TUESDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 2021

Angry CJN Meets 7 CJs, 3 to Face NJC Investigation over Conflicting Orders Warns against granting ex parte orders on political matters Alex Enumah in Abuja Three State Chief Judges (CJs) will any time from now appear before the National Judicial Council (NJC) to explain why disciplinary action should not be

taken against them for alleged issuance of conflicting court orders.

The decision to investigate the judges was taken by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, after a meeting with seven Heads of

Courts on Monday in Abuja.

Muhammad had last week Monday invited some CJs to explain the rationale behind the issuance of contradictory court orders and indiscriminate injunctions by judges in their

jurisdictions. The invitation was sequel to a report by THISDAY on certain worrisome restraining orders against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and some contestants in the forthcoming governorship

election in Anambra State, as well as the leaderships of the major political parties in the country.

A statement by the NJC's Director of Information, Mr Soji Oye, disclosed that the CJN, after a marathon meeting with the Heads

of Courts, which lasted for over six hours, decided to use the three judges as warning to others.

Although, disciplinary actions are usually taken against an erring Continued on page 10

Buhari Appoints Adetifa New NCDC DG after Ihekweazu’s Exit... Page 8 Tuesday 7 September, 2021 Vol 26. No 9647. Price: N250

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NNPC May Float Initial Public Offering in 2024, Kyari Reveals With declining investments, Sylva calls for African Energy Bank Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Nigerians and foreign investors interested in owning shares in the Nigerian National Petroleum

Corporation (NNPC), which is set for full commercialisation in the next six months, may need to wait till 2024, Group Managing Director of the

corporation, Mallam Mele Kyari, has disclosed.

Kyari, who revealed this when he appeared on Global Financial News on Bloomberg

Television, noted that the national oil company, which would operate under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), would only be

able to issue its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to investors in the next three years.

However, against the backdrop of declining global

investment in the oil and gas sector, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Continued on page 10

VAT Judgment: Court Refuses FG's Plea for Stay of Execution Says it will negate principle of equity Wike to FIRS: Stop bullying corporate bodies from paying Alleges Masari, others attempting to truncate court ruling Urges govs to collectively fight for devolution of resources Threatens lockdown in Rivers again Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Justice Stephen Pam of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt yesterday dismissed an application by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) seeking to stop the Rivers State Government from collecting Value Added Tax (VAT) in line with an earlier judgement in favour of the state.

Pam held that granting the application would negate the principle of equity.

Accordingly, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike warned the FIRS against sabotaging the authority of the state to freely administer the VAT in line with the court ruling.

The FIRS in suit no FHC/ PHC/149/2021 had approached the court seeking a stay-ofexecution on an earlier judgement of the court that stopped the agency from collecting VAT, and held that it was constitutionally the role of state governments.

Continued on page 10

BUILDING BRIDGES ACROSS ASIA...

A former senior THISDAY Editor now Nigeria's Ambassador to Thailand, Ambassador Oma Djebah (left) and Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Ambassador Lee Wook-heon, during Djebah's visit to the Korean Ambassador at the Embassy of South Korea in Bangkok, Thailand... yesterday

INEC: We’re at Crossroads over e-Transmission of Results... Page 11

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

NEWS

SANWO-OLU MEETS MEDICAL GUILD...

L-R: Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Chairman, Medical Guild, Dr Oluwajumi Shodipo; Chairman, Health Services Commission, Dr Atinuke Onayega; Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola; Health Commissioner, Prof. Akin Abayomi and LASUTH CMD, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabanwo, during a meeting with the Medical Guild, Lagos Chapter and members of the Association of Resident Doctors, at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja ... yesterday

Buhari Urges Insurance Sector to Key into FG's Economic Diversification Drive Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Ebere Nwoji in Lagos

President Muhammadu Buhari has charged insurance firms in the country to take advantage of on-going efforts by the federal government to grow the non-oil sector of the economy through innovation.

Buhari also commended insurance companies for their role in encouraging medical practitioners to tackle the spread of COVID-19 pandemic since last year.

Speaking virtually at the opening ceremony of the 47th African Insurance Organisation (AIO) Conference and Annual General Assembly yesterday, the president said the insurance sector would play a vital role in the diversification of the economy by bringing “necessary stability, economic sustainability,

revenue generation, job creation and financial inclusiveness.”

He added, “There is a great future for the insurance industry in Africa. We only need to put the right mechanism in place for it to thrive. I assure you that this administration has and will continue to support Insurance growth in Nigeria and Africa at large.

“I commend the leadership of the AIO for the resilience, foresight and perseverance in ensuring that the African insurance market strives to meet its expectations in the global market, notwithstanding the prevailing challenges.”

The president said the theme of the conference, “Rebuilding Africa’s Economy: An Insurance Perspective,” was apt and well thought out to respond to the reality of the moment, as many governments tried to devise ingenious ways to manage their

economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He stated, “The pandemic has, indeed, changed many perspectives that have forced leaders across the globe to think hard for remedies.

“I want to assure you that we in Nigeria are doing everything humanly possible to ensure coordinated approach to the pandemic and reaching out to other African leaders on possible best options to fully revive the African economy in which I strongly believe the insurance industry has a vital role to play.”

The president noted that the COVID-19 pandemic presented a global challenge, which led to lockdown in many countries, travel restrictions, and issuance of many health protocols, affecting all human, social and economic interactions that made hosting of the conference

impossible in 2020.

Buhari said, “COVID-19 is still a serious challenge in many countries across the globe.

However, adequate protocols have been put in place to curb its spread and vaccination is in progress.

“We understand as a government and nation the need to frontally tackle some of the disruptions to our social, economic and health occasioned by the pandemic by putting in place sufficient measures that allow the system to function.

“I once again use this opportunity to commend the Nigerian insurance industry for identifying with the government through the provision of life insurance set of packages for frontline medical and paramedical personnel in the course of this fight. Your support and solidarity in these times are highly appreciated.”

Buhari thanked the organising committee for successfully putting the conference together, adding that the subtopics listed for discussions are germane and critical in helping Nigeria and Africa rebuild.

He stated, “We are aware that the AIO’s Conference and Annual General Meeting is rotated amongst member states in order to provide a forum for exchange of information and strategies on market development while promoting regional knowledge and integration.

“We received the news of the decision of the Executive Committee of the AIO granting Nigeria the hosting rights of this 47th edition of the AIO Conference with pleasure. As a country, we are confident in our ability to deliver the best conference ever in year 2020 before the outbreak of COVID-19

pandemic.”

Earlier in her remarks, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said the foresight of the founders of the AIO deserved commendation, as it had fostered African integration agenda and highlighted how best to collectively address shortcomings. Ahmed urged the insurance sector to design their products around the needs of society, especially for low income earners, stressing that greater impact on development would only be possible by looking at the African peculiarity.

President of AIO, Mrs. Delphine Traore, who is also Chief Operation Officer, Alliance Africa, said the conference was last held in Nigeria in 2000.

Traore assured that innovation in the sector would help in complementing government’s development efforts.

Obaseki to Grace Opening of New Power Minister Assumes Duty, Calls for Synergy New JARA Stores in Ugbowo Says he’s not a magician The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, among other guests are expected at the official commissioning and opening ceremony of the new JARA stores in BDPA, Ugbowo, Benin City, Edo State.

In a statement, a representative for JARA stores, Ayo Bademosi, said the event would take place on Wednesday, September 8, 2021.

She explained that the expansion, on the back of the conducive business environment provided by the Obaseki-led administration, was in line with the firm's vision to extend the unique shopping experience at its stores to more shoppers in Benin City.

According to her, “The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki is expected as a special guest of honour at the commissioning and official opening ceremony of the new

JARA stores in Ugbowo, Benin City.

“The event, which marks the opening of our second store in the metropolis in less than two years, is scheduled to take place on September 8, 2021, by 10 am at the new JARA store, BDPA Complex, Ugbowo.

“The rapid expansion being pursued by JARA stores, Nigeria's foremost discount retail outlet, in Edo State, is in line with Governor Obaseki-led administration’s commitment to growing the retail sector with the expansion of the state’s economy.

“At JARA stores, we are happy to contribute significantly to the development of the state’s economy and commend the government’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for businesses such as ours to flourish, even as we look forward to opening more outlets in the state,” Bademosi noted.

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The new Minister of Power, Mr. Abubakar Aliyu, yesterday assumed duty, calling on top officials of the ministry to ensure their “big titles translate to stable and reliable electricity supply for Nigerians.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had last week Wednesday sacked the erstwhile head of the ministry, Mr. Sale Mamman, in what he said was a bid to strengthen the weak areas in his government.

Aliyu, who was the Minister of State, Works and Housing before he was redeployed, urged stakeholders in the power sector to work together as a team to ensure that steady power is delivered to Nigerians.

The minister said the purpose he was sent to the ministry by the president was to ensure that electricity which directly affects the life of every Nigerian is provided.

“I am here to work together with all of you. I listened carefully when some of you introduced yourselves with various titles working in the ministry of power. I want those titles to be translated to production of power to Nigerians from generation, transmission to distribution. That is when our titles will make more meaning.

“Otherwise, time would come when we would be ashamed to mention our names with those titles. So, I want to ask everyone from the permanent secretary down to the smallest on the ladder by rank in any part of the ministry of power to be dedicated and committed to the task ahead,” he stated.

He pledged to assist officials of the ministry in carrying out their mandate, but demanded that the job must be carried out dutifully, with full dedication and honesty.

Aliyu stressed that while he was not a magician, he was in the ministry to add value to the sector, given the critical nature of the sector to Nigeria’s development.

“I am not an electrical engineer or having anything to do with power in the past but I am an engineer and I know when something is going wrong I will detect it. I will not allow it and I will try my best to make amends, together with you or without you, because that is my mandate, to ensure that we succeed,” he said.

Aliyu added: “Don’t look at me as the minister of power, that I have come to make magic, no, I am not a magician. I am coming to add value to what you have already been doing. So let us work together in honesty and full commitment.”

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Mr. William Alo assured the minister that all

the staff of the ministry were ready to work with him to deliver power to the people.

“In the ministry of power, all staff are working together as a team to deliver on the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure power is available to Nigerians.

“We know you are here to continue the good work of the president as it concerns the power sector. We assure you of our commitment to redouble our efforts to make sure we deliver on our mandate, ‘’ he said.

Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu, who accompanied the minister, noted that his ministry would partner that of power to deliver on their respective mandates.

“I ask all of you to cooperate with him as the power sector is very critical, so we need to do the right thing to deliver power to the people,’’ he said.

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PDP CAUCUS MEETS...

L-R: Former Chief of Staff, Dr. Saka Balogun; Chairman, Oyo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Kunmi Mustapha; Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Rauf Olaniyan and Governor Seyi Makinde, during the PDP caucus meeting held at Government House, Agodi, Ibadan... yesterday

At Cambridge, Bawa Advocates Global Action against Financial Crimes Says criminals now prefer ransom money with cryptocurrency EFCC records 3,500 convictions since inception Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, has advocated collective and collaborative approach by authorities around the world in dealing with the challenges of financial crimes which he said remained a global scourge.

Bawa spoke in a keynote address he presented at the 38th Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, with the theme: “Economic CrimeWho Pays and Who Should Pay?”, organised by the Center for International Documentation on Organized and Economic Crime (CIDOEC), Jesus College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

The Nigeria's anti-graft boss posited that economic crimes which were largely illegal acts committed for private gain, “affect the vital structures of global economies, causing significant

damage to the global financial system and depriving developing nations of He noted that developed countries were not immune from the scourge, which had “magnified with the proliferation of cybercrimes which threatens the stability of global financial institutions.”

Bawa pointed out that new typologies of economic crimes such as the growth of cryptocurrencies, “portray a far greater danger to the world economy, ” as “criminals now elect to transact or receive illegal monies (such as ransom money) for cyber-attacks in cryptocurrencies with bitcoin and ethereum as the most commonly used medium of these exchanges.”

He commended the choice of theme which he said offered a platform to interrogate the challenges of economic crimes.

“As the victims of crime continue to suffer globally from the effects of financial crimes,

either directly or indirectly as part of a social system, the determination of who pays or who should pay becomes a critical measure of the criminal justice system in place,” he said.

He underlined the imperatives of an impartial judiciary in ensuring that “the perpetrators of acts and not the victims pay for their crimes.”

He highlighted some of the transparency and accountability achievements of the Nigerian

government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari including enactment and amendment of relevant laws to enhance public accountability and reforms such as treasury single account and the whistle blower policy among others.

Bawa pointed out that the EFCC as the rallying point in the fight against economic crimes in Nigeria had recorded important milestones in investigations, prosecutions and assets recovery.

Lauds club for $268m intervention in health sector Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has emphasised that the federal government will continue to draw from the expertise, partnership and consistency learnt from the eradication of Polio in the country

to strengthen the health sector.

The President, who spoke while playing host to Rotary International President, Mr. Shekhar Mehta and some officials, at the State House, Abuja, yesterday, thanked the organisation for various interventions in the

Govt to recruit more medical personnel Following agreements reached with the state government yesterday, medical doctors in Lagos who have been part of the nationwide strike action called by the Nation Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) will resume duties immediately, the state government has said.

The government in a statement signed by its Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has met some of the requests of the issues which led the NARD to embark on the industrial action since last month.

According to the statement, Sanwo-Olu got the doctors’ union leaders smiling after a meeting at his office at Alausa, Ikeja where he told them that there was no need to have joined the strike in solidarity with their colleagues

in other places because the state government had performed its duties to them.

He said among the issues discussed was the circular issued by the Head of Service (HOS) removing Housemanship and NYSC Doctors from the Scheme of Service.

The residents appealed to the Lagos Governor to revoke or suspend the circular. The HOS explained the importance of domesticating decisions made at the federal level.

“The Medical Residency Training Act, which makes provision for sponsorship of Resident Doctors training to be Specialists in Federal or State Medical Schools was also discussed. Mr Governor in April had approved for the state government to fully sponsor Resident Doctors in the State (100% of the fund). He further

economic crimes.

The Chairman of the Symposium, Mr. Saul Froomkin, thanked the EFCC boss for his insightful presentation, and the support received from Nigeria in organising the event.

Participants at the symposium were drawn from law enforcement and security agencies, accountability institutions and select stakeholders from across the world, an EFCC statement explained.

FG Seeks Rotary Club's Support in Polio Vaccination Drive

Lagos State Doctors Shelve Strike as Gov Meets Demands Segun James

“Since its establishment in 2003, the commission has recorded no less than 3,500 convictions and recovered assets of significant value including properties in Nigeria, the UK, USA, and the UAE. All these have measurably contributed to the national efforts against economic crimes in Nigeria”.

The EFCC boss concluded by challenging participants to come up with practical solutions to curb the international threat of

directed full implementation of the state’s support of both the exams and update courses that lead to qualification as specialists in various fields of medicine.

“Mr Governor approved the recruitment of over 150 new resident doctors and medical officers to reduce the human resource deficit in the public service of the state to improve the patient-doctor ratio in the state hospitals.

“Mr Governor approved the commencement of the building of the Medical Residents Quarters at LASUTH as well as other medical staff quarters across the State.

“On the discrepancy between the remuneration packages of the state and federal doctors in the public service, Mr. Governor approved the final tranche of 25 per cent difference to complete the harmonisation.”

The meeting was with members

of the Lagos State Medical Guild, including executives of the Lagos State branch of the Association of Residents Doctors (ARD).

Besides, Governor Sanwo-Olu, others government officials were the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat; Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola; Health Commissioner, Prof Akin Abayomi, the Chief Medical Director ( CMD) LASUTH, Prof, O. Fabanwo and Health Service Commission (HSC) Chairman Dr Atinuke Onaiga and Dr Sodipo Oluwajimi, Chairman Medical Guild and Dr Ajibowo Ismail, Secretary Medical Guild, On the other hands, the doctors in attendant were: Dr. Sodipo Oluwajimi - Chairman Medical Guild; Dr Ajibowo Ismail - Secretary Medical Guild; Dr. Ojekunle Azeez - President ARD, Dr Salmon Abeeb LASUTH Oladapo - Secretary LASUTH Association of Resident Doctors.

health sector, particularly putting in $268 million in the fight against polio.

“Nigeria has benefitted from your kind support, most particularly in the fight against Polio, with a total sum of $268 million provided by Rotary International. For this, I say thank you.

“In addition to support provided by Rotary International in Polio Eradication, I am also well apprised of your other health interventions focused at improving maternal, newborn and child health, infrastructural renewal of health facilities, data management to improve evidencebased decision making, and the area of improving quality of care for patients,’’ he said.

The president noted that the support Nigeria had received from multilateral and bilateral partners, including Rotary International for Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage had been invaluable.

Rotary International equally presented an award to President Buhari.

“I also heartily welcome and receive the award you have given in recognition of the efforts of the administration, in collaboration with our partners, leading to the certification of Nigeria, and the entire continent as being poliofree,’’ he said in response.

The President welcomed the Club’s offer of partnership with Nigeria in effective Coronavirus vaccine management and service delivery.

In his remarks, Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, commended Rotary International for supporting health care programmes and improving facilities in the country.

Earlier, Mehta said the historic achievement of eradicating Polio in Nigeria was made possible by the leadership of President Buhari, while highlighting the President’s foresight and diligence in taming spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Mr President, thank you profusely for ensuring that Nigeria became polio free. It has been possible only because of your leadership,’’ he said.

Mehta said the charity organisation currently had 1.2 million members in 200 countries, emphasising that the focus of the year 2021 is on empowering girls by ensuring better health, hygiene and nutrition.

The Rotary International President also said the Covid-19 threw up economic and educational challenges, assuring that the organisation would continue to support Nigeria in education, including surrogate teaching, and environmental issues.

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Buhari Appoints Adetifa New NCDC DG after Ihekweazu’s Exit Names Osinbajo chairman, health sector reform committee Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Dr. Ifedayo Morayo Adetifa as the new Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

This was disclosed in a statement issued yesterday by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, This followed the appointment of the current NCDC Director General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, as the Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in charge of Health Emergency Intelligence with effect from November 1, 2021 Ihekweazu would lead the work on strengthening pandemic and epidemic intelligence globally, including heading the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin.

Adetifa is an Epidemiologist and Consultant Paediatrician who is currently an Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), United Kingdom, and Clinical Epidemiologist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) in Kilifi, Kenya.

He is a graduate of the College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, and completed his specialist training in Paediatrics and Child Health at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos, to become a Fellow of the West Africa College of Physicians.

During residency, he also received training in infectious diseases at the Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, and at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.

Adetifa moved to the Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia (MRCG) in 2004, to work as a Research Clinician and later as a Clinical Epidemiologist conducting research mainly in Tuberculosis (TB) Epidemiology.

There he also won a European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) Career Development Fellowship, completed an MSc in Epidemiology at the LSHTM and a PhD (also in Epidemiology) at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

He served as member of the Gambian National Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Committee, provided expert support for the care for drug susceptible and resistant TB, provided technical support to the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Programme, and supported the Round 9 Global Fund Country application. Part of this Global Fund grant was awarded to the MRCG for a countrywide survey to determine the burden of TB and he led the implementation

of this survey.

He joined the LSHTM and KWTRP in 2014 and there his research on the epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases is aimed at generating evidence for policy in low- and middle-income countries particularly those of Africa.

He implements disease and serological surveillance, conducts vaccine impact studies, examines approaches to monitoring vaccination, performs health economic evaluations, and complements all these with mathematical modelling.

His current streams of work are focused on assessing the impact of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduced in Nigeria in 2015, on the application of the vaccine seroepidemiology for estimating population immunity, force of infection and vaccination coverage in African settings, and COVID-19 epidemiology. He was

awarded an MRC/DFID Africa Research Leader Fellowship for his vaccine seroepidemiology research in 2018.

He currently serves on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Africa Regional Immunisation Technical Advisory Group, Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme Advisory Group, WHO Technical Advisory Group for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Vaccines, and on the Kenyan National Immunisation Coordinating Committee.

He was a member of the WHO TB Impact Measurement Taskforce, participated in missions to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Since 2020, he has been a Commissioner for the Lancet Nigeria Commission, and the co-lead of the Commission’s Burden of Diseases Working Group.

Adetifa was born in Lagos and is from Ekiti State. He is married

to Dr. Uche Jane Adetifa and they have three children.

Meanwhile, Buhari has approved the setting up of a Health Sector Reform Committee to commence the development and implementation of a Health Sector Reform programme for Nigeria in collaboration with the State Governments and the FCT administration.

According to the statement, the setting up of the Committee was sequel to a Health Sector Diagnostic Review Report developed by a consultant, Vesta Healthcare Partners and the Federal Ministry of Health.

The committee would undertake a review of all healthcare reforms adopted in the past two decades and lessons learnt and factor them into the development of the new Health Sector Reform Programme.

The committee which is set up for a period of six months

Borno State is to export wheat and Gum Arabic to Sudan.

The development followed discussion between State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum and a team of experts at the headquarters of Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) in Khartoum, Sudan on Sunday.

A statement by the governor’s spokesman, Mallam Isa Gusau, yesterday explained that the discussion resulted in a partnership potentially reached between the bank and Borno State to partner on exporting wheat and gum arabic produced by

Professor Uche Amazigbo ; Director Hospital Services, Federal Ministry of Health; Dr. Faisal Shuaib; Prof Nasiru Sambo; Dr. Ifedayo Morayo Adetifa and Dr. Gambo Aliyu.

Others in the committee are: Dr. Betta Edu, Chairman, Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum representing National Council on Health; President Nigeria Medical Association; President Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria; President National Association of Nigeria Nurses & Midwives; President Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria ; Mrs Temi Marcella Awogboro ; Dr. Muhammad Sadiq; Dr. Azubike Tagbo, the World Health Organisation, Nigeria and the new NCDC Director General.

Vesta Healthcare Partners and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are to serve as resource persons and have observer roles in the committee.

ROTARY AWARD FOR THE PRESIDENT...

L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari receiving special award from the President, Rotary Club International, Mr. Shekhar Mehta and wife, Mrs. Rashi Mehta, during a visit by PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI members of Rotary Club International to the president in Abuja... yesterday

APC: We Won't Recognise Parallel Congresses Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it would not recognise parallel Congresses, especially, those not conducted by the officials of the party.

Last weekend’s local government congresses witnessed parallel exercises in Osun, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Kwara, Lagos, Adamawa, and Enugu States.

But the National Secretary of the

Caretaker committee, Senator James Akpanudoedehe,while addressing journalists at the party secretariat on Monday in Abuja, said he was not aware that there were parallel Congresses held in some states.

He said, "I don't know why you are reporting what is not available as far as APC is concerned. We are very structured, we put up a committee and the committee has gone out to conduct the Congresses.

The next step will be an appeal

and anyone with the issue will go to the appeal and if you are not satisfied with the appeal the caretaker committee will handle it. That is our structure. It is not to my understanding; it is not to my knowledge "You know that the supervising institution of a political party is INEC. We will write to INEC and by the rule of the land, we are to give them 21 days notice and you will also write to INEC stating

Borno to Export Wheat, Gum Arabic to Sudan Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

under the Chairmanship of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has members drawn from private and public sector health care management professionals, development partners, representatives from the National Assembly as well as the Nigeria Governors Forum among others.

Other members are: Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr. Alex Okoh; Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at University College London and Director of the UCL Institute for Global Health, Prof Ibrahim Abubakar; Director General, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council, Mr. Babatunde Irukera; Senator( Dr) Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe; Dr. Adedamola Dada; Dr. Sani Aliyu; Dr. Mairo Mandara; Dr. Haliru Yahaya, Emir of Shonga;

farmers in Borno.

According to Gusau, Zulum was received by the bank’s Director General, Sidi Ould Tah, and other top executives.

He said the governor arrived the Sudanese capital at the weekend alongside Nigeria’s former Minister of State for Agriculture, Bukar Tijjani, a Borno indigene, who is an expert on international agricultural development; the Commissioner for Local Governments and Emirate Affairs, Sugun Mai-Mele; Chairman of Borno’s Mega Farms Project, Inuwa Kubo, as well as the governor’s Adviser on Sustainable Development, Partnerships and Humanitarian Response.

The statement revealed that

Borno is one of Nigeria’s leading producers of wheat and gum arabic, while the BADEA was established by 18 Arab countries (the League of Arab States) in 1973 and began operations in 1975 with the objective of strengthening economic, financial and technical cooperation between Arab countries and African regions through financing opportunities for economic development in African countries.

Gusau said Zulum, while at the bank highlighted a video documentary produced in Arabic language, the challenges Borno has severely faced as a result of terrorism attacks on communities as well as the ongoing rebuilding and economic recovery efforts

with huge opportunities in agriculture, given the state’s vast and fertile land resources for irrigation and rain fed agriculture.

The governor’s team proved Borno’s potential as a major producer of wheat and gum arabic, among other food and cash-crops, seeking partnership for increased value chain and export, to tap into the Arab Organisation for Agricultural Development in the bank’s operational structure.

The bank’s team, which earlier made presentations on Nigeria’s wheat, Gum Arabic and date palm productions, obliged Zulum’s request for discussions to go towards identifying specifics for both parties and implementing them.

names of people, who are going to those congresses, the venue you will conduct the Congresses, you will also announce locally stating the time of the congress and we would inform the security agencies for protection and guide.

"If you move away from the organisation stipulated by INEC, we will describe it the way anybody will describe it. This is the headquarters of APC and you now go and set up something outside here. That is no more APC. I'm just hearing from you that there was a parallel congress I don't know."

Akpanudoedehe also revealed that the party was already compiling lists of those that took the party to court and would approach the National Executive Committee (NEC) for a decision to be taken against them.

Few days to the local government Congresses, a High Court sitting in Asaba had restrained the Caretaker Chairman and the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni and others from acting or parading themselves until the determination of a substantive suit before the court.

But Buni insisted that he was never restrained by the Delta Court Order, adding that the restriction of the Congresses was limited to Delta State’s chairman of the party and did not affect other states.

Akpanudoedehe, however, reiterated that, “We are already compiling the list of all the cases and you are very conversant with the party constitution. We will inform the NEC and a decision will be taken by NEC. We will gather the whole thing together, then, we will approach NEC for a decision. But, do we stand by what the NEC said? The decision of the NEC Yes. The Secretary noted that it was not strange for people to have grievances after the conduct of the congresses, but urged those aggrieved to approach the Appeal panel that would be set up by the party.

"This is party politics. It is a family affair. If you check many of the reports, people can complain about the pages of the newspaper but to approach the appeal panel, there is no substantive channel of some evidence to warrant the expectation of what you are talking about.

“People are used to giving words to individuals but we have a clear mandate from Mr. President that the party should be given to the grassroots. There can be complaints everywhere.

Don't forget the last statement that we issued. There is a window of opportunity,when people are not satisfied. The Caretaker committee is still open," he said.

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

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PAGE 10 NNPC MAY FLOAT INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING IN 2024, KYARI REVEALS Timipre Sylva, yesterday called for the establishment of an African Energy Bank to help boost business activities in Africa’s oil and gas sector.

By the provisions of the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), NNPC, as currently constituted, is expected to transition into a fully commercialised business concern in which the public could own shares and take part in its major decisions.

The NNPC helmsman explained that the books of the NNPC would need to be to be properly cleaned up, with the proposed NNPC Limited recapitalised, before embarking on such a huge business decision.

Kyari stated, “We will be in a position to consider any IPO in three years’ time.

That is the provision of the law. But when you want to get ready for IPO, you need to do things differently, you need to get your books correct, you need to recapitalise; you need to shape your portfolio and many more things that you have to do until you get the IPO ready.

“Surely, it is not what we will do in 2022 or 2023. Probably the earliest consideration will be in three years’ time.”

The NNPC GMD maintained that the corporation was currently in a good stead with the declaration of its first profit in 44 years. He added that the IPO would put NNPC in an

even better position in the oil and gas space.

Kyari said the corporation was concerned about the global transition towards renewable sources of energy, pointing out that the NNPC is in the process of adjusting its portfolio to meet future challenges.

He said, “Obviously, this company is changing very fast and on the fast lane. We just declared profit for the fiscal year 2020. We are not getting ready for the IPO tomorrow, that is not exactly the situation.

“IPO really means this company is going to be profitable, it has a long trajectory; it has a short-term view of how things can be done better to align with the best practices in the industry.

“We are trying to see how we can rework the existing framework for energy transition that is on-going all over the world. Every country is adjusting its portfolio by doing things differently in a better way and, obviously, in the long run, this is going to be a very great company and great companies always go for IPO. “So, this is not something that we are going to do tomorrow, obviously not. Our new law has made the provision that we can sell shares of this company, but in today’s context, I can really say this company is doing great and getting an IPO means that it is going to be better than what it is today.”

Kyari reiterated that the corporation's involvement in the Dangote refinery, for which it is paying about $2.7 billion, was to ensure energy security as well as tie down markets for Nigeria's crude oil.

“We have seen the numbers and we think that if we invest in the company, we are going to get back our money in the maximum of five years and, of course, with the potential of having a dividend within five years.

“There is nothing better than this. When it comes to buying a good refinery today on your own, you’re going to have five years before you can get to this level.

“We just saw an opportunity.

Every company is reshaping their portfolio, trying to see how to do things differently so that you can spread your risks and cash in on any business that is on the way to progress.

We know that this refinery will do well.”

The GMD listed the three goals for the government's involvement in Dangote refinery to include access to petroleum products, some level of control over the company, and, most importantly, net market for Nigeria’s crude oil.

“Part of our deal is for the refinery to necessarily buy at least 300,000 barrels of oil from the national oil company. We think this is a good deal for us,” he stated.

On Nigeria’s inability to meet its production allocation by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Kyari said the country would fill the shortfall by October.

He stated, “I think by October maximum, we will meet our quota. The reason why we have not been able to do this is very simple, managing reservoir is a very complex thing, once you shut down getting back up is not that easy, and they are not going to come back from the same sources that you expected.

“We are working with our partners to make sure that we take out some of the impediments to that, and we have seen very gradual recovery in August, the numbers are very different.

So, we are hopeful that by October we can get back to our quota level and do much better.”

He explained that Nigeria was not considering cutting prices for its oil, as being planned by Saudi Aramco, saying the demand for Nigeria’s petroleum is still very competitive.

Kyari noted, “Essentially, many of our customers need our crude for many reasons, quality issues and many other considerations. Even if we do react, it might not be on the same scale as the Saudis are doing. We have never done that.”

VAT JUDGMENT: COURT REFUSES FG'S PLEA FOR STAY OF EXECUTION The FIRS had following the judgement against it requested the high court to stop the Rivers State government from executing the ruling.

Pam stated that in as much as the state government and the state legislature had enacted a law with respect to VAT, the courts were bound to obey such law. He said the state government and the House of Assembly had duly enacted the Rivers State Value Added Tax No. 4, 2021, which makes it a legitimate right of the state to collect VAT. The judge maintained that the law remained valid until it had been set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Pam further said granting the prayers of the FIRS would amount to committing murder.

He noted that the prayers could not stand and, hence, dismissed them.

But reacting to the Federal High Court ruling, in a state broadcast in Port Harcourt, Wike alleged that the FIRS was bullying corporate bodies and business entities in the state for refusing to pay VAT to the federal agency. He said Rivers State would not allow further collection of VAT from corporate bodies and businesses operating in the state by the federal government agency.

The governor argued that the FIRS failed in its attempt to frustrate the enforcement of the state’s law on VAT with the Federal High Court’s dismissal of its application for stay-ofexecution of the judgement.

Wike explained, "Following the recent judgement of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, which upheld the constitutional right and authority of state governments to impose, collect and utilise VAT within their respective territorial jurisdictions, the Rivers State government enacted the Rivers State Value Added Tax Law 2021 to regulate the effective administration of VAT in Rivers State.

"As expected, the federal government, through the FIRS, disagreed and filed an appeal coupled with a request for stayof-execution of the judgement before the Federal High Court.

"While the appeal was pending

and without any stay-of-execution of the subsisting judgement, the FIRS went about to bully corporate bodies and business entities for paying the VAT to the Rivers State Government, even when they knew that an appeal does not serve as a stay neither was there anything to stay in a declaratory judgement.”

The governor added, “As a mere agency of the federal government without any political authority, the effrontery and impunity exhibited by the FIRS against the Rivers State Government was ill-advised and highly provocative.

"However, being a government that believes in the rule of law, we decided on our own to suspend the enforcement of the Rivers State VAT Law 2021 pending the outcome of the FIRS’ application for stay-of-execution.

