MONDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 2020

CBN Moves against Banks, Gaming Companies over Unauthorised FX Transfers Places over 38 firms on PND To penalise management of banks Increases target credit facility to N100bn Obinna Chima in Lagos and Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has moved against some banks through which

some gaming companies have been making unauthorised foreign exchange transfers abroad.

Consequently, the apex bank has placed a post-no-

debit (PND) instruction on the bank accounts of 38 companies, including Premier Lotto Limited, SV Gaming Limited, R & S Lotto Limited, over allegations of foreign

exchange manipulation.

Apart from the gaming companies, the CBN, THISDAY learnt, would deal decisively with management of banks found culpable in the shady

transactions.

Already, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), through which about $420 million was reportedly moved abroad without lawful

authority has been queried and asked to explain why disciplinary action, including management change, should Continued on page 9

Fidelity Bank’s Half-year Gross Earnings Hit N106bn... Page 8 Monday 7 September, 2020 Vol 25. No 9282. Price: N250

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Presidency: Economic Challenges Compelled Buhari to Remove Petrol Subsidy Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The presidency yesterday shed more light on the removal of fuel subsidy, which has triggered a continuous increase in the price of the commodity

in tandem with the value of crude oil in the international market.

According to it, but for a myriad of economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, President

Muhammadu Buhari would not have allowed the rise in the pump price of petrol so as to protect the vulnerable.

It stated that history will be kind to the president for summoning the courage to

take such a hard decision that will save Nigeria from economic ruination.

The Buhari administration has come under attack since last week when the pump price of petrol went up again,

rising from N148 per litre to about N162.

The price hike was induced by the jacking up of ex-depot price of petrol from N138 to N151.

Since the current hike

of fuel price was done last week, condemnations had trailed the decision of the Buhari-led federal government from various segments of the Continued on page 9

Security Forces Step up Surveillance in FCT, Others over Terrorists’Threat Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Security agencies have stepped up surveillance of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the two contiguous states of Nasarawa and Kogi to forestall planned attacks by the Boko Haram and Darul Salam.

The security beef-up followed an intelligence report that suspected terrorists were planning a grand offensive on the FCT and the two states.

The Nigeria Customs Service, in a circular signed by Comptroller (Enf HQ), Mr. H. A. Sabo, and dated September 4, had raised the alarm that Boko Haram insurgents had camped in and around the FCT and planning to attack selected targets in the nation's capital.

It had called on Customs personnel to be security conscious all the time.

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), however, reassured the residents of FCT and other adjoining states that the armed forces and other security agencies were on the

red alert to combat crime and ensure effective surveillance.

The FCT Police Command also said it had activated intelligence gathering mechanism and crime-fighting measures to protect lives and property in the FCT. THISDAY gathered at the weekend that massive troop deployment in the affected states, which began last Wednesday, had been intensified while enhanced security cordon was thrown around the nation's capital.

Military checkpoints, jointly manned by police and intelligence officials, were mounted on Keffi, Lokoja-Abuja road up to Gwagwalada and other entry points into the FCT. There was also more deployment of police patrol teams in strategic locations while plain-clothes detectives had been assigned to scan the FCT. A statement by the Defence Headquarters reassured Continued on page 9

NEW KING ASCENDS THRONE...

L-R: National Leader, All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II; and Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abdul-Wasiu Lawal Abisogun II, during the coronation of Oniru in Lagos…yesterday

Benin Monarch’s Peace Deal Threatened as APC, PDP Renew Accusations of Violence... Page 5

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NEWS Benin Monarch’s Peace Deal Threatened as APC, PDP Renew Accusations of Violence

Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike

Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

Okunbo tips Ize-Iyamu to win, says Obaseki not on ground

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The peace deal brokered by the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, between the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, is under threat as the two political parties have renewed their accusations over violence.

The monarch had last week secured a commitment from Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu to stop creating political tension in the state by emulating the example set by former President Goodluck Jonathan and his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015.

However, the peace deal snapped at the weekend with the APC accusing the PDP of attacking its youth leaders pasting campaign posters.

But the PDP has denied the allegation and urged the police to investigate all reported cases of violence as well as to prosecute offenders.

Obaseki's media aide, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, also denied the allegation of renewed violence in the state and accused the APC of desperation to create a sense of violence in the state to achieve some predetermined objectives.

The APC said despite the royal intervention, which had cooled the state’s political temperature, the party’s youth leaders in Ewu, Esan Central LGA of the state, were attacked by suspected agents of the state government.

APC added that the attack has underscored the fact that the PDP was not ready to abide by the peace deal by the monarch.

It said it was not involved in violence because it knew that violence had no place in civilised electioneering of selling programmes and ideas, adding that a popular party and candidate have no cause to resort to violence.

The Chairman of the APC Media Campaign Council, Mr. John Mayaki, in a statement, accused the wife of the deputy governor, Mrs. Mary-Ann Shaibu, of threatening in a video that has gone viral to flog any woman caught associating with a group suspected to be an affiliate of the APC.

He stated that the threat violated the rights of Edo people’s freedom to associate with anyone within the ambits of the law and the recent peace deal by the Oba of Benin.

He said: "The sense of urgency and desperation in the tone of Mrs. Shaibu, who has been making frantic but futile moves to boost the chances of the temporary ruling party, PDP, in Edo North, through a series of meetings with women at different parts of the region, is no doubt as a result of the chill wind reaching her.

"Although women openly support her to enjoy what pleasures they could, she had realised they secretly intended to vote for APC." Mayaki who criticised the deputy governor's wife's "imprudent choice of words," said: "I am not surprised that she is threatening violence. We know that her husband arms thugs. Her imprudent choice of words, though regrettable, is simply a manifestation of what they bring to the table in Edo State. Every step of the campaign, they have brutalised us and unleashed weapons of warfare. But they are making martyrs of us. All we want is good governance in Edo State and now she is threatening to whip us."

However, the National Vice Chairman of APC’s Campaign Council, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, stated that Edo people should be proud that in Oba Ewuare II, the state has a wise, polished, accomplished, visionary leader, who can counsel his subjects and earn the respect of all.

Obahiagbon noted that from the monarch's interaction, it was clear where the violence was coming from, adding that he hopes the other side would take the monarch's wise counsel seriously.

"We have said it before and we are saying it again: we condemn any iota of violence on the campaign stump. We, the Edo APC, absolutely don't need it. Our candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, is popular,� he stated.

However, in a swift reaction to the allegations that the agents of the state government are threatening the peace deal by the monarch, Osagie said the state had remained peaceful since the monarch's intervention.

He said: “The truth is that

there is no violence and it is not true that the agents of the state attacked anybody. But the APC knows that there is no voter that will come out to vote for it. So, they are orchestrating allegation of violence; they want to create a sense of violence and insecurity to cause a scare and achieve any of their three objectives: One is to get the election postponed; two is to get a state of emergency declared in the state, and three is to create voter's apathy. “There is no violence anywhere and even in cases, they wanted to attack us, we ran away because we are waiting for victory in the election.�

The PDP also denied encouraging or taking part in any violence and encouraged the police to investigate all reported cases of shooting and willful damage and prosecute offenders.

The Publicity Secretary of the party in Edo State, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, in a statement given to THISDAY, said the party would continue to seek justice.

He expressed delight that PDP members and property have not been attacked, shot at or vandalised since the intervention of the monarch.

He said: "Our party had not been involved or be an

instigator of any of the violence that led His Majesty to call for the peace meeting. We have been the victims of the violence and this we have chronicled and have published.

"We are cautious to report that our members and their property have not been attacked, shot at, or vandalised since the intervention of His Royal Majesty.

"However, we will continue to seek justice and encourage the police to investigate all reported cases of shooting and willful damage as well as prosecute offenders so that nobody should go with the impression that an amnesty was granted for such a serious breach of the law."

Okunbo Tips Ize-Iyamu to Win, Says Obaseki Not on Ground Meanwhile, prominent businessman, Captain Hosa Okunbo, has tipped the IzeIyamu, to win the Edo State governorship election scheduled for September 19, 2020, saying the incumbent, Obaseki, has failed to deliver on his 2016 electioneering promises. “If the election is free and fair, Pastor Ize-Iyamu, will win with a landslide margin,� he

told journalists in Abuja at the weekend, explaining that information at his disposal shows that Obaseki is not on the ground in the state.

Okunbo, an erstwhile supporter of Obaseki, said he fell out with the governor when it became obvious that he had abandoned all the promises he made to the people in 2016. “Godwin (Obaseki) did not implement the programmes he promised. Most of the projects he talked about are not on the ground,� he said, adding: “he is selling propaganda.�

He said although he still considered the governor as a brother, he had withdrawn his support because he had failed to demonstrate leadership.

According to him, “Obaseki is not a leader, and he lacks the temperament to lead people.

He is deceitful.�

Okunbo pointed at Obaseki’s quarrel with his predecessor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, and 17 members of the House of Assembly as the evidence of his leadership failure. “A governor who could not manage 24 members of his assembly from the same party has failed,� he said, pointing out that even the president had to reach out through the party to establish a cordial relationship with the National Assembly

so that his government could run smoothly.

He said he had pitched his tent with the APC governorship candidate. “I am supporting Osagie (Ize-Iyamu). He has met with me and shown me his vision for farming, which I share. He has shown me his agenda for the future of the state. What caught my fancy in his agenda is his plan for farming because it would create an opportunity for the people and the youths to be engaged,� he said.

Okunbo advised the people to vote wisely in the forthcoming election, admonishing them to ignore financial inducement and listen to their conscience.

He said: “Our people should look and see if their lives have become better in the last four years, and whether Obaseki had done well. If they are happy with him, let them vote for him. If he wins, then we will know that it is the will of the people. But we know that evil cannot surpass good.�

The businessman said, however, that he did not believe that the governor has the capacity to move the state forward. “His government is a government of deceit,� Okunbo said.

HOMAGE TO ROYALTY...

L-R: Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki (left), and the Enogie of Umegbe, His Royal Highness, Anthony Osagie, during the governor’s courtesy visit to the Enogie and other traditional rulers in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State‌weekend

Buhari Leaves for Niger Today for ECOWAS Summit Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari will today leave Abuja for Niamey, the Niger Republic capital, to participate in the 57th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

The one-day summit, according to presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, will deliberate on a special report on COVID-19 to be presented by Buhari as

the ECOWAS Champion on the Fight against COVID-19.

Buhari was appointed as ECOWAS Champion on the Fight against COVID-19 at the Extraordinary Virtual Summit of ECOWAS on April 23.

"As a champion, the Nigerian leader was expected to coordinate the sub-regional response against the pandemic. In furtherance of that objective, under the supervision of the champion, Nigerian ministers of Health,

Aviation and Finance were appointed chairpersons of the Ministerial Coordination Committees on Health; Transport, Logistics and Trade; and Finance, respectively," Shehu stated.

The statement added that the summit would receive special report on ECOWAS single currency programme to be presented by Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.

Bio will present the report in his capacity as the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), along with Ouattara, who chairs the West African Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA).

The statement added that "President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou, will present to the West African leaders, the 2020 Interim Report on

activities of the sub-regional body, including ECOWAS Vision 2050.

"The alarming rise in incidents of terrorism, insurgency, armed banditry and piracy will also come under focus, while the disruption of the democratic process by the military in Mali, will receive further attention.

"Similarly, in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Niger where

parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled for this year, the imperative to strengthen democracy in the sub-region by respecting constitutional provisions, rule of law and outcomes of free and fair polls, will be emphasised.

"President Buhari, who will be accompanied to the summit by ministers and other top government officials, will return to Abuja after the meeting."

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Fidelity Bank’s Half-year Gross Earnings Hit N106bn Goddy Egene Despite the economic challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, Fidelity Bank Plc has sustained the financial performance trajectory of recent years, with another set of impressive financial results.

Details of the bank's audited half-year results for the period ended June 30, 2020, released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the weekend, showed strong growth in profits and other indices.

The bank’s gross earnings increased to N106 billion in the period under review, compared with the N104 billion recorded in the comparable period in 2019.

The bank recorded a surge in profit before tax of N12 billion, up from the N9.8 billion recorded in 2019, which translated to a 22 per cent growth.

Net profit for Fidelity Bank grew by 33 per cent from N8.5 billion to N11.3 billion in the reporting period.

Other indices also showed that the bank’s total assets rose by 13.7 per cent, from N2.1 trillion in 2019, to N2.4 trillion this year, while total deposits rose by 14.8 per cent, from N1.2 trillion to N1.4 trillion during the same period.

Commenting on the results, Fidelity Bank CEO, Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the performance for the period reflected the resilience of the bank’s business model. “Due to the global and domestic headwinds witnessed in H1 2020, we proactively increased our cost of risk as the impact of the pandemic slowed down economic

activities whilst adapting our business model to the new risks and opportunities of the new normal,� he stated.

According to him, Fidelity Bank restated its first half 2019 figures from N15.1 billion to N9.8 billion to reflect the impact of International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) 21- Levies, which was adopted for the first time on the first half 2020 financials. “The key impact of IFRIC 21 was that our 2020 full year, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) cost was recognised 100 per cent in our first half 2020 accounts rather than been amortised over 12 months as was done previously on our financials,� he said.

He added that without implementing IFRIC 21, profit for the period would have been N17.9 billion compared to the N15.1 billion reported in the comparable period in 2019.

Fidelity Bank has been implementing a digital-led retail strategy and digital banking gained further traction during the period with 87.3 per cent of the bank’s customers now transacting on digital platforms.

The figures are up from 82 per cent in 2019 full year, while 51.2 per cent of the bank’s customers are now enrolled on the bank’s mobile/internet banking products. “Though digital banking income dropped by 29.1 per cent due to the downward fee revisions for electronic transactions in line with the new bankers’ tariff, we have continued to receive positive reviews on our digital channels.

IVY, the bank’s chat box is

rated as the clear leader, among virtual assistants in the industry, just as our flagship instant banking product (*770#) was also rated in the top tier category in the recently released 2020 KPMG Digital Channels Scorecard,� he explained.

Retail banking in Fidelity Bank has continued to also deliver impressive results.

Savings deposits in first half of 2020 increased by 32.2 per

cent to N363.9 billion with the bank on course to achieving the seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth in savings.

Its savings deposits accounted for 49.1 per cent of total growth in customer deposits and now represents 25.9 per cent of total deposits, compared to 22.5 per cent in 2019 full year.

In reflection of the bank’s early conservative assessment of the sectors that were affected

by the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank’s non-performing loans (NPL) ratio increased to 4.8 per cent, from 3.3 per cent in full year 2019.

Regulatory ratios, however, remained above the required thresholds with capital adequacy ratio increasing to 18.8 per cent from 18.3 per cent due to the capitalisation of first half 2020 audited profits, while liquidity ratio stood at 32.1 per cent.

Buoyed by the first half-year performance, the bank is optimistic about the remaining part of the year. “We believe the new phase of normalcy will unveil some growth opportunities. We will continue to monitor and pro-actively manage any evolving risks as the Nigerian economy gradually reopens and economic activities pick up in key sectors,� Okonkwo stated.

FIGHTING EROSION...

Secretary to Delta State Government, Mr. Chiedu Ebie (left), and Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Chris Onogba, during the signing of DTS-NEWMAP) contract for gully erosion control measures at Obomkpa/ Nkwu-Uzu erosion sites in Asaba...weekend

Report: FG Risks $2.5bn Litigation Fees FG: We Spent N30bn on over Customs Automation Contract

COVID-19 in Four Months Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The federal government has put the amount spent in battling COVID-19 in the last four months at N30.5 billion.

In a response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Connected Development (CODE), the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Ahmed Idris, said the amount spent was 84 per cent of the N36.3 billion COVID-19 donations received from April to July.

In another letter signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, and CODE Chief Executive Officer, Hamzat Lawal, the two civil society groups asked the accountant-general to give a breakdown of how the money was spent and plans of how the balance will be expended. “We note among others that the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 spent N22 billion and 36 states spent N7 billion to support their COVID-19 initiatives. “We also note that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) spent N877 million for deployment of assets in support of COVID-19 operations; while the Nigeria police spent N500 million on personal protective equipment.

N17,865.09 was paid as bank charges.

“However, we also note that the documents sent to us do not contain other significant details as indicated in our FoI request dated 10 August, 2020, including details and breakdown of the number of Nigerians who directly or indirectly have benefited from the spending, and details on plans to spend the balance of N5.9 billion in the COVID-19 Eradication Support Accounts. “It is refreshing to note that 115 ordinary Nigerians donated between N1 and N100 to support the authorities’ efforts to fight COVID-19, despite the fact that it is the country’s poorest and most disadvantaged sectors of the population that continue to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We welcome your demonstrated commitment to transparency and accountability, and hope other public officials and institutions would emulate and learn from the good example you have shown by honouring and respecting FoI Act as a matter of routine and practice. “We would therefore be grateful to receive more specific details and additional information on the spending of N34.4bn between April and July, and details on plans to spend the balance of the balance of N5.9 billion in the COVID-19 Eradication Support Accounts,� the two groups.

Eromosele Abiodun The federal government is facing the risk of paying $2.5 billion as litigation fees if it goes ahead to implement the recently awarded $3.1billion Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) modernisation contract.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had last Wednesday awarded a $3.1 billion contract for the full automation of the operations of the NCS. According to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, the $3.1 billion project, which will not cost the country a dime, will be concessioned to E. Customs HC Projects Nigeria Limited for a period of 20 years.

She listed sponsors of the project as Bionica Technologies West Africa Limited, and Bargain Securities and Supplies Nigeria Limited.

She also listed the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) as the lead financier and Huawei Technology as a technical service provider.

THISDAY, however, gathered that a recent report by the House of Representatives’ Joint Committee on Finance, Customs and Excise and Public Petitions had warned that the new deal breached an earlier contract with Messrs Adani Mega Systems Limited/ Webb Fontaine consortium.

The House of Representatives Joint Committee report was jointly signed by the Chairman

of the Finance Committee, Hon. James Faleke; Chairman of Public Petitions Committee, Hon. Jerry Aguigbo; Chairman of the Committee on Customs, Hon. Yuguda Kila; Clerk to the Committee on Finance, Mr. Lawali Ibrahim, and Clerk to the Committee on Customs, Mr. Aliyu Maccido.

"We are aware of the Solicitor-General of the Federation’s advice to the Minister of Finance urging her to consider the strength and weakness as well as litigation fees of $2.5 billion and lengthy time frame of embarking on this case and how that may affect the ultimate goal of government for revenue generation The committee stated: "On the other hand, the presidency, through the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, issued a letter dated 17th September 2019 engaging the consortium titled Presidential Initiative on Customs Modernisation to carry out the same project awarded to Messrs Adani Mega Systems Limited/ Webb Fontaine.

"It is the opinion of the committee that the presidency was not duly informed of the existing contract agreement and litigations filed by Messrs Adani Mega Systems Limited/ Webb Fontaine."

The report also noted the ongoing litigation instituted by the consortium earlier given the job in a suit challenging the cancellation.

The suit, which was filed in

December 2018 at the Federal High Court Abuja with suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/850/2017 will likely stall the recent award of the contract to another consortium.

Speaking after last Wednesday’s FEC meeting, Ahmed had said the award of the project, to be delivered by Messrs E. Customs HC Project Limited, would be financed by sponsors “who will in return look over the investment in the concessionary period of 20 years. The project has the potentials to generate up to $176 billion for the country. “So this investment of $3.1 billion is broken down into capital investment of $1.2 million which will be done in three phases over 36 months by these investors and $1.1 million is our projection of the operational cost over the 20-year period of the implementation of this project.�

When contacted, a maritime lawyer, Mr. Emeka Akabogu, faulted the contract, describing it as lacking in legal backing and transparency.

He explained: “When the Federal Executive Council of the country has given a seal to a project such like this, I would assume that it has been given a 360-degree consideration, particularly relating to viability and value for money. There is no doubt that the country needs end-toend customs modernisation, but it must be guided by the very reason for which it is

needed, which is transparency and trade facilitation. “Transparency will determine if the scope of the project justifies the investment. I certainly feel that the stated cost is not just high, it is mind-boggling. Automation will certainly involve new technology and innovation, but it is not rocket science. The project being contemplated will probably incorporate complete automation of data submission and verification processes for cargo clearance in a formalities single window. “For increased assurance, it may be carried on blockchain technology and even involve the deployment of smart contracts.

I absolutely subscribe to it as it will resolve the current issues, which bedevil import clearance efficiency, including extortion by customs and underdeclaration by importers.

But it will not cost $3.1billion and does not need a 20-year concession.�

He noted that the more important element, which no reference was made to, is ensuring that the legal framework to drive the initiative is in place. “Even though Nigeria is a signatory to the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), it is not implementing most of its highlight provisions which could greatly alleviate the challenges in the immediate term and which don’t need expenditure of ridiculous sums to achieve," he added.

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PAGE NINE PRESIDENCY: ECONOMIC CHALLENGES COMPELLED BUHARI TO REMOVE PETROL SUBSIDY society which described the president and his government as insensitive, particularly coming at the time that most Nigerians are facing economic hardship.

Reacting to the criticisms yesterday, the presidency in a statement, said Buhari as a leader had to summon the courage to take difficult and unpopular decisions this time because the country is confronted with economic challenges caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the second time in one week the Buhari administration is speaking on the latest price hike that has triggered a nationwide outrage with threats of a strike by labour unions.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, at a web seminar organised by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), last week had explained that fuel

subsidy constituted a drain on the country’s meagre resources.

She added that Nigeria is going through a difficult economic period because of the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the decisions taken were geared towards weathering the current headwinds posed by the pandemic.

But in the latest defence of the deregulation policy of the administration, the presidency, in the statement signed by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said history would be kind to Buhari because he would go down in history as a leader who contributed to the economy by eliminating the petrol subsidy.

"There is nothing new in the fact that the country is today fighting multiple challenges along with COVID-19, including low earnings, near-collapse of the oil market, floods, threats of terrorism and banditry but

the challenges notwithstanding, a good government must take decisions for people’s good.

"As President Muhammadu Buhari takes these difficult decisions, both popular and unpopular, and as a leader because he is demonstrating the right courage to take such decisions as they become necessary in view of present circumstances.

"History will be kind to President Buhari because in addition to his amazing ability to command votes, he will be remembered as the president who made real contributions to economic and overall national development by eliminating the evils of corruption embedded in subsidies," it said.

The statement said Buhari took a bold step in the overall interest of Nigerians and appealed for understanding of citizens, including members of the opposition.

The statement said Buhari was pushing development goals in this challenging moment, adding that contrary to insinuations by the opposition, history would be fair to him.

"President Buhari has shown a rare determination to carry out the bold initiatives as these ones driven by nothing other than the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In carrying out the reforms, the president needs the support and understanding of all citizens-inclusive of the opposition parties, the labour movement and civil society groups.

"In these challenging times, the president is pushing development goals, not politics and history will judge him in favourable terms rather than his critics in the new media and the opposition," it stated.

The statement said even though the administration had

worked hard to meet the high expectations of the people on it, there yet needed to take tough decisions to put the country on track.

It said successive administrations had mulled the idea of subsidy removal with a view to halting the mismanagement of the country's resources but lacked the courage to push it through.

The presidency, therefore, described the move, along with others, as necessary reforms in contrast to perception by critics that the action is ill-timed and ill-conceived.

"The administration has worked hard to meet many expectations, but still, there are certain tough decisions which had to be taken to put back the country on the path of sustainable development.

"To stop the mismanagement of taxpayers' money, eliminate corruption associated with

subsidies on petroleum products, power, fertiliser among others, the administration took the decision to implement longdelayed reforms, withdraw and allow the market to determine their prices.

"Subsidy removal in these sectors had long been foreseen by successive administrations as game changers in search of solutions to move forward with the nation’s development.

"These are reforms that are necessary and overdue.

Blueprint upon blueprint, timeline upon timeline had come and gone but the courage to take bold decisions was not there.

"Over the last few days, one claim acquiring a potent resonance with the online community, sections of the labour movement and the opposition is that the actions are ill-timed and ill-advised," it said.

mechanism and crime-fighting measures to secure the FCT. It said, in a statement, that the command was also working in synergy with other security agencies in its ongoing effort to strength security in FCT. The command said it was committed to the protection of lives and property and forestall

any act that could lead to a likely security breach.

The statement, signed by Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Anjuguri Manzah, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), urged FCT residents to report any suspicious persons or activities in and around their neighbourhoods at the nearest police station.

SECURITY FORCES STEP UP SURVEILLANCE IN FCT, OTHERS OVER TERRORISTS’ THREAT residents of FCT and other adjoining states that the armed forces and other security agencies were on the red alert to combat crime and ensure effective surveillance of the FCT and other states of the country.

It said: "This is imperative sequel to a purported memorandum from the Nigeria

Customs Service warning its staff on a possible attack on the FCT. The Armed Forces of Nigeria, working together with other security and response agencies particularly the core intelligence agencies, hereby assure the general public that preventive and preemptive intelligence are ongoing.

The general public is thus

advised to go about their lawful businesses undeterred.

"Furthermore, the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies wish to assure the general public that the offensives against the common enemies of this nation will not cease until normalcy is restored in all parts of the country."

The statement signed by the Coordinator of the Directorate of Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, urged the general public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to security agencies.

The FCT Police Command also said it had deployed intelligence gathering

CBN MOVES AGAINST BANKS, GAMING COMPANIES OVER UNAUTHORISED FX TRANSFERS not be taken against it.

THISDAY learnt that there had been a lot of gaming and illegal transfers abroad by the company in collusion with some banks.

The apex bank, it was learnt, has decided to put a stop to the underhand deals in the interest of the economy.

The CBN, in a letter addressed to all banks, dated September 4, 2020, and signed by its Director of Banking Supervision, Mr. Bello Hassan, a copy of which was obtained by THISDAY yesterday, directed that the bank accounts of the 38 banks should be frozen.

The letter stated: “You are hereby required to place the underlisted accounts on PND with immediate effect and revert with the account names, numbers, currencies and balances of all accounts placed on PND.�

With the PND placed on the accounts of the companies, transactions won't be allowed on the accounts.

Other companies, whose accounts were frozen, are Over the Top Entertainment Limited, Beaufortbet Nigeria Limited, TM Gaming Network Limited, Fumsky Bureau De Change, 3D Scanners Bureau De Change, Blue Sleevers Bureau De Change Limited, Maiburgama Bureau De Change Limited, Upront Movers Limited, Pocasharks Ventures, Incel Trading & Supplies Limited and Savvy Corp Limited.

Also on the list are Barkoli Trading Company Limited, Comm. Professional Limited, Blue Wall Nigeria Limited, JNFX International Limited, Suxus General Trading Limited, Escale Oil & Gas Limited, Triune Resources & Energy Limited, Exchange Telecommunications Limited, Vingt Communications Limited, Incel Mega Resources Limited, Camberwell Logistics Limited, Godoni Enterprises Limited, and Crescentpillars Investment Limited.

Others are Carisbrooke Global Enterprises, Nitegale Global Resources Limited, Northline Limited, Befour Energy & Allied Services Limited, Tasmara Integrated Services Limited, Incel Integrated Services Limited, Laketrail Investment Limited, Tamrose Ventures Limited, Roots Mining Company Limited, Rapid International Procurement Limited, and Springcreek Capital Limited.

Shedding more light on the

reason for freezing the bank accounts of the 38 companies, a top CBN official, who pleaded to remain anonymous, accused them of illegal purchase of forex and repatriation of same abroad.

The official said: “To be honest, these are some of the people who have been putting pressure on the black market. They are so many and we are going after them gradually and we would ensure that they face the law. “There is impeccable proof that one of the gaming companies, (name withheld), is suspected to have illegally siphoned over $420 million over a period of 18 months under the pretext of paying for software that can be procured by local software engineers. These funds were illegally transferred to their companies in Mauritius solely for the purposes of money laundering and economic sabotage.�

According to the official, the plan by the CBN is not only to penalise the companies, "but also the banks and their managements that allowed such illegal transfers to go through their systems."

He described the activities of the companies and the banks that enabled them as economic sabotage, money laundering and insider trading, saying CBN will ensure not only prosecution but withdrawal of the licences of those found wanting.

"CBN is going to punish these companies and individuals to serve as a deterrent to others. “Those of them involved in the gaming business, their business is in naira. Some of them would say they are paying for technical services. Assuming they even have the approval to take money out, why are they not in the official market? Why go to the black market? That means there is something illegal they are doing without documentation. “We are accusing them, especially the gaming companies, of money laundering, illegal transfer of forex out of Nigeria.

Most of them open accounts in Mauritius and other safe havens for them to move monies out of Nigeria and then do whatever they like. “Now, they would say they are paying for technical services.

Were those fees authorised officially by the CBN? The sole institution responsible for forex dealing in Nigeria is the

CBN. Did they obtain the CBN’s approval? “They don’t even have the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) approval, even if they say it is for software purchase, as some of them claimed. Indeed, one of them that went to NOTAP, the approval wasn’t granted because the so-called software they claimed they wanted to import can be manufactured locally,� he added.

The official alleged that the companies had contravened the Money Laundering Act, which carries with it stringent penalties that include the withdrawal of their licences and prosecution.

Bank (NMFB) serves as the disbursing financial institution and the fund is meant for SMEs, households and enterprises that have verifiable evidence of livelihood and evidence of business activities adversely impacted by the pandemic.

The scheme is being financed out of the CBN’s N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF).

Out of the fund, the CBN earmarked a maximum facility of up to N25 million for MSMEs while households can access up to N3 million based on the activity, cashflow and industry/ segment size of a beneficiary.

CBN Increases Target Credit Facility to N100m

CBN Raises N250bn for FG’s New Gas Expansion Drive

The CBN has increased its N50 billion Target Credit Facility (TCF) to N100 billion.

The Director, Development Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Yusuf Yila, said at the virtual launch of the first pan-African MSME Academy that the bank had put in place many funding support initiatives to enable micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) survive the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

He added that MSMEs are an important sector, hence the CBN and the Bankers' Committee have put in place combined stimulus packages directed at them.

He urged MSMEs to take advantage of the CBN’s various funding windows to meet the demands of their businesses as the government is striving to revamp the economy through their efforts.

THISDAY had reported that the CBN had disbursed N49 billion out of its initial N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility meant to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 on the economy.

Giving details of the disbursement, CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, had told THISDAY that about 80,000 operators of MSMEs and families had benefitted from the intervention fund.

The apex bank had earlier released guidelines for the disbursement of the special intervention fund.

The NISRAL Microfinance

The apex bank has also raised a financial facility worth N250 billion to support Nigeria’s plan to make gas the first-choice fuel for its domestic economy; powering mostly the transport and manufacturing industries.

A circular titled ‘Framework for the Implementation of Intervention Facility for the National Gas Expansion Programme’ obtained by THISDAY yesterday, contained how the bank will fund the federal government’s new gas utilisation plan.

Amongst its intentions is to see Nigeria leverages the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) to quickly switch to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as fuel for transportation and advance the use of gas for home cooking.

The NGEP was launched recently by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva.

The CBN's intervention will support the growth of domestic gas-based industries such as fertiliser for agriculture and methanol for industrial purposes.

In the circular, the CBN explained that parts of the N250 billion will be administered through the Power and Airlines Intervention Fund (PAIF) for large-scale projects in the value-chain, in line with existing guidelines regulating the PAIF. Its subsidiary, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending

(NIRSAL) Microfinance Bank (NMFB) and other Participating Financial Institution (PFI) under its Agribusiness/Small and Medium and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AgSMEIS) will administer other aspects of the fund, mostly for small-scale operators and retail distributors within the gas value-chain.

The circular said: “With proven gas reserves of 188 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, the natural gas industry presents an opportunity to diversify the economy through domestic commercial utilisation of its (Nigeria) natural gas. “Historical non-viability of domestic commercial production and utilisation of gas continues to severely constrain private investments in the industry.

Consequently, the low level of investment in the industry has resulted in the minimal production and utilisation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as clean alternative sources of domestic energy in Nigeria. “Failure to harness its gas resources has had negative consequences for the country– economic, environmental, fiscal and social, particularly as the industry has the potential to engender rapid growth in Nigeria’s non-oil economy. “To this end, the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) was introduced to make CNG the fuel of choice for transportation and LPG, the fuel of choice for domestic cooking, captive power and small industrial complexes.

Equally, gas-based industries, most especially the petrochemical, are to be enabled to support large industries, such as agriculture, industrial applications, textile and so on. “Therefore, as part of its efforts at stimulating finance to critical sectors of the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduces the N250 billion intervention facility to help stimulate investment in the gas value chain.�

According to CBN, the fund will be administered in collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

It expressed optimism that its implementation will improve access to finance for private sector investments in the domestic gas value chain; stimulate investments in the development of infrastructure to optimise

the domestic gas resources for economic development and fast-track the adoption of CNG and LPG as the fuel of choice in Nigeria’s domestic economy.

It explained that the fund will support the establishment of gas processing plants and smallscale petrochemical plants, gas cylinder manufacturing plants, Liquid to Compressed Natural Gas (L-CNG) regasification modular systems and autogas conversion kits or components manufacturing plants.

It will also fund the establishment of CNG primary and secondary compression stations, manufacturing of LPG retail skid tanks and refilling equipment as well as enhancement of autogas transportation systems, conversion and distribution infrastructure, domestic cylinder production and distribution by cylinder manufacturing plants and LPG wholesale outlets.

According to the CBN, microdistribution outlets and service centres for LPG sales, domestic cylinder injection and exchange will also be funded by the fund to boost LPG adoption, while gas aggregators, manufacturers, processors and wholesale distributors will be eligible to apply to the fund for up to N10 billion per obligor through the PAIF.

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN LAWUNION 0.10 1.13 AXAMANSARD 0.16 1.83 REDSTAR 0.24 3.89 CHAMS PLC 0.01 0.22 LASACO 0.01 0.26 TOP LOSERS NGN INITIATES 0.06 0.63 WAPIC 0.02 0.33 NAHCO 0.10 2.00 MBENEFIT 0.01 0.21 CHAMPBREW 0.03 0.90 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â‚Ś1,175.00 Volume: 419.659 million shares Value: N3.788 billion Deals: 4,152 As at Friday 4/9/2020 See details on Page 37

% 9.7 9.5 6.5 4.7 4.0 % 9.5 5.7 4.7 4.5 3.2

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

P&ID Case: $301m Used for Underhand Dealings, Says Malami Ejiofor Alike The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has alleged that ongoing investigation has revealed that about $301 million was given as underhand dealings to some persons in a bid to hide the illegality of the Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited’s gas supply and processing deal.

Speaking last night on a live television programme, Malami stated that the latest ruling of a court in the United Kingdom, overturning a $9.6 billion judgment awarded against it, is a result of the progress made from the investigation.

TheAGF stated that some principal characters that were investigated have been arraigned and convictions recorded.

He added that within the government, some retired members of staff were alleged to have benefitted from the deal, insisting that the investigation will reveal their level of involvement.

“As much as I wouldn’t want to be pre-emptive, the fact still remains that at the local level, some of the principal characters were being investigated, and some were not only investigated but were arraigned and then there were certain convictions recorded.

“Within the official cycles of government, some have retired,

and they are being alleged to have been involved in underhand dealing as it relates to within the region of $301 million.

“The investigation has re-affirmed the fact that there were certain underhand dealings to the tune of $301 million,” Malami stressed.

The Justice minister added that the federal government is still carrying out more investigations beyond the shores of the country because further findings show that the contract, which was signed in 2010, did not follow due diligence.

“There were arraignments, there were convictions and indeed, monies were established to change hands as a basis for inducement that eventually resulted into compromises on processes, compromises on the procedure and then, failure on the part of the officials of government to do the needful in terms of ensuring that the interest of the nation is protected.

“The due diligence relating to P&ID was not adequately undertaken as at the time of signing the agreement, but arising from the investigation, we have taken time to conduct and expand our investigative capacity to other jurisdiction inclusive of the US and there is nothing establishing greater financial strength capacity on the part of P&ID right from the onset either in Nigeria and the Virgin Island.”

Giving a further breakdown of the contract, Malami maintained

Nigeria’s COVID-19 Cases Cross 55,000 Mark, Rise By 100 Martins Ifijeh

Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases have crossed the 55,000 mark, with the country recording 100 new cases in the last 24 hours.

