the dotted lines after returning from Napoli.

Speaking at the weekend, Osimhen opened up on his ambition in a podcast – stressing that he wants to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world and

win the UEFA Champions League.

“Once I want to play at one of the biggest clubs in the world and win the Champions League.

My goal is to become a complete attacker and improve every way,” said the Lille striker.

Osimhen is now valued at 85 million Euros by his French Ligue 1 club.

Nigeria-target Eze Nominated for three QPR End-of-Season Awards Queens Park Rangers have unveiled the nominees for the 2019/20 end of season awards with Nigerian duo Eberechi Eze and Bright Osayi-Samuel nominated in three different categories.

Five players of Nigerian descent namely Eze, OsayiSamuel, Luke Amos, Olamide Shodipo and Aramide Oteh are in the running for the main award - the Player of the Year .

In the Young Player of the Year category, Eze and Osayi-Samuel are battling Ilias Chair, Osman Kakay and Conor Masterson for the accolade.

Goals scored by the two attack-minded Nigerian

stars have been shortlisted for the Kiyan Prince Goal of Season.

While Osayi-Samuel was triple-nominated for his strikes against Birmingham City, Cardiff City and Stoke City; Eze’s efforts against Luton Town and Stoke City made the ten-goal shortlist.

The two players have had a direct hand in 33 goals (17 goals, 16 assists) combined in the Championship this season.

On the back of their outstanding performances, they have both been linked with moves to Premier League clubs in the summer transfer window.

Eberechi Eze...listed for three awards

Tuesday July 14, 2020

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MISSILE PDP to APC

“The recent revelations of widespread treasury looting, including the alleged allocation of billions of stolen money to certain top government officials, have also exposed the hypocrisy of the APC and how its leaders are mercilessly plundering our economy while abandoning our citizens to a life of squalour” – The Peoples Democratic Party blaming poverty and growing insecurity in Nigeria on the alleged unbridled looting and extortion by the All Progressives Congress-led federal government.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI Who’s Afraid of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala?

W abati1990@gmail.com

ho is afraid of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s nominee for the soon-tobe-vacant post of Director General of the World Trade Organization? I ask this question because over the weekend, her media adviser, my long-time colleague, Paul Nwabuikwu issued a statement in which he alleged that some “powerful and well-connected forces” in Nigeria were working hard, manufacturing controversies, and “peddling outright lies” to sabotage Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s chances for the WTO top job. Paul Nwabuikwu could not have issued that statement without Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s approval.

Well, I am not shocked that some people would take as their own personal priority and task, sabotaging a compatriot whose elevation and success would rub off positively on Nigeria and the continent.

We complain about many issues in our country, but we often overlook the fact that there are many sado-masochists in this country, complete sadists who are perpetually seeking the downfall of others.

Such persons do so for a variety of reasons: their own Luciferian complex, mischief, ethnic, or religious reasons or plain wickedness to the other. Mental health preservation should become a national priority to mitigate the damage that these victims of the Lucifer Effect do to our national psyche. The sabotage that Nwabuikwu referred to has to do with an attempt to link Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with the Indigenous Peoples Organization of Biafra (IPOB).

The claim is that she and IPOB share the same PR Consultants, Mercury LLC in the United States.

Mercury LLC is a high-profile public affairs firm in Washington DC. I recall an encounter with some of its officials in the course of official work around 2014. I have no doubt that it is an agency that has some link with Nigeria and Nigerian interests. At that time, there was even a Nigerian who was a prominent member of the agency. It is not impossible that the agency may have done some work for IPOB, but to take a leap from that and use it to blackmail Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala does not make sense to me. Certain persons may disagree with the methods of IPOB and the style of its leadership, but self-determination is certainly not a crime.

I have argued elsewhere on this subject that even if the matter of Biafra were to be subjected to a referendum tomorrow or any time in the future, I do not see IPOB getting enough votes to pull the South East out of Nigeria. Igbos and the rest of Nigeria are so enmeshed, so intertwined, so umbilically linked that a separation 1967-style as proposed may be more difficult today. In the same manner, I do not imagine that those who are calling for an Oduduwa Republic also assume that it would be an easy task. Where the challenge lies is: how do we finally turn Nigeria into a nation where all groups and stakeholders can share a sense of belonging, informed by the principles of equity, justice and fairness? Nigeria as it is, is an unbalanced nation, and a theatre of injustice and inequities. These are the fault lines that promote and fuel the opportunistic resort to primordial sentiments and tactics. Okonjo-Iweala is not a member of IPOB. Mercury LLC has said they are not involved in her WTO campaign. She has also publicly declared that she cannot even afford a PR agency. To project Nigeria’s local politics unto the canvas of her bid for the WTO top job is yet another ugly manifestation of the Nigerian factor.