"Today, the FIRS has failed in its attempt to frustrate the enforcement of the state’s law on VAT with the Federal High Court’s dismissal of its application for stay-of-execution of the judgement.

"It is important to reiterate the fact that we did no wrong in exercising our legal right under our constitutional democracy to stop the continuing breach, denial and curtailment of the constitutional right of states to lawfully impose and collect value added and other related taxes within jurisdiction to the exclusion of the federal government.

"And in doing so, our singular and progressive objective was to contribute to the advancement of fiscal federalism by enabling the federating states to explore and exploit their potential and capacity for generating greater internal revenues with which to fund their development goals and reduce the out-dated over-reliance on pitiable federal allocation and other hand-outs.”

Wike stressed that Rivers State would not tolerate any further attempt by the FIRS to sabotage or undermine its authority to freely administer VAT and other related laws in the state, saying, “those who play with fire risks having their fingers burnt.

Enough of the shenanigans."

The governor noted that some states currently with low economic activities and ethically

restrictive social policies, with economic implications, might be adversely affected for now, but pointed out that it was not Rivers State’s making.

Wike state, “Like the right to derivation, this is also a constitutional prescription, which we all swore as political leaders to respect and defend as the supreme law of the land.

"Above all, fiscal federalism remains the right path to economic self-reliance and sustainability for all our states and the benefits derivable from this case by all the states in the long run far outweighs the immediate revenue loss that some states may presently suffer.

"All that is required is for all of us to wear our thinking caps as elected governors to collectively fight for the greater devolution of resources, responsibilities and powers to the federating states.

"It is, therefore, very unfortunate that some state governors, led by that of Katsina State, are vainly conspiring to truncate this progressive reality in favour of the inequitable status quo so that the federal government can continue to rob Peter to pay Paul as the nation’s self-imposed tax master-general."

Wike said the state government would continue to ensure and project constitutional rights to access all possible resources that could take hold both within and outside the geographical boundaries to advance the progress of the state.

He, therefore, directed the Rivers State Revenue Service (RSRS) to ensure the full and total implementation and enforcement of the law against all corporate bodies, business entities and individuals with immediate effect.

"All corporate bodies, business entities and individuals are advised to willingly, truthfully and promptly comply with their tax obligations under this law to avoid the full weight of the stipulated sanctions, including having their business premises sealed-up."

Meanwhile, the governor warned that it might re-impose a lockdown across the 23 local government areas of the state if residents continued to neglect the COVID-19 protocols.

Wike disclosed that the rate of COVID-19 cases was increasing rapidly in the state, as reported by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). He urged Rivers residents to comply with the protocols and take their vaccines.

The governor appealed to religious leaders and churches to convince and encourage their followers and members to go out and take the vaccines and comply with the COVID-19 protocols.

He stated, "The daily figures released from the NCDC show that both the transmission and death rates in the last two weeks have consistently been on a rising spiral because residents and visitors to the state have largely abandoned their responsibility to comply with the existing COVID-19 protocols.

"Clearly, we are headed for a serious health disaster of profound consequences if residents and visitors continue to behave as if the pandemic no longer exists or impotent in Rivers State.

"This is a big lie and we cannot afford to continue to close our eyes to the dangers such irresponsible behaviour pose to the health, lives and livelihood of everyone.

"Accordingly, I wish to remind residents of the subsisting protocols on regular washing of hands and use of alcoholbased sanitisers; maintaining social distancing; wearing of face masks at all public places, including transport vehicles and going for immediate testing and treatment whenever you notice any of the symptoms.

"Although it remains our desire to keep the state open and allow citizens to go about their social, religious and economic activities unimpeded.

"But we may be constrained to re-impose the suspended COVID-19 lockdown measures across the state if the transmission of the disease continues to increase beyond tolerable limits.

"Furthermore, it has been proven that vaccinations are saving lives here and across the world and those refusing to take the vaccines for no certified medical reasons should know that they are endangering the rest of the citizens."

Sylva Calls for African Energy Bank

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources yesterday called for the establishment of an African energy bank to help boost business activities in the continent’s oil and gas sector.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had recently projected that the global oil industry would require about $12.6 trillion investments in the downstream, midstream as well as upstream to sustain its innovative and production efficiency in the next 25 years.

OPEC warned that Nigeria’s economy and those of other resource-dependent countries might be badly affected, especially if the current push against fossil fuels continued to gain ground.

Speaking in Abuja during a visit by the Equatorial Guinea Minister of Hydrocarbons, Mr. Gabriel Lima, Sylva said since the Western nations were scaling down funding for hydrocarbon exploration across the world and focusing on renewable energies, setting up an African energy bank was a viable way to neutralise the threat.

According to the minister, the call for the establishment of the bank is heightened by the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). He said the Act would open up the oil and gas sector for huge investments, going forward.

Sylva stated, “The PIA is a watershed moment for us in Nigeria. This is the time for us to get out of Nigeria to market this investment environment.

We must not go out of Africa to attract investments. We must setup structures to fund our system.

“If we insist on the exploration of our oil and gas reserves when the world is cutting down on investments in the sector, we must set a financial institution, an African energy bank to develop the oil and gas sector.

“If we go into more

exploration in Africa, we will find more oil and gas and must we leave it under the ground because the other countries are racing for renewable energy?

We must find a way to explore it and that’s why we need an energy bank along the line of the African Development Bank (AfDB).”

While calling for synergy among African nations, the minister noted that no country in the world would help Africa develop aside Africans themselves.

“None of us can grow without each other,” he said, adding, “It is not all the time that we run to Europe or America or elsewhere for support. We need to keep talking and we need mutual cooperation to solve our own problem. We can achieve this under the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO).”

While emphasising the urgent need for African countries under APPO to come together to work out a more realistic timetable for energy transition for the continent, Sylva said Africa needed to look inwards. He urged African leaders to close ranks through a solid platform to resist the clamour for sudden transition from hydrocarbon to renewable energies. He called for research into African problems in order to fully explore the huge potential of the continent.

Earlier, Lima congratulated Nigeria for the historic passage of the PIA and noted that with the passage of the law the country was ready for serious business in the oil and gas sector. He emphasised the need for Africa to strengthen the South-South cooperation, stressing that Africa should not always expect to find solutions to its problems in Europe and America.

Lima said he was in the country to follow up on an earlier engagement between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea as well as explore other areas where both countries could partner.

ANGRY CJN MEETS 7 CJS, 3 TO FACE NJC INVESTIGATION OVER CONFLICTING ORDERS judicial officer after investigation based on petition from members of the public, in this instance, the NJC is on its own investigating the three judges.

The statement was silent on the three judges pencilled down for investigation and possible sanction.

The CJs, who appeared before the CJN, are those of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, and Rivers, Kebbi, Cross River, Jigawa, Anambra, and Imo states.

The statement said, “The meeting, which commenced at 11am, and lasted till 5:30pm, began with a one-on-one interaction with the CJs. Each of the CJs was separately quizzed personally by the CJN for over an hour, before later reading a riot act in a joint session with all of them."

According to the statement, the visibly angry CJN had stated that “a damage to one jurisdiction is a damage to all" and as such, they must put an end to indiscriminate granting of ex parte orders, conflicting judgements or rulings occasioned by forum-shopping.”

Muhammad was also quoted as saying, “Your job as Heads of Court is a sacred one, and it, therefore, includes you vicariously taking the sins of others.

There must be an end to this nonsense. You shall henceforth take absolute charge in assigning cases or matters, especially political personally.

“We shall make example with these three Judges and never shall we condone such act.”

The statement said, "Three of

the Judges who granted conflicting ex parte orders have been invited to appear before the National Judicial Council to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against them for granting the conflicting ex parte orders."

Muhammad warned the CJs to henceforth avoid unnecessary assumption of jurisdiction in matters with similar subjects and parties already before another court, protect the court from lawyers who were out for forum shopping, and work in tandem with all the judges to salvage the image of the judiciary.

The CJN warned the CJs against making newly appointed judicial officers vacation judges and assigning complex cases to inexperienced judges.

The statement also disclosed that all Heads of Courts will be invited to a meeting to reemphasise the need for the judiciary to be circumspect on the issue ex parte orders. It said the Heads of Courts would also meet with the NBA leadership on the issue.

The CJN advised all Heads of Court to be current on developments in the polity and the judgments delivered by courts of various jurisdictions. He also told them to urgently issue practice direction to guide judges in their various courts to avoid giving conflicting decisions.

Muhammad concluded that the judiciary will no longer condone indiscipline or allow any judge to tarnish the image of the judiciary.

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NEWS

AMBASSADOR BURATAI VISITS OBASEKI...

L-R: Chief of Civil Military Affairs, Maj. Gen. M.G Kangye; Nigeria Ambassador to Benin Republic, Lt. Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai (rtd.), and Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, during a courtesy visit to the governor at the Government House in Benin City... yesterday

INEC: We’re at Crossroads over e-Transmission of Results Commends CJN for saving judiciary over conflicting court orders Says commission ready to perform its regulatory role in parties

Chuks Okocha in Abuja Prelude to the 2023 general election and particularly, the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it was at crossroads over electronic transmission of results.

Subsequently, the commission has announced the introduction of new measures, such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to be used as fingerprint authentication to perform the functions of both the Smart Card Reader (SCR) and Z-Pad in the bye-elections.

The INEC National Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, who disclosed these, however, commended the Chief Justice of the Federation, Ibrahim Mohammad, for intervening in the conflicting orders often given by courts of coordinate jurisdiction, saying instances have made the duties of the commission a lot more difficult.

He also promised that the commission would start to discharge its responsibilities as a regulator in the affairs of political parties, especially as it concerns internal crisis in the parties, stressing that beyond being the electoral umpire, it was also a regulator of the activities of the parties.

These, nonetheless, the INEC has hinted that about 2,729,819 Nigerians had so far registered online, while some 717,947 others had completed real time registration

as eligible voters.

Speaking at a consultative meeting with leaders of political parties yesterday in Abuja, Yakubu said, "The reality is that technology always advances with the passage of time. Consequently, the Commission must keep pace with the ever-changing world of global information and communication technology. We are at one such crossroads at the moment."

He explained that, while working on the register of voters, the Commission has also been continuously innovating on how to strengthen the credibility of voter accreditation and result management during elections in Nigeria.

According to him, the deployment of appropriate technology was crucial and desirable, adding that, "The introduction of the machine-readable PVC combined and Smart Card Reader (SCR) were important innovations. So, too, is the uploading of polling unit results in real-time on Election Day. "Many stakeholders, including leaders of political parties, have called on the Commission to strengthen the voter accreditation process during elections, especially, with reference to the use of incident form, where the SCR fails to authenticate the fingerprints of a voter.

"Such concern is legitimate given the fact that the SCR successfully verifies any card that belongs to the polling unit for which it is config-

ured irrespective of who presents it. Their apprehension, therefore, is that using the incident form to cover those whose fingerprints are not authenticated by the SCR, a voter may be able to use another person’s PVC to vote during an election," he explained.

To address this concern, he said the Commission attempted to introduce the facial biometric authentication during accreditation of the voters using the Z-Pad tablet to complement the fingerprint process through the Card Reader before the Edo governorship election in September 2020.

However, he said the commission was not entirely satisfied with the pilot held in the Nasarawa Central State Constituency byeelection a month earlier in August 2020.

"We, therefore, suspended the idea to enable us to do some more work. Over the last one year, we reviewed the situation and we think we have found the appropriate technology to address it. The Z-pad was therefore only used to upload Polling Unit results to the IReV portal during elections," he said.

Accordingly, the INEC said the functionality of the Z-pad has now been integrated into the IVED currently being used for voter registration.

On the day of election, he said, "the same device will be used for the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for fingerprint

authentication during accreditation and where it fails for facial authentication.

"We believe that this multi-layer process will eliminate the possibility of voting by identity theft using another person’s PVC. Where the voter fails both the fingerprint and facial authentication, he/she will not be allowed to vote. In other words, no electronic authentication, no voting.

"We are convinced that the new machine is robust enough to further guarantee the credibility of voter authentication and transparent management of results during elections.

"Accordingly, the commission intends to carry out a pilot exercise using the new device in Delta State during the Isoko South 1 State Assembly constituency bye-election holding this weekend (Saturday 11th September 2021).

"The BVAS will now perform the functions of both the SCR and Z-Pad in the bye-election.

Thereafter, it will be deployed in the Anambra governorship election in November. There will be a presentation of the new device and a practical demonstration of its functions to Chairmen and leaders of political parties at this meeting," Yakubu stated.

On the conflicting judgements emanating from the same courts of coordinate jurisdiction, Yakubu said, "I cannot conclude my remarks without touching on the issue

Banditry:MasaritoShutDownTelecomsServicesinThreeLGAs Bans commercial phones charging points in 19 LGs Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has said his administration was considering the need to shut down telecoms services in Funtua, Bakori and Malumfashi Local Government Areas of the state as part of fresh measures to contain banditry in the state.

The governor disclosed this Monday while inaugurating a committee on monitoring and enforcement of security challenges (Containment) order he recently signed at the Government House.

Masari, also announced the ban of commercial mobile phone charging points in 19 out of 34

local government areas of the state, saying, "We believe it’s also an area that is helping the bandits to acquire means of communication."

He explained that the security measures taken by the state government would affect residents economically but it was neccessary to take them in order to restore normalcy and stop bandits and their collaborators from having access to communication and other means of livelihood.

His words: "We believe with this and other further measures that we are taking with the Federal Ministry of Communication, would also help in restoring normalcy to our respective communities.

"Further instructions and directives affecting Funtua, Malumfashi and Bakori Local Government Areas are coming today (Monday).

We have to restrict the sale of fuel in these local governments as well. And we are looking at the possibility of curbing further communications in these local governments.

"The security measures taken by the state government might hurt residents economically but it is neccessary to take this now to forestall worse situation if these bandits and their collaborators are allowed free access to communication and other means of livelihood".

According to the governor, "It is important we realise that our number one enemies are informants.

So, we must tackle and deal with them in accordance with the law".

He, however, enumerated the terms of reference of the committee to include monitoring and ensuring compliance of the Containment Order, coordinate its enforcement by three-tiers security structures in the local governments affected by the order.

The committee, he said, would also submit periodic progress report to the state government as well as identify and bring out emerging challenges for government consideration.

of litigations, particularly, the conflicting orders emanating from Courts of coordinate jurisdiction. I am aware that some of the cases are still in Court and therefore subjudice.

"I must say that some of the decided cases are making our work difficult and we have been crying out loud for a long time.

In particular, some pre-election litigations relating to the nomination of candidates for elections were not determined until after the elections.

"Consequently, in some instances, political parties were declared winners without candidates to immediately receive the Certificates of Return on account of protracted and conflicting litigations or where Courts, rather than votes, determine winners of elections.

"This situation is compounded by cases on the leadership of political parties, thereby making the exercise of our regulatory responsibilities difficult. It appears that in a number of electoral cases in Nigeria today, the settled law is now unsettled and the timehonoured principle of Stare decisis does not seem to matter any longer.

"What is most disconcerting for us is that the more INEC strives to improve the credibility and transparency of our electoral process, the more extraneous obstacles are put in our way through litigations. However, the Commission appreciates the recent statement by His Lordship, the Chief Justice of Nigeria as well as the strongly worded concern by the Nigerian Bar Association.

"We will work with both the Bar and the Bench to defend the electoral process in the best interest of our democracy. By the same token, as Chairmen and leaders of political parties, you have a role to play. I wish to remind you that INEC is both an umpire and a regulator. The Commission is an umpire in dealing even-handedly with political parties collectively, but when it comes to the management of intra-party affairs, it is a regulator.

We will play our role decisively," he stated.

Giving update on the continuous voter registration exercise, he said as at yesterday, Monday, September 6, 2021, some 2,729,819 fresh voters had pre-registered online, adding also that, "So far, 717,947 Nigerians have completed their registration at the designated centres."

On the age and gender distribution of those that have registered, the INEC chairman said, "For instance, in terms of age, young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 34 constitute 65% of new registrants and 72% of completed registrations so far.

"In terms of occupation, students constitute 32% of the new registrants and 42% of completed registrations and remain the largest category since the exercise began 11 weeks ago. The latest detailed statistics have been uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms. Hard copies are also included in your folders for this meeting".

Speaking on the Anambra governorship election, Yakubu said going by the timetable released, it was exactly two months (or 60 days) to the election.

In view of this, he explained that the Commission had devolved the CVR to the 326 Registration Areas (or Wards) in addition to the 21 local government offices and the state office of the Commission.

He posited that the physical exercise was suspended on Sunday, which was 60 days to the election as required by Section 9(5) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

However, he claimed that the online pre-registration option would continue to be available but no appointment for completion of registration could be scheduled until after the election.

The INEC chairman assured the people that the commission would use the next few weeks to compile the register of voters for claims and objections, clean up the data, print the PVCs for collection by registrants and compile the register for each of the 5,720 polling units in the state.

He promised that every newly registered voter in Anambra, including those, who applied to transfer from within and outside the state or for the replacement of damaged or lost PVCs, that their cards would be printed and made available to them for collection before the election.

He noted that each political party fielding candidates in the election would be given a copy of the voters’ register on October 7, 2021, as published in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the elections.

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NEWS

South-east Presidency will Bring Unity to Nigeria, Says Nwodo Mary Nnah Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and former governor of Enugu State, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo has said that the zoning of the presidency to the Southeast come 2023 is the green light that the nation has been waiting for, adding that it was the only thing that will bring peace and unity to the nation.

Speaking as a guest on ARISE News, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspaper, yesterday, Nwodo opined that any of the political parties that zones its presidential candidate to the North, stands to engage in a difficult campaign in the four geopolitical zones of the country are asking the parties to zone the presidential candidate to the South-east.

The former governor, who said every Nigerian is aware of the agitation from the South-East for a presidency of the Southeast extract built on fairness, justice, equity and history, noted:“I think they have a very strong and persuasive argument to have the presidency zoned to the

South-east. This is the sentiment that is dominant in that region as we speak and they are also asking that this passionate appeal

Suspected kidnappers have abducted the immediate past Senator for Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District, Nelson Effiong.

At least eight persons were wounded during the kidnapped saga at a popular lounge, known as the Red Chamber, believed to be owned by the Senator.

Efiong, a one-time Speaker of the state House of Assembly, was said to have been picked by three armed bandit at his popular lounge along Oron Road, Uyo, the state capital Sunday night.

No fewer than eight customers were reportedly injured during the invasion as they scampered to safety while the hoodlums fired randomly to scare people.

“I have just been shot along Oron Road,” Erick Ekwere, one

As efforts to stop open grazing of livestock and possession of dangerous weapons by unauthorised persons in the state, the Lagos State Government has proposed 21 years jail term for any herder found with firearm.

This was contained in a bill entitled: ‘Prohibition of Open Cattle Grazing Bill, 2021’, sent to the state House of Assembly by the executive branch of government.

While debating the bill during plenary session yesterday, members of the Assembly, who cut off their recess, condemned the incessant movement of cattle by herders openly on farms and roads in the state, adding that trespassing on people’s land

majority of the states in the middle belt and refuse to zone the presidency to the South, they would be playing a very high

stake in abandoning the votes of four major geopolitical zones of our country in the general elections.

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Prosperis Holdings, Mr. Samson Adekunle; Chief Executive Officer, Prosperis Holdings, Mr. Kayode Fadahunsi; Chief Executive Officer, AVA Capital Group, Mr. Kayode Falasinnu; and Chief Commercial Officer, Prosperis Holdings, Mr. Efe Shaire, at the fourth anniversary celebration of Prosperis Holdings in Lagos… recently ETOP UKUTT

of the victims said, urging security agencies to rescue the situation.

Another source said, “The incident occurred at about 9:00pm on Sunday night.

The armed men stormed the sit-out with a Toyota Camry car and started shooting randomly, sending the customers and other guests to scamper to safety before they made straight to the former Senator.”

THISDAY checks revealed that Effiong was whisked away by the kidnappers in their Toyota Camry to unknown destination.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Odiko Macdon, confirmed the report.

“The Command has received the report about the abduction of the victim and the Commissioner of Police, has immediately ordered a discreet investigation into the matter.

Opening Grazing Bill: Lagos Proposes 21 Years Jail Term for Firearm Bearers Segun James

He stressed further that if any party decides to abandon the wishes of Southerner Nigerians and indeed the sympathy of

CELEBRATING FOUR YEARS OF SUCCESS…

Gunmen Abduct Former Akwa Ibom Senator, Efiong Okon Bassey in Uyo

be allowed to reunite Nigeria, to bring back justice, equity and peace in our country and that feeling is very strong.”

would continue to threaten peaceful coexistence in the country.

Debating on the bill, Hon. Bisi Yusuff (Alimosho 1) said the bill was long expected and needed speedy passage, adding that the damage caused by open grazing in the state and South-west region was enormous.

Yusuff said: “Open grazing has reduced food supply drastically. Cattle often eat up crops of farmers who most often borrowed money to farm them. The act of these herders has created scarcity of food supply in the region. It is shameful that cattle move on expressway, and destroy markets. I am totally in support of the proposed 21years jail term for defaulters.”

Lagos Announces School Resumption Schedule for 2021/2022 The Lagos State Government has announced resumption guidelines for the 2021/2022 Academic Session for public and private schools across the State.

Schools are expected to resume on September 13, while for Model Colleges and Upgraded Schools students are

to resume in batches from September 19, 2021.

This was contained in a statement by Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Education, Mr. Ganiu Lawal, yesterday in Lagos.

According to the statement, Commissioner for Education, Lagos State, Mrs. Folasade

Adefisayo, explained that boarders in the Model Colleges and Upgraded Schools and SS2 students seeking placement into SS3 class would resume September 10.

“The revision for this class will run from Sept. 20 to September 26 while promotion examination to SS3 class will

start from September 27 to October 8, 2021.

“The newly admitted JS1 students into Model Colleges and Upgraded Schools are to resume October 2 for oneweek orientation programme which will intimate them on the secondary school structure and modalities.”

Umahi Wants Another Buhari-like President for Nigeria in 2023 Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State has projected into the future of Nigeria saying he prayed for a kindhearted person like President Muhammadu Buhari to take over from him in 2023.

He also explained that obedience of Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB)’s sitat-home order in South-east

states was borne out of fear by the residents.

Umahi, who spoke with newsmen Monday after a close-door meeting with President Buhari said much as he believed that power rested with God, he would continue to pray for someone with the attributes of Buhari to succeed him.

“I continue to say that power rests in the hands of God. And

we pray that God, will also give us the next president, who has good heart, like President Buhari for the good of this country.We need God’s own anointing for our own anointed president for the interest and unity of this country,” he said.

Asked if the South-east governors were considering encouraging the two major parties to produce one candidate towards the 2023

presidential election, Umahi said it was too early and distracting to talk about it now.

He said: “Well, for me, I’m very much entrenched in completing my projects.

And I will look into politics, when my tenure is remaining one year, which is from May 29, 2022. And I think it is the same thing with other governors of South-east and by extension, governors of APC.

Sowore: Widow Narrates How She Escaped from Kidnappers Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-city One of the kidnapped victims who escaped from his captors in Okada, Edo State, Mrs. Emmanuella Anyanwu, yesterday recounted how she maneuvered her way to freedom Anyanwu, who said she was travelling to Imo State for the burial of her husband before the unfortunate event, was among the five people abducted by suspected herdsmen on Benin-Ore-Shagamu

highway, which resulted in the killing of Felix Olajide Sowore, younger brother the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowere, last Saturday.

Giving a vivid account of what actually happened while speaking with journalists at the state Police Command in Benincity, she said: “On Friday, we were coming from Lagos to the eastern region, and our vehicle broke down around Okada in the outskirts of Benin-city. We passed

the night in the vehicle. At about 6:30 a.m. to 7:00a.m., some men came out from the bush shooting at us so we surrendered.

“They took our belongings, including our phones, and matched us into the bush. It took us almost two hours to get to their camp. They blind folded us. So they started calling us one after the other, and I was the last person they called. They asked me where I was coming from and where I was going.

I told them that I was coming from Lagos and going to Imo State for my husband’s burial.

“They asked how many children do I have, I told them two, and I also told them that I sell groundnut in Lagos. They asked if I was the one providing the money to bury my husband, and I told them his brother will do that. They also wanted to know what my sister does, and I told them she sells bread in the village.”

COVID-19: NSSF, Others Partner to Mitigate Adverse Economic Effects on Nigerians Sunday Okobi The Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF), a non-profit organisation, has partnered the international advocacy organisation, Global Citizen, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to mitigate the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians by supporting vulnerable members of the population.

The group is therefore, renewing calls for support and financial donations to the fund in order to achieve it humanitarian mission.

NSSF noted that as an innovative platform for resource mobilisation primarily established to supplement efforts to support vulnerable members of the public, it is also strengthening the country’s healthcare system and reskilling the Nigerian workforce for a

post-pandemic world.

The strategic priority for NSSF for 2021/2022 is to “ensure that one million Nigerians are vaccinated against COVID-19, the Fund is therefore calling on philanthropists, corporate organisations, Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, public sector institutions and international donor agencies to join hands and support this initiative which has been created by Nigerians for the benefit of Nigerians.”

According to the Chairman of Global Citizen Nigeria, Babatunde Folawiyo, in a statement issued yesterday, “With the appointment of Dr. Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko as the general manager of the Fund, all the necessary governance structures are now in place and the work of the fund has begun in earnest, with the immediate priority being to support the national COVID-19 vaccination programme

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COMMENT

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

THE CALCULATOR IN JIGAWA GOVT HOUSE

Habibu Kila writes that the Jigawa State governor brings into governance the same financial discipline he used to build his business empire

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any have sought to know why the governor of Jigawa State, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar is being called “Baba Mai Calculator” by the citizens of the state. The phraseology is roughly translated to mean “the man who uses the calculator always.”

It may not be easy to explain the genesis of the name to someone who does not know the governor at close range, except, of course, for those who knew him before he became governor.

Badaru has been an international businessman long before he joined politics. In fact, his business acumen and successes were the propelling factors that friends saw in him that made them encourage him to become a partisan politician.

Their thinking was that he could bring into governance of Jigawa State the same careful and meticulous financial discipline that he used to build and sustain his business empire.

So far, the governor has not disappointed those who vouched for him. Since he became governor, Jigawa State has moved from a pauperized state to one with abundant recourses for developmental projects.

There has not been a time that the state ran short of money to pay salaries at the minimally agreed rate or to do works that have been approved to be done.

The journey began on the 29th May 2015. Of course, it has not been that easy, for it was like attempting the impossible with nothing. But through God’s guidance, Governor Badaru’s calculator lights through the dark tunnel and gives hope to the people of Jigawa State.

The financial liabilities and contractual commitments on ongoing and new capital projects at that time was more than the annual budget of the state which was about N110 billion.

The inherited liquidity was only N16 million in the state treasury.

To make things worse, the monthly federal allocation dropped from an average of about N5 billion to N3 billion.

But Governor Badaru did not panic. In his effort to effectively face the challenges despite the economic situation at that time, he adopted several measures in order to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the electorate whose hope was to have the dividends of democracy at their doorsteps.

In this regard, the tenets of good governance, particularly accountability and transparency, were adopted with the aim of having the principles of prudence and value for money, became the binding ethic under his watch.

That was the point at which the calculator came into reckoning. Money no longer came out of the state coffer without due scrutiny. The businessman in the governor was unleashed on those who thought state money could be recklessly wasted.

IN JIGAWA STATE TODAY, STATE MONEY DOES NOT DISAPPEAR INTO PRIVATE POCKETS SINCE THE CALCULATOR IS ALWAYS HANDY TO DIRECT THEM TO THEIR RIGHTFUL PATH

The high cost of administrative governance was addressed; running costs of ministries and departments was reviewed and reduced in addition to the review and verification of all inherited contractual liabilities and commitments.

The governor was able to save as much as N8.28 billion through discount and other cost saving measures which made it possible to complete all inherited projects and new ones.

Jigawa State, under the administration of Governor Badaru, is one of the few states, if there is any other, that completed inherited projects initiated by previous administrations.

To the governor, abandoning projects initiated by previous administrations amount to a waste of state resources, and that is one thing that he could not allow his administration to do. His ever ready calculator will not cease to work until all state resources have been channeled to the right direction.

In Jigawa State today, state money does not disappear into private pockets since the calculator is always handy to direct them to their rightful path.

Kila is special adviser to the Governor on Media

UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ESCROW ACCOUNT Escrow Accounts should be used to manage seized assets until they can be legally returned, write Bolaji Owasanoye and Yu Yongding

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inancial integrity would require effective mechanisms to secure the recovery and return of assets considered to be of illicit origin. This can serve both as a mechanism for justice and a deterrent against future crimes by demonstrating that perpetrators will not be able to enjoy the proceeds of their crimes.

However, cooperation on confiscating and returning the proceeds of corruption and other financial crimes is not effective. Despite the entry into force of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) more than 15 years ago, the known volume of asset returns accounts for only a tiny fraction of the proceeds of corruption and financial crime laundered worldwide.

Authorities in requested jurisdictions are sometimes not provided with adequate resources, financial, technical and human, to follow up on incoming requests in a timely fashion and carry out their responsibilities in accordance with the Convention.

This is compounded by the fact that the jurisdictions where stolen assets are hidden, often developed countries, may not be responsive to requests for legal assistance. This part of the asset recovery equation has not been adequately addressed.

The result of these constraints is that the whole asset recovery process remains extremely burdensome and lengthy for requesting countries that saw their resources drained. In the meantime, confiscated assets often remain in the possession of either financial institutions, which continue to unduly benefit from the assets, or requested states that manage them for many years. Asset management, particularly of financial assets, can remain with a financial institution that enabled the wrongdoing in the first place. Fees for the management of the assets may continue to be earned by the holder. Requesting states also lose a substantial part of the money to administrative fees taken by the requested state.

The main purpose of the escrow account is to provide an alternative institutional arrangement for the management of assets, removing them from the control of the financial institutions

that may have been complicit in their transfer.

Implementation of this proposal can also reduce the administrative fees charged by requested states. The regional development banks, as publicly owned financial institutions, can provide asset management services at lower cost.

A number of cases show that many years had elapsed after requests for legal assistance before assets were transferred to the requesting state.

Several major legal hurdles had to be crossed, including presenting evidence that the assets were the product of embezzlement, diversion of public property, and plundering of the public treasury.

Sometimes, the request for return may be challenged by the suspect especially where civil forfeiture or non-conviction bases asset forfeiture mechanism has been adopted by either the requesting or requested state. For example, the return of the third batch of assets related to former Nigerian President Sani Abacha, requested from the United States and other involved countries, was delayed for many years by legal challenges launched in the United States by attorneys acting for the former President and his associates and for other professional service providers claiming a share of the assets. The escrow is therefore suggested as a credible third-party legal instrument to manage the funds pending the determination of the rightful or legal owner.

The Panel notes that the political economy of a country matters, and that the influence of powerful sectoral interests is important. They can both influence the cooperation of government on specific asset recovery cases (e.g. some 1MDB cases) as well as the overall level of public resources and attention provided to regulation, supervision, enforcement, and international cooperation. Reducing the incentives to hold assets matters broadly. By having a policy to remove assets from the control of financial institutions which profit by holding them, and to place them with a neutral third party, the use of escrow accounts can disincentivize efforts to thwart prosecution or prevent the return of assets.

Management of the frozen/seized assets through the escrow accounts can also help ensure that the assets do not depreciate in value, which

could occur if held in requested states. The development banks’ treasury departments ensure its upkeep and its efficient disposal, and most importantly maintain public trust in law enforcement and institutions of justice. Particularly, to ensure justice for the victim state, these assets need to retain as much value as possible to ensure the process of asset recovery is worthwhile warranting the oftentimes complex and expensive process.

Effective establishment and use of the escrow account depends on the voluntary agreement by Member States on the use of this instrument as an alternative institutional arrangement for asset management. This will require that the requested state agree to a memorandum of understanding (MOU), or escrow agreement, with the development bank as a neutral third party (depositary or an escrow agent) with no claim on the asset.

Involving the requesting state to also be part to the escrow agreement would be highly desirable.

The MOU should specify the conditions of the deposit, the fees to be charged and the conditions that would trigger delivery of the assets and to whom they should be delivered.

