MONDAY 21TH AUGUST 2023

Tinubu Brings Back Niger Delta Development Ministry, Names Momoh Minister-designate

Reshuffles other designations, moves Oyetola, Tunji-Ojo, Alkali to new portfolios Renames environment ministry

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Contrary to insinuations that the Niger Delta Development Ministry might have been rested after it was initially left out by President Bola Tinubu, the president, yesterday, brought it back to reckoning

and redeployed Abubakar Momoh, who was initially assigned to the Ministry of

to the Ministry of Niger Delta Development as the minister-designate.

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Kwankwaso, and Peter Obi have begun to discuss the possibility of a merger, with the ultimate goal of setting up a

formidable party that can more effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), THISDAY has learnt.

The meeting of these three political leaders, which had been going on for a while, it was gathered, started with

New Leaders Take Charge of Africa’s Largest Economy Today

84 days after swearing-in, Tinubu finally inaugurates 45-man cabinet FG completes documentation exercise of ministers-designate

KEY MINISTERS IN

Adedayo Adelabu (Power)

Betta Edu (Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation)

Adegboyega Oyetola (Marine & Blue Economy)

Atiku Bagudu (Budget and Economic Planning) Abubakar Kyari (Agriculture and Food Security)

Badaru Abubakar(Defence)

Abubakar Momoh (Niger- Delta)

Bosun Tijani (Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy) Ali Pate (Health and Social Welfare)

Olawale Edun (Finance and Economy Coordination)

NIGERIA IN TRANSITION: NEW LEADERS TAKE CHARGE OF AFRICA’S LARGEST ECONOMY TODAY

Obinna Chima in Lagos, Deji Elumoye, Ndubuisi Francis, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Kingsley Nweze, Wale Ajimotokan, Emmanuel Addeh and James Emejo in Abuja in Abuja Nigeria’s current transition process, although a work-in-progress, is finally taking off today with the inauguration of the 45 ‘wise men’ who have been appointed ministers by President Bola Tinubu to assist him in policy formulation and the implementation of his campaign promises.

The inauguration billed for 10am at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja,and confirmed last week by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, in a terse statement, is coming 84 days after the president assumed office on May 29, 2023.

Tinubu, in company with his deputy, Senator Kashim Shettima, would administer oath of office and allegiance to the 45 ministers-designate one after the other.

The ministers, who as cabinet members, are part of the executive arm of the government, are to serve as an advisory body to the president and also in policy formulation.

No doubt, the nation is presently in a precarious situation and Nigerians would be looking up to the new ministers for quick and enduring fixes in the areas of policies, programmes and initiatives that would impact positively on the citizens, improve their living conditions and as well boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

With this, Nigerians who are typically impatient would be eagerly waiting for these lucky men and women to take proactive actions to raise the country’s revenue base, reduce her debt profile and rebuild investors’ confidence that appears to have plummeted in a country with 133 million persons allegedly facing multidimensional poverty and presently holds the inglorious trophy as the poverty capital of the world.

Additionally, with inflation at 24.08 per cent as at July, unemployment also rose sharply with the recent removal of petrol subsidy, the unification of the forex rates, which led to devaluation of the naira and strong volatility in the forex market, a lot would be expected from the men and women that have been saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the key ministries, even though all the ministries are important in the collective extrapolation of growth and development.

However, those in this category include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Innovation Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji; Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo; Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Hon. Minister of State (Oil), Petroleum Resources; Ekperipe Ekpo, the Hon. Minister of State (Gas), Petroleum Resources; the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.

For example, over the years, a major challenge that has contributed to the slim investment flow in the country is the absence of a trade policy that aligns with its monetary policy. To address this disconnect, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Anite, and her counterpart, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, would have to take urgent steps to overhaul the country’s trade policy in order to enhance forex inflow and achieve exchange rate stability.

For the new Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, this is the first time somebody from the Niger Delta would be appointed FCT Minister, although not the first time a southerner would hold the office. There was Chief Mark Okoye under former President Shehu Shagari. Curiously, the Niger Delta people believe that their money was used to develop Abuja. This, to a commentator, is the first time a Niger Delta “person would be in charge to see what their money is used for.After all, Niger Delta has rivers without bridges, while Abuja has bridges without water.”

In the same stroke, the people of

South East are happy that their son, David Umahi, was appointed the Minister of Works. It is expected that Umahi would address the complaints of bad roads, erosion challenge in the region and they have no other person to blame for the poor state of roads in the region.

Given the growing number of out-of-school children, especially in northern Nigeria, which no doubt is contributing to the army of bandits in the country, the Minister of Education, Tahir Maman, would have to work hard towards reversing this drift.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, and his counterpart, Tunji Alausa, must address the challenge of Nigeria’s poor health system, especially at the local government level, where primary healthcare is lacking, by working with the state government. The poor health system is responsible for the high death rate in the country, particularly the high maternal mortality rate – one of the highest in the world. Even worse, Nigeria has continued to lose medical practitioners to developed countries due to poor working conditions and remuneration. This must also be addressed.

Insecurity is almost an existential challenge in the country and the Tinubu administration is not insulated from this, more so as the spate of killings and activities of terrorists have continued unabated. At the last count, about 700 people including civilians and security personnel have lost their lives across the country since Tinubu assumed office. All eyes would be on the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru; Minister of State Defence, Bello Matawalle; Minister of State, Police Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim; Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Geidam, to bring fresh ideas to address the worsening situation in that sector. This does not however leave out the National Security Adviser and the service chiefs.

So far, over 100,000 insurgents and their families have surrendered to the military after so many years. The surrendered insurgents, at the weekend, protested over unpaid allowances, another sign of a possible return to insurgency if not carefully handled.

For Badaru and Matawalle, to make any meaningful impact, the eradication of security challenges in the country and the sustenance of joint operations of security forces will stand them out. Geidam and Sulaiman-Ibrahim are expected to contain crimes and criminalities, reform realistically the Nigeria Police, as well as address the challenges of adequate funding, equipment and training.

Today's ceremony was preceded at the weekend by proper documentation of the new Ministers by the Office of the SGF. The documentation, which commenced on Saturday was concluded yesterday, with Akume, ensuring everything went well with the ministers-designate, who were attended to by officials at the Three Arms Zone office of the SGF in Abuja.

The President had last month, in two batches, sent a total of 48-man ministerial list to the Senate for confirmation. The upper chamber of the National Assembly,after screening the nominees for six days, eventually

confirmed 45 of them and stood down three others, including former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, due to outstanding security issues against them.

The Presidency had also last Wednesday assigned portfolios to all the cleared and confirmed 45 ministers-designate ahead of their inauguration today. This was a clear departure from the past when portfolios were usually assigned to ministers on their day of inauguration. Director Information, OSGF, Willie Basse, said in a statement yesterday that the ministers-designate, who successfully completed the documentation process, hadalso picked up three invitation cards for their guests.

He said adequate transportation arrangements had been concluded to convey them and their invited guests to the venue of the ceremony at the State House Conference Centre, Aso Villa, Abuja. At the same time, the statement added that Permanent Secretaries in various MDAs were to meet their respective ministers after the swearing-in ceremony at the office of the SGF for further interactions.

That said, below are the profiles of those to man key ministries in the new dispensation, and some of the numerous challenges they will confront in office from day one. How well they tackle these challenges will ultimately determine the success or failure of the Bola Tinubu administration that is just taking off 84 days after inauguration. .

KEY MINISTRIES, THE MINISTERS AND EXPECTATIONS ECONOMY

WALE EDUN, MINISTER OF FINANCE AND COORDINATING MINISTER OF THE ECONOMY

The job of the two-term Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State between 1999 and 2007 seems to be cut out for him. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of London, a Master’s in Economics from the University of Sussex, England, has achieved remarkable success in the financial sector at local and international levels.

Edun worked at the World Bank/ IFC where he handled economic and financial packages for several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Indonesia, and India in the Far East. However, his new task of managing an economy with virtually all the economic fundamentals precipitously heading south requires extraordinary measures. Inflation is at an 18-year high, the local currency is completely battered, debt service obligations have reached unprecedented levels while revenue generation is abysmally low. With an additional responsibility to coordinate the economy, he is expected to quickly gravitate towards some framework for policy coordination with the monetary authorities. Focus should be how to navigate the economy away from dire straits, tame inflation, boost revenue and instil cost-cutting measures/ wastages in public service.

ADEGBOYEGA OYETOLA,

MINISTER OF MARINE & BLUE ECONOMY

Having lost his re-election bid as Governor of Osun State, Oyetola was last week assigned Minister of Transportation portfolio by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before being redeployed to head the newly-created Ministry of Marine & Blue Economy.

As a governor, it was believed that not much was achieved while he presided over Osun State.

The Business Administration graduate of the University of Lagos spent most of his working years in the private sector as an underwriter.

As pioneer minister in the newlycreated Ministry, he is expected to chart the course so that the economy can tap from the immense potential in the largely untapped sector.

MINISTER OF AVIATION AND AEROSPACE DEVELOPMENT, FESTUS KEYAMO

As the immediate-past Minister of State, Labour and Employment, the most visible project that thrust the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in the limelight was the controversial 2020 employment scheme for 774,000 youths purportedly recruited for the special public works programme.

Until now, he never really called the shot in any ministerial portfolio as a senior minister. His new assignment as Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development would indeed be a litmus test as it will put him in the public glare.

The sector which he is to superintend is critical to the economy. With a multiplicity of challenges in the sector, he has a lot to chew. With the airlines, especially the domestic ones operating under very harsh environment, exacerbated by forex crisis, Keyamo is expected to work out an effective synergy with all the critical stakeholders to stem some of the very urgent challenges. He needs to urgently win back confidence some foreign airlines that left on account of inability to repatriate FX back to their home countries. How does he do that when FX is in short supply.

Also, the perennial problem of aviation fuel is another major challenge. There is also the problem of incessant workers' protests, high cost of air fare, especially the ones charged by foreign carriers on Nigerian travellers, as well as issues around aviation safety/security. Nigerians are also interested in the controversial national carrier, Nigeria Air, initiated by his predecessor, Hadi Sirika. Keyamo will no doubt need the ingenuity he can muster to rebuild the Aviation sector. No one is ready to take excuses from him.

DELE ALAKE, MINISTER OF SOLID MINERALS DEVELOPMENT

Dele Alake is not a new comer in public service. He served as the Commissioner for Information and Stategy under the governorship of Bola Ahmed Tinubu between 1999 and 2007. He was a visible face in the Tinubu presidential campaign up to his emergence and swearing in as president on May 29.

As a seasoned journalist and information manager, many had expected him to head the Ministry of Information, particularly after he was initially appointed as the Special

from Leeds Beckett University, UK (2015), may not have direct knowledge of the workings of the oil sector, but may need to rely on technocrats in the ministry for a head start.

Lokpobiri‘s job is cut out for him. He would in the coming months, need to ramp up Nigeria’s oil production to at least 1.7 million bpd from the current paltry 1 million bpd to 1.2 million bpd. He would need to work with other stakeholders to minimise oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta. Lokpobiri will also need to settle inter-agency rivalry in the oil sector as well.

MINISTRY OF PETROLEUMGAS RESOURCES (EKPERIKPE EKPO)

Adviser on Media and Publicity to the president. Having emerged as Minister of Solid Minerals, Alake is expected to dust up the and fine tune the existing blueprint for the sector and give practical expression to the provisions. Nigeria is blessed with vast solid mineral deposits in all parts of the country, most of which are not harnessed for public good. Therefore, the task of driving a solid minerals sector that would serve the greatest good of the nation rests squarely on his laps, particularly now that revenue drive is central to economic growth and national survival.

Not much is known of Ekperikpe Ekpo, aside the fact that he represented Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency in the National Assembly from 2007 to 2011. He was also an APC senatorial candidate in 2022.

It’s unclear why he was picked by Tinubu to such a critical sector as gas resources, given the current move to harness the commodity as a ‘transition’ or even a ‘destination’ fuel by many stakeholders. His first major assignment would be to boost the country’s gas transportation infrastructure. He would also need to increase investors’ confidence in the sector as Nigeria can do with as much investment as possible at the moment. He would also need to address the concerns of operators as to the areas that need amendment in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

MINISTER

OF

TOURISM, LOLA ADE-JOHN

She is holds the requisite credentials to manage the nation’s tourism. With a degree in Computer Science, Lola Ade-John's first job was as system analyst at the Shell Petroleum Development Company and later in various top banks in the country. With her vast working experience both in the oil and banking sectors, she is better placed to market the nation’s tourism potential.

Over the years, this very critical sector that acts as a major revenue earner of many economies was tied to the apron strings of the Information Ministry.

Now as a stand-alone ministry, an effective, result-oriented blueprint is needed and has to be immediately put in place.

However, the nation's tourism potential is bogged down by a plethora of challenges, including insecurity and poor infrastructure. How to surmount these challenges should be the fulcrum through which the sector can move forward. She needs to consult widely with experts and major stakeholders on how to forge ahead.

MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION, SA'IDU ALKALI

The new Minister of Transportation holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics and was a Commissioner for Information in Gombe State.

The ministry he supervises is chaotic though it is critical to the nation’s economy.

Road transportation is deplorable and is in a deplorable state, same with other modes of transportation. What is required of him is to chart a short, medium and long term measures translate the transportation sector into a modern and effective system. He has to work with relevant ministries to fully integrate it into the national plan.

MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM-OIL (HEINEKEN LOKPOBIRI)

Having previously served as Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development from 2015 to 2019, Heineken Lokpobiri was Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District from 2007 to 2015 and was former speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly.

In terms of academic qualifications, Lokpobiri received an LL.B (Hons) in 1994 from Rivers State University of Science and Technology as well as a BL in February 1995.

An expert in Environmental Rights and Law, Lokpobiri who holds a Ph.D.

MINISTER OF INDUSTRY, TRADE AND INVESTMENT, DORIS ANITE

The appointment of Anite to head Industry, Trade and Investment Ministry, has so far been commended by analysts because of her rich background in both medicine and finance.

The University of Benin graduate who has earned several personal and corporate endorsements brings multidisciplinary expertise to the ministry. As she takes over a ministry that has failed to impress many stakeholders in terms of industry and trade policies capable of aiding the country’s quest for industrialisation, all eyes would be on her. For years, administration after administration, and until recently, Nigeria lacked an effective National Trade Policy which stakeholders said had robbed the country of several opportunities and turned the nation into a dumping ground for substandard products. It remains to be seen how she help to actualise the automotive industry policy and draft policies to ensure that Nigeria take due advantage of the AfCFTA agreement and well as boost non-oil exports among others, considering all bureaucracies of government as well as carrying all stakeholders along.

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY, ABUBAKAR KYARI

Amid consistent warning by international organisation particularly the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that Nigeria is in constant risks of food shortages and hunger, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, a politician who was the senator representing Borno North Senatorial District from 2015 until his resignation in April 2022, is confronting with the herculean task of guaranteeing food security in the country.

At a period of rising food prices occasioned partly by the inability of farmers to access their farms due to the activities of herdsmen and bandits, Kyari is faced with the challenges of ensuring farmers are mobilised back to their farms. Also, the inability of farmers to access farm inputs including quality seeds, tractors and fertilisers are some of the bottlenecks limiting the growth of agriculture whose contribution to GDP averages 20 per cent. How the minister mobilises these resources in a seamless manner would determine

Ekperipe Ekpo, Minister of State (Gas), Petroleum Resources Doris Anite (Industry, Trade and Investment)

Heineken Lokpobiri (Minister of State (Oil), Petroleum Resources)

NIGERIA IN TRANSITION: NEW LEADERS TAKE CHARGE OF AFRICA’S LARGEST ECONOMY TODAY

his success in the days ahead.

In addition, for a ministry that is fraught with corruption by its staff who are constantly under investigation by anti-graft agency over the alleged embezzlement of budgeted funds, as well as other instances of red-tapism, it remains to be seen how the new minister is able to confront these multiple challenges to help the ministry to focus more on its mandate of facilitating food production and rural development. However, Kyari, is described as a novice to agricultural sector, having no past proven record of achievements in the sector. Therefore, progress may be slow as he sets out to learn on the job.

MINISTER OF STATE, AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY, ALIYU SABI ABDULLAHI

Abdullahi is a politician, and the Senator representing Niger North Senatorial District of Niger State at the Nigerian 8th National Assembly and 9th National Assembly. He was the deputy chief whip at the Nigerian 9th National Assembly.

Abdullahi, who is seen as a fresher in his new position as minister of state for agriculture would have to learn on the job.

It is particularly baffling that a government that seeks to diversify the economic through agriculture, could afford to appoint a novice to a sector that is the nerve-center of the economy, with its potential to boost job creation.

Aside the fact that Abdullahi, could use his political experience to garner support from lawmakers in terms of lobbying for early passage of the ministry’s budget as well legal backing for other policy interventions in the ministry, he may find it difficult to hit the ground running.

Amid food insecurity, farmers and herdsmen clashes which has kept farmers away from their farms, weak agricultural policies among others, including corruption among ministry staff, he faces a litmus test on surmounting these challenges and delivering early results for a country earnestly yearning for positive change and verifiable results.

However, as a seasoned politician, he may be given a benefit of doubt on the job – it would also be seen how he is able to work in harmony with his senior minister in a way that enhances delivery.

MINISTER OF BUDGET AND ECONOMIC PLANNING, ATIKU BAGUDU

Abubakar Atiku Bagudu served as governor of Kebbi State, Nigeria between May 2015 and May 2023.

An astute politician, he served as the Senator for the Kebbi Central constituency of Kebbi State.

He takes over the affairs of the budget ministry which is central to the overall performance of the economy.

Being a former governor, who supervised every aspect, structure and organs in the state, he is not expected to struggle in his new position.

He is a technocrat who holds a Bachelor of Science degree (B.Sc.) in Economics from Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto State; an M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Jos, Plateau State, a Master of Arts degree (M.A.) in International Affairs from Columbia University, USA, a rich banking experience and he was a Special Adviser to Kalu Idika Kalu, a one-time Minister of Finance, for several years.

His days in government goes back to Buhari's first coming.

He would be expected to mobilise the sub-national governments to key into the national development plans to achieve the objectives of the federal government. Among other things, he also inherits a herculean task of mobilising huge funding support especially from the private sector for the 2023 population census – an assignment that was left uncompleted by his predecessor.

MINISTRY OF STEEL DEVELOPMENT (SHAIBU

AUDU)

Shaibu Audu, the ministerdesignate from Kogi State would head the Ministry of Steel Development. Shaibu is the son of former Kogi Governor, Abubakar Audu. An Executive Director at Stanbic IBTC Bank where he had worked for 20 years, Abubakar has experience in both corporate and investment banking as well as in asset management.

He holds an MBA from the University of Oxford (St. Hugh’s College) in the UK and a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Leicester University, UK.

The federal government says Nigeria spends about $3.3 billion importing steel every year, with the country having 30 steel manufacturers that can only produce 2.2 million tons a year. This is meagre compared to the demand in-country. Also, the federal government has not been able to revive the Ajaokuta steel company years after it was built in 1979, even though it keeps gulping billions of naira. He will need to revive or sell it.

MINISTRY OF POWER (ADEBAYO ADELABU)

Adebayo Adelabu was a former Deputy Governor, Operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Oyo State governorship candidate for the APC in 2019. He started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and later joined First Atlantic Bank as well as Standard Chartered Bank and was Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of First Bank of Nigeria Plc.

Adelabu has a first class degree in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and an Associate Member of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He heads arguably the most critical ministry in the country today.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that Nigeria loses $29 billion annually due to lack of as well as unreliable power supply or 5.8 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every year .

Adelabu will first need to fix the gas-to-power bottleneck in the sector, revamp the Siemens-Nigeria power deal, hold the Distribution Companies (Discos) to account in term of service level agreements and generally overhaul the deteriorating sector.

INFRASTRUCTURE

AHMED MUSA DANGIWA, MINISTER FOR HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Dangiwa brings to the Tinubu’s cabinet over 30 years’ experience in real estate, mortgage financing and housing development that span private and public sectors as well as the academia. As the MD/CEO of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), he championed reforms that helped to reposition the apex mortgage bank on the path of transparency, profitability, efficiency, innovation, and wider impact as a social housing delivery institution. Dangiwa led the

FMBN Executive Management Team to beat all Corporate Performance Indices since the establishment of the Bank. For example, he led his team to mobilise N279 billion in additional contributions to the NHF scheme at an average of N55.8 billion per annum, among other feats. But heading a ministry is a different turf entirely. With the country’s rising population and the sharp rise in rural to urban migration, the challenge of accessing decent and affordable houses has increased. Dangiwa must work towards bridging the housing gap in Nigeria.

MINISTRY OF WORKS (DAVE

UMAHI)

A former Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi was the senator representing Ebonyi South Senatorial District before he was picked as minister by the president. He had earlier served as the deputy governor from 2011 to 2015. Umahi graduated from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology in 1987 with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Civil Engineering.

Umahi would be confronted with many kilometres of bad roads throughout the country on his assumption of office. He would need to be creative in seeking alternative sources of funding for the long stretches of dilapidated federal roads that are crying for attention nationwide.

NYESOM WIKE, MINISTER OF FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY Nyesom Wike was until his appointment as Minister of FCT was a two- term Governor of River State.

His appointment as FCT Minister marks the second time he will serving in the Federal Cabinet having been appointed Minister of State for Education on July 14, 2011 by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

He also becomes the first southerner to be appointed as the FCT Minister since the creation of the federal territory in 1976 by late Head of State Gen Murtala Muhammed.

As the governor of Rivers, Wike was dubbed "Mr Projects" on account of the large numbers of projects, including bridges, hospitals, roads, schools, courts and markets that were commissioned by his administration.

He is expected to bring on board such touted reputation on the FCT by ensuring the completion of several projects inherited from his immediate past predecessor, Muhammed Musa Bello.

He is also expected to ensure the compliance to the Abuja Master plan by property owners, estate developers and the residents by ensuring the cleanliness of the territory.

The issue of security is also of paramountcy given the high cases of kidnapping and banditry in the FCT recent years, especially in communities bordering Niger and Kaduna States.

He is like the unofficial governor of the FCT whose role is to also first welcome visiting foreign presidents and dignitaries on official assignment to Abuja before they are formally received by the President.

MINISTER OF STATE, FEDERAL

CAPITAL TERRITORY, MAIRIGA MAHMUD

Mairiga Mahmud was the spokesman for the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation during the 2023 presidential election. She was named a minister after President Bola Tinubu withdrew the appointment of Maryam Shetty as nominee of Kano State. Her appointment as FCT Minister of State is the first time she will be serving as a member of the federal cabinet even though she held significant positions under the administration or President Muhammadu Buhari. Her role as the FCT of State will largely complementary to the FCT Minister by ensuring efficiency in the operation of the federal capital administration. However, she has statutory oversight role over the six FCT Area councils, Primary Health Services, social and human development resources, universal basic education, inter faith activities including pilgrimage to the holy lands and working with traditional rulers to ensure inter- communal peace and harmony.

HUMAN CAPITAL AND SOCIAL DEVT

MINISTER OF INNOVATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, UCHE NNAJI

At a time, Science and tecchnology drive the world while Nigeria is yet to find its bearing, the appointment of Uche Nnaji to man that all-important sector becomes significant.

Nnaji, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the 2023 general elections in Enugu State is expected to think out of the box to make this sector that is cardinal to a radical transformation of the nation work.

With many of the agencies and research institutes under his ministry barely living up to expectations, he needs to break new grounds, different from the path his predecessors toed. Serious emphasis should be paid tor esearch and development

TAHIR MAMAN, EDUCATION MINISTER

The Adamawa-born professor of law comes with rich experience and educational qualification. He was the Vice-chancellor of Baze University Abuja before he was nominated the Minister of Education.

The 69- year old educationist started his early life and education in his community before gaining admission into the university. He had an outstanding career and would be expected to address the myriad of challenges facing the country’s education sector. These ranged from incessant industrial action by lecturers in tertiary institution, make the country’s university system become competitive once more, work towards improving funding to the sector, among others.

SECURITY

MINISTER OF DEFENCE, MOHAMMED BADARU

As a former governor of Jigawa State, Badaru, who has no security background, was the state chief

Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, comes to her position as a former Head of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Human Trafficking (NAPTIP). Having headed NAPTIP, she is expected to understand and provide solutions to the raging crime of human trafficking which has reached alarming proportions in the country. She was said to have contributed immensely to the plights of trafficked persons and worked assiduously towards strengthening the national response to addressing irregular migration.

security officer of a state contiguous to Niger and Chad where the war against insurgency still rages.

Jigawa State is one of the states impacted by insurgent attacks, where many people were killed while so many remain in Internally Displaced Persons Camps (IDP).

He comes to the office as a former state chief executive that understands the effects of insurgency which is a major challenge confronting the nation and is expected to lead the ministry in a new direction.

Having interacted with the military for eight years as a state chief executive, Badaru is expected to understand the internal challenges of funding, equipment and welfare of military personnel.

MINISTER OF STATE DEFENCE, BELLO MATAWALLE

The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, who was also a former governor of Zamfara State comes to the position as a man who has felt the full impact of terrorism, kidnapping armed banditry and the crisis engender by illegal mining of gold in the state. Matawalle would come to his new role with practical solutions to the multi-pronged security challenges in the state and the nation. Matawalle had engaged bandits in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict at a point.

But the Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, had recently disagreed with the issue of negotiation with bandits as recently suggested by another former governor of the state, Senator Ahmed Yerima on the need to negotiate with bandits. He had insisted that negotiations with terrorists was counterproductive.

MINISTER OF POLICE AFFAIRS, IBRAHIM GEIDAM

As Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Geidam, would have to grapple with the issue of appropriate positioning of the Nigeria Police as the lead security agency in internal security, a position it lost over the years due to poor funding and role hijack by other agencies. Having also worked with police commissioners for eight years in Yobe State, another epicenter of insurgency, Geidam would not be far from understanding the challenges confronting the police especially the image of the police, with regard to corruption, human rights abuses and the need for a harmonious relationship with the Police Service Commission.

A former Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi had, while handing over to the permanent secretary in the ministry, said he met a N15 billion annual budget for the ministry at inception in 2015 which was later raised to N400 billion as he exited.

In tackling issues of adequate equipment, training and other needs of the police, the minister may not need to go far in search of funds. He would need to do more to contain the spiraling crime wave in the country.

MINISTER OF STATE FOR POLICE AFFAIRS, IMAAN SULAIMAN-IBRAHIM

The Minister of State for Police

Prior to her appointment as minister, she served as Honourable Federal Commissioner HFC/CEO for the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), where she initiated the “Project 5s” program, a robust intervention to tackle critical issues facing persons of concern in Nigeria. She is also expected to bring her knowledge to bear on crimes against refugees, migrants, IDP camps and other related humanitarian situations in the country.

HEALTH

COORDINATING MINISTER OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE, ALI PATE

Pate was a Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership in the Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard University. He had served as the Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population and Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) at the World Bank Group.

He has had professional experiences in both private and public sector institutions. Pate is also the former Minister of State for Health in Nigeria.

In February 2023, Muhammad Ali Pate was appointed Chief Executive Officer of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, which works to provide vaccines in low-income countries.

Beyond his well loaded academic and professional background, Pate is technically sound and is at home with Nigeria's health statistics. His second coming to the Ministerial position will no doubt be phenomenal. The challenges in the health sector which among others include high death rate in the country, especially the high maternal mortality rate, one of the highest in the world. Pate must work hard to fix this challenge. Also, Nigeria continues losing medical practitioners to developed countries due to poor working conditions and remuneration. The country’s doctors-to-patient ratio is about one to 5,000.

MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE, TUNJI ALAUSA

Dr. Tunji Alausa, a Nephrologist and founder of the Kidney Care Center in the United States. Alausa’s remarkable contributions could better be seen in his philanthropic disposition. This saw Alausa becoming a member of Eko Club International Medical mission, where he was at the forefront of leading multiple missions from the US to Lagos State. He must work with Pate to reverse to address the incessant industrial action in the health sector, ensure that doctors are well remunerated and address access to healthcare in the rural communities.

MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND NATIONAL ORIENTATION, MUHAMMED IDRIS

Mohammed Idris was born on May 2nd, 1966 in Niger State local government of Gbako. He established the Blueprint newspaper in May 2011 and was chosen as the general secretary of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria in December 2020.

On November 27, 2019, he became the new owner of WE 106.5 FM’s parent company, Kings Broadcasting Network. Abuja. He was Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council’s Director of Strategic Communications. He is expected to ensure efficient and effective communication of the federal government’s programmes and policies.

Festus Keyamo (Aviation and Aerospace Development) Tahir Maman (Education) David Umahi (Works)

COURTESY VISIT TO GANDUJE…

Kaigama Urges Governors Not to Divert N180bn Palliatives

Don't depend on palliatives for survival Bago tells Nigerians Group urges FG to cushion sufferings of riverine communities

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, Laleye Dipo in Minna and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Catholic Archibishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, has pleaded with the various

states to ensure that such financial assistance reached the intended populace.

While delivering his Homily during the Church service at the Holy Trinity, Maitama in Abuja, yesterday, Kaigama said:

"When I heard the news that

N5 billion has been allocated by the federal government to each state as palliatives to cushion the effect of the economic “wahala,” my immediate reaction was whether this will reach the people that need it.