Announcing this last night, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said Lagos recorded 39 new cases; Federal Capital Territory

(FCT), 22; Kaduna, 19; Oyo, seven; Ebonyi, six; Edo, three, while Katsina, Ekiti, Bauchi and Nasarawa recorded one case each.

It said: “Nigeria has so far recorded 55,005 confirmed cases of COVID-19. 43,013 patients have been discharged, while 1,057 persons have died.”

Gunmen Attack Kaduna Community, Kill Reverend, Two Others Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen yesterday, attacked the Adara community in Buda of Kajuru Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State, killing Reverend Alubara Audu and two others.

The gunmen also abducted five persons in a neighbouring village.

The National President Adara Development Association, Awemi Dio Maisamari, in a statement, lamented over the continued attack on their communities and called on the authorities to deal with the gunmen.

According to Maisamari, “the premeditated and unprovoked attack claimed the lives of three people namely Rev. Alubara Audu, 45; with five children; Adamu Tata, 40; with four children and Ishaku Peter, 37, with five children.

Furthermore, the following persons were abducted: Sani Peter, 25 and Esther Sani Peter, 20.”

“At around the same time, the terrorists also abducted five people from neighboring Kemara Rimi community of Buda Ward. They are: Ojo Aminu, 35; Danfulani Makaranta, 37; Namiji Gwamna, 36; Ali Musa, 36 and Grace Mathew, 16.”

“These callous and barbaric attacks sometimes abate but never really stop in Adara community. On Sunday 16th August, 2020, another fatal attack occurred at Kallah village on the banks of river Kaduna. This resulted in the death of Mr. Danladi Abashi, a 50years old farmer who ventured near the villages that were invaded and are still occupied by Fulani herdsmen in the Kallah/Gefe/Libere area of Kajuru LGA. His body was only recovered with the help of the police because the herdsmen disallowed Adara people from even approaching the occupied enclave.

that the agreement was not allowed to pass through the office of the Attorney General, while associated approvals and permits were not

obtained from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

He stated that the arbitral

proceeding claiming that Nigeria should pay P&ID $6.6 billion as damages, as well as pre- and post-judgment interest

at seven per cent, amounting to $9.6billion judgment plus interest, is a result of fraud and corruption.

SEEKING DIVINE INTERVENTION...

L-R: Senior Pastor, Rock of Ages Christian Assembly, Pastor Charles Osazuwa; Chairman of Media Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Mr. John Mayaki; and the governorship candidate of APC in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, after a Church service at Rock of Ages Christian Assembly, in Edo State...yesterday

Southern Kaduna: Miyetti Allah Resolves to Make Peace with Neighbours The Kaduna State chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has said it has resolved to bury its differences with other tribes and work towards the return of peace in the southern part of the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that MACBAN announced its decision in a communique released at the end of a peace summit in Kafanchan, yesterday.

The communique was jointly

signed by, the MACBAN state chairman, Hassan Tugga; southern Kaduna zonal chairman, Abdulhamid Musa; the zonal secretary, Shuaibu Usman; and the director of media and publicity, Ibrahim Zango.

“We have agreed to revert to our olden days’ relationship with our neighbouring communities in southern Kaduna,” the communique read.

“We have resolved to be our brothers’ keeper henceforth

in order to foster growth and development in the region.

“We call on our people to stop allowing underage children from rearing cattle in order to prevent further destruction of the farm produce within the area.

“In the same vein, we call on farmers to desist from blocking cattle routes both local and international,” it added The association said it would expose all trouble makers and criminals in its midst and make

them face the full wrath of the law.

“We have advised our people to be vigilant and hand over suspected criminals to security agencies that may be found within our communities,” the association said.

“The summit also commended the efforts of security agencies during and after the crisis in maintaining law and order, especially operation safe haven and the police.”

Oshiomhole-led NWC Sacked to End Internal Crisis, APC Tells Court Alex Enumah in Abuja The All Progressives Congress (APC) has told a Federal High Court in Abuja, that the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) was sacked to pave way for an end to the internal leadership crisis that rocked its rank and file.

The APC also told the court that immediately the Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee was put in place after the NWC’s dissolution, the crisis that had characterised its affairs were laid to rest.

The party’s claim is part of its response to the legal action challenging the dissolution of

its NWC. In further reaction to the suit instituted by one of its chieftains, Mr. Kalu Kalu, the party submitted that the present court action challenging the NWC dissolution effected on June 25 was designed to destabilise it.

In a five-paragraph counter affidavit in opposition to the court action, the APC said that by its own constitution the National Executive Committee (NEC) has power to set up any committee, including the current National Caretaker Committee led by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State.

In the counter affidavit deposed to by Mrs. Adenike Adelakun,

APC further said that Buni and other members of its national committee are eminently qualified for their appointment and pleaded with the court to dismiss the suit.

Meanwhile, the plaintiff in the matter has asked the court to order for continued hearing of the substantive suit during the ongoing vacation of the Federal High Court.

Kalu also pleaded with the court for another order abridging the time within which the 14 respondents are to file and serve jointly or severally their counter affidavit and other processes in response to the suit.

His motion filed by Ukpai Ukairo was predicated on

the grounds that his suit is a pre-election case, which ought to be decided within 180 days prescribed by the Constitution.

He claimed that time is of essence and that any delay may cause irreparable damage or serious mischief.

However, counsel to the Caretaker Committee led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in their own counter affidavit claimed that the suit has no particular life span, adding that the subject matter of the suit did not relate to any particular election.

Fagbemi therefore urged the court to decline the request of the plaintiff.

You Are Not Elected to Punish Nigerians, Secondus Tells Buhari Chuks Okocha in Abuja Following the increase in electricity tariffs and the pump price of petrol, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has urged President Mohammadu Buhari and the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to put the fear of God in the management of the affairs of the country, reminding them that they were not voted into power to punish Nigerians.

He also reminded the ruling

party that it is in power to alleviate the sufferings of the people.

The PDP National chairman who spoke yesterday in Abuja at a programme organised by the party, titled, “Super Praise in Acknowledgement of God’s faithfulness to PDP,” called on Buhari to always be humble and have the fear of God in the management of the affairs of Nigeria.

He said, “I call upon the President to be humble and have the fear of God in the management of the affairs of the country. People

are suffering. Be humble; let your government have human face.

You are president to address the sufferings of Nigerians, alleviate the sufferings and not to add to the plights of the people that you were elected to govern.

“Power is ephemeral; it doesn’t last forever. I ask why are leaders so arrogant? Whether it is the APC or the PDP, political office is ephemeral. It does not last forever.

We (PDP) have been there. PDP lost power in 2015. We should bear in mind that a political party or a president is not God.

“Where is the almighty General Sani Abacha today?

Where is Saddam Hussein?

Where is the so- called strong man of Libya, Gaddafi? These are lessons that power is ephemeral and don’t last forever. We should be humble and have the fear of God in whatever we do. People are suffering.

Governance should not be seen as a means to inflict hardship on the people through government policies.

Government must have human face,” Secondus charged.

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍľËœ 2020

COMMENT

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

WHAT DOES THE IGBO WANT?

It is the turn of the Igbos to preside over the aairs of Nigeria in 2023, argues Chiedu Uche Okoye

N

y igeria is a blessed country, what with its abundant human and material resources. Beneath our vast land mass lie such natural resources as bauxite, tin-ore, limestone, crude-oil, and others.

And, one out of every five black persons on earth is a Nigerian. Nigeria ranks as one of the most populous countries in the world.

Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic and linguistic groups. Some of the ethnic and tribal groups that inhabit the geographical space called Nigeria are Efik, Gwari, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa/ Fulani, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Bini, Nupe, Ibibio, Ijaw, and many others.

Nobody can controvert the fact that Nigeria is an ethnically diverse nation.

However, unlike Switzerland and America, which have harnessed and utilized their racial diversities to achieve national development, Nigeria has been bedeviled by ethnic animosity since its inception in 1914. Nigerians owe their loyalty to their ethnic groups rather than to their country. Nigerians’ identification with their diverse ethnic groups is the driving force behind the rise of ethnic nationalism and chauvinism in Nigeria. And our disposition and attitudes to issues affecting Nigeria have continued to weaken our national unity and cohesion.

In Nigeria, people who belong to the Igbo ethnic group stereotype the Yoruba people as foxy, not dependable. And other Nigerians perceive the Igbo people as cut-throat knaves who strive to make money at all costs. More so, the Hausa/ Fulani people feel that when an Igbo man is entrusted with the presidency of Nigeria, he will use the immense political powers at his disposal to cause the disintegration of Nigeria.

A country where people(s) from diverse ethnic backgrounds view one another with utter suspicion cannot achieve national unity. Because we are distrustful of one another, we have been unable to make Nigeria an organic whole (a nation), which will guarantee us peace and unity.

The events of 1966 lend credence to the fact that Nigerians are very suspicious of the deeds and utterances of one another.

When the January 15, 1966 coup happened, Aguiyi Ironsi became the Head of State of Nigeria. However, the coup that brought him to power was tagged an Igbo coup. Consequently, he was brutally killed in the July 1966 counter-coup. Not surprisingly, Nigeria descended into a civil war with the South-east (Igbos) pitted against the rest of the country. The two warring sides were unevenly matched. Consequently, the Igbo people lost the war.

But have the Igbos been truly forgiven for fighting that war?

Have they been truly re-integrated into the Nigerian society?

The answer to this question is a categorical no. Till now, the Igbo people and their property are targets for attacks and destruction when sectarian violence erupts in the north, which has gained notoriety as the epicenter of religious conflicts in Nigeria.

More so, the Igbo people are being marginalized in the scheme of things. They are being discriminated against when it comes to recruitment of personnel for federal establishments. The educational policies regarding admission of pupils into unity schools in

TO ABANDON THE UNWRITTEN PRINCIPLE OF ROTATIONAL PRESIDENCY AT THIS POLITICAL JUNCTURE IN OUR NATIONAL LIFE IS TO COURT TROUBLE AND ROB THE IGBO PEOPLE OF THEIR DESERVED RIGHT

the country are tilted and designed to favour northern people at the expense of the Igbo people. While the federal roads that dot the northern landscape are speedily constructed and rehabilitated, the federal government dilly-dallies on doing the ones in the southeast.

It is these series of wrongs which the Igbo people have been suffering that incensed the Igbo youths and constituted the impulses, which drove them to join secessionist groups. Now, the secessionist rhetoric and sentiments, which are mouthed by the rabble-rouser, Nnamdi Kanu, have found resonance among them. Perhaps, the Igbo agitators for the creation of the sovereign state of Biafra do not really want a geographical space called Biafra. It is likely that they are calling global attention to the marginalization and ill-treatment to which the Igbo people have been subjected since the end of the Nigeria-Biafra war in 1970. They want the Igbo folks to be truly re-admitted and re-integrated into the Nigerian Society.

That’s why Mamman Daura’s call for the jettisoning of the unwritten principle of rotational presidency ruffled some feathers. To abandon the unwritten principle of rotational presidency at this political juncture in our national life is to court trouble and rob the Igbo people of their deserved right to produce a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023. An idiom says this: What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

Since the inception of the fourth republic, two out of the three major ethnic groups that constitute the tripod have taken turns to produce Nigeria’s presidents at different times. But no Igbo person has become the president of Nigeria.

The agitation for the emergence of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction has reached a crescendo. And millions of Igbo people are sympathetic to this noble cause. Even well-meaning non-Igbo people, who have active restrictive mechanism, have acquiesced into the Igbo people’s demand for the presidential seat.

But have the Igbo people held a meeting and reached consensus on the issue of political power at the centre being ceded to the southeast in 2023? The utterances and doings of certain top Igbo politicians and billionaire business men lend credence to the belief that fifth columnists are trying to undermine the efforts of the Igbo people to produce a president of Igbo extraction in 2023.

The discordant note and dissenting opinions emerging from them portray the Igbo people as a disunited people, who have not agreed that they truly want presidential power in 2023.

However, it is obvious that those fifth columnists of Igbo origins are striving to please their Hausa/Fulani masters so as to save their political careers and sources of livelihoods. But the selfish interests of a few Igbo people cannot subvert the collective will of a majority of people, who want Nigeria to become an egalitarian nation-state where peace and unity, justice, fairness, and equity shall continue to reign forever. r0LPZF XSPUF GSPN 6SVPXVMV 0CPTJ "OBNCSB 4UBUF

SALVAGING OUR HOSPITALS

Adewale Kupoluyi writes that the authorities could do more for the health sector

T

lhe precarious situation in our health institutions continues to be a source of worry to all. Before now, stakeholders in the health sector have cried out over the deplorable conditions that have taken a heavy toll on the people seeking medical attention. It is worrisome that virtually all aspects of our national life suffer from one problem or another.

If there is a sector that deserves more attention, the health sector should be topmost in such classification. For it is when the citizens are healthy that the nation can prosper. A sickening citizen cannot contribute meaningfully towards national advancement.

Apart from the several bright minds that the country has lost to brain-drain, the dilapidated health infrastructure has continued to encourage medical tourism in which colossal sums of money are lost to other foreign countries, which the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) puts at about US $1 billion annually and for optimal health care delivery to take root, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a doctor-patient ratio of 1:600 for every country.

Painting a gory picture, NMA warns that if Nigeria decides to graduate 3,000 doctors every year without the doctors leaving the country, it would still take another 25 years to meet the WHO estimate!

What do we witness today in our health institutions? Sad experiences are reported in the media while first-hand accounts were given some friends and a colleague, who lost his wife a few days ago. While the services provided by private clinics and hospitals are fairer, those provided by government clinics, hospitals, and institutions are generally poor. The reason for this can be attributed to the same problems that have marred the management of public facilities and infrastructure in the country. The situations in teaching hospitals tend to be more grievous because specialist hospitals are expected to be properly established, funded, equipped, and staffed with a wide range of consultants and personnel.

Ordinarily, patients are referred to teaching hospitals when their health conditions are not given the required attention by smaller hospitals. Hence, patients are helpless when asked or taken to teaching hospitals where they are made to suffer untold hardship and neglect. As I mentioned above, a colleague lost his wife at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State after being admitted for childbirth.

The excellence that UCH and other leading teaching hospitals across Nigeria are known for appears to be fading-off. In the end, the woman died but the child narrowly survived. Narrating his ordeal, the friend complained that most of the medical workers that attended to them were hostile and treated them with disdain. Not only that, when her sick wife was brought in as an emergency case on a Friday, she was not given appropriate attention till Sunday, and when it was time for payment. He lamented that the hospital insisted that payment must be by cash despite the government’s regulations encouraging on cashless transactions.

The bereaved man recalled that after payments, people were made to go to another section whereby receipts were issued wondering why payments and issuance of receipts cannot be done simultaneously. The other harrowing encounter by the bereaved man was that potable water was not readily available, the buildings were dilapidated, many of the wards looked unkempt, and mosquitoes had a field day biting them. As it is, people are frightened to go to hospitals for the fear of contracting new diseases. It was further learned that some sections of public hospitals are designated as special wards. Why such discrimination in a public institution? In many public hospitals, patients wait endlessly in queues to see a doctor irrespective of the nature of their illness, and bed spaces are insufficient that the sick are made to sleep on the bare floor.

Another colleague painfully gave her ordeal when she lost her husband, who was on admission at UCH. Aside from the litany of tests that they were asked to do outside the hospital, the

recommended drugs and consumables were just too expensive and numerous as she kept buying and buying. Nothing much was done to treat the patient and by the time she returned from where she had gone to collect test results, all the items they previously purchased had disappeared and no one could account for anything.

Most of the drugs they were mandated to buy were never used before discharging the patient, who eventually died. To recoup some money, most of the unused drugs had to be resold to ease the debt burden. Why would a patient’s corpse be unduly detained under the guise of conducting another round of tests?

The dire situation of our health facilities can be zeroed down to human factors such as graft, inadequate funding, poor administration, nonadherence to medical ethics, lack of enforcement of punitive measures against gross misconduct, and weak supervision by regulatory bodies.

Corruption by medical workers allows them to make fortune from the misfortune of others.

The decline in statutory allocations to health has equally impaired many public hospitals from performing to expectations. Funds are not released on time and if at all, they are grossly insufficient. For instance, the total combined budgetary allocation by the federal government to its teaching hospitals was a meagre N475.37 billion comprising N176.45 billion in 2019, N158.24 in 2018, and N140.68 billion in 2017.

Failure to adhere to professional codes such as a subscription to the Hippocratic Oath and other medical ethics would continue to embolden erring health workers to act with impunity. Appropriate disciplinary measures should be meted out to medical practitioners whose professional negligence is a source of embarrassment to the council as was done in the case of Dr. (Mrs.) FCL Olaye v Chairman Medical and Dental Practitioner Investigating Panel ORS [1992] 5 NWLR 553. The truth is that as long as we continue to admit, and enrol persons without human feeling, conscience and calling into medicine, nursing, laboratory

technology, and the like, quality healthcare would remain a mirage.

Failure by professional associations, regulatory agencies, and government bodies to put a tab on the administration of public hospitals has largely contributed to the problem we are battling with. To make a difference and revamp our health institutions, there is a need for professional bodies to re-orientate their members towards responsive and responsible medical practice. The government should ensure that statutory allocations are released promptly and adequately while ministries of health at the federal and state levels should embark on regular supervision and monitoring of hospitals.

Our legislature should intensify their oversight functions diligently to keep the institutions on their toes and not business as usual. No health worker should be spared for engaging in corrupt practices and misconduct. Hospital management should remove unnecessary bureaucracy that slows down access and aids the stealing of patients’ drugs and belongings.

State government should improve on primary and secondary levels of healthcare delivery to reduce undue pressure on teaching hospitals, which in the 1960s and 1970s, largely catered for various categories of patients. More importantly, individuals and corporate organisations should donate and invest in upgrading our health systems.

The nation should train more doctors and health professionals on current trends. For a more sustainable approach, the option of public-private partnerships should be seriously explored. As long as health institutions are in a bad shape, many people including top government functionaries and family members would continue to travel out for medical tourism; brain-drain would keep thriving while avoidable casualty would persist. That is why urgent attention is needed to bring about the desired change by salvaging our hospitals. r,VQPMVZJ XSPUF GSPN 'FEFSBM 6OJWFSTJUZ PG "HSJDVMUVSF "CFPLVUB

15

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍľËœ 2020

EDITORIAL

COMMENCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS It is a welcome development

A

fter six months and two weeks of shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Nigeria has finally reopened its airspace for scheduled international flights. It has also for the first time adopted the principle of reciprocity as countries that have refused to allow our nationals into their borders will not be allowed to fly in. The reopening is a huge relief to many Nigerians, especially parents whose children and wards study overseas. It is also a relief to foreign nationals who were trapped in the lockdown and couldn’t take advantage of the evacuation flights that operated during the period.

With the resumption of international flights, the economy is expected to receive a boost, and this may affect the prices of imported goods as they may be reviewed downwards. It is noteworthy that closer to the WE HOPE THE AUTHORITIES international flight restarting date, WILL BE SCRUPULOUS the dollar started IN ENFORCING THE losing value to the PROTOCOLS SO THAT naira in anticipaINTERNATIONAL TRAVELS tion that it would rev the economy, WILL NOT ADD TO THE as business men COVID-19 BURDEN IN THE and women COUNTRY travel to and from Nigeria, moving goods and services as it was before the lockdown.

Travel agents whose jobs were under threat during the lockdown have revived their businesses with expectations that the tourism sector would again come on stream.

Domestic airlines have also looked forward to the commencement of international operations because arriving passengers from such destinations feed the domestic market as they ferry passengers to different local airports. But most significantly, the adoption by the federal government of a reciprocity policy in air travel is commendable. For any country that would not allow Nigerians to fly into their airports, citing Coronavirus pandemic as

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

IZE-IYAMU AND OSHIOMHOLE’S NEW SONG

t wasn’t that long ago, 2016 to be exact, when Comrade Adams Oshiomhole— the then-governor of Edo—traversed the state with Mr. Godwin Obaseki urging the people to support his governorship bid. But this was no random act of gratuitousness. Obaseki had earned it. For seven and a half years, he had served as the chairman of the state’s economy and strategy team. Drawing on his experience as an investment management expert of more than 30 years, he midwifed the major development projects of the Oshiomhole government.

The comrade himself has corroborated this fact on different media platforms and public fora. While addressing a mammoth crowd at one of the campaign rallies four years ago, Oshiomhole noted: “Godwin has worked for seven and a half years for the people of Edo state using his brain, using his creativity.

Quietly—not making noise, not appearing in the newspaper or radio—he sits in the office of the economic team, which he built using his network of friends, inside the heart of Government House without demanding one naira.�

Just as Oshiomhole extolled the virtues of Obaseki as the campaign train moved across the 142 units in the 18 local government areas of the state, he also warned the electorate about the main opposition candidate in that election, Mr. Osagie Ize-Iyamu. The professed

reason, their citizens would also not be allowed to fly into Nigerian airports. In the past, when such policy was used against Nigeria, it was mostly ignored.

The decision of the federal government may have been prompted by the fact that Nigeria relatively has low Covid-19 cases, and which were well managed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The country does not have outrageous figures of deaths from the virus.

But the positive implication of the government’s latest policy is that no country would treat issues concerning Nigeria with levity and any country taking decision against Nigeria would also consider the economic consequences of its airlines that operate in our shores. Also, Nigerian airlines would no more be denied approval by countries whose airlines operate into Nigeria. Since Nigeria is a lucrative route for many international carriers, this is a smart move.

While the demand for tickets has surged with the reopening of international air travel in Nigeria, the federal government has insisted that an airline cannot bring in more than 200 passengers to any of the two airports in Abuja and Lagos for now. But international airlines could take any number of passengers out of the country. The decision for limiting arriving passengers, according to aviation authorities, is to have the number of people the airports can manage, with regard to the Covid-19 protocols. Each of the two airports already designated for international flights can only process 1,280 passengers a day.

But travellers and travel agents have criticised this, and cost of tests for departing and arriving passengers, which they said is comparatively higher than what obtains in other countries. That should be looked into.

Following the resumption of international flights last Saturday, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19 has issued a provisional quarantine protocol for travellers arriving or departing from Nigeria. We hope the authorities will be scrupulous in enforcing the protocols so that international travels will not add to the Covid-19 burden in the country.

pastor had served as director-general of Oshiomhole’s campaign organization in 2012 when the latter was running for a second term in office. So, the comrade knew him well enough to offer a firsthand assessment of his character and values. His qualification and experience too.

Speaking to supporters at the campaign stop in Uromi, Oshiomhole said of IzeIyamu, “We are liable if we say anything that is libelous. I bear full responsibility in my personal capacity. I wave my immunity.

And I declare as follows before God.� He then proceeded to call Ize-Iyamu all sorts of names.

Oshiomhole also stated that Ize-Iyamu was unfit to be governor because he had no record of professional enterprise or public service besides his stint in the government of Chief Lucky Igbinedion. “It’s true we found ourselves in the region of politics working together, but I never gave him government job‌I didn’t want to spend my time watching his files,â€? said Oshiomhole.

Now, four years after, Oshiomhole is singing a new song. Kneeling before traditional rulers in Benin, he pleaded for support of the candidacy of Ize-Iyamu in the forthcoming Edo gubernatorial elections. The very same person that he had described as unfit to govern, he presented to the Council of Chiefs as “a man who understands the workings of the state and who has a clear manifesto

THOSE THAT SERVE ARE NOT LOSERS

that will bring the dividend of democracy to Edo people.� And he has, since been actively promoting Ize-Iyamu’s to the electorate as Edo’s messiah.

What could have informed the sudden change in tune? He swore by God that the damning revelations he had earlier made about Ize-Iyamu were true. How come Obaseki, who—in Oshiomhole’s words—has “an uncommon capacity to think, to create, to mobilize and to challenge us to put resources to the public good� has now turned a “bad product� in the comrade’s books? No one makes such a dramatic turn, except driven by creed or by greed. Edo people are not fools. And I’m sure they can tell what the real motivation is. Indeed, this election is a struggle for the “heart and soul� of Edo. But power lies in the hands of the people. And only we can determine our fate.

We can either choose to return to the Edo of old where a few self-acclaimed godfathers and career politicians held the reins of power and stole the state dry. Or we can choose to go forward to a new Edo, where government works for the people, with policies and programs that benefit the majority rather than a few—the kind that Obaseki has modeled over the last three years. Come 19th September—with our PVCs in hand—we can choose the Edo we want. Vote wisely!

ust when you thought his image couldn’t get any worse, President Trump is accused of criticising the armed forces. The Atlantic magazine has written that in 2018 Mr Trump cancelled a visit to a US cemetery in France because he said it was “filled with losers�. You wouldn’t think anyone could anyone could say that but he considered, John McCain, a war hero, “a loser� because he was captured in the Vietnam War. Of course, Trump was exempted from serving in Vietnam as he had bone spurs in his feet.

A quote from the Bible, which Mr Trump proudly displays, although upside down, that reflects the general view on the matter is “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends�(John 15:13).

A final thought comes from The ANZAC Day reading from the Ode of Remembrance that is worth all reflecting on.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 •T H I S D AY

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG

POLITICS

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

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

Factors That May InfluenceVoters as Edo Decides Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that the fever-pitch anticipation of the September 19 governorship election in Edo State may be determined by factors that are glaring, from the outlook of the major political parties and their candidates

Buhari

The Godfather Versus The Godson Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the immediate Past Governor of Edo State and former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was instrumental to the emergence of Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State in 2016. But the cosy relationship between the two men went sour. Obaseki alleged that Oshiomhole wanted to control him as a puppet, particularly in deciding how the finances of the state should be expended, but he would have none of it. Oshiomhole who markedly showed disdain for a godfather figure when he governed Edo was being portrayed as one who wanted to hold his successor by the jugular. This narrative from the Obaseki camp has been widely sold to the public. Although Oshiomhole has tried desperately to debunk the notion, but try is all he can because Obaseki may have won the sympathy of many for being the underdog who is being whipped for challenging the powers that be. Obaseki’’s allegations of high handedness against Oshiomhole have largely been wild sweeping, without specific instances to prove indecent interference and not allowing him a free hand to govern the state. Oshiomhole, an unabashed ally of the APC National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu has been told in clear terms that Edo is not Lagos where Tinubu dictates the pace of governance and who drives engine of power as governor.

Will Federal Might Be Brought to Bear?

Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose flag Obaseki is carrying have told anyone who cares to listen that the only way the APC and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu can win is to execute an elaborate rigging plan, aided by the various agencies under the control of the Federal Government. This is what is often alluded to as the proverbial Federal Might. Elections in Nigeria are generally known to be marred by many ugly incidents including vote buying, stuffing of ballot boxes, violence and open display of partiality by officials. So far,

Yakubu

all the indicators reveal that the major contestants are desperate and willing to do anything to win. This ugly trait is not restricted to one political party or its candidate. However, PDP supporters have lately been harping on the leaked conversation between the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Gambari and Oshiomhole in which there was a suggestion to arrest or cage PDP stalwarts. The APC too has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may be hand in gloves with the PDP to give victory to Obaseki. This allegation came to the fore after the controversial Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Mike Igini was spotted in Edo. But the PDP also accused INEC of putting the Edo governorship

Oshiomhole

electuon in the hands of a Resident Electoral Commissioner who sympathises with the APC. During the 2019 national elections, in some states like Sokoto and Akwa Ibom where it was feared that the APC would exert undue influence to gain an upper hand, resolute resistance and vigilance from the people halted any rigging plan that may have been conceived.

It is not impossible to successfully resist Federal Might if the people of Edo are determined to chart a different course.

Oshiomhole may not command the kind of influence previously associated with him as National Chairman of the ruling party at the centre.

Influence of Edo Royal Fathers Following many incidents of violence

rom being an underdog, Obaseki has emerged as a giant killer in his fight against Oshiomhole.

He successfully engineered the removal of Oshiomhole as Natiinal Chairman of the APC, having ensured that he was suspended from his ward. Obaseki also kept his head above turbulent waters by making sure that Edo lawmekrs who were suspected loyalists of Oshiomhole were not sworn in. When he was denied the ticket of the APC for a se ond term, he switched political party loyalty to the PDP and has since been carrying out a robust campaign, telling the people about his Make Edo Great Again (MEGA), which promises to build industries, more roads, take his EDOBEST educational programme to the next level and continue with prompt payment of salaries and pension. His an ebullient general in his Deputy, Mr. Phillip Shuaibu

involving supporters of the two main political parties, the APC and the PDP, the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, broke his silence and extracted commitment from leaders of all political groups and other stakeholders to maintain peace throughout the period of the election.

Much of the fracas have been reported in Edo Central, which heartland of the Esans, who are next to the majority Bini-speaking people. The Binis can be found in seven of the state’s 18 local government areas, representing 57.14 percent out of the 6 million population of Edo State, while Esan people constitute 17.14 percent.

Oshiomhole is said to have turned his back on Esanland during his eight-year tenure.

An example is his alleged abandonment of Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma, while establishing another university in Iyamho, his hometown in Edo North.

Royalty in Esan hold this against him.

Of particular note was his dethronement of the Onojie of Uromi, His Royal Highness Anselm Aidenojie II. Obaseki restored his crown. Nothwithstanding, some royal fathers in Esan like Ojirua of Irrua, HRH Williams Okuagban Momodu II, has identified with Ize-Iyamu. Both Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu have have it a point of duty to pay courtesy visits on natural rulers wherever they go to campaign. While a few of these royal fathers maintained dignified silence, others have clearly shown their preference, according honours and titles.

Proud Personal Heritage Both Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu have name recognition that dates back to a good number of year. The Governor ’s family name Obaseki meaning “King of the Market,” was given to his ancestors by ancient Benin kings. Ize-Iyamu also comes a family line of honours that are bestowed with many traditional titles.

His forefather holds the reputation of erecting the first story building in the kingdom.

Can Incumbency Work Magic for Obaseki?

From being an underdog, Obaseki has

19

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

MONDAY DISCOURSE

Secondus

Tinubu

Obaseki

Ize-Iyamu

emerged as a giant killer in his fight against Oshiomhole. He successfully engineered the removal of Oshiomhole as Natiinal Chairman of the APC, having ensured that he was suspended from his ward. Obaseki also kept his head above turbulent waters by making sure that Edo lawmekrs who were suspected loyalists of Oshiomhole were not sworn in. When he was denied the ticket of the APC for a se ond term, he switched political party loyalty to the PDP and has since been carrying out a robust campaign, telling the people about his Make Edo Great Again (MEGA), which promises to build industries, more roads, take his EDOBEST educational programme to the next level and continue with prompt payment of salaries and pension. His an ebullient general in his Deputy, Mr. Phillip Shuaibu.

Will Edo Buy His SIMPLE Agenda?

Ize-Iyamu is trying to sell to Edo people an all-encompassing development agenda that caters for security, education, infrastructure and training with the acronym SIMPLE. It is a novelty that the people of Edo State have never tested but may be willing to try because of the reputation of the man behind it.

Ize-Iyamu on his own steam was said to have given the APC (his then opponent in the 2016 governorship election) such a hard fight. The calculation now is that with the backing of Oshiomhole, he is set to make a very good run.

Ize-Iyamu has become a constant factor in the politics of Edo State over.

He served the state as a former Chief of Staff to the then governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion who later was appointed the Secretary to Edo State Government.

The Redeemed Christian Church of Christ pastor also became the Director General of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s re-election. He helped Oshiomhole to win clearly in all the 18 LGSs of the state.

Ize-Uyamu has also served as Director of Campaign to both former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and Alhaji Atiku

Abubakar, giving the two candidates a good win.

However, the RCCG Pastor His traducers at some point went to town to talk about a certain 700 million Naira which was brought to the state for the purpose of election in 2016. In their usual manner, they said he has received an illegal proceed and expected him to lie waste in prison custody. Sadly, this accusation was flown at a time he was contesting against the current governor of Edo Starts Mr. Godwin Obaseki. As God may have it, there has been a lot of revelations on the matter as it has become obvious that the said fund was neither a criminal proceed NLR was it sent to the account of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

The bank has only called him and some other party members including Chief Dan Orbih and Hon. Tony Aziengbemhi (the immediate past and present chairmen of PDP) to certify that the money was well delivered after which they (the bank) took the fund to a certain leaders house.

The chairmen of the 18 LGA who the campaign money were shared to signed as receivers. There has been no Kobo in the records traced to Pastor Ize-Iyamu.

Did Oshiomhole Demarket IzeIyamu?

In 2016 Oshiomhole—the then-governor of Edo—traversed the state with Mr. Godwin Obaseki urging the people to support his governorship bid. For seven and a half years, Obaseki served as the chairman of the state’s Economy and Strategy Team. He birthed the major development projects of the Oshiomhole government.

Oshiomhole called Ize-Iyamu an acid bather who got rusticated from school.

He referred to him as a fake pastor.

Oshiomhole also stated that Ize-Iyamu was unfit to be governor because he had no record of professional enterprise or public service besides his stint in the government of Chief Lucky Igbinedion.

He called him a treasury looter who had cases to answer at the Economic and

Ize-Iyamu is trying to sell to Edo people an all-encompassing development agenda that caters for security, education, infrastructure and training with the acronym SIMPLE. It is a novelty that the people of Edo State have never tested but may be willing to try because of the reputation of the man behind it. IzeIyamu on his own steam was said to have given the APC (his then opponent in the 2016 governorship election) such a hard fight. The calculation now is that with the backing of Oshiomhole, he is set to make a very good run

Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and could not be trusted with public funds.

If there is one opponent that the All Progressives Congress (APC) dread in Edo State, it is the incumbent governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki. The reason is not far-fetched, a little while ago, the Edo governor was a member of the APC, even if he was treated like a leper for a season by key decision makers in the political party, particularly its erstwhile National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

What began as a minor misunderstanding between the two men was mismanaged on both sides. The gulf of distrust became so wide that it was impossible to reach across the divide for a friendly handshake.

Powerful individuals and interest groups had weighed in on the war between the political godfather, Oshiomhole and his estranged godson, Obaseki. The APC National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu overtly threw his weight behind Oshiomhole, while the former National Chairman of the party Chief John OdigieOyegun backed Obaseki.

Finally, the differences took an irreconcilable turn. Obaseki was denied the APC gubernatorial ticket which would have enabled him to take a second chance at the office of the governor in the impending September 19 Edo State governorship contest. What was APC’s apparent loss, became PDP’s gain. The tables turned quickly as Obaseki switched political party loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In a twinkle of an eye, the PDP had become the ruling party in Edo. The permutation for the governorship contest was altered.

Obaseki who was threatened with the ‘Ambode treatment’, meaning, like the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, he will not be given the opportunity to serve a second term, has shown that he was not willing to yield an inch without giving the fight of his life. His supporters are boasting that the APC made a fatal error by giving its governorship ticket to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. In their reckoning, APC has kissed the state goodbye.

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍľËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

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FEATURES

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

Fuel, Electricity Hike as Antithesis to Nigeria’s SDGs Chiemelie Ezeobi, Rebecca Ejifoma, Ayodeji Ake, Sunday Ehigiator and Chiamaka Ozulumba, who sampled the opinion of some Nigerians, write that the double whammy increase in fuel price and electricity tariff forebodes ill for the standard of living and in essence, Nigeria’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030 target

Stanley Ugagbe

Engr. Femi Egunjobi

Oluniyi Odewale

F

But many industry watchers did not express surprise at the hike. According to them, it was a long time coming, especially with mounting pressure on government revenues and the clamour by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Nigeria to end its subsidy regimes on all sectors.

With the approval of $1.5 billion loan applied for by Nigeria from the World Bank hinged on the precondition of removal of subsidies, it was only a matter of time for the Nigerian government to cave in.

The new tariff signed off by President Muhammadu Buhari, to be reviewed every quarter, it seals a stamp on the fact that of the $1.5billion World Bank loan to be approved for Nigeria, $750million had been earmarked for the power sector.

or most Nigerians, the coinage "September to Remember� is an annual ritual that transcends the physical to the spiritual. Most churches build their September conventions around those words and it’s touted as a time for restoration of all the previous months have drained.