Regional development banks are ideal candidates to host the escrow accounts for the management of the frozen/seized assets. Regional development banks such as the African Development Bank Group, Asian Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank-IDB may be better placed to respond to requesting countries’ needs and desires on how to make use of the escrow accounts. They are neutral parties in the case. They also already have well developed treasury departments with professional staff skilled in handling asset management because of their stewardship of donor funds provided for a variety of projects.

While development banks do not generally aim to turn trust funds or other assets managed into profit centres, should the management of the assets result in above expected gains, they can be remitted alongside the main asset to the State or party determined to be the proper owner. Alternatively, they can be retained by the regional development bank for investment in their other operations aimed at promoting sustainable

development.

Although it is critical to ensure due process throughout the asset recovery process, it is equally important to recognise that requesting jurisdictions face huge and asymmetrical burden of proof and the critical need to explore new approaches to challenge this unfair situation and enhance asset recovery process. The difficulties arising out of the recovery of assets is duly acknowledged by the FACTI Panel Recommendation 5A, which proposes the creation of a multilateral mediation mechanism.

In addition, the FACTI Panel addressed the asset management challenge. The Panel report calls for the use of escrow accounts managed by regional development banks that will serve as custodians of the assets determined to be of illicit origin. These assets should be held at the behest of requesting states and with the cooperation of requested states. By using escrow accounts, some value may be added to funds that are subject to protracted negotiations, and the requesting state may get more than the face value at the end of the process. Furthermore, administrative fees charged by requested states can be paid from proceeds of investment and the value addition.

Countries can take action on this proposal of their own accord, though internationally agreed frameworks can be helpful in encouraging adoption. The most appropriate international venue to deal with the putting in place of an escrow policy for the handling of frozen/seized assets is the Conference of State Parties of the UNCAC. The provisions of the UNCAC provide the legal framework into which policies to use escrow accounts can be integrated (See UNCAC Chapter V, Articles 51-59 dealing with asset recovery).

Prof Owasanoye, SAN, the Chairman of ICPC and Yongding, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Development and Reform Committee of the People’s Republic of China since 2004, wrote this implementation notes for the United Nation’s High Level Panel, Financial Accountability Transparency and Integrity

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EDITORIAL

NEED FOR JUDICIAL HOUSECLEANING The judiciary should put its house in order

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t is no longer in doubt that many of our Judges now make a lucrative enterprise of cases arising from pre-election, post-election, and leadership crises in the political parties. The situation was bad enough for the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed to intervene on the avalanche of court judgements and orders arising from recent crises in both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that have exposed the underbelly of the judiciary in Nigeria. Sadly, this is not a new development but an old problem that has refused to go away.

We must recall that at the opening of the special session of the Supreme Court on 19th September 2011, then Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Joseph Bodunrin Dauda (SAN), said: “There is a growing perception backed up by empirical evidence that justice is purchasable, and it has been purchased on several occasions in Nigeria. We are reaching the point in time where accusations of corruption in the system will be at its loudest….” While THERE IS A GROWING the situation has PERCEPTION BACKED since degenerated, many of the lawyers UP BY EMPIRICAL who point accusing EVIDENCE THAT JUSTICE IS PURCHASABLE, AND IT fingers at judges are HAS BEEN PURCHASED ON also culprits in the perversion of justice SEVERAL OCCASIONS IN because they aid their NIGERIA clients in abusing the court process.

We hope the National Judicial Council (NJC) will wield the big stick to bring the errant judges in recent cases to book. But it will take more than that to restore the fading glory of the judiciary. In January 2018, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Mahmood Yakubu raised these same challenges with the then CJN, Walter Onnoghen. “For instance, in a recent leadership crisis in one political party, the commission was served with six conflicting

judgements and orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction within a short period of three months (May – July 2016),” Yakubu said while painting the picture of a compromised judiciary.

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T H I S DAY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

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

rom Port Harcourt to Birnin Kebbi, High Court (State and Federal) Judges are issuing all kinds of orders to nullify one another. But the concern is about the implications on our democracy. Indeed, INEC has on different occasions decried the negative impact these kangaroo court orders/judgements have on elections. Some of the orders have the tendency of eroding the commission’s powers and compromising its independence and timelines for polls. A case in point is the frequency and consistency with which courts of coordinate jurisdiction have delivered judgements and issued orders with far reaching implications on the forthcoming 6th November gubernatorial election in Anambra State.

There are even bigger problems that must also be addressed. Given the rate at which courts, rather than the electorate, end up determining actual winners of elections, the judiciary has written itself into the electoral code, with dire implications for democracy and the rule of law. One of the most recent cases was in Bayelsa State. The APC gubernatorial candidate won the election. But he was sacked by the Supreme Court 24 hours before his swearing-in ceremony because the court found out that his running mate had presented questionable credentials and was therefore disqualified. The state was then awarded to the defeated PDP candidate on account of infraction committed not by the candidate but his running mate. There is also the case of Imo State where the governor elected on the platform of the PDP was removed by the Supreme Court after seven months in office following a dispute over the electoral results. In its ruling, the apex court declared the candidate of the APC who came fourth in the election as the winner.

Such notion of justice is a scandalous indictment of the ruling class that allows it to prevail.

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SHOULD BUHARI SACK MORE MINISTERS?

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or the first time in his six years, President Muhammadu Buhari sacked his power and agriculture ministers, a development that surprised many Nigerians. Sacking or changing of ministers is not new. During the administrations of Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, Nigerians witnessed cabinet changes frequently or with even some ministers shown the way out of their offices. The sins of most of the sacked ministers hinged on poor performance and corruption.

Others ministers who had a political misunderstanding with their state governors were not also spared. However, looking at the high expectations that greeted the Buhari’s administration and the role of ministers in delivering democracy dividends, many Nigerians thought that their scorecard would be impressive. Unfortunately, to the dismay of many, President Buhari has failed to scrutinize his cabinets’ performance hence they came under severe criticism or attacks over poor performance. Do you know the buck always stop on his table?

With the exception of Kemi Adeosun, former Minister of Finance, who bowed to pressure and resigned from government over allegation of NYSC certificate forgery, President Buhari has

never effected any cabinet reshuffle. Could this be an indication that Mr President is fully satisfied with the performances of his ministers? If the answer is yes, why the sudden sack? Nigerians need to know whether the ministry of agriculture under the erstwhile minister, Sabo Nanono, has fared well within the two years he served or not.

They also need to know what happened to our power sector in the last two years under Sale Mamman. Have Nigerians gotten the very best of them? What about the stable power supply and food value chains? Have they improved under their watch? President Muhammadu Buhari is right to have done the needful by sacking them. Power and agriculture ministries have not delivered the policies expected of them.

Nigerians are yet to know the real reason behind the ministers’ sack. Is their sack based of incompetence or corruption? Whatever might have been the reasons, President Buhari should not hesitate to wield the big stick on his non-performing ministers. Many of his ministers have failed to align with his change agenda.

The sacking of the ministers should serve as a wake- up call to other ministers to brace up and help the administration to deliver its campaign promises in the remaining years.

Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State

CONCESSION OF THE AIRPORTS

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he challenges of doing business in Nigeria is really daunting and damaging sometimes. These problems are akin to the Ernst Stavro Blofeld looking for the jugulars of James Bond and that has become the story of doing business in Nigeria under different regimes. It seems to me that being an innovator doesn’t count for anything anymore. When I recently saw the advertisement for a concession of the airports in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Kano, I had to cast my mind back to Bi-Courtney and how the concessions given to the company was breached on all counts by the federal government and the politicization that goes through that process.

The new advertisement is shocking because I am aware that Bi-Courtney had won in several legal ripples that emerged from the concession. I am aware that a federal high court on the 3rd of March 2009 granted the relief sought by Bi-Courtney against the federal government of Nigeria. Also on the 11th February 2010 the Court of Appeal, Abuja dismissed the application of leave by Ojemaie investments on the prior judgment. Also Arik’s Air intervention was dismissed by a federal

high court on the 15th November 2010. Also FAAN’s application for leave on the same matter was dismissed on the 8th July 2011.The legal battle also culminated in the dismissal of the Attorney General’s appeal against the judgement of March 3rd 2009 on the 13th June 2012 and a ruling by the Supreme Court which also dismissed an application by ojemaie investment limited seeking to restrain the hand over of the General Aviation Terminal to Bi-Courtney. After all these reliefs granted by the court and then an advertisement is made for concession for Lagos Airport, is it that Bi-Courtney doesn’t matter in all of this? Is it also the case that court judgements do not matter in this country?

We have a penchant of termination of contracts abruptly hence our recent debacle as a country. In all of this I would like to ask if the ministry of aviation has made peace with Bi-Courtney and paid all the entitlements. In my musing I ponder deeply on what might be the case with the Lagos-Ibadan expressway that we have now spent over seven times the initial investment cost, also initial concessions to Bi-Courtney. We need to be more transparent in our dealing as a country if we must develop.

Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com

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POLITICS

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

Between Bello and Bawa: Who Blinks First?

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, have drawn a battle line, writes Emameh Gabriel

Bello

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bdulrasheedBawa,Chairmanofthe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will have his real baptism of fire when he meets Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State in court next week over allegation of diversion of N20 billion bailout fund Kogi State Government secured from Sterling Bank in 2019.

The stakes are high for Abdulrasheed Bawa.

As an experienced detective, who has learnt the ropes, there is no doubt that the anti-graft steersman is conscious of what he stands against- it would take more than paper work to incriminate someone of Governor Bello’s status, given the influence the latter wields as a serving governor and the financial strength at his disposition, that is if the allegation raised against the Government of Kogi State is anything to go by.

It is a tall order for Bawa and his team at the EFCC. His competence is on the scale and he knows this. Bawa is conscious of the fact that all eyes are on him. He can’t afford any damage to his reputation just few months after assuming office. The public must not get a wrong perception of him as a clueless detective and busybody or a hired bully. Nonetheless, this case will be one of his best shots- trapping a big fish in the agency’s net and not allowing it slip out of his finger either due to poor homework or other forces beyond him.

This is what is expected of him if he must go after a ruthless fighter like Governor Bello, a young and powerful man of his generation and one who calls the shots at Lugard House, Lokoja.

The news that N20 billion loan obtained by the government of Kogi State to augment salary in the state and to run other costs was diverted into a strange account has brought Bello and Bawa to the spot, setting off a battle of titans.

Last week, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos ordered the freezing of a bailout salary account allegedly opened by Kogi State Government domiciled in Sterling Bank.

Justice Tijjani Ringim had granted the order to freeze the account pending the conclusion of an investigation or possible prosecution by the anti-graft agency over the diversion of N20 billion loan obtained from the bank.

The agency had approached the court for the order in an ex-parte application brought in pursuant to section 44 (2) of the Constitution and section 34(1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act. Counsel to the EFCC, Abass Muhammed, told the court that the order was necessary so as to preserve what was left over in the account. In

Bawa

his submission, Muhammed had informed the court that the N20 billion loan meant to augment the salary payment and running cost of the State Government was kept in an interest-yielding account with Sterling bank.

He noted that instead of using the loan for the purpose it was granted, Sterling Bank Plc acting on the instruction of the Kogi State Government transferred the money from the loan account and placed same in a fixed deposit account. He also noted that Sterling Bank Plc was yet to present any credible evidence to show that the facility was well secured.

The EFCC had in a 13-paragraph affidavit in support of the ex-parte originating summons deposed to by a member of a team of investigators attached to the Chairman Monitoring Unit Lagos of the EFCC, had stated “that the Commission received a credible and direct intelligence which led to the tracing of funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities deposited in account No. 0073572696 domiciled in Sterling Bank, Plc with the name Kogi State Salary Bailout Account The Commission said it acted on the intelligence and assigned same to the Chairman Monitoring Unit, where it was discovered that on April 1, 2019, the management of Sterling Bank Pic approved an offer of N20bn bailout loan facility for the Kogi State Government.

According to the EFCC, in the June 19, 2019 fiscal year, the Kogi State Government, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Office of the Honourable Commissioner, had applied for a Credit facility of Twenty Billion Naira N20, 000,000,000, with an interest rate of 9 percent for a tenure of 240 months from Sterling Bank Plc.” Afacility was meant to offset salary in the state, payment and government’s running

cost. However, upon the opening of the said account with No. 0072969301, Sterling bank Plc disbursed salary intervention loan to the tune of 20,000,000,000.00 to the account.

But rather than utilise the intervention funds for the purpose for which it was granted, the State Government proceeded to open a fix deposit account No. 0073572696.

The Commission had further alleged that on the 25 day of July, 2019, Sterling Bank Plc acting on the instruction of the Kogi State Government transferred the money from the loan account and placed same on the said fixed deposit account and on 25th July in the same year, the controversial account received the sum of Twenty Billion Naira, (N20, 000,000,000).

The EFCC had also alleged that as at 1st of April, 2021 the balance standing to the credit of the said fixed deposit account was 19, 333, 333, 333.36 billion, which suggests that the sum of 666,666,666.64 billion has been deducted from the said funds and were not used for the payment of the salary.

Bello Fumes,Threatens Legal Action Meanwhile, the Kogi State Government in a swift reaction had threatened to sue the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the allegation, saying such account does not exist and allegation were laced with concocted lies.

The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo told THISDAY that the EFCC failed to carry out its homework and was out to create issues where there is none. He said available documents and evidence of transaction with the bank in question speak contrary to EFCC’s claims. “We are going to meet in court,” he told THISDAY. To corroborate his claim, Mr Fanwo

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos ordered the freezing of a bailout salary account allegedly opened by Kogi State Government domiciled in Sterling Bank. Justice Tijjani Ringim had granted the order to freeze the account pending the conclusion of an investigation or possible prosecution by the anti-graft agency over the diversion of N20 billion loan obtained from the bank

provided documents of all transactions between the government and Sterling Bank, salaries schedules during the period in question and a document detailing balance of N40 million in the original account the money was lodged into by Sterling Bank in 2019 before it disbursed.

“We never operated any different account and there is no such money anywhere. So we were surprised to hear the EFCC alleging that we had such money in a fixed account,” he said.

Earlier at a press conference in Abuja, last week, the government which was represented by some of its appointees, denied the allegations and threatened to fight the case till a reasonable conclusion.

Kingsley Fanwo who led the team from the state at the press conference, said the state does not operate any fixed account with Sterling Bank as suggested by the commission to the court which birthed the ex parte order.

Mr Fanwo countered and further disclosed that the state has approximately N46 million across its three operational accounts with the alleged bank. He said the EFCC has failed in its primary assignment and accused it of misleading the court as well as the public.

He said: “For the record, Kogi State Government vehemently denies having the sum of N19,333,333,333.36 or any other sum in a fixed deposit account with Sterling Bank Plc as alleged. The Kogi State Government states that it never gave any instruction to Sterling Bank Plc and the said Bank also did not fix on its behalf, any bailout fund or any other funds.

“The Kogi State Government states that as of the 23rd Day of July, 2019 when she utilized the monies for the payment of salaries and allowances to Kogi State civil servants and up to the 31st day of August 2021 when the purported court order was procured, it had approximately N46,000,000.00 cumulatively in the salary and bailout accounts it operates with Sterling Bank Plc,” he said, adding that the commission never called nor invite any of its officials for clarity at any point.

Similarly, in a document obtained by THISDAY, Sterling Bank in the signed document, said the account in question is “an internal (mirror) account operated by the Bank for purposes of managing the Kogi State,” an extract from a letter dated September 1.

The argument put forward by Sterling Bank suggests that the account is an internal digit the organisation uses to monitor Kogi State account.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

POLITICS

Morning After LG Congresses, APC Sinks Deeper in Crises The leadership crisis besetting the All Progressives Congress, took a plunge for the worse, after last weekend’s local government congresses of the party, which were characterised by protests, boycotts, and the election of parallel executives by the different factions in many states, writes Adedayo Akinwale

Buni

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n the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the peace hitherto enjoyed in the party has become a thing of the past ever since the pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the Ondo Governorship election which affirmed the victory of Rotimi Akeredolu but questioned the legality of the the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Committee of the party led by the Governor of Yobe state, Mai Mala Buni.

As the dust raised by the legal status of Buni as the interim Chairman of the party is yet to settle, coupled with the ward congresses of the party that ended in crisis in some states still generating controversy, the APC has now entered another phase of crisis with the local government congresses held last weekend.

Members of the party who were previously cowed, threatened with sanction and expulsion by the Caretaker Committee have now decided to take the party to court after they realised that their grievances were not addressed through the resolution mechanism in the party.

Prior to the local government congresses, a High Court sitting in Asaba had restrained Buni and other members from acting or parading themselves until the determination of a substantive suit before the court.

Nevertheless, Buni insisted that he was never restrained by the Delta Court Order, adding that the restriction of the congresses was limited to Delta state chairman of the party and does not affect other states.

Eventually, the crisis rocking the APC was deepened by the just concluded local government congresses which were characterised by protests, boycotts and the election of parallel executives by different factions of the ruling party in many states.

While the congresses were held in other states, it was not held in Zamfara and Anambra states due to the crisis in the state chapters of the party, while that of Kaduna State did not hold due to the LG elections that took place in the state.

Akwa Ibom State The National Secretary of the APC Caretaker Committee, Senator John Akpanudoedehe and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio renewed their rivalry in the state.

Akpanudoedehe controls the state chapter of the party, being an older member of the party, but Akpabio is fighting tooth and nail to get hold of the party structure in the state.

The supremacy battles between the duo led to the holding of parallel congresses in the 31 LGAs of the state. The supporters of the Akpabio and some members of the party who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity said materials for the congresses were hijacked and taken to unknown places

Akpanudoedehe

where the congresses allegedly took place.

But the spokesperson of APC in the state, Nkereuwem Enyongekere, said the congresses were peaceful across the state.

Abia State The story was not so different in Abia State which also witnessed parallel congresses between the faction loyal to the state Chairman of the party, Chief Donatus Nwankpa and Chief Ikechi Emenike. But the Local Government Congress Committee led by Hon. Israel Goli only supervised the congress conducted by the faction loyal to Emenike.

Adamawa State The APC congresses were marred by the crisis in Adamawa State as aggrieved party members from Yola North and Yola South LGAs faulted the distribution of election materials to members who were not supposed to handle the materials.

The youths stormed the party’s secretariat in their numbers demanding election materials for their zones. The senator representing Adamawa Central, Senator Aishatu Binani also stormed the party secretariat to kick against the process.

In Mubi North and other local governments in the state, some APC stakeholders organised their own separate local government congresses in their preferred venues.

The Chairman of the Congress Committee, Prof. Umar Katsayal, and his committee members narrowly escaped an attack by irate youths when they were about to leave the party’s secretariat.

Bayelsa State A faction of the party in Bayelsa State held congresses despite a court order that restrained the party from holding congresses in the state.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva was

absent due to official commitment outside the country. The Vice Chairman, South-south Zone of the APC Caretaker/ Extra ordinary Convention Planning Committee, Chief David Lyon, was seen at party secretariat in Yenagoa at the end of the exercise.

However, a chieftain of the APC, Mr. Sunday Frank-Oputu, who is also a member of the faction led by Hon. Ebierien Fala, faulted the conduct of the congresses, describing it as a violation of a subsisting court order before the State High Court and Court of Appeal, sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

He therefore called on the party leadership to sanction Sylva and the caretaker State Secretary of the party, Alabo Martins over conduct of the congresses against subsisting court order.

Enugu State The congresses held in Enugu state produced different leadership structures in all 17 council areas of the state.

While one faction is loyal to the State Caretaker Committee chairman, Dr. Ben Nwoye, another group is with Senator Ken Nnamani.

Despite the emergence of two factions of the party in the State, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama has hailed what he described as the peaceful conduct of the local government congresses in the state.

The minister described the process as democracy-in-action, adding that the people were allowed to willingly choose their leaders.

Nnamani, who is also a member of the Buni-committee described as fake, a letter purportedly issued by the national leadership of the party, recognising Mr. Ben Nwoye as the state party chairman.

Delta State Despite the High Court order restraining the conduct of the congresses in Delta state, a faction of the party led by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie

Members of the party who were previously cowed, threatened with sanction and expulsion by the Caretaker Committee have now decided to take the party to court after they realised that their grievances were not addressed through the resolution mechanism in the party

Omo-Agege, organised the exercise which the Deputy Senate President described as peaceful.

While the faction of the party in the state led

by Omo-Agege, insisted that the congresses took place, the other faction of the party, which parades APC chieftains like Chief Great Ogboru, Festus Keyamo, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, Chief Victor Ochei, and Mrs. Mariam Alli insisted that the congresses did not hold because of the subsisting court order.

Meanwhile, a statement by the Chairman, Delta State Local Government Congress Committee, Mr. Matthew Omegara, said that the party was aware of the court ruling, but noted that the court order only barred the State Chairman of the party, Prophet Jones Erue, from conducting the congresses and not the party officials from the national headquarters.

Both Omo-Agege and Omegara have hailed the conduct of congresses in the state, saying they were peaceful and satisfactory.

Ekiti State The State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi is leaving nothing to chance to stamp his authority as the leader of the party in the state. The faction loyal to the governor said the congresses were undertaken without violating the constitution of the party and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This was in spite of the fact that a faction of the party called South-west Agenda for Tinubu 2023 presidential poll (SWAGA) had challenged the previous ward congresses, But the Secretary of the Ekiti State APC Congress Committee, Mr. Jobi Akindele, said the unconfirmed report that SWAGA went to court to challenge the ward congress did not vitiate the outcome of the local government congresses.

He explained that there was no legal encumbrance to the party’s local government congresses, saying it followed the due process of the law. The Chairman appealed to members of the party to exhaust internal mechanisms before resorting to court action.

Ogun State The crisis in the Ogun State chapter of the party deepened further as the group loyal to Governor Dapo Abiodun and a faction of the party led by Senator Ibikunle Amosun held parallel congresses across the 20 local government areas of the state.

Before last weekend’s congresses, the two factions of the APC had sworn in the elected executives that emerged from the parallel ward congresses they held in July.

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

20

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

21

FOREIGN DESK

THOUSANDS OF GUINEANS CELEBRATE MILITARY C O U P OV E RT H R O W I N G P R E S I D E N T C O N D E Compiled by Bayo Akinloye

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ever-pitch excitement has gripped thousands of Guineans following the ouster of President Alpha Conde in a military coup on Sunday.

Images of hordes of jubilant Guineans, aired on TV stations worldwide and posted on the Internet, showed people taking to the streets, many embracing soldiers, sitting atop armoured vehicles, and posing for pictures with the soldiers.

Not a few Guineans have accused Conde’s government of large-scale and institutionalised corruption as the country battles unemployment, poverty, and hunger.

Many citizens trooped into the streets suggesting the coup de’tat is a welcome development.

In the quiet of Sunday in Guinea, sporadic gunshots rent the air, and shortly after, a coup was announced on national TV. A video of a subdued Conde flooded the Internet.

The ousted president was first elected into power in 2010. He ran for president again in 2015 and won amid accusations of fraud and other malpractices. He changed the country’s constitution, allowing him to run for a third term. In 2020, Mr Conde was announced as the winner of the November 7 presidential election.

A military spokesman said on TV that land and air borders had been reopened. In the Sunday TV broadcast, the special forces unit is led by former French foreign legionnaire officer Col. Mamady Doumbouya, who said that “poverty and endemic corruption” had driven his forces to remove Conde from office.

Doumbouya also announced that the military would form a new government in weeks and assured ministers who served in Condé’s government would be hounded.

The soldiers have prevented government officials from leaving the country.

“A consultation will be launched to set down the broad parameters of the transition, and then a government of national union will be established to steer the transition,” he said in a Monday statement.

The UN, AU, ECOWAS, and other governments have condemned the coup plotters’ forceful takeover of Conde’ regime, demanding they release the president immediately and return the country to civil dispensation.

“These actions could limit the ability of the United States and Guinea’s other international partners to support the country,” a statement by the U.S. Department of State said.

Reuters reported that unlike in landlocked Mali, where neighbours and partners were able to pressure a junta after a coup, leverage on the military in Guinea could be limited because it is not landlocked and not a member of the West African currency union.

It added that although mineral wealth has fuelled economic growth during Conde’s reign, few citizens significantly benefited, contributing to pent-up frustration among millions of jobless youths. Despite an overnight curfew, the headquarters of Conde’s presidential guard was looted by people who made off with rice, cans of oil, air conditioners, and mattresses.

COURT SENTENCES BELARUSSIAN ACTIVISTS TO LENGTHY JAIL TERMS

A court in Belarus has sentenced two leading opposition activists to lengthy prison terms, the latest move in the relentless crackdown on dissent that Belarusian authorities unleashed in the wake of last year’s anti-government protests.

Maria Kolesnikova, a top member of the opposition Coordination Council, has been in custody since her arrest last September.

On Monday, a court in Minsk found her guilty of conspiring to seize power, creating an extremist organisation and calling for actions damaging state security and sentenced her to 11 years in prison.

Lawyer Maxim Znak, another leading member of the Coordination Council who faced the same charges, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

On Monday, a video from inside the courtroom showed the handcuffed pair grinning in the defendant’s cage before the ruling.

Kolesnikova and Znak went on trial behind closed doors, with their families only allowed to be present at the sentencing hearing.

“For many, Maria has become an example of resilience and the fight between good and evil. I’m proud of her,” Kolesnikova’s father, Alexander, told The Associated Press

on Monday. “It’s not a verdict, but rather the revenge of the authorities.”

U.S. EX-MARINE KILLS 4, INCLUDING MOM HOLDING BABY

Four people are dead, including a mother and the baby son she was cradling, after a massive gunfight early Sunday with a former Marine who tried to wrestle a gun from police from his hospital gurney after being captured, a Florida sheriff said.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said 33-year-old Bryan Riley appeared to be suffering from mental health issues and had been slowly unravelling for weeks, repeatedly telling his girlfriend that he could communicate directly with God. Associated Press reports that after a gunfight with police and deputies — where dozens “if not hundreds of rounds” were exchanged outside a Lakeland home — Judd said, authorities found an 11-year-old girl alive but shot multiple times, plus four victims.

They included a 33-year-old mother still holding her 3-month-old baby boy, the infant’s 62-year-old grandmother who lived in a nearby home, and a 40-year-old man.

Riley, who served as a sharpshooter in both Iraq and Afghanistan, seemingly targeted the family at random, Judd said during a press conference Sunday.

Preliminary evidence shows the 40-yearold Justice Gleason was mowing his lawn Saturday night when Riley drove by and said God told him to stop because Gleason’s daughter was going to commit suicide.

A second person came to confront Riley, telling him that story wasn’t true, and warned him they would call the police if he didn’t leave, Judd said. Authorities responded to the scene but never found Riley. About nine hours later, around 4:30 a.m., Riley returned.

By chance, a lieutenant blocks away, heard popping noises, and immediately put the agency on active-shooter mode, bringing all state and local law enforcement in the area to the scene.

Following the sounds of gunfire, authorities arrived at the home and found Riley’s white truck ablaze and an unarmed Riley outside, dressed in camouflage.

Riley immediately ran inside, where authorities heard another round of gunfire, “a woman scream and a baby whimper,” Judd said.

Officers tried to enter the front of the house, but it was barricaded. When they circled to the back, they encountered Riley, who appeared to have put on full body armour, including head and knee coverings and a bulletproof vest.

Authorities exchanged heavy gunfire before Riley retreated into the home, according to the sheriff. Everything fell silent, Judd said, until a helicopter unit alerted authorities on the ground that Riley was coming out. He had been shot once and was ready to surrender.

TALIBAN CLAIMS VICTORY OVER PANJSHIR VALLEY

The Taliban have declared victory over the province of Panjshir northeast of the capital Kabul, the final pocket of territory which has remained outside their rule.

The group posted footage online of their fighters raising their flag there on Monday, said the BBC. However, resistance fighters said they were still present in “all strategic positions” and “continue to fight.” Their leader has called for a “national uprising” against the Taliban.

In an audio recording posted on social media, Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), blamed the international community for legitimising the Taliban and giving them military and political confidence.

“Wherever you are, inside or outside, I call on you to begin a national uprising for the dignity, freedom, and prosperity of our country,” he said.

The Taliban took control of the rest of Afghanistan three weeks ago, seizing the capital Kabul on August 15 following the collapse of the Western-backed government.

It comes nearly 20 years after U.S. forces led an invasion to topple the Taliban.

Panjshir, a rugged mountain valley, is home to between 150,000 and 200,000 people. It was a centre of resistance when Afghanistan was under Soviet occupation in the 1980s and during the Taliban’s previous period of rule, between 1996 and 2001.

22

T H I S D AY ˾ ͵, 2021

FEATURES

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

Curating Africa's Rich Cultural Heritage at CBAAC's Hall of Fame Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation recently opened a ‘Black and African Hall of Fame'. It is a rich cultural and historical treasure that celebrates black personalities and professionals that have played prominent roles in the emancipation of Africa and contributed to the development of the continent in diverse fields

A section of the Black and African Hall of Fame

Queen Idia Mask

CBAAC DG with Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed

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frica is a continent endowed with a diverse and rich cultural heritage. But over the years, most of the rich cultural heritage have been greatly eroded, with some phased out completely due to certain factors like colonialism, westernisation, and even religion.

The Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), a department under the Ministry of Communication and Information, was born to tackle these issues. Its strategic mandate is to preserve, present, and propagate the African Culture in its entirety and restore Africa’s rich cultural heritage.

In fulfilment of that strategic objective, CBAAC recently unveiled the Black and African Hall of Fame in Abuja. It primarily targeted the curated pieces at reliving the echoes of FESTAC '77 by celebrating those that participated. Also included in the rich plethora were other black eminent personalities.

FESTAC '77 Festac '77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (the first was in Dakar, 1966), was a major international festival held in Lagos, Nigeria, from January 15 1977 to February 12, 1977. The month-long event celebrated African culture and showcased African music, fine art, literature, drama, dance, and religion to the world. About 16,000 participants took part in the event, representing 56 African nations and countries of the African Diaspora, performed at the event.

The DG, CBAAC, Mrs. Oluwabunmi Amao with Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information, Arts and Culture, Dr. Ifeoma Anyanwu and others

Hall of Fame Fulfilling its primary objective of preserving history, arts and culture,

the centre recently unveiled the CBAAC Black and African Hall of Fame in Abuja. Situated at the information ministry in the

I do know that every Black American, British Black, Canadian Black will like to visit here, at least, to see their history and see what makes them black, thick and not inferior," added Okorocha. "This also goes to show that we have produced great people, and there are greater things to happen from this very country

Federal Secretariat, the Hall of Fame is a celebration of black personalities and professionals that have played prominent roles in the emancipation of Africa, including its development.

Some of those curated include former presidents during FESTAC '77 like Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria; Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya; Muammar Muhammed Al-Gaddafi, Libya; Ahmed Sekou Toure, Guinea; Jean Bedel Bokassa, Central African Republic; Robert Gabriel Mugabe, Zimbabwe; Leopold Sedar Senghor, Senegal; Moktar Ould Daddah, Mauritania; Felix Malloum Bey-Ndi, Chad; and El Hadj Omar Bongo, Gabon.

Other personalities include Chinua Achebe, Moshood Kashimawo Anjola, Oluwafunmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Obafemi Jeremiah Awolowo, Kobe Bryant, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Malcolm X, Tafawa Balewa, Chief Abdul Ganiyu Fawehinmi, Nnamdi Azikwe, and Mike Adenuga.

Not left out were foreign musicians like Mighty Sparrow, Archie She'll, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Stevie Wonder, Nadi Game, Randolph Edward 'Randy' Weston, Sun Ra, Gilberto Gil, and Donald Byrd.

At the unveiling, dignitaries and even traditional rulers thronged into the hall to experience the beautifully curated art, as well as the library containing the historical story behind each piece.

Whilst the tour was ongoing, traditional drums belted out tunes to the delight of all, with the dancers wriggling their waists in rhythm.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͵, 2021

FEATURES

Senate Committee Chairman on Culture and Tourism, Owelle Rochas Okorocha with the DG

House Committee Chairman on Culture and Tourism, Hon Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama with the DG

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, NIDCOM Chairman beside her portrait

DG with Chairman, CBAAC Governing Board, Abom Tony Ibana Esu

Relevance For CBAAC Director General, Oluwabunmi Ayobami Amao, the relevance of the Hall of Fame goes beyond tourism as the rich history behind each frame would aid the younger generation in the proper understanding of the nation's historical antecedents.