"We have heard in the past

ATIKU, KWANKWASO, OBI DISCUSSING MERGER, MAY SET UP FORMIDABLE PARTY

(NNPP) at the last presidential election. After the first leg of the meetings was adjudged successful, another one between Obi, the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) and face of the OBIdient Movement, and other critical elements in PDP started to take shape, after the other two stakeholders agreed to bring him in.

The discussions, which were said to still be at the preliminary stages, had been hinged on two pillars.

The first, according to insiders, the three leaders have decided to wait and watch the outcome of the election petitions in court, which would determine the second leg of the decision, should the court verdict go south.

For instance, sources privy to some of the discussions hinted that the leaders were hopeful that the presidential election tribunal would be “just and fair” enough to establish that the election that brought President Bola Tinubu to office could not stand any decent electoral test and, as such, do the needful.

By this, the leaders were said to be hopeful that the tribunal would call for a re-election or rerun, which would see them come together in a merger for the election and challenge Tinubu and APC in the second opportunity.

However, if the tribunal decided otherwise, the leaders were said to be considering

setting up a formidable party ahead of the 2027 general election, during which they planned to take over the reins of power from the ruling APC.

A source said, “The meeting started with Kwankwaso and Atiku and they have agreed to bring Peter Obi in to set up a formidable opposition after the court cases. Although they have not got to the point of discussing who will lead the opposition, they are leaving it out for now till after the court cases.

“After the court cases, they will plan and come together for a re-election or stand together ahead to fight the 2027 election battle. They are considering a formidable party comprising the PDP, Labour and NNPP.”

where to recruit idle youth, some influential persons would fix the names of the children who are still in primary school; the attempt to feed school children collapsed, etc.

"I worry if this well-intended palliative will not be used up by political leaders to recoup part of what they spent during elections or to settle their political acolytes."

Meanwhile, Niger State Governor Alhaji Mohammed Umaru Bago, has told Nigerians not to depend on palliatives for survival, stressing that it was not sustainable.

The federal and some state governments recently gave some palliatives including truckloads of rice maize and other grains to be distributed to the people to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy from petrol.

Bago speaking during the distribution of fertilizer and other items to farmers in the 25 local government areas of the state warned that it was not sustainable.

The governor therefore asked Nigerians to seek for alternative means of addressing

TINUBU BRINGS BACK NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY, NAMES

MOMOH MINISTER-DESIGNATE yesterday by the presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu, who also reshuffled a few of the already assigned ministries, would soon assign the Ministry of Youth to someone else.

The Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Interior, and Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy were reshuffled and reassigned as follows: Adegboyega Oyetola, new Minister-designate for Marine and Blue Economy; Hon. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, redeployed to Ministry of

Interior; while Hon. Sa'idu Alkali was reassigned to Ministry of Transportation.

Furthermore, both Ministers of State in the Oil & Gas sector are now domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources with the following designations: Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State (Oil), Petroleum Resources, and Hon. Ekperipe Ekpo, Minister of State (Gas), Petroleum Resources.

Tinubu also approved the renaming of the Federal Ministry of Environment

and Ecological Management as Federal Ministry of Environment.

According to the release, all aforementioned changes are to take immediate effect in line with the directives of the president.

Interestingly, unconfirmed reports had it that Oyetola had turned down the transportation ministry because, according to him, the ministry had been stripped of its key agencies. The reports alleged he had never been interested in being a minister but wanted to

return to Osun State to try the governorship for a second time. But he was, allegedly, prevailed upon to take the appointment.

The reports added that it was for the same reason that Oyetola refused to be National Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The reports claimed Oyetola’s displeasure got to the president, who immediately addressed his concerns, resulting in the recent movement of portfolios earlier assigned.

the current economic hardship for their survival.

"I want to use this medium to thank President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for coming to the aid of vulnerable Nigerians but we must be honest with ourselves, the palliatives cannot be sustained, we have to go back to the farm to inflate our economy

"In Niger State, we are poised to make agriculture the focus of our administration in addressing poverty and food insecurity," the governor declared, adding that to achieve the goal his government would cultivate 10, 000 hectares of land in each of the 25 local government areas of the state next cropping season.

We are planning to cultivate 250 hectares of land in the next cropping season with each local government cultivating crops they have comparative advantage

"I want all the local government council officials to take this as a marching order as we make available 78 metrics tons of fertilizers and other farm inputs "

Bago restated that to ensure farmers are safe on their farms, his government would negotiate with bandits who have made farming not attractive in many parts of the state, saying, "we want to discuss with these people (bandits) and see how the carnage in our state will be brought under control to enable us achieve our agricultural goals and also empower our people and ensure food security.”

Bago challenged the youths who form a large percentage of the population to key into the agricultural policies of his administration as a means to make them gainfully employed.

Relatedly, a group, Marine Crafts Builders Association (MCBA) has advised the federal

government that in distributing the approved palliatives to various states to cushion the effects of subsidy removal, it should consider Nigerians living in riverine communities across the country.

The group said over 50 million Nigerians are living in the riverine areas and need government assistance to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal which they said had led to the increase in the current hardship experienced in the country.

Speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt, at the weekend, Director General of the group, Mr. Clem Ifezue, alongside the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Mr. Frank Orhenere, Kelly Ekeremor and Solomon Beleme, told the federal government to also provide boats for the coastal communities just as it has recently announced 3000 buses for easy for Nigerians.

They informed the government of their capacity to take on any challenge from government in the production of numbers of boats needed for effective operations on the waterways.

Ifezue, who led the group, said the stretch of waterways in Nigeria was over 10,000 kilometers with over 50 million Nigerians occupying the area with over 300 million economic activities on daily basis.

The Director General said the MCBA has the capacity and has been producing boats for several years to serve the needs of the country's military and paramilitary authorities.

Ifezue however, assured government that the group has the capacity to produce any quantity of boats that it might want to use in alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians, particularly those in the riverine communities.

L-R: National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje welcoming the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, to his office during a courtesy visit last week.

TEENS CAREER CONFERENCE ... WAKE UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Report: MAN at Receiving End of Nigeria’s Debt Burden

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has cried out that its members are at the receiving end of Nigeria’s public debts burden of N77 trillion because of government’s indiscriminate imposition of high and multiple taxes on manufacturers in a bid to generate revenue to repay the debts.

The MAN made this assertion in its Manufacturers CEO Confidence Index (MCCI) for Q1 2023 that was captioned, “Special Focus: MAN at the Receiving End of National Debt Crisis,” which stated that “higher debt repayment requires increased revenue. The Nigerian government has continued to breed a harsh business environment by its indiscriminate imposition of high and multiple taxes on manufacturers all in a bid to generate revenue.”

The report also stated that the government was using the country’s debt crisis to impose anti-growth

manufacturing taxes in its bid to curb the debt problem, arguing that this has put the manufacturing sector always at the receiving end in spite of the fact that the borrowed money was not invested in areas that would have positive impact on the performance of the manufacturing sector.

It added that, “a whooping debt service-to-revenue ratio of over 100 percent may spell doom for the new administration leaving it to continue the borrowing spree or incapacitated to provide critical infrastructure needed to boost the manufacturing sector and kick start the recovery of the economy.”

The report, which was released yesterday, also showed that the Aggregate Index Score (AIS) of the MCCI declined to 54.1 points in the first quarter of 2023 from 55.0 points it recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The report noted that the, “domino effects of escalating public

US Consulate Grant Fosters Collaboration Between Kansas Professor, UNILAG Student

Following the success of a 2022 United States Consulate Public Diplomacy grant, a first-year student of Marine Sciences at the University of Lagos, Ms. Oluwadamilola Sansadeen, travelled to the United States this summer for a training program on permaculture and sustainable food systems.

According to a a statement from the US Consular in Lagos, Sansadeen, a volunteer project manager at an agriculture nonprofit –– ProtectOzone Sustainable Livelihood Initiative –– received two months of mentorship from Dr. Jeremy Cowan, an assistant professor of sustainable food production systems at Kansas State University.

In addition to gaining practical skills and knowledge on creating sustainable and resilient agricultural systems, she completed the Permaculture Design Certificate Course at the College of Agriculture, Kansas State University and interned at the Willow Lake Student Farm of the university, the statement added. Sansadeen described her experience at the university as valuable, as it provided her with the unique opportunity to collaborate with multiple

agricultural stakeholders in Kansas’ thriving permaculture community.

“Embracing sustainable agriculture paves the path ahead on creating a food secure Nigeria,” Sansadeen said. “During my time at Kansas State University, I learned how to operate farm implements. I do not even know how to drive a car yet, but I can operate a tractor.”

US Consulate Public Affairs Officer, Joe Kruzich, noted that the collaboration between the US university professor and the Nigerian undergraduate underscored the United States’ government’s enduring commitment to fostering academic exchange.

“By connecting a bright young mind from Nigeria with a prestigious U.S. university, we are not only fostering academic and cultural exchange but also promoting innovative solutions to shared global challenges,” Kruzich added.

Dr. Cowan, Sansadeen’s mentor and assistant professor of sustainable food production systems at Kansas State University, said he was proud to support her aspirations to make a difference in the field of permaculture.

debt on the manufacturing sector are endless. To start with, rising domestic debt is highly crowding out private investment in the manufacturing sector by reducing credit availability and forcing hike in lending rates.”

It also pointed out that the cost of servicing external debts in foreign currencies was contributing significantly to high demand for foreign currencies thereby worsening the depreciation of the naira and, “makes importation of non-locally produced critical inputs highly expensive for manufacturers.”

It further stated, that “higher debt servicing is consuming greater volume of foreign exchange and worsening the foreign exchange scarcity that has plagued the manufacturing sector for many years.

“Huge public debt led to low foreign investment and foreign capital inflow which worsen the foreign exchange (FX) scarcity that has remained a bone in the throat of manufactures. As public debt continues to grow unsustainably, it becomes increasingly difficult to cover salary payments and other recurrent

El-Rufai

expenditure in the civil service. The implication is more borrowing for government consumption on recurrent expenditure and less on infrastructure and other capital projects meant to boost manufacturing sector performance.”

The MAN also claimed that Nigeria’s real problem is not revenue generation or collection but the siphoning of collected revenue so that they do not reflect in the records.

“Contrary to popular believe, exorbitant taxes are also collected in the informal sector of the economy without adequate remittance into state coffers,” the report added.

MAN noted that debt worth of N77 trillion was an enormous burden to inherit and would most likely limit the achievements of the new administration unless the following recommendations are implemented.

The recommendation included widening the tax net through an enhanced data capture of business operators in the informal sector; strict implementation of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) through the Federal Inland Revenue Service

(FIRS) and further identification and amendments of the loopholes in the tax laws in order to reduce the leakage of tax revenues.

The recommendation also tasked the federal government on promoting, “fiscal discipline by reducing the cost of governance and strictly complying with Section 41 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and section 38 (sub-section 2) of the CBN Act.

“Ensure the rehabilitation of local refineries and remove the humongous annual subsidy in phases while ensuring they are backed with appropriate palliatives for households and businesses.

“Ensure proactive judicial investigation into allegations of oil theft and stamp duty fraud.

“Embark on mechanisms that promote coordination and confidence among creditors in order to be granted opportunity for debt restructuring.”

It also enjoined the government to “prioritise debt management and transparency to control risks and reduce the need for restructuring, which stands to benefit both debtors and creditors

“Ensure proper management of

Posts Bob Marley’s

Lyrics

capital and recurrent expenditure by determining the appropriate spending priorities that reflect the yearnings and aspirations of households and businesses within the limits of available resources.

“Establish incorruptible monitoring teams tasked to ensure effective budget implementation and detailed evaluation of budget performance.

“Set up a special court and reinvigorate the anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial crime Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) in order to strengthen the fight against corruption.

“Promote transparency and productivity in government expenditure by ensuring public funds are expended on feasible development projects in order to minimise wastage.

“Optimise the capability of the states to generate internal revenue given the abundant natural and human resources.

“Diversify the country’s revenue base by boosting critical sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, entertainment, tourism and ICT.”

in

Cryptic

Tweet, Says ‘Man to Man is So Unjust’

Former Governor of Kaduna, Nasir el-Rufai, has taken to social media to share a cryptic message a few weeks after the senate refused to confirm him as a minister.

El-Rufai’s name was among the 48 ministerial nominees forwarded by President Bola Tinubu to the upper legislative chamber for screening and confirmation.

However, during the screening on August 7, the former Kaduna state governor and two other nominees were not confirmed

by the Senate.

The Senate said there were “adverse” security reports against el-Rufai, and he is required to await clearance.

The development generated reactions within and outside the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Although there were reports that el-Rufai had opted to bow out of the race due to the delay, the former Kaduna governor has remained silent on the issue.

But in a post on X — formerly Twitter — on Sunday, el-Rufai shared the lyrics of Bob Marley’s ‘Who The Cap Fit’.

“Man to man is so unjust, children/ Ya don’t know who to trust/ Your worst enemy could be your best friend/ And your best friend, your worse enemy/ Some will eat and drink with you,” the former governor wrote.

“Thank God, we’re past the worse/ Hypocrites and parasites (hypocrites and parasites)/ Will

come up and take a bite (will come up and take a bite)/ And if your night should turn to day/ A lot of people would run away/ And who the cap fit let them wear it!/ Who the cap fit let them wear it!”

In what appears to be a reference to El-Rufai’s post, former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani, tweeted that he has “turned him into a Rastafarian and Reggae artist”.

‘I have turned him into a Rastafarian and Reggae artist… yeah man.”

NPAN Congratulates Edun, Idris on Ministerial Appointments

The Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has congratulated Mr Olawale Edun and Alhaji Mohammed Idris over their recent appointments as ministers by President Bola Tinubu.

While Edun was appointed Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Idris is the Minister

of Information and National Orientation.

In a statement yesterday, signed by its President, Mallam Kabiru Yusuf, NPAN explained that both of them were executive members of the association.

While Edun was the Treasurer of NPAN, Idris was the General Secretary.

NPAN, “described as well

deserved, the appointment as ministers, of Mr. Olawale Edun and Alh. Mohammed Idris, both of them were Executive members of the Association. While Edun was the Treasurer, Idris was the General Secretary.

“Their very rich resumes and track records speak for them and we congratulate them on their new assignments, while thanking Mr.

President, for giving them the opportunity to contribute to nation building at this critical moment of national development.

“Mr. Edun, an economist, was the Chairman of Vintage Press, publishers of Nation Newspapers while Alhaji Idris, a public relations guru and media entrepreneur, is the Publisher of the Blue Print newspapers.”

Dike Onwuamaeze

L-R: Chairman Editorial Board Thisday Newspaper, Segun Adeniyi;Dr Ngozii Azodo; Social Justice Advocate Dorota Oakiey Matuszyk; Chairman UBA, Tony Elumelu Juliet Lamin, Activist and Pastor Eva Azodo at TEENS Career Conference with theme WAKE UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY at RCCG TEAP Zone held yesterday in Abuja JULIUS ATOI

As Rift Between Obaseki and Shaibu Rages On...

The rift between Governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki and his embattled deputy, Philip Shaibu is getting messier by the day as the deputy governor’s sister in-law got redeployed

Few days ago, rumour mills have it that the deputy governor of Edo State, Mr. Philip Shaibu will resume duties after an overseas holiday. This speculation raised some anxieties as to what would be the fate of Shaibu when he comes back to face his principal, the governor of the state, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

This is so because there have been series of demarketing of the deputy governor ever since he decided to approach a Federal High Court for protection over mere heresay.

Just few days ago, Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon Blessing Agbebaku, echoed earlier statement made by Obaseki that there was no plan to impeach Shaibu and asked people to disregard such rumours as it it not true.

According to him, “There was no time that the governor called me and instructed me that there must be an impeachment move against the Deputy Governor. The rumour of impeachment is from the pit of hell. I want to let Edo people know today that till tomorrow, the governor has not called to say the deputy governor should be impeached, next tomorrow is coming and I don’t think the governor will say that to us.”

The Speaker further noted, “When I approached the governor, he asked if there’s anything of such? He asked what the impeachment is for? I told him there is no such plan. Nothing of such is going on. On my own, I called the Deputy Governor to tell him that there is nothing like an impeachment plan by the Assembly and what he heard was rumour.”

Agbebaku continued, “Today, I want to let Edo people know that the story about the impeachment of the Deputy Governor is just mere rumour as the governor has no such plans today, tomorrow, and forever; the governor doesn’t have such plans.

“This will be our second courtesy call to you (Governor). We are here to remind you that what we came to tell you in our first courtesy call, we are standing by it. We are resolute to follow in your footsteps and ensure you finish well. It is our responsibility as members of our various constituencies to give you the backing to finish well and strong.

“I also want to thank you for your resilience and for the rumors making you address the press as we don’t need that now but what we need is to make Edo people happy. We are here to support you and ensure you finish strong.

“The 24 members of the EDHA are all here

to let you know that we will join you to finish strong as Edo people must live a good life and you are already setting the pace.”

Unfortunately in all of this, the Edo State deputy governor has not come up to tell the world where the impeachment plot was hatched, and those to execute the alleged planned removal.

For more than three weeks since the said removal plot came to light, Shaibu has been in and out of the country. It is either he is still on vacation overseas or he may have come back but decides to stay back in Abuja.

Therefore, when information reached the public space that he was going to watch the Bendel Insurance opening match with the Algerian side in one of the continent’s trophy titles, there was some respite that at least the rift between him and the governor is over.

Again, the said rival ended as a rumour mill. It was gathered that some of his loyalists just reeled out the information to test both government and public reactions. They were not disappointed after all because of the two related incidents that took place.

Last Thursday, at the Samuel Ogbemidia Stadium in Benin City, there was reported fighting between elements from both camps of the

governor and the deputy.

An eye witness account at the scene pinned the squabble on the rumoured return of the deputy whom he said was coming to watch the match between Bendel Insurance FC and ASO Chief of Algeria.

It was gathered that in the course of that the atmosphere in the stadium complex that very day became very rowdy and frightening as all of a sudden, some rough looking chaps gained entrance into the edifice and made straight to the generator room where some technicians were handling some electrical faults.

It was reported that before you could appraise the presence of the foreign faces at the stadium there were exchange of blows, kicks and throws as is usual in some contact sports and the outcome was serious bodily injury to some individuals from the two sides.

Not only that, the suspected hoodlums were alleged to have swooped on the Permanent Secretary of the state Sports Commission (ESSC) Sabina Chikere, an in-law of the embattled deputy governor and molested her before making away with some of her personal belongings, including cash.

A source who confided in THISDAY, disclosed further that in the melee, some of the onlookers not in the know of what was happening took to their heels for safety in nearby hideouts within the stadium complex.

The allegation is that Governor Obaseki’s supporters reportedly stormed the stadium in a move to stop alleged move by Chikere to move some vital equipment and documents

The allegation is that Governor Obaseki’s supporters reportedly stormed the stadium in a move to stop alleged move by Chikere to move some vital equipment and documents out of the sports complex to an unknown destination. Although attempts to reach the two parties involved was unsuccessful as all calls made to their cell phones were unanswered, Obaseki, on Friday, was reported to have redeployed the said Shaibu’s in-law, Mrs. Sabina Chikere, from Sports Commission to Central Administrative Department, Government House in Benin City. Before her redeployment, Mrs Chikere, was also the General Coordinator of Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin.

out of the sports complex to an unknown destination.

Although attempts to reach the two parties involved was unsuccessful as all calls made to their cell phones were unanswered, Obaseki, on Friday, was reported to have redeployed the said Shaibu’s in-law, Mrs. Sabina Chikere, from Sports Commission to Central Administrative Department, Government House in Benin City.

Before her redeployment, Mrs Chikere, was also the General Coordinator of Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin.

This development, sources said, may not be unconnected with the feud between Governor Obaseki and his Deputy, Philip Shaibu which came barely 24 hours to Bendel Insurance match against ASO Chief of Algeria, billed for Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin on Saturday.

The former Insurance general coordinator, it would be recalled, is the elder sister to the wife of the Edo State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Maryann Philip-Shaibu.

It was learnt that Mrs. Chikere’s rise to the position of Permanent Secretary was allegedly influenced by her brother in-law as she was not known to be a core civil servant in any of the state ministries, departments or agencies.

Recently, Comrade Shaibu approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, and seek amongst others, an order restricting Governor Obaseki, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Chief Judge of Edo State and others from commencing his alleged impeachment processes.

This development, it was further learnt, angered Obaseki, who did not only refute the allegations but also accused his deputy of crying wolf where there is none.

Prior to the imbroglio between the two top principal actors in the state, Obaseki had saddled his deputy with the responsibility of overseeing Sports as well as the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), majorly from the 18 local government areas of Edo.

This latitude to operate, as further learnt, was responsible for why the deputy governor’s wife was alleged to be the one who oversees the collections from the local government areas.

An insider who is close to the system even hinted that Shaibu’s wife’s outfit allegedly collects these IGRs on behalf of government at certain agreed percentage.

This is now a thing of the past because of the rift and bad blood that now exist between the two former friends now sworn enemies.

unceremoniously, writes Adibe Emenyonu.

Obaseki Shaibu

This Week In Tech

Tukur: We’re Working to Shape More Financially Inclusive Future for Africans

Kari Tukur, the Vice-President of Customer Solutions Mastercard, East and West Africa, talks about fostering inclusive payment landscapes for financial transformation in Africa. Nosa Alekhuogie presents the excerpts:

Could you share Mastercard’s initiatives for advancing financial inclusion in Nigeria?

Mastercard is deeply dedicated to promoting financial inclusion throughout Africa, including Nigeria. We have introduced a range of programs and initiatives designed to enhance access to financial services, elevate financial literacy, and bolster the growth of small businesses and entrepreneurs. Our investment in technology is a critical driver of our efforts to advance financial inclusion. We are focused on leveraging emerging technologies, such as biometrics and mobile payments, to enhance the accessibility and security of financial services for individuals in Nigeria. These innovative solutions have the potential to break down barriers that hinder financial inclusion by simplifying access to financial services and facilitating seamless transactions. For example, Mastercard has partnered with Nigerian banks, merchants, and technology firms to enable contactless payments across various platforms. Our contactless payment solutions, including the tap on phone feature, enable swift and secure payments by allowing users to simply tap their contactless-enabled cards or mobile devices at payment terminals.

A key focal point for us is expanding access to digital payments. We collaborate closely with governments, banks, and other partners to ensure the availability of digital payment options in underserved regions across Africa, including Nigeria. Through strategic partnerships with organisations like MTN and Airtel, we provide data analytics and payment tools directly to local entrepreneurs’ phones, empowering them to manage their businesses more efficiently.

We are fully aware of the pivotal role that financial inclusion plays in promoting economic growth and creating more equitable societies in Africa. Through collaborative efforts with partners across the continent and investments in initiatives aimed at fostering financial inclusion, we are actively working to shape a more financially inclusive future for all Africans.

Could you explain Mastercard’s collaborations with local stakeholders, such as government agencies and financial institutions, to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria?

As a trusted network, we collaborate with private enterprises, government entities, and development agencies to conceive, nurture, and amplify simple yet locally relevant digital solutions. Our collaborative efforts aim to strengthen payment platforms and ecosystems, enhance financial literacy, and empower even the smallest businesses, propelling Africa’s digital transformation and creating a digital economy that benefits all individuals, everywhere.

We engage with governments as partners in developing critical infrastructure across various sectors in Africa, including transit, SMEs, disbursements, and acceptance. Through Mastercard’s Centre for Inclusive Growth, we actively support a range of initiatives that particularly benefit vulnerable communities. In Nigeria, Mastercard is actively promoting the adoption of low-cost digital acceptance solutions, such as contactless payment through tap-on-phone and Mastercard QR pay by link.

In addition to government collaborations, Mastercard partners with financial institutions like Accion Microfinance Bank (AMfB) to extend loans and savings products to low-income microentrepreneurs. Through a $12 million grant from the Mastercard Impact Fund and our partnership with Accion, we aspire to improve access to financial services for millions of individuals, including merchants, empowering them to expand their businesses. This collaboration not only addresses the financial needs of underserved individuals but also strengthens the capacity of financial service providers to cater to the unique requirements of vulnerable populations.

Moreover, Mastercard collaborates with fintech firms in Nigeria to drive financial inclusion. Our Mastercard Start Path programme, for instance, enables collaborations with fintech startups like MAX, a motorcycle-share company, to offer digital payment capabilities and installment plans. These collaborations enable traditionally unbanked individuals, such as motorcycle riders, to access financial services and build credit profiles over time.

An essential aspect of our initiatives is supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs. Our commitment to empowering these segments is evident through programmes like the Start Path accelerator, which offers valuable resources and support to startups operating in fintech and related sectors. This commitment underscores our dedication to driving economic growth in Africa.

Nigeria has a significant unbanked population. What specific strategies or products has Mastercard implemented to reach and serve this segment of the population?

Nigeria’s substantial unbanked population has prompted Mastercard to implement specific strategies and products that recognise the importance of financial inclusion for economic growth and development, particularly in Nigeria. To address the challenges faced by this segment of the population, Mastercard has executed targeted approaches.

A key initiative is the development of Community Pass, an interoperable digital platform aligned with our commitment to connecting one billion people to the digital economy by 2025. Community Pass addresses infrastructure obstacles associated with digitising rural communities, such as unreliable connectivity, limited smartphone ownership, and inconsistent identification. This platform facilitates digital access to markets, financial services, and real-time pricing information for smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa. Our dedicated digital platform, Mastercard Farm Pass, plays an essential role in enabling this access.

Another integral facet of Community Pass is the Wellness Pass feature, enabling the secure digitisation and storage of health records on a portable, offline chip. Our objective is to register 30 million individuals on the Community Pass platform by 2027, with a specific emphasis on enrolling 15 million people across Africa, including underserved and remote communities, particularly women. Through this initiative, we aim to enhance their access to digital commerce, agricultural markets, healthcare services, and humanitarian benefits by providing digital identities and an acceptance network. To date, we have empowered approximately 2.4 million individuals, predominantly smallholder farmers, to participate in the digital economy in Africa.

Mastercard’s role in this context includes partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including financial institutions, governments, and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). Through these collaborations, Mastercard facilitates technological solutions that enable financial institutions to deliver digital financial services to rural and semi-rural communities. For instance, our collaboration with financial institutions has led to the provision of mobile banking services, allowing users to conduct transactions using their mobile phones, eliminating the need for a physical bank branch.

How can partnerships between financial institutions, technology providers, and government entities contribute to accelerating digitisation efforts in rural and semi-rural areas of Nigeria?

The significance of partnerships between financial institutions, technology providers, and government entities in expediting digitisation efforts in rural and semi-rural areas of Nigeria cannot be overstated. These collaborations are pivotal in connecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the digital economy, driving digital innovations, and fostering transformative change. These partnerships align with Mastercard’s core pillars, encompassing the advancement of digital payment solutions for small businesses, strengthening financial security, delivering datadriven solutions, and ensuring the protection of the digital payment landscape, businesses, and customers.

As an illustration, the collaboration with NetPlus, a Nigerian startup participating in the Mastercard Start Path programme, has resulted in the introduction of a secure e-commerce solution. This partnership eliminates the need for consumers to carry cash for online purchases, enhancing financial security and enriching the digital payment landscape.

Furthermore, the collaborative effort between Mastercard and FCMB (First City Monument Bank) has introduced the Tap on Phone Payment Solution in Nigeria. This innovative program enables merchants to accept contactless payments using their Android smartphones or tablets, obviating the need for a separate hardware point-of-sale (POS) device. Since its launch, Tap on Phone has achieved remarkable success, attracting over 500,000 merchants across Nigeria, with a specific focus on reaching businesses in rural and semi-rural areas. This initiative reinforces digitisation endeavors in the country, underscoring the potency of collaborative endeavors in propelling financial inclusion and economic growth.

Nigeria has been on a digitisation journey in recent years. How has Mastercard contributed to this process and supported the country’s overall digitisation efforts?

Mastercard has played a significant role in Nigeria’s digitisation journey by contributing to the country’s overall digitisation efforts. The company has embraced partnerships and innovative approaches to drive growth in digital financial services, promote financial inclusion, and enhance the safety and security of online transactions.

Mastercard has also been at the forefront of embracing emerging technologies, platforms, and business models. The company has invested in digital wallets, account-to-account, and real-time payments, blockchain, open banking, and buy now, pay later solutions. These innovations have provided Nigerian consumers and businesses with a wider range of convenient and flexible payment options that go beyond traditional cards.

Furthermore, Mastercard has introduced omnichannel solutions to meet the evolving needs of Nigerian consumers and businesses. These solutions enable retailers, merchants, and small businesses to accept various digital payments, including e-commerce, QR codes, and contactless payments. By providing multiple ways to shop and pay, Mastercard supports the expectation of Nigerians to make purchases whenever and however they want.

Mastercard’s focus on innovation extends beyond payment technology. The company leverages its vast network and transaction insights to deliver peace of mind and trust through cybersecurity measures and to help businesses and governments make better decisions through data analytics. By continuously investing in emerging technologies, platforms, infrastructure, and fintech partnerships, Mastercard aims to provide a single platform capability across multiple use cases, improving operational efficiency and diversifying revenue for its partners. In summary, Mastercard has contributed to Nigeria’s digitisation efforts by diversifying its payment capabilities, embracing emerging technologies, fostering partnerships, promoting

financial inclusion, and providing innovative solutions for digital commerce. Through its initiatives and collaborations, Mastercard is driving growth in digital financial services and playing a pivotal role in shaping the fabric of commerce in Nigeria.