This year in Nigeria, the coinage took another meaning as the federal government doubled the suffering of Nigerians with a double whammy effect of electricity and fuel hike. It truly became a September to Remember, although in a negative sense.

On September 1, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) raised electric tariff while the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), who vowed not to be left out, increased the fuel price too on September 2.

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States, of which Nigeria is a part of, in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

The 2030 Agenda comprises 17 new SDGs, which will guide policy and funding for the next 15 years, beginning with a historic pledge to end poverty. Everywhere.

Permanently.

The 17 SDGs are integrated—that is because they recognise that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Through these pledge, Nigeria is supposed to- end poverty, ensure zero hunger, good health and well-being, provide quality education, ensure gender equality, provide clean water and sanitation, provide affordable and clean energy, provide avenue for decent work and economic growth, create industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduce inequality, build sustainable cities and communities, ensure responsible consumption and production, act on climate action, ensure life below water and on land, provide peace, justice and strong institutions as well as build viable partnerships for the goals.

Increment in Electricity Tariff In apparent disregard to its pledge to achieve the SDGs, the federal government on September 1, increased electricity tariff.

The Discos said electricity customers, except those receiving less than 12 hours of supply, would have to pay more. With the review, the tariffs being charged residential consumers receiving a minimum of 12 hours of power supply has increased by over 70 per cent.

Initially postponed from April 1, 2020, the

Opara Chidinma Jennifer

Buhari Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved the reflected tariffs, which was again supposed to commence July 1, 2020. It was postponed after reports indicated Electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos, had pushed for a postponement until key areas of disagreement are sorted.

Few months back, hope loomed in the horizon when the National Assembly promised tariffs will not increase until the first quarter of 2021 following several deliberations it held with stakeholders during which the DISCOs too admitted that they were not well prepared for the planned hike in tariffs even though they so much desired the increase.

The meeting agreed to defer the planned hike till first quarter of next year while the leadership of the National Assembly promised to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on the issue. But that was promise unfulfilled as the increased hike still took place, albeit months after.

In practical terms, a test run by THISDAY over the weekend showed that N2,000 could only buy 36 KWH now as against 87 KWH that was obtainable before the hike, totaling a deficit of 51KWH. Fuel Hike On September 2, the federal government again increased the pump price of petrol to N151.56 per litre, up from N148, signaling the third increase in three months.

A statement by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), on Wednesday informed the depots owners of the increase.

This year alone, the price was on March 2020, reduced to N125 from N145 per litre.

But in May 2020, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) announced a new pump price band to between N121.50 to N123.50 per litre.

In July, it was further increased to between N140.80 and N143.80 and in August, it was again hiked to between N145.86 and N148.86 before this September increase to N151.56. However, most fuel stations sold at N160 over the weekend.

Government’s Standpoint Meanwhile, NERC while laying out a plan for the increase, stated that it would be a service-based tariff (SBT) regime , but noted that the “poor� would not be affected by the expected increase.

NERC insisted that SBT was designed to protect the poor, noting that only the wealthy customers in the areas that receive over 12 hours service will experience a tariff increase.

It noted that the service-based tariff will relieve the government of paying electricity subsidy on the rich and allow it to divert scarce resources to more pressing sectors, including education and healthcare.

Widespread Disillusionment From civil servants to traders, teachers, professionals, the angst against the hike in the cost of electricity and fuel resonated.

The reason is not far-fetched- while the cost of these two were increased, none of them experienced salary increased- some were even retrenched or took pay cuts.

Inevitably, this hike would only increase the high standard of living i.e cost of transportation, food stuff and other basic amenities. THISDAY sampled the opinion of some Nigerians and they all lamented on the same grounds, especially with the economic crunch brought by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Stanley Ugagbe: Journalist The hike in fuel and electricity tariff has again shown that this government is not sensitive to the plight of the populace.

At a time like this that Nigerians are groaning over the adverse effects of the ravaging pandemic, rather than looking for ways to mitigate the masses' pains, the government is bent on inflicting more pains on the citizens.

This jiggery-pokery development is repugnant. And talking about salary, there's no increment anywhere. I call on Nigerians to raise their voices to reject this egregious hike. If the government can no longer handle the situation of the country without plaguing Nigerians, they should honourably resign.

Femi Egunjobi: Engineer and Consultant You can't definitely have an omelet without breaking an egg, which in turn means we as Nigerians collectively should always be prepared to do things differently to achieve different results. Many of the issues confronting us now a days isn't a problem of one government, In fact Nigeria's problems are dated back to the independence, leaders at various levels have failed us as a people and until we

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FEATURES

Adeseye Adeleye

Adeshina Aliu Olanrewaju

ThankGod Asadu

Henrietta Okoye

Endurance Evulukwu

Ayomide Ojo

Mbajunwa Obinna

Okafor Chinonso

are all prepared to begin to think about what we can all do together to fix the country rather than what the country can give us then we are only just starting.

Look at the overseas we all admire today, the only reason things are working there is just because few variables that are missing in our own country.

Look at shrewdest way electricity was privatised in the country in 2014. I tell you what, many of the workers are yet to even get their pay-offs from the government as we speak. Round peg was never out in round hole, and yet people keep blaming the present day government.

Even petrol too, we have had a time crude oil was sold for several years more than 100 dollars per barrel. We even at one time had oil boom, yet nothing was done with the money on infrastructure that we should be falling on now. Nigeria has been a monolithic economy since inception yet nothing was done. Our earnings go only for recurrent expenditures, almost 74 per cent and tell me what we can do with the remaining 26 per cent in terms of capital expenditure, hence the borrowings.

making my work very slow and almost impossible to accomplish. The government as well as employers should please look into this national issue and provide equilibrium.

and cross them on the road if they fail to listen to us and have pity for those who voted for them.

Okafor Chinonso: Electrical Engineer Well it's sad really. In a country where the electricity reliability is on the low side on an average, and fuel which has been acting as a help meet for the very much interrupted power supply is increased too. Increasing the cost of the aforementioned looks to me like a body shooting herself on both legs while making plans to move forward.

Hopefully, there's a drive somewhere that'll move this body to their targeted location.

Even after isolating the fact that the increase in price of these two will lead to a rise in price of other things needed in our daily living, this action isn't favourable to the masses still. There are no rumours about increment in salary where I work, and I'm guessing that's the same energy in many other firms with respect to salary increment.

Oluniyi Odewale: Chartered Accountant Our leaders have no capacity to bring good things on the table! Its practically unthinkable to have raw materials (crude oil) and still export it to buy back refined products at exorbitant costs of forex over the years!

What does it cost government since 1999 till date to build modern refineries (even modular ones at each geopolitical zone).

Does it mean none of them knows the right thing to do or are deliberately wicked!

Honestly, we are paying for leadership failure, self centeredness, and greediness.

Very unfortunate!

Fixed income earners bear the whole consequences of the imminent inflation as a result of this unprecedented price hike of petroleum products and electricity tarrif.

Opara Chidinma Jennifer: Insurance Sales Manager The increment in the cost of electricity and fuel is doing more harm than good to the masses like me. Reason being that this increase did not in any way affect my salary which is my major source of livelihood in enjoying limited benefits such as electricity and other fundamentals.

And now, the fuel cost is affecting my transport fare to and from work as well as electricity bill being expensive, thereby

Adeseye Adeleye: Social Commentator I speak on behalf of the highborn, freeborn, lowborn and slaves whose dreams were as tall as a staple when Buhari was declared the president of this country! We have endured and sacrificed and even tolerated the excesses of these government policies in the name of patriotism! We deserve a lot better from the government of the day. What an insensitive government! The hike in price of fuel and electricity at this depressing period is height of government insensitivity! At at time like this when there is economic meltdown, downsizing and COVID-19 recovery process, now this.

The downward spiral in our economy can still be linked to government ineptitude.

My unreserved bitterness towards this government is their campaign lies. They have never fulfilled even one per cent of their promises and still gallivanting everywhere. Despite increase in taxes, levies, commodities, things are still 'worse off' under this government.

Adeshina Aliu Olanrewaju: IT Technician and Journalist This is a very annoying decision the government has done for us at this difficult time, COVID-19 has done worse to us already than for the government to come and increase the hardship for us. I wonder if this present government feels the pain of the masses, the hike we have on fuel, electricity, and our cable TV now is what we expect the government to have done a lot of amendment before the increase.

If Nigeria as nation that produce oil still pay more on fuel, that means our leaders have failed us totally. In this same country that we have a lot of people who could not enjoy 12hours interrupted light not to talk of 24hours, we are still want them to pay more on that. This is not the way forward for us a nation. I wonder the kind of future we are building as a nation.

It will be so nice if the NLC and TUC come to our aid with a very big protest just like we did in 2012. This is what we need to do now because if we all keep quite and keep shouting on social media, the government will not do anything about that until they see the masses on the streets. The way things are going on in this country, it will come to a time when we will begin to stone our politician’s car

ThankGod Asadu: Business Man It’s definitely not going down well for me. I’ve had reasons to curse the day I became a Nigerian but God knows the best.

Spending time in Turkey, actually made me realise what we citizens of Nigeria are missing out on and why on earth will this government hike the prices of foodstuffs, electricity, fuel just to mention but a few and yet has made no substantial provisions for us to earn not to talk of increasing the salaries of those that are working.

Ms. Henrietta Okoye: Graphic Designer The hike in electricity is taking a huge toll on my finances. I used to recharge units worth N5,000 and I was sure if it lasting up to a month. But now that same N5,000 worth of units is now 108 against the 400. It used to be N1,000 worth of units that used to be 43.3 but it’s now 21.1. This is getting out of hand.

Endurance Evulukwu: Business Woman As a business woman, I'm finding it really difficult as the price of deliveries is ever rising. From bus fares to bad exchange rates to this. It's very discouraging and I lose customers every day. Something should be done.

Ayomide Ojo: Make-up Artist The hike in price of fuel and electricity has affected most individuals. It has really affected salary earners and also we entrepreneurs living in Nigeria as we budget every cent that goes in and out of our pockets , seeing the rise in price of fuel has really saddened the heart of people. As means of transportation has become very expensive due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, a rise in fuel price will make it even more costly. I’m an entrepreneur, my salary is still quite the same.

Mbajunwa Obinna: IT Analyst The naira losing its value is about to mean something to the common man and we almost don't care. Salaries have remained the same and we are about to spend double. Honestly I was pissed at first but I can't say I didn't expect it. So currently I am just indifferent. Nothing good has really happened in the last five years. This is no different.

Organised Labour Kicks As expected, with the dual hike, organised labour kicked against the nationwide increase in electricity tariff implemented by power distribution companies.

Like the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also kicked against it. According to them, the hike could could m recession in the third quarter of the year.

According to NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, while stating that the move would be resisted, charged the DISCOs against going ahead with the implementation of the new electricity tariff.

Reacting to the hike, TUC President and Secretary-General, Quadri Olaleye, and Musa-Lawal Ozigi, respectively, condemned the increase in petrol price and electricity tariff in the country.

They noted that increasing petrol prices and electricity tariffs, among others, “at a time people are losing jobs, businesses are not moving in the light of COVID-19, is, to say the least, wicked. “This is disgustingly shameful. We urge the government to listen to the voice of reason and reverse the price immediately�.

With the National Assembly keeping mum, it remains to be seen if the federal government would bow to pressure and revert the prices- but given the precondition for the World Bank loan, it just might be a tall order. But will the increments affect the 2030 SDG target by Nigeria? Certainly, as it would inevitably increase poverty rate with ripple effect on the standard of living.

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MEDIABRIEFING

L-R:ExecutiveDirector,AccessBankPlc,Mr.VictorEtuokwu;President/ChairmanofCouncilCharteredInstituteofBankersofNigeria(CIBN),Mr.BayoOlugbemi; Chairman, Consultative Committee for 13th Annual Banking and Finance Conference/Managing Director/CEO, Ecobank Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntun; andRegistrar/CEO,CIBN,Mr.SeyeAwojobi,atamediabriefingonthe2020BankingandFinanceConferenceheldinLagos...recently ETOPUKUTT

Enhanced Audit Regulation to Boost FDIs, Says FRC ECONOMY

Obinna Chima The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) at the weekend said its move to improve audit regulation in the country will help attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs).

The Deputy Director/Head, Directorate of Accounting Standards, Public Sector, FRC, Dr. Iheanyi Anyahara, said this in a keynote address he delivered at a webinar titled: “Strategic Assessment of Financial Reporting Council’s Draft Audit Regulation,� organised by Crown Height Consulting.

Anyahara represented the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, FRC, Mr. Daniel Asapokhai, at the webinar. “Great civilisations are built with huge capital which in turn requires the certainty that the discipline and integrity of responsible accounting delivers. “Responsible audit regulation

will strengthen the market to attract more patient capital from the global market. It is our societal duty and privilege to do what we are doing today,� the FRC deputy director said.

He pointed out that the event was one of the steps towards finalising the audit regulation, which he described as a strategic tool to enhance investor confidence in the country.

Anyahara, said Nigeria joined the global trend of establishing independent public oversight system for audit by repealing the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board Act No. 22 of 2003 and enacting The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act No. 6, 2011.

According to him, the audit regulation exposure draft was a culmination of concerted and deliberate efforts of the Council

which started with the setting up of Audit Regulation Working Group (ARWG) on October 30th 2018, comprising 14 members drawn from stakeholders, some of which included the big four audit firms; medium size audit firms; forum of Small and Medium Size Practitioners (SMPs); Office of the Auditor General for the Federation; among others. “The draft exposure draft of the ARWG was subjected to further scrutiny by the Technical and Oversight Committee and the Governing Board of the Council and is being subjected to more crucial scrutiny by the entire stakeholders after which I believe a more acceptable regulation will emerge,� he explained.

Anyahara, listed the objectives of the Audit Regulation 2020, to include the provision of legal and regulatory framework for minimum practice guideline for auditors in Nigeria and to

give effect to the provisions of the FRC Act; ensuring that all activities of Registered Auditors and other professionals in the financial reporting process are regulated with a view to sustaining best ethical practices capable of promoting quality audit services; to regulate and ensure that all registered auditors carry out their professional duties in a manner to earn the trust of clients and promote the image of the profession and the country; among others. “The applicability of this regulation is expected to be a source of concern to many at this auspicious time with the controversy being generated with CAMA 2020. “However, we are mindful of the fact that the two pieces of legislations are intended to promote trade and investments in Nigeria. The Council appreciates Continued on page 24

Stock Market Sustains Gains on Dividend Payment Goddy Egene The stock market sustained its positive performance last week as investors reacted to recommendations by companies to pay interim and full year dividends.

Investor sentiments were strong pushing the market to close in the bulls’ territory all through the five trading sessions.

By the close of the week, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 1.17 per cent to close at 25,605.64, while market capitalisation added N154.4 billion to close at N13.358 trillion.

More-than-expected corporate earnings releases, especially from Access Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc and Zenith Bank Plc

CAPITAL MARKET and interim dividends declared by them fueled demand for banking stocks during the week under review.

In all, five banks announced interim dividends for the half year ended June 30, 2020, while three other companies announced dividends for their full year’s operations.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc recommended an interim dividend of 40 kobo, while Zenith Bank Plc and GTBank recommended interim 30 kobo apiece. Access Bank Plc recommended an interim dividend of 25 kobo while United Bank for Africa Plc recommended 17 kobo.

On the other hand, Redstar Express Plc recommended a dividend of 35 kobo for the year ended March 31, 2020, just as University Press Plc and Learn Africa Plc announced 15 kobo and five kobo respectively.

Apart from the fact that the market gained in the five trading days, the five sectoral indicators also ended the week higher.

The NSE Oil & Gas Index led with 3.7 per cent, trailed by the NSE Banking Index with 2.8 per cent. NSE Insurance Index went up by 2.0 per cent, while the Consumer Goods Index and the NSE Industrial Goods Index appreciated by 1.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively.

Investors traded 2.209 billion shares worth N10.957billion in

18,013 deals last week compared with 1.072billion shares valued at N7.384billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 16,684deals. For the first time in recent time, the financial sector was displaced from the number spot of the activity chart in volume terms by Construction/Real Estate sector with 954.529million shares valued at N681.392million traded in 218deals, thus contributing 43.21 per cent and 6.22 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Financial Services industry followed with 889.888 million shares worth N6.538billion in 10,107deals, while the third Continued on page 24

The new Registrar/CEO of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) Dr. Olalekan Olumuyiwa Fadolapo has formally taken over as the fourth registrar of the apex advertising regulatory body.

ThebriefhandoverceremonywhichwaspresidedbytheActingRegistrar, Mrs. Ijedi Iyoha was recently held in Lagos.While handing over, Iyoha urged sta to support and cooperate with the new Registrar in his drive to take the organisation to greater heights.

FadolapowhowasreceivedbytopmanagementandstaoftheCouncil expressed gratitude to God and to the federal government for the conďŹ dence reposed in him to serve the nation in that capacity, pledging to build on the successes and achievements of his predecessors in realising the organisation’s mandate.

He said the stewardship and achievements of his predecessors were possible as a result of the harmonious working relationship that existed within the high level management and sta, adding that there was the need to build on these achievements. He therefore, solicited new ideas and suggestions from sta aimed at making things work seamlessly and also urged them to brace up for hard work.

Untilhisnewappointment,Fadolapo,afellowoftheInstituteofChartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and holder of a PhD Degree in Marketing with specialisation in Marketing Communications, was the Executive Secretary of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN).

More Winners Emerge in Dangote Promo

A primary school teacher, construction site driver and a couple have emerged as new millionaires in the ongoing Dangote Cement season two promo.Accordingtoastatement,theyreceiveddummychequesandcredit alertsintheirbanks’accountsataceremonyheldinAbuja.Thecouple-Olota MubashiruKehindeandMustafaKaďŹ latOluwatoyin-saidtheywereshocked, describing the development as the ‘will of God.’ KaďŹ latsaidshewasateacherbeforethepandemicstruckwhichledtothe closure of schools, and forcing her to venture into block making business.

Last month, a man and wife were among the lucky entrants into the DangoteCementPromoMillionairesClub.Oneofthestarwinners,Samson Famuyiwa, 25, said he had just arrived from Lagos two months ago as a construction site driver, when all of a sudden, in a single day, he collected the wining alphabets, adding that his two children will be able to attend a better school. Group Executive Director, Government and Strategic Relations Mansur Ahmed said the promo was part of the eort of the company of giving back to the society, and to support Nigerians during the covid-19 pandemic.

Marketing Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Mrs. Funmi Sanni said the DangoteGroupwouldnotrestonitsoarsinhelpingtosupporttheNigerian economy, even as he urged Nigerians to continue to patronise the Dangote Cement. Sanni, who said a lot of promos were being promised by some companies under the facade of business promotion that turned out to be scams and decoys contrived to dupe the customers, stated that the ongoing promo was real and impactful. “The target is to make a minimum of 10 millionaires in every state, only Dangote (Aliko) can do this. His philanthropy knows no bounds. I advise our customers not to wait till dry season before buying Dangote cement.

Go, buy and become a millionaire. It is real and achievable if you patronize us�, she stated.

AfDB: Farmers Hail Adesina

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), on behalf of the 40 million farmers in Nigeria, has congratulated Akinwumi Ayodeji Adeshina on his re-election and subsequent inauguration for the second time as the President of the African Development Bank(AfDB).

National President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kabir Ibrahim, who stated thisinastatement,explained:“WeareespeciallyproudthatDr. Adeshina possesses the requisite qualiďŹ cations of energy, competence and integrity to lead any ďŹ nancial institution in the world. “I personally supported his re-election based on my working knowledge of his capability when he served as the Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria meritoriouslyandIwastheNationalPresidentofthePoultryAssociationof Nigeria(PAN).WebelievehewilldoevenbetterinthissecondandďŹ nalterm.â€?

“When there is a dispute subject to resolution by arbitration, the parties must carefully select their counsel and their arbitrators, because arbitration is serious business�

Founding/Managing Partner, Dorothy Ufot & Co

Mrs. Dorothy Ufot

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BUSINESSWORLD ENHANCED AUDIT REGULATION TO BOOST FDIS, SAYS FRC President Mohammad Buhari for the landmark achievement. “Audit regulation is applicable in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and regulates all statutory Auditors, other assurance providers and audit committees.

It however does not apply to Auditors-General. “The Office of the AuditorGeneral for the Federation (OAuGF) is a constitutional body and the Supreme Audit Institution of Nigeria by virtue of Section 85(6) and 125(6) of the Constitution,� he added.

He reminded participants at the webinar that the draft Audit regulation document had since been exposed for comments by the Council, adding that the comment period would remain open until September 25, 2020. “The financial crisis has demonstrated that robust, transparent audit practices need to be embedded in all organisations.

Obviously, the Audit Regulation is an enabler for re-establishing the much-needed trust in audit profession.

STOCK MARKET SUSTAINS GAINS ON DIVIDEND PAYMENT

place was occupied by the Conglomerates industry, with a turnover of 209.437million shares worth N579.990 million in 677deals.

Meanwhile, 41 equities appreciated in price during the week, higher than 29 equities in the previous week, while 19 equities depreciated in price, lower than 36 equities in the previous week.

Royal Exchange Plc led the price gainers with 26.9 per cent, trailed by Cornerstone Insurance Plc with 17.8 per cent. Union Diagnostic & Clinical Services Plc chalked 12.5 per cent.

UAC of Nigeria Plc garnered 10.5 per cent, just as Livestock Feeds Plc and Double One Plc appreciated by 10 per cent each. Other top price gainers included: Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc (9.7 per cent); Eterna Plc (9.4 per cent), Vitafoam Nigeria Plc and FTN Cocao Processors Plc (8.3 per cent).

NEWS

‘Why AIB Didn’t Deploy Drones at Chopper Crash Site’ Chinedu Eze The Commissioner of Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Akin Olateru has given reasons why the agency did not deploy Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAE), known as drones to the site of the helicopter crash at Opebi, Lagos on August 28, 2020, saying the accident happened at enclosed area and the operators of the drone were yet to be licenced.

Olateru, said it would have been the easiest way to gather materials at crash sites, disclosing that the agency was in the process of normalising the documentations of the investigators, which would enable them to use drones in case of any accident or incident in the future. But he said the first stage was to train technical personnel for that purpose.

The Commissioner made this known at the weekend, during at the Gateway Forum interaction organised by the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.

According to him, the recently trained accident investigators were yet to be licensed by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

He added that the agency’s inability to use drones did not in any way hinder its investigation of the crash, reiterating that the preliminary report would be released to the public in the next few weeks.

He explained: “No, we didn’t use drone at the accident crash site. AIB is a responsible agent of government. We can’t flout any government rules and regulations. “To operate a drone, you need a license and we are yet to sort that out with NCAA. “In getting the license, part of the requirements is to train your people on how to handle the drones, which we have satisfied. The operator has to be licensed by NCAA. So, we are in the process of normalising our documentations.

“You will agree with me that any company or agency of government must constantly review its processes to enhance service delivery. That is one thing we do here, we see how we do it and how we can make a betterment or simplify the processes or get a better result for better performance.�

He added: “The non-deployment of equipment didn’t affect our level of material gathering.

The fact is drone is very essential when you have a wider area of crash.

“When you have a crash spanning about half a mile or a mile.

It takes time to walk through that to gather information or evidence, but for this one, we were fortunate the crash site was a bit contained. “It was not over a large expanse of land. So, that is why we didn’t really miss it, but we hope to fast track our application with NCAA. But, on that day, LASEMA used their drones to take some pictures. “We did very well. Have and gathered the right information. Deployment of drones will happen once we

have necessary permit or licensing from NCAA.�

Olateru also disclosed that plans have reached an advanced stage for the construction of AIB Training School to be situated in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, for the training of investigators and other industry experts even outside the country.

According to him, the school is awaiting the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), stressing that once this is done, it would commence work immediately.

CSR-IN-ACTION

L-R: Principal, Opebi Senior Grammar School, Mrs. Olugbewesa Kofoworola; Executive Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) WahabAlawiye-King;ChiefExecutiveOfficer,X3MIdeas,SteveBabaeko,andDirector,MinistryofEducation,Mrs.GraceAkinfoyewa, attheinaugurationofa handwashingstation,donatedtotheschoolbyX3MIdeastocommemoratethecompany’seightyearanniversary,heldinLagos...recently

Onne Customs Generates N70bn in Eight Months Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The Area II Command of the Nigeria Customs Service at Onne Port, Rivers State, has said it generated N70 billion between January and August 2020.

It also said it recorded a total of 31 seizures involving 27 containers with total duty paid value (DPV) over N825 million from smugglers at the Onne Port.

Outgoing Comptroller of Customs, Area II Command,

Rivers State, Aliyu Galadima Saidu, stated these recently while handing over to the new Comptroller of Customs, Awwal Mohammed, at the Command headquarters in Onne. Saidu said the Command had been unrelenting in its anti-smuggling drive as it does everything lawful to encourage compliant users of the Onne Port.

He added: “Our anti-smuggling drive has been very unrelenting.

While we did everything lawful to encourage compliant Port users within our area, the Command’s

enforcement was hard on smugglers and non-compliant traders. “In view of the menace of smuggling to the nation and its scourge on lives and security of the citizenry, the Command left nothing to chance to curb the ugly cankerworm which has eaten deep into our country by the perpetrators, their agents and collaborators. “Consequently, within the period under review, the Command recorded 31 seizures involving 27 containers with total Duty Paid Value of N826 million.

“A breakdown of the seizures indicates eight bags of 50kg foreign rice; 5,615 kegs of 25 litres of vegetable oil; 3,184 bales of secondhand clothing; 1,060 pieces of used tyres; 69 logs of unprocessed wood; 641 bags of used white cement; 76 pieces of door; 1,692 cartons of foreign soap and detergents; 6,500 pieces of aluminum zinc; 5,300 rolls of royal carpets; 6,500 pieces of used canvas; 4 units of Toyota Hiace buses and 4 units of 10-tyre truck.�

The outgoing Customs Area

Comptroller said the Command achieved a total of 2,402, 776 metric tonnes of export activities with free on-board value of $128.7 million within the period under review.

Saidu said: “Sequel to the federal government’s policy thrust of encouraging exports in order to maximise the benefit of accessing the international market, the Command, within the period under review, achieved a total of 2,406,776 metric tonnes of export activities with free on-board value of $128.7 million.�

Uncertainty at Jumia as Doutte Quits as EVP Goddy Egene

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

The exit of Jeremy Doutte as executive vice president (EVP) of Jumia, is said to be sending panic signals to stakeholders and indicating leadership instability in the company.

Jumia has since its formation suffered high leadership turnover in a manner analysts

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT)

in the United Arab Emirates.

Sources at Jumia confirmed Doutte’s exit from a company he vehemently defended especially during Jumia’s stormy moments after it listed on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Citron Research had published a report accusing Jumia of overstating certain financial metrics in its April 2019 Initial public offering (IPO) prospectus and

omitting adverse information about the number of returned, undelivered, or canceled orders from the prospectus.

Ever since the negative experience, Jumia, the Africa-focused Germany-registered e-commerce company has struggled as key investors lost funds and those on the edge refused to commit to the company. Jumia’s outing in the United States heavily dented

the reputation of e-commerce in Africa but industry watchers were quick to dismiss this, insisting that Jumia does not represent Africa.

However, the exit of Doutte is seen as another round of instability for the e-commerce firm which has had to undertake landmark decisions including closing its operations in some African countries.

Akinwuntan Harps on Support for MSMEs

Comms/e-Business Editor

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising)

said was hurting the reputation of the e-commerce company as investors would easily shy away from a brand that suffers from management instability.

Doutte was also said to have strategically traded his shares in the company he once marketed as an industry leader in Africa’s e-commerce space. He is said to have joined Talabat, an online food ordering company based

The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan has stressed the need for increased support to micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

A statement quoted the Ecobank Nigeria boss to have made the remark while speaking at the virtual launch of the first panAfrican MSME Academy.

Akinwuntan pledged the

bank’s support for small businesses operating in the country, stressing that the MSMEs sub -sector remains the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and needs support in the revamping of the nation’s economy.

Akinwuntan, maintained that MSMEs are the drivers of post COVID-19 economic recovery for Nigeria, noting that the sub sector should take advantage of

technology, financial services, and support from the government to drive the survival and growth of their businesses.

Furthermore, Akinwuntan said the MSME Academy which is an initiative of the African Union Development Agency – AUDANEPAD in partnership with the Ecobank Group provides easy access to practical training and resources on financing opportuni-

ties in various countries in Africa, how to build a digital presence for businesses and how to adapt business operations in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added, “as an MSME friendly bank, we have been helping them with capacity building; providing simple and easy access to loans in various sectors including agriculture, creative industry, healthcare and

commerce amongst others; access to markets via our e-commerce solutions and simple but robust digital platforms for collections and payments. “We have also provided a channel to enable MSMEs to open various accounts via self-service on our webpage. I encourage all MSMEs in the country to avail themselves of this opportunity to grow their business. �

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Sanusi: Governments Must Priorities Spending on Basic Amenities Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and former Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, in an interview on AriseTV spoke on current economic issues in the country as well as his activities in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in area of providing qualitative education to the less privileged, especially the girl child. Dike Onwuamaeze and Nume Ekeghe bring the excerpts You have been involved in some human development activities especially promoting the education of the girl child. When did you have the desire to venture into this area and your source of conviction from?

We all need to understand that as human beings we are part of the wider society and our happiness, success and prosperity will count for nothing if we do not ensure that the vast majority of those around us share in our prosperity and success. Many societies that have achieved peace and stability have done that by lifting up those in the bottom of the pyramid. I grew up in an environment where my parents thought me that leadership is first and foremost serving people.

Religiously there is this conviction that if you placed in leadership your worship of God in that position is to bring happiness to the people. So, it is not so much about showing piety and going to the Mosque, if you are in leadership it is all about showing gratitude to God by helping the less privileged. For me it is always about how do I express thanks for the privileges I have had in my life by the family I was born into and the opportunities that I have had? About how do I express thanks by trying to give others that opportunity? I always tell my children, and I hope that they will grow up with that sense of values. I remind my daughters that for each of them that have gotten University degrees there are thousands of northern Nigerian girls that have not completed primary and secondary educations, who are in forced marriages, who are living in abject poverty. And for me if your education is something that only gives you a meal ticket then it is a wasted investment. I need you to think about how each and every one of you can help those that have nothing and how you can create opportunities for them and to alleviate their circumstance. How you can create a society that makes it possible for people who are not born into privilege to have access to opportunities to rise out of the conditions that they find themselves.

Let us into your activities to improve the girl child and your one million teacher’s project?

I come from the perspective that if we are to look for one single silver bullet that has the greatest potential impacts on development it is educating the girl child. It reduces infant and maternal mortalities. It improves nutrition in the children, because with their education they are better enabled to give them good nutrition.

It reduces poverty because they are not just figures on the dependency ratio but gives them opportunity to earn a living and stand on their own feet. It breaks the intra-generational cycle of illiteracy and poverty. It reduces fertility rate and therefore reduces the fast rate of population growth, which has contributed to a lot of the social problems we have. If you take northern Nigeria for example, with average fertility rate of eight or nine for girls that did not complete secondary school education to four for girls that completed secondary school. One of the reasons we continue to have poverty is that the rate of growth in the population out paces the rate of growth in the GDP. This is part of what drives me to focus on the SDG 5 and to fight on educating the girl child and empowering all women and children. With 1 Million Teachers, what we are trying to doing is to focus on improving the quality of teachers, which is the foundation for improving the quality of education. And we are fortunate to have the collaboration of the Queens University in Canada that have started online training programme for teachers. My interest is to provide qualitative education to the under privileged children. It is all over Africa‌ to launch this programme which is the SDG Challenge, which aims at providing equitable fair qualitative education to the under privileged with special emphasis on girls.

How will the 1 Million Teachers initiative

Sanusi be implemented?

The first thing is to understand that for long we have tried on bring ideas on education from the top while teachers who live in the communities might probably have the best idea on how we can improve education. So we want to empower the teachers. We are going to have a programme that will challenge teachers from all over Africa to come up with ideas on how education can be delivered cheaply, qualitatively and equitably to the less privileged, especially rural girls. These entries are going to be assessed by a team from the Queens University and we are going to select winners and once they are selected we will work with them to refine these ideas in things like stakeholders’ engagement and project management and so on. Then, I hope to raise an endowment fund by inviting my friends to help fund these initiatives to deliver education to the powerless.

What are you doing to make it sustainable?

The endowment fund I think is the key and a sign that this is not going to be a one off. The endowment fund would be run by board of advisers with the one million teachers as the implementing partners. This will basically takes it away from me. I will attract funding and the 1 Million Teachers will be implementing and besides, we have a number of individuals and organisations who are concerned about education and girl child education. And this is one way of pulling resources together from these organisations and with competent partnership with universities like the Queen’s to make sure that ideas that are

tested are given the impetus. I think once we succeed, hopefully we will start this thing by October and in September we the closing dinner and launch the endowment fund and hopefully when people see the impact of this it will take off on a life of its own.

How are you seeing the effects of COVID-19 and the new normal it has brought?

One of the best ways to really understand economics is to transcend the numbers and look at human beings. Let me give you a simple example: Think of the Nigerian economy as one with $250 billion. One per cent of it is $2.5 billion then multiply that by the exchange rate. And divide that by say a minimum wage of say N30, 000, you will have about five to 10 million people that have been wiped out at the bottom of the pyramid.

For every one per cent drop in the GDP, that is $2.5 billion worth of goods and services taken out from income. That income could be profit.

It could be rent. It could be wages. In Nigeria it is wages most likely. So, you can easily see how many more people have been thrown into extreme poverty with this six per cent drop in GDP. When you people talk that inflation and people say that it has increased by 200 basis points. When you look at the consumer price composite index and its breakdown and find out that the price of garri has gone up by 50 per cent. Then think about the millions of people who buy garri who are no longer able to afford garri. What does that mean for them as citizens, for their families because that could very well be the difference between a law abiding poor but contented neighbor and

a criminal? So when you hear in a poor country that the GDP has dropped by six per cent, know that it is massive. You and I may not feel that impact as much but those who are going to pay school fees abroad and medical expenses will feel the impact on exchange rate and so on. But in terms of being able to eat and feed your family and educate their children could be the difference between life and death for many people. It is what decides whether the child goes to school or be hawking goes on the street. It is what decides whether the father goes out every morning to his place of work or sits at home doing nothing and has to go into crime in order to feed his family. The problem of course is that the economy already has pre-existing conditions before the advent of COVID-19. The rate of growth before COVID was just two per cent them compare it with the June 2016 crisis where on the eve that crises growth was between five and seven per cent. So we are already in slow growth mode; we were already spending 60 to 70 per cent of government revenue on debt servicing. We already had multiple exchange rates. We had already spent five to six years paying N1 trillion on fuel subsidies.

We didn’t have transparency in the NNPC. So were set up precisely not to be able to cope with an unexpected economic crises, which is why the only option for the government is to go and raise more money through borrowing because the revenue and the resources are not there. That is why the recent measures that were announced Continued on page 26

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

SANUSI: GOVERNMENTS MUST PRIORITIES SPENDING ON BASIC AMENITIES like the elimination of fuel subsidies, though painful, are the necessary structural adjustments we need to improve the revenue profile of the government. We now have increased transparency in the NNPC that has remitted almost N2 trillion to the federation accounts, which is much more than the N1.2 trillion spent on subsidy. Just improving the transparency in the oil sector has substantial impact on government revenues. We also need to look at the quality of spending to make sure we direct them to the very bottom of the pyramid. How much are we spending on education, healthcare, nutrition and basic things like clean water, rural roads and access to markets as a nation compared to how much we are spending on beautiful bridges, fantastic airports, and skyscrapers and so on? The whole idea is that development is about those people at the grass root is something we need to be advocating.

What is your view on the school of thought that held that development is freedom?

You know the mistake we make is to see economics in terms of statistics and numbers, which is the worst mistake to make. Let me tell you something from my own experience. Take the banking industry, when I became governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), I met a number of banks at the verge of collapse. Should I say that these banks have failed and liquidate them and give some insured depositors some small amount?