According to Amao, former special adviser on Arts and Culture to the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, FESTAC 77 is more relevant now as history is returned to the school’s curriculum.

"The knowledge of FESTAC 77 is key as it enables the students to know who were around about that time and those who performed," she stated.

Preserving Arts, Culture from Extinction After a tour of the historical art, Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, represented by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information, Arts and Culture, Dr. Ifeoma Anyanwu, said the Hall of Fame would preserve the country’s arts and culture and also prevent it from going into extinction.

The minister, who stated that his vision is to see the recreation of another FESTAC in years to come, added, "I am marvelled because what has been done here will be able to preserve arts and culture so that they don’t go into extinction."

He further noted that this history "will be there for the younger generation who are coming up to come and see how Nigeria and Africa evolved and see the great heroes of Africa, great heroes of Nigeria in their own country and so forth."

Boost for Tourism, Economy For Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, the feat achieved by CBAAC was a step in the right direction to open up tourism in a bid to boost the economy better.

According to her, tourism is great potential in the arts and culture sector of the country’s economy, noting that "it was a pleasant surprise to see the quality and number of historical items".

The items include images of heads of state, famous black leaders, and musicians depicting the history of FESTAC 77 at the commissioning.

While commending the DG for a job

Folake Majin of Schon Afrique with the DG

well done, she urged the Ministry of Information and the management of CBAAC to expand the place to get students from different schools to learn Nigerian history.

“We hope to be able to open up tourism if we are able to continue to manage the economy better, and this is the kind tourists would love to visit. It is great potential in the arts and culture sector of our economy," said Ahmed. “We should really encourage this, and we should find a place where we can expand this so that we can get our students to come and learn our history- history of black Africa from this centre".

Input by National Assembly Gracing the occasion were both Chairmen, Senate and House Commit-

tee on Culture and Tourism, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and Hon Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, respectively.

According to Okorocha, the display was an appreciation of culture and tradition and men and women who have made history.

"I'm quite impressed. This provides an inspiring arena for the younger generation, and this is how role models are made. It is a must-visit for school children, university undergraduates, and everybody," said the former Imo governor. "When the history of this nature is kept alive, then it inspires a future generation. It reminds me of what we used to read during our primary school days, and to see it here is something great".

He believes that the government

This history will be there for the younger generation who are coming up to come and see how Nigeria and Africa evolved and see the great heroes of Africa, great heroes of Nigeria in their own country and so forth

must support CBAAC, noting that CBAAC will bring huge resources as revenue for tourism if well developed.

"I do know that every Black American, British Black, Canadian Black will like to visit here, at least, to see their history and see what makes them black, thick and not inferior," added Okorocha. "This also goes to show that we have produced great people, and there are greater things to happen from this very country."

On the possibility of replicating this in every state across the nation, he said, "Every state should have their state department that talks about their state level. But this national one should be one here in Abuja. They should get a bigger building."

He noted that it required "a bigger centre, where each of these great leaders or their sons will come and unveil the history of their fathers or their countries will come and unveil because this is the centre of the Black."

In turn, Ogbeide-Ihama noted that the DG had done something strategic to come up with something as laudable as this, adding that other agencies should emulate the innovation.

"Things like this will continue to make us support government agencies. I think they should consolidate on this and expand it. This shows there is a new driver at CBAAC with this type of development in the heart of Abuja," said Ogbeide-Ihama.

"She requires a lot of support from the legislative and executive arm as it shows she has a lot to offer".

Pride in Nigeria's Heritage Lauding the initiative, chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said: "I was amazed to see my pictures on the wall. I didn't even know. It really encourages you to work harder. It was also a celebration of black people all over the world. We need to celebrate ourselves as Nigerians and Africans. It's about telling the world that Nigeria is the centrepiece of Africa."

She pointed out that the history displayed at CBAAC was "inspiring."

"The younger generation would be encouraged to come and even schools.

This is a tourist attraction," Dabiri-Erewa added.

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T H I S D AY • TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

LAWYER TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

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Sulaiman Usman, SAN

‘Sokoto Criminal Justice System, is Speedy and Responsive’

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 • T H I S D AY

IN THIS EDITION

LAWYER TUE SDAY, SEP

TEM BER 7, 202

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Effect of Failure to Prove an Essential Ingredient of an Offence Page IV

Justice l a in im r C o t o ‘Sok y and d e e p S is , m e t s Sy Responsive’

Lawyers Task Police on Human Rights Protection Page V

QUOTABLES ‘Unless we want to continue with an endless war, I see no reason why we should reject those who are willing to surrender…..I was attacked more than 40 or 50 times. I know the magnitude of this problem.’ - Professor Babagana Zulum, Professor of Agriculture Engineering, Governor of Borno State, Federal Republic of Nigeria ‘You cannot circumscribe somebody’s rights. People have a right to say, I don’t want to be in this country.’

- Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Deputy Governor, Abia State (May 1999 - March 2003), PDP Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Senate Minority Leader, 9th National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Marital Rape: An Examination of the Current Position of Law in Nigeria Page VI

Rash of Conflicting Court Orders Page VII

III THE ADVOCATE

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

The Judiciary and Abuse of Court Process

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espect begets respect. While some of us are fighting to restore the dignity and respect of the Judiciary, insisting that it must take its rightful place as the third co-equal arm of Government (not third position), some Judicial Officers are busy running down the Judiciary and its reputation, of course, with the collaboration and participation of Lawyers.

Both are actively playing starring roles in bringing the Judiciary into serious disrepute. I guess this is simply a microcosm of what our society has become - shameless and lawless. This is the tale of two disgraceful examples of abuse of court process, which took place in the last couple of weeks. I am glad that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, has publicly taken exception to this unacceptable practice, and summoned the Chief Judges of the States whose Judges have been involved in this abuse of court process. Enough is enough!

In a nutshell, an abuse of court process is “the improper use of the judicial process by a party in litigation, aimed on targeting on interference with due administration of justice”. See the case of Allanah v Kpolokwu 2016 6 N.W.L.R. Part 1507 Page 1 at 27 per Sanusi JSC; Ogboru v Uduaghan 2013 13 N.W.L.R. Part 1370 Page 33 at 53 per Ogunbiyi JSC on the definition of abuse. One of the main forms of abuse of court process, is the institution of a multiplicity of actions with the same parties on the same subject-matter, a malaise which has unfortunately, become commonplace in Nigeria, especially in political cases. See also Ogoejeofo v Ogoejeofo 2006 3 N.W.L.R. Part 966 Page 205.

The Secondus Case I felt more than embarrassed, when I saw what happened recently in the PDP leadership tussle. It was more than sad to see that, after an order had been made by a Rivers State High Court preventing the Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, from parading himself as the Chairman of the Party having been suspended from the PDP at Ward level, an order which the whole of Nigeria was aware of because it concerned the leadership of the main opposition party, those who were not happy with that decision, still went ahead on a forum shopping spree to Kebbi State to obtain a counter-order restoring Prince Secondus to his position as Chairman of PDP (also irrespective of Kebbi's lack of territorial jurisdiction). Of course, as one of my friends, a Learned Senior Advocate pointed out to me, you see political machinations here - Kebbi State is an APC political stronghold, and therefore, was more than willing to cause more confusion in the ranks of the PDP, by granting a conflicting court order! Anyway , conspiracy theory or not, there is absolutely no excuse for this type of bad behaviour on the part of the Lawyers and judicial officers, whether in Kebbi State or anywhere else.

Last year, in the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole case, in which upon his suspension from his Ward and the institution of legal proceedings against him, the Federal High Court Abuja ordered that he stop parading himself as Chairman. It is a logical consequence. How can you be the Chairman of a Party that you are not a member of? Comrade's supporters immediately went forum shopping, and rushed to Kano to obtain a conflicting order which was favourable to him. The matter went up to the Court of Appeal, which upheld the judgement of Abuja Court. It is therefore, safe to say that the position of the law, unless it is upturned by the Supreme Court, is that, if an individual is properly suspended at Ward level, such a person is not a member of the Party for the duration of the suspension, and consequently, cannot hold any Party position.

In law, we have the Doctrine of Precedent; 'Stare Decisis' which simply means, "to stand by things decided". A matter has already been decided, in this case, by a superior court; it is an authority for the courts to follow, particularly the lower courts.

The subsequent case filed at the Kebbi State High Court which restored Prince Secondus as the PDP Chairman, is an abuse of court process, because firstly, it is a duplication of an action already decided upon by a court of concurrent jurisdiction, and should have gone on appeal if there was any dissatisfaction with the decision; and secondly, the decision did not align with the judicial precedent already set by Comrade's case at the Court of Appeal. The Kebbi decision was ‘Per Incuriam’ - perverse, that is “a judgement which has been decided without reference to a statutory provision or earlier judgement which would have been relevant”. I submit that, Comrade’s case was definitely relevant to Prince Secondus’ case in this

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com onikepob@yahoo.com Twitter: @TheAdvocate

The

Advocate “It is therefore, safe to say that the position of the law, unless it is upturned by the Supreme Court, is that, if an individual is properly suspended at Ward level, such a person is not a member of the Party for the duration of the suspension, and consequently, cannot hold any Party position” regard - in fact, it seemed to be on all fours with it, and the Kebbi State High Court was wrong to have departed from the Court of Appeal’s decision, aside from abusing court process by even entertaining the matter.

The Lagos High Court Case There is a case pending at the Lagos High Court, which I am aware of. Having filed a matter, the Claimant obtained an order by way of motion ex-parte in one court. The matter was subsequently reassigned to another court because it was urgent, and the trial Judge in whose court the matter was pending, had travelled. The new Learned trial Judge, set aside and reversed the ex-parte order. Additionally, the Judge visited the locus in quo (the place where the cause of action arose; in this case, the subject-matter of the suit), and instructed that the status quo, in accordance with the reversal of the order, be maintained.

The Claimant's counsel then filed a notice of discontinuance of the matter.

The Claimant, within a few days of what he perceived to be an unfavourable ruling of the court, then went ahead to retain the services of a new Counsel, a Senior Advocate at that, who filed a new court process titled 'Ex-Parte Originating Application', a process that seems unknown to the Rules (with no proper originating process - writ of summons or pleadings), added the wife of the Claimant as a new party to the application to make it look like a fresh matter because a ‘new’ party

was included, and moved more or less the same ex-parte motion that had been vacated by the previous court.

Since this was not a publicly known matter like that of the PDP matter, I imagined that the Judge who heard the new application, was unaware of the previous proceedings that had taken place in the matter, and the subsisting order of his brother Judge. How wrong I was! To my utter shock and disgust, I discovered that the two orders from the previous courts, that is, the one granting the first ex-parte order and the second one vacating, it, were attached to the Ex-Parte Originating Application (I had the benefit of perusing the court processes), meaning that both the new counsel and the new Judge who granted yet another ex-parte order in favour of the Claimant, were very much aware of the order that was subsisting in the matter.

Furthermore, there was nothing urgent in the matter that required the use of a motion ex-parte, nor was there any res that would be destroyed if it was not granted; and this was crystal clear from the previous order granted, vacating the interim injunction. The Claimant was simply looking for a quick opportunity to evict the Respondent from the disputed property!

It is more than trite, that when a litigant is dissatisfied with a ruling or judgement of a court, the proper step to take is to go on appeal to a superior court, because a court cannot sit as an appellate court on the decision

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad

of a court of concurrent jurisdiction. Instead of filing an appeal against the court’s ruling vacating the ex-parte order at the Court of Appeal, or moving a motion on notice for the same injunctive orders, which should have been filed alongside the motion ex-parte in the previous court, the Claimant abused court process by bringing a fresh application titled ‘Ex-Parte Originating Application’ brought pursuant to Order 43 Rules 1 & 3 of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, asking for the same prayers that had been vacated by the previous court. I even wonder about the practice of vacation of ex-parte orders, when Order 43 Rule 3(3) states that an injunction granted on an ex-parte order abates after seven days, unless the order is extended (Order 43 Rule 3(4)). Anyway, again, the ex-parte order was ‘vacated’ by the new court on Friday.

The actions of the Claimant and his Counsel, were wrong on several other levels. Assuming that the Claimant had the right to file this new action (which he didn’t), the Pre-Action protocol that is required before commencing the action wasn’t followed. Order 5 of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019 provides only for either a Writ of Summons or Originating Summons, as the forms of commencement of an action. Therefore, any motion, whether ex-parte or on notice, cannot stand alone, but must be predicated upon the acceptable means of commencing an action, which in this case, would be a writ of summons, because it is a contentious matter that falls under the purview of Order 5 Rule 1(a)-(c) of the Civil Procedure Rules. No writ of summons seemed to have been filed at the time of moving the ex-parte originating application or at least, the Respondents were certainly not served with any writ of summons and statement of claim.

In case the Claimant did not file a writ of summons, or filed one but didn’t serve it on the Respondent, as the so-called ‘Preemptive Remedies Procedure’ (PEP) purportedly allows (a conclusion which I could not draw from a community reading of Orders 5 & 43 of the Civil Procedure Rules and the Practice Directions), here comes my argument against the use of the PEP. The procedure allows a Claimant to file originating processes alongside a motion ex-parte for an injunctive order accompanied by an affidavit of urgency and a motion on notice. Upon the determination of the motion ex-parte, the originating process is then served on the Respondent with the motion on notice for the same injunctive orders.

This is wrong. It is a clandestine, sneaky process which goes against the spirit of Section 36(1) of the Constitution (fair hearing). In this case, it was tantamount to deciding the substantive matter in favour of the Claimant without a hearing, based solely on the Claimant’s one-sided version of the story; asking a lawful occupant of a premises to vacate same, after the same court had previously restored the occupant to the premises having been unlawfully rendered homeless when the first motion ex-parte was granted.

I submit that, even if the PEP is not a faulty procedure, it was not applicable in this case, as there was no matter of urgency, nor anything that would cause irreparable damage warranting the grant of an ex-parte injunction. Judicial Officers must always use their discretion judiciously and judicially, in the interest of justice, and not flippantly.

Sanctions Accordingly, it is time that Lawyers and Judges who engage in this unwholesome practice, be sanctioned by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) respectively. Zero tolerance for abuse of court process, must be adopted. The Rules of Professional Conduct must be amended, to expressly prohibit forum shopping and the filing of multiplicity of actions, and prescribe specific punishments for engaging in same (ditto for the Code of Conduct guiding Judicial Officers). For now, for Lawyers, that kind of conduct amounts to infamous conduct under the Legal Practitioners Act, and they can receive punishment as severe as disbarment. Judges can also face dismissal by the NJC. This kind of behaviour not only causes confusion and paints our judicial system in a bad light to the world, portraying it as flaky, unjust, unreliable and corrupt; foreigners who are interested in investing in Nigeria will certainly be discouraged by a system in which they run a high risk of being treated unfairly and possibly lose their investments, should they become litigants. My dear colleagues, kindly share your views on the issue of abuse of court process, the unnecessary use of the motion ex-parte and the PEP. Thank you.

IV LAW REPORT

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 • T H I S D AY

Effect of Failure to Prove an Essential Ingredient of an Offence Facts The Appellant and four others at large, were arraigned before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on a nine-count charge of criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass, mischief, house breaking, forgery, impersonation and false information, contrary to Sections 97, 342, 327, 364, 366, 179 and 140 respectively.

It was the case of the Respondent, that the Appellant had forged certain documents and falsely represented himself to the Respondent as the Managing Director of a certain Zuma Steel West Africa Limited, and based on this false information, the Respondent had been misled to approve and provide security details to the Appellant.

The Appellant pleaded not guilty, to all the nine counts. The Respondent called four witnesses and at the conclusion of trial, the trial court discharged and acquitted the Appellant of all the nine Honourable Ibrahim Mohammed Musa Saulawa, JSC counts. Dissatisfied with the decision In the Supreme Court of Nigeria of the trial court, the Respondent apHolden at Abuja pealed to the Court of Appeal. After On Friday, the 19th day of February, 2021 hearing the appeal, the Court of Appeal concluded that the Respondent’s appeal Before Their Lordships was meritorious in part. The Court Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta of Appeal consequently affirmed the John Inyang Okoro Ibrahim Mohammed Musa Saulawa discharge and acquittal of the Appellant Adamu Jauro on counts 1 to 7 of the charges against Emmanuel Akomaje Agim him, and found him guilty of the ofJustices, Supreme Court fence of impersonation in count 8 and SC.896/2016 giving false information in count 9. The Appellant was therefore, sentenced to Between twelve months imprisonment on each of the two counts or payment of a fine of N100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand ENGR. MICHAEL OKIGBO EMEKA APPELLANT And Naira) on each of counts 8 and 9 of the Charge. Aggrieved, the Appellant INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE RESPONDENT appealed to the Supreme Court.

Issue for Determination In its resolution of the appeal, the Supreme Court considered the following sole issue submitted for determination by the Appellant: Whether having regard to the evidence adduced at the trial court, the Court of Appeal was correct to have partially set aside the judgement of the trial court by convicting the Appellant of counts 8 and 9 of the charges against him.

Arguments Counsel for the Appellant argued that there was no evidence beyond reasonable doubt in support of counts 8 and 9 of the charge against the Appellant, contrary to Section 179 of the Penal Code. He argued further that, none of the testimonies of the four witnesses called by the Respondent at trial established the guilt of the Appellant and supported his conviction on the two counts. Counsel submitted that the exhibits relied upon by the Court of Appeal, did not support its conclusion on the culpability of the

(Lead Judgement delivered by Honourable Ibrahim Mohammed Musa Saulawa, JSC)

Appellant on the counts. He relied on the decisions in GWANGAWAN v THE STATE (1998) 4 NWLR (PT. 547) 576 and ISIBOR v STATE (2002) 6 SCJN. Arguing in opposition, counsel for the Respondent submitted that the Court of Appeal critically evaluated the exhibits and was therefore, not in error in its conclusion based on the same. Counsel urged the Apex Court to affirm the decision of the Court of Appeal.

Court’s Judgement and Rationale Deciding the sole issue, the court held that the Prosecution, in proving an allegation of false personation under Section 179

“….. if on the whole evidence at the conclusion of trial, the court is left in a state of doubt, the Prosecution would have failed to discharge the onus of proof which the law lays upon it, and the Accused shall be entitled to an acquittal”

of the Penal Code, has the uphill task of proving beyond reasonable doubt that (i.) The accused falsely personated another; (ii.) That he made an admission, while in the character and name of that person; and (iii.) That the admission was made in a civil or criminal proceeding. The court held further that with regard to count 9 of the Charge of false information with intent to mislead a public servant contrary to Section 170 of the Penal Code, the Prosecution has the burden to prove that (i) The accused gave information with intent to mislead a public servant; (ii) He knew or had reason to believe that the information was false when giving same; and (iii) The accused intended to cause, or knew that the information was likely to cause the public servant to act on the false information.

Relying on Section 135(2) & (5) of the Evidence Act and its decisions in ILORI v THE STATE (1980) 8-11 SC 18, EMEKA v THE STATE (2011) 14 NWLR (Pt. 734) 668, the Apex Court held the Prosecution ought to prove each of the 9 counts of the charge against the Appellant beyond reasonable doubt in any of the following

manners: (i.) By the confessional statement of the accused person; (ii.) By direct evidence of an eye witness who must have witnessed the commission of the offence; or (iii) By circumstantial evidence thereby linking the accused person, and no other person, with the commission of the said offence.

The court held that the Court of Appeal failed to accord due regard to the Exhibit B1 and Exhibit B2/G, the special board resolution appointing the Appellant as Managing Director of the said Zuma Steel Africa Ltd and the letter of appointment shown by the Appellant as evidence of his appointment, and the fact that the Respondent failed to discharge the burden of proof on it to establish that the said documents were forged and were not genuine.

The court referred to the finding of the trial court, to the effect that throughout the evidence of the Respondent’s witnesses, no mention was made that the said documents were forged, and in the absence of evidence that the two documents, which were the main plank of the case were forged, all the allegations against the Appellant, including the allegation of impersonation and false information in counts 8 and 9 could not be sustained.

Their Lordships held that the finding of the trial court was credible, unassailable and duly supported by evidence on record; as such, there could not be any justification for the Court of Appeal to come to an entirely different conclusion.

The Court of Appeal failed to properly evaluate Exhibit D1, the Appellant’s letter to the Respondent requesting for security details, and if it had, it would have appreciated that even though the letter was dated 30/10/2007, before the Appellant assumed office as the Managing Director, it was delivered to the Respondent and received on 02/11/2007 which was clearly a couple of days after the issuance of Exhibits B1 and B2/G which empowered the Appellant to validly assume the position of the Managing Director of Zuma Steel West Africa Limited.

The court concluded, on the authority of its decision in FRANCIS OMOSEYE v THE STATE (2014) LPELR 22059 (SC), that if on the whole evidence at the conclusion of trial, the court is left in a state of doubt, the Prosecution would have failed to discharge the onus of proof which the law lays upon it, and the Accused shall be entitled to an acquittal. On this basis, the court held that the Appellant ought to be entitled to an acquittal, given the wanton failure of the Respondent to prove that he indeed, committed the offence which he was charged with under counts 8 and 9 of the Charge.

Appeal Allowed. Judgement of the trial court discharging and acquitting the Appellants of all counts restored Representation Mohammed Ndayako, Esq. for the Appellant.

Simon Lough Esq. for the Respondent.

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

V NEWS

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

L--R: Senior Associate, Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors, Mr Tochukwu Nwobodo; Partner at Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors, Mrs Ebelechukwu Enedah and Commissioner of Police, Training, Force Headquarters, Mr Abduyari Lafia at a webinar organised by the Attorney General Alliance Africa in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force...in Lagos and Abuja

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN

Lawyers Task Police on Human Rights Protection Steve Aya Legal and law enforcement experts, have urged the Police to respect human rights in their operations. They spoke during a two-day webinar organised by the Attorney General Alliance Africa (AGA Africa) in collaboration with the Nigeria Police.

The theme was: ‘Maintaining Public Safety and Ensuring Respect for Fundamental Human Rights’.

AGA Africa, in collaboration with its Partners, organises events aimed at sharing knowledge and experiences to develop and strengthen both the human and institutional capacity, required to combat transnational crimes.

Participants from various ranks of the Nigeria Police were present at the Golf View Hotel, Lagos and Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

Facilitators included the Commissioner of Police in Charge of Training at the Force Headquarters, Abduyari Lafia; a former Lagos Solicitor-General, Fola Authur-Worrey; and Chief of Intelligence, New York Police Department (NYPD) Thomas Galati.

Others were Executive Officer, Intelligence Bureau, NYPD; Intelligence Analystd, NYPD Intelligence Bureau, William Roberts and Manal Jamal; Senior Partner at Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors, Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Malawi, Mr Mwabi Kaluba.

A Partner at Punuka, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Enedah and Eric Otojahi, moderated the workshop.

Idigbe, who spoke on Moving from Crime Prosecution to Crime Detection and Prevention, began his presentation with a quote from August Vollmer, a Berkeley, California Police Chief in the 1920s: “The citizen expects Police Officers to have the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of David, the strength of Samson, the patience of Job, the leadership of Moses, the kindness of the Good Samaritan, the strategical training of Alexander, the faith of Daniel, the diplomacy of Lincoln, the tolerance of the Carpenter of Nazareth, and, finally, an intimate knowledge of every branch of the natural, biological, and social sciences.

If he had all these, he might be a good Policeman!”

The SAN said the Police must comply with the law, and is expected to collaborate with other agencies to take any necessary action and provide the required assistance or support to persons in distress, including victims of road accidents, fire disasters, earthquakes and floods.

He said to have a successful prosecution and conviction, there is need for proper investigation and criminal prosecution procedure.

“Police investigation in Nigeria should follow the process provided under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015”, he said.

The Police, he said, should be modernised to create room for use of 21st century resources in the performance of their duties.

“The importance of the use of technology in policing, can never be underestimated. Twenty-first century crimes involve complex methods, which can only be detected using technology.

“There should be clarity on the roles of the various components of policing. For instance, the use of neighbourhood watch, undercover, electronic surveillance, tracing to detect and prevent financial, public corruption and drug crimes, should be encouraged.

“There should be cooperation and coordination amongst the various stakeholders such as schools, private sector, Police, courts, prosecutors, defence counsel, Lawyers, in detecting and preventing crimes.

AGA Africa Board member, Mr Markus Green, noted that the Police act as gate keepers, and are the first point of contact in the criminal justice system; thus, the laws are to be rightly followed and individuals are to be treated with dignity and respect.

Lafia, who represented the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, noted that, during the pandemic, the Force noticed that there was an increase in the cases of rape, and decrease in the number of other violent crimes.

“An untrained Police Officer is an unequipped Police Officer.

An unequipped officer would turn out to be harmful to himself,

and a disaster to the citizens whom he is charged with the responsibility of protecting”, Lafia said.

About the Police and civil protest, he said: “This is the departing point between a democratic State and a dictatorial system. Thus, any attempt to take away people’s right to peacefully express their opinion in form of civil protest, automatically removes the glitter of what makes democracy beautiful.

“Civil Protests can be said to be an organised group against government actions or inactions, and in some instances, employer policies often by trade union activities.

This protest usually involves minimal or large numbers of people, who come together to express dissatisfaction.

“The effective management of a civil protest entails the consideration of controlling expected and unexpected crowds

in an orderly manner, without running afoul of the law.

“The ability of the Police to effectively manage a civil protest, is dependent on the protesting groups, ensuring that they express their grievances in an orderly manner. Thus, the Police must abide by Chapter 4 of the Constitution and Sections 33-44 of the Constitution, in relation to civil protest”, he said.

Arthur-Worrey said maintenance of public order, while

respecting the human rights of citizens, is the constitutional mandate of every Police Officer.

He said while making arrest, the Police must not ignore fundamental rights, because any action that flows from such an arrest would be a nullity.

“Every Police officer is bound to protect rights and freedom in Nigeria, as provided for under the Constitution and in the African Charter of Human rights”, he said.

Osinbajo Stresses Need for Sensitisation on African Court’s Role on Human Rights Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has stressed the need for Africa Union member-States to be sensitised on the role of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights.

Osinbajo spoke on Friday at a meeting with Judhes of the African Court led by the Court President, Lady Justice Imani Daud Aboud, at the Arusha, Tanzania office of the AU Judicial Agency. VP Osinbajo declared that one of the critical issues about the Court, was the urgent need for sensitisation among the African countries.

He said: “One of the critical issues, is more sensitisation among Member-States of the African Union. I think that more countries would be more

willing (to identify as required with the Court). I think that Governments just require more assurance especially on the issue of complementarity”.

Expressing strong faith in the work of the Court, the Vice President said: “I believe very strongly in the International and Regional Court system, especially with respect to the protection of human rights”.

While noting the challenges faced by the Court, Osinbajo said, “there will always be tensions and challenges, because States will always be mindful of their sovereignty”.

He commended the achievements of the Court, in spite of many challenges: “I really must commend you for the work you are doing, and landmark rulings of the

court. Many have followed your work, especially when cases are about protection of the rights of women and freedom of information, and I think there is consensus that the Court’s handling of these cases has generally pointed in the right direction”.

The Vice President then observed that International and Regional Courts of Justice and their rulings will also become increasingly important in the years to come, as consensus grows around the fundamental importance of protection of individual and collective rights.

Also speaking, Justice Imani informed the Vice President that one of the big challenges the Court faces, is that more African States are yet to ratify the Protocol and make the

Declaration under Article 34(6). She however, said that the Court was doing its best in the circumstance, and the 62nd Session of the Court would be starting next week to deliberate on cases before it.

Judges of the Court had two years ago, in May 2019, visited VP Osinbajo at the State House, Abuja.

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights is a continental court established by Member States of the African Union, by virtue of Article 1 of the Protocol to the Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which came into operation in November 2006, seeking to enhance the protection of human and peoples’ rights on the continent.

Ortom Slams N60 billion Lawsuit Against Akume for Defamation Steve Aya

The war of words between the former Governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume, and the present Governor, Samuel Ortom, on Friday took a legal turn as Governor Samuel Ortom filed a lawsuit seeking the payment of N60 billion from the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator George Akume for defamation.

The suit which marked No. MHC/268/2021, was

filed on behalf of the Governor by Okon N. Efut, SAN, and four other Lawyers at the Makurdi High Court.

In the suit, Ortom is demanding a N50 billion payment as general damages, as well as additional N10 billion as exemplary and aggravated damages from Akume.

This is coming after Akume had accused Ortom of disrespecting the President Muhammadu Buhari. The Minister had also alleged that, Ortom was

involved in some corruption activities.

Akume who addressed a press conference in Abuja, on Monday, accused the Governor of “corruption, ineptitude and disrespect to the President”.

The Minister also alleged that Ortom allocated N800 million monthly to himself as security vote, a claim the Governor had since denied, describing it as as “unfortunate and amounts to a betrayal, back-stabbing, double-crossing, selling out

of Benue people, treachery, greed, unfaithfulness and falsehood”.

In another move, the Governor has filed a lawsuit seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant by himself or through any agent, servants or privies from similar or further publication of any defamatory statement against him.

Meanwhile, as of press time, the court had not fixed a date for the hearing of the case.

VI

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 • T H I S D AY

Introduction

H

umanity began to witness the anti-social behaviour of rape, from time immemorial. The act of rape, which virtually all societies in the world regard as criminal, is an aggravated form of sexual assault that involves the nonconsensual sexual intercourse, traditionally by a man with a girl or a woman.

This is the general conception of the offence of rape, as the old school of thought believes that the act of rape can only be committed by a man. In modern times, advanced legal systems have recognised the necessity of neutralising the gender of rape, in the fair sense that a man can also be raped by a woman, and a boy or man raped by another man.

The concept of marital rape itself, initially came to serve as an exception to the offence of rape, because it has been a widely accepted notion that a wife cannot be raped by her husband.

This is due to the fact that many traditions and cultures in the world do not recognise the actuality of marital rape, because they believe that a woman is a legitimate property of her husband, and as such, by marriage, a woman has given an unrestricted and automatic consent to every sexual intercourse that her husband has with her. Contrary to this conservative belief, statistics have shown that over 40% of married women in the world, are victims of marital rape.

As such, radical human rights activists in the last three decades, have been crusading for the criminalisation of marital rape. Undoubtedly, the trend of the criminalisation of marital rape in many jurisdictions in the world, is swiftly gaining a momentous ground. The kernel of this paper, is premised on the examination of the current position of law on marital rape in Nigeria.

Concept of Rape Unequivocally, every reasonable human being agrees that rape is a horrible crime that inflicts severe physical, traumatic, emotional and psychological harm on its victims.[1] Rape is a criminal offence, that is punishable with life imprisonment in Nigeria. This criminal offence is provided for in Sections 357 and 282 of the Criminal and Penal Codes, respectively. Section 357 of the Criminal Code provides that: “Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear or harm, or by means of false or fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act, or in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband, is guilty of rape”.

Importantly however, Section 6 of the Criminal Code clarifies that: When the term “carnal knowledge” or “carnal connection” is used in defining an offence, it is implied that the offence, so far as regards that element of it, is complete upon penetration.

“Unlawful carnal knowledge”, means carnal connection which takes place otherwise than between husband and wife.

This provision clearly asseverates that, as a general rule, a husband cannot be guilty of raping his wife. It is however, important to note that, the slightest touch of the female labia minora by the penis is sufficient ingredient to prove that the offence of rape has been committed.[2] The kernel of the offence of rape, is penetration.[3] Concept of Marital Rape Black’s Law Dictionary defines ‘Marital Rape’ as “a husband’s sexual intercourse with his wife by force or without her consent”.[4] This definition of Marital Rape, from a critical outlook, seems defective, because it retains the antediluvian notion that only women can be raped. Contemporary laws have acceded to the fact that men can be raped. Thus, an appropriate and more elaborate definition of Marital Rape has been provided in Section 262 of California Penal Code: “Rape of a person who is the spouse of the perpetrator, is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished under any of the following circumstances: Where it is accomplished against a person’s

Marital Rape: An Examination of the Current Position of Law in Nigeria In this article, Adeniyi Israel Adekunle discusses the position of law as regards marital rape in Nigeria, dissecting it in line with our penal laws. He concludes that the various Nigerian laws do not recognise rape between spouses, apart from the Penal Code which criminalises marital rape, if the wife has not attained the age of puberty. He advocates that Nigeria should emulate the growing global trend, and take steps to criminalise marital rape, which from reports of domestic abuse, seems to be on the rise will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the person or another; Where a person is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating or anaesthetic substance, or any controlled substance, and this condition was known, or reasonably should have been known, by the accused; Where a person is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act, and this is known to the accused…; Where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person, and there is reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the threat…; Where the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by threatening to use the authority of a public official to incarcerate, arrest, or deport the victim or another, and the victim has a reasonable belief that the perpetrator is a public official….”[5] This statutory definition is not only commendably elaborate, but also sufficiently encompasses exhaustive grounds for scenarios that can constitute marital rape, while also avoiding pegging rape acts on the male gender only. In other words, marital rape is any sexual act committed by a spouse on the other partner without the partner’s express consent, or where such consent is obtained by force or threat.