Looking ahead, what do you envision as the future trajectory of new payment technologies in Nigeria? Are there any emerging trends or developments that are likely to shape the payment ecosystem in the coming years?

The future trajectory of new payment technologies in Nigeria is expected to be transformative, driven by emerging technologies that are revolutionising the payment space. These advancements are bringing significant changes to how transactions are conducted, offering increased convenience, security, and personalisation. One key technology that will shape the payment ecosystem is blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Blockchain technology enables secure and transparent peer-to-peer transactions, while cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum provide decentralised payment systems. As these technologies gain wider acceptance globally, Nigeria is likely to see increased adoption and integration of blockchain-based payment systems and cryptocurrencies.

Mobile wallets and Near Field Communication (NFC) are also set to play a crucial role in the future of payment technologies in Nigeria. Mobile wallets on smartphones, combined with NFC technology, allow users to store payment credentials and make contactless payments with a simple tap or wave. With the increasing penetration of smartphones and the improvement of NFC infrastructure, mobile wallet adoption is expected to grow, transforming the way transactions are conducted in Nigeria.

Biometric authentication is another emerging trend that will shape the payment ecosystem in Nigeria. Technologies such as fingerprint, facial, and iris recognition enhance security and simplify the payment process by using unique biological traits for authentication. The use of biometrics for payment authorization can reduce fraud and provide a more convenient and seamless payment experience for consumers.

The integration of Internet of Things (IoT) payments is also on the horizon for Nigeria. IoT devices, such as connected cars and smartwatches, equipped with embedded payment technologies, will enable seamless and autonomous transactions. This means that Nigerians will be able to make payments without the need for traditional payment methods, as transactions will be seamlessly carried out through connected devices.

Voice-activated payments are another development that is likely to shape the payment ecosystem in Nigeria. Leveraging voice recognition technology, users can make purchases or send money through voice commands to virtual assistants. This offers a hands-free and convenient payment experience, further simplifying the payment process.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies will play a significant role in enhancing payment systems in Nigeria. AI and machine learning can improve fraud detection, risk assessment, personalised offers, and customer support. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide personalized payment assistance, while machine learning algorithms can analyse transaction data to detect fraudulent activities and enhance security. In conclusion, Nigeria can expect a future characterised by the adoption and integration of emerging payment technologies. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies, mobile wallets with NFC, biometric authentication, IoT payments, voice-activated payments, and AI-powered solutions will shape the digital payments landscape. These advancements will offer Nigerians innovative and efficient ways to conduct transactions, fostering convenience, security, and personalisation in the payment ecosystem.

In your opinion, what are the key factors that need to be considered to sustain and accelerate the progress of financial inclusion in Nigeria?

To sustain and accelerate the progress of financial inclusion in Nigeria, several key factors need to be considered. Firstly, increasing access to financial services is crucial. This involves ensuring physical access to banking infrastructure, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

NOTE: The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

Tukur

FOCUS

Eulogy for Herbert Wigwe

Kayode Tokede

The Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, last Tuesday, marked his 57th birthday.

Wigwe is a strong leader dedicated to excellence with a compassionate heart, which is the perfect blend of leadership traits.

The institution under the leadership of Herbert Wigwe, has continued to contribute to the country’s economic growth just as it meets the expectations of its shareholders and other stakeholders in terms of profitability, environmentally and has remained socially relevant.

From a tiny bank in 2002, Wigwe who took over from his close friend and business partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, in 2014, has completely transformed then commercial bank which was ranked 65th among 89 banks operating in the country then, to a financial supermarket.

Felix Ejinwa, in a tribute to Wigwe on his 57th birthday, wrote: “Years ago, I witnessed a moment that changed me, and engraved a valuable lesson in my heart. It was on a trip with the celebrant: We came upon a fatal accident scene.

“The typical human reaction would be to sympathise with the victims. Some people would have put on a stoic act, but my mentor and leader cried. Beyond the silent tears he shed for a dead stranger, I saw compassion in its regalia, something we often overlook in a leader.

“We believe leaders should be strong, firm, and ruthless, showing little to zero emotions.”

In Dalai Lama’s words, “Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.”

“And no truer words can be said about the man of the moment, Dr. Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe: From his humble beginnings at Coopers and Lybrand, to his current position as the CEO of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe is the blueprint for CEOs. And I say this without an iota of doubt, because working as his Chief of Staff exposed me to his unique leadership, and a whole new world.

“Where the one per cent of one per cent interacted. An intimidating world, but Herbert was there, guiding me through it. He never for once, belittled or made me feel incompetent.

“He taught me to raise the bar and stretch myself beyond limits, such that if I don’t reach the goal, my fingers would at least graze it,” Ejinwa added.

According to John C. Maxwell, “While a good leader sustains momentum, a great leader increases it.”

Herbert, together with his long-time dear friend and partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhede built the momentum That has grown to become The Access Corporation.

After succeeding his partner as the MD and CEO of Access Bank, he turned the bank’s fortune around by acquiring the now-defunct Diamond Bank, in what was regarded as one of the biggest takeovers in the Nigerian banking industry

Now, the bank has expanded to even more regions in Africa. From Cameroon to Zambia, Kenya, South Africa and beyond. Even as far as China, further strengthening the foothold of Access Bank, and reinforcing its status as the world’s most respected African bank.

Continuing, Ejinwa added: “And like the astute leader he is, he is making even greater moves with Access Holdings. His latest move has got the industry talking, With the acquisition of Standard Chartered’s shareholding in its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone as well as its consumer, private, and business

banking business in Tanzania.

“Access Holdings is taking over the African market and Herbert’s moves are still unfolding. The Access Corporation, in just one year under his firm, yet compassionate leadership, has acquired two pension companies, Sigma Pension and First Guarantee Pension.

“This acquisition has boosted Access Pensions’ ranking as the third-largest pension company in terms of asset value. That’s not all!

“Herbert has further shut those who doubted his competence as earlier this year, The Access Corporation also signed, a $300 million intra-African trade facility with African Export-Import Bank in Cairo, Egypt. The conquest is just beginning…

“Two decades ago, no one would have imagined. A struggling Access Bank expanding to a global city like Paris. Today, Herbert Wigwe has led the humans of Access in creating a dynasty and has proven that he is no pushover.

“In the African and global finance industries, reaffirming the most valuable lesson he instilled in us- ‘Impossibility is a Farce’.

“To call him a miracle-working banker wouldn’t be an understatement, but an apt description of the highly cerebral Herbert Wigwe. Classroom teachings would pale in comparison, if he were to compile his knowledge on policy making, finance, risk management, and economics.

“He has seen it all. From swimming against the tides of the most turbulent storms to standing on his feet, unwavering. From transforming Access Bank into Access Holdings, Herbert has transcended the level of proving naysayers wrong and achieved more than enough to have his name written in gold.”

In Wigwe’s words, “If you want to fly, you have to give up the negativity that weighs you down! Give wings to the greatness within you.”

Wigwe’s impeccable work ethics and goal-getter mindset has sprung the wings of greatness, not only for Access Corporation, but in everyone who is blessed to work with or cross paths with him.

“He might not remember this, but in 2012, I was selected as one of the candidates for the role of Country Head of Risk Management, Access Bank Ghana. The meticulous final selection process included an interview.

“During this time, Herbert was very assuring and supportive, he told me that I was more than capable to take on such a crucial role.

“In the face of the challenges that accompanied my then new role, Herbert remained a constant and unwavering presence. His unwavering support

served as a testament to his dedication to standing by individuals who uphold integrity.

“As you navigate your own career path, I wish you a ‘Herbert’ - someone who will always be there for you when you are fighting for a just cause. Herbert makes better men out of men.

“I know these words may make it seem like he is a super-human, but he is only human, like you and I, a human who knows how to hold on to God and draw strength from him.

“Since I knew Herbert, he has never faltered in the face of challenges. His unwavering belief in God’s sovereign ability to see him through the murkiest of waters is reflected in his distinctive multitasking ability.

“Few great men have been able to maintain the perfect work-life balance, but I have seen Herbert do this effortlessly. When he is in a work mode, you would almost imagine he is married to work.

“And in family mode, he is just as dedicated. I learnt that love is truly a verb and not just a word from Herbert. In his relations with his wife, in how he nurtures his children, in how he asks after my family, family and relationships are dearest to him.

“Loyalty and hard work, he recognises and rewards. Frivolities and indolence, he detests. Herbert Wigwe is a true paragon of leadership – In the workspace, in the family, in the society and in loving God,” Ejinwa added.

Furthermore, he pointed out that, “the accounting graduate from the University of Nigeria plays as hard as he works. His love for arts reflects in his enthralling and beautiful art collection. His elegant sense of style is enviable.

“His achievements have commanded attention from every nook of the world. It’s no easy feat to receive the award for Banker of the Decade. After winning Banker of the Year for two consecutive years. And the latest feather in his hat, the award of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic- CFR, is a testament of his impactful contributions to Nigeria, and the continent at large.

“From his role as President of the private sector COVID intervention, to the ongoing partnership of the Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe (HOW) Foundation with UNICEF, And the recent approval of the license for Wigwe University, Herbert has found value-packed ways to give back to the society. Not only with his foundation, but through Access Holdings.

“At its recent Polo Day celebration, held at the prestigious Guards Polo Club in Windsor, UK, oh, the group announced its plans to construct 100 classroom blocks across Nigeria.

“An initiative that will give underprivileged students access to quality education. Through Access Bank Plc, Access Holding has made impact, on over 12,000 students in Kaduna through school renovations, and their surrounding communities.

“All under the leadership of one man. If anyone deserves to be celebrated, it is Herbert Wigwe. On this special occasion of his 57th birthday, I join the world in celebrating him.

“Dearest Herbert, I pray that you witness many more in the best state– Mentally, physically, and emotionally. In giant strides of greatness. In the company of loyal allies and men who are just as committed as you. In pure happiness and fulfilment, in ease and tranquility, in successes and milestones, never before seen or achieved.

“May your name remain imprinted in the sands of time and archive of history, never to be forgotten, an enduring reference of greatness.”

Wigwe

“Loyalty and hard work, he recognises and rewards. Frivolities and indolence, he detests.

Herbert Wigwe is a true paragon of leadership –In the workspace, in the family, in the society and in loving God.”

DRIVING NIGERIA’S DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Muhammad Abubakar is using Galaxy Backbone to drive economic growth, reckons

BASHIR IBRAHIM HASSAN

See page 29

POOR NATIONS NEED INDUSTRIALISATION

FRANCIS E. OGBIMI argues that developing countries will achieve industrialisation if they mobilise their citizens for learning

See page 29

EDITORIAL

YET ANOTHER BUILDING COLLAPSE

The use of force in defence of democracy is highminded, contends CHIDI ANSELM ODINKALU

BAYONETS FOR DEMOCRACY

Democracy is a very evocative notion. In the name of restoring or defending it, presidents have wielded bayonets, levied war, and executed coups. On 10 August, 2023 a summit of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rose from its convening in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital, with an explicit order for “the deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”

The following day, the headline was “West African nations order troops to restore democracy in Niger after military coup.” But, if the idea of “ordering troops” to “restore democracy” sounds like an oxymoron, it’s because it actually is.

In the aftermath of the chaos left after armed interventions led by the United States of America in Iraq in 2003 and by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Libya in 2011, however, the idea of bayonets for democracy has lost currency. A military invasion, in any case, requires more than the orders of presidents. Military planners have to design a concept of operations (CONOPS) and, these days, military lawyers too have to weigh in. The former is not-negotiable but lack of the latter has never stopped politicians from going ahead.

Thwarted by France and Russia in its desire for a UN security Council authorization of use of force against Iraq in March 2003, the USA decided to proceed nevertheless with its own coalition of the willing. Having talked up its causus belli as Saddam Hussein’s ultimately non-existent weapons of mass destruction, President George change project in Iraq.

Addressing his country and the world at the beginning of the invasion on 19 March, 2003, President Bush claimed that his mission was to “disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger” so as “to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.” In other words, he was a warrior for democracy (in Iraq).

order or tolerate military action against another territory nor was he a pioneer in the business of doing that in the name of democracy. Some 110 years before the invasion of Iraq, during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison, armed activity by US military assets toppled Queen Liluokalani of Hawaii in 1893, ultimately leading to its annexation.

When in December 1909, President Howard Taft’s administration masterminded the overthrow of Nicaragua’s José Manuel Zelaya, it was because, as stated by then Secretary of State, Philander Knox, “under the regime of President Zelaya, republican institutions have ceased in Nicaragua except in name.” The excuse was the defence of democracy.

Twenty years before President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, President Ronald Reagan had also invaded Grenada, a small island on the eastern Caribbean, in the name of democracy. In March 1979, the Marxist, New Jewel Movement led by Maurice Bishop and Bernard Coard had Gairy, in a populist coup that initially promised “all democratic freedoms, including freedom of elections, religion, and political opinion.” Instead,

on taking power, Prime Minister Bishop retrenched the constitution and parliament, preferring instead to rule by populist decrees.

In October 1983, a long-running rivalry between Maurice Bishop and his deputy, Bernard Coard, over ideological purity of the New Jewel Movement ended with the army commander, General Hudson Austin, throwing his weight behind Coard. Bishop was placed by his supporters to free him, a confrontation ensued in which he and his leading supporters were massacred on 16 October 1983, leaving the Movement in the control of Marxist purists whom the United States could not tolerate.

Citing a dubious “invitation” by some states of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the USA launched an invasion of the Island on 25 October 1983. The goal, as captured in the back-dated letter of invitation by Sir Paul Scoon, whom they installed as Prime Minister after the invasion, was “to facilitate a rapid return to peace and tranquility and a return to democratic rule.”

In response, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which “deeply deplored the armed intervention in of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of that state.” Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York boiled down the case against the invasion of Grenada in a one sentence declamation: “I don’t know that you restore democracy at the point of a bayonet.”

This did not prevent President Bush’s father, former US client, Manuel Noriega, in Panama, leader of Panama and its army chief after the killing in a suspicious helicopter crash of General Omar Torrijos at the end of July 1981, followed by the systematic, often macabre

By 1989, Noriega had become so dominant that of the victory in the presidential election of Guillermo Endara, an act described by the USA then as “cowardly”. On 20 December 1989, the USA launched military action to topple Noriega. Two weeks later, on 3 January, 1990, Noriega landed in Metropolitan Correction Centre, Miami. He was a criminal indictee.

A lot has evolved since then. In May 1990, ECOWAS adopted a proposal by Nigeria to establish and deploy a military intervention in Liberia, known as the ECOWAS Monitoring

Group (ECOMOG). In the eyes of many, the save the regime of Samuel Doe in Liberia. Doe, a Master Sergeant, had seized power in Africa’s oldest republic, Liberia, in April 1980, after killing then incumbent, President William Tolbert, before transforming himself into a civilianized soldier in pre-determined elections in 1986. His brutal and erratic rulership ultimately precipitated a murderous civil war in Liberia, which quickly threatened its neighbours with contagion.

ECOMOG in Liberia was grounded in an invitation from Mr. Doe’s government supposedly issued under the terms of the Protocol Relating to Mutual Assistance in Defence, an agreement adopted by ECOWAS member States in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in 1981. The UN would later buy into the model of ECOMOG and of regional action in support of peace and security.

In January 2017, ECOWAS with support from the African Union and reinforced by the United Nations Security Council deployed to enforce the outcome of the election in The Gambia in which defeated incumbent, Yahya Jammeh, having initially conceded defeat, changed his mind and refused to vacate Barrow, reinforced the legal authority of the deployment with an invitation of his own.

In Niger, notably, ECOWAS and the AU are at odds.

The use of force in defence of the idea of a sovereign republic or of democracy is so highminded that, quite often, presidents lack the 1903, military sleight of hand by President Theodore Roosevelt achieved the secession of Panama from Colombia. In Cabinet subsequently, President Roosevelt asked his Attorney-General, the appropriately-named Philander Knox, to provide the legalese in support of the operation, to which Mr. Knox is reported to have infamously responded: “Mr. President, do not let so great an achievement

The leaders of ECOWAS could desperately do with their own Philander Knox as they contemplate their options in Niger Republic. If about soiling their bayonets for democracy with any taint of legality. But they will still need a workable CONOPS. That may be the practical problem that compels ECOWAS ultimately to give diplomacy a chance in Niger.

There is precedent for this. One week after Col. Pierre Buyoya’s (second) coup against the elected government of President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya on 25 July 1996, seven neighbouring countries initiated a complete blockade of land-locked Burundi at the beginning of August. By common consent, the sanctions “ultimately played a major role in pressuring the Buyoya government into the Arusha negotiations due to their severe cost,” which forced Buyoya in 2003 to cede power to a new president, Domitien Ndayizeye.

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

Muhammad Abubakar is using Galaxy Backbone to drive economic growth, reckons

DRIVING NIGERIA’S DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

With digitization driving the global economy, no country can afford to be left behind either in its application or investment in the sector. Thus, at its inception in 2006 as a public enterprise wholly owned by the federal government, the mandate of Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) was well defined and straightforward – setting up and operating a unified Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure platform that addresses the connectivity, transversal and other technology imperatives for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government. The company was also charged with operating a nationwide network backbone to help facilitate the digital inclusion of underserved areas and rural communities towards the realization of the federal government goals as enumerated above.

decisions for the effective management of the pandemic.

Before Professor Abubakar came on board, GBB was faced with a range of challenges, including an organizational structure that was sub-optimal, leading to inefficiencies and challenges in decision-making processes; a disconnect from national digital objectives and policies resulting into activities that are not aligned with the supervisory ministry; poor liquidity positions and indebtedness to suppliers and other third parties for supplies and other services; poor revenue drive leading to low revenues; a generally poor working environment that is unconducive to productivity resulting into demotivation of employees; poor human resource capacity resulting in the company unable to run its operations effectively; ageing service infrastructure that is unable to deliver competitive services to customers; limited storage capacity that made it difficult to provide services effectively which impact on its ability to meet customer needs; sub-optimal LAN infrastructure at MDAs affecting their ability to optimize GBB-provided services; and poor quality of service which negatively impacted its reputation and ability to retain customers.

There is no gain-saying that in just three years and a few months of Abubakar’s leadership of GBB, he recorded a number of historic achievements to show in the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) and Nigerian eGovernment Masterplan, amongst others.

FRANCIS E. OGBIMI argues that developing countries will achieve industrialisation if they mobilise their citizens for learning

POOR NATIONS NEED INDUSTRIALISATION

African and Latin-American nations and some nations in Asia have been moping, drifting and stagnating because they have been thinking and doing things that do not promote sustainable economic growth and industrialization (SEGI). Nations need good development guide because the development process may be likened to a journey. One travelling needs a correct travelingguide, otherwise he/she cannot reach his/ her desired destination or he/she may indeed make the T-junction error. For one who turns left instead of turning right at the T-junction, away he/she becomes from his/her desired destination. A World Bank study entitled, “Can Africa claim the 21st century?” carried out in year 2000, revealed that Africa was poorer in year 2000 than she was in the 1970s. The Vanguard newspaper, July 11, page 24, carried a news item entitled, ‘World moving backward Report.’ The report jointly issued by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United

and activities. For, industrialization is the solution to the problem of poverty.

Since the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) failed in 1990, the world became a capitalist one. The capitalist claimed that the crude exploitation of the labour by means of low wages and poor conditions of service allowed for increased savings and the aggressive entrepreneurship that gave rise to the Western industrial revolution. Is it true that mere capital investment promotes SEGI? No! It is a fallacy. Abramovitz (1956), Solow (1957), Gerschenkron (1966) and Ogbimi (2018) showed unequivocally that mere capital investment does not promote SEGI. Poverty is a characteristic feature of a capitalistic economic system. Whenever poverty is not prevalent in an economic system then the economic ideology cannot be capitalism. Poverty is growing in the world because the world is increasingly capitalistic.

In doing this, the organization takes the lead in the government effort to set its digital economy agenda – to leverage ICT to drive economic growth through creating jobs to enable Nigerians improve their standard of living. It has set up critical ICT infrastructure for services -connectivity, hosting and security -- to businesses in private and public sectors.

Muhammad Bello Abubakar, Gombe-born professor of petroleum geosciences, has been the Managing Director/CEO of the company since 2020. Before then, he was the accounting officer and a director and a principal start-up for the establishment and development of the National Centre for Petroleum Research and Development of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, where he spearheaded a cross-cutting edge research that developed the conceptual exploration model deployed in the successful oil and gas exploration in the frontier basin of the Northeast Nigeria. He was also a Research Consultant to NNPC on oil and gas exploration.

Abubakar attended Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, where he obtained B. Tech in Applied Geology and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Sedimentology/ Petroleum Geology. He is also an alumnus of German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). His leadership ability to create new dynamics for the organisation was tested as soon as he assumed office in January, 2020. The emergence of coronavirus pandemic and the consequent economic lockdown challenged the attainment of government objectives. A new and unprecedented demand was placed on the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to develop digital platforms for keeping the economy up and running.

As government activities leaned heavily on ICT during the lockdown in order to reduce physical interactions that could spread coronavirus, one of the value propositions of Galaxy Backbone was born of innovation in time of necessity.

GBB rose up to the challenge of the time with the support of the ministry by launching virtual interaction platforms that enabled communication and collaboration in government from the federal executive level to intraMDA functions. Connectivity was provided at the residences of key government functionaries, which provided seamless government operations, meetings and

Prof. Abubakar introduced innovative approaches to the company’s procurement process that resulted in a phenomenal boost to bandwidth capacity of the organization. This has increased its competitiveness as well as enhanced cost savings.

One area in which GBB has made tremendous strides is the establishment of data centres in parts of the country. On 20 December, 2022, the National Shared Services Centre (NSSC) was formally opened in Abuja. The NSSC, which houses the nation’s TIER 3 Data storage facility, is meant to serve as a strategic and significantly important resource to stakeholder organizations in both the public and the private sectors. On 30 January, 2023, the TIER 4 National Data Centre and Nothwest Zonal and Marketing Office were opened as fully operational. The Kano Data Centre serves as a backup to the Abuja Data Centre. It is a major component of the phase two of the National Information Communications Infrastructure (NICTIB) Project which started in 2021. Through this project, Galaxy will connect all the 36 states of Nigeria into ICT infrastructure to power the nation’s digital economy. The forward-looking objectives of this expansion include the need to grow GBB’s infrastructure and services in all locations by ensuring proximity to GBB Points of Infrastructure Presence and facilitating projects delivery. It is also aimed at improving revenue generation by leveraging GBB infrastructure assets to harness untapped opportunities by sweating assets delivered in NICTIB projects across Nigeria, as well as provide technical support to locations where GBB services are being consumed to ensure customer satisfaction and reduce service outages.

On 17 March 2023, the Galaxy Backbone limited (GBB) North East Zonal and Marketing Office was launched in Gombe. According to Prof. Abubakar, the launch marked “another landmark in the nation’s journey towards establishing world-class digital infrastructure and ensuring that the country has a robust and reliable digital economy for the greater benefit of today’s and tomorrow’s generations, through deliberate, painstaking and concerted efforts.” This zonal and marketing office also houses the Safe City infrastructure that will form a seed for Gombe to function as a Smart City.

Hassan, a business and finance analyst, writes from Abuja

Nations, (FAO) the International Fund for Agricultural Development,( IFAD); the United Nations Children’s Fund,( UNICEF); the UN World Food Programme, (WFP); and the World Health Organisation,( WHO), provides fresh evidence that the world is moving further away from its goal of ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. According to the report, the number of people as 828 million in 2021, an increase of about 46 million since 2020 and 150 million since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

International concern about poverty began after World War II with the creation of the United Nations. The UN charter mandated the world body to promote higher standard of living, full employment and conditions of economic and social progress and development (UN, 1968). During the 2000 Millennium Summit in New York, the International community pledged to reduce the number of poor people in the world by half in 2015. In 2001, the UN reviewed the goal of reducing absolute poverty in the world by 50 per cent and announced that the goal will not be achieved till 2030. In the light of the 2022 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World,( SOFI) report, the UN goal to reduce poverty in the world has become a mirage as Obasanjo described it in year 2000.

world been a mirage? In our book, “Causes and Remedies for Poverty in Africa (Ogbimi, 2018),” we stated that our research showed that the management of economies in the world has been characterized by poverty-promoting thoughts and activities. The solution to the global problems of poverty therefore, is to replace the poverty-promoting thoughts and activities with industrialisation-promoting thoughts

All the rich nations in the West and Asia were poor agricultural/artisan nations for centuries. The rich Western and Asian nations toiled for about 20003000 years before achieving the modern industrialisation. When they achieved the modern industrialisation, they began to apply theoretical science to solving problems including production and became highly productive. They then built relevant infrastructure including the banking and the West and Asia is the aftermath of the industrialisation. Theory: Industrialisation is the solution to poverty. Any nation planning to reduce/eliminate poverty must promote rapid industrialization.

How is industrialization promoted? Science is the knowledge of nature. Technology is the application of science to solving problems. Technological growth is a learning process. All human beings are born as crying babies. The healthy baby soon begins to babble, that is, to learn how to talk, acquires the capabilities to talk and then talks.. A baby who could not babble grows up to be a dumb adult. Every other capability including those for producing the nations import are acquired through learning. No one or nation is born with production skills.

As the citizens of a nations learn, they accumulate knowledge, skills and competences (KSCs). As the KSCs accumulate, a point is reached where all the KSCs form an invisible KSCs-network and the nation achieves industrialization. The transformation may be likened to that which the spider achieves when it transforms many of its silk-threads into the web. Whereas the single silk-thread the spider spins apparently does not do much for the spider, the web made from many of the silk-threads catches the small creatures on which the spider feeds. So the single knowledgeable, skilled and competent individual does not solve the problems of a nation but the combination of many millions of knowledgeable, skilled and competent people transforms a low-productivity poor agricultural/artisan economy into a highproductivity industrialised rich economy.

Professor Ogbimi, fogbimi@yahoo.com

BASHIR IBRAHIM HASSAN

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA

Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

EDITORIAL

YET ANOTHER BUILDING COLLAPSE

The authorities must strive to enforce building regulations

In yet another avoidable tragedy, the Zaria Central Mosque collapsed recently killing eight people, and injuring many more while hundreds of worshippers were observing the mosque was reportedly built with mud more than 150 years ago. “We had earlier observed a crack on the wall of the mosque, and were planning when this unfortunate incident happened,” said the Emir of Zazzau, Mallam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli.

Building collapses are frequent and a regular feature across the country where regulations are poorly enforced and construction materials often substandard. Cases of building failures cut across business premises, residential areas, places of worship with the year 2022 chalking the worst numbers in 62 collapses across the nation. Last week’s report by the Building Collapse Prevention stated that 553 building collapsed between 1974 and April 13, 2023 with Lagos State accounting for 60 per cent of the cases. One of the most tragic ones was the 21-storey building collapse in Ikoyi, Lagos in November 2021 which claimed the life of the owner among many other victims. Another occurred at Banana Island also in Ikoyi, Lagos, where a seven-storey building crumbled in April 2023. Findings by the guild blamed the anomalies squarely on professional ineptitude ranging from excessive loading, use of substandard materials to faulty design, and poor workmanship.

Indeed, too much blood is being spilled in Nigeria’s building industry for all sorts of reasons that even professionals in the sector recognise as avoidable. There are laid down procedures for building construction, including even on water. But in Nigeria, these regulations are often breached and hardly adhered to because of poor enforcement of laws. There is often the failure to comply with policies of regulating bodies in building, sharp practices

UWUGIAREN THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

T H I S D AY 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, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

Letters to the Editor

by bodies saddled to ensure compliance with standards. Many property owners adopt a onearchitect to design and build. A former President of the Nigerian Institute of Builders, Kunle Awobodu, blamed weak regulations for the incessant cases of building collapse in Lagos State, noting a huge of construction sites. In addition, many quacks have been emboldened by the fact that regulatory bodies and relevant organs of government have been unwilling or unable to prosecute and convict persons found culpable of professional ineptitude regarding incidents of building collapse.

on professionals in the industry who are struggling to wrest construction jobs from the few foreign companies operating in Nigeria. But they cannot compete if their building

After a recent meeting at the Lagos Building and Control Agency, experts many solutions and recommendations to stem the ugly trend. They harped on implementation of regulations, particularly that of stage/phase inspection on basis of faults thrown up by years of investigation of various incidences of building collapse across the nation. For instance, it is observed that the regulations which compel every developer to submit the name of the structural engineering is another issue that should be addressed in the building materials by developers who want to cut corners in the execution of their projects. This should include the design of buildings’ foundation to match the load they would carry.

In addition, given the volume of work in the construction industry, it may also be necessary to out construction site monitoring. It is time to stem this dismal legacy.

Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-300 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (750- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive. com along with photograph, email address and phone numbers of the writer.

LETTERS

OPEN LETTER TO THE MINISTER OF HOUSING

As you settle into your new role, it is important to shed light on an issue of paramount importance - the urgent need for Ni-

closing this gap to unlock the potential of our people and propel Nigeria towards prosperity.tious plans for national development. It serves as a foundation upon which countless other facets of progress are built - from socioeconomic stability to individual well-being and sustain-multaneously embark on a journey towards alleviating poverty, creating jobs, and sparking economic growth in our dear nation. -

out decent shelter, perpetuating a grave cycle of despair and limited opportunity. High rental costs and inadequate housing options place an unnecessary burden on citizens’ shoulders, hindering their potential and choking the nation from realizing its full potential.