But what people do not see is that in most banks the shareholders have about 10 per cent of the value as its equity while 90 per cent of the money the banks trade with belongs to depositors who put their money in banks believing that that that bank is regulated and their money is safe. Now when a bank collapses nobody thinks of the poor 70 year old grandmother in Makaradi selling akara who has for 20-30 years faithfully maintaining a savings account and keeping money so that her grandchildren will not suffer. People don’t think of the human beings behind the numbers, they will just say the bank has failed. But with that failed bank, millions have died. And nobody knows them because they were just numbers of depositors. How they worked for their money, how they saved it, maybe they had borrowed money from others hoping to pay back from this savings and now their savings have gone and they still have to pay their debts. Now this savings has gone and they still have to pay their children’s education and healthcare. The difference between being able to go for treatment when fatally injured or sick might be that the bank has failed and your money is locked up. So, the more we think of who suffers and who benefits from economic outcomes, the more we are able to see what our economic priorities should be.

So, one of the key decisions I made was not to allow these banks to fail, which would have been cheaper on the system or do I save the banks and then hold the management and the shareholders responsible. The shareholders could lose their money because they put the management that mismanaged their money. But I felt that depositors who put their money in the bank believe that I as a central bank was looking at those banks and I had a moral obligation to protect those depositors. So as expensive as that process was, my belief was that no matter what it cost, we should make sure that no depositor will lose one Naira. And that was because we don’t know those human beings, what their condition is and what would happen to them if the banks failed. So, we removed the management, we persecuted those we could persecute and blacklisted those that needed blacklisting and also, we then set up an institution that would recapitalise the banks and then imposed on all the banks in Nigeria a levy which would ultimately pay for the bailout over a long term. On exchange rate, we have become a mono-economy as far as forex is concerned where over 90 percent of our forex earnings come from the oil sector and because it is a commodity, the price goes up and down. In addition, we set up the country to suffer. You first of all fixed the price for petroleum products even though you are not refining your petroleum products. So, if crude oil price goes up, and refined petroleum prices go up internationally, we get the benefit of higher crude oil price but lose it immediately because we have to pay more as subsidy for importing refined petroleum products. We are the only oil producing country that does not see the benefit of rising oil prices. So, the central bank can only give us single exchange rate if the central bank has a steady flow of foreign exchange. Now look at the audited account of the NNPC of 2018, and take the NPDC, which is the production arm of the

Sanusi NNPC. It has over 570 staff and spends over $500 million on general expenses and $900,000 per staff in 2018. NAPIMS has a total annual revenue of N5 trillion and about N1.2 trillion was on general expenses, that is N100 billion a month and over N3 billion daily, and that amount is like 25 percent of total federally collected revenue. The great thing I must commend this government for is that this is the first time NNPC account has been audited and published in almost two decades. It is a good first step and now we need to go and look into those accounts and ask questions and force change, so that more of that money which is just being drained would get to the CBN to increase our foreign reserves and to protect the currency.

What is your view on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic disease on small businesses?

Part of the things we have to do is to be intelligent about how we manage the economy and the manner we manage COVID-19. The reason the SMEs are suffering is because of the shutdown in order to save lives. First of all, Africa as a whole has shown relatively low level of mortality compared to the rest of the world. But what I will like to see is proper scientific research that will tell us why fewer Nigerians are dying of COVID-19? This will help us to isolate the vulnerable and allow the rest to engage in economic activities. So that we will not require this long lockdown measure that hurt livelihood and keep people that live day to day away from working and earning income.

Because people you protect from COVID may die of hunger and increased poverty. Let us isolate the demographics that are vulnerable, keep them safe at home so that the rest of us can go out and work. This is what that will help the SMEs to get back quickly. You cannot keep on giving them loans without allowing them to go out to produce and sell and be able to pay back. Otherwise the CBN’s money will become a grant and come back to its balance sheet as non-performing loans that wipe the capital of the central bank and the Ministry of Finance will recapitalise the bank. We should know that there is no long term solution or alternative to economic activities because you have to actually be producing goods and services. We can have temporary measures of CBN financing government palliatives because the government has nothing left after spending 99 percent of its revenue on debt servicing.

Even the Economic Sustainability plan is just one per cent of the GDP while other countries have three to six per cent of their GDP because we do not have the money. And the only way the government will have money is if oil prices go

up or if it borrows or taxes. But the government cannot at this time start increasing taxes on people when they are suffering. Imaging us going to the private sector for payroll taxes when inflation is growing. If the government is running a huge deficit that deficit is a surplus somewhere. Now we know that the current and capital account is in deficit. So the surplus is on households and businesses. The only way you can deal with those deficits without borrowing is to go for the surplus on households and businesses. The government can retrench workers. It takes income from households and reduces government deficit.

But, how many families has it thrown to poverty?

Or the government can impose taxes on the private sector but again how many people will suffer. Are we ready for that at the moment? So let us have the structural changes that can attract investments.

All we need is foreign and local investments in productive sectors.

What are the lessons you took from the ďŹ nancial crisis of 2007 to 2009, when you were the CBN Governor?

When I was approached in February 2009 that I was being considered as one of the possible candidates for the governor of the CBN, I had to prepare myself in case I was called upon to take on that role. It was a frightening moment.

The entire world was in a crisis and if you take over the role of a central bank governor in the middle of a crisis you have the risk of being the person it will come down crashing on your head and you will go down in history in ignominy as the shortest serving governor and being accused of bringing down the system. I was fortunate to have a friend who works with the British High Commission in Abuja who had done her Ph.D around Asian financial crisis. And she gave me a copy of that Ph.D. There was a sufficient study on Malaysia. So, even before I got to the CBN I had decided on the key things that I was going to do which was to go in look at these problems honestly without hiding it, take the steps that need to be taken that may be drastic and shocking to many people.

Malaysia had three vehicles. One is to put money into the banks so that they will have liquidity and keep the depositors safe. Another had the task of putting capitals into the banks and later sells them after the banks have recovered and make a profit. Another had the task of taking away the nonperforming loans and restructure them and managing the collaterals and so on.

What we did with AMCON, was to put in all those three functions into one company and this

is the first time in the world anybody had done that. But we knew that we needed to do that by giving them life support, we needed to give them life support, capital and take care of toxic assets. The legislative process in Nigeria is that if we had tried to pass three laws, the banks would the banks would have died long before then. So, we went through a process of creating one body. And my thought to them was that after I left, the next governor or the governor after him might at some point begin to unpack AMCON into three separate entities where you have the toxic assets managed by somebody, have capital assets managed by somebody else and have the collateral that has been gathered by AMCON managed by somebody else. So, you can have two companies that could potentially be floated on the stock exchange for the central bank to recover some of its money and then the government gets out. So, you would have like a sunset clause that after a while AMCON would no longer exist as it is. One of the greatest challenges we had was that there we these big holes in the bank and how did these big holes emerge. One we had banking consolidation where the CBN required the banks to have N25 billion. Some of these banks decided to set up Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), lent monies to the SPVs and then the SPV turned around and bought shares in the bank. Now because the money funding the shares came from the banks, all they had done was transfer money from liabilities into capital. So, we had a bank for example that listed its stocks at N22 at one point and it owned 25 percent of itself. By the time the stock market crashed because you will bear in mind that the NSE has strong correlation to oil prices. By the time the oil price crashed the stock market crashed also.

When oil price crashed and money flew out the markets and share prices of these bank crashed, it was not the shareholders who suffered but the depositors whose money had been taken to buy the shares of the banks. It was that breach of trust where someone had given you money to do normal banking business but you used his money to make him an unwitting shareholder in your bank. The second major problem was that you then had banks that were tightly controlled by individuals or families where depositors’ funds had been used to create all sorts of loans that were never paid back.

Lastly, are you preparing for politics?

People have been talking to me about politics even when I was at the CBN in 2011, that they wanted me to be the presidential candidate. I have never had an interest in partisan politics. The nature of my family is that we consider ourselves as leaders of all people and politics can be very divisive. You can join one political party and then alienate yourself from others. All I can say is that this is not something that for me is an objective. I think there are many ways of being of service to the nation. If you look at my CV, I started off as an academic. I was teaching economics at Ahmadu Bello University and after just two years before I could complete my Master’s thesis I decided to go into banking for just no reason. And I have made a success of my career as a banker, as a regulator and as an Emir. Maybe it is time to publish some collections of my articles that have no relationship with economics at all. They are about Sharia, identity, etc. I had written some of them between 1999 and 2005. It may come out in a few months. Then the book on central banking will come out. I also will like to write a book on the impact of certain interpretations of Moslem family laws on the development of Nigeria. It will deal on the interpretation of the law and certain cultural practices around child marriage, child rights and how they have contributed to poverty and underdevelopment in Northern Nigeria. And in the process I am thinking that maybe I could get a Ph.D and maybe go back to my first career that I never concluded and just be a professor in different universities abroad. And the great thing with the life I have led is that if I complete that Ph.D, how many universities would have someone with a PhD who has been a bank CEO, Governor of Central bank and Emir. So, it is a kind of CV that would give you any university in the world, whether it is Harvard, Oxford or Cambridge and anywhere you want because it is now about my entire life experience. I am going to take life as it goes. I am in no hurry. I have enough on my plate and I see my life as life of service and I don’t think that public service is limited to elected office. Any opportunity I have to serve, I would take it if it is something I think I am capable of delivering. I have no immediate plans to go into politics.

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Sanlam Group to Strengthen FBNInsurance, FBN General Ebere Nwoji The Sanlem Group, owners of FBNInsurance and FBN General Insurance has pledged to leverage its 103-year pedigree in finance services business to provide the management of the two insurance firms with the requisite support and technical skills.

The Chief Executive Officer of Sanlam Emerging Markets (SEM), Mr. Heinie Werth, while speaking at a recent virtual brokers’ forum hosted by

the group, stated that the core strategy of the Sanlam Group was to be one of the leading pan-african financial service providers. “With a business presence in 33 countries in Africa, we want to be the preferred service provider across the continent when it comes to providing financial solutions and it is part of our ambition to be the number one pan-African financial services provider�, he said.

Werth, said the forum was

aimed at welcoming the brokers to the Sanlam family while providing an overview of the group’s operations and reassuring the brokers of a seamless transition with the new ownership.

The forum was attended by over 30 top ranking insurance brokers who work with FBNInsurance and FBN General Insurance as well as the executive members of both businesses and the Sanlam Group.

Werth, sought their sup-

MTNAppointsNewAuditCommitteeChair,ActingGCFO MTN has announced changes to the board of directors of MTN Group, as well as to the board of major subsidiary MTN South Africa. After six years as an independent non-executive director of MTN Group – the last five as audit committee chairman – Christine Ramon will step down on September 30, to focus on her extended executive responsibilities.

However, Sindi Mabaso-Koyana joined the MTN Group board as an independent non-executive director effective September 1, assuming the chairmanship of the audit committee on October 1.

Mabaso-Koyana is a chartered accountant with extensive experience in the public and private sectors, where she is held in high regard both locally and internationally. She has served

as a non-executive director for numerous companies, and her current board positions include MTN Zakhele Futhi, AWCA Investment Holdings, Toyota SA and Phembani Group.

A statement from the telco quoted its Group chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, to have said: “Christine has played an invaluable role in ensuring the integrity of MTN’s corporate reporting, for which the board is grateful and wishes her well in her future endeavours. We also welcome Sindi, who the board believes to be a worthy successor in this critical role.� Following the announcement in August of the appointment of group chief financial officer (GCFO), Ralph Mupita as the new group president and chief executive officer (GCEO)

effective September 1, outgoing GCEO, Rob Shuter, has stepped down from the board. “The board once again expresses its gratitude to Rob for his leadership and wishes him success in future. The company continues with its rigorous recruitment process for the GCFO position, and in the interim the board has appointed Sugentharan Perumal as MTN Group’s acting GCFO. “A chartered accountant for over 15 years, Sugen has extensive financial and accounting experience. He has served as an external auditor of MTN Group and held various key executive and board positions within the group. He is currently acting CFO of MTN South Africa and previously held the CFO position at MTN Irancell,� the statement added.

port and commitment in building and growing the group’s operation in Nigeria, stressing that, “We are optimistic that the FBNInsurance and FBN General Insurance teams will continue to provide the same excellent services to you and your clients that you have become accustomed to over the years. There is no doubt about this.�

Also speaking, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FBNInsurance, Mr. Val Ojumah, appreciated everyone

in attendance, especially the brokers, for their invaluable support to the Nigerian life and general insurance businesses and craved their indulgence for continued support to FBNInsurance and FBN General Insurance.

The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, FBN General Insurance, Mr. Bode Opadokun, applauded the brokers for their continued support to both businesses over the years while reassuring them of readiness

to remain committed to partnering with them in offering innovative product solutions to customers and to remain open to more suggestions that would help improve service delivery to customers.

The question and answer segment was facilitated by Robert Domisse, Chief Executive Officer, Sanlam Pan Africa Life and Emmanuel BrulĂŠ, Chief Executive Officer, Sanlam Pan Africa General Insurance respectively.

Hustle Mobile Unveils App for Businesses e-Commerce tech company, Hustle Mobile, is set to unveil its multi-vendor market place App, Hustle, for business owners in the sales and services sectors.

Hustle, which is available for Android and iOS users, would help businesses increase their earnings.

According to Managing Partner, Hustle Mobile, David Samuel, the business solution efficiently and seamlessly connects customers through the Hustle App with sellers within geo-range through the Hustle Sellers and with partner riders through the Hustle Drivers App. “With a focus on providing easy delivery of essential products and services, the on-demand Multi-Vendor Marketplace app is useful for a range of activities including shopping, logistics and

car hire, among others. “Hustle Mobile App ensures ease of buying and delivery by having fewer processes and affordable delivery option, all in one. Our map functionality allows customers’ orders to be delivered to their customers/clients in real-time,� a statement quoted Samuel to have added.

He disclosed that users are set for a good time with a dedicated team of professionals overseeing operations to ensure seamless transactions. “We have a team of experienced professionals who have demonstrated comprehensive process know-how, a proven implementation record and a team with international exposure led by an experienced entrepreneur to ensure that Hustle can respond

to customer’s needs and create value for clients and partners,� he added.

The uniquely designed Hustle App incorporates text, embedded graphics, photo, video, audio and code that displays content and enhances user interaction.

Apart from being user friendly and customisable for different uses, Hustle’s upload time of between two to five seconds using a connection speed of 1GB is very fast. “Businesses are going digital for both sales and services and our design enables users to choose from a small selection of screens to visit, provide clear navigation and labels for the screens where navigation tabs take you and tell visitors where they currently are and how to get back,� Samuel further explained.

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Osunkeye: CAMA 2020 Reduces Tax Burden on SMEs Chief Olusegun Osunkeye is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Omnibus Business Solutions Limited and Pilot Securities. He is also a former Chairman of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc and Lafarge Africa Plc. In recognition of his significant contributions through the private sector, to the industrial, commercial and agricultural development of the country, he has been conferred with several awards, including the National Honors Awards thrice. Osunkeye, who turns 80 today, in this interview speaks on a wide range of issues. Peter Uzoho brings the excerpts: One of the focus of the government is to address the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

To what extent is the objective being achieved?

What are the gaps and the way forward?

We are a high cost country, by that, I mean the cost of producing an item or providing a service is relatively high compared to other countries in the West African region or Africa and beyond. Why this so, one is might ask. The reasons are many, starting with infrastructure, unstable electricity, and poor road network, inefficiencies and bureaucracy at the ports. However, the government has been taking steps to reduce the cost of doing business. For example, the recent Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, which received the President’s assent on 7th August 2020, is a welcome development. It will reduce the cost for start-up companies, which are small enterprises. Those engaging in start-ups are our youths, young graduates and so, it should ease unemployment. The 2020 CAMA, along with the recent revisions of the Finance Act will also reduce the tax burden on small businesses and encourage the informal sector, which is huge in Nigeria. It will be beneficial for the country and help national planning. But more needs to be done in operational terms. By that, I mean the provision of stable electricity, portable water, and of course fixing of roads. It is daunting that most businesses have to own and maintain generators and boreholes to provide water, and in some cases provide access roads. Providing all these before producing a single unit of item, drive up the cost of production and renders us uncompetitive as a country. Whilst these infrastructure deficits are being fixed, it is very important to pay attention to the efficiency of the Naira spent, and the quality of the work done.

You are known for adherence to the principles of corporate governance. Is corporate governance today being practiced in its proper form?

Nigeria is a member of the committee of nations.

The quest for excellence in corporate governance is a challenge that is being taken seriously in many countries around the world, including our country.

Nigeria is a player in the global economy and therefore must endeavour to apply best practices and standards. Sound corporate governance helps assure business partner in investment decisions.

Nigeria has a good Code of Corporate Governance in place and the latest version which was painstakingly put together took effect in January 2018. It applies for now to the private sector only, but it is hoped that a Code of Governance for the public sector will come sooner rather than later.

In this regard, the President has signed into law the new Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA 2020) on 7th August 2020.

It is an important Act which has brought us more or less up-to-date in the administration of corporate law. It has many innovative provisions not contained in the previous CAMA 2004. For instance, virtual meetings, in popular parlance, zooms, are now recognised. The same applies to electronic copies of documents and electronic signatures, thus bringing our corporate law into the digital age. The society for Corporate Governance Nigeria has made comments and commended many the innovative sections in the CAMA 2020.

With the controversy surrounding some aspects of CAMA 2020, which areas would you advise the federal government to revisit?

In the area of corporate governance, I would want that we give further thought. CAMA 2020 has lifted the threshold for describing small companies from a turnover of N2 million to N120 million and net asset value of N1 million to N60 million. The benefits accruing to SMEs will thus be available to far greater number of businesses and enterprises.

However, in the area of corporate governance, I do not see the overall benefits. CAMA 2020 does not require small companies to hold annual general meetings or appoint auditors or company secretary.

I do not view this as positive. No investor or potential partner will rely on an account that is not audited. The Federal or State Internal Revenue Service requires audited account to assess tax of a

Osunkeye company. Banks and other financial institutions need to have reliable basis such as an audited accounts inter alia in considering credit etc. Under CAMA 2020, an SME does not have to hold annual general meeting which is an event set aside to review the company’s performance in the previous period, consider how the future environment is likely to be and take appropriate corporate action. CAMA 2020 has many clauses to help the cost of doing business in Nigeria. We would want to see corporate governance tenets enhanced even for SMEs so that businesses are run profitably and by extension, payment of income tax to government coffers.

Some analysts have posited that implementation of national orientation and ethics in Nigeria should be reviewed for enhanced effectiveness. What is your take?

When those of us in my age bracket look back to our youthful age and what we were taught to imbibe as we were growing up two or three generations ago, compared to what we are seeing now, we shudder and marvel. Dishonesty, cheating, violence, wickedness, waste, lack of career plan and lack of consideration for the next fellow, are all we see around us. It has not always been so from the beginning. As young ones, we were taught the virtues of honesty, hard work. I remember being drummed into our ears that hard work never kills, it is laziness/indolence that kills. It was an era honour system. For instance, if you were going on the road and you see the layers of yams or maize or oranges laid on the side of the road for sale, you pick the layer you want and drop the appropriate sum. The product may worth pennies, half-pennies and farthings as these are the types of denominations in those days.

The farmer picks the proceeds of sale on his way back from the farm in the evening. It was therefore no surprise to me when I later sojourned in England, Switzerland and Malaysia where there is a similar transaction model. I would go round the corner, pick my newspaper, drop the money and walk away. It evokes memories of what I was used to and learnt in Nigeria. Back then, were taught civics in secondary schools, in my case, Kings College, Lagos, which deals with how to behave and how to be a responsible citizen in your community. Essentially, it is an aspect of ethics being taught to us at an early age. Actually, civics or by extension ethics, in a broad sense should start from home, pre-school, with stories. In the 1940’s, we were educated with tales by the moonlight such as that of the crafty tortoises, foxes, snails etc. as the story stories have moral lessons. Our parents or grandparents who tell us the tales want us to imbibe or conversely not to imbibe the attitude of the central character.

Now most these values and honour system seem to have disappeared. I believe this may be the need for National Orientation Agency. It is strategic to character development for young

ones. For enhanced efficiency and effectiveness, the Agency should be re-vamped. This will make its presence felt.

The agency’s activities should be felt at the grassroots. The activities must cut across all socio-economic cadres. The time has come for the agency to walk the talk and set example of virtuous behavior which will permeate every layer of the society and eventually become a way of life and fabric of our community as a people. This will ultimately become our national image and perception in the comity of nations. Other nations will treat us with courtesy, dignity and respect which we deserve and should expect.

The cost of governance in Nigeria has been frequently criticised as extremely high. What are the cost centers that government should look into?

It is true. Many have complained that the cost of governance is extremely high in Nigeria, and many have clamoured for a drastic reduction and made suggestions. To my mind, we should look at the three arms of government in the first instance.

The legislative arm is bloated as to number of legislators and the cost – salaries, constituency and other various allowances, are humongous. Even the several oversight committees are duplicated in two Houses, then the various perks and other benefits.

All these can be drastically reduced if we have a single chamber, say, the House of Representatives only, and do away entirely with the Senate. Many countries have adopted this model. Then we should take a look at the Executive arm. Let us slim the various ministries and agencies, eliminate the recurring issue of ghost workers, and take advantage of digitalisation. All payments and transfers must pass through the banking system and since every person must have a Bank Verification Number (BVN), where the BVN appears more than once, alarm is raised, and no payment. Constitutional amendment may be required to prune down the number of ministries and ministers, as the present situation requires that every state must be represented in the appointment of ministers.

The judiciary should be strengthened to operate optimally. It should be financially independent.

The numbers of judges at various levels should be increased, and digitalisation entrenched with training and re-training. The pruning cost should also be replicated at the state level.

With your corporate background in agriculture, can you share your experience on how to enhance workers’ productivity?

Let me draw on my experience in my Nestle years.

I was put in charge of overseeing our 1,000-hectare farm situated in Kaduna State. We planted maize, sorghum and soya beans on about 900 hectares.

A large commercial farm one might say. I learnt a few lessons, such as land clearing which took a long time over a year in our own case and required

deploying heavy equipment. It is capital intensive, so funding is critical. To get this huge farm which is 16km left, off Kaduna –Abuja Expressway, we had to create or widen roads, and build bridges to cross streams. This is to enable us transport workers and equipment from Kaduna town to and from the farm and later evacuate harvested crops in 20-ton trailers on a continuous shuttling basis. To recruit and get enough farm hands who were required to assemble at a pickup point was a big challenge. Then we faced the challenge of productivity. We found that there was no work ethic to talk about. After collecting their wages, many workers simply did not show up for work anymore. We gathered from their colleagues that the work was tedious, and that they do not see why they should work that much to get only small money. This takes me to advise that the employers of youth should work on their mindset and work ethic, even as they have to be trained and put through on mechanised farming, not just hoe and cutlass. One more point, we found that the workers’ productivity was very low, given that they had to do physical work in the sun. So, we decided to give them at least one good meal a day, for which we killed a cow every day, and we provided good shelter against the harsh weather. The result vastly improved productivity. The workers were prepared to work longer hours which we needed, especially during harvest season. I suppose what goes for farming personnel-wise also applies to road construction, and similar physical exertion activities.

Long term commitment, provision of funds, teaching and training of the workers and their welfare, organisation of manpower and materials are pre-requisite for successful outcomes.

What are your guiding principles of life?

Have a mentor, be a mentor. I strongly believe that it is more blessed to give than to receive. There is joy in giving. This applies as well to giving of your time and talent to serving your church, community or other spheres of activities. You are blessed in order to be a channel of blessing. You are blessed to serve. There is joy in serving. In human relations, William Shakespeare said and I quote, “neither a borrower nor a lender be. “ It means do not lend to a friend and do not borrow money from a friend. If you do so, you may lose both your money and your friend. In business and corporate relations however, it is a different story, borrow to the hilt provided you know, you can, and will pay back. The banks are there to lend to grow your business. Once the banks can trust you on the strength of your transparency, honesty and integrity, they would be willing to lend to you. I have held American Express card since 1975, and I have kept firmly to the terms and conditions of use of the card. I was in my flat in London around 1990, when a letter arrived through the post from American Express, inviting me to take an unsolicited loan of ÂŁ25,000, and do whatever I like with it, repayable instalmentally over five years at a reasonable interest rate. I was surprised and pondered over what to do with this unsolicited loan.

Around the same time, my bank, Barclays Bank, was canvassing for savings from their customers, offering interest rates which were well above the borrowing rate I would pay on borrowing. I therefore accepted the offer from American Express and put the entire loan in savings with Barclays Bank, thus creating a win-win situation for the three parties involved. I gained from the interest rate differentials.

Your faith as a Christian must have also shaped your guiding principles?

I always pray for the fruit of the spirit; which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to guide and rule my life. As you dress, so you will be addressed. First impressions matter and more than likely, it reflects who you are; do unto others as you would they do unto you; politeness, courtesy, “thank you� “please�, “I am sorry� these little words matter.

Have an attitude of gratitude to enhance your altitude in the journey of life.

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‘Lack of Public Trust May Hamper New CAMA Law’ Emma Okonji and Peter Uzoho PwC Nigeria has highlighted the significance of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA 2020), while insisting that the new legislation will impact positively on small businesses, if well implemented.

PwC however warned that lack of public trust in government over its intention to implement the new CAMA law, could hamper the implementation process.

Fiscal Policy Partner and West Africa Tax Leader at PwC, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, who delivered a paper titled “CAMA 2020, Nigeria’s Competitiveness and Ease of Doing Business�, during the virtual Capability Enhancement Workshop for Journalists, organised by PwC recently, provided an overview of the new law, which he noted,

remained the most important business regulation in Nigeria especially as it has significant impact on the ease of doing business, competitiveness, attracting investments, and economic growth.

He observed the controversies it has generated before providing analysis of the key provisions and changes introduced by the new law, compared to the old version of the law that had been in operation since 1990.

Oyedele stated the need to gazette the law with a future commencement date to facilitate ease of transition while emphasizing the importance of effective implementation.

According to him, “The new law encourages the growth of small businesses, which are the engine houses for fast economic development of nations. It also encourages foreign companies to invest in Nigeria through the ease

of doing business. The only controversial aspect of the 600-page document, is on the regulation of NGOs and churches, which government must be careful about to avoid over regulation.�

He emphasised the need to harmonise CAMA with other laws such as the Companies Income Tax Act, which still requires audited accounts by all companies regardless of size.

Oyedele advised that the new law should be kept under constant review with more frequent amendments or re-enactment in every five years.

Partner and Chief Economist at PwC Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Nevin, who also delivered a paper on ‘Eco-

nomic Sustainability: Tracking and Reporting the Metrics that Matter, at the annual PwC workshop, which is now in its seventh year, advised journalists to always track k e y m e t r i c s s u ch as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and other policy pronouncements of governments, which could be used to benchmark their analysis on government statistics and enrich their general reporting on the economy.

Editor-in-Chief at Stears Business, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, facilitated a session on ‘Journalism and the New Normal: Challenges and Opportunities’ during which he shared the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

on news consumption patterns and what this means for the fortunes of journalists and their media houses. He noted that in times of uncertainty, trustworthy reporting becomes even more important than the speed to break the news.

The annual PwC workshop, which is now in its seventh year, is a key component of PwC’s Corporate Responsibility strategy. It was instituted in recognition of the very important role of the media in society.

The capacity enhancement workshop precedes the award gala-nite for the announcement of winners of this year ’s PwC Media Excellence Awards, which is scheduled to hold virtually on October 2, 2020.

“Our support for the media through this workshop and the media excellence award is in line with our purpose which is to build trust in society and solve important problems. It is a demonstration of our strong belief that for the Nigerian people to enjoy good governance, the media must perform its role optimally and professionally and this is reflected in the quality of reporting, in the capacity of individual journalists to carry out research and investigations, in the independence of editorial judgments, and in their ability to use technology as an enabler,� Oyedele said.

‘Ibom Air has Surpassed Financial Projections’ Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Akwa Ibom State government, owners of Ibom Air has disclosed that the airline surpassed financial projections since it commenced operations, noting that although it is a fully government-owned carrier, the business model makes it a purely profit-oriented venture devoid of any form of bureaucratic encumbrance.

State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ini Emomobong, who made the disclosure during a courtesy visit to the THISDAY Abuja office, at the weekend , said the business model behind the airliner is that of a fully private firm, running clearly like a private enterprise but owned by the state government. “Of course, government purchases the infrastructure and allows them run the low end fully as a private venture. We have companies like that running in Akwa Ibom, where the ownership, infrastructure, building are owned by the government but in the commercial end of it it is run purely as a business where government cannot interfere. “So, on the low end, it runs like any other business but the ownership is government.

There is a reporting line where at the end, they bring their full year account, so government will say look, you are doing well. Why are you not doing well?

So, at that point, the dayto-day running doesn’t have government involved but the infrastructural purchase have government involved,� he said.

Justifying the state’s involvement in airline business, Emomobong said Governor Udom Emmanuel’s vision was to make the state an integrated aviation hub encompassing commercial flights; maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility and cargo operations.

According to him, the investment portfolio and Emmanuel’s vision, “is to create a gateway into the state’s land, sea and water, which is why Ibom seaport is also critical to what we are doing.�

On skepticism in some quarters over the viability of an airline business, Emomobong said an efficient aircraft type--Bombardier CRJ900 was carefully chosen, adding that since Ibom Air commenced operations on June 7, 2019, the load factor has been quite impressive at between 60 and 80 per cent.

He noted that with the delivery of another CRJ900 on September 2, the airline’s fleet currently stands at five, stressing that an indication of the good run of the airline is that it intends to expand flights to the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu in addition to the existing four destinations, adding that the location of the proximity of the airport to the commercial city of Aba, Abia State is an added advantage as many air travelers come from that axis. “The commercial content of Akwa Ibom and its environs is bigger than what is speculated. Ibom Air within since months of their existence declared profits; they surpassed their financial projections. Ibom air, I assure you is a venture that will be very profitable,� the commissioner said.

He recalled that during former Governor Obong Attah’s era when he wanted an airport in Uyo, the state capital, the argument from critics was why that administration would create an airport in Uyo when Cross River State is a few kilometres away.

He noted that with the number of airlines currently operating into the Obong Attah International Airport, Uyo and the frequency of operations, the decision to build it is justified.

LENDINGHELPINGHANDS

L-R: Welfare Officer, LOTS Charity Foundation, Tayo Eduwa; Activation Manager, CHI Limited, Godspower Utawure; Chief Administrative Officer, LOTS Charity Foundation, Aare Solomon, and Assistant Activation Manager, CHI Limited, Chinyem Austin, during the donation of Hollandia Products by Hollandia NurtureAChildInitiativetochildrenatAjegunle,Lagos‌recently

Budgetary Preparations Will Be Participatory, Says Kwara Governor Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Kwara State Governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has assured residents of the state that henceforth, budgetary preparations for every fiscal year would be participatory in order to accommodate people’s expectations from the government.

AbdulRazaq, who gave assurance at a recent town hall meeting of all stakeholders during the flag-off of the three-phased citizens’ engagement session on the 2021 budget in Ilorin, said the era of making budgetary preparations to be an elitist form was over.

The engagement was attended by several community-based organisations, civil society groups, religious bodies, and cabinet members led by the Secretary to the Kwara State Government Professor Mamman Saba Jubril.

Members of the parliament were led to the session by the Speaker, Yakubu Salihu Danladi and House Leader, Magaji Olawoyin.

He said, “Our budgets are often too elitist and we are working in Kwara to address this. This meeting is one of

such steps. We will make sure that fewer technical terms are used so that ordinary folks can understand and own the document. “On December 10th 2019, our administration organised the first-ever citizens’ engagement session on budget preparation in the state. That engagement was meant to harvest the views of the people on what shape and direction they wanted the 2020 budget to take.

While we will always seek to do more, I am proud to say that the views of our people were respected in the budget.�

He added, “I also said we will hold the sessions across our three senatorial districts. I am proud to say that we have fulfilled that promise with this flag-off today. Another one is slated for Kwara North on Thursday while the third leg of the engagement will hold in Kwara South on September 7th.�.

AbdulRazaq said the citizens’ engagement was to further democratise the budget preparation process in line with the global best practices of transparency and inclusion.

He said the administration has taken budget beyond the annual rituals it was in Kwara State by making sure that the fiscal plan is implemented to have positive impacts in the lives of the people.

The governor stressed, “For the first time in many years in Kwara State, we recorded 52 per cent implementation of the capital expenditure component of the 2019 budget. “The closest to that in recent years was 42 per cent that was achieved in 2017.

Similarly, we posted a record 98 per cent implementation of the recurrent expenditure in the same budget. “These underscore our commitment to infrastructural development and the welfare of the people. Notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruptions to the global economy, our resolve will be to beat this record.�

AbdulRazaq said the administration was committed to transparency, probity, and community ownership of government projects, adding that the government has officially activated the social audit that he proposed a few

weeks ago.

He opined further that, “We are open to collaboration. We want the people to be involved in what we do because we have nothing to hide. That is why we proposed social auditing which has now started. “The idea is for everyone to be involved and to ensure optimum use of resources.

We can come together to make public funds work for the people. Where there are infractions with any projects or contractors, we will address such,� he said.

Chairman Kwara House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Hon. Olatunji Ambali expressed the support of the Assembly to government in its bid to ensure transparency and citizens’ participation in budgetary process. “Members of the 9th Assembly legislature that I am a part of are in total support of the town hall meeting initiative which has the aim of harvesting contributions and suggestions from members of the general public and critical stakeholders in the budget preparation process,�

Ambali said.

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Stakeholders Call for Closer Monitoring of Non-Interest Banks Nume Ekeghe The implementation of effective fiscal and monetary policy measures is critical towards addressing the unexpected impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the financial system.

The Managing Director/ Chief Executive of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Umaru Ibrahim stated this in a speech delivered on his behalf by the Director, Insurance Surveillance Department (ISD), NDIC, Mr. Galadima Gana, at a webinar titled “The Impact of COVID-19 on the Banking System with a

Special Focus on Non-Interest Financial Institutions’ (NIFIs),� that was organised by the NDIC in collaboration with the Islamic Financial Service Board (IFSB).

He described the webinar as a crucial platform for stakeholders and regulators in the industry to examine and analyse the issues affecting operations in the non-interest banking sector that have been impacted by the pandemic with a view to proffering effective solutions and interventions to ensure stability of the financial system.

Gana explained that the

aim of the Webinar was to bring critical stakeholders in the non-interest banking sector to, among other issues, evaluate the Central Bank of Nigeria’s interventions in the sector in terms of enhancing financial inclusion, gain insights into consumer behaviour in light of the recent Sukuk Issuance as well as highlight global interventions such as the Islamic Development Bank’s Social Welfare Sukuk.

The Secretary General of the IFSB, Dr. Bello Lawal Danbatta, disclosed that since its establishment in 2003, the IFSB has remained committed to the implementation of

prudent regulations to promote financial system stability for Non Interest Financial Institutions (NIFIs).

He said in light of the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial system, it is critical for industry operators to strictly monitor their credit, market and operation risks for operational resilience as well as come up with a coordinated policy response for both domestic and international financial institutions.

Presentations were delivered

by Managing Directors and Heads of Units of various NIFIs in Nigeria including Taj Bank Plc, SunTrust Bank Plc, Tijara

Microfinance Bank, Jaiz Bank Plc and Sterling Bank Plc. Members of the academia from across the country including those from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and University of Lagos also served as panellists during the webinar.

Participants tabled their concerns and recommendations in a communique issued at the end of the Webinar.

Highlights of the recommendations included the need for regulators, especially the CBN to address the liquidity challenges faced by the NIFIs on investible instruments particularly short-term investible windows; the adoption of Social

Financing in collaboration with religious bodies that have the mandate to collect zakat (Islamic obligatory charity) and protect Waqf (Islamic charitable endowment) that could be channeled towards projects targeted at poverty alleviation; the extension of Sukuk to include the corporate private sector and the use of its proceeds in developmental initiatives such as healthcare; and the establishment of noninterest microfinance banks to target the financially excluded and underserved segments of the population in line with the financial inclusion drive of the federal government.

Sterling Bank Holds Agriculture Summit Sterling Bank Plc has announced that its annual Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) will hold from September 23rd to 24th, 2020, with the theme “Fast Forward Agriculture: Exploiting the Next Revolution.�

The statement by the bank also announced Mastercard Foundation, Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and IDH – the sustainable trade initiative as headline sponsors for the third edition of the Summit.