Who the hell is behind this? Her media adviser did not tell us. There may be need in the future to name and shame those persons who stand in the way of Nigeria’s interest on the global stage.

This is my second newspaper commentary on the WTO and the search for a fit replacement for the Brazilian incumbent DG, Roberto Azevedo, who has chosen to leave a year earlier than scheduled.

In my earlier commentary, I argued that I consider Okonjo-Iweala the best person for the job. I stand by that comment. I argued that Europe which has more

Okonjo-Iweala or less dominated the position should not be allowed to take it again. I condemned Egypt’s opposition to Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy and called for African solidarity. I made a case for a reform of the WTO. I advised further that the Nigerian Government should deploy diplomacy at the highest levels to support Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s aspiration, having chosen to nominate her – a good move, coming also at a time when the President openly supported Akinwunmi Adesina, the Nigerian President of the African Development Bank who is seeking a second term in office. Many Nigerians accuse President Muhammadu Buhari of sectionalism, nepotism and specifically, of Northern-mindedness but the support that he has shown for both Okonjo-Iweala and

Adesina is perhaps indicative of a change of style.

But where are we at the moment? When I wrote the piece earlier referred to (see “Ngozi OkonjoIweala, WTO and Africa’s Chances”, THISDAY, back-page, Tuesday, June 16, 2020), there were just three candidates, but the list has since expanded.

We now have a total of eight candidates vying for the position of the WTO Director-General, namely Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria), Ms Yoo Myung-Hee (South Korea), Tudor Ulianovschi (Moldova), Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh (Egypt), Jesus Seade Kuri (Mexico), Ms. Amina C. Mohammed (Kenya), Dr. Liam Fox (United Kingdom), and Mohammad Mazia al-Tualjri (Saudi Arabia). Just take a look at that list. I don’t know what Liam Fox is doing there. But check again. Only Africa has three candidates! Many African leaders, and particularly the ECOWAS, have expressed support for Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, but only Africa has three candidates in the contest! Nigeria’s foreign affairs is guided by the principle that Africa is the centre-piece of the country’s foreign policy process.

Accordingly, Nigeria has done so much for Africa, but whenever Nigeria’s interest is involved, other African countries are ever so eager to sabotage Nigeria and the interest of its citizens be it at multilateral, bilateral or citizen-to-citizen levels. Perhaps the time has come for the Father Christmas character of Nigeria’s foreign policy process to be reviewed.

Of what use is the country’s benevolence to other African nations if we can not pull our weight and exert influence in return for the enormous goodwill we invest?

It is safe, however, to assume that the treatment

we receive outside is a measure of how we treat ourselves shabbily within. Of all the eight candidates vying for the position of WTO Director-General, only Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has had cause to protest that she is being sabotaged by some of her “powerful and well-connected” compatriots.

When I called on the Nigerian Government to mobilise resources to support her nomination, I had hoped that by now, there will be an InterMinisterial Committee in place that will be all over the WTO space to solicit support for Nigeria. I also expected that despite COVID-19, President Buhari would have sent envoys to ask for the support of other countries. What I have seen and I stand to be corrected, is Dr. Okonjo-Iweala doing all the campaigns by herself, up to the point that she has had to cry out. Some people in government just don’t draw the line between personal issues and the national interest. The other day, one character in government disclosed that Mustapha Chike-Obi had been asked to talk to the Americans to lobby them to support AFDB Akin Adesina’s re-election.

Who is the nitwit who thought that was something to disclose publicly? What was that in aid of? Even if Nigeria wants to lobby the United States and ask for fairness, must that be in the public domain?

We need to get our acts together. To go back to the WTO matter, the selection process has become far more competitive than it was in June. This week, I understand the WTO General Council will begin to interview the eight candidates. Nigeria still has a chance to stand up for its candidate. I remain convinced that Nigeria deserves the position and that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is an excellent choice.

Re:Nimi Akinkugbe: Ambassador-Designate and the Indigeneship Question

L

ast week in this column, I wrote a tailpiece titled “Nimi Akinkugbe and the Indigeneship Question” (July 7). The substance of it was the nomination of Mrs Nimi Akinkugbe, a Rivers State indigene, who has been nominated by President Muhammdau Buhari as a non-career ambassador, to represent her husband’s state, Ondo. A group of Ondo youths kicked against her nomination claiming that she has no right to represent Ondo State. Can a married woman represent her husband’s state in a public position? What should be the proper definition of indigeneship in Nigeria? Should any Nigerian be classified as an “alien” in any part of the country?