To address these pressing realities, it is paramount that we employ a multi-faceted approach. Our strategies must involve collaboration with key stakeholders, including the public and private sectors, cooperatives, and international organizations forge a path forward that paves the way for the creation of safe,

As the new Minister of Housing, your visionary leadership shall play an instrumental role in translating our collective aspirations into concrete action plans. By working closely with your colleagues in government, you have the power to mobipolicies that holistically address the housing crisis. Embracing public-private partnerships, streamlining regulations, and imjust a few promising avenues we must explore.

Furthermore, we must foster an environment that encourages research and development in housing construction methods, materials, and technologies. Technology driven solutions can -

attainable reality for millions of Nigerians. Embracing sustainability and environmentally friendly practices must be at the thrive in a clean and robust nation.

geria where every citizen has access to a safe and secure home. This, in turn, will drastically improve health outcomes, enhance educational opportunities, and empower our people to actively participate in the nation’s growth and development. From the densely populated urban centers to the farthest reaches of our

Sir, this is your moment to leave an indelible mark on Nigeria’s history. With your unwavering commitment to the urgentrally the nation’s resources, and build a brighter future where for all Nigerians.

Mukhtar Jarmajo, CEO, Greenturf Architects

-

Many quacks have been emboldened by the fact that regulatory bodies and relevant organs of government have been unwilling or unable to prosecute and convict persons found culpable of professional ineptitude regarding incidents of building collapse

RATES AS AT AUGUST 18,2023

18.75% MPR: Manufacturers Lament as Savers Revel 5.24% Interest on Savings

Kayode Tokede

As manufacturers and small businesses bemoan rising interest rates, bank depositors are celebrating as the average interest rate on savings increased to 5.24 per cent in July 2023 following the hike in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 18.75 per cent by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The MPR is the baseline interest rate in an economy; every other interest rate used within an economy is built on it.

The reported 5.24 per cent interest rate on savings is the highest since 2006 and it comes on the backdrop of a double-digit inflation rate.

In its Money Market Indicator data, the CBN revealed that interest

on savings rose to 5.24 per cent in July, the month the MPC voted to increase MPR to 18.75 per cent.

Interest on savings stood at 5.18 per cent in June when MPR was at 18.5 per cent and 4.59 per cent in May when the MPR was 18 per cent.

The interest saving rate in January was at 4.29 per cent and MPR at 17.5 per cent.

The money market indicator revealed that interest on one-month deposit dropped to 7.11 per cent from 7.15 per cent in June 2023, while interest on three-month deposit also dropped to 7.62 per cent in July 2023 from 7.68 per cent in June 2023.

The data revealed that interest on 12-month deposit dropped to 7.81 per cent in July 2023, the highest so far in 2023. It opened January 2023 at 7.79 per cent and reach 8.23 per

cent in May 2023 when MPR was increased to 18.5 per cent.

The date revealed that average maximum lending rate increased dropped to 27.38 per cent in July 2023 from 28.94 per cent reported by CBN in June 2023.

Maximum lending rate refers to the rate charged by banks for lending to customers with low credit rating.

In addition, average prime lending rate moved to 113.98 per cent in July 2023 from 13.85 per cent in June 2023.

Meanwhile, finance analysts believe the gap between the CBN’s average lending rate and the prime lending calls for concern, stressing that the spread between the rates should not be more than 10 per cent.

The Chief Research Officer, InvestData Consulting Limited,

Mr. Omordion Ambrose said, “Businesses need a lot of credit facilities to survive, but in an environment where the lending rate is astronomical, many enterprises, especially small and medium-scale, might find it extremely difficult to survive as their products will remain uncompetitive and the cost of production and the sale prices to consumers will remain high.”

He added that, “A hike in interest rate is often considered a manufacturers’ nightmare as it stifles productivity and expansion. A hike in interest rate slows down productivity, as manufacturers struggle to keep machinery in operations and pay salaries. Those who look forward to borrowing for expansion and production will have to shelve such ideas in the face of the high

cost of accessing funds.”

In addressing these challenges, he suggested that development banks must be encouraged to lend at a single digit with stringent tracking, adding that CBN’s policy on tackling inflation rate not working.

According to him, “Both CBN and FG are not serious in coordinating their policies to bring down inflation.

While the CBN is pursuing a contractionary monetary policy to tackle inflation, the FG is pursuing an expansional fiscal policy, leading to mismatch in the two policies.

“While CBN is pretending they are undertaking contractionary monetary policy, they are advancing illegal credit to FG through Ways and Means which is the means cause of inflation to the current level.”

The MPC’s hike in MPR decision

was the first monetary policy decision made by the committee since President Bola Tinubu administration took office on May 29, 2023.

It was the first MPC meeting since the suspension of Godwin Emefiele as CBN governor.

The acting governor of the apex bank, Folashodun Shonubi stated that the moderate rate hike is to sustain efforts at anchoring inflation expectations, narrow the negative real interest rate gap and improve investor confidence.

He also said members agreed unanimously that the previous rate hikes have been effective in moderating the rate of price increases.

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

Amidst Weak Business Activity, Credit to Private Sector Up 30.3% to N54.16tn

Nume Ekeghe

Despite the slow business activities in the country, Private sector credit surged to N54.16 trillion, marking a notable increase of 30.37 per cent or N12.62 trillion Year-to-Date (YtD) as of July 2023.

This growth occurred despite rising inflation, reduced business

activities, and other challenges, according the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Money and Credit Statistics report.

The report indicates that credit extended to the private sector exceeded N50 trillion in June, climbing from N44.79 trillion in May to N52.81 trillion in June.

During the period spanning from

June to July, private sector credit continued to rise, experiencing a 2.55 per cent increase or N1.35 trillion Month-on-Month (MoM). This expansion has taken place amidst a backdrop of economic challenges such as diminished purchasing power, foreign exchange reforms, and the removal of fuel subsidies.

MARKET DATA AS AT

Remarkably, despite the inflation rate’s escalation from 21.82 per cent in January to 24.08 per cent in July, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have shown resilience in terms of lending and advances to customers, resulting in significant profit growth.

This achievement is in contrast to the downturn in business activity

observed in Nigeria, as evidenced by the July Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report, which hit a four-month low in 2023.

The monthly PMI released by Stanbic IBTC Bank reveals that while the headline PMI remained above the no-change mark of 50.0, it dropped to 51.7 in July 2023 from the previous month’s 53.2.

The report highlights that mounting price pressures have impacted demand, leading to a softening of growth in both new orders and business activity as the second half of the year commenced.

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

CIBN Advocates Import Substitution for Increased Revenue

Gilbert Ekugbe

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has stressed the need for Nigeria to boost productive sectors of the nation’s economy in its quest to reduce importation and increase its revenue base.

The president, CIBN, Dr. Ken Opara, at the 2023 edition of the Bankers Night tagged, “Exchange Rate Unification: Glocal implications for Households, Organisation and the Country,” explained the urgent need for Nigeria to look inwards to meet most of its import needs to reduce dependence on foreign exchange for importation.

“We need to support the real sector and ensure that we are not just importing what we ought to produce locally. We must begin to

look inwards for import substitution. We need to begin to look at things we can produce locally to reduce our dependence on foreign exchange and imports and once we do that, we will be able to earn foreign exchange market and increase our revenue base as a nation,” he said.

He, however, refuted reports saying that the institute is against the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) unification policy, stressing that Institute has thrown its full weight behind the policy.

“We applaud the reform especially as it relates to the exchange rates. We have seen that the effort initiated by CBN is already yielding dividends. We can see that the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar is already coming down. It is a good initiative and a market driven

model. As people who operate in the banking community, we have always advocated for a free market, “he added.

Also speaking, Founder & Chief Consultant B. Adedipe, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, advised that to boost the economy, more attention should be given to strengthening domestic manufacturing, export and also anchor the economy around either a sector or an activity.

He cited countries like Indonesia, Dubai Germany, Russia, China etc; that anchored their economy around a particular sector or product or activity and is thriving.

“So when you do that it means all your effort in terms of investment in infrastructure, incentives of all manners will be anchored on that activity or sector, “he said.

Adeniyi Advocates Amiable Host Communities Relations to Secure Borders, Enhance Revenues

James Emejo in Abuja

The acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customcers Service, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, has urged its officers to maintain good relationships with members of their host communities while contributing to revenue generation and enhancing border security.

He gave the charge at the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada during graduation of 50 Officers of the Junior Course 16.

He said the capacity building was part of customs’ unwavering

efforts to refine the work efficiency of the officers and men of the Service through training and re-training, Adeniyi further reaffirmed his commitment towards enhancing the professionalism of customs officers through training and capacity building.

He said, “I congratulate you for attaining this level of finishing your course, having shown your commitment and competence in dealing with customs rules.”

In a statement issued by customs spokesman, Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada, the customs

boss, who shared good tidings to the Directing Staff, also encouraged the graduands to take the knowledge and skills they gained in the college with high esteem.

Similarly, the Commandant of the College, ACG Kingsley Chukwu Egwu, who earlier addressed the graduands, tasked them to put all they have learned during their training at the college, as the country awaits their positive contributions in the area of suppressing smuggling, generating revenue as well as facilitation of legitimate trade.

Dakuku Peterside to Speak At Maritime Industry Conference in Saudi

Former chairman of the Association of Africa Maritime Administrations (AAMA), Dr Dakuku Peterside will be speaking at the Sustainable Maritime Industry Conference, scheduled for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from September 4-6, 2023.

The conference, under the patronage of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, Saleh Aljasser, will bring together experts from the maritime sector across the world to share ideas on the latest innovations with the industry.

The event aligns with Saudi Transport General Authority (TSA) objective of improving the

Arabia

trustworthiness, dependability, and sustainability of the transport sector.

Peterside, who is the immediate past director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), will be sharing his thoughts and ideas on opportunities within the maritime industry. He is the lead speaker on Maritime circular economy and will be sharing his thoughts on the Maritime circular economy model, navigating its pillars , benefits , notable initiatives , challenges, and why it is the future of maritime economy .

During his term, Peterside rejuvenated the maritime regulatory

As the landscape of pension fund administration evolves with the rapid advancement of technology, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has taken a proactive step towards modernising and simplifying the pension verification and enrolment process for prospective retirees of Federal Government Treasury Funded Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Recently, PenCom issued the revised guidance note to Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) on online enrolment, marking a significant stride in embracing digital transformation and ensuring a seamless transition into retirement for government employees. This article delves into the key highlights of the revised guidance note and its potential to revolutionise pension administration in the country.

ONLINE ENROLMENT APPLICATION

agency and made it one of the most admired among Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria.

A co-founder of Growth and Transformation Professionals (GTpro), Africa’s foremost government relations and policy strategy consultancy firm, he brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the conference that is expected to hugely shape maritime activities within the Middle East, Asia and the rest of the world. Peterside will also be speaking at a university event in China and later in September at the Arab Academy for Maritime in Egypt.

Experts Identify Effective Marketing Strategies for Financial Services

Raheem Akingbolu

In the ever-changing landscape of the financial industry, it’s imperative to employ adaptable and innovative marketing strategies to effectively connect with consumers and maintain brand relevance, Lead Partner, CMC Connect LLP and former president of African Public Relations Association, APRA, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya has said.

He stated this at the 2nd National Stakeholders Conference of the

Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks, ACAMB, held in Lagos.

Themed: “Marketing Financial Services in Dynamic Times,” Badejo-Okusanya said whether it’s market volatility, regulatory changes, or shifting customer behaviours, banks have to employ workable strategies that can help them navigate dynamic times.

According to Okusanya, financial institutions have to build trust through education by creating

content that educates and empowers customers to make informed decisions. He said this is necessary because customers lack confidence in financial institutions.

“Our survey which will be released in September shows that many people do not trust their financial institutions. They believe that financial institutions, especially the traditional banks, are taking advantage of them or are not operating in their own interest,” he said.

Firm Unveils Technology Solutions to Revolutionise Industry Practices

Raheem Akingbolu

A frontline Tech-based company, Market Engine, a has said it is set to launch its groundbreaking suite of solutions designed to transform the way businesses engage with their target audiences.

The company said the effort is as a result of its drive to

have a sizable market share in a competitive market, leverages a combined force of resourceful professional expertise, best-in-class marketing acumen, and a wide range of proprietary tools, which ultimately delivers a confluence of unparalleled creativity and technology.

In an ever-evolving market

space with varying degrees of customer demands, Market Engine offers solutions that drive customer loyalty and revenue growth. Through business solution tools, we harness the power of data-driven insights and advanced automation to actualise the goal of every business: to make profit.

The core of this initiative is the development of an Online Enrolment Application hosted on the PenCom website (www.pencom.gov.ng), which empowers prospective retirees with the tools to complete their enrolment process from the comfort of their homes. This innovative application comprises four distinctive modules, each contributing to the holistic pension enrolment process: Retiree Registration, PFA Module, MDA Module, and PenCom Module.

Using the Retiree Registration Module, prospective retirees can register, scan, and upload all necessary documents, ensuring the accuracy and completeness of their pension information. The Enrolment Application streamlines the verification and enrolment stages by reducing manual paperwork and the possibility of multiple RSA PINs. PFAs play a crucial role in this process through the PFA Module. Significantly, PFAs verify and enrol prospective retirees, ensuring the accuracy and consistency of the submitted information. PFAs also guide individuals through the online registration process when needed.

Similarly, the MDA Module allows Pension Desk Officers of MDAs to upload relevant information about prospective retirees, fostering transparency and collaboration between government entities and the Licensed Pension Fund Operators (LPFOS). Finally, the PenCom Module validates the records submitted by all parties, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the pension data. This step adds an extra layer of scrutiny to prevent errors or fraudulent activities.

EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY

The digital approach brings many benefits, paramount among them being efficiency and transparency. By streamlining the enrolment process, prospective retirees can complete their registration and document submission at their convenience, minimising the need for physical visits and reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks.

The automation’s outcome is a smoother retirement transition and timely budgetary provision by the Federal Government for accrued pension liabilities.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND OVERSIGHT

The revised guidance note is anchored in the legal framework provided by the Pension Reform Act (PRA) of 2014. Section 15 of the PRA 2014 mandates the recognition of accrued pension entitlements, while Section 39 establishes the Federal Government Retirement Bond Redemption Fund (RBBRF) and PenCom’s role in assessing its adequacy against projected pension liabilities. The online enrolment system aligns with these provisions, ensuring compliance and enhancing accountability.

VERIFICATION AND DOCUMENT RETENTION

Enrolment officers are now mandated to counter sign the Enrolment Slips, thereby confirming the sighting

and verification of original documents, thus ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the records.

The revised guidelines outline detailed procedures for document retention, with an emphasis on security, organisation, and ease of retrieval. PFAs are required to keep copies of the signed Enrolment Slip and other relevant documents.

A STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURES FOR ONLINE ENROLMENT

The online enrolment process is divided into three stages: Registration, Verification, and Enrolment. Prospective retirees can either complete self-assisted registration or seek assistance from PFAs. Selfassisted registration involves visiting the PenCom website, creating an account, and providing required information such as RSA PIN, NIN, personal details, and employment history. Scanned copies of necessary documents are uploaded to the system, ensuring data accuracy.

On the other hand, PFAs play a pivotal role in the verification stage. They crosscheck the information provided, ensuring alignment with the original or certified true copies of the required documents. PFAs also guarantee the completeness and accuracy of employment records, salary details, and relevant supporting documents.

A live image/photograph of the prospective retiree is captured through the application, and two copies of the Enrolment Slip are printed for signature. The retiree retains one copy of the Enrolment Slip while the other is submitted to the PFA.

SICK/INCAPACITATED PROSPECTIVE RETIREES

The revised guidance note considers the challenges sick or incapacitated prospective retirees face. In such cases, a Next of Kin (NOK) can register on their behalf, uploading required documents and medical reports. The PFA conducts remote verification and enrolment, ensuring that the enrolment process is accessible to all, regardless of their physical condition.

LIST OF ENROLLED PROSPECTIVE RETIREES

Under the revised Enrolment Guidance Note, PFAs are required to forward the list of enrolled prospective retirees to PenCom on a monthly basis. This shift is designed to ensure efficient communication and prompt submission of enrolment data.

CONCLUSION

The Revised Guidance Note is a remarkable leap forward in pension administration. By embracing technology, streamlining processes, and ensuring transparency, PenCom is simplifying the transition into retirement for government employees and setting a precedent for modern and efficient pension fund management.

ACAMB, Stakeholders Attribute Loan Default, Inflation to Changes in Financial Sector

Kayode Tokede

The Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) and key market stakeholders have highlighted high loan default, hike in inflation rate, and adoption of technology, among others to dynamic changes taking place in the financial sector in Nigeria.

The Group MD, CMC Connect, Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okunsanya, at the 2nd National Stakeholders’ Conference of ACAMB held in Lagos explained that the financial services are facing high incidents of cybercrime, low marketing budgets, and low trust levels

between customers and financial institutions operating in the country.

Badejo-Okunsanya in his keynote address at the conference with the theme: “Marketing Financial Services in Dynamic Times,’’ said financial institutions in Nigeria is contending with limited marketing budget, and restricted advertising promotional effort, stressing that many traditional financial institutional are taking advantage of their customers and not operating in their own interest.

He urged financial institutions in the country to rebuild customer trust by finding new ways to

meet their needs.

The President of the Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Ken Opara who was presented by the registrar/chief executive of the institute, Mr.

Akin Morakinyo said the topic resonates deeply with the rapidly changing and evolving lasting landscapes that characterize our modern world. Opara in his special address

noted that today’s interconnected global economy and the financial services sector stand at the crossroad of innovation, competition, and social expectations.

The President, ACAMB, Mr. Rasheed Bolarinwa, in his welcome address, said the topic underscores the dynamism of the today’s world and the impact on the financial services industry.

Group Begins Awareness Campaign against Online Fraudsters

Emma Okonji

Worried about the increasing number of people that fall victims to online fraudsters, the Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of

CSR: Bi- Courtney V isits, Donates Alcohol Based Sanitizer to LASUTH

Chinedu Eze

The management team of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two Ikeja (MMA2), has donated alcoholbased Sanitizer to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

The team led by BASL Head of Safety, Mrs. Nafisat Adeniran, stated that the sanitizer would provide extra protection for Medical Officers responsible for administering care to patients. She further emphasized that this gesture demonstrates appreciation towards LASUTH for consistently accepting

BASL’s emergency referrals.

She said a strategic partnership between BASL and LASUTH would be leveraged to make further important interventions when necessary.

Also on the BASL team at the event was Mr. Blessing Ewah, Head of Operations.

The BASL team were received by the management team of LASUTH, led by the Chief Medical Director, Professor Adetokunbo Fabamwo.

Other members of his team were Professor Adebowale Adekoya, Director of Clinical Services and Training, Elizabeth Ashaolu, Head of IPC, and Adebola Aina, Chief Nursing Services.

In his remarks, the Chief

Ibom Air Becomes Full Member of IATA

Chinedu Eze

Nigeria’s domestic carrier, Ibom Air has announced that it is now a full member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The airline in a statement said that “a whole new world of opportunities has been opened for Ibom Air has it becomes a full member of the International Air Transport Association.”

Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ibom Air, Mr. George Uriesi, said on the development, “We are delighted to have completed the administrative processes and to now become a full member of IATA”.

He added, “Apart from the

multiple benefits Ibom Air stands to gain as a member of the Association, our membership particularly offers a whole new world of cooperation opportunities in the international airline community. We intend to tap fully into these as we expand our footprint into the region and continent”.

The Managing Director of Flights and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan also identified other benefits for Ibom Air as full member of IATA.

“It simply means your documents synchronize with other IATA member airlines worldwide; documents like tickets and airwaybills; or cargo handling equipment like pallets and igloo, ”Akpan said.

Promote Policies for Youths with Disabilities, PIN Tells African Governments

Emma Okonji

African governments have been urged to promote the digital inclusion policy of youths with disabilities by integrating digital courses in schools.

Paradigm Initiative (PIN), which advocates for digital rights and inclusion across Africa, made the call in line with the global initiative of the International Youth Day, which was commemorated on August 12th, and had since become an annual celebration.

According to a statement released by PIN, “Youth with disabilities are digitally excluded in Africa, a situation which violates their fundamental rights. On the continent, youth with disabilities, especially those from under-served communities, are at a disadvantage regarding most Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) despite government commitments

Medical Director, said the token donation was much more valuable to clinical services than what many would think.

Nigerian Financial Institutions (CCISONFI), in collaboration with Cybersafe Foundation, Bankers Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and The Hook, has commenced an awareness campaign to sensitise Nigerians about the activities of online fraudsters.

The campaign, tagged: ‘NoGoFallMaga Confam Am Again’ was launched in Lagos last week by the group, and it is expected to come in the form of radio jingles, television commercials and newspaper advertorials, among others.

Chairman of CCISONFI, Mr.

Festus Amede, who spoke during the launch, said, as a registered independent non-government organisation, CCISONFI would continue to support CBN in providing guidance and advisory services that are related to cyber, data and information security across the Nigerian financial and payment ecosystem.

According to him, “The campaign will tackle cybercrime activities in Nigeria that pose huge threat to bank customers and Nigerians in general. The use of digital platforms in the financial ecosystem has given rise to new risk, leading to loss of trust and

Custodian Investment Empowers 125 Youths

Nume Ekeghe

Custodian Investment Plc, has demonstrated its dedication to corporate social responsibility by mentoring approximately 125 youths at its 2023 Mentorship Conference.

In his welcome address at the hybrid event, the Founder and Group Managing Director of Custodian Investment Plc, Mr. Wole Oshin said while Nigeria is rich with talented young individuals, many

lack proper guidance and direction in their pursuits.

He stressed the importance of offering mentorship from accomplished entrepreneurs, professionals, and individuals who have achieved remarkable feats, aiming to ignite the same passion within the mentees.

He remarked that the social media space is good but incidentally, some people use it wrongly because of their exposure to negative influences in

that space. The conference featured distinguished speakers, including serial entrepreneur, corporate and commercial lawyer, Mrs. Seyi Banigbe.

confidence in the CBN financial inclusion drive and cashless policy.”

Chairman, Cybersafe Foundation, Dr. Peter Obadare, said a lot had been invested into the campaign, designed to increase the cybersecurity intelligent quotient of Nigerians. He advised customers to key into the campaign strategies in order to avoid being victims to cyber criminals. The campaign is designed to use creative videos to sensitise those on the streets, traders, market women and students, including those in offices, on how to transact safe online without divulging sensitive bank information.

Group Chief Information Security Officer at Access Bank, Mrs. Favour Femi-Oyewole, said many Nigerians still fall victims to online fraudsters on a daily basis, when they voluntarily give out sensitive information like PIN number and BVN number to unknown people who pose as bank officials when they are actually not.

to comply with international human rights treaties such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.”

Statistics from the United Nations (UN) indicate that Africa has more than 80 million persons with disabilities, half of whom are youth. Young people with disabilities continue to face barriers as they lack assistive technologies and have limitations in accessing the Internet.

They face unparalleled discrimination and are the most at risk when it comes to the adoption of cutting-edge technologies. This is despite the fact that young people in Africa are seen by the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 as a crucial population group in enhancing socio-economic solutions in Africa.

HOMES & DESIGN

LAKEPOINT TOWERS: Nigeria’s Leading Innovative, Creative Edifice in Banana Island

Banana Island is home to exquisite buildings that are rendered to match the stiff cost of the land on which they stand. The two-wing Lakepoint Towers rank among the best in this upscale enclave. It is innovative, creative and rendered in original style. Bennett Oghifo writes

Lakepoint Towers is a twin-tower development on the waterfront of Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos. This wholly commercial project has 11-floor and 10-floor buildings.

In collaboration with K3 Alu Products, this project has been designed for commercial activities with innovative, creative and original style, whose position with a great view of the Lagoon allows it to soar like a lighthouse visible from the Lagos mainland. Lakepoint Towers occupies an area of approximately 14,000 square meters, including shops and gardens.

The eco-friendly design gives the

building a wide brightness on account of the high-transparent but reflective curtain walls to maximise daylight inside the buildings. The facades are characterised by large windows, which give a modern and essential style, as well as allowing excellent lighting of the interior, transforming the towers into a symbol of the city.

K3 Aluproducts Ltd is a leading glazing contractor specialising in designing, fabricating and installing aluminium windows and doors, curtain walling, ventilated facades, aluminium composite panel envelopes and steel structures for residential, commercial or industrial buildings.

K3 currently operates in Ghana, where it has its headquarters and a fully fitted production facility and in Nigeria through its subsidiary company AZA-Africa.

The profiles used for constructing “our systems are developed by our research and development team, which dedicates particular attention” to developing the design and producing high-quality products to meet the requirements of this complex market.

The “solid” experience gained from the many successful projects in the region enables K3 to understand “our customers’ needs and expectations,

and we meet them” using innovative solutions, professionalism, reliability and good value.

The company believes clients are entitled to expect added value by purchasing its products, “our entire scope of integrated service offerings, particularly technical advice and customer consultancy.” Its strategy, products, services, employees, and efficient processes enable “us to defend our competitive position even in times of greater market pressure, recognising the importance of ethical and social responsibility in business management and business activities and respecting the legitimate interest of all stakeholders in the society in which we operate.”

and Dilemma of Tinubu’s Economics

Nigerian manufacturers who

President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s inaugural address gave Nigerian manufacturers good reasons to heave a sigh of relief that a new dawn of predictable business environment has begun. Their hope was raised by the outline of the economic policy the Tinubu’s administration would pursue, which to them was a sharp contrast with the hamstrung policies of the preceding ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, reeled out plans to boost the Nigerian economy with programmes that would strengthen the real sector of the economy, create jobs and reduce poverty.

He told Nigerians that his administration’s goal was to take the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 7.0 per cent, which is a quantum leap that would require tripling the 2.31 per cent the economy recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

He also showed the political will to take hard decisions on the economy that those before him had shied away from. He, therefore, removed the petrol subsidy and unified the multiple foreign exchange rates.

Tinubu said: “On the economy, we target a higher GDP growth and significantly reduce unemployment.

“We intend to accomplish this by taking the following steps: First, budgetary reform stimulating the economy without engendering inflation will be instituted.”

He also said his administration’s “industrial policy will utilise the full range of fiscal measures to promote domestic manufacturing and lessen import dependency.

“I have a message for our investors, local and foreign: our government shall review all their complaints about multiple taxation and various anti-investment inhibitions.

“We shall ensure that investors and foreign businesses repatriate their hard earned dividends and profits home.

“Monetary policy needs thorough housecleaning. The CBN must work towards a unified exchange rate. This will direct funds away from arbitrage into meaningful investment in the plant, equipment and jobs that power the real economy.

“Interest rates need to be reduced to increase investment and consumer purchasing in ways that sustain the economy at a higher level.”

He then enthused: “With full confidence in our ability, I declare that these things are within our proximate reach because my name is Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and I am the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Even though these declarations received the applause from manufacturers, it has now appeared that the president has unwittingly dislocated the economy and threw manufacturers and other businesspeople into disarray. Currently, the decision to unify the exchange rate and allow the value of the Naira to be determined by the forces of demand and supply as well as the high cost of petrol is stoking inflationary pressure on the economy to the detriment of the Nigerian manufacturers.

In July 2023, Nigeria experienced a surge in inflation, with the rate reaching a new 18-year high of 24.08 percent. This marked an increase of 1.29 per cent from the previous month’s rate of 22.79 per cent, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

For now, the prices of petrol (PMS) has gone haywire from N200 in May to about N620 at the time of going to the press. Similarly, the exchange rate of the Naira has moved upward at the official market from N465 against the Dollar at end of May 2023 to close at N756 per Dollar in June 2023. It even went as high as N950 per Dollar at the parallel market in July.

The corollary is that manufacturers are finding the business environment unbearable. And some of them, like the GlaxoSmithKline, have announced their plan to quit the Nigerian market.

The Company Secretary of GSK Nigeria, Mr. Frederick Ichekwai, informed the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) that having evaluated various other options, “the board of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc has concluded that there is no alternative but to cease operations” in Nigeria.

Last week, the Manufacturers Association

at the inception of President Bola

to the country’s manufacturing sector. The GSK has been in Nigeria for over 50 years.

Oye said that while the current Tinubu’s administration has commendably set Nigeria on a long-term path to economic progression, “it has been noted that some of the immediate positive economic policies of President Ahmed Tinubu have had an adverse effect on certain sectors of the country.

It now seemed that the Nigerian economy is experiencing a fissure and manifesting the characteristics of a trapped economy. Former Chief Executive of Continental Merchant Bank, Dr. Ibrahim Ayagi, stated in his book The Trapped Economy, that “an economy is said to be trapped when it is engulfed, or enclosed in a situation or in circumstances of discomfort, inconvenience and/or of an otherwise undesirable nature from which it may struggle to free itself continuously but to no avail.

“Desperate and repeated efforts always result in tremendous amounts of sweat and near fatal or breathless exhaustion at the end of which the economy finds itself at exactly the same level where and when it started.”

The pertinent question is: should President Tinubu persist with his reforms or should he backtrack? For Bismarck, the chances of backsliding and policy reversal are possible but unlikely even though that subsidy removal has a long history of backsliding.