Other partners confirmed to be supporting this year’s event include Flour Mills Nigeria PLC., NIRSAL and Nourishing Africa.

The emergence of Mastercard Foundation and IDH as headline sponsors of this year’s is indicative of significant strides in providing access to capital for women, small and medium scale enterprises as well as smallholder farmers in the country as enunciated in last year’s post-summit communique. Both organizations are strong advocates for the professionalization of the agricultural sector and the diversification of rural economies through improved access to a range of appropriate and sustainable financial and technical services.

More than 2,500 delegates, financiers, entrepreneurs, government functionaries and agribusiness practitioners drawn from across the African continent, Asia, Europe and North America participated at the 2019 edition of the Summit.

Executive Director, Corporate and Investment Banking, Sterling Bank, Yemi Odubiyi, said this year’s edition would be a hybrid event – online and physical – due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and the need to adhere to health management protocols laid down by authorities.

Odubiyi said the event was part of the bank’s commitment to the critical sectors of the Nigerian economy under its well thought-out and impact-based HEART initiative. Agriculture is one of the five sectors the bank is concentrating investment in.

The other sectors are Health, Education, Renewable Energy and Transportation.

The Executive Director

added that the physical studios will be stationed in Abuja and Lagos for selected persons – speakers and panellists – noting that participants are required to register online via the summit’s official website.

Also speaking, Group Head, Agric and Solid Mineral Finance for the bank, Bukola Awosanya,explained that aside financing opportunities for stakeholders, the bank would also use the summit to facilitate conversations around key areas in the sector.

She observed that “The ongoing global pandemic has caused job losses across various sectors of the Nigerian economy – agribusiness inclusive. With these job losses have come a drop in overall productivity and capacity for effective demand.� She also noted that “the control measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus in the country, such as restricted movement across key states and border closures have also contributed to slow growth in the agribusiness sector by resulting in inaccessibility of inputs and raw materials key for production. These, amongst others, are pertinent issues that can further reduce productivity in the agribusiness sector, if not quickly addressed.�

Awosanya said that this year’s summit will seek to enable collaboration between stakeholders to help identify and deliver actionable steps to revolutionise Nigeria’s and sub-Saharan Africa’s agri-business industries for sustained long-term growth after the pandemic.

The summit will also have a virtual deal room, dedicated to bringing together business owners seeking capital and investors seeking opportunities to help facilitate sizeable investments that can drive increased output across the agri-business value chain.

Past editions of Agriculture Summit Africa have provided a platform for multi-disciplinary discussions on pervasive issues and practical solutions that would drive an integrated approach for food security in Africa, while exploring inclusive agricultural commodity trade agenda that can boost intra-African trade.

STOCK-TAKING

L-R: Non Executive Director, Global Spectrum Energy Services Plc, Clement Akan; Executive Director/CFO, Wasiu Akindele; Company Secretary, Maureen Ekeopara; Non Executive Director/Representative of the Chairman, Osahon Idemudia, and Acting Managing Director, Austin Oyagha, at the 12th Annual GeneralMeetingofthecompanyheldinLagos‌recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

ICPC Inaugurates Anti-corruption Unit at FAAN Chinedu Eze The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has inaugurated members of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) AntiCorruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU).

At an inauguration/induction ceremony held in Lagos at the weekend, the Managing Director of FAAN, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, stated that corruption constitutes an unusual and extra ordinary threat to national security and socio-economic development of Nigeria.

Commending the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhariled administration in curbing the menace of corruption and its attendant effects in Nigeria, Yadudu emphasised that FAAN as an organisation under the Federal Ministry of Aviation

have taken steps in ensuring the implementation of various anti-corruption measures one of which is the ACTU that is being inaugurated.

Assuring the Chairman ICPC of management’s commitment towards the success of the Unit, he charged members of the Unit to be of exemplary conduct and maintain personal integrity at all times in the discharge of their duties.

There were goodwill messages from the Minister of Aviation, Chairman ICPC and Head of Civil Service of the Federation, who took time to encourage the newly inaugurated team to always be of high ethical standards and show leadership by being above board in their daily conduct.

Also, there were three paper presentations by officials of ICPC, all harping on ACTU as

a tool for fighting corruption.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has expressed satisfaction at the level of facilities at the airport. This disclosure was made when officials of the State Government paid a working visit to the airport to ascertain its level of preparedness for flight resumption recently.

Speaking after a comprehensive inspection of facilities, the Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat who led the delegation from Lagos state government noted that he had gone through the various measures put in place to ensure safety and security of travellers as international flight operations will recommence from tomorrow.

He added that from the departure frontage, to the check-in area, screening point, immigration area, up

to the boarding gate, FAAN has fully complied with laid down protocols to ensure physical distancing by the markings on ground, proper temperature checks, hand washing/sanitizing.

Even the airport conveniences have been upgraded to cater for the Post Covid-19 operational requirements.

Adding that from all they have seen, the airport is ready to recommence flight operations and enjoined travellers and airport users to always follow instructions given by airport officials in the interest of safety.

In his brief remarks, Managing Director of FAAN, Captain Yadudu thanked the Lagos State Government for their continuous support and added that all that is required for the safe, secure and seamless facilitation of flight operations

Mouka Reaffirms Commitment to Offering Quality Product Raheem Akingbolu Mouka, Nigeria’s foremost manufacturer of mattresses and beddings has restated its commitment to consumers’ wellbeing by delivering quality products which enhance sleep and ultimately sound health.

This was the submission of the Chief Executive Officer, Mouka, Raymond Murphy, at a virtual stakeholders’ engagement where

he unveiled some of the plans for the fiscal year, held recently.

Murphy said the company would continue to engage its stakeholders which comprises consumers, employees, business partners, agencies and the media, to ensure Mouka delivers on its promise to add comfort to life.

According to him, Mouka in its stride would keep on innovating and renovating its product portfolio to keep

it exciting and appealing to consumers. In addition, the company will continue to give its teeming consumers more value for money by deploying value-added promotions and producing durable products.

This, he affirmed, would be through intensive research and development (R&D). The Mouka boss declared that the company has invested a great deal in equipping its

state-of-the-art laboratories to ensure the production of quality mattresses and other bedding products. “This is why Mouka brand is unique, and the leader in its industry,� Murphy stated.

On other initiatives, Mouka’s Chief Executive Officer pointed out that the company would remain dynamic and responsive to consumers’ needs and preferences.

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Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

Governor of Bauchi State, . Bala Mohammed (left) and Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Abba Bello, during the signing of memorandum of understanding on economic diversiďŹ cation plan for the state, in Bauchi... recently

L-R: The Gubernatorial candidate of the APC, Osagie Ize-Iyamu and Edo State Governor/gubernatorial candidate of the PDP, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, after a peace meeting with the Benin monarch at the Oba’s Palace in Benin City...recently

L-R: Director, Public Aairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde; Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, NCC, Mr. Adeleke Adewolu; Executive vice Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta; Director, Project NCC, Mrs. Abigail Sholanke; and Director, New AIT/Raypowe Fm, Mr. Adebayo Bodunrin, during EVC’s Media Interactive Session at the Communications and Digital Economy Complex Abuja...recently

Cross section of Ecowas Ministers of Foreign Aairs during the eighty-fourth Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, in Niamey, Niger...recently

L-R; Project Manager, CCECC, Engr Williams; Technical Adviser to Ekiti State Governor on Airport Project, AVM Adeniyi Ojuawo (rtd), and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi during the Governor’s inspection of the airport. project in Ado- Ekiti‌recently

L-R: Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Managing Director/CE, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu; Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi; Regional General Manager, South West/Airport Manager, MMA, Mrs. Victoria Shin-Aba and General Manager, Operations of FAAN, Mrs. Olajumoke Oni during an inspection of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport ahead of international ights resumption in Lagos...recently

Founder, Visionary Young Nigerian Leader (VYNL), James Makari; Vice Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalist, L-R; Kaduna State Chapter, Mohammed Sabi’u and Program Manager of VYNL, Abrak Steven, during a world news conference on taking over leadership 2023 organized by VYNL in Kaduna...recently

Some passengers arriving from Lebanon, on the ďŹ rst day of the commencement of International ight operation at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, after COVID-19 lockdown in Lagos...recently

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CITYSTRINGS

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ë›Ă?äĂ?Ă™ĂŒĂ“ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—Ëœ ͙͔͙͚͚͓͖͑͑͑͒

Polio-free Status as Breath of Fresh Air for Africa As the Africa Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication formally declared Africa free of wild Poliovirus amidst rapturous applause at a recent World Health Organisation meeting, a wind of relief blew across the continent, dispelling the gloom caused by the ravaging coronavirus pandemic. To stakeholders like the Aliko Dangote Foundation, this was a landmark welcome decision in the quest to rid Nigeria and Africa of a virulent disease, Rebecca Ejifoma writes

Service providers Asiya Abdulwahab and Nkechi Nzuowa at Gwiwa RI outreach in Sokoto State

Oral polio vaccine at Dala PHC in Kano

N

othing good comes easily, and whenever this occurs, it triggers a positive reaction. Nigeria, Africa and indeed the rest of the world have been buffeted by a remorseless plague in the form of COVID-19 since ending of December, 2019.

However, after months of gloom caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there is cause for celebration among Nigerians and Africans, after a long hard struggle to kick wild polio out of the continent.

On Wednesday, August 25, the Africa Regional Certification Commission certified the WHO African Region as wild polio-free after four years without a case.

With this historic milestone, five of the six WHO regions – representing over 90 per cent of the world’s population – are now free of the wild poliovirus, drawing closer to the ultimate goal of total polio eradication across the globe.

Nigeria, which was formerly one of the three nations where wild polio can be found, has now been removed from that infamous list by the WHO certification.

The West African nation previously accounted for more than half of all global cases less than a decade ago. Pakistan and Afghanistan are now the two countries worldwide which continue to see wild poliovirus transmission.

Presidential Commendation In Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari said African countries could defeat COVID-19 pandemic the same way it defeated the wild Polio virus on the continent.

The president, who made the assertion at the formal certification of the Wild Polio Virus eradication in the African region during the virtual session of the 70th World Health Organisation (WHO) regional committee for Africa in the State House, Abuja, also praised Bill and Melinda Gates and Aliko Dangote for their roles and support to rid Nigeria of the polio virus.

He assured the global community that Nigeria would sustain the momentum and leverage on the lessons learnt from polio eradication to strengthen her health system, especially primary health care, and prioritise health security. He added that Nigeria used data systems, community engagement and innovative technology to monitor and predict the occurrence of polio outbreaks.

Beyond Celebration Beyond the euphoria triggered by the wild polio-free certification Chairman, Aliko Dangote Foundation and Africa’s foremost philanthropist, Aliko Dangote has urged governments across

Africa, the Federal Government of Nigeria, and State governments to increase their budget allocations to the healthcare sector, to help ensure improved basic healthcare for the people.

Dangote, in his remarks at the formal certification of Wild Poliovirus Eradication in Africa, expressed deep satisfaction at the final eradication of wild polio in Nigeria, and by extension Africa after years of hard work and collaboration among stakeholders.

The renowned humanitarian, who was commended alongside Co-Chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates by President Muhammadu Buhari for their vital interventions in the strengthening of Routine Immunisation (RI) in Nigeria, pledged to devote more of his wealth to support the provision of adequate quality healthcare to curb maternal and child mortality.

Dangote, who played a major role through his Foundation in the eradication of Polio in Nigeria, said, “I want to commend our African leaders, especially my own President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria for his leadership. All levels of government have successfully come together to make this day possible. “Ending wild polio in Africa is a giant leap forward. We have shown that if we stay cleareyed and committed to a goal, we can get results. We must always be tenacious to get where we want to go. I know Bill understands that too. We need to apply the same mindset on public health across Africa, beginning with us here today. The onus is on us to continue this push forward, until polio in all its forms is goneforever.�

According to him, “there is no better time than now. We must be dedicated to this fight, and make thesustained investments in immunisations, medical workers, and public health that will make a difference. “We must also make a sustained political commitment – until the job is done – that we will achieve this goal. And that we will hold ourselves accountable for the results, good or bad. I also pledge to continue helping in this fight any way I can. I believe the private sectorand government are natural partners�, he added.

He commended the efforts of the top officials of the Foundation, including the CEO, Zouera Youssoufou and Ahmed Iya for their untiring efforts in ensuring the end of polio in Nigeria, and also the various government agencies and development partners who collaborated to make the certification possible.

These, among others, include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the WHO, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International

Development (DfID), the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Governors of Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Borno, Sokoto and Yobe States.

Vital Interventions To enhance Routine Immunisation (RI) and eradicate polio in Nigeria, the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kano State government in 2012. The tripartite accord was meant to lapse in 2015 but was extended. Kaduna state government also signed a similar agreement with both foundations in 2015.

On January 20, 2016, six Northern States signed MoUs with the Foundations as well as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to promote RI to eliminate the polio virus completely by the year 2017.

The governors of Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Yobe States signed for their states, while Bill Gates, Aliko Dangote and US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle signed for their organisations.

The MoU, which focuses on PHC delivery, contributed to improvements in immunisation financing, community engagement and vaccine availability; to enable the six states to immunise 80 per cent of their target population with RI. On March 22, 2018, the six state governments signed extensions of the existing MoU with ADF and BMGF in Sokoto in a bid to improve on current efforts to get Nigeria certified polio free.

The MoU extension, which is to run from 2018 through 2022, aims at providing RI to prevent common childhood diseases and ensure a polio-free environment. It also represents the states’ broader ambitions to improve primary health care (PHC).

One of the key impacts of the MoU was the greater involvement of traditional and religious rulers to help persuade resistant populations and encourage them to embrace RI to help protect their children and eradicate polio.

This improved line-listing in the six states and increased response to immunisation exercises from state level all the way down to the settlement level; with better access to nomadic children and those in hard-to-reach communities.

Critical Feedback On a spotlight trip by ADF to the six partner states of Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, and Yobe, the remarkable progress made to eradicate polio in Northern Nigeria in particular and the country in general was showcased in the sharp increase in number of children

presenting for RI (especially under-1 year olds) with a corresponding decline in the number of vaccine-preventable mortalities.

Other signs of progress noted during the ADF trip include: the political will and counterpart funding by the state governments; capacity building of health workers, service providers and even traditional leaders in the gathering of quality data concerning newborns and eligible children, especially in hard-to-reach communities and settlements.

Through the partnership agreements, technical support was provided to the states in terms of cold chain stores for vaccines; storage and distribution by vans to Solar Direct Drives (SDDs) in each ward in the states; stipends for community leaders and Volunteer Community Mobilisers, in order to create awareness and sensitise caregivers and their wards; training and retraining on record keeping and financial accountability, among others.

The Emergency Operations Centres in each of the six partnership states, which are the coordinating centres on polio eradication activities, also played crucial roles to complement the states’ efforts and leverage on the MoU basket funds to help end polio in Nigeria.

The six Northern States, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Sokoto, Borno and Yobe, have greatly benefitted from the MoU partnership. The tripartite agreements helped to strengthen routine immunisation and also provided technical, material and financial support to the partner state governments and their relevant agencies and stakeholders; with resultant rise in RI coverage for eligible children, including those in the hard-to-reach and inaccessible communities.

The new MoU, which runs from 2018 to 2022.

The agreement, which enhances both state and national efforts, has added great value to the united efforts to eliminate the virus across the six states in particular and Nigeria in general.

What Next?

As Nigeria obtains final certification and polio-free status from the WHO, all hands must be on deck to ensure that no wild polio virus re-surfaces in the country. To maintain this positive tempo, vital interventions like those made by the ADF and BMGF must be sustained. Huge monies and quality technical support came from these two philanthropic organisations to boost government efforts.

Government, on its own part, must ensure that the political will is sustained as promised by the president. Routine immunisation must remain a priority, backed by increased funding from all stakeholders. Then and only then can Nigeria enjoy that breath of fresh air brought by the polio-free certification.

33

T H I S D AY Ëž SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

CRIME&SECURITY

Keeping up with NAF’s Counter Insurgency Operations in the North-east With over 26,200 unprecedented operational hours flown by the Nigerian Air Force in counter insurgency operations in the North-east, Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that the service has significantly increased pressure on the war against terrorism and banditry in the region fighters had relocated to Sabon Tumbun due to the impact of the recent air strikes at the nearby Island settlement of Tumbuma Baba. Similarly, up to 15 high ranking ISWAP Commanders along with scores of their fighters were harboured at Kirta Wulgo, which serves as Administrative Headquarters and training camp for ISWAP. Just this September, in continuation of the sustained offensive against criminal elements in the North-east, the ATF of Operation LAFIYA DOLE eliminated some Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists and destroyed compounds housing them at Kaza along the Gulumba Gana - Kumshe axis of Borno State.

The air strike was executed following credible Human Intelligence reports as well as confirmatory ISR missions indicating a resurgence of terrorists’ activities in the settlement.

According to Major General Enenche, the identified locations within the settlement were therefore attacked by fighter jets and helicopter gunships dispatched by the Air Task Force, resulting in the destruction of the structures and the neutralisation of some of the ISWAP fighters.

A

ir power in history has been a decisive and critical factor in determining the outcome of any war. It is a fundamental component of military element of national

power.

For the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), its vision to sustain efforts to decimate the remnants of Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs), as well as bandits in North-east of Nigeria, using its aerial power, is one they adhere strictly to.

NAF has recorded several successes through the different operations it launched in the North-east by severely damaging the flanks of the terrorists going by the several videos captured after each assault. It would be safe to state that under the present Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, NAF has significantly increased its presence in the North-east to meet national security imperatives.

It is on record that as at August 2020, NAF had flown an unprecedented 26,200 operational hours in the counter-insurgency operations in the North-east, all to ensure the protection of the people and enable them pursue their legitimate aspirations without fear.

Deployment On August 11, 2020, in a bid to beef up already existing security arrangements in the fight against insurgency and other related crimes in the North-east zone in general and Gombe State in particular, NAF deployed air assets as well as NAF Regiment and Special Forces.

As was disclosed by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubarkar, while playing host to the Executive Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, at Headquarters NAF Abuja, he said the NAF In conjunction with sister services and other security agencies, would continue to work tirelessly, round the clock, to secure the North-east and defend Nigeria’s territorial integrity whilst ensuring the nation’s sovereignty is not undermined by any group of individuals.

Before departing HQ NAF, the Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola said the governor was led by the CAS to the NAF Memorial Arcade to pay his respects to aircrew who had paid the supreme price in the course of duty.

On August 16, NAF deployed Special Forces (SF) operatives to Southern Kaduna.

According to Air Commodore Daramola, the SF Team, led by the Commander of the 404 Force Protection Group (404 FPG), Squadron Leader Richard Ngaro, was airlifted by a NAF Mi-171E Helicopter from NAF Base Kaduna to Kafanchan, where they were received by the Commander Sector 7 of Operation SAFE HAVEN, Colonel David Nwakonobi, to join the contingent of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) SF personnel already deployed to the area.

In his address to the troops during the deployment, CAS), who was represented by the Air Officer Commanding Air Training Command (AOC ATC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Musa Mukhtar, noted that the deployment was in line with DHQ Directives to beef up Operation SAFE HAVEN. He said the NAF SF Team were additional elements to augment the DHQ SF personnel already deployed to beef up Sector 7 of Operation SAFE HAVEN in Southern Kaduna, adding that the deployment would last as long as necessary until lasting peace is restored. “We also have Operation THUNDER STRIKE, which is domiciled in Kaduna to take care of the North West axis, with the Air Component Commander coordinating the air power aspect from Kaduna in support of ground operations in Southern Kaduna�, he added.

On August 12, the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE destroyed a Boko Haram Terrorists’ (BHTs’) logistics storage facility and neutralised several of their fighters at Yamud along the Gulumba Gana-Kumshe axis of Borno State.

According to Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, Major General John Enenche, the operation was executed on the heels of credible intelligence reports indicating that the settlement was one of the locations where the terrorists store their logistics and assemble to launch attacks.

He said series of follow-up aerial surveillance missions also showed significant number of terrorists within the settlement and also identified some compounds that were being

Air Marshal Abubakar used as storage facilities and meeting venues.

On August 14, the ATF of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, again eliminated scores of Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters and destroyed compounds housing them at Tongule in the Lake Chad area of Northern Borno.

The air strikes were conducted following credible Human Intelligence (HUMINT) reports indicating terrorists’ activities in the village.

Major General Enenche said following confirmatory Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, which showed presence of a sizable number of the ISWAP elements at designated locations in the settlement, the Air Task Force dispatched a force package of NAF fighter jets to attack the location.

He said NAF Jets took turns in engaging the location scoring devastating hits on the designated targets leading to the destruction of the structures as well as the neutralisation of several ISWAP fighters.

On August 15, the Air Component of Operation THUNDER STRIKE neutralised several armed bandits at their camp in the Kuduru Forest area of Kaduna State. This was achieved through air strikes carried out on the heels of intelligence reports indicating the convergence of members of an Ansaru Terrorist Sect-linked bandits group, led by one Mallam Abba, at the location.

Major General Enenche said aerial surveillance missions conducted over the area also observed several bandits, some wielding weapons, in the forest, thus NAF jets and helicopter gunships were therefore tasked to attack the location. He said several of the bandits were killed as the attack aircraft strafed the area, while others attempting to escape were mopped-up in follow-on attacks.

On August 17, the ATF of Operation LAFIYA DOLE neutralised scores of terrorists and destroyed their hideouts and logistics structures at Tumbuma Baba and Boboshe in Borno State. This was achieved in air strikes executed on the first day of missions of a new subsidiary Operation codenamed “HAIL STORM�, which is an air interdiction operation aimed at taking out identified ISWAP and BHTs’ targets in the Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest areas of Borno State.

Enenche noted that the attack at Tumbuma Baba, one of the Island settlements on the fringes of the Lake Chad, was carried out after HUMINT reports indicated that several ISWAP fighters and some of their leaders were harboured in some structures concealed under the thick vegetation of the area.

Thus, NAF fighter jets dispatched by the ATF to attack the location scored devastating hits on the settlement, killing several of the terrorists and destroying their structures. Several terrorists were similarly neutralised and some of their dwellings destroyed at Boboshe, a village along the river line on the Eastern

part of the Sambisa Forest, as the NAF jets took turns in engaging the location.

On August 19, in continuation of air strikes being conducted under subsidiary Operation HAIL STORM, the ATFof Operation LAFIYA DOLE successfully neutralised some ISWAP Commanders and knocked out logistics facilities at Bukar Meram on the fringes of the Lake Chad in Borno State, while also neutralising several terrorists at Dole, a settlement in the Southern part of Borno State. The air interdiction missions were executed on the heels of credible intelligence reports indicating a resurgence of terrorists’ activities in the two settlements.

Meanwhile, Enenche disclosed that Bukar Meram, a major ISWAP logistics hub linking other Island settlements of the Lake Chad, which also houses several of their fighters and some of their key leaders, was also attacked by an enhanced force package of NAF fighter jets and helicopter gunships which hit designated targets in the area leading to the destruction of the logistics facilities and neutralisation of several of the terrorists and their leaders.

He said: “The attack at Dole was carried out after ISR missions showed a build up of activities in the area after the relocation of some terrorists from nearby settlements of Kokiwa and Yale. Overhead the area the ISR aircraft spotted no fewer than 20 terrorists in the area, which were taken out by the NAF attack aircraft.�

On August 21, air strikes being conducted by the ATF of Operation LAFIYA DOLE under the subsidiary Operation HAIL STORM destroyed several BHTs’ structures and neutralised their fighters at Warshale in the Northern part of Borno State.

Enenche said the mission was executed after credible intelligence reports and series of aerial surveillance missions established that the settlement was one of those being used by the terrorists as staging area to launch attacks.

Accordingly, the ATF dispatched NAF fighter jets and attack helicopters, which engaged the location recording devastating hits resulting in the obliteration of several structures as well as the neutralisation of some of the terrorists.

On August 25, the ATF of Operation LAFIYA DOLE fought off ISWAP elements operating in the Island settlements of the Lake Chad in the Northern part of Borno State. This occurred in massive simultaneous air strikes executed under the subsidiary Operation HAIL STORM at Kirta Wulgo and Sabon Tumbun, two settlements on the fringes of the Lake, where several key ISWAP leaders and scores of their fighters were killed.

Enenche said the missions were conducted on the heels of credible HUMINT reports indicating that some ISWAP leaders and

Commendations Given the enormous successes recorded last month , commendations have continued to pour in for NAF. On August 1, Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, who was the guest of honour at the luncheon organised by NAF to celebrate the Eid-El-Kabir with frontline troops in Katsina, commended NAF personnel for their substantial sacrifices in the fight against armed banditry.

Masari, while appreciating the immense contributions of the NAF in addressing the security challenges facing Katsina State and the entire North-west Zone, equally lauded the steps being taken to acquire UAVs that would operate from Katsina, noting that this would undoubtedly add impetus to operations in the area.

In Gombe, the commendation ran along similar lines. Governor Yahaya commended the CAS for the bold step taken to establish the NAF FOB in Gombe State. He also thanked the CAS for the NAF's consistent support and contributions towards securing the lives and properties of Nigerians in the North Eastern States.

He emphasised that Gombe’s central location would be an advantage in enhancing the NAF’s operations in the North-east. He noted however that the state shares borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic, which, he said, makes it vulnerable to a range of security threats.

Also commending NAF, Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, said the service has been consistent in responsiveness in its counter-insurgency operations in Borno State and the entire North-east.

He said the commitment and dedication of the CAS, as well as officers, airmen and airwomen of the NAF had curtailed the activities of the insurgents and limited their scope of operations.

Speaking further, the governor, while commending the NAF for its consistent contributions towards the restoration of lasting peace to Borno State and other state in the North-east, equally appreciated the service for regularly providing airlift support to the state government.

Governor Zulum further noted that, while the state had suffered a number of attacks in the past two years or so, over 90 per cent of these had been successfully repelled through the robust, timely actions of the ATF of Operation LAFIYA DOLE. He therefore commended the ATF for its consistent speedy response. “Whenever I receive any report of an attack or crisis in any location, I immediately call the ATF Commander and within a few minutes, the NAF aircraft are usually airborne to deal with the issue�, he added.

The governor said Borno State and indeed the entire nation would therefore continually remain indebted to the efforts of the NAF under the current leadership. He however solicited for sustained joint air and land offensive against specific areas within the Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest areas, observing specifically that the Lake Chad was, at a time, responsible for employment of over 10 Million people. He said there was need to ensure a return of normalcy to the area in order for the people to reap the socio-economic benefits of the Lake.

34

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍľËœ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

FG Reviews Social Protection Policy for Greater Benefits James Emejo Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba has said that relevant machinery has been put in motion towards the review of existing social protection policy which is expected to lapse in December.

He said efforts were ongoing with all relevant stakeholder MDAs to produce a revised National Social Protection Policy that will run from 2021-2025 before the end of the year.

Speaking at a high-level breakfast policy dialogue on the UN-joint fund for social protection to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development GOALS (SDGs) in Nigeria, the minister said the meeting with development partners and all relevant stakeholders on social

protection will provide an opportunity to discuss the best option or strategy to move the scheme forward in the interest of all Nigerians.

He said the dialogue was not only timely but relevant to the priorities of the current administration to alleviate poverty through Buhari’s commitment to lift 100 million people out of poverty within the next 10 years.

Agba added that the deliberations will also consolidate a common approach for a productive collaboration that will enable the country achieve sustainable development goals(SDGs) since social protection remained a key strategic target for poverty eradication.

He said his ministry was in the process of mainstreaming social protection into the ongoing Medium Term National Devel-

opment Plans (2021-2025) and Nigeria Vision 2050 adding that poverty reduction and achieving sustainable development required collaborative efforts of all MDAs. According to him, a review of the social protection policy had commenced, as the National Assembly moves to provide a legal framework as well as institutionalise the scheme going forward.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hadjia Sadiya Umar Farouq, said social protection is currently at the forefront of the developmental agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari, given its positive social and economic impact and life cycle effects on human capital development.

Buhari

MARKET INDICATORS

NEXIM Bank, Taraba to Boost Non-oil Exports James Emejo Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË Managing Director/Chief Executive Mr. Abba Bello has said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will soon be signed between the bank and the Taraba State government as part of efforts to achieve the zero-oil plan of the federal government.

He said the plan seeks to boost investments in the non-oil export sector through partnership arrangement with state governments under the State Export Development Programme.

Speaking when he received the State Governor, Mr. Daruis Dickson Ishaku, who paid him a visit to conclude modalities for the partnership, Bello noted that the initiative was created to promote at least one exportable

commodity in every state of the federation towards achieving the federal government’s zero oil plan and the initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to create one million jobs annually.

The MD stated that a partnership with the state will not only support current export drive, but also contribute towards mitigating some of the security challenges in the North East and prepare the region towards effective participation in the continental market under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

The governor’s visit was necessitated by the need to discuss and deliberate on the modalities to collaborate with the bank to upscale production and boost the export of the vast array of

agricultural and mineral resources in the state.

Ishaku, however emphasised the efforts of his administration to develop the economic potentials of the state, adding that it is one of the highest producers of major cash crops in country with capability to export agricultural products including tea, coffee, palm produce and cocoa.

In a statement, he noted that the state was well endowed with solid minerals including gold, lead/zinc, coal, byrite, lithium, uranium and bauxite, which could be developed for export.

He said the tourism industry, perhaps represented it’s the biggest potential given the clement weather and Mambilla Paleau, which is the highest in the country.

FCMB Reduces Interest on Consumer Loans First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has reduced interest rates on all its consumer loan products.

The reduction, which took effect last month, according to a statement from the bank, applies to all its Salary Plus Loans, including Premium Salary Plus, Auto Loans and Home Loans, of FCMB, whether they are newly disbursed or already running loans. The slash of interest rates means that customers would be repaying lower amounts each month and can also borrow higher amounts than previously.

In addition to the benefits of interest rates reduction, customers also have the option to restructure

their consumer loans by opting for reduced tenure instead of reduced repayment amount.

FCMB explained that the decision to reduce interest rates and restructure its consumer loan products in a more flexible manner are the latest initiatives in response to the current economic realities induced by the novel COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, which has impacted negatively on personal and households income and expenditure, as well as on businesses and the socio-economic environment in general.

The initiative is expected to go a long way in enhancing standard of living by helping customers free up extra income to boost

purchasing power and meet other expenses in a convenient manner. The development was also expected to have a multiplier effect on the Nigerian economy in terms of stimulating growth and development. Commenting on the interest rate reduction and restructuring of repayment tenure, the Executive Director, Retail Banking of FCMB, Mr. Olu Akanmu, said: “We realise the financial challenges confronting our customers due to the prevailing economic situation caused by COVID-19. As a caring and responsive Bank, we are committed to give them all the supportneeded to ease the situation.

COVID-19: P&G Donates to State Govts Raheem Akingbolu As Procter & Gamble approaches the end of the second phase of its “Protect Our Heroes� mission -a program initiated to support the Nigeria’s government’s efforts at curbing the spread of COVID-19, the company has donated over 150 hand washing stations to high risk areas across the country.

According to a statement issued by the company, in implementing

this phase, P&G has partnered with federal and state governments including the Federal Ministry of Health, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara, Ekiti, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Anambra and Delta state governments, to install contactless hand-washing stations in public areas such as hospitals and markets and bus stops. The initiative is to promote handwashing practices nationwide.

The company had donated over N100 million worth of hygiene products and hand-

washing stations in the first and second phases of its “P&G Protect Our Heroes Mission.� “In the first phase, the company supported the federal government including the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory with hygiene products and personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers as well as a nationwide media awareness campaign by its Safeguard brand to promote handwashing amongst Nigerians,� the statement stated

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JULY 2020 Money Supply (M3)

36,822,751.47

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

3,476,121.25

Money Supply (M2)

33,346,630.22

-- Quasi Money

120,764,479.02

-- Narrow Money (M1)

12,582,151.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,002,026.89

---- Demand Deposits

10,580,124.31

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,637,137.23

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

29,185,614.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

39,711,115.95

---- Credit to Government (Net)

19,521,851.08

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-130,189,264.87

--Other Assets Net

3,472,017.70

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,421,827.07

--Currency in Circulation

2,395,917.03

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,025,910.04 317,234.17

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ ͯ͡ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $67.93 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $67.77 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), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

35

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍľËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

Cititrust Unveils Asset Management Subsidiary Goddy Egene Investors in the nation’s capital market in particular and the financial sector generally, now have access to more portfolio and wealth management, structured and other financial advisory services following the entry of Cititrust Asset Management Limited in the market.

The firm is a subsidiary of CFS Group Plc, which is a subsidiary of Cititrust Holdings

Plc, a pan-African investment holding company. The launch of Cititrust Asset Management Limited followed the receipt of approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the firm to provide portfolio management to corporations and institutional investors as well as wealth management, structured investments and other financial advisory services.

According to the firm, the unveiling and remarkable feat

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

is in pursuant of the Fund/ Portfolio Manager Licence granted to Cititrust Asset Management Limited on August 31, 2020 in terms of the Investment & Securities Act (ISA) No. 29 of 2007 to conduct capital market transactions.Commenting, Country Chief Executive of CFS Group Plc, Mr. Ikechukwu Peter said: “The launch of the asset management business ties in with our plan to become a dominant player in the financial services sector. We

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

are enthusiastic at the unique opportunity to bring investment products to the market as our goal is to constantly provide a wide range of solutions to support the evolving needs of our partners and the entire investment community. The issuance of this approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission is a laudable development, one that will most definitely lead to an unprecedented basis for value creation within the asset

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

management space.�

Speaking on the vision for Cititrust Asset Management Limited, the Group Chief Executive of Cititrust Holdings Plc, Mr. Adeyemi Adefisan said: “We intend to support African businesses and unlock the continent’s potential through the management of several investment funds and provision of financial advisory services. Our focus is on growing wealth for our

O F

esteemed clients through our well-thought-through products.

At Cititrust, our people have extensive experience in the financial services sector across Africa and are devoted to pooling complementary resources and functions to give clients the best value. We look forward to offering unique and creative solutions backed up by world class technology to transform current market offerings and do more for our clients.�

0 1 / 0 9 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

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36

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

AIICO Insurance Opens N3.5 Billion Rights Issue Goddy Egene

its rights issue to raise about firm is issuing 4,357, 770,954 new ordinary shares for every 15 June 2020. The offer will fresh capital from existing ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each 13 ordinary shares held as at fetch the company about N3.486 AIICO Insurance Plc has opened shareholders. The underwriting at 80 Kobo on the basis of five close of business on Monday, billion. The offer opened last A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an ETF are bought by investors.

Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. investment vehicle that allows both small and Bid Price: The price at which Investors Investors with similar objectives buy units of the large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total that willl generate their desired return. investments. The assets are divided into shares that return an investor would have earned on An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. his investment. Money Market Funds report of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, Yield while others report Year- to-date Total bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, GUIDE TO DATA: Return. etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 03- NAV: Is value per share of the real estate shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Sep-2020, unless otherwise stated. assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

Wednesday and is expected to close on Wednesday October 7, 2020.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ACAP Income Funds N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.67% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.97 3.05 21.10% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 2.31% Anchoria Equity Fund 100.20 100.54 -1.73% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.27 1.27 10.24% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 14.56 14.99 -4.97% ARM Discovery Fund 342.95 353.29 -0.72% ARM Ethical Fund 30.59 31.51 5.18% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.15 1.16 15.78% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.08 1.08 8.03% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.41% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 97.64 98.32 1.62% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.32% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.13 2.13 15.87% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 1.85 1.88 5.44% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.04% Paramount Equity Fund 11.44 11.65 -8.59% Women's Investment Fund 110.89 111.95 0.47% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.92% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 105.51 105.85 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 109.58 109.89 Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 103.40 103.40 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.36% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.95 0.97 2.68% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.55 1.55 16.63% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 4.04% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 4.42% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,171.02 1,183.02 5.59% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Balanced Fund 152.80 153.83 4.07% FBN Halal Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.47% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 121.34 121.73 4.45% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 116.29 118.11 -10.64% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.40% Legacy Debt Fund 3.82 3.82 4.41% Legacy Equity Fund 1.14 1.16 0.95% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.12 1.12 3.41% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 3,163.66 3,198.89 4.04% Coral Income Fund 3,190.51 3,190.51 3.73% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 3.90% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.79% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 113.53 120.77 8.59%

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.93% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.33 2.37 6.17% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 8.54% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 150.55 151.30 5.04% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.25 1.27 7.08% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,133.66 1,133.66 7.07% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.39 1.42 13.99% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.87 11.95 5.48% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.85% PACAM Equity Fund 1.03 1.04 PACAM EuroBond Fund 107.94 110.51 SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 114.73 117.07 -5.32% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.02 1.02 6.62% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,521.35 2,532.80 5.72% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 4.89% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 0.56% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 5.68% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 4.17% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.12% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 -2.58% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.20 1.20 3.73% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 109.15 109.15 4.74% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.16 1.18 -2.99% United Capital Bond Fund 1.85 1.85 6.86% United Capital Equity Fund 0.66 0.68 -5.69% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.45% United Capital Eurobond Fund 114.43 114.43 4.74% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.03 1.03 -2.24% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 10.42 10.53 1.35% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.65 11.72 0.07% Zenith Income Fund 24.54 24.54 10.22% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.52%

REITS NAV Per Share

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

117.93

5.15%

53.40

2.59%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

9.15 87.81 68.08

9.25 89.66 69.30

5.12% -7.06% -9.40%

Union Homes REIT

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

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.09 4.29 12.04 1.00 11.14 181.20

3.13 4.37 12.14 1.00 11.34 183.20

-12.80% -27.21% -0.71% 2.92% 7.17% -3.61%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.03

15.02%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

UK PM Gives October 15 Deadline for Brexit Deal British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday gave an October 15 deadline for a post-Brexit trade agreement with the European Union, brushing off fears about “no-deal” chaos if talks fail.

The eighth round of negotiations resume in London this week, with both sides talking increasingly tough, amid accusations of intransigence and political brinkmanship.

The UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, did little to raise expectations about a breakthrough, promising no compromise on London’s red lines, in a rare newspaper interview published on Sunday.

His EU opposite number, Michel Barnier, this week said the talks stood or failed on the need to get an accord on EU access to UK fishing waters and state aid rules, but Britain was giving no ground.

Brussels has already indicated that mid-October was the latest a deal could be struck, given the need for translation and ratification by the European Parliament.

Despite months of refusing to confirm a firm cut-off date, Johnson agreed.

“There needs to be an agreement with our European friends by the time of the European Council on October 15 if it’s going to be in force by the end of the year,” he said in remarks released by his office.

“So, there is no sense in

thinking beyond that point.

If we can’t agree by then, then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us.”

Should that happen, Britain will have an “Australia-style” deal with the EU or one similar to that agreed with Canada and other countries, he said.

Australia trades with the EU under World Trade Organization rules and tariffs. But Johnson, whose government had said it wanted a “zero tariff, zero quota” regime, insisted it would still be a “good outcome” for Britain.

Johnson’s warning will likely compound criticisms from British pro-EU “remainers” that his ruling Conservative government envisaged a “no-deal” scenario all along, despite claiming the contrary.

“Brexiteers” had promised that securing a deal with Britain’s biggest trading partner would be straightforward and rejected criticism that unravelling nearly 50 years of ties with Europe would be lengthy and even impossible.

Britain formally left the 27-member bloc on January 31, nearly four years after a divisive referendum that crippled the country politically and saw two prime ministers resign.

Johnson, who took over after Theresa May repeatedly failed to get her Brexit divorce deal through parliament,

Several Stabbed in Birmingham, Say UK Police British police declared a “major incident” early on Sunday after multiple people were stabbed in the centre of England’s second city Birmingham.

“We can confirm that at approximately 12:30 am today (Sunday 6 September) we were called to reports of a stabbing in Birmingham city centre”, West Midlands Police said in a statement.

“A number of other stabbings” were reported in the area shortly after and “this has been declared a major incident”, the statement added.

“We are aware of a number of injured people, but at the moment we are not in a position to say how many or how serious.

“However, all emergency services are working together at the scene, and making sure that those who are injured receive medical care.”

Footage aired on British television news channels showed large areas of the city centre cordoned off as police officers wearing forensic suits worked at the scene.

“Work is still going on to establish what has happened, and could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything,” West Midlands Police said.

“At this early stage, it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.”

Pope: Speaking Ill of People Worse than COVID-19 Speaking ill of other people and spreading gossip is worse than Covid-19 and Satan is the worst offender of all, Pope Francis said Sunday.

When people see someone making a mistake, “the first thing we usually do is go and tell someone else about it. Gossip like this closes off the community,” the pope said in comments on a passage in the Bible where Jesus talks about what must be done to welcome back into the

community those who have committed errors.

“The great gossip is Satan who always says bad things about people,” Francis said.

Satan “is a liar who seeks to divide the Church, to drive our brothers apart, so that they are no longer a community,” he added.

“Let us make an effort not to be gossips. Speaking ill of people is a plague worse than COVID,” the pope said in an address at Saint Peter’s.

promised Britain’s borders and ports will be ready for when the so-called transition period comes to an end on December 31.

Britain remains bound

by EU rules while it tries to thrash out new terms of its relationship.

The talks, which were on

a tight timetable even before disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak, have stalled, notably because of wrangling over fishing rights and fair competition rules.

Johnson did not rule out a deal altogether and vowed to work hard this month to achieve one. But he pledged

Britain “will be ready” if talks break down.

“We will have full control over our laws, our rules, and our fishing waters,” he promised.

“We will have the freedom to do trade deals with every country in the world. And we will prosper mightily as

a result.

“We will of course always be ready to talk to our EU friends even in these circumstances….

“Our door will never be closed and we will trade as friends and partners –- but without a free trade agreement.”

Hamas’ Political Bureau Chief, Ismail Haniye (left), with the Head of Lebanon’s militant Shiite Movement, Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah (right), in a meeting at an undisclosed location…weekend AFP

France Puts More Departments on COVID-19 High Alert French authorities have placed seven more departments covering major cities such as Lille, Strasbourg and Dijon on high alert as increases in COVID-19 infections accelerate, the government said Sunday.

Of France’s 101 mainland and overseas departments, 28 are now considered “red zones” where authorities will be able to impose exceptional measures to slow the number of new coronavirus cases.

The move comes as France reported a record of nearly 9,000 daily cases on Friday, and a further

8,550 cases in the past 24 hours on Saturday, when the nationwide test positivity rate increased to 4.7 percent.

Paris and the Bouchesdu-Rhone department encompassing the southeastern city of Lyon were the first to be placed on high alert by the government on August 14 after infection rates began to climb.

That prompted local officials to require face masks in all public spaces to slow the virus’s spread, in hope of avoiding a spike in cases that could again overwhelm hospitals as autumn approaches.

The Sante Publique France health agency, which has warned of “exponential” caseload increases, said Saturday that 53 new outbreak clusters had been discovered in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number under investigation to 484.

Twelve more Covid-19 deaths were reported, for an overall toll of 30,698 since the pandemic flared last March.

Concerns over infection risks have already prompted officials to close 22 schools after cases were detected just days after students returned from the summer

break last week, and dozens of individual classes have also been suspended.

On Sunday, the government said pre-school teachers as well as those with deaf students would soon be given transparent masks to facilitate comprehension at a crucial education stage for young children.

“More than 100,000 of these masks will be produced by the end of this month,” the state secretary in charge of people with disabilities, Sophie Cluzel, told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

Hezbollah, Hamas Chiefs Meet to Discuss Israel-Arab Ties Leaders of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas movement, both enemies of Israel, have met to discuss diplomatic normalisation between the Jewish state and Arab countries, a report said yesterday.

They stressed the “stability” of the “axis of resistance” against Israel, the Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV channel reported, without saying where or when the meeting took place.

Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement, was pictured meeting Ismail Haniyeh, who heads the

political bureau of Hamas, the Islamist movement that control the Gaza Strip.

They discussed “political and military developments in Palestine, Lebanon and the region” and “the dangers to the Palestinian cause” including “Arab plans for normalisation” with Israel, Al-Manar said.

The meeting comes after an August 13 announcement that the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to normalise ties.

While the US-backed diplomatic drive aims to boost a regional alliance

against Iran, Palestinians have condemned it as a “stab in the back” as they remain under occupation and don’t have their own state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is in talks with other Arab and Muslim leaders now about normalising relations, following the deals with UAE and, decades ago, Egypt and Jordan.

Haniyeh has been in Lebanon since Wednesday, on his first visit to the country in nearly 30 years, for direct and video-conference talks with other Palestinian groups that oppose Israel’s diplomatic

initiative.

Israel’s military has in recent weeks targeted Hamas in the Gaza Strip and what it says have been Hezbollah gunmen along its northern border with Lebanon.

It al s o re g u l a r l y l a u n c h e s a i r s t r i k e s in war-torn Syria against what it says are Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian militants fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Nasrallah has been living in a secret location for years and makes very few public appearances. He said in 2014 that he often changes his place of residence.

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NEWS

Melaye: Malami Writes Group, Seeks More Time to Release Corruption File The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has requested for more time before he could release files containing corruption charges against former Senator, Dino Melaye.

The Civil Society Network Against Corruption, (CSNAC) had tackled the Justice Minister accused of scuttling the trial of the former Senator linked with a string of sleaze both at home and abroad.

In a letter addressed to the Chairman of CSNAC, Mr

Olanrewaju Suraju, the minister requested for an extension of time to study the request for the release of the case file.

Melaye who represented Kogi West, was accused of using fictitious names to run series of foreign accounts contrary to the regulations of the Nigerian Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) In several letters written by CSNAC the group demanded for the file said to have earlier been retrieved from the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) by Malami thereby frustrating efforts to bring

the lawmaker to justice.

In the letter signed by State Counsel, Nafisat Negi Ibrahim, the minister said that in view of the nature of the request the Ministry of Justice demands an extension of time to enable it respond to the request in line with Section 6 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011.

CSNAC said yesterday that the

request of the minister for more time to produce the file was “confusing.”

The group said: “We have received response from the Justice Minister. The language is similar to responses in the past. It is a case that will be pursued to its logical end until the files are released and Senator Malaye brought to book” Suraju said the Melaye’s trial remains one of the striking cases

of corruption that raises suspicions of state complicity, indicating an attempt to cover up a high- profile case.

According the group, “the minister, who recently accused the suspended Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, of delaying investigation in a complex matter of P&ID In less than one year of investigation will have no Justification for holding a file

involving a concluded investigation for almost three years”.

On May 13, 2018, the anticorruption group had requested for update on the petition on the matter and got a response from the CCB dated May 22, 2018 stating the transfer of the case file on the request of the Attorney General from the Bureau to the Federal Ministry of Justice.

Catholic Archbishops Condemn Petrol Price Hike Senior Catholic Prelates have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the latest increment in the price of petrol and electricity.

The Archbishops, while condemning the increase in fuel price, said that it would cause more Nigerians to suffer.

They spoke during the First General Assembly of Abuja Archdiocese, held at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria, Pro-Cathedral, weekend.

Speaking, therefore, Archbishop Emeritus, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, lamented that the price increase did not come with a boost in the average income of citizens.

He said the government had previously assured Nigerians that it would make life better for them.

However, he added that the reverse is now the case.

“Mr President, in the same breath, was telling us he was going to do all he can to make life easier for Nigerians and one of the things he can do is those increases.

“Let the Federal Government put the fuel price increase and electricity tariff increase in a wider context. We wouldn’t complain about the fuel price increase if the salaries also increased.

“The problem comes when you leave the people with nothing to

eat. I don’t think the government is supposed to be doing that. They should find a way to make life liveable for Nigerians,” Onaiyekan said.

Similarly, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama, asked President Buhari to give more attention to policies and programmes that would reduce poverty and hardship.

He said: “With the current economic crisis occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a huge increase in poverty levels.

“So, we call on the government to give priority to alleviating poverty and improving life situations among Nigerians.

“I can only beg on behalf of the poor and the needy that government should have mercy on us. We are at the grassroots and I meet people who are really poor and in need and with all these increases, it makes life more intolerable.

“As a priest, I can only pray that God will do something for the poor and the needy, but God doesn’t operate in a vacuum; He uses our leaders, the president, the governors and local government chairmen. I know they can do something.

“Let them just look at the poor and the needy with the eyes of mercy and strategise. There is a way out, the government can help the masses.

God Fought My Many Political Battles, Says Dickson The immediate past Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, has said that he does not have any power outside of God in his political career.

The former governor said that he did not need occult powers and cult activities to register victories in political battles, as power comes only from God. A statement issued yesterday by his Media Advisor, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, quoted the former governor as having made the comment during a thanksgiving service at his country home of Toru-Orua, yesterday.

He stressed that God strengthened him and indeed fought the many battles he won in politics as governor for eight years and even before then.

The former governor who spoke about the victory of the PDP in the last gubernatorial election said that God Himself, who he described as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the universe used his own court to

deliver the verdict which stopped the All Progressives Congress from taking over the state.

He said that the fact that people imported drinks to celebrate the planned APC takeover of Bayelsa State but could not drink them should convince political actors and indeed the citizenry that power comes only from God. “So many things happened in this state in the past eight or nine years but the Lord gave us victory in all the challenges.

“The unprecedented battle of my re-election in 2015, after which they decided to make the State ungovernable should come to the mind. Bayelsa had over 15 police commissioners in a few months.

“And, of course, you remember the last miracle of the 11th hour!

The man himself was preparing for inauguration when God used His own court to deliver the verdict because He didn’t like what they were doing for our people,” he said

DELIVERING DEMOCRACY DIVIDENDS...

L-R: Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed; Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike; and the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, during the inauguration of the construction of two roads within Bauchi metropolis... weekend

Tinubu Day-dreaming to Declare PDP Dead in Ondo, Says Party The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has said that National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will know which political party is dead in the state after the October 10 governorship election.

The main opposition party in the state said the former Lagos State governor was day-dreaming to declare that the PDP was dead

in Ondo while inaugurating what it said would be the sole project of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in Akure.

Spokesman for the PDP in Ondo State, Mr. Kennedy Peretei, in a statement said even nature rejected the flag-off of the APC campaign through the torrential rainfall.

Peretei stated the PDP defeated the President Muhammadu

Buhari-led APC at the 2019 presidential elections and won two out of the three senatorial seats in the state.

“How can such a party by any stretch of imagination be said to be dead?

“It is shameful that the only project Tinubu came to commission in three and half years is the Revenue House ,a building that stands as a signpost

of multiple taxation of the Ondo State people, 10 per cent of which goes directly to the pocket of Akeredolu’s son.

“The PDP is offering affordable education and healthcare delivery as against Aketi-engineered astronomical tuition fees that have thrown many of the students in tertiary institutions out of school.”

Internal crisis May Deny Ekiti PDP Victory in 2022 Guber Poll, Says Olujimi Victor Ogunje in Ado-Ekiti The Senator Representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi, has warned that internal wrangling might deny the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) victory in the 2022 governorship poll in Ekiti State unless the leaders of the party would do what is right and just.

Olujimi said Ekiti PDP would continue to be entangled with crisis until the litany of injustices being perpetrated by the party’s

national leadership is redressed.

She stated that factional crisis, which had splinted the state’s chapter of the party into many factions, would constitute serious impediment for the party in the state’s 2022 gubernatorial poll.

The former Senate Minority Leader spoke at her Omuo-Ekiti country home on Saturday during a meeting with the PDP leaders in her district.

She noted that alleged illegality that was perpetrated during the party’s ward, council and state

congresses have weakened Ekiti PDP and added that the chaotic development were not unexpected going by the level of impunity, injustice and partiality that have become the norm in the party.

Olujimi vowed not to backtrack from her struggle with other leaders of the party to reposition and restore sanity to the PDP in Ekiti State despite the gang-up by a group of renegades in the party.

She insisted that the current struggle was intended to change the status quo, which has been

riddled with impunity and replace it with a new order where the party’s operational principles would be justice, equity and fairness.

Olujimi claimed that she has no personal issues with former Governor Ayodele Fayose as her interest is to liberate Ekiti PDP from the vestiges of oppression and impunity being promoted by individuals that have become an albatross around the party’s neck.

FG to Use Aircraft to Distribute Relief Materials in Inaccessible Areas of Borno Michael Olugbode inMaiduguri

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Mrs. Sadiya Umar-Farouq has said the federal government would commence the use of aircraft to distribute relief materials to dangerous and inaccessible areas in Borno State.

Umar-Farouq, who was in Maiduguri at the weekend to deliver relief materials to the state, told the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, who was represented by the

Borno State Deputy Governor, Mr. Umar Kadafur, that “the process of coherently addressing vulnerability of affected communities requires that weadopta‘humanitarian-developmentpeace nexus’ approach within all our structures, systems, processes, and policy environment.”

“Humanitarianaction,socialinclusion andprotectionpoliciesandprogrammes, as well as, peace building structures must not be implemented as silo or serial processes. They are all required to occur in a concurrent and cohesive manner to ensure economic and social

stability.”

“The National Humanitarian Coordination Committee (NHCC) and my ministry will work closely with the Borno State Government and other humanitarian stakeholders with the objective of alleviating and limiting the vulnerability of affected populations in Borno State and the rest of Nigeria.”

Umar-Farouq said that the federal governmenthasnotedthattheInternally Displaced Persons might require further support in terms of basic necessities like food due to the recent restriction of movement to curtail the spread of

COVID-19 pandemic disease and inaccessibility of some communities as a result of floods and insecurity.

She said that in a bid to meet the needs of the vulnerable people in state, the federal government has brought 26,067 bags of 12.5kilogram of parboiled rice; 26,067 bags of 25kilogram of beans; 26,067 bags of 12.5kilogram of maize/millet; 1,304 bags of 20kilogram of iodised salt; 2,607 units of 20 liters kegs of vegetable oil; 4,345 cartons of seasoning cubes and 2,173 tin tomato cartons in 24/48 (Tin/Carton).

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P&ID Saga: UK Court Verdict, Victory for Magu, Says Shittu Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Counsel to the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mr. Wahab Shittu, said the decision of the English court that gave judgment in favour of Nigeria on P&ID case showed the result of a detailed and thorough investigation done by the EFCC led by the suspended chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.

He said in a statement, weekend that the judgment was occasioned by Magu’s landmark achievement and leadership style.

Shittu said the judgment saved the country from the impending and disastrous effect the execution of the $9.6billion judgment plus interest would have had on Nigeria’s fragile economy.

Shittu noted that the decision showed that rather than punish Magu over his handling of the investigation, he should be given a heroic commendation for saving the country in a huge way.

“Magu should be celebrated rather than be vilified. It is rather unfortunate that the handling of P&ID investigation forms part of the allegations against him, which led to his suspension.

“There is no gainsaying that the evidence relied on in arriving at the decision came from the EFCC under Mr. Magu. The English Judge was very satisfied with the way and manner the EFCC carried out its investigation in

paragraphs 253 and 254 of the judgment.

Shittu cited the judgment which read in part: ‘What occurred might have been the EFCC proceeding at its normal pace in the light of the resources allocated to it, the other inquiries it was conducting and conditions in Nigeria.

“By comparison the position after August 2019 might be exceptional and prompted by the serious position Nigeria faced in the light of Butchers J’s decision on the enforcement application. At this point it is impossible to say.

“However, I cannot accept Mr. Mill’s (P&ID’s counsel) submission that there was no proper diligent investigation. The basic point is that there was no specific information such that Nigeria ought to have become aware of the building blocks of fraud now alleged.”

He further noted that the judge observed in paragraph 251 that “in my view, Mr. Mill underplayed the work, which was undertaken over the June 2018- August 2019 period.

In particular, there was the successful prosecution of P& ID and P& ID Nigeria on 19 September, 2019 based on the ground work undertaken during this fifteen-month period”.

The judge concluded at page 260 that: “...the fraud is complex in character and continuing.

Edo Guber Election: I will Defeat Oshiomhole in His Ward, Shaibu Boasts Adibe Emenyonu in Benin Edo State Deputy Governor, Hon. Philip Shaibu has vowed to defeat the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole even in his ward in the September 19 governorship election in the state.

Shaibu said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin City yesterday.

He said this won’t be because he was “one superstar” but because he was connected with the people.

He noted that he does not play money politics or use money for election or bribe people for election, but does “organic” politics, which is building relationship with people.

He also said that he believed in being the messenger of the

people, by carrying the dividend of democracy to the people.

He vowed that he and the PDP would defeat the former National Chairman in his ward, and also win the entire six local government areas in Edo North senatorial district.

He said that he will win the district with a very wide margin.

“Edo North senatorial district will be the easiest to win, because the political structure of the place is in our hands.”

He also disclosed that he introduced the former National Chairman of the APC to politics and organised his first ever political meeting that brought him into politics.

“I introduced Oshiomhole to politics. I organised his first ever political meeting that brought him in.

Even on my preliminary examination it comprises a number of quite different strands. What occurred in this case was deliberately concealed.

Especially with international advisers it engaged, P& ID wore

the clock of legitimacy. In the circumstances which Nigeria has prima facie established it acted reasonably in its investigations...”

Shittu maintained that the public did not know that while this investigation was on going, the

investigators and prosecutors including Magu used to close from work at 1am, 2am and resume by 8am, including Saturdays and Sundays.

“Unfortunately, some of these men are currently on

suspension without pay or transferred out of EFCC for doing nothing but working assiduously to save this country. They were not given any allegation or issued query.

PROTECTING THE MARKET...

L-R: Managing Director of Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Umar Sanda Mairami; Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Lamido Yuguda; Executive Director, Business Development and Strategy, Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Ahmed Tijjani; and Executive Commissioner, Legal and Enforcement, SEC, Mr. Reginald Karawusa, during a meeting between the SEC and Premium Pension in Abuja, weekend

Akinrinade Advises FG toTransform Amotekun, Others into State Police Peter Uzoho A former Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd.) has advised the federal government to allow regional security outfits to transform into state police.

He, however, recommended that institutional and constitutional mechanisms be put in place to checkmate the arbitrary use of the state policing structures.

The retired military officer spoke on Saturday in his Yakoyo, Osun State country home, while receiving a team from Osun state Ministry of Information and Civic Engagement, led by the Special Adviser to Governor Adegboyega

Oyetola on Civic Engagement, Mr. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye.

In a statement by Oyintiloye yesterday and titled ‘Security should be community-driven – Gen. Akinrinade,’ Akinrinade also commended efforts of regional security outfits in tackling security challenges facing the country, adding that efforts to secure the nation should be community driven rather than based on centralised structure.

Akinrinade emphasised the “need for the federal government to embrace state police by giving the leverage for all regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West, Hisbah in the North

among others to metamorphose into state policing structures.”

Reacting to move to subsume Amotekun security initiative under community policing of the Nigerian Police Force, the elder statesman said a state should not be expected to use its resources to run a policing system that is not exclusively under its supervision.

He then suggested that a state should be allowed to use its resources for its own policing arrangement backed up by legislative enactments.

He said, “Policing system in every country is naturally meant to be driven through community structures for excellent and

effective intelligence gathering which is the onus of security system.

“The centralisation of the security system by the federal government which brings about the enlistment of nonindigenous personnel into the policing structure of a state as against the use of indigenous individuals like the case of foreign countries has rendered Nigeria’s policing system ineffective and unproductive.”

Commenting on security in the region, Akinrinade commended Oyetola and his other colleagues in South West for the creation of Amotekun Security Outfit.

Relief as Lagos Reopens Two Recreational Parks The Lagos State Government yesterday announced the reopening of two of its recreational parks for public use, stressing that visitors to the parks must comply with the subsisting COVID-19 protocols.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Parks and Gardens, Mrs. Titilayo Ajirotutu, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists in Lagos.

According to Ajirotutu, the reopened recreational facilities

are the Ndubisi Kanu Park in Alausa and the Dr. Abayomi Finnish Park in Oregun, Ikeja.

The state had closed down all parks in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic to contain the community spread of the virus.

This measure denied fun seekers the opportunity to relax in the open and hindered government revenue from the facilities.

The statement quoted the General Manager of LASPARK, Mrs Adetoun Popoola, as saying that the agency had made

necessary arrangements and put in place relevant safety protocols for the public to visit the parks.

“Strict observance of COVID-19 guidelines including physical distancing, use of face masks, temperature checks, and washing of hands with soap and running water is germane to reducing the risk of exposure to the virus.

“It is also pertinent to mention that children below five and adults above 65 years are advised to stay home to reduce their risk of infection.

“All play items and games

which have high touch surfaces will also not be operational for now at the parks,” Popoola said.

The LASPARK boss said further that the occupancy limit of the parks had been restricted to 150 people for Ndubuisi Kanu Park and 100 people for Dr. Abayomi Finnih park to prevent overcrowding.

She said that other public recreational parks in various parts of the state are still being assessed for reopening, adding that the public would be notified accordingly.

Osun Govt Seals off Orphanage, Revokes Licence WTO: Nigerian Female Lawmakers Back Okonjo-Iweala Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Osun State Government at the weekend sealed off Oroyemi Orphanage Home in Ife over allegations of gross misconduct.

The state Commissioner of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Affairs, Olubukola Olaboopo, while speaking with journalists said the orphanage home was sealed off after series of monitoring and warnings from the ministry, which proved futile.

The commissioner emphasised that abuse, maltreatment of wards

DejiElumoyeinAbuja

at orphanages and flagrant disregard of operational laws and procedures would not be entertained by the state government.

She appreciated the members of staff of the ministry, who worked as the task force to the orphanage home situated at Opa area of Ile-Ife, for revoking the license and sealing the building.

The commissioner stated that 46 children, three women were evacuated and all are in the custody of the state government happily.

The quest by former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to become the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), received a boost yesterday as federal female lawmakers backed her ambition.

The lawmakers under the aegis of Nigeria’s Female Parliamentary Caucus in a statement issued by Senator Joy Emordi described Okonjo-Iweala, as the best hand for the WTO top job.

The female legislators stated that while other candidates for the

position were also qualified, the former Minister stood head and shoulder higher, adding that the quest for gender and regional inclusiveness in the running of the organisation equally favoured her candidacy.

The caucus, which is a body of serving and past female Members of the National Assembly dedicated to pushing for good governance, inclusion of more women in leadership positions, and building international collaborations for gender mainstreaming, stated inter alia: “Having considered Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s pedigree, her sterling leadership qualities, her local and

international profiles, achievements, and exposures as well as her dedication to the promotion of an all-inclusive international trade, we have no doubt that she is the best hand for the job.

“At this time and age of the WTO, the world deserves a WTO that is a win-win for every region of the world, a WTO that will help African countries especially and other countries in the South to reap substantial benefits from the world trading system through level playing field and aide for trade. We are talking about deepening multilateralism and in a way that doesn’t leave anyone

behind or perpetually with the short end of the stick.

“And of course, we are also calling on the WTO stakeholders to consider that no African has been appointed the DG of the WTO since it was founded over 25 years ago in 1995. There is no better time to democratise the driver’s seat of the WTO in the true sense of its name. More significantly, Africa now has in the Harvard-educated former Managing Director of the World Bank the best hand to take the organisation to the next level”, the group said.

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Petrol Price Hike Illegal, Says Falana-led Coalition Ejiofor Alike The recent hike in the price hike negatives the principles of the Nigerian constitution, Alliance for Survival of COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) has said.

The group, a coalition of over 80 labour and civil rights groups, led by a human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, has also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to live up to his responsibility.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Chairman of the coalition and radical Lagos lawyer, Falana insisted that the increase was illegal and should be annulled.

ASCAB said the hike will increase the tempo of anger, frustration and desperation of Nigerians who are daily being pushed to the extreme of tolerance of the government’s extremist socio-economic programmes The group said handing over the mainstream of the economy to the mood swing of global economic forces was like putting Nigeria on auto pilot, which might lead to a crash.

Falana said Nigerians have

been stretched beyond their reasonable elastic limit with the ceaseless imposition of policies that push the masses to cliff edge of livelihood.

“The federal government has taken yet another illegal decision.

Nigerians are not expected to obey illegal orders,” Falana said He cited the Supreme Court judgment that vested the right to increased fuel price in the hands of the Minister of Petroleum, a position presently being held by Buhari He said contrary to the provisions in the constitution, the federal government hadbeenusingthePetroleumProducts Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to fix the prices of petroleum products, adding that following the recent challenge of the usurpation of the powers of the Minister of Petroleum Resources to fix the pump price by the ASCAB, the federal government decided to transfer the power to the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC).

He said “the PPMC announced a new Ex-depot price of N151.56 for petrol last week. In justifying the illegal and insensitive increase in the pump price of fuel, the Minister

of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva was quoted to have said that the government is no longer in the business of fixing prices for petroleum products, saying “we have stepped back. Our focus now is on protecting the interest of the consumers and making sure that marketers are not” ASCAB faulted the minister, accusing him of reinforcing an illusion that the increase is without the prior consent of the federal government.

He said in the same vein, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has publicly confirmed the decision of the federal government to hand over the duty of the Minister of Petroleum Resources to the so-called global market forces.

ASCAB recalled that while speaking from Abuja during a web seminar organised by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), last week, she explained that all tough measures adopted by the federal government were geared towards weathering the current headwinds posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blasphemy: No Muslim Lawyer Should Defend Convicted Kano Singer, Says Cleric The Chairman of the Sokoto State Ulama Forum of Izala, Abubakar Usman Mabera, has said any Muslim lawyer who defends the musician sentenced to death in Kano State, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, has renounced Islam.

Sharif-Aminu was sentenced to death by hanging on August 10 after he was found guilty of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.

TheCable had reported how the development stirred an outcry among many Nigerians.

Despite the public outcry, the Supreme Council for Shari’ah

in Nigeria asked Kano state government to execute the court judgment.

In response, the Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, said he would not hesitate to sign Sharif-Aminu’s death warrant if he failed to file an appeal within 30 days.

The convict has however appealed against the court’s decision.

Mabera, while speaking in Sokoto at the weekend, said blasphemy is a capital offence in Islam of which punishment is death, and that since a competent

court has found the singer guilty, he cannot be pardoned.

He asked Muslim lawyers to be careful in defending the convict, adding that “any lawyer who comes out to defend him has renounced his Islamic faith”.

The cleric also asked the Muslim faithful to seek God’s forgiveness because the prevailing setbacks in the country are signs of wrongdoing. ”For all indications, God is not happy with us and we have to repent because he alone is the answer to our woes,” he said.

Work for Peace, Unity, Sanwo-Olu,Tinubu Charge New Oniru Ooni, Obanikoro, Akiolu, others grace coronation Segun James Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday called on the newly installed Oniru of Iru Kingdom, Oba AbdulWasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, to work with the people of the kingdom as well as the state government to successfully actualise his lofty dream for the development of Iruland and the state.

The duo also urged the monarch to strengthen the existing bond of unity and peace in Iruland for the overall development and progress of the Kkingdom, adding that his passion for the development of Iruland will be successful only if he works with the people and other constituted authorities in the land and state.

Speaking at the coronation of Oba Lawal as the 15th Oniru of Iruland held at the Oniru Palace, Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamza, expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the kingdom.

He said he was impressed

that the monarch had displayed impressive actions characterised by wisdom, knowledge and large heartedness.

The governor also called on the subjects in the kingdom to stand firm behind the new monarch in order to allow the development and prosperity of the kingdom to flourish.

On his part, Tinubu called on the newly installed monarch to work with the people of the kingdom as well as the state government in order to actualise all his lofty dreams for the development of Iruland and the state.

According to Tinubu, “No matter how beautiful or good an idea is, without the support of the government and the people whom the development is meant for, it may not succeed.

He urged the monarch to work with people, saying: “You are not taking anything away from this world but your character and humaneness.”

Tinubu described Oba Lawal as very intelligent, reliable, and unassuming, even as he urged the people of Iruland to work together in peace and harmony, saying no matter how much of wealth one appropriates to oneself,

everyman would leave the world with nothing.

While reminding the people of Iru kingdom that they cannot achieve development, peace and harmony without the collaboration with the Lagos State Government, Tinubu urged them to “think smart and talk to one another to address the problems affecting their area,” urging all those who sought to succeed the former Oniru but did not make it to join hands with Oba Lawal to move Iruland forward.

In his remarks, Oba Lawal expressed gratitude to Sanwo-Olu, Tinubu, traditional rulers in the state and all the people of the kingdom, saying he would continue to be fair to all the people and strive for the progress and development of the kingdom.

Dignitaries who witnessed the coronation included the Oni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. Joke Sanwo-Olu; Erelu Abiola Dosunmu, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, members of the state executive council, members of the state House of Assembly, former and serving members of the National Assembly, Muslims and Christian clerics.

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Afe Babalola Backs ASUU’s Objection to Reopening of Varsities Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti(ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), has supported the objection by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that public universities are not safe for reopening now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Babalola said the refusal of the academic body to support the government’s proposal to reopen the universities was predicated on lack of safety facilities, which he said are valid and tenable reason, adding that this propelled him

to back the opposition to school reopening.

On the danger posed by the dense population of the country estimated at about 200 million despite being a developing country, the legal icon called for the enactment of a law that would compel all couples to have a maximum of two children.

Babalola stated this in Ado Ekiti yesterday in a statement signed by ABUAD’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tunde Olofintila.

Babalola said: “From available facts on ground, COVID-19 has undeniably vindicated ASUU’s position, protests and grievances

over the years about lack of necessary facilities, equipment as well as the decayed infrastructure in the universities.

“This is in sharp contrast to what is obtained in private universities most of which are reputed for their moral and physical discipline, quality and functional education, hygienic and safe environment, predictable

academic calendar, absence of unionism, committed teachers, modern teaching equipment and laboratories as well as adequate preparation to prevent COVID-19.

“It is a known fact that I am not a fan of ASUU. This is simply because of their penchant for constant strike, which has elongated a four-year programme to between eight and 10 years in

most of the public universities.

“However, this time, the union has my support on the account of their publication of the numerous problems afflicting public universities and the fact that the public universities don’t have the resources to meet the PTF conditions. Their position on these two important matters is part of their duties of ensuring that they

don’t disseminate ignorance and half knowledge to their students, thereby producing a bunch of unemployable graduates.”

Babalola, therefore, called for adequate funding of education, so that teachers can be well paid while infrastructures, teaching aids and research grants would be readily available for them.

COVID-19: Two Suspects Arrested for Defrauding German Company of 14.7m Euros Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Cybercrime Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, INTERPOL and the National Central Bureau, Abuja weekend arrested two suspects for their complicity in a major multi-million euro scam over the procurement of COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

The suspects, Babatunde Adesanya a.k.a Teddy, 50, Master Degree holder in Cell Biology; and Akinpelu Hassan Abass, 41, the Managing Director of Musterpoint Investment Nigeria Limited, who are members of a sophisticated transnational criminal network, cloned the corporate website of ILBN Holdings BV, Holland to transact with and defraud one Freiherr Fredrick Von Hahn, a representative of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

A police statement said the arrest of the suspects was sequel to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) received by the Bureau from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice conveying a request from the German government for investigations

into a fraudulent transaction on the procurement of COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment linked to a Nigerian-based bank account.

It said discrete investigations

by INTERPOL Nigeria revealed that the suspects and their Holland-based cohorts, one Eduardus Boomstra and Geradius Maulder specialised in identity theft, cyber-stalking, cloning of corporate websites amongst other cyber mischiefs to defraud unsuspecting members of the public across the world.

The suspects, it said, fraudulently obtained from Mr Freiherr Fredrick Von Hahn the sum of 1.5m euros and another 880,000 euros as advanced payment for the supply of COVID-19 PPEs valued at 14.7million euros.

Disturbed by the non-arrival of the PPEs, Mr Freiherr Fredrick Von Hahn eventually visited the corporate office of ILBN Holdings BV in Holland to inquire reasons for the delay in supplying the items only to find out that the company never did business with him and that the transaction was a scam.

Bayelsa Senatorial Bye-election: PDP Fielding Best Candidates, Says Diri Onungwe Obe in Yenagoa Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) carefully selected its candidates for the October 31 Central and West senatorial districts bye-election.