Marital Rape in Nigeria Prima facie, the concept of marital rape, which is also known as spousal rape, is one that is alien in Nigeria. The Nigerian criminal justice, has clearly ostracised the concept of marital rape. The examination

“….. statistics have shown that over 40% of married women in the world, are victims of marital rape. As such, radical human rights activists…..have been crusading for the criminalisation of marital rape”

of the position of law as regard marital rape in Nigeria, will be dissected in line with the penal laws, as examined below.

Criminal Code A careful examination of the afore-stated provision of Section 6 of the Criminal Code, which interprets the meaning of ‘unlawful carnal knowledge’ as provided in Section 357 of the same code, clearly shows that as a general rule, a rape cannot be committed by a husband against his wife. This is because Section 6 of Criminal Code has defined an unlawful carnal knowledge, as one that has taken place between a man and a woman/girl who are not husband and wife. Under the criminal code, marital rape has been clearly made lawful, and as such, a man cannot be said to have raped his wife under any circumstance.

Penal Code Without much ado, the provisions of Section 282(2) of the Penal Code clearly provides that: “Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife is not rape, if she has attained puberty”. Simpliciter, the Penal Code, by virtue of this provision, has explicitly and conditionally created the marital exemption to the offence of rape. By implication, as a general rule, a man cannot be said to have raped his wife under the Penal Code.

However, a qualifying clause has been attached to this volatile subsection which states that: only “if she has not attained puberty”.

This lucidly implies that a husband will be guilty of raping his wife, only if he has a nonconsensual intercourse with such wife who has not attained puberty. Without much verbosity, the Penal Code has recognised the concept of marital rape, although marital rape enjoys the entertainment of the force of law only if the victim of such marital rape is a wife who has not attained puberty.

Sharia Penal Code Under the Sharia Penal Code, which is more of a regional legislation that has been domesticated by some Islam-dominated States such as Bauchi, Kebbi, Jigawa, Yobe, Borno, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kano, the concept of marital rape has been undoubtedly exiled into oblivion. For instance, by virtue of Section 128(2) of the Sharia Penal Code Law, “Sexual intercourse by a man with his wife is not rape”. This provision has clearly snubbed the concept of marital rape, and

has also strongly created a marital exception to the offence of rape under that law.

Marital Rape from a Religious Point of View Under the Islamic religion, it is generally construed that a wife cannot refuse to have sexual intercourse with her husband.[6] In fact, it is supported in one of the Hadith, that a woman who refuses to have sexual intercourse with her husband upon request by her husband is deemed to be cursed by all the angels of Allah during the period of such refusal.[7] Apparently, Islam does not recognise the concept of marital rape.

Similarly, in Christianity, it is predominantly believed, even as contained in the holy scripture, that the wife does not have authority over her own body, as her body belongs to her husband.[8] This biblical injunction, insinuates that a wife is not expected to deny her husband the pleasure of her own body. By necessary implication, the concept of marital rape is neither recognised nor reproved, in the Christian religious injunctions.

Conclusion Conclusively, our penal laws have not regarded and criminalised a nonconsensual sexual intercourse by a husband against his wife as rape.

Also, from the foregoing, it is clearly constructed from the purviews of the above cited penal legislations, that the current position of law in Nigeria is that a man cannot be guilty of committing the crime of rape against his wife.

Reiteratively, the current position of the law in Nigeria, does not recognise the concept of marital rape. It is however, suggested that in light of the growing and disturbing statistics of domestic violence and sparsely reported cases of marital rape in Nigeria, a rethink should be given by the Nigerian lawmakers on the criminalisation of marital rape in Nigeria. This recommendation is apposite, in line with the current international trend of the criminalisation of marital rape. For instance, other jurisdictions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, South Korea, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Malawi, have necessarily criminalised marital rape.[9] Without religious blindfolds, the concept of marital rape is one that enjoys constitutional vindication, pursuant to the provision of Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides for the right to dignity of human persons. Nigeria is counselled to make a legislative pathway that makes marital rape to be a crime, in light of the necessitating circumstances in the country.

Adeniyi Israel Adekunle

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Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad

Rash of Conflicting Court Orders Nigeria’s Judiciary is Far from Being Independent Joseph Otteh shares the concerns of Access to Justice, not just about courts of coordinate jurisdiction issuing conflicting court orders, especially in political cases, but about the Chief Justice of Nigeria summoning the Chief Judges of the States, some of whose Judges have been involved in this condemnable and unwholesome practice, as opposed to summoning the erring Judges themselves

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n the last couple of days, courts of coordinate jurisdiction, have, in a number of political cases, been issuing a number of conflicting and counteracting interim orders, directing political party officers either to vacate, or resume office and also ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise one political aspirant or the other as a party’s flag-bearer for forthcoming elections.

Most of the courts issuing these interim orders are quite remote, geographically, to the places where the disputes arose.

There are therefore, reasonable prospects of an escalation in the incidence of courts making cross-orders among themselves over political disputes, and interfering with the integrity of the electoral process. This is of serious concern to Nigeria’s democracy.

As a background, the Nigerian Judiciary has had a remarkably disreputable history, with making orders that destabilise political processes and outcomes, and causing major upheavals.

In response to these developments, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, has summoned the Chief Judges of six States (Rivers, Kebbi, Cross River, Anambra, Jigawa and Imo States) as, according to the CJN’s media

aide Aharuka Isah: “a prelude to the broader probe by the NJC, to explain what warranted issuance of conflicting orders by courts of coordinate jurisdiction in their domains”.

Access to Justice’s Concerns Access to Justice is pleased to note that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (“CJN”) has taken proactive steps to address an insidious and portentous threat to constitutional democracy, and has not followed a laid-back and reactive complaint system favoured by the National Judicial Council’s disciplinary system before interrogating the actions of the implicated Judges who have made the conflicting orders.

However, Access to Justice is concerned that the CJN would summon Chief Judges of States, over actions performed by individual Judges of their respective courts. This is because the Judiciary is an independent branch of Government, and Judges too, are decisionally independent of one another, and are not accountable to their Chief Judges for decisions they give, or orders they make. To summon Chief Judges over the actions of individual Judges of their courts infringes on the concept of judicial independence and

“To summon Chief Judges over the actions of individual Judges of their courts infringes on the concept of judicial independence and autonomy, and promotes the false notion that Judges are individually accountable to the Chief Judges…..”

autonomy, and promotes the false notion that Judges are individually accountable to the Chief Judges; it would also foster the idea that Chief Judges can make broad policies on ways cases should be decided, or orders which Judges can give in certain cases, on the ground that the Chief Judge would be held to account if individual Judges do not live up to particular standards. The CJN as Chairman of the National Judicial Council – not as Chief Justice of Nigeria – may interrogate the question whether orders made by specific Judges satisfy the judicial standards and criteria required before such orders are made, but that inquiry must occur with the affected

Judges themselves.

It is unfortunate that Nigeria’s Judiciary, after several years of trying to straighten itself out, and in spite of its dishonourable history with using the judicial platform to engage in proxy political warfare, is still grappling with the same issues in 2021, even well before the 2023 transitional elections get underway. This is further evidence that all is not well with the Judiciary, notwithstanding efforts to whitewash its image; and that it will require far more efforts and greater commitment, to truly transform it into a dependable institution and vehicle of justice in Nigeria.

Joseph Otteh, Executive Director of Access to Justice

NBA-SPIDEL Set to Hold Webinar on Contradictory Ex-Parte Orders The Section of Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) of the Nigerian Bar Association, has concluded plans to hold a webinar on the worrisome spate of confusing and contradictory court orders which have become common in the polity, in recent times.

In a statement by the SPIDEL Chairman, Monday Ubani said: “The purpose of the discourse is to examine the resurgence of this often absurd orders, especially as they are usually obtained outside the territorial jurisdiction of the legal matters in question.

“Are there legal and political implications, including consequences for such bizarre happenings, that

is beginning to form the norm in our legal and political process as a nation?

“What of the legal practitioners who file these processes, with the knowledge of territorial jurisdiction and fundamental fair hearing which ex-parte orders deny to the other parties? Have they not breached our professional ethics?

“If both Bench and Bar are culpable, what are the prescribed and statutory penal measures available?

“These and more, shall form the fulcrum of the webinar”, he said.

The webinar will hold on the 14th of September, 2021 at 4pm, and will be moderated by Professor Paul Ananaba, SAN.

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Sulaiman Usman, SAN

‘Sokoto Criminal Justice System, is Speedy and Responsive’ Sokoto State is one of the largest States in Nigeria, by virtue of its land mass. Its vastness and being a border State, presents it s own peculiar challenges, especially in the area of justice administration. The recent upsurge in banditry and trans-border crimes, hasn’t helped matters. Last weekend, in an interesting encounter with the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Sokoto State, Sulaiman Usman, SAN, the learned Senior Advocate spoke to Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi on the achievements of his Ministry during his tenure, including the innovations inserted in the Sokoto State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019, and how he handles justice administration in a State that operates a dual system of criminal law, while he bore his mind on what has become a vexed issue in Nigeria, that is, the issue of open grazing. He also stated that serving as an AttorneyGeneral under a ‘Lawyer-Governor’ is not a tea party, as a display of high skills and intelligence are imperative

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earned Silk, it baffles many that with the vastness of Sokoto State, it only has one Division of the High Court. How are you able to manage cases throughout the State? Or is it that the rate of formal litigation in Sokoto is low? If so, what other dispute resolution mechanisms are available for litigants?

Divisions of the High Courts and indeed, any other court, are created for administrative convenience and to

bring justice closer to the people.

Return of cases is also a factor in creating Divisions. Sokoto State has always had Divisions of the High Court right from 1976 when it was created out of the then Northwestern State, which comprised of the present Niger State and some parts of Kwara State. Before the creation of Kebbi State, we had Sokoto, Zuru, Yauri Birnin Kebbi, Mafara and Gusau Divisions. After creation of Kebbi we retained Sokoto, Mafara and Gusau Divisions, and when Zamfara State

“Under the 1999 Constitution, like its predecessor the 1979 Constitution, the Sharia Court of Appeal is still limited to jurisdiction in matters of Islamic personal law relating to Wakf, Gift, Marriage, Inheritance, Custody of Children etc”

was created in 1996, we were left with the Sokoto Division only. Isa, Gwadabawa and Tambuwal Divisions were created in 2003, and the Divisions started working with temporary court rooms and facilities then. The Administration of Attahiru Bafarawa awarded contracts for the construction of the High Court Division in Isa, Gwadabawa and Tambuwal, but the projects were later abandoned.

However, the present administration of Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has awarded contracts for the completion and remodelling of the three Divisions, and they are near in completion. The rate of litigation in Sokoto is not low but, it is not high; but currently, because of increase in population and business activities, we have seen an upsurge in litigations in the State.

What are your views on how Sharia Law is being implemented in the Sharia States vis-a-vis

Sections 262 and 277 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, which set out the jurisdiction of the Sharia Court which does not extend to criminal jurisdiction?

Yes, Sharia Law has been administered and implemented in Sokoto, since the inception of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1804. Colonial rule introduced the main body of English law in Nigeria 1867, after the treaty of cessation was made in Lagos. In the places where the indirect rule was introduced by the British, the Sharia which was then regarded as part of the Customary Law was allowed to continue, though subjected to a system of superimposed court as an appellate court to review decision of Native and Provincial court.

Under the 1999 Constitution, like its predecessor the 1979 Constitution, the Sharia Court of Appeal is still limited to jurisdiction in matters of Islamic personal law relating to Wakf, Gift, Marriage, Inheritance, Custody of Children etc.

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‘Sokoto Criminal Justice System, is Speedy and Responsive’ One Ismail Isah was recently arrested for Blasphemy in Sokoto, and his arrest attracted wide protests.

The international community have expressed concerns over the fairness of his trial. Under which law will he be tried? Aside from the fact that Sokoto has a partial implementation of Sharia Law, the Holy Quran does not prescribe death for Blasphemy, nor does the Sharia Court have the jurisdiction to try the case. Kindly, share your views on this matter The Sharia Penal Code Law is part of the dual criminal justice system that operates in Sokoto State, and 11 other States in Norther Nigeria. It has comprehensive provisions to deal with the case. The Sharia Court allows legal representation and will grant fair hearing to the accused, and there is a right of appeal up to the Supreme Court.

The problem with civil and criminal appeals from the Sharia Court of Appeal since the decision of Sharia Court of Appeal in Kanawa v Maikasit , Bashir Gidan Kanawa v Alhaji Sani Maikaset (2007) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1042) 283 where Section 17 of the Sokoto State Sharia Court Law 2000 was declared null and void for being inconsistent with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. It is the High Court now that can hear appeals from the Upper Sharia Court of Appeal on criminal matters and Civil Matters, other than those of Islamic personal law.

Insurgency has had a negative impact on criminal justice administration in most Northern States. What has been the experience in Sokoto where there have been recent incursions by these criminals in recent times?

Scores have been killed, including some vigilantes and village heads.

Our experience indicates that, bandits have recruited informants from the population that give them information about the movement of troops, and all measures taken to stop their rampage.

In Sokoto State strategies have been developed to put a stop to aiding and abetting banditry, armed robbery and other terrorist activities.

Experience has shown that Attorneys-General serving under Governors who are Lawyers, find it challenging. This is because the Governor usually knows the law, so the quality of legal advice the A-G has to give, must be highly exceptional.

Kindly, share your experience under His Excellency, Governor Aminu Tambuwal with us.

It is an axiomatic fact that AttorneysGeneral serving under Governors who are Lawyers find it challenging, because the quality of legal advice and every thing you do must be standard. You must display high skills and diligence.

In my case my Governor is not just a Lawyer, but someone who practiced from the beginning of his membership of the honourable profession till he became a Member of the House of Representatives in 2004. During his stint in the National Assembly, he was Minority Leader, Deputy Chief Whip

Sulaiman Usman, SAN

and ultimately, Rt. Hon. Speaker.

He brought to the Governorship, tremendous, knowledge wisdom and remarkable experience, so being Attorney-General under such a great and versatile Lawyer who is also a Life Bencher and a distinguished Bar Leader has not been easy.

Happily, however, he is someone I know very well and with I have related closely with since the time when I was a diploma Law Student at College of Legal Studies Sokoto in 1991. He was at my Call to Bar ceremony in October 2000, and I did my National Youth Service under his watch and supervision. He has impacted on my life positively, and related with me more like a brother in the last 30 years Kindly give us an insight into the jurisprudence of the Sokoto State Criminal Justice Administration Law (2019). What are the major innovations?

The major innovations of Sokoto State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019 as against ACJA 2015 administration are contained in the following sections; 1. Section 7(2) of the Sokoto State ACJL which is equivalent to Section 6(2)(b) ACJA 2015. We made some addition by adding the phrase “Shall be given access to the Legal Practitioner so chosen”, unlike

“Sokoto State supports a shift from open grazing to ranching, in line with current realities”

ACJA 2015 under which the accused is given only right to consultation without emphasis of the right to access to a legal practitioner so chosen. The rationale of adding the phrase, is to bring the provision into conformity with the provision of Constitution on the accused’s right to have access to Legal Practitioner.

2. The Proviso to Section 7 of the Sokoto State ACJL equivalent to Section 6 of the ACJA. In this area, we have added the phrase “By usual means of communication” because Section 6 of the ACJA does not provide by what means the notification to the next of kin or relative(s) of the suspect shall be effected. By this added phrase, the next of kin or relative of the suspect can be notified through verbal message, text message or letter in writing.

3. Section 8 of the Sokoto State ACJL equivalent to Section 7 ACJA. Sub-section 8(2) is a new sub-section that has no equivalent provision in Section 7 of ACJA which only prohibited arrest in lieu, without necessary sanction against a noncomplying officer. Section 8(2) of the ACJL makes non-compliance with sub (1) of the Section 8 as misconduct, and added that it shall be dealt with in accordance with relevant Police regulation under the Police Act, or any other disciplinary procedure prescribed by any provision regulating the conduct of the officer of the agency or establishment.

4. Section 9(5)(a) (b) of the Sokoto State ACJL. This is a new innovation, because there is no equivalent provision in Section 9 of the ACJA 2015. The Sub-section seeks

to interpret the meaning of arraignment and the requirement of valid arraignment.

This settles the controversy, as to when can accused person be said to have been validly arraigned before the court.

5. Section 10 of the Sokoto State ACJL equivalent to Section 9 of ACJA 2015. We have arranged the sub-sections, so that the provisions of the sub-sections will follow each other in their logical sequences. Sub-sections (3) of Section 9 of ACJA 2015 is now Subsection (2) of the Sokoto State ACJL. The reason for the rearrangement is that, searching a suspect will logically follow his arrest, and not after he was granted bail as styled by ACJA 2015. Sub-section (4) of Section 9 of ACJA is deleted in Section 10 of the Sokoto State ACJL, because the intendment of sub-section (4) of ACJA 2015 is captured by the provision of sub-section (1) (b) of Section 10 of the Sokoto State ACJL. 6. Section 16(1) (d) (iv) of the Sokoto State ACJL equivalent to Section 15(1) (d) (iv) ACJA 2015.

We added in such other means of identification of the suspect “to include fibres, biometrics, DNA among others”.

This addition is made in anticipation of technological advancement, because fibres, biometrics, DNA are also other means of science by which a suspect can be scientifically identified, without having recourse to physical evidence through a forensic analysis 7. Section 195 of the Sokoto State ACJL equivalent to Section 196 ACJA (2). We have added the phrase “and such other means of identification that are practicable” to extend the means the Defendant can be identified, in addition to the photograph and fingerprints cont'd on page X

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‘Sokoto Criminal Justice System, is Speedy and Responsive’ cont'd from page IX

impression which appear to be restrictive.

By the added phrase, other means of identifying the Defendant can be resorted to and filed along with the charge as an alternative to photograph and fingerprint impression which may not be available.

8. Section 36(1)(b) (Same in the both the Sokoto State ACJL and ACJA). The provision under the ACJA is “contain all necessary particulars”. The Sokoto State ACJL went on to elaborate.

In the sub-paragraph (b) of Section 36, we added the following phrase “Such as the name of the person to be arrested, the nature of the offence he is suspected to have committed, the period within which the warrant will be executed”.

The phrase is intended to provide what constitutes particulars of a warrant, and to restrict its period of execution. By the added phrase, the Defendant will be privileged to ascertain the nature of the offence alleged against him, whether it is his name that is written on the warrant, and the period within which the warrant is to be executed.

9. Section 94 of the Sokoto State ACJL/ACJA (same in both laws). In the Section, the following was added “Air, land or Cyberspace:”. We observed that equivalent provision in ACJA 2015 has not covered land, Air and Cyberspace, thereby, making the provision narrow in items of territorial jurisdiction. Hence, it was felt that since offences can now be committed in cyberspace, there is need to have an express provision that deals with them.

10. Section 104 of the Sokoto State AJCL/ACJA. (same in both laws).

ACJA 2015 in its originality, recognises only information as the means of initiating criminal proceedings in the High Court.

In our ACJL, the word “Charge” was added as an alternative to information, so that either of the two can be used to initiate criminal proceeding. However, where either of the two is used to initiate criminal proceedings, the format as contained in the schedule attached to the Law must be complied with.

11. Section 305 of the Sokoto State ACJL equivalent to Section 306 ACJA. This Section creates an innovation that is not contained in Section 306 of ACJA. In the form of an exception to the general rule, that there can be no stay of proceedings in criminal trials. The exception is to the effect that, where the matter has been referred to the Court of Appeal as a case stated which touches on the jurisdiction of a trial court, it is more reasonable to stay proceedings until the issue of jurisdiction is determined. This is since, a judgement no matter how well it is decided, will amount to nullity where it is decided without jurisdiction.

Sokoto State is on record to have the stiffest law in rape and child abandonment, yet these crimes continue to soar. How have you dealt with this?

Sulaiman Usman, SAN

Crime is the product of society, no matter the level sophistication.

We have been trying a lot to combat crime, yet, there appears to be an upsurge. I think the increase in population, and the reporting mechanism that we adopted ensuring proper documentation may be some of the reason. Especially given the fact that Sokoto State is a Spotlight State, with several GBV response teams that are very active. We also have a very responsive criminal justice system, that ensures speedy prosecution and speedy trial of cases up to Court of Appeal. Even at the Supreme Court, our Criminal Appeals are determined on the average within two to three years maximum. We will continue to enforce laws vigorously; and speedy and recent data has shown that the curve is bending downward.

Speak to us on the issue of widespread incidents of girl-child marriages, where we hear of children as young as 12 – 15 years being married off to older men. What is the position of your law and the attitude of the Government

“Conflicting court orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction, is a recipe for anarchy and loss of confidence in the justice system. It is an embarrassment to the Judiciary, and pollutes the system of justice”

on this worrisome issue?

I do not know that we have widespread girl-child marriages. Some of the data you get is neither clear nor validated. The average age of marriage in Sokoto, is 18 -19 years.

What is Sokoto State’s stand on open grazing? What ways can you suggest to end the Farmer/ Herder crisis?

Sokoto State supports a shift from open grazing to ranching, in line with current realities. But, I must say that the open grazing that takes place in Sokoto State is seasonal, after harvest; with minor incidents in few areas, because of the difference in time of harvesting crops due to climatic factors.

We need to adopt a mixed grill of measures, from advocacy and reorientation to make our herders realise the need adapt to changing times, demarcations of grazing routes and preservation of grazing reserves.

The Agricultural Research Institute must develop animal feeds, and we must also expand irrigation farming to make farming a year-round activity, thereby producing enough feeds that are cheaper for our animals, and thereby, discouraging trans-human movement.

Honourable Attorney-General, are you a proponent of amnesty for Boko Haram insurgents and Bandits? Kindly, give reasons for your response.

I support both kinetic and nonkinetic means of combating banditry, insurgency and terrorism.

What are your views on the payment of ransoms to kidnappers?

Payment of ransom should be discouraged. Our security agencies should be equipped to develop skills and strategies of tracing and disarming kidnappers, and freeing their captives unhurt.

The issue of courts of concurrent jurisdiction giving conflicting court orders is becoming a big problem in our judicial system, especially when it comes to political cases. What can be done to stem this tide?

Conflicting court orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction, is a recipe for anarchy and loss of confidence in the justice system. It is an embarrassment to the Judiciary, and pollutes the system of justice. The #EndSARS process should be a lesson for the legal profession, in respect of the ripple effect of loss of confidence in the system. We must now amend our laws, and restrict jurisdiction of courts to the local limits of their judicial divisions where the cause of action arose. This is one way we can eliminate forum shopping opportunities in our laws. We also need to draw from contractual practice, especially in arbitration agreements, by inserting choice of jurisdiction clauses in the constitutions of political parties in the event of dispute, difference, or controversies between members. The Rules of Professional Conduct for legal practitioners needs to be equally amended, to make it a misconduct for any Lawyer who engages in forum shopping and multiplicity of court actions arising from the same facts and transactions. We also need to embark on law firm regulation.

Thank you Honourable AttorneyGeneral.

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Introduction

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n August 04 2021, Daily Trust reported that a house wife poured hot water on her husband and injured many parts of his body. This was as a result of some quarrels that had that led to the incident. The Housewife narrated how she was forced into the marriage by her parents, even when she resisted their decision because she didn’t like the man she was told to marry.

Forced marriage is not just peculiar to Nigeria, but, it happens in other countries too. In some quarters, it is seen as a normal way of life, as parents think they are doing their children good by insisting they marry a particular man against their will.

Some parents say it is because they have the best interest of their child, hence, when a prospective suitor comes asking for their child’s hand in marriage, there is absolutely nothing wrong forcing such a good suitor on to their child, even if she resists their decision to marry such suitor. Can we say a parent(s) has/have the best interest of their children when they force them into marriage? Is forced marriage different from arranged marriage? We shall examine these.

What is Forced Marriage?

This is a situation when one is pressured into a marriage, absent of free will. It is a situation when one consents to a marriage that they will not have consented to, if the pressure was not present. The pressure can come in form of physical threats, financial or psychological threats, that is, making you emotionally guilty for bringing shame to the family or dishonouring your parents, if you insist on your choice. Under the Marriage Act in Nigeria, consent is an important factor in marriage, and a marriage can be void in the absence of consent.

How is Forced Marriage Different from Arranged Marriage?

Both types of marriage are very common today, and what distinguishes both is consent. In forced marriage, the child is under pressure to consent, while in arranged marriage, consent comes freely from the children. In arranged marriage, the parents are involved in selecting partners, for example, a business associate, family friend, childhood friend and bringing him/her to the awareness of the child.

It is up to the child to decide if they will consent marrying such a partner or not. There is absence of pressure

Forced Marriage in Nigeria This article by Success Oghosa Osaretin discusses forced and arranged marriages, explaining the difference between the two types of marriage, consent being a major distinguishing factor. While not approving of either type of marriage on the ground that being able to choose one’s marriage partner is a fundamental right, she condemns forced marriages, showing that they are null and void ab initio by virtue of laws like the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act and the Matrimonial Causes Act of any kind, in arranged marriage. unlawful. The Constitution of Nigeria clearly provides for the What is the Position of the Law Right to Personal Liberty, Dignity in Forced Marriage? of the Human Person, Right to It must be noted that, forced mar- Freedom of Thoughts, Conscience riage is a form of abuse against and Religion; these are fundamental women, men and children. It rights of every Nigerian citizen, involves emotional, psychologi- and forced marriage is a violation cal, physical, financial and even of these rights. Section 3(d) of the sexual abuse. The United Nations Matrimonial Causes Act provides recognises it as a form of human that a marriage will be void abuse, the Universal Declaration of where consent was not obtained, Human Rights states that the right or wrongly obtained. In the case of a person to choose a spouse of Dr. Osadiaye Osamwonyi v and enter a union freely, is central Itohan Osariere Osamwonyi, the to their life, dignity and equality Supreme Court emphasised the as human beings. necessity of consent by parties, In Nigeria, Section 13 of the for a marriage to be valid.

Violence Against Persons (ProThe Child Rights Act 2003, in hibition) Act 2015 (VAPP Act), Section 21, also criminalises child clearly criminalises and declares marriage where it declares such forced marriage as a harmful marriage, null and void. The major traditional practice which is problem is that, some States are yet to adopt the Child Rights Act as laws in their States. For more on child marriage, see my article on child marriage https://barristerng. com/child-marriage-in-nigeria-bysuccess-oghosa-osasogie/

“In Nigeria, Section 13 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, clearly criminalises and declares forced marriage as a harmful traditional practice which is unlawful…..Section 3(d) of the Matrimonial Causes Act provides that a marriage will be void where consent was not obtained, or wrongly obtained”

What is the Way Out for Victims?

Victims can seek enforcement of their fundamental rights, as forced marriage is a breach/violation of the Right to Personal Liberty, Dignity of Human Person, Right

to Freedom of Thoughts, Conscience and Religion which can be enforced in the law court. Also, under the Matrimonial Causes Act, absence of consent is a ground for a void marriage. An action can be maintained under the Child Rights Laws of the various States. This will apply, only where States have ratified the Child Rights Act. Conclusion There is still a lacuna in our laws regarding forced marriage. Some Northern States are yet to ratify the Child Rights Act, and most times, cases of forced marriage come from this region. The VAPP Act which criminalises forced marriage, is not enforceable in States yet to ratify the Act. The issue of betrothal is still practiced in some areas, and this should be condemned. Marriage is a union between two consenting adults; an adult should not be put under duress just to consent to marriage.

A child should not be forced into a marriage, just because consent of parents has been obtained as required under the Marriage Act (Section 18). A child is not capable of consenting to marriage, and consent from parents as valid consent, should be discouraged. Child marriage is a form of forced marriage.

Success Oghosa Osaretin

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 • T H I S D AY

TALKING CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY DR. MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN

0809 889 8888 SMS ONLY

The Existence of Grazing Routes in Nigeria: Fact or Fiction (Part 3) Introduction ast week, we saw how the kite flown by President Buhari expectedly provoked reactions from different quarters across Nigeria. Today’s discourse shall be on the existence of grazing law in Nigeria.

The Existence of Grazing Laws in Nigeria: Facts From the totality of the above arguments, it can safely be said that whether grazing routes actually existed in the past or not, that practice is certainly no longer tenable, as the way forward is modern ranching.

In Nigeria, the Grazing Reserve Law of 1965 was enacted in Northern Nigeria and made possible grazing routes. It allowed Herdsmen to transport livestock from one place to another. This law however, also criminalised open grazing in States that had domesticated the Grazing Reserve Law in Nigeria. This therefore, armed State laws with sanctions for Herders who failed to adhere by such laws.

It is pertinent to note that, the Grazing Reserve Law of 1965 was established far before the Land Use Act of 1978. The later Act did not take into consideration or make mention of any grazing laws. This however, did not stop other States from domesticating this law. For example, Cap 3 of the Laws of Kwara State adopted the provisions of the Grazing Reserve Law. This, added to the fact that the law was enacted mainly for the Northern States, appears to be the reason why there are only 141 gazetted grazing reserves in Nigeria.

There are therefore, a total of 141 grazing routes in Nigeria. 138 of those routes, are found in the Northern part of Nigeria. Only two are found in the Southern parts of Nigeria, in the States of Ogun and Oyo. Thus, the Grazing Reserve Law of 1965 which is not in itself a Federal Act but a State law, only had effect in those States in the Northern part of Nigeria that were affected. It was not enforced in other States, except those States that sought to enact such laws, or States that had grazing reserves located in them. For the Grazing Reserve Law to affect the whole country, it must first be enacted as a Federal Act by the National Assembly, in accordance with the provisions of Section 4(2) of the Constitution. It could also come under the provision of Section 315(1) of the Constitution which provides that: “315(1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, an existing law shall have effect with such modifications as may be necessary to bring it into conformity with the provisions of this Constitution and shall be deemed to be (a)an Act of the National Assembly to the extent that it is a law with respect to any matter on which the National Assembly is empowered by this Constitution to make laws. (b)a Law made by a House of Assembly to the extent that it is a law with respect to any matter on which a House of Assembly is empowered by this Constitution to make laws.

(2)The appropriate authority may at any time by order make such modifications in the text of any existing law as the appropriate authority considers necessary or expedient to bring that law into conformity with the provisions of this Constitution.

(4) In this section, the following expressions have the meanings assigned to them, respectively (a)"appropriate authority" means (i)the President, in relation to the provisions of any law of the Federation, (ii)the Governor of a State, in relation to the provisions of any existing law deemed to be a Law made by the House of Assembly of that State, or

L

(iii)any person appointed by any law to revise or rewrite the laws of the Federation or of a State; (b)"existing law" means any law and includes any rule of law or any enactment or instrument whatsoever which is in force immediately before the date when this section comes into force or which having been passed or made before that date comes into force after that date; and (c)"modification" includes addition, alteration, omission or repeal.

(6) Without prejudice to subsection (5) of this section, the enactments mentioned in the said subsection shall hereafter continue to have effect as Federal enactments and as if they related to matters included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Constitution”.