Every administration that removed it has had reason to reverse the decision. President Ibrahim Babangida reversed it in 1989; President Olusegun Obasanjo reversed it also in 1999. Likewise, Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari reversed themselves on the subject in 2012 and 2016 respectively.

Bismarck noted that reversal could only come from pushback by vested interest, lack of stakeholders buy-in before policy implementation, absence of requisite measures to mitigate negative impact of policy on the households, as well as trust deficit and weak legitimacy of government.

Tinubu

of Nigeria (MAN) cried out that the current inflationary condition in Nigeria is adversely affecting the operation of the manufacturing sector, just like most other sectors of the economy. According to the Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, “it appears evident that the continuing inflationary pressure experienced in the country is attributable to the fallout of recent government policy and measures, including removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of exchange rates.”

An Economist and the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Rewane Bismarck, pointed out that the Nigerian economy has been pummeled in recent times by government’s misguided policy initiatives that have telling unintended consequences on the economy. Bismarck said that highlights of the H1’23 corporate earnings revealed that 10 major companies (who are largely manufacturers) recorded an FX loss of N764 billion. This was attributed to their huge exposure to foreign denominated loans that eroded their corporate gains.

Some of the manufacturing concerns like Nestle Nigeria Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, BUA Cement Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, etc were among the affected companies. These firms declared their worst performance in recent years despite reporting significant increase in revenue. The depreciation of the Naira gave rise to a net exchange loss of these companies.

Specifically, N21 billion foreign exchange loss swept Cadbury Nigeria to a loss of N14.5 billion in H1’23. Another multinational company, Nestle Nigeria reported N123.8billion net foreign exchange loss in H1 2023 from N2.13 billion in H1 2022. Similarly, Dangote Cement

declared N113.63 billion net exchange loss on foreign denominated transactions in H1 2023 from N40.66 billion in H1 2022, its profit before tax stood at N239.86 billion, a decline of 9.4 per cent from N264.89 billion in H1 2022.

While the manufacturers are reeling under the weight of increased foreign exchange losses, the Central Bank of Nigeria in July raised the MPR to 18.75 per cent from 18.5 per cent, which would increase the cost of domestic borrowings for manufacturers.

So far, President Tinubu has taken steps to assuage the condition in his July 31 national broadcast where he announced a N500 billion Marshall Plan to resuscitate the economy and ease the financial burden on the people. Only N75 billion of this amount would go to 75 manufacturing firms.

This has prompted Bismarck to ask: “Is this the right therapy or another effort in futility?” He described N500 billion, about 0.25 per cent of GDP, as an “inadequate dose” and “not sufficient to cover the exchange rate losses incurred by companies. A material palliative should be at least N10 trillion (5.0 per cent) of the GDP.”

He commented that “contracted margins and poor corporate earnings will slightly dampen investor confidence in teetering Nigerian economy.”

Since then, the members of the organised private sector have reacted. They pointed out that some of the policies of Tinubu’s administration are undoing their businesses. According to the National President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Dele Kelvin Oye, the announced exit of GlaxoSmithKline from Nigeria was nothing but a major blow

He said: “The ongoing reforms may come with pains, more pains, before the gains,” and warned that backtracking is not an option and has consequences, which would include government loss of credibility, intensified fiscal crisis, and deterioration in investors’ confidence, heightened macroeconomic instability and escalation of market distortion.”

For now, the Tinubu administration has declared that there would be no further increase in the price of petrol. Moreover, the CBN has devised an ingenious strategy with the NNPC Limited for a $3 billion to stablise the Naira at the foreign exchange market. How far the fiscal and monetary gameplan would go to ameliorate the sufferings of the manufacturers would be seen in months to come.

However, the Tinubu’s administration do for the manufacturers what General Sani Abacha did for them in the 1990s: allow the manufacturers to repay their existing foreign loans at the prevailing exchange rate before the unification of foreign exchange rates in June 2023.

The administration may also operate dual exchange rates: one for the government and the operators of the real sector of the economy and the other for the general public as Abacha’s government had done with strict monitoring.

His administration may also uphold the views that a former Head, Department of Economics, Dr. Mashhud Fashola, expressed long ago on foreign exchange management. Fashola divided the sources of foreign exchange into public and private earned foreign exchange. He advocated that government earned foreign exchange should be isolated from the market forces and used to support vital economic sectors that government deemed important for the development of the Nigerian economy.

He argued that those using Naira to attack the Dollar at the foreign exchange market did not earn them through competitive economic activities but through proceeds of corruption and could afford to buy the Dollar at any rate because they are not “true” economic agents.

But on the other hand, Fashola said that private sector earned foreign exchange should be exchanged at a rate that is determined by the market forces to the highest bidders.

heaved a sigh of relief

Ahmed Tinubu’s administration are now in dilemma over the unsavoury outcomes of some of the administration’s policies, writes

Dike Onwuamaeze

Manufacturers

Transforming Smallholder F arming for Sustainable Food Security, Wealth Creation

Despite facing conflict and environmental challenges, communities in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria now benefit from the shared commitment of Mercy Corps and First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to make a significant difference.

Through their partnership and the USAID-funded “Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity”, these institutions promote economic growth, social inclusion, and market resilience.

They are transforming the lives of farmers and communities for a more sustainable and prosperous future.

The impactful collaboration, which started in 2021, significantly changes lives in the region by taking bold steps to increase access to financial services through partnerships with major market actors using FCMB’s digital banking platforms.

As a result, the economic and living standards of households and communities are changing for the better. One of the partners, FCMB, has successfully deepened financial inclusion and enhanced financial access points by expanding its Agent Banking network to strategic locations across states in the targeted region, enabling farmers to be included in formal economic systems by providing them with education and support to adopt digital tools for a broader range of financial services.

Through these agents, 10,000 smallholder farmers in underserved communities across Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Yobe, Kebbi, Benue, Ebonyi, and FCT Abuja have been onboarded, benefitting from the USAID-funded COVID-19 mitigation initiative. More impressive is how many women farmers’ clusters are empowered simply by encouraging positive financial behaviours, such as regular savings, budgeting, and accessing loan facilities for business expansion.

These women can now contribute economically to their homes and communities, improving living standards and the capacity to cope, adapt and thrive in the face of recurring shocks.

People in Rural Resilience Activity (RRA) target states now participate in simple financial activities like cashless payments, electronic transfers, and remittances. The partnership has also led to a significant increase in bank usage, as evidenced by a recent assessment of programme participants’ banking activities. As of November 2022, 75 per cent and 87.5 per cent of bank accounts in the RRA target areas were still active, compared to only 46.3 per cent in non-RRA areas. These results are an encouraging sign of the positive impact of the partnership and what the future holds.

We all know how devastating the pandemic was, disrupting lives and the economic viability of businesses. By integrating

the COVID-19 mitigation response interventions into the RRA work plan, the partnership was able to reduce the shocks and stresses that the pandemic may have worsened. For instance, it increased the adoption of formal bank accounts, boosting financial services and inclusion components. Cash transfers helped beneficiaries become active players in the North East market by investing in small businesses, expanding existing businesses, and diversifying into new ones. Many farmers could also procure and store inputs. Others used the money they received for harvest and post-harvest handling in preparation for dry-season farming.

Another significant impact of the FCMB and Mercy Corps partnership is increased gender-based savings, female financial literacy, and reduced over-dependency. For example, in Yola, Adamawa state, a woman used about 60 per cent of the COVID-19 mitigation unconditional cash transfer she received to purchase a manual plough to furrow her family’s fields. To minimise tool downtime and recoup her investment, she rented the equipment to her neighbours, and within two weeks, she purchased four more ploughs for leasing to other farmers.

AGRICULTURAL REVITALISATION AND FOOD SECURITY

Recognising the critical role that smallholder farmers play in the region’s economy, the partnership focuses on providing training, access to improved agricultural techniques, and resources to enhance productivity. By leveraging FCMB’s financial expertise, farmers gain access to credit facilities and agricultural loans, enabling them to invest in quality seeds, fertilisers, and equipment. This multifaceted approach empowers farmers to increase their yields, diversify their crops, and improve their incomes, ultimately strengthening the food security of communities in North East Nigeria.

Through the Rural Resilience Activity, Mercy Corps negotiated with FCMB to modify its loan terms to enable more farmers to access loans through participating aggregators. These concessions included waiving the standard requirement that mandates loan applicants to save for six months to help the Bank ascertain their financial capacity. FCMB also reduced its loan processing time to 48 hours from receiving all loan documentation. As a result, in 2023, the bank disbursed loans to 1,000 beneficiaries totalling over N500 million through the Mastercard Foundation revitalisation program to RRA participant farmers and Micro, Small and Medium

Scale Enterprises. Their partnership also meant increased outreach and lower operational costs through local “lead” firms (Aggregators) acting as loan intermediaries and consolidators.

At the same time, the RRA strengthened the client base by assisting aggregator firms to build capacity through training for smallholder farmers and SMEs to improve their technical, business management, financial literacy, and other soft skills.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

INCLUDE:

Facilitating credit sensitisation workshops to increase the awareness and knowledge of Aggregators and leaders of farmer groups about FCMB products.

Reaching 506,425 people - men and women, youths and persons with disabilities, and internally displaced persons in Nigeria - through partner activities and direct implementation. The Activity has built partnerships with 80 private sector partners, 31 of which have received catalytic grants to scale or expand their businesses in North East Nigeria. This has resulted in 14,453 jobs, facilitated US$53,000,000 in sales and US$15,000,000 in loans by participants. The Activity has also mobilised US$7,000,000 in leverage - monies from private-sector partners.

Providing COVID-19 unconditional cash transfers to 47,387 farmers, 5,560 local MSMEs, and 86 critical intermediary actors in the Feed-The-Future portfolio states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Kebbi, Niger, Benue, and Ebonyi, and the FCT for ten months. The cash transfers had the dual aim of helping vulnerable households meet their basic needs and begin reinvesting in economic activities while sustaining and jumpstarting the local economy on which they rely.

Supporting farmers to adopt the best agronomic practices and use support to cultivate over 4300 hectares of land for farming (one hectare per farmer) in the target communities cutting across 23 local governments in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, and Gombe. They engaged in the production of rice, maise, cowpea, groundnuts, sheep, and goats.

CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION

North Eastern Nigeria is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with erratic rainfall patterns and prolonged droughts posing significant challenges to agricultural productivity. Mercy Corps and FCMB have responded to this pressing issue by implementing climate-smart farming practices and supporting farmers to adapt to changing climatic conditions.

Farmers are equipped to mitigate the effects of climate change and build resilience through water conservation techniques, sustainable land management, and the promotion of drought-resistant crops. The partnership also facilitates access to weather information and early warning systems, enabling farmers to make informed decisions and minimise losses due to extreme weather events. This integrated approach combines traditional knowledge with modern techniques, ensuring the long-term sustainability of agricultural practices in the region.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Access to financial services remains a significant barrier for rural communities in North East Nigeria. In recognition of the transformative potential of financial inclusion, the partnership has made great strides in expanding access to banking services and empowering individuals with financial literacy. FCMB and Mercy Corps have bridged the gap between rural farmers and formal financial institutions by establishing mobile banking services and promoting digital financial solutions. So far, 19,654 previously unbanked people have become banked under the partnership.

This provides farmers a safe place to store their earnings, facilitates savings, and access to credit and insurance products. By enhancing financial capabilities and expanding economic opportunities, the partnership fosters rural development, reduces poverty, and promotes sustainable livelihoods.

BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITIES AND SUSTAINABLE INSTITUTIONS

A distinguishing feature of the partnership between Mercy Corps and FCMB is their commitment to building local capacities and strengthening institutions. By collaborating with local farmers’ cooperatives, community-based organisations, and government agencies, the partnership ensures that interventions are community-led and sustainable. Through training programs and capacity-building initiatives, farmers and local stakeholders are empowered to manage their resources effectively, advocate for their needs, and drive their development.

FCMB has integrated a few Agritech companies, such as Agriarche, Extension Africa, Intrio Synergy, Deva Access, and NOMA, operating on its digital banking platform in the North East. This bottom-up approach fosters ownership, resilience, and the long-term success of agricultural initiatives, ensuring that communities have the skills and knowledge to navigate future challenges independently.

Adeola Adejokun

Assessing Navy's Maritime Readiness in Lagos Area of Responsibility

To assess the maritime readiness of the Nigerian Navy in its Lagos Area of Responsibility, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, recently went on a familiarisation tour of commands, units and establishments, writes

Chiemelie Ezeobi

Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu

Ogalla was appointed the 22nd Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) on June 19, 2023, assumed office on June 23, 2023 and was confirmed by the Senate on July 14, 2023.

Thus to acquaint and give him a comprehensive evaluation of the activities, challenges, ongoing projects, and independent operations executed by the Nigerian Navy (NN), the CNS and his entourage has been on a month-long nationwide tour of commands, units and naval establishments.

Just last week, he embarked on a familiarisation tour of all units and commands within the Lagos Area (both Lagos and Ogun States). The tour was so significant given the vastness of navy platforms, equipment and units domiciled there.

The CNS was accompanied on the tour by the Chief of Logistics, Rear Admiral Livingston Izu; Chief of Communication and Information Technology, Rear Admiral Olusanya Bankole; Navy Secretary, Rear Admiral ZS Mohammed; Rear Admiral Koheith Levi, Flag Officers Commanding (FOCs) Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abdullahi Mohammed, and Naval Training Command, Rear Admiral Patrick Nwatu; Director of Information, Commodore Ayo Vaughan, among many other senior officers.

Familiarising with Lagos, Ogun AOR

To start off the tour of Lagos Area of Responsibility (AOR), Vice Admiral Ogalla paid a courtesy visit to Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Afterwards, he visited the premiere command, Western Naval Command (WNC) and was received by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Rear Admiral Mohammed Abdullahi. He was taken on a tour of the Western Regional Control Centre including Nigerian Navy Ships UNITY, ARADU and THUNDER at the Naval Base in Apapa.

He set off to the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office where he was received by the Hydrographer of the Navy, Rear Admiral Ayo Olugbode. The chief also visited the Naval Dockyard Limited (NDL), Victoria Island where he was received by Admiral Superintendent, Rear Admiral

Abolaji Orederu.

The next day, as part of his familiarisation visit to Lagos AOR, the chief visited Navy Town, Ojo where he was received by the landlord of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) WEY, Commodore Mohammed Dahiru before he went on visit all other units inside the barracks.

He went on to commission a block of 8 × 6 bedroom flats and also inspected other ongoing projects while there. He also visited the Naval Air Base well as the Deep Blue Lagos, Joint Maritime Security Training Centre (JMSTC) and Special Boat Service Camp, all in Navy Town.

Also touched was the Naval Ordnance Depot (NOD), where he was received by Rear Admiral Noel Madugu, the Admiral Superintendent.

The next day, he was at Naval Training Command where he was received by Rear Admiral Patrick Nwatu. He went on an inspection of Nigerian Navy Ship QUORRA and afterwards, held a dialogue with officers and men in Lagos Area at NNS QUORRA auditorium. Same Thursday, he visited Navy Barracks, Mobil Road in Apapa and Obisesan Naval Hospital too.

Vice Admiral Ogalla also visited the Naval Outpost, Tongeji Island where he was received by the Commanding Officer, Captain Adams Aliu. He also visited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Company Ltd, Ibeju Lekki, and the proposed site for Forward Operating Base, also in Lekki.

Not left out were the media in Lagos as he hosted the executives and reporters of both newspaper and television stations at Navy House.

Placing Premium on Personnel Welfare

One of the focal points for the CNS during the tour was the premium he placed on personnel welfare. He stressed

that this was in line with his Strategic Policy Directive, adding that these personnel would be the drivers of equipment purchased for the service.

He said: "In line with my strategic directives, our foremost priority is the empowerment and motivation of our personnel.

“So, we can train the men in a way that they will be able to use the machines, equipment and the platforms that we have spent so much money to acquire.

I believe that once we take care of the personnel, then they will take care of the machines."

Ogalla said the planned deployment of Artificial Intelligence would complement the physical presence of personnel at sea. "For instance our Falcon Eye which is a kind of surveillance system, helps to complement the other aspect of information, gathered through human intelligence and other forms of intelligence.

"In my strategic directives, men are the most important factor in production and therefore all our efforts will be to motivate men. And that's why we have come here today to look at our strategic training, like the Special Boat Service (SBS) and several others," he said.

Commitment to Tackle Crude Oil Theft

Although Vice Ogalla is a repository of knowledge, especially when it comes to hydrography, he is however fully abreast of the war against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism. He expressed resolve to stamp out crude oil theft and other illegalities in the country's maritime domain.

According to Ogalla, the NN had never shied away from its constitutional mandate and would continue to give its best in the protection of the country and her enormous resources at sea.

"When we invest in our personnel, they, in turn, safeguard and optimise our valuable assets. Our ongoing efforts to combat crude oil theft underscore our unwavering commitment to our statutory responsibilities, an aspect we hold with the utmost seriousness," he reiterated.

Adequate Security with New Bases

The CNS further disclosed that the planned establishment of a Naval Base at Epe, would

ensure adequate protection for the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) and the over $25 billion investments in the axis.

The CNS said establishment of new bases and strategic deployments were part of his policy direction, noting the importance of the seaports to the growth of the economy.

Addressing the maritime significance of the Lagos Area, Vice Admiral Ogalla articulated its role as a vital hub for maritime trade, adding that the provision of adequate security would shore up ease of doing business and further boost the economy.

Safeguarding the sea lanes leading to Lagos Port is pivotal to ensuring a secure maritime environment for the nation. In this context, he shared, "Lagos holds a paramount place in our maritime domain. By protecting the sea lanes of communication, we are significantly enhancing the maritime security landscape.

"We have secured the maritime environment to some extent in this country. We believe that we have the capability, most of the strategic bases like NNS BEECROFT, others are here in Lagos.

"We are also starting up new bases at Epe to take care of the free zone. All these things are in view to improve the ease of doing business in Lagos, by ensuring the aspect of security of the maritime domain is taken care of.

"We have been protecting oil and other critical national assets at sea and will continue to do so. One of our strategies is to ensure security of the land spectrum and all the external waters, and 30 per cent of Lagos is within the internal water. This is one of the areas we have paid attention to."

At the end of the tour, the CNS did not only imprint on all his strategic thoughts, he also proved that he means business either in tackling maritime crimes or advocating for cutting-edge technology as a force multiplier in complementing human intelligence and other forms of information gathering. His emphasis also on the invaluable contribution of dedicated personnel did not escape notice either and this might just secure him a place in the heart of officers and men, thus translating to a better motivated force.

L-R: Chief of Communication and Information Technology, Rear Admiral Olusanya Bankole; Chief of Logistics, Rear Admiral Livingston Izu; FOC West, Rear Admiral Mohammed Abdullahi; the CNS; Admiral Superintendent NOD, Rear Admiral Noel Madugu; Navy Secretary, Rear Admiral ZS Mohammed; and others. Back row (L-R): Commander, NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Kolawole Oguntuga; Rear Admiral Kohath Levi; CO NNS WEY, Commodore Dahiru; DINFO, Commodore Ayo Vaughan and others

The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral EI Ogalla with FOC West, Rear Admiral Mohammed Abdullahi, Commander NNS WEY, Commodore Mohammed Dahiru and other senior officers at the commissioning of a block of 8 × 6 bedroom flats and inspection of ongoing projects in Navy Town Ojo

Familiarisation visit by the CNS to Hydrographer of the Navy, Rear Admiral Ayo Olugbode at the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office FOC West, the CNS and FOC NAVTRAC, Rear Admiral Patrick Nwatu

No Respite for Katsina Farmers as Bandits Resume Hostilities

Despite countless of deals between the Katsina State government and marauding bandits, for residents of arable farming communities in the state, there is no respite yet, Francis Sardauna writes

The battle for arable land for farming and the perennial intrusion of cattle on farmland has morphed into a more sinister challenges of cattle rustling, kidnapping, rape and killings across many farming communities in Katsina State.

This prolonged conflict between landholding farmers and nomadic cattle herders has morphed into banditry orchestrated by suspected herders who had circumscribed themselves to dreaded Rugu and other adjoining forests in the state.

Unlike militias, which are typically characterised by formalised structures and identities, the bandits operate in independent clusters in the state and other neighbouring states of Zamfara and Kaduna that are neither cohesive nor consist of formalised command structures.

Little unites these felonious elements beyond opportunities for pillage, intergroup conflicts and turf wars, which had no doubt led to the collapse of both social, economic, political and academic activities in many communities and villages in frontline local government areas of the state.

The bandits remain largely a loose group of herder-allied criminal gangs that are neither driven by any ideological imperatives. They have neither shown any concerted attempt at influencing policy or governance beyond the profitability of their criminal enterprise.

They involved in large-scale killings, abductions, rape, armed robbery, pillage and attacks on farming communities and villages in frontline local government areas of Batsari, Jibia, Faskari, Safana, Kankara, Sabuwa, Danmusa, Dandume, Dutsinma and Kurfi local government areas of the state, with support of nonstate actors.

Described by security experts as an assortment of criminal gangs, the bandits have their enclaves deep in Rugu forest that cuts across the strife local governments which provide great hideout opportunities for them. They come out, launch deadly attacks and retrieve back to their enclaves.

Thus, the amnesty granted to the urchins by the immediate past Governor of the state, Aminu Bello Masari was seemingly a hellish exercise in futility because profit and personal enrichment remained the primary driver of the criminal gangs. Masari, in his efforts to tackle banditry, signed two separate peace deals with the bandits. The maruding urchins were granted reprieve in exchange for renouncing banditry.

The first was on January 15, 2017 that lasted for two years while the second took place between September 4 and 9, 2019. Both deals, Masari said, were entered into in order to halt the “incessant wanton destruction of lives and property” by the bandits in the state.

But these deals collapsed due to the inability of the bandits to maintain their side of the bargain. The Masari-led government was literally coerced into adopting a pacifist approach in order to rein in the menace which had hitherto defied virtually all official interventions in the state.

Another reason for the fumbling of the peace deals, was apparently because the ‘repentant bandits’ who were alleged to have been handsomely paid by the government refused to share the proceeds of the dialogue with their accomplices and abettors in the forest.

Furthermore, the Masari’s peace deals could not see the light of the day because his government only negotiated with the non-ideological bandits and abandoned the victims who wallowed in the agony of either losing their family members, cattle, houses, farmlands or becoming internally displaced persons in their ancestral homes.

Also, some recalcitrant bandits’ leaders like Dan-Karami and Dangote, who were at loggerhead with each other, shunned the Masari’s peace deals with their followers. The bandits' kingpins never attended the meeting nor authorised their representative to make a commitment with the government throughout the lifespan of the peace deals.

Their absence at the meetings sparked palpable fear among residents, including the former governor, over the sustainability of the amnesty. Even some of the bandits who embraced the amnesty see it as a compromise reached by two parties of equal weight and clout at the negotiating table with some latitude on both sides.

“The problem with our peace deals is that some leaders of the bandits who reside in the forest did not join the peace deal. Gang leaders like Dan-Karami and Dangote did not join. They never attended any meeting", Masari told journalists then at a media chat.

Even though agreeing to an armistice with a band of largely unorganised malefactors meant that the state had cheaply surrendered its monopoly of violence, nonetheless, the Masari's antiviolence strategy appears to have yielded some results because the spate of mindless killings and kidnapping reduced to some extent.

However, the news emanating from farming communities of the state in recent times is less than cheery because the urchins

have resumed the killing, kidnapping and dispossessing innocent citizens, especially farmers, of their possessions. The security situation of the state has become rather messy as the bandits see themselves as above the state and perhaps in a vantage position to dictate terms.

For instance, farmers now helplessly pay bloody tax in cash to bandits’ in exchange for peace in many communities in Batsari, Jibia, Safana, Kankara and Dutsinma local government areas with little to nor government presence.

In Batsari, the bandits denied residents of Garin-Dodo, Nahuta, Zamfarawan Madogara and Batsarin Alhaji from weeding their crops because they couldn't afford to pay N100,000 tax imposed on them.

A resident of Garin-Dodo, Kabiru Muhammad, told THISDAY in a telephone interview that: “This year, they (bandits) asked us to pay N100,000 but we didn’t have so we agreed to work on their farms for one month. We entered the agreement because we need peace in our land since the government is not ready to help us”.

Helpless communities of Mai Dabino, Mara, Goborawa, Dinya and Barza in Danmusa Local Government, are also paying taxes to the bandits in order to cultivate their farmlands. “We also negotiated with them not to disclose their identities and activities to security personnel", a source in Dinya said.

Residents of Kasai, Manawa and Garin-Dodo have sealed accords with the bandits by working on their farm fields. The same peace deal had been sealed between the bandits and farmers in Tsamiya, Baban Duhu and Gora in Runka ward of Safana local government. While residents of Ellela, Tamu, Balagawa in Kurfi local government are working on bandits’ farms to sustain peace.

In Dutsinma, residents of Ungwan Bera, Ikkulawa, Kanawa, Danbawa and Yan-Albasa had sealed a peace deal of supervising bandits’ farms and their animals till harvesting season.

The punishment for failing to abide by the biddings of the bandits in these villages and other agrarian communities in the state is a coordinated mass abduction or murder.

Ergo, a bloody clash between the bandits and vigilantes in February, 2023, claimed 102 lives in Jargaba, Gidan Gago, Gidan Alhaji Audu Gari, Gidan Shirai, Gidan Baushe, Unguwar Gogai and Dicika communities in Bakori local government area of the state.

Even after the ill-fated encounter that threw the communities into anguish, the bandits attacked two neighbouring villages of Ungwar Shu’aibu and Yan Mayu the same day and rustled their animals. They also attacked Dan Kumeji and kidnapped over 20 women.

Also, 22 residents of Majifa, a community in Kankara Local Government, were killed by bandits in March, 2023. Scores of other people in the community survived the invasion with varying degrees of gunshots.

The incident occurred when one of the bandits’ leaders identified as Mai Katifar Mutuwa, who married a second wife around the community was celebrating alongside some invited bandits from Zamfara and Sokoto States.

Three persons were killed on KankaraRuwan Godiya-Sheme road in Kankara LGA on January 3. People were also killed in Jajar Kanwa village in Jibia in January also.

More goriest of them is the recent abduction and gruesome murder of the village head of Danbaibayawa, Muhammed Ahmed, in Batagarawa local government area of the state by the marauding hoodlums.

The marauding bandits had also abducted 14 villagers and killed one in Sabuwa Local Government Area of the state on August, 8, 2023. They abducted seven farmers at Yarkaka village, six others at Yallagwada village and a woman in Maiturmi village.

The bandits proceeded to the neighbouring Dandume local government where they killed the son of the ward head of Tudun Ali ward. These are among many other cases of bandits' attacks in the state.

The steady abandonment of the semblance of governance in rural communities in the state, is said to have created swaths of territories where these criminal gangs and groups have replaced both formal and informal governance structures. Banditry is a local problem, therefore, there is need for an extensive change of the current policing system to a community-based policing system that allows community members to secure their villages and communities.

Therefore, the move by Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, to establish a Community Watch Corps and recruit 2,400 youths to secure communities in eight frontline local government areas of the state would be a right peg in a right hole.

His recent raid of criminals' enclaves in the Katsina metropolitan area along with security operatives is also quite commendable and a sign of an exemplary leader who has the interest of masses at heart.

But the governor needs considerable investment to improve socio-economic outcomes in the state, and ensure timely payment of those engaged in fighting the banditry unlike his predecessor.

There must be deliberate strategies to strengthen traditional governance systems and institutions in the state. The continuous flow of arms into the state through Jibia’s poorly managed international border with Niger Republic calls for a revamp of the current border management regime.

The security situation of the state has become rather messy as the bandits see themselves as above the state and perhaps in a vantage position to dictate terms. For instance, farmers now helplessly pay bloody tax in cash to bandits’ in exchange for peace in many communities

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda

MTN Nigeria Market Cap Hits N5.77trn on Liability Dividend

Kayode Tokede

The market capitalisation of MTN Nigeria Communication

Plc reached N5.77trillion at the close of trade last week, following the f listing of additional 641,047,053 ordinary shares on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) arising from the company’s scrip dividend scheme.

The stock price of MTN Nigeria closed last week at N275.00 per share.

A scrip dividend is a method through which a company allows its shareholders to receive dividends in the form of additional shares, rather than cash payments.

The outstanding shares of the telecommunication giant on the NGX was 20,354,513,050.00 and the 641,047,053listing thrust it to 20,995,560,103.

The reported N5.77trillion in market capitalisation positioned MTN Nigeria as the second

most capitalised stock on NGX, after Dangote Cement with N6.13trillion in market capitalisation.

The NGX in a statement said additional 641,047,053 ordinary shares of 2 kobo each of MTN Nigeria Communication were listed on the daily official list of the Exchange

According to the notice, “The additional shares listed on NGX arose from MTN’s Scrip Dividend Election Scheme. With this listing of the additional 641,047,053 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of MTN has now increased from 20,354,513,050 to 20,995,560,103 ordinary shares of 2 kobo each”. Company Secretary, MTN Nigeria, Uto Ukpanah had announced in a statement that the telecommunication company obtained the approval of the Securities

and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the registration of the ordinary shares to allow the company to issue dividends as shares to 5,192 shareholders.