Diri stated this at the weekend after his predecessor, Seriake Dickson, and the immediatepast state Chairman of the party, Pastor Moses Cleopas, emerged as candidates for the Bayelsa West and Central senatorial districts respectively.

A statement issued by his acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, said the governor lauded the transparent and peaceful conduct of the primary elections held in Yenagoa and Sagbama in the state.

Speaking to journalists at the Dr. Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre in Yenagoa, where the Central district primary election was held, Diri said he was satisfied with the process, and commended the aspirants and

delegates for their orderly conduct throughout the exercise.

Hecalledonmembersofthepartyto closeranksandworkforthesuccessofits candidatesinthesenatorialbye-elections, as he expressed the confidence that the PDP would emerge victorious in both elections.

According to him, “You will attest to the fact that the primaries were very orderly, transparent and fair. I am very sure that everybody is satisfied with the conduct. PDP is always throwing up the best candidates.

“You can also agree with me that in PDP, we carefully select and nominate our candidates. You can see the difference between the candidates of the PDP and any other party.”

While congratulating Dickson and Cleopas, he described them as the perfect choice to emerge as candidates.

“We are presenting our best in the election. The former governor is highly experienced in legislature and running of the executive arm. He is a lawyer too.”

TRAINING THE ELITES CORPS...

L-R: Commandant of Military Training, Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, Lt. Gen. Jimi Okpor; Deputy Commandant of NDA, Air Vice Marshal Ali Ibrahim; and the Commandant of NDA, Maj. Gen. Jamil Sarhan, during the pre-commissioning lecture for Army Cadets of the 67 Regular Course and Short Service Course 46, in Kaduna ... weekend

Kogi Gov Pledges to Focus on His Electoral Promises Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja The Kogi State Governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello, has pledged that his administration would deliver on its electoral promises and leave a legacy of massive infrastructural development that would prove naysayers wrong.

Bello also declared that he is fully ready to focus on governance

now that politics is over in order to consolidate on the achievements of his administration during his first term.

He made the pledge yesterday at the Christ the King Catholic Church in his country home, Okene, where he held a special thanksgiving service for his recent victory at the Supreme Court, which affirmed his victory at

the November 2019 gubernatorial election.

The governor explained that he was in the church to appreciate the God Almighty who made him victorious and gave him more years to serve the good people of the state.

The governor expressed his undeterred commitment to ensuring peaceful co-existence in

the state and called on all citizens to help the government to actualise this lofty desire.

Bello urged clergymen across the state to join hands in preaching the message of peace to all their followers and charge their congregants to practice peaceful co-existence with all irrespective of their dispositions

Rivers Govt Faults NLC President on Proposed Strike Ernest ChinwoinPortHarcourt The Rivers State Government has described the reaction of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, to the court order restraining the organised labour from embarking on its planned protest in the state, as ridiculing the judicial process and impugning the authority and integrity of the court The state government also denied holding any labour leader captive in the Government House or anywhere else as a result of the planned strike.

The NLC and the Trade Union

Congress (TUC) had planned to embark on a protest in Rivers State today over alleged anti-labour policies of the state government.

But the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Lagos State on September 1 in Suit No. NICN/LA/305/2020 issued an order of interim injunction restraining the NLC and the TUC from embarking on their planned protest in Rivers State.

In a statement issued yesterday evening, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, said the state was aware of an audio message being circulated on the

social media credited to Wabba, making “spurious, unfounded and malicious allegations against me and the Office of the AttorneyGeneral of Rivers State in relation to the proceedings in the aforesaid suit No. NICN/LA/305/2020.”

He stated that Wabba is the third defendant in the said suit pending before the court, and that “contrary to the offensive assertion in the audio message that the Attorney-General of Rivers State ‘claimed’ to have obtained an order of interim injunction from the National Industrial Court, the truth of the matter is that the court Lagos Division, where Hon. Justice N. C. S. Ogbuanya. J in sitting

as a vacation Judge, actually granted an order of interim injunction in favour of the claimant/applicant and against the defendants on September 1, 2020, in the following terms: ‘An order of interim injunction is hereby granted restraining the defendants herein either by themselves or through their servants, agents, privies, officers or otherwise howsoever called from embarking on a strike in Rivers State on September 5, 6, or 7, 2020, or any other date whether earlier or later, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction filed contemporaneously herewith.

Anambra Police Smash Robbery Syndicate, Recover Guns, Cash, Others David-Chyddy ElekeinAwka Police in Anambra State have arrested two members of an armed robbery syndicate, who specialised in ‘one-chance’ robbery operation.

The suspects, Chukwuemeka Ikechukwu, 22, lives at Chibest Street, Tarzan in Onitsha, while Tochukwu Okeke, 30, is said to be an indigene of Nkwelle Ukeh in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state. Both were arrested in Onitsha yesterday.

The state Police Command spokesperson, SP Haruna

Mohammed, who disclosed the arrest of the suspects to journalists, said two guns, a tricycle, 12 handsets and a huge amount of cash among other items were found with the suspects as exhibits.

According to him, “On the September 6, 2020, at about 4:30a.m., following credible intelligence report, police operatives attached to Ogbunike Division smashed a robbery syndicate and arrested two suspects.

“The suspects were part of the gang allegedly involved in series

of armed robbery and handset snatching in Ogidi, Nkpor, Tarzan, Umunya, Odumodu, tollgate axis and its environs.

“Exhibits recovered in their possession included one automatic pump action gun with breech No 12776; one English pistol, one dagger, two hand bags, 12 assorted phones; one purse containing recharge cards of various networks, one tricycle with registration number NSH 299 QH; one locked safe containing unspecified amount of money and cash sum of N296,000 all reasonably

suspected to have been snatched from different victims.”

The police spokesman said the case was still under investigation, after which the suspects would be charged to court.

He added that the command is calling on members of the public whose phones and other belongings were either snatched or stolen through similar modus to report at Ogbunike division or the Command Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Akwuzu to claim them, and also give further evidence to aid police investigation.

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Crude Oil Transportation: NIMASA Revives Move to Change Terms of Trade Seeks new maritime security strategy

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has revived efforts to change the terms of trade for the affreightment of Nigerian crude oil from Free on Board (FOB) to Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF).

Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, disclosed this in Lagos, when he received a delegation from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) led by the newly appointed Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division, NNPC, Sir Billy Okoye.

Jamoh, who had recently paid a similar working visit to the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, at the corporation’s headquarters in Abuja, expressed NIMASA’s appreciation of NNPC for accommodating the agency’s interest in transactions where the

maritime regulator relied on data from the national oil company.

The NIMASA DG also revealed that the agency was working towards the implementation of a National Maritime Security Strategy to improve security in Nigerian waters and reduce the cost of shipping.

“Since 2018, NIMASA has championed moves for a change in the terms of trade with regard to transportation of Nigerian crude oil, from FOB to CIF to ensure greater benefits for the country from its oil resources,” the Director-General stated.

“A technical committee involving NIMASA, NNPC, and other stakeholders would be set up to develop a template for the desired change, with workable timelines,” he added.

Under FOB trade terms, Nigeria

has no reasonable control over the delivery of its crude oil as regards carriage, insurance, and other ancillary services. But under the CIF arrangement, the country maintains ample control over the distribution of its oil, which can be leveraged to enhance the competitive advantage of indigenous operators.

Jamoh commended the synergy between NNPC and NIMASA, saying, “Seventy per cent of the Agency’s revenue comes through the sale of crude. Thus, cooperation between NNPC and NNPC cannot be over-emphasised.”

The NIMASA Director-General also disclosed, “The Maritime Intelligence Unit recently established by the Agency is part of efforts to ensure a proactive approach to security in our waters.

The focus is to try to nip maritime

Imo APC By-election: Committee Members Explain Araraume’sVictory Three members of the Primary Election Committee set up by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Imo North Senatorial by- election have said that they declared Senator Ifeanyi Araraume winner because the figures from the field on the day of the primaries showed that he actually scored the highest number of votes.

The members of the Electoral Panel include, Alhaji Umar Nguma, Mohammed Saliu and Prince Ifedi Ejim.

The members, who were at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja to submit the report of the primaries, which they conducted in the 64 wards in Imo Senatorial District, expressed shock that people could concoct figures and

asked the primary election committee members to sign declaring a certain favoured aspirant winner.

Nguma who spoke on behalf of others, said that as a good Muslim, he would never collect gratification to endorse falsehood.

“How could we declare somebody who failed a winner simply because he was being supported by two powerful people in government?” he queried.

Nguma added that it was very clear that Araraume was the choice of the people, saying it would be inhuman to deny him victory when he had actually won the primaries based on the figures from the field.

He warned that democracy would be in danger if

political parties allowed powerful people to be writing results in hotels and government houses only to turn around to force those saddled with the conduct of elections to append their signatures to fake figures.

Nguma said that he and his two other colleagues had performed the duty assigned to them and that it was up to APC to take a decision on the way forward.

While the Ngumaled group announced Araraume winner of the APC primaries, another set led by Senator Ajibola Bashir declared Frank Ibezim winner.

The APC leadership is expected to ta k e a decision on who finally gets the ticket.

N600m Debt: AMCON Takes over Hydro Hotels’Assets Maduabuchi Ubani The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has said it has taken over of the assets of Hydro Hotels Limited, “whose total indebtedness was over N600 million.”

This was confirmed at the weekend in a statement by the Head of Corporate Communications Department of AMCON, Jude Nwauzor.

Affirming the decision of the Federal High Court in Minna, Niger State, the statement quoted the Court of Appeal through Justice Habeeb A.O. Abiru, Justice Abubakar Datti Yahaya and Justice Amina Audi Wambai in the suit No: CA/A/70/2018 involving AMCON vs. Hydro Hotels Limited, to have granted AMCON judgment against Hydro Hotels Limited and its Chief Promoter, Alhaji Isah Mohammed Ladan, over the aforementioned sum.

The statement also disclosed that the court ordered the forfeiture of moveable and

immoveable assets of the hotel and Ladan, and further granted AMCON the full possession and outright power of sale of the properties.

AMCON has remained active since President Muhammadu Buhari signed the amended AMCON Act into law. The amendment provides the government agency additional powers to go after its obligors, majority of whom have remained recalcitrant for years, the statement added.

According to the statement, “Armed with the order, AMCON, through its appointed Debt Recovery Agent, Ajunwa and Co., took effective possession of four top properties of the obligor, which included those situated at Plot 165/166 MTP. 95A, measuring 0.300 hectares at Farm Centre, Tunga Ward, near New Secretariat in Minna; Plot 173 and 174 MTP. 95A, consisting of 0.414 hectares; property at No. 1 Wawa Road, New Bussa, Niger State, and property at No. 82 Garkuwas, New Bussa, Niger State.

“The case of Hydro Hotels Limited and its promoter has been a prolonged issue as the loan was purchased

by AMCON during the first phase of Eligible Bank Assets (EBA) purchases from Finbank (now FCMB) in 2010.

Following the purchase, AMCON has been in a long drawn legal battle with the company since 2015; first winning the case against the obligor at the Federal High Court, Minna, in 2017 and now at the Court of Appeal in August 2020.

“As a matter of fact, due to the lack of adequate collateral, AMCON’s expanded investigation on Ladan revealed other hidden properties belonging to the obligor located in Niger State, which were hitherto not known to AMCON. This action to expand investigation and trace additional assets is in line with Section 49 (1) & (2) of the AMCON Act 2019 (as Amended).”

attacks in the bud by tracking the criminals from the pre-planning and planning stages.

“The ultimate aim is to develop a National Maritime Security Strategy that would help to minimise the cost of insecurity, which NNPC bears on behalf of the country, in the shipment of Nigerian crude.”

The DG recalled NNPC’s grant of the agency’s requests and generous pledge of cooperation during his recent visit to the

corporation and prayed for the continuation of such mutual understanding.

He stated, “we appreciate the NNPC for accommodating NIMASA in its processes. We do not delay vessels in the search for information on them because of the confidence we have in NNPC’s capacity to readily supply such information.”

The Director-General appealed for more local content in the transportation of the country’s

crude in line with the Cabotage regime.

While addressing the meeting earlier, Okoye declared that NIMASA was a “critical stakeholder in the business of crude oil sale.”

He said his goal was to get the two agencies of government interfacing more closely with each other to resolve challenges and ensure seamless movement of crude and petroleum products in the country.

LAPO Mentors NGOs on Financial Management Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) has organised an intensive capacity development training for 46 non-governmental, communitybased organisations undergoing its mentoring programme across the country.

The two-day training which was held in Benin City was facilitated by Prof. Omokhoa Adeleye, a Management Consultant and Community Physician at the University of Benin with Prof. Andrew Tafamel of the Department of Business Administration, the University of Benin and Bolaji Otaniyen

Goodnews, a Senior Accountant at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital as co-facilitators.

The operational and service delivery capacities of the young organisations were built in the core areas of financial management, accounts reconciliation and financial reporting, budgeting, networking and partnership building through technology, especially in the era of COVID-19.

In his remarks, the Executive Director of LAPO, Dr Ayobami Honestus Obadiora, charged the participants to leverage on the knowledge and lessons garnered

from the training to develop their competencies and grow stronger in their development work.

The LAPO mentoring programme was instituted by the CEO, Dr Godwin Ehigiamusoe in 2006 to support and build the capacities of young nongovernmental/communitybased organisations towards actualising their vision.

Activities under the programme include capacity development workshops, seminars, internship, equipment donation and networking.

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Police: We Are Still Searching for Kidnapped Dariye’s Father More than two months after he was abducted by gunmen, Plateau State Police Command yesterday said the search for

Defwan Dariye, the father of a former governor of the state Joshua Dariye, was still ongoing.

LabourVows to Protest against Rivers Govt Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has stated that nothing would stop it from embarking on tomorrow’s protest against the government of Rivers State over alleged infractions on workers’ right.

NLC and its counterpart, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), had planned to hold a peaceful protest in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Tuesday to compel the state government to address their demands which are payment of salary arrears, promotion arrears, pension arrears and payment of new minimum wage.

However, in a statement issued yesterday by the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, the labour movement said it has received very credible information that the state Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has mobilised two local government councils in the Port Harcourt metropolis to use their agents to stop workers from holding ‘legitimate’ protest scheduled for September 8, 2020, in Port Harcourt.

NLC accused the state government of violently disrupting

the State Executive Council meeting of the state council of the NLC on August 27, 2020.

It said the right to peaceful assembly and protest is not just a constitutional right as provided for and guaranteed by Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, but it’s also a fundamental universal human rights protected by international treaties signed up to by Nigeria.

He said: “We wish to send the final warning to Governor Wike that in the event that any harm comes to any worker on September 8, 2020, Nigerian workers and the international labour community would hold him personally to account, after all, he remains the chief security officer of the state.”

NLC alleged that earlier on the night of July 27, 2020, some armed hoodlums ransacked the sealed secretariat of the NLC and vandalised equipment and installation worth millions of naira. It said up till now, “no single arrest has been made on that incident. Till date, workers are still looking for the kidnapped JUSUN chairman in Rivers State.”

The ex-governor’s father, who is said to be over 90 years old, was in June 2020 kidnapped at his residence in Bokkos Local Government Area of the state by gunmen, who whisked him away to an

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan The Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan chapter, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, yesterday faulted the moves by the federal government to reopen all schools, especially universities, without taking responsibility for the schools to meet COVID-19 precautionary guidelines.

Akinwole in a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, said those leading the agitation for the re-opening of schools are private school owners, due to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on them, warning that no pecuniary gain is more than the lives of lecturers and their students.

The ASUU boss, who noted that before the COVID-19 pandemic, public universities were overcrowded with students, while hostel facilities take more than its capacity, charged parents not to jubilate at the news of possible reopening of schools, but should rather charge the government to take responsibility for whatever surge in COVID-19 that may happen as a result of the ‘ill-thought’ out re-opening.

He said while the National Assembly members can afford to observe social distancing in the National Assembly complex, the same is not possible with overcrowded classrooms due to “the wickedness of the ruling class not to properly fund public

education.”

Akinwole maintained that ASUU as a responsible union owes Nigerians the duty to warn against the danger of not meeting the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines and exposing the lives of the children of the masses to the danger of contracting COVID-19.

According to him, “Our union notes that there have been agitations in some quarters for the government to re-open schools.

Leading this campaign are the proprietors of private universities.

ASUU is not in any way opposed to this call. However, Nigerians should honestly interrogate this position. Has the Nigerian Government met the NCDC criteria on COVID-19 protocols in our institutions? Must we endanger the lives of our children for pecuniary gains? Are these agitations not borne out of protecting their business interests?

“The COVID-19 pandemic is still very much with us. It is in recognition of this fact that the government has rolled out certain conditions to be met before schools are re-opened. How many of our public institutions can confidently vouch for the safety of our children given the available facilities such as: the provision of running water for hand washing; social distancing among students, and the use of recommended face masks and shields, which are key components of NCDC protocols?

command, Ubah Ogaba, said in Jos yesterday that they had not given up on efforts to rescue Pa Dariye.

He stated that a security challenge, like kidnapping, required discreet investigation.

Ogaba said “We are still investigating the matter. We will not spare any efforts until we find him no matter how long it takes while those found to be involved in his abduction will not go unpunished”.

DEEPENING COLLABORATION...

Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Billy Okoye (left), and the Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, during Okoye’s courtesy visit to the agency in Lagos... recently.

‘Increased Electricity Tariffs, Removal of Subsidy Key to Economic Recovery’ Chinedu Eze

ASUU Kicks against Reopening of Schools without COVID-19 Protocols

unknown destination.

About two weeks after his kidnap, the gunmen later contacted his family and demanded N100 million ransom before they could release him.

Spokesman of the state police

Public analyst and lecturer at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, AgoIwoye, Prof Olawale Ajayi, has stated that the increase in electricity tariff and the removal of subsidy on the price of petrol are actions aimed at encouraging efficiency in electricity supply and finding the right pricing for fuel to in order to free the government to concentrate on providing other

social amenities for the citizens.

Ajayi, who stated this on Arise TV morning programme yesterday, said deregulation would allow market forces to determine the price of petrol and improve efficiency.

According to him, “It was believed that deregulation would allow market forces to determine the price and improve efficiency. It happened in the telecom industry.

The government was in charge

when services were very poor, but when the private sector came in, telephony became available, cheaper and accessible, and also contributed in developing the economy.

“So deregulation will take government out of the picture and make electricity more efficient and accessible. I think we may have to go this route. The only alternative is to allow the government to start producing

power but this has not worked in the past, so it is better it is given to private investors in order to have efficient electricity supply.”

The don noted that unless producers are paid the amount of money that would cover their expenses and enable them make profit, the plan to have efficient supply of electricity wouldn’t work.

Wike Flags off Construction of 11 Township Roads in Bauchi Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has flagged off the construction of 11 township roads in Bauchi State, just as he called on the people of the state to continue to support the Bauch State governor for more positive programmes and projects.

The roads which construction was flagged off are Gwangwangwan to Bakaro to Kofar Dumi; Malamgoje to Bakin Kura linking Muda Lawal market covering a distance of three kilometres; Bununu township

roads 2.65 km, and Sade township roads, which is 2.5 km.

Others are Disina township roads project, storm water drainages as well as two major roads with a distance of about 1.65 km to solve the aged-long flooding problem in the state.

Wike called for the support of Governor Bala Mohammed while flagging off the construction of 11 township roads in Bauchi State at the Gombe Road within Bauchi, the state capital, yesterday.

The Rivers State governor noted with satisfaction the foresight of his host, Mohammed, to embark

on the construction of various roads across the state despite the economic status of the state, saying: “It is not an easy task for a state with less internally generated revenue to embark on execution of developmental projects, and that is the reason for my coming to Bauchi today (yesterday).

“Because of my relationship with the Governor Mohammed and his desire to work for his people, the Rivers State Government will continue to support him to work for the happiness of the citizens of Bauchi State.”

While congratulating the

Bauchi State Governor on the achievements recorded in infrastructure, he urged him to sustain it for the betterment of the citizenry.

Wike then declared that: “On behalf of the government and people of Rivers State, it is my honour and privilege to be in Bauchi State to perform the flagging-off ceremony of township roads in Bauchi metropolis. These roads project is a welcome development, and will contribute in improving the living conditions of the affected beneficiaries.”

Old Students Hail Oyetola for Reverting to Old School Name For returning the name of their alma mater from St John’s High School to St John’s Grammar School, Ile-Ife, the old students of the school have lauded the Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, for listening to the yearnings of the people.

President of St John’s Old Boys Association, Dr. Festus Oshoba, in a letter of appreciation, said the parents of students and alumni of these schools were relieved that wise counsel prevailed at last.

Oshoba said: “By this singular act, you have demonstrated that yours is a government that values the opinion of the people, particularly the alumni community. It must be emphasised that the alumni of various schools are investing massively in the renovation and upgrade of their schools, but their enthusiasm was dampened by the strange names that the schools were given.

“In our particular case, a school that was founded in 1962

as a male school was changed to a school for boys and girls overnight.”

He urged the Oyetola administration to take the progressive step of encouraging alumni associations to set up trusts that can take over the running of their schools to reduce the financial burden of the government.

“It is on record that the return of schools to missionaries by the administration of Governor Bola Tinubu in Lagos State freed up

resources and gave the missions the opportunity to administer the schools according to their traditions,” he said The Old Boys president also invited the governor to the official inauguration of projects funded by the old students of the school, adding that it would provide convincing proof that the alumni are already partnering the government to provide basic facilities and would do even more if given more responsibilities.

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N’Assembly’s Amended 1999 Constitution Ready June 2021 Deji Elumoye in Abuja The National Assembly will by June 2021 be ready with the amended 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for onward transmission to the President for his assent, THISDAY has learnt.

A programme of action prepared by the 58-man Senate Committee on Constitution Review headed by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, outlined the activities of the National Assembly Joint committee culminating in the passage of the amendments to the constitution by the two chambers by the middle of 2021.

The programme of action, sighted by THISDAY at the weekend, include the inauguration of the Senate committee by the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, which took place in February, this year, followed by the committee’s inaugural meeting held six months after in August.

The steering committee of the Senate Constitution Review Committee comprising of all principal officers of the upper legislative chamber met a fortnight ago to agree on the consultants to be engaged to drive the assignment as well as identifying 13 major issues for the present round of constitution amendment.

The committee Chairman, Omo-Agege, thereafter, requested for memoranda from the public, saying the committee as part of

the process of further alteration to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) has identified state creation, immunity, comprehensive judicial system, National Assembly and residency and indigenes’ provisions as some of the issues in the constitution to be reviewed.

He listed the other provisions of the constitution to be considered by the committee to include gender equality for women and girls, the federal structure and power devolution, local government/ local government autonomy and public revenue, fiscal federalism and revenue allocation.

Other provisions, according to Omo-Agege, are Nigerian Police and Nigerian Security Architecture, electoral reforms to strengthen INEC to deliver transparently credible free and fair elections, socio-economic and cultural rights as contained in Chapter 2 of the Constitution and strengthening the independence of oversight institutions and agencies created by the Constitution or pursuant to an Act of the National Assembly.

He, therefore, called on the general public, executive and judicial bodies, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), professional bodies and other interest groups to submit memoranda or proposals for further alteration(s) of 1999 Constitution [as amended] “on the aforementioned matters and on any other matter that will promote good governance and welfare of all persons in our country on the principles of Freedom, Equality

Senator Opposes Re-introduction of Water Resources Bill Backs hike in fuel price, electricity tariffs Deji Elumoye in Abuja A member of the National Assembly, Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf, has expressed his opposition to the reintroduction of the National Water Resources Bill in the federal parliament.

Yusuf, who spoke at the weekend in Abuja, however supported the recent hike in the pump price of petrol as well as the increase in electricity tariffs.

The ranking Senator while speaking on the Water Bill currently before the House of Representatives declared that he won’t support any bill that is against the overall interest of the citizenry.

His words: “I don’t believe I will stand and support anything that is not in the best interest of Nigerians.”

According to him, the contentious bill rejected by the Eighth Assembly is coming as a concurrence bill at the Senate, adding that “you know we have little difference in the way we do our bills.

“By the time it comes to the Senate, it will only come as a concurrence. The various relevant committees will sit down and look at areas that are contentious and then liaise with the House and sort them out.

On the recent hike in fuel price by the federal government, the Chairman of the Senate committee on Special Duties, submitted that the increase was long-anticipated with the current restructuring of the nation’s economy.

He said: “What has happened

to the fuel price is longanticipated. We all know that in an economy, we have the product side, the financial side and the labour side. We started this long ago but it is now the economy that is restructuring itself. We try to manipulate the restructuring of the economy over a period of time since the time of structural adjustment programme. One way or the other, we manipulate, we put a lot of sentiment into it. The real effect is now staring us on our face. So, what do we do? What is the reality on the ground?

“Government has no money to subsidise the pump price of the petroleum product.

All is because of the value of the Naira. The dollar price of our imported products has not changed much. What has changed much is the value of the Naira vis-a-vis the dollar.

“Until we get the realistic value of our currency, we may not be able to sort out this problem. We must also change our attitudes.

Every Nigerian has to accept the fact that things change much for the better.”

Commenting on the increase in electricity tariffs, the Senator described the hike as challenging, adding however that the increase must take place one day.

“It is a challenging period we are facing. Electricity is a product that must be sold at a realistic price. If we continue to put a price that is not realistic vis-avis the value of our currency, thinking that at the value of our currency, it is over-valued, and therefore we continue to adjust.

and Justice”.

Next on the programme of the committee this month is the holding of a strategy meeting between the Steering Committee and Consultants/Technical Coordinators while a retreat will also be held for committee members to discuss the way forward on 2014 Confab Report and the El-Rufai Committee on Restructuring Report.

There will also be a retreat for committee members from September to October 2020 to consider Memoranda submitted (with resource persons in attendance) while consultative meeting/public hearing on the issues highlighted in the memoranda submitted will also take place during this period.

Activities lined up for November to December 2020 include working retreat to aggregate public views and inputs on issues and holding a joint committee meeting of both the Senate and House of Representatives while the consultants will also hold retreat harmonisation with the House of Representatives Committee.

Other programmes billed for November to December 2020 include organising a retreat to consider the bills clause-by clause jointly with the House Committee.

Others are gazetting and production of bills for first reading, a listing of bills for first reading and second reading, committee to meet with institutions, CSOs and other stakeholders for their

input while committee members are to meet with State Assembly speakers on the content and import of the bills.

From January to February 2021, there will be a meeting of Senate and House consultants with the 21-man Steering Committees to agree on the proposed report, committee members hold a retreat with consultants to consider the report from the engagement with state assembly speakers and clause by clause consideration of the bills.

By March 2021, there will also be a presentation of the committee’s report in plenary for Third Reading, consideration of the report by Senate in plenary and passage, conference committee where necessary and voting on areas of differences where

applicable.

The timetable also showed that by March 2021, there will be a compilation of clauses that have met the provisions of Section 9 of the Constitution and transmission to state assemblies leading to the Assembly’s joint committee meeting with the Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies.

By April, the National Assembly is expected to receive return about the constitution review from all the 36 state assemblies and collate same.

The final leg of the constitution review programme is the resolution on the passage of the bill, and onward transmission to Mr. President for assent in June 2021.

CONGRATULATIONS...

L-R: Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Dinfa Domtau; newly elected Chairman of PDP in Plateau State, Mr. Chris Hassan; and the Chairman of the National Electoral Panel for PDP senatorial primary election in Southern Plateau Zone, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, during the election in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State....yesterday

FG Spends N5bn Monthly on IDPs, Says Senate Panel The Senate Committee on Special Duties has revealed that the federal government spends N5 billion monthly to cater for the victims of insurgency in the north-eastern part of the country.

The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Yusuf Yusuf, disclosed this in an interview with journalists at the weekend in Abuja on the outcome of his panel members’ recent visit to the North-east geopolitical zone.

Yusuf, however, explained that no amount of resources was adequate to sustain the 2.7 million displaced persons in the various camps.

He lamented that most of the victims of insurgency were eager to return home and fend for themselves but many of their villages were still inaccessible.

He noted with concern that Nigeria might witness a major crisis from the IDPs who are mostly orphans below the age of 18, if nothing was done to get them back to their villages He said, “It is a very sad thing that I have seen in the IDP camps.

There are 2.7 million people in the IDP camps across the northeastern states.

“No amount of resources that can sustain or take care of their

palliatives.

“The government and the development partners are doing their best but the resources are very small.

“We cannot sustain spending the N5billion a month to take care of these people.

“We cannot continue to believe that the IDP syndrome should continue. We must exit it at one time or the other. It is a sad thing.

“There are children who are orphans in all respect and most of them are below the age of 18. It’s a time bomb waiting to explode.

“All of us, what we should do is to work together, accept

the fact that security is important, the security agents should be given enough courage because the government is doing its own best but the security agencies, though they are trying, their best is not enough.

“The people in the IDP camps want to go back to their homes, and there is no reason why they shouldn’t go back.

“All hands must be on deck and make sure that security is provided for them to go back to their homes so that we can reduce the mounting pressure on our resources to take care of the IDPs,”

House Member Declares Self PDP Candidate for C’River Senatorial Bye-election Bassey Inyang in Calabar Controversy has continued to trail the outcome of the primary election for the candidate to fly the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Cross River North senatorial district bye-election billed for October 31, as a member of the House of Representative, Mr. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, declared himself the winner of the primary election held last Saturday at the Ogoja council hall.

Reacting to the outcomes

of the primaries, Jarigbe, who is the member representing Ogoja/Yala federal constituency, declared that he is the authentic candidate of the PDP for the bye-election going by the result announced by the committee that conducted the polls.

In a statement made available to journalists yesterday, Jarigbe said he remains the authentic candidate of the PDP having polled 381 votes to beat his closest rival, Dr. Stephen Odey, who scored 71 votes.

The statement signed by

the lawmaker read: “I am the authentic winner of the PDP primaries held in Ogoja yesterday. I thank my people for giving me their votes and for trusting in me as the struggle to liberate our state continues.

“My election was observed

by INEC monitoring team from Abuja led by Mr. Modibbo Belel at Ogoja with list of authentic delegates as declared by the court.

“Let me also restate that it was supervised by members of the PDP electoral panel, including Ibiok Esu and

Kenneth Zota.

“I urge all my people in the northern senatorial district to remain calm and work hard for our eventual emergence in the October 31, 2020, byeelection. We pleaded with all to remain steadfast.”

Last Saturday, two different results were announced for the bye-election characterised initially by violence.

The Chairman of the electoral panel for the primary election, Hon. Olorogun Taleb Tebite, had declared Odey winner, saying he polled 450 votes ahead of Jarigbe, who garnered 90 votes.

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BACK PAGE CONTINUATION BIAFRA: THE HORRORS OF WAR, A REVIEW Bello. As the delegation mounted further pressure, Gen. Ironsi thundered, “that man is my ADC. He stays here and you must speak in English language or nothing‌. I am a Nigerian! With me, there is no Yoruba, there is no Hausa. We are all one and the same. Please speak!â€? Thus deflated, the visitors left without delivering the actual message they had brought along. Not long after, precisely on July 29, 1966, there was the counter coup, where Ironsi and many other military officers, mainly of Igbo extraction, were assassinated. There were reportedly two components of the coup.

One led by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon and the other led by Major Murtala Muhammed.

Because the January coup was led by two soldiers of Igbo extraction, some people tagged it an Igbo coup and this drove the execution of the ‘revenge coup’ in which Ironsi himself was killed. A careful review of the circumstances surrounding the coup raises strong questions as to whether it was really an ‘Igbo coup’. For instance, out of the 14 key players in that coup, 2 were Igbo, 4 were Yoruba, 5 were Northerners and 3 were from the Southern minorities of Urhobo, Ishan, and Ijaw extraction. The leader of the coup, Nzeogwu, was known to be a radical who had no patience with ethnic nor religious sentiments, but just a left-wing ideologue. Moreover, he was widely known as ‘Kaduna Nzeogwu’, until the coup took place. Besides, the reasons for the coup are already well known and had nothing to do with ethnic chauvinism.

The young man was still in Kano then and was mortally terrified as his Northern friends whom he had had great and brotherly relationships with, began either avoiding him or outrightly referring to him as a traitor. They had been made to believe that his people of Igbo extraction, had been involved in eliminating Northerners and therefore, revenge loomed in the air.

He insists that the January 1966 coup as corroborated by prominent witnesses and participants, including Wole Soyinka and Olusegun Obasanjo, was not ethnic based but a few elements of the Hausa/Fulani extraction used their large numbers in the army and for sectional reasons, wreaked a catastrophic holocaust, killing Ironsi and exterminating many Igbo people which eventually set the stage for the nightmarish pogrom that culminated in the Nigeria/ Biafra Civil War. He points out that, “for the 3 Hausa politicians and 4 army officers

killed in the so called “Igbo Coup� of January 1966, over 200 soldiers of Eastern origin were killed in the revenge coup and another 50,000 civilians were massacred all over Northern Nigeria. He had harsh words for the people around the world who were silent as over 3 million Igbo people perished in the ensuing war; the British who were complicit; Russia which provided aerial support to the oppressors; and America which paid little attention.

As the pogrom intensified, he had to flee Kano with his mother and siblings in a long unforgettable train ride to Enugu from where they made it to their home town in Awka. The train was forcefully stopped in Markurdi by heavily armed Northern soldiers who disembarked all adult males ostensibly in search of fleeing Igbo Soldiers. Having ensured that all the men, some of them traveling with their wives and children, had been offloaded, they allowed the train to continue with the journey while the men were lined up and summarily executed. A full-fledged war had started. As he put it, most wars are either for freedom or for domination and this war was not different. According to him, if Biafra was allowed to succeed, it would have been one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world as it housed most of the oil deposit in the country, together with some of its best brains. He was of the opinion that the war which by the way, was senseless, was triggered by the North for the sole purpose of controlling the oil from Biafraland. He regretted that the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who had earlier boasted that the Yoruba would also secede once Biafra announced its secession, buckled and rather joined the North to pummel Biafra. As the minister of Finance, Chief Awolowo was quoted as saying that “all is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war. I don’t see why we should feed our enemies fat in order for them to fight harder’.

Having relocated to Awka, he started a new life in his village, but this was again short lived as the theatre of war moved close. He had to abandon Awka with his parents and siblings to a safer location.

He narrated a touching story of how his 85-year old grandmother refused to leave with them and was subsequently brutally murdered by the Nigerian soldiers who invaded the town a few days later and set her house on fire with the old woman

inside. They subsequently became refugees in Orlu, living in tents mounted in open fields.

Hunger and starvation, which inevitably were major instruments of that war, were difficult to adapt to. Days on end, Russian mercenary jets, flown by Egyptian pilots, would drop bombs on civilian targets, wiping out everything in sight. Rather than break the spirit of the people, the Biafrans were so united and determined to fight to the last man. In his words, one thing that stood the Biafrans out and probably was responsible for their survival, was the courageous and brave attitude of the people.

He offered himself several times for enlistment in the Biafran Army and was expectedly rejected on account of young age. One fateful day, he was accosted

by Biafran soldiers in Orlu in search of cowards who were fleeing from joining the army. They insisted he must be about 19 because of his frame and height. While those around were protesting that he was not of age, he was eager to join them and was glad to be conscripted. That marked the beginning of his journey to Umuahia to undergo a two-week training programme as an army recruit, even at the tender age of 13! Thereafter, he was given a gun and some bullets and sent to the war front. He fought tirelessly and was deployed to different units of the Biafran army. His schedule included getting intelligence information about the enemy which he did dutifully. As he reflected on the activities of that time, he realised how sophisticated Biafra was. The training, though short, was excellent. “They made their own bombs and rifles, refined their own crude oil, built their own Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and patrol boats and converted ordinary planes to fighter jets- all done without the requisite tools and materials�

Early in 1970, the Nigerian side got very large consignments of ammunition from Great Britain and Russia and started a ferocious attack on Biafran soldiers and civilians.

Biafran soldiers were being overpowered and the system was collapsing. The Biafran Head of State, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, had to go on exile to Abidjan.

On January 12, 1970, Major General Philip Effiong, Chief of Staff of Biafra, surrendered and that marked the official end of the war.