In the matter of AG ABIA STATE & ORS v AG FEDERATION (2003) LPELR-610(SC), the Apex Court, per Honourable Justice Michael Ekundayo Ogundare, JSC, Pp 58 – 59, Paras B – B, in interpreting the provisions of Section 315(2) of the Constitution, held that: “Section 315(2) enjoins the President to effect such modifications in the text of an existing law as he may consider necessary or expedient, to bring the law into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution. The word "text' is not defined in the Constitution, but in its ordinary dictionary meaning the word means - the original words and sentences of an author or document; the main body of a book or other piece of writing as distinct from appendices, illustrations, etc; the wording of anything written or printed; the very words, phrases and sentences as written. And the word "modification" is defined in the Constitution to include "addition, alteration, omission or repeal. Thus, in exercising his power under Section 315(2), the President may add to, alter, make omissions in or completely repeal any provision of an existing law, in so far as it is necessary or expedient to bring such existing law into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution. The power given to an appropriate authority (such as the President is) by subsection (2) of Section 315 cannot, in my respectful view, mean just dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's" in an existing law. It goes further than that. It is precisely that the substance of an existing law, or part of it, is not in conformity with the Constitution that the appropriate authority is empowered to modify it either by way of "addition, alteration, omission or

“There are therefore, a total of 141 grazing routes in Nigeria. 138 of those routes, are found in the Northern part of Nigeria. Only two are found in the Southern parts of Nigeria, in the States of Ogun and Oyo”

repeal" to bring the law into conformity with the Constitution. Hence, the limit to the power given in subsection (2) of Section 315, is conformity with the provisions of the Constitution”.

See also the case of the GOVT OF PLATEAU STATE & ORS v NWAOKORIE (2014) LPELR - 23368(CA).

Consequently, the combined power of Section 4(2) of the Constitution as relates to the power of the National assembly to enact Federal laws in Nigeria, and the provisions of Section 315 of the Constitution as relating to extant laws already enacted before the coming of the 1999 Constitution, signpost the appropriate procedure for the enactment of the Grazing Reserve Law to be transformed into a Federal Act. Section 315(2) further gives the President the power to modify these existing laws.

Voodoo Argument Winnie-Lai Solarin’s argument appears to be a fiction. She failed to state when and under what instrument those alleged routes were acquired by the Federal Government, for these Herders in the past.

It is important to note that, after Independence, private ownership of land by individuals, families and communities was the predominant land tenure system in the Southern States of Nigeria, on the contrary, all lands in the territory comprising the Northern States of Nigeria were regarded as owned by the State, based on the provisions of the Land Tenure Law of 1962.

After, Independence, two principal legislations were enacted to regulate land ownership in Nigeria. They are: I. The Land Tenure Law of Northern Nigeria of 1962; and II. The Land Use Act of 1978.

The Land Tenure Law of Northern Nigeria of 1962 The customary tenure in Northern Nigeria had suffered early disruptions by the Fulani jihadists, who introduced a kind of feudal tenure under which they claimed overlords of land after the Islamic conquest. When Nigeria became a colony of Britain, the colonial officials under the leadership of Lord Lugard, to whom land rights were ceded in 1903, introduced statutory regulation of land rights under the Lands and Native Rights Ordinances of 1910, as amended in 1916. The 1916 Ordinance was later amended and substantially reenacted in the Land Tenure Law of 1962.

The Land Tenure law of Northern Nigeria had provided that all the land in Northern Nigeria, whether occupied or unoccupied, are “native lands”. They were placed under the control, and subject to the disposition of the Minister responsible for land matters, who held and administered them for the use and common benefits of the “natives”. The “Natives” were persons whose fathers were members of any tribes indigenous to each State in Northern Nigeria.

This means that all other persons who were not indigenous to each of such States, were regarded “non-natives”. Under this law,

no title to the occupation and use of any such lands by a non-native was ever valid without the Minister’s consent. The natives of Northern Nigeria were granted right of occupancy to land, for a limited number of years. For the purpose of the law, a right of occupancy meant a title to the use and occupation of land, and included both customary and statutory right of occupancy. An occupier enjoyed exclusive right to his land against all persons, other than the Minister. He may, with the Minister’s consent, sell, mortgage or transfer any lawful improvement on the land. The Land Tenure law of 1962 was later repealed, and replaced by the Land Use Act of 1978. As could be deduced above, the use of parcel of land by the natives was only for a definite duration.

The Land Use Act of 1978 The Land Use Act of 1978 (“Act”; “LUA”) completely changed Land acquisition in Nigeria. This Act applies to the entire Federation. The Act, by its Section 1, vests all land comprised in the territory of each State in the Federation in the Governor of that State, and such land shall be held in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Section 4 of the Act refers to land acquisition under the Land Tenure Law of Northern Nigeria.

It states that: “Until other provisions are made in that behalf and, subject to the provisions of this Act, land under the control and management of the Governor under this Act shall be administereda. in the case of any State where the Land Tenure Law of the former Northern Nigeria applies, in accordance with the provisions of that Law; and b. in every other case, in accordance with the provisions of the State Land Law applicable in respect of State land in the State, and the provisions of the Land Tenure Law or the State Land Law, as the case may be, shall have effect with such modifications as would bring those Laws into conformity with this Act or its general intendment.”

Section 6(1) (b) of the Act provides that it shall be lawful for a Local Government in respect of land not in an urban area, to grant customary rights of occupancy to any person or organisation for the use of land for grazing purposes and such other purposes ancillary to agricultural purposes, as may be customary in the Local Government Area concerned.

As provided under Section 4 of the Land Use Act, all land under the control and management of the Governor of each state shall be administered under the provisions of laws, and not under an indelible mark or monument whose origin is shrouded in mystery. Even when these laws are found, they shall have effect with such modifications as would bring them into conformity with this Act or its general intendment.

Serious and Trivial “Don’t let age change you. Change the way you age.” – Anonymous THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK “The government solution to a problem, is usually as bad as the problem.” (Milton Friedman)

7.9.2021

/13

14/

7.9.2021

7.9.2021

/15 ADVERTORIAL

16/

7.9.2021 ADVERTORIAL

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun

Email oriarehu.eromosele@thisdaylive.com

08056356325

S E P T E M B E R

S & P INDEX

6 , 2 0 2 1

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OBB

6.50%

CALL

4%

INDEX LEVEL

562.93%

1/4 TO DATE

5.62%

N411.63/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

7.17 %

1-MONTH

6%

1-DAY

0.11%

YEAR TO DATE

– 16.02%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10%

MONTH-TO-DATE

4.78%

With Waning Investment, Nigeria’s Oil Reserves Lose 600million Barrels in Three Years

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Nigeria’s crude oil reserves declined by about 600 million barrels on the back of reducing investments in the last few years, industry data on the matter has revealed.

Information from the British Petroleum (BP) Statistical Review, 2021 indicated that between 2017 and 2020, a three year period, Nigeria’s reserves did not grow, but rather fell from 37.5 billion barrels to 36.9 billion barrels in 2020.

But to resolve the issue, the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has earmarked 30 per cent of profit oil and profit gas from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) exploration services, in a bid to beef up the country’s reserves.

With deteriorating facilities Nigeria was in July and August unable to meet the quota allocated to it by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries A report by Mordor, a market intelligence and consulting

services firm, said that the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly hampered the growth of the market in Nigeria, mainly due to global oil and gas demand contraction and global economic slowdown.

“The outbreak of COVID-19 led to the crude oil price crash of April 2020, leading to a significant reduction in Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) spending by oil and gas companies globally.

“The country’s national oil and gas companies were already

struggling with liquidity and cash shortage, and due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the situation has further deteriorated, “Mordor said.

“However, some of the major factors driving the market include increasing investments in the upstream sector and the development of large-scale and modular refineries in the country.

“Oil and gas production had been hampered in Nigeria in the past few years due to the attack on oil and gas infrastructure by

militants. Furthermore, oil theft has been one of the major issues faced by the oil and gas market in Nigeria, which resulted in huge losses to operating companies in the country.

“Such factors are expected to have a negative impact on the market growth during the forecast period,” it said in the report tagged “Nigeria Oil and Gas Market: Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact and Forecasts,” covering between 2021-2026.

According to the firm, lack of infrastructure, uncertainties in

regulations, and security concerns have led Nigeria to underutilise its refining capacities, thereby pushing the country to become a net importer of refined petroleum products.

However, it stressed that Nigeria is on the edge of altering refined products’ supply dynamics in the region with the help of the upcoming Dangote Refinery, and it is expected to become the regional refining hub in the coming years.

Continued on page 26

Global Food Commodity Prices Rebound as Sugar, Wheat, Palm Oil Pushes up FAO Food Price Index Oluchi Chibuzor The latest Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price index has revealed that global food commodity prices rebounded rapidly in August after two consecutive months of decline.

This was led by strong gains in the international price quotations for sugar, wheat and vegetable oils as the index tracks monthly changes in the international prices

of commonly traded food commodities.

Revealing the latest trend in a statement, FAO said its Food Price Index averaged 127.4 points in August, up 3.1 per cent from July and 32.9 per cent from the same month in 2020.

“The FAO Sugar Price Index rose by 9.6 per cent from July, was pushed up by concerns over frost damage to crops in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter.

With the increase mitigated by good production prospects in India and the European Union as well as decline in crude oil prices and a weakening of the Brazilian real, ”the report stated.

However, FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index increased by 6.7 per cent in August, with international palm oil prices reverting to historic highs due to protracted concerns over below-potential production and resulting inventory draw-

FOOD

downs in Malaysia as quotations for rapeseed oil and sunflower oil also rose.

In the same vein, the FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 3.4 per cent higher in August than July.

According to FAO, world wheat prices jumped by 8.8 per cent due to reduced harvest expectations in several major exporting countries.

Meanwhile, Maize prices, by contrast, declined 0.9 per cent as

COMMODITIES

PRICE

improved production prospects in Argentina, the European Union and Ukraine moderated the lowered production forecasts in Brazil and the United States of America. International rice prices remained on a downward trajectory.

Similarly, World cereal supplies remain adequate despite lower production prospects as Global cereal production in 2021 is forecast to reach 2788 million

T O D AY

tonnes, up by 0.7 percent from the year before but below July’s expectations.

World wheat output is now expected to contract by 0.7 per cent to 769.5 million tonnes this year, due predominantly to the negative impact of prolonged drought conditions in North America as well as adverse weather in Kazakhstan and the Continued on page 26

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS FOOD

COMMODITIES

PRICE

T O D AY

Commercialisation: Nigeria Cuts Gas Flare by 72.5% in 10 Years

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja With Nigeria’s renewed focus on harnessing and commercialising its gas resources, the flaring or burning of the commodity which was the norm in the past, has now reduced by over 70 per cent in the last 10 years, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB) has revealed.

Analysis of the ASB for 2020 showed that from a high of 25.79 per cent of total gas produced being flared in 2011, the number

as of 2020 markedly reduced to 7.08 per cent of total gas produced.

The 10-year trend analysis revealed that in 2012, the flared gas accounted for 22.82 per cent; it was 17.57 per cent in 2013, 11.50 per cent in 2014, and 11.65 per cent in 2015.

The downward trend continued in 2016 when the figure fell to 11.25 per cent, but was however slightly distorted when it increased to 12.33 in 2017, continued on the downward slope in 2018, hitting 9.94 per

cent, 8.53 per cent in 2019 and 7.08 per cent in 2020.

The latest data agrees with a recent World Bank report obtained by THISDAY under the Global Gas Flaring Tracker, which also indicated that gas flaring reduced by 70 per cent within a 15-year period in Nigeria.

Gas flaring, the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction, takes place due to a range of issues, from market and economic constraints, to a lack of appropriate regulation

and political will.

The practice results in a range of pollutants released into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, methane and black carbon or soot.

The World Bank GGFT stated that although global gas flaring decreased by 5 per cent, from 150 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2019 to 142 bcm in 2020, Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Algeria, Venezuela and Nigeria still remain at the top of seven gas flaring countries.

“We do see some marked

improvements in a variety of regions and contexts.

The United States performed particularly well in 2020, with gas flaring falling by 32 percent from 2019 to 2020, partly due to an 8 per cent drop in oil production, but also through the construction of infrastructure to use gas that would otherwise be flared.

“The United States’ reduction accounted for 70 percent or 5.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of the global decline. Meanwhile, Nigeria and the greater Khanty-

Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (KMAO) region of Russia have both achieved significant progress over the past 15 years, with Nigeria reducing its gas flaring by 70 percent to just 7 bcm in 2020, and KMAO reducing its gas flaring volumes by nearly 80 percent, to just over 4 bcm, ”it stated.

The tracker, a leading global and independent indicator of gas flaring, found that from 2019 to 2020, oil production declined by 8 per cent, while gas flaring dropped by 5 percent.

Barkindo: Why Oil, Renewable Energy Sources Must Coexist, 600m Africans without Reliable Electricity Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dr. Sanusi Barkindo, yesterday lamented the widening dichotomy

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Comms/e-Business Editor Emma Okonji Aviation Editor Chinedu Eze Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Senior Correspondent Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafo (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy) Ugo Aliogo (Development)

between opposition to fossil fuels and advocates of renewable energy sources, arguing that both could coexist.

Speaking at the first Ministerial Roundtable on Energy, Climate and Sustainable, Development, which held via virtual, Barkindo stated that the public discourse around the issue often seem to be reduced to the question of who is for or against hydrocarbons.

Describing it as the ultimate false dichotomy, the OPEC helmsman, stated that this line of thought erroneously limits available options, stressing that

the solutions required more comprehensiveness.

“No-one should be left behind.

All voices need to heard, and listened to. We all share this planet. We need multilateralism at the centre of our energy, climate and sustainable development future,” he insisted.

He added that OPEC has continuously been a promoter of both sustainable development and efforts to combat climate change, with a focus on the need to utilise all solutions to reduce greenhouse emissions and adapt to their impact, and at the same

time ensure energy access for all.

“I have witnessed energy poverty first-hand in my home continent of Africa, where more than 600 million people have little or no access to electricity and 900 million lack safe and clean cooking fuels.

“Global leaders need to be reminded that for billions, the day does not start by switching on a light, opening a refrigerator or turning the ignition on a car.

Access to affordable and reliable modern energy is a must for everyone.

“There are some who believe

the oil and gas industries should not be part of the energy future, that they should be consigned to the past, and that the future is one that can be dominated by renewables and electric vehicles.

We need to counter this evolving narrative,” he explained.

He argued that what the science and statistics of the energy sector is saying is that the world needs to reduce emissions and use energy more efficiently through innovation in developing cleaner and more efficient technological solutions to help reduce emissions.

He stressed that for instance, Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) as well as the promotion of the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) could improve overall environmental performance, rather than the call to jettison fossil fuels all together.

“In order to not render countries already struggling even more besieged, it is necessary to carefully consider the adverse socio-economic impacts on these countries due to mitigation activities, in order to identify remediation measures and share best practices.

WITH WANING INVESTMENT, NIGERIA’S OIL RESERVES LOSE 600MILLION BARRELS IN THREE YEARS It added that the shift to gas is also supported by the fact that major oil reserves are likely to get dry in the coming three to four decades, hence, the oil market is

considered to be one of the most vulnerable markets where natural gas has the highest potential to penetrate.

However, it noted that

China National Offshore Oil Corporation mobilised a $3 billion investment, in addition to the $14 billion already spent on its existing oil and

gas operations in the West African country.

“A large share of this investment goes into the operations in Nigeria. One

of the most ambitious ultradeep offshore projects is the Egina oil field in water depths between 1,400 and 1,700 meters, ”it stated.

GLOBAL FOOD COMMODITY PRICES REBOUND AS SUGAR, WHEAT, PALM OIL PUSHES UP FAO FOOD PRICE INDEX Russian Federation.

Global coarse grains output is forecast to grow by 1.3 per cent in 2021 to 499million tonnes, even as production in Brazil is expected to contract. Global rice output is seen rising by 0.9 per cent year-on-year to reach an all-time high of 519million tonnes, buoyed by record yields

reported for Viet Nam. According to the statement, FAO now projects worldwide cereal utilization in 2021/22 to rise by 1.4 per cent from the previous marketing year to 2 809 million tonnes, supported by a strong growth in feed use as well as higher food consumption.

FAO said the July forecast

for global cereal stocks by the close of seasons in 2022 has been lowered to 809 million tonnes, a 0.9 percent drop from opening levels.

Global rice stocks, it stated, are on track to reach their second-highest level on record, while dry weather is expected to squeeze wheat

inventories - with ending stocks in the United States of America reaching an eight-year low and those of Canada dipping to their lowest level in 40 years.

“Overall, the world stocks-touse ratio for cereals is projected at 28.1 percent, down from 29.9 percent in 2021/22 “but still indicating a relatively comfort-

able supply from a historical perspective.

World trade in cereals is now expected to decline in 2021/22, contracting by 1.3 percent to 466 million tonnes with foreseen decreases in wheat and coarse grains outweighing a rising world trade of rice, “FAO said.

27

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

POWER

Mamman: A Post-mortem

Last Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari fired the erstwhile Minister of Power, Mr Sale Mamman, in what he said was a move to ‘’strengthen weak areas’’ in his government. Emmanuel Addeh writes that while the former minister’s tenure remained largely uninspiring, there’s the need for his replacement to hit the ground running with less than two years to the end of the current administration

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the Siemens deal would gulp $2.3 billion while the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme (TREP) will consume $1.6 billion.

In addition, the federal government noted that a $550 million facility had been secured for the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) from a World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) arrangement, including another $1.7 billion to ensure that the power industry becomes more efficient.

It stressed that with the $6.150 billion in funding, the present administration has commenced the implementation of critical infrastructure that will enable the country to achieve generation, transmission, and distribution of 25,000MW of electricity by 2025.

However, the impact of this funding is yet to be felt by Nigerians, most of who still live in darkness and deploy air-polluting generating sets as a source of their own electricity.

ust like the election of his former boss raised the hopes that a new Nigeria was in the offing, Mamman’s appointment to oversee the beleaguered power sector was greeted with much enthusiasm.

The expectations were higher, given that he was taking over from the current Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Fashola, who many thought was seriously overburdened with two critical ministries, a development that perhaps tamed his much-talked-about uncommon capacity to deliver.

Reclusive, rarely seen, rarely heard, Mamman soon began to unravel, or to put it aptly, just refused to unravel in spite of all the initial high aspirations, fuelled by his boss’s promise to finally give Nigerians reliable electricity supply.

With no clearly marked achievement in two years and no communication where they probably existed, Mamman will arguably go down in history as being the only head of a ministry who literally left Nigerians in the dark as to his plans and goals from when he took office till when he was given the red card a week ago.

CHARITY BEGINS ABROAD

UNWARRANTED BICKERING

Like schoolboys, Mamman sought to, as put by his Media Aide, Aaron Artimas, “whip the agencies into line” because each of them were claiming autonomy.

The “sacking, unsacking and resacking” of a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET), Marilyn Amobi, was one of the running battles he had with his lieutenants.

The former minister also had brushes with the former Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr Usman Mohammed as well as a former Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Damilola Ogunbiyi, who he indicated were constituting a wheel in the cog of the progress of the power sector.

Added to that, there was a major disagreement between the minister and the ministry of finance over whether he had the power to remove the head of NBET, which is under the ministry of finance. These unwarranted bickering consumed a lot of the energy that would have been channelled to providing Nigerians electricity.

As reticent as he was, Mamman never failed to denigrate his predecessors. For instance, in responding to his critics who raised questions over his qualification to head the all-important power sector, Mamman said last July that people like one of his predecessors; Prof. Barth Nnaji would have transformed the ministry if performance was based on paper qualifications.

In addition, he claimed that he inherited a chaotic sector from his predecessor, Fashola, who’s now overseeing the works ministry.

NIGERIA’S ELECTRICITY SUPPLY

In one of his rare appearances on television, 63-year-old Mamman countered Nigerians who constantly complain of erratic supply of electricity, insisting that the entire country now enjoys between 18 to 24 hours of power everyday.

Mamman, who spoke in an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) maintained that President Muhammadu Buhari administration had improved the infrastructure in the power system in the last five year even when Nigerians were living in utter darkness.

But his position ran contrary to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), which coincidentally, released a statement at the time, listing the lack of electricity as Nigeria’s biggest challenge.

Not a few Nigerians thought it was an insult for the minister to barefacedly tell them that power supply to their homes had become stable even when it was obvious that it was far from the truth.

The minister disclosed that some power plants had been completed by the current administration, which he said would further get better with the coming of Siemens AG, a German company into the system.

He said: “The President has come out with Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to ensure that all infrastructure is improved. So, many substations are now in place across the country. We have improved the 330 KVA, which is the highest voltage in the country.

“We have also improved the 132 substations.

Kashimbilla has been completed which is 40mw.

We have reached up to 70 per cent of Zungeru in Niger. One of the biggest projects, the Mambilla, which has been lingering for over 40 years, has commenced.

“We have finished the feasibility studies, the land and area survey and waiting for contractors to mobilise to site. We have improved our services.

M a m man Before this government, they gave light less than 10 hours a day, but today I can tell you that we give light from 18 to 24 hours in a day.” Not a few Nigerians took that statement with a pinch of salt.

INCHOATE MAMBILLA PROJECT

Having hailed from Taraba, stakeholders expected the erstwhile minister to make some headway in the over four-decade Mambilla hydropower project, located in the state.

But till he left last week, most of the issues hampering the project remained unresolved.

Originally conceived in 1972, the capacity of the project was increased to 3,050MW in 2012 and has practically been put on hold due to administrative and legal issues.

Set up to comprise four dams and two underground powerhouses, having 12 turbine generator units in total, as part of the plans to solve the perennial problem in the power sector, Mambilla is expected to be Nigeria’s biggest power plant.

In addition, it is expected to produce approximately 4.7 billion kWh of electricity a year and will generate up to 50,000 local jobs during the construction phase.

Over 40 years later Mamman said that under his superintendence, the federal government had finished the feasibility studies, the land and area survey and was waiting for contractors to mobilise to site as well as commencement of payment of compensation to host communities in Taraba state.

Just when everyone thought the project was gradually taking off, Sunrise, the first contractor for the project resurrected, flaunting documents that it said entitled it to some form of compensation for alleged breach of contract, came into the picture.

Accusing the government of defaulting on a $200million settlement agreement it entered with the company, Sunrise contended that the deal was supposed to make it relinquish all claims to the $5.8 billion project, which has now been revised.

A $200 million deal brokered by the ministry of power and the ministry of justice to settle the matter out-of-court has also met with a brick wall as the $2.3 billion project continues to remain in the doldrums.

SIEMENS DEAL FORGOTTEN?

With the noise that heralded the signing of a deal with Siemens AG of Germany last year, one would have thought that government would keep the same energy

in the execution of the agreement. However, enthusiasm has long waned with no further information concerning the project.

The agreement, which was meant to be implemented in phases was expected to see the upgrading of 105 power substations and the construction of 70 new ones.

Under the deal for which the government had made an initial N8.6 billion commitment, about 3,765 distribution transformers will be installed and 5,109 km distribution lines will be built with a potential generation capacity of over 13,000 mw as opposed to the current transmission of 4,500mw.

In phase one, 7gw was expected to be achieved between then and end of 2021, with the upgrading of transmission and distribution of the TCN and Distribution Companies (Discos) expected to contribute an additional 2gw.

For phase two, the government said that 11gw will be achieved between 2021-2023, with full use of existing generation and last mile distribution capacity, while the phase three will see the achievement of 25gw between 2023-2025 with appropriate upgrades and expansion in generation, transmission and distribution.

But since the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the payment of €15.21 million (N6,940,081,465.20) offshore and N1.708 billion onshore as part of Nigeria’s counterpart funding for the power deal, not much has been heard.

The deal also involves Siemens’ support for the regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), towards improving metering in the electricity industry in the country.

FUNDING WITHOUT IMPACT

In a note marking his one year in office, Mamman stated that the federal government had secured a cumulative sum of $6.150 billion for the funding of various capital projects in the power sector.

He said that as a market in transition, the sector had been experiencing teething challenges, adding that due to lack of infrastructure, the sector was unable to effectively utilise its generation capacity of over 12,000MW and incurred over N254 billion as the cost of unutilised capacity.

“I am glad to state that to date, a total sum of $6.150 billion has been secured for infrastructural development” he said.

A breakdown of the funds showed that

Despite the shortage of power supply in the country, Mamman opened negotiations with the Republic of Chad in an agreement that would see Nigeria commence the supply of electricity to the North-central African country.

To consummate the agreement, the Chad Minister of Energy, Mrs Ramatou Houtouin, flew into Abuja, while the Nigerian team was led by top officials of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

A few months earlier, the Chadian ambassador to Nigeria, Abakar Chachaimi, asked for his country to be connected to Nigeria’s electricity grid during a visit to the minister in Abuja.

Chachaimi argued that connecting Chad to Nigeria’s electricity grid would further enhance the historical and economic collaborations between both countries.

If the agreement is eventually reached, Chad will add to the number of countries that depend partly on Nigeria for their electricity needs, including the Republic of Benin, Niger Republic and Togo.

For a country that could not power itself, seeing the logic in the minister’s thinking was almost impossible.

LOWERING PERFORMANCE BAR

Under Mamman, the ministry of power and the agencies celebrated what should ordinarily be seen as the shame of a nation, for what it usually terms improvements.

“Successful transmission” of a peak of 5,584.40MW was worth celebrating, where smaller and less endowed nations like South Africa could boast of total domestic electricity generation capacity of 58,095 megawatts.

Mamman, was ecstatic about the news of the ‘peak performance’, describing it as “impressive”.

Tagging a 5,5840mw power transmission as “impressive”, to many Nigerians, was the height of the celebration of mediocrity.

That in 2021, a country of over 200 million people, sector leaders would be celebrating just over 5,000mw as an achievement when Brazil with almost the same population and conditions as Nigeria’s generates 150,000MW, according to the International Energy Agency (EIA), beats all rational imaginations.

Added to that, between February 17 and last month, the national grid had experienced at least four collapses, including a partial collapse leading to power outage in some parts of Nigeria in the second month.

Also, extensive power outage was experienced in March when 18 plants, accounting for most of the electricity collapsed; in May when another system collapse took place and in August when the power grid failed.

Yet the position of the ministry was that grid collapses had reduced since the minister took over power.

HOSPITALISATION AND DENIAL

After Buhari relieved him of his job, there were news reports that the former minister collapsed when he for wind of the information and was thereafter receiving treatment in hospital.

But Mamman told BBC Hausa, that he had been ill before he was fired, noting that he was instructed that he needed some ‘rest’, adding that he had foreknowledge of his sack.

He maintained that on Monday night, Buhari called him on the phone to inform him of the impending sack and thanked him for his support for his administration.

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

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

INDUSTRY

AfCFTA: Creating Globally Competitive African Manufacturing Sector The marking of the 50th Anniversary of the Manufacturers association of Nigeria (MAN) provided the opportunity to bring together the movers and shakers of African economy, which included policy makers, industrialists, academicians, regulators and bankers to discuss the challenges and prospects of making African manufacturing a globally competitive industry, writes Dike Onwuamaeze

T

he President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Mansur Ahmed, set the tone of discussion at the “High-Level Roundtable on Industrialisation in Africa,” that marked the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of MAN, with a brief remark.

Ahmed said: “It is our firm belief that our conversations at this event will help chart the course for sustainable Africa’s industrialisation and economic transformation.”

With this brief remark, Ahmed cleared the ground for the erudite Economist and Senior Lecturer, Lagos Business School, Dr. Doyin Salami, who moderated the panel discussion during the round table to sketch out the conversation by stating that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) holds a lot of potentials as well as quite a number of obstacles that must be resolved before the potentials it portends could be realised.

Salami noted that it would be important while emphasising the size of the market offered by the free trade area to take into cognizance issues around the payment system, the movement of people, the impact on SMEs, intellectual property and regional value chain.

He pointed out two dimensions that manufacturers and other stakeholders should bear in mind revolved critically around Africa building a globally competitive manufacturing capacity and how it would set the boundaries between collaboration and corporation, bearing in mind the already existing custom unions across Africa that have failed to succeed.

“One characteristic of them is that for the most part they have not succeeded. It is going to be important to understand why they have not succeeded.

“Also, the issue of funding industrialisation on the continent across the different countries is going to be very important.

There are also issues around security and the question is what will the development around Afghanistan portends for Africa? These are issues in my view that policy makers, legislatures and operators are going to collaborate on since the challenge will be how well are we going to implement the AfCFTA?” Having sketched out the conversation, Salami brought in the Africa’s Foremost Entrepreneur and President of the Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote, with a direct and punchy question on what he thought about Africa developing a globally competitive manufacturing sector.

Dangote answered by stating that “to be really globally competitive we must produce very high quality products and we have to produce it at the cheapest cost possible because others have been there before us.”

He pointed out that African manufacturing should first of all focus on meeting the continent’s domestic need for manufactured goods and then begin to export to other continents of the world.

But this could not happen without governments in the continent supporting manufacturers with stable policy environment and mustering the political will to remove certain encumbrances to effective industrialisation of the continent.

These include poor infrastructure, poor supply

of electricity, high port charges and difficulties encountered in the movement of people, products and services across national boundaries that Africa is littered with.

Dangote said: “I think government must have to remove most of the hurdles in terms of poor infrastructure and unfriendly regulations and improve our power and ports environment.

“Our gas prices here is almost double than other normal areas. So, how come be competitive? Today, if I want to go through the ports the government will charge me $10 dollars per tonne even though I am exporting a very cheap product to the next country. So, I think that there are quite a lot of areas we have to look at to make this thing competitive.

The border crossing is the most important one for us. We must make sure that crossing our borders do not take time. Government has to do quite a lot in terms of having the political will to remove all these bottle necks at the border.”

In his contribution to the conversation, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), stated that inasmuch as the AfCFTA offered limitless opportunities for Africa’s industrialisation, governments across the continent must take the right policy stance to actualise them.

Osinbajo said: “We must take policy actions to create an environment in which businesses can thrive. To start with, we must adopt the right type of macroeconomic and industrial policies.

“It is important for African governments to provide a stable macroeconomic environment which avoids and smoothens out volatility in prices, sharp deteriorations in the current account and budget deficits and of course, rapid accumulation in debt burdens.”

He added that, “well negotiated rules of origin are important in the context of the free trade agreements as they are key to preventing trans-shipment and the deflection of trade. Without them, firms from non-state parties could set up simple labelling operations in one member state with a view to shipping already finished products to another member state without really adding any value.”

Osinbajo observed that it is important for MAN to involve itself in an advisory capacity to government negotiators “as we go further into the rules of origin negotiations (these rules negotiations have, of course, started), but I think as we go on, we should get more contributions and advise from MAN. “Our manufacturers must also strive to become competitive after clearly specified time periods so that they can withstand the ever present danger of stiff competition from imports. In other words, while our manufacturing industries must be nurtured and supported, they cannot remain infants forever, ”he added.

According to the President of the African

Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Okey Oramah, who spoke on the nature of challenges African manufacturers are dealing with, said that most African countries score very low on ease of doing business, cross border trade as well as on infrastructure and logistics, adding that financing, from the bank’s perspective, is not the major hinderance to industrialisation in Africa.

Oramah, who was represented by the Executive Vice President of Afreximbank, Mr. Amr Kamel, said that dearth of bankable projects rather than insufficient finance has been the major problem of industrialisation in the continent.

He said: “There is a lot of huge amount of money that is out there especially with low interest rate environment on foreign currency. The problem really is in finding bankable projects. Getting a transaction to a stage that it is bankable is really quite challenging. That is why the Afreximbank created project facilitation unit designed primarily for helping businesses with good ideas to make them bankable.”

He added that the Africa could get around the challenge of poor infrastructure by developing industrial pacts where it would be much easier to provide quality infrastructures in a smaller geographical area than spreading them across the whole country. “That is where Afreximbank has been very strong in supporting industrialisation.

We are working with the Nigeria’s ministry of industry on advisory bases on how to role this industrial pacts and we also financing our own projects here in Nigeria,” Oramah said.

Be it a paucity of bankable projects or poor infrastructure and other catalogue of militating factors, one thing that is clear is that the continent is faced with the dearth of industrial capacity.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) ascribed Africa’s station at the bottom of global trade value chain to its control of less than two per cent share of global manufacturing.

Similarly, the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Mr. Wamkele Mene, pointed out that even though Africa has pockets of success within countries on various capacity of industrial development; the continent still lacked “the depth of manufacturing and depth of industrialisation to create jobs that will fight unemployment to push back the frontiers of poverty.”

Mene observed that the desire to ensure that the continent boosts its industrial capacity was one of the reasons that informed the establishment of the AfCFTA agreement as envisioned in the intra-African trade action plan in 2012 to address Africa’s underdevelopment from the industrial point of view.

He said: “AfCFTA was part of the tools to aid industrialisation. The best figure we have on intra-African trade is 18 per cent, which is more on

primary commodities. Our immediate task is to make sure that we establish the correct policy environment for manufacturing to thrive, for productive sector investment to happen in pharmaceuticals, automobile sector, agro processing and others that will have a positive impact on manufacturing.”