According to him, “MTN Nigeria Communications Plc is pleased to announce that it has obtained the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission for the registration of the ordinary shares issued under the recently established scrip dividend election plan (the “Plan”).

“Under the Plan, 5,192 shareholders elected to receive their FY 2022 final dividends in the form of shares, equivalent to 641,047,053 new ordinary shares of 2kobo each at N232.68 per share. This brings the total issued shares of the Company to 20,995,560,103. In line with the regulatory guidelines, the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) accounts of qualified shareholders will be credited in the coming days.”

Olusade: Harmonisation Will Address Multiple Taxation in FCT

Olawale Ajimotokan

The FCTA Permanent Secretary, Adesola Olusade has said the ongoing harmonisation initiative will address issues related to multiple taxation and foster a business-friendly environment in the FCT.

He stated this during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on revenue harmonisation between the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) and Kuje Area Council.

“Today, I am fulfilled. The journey towards harmonisation and ease of doing business started as way back as 2012. Efforts to conclude it had been very challenging because of lack of mutual trust and inadequate team work for the implementation.

“In 2012, we didn’t have FCT-IRS and the Service came to be as a creation of the law in 2015 and had to grapple with teething problems before it became eventually operational in 2018.

“Therefore, harmonizing revenue collection is not amounting to concession, the task before FCT-IRS is to collect the revenue on behalf of other revenue agencies and area councils and remit it to them in accountable and transparent manner,” Olusade said.

In his remarks, the Executive Chairman of FCT-IRS, Mr. Haruna Abdullahi, reaffirmed that the ongoing harmonisation drive in the FCT would last for a considerable time, while also assuring all stakeholders that all concerns raised would be considered and addressed accordingly.

He said the signed MoU between FCT-IRS and Kuje Area Council will provide stakeholders with a clear framework outlining their respective roles and shared responsibilities in the harmonisation initiative.

He assured FCT residents that every contributed penny would be properly accounted for and used judiciously.

In his remarks, the Chairman of Kuje Area Council Mr. Abdullahi Sabo, affirmed Kuje Area Council’s confidence in the capacity of the FCT-IRS to handle revenue collection on their behalf.

He emphasised that the area council had tasked the FCT-IRS with improving and standardizing their existing data, therefore all levy and revenue collections in Kuje area council would transit to an automated, cashless system.

Jaiz Bank Appoints Ahmed Hassan as Acting Chief Executive

James

Emejo

The Board of Jaiz Bank Plc, has approved the appointment of Ahmed Alhaji Hassan as the acting Managing Director/ Chief Executive of the bank.

The development followed the exit of the bank’s former chief executive, Dr. Salisu Sirajo, who resigned his appointment and proceeded on a terminal leave.

Until his new appointment, Hassan was the Executive

Director, Operation/Chief Financial Officer of the bank - with over 29 years of cognate banking, industrial and academic experiences. He started as a Lecturer of Accounting and Finance at Bayero University, Kano before joining the Banking/ Finance Industry.

A statement issued by the management yesterday described him as a shrewd banker who had worked in Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC), former New Africa Merchant Bank Ltd, NAL Merchant Bank (now Sterling Bank), NUB / FINBANK (now part of FCMB) and had a brief stint with Dangote Group as the Financial Controller of Kano Flour Mills.

Hassan’s banking experience covers corporate finance, banking operations, risk management, financial controls and branch /regional banking.

Chams Honours Directors, Pledges Service Delivery

The Chairman of the Chams Holding Company Plc, Demola Aladekomo, had pledged that the company shall ensure value delivery to its shareholders and the financial services industry. He stated this while speaking during a send-off party to celebrate some of the company’s retiring directors.

The retired directors include; Dr. Dere Awosika, Dr. Evans Woherem; Pastor Ituah Ighodalo; Mr. Femi Williams; Mr. Gavin Young, Mrs. Funke Alomooluwa; Mr. Emmanuel Ojo and Mr. Kehinde Lapite. Aladekomo said the firm had been on a journey

for the last 38 years. He noted that the journey was filled with “highs and lows.” Aladekomo was filled with appreciation for the staff but, most importantly, the retired directors who were the key drivers behind the firm’s greatness today.

The Group Managing Director, Mrs. Mayowa Olaniyan, said the retired directors needed to be appreciated in view of the great work they did in the company. “Even though they were Non-Executive Directors, they worked just like executives, and they have been highly supportive after their retirement. The

Director, CardCentre Nigeria Limited,Kehinde Lapite; former Managing Director, ChamsSwitch Limited, Emmanuel Ojo; former Managing Director, ChamsAccess,Funke AlomoOluwa; Group Chairman Chams Holding Company Plc. Sir Demola Aladekomo; his wife, Reverend Titi Aladekomo; former Non-Executive- Director,

MARKET INDICATORS

least we can do to appreciate them is to honor them with this send-forth programme, “she said.

In her message to the shareholders, she said Chams would continue to play a major role in Fintech and has one of the highest licenses in the industry. “Our Cardcentre recently partnered with a few companies within Nigeria and in Asia, and it has strengthened capacity and improved operations. Chamsswitch has recently partnered with some banks. This is the time for our shareholders to smile.”, Olaniyan said.

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage)

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 17 JULY, 2023

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $82.06 a barrel on Friday, compared with $81.53 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

L-R: Former Managing

Chams HoldCo, Dr. Evans Woherem; Group Managing Director, Chams HoldCo, Mayowa Olaniyan and former Group Managing Director, Chams HoldCo, Olufemi Williams during Send-Off Party organised by Chams HoldCo for its retired Directors in Lagos... recently .

Stock Market Down N150bn on Pro fit-taking in Airtel, MTN, Others

KayodeTokede

Following investors profittaking in Airtel Africa Plc, MTN Nigeria Communication Plc, Nestle Nigeria Plc, among others, the Nigerian stocks closed in the negative territory with the market capitalisation dropping by N150billion in one week to N35.412trillion from N35.572trillion it opened for trading.

Precisely, investors sell pressures

on Airtel Africa stock dropped by N69.90 per share to N1,250.00 per share, as MTN Nigeria dropped by N4.90 per share to N275.00 from N279.90 per share it opened for trading.

Neste Nigeria declined by N5.00 per share to N1,170 per share and BUA Cement’s stock tumbled by N2.80 per share to N896.15 per share, dragging the NGX All-Share index 0.93 per cent lower to 64,721.09 basis points

from 65,325.37 basis points. Consequently, the Month-toDate and Year-to-Date returns dipped to 0.6per cent and 26.3per cent, respectively.

However, the Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.166 billion shares valued at N16.925 billion traded in 13,819 deals; thus contributing 69.04 per cent and 57.55 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value

respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with 191.320 million shares worth N843.336 million in 1,829 deals while the Oil & Gas Industry recorded a turnover of 64.352 million shares worth N810.637 million in 2,159 deals.

FBN Holdings Plc, Transnational Corporation Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc (measured by volume) were the most traded stocks, accounting for 576.688 million

shares worth N6.911 billion in 3,524 deals and contributing 34.14 per cent and 23.50 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Meanwhile, a total turnover of 1.689 billion shares worth N29.407 billion in 29,477 deals was traded by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.741 billion shares valued at N25.087 billion that exchanged hands in the previous week in

30,652 deals.

Furthermore, the market indices finished lower with the exception of NGX Premium, NGX AFR Div. Yield, NGX Consumer Goods, NGX Industrial Goods, NGX Growth and NGX Sovereign Bond indices which appreciated by 0.69 per cent, 0.44 per cent, 2.39 per cent, 0.37 per cent, 1.08 per cent and 0.25 per cent respectively while the NGX ASeM index closed flat.

PRICES FOR SECURITIES TRADED ASOF AUGUST/17/23

ELECTRONIC FRAUD FORUM...

L-R: Deputy Managing Director, Wema Bank, Mr. Wole Akinleye; Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol; Managing Director, Fidelity Bank, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; and Director of Payments, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Musa Jimoh, at the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum in Lagos… recently

NCDMB Set to Unveil 17 Firms on AI, Pipeline Monitoring, Others from Incubation Programme

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) yesterday, announced plans to unveil 17 new portfolio companies that have passed through its Technology Incubation and Innovation Centre (TIIC).

In a statement in Abuja, the NCDMB noted that the move was in furtherance of its mandate to catalyse research and development as well as support start-ups in the energy industry, noting that this will be done in partnership with Founder Institute (FI).

The launch of the companies to hold in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, it stated, would have in attendance international and local venture capitalists, investors, and product development subject matter experts who might be interested in investing or partnering the new portfolio companies.

NCDMB explained that the unveiling of the new portfolio companies was a major milestone in the board’s Research and Development (R&D) strategy

anchored on commercialisation of research and innovation.

“The exposure given to the founders is anchored on well- tested NCDMB product development framework, which includes product validation, prototype development, field trial, business development, and product deployment.

“The mission of both NCDMB and FI is to empower Nigerian start-ups and entrepreneurs to innovate and scale up their minimum viable products,” it added

Commenting on the initiative, the Executive Secretary NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, explained that the board deploys an end-toend strategy in its projects and does not relent until ideas that it supports are fully deployed, commercialised and begin to solve societal problems.

He noted that some of the solutions proposed by the founders would impact key sectors of the economy beyond the oil and gas sector.

“These are innovative solutions to everyday problems that we face

Onitsha River Port Receives

First Commercial Barges

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

One year after taking over the management of Onitsha River Port, the concessionaires of the port, Universal Elysium Consortium Limited, reached an important milestone with formal receipt of the its first barges at the facility recently.

The epoch-making event happened on the August 16, 2023.

In a statement, the Managing Director of Universal Elysium Consortium Limited, Dr. George Nwangwu, was quoted as stating that the barges were fully handled by the crew of Onitsha River Port.

The barges, which arrived Onitsha Port was a consignment of tiles from Ajaokuta to Onitsha.

It was expected that the arrival of the first barges would herald a weekly occurrence, going forward as there would now be a movement of 600 tons of tiles to Onitsha every week and 600 tons of clay back to Ajaokuta.

He expressed happiness on reaching the important milestone.

According to him, the activity helped take more than 70 trucks off the busy roads, adding that this was only possible and achievable because of the higher water level in the River Niger during the rainy season.

This, he noted, only happens for six months in a year due to the low water levels in the Rive Niger during the dry season.

He, however, pleaded with the federal government to dredge the river channel so that goods would be able to move through the river channel all-year-round as this would have immense benefits to the country.

He paid tribute to the operations team at the port which consists of the supervisors, dockers, crane operators, and forklift operators who really put in immense effort to ensure the operation was seamless and successful.

According to the Onitsha River Port chief executive, the goal of the company is to continue to strive to make the point that ort great despite all the challenges.

in the country. Nigerian youths are innovative and creative. They are looking for a platform they can get and NCDMB will be that platform,” he stressed.

Speaking ahead of the launch, the Director of Planning, Research, and Development, NCDMB, Abdulmalik Halilu, explained that the partnering organisation was engaged by the board in December 2022 as a partner in product development.

Stressing that the programme started with 54 incubates, he further hinted that the collaboration leveraged on FI’s globally recognised Accelerator programme that saw them transit from ideas to business development.

He noted that as part of the programme, the founders underwent mentoring, concept development, and patenting processes, explaining that some of them are currently developing prototypes of their various innovations.

“At the end of the seven months intense tutelage, 17 of the incubates completed the business case development phase and are now positioned to establish start-up companies and attract investors,” the board stressed.

It stated that the incubation process would continue after the launch and would include validation, start-up process, assuring that the board would handhold the companies until

their minimum viable products are introduced in the market and become successful.

The 17 incubates, it stated, represent a spectrum of fields in the energy sector and data management, including renewable energy, geological and geophysical, local materials substitution, health, safety, & environmental, and engineering. “Other areas are technology development, pipeline monitoring systems, Artificial Intelligence,” the board noted.

The structured accelerator programme and the NCDMB incubation programme, it added, have guided incubates to master the art of pitching, understanding market dynamics and customer

insights, practicals, and mentorship.

“The accelerator programme also equipped participants to navigate the entrepreneurial landscape effectively.

“The impending showcase of the 17 incubates bears immense significance for Nigeria's economic trajectory. By nurturing these talents, NCDMB is not only fostering job creation but also cultivating a pool of capable individuals poised to drive growth across various industries.

“The programme also ignites an entrepreneurial and innovative culture, with the potential to propel technological innovation and effect positive social change,” it stated.

Uwaleke: $3bn External Loan Creates Erroneous Impression of Insolvency on CBN

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

A former Commissioner for Finance in Imo State, Prof. Uche Uwaleke has stated that the $3 billion external loans secured for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) creates an erroneous impression of insolvency on the part of the apex bank, and does not represent a positive signal to foreign investors.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, had last week secured a $3 billion Emergency Crude Repayment Loan from the African Export-Import (AFREXIM) Bank.

Uwaleke, in a chat with THISDAY noted that in as much as intervention in the foreign exchange market by the CBN was desirable, a more cost-effective option would have been to use what was left of the nation's external reserves as opposed to taking a loan from Afreximbank or even the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said: "The fact that the $3 billion loan was taken by NNPCL, a company still owned 100 per cent by the federal government with the Ministries of Finance and Petroleum Resources holding 50 per cent share each, makes it more

worrisome.

"By implication, the federal government that is already saddled with huge debt is borrowing to lend to the CBN, when it should have been the other way round.

"Ultimately, this new loan contracted by the NNPCL adds to the growing public debt and may have been contracted at non concessionary terms being an emergency loan."

Uwaleke, who is the Director, Institute of Capital Market Studies, Nasarawa State University, Keffi argued that it was important that Nigerians,

especially the National Assembly, were informed about the terms of the loan and the collateral security involved.

"Without doubt, this $3 billion loan on the balance sheet of NNPCL will make the company less attractive and possibly jeopardise the ongoing plan to private the company by listing it on the Nigerian Exchange.

"May I add that contracting external loans to lend to the CBN creates an erroneous impression of insolvency on the part of the CBN which is not a healthy signal to foreign investors," he said.

Hoodlums Vandalise PHED's Facilities

Worth Millions of Naira on East-West Road

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) company has again lamented loss of millions of naira over recent vandalism that occurred on its ongoing lining facility on Emohua section of the East-West road in Rivers State.

Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Disco, Dr Benson Uwheru, during recent working visits to security agencies within its area of coverage had pleaded for partnership in protection of personnel and assets to enable staff of PHED carry out their duties without intimidation and interference.

Uwheru pointed out that if there was assured security on the staff and the facility, they would have been able to function very well and ensure efficient power supply.

Meanwhile, THISDAY present at the scene of the current attack on the PHED facility along Elele Alimini, Emohua yesterday, observed a huge damage, as over 15 lined poles were destroyed while new cables were looted away. It was also observed that the incident happened while some of the officials of the disco were lining the cables to connect power to communities within areas that have been suffering lack of power supply.

Head, Technical of PHED, Mr.Thomas Otonye, who spoke to THISDAY at the scene of incident, explained that the vandalism took place where the PHED was rehabilitating lines to power communities within the area.

Otonye explained that 16 spans of cable, thousands of metre conductor, pots and the accessories, and channel irons were looted away by the hoodlums.

He said "What happened here is that right in the morning I got a call from my supervisor that is laying poles and cable on this East-West road that the line has been vandalised between

Elele Alimini and Ndele section of the East-West road

"The aim of the lining is to restore power all through Elele-Alimini to Ahoada. And as it stands now since the line has been vandalised, there is going to be delay in restoring power to the point we planned to restore power. "This is about the fifth time they have been vandalised. Prior to this time, vandalism has been occurring between where we have an existing line, because the idea is just to rehabilitate the line. so we have taken note of what we need to put on ground.

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos

TEENS CAREER CONFERENCE ... WAKE UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Again, Falana Calls for Bawa's Release from DSS' Custody

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Rights activist and senior lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has again called on the authorities to let go the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa.

Falana's call was predicated on grounds that the continued

incarceration of Bawa violates his right as well as constitutional provisions.

The suspended anti-graft agency boss has been in custody of the State Security Service shortly after he was suspended and being investigated over alleged breach of the law, in June this year.

Reacting, Falana faulted

AAU Dismisses Five Staff, 21 Others Undergoing Investigation Over Criminal Offenses

The management of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, has dismissed five staff members of the state-owned tertiary institution, with 21 others currently undergoing investigation for various criminal offenses.

A member of the Special Intervention Team (SIT), Mr. Austin Osakue, while submitting the progress report of the SIT to Governor Godwin Obaseki at the Government House, in Benin City, said the staff were dismissed by the Disciplinary Committee of the Institution.

According to a statement, Osakue, who urged the state government to constitute a Governing Council and begin the process of hiring principal officers for the institution, said the work done so far by the SIT would not be appreciated unless the institution reviews its enabling laws. He noted that the institution has keyed into the directive of the Edo State Government as it has commenced the contributory pension scheme which started on August 1, 2023, adding, “All staff in the school that have seven years to leave are exempted from the scheme.”

He further noted, “Edo Health Insurance Scheme is fully operational and running as all the premiums are paid directly to EdoHIS account to ensure accountability, transparency and sustainability. Nine hundred and ninety-eight (998) students have subscribed with over N15 million and 1,800 staff with over N31 million.

“The Institution discovered over 30 cases of AAU students living abroad for not less than two years, writing exams and graduating.

The staff members and Heads of Departments involved have been

handed over to DSS and ICPC for action.

“Over 95 per cent of AAU land mass is ungoverned and the master plan tempered with, we appeal to you to collaborate with the Institution to restore the master plan.”

On his part, the governor said his government was committed to restoring the lost glory of the Institution, preparing the tertiary institution for EdoBEST students who will be ready to gain admission into the school in about five to six years time.

Obaseki further said, “We need to clear this school due to the educational reforms we have embarked on as our EdoBEST students will be ready in about five to six years’ time for the University and can't go into a University whose standard is below where they are coming from.

“Few people have held the Institution to ransom; we are ready to fight and break it. If you are a lecturer and you have examined students and have the results and failed to present it, you should not expect a salary because you have not completed your work and if it is based on that you want to go on strike again, we are ready for you.

“It’s a fight that is necessary to transform this Institution for the students coming. All these reforms and sustainability must be anchored on the new reformed law and we will be presenting the University's new bill to Edo House of Assembly at the end of the month for speedy passage.’'

The governor noted that the search for members of the Governing Council will commence immediately, adding, “We will not want to bring in people into the Governing Council without the law in place.”

Bawa's continued detention pointing out that the secret service by law cannot remand a defendant for more than 56 days cumulatively.

"Sometime last month, I had cause to demand for the immediate release of Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from the custody of the State Security Service.

“In the alternative, I requested the federal government to charge the two detained suspects before a court of competent jurisdiction, if there was evidence that they had committed criminal offences.

"It is public knowledge that Mr. Emefiele was recently charged with illegal possession of firearms before the Lagos

Judicial Division of the Federal High Court.

“Even though he was granted bail, the State Security Service treated the order of the Court with contempt. As the violent invasion of the court coupled with the disobedience of the order of the Court by officials of the State Security Service could not be justified, the federal government decided to withdraw the charge of illegal possession of firearms. The case was accordingly struck out by the court while Mr. Emefiele was charged with grave economic crimes at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT).

"However, in view of the fact that Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa has not been charged with any criminal offence whatsoever, the State Security Service ought to have released him from custody. I am not unaware

of the claim that Mr. Bawa is being detained on the basis of a remand order issued by a Magistrate Court in the Federal Capital Territory. It ought to be pointed out that the remand order has become spent, invalid and illegal as no magistrate has the power under Section 493 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 or Section 35 of the Constitution of Nigeria to authorise the detention of a criminal suspect for 67 days without trial.

"Indeed, under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the cumulative lifespan of a remand order is 56 days.

“Therefore, having exceeded the detention period permitted by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Constitution of Nigeria, the State Security Service should be directed to release Mr.

Abdulrasheed Bawa from illegal custody without any further delay."

He advised that the federal government should ensure that the rights of Messrs Emefiele and Bawa are respected by the State Security Service and the office of the Director of Public Prosecution in the Federal Ministry of Justice, even though the duo had a penchant for disobeying the orders of the courts, when they were in office.

Meanwhile, Falana stated that the plight of both suspects should be a lesson for all public officers in Nigeria who always behave as if there will be no tomorrow.

"However, the government which rules by law is under a legal obligation not to breach the fundamental rights of citizens except in a manner prescribed by the Constitution of Nigeria," he said.

Textile Manufacturers Seek Special Grant from FG to Revive Industry

Bassey Inyang in Calabar

Textile manufacturers in Nigeria are asking for special grant from the federal government so as to revive the country's ailing textile industry.

Pioneer President, Carpet Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Otuekong Udoh, who commented on the current state of the textile industry in the country, said at the moment, over 60, 000 of their workers have lost their jobs, while allied companies, suppliers, distributors, transporters and others have lost their jobs and businesses.

In a statement he made available to journalists in Calabar, Udoh said, to date over 30 textile companies in Nigeria have died, taking toll on the Nigerian economy.

He said that the entire indigenous textile manufacturing companies like Jackson Devos, Aswani and many others have gone aground because of their chief executive roles and fight

for democracy using NADECO as a platform.

Udoh, said the two surviving textile industries are owned by foreigner nationals, which amounts to capital flight.

Udoh, who is the Chairman Jackson Devo's FZE added: "For any economy to grow, the government as a matter of necessity and urgency should bring back the industries which are the backbone of any economy.

"Any country that does not pay great attention to the development of its private sector, which includes the small scale industries, cannot create the required and much desired employment for its citizens.

“This is the fate of Nigeria. The word ‘production’ was like a mantra during the last general elections campaigns.

"Production is the manufacturing of a product to meet the needs of consumers. Any country relying on importation of most products the citizens consume cannot enjoy

a stable economy because of certain economic deficiencies and market forces. “Nigeria continues to be a dumping ground for foreign goods as there is no encouragement from government for manufacturers to step up their game."

He said for more than 30 years, Jackson Devos has been one of the most respected manufacturing companies in Nigeria, adding, “Our product, Crown Carpet, became the leading brand across the country and is still in the market, with our wide range of quality products which our numerous distributors can attest to as we gain better market shares.

“During its heydays, Crown Carpet sold beyond the shores of Nigeria. It was much soughtafter in Ghana and other West African countries.

“About 30 indigenous carpet manufacturing companies in the country have folded up and according to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), there are only two of such

companies still functioning,

“The encouraging market climate buoyed us up to consider immediate expansion to meet consumers need. This was why we decided to take a loan and meet up the financial demands for the expansion,” he added.

He pointed out that Nigeria was trying to encourage the revival of its private sector, especially the present interest shown by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration towards the revival of the manufacturing sector.

“I wish to commend President Tinubu and the government for considering and providing financial support to manufacturers in the country.

“It is a good beginning. I would suggest that the government considers providing special intervention grants to manufacturers, with proper monitoring mechanism to ensure that only companies with requisite structure and infrastructure benefit from such support,” he added.

L-R: Chairman Editorial Board Thisday Newspaper, Segun Adeniyi;Dr Ngozii Azodo; Social Justice Advocate Dorota Oakiey Matuszyk; Chairman UBA, Tony Elumelu Juliet Lamin, Activist and Pastor Eva Azodo at TEENS Career Conference with theme WAKE UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY at RCCG TEAP Zone held yesterday in Abuja

OFFICIAL OPENING OF FUJI: A OPERA LONDON POP UP 2023.…

Edo NMA Suspends Chairman, Deputy, Secretary

Suspended excos kick, allege impersonation

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Edo State Branch has announced it suspension of its chapter Chairman, Dr. Udoka Imoisili; Deputy Chairman, Dr. Okwara Benson; and Secretary, Dr. Collins Otoikhila from the association.

The suspension was contained a communique issued at the business session of the Edo NMA Annual General Meeting (AGN), held at the Doctor's House in Benin City.

The communique which was issued yesterday, noted that the suspension took effect from

August 17, 2023.

The communique signed by the Acting Chairman, Dr. Iluobe Inegbenosun and the Public Relations Officer, Dr. Emeka Okoh PR0, read in part:

“The AGM voted to suspend the trio of Chairman, Deputy Chairman, and Secretary, for refusing to carry out their constitutional duties as demanded by the AGM.

“A secret ballot was held, and 120 members voted to suspend the Chairman, Dr Udoka Imoisili, Deputy Chairman, Dr Benson Okwara, and Secretary, Dr Collins Otoikhila; 3 voted against and 3 abstained.

The meeting continued with

Okebukola Urges Tinubu's Administration to Adhere to Good Governance

Funmi Ogundare

Former Executive Secretary, National Universities

Commission (NUC), Prof. Peter Okebukola, at the weekend, called on the Bola Tinubu-led federal government to ensure good governance that would benefit the masses.

Okebukola, who said this at the 2023 Camp Meeting Musical Concert of the Apostolic Faith Choir and Orchestra, with theme, 'I will Do Marvel', held in Igbesa, Ogun State, expressed optimism that despite the myriads of challenges confronting the country, God could turn things around.

According to him," God can speak through anyone. We believe that God can do marvelous things in terms of saving sick souls and Nigerian leaders would love their neighbors as themselves and governance will soot everybody.

“Yes, we have challenges in Nigeria, Africa and all over the world. God is telling us that he will turn the hearts of our leaders and rejuvenate the land.

"In the next four years, you will see the great things that God will do in Nigeria and we will testify to his goodness."

The District Superintendent of the Apostolic Faith for West

and Central Africa, Rev. Isaac Adigun, called on Nigerians to look up to God for solutions to the many challenges ravaging the country.

He said the two-week camp meeting had recorded many wondrous deliverances in consonance with the theme.

According to him, "the wants, miseries, and seeming barrenness across the land, were products of disobedience to God’s rules and expectations, but God can do marvels and see us out of the mess we have found ourselves.

“We need God to intervene and ensure that the leadership serves the people. That cannot happen unless God help us."

The clergy noted that the concert was organised to reinforce the messages of salvation and deliverance churned out to the congregation during the convention.

“Several battles were won in Bible times through singing and tabling people’s desire before God.”

The Music Director, Timothy Oludotun, noted that the concert with the sub theme, 'Marvelous God' , Nigerians should trust in God despite challenges.

"Things may be very bad in Nigeria now, but if we trust in God, he would do marvel," he stated.

the adjusted and adopted agenda, and the following resolutions were reached

“The Deputy Secretary, Dr Iluobe Inegbenosun should assume office as Ag Chairman, NMA Edo State with immediate effect as prescribed by the Edo NMA R&R and the suspended officers should hand over the association properties in their possession to the Ag Chairman within 48 hours of this meeting.

“Members took cognizance of the fact that all the committees of the association were constituted at a fraudulent and illegal State Executive Council (SEC) meeting where a quorum was not formed and the attendance list was doctored. Therefore, the AGM resolved to dissolve all the committees.”

“The financial report was

prepared by the Suspended Chairman with little or no input from the financial secretary. There were several inconsistencies in the financial report with a total expenditure of fifty-four million, eight hundred and forty-seven thousand and sixty-seven naira, forty-eight kobo (N54,847,067.48) spent under one year without any tangible project and no auditing. The AGM therefore resolved to step down the financial report.

“The AGM expressed its displeasure with the failure of the suspended Chairman, Dr. Udoka Imoisili, for failing to solidarise with ARD members in Edo State during the NARD industrial action. The Ag Chairman assured the AGM that going forward, Edo NMA

will support all her members including the ARD."

Some members of the NMA who spoke to THISDAY on conditions of anonymity, expressed displeasure over the high handedness, autocratic and undemocratic attitude of the suspended Chairman, Imoisili as well as her disregard for the AGM.

“The Chairman disregarded the breach in the Edo NMA Rules and Regulation (R&R).

“We hereby call on the state government, the Nigerian police, DSS, all the bankers of the Edo NMA, and the general public not to deal with the suspended officers anymore pending when they are cleared by the State Disciplinary Committee,” the source said.

Reacting however in a

statement titled: “Impersonation of the Office of Chairman and Secretary of Edo NMA,” signed by Udoka and Collins, the embattled NMA Chairman and Secretary respectively, they accused some members including officers of the Edo NMA of acting a preconceived script with a view to causing chaos and pandemonium in the Association.

“Most galling and disrespectful action by these persons is the impersonation of my office and that of my Secretary by the Deputy Secretary and the PRO, who have been going about falsely parading themselves as Acting Chairman and Acting Secretary with intent to deceive the doctors in Edo state," they stated in the statement.

NDLEA Raids Drug Warehouse in Lagos, Recovers N4.8bn Worth of Opioids

Intercepts $20m counterfeit notes in Abuja

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Multi-billion-naira worth of illicit drugs have been seized at a warehouse tucked in the midst of popular International Trade Fair Complex, Alaba, Ojo area of Lagos by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The spokesman of the antinarcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement yesterday, revealed that the seizure was made on Saturday.

He disclosed that illicit drugs recovered from the warehouse owned by a wanted billionaire drug baron included: 1.4 million pills of tramadol 225mg weighing 826 kilogrammes; 3.2 million pills of codeine with gross weight of 3,360 kilogrammes; and 2,841 cartons of codeine syrup containing 284,100 bottles with 28,410 litres of the psychoactive substance, with a combined street value of over N4.8 billion.

He added that during the operation that lasted hours, a suspect, Paulinus Ojukwu, who is Chief Security Officer to the wanted drug baron that parades

as automobile spare parts dealer, was arrested and now assisting ongoing investigation.