Our subject subsequently made his way back to Awka with the scars of the war remaining with him till this day. He had this

to say “From the day that this war ended until today, the Nigerian State has become a wasted opportunity without any bright future. It has become a kleptocratic state that is divisively dysfunctional. Its political structure is not inclusive and devoid of equality for all component units. Nigeria now lacks equitable distribution of power, resources, and accountability, and it’s being populated by incompetent leadership and tyrannical leaders. Contextualising, this country Nigeria ‌exposes the level of evil, inequality, monstrous corruption, religious and tribal bigotry and violence and above all, the adulation of envy and hatred for the Igbo.â€? He went further to state that unless the country made sacrifices and pursued a new ethic of leadership and followership devoid of tribalism and religion and institutes good governance founded on truth, justice, equity and fairness, the prevalence of greed, hate, avarice and narcissism would engender another civil war which might be more devastating and destructive than the last one. He went further, “after fighting a war it claimed was to reunite all the people under one country, the extent of sectional fragmentation and ethnic agitation have become alarmingâ€?. He concluded by calling for the restructuring of the country to achieve true federalism and devolution of powers as brilliantly espoused in the 2014 National Conference, where he participated actively.

I have no doubt that you would, by now, be wondering who this youngster, that we have been referring to is. Well, the man is no longer that young as he is now over 60. His name is Dr. Okey Anueyiagu. He is my friend and my brother, blessed with so much cerebral power and a brilliant pen, in the mould of his famous father. He has several other talents that make him a unique Nigerian in the midst of mediocrity and despondence.

Okey has just published a book, titled “Biafra, The Horrors Of War: The Story of A Child Soldier�, and it is to this work that we are dedicating this column today.

This 277-page book is written in simple English and packaged well for your reading pleasure. What we have done here is to give our readers, a sneak peep into the book, which I consider a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about the civil war from the perspective of an active participant.

You would do yourself great injustice if you don’t get a copy to read.

OSUNKEYE: AN ACCOUNTING DOYEN TURNS 80 without the influence of the mentors that God brought his way. In an interview he granted in 2017, Chief Osunkeye explained different people in and outside the accounting profession who taught him practical lessons that helped build an enviable career. His mentors are Chief Akintola Williams, Chief Michael Omolayole and late Chief Justice Fatai Williams.

At the time Pa Osunkeye retired as the Chairman of Lafarge Africa Plc on May 23, 2015, the role his mentors played in his career progression has definitely taught him many practical lessons. First, the role taught him to always give back to the society. In addition, it informed his resolve to devote the rest of his life to nurture corporate executives and entrepreneurs to attain the pinnacle of their career. Lastly, it shaped his decision to readily make himself available for any activity that would lead to the socio-economic development of his fatherland. In the last five years, Pa Osunkeye has committed to these lofty goals despite his age and status. He is no doubt a product of God’s matchless grace.

My wife and I met Chief about two decades ago, however, our first encounter with him neither prepared nor revealed to us what was about to unfold. In 1994, my wife had set up H&Y Furniture Manufacturers, now a leading lifestyle design and space enhancement firm.

After a decade of operation, we had some compelling reasons to reposition this brand in order to set it on the path of future growth.

As we embarked on this journey, we knew our company would benefit from the dexterity of a core professional, who not only had a strong corporate track record, but also a high sense of integrity and professionalism. This thinking attracted us to Chief Osunkeye on account of his strong professional background, record of accomplishments and reputation for integrity. That is exactly what Chief Osunkeye represents, not just professionally, but also in his family life. Our meeting with

Pa Osunkeye Chief Osunkeye readily revealed values the accounting doyen could add to our budding company. In 2004, we decided to invite him to the Board of H&Y Furniture Manufacturers as the pioneer Chairman, and we were delighted when he accepted the invitation in a mentoring capacity.

Pa Osunkeye has been a pillar of support and a source of inspiration at every turn.

He is a generous giver of his very valuable time and wealth of wisdom just to build a new army of corporate executives and

entrepreneurs. He believes helping others grow is one way he can contribute his quota to economic growth and human capital development. From him, we learnt the importance of upholding the tenets of corporate governance while fostering good business acumen.

Our board meetings are always robust and full of life, especially with the manner Chief Osunkeye proffers solutions to challenges that arise from time to time.

He is ever willing to go over and beyond

the call of duty. When we commissioned our ultra-modern factory, Chief Osunkeye did the unveiling. He did not only arrive early, but gave an inaugural speech and offered prayers, which were highlights of the memorable day.

For us, as a family, Pa Osunkeye has been a steady source of inspiration and a confidant we often defer to. For instance, when my wife, Feyisola, lost her father, who was also a board member of H&Y Furniture Manufacturers, Pa Osunkeye and his wife formed a key part of the support network around us. It was, therefore, not just ordinary that our paths crossed two decades ago, but divine and ordained for purposes for which God had used him to accomplish in our business and family.

Chief Osunkeye has been an amazing mentor to us in our corporate and family lives. He painstakingly mentored me at different stages in my career path. Looking back at our relationship of about two decades, we can conclude that we have benefitted immensely from Chief Osunkeye’s oasis of corporate culture and professionalism.

We always appreciate his perspective on career-related matters and boardroom management.

For these obvious reasons, Pa Osunkeye is not just an asset to the accounting profession, but indeed to the nation, especially with his commitment to mentoring a new army of entrepreneurs; helping corporate executives develop a robust career and upholding good corporate governance culture. As he marks his 80th anniversary today, we join his family and Corporate Nigeria at large to celebrate Chief Osunkeye, a doyen of the accounting profession, a master of boardroom management and an indefatigable proponent of good corporate governance.

We wish him more fruitful years in good health, sound mind and unfailing memory. r5PLVOCP "CJSV GPSNFS .% $&0 1PMBSJT #BOL "1$ -BHPT &BTU TFOBUPSJBM DBOEJEBUF

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MONDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Sports Ministry Gives Strict Conditions to Meet Before NPFL Returns Calls for full implementation of NPFL’s Club Licensing Control

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Despite lifting of ban on sports activities by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19, the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD) has listed conditions to meet by both the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and club owners.

Last Thursday, the National Coordinator of the Taskforce, Dr. Sani Aliyu disclosed in Abuja that football activities as well as other outdoor events are free to return without fans in the stadium but under the strict supervision of the FMY&SD and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

But yesterday, the Permanent Secretary of

the Sports Ministry, Mr. Gabriel Aduda, issued a statement directing the NFF and the club owners not to open any stadium to open for matches without total implementation of the club licensing control before the new football season can resume. “We are happy that the ban on sports has been lifted after so many months of inactivity due to the Covid-19 scourge. The Ministry is not oblivious of the challenges that would be encountered in organising football matches.

We cannot take anything for granted. “As a way of safeguarding the lives of our players, coaches, officials and fans, approval must be sought and given before any game is played. The Ministry would ensure that

all protocols and guidelines are obeyed as directed by PTF and NCDC,� observed the Perm Sec. He hinted that the Ministry has set up a Covid-19 Monitoring and Approval team that would ensure compliance before any game is played.

Aduda warned that the Nigerian domestic league

would not resume until basic conditions are fulfilled. “We have a responsibility to enforce the implementation of the Club Licensing Control as stipulated in the statues setting up the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL). “The domestic league will not commence until

the regulations and controls bothering on financial and licensing control are enforced. The NFF must enforce these regulations and controls as stipulated, otherwise the Nigerian professional and amateur leagues would not be approved to resume. “These include proper licensing of players,

insurance for players and coaches, compliance with FIFA rules on players contract and transfer, running the clubs as professional endeavour among others.�

The statement directed the NFF to communicate these decisions to the clubs to forestall any crisis.

Bauchi Govt Releases Balewa Stadium to Pillars for Confed Cup Governor Bala Muhammad of Bauchi State has approved the Tafawa Balewa Stadium Bauchi to Kano Pillars FC as home venue for their forthcoming CAF Confederation Cup campaign.

The Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Adamu Manu, said while presenting the copy of approval letter to the Chairman of Kano Pillars FC, Alhaji Surajo Shaaibu on Saturday in the club Secretariat in Kano.

The commissioner said he was in the club Secretariat to present the approval of his Governor toSai Masu Gida and assured them of his total support for their success in the continent. “Let me reaffirm to you that government and good people of Bauchi State are behind you and prayed for you for a successful outing

in the competition (CAF Confederation Cup),� the commissioner said.

Responding on behalf of the Kano State government, the Chairman of Kano Pillars, Alhaji Surajo Shaaibu thanked the Bauchi State governor for accepting the request tendered to him by Sai Masu Gidato play their home matches in his domain during the 2020/2021 season.

An elated Surajo said that the relationship between the two states would be sustained not only in football matters but in all ways of life.

He promised to convey the good news in the letter to the state’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Comrade Kabiru Ado Lakwaya in order to present it to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

FIFA, CAF, NFF Celebrate Yobo at 40 Former Super Eagles Captain, Joseph Yobo, clocked 40 years yesterday and was serenaded with by football’s governing bodies.

FIFA, Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) all sent birthday wishes to the Rivers State born former Nigerian international who is joint record holder for most appearances for Eagles at 101 caps.

FIFA wrote on its Twitter handle: “Once a Super Eagle, always a Super Eagle. “Yobo represented the Super Eagles in three World Cup tournaments, captained them to @ CAF_Online AFCON glory (2013), won a joint-record 101 caps & is now their assistant coach. Happy 40th birthday to a Nigerian legend.�

CAF also wrote: “Happy 40th birthday to Joseph Yobo.�

The Nigerian federation capped it with:�Happy birthday to former @NGSuperEagles captain, now

assistant coach, @jyobo234. Have a good one legend!�

The Everton legend was born in Kono, a community in the Khana area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Yobo was a member of the Flying Eagles squad that got to the quarter-final of the 1999 FIFA U-20 World Cup on home soil.

He made his Super Eagles debut in 2001, featured at six AFCONs (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013), three FIFA World Cups (2002, 2010, 2014) before retiring from international football in 2014.

He became the third player to captain the Super Eagles to AFCON glory when they emerged champions at the 2013 edition in South Africa.

At club level, Yobo played for Standard Liege, Marseille, Everton, Fenerbahce and Norwich City.

On 12 February 2020, Yobo was appointed assistant coach of the Super Eagles as replacement to Imama Amapakabo.

Kano Pillars players training ahead of their campaign in the 2020/21 CAF Confederation Cup. They are to play their home matches at the Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi

Aruna Quadri to Lead African Stars to World Cup in China Despite finishing as runner’s up at the 2020 African Cup in Tunisia earlier this year, Aruna Quadri has been listed among the top 20 players in the world that will compete at the ITTF Men’s World Cup scheduled for November in China.

In a statement released

by ITTF at the weekend, the Men and Women’s World Cup events will kick-start the restart of international table tennis competitions after several months of suspended activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Quadri and African Cup champion, Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh will compete in the men’s event while African Cup women’s champion Dina Meshref of Egypt is the sole representative of Africa in the women’s World Cup.

According to ITTF, the World Cups will feature 20 female and 20 male athletes, including the World Champion, qualified players from all completed continental events (Africa, Europe and Pan America) and players selected by world ranking from the other continents (Asia and Oceania) as well as the whole world according to the provisional World Cup playing system. The players from Asia are the same who would have played at the 2020 Asian Cup, had it not been cancelled due to Covid-19.

Quadri was selected based on the world ranking which makes him the highest ranked African in the world’s rated Top 20 and he will be parting in his third consecutive World Cups being the first African to qualify to the

quarterfinal of the competition following his exploits at the 2014 edition in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The men’s star-studded field include China’s Ma Long who is considered by many as the greatest table tennis player of all time, and he will be looking to add the 2020 Men’s World Cup to his burgeoning trophy cabinet.

Ma Long is joined by world no.1, Fan Zhendong (China), who lifted the 2019 Men’s World Cup in Chengdu, as well as a number of other top Asian players to have qualified via their world ranking, such as teenage talents, Tomokazu Harimoto (Japan), world no.4 and just 16 years of age, and Lin Yun-Ju (Chinese Taipei), world no.7 and 18 years old.

Europe is providing plenty of

strength, especially in the form of German pair, Timo Boll, who qualified off the back of his 2019 Europe Cup victory, and Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the former world no.1 entering as a wild card.

Aruna Quadri...to lead African players to the World Cup in China

Super Eagles’ Moses Simon Shows Love to His Benue Community Nigeria and Nantes of France winger, Moses Simon, has brought to an end the quest to have access to potable water for the people of Obagaji Agatu in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.

The Nigeria international drilled three boreholes in the community where his father hails from.

Elders of the community had made passionate appeal to their illustrious footballer son to bail them out of their suffering over potable water.

A native of Benue State but has spent the best part of his

life in Kaduna State, Simon still considered it a priority to remember the people from the place of his origin, a gesture that has earned him praises and commendations from the Head of the community Chief James Ocheche.

Explaining their plight at the weekend, the Community Head said the people of the region have been without drinkable water since the town came into existence.

The people have been mainly relying on rainwater or water from the stream for their daily usage and consumption.

“We have been without water for as long as we have existed as a community. We depend on rain water as well as what we get from our stream. Once the raining season is over, we depend on the water source known as the ewu and from ages we have been depending on it like that,� the community leader explained further.

The problem was however alleviated recently by some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) that sunk one or two boreholes for us but unfortunately, because of our water table level that is very deep, most of the

boreholes sunk have not been a good source of water,� Chief James recalled.

Moses Simon...reaching out to his Benue community for support

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MONDAYSPORTS

Adepoju: We Had a Great Time at Shooting Stars with Babalade Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON’92) bronze medal winner with the Super Eagles, Ajibade ‘Kunde’ Babalade,

48, died of cardiac arrest last Friday in Ibadan. Ex-international, Mutiu Adepoju, who elevated Babalade to the position of Team Manager at Shooting Stars, here recalls their time together at the senior national team as well as the Oluyole Warriors. Headmaster, as Adepoju is fondly called, spoke with DURO IKHAZUAGBE It first started as a rumour that early Friday morning that Ajibade ‘Kunde’ Babalade had passed on. Calls to several contacts in Ibadan could not authenticate the ‘hot news’ that the former hard-as-nail defence strongman had actually died. It was not until midday that confirmation came from another exinternational, Ike Shorunmu, that ‘Kunde’ died of cardiac arrest on the way to the

Ajibade Babalade‌joins growing list of Nigerian footballers to die of cardiac arrest

University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan.

Babalade joined the growing list of Nigerian footballers (current and retired) who died of cardiac arrest. The list include: Samuel Okwaraji, Amir Angwe, John Ikoroma, BobSam Elejiko, Endurance Idahor, Orobosa Adun and the most recent in the domestic league, Chineme Martins of Nasarawa United. There are several that cannot readily come to mind now before this painful exit of this ex-Shooting Stars, ex-Stationery Stores, ex-Iwuanyanwu Nationale’s Babalade.

With professional stints in Korea with Anyang LG Cheetahs and SK Stum Graz in Austria, Babalade did not come as someone not fit or having underlying ailments.

Speaking with THISDAY at the weekend, ex-international Mutiu Adepoju described the exit of Babalade as very painful. “Ajibade’s death is very painful to everybody. It is painful as colleague, a friend and a footballer. We are going

to miss him,� began the former Super Eagles midfielder who elevated Babalade to the position of Team Manager at Shooting Stars of Ibadan.

Though Babalade was not Adepoju’s contemporary at Shooting Stars during their playing time at the Oluyole Warriors, their paths however crossed as administrators. “Actually we didn’t play together in Shooting. I played earlier before travelling to play professional football in Spain. “It was at Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal in 1992 that we played together in the Super Eagles,� observed Adepoju who played seven seasons in the Spanish topflight with Junior Real Madrid, Racing de Santander and Real Sociedad. “I played against him when I was in Julius Berger and he was playing for Stationery

Stores at that time. As a player, Ajibade was a very strong and rugged defender.�

It was when Adepoju returned from his sojourn in Spain that they met at Shooting Stars. “We met again at Shooting Stars when I returned and was appointed as the General Manager. I was the one that made him the Team Manager of Shooting Stars. He was the Camp Commandant then when I came but elevated him because I knew his worth and value he was going to add to Shooting Stars as Team Manager. “We had a great time running the club. We had great moments at Shooting Stars,� he noted further.

On the rise of cardiac arrest cases amongst footballers in the country, Adepoju urged past and present sportsmen

and women to intensify constant health check ups as a way to prevent dying from unexplained situations like cardiac arrest. “Yes, cardiac arrest is becoming a recurring decimal in Nigerian football. What we need to do to stem it whether as current or ex-footballer is that we need to take extra look at how we manage our health situations. “We need regular medical check ups to ascertain there are no hidden health issues that may result in deaths like we are witnessing in our football now. “Secondly, once we are sure of our health conditions, regular work-outs are necessary to prevent being obese and adding unnecessary flesh. We don’t need to ignore our health after we retire from active sport,� Adepoju warned.

He however remains optimistic that Shooting Stars will return to reckoning in the country’s club football. “Shooting Stars will return big time because the present Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, is giving the right attention to sports matters in the state. “This is consequently rubbing on Shooting Stars. “It was just unfortunate that the last NNL season was truncated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Shooting Stars was already picking up by the time the season was stopped in December. Perhaps, Shooting Stars would have made it back to the topflight NPFL. It is just a matter of time, Shooting Stars will be back to where they rightly belong in the country’s club football,� concludes Adepoju, who is LaLiga ambassador in Nigeria.

TRANSFER NEWS‌.TRANSFER NEWS‌. TRANSFER NEWS‌.

Everton Sign Napoli’s Brazilian Defender Everton have signed Brazilian midfielder Allan from Napoli on a three-year contract for a fee believed to be around £21.7m.

Allan is Everton’s first signing of the summer and the move reunites him with former Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti. “It is a real pleasure to sign for Everton. I am immensely

Allan‌switches to Everton

happy to be here,� said the 29-year-old.

Everton are also closing on deals for Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez from Real Madrid.

Allan played 61 games under Ancelotti at Napoli, and he says the Italian did “everything possible� to bring him to Goodison Park.

Allan added: “I hope, like I have done in my entire career, I contribute with my performances together with my team-mates and that I put in some great games, great performances and win important things. “It is a club with a rich history in the Premier League, has real ambition and then there is ‘Professor’ Ancelotti. “It is the size of the club and the name of the coach which means you don’t think twice about coming to Everton.�

Ajibade Babalade (3rd player left, standing) with Super Eagles at AFCON ‘92 in Senegal

Djokovic Disqualified from 2020 US Open Top seed Novak Djokovic was Sunday night disqualified from his US Open fourth-round match

Spain’s Thiago Not Interested in Bayern Exit Talk Premier League move into “I didn’t say I want to leave Thiago Alcantara has played down a potential Bayern Munich exit this summer, thereby putting a potential

Thiago Alcantara...staying put at Bayern Munich

serious doubt.

The Spanish midfielder has been strongly linked with a move to either Liverpool or Manchester United this summer following intense speculation that he is set to leave the Champions League winners.

And Thiago, who is currently on international duty with Spain ahead of their clash with Ukraine yesterday, revealed he has not told anyone he is leaving Bayern this summer and is only focused on the Nations League campaign.

Bayern.�

The Bayern man has been tipped to join Liverpool or Manchester United this year but the 29-year-old has hinted that he may stay at the German champions Thiago played 90 minutes in Spain’s 1-1 draw with Germany on Thursday evening which kick started the country’s international campaign for 2020.

After the match, Germany and Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen admitted he would love the LaLiga side to resign Thiago,

after accidentally hitting a ball at a line judge.

Djokovic showed his frustration after losing serve to trail 6-5 against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.

The Serbian world number one took a ball out of his pocket and hit it behind him, striking the female line judge in her throat.

After a lengthy discussion, he was defaulted by tournament officials.

The Grand Slam rules state:

“Players shall not at any time physically abuse any official, opponent, spectator or other person within the precincts of the tournament site. “The referee, in consultation with the Grand Slam chief of supervisors may declare a default for either a single violation of this code.�

Djokovic was the heavy favourite toi wn the men’s singles title at the US Open, which is being

Novak Djokovic attends to the lines-woman he struck with a ball in the throat...yesterday

played behind closed doors and is the first Grand Slam to take place since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Going into the match against 20th seed Carreno Busta, Djokovic had not lost a singles match in 2020.

This was arguably the most dramatic default since British umpire Gerry Armstrong, now the Wimbledon Referee, disqualified John McEnroe from the Australian Open 1990 for verbal abuse.

Djokovic had looked extremely likely to add to his 17 Major titles and had been in imperious form, boasting a 26-0 record for 2020 which looked likely to extend to the end of this strange season.

It is a massive blow to his hopes of usurping Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, both absent from Flushing Meadows, but who stand on 19 and 20 respectively. At the age of 33 he can hardly afford to spurn such opportunities.

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T H I S D AY ˾MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

WEDNESDAYSPORTS 2020 US OPEN

Serena’s 24th Grand Slam Title Dream on Course, Through to Last 16 American Brady beats Kerber to reach her first Grand Slam Q’final Six-time champion Serena Williams fought back from a slow start to beat fellow American Sloane Stephens and reach the last 16 of the US Open.

Third seed Williams, 38, was sluggish in the opening set before raising her intensity to win 2-6 6-2 6-2 against 26th seed Stephens in New York.

“It was intense, we always have some incredible matches,” she said.

Williams, aiming for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, faces Greek 15th seed Maria Sakkari next.

Sakkari, 25, beat Williams in the three sets at the Western and Southern Open last week.

Williams gave a damning self-assessment after losing to Sakkari, saying there were “really no excuses” after she let a set and a break lead slip in that match.

Now she has a chance to quickly avenge the loss after showing her fighting qualities against 2017 champion Stephens.

While Williams’ game is still nowhere near the devastating levels that have won her 23 major titles in singles, the grit and determination showed in switching gears against Stephens will have sent a message to the rest of the field.

Whether that will be enough to win another Grand Slam, moving level with Australian Margaret Court’s record and putting the demons of losing her past four major finals behind her, remains to be seen.

Against Stephens, it was a tale of contrasting opening sets. The younger American dominated the first with Williams lacking intensity, before the roles eventually reversed in the second.

Stephens tried to move 38-year-old Williams around the court in the opener and then picked her off with blistering winners.

“In that first set I don’t think she made any errors, she was playing so clean,” said Williams.

As you would expect from a former Grand Slam champion, Stephens has plenty of class to trouble the very best.

Yet, the 27-year-old has struggled for consistency in the past couple of seasons and went into the match against Williams having not beaten a top-10 player for almost two years.

That inconsistency showed as the match wore on.

Stephens was gifted an opportunity to break for a 3-2 lead in the second when

Williams, who was breathing heavily between serves, produced a double fault.

However, Williams discovered her most potent weapon her first serve - to hold and demoralise Stephens.

Her level dipped from that point as a rejuvenated Williams won 10 of the last 12 games to continue her record of reaching at least the fourth round in every

US Open appearance since 1999.

“I just said I don’t want to lose in straight sets, because she was playing good,” said Williams, who last won the title at Flushing Meadows in 2014.

“I said, ‘Serena, just get a game, get a game’ and the next thing I knew I won the second set.”

Late last night, American Jennifer Brady reached her

N B A P L AY - O F F S

Masai Ujiri’s Raptors, Nuggets Win to Level Series The Toronto Raptors beat the Boston Celtics to level their NBA play-off series at 2-2 in Orlando, Florida, while the Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers to tie their series at 1-1 early hours of yesterday.

Pascal Siakam scored a seriesbest 23 points as the Masai Ujiri managed Raptors won 100-93 to tie up their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final.

Guard Jamal Murray topscored for the Nuggets with 27 points as they won 110-101 in the Western Conference semi-final.

“Game one, we were tired. I hate to admit it, but we were tired,” said Murray.

“We came out sloppy, came out exhausted, fatigued. We didn’t make any shots, we didn’t get back on defence.

“Tonight we just upped the energy and that’s all it took to win.”

Successfully keeping out Clippers danger-man Kawhi Leonard also played a key part in the Nuggets’ win.

“They were the aggressor tonight,” Leonard said. “A few easy ones didn’t fall early, and that was it from there.”

Meanwhile, 11 rebounds and double-doubles from Siakam and Kyle Lowry, who also scored 22 points, spearheaded a second successive Raptors win.

“We just continue to focus on every possession, every game,” Lowry said. “We know how tough those guys are.”

Celtic head coach Brad Stevens said his team “weren’t very crisp” after watching star shooting guard Jaylen Brown struggle to land his shots.

Covid-19 Official ‘Reprimands’ Ronaldo over Mask Compliance Portugal Captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, was given a stern Covid-19 reminder on Saturday whilst watching his country in the empty stands.

Juventus star Ronaldo, who sat out the encounter with a toe infection, was present as Portugal thumped World Cup runners-up Croatia 4-1 in Porto, with Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo scoring a stunner for the hosts.

But during the match, the 35-year-old looked somewhat surprised when a health official approached to tell him to put on a face-covering, but after a moment of hesitancy, he duly obliged and wore the mask provided.

Ronaldo picked up an infection on his right toe and is set to miss Tuesday’s match against Sweden too, with manager Fernando Santos unconvinced that he will be ‘100 per cent OK’ to

play, comparing the infection to a ‘bee sting’.

Speaking to reporters before Saturday’s win against Croatia, Santos said: ‘I am very doubtful that he will be 100 per cent OK. ‘He had been training well, then suddenly on Wednesday one of his toes was red, as if he’d been stung by a bee.

‘Now we have to wait. With an infection, you don’t know how long the recovery is going to take.’

Missing both games would cause great frustration for Ronaldo as he continues to stay patient in a bid to reach 100 international goals.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ronaldo has been stuck on 99 goals for 10 months and this international break on the eve of the new season has provided him with the first opportunity to tally up a century of strikes for Portugal.

Serena Williams is through to the Last 16 of the 2020 US Open

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE

Teenager Williams Strikes Late as Wales Sink Bulgaria Ryan Giggs saluted “fantastic” Neco Williams after the Liverpool defender snatched a last-gasp winner in Sunday’s 1-0 UEFA Nations League victory over Bulgaria.

Giggs’ side were well below their best for most of the League B, Group 4 tie, but 19-year-old Williams came off the bench to break the deadlock with a header deep into stoppage-time at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Williams’ first goal in professional football made it four successive wins in all competitions for Wales.

Following their 1-0 success in Finland on Thursday, Giggs’ men stay top of the group and are now unbeaten in eight

matches dating back to June 2019.

Of the teams who qualified for Euro 2020, none scored fewer than Wales, who struck just 10 times in their qualifying campaign.

That lack of firepower was a problem for long periods against stubborn Bulgaria, but right-back Williams finally opened up their massed defence on his home debut.

After a promising season with Premier League champions Liverpool, Williams’ matchwinning cameo rewarded Giggs’ faith in a youngster who has a bright future, even if he has to serve as back-up to Trent Alexander-Arnold at Anfield.

“Neco came on the other night and he was fantastic, and he was the same today,” Giggs said.

“He’s got loads of quality, he’s got confidence in his ability, and he’s brought new energy to the group, and he showed that in focused little cameos in both games.

“I was umming and ahing whether to start him today because of the performance he put on the other night, but he came on and not only his goal but his overall performance was fantastic.”

Clearly determined to frustrate the hosts with their cautious approach, Bulgaria had a rare chance when Galin Ivanov’s curling shot

deflected narrowly wide off Connor Roberts.

It didn’t help the home side’s cause that Gareth Bale was well short of the drive and sharpness that can only be gained from regular playing time.

Captain Bale barely featured for Real Madrid last season after the coronavirus hiatus as his strained relationship with their boss Zinedine Zidane left him frozen out.

Bale played just 45 minutes in Helsinki and two games in less than 72 hours was a big ask for the 31-year-old given his match fitness.

His struggles were summed up by a tame free-kick that never threatened to test Georgi Georgiev.

Chivita Rewards Consumers with Man Utd’s Jerseys Chivita 100% fruit juice has rewarded winners in its just concluded Chivita-Manchester United social media promotion with exciting prizes including jerseys of the English Premier League club.

The Promo drew excitement from enthusiastic soccer loving fans and consumers across Nigeria as they participated to get rewarded.

The month long promo which began on June 15, 2020 created a platform for soccer loving fans to express their passion for the team they love, Manchester United, while enjoying healthy nourishment

from their favourite fruit juice brand Chivita 100%.

Participants were required to follow Chivita Juice on all social media platforms, and predict the final scores of the Manchester United matches one hour before they commenced.

The first six fans with the correct predictions were selected as winners and rewarded with authentic Manchester United jerseys signed by some of the club’s top stars.

The competition saw over 1,000 participants taking part throughout its duration.

One of the lucky winners, Elizabeth Isaiah, expressed

gratitude to Chivita 100% for the promo and its exciting reward.

She said, “Thanks to Chivita 100%, I can now proudly say I own an authentic Manchester United jersey. It is always a welcome development when brands reward their loyal consumers. While I enjoy watching Manchester United play, this was an extra incentive for me to support the club, as well as get the very best of nourishment that Chivita 100% juice gives me.”

Brand Manager, Chivita, Ademola Mafikuyomi, stated that the tremendous

response from social media users to the promo and their enthusiastic participation in the competition was a reflection of the affinity Chivita 100% fruit juice enjoys amongst consumers in Nigeria.

“We congratulate winners of the Chivita-United social media promo. We realize that football is the number 1 sport in Nigeria, and as such, this consumer promotion presented us with an opportunity to reward Nigerians for making Chivita 100% their favourite brand for everyday nourishment.

Monday September 7, 2020

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Obaseki to Oshiomhole

“See the party (APC) that they put under his watch, he has destroyed it. This fight is between Oshiomhole and me; the fight is not between me and Ize-Iyamu.

We will bury Oshiomhole politically. We have retired him and on September 19, 2020, we will bury him politically” – Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki threatening to end of benefactor, Adams Oshiomhole’s political career on September 19 after the election.

ALEXOTTI OUTSIDE THE BOX

alex.otti@thisdaylive.com

Biafra: The Horrors of War, A Review Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it – George Santayana 1863 - 1952

L

et’s take you on a journey down memory lane. Imagine a youngster, born in Kano but whose parents are from the Eastern part of the country. Brought up as a Northern Nigerian kid, he had come to regard Kano as his home. His parents lived and worked in Kano. He started school in Kano and made a lot of friends there. For these young happy Nigerian kids, Kano was home. They spoke fluent Hausa and there was no difference between them and any Kano ‘indigene’.

Our subject would join his parents to visit their village, Awka, once in a year during the Yuletide and return to Kano as soon as the ceremonies were over.

He could recall that as a five-year-old, a white colonial officer, in company of two policemen had shown up in their house, seeking to arrest his father who was then a journalist. His father’s alleged crime was writing an editorial critical of the British colonial government. Luckily, his father was away to Lagos on official assignment. On sighting the intruders, his mother refused to open the door, explaining that the man of the house was not at home. The intruders would take no such explanation and proceeded to

Dr. Okey Anueyiagu break open the door and force their way in. His mother was so terrified as the white man and his obedient followers went from room to room in search of his father who they suspected was hiding somewhere in the house. The five-year-old boy was so enraged with the invasion that he grabbed

the trousers of the white man with his teeth and began to tear at it. The terrified white man took to his heels and abandoned the house hurriedly. He couldn’t understand the kind of courage that this young boy had to make him descend on him so violently.

He needed to make a quick exit before something more menacing followed!

This youngster was not done with courageous feats. He had tried convincing his parents that he wanted to be enrolled in elementary school, but they would not pay heed to him as he was, in their view, not yet up to school age. In those days, the rule was that if your hand, placed over your head, could not touch your ear, you were deemed not old enough to start school.

However, one day, without his parents’ consent, he just showed up in school. The headmaster promptly sent him back for the same reason that he was not up to school age. Undeterred, the next day, he showed up again, this time sobbing and creating quite a scene in the headmaster’s office.

The headmaster caved in and admitted him.

He thus started school before his mates and remained steps ahead of his peers up till this moment.

Life in Kano seemed to be going well until January 15, 1966. A military coup had been staged by a group of officers from several parts of the country and were led

by two brilliant Sandhurst-trained officers, Majors Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna. A few coincidences seemed to justify the argument that the insurrection was ethnically motivated. First, the coup leaders were of Igbo extraction and the killings seemed to be sectional as no senior Igbo military or political officer was killed in the coup. Secondly, the man who eventually emerged as the Head of State following the coup, was of Igbo extraction. It was not important that he had in fact, been the one who led the group that quashed the coup. The impending national conflagration was palpable and our subject’s father, being a notable personality in the country, was among those who made attempts to tone down the impending crisis by holding meetings with different groups both in Kano and other parts of the country. At the end, his father was detailed to lead a delegation to Lagos to meet the then Head Of State, Gen. Ironsi to brief and advise him on the realities facing the country and how to he could deflect the impending doom. Gen. Ironsi, a no-nonsense military man, would object to him speaking to him in Igbo language and also object to the request that the meeting be held without the presence of his ADC, Captain Sanni Continued on page 52

TOKUNBOABIRU GUEST COLUMNIST

Osunkeye: An Accounting Doyen Turns 80

T

oday, we are celebrating a leading light, role model, mentor, an industry icon and man of integrity as he turns 80. He is no other person than Chief Olusegun Oladipo Osunkeye, a former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nestle Nigeria Plc and Babalaje of Egbaland.

Certainly, this is an age Pa Osunkeye must have been trusting God to attain since his retirement from active service in 2015.

Perhaps, for his enviable records of service, Pa Osunkeye’s life depicts an embodiment of lessons, not just because of his age, but mainly for values he has added to accounting profession and Corporate Nigeria at large. From when he started professional accounting training under Akintola Williams & Company in 1959, Pa Osunkeye clearly defined his career goal to be a thorough professional accountant and that vision guided his choice at every stage of his career.

Even after he completed his training in 1963, he kept to this vision across his career trajectory that spanned over four good decades. Committed to his lofty dream, he proceeded to Staffordshire College of

Commerce, England in 1963 and became a chartered accountant in 1965, then at the age of 25. This indeed demonstrated his pursuit for excellence in accounting profession.

In 1967, Pa Osunkeye returned home at the time Nigeria was embroiled in civil war that lasted 30 months. Despite political unrest and civil war that then beclouded the future of Nigeria, he made a hard choice by returning to his fatherland to make his own contribution to Nigeria’s socioeconomic development in the first decade of its political independence. Providentially, he joined UAC of Nigeria Limited.

At the very early stage, however, Pa Osunkeye understood without ambiguity that he would need more than knowledge to be a reference point in his profession.

He thus defined his life around three fundamentals that later helped him stay at the top in his profession. That explains why his life revolves around God, integrity and professionalism.

After working sustainably for five good years at UAC and West Africa Portland Cement Company Limited (WAPCO), Pa Osunkeye made a hard choice. He quit

UAC, then foremost conglomerate not only in Nigeria, but also Africa and beyond. He joined Nestle Nigeria in 1972, one of the largest food and beverage multinationals in Africa. Progressively, he served Nestle in different capacities for over 40 years including the position of Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. He served in this capacity for eight years before he was appointed the Chairman of Nestle Board where he meritoriously provided strong leadership for the multinational for over one decade.

Pa Osunkeye is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) London, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Institute of Directors (IOD) in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. At some points, he chaired GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc. Board, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Institute of Directors and Lafarge Cement WAPCO Plc. Obviously, all these appointments attest to his competence, integrity and professionalism.

Also, Pa Osunkeye was the President, Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria.

Between 1998 and 2001, specifically, he presided over the Nigeria Employers’

Consultative Association (NECA) and served as a Council Member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) for many years. With all the offices he had held at one time or the other in his four-decade career, Pa Osunkeye has proved that there is a strong correlation between integrity and professional fulfillment.

That is why Pa Osunkeye’s contribution to building Corporate Nigeria has not gone without notice. He is a recipient of three national honours - Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in 2003, Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) in 2011 and Commander of the Order of Niger (CON) in 2014.

Besides national honours, the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, conferred him with a Doctor of Science Degree (Honoris Causa) in 1998. He was honoured with the Babalaje of Egbaland, a high-ranking chieftaincy title the Egba Kingdom bestowed upon him in recognition of his integrity, professionalism and selfless service.

In different encounters with him, Chief Osunkeye attested that his career progression would have been slow or even truncated Continued on page 52

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