Mene, however, noted that there are challenges of interconnectivity, transit of goods across borders, high cost of connectivity, and the high tariffs amongst others. “The average tariff on automobiles is about 40 per cent. We have high tariffs that constrain and discourage investments in manufacturing as well as non-tariff barriers like burdensome custom procedures and regulations that do not facilitate trade,” he said.

The Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, said that low state of industrial manufacturing in Africa implied that the processing of raw materials on the continent is very little.

This has caused the continent to lose out on job opportunities, large volume of export trade and increased foreign exchange earnings.

Adebayo said: “The situation is even worse in some countries that are further embattled by a combination of structural constraints and political instability, which jeopardised efforts for private sector-led economic diversification and transformation.

“Toward this end, to unleash our full industrial potential, African countries must embark on an audacious agenda, preferably driven by private sector-led investments to ensure the economic transformation of the continent especially through industrialisation.”

He said that the ministry under his watch is positioning Nigerian industries to take the leading role in the economic transformation of the country and the continent at large.

This included bringing all stakeholders to come up with specific measures and initiatives that would improve the cost competitiveness of players in the sector.

One of the ways he is improving the cost effectiveness is by “collaborating with the Ministry of the Petroleum Resources to lower the cost of gas, which is a critical to the production of energy for the sector. This is one factor that can significantly impact the competitiveness of items manufactured in Nigeria.”

According to the Commissioner of Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission, Mr. Albert M. Muchanga, Africa should invest in education, research and development in order to bolster its manufacturing capacity and transit from being a consumer of technology to a provider of technology.

He said: “For Africa to really gain the capacity to manufacture, we have to invest in research and development. There is no way out. If we do not invest in research and development our manufacturing will be based on imitations. And if we do that we shall perennially remain at the bottom of global value chain.

Moreover our universities will be remodeled to become research universities that can produce skills that are oriented to the fourth industrial revolution.”

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

AGRICULTURE

Hits and Misses of Nanono Gilbert Ekugbe takes a cursory look at some of the achievements and failures of the sacked Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development during his two years in office and provides policy guidelines for the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture

T

he news about the sacking of former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Mohammed Nanono, came to Nigerians as a surprise. The sack, according to the President’s Spokesperson, Mr. Femi Adesina, was to help to identify and strengthen weak areas, close loopholes, build cohesion and improve delivery of public goods to Nigerians. But to many stakeholders in the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy, his sack was long overdue as the ministry seemed to have lost its focus of taking Nigeria to its desired goal of attaining food security. They expressed concerns over the rising food prices with no hope in sight to address the situation.

showed his unwavering support to this course.

There was no clear cut policy statement made by the former minister on the ban of open grazing as many stakeholders in the agric industry are worried over the former minister’s attitude towards the plan by the governors to ban open grazing.

Many people on social media platforms have questioned the former minister’s inability to implement RUGA and inability to trace cattle routes while some said it was another strategy by the President, Muhammadu Buhari to get someone else to forcefully enforce open grazing nationwide.

AGENDA FOR NEW AGRIC MINISTER

ACHIEVEMENTS “I want to be very serious with the research institutes, so that they will research on improved seeds that will be suitable to our environment, as the institutes are the engine of growth in the sector, ”Those were words by the former minister upon resumption to office in 2019. He followed this up with the commissioning of the Hungarian demonstration plot that was established at the headquarters of the National Agricultural Seed Council in 2019.

The move was intended to demonstrate the effect of the Hungarian agric invention called Water Retainer (an organic soil conditioner), which involved two Hungarian hybrid maize varieties and two tomato varieties. The Hungarian Agricultural Innovation Centre (NAIK) is expected to supervise the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) to begin the official trials of the tomato varieties this year. He also flagged off an agric soft loan aimed at boosting food crop production and agricultural mechanisation where more than 10,000 tractors, fertilizers, chemicals and seedlings were distributed to farmers across the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country.

INTERVENTION FUND The federal government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development injected over N600 billion as stimulus response into the agriculture sector to target small scale farmers in its bid to ensure food security and sustainability.

Over 2.4 million farmers would benefit from the stimulus package in the first instance. The support according to him would be in the form of inputs and not cash as was the practice in the past.

To address Nigeria’s aging farming population, Nanono endorsed the Nigeria Young Farmers Network (NYFN) and called for partnership and collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the sector to drive the vision of the NYFN to raise a million young farmers in each State, saying that the potentials of the Nigeria young farmers in the sector were enormous and needed to be optimally explored for its huge benefits including creating jobs and economic growth.

ESTABLISHMENT OF NALBIP The NALBIP is one of the comprehensive and sustainable mechanism put in place by the ministry to address the development and transformation of the livestock value chain in the agricultural sector.

Nanono said the programme would improve the genetic makeup of the indigenous breeds of animals, especially dairy cattle to achieve increased milk and meat yield of the nation’s national herd.

He also expressed optimism that the programme “will improve the livelihood of the pastoral communities and other livestock farmers and support the ministry in addressing the challenges in the livestock value chain particularly, the incessant Herder/ Crop Farmers conflict” The programme is targeted at the “evolution of hybrid filial generations of dairy cows and other livestock with improved productivity potential and in the overall genetic improvement to the national herd.”

NANONO’S MISSES According to a data analysis platform, Nigeria’s agriculture sector contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained the lowest under his regime since the return of democracy in 1999.

In the past five years of the present administration, the sector grew at an average of 15 per cent when compared with past administrations of former President Olusegun Obasanjo when

Nanono it grew 133 per cent; 19.1 per cent under late President Musa Yar’adua’s short tenure in office and 22.2 per cent under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

NEGLECT OF STAKEHOLDERS On assumption office on August 21, 2019, Nanono said: “Agriculture sector is the largest employer of labour in Nigeria, adding that if Nigeria gets agricultural policy right the country may not only feed its citizens but the entire West African countries.’’

The former minister was recently heavily criticised for neglecting key stakeholders in policy formulation who lamented the absence of an agricultural policy since the expiration of the defunct Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) in 2020, even though the APP policy document did not fulfill its purpose as the nation is still largely dependent on importation of food.

“The former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Sabo Nanono, did not in any way contribute to the drive and passion of the President to achieve food sufficiency for Nigeria.

Rather he was doing things he likes to do, and he didn’t want to understand any of the things we were doing to improve the agriculture space,” said the President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kabir Ibrahim.

The Assistant Publicity Secretary of AFAN, Mr. Salisu Mukhtar, faulted the ministry for organising the Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) in the height of a rainy season without a national agricultural policy According to him, the ministry excluded many key stakeholders in the country’s food system value chains, such as, AFAN, National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its good work in the agriculture space at the event.

Mukhtar said: “It is nebulous that a “Feed Nigeria Summit” is taking place in August, the height of the rainy season in Nigeria (North), without a National Agricultural Policy to replace the defunct APP launched in 2015.

The proposed NATIP (National Agricultural Transformation and Innovation Plan) is still in draft form awaiting validation from stakeholders in the six geopolitical zones,

approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the nod of NASS and a formal public launch to be able to hit the ground running!

“There must be appropriation for it in the budget for it to be implemented too! The attempt to do a ‘Feed Nigeria Summit’ at this time is not well thought out as it even excludes so many stakeholders in the food system.”

RISING FOOD IMPORT According to the recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on foreign trade for the first quarter (Q1) 2021, between 2020 and 2021, the value of imported agricultural products went up by 140.47 per cent. In the first quarter of the year, it spiked by 18.37 percent compared to the last quarter of 2020. Nigeria spent more importing agricultural products from outside the country, valued at N630.2 billion and only managed to export a meager N127.2 billion in agricultural products.

LACK OF INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS It was glaring that the Ministry under his watch has no solution to end the rising cost of food prices in the country as it lacks the wherewithal to deploy innovative solutions to address the situation. Many other climes have continued to invest massively in innovative and smart ways of farming to meet their food needs. With over 50 agricultural research institutes in the country, these institutes are falling grossly short in providing the technologies that would drive growth in the sector and are lagging behind smaller peer nations, where agriculture is less of a priority.

Nigeria’s agricultural research institutes have continued to be the weak link in Nigeria’s drive to diversify the economy through the sector and make exponential gains by way of earnings, employment, and other spin-offs.

OPEN GRAZING BAN The incessant clashes between herders and farmers have continued to be on the rise as 17 governors had decided to enforce a ban on open grazing. This move, according to the southern governors, would address the conflict between herders and farmers caused by open grazing.

The former minister has never for once

The immediate task before the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, is to deepen collaboration with key agricultural stakeholders to formulate policies aimed at achieving food security, invest heavily in sensitising rural farmers on the need to adhere strictly to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), prioritise developmental efforts at empowering agriculture research institutes to come up with new innovations in terms of improved seedlings, fertilizers especially at a time when climate change is affecting farmers productivity.

Stakeholders in the agriculture industry have continued to call for less stringent loan requirements especially the issue of collaterals, which make it difficult for many farmers to access loans.

There is also the urgent need by the new agriculture minister to deploy an integrated approach to revive extension advisory services after experts and farmers have pointed out extension service as a weak link in the Nigeria agricultural value chain.

The new minister must also as a matter of urgency come up a national agricultural policy to replace the expired APP in the nation’s quest to achieve food security by 2030.

There is also a need to declare a state of emergency on the nation’s agricultural sector as aflatoxin levels on the nation’s agro commodities is “code red” due to poor handling and harmful chemicals used by farmers, increase investment in the nation’s agricultural sector to eradicate hunger and achieve food security The Nigerian Association of Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ), President, Mr. Emmanuel Ogbonnaya expressed optimism that the agricultural sector will now receive the needed direction it was lacking in reaching its true potential.

He further urged the new agric minister, to foster collaborations among the stakeholders across all value chains and the 36 states including the FCT, to help secure Nigeria’s food aspirations and avoid the lackluster performance of Nanono, which earned him a sack.

According to Ogbonnaya: “The Nigerian agricultural sector holds enormous potentials and opportunities if adequate innovation and investment is put into it and the necessary infrastructure that could enhance productivity in agric business put in place.”

“Unfortunately, the former minister did not show enough commitment to the revitalization of the sector as the shortfall in food supply and the attendant high costs has aggravated the plight of many Nigerians.”

Ogbonnaya urged the new minister to take full advantage of the print and electronic media as partners in progress, in transmitting timely and relevant information to agric practitioners and also to showcase laudable milestones under his leadership.

Meanwhile, the AFAN, has also congratulated the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and wished him every success in his new job.

AFAN in a statement noted that the Buhari Administration is committed to achieving food security for the country within the shortest possible time hence the leadership change at the FMARD. The AFAN President said: “Nigerian farmers assure you of full cooperation and pray to Allah to guide you in your new assignment”.

The farmers’ Association pledged to work with the minister to provide food for millions of Nigerians who remain under-fed.

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Nigeria Gas Pledges Support for Host Communities, Empowers 40 Women Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) Limited, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has pledged to support its host communities throughout the country.

Top management of the company made the pledge during the presentation of starter packs to 40 women drawn from its host communities in Asset Management North (AMN), covering Kogi and Edo states respectively.

The women were trained in five different vocations, including makeup artistry, fashion and design, computer, catering and hair dressing as part of the organisation’s empowerment programme at a ceremony held in Abuja.

In an address, Managing Director of the company, Mr. Seyi Omotowa, said the NGC organised the empowerment workshop for its host communities to empower women and enable them contribute positively to their families and the society.

Omotowa who was represented by the Executive Director, Support Services, NGC, Mrs Uche Ossai, said that the company as a responsible and responsive organisation, was committed to building a strong and long-term relationship with its host communities.

“Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative prioritises

our host communities’ well-being, and it is for this reason we have gathered here today.

“It can be recalled by participants here that an empowerment workshop was organised in 2016, where you were all in attendance and trained in different vocations such as fashion and design, computer, catering, hair dressing and makeup artistry. A total of 40 women between the age bracket of 20-40 years were selected from the communities by their community leaders and trained.

“The delivery of these starter packs to you today demonstrates NGC’s dedication to delivering on its promises, notwithstanding the time lag caused by budgetary restrictions and internal restructuring. I implore you to make the best possible use of the materials provided to you today to financially empower yourself, ”he stated.

Omotowa said the NGC would continue to solicit the cooperation and assistance from its hosts in the maintenance of peace to ensure the company’s business growth aspirations for the benefit of the people in the communities and Nigerians generally.

He appreciated the traditional rulers, community leadership and the participants for their patience and understanding, stressing that it had further strengthened the existing cordial relationship with NGC and its

host communities.

Representative of the NNPC, Deputy Manager, Community Impact Investment, Mrs. Helen Nkwo, appreciated NGC for what she described as the company’s outstanding disposition in meeting the commitments to its host

Stakeholders in the nation’s agricultural sector have emphasised the need to undertake a participatory surveillance programme that would identify diseases and other damages in cassava fields.

This was the highlight at a workshop organised by the Central and West African Virus Epidemiology (WAVE) project, themed, “Advocacy and Sensitisation Meeting on Cassava Viral Disease Management through Participatory Surveillance,” in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

According to the stakeholders, there was need for real-time monitoring of cassava viral diseases as current surveillance approaches rely on irregular surveys that are only conducted once in two or three years.

Participatory surveillance involved the use of an intelligent android application “Nuru App” developed by scientists at the Pennsylvania State University for easy detection of cassava viral diseases.

Two of these deadly diseases include Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) – the primary constraint to cassava cultivation in West Africa – and the Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) which is not yet present in West Africa, but is said to be advancing.

In his welcome remarks, Vice-Chancellor, Covenant University, Prof Abiodun Adebayo, who was represented

by Prof Grace Olasehinde, called on stakeholders to ensure the exclusion of CBSD in Nigeria and commended the efforts of WAVE in ensuring food security.

Adebayo said the university

was proud to be the North Central and South West Hub for the WAVE project and restated the university’s commitment towards ensuring the success of the WAVE project.

On his part, Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Adeola Odedina added that 95 per cent of cassava produced in Nigeria is still being consumed as food despite the very high demand for cassava for industrial purposes.

The commissioner called for increased participation in the cassava value chain, adding

packs to the benefit of society.

The traditional ruler of Ugbekpe-Ekperi in Edo state who was represented by Mr. Idaewor Simeon, commended NGC for fulfilling its promises to the people of its host communities.

OUTSTANDING FOAM BRAND…

Also speaking, the Olu-Apata of Apata in Lokoja, Kogi state, Dr. Frederick Balogun as well as Bajana of Obajana, solicited the cooperation of other traditional rulers and community leaders in ensuring that peace exists in their domains for NGC to thrive.

L-R : Vitafoam Nigeria Plc’s Head of Sales, Dahiru Gambo, receiving Vitafoam’s Award as Outstanding Foam Brand of the Year by Marketing Edge, from Wasiu Abiola with Vitafoam’s Brand and Communications Manager, Busola Onamusi in Lagos… recently

Agric Stakeholders Harp on Participatory Surveillance to Combat Cassava Viral Diseases Gilbert Ekugbe

communities urging the NGC to sustain the tempo.

While charging traditional rulers and community leaders to uphold the prevailing peace in their various domains, she admonished the beneficiaries to put to judicious use the starter

that many processing factories currently lack raw materials and as such are redundant.

Ogun and Benue States have been selected as pilot locations for the participatory surveillance intervention for the South West and North Central zones of Nigeria respectively, being the largest producers of cassava in the two zones.

The workshop served as a forum for WAVE to share plans with the stakeholders, while also getting valuable feedback from stakeholders from each State.

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Jaiz Bank Gets $25m Shariah-compliant Financing Line for SMEs James Emejo ÓØ ÌßÔË Jaiz Bank Plc has received a $25 million shariah-compliant Line of Financing (LOF) from Islamic Corporation for the Development (IsDB) to support small and medium scale enterprises in the country.

Chief Executive of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of IsDB Group, Ayman Sejiny, and the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Jaiz Bank, Hassan Usman, both signed the loan agreement to support the SMEs. The intervention will also cover those adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a statement by the group.

The contract details indicated that out of the total sum of $25 million funds provided, $10 million is allocated under the

ICD’s $ 250 million COVID-19 support package to help the private sector affected by the pandemic by leveraging on the expertise of the banking system of its member countries.

ICD’s line of financing facility will help to expand Jaiz Bank’s customer base by the provision of Shariah-compliant financing in response to a growing demand for Islamic finance to support, among others, COVID-19 affected projects and industries, the statement added.

Sejiny, said, “Continuous cooperation between ICD and Jaiz Bank, the pioneer in Islamic banking in Nigeria, will result in easier access by SMEs to Shariahcompliant financing that will meet their funding needs, as well as assist in keeping businesses open and preserving jobs, which is in line with ICD’s commitments to

help the Nigerian economy to overcome the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen financial inclusion.”

He said,“We have no doubt that this line of financing facility will provide much needed support to private sector businesses including those which have been affected by the pandemic.”

On his part, Usman said, “We are delighted with this partnership with ICD which has started in 2018 with a $20 million Line of Finance to support SME’s in Nigeria, the line was fully utilized by eligible SME’s with a substantial portion going to the Agricultural sector.

“The facility was fully repaid earlier this year and has helped in generating over 791 direct jobs and put the Bank among the major Banks in repatriating non-oil export proceeds for the country.”

Nigerian Commodity Market to Generate 40m Jobs Dike Onwuamaeze The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the JODOR Asset Management Limited, Mr. Nduka G. Ofulue, has declared that an upcoming Global Commodity Conference (GCC2020), would create opportunities for the generation of 40 million jobs for Nigerian youths.

Ofulue said that the conference would engender candid conversations that would generate ideas for unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s commodity markets and other sectors of the economy.

He said that the conference, which would be held between September 20 and September 21, 2021, with the theme “Inflation, the New Pandemic: Price Stability and Monetary Challenges in a COVID-19 Business Environment,’’ would be focused on

opening market opportunities for the creation of jobs.

Ofulue said: “A MULTI-STRAT commodity ecosystem consisting of all aggregate sub-parts of the system will generate 20 to 40 million jobs for all parties engaged in the ecosystem.

“We cannot continue to do things the way we have done in the last years and expect different results.

“The Nigerian economy has done fairly okay, but it can do much better. The national currency (Naira) lost in excess of 200 per cent of its value in the past few years.

“At the same time price of commodity products have adjusted in excess of 100-300 per cent. The COVID-19 may have exposed our weaknesses but we can still turn the Nigerian economy around.’’

He said that the emergence of

the GCC2020 conference would enable business executives to rethink their operations and refocus them on value creation and sustainability.

He added that the summit would feature speakers from academia, government’s ministries, departments, and agencies as well as participants from the private sectors.

Ofulue advised the government to embark on policy reforms that would introduce new strategies and enable the Naira to find its footing.

He also called on the federal government to increase its support to Nigerian young farmers, business exporters, and technology entrepreneurs in order to enable them to develop scalable systems that would boost their productivity and make their exports attractive in international markets.

FCMB Emerges Best SME Bank in Africa First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has emerged as Best SME Bank in Africa and Best SME Bank in Nigeria at the Asian Banker Middle East and Africa Regional Awards on the 27th of August 2021.

The SME friendly bank beat all other Nigerian and African banks to win national and continental honours.

It emerged as Best SME Bank in Africa for the second time at the rigorous, prestigious, and transparent country-level honour programme for consumer financial services and technology in the Middle East and Africa.

Commenting on the awards, the Managing Director of FCMB, Mrs Yemisi Edun, said, “We are

excited to win two awards this year, especially the Best SME Bank in Africa, for the second year.

This shows that we are meeting the specific needs of customers in this segment and are on a growth trajectory. The awards will inspire us to further expand the frontiers of our innovation and go the extra mile to provide solutions that consistently enhance customer experience.”

Thanking the Asian Banker for the awards, Mrs Edun dedicated them to the Bank’s SME customers. She added that First City Monument Bank would continue to offer exceptional services, including funding and capacity building to small businesses.

Remarkably, the Bank has

taken the lead in digitisation by automating its lending process for SMEs through the FCMB Quickloans platform. Through this channel, the lender has disbursed over N100billion in loans to entrepreneurs. It processes over 25,000 digital loans, with disbursements hitting N9billion in a month in the third quarter of 2021.

In addition, the Bank provides market intelligence and technical assistance support to small businesses, access to intervention funds in partnership with Development Financial Institutions, as well as provision of credit facilities to mitigate the credit risk and collateral gaps experienced in lending to SMEs.

EDIFICIO Introduces Construction Solutions through Innovation In a bid to bridge the solutions gap of structural and architectural deficits, Edificio, a construction firm, has deployed innovative strategies to cater to infrastructure development, manpower and allied services in Nigeria’s real estate sector and beyond. The company identified poor housing designs, architectural plans and lack of qualified building contractors as the bane of the sector; but said it was on a mission to create grand

masterpieces and flawless designs that will change the narrative in the industry.

The firm added that despite the unfriendly factors of slow land registration processes, as well as real estate treachery, Edifcio, prides in building relationships on the foundation of transparentt business-dealings and investment.

Speaking about the company’s readiness to take on major construction projects across Africa,

the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Osezino Ogweni, said Edificio was on a mission to tackle the perennial deficit in infrastructure, especially housing.

He said, ‘’A large number of the population do not have homes, going by our research, there is currently a void in the real estate industry, and there is currently no one to bridge the gap; especially as it concerns housing deficits.”

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

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

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ Ͱ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $71.27 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $71.43 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

33

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͵˜ ͰͮͰͯ

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Announces 50.1% Drop in Profit, Declares N1 Interim Dividend Darasimi Adebisi Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has announced 50.1 per cent drop in profit for half year ended June 30, 2021 amid weak gross earnings and hike in total operating expenses.

The Group profit for H1 2021 dropped to N22.54billion as against N45.2billion reported in H1 2020.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings in its audited result and accounts released to the Nigerian Exchange

Limited (NGX) yesterday also reported 52.,9 per cent drop in profit before tax to N24.71billion in H1 2021 from N52.41billion reported in H1 2020.

Despite reporting drop in profits, the management proposed interim dividend of N1.00per ordinary share of 50 kobo each, that is, N12.96 billion.

From the profit & loss figures, the group gross earnings dropped by 26 per cent to N93.59billion in H1 2021 from N126.57billion in H1 2020.

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

From the balance sheet position, the group total assets decreased by two per cent to N2.43 trillion as at June 30, 2021 from N2.49 trillion reported in full year ended December 31, 2020.

As Gross loans & advances up 21 per cent to N790.6 billion as at June 30, 2021 from N655.3 billion in 2020 FY, Customer deposits increased by 17 per cent to N958.4 billion from N819.9 billion in 2020 FY. Deposit mix deteriorated to 73.4% (December 2020: 82.8per

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

cent) of current-and savingsaccounts deposits to total deposits The group’s Non-performing loans decreased by four per cent to N25.5 billion (December 2020: N26.5 billion) to drag Non-performing loan to total loan ratio of 3.2 per cent from four per cent reported in 2020 FY. The Chief Executive Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Dr Demola Sogunle in a statement said: “The private sector activities improved during the first half of 2021 following the easing of

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

restrictions in the later part of last year.

The Stanbic IBTC Purchasing Managers’ Index remained above the 50 mark throughout the period, indicating expansion in business activities.

“We also saw interest rates improve significantly in the second quarter, which drove activities in the fixed income market. That said, headline inflation remained high, constraining consumer purchasing power.

“The improvement in business

O F

activities positively impacted our performance in the second quarter. This improvement meant that we optimized opportunities to support our customers through lending.

“We empowered over 130,000 customers through our digital lending, with N40billion loans disbursed. We recorded an improvement in the quality of COVID-19 restructured loans, as we saw majority of the affected customers make good on their loan repayment commitments.

0 6 / 0 9 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

34

TUESDAY, Ϳ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

35

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2021• T H I S DAY

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

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

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

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 03Sept-2021, unless otherwise stated.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS

MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS

AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 160.83 162.18 -0.66% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 5.20% Nigeria International Debt Fund 321.50 321.50 -15.98% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 110.97 110.97 -0.01% 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 9.67% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.31 3.47 -2.54% info@anchoriaam.com 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 7.77% Anchoria Equity Fund 139.17 140.85 4.63% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.15 1.15 -13.56% 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 19.59 20.18 8.01% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund 38.17 39.32 13.24% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.09 1.10 -0.55% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.97 0.98 -7.09% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.71% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 106.05 106.05 4.27% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,031.21 1,031.21 3.12% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.04 2.04 -8.08% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.13 2.17 -6.98% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4

Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.01 1.01 2.93% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.15% Paramount Equity Fund 16.53 16.70 2.94% Women's Investment Fund 136.69 138.27 2.71% 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 7.75% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 118.54 119.28 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 108.10 108.10 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 N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 7.78% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 7.58% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,158.23 1,175.08 0.55% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,411.92 1,411.92 12.04% FBN Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Halal Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 10.04%

FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail N/A N/A N/A FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 158.26 160.48 4.68% 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 5.85% Legacy Debt Fund 3.97 3.97 2.55% Legacy Equity Fund 1.60 1.63 4.75% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.19 1.19 4.42% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A

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 N/A N/A N/A Nigeria Entertainment Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 7.75% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.79 2.85 -2.24% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 152.82 153.10 -1.72% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.28 1.33 1.84% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.10 1.10 0.65% 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 1.42 1.44 4.17% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,147.77 1,147.77 5.69% 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 11.48 11.52 9.44% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 9.07% 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 1.67 1.69 7.14% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.57 11.56 -4.89% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.02% PACAM Equity Fund 1.65 1.67 4.55% PACAM EuroBond Fund 113.04 114.93 2.92% 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 131.53 134.11 8.75% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.05 1.05 10.04% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,303.16 3,338.11 2.84% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 232.71 232.71 3.50% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.22 1.24 4.24% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 306.84 306.84 4.13% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 226.34 229.69 3.70% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.58% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,473.18 10,619.72 -0.21% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.27 1.27 3.70% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 115.52 115.52 4.00% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 103.51 103.51 UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.31 1.33 2.47% United Capital Bond Fund 1.91 1.91 4.49% United Capital Equity Fund 0.87 0.89 9.97% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.05% United Capital Eurobond Fund 120.08 120.08 4.91% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.06 1.08 4.09% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.06 1.06 6.13% 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 12.88 12.99 8.56% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.31 14.46 17.21% Zenith Income Fund 24.34 24.34 1.48% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.35%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.31

13.41

0.69%

121.41 96.63 17.43 18.32

124.43 98.74 17.53 18.42

0.97% -2.61%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

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

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

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

124.98 53.10

10.62% 5.15%

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.89 5.45 17.41 1.00 19.49 158.30

3.93 5.53 17.51 1.00 19.69 160.30

2.99% -4.17% 7.26% 0.00% -4.99% -28.04%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.40

13.11%

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.

36

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS XTRA

Ataga’s Murder: Court Recommends Chidinma, Two Others for Trial Wale Igbintade A Chief Magistrates’ Court siting in Lagos has recommended Chidinma Ojukwu and two others for trial over the murder of the Chief Executive of Super Television, Michael Ataga.

Also recommended for trial are Adedapo Quadri and Chidinma’s sister, Chioma Egbuchu, who was found in possession of the deceased’s iPhone 7.

Magistrate Mrs. Adeola Adedayo, made the recommendation following legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution that there is a prima facie case of conspiracy to murder, murder, conspiracy to commit forgery, making of documents without authority and stealing established against them.

Meanwhile, the court discharged Chidinma’s father Onoh Ojukwu, Babalola Disu, Abayomi Olutayo, and Ifeoluwa Olowu, who are the first, second, fourth and fifth defendants respectively but recommended the third defendant Chioma Egbuchu for trial.

She adjourned the case till September, 29, for the outcome of the case filed at the high court, and remanded Chidinma and the two others for further directive.

When the matter came up

yesterday, the Police Prosecuting Counsel, Mr. Cyril Ejiofor, informed the court that the legal advice from the DPP, was out.

The DPP’s advice was read to the court and the magistrate made the recommendations.

In the advice, the Lagos State

Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs Olayinka Adeyemi, recommended Chidinma Ojukwu and two others for trial over the murder of the Chief Executive Officer of Super Television,Usifo Michael Ataga.

In the legal advice issued on 20 August 2021, the DPP cleared

four other suspects and directed that they should be released.

According to the DPP, a prima facie case of conspiracy to murder, murder, and conspiracy to commit forgery was established against the suspects.

She said “ After careful

consideration of facts available in the case file, this office is of the view that a prima facie case of conspiracy to murder, murder, forgery, making of documents without authority and stealing contrary to Sections 233, 222, 411, 363 and 370 of the criminal laws of Lagos 2015,

has been established against Chidinma and two others.

“Facts available also established against Chidinma, the offence of having possession of things reasonably suspected to have been stolen, contrary to Section 329, of the criminal law of Lagos 2015,” the DPP said.

SEEKING MORE INCLUSION…

National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Stella Okotete (left), presenting souvenir to Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo when a delegation of APC Women Lobby Group visited the minister in Abuja.... recently

PDP Chieftain Raises Kogi Registers Commercial Vehicles, Motorcycles, the Alarm over EFCC’s Tricycles Operators to Check Crimes Intimidation Ibrahim Oyewale inLokoja

Prominent chieftains of the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Christopher Kolade has cried out over undue pressure being mounted on the management of Economic, Financial and other Crimes Commission (EFCC) to nail some leaders of the party especially from the north since some leaders declared that the party would zone the presidency to that the part of the country.

The chieftain, who spoke in Lagos, carpeted chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of working clandestinely to cripple the PDP ahead of the forthcoming 2023 presidential poll.

“In recent time, several of our leaders have been hounded by EFCC including former President of the Senate Bukola Saraki, the embattled national chairman of the

party, Mr. Uche Secodus, former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, former Abia Governor Sen. Theodore Orji, late Sen Nasiru Mantu, who unfortunately died, former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and others. “We are very much aware of the plans and schemes of leaders of the APC to decimate our ranks.

This is one of it,” a PDP chieftain said.

According to the Kolade , the APC has been very jittery with the decision of the PDP to zone the ticket of the party to the North.

He said those next in line to be arrested are Sule Lamido, Muazu Aliyu and former Kano State Governor. Sen Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and several others have been penciled down, especially in the Northern parts of the country.

As part of efforts to tackle insecurity in Kogi State, the state government has commenced registration of all transporters, including commercial vehicles, motorcycles and tricycles operators in the state, to check crime rate in the state.

The Special Adviser to the

state Governor, Yahaya Bello, on Security, Jerry Omodara, disclosed this while supervising the commencement of the registration exercise at Lokoja Township Stadium yesterday, stating that registration exercise became imperatives to have data base for all operators and checkmate crimes and for policy formation in the state.

Omodara pointed out that the state government intended to use the exercise to prevent influx of bad elements using the medium (transportation) to wreak havoc on the innocent citizens of the state.

He added that the exercise was intended to improve security and revenue drive for the state government, and be beneficial to all operators on the other hand,

because after the registration, the number will serve as security number to curb theft and other criminal activities in the state.

“We have involved all the critical stakeholders to ensure the success of the exercise. It is for their own benefit; it is for the benefit of the people of Kogi State and state government to have good security situation in the state,” he noted.

FG Flags Off Environment Response to Cholera Outbreak Michael Olugbode inAbuja The federal government has flagged off a national campaign on environmental response to combat the ongoing cholera outbreak in the country.

Flagging off the campaign on National Environmental Sanitation Response to Cholera Outbreak in Nigeria at Kubwa

in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, said the campaign was in response to growing and alarming rate of current cholera outbreak in the country, which the situation report from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) released on August 17, 2021 totalling 37,498 suspected cases, including 1,149 deaths in 24 states and the FCT.

He mentioned the state affected as Benue, Delta, Zamfara, Gombe, Bayelsa, Kogi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Kebbi, Cross River, Niger, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Yobe, Kwara, Enugu, Borno, Kastina, Adamawa, Taraba and the FCT, with increasing number of new cases in, Zamfara, Bauchi, Kano, Gombe, Plateau, and Niger States.

Abubakar said: “It is against

this background that today’s event is being organised to flag off our response activities to the increasing rate of spread of Cholera cases across the country; sensitise the public on cholera preventive and control measures to avert further outbreaks as well as strengthen the collaboration with NCDC and other stakeholders in tackling the cholera scourge.