He noted that the latest drug warehouse bust came on the heels of the arrest of a drug baroness, Faith Nwankwo, who was nabbed on 9th August with 2,750,000 pills of tramaking, a brand of tramadol 225mg and 250mg recovered from her residence at House 6, C close, 3rd Avenue, Festac area of Lagos and a warehouse located at Plot 3432 Sola Akinsola Street, Divine Estate, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.

He also revealed that NDLEA operatives last Friday, intercepted $20 million suspected to be counterfeit during a stop and search operation along AbajiLokoja road, within the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the suspected fake money was recovered from a bus coming from Lagos to Abuja, while the 53-year-old driver of the vehicle, Onyebuchi Nlededin was arrested. The previous day, last Thursday, Jude Ndubuisi, 52, was arrested with 2.2 kilogrammes of methamphetamine during a raid operation at Kabusa village, FCT.

He noted that the suspect

was initially arrested with 20.75 kilogrammes cannabis on 7th July 2022 and was on court bail following his ongoing prosecution when he was nabbed for yet another drug crime.

He said another raid of two notorious drug joints within the FCT: Dei Dei and Tora-Bora Hills led to the recovery of 82.8 kilogrammes skunk, 1.8 kilogrammes rohypnol and 1.2 kilogrammes diazepam last Wednesday.

“In Osun, NDLEA operatives in the early hours of Saturday destroyed clusters of cannabis farms measuring about 3.49 hectares (over 7.5 tons) at Mopatedo in Ifedayo local government area of the State.

“Two suspects: Sunday Otogbo, 40, and Peter Makra, 35, were arrested inside the cannabis farms. Additional 30 kilogrammes cannabis weeds and 16.9 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds were also recovered from the farms,” the statement added. He disclosed that at least, three suspects: Ndubuisi Okorie, 44; Ebilima Emmanuel, 38, and Okechukwu Smart, 40, were

arrested in connection with the seizure of 168 kilogrammes cannabis consignment from them when their vehicle was intercepted along Owerri-Onitsha expressway, Imo state on Saturday 19th August. Another shipment of controlled drugs containing 6,000 capsules of tramadol, 1,200 tablets of swinol, 155 bottles of codeine syrup and 20 tabs of Molly was equally seized on the same road on Sunday 13th August while a follow-up operation in Oyigbo area of Port Harcourt, Rivers state led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Remigius Ogechukwu, 33. According to him, while a teenager, Boniface Odinakachukwu, 19, was apprehended with 99.4 kilogrammes skunk at Isikwe Road, Achi in Oji-River local government area, Enugu state last, a wanted teenage bandit, Aliyu Mohammed Altine, 19, was arrested by NDLEA operatives along Illela- Sokoto road with some wraps of skunk last Thursday, with the suspect who is on the wanted list of the police since been transferred to the police in Sokoto state for further investigation.

L-R: Fuji Music Legend, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (K1 De Ultimate); Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Amb. Sarafa Tunji Ishola; Creator ‘FUJI: A Opera, Bobo,’ Omotayo; Fuji Music Artist, Sulaimon Adio Oladele Oyeneye (Atawewe), and Chairman, The Africa Centre, Oba Nsugbe, at the Official Opening of FUJI: A Opera London Pop Up 2023...recently

MEETING AT THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE…

Eno: Why I Shunned Official Jet for Commercial Flights

Okon Bassey in Uyo

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr Umo Eno, has said the reason he rejected the state’s official governor's jet and used the state-

owned commercial airline, Ibom Air, during his recent official engagements outside the state

was to promote the brand. Eno debunked speculations that he travelled with public

New Evidence Shows ‘All Eyes on the Judiciary’ Billboard Secured ARCON’s Clearance

Sunday Ehigiator

New evidence from Intercontinental Marketing and Communication Consortium Ltd, the advertising company in charge of the ‘All Eyes on the Judiciary’ campaign billboard, has revealed that the company obtained all necessary clearance and approval from the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) before setting up across the country

Responding to a query issued to the company by ARCON through a statement, the company also provided an original payment receipt issued to them by APCON in which the sum of N175,000 was paid

on August 8, 2023, for a 10 hours accelerated vetting on a “1x outdoor visual, All eyes on the election tribunal.”

Similarly, a true copy of ARCON ‘Certificate of Approval to Advertise’ obtained by an investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, and shared on his Twitter handle showed that ARCON approved the ‘All Eyes on the Judiciary’ outdoor visual material, medium and concept.

In the response by the Director for the Intercontinental Marketing and Communication Consortium Ltd, Stephen Ogboko, he said, “The truth is that immediately we received the brief for the said campaign, we sent the artwork to Mr Markus Inji Lukman, an ARCON liaison officer, who has helped us vet campaign materials

in the past. Mr Lukman assured us that the material would be approved, as he had seen a similar one.

“We, thereafter, informed him that our client wants the billboard posted on Saturday, August 12. He advised us to pay a fee of one hundred and seventy-five thousand (N175,000) for accelerated vetting. We did the needful and sent the necessary documents to him, and he promised that we would receive our certificate of approval latest on Friday, August 11. (Payment receipt is attached here)

“On Friday the 11th, we called Mr Lukman to inquire about the approval certificate, he informed us that the campaign had been approved and the certificate was on the way. He told us to go

ahead and post the campaign as the approval certificate will get to us on Monday morning.

“As a result of his assurances, we exposed the campaign on Saturday, August 12. We were shocked to receive a call from our security guard on Monday, August 14, informing us that the campaign material was removed by staff of the Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage.

“We are deeply disappointed that this happened and are sorry for any inconvenience it has caused. We would never knowingly do anything to violate the law or the regulations guiding advertising practice, jeopardise our practice license, or bring disaffection to our dear country's judiciary.”

MainOne Hosts 12th African Interconnection Forum in Ghana

Emma Okonji

MainOne, an Equinix Company, is set to host the 12th edition of the African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) in Ghana.

This year's event, which would hold for the second time in Ghana, is scheduled to take place in Accra from August 22nd to 24th, 2023.

AfPIF, an annual event jointly organised by the Internet Society (ISOC) and the African IXP Association (AFIX), is dedicated to fostering interconnection between Internet service providers, content providers, and data centers throughout the African region. It serves as a unique platform for participants to exchange insights, deliberate on emerging trends, and cultivate avenues for collaboration.

AfPIF’s mission is to increase the amount of Internet content and traffic exchanged locally in Africa. This is commonly achieved via Internet exchange points (IXPs) which enable multiple networks to directly interconnect through common infrastructure. The aggregation facilitates large-scale content distribution which improves the speed, cost-effectiveness, and reliability of the Internet. It also reduces the region’s reliance on international intermediaries.

Country Manager of MainOne in Ghana, Emmanuel Kwarteng, expressed enthusiasm about the event.

According to him, "Hosting the peering community in Ghana is a tremendous honour for us at MainOne, and we are excited to welcome participants across Africa and beyond to

the vibrant city of Accra, the gateway to Africa as we call it. This event resonates deeply with our mission to drive digital inclusivity in our region by facilitating the localisation of Africa's internet traffic, which in turn improves the speed of content accessibility, lowers internet access costs and network latency. We look forward to facilitating meaningful discussions and partnerships that will further accelerate Africa's digital transformation."

Executive Director of the African IXP Association, Kyle Spencer, said: "AfPIF holds a unique position as a catalyst for enhancing interconnection and peering across Africa. As we gather in Accra, we renew our commitment to strengthening the digital fabric of our continent. By

encouraging the local exchange of Internet traffic, AfPIF contributes significantly to the growth of the African digital ecosystem, driving economic progress and empowering communities. We look forward to inspiring discussions and collaborative efforts that will drive the realization of a more connected Africa."

The forthcoming AfPIF event promises to be a dynamic and captivating event, featuring a lineup of keynote addresses, panel discussions, technical sessions, and invaluable networking opportunities. Attendees can anticipate gaining profound insights into the most recent industry trends, networking with industry experts, and uncovering opportunities for peering and interconnection within the African landscape.

transport because the immediate past governor, Udom Emmanuel, was in custody of his official jet, describing such as unfounded and baseless.

Fielding questions from journalists at the Victor Attah International Airport shortly on arrival from official engagements in Abuja, the governor said aside promoting the brand, his choice of the state airline also offered him more insights into the operations of the airline.

Eno maintained that his predecessor was not in custody of the official jet, as being insinuated in some quarters. He urged the citizens to desist from maliciously induced and baseless allegations that served no good intent and purpose.

According to him, his position as governor of the state has made him the chief marketing officer of Ibom Air, which is

fully owned by the state.

Eno explained that his decision to travel on board Ibom Air was equally to observe the airline’s standard in service delivery, which he described as spectacular and world-class. He said this was the reason the airline was the most preferred by air travellers in the country.

Eno wondered what the people would say when he would travel in the soon-tobe-launched palliative buses being introduced to cushion the harsh effects of fuel subsidy removal.

"Will the people then turn around to insinuate that the immediate past governor has taken over his official vehicles?” he asked.

He stated that his style of administration was to demystify governance, to enable him connect easily with the ordinary people.

Soludo Issues Certificate of Recognition to Monarchs, Warns Fake Traditional Rulers

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

The Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, on Saturday, at a private ceremony held at the Government House in Awka, issued certificate of recognition to four traditional rulers in the state.

The governor, while issuing the certificates acknowledged that many unauthorised persons in various communities were usurping the positions of traditional rulers and warned that henceforth, people who indulged in such would be sent to jail for six months.

In a press release by his press secretary, Mr Christian Aburime, he listed the traditional rulers, who received their certificates to include Igwe Mkpuorah Ngini of Isuaniocha in Awka North local government; Eze Augustine Nwangwu of Ajali in Orumba North Local Government; Igwe Alexander Azike of Igbo-ukwu;and

Igwe Ikechukwu Ezeofor of Umuona, both in Aguata Local Government Area.

According to him, "Traditional rulers were popularly elected in their communities in accordance with their various constitutions. Any person not recognised by the state government who parades as a monarch in the state would be jailed for six months as prescribed by the law.

"Most communities in Anambra State before now had caretaker committees, which were adversely affecting the interest of a greater number of the people.

"My administration, has conducted no fewer than 110 elections in communities using option A4 system. Anambra State strictly operates under the traditional rulers law. Those carrying themselves as traditional rulers, when they were not recognised by the state must desist from such act or risk six months jail."

L-R: Members of the Special Intervention, Engr. Yusuf Mohammed; Austin Osakwe; Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; members of the SIT: Prof. Esther Ikuoria, and Mrs. Imoh Okundaye, after a meeting, at the Government House, in Benin City .... yesterday

UNVEILING OF 100 MOST NOTABLE PEACE ICONS IN AFRICA...

TMG Frowns at Alleged Attempts By Politicians to Undermine Tribunals’ Cases

Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), has alleged attempts by politicians and some lawyers in their teams to pressurise the judiciary into averting justice at election petition tribunals across the country.

TMG, including other

civil society organisations, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), also described the attempt as an onslaught against the judiciary.

The group said, "If allowed to persist, it would further erode citizens trust in the judicial system to deliver justice, adding

Eight Out of Every 10 Nigerians with Mental Health Problems Not Getting Treatment, Says Don

Ugo

Aliogo

The Associate Professor of Psychiatry, College of Medicine

University of Ibadan, Dr. Jibril

Abdulmalik, has stated that eight out of every 10 Nigerians with a mental health problem are not getting any treatment.

Abdulmalik cited the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2006 survey to have revealed that 80 per cent of Nigerians suffering from mental health were not getting the treatment they needed. He also stated that only two out of 10 were getting any treatment, and people suffering from mental health don't believe it is something to go to hospital as a result they suffer in ignorance, shame, and stigma.

Abdulmalik, disclosed at the 3RD Nigeria Conference on Adolescent AND Youth Health and Development, EKO 2023, said mental health problems in Nigeria have been on the increase over time, adding that in children and young people, there is increasing rates of drug abuse, suicide and suicidal behaviour and dementia associated with the elderly.

He remarked that there have been reports on social media of young people in universities, and even secondary school, who fail WAEC and start drinking insecticide and try to take their own life, adding that these problems were also common in our environment.

He further explained that the major problem in the society was that of ignorance, shame and stigma, stating that so many people who were depressed don't want anybody to hear so that their family would not be labelled as

a family with someone suffering from dementia.

According to him, “So, because of that shame and stigma, many people are suffering in silence and they are not getting the care they need, and that is a major challenge, we have to make progress as a society.

“We need to be able to have a society where there is no stigma and shame. The same way I will not be ashamed to tell you that I have a fracture or Asthma. I should not be ashamed to say I'm depressed or have bipolar disorder.

“So, we need to promote information, and public awareness, until we get to that stage where people are no longer embarrassed to come forward to receive treatment.

“The last thing is also that many people believe that mental illness is a spiritual problem, and it is not a medical problem.

“So, in the middle of the road approach what I appeal for is that we don't say don't pray, but at least go to hospital and take treatment and then support the treatment with prayers, they should not be mutually exclusive.

“We have eight specialist neuro psychiatric hospitals in Nigeria, and two new ones, one in Kano and the other in Ilorin. Then some teaching hospitals and Federal Medical Centres, some of them not all of them, have departments of mental health or psychiatric and not all of them do.

“So, we have less than 300 psychiatrists for a population of 200 million, so that roughly translates to just about one psychiatrist to per 1 million population. So that is another reason why people are not getting the care they need.”

that it's important to protect the judiciary from politics and corrupt politicians.

The group said it was even more disheartening to see that this was happening at a time "when democracy has become more threatened in the West African subregion largely as a result of corrupt actions of some politicians.

They noted that the need to thread even more carefully to ensure the judicial processes to addressing petitions from the 2023 election are seen to be fair

has been disregarded.

TMG said the "revelation on political efforts to subvert justice through bribery to justices and staff of courts as revealed by the Chairperson of the Kano State Election Petition Tribunal is of great worry to every concerned citizen of Nigeria.

"While the action of the Kano State election petition chairperson in coming out to speak out must be commended, one cannot hold back from imagining the amount of corruption that would have already trailed the tribunals

across the country.

"At this point in time, when the outcome of the 2023 election has resulted to unprecedented number of cases before the courts, the judiciary has inevitably been positioned as the last bearer of the light of rule of law and has been left with the task of deepening democracy in Nigeria through fair hearings and impartial judgements.

"While it is important for investigative journalism and civic activism to rise up to protect the judiciary from the corrupt actions

of politicians, it is also crucial for the judiciary to protect itself as an independent arm of government by deploying every available legal provision within it means to ensure it is not allowed to be ridiculed by the politicians.”

According to it, while Nigeria, through its chairmanship of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) has taken upon itself the saddle of restoring democracy to the Republic of Niger, it must be pointed out that charity begins at home.

NAFDAC Gives Conditions to Renew Product Licences for Coys

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has warned food and drug manufacturing companies that it would no longer renew their product licences if they did not have a post-marketing surveillance unit in place.

NAFDAC also said food companies must guard against poorly incinerated cereals that sometimes sneak into the market as unbranded products, thus posing dangers to consumers’ health.

A statement by NAFDAC's Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, quoted Director General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola

Adeyeye as dropping the warning at the Agency’s Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate Stakeholders Engagement with food sector operators in Lagos. Adeyeye also said NAFDAC would no longer accept poorly destroyed expired or stolen products sneaking into the market through scavengers at waste dump site, thereby endangering lives of innocent consumers, particularly, children.

She insisted that, “If a product doesn’t have NAFDAC number, such a product can’t guarantee the safety,” and therefore, urged manufacturers of food products to always be more concerned about their products in the

market by establishing Post Market Surveillance unit in their companies

She recalled that years ago, the agency made Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) mandatory for companies, but compliance had been poor.

"Henceforth, if a company doesn’t have Post Marketing Surveillance or Post Marketing Pharmacovigilance (for drug manufacturing Companies) department, the product will not be renewed.

“We have asked companies to establish PMS department, where they send people out to the market to see what is happening to their products out there. Once

you get an inkling of somebody adulterating your product, you call us because you don’t have power to go with the police. We have the power to go and raid.

"That’s why we need collaboration because we must change our industrial practice. That’s how to get the best out of your trade. Once you tell us, I assure you we will be there in hours in terms of mopping it up and getting the suspect arrested and prosecuted."

Deploring the habit of patronising unbranded cereals in the open market, Adeyeye warned members of the public to stop buying product not certified by NAFDAC.

Ministerial Slots: Ex-lawmaker Renews Call for Additional State in S'East

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

With the South East getting the least number of ministers in the present dispensation, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon Sam Onuigbo, has renewed the call for additional state in the zone.

He made the call while appearing as a guest on Arise TV News programme discussing how the South East Zone has fared so far in the Bola Ahmed Tinubu government.

Onuigbo, who represented Ikwuano/Umuahia North/ Umuahia South federal constituency in the 9th National Assembly, noted that the South East has continued to be a victim of imbalance and unfair treatment.

He said the unsavoury situation was a symptom of a foundational issue relating to the imbalance in the number of states allocated to each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.

The former federal lawmaker

hinged the perceived marginalisation of the South East on a wrong foundation in the polity, which predated the present administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“That wrong foundation," he said, "is that the South East is not supposed to have five states” when other zines have upwards of six states, pointing out that while the North West has seven states and four other regions of the federation have six states each.

Onuigbo argued that this

structural imbalance has already placed the South East on disadvantage position even if the ministerial positions were shared on the basis of the number states in each zone.

"So, even if you are doing a minister per state, South East will still fall short, at least two when compared to the North West. That is something we are going to address in the near future using a constitutional amendment to be able to create a state at least to balance the South East to have six states,” he said.

L-R; Project Coordinator Peace Icons in Africa, Igweshi Augustner; Director of Admin, Mrs. Mariam Yusuf; Project director of Most Notable Peace Icons in Africa,. Amb. Kingsley Amafibe; legal adviser, Thomas Ogbebor; during the unveiling of 100 most notable peace Icons in africa held in Abuja. Recently KINGSLEY ADEBOYE

DEVELOP ONDO INVESTMENT SUMMIT…

L-R: Sales and Marketing Manager, Axxela, Eromonsele Agboighale;Acting Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and Chief Operating Officer, Axxela, Kehinde Alabi, during the Develop Ondo 2.0 Investment Summit, held in Akure, Ondo State.... recently

Ministry of Gas Resources, Marine and Blue Economy,

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, has stated that the new Gas Resources, Marine and Blue Economy Ministries, are threats to the Nigerian environment.

The renowned environmentalist

expressed doubt on the future of the Nigerian environment, people, and economy with the president as Minister of the twin petroleum ministries, and with the creation of a Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

He said the three ministries will pose unique problems for the aquatic ecosystems and will

Shagari’s Defections of No Consequence, Says Sokoto PDP

Onuminya Innocent inSokoto

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sokoto State chapter, has described the defection of the former state Deputy Governor, Mukthar Shagari to the All Progressives Congress (APC), as one that has no consequence on the party’s fortunes.

This was contained in a statement titled: ‘Defection of Shagari of No Consequence’, which was signed by the state Publicity Secretary of the party, Hassan Sanyiinnawal Sahabi, in Sokoto yesterday.

The party said the defection of the former minister of water resources was long expected since he had been bearing a grudge for failing to secure the PDP governorship ticket for the March governorship election.

The statement partly read: “The former deputy governor had thought that the former state Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and the party were going to hand over the governorship ticket of the party in the last election to him on a platter of gold.

Army 4 Special Forces Commander Visits Formations

Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia

The newly deployed Commander of the Nigerian Army 4 Special Forces Command, Doma in Nasarawa State, Major General Hilary Nzan, has begun operational visits to army formations and units under his command.

This was made known over the weekend in a statement that was issued by the Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations of the 4 Special Forces Command, Doma, Major Joseph Afolasade.

Afolasade said: “Major General Hilary Nzan has on July 14, 2023, took over as commander of the 4 Special Forces from Major General Owyinka Soyele, who was transferred to the Army Headquarters, Abuja.”

He added that the 4 Special Forces’ commander has visited Wawa Cantonment, Kainji in Niger State where he interacted with personnel from Headquarters of 403 Amphibious Brigade; Headquarters of Army Giwa Project; 221 Tank Battalion and 101 Special Forces Battalion (Rear).

Delta PDP Chieftain Urges Deltans to Be Patient with Oborevwori

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former gubernatorial aspirant of the party, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has called on the people of the state to exercise patience with the state Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, stressing that the governor has a lofty master plan for them.

Onuesoke, at a press conference held yesterday in his office in Warri, reiterated that as Oborevwori took over the mantle of leadership in Delta State, he has outlined his own

Threat to Our Environment, Says HOMEF

worsen the plight of communities whose interests are once more set to be sacrificed.

According to Bassey, the title

Marine and Blue Economy is tautological as the Blue Economy is practicable only in marine or aquatic ecosystems.

He said: “The government may wish to rename the unit as Ministry of Marine Resources. The concept of Blue Economy,

like the Green Economy, is aimed at massive exploitation and commodification of nature with deleterious consequences.

Imo Guber: LP Candidate Alleges Conspiracy against Him

Amby Uneze in Owerri

The Imo State Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the November 11 governorship election, Senator Athan Achonu, has cried out over alleged conspiracy by successive administrations in the state to cripple his investments as a result of his vow to contest for

the governorship position.

Achonu particularly pointed that while a multi-billionaire ultra-modern hotel project he began in Owerri had been halted from completion, his refinery and an industrial park whose license he had secured from the appropriate quarters for construction at Ohaji/Egbema to create jobs and wealth for

the people have been blocked with a road.

Achonu, who spoke to newsmen at his campaign office in Owerri during which he unfolded part of his manifestos, said that he had lost N3 billion he invested in the project with a profit loss of over N9 billion from such unwarranted government policy, saying that “only former Governor Emeka

Ihedioha apologised to me and begged me to complete it before he was ousted from office by the Supreme Court.”

With a slogan “Let’s Take Back Imo,” Achonu, who is a member of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), dismissed the notion that Imo State is a painted sepulchere that is bereft of basic infrastructure and reliable security.

Ministerial Appointment: Abe Congratulates Wike, Fagbemi, Others

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Former governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe, has congratulated the newly appointed ministers and subsequently the assignment

of different portfolios. The former Rivers Southeast Senatorial District Senator, commended the ministers and other appointees by President Bola Tinubu in a statement he posted on his Facebook account.

According to the post, Senator

Abe expressed confidence that the ministers designate were opportune to serve with an outstanding leader who he said is known for his ability to provide clear direction, sufficient resources and precise targets that none can afford to miss.

Abe also congratulated former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, Rivers nominee who has been assigned as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Attorney General and Minister of Justice designate.

NNPP Chairmen Seek Dissolution of Party’s National Working Committee

GbengaSodeindeInAdoEkiti

The leadership crisis rocking the New Nigerian People Party (NNDP) took a new dimension yesterday following demand by 10 states chairmen for the dissolution of the National Working Committee, (NWC)

The state chairmen, who passed

a vote of no confidence on the members of the Abba Kawu-led NWC, said they rejected their leadership because they had failed in managing the affairs of the party.

The state chairmen include that of Ekiti, Enugu, Rivers, Zamfara, Kastina, Kaduna, Niger among others.

Addressing newsmen in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, the spokesperson of the forum of state chairmen of NNPP across the 36 state of the federation and Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Dada Olayinka Olabode, said the NWC illegally ordered the dissolution the state, local government ward executives of the

party in 10 state of the federation. Olabode, who is the Ekiti state chairman of the party (NNPP) also alleged that Kwakwaso was engaging anti-party activities stemming from his unholy romance with the then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Benue Pharmaceutical Firm Unveiled to Tackle Fake Drug Menace

GeorgeOkohinMakurdi

A pharmaceutical company, Vincal Pharmaceutical Company, has ventured into the Nigerian drug manufacturing business, to address the menace of counterfeit medications.

The company, which is located in Benue State and a first-of-its-kind in

agenda which seems intent on building on the gains of the SMART agenda in order to give Deltans MORE in terms of socio-economic development.

The PDP chieftain recalled that the governor made his point clearly in his inaugural address where he noted that he represents consolidation and advancement “because he is continuing from where the previous government stopped, and advancement because he is advancing Delta State to greater heights, which include economic growth, human capital development, infrastructure renewal, peace and security.”

the middle belt part of the country, was unveiled by the state Governor, Hyacinth Alia, yesterday.

The Founder of Vincal Pharmaceuticals, Emmanuel Otobo Idoko, said he was motivated to set up the drug manufacturing company to contribute to the growth and health of society.

He said the company has secured all the necessary approvals from NAFDAC and has so far started manufacturing nine drugs in the syrup form.

Idoko warned that fake drug was ravaging society, saying drugs from the company have passed all necessary test and certification.

The chief executive officer of the company said: “Due to the lack of drug manufacturing factories in the state many drug dealers from elsewhere have taken advantage and are dumping cheap and recycled drugs on the state, which is causing illness such as liver and kidney damage.”

Group Tasks Varsities, Others to Save Female Students from Sexual Harassment

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

As part of efforts to save female students from incessant sexual harassment by their lecturers, an NGO, the Nigeria Feminist Forum (NFF) has tasked universities and other institutions of higher learning to prioritise the safety of

their female students and staff. This was contained in a press statement the Media Officer of NFF, Ms. Ada Eze, made available in Lokoja at weekend.

The NFF has consistently condemned sexual harassment in higher institutions and called for comprehensive policy

implementation to address the malaise.

It stated that it is deeply troubled by the recent allegations of sexual harassment against Professor Cyril Ndifon of the University of Calabar, Cross River State.

“We strongly condemn any

form of sexual harassment and stand in solidarity with the brave female students who have come forward to voice their experiences.

“The suspension of Mr. Ndifon from his position as dean of the Faculty of Law is a necessary step towards addressing the serious allegations against him.

Army Probes Alleged Killing of Driver by ‘Military Officers’

The Nigerian Army said it has commenced investigation into an alleged killing of a Lagos-based driver simply known as Lawal. Lawal was allegedly killed by some persons in military uniform on August 17, 2023. This was contained in

a statement yesterday by Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Ayeni, acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 81 Division.

Channels TV reported that the Army said though information into the allegation

was still scanty, noting that it was “appropriate to bring the occurrence to public notice and the steps taken to identify the alleged persons in military uniform, believed to be soldiers, and bring them to justice, if truly they are serving soldiers.”

“The Division is currently carrying out investigation in conjunction with the Nigerian Police Lagos State Command to unravel the identity of the alleged suspects and the circumstances surrounding the alleged unfortunate incident.

NEW MINISTERS, CHECK OLD TEMPLATES

better than most other people in Nigeria. He also arrives the Finance Ministry at an opportune time. Last month alone, two trillion naira poured into the Federation Account, three times more than previous, on account of removal of subsidy on petroleum products. Edun’s other portfolio, Coordinating Minister of the Economy, is much less enviable. The N500 billion palliative fund disbursed to states and FCT is already generating controversy. N5billion is hardly enough for any state, and at the minimum, politics will creep into the sharing formula. A governor arrives from Abuja with N5 billion for distribution to poverty-stricken persons, and you expect his party members to allow him to use a non-partisan, so-called Social Register of Poor and Vulnerable Households?

Even though NNPC Ltd has borrowed $3 billion to ameliorate the naira’s dizzying race to N1000 to the dollar, one top economist has said $15 billion is needed in the next six months, otherwise the naira will resume its pell mell race to 1,000. Besides, two major factors that could throw a monkey wrench in Mr. Edun’s economic calculations are beyond his control, namely crude oil production levels and international oil prices. More immediately, he may have to find many billions to finance a military operation in Niger Republic.

The former governor of my native Kebbi State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, will take charge of Budget and National Planning from this morning. Unlike in the US, for example, where, once passed into law and signed by the president, every single item in the budget has the force of law, in Nigeria the budget is at best a

guideline and at worst a nuisance. The US Treasury must finance every budgeted item, if necessary by borrowing, but here we hear that some projects are “not cash-backed.” Bagudu’s first task is to ensure that budgets are realistic and are implemented 100 percent, not 35% as is often the case here. As for national planning, could we kindly continue where the First, Second and Third National Development Plans stopped in 1980? I know that only a military government could make all three tiers of government to key into the same national plan, but at least Federal Government could adopt its own plan and encourage the states to key in, instead of governors unleashing projects according to political whims.

Senator Abubakar Kyari takes off as Minister of Agriculture and Food Security this morning at a time when many people are complaining about food price and lack of availability. Sure, he cannot grow enough food this year for all of us to eat; only Jesus Christ could split one loaf of bread to feed 5,000 people. Maybe it is beyond Kyari’s power to ensure food security this year, but he needs a clear plan to accelerate food production by the next rainy season through the widespread adoption of simple technology. An Israeli agricultural scientist one visited my office in Kaduna and asked me why tomato here is cheap during the dry season and very costly during the rainy season. I answered that tomato grows best during the dry season. To which he said, “No! You Nigerians, you don’t know how to farm! Just remove the humidity!” Imagine my hurt pride, to hear that an African does not know how to farm when

SAVING THE NAIRA AND OURSELVES

In 2010, 1 USD was exchanged for about N150 officially but not at the notorious black market. In the 2010s, the Naira experienced several devaluations partly due to oil price volatility and economic challenges. By 2020, 1 USD exchanged for about N360 at the official window.