I got some reactions in my mailbox. I will like to share just three of those reactions. The authors raise salient questions that may provide an opportunity for a further interrogation of the subject: Good afternoon, Dr. Abati, I trust you are good. As the subject of this email suggests I am responding to the short piece in yesterday’s This Day (July 7). I believe the subject is big and there is need to further interrogate the issues for a more robust position. That piece as short as it is amplified some of the contradictions inherent and indeed the complexities of the subject matter. A few examples: The proposed amendment that would grant a married woman the right to the indigeneship of her husband which was referenced in the piece in my view reinforces the reality of indigeneship as a starting point! A married woman would by virtue of being married acquire dual indigeneship and then get an advantage over unmarried women?

Would that not be discrimination based on marital status? What would that do to the prospect of men if population numbers swell by marriage?

Also if the essence of Federal Character is to ensure an even spread of opportunities across the Federation then the Ondo State Youths may be justified in kicking against the nomination of

an’ Ondo wife’ as the only candidate from Ondo State. Some States got 2 or 3 nominees. Rivers State already got a ‘daughter of the soil or should that be daughter of the oil/waters’ nominee, Mrs Akinkugbe by extension is a second nomination for Rivers especially as the law remains what it is concerning married women. A few other questions that should concern us regarding this matter; If the reason of nominating the woman is for gender balance is it that there is no woman of Ondo State origin that qualifies? Is it not giving Rivers State 2 positions and Ondo none? Would the nominee’s ‘Ondo children ‘ be entitled to and be afforded such opportunities in their mother’s River State? Knowing how things usually play out in Nigeria would a woman upon completing a term as a ‘wife indigene’ be able to seek opportunities for the same thing or something else in her State of Origin? Should the extent of a woman’s socialisation in her husband’s place of origin count?

For example, if a Yoruba woman married to an Ibibio man speaks fluent Efik would that help or perhaps if the couple live in the locality and the wife is more active, productive to the community than the husband? Would men also be able to acquire the indigeneship of their wife (ves)?

Let me say here that I am a Lagos indigene (from Idumota and my mum from Brazilian quarters/ Epetedo). I am married to an Ikorodu indigene whose both parents hail from Ikorodu. However, I know for certain that if an opportunity within the State is allocated to Ikorodu. I would be unable to take up such a slot even if I qualify many times over. My Lagos Island origin would preclude me.

To be fair, should I really be able to take up that slot on account of being married? and my sister or brother would take up the other slot for Idumota?

What would be the fate of my children who do not have the benefit of alternative state? The merit question is not in contention in this reaction. I ask that brilliant minds should do more work on this subject as it is a minefield.

F. K. Dawodu (Mrs)

Nigerian Mother Citizen Advocate Re: Indigeneship Question I hope you are aware that when President Goodluck Jonathan nominated Mrs. Mobola Johnson as Minister, Ondo people protested that she could not take the slot for Ondo State because she was married to a Lagosian, the son of Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson.

This was regardless of the fact that her father, Chief Bayo Akinola was the Lisa of Ondo!! Both Nimi and Yinka are my friends. But the issue is beyond that. Why not Yinka? Why not Nimi for Rivers State? In this particular case not only is Mrs Nimi Akinkugbe the daughter of late Mr. Ajumogobia who was Vice- Principal of King’s College, Lagos.

Her husband, Yinka is also an Old Boy of King’s College!! The matter is settled in her favour.

Bashorun J. K. Randle Chairman, International Chartered Accountants It is indeed illegal and unconstitutional to turn any Nigerian into a “foreigner” in any part of the country.......” But it has happened before, most recently when authorities in both the South-East and the South-West laid siege at their respective borders to prevent what were clearly migrant seasonal workers from entering those states. Calling them criminals and an advance force for Boko Haram, etc. Even now, a similar injustice has taken place in Cross River State where governor and State House of Assembly refused to appoint the proper person to the office of Chief Judge because she was from neighbouring Akwa Ibom though married to a Cross Riverian. With children.

If former Zamfara State governor Ahmed Sani Yerima did any good it was when he refused advice not to appoint a non-indigene woman Justice to the office of Chief Judge. If only the campaign against these egregious actions can be sustained across the board, irrespective of religion or ethnicity.

Muhammed Tukur Usman

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