Heirs Holdings Appoints Political, Economic Instability Responsible for in Nigeria, Says Moghalu Alli Non-Executive Director Insecurity Nigeria to the failure of internal Security Apparatus in Nigeria: understanding into deep-rooted Segun James Hamid Ayodeji

Pan-African investment company, Heirs Holdings (HH) yesterday announced the appointment of Andrew Alli to its Board of Directors.

The appointment became effective on August 26, 2021.

A statement explained that Alli brings considerable experience in senior management and multi-sector investment across the African continent.

He served as the President/ CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), where he oversaw the institutions’s growth from a start-up to a world-class institution, and catalyst for African funded infrastructure

projects across the continent.

Prior to this role, he held a series of positions in investment banking and with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in South Africa and Nigeria.

“The appointment comes as Heirs Holdings’ investment portfolio accelerates its ambitious expansion in energy and infrastructure, across Africa.

Recently, Heirs announced the launch of its mass retail insurance play, demonstrating its determination to improve lives and transform Africa,” it added.

The Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, was quoted to have welcomed Andrew to the Board.

Former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the 2019 presidential candidate of the Young Peoples’ Party (YPP), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has traced the prevailing collapse of security in

political and economic factors in the country.

Moghalu in a paper presented virtually at the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Americas’ annual general meeting 2021 with the theme: ‘Building a Sustainable

The Diaspora Perspective’, at the weekend, posited that the country cannot build a sustainable security apparatus “if we do not understand the exact nature and sources of our present security problems as a country, and then translate this

security and political reforms.”

He insisted that “the powerful political dimensions of our security crisis can be found in a failure of nation-building, displayed in the indisputable absence of nationhood.

Over 15m Children are Out of School, Says Cleric

Mary Nnah

Rev. Father Stephen Ogbe of Dominican College, Abuja, has said Nigeria has over 15 million children, especially girls, that are out of school.

He also said that many Nigerian children that are being released by the military

from the Boko Haram den, about 106 of them are girls under the age of nine, saying this is very traumatic.

He said that it was the responsibility of every Nigerian to give a new lease of life to these girls who are picked from various places ranging from the streets to the slums

and other places where they are being displaced.

Ogbe, who was a guest at the official lunch of the Lagos State chapter of the International Family Foundation (IFF), a civil society organisation with a global network established to address the moral and

socio-economic challenges and associated effects of endemic poverty threatening the stability of families and disadvantaged communities in developing countries, during the weekend, spoke on the theme, “Impact of Abuse and Poverty in the Family: The Girl as a Victim”.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

37

NEWS XTRA

Gunmen Abduct LG Chairman’s Father, Kill Police, NSCDC Officers in Bayelsa Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa Suspected gunmen last Sunday night killed two security operatives at the nipping point at Okarki junction in Bayelsa State after the security agents came under unexpected heavy gun fire from the bandits.

The attack left a police officer and an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ((NSCDC) dead.

Though the operatives, who are from the Joint Task Force codenamed ‘Operation Doo Akpor’, repelled the attack and prevented the gunmen from attacking the nipping point, the gunmen, however, escaped into the creeks.

In a separate incident, gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in the early hours of yesterday stormed the residence of a People Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Gbalipre Turner, and abducted him.

Turner, a former PDP state treasurer and father of the present Ogbia Local Government Area chairman, was abducted at his residence in Sampou Road in Yenagoa, the state capital, and taken to a unknown destination.

It was gathered that

policemen responded swiftly and pursued the kidnappers to Onuebum waterfront, where they abandoned the vehicle they had, and whisked away their victim on a speedboat.

Confirming both incident,

the spokesman of the state Police Command, Asinim Butswat, said the state Commissioner of Police, Echeng E. Echeng, has ordered for a manhunt to rescue the kidnapped victim and arrest

the fleeing gunmen.

The CP further appealed to members of the public to volunteer useful information that would assist the police in its investigation.

According to him, “On

September 5, 2021, at about 2030 hours, operatives of Operation Doo Akpor at Okarki junction came under heavy fire by unknown gunmen. The gallant operatives engaged the hoodlums in a shoot-out and

repelled them from attacking the nipping point.

“Unfortunately a police sergeant and an operative of the NSCDC sustained fatal gunshots wounds, which led to their death.”

NICE TO HAVE YOU…

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu(left), receiving plaque from the Vice Chancellor, Bayero University Kano, Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, during Onu’s working visit to university in Kano...recently

MRA Condemns NCC’s Directive Ayade Mourns Ukpo, Says His Death a Monumental Loss The Cross River State Governor, and Publicity, Mr. Christian by the loss of this thorough assignments that were entrusted Mr. Ben Ayade, has lamented Ita, the governor described bred officer, an illustrious son to him to the applause of his to Telecoms’ Operators to Shut the death of one - time Military the general’s transition as a of Cross River. superiors.

Administrator of Rivers State, tragic and monumental loss “General Ukpo’s death has “As a military officer, General down Services in Zamfara Brigadier-General Anthony to Cross River in particular robbed our dear state of his wise Ukpo had a distinguished career, Wale Igbintade A group, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), has condemned the directive by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to telecommunications’ companies to immediately shutdown all telecommunications services in Zamfara State as a result of the “encompassing security situation” in the state.

It described the measure as an unwarranted and unjustifiable interference with the rights to freedom of expression and access to information.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, the MRA Communications Officer, Mr. Idowu Adewale, alleged that

the NCC, which is supposed to be a regulatory agency, has increasingly become a tool in the hands of the federal government for to indiscriminately violate the rights of Nigerians.

The statement added: “Such purported exercise of power without regard to deny communications services not only to the residents of Zamfara State, but also to other people elsewhere who have family members, friends, loved one as well as other social or business relations in the state. They denial of the right to communicate with others without judicial or any other form of independent oversight cannot be justified under any circumstance.

Ukpo (rtd).

General Ukp,o who was also a former Minister of Information, died on Monday.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media

and Nigeria in general.

Ayade commiserated with Ukpo’s family and the military, saying, “an illustrious son, a fine and gallant officer has left us.

“As a state, we are pained

counsel. He was forthright and a partner in building a Cross River of our dream.”

He recalled that the late Ukpo applied himself diligently and dutifully to all the national

as a Military Administrator he excelled beyond expectations and as a Minister he showed passion and professionalism.

He left these offices without blemish. He was a rare gem.

Okowa: Performance of Delta Indigenes Globally Impressive Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba The Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has expressed happiness that sons and daughters of the state were making positive exploits in the country and across the world.

Okowa stated this in Oginibo, Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state, during a thanksgiving service in honour of Justice Sybil Gbagi

for her elevation as Justice of the Court of Appeal.

Justice Gbagi is the wife of the PDP governorship hopeful and former Minister of Education, Mr. Kenneth Gbagi.

Okowa stressed that the era of training male children alone had long gone and urged parents to continue to train their female children.

He said: “On behalf of the

government and people of Delta State, I congratulate our dear sister, Justice Sybil Gbagi, on her elevation to this higher office.

“We rejoice with you and your family because your elevation as judge of the Court of Appeal is a great feat and we thank God for this promotion.

“Our state is doing well in every aspect of governance and in the society because we have had a rich background of

taking our sons and daughters to great heights.

“In Delta today, women occupy sensitive positions as Chief Judge of the state and President of the Customary Court of Appeal and now we have Justice Gbagi, another woman in the Court of Appeal.

“It’s important that we begin to train our women so that they can continue to do well in life.”

Osun Royal Fathers Condenm PDP Congresses: Makinde Inaugurates Local Organising Committee that the party will allow internal the forms from the national (BOT) members, former aides of Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan Female Genital Mutilation, democracy to reflect in the secretariat should approach the the president and members of the national headquarters of the party. party’s state working committee.

Ahead of the ward, local processes and all its actions.

Celebrate 30th Anniversary The governor while speaking Present at the caucus meeting The caucus reaffirmed its government and state congresses Traditional rulers in the state of Osun have condemned the unhygienically bad habit of female genital mutilation, stressing that it should be discouraged in the country.

The royal fathers as custodians of culture and traditions in their respective domains, made the condemnation during their monthly council presided over

by Chairman of the Council of Obas, who is also the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II. The royal fathers also felicitated with the Governor of the state, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, government and the entire people of the state on the attainment of three decades of the creation of the state from the old Oyo State.

Speaking, Oba Adeyeye

Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, acknowledged the spirit of unity and tenacity of purpose of the founding fathers of the state which culminated into the eventual birth of the state by the then Military President ,General Ibrahim Babamasi Babangida (rtd).

According to the Ooni of Ife, who was represented at the meeting by one of the Deputy Chairmen of Osun Council of Obas and the Olokuku of Okuku, Oba Abioye Oyebode Oluronke II, the present administration under the leadership of Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola in the last three years had been living up to the yearnings and aspirations of the founding fathers of the state who fought tooth and nail for its eventual creation in 1991.

of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, yesterday inaugurated the Local Organising Committee for the exercise.

This is just as he maintained

yesterday at the caucus meeting of the party in the state held in Ibadan, said though he had purchased all the nomination forms for the congresses, adding that anyone interested in taking

include stakeholders from all the organs of the party, such as serving and former National Assembly members, serving and former presiding officers of the House of Assembly,Board of Trustees

confidence in Makinde as the leader of the PDP in the state, while it equally appreciated the governor for purchasing all the nomination forms for the congresses.

Osinbajo to Chair Pastor Kumuyi’s Book Launch Ugo Aliogo and Loveth Chinagorom The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, (SAN) will chair the launch of the biography of the Founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, entitled, ‘Defender of the Faith’ on September 17, in Lagos.

Speaking during a media

briefing in Lagos yesterday, the Chairman, Book Editorial Board, Mr. Philp Oluwi, said the biography provides the world with a rare glimpse of the untold remarkable stories of the uncommon man of God that time and space has enabled us “to compose and narrate.”

He revealed that the book provides a spherical and spicy narrative of a multifaceted

and iconic cleric that many in Nigeria and around the world have always longed to know more closely, but who has always shied away from public acclaim.

Oluwi disclosed that the initiative to write the biography of Kumuyi was conceived and executed, adding that no full-length book has been put together on the life and works of the General

Superintendent, because of the strict policy of Kumuyi.

The Editorial Board Chairman affirmed that in October, 2020, the editorial team decided to produce a biography to honour the God’s general to further the gospel under him, by documenting some of the remarkable landmark achievements God has provided through him for others to emulate.

38

TUESDAY, Ϳ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

TUESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

GIVE US THIS DAY O’GOD...

Super Eagles players making supplications to God to grant them victory in Cape Verde this evening

Super Eagles Face Tough Test against Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks Century cap beckons for Ahmed Musa Duro Ikhazuagbe After Super Eagles’ light work out on the astroturf pitch of the 5,000-capacity Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena on the Mindelo Island yesterday, Head Coach of the team, Gernot Rohr announced that his wards were set to consolidate with victory against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde.

Today’s 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier is the first competitive game between both countries.

The first and only time them met was in an international friendly in 2013 which ended goalless.

Although Rohr admitted the absence of his regular UK-based internationals, the Franco-German gaffer believes the 19 other players will show presence of mind and win the

match.

Speaking with reporters after training yesterday, Rohr said the astroturf in Mindelo will not be a problem to his wards.

“This astroturf is better than the pitch we played in at home in Lagos last Friday.

It is softer and allows for ball free movement. The one in Lagos (Teslim Balogun) was too hard for our players.

“Anyway, what matters is for us is to win and go back home with the three points,” observed Rohr.

With all 10 UK-based Super Eagles players back to their clubs due to Strict Covid-19 restrictions on countries on high risk list, Rohr insisted he has confidence in the squad to file out against the Blue Sharks this evening.

“Yes we miss the regular

W O R L D C U P Q UA L I F I E R S players based in the UK but are not here today. There is nothing we can do about that now but to be hopeful that those standing in for them will make all of us proud.

The absence of Olaoluwa Aina, William Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun probably means that Chidozie Awaziem of FC Boavista in Portugal and Spain –based Kenneth Omeruo will start against the Blue Sharks this evening.

The departures of two-goal hero Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi also open the door for perhaps Terem Moffi and Henry Onyekuru.

But it is in the midfield that Coach Gernot Rohr would have to empanel entirely

unaccustomed partners and charge them to deliver.

Oghenekaro Etebo, Wilfred Ndidi and Joseph Ayodele-Aribo have all returned to the UK. Coach Rohr may opt to deploy the versatile Abdullahi Shehu to the midfield as he has done a couple of times, most recently in Sierra Leone against the Leone Stars in a 2021 AFCON qualifier.

Russia –based Chidera Ejuke, Italy-based former junior international Kingsley Michael and new face Innocent Bonke from Sweden are all available.

Captain Ahmed Musa will earn his 100th cap for Nigeria, two days on 11 years after he won his first against Madagascar in Calabar, if he takes any part in Tuesday’s

..Kalu, Ebuehi Excluded from Clash in Cape Verde French Bordeaux winger, Samuel Kalu and Italy’s Venezia defender, Tyronne Ebuehi, were two Super Eagles players excluded from playing in today’s Group C Match-day 2 fixture of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Cape Verde.

The two Nigerian players were initially believed to have tested positive for Covid-19.

However, the second testing of the two players proved negative but was already two late to include them in Eagles line up against the Blue Sharks.

Kalu was a late substitute for Moses Simon in Friday’s game against Liberia in Lagos.

He is one of Coach Gernot Rohr’s favourite players and was tipped to start today’s match for a Super Eagles team heavily depleted by the absence of seven players who started on Friday.

Last month, Kalu collapsed on his own during a Ligue 1 game at Olympique Marseille

but recovered to continue the game before he was substituted.

Ebuehi on the other hand was schemed to play the right back

with Shehu Abdullahi moved to play in the midfield.

encounter.

A win will guarantee Nigeria a minimum three points ahead of any other team in the Group C pool, despite Liberia’s Lone Star 1- 0 victory against Central African Republic in Monrovia yesterday.

RESULTS Djibouti Liberia I’Coast Uganda S’Africa Benin Guinea

2-4 Niger 1-0 CAR 2-1 Cameroon 0-0 Mali 1-0 Ghana 1-1 DR Congo v Morocco (PP)

TODAY B’Faso v

Algeria

Zambia v

Tunisia

E’Guinea v Cape Verde v

Mauritania Nigeria

Malawi v

Mo’bique

Angola v

Libya

Ethiopia v

Zimbabwe

Congo v

Senegal

Sudan v

G’Bissau

Tanzania v

Madagascar

EAGLES IN CAPE VERDE GOALKEEPERS: Francis Uzoho (APOEL Nicosia, Cyprus); Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands) DEFENDERS: Chidozie Awaziem (FC Boavista, Portugal); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Valentine Ozornwafor (Sporting Charleroi, Belgium); MIDFIELDERS: Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Innocent Bonke (Malmo FF, Sweden); Kingsley Michael (Bologna FC, Italy); Adekunele Adeleke (Abia Warriors); FORWARDS: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium); Terem Moffi (FC Lorient, France); Henry Onyekuru (Olympiacos FC, Greece)

Liberia’s Lone Star Beat CAR to Revive Qualification Hope

Samuel Kalu...Out

Tyronne Ebuehi...Out

Liberia’s Lone Star got their 2022 FIFA World Cup second round qualifying campaign back on track, after pipping Central African Republic 1-0 in their second Group C game yesterday.

Played in Monrovia, a late strike from Kpah Sherman helped Liberia bounce back from their 2-0 opening day

loss to Nigeria last Friday.

With four minutes left in the game, Sherman emerged the hero by grabbing what proved to be the winner for his side.

The win took the Liberians to second place on three points behind leaders Nigeria while Cape Verde and Central African Republic are third and fourth respectively on one point apiece.

39

TUESDAY, Ϳ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

SPORTS

CR7 New Man Utd Shirt Smashes Sales Record Cristiano Ronaldo broke Manchester United's daily shirt sales record in less than four hours after it was confirmed he would retain his iconic No 7 jersey.

The Portugal forward secured a long-awaited return to Old Trafford in August and is currently isolating ahead of his first visit to Carrington, expected to be on Thursday.

As United confirmed Ronaldo will wear No 7 on Thursday, fans dashed

online to secure a replica and it only took four hours to smash the record as the highest daily sale on a single sports merchandise site outside North America.

Fanatics, United's official retail partner, confirmed the shirt sales hit record figures and the first hour alone bettered the best full day of global sales for the club's online store.

Across the Fanatics network, Ronaldo became the biggest-

selling player in the 24 hours following a transfer to a new club - leading Lionel Messi (to PSG), Tom Brady (to Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and LeBron James (to LA Lakers).

It was not only on the internet that Ronaldo's newly-printed shirt was in demand - United's club store at Old Trafford was also a popular destination on Friday morning as fans queued to get their hands on the Number 7 shirt.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Number 7 Manchester United shirt has created sales record. It sold out in four hours after the Portuguese confirmed his switch to the Old Trafford club

NNL Super 8: Bendel Insurance, Egypt Sack Coach El Badry Shooting Stars Rekindle Rivalry in Enugu after Draw in Gabon Duro Ikhazuagbe

Two of Nigeria’s foremost Football clubs, Bendel Insurance FC of Benin City and Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan will this afternoon re-enact their age-long rivalry when the Nigerian National League (NNL) Super 8 Playoff begins in Enugu.

At the draw of the Playoff made in Enugu yesterday, both clubs were drawn to face each other in the second game of Group B at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu.

Of the eight teams at the Playoff, Bendel Insurance are the only team from the South South while none is from the South East.

Four-Gombe United, ElKanemi Warriors of Maiduguri, Niger Tornadoes, DMD of Borno are from the northern zone of the country while Shooting Stars Sports Club

(3SC) of Ibadan, Ekiti United and Remo Stars are representing the Southwest.

Four teams are to qualify from this playoff for the four available slots to be promoted to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

The Chairman of Warri Wolves and a former media manager of Rangers of Enugu, Etu Moses has rallied supporters from the South south zone to back Bendel Insurance.

According to Moses, with the relegation of Warri Wolves, “it’s only natural that people from the zone back the Benin Arsenal for promotion.

“Apart from Rivers United and Akwa United, next season’s NPFL needs another representative and the only alternative is for Bendel Insurance to join the train. All of us in the South South will be supporting Insurance to get one of the tickets,” Moses said.

TODAY’S FIXTURES

Gombe Utd B’Insurance DMD Ekiti Utd

Vs Vs Vs Vs

Elkanemi 1pm 3SC 3pm Tornadoes 5pm Remo Stars 7pm

GROUP A A1 Gombe United A2 DMD A3 Niger Tornadoes A4 Elkanemi Warriors GROUP B B1 Bendel Insurance B2 Ekiti United B3 Remo Stars B4 Shooting Stars

Aisha Buhari Cup Gets New Kickoff Date The maiden Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Football Tournament (Aisha Buhari Cup) early scheduled to officially kick-off on Monday, September 13will now commence effectively on Wednesday, September 15 till Tuesday, September 21, 2021.

The slight shift in kick-off date is necessitated by two key factors, namely an expressed request by the participating teams that their foreign-based players would not be able to arrive in Lagos for the football showpiece any time earlier than Tuesday, September 14.

Secondly, the world football governing body, FIFA’s Type 1 window stipulates that teams shall play two matches each with two full rest days between each match to possibly allow

for players’ recovery in case of injury.

Accordingly to the Director of Organisation for the Aisha Buhari Cup, Aisha Falode, the LOC acceded to the teams’ request and FIFA’s requirement due to the committee’s respect for the nation’s First Lady, Dr. (Mrs.) Aisha Buhari in whose name the high profile football showpiece wishes to honour.

She stressed that it was important to avail the participating teams the necessary ambience and opportunity to hit the tournament venues with their various best legs.

“There is a slight change in kickoff date for the Aisha Buhari Cup, the invitational tournament will now run from September 15– 21 against an early commencement schedule

date, September 13 – 21, 2021.

“This is in compliance with the force majeure article in the tournament’s regulation – chapter 4, article 4.3.4. and article 51.1.

“Teams and their members of official delegation are to arrive in Nigeria on 13 September 2021.

“The participating teams requested for the slight change after they realised that their foreign-based players would not be able to arrive in Lagos earlier than Tuesday, September 14.

“The teams want to have their best legs available for the tournament especially as almost the teams are using the invitational tournament as preparations for the upcoming qualifiers for the Nation’s Cup.”

Egypt's FA (EFA) has dismissed coach Hossam El Badry less than 24 hours after Sunday's World Cup qualifying draw in Gabon.

The Pharaohs rescued a 1-1 draw when equalising in the last minute, in a match where Omar Gaber saw red after 71 minutes.

Former Al Ahly coach El Badry has been dismissed despite not losing one of his ten games in charge, winning six and drawing four.

The North Africans are also top of Group F with four points but Libya can move two points above them if they beat Angola today.

"The EFA would like to thank Hossam El-Badry and his technical staff for the work they have done for the national team," the association said.

"We wish them good luck and fortune in their future career. And the EFA will decide

Hossam El Badry...sacked as Egypt coach the new technical staff for the national team during the next 48 hours."

El Badry was named as Egypt's head coach after his

predecessor, Javier Aguirre, was sacked following the poor display on home soil when hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

L-R: Head of Media, Digital, PR & Sponsorship Nigerian Breweries Plc, Wasiu Abiola; Super Eagles forward, Kelechi Iheanacho and Senior Brand Manager, “33” Export Lager beer, Aishat Anaekwe at the presentation the ‘Man of the Match’ award to Leicester City player shortly after Nigeria defeated Liberia 2-0 last Friday in Lagos

Tuesday September 7, 2021

TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Price: N250

MISSILE Ayokunle to Bandits

“You kill in the name of God, you are a devil incarnate, you are not of God, you do not know Him and you are a liar. God is love and in Him, there is no hatred at all. You are hiding in the bush to kidnap, kill, maim and rape, you are an agent of Satan.”

––Christian Association of Nigeria President, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, admonishing Nigerians to embrace love and unity, for the country to move forward.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

Kaduna And Electronic Voting: Lessons for Nigeria “We don’t believe in cheating or rigging elections but also we don’t want other parties to cheat us, and that was why we encouraged the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission to come up with a fool-proof voting process.”

– Nasir el-Rufai

T

he prefatory statement above belongs to Nasir el-Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna, one of the few Governors who have consistently demonstrated faith in the deployment of technology to protect the integrity and credibility of the electoral process in Nigeria. He is the only one who has given effect to his conviction. In 2018, Kaduna state under his watch, conducted elections with an electronic voting system. This was the first time anyone in Nigeria would adopt electronic voting, and the second case of electronic voting in Africa, after Namibia. That year, the then extant law namely the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission Act No. 10 of 2012 was amended, to establish electronic voting in Section 16 (3) thereof. There were allegations of multiple voting and other challenges. But this did not deter Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

On September 4, 2021, his administration repeated the same “offence”, if the adoption of modern technology by African electoral umpires can be so described, by ensuring that the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECOM), again conducted elections in the state’s local government areas in line with Section 16(3) of the KADIESCOM Act. At the end of the exercise, it was reported that the challenges observed in 2018 had been addressed. Multiple voting was no longer possible. The software had been upgraded to deny any voter an attempt to vote a second time. About 18, 000 ad hoc staff were deployed whose main assignment was the verification of the voter’s register. The Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was a computerized box with simple Cancel and OK buttons that could be used even by the illiterate and the elderly. You select the logo of the party you want to vote for, and simply tap either OK or Cancel - a simple Yes or No choice. The Cancel button in fact allows you to change your mind. Each EVM was powered by a battery that could last up to 16 hours. KADIESCOM worked in collaboration with the telecommunication companies to provide the network for the immediate transmission of results.

Voting took less than a minute.

The LGA election in Kaduna State on Saturday, September 4 was by no means perfect however. About 11 electronic voting machines were vandalised by suspected hoodlums. This should not be surprising.

Violence is part of the sociology of Nigeria’s electoral process. Those who do not trust the system would always find a way to violate it. No matter how fool-proof a measure may be, Nigerians would always find a way to disrupt it. Oftentimes, out of raw scepticism. In the course of the elections in 19 LGAs, 41 EVMs were snatched across Kaduna State. Should anybody be surprised? The EVMs looked like boxes. In regular, manual, elections, the ballot box is the main victim in the hands of those who want to manipulate results. The only difference with an EVM is that it is electronic and has a digital footprint. Stealing or snatching it is pointless. The Kaduna State LGA elections have now ended. The APC won in 15 area councils. But the more interesting outcome was the disclosure that the Governor, Nasir el-Rufai lost to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his Ungwar Sarki Polling unit in Kaduna North Local Government Area. It is a major dent for a politician to lose in his own polling unit! It makes no difference if his party wins across the entire state. He will be constantly reminded that he could not even get the endorsement of his own immediate neighbours.

With electronic voting, it may be difficult to

El-Rufai

manipulate results, stuff ballot boxes or thump-print multiple ballot papers. It should be noted however, that voter turn-out in the Kaduna Local Government elections of September 4, 2021 was very low. This is a nationwide pattern, and it is one of the ills that must change to properly deepen participatory democracy not just in Nigeria, but across Africa.

The big gap between inputs and outcomes in the electoral process in Africa has alienated the people from the system and from democracy itself. Why go out to vote when there are no guarantees that your vote will count or translate into improvements in your circumstances? Why vote for people who will get into positions of privilege on the wings of your efforts and end up forgetting you? The biggest threat to democracy in Africa is this trust deficit and the disconnect between the people and the actual value of elections.

This however should not discount the value of credibility, integrity, transparency and accountability in the electoral process. This is the objective of those who support the idea of electronic voting and the

electronic transmission of results. Twice now, in 2018 and 2021, the El-Rufai administration has shown that it is doable. There may be hitches and challenges but these can be identified and fixed in subsequent elections. It may be argued that Kaduna state is relatively small (population – 6- 1 million) compared to Nigeria with a population of over 200 million and 774 local councils). But we have it on record that should Nigeria decide to adopt electronic voting, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can deliver on that score. The GSM operators in the country have also openly said that they can provide the necessary services.

There are certainly lessons that can be learnt from the Kaduna experience, and from other countries including Namibia and the West. The only problem we have in Nigeria is the refusal of Nigerian lawmakers at the Federal level to see the value of electronic voting. The adoption of electronic voting by Kaduna State sends a strong message to those members of the National Assembly who conveniently rushed to the toilet, or were absent, or lied shamelessly that there was no mobile telephony in their village when the National Assembly voted on the proposed Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021.

Getting the right electoral framework for elections in Nigeria has been a major concern since the return to democratic rule in 1999: the 2001 Electoral Act, 2002 Electoral Act, 2006 Electoral Act and the 2010 Electoral Act. It has been majorly a trial and error process. In 2018, ahead of the 2019 general elections, the 8th Assembly passed a Bill which was forwarded to the President for his assent. The President rejected the Bill, four times, on the grounds that the proposed amendments to the law could not come into effect due to time constraints. We held the 2019 elections, which again expectedly threw up issues about the integrity of the electoral process and the need to modernise elections in line with global best practices.

When the 9th National Assembly assumed office in June 2019, its Chairman, Dr. Ahmed Lawan promised Nigerians that the Electoral Amendment Bill would be treated as a priority assignment. Indeed, Lawan kept his word, as he did also with the Petroleum Industry Bill. But it is one thing to make a law. It

is another thing to do so in public interest.

What was meant to be an opportunity to provide Nigerians with a progressive, forward-looking electoral framework ended up as a farce. In the second week of July, a bewildered electorate watched as Nigerian lawmakers created an ugly scene over Section 52 (2) and (3) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill which stated that INEC “may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable.” The Senate passed the bill on July 15. The House of Representatives did so on July 16. Both chambers of the National Assembly later resolved that the electronic transmission of results would be allowed only with the express clearance of the National Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Assembly.

Thus, Nigeria’s lawmakers took away the independence of the country’s electoral body, a blatant violation of Section 78 of the 1999 Constitution, and a brazen attempt to sabotage the law. It was most disgraceful that even opposition politicians in the National Assembly could not vote in the people’s interest. There were other concerns: the decision to increase campaign expenses: to become President, you would need a minimum of N15 billion, Governor – N5 billion; Senator N1.5 billion, House of Representatives member N500 million and State House of Assembly member N50 million. In other words, you have to be wealthy to aspire to any important elective position in Nigeria. If this bill becomes law as proposed, only armed robbers and internet scammers would probably end up in high places in this country. President Buhari should not sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021. It takes the country backwards, not forwards. It is the handiwork of cowards and a backward National Assembly. In Kaduna State, Governor El-Rufai has shown that it is possible to try new options and possibilities, and deploy modern technology to leap-frog the process. The navel-gazing lawmakers in the National Assembly should be called out. One of the errant ones has since apologised to her constituents for going AWOL when she was most needed, but there are others, so pompous and confidently ignorant, they just don’t get it.

Alpha Conde and the Coup in Guinea On Sunday, September 5, 2021, President Alpha Conde, 83, of Guinea Conakry was deposed by a team of former elite military forces led by Lt. Col. Mamady Doumbouya. Conde does not deserve anyone’s sympathy and that does not necessarily amount to an endorsement of the military coup in that unfortunate country. Indeed, Conde is the architect of his own misfortune, a greedy African leader who thought he was invincible, untouchable and supreme. The photos that were released on Sunday showing him in a humiliating position, surrounded by the same soldiers who used to protect him was a loud reminder of the ephemerality of power and the unpredictability of human circumstances. The once great Alpha Conde looked very sober. The leader of the coup used to be his bodyguard. He used to hold an umbrella over his head. Today, Conde is at the mercy of Lt. Col, Dambouya. One wrong move, he, Conde could lose his life. He wanted to remain in office for life. He denied the people of Guinea Conakry the opportunity to make their own choice. What the people of Guinea could not do, the military have done it for them. Except that the unconstitutional take-over of power in Guinea is completely unjustifiable. The people of Guinea may have trooped out unto the streets of Conakry and other parts of the country to celebrate the downfall of a man who held them down, but that is no justification for a return to military rule.

Many of them removed their shirts and screamed: “Doumbouya! Freedom.” But what next for Guinea?

In the 70s, African political scientists pushed the idea of the strong man as leader and messiah, and hence accommodated militarism as a vehicle of development. But by the 80s, the wave of democratisation led by the ideological politics of the United States created a new momentum. By the 90s, democracy was the new sing-song in most African states. The challenge however has been how to consolidate the gains of democracy and its value chain. It is most unfortunate that in recent times, rather than have a consolidation, Africa is beginning to experience a backward trajectory. The coup in Guinea fits into this pattern.

Before now, since 2010, there have been coup attempts in Niger (2010, 2011), Guinea Bissau (2010, 2011) Madagascar (2010), DR Congo (2011, 2013), Sudan (2012, 2019), Benin (2013), Libya (2013), Egypt (2013), Gambia (2014), Gabon (2019), Ethiopia (2019) Central African Republic (2021) and successful coup attempts in Niger (2010), Mali (2012, 2020, 2021), Sudan (2019), Burkina Faso (2015), Egypt (2013) and now Guinea-Conakry (2021). Military interventions in African politics constitute a major setback for democracy. The coup in Guinea Conakry can only add to the instability in the Sahel region of West Africa and provide further stimulus for the agents of destabilization – the Jihadists and the terrorists operating in the Sahel. ECOWAS Presidents Nana Akufo Addo of Ghana and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, and the UN Secretary General, Antonio Gueterres have condemned the coup but the

international community must go a step further and ask Doumbouya and his gangsters to hand over power immediately to civilian authorities.

They have suspended the Constitution and all institutions as part of an attempt to launch a transitional government.

It should be made clear to them that their rebellion violates the ECOWAS protocols on Democracy and Good Governance and the Constitutive Acts of the African Union. ECOWAS and AU need not worry too much about what France thinks. The relationship between France and its former colonies in Africa is at best opportunistic. The direct victims are the long-suffering people of Guinea.

Guinea is one of the most blessed countries in the world in terms of natural resources: the biggest iron ore deposit in the world, gold, diamond, bauxite but in typical African fashion, this has not translated into prosperity for the people. Guinea is effectively one of the poorest countries in the world. And the problems are not far to seek: corruption, nepotism and bad leadership. Alpha Conde spent his early career as a radical, progressive, opposition politician.

He challenged the government of Lansana Conte in 1993 and again in 1998. In 2010, Conde led the RPG to victory and was thus elected President of Guinea for a first term of five years. He was re-elected for a second, final term of another 5 years in 2015. In 2020, when he was supposed to step down from office, Conde chose to amend the Constitution to enable him extend his stay in office.

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