In recent years, the Naira has continued to face challenges related to external factors. These include fluctuations in oil prices and the global economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few days ago, the Naira fell to an all-time low against the USD by exchanging between about N890-N930 to 1 USD.

Although I am not an economist, I will attempt a commonsensical interpretation and critical analysis of the continuous erosion of the Naira value and share some multidisciplinary perspective to the issue. First, let us examine the basics. The exchange rate is a function of factors. It is primarily the demand and supply of forex. The current crisis is principally one of supply. Our forex supply includes oil sale receipts, diaspora remittances and non-oil export proceeds. Oil receipts that depend on international prices have been hampered by factors like oil theft, invoicing and massive corruption in handling government revenue. We export little or no finished goods, given our low manufacturing base.

Our second source of forex is Diaspora remittances. These have been consistent at about $25bn annually. Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) bring in forex, but these have fallen significantly in recent years. Foreign loans are another source of forex into Nigeria. However, with Nigeria borrowing a lot recently for various projects and stabilising the economy the appetite for foreign loans is low. These sources, put together, are not enough to meet our massive demand for forex.

The demand side of this crisis is potent. Many factors

fuel this considerable demand. The first is that successive poor management of our economy has eroded confidence in the local currency. Nigerians now price goods and services in USD and prefer to hold value in dollars. In addition, the US is the unscripted 'official' currency of Nigeria's vast underground corruption economy. These illicit transactions are of such huge volume that they heavily pressure available dollar cash supplies. It is an open secret that some political payments made during the last election were made in USD, thus creating a scarcity of USD during the election season. Those who got these payments saved the excess in USD, thereby starving the market of Dollar cash.

For a predominantly import-dependent economy, legitimate import transactions take the form of the import of raw materials, finished goods, invisible and other services. For a population of over 220 million people, legitimate forex transactions are enough to put massive pressure on our external reserves. Those reserves have incidentally been heavily depleted by the recklessness of the managers of the economy in our recent past who used part of our reserves to hedge against external loans. The alarming reality therefrom is this. Of an advertised foreign reserve of $38bn, only about $18 bn is unencumbered.

Another point to consider in this demand problem is this. It is made worse by the activities of currency speculators taking advantage of the limited quantity of USD in the system to cause havoc to an already stretched and volatile forex regime. Little wonder the forex crisis was exacerbated with the recent addition of oil subsidy removal and Naira floating policies. Although these policies are good economic policies, their fallout has negatively impacted the forex situation. The merged exchange rate regime converges all forex demand around the parallel

my ancestors had been farmers for 5,000 years! But that Jew told the truth.

New Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu must have once thought that no figures in Nigeria could be more complicated than those of Central Bank, where he was Deputy Governor. He reckoned wrongly. As soon as he arrives at his new desk this afternoon, he will find that NEPA figures from meters to estimated billing, distribution lines, transformers, sub stations, transmission lines, generating stations to gas pipelines are much more intricate than unaudited CBN accounts. Where should he even start from? Sure Mr. Adelabu has capacity, but even though few people in Nigeria have more technocratic capacity than Babatunde Fashola, he left the power sector after four years more or less as he met it. It reminds me of a Military Governor in the 1980s who said he was leaving the state treasury as he met it, i.e. empty.

Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar arrives at his new desk in the Foreign Ministry at an inopportune time. Deeply intellectual and very measured, he is just leaving his ambassador’s desk in Germany, where everything is as precise as a Mercedes car engine, to wade straight into the ECOWAS/Niger quagmire situation. Nigeria has not had a major crisis with a neighbour since Bakassi, and to a lesser extent since President Obasanjo closed our border with Benin Republic until it handed over the cross-border robbery kingpin Hammani Tidjani. Maybe after the Niger crisis fizzles out, Tuggar will pick up from where his predecessors Prof Ibrahim Gambari’s “concentric circles in foreign policy” and Prof Bolaji Akinyemi’s “concert of medium powers” stopped and evolve his own, perhaps

market rate and this has remained volatile ever since the policy was implemented. The official market has little or no Dollars to offer hence the recent recourse to an Afrexim bank facility of $3bn to shore up the declining Naira and throw a lifeline to the economy. Even with liquidity in the official market, dealing with forex transactions is still very slow. Banks take weeks or sometimes months before consummating a forex transaction for most Nigerians. Most instant forex demand is in cash at the parallel market rate. This has kept the black market as active as ever, although one aim of floating the Naira is to eliminate the menace of the black market in the forex ecosystem. These failures have kept away some foreign and local investors with forex and made others reluctant to invest. Besides, oil importers need forex at the current rate to sustain imports.

Other psychosocial factors are enabling the Naira crisis and must be addressed. First, Nigerians have an excessive love for foreign goods and services. Related to it is the fact that we are not producing enough locally and our export is far lower than our import.

Second, our dependence on crude oil for decades has been our bane. Thus, fluctuations in crude oil prices in the international market have continued to keep the Naira very unstable. In relation, there is a nexus between the instability of the Naira, the massive corruption among the elites and concomitant misplaced priorities of the governing class. The opportunity costs of stolen funds are the lost structures and systems of production that Nigeria badly needs now to be productive. We have lost decades that we would have built capacity, created the much-needed physical and knowledge infrastructure and laid the foundation for an industrialised society. We have focused on survival and curbing poverty instead of

WHY SUPPORT OF ALL NIGERIANS MATTER TO THE MILITARY

Similarly, In a report by RAND titled, ‘American Public Support for U.S. Military Operations from Mogadishu to Baghdad,’ written for The Arroyo Centre by Eric V. Larson and Bogdan Savych, it was observed that following the change of United States’ objectives in Somalia in May 1993 (from providing a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations to engaging in nation building) and the subsequent deterioration in the situation, the importance of the objectives and the prospects for success declined for most, even as the costs increased.

The result was very high sensitivity to costs in Somalia, and a general desire by the American public to abandon the mission and return home. At the end, it was one of America’s worst expeditionary escapades.

The lack of empathy and support for the AFN is further compounded by the enemy’s skilled utilization of the social media to its advantage, with unsuspecting Nigeria’s social media buffs serving as willing tools for the spread of their ideologies. A case in point was the recent video uploaded and circulated on social media platforms which depicted the wreckage of the crashed MI-171 Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter and bodies the victims at Chukuba Village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

Sadly, the video has so far received nearly a million views and over 50,000 shares on both X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube combined, after social media buffs aided and abetted the uncontrolled sharing and spreading of the propaganda orchestrated by the terrorists.

Indeed, the social media, once a medium of personal connection, commerce and trade, has since morphed into a battlefield where information has become weaponized. Gone were the days when winning wars was a matter of finding and neutralizing an adversary’s centre of gravity through aerial bombardments of critical infrastructures and propagandas using radios and leaflets drops.

The social media has since changed that narrative and all it takes is a smart phone and some idle seconds, and anybody can do it. In their book, LikeWar: The Weaponization of the Social Media, Peter Singer and Emerson Brooking aptly captured the existential threat that social media poses to national security when they noted thus, “Social media has created a new environment for conflict.

It has transformed the speed, spread, and accessibility of information, changing the very nature of secrecy. Yet, while the truth is more widely available than ever before, it can be buried in a sea of “likes” and lies.” This is why its influence over the Nigerian internet space has become a matter of national concern.

As ragtag as they may look, the ability of terrorist groups operating in Northeast and Northwest Nigeria to weaponize the social media to their advantage calls for concern by all Nigerians. Even more disturbing is the unfortunate enabling attitude of some Nigerians who swallow the bait of propagating their propagandist strategies, knowingly and unknowingly, without recourse to Nigeria’s overall national security imperatives.

But why is public support such a big deal to the AFN?

Here are a few crucial reasons:

In their everyday lives, members of the AFN make sacrifices that can often go unnoticed by the public–be it the challenges of routine duties; the struggles of their

spouses looking for another job after relocating to a new unit; or even a child adjusting to a new school and new friends.

Members of the AFN and their families selflessly do whatever it takes to serve and protect the nation, including months or years spent apart from loved ones, families divided by distance and deployment to conflict zones; spouses giving birth alone in a hospital room, with no spouse there to support them; and most importantly, making the ultimate sacrifice like laying down their lives on the frontlines for the safety of all Nigerians.

Members of the AFN are also ordinary people doing extraordinary things. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, NAF aircraft were used to ferry drugs and relief materials within Nigeria and to other West African Countries. NAF aircraft also came in handy in transporting relief materials to flooded areas in Enugu and Bayelsa States in 2022. Military doctors were also on hand recently to fill the void left by striking health workers recently.

Additionally, members of the AFN are often the first to respond to conflicts overseas, leaving behind their loved ones at a moment’s notice to head into harm’s way. So, it’s only right to be there for them as well.

Members of the AFN are a force for good in the world, which is why it is crucial for all Nigerians to stand behind them. From the battlefields of the Congo and Burma (now Myanmar) to the front lines of Liberia and Sierra Leone, members of the AFN have been contributing to world peace for decades. In recent memory, they have been at the forefront of ensuring regional stability in The Gambia as well as the fight against terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria.

Military life can take its toll on members of the AFN and their families. For example, their spouses can often struggle to find their place in a new unit because they have moved so frequently and are isolated from their support networks-in addition to perhaps having difficulty finding a new job. And if a soldier or an airman is weighed down by stress at the front lines or concerned about their struggling family back home, it can be more difficult for them to concentrate on the assigned task.

With mental health being a serious issue among troops these days, addressing these morale and mental wellness

“zero tolerance to coups” foreign policy.

Expect the biggest fireworks at the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory. For eight years under the steady and very cool hands of Mohammed Musa Bello, there was neither scandal nor much controversy at MFCT. Things are about to change from this morning with the coming of Barrister Nyesom Wike. There are more on-going projects in Abuja than probably anywhere else in Nigeria, so “Mr. Projects” will visit them with the force of a hurricane. Wike must engage Abuja’s highway contractors in Roforofo fights for delaying projects; dance his way into Abuja’s open spaces, since converted to drinking joints; chase street beggars, hawkers and motorcyclists that creep back into the city at the earliest opportunity; storm into houses all over FCT left unoccupied for years; lie in ambush for thieves who steal Abuja’s drain covers; and Wike must also chase taxi drivers who believe that Abuja’s numerous recently installed traffic lights are meant for private vehicles, not taxis.

If it is dressing down a traditional ruler who was nodding his head as the governor spoke, Minister Wike will have plenty of nodding heads in Abuja to dress down. And if it is dressing down military delegations and accusing them of oil theft, Defence Headquarters is only two kilometers away from Wike’s new office. Abuja’s greedy estate agents are already casing joints such as PDP’s uncompleted headquarters building; its current office at Wadata Plaza; Atiku Abubakar’s house; Iorchia Ayu’s abode and Rotimi Amaechi’s residence, saying they are marked for immediate C of O revocation, followed by instant demolition.

productivity, innovation and growth which will eliminate poverty. We have been driving looking through the rear view mirror instead of looking forward to creating an industrialised society.

Third, the perception of our country at home and on the global scene is abysmal. Whilst most Nigerians in Diaspora are making great strides, news from Nigeria itself is depressing. We are battling with everything negative anyone can think of. Sadly, it seems we have accepted these things as the norm.

The current forex crisis and fall in the exchange value of the Naira resulted from a combination of all these factors. The task before the government then is to isolate and deal with these factors as clear and present economic challenges, each requiring informed tackling.

Addressing financial challenges and preventing a collapse of the Naira is a complex process that involves multiple factors. The success of any panoply of measures to tackle the erosion of the value of the Naira also depends on a number of factors . Starting point , the government should do some of the following: implement some Monetary Policy adjustments; Currency Stabilisation by intervening in the forex market; Fiscal Policy Reforms; Structural Reforms such as reducing corruption and promoting economic diversification; seek external assistance from international financial institutions; promoting export and reducing imports; enhancing Investor Confidence; providing transparent economic policies and strong governance, making stringent efforts to attract foreign investment; giving out clear communication about the steps being taken to address the situation; and tackle speculative activities in the forex market. The war to save the Naira from collapse is our collective responsibility. We must all come together to fight to save our Naira.

issues through the show of love and care by others is imperative.

Something as easy as thanking members of the AFN for their services or acknowledging the immense challenges of life as a military spouse can have a positive impact on the military community.

By bridging that divide between civilians and the AFN, Nigerians can show members of the AFN that the sacrifices they make on their behalf is valued and appreciated, thus boosting their morale and preparing them for yet another day in the battle front.

In the USA, an organization known as the United Service Organization (USO) stands at the forefront of strengthening America’s military service members by keeping them connected to their families, home and Country. The USO is a private organization established in 1941 and funded through the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations and powered by volunteers to accomplish its mission of connecting military families.

Till date, the USO continuously adapt to the needs of U.S military personnel, while enabling them to focus on their assigned roles. A similar organization in Nigeria with comparable functions would no doubt go a long way in enhancing the support to the AFN as they face, frontally, the task of keeping Nigerians safe. Imagine such an organization reaching out to the families of the 23 soldiers and airmen that died in the ill-fated MI-171E aircraft at Chukuba in Niger State.

Imagine such an organization offering educational scholarships to the widows and children of the deceased soldiers and airmen. Just imagine. It is however heartwarming to see State Governors like Professor Babagana Zulum of Borno State donating the sum of N10 Million Naira to troops of Operation Hadin Kai recently injured during an operation. At the presentation of the Cheque, Professor Zulum expressed his commitment towards supporting and complementing the efforts of the Federal Government in providing logistics support and improving the welfare of soldiers. That is the way to go.

*Gabkwet, an Air Commodore, is the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force.

Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar

Enyimba, Remo in Shaky CAF Champions League Opening Games

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Nwankwo Kanu’s tenure as Enyimba FC Chairman, began on a shaky start yesterday as the two-time champions lost 4-3 against Libya’s Al Ahli Benghazi in

the qualification round of the CAF Champions League on Sunday evening.

The People’s Elephant conceded some outrageous goals away against the Libyan team, thereby creating the impression

that they are not likely to make any appreciable impact in the continent this season.

Finidi George’s wards shot into the lead barely three minutes into the game when Mbaoma Chijioke got on the scorers’ sheet.

Five minutes later, the hosts cancelled Enyimba’s edge. In the heat of trying to restore the lead, Imoh Obot conceded an own goal to give Benghazi advantage. Enyimba again levelled as Eze Ekwutoziam got the second goal

Messi Becomes Most-decorated Footballer of All Time

Lionel Messi was hailed as the "best in the world" as he scored a 10th goal in seven games to help his Inter Miami side to their first trophy.

The 36-year-old Argentinian fired into the top corner from outside the box to give Miami the lead against Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup final and the team’s win makes the Argentine legend the most decorated footballer with his 44th trophy.

Fafa Picault levelled in the second half to send the game to penalties.

Miami sealed a 10-9 shootout win when Drake Callender saved Nashville goalkeeper Elliot Panicco's spot-kick.

Miami had the worst record in Major League Soccer this season before World Cup-winning forward Messi arrived last month alongside former Barcelona team-mates Jordi

Alba and Sergio Busquets.

They are now unbeaten in seven games on their way to winning the Leagues Cup, a tournament featuring MLS and Mexican Liga MX clubs.

It was the club's first trophy since being formed in 2020.

They also have the chance to reach another final when they play Cincinnati in the semi-final of the US Open Cup on Wednesday.

Co-owner David Beckham said the former Barcelona trio were instrumental in the club's change in fortunes: "It is like a movie, you watch these players play and, emotionally, everything about their play is beautiful."

Spain midfielder Busquets added: "The team is growing by leaps and bounds and we are very happy.

"We are making a solid team -

Egbe Congratulates Enoh, Lokpobiri

Stadium facility expert and Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle Group, Ebi Egbe, has congratulated the duo of John Enoh and Heineken Lokpobiri who were last week assigned the portfolios of Sports and Minister of State (Petroleum) respectively.

Egbe in a statement made available to the media in Lagos yesterday said the duo are men who would no doubt deliver on their new assignments.

“I congratulate Lokpobiri and Enoh and wish them well. I am sure they will deliver to the glory of our fatherland,” Egbe stated.

The Bayelsa state born football buff was particularly full of praise for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for making a Niger Delta son the minister of state for petroleum pointing out that it shows that the President has good plans for theHeregion.stressed that Enoh would also deliver in sports given his age, pedigree and antecedents.

“President Tinubu has brought to sports a man that is vibrant. I am confident the new sports minister will perform and take Nigerian sports to greater heights,” Egbe concluded in the statement.

Zenith Bank Women's Basketball League Begins in Jos, PH

All roads lead to the Indoor Sports Hall of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State and the Basketball Facility, Port Harcourt, for the 2023 Zenith Bank Women's Basketball League, Savannah and Atlantic Conference respectively.

Six teams will be competing in the Savannah Conference, while eight teams will be battling in the Atlantic Conference.

Nigeria Customs, Plateau Rocks, Air Warriors, Nasarawa Babes, Nigeria Army and Kada Angels, are the teams competing in the Savannah Conference Phase one starting from Monday, August 21to 27.

In the Atlantic Conference, MFM Basketball Club, First Bank, Sunshine Angels, IGP Queens, Delta Force, Dolphins, Bayelsa Blue Whales and First Deep Waters are the teams fighting for a right to make it to the final in Lagos later in the year.

Air Warriors defeated MFM of Lagos in the last edition of the competition that took place in 2019 with COVID-19 and other unforeseen circumstances stopping

the competition from taking place in the last three years.

Also, there was a change in the venue of the competition as the Nigeria Basketball Federation moved the Atlantic Conference from the initial venue, Akure, Ondo State Sports Complex, to Port Harcourt.

The federation said the venue was changed because the venue needed to be renovated before being put to use.

The NBBF in a letter made available to our correspondent said the conference will now taking place in Port Harcourt will tip off on August 21 and will end on August 28

The second phase of the conference league will take place at the Lafia City Hall, Lafia, Nasarawa State and the Indoor Sports Hall of the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba Delta State from September 18to 24 for the Savannah Conference and Atlantic Conference respectively.

Only four teams will qualify for the National Finals which will see two teams from both conferences converging at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, from October 17 to 21 to determine the 2023 champions.

and then we have Leo, who makes a difference because he's the best in the world."

The win also meant seven-time

Ballon d'Or winner Messi - who was named player of the tournament - has now won 44 trophies, more than any other player.

ON TOP OF THE WORLD...

for the former Nigerian champions. The ding dong game was not over as two more goals by Benghazi ensured that the same Libyan team that Enyimba rode to kick off their Group A 2020/21 CAF Confederation Cup campaign on a flying note got the advantage going into the second leg fixture next week in Aba.

Elsewhere, Nigeria’s other entry in the CAF Champions League, Remo Stars, lost 1-0 to Medeama SC of Ghana also in the preliminary round fixture at the Cape Coast Stadium on Sunday night.

Medeama dominated the first leg encounter and would have scored more goals but for their poorThemarksmanship. home team took the lead through Jonathan Sowah in the 21st minute.

Sowah beat goalkeeper Kayode Bankole with a superb long range shot.

Daniel Ogunmodede’s side will need to score two goals without conceding in the reverse fixture to scale through.

The second leg is slated for the Remo Stars Stadium on Sunday, August 28.

Spain's Carmona Dedicates Winning Goal to Friend’s Late Mother

The message that was written on Olga Carmona's shirt, which she showed as she celebrated her goal against England in the World Cup final, has been revealed.

The Spanish full-back gave her side the lead in the 29th minute of the match after driving forward and placing a shot in the bottom corner of the goal.

As she wheeled away in celebration, the 23-year-old lifted up her shirt to reveal 'Merchi' written on her compression top.

It's now been cleared, via a post on Twitter, that Carmona dedicated her goal to the mother of a friend who had recently passed away.

A report claimed that Carmona explained the reasoning after the game, which Spain clinched 1-0 thanks to her winning goal.

There had been suspicions that the goal was dedicated to her former school - Colegio Mercedes.

In the days leading up to the final, the school posted a message on their Instagram page which wished Carmona good luck for the match.

The Real Madrid star posted a reply in the comments, which read: 'Thank you FAM. Come on Spain'.

Carmona scored the opening goal of the World Cup final in fantastic fashion as she tucked the ball past England's Mary

WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

Earps. England opted to leave Lauren James on the bench

upon her return to the squad, after her red card incident against Nigeria in the last-16.

There had been much debate as to whether James would earn a starting spot in England's line-up upon her return to the squad but Wiegman has thought otherwise.

Clinches IBB Junior Open Golf Championship

Hughes

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Agib Aubrey Hughes over the weekend won the 15th IBB Junior Open Golf Championship with a level par over 54 holes.

The 18-year-old, who finished runner-up last year, led over three days shooting 216 (72,75, 69) enroute to victory.

Over 159 junior players from across the country gathered at IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja for the tournament organised by IBB Lady Golf Section led by Mrs Folashade Olateju.

"It's quite amazing that l won the tournament after finishing as the runner- up last year. I want to thank my parents and my caddy who keeps my company all the time. It was not an easy task leading for three days but I am happy that I emerged the overall

winner," Hughes gushed. David Inalegwu of Goodluck Jonathan Golf Club, Abuja grossed 225 to win the Boys 15-18 age category at the expense of Tony Bala and Nandom Danjuma both of Plateau Golf Academy.

Atang Izang also of Plateau carded 243 to claim the boys 11-14 years age category, beating Unah Ogoh of Otukpo Golf Academy and Destiny Oyero of Ikeja Golf Club.

Grace Agbo, Blessing Adah and Janet Alli ensured that Otukpo Golf Academy swept the stakes in the girls 15-18 years old category.

In the girls 11 -14 years category, Zikachat Daniel of Plateau, Josephine Benjamin of IBB International Golf and Country Club and Janet Onah of Otukpo emerged winners.

Wilson Izang of Plateau, Aboje Alechenu of Otukpo and David

Izang won the Boys 7-10 years category while Omowonuola Olarenwaju of IBB Golf Club, Toluwalashe Balogun of Ikoyi Golf Club and Emmanuella Wesley of IBB Golf Club emerged the winners in the girls category.

The Guest of Honour, the former Corps Marshall FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi, commended the organizers of the event and urged government to invest more in Hesports.said from the evidence gleaned over three days the children exhibited potential which should be properly harnessed.

The Lady Captain, Mrs Olateju said the names of the winners in all categories will be sent to St Andrews, Scotland for proper record.

She also expressed delight that this year's competition was a huge success.

Lionel Messi gets tossed up after leading Inter Miami to beat Nashville SC in the League Cup final

MISSILE UNICEF to Bandits in Nigeria

“We have international laws and also a legal system. Of course, Nigeria has its national laws and these laws have to be applied to prosecute and punish bandits. It scares me that bandits are not taken to courts even though they have been assaulting and killing children and women, abducting and rapping, etc. It scares me that no laws are applied to prosecute and punish them" –United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, urging the Federal Government to prosecute bandits for killing children and women.

MAHMUDJEGA

VIEW FROM THE GALLERY

Each and every one of the 45 ministers that President Bola Tinubu will be swearing in this morning should commence his or her ministerial tenure with a quick study of the ministry’s schedule as outlined in the Federal Government’s Gazette [if they still publish one]; the ministry’s history, if any; its approved budget; and the former minister’s handing over notes. If he or she discovers these to be unpalatable and the hand-over notes paint a dismal picture, a minister could still lobby for a last-minute portfolio switch.

It happened before. In 2011 when President Goodluck Jonathan swore in my late friend Malam Inuwa Abdulkadir as a minister during a Federal Executive Council meeting, protocol officers had already reserved for him the chair vacated by his townsman, the former Sports Minister Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman. The president did not mention any portfolio after the swearing-in. He apparently assumed that Inuwa will go to the Sports Ministry. But then, there was a hurried whisper between the then Minister of Youths, my professional colleague Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, and Jonathan’s Chief of Staff. The COS then went over and whispered something

President Tinubu in the president’s ears. Then, in the open mike, the President said, “Ok, let them switch.” Protocol officers

quickly reseated Inuwa in the Minister of Youths’ chair.

The new Defence Minister, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, is likely to shiver when he reads his predecessor’s handing over notes, beginning from a brief on military customs. Since soldiers are not allowed to sport a beard, except sea-going naval officers, the new minister may be advised to shave off his long white beard. He has two urgent tasks on his plate. One is to avenge for the death in Niger State last week of 36 soldiers in the hands of bandits. As a thorough civilian, Badaru might be tempted to forgive, but soldiers will quickly remind him that when vigilantes killed soldiers in Odi or Zaki Biam, revenge operation was swift and merciless. This time, nothing less than bringing bandit leader Dogo Gide’s head on a clay platter will do. His second urgent task is to wipe the smile off the face of General Abdourahamane Tchiani in fulfillment of ECOWAS Authority’s mandate. As the former overlord of Jigawa State’s Maigatari International Market, I suspect that Badaru must be scratching his head and thinking of the trailer loads of cattle now stranded at the Niger border. Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Mohammed Ali Pate, is world-renown in the field of

DAKUKU PETERSIDE

GUEST COLUMNIST

primary health care. Which is good; was he in Nigeria in the 1980s when then Health Minister Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti unleashed Oral Rehydration Therapy [ORT] and Expanded Program on Immunisation, EPI?

These two rank among the most successful government programs in Nigeria since 1960, for they saved the lives of millions of children. Ali Pate must unroll two or three programs of comparable impact, perhaps to end malaria, maternal mortality and diabetes once and for all.

The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, has already headed Nigeria Law School and Baze University. His inheritance is a difficult one; what can he do about public universities now introducing many fees; ASUU threatening another strike; shortly to be followed by those of other university staff; enforcing standards in dozens of newly licensed private universities; and out-of-school children now estimated to be 20 million, 47 years since the launch of Universal Compulsory Free Primary Education [UPE] and 24 years since its transformation into Universal Basic Education, UBE?

Mr. Wale Edun is thought to know financial matters

Saving the Naira and Ourselves

Indeed Naira, the Nigerian legal tender, has no religion, tribe or tongue. It is common to all of us as Nigerians and foreign nationals whose businesses involve cash exchanges in the Nigerian currency. Anything that happens to the Naira affects everyone who transacts with it.

As is the case with the currencies of other nations, the value of the Naira is not determined by some gods, prayers or incantations. Nor is it by a group of Nigerian eggheads sitting on a round table to apportion value to it. The Naira's volatility, weakness, stability or strength is a function of the economic choices we make and the

GUEST COLUMNIST

forces of demand and supply. Unfortunately, these two factors have combined and conspired against the Naira now more than in the past.

The Naira has witnessed a steady decline since the Federal Government announced the floating of the Naira. It has lost more than 40% value against the US Dollar within two months of implementation of the policy. This is the most significant drop in its history. As expected, the Naira crisis has caused unprecedented economic uncertainty and hardship in the country. Prices of goods and services have gone off the roof. Fuel price has more than doubled and inflation rate

is at an all-time high. Nigerians paying international school fees and medical bills abroad now know that the rich also cry. Everybody in Nigeria is feeling the pinch one way or another.

But the fall of the Naira did not start now. Its tragic history dates to 1983 when it began the nosedive and has not ameliorated till date.

by 1986 when Nigeria implemented a World Bankinduced currency devaluation due to falling oil prices and economic difficulties, the Naira fell to exchanging at about N9 to 1 USD by 1990. The Naira faced further significant devaluation as Nigeria dealt with economic and political instability in the 90s. In the year 2000, 1 USD was exchanged for about N85 at the official window. To stem the decline in its value, the Naira was pegged to the US Dollar for a period; even though removing this peg eventually led to further devaluation.

From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Naira was relatively stable against the US Dollar. However, Nigeria faced economic challenges due to fluctuations in global oil prices and mismanagement of her oil resources. In 1983, 1 USD was exchanged for about 72 kobo. But Continued on page 54

New Ministers, Check Old Templates EDWARD GABKWET

Why Support of All Nigerians Matter to the Military

Anation’s national power comes in both tangible and intangible components. A strong and virile military force is a credible and tangible addition to a nation's power and when combined with intangible components like strong economy and national will, a nation’s national power becomes effective.

The place of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) as a key instrument of national power is cast in stone and cannot be overemphasized. At the international and regional level, it stands tall through its numerous award-winning escapades in the enforcement of peace

and security.

In the past 60 years, the AFN has committed well-over 200,000 troops to various peacekeeping commitments around the world. Back home in Nigeria, it continues to confront the threats posed by terrorists operating in the North as well as other non-state actors operating in other parts of the country.

Through its efforts, several terrorists have been neutralized with over 130,000 surrendering en masse alongside their families. No wonder then that Global Firepower, a statistics-based website tracking defencerelated information of countries worldwide, rated the

AFN as the 4th most powerful military in Africa and 35th in the world.

Despite these efforts and recognition, its abysmal treatment back home by some Nigerians can aptly be described as sad and unfortunate. The support and encouragement it deserve from the Nigerian public after successful operations or whenever it faces fatalities or mishaps is well below expectation unlike what obtains in other climes.

In other countries, public support is a key factor considered before committing troops to combat. Ample evidence also exists to buttress the fact that the public

opinion environment shapes the way military operations are justified and, in some cases, the way they are conducted. This is because the support of the public vis-à-vis the stakes involved as well as the prospects of operational success peaches the ends against the means. The United States of America learnt this the hard way during the Vietnam War as well as in Lebanon and Somalia after unfavourable public support constrained the range of politically acceptable policies for successfully concluding the military operations in these